The Sleepwalkers (213 page)

The
letter
was
evidently
the
outcome
of
a
collective
decision
of
the
Dominicans
of
St.
Mark.
It
did
not
mention
Galileo
by
name,
only
referred
to
"Galileists".
It
also
seems
that
old
Father
Lorini
was
not
quite
definite
in
his
mind
whether
the
writer
of
the
Letter
to
Castelli
was
Galileo
or
Copernicus.
^21a
But
the
copy
of
the
Letter
to
Castelli
which
he
enclosed
contains
two
deliberate
errors
in
transcription.
Galileo
wrote
that
there
were
passages
in
Scripture
which,
"taken
in
the
strict
literal
meaning,
look
as
if
they
differed
from
the
truth".
In
Lorini's
copy
this
became:
"...
which
are
false
in
the
literal
meaning".
Galileo
wrote
that
Scripture
sometimes
"overshadows"
its
own
meaning;
in
Lorini's
copy
"overshadows"
became
"perverts".

The
forgery
is
usually
blamed
on
Lorini.
By
what
is
known
of
the
character
of
the
old
man
and
by
other
internal
evidence,
it
seems
much
more
likely
that
it
was
committed
by
some
other
hand.
As
will
presently
be
seen,
it
made
no
difference
to
the
outcome,
but
this
first
forgery
should
be
noted
because
of
the
suspicion
of
a
second
and
more
important
one
at
a
later
stage.

To
anyone
who
does
not
remember
the
reverence
of
the
higher
dignitaries
of
the
Church
for
Science
and
Scientists,
the
result
of
Father
Lorini's
denunciation
must
appear
rather
startling.
The
Letter
to
Castelli
was
duly
forwarded
to
the
Consultor
of
the
Holy
Office
for
his
opinion;
who
pronounced
that
"such
words
as
'false'
and
'perverting'
sound
very
bad";
however,
considered
in
the
general
context
they
were
not
of
a
nature
that
they
could
be
said
to
deviate
from
Catholic
doctrine;
and,
as
for
the
remaining
contents
of
the
Letter
,
he
had
no
objection.
The
case
was
dismissed.

Lorini's
denunciation
had
fallen
through,
but
a
month
later
Caccini
appeared
in
Rome,
undaunted
by
the
disavowal
of
his
superior.
He
approached
the
Holy
Office
"begging
to
testify
concerning
the
errors
of
Galileo
for
the
exoneration
of
his
conscience".

Caccini
beautifully
fits
the
satirist's
image
of
an
ignorant,
officious,
lying
and
intriguing
monk
of
the
Renaissance.
His
testimony
before
the
Inquisition
was
a
web
of
hearsay,
innuendo
and
deliberate
falsehood.
He
named
as
witnesses
a
Spanish
priest,
Father
Ximenes,
and
a
young
man
named
Atavante.
Since
Ximenes
was
travelling
abroad,
he
could
not
be
called
till
13
November,
and
Atavante
was
called
the
following
day.
The
contradictions
in
their
evidence
convinced
the
inquisitors
that
Caccini's
charges
of
heresy
and
subversion
were
a
fabrication,
and
the
case
against
Galileo
was
again
dropped.

This
was
in
November,
1615.
For
the
next
eighteen
years
Galileo
lived
honoured
and
unmolested,
befriended
by
Pope
Urban
VIII
and
an
impressive
array
of
cardinals.

But
the
Letters
to
Castelli
and
to
the
Grand
Duchess
remained
on
the
files
of
the
Inquisition,
and
in
the
minds
of
the
theologians.
The
text
was
so
carefully
worded
that
it
could
not
be
indicted
as
heresy,
but
the
intent
was
unmistakable;
it
constituted
a
challenge
which
sooner
or
later
had
to
be
answered.
The
challenge
lay
in
the
implied
claim
that
the
Copernican
system
belonged
to
the
category
of
"rigorously
demonstrated"
physical
truths
to
which
the
meaning
of
the
Bible
must
be
adapted;
and
that
unless
it
was
explicitly
refuted
and
condemned,
theological
objections
would
become
irrelevant
and
the
case
would
go
by
default.

Three
months
after
Galileo
himself
had
been
cleared
of
all
charges
against
his
person,
Copernicus'
book
was
put
on
the
Index
"pending
corrections".
It
is
necessary
to
describe
in
some
detail
the
events
which
led
to
this.

5.
The Refusal to Compromise

Galileo's
chief
opponent
in
the
historic
controversy
was
both
a
bogyman
and
a
saint.
In
England
he
was
believed
to
be
the
master-mind
behind
the
Gunpowder
Plot,
"a
furious
and
devilish
Jebusite";
for
a
while,
wine-jugs
featuring
a
bearded
head
were
called
Bellarmines.
He
was
beatified
in
1923
and
made
a
saint
in
1930.