GALILEO AND HIS JUDGES. 35 



endeavoured to prove that the decision proceeded 

 from the Pope speaking ex cathedrd. Mr. Eoberts 

 gives a quotation to that effect from a work of 

 Professor Berti ; the original, however, does not 

 appear, and is probably not now extant. 



Mr. Eoberts also quotes Caramuel, "the acute 

 casuist," who, in answer to the supposed objection 

 that the Copernican theory might hereafter be shown 

 to be true, says that it is impossible that the Earth 

 should hereafter be proved demonstratively to be in 

 motion ; if such an impossibility be admitted, other 

 impossible and absurd things would follow. 



Caramuel, however great as a theologian, was 

 evidently not endowed with much scientific foresight. 

 But he is not wholly wrong, for it has never yet been 

 possible to prove by absolute demonstration the 

 motion of the Earth. 



One of the most important witnesses on the point 

 we are here considering is Cardinal Bellarmine, who 

 was a very zealous anti-Copernican, and had probably 

 a great share (perhaps the principal share) in bringing 

 about the practical condemnation of Galileo's opinions 

 in 1616. So far as I know, the only explicit state- 

 ment bearing on the question that we have of 

 Bellarmine's, is a letter to the Carmelite Father 

 Foscarini, dated April 1, 1615, though he has been 

 quoted as if he had expressed the opinion stated in 

 the letter at a later date. Mr. Koberts takes ex- 

 ception to the inference drawn from this letter 

 because it was written before the decree of the Index, 



D 2 



