And yet it moves  

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The [[Italian language|Italian]] phrase '''"E pur si muove"''' or '''"Eppur si muove"''' means '''''And yet it moves'''''. The [[Italian language|Italian]] phrase '''"E pur si muove"''' or '''"Eppur si muove"''' means '''''And yet it moves'''''.
-Legend has it that the famous astronomer, physicist and philosopher [[Galileo Galilei]] muttered this phrase after being forced to recant in 1633, before the [[Inquisition]], his belief that the [[earth]] moved around the [[sun]]. +Legend has it that the famous astronomer, physicist and philosopher [[Galileo Galilei]] muttered this phrase after being [[Galileo's recantation|forced to recant]] in 1633, before the [[Inquisition]], his belief that the [[earth]] moved around the [[sun]].
At the time of Galileo's trial, the dominant view among theologians and philosophers was that the [[Earth]] is stationary, indeed the center of the universe. Galileo's adversaries brought the charge of [[heresy]], then punishable by death, before the [[Inquisition]]. Since Galileo recanted, he was only put under [[house arrest]] until his death, nine years after the trial. At the time of Galileo's trial, the dominant view among theologians and philosophers was that the [[Earth]] is stationary, indeed the center of the universe. Galileo's adversaries brought the charge of [[heresy]], then punishable by death, before the [[Inquisition]]. Since Galileo recanted, he was only put under [[house arrest]] until his death, nine years after the trial.

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The Italian phrase "E pur si muove" or "Eppur si muove" means And yet it moves.

Legend has it that the famous astronomer, physicist and philosopher Galileo Galilei muttered this phrase after being forced to recant in 1633, before the Inquisition, his belief that the earth moved around the sun.

At the time of Galileo's trial, the dominant view among theologians and philosophers was that the Earth is stationary, indeed the center of the universe. Galileo's adversaries brought the charge of heresy, then punishable by death, before the Inquisition. Since Galileo recanted, he was only put under house arrest until his death, nine years after the trial.

There is no contemporary evidence that Galileo uttered this expression at his trial; it would certainly have been highly imprudent for him to have done so. The earliest biography of Galileo, written by his disciple Vicenzo Valiani in 1717, does not mention this phrase, and depicts Galileo as having sincerely recanted. The legend first became widely published in Querelles Litteraires (1761), recounting a tale published by an Italian living in London in 1757.

In 1911, the famous line was found on a Spanish painting owned by a Belgian family, dated 1643 (1645?). The painting is obviously ahistorical, since it depicts Galileo in a dungeon, but nonetheless proves that some variants of the "Eppur si muove" legend had been circulating for over a century before it was published , perhaps even in his own lifetime.

Although the Galileo affair resulted in a temporary reverse for the cause of heliocentrism, the work of Galileo, Johannes Kepler, and Isaac Newton ultimately vindicated the theory. Even if Galileo never uttered "Eppur si muove," the phrase accurately reflects the empiricist spirit he helped to foster in early modern Europe.



Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "And yet it moves" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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