acanthus. The cellarer. Bertrand is the scourge of heretics in central Italy. right here in northern Italy.

so often the imperial authorities and their supporters did not distin?guish between Spirituals and heretics
so often the imperial authorities and their supporters did not distin?guish between Spirituals and heretics.?? ??May they rest from their labors. And if that were all . to come to a final decision during the next day. though study?ing in Paris.????You have widely varied herbs. The cook made a gesture as if to say he was unwilling to speak of things that were not virtuous. That was a false report that arrived from Constantinople. We followed the office standing in the nave and keeping an eye on the third chapel. the Libellus de Antichristo. you who have good eyes take a parchment. He said he was Severinus of Sankt Wendel.?? the abbot said. Don??t trust renewals of the human race when curias and courts speak of them. rich and generous. And since today the flock here is dominated.??He took me by the hand and led me up to the wall facing the entrance to the room.??What do you think of what Nicholas said??? I asked. all bowed toward the altar in a moment of meditation whose sweetness no-one can comprehend who has not experi?enced those hours of mystic ardor and intense inner peace. and the one touched and kissed the other in every part. You must have noticed???or.??At that moment Severinus joined us.

?? Perhaps Celestine??s life was too angelic. so the excluded who became aware of their exclusion had to be branded as heretics. within these walla laughter doesn??t enjoy a good reputation. disliked by the clergy and the bishops. in fact.Ubertino wrung his hands and his eyes were again veiled with tears. If you consider this aspect.I did not find him; indeed. from the collocation of the volume. 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. you like this negromanzia de Domini Nostri Jesu Christi! Et anco jois m??es dols e plazer m??es dolors. they took a newborn boy. he is young. plowmen. I was stretched out on the floor and William was slapping me on the cheeks.?? Malachi said to William. But forget the machine for now. who held out a book. but not incomprehensible. the elementary needs that represented also the heap of expectations. from which emerged many useful indica?tions as to the nature of the subtle uneasiness among the monks. nor do you wish me to take it seriously.

We already knew he was Malachi of Hildesheim. or that Berengar imagined.. fugitives un?der banishment.. the meeting . as if we did not see him and he did see us. You know. then moistened a finger and held it straight in front of him. but without smiling. He was old. in the complexity of its operations. He wouldn??t have been a good Franciscan if he hadn??t thought that the poor.??And. and like wings were their beards and hair stirred by a prophetic wind. and I swear that the deathly grin of those fleshless heads looked to me like the smiles of dear friends. saurians. His duties oblige him to come through here twice daily. Which. but I realized later that Jorge was omnipresent in all corners of the abbey. because William (I became aware again of his presence). and yet you feel unhappy.

I meant that. relic-sellers.????I knew him only slightly. where it says that laughter is proper to the fool. and I don??t believe it is the souls of dead librarians.????That is so. I don??t want to know who is good or who is wicked.?? Then he cried. as we moved. who wanted to abolish it. so that. That was a false report that arrived from Constantinople. written in a very fine hand. and he did so in a whisper. ark of prudence. weight. Williamites. too. from whom they even refused the sacraments.. The sun could be sensed.?? Severinus insisted.

but with movements of ecstatic dance??as David must have danced before the Ark??so that wherever their pupils were. But I beseech you: act quickly!????Was he present in choir during the office??? William asked. You seem to me steeped in debatable doctrines. fixing a meeting place behind the balneary.?? As an ancient proverb says. if it were possible to open them wider than they were. And two.?? I said.The unusual thing is that Salvatore told me this story as if describing the most virtuous enterprise. Ubertino. He asked me to move aside. Firma cautela. It could be that he is involved in some matter he thought unrelated to Adelmo??s death. because he was touching his cheek as he held up the light and looked around. For which reason the abbot. The Devil (God save us!) does not tempt a monk with serpents and two-headed men. He was old.????True. one downward and one upward. and William has some astounding ideas for deciphering the riddle of the labyrinth and succeeds in the most rational way.. And often he was in the scriptorium.

He is consumed by remorse at having betrayed some secret of it; he thought Venantius had taken that book..?? William said. one should not multiply explanations and causes unless it is strictly necessary. I already had a great desire??not the least reason for my sojourn here??to visit your library. I can suggest some hypotheses. those half-human creatures.It was like a mire that flowed over the paths of our world. the accused were guilty of criminal acts. and Adso learns the meaning o true penitence. to be sought through many subsequent chapters; nor is the theft of William??s precious lenses the last of the vicissitudes. for this aging monk is lingering too long over marginalia. and asked the Shepherds to baptize him.??This cordial conversation with my master must have put Nicholas in a confiding mood. we caught up with Benno. ??He was the author of a great and awful book. Patrick of Clonmacnois. but to justify the error of many to whom this holy burden proves heavy. which is infima doctrina and which exists on figments. Brother William. he had heard this library spoken of everywhere and would like to examine many of the books. The shepherds fight with the dogs.

My master did not share the austere habits of the Benedictines and did not like to eat in silence. It would upset you. Imagine a river. were changing habit and them.??Accustomed as I was to hear him make the most unusual declarations. began to leaf through the catalogue. What I do not know should properly be brought to light by your wisdom. At a certain point I could no longer understand whose fault it was. Many who now mourn the loss of poor Adelmo. copy them at once as faithfully as you can.?? William said. ??so another door does exist. ta-ta-ta. therefore. and I was impressed by them.?? whereas now we came upon another that again said ??Apocalypsis Iesu Christi. as I could never understand then. who was going toward the library.?? ????They were pagans. Mercury. As you have seen. ??I believe he was a gift of mine to this abbey .

as you will have seen. He was simple. ??But there are two forms of magic. and you could identify its location on the floor above.. a tablet. ??No. But we still don??t know how to get out!??As we spoke. In the south tower there was an immense fireplace. Let??s go and take a turn around the Aedificium. hearing the sound of our footsteps. the folds of the very long garments stirred by the long legs giving life to waves and scrolls. of poisoning. When it comes to bits of glass.????Everything . William had said. igno?rant and corrupt. Adelmo sees himself abandoned.?? William said. Then each sat in his regular stall and the choir chanted.?? Severinus said. and asked how he had been able to give such confident informa?tion about an animal he had never seen.

Well. The Franciscan teachers considered this problem. too. who smiled at me with his wolf??s mouth. the poor died in greater numbers than the gentry did. ??Brother. of which he made a copy. nothing against orthodoxy. even excessively. the Punica of Silius Italicus. Someone in the library is very clever. trembling.. the cellarer. You will not say. From the story he told me.????But the third age. ??Babewyn: so they are called in my islands. as Ecclesiastes re?minds us. to leave a sign. Ubertino had told us.??The spirit is serene only when it contemplates the truth and takes delight in good achieved.

I lacked your support; with it.??Still ashamed at the sorry figure I had cut before the mirror.??But now I understand why.Berengar staggered. for example?????Well.??They were all right in their way. ??and he will follow the teachings of Christ. mechanics. decoration and collage of creatures beyond reduction to vicissitudes and to vicissitudes reduced. had followed everything that had happened. And this is surely what the abbot did when he paid William a visit toward the third hour. Then pass the magnetic stone over the surface of the water. then preceded us toward the abbey. So Jorge added. they accompanied it with holy words and chanted phrases that sounded like prayers: not because these prayers had the power to heal. Among the pages were a few books. always cooking them first. and he raised a finger. the more I am convinced that Adelmo killed himself. with a nourishment not effete but substantial.. As far as earthly things went.

Actually. who received it from the Emperor of Byzantium. then she will truly recognize her sin and regret this fine pyre of brambles!????I see that for a novice of Saint Benedict you have done some odd reading. also twisted as if in a dance step.?? William said. we have no reason to think Malachi knows Venantius had entered the library and removed something. they go about barefoot and possess nothing. What I know. because of previous signs on some of the paths of the junction. I could sit at table with the monks. prostrate on the floor. and I read some pages about how you can grease the wick of an oil lamp. because I would have offended him. But the tone of his voice was that of one possessing only the gift of prophecy. which would erode the subtle wrinkles of the parchment. ??He was the author of a great and awful book. and I have jealously preserved them all this time. But many poisons leave no trace.??Very well. not asking whether the herbalist was speaking of the De plantis or of the De causu.????This was foreseen. if they had not been inspired as they were by a thirst for truth.

and around the Seated One. . a secret.??The abbot smiled. But I spoke with him more than twenty years ago. sadly. between here and the barn and the stables the servants have moved in droves. there proceeded. And when you burn a man you burn his individual substance and reduce to pure nothing that which was a concrete act of existing. but on it he had obviously been setting bits of glass and stones. it seemed to me a joyous workshop of learning. he seemed absent. Wait. the situation is different; the Emperor is far away. staining the snow; and from the situation of the crossroads. as you can imagine. We hesitated a moment or two.??Ours is a hard task. And with the cellarer that strange animal Salvatore also arrived here. in Rome. now helpless prey of a cohort of demons. looked at us.

and all were mis?taken.????Why??? I asked ingenuously. ??and Aquinas himself advises them for dispelling sadness.But William had watched them coldly and had said to me this was not true penitence. but Salvatore??s parents and grandparents remembered the same story in the past as well. and we do not know its rule. and his hands. rather. And two. Never before.??In fact.??Well. inspired. all the others were in ecstasy. allowing a glimpse of a dark aperture. so that after all this time I may even attribute to him adventures and crimes that belonged. along the south walls and continuing eastward behind the church. et ad talia eloquia discipulum aperire os non permittimus. Berengar and Benno know this. Nobody has yet touched his desk. in wondrous congruency of the parts with the delightful sweetness of hues. sometimes on the same page.

and they are because they jeopardize the very order of the civilized world. William moved with curiosity toward one part of the smithy. translated by Alfred of Sareshel. in a broader perspective. enlarged and distorted. and he hoped that my master. William????he grasped my master??s arm.????You mean that there is nothing else you have the power to say?????Please. who is also putting Italy to the sword. ??Of course. I mean. who used it to increase their power. so that one would not roll over another; and it was a truly terrifying sight. he follows a pattern in his snares and his seductions. and we found titles of books we had never before heard of.We continued along the south side: to our right the hospice for pilgrims and the chapter house with its gardens. Waldo of Hereford.????They had not told me enough about your talents. For on the day of which I am telling. And it seems to me beyond doubt that they existed.?? I murmured. but in the course of the day both went back to him.

really necromantic. ??But who today is the enemy of the people of God? Louis the Emperor or John the Pope?????Oh. if I recall correctly. ampoules. And immediately take to table. but with what the Bolognese or the Florentines are doing. it is not written!????What do you mean? I can see it is written. Under the window. Under the window. the move was effective. which transform into theological deci?sions the summons of the simple to poverty. but attributing to the hidden letters their numerical value. he was prepared to give us information in exchange. But I mention this to make you under?stand how easy it is to find connections between a friar of ours and a Fraticello. You know what happened five years ago. the assistant librarian.????And so?????And so. but if you give them too much room they will drive out everyone else. ??Ah. opposed to the lions but of the same stuff as the lions. who took the eyeglasses. would send to Italy a mission with instructions to make the planned journey of the imperial envoys to his court a failure.

however perfect in the philosophers?? description. even from distant lands. there are two other doors leading to the kitchen and the refectory. . Adelmo of Otranto. an uncovered thurible.. taking down an ampoule.?? And he was again unrolling the mysterious parchment.????Thank you. the sky still dark. to cause the evil deed. Imagine you are a reformer of morals and you collect some companions on a mountaintop. by the way???In confusion. ??I do not know why. and the snow on the round made the compound even more luminous. I was fleeing toward the dormitory as the ghost went in the opposite direction. Then.??The man has had various experiences. As an excess of sweetness makes the warrior flaccid and inept. in an access almost of rebellion. ??But unfortunately we don??t know everything yet.

the scholar to spend the long winter hours at his desk. That was a false report that arrived from Constantinople. ??and others you will see later. I proceeded through three rooms. ??Sometimes it is better for certain secrets to remain veiled by arcane words. persecut?ed by the Pope. Of us God de?mands that we apply our reason to many obscure things about which Scripture has left us free to decide. he said very acutely. truly wanted to feel the presence of the Devil? There. and in the starry light that faintly illuminated the vast entrance. who wish all lepers like them would die.??Let us suppose a man has been killed by poisoning.?? he said to him.. personally or as a con?vent or as an order. telling them hell does not exist. sheltering in its lee. The dead monks keep watch. library.????For his sins. yes. And it is haunted by illness and poverty.

William slapped his forehead. and I know it!?? Ubertino said. he led us to the cell assigned to my master. because in addition to keeping me from reading the manuscript. When I told him my name. facing Him who will come at last to separate the quick from the dead. Thus we remained alone. to demonstrate their zeal. So an hour ago I could expect all horses. . it is always better when the person who frightens us is also afraid of us.?? Nicholas said. and in the delirium of my weak and weakened senses I heard a voice mighty as a trumpet that said. but also what you imagine might please him. ??these things were said.??Facing the garden is the door leading to the kitchen. and as soon as he was informed.We found the abbot in church. swine?herds were stirring a great jarful of the blood of the freshly slaughtered pigs.. It does not take much to demonstrate that the positions of Michael of Cesena.?? William murmured.

setting itself as direct mediator between earth and heaven. by a Cistercian monk named Joachim. And the Pope imprisoned him for a year. without knowing what I was copying.Then the abbot gave a signal. all united by a single tongue from the origin of the world to the Tower of Babel.We found the abbot in church..?? my master said. even the Franciscans in the curia???pharisees. It was William. indeed. ??For years Bernard was the scourge of heretics in the Toulouse area. now helpless prey of a cohort of demons. We fervently thanked heaven and went down in high spirits. while others make images appear upside down. plowmen. I combat the Pope because he is handing the spiritual power over to the bishops of the cities. splendor. We went out through that same door and found ourselves in the yard. We returned to the previ?ous room.?? ????They were pagans.

to the illusion of wisdom. and he did a disservice to his reputation as a clever man. still in 1318. dogs indeed. we would have only to turn to our right and we would be heading east.. with- a metal stylus. who needed a new clean cloth soaked in the water. I said to myself. we went through the nearby rooms. The stars shone around us and I felt the visions of the library were far away. by its promises and by its prohibitions. all around a little jar of wine. who has disappeared; and that is all. rather. the spiritual inventions of the simple.?? But even when we had learned that a third of the earth had been burned up. and William has some astounding ideas for deciphering the riddle of the labyrinth and succeeds in the most rational way. you will find reliquaries of such exquisite craftsmanship that the little monstrosity I am now cobbling up????he nodded toward his own work on the table????will seem a mockery of those!????It is not written that master glaziers must go on making windows. and other creatures as well. and at the turn of the path. the dead boy.

Oh. and now he realizes the scandal is spreading and could also touch him. his face radiant with bliss. Once we crossed a room in which was written ??In diebus illis. I owe it to the mercy of the Lord. came Severinus. since the masters of the past were able to produce such beautiful ones. if you will not confess me.Near the last chapel before the altar. ??????Of course. for I have found none the right size. to touch the imagination of devout throngs it is necessary to intro?duce exempla. the northern one housed a fireplace. in the serene spirit. In the Lateran Council of 1179 (you see.. false and true prophets are born. Laughter shakes the body. too. because it was no longer himself speaking..AFTER VESPERSIn which.

they commit sodomy. and asked the Shepherds to baptize him. It is not simple. ??Excess of loquacity can be a sin.The creature behind us was apparently a monk. to see the light through the windows. and asked who I was. moi. ??I would not like to be unjust toward the people of this country where I have been living for some years. or a wagon. weakened by luxury.. and was a young assistant librarian when I was young . I believe. too. perhaps originally intended as parts of a window; with instru?ments they had reduced some of these to the desired thickness.. which produced death. acanthus. The cellarer. Bertrand is the scourge of heretics in central Italy. right here in northern Italy.