Chapter 17 Chapter Twelve

Ninth Prayer The abbot is proud of the monastery's wealth and speaks out of his fear of heretics.Adso wonders if he was wrong to go out and explore the world We found the Dean at the main altar of the chapel.He was arranging the chalices, chalices, communion plates, communion stands, and a crucifix which some novices had brought out from a secret place.During the morning liturgy, I did not see these holy relics, and I couldn't help but gasp in awe at their blinding beauty.It was noon, and the light coming in through the windows of the chapel created white cascades, like mystical holy rivers, which criss-crossed in many places and swallowed up the altar.

Vials, chalices, each object revealed its precious material: in gold, set with pure white ivory, and clear crystal, gemstones of every color and size shone with brilliance, I could see hyacinth stone, topaz, ruby, sapphire, emerald, chrysoprase, agate, ruby, and jasper.At the same time, I realized that in my prayers and panic that morning, there was a lot I hadn't noticed: the front and the three panels on the sides of the altar were all pure gold, so that the whole altar looked like It's made of pure gold. A dean smiled at my surprise. "The riches you see," he said to me and my mentor, "and what you will see later, are the inheritance of centuries of piety and devotion, testifying to the power and sanctity of this monastery. The world The nobles, bishops and archbishops of the world have all sacrificed at this altar. The rings representing their knighthood, the gold and precious stones that symbolize their nobleness, will be cast here to glorify God and his place. Although the monastery today We must be subject to others, but we must never forget the power and power of God. Christmas is coming, and we begin to polish these sacred vessels to celebrate the birth of the Savior. Everything should be in its brightest One side."—he looked at William, and went on.It was only later that I understood why he insisted so proudly on justifying his actions—"because we believe they are useful, and should not be hidden, and proclaim the generosity of God."

"Of course," William said politely, "if the Abbot feels compelled to glorify God, then your monastery is the best of all praises plentiful." "It must be," said the abbot, "if, according to the will of God and the order of the prophet, it is customary to use a gold amphora or a small bowl of gold to hold the blood of a goat or a calf or a small bowl from the temple of King Solomon." yak blood, then more reverently and devoutly use the gold vase inlaid with precious stones, and the most valuable creation, to receive the blood of Christ! If we use the second-rate creation of the worship angel, then this liturgy is worthless of……"

"Amen." I said. "There are many who protest that a godly heart, a pure heart, a will drawn by faith, should be satisfied with this divine function. We were the first to declare clearly and firmly that these were necessary things. But we believe that through the Holy The outer decorations of vessels must also be reverent and rigorous, for we must serve our Savior with everything without reserve. He never refused to give us everything, complete and without reserve." "The great men of your congregation have always thought so," Cheng Lian agreed, "I still remember that the respectable and great Dean Sugar once described all the beautiful ornaments in the chapel."

"Yes." The abbot said, "Look at this crucifix, it's not very complete..." He held on to the cross reverently, staring at it with a kind of joy on his face, "There are still a few pieces missing here. Pearls, because I have never been able to find the right size. St. Andrew has said that the cross at Gorgata was decorated with the body of Christ, not pearls. But this counterfeit emblem must be decorated with pearls. In addition, I want to inlay the most beautiful diamond here, above the head of the Savior.” He stroked the two arms of the cross with his slender fingers respectfully. of ivory.

"When I look at this beautiful palace, the gemstones of various colors make me forget the affairs of the outside world, and lead me to silent meditation, from the tangible to the intangible, and the change of morality. Then I feel as if I am in the In a wondrous region of the universe, no longer quite mired in the mire of earth, nor quite liberated in the purity of heaven. By the grace of God, I seem to be able to rise from this lower world to the higher one..." He said, looking towards the center of the hall.A beam of light from above illuminated his face, and his hands were stretched forward in a cross shape, and the whole person seemed to be caught in a frenzied mood. "Every living thing," he said, "whether seen or not, is a light, brought to life by the Father of Light. This ivory, this agate, and the precious stones that surround us, are light. I know They are beautiful, good, and exist according to their own rules of proportion. They come in different kinds, in different quantities, and they conform to normality, and each has a specific place according to their weight. I gaze at them and can feel The preciousness of their nature, and the creativity of God. For if I must strive to grasp the majesty of God, only the marvelous effects of gold and diamonds can make me understand the law of cause and effect of God. Then, when I perceive in these gems so sublime Truth, my soul weeps, shakes with joy, not from earthly vanity or love of riches, but from purest love to God, cause without cause."

William said with great humility: "This is indeed the most beautiful part of theology." I think he was unconsciously using what rhetoricians call "irony," as evidenced by pronunciation, intonation—William had never spoken like that before. It is precisely for this reason that the dean only took the superficial meaning of his words, and said: "This is the most direct way for us to contact God: the appearance of God." William coughed politely and said, "Uh, um," as he always did when he wanted to bring up a new topic.He manages to make his voice elegant, for he is in the habit of opening his comments with a long pause - and I suppose that's typical of the Englishman - as if it took him a lot of effort to explain a whole thought.Now, however, I understand that the more he murmured before his narration, the more certain he was about the claim he was about to make.

"Uh, oh," William snorted again, "we should talk about this meeting and the poverty debate." "Poverty..." The dean is still intoxicated in his thoughts, as if reluctant to leave that beautiful area of ​​the universe, "Ah, yes, the meeting..." ※Bandhammer Academyの重学E书※ So they started to have a lively discussion about something.Some of them I already knew, and some of them I tried to understand while listening to them talk.As I said at the beginning of this book, they spoke of a double quarrel between the emperor and the pope, and between the pope and the Franciscan order; The theory of the poverty of Christ in the Bible, and the chaos created by the Franciscans' partiality to the empire; this triangular opposition and alliance has now become a four-cornered situation, all because of St. Benedict The Order's involvement, though I still don't know much about it.

I never quite understood why the abbots of St. Benedict wanted to protect the friars of St. Francis.For if the Bible preaches the renunciation of all worldly things, these abbots followed a path no less noble, but diametrically opposite—did I not see it myself on this day? —But I believe the Abbots think that the Pope's power is too great, that is, that of the Bishops and the City, and that my order has preserved its power intact through the centuries because of opposition to non-denominational clergy and City merchants, who saw the order as a direct intermediary between earth and heaven, as well as advisors to the sovereign.

I have often heard that God's people are divided into shepherds (roughly referring to missionaries), dogs (that is, warriors), and sheep (the masses) according to the arbitrariness.But then I was told that there are other interpretations of this sentence.The Order of St. Benedict speaks not of three classes, but of two divisions, one dealing with the administration of human affairs, the other with the administration of heavenly affairs.As far as human affairs are concerned, they can still be divided into clergy, landowners, and the general public, but these three parts are directly connected with God's people and heaven, while monks have nothing to do with secular shepherds, priests and bishops All have become ignorant and corrupt, only concerned about the interests of the city; and the sheep are no longer pious and good farmers, but merchants and artisans.The Order of St. Benedict does not regret having non-denominational priests governing the masses, so long as the laws of this government are established by the monks, who are in direct contact with the source of all earthly power—that is, the Empire—as they have with the All sources of heavenly power communicate directly.It is for this reason, I believe, that many of the abbots of St. Benedict, in order to restore the majesty of the empire against the government of the city (bishops and merchants united), agreed to protect the friars of St. Francis; they did not approve of St. Francis The claim of the Ge Xiu Order, but the existence of the Order is very beneficial to them, so that the empire has a good reason to fight against the Pope who has too much power.

I later concluded that it was these reasons that Abo was now prepared to cooperate with William, the emperor's minister, and to act as a mediator between the Franciscans and the Holy See.In fact, even in the midst of the violent quarrels that threatened the unity of the Church, Michael of Cesena, after several summons to Avignon by Pope John, was finally about to accept the invitation, since he did not want his order to quarrel with the Holy See. unresolvable conflict.As for the St. Franciscans, he hoped to see their status established and recognized by the Pope of Rome immediately.According to his speculation, he could only lead the Order for a long time with the consent of the Pope. But he was warned by many that the pope had set a trap for him in France, who would accuse him of heresy and send him to the Inquisition for trial.Therefore, they advised Michael to negotiate before going to Avignon.Mararius had a better idea: to send with Michael an emperor's envoy to present the views of the emperor's supporters to the pope.This may not have persuaded Cahors the Elder, but it would have strengthened Michael's position; now that he was part of the Emperor's delegation, the Pope could not easily kill him. Having said that, the idea also has many disadvantages, and it cannot be implemented immediately.Then there was another proposal, that is, a preliminary meeting between the emperor's delegation and the pope's ministers, to state the positions of both sides, and to sign an agreement for further contacts to guarantee the safety of Italian visitors.William of Baskerville was sent to initiate this first council.Later, in Avignon, he will present the views of the imperial theologians, if he makes it through the journey.It was a difficult venture, since the Pope wanted to see Michael alone in order to frame him, so he would probably send someone secretly to Italy.And the instructions given by these men were such that the planned journey of the emperor's minister to the Holy See was ultimately a failure.So far, William's trip has been a success.After a long conversation with the abbots of St. Benedict (which is why we stopped along the way), he chose the abbey where we are now, precisely because the abbot was very loyal to the Empire, and, through his His excellent diplomatic skills are also very popular with the Holy See. Because it is a neutral area, this monastery is a possible meeting place for two groups of people. But the pope's opposition did not fail.He knew that once his delegation set foot on the territory of the monastery, it would be subject to the authority of the abbot.As some of his ministers were non-parochial clergymen, he refused to accept this control on the pretext of fearing imperial intrigues.For this reason, he made the condition that his envoy be safe under the protection of a squadron of archers of the king of France, under the orders of a man in the pope's confidence.I had vaguely overheard William discussing this with one of the Pope's emissaries at Bobbio: to lay down rules for the duties of this body—or, rather, for the safety of the papal delegation.The rule proposed by Avignon was finally accepted because it seemed quite reasonable: the militants and their officers had the right to subdue "any attempt to endanger the life of any member of the Holy See delegation, or to influence it by violence." one who decides or judges". At the time, the agreement seemed to have been made only for the first time.Now, deeply disturbed by recent events at the Abbey, the Abbot speaks to William of his suspicions.If the delegation arrived at the monastery before the two crimes had been uncovered (the abbot's apprehensions were only amplified the next day, as the crimes would be increased to three), they could only confess that in this place someone was capable of violent crimes. Acts affecting the decisions or judgments of the Nuncio. It is impossible to conceal these crimes, and if anything happens again, the minister of the Holy See will suspect that this is a conspiracy against them.So there are only two answers. William had to find the murderer before the delegation arrived (here the Dean gave William a stern look, as if silently reproaching him for not having settled the matter), or he had to tell the pope's legates frankly and ask their Protectors closely monitor the monastery during meetings and discussions.The Abbot did not like the second solution, because it would be tantamount to giving up part of his sovereignty and surrendering his own monks to French control.But he couldn't take any chances. The turn of events made both William and the dean very anxious, but they didn't have many choices.They decided to make a final decision the next day.For the present, they could only rely on the mercy of God and the wisdom of William. "I'll do my best, Abbot," said William, "but, on the other hand, I really don't see how this could endanger the meeting. Even a minister of the Holy See would know a madman, or a madman." A gangster, or a man who has lost his mind, is nothing compared to the gathering of sane people to discuss serious matters." "Do you think so?" said the Dean, glaring at William, "Remember: the people of Avignon only know that they are going to meet Brother Menoret, who are very dangerous people, close to Fradiselli, some He is even more insane than Fradisley—" Having said this, the dean lowered his voice, "Compared to the events that happened here, although they are terrifying, they are as light as the mist under the sun." "That's not the same thing!" cried William. "You can't put the Menorites of the Perugian order on the same level as the pagan group that misunderstood the message of the Gospel; struggle, described as a series of private feuds or bloodthirsty follies . . . " "Only a few years ago, only a few miles from here, one of the groups you speak of set fire to houses in the Vasili parish and in the mountains of Novara, and massacred people," the rector said succinctly. Say. "You're talking about Brother Dolcino and the apostles..." "False apostle." The dean corrected him.Once again I heard Brother Dolcino and the False Apostle mentioned, in the same measured tone, mingled with a hint of fear. "False apostles." William immediately agreed, "but they have nothing to do with the Menorite Order." "...They all admire Joachim of Calabria." The dean said, "You can ask your brother Ubertino." "I have to point out to the dean that he already belongs to your congregation." William said, smiling lightly and bowing, as if to congratulate the dean's congregation for accepting such a prestigious person. "I know, I know." The abbot said with a smile, "You also know that our order takes great care of monks who have angered the Pope. I don't just mean Ubertino alone, there are many others, who are more humble , Unknown brothers. Maybe we should know them better. Because we have taken in people who took refuge here in the robes of Menorite monks. I later learned that they used to be very close to the Dolcino followers. ..." "Are there any here?" William asked. "Yes, what I have revealed to you now, frankly speaking, I don't know much, and I can't make a complaint anyway. But since you are investigating the life of this monastery, you'd better know these things too. I will further I tell you, based on what I've heard or surmised, I suspect--just suspect--that our custodian had a dark life, and that he came to the Here." "Administrator? Remigio of Varagin is a Dolcino?" said William. "He seems to me to be the mildest of men, with no interest in the argument of poverty . . . "I'm not saying there's anything wrong with him, but he's done his job, and the whole monastery is very grateful to him. I mention this just to make you understand, to find out one of our brothers and one of the Fradis How easy it is to connect." "Your magnanimity has been misapplied again," said William. "We're talking about the Dorsinos, not the Fradisellis. There's a lot to be said about the Dorsinos without pointing to a particular individual." Said, because there are too many kinds. Still, they cannot be called cruel, but at most can only be accused of doing what the gods carefully taught, out of true love for God, without thinking. I must Agree that the dividing line between the two groups is very thin..." "But Fratis is a pagan!" the abbot interrupted William sharply, "they would not suffer the poverty of Christ and the apostles, although I do not share the creed, but that may be enough to counteract the arrogance of Avignon Fradiselli derived a practical argument from this creed: they deduced a right to revolution, to plunder, to depraved behavior." "But which Fradiselli?" "All, roughly. You know they're tainted with unspeakable sin. They don't sanction marriage, they deny Hell, they commit sodomy, they embrace Bogomi heresy at Bougeri or Delegon..." "Please don't confuse things that are separate from each other!" said William, "it seems to you that Fradiselli, Petarini, Waldensi, Casa, and these Bogomis and The heresy of Dragovisa makes no difference!" "That's right," said the Dean sharply. "They're all heretics, and they're jeopardizing the order of the civilized world, and the order of the Empire, which seems to be your favorite, so it's no different. More than a hundred years ago, Brescia The Arnolds, who set fire to the houses of nobles and cardinals, are the fruits of Petalini's Lombard heresy." "Abbo," said William, "you live in this secluded monastery, far from the evils of the world. Life in the city is more complicated than you think, and there are degrees of wrong and evil, you know Lot was no sinner, compared to his fellow citizens who had dirty thoughts about angels sent by God, Peter's betrayal was nothing compared to Judas' treachery, and the former could be forgiven But not the latter. You can’t compare Pertarini to Casa. Pertalini was just a reform move that didn’t go beyond the plans of the Church of Our Lady. They just wanted to improve the behavior of the clergy.” "A clergyman who is considered impure cannot take part in the sacraments..." "They were wrong, but that was their only doctrinal error. They never set forth the law of God before the altar..." "But Arnold of Brescia listened to the preaching of the monk Pertalini. More than two hundred years ago, in Rome, he drove the mob in the countryside to burn down the houses of nobles and bishops." "Arnold was simply trying to get the city's governors to accept his reforms. They opposed him, and he found support among the poor and outcast masses. He pleaded with them for a less corrupt city, and their response was astonishing. It was intense violence; it wasn't his fault." "Cities are corrupt." "Today the city is populated by God's people, and you and I are their shepherds. It is an ugly place where rich clergy preach morality to the poor and the hungry. Pertalini's chaos came into existence in this situation. They are sad, but not difficult to understand. Kasa is very different, it is an oriental heresy, completely outside the creed of the church. I don't know them Is it true that they have committed all the crimes that others accuse them of. I know they reject marriage and deny hell. But I suspect that other crimes are just random inventions based on the ideas they advertise." "You mean that Kasa and Petalini don't mix, and that they're not just two of the many faces of the devil?" "What I mean is that there are many heresies with different teachings that resonate with the masses because they present to these people the possibility of another life. I have often said that the average I don’t know very well. There are many simple people who confuse what Kasa and Petalini preached, and even the teachings of the gods. Abo, let our wise knowledge and sense of honor be respected by the public. Life does not help. They are plagued by poverty and disease, and ignorance makes them speechless. Many of them join pagan groups just to cry out the despair in their hearts. They burn down the bishop's house to improve the priesthood The lives of the people, or to show that the hell he preaches does not exist. They don't understand that hell does exist, and the sheep that live there can no longer follow us, the shepherds. But you know it very well, just as they can't tell the difference between Grey Church and Liplando believers, rulers and those who support them, also often fail to distinguish between gods and heresy. The army of the Empire often fights with their opponents, which encourages the people to lean towards Kasa. I think their The action was wrong. I know better now that the same force, in order to get rid of these restless, dangerous, and too 'simple' enemies, regularly branded a group of them as heretics, and burned them alive. I have seen--I swear to you, Abo, I have seen--men of good character, poor and chaste faithful, but enemies of the bishop. The bishop pushed them into the hands of secular forces, Whether it is the force of the empire or the free cities, accuse these people of divorce, sodomy, perversion-maybe others are guilty, but these people are not. Foolish people are the fish on the knife sister, when they can cause trouble to the opposite power, they They are used, and when they are no longer useful, they are sacrificed." "Therefore," said the Abbot, with evident malice, "Brother Dolcino and his lunatics, Gildrin Shri and those murderers, the wicked Casa and the moral Fradiselli; the sodomite Bogomi and Pertarini, reformers? Tell me, William, you know a great deal about the heathen, and have seen them, tell me where is the truth?" "Sometimes there is no truth at all," William said mournfully. "You see, you can no longer tell heresy yourself. At least I have rules to follow. I know that heretics are a danger to the Church and to pollute God's people. I support the Empire because it guarantees this for me. The monastery. I am against the pope, because he gave the power of the Holy Spirit to the bishops and the cities, and they united the merchants and the municipalities, so that this order cannot continue to exist. Our order has survived for centuries. As for the heathen , I also have a rule, and that is the answer of Arnold, bishop of Cito, to those who ask him what to do with the citizens of Bezieres: 'Kill them all, and let God himself discern." William lowered his eyes and remained silent for a while.Then he said: "The city of Bézières was captured, and our troops slaughtered men, women, and children. Nearly 20,000 people were killed by the sword. After the massacre, they plundered the city and set fire to it." "Jihad is still war." ※Bandhammer School & E-Book of Jing School※ "For that reason, perhaps there should be no holy wars. But where did I go? I came here to defend the rights of Louis, who also wanted to bring Italy to arms. I found myself in a Strange game of alliances. The alliance between the bishop and the empire is strange, and the alliance between the empire and Marsilius, who seeks sovereignty for the people, is also strange. The connection between the two of us is even more strange, our thoughts and traditions are so different. .But we have two shared missions, making the meeting a success and finding the killer. Let's try to do it peacefully." The dean stretched out his arms: "Give me the kiss of peace, Brother William. You are very knowledgeable, and I can't argue with you endlessly on theological and moral points. However, we must never give up the fun of debate. Like the mentors in Paris. You are right, there is an important task at hand, and we must work together. But I say this because I believe there is a connection. Do you understand? A possible connection— —or the connection that others may think of —the crime committed here and your brother's argument. That is why I warn you, and therefore we must prevent the people of Avignon from being suspicious." "Didn't the dean suggest that my investigation should have a limit? Do you believe that the recent events can be traced back to a story about a monk who held heresy in the past?" The dean remained silent, looking at William with a blank expression on his face.After a while he said: "You are the inquisitor in this sad case. You are to doubt, and at the risk of not being well founded. Here I am only a priest. I will say that if I know for sure The past of one of my monks, indeed, had good cause for suspicion, and I myself have eradicated the unhealthy seed; you know all that I know. What I do not know, your wisdom Expose them one by one." He nodded to us, then turned and walked out of the chapel. "The story gets more complicated, my dear Adso," said William, frowning. "We tracked down a manuscript, and we became interested in the slander and lust of a few over-curious monks, now , Another completely different clue emerged, the administrator... and Salvatore who arrived here with the administrator. However, let's go to rest first, because we plan to stay awake tonight." "Then you still plan to sneak into the library tonight? Aren't you going to give up the first clue?" "Of course not. In short, who said that these two clues are irrelevant? Besides, what happened to the administrator may just be the dean's suspicion." He walked towards the pilgrim guest house.When he reached the threshold, he stopped, as if continuing his previous comment, and spoke again, "After all, the abbot asked me to investigate Adelmo's death because he thought there was something unhealthy among his monks. It’s just that the death of Venantius has brought out other doubts. Perhaps the dean has also noticed that the key to the secret is in the library, and he doesn’t want anyone to explore that place. So he proposed to me to divert my attention from the cathedral..." "But why doesn't he wish—" "Don't ask too many questions. The dean told me from the beginning that the library was off limits, and he must have had good reasons. Maybe he was involved in something he didn't think had anything to do with Adelmo's death, and now But he realizes that the scandal is slowly spreading, and it is likely to involve himself. He doesn't want the truth to be discovered, at least not by me..." I said despondently, "Then we live in a place that is forsaken by God." "Do you know that there is a place where God always visits?" William looked at me condescendingly. Then he sent me to rest.I lay on the grass, thinking that my father really shouldn't have asked me to explore the world. The world is much more complicated than I imagined, and I learned too many things at once. As I fell asleep, I whispered a silent prayer: "God, save me from being devoured by lions."