Introduction Members of the court, we are here gathered to serve what many believe to be justice to a man renowned for his greatness in thought and speech. This man, Galileo, has been an associate, colleague, and friend to me and mankind. Here I will attest to this last part and should you find my testimony wanting, take the liberty to do as your governance dictates. But, I am obliged to add, and please forgive me if I am overstepping my mandate, that should he be found guilty and punished according to the dictates of our laws, then this will be absolute proof that we are guided by the most treacherous and abrasive laws there can be. Heaven will shed a tear in consequence of such a judgment. On the contrary, should he be found innocent, then not only will that be of service to the living men but it will be grateful to the efforts of our father, notably those prosecuted unjustly, men such as Socrates and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Categories of men The first group There exist two categories of men. The first group is conformists while the second group is non-conformists. Kindly if you will allow me to proceed and cut down on the murmurs, clearly it may be that I have offended some of the members in the court, but excuse my choice of the terms conformist and non-conformist, they may be improper and harsh but as I proceed we will find a common ground and the linguists present may even replace these with better terms. Many men fall into the first group which composes the inability to question existing knowledge, custom, and culture. These groups of men are familiar to us, and we encounter them every day in our lives. They take what their forefathers believed in and do not add or subtract a letter from it. They exalt, apotheosize and guard it with such exuberance as they would have they stumbled on the philosopher’s stone. This group of men has no use for mankind except that they are laborers and merchants. The second group The second group, with which every man should find honorable to associate with and be familiar with, is the group that mankind owes its advances. This group can justify the knowledge they possess and have learned to treat unjustifiable knowledge with the skepticism it deserves. Their talents and skepticism have inevitably engendered new knowledge, of which we take pride in, without honoring them. This group, not only thinks but feels as much. They are conscious of their environment and see in nature what ordinary eyes do not. They are a gift for mankind to use other than dispose of. Consider the works of men such as the great Michelangelo, the genius of Raphaello, and all the painters and artists whose works we have exalted. Furthermore, the Church has the privilege of enjoying the rule of such esteemed leaders as Pius II, Nicholas V, Leo X and not forgetting Alexander XI. These men, not only perceived nature in its physical beauty but saw art as its foundation willed us to patronize art and marvel at its beauty. They believed that the universe is a manifestation of the supreme. Therefore, to have men among us whose sole endeavor is to familiarize us with the works of our Creator is the noblest thing of which we should be glad about. Whether we honor such men now is upon us, for it is the will of God that these