The Piazza3 di San Marco was filled by a multitude who showed no other movement than that which proceeded from the pressure of new-comers trying to force their way forward from all the openings: but the front ranks were already close-serried and resisted the pressure. Those ranks were ranged around a semicircular barrier in front of the church, and within this barrier were already assembling the Dominican Brethren of San Marco.
But the temporary wooden pulpit erected5 over the church door was still empty. It was presently to be entered by the man whom the Pope’s command had banished6 from the pulpit of the Duomo, whom the other ecclesiastics7 of Florence had been forbidden to consort8 with, whom the citizens had been forbidden to hear on pain of excommunication. This man had said, ‘A wicked, unbelieving Pope who has gained the pontifical9 chair by bribery10 is not Christ’s Vicar. His curses are broken swords: he grasps a hilt without a blade. His commands are contrary to the Christian11 life: it is lawful12 to disobey them — nay13, it is not lawful to obey them.’ And the people still flocked to hear him as he preached in his own church of San Marco, though the Pope was hanging terrible threats over Florence if it did not renounce14 the pestilential schismatic and send him to Rome to be ‘converted’ — still, as on this very morning, accepted the Communion from his excommunicated hands. For how if this Frate had really more command over the Divine lightnings than that official successor of Saint Peter? It was a momentous15 question, which for the mass of citizens could never be decided1 by the Frate’s ultimate test, namely, what was and what was not accordant with the highest spiritual law. No: in such a case as this, if God had chosen the Frate as his prophet to rebuke16 the High Priest who carried the mystic raiment unworthily, he would attest17 his choice by some unmistakable sign. As long as the belief in the Prophet carried no threat of outward calamity18, but rather the confident hope of exceptional safety, no sign was needed: his preaching was a music to which the people felt themselves marching along the way they wished to go; but now that belief meant an immediate19 blow to their commerce, the shaking of their position among the Italian States, and an interdict20 on their city, there inevitably21 came the question, ‘What miracle showest thou?’ Slowly at first, then faster and faster, that fatal demand had been swelling22 in Savonarola’s ear, provoking a response, outwardly in the declaration that at the fitting time the miracle would come; inwardly in the faith — not unwavering, for what faith is so? — that if the need for miracle became urgent, the work he had before him was too great for the Divine power to leave it halting. His faith wavered, but not his speech: it is the lot of every man who has to speak for the satisfaction of the crowd, that he must often speak in virtue23 of yesterday’s faith, hoping it will come back to-morrow.
It was in preparation for a scene which was really a response to the popular impatience24 for some supernatural guarantee of the Prophet’s mission, that the wooden pulpit had been erected above the church-door. But while the ordinary Frati in black mantles26 were entering and arranging themselves, the faces of the multitude were not yet eagerly directed towards the pulpit: it was felt that Savonarola would not appear just yet, and there was some interest in singling out the various monks27, some of them belonging to high Florentine families, many of them having fathers, brothers, or cousins among the artisans and shopkeepers who made the majority of the crowd. It was not till the tale of monks was complete, not till they had fluttered their books and had begun to chant, that people said to each other, ‘Fra Girolamo must be coming now.’
That expectation rather than any spell from the accustomed wail28 of psalmody was what made silence and expectation seem to spread like a paling solemn light over the multitude of upturned faces, all now directed towards the empty pulpit.
The next instant the pulpit was no longer empty. A figure covered from head to foot in black cowl and mantle25 had entered it, and was kneeling with bent29 head and with face turned away. It seemed a weary time to the eager people while the black figure knelt and the monks chanted. But the stillness was not broken, for the Frate’s audiences with Heaven were yet charged with electric awe30 for that mixed multitude, so that those who had already the will to stone him felt their arms unnerved.
At last there was a vibration31 among the multitude, each seeming to give his neighbour a momentary32 aspen-like touch as when men who have been watching for something in the heavens see the expected presence silently disclosing itself. The Frate had risen, turned towards the people, and partly pushed back his cowl. The monotonous33 wail of psalmody had ceased, and to those who stood near the pulpit, it was as if the sounds which had just been filling their ears had suddenly merged34 themselves in the force of Savonarola’s flashing glance, as he looked round him in the silence. Then he stretched out his hands, which, in their exquisite35 delicacy36 seemed transfigured from an animal organ for grasping into vehicles of sensibility too acute to need any gross contact: hands that came like an appealing speech from that part of his soul which was masked by his strong passionate37 face, written on now with deeper lines about the mouth and brow than are made by forty-four years of ordinary life.
At the first stretching out of the hands some of the crowd in the front ranks fell on their knees, and here and there a devout38 disciple39 farther off; but the great majority stood firm some resisting the impulse to kneel before this excommunicated man (might not a great judgment40 fall upon him even in thus act of blessing41?) — others jarred with scorn and hatred42 of the ambitious deceiver who was getting up this new comedy, before which, nevertheless, they felt themselves impotent, as before the triumph of a fashion.
But then came the voice, clear and low at first, uttering the words of absolution — ‘Misereatur vestri’ — and more fell on their knees: and as it rose higher and yet clearer, the erect4 heads became fewer and fewer, till at the words ‘Benedicat vos omnipotens Deus,’— it rose to a masculine cry, as if protesting its power to bless under the clutch of a demon43 that wanted to stifle44 it: it rang like a trumpet45 to the extremities46 of the Piazza, and under it every head was bowed.
After the utterance47 of that blessing, Savonarola himself fell on his knees and hid his face in temporary exhaustion48. Those great jets of emotion were a necessary part of his life; he himself had said to the people long ago, ‘Without preaching I cannot live.’ But it was a life that shattered him.
In a few minutes more, some had risen to their feet, but a larger number remained kneeling, and all faces were intently watching him. He had taken into his hands a crystal vessel49, containing the consecrated50 Host, and was about to address the people.
‘You remember, my children, three days ago I besought51 you, when I should hold this Sacrament in my hand in the face of you all, to pray fervently52 to the Most High that if this work of mine does not come from Him, He will send a fire and consume me, that I may vanish into the eternal darkness away from His light which I have hidden with my falsity. Again I beseech53 you to make that prayer, and to make it now.’
It was a breathless moment: perhaps no man really prayed, if some in a spirit of devout obedience54 made the effort to pray. Every consciousness was chiefly possessed55 by the sense that Savonarola was praying, in a voice not loud, but distinctly audible in the wide stillness.
‘Lord, if I have not wrought56 in sincerity57 of soul, if my word cometh not from Thee, strike me in this moment with Thy thunder, and let the fires of Thy wrath58 enclose me.’
He ceased to speak, and stood motionless, with the consecrated Mystery in his hand, with eyes uplifted and a quivering excitement in his whole aspect. Every one else was motionless and silent too, while the sunlight, which for the last quarter of an hour had here and there been piercing the greyness, made fitful streaks59 across the convent wall, causing some awe-stricken spectators to start timidly. But soon there was a wider parting, and with a gentle quickness, like a smile, a stream of brightness poured itself on the crystal vase, and then spread itself over Savonarola’s face with mild glorification60.
An instantaneous shout rang through the Piazza, ‘Behold the answer!’
The warm radiance thrilled through Savonarola’s frame, and so did the shout. It was his last moment of untroubled triumph, and in its rapturous confidence he felt carried to a grander scene yet to come, before an audience that would represent all Christendom, in whose presence he should again be sealed as the messenger of the supreme61 righteousness, and feel himself full charged with Divine strength. It was but a moment that expanded itself in that prevision. While the shout was still ringing in his ears he turned away within the church, feeling the strain too great for him to bear it longer.
But when the Frate had disappeared, and the sunlight seemed no longer to have anything special in its illumination, but was spreading itself impartially62 over all things clean and unclean, there began, along with the general movement of the crowd, a confusion of voices in which certain strong discords63 and varying scales of laughter made it evident that, in the previous silence and universal kneeling, hostility64 and scorn had only submitted unwillingly65 to a momentary spell.
‘It seems to me the plaudits are giving way to criticism,’ said Tito, who had been watching the scene attentively66 from an upper loggia in one of the houses opposite the church. ‘Nevertheless it was a striking moment, eh, Messer Pietro? Fra Girolamo is a man to make one understand that there was a time when the monk’s frock was a symbol of power over men’s minds rather than over the keys of women’s cupboards.’
‘Assuredly,’ said Pietro Cennini. ‘And until I have seen proof that Fra Girolamo has much less faith in God’s judgments67 than the common run of men, instead of having considerably68 more, I shall not believe that he would brave Heaven in this way if his soul were laden69 with a conscious lie.’
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1
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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carnival
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| n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演 | |
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3
piazza
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| n.广场；走廊 | |
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4
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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5
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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6
banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7
ecclesiastics
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| n.神职者，教会，牧师( ecclesiastic的名词复数 ) | |
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8
consort
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| v.相伴；结交 | |
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pontifical
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| adj.自以为是的，武断的 | |
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10
bribery
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| n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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12
lawful
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| adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的 | |
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13
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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14
renounce
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| v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系 | |
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15
momentous
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| adj.重要的，重大的 | |
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16
rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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17
attest
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| vt.证明，证实；表明 | |
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18
calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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19
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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20
interdict
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| v.限制；禁止；n.正式禁止；禁令 | |
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21
inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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22
swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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23
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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24
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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25
mantle
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| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
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26
mantles
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| vt.&vi.覆盖（mantle的第三人称单数形式） | |
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27
monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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28
wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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29
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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30
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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31
vibration
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| n.颤动，振动；摆动 | |
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32
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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33
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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34
merged
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| （使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中 | |
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35
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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36
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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37
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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38
devout
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| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
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39
disciple
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| n.信徒，门徒，追随者 | |
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40
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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41
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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42
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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43
demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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44
stifle
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| vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止 | |
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45
trumpet
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| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
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46
extremities
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| n.端点( extremity的名词复数 )；尽头；手和足；极窘迫的境地 | |
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47
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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48
exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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49
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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50
consecrated
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| adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献 | |
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51
besought
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| v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的过去式和过去分词 )；(beseech的过去式与过去分词) | |
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52
fervently
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| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
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53
beseech
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| v.祈求，恳求 | |
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54
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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55
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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56
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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57
sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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58
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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59
streaks
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| n.（与周围有所不同的）条纹( streak的名词复数 )；（通常指不好的）特征（倾向）；（不断经历成功或失败的）一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 )；使布满条纹 | |
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60
glorification
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| n.赞颂 | |
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61
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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62
impartially
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| adv.公平地，无私地 | |
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63
discords
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| 不和（discord的复数形式） | |
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64
hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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65
unwillingly
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| adv.不情愿地 | |
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66
attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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67
judgments
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| 判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判 | |
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68
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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69
laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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