730 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



This new work of Galileo — tlie "Dialogo" — appeared in 1632, 

 and met with prodigious success. It put new weapons into the 

 hands of the supporters of the Copernican theory. The pious 

 preface was laughed at from one end of Europe to the other. 

 This roused the enemy. The Jesuits, Dominicans, and the great 

 majority of the clergy returned to the attack more violent than 

 ever, and in the midst of them stood Pope Urban VIII, most 

 bitter of all. His whole power was now thrown against Galileo. 

 He was touched in two points : first, in his personal vanity, for 

 Galileo had put his arguments into the mouth of one of the persons 

 in the dialogue and their refutation into the mouth of another ; 

 but, above all, he was touched in his religious feelings. Again and 

 again he insisted to all comers on the absolute and specific declara- 

 tions of Holy Scripture, which prove that the sun and heavenly 

 bodies revolve about the earth, and declared that to gainsay them 

 is simply to dispute revelation. Certainly, if one ecclesiastic 

 more than another ever seemed not under the care of the Spirit of 

 Truth, it was Urban VIII in all this matter. 



Herein was one of the greatest pieces of ill fortune that has 

 ever befallen the older Church. Had Pope Urban been broad- 

 minded and tolerant like Benedict XIV, or had he been taught 

 moderation by adversity like Pius VII, or had he possessed the 

 large scholarly qualities of Leo XIII, now reigning, the vast 

 scandal of the Galileo case would never have burdened the 

 Church : instead of devising endless quibbles and special pleadings 

 to escape responsibility for this colossal blunder, its defenders 

 could have claimed forever for the Church the glory of fearlessly 

 initiating a great epoch in human thought. 



But it was not so to be. Urban was not merely Pope, he was 

 also a prince of the house of Barberini, and therefore doubly 

 angry that his arguments had been publicly controverted. 



The opening strategy of Galileo's enemies was to forbid the 

 sale of his work ; but this was soon seen to be unavailing, for the 

 first edition had already been spread throughout Europe. Urban 

 now became more angry than ever, and both Galileo and his 

 works were placed in the hands of the Inquisition. In vain did 

 the good Benedictine, Castelli, urge that Galileo was entirely 

 respectful to the Church ; in vain did he insist that "nothing that 

 can be done can now hinder the earth from revolving," Pie was 

 dismissed in disgrace, and Galileo was forced to appear in the 

 presence of the dread tribunal without defender or adviser. There, 

 as was so long concealed, but as is now fully revealed, he was 

 menaced with torture again and again by express order of Pope 

 Urban, and, as is also thoroughly established from the trial docu- 

 ments themselves, forced to abjure under threats, and subjected 

 to imprisonment by command of the Pope ; the Inquisition defer- 



