"I think that in discussions of physical problems we ought to begin not from the authority of scriptural passages, but from sense experiences and necessary demonstrations; for the holy Bible and the phenomena of nature proceed alike from the divine Word, the former as the dictate of the Holy Ghost and the latter as the observant executrix of God's commands. It is necessary for the Bible, in order to be accommodated to the understanding of every man, to speak many things which appear to differ from the absolute truth so far as the bare meaning of the words is concerned. But Nature, on the other hand, is inexorable and immutable; she never transgresses the laws imposed upon her."

Galileo Galilei, Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina of Tuscany, 1615. Written in response to accusations that his support for the Copernican heliocentric model contradicted scripture. The letter circulated widely in manuscript but was not published until 1636.