61
in our solar system, or are in one of the periods already crossed by it, or to be crossed in the
future. From the immense variety of creatures that were on our planet, and now are present
on it, we can argue the diversity of life forms that may exist in other planets. If on the Earth
the air, water and land are populated by so many varieties of living beings, which changed
over time with the changing circumstances of both climate and matter, how many more
forms of life can be found in many other systems. And all this, bearing in mind that in various stellar systems the planets are illuminated not by one, but by more than one sun, and the
climatic variations are really extreme, both due to the eccentricity of their orbits, and the
different intensities of the star radiations…. (Secchi 1879: 214–215)
It is interesting to note that the Jesuit astronomer does not hesitate to hypothesize on
the possibility of forms of life also very different from what chemistry and terrestrial biology would suggest, proposing ideas that seem to anticipate some visions of
contemporary exobiology :
It is true that life on our planet cannot exist except within very limited temperature ranges;
however, who can know if these are limits only for our organisms? However, even with
these limits, if life could not exist in the luminous [stellar] bodies, in the global project of
creation these stars would always have the great task of supplying energy, regulating the
course of the smaller bodies, through the attraction of their masses, and providing light and
heat... Life permeates the universe, and intelligence must be associated with life; just as we
have many beings inferior to us, then, in other conditions, many other living beings can
exist and have much greater capacities than ours. Between the weak light of the divine ray
that shines in that fragile compound that we are, thanks to which we are able to know so
many wonders, and the wisdom of the Author of all things, there is an infinite distance. This
distance could be covered by the infinite degrees of His creatures. Our mathematical theorems, fruit of arduous studies, could be just simple intuitions for creatures far superior to us.
(Secchi 1879: 215–216)
3.6 Concluding Remarks: The Religious and Humanistic
Dimension of Science
For Secchi, scientific work leads to humility and contemplation. As a believer, he
often associates scientific activity with prayer. Here we find a perspective similar to
Robert Boyle (1627–1691), as it emerges, for example, from the pages of his The
Christian Virtuoso (1690). For both Boyle and Secchi, the wonder that science
arouses is destined to grow with time. In the book presenting the results of his spectroscopic studies, Secchi writes: “We are not yet at the end of the wonders: we will
be at the end only when we cease to study” (Secchi 1877: 312). Faith and science,
affirms the Jesuit astronomer on the occasion of the inauguration of the new
Observatory of the Roman College, “are rays of the same Sun directed to illuminate
our blind and weak minds towards the way of Truth. Without this high purpose, such
studies would be a mere curiosity, and would often cause only unrewarded pains
and labors. Thinking how magnificent it is to manifest the Creator’s works to others
is a stimulus that spurs even when all other enthusiasm is lacking; this raises the
mind above the materiality of numbers, and transforms the labors of science into a
sublime and divine work” (Secchi 1856: 157; in Maffeo 2012: 40).
3 Between Science and Religion: Angelo Secchi and his Time
in our solar system, or are in one of the periods already crossed by it, or to be crossed in the
future. From the immense variety of creatures that were on our planet, and now are present
on it, we can argue the diversity of life forms that may exist in other planets. If on the Earth
the air, water and land are populated by so many varieties of living beings, which changed
over time with the changing circumstances of both climate and matter, how many more
forms of life can be found in many other systems. And all this, bearing in mind that in various stellar systems the planets are illuminated not by one, but by more than one sun, and the
climatic variations are really extreme, both due to the eccentricity of their orbits, and the
different intensities of the star radiations…. (Secchi 1879: 214–215)
It is interesting to note that the Jesuit astronomer does not hesitate to hypothesize on
the possibility of forms of life also very different from what chemistry and terrestrial biology would suggest, proposing ideas that seem to anticipate some visions of
contemporary exobiology :
It is true that life on our planet cannot exist except within very limited temperature ranges;
however, who can know if these are limits only for our organisms? However, even with
these limits, if life could not exist in the luminous [stellar] bodies, in the global project of
creation these stars would always have the great task of supplying energy, regulating the
course of the smaller bodies, through the attraction of their masses, and providing light and
heat... Life permeates the universe, and intelligence must be associated with life; just as we
have many beings inferior to us, then, in other conditions, many other living beings can
exist and have much greater capacities than ours. Between the weak light of the divine ray
that shines in that fragile compound that we are, thanks to which we are able to know so
many wonders, and the wisdom of the Author of all things, there is an infinite distance. This
distance could be covered by the infinite degrees of His creatures. Our mathematical theorems, fruit of arduous studies, could be just simple intuitions for creatures far superior to us.
(Secchi 1879: 215–216)
3.6 Concluding Remarks: The Religious and Humanistic
Dimension of Science
For Secchi, scientific work leads to humility and contemplation. As a believer, he
often associates scientific activity with prayer. Here we find a perspective similar to
Robert Boyle (1627–1691), as it emerges, for example, from the pages of his The
Christian Virtuoso (1690). For both Boyle and Secchi, the wonder that science
arouses is destined to grow with time. In the book presenting the results of his spectroscopic studies, Secchi writes: “We are not yet at the end of the wonders: we will
be at the end only when we cease to study” (Secchi 1877: 312). Faith and science,
affirms the Jesuit astronomer on the occasion of the inauguration of the new
Observatory of the Roman College, “are rays of the same Sun directed to illuminate
our blind and weak minds towards the way of Truth. Without this high purpose, such
studies would be a mere curiosity, and would often cause only unrewarded pains
and labors. Thinking how magnificent it is to manifest the Creator’s works to others
is a stimulus that spurs even when all other enthusiasm is lacking; this raises the
mind above the materiality of numbers, and transforms the labors of science into a
sublime and divine work” (Secchi 1856: 157; in Maffeo 2012: 40).
3 Between Science and Religion: Angelo Secchi and his Time