24 GALILEO GALILEI. 



false philosophically ; and theologically considered, 

 at least, erroneous in faith. . . . Invoking, there- 

 fore, the most holy name of our Lord Jesus Christ 

 and of His most glorious mother and ever Virgin 

 Mary ... we say, pronounce, sentence, declare, 

 that you, the said Galileo, by reason of the matters 

 adduced in process, and by you confessed as above, 

 have rendered yourself, in the judgment of this 

 Holy Office, vehemently suspected of heresy, 

 namely, of having believed and held the doctrine, 

 which is false and contrary to the sacred and 

 divine Scriptures, that the sun is the centre of 

 the world and does not move from east to west, 

 and that the earth moves and is not the centre of 

 the world. . . . We condemn you to the formal 

 prison of this Holy Office during our pleasure, and, 

 by .way of salutary penance, we enjoin that for 

 three years to come you repeat once a week the 

 seven Penitential Psalms." 



Galileo was also required to " abjure, curse, and 

 detest the aforesaid errors and heresies." And 

 then the white-haired man of seventy, humbly 

 kneeling before the whole assembly, made the 

 pitiful abjuration of his belief. " I abjure with a 

 sincere heart and unfeigned faith, I curse and de- 

 test the said errors and heresies, and, generally, all 

 and every error and sect contrary to the Holy Cath- 

 olic Church." 



Pitiful spectacle of intolerance ! If we of this 

 nineteenth century have learned to tolerate and 

 treat with respect the beliefs of others though 



