But they also illustrate its blending of science and art—the gleaming artifacts rival works of sculpture. They tell, too, of a growing awareness that, as Galileo said, nature was a grand book ...

If you can dust off your grade-school summary of Galileo’s life — improving the telescope, discovering four of Jupiter’s moons, pitting science’s heliocentrism against Catholic doctrine ...

Indeed, the myth of the martyred Galileo perfectly symbolizes the current division between science and faith. But the real Galileo, never tortured or excommunicated, remained a loyal Catholic ...