Book Reviews

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From the Closed World to the Infinite Universe, as well as by more recent studies, among
which those by Miguel Ánguel Granada figure most prominently.
Martínez’s narrative is singular in that it traces the connection between Bruno and
Galileo as a “cult of Pythagoras” rather than along ostensible lines of continuity on issues
such as the physical defence of Copernicus’ planetary theory. Martínez even ranks
Bruno’s infinitist cosmology higher than the astronomical contributions of Copernicus,
Kepler and Galileo because, with the benefit of hindsight, he hit truths that the others did
not even dream of, for instance, the existence of exoplanets. Yet, Martínez’s reconstruc-
tion lacks an adequate acquaintance with intellectual history, particularly with the neo-
Platonic and Ficinian roots of the conceptions he discusses, as well as the necessary
familiarity with the history of Counter-Reformation Italy and the Inquisition. As a result,
his work cannot go beyond the level of popularization and results in a Manichean narra-
tive of the fight between “good” Pythagoreans and “dogmatic” orthodoxies. The com-
plexity of the Renaissance philosophical and scientific controversies over the order of
the world and the heavens remains out of Martínez’s reach.

pietro daniel omodeo

Università Ca’ Foscari, Venice
ERC Endeavor EarlyModernCosmology
(Horizon 2020, GA 725883)
pietrodaniel.omodeo@unive.it

Between Celestial and Terrestrial Harmony

The Pursuit of Harmony: Kepler on Cosmos, Confession, and Community. Aviva Rothman (The
University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, 2017). Pp. 355 + viii. $55. ISBN 9780226496979.

Over a series of “emblematic episodes” (p. 109), Aviva Rothman traces the career of
Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) and his theory of world harmony. At the heart of her anal-
ysis are the ideological principles that prompted Kepler to recast his role as a mathemati-
cian and citizen of learned society. In the span of six chapters, Kepler is shown to support
a community “characterized by multiple perspectives and practices” (p. 179), where
members could mend their differences by heeding the harmony of the heavens. The
result is a revolutionary vision that ran counter to the raging discord of the day. Plagued
by religious persecution and surrounded by political uncertainty, Kepler relied on the
resources of mathematics and moral philosophy to promote the prosperity of church and
state through a plurality of opinions and polyphony of voices. Rothman structures her
highly detailed account around different categories and communities whose boundaries
Kepler blurred in his bold emphasis on dissent as a defining characteristic of peace. In
closing, Rothman encourages her readers to regard the moral ideals of Kepler as still
“worth embracing” today (p. 282).
Rothman thoughtfully explains the metaphysical ideas that inspired Kepler on his quest
for harmony. In Chapter 1, she argues that Kepler first broke with his Lutheran brethren on
256 Journal for the History of Astronomy 50(2)

the basis of metaphysics to embrace the Calvinist position on the Eucharist. Metaphysics,
Rothman declares, “dictated his theology” at the dawn of his career (p. 64). In Chapter 2,
we learn that Kepler left room for doubt, however, regarding the root of his decision. He
was torn over the nature of communion from the tender age of 13. The position of the
Calvinists “seemed more sensible” to the young seminarian (p. 70), since it fulfilled the
biblical account more faithfully. In her examination of his excommunication years later by
a local pastor in Linz, Rothman states that Kepler sought to reunify the Christian religion
in a way that “embraced all confessions equally” (p. 30). She recounts the moving exchange
between Kepler and Matthias Hafenreffer (1561–1619), who showed compassion for
Kepler but ultimately supported his sentence. Despite the modern appeal of his mission,
Kepler answered to “the narrow lens” of his religious leaders (p. 144).
How might Lutheran authorities have reversed their response to Kepler? Few, if any,
viewed his rebellion as a “small splinter” in “the larger body of the church” (p. 75). On
the eve of the Thirty Years’ War, Kepler reinterpreted sacred doctrine in rival terms on
the basis of his own reasoning. While Rothman is right to explore the many factors that
played a part in his exclusion, communion did not simply represent one of several “con-
tentious issues” at stake (p. 100). The nature and presence of Christ was a source of
debate that divided the confessions deeply, and Kepler refused to return to the fold by
accepting faith over the “folly of reason.” Down to his last letter to Hafenreffer, Kepler
denied the Lutheran doctrine of ubiquity, mocking his mentor sarcastically. “Enough
with you and your fantasies,” Hafenreffer finally replied in frustration. Yet how did
Kepler envision a church that failed to reach a consensus around their central figure? As
much as we might welcome a society sewn by “communal diversity” (p. 179), some
threads of thought must tie the fabric together.
Rothman turns to the Catholic Church in Chapter 3, where we discover how Kepler
reconciled his religious differences with Rome. According to Rothman, Kepler separated
participation in a broader community of believers from “questions of faith,” accommodat-
ing “multiple perspectives” on reverence and ritual (p. 142). She reasons that Kepler
endorsed adversity and error as essential ingredients of a religious community because he
believed the church, “as it existed on earth,” was “only a human construct.” (p. 144). In
Chapter 4, the accommodation of varying theological views resonates with the different
rhetorical devices that Kepler deployed to defend the heliocentric hypothesis. In a fresh
look at his relationship with Galileo, Rothman improves our understanding of the many
tactics and techniques that Kepler encouraged Galileo to employ in their common cam-
paign for a new cosmology. The greater purpose of global harmony returns to centre stage
in Chapter 5, as Rothman demonstrates how a political digression in The Harmony of the
World (1619) proved “centrally relevant” to his project (p. 210). It is her view that any hint
of vagueness in his work was, in fact, “a political stance guided by harmony” (p. 214).
In her final chapter, Rothman considers the solution that Kepler privately reached to
resolve the calendar dispute. True to form, Kepler arrived at an ecumenical alternative
that synchronized the celebration of Easter while respecting the chronological differ-
ences of doctrine and practice between Catholics and Protestants. According to Rothman,
it is no coincidence that Kepler chose to frame his view of the calendar in the form of a
dialogue. On every front, Kepler welcomed discourse and discerned commonality in
conflict among his contemporaries. In fact, the conclusions of this study resonate with
Book Reviews 257

the recent work of Ulinka Rublack, where a more hopeful and humane Kepler success-
fully acquits his mother of witchcraft. Through a rare command of the arts and sciences,
Kepler regarded differences of opinion as the result of a deeper truth that demanded tol-
erance rather than opposition. Equally important was his defence of “inclusivity”
(p. 256), on view among the many venues where Kepler spied a higher sense of harmony.
In the end, Rothman provides a probing account of Kepler and the enduring themes of
community and compassion that finally spell the last gasp of the lone genius.

Patrick J. Boner
The University of Oklahoma
patrickjboner@googlemail.com

An Italian Inspiration for the Dutch Telescope?

The Optics of Giambattista Della Porta (ca. 1535-1615): A Reassessment. Arianna Borrelli, Giroa
Hon and Yaakov Zik (Springer, Cham, 2017). Pp. 205. €83. ISBN 9783319502144.

The Italian scholar Giambattista Della Porta is a fascinating figure in the history of early
modern science, foremost famous for his multi-volume book Magiae naturalis, first
issued in 1558 and enlarged and adapted in a second printing of 1589. However, in the
history of optics, Della Porta also occupies a special place for his elaborate descriptions
of various optical artefacts, experiments and diagrams. Among his works is also an
unpublished manuscript devoted to the telescope, an instrument that came into being
during Della Porta’s lifetime, and of which he regarded himself as, if not the rightful
inventor, then at least the ultimate source of inspiration.
It is the optical part of Della Porta’s work that is the subject of this volume, the chap-
ters of which are the result of a conference at the Technische Universität Berlin in October
2014. The book contains contributions on the scientific culture of Della Porta’s home
town Naples (William Eamon), on his role as an early modern scholar (Yaakov Zik and
Giora Hon), his analysis of biconvex lenses (Arianna Borrelli), his theory of vision (A.
Mark Smith), his use of geometrical diagrams (Albrecht Heeffer) and the contemporary
theories on refraction (Riccardo Bellé). Della Porta’s reception in Northern Europe is
also discussed (Fokko Jan Dijksterhuis) and finally a reassessment of Della Porta as an
optician is presented by the conference initiators, Yaakov Zik and Giora Hon.
All in all, this book makes a very valuable contribution to the knowledge and posi-
tioning of Della Porta in the history of optics. Rooted in a culture of natural magic, in
which nature was alive and sentient, where occult powers were only accessible to the
learned magician, Della Porta is an intermediary between the medieval perspective way
of handling optical phenomena (in which optical images were always conceived as con-
structs seen by an observer), and the more rational and mathematical approach followed
by later seventeenth-century scholars, where image formation was a result of the bending
of light itself. Della Porta’s experimental approach to optics, linked with geometrical
analysis, yielded in some cases successful procedures for matching observed