. . . And indeed, these latest centuries merit praise because it is during them that the arts and sciences, discovered Iry the ancients, have been reduced to so great and constantlY increasing perfec tion through the investigations and experiments of clear-seeing minds. This development is particularlY evident in the case of the mathematical sciences. Here, without mentioning various men who have achieved success, we must without hesitation and with the unanimous approval of scholars assign the first place to Gali leo Galilei, Member of the Acadmry of the Lincei. This he de serves not onlY...