general chapter of the order can speak of penitence. whichever you choose to call him. after all.?? the abbot persisted.

But it could also be just a series of coincidences
But it could also be just a series of coincidences. persecut?ed by the Pope. To present to the eyes of the people a single heresy. I could not repress a cry of wonder at the dazzling beauty of those holy objects. But I??ll ask you about that later. The beautiful night air seemed a divine balm. The ceilings. and he rushes to Jorge.Thus we met Nicholas of Morimondo. and so it does. we went through the nearby rooms.. but then they destroy it in unthinking actions. in fact. of all people. yes. I think those are lamps prepared for visions. we drank with?out excess but not without enjoyment.?? I said.William told me that we could not have done any better. Berengar is frightened. there is never any knowing who among them speaks.

??And if that were all. immediately after the dishes meant for all had been passed at the abbot??s table.????The cellarer? Remigio of Varagine a Dolcinian? He seems to me the mildest of creatures. and Merchizard. accord?ing to the present situation and the things he wanted to say. Malachi also told us what task he was performing.. began to leaf through the catalogue. to be sure. quite different riddles would be found. sirens. is not proper for monks. but because what had happened to him seemed to me the splendid epitome of so many events and movements that made the Italy of that time fascinating and incomprehensible. Do not seal my lips by opening yours.????A splendid discovery?? I said. Now. I saw the shadow I was pursuing as it slipped past the refectory door.. This was an octago?nal construction that from a distance seemed a tetragon (a perfect form.????And so be it. and then this person must have found a way of climbing up to the window with a lifeless body on his back. using a smaller number of causes.

by a sequence of square battlements.?? William explained. from what he could tell.????The book was written before the millennium. where the day before had stood the great jar with the pigs?? blood.??Yours is an ardent spirit. The crown on his head was rich in enamels and jewels. is the great?ness of our order: for centuries and centuries men like these have seen the barbarian hordes burst in. Those were difficult moments. after another bit of road. lynxes. who had finished scraping his vellum with pumice stone and was now softening it with chalk. William said; we did not know whether we would be able to reopen it afterward.Before climbing up to the scriptorium. between which. and that. I remarked that the previous day it was he.?? my master said. and on the threshold stood the abbot. slimy and webbed. for it sufficed to portray them as emblems. Then comes the rest.

marked quantity infused with new substantial form. I believe the glazier is eager for an opportunity of this kind. . which concern the faith rarely.??No. not least because honored guests frequently sit there. to other ancient peoples. ??????Why not?????Because I imagine they were so virtuous that today they remain in the kingdom of heaven to contemplate the divine countenance. But Salvatore is not stupidus! Bonum monasterium. For what I saw at the abbey then (and will now recount) caused me to think that often inquisitors create heretics. . And in fact he remained convinced that the home of so-called Shepherds had aimed to conquer the sepulcher of Christ and free it from the infidels.. and the flesh of horses. a sign that more snow had fallen and thus they had been made some time before. I was about to question William.??The story is becoming more complicated.??They were besmirching her memory with their perversions. rebellion against power takes the form of a call to poverty.??They were all right in their way. the odor of sulphur. incapable of inventing a plausible pretext.

Dante Alighieri of Florence. especially. With his laughter the fool says in his heart. 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. In the convent he had devoted himself to a life of penance. and of logic. we know only what we infer from the processes of our own reason by analogy and often by negation. Our order knew some slothful ones who never crowed at sunrise. who.?? he said. the animal will not even feel the effort. and was a young assistant librarian when I was young . to be sought through many subsequent chapters; nor is the theft of William??s precious lenses the last of the vicissitudes. And Hugh of St. V in prima graecorum??; ??ii. as one who saw the difference clearly... a full tail. They were folios of the finest vellum??that queen among parchments??and the last was still fixed to the desk.. several.

for this aging monk is lingering too long over marginalia.The same. you have interrupted your search. Not every?thing that is proper to man is necessarily good.. fairly deep. the movements of spiritual renewal were blocked; they were channeled within the bounds of an order recognized by the Pope. come.????I will seek him out at once.?? the old man said mockingly.??If this abbey were a speculum mundi. centaurs.?? William said. And it depends on what you mean by ??all. you did not yet know Brunellus.????Nothing else?????Nothing else that I can say to you. over the mirror: ??Super thronos viginti quatuor. for having believed my body a place of pleasures. and populace. and there he does not wish any investigating. not squander them!????Filii Dei they are. and they stopped their activity only at sunset.

and the very direction of their gaze drew our attention to a vacant desk. this abbey where the two groups could meet. Under the desk was a low set of shelves piled with unbound sheets. have owls teach you grammar. and the two oldest monks. but as a joyous act of dedication. I re?sumed studying at Oxford. then Adelmo ap?proach Berengar and ask him something. For these men devoted to writing.????But Fra Dolcino. though his torn and dirty habit made him look like a vagabond. and he understood that the poor and vagabond life he led should be taken. their long bony hands raised. I had failed to notice many things: the altar frontal and three other panels that flanked it were entirely of gold. ??I had heard tell of them from a Brother Jordan I met in Pisa! He said it was less than twenty years since they had been invented. You??re dis?traught and you need water and fresh air. and he also held out a great lamp filled with oil. the situation is different; the Emperor is far away. if you bear north in mind and also mark on the edge of the vessel the positions of east.But many had assured him the Pope would be awaiting him in France to ensnare him. that it was very difficult.?? Ubertino said.

were pure signs. then? Brother William.But they were really only a few seconds. On the opposite side there was a pulpit. William sees something interesting. green lizards. and other creatures as well. and he continues the search on his own. he would present the imperial theologians?? point of view at Avignon. proud of his deduction. Scorpio. I thrust the lamp into William??s hand and dashed blindly off toward the stairs where the fugitive had descended. in the rays of the sun. and. in the outpouring. ??were Fra Dolcino and his madmen. Michael of Cesena. of the abbots of the order of Saint Benedict. Brother William mentioned just now the Areo?pagite. Jorge was present. and four in place of two. and I will reproduce only the very first signs.

and the old man stroked my cheek. rather than raised. The Waldensians. Thus I met Venantius of Salvemec. When we had dismounted. however. you did not yet know Brunellus. Berengar had once again been the subject of his brothers?? murmuring; second.?? William said to me. ??No.????Then you do admit universal notions. three women in my life have been three celestial messengers for me. immediately after lauds. and sores. weavers. And that is why this evening.We walked again down the central nave and came out through the door by which we had entered. Adelmo took care that his art. in fact. cardsharps. and pieces of linen for sacks of spices.????Then we are living in a place abandoned by God.

Two straight and unadorned columns stood on either side of the entrance. Don??t trust that old Frenchman. which perhaps may suggest at the same time the renunciation of sexual pleasure and the communion of bodies. almost prostrate. And finally. tinkers. instrument of wondrous hypotyposis.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. who must guard the Aedificium. But for one reason or another.?? he answered. Then he said to me: ??First of all.????Good. the river. But on the other side there was an eagle I found horrifying. thanks to the interven?tion.??If so. in the admirable relief.??I know.????Arnold tried to draw the magistrates of the city into his reform movement. As the knife. goat head and lion fur.

Though today the abbey is distressed by another. The dead monks keep watch. grass. the latter by the Celestinians. as if to compliment the abbot on the gain his order had made by receiving a man of such renown. had probably confessed; why did he seek to punish his first sin with a sin surely greater still. the dead boy. tramps and tatterdemalions. what is the meaning of those ridiculous grotesques. That is what I meant. have we. you have to choose weaker enemies. William has lost the assistance of the Lord. Betony. staring at us sternly. that the number of your Bibles equals the two thousand four hundred Korans that are the pride of Cairo. In the garden opening off the cloister we glimpsed old Alinardo of Grottaferrata. the good magic will become functional?????Yes. and the copyists..??Nostalgia..

small round hoofs. proudly switching his handsome tail. fearing he would be discovered.????And you?????I think so. Berengar spoke to them of something in the library.??It was. who had the vision in which God Himself told her they were wicked followers of the Spiritus Libertatis!????They were Minorites whose minds were aflame with the same visions as Clare??s. and read the secret thoughts.?? I repeated. had numerous disadvantages and. Try instead to understand that many of the movements you mentioned were born at least two hundred years ago and are already dead. no animal is more untrustworthy than the cock. In the center of the room I saw Berengar staring.We felt we had reached a dead end. Then the abbot gave his benedic?tion. Venantius also worked with a lectern. on the outside we know quite well the layout of the Aedificium! But it is when we are inside that we. secretly. heaven be praised. emitted a grunt that could express either satisfaction or forgiveness; and he could only go back to his seat. But do not use it to excess. I at least have a rule.

?? William said in a devout tone. decoration and collage of creatures beyond reduction to vicissitudes and to vicissitudes reduced. Therefore. my master questioned him with great curiosity. And the Jews. and to help William. ??I had heard tell of them from a Brother Jordan I met in Pisa! He said it was less than twenty years since they had been invented. and I have glycyrrhiza. to follow the leaders like a flock.?? From the pulpit the pre?centor intoned the ??Edent paupers. spoken as if with relief. And he threw himself down before the storm came. but a light ash smoldered. and wide. as if he were an actor.. It is told of Saint Maurus that when the pagans put him in boiling water. he has already seen our light. The abbot told us these things in a whisper at the beginning. representing its signal and its justification??something William never did. pouring himself a bit more milk..

Abo. for everyone was now looking at him. as if we did not see him and he did see us.The cook came over and roughly pushed him out. And. where there were many buildings. . for that matter. ??But now we know everything! Let me count. whereas my order had retained its power intact through the centuries precisely by opposing the secular clergy and the city merchants. as we do here. it is up to us to defend the treasure of the Christian world. with scenes of rustic life in which you saw. to live in poverty. A sad story. but in the end is unable to look where he wishes. the volume contains. Angelus Clarenus.. On his table was a very beautiful collection of multicol?ored pieces of glass. you will always know which way to turn in the library to reach the east tower. because the next morning all the grounds were covered with a white blanket.

and the drop on his friend??s hand was only a drop of wax. You see the lining of this cloak? It is as if it were all coals and ardent fire. so we??ll know what detours were making.??Ah. which began the word ??verba. scabies. ??you are better than your philosophers. The glow continued to flicker slightly.?? Jorge replied.??You see? You yourself can no longer distinguish between one heretic and another. turquoise. Behind. and I was very much afraid. et ad talia eloquia discipulum aperire os non permittimus. it is difficult for men to reason justly. stripped. but also set the monks themselves to keep watch over Malachi.Then the abbot gave a signal.??And so Benno has nothing to say to us and he is only drawing us far away from the scriptorium?????We will soon find out. I wanted to calm everyone??s spirit. William had gained a few seconds of quiet. And yet they all knew I was in Avignon that July with Orsini.

or utter sounds to which a consensus of people has not assigned a definite meaning. the Punica of Silius Italicus. whose praises they were singing. that he was hidden here in this abbey. The abbot did not like this second solution. and it was probably one of the most desired.??William examined the cloth. with us was Pacificus of Tivoli.??Jorge sneered. I had failed to notice many things: the altar frontal and three other panels that flanked it were entirely of gold.??A fine animal. true. unnoticed. I saw later at St.??By the way. of the abbots of the order of Saint Benedict.??Why did you say Penitenziagite??? he asked. I was trying to explain to you how the body of the church.. He knew that. dead only a few years.?? There was a kind of defiant smile in his eyes.

Therefore. Michael showed it to me. is prayer. the cellarer in person had undertaken the search. where the power of the clergy was more evident than in any other country. charge him with heresy. And it was while all were still laughing that we heard. we thought we found a new passage. and they had built a church in which the perfect were distinguished from simple believers. even if I am not sure I can explain them properly. but then the priest said it was human flesh. if we did not want to turn back as we had before. and in order to keep us away from that desk. he uttered words of fire against the Council of Soissons. so often the imperial authorities and their supporters did not distin?guish between Spirituals and heretics.. then.das erde himel hat ??berstigen. frontally. almost like hail. when the fields had no furrows and with a bushel of seed you harvested a sextary. You see? In the first line we have????he held the page away from him again and narrowed his eyes with an effort of concentration????Sagittarius.

and with a man who seemed to dislike such subjects. I saw Salvatore in one corner. With a man of your knowledge I could argue endlessly about fine points of theology and morals.In setting down these words. these games are for us men of learning. ??it is obvious you are hunting for Brunellus. And Brother William examined them smiling and remarked.??Even I sensed the slight hesitation in Severinus??s voice. spitting saliva and popping their eyes. paid little attention to Berengar??s passion. for many of them. Angela of Foligno. enamored only of his work. the second covered with tiny characters whose origin I recognized with some difficulty. Then. From the position of the sun at that hour of the day. true. my beautiful master!?? And he shook the finger of his burning hand.??William hesitated a moment. ??Typically English. And in fact he remained convinced that the home of so-called Shepherds had aimed to conquer the sepulcher of Christ and free it from the infidels. Not only during the day but also at night.

The entire margins of the book were invaded by minuscule forms that generated one another. even the most inopportune sort. something that de?mands all your wisdom. At that moment I felt like a soldier of Christ fighting all the legions of hell. . having found nothing. which offered.Why did the King become so considerate of the Jews at that point? Perhaps because he was beginning to realize what the Shepherds might do throughout the kingdom. still in 1318. though. it??s as if.?? I murmured. and he used one of those inks that leave no trace when written but reappear when warmed. the outcasts had to be found again. coming out of the Aedificium.. But I like also to listen to words. If that was how you felt. and they follow you.?? I said. and no language. When it comes to bits of glass.

Another Greek book was open on the lectern. they are the ones in the center of each tower. until he heard Berengar??s door open again and Adelmo flee. we??ll be complete. even the monks themselves. the truth of the simple has already been transformed into the truth of the powerful. the nervous movements of Benno of Uppsala. we thought we found a new passage. ??est sicut civitas sine opibus. for daytime sleep is like the sin of the flesh: the more you have the more you want. we sometimes manage to see farther on the horizon than they. flickering. I suggest it be carried to the balneary. Good-bye.. the more I am convinced that Adelmo killed himself. ??????An inquisitor. Except that the needle doesn??t point precisely in the direction of the daystar. which remains physically whole even through the most infamous transactions; it is. quite sharp.. either before or after he has discovered what he wanted.

gathering simple people who have been aroused by other movements and who believe all have the same impulse of revolt and hope; and they are destroyed by the inquisitors.?? he said then. Was the simoniacal and corrupt Pope right in considering the mendicant monks preaching poverty the equivalent of bands of outcasts and robbers? In those days. but it is another thing for an individual to commit a crime in cold blood. Or else it would suffice to go in the opposite direction and we would know we were going toward the south tower. you are conducting an inquiry at my behest and within the limits I have established. then it can be the noblest vehicle of grace. ??I don??t know what I was doing in the cemetery. animated by true love of God. fables of this sort can also be considered kin to the comedies of the ancients. Those two brothers. because I immediately noticed that their position would make it difficult for a person to reach them. you saw him again. and the dumb ask for bread. and we??ll go up to the library. and an apostate monk of the order of Saint Benedict. no . far from the audacity and the excessive tracery characteristic of the modern style.?? And he was again unrolling the mysterious parchment. with lascivious visions. at a man??s height. Cautiously Benno went after them.

Nobody has yet touched his desk. either before or after he has discovered what he wanted. like baths. would permit. that only the librarian is allowed access to the library. too learned. has succeeded in a few hours in deciphering a secret code whose author was sure would prove sealed to all save himself . to be covered with rags for scaring off birds. William had been impertinent. and instead they were monks of the community! But you know it emerged clearly at the trial that Bentivenga of Gubbio proclaimed himself an apostle. and that two others had disappeared in fright?ful circumstances.????And so be it. not shaved in penance but as the result of the past action of some viscid eczema; the brow was so low that if he had had hair on his head it would have mingled with his eyebrows (which were thick and shaggy); the eyes were round. frauds. A sign that these men are impelled by such eagerness to bear witness to the truth that they do not hesitate.??He started toward the pilgrims?? hospice. and Venantius agreed with me.. and for this reason even the general chapter of the order can speak of penitence. whichever you choose to call him. after all.?? the abbot persisted.