Source of quote
- From: Llanzlan Klazmon <Klazmon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 22 Feb 2006 15:47:32 +1300
About the following supposed quote:
"To assert that the earth revolves around the sun is as erroneous as to
claim that Jesus was not born of a virgin."
(Robert Cardinal Bellarmine / 1542-1621 / at the trial of Galileo in 1615)
The attribution is obviously incorrect as Bellarmine was dead at the time
of Galileo's trial in 1633. So I assume the 1615 date is referring to the
prohibition placed on Galileo in 1616 following complaints lodged with the
inquisition in 1615 related to the heliocentic model of the solar system.
I found a translation of the text of a letter Bellarmine wrote to Foscarini
which has the paragraph:
"Second. I say that, as you know, the Council [of Trent] prohibits
expounding the Scriptures contrary to the common agreement of the holy
Fathers. And if Your Reverence would read not only the Fathers but also the
commentaries of modern writers on Genesis, Psalms, Ecclesiastes and Josue,
you would find that all agree in explaining literally (ad litteram) that
the sun is in the heavens and moves swiftly around the earth, and that the
earth is far from the heavens and stands immobile in the center of the
universe. Now consider whether in all prudence the Church could encourage
giving to Scripture a sense contrary to the holy Fathers and all the Latin
and Greek commentators. Nor may it be answered that this is not a matter of
faith, for if it is not a matter of faith from the point of view of the
subject matter, it is on the part of the ones who have spoken. It would be
just as heretical to deny that Abraham had two sons and Jacob twelve, as it
would be to deny the virgin birth of Christ, for both are declared by the
Holy Ghost through the mouths of the prophets and apostles."
So the quote could be a rehash of this paragraph. Can anyone shed any light
on it. Is it:
1. Something that Bellarmine did actually write or say.
2. A rehash of the paragraph in the letter above which can be construed to
have the same meaning as the quote and so make Bellarmine look stupid.
3. Totally bogus.
In any case, does anyone know the actual origin of the quote in the form at
the top of this post?
Klazmon
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