Seated on the divan1 beside Langdon, Sophie drank her tea and ate a scone2, feeling the welcomeeffects of caffeine and food. Sir Leigh Teabing was beaming as he awkwardly paced before theopen fire, his leg braces3 clicking on the stone hearth4.
"The Holy Grail," Teabing said, his voice sermonic. "Most people ask me only where it is. I fearthat is a question I may never answer." He turned and looked directly at Sophie. "However... the farmore relevant question is this: What is the Holy Grail?"Sophie sensed a rising air of academic anticipation5 now in both of her male companions.
"To fully6 understand the Grail," Teabing continued, "we must first understand the Bible. How welldo you know the New Testament7?"Sophie shrugged8. "Not at all, really. I was raised by a man who worshipped Leonardo da Vinci."Teabing looked both startled and pleased. "An enlightened soul. Superb! Then you must be awarethat Leonardo was one of the keepers of the secret of the Holy Grail. And he hid clues in his art.""Robert told me as much, yes.""And Da Vinci's views on the New Testament?""I have no idea."Teabing's eyes turned mirthful as he motioned to the bookshelf across the room. "Robert, wouldyou mind? On the bottom shelf. La Storia di Leonardo."Langdon went across the room, found a large art book, and brought it back, setting it down on thetable between them. Twisting the book to face Sophie, Teabing flipped9 open the heavy cover andpointed inside the rear cover to a series of quotations10. "From Da Vinci's notebook on polemics11 andspeculation," Teabing said, indicating one quote in particular. "I think you'll find this relevant toour discussion."Sophie read the words.
Many have made a trade of delusionsand false miracles, deceiving the stupid multitude.
—LEONARDO DA VINCI"Here's another," Teabing said, pointing to a different quote.
Blinding ignorance does mislead us.
O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!
—LEONARDO DA VINCISophie felt a little chill. "Da Vinci is talking about the Bible?"Teabing nodded. "Leonardo's feelings about the Bible relate directly to the Holy Grail. In fact, DaVinci painted the true Grail, which I will show you momentarily, but first we must speak of theBible." Teabing smiled. "And everything you need to know about the Bible can be summed up bythe great canon doctor Martyn Percy." Teabing cleared his throat and declared, "The Bible did notarrive by fax from heaven.""I beg your pardon?""The Bible is a product of man, my dear. Not of God. The Bible did not fall magically from theclouds. Man created it as a historical record of tumultuous times, and it has evolved throughcountless translations, additions, and revisions. History has never had a definitive12 version of thebook.""Okay.""Jesus Christ was a historical figure of staggering influence, perhaps the most enigmatic andinspirational leader the world has ever seen. As the prophesied13 Messiah, Jesus toppled kings,inspired millions, and founded new philosophies. As a descendant of the lines of King Solomonand King David, Jesus possessed14 a rightful claim to the throne of the King of the Jews.
Understandably, His life was recorded by thousands of followers15 across the land." Teabing pausedto sip16 his tea and then placed the cup back on the mantel. "More than eighty gospels wereconsidered for the New Testament, and yet only a relative few were chosen forinclusion—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John among them.
"Who chose which gospels to include?" Sophie asked.
"Aha!" Teabing burst in with enthusiasm. "The fundamental irony17 of Christianity! The Bible, as weknow it today, was collated19 by the pagan Roman emperor Constantine the Great.""I thought Constantine was a Christian18," Sophie said.
"Hardly," Teabing scoffed20. "He was a lifelong pagan who was baptized on his deathbed, too weakto protest. In Constantine's day, Rome's official religion was sun worship—the cult21 of Sol Invictus,or the Invincible22 Sun—and Constantine was its head priest. Unfortunately for him, a growingreligious turmoil23 was gripping Rome. Three centuries after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Christ'sfollowers had multiplied exponentially. Christians24 and pagans began warring, and the conflict grewto such proportions that it threatened to rend25 Rome in two. Constantine decided26 something had tobe done. In 325 A.D., he decided to unify27 Rome under a single religion. Christianity."Sophie was surprised. "Why would a pagan emperor choose Christianity as the official religion?"Teabing chuckled28. "Constantine was a very good businessman. He could see that Christianity wason the rise, and he simply backed the winning horse. Historians still marvel29 at the brilliance30 withwhich Constantine converted the sun-worshipping pagans to Christianity. By fusing pagansymbols, dates, and rituals into the growing Christian tradition, he created a kind of hybrid31 religionthat was acceptable to both parties.""Transmogrification," Langdon said. "The vestiges32 of pagan religion in Christian symbology areundeniable. Egyptian sun disks became the halos of Catholic saints. Pictograms of Isis nursing hermiraculously conceived son Horus became the blueprint33 for our modern images of the Virgin34 Marynursing Baby Jesus. And virtually all the elements of the Catholic ritual—the miter, the altar, thedoxology, and communion, the act of "God-eating"—were taken directly from earlier paganmystery religions."Teabing groaned35. "Don't get a symbologist started on Christian icons36. Nothing in Christianity isoriginal. The pre-Christian God Mithras—called the Son of God and the Light of the World—wasborn on December 25, died, was buried in a rock tomb, and then resurrected in three days. By theway, December 25 is also the birthday of Osiris, Adonis, and Dionysus. The newborn Krishna waspresented with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Even Christianity's weekly holy day was stolen fromthe pagans.""What do you mean?""Originally," Langdon said, "Christianity honored the Jewish Sabbath of Saturday, but Constantineshifted it to coincide with the pagan's veneration37 day of the sun." He paused, grinning. "To thisday, most churchgoers attend services on Sunday morning with no idea that they are there onaccount of the pagan sun god's weekly tribute—Sunday."Sophie's head was spinning. "And all of this relates to the Grail?""Indeed," Teabing said. "Stay with me. During this fusion38 of religions, Constantine needed tostrengthen the new Christian tradition, and held a famous ecumenical gathering39 known as theCouncil of Nicaea."Sophie had heard of it only insofar as its being the birthplace of the Nicene Creed40.
"At this gathering," Teabing said, "many aspects of Christianity were debated and voted upon—thedate of Easter, the role of the bishops41, the administration of sacraments, and, of course, the divinityof Jesus.""I don't follow. His divinity?""My dear," Teabing declared, "until that moment in history, Jesus was viewed by His followers asa mortal prophet... a great and powerful man, but a man nonetheless. A mortal.""Not the Son of God?""Right," Teabing said. "Jesus' establishment as 'the Son of God' was officially proposed and votedon by the Council of Nicaea.""Hold on. You're saying Jesus' divinity was the result of a vote?""A relatively42 close vote at that," Teabing added. "Nonetheless, establishing Christ's divinity wascritical to the further unification of the Roman empire and to the new Vatican power base. Byofficially endorsing43 Jesus as the Son of God, Constantine turned Jesus into a deity44 who existedbeyond the scope of the human world, an entity45 whose power was unchallengeable. This not onlyprecluded further pagan challenges to Christianity, but now the followers of Christ were able toredeem themselves only via the established sacred channel—the Roman Catholic Church."Sophie glanced at Langdon, and he gave her a soft nod of concurrence46.
"It was all about power," Teabing continued. "Christ as Messiah was critical to the functioning ofChurch and state. Many scholars claim that the early Church literally47 stole Jesus from His originalfollowers, hijacking48 His human message, shrouding49 it in an impenetrable cloak of divinity, andusing it to expand their own power. I've written several books on the topic.""And I assume devout50 Christians send you hate mail on a daily basis?""Why would they?" Teabing countered. "The vast majority of educated Christians know the historyof their faith. Jesus was indeed a great and powerful man. Constantine's underhanded politicalmaneuvers don't diminish the majesty51 of Christ's life. Nobody is saying Christ was a fraud, ordenying that He walked the earth and inspired millions to better lives. All we are saying is thatConstantine took advantage of Christ's substantial influence and importance. And in doing so, heshaped the face of Christianity as we know it today."Sophie glanced at the art book before her, eager to move on and see the Da Vinci painting of theHoly Grail.
"The twist is this," Teabing said, talking faster now. "Because Constantine upgraded Jesus' statusalmost four centuries after Jesus' death, thousands of documents already existed chronicling Hislife as a mortal man. To rewrite the history books, Constantine knew he would need a bold stroke.
From this sprang the most profound moment in Christian history." Teabing paused, eyeing Sophie.
"Constantine commissioned and financed a new Bible, which omitted those gospels that spoke52 ofChrist's human traits and embellished53 those gospels that made Him godlike. The earlier gospelswere outlawed54, gathered up, and burned.""An interesting note," Langdon added. "Anyone who chose the forbidden gospels overConstantine's version was deemed a heretic. The word heretic derives55 from that moment in history.
The Latin word haereticus means 'choice.' Those who 'chose' the original history of Christ were theworld's first heretics.""Fortunately for historians," Teabing said, "some of the gospels that Constantine attempted toeradicate managed to survive. The Dead Sea Scrolls57 were found in the 1950s hidden in a cave nearQumran in the Judean desert. And, of course, the Coptic Scrolls in 1945 at Nag56 Hammadi. Inaddition to telling the true Grail story, these documents speak of Christ's ministry58 in very humanterms. Of course, the Vatican, in keeping with their tradition of misinformation, tried very hard tosuppress the release of these scrolls. And why wouldn't they? The scrolls highlight glaringhistorical discrepancies59 and fabrications, clearly confirming that the modern Bible was compiledand edited by men who possessed a political agenda—to promote the divinity of the man JesusChrist and use His influence to solidify60 their own power base.""And yet," Langdon countered, "it's important to remember that the modern Church's desire tosuppress these documents comes from a sincere belief in their established view of Christ. TheVatican is made up of deeply pious61 men who truly believe these contrary documents could only befalse testimony62."Teabing chuckled as he eased himself into a chair opposite Sophie. "As you can see, our professorhas a far softer heart for Rome than I do. Nonetheless, he is correct about the modern clergybelieving these opposing documents are false testimony. That's understandable. Constantine's Biblehas been their truth for ages. Nobody is more indoctrinated than the indoctrinator.""What he means," Langdon said, "is that we worship the gods of our fathers.""What I mean," Teabing countered, "is that almost everything our fathers taught us about Christ isfalse. As are the stories about the Holy Grail."Sophie looked again at the Da Vinci quote before her. Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O!
Wretched mortals, open your eyes!
Teabing reached for the book and flipped toward the center. "And finally, before I show you DaVinci's paintings of the Holy Grail, I'd like you to take a quick look at this." He opened the book toa colorful graphic63 that spanned both full pages. "I assume you recognize this fresco64?"He's kidding, right? Sophie was staring at the most famous fresco of all time—The LastSupper—Da Vinci's legendary65 painting from the wall of Santa Maria delle Grazie near Milan. Thedecaying fresco portrayed66 Jesus and His disciples67 at the moment that Jesus announced one of themwould betray Him. "I know the fresco, yes.""Then perhaps you would indulge me this little game? Close your eyes if you would."Uncertain, Sophie closed her eyes.
"Where is Jesus sitting?" Teabing asked.
"In the center.""Good. And what food are He and His disciples breaking and eating?""Bread." Obviously.
"Superb. And what drink?""Wine. They drank wine.""Great. And one final question. How many wineglasses are on the table?"Sophie paused, realizing it was the trick question. And after dinner, Jesus took the cup of wine,sharing it with His disciples. "One cup," she said. "The chalice68." The Cup of Christ. The HolyGrail. "Jesus passed a single chalice of wine, just as modern Christians do at communion."Teabing sighed. "Open your eyes."She did. Teabing was grinning smugly. Sophie looked down at the painting, seeing to herastonishment that everyone at the table had a glass of wine, including Christ. Thirteen cups.
Moreover, the cups were tiny, stemless, and made of glass. There was no chalice in the painting.
No Holy Grail.
Teabing's eyes twinkled. "A bit strange, don't you think, considering that both the Bible and ourstandard Grail legend celebrate this moment as the definitive arrival of the Holy Grail. Oddly, DaVinci appears to have forgotten to paint the Cup of Christ.""Surely art scholars must have noted69 that.""You will be shocked to learn what anomalies Da Vinci included here that most scholars either donot see or simply choose to ignore. This fresco, in fact, is the entire key to the Holy Grail mystery.
Da Vinci lays it all out in the open in The Last Supper"Sophie scanned the work eagerly. "Does this fresco tell us what the Grail really is?""Not what it is," Teabing whispered. "But rather who it is. The Holy Grail is not a thing. It is, infact... a person"
索菲靠着兰登坐在长沙发上，喝着茶吃着烤饼，享受着食物的美味。雷。提彬爵士微笑着，在炉火前面笨拙地踱来踱去。假肢敲在地面上，发出"叮叮"的声响。
"关于圣杯。"提彬用布道式的口吻说道。"许多人只想知道它在哪里，恐怕这个问题我永远都无法回答。"他转过身，盯着索菲："然而，更重要的问题应该是：圣杯是什么？"
索菲感觉出两位男士都对此非常关注。
提彬继续说道："要完全了解圣杯，就首先要了解《圣经》。你对《新约》了解多少？"
索菲耸耸肩，说道："一点也不了解，真的。我被一个信奉列昂纳多。达。芬奇的人抚养长大。"提彬对此既惊讶又颇为赞赏。"真是个开明的人。好极了！那么，你一定知道列昂纳多是圣杯秘密的守护人之一。他把秘密藏在了他的作品当中。""是的，罗伯特也这么说。"
"那么，你知道达。芬奇对《新约》的看法吗？"
"不知道。"
提彬开心地指着对面的书架，说道："罗伯特，请从书架的底层把那本《达。芬奇的故事》拿过来。"兰登穿过房间，在书架上找到了一本很大的艺术书籍，拿了回来，放在桌子上。提彬把书转过来朝着索菲，翻开沉重的封面，指着封底上的几行引言说道："这些摘自达。芬奇所作的有关辩论术和思考方法的笔记。"他指着其中的一行说道："我想你会发现这一行跟我们讨论的话题有关。"索菲念着上面的字。
许多人故意制造错觉和虚假的奇迹，来欺骗大众。
---列昂纳多。达。芬奇提彬指着另外一行："还有。"
无知遮蔽了我们的眼睛，让我们误入歧途。啊！尘世间可怜的人们啊，睁开眼睛吧！
--列昂纳多。达。芬奇索菲感到一阵寒意。"达。芬奇在谈论《圣经》吗？"
提彬点点头，说道："列昂纳多对《圣经》的看法跟圣杯有直接的关系。实际上，达。芬奇画出了真正的圣杯，一会儿我就拿给你看。不过，我们必须先讲一下《圣经》。"提彬停了一下，然后微笑着说道："你对《圣经》所需了解的一切可以用伟大的教会医生马丁。珀玺的一句话来概括。"提彬清了清喉咙，大声说道："《圣经》不是来自天堂的传真。""您说什么？"
"亲爱的，《圣经》是人造出来的，不是上帝创造的。《圣经》不是神奇地从云彩里掉下来的。人类为了记录历史上那些喧嚣的时代而创造了它。多年以来，它历经了无数次翻译和增补修订。历史上从来就没有过一本确定的《圣经》。""哦。"
"耶稣是一个非常有影响的历史人物，也许称得上是迄今为止世界上最高深莫测和最有灵气的领袖。作为预言中的救世主，他倾倒了众多君王，激励了千万民众，创立了新的哲学。作为所罗门王和大卫王的后代，耶稣完全有权要求获得犹太国王的王位。那么，他的一生被成千上万的追随者记录也就不足为奇了。"提彬停下来，喝了一口茶，然后把茶杯放回到壁炉架上，接着说道："人们认为原来的《新约》有八十多个福音，可是后来只有很少的几个被保存了下来，其中有《马太福音》、《马克福音》、《路德福音》和《约翰福音》等。"索菲问道："收录福音的工作是谁完成的呢？"
"啊哈！"提彬突然进发出了极大的热情。"这是对基督教最大的讽刺！我们今天所知道的《圣经》是由罗马的异教徒皇帝康斯坦丁大帝整理的。"索菲说道："我还以为康斯坦丁是个基督徒呢。"
提彬不屑地说："根本就不是。他一生都是个异教徒，只是在临终的时候才接受了洗礼，因为那时他已经无力反抗了。康斯坦丁在世时，罗马的官方宗教是拜日教--信奉"无敌的太阳"的宗教，而康斯坦丁是当时的大主教。然而不幸的是，在罗马发生的一场宗教骚乱愈演愈烈。耶稣被钉上十字架三百年后，他的追随者成几何倍数地增长。基督徒和异教徒开始冲突，矛盾加剧，最后双方甚至威胁要把罗马一分为二。康斯坦丁决心干预此事。
公元325 年，他决定用一个宗教来统一罗马。那就是基督教。"索菲吃惊地问："为什么一个信仰异教的皇帝要把基督教作为国教呢？"
提彬笑了起来："康斯坦丁是个非常精明的商人。因为他看到基督教正处于上升阶段，他无非就是要支持能获胜的一方。历史学家们至今仍对康斯坦丁表现出的雄才伟略极为赞赏，因为他竟然让那些拜日教的教徒转而信仰了基督教。他把异教的标记、纪年和仪式都融入正在不断壮大的基督教，从而创立了一个双方都能接受的混合宗教。"兰登说："实际上是变形。基督教的标记中可以找到许多异教的痕迹埃及的太阳圆盘变成了天主教圣人头上的光环。古埃及生育女神伊希斯怀抱儿子光明之神荷露丝的壁画为圣母玛丽娅抱着小耶稣的画像提供了蓝本。几乎所有天主教的仪式--如主教加戴法冠、圣坛、礼拜式上唱荣光赞歌以及领圣餐等等--都直接来自那些早期的神秘异教。"提彬叹息道："千万不要让一个符号学家去研究基督教的圣像。那些圣像没有一个是基督教自己的。基督教之前的神灵密斯拉--波斯神话中被称之为"上帝的儿子"或"世界之光"的光明之神--出生于十二月二十五号。他死后被埋进了石墓，三天后就复活了。另外，十二月二十五号还是古埃及冥神、古希腊神话中的美男子阿多尼斯以及酒神狄俄尼索斯的生日。而新出生的奎师那神也会被供奉上黄金和乳香。甚至基督教每周的礼拜日也是从异教那里偷来的。""为什么这样说呢？"
兰登说："本来基督教遵奉的是犹太人的礼拜六安息日，但康斯坦丁却把它改成了异教徒们敬奉太阳的那一天。"他停了一下，笑着说道："时至今日，大部分人都会在星期天早上去教堂做礼拜。但他们都不知道，那是异教徒们每周一次供奉太阳神的日子，也就是"太阳日"。"索菲听得头脑发昏。"那么，这些都跟圣杯有关吗？"
提彬说道："一点关系也没有。请听我说下去。在这次宗教大融合中，康斯坦丁需要强化新基督教的基石，因此他组建了著名的"尼西亚联合会"，联合全球的教会。"索菲知道尼西亚是《尼西亚信经》的产地。
提彬说道："在这次大会上人们就基督教许多方面的问题都进行了辩论和投票，比如像复活节的日期、主教的职责和圣礼的管理，当然也包括耶稣的神性。""我不大明白。神性是什么意思？"
提彬大声说道："亲爱的，在那个时候之前，耶稣的追随者们认为他是一个凡人预言家，一个伟大而能力超群的人。但无论如何，他是一个人，一个凡人。""不是上帝的儿子？"
提彬说道："不是。"耶稣是上帝的儿子"是由官方提出的，这一说法在尼西亚联合会上被投票通过。""等一等。你说耶稣的神性是投票的结果？"
提彬补充道："投票结果比较接近，险些没被通过。但不管怎样，确立耶稣的神性，对罗马帝国的进一步统一以及增强梵蒂冈中心的权力都至关重要。通过确立耶稣神性的手段，康斯坦丁把耶稣变成了一个超脱于人类世界、权力不容侵犯的神。这不仅揭开了异教徒们进一步挑战基督教的序幕，还使得基督的追随者们只能通过罗马天主教堂--这个唯一确定的神圣途径--来给自己赎罪。"索菲看了兰登一眼，点了点头，表示认可。
提彬继续说道："把耶稣确立为救世主对充分发挥罗马教堂和罗马帝国的政府职能非常关键。许多学者都宣称，早期的罗马教堂把耶稣从他原来的追随者那里偷走了，抹杀了他作为人类的要旨，把他裹进不可侵犯的神的斗篷里，以此来扩大他们自己的权力。我就此写过好几本书。""那些虔敬的基督徒每天都会给您发一封充满仇恨的信吧？"
提彬不同意："为什么他们要发那种信？绝大多数受过教育的基督徒都知道基督教的历史，都知道耶稣是个伟大而能力超群的人。康斯坦丁卑鄙的政治花招一点也抹杀不了耶稣的伟大。没人会说耶稣是个骗子，或否认他曾行走世界各地，激励了千千万万的人过上更美好的生活。我们所说的只是康斯坦丁通过利用耶稣的重大的影响和尊贵的地位，塑造了今天的基督教。"索菲瞅了瞅她面前的那本艺术书，急着想离开，去看一下达。芬奇画的圣杯。
提彬加快了语速："其中的曲折在于，由于康斯坦丁是在耶稣去世四百年后才把他说成神的，因此有成千上万份记录着耶稣的凡人生活的文件依然流传着。为了改写历史，康斯坦丁知道他必须采取大胆的行动。由此，基督教历史上影响最为深远的事件发生了。"提彬停了一下，盯着索菲，继续说道："康斯坦丁下令并出资编写一本新的《圣经》。这本《圣经》删掉了那些夸赞耶稣作为一个凡人所表现出来的美德的福音，而将那些把他描述得像神一样的福音添油加醋了一番。早先的福音书被查禁焚烧掉了。"兰登接过话茬："非常有趣的是，那些选择禁书，而不看康斯坦丁制定的《圣经》的人被称为异教徒。"异教徒"这个词就是从那时候来的。拉丁语中"异教徒"的意思是"选择"。那些"选择"了基督教真正历史的人反而成了世界上的第一批被排除在基督教之外的"异教徒"。"提彬说道："让历史学家们庆幸的是，康斯坦丁试图销毁的福音书中有一部分竟流传了下来。《死海古卷》于20 世纪50 年代，在犹太沙漠库姆巴勒斯坦古村庄附近的一个山洞里被发现。当然了，还有1945 年在那格。哈纳地发现的《科普特教徒古卷》。这些文件不仅讲述了圣杯的真实故事，还毫不含糊地表明了耶稣是一个凡人牧师。当然，梵蒂冈为了保持它那欺骗民众的传统，竭力制止这些古卷的发表。他们为什么要这样做？原因很简单，这些古卷明显地展示了历史上存在的分歧和摩擦，明白无误地确认了现在的《圣经》实际上是由那些别有用心的人编写而成的。那些人把凡人耶稣基督说成是神，从而利用他的影响来巩固自己的权力。"兰登对此提出了不同意见。"可是，也要知道，当代的罗马教廷压制这些文件的愿望确实是出于他们对耶稣的真诚信仰。当然，这样的信仰是从他们既定的角度出发的。今日的梵蒂冈中心是由那些非常虔诚的教徒组成，他们确实相信这些反面材料是些伪证。"提彬舒舒服服地坐到索菲对面的椅子上，笑着说："你也看到了，比起我来，咱们的教授对罗马教会可是仁慈多了！可是不管怎样，他说的没错，现在的教士们确实认为这些反面材料是伪证。然而，这也可以理解。毕竟，千百年来康斯坦丁制定的那本《圣经》是他们唯一的真理。没有能比那些教化者得到更多的教化。"兰登说道："他的意思是，我们信奉的是父辈们传给我们的上帝。"
提彬反驳道："不对，我的意思是，父辈们教导我们的关于耶稣的一切都是假的。关于圣杯的事也不例外。"索菲又看了看书上达。芬奇的话。
无知遮蔽了我们的双眼，让我们误人歧途。啊！尘世间可怜的人们啊，睁开你们的眼睛吧！
提彬拿起书，翻到中间。"最后，在我给你看达。芬奇画的圣杯之前，你先看一下这个。
"他翻到一幅彩色的图片，那个图片整整占了两页纸。"我想你肯定认识这幅壁画。"他在开玩笑吧？索菲看到的是世界名画--达。芬奇为米兰附近的感恩堂创作的壁画--《最后的晚餐》。那幅已遭风化的壁画描述的是耶稣对他的门徒宣布会有人背叛他时的情景。
"我知道这幅画。"
"那就请允许我耍个小小的把戏。请合上眼。"
索菲合上了眼，不知道他会耍什么花样。
提彬问道："耶稣坐在哪儿？"
"中间。"
"好的。那么，他们在分发和享用什么食物呢？"
"面包。这还用问？ "
"很好。那么，他们在喝什么呢？"
"酒，他们在喝酒。"
"非常好。最后一个问题。桌子上有多少个酒杯呢？"
索菲愣了一下，马上意识到这是个圈套。饭后，耶稣拿起酒杯，轮流传给他的门徒，共享美酒。她说道："一个。而且是高脚酒杯。"耶稣的杯子。圣杯。"耶稣传递的是一个高脚酒杯，就像现在的基督徒在圣餐礼上所用的那样。"提彬叹了一口气，说道："那就睁开眼吧。"
索菲睁开眼，看到提彬在得意地冲着她笑。她低下头看着那幅画，让她大吃一惊的是，桌子旁边的每个人手里都拿着一个杯子，连耶稣也不例外。有十三个杯子。而且这些杯子都是平底的玻璃小酒杯。画上根本就没有高脚酒杯。没有圣杯。
提彬眨着眼，说道："很奇怪是吧？根据《圣经》和圣杯传说，圣杯应该在这个时候出现。可奇怪的是，达。芬奇好像忘了把圣杯画上去。""艺术专家们肯定注意到这个问题了。"
"你会吃惊地发现，大部分的专家对画中的异常要么没发现，要么就故意视而不见。实际上，这幅壁画是通向圣杯秘密的关键所在。达。芬奇把这个秘密堂而皇之地画在了《最后的晚餐》上。"索菲急切地打量着那幅画。"这幅壁画告诉我们圣杯是什么东西了吗？"
提彬轻声说道："不是什么东西，而是什么人。圣杯不是一件物品。实际上，它是……一个人。"
收听单词发音 |
1
divan
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| n.长沙发；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集 | |
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scone
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| n.圆饼，甜饼，司康饼 | |
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braces
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| n.吊带，背带；托架( brace的名词复数 )；箍子；括弧；（儿童）牙箍v.支住( brace的第三人称单数 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来 | |
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hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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testament
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| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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flipped
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| 轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥 | |
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quotations
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| n.引用( quotation的名词复数 )；[商业]行情（报告）；（货物或股票的）市价；时价 | |
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polemics
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| n.辩论术，辩论法；争论( polemic的名词复数 )；辩论；辩论术；辩论法 | |
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definitive
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| adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的 | |
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prophesied
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| v.预告，预言( prophesy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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sip
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| v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量 | |
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irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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collated
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| v.校对( collate的过去式和过去分词 )；整理；核对；整理（文件或书等） | |
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scoffed
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| 嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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cult
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| n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜 | |
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invincible
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| adj.不可征服的，难以制服的 | |
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turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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rend
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| vt.把…撕开，割裂；把…揪下来，强行夺取 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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unify
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| vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致 | |
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chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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brilliance
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| n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智 | |
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hybrid
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| n.(动，植）杂种，混合物 | |
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vestiges
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| 残余部分( vestige的名词复数 )； 遗迹； 痕迹； 毫不 | |
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blueprint
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| n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划 | |
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virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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icons
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| n.偶像( icon的名词复数 )；（计算机屏幕上表示命令、程序的）符号，图像 | |
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veneration
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| n.尊敬，崇拜 | |
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fusion
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| n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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bishops
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| （基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象 | |
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relatively
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| adv.比较...地，相对地 | |
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endorsing
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| v.赞同( endorse的现在分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品 | |
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deity
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| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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entity
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| n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物 | |
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concurrence
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| n.同意；并发 | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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hijacking
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| n. 劫持, 抢劫 动词hijack的现在分词形式 | |
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shrouding
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| n.覆盖v.隐瞒( shroud的现在分词 )；保密 | |
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devout
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| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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embellished
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| v.美化( embellish的过去式和过去分词 )；装饰；修饰；润色 | |
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outlawed
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| 宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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derives
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| v.得到( derive的第三人称单数 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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nag
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| v.(对…)不停地唠叨；n.爱唠叨的人 | |
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scrolls
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| n.（常用于录写正式文件的）纸卷( scroll的名词复数 )；卷轴；涡卷形（装饰）；卷形花纹v.（电脑屏幕上）从上到下移动（资料等），卷页( scroll的第三人称单数 )；（似卷轴般）卷起；（像展开卷轴般地）将文字显示于屏幕 | |
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ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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discrepancies
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| n.差异，不符合（之处），不一致（之处）( discrepancy的名词复数 ) | |
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solidify
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| v.(使)凝固，(使)固化，(使)团结 | |
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pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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graphic
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| adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的 | |
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fresco
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| n.壁画；vt.作壁画于 | |
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legendary
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| adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学） | |
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portrayed
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| v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画 | |
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disciples
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| n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一 | |
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chalice
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| n.圣餐杯；金杯毒酒 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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