The Incomparable Monsignor: Francesco Bianchini’s world of science, history, and court intrigue by John L. Heilbron

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Incomparable Monsignor: Francesco Bianchini’s world of science, history, and court intrigue by John L. Heilbron Christopher M. Graney The Incomparable Monsignor: Francesco Bianchini’s world of science, history, and court intrigue. By John L. Heilbron. (Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2022. Pp. vi, 327; 16 color plates. $27.95 hardbound. ISBN: 9780192856654.) Francesco Bianchini (1662–1729) was Superman. “Was there nothing Monsignor Bianchini could not do better than anyone else?” (p. 227) Apparently not. He did archaeology, history, diplomacy, spy craft, engineering, astronomy, and more. J. L. Heilbron has brought us church history through books on Galileo (2010) and on cathedrals as solar observatories (1999)—the latter provided many a Catholic apologist with a cherished quotation in its bold opening statement about the Church’s long support of science. The Incomparable is a readable, illustrated, informative addition to those books. Particularly appealing are The Incomparable’s sections about the meridian line (meridiana) that Bianchini built at Santa Maria degli Angeli church in Rome, and about Bianchini and Isaac Newton each reckoning a date for the sailing of Jason’s ship, [End Page 208] the Argos. The meridiana discussion shows Bianchini’s care for science and for making science interesting to others. He builds the meridiana to be both precise and beautiful. He works on its construction “night and day” (p. 94) for six months, thanks to his abilities (beyond those of ordinary men). He fits it with markers to indicate dates that interest important people. The Argos discussion shows how even supermen reflect their times (pp. 140–156). Newton was sure that all civilization derives from the ancient Jews; thus his dating efforts had to both fit that axiom and satisfy his keen mind. Bianchini had similar interests. Newton kept his to himself, but Heilbron thinks the English superman shared his secrets with the Italian (p. 151)—two keen minds (similarly keen, The Incomparable hints) undertaking an interdisciplinary labor that sought to pull archaeology, astronomy, ancient texts, and faith into a coherent narrative. Heilbron admires his Superman. Upon quoting Bianchini on how well-regulated minds following experts can approach truth, Heilbron marvels, “There spoke a senator of the Republic of Letters” (p. 205). Yet he burdens Superman with the old Kryptonite curse: Copernicus—of course. When the Kryptonite appears, the senator, the mind that thought with Newton, grows weak. He forgets truth. He capitulates to powerful people “unwilling to concede a lost game” (p. 13) who wield “soft arguments” (p. 11) against Copernicus. He accepts “the incomprehensible dogma” (p. 14) of the Church. Why? The Incomparable is a refreshing portrayal of a Catholic man of many talents, supported by and on good terms with his Pope and his Church, none of whom behave incomprehensibly—except for this. At times Heilbron does back off the trope, discussing Tycho Brahe and the parallax of stars and hinting at the complexity of the question of Earth’s motion and the evolving science of Bianchini’s lifetime that all might have made the game seem less than lost. Still, the index of The Incomparable has an entry for “spitoons” but none for “stars,” where lay the hard scientific arguments involved in that complexity. Heilbron treats Argos dating with more sympathy than Bianchini’s (supposed) Kryptonian flaw. The Incomparable’s own Kryptonite is its editing. There are technical errors that should have been caught, most obviously in the description of the meridiana (p. 92): Polaris in AD 2100 is closest to the celestial pole, not farthest; this scrambles at least a paragraph. There are also figures that contain letters indicating details, to which Heilbron often refers at length. The figures are small; the letters are nearly invisible. Some, such as Fig. 23, I could make use of, thanks to my large magnifying glass. Others, such as Figs. 30 and 31, defeated even the magnifier. There are no figures at all of Bianchini’s drawings of Venus, despite much discussion of those drawings. These hurt multiple paragraphs. The overall hurt to the book is not too great, however. Read The Incomparable—with a microscope, and a little skepticism, at hand. [End Page 209] Christopher M. Graney Vatican Observatory Copyright © 2023 The Catholic University...