Galileo's letters to Florence in 1616 do not mention the prohibition to himself for two good reasons, first, to divulge the proceedings of the Holy Office would have been a serious matter; second, Galileo had every reason for convincing his friends that the Holy Office had only come to decisions 'purely public' regarding the Copernican doctrine, and 'not affecting my [his] personal interests' (letter of March 6, 1616).
Again, the protocol of February 25 gives the orders of the Pope that certain things should be done 'in case of his refusal to obey.' It does not explicitly enjoin or prohibit the same action after his promise of obedience. Cardinal Bellarmine had full power in such a matter. If Galileo had refused to obey he would have been imprisoned. When he had promised to abandon the opinion of Copernicus the obvious step for Cardinal Bellarmine was to bind him to effective silence by a formal promise before witnesses. The protocol of February 26 recites that this was done. The words mean, I am obliged to conclude, precisely what they say. It must not be forgotten that Galileo, like every other good Catholic, had been forbidden to hold the Copernican opinion by the general prohibition of March 5, 1616.
The reigning Pope was Paul V., who hated 'science and polite scholars.' He was very civil to Galileo, however, received him graciously (March 11, 1616) and promised him safety from his enemies. Galileo was a celebrity; by his submission to authority he had averted a great scandal in the church; accordingly the Pope was gracious. For the next seven years (1616-23) Galileo's conduct precisely agrees with the supposition that he recognized that he must not teach the Copernican doctrines. He published nothing during this period. The authorities at Rome were engaged in 'correcting' the work of Copernicus. Galileo eagerly waited for the corrections, for they would be authoritative and would exhibit the limits within which it would be permitted to 'teach.'
In May, 1618, he sent a MS. copy of his treatise on the tides to Archduke Leopold of Austria, who was friendly to him. It implicitly assumes the truth of the Copernican doctrine "which I then (1616) held to be true[1] until it pleased those gentlemen to prohibit the work and to declare that opinion (of Copernicus) to be false and contrary to Scripture. Now, knowing as I do, that it behoves us to obey the decisions of the authorities, and to believe them, since they are guided by a higher insight than any to which my humble mind can attain, I consider this treatise which I send you merely to be a poetical conceit, or a dream, and desire that your Highness may take it as such . . . ." The words are ironical. They will have less effect
- ↑ In this letter Galileo declares that he 'held' the opinion till 1616. He then 'relinquished' it (February 26), but never 'abjured' it (May 26).
