but as established facts...."

Speaking of Galileo's book, Polacco says that it "smacked of
Copernicanism," and that, "when this was shown to the Inquisition,
Galileo was thrown into prison and was compelled to utterly abjure the
baseness of this erroneous dogma."

As to the authority of the cardinals in their decree, Polacco asserts
that, since they are the "Pope's Council" and his "brothers," their
work is one, except that the Pope is favoured with special divine
enlightenment.

Having shown that the authority of the Scriptures, of popes, and of
cardinals is against the new astronomy, he gives a refutation based on
physics. He asks: "If we concede the motion of the earth, why is it that
an arrow shot into the air falls back to the same spot, while the earth
and all things on it have in the meantime moved very rapidly toward
the east? Who does not see that great confusion would result from this
motion?"

Next he argues from metaphysics, as follows: "The Copernican theory of
the earth's motion is against the nature of the earth itself, because
the earth is not only cold but contains in itself the principle of cold;
but cold is opposed to motion, and even destroys it--as is evident in
animals, which become motionless when they become cold."

Finally, he clinches all with a piece of theological reasoning, as
follows: "Since it can certainly be gathered from Scripture that the
heavens move above the earth, and since a circular motion requires
something immovable around which to move,... the earth is at the centre
of the universe."(66)

(66) For Chiaramonti's book and selections given, see Gebler as above,
p. 271. For Polacco, see his work as cited, especially Assertiones i,
ii, vii, xi, xiii, lxxiii, clcccvii, and others. The work is in the
White Library at Cornell University. The date of it is 1644.

But any sketch of the warfare between theology and science in this field
would be incomplete without some reference to the treatment of Galileo
after his death. He had begged to be buried in his family tomb in Santa
Croce; this request was denied. His friends wished to erect a monument
over him; this, too, was refused. Pope Urban said to the ambassador
Niccolini that "it would be an evil example for the world if such
honours were rendered to a man who had been brought before the Roman
Inquisition for an opinion so false and erroneous; who had communicated
it to many others, and who had given so great a scand