The Laws Of Nature Are Written By

I Do Not Think It Is Necessary To Believe That The Same God Who Has Given Us Our Senses, Reason, And Intelligence Wished Us To Abandon Their Use, Giving Us By Some Other Means The Information That We Could Gain Through Them.

It Seems To Me That It Was Well Said By Madama Serenissima, And Insisted On By Your Reverence, That The Holy Scripture Cannot Err, And That The Decrees Therein Contained Are Absolutely True And Inviolable. But I Should Have In Your Place Added That, Though Scripture Cannot Err, Its Expounders And Interpreters Are Liable To Err In Many Ways; And One Error In Particular Would Be Most Grave And Most Frequent, If We Always Stopped Short At The Literal Signification Of The Words.

In Regard To The Philosophers, If They Be True Philosophers, I.e., Lovers Of Truth, They Should Not Be Irritated That The Earth Moves. Rather, If They Realize That They Have Held A False Belief, They Should Thank Those Have Shown Them The Truth; And If Their Opinion Stands Firm That The Earth Doesn't Move, They Will Have Reason To Boast Than Be Angered.

I Am Inclined To Think That The Authority Of Holy Scripture Is Intended To Convince Men Of Those Truths Which Are Necessary For Their Salvation, Which, Being Far Above Man's Understanding, Can Not Be Made Credible By Any Learning, Or Any Other Means Than Revelation By The Holy Spirit.

E Pur Si Muove. "albeit It Does Move". (that's What Galileo Purportedly Muttered After Torturers Forced Him To Recant His Theory That The Earth Orbits The Sun.)