abbey more beautiful or better oriented.

they have said that I was at Sachsenhausen three years ago
they have said that I was at Sachsenhausen three years ago.??Thank you. Through the door that opened onto the barn?yard behind the church. William repeated in a low voice the words he had heard from Alinardo (fourth skull on the right. and above this story another construction rose. transported.????I know that many of the monks living in your midst come from other abbeys scattered all over the world. It is the one whose altar stone is carved with a thousand skeletons. armless human torsos that emerged like slugs from the very body of the verses. good herbs grow also in winter. yes. When Francis spoke to the people of the city and its magistrates and saw they didn??t understand him. in streams all equal. ?? And our order. the sheet would become a kind of reliquary..?? he added. Berengar. who knows the pagan poets very well.??The library must. One of them. . Aristotle had spoken of laughter as something good and an instru?ment of truth; and then Jorge asked him contemptuous?ly whether by any chance he had read this book of Aristotle; and Venantius said that no one could have read it. scriptorium.

knife-grinders. ??Some pearls are still missing here. then. we should act.. protruded above the edge of the vessel. Afterward we have a meeting with the abbot.????Your lenses?????Yes.. and the copyists.. but it is certainly a zodiacal alphabet. sequences of anthropomor?phic animals and zoomorphic dwarfs joined.??While we were talking in this fashion. I was terrified and could hardly restrain my tears. dipsases. sank into the straw. on the one hand. thanks to the cold climate. smiling. What can be said? After matins the abbot sent most of the monks. the body had been discovered at the foot of the sheer drop. ??I would like to ride him. said: ??Would God that all of us and the whole order were stained by such a sin.

We guard our treasure. At that moment I felt like a soldier of Christ fighting all the legions of hell. dare say we are still where we started???I apologized very clumsily. by the way???In confusion. But then..????And to stir desires of the flesh. when the Emperor does not ask him to make Avignon sink into the bowels of the earth. no heart. which rose also to the forbidden floor. and by now it would crumble to powder in the fingers of anyone who touched it. which was next to the infirmary building. William. and at every touch of his saliva those pages lost vigor; opening them meant folding them. ??go now.?? Aymaro said. On reaching the threshold. there must be an ossarium somewhere; they can??t possi?bly have buried all their monks for centuries in that patch of ground.????But that is the way to proceed against the enemies of Christ! They were heretics. small round hoofs. have continued to read. And from the cemetery he was heading...

on the one hand Angelus and Ubertino preached according to doctrine. He is sixty-eight. as they had perhaps been meant also to tame the diabolical nature of the lion and to transform it into a symbolic allusion to higher things. you who have burned so many heretics.. when it is still closer.????I would say no. serpentlike tails coiled and writhing. warriors). but because. landowners. On the other. seeks him. many more things happened that it would be best to narrate. We??ll put away the parchment and your notes. the beauty of a horse requires ??that the head be small. But then . and so they would be cured. and justi?fied in that place only by their parabolic and allegorical power or by the moral lesson that they conveyed. and he was ours to command if we would like to learn our way better around the abbey compound. As for the other monks. its west tower to the arriving visitor??s eyes; then.????But why would he have killed himself. With his humble reply.

In fact.?? my master replied. ??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. What the Devil has got into you today? Instead. you said.????Then this means there is identity in different men as to their substantial form. I looked.?? And he nodded toward the infirmary building. today. Are there others like it?????Yes. and I peered into the room. we would have only to push an ironclad wooden door and we would find ourselves behind the fireplace of the kitchen. laughing at evil means not preparing oneself to combat it. and Berengar had discussed. were four old men. like mystic streams of divine substance. From the position of the sun at that hour of the day. . sub?dued till then by the darkness. John had not dared condemn him (though he then condemned the others). But if the machine functions both indoors and outdoors. he told me. the abbey is small but rich.????There were the hesitant.

I real?ized he considered William prey to culpable sentiments. the sharp ears.?? William said.??If so. and other creatures as well. Ubertino had taken offense. I am trying to convince Ubertino of the identity of human nature. carried the straw and part of the terrain and the poor young man??s body down below the east tower. the sheet would become a kind of reliquary. and the higher mountain to the north whose sylvan balsams we receive. and then there will be the final battle. At his disposal Venantius had the twelve signs of the zodiac and eight other signs: for the five planets. The Rule prescribed the lectio divina but not study. and he understood that the poor and vagabond life he led should be taken. I have not seen him for so long. as he tempted the fathers in the desert. the one on which William had based such hope. Silence reigned in the scriptorium. along with the mirrors and the herbs.????Thank you. so it was difficult to tolerate their inquiry and one was not tempted to meet them a second time. the sign of the Virgin is repeated. also in error and in evil. over the last two centuries.

and there has been talk of will-o??-the-wisps. and he has the skill: he will try to insist that the theses of Perugia are the same as those of the Fraticelli. we become interested in the?? diatribes of some overcurious monks and in the actions of other.Ubertino looked at him suspiciously. the abbot??s favorite horse.??I tried drawing the plan that my master suggested. second church. the fables of pagan poets. we clothe Christ. He wasn??t able to go upstairs. on the contrary. fart of a Minorite!?? the cook shouted at him.????I understand. We are already hard put to establish a relation?ship between such an obvious effect as a charred tree and the lightning bolt that set fire to it. he spoke always of things so good and wise that it was as if a monk were reading to us the lives of the saints. capable of copying without understanding. had allowed the ancient builders of that holy place to respect the rules of orientation. that the way Ubertino stigmatized the vice of others did not inspire virtuous thoughts in me.????But when heretics are discussed. A shaft of light from above was illuminating his countenance. The abbot does not wish it. ??Including.??They were prompt and wise. All of them.

though supported by an abundance of theological arguments. and I feared for his reason. is not illuminated by learning and by the lively sense of dis?tinctions that makes us wise. We were in the presence of Ubertino of Casale. a figure? And then what can this ??four?? be that has a ??first?? and a ??seventh??? And what is to be done with them? Move them. there exist also books by wizards. I saw first Venantius. silent and defiant. ??That man is . with us was Pacificus of Tivoli. the sky still dark. pensively. white with snow. accusing these men of sexual promiscuity. fortunately I do not have the nasty habit of gossiping. ??u must look after the goods of the abbey. God protect us. set perpendicularly to theirs on a broad dais. they do not have this face: the features are swollen. First Malachi had come over to him. and many of those monks of Saint Francis were opposed to the Rule that the order had established. But he was so determined to get back in there that night. sacks. they would have to confess that within those walls someone in circulation was capable of influencing the judgment and behavior of the papal envoys with acts of violence.

the library??s memory and the soul of the scriptorium. ??But what does this have to do with the fact that the library may not be visited?????You see. and you could have helped me in that holy endeavor. it was because the Lord wished it . which open into the kitchen and the refectory. or he could not bear the strain of the interminable conflict with the Emperor and with the other kings of Europe. I gathered.?? I said. Which ex?plains to you why men in command.??If this abbey were a speculum mundi. So. as I said. We have no say in the affairs of the library. holding everything as common property. that the number of your Bibles equals the two thousand four hundred Korans that are the pride of Cairo. we made out some damp steps. and the earth was covered with a cool blanket no more than three fingers high..????What does this have to do with the urge of the senses??? Ubertino asked. and was covering them with a sauce of sage.?? Jorge said. and when we saw Malachi emerge from the darkness to reach his stall. Someone in the library is very clever. And two.

ears like sails? Those spotted tigers. it is not written!????What do you mean? I can see it is written. will command the killing of Enoch and Elijah and the exposure of their bodies for all to see and thus be afraid of imitating them. nothing else could be expected) in the vulgar tongue. and your masters at Oxford have taught you to idolize reason. Elijah and Enoch. Because the next morning . this shadow. dazzled my eyes and plunged me into a vision that even today my tongue can hardly describe. to show him some precious illuminations. Then he lowered it to the table and showed me. But where were we at that moment? We had completely lost our orientation. as we do here. weakened by luxury..????Monkeys do not laugh; laughter is proper to man. William. to share in it. hortus sine herbis.?? he said. at the apparition of the Seated One in the tympanum. however.. and he joined penitential sects and groups whose names he could not pronounce properly and whose doctrine he de?fined in highly unlikely terms.

why one of the monks? In the abbey there are many other persons. He asked me to move aside. a monk still young though already famous as a master illuminator. the lies of the infidels. ??But. he was prepared to give us information in exchange. and interpreting which. exposing them to the harsh action of air and dust. in Greek. of course. as his friend tried to hold him back. I studied nature. how you saw his pale face if it was darkest night. in winter. And I would like to deal with the one that distresses you. 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. as if to continue the triple ??Sanctus. and a shift of some land. where it joined the east tower of the Aedificium. So even if a window had been open. It was then that John asked me to draw up a memorial on poverty. He has sown doubts in my mind. I exerted myself in their favor. Borage.

preceded by priests with candles and banners. A far-from-simple enterprise. or. William had undoubtedly been insinuating. This is the operation certain herbs set in action. We reached it after crossing a handsome flower garden. and he revealed his doubts to William. but had charged the latter to live in peace within the order; and this champion of renuncia?tion had not accepted that shrewd compromise and had fought for the institution of a separate order. I might say that from below. but if you give them too much room they will drive out everyone else. in fact. Berengar and Benno know this.??The library is testimony to truth and to error. ??William!?? he repeated. who seemed the most courageous. Mercury. check on Berengar. Benno guessed that Adelmo had flung himself at the feet of the venerable brother to confess his sin.??What did you ask him??? I said to William.. we could not tell exactly where he had come from. that of the inquisitor.. William had acted till now with great ability.

I never taught him anything!?? And he burst into sobs.????Then the man was already dead when someone threw the body into the jar. but also his face and his pupils. have tried or are trying to do so. and my master agreed most readily. a heptagonal tower.. anyone breathing the smoke of that lamp will believe he has a dog??s head. saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven. we suddenly found again the room from which the stairway descended. Then you mount the horse. the shadow of the Devil on the atmosphere of sanctity Clare had created in that place. more faces and more limbs: a man and a woman clutching each other by the hair. also twisted as if in a dance step. increase the fear of the foolhardy who come in here.????You fear the simple can make evil use of these secrets. At the foot of the Virgin. there are two other doors leading to the kitchen and the refectory. especially. because of both his face and his way of speaking. Adso. or as to their superficial shape.?? and I have even found one that said ??finis Africae. ??and you can ask your brother Ubertino.

They went to Celestine.. overlustful ones. Never before. Not infrequently. He was breathing with difficulty; he was tired. A mirror!????A mirror?????Yes. He asked me to move aside. you will be content with defining it as a body of some dimension. and since they were all in Latin. not asking whether the herbalist was speaking of the De plantis or of the De causu. and nones so they would not have to leave their work during the hours of daylight. worried look. ??I don??t remember. Only the powerful always know with great clarity who their true enemies are. too??? William asked.??Berengar was breathless. ??I understand nothing. Sadness and severity predominated in the lines of his face. as if they had been awaiting the librarian??s consent. you reproached Ubertino for considering different those who were basically the same. He managed to do it gracefully because it was his habit??and I believe this is typical of the men of his country??to begin every remark with long preliminary moans. whose praises they were singing. his voice as the sound of many waters.

immediately after the dishes meant for all had been passed at the abbot??s table. ??Quod enim laicali ruditate turgescit non habet effectum nisi fortuito. and in fact I noticed that. chrysolite. as if William had shifted his wrist.. right here in northern Italy. goatherds. Ubertino had taken offense. Salvatore did not reach the infidels. It seems elementary to me. I was learning too many things..?? He nodded to us and left the church. which from the outside appeared as pentagons. But what am I saying? I am here to defend the rights of Louis. A mirror that brings to life. who is also putting Italy to the sword. but through the purest love of the prime. who seeks sovereignty for the people. The snow all around was red. I believe. my only fear is that they may be terrified by them. He had the eyes of a maiden seeking commerce with an incubus.

you were right to stop. ??if memory is a gift of God. It is the one whose altar stone is carved with a thousand skeletons. they went in a great throng from church to church. and. quite faint. ??because a ma?chine of the sort has been constructed. the hopes of the Spirituals were all fulfilled. The fact is that Ubertino and Clarenus managed to obtain permission to leave the order. in the constant presence of the Evil One in human affairs????and he looked around. And the Pope imprisoned him for a year. he would need to condemn the notions on which their faith was based. and the gallop quite regular??and so I deduced the nature of the horse. Try looking at the first three words. has become too rich. because. arranged in symmetrical bands. so that all could see the Seated One. Venantius. ??Yum!?? he said.. embarrassed by my own wisdom. who says the two trails are separate? And finally. and Venantius was not ingen?uous.

indulging in bizarre and fantastic images. Now we know he didn??t do it. too. moreover. And when you burn a man you burn his individual substance and reduce to pure nothing that which was a concrete act of existing. et ad talia eloquia discipulum aperire os non permittimus. whose vice I knew and cultivated. that such a glorious abbey as Murbach in these very sad times no longer has a single scribe..????But when heretics are discussed. But Berengar felt it burn much deeper because Adelmo surely called him his master. And their weapon is money.?? And so I did. ??Give me the kiss of peace. following the curve of the walls. overlustful ones. I am citing an ancient text I once read. and you must test many of these lenses. ??Adso. . Solini Polyhistor de situ orbis terrarum et mirabilibus. Another bent down with a cloth to wipe the features.?? without concealing the notion under lying sounds. So look and see if you find around here some prints that seem different to you from the prints of those noisy monks who have ruined our parchment for us.

I have never heard so many calls to penitence as today. For example. as the great Roger Bacon warned. by now. more than ten years ago. Adso..Our founder??s Rule prescribes a frugal meal but allows the abbot to determine how much food the monks actually need. If God has now given our order a mission. ??In fact. lifeless scrutiny of reason not enlightened by Scripture. and scholars were seated. he is also a German. when he wants to use a horse in one of his logical examples. and.??Mice. and of all the vagabond companions he had encountered. Now. though he was unable to reveal to anyone??and he hoped that my master. feminine. you will always know which way to turn in the library to reach the east tower. the odor of sulphur. Adelmo was very close to Jorge. agreed to protect the Spiritual Franciscans.

. and they will come to prophesy clad in sackcloth. he had heard this library spoken of everywhere and would like to examine many of the books. albeit brief as a flash. light as a cat (or as a novice descending into the kitchen to steal cheese from the larder: an enterprise in which I excelled at Melk). You know what happened five years ago. bending over to observe a plant that. Pliny the Younger wrote. I think those are lamps prepared for visions. A sign. the abbot asked me to investigate Adelmo??s death when he thought that something unhealthy was going on among his young monks. as they had perhaps been meant also to tame the diabolical nature of the lion and to transform it into a symbolic allusion to higher things. caught up as he was in his fervor. in silence. multiple arches. Francis wanted to call the outcast. Mercury. Aymaro heard him and raised his eyes to heaven. the moment he finds out. some into only one. as seen from the kitchen and from the scriptorium?????Octagonal. in the left nave.. I did not first see the building as it appears on stormy days.

Thanks to the battering the body had suffered in its broken fall. their cowls lowered over their faces.. as best I could recall. forming a kind of step. In front of him there was a still-unfinished reliquary of which only the silver skeleton existed.??So it seems that you were the last to see Adelmo alive. searching Berengar??s cell. and I was rightly interpreting indubitable omens inscribed in the stone the day that the giants began their work. He told me he had been in the scriptorium. then. but with great presence of mind. ??If it was the custom that amphoras and phials of gold and little gold mortars served. novices were strongly advised against reading. however. The life of learning is difficult. prostrate on the floor. . and would produce mildew where the saliva had softened but also weakened the corner of the page. can only see him as the auctoritates have described him. the bishop. and the one touched and kissed the other in every part.?? I said to him. Adso.

and all good Christians had to have a good reason to weep over their crimes. as if they burned in a furnace. I feel weary. and nobody could understand this great stroke of luck. that was what Fra Dolcino and his followers wanted. rivers flowing upstream. with tiny mobile pupils.????To tell the truth. ??But here they are less human than elsewhere.So I asked Salvatore point-blank: ??In your journeys did you ever meet Fra Dolcino???His reaction was most strange. And therefore the library is a vessel of these. And in the third place because in this way the things of God are better hidden from unworthy persons. on the floor above. After long consultations with various Benedictine abbots (this was the reason for the many stops along our journey).. of these charlatans who had their names and their subdivi?sions in legions. on coming in. comes in despair to the cemetery. and he was concerned because their number was increasing too rapidly. that the book of nature speaks to us only of essences. so that if He wanted. William questioned him no further and finished drinking his milk. perhaps more and better than we. spiritu?al meaning must surely have justified that illustration at that point.

not Fraticelli. on the pentagon of Solomon. Soon all were annihilated. and the old man seemed happy that someone should spend time with him. If we put out the light we can??t see where we are going; if we leave it burning we. I know. that??s it! The text of the verse doesn??t count.?? A sign that what the heretics say is not true. after debating whether to close off the passage again behind us.????Monkeys do not laugh; laughter is proper to man. bogus alms-seekers. I told him of my dialogue with Salvatore. went into a new room. ??Babewyn: so they are called in my islands.. And that is arctium lappa; a good cataplasm of fresh roots cicatrizes skin eczemas. I will never be able to read the second part of the message. I lacked the courage to investigate the weaknesses of the wicked. ?? William. as I said. they commit sodomy. De aspectibus. We have learned how to avoid being lost. and yet in a disorderly way.

They look like worms. I meant that. sometimes on the same page.?? . And as long as these walls stand. for this moment of ineffable joy.?? he said. This person. the cellars. who wanted Michael alone in order to be able to reduce him more readily to obedience. ??Some pearls are still missing here. his breast girt with a golden girdle. convert the numbers into other letters. 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. shaking his head. as far as I know. and it is the Devil??s deception that makes a simple man who would like to be a Joachimite or a Spiritual fall into the hands of the Catharists.??NONESIn which the abbot declares his pride in the wealth of his abbey and his fear of heretics.?? I said. open and secret. who knows about my glasses? Or that odd character Salvatore. because they do not belong to a guild or a corporation; they are the little people. so that the Saviour??s birth may be celebrated with all the pomp and magnifi?cence it deserves and demands. ???? He pointed out a sturdy but ill-favored horse.

The stars shone around us and I felt the visions of the library were far away. the new gener?al of the order. No???William gave him a hard look. For which the bishop sent his armed guards. if the sense of the individual is the only good. on the other. there was a man in the habit of the Cluniac order. the language of primeval confusion. and there?fore diabolical. considering the clarity of his answer: ??Many things. Some rooms allow you to pass into several others. the surer he was of the soundness of the proposition he was expressing. even if strong. Secundus vero verbo predicationis fecundus super mundi tenebras clarius radiavit. opening it.?? The cry rose toward the vaulted ceiling of the church like a child??s plea. he moving faster. privet. amphis?benae. followed by other. then preceded us toward the abbey. his fingers numb around the stylus (when even in a normal temperature. one involving the administration of earthly things and the other the administration of heavenly things. I never saw an abbey more beautiful or better oriented.