He argued that he should be allowed to think and speak LITTLE 

 what he pleased about the stars, since the whole mat- JOURNEYS 

 ter was one of opinion, and even the Pope did not 

 know, positively, the final facts of astronomy, and if 

 the Copernican Theory was a hypothesis, so also was 

 the Ptolemaic Theory, held by the Church. 

 It will be seen that Bruno and Copernicus were very 

 different in temperament one was gentle, diplomatic, 

 cautious; the other was headstrong, firm and full of 

 argument. 



Bruno was given his choice to cease the study of 

 astronomy or lay aside the frock of the Dominicans. 

 <J The hardihood of the young man was seen in that he 

 unfrocked himself, thinking that once outside of the 

 order he was not responsible to a superior and could 

 teach what he pleased, so long as it was not "heresy." 

 <J Heresy is treason to the Church, but Bruno could 

 not see how spiritual dogma could cover the facts of 

 Physical Science, since new facts were constantly 

 being discovered, and the material universe could only 

 be understood by being studied. He was too innocent 

 to comprehend that a vast majority of the people be- 

 lieved that popes, cardinals and priests knew every- 

 thing, and that when any branch of knowledge was 

 questioned it placed the priests in doubt. Certainly 

 the Church has not opposed Science she has only op- 

 posed heresy. But the curious fact is that advancing 

 Science has usually been to the Church heretical. 

 When Bruno opposed anything that the priests taught 

 he opposed the Church. 



33 



