Chapter 11 Chapter Six

evening prayer Visiting the rest of the monastery, William draws some conclusions about Adelmo's death, talks to the friar in charge of glasswork about glass that aids reading, and the hallucinations of people who read too much Right here, the bell for vespers rang at dusk, and the monks got up one after another to leave their desks.Malachi told us plainly that it was time for us to go too.He would have his assistant, Berengar, stay behind to pack everything (that's what he said) and put the books in order.William asked if he wanted to lock the door. "If you want to go to the scriptorium, you must go through the doors leading to the kitchen and dining room. If you want to go to the library, you must first pass through the scriptorium. The dean's ban is more effective than any door. Before evening prayers, monks must return to the kitchen And the dining room, after vespers, no one or animal is allowed in the cathedral. Since the animals don't understand the prohibition, I will personally lock the outer door to the kitchen and dining room, and then the cathedral will be empty gone."

We went downstairs.The monks walked to the chapel, but my mentor thought that God would forgive us for not attending the worship service (in the next few days, there are many things that must be forgiven by God), he suggested that I walk around with him, so that we can get acquainted Take a look at this place. The weather was getting worse and worse. A cold wind blew at some point, and the sky became gray. The sun slowly set behind the vegetable garden, but there were still a few afterglows.We walked east around the side of the chapel, and by the time we reached the rear of the monastery, it was already dark.Connecting the eastern tower of the cathedral, the stables are built almost close to the outer wall, and the pig breeder is about to cover the vat of pig blood.We noticed that the outer wall behind the stables was lower, so it was possible to look across the wall.The terrain behind the fence dropped abruptly, and the soft soil on the steep slope could not be covered by the fresh snow.I realized that it was the pile of dry straw thrown over the wall to the bend in the trail where Brunners's horse had begun to flee.

In the nearby stable, the groom led the horse to the trough.We walked along the path, passed the stables, and the houses on the left connected to the chapel were the monks' dormitories and toilets.Then, at the corner where the east wall turned to the north, there was a foundry room, where several blacksmiths were busy packing up their tools, putting out the fire, and preparing to go to the chapel. William curiously walked to an almost independent corner of the casting room, where a monk was collecting things.There is a nice pile of stained glass on his desk, but the larger pieces are placed against the wall.In front of him was an unfinished reliquary, only a silver frame, though he had evidently begun to inlay it with glass and precious stones cut to the size of jewels.

This person is the monk in charge of glass crafts in the monastery, Nicholas of Morimondo.He explained to us that at the back of the foundry, they blow the glass and it's sent to the front to put the lead frames and make the windows.He added that the stained glass that adorns cathedrals and chapels was made two centuries ago.Now he and others are doing smaller fortifications and repairing parts that have been damaged by time. "It's a very difficult job," he said, "because it's impossible to find the exact same color now, especially the blue in the chapel, which is so clear that when the sun rises, When the sun shines through that blue layer, it will shine the light of heaven into the chapel. The glass on the west side of the church was repaired not long ago, and the quality is not the same. You can see it in summer. It can't be helped. ’ he continued, ‘we no longer have the skills of the ancients, the time of the masters is over!’

"We are all dwarfs," agreed William, "but we stand on the shoulders of giants, and although we are small, we can sometimes see farther than them." "Tell me how we can do better than them," said Nicholas, "as long as you go to the basement of the chapel, where the treasures of the monastery are kept, you will see the exquisite remains of the predecessors. Compared with those, the stuff I'm making now—" He nodded his head towards the glass on the table—"It's nothing short of trivial tricks!" "The glass craftsman does not have to continue to make windows and goldsmiths' reliquaries, because the famous craftsmen of the past can make such beautiful things, and they are destined to be handed down to future generations. Otherwise, there will be too many reliquaries in the world. In fact, there are not so many relics of saints." William joked, "Besides, there will not always be so many windows that can be welded. Looking at the world of the future, glass will not only have sacred uses, but also help to improve human weaknesses. Let me show you a creation of our time, and this is a very practical example." He reached out from under the monk's robe. Pulled out that lens and stared our friend dumbfounded.

William handed over the forked instrument, and Nicholas took it with interest. "How marvelous!" he exclaimed, "I met a brother Jordan in Pisa and heard him talk about it! He said that these things were invented less than twenty years ago. But I was more than twenty years ago. talked to him." "I believe this was invented earlier," William said, "but it is not easy to make this kind of lens, and it requires superb technology, time-consuming and labor-intensive. Ten years ago, two pieces of such glass sold for six dollars." Silver coins of Bologna. My pair was given to me by a master, Salvinus of Almaty, more than ten years ago, and I have kept them carefully all these years, as if they were part of my body."

Nicholas said excitedly: "I hope you will allow me to take a closer look at them someday. I want to make the same pair." "Of course." William agreed, "but I want to remind you that the thickness of the glass must be determined by the wearer's eyes. You have to try many lenses and let the person try them until you find the right thickness." "Wonderful!" Nicholas interjected, "but many will say it's witchcraft and the plot of the devil..." "The design is miraculous indeed," said William, "but there are two forms of thaumaturgy. There is one kind of thaumaturgy that is magic, and the purpose is to make people fall for it. But the other kind of thaumaturgy is sacred, God's knowledge is revealed through human knowledge, it can change nature, one of the purposes is to prolong human life. And this lens is the sacred thaumaturgy, people should study more with great concentration, not only to discover new things, but also Rediscover many of the mysteries of nature; which the wisdom of God revealed to the Hebrews, Greeks, and other ancient peoples, and even to modern pagans. (I cannot tell you how much is said in pagan books about Records of sight and optics!) Christians should recapture all this learning, and let the pagans and infidels not predominate."

"But those who have this knowledge, why don't they impart it to all of God's people?" "For not every one of God's people is capable of receiving so many secrets, and those who possess such knowledge are often mistaken for wizards who deal with the devil, when they wish to share their store of knowledge with others, But often at the cost of my own life. I myself dare not use this lens when trying a case where someone is accused of dealing with the devil. I have to rely on the secretary to read me the documents I need. Otherwise, in the presence of the devil At a moment of such pervasiveness that everyone could smell the stench of sulfur, I might well be considered a friend of the accused. Finally, as the great Roger Bacon warned, the secrets of science must not be passed on to all in the hands of men, because some will use them for nefarious purposes. The learned will often have to write that what appears to be miraculous is not so miraculous, but just good science, to protect themselves from suspicion."

Nicholas asked: "So, are you afraid that ordinary people will use these miracles to do bad things?" "As for the common people, I am afraid that they will be frightened of such miracles, and confuse them with the diabolical tricks of which the clergymen are so often speaking. You see, I know several very skilled physicians who have made a quick cure for a disease medicine, but when they apply or infuse it for ordinary people, they have to say some holy words or hymns like prayers. Not because these prayers have healing power, but because ordinary people only believe in prayers. Miraculous effect, I have to be willing to take medicine, apply medicine, and then recover, but I didn't expect the efficacy of that medicine. Moreover, the prescription of faith will also inspire the spirit of the patient, so that the body can more accept the medicine. But the treasure of knowledge is a must. The protection is not against ordinary people, but against other scholars. Now people have created wonderful mechanical devices that can predict the course of nature. Someday I will tell you in detail. But if they fall into those who use them to satisfy their selfish desires , in the hands of those who want to expand power, that would be terrible. I heard that a sage in China concocted a powder that would produce a shocking sound and flames as soon as it came into contact with fire, destroying everything within a few meters of it. Everything. It's a wonderful invention that can be used to alter river beds, or blast stones to pieces for clearing land. But what if someone uses this powder to harm his personal enemy?"

"Perhaps that's not so bad, so long as those people are public enemies of God's people," said Nicholas reverently. "Perhaps," William admitted, "but who is the public enemy of God's people today? Emperor Louis, or Pope John?" "Oh, God!" Nicholas said in horror, "I really don't want to solve such a complicated problem!" "Do you see?" said William, "sometimes some secrets are better concealed in unintelligible words. The mysteries of nature are not expressed in goatskin or sheepskin. Aristotle in his book on the mysteries of nature It has been said in the book that to convey too many mysteries of nature and art breaks the oath of heaven, and many evils may follow. This is not to say that these wonders must be kept secret, but that scholars must Decide how and when to speak up."

"It's better to be in a place like here," said Nicholas, "Not all books can be read as you like." ※Bandhammer School & E-Book of Fine School※ "That's another question," said William. "A polemical approach can be a sin, as can a silent approach. I don't mean that the sources of knowledge must be hidden; Consider it a great sin. I mean, as these mysteries may lead to good as well as to bad, the scholar has the right and the duty to speak in an incomprehensible language, understood only by his fellows. The substance of learning is difficult, to It is even more difficult to distinguish good from evil. The scholars of our time are often only dwarfs standing on the shoulders of dwarfs." This sincere conversation with my mentor must have made Nicholas feel sympathetic.For he winked at William (as if to say: You and I know each other, we say the same thing), suggesting: "But over there," he nodded towards the cathedral, "the mysteries of learning are magically The wrists are well guarded..." "Really?" William said as if he was not very enthusiastic. "It's nothing more than locking the door, sternly prohibiting, threatening and so on." "Oh no, more than that..." "For example what?" "Uh, I'm not sure. My job is glass, and it has nothing to do with books. But there are rumors in the monastery...strange rumors..." "What rumor?" "Very strange. Let's put it this way, rumor has it that a monk decided to venture into the library at night in search of books Malachi refused to lend him, and he saw serpents, headless men, and two-headed men, and came out of the maze already half mad..." "Why do you describe them as magical visions and not demonic visions?" "Because I am only a glassworker, but I am not ignorant. The devil (God save us!) does not tempt monks with serpents and two-headed men, but with visions of lust, as he tempts priests in the desert Same. Besides, if reading certain books is evil, why would the devil stop a monk from doing evil?" "That's a pretty good inference," admitted my advisor. "Also, when I was repairing the windows of the sanatorium, I used to look curiously at the books of Severinus. I believe there is a St. Philosopher, the teacher of Italian theologian Aquinas), which talks about the mysteries of the natural world. I was attracted by some wonderful illustrations in the book, so I read a few pages. It taught people how to lighten the wick of an oil lamp anointed with hallucinatory smoke. You must have noticed—or you haven't, since you haven't spent the night in a monastery—that the cathedral is lit up after nightfall, in In a few places, there will be a dim light from the window. Everyone wonders what it is. Believe the tales. But I think those are oil lamps for hallucinations. You know, put earwax from a dog's ear on the wick, and anyone who smells the smoke from that lamp will believe he has a dog's head; If he was with another person, that person would also see that he had a dog's head. There is another drug that makes a person near an oil lamp feel as big as an elephant. With bat eyes, two fish whose names I can't remember , and the saliva of a wild wolf on the wick, and when the wick is lit, you will see those animals. Use the tail of the lizard and scorpion to make people feel that everything around is silver. Use the oil of the black snake Add a little shroud and it'll make the whole room look like it's crawling with big snakes. I know that. There's obviously a very clever person in the library..." "But, wouldn't it really be the ghost of the former administrator?" Nicholas was still perplexed. "I never thought of that. Maybe. God bless us. It's getting dark, and vespers have begun. Good-bye." He said, and went to the chapel. As we continue south, on our right is the Pilgrim's Guest House and the Friars' Hall facing a garden, and on our left the olive press, mill, barn, cellar and novices' quarters.Everyone hurried to the chapel. "What do you think of what Nicholas said?" I asked. "I don't know. There's something wrong in the library, and I don't believe in any custodian ghosts." "Why don't you believe it?" ※Ballet Hammer School & Fine School E-book※ "Because I think they all have very high morals, so they are all enjoying happiness in the kingdom of heaven. I hope you are satisfied with this answer. As for the oil lamp, if there is one, we will see it. Besides, what our glass craftsman mentioned Drugs, there are easier ways to cause hallucinations, Severinus knows it well, and you know it. The only thing that is certain is that in this monastery they don't want anyone to enter the library at night, but the opposite Yes, there are a lot of people trying to do that." "What does the crime we're investigating have anything to do with it?" "Crime. The more I think about it, the more I think Adelmo committed suicide." "how to say?" "Do you remember I noticed that pile of dirty straw this morning? As we rounded the detour under the east tower, I noticed some signs of a landslide there; or should I say, where the waste piled up under the tower had crumbled a bit So when we looked down from above this evening, there was only a little snow on the straw pile, which was not snow accumulated in the past few days, but yesterday. The dean told us that Adelmo's body was buried The rocks are scarred beyond recognition. Just below the east tower, there's a lot of pine trees growing up that steep slope. But the rocks are just below the end of the wall, forming the steps, and then the straw piles." "So what?" "So we may as well believe that Adelmo himself, for reasons yet to be proven, jumped off the parapet, hit the rocks, and then, whether dead or wounded, fell back into the straw. The blizzard that night followed, and The straw and part of the earth and the poor man's body rushed under the east tower. So we'll—how should I put it? Save yourself a lot of thinking." "Why should it save us a lot of thinking?" "Dear Adelso, explanations and causes should not be multiplied unless absolutely necessary. If Adelmo fell from the eastern tower, he must have sneaked into the library, and someone must have knocked him unconscious first. , lest he resist, and then the man must have found a way to climb onto the window sill with the unconscious body on his back, open the window, and throw the hapless monk out of the window. But my previous hypothesis concerned only Adelmo, His decision and a little change of terrain. A few reasons explain it all." "But why did he commit suicide?" "But why would anyone want to kill him? Whether suicide or homicide, reasons must be found, and there are undoubtedly reasons. There is an atmosphere of cautious silence in the cathedral. So far, we've gathered hints—very vaguely so—about the wonderful relationship between Adelmo and Berengar, which means we'll have to keep an eye on the assistant administrator." Evening prayers were over as we spoke.The servants went back to their business and were going to rest for dinner later.The monks all went to the dining room.The sky was completely dark, and the snow began to fall again, just a light snow, soft snowflakes.I believe it must have snowed all night, for the whole ground was silvery white the next morning.I'll elaborate on that later. I was hungry, and the thought of eating later was a relief.