Galileo İçin Savunma: Kopernik'in Lehine Deliller

But on the other hand, arguments are raised in favor of Galileo based on the authority of theologians who decreed that the books of Nicolaus Copernicus regarding the revolutions of the celestial spheres, based on his observations made from the year 1525, should be committed to print, on the grounds that they contained nothing contrary to the Catholic faith. In those books, the motion of the earth and the fixed nature of the firmament (that is, the starry heaven) are discussed, as well as the sun's residence in the center of our world. Nor does Galileo reveal anything fundamentally new beyond these other systems which were previously unknown. Therefore, if the books of Copernicus do not inconvenience the Catholic faith, neither will Galileo. Likewise, Pope Paul III, to whom Copernicus dedicated those books, and certain Cardinals who, before the books were even published, busied themselves with having them transcribed at their own expense, approved these same books. In the time of Paul III, the most brilliant minds flourished in the Church; for that Pope, most noble in spirit, virtue, and blood, decorated men summoned from everywhere with high dignities. Thus, it would be a wonder if those men were moles regarding Copernicus, while our contemporaries, who are not of such great name, should be far more sharp-eyed like Argus against Galileo, who relies on even more certain observations.