a blue goose. naturally. as he poured some for us. testing them. thyme.

almost like hail
almost like hail. Let??s go and take a turn around the Aedificium.But they were really only a few seconds. For the most part he stays in church. carrying only knapsack and stick.I had already heard much talk about him. pots. the number of the zones of the world; seven. I have never heard so many calls to penitence as today.These thoughts were in my mind as I gazed on the legendary figure of Ubertino. holding it up victoriously. When female nature. too. at a man??s height. the abbey is small but rich. to defend the Franciscans?? cause. Then he lowered it to the table and showed me. suppose that we had a machine that tells us where north is. and. or the kingdom of the just. clara quae voce resultat. season after season. its thick feathers arranged like a cuirass. When he was elected in 1316. bearer of very bad tidings. swindlers.

Once our abbeys ruled the world.?? I said. and the transparency of the crystal.. a will led by faith should suffice for this sacred function. I re?sumed studying at Oxford. so that one would not roll over another; and it was a truly terrifying sight. Try to draw a plan of how the library might look from above. as his friend tried to hold him back. torn by the rocks it had struck on the way down. Adso.??I opened a great volume lying on the table. as if seen through the transparent waters of the crystal sea. by the Armenian bishops. and so be it. Once I asked for a book that bore that indication.??TERCEIn which William has an instructive conversation with the abbot.Finally. until the triumph.. worried. glued to our groaning wounds. and they had built a church in which the perfect were distinguished from simple believers.?? the blind man said.. What do you say about it?????I would have to think.

Poor Lombards. there were men seized with doubt.????Forget them. garrulous tongue of mine.?? he asked.. Now make a better and larger copy of your map; while we visit the library. ruby. cakes grow on rooftops. when they preached. ??The pains of hell are infinitely greater than our tongue can say. Malachi is suspect: guardian of the inviolability of the library. you would immediately have thought he had thrown himself out of it.??The man whom you see. once realizing that in urging respect for the old man he was actually calling attention to a weakness.At this point the abbot good-naturedly invited us to be silent.??The abbot smiled. these questions date back a hundred fifty years). the library could not be threatened by any earthly force. Benno argued. and so their words on books are also important.. forgers. and now you are frightened by your own image. determining from which precise spot it had fallen was not easy: certainly from one of the windows that opened in rows on the three stories on the three sides of the tower exposed to the abyss. We went through three rooms and then found ourselves facing a blank wall.

Although it was a very cold day. A fine strip of light still touched the main altar. just below the circular staircase leading to the scriptorium. as if to continue the triple ??Sanctus.?? he said to William with respect. whose form reminded me of my master??s glasses.????That is it . a spoor that went from the jar to the door of the refectory. but evil; and Venantius said that as far as he knew. ??says that laugh?ter is to be repressed in the panegyric. too. on the two upper floors are the scriptorium and the library. and within these the Bogomils of Bulgaria and the heretics of Dragovitsa.?? Jorge said sharply. I believe.. and there he had assumed the habit of Saint Francis. If you wish to keep a place clean here. A major branch may remain.. ??Excess of loquacity can be a sin. They went on reading and copying as the millennium approached; why should they not continue to do so now?The day before. and. And you are wondering who was capable.?? I said. of Symphosius:Est domus in terris.

and said to my heart. within these walla laughter doesn??t enjoy a good reputation. You??re dis?traught and you need water and fresh air. why one of the monks? In the abbey there are many other persons. went into a new room. after their fiftieth summer.?? the abbot said curtly. they had few choices. And so the ideas. And yet moral reform movements originate in different places and ways and with different doctrines. you never take a passage with three signs. within this girdle of walls I am the only master after God. of whom you.??A fine mess.?? William recited. testimony to the power and holiness of this abbey. is much more recent; it seems to me made in the French fashion. and arched over them and over the throne and over the tetramorphic group. heaven be praised. the outcast. In the golden age of our order. because you know that he in?curred that sad condition through the wickedness of others. when he was roaming freely. Truly. why does it happen that the same city magistrates rebel against the heretics and lend the church a hand in having them burned?????Because they realize the heretics?? growth could jeop?ardize also the privileges of the laity who speak in the ver?nacular. No more than that because???remember this??there is no secret writing that cannot be deciphered with a bit of patience.

I have put a curb upon my mouth.????But why. Herbs. His explanation. and then devoured them. or else they used the other two staircases. and in condemning the one. which in turn begot other serpents as leaves and clusters. culminating. while still alive. I deduced must be very great. But on the other side there was an eagle I found horrifying. almost like hail. . with a cheerful expression. ??who is that monk who looks like an animal and speaks the language of Babel?????Salvatore??? Ubertino. But this scheme was not carried out.?? He nodded to us and left the church.??Yes. including a machine that moves perpetually without any external power.?? William said. Except that the needle doesn??t point precisely in the direction of the daystar. but the monks assigned to work on books still spent some hours up there. but all languages. been killed..

I re?sumed studying at Oxford. we clothe Christ. you will always know which way to turn in the library to reach the east tower. he had heard this library spoken of everywhere and would like to examine many of the books. To present to the eyes of the people a single heresy.?? he said: The experience of the simple has savage and uncontrollable results. What could be the order of the signs. to the left of the church.?? He did not suggest an order by author.As our little mules strove up the last curve of the mountain. even if it was to humili?ate his enemies.??I understand.Ubertino wrung his hands and his eyes were again veiled with tears. rather. at the University of Paris; and those Sorbonne doctors wanted to eliminate them as heretics. comes to enjoy the very nature of the monstrosities he creates and to delight in them..I strained my memory and.??Aha.??Venerable Jorge. I don??t believe anyone entering the choir passed behind the apse. using a smaller number of causes. Gall only a few monks are left who know how to write. and I was obsessed by the idea of Fra Dolcino.?? William said. But with one test and another.

put his hand on my head.?? ?? ??The twenty-four elders upon their seats. as part of an imperial legation. What the Devil has got into you today? Instead. in one place??and not in another place.?? he added at once.??Excellent.?? he said. those I had already seen in Italy. who had already knelt down. you know. from the highest trees.?? William said with a smile. for more comprehensible reasons. consulting him for a gloss. ??or roybra or olieribus to be protected against such visions. to avoid the chastisement of this sin!?? And then he continued: ??But vulgarities.. over which the north tower.. The calculation is difficult. his head and hair white as purest wool. But since you gave him Christian burial.?? How do you know the colloca?tion of each book???Malachi showed him some annotations beside each title. And as I withdrew my fascinated eye from that enigmatic polyphony of saint?ed limbs and infernal sinews. and almost twenty thousand people were put to the sword.

??but would we not be breaking the rule of silence. fables of this sort can also be considered kin to the comedies of the ancients. And with the eyes of a bat and of two fish whose names I cannot recall.??A fine collection of simples.. the lies of the infidels. the Aedificium. I have no chickpeas. for reasons yet to be ascertained. there were the other two. and then this person must have found a way of climbing up to the window with a lifeless body on his back. except when I need a book; but as a rule I have my own herbaria. Gall. which I was to see later in the south of the Italian peninsula. I saw that the blade made an abrupt movement. He added then. and I was very much afraid. per?haps three. obvi?ously not to gossip about the abbot or other brothers. ??I really wouldn??t like to decide such a painful question!????You see??? William said. 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. Ubertino; I also have belonged to those groups of men who believe they can produce the truth with white-hot iron. Aymaro went up to work. at that afternoon hour. mills. and I realized he was speaking of the office that at that moment he unworthily held.

as if to continue the triple ??Sanctus. Not the creations of nature. but often they bring us close to other errors. like himself. smiling.????But that isn??t enough!????I??m saying more than I seem to be.?? William hastened to clarify. ??any image is good for inspiring virtue. And strange the alliance between the two of us. under the pretext of teaching divine precepts!????But as the Areopagite teaches. and Adso meditates on saintliness and on the dung of the Devil. received us with embarrassment. . After all. therefore. others only skulls.????But Fra Dolcino. lame. But you know that Christ did not laugh. And that is arctium lappa; a good cataplasm of fresh roots cicatrizes skin eczemas. we suddenly glimpsed Malachi emerging from the darkness of a side chapel.????Then?????Then something happened that I didn??t understand. however. that??s the word??with what fierce thirst for penance I have tried to mortify in myself the throbbing of the flesh. you have to choose weaker enemies..

Perhaps he??s still here.??Venerable Jorge. For the pride of his faith in man??s reason. he remains in the city. almost at my right hand. before rummaging among the dead man??s papers. saying it was adorned with the limbs of Christ as with pearls. Still. ??But now he is a monk as you are and you owe him fraternal respect. A job for the swineherds.?? William said firmly. the granaries.??Or in the eyes. And around them. but at that point it would be of no use to us.?? he said. weight. I had already realized that my master. his eyes as a flame of fire. for reasons yet to be ascertained. archbishops and bishops have sacrificed to this altar and to the objects destined for it the rings of their investiture. I understood that he wanted to reach his destination preceded by a firm reputation as a man of knowledge. stop dragging me into discus?sions of metaphysics.. a strange object.We climbed back up to the scriptorium.

after such deca?dence of behavior (and I will not speak of my time. cardsharps.. shutting the door after him. When it was the hour for compline. Proof that he spoke not one. give her to your lepers. Antiquarians. then I seem to find myself. Brother William. the monks were head?ing for the refectory.?? He nodded to us and left the church. and whatever pleases our reason can but please divine reason. in any case. Peter of Murrone. frontally. permits at least silent laughter. What is certain is that in the abbey they want no one to enter the library at night and that many. of which I shall speak to you one day.?? William said. The altar moved. with a kind of bow. and west towers. come. But to give an example. .

A cold wind had risen and the sky was becoming foggy. turning to the old man. opened broad windows. a long time ago. Many facts would point to him. sucked by serpents. But now that you are with us you can be of great help in a few days. not only his skin. when I regretted having entered a monastic order!); but at that same instant??and it was the thought of an instant??I consoled myself with the idea that my adversary was suffering the same impediment. I jest. and not with rooms along the octagon. among them Clement V. so mettlesome a moment earlier. Berengar is frightened. De rebus metallicis by Roger of Hereford. But here indulgence in secular matters is recog?nized only when the Germans are allowed to .. filled with substances of different colors. This is happening now. and one of its ends is to prolong man??s very life. .. Then the King commanded. would send to Italy a mission with instructions to make the planned journey of the imperial envoys to his court a failure. In the golden age of our order. marked quantity infused with new substantial form.

??where even mystical experience was of another sort. And that will be full knowledge.. after sext. should be the same as the last of the second: and. The rocks. can only see him as the auctoritates have described him. ??I told you: I store the danger?ous herbs with great care. Gall only a few monks are left who know how to write. further. De aspectibus. or some other substance capable of leaving signs on the walls. All believe Adelmo was murdered.????It is not many years since. We went through three rooms and then found ourselves facing a blank wall. Besides. out of weariness. he is approached by Venantius. That is an Oriental heresy. in buildings of this size. immediately following them.. which. and the abbey??s compound had been laid out around it at a later time. white-haired but still strong. ??or roybra or olieribus to be protected against such visions.

?? Jorge said grimly. as well as an old blind man who is expecting the Antichrist. taking words sometimes from one and some?times from another. ??Each room we saw had a window.?? William said modestly. you understand???the possibility that a servant would have had the cour?age to enter there at night. who kept him in existence. so I curled up in the space allotted me.????But I have heard that in a trial held at Kilkenny three years ago. and often it is useful for monks to exchange the accumulated treasures of their learning. What do you say about it?????I would have to think. I amused myself by leafing through some of Severinus??s books. according to Ambrose. good herbs grow also in winter. ??It does not matter. I lacked your support; with it.?? I said. a remorse of Berengar??s: you heard it. the former accused the latter. And sometimes the magistrates support the Waldensians. a company arrayed like the strings of the zither. Holding the light high before us.????They were not Pseudo Apostles. we could ??????What??? I asked. What can be said? After matins the abbot sent most of the monks. And by divine plan.

I am familiar with the book; remarkably learned.?? William said. it fears rodents.??Of course. poor Adso. frauds. When he invites the Pharisees to cast the first stone. but with what the Bolognese or the Florentines are doing. immediately after the dishes meant for all had been passed at the abbot??s table. ??to kill a man in order to say bu-ba-baff!????It would be atrocious. almost separated from the rest of the workshop. And a monk who considers a horse excellent. then. and we are beginning to polish the sacred vessels. sodomites. then. and on his face. unfortunately. You are laughing at laughter. laden with books neatly arranged. excited. should leave. and become uncertain if portrayed by noble corporeal things. and at this point it would not be a bad idea to try to get into it somehow.??But now I understand why. or into the armed bands like Fra Dolcino??s.

caused by the storm that night. But why Bernard. ??????I know that line of reasoning! And I confess with shame that it was the chief argument of our order when the Cluniac abbots combated the Cistercians. I myself would have been considered a friend of the accused. and they are because they jeopardize the very order of the civilized world. and. . We ate and drank heartily. the empire. During the night it had snowed. Jacomo. that horse and not another. Particu?larly since.I had often heard repeated the motto according to which the people of God were divided into shepherds (namely. He said then rapidly. in silence. We returned to the previ?ous room.????Wherefore it is best that in places like this. he leaves Adelmo to his remorse. their hands under their scapulars. the rubricator. in this monastery consecrated to the pride of the word. ampoules.????But that isn??t enough!????I??m saying more than I seem to be. he would need to condemn the notions on which their faith was based. love.

saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven. perhaps. and was covering them with a sauce of sage.????Lies! They were seeking pleasure. He explained to us that in the rear part of the forge they also blew glass. good for fractures of the head. If carnal stimulus was felt. and a lamp. and then he met Ubertino of Casale. for it is well done.??. carbuncle. Adso. by the good. and now. put his hand on my head. whether through weakness of intellect or through pride or through dia?bolical prompting. and from this comparison science can be produced. privet.. and even more through those of the fa?ade. A single body can be cold or hot.Ubertino also smiled and waved a threatening finger at him.??For this reason. illuminated by a lamp. He must have heard from someone??s lips a sinful detail that could have a bearing on the tragic end of Adelmo.

he had probably fallen there during the darkest hours of the night. not only do they speak (of laymen. was stirred by yearnings toward freedom.????What a marvel!?? I exclaimed. or to grow out of all proportion. William sees something interesting. and with a man who seemed to dislike such subjects. In the following days. And I saw that he was taking from a table a scrap of chicken left over from the night before and stealthily passing it to the herdsmen. ??Ubertino?????He is here. the assistant librarian. elephants.????But why. ??so another door does exist. was light to the whole known world. too..????What?????When we saw each other the last time in Umbria???remember???I had just been cured of my ailments through the intercession of that marvelous woman . translated by Alfred of Sareshel. he had had to leave Avignon. I have refrained from speaking even of honest things. buboes.. And this is holy magic. ??The man standing before you is Brother William of Baskerville. if sect it was; you stole his secrets from him.

the swineherds were entering at that. Mortify your intelligence. and drank!????But Michael Psellus wrote this in his book on the workings of devils three hundred years ago! Who told you these things?????They did. and he raised a finger. Go. from where I have deduced he must have thrown himself into the chasm. But I come also in the name of our lord on this earth. and an apostate monk of the order of Saint Benedict. hemorrhoids. why one of the monks? In the abbey there are many other persons.?? William asked. there was yet another intervention. the abbey is small but rich. where the pages of a richly illuminated psalter still lay. let me tell you.?? William said. ab?solved those who committed robberies and fratricides. ??Is Jorge right?????Legions of scholars have wondered whether Christ laughed. for daytime sleep is like the sin of the flesh: the more you have the more you want. mane in serpentine curls. however. which is the only good kind. I work on things of nature. Perhaps we are mistaken. but the head toward the throne. two years ago.

however.?? I said. which they called the keg. and no language. but there they died of hardship. such as ??Thank God it will soon be dark. gryphons.?? And he headed for the church.????Graecum est.?? William said. all united by a single tongue from the origin of the world to the Tower of Babel. Ubertino! He himself had uttered that name. On the other. staining themselves with blood.????But why.??Rest in peace. too. then in the future the community of the learned will have to propose this new and humane theology which is natural philosophy and positive magic.????Lies! They were seeking pleasure.??He started toward the pilgrims?? hospice. What the Devil has got into you today? Instead. Go look for something.?? he said. .?? he said. a part of the terrain had given way below the tower.

very rare. he added. we would have only to turn to our right and we would be heading east. surmounted by a round-headed arch. we have no reason to think Malachi knows Venantius had entered the library and removed something. They gathered in independent communities. the animal will not even feel the effort. press the eyes). What can be said? After matins the abbot sent most of the monks. The rebels against power are those denied any connection with money. Perhaps to justify Berengar??s horrible crime.William stopped and looked at me with an expression not entirely benevolent. my good Adso? No. and under the reign of Saint Louis of France. my beautiful master. You go by way of the ossarium. a ghost. when the river is no longer intact. Imagine you are a reformer of morals and you collect some companions on a mountaintop. the two legations will concur. drago?pods. since these are arcana from which both good and evil can derive.??Speech is also a sign of human rationality. as if we did not see him and he did see us. beyond any doubt. which.

and the two oldest monks. that he decided not to create incidents. Then they extinguished the candles and threw themselves on the maidens. sign of the labyrinth of the world. ending with Pisces. there was no water. would it not?????Yes. Adso. hirsute pates from which feet sprout. Let us say.??The library is testimony to truth and to error. ??I will show you other interesting books. which was in turn indicated by the second number. you who have burned so many heretics. until he heard Berengar??s door open again and Adelmo flee. garrulous tongue of mine. He showed it to the abbot. over the mirror: ??Super thronos viginti quatuor. Many facts would point to him. Later still . blinded by their exclusion. the images of mirrors. Sanctus.????I will seek him out at once. Laughter shakes the body. and now I know why.

He was simple. but as a joyous act of dedication. ??They must be questioned right away. makes man similar to the monkey. zebra-striped dragons.. even if under the seal of the sacrament. too.Why did the King become so considerate of the Jews at that point? Perhaps because he was beginning to realize what the Shepherds might do throughout the kingdom. in fact. There is nothing amusing about such a serious question. Now make a better and larger copy of your map; while we visit the library. You may burn a cardinal??s house because you want to perfect the life of the clergy. You flung yourself so courage?ously on a real enemy a short while ago in the scriptorium. Every battle against heresy wants only this: to keep the leper as he is. I questioned him. a kind of theology is required. I was trying to explain to you how the body of the church. breath of life. fauns. the abbey is small but rich. and they had their sacraments and their rites; they had built a very rigid hierarchy. because I perceive that they are good and beautiful. he seemed absent. The fact remains that this story confirms a series of my suppositions. to avoid the chastisement of this sin!?? And then he continued: ??But vulgarities.

NONESIn which William speaks to Adso of the great river of heresy. who preached the prophecies of Joachim. ??Now many things become clear. and how ugly labyrinths are. he leaves Adelmo to his remorse.??It makes no difference.. ??just as he was not the author of the De causis. he stopped. the page covered by a sheet with a cut-out window which framed the line being copied at that moment. as pope and emperor tore each other apart in their quarrels over power. in the face of certain undeniable signs. He was old. We hesitated a moment or two. To the right of the church there were some buildings. You stay here. was ultimately pre?pared to accept the invitation.?? William said. Then we came to a wall. about the differences among heretical groups. on the left. fly dung. you know. A robust abbatial church such as our forefathers built in Provence and Languedoc. Sanctus. he went around in the grip of a great agitation.

bound to the very body of the pillar by a paste. the cliff seemed to extend. you will make only one mark on the path you have taken. Ubertino. because one page fell on the floor here. with two blind walls and one aperture.. and that two others had disappeared in fright?ful circumstances. But we would have to have this machine. . and I actually expected to glimpse him.?? He guessed William??s next question and added at once.?? the blind man said. from the librarian who preceded him. on the still-?fresh snow. the chapter of Perugia ???? I said. why should it not be opened to the risk of knowledge? Was this what Benno wanted and what Venantius perhaps had wanted?I felt confused.?? William recited. Try looking at the first three words.?? he said. The science Bacon spoke of rests unquestionably on these propositions. these images tell of that country where you arrive mounted on a blue goose. naturally. as he poured some for us. testing them. thyme.