About the Book
The book Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems presents a series of dialogues among two philosophers, one supporting the Copernican view and another defending the Ptolemaic view, and one open-minded layman who eventually turned towards the Copernican view. Galileo introduces his three main arguments through the dialogues, including rebuttals to the objections suggested by traditional philosophers, observations that are incompatible with the Ptolemaic model and findings against the theory of Heavens which claimed that the Earth was stationary4. The dialogue form of the book allowed Galileo to claim impartiality as promised to the church. However, clear bias towards Copernicus system was displayed, and the philosopher against Copernican view was ridiculed.
The manuscript above is the original version written in Latin, published in 1632 and preserved in the Fisher Rare Library. The overall condition of the book is well-preserved. Since it was printed on paper, the book is vulnerable towards water stains and loosening of the book spine over the years, causing falling pages. The book has an interesting layout — it is written in the format of a dialogue among three speakers, with astronomical and scientific diagrams, and annotations on the side. It is almost like a fictional script for a play but also combined with real scientific evidence and explanations; this format of presentation is associated with the pressure of challenging holy scripture from the Catholic Church, in which Galileo was pressured to present his theory indirectly through a hypothetical situation.