A detailed etching serves as the frontispiece for Galileo's 'Dialogue'. At the top, two winged spirits emerge from clouds to hold a large, fringed banner containing the title. The banner features five spherical bodies representing planets or moons. Below the banner, three historical figures representing different astronomical systems talk together on a shoreline. Aristotle, on the left, is an elderly bearded man with a staff. His name, Aristotle, is inscribed on the hem of his robe. Ptolemy, in the center, wears a turban and holds an armillary sphere, a model of the heavens. His name is written on his garment near his feet. Nicolaus Copernicus, on the right, wears a scholar's cap and a fur-trimmed robe. He holds a diagram illustrating the system where the sun is at the center. In the background, a large sailing ship is visible in the harbor. At the bottom center, a printer's mark shows a decorative shield with the motto 'GOD PROTECTS YOU' and the initials 'G B'. The artist's signature for Stefano Della Bella is in the bottom right corner.

DIALOGUE

by

GALILEO GALILEI, LYNX-EYED original: "LINCEO". This refers to Galileo's membership in the Accademia dei Lincei, or Academy of the Lynx. This early scientific society took the lynx as its symbol for its legendary sharp eyesight, representing the power of observation.

TO THE MOST SERENE FERDINAND II, GRAND DUKE OF

TUSCANY

ARISTOTLE
PTOLEMY
NICOLAUS COPERNICUS

GOD PROTECTS YOU original: "DIO VI PRE", likely an abbreviation for 'Dio vi preservi' or 'Dio vi premi'.
G. B. These are the initials of the publisher, Giovanni Battista Landini.