Advantage, Bellarmine

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Roberto Francesco Romolo Bellarmine—consultor of the Holy Office, head of the Roman College, Cardinal, former Archbishop of Capua—turned to his guest with a weary smile. “So, Maffeo, any words of wisdom about Galileo? He’ll be in Rome next week, and we have arranged a visit.”

Maffeo Barberini, scion of one of the wealthiest, most powerful families in Italy, a Cardinal too—one day to be Pope, Bellarmine was sure—removed a grape pit from his tongue. “Only what you already know—he is right.”

“Pity more of our people cannot grasp that,” Bellarmine said. “The nonsense that has been produced in our own College—that the Moon is really pure, perfect, sublimely spherical as Aristotle held, and the mountains and craters seen through Galileo’s telescope are but imperfections far below that heavenly invisible surface—you would think it was 615 not 1615, and Rome had just been sacked of all common sense, all reason!”

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