Authors: Bertolt Brecht
GALILEO
(
quietly
) You are suggesting fraud?
MATHEMATICIAN NO! HOW
could I, in the presence of His Highness?
ELDERLY LADY
The gentlemen are just wondering if Your Highness’ stars are really, really there! (
Pause
)
YOUNG LADY
(
trying to be helpful
) Can one see the claws on the Great Bear?
GALILEO
And everything on Taurus the Bull.
FEDERZONI
Are you going to look through it or not?
MATHEMATICIAN
With the greatest of pleasure. (
Pause. Nobody goes near the telescope. All of a sudden the boy Andrea turns and marches pale and erect past them through the whole length of the room. The Guests follow with their eyes
)
MRS. SARTI
(
as he passes her
) What is the matter with you?
ANDREA
(
shocked
) They are wicked.
PHILOSOPHER
Your Highness, it is a delicate matter and I had no intention of bringing it up, but Mr. Galilei was about to demonstrate the impossible. His new stars would have broken the outer crystal sphere – which we know of on the authority of Aristotle. I am sorry.
MATHEMATICIAN
The last word.
FEDERZONI
He had no telescope.
MATHEMATICIAN
Quite.
GALILEO
(
keeping bis temper
) “Truth is the daughter of Time, not of Authority.” Gentlemen, the sum of our knowledge is pitiful. It has been my singular good fortune to find a new instrument which brings a small patch of the universe a little bit closer. It is at your disposal.
PHILOSOPHER
Where is all this leading?
GALILEO
Are we, as scholars, concerned with where the truth might lead us?
PHILOSOPHER
Mr. Galilei, the truth might lead us anywhere!
GALILEO
I can only beg you to look through my eyeglass.
MATHEMATICIAN
(
wild
) If I understand Mr. Galilei correctly, he is asking us to discard the teachings of two thousand years.
GALILEO
For two thousand years we have been looking at the sky and didn’t see the four moons of Jupiter, and there they were all the time. Why defend shaken teachings? You should be doing the shaking. (
The Prince is sleepy
) Your Highness! My work in the Great Arsenal of Venice brought me in daily contact with sailors, carpenters, and so on. These men are unread. They depend on the evidence of their senses. But they taught me many new ways of doing things. The question is whether these gentlemen here want to be found out as fools by men who might not have had the advantage of a classical education but who are not afraid to use their eyes. I tell you that our dockyards are stirring with that same high curiosity which was the true glory of Ancient Greece. (
Pause
)
PHILOSOPHER
I have no doubt Mr. Galilei’s theories will arouse the enthusiasm of the dockyards.
CHAMBERLAIN
Your Highness, I find to my amazement that this highly informative discussion has exceeded the time we had allowed for it. May I remind Your Highness that the State Ball begins in three-quarters of an hour?
(
The Court bows low
)
ELDERLY LADY
We would really have liked to look through your eyeglass, Mr. Galilei, wouldn’t we, Your Highness?
(
The Prince bows politely and is led to the door. Galileo follows the Prince, Chamberlain and Ladies towards the exit. The Professors remain at the telescope
)
GALILEO
(
almost servile
) All anybody has to do is look through the telescope, Your Highness.
(
Mrs. Sarti takes a plate with candies to the Prince as he is walking out
)
MRS. SARTI
A piece of homemade candy, Your Highness?
ELDERLY LADY
Not now. Thank you. It is too soon before His Highness’ supper.
PHILOSOPHER
Wouldn’t I like to take that thing to pieces.
MATHEMATICIAN
Ingenious contraption. It must be quite difficult to keep clean. (
He rubs the lens with his handkerchief and looks at
the handkerchief
)
FEDERZONI
We did not paint the Medicean stars on the lens.
ELDERLY LADY
(
to the Prince, who has whispered something to her
) No, no, no, there is nothing the matter with your stars!
CHAMBERLAIN
(
across the stage to Galileo
) His Highness will of course seek the opinion of the greatest living authority: Christopher Clavius, Chief Astonomer to the Papal College in Rome.
Scene Five
Things take indeed a wondrous turn
When learned men do stoop to learn
.
Clavius, we are pleased to say
,
Upheld Galileo Galilei
.
A burst of laughter is heard and the curtains reveal a ball in the Collegium Romanum. High Churchmen, monks and Scholars standing about talking and laughing. Galileo by himself in a corner
.
FAT PRELATE
(
shaking with laughter
) Hopeless! Hopeless? Hopeless! Will you tell me something people won’t believe?
A SCHOLAR
Yes, that you don’t love your stomach!
FAT PRELATE
They’d believe that. They only do not believe what’s good for them. They doubt the devil, but fill them up with some fiddle-de-dee about the earth rolling like a marble in the gutter and they swallow it hook, line, and sinker. Sancta simplicitas! (
He laughs until the tears run down his cheeks. The others laugh with him. A group has formed whose members boisterously begin to pretend they are standing on a rolling globe
)
A MONK
It’s rolling fast. I’m dizzy. May I hold on to you, Professor? (
He sways dizzily and clings to one of the scholars for support
)
THE SCHOLAR
Old Mother Earth’s been at the bottle again. Whoa!
MONK
Hey! Hey! We’re slipping off! Help!
SECOND SCHOLAR
Look! There’s Venus! Hold me lads. Whee!
SECOND MONK
Don’t, don’t hurl us off on to the moon. There are nasty sharp mountain peaks on the moon, brethren!
VARIOUSLY
Hold tight! Hold tight! Don’t look down! Hold tight! It’ll make you giddy!
FAT PRELATE
And we cannot have giddy people in Holy Rome. (
They rock with laughter. An infuriated Monk comes out from a large door at the rear holding a Bible in his hand and pointing out a page with his finger
)
INFURIATED MONK
What does the Bible say – “Sun, stand thou still on Gideon and thou, moon, in the valley of Ajalon.” Can the sun come to a standstill if it doesn’t ever move? Does the Bible lie?
FAT PRELATE HOW
did Christopher Clavius, the greatest astronomer we have, get mixed up in an investigation of this kind?
INFURIATED MONK
He’s in there with his eye glued to that diabolical instrument.
FAT PRELATE
(
to Galileo, who has been playing with his pebble and has dropped it
) Mr. Galilei, something dropped down.
GALILEO
Monsignor, are you sure it didn’t drop up?
INFURIATED MONK AS
astronomers we are aware that there are phenomena which are beyond us, but man can’t expect to understand everything!
(
Enter a very old Cardinal leaning on a Monk for support. Others move aside
)
OLD CARDINAL
Aren’t they out yet? Can’t they reach a decision on that paltry matter? Christopher Clavius ought to know his astronomy after all these years. I am informed that Mr. Galilei transfers mankind from the center of the universe to somewhere on the outskirts. Mr. Galilei is therefore an enemy of mankind and must be dealt with as such. Is it conceivable that God would trust this most precious fruit of His labor to a minor frolicking star? Would He have sent His Son to such a place? How can there be people with such twisted minds that they believe what they’re told by the slave of a multiplication table?
FAT PRELATE
(
quietly to Cardinal
) The gentleman is over there.
OLD CARDINAL
So you are the man. You know my eyes are not what they were, but I can see you bear a striking resemblance to the man we burned. What was his name?
MONK
Your Eminence must avoid excitement, the doctor said …
OLD CARDINAL
(
disregarding him
) So you have degraded the earth despite the fact that you live by her and receive everything from her. I won’t have it! I won’t have it! I won’t be a nobody on an
inconsequential star briefly twirling hither and thither. I tread the earth, and the earth is firm beneath my feet, and there is no motion to the earth, and the earth is the center of all things, and I am the center of the earth, and the eye of the creator is upon me. About me revolve, affixed to their crystal shells, the lesser lights of the stars and the great light of the sun, created to give light upon me that God might see me – Man, God’s greatest effort, the center of creation. “In the image of God created He him.” Immortal… (
His strength fails him and he catches for the Monk for support
)
MONK
You mustn’t overtax your strength, Your Eminence. (
At this moment the door at the rear opens and Christopher Clavius enters followed by his Astronomers. He strides hastily across the hall, looking neither to right nor left. As he goes by we hear him say –
)
CLAVIUS
He is right.
(
Deadly silence. All turn to Galileo
)
OLD CARDINAL
What is it? Have they reached a decision? (
No one speaks
)
MONK
It is time that Your Eminence went home.
(
The hall is emptying fast. One little Monk who had entered with Clavius speaks to Galileo
)
LITTLE MONK
Mr. Galilei, I heard Father Clavius say: “Now it’s for the theologians to set the heavens right again.” You have won.
(
Before the next scene a curtain with the following legend on it is lowered
)
….. As these new astronomical charts enable us to determine longitudes at sea and so make it possible to reach the new continents by the shortest routes, we would beseech Your Excellency to aid us in reaching Air. Galilei, mathematician to the Court of Florence, who is now in Rome…..
– From a letter written by a member of the Genoa Chamber of Commerce and Navigation to the Papal Legation.
Scene Six
When Galileo was in Rome
A Cardinal asked him to his home
He wined and dined him as his guest
And only made one small request
.
Cardinal Bellarmin’s house in Rome. Music is heard and the chatter of many guests. Two Secretaries are at the rear of the stage at a desk. Galileo, his daughter Virginia, now 21, and Ludovico Marsili, who has become her fiance, are just arriving. A few Guests, standing near the entrance with masks in their hands, nudge each other and are suddenly silent. Galileo looks at them. They applaud him politely and bow
.
VIRGINIA
O father! I’m so happy. I won’t dance with anyone but you, Ludovico.
GALILEO
(
to a Secretary
) I was to wait here for His Eminence.
FIRST SECRETARY
His Eminence will be with you in a few minutes.
VIRGINIA
Do I look proper?
LUDOVICO
You are showing some lace.
(
Galileo puts his arms around their shoulders
)
GALILEO
(
quoting mischievously
)
Fret not, daughter, if perchance
You attract a wanton glance.
The eyes that catch a trembling lace
Will guess the heartbeat’s quickened pace.
Lovely woman still may be
Careless with felicity.
VIRGINIA
(
to Galileo
) Feel my heart.
GALILEO
(
to Ludovico
) It’s thumping.
VIRGINIA
I hope I always say the right thing.
LUDOVICO
She’s afraid she’s going to let us down.
VIRGINIA
Oh, I want to look beautiful.
GALILEO
You’d better. If you don’t they’ll start saying all over again that the earth doesn’t turn.
LUDOVICO
(
laughing
) It
doesn’t
turn, sir.
(
Galileo laughs
)
GALILEO
Go and enjoy yourselves. (
He speaks to one of the Secretaries
) A large fête?
FIRST SECRETARY
Two hundred and fifty guests, Mr. Galilei. We have represented here this evening most of the great families of Italy, the Orsinis, the Villanis, the Nuccolis, the Soldanieris, the Canes, the Lecchis, the Estensis, the Colombinis, the … (
Virginia comes running back
)
VIRGINIA
Oh father, I didn’t tell you: you’re famous.
GALILEO
Why?
VIFGINIA
The hairdresser in the Via Vittorio kept four other ladies waiting and took me first. (
Exit
)
GALILEO
(
at the stairway, leaning over the well
) Rome! (
Enter Cardinal Bellarmin, wearing the mask of a lamb, and Cardinal Barberini, wearing the mask of a dove
)
SECRETARIES
Their Eminences, Cardinals Bellarmin and Barberini.