Abstract
Abstract: Modern rhetorical theory suggests that the rhetorical concept of doxa entails social dimensions of rank and regard. A trustworthy ethos is one in which the rhetor identifies with orthodoxy by signalling allegiance to doxastic elements of narrarive knowledge, presuppositions and methodology, and hierarchy. In his Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina, Galileo fails to project an orthodox ethos in his attempt to rewrite narrative knowledge because, although he adheres to orthodox methodology and presuppositions, he disregards orthodox hierarchy and even tries to restructure it.