GALILEO. 133 



ns say, from holding or defending anarchistic opinions and forbidding 

 him from holding, teaching or defending such opinions in any way 

 whatsoever, verbally or in writing. The latter prohibition is more 

 formal. It is not more absolute. The annotation of February 26, 

 1616, is received throughout the process by the Inquisitors as exact 

 in all particulars. It is not denied by Galileo; he says merely that 

 he does not recall certain parts of it. It does not formally appear 

 that the witnesses to it were called to testify. If they had been called 

 their recorded testimony would have settled certain points that must 

 now be settled from the text of the annotation itself. I can see no 

 reason to doubt that the words of the text mean precisely what they 

 say. 



This is perhaps the place to say that the documents of Galileo's 

 process have been examined again and again and that each examina- 

 tion has proved that the papers have not been tampered with in any 

 manner and that they represent the case as it was understood by the 

 Holy Office with minute accuracy. The hearing for the first day was 

 closed with further questions and answers. Galileo was asked whether 

 after the aforesaid command was issued to him he received permission 

 to write the Dialogues. He replied : " After receiving the command 

 aforesaid I did not ask permission to write the book . . . because I 

 did not consider that in writing it I was acting contrary to, far less 

 disobeying, the command not to hold, defend, or teach, the said 

 opinion." The next questions relate to the printing of the book and 

 Galileo is asked if he had informed the censor of the command afore- 

 said. He replies : " I did not say anything about the command to 

 the master of the palace . . . for I have neither maintained nor de- 

 fended the opinion that the earth moves and the sun is stationary in 

 that book, but have rather demonstrated the opposite of the Copernican 

 opinion and shown that the arguments of Copernicus are weak and not 

 conclusive." Galileo's defense is here outlined. It is to be that he 

 did not ' hold ' the Copernican opinion after 1616. ISTot holding it, he 

 did not defend it, nor teach it. Hence he had disobeyed no command, 

 he maintains, although it is obvious to all that the Dialogues, like his 

 other writings, are a brilliant defense of the system of Copernicus. 



An apartment of ' three large and comfortable rooms ' was assigned 

 to Galileo in the Palace of the Holy Office, as he was their prisoner. 

 His servants stayed with him. His meals were sent in by the devoted 

 Mccolini, to whom he wrote every day with perfect freedom. His own 

 account of the proceedings of the first day of his examination is as 

 follows : 



I arrived in Rome on the tenth of February and I was placed in the clement 

 charge of the Inquisition and of the Sovereign pontiff, Urban VIII., who 

 esteemed me although I could not rhyme epigrams and little love-sonnets. I 



