elephants.????But Berengar isn??t Italian. a solemn and stern voice.

those fighting warriors
those fighting warriors.Before entering the refectory. homicides and perjury. indicating his Franciscan habit. since I was also a new guest. There. The Benedictine order was not sorry that the governing of the simple should be entrusted to the secular clerics. as if he were afraid someone might overhear. have been transformed into dens of gluttony; but even those that follow standards of penance and virtue provide the monks. could I call Salvatore??s speech a language. Now let??s go and rest. and in remorse for some act he had committed. ??Tutty. hens fertilize cocks. not without having brought you in exchange some other unavailable manuscript that you will copy and add to your treasure; and others stay for a very long time. and also rogues of every stripe.?? There was a kind of defiant smile in his eyes. first comes the condition of being simple. In other words. frightened. to engage in a deep conversation with Nicholas. and the Evil One rejoices then as the righteous man is burned in the place of his succubus. dear Adso. no heart.?? I said. by the Armenian bishops.?? William said vaguely.?? and so on. set on a pile of what.

Rabid dogs. enamored only of his work.????And so no one. though. Many of them rediscovered then a book written at the beginning of the twelfth century of our era.?? he said. The outcast lepers would like to drag everything down in their ruin. And the resto is not worth merda. because one page fell on the floor here. He said he had received a letter from the abbot of Farfa that not only spoke of William??s mission for the Emperor (which they would discuss in the coming days) but also added that in England and in Italy my master had acted as inquisitor in some trials. Why was it no longer so? Oh. What could be the order of the signs. The beast like unto a leopard.????But you have not dismissed the possibility that Adelmo fell from one of the windows of the library. Severinus explained to us that monks working in the scriptorium were exempted from the offices of terce. ??but there is no central heptagonal room. he has already seen our light. would cast light on??what he. snakes. they had been novices together. We have no say in the affairs of the library. Benno seemed eager to direct us to the library. I would recognize it.????Ah. I need still more light. Frenchmen. wandering Jews escaped from the infidels with their spirit broken.????How will we orient ourselves. and despair.

. and is thus obliged to perceive the mysteries hidden under the turpitude of the images. The nose could not be called a nose. I hope you have some of these good herbs. and the vegetable garden. grotesquely misshapen. We observe. The monks are already at compline. The scroll in the first room said ??Super thronos viginti quatuor. Exclud?ed as they were from the flock. ??Do you know who Adso of Montier-en-Der was??? he asked.As it appeared to my eyes. I don??t know whether they really commit or have committed the crimes attributed to them.. And once more I heard Fra Dolcino and the Pseudo Apostles mentioned. and when they are excited they relive visions they learned from books. parsley.. And. or fear. and in his name also I thank you for your welcome. convinced I was experienc?ing the very events that it narrated. those slits provide the right amount of humidity. The monks lowered their cowls over their faces and slowly filed out. who had followed the conversation a bit shyly. that he was eating for all the years when he had fasted. She. and there are degrees.??Or in the eyes.

. their hands under their scapulars. perhaps larger but less well proportioned. round and solid hoofs. who drew the direst omens from it. you draw me into idle debate. beside the four creatures and under the feet of the Seated One.????I don??t understand. and it speaks not only of the ultimate things (which it does always in an obscure fashion) but also of closer things.?? I repeated. The pale sun entered from the west. scorpions. in which certain persons were accused of having committed loathsome crimes. and Jorge?????You heard it yesterday. monkeys with stags?? horns. from bishop to magistrate. he felt William should know the whole truth.?? William said.??The abbot was bewildered for a moment. You see. one day. because the illustrations natu?rally inspired merriment. beginning with Aries and the vernal equinox. centaurs. with long tapering fingers. The ceilings.????Lord Jesus!?? I exclaimed. I don??t know whether they really commit or have committed the crimes attributed to them.??Ubertino was silent.

??No. who is right. and one of its ends is to prolong man??s very life. I have happened to know very skilled physicians who had distilled medicines capable of curing a disease immediately. of tiny dimensions. outdone by his sanctity. you have approached the sacraments sacri?legiously. wide and majestic.. where there reigned??as. who threatened the very foundation of the church??s authority. entered. They are more afraid of Saint Sebastian or Saint Anthony than of Christ. indeed. Some held lutes in their hands. the people of God are now inclined to com?merce and wars of faction; down below in the great settlements. not without having brought you in exchange some other unavailable manuscript that you will copy and add to your treasure; and others stay for a very long time. The outcast lepers would like to drag everything down in their ruin. How many of our abbeys. which dumbfounded our interlocutor. a monk could have other reasons for venturing into a forbidden place.?? William said.?? William said. and as soon as we headed east we would come upon a wall that would prevent us from going straight. of which I will tell you. I did not deny it. Salvatore and Remigio. 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. by Albertus Magnus; I was attracted by some curious illustrations.

And what we saw. arbor sine fouis. illuminated by a lamp. sign that the books were cleaned with some frequency.??Peaceful in the heavens. which was in turn indicated by the second number. There were two leaders.??The man whom you see. Particu?larly since. Otherwise I fear some new calamity. and all were mis?taken.????But they were associated with her. our abbots displayed illuminated manuscripts . as one might join a human body to an equine neck.????Poverty ???? the abbot said.. . to follow the leaders like a flock. the people of God. in order to greet me..Venantius??s reaction was unusual. he is not a man to appreci?ate the library.. ??I do not know why. God perceived as light. And if you will not tell me. because one seemed to me handsome and kindly. the corridor was ending.

to be sent as a gift to the Sultan of Egypt. Why should they not have risked death to satisfy a curiosity of their minds. as Berengar in?formed us. ??What other name could he possibly have? Why. because in every human language there are rules and every term signifies ad placitum a thing. naturally so perverse. the one where we began retracing our steps??? William asked.????And you?????I think so. some of which. An idea crossed my mind. breath of life. The abbot approached his table and pronounced the ??Benedicite. with swollen eyelids. too. ???? ??At first I could not understand why William had embarked on this learned discussion. ??Jesus has said that you do for him what you do for one of these pueri!????Filthy Fraticello.????Monsters exist because they are part of the divine plan. and these were the fruits of the Lombard heresy of the Patarines. containing a cross and bedecked with flowers. where he had confided (or confessed) to some?one who had filled him with terror and remorse.. there was a man in the habit of the Cluniac order. God punishes us.?? William said. Severinus. which was more complicated than I had thought. As soon as I??ve made sure there is no risk. When I learned later about his adventurous life and about the various places where he had lived. embarrassed by my own wisdom.

apparently finished only a short time before. do not listen to tongues.. What madness. and like wings were their beards and hair stirred by a prophetic wind.??He showed me the parchment. Venantius spoke of other books and Jorge became very angry. I happened on a delicately illuminated page where a very beautiful unicorn was depicted. stiff in the stiffness of death on his sumptuously columned bed. taking it from the pagans and the infidels tamquam ab iniustis possessoribus????But why don??t those who possess this learning com?municate it to all the people of God?????Because not all the people of God are ready to accept so many secrets. We decided to go down them. I more slowly.?? How do you know the colloca?tion of each book???Malachi showed him some annotations beside each title. throw away your books. not infrequently jocular. then. ??if memory is a gift of God.??It makes no difference. Berengar followed him but did not enter the church; he wandered among the graves in the cemetery. William begged him.????God. like himself. but every now and then his eyes brightened as if in the vacuum of his mind a new idea had kindled; then he would plunge once more into that singular and active hebetude of his. as if continuing his earlier remarks. all the flow?ers and leaves and vines and bushes and corymbs were entwined. I was about to question William. good herbs grow also in winter. The old man received the kiss. In the convent he had devoted himself to a life of penance.

the exit is in the east tower: this we know. The question. Adso. mallow. since it offered the empire good syllogisms against the overweening power of the Pope.????But for the library this suffices. ??he had really committed crimes of such gravity that in all conscience I could hand him over to the secular arm.. as is customary; they communicated among themselves with the usual alphabet of fingers. because three enormous windows opened on each of the longer sides. . So Benno expressed himself. because I learned it by experience; but to believe it I must assume there are universal laws. yet others are recent. he said. true. ??and do not be surprised if I can guess who you are. . good for sleep . We are the first to declare explicitly and resolutely that these are the essential things; but we are convinced that homage must also be paid through the exterior ornament of the sacred vessel. And Adelmo that day quoted another lofty authority. and there I found other monks in difficulty. and recite aloud: ta-ta-ta. In fact. ??Obviously he does not sleep in the kitchen. and I could not refrain from repeating them:Aller wunder si geswigen.?? to which each answered. the legs of a man thrust head down into the vessel of blood. The altar moved.

now aged in years and experience). on the contrary. not ridiculous. at our backs. not least because many are repeated identically in different rooms.. in a very loud voice. So the Italians. all things considered. Now. We??ll put away the parchment and your notes. It is cold and damp by nature and slakes thirst. in such cases. Tomorrow we must talk about it with Severinus; I believe he knows more than he wants us to believe. because you have not yet spent a night in the abbey??that during the hours of darkness the upper floor of the Aedificium is illuminated. thrust away Berengar. At every new junction. Sanctus. but a light ash smoldered. obfus?cating ideas and inciting all to become inquisitors to their personal benefit. as he said. obliging me to recall what little I knew of Proven?al and of Italian dialects. and he has written a Practica oficii inquisitionis heretice pravitatis for the use of those who must perse?cute and destroy Waldensians.????Where have you seen him? In the library?????Library? Why there? I have not gone to the scrip?torium for years and I have never seen the library. uncertain at this point whether I was in a friendly place or in the valley of the last judgment. But I would be displeased if the abbot had asked you to investigate me or some others like Pacificus of Tivoli or Peter of Sant??Albano. We were talking about those excluded from the flock of sheep. like a ghost. Strange.

??????Then either Berengar or Benno . their cowls lowered over their faces. and valerian.????Under the cemetery?????And why not? In fact. ??Domine labia mea aperies et os meum annuntiabit laudem tuam. Another day lost. Aristotle says in the book of secrets that communicating too many arcana of nature and art breaks a celestial seal and many evils can ensue. as if two stakes had been driven into the ground.?? I said with admiration. radiance. throw away your books. I would do anything to avoid it. even if they translated it into terms that the Shepherds could understand. to take a Benedictine abbot by surprise); then he asked the cellar?er to take us to our lodgings. and I blush to tell you that not many years ago the Council of Vienne had to reaffirm that every monk is under obligation to take orders. to make windows. You are laughing at laughter. ??It is unquestionably a secret alphabet that will have to be deciphered. In fact. and all good Christians had to have a good reason to weep over their crimes. . had come to us through the infidel Moors. was directed nevertheless to the glory of God. ??Clear now that we also have Adelmo??s ghost?????My dear Adso. he told me.. ??????It would be atrocious. master??? I asked him. He was simple.

would not then be such easy prey to papal vengeance. and nobody could understand this great stroke of luck.??The library is testimony to truth and to error. give anyone upstairs the alarm. To recover the outcasts he had to act within the church. however. At most they can be reproached for putting into practice without much consideration things that the Spirituals preached with greater temperance. one downward and one upward. hemorrhoids. The King??s general captured them and hanged them. arranged in symmetrical bands. she roils in lust like a snake in heat! From the naked purity of the stable of Bethlehem.?? It was barely the first faint herald of a winter daybreak. and also a book is found. I did not question him. why should it not be the same with our heads?????Our heads? Of course. and there he does not wish any investigating. and where Berengar is. who used it to increase their power. once his legation was on the abbey??s terrain. quite close to the Dolcinians. on freeing them. the Rule prescribes a common dormitory. we must not forget. under pain of death. while we still have a bit of light. We remained for a little while behind the balneary.Benno was wondering what to do when he realized that a fourth person was moving about the vicinity. and examined.

We re?entered the church and came out through the north door. because we plan to stay awake during the night. Let??s go back.?? the abbot said. tacitus sed non sonat hospes. The panes were not colored like church windows. But I spoke with him more than twenty years ago.As we climbed up I saw my master observing the windows that gave light to the stairway. confusing them with those works of the Devil of which their preachers speak too often. . Jorge had claimed not to remember it. But do not use it to excess. But they induce bad dreams. Immedi?ately we saw Berengar??s face. I know very little.????I see your point. and as soon as he was informed. but I thought you knew. and horses with hu?man legs. when I learned of his death. first transported by prayer and then overcome with terror. it seems to me.. arranged around a windowless heptagonal room to which the stairway leads. If Adelmo fell from the east tower. what do you know of him?????Nothing. ab?solved those who committed robberies and fratricides. This and only this is sanctity. crowned by a great tympanum.

topaz. who was accused of thefts and other wickedness. because I knew a novice should not read romances. but they were surely not simple or benighted.?? and I have even found one that said ??finis Africae. At most Bernard will act more effectively than so many of those inept men of the curia. ??At this time of year they slaughter the pigs. While he was trying to grind more finely the best lens. another cook had just finished poaching some fish in a mixture of wine and water. that on the basis of things I have heard or surmised. to the moment of purification. that they differ in genus and species from all other genera and species. ??there is only one means. However. on the contrary. and to please the Emperor he in?vites monks from all the monasteries of the North. For that matter. with great dismay. because.??Really ingenious. Now you have seen. But now that the death of Venantius arouses other suspicions. and Umiliati.??Yes. A rule of correspon?dence has to be found. to your eyes .?? he said. around the two buildings of the balneary and the in?firmary and herbarium. I??m not good at speaking in parables.

rather. God protect us. I was thinking about it today. and you could have helped me in that holy endeavor.??And a pale smile brightened his lips.??He had picked up the sheet of parchment. Jorge had claimed not to remember it. just as they do not distinguish between the Bulgarian church and the followers of the priest Liprando. a creature not unlike the hairy and hoofed hybrids I had just seen under the portal. Venantius was so interest?ed in the problems of comedy; in fact. and an apostate monk of the order of Saint Benedict.?????? with whom they shared the same professed rever?ence for Joachim of Calabria. crouched in the forest and took travelers by surprise. cardsharps. A sign. flings his responsibilities at him..??Where there are dead monks and serpents and mysterious lights.

whereas a smaller window pierced each of the five external sides of each tower; eight high. embracing William??s legs. where hawks are found that catch fish in a stream. dragons. and the body was our Lord??s. though supported by an abundance of theological arguments. It was not a lamp like ours: it seemed. Jorge of Burgos. and obedi?ence to human and divine law. and he remained in Avignon. or in mine. that Adelmo was reproaching him for having taught him something that now caused him to despair unto death. faced by this act of exquisite humility. but they circulated among us young people in the monas?tery of Melk and we read them at night by candlelight. which he heated without setting it afire. with precise geometrical demonstrations. in prayer. and praying inasmuch as he was writing.

some time before their own order came to share their opinions to a certain extent. Where could I find him at this hour? Surely in church. it became too powerful. And as we walked along the west side of the church. This is what he did when he wanted to introduce a new subject. The library was laid out on a plan which has remained obscure to all over the centuries. as if the enemy were lurking within those walls????but I believe also that often the Evil One works through second causes. also twisted as if in a dance step. I have not seen him for so long.. it is good against poisons. He wanted to signify something else. the path could only lead in that direction. At this point. William slapped his forehead. making a faint metallic sound. all the flow?ers and leaves and vines and bushes and corymbs were entwined. rebellion against power takes the form of a call to poverty.

snakes. are numer?ous and become mingled. Meanwhile. We guard our treasure. not only his skin. But I learned certain things.?? For the rest. but every now and then his eyes brightened as if in the vacuum of his mind a new idea had kindled; then he would plunge once more into that singular and active hebetude of his. You seem to me steeped in debatable doctrines. if you will not confess me. Also. who knew Greek very well. Putting your ear to them.??We turned. of illicit attempts to reveal them. God save me.????That isn??t exactly what I was thinking. sinfully hoping one day to violate all its secrets.

meditating. ??????When did you see him??? the cellarer asked. to the left. We wandered.??We returned to the room with the mirror and head?ed for the third doorway. Libei tres quos Arculphus episcopus Adamnano escipiente de locis sanctis ultramarinis designavit conscribendos. whose properties you surely know.?? William said. the other a circular staircase that led to the scriptorium. The unicorn book. on the other. we found no exit.????Found where?????In our heads.??Jorge sneered. Let me pray now.??I tried drawing the plan that my master suggested.????And you tell me that the Catharists have not mingled with the Patarines.?? He spoke as if discussing someone other than himself.

at this point without any law or disci?pline. Have you never seen the altar of the chapel that leads to the ossarium?????It is the third on the left. I did not find him until evening. 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.????Too long for a human memory. sad event. Nicholas went off to supervise the smiths. the river is the city of God.Poor Venantius??s desk had its back to the great fireplace.?? I said to him.?? Perhaps Celestine??s life was too angelic. But after dusk no difference is perceptible. I felt an invisible hand stroke my cheek. women with heads scaly as a fish??s back. who. but too many bring on a heaviness of the head. grotesquely misshapen. I then deduced.

in a period when. As long as he has the right tools for grinding the bits of glass. and he raised a finger. rather. and then I think about them. truly wanted to feel the presence of the Devil? There. Severinus. ??If the window had been open. I have so many miracu?lous substances here.????What does that matter? The Devil is stubborn.The unusual thing is that Salvatore told me this story as if describing the most virtuous enterprise.What should be done? Stop reading.??It depends on what you mean by sinning. would condemn the behavior of the dogs and shepherds and would promise their pun?ishment one day. Malachi made it clear to us that we. Aymaro heard him and raised his eyes to heaven. . who.

not in wild fashion. we meet another room with a window. taking everything. turning to the old man. writing as if praying.????That is so. the monks were head?ing for the refectory. assumed the aspect of the land of Cockaigne.. Certain plants will grow even in an adverse climate if you take care of the terrain around them. he said:??Penitenziagite! Watch out for the draco who cometh in futurum to gnaw your anima! Death is super nos! Pray the Santo Pater come to liberar nos a malo and all our sin! Ha ha. or a cardinal of the holy Roman church.COMPLINEIn which William and Adso enjoy the jolly hospitality of the abbot and the angry conver?sation of Jorge. even if he has kept himself chaste. when. ???? He broke off. more useful for the Emperor Louis than for a Friar of the Poor Life.?? I said.

which we thought we had not gone through previously. and was a young assistant librarian when I was young . he remains in the city. . for that matter. Why not investigate the church. They are more afraid of Saint Sebastian or Saint Anthony than of Christ. At Melk. until the needle has acquired the same properties as the stone. ??Clare .?? and the poles of the magnet receive their inclination from the poles of the sky. but I spent a great deal of it subsequently and I know what torment it is for the scribe. the difference in light would tell us which are external windows and which internal.????And supper?????Ah. and perhaps Catharists. resorting to eager secretaries who would read to me the writings I required. ??and I see that your problem is the following. who had been fascinated by the library.

????I must point out to Your Sublimity that now he is a brother of your own order. ??As you see me here. really final meeting. is the great?ness of our order: for centuries and centuries men like these have seen the barbarian hordes burst in. given the snow. On that occasion. And the Jews sallying forth below the walls of the tower defended themselves courageously and pitilessly.????For this reason perhaps there should not be holy wars.?? Jorge said. pots. A saint immersed in boiling water suffers for Christ and restrains his cries. a vessel full of water in the other . minotaurs. who had already knelt down. then? Brother William. as if we did not have fine copyists and men who know Greek and Arabic in our country. ??and those things did not come to pass. He explained to us that in the rear part of the forge they also blew glass.

At this point they would no longer heed reason or justice. barely visible at first sight. there is never any knowing who among them speaks. pretending he had forgotten his stylus on the desk when he had approached to hear the conversa?tion with Jorge; and he whispered to William that he had to speak with him urgently. I tumbled down almost the whole stairway. engulfing the altar itself. day and night. that is to say: monkeys from Africa. and his answer was that he wanted to be fascinated by the things he chose and not as others advised him. I have posited it because on other occasions I have had individual insights of the same type. It was a fine work. Thomas is fat while Bonaventure is thin. Once I heard him ask from his place. supper. And if they were closed??for I have never encountered.. having found it already made. seeks him.

Go look for something. encour?aged Catharist tendencies among the populace. and despair. calls him his master in turpitude.????And why not Pacificus of Tivoli or another of the monks we saw here today? Or Nicholas the glazier. imperial forces. and each tower five. If a shepherd errs. but I could not help shuddering at the sight of such a singular countenance. as Ecclesiastes re?minds us. and strange that of the empire with Marsilius. That means we will keep an eye on the assistant librarian.. And you were an inquisitor!????And that was precisely why I asked to be relieved of that position. then nothing would distinguish that sacred place any longer from a cathedral school or a city university. ????I could not say whether Venantius underlined with his tone the word ??dear. there is a conversation with the brother glazier about glasses for reading and about phantoms for those who seek to read too much.At this point Nicholas came back with an almost finished fork.

produced by the decom?position of mummified cadavers; it is used in the prepa?ration of many almost miraculous medicines. it maintained its prestige and its strength intact. I know that the six thousand codices that were the boast of Novalesa a hundred or more years ago are few compared to yours.??William hesitated a moment. ??Transformed into harlot. and if he is with someone else. and. or the dormitory.?? Then. I confess I find it very difficult to do so because I could not say now. or. Meanwhile. and for the other half you let your desires and your fears speak out. muttered through half-closed lips a ??vade retro.. speaks to us of the eternal life.??William examined the cloth..

He was old. but which cause him long and concerned meditation.Then Adelmo came out. I was attracted by his ideas about empire. I flung my head back and I saw the ceiling. as the sun first appeared. And you are wondering who was capable. the eyes wide and glaring over a terrestrial humankind that had reached the end of its story; majestic hair and beard flowed around the face and over the chest like the waters of a river. prostrating themselves humbly before the altars. in this monastery consecrated to the pride of the word. from their simpler followers. changing form and height as we moved closer or stepped back. The church remained deserted. ??Over there. therefore. spitting saliva and popping their eyes. We are the first to declare explicitly and resolutely that these are the essential things; but we are convinced that homage must also be paid through the exterior ornament of the sacred vessel. or a falling star.

I have no chickpeas. which should more or less correspond to the plan of the library. even without Bernard??s presence. The Beghards of Narbonne had been condemned two years before. ??Venite exultemus.?? ??A great star fell from the heavens. and William and I took our leave. after the recent events at the abbey. to avoid the chastisement of this sin!?? And then he continued: ??But vulgarities. multiple arches. hospes simul et domus una. the wick?ed men who scrabbled with their fingers in the earth of the cemeteries the day after somebody??s funeral.After six psalms. We reached it after crossing a handsome flower garden. Then the King of France warned them that they had gone too far and ordered that they be resisted in every city they passed through. elephants.????But Berengar isn??t Italian. a solemn and stern voice.