Around the tribune, beside and behind the
statue, are six niches,--in one of which is preserved a forefinger of
Galileo, fixed on a little gilt pedestal, and pointing upward, under a
glass cover. It is very much shrivelled and mummy-like, of the color of
parchment, and is little more than a finger-bone, with the dry skin or
flesh flaking away from it; on the whole, not a very delightful relic;
but Galileo used to point heavenward with this finger, and I hope has
gone whither he pointed.
Another niche contains two telescopes, wherewith he made some of his
discoveries; they are perhaps a yard long, and of very small calibre.
Other astronomical instruments are displayed in the glass cases that line
the rooms; but I did not understand their use any better than the monks,
who wished to burn Galileo for his heterodoxy about the planetary
system. . . . .
After dinner I climbed the tower. . . . . Florence lay in the sunshine,
level, compact, and small of compass. Above the tiled roofs rose the
tower of the Palazzo Vecchio, the loftiest and the most picturesque,
though built, I suppose, with no idea of making it so.
Pages:
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626