282 HISTORY OF FORMAL ASTRONOMY. 



his "E pur si muove," in the place of his abjuration, not after it. But 

 even in this case he would have been a martyr to a cause of which the 

 merit was of a mingled scientific character ; for his own special and 

 favorite share in the reasonings by which the Copernican system was 

 supported, was the argument drawn from the flux and reflux of the 

 sea, which argument is altogether false. He considered this as sup- 

 plying a mechanical ground of belief, without which the mere astro- 

 nomical reasons were quite insufficient ; but in this case he was 

 deserted by the mechanical sagacity which appeared in his other 

 speculations.] 



The heliocentric doctrine had for a century been making its way 

 into the minds of thoughtful men, on the general ground of its sim- 

 plicity and symmetry. Galileo appears to have thought that now. 

 when these original recommendations of the system had been rein- 

 forced by his own discoveries and reasonings, it ought to be universally 

 acknowledged as a truth and a reality. And when arguments against 

 the fixity of the sun and the motion of the earth were adduced from 

 the expressions of Scripture, he could not be satisfied without main- 

 taining his favorite opinion to be conformable to Scripture as well as 

 to Philosophy ; and he was very eager in his attempts to obtain from 

 authority a declaration to this effect. The ecclesiastical authorities 

 were naturally averse to express themselves in favor of a novel opinion, 

 startling to the common mind, and contrary to the most obvious 

 meaning of the words of the Bible ; and when they were compelled to 

 pronounce, they decided against Galileo and his doctrines. He was 

 accused before the Inquisition in 1615 ; but at that period the result 

 was that he was merely recommended to confine himself to the mathe- 

 matical reasonings upon the system, and to abstain from meddling 

 with the Scripture. Galileo's zeal for his opinions soon led him again 

 to bring the question under the notice of the Pope, and the result was 

 a declaration of the Inquisition that the doctrine of the earth's motion 

 appeared to be contrary to the Sacred Scripture. Galileo was pro- 

 hibited from defending and teaching this doctrine in any manner, and 

 promised obedience to this injunction. But in 1632 he published his 

 Dialogo delli due Massimi Sistemi del Mondo, Tolemaico e Coperni- 

 tano:" and in this he defended the heliocentric system by all the 

 strongest arguments which its admirers used. Not only so, but he 

 introduced into this Dialogue a character under the name of Sim- 

 plicius, in whose mouth was put the defence of all the ancient dogmas, 

 and who was represented as defeated at all points in the discussion ; 



