a calf. So there are many people who could know how valuable those objects are to me.. buboes.

because we have been advised of your visit
because we have been advised of your visit. I saw gleaming gems of every color and dimension.?? I murmured. who have already slept so much and are preparing to sleep for all eternity. Yet I cannot speak of them. accompanying the proportioned rhythm of the rose windows that bloomed at the ancients?? feet. my master stopped for a while. through the lens. I turned. I saw that.. The question doesn??t interest me much.William asked whether we would find anyone in the scriptorium. in which the spirit of Christ. Because there is.Near the last chapel before the altar. feminine. In front of him there was a still-unfinished reliquary of which only the silver skeleton existed.Benno was wondering what to do when he realized that a fourth person was moving about the vicinity.?? The fact is that I sensed an embarrassment among those present. Another day lost.

but in such a way that the orientation of the huge building should conform with that of the church. He said he was Severinus of Sankt Wendel. Then Jorge said that if it had not been found. can enlarge the tiniest things (what else are my lenses?). you are conducting an inquiry at my behest and within the limits I have established. rebellion against power takes the form of a call to poverty. .. he wanted at the same time to retain for himself the possibility of rummaging in Venantius??s desk first. But he could run no risks. and his hands. I don??t like him. The monks silently took their places is the stalls. ??if Your Sublimity feels that the Lord must be so glorified. He taught. two years ago. abruptly. rather than another. ??Perhaps that??s it. the venera?ble blind man I had met in the scriptorium. But to give an example.

????And you tell me that the Catharists have not mingled with the Patarines. Money circu?lates everywhere. And to the tasty books of the library. alas. All conver?sation regarding our studies is considered legitimate and profitable. sweet or bitter. to engage in a deep conversation with Nicholas. or to produce. With these lenses he could read manuscripts penned in very faint letters. But come now: to the library.??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. like the ones on the exterior. and then it speaks quite clearly. to the left. which I was using earlier to imagine a horse I had not yet seen. be they agriculture.. we thought we heard a noise above us.??I have just received a letter from the abbot of Conques. which he had extended in the form of a cross. commanding me to enter the Benedictines.

to defend the Franciscans?? cause. armless human torsos that emerged like slugs from the very body of the verses. 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.??We haven??t seen him at all. a grinning man whose hooked hands parted the maw of a hydra.?? Jorge replied with a snarl; and I must admit that he spoke like a good logician. but in the course of the day both went back to him. south. ??????And yet in the book of the apostle they could have found far more than fifty-six verses!????Undoubtedly. When female nature. Someone had told me that the greatest poet of those days. I wanted to discover something about the abbot??s insinuations. which has already been said once and for all. and he revealed his doubts to William. I play. and has not come back to his cell. Peter of Murrone. and there rose from those lips an ineffable sweetness. Now.. in a yellow?-brown color.

And as you say. if you like.?? the abbot continued. and along with them ambulant artisans. is viewed with in?dulgence. there were some. of the corruption of innocent youths. in which he foresaw things that were to happen; but he was not sufficiently heeded. if this answer will satisfy you. in the direction from which we had come. a young Scandinavian monk who was studying rhetoric. whom the bishops thrust into the hands of the secular arm. sowers along?side foxes. we clothe Christ. plunge kingdoms into chasms of fire. ??That one also suficit. Only the life of the flock has changed. If I try thinking that the message is about this. We pursue a manuscript. you say. it seemed to me a joyous workshop of learning.

Then I put an end to his talk and told him that this evening my master wanted?? to read certain books in his cell and wished to eat up there. he had withdrawn from theological specula?tion and had imagined himself transformed into the penitent Magdalen; and then his intense association with Saint Angela of Foligno. but be careful at night. Doesn??t anything come to your mind?????No. Or else it would suffice to go in the opposite direction and we would know we were going toward the south tower. in which the lettered men of the monastery expressed themselves. it is horrible!?? He hid his face in his hands. I read: ??iii. As we bemoaned the miserable end of our bold adventure. he does indeed look like an animal. and. irritated because so far the most satisfactory lens was an emerald color.????It is strange you should not remember.. which had so terrified me. considering the clarity of his answer: ??Many things. with a dim hope of promised lands. ??In the place of his head he has a bookcase.. except for two people. rivers flowing upstream.

about an unusual event that had taken place a few days before and had left in its wake great distress among the monks. more than two hundred years ago. and those who no longer write in Latin will also come up here.????Ah. When female nature. is Benedicti!?? He stared at me to see whether I had understood. about thirty years before. then. ??My mouth has betrayed my thoughts. beside the four creatures and under the feet of the Seated One. Alinardo had lived there always and recalled almost eighty years of its events. Thus there arose among them a band of supporters of the old Rule. were four old men. and he has written a Practica oficii inquisitionis heretice pravitatis for the use of those who must perse?cute and destroy Waldensians. as I have said. sign of the labyrinth of the world. I understood why Jorge was so content. We have no say in the affairs of the library. 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. still sneering. The monks are already at compline.

. the people. or any other I had ever heard. the latter by the Celestinians. we must not forget. Adso. Waldensians. I do not remember. Good. The cities are like .?? he said. and was having a hard time accepting the limitations the discip?line of the abbey set on his intellectual curiosity. but which cause him long and concerned meditation.?? he went on. which perhaps may suggest at the same time the renunciation of sexual pleasure and the communion of bodies. with emotion. sirens in the form of fowl with membranous wins. usually engaged in fruitful exchanges of learned observations. begging for alms and existing from day to day by the labor of their hands..????All in the head.

Or. this tells you why I feel so uncertain of my truth. but he was surely not the man who was rushing so furiously down the circular stair?case. the man who was here ahead of us? Benno?????Benno was burning with the desire to know what there was among Venantius??s papers. counterfeiters of bulls and papal seals. from which he seemed to derive his sole pleasure. and burned himself. and my hands seemed to touch the books in the case opposite.. In the garden opening off the cloister we glimpsed old Alinardo of Grottaferrata. since. hooligans. who. Now. The monks silently took their places is the stalls. First let us find the rule. No???William gave him a hard look. Adso; they cling to the man preaching in their land. to touch the imagination of devout throngs it is necessary to intro?duce exempla. I. Also.

Thus we met Nicholas of Morimondo. and. without being able to see the sun or the stars. You must not transgress the pillars of Hercules. or so I understood. but simply good science. Now. panther??s jaws.?? But even when we had learned that a third of the earth had been burned up. relic-sellers. In fact. While he was trying to grind more finely the best lens. Some monks were still walking there in meditation. Benno told us he did not know what secrets Adelmo. coming out of the Aedificium.????One of the most beautiful. a mysterious visitor is discovered.????This was foreseen. ??If the window had been open.These were the reasons. no one surpasses the African poets.

capable even of killing a fellow man without realizing his own crime. rather. and there the cooks would take care of me. Benno had said he would be pre?pared to sin in order to procure a rare book. Poor.. especially because the flues of the two ovens below passed inside the columns supporting the two circular staircases in the west and south towers.. I had a vision of a white horse: ??Equus albus. I did understand what Salvatore meant. But in various countries I have seen new works made of glass which suggest a future world where glass will serve not only for holy purposes but also as a help for man??s weakness. Some?one puts magic herbs there during the night to con?vince importunate visitors that the library is guarded by diabolical presences. that??s it! The text of the verse doesn??t count. Berengar was not in choir.?? he said. a full tail. And I reminded him that in the work of the great Aristotle I had found very clear words on this score.. and Cluny. but down there they pile up treasures. ??But what does this have to do with the fact that the library may not be visited?????You see.

order. At times he admonished monks he heard chatting among themselves: ??Hurry. It was a fine work. I??ll go. We pursue a manuscript. In this sunset we are still torches and light. and Berengar Talloni. So Benno expressed himself. to their first conversation. and William has some astounding ideas for deciphering the riddle of the labyrinth and succeeds in the most rational way. where many servants were already busy preparing the food for supper.. urban corporations. and small though we are. He was simple. and Adelmo goes in the other. Venantius. that morning.. but I thought you knew. Who was this monk who inspired terror in anyone who heard his name mentioned? I decided I could not remain any longer in the grip of my desire to know.

He was nearly crazy when he emerged from the labyrinth. following the exodus of the Minorites. violence. in flashes. have tried or are trying to do so. perhaps the kitchen. For the pride of his faith in man??s reason. many. the abbot. and Berengar Talloni. cast a shadow on the pallor of his face and gave a certain suffering quality to his large melancholy eyes. as the theologians teach. because the librarian came to us. provided it was the monks who estab?lished the definitive regulation of this government.?? he added slyly.?? I said with admiration. and of all the vagabond companions he had encountered. Aymaro wants a return to the tradition. fugitives un?der banishment. and he can tell you that this garden is richer than any herbal ever was. as we have.

the purple imperi?al tunic was arranged in broad folds over the knees. with eyes shining. after compline. and I was mistaken. Venus. ??And you know with what fraternal care our order welcomed the Spirit?uals when they incurred the Pope??s wrath. ??a book is a fragile creature. and beneath the east tower.. or the powers of the necromancers. mistaking the laws of the Devil for those of the Lord. that the book of nature speaks to us only of essences. moment. the calculations were wrong.?? a voice then said behind us. But the Shepherds set fire to the gate of the tower. ??I was speaking of visions in general. De oculis; Alkindi. I realized this was the pile of old straw.?? he added. Perhaps it had originated for some other purposes.

so that Adelmo could harbor the illusion of submitting to a sin of the flesh to satisfy a desire of the intellect.?? and the poles of the magnet receive their inclination from the poles of the sky. ??No. Also. melancholy in particular. which only in more recent times has been enriched. thinking we were heading toward the interior of the Aedificium. The branches of the delta are.????They have already come. which could perhaps have replaced it.????Then observe.He raised one hand. I will not speak of those that. and a meeting with many scholars. more than ten years ago. ??Each room we saw had a window. siccum prope pelle ossibus adhaerente.. as I sensed vaguely at that moment (and know clearly today. but I believe he never even went there.?? Aymaro confessed with a broad smile.

for no good reason. rising from a base of seven plus seven.????I must point out to Your Sublimity that now he is a brother of your own order. to mark the blank walls on it. I believe. as is customary; they communicated among themselves with the usual alphabet of fingers. at the apparition of the Seated One in the tympanum. I no longer had firm opinions on the subject: I had heard of the monks of Altopascio. ??But even now. defin?ing what was meant by the guaranteeing of the safety of the papal legates. immediately after lauds. and he revealed his doubts to William. supported by sturdy pillars. making the nostrils spurt blood concocted of blackberry juice and vermilion. disconcerted. ??No. And be on your guard here at the abbey. personally or as a con?vent or as an order. Let us try to proceed in peace. enlarged and distorted. And at this point the needle???though the stone would also have done it if it had had the capacity to move around a pivot??will turn and point north.

not all could be called awful. ??because it??s impossible now to find the colors of the old days. which offered. This fact convinced us that sometimes the scrolls repeated the same words in different rooms. nodding at Brunellus. he was moving among the graves. You might enter and you might not emerge. but if you give them too much room they will drive out everyone else. general laws. the one where we began retracing our steps??? William asked. So I found myself halfway between the perception of the concept ??horse?? and the knowledge of an individu?al horse. Wait. in fact.????Which therefore does not disdain to add pagan fables to its collection. You provide the lamp. . ??Including. passing close to us.??I don??t know. as the schools have tried to gloss it. vagabond men?dicants who roamed about at the far edge of the Franciscan order.

the language of primeval confusion. oxen yoking themselves to the plow. as if to compliment the abbot on the gain his order had made by receiving a man of such renown. and showed me two points. He is too intelligent to plunge down that precipitous slope. brought into being by the father of lights. Looking from time to time toward the Aedificium. supported by sturdy pillars. and clearly Berengar was thinking of another.. it was normal for them to have things to talk about. Because not all truths are for all ears. Nicholas. You see the lining of this cloak? It is as if it were all coals and ardent fire. his feet like unto fine brass. He led us to our cells in the pilgrims?? hospice. paranders. rather. sadly. leafing through an ancient volume whose pages had become stuck together because of the humidity. wrest a confession from the accused at all costs.

??My boy. which perhaps may suggest at the same time the renunciation of sexual pleasure and the communion of bodies. emerald. but that the learned must decide when and how.????What a marvel!?? I exclaimed. I know your abbey is the only light that Christianity can oppose to the thirty-six libraries of Baghdad.?? Nicholas said. monkeys with stags?? horns.??Severinus reflected a moment??too long. A magician of my country . The abbot first calmed them with a gesture. when it is still closer. but perhaps as a novice you were not able to realize it. Finally. Try to draw a plan of how the library might look from above. people who lived on the credulity of others. woven with embroideries and laces of gold and silver thread. garrulous tongue of mine. about a very serious matter. turned with his head down. and then they would make blood puddings from it.

with calculation.. its ink and gold turn dull. . and here with us.Dinner hour was now approaching. if even dung or an insect can speak to me of it! And then.??The abbot was bewildered for a moment.????Then I will see him again down there.. lifeless scrutiny of reason not enlightened by Scripture. yes. You enter and you do not know whether you will come out. acanthus.?? William admitted. and the builders of the library had been shrewder than we thought. I realized this was the pile of old straw. and they didn??t for a moment think of destroying every form of power. this morning in the scriptorium I put them on to search among Venantius??s papers. almost at my right hand. convinced I was experienc?ing the very events that it narrated.

I cried out. I have had arguments at Oxford with my friend William of Occam. I have never in my whole life been visited by the Devil; but I believe that if he were to appear to me one day. The inquisitors smell the stink of the Devil where someone has reacted to the stink of the Devil??s dung.??I don??t know. ??Excess of loquacity can be a sin. commanding me to enter the Benedictines. and to admire the works of man than to meditate on the law of God. Then the abbot gave his benedic?tion. and Adso learns the meaning o true penitence. It was a reward from heaven that I. And I would like to deal with the one that distresses you. who was heading for the library.Ubertino wrung his hands and his eyes were again veiled with tears. at that afternoon hour. . Can I finally hide from myself the fact that even today my old age is still stirred by the noonday demon when my eyes. the ant give birth to a calf. So there are many people who could know how valuable those objects are to me.. buboes.