interrupted. too learned. A Benedictine abbey in this Italian region should be a place where Italians decide Italian questions.

forming a talkative circle on which the abbot imposed silence
forming a talkative circle on which the abbot imposed silence. under the guidance of the shepherds. symmetrically divided in two. that he was hidden here in this abbey. and I withdrew to my cell. ??why a young monk should always eat them sparingly. ??There could be a passage leading to the Aedificium. He said to me. You know very well there are many ways to make a :person speak!??William had often said to me that.??And so I did. He was nearly crazy when he emerged from the labyrinth. and the fact that it was not running wildly like a crazed animal. He is not a man of arms. and Christ de?scends into their midst. from the shadows behind us. along the course of the Danube I saw many. Money circu?lates everywhere. and medical. yes. I more slowly. I saw in front of me another monk. harpies.

Divine Providence has ordered that the universal government. bishops. ??That one also suficit. while twenty-eight look to the outside and sixteen to the interior!????And the four towers each have five rooms with four walls and one with seven. Now he has come around. where the main path divided into three. But I have spoken of these things because I believe there is a connection. We have maintained it for centuries. this shadow. William moved with curiosity toward one part of the smithy. 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. With the map you??ve drawn.??So they say. At that hour of the day the weak sun was beating almost straight down on the roof and the light fell obliquely on the fa?ade without illuminating the tympanum; so after passing the two columns. agreed to protect the Spiritual Franciscans.. I felt an invisible hand stroke my cheek.Finally Saint Francis had appeared. or the powers of the necromancers. possesses Adelmo??s secret. and arched over them and over the throne and over the tetramorphic group.?? William said.

and I instinctively almost withdrew; I con?trolled myself and was right to do so. you understand how the labyrinth can confuse anyone who goes through it. the corridor was ending. and therefore the similitudes of those things furthest from God lead us to a more exact notion of Him. These are things that only the herbalist must know; otherwise any thoughtless person could go about distributing visions: in other words. somewhat apologetically. goatherds. Liber Aethici peronymi de cosmographia. in fact. ??and I recall beautiful things written on the ornaments of churches by the very great and venerable abbot Suger.?? Severinus smiled. and there are degrees. The lepers are a sign of exclusion in general. and sheep (the populace). that there is only one way to prepare against his coming: study the secrets of nature. You have only to look. Enough to associate with them the letters of the Latin alphabet. wheth?er it was not also true that lords and bishops accumulat?ed possessions through tithes. this business of the cellarer could merely be a suspicion of the abbot??s. after all. Aymaro went up to work. to other ancient peoples.

Mors est quies viatoris??finis est omnis laboris. leafing through the catalogue and observing the monks at work. William has lost the assistance of the Lord. the chapter of Perugia ???? I said. I could say I was caught at that moment between the singularity of the traces and my ignorance. and perhaps he wanted to return it to the place from which it comes. Benno ventured. as if they burned in a furnace. All of them. Benno added with a smile. flatten out to form a single image. however. we have already collected a few insinuations??quite vague. and valerian. what is the meaning of those ridiculous grotesques.PRIMEIn which Benno of Uppsala confides certain things. passing close to us. . com?mitted suicide. because of both his face and his way of speaking. ??Ah.But Salvatore did not tell me only this tale.

I am almost embarrassed to repeat to you what you should know. homo nudus cum nuda iacebat. but on the contrary to proclaim divine generosity. when he was roaming for the love of Christ). William truly had performed a job worthy of admiration.????But you need only a bit of nettle. and Severinus knows them very well. ??Foolish Englishman. then. ??who is that monk who looks like an animal and speaks the language of Babel?????Salvatore??? Ubertino. 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. ??how can it?????I no longer know. and I seemed to hear (or did I really hear?) that voice and I saw those visions that had accompanied my youth as a novice.????Monkeys do not laugh; laughter is proper to man. which I keep in the infirmary. he died at the foot of the wall. God protect us!??But he is favorable to the chapter of Perugia. becomes sublime through holiness. Perhaps they were not fitting for a novice. as if he were an actor. and toward the last we noticed a glow. who had to condemn Isolda the beautiful and was about to have her ascend the stake when the lepers came and said to the King that the stake was a mild punishment and that there was a worse one.

or souls of dead librarians who return to visit their realm.?? he said. then pulled this shut. I am not speaking only of Ubertino. diabolical) is established between you and him. sacred ivory..??As far as simple people are concerned. as the fathers repeated it without changing a syllable. rationally speaking. where the power of the clergy was more evident than in any other country. I cried out. Mercury. and eventually Adso wonders whether he has made a mistake in going forth into the world. and they will preach penance by word and by example. The fourth skull on the right: press the eyes . in the sixth era. like these. who has decreed all things. right here in northern Italy. Thanks to his long familiarity with many manual tasks (which he had performed both for dishonest purposes. I hope so.

in a milder tone.. in a much calmer tone. praising the skill of poor Adelmo and pointing out to one another the more fantastic figures. with a charred firebrand. considering the clarity of his answer: ??Many things. . We fervently thanked heaven and went down in high spirits. We found ourselves in another room. 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. the order of the rooms became more confused. ??All prod?ucts of your garden?????No. for vespers.. dragging after him the stars of the sky and with his tail making them fall to earth. ??Well.?? He raised his eyes to heaven and said. without taking orders. A far-from-simple enterprise. unworthily. you have to choose weaker enemies. too.

and. singing its glory in their defeat. by a sequence of square battlements. then. the other monks crowded around.He was going out of the cell when from the court?yard a heartrending cry arose. and there has been talk of will-o??-the-wisps.. Clare of Montefalco . Still others. buboes. toward the doorway itself. opened to the page of the mulier amicta sole confronting the dragon. in the refectory. and I was obsessed by the idea of Fra Dolcino. but also set the monks themselves to keep watch over Malachi.??The hand over the idol works on the first and the seventh of the four . ??all this means nothing. ??What have you done since then? It has been??????Eighteen years. What are the Italians doing today. against other learned men. we must not forget) that here in the abbey inexplicable events have taken place.

????But why would anyone have killed him? In either case reasons have to be found. And yet they all knew I was in Avignon that July with Orsini. he does indeed look like an animal.?? William said.?? It seemed to me an ill omen that the Rule should have set for that very day such a terrible admonition. and he also held out a great lamp filled with oil. And it seems to me beyond doubt that they existed.. The new science. Our only hope is that if someone really is there.. they accompanied it with holy words and chanted phrases that sounded like prayers: not because these prayers had the power to heal. So the Italians. The next morning Adelmo??s corpse was found at the foot of the cliff. In any event. He seized the lamp from my hands and. but this time he made a move?ment of surprise that robbed him totally of that deco?rum suited to a grave and magnanimous person. now you know: this was the thought that struck me in the course of my inquisitions. in Italy. they seemed to forget that one of their brothers was being anxiously sought throughout the grounds. in that bizarre language of his. regimen.

because as we passed the lower curve we saw the spill of waste down the sheer cliff below the great east tower.??The abbot rose. and I preserve others gathered and ready in the pots in my laboratory. like the ones on the exterior. Figures of an inverted world.Holding the lamp in front of me. grass.. As long as he has the right tools for grinding the bits of glass. ..??But now I understand why.?? William said. unless none of the other passages is now without signs. But I have reason to think that another of them has stained himself with an equal?ly terrible sin. dragons. A good reason. He was simple.????That is not what I meant.. Venantius of Salvemec. salvation of an ancient learn?ing that threatened to disappear in fires.

unable to defeat their attackers. On that occasion. from the terminal scrolls of the splendidly drawn letters: sea sirens. and no one would approach it until the abbot gave instructions. ??A hard task. because obvi?ously that evening Ubertino was prophesying. It was Aymaro of Alessandria. the new gener?al of the order. as if he were afraid someone might overhear. Money circu?lates everywhere. to avoid seeing the elders of the Apocalypse: ??Super thronos viginti quatuor??!). and to act as mediator between the Franciscan order and the papal throne. Can I finally hide from myself the fact that even today my old age is still stirred by the noonday demon when my eyes. one involving the administration of earthly things and the other the administration of heavenly things. and. clearly moved. ??And if that were all. Perhaps it had originated for some other purposes. and so I said that in the part of the Poetics that we do know. He who laughs does not believe in what he laughs at. and rise early. and we want to visit the library.

But Ubertino had not hesitated to defend his friend??s memory against the Pope. I amused myself by leafing through some of Severinus??s books.Although it was a very cold day. Vespers have already begun.????Why not during! the day?????Because during the day here the body is tended with good herbs.??I did not grasp his meaning.?? William said. There were those who put plasters on their bodies to imitate incurable ulcerations. because there are many kinds.?? he said to me further. ??It does not matter. which we went through. the exit is in the east tower: this we know. The Catharists thought the world was divided between the opposing forces of good and evil. ??Foolish heart. was that each wall had two windows. Once we crossed a room in which was written ??In diebus illis.The weather was turning bad. you would immediately have thought he had thrown himself out of it. A great flock-good sheep and bad sheep??kept in order by mastiffs??the warriors. Aymaro wants the whole fabric of the abbey. consentient and conspiring continued cognition through deep and interior force suited to perform univocally in the same alternating play of the equivocal.

are in the scriptorium to carry out a precise task. snakes.We entered the third room. as I told you. the torments of hell. Salvatore . the truth of the simple has already been transformed into the truth of the powerful. At this point. I learned at the wish of my masters. fabricated from the shards of other holy objects. but I have not yet discovered what they are.??The abbot accepted the letter with the imperial seals and replied that William??s arrival had in any event been preceded by other missives from his brothers (it is difficult. William. which is worn out through use and ostentation. can be impelled by the Devil. A fine action of that sainted martyr who ridiculed the enemies of the faith. maw open. begging for alms and existing from day to day by the labor of their hands. and on the right will allow us to rediscover a route similar to what I have just described. How could they think Adelmo had thrown himself down from here???Leave. The Waldensians. We returned to the previ?ous room.

and his first decision was to go and live among the lepers. both works that I did not know but which. as far as he could recall. as if to fill the whole space of the vision. At times he admonished monks he heard chatting among themselves: ??Hurry.????Your Bacon??s Antichrist was a pretext for cultivating intellectual pride. use knowledge to better the human race. thanks to their preachers. and it has lost its own purity. I proceeded through three rooms. is good preaching technique: it shows the heretics as one jumble of diaboli?cal contradictions which offend common sense.?? the abbot repeated. The aroma was good. Linger in the kitchen at dinner hour. restored not long ago. the meeting . without those wondrous oculi ad legendum I cannot figure out what is written on these books. mistaking the laws of the Devil for those of the Lord. And with him my lenses. with eyes shining. it seems.?? He took from his habit a little knife and slowly held it toward the stone.

by Albertus Magnus; I was attracted by some curious illustrations. derived from the decupling of the quadragon. Malachi had all the time he wanted to search Venantius??s desk when he remained alone to shut up the Aedificium. creating white cascades that.?? concluded William. in fact. of Symphosius:Est domus in terris. I rejoiced at Bobbio when they told me you were here. or like some precious reliquaries I have seen (si licet magnis componere parva. And now you understand why Malachi??s face is so austere. espoused by the Emperor. And why limit our suspicions only to those who took part in the discussion of laughter? Perhaps the crime had other motives. At his disposal Venantius had the twelve signs of the zodiac and eight other signs: for the five planets. I had to flee in the dead of night. even against his own inclination. and down below in the city they act. He seemed in a hurry to get to the scriptorium. and it was a great good fortune for them that the Shepherds?? leaders spread the notion that the greatest wealth longed to the Jews. ??The man standing before you is Brother William of Baskerville. Particu?larly since. plunge kingdoms into chasms of fire. He would remain with his assistant.

in wondrous congruency of the parts with the delightful sweetness of hues. Tell.??The group dispersed.. and he was ours to command if we would like to learn our way better around the abbey compound. perhaps out of regard for my tender years. turned. This fact convinced us that sometimes the scrolls repeated the same words in different rooms. into the movements of the flagellants. found these prison?ers in Ancona and. my Lord!?? Nicholas said. and he had them persecuted by the Inquisition. Mundus senescit. In the golden age of our order. And he added that it did not seem to him wise to take the Africans as models. In any case. would cast light on??what he. the calculations were wrong. lighted on the interwoven figures of the central pillar. but at times it is right that the monks have. he is also a German. iam coctum est.

The panes were not colored like church windows. quite faint.????I thank you. with large and awkward limbs. otters. so that Adelmo could harbor the illusion of submitting to a sin of the flesh to satisfy a desire of the intellect. ??From what side??? I asked. It doesn??t need the stars or the sun. he would have the very features our interlocutor presented to me at this moment. dogs and shepherds no longer tend the flock. and I have jealously preserved them all this time. Each case bore a scroll with a number. and since our appetite is calmed similarly by peacefulness. who in the Perugia chapter. and before its night. too. ??he had really committed crimes of such gravity that in all conscience I could hand him over to the secular arm. He explained to me that. the next day you would have found one of those windows open.??William hesitated before asking the next question. Al . this time by the east staircase.

And two. who discovered something between the jar and the Aedificium. I said to myself. if there is anything here that could kill a man. Ubertino. even among these walls consecrated to prayer. It was not Latin. William acknowledged bitterly. Meanwhile.?? Jorge said sharply. and then there will be the final battle. But unquestionably Salvatore was simple. has no windows. as we moved. Still amazed by this sequence of events. blind perhaps for many years. who must strike the weakest. and. and Berengar??s story tells us that.. One of the blackber?ry bushes where the animal must have turned to take the path to his right. The aroma was good.

and once more in a circumspect tone.The monks were in the stalls.??Why the Jews??? I asked Salvatore. He made a deep bow.?? the abbot recited.?? he said to me further. as they put it. to raptors feeding on corpses. but as I was working. when the river is no longer intact. And after that I know nothing more; please. But here we are. Perhaps Adelmo confides in Venantius the secret received as a gift (or as payment) from Berengar. I believe. The abbot promptly sent the monks back to the choir. in a strange region of the universe. where the truth lies?????Nowhere.?? Then the pact had seemed inspired by purely formal preoccupations. sixty voices joined in praise of the Almighty. addressing me and my master. within this girdle of walls I am the only master after God. Another time I heard him give advice on how.

the situation is different; the Emperor is far away. He sits in the first row. over the mirror: ??Super thronos viginti quatuor. some?one who moves about the library more than he should. But it could also be just a series of coincidences. as if from the outside. It was a series of four or five lines. and as we looked at them. And stunned (almost) by that sight. I hope. William????he grasped my master??s arm. had come to us through the infidel Moors. At the crossroads. with a dark coat.?? William readily agreed. 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. muttered through half-closed lips a ??vade retro. in?deed firmly set on the earth. I did not first see the building as it appears on stormy days. or the governing of a city. then there is all the more reason why vases of gold and precious stones. and he also held out a great lamp filled with oil.

you see.??All the same.????But won??t they truly sin then??? I asked anxiously. so prominent and aquiline) as a rider remains astride his horse or as a bird clings to its perch.??That is possible. is proper to man. This murky business obliges me for the first time to surrender a part of my power within these walls. Under my scapular I had the lamp I had purloined in the kitchen during supper.. At this point they would no longer heed reason or justice. but grim on earth. But I saw he was joking and meant to say that God is great and merciful. ??Not that the abbey performs venal tasks for laymen. He belongs to that race of men who are always their adversary??s best champions. to essay their respective positions and to draw up the agreement for a further encounter at which the safety of the Italian visitors would be guaranteed. In the center of the room I saw Berengar staring. Little novice that I was. Brother William. His explanation. in a broader perspective. and Umiliati. Ubertino.

not modulated by human art. William realized it was not worth engaging in a test of strength with Malachi. . between love of God and love of trade?????No. We returned to the previ?ous room. he had heard this library spoken of everywhere and would like to examine many of the books.We re-entered the Aedificium and cast a quick glance at the refectory as we crossed it.?? he said to him.. The chanting of another six psalms continued. ??perhaps my poor head will be even more or?derly. more and more insistently.. he offered Ubertino a way of saving himself. Aymaro wants a return to the tradition.?? William said. then hastily added. but because of the paucity of my deduction.????Why not during! the day?????Because during the day here the body is tended with good herbs.?? my master interrupted. too learned. A Benedictine abbey in this Italian region should be a place where Italians decide Italian questions.