GALILEO^ ', & : 



pretending to adopt either one or the other. He had 

 hoped that the kindly feeling manifested by Urbain 

 VIII. in a former visit to Rome would have been 

 effective in his favor ; but Lis enemies had led the 

 Pope to believe that Galileo had depicted him under 

 the guise of Simplicius. Unlikely and foolish as 

 such action in Galileo would have been, the rumor 

 may have wounded the self-love of Urbain, especially 

 as he may have felt the force and truth of Galileo's 

 arguments more keenly than in his position it would 

 have been expedient for him to show. 



Despite the strenuous efforts of the Grand Duke of 

 Tuscany, Galileo was summoned to appear before the 

 Inquisition. Notwithstanding his feeble health and 

 his advanced age sixty-nine years on February 10, 

 1633 he was taken to the Palace, Trinite'-du-Mont, 

 the residence of the Ambassador of Tuscany, whence, 

 after a few days, he was brought to the Inquisition. 

 They informed him he would be permitted to ex- 

 plain his reasons before the congregation of the 

 Inquisition, and, afterwards, if he was judged to be 

 culpable, they would hear his excuses. In one of his 

 letters, he writes: "The following Tuesday, I ap- 

 peared before the congregation of the Cardinals, and 

 I began to show them my proofs ; to my misfortune 

 they did not seem to grasp them; and whatever pains 

 I took I could not make them comprehend. They 



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