Science did not come to us easily. Many have had to pass through hard times to bring science to the present state. There have been some, who even sacrificed their lives. Giordano Bruno was one of them, but few remember his great martyrdom today. Therefore, some scholars call him ‘the forgotten philosopher.’
Bruno was born in 1548 in Italy. He grew under a good environment and travelled a lot. When he returned home after a long travel, he had written nearly twenty books.
When he was thirteen, he began to attend a school at the Monastery of Saint Domenico. There he found himself in constant misunderstanding with his teachers, not because he was ill-behaved, but because his opinions often differed from theirs.
Finding himself at odd with his teachers, he decided to leave home. He travelled from places to places, often hungry and unfed for days. Poor Bruno! He became a man without home, and without a country.
His travel took him to France, where he started lecturing on philosophy. Soon the news reached the palace of Henry III, the then King of France. The king was convinced with his idea, and lent him his supports.
After staying in France for a long time, we went to England. During his stay, he also met Queen Elizabeth, but did not win her favor as he had done in France, because he was against most of the conventional thoughts that were irrational, and dogmatic.
Finding that England was not favorable to him, he went to Germany. There he continued his study, writing and lecturing. He came in even more conflict with traditional religious views, and blind beliefs associated with God. Moreover, he had been tired of travelling in foreign countries. In a way he was homesick, and decided to return to Italy, his homeland, although he knew it was dangerous.
Though many of his writings and lectures had gone against the religious beliefs and God, one particular idea was taken most seriously. He was in favor of the Copernican idea that the sun and not the earth was the centre of the universe. This was against the religious belief of his day.
At Venice, his hometown, he was invited by Mocenigo, who offered him home. But the same man betrayed him, and took him to a body of religious leaders, who proved Bruno guilty of defaming their religion. He was kept in the prison of Venice for some time, and then shifted to the Papal Prison in Rome. There he was repeatedly told to take all his sayings back. But he did not. At last, he was told he would be killed. On hearing that, he said, “Perhaps you, my judges, pronounce this punishment against me with greater fear than I receive it.”
For his poetic vision, and scientific thoughts, he was kept in a dark dungeon for eight years and then taken out to a blazing marketplace and roasted to death by fire.
It is said, during his martyrdom, he did not speak anything, and silently took death for truth and science. Some records say; he spoke just for once during his martyrdom, “I am done at my back. Turn me over now!”
Bruno’s killing did not put an end to his ideas. He had written enough and spoken enough. The killers killed his body, but his ideas survived. Time finally attested his ideas, and today further research has proved how right and accurate Bruno was. The poor, forgotten philosopher!