Chapter 16 Chapter Eleven

Sixth Prayer Benno tells a strange story that reveals the dark side of monastic life What Benno told us was really confusing.It's possible that he invited us there really just to lure us out of the office, but it's also possible that he couldn't make up a plausible excuse.What he told us was a fragment of a truth that was more important than he knew. He admitted that he had been overly cautious that morning, but now, after sober reflection, he thought that William should know all the truth.In that famous conversation about "laughing," Belenga referred to "the end of Africa."what is that?The library is full of secrets, especially those books that have never been loaned to the monks.Benno sympathizes with William's reference to rational examination of claims.He felt that a monk-scholar had a right to know everything contained in the library, and he murmured denunciation of the Council of Sauissons that had condemned Abelard.

As he spoke, we realized that the monk was still young, that he liked rhetoric out of a yearning for freedom, and that he had had a hard time coming to terms with the confines of the monastery to his intellectual curiosity.I know that this kind of curiosity cannot be trusted, but I also understand that this attitude did not displease my mentor. On the contrary, he sympathized with Benno and increased his trust in him.In short, Benno tells us that he does not know what secrets Adelmo, Venantius, and Berengar are discussing, but if this sad story will lead to a change in the management of the library, He has no regrets.He hoped that my mentor, whether he could untangle this mess or not, would be able to reason with the abbot and persuade him to relax the intellectual precepts that suppressed the monks—some monks came from far away places—he said, Like himself, so Coming from afar is nothing more than wanting to read the precious books collected in the large library to nourish the soul.

I believe Benno is sincere in making this request.In any case, perhaps, as William foresaw, he wanted to reserve for himself the possibility of first rummaging through Venantius's desk to satisfy his curiosity, while at the same time he was prepared to supply us with some messages in exchange. Many monks now know that Berengar had an unreasonable passion for Adelmo; because of the same passion, Sodom and Gomorrah were regarded as evil by the gods, and fire fell on the two cities. All burned.So Benno expressed his opinion, perhaps because he was concerned about my young age.Yet anyone who has spent his youth in a monastery, even if he has remained pure and chaste, will often hear rumors of such sentiments, and he must sometimes protect himself from falling into those who have been caught by them. set trap.I'm only a novice, but when I was in Melek, an old monk wrote me some poems that should be dedicated to women by a mortal.The vow of asceticism keeps us from the abyss of sin, which is the female body, but it leads us to other errors.Even though I am old today, when I am in the chapel, I will occasionally look at the soft and pure girlish face of a novice, and I will still be instigated by the demon at noon.I can only pray that my mind will remain the same until I die.

I say this not to cast doubt on my own choice to dedicate myself to monastic life, but to show how heavy this sacred burden is for many who err.Perhaps to defend Berengar's horrific crime.According to Benno, however, the monk apparently indulged his sin in a meaner way, taking what he wanted by force from those whom morality and propriety commanded them not to give. So the monks had been watching for some time now the tender eyes that Berengar was looking at Adelmo.However, Adelmo was so absorbed in his work that he seemed to have fun only by working, and he didn't pay attention to Belenga's enthusiasm at all.But maybe—who knows? —He didn't realize that his spirit had the same shameful tendency secretly.The fact is, Benno said, that he overheard a conversation between Adelmo and Berengar, in which Berengar, referring to a secret that Adelmo had asked him to reveal, offered an exchange so vile that even the most ignorant Readers can also guess.Benno seemed to hear that Adelmo agreed, and his tone was so relieved.It was as if—Benno ventured to speculate—that Adelmo had the same desire in his heart, and he felt relieved now that he had found an excuse that was not lust to grant it.This, Benno said, meant that Berengar's secret must have been about learning, so that Adelmo could feed his thirst for knowledge with the false notion of succumbing to sins of the flesh.Benno smiled, and said that he himself was tortured by a strong desire for knowledge many times, and in order to satisfy them, he would not hesitate to grant other people's lustful requests, even though it was against his original intention.

"Didn't you," he asked William, "didn't you ever do something shameful to be able to read a book you've been looking for for years?" "Several centuries ago, the wise and noble Sylvester II gave an extremely precious armillary sphere as a gift to others in exchange for the manuscripts of the Roman poet Stetius or Lu Kang." William said cautiously Added, "But that's just an armillary sphere, not his integrity." Benno admitted that his fanaticism had made him a little confused, and then he went back to his story.The night before Adelmo was killed, Benno, driven by curiosity, secretly followed the pair of fake Phoenixes after evening prayer, and saw them walking into the dormitory together.He waited for some time, with the door of his room ajar (his was not far from theirs), and when the monks had fallen asleep and the dormitory was silent, he clearly saw Adelmo slip into the bay. Lunga's room.Benno couldn't sleep, and lay on the bed with his eyes open, until he heard Berenga's room open again, and Adelmo ran out quickly, but his friend tried to hold him back.Berengar ran downstairs after Adelmo, and Benno followed cautiously. In front of the corridor, he saw Berengar shivering in a corner, staring at George's door.Benno guessed that Adelmo probably went to this venerable old monk to confess his sins.Berengar trembled knowing that his secret was about to be revealed, though under a sacred oath it would remain hidden.

Then Adelmo came out with a pale face. He pushed Berengar away who wanted to talk to him, rushed out of the dormitory, ran to the back of the chapel, and entered the chapel through the north door (which was still open at night).Maybe he wanted to pray.Berengar followed him, but did not enter the chapel; he walked up and down the cemetery, wringing his hands. When Benno was thinking about what to do, he suddenly realized that there was a fourth person nearby. This man had obviously followed the monks too, and hadn't noticed Benno hiding behind an oak tree trunk by the cemetery.This fourth man is Venantius.When Berengar saw him, he crouched down among the graves.Venantius went into the chapel.At this time, Ben Nuo was afraid that he would be discovered, so he turned and went back to the dormitory.The next morning, Adelmo's body was found at the bottom of the cliff.Benno didn't know anything else.

It's almost time for lunch.Benno left us without further questioning from my mentor.We lingered a little longer after the bathhouse, and then took a walk in the grounds, contemplating this personal revelation. "Frangipani," William said suddenly, stooping to observe a plant he had recognized on that cold winter's day from a dead bush with no leaves, "a potion made of bark, most effective for hemorrhoids. .That's the arctic lisianthus, the root of which is made into a poultice to treat bruises on the skin." "You know more than Severinus," I said to him, "but now tell me what you think of what we have just heard!"

"My dear Adso, you should learn to think with your own head. Benno may be telling us the truth. His story and what Berenga said this morning are consistent with the same illusion. Belen We have surmised that Renga and Adelmo did evil things together. Berengar must have revealed a secret to Adelmo, what that secret was we still do not know. Adelmo was guilty of violating After sins of chastity and the laws of nature, he wanted to find someone who could forgive him, so he ran to George. George was a very severe character, as we know from experience; he must have condemned Adelmo, Maybe he refused a pardon, maybe he forced an impossible penance, we don't know, and George won't tell us. The fact is that Adelmo rushed into the chapel, bowed before the altar, and never quelled his anger. Insult. At this moment, Venantius came, and we do not know what they said to each other. Perhaps Adelmo told Venantius the secret that Berengar (as a reward) revealed to him; yes It mattered little to him, for now he possessed a more blazing and more terrible secret. As for Venantius? He, like our friend Benno, was driven by an intense curiosity, Perhaps what he had heard satisfied him, so he left Adelmo, who was annoyed and blamed himself. Adelmo felt that he was doomed, so he decided to commit suicide, walked to the cemetery in despair, and met Berenga again. .He said a long and appalling passage to him, laying the blame on him, calling him a perverted teacher. I believe that all hallucinations were omitted from Berengar's account. Adelmo's He must have heard what he said from Jorge. Now, Berengar ran in one direction in fear, but Adelmo went in the opposite direction, committing suicide. We probably all witnessed what happened next. Everyone All thought that Adelmo had been murdered, so Venantius believed that the secret of the library was more important than he had thought, so he continued to search alone. In the end, unknown to him, he found what he was looking for. Before or after, someone stopped him."

"Who killed him? Berengar?" "Perhaps, or Malachi, who guarded the cathedral, or someone else. Berengar was suspected because he was frightened, and he knew then that Venantius knew his secret. Malachi is also suspected, he is the guard of the library, and when he finds someone intruding in the library, he kills that person. George knows everything about anyone and everything, and has Adelmo's secrets. Hope I find out what Venantius might have detected... Many facts implicate him too. But tell me, how can a blind man kill another with all his might? And an old man, even in body How can he drag the dead body to the water tank? For reasons that cannot be said, he may have lied to us. Besides, the suspects are not necessarily just those who participated in the discussion of "laughing", maybe The murderer has other motives, not the library. All in all, we need a light and know how to sneak into the library at night. The light is up to you to figure out how to do it. Go to the kitchen for dinner and take one of it... ..."

"Steal?" "Only borrowed, for the glory of God." "Then it's on me." "Okay. As for sneaking into the cathedral, last night we saw where Malachi came out of. I'll go to the chapel today, paying special attention to the side chapel. We'll have dinner in an hour. After dinner, we'll There's a meeting with the superintendent, and you can be there, because I've asked to bring a secretary to take notes of what we've said."