פורום ארץ הצבי

WebPages: http://www.tau.ac.il/~agass

If you ever are in such a predicament, do not feel guilty and do not seek your jailer's friendship or approval. If you must tell your life story, tell a fake story - one of your schoolmates, for example. And when your jailer becomes nice to you and offers you edible food, clean sheets, and a shower, remember that he can offer them to you on a rare occasion because usually he is depriving you of them even though they are yours by right. He is never a friend.

The softening confuses, and the confusion it causes is chiefly between friend with foe. Because Giordano Bruno never forgot that the Inquisition is the enemy, he died with his self-respect intact. Because he knew what a barbarous bunch his inquisitors (St. Roberto, Cardinal Bellarmino and his team) were, he expected the worst from the very start. They had him burn at the stake but they could not touch his dignity. Of course, they offered him to trade this dreadful punishment for self-respect, but he knew that they would then punish him anyway. He refused to recognize them as a legitimate court, come what may, knowing that he could lose nothing but the faith in their promises which were sheer lies anyway.