[235] The Life of St. Francis of Assisi, by Paul Sabatier, p. 166, New York, 1894.
[236] Ibid., p. 167.
[237] Ibid., p. 307.
[238] The Women of the Renaissance, p. 394, New York, 1901.
[239] Women of Florence, by Isodoro del Lungo, p. xxvii, London, 1907.
[240] This passage from the dedication is so important that I reproduce the Latin original: "Omnino vitam, aut, si quid mihi carius est, vobis autem debeo, tibi autem, o diva Melusinis, omne presertim Mathematicis studium, ad quod me excitavit tum tuus in earn amor, tum summa artis illius, quam tenes, peritia, immo vero nunquam satis admiranda in tuo tamque regii et nobilis generis sexu Encyclopædia." François Viète, Inventeur de l'Algèbre Moderne, p. 20, par Frederic Ritter, Paris, 1895.
[241] "E nell' amore della figlia il grande astronomo trovò non soltanto un conforto a suoi affanni, ma anche una guida benefica alla quale sembrò egli abandonarsi con cieca tenerezza figliale." La Storia del Feminismo, p. 509, by G. L. Arrighi, Florence, 1911.
[242] Galileo Galilei e Suor Celeste, by Antonio Favaro, p. 256 et seq., Florence, 1891.
[243] An English writer, discussing this subject, pertinently observes: "For, after all, is it not the personal incidents and commonplaces of life that gather interest as the centuries roll on, while its more pretentious events often drop into mere literary lumber? How much more interesting Dr. Johnson's incidental admission, 'I have a strong inclination, Sir, to do nothing to-day,' is to us now than many of his more formal utterances. And, in reality, is it the personal element alone that is in the long run perennial? The wise may prate as they will about the importance of maintaining the continuity of history and of handing on the torch of science. The world cares for none of these things; they interest only some few political economists and laborious men. What does the crowd and poor little Tom Jones and his nestful, for instance, care about the fact that Cheops was—at any rate by courteous tradition—a mighty man of valor of such an era and land? But little Tom Jones and the rest of us would become mightily interested in this misty monster of many traditions, could we learn in some magical way all he thought, hated and loved in his inmost heart of hearts." The National Review, p. 461, June, 1889.
[244] The Duke of Peiresc, in a letter to Gassendi, regarding Galileo, refers to certain letters—très belles epistres—of the great philosopher, "à une sienne fille religieuse sur le sujet mesme des matières traictèes en son dernier livre." This shows that Sister Celeste was kept fully informed by her father respecting the nature and contents of his various works while he was preparing them for the press. It implies, likewise, that she was not only interested in them in a general way, but that she was able to read them intelligently and appreciate them as well.