His attempts at proselytization were attested to abundantly at the preliminary inquest, which opened a month later ay Portogruaro and was continued at Concordia and the Mostereals itself ‘he is always arguing with some body about the faith just for the sake of arguing-even with the priest,’ Francesco Fasseta testified to the vicar general. And another witness, Domenico Melchiori added: ‘he will argue with anyone, and when he stared to debate with me I said to him: ‘I am a shoemaker, and you a miller, and you are not an educated man, so what’s the use of talking about it?’ Such Questions concerning the faith are supposed to be exalted and difficult, out of reach of millers and cobblers. To talk about them one needed knowledge. And the repositories of knowledge were, above all, the priests. But Menocchio liked to say that he didn’t believe the Holy Spirit governed the church, ‘priests want us under their thumb. Just to keep us quite, white they have a good time’; as for him, he knew God better than they did. So when the village priest took him to the vicar general in Concerdia so that he might be set straight, the priest warned him, ‘these fancies of yours are heresies,” and Menocchio promised not to meddle in such matters again-only to begin anew soon afterward. In the public square, at the inn, on his way to Grizzo or Daviano, returning from the mountains, ‘no matter who his companion might be,’ stated Giuliano Stefanut. ‘he usually turns the conversation to matters concerning God, and always introduces some sort of heresy. Add then he argues and shouts in defense of his opinion.’