 The Assayer was Galileo 's devastating reply to the Astronomical Balance . It has been widely recognized as a masterpiece of polemical literature , in which " Sarsi 's " arguments are subjected to withering scorn . It was greeted with wide acclaim , and particularly pleased the new pope , Urban VIII , to whom it had been dedicated . In Rome , in the previous decade , Barberini , the future Urban VIII , had come down on the side of Galileo and the Lincean Academy . 
