History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom

by Andrew Dickson White

That this was their purpose was seen in that year when Galileo was forbidden to teach or discuss the Copernican theory, and when were forbidden "all books which affirm the motion of the earth." Henceforth to read the work of Copernicus was to risk damnation, and the world accepted the decree.(48) The strongest minds were thus held fast. If they could not believe the old system, they must PRETEND that they believed it;—and this, even after the great circumnavigation of the globe had done so much to open the eyes of the world! Very striking is the case of the eminent Jesuit missionary Joseph Acosta, whose great work on the Natural and Moral History of the Indies, published in the last quarter of the sixteenth century, exploded so many astronomical and geographical errors. Though at times curiously credulous, he told the truth as far as he dared; but as to the movement of the heavenly bodies he remained orthodox—declaring, "I have seen the two poles, whereon the heavens turn as upon their axletrees."

(48) The authorities deciding this matter in accordance with the wishes
of Pope V and Cardinal Bellarmine were the Congregation of the Index,
or cardinals having charge of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum. Recent
desperate attempts to fasten the responsibility on them as individuals
seem ridiculous in view of the simple fact that their work was
sanctioned by the highest Church authority, and required to be
universally accepted by the Church. Eleven different editions of the
Index in my own possession prove this. Nearly all of these declare on
their title-pages that they are issued by order of the pontiff of the
period, and each is preface by a special papal bull or letter. See
especially the Index of 1664, issued under order of Alexander VII,
and that of 1761, under Benedict XIV. Copernicus's statements were
prohibited in the Index "donec corrigantur." Kepler said that it ought
to be worded "donec explicetur." See Bertand, Fondateurs de l'Astronomie
moderne, p. 57. De Morgan, pp. 57-60, gives the corrections required by
the Index of 1620. Their main aim seems to be to reduce Copernicus
to the grovelling level of Osiander, making his discovery a mere
hypothesis; but occasionally they require a virtual giving up of the
whole Copernican doctrine—e.g., "correction" insisted upon for chap.
viii, p. 6. For a scholarly account of the relation between Prohibitory
and Expurgatory Indexes to each other, see Mendham, Literary Policy
of the Church of Rome; also Reusch, Index der verbotenen Bucher, Bonn,
1855, vol. ii, chaps i and ii. For a brief but very careful statement,
see Gebler, Galileo Galilei, English translation, London, 1879, chap. i;
see also Addis and Arnold's Catholic Dictionary, article Galileo, p.8.

There was, indeed, in Europe one man who might have done much to check this current of unreason which was to sweep away so many thoughtful men on the one hand from scientific knowledge, and so many on the other from Christianity. This was Peter Apian. He was one of the great mathematical and astronomical scholars of the time. His brilliant abilities had made him the astronomical teacher of the Emperor Charles V. His work on geography had brought him a world-wide reputation; his work on astronomy brought him a patent of nobility; his improvements in mathematical processes and astronomical instruments brought him the praise of Kepler and a place in the history of science: never had a true man better opportunity to do a great deed. When Copernicus's work appeared, Apian was at the height of his reputation and power: a quiet, earnest plea from him, even if it had been only for ordinary fairness and a suspension of judgment, must have carried much weight. His devoted pupil, Charles V, who sat on the thrones of Germany and Spain, must at least have given a hearing to such a plea. But, unfortunately, Apian was a professor in an institution of learning under the strictest Church control—the University of Ingolstadt. His foremost duty was to teach SAFE science—to keep science within the line of scriptural truth as interpreted by theological professors. His great opportunity was lost. Apian continued to maunder over the Ptolemaic theory and astrology in his lecture-room. The attack on the Copernican theory he neither supported nor opposed; he was silent; and the cause of his silence should never be forgotten so long as any Church asserts its title to control university instruction.(49)

(49) For Joseph Acosta's statement, see the translation of his History,
published by the Hakluyt Society, chap. ii. For Peter Apian, see Madler,
Geschichte der Astronomie, Braunschweig, 1873, vol. i, p. 141. For
evidences of the special favour of Charles V, see Delambre, Histoire
de l'Astronomie au Moyen Age, p. 390; also Bruhns, in the Allgemeine
deutsche Biographie. For an attempted apology for him, see Gunther,
Peter and Philipp Apian, Prag, 1822, p. 62.

Doubtless many will exclaim against the Roman Catholic Church for this; but the simple truth is that Protestantism was no less zealous against the new scientific doctrine. All branches of the Protestant Church—Lutheran, Calvinist, Anglican—vied with each other in denouncing the Copernican doctrine as contrary to Scripture; and, at a later period, the Puritans showed the same tendency.

Said Martin Luther: "People gave ear to an upstart astrologer who strove to show that the earth revolves, not the heavens or the firmament, the sun and the moon. Whoever wishes to appear clever must devise some new system, which of all systems is of course the very best. This fool wishes to reverse the entire science of astronomy; but sacred Scripture tells us that Joshua commanded the sun to stand still, and not the earth." Melanchthon, mild as he was, was not behind Luther in condemning Copernicus. In his treatise on the Elements of Physics, published six years after Copernicus's death, he says: "The eyes are witnesses that the heavens revolve in the space of twenty-four hours. But certain men, either from the love of novelty, or to make a display of ingenuity, have concluded that the earth moves; and they maintain that neither the eighth sphere nor the sun revolves.... Now, it is a want of honesty and decency to assert such notions publicly, and the example is pernicious. It is the part of a good mind to accept the truth as revealed by God and to acquiesce in it." Melanchthon then cites the passages in the Psalms and Ecclesiastes, which he declares assert positively and clearly that the earth stands fast and that the sun moves around it, and adds eight other proofs of his proposition that "the earth can be nowhere if not in the centre of the universe." So earnest does this mildest of the Reformers become, that he suggests severe measures to restrain such impious teachings as those of Copernicus.(50)

(50) See the Tischreden in the Walsch edition of Luther's Works, 1743,
vol. xxii, p. 2260; also Melanchthon's Initia Doctrinae Physicae.
This treatise is cited under a mistaken title by the Catholic World,
September, 1870. The correct title is as given above; it will be found
in the Corpus Reformatorum, vol. xiii (ed. Bretschneider, Halle, 1846),
pp. 216, 217. See also Madler, vol. i, p. 176; also Lange, Geschichte
des Materialismus, vol. i, p. 217; also Prowe, Ueber die Abhangigkeit
des Copernicus, Thorn, 1865, p. 4; also note, pp. 5, 6, where text is
given in full.

While Lutheranism was thus condemning the theory of the earth's movement, other branches of the Protestant Church did not remain behind. Calvin took the lead, in his Commentary on Genesis, by condemning all who asserted that the earth is not at the centre of the universe. He clinched the matter by the usual reference to the first verse of the ninety-third Psalm, and asked, "Who will venture to place the authority of Copernicus above that of the Holy Spirit?" Turretin, Calvin's famous successor, even after Kepler and Newton had virtually completed the theory of Copernicus and Galileo, put forth his compendium of theology, in which he proved, from a multitude of scriptural texts, that the heavens, sun, and moon move about the earth, which stands still in the centre. In England we see similar theological efforts, even after they had become evidently futile. Hutchinson's Moses's Principia, Dr. Samuel Pike's Sacred Philosophy, the writings of Horne, Bishop Horsley, and President Forbes contain most earnest attacks upon the ideas of Newton, such attacks being based upon Scripture. Dr. John Owen, so famous in the annals of Puritanism, declared the Copernican system a "delusive and arbitrary hypothesis, contrary to Scripture"; and even John Wesley declared the new ideas to "tend toward infidelity."(51)

(51) On the teachings on Protestantism as regards the Copernican theory,
see citations in Canon Farrar's History of Interpretation, preface,
xviii; also Rev. Dr. Shields, of Princeton, The Final Philosophy, pp.
60, 61.

And Protestant peoples were not a whit behind Catholic in following out such teachings. The people of Elbing made themselves merry over a farce in which Copernicus was the main object of ridicule. The people of Nuremberg, a Protestant stronghold, caused a medal to be struck with inscriptions ridiculing the philosopher and his theory.