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But the dismissal turned out to be a blessing in disguise, for with the help of influential friends, he was able to obtain a much better position at the University of Padua, where, for the first time, he breathed the air of intellectual freedom. The university was under the supervision of the Independent Venetian Republic which insisted upon the right of its scholars to pursue their scientific studies without interference from the Inquisition. No longer were his lectures greeted with sneers and catcalls. He soon became famous. Students from all over Europe came to study under him. He wrote brilliant treatises on a variety of subjects—on mechanics, motion, sound and speech, light and color, and the thermometer and, above all, the telescope.
但是伽利略卻因禍得福，在頗具影響力的朋友的幫助下，他在帕多瓦大學找到了一個更好的工作。在那里，他第一次呼吸到了學術自由的空氣。學校由威尼斯共和國管理，該國主張學者進行科學研究不受宗教法庭干涉的權利。伽利略的講座上再也沒有譏笑和噓聲。他很快出了名。來自歐洲各地的學生紛紛追隨他學習。伽利略寫了許多杰出論文，主題多種多樣——力學、運動、聲與音、光與色，溫度計，尤為重要的是，還有望遠鏡。
This was the height of Galileo's prosperity and security. He had now been in Padua for 18 years. But he was not happy. For years, he had longed for the day when he could return in triumph to Pisa, the city which had dismissed him in disgrace years before. So finally, despite the warning of his friends, Galileo returned to Pisa. This was the beginning of his tragedy.
這是伽利略成就的高峰期，也是他人生中最安全的一段時光。他在帕多瓦待了18年。但他并不快樂。多年來，他渴望有一天能榮歸比薩，那個多年前讓他蒙羞離開的城市。于是，盡管朋友們忠言勸阻，伽利略最后還是回到了比薩。這是他悲劇的開端。
