GALILEO AND HIS JUDGES. 43 



Another of his friends, Monsignor Ciampoli, became 

 secretary of briefs to the new Pope. 



Our philosopher having ascertained that he would 

 be well received, went to Kome in April, 1624, and 

 was treated by the new Pope with all possible con- 

 sideration. He had, in fact, several conversations 

 with him ; and we may well conjecture it was on 

 these occasions that Urban VIII. , discussing the 

 Copernican theory, used some of those arguments 

 which Galileo afterwards put in the mouth of Sim- 

 plicio in his celebrated Dialogue, thereby deeply 

 offending the Pope. 



But there was, about this time, a sort of moderate 

 reaction in favour of Galileo among the authorities 

 at Eome. For instance, a work of his published since 

 the decree of the Index, and entitled " II Saggiatore," 

 in which he had favoured the theory of the Earth's 

 motion, was attacked, and an attempt was made to 

 have it prohibited or at least corrected, but the 

 attempt was a failure. 



The reports of casual or unofficial conversations are 

 always to be received with caution and with some 

 qualification; yet at least they are "straws which 

 show how the wind blows." 



Thus we are told that Cardinal Hohen-Zollern, in 

 a conversation with the Pope (Urban VIII.) on the 

 subject of Copernicus, endeavoured to show the neces- 

 sity of proceeding with great circumspection on that 

 point, to which it is said the Pope replied that the 

 Church had not condemned and would not condemn 



