This volume contains the first English translations of any of Galileo’s works, including Galileo’s Dialogue on the Two Chief Systems of the World, the book for which he was put on trial. It also includes the most important documents related to Scripture and Copernicanism, including Galileo’s Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina (shown here); similar essays by Kepler and Foscarini, a Carmelite monk; and an excerpt from Diego de Zuniga’s commentary on Job. The volume is charred and blackened around the edges. Fewer than 50 copies survive, as most perished in the Great Fire of London in 1665.