102 SCIENCE IN BOND AGE" 



the College of Cardinals had rather the best 

 of it." l 



None the less it is the stock argument. Father 

 Hull, S. J., whose admirable, outspoken, and im- 

 partial study of the case 8 should be on every- 

 body's bookshelves, freely admits that the Roman 

 Congregations made a mistake in this matter and 

 thus takes up a less favourable position towards 

 them than even the violently anti-Catholic Huxley. 



No one will deny that the action of the Con- 

 gregation was due to a desire to prevent simple 

 persons from having their faith upset by a theory 

 which seemed at the time to contradict the teach- 

 ing of the Bible. Remember that it was only a 

 theory and that, when it was put forward, and 

 indeed for many years afterwards, it was not only 

 a theory, but one supported by no sufficient 

 evidence. It was not in fact until many years 

 after Galileo's death that final and convincing 

 evidence as to the accuracy of his views was laid 

 before the scientific world. There can be but 

 little doubt that if Galileo had been content to 

 discuss his theory with other men of science, and 

 not to lay it down as a matter of proved fact 

 which, as we have seen, it was not he would never 

 have been condemned. Whilst we may admit, 

 with Father Hull, that a mistake was made in 

 this case, we may urge, with Cardinal Newman, 

 that it is the only case in which such a thing has 

 happened surely a remarkable fact. It is not 



1 Vol. ii., p. 113. 



a Galileo and His Condemnation, Catholic Truth Society of 

 England, 



