Giorgio de Santillana attributed this remark to the Dialogue in The Crime of Galileo (1955), but it does not appear there. A vaguely similar exchange appears in the Fourth Day of the Dialogue, when Salviati asks Simplicio why he resorts to a miracle to explain the tides, if they might be explained from movement of the earth. However, the specific wording comes instead from Thomas Browne's Religio Medici, where he states that the presence of wild animals on distant islands after the Deluge put Augustine of Hippo "to the refuge of a miracle," referring in turn to The City of God XVI.7.

It is only in order to shield your ignorance that you put the Lord at every turn to the refuge of a miracle.

— Galileo Galilei

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "It is only in order to shield your ignorance that you put the Lord at every turn to the refuge of a miracle." in the context of "Giorgio de Santillana attributed this remark to the Dialogue in The Crime of Galileo (1955), but it does not appear there. A vaguely similar exchange appears in the Fourth Day of the Dialogue, when Salviati asks Simplicio why he resorts to a miracle to explain the tides, if they might be explained from movement of the earth. However, the specific wording comes instead from Thomas Browne's Religio Medici, where he states that the presence of wild animals on distant islands after the Deluge put Augustine of Hippo "to the refuge of a miracle," referring in turn to The City of God XVI.7." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Galileo Galilei" (Misattributed) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Galileo Galilei

About Galileo Galilei

Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist, engineer, philosopher, and mathematician who played a major role in the scientific revolution during the Renaissance.