Riccardi, notwithstanding his friendship for Galileo, seems to have been of a different opinion. The preface and conclusion had been sent, but he had allowed weeks and months to pass without letting Galileo hear anything of them, to say nothing of sending them back. Castelli once wrote to Galileo that he had met Riccardi, and that he had told him that these portions were now quite in order, and that he would send them to Galileo immediately; but months again went by without his fulfilling his promise.
Galileo was in despair, and on 7th March, 1631, addressed a long letter to Bali Cioli, in which he first related the course of the negotiations respecting the “Dialogues”[236] in detail, and then asked for the powerful intervention of his Highness the Grand Duke, at Rome, to bring the business to a conclusion, so that he (Galileo) might enjoy while he lived these fruits of the labours of over fifty years. Little did Galileo foresee what dire results these “fruits” were to bring. On 8th March his request was granted, and he was informed that Niccolini, at Rome, would be commissioned in the name of the Grand Duke to hasten as much as possible the termination of the negotiations with the Master of the Palace.[237]
Galileo was all the more pleased with the success of this attempt, because meanwhile, weary of the long delays, he had begun to have his “Dialogues” printed. This is confirmed by a letter from him of 20th March to his learned friend, Cesare Marsili, in which he says that six sheets of his work, which would consist of fifty or more, were finished.[238] We may here remark that this proceeding of Galileo’s has been the subject of severe and unjustifiable blame on the part of some authors actuated by party spirit. It seems the less called for, since Galileo made no secret of the printing having been begun, and he was not reproached for it at the subsequent trial before the Inquisition. He quite supposed that after Father Stephani had inspected and sanctioned the work, all the conditions were fulfilled. He therefore considered Riccardi’s consent to the publication in Florence as certain. It never occurred to him that after all this he would raise new difficulties.
A report of Niccolini’s of 19th April to Cioli[239] confirmed him in this supposition, and rejoiced his heart, as there seemed to be an immediate prospect of an end to these tiresome negotiations. Niccolini wrote that he and his wife had a little while before had a long conversation with Father Riccardi about Galileo’s affairs, which had resulted in his promising to grant permission for the publication, but with the addition of a declaration, for his own protection, which he was to forward to Niccolini in a few days. On the 28th Niccolini received it, but instead of its containing the promised imprimatur, it required new clauses and imposed fresh conditions on the publication. The chief censor indeed acknowledged, at the beginning of this letter, that he had given the imprimatur to the work, but stated that it was only with the reservation that the author should make some alterations as agreed upon, and send his book to Rome to be published, where with the help of Mgr. Ciampoli all difficulties would have been overcome. “Father Stephani,” continues Riccardi, “has no doubt subjected the book to a conscientious revision; but as he was not acquainted with the Pope’s views, he had no power to give any approval which would enable me to sanction the printing without incurring the danger both to him and myself that unpleasantnesses might arise, if things were still found contrary to the proscriptions.” Riccardi then asserts that he had no greater desire than to serve the Grand Duke, but he considers that it must be done so as to prevent any danger to his Highness’s reputation. And this would not be the case if he gave his imprimatur, as it was not his province to give it for Florence,[240] while it would be secured by his assuring himself that everything was in accordance with the commands of his Holiness. “When I have inspected the beginning and end of the work,” he continued, “I shall easily discover what I want to know, and will then give a certificate that I have approved the whole work.”
This sentence is, to say the least, very obscure. Riccardi had had these two portions of the work in his possession for months, and could long before have discovered from them what he wanted to know. Or had he not condescended to look at them? This seems scarcely credible, and is in direct opposition to what he said to Castelli months before. But a desire to spin the matter out is evident enough from this obscure sentence as well as the rest of the letter. The Master of the Palace then proposed, if it were still impossible to forward the work, to send the ordinances of his Holiness to the Inquisitor at Florence, in order that he, after assuring himself that they had been complied with, might give the imprimatur. When Niccolini expressed his suspicions that these delays had been caused by some intrigues of Galileo’s enemies, Riccardi assured him that no one but friends of the famous astronomer had spoken to him on the subject, and that there really had been no cabal of any sort.[241]
When Galileo received the news of this letter, which, contrary to all his expectations, once more removed all hope of an end of these transactions into the far future, he could not repress his ill humour. This is plain enough from a letter to Cioli of 3rd May. He begins with the tart remark: “I have read what the Father Master of the Palace has written about the publication of the ‘Dialogues,’ and perceive, to my great vexation, that after keeping me for nearly a year without coming to any conclusion, he means to pursue the same course with his Holiness, namely, to delay and spin out everything with empty words, which it is not easy to put up with.” He then bitterly complains that this letter of Riccardi’s, instead of the promised imprimatur, contains nothing but fresh delays on the pretext of conditions with which he had complied several months before, and in such a way as to prove to his Holiness and all who were willing to be convinced that he had done so. “And since I perceive,” he continues bitterly, “that my affairs are afloat on a vast and boundless ocean, while the publication of my book is of the utmost importance to me, as I wish to see the fruits of my labours secured, I have been considering various ways by which it might be accomplished; but the authorization of his Holiness is indispensable for all.” Galileo then says that in order to come to some result it might be of the highest importance some day, and that as soon as possible, to be summoned to appear before his Highness, with the Inquisitor and Father Stephani. He would like to show them the work with all the corrections from the hands of Fathers Riccardi, Visconti, and Stephani, in order that, in the first place, they might see how trivial the alterations were, and in the second, how submissively and reverently he had designated all the evidence and arguments which appeared to confirm an opinion not approved by the authorities, as dreams, chimeras, and nullities. He concludes by saying: “Those present will then perceive how true and just my doctrines are, and that I have never entertained other views or opinions than those held by the most venerable and holy fathers of the Church.”[242]
The Grand Duke, Ferdinand II., however, with all his good will towards his chief mathematician, was by no means inclined to interfere personally in the matter. He was desirous to use all the influence he possessed to bring about a decision at Rome, but it no more occurred to him now to exercise his rights as sovereign ruler, than it did afterwards when he gave up the infirm philosopher, at nearly seventy years of age, to the Roman tribunal. Galileo’s suggestion, therefore, that the Grand Duke should, to some extent, take the initiative was by no means acceptable, and was not followed. The summons to the Inquisitor and Father Stephani to appear with Galileo before the Grand Duke never came; Niccolini, however, made fresh efforts to bring about a solution of the question at Rome. He went to the Master of the Palace and strongly represented to him that through the dedication the Grand Duke himself was greatly interested in the publication of this work, at the head of which his exalted name was placed.[243] Galileo finally succeeded, on 24th May, in inducing Riccardi to address a letter to Fra Clemente Egidio, the Inquisitor at Florence, in which he left it entirely to him, after examining the work, to grant permission for the publication or not. The Master of the Palace again expressly mentioned in this letter that he had given the authorization to print, but with the reservation that the necessary alterations should be made, and that after further revision it should go to press in Rome, which conditions, however, had not been able to be fulfilled owing to the plague. The most interesting parts of the letter for us are the hints which Riccardi gives the Inquisitor, in the course of it, as to the Pope’s views on the subject, which are to guide him in sanctioning the work. Title as well as contents are only to relate to the mathematical aspects of the Copernican system, and so that “the absolute truth of this view is never conceded, but made to appear as mere hypothesis, and without reference to Scripture.”[244] “It must also be explained,” continued Riccardi, “that this work is only written to show that all the arguments which can be adduced in favour of this view were well known; that therefore the sentence of 1616 was not to be attributed to ignorance at Rome, and the beginning and end of the book must agree with this statement, which portions, properly arranged, I will send from here. By observance of these precautions the work will meet with no obstacles at Rome, and your reverence will be able to gratify the author, as well as to serve his Highness, who has shown so warm an interest in the matter.”[245] The Inquisitor replied on 31st May that he would act in accordance with the received instructions. He says further that he had given the MS. to Stephani, as a very eminent man and counsellor of the Holy Office, to be revised again, and this time in accordance with the papal instructions; also that Galileo consented most willingly to all the corrections.[246]
But it would almost appear as if Riccardi had again repented of the steps he had taken for the final settlement of the business, for weeks and months passed before Fra Clemente Egidio received the preface and conclusion. Not till Niccolini, at Galileo’s request, had repeatedly urged him to send them, could he be induced to do so, after a further delay of two months, and then, as the ambassador graphically describes the situation, not “till formally pulled by the hair.”[247] In the letter of 19th July, 1631, which accompanied them, Riccardi empowered the author to alter the style of the revised introduction as he pleased, and to ornament it rhetorically, but so that the sense should remain the same. As to the conclusion, he made the vague remark that it must be based upon the same argument as the beginning.[248]
This seems to be the place to enter into the oft discussed question of the real authorship of this remarkable introduction. Some, who rely upon the letter of Riccardi’s above quoted, attribute it to him; others even maintain that it owes its origin to Urban VIII. himself; while, on the other hand, some are of opinion that Galileo had the chief share in it, though assuredly only because he considered that it would secure his object—permission to publish the “Dialogues.” All these opinions contain some truth, contradictory as they seem; the truth lies between them. After careful examination of the documents relating to the subject, the historical facts appear to be as follows:—
When Galileo was at Rome in the early part of the summer of 1630, in order to submit his “Dialogues” to the Roman censorship, an introduction was sketched for him, which he was to complete at Florence, and on his intended return to Rome in the autumn to lay it and the whole manuscript before the Master of the Palace for final revision.[249] From the good understanding which then existed between Riccardi, Mgr. Ciampoli, and Galileo, and from the contents of the introduction, we may conclude with certainty that the sketch was made with Galileo’s concurrence, or even that the main idea of it was his own. For on close examination we find that the idea on which the whole introduction turns—namely, that it was by no means ignorance of the scientific arguments in favour of the Copernican system which led to the verdict of 1616—is precisely the same as that stated by Galileo in his reply to Ingoli in 1624.[250] As we are aware, since the plague prevented Galileo from returning to Florence or sending the whole MS., he sent the introduction and conclusion to the chief censor, who kept them for months, and did not return them to the Inquisitor at Florence till 19th July. From Riccardi’s letter we learn two facts: firstly, that he had only concerned himself with the introduction, leaving the conclusion to the author with the vague remark we have quoted; and secondly, that Galileo’s preface must have undergone considerable alterations by the chief censor, as he gave him leave to alter the style but not the sense. There can be no more doubt that the Pope had some hand in the final composition of the preface than that it was not penned by himself. Riccardi appeals in both his ex officio letters to the Inquisitor of 24th May and 19th July, to the “views” and commands of his Holiness; and when the great storm afterwards burst, the Master of the Palace loudly asserted that in Galileo’s affairs he had always and in everything acted in concert with the papal secretary, Mgr. Ciampoli, and the latter appealed decidedly to special commands of Urban’s.[251] Riccardi and Ciampoli indeed paid for this indiscretion with the loss of their posts, but Cantor has aptly remarked on the subject that, “evidence of the falsity of a statement was never yet afforded by the fact of the witnesses being compelled to silence or suffering punishment.”[252]