The Roman Inquisition - Thomas F. Mayer Haney Foundation Series

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as well as trotting out an arsenal of citations from the fathers of the church. Not that Galileo had suddenly developed expertise in patristics. Instead, he probably got the whole set of texts from the Bible commentary of Spanish Jesuit Benito Pereyra that an unknown monk, probably a Barnabite (possibly Pomponio Tartaglia, who knew Castelli in Pisa), had sent him.130

      On new orders from Rome, Marzari rummaged around in the files and found the earlier instructions to Priatoni and, on 13 November, finally interviewed Ximenes, who had probably returned to Florence no later than early July.131 Ximenes had recently arrived there from Portugal, perhaps following his brother, a canon of its cathedral.132 He would sing the mass in 1629 in Rome for the canonization of the Florentine saint Andrea Corsini.133 Conveniently enough, the Florentine inquisition sat in Ximenes’s own convent of Santa Maria Novella, so he need not leave the building. Marzari asked questions, and the Florentine inquisition’s chancellor took down the answers. As always happened, the first question to Ximenes was whether he knew the cause of his summons.134 No, Ximenes said, possibly a little disingenuously since the next question was whether he knew Galileo. Marzari did not waste time getting to the point. No, answered Ximenes again, nor could I recognize him, but I do hear rumors that he thinks the earth moves and “the heaven” stands still, and such belief is “diametrically opposed to true theology and philosophy.” Why? prodded Marzari. A. I heard some of his students say that “the heaven” does not move, that God is an accident and has no substance, that everything is a quantity made of a vacuum, that God laughs and cries. But I do not know whether this is just their opinion or whether Galileo believes all this, too. Q. Did you hear anyone say Galileo thought miracles were not really miracles, pressed Marzari. No, responded Ximenes. Q. From whom did you hear these things? A. From Giannozzo Attavanti, parish priest of Castel-fiorentino, in the presence of Ridolfi, a knight of St. Stephen (the noble order founded by Cosimo I).135 It happened in my room last year, many times, but I cannot give the month, much less the day, and in addition to Ridolfi there were sometimes friars in attendance—but Ximenes could not remember who. Ximenes’s testimony was becoming dangerously vague, and it got worse. Marzari: can you conjecture whether Attavanti was speaking as if he believed these things? Ximenes: I do not think so; he was putting an argument and referred all to the Church’s judgment. Q. What else do you know about him? A. He has no training in theology or philosophy and does not have a degree, but he has some experience with both and was probably expressing Galileo’s views rather than his own. The question arose while we were discussing cases of conscience (in other words, while Ximenes was training Attavanti how to hear confessions). Some of Caccini’s readings came up, especially about Joshua and the sun.136 I reprimanded Attavanti harshly, Ximenes asserted piously. Then came the standard closing question about whether he was an enemy of either Galileo or Attavanti. Ximenes repeated that he could not pick Galileo out of a lineup if he had to and at worst was Attavanti’s friend. Ximenes was sworn to silence and signed his deposition, and the interview ended.

      The next day Marzari deposed Attavanti.137 He was described as “a noble Florentine, thirty-three years old” and in minor orders (very minor; he had no more than the tonsure, the initial sign of clerical status).138 After the usual opening question, Marzari asked whether Attavanti had studied “letters” in Florence. Yes, under two Dominicans whom Attavanti named, then two more teachers (possibly also Dominicans), as well as with Ximenes who taught him cases of conscience. Q. Did you study with Galileo? A. No, I discussed philosophy with him as I do with all learned men. Then Marzari made a huge blunder, just what we would expect given his checkered career. He asked a leading question. If there was one rule on which the Roman Inquisition constantly harped, it was under no circumstances, ever, ever, feed the witness his lines.139 In his day the Inquisition had not quite figured out that learning on the job without much (or any) supervision was not the best imaginable way to prepare inquisitors. Only later did it begin circulating once a year copies of its general decrees and bringing inquisitors to Rome for short, total immersion courses during which they sat in on parts of the Congregation’s sessions.140 So Marzari did his best. Did you ever hear Galileo say anything “repugnant” to scripture or the faith? No, I did not, huffed Attavanti. I only heard him say, following Copernicus, that the earth moved, as he wrote in his Sunspot Letters, to which I refer you. Marzari kept on leading Attavanti. Did Galileo ever interpret scripture, “maybe badly?” A. He interpreted Joshua, but Attavanti ignored the rest of the question. Then Marzari turned to the more solid evidence Ximenes had given. Attavanti gave a much more precise answer about his discussions with his former teacher than Ximenes had, volunteering the circumstances including Caccini’s presence (his cell was next door), while insisting that the whole thing was a disputation that Caccini might have misunderstood. That was probably what happened on another occasion when Caccini had interrupted to condemn heliocentrism as heretical. About miracles, Attavanti knew nothing and about God’s nature only what Aquinas taught. Marzari’s next question went over the same ground, asking about the circumstances under which Attavanti had gained his information. Attavanti could not resist pointing out that he had already testified to them. What is your opinion about Galileo, asked Marzari? I think him a very good Catholic, otherwise he would not be in the grand duke’s service, rejoindered Attavanti. Then Marzari asked another odd question, about Attavanti’s “enmity” not with Galileo but with Caccini. Attavanti contradicted himself by saying he did not even know Caccini’s name, after having given it twice before. And that was it.

      With commendable speed, Marzari expressed the transcripts to Rome. Just ten days later, meeting in Sfondrato’s palace in the Via Giulia (the present Palazzo Sacchetti, one of the grandest in Rome, which shortly afterward sold for the colossal sum of 55,000 scudi), the Inquisition ordered Sunspot Letters examined but took no other action.141 Now, after all this rush, nothing happened until February 1616, that is, except for Galileo’s decision to go to Rome.

      Galileo Goes to Rome

      It may be coincidence, but, within a week of the Inquisition’s decree on 25 November 1615 calling for review of his Sunspot Letters, Galileo was collecting letters of recommendation and preparing to leave for the eternal city.142 It seems likely that his principal concern remained the effect his “Letter to Castelli” was having, although the proximate trigger may well have been the Florentine depositions in his case, about which Attavanti likely told him.143 It may also be that continuing echoes of Lorini’s letter motivated his trip.144 Galileo probably reached Rome on or about 11 December.145 He stayed at the Villa Medici, rather than in the Tuscan embassy in Palazzo Firenze. That would have been more convenient but much less pleasant. His visit did not please the Tuscan ambassador, Piero Guicciardini. As soon as he got wind of Galileo’s proposed trip, he fired off a long letter to the secretary of state complaining that he had not been consulted, which was true if irrelevant, and that the visit was a really bad idea.146 About the second point he may well have been right. He was not the only one to make it. Bellarmino told Guicciardini more or less the same thing, warning him that, if Galileo overstayed his (short) welcome, action would have to be taken about Copernicus. Of course, that was just what Galileo wanted. Guicciardini did not. He added ominously that he thought Bellarmino had heard something objectionable, perhaps even in the ambassador’s residence, and that influential Dominican Inquisitors did not care for Galileo at all. As we have seen, this is certainly true at least in Cardinal Galamini’s case.

      Speaking of influential Dominicans, there was still Caccini to contend with. Galileo took care to try to neutralize him, enlisting the aid of the balìa, the chief executive of the city government of Florence, to write the highest-placed member of the Caccini family asking him to keep Tommaso under control while Galileo justified himself to Tommaso’s fellows.147 Matteo, with Cardinal Arrigoni in Naples, lamented Tommaso’s involvement and suggested that he get Lorini to cease and desist, too.148 Galileo, as usual when he had chosen to take action, exuded confidence, that is, when he was not muttering darkly about the enemies who laid traps for him everywhere.149 He even thought Lorini had come to Rome because his denunciation had run into difficulties. The friar had not, but he had been to see the grand duchess, which was almost as bad, even if the secretary of state, eavesdropping, thought they had spoken about another matter.150

      Paranoia

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