1plan Caverni gave of the whole work, he concludes, almost as though he thought
the ambitious program might remain unfinished, “But whatever may come of
this, what he has already done gives him the right to consider his work as the
greatest body of scientific history Italian literature can boast.”
the ambitious program might remain unfinished, “But whatever may come of
this, what he has already done gives him the right to consider his work as the
greatest body of scientific history Italian literature can boast.”
7. CAVERNI'S LAST YEARS
For publication, Caverni completely rewrote the contest manuscript, adding,
amplifying, completing, and perhaps sometimes spoiling (Favaro
in an essay
of 1919 demonstrates that the most malicious and unfounded accusation
against Galileo, who was supposed to have had from Castelli the first news of the
phases of Venus, was not in the Venetian manuscript because it was “an
addition made to his work at the time of publication”). This labor must have
absorbed all the energy and attention to Caverni, who was evidently spurred on
and excited by the many disappointments of which we have spoken. In a
certain sense, it must also have concerned and galvanized all the little com
munity of which he was the spiritual leader. I recently found a local inhabitant,
one Egidio Longhi of considerable age but most lucid memory, who told me,
“It was my grandfather Giovanni who took the manuscripts to the printer, to
Civelli.” And he must have made many trips and carried many papers if we
consider that in fewer than ten years a little under 3,500 large quarto pages,
dense with characters, were printed!
amplifying, completing, and perhaps sometimes spoiling (Favaro
in an essay
of 1919 demonstrates that the most malicious and unfounded accusation
against Galileo, who was supposed to have had from Castelli the first news of the
phases of Venus, was not in the Venetian manuscript because it was “an
addition made to his work at the time of publication”). This labor must have
absorbed all the energy and attention to Caverni, who was evidently spurred on
and excited by the many disappointments of which we have spoken. In a
certain sense, it must also have concerned and galvanized all the little com
munity of which he was the spiritual leader. I recently found a local inhabitant,
one Egidio Longhi of considerable age but most lucid memory, who told me,
“It was my grandfather Giovanni who took the manuscripts to the printer, to
Civelli.” And he must have made many trips and carried many papers if we
consider that in fewer than ten years a little under 3,500 large quarto pages,
dense with characters, were printed!
Caverni was a healthy man. He led the most wholesome and methodical life
one can imagine, with a walk every day and an excursion, always the same one,
in the surrounding countryside every week. But that intense and hurried work,
that prize they did not want to give him if he did not publish everything first,
those comments and reviews of which only the favorable ones failed to affect
him, must have undermined his physical resistance. It seems that in the winter
between 1899 and 1900 he neglected a case of nephritis; toward the end of
January he was found unconscious by the man who served as his housekeeper.
He died a few days later, without either his relatives or a doctor having been
called. His death was reported by Procacci in that Rassegna Nazionale with
which Caverni had so actively collaborated.
I quote from his announcement,
omitting a few adjectives: “He died on the 30th last at 4:25 in the morning at
the age of 63.... The florid health he enjoyed and his robust physical con
stitution had led us to hope that ... he would reach a very advanced age....
Although he dedicated all his time to study, he did not neglect his duties as
parish priest, to which he attended with untiring zeal and intelligent love. Not
one can imagine, with a walk every day and an excursion, always the same one,
in the surrounding countryside every week. But that intense and hurried work,
that prize they did not want to give him if he did not publish everything first,
those comments and reviews of which only the favorable ones failed to affect
him, must have undermined his physical resistance. It seems that in the winter
between 1899 and 1900 he neglected a case of nephritis; toward the end of
January he was found unconscious by the man who served as his housekeeper.
He died a few days later, without either his relatives or a doctor having been
called. His death was reported by Procacci in that Rassegna Nazionale with
which Caverni had so actively collaborated.
I quote from his announcement,
omitting a few adjectives: “He died on the 30th last at 4:25 in the morning at
the age of 63.... The florid health he enjoyed and his robust physical con
stitution had led us to hope that ... he would reach a very advanced age....
Although he dedicated all his time to study, he did not neglect his duties as
parish priest, to which he attended with untiring zeal and intelligent love. Not