To settle the dispute, we appealed to the boy. We told him not to be afraid, but to speak the plain truth: Was it the fossil of a pre-Adamite whale, or was it an early Roman coffin?
A metter fine alla disputa, ci appellammo al ragazzo, avvertendolo di non aver paura, ma di dire la semplice verità: — era il fossile d’una balena preadamitica, o un feretro di Roma primitiva?