The Sleepwalkers (240 page)

If
it
had
been
the
Inquisition's
intention
to
break
Galileo,
this
obviously
was
the
moment
to
confront
him
with
the
copious
extracts
from
his
book
–
which
were
in
the
files
in
front
of
the
judge
–
to
quote
to
him
what
he
had
said
about
the
sub-human
morons
and
pygmies
who
were
opposing
Copernicus,
and
to
convict
him
of
perjury.
Instead,
immediately
following
Galileo's
last
answer,
the
minutes
of
the
trial
say:

"And
as
nothing
further
could
be
done
in
execution
of
the
decree,
his
signature
was
obtained
to
his
deposition
and
he
was
sent
back."
⁴¹

Both
the
judges
and
the
defendant
knew
that
he
was
lying;
both
the
judges
and
he
knew
that
the
threat
of
torture
(
territio
verbalis
)
^*
was
merely
a
ritual
formula,
which
could
not
be
carried
out;
and
that
the
hearing
was
a
pure
formality.
Galileo
was
led
back
to
his
five-room
apartment,
and
on
the
next
day
the
sentence
was
read
out
to
him.
^†
It
was
signed
by
only
seven
of
the
ten
judges.
Among
the
three
who
abstained
was
Cardinal
Francesco
Barberini,
Urban's
brother.
The
Dialogue
was
prohibited;
Galileo
was
to
abjure
the
Copernican
opinion,
was
sentenced
to
"formal
prison
during
the
Holy
Office's
pleasure";
and
for
three
years
to
come,
was
to
repeat
once
a
week
the
seven
penitential
psalms.
He
was
then
presented
with
the
formula
of
abjuration,
^‡
which
he
read
out.
And
that
was
the
end
of
it.

____________________

The
"formal
prison"
took
the
form
of
a
sojourn
at
the
Grand
Duke's
villa
at
Trinita
del
Monte,
followed
by
a
sojourn
in
the
palace
of
Archbishop
Piccolomini
in
Siena,
where,
according
to
a
French
visitor,
Galileo
worked
"in
an
apartment
covered
in
silk
and
most
richly
furnished".
⁴⁴
Then
he
returned
to
his
farm
at
Arcetri,
and
later
to
his
house
in
Florence,
where
he
spent
the
remaining
years
of
his
life.
The
recital
of
the
penitential
psalms
was
delegated,
with
ecclesiastical
consent,
to
his
daughter,
Sister
Marie
Celeste,
a
Carmelite
nun.
⁴⁵

From
the
purely
legal
point
of
view
the
sentence
was
certainly
a
miscarriage
of
justice.
If
one
works
through
the
maze
of
verbiage,
it
appears
that
he
was
found
guilty
on
two
counts:
firstly,
of
having
contravened
both
Bellarmine's
admonition,
and
the
alleged
formal
injunction
of
1616,
and
having
"artfully
and
cunningly
extorted
the
licence
to
print
by
not
notifying
the
censor
of
the
command
imposed
upon
him";
and
secondly,
of
having
rendered
himself
"vehemently
suspect
of
heresy,
namely,
of
having
believed
and
held
the
doctrine
which
is
contrary
to
sacred
Scripture
that
the
sun
is
the
centre
of
the
world".
Concerning
the
first
count,
no
more
need
be
said
about
the
dubious
character
of
the
document
referring
to
the
alleged
absolute
injunction;
as
for
the
second,
the
sun-centred
universe
had
never
been
officially
declared
a
heresy,
since
neither
the
opinion
of
the
Qualifiers,
nor
the
decree
of
the
Congregation
of
1616,
had
been
confirmed
by
infallible
pronouncement
ex
cathedra
or
by
Ecumenic
Council.
Had
not
Urban
himself
said
that
the
Copernican
opinion
"was
not
heretical
but
merely
reckless"?

On
the
other
hand,
the
judgement
hushes
up
the
incriminating
contents
of
the
book
by
stating
that
Galileo
had
represented
the
Copernican
system
as
merely
"probable"
–
which
is
a
whale
of
an
understatement.
It
also
hushes
up
the
fact
that
Galileo
had
been
lying
and
perjuring
himself
before
his
judges
by
pretending
that
he
had
written
the
book
in
refutation
of
Copernicus,
that
he
had
"neither
maintained
nor
defended
the
opinion
that
the
earth
moves",
and
so
forth.
The
gist
of
the
matter
is
that
Galileo
could
not
be
legally
convicted
without
completely
destroying
him
–
which
was
not
the
intention
of
the
Pope
or
the
Holy
Office.
Instead,
they
resorted
to
a
legally
shaky
concoction.
The
intention
was,
clearly,
to
treat
the
famous
scholar
with
consideration
and
leniency,
but
at
the
same
time
to
hurt
his
pride,
to
prove
that
not
even
a
Galileo
was
allowed
to
mock
Jesuits,
Dominicans,
Pope
and
Holy
Office;
and
lastly,
to
prove
that,
in
spite
of
his
pose
as
a
fearless
crusader,
he
was
not
of
the
stuff
of
which
martyrs
are
made.