Behind the Scenes at Galileo's Trial

Richard J. Blackwell

Description

Galileo's trial in 1633 before the Roman Inquisition is one of the most frequently mentioned topics in the history of science. Galileo's encounter with the Catholic Church was not only a major turning point in the history of western culture; it is the paradigm case of the clash between the institutional authority of religion and the authority of scientific reason, a clash that has helped to define the modern era.

Blackwell's new contribution to "the Galileo affair" concerns the official theological position against Galileo. The centerpiece of his project is the treatise entitled Tractatus syllepticus, written by Melchior Inchofer, S.J., whose judgment of the orthodoxy of Galileo's Dialogue had been requested earlier by the Holy Office and was then incorporated into the proceedings of the trial. At the time, Inchofer's judgment against Galileo's book was both detailed and harsh. That judgment formed the basis for Inchofer's subsequent Tractatus, the first English translation of which is included in this volume. Inchofer's text provides a new and fascinating way of looking at the defense of the guilty verdict. Blackwell's analysis of this material greatly enriches our knowledge of Galileo and his trial.

Both legal and theological behind-the-scenes aspects of Galileo's trial are discussed. Because of a weak legal case, a plea bargain was arranged, extrajudicially, then sabotaged in the Holy Office before the final decision of the case. Through his close scrutiny of the specifics of the trial, Blackwell renders a picture that is more complex, and ominous, than the usual portrayal of the trial.

Sujets

• Space Science
• Philosophie et théologie
• Theology
• Astronomy
• Religion
• History
• Science

Informations

• Publié par: University of Notre Dame Press
• Date de parution: 15 septembre 2006
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780268075699
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 11 Mo

Extrait

B E H I N D T H E S C E N E S
A T G A L I L E O ’ S T R I A L
R I C H A R D J . B L A C K W E L L
“This book is not the usual kind of Galileo fare. Blackwell makes no attempt
to tell the whole story, but meticulously and judiciously analyzes background
events, texts, and personalities in ways that illuminate and clarify the course
and outcome of Galileo’s campaign on behalf of heliocentrism and the trial
with which it ended. Appendices include relevant texts in translation, as well
as Jesuit procedural rules that played a central role in the drama. This is an
outstanding contribution to Galileo scholarship.” —David C. Lindberg, Hilldale
Professor Emeritus of the History of Science, University of Wisconsin
“Richard Blackwell’s latest foray into scholarship on the Galileo afair contains
detective history, careful scholarship, theological ruminations, and excellent
translation work.” —The Sixteenth Century Journal
“Richard Blackwell ofers yet another important volume for our understanding
of the context and thought around the trial of Galileo and more broadly the
interaction of theology and science in the early modern era. . . . This latest volume
makes Melchior Inchofer’s Tractatus syllepticus (1633) available in English for
the frst time, afording those lacking Latin better insights into the mind of
the advisor to the Holy Ofce of the (Roman) Inquisition who gave the most
detailed analysis of Galileo’s Dialogue.” —Journal for the History of Astronomy
“Though the conduct of Galileo’s trial was probably less sinister than
Blackwell has suggested, with these two defenses of the Church’s condemnation
of Copernicanism we have a new, intriguing glimpse behind the scenes.”
—The Renaissance Quarterly
“Blackwell exposes details of the infamous trial that are not universally known:
Galileo’s explanation in the frst session that he did not know there was a warn -
ing against writing the book that brought him to the Inquisition, his premature
admission of guilt in the second session, and the misreporting of court
proceedings to the cardinal in terms that would resonate with them.” —Choice

RICHARD J. BLACKWELL is professor emeritus of philosophy, Saint Louis
University. He is the author of numerous books, including Galileo,
Bellarmine, and the Bible (University of Notre Dame Press, 1991), and is translator of
A Defense of Galileo, the Mathematician from Florence (University of Notre Dame
Press, 1994).
U N I V E R S I T Y O F N O T R E D A M E P R E S S

Notre Dame, IN 46556
www.undpress.nd.edu
ISBN-13:978-0-268-02210-5
C O V E R A R T: title page from Inchofer’s ISBN-10:0-268-02210-0
Tractatus syllepticus. Rome: Grignanus, 1633.
9 0 0 0 0
Courtesy of Special Collections Library,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
C O V E R D E S I G N: Mindy Basinger Hill 9 780268 022105BEHIND THE SCENES
AT GALILEO’S TRIALBEHIND THE
SCENES AT
GALILEO’S
TRIAL
Including the First English Translation
of Melchior Inchofer’s Tractatus syllepticus
R I C H A R D J . B L AC K W E L L
University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, IndianaBlackwell-000.FM pbk 6/26/08 12:39 PM Page iv
Copyright © 2006 University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
All Rights Reserved
www.undpress.nd.edu
Paperback edition printed in 2008
Manufactured in the United States of America
Behind the Scenes at Galileo’s Trial was designed by Jane Oslislo;
composed in 10/13.3 Fairfield Light by Four Star Books;
printed on 50# Nature’s Book Natural (30%pcr) by Thomson-Shore, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Blackwell, Richard J., 1929–
Behind the scenes at Galileo’s trial : including the first English translation of Melchior
Inchofer’s Tractatus syllepticus / Richard J. Blackwell.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
isbn-13: 978-0-268-02201-3 (cloth: acid-free paper)
isbn-10: 0-268-02201-1
isbn-13: 978-0-268-02210-5 (pbk: acid-free paper)
isbn-10: 0-268-02210-0
1. Galilei, Galileo, 1564–1642—Trials, litigation, etc. 2. Religion and science—
History—17th century. 3. Inchofer, Melchior, 1585?–1648. Tractatus syllepticus.
4. Catholic Church—Doctrines—History—17th century. 5. Inquisition—Italy.
I. Inchofer, Melchior, 1585?–1648. Tractatus syllepticus. English. II. Title.
qb36.g2b573 2006
520.92—dc22
2006016783
This book is printed on recycled paper.In Memory of My Beloved Wife
Rosemary Gallagher Blackwell
1930–2002
“Love is as strong as Death”
—Song of Songs 8:6c o n t e n t s
Preface ix
Note to the Reader xi
chapter one
The Legal Case at Galileo’s Trial: Impasse and Perfidy 1
chapter two
Melchior Inchofer’s Role in the Galileo Affair 29
chapter three
The Scriptural Case against Copernicanism in 1633 45
chapter four
Christopher Scheiner’s Dilemma: Between Galileo and the Church 65
chapter five
Fallibilism and Religion 93
Documents in Translation
appendix one
Melchior Inchofer, Tractatus syllepticus (1633) 105viii Contents
appendix two
Jesuit Rules on Theology and Philosophy 207
A. Fifth General Congregation of the Society of Jesus (1593–94), Decree 41 207
B. Letter on the Solidity and Uniformity of Doctrine (1611) 209
C. Letter on Implementing the Ratio studiorum and on
Following the Teachings of St. Thomas (1613) 212
appendix three
Christopher Scheiner’s Prodromus pro sole mobile,
(1633; pub. 1651), book 1, chapter 1 219
Notes 223
Bibliography 233
Index to the Book (Chapters 1–5) 237
Index to the Translations (Appendices 1–3) 241p r e f a c e
Given the enormous size of the literature on the Galileo affair, making an
addition to that collection calls for some justification. In the present case the
reason is that there is an elaborate theological examination of the judgment
against Galileo at his trial which quite likely was requested by the pope at the
time, Urban VIII, but whose title has been only very infrequently mentioned
by Galileo scholars. Moreover its central arguments have remained
unexamined and unknown in English (except for two articles by William R. Shea [1984]
and Thomas Cerbu [2001]), even though it presents an inside picture of the
theological point of view operating during the trial for at least one, if not more,
of its main participants. The purpose of this book is to present this material
and an analysis of it as a new component of our knowledge of the Galileo affair.
This treatise, entitled Tractatus syllepticus, was written by Melchior
Inchofer, S.J., whose judgment of the orthodoxy of Galileo’s Dialogue had been
requested earlier by the Holy Office and was then incorporated into the
proceedings of the trial. At the time, Inchofer’s judgment was the most detailed
and harshest argument against Galileo’s book. His later Tractatus is published
here for the first time in English in appendix 1.
The additional sources included in the other two appendices have also
been translated by the present author, as have the translations elsewhere in
the book unless indicated otherwise in the notes. In all the translations any
material enclosed in square brackets has been added by the translator for
purposes of clarification of meaning or identification of sources. This occurs most
frequently in the translation of the Tractatus because the Latin text of the Bible
used by Inchofer in writing his Tractatus follows the Septuagint edition in
numbering the Psalms and various other books of the Bible; in cases where the Sep -
tuagint and modern editions do not agree, the modern edition is specified in
ixx Preface
square brackets. I have expanded abbreviated names and titles without
identifying such additions to the text in order to preserve the readability of the text.
Chapter 1 is an expanded version of a paper initially entitled “Galileo’s Trial:
A Plea-Bargain Gone Awry?” which was delivered at a conference entitled “Ga -
lileo and the Church” at the University of Notre Dame, 18–20 April 2002.
Several presentations from that conference have been collected in McMul lin (2005).
My thanks are extended to my graduate students and fellow Galileo
scholars, especially Ernan McMullin, Annibale Fantoli, and George V. Coyne, S.J.,
who have researched, illuminated, and discussed the Galileo affair for me over
so many years. The shortcomings are, of course, my own. And I also must
express my special appreciation to Dr. Ronald Crown and the staff members of
the Vatican Microfilm Library at Saint Louis University for their invaluable
assistance in obtaining sources and tracking down references, and to Dr. Matt
Dowd, my very helpful editor at the University of Notre Dame Press.
May 2004 Saint Louis UniversityN o t e t o t h e R e a d e r
Ave, lector. It may perhaps be helpful for you to focus on the main themes of
this book if I say a few words first about how it came to be written. My interest
over the years in Galileo’s clash with his Catholic Church has always drifted
toward the issue of trying to understand the theological rationale behind the
Church’s decision to condemn Copernicanism and to bring Galileo to trial.
Or, as I put it in the introduction to an earlier book (Blackwell, 1991), I have
attempted to see all this not only as an episode in the history of science but just
as importantly as an event in the history of theology and religion.
With this goal in mind the first area up for examination in my earlier book
was the complex of events and documents centering on the year 1616, already
widely studied by Galileo scholars. In that year, for complicated reasons, which
are only sketched in chapter 1, the Catholic Church unfortunately decided to
condemn Copernicanism as “false and completely contrary to the sacred
scripture.” This was a general decree of condemnation applying to all members of
the Church and did not specify Galileo by name. Thus the heterodoxy of Co -
pernicanism appears to have been an already settled question by 1616, l