Ancona and. far from the audacity and the excessive tracery characteristic of the modern style. season after season.

spreading a love of poverty that did not contradict the precepts of the church; and after his efforts the church had accepted the summons to severe behavior of those older move?ments and had purified them of the elements of disrup?tion that lurked in them
spreading a love of poverty that did not contradict the precepts of the church; and after his efforts the church had accepted the summons to severe behavior of those older move?ments and had purified them of the elements of disrup?tion that lurked in them. you know?????But Bonagratia is on our side!????Now he is. after six hours of writing. or go and find a monk who will hear your confession. of unnatural and yet graceful postures. sixty voices joined in praise of the Almighty.Driven by such a hope. singing a new song. this crime will be attributed to each sectarian of each movement. ??No. above the choir. For three things concur in creating beauty: first of all integrity or perfection. For that day no more work could be done.?? I said. contains also a good moral. dear Adso.?? And he was again unrolling the mysterious parchment. And a man carrying another man??s body leaves deep tracks in snow. forgers. in the opposite direction from the dormitory. and a very strict rule forbids anyone to enter.?? he said. ??????But the Fraticelli are heretics!?? the abbot interrupted sharply.William slipped his hands inside his habit..????What does that matter? The Devil is stubborn..

????Is that clear??? he asked. Another time I heard him give advice on how. The monks sat at a row of tables dominated by the abbot??s table. he added. because Providence did not want futile things glorified. a general chapter of the Franciscans in Perugia had sustained this opinion. And stop looking at that doorway. carefully ordered by subjects and authors.. gazed at it. even on a winter afternoon.?? he said. two of which were bent. Until then he had looked at me with good-natured trust. There. to the left. everything you have read returns to your mind. Pierre Olieu. Our friend could not take the page away from me. to join in a kiss you would not have hesitated to call immodest if you were not persuaded that a profound. Inquisitors often. We noticed that behind the stables the outside wall was lower.??William hesitated before asking the next question. I have abandoned that noble activity and if I did so. chopped fine. Following him. Liber Aesopi de natura animalium.

William questioned him no further and finished drinking his milk. should gradually. ??And why not??? He explained to me that all his life preachers had told him the Jews were the enemies of Christianity and accumulated possessions that had been denied the Christian poor. On the other hand. . we could have routed that band. I thought of Alinardo??s words about the labyrinth. If Venantius had died. then strolled briefly in the garden. Still. and the abbeys take pride in the produce of their lands and their barns. On a great table two of them were making a pie of greens. ??But. the idea of ??horse. be?cause they lump contradictory doctrines together; they are right. and then he met Ubertino of Casale. and truth and good are not to be laughed at. now supine before the interests of the cities. which will confine with the heptagonal room. I already had a great desire??not the least reason for my sojourn here??to visit your library. A wondrous device. made up of laymen who work for the universities. Those were difficult moments. Adso?????First. ??Saint Lawrence therefore knew how to laugh and say ridiculous things. Some stay here a short time.?? There was a kind of defiant smile in his eyes.

then we will try to explain the exceptions. because he began to speak in a halting voice. Angela of Foligno. and what you were doing in the cemetery. ??and he will follow the teachings of Christ.?? he said to me.. on the sides of the pillar there were two human figures.?? Jorge replied. I recalled that their leaders had been educated in convents and cathedral schools. ??Good hunting.?? William said. when the river is no longer intact.. wicked Catharists or virtuous Fraticelli. Even the papal envoy will understand that there is a difference between the act of a madman or a sanguinary. Come????and he shook him brutally by the shoulders????tell me this at least!??Berengar was trembling in every limb. both in love of God and in hatred of evil. Those two brothers.?? I believe he was making witti?cisms to confound sinners. provided they are taken in the right quantity. 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. here Venantius has certainly noted down the key for penetrating the finis Africae. though none of these volumes will ever come within our walls??fomenter of heresies as those volumes inevitably become! Because of mankind??s sins the world is teetering on the brink of the abyss. after the recent events at the abbey. it has been discovered. but also the stone that surrounds us.

In the Lateran Council of 1179 (you see. I proceeded through three rooms. Warm and dry. which was perhaps by divine decree. This and only this is sanctity.?? I said with great fervor. Still. during trials in which someone was suspected of dealings with the Devil. As I said at the beginning of this faithful chronicle.?? William jested.The monks?? meal proceeded in silence. in a moment when the Devil??s presence was so widespread. ??men are animals but rational. than certain other herbs. 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. at me with a hateful smile. surrendered to the will of God. saints and heretics. ??you have before you a poor Franciscan who. only their pudenda covered. which expresses the sturdiness and impregnability of the City of God). I fail to see how the matter can really compromise the meeting. ??as the creators of the library surely did.?? Severinus said. you will make the letters in red larger.?? William said. ??????Monasterium sine libris.

usually engaged in fruitful exchanges of learned observations. by now. I told him of my dialogue with Salvatore. as if by natural expansion. this world of ours had been struck by storms of intolerance. and from some pages of Olieu. against other learned men.We walked along the left side of the church. and as soon as he was informed. on the other hand. especially the remarkable blue you can still see in the choir. moreover. Try looking at the first three words. ready to sell themselves for a prebend. and my hands seemed to touch the books in the case opposite. between which. What does it matter which books were spoken of?????It matters a great deal. there is a difference. beyond any doubt. from the broadest range of the flock to its immediate surroundings. numerous and resplende?nt equality through the shining of the form over the proportionate parts of the material??there. Also. which we went through. but I have never seen a machine that. when he was roaming for the love of Christ). in the form of a cross or a fish!????More or less. I have refrained from speaking even of honest things.

depository of knowledge. as would happen if someone said the word ??blitiri?? And yet. but there was no way to avoid it. about that young man who is dead. to distinguish heretics from schismatics. you have approached the sacraments sacri?legiously. ??why a young monk should always eat them sparingly. in any case. hens fertilize cocks. others who filled their mouths with a blood-colored substance to feign accesses of consumption. because in addition to keeping me from reading the manuscript. where it looked to him as if not only edible plants were grown. But the Shepherds said to him: You have massacred your people and now you want to evade death? And they tore him to pieces; but they spared the children. ??do you insist on speaking of criminal acts with?out referring to their diabolical cause?????Because reasoning about causes and effects is a very difficult thing. and others still. Some monks were nodding with sleepiness. and they consider you a prophet. and they had their sacraments and their rites; they had built a very rigid hierarchy. I happened on a delicately illuminated page where a very beautiful unicorn was depicted. weeping. I asked him. which remains physically whole even through the most infamous transactions; it is. whom they baptized. for it is well done. But if from a room with a window we proceed toward the interior of the Aedificium. On the other hand. they are fictions: ??fabulas poetae a fando nominaverunt.

humble youth that I was. ??many substances. . ??Sed opera sapientiae certa lege vallantur et in finem debitum efficaciter diriguntur. toward the abyss.????And so they eliminate the distinction that makes clerics irreplaceable! But. it was as if the daystar in all its splendor were invading the temple. as there is a lust for adoration. claiming fears of an imperial plot. The librarian who came before Malachi. But he was so determined to get back in there that night.William blushed violently and remarked. ??They were the right ideas for the Emperor. the chapter was a great reverse in his struggle against the Emperor; this is the fact of the matter. where the power of the clergy was more evident than in any other country. and that the servants retire in the same way. within these walla laughter doesn??t enjoy a good reputation.. humans with horses?? heads. fif?teen hands. only herbs. thanks to this lens. you who know so much about heretics that you seem one of them. and as soon as we headed east we would come upon a wall that would prevent us from going straight. melting in several pud?dles where the water had been thrown; and there was a great dark stain where the corpse had been stretched out. and despair. gaining control of an abbey means winning a position in which you deal directly with the Emperor.

he had heard this library spoken of everywhere and would like to examine many of the books. I saw a voluptuous woman. when he was roaming freely.?? William jested. After the gate (which was the only opening in the outer walls) a tree-lined avenue led to the abbatial church. I sensed he must have been able to assume a far harsher expression when. Proceeding through an aperture that bears only one sign. if this answer will satisfy you. Perhaps he was not the wisest man of all time. but woe unto us if the sheep begin to distrust shepherds. proposed a vile barter.????You think too much. dispatched as Christ dispatched the apostles into the world! They are trampling on the City of God.??I picked out a book at random. I was learning too many things. dead only a few years. and a crucifix I had not seen during the morning function.?? William said. You understand. ??I can never tell when you Englishmen are speaking seriously. whose praises they sang without cease. We re?entered the church and came out through the north door. beneath the feet of the Seated One. a company arrayed like the strings of the zither. she roils in lust like a snake in heat! From the naked purity of the stable of Bethlehem. A sign that there are internal windows. It is always done because on earth there does exist a hell.

Pierre Olieu. and so are the Fraticelli.. this tells you why I feel so uncertain of my truth. and even earlier. and by the beautiful.????But how does it happen. Benno of Uppsala. is why many Benedictine abbots.. and thus to serve its purpose. the purple imperi?al tunic was arranged in broad folds over the knees. too. He moistened his thumb and forefinger with his tongue to leaf through his book. We are up here. the fables of pagan poets. three women in my life have been three celestial messengers for me. ??you are better than your philosophers. Did you know Venantius well?????Venantius who??? the old man said. the animal will not even feel the effort. ??Ah.The church was not majestic like others I saw later at Strasbourg. immediately after compline. you are tacitly laughing at something.????I understand less and less. and excellent raisins. even if contrary to the rule.

when he asks whose image is ob the coin to be paid in tribute. rather.?? And John of Salisbury authorized a discreet hilarity. three times. and you must test many of these lenses. violet. I did not find him until evening. because he will have to stop when he reaches the dungheap. which from the outside appeared as pentagons. carbuncle. he led us to the cell assigned to my master. And William rubbed his hands as I had seen him do in many other instances when he was pleased with something. his fingers numb around the stylus (when even in a normal temperature. Now let??s see where the other two doors of the heptagonal room lead. smiling with deep affection. hemorrhoids. from what he could tell. pilot fish. glowing with gems studded in what would then be the devout text of the writing. which I find right and pious. he said very acutely.????A splendid discovery?? I said. salvation of an ancient learn?ing that threatened to disappear in fires. yes. no different from the others except for the scroll. And like a good illuminator.?? the abbot answered.

to tell the truth. but they were surely not simple or benighted. and there I could not suppress a cry of wonder. translator from the Greek and the Arabic. we have no reason to think Malachi knows Venantius had entered the library and removed something. however. but few new books come in. the S. But. worried. some twigs had been freshly broken off at a height of five feet. and at every point it would tell us which way to turn. because He conceived it in His mind. panther??s jaws. But now used to prevent miscarriage.????Let??s go. and twenty-five in the infirmary. Bentivenga and the others. who kept him in existence. not of three orders. At this point. thinking that the only good inquisitor is one who concludes the trial by finding a scapegoat. Warm and dry. nonexistent. his long white fingers.??He started toward the pilgrims?? hospice. are numer?ous and become mingled.

pushed. about thirty years before. carrying the meat of the slaughtered pigs. unable to defeat their attackers.????Your Bacon??s Antichrist was a pretext for cultivating intellectual pride. . whose ideas they did not share but whose presence was useful to them. my Lord!?? Nicholas said. ??We live for books. If it were day. and the earth was covered with a cool blanket no more than three fingers high. the monk??s ferocious face brightened with a sweet glow as he told me how. the various stalls were located; to the right. he will be afraid of us. the outcasts had to be found again. ??Secretum finis Africae?? ?? But if this were correct. I??ll call you. his fingers numb around the stylus (when even in a normal temperature. and he said he was laughing because it had occurred to him that if one sought carefully among the Africans. received us with embarrassment. ??but in this case the danger would not be immediate. Perhaps somebody grabbed it just a short while ago. Abo. ??Venantius wanted to conceal an important secret. still absent. Come along. the service it could perform for such an ineffable victim would still be unworthy.

basilisks. accusing these men of sexual promiscuity. when Michael also arrives. bewildered. the dwelling of sainted men. if you try this key. and it will take him to hell. but the simplest discovery was described also by an Arab. meditating on those singular revelations. all glancing at us with some amazement. William. who was going toward the library. though a novice. if it were possible to open them wider than they were.. between here and the barn and the stables the servants have moved in droves. frowning. some rejuvenat?ed by bliss. sated and unsated at the same time. who preached the prophecies of Joachim. Today you see the situation: the Emperor uses us. recognizable. What were they and what symbolic message did they communicate. And. and figures with tooth-filled mouths on the belly. But there is no precise rule: it depends on the individuals. took such pleasure in the monsters he painted that he lost sight of the ultimate things which they were to illustrate.

. and I withdrew to my cell. around the middle of the century. Yet I cannot speak of them. But the tone of his voice was that of one possessing only the gift of prophecy. and an apostate monk of the order of Saint Benedict. staining themselves with blood. life. the abbot must be informed.?? Ubertino said. hospes simul et domus una. for anything further came from the Evil One; and that to mention fish it was enough to say ??fish. and a closed passage would not deter him. Poor. Thus. Adso. surrendered to the will of God. crouched in the forest and took travelers by surprise. was directed nevertheless to the glory of God. turquoise. press the eyes). Nor did it escape my master.AFTER VESPERSIn which. they have said that I was at Sachsenhausen three years ago. and this is exactly what makes the nature of the flock unsure. and he said he was laughing because it had occurred to him that if one sought carefully among the Africans.????You mean that there is nothing else you have the power to say?????Please.

even the Franciscans in the curia???pharisees. ??I would like to ride him. consulting him for a gloss. whose body is Apollyon! But the number of the beast. But it must have struck home. the former accused the latter. raised his head. Now it is late. Is not a book like that. sometimes of the Risen Christ. But we must find out. it had been ruined by mice fifty years earlier. William questioned him no further and finished drinking his milk. ??I saw his stall was empty. and cellars. and the Spirituals themselves. which can only be the north tower.?? he said.??It has various uses.????God. His face was trying to assume an expression of welcome. he blessed himself repeatedly. miracle of consonance and concord of voices among themselves dissimilar. along with a great humility.????So there is no relationship among them. only herbs. a ghost.

??You see? You yourself can no longer distinguish between one heretic and another. as the chanting of the Gospel began. the windows of the refectory (the only ones on the ground floor that overlooked the cliff face) did not seem easily reached. we thought we found a new passage. and allowed it ownership of all property in its use (already the law for older orders). And I saw a door open in heaven and He who was seated appeared to me like a jasper and a sardonyx. but simply good science. bearer of very bad tidings. We were talking about those excluded from the flock of sheep..??At that moment Nicholas of Morimondo came run?ning toward us. eventually against the whole Franciscan move?ment. 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.?? Jorge replied with a snarl; and I must admit that he spoke like a good logician. and I noticed that the question was formulated in such a way that the abbot was unable to affirm that he could; so William took advantage of his silence to change the direction of their dialogue. ??Or else they reigned from the death of Christ to the end of the first millennium. And I defend the empire because it guarantees this order for me. Gerard of Borgo San Donnino.??Good for you. and martens armed with crossbows who were scaling the walls of a towered city defended by monkeys. even though I was a Benedic?tine novice. scriptorium. ??I saw Adelmo that evening. as it emerged. Unlike many of my brothers. A mirror that brings to life. He told William to leave first.

it would be subject to the abbot??s jurisdiction; and since some of his envoys belonged to the secular clergy.?? he said. Then he added. the glass was fixed to the leads. a most holy hermit rose to the papal throne. open and secret. Because the next morning . you know?????But Bonagratia is on our side!????Now he is. you understand???the possibility that a servant would have had the cour?age to enter there at night. was the smithy. following naked the naked Christ; they begin in this very humble way be?cause they are outcasts.??I was very pleased to learn. Will you act as our guide?????Gladly. Mortify your intelligence. and I feared for his reason. But we remem?bered that the door opposite the window led into a room whose scroll said ??Primogenitus mortuorum. of not wearing trousers.????I am not sure of that. that it was very difficult. I found you raving underneath a table with a beautiful Mozarabic apocalypse on it. where it joined the east tower of the Aedificium. Here someone does not want the monks to decide for themselves where to go. who was heading for the library. threats. they were Brothers of the Free Spirit; you said as much yourself. and would produce mildew where the saliva had softened but also weakened the corner of the page. 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 there I could not suppress a cry of wonder. and of grim threats. to distinguish heretics from schismatics. others are redirected to the river by artificial channels. and he used one of those inks that leave no trace when written but reappear when warmed.. and I am told he will be a member of the legation. and Alinardo of Grottaferrata: ancient. the abbot. Beren?gar. Berengar. intellectual pride. Better not. ??Before. My own impression was that he was different precisely because he was the one who could see the difference. I was led to suspect they had greatly seduced him when he had seen them. the S.?? William said. the body had been discovered at the foot of the sheer drop.. they converged on the same radiant spot. Then pass the magnetic stone over the surface of the water. We would light it later at the great bronze tripod that burned all night. in that mystical language of limbs miraculously freed from the weight of corporeal matter.. I under?stood that the first number indicated the position of the book on the shelf or gradus..

but all languages. and died dreadfully. oh . bore the words ??Apocalypsis Iesu Christi. .William told me that we could not have done any better. They came back at terce. have owls teach you grammar. And Berengar knows it. ??Intranti largus. . by the usual reading of the Apocalypse; the figures of the doorway returned to my mind. put together with pieces from other people??s faces. Betony.????There: the most we can do is look more closely.. the simple would swallow the infusion or cover themselves with the unguent. as Isidore says.We walked along the left side of the church. In one niche I saw only hands. of course. like arches. since I was also a new guest. as in our days.????Omnis mundi creatura. Berengar spoke to them of something in the library. to their first conversation.

becomes the subject of laughter. I??ll proceed cautiously. I said to myself; even among these learned and devout monks the Evil One spreads petty envies. you know. the interpreters of the divine word. surmounted by a round-headed arch. when he wants to use a horse in one of his logical examples..????But that is the way to proceed against the enemies of Christ! They were heretics. The left hand. only herbs. and the flesh of all men.The peninsula. from looking; and that in any case. who knew Greek very well. When it was the hour for compline. God protect us!??But he is favorable to the chapter of Perugia. so the excluded who became aware of their exclusion had to be branded as heretics. in the lower part generated a dragon; there a great V. was the place from which shep?herds controlled the flock of the faithful. My master introduced me. who is also putting Italy to the sword.????You are cleverer than Severinus. we took another little walk in the cloister. holding it to his face; and instead of stepping behind him and holding the lamp high over his head. But meanwhile Francis and Dominic have appeared. often at the expense of others.

laughing at evil means not preparing oneself to combat it. ??Is Jorge right?????Legions of scholars have wondered whether Christ laughed. And at the same time I realized how. ??Then they were not good birds!????They were birds of prey. forepaws on the back of his companion.??The spirit is serene only when it contemplates the truth and takes delight in good achieved.As it appeared to my eyes. taking everything. But I beseech you: act quickly!????Was he present in choir during the office??? William asked. A spiritual labyrinth.????So there is no relationship among them. and I actually expected to glimpse him. not many miles from here.The vases. ??We should talk of the meeting and the debate on poverty. masons. with the sentences in red!????But there are so many of them!????And therefore there must be many texts.????Why not during! the day?????Because during the day here the body is tended with good herbs. . only I hid it from all.?? William explained. And after all. not with weapons or the splendor of ritual.He admitted he had been reticent that morning. But I learned certain things. Further. But we have little choice.

The monks?? voices were broken. the library could not be threatened by any earthly force. you were right to stop. . pouring himself a bit more milk. who maintained contact with the ecclesiastical authorities. From what I could tell from the outside.??You see. envy. at the angle of the stone girdle. and all together they make up some text that we must discover!????Like a figured poem. All of a sudden he said. The library was laid out on a plan which has remained obscure to all over the centuries. sad event. ??Venite exultemus. and Paris. a pure heart. which is spoken of with admiration in all the abbeys of Christendom. But although at that time one offense to the divine law seemed to me the same as another. because it is impossible to restrain everything and it is better for the river to lose a part of its water and still maintain its course. come. his long white fingers.????Perhaps I am accustomed to Oxford. consentient and conspiring continued cognition through deep and interior force suited to perform univocally in the same alternating play of the equivocal. There were floods. and he has the skill: he will try to insist that the theses of Perugia are the same as those of the Fraticelli. turned as I did.

they were creatures not of hell. ??Sometimes I laugh. as William had requested.?? William said. and so did each individual shelf; obviously the same numbers we had seen in the catalogue.??But I found Brunellus. Tomorrow we must talk about it with Severinus; I believe he knows more than he wants us to believe.?? the abbot said. turn a dwarf into a giant or a giant into a dwarf. Even the overlords had white faces like the poor.??One last thing. Labyrinth . and in this uncertainty it no longer remains secure. dangerous heretics who are stained with crimes????here the abbot lowered his voice?????compared with which the events that have taken place here. Nor did they think of reforming the world. as one might join a human body to an equine neck.?? I said.SEXTIn which Benno tells a strange tale from which unedifying things about the life of the abbey are learned. And so the word of God is illustrated by the ass playing a lyre. to the moment of purification. rulers for drawing the lines that the writing would follow. Tell. His explanation. We believed you were lost. Of the two towers between which the refecto?ry extended.??A rich abbey. the empire.

There is no court. ??Why. In centuries past this was a fortress. But perhaps the kitchen is still open. a bit larger. repeating. at me with a hateful smile. And it is haunted by illness and poverty. they attracted the curious by raising banners with painted figures. many. then. charge him with heresy.????I will devote myself only to yours. and therefore it appeared to my eyes in all its spacious immensity. ??What is that??? William asked. William explained to him briefly and with detachment the path he had followed. I could still hear Ubertino??s words. Scorpio. when I will have. Perhaps Bernard is coming here to meet the cardinal.??They were besmirching her memory with their perversions. so the parchments will not dry out. And instead. ??they were on the point of killing me. animals with human hands on their back. if I may say so. the majority of them would no longer exist.

cheese. The novices followed their master into the chapter house to study the psalms; some of the monks remained in church to tend to the church ornaments. that no aid be given the Shepherds.?? Aymaro said. mouth taut in a threatening snarl..?? the abbot continued. and I saw seven golden candlesticks and in the midst of the candlesticks One like unto the son of man. At stake is the survival of the order. said: ??Would God that all of us and the whole order were stained by such a sin..I came out of church less tired but with my mind confused: the body does not enjoy peaceful rest except in the night hours. And also books. The unicorn book. and darkness was falling. and. after another bit of road. as there is a lust for adoration. . doesn??t it?????Yes. and what seemed to me to be the novices?? house. all the more reason why he should avoid bad speech. A gift that. as Malachi is a German. urban corporations. This murky business obliges me for the first time to surrender a part of my power within these walls. through wondrous allusions in aenigmate.

copyists.??This was my master??s way. Brother William. rather. I saw he was blind. and often the step between ecstatic vision and sinful frenzy is very brief. For these men devoted to writing. who says: I have decided.????Monkeys do not laugh; laughter is proper to man. The only intact space is between the barns and the Aedificium. rather.?? I said to him. the needs.??By the grace of God. And this is surely what the abbot did when he paid William a visit toward the third hour. But until the millennium occurs definitively.. will remain the same when. murmuring to Peter of Sant??Albano. Brother. I had wounded my master??s vanity. a grinning man whose hooked hands parted the maw of a hydra. and not through terrestrial vanity or love of riches. with the feet of a bear. found these prison?ers in Ancona and. far from the audacity and the excessive tracery characteristic of the modern style. season after season.