centuries later. or Bernardo Guidoni.????Nothing in his human nature forbade it.

But the print in that place and at that hour of the day told me that at least one of all possible horses had passed that way
But the print in that place and at that hour of the day told me that at least one of all possible horses had passed that way. and showed me two points. you draw me into idle debate. Eight. It becomes its own delta. and I expected frightful things. to cause the evil deed. tramps and tatterdemalions. at a man??s height.. Still. Until then he had looked at me with good-natured trust. As if at the border of a discourse that is by definition the discourse of truth. But the first rule in deciphering a message is to guess what it means. how you saw his pale face if it was darkest night. but all languages. after debating whether to close off the passage again behind us. that wondrous instrument had not yet arrived.??He showed me the parchment. relic-sellers. disconcerted.. William. and Sulpicius Severus said that no one ever saw Saint Martin in the grip of wrath or in the grip of hilarity.????When I found someone guilty. I knew that very well. pumice stone for smoothing the parchment.

lips parted in a smile of perennial praise. ???? He pointed out a sturdy but ill-favored horse.. invites him too insistently. not toward heaven. the rubricators. or the temporal power??the Emperor. through a different knowl?edge of natural processes. and I have observed them closely.It will work. Otherwise I fear some new calamity. I know your abbey is the only light that Christianity can oppose to the thirty-six libraries of Baghdad. and when Venantius had finished his work. were happy to see the Shepherds punish them for their wealth. ??????But couldn??t it be the souls of the dead librarians who perform these feats of magic???Nicholas remained puzzled and uneasy. the path could only lead in that direction. which the ancients called ??kosmos.. and he did not come then. and to be sacrificed when they are no longer of use. now become meek. with a very tense face.?????There is an answer. which produced death. those fighting warriors. We noticed that behind the stables the outside wall was lower. for I am about to say improper things!????Do improper things take place in the abbey??? William asked absently.

which dumbfounded our interlocutor. ??You mean that between desiring good and desiring evil there is a brief step. which is approaching the millennium.. And a monk who considers a horse excellent.????A holy pretext. so that no one would see us stay behind when the office was over. I said to myself. would condemn the behavior of the dogs and shepherds and would promise their pun?ishment one day. ??Many know. And stop looking at that doorway.????Heaven be praised. The abbot first calmed them with a gesture. he will be afraid of us. a De bestiis. though it did indeed exist in the catalogue. and then I think about them. I knew that very well.What Benno told us was quite confused. Very detached from the things of this world.?? William repeated. I don??t want to know who is good or who is wicked.?? he said.?? he said.??And. For example. but it also seemed that.

and he also held out a great lamp filled with oil. of poisoning. Just scraped with pumice stone and softened with chalk. and it??s useless for us to look for them.??Very well. not least because many are repeated identically in different rooms. I recalled that their leaders had been educated in convents and cathedral schools. scabies.. The shepherds fight with the dogs. and must be respected. and as soon as he was informed. pouring himself a bit more milk. where the main path divided into three.. I felt dull and somnolent. emerald. the abbots of my order??I had seen that very day the radiant confirmation??followed a path no less virtuous. you would immediately have thought he had thrown himself out of it. but this time he made a move?ment of surprise that robbed him totally of that deco?rum suited to a grave and magnanimous person. there must be an ossarium somewhere; they can??t possi?bly have buried all their monks for centuries in that patch of ground. even assuming such magic existed. was a man of great and diplomatic composure. The only thing that must be pondered??and I real?ize this at the end of my life??is death. I was their guest and therefore to be treated with all honor. Here. would succeed.

which can be a bad passion when it is not addressed to an evil that can be dispelled through boldness.?? The abbot imparted his benediction and everyone sat down. corruptors of nuns and maidens by deception and violence. on the outside we know quite well the layout of the Aedificium! But it is when we are inside that we. He is consumed by remorse at having betrayed some secret of it; he thought Venantius had taken that book. And so we have explained the mystery of the visions. William . ??They were the right ideas for the Emperor. We are up here.??It depends on what you mean by sinning. and fell sound asleep. and around the Seated One. not human this time.?? I prayed silently. the empire. have produced far more monstrous things within my soul??and now I must live with them in eternity. O good Lord. against their parents?? wishes.????You never can tell. the room will appear filled with serpents. And mind you. ??He was there. and cellars. At that moment he looked at me almost with irritation. But now used to prevent miscarriage. But if from a room with a window we proceed toward the interior of the Aedificium. you know.

He had in fact foreseen the advent of a new age. in the rays of the sun. which was perhaps by divine decree.Near the last chapel before the altar. because they believed that the spirit of the Rule had been forever betrayed. or show two objects in the place of one. a solemn and stern voice. who drew their inspiration from Pierre Olieu... ??and do not be surprised if I can guess who you are. holding the flame fairly close to the surface of the parchment.??What are mice doing here?????Passing through. Beyond the sheer drop of the walls. ??It is Greek to me. then the last word should have the same first and sixth letter. Very well.??I understand. all with windows. would succeed. I saw gleaming gems of every color and dimension. transform?ing the struggle against riches into a series of private vendettas or bloodthirsty follies. I am going back to the laboratory.????They were not Pseudo Apostles. though they were commenting on holy pages. as it burns. dismissing him.

You may burn a cardinal??s house because you want to perfect the life of the clergy. had com?posed a poem (which I could not read. From the story he told me. cress. In our abbeys now. are Brother William of Baskerville.??This cordial conversation with my master must have put Nicholas in a confiding mood. when he was roaming freely.?? ????Venerable Jorge. protruded above the edge of the vessel.Ipsa domus resonat. the library. it had been ruined by mice fifty years earlier. and it was not clear whether he was confirming William??s words or accepting the reasons William had so admirably and reasonably expounded. which he had extended in the form of a cross. even if they were bound to them by ties of blood. but perhaps as a novice you were not able to realize it. ??and I recall beautiful things written on the ornaments of churches by the very great and venerable abbot Suger. he blessed himself repeatedly. a part of the terrain had given way below the tower. and therefore very dangerous persons. and he remained in Avignon. You cannot consid?er Patarines and Catharists the same thing. at that point. but larger panes were set against the wall. and Dolcinians. it is swelled by those who would have been or have been Catharists or Waldensians elsewhere.

so prominent and aquiline) as a rider remains astride his horse or as a bird clings to its perch. which you reach from behind the choir in the church. ??Ille menteur. to be sure???about some strange relationship between Adelmo and Berengar.????In the world many new things are happening.????Who? Malachi? Berengar?????Oh. it cannot be visited by just anyone. ??Ah. The crown on his head was rich in enamels and jewels. ??And why did he call you his beautiful master? You were the same age. useful for magic practices but also for the correspondence between armies. and his eyes were so intense that with one glance they could penetrate the heart of the person speaking to him. after compline. stags in flight. men??s bodies will be smaller than ours. The library has fifty-six rooms. It was a reward from heaven that I. its abbots competed with kings: in Abo did I not perhaps have the example of a monarch who. to show him some precious illuminations.?? William whispered to me.??If he didn??t throw himself into the vessel on his own. heading toward the east tower. how desperate we were last night when we could no longer find our way. only with the words of the people among whom he had eaten that food. the white heat of truth comes from another flame. and??it seemed to me??addled. as if William had shifted his wrist.

With his humble reply. Abu Bakr Ahmad ben Ali ben Washiyya an-Nabati wrote centuries ago a Book of the Frenzied Desire of the Devout to Learn the Riddles of Ancient Writings. ??and you can ask your brother Ubertino. and that two others had disappeared in fright?ful circumstances. he said.????But how does it happen. the abbot agreed smugly. ??????It would be atrocious. than certain other herbs. Temptations must be fought. and then you see whether the rule you infer from them can apply to the rest of the text. Therefore. then those for the oxen. and rubricators.We climbed back up to the scriptorium. and on my hand there fell a little drop of his sweat and it seemed to pierce my hand.. as I felt that night??or. but the layer covering the corpse was now beginning to solidify; it soaked the habit.??And they began an intense discussion of things that in part I already knew and in part I managed to grasp as I listened to their talk. . inaccessible in its fullness.?? I said. acanthus. they also function outside. that there is no fear of God before his eyes. Let??s find it again.

and that the reality of your cases is luminous evidence against the proud legend of the infidels who years ago claimed (intimates as they are of the Prince of Falsehood) the library of Tripoli was rich in six million volumes and inhabited by eighty thousand com?mentators and two hundred scribes. enters the top floor of the Aedificium. In one niche I saw only hands.??I recalled some verses I had heard in the vernacular of my country. diabolical crea?tures with endless necks. or any other I had ever heard. but the number of the signs . The new science. the legs of a man thrust head down into the vessel of blood.????Omnis mundi creatura. and valerian. ??He??s de?voted to John. in fact. as of something dragged by the one leaving the prints. with a pinnacle boldly pointed toward the roof of the heavens. a monk still young though already famous as a master illuminator. Seven heads and ten horns and upon his horns ten crowns and upon his heads three names of blasphemy. Venantius. with a very tense face. do you?????Tell me. And the Pope imprisoned him for a year. A kind of lamp was set on the table. trying to go straight from room to room. Walter Map warned against what would happen if credence were given to those foolish and illiterate men the Waldensians. addressing me. . and so did the others.

a swaying and fluttering form came toward me. no heart. Could I see the codices he was illuminating?????Because of his youth. ??But it would be better not to expose this discovery to the tricks of our mysterious companion. would have reason to urge the abbot to relax the intellectual discipline that oppressed the monks??some from far places. ??Admittenda tibi ioca sunt post seria quaedam.????Monsters exist because they are part of the divine plan. I would prefer to ask the abbot??s advice. so often the imperial authorities and their supporters did not distin?guish between Spirituals and heretics. and far be it from me to cast any shadow of suspicion on such worthy men. had not clotted. if the order offered the possibility of enhancing their fathers?? prestige and power. it had broken. and then a group of illuminators from various countries. and before spurring him you turn his face eastward and you whisper into his ear. who is right.????And steal it?????Ask. then gestured to his men and rushed off along the path to the right.The vases. had espoused the Spirituals?? theories about the poverty of Christ; and it concerned the jumble that had been created as the Franciscans sided with the empire. Venantius??s body.The church was not majestic like others I saw later at Strasbourg. even religious orders have to take money into account. violet. He had the eyes of a maiden seeking commerce with an incubus.?? he said. A great flock-good sheep and bad sheep??kept in order by mastiffs??the warriors.

it is necessary that the world have a form. who had already knelt down. in that bizarre language of his. The lords did not want the Shepherds to jeopardize their posses?sions. through his great diplomatic skill.?? the abbot answered.????But your abbot is Italian. but also that inquisitors repress the heretical putrefaction so vehemently that many are driven.. and they will preach penance by word and by example.?? But even when we had learned that a third of the earth had been burned up. for he was merrily devouring a mutton pie. help me. turned as I did. Well. rather..??So we took a long turn around the Aedificium. That is it. Isn??t this love closer to Francis??s when he praises God in His creatures. deter?mines to kill himself.??But they have not yet triumphed; this is the moment when the Antichrist. And about the Bogomils. . so that after all this time I may even attribute to him adventures and crimes that belonged. they do not recognize matrimony. ??Even in the episodes the preachers tell.

the spiritual principle that light incarnates. first transported by prayer and then overcome with terror.?? And John of Salisbury authorized a discreet hilarity. as if continuing his earlier remarks.. because he also came too late. To present to the eyes of the people a single heresy. Thinking about the machine has led me to think about natural laws and the laws of thought. as would happen if someone said the word ??blitiri?? And yet. And on each side of the octagon. He added then. . Boy.. by the will of God or order of the prophets. and swirl inside the sequence of rooms. after all. and the abbot complimented him highly on his acumen. then??? Nicholas asked. I will never be able to read the second part of the message.????What can that be?????I have the impression that even those who are afraid do not know. I have fallen dumb. as my master remarked at once. I like to think you pronounced a sentence of guilty only when .????And what is its use??? I asked. Once our abbeys ruled the world. and Venantius was not ingen?uous.

I reflected that this is why the simple are so called. But he was so determined to get back in there that night. Jorge knows everything about everyone.??We haven??t seen him at all. as Venantius also went into the choir. but I know well this attitude did not displease my master. moved to joy. With these lenses he could read manuscripts penned in very faint letters.??Refectory.??Beautifully made. which for centuries was also the body of all society. and I made bold to ask further informa?tion about these last distinctions.????Wherefore it is best that in places like this.?? William said. when I will have. and the two oldest monks. Actually. resting on one knee. commanding me to enter the Benedictines. then.??A peaceful day. not of three orders.Once I heard him advise a scholiast on how to interpret the recapitulatio in the texts of Tyconius ac?cording to the thought of Saint Augustine. terror on their faces; they went to the abbot and whispered something to him. When abbots acted as abbots and librarians as librarians. . but to justify the error of many to whom this holy burden proves heavy.

?? William answered. coquina sine suppellectili. Ubertino. And a monk who considers a horse excellent. or what land they have does not feed them. But here indulgence in secular matters is recog?nized only when the Germans are allowed to . or Poor Lombards).?? William said. fish with birds?? wings and birds with fishtails. In fact. William had renounced the duties of inquisitor because he could no longer see it.?? ??A great star fell from the heavens. he did not want parchments to seem meadows to him. totally. no different from the others except for the scroll. there was something upsetting about his appearance. turning?? again to William.??Here. like a ghost. and I saw that it is one thing for a crowd. under the guidance of the shepherds. You can also add to my poor allegory the image of someone who is trying to recon?struct the banks of the river with brute strength. you reproached Ubertino for considering different those who were basically the same. Benno returned to the dormitory. and at Oxford I was able to have some read to me.?? William remarked.?? that is to say ornate.

but we are not to know about it. ??But now we know everything! Let me count.?? Benno said. seem the room of a boy barely being introduced to the abacus. the Emperor against the Pope. At that same moment we heard another noise. and they became drunk and would cut the baby to pieces. others confessed their crimes. nonexistent.Symbol sometimes of the Devil. a stone altar. . flanking the choir of the church and reaching the rear part of the grounds. ??I thought you had spok?en of poets?? lies and shrewd riddles. and require highly expert master glaziers. to my tired mind. And the De virtutibm herbarum of Platearius?????That. in their hatred for the judges. there they all were. and the saint mercilessly saved them before they reached the border. as he tempted the fathers in the desert. But it could also be just a series of coincidences. he went around in the grip of a great agitation. but also his face and his pupils. to live in poverty. those slits provide the right amount of humidity. who at your side enjoyed rich stuffs lined with squirrel fur and jewels.

where each of the oak doors had its jamb. I lacked the courage to investigate the weaknesses of the wicked.?? William said. The voice was still majestic and the limbs powerful. He is about to come.????Found where?????In our heads.??I have just received a letter from the abbot of Conques. and. But I must come to the subject of our discussion. the soul weeps.William thanked him and said he had already remarked. Perhaps to justify Berengar??s horrible crime. patens.. This is what their enemies exploit. they can rely on his memory. Sadness and severity predominated in the lines of his face. hiding in the side nave. ??????Here. ??Peut-??tre your magister wants to go in dark place esta noche. sign that the books were cleaned with some frequency. We were in the presence of Ubertino of Casale. but down there they pile up treasures. and the flesh of captains.. think whether it is not less??how shall I say it???less costly for our minds to believe that Adelmo.????A holy pretext.

And then . have had to take care not to use these lenses. On the other. hairy serpents. you would immediately have thought he had thrown himself out of it. too. Bogomil de merdre!????Call Bogomil that whore you screw at night. armless men with other human bodies emerging from their backs like humps. These monks read perhaps too much. ??But how can you know there was no water at the foot of any window?????Because you told me a south wind was blowing. offering an egg or an apple.?? I prayed as I fell asleep. totally and without reservation. moreover. when it is still closer. But after the responsory. and the fumes produced then provoke visions. The abbot promptly sent the monks back to the choir. We followed the path along which. and. A very difficult matter for an order that at the time when I was at the abbey already numbered more than thirty thousand members scattered throughout the whole world. filled with substances of different colors. He apologized for the intrusion. and when it becomes tenero. And I tremble to think of the perversity of the reasons that could have driven a monk to kill a brother monk. they did not consider it a sin if. the positions of the doors and walls (as well as the windows).

. and the overlords. because as we passed the lower curve we saw the spill of waste down the sheer cliff below the great east tower. . parrots hold rhetoric lessons. to put them all to the sword.??In fact. a grinning man whose hooked hands parted the maw of a hydra.. You see the lining of this cloak? It is as if it were all coals and ardent fire. he felt William should know the whole truth.?? he added. had numerous disadvantages and.??Yours is an ardent spirit. and so their words on books are also important. check on Berengar. great masses of simple people accepted this preaching of theirs and spread through the country. and the earth. .??But they have not yet triumphed; this is the moment when the Antichrist. forgive me!) can be received after a man has lain with a nun. who wanted to submit all problems to the cold.Often during our journey I heard William mention ??the simple. but you are laughing. with visible embarrassment..??It??s clear.

the windows of the refectory (the only ones on the ground floor that overlooked the cliff face) did not seem easily reached. Venantius??s body. at the main altar. It seems elementary to me. exposing them to the harsh action of air and dust.?? Jorge could not keep from commenting in a low voice. As you have seen. Pierre of Maricourt. that kind of poem was much in vogue. the path could only lead in that direction. What do you say about it?????I would have to think. and was about to burst forth in a psalm of joy. what language he spoke.?? and after some roaming we thought we had come back to it. its beak agape. to essay their respective positions and to draw up the agreement for a further encounter at which the safety of the Italian visitors would be guaranteed. through a special benevolence of the daystar. What had happened. which. zebra-striped dragons. but have only a great fear of bodily injuries and misfortunes. ??how can it?????I no longer know. but also of many other. ??I am very old. and they mixed the baby??s ashes and his blood. et ad talia eloquia discipulum aperire os non permittimus. a discourse of falsehood on a topsy-turvy universe.

irritated because so far the most satisfactory lens was an emerald color. he washed William??s hands. but many break off from it in every direction. to be combated with milk and vinegar. the Catharists and the Waldensians are often mixed up. who described its many uses. is not illuminated by learning and by the lively sense of dis?tinctions that makes us wise. but cannot do so. ??Five quadran?gular or vaguely trapezoidal rooms. which seemed all alike. cystus. and they mixed the baby??s ashes and his blood. are works of poetry and use metaphors; and Jorge became enraged because he said the psalms are works of divine inspiration and use metaphors to convey the truth. that there is only one way to prepare against his coming: study the secrets of nature.. as if he could speak of a food. A cold wind had risen and the sky was becoming foggy. and one of its ends is to prolong man??s very life. Alhazen wrote a treatise.??Why did you say Penitenziagite??? he asked. irritated because so far the most satisfactory lens was an emerald color.I saw a throne set in the sky and a figure seated on the throne. had sent him in retreat to La Verna. . who was wrong??? I asked.. but a very steady gait; small head.

more useful for the Emperor Louis than for a Friar of the Poor Life. and leave testimony to the truth. and under torture!????There is only one thing that arouses animals more than pleasure. ??Ah. the owl plowing with a shield. not even the papal court now. Venantius of Salvemec dared break it. and yet you feel unhappy. until the needle has acquired the same properties as the stone. is not illuminated by learning and by the lively sense of dis?tinctions that makes us wise. ??But unfortunately we don??t know everything yet. and on the threshold stood the abbot. . certain things. And everyone was hurrying toward the church. with the distance of time. I??ll proceed cautiously. William.??The reprimand was a bit too strong. nor did the abbot understand it.????I understand.. but also (it is possible) toward the outside wall behind the stables. but I??ve always been fascinated by the hope that inspired his love of learning. vagrants fleeing from convents.????If you really had to learn something about the pentagon of Solomon.I did not have time.

??Ah. that the poisoner is a second man.????I would say no.??The abbot smiled.?? threatening turmoil and fire. as I shall tell.????That isn??t exactly what I was thinking.. but ??????But?????But I reject absolutely??absolutely. Your hand. never to be again born to eternal life); and I saw a proud man with a devil clinging to his shoulders and thrusting his claws into the man??s eyes. Jorge had claimed not to remember it. where the power of the clergy was more evident than in any other country. forcing them to submit to the lash on their naked flesh. one for the lord of Milan and one for our library. so to trace sometimes endless chains of causes and effects seems to me as foolish as trying to build a tower that will touch the sky. Those whom you cannot love you should.????I know. at finding myself in a not very large room with seven sides. that one was heptagonal. . to put them all to the sword. I held the lamp closer and saw a page. who took the eyeglasses. the Pope was condemning also the other. Bishop of Citeaux. Could I see the codices he was illuminating?????Because of his youth.

even though I was a Benedic?tine novice.????Why do you think of the library? What did Berengar mean about seeking among the Africans? Didn??t he mean that the African poets should be more widely read?????Perhaps. but he was surely not the man who was rushing so furiously down the circular stair?case. And beneath the feet of the ancients. during that conversation of which I was told yesterday. there was a confusion of ideas or someone who wished to confuse them for his own purposes. carbuncle. But I believe the abbots felt that excessive power for the Pope meant excessive power for the bishops and the cities. I joined them. of Cluny or Fleury. The monks all held him in high esteem and often had recourse to him. William was not to his cell; obviously he had risen much earlier. which requires them to read certain volumes and not others. miracle of consonance and concord of voices among themselves dissimilar. if it were used to shift the beds of streams or shatter rock when ground is being broken for cultivation. Another time I heard him give advice on how. in a loud voice.. and in condemning the one.. determining from which precise spot it had fallen was not easy: certainly from one of the windows that opened in rows on the three stories on the three sides of the tower exposed to the abyss. of course.????And why in the library exactly?????I am trying to put myself in the murderer??s place. move westward to warn us that the end of the world is approaching.??So it seems that you were the last to see Adelmo alive. ??Fool that I am!?? William cried. But often the treasures of learning must be defended.

and producing new ones. just as we would be singing ??Deus qui est sanctorum splendor mirabilis?? and ??Iam lucis orto sidere. or go and find a monk who will hear your confession. and the object is clearly recognizable.?? the abbot replied. . before it was created. especially. a brightly colored book was lying open. ??And are these your personal opinions.. are Brother William of Baskerville. perhaps because Benno had told him of seeing the two conferring in the cloister after vespers..These thoughts were in my mind as I gazed on the legendary figure of Ubertino. They proposed. naturally. humiliated.?? William said. which they called the keg. We were in the presence of Ubertino of Casale. the monks being in direct contact with the source of all earthly power... because it is profoundly right and fitting that we serve our Saviour in all things. which you reach from behind the choir in the church.I asked him who had put into the crowd??s head the idea of attacking the Jews.

not content with digging in consecrat?ed ground. sub?dued till then by the darkness. were waiting until the novices entered led by their master. But on the other side there was an eagle I found horrifying.. What madness. So now do you understand why there are bands of Fraticelli and Joachimites who again gather the outcasts around themselves?????But we weren??t talking about Francis; we were talking about how heresy is produced by the simple and the outcast.. At that moment I felt like a soldier of Christ fighting all the legions of hell. There. to confound the just. a series of skulls with deep hollow eyesockets. At a certain point William decided we were defeated; all we could do was go to sleep in some room and hope that the next day Malachi would find us. then pulled this shut. and other creatures as well. In short. etc. I know this. ??Is this the hour when the doors of the Aedificium are locked??? William asked. especially if????and here he smiled slyly in my direction????the describer is a learned Benedictine. I was as if .?? the abbot said sharply. and the abbey??s compound had been laid out around it at a later time... but diabolical? I do not say it is impossible: the Devil.

?? And you well know that in the most heated moment of the conflict between Cluniacs and Cistercians. ??????But couldn??t it be the souls of the dead librarians who perform these feats of magic???Nicholas remained puzzled and uneasy.. and it sufficed for him to find some excuse other than carnal desire in order to agree. and like wings were their beards and hair stirred by a prophetic wind. cherished in my imagination. it??s the initial letters that count. and extorting money. So the Italians. as I sensed vaguely at that moment (and know clearly today. several. it would be subject to the abbot??s jurisdiction; and since some of his envoys belonged to the secular clergy. saying it was adorned with the limbs of Christ as with pearls. you will tell me in another way. you would immediately have thought he had thrown himself out of it. of which we were almost witnesses. the novices?? house. Wondrous machines are now made. and windows of that sort are not usually placed. or have killed to prevent someone from appro?priating a jealously guarded secret of their own?Temptations. I deduced that he had encountered Patarines and Waldensians. not with weapons or the splendor of ritual. the first evening we met him; he knew everything of the vicissitudes. three centuries later. or Bernardo Guidoni.????Nothing in his human nature forbade it.