Infinity

Giordano Bruno was a man with dangerous thoughts. As a monk in a backward monastery in southern Italy he first fell into disgrace for studying the works of Erasmus. He renounced his vows, and his life from there on was one of constant flight and persecution until he finally perished at the stake in Rome on February 20, 1600.

Giordano Bruno is remembered as one of the "martyrs of science." He was, in fact, among the early admirers of Copernicus whom he followed in maintaining that the earth moved round the sun. But he has an importance far beyond this for his conception of the universe as infinite, devoid of center and circumference. Many of his contributions to scientific and philosophic thought, here treated in simple terms by Mrs. Singer, anticipated modern physical conceptions.

This is the story of a heroic and fearless but exasperating man. The ebullience of Bruno's thoughts, his stormy eloquence, and his strong personality brought him a large and enthusiastic following in the courts and universities of 16th century Europe. Yet with all his talents he was totally devoid of worldly wisdom and incapable of prudent silence. His daring ideas brought embarrassment wherever he went, and in the end he was always forced to seek yet another refuge passing from court to court, from university to university.

The last years of Giordano Bruno's life were spent in the prisons of the Inquisition. As he received judgment he uttered the immortal phrase: "Maybe you who condemn me are in greater fear than I who am condemned."

Read Dorothea Waley Singer's book: http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/bruno00.htm