Burned Alive: Bruno, Galileo and the Inquisition
Page 11
appreciated the Sacrament of Penance.248
10. Bruno had a previous criminal record with the Roman
Inquisition in 1576. In his first deposition, in 1592, he said
that in 1576 the Inquisition processed him merely for parting
with religious images while keeping only a crucifix. Later,
in his fifth deposition, Bruno said he original y didn’t know
why the Inquisition wanted to process him.249
11. Two accusers said that Bruno listened to heretical sermons in England, Geneva and Germany. Bruno replied that he only went to Protestant cities for his safety and that he
only consorted with heretics out of curiosity, not by sharing
beliefs.250
12. He read prohibited books by Luther, Calvin, Melanchthon
and other heretics. Bruno admitted this, but not to adopt
their doctrines, he said, just out of curiosity.251
13. Bruno rejected the Catholic restriction against eating
meat on prohibited days. He admitted eating meat with
heretics on such days.252
14. Allegedly Bruno said that if he were captured and forced
to rejoin the Dominican order, he would burn down the
monastery and escape. However, in his ninth deposition, he
denied this allegation.253
ii. Bruno’s Alleged Heresies against the Bible and
Catholic Dogma
15. Two accusers claimed that Bruno denied that the Church’s
dogmas are credible; saying that all about the Church was
vanity, which could not be proved. However, in his thirteenth
deposition, Bruno denied having criticized the Church.254
79
burned alive
16. Those two accusers also complained that Bruno held
erroneous opinions about Cain and Abel, saying that Cain
was a good Pythagorean man for killing his carnivorous
brother Abel. Yet Bruno replied that he was just joking in
saying that Cain had a ‘Pythagorean zeal’.255
17. Mocenigo and Celestino complained that Bruno held
erroneous opinions about the Trinity, that he did not
recognize three persons in God, saying the Trinity is an
impossibility. In depositions, Bruno admitted that he had
failed to understand what is meant by ‘the Holy Spirit as a
third person’, except in the sense of the Pythagorean doctrine
explained by Virgil: as soul of the universe. He said he didn’t
intend to doubt the Trinity, but speaking philosophically he
had wondered how the Son (the Word) became incarnate;
he said he didn’t know how divinity became united with
human nature.256
18. One accuser claimed that Bruno said that the cross that
Christians placed above altars was original y a sign etched on
the chest of the goddess Isis, venerated since antiquity, and
that Christians stole it from the ancients, pretending that it
had been used to crucify Jesus. When interrogated, Bruno
did not entirely confirm this, but he said (tenth deposition)
that the cross was an ancient symbol that predated Christ:
it was known in Egypt during the times of Moses, and was
used on the chest of Serapide.257
19. Two accusers said that Bruno denied that people are punished for their sins. But in turn, Bruno (fourth deposition) didn’t admit having said that, and he said he had ‘always
believed that good deeds are necessary’.258
20. Five accusers said that Bruno held erroneous opinions
about Hell, saying there is no eternal punishment because
God is not angry at anyone forever. However, in his ninth
deposition, Bruno replied that he did not understand what
these accusers had testified.259
80
The Crimes of Giordano Bruno
21. Three of these accusers also claimed that Bruno said that
at the end of the world even demons would be saved, because
‘God saves men and beasts.’ However, in his ninth deposition,
Bruno denied this accusation. He said that demons would
not be saved, and that infernal punishment lasts forever.260
22. Schoppe claimed that Bruno said that scriptures were
just a dream.261
23. Schoppe also complained that Bruno wrote that human
beings existed before Adam and Eve; only the Hebrews
originated from Adam and Eve. Indeed, Bruno wrote this
in his book On Monads.262
iii. Bruno’s Alleged Heresies against the Prophets and Church
Fathers
24. Two accusers claimed that Bruno spoke ill of Moses,
saying that Moses was a wise magician who only pretended
to talk to God on Mount Sinai, and that Moses contrived
his laws by magical arts, not from God, because they were
tyrannical and bloodthirsty laws. Yet Bruno (tenth deposition) argued that Moses was an expert in all the Egyptian sciences, including magic, and that before Moses spoke with
God, he could have used magic, which is not illegal since it
is founded on the careful observation of nature and purely
physical operations, not evil.263
25. Next, Bruno allegedly spoke ill of the prophets, saying
that they were men who lied, did bad deeds and were rightly
condemned. However, in his tenth deposition, Bruno denied
having criticized the prophets.264
26. Mocenigo also accused Bruno of having said that the
prophets and the apostles were magicians. However, Bruno
(fourth deposition) denied that the apostles performed their
miracles by magic, and he (tenth deposition) denied having
criticized the prophets.265
81
burned alive
27. Three accusers also said that Bruno disapproved of praying to the Saints, that he mockingly said that it was vain and ridiculous to invoke them because they cannot intercede for
us. However, Bruno (in an unspecified deposition) denied
having criticized the invocation of Saints.266
28. Some accusers also complained that Bruno spoke ill of
the Catholic Church and its officials, for example, saying
‘that the Church was governed by ignorant men and asses’.
In contrast, Bruno repeatedly denied having criticized the
Church (in his fourth, ninth and thirteenth depositions). 267
29. Also Mocenigo claimed that Bruno, in his book Cantus
Circeus, insulted the Pope by depicting him as a pig. But
Bruno denied it in his sixteenth deposition.268
30. Furthermore, two accusers claimed that Bruno spoke ill
of theologians, the Doctors of the Church, for example by
saying that St Thomas Aquinas and others knew nothing
compared to himself. To the contrary, Bruno (fourth deposition) replied that he didn’t criticize theologians and that he especially admired Thomas.269
iv. Bruno’s Alleged Heresies and Blasphemies against Christ and
God
31. Mocenigo alone further claimed that Bruno denied the
virginity of Mary, mother of Jesus Christ, by mockingly
saying that it’s impossible for a virgin to give birth. But
again, Bruno defended himself, saying (in an unspecified
deposition) that he didn’t speak against Mary’s virginity,
and that she certainly conceived Jesus thanks to a miracle
of the Holy Spirit.270
32. Another accuser said that Bruno denied that the Three
Kings paid homage to baby Jesus. Yet Bruno (unspecifi
ed
depos ition) admitted only that he heard a sermon in which
someone discussed whether the ‘Three Kings’ were not really
kings.271
82
The Crimes of Giordano Bruno
33. A couple of accusers also said that Bruno held erroneous
opinions on Christ’s divinity and incarnation. In contradistinction, Bruno (eighth deposition) replied that he had just wondered how Jesus became incarnate; and Bruno (tenth de pos ition) also
denied having criticized doctrines about Christ.272
34. Four accusers testified that Bruno held erroneous opinions about the life and death of Jesus; for example, saying that Jesus was not crucified, but was hanged from two logs.
To the contrary, in his tenth deposition, Bruno said that he
always believed in Christ’s passion and death. He said the
four branches of the cross were not equally long, and he
denied that Christ hung from a gallows.273
35. Two accusers claimed that Bruno had said that Jesus
was a magician who forged his miracles with magic and
necromancy. In his defence, Bruno (fourth deposition) said
he did not deny Jesus’s miracles; he denied that Jesus did
miracles by magic.274
36. Next, reportedly Bruno said that Jesus had sinned mortally by refusing God’s will, in particular when Jesus said:
‘Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me’ (Matthew
26:39). However, in his ninth deposition, Bruno denied
having said that Christ sinned.275
37. Also, Bruno allegedly held erroneous opinions about
transubstantiation: reportedly he said that the bread does
not become the body of Christ, and he discussed this with
heretics. Yet Bruno (fifth deposition) denied having doubted
transubstantiation.276
38. Six accusers said that Bruno angrily and repeatedly voiced
blasphemies against Jesus, especially in prison, saying, ‘
of Christ’, ‘Christ , dog ’, ‘Christ is a dog’,
‘ , of God’, and so on. Consequently, in his
tenth deposition Bruno only admitted that sometimes he
had said Christ’s name in anger, but said he never directly
sinned against His name.277
83
burned alive
39. Reportedly, Bruno also said blasphemies about God, such
as ‘God is a traitor, who doesn’t govern the world well.’ Bruno
(tenth deposition) admitted that sometimes when angry he
had improperly mentioned God, but that he never directly
sinned against God’s name; he denied saying that God is a
traitor governing the universe.278
v. Bruno’s Heretical Beliefs about Substance, Worlds
and Souls
40. The consultors of the Inquisition complained that Bruno
argued that substance cannot be created or destroyed, but
only transforms, in accord with the teachings of Pythagoras.
Bruno then admitted it, replying that there exists no true
generation, but only transformation, because ‘there is nothing
new under the Sun. ’279
41. The consultors also complained that Bruno denied
Solomon’s statement in Ecclesiastes 1:14, that the true being
of individuals is vanity, because Bruno held that the underlying substance of all things is eternal, not illusory. Bruno had asserted this in his books. And then apparently Bruno
insisted that the underlying substance of all matter is not
vanity, but ‘really is what it is’.280
42. Also, five accusers testified that Bruno believed that the
universe is eternal, not created by God. Subsequently, Bruno
(third deposition) argued that whether the world is eternal
or temporal, the ‘caused or produced world’ depends on the
First Cause, thus he did not reject the word ‘Creation’.281
43. The consultors seemed to complain (second proposition)
that Bruno believed that the universe is spatially infinite.
Bruno replied that since God’s power is infinite, it must
produce infinite things. Accordingly, Bruno (third and fourteenth depositions) affirmed the infinity of empty space. 282
44. Six accusers plus the consultors and the Inquisitors
also complained that Bruno believed that many worlds
84
The Crimes of Giordano Bruno
exist, infinitely many, and that all the stars are worlds;
another necessary consequence of God’s infinite power.
Consequently, Bruno repeatedly affirmed (third, twelfth,
fourteenth and seventeenth depositions) such Pythagorean
beliefs: Earth is a star, stars are worlds, infinitely many
worlds exist.283
45. Also, two accusers plus the consultors said that Bruno
believed that the other worlds are similar to ours and are
inhabited by rational beings. Indeed, in his fourteenth
depos ition, Bruno said that other worlds resemble Earth,
with animals, plants and rational beings.284
46. The consultors of the Inquisition further complained
that Bruno argued, against Aristotle and Catholic dogma,
that the soul is not the form of the body, but that instead it
is a spiritual substance that inhabits the body, ‘as a captive
in a prison’, and controls it like a ship. Yes, Bruno had said
such things, and he said that the false claim that the soul is
the body’s form is not in the Bible. In his fifth deposition,
Bruno said that the human soul subsists outside the body,
against Aristotle’s claim that it is the body’s form.285
47. Three accusers said that Bruno believed in the transmigration of souls, between human bodies, even into other distant worlds. Bruno (second and eleventh depositions) replied that
the soul is immortal and ‘speaking in a Catholic way’ it goes
to Paradise, Purgatory or Hell, but that ‘reasoning philosophically’, a soul possibly can go from one body to another, in accord with Pythagoras’ opinion. Bruno insistently denied
saying that in fact the soul transmigrates between bodies, but
said instead, ‘I posit this only as a possibility.’286
48. Two accusers said that Bruno also believed that human
souls can transmigrate into animal bodies; and that the souls
of some of his own friends might presently inhabit animal
bodies. But Bruno (eleventh deposition) denied that human
souls can inhabit animal bodies.287
85
burned alive
49. One accuser claimed that Bruno himself said he remembered having lived previously in another body, and that his soul ‘in another time in the world had been a swan’, which
made the other prisoners laugh. Another accuser twice
testi fied that Bruno claimed to recall living in another
body, whether human or animal. However, in his eleventh
depos ition, Bruno denied ‘having been someone else in
this world’.288
50. The consultors of the Inquisition twice complained that
Bruno believed that the Earth has a soul, that Earth is a living
and rational animal. Bruno then admitted that he believed
that God created the soul of the world. He quoted the Bible,
‘Producat terra animam viventem’ (Genesis 1:24), which is
often translated as ‘Let the land produce living animals’, but
might be rendered as ‘the Earth produces living souls�
�, which
Bruno interpreted as meaning that Earth produces animals
and animates them with its worldly soul. He said Earth is a
rational animal, as evinced by its regular motions.289
51. The consultors also complained that Bruno said that
the Earth moves, which he said shows the Earth’s rational
mind. Indeed, Bruno insisted that the Earth spins and moves
but the firmament does not, and he added that this doesn’t
undermine the authority of divine scriptures.290
52. The consultors complained that Bruno said that stars are
angels: visible and animated rational bodies that convey the
divine voice. And indeed, in his fourteenth deposition, Bruno
quoted ‘the Heavens declare the glory of God’ (Psalms 19:1)
and said that therefore the heavenly bodies are animated,
rational, sensible beings, or angels, that interpret God’s
voice.291
53. The Inquisitors interrogated Bruno about his belief that
the Holy Spirit is the soul of the universe, what he called
‘the Pythagorean doctrine’. Yet Bruno reasserted this belief
in his third, fourteenth and seventeenth depositions.292
86
The Crimes of Giordano Bruno
54. Finally, the consultors also complained about Bruno’s
claims about how human souls originate. And again, Bruno
admitted it: he replied that just as the earth in our bodies
came from the world, so too our spirit comes from God and
returns to God, while ‘the universal spirit’ always subsists.293
This list of accusations is remarkable. It shows that hearsay about
Bruno was deeply offensive to Catholic officials. The accusers portrayed Bruno partly as a recklessly angry and embittered enemy of Catholicism, yet his replies show that he consistently denied any
disagreements with Catholicism, to the best of his knowledge. At
times he seems merely to have exercised intellectual curiosity.
I have grouped the accusations into five categories: departures
from Catholic practices, heresies against the Bible and dogma, heresies against prophets and Church Fathers, blasphemies against Christ and God, and fifth, beliefs about substance, worlds and souls.
It is striking that under interrogation Bruno directly denied nearly
all charges in the first four categories, but he refused to recant most
of the accusations listed in the fifth: beliefs about substance, worlds
and souls. Of the fifteen accusations in that category, Bruno apparently denied only two: having said that human souls can be reborn in animal bodies, and he denied that previously he had lived as a