Chapter 60

Sangreal... Sang Real... San Greal... Royal Blood... Holy Grail.

　　It was all intertwined.

　　The Holy Grail is Mary Magdalene... the mother of the royal bloodline of Jesus Christ. Sophie felta new wave of disorientation as she stood in the silence of the ballroom and stared at RobertLangdon. The more pieces Langdon and Teabing laid on the table tonight, the more unpredictablethis puzzle became.

　　"As you can see, my dear," Teabing said, hobbling toward a bookshelf, "Leonardo is not the onlyone who has been trying to tell the world the truth about the Holy Grail. The royal bloodline ofJesus Christ has been chronicled in exhaustive detail by scores of historians." He ran a finger downa row of several dozen books.

　　Sophie tilted her head and scanned the list of titles:

　　THE TEMPLAR REVELATION:

　　Secret Guardians of the True Identity of ChristTHE WOMAN WITH THE ALABASTER JAR:

　　Mary Magdalene and the Holy GrailTHE GODDESS IN THE GOSPELSReclaiming the Sacred Feminine"Here is perhaps the best-known tome," Teabing said, pulling a tattered hardcover from the stackand handing it to her. The cover read:

　　HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAILThe Acclaimed International BestsellerSophie glanced up. "An international bestseller? I've never heard of it.""You were young. This caused quite a stir back in the nineteen eighties. To my taste, the authorsmade some dubious leaps of faith in their analysis, but their fundamental premise is sound, and totheir credit, they finally brought the idea of Christ's bloodline into the mainstream.""What was the Church's reaction to the book?""Outrage, of course. But that was to be expected. After all, this was a secret the Vatican had tried tobury in the fourth century. That's part of what the Crusades were about. Gathering and destroyinginformation. The threat Mary Magdalene posed to the men of the early Church was potentiallyruinous. Not only was she the woman to whom Jesus had assigned the task of founding the Church,but she also had physical proof that the Church's newly proclaimed deity had spawned a mortalbloodline. The Church, in order to defend itself against the Magdalene's power, perpetuated herimage as a whore and buried evidence of Christ's marriage to her, thereby defusing any potentialclaims that Christ had a surviving bloodline and was a mortal prophet."Sophie glanced at Langdon, who nodded. "Sophie, the historical evidence supporting this issubstantial.""I admit," Teabing said, "the assertions are dire, but you must understand the Church's powerfulmotivations to conduct such a cover-up. They could never have survived public knowledge of abloodline. A child of Jesus would undermine the critical notion of Christ's divinity and thereforethe Christian Church, which declared itself the sole vessel through which humanity could accessthe divine and gain entrance to the kingdom of heaven.""The five-petal rose," Sophie said, pointing suddenly to the spine of one of Teabing's books. Thesame exact design inlaid on the rosewood box.

　　Teabing glanced at Langdon and grinned. "She has a good eye." He turned back to Sophie. "That isthe Priory symbol for the Grail. Mary Magdalene. Because her name was forbidden by the Church,Mary Magdalene became secretly known by many pseudonyms—the Chalice, the Holy Grail, andthe Rose." He paused. "The Rose has ties to the five-pointed pentacle of Venus and the guidingCompass Rose. By the way, the word rose is identical in English, French, German, and many otherlanguages.""Rose," Langdon added, "is also an anagram of Eros, the Greek god of sexual love."Sophie gave him a surprised look as Teabing plowed on.

　　"The Rose has always been the premiere symbol of female sexuality. In primitive goddess cults,the five petals represented the five stations of female life—birth, menstruation, motherhood,menopause, and death. And in modern times, the flowering rose's ties to womanhood areconsidered more visual." He glanced at Robert. "Perhaps the symbologist could explain?"Robert hesitated. A moment too long.

　　"Oh, heavens!" Teabing huffed. "You Americans are such prudes." He looked back at Sophie.

　　"What Robert is fumbling with is the fact that the blossoming flower resembles the femalegenitalia, the sublime blossom from which all mankind enters the world. And if you've ever seenany paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe, you'll know exactly what I mean.""The point here," Langdon said, motioning back to the bookshelf, "is that all of these bookssubstantiate the same historical claim.""That Jesus was a father." Sophie was still uncertain.

　　"Yes," Teabing said. "And that Mary Magdalene was the womb that carried His royal lineage. ThePriory of Sion, to this day, still worships Mary Magdalene as the Goddess, the Holy Grail, theRose, and the Divine Mother."Sophie again flashed on the ritual in the basement.

　　"According to the Priory," Teabing continued, "Mary Magdalene was pregnant at the time of thecrucifixion. For the safety of Christ's unborn child, she had no choice but to flee the Holy Land.

　　With the help of Jesus' trusted uncle, Joseph of Arimathea, Mary Magdalene secretly traveled toFrance, then known as Gaul. There she found safe refuge in the Jewish community. It was here inFrance that she gave birth to a daughter. Her name was Sarah."Sophie glanced up. "They actually know the child's name?""Far more than that. Magdalene's and Sarah's lives were scrutinously chronicled by their Jewishprotectors. Remember that Magdalene's child belonged to the lineage of Jewish kings—David andSolomon. For this reason, the Jews in France considered Magdalene sacred royalty and revered heras the progenitor of the royal line of kings. Countless scholars of that era chronicled MaryMagdalene's days in France, including the birth of Sarah and the subsequent family tree."Sophie was startled. "There exists a family tree of Jesus Christ?""Indeed. And it is purportedly one of the cornerstones of the Sangreal documents. A completegenealogy of the early descendants of Christ.""But what good is a documented genealogy of Christ's bloodline?" Sophie asked. "It's not proof.

　　Historians could not possibly confirm its authenticity."Teabing chuckled. "No more so than they can confirm the authenticity of the Bible.""Meaning?""Meaning that history is always written by the winners. When two cultures clash, the loser isobliterated, and the winner writes the history books—books which glorify their own cause anddisparage the conquered foe. As Napoleon once said, 'What is history, but a fable agreed upon?' "He smiled. "By its very nature, history is always a one-sided account."Sophie had never thought of it that way.

　　"The Sangreal documents simply tell the other side of the Christ story. In the end, which side of thestory you believe becomes a matter of faith and personal exploration, but at least the informationhas survived. The Sangreal documents include tens of thousands of pages of information.

　　Eyewitness accounts of the Sangreal treasure describe it as being carried in four enormous trunks.

　　In those trunks are reputed to be the Purist Documents—thousands of pages of unaltered, pre-Constantine documents, written by the early followers of Jesus, revering Him as a wholly humanteacher and prophet. Also rumored to be part of the treasure is the legendary "Q" Document—amanuscript that even the Vatican admits they believe exists. Allegedly, it is a book of Jesus'

　　teachings, possibly written in His own hand.""Writings by Christ Himself?""Of course," Teabing said. "Why wouldn't Jesus have kept a chronicle of His ministry? Mostpeople did in those days. Another explosive document believed to be in the treasure is a manuscriptcalled The Magdalene Diaries—Mary Magdalene's personal account of her relationship withChrist, His crucifixion, and her time in France."Sophie was silent for a long moment. "And these four chests of documents were the treasure thatthe Knights Templar found under Solomon's Temple?""Exactly. The documents that made the Knights so powerful. The documents that have been theobject of countless Grail quests throughout history.""But you said the Holy Grail was Mary Magdalene. If people are searching for documents, whywould you call it a search for the Holy Grail?"Teabing eyed her, his expression softening. "Because the hiding place of the Holy Grail includes asarcophagus."Outside, the wind howled in the trees.

　　Teabing spoke more quietly now. "The quest for the Holy Grail is literally the quest to kneel beforethe bones of Mary Magdalene. A journey to pray at the feet of the outcast one, the lost sacredfeminine."Sophie felt an unexpected wonder. "The hiding place of the Holy Grail is actually... a tomb?"Teabing's hazel eyes got misty. "It is. A tomb containing the body of Mary Magdalene and thedocuments that tell the true story of her life. At its heart, the quest for the Holy Grail has alwaysbeen a quest for the Magdalene—the wronged Queen, entombed with proof of her family's rightfulclaim to power."Sophie waited a moment as Teabing gathered himself. So much about her grandfather was still notmaking sense. "Members of the Priory," she finally said, "all these years have answered the chargeof protecting the Sangreal documents and the tomb of Mary Magdalene?""Yes, but the brotherhood had another, more important duty as well—to protect the bloodline itself.

　　Christ's lineage was in perpetual danger. The early Church feared that if the lineage were permittedto grow, the secret of Jesus and Magdalene would eventually surface and challenge thefundamental Catholic doctrine—that of a divine Messiah who did not consort with women orengage in sexual union." He paused. "Nonetheless, Christ's line grew quietly under cover in Franceuntil making a bold move in the fifth century, when it intermarried with French royal blood andcreated a lineage known as the Merovingian bloodline."This news surprised Sophie. Merovingian was a term learned by every student in France. "TheMerovingians founded Paris.""Yes. That's one of the reasons the Grail legend is so rich in France. Many of the Vatican's Grailquests here were in fact stealth missions to erase members of the royal bloodline. Have you heardof King Dagobert?"Sophie vaguely recalled the name from a grisly tale in history class. "Dagobert was a Merovingianking, wasn't he? Stabbed in the eye while sleeping?""Exactly. Assassinated by the Vatican in collusion with Pepin d'Heristal. Late seventh century.

　　With Dagobert's murder, the Merovingian bloodline was almost exterminated. Fortunately,Dagobert's son, Sigisbert, secretly escaped the attack and carried on the lineage, which laterincluded Godefroi de Bouillon—founder of the Priory of Sion.""The same man," Langdon said, "who ordered the Knights Templar to recover the Sangrealdocuments from beneath Solomon's Temple and thus provide the Merovingians proof of theirhereditary ties to Jesus Christ."Teabing nodded, heaving a ponderous sigh. "The modern Priory of Sion has a momentous duty.

　　Theirs is a threefold charge. The brotherhood must protect the Sangreal documents. They mustprotect the tomb of Mary Magdalene. And, of course, they must nurture and protect the bloodlineof Christ—those few members of the royal Merovingian bloodline who have survived into moderntimes."The words hung in the huge space, and Sophie felt an odd vibration, as if her bones werereverberating with some new kind of truth. Descendants of Jesus who survived into modern times.

　　Her grandfather's voice again was whispering in her ear. Princess, I must tell you the truth aboutyour family.

　　A chill raked her flesh.

　　Royal blood.

　　She could not imagine.

　　Princess Sophie.

　　"Sir Leigh?" The manservant's words crackled through the intercom on the wall, and Sophiejumped. "If you could join me in the kitchen a moment?"Teabing scowled at the ill-timed intrusion. He went over to the intercom and pressed the button.

　　"Rémy, as you know, I am busy with my guests. If we need anything else from the kitchen tonight,we will help ourselves. Thank you and good night.""A word with you before I retire, sir. If you would."Teabing grunted and pressed the button. "Make it quick, Rémy.""It is a household matter, sir, hardly fare for guests to endure."Teabing looked incredulous. "And it cannot wait until morning?""No, sir. My question won't take a minute."Teabing rolled his eyes and looked at Langdon and Sophie. "Sometimes I wonder who is servingwhom?" He pressed the button again. "I'll be right there, Rémy. Can I bring you anything when Icome?""Only freedom from oppression, sir.""Rémy, you realize your steak au poivre is the only reason you still work for me.""So you tell me, sir. So you tell me."

Sangreal……SangReal……SanGreal……王室血统……圣杯。

所有的一切都纠缠在一起。

圣杯是玛利亚。抹大拉……传承耶稣王室血统的女性。当索菲静静的站在书房里，疑惑地盯着罗伯特。兰登，脑海中又浮现出了新的疑惑。兰登和提彬往桌上堆的资料越多，索菲就越感到这个谜团令人难以捉摸。

"正如你看到的，亲爱的。"提彬边说，边蹒跚着走向书架。"兰登并不是唯一竭力想告诉世人关于圣杯真相的人。耶稣基督有后代的事早就被大批的历史学家详详细细地写进编年史了。"他指了指那一大排书。

索菲转过头浏览着书名：《圣殿武士启示录》--耶稣真正身份的神秘守护者《举着雪花石膏罐子的女人》--玛利亚。抹大拉和圣杯《福音中的女神》--感化圣女"这本也许是最有名的。"提彬边说边从书堆里拽出一本破旧不堪的精装书，递给她。

《王室血统和圣杯》--备受欢迎世界畅销书索菲抬眼看着提彬，说道："世界畅销书？我可从没听说过。"

"那时候你还小。这本书在20 世纪80 年代引起了极大的震动。在我看来，这本书的几个作者在分析基督教的基石时观点有些暧昧不清，不过们的基本前提还是合理的。值得称赞的是，他们最终还是把耶稣有后代这个观点介绍给了大众。""罗马教会对这本书作何反应？"

"当然是非常愤怒了。可那也在情理之中。毕竟，这是梵蒂冈竭力保守了三百多年的秘密呀。而这也是当年十字军东征的部分原因，那就是收集秘密，然后把它们销毁。玛利亚。抹大拉对早年罗马教会的那些人极具威胁。她不仅受命于耶稣建立罗马教廷，而且还有物证来证明教廷当时所宣称的神是有凡人后代的。为了对抗抹大拉的权势，教廷长期大肆宣扬，说她是个娼妓，并销毁隐瞒耶稣和她结婚的证据，从而压制消除耶稣是凡人并且有后代的说法。"索菲看了一眼兰登。他点点头说："索菲，有充分的历史资料证明事实确实如此。"

"我承认。"提彬说："这个说法确实很恐怖。但你必须搞清楚教会竭力隐瞒此事的强烈动机。假如公众知道耶稣有后代，那教会就完蛋了。耶稣有后代的事会破坏耶稣至高无上的神性，那么，自称是人类亲近神和进入天堂的唯一途径的教会也会随之瓦解。"突然，索菲指着提彬的那堆书说道："五瓣玫瑰。"跟镶在紫檀木盒上的那个一模一样。

提彬看了兰登一眼，说道："她的观察力可真不错啊！"然后转过身。对索菲说："那是隐修会标志圣杯的记号，也代表着玛利亚。抹大拉。由于教廷不允许人们叫她的名字，于是，人们就以许多假名来称呼抹大拉一如查利斯、圣杯和玫瑰。"他停了一下，接着说道："

玫瑰与维纳斯的五角星和指路的罗盘玫瑰有关。另外，玫瑰这个词在英语、法语、德语等语言中的读写都可以轻易地被辨认。"兰登接着说道："而且，玫瑰（Rose）颠倒一下字母顺序就成了希腊神话中的爱神厄洛斯（Eros）的名字。"索菲吃惊地看了看提彬，而提彬则继续讲解着。

"玫瑰一直是女性生殖能力的首选标志。在原始的女神崇拜时期，五个花瓣代表女性生命中的五个阶段---出生，首次月经来潮，做母亲，绝经和死亡。而且在当代，用玫瑰花来代表女性的例子屡见不鲜。"他看了罗伯特一眼，说道："也许符号学家能对此作出解释吧？"

罗伯特犹豫不决，一时不知如何作答。

"阿，天哪。"提彬生气地说："你们美国人真是假正经。"他回头看着索菲："罗伯特吞吞吐吐不肯说出的事实，是开放的玫瑰花象征着女性的外生殖器，而所有的人都是从那个神圣的花朵里来到世间的。如果你看过乔治亚。奥基夫的画，就会完全明白我的意思。""问题在于。"兰登指着书架说："是否这里所有的书都能充分证明同一个历史事实。"

"也就是耶稣是位父亲的说法。"索菲依然对此事不太肯定。

"是的。"提彬说："而且还能证明玛利亚。抹大拉就是为耶稣生下王室后代的女人。直到今天，郇山隐修会仍然信奉玛利亚。抹大拉，认为她是女神、圣杯、玫瑰和圣母。"索菲又一次回想起了地下室里的仪式。

提彬接着说道："根据隐修会的说法，玛利亚。抹大拉是在耶稣受难时怀孕的。为了耶稣后代的安全，她不得不逃离圣地耶路撒冷。在耶稣的叔叔约瑟夫的帮助下，玛利亚偷偷地逃到了当时被称为高卢的法国。在那里她受到了犹太人的庇护。正是在法国，她生下了一个女儿，名叫萨拉。"索菲抬头望着他，说道："他们确实知道那个孩子的名字？"

"不仅如此。抹大拉和萨拉的生活还被她们的犹太保护者详细地记录了下来。要知道，抹大拉的孩子是拥有犹太王大卫和所罗门的血脉的。因此，法国的犹太人认为抹大拉是神圣的王族，王室血脉传承人。当时有无数关于玛利亚在法生活的记录，其中包括萨拉的出世和后来的家谱。"索菲大为吃惊："竟然有耶稣基督的家谱？"

"确实如此。据说那还是圣杯文件的重要部分之一。那是一本耶稣直系子嗣的详细家谱。"提彬回答道。

"但是，一本耶稣后代的家谱有什么用呢？"索菲问道。"那并不能证明什么呀。历史学家恐怕不能证实它的可信性。"

提彬咯咯笑了起来。"恰恰相反。他们完全能够证明它的可信度不亚于《圣经》。"

"什么意思？"

提彬微笑着回答："历史总是由胜利者来谱写的。当两个文明交锋时，失败者的文明史就会被删除，胜利者会编写颂扬自己而贬低被征服者的历史。正如拿破仑所言"什么是历史？

只不过是编造的谎言罢了"。历史的本质就是一家之言。"索菲从未朝那方面想过。

"有关圣杯的文件只不过讲述了耶稣的另外一面而已。你相信的那一面就成了你信仰的来源，但至少，这个信息流传了下来。圣杯文件有上万页。曾看到过圣杯宝藏的人说这些文件被装在四个巨大的箱子里。据说，那些都是原始文件--包括上万页未经修改的资料，那是由早期的耶稣追随者在康斯坦丁大帝统治罗马之前写的，他们衷心地崇拜耶稣，认为他是全人类的导师和预言家。宝藏的另外一部分是传说中的"Q"文件，那是连梵蒂冈都承认存在的手稿。按照他们的说法，那是一本记录耶稣楔石的书，而且可能是他亲笔所写。""耶稣自己写的书？"

"当然了。"提彬说道："为什么耶稣就不能保留一本记录他自己传经布道的书呢？当时有很多人都那么做。宝藏的另外一部分是《抹大拉日记》的手稿，里面是她跟耶稣交往过程的自述，记录了耶稣受难以及她在法国的经历。"索菲沉默了半晌。"这四个装满了文件的箱子就是圣殿武土在所罗门神殿下面发现的宝藏？"

"正是。正是这些文件使得圣殿武士拥有了神奇的力量。这些文件也正是千百年来无数圣杯追寻者所要找的东西。""可是你说过圣杯就是玛利亚。抹大拉呀。如果人们都在寻找这些文件，那你为什么说他们是在寻找圣杯呢？"

提彬看着她，口气温和地说："因为圣杯藏在一个石棺里。"

屋外，呼号的狂风摇动着树枝。

提彬平静地说道："寻找圣杯实际上就是寻找玛利亚。抹大拉的尸骨，然后对其顶礼膜拜，在一个被遗弃的失去了神力的女人脚下祈祷。"索菲感到异常惊异："藏圣杯的地方实际上是……一个坟墓？"

提彬淡褐色的眼睛湿润了："是的。是一个坟墓，里面埋藏着玛利亚。抹大拉的遗骨和记录她的一生的文件。从本质上说，寻找圣杯就是寻找玛利亚。抹大拉，寻找受尽冤枉的女王。冤枉她的人把她和大批证据一起埋入坟墓，而这些证据完全可以证明她的家族有正当的理由获得权力。"索菲等待提彬镇静下来。许多关于祖父的事还没搞清楚呢！终于，她说道："隐修会一直致力于保护圣杯文件和玛利亚。抹大拉的坟墓吗？"

"是的，但隐修会还有一项更重要的任务，那就是保护耶稣的后人。他们一直处于危险之中。早年的罗马教廷害怕耶稣的后代一旦长大成人，耶稣和抹大拉的事就会浮出水面。

这样，基督教的基石就会被动摇；要知道，一个神圣的救世主是不会与女子同床共枕或发生性关系的。"他停了一会儿，接着说道："虽然如此，耶稣的后人还是在犹太人的保护下在法国悄悄地长大了。直到公元5 世纪他们才作出了一个大胆的举动--他们与法国的皇族结了亲并生下了被称为"梅罗文加王朝"的后代。"索菲吃了一惊。"梅罗文加王朝"，在法国无人不知。"梅罗文加王朝建造了巴黎。"

"是的。这也是圣杯的传说在法国广为流传的原因之一。梵蒂冈的圣杯寻找者的行动实际上都是杀害王室后人的秘密行动。你听说过达构贝国王吧？"

索菲模糊地记起她曾在历史课上的一个恐怖故事里听到过这个名字。"达构贝是梅罗文加王朝的一个国王，对吗？他是不是在熟睡的时候被人刺瞎了眼睛？"

"一点儿不错。他是在公元7 世纪晚期被梵蒂冈与蓬皮宾。荷里斯特合谋刺杀的。达构贝遇害后，梅罗文加王朝的后人几乎被消灭殆尽。值得庆幸的是，达构贝的儿子斯基斯伯特偷偷地逃离了魔爪，沿续了香火，他的后代中就有郇山隐修会的创始人。"兰登接着说道："也就是这个人命令圣殿武士从所罗门圣殿下面抢救出圣杯的文件，从而为梅罗文加王朝找出证据，证明他们跟耶稣有血缘关系。"提彬长长地叹了一口气，点点头说道："现在隐修会的责任非常重大。他们必须完成三个任务。首先隐修会必须要保护圣杯文件。其次，要保护好玛利亚。抹大拉的坟墓。最后，他们必须保护好耶稣的后人并把他们抚养成人。现在还有为数不多的梅罗文加王朝的后人存活着。"这些话在空中回响。索菲感到一阵奇怪的震动，好像她的骨头随着某个真相的揭开而发出巨大的回响。耶稣的后代仍然存活着！祖父的话又在她耳边响起。公主，我必须要把你家庭的真相告诉你。

她打了个寒战。

王室血统。

她简直无法相信。

索菲公主。

"雷先生！"墙上的对讲机里突然传来男佣的声音，把索菲吓了一跳。"您能到厨房来一下吗？"

提彬对男仆的打搅很恼怒。他走到对讲机前，按了一下按钮，说道："雷米，你应该知道，我正忙着招待客人。如果我们需要从厨房里拿什么东西，我们会自己去的。谢谢你。晚安！""先生，我只想在就寝之前跟您说句话。如果您允许的话。"

提彬嘟囔着，又按了一下按钮。"有话快说，雷米。"

"只是些家务事，先生。不需要在对讲机里讲出来打搅客人的雅兴。"

提彬简直难以置信。"不能等到明天？"

"不行，先生。我有句话想问您，一会儿也等不得。"

提彬圆睁双眼，转过头看着兰登和索菲说："有时我真怀疑到底是谁侍候谁？"他又按了一下按钮。"我马上就过去，雷米。需要我从这里给你带点什么吗？"

"只要不是虐待就行，先生。"

"雷米，要知道要不是你做的胡椒牛排好吃，我早就辞退你了。"

"我知道，先生。您说过。"