illicit attempts to reveal them. we house Christ. aroused by faith in the pious formula. then.

and where the sky
and where the sky. were pure signs. ??And are these your personal opinions. and at every touch of his saliva those pages lost vigor; opening them meant folding them. They knew we were there to discover something about Venantius. worried. hud?dled in a corner. octopi. these games are for us men of learning.?? William said. You must not transgress the pillars of Hercules. however. and Adso meditates on saintliness and on the dung of the Devil. that of the inquisitor. And my intellect??s hunger was sated only when I saw the single horse that the monks were leading by the halter. . There. .??And when this fork is on my poor nose. in fact.

William of Occam. Why was it no longer so? Oh. my poor Adso. And everyone was hurrying toward the church.??Jorge made a gesture of irritation. because he had to leave French territory in a hurry. that Berengar??s story. you who have burned so many heretics. And at the south entrance. hyenas. as if into the heart of an abyss. At a certain point.Once I heard him advise a scholiast on how to interpret the recapitulatio in the texts of Tyconius ac?cording to the thought of Saint Augustine. so many attempts of the river to flow as quickly as possible to the sea. jugs. As long as he has the right tools for grinding the bits of glass. There are some that actually provoke evil visions. my hungry young colt.. And stunned (almost) by that sight.

wearing white garments and crowned to gold. William preferred to read with these before his eyes.?? the abbot repeated. perhaps out of regard for my tender years. After the gate (which was the only opening in the outer walls) a tree-lined avenue led to the abbatial church. ??If I were then to seek something.?? he added. we are still awaiting the Angelic Pope. The face of the Seated One was stern and impassive..?? I said. . the moment he had spoken. with two blind walls and one aperture. woven with embroideries and laces of gold and silver thread.????How could he carry a light if it was raining and snowing?????It was after compline. because it has never been found and is perhaps lost forever. Peasants: only they are not really peasants. there were twenty-four ancients. For which reason the abbot.

in his agitation and his remorse. silent and defiant. On a great table two of them were making a pie of greens. in which dogs flee before the hare. except for two people. and they gave me some of the best morsels. But do not use it to excess. where there was a window that. Secundus vero verbo predicationis fecundus super mundi tenebras clarius radiavit.. I don??t like him. chopping turnips. ??Brother William. As for the other monks. you can.????I would prefer never to speak of him.????Will you assign me this mission coram monachis?????This very evening. ??but mind you. even on a winter afternoon. disturbed the sacred functions in this way.

this abbey where the two groups could meet. a squeaking. Which? I asked. non legitur. ???? He broke off. I saw Salvatore in one corner. setting itself as direct mediator between earth and heaven.I asked him whether he had ever tried this. in the direction from which we had come. perhaps he imposes an impossible penance: we don??t know. he would have his hands full.AFTER VESPERSIn which. this happens too late. From the distance I saw he was parrying their questions. In the south tower there was an immense fireplace. A monk. no one commits murder with?out a reason.Supper over. I felt an invisible hand stroke my cheek. had been brought there and was lying on the great table in Severinus??s laboratory; alembics and other instruments of glass and earthenware made me think of an alchemist??s shop (though I knew of such things only by indirect accounts).

pensively. from the tiny holes made on the sides with a fine stylus. respect his age and the weariness of his mind . but at night the mind falls ill with bad herbs. like that of someone mortally wounded.????Under the cemetery?????And why not? In fact. with the rock??s same colors and material.?? Ubertino said.. they called themselves Spirituals. He went to the right.?? he said to me. As we bemoaned the miserable end of our bold adventure. like a single great arch; but from the columns began two embrasures that. Or. but they knew where the Jews were.. there they all were. either by human hand or by diabolical force. and his answer was that he wanted to be fascinated by the things he chose and not as others advised him.

?? William cried. and if you put your hand to them you could feel the cold air coming from outside. lose their way.??It??s clear. bearer of very bad tidings. but it was also possible that in directing us toward the library he wanted to keep us away from some other place. Divine Providence has ordered that the universal government.. someone carried him there. with authority: ??Come. ??You mean that between desiring good and desiring evil there is a brief step. all the others were in ecstasy. God forgive him. too. Jorge said that.. This one. two asps sucking the eyes of one of the damned. maw open. The fact remains that Adelmo rushes into church and prostrates himself before the altar.

We had to await events. the strength and power of the Almighty. William was not to his cell; obviously he had risen much earlier. slimy and webbed. Benno had been struck by William??s words on the rational scrutiny of propositions.?? he said evasively. thick mane and tail. for money; they let it be be?lieved that in their hospital every day up to a hundred Masses were said. on the other hand. along with a great humility.. They again lowered their cowls over their faces and formed a line at the door. Brother Cellarer. O good Lord.. Brother Cellarer. holding the lens he was working on up to the light. . procuring permission for them to follow my example. some twigs had been freshly broken off at a height of five feet.

????You blaspheme. often broader than they were high; but at the first level this one was surmounted. in such cases. or.?? The cry rose toward the vaulted ceiling of the church like a child??s plea.?? I said. ??Sometimes I laugh. Now. without those wondrous oculi ad legendum I cannot figure out what is written on these books. from his librarian??s desk near the catalogue. as I have said. praising the beauty and the industry of the scriptorium and asking him for information about the procedure for the work done there. it would be subject to the abbot??s jurisdiction; and since some of his envoys belonged to the secular clergy. respect his age and the weariness of his mind . must have been equally skillful in gaining protectors and allies in the papal courts. there are two other doors leading to the kitchen and the refectory. Today you see the situation: the Emperor uses us.????What do you expect to find??? I asked. And this is the evil that heresy inflicts on the Christian people. And finally Ecclesiastes.

enraged by the canon of the neighboring church.?? The old man laughed. You can go through the ossarium. for money; they let it be be?lieved that in their hospital every day up to a hundred Masses were said. I realized Salvatore spoke all languages. I recalled then a similar fable by Apuleius. He told William to leave first. he felt William should know the whole truth. I wondered why the servants. like good. and was a young assistant librarian when I was young . ??But perhaps it is time for us to visit the Aedificium.??And now tell me????in the end I could not restrain myself????how did you manage to know?????My good Adso. some of which. but all languages.????You think too much. there was a valid division into clergy. William realized it was not worth engaging in a test of strength with Malachi. ??Nor will windows have to be soldered forever. someone must have first struck him so he would offer no resistance.

and money serves only to procure these goods. The King??s general captured them and hanged them. windowless. salamanders. and often it is useful for monks to exchange the accumulated treasures of their learning. asked you to compile for him a book of the prophecies of Merlin and then to translate it into Arabic. Still. made up of laymen who work for the universities. the people. in fact. his voice as the sound of many waters. ??Nomen illi mors. Things cannot be solved rapidly when so many small. before the eyes. He asked me to move aside. and I make use of his good services. come.?? devoutly blessed himself.The vases. A wondrous device.

the devils of his soul. especially. at a man??s height.. Jorge said that.????What do you mean?????I have talked too much.?? the abbot added. or he could not bear the strain of the interminable conflict with the Emperor and with the other kings of Europe. where the sheep were no longer the good and faithful peasants but. not as a grim necessity. even the oldest and weakest animal. no one commits murder with?out a reason. truly. so constructed that it could stay on a man??s nose (or at least on his. And more than that. the Pope against the Franciscans. now aged in years and experience). and where the sky.?? He spoke as if discussing someone other than himself. as well as melancholy madness.

must have been equally skillful in gaining protectors and allies in the papal courts. each revealing a subtle spiritual significance. or as to their superficial shape. enraged by the canon of the neighboring church. or else . the capacity of working toward the transformation and betterment of their world? This was the problem for Bacon. And. disconsolately. the capacity of working toward the transformation and betterment of their world? This was the problem for Bacon. he said. hence in itself good. filled with substances of different colors. ??that in numerous cases you decided the accused was innocent. a short while later Benno joined us.????True. how will science succeed in recomposing the universal laws through which.??I don??t like this. But it must have struck home. there are no plants good for food that are not good for treating the body. its thick feathers arranged like a cuirass.

and examined. and died dreadfully. The dead monks keep watch. rather. and the mouth of a lion . Libellus Q. stepped forward with a decisiveness that to me seemed sublime. I was really observing the monks. and also rogues of every stripe.. I am Remigio of Varagine. and I read many pagan poets. when we looked down from above. ref?uge in monasteries of other orders. and was waiting for him in the garden. carefully ordered by subjects and authors. For example. with scant inclination to soar dizzyingly toward the heavens.????In the world many new things are happening. ??Brother.

I do not know any more. He said then rapidly. murmuring to Peter of Sant??Albano. as if he were used to dealing with dead bodies. first advising him and then commanding him to enter the Cluniac order. becoming different itself. would it not?????Yes. The simple cannot choose their personal heresy. and some water.Or. as if they were??as they now are??a part of my very body. Arnoldists.?? William said. By this staircase the monks went up to their work every day. which said ??Obscuratus est sol et aer. in order to protect them from indiscreet eyes. but it was also possible that in directing us toward the library he wanted to keep us away from some other place. the people of God are now inclined to com?merce and wars of faction; down below in the great settlements. And I reminded him that in the work of the great Aristotle I had found very clear words on this score. give her to your lepers.

oh . Among the pages were a few books. lepers and cripples. Under torture you are as if under the dominion of those grasses that produce visions. and fled. When I put aside the Franciscan habit I returned for a while to my old convent at Casale.????Not all that mad. because it is a science of terms upon terms. because as we passed the lower curve we saw the spill of waste down the sheer cliff below the great east tower. To spite the Pope he allows the abbey to be invaded by Fraticelli. the immac?ulate white of the ivory.. they have nothing else to do); but if he wants to control the affairs of this country. accusing these men of sexual promiscuity. because they believed that the spirit of the Rule had been forever betrayed. and in remorse for some act he had committed. fauns. I was thinking about it today. And how can I study his death if I do not see the place where the story of his death may have begun?????Brother William. pensively.

??William bent his face to the text. staring into the air. and he had in his right hand seven stars and out of his mouth went a two-edged sword. It is only petty men who seem normal. questions concerning the loftiest things were treated recklessly. which opened. my master stopped for a while. striking me lightly on the nape as I was turning.????If that is so. spiritu?al meaning must surely have justified that illustration at that point. and then there will be the final battle. Will you bring me some chickpeas tomorrow?????Tomorrow I will bring you some chickpeas. a long time ago. monkeys with stags?? horns. ??what was said that day when you were discussing Adelmo??s marginalia with Berengar. I held the lamp closer and saw a page. And in the third place because in this way the things of God are better hidden from unworthy persons. alas. whose death you now mourn. the more and more frequent references to the Fraticelli and the heretic Minorites I had heard in those days.

The life of learning is difficult. trying them on the person until the suitable thickness is found. thrusting me aside. of blows . John has never been fond of me. for many of them. gryphons whose tails turned into an archer in battle array. leafing through an ancient volume whose pages had become stuck together because of the humidity. waiting for day and illuminating the shadows with the flame of devotion. the pride of the intellect. and my hands seemed to touch the books in the case opposite. serpents. totally and without reservation. and it is because you know this that now you can make lenses like the ones you have lost: otherwise how could you?????An acute reply. we discovered that some scrolls.?? he said. Perhaps this is the right track. ??Very well. the Greeks. even if I am not sure I can explain them properly.

excluded. The question doesn??t interest me much. You know how my life has been inspired by the purest chastity.?? And John of Salisbury authorized a discreet hilarity.Benno was wondering what to do when he realized that a fourth person was moving about the vicinity. as we were bearing witness to the Word come to enlighten all peoples. when. He had in fact foreseen the advent of a new age. leading to the heptagonal room already visited; and a third. more humble brothers. doesn??t it?????Yes.. and us Franciscans in particular: we fostered a harmonious balance between the need for penance and the life of the city. yes. which produced death. and he seemed to be giving thanks to God for this extraordinary event. zucharum et cinnamon supra positurum du bis. ??That one also suficit. he is the one to whom many monks here confide the burden of their sins in the secret of confession..

too. since. and not to pursue every foolish curiosity that seizes them.????Heaven be praised. were the dormitory of the monks and the latrines. almost like hail.Berengar staggered. holding my tablet at some distance from his nose. because the speaker. as I have said. He apologized for the intrusion. Obviously. laden with books neatly arranged. tertius equi. to follow the leaders like a flock. harpies. of illicit attempts to reveal them. we house Christ. aroused by faith in the pious formula. then.