"And so We say, pronounce, and by Our sentence declare, decree, and reserve, in this and in every other better form and manner, which lawfully We may and can use.

"So We, the subscribing Cardinals, pronounce.

We cannot suppose that Galileo, even broken down as he was with age and infirmities, and overawed by the merciless tribunal to whose power he was subjected, could without extreme reluctance thus formally give the lie to his whole life, and call upon God to witness his renunciation of the opinions which even his bigoted judges must have felt that he still clung to in his heart.

We know indeed that his friends were unanimous in recommending an unqualified acquiescence in whatever might be required, but some persons have not been able to find an adequate explanation of his submission, either in their exhortations, or in the mere dread of the alternative which might await him in case of non-compliance. It has in short been supposed, although the suspicion scarcely rests upon grounds sufficiently strong to warrant the assertion, that Galileo did not submit to this abjuration until forced to it, not merely by the apprehension, but by the actual experience of personal violence. The arguments on which this horrible idea appears to be mainly founded are the two following: First, the Inquisitors declare in their sentence that, not satisfied with Galileo's first confession, they judged it necessary to proceed "to the rigorous examination of him, in which he answered like a good Catholic.[85]" It is pretended by those who are more familiar with inquisitorial language than we can profess to be, that the words il rigoroso esame, form the official phrase for the application of the torture, and accordingly they interpret this passage to mean, that the desired answers and submission had thus been extorted from Galileo, which his judges had otherwise failed to get from him. And, secondly, the partisans of this opinion bring forward in corroboration of it, that Galileo immediately on his departure from Rome, in addition to his old complaints, was found to be afflicted with hernia, and this was a common consequence of the torture of the cord, which they suppose to have been inflicted. It is right to mention that no other trace can be found of this supposed torturing in all the documents relative to the proceedings against Galileo, at least Venturi was so assured by one who had inspected the originals at Paris.[86]

Although the arguments we have mentioned appear to us slight, yet neither can we attach much importance to the contrast which the favourers of the opposite opinion profess to consider so incredible between the honourable manner in which Galileo was treated throughout the rest of the inquiry, and the suspected harsh proceeding against him. Whether Galileo should be lodged in a prison or a palace, was a matter of far other importance to the Inquisitors and to their hold upon public opinion, than the question whether or not he should be suffered to exhibit a persevering resistance to the censures which they were prepared to cast upon him. Nor need we shrink from the idea, as we might from suspecting of some gross crime, on trivial grounds, one of hitherto unblemished innocence and character. The question may be disencumbered of all such scruples, since one atrocity more or less can do little towards affecting our judgment of the unholy Office of the Inquisition.

Delambre, who could find so much to reprehend in Galileo's former uncompromising boldness, is deeply penetrated with the insincerity of his behaviour on the present occasion. He seems to have forgotten that a tribunal which finds it convenient to carry on its inquiries in secret, is always liable to the suspicion of putting words into the mouth of its victims; and if it were worth while, there is sufficient internal evidence that the language which Galileo is made to hold in his defence and confession, is rather to be read as the composition of his judges than his own. For instance, in one of the letters which we have extracted,[87] it may be seen that this obnoxious work was already in forward preparation as early as 1610, and yet he is made to confess, and the circumstance appears to be brought forward in aggravation of his guilt, that he began to write it after the prohibition which he had received in 1616.

The abjuration was drawn up in the following terms:—

The Abjuration of Galileo.

"I Galileo Galilei, son of the late Vincenzo Galilei, of Florence, aged 70 years, being brought personally to judgment, and kneeling before you, Most Eminent and Most Reverend Lords Cardinals, General Inquisitors of the universal Christian republic against heretical depravity, having before my eyes the Holy Gospels, which I touch with my own hands, swear, that I have always believed, and now believe, and with the help of God will in future believe, every article which the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of Rome holds, teaches, and preaches. But because I had been enjoined by this Holy Office altogether to abandon the false opinion which maintains that the sun is the centre and immoveable, and forbidden to hold, defend, or teach, the said false doctrine in any manner, and after it had been signified to me that the said doctrine is repugnant with the Holy Scripture, I have written and printed a book, in which I treat of the same doctrine now condemned, and adduce reasons with great force in support of the same, without giving any solution, and therefore have been judged grievously suspected of heresy; that is to say, that I held and believed that the sun is the centre of the world and immoveable, and that the earth is not the centre and moveable. Willing, therefore, to remove from the minds of Your Eminences, and of every Catholic Christian, this vehement suspicion rightfully entertained towards me, with a sincere heart and unfeigned faith, I abjure, curse, and detest, the said errors and heresies, and generally every other error and sect contrary to the said Holy Church; and I swear, that I will never more in future say or assert anything verbally, or in writing, which may give rise to a similar suspicion of me: but if I shall know any heretic, or any one suspected of heresy, that I will denounce him to this Holy Office, or to the Inquisitor and Ordinary of the place in which I may be. I swear, moreover, and promise, that I will fulfil, and observe fully, all the penances which have been, or shall be laid on me by this Holy Office. But if it shall happen that I violate any of my said promises, oaths, and protestations, (which God avert!) I subject myself to all the pains and punishments, which have been decreed and promulgated by the sacred canons, and other general and particular constitutions, against delinquents of this description. So may God help me, and his Holy Gospels, which I touch with my own hands. I, the above-named Galileo Galilei, have abjured, sworn, promised, and bound myself, as above, and in witness thereof with my own hand have subscribed this present writing of my abjuration, which I have recited word for word. At Rome in the Convent of Minerva, 22d June, 1633. I, Galileo Galilei, have abjured as above with my own hand."