The censorship of the Church of Rome and its influence upon the production and distribution of literature, volume 1 (of 2)Putnam, George Haven
History
The censorship of the Church of Rome and its influence upon the production and distribution of literature, volume 1 (of 2)
Putnam, George Haven
Freedom of the press; Liberty of conscience; Prohibited books
The above appear to be the only works upon
the Copernican doctrine which on that ground simply, and specifically
by title, were placed in the Index. It is the case, however, that
the _Raccolta_ of 1624, the _Elenchus_ of some years later, and the
succeeding Indexes up to the time of Benedict XIV, all contain, under
the heading of _libri_, a general prohibition covering all books which
teach the movement of the earth and the fixity of the sun. The Index of
Benedict XIV omits this general prohibition. Since that date, various
books have come into print in Rome in which the Copernican doctrine is
openly explained and maintained. It was, however, not until September,
1822, that the Inquisition gave formal permission for the printing in
Rome of books maintaining the theory of the movement of the earth about
the sun, in accordance with the accepted views of modern astronomy.
This conclusion was, on the 25th of September, 1822, confirmed by
Pius VII and in the next edition of the Index, in 1835, the names of
Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Foscarini, and Stunica were omitted. The
account of the condemnation of Galileo is given in Chapter X, in the
record of the Index of 1664.
In 1623, under Urban VIII, Mark Antonio de Dominis, formerly Archbishop
of Spalatro, was brought to trial by the Inquisition and died in the
same year while in prison. He was condemned, after his death, as a
backsliding heretic, and his body, his portrait, and his books were
burned. He had in 1616 joined the Anglican Church, but in 1622 had
returned to Rome and had abjured his heresy. The most important of
his writings that were at this time condemned was the treatise _de
Republica ecclesiastico_, which was prohibited before it had come
into print. In 1626, the English Benedictine, John Barnes, was, under
the command of Urban VIII, arrested in Paris, brought to Rome, and
condemned by the Inquisition to imprisonment for life. He died after
thirty years’ confinement, in a state of idiocy. Among the writings
of Barnes which have been placed in the Index, the most important
is the treatise entitled _Romano Catholicus pacificus_, which was
first published in England after the death of the author. In 1622,
was prohibited a treatise by Vecchietti under the title of _De anno
primitivo ab exordio mundi ad annum Julianum_, etc., the author
of which had for a long series of years been imprisoned under the
order of the Inquisition, because he refused to take back an opinion
concerning the date of the Last Supper. His theory was, however, later
adopted quite generally without further criticism. Cesari Cremonini,
a professor in Padua, was ordered more than once by the Inquisition
to report to Rome for trial. He refused obedience, however, and was
protected by the Republic of Venice. The Inquisition could take no
further action than to secure the prohibition of one of his books.
In 1644, Pallavicini was executed in Avignon under the authority
not of the Inquisition but of the papal legate.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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