|
Robert Bellarmine |
| Galileo's letter of 1614 to the Grand Duchess Christina Duchess of
Tuscany was not widely known, and was ignored by Church authorities. When
a year later the Carmelite provincial Paolo Foscarini supported Galileo
publicly by attempting to prove that the new theory was not opposed to
Scripture, Cardinal Robert Bellarmine, as "Master of Controversial
Questions," responded. On April 12, 1615 the saint wrote to Foscarini: "I have gladly read the letter in Italian and the treatise which
Your Reverence sent me, and I thank you for both. And I confess that both
are filled with ingenuity and learning, and since you ask for my opinion,
I will give it to you very briefly, as you have little time for reading
and I for writing: "First. I say that it seems to me that Your Reverence and Galileo
did prudently to content yourself with speaking hypothetically, and not
absolutely, as I have always believed that Copernicus spoke. For to say
that, assuming the earth moves and the sun stands still, all the appearances
are saved better than with eccentrics and epicycles, is to speak well;
there is no danger in this, and it is sufficient for mathematicians. But
to want to affirm that the sun really is fixed in the center of the heavens
and only revolves around itself (i. e., turns upon its axis ) without
traveling from east to west, and that the earth is situated in the third
sphere and revolves with great speed around the sun, is a very dangerous
thing, not only by irritating all the philosophers and scholastic theologians,
but also by injuring our holy faith and rendering the Holy Scriptures
false. For Your Reverence has demonstrated many ways of explaining Holy
Scripture, but you have not applied them in particular, and without a
doubt you would have found it most difficult if you had attempted to explain
all the passages which you yourself have cited. "Second. I say that, as you know, the Council [of Trent] prohibits
expounding the Scriptures contrary to the common agreement of the holy
Fathers. And if Your Reverence would read not only the Fathers but also
the commentaries of modern writers on Genesis, Psalms, Ecclesiastes and
Josue, you would find that all agree in explaining literally (ad litteram)
that the sun is in the heavens and moves swiftly around the earth, and
that the earth is far from the heavens and stands immobile in the center
of the universe. Now consider whether in all prudence the Church could
encourage giving to Scripture a sense contrary to the holy Fathers and
all the Latin and Greek commentators. Nor may it be answered that this
is not a matter of faith, for if it is not a matter of faith from the
point of view of the subject matter, it is on the part of the ones who
have spoken. It would be just as heretical to deny that Abraham had two
sons and Jacob twelve, as it would be to deny the virgin birth of Christ,
for both are declared by the Holy Ghost through the mouths of the prophets
and apostles. "Third. I say that if there were a true demonstration that the sun
was in the center of the universe and the earth in the third sphere, and
that the sun did not travel around the earth but the earth circled the
sun, then it would be necessary to proceed with great caution in explaining
the passages of Scripture which seemed contrary, and we would rather have
to say that we did not understand them than to say that something was
false which has been demonstrated.But I do not believe that there is any
such demonstration; none has been shown to me. It is not the same thing
to show that the appearances are saved by assuming that the sun really
is in the center and the earth in the heavens. I believe that the first
demonstration might exist, but I have grave doubts about the second, and
in a case of doubt, one may not depart from the Scriptures as explained
by the holy Fathers. I add that the words ' the sun also riseth and the
sun goeth down, and hasteneth to the place where he ariseth, etc.' were
those of Solomon, who not only spoke by divine inspiration but was a man
wise above all others and most learned in human sciences and in the knowledge
of all created things, and his wisdom was from God. Thus it is not too
likely that he would affirm something which was contrary to a truth either
already demonstrated, or likely to be demonstrated. And if you tell me
that Solomon spoke only according to the appearances, and that it seems
to us that the sun goes around when actually it is the earth which moves,
as it seems to one on a ship that the beach moves away from the ship,
I shall answer that one who departs from the beach, though it looks to
him as though the beach moves away, he knows that he is in error and corrects
it, seeing clearly that the ship moves and not the beach. But with regard
to the sun and the earth, no wise man is needed to correct the error,
since he clearly experiences that the earth stands still and that his
eye is not deceived when it judges that the moon and stars move. And that
is enough for the present. I salute Your Reverence and ask God to grant
you every happiness." Notes: Solange Hertz makes the problem clear in her commentary on this letter
(in an article which contends that the earth is indeed the center of the
Universe):
Action by the Congregation of the Index
Continuinng Condemnation: 1664
Source Texts extracted from Solange Strong Hertz: "Galileo Recanted" in Beyond
Politics: A Meta-Political View of History. www.geocities.com/Athens/Ithaca/3251/ |