According to the rules of the Inquisition, an oath is administered to the accused that he will speak the truth, and he is then asked whether he knows or conjectures the reason of his citation. Galileo replied that he supposed he had been summoned to give an account of his last book. He was then asked whether he acknowledged the work shown him, “Dialogo di Galileo Galilei, Linceo,” which treats of the two systems of the world, as entirely his own; to which he replied after a close examination of the copy, that he acknowledged all that it contained to have been written by himself. They then passed to the events of 1616. The Inquisitor wishes to know whether Galileo was at that time in Rome, and for what reason. He deposed that he certainly came to Rome in that year, and because he had heard that scruples were entertained about the Copernican opinions, and he wished to know what opinion it was proper to hold in this matter, in order to be sure of not holding any but holy and Catholic views. This deposition seems to be a misrepresentation of the real state of the case; for we know that he went to Rome with a twofold purpose in 1616: on the one hand, to frustrate the intrigues of his enemies, Fathers Lorini, Caccini, and their coadjutors; and on the other, to avert the threatened prohibition of the Copernican doctrines by his scientific demonstrations. The motive of his journey to Rome is not in any way altered by the fact that he did not succeed in his object, and that he then submitted to the admonition of Cardinal Bellarmine of 26th February, and to the decree of 5th March. The Inquisitor asked whether he came at that time to Rome of his own accord, or in consequence of a summons. “_In the year 1616 I came of my own accord to Rome, without being summoned_,” was the decided answer. The conferences were then spoken of, which Galileo had at that time with several cardinals of the Holy Office. He explained that these conferences took place by desire of those prelates, in order that he might instruct them about Copernicus’s book, which was difficult for laymen to understand, as they specially desired to acquaint themselves with the system of the universe according to the Copernican hypothesis. The Inquisitor then asked what conclusion was arrived at on the subject. _Galileo_: “Respecting the controversy which had arisen on the aforesaid opinion that the sun is stationary, and the earth moves, it was decided by the Holy Congregation of the Index, that such an opinion, considered as an established fact, contradicted Holy Scripture, and was only admissible as a conjecture (_ex suppositione_), as it was held by Copernicus.”[353] _Inquisitor_: “Was this decision then communicated to you, and by whom?” _Galileo_: “This decision of the Holy Congregation of the Index was made known to me by Cardinal Bellarmine.”