SEXT
In which Adso admires the door of the church, and William meets Ubertino of Casale again.
The church was not majestic2 like others I saw later at Strasbourg, Chartres, Bamberg, and Paris. It resembled, rather, those I had already seen in Italy, with scant3 inclination4 to soar dizzyingly toward the heavens, in?deed firmly set on the earth, often broader than they were high; but at the first level this one was surmounted5, like a fortress6, by a sequence of square battlements, and above this story another construction rose, not so much a tower as a solid, second church, capped by a pitched roof and pierced by severe windows. A robust8 abbatial church such as our forefathers10 built in Provence and Languedoc, far from the audacity11 and the excessive tracery characteristic of the modern style, which only in more recent times has been enriched, I believe, above the choir12, with a pinnacle13 boldly pointed14 toward the roof of the heavens.
Two straight and unadorned columns stood on either side of the entrance, which opened, at first sight, like a single great arch; but from the columns began two embrasures that, surmounted by other, multiple arches, led the gaze, as if into the heart of an abyss, toward the doorway17 itself, crowned by a great tympanum, supported on the sides by two imposts and in the center by a carved pillar, which divided the entrance into two aper?tures protected by oak doors reinforced in metal. At that hour of the day the weak sun was beating almost straight down on the roof and the light fell obliquely18 on the fa?ade without illuminating19 the tympanum; so after passing the two columns, we found ourselves abruptly20 under the almost sylvan21 vault22 of the arches that sprang from the series of lesser23 columns that proportionally reinforced the embrasures. When our eyes had finally grown accustomed to the gloom, the silent speech of the carved stone, accessible as it immediately was to the gaze and the imagination of anyone (for images are the literature of the layman), dazzled my eyes and plunged24 me into a vision that even today my tongue can hardly describe.
I saw a throne set in the sky and a figure seated on the throne. The face of the Seated One was stern and impassive, the eyes wide and glaring over a terrestrial humankind that had reached the end of its story; majestic hair and beard flowed around the face and over the chest like the waters of a river, in streams all equal, symmetrically divided in two. The crown on his head was rich in enamels25 and jewels, the purple imperi?al tunic26 was arranged in broad folds over the knees, woven with embroideries27 and laces of gold and silver thread. The left hand, resting on one knee, held a sealed book, the right was uplifted in an attitude of blessing28 or—I could not tell—of admonition. The face was illuminated29 by the tremendous beauty of a halo, containing a cross and bedecked with flowers, while around the throne and above the face of the Seated One I saw an emerald rainbow glittering Before the throne, beneath the feet of the Seated One, a sea of crystal flowed, and around the Seated One, beside and above the throne, I saw four awful creatures—awful for me, as I looked at them, transported, but docile30 and dear for the Seated One, whose praises they sang without cease.
Or, rather, not all could be called awful, because one seemed to me handsome and kindly31, the man to my left (and to the right of the Seated One), who held out a book. But on the other side there was an eagle I found horrifying32, its beak33 agape, its thick feathers arranged like a cuirass, powerful talons34, great wings outstretched. And at the feet of the Seated One, under the first two figures, there were the other two, a bull and a lion, each monster clutching a book between talons or hoofs35, the body turned away from the throne, but the head toward the throne, as if shoulders and neck twisted in a fierce impulse, flanks tensed, the limbs those of a dying animal, maw open, serpentlike tails coiled and writhing36, culminating, at the top, in tongues of flame. Both monsters were winged, both crowned by haloes; despite their formidable appearance, they were creatures not of hell, but of heaven, and if they seemed fearsome it was because they were roaring in adoration37 of One Who Is to Come and who would judge the quick and the dead.
Around the throne, beside the four creatures and under the feet of the Seated One, as if seen through the transparent38 waters of the crystal sea, as if to fill the whole space of the vision, arranged according to the triangular39 frame of the tympanum, rising from a base of seven plus seven, then to three plus three and then to two plus two, at either side of the great throne, on twenty-four little thrones, there were twenty-four ancients, wearing white garments and crowned to gold. Some held lutes in their hands, one a vase of perfumes, and only one was playing an instrument, all the others were in ecstasy40, faces turned to the Seated One, whose praises they were singing, their limbs also twisted like the creatures’, so that all could see the Seated One, not in wild fashion, however, but with movements of ecstatic dance—as David must have danced before the Ark—so that wherever their pupils were, against the law governing the stature41 of bodies, they converged42 on the same radiant spot. Oh, what a harmony of abandonment and impulse, of unnatural43 and yet graceful44 postures45, in that mystical language of limbs miraculously46 freed from the weight of corporeal47 matter, marked quantity infused with new substantial form, as if the holy band were struck by an impetuous wind, breath of life, frenzy48 of delight, rejoicing song of praise miraculously transformed, from the sound that it was, into image.
Bodies inhabited in every part by the Spirit, illuminat?ed by revelation, faces overcome with amazement49, eyes shining with enthusiasm, cheeks flushed with love, pu?pils dilated50 with joy: this one thunderstruck by a pleas?urable consternation51, that one pierced by a consternated pleasure, some transfigured by wonder, some rejuvenat?ed by bliss52, there they all were, singing with the expres?sion of their faces, the drapery of their tunics53, the position and tension of their limbs, singing a new song, lips parted in a smile of perennial54 praise. And beneath the feet of the ancients, and arched over them and over the throne and over the tetramorphic group, arranged in symmetrical bands, barely distinguishable one from another because the artist’s skill had made them all so mutually proportionate, united in their variety and varied55 to their unity56, unique in their diversity and diverse in their apt assembly, in wondrous57 congruency of the parts with the delightful58 sweetness of hues59, miracle of consonance and concord60 of voices among themselves dissimilar, a company arrayed like the strings61 of the zither, consentient and conspiring62 continued cognition through deep and interior force suited to perform univocally in the same alternating play of the equivocal, decoration and collage63 of creatures beyond reduction to vicissitudes64 and to vicissitudes reduced, work of amorous65 connecting sustained by a law at once heavenly and worldly (bond and stable nexus66 of peace, love, virtue67, regimen, power, order, origin, life, light, splendor68, species, and figure), numerous and resplende?nt equality through the shining of the form over the proportionate parts of the material—there, all the flow?ers and leaves and vines and bushes and corymbs were entwined, of all the grasses that adorn15 the gardens of earth and heaven, violet, cystus, thyme, lily, privet, narcissus, taro69, acanthus, mallow, myrrh, and Mecca balsam.
But as my soul was carried away by that concert of terrestrial beauty and majestic supernatural signals, and was about to burst forth70 in a psalm71 of joy, my eye, accompanying the proportioned rhythm of the rose windows that bloomed at the ancients’ feet, lighted on the interwoven figures of the central pillar, which supported the tympanum. What were they and what symbolic72 message did they communicate, those three crisscrossed pairs of lions rampant73, like arches, each with hind74 paws planted on the ground, forepaws on the back of his companion, mane in serpentine75 curls, mouth taut76 in a threatening snarl77, bound to the very body of the pillar by a paste, or a nest, of tendrils? To calm my spirit, as they had perhaps been meant also to tame the diabolical78 nature of the lion and to transform it into a symbolic allusion79 to higher things, on the sides of the pillar there were two human figures, unnaturally80 tall as the column itself and twins to two others facing them on either side from the decorated imposts, where each of the oak doors had its jamb. These figures, then, were four old men, from whose paraphernalia81 I recog?nized Peter and Paul, Jeremiah and Isaiah, also twisted as if in a dance step, their long bony hands raised, the fingers splayed like wings, and like wings were their beards and hair stirred by a prophetic wind, the folds of the very long garments stirred by the long legs giving life to waves and scrolls82, opposed to the lions but of the same stuff as the lions. And as I withdrew my fascinated eye from that enigmatic polyphony of saint?ed limbs and infernal sinews, I saw beside the door, under the deep arches, sometimes depicted83 on the embrasures in the space between the slender columns that supported and adorned16 them, and again on the thick foliage84 of the capital of each column, and from there ramifying toward the sylvan vault of the multiple arches, other visions horrible to contemplate85, and justi?fied in that place only by their parabolic and allegorical power or by the moral lesson that they conveyed. I saw a voluptuous86 woman, naked and fleshless, gnawed87 by foul89 toads90, sucked by serpents, coupled with a fat?-bellied satyr whose gryphon legs were covered with wiry hairs, howling its own damnation from an obscene throat; and I saw a miser91, stiff in the stiffness of death on his sumptuously92 columned bed, now helpless prey93 of a cohort of demons94, one of whom tore from the dying man’s mouth his soul in the form of an infant (alas, never to be again born to eternal life); and I saw a proud man with a devil clinging to his shoulders and thrusting his claws into the man’s eyes, while two glut95?tons tore each other apart in a repulsive96 hand-to-hand struggle, and other creatures as well, goat head and lion fur, panther’s jaws97, all prisoners to a forest of flames whose searing breath I could almost feel. And around them, mingled98 with them, above their heads and below their feet, more faces and more limbs: a man and a woman clutching each other by the hair, two asps sucking the eyes of one of the damned, a grinning man whose hooked hands parted the maw of a hydra99, and all the animals of Satan’s bestiary, assembled in a consis?tory and set as guard and crown of the throne that faced them, singing its glory in their defeat, fauns, beings of double sex, brutes100 with six-fingered hands, sirens, hippocentaurs, gorgons, harpies, incubi, drago?pods, minotaurs, lynxes, pards, chimeras101, cynophales who darted102 fire from their nostrils103, crocodiles, polycaudate, hairy serpents, salamanders, horned vipers104, tortoises, snakes, two-headed creatures whose backs were armed with teeth, hyenas105, otters106, crows, hydrophora with saw-?tooth horns, frogs, gryphons, monkeys, dog-heads, leucrota, manticores, vultures, paranders, weasels, dragons, hoopoes, owls108, basilisks, hypnales, presters, spectafici, scorpions109, saurians, whales, scitales, amphis?benae, iaculi, dipsases, green lizards110, pilot fish, octopi, morays, and sea turtles. The whole population of the nether111 world seemed to have gathered to act as vestibule, dark forest, desperate wasteland of exclusion112, at the apparition113 of the Seated One in the tympanum, at his face promising114 and threatening, they, the defeated of Armageddon, facing Him who will come at last to separate the quick from the dead. And stunned115 (almost) by that sight, uncertain at this point whether I was in a friendly place or in the valley of the last judgment116, I was terrified and could hardly restrain my tears, and I seemed to hear (or did I really hear?) that voice and I saw those visions that had accompanied my youth as a novice117, my first reading of the sacred books, and my nights of meditation119 in the choir of Melk, and in the delirium120 of my weak and weakened senses I heard a voice mighty121 as a trumpet122 that said, “Write in a book what you now see” (and this is what I am doing), and I saw seven golden candlesticks and in the midst of the candlesticks One like unto the son of man, his breast girt with a golden girdle, his head and hair white as purest wool, his eyes as a flame of fire, his feet like unto fine brass124, as if they burned in a furnace, his voice as the sound of many waters, and he had in his right hand seven stars and out of his mouth went a two-edged sword. And I saw a door open in heaven and He who was seated appeared to me like a jasper and a sardonyx, and there was a rainbow round about the throne and out of the throne proceeded thunder and lightning. And the Seated One took in His hands a sharp sickle125 and cried: “Thrust in thy sickle and reap, for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe”; and He that sat on the cloud thrust His sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
It was at this point that I realized the vision was speaking precisely126 of what was happening in the abbey, of what we had learned from the abbot’s reticent127 lips?—and how many times in the following days did I return to contemplate the doorway, convinced I was experienc?ing the very events that it narrated129. And I knew we had made our way up there in order to witness a great and celestial130 massacre131.
I trembled, as if I were drenched132 by the icy winter rain. And I heard yet another voice, but this time it came from behind me and was a different voice, be?cause it came from the earth and not from the blinding core of my vision; and indeed it shattered the vision, because William (I became aware again of his presence), also lost until then in contemplation, turned as I did.
The creature behind us was apparently133 a monk107, though his torn and dirty habit made him look like a vagabond, and his face bore a resemblance to those of the monsters I had just seen on the capitals. Unlike many of my brothers, I have never in my whole life been visited by the Devil; but I believe that if he were to appear to me one day, prevented by divine decree from concealing134 completely his nature even though he chose to resemble a man, he would have the very features our interlocutor presented to me at this moment. His head was hairless, not shaved in penance135 but as the result of the past action of some viscid eczema; the brow was so low that if he had had hair on his head it would have mingled with his eyebrows136 (which were thick and shaggy); the eyes were round, with tiny mobile pupils, and whether the gaze was innocent or malign137 I could not tell: perhaps it was both, in different moods, in flashes. The nose could not be called a nose, for it was only a bone that began between the eyes, but as it rose from the face it immediately sank again, transforming itself only into two dark holes, broad nostrils thick with hair. The mouth, joined to the nose by a scar, was wide and ill-made, stretching more to the right than to the left, and between the upper lip, nonexistent, and the lower, prominent and fleshy, there protruded138, in an irregular pattern, black teeth sharp as a dog’s.
The man smiled (or at least so I believed) and, holding up one finger as if in admonition, he said:
“Penitenziagite! Watch out for the draco who cometh in futurum to gnaw88 your anima! Death is super nos! Pray the Santo Pater come to liberar nos a malo and all our sin! Ha ha, you like this negromanzia de Domini Nostri Jesu Christi! Et anco jois m’es dols e plazer m’es dolors. … Cave el diabolo! Semper lying in wait for me in some angulum to snap at my heels. But Salvatore is not stupidus! Bonum monasterium, and aquí refectorium and pray to dominum nostrum139. And the resto is not worth merda. Amen. No?”
As this story continues, I shall have to speak again, and at length, of this creature and record his speech. I confess I find it very difficult to do so because I could not say now, as I could never understand then, what language he spoke140. It was not Latin, in which the lettered men of the monastery141 expressed themselves, it was not the vulgar tongue of those parts, or any other I had ever heard. I believe I have given a faint idea of his manner of speech, reporting just now (as I remember them) the first words of his I heard. When I learned later about his adventurous143 life and about the various places where he had lived, putting down roots in none of them, I realized Salvatore spoke all languages, and no language. Or, rather, he had invented for himself a language which used the sinews of the languages to which he had been exposed—and once I thought that his was, not the Adamic language that a happy man?kind had spoken, all united by a single tongue from the origin of the world to the Tower of Babel, or one of the languages that arose after the dire144 event of their division, but precisely the Babelish language of the first day after the divine chastisement145, the language of primeval confusion. Nor, for that matter, could I call Salvatore’s speech a language, because in every human language there are rules and every term signifies ad placitum a thing, according to a law that does not change, for man cannot call the dog once dog and once cat, or utter sounds to which a consensus146 of people has not assigned a definite meaning, as would happen if someone said the word “blitiri” And yet, one way or another, I did understand what Salvatore meant, and so did the others. Proof that he spoke not one, but all languages, none correctly, taking words sometimes from one and some?times from another. I also noticed afterward147 that he might refer to something first in Latin and later in Proven?al, and I realized that he was not so much inventing his own sentences as using the disiecta membra of other sentences, heard some time in the past, accord?ing to the present situation and the things he wanted to say, as if he could speak of a food, for instance, only with the words of the people among whom he had eaten that food, and express his joy only with sentences that he had heard uttered by joyful148 people the day when he had similarly experienced joy. His speech was somehow like his face, put together with pieces from other people’s faces, or like some precious reliquaries I have seen (si licet magnis componere parva, if I may link diabolical things with the divine), fabricated from the shards149 of other holy objects. At that moment, when I met him for the first time, Salvatore seemed to me, because of both his face and his way of speaking, a creature not unlike the hairy and hoofed150 hybrids151 I had just seen under the portal. Later I realized that the man was probably good-hearted and humorous. Later still ... But we must not get ahead of our story. Particu?larly since, the moment he had spoken, my master questioned him with great curiosity.
“Why did you say Penitenziagite?” he asked.
“Domine frate magnificentissimo,” Salvatore answered, with a kind of bow, “Jesus venturus est and les hommes must do penitenzia. No?”
William gave him a hard look. “Did you come here from a convent of Minorites?”
“Non comprends.”
“I am asking if you have lived among the friars of Saint Francis; I ask if you have known the so-called apostles. …”
Salvatore blanched152, or, rather, his tanned and savage153 face turned gray. He made a deep bow, muttered through half-closed lips a “vade retro,” devoutly154 blessed himself, and fled, looking back at us every now and then.
“What did you ask him?” I said to William.
He was thoughtful for a moment. “It is of no matter; I will tell you later. Let us go inside now. I want to find Ubertino.”
It was just after the sixth hour. The pale sun entered from the west, and therefore through only a few, nar?row windows, into the interior of the church. A fine strip of light still touched the main altar, whose frontal seemed to glow with a golden radiance. The side naves155 were immersed in gloom.
Near the last chapel157 before the altar, in the left nave156, stood a slender column on which a stone Virgin158 was set, carved in the modern fashion, with an ineffable159 smile and prominent abdomen160, wearing a pretty dress with a small bodice, the child on her arm. At the foot of the Virgin, in prayer, almost prostrate161, there was a man in the habit of the Cluniac order.
We approached. The man, hearing the sound of our footsteps, raised his head. He was old, bald, with a glabrous face, large pale-blue eyes, a thin red mouth, white complexion162, a bony skull163 to which the skin clung like that of a mummy preserved in milk. The hands were white, with long tapering164 fingers. He resembled a maiden165 withered166 by premature167 death. He cast on us a gaze at first bewildered, as if we had disturbed him during an ecstatic vision; then his face brightened with joy.
“William!” he exclaimed. “My dearest brother!” He rose with some effort and came toward my master, embraced him, and kissed him on the mouth. “William!” he repeated, and his eyes became moist with tears. “How long it has been! But I recognize you still! Such a long time, so many things have happened! So many trials sent by the Lord!” He wept. William returned his embrace, clearly moved. We were in the presence of Ubertino of Casale.
I had already heard much talk about him, even before I came to Italy, and more still as I frequented the Franciscans of the imperial court. Someone had told me that the greatest poet of those days, Dante Alighieri of Florence, dead only a few years, had com?posed a poem (which I could not read, since it was written in vulgar Tuscan) of which many verses were nothing but a paraphrase168 of passages written by Ubertino in his Arbor169 vitae crucifixae. Nor was this the famous man’s only claim to merit. But to permit my reader better to understand the importance of this meeting, I must try to reconstruct the events of those years, as I understood them both during my brief stay to central Italy and from listening to the many conversations William had had with abbots and monks170 in the course of our journey.
I will try to tell what I understood of these matters, even if I am not sure I can explain them properly. My masters at Melk had often told me that it is very difficult for a Northerner to form any clear idea of the religious and political vicissitudes of Italy.
The peninsula, where the power of the clergy171 was more evident than in any other country, and where more than in any other country the clergy made a display of power and wealth, for at least two centuries had generated movements of men bent172 on a poorer life, in protest against the corrupt173 priests, from whom they even refused the sacraments. They gathered in independent communities, hated equally by the feudal174 lords, the empire, and the city magistrates175.
Finally Saint Francis had appeared, spreading a love of poverty that did not contradict the precepts176 of the church; and after his efforts the church had accepted the summons to severe behavior of those older move?ments and had purified them of the elements of disrup?tion that lurked177 in them. There should have followed a period of meekness178 and holiness, but as the Franciscan order grew and attracted the finest men, it became too powerful, too bound to earthly matters, and many Franciscans wanted to restore it to its early purity. A very difficult matter for an order that at the time when I was at the abbey already numbered more than thirty thousand members scattered179 throughout the whole world. But so it was, and many of those monks of Saint Francis were opposed to the Rule that the order had established, and they said the order had by now assumed the character of those ecclesiastical institutions it had come into the world to reform. And this, they said, had already happened in the days when Saint Francis was alive, and his words and his aims had been betrayed. Many of them rediscovered then a book written at the beginning of the twelfth century of our era, by a Cistercian monk named Joachim, to whom the spirit of prophecy was attributed. He had in fact foreseen the advent142 of a new age, in which the spirit of Christ, long corrupted180 through the actions of his false apostles, would again be achieved on earth. And he had an?nounced certain future events in a way that made it seem clear to all that, unawares, he was speaking of the Franciscan order. And therefore many Franciscans had greatly rejoiced, even excessively, it seems, because then, around the middle of the century, the doctors of the Sorbonne condemned182 the teachings of that abbot Joachim. Apparently they did so because the Franciscans (and the Dominicans) were becoming too powerful, too learned, at the University of Paris; and those Sorbonne doctors wanted to eliminate them as heretics. But this scheme was not carried out, happily for the church, which then allowed the dissemination183 of the works of Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure of Bagnoregio, cer?tainly not heretics. Whence it is clear that in Paris, too, there was a confusion of ideas or someone who wished to confuse them for his own purposes. And this is the evil that heresy184 inflicts185 on the Christian186 people, obfus?cating ideas and inciting187 all to become inquisitors to their personal benefit. For what I saw at the abbey then (and will now recount) caused me to think that often inquisitors create heretics. And not only in the sense that they imagine heretics-where these do not exist, but also that inquisitors repress the heretical putrefaction188 so vehemently189 that many are driven, to share in it, in their hatred190 for the judges. Truly, a circle conceived by the Devil. God preserve us.
But I was speaking of the heresy (if such it was) of the Joachimites. And in Tuscany there was a Franciscan, Gerard of Borgo San Donnino, who repeated the pre?dictions of Joachim and made a deep impression on the Minorites. Thus there arose among them a band of supporters of the old Rule, against the reorganization of the order attempted by the great Bonaventure, who had become general of the order. In the final thirty years of the last century, the Council of Lyons rescued the Franciscan order from its enemies, who wanted to abolish it, and allowed it ownership of all property in its use (already the law for older orders). But some monks in the Marches rebelled, because they believed that the spirit of the Rule had been forever betrayed, since Franciscans must own nothing, personally or as a con7?vent128 or as an order. These rebels were put in prison for life. It does not seem to me that they were preaching things contrary to the Gospel, but when the session of earthly things is in question, it is difficult for men to reason justly. I was told that years later, the new gener?al of the order, Raymond Gaufredi, found these prison?ers in Ancona and, on freeing them, said: “Would God that all of us and the whole order were stained by such a sin.” A sign that what the heretics say is not true, and there are still men of great virtue living in the church.
Among these freed prisoners there was one, Angelus Clarenus, who then met a monk from Provence, Pierre Olieu, who preached the prophecies of Joachim, and then he met Ubertino of Casale, and in this way the movement of the Spirituals originated. In those years, a most holy hermit191 rose to the papal throne, Peter of Murrone, who reigned192 as Celestine V; and he was welcomed with relief by the Spirituals. “A saint will appear,” it had been said, “and he will follow the teachings of Christ, he will live an angelic life: tremble, ye corrupt priests.” Perhaps Celestine’s life was too angelic, or the prelates around him were too corrupt, or he could not bear the strain of the interminable conflict with the Emperor and with the other kings of Europe. The fact is that Celestine renounced194 his throne and retired195 to a hermitage. But in the brief period of his reign193, less than a year, the hopes of the Spirituals were all fulfilled. They went to Celestine, who founded with them the community known as that of the fratres et pauperes heremitae domini Celestini. On the other hand, while the Pope was to act as mediator196 among the most powerful cardinals197 of Rome, there were some, like a Colonna and an Orsini, who secretly supported the new poverty movement, a truly curious choice for pow?erful men who lived in vast wealth and luxury; and I have never understood whether they simply exploited the Spirituals for their own political ends or whether in some way they felt they justified199 their carnal life by supporting the Spiritual trend. Perhaps both things were true, to judge by the little I can understand of Italian affairs. But to give an example, Ubertino had been taken on as chaplain by Cardinal198 Orsini when, having become the most respected among the Spirituals, he risked being accused as a heretic. And the cardinal himself had protected Ubertino in Avignon.
As happens, however, in such cases, on the one hand Angelus and Ubertino preached according to doctrine200, on the other, great masses of simple people accepted this preaching of theirs and spread through the country, beyond all control. So Italy was invaded by these Fraticelli or Friars of the Poor Life, whom many considered dangerous. At this point it was difficult to distinguish the spiritual masters, who maintained contact with the ecclesiastical authorities, from their simpler followers201, who now lived outside the order, begging for alms and existing from day to day by the labor202 of their hands, holding no property of any kind. And these the popu?lace now called Fraticelli, not unlike the French Beghards, who drew their inspiration from Pierre Olieu.
Celestine V was succeeded by Boniface VIII, and this Pope promptly203 demonstrated scant indulgence for Spiritu?als and Fraticelli in general: in the last years of the dying century he signed a bull, Firma cautela, in which with one stroke he condemned bizochi, vagabond men?dicants who roamed about at the far edge of the Franciscan order, and the Spirituals themselves, who had left the life of the order and retired to a hermitage.
After the death of Boniface VIII, the Spirituals tried to obtain from certain of his successors, among them Clement204 V, permission to leave the order peaceably. I believe they would have succeeded, but the advent of John XXII robbed them of all hope. When he was elected in 1316, he wrote to the King of Sicily telling him to expel those monks from his lands, where many had taken refuge; and John had Angelus Clarenus and the Spirituals of Provence put in chains.
All cannot have proceeded smoothly205, and many in the curia resisted. The fact is that Ubertino and Clarenus managed to obtain permission to leave the order, and the former was received by the Benedictines, the latter by the Celestinians. But for those who continued to lead their free life John was merciless, and he had them persecuted206 by the Inquisition, and many were burned at the stake.
He realized, however, that to destroy the weed of the Fraticelli, who threatened the very foundation of the church’s authority, he would need to condemn181 the notions on which their faith was based. They claimed that Christ and the apostles had owned no property, individually or in common; and the Pope condemned this idea as heretical. An amazing position, because there is no evident reason why a pope should consider perverse207 the notion that Christ was poor: but only a year before, a general chapter of the Franciscans in Perugia had sustained this opinion, and in condemning208 the one, the Pope was condemning also the other. As have I already said, the chapter was a great reverse in his struggle against the Emperor; this is the fact of the matter. So after that, many Fraticelli, who knew noth?ing of empire or of Perugia, were burned to death.
These thoughts were in my mind as I gazed on the legendary209 figure of Ubertino. My master introduced me, and the old man stroked my cheek, with a warm, almost burning hand. At the touch of his hand I understood many of the things I had heard about that holy man and others I had read in the pages of his Arbor vitae crucifixae; I understood the mystic fire that had consumed him from his youth, when, though study?ing in Paris, he had withdrawn210 from theological specula?tion and had imagined himself transformed into the penitent212 Magdalen; and then his intense association with Saint Angela of Foligno, who had initiated213 him into the riches of the mystic life and the adoration of the cross; and why his superiors, one day, alarmed by the ardor214 of his preaching, had sent him in retreat to La Verna.
I studied that face, its features sweet as those of the sainted woman with whom he had fraternally exchanged profound spiritual thoughts. I sensed he must have been able to assume a far harsher expression when, in 1311, the Council of Vienne, with the decretal Exivi de paradiso, had deposed215 Franciscan superiors hostile to the Spirituals, but had charged the latter to live in peace within the order; and this champion of renuncia?tion had not accepted that shrewd compromise and had fought for the institution of a separate order, based on principles of maximum strictness. This great warrior217 then lost his battle, for in those years John XXII was advocating a crusade against the followers of Pierre Olieu (among whom Ubertino himself was numbered), and he condemned the monks of Narbonne and Béziers. But Ubertino had not hesitated to defend his friend’s memory against the Pope, and, outdone by his sanctity, John had not dared condemn him (though he then condemned the others). On that occasion, indeed, he offered Ubertino a way of saving himself, first advising him and then commanding him to enter the Cluniac order. Ubertino, apparently so disarmed218 and fragile, must have been equally skillful in gaining protectors and allies in the papal courts, and, in fact, he agreed to enter the monastery of Gemblach in Flanders, but I believe he never even went there, and he remained in Avignon, under the banner of Cardinal Orsini, to defend the Franciscans’ cause.
Only in recent times (and the rumors219 I had heard were vague) his star at court had waned220, he had had to leave Avignon, and the Pope had this indomitable man pursued as a heretic who per mundum discurrit vagabundus. Then, it was said, all trace of him was lost. That afternoon I had learned, from the dialogue be?tween William and the abbot, that he was hidden here in this abbey. And now I saw him before me.
“William,” he was saying, “they were on the point of killing221 me, you know. I had to flee in the dead of night.”
“Who wanted to kill you? John?”
“No. John has never been fond of me, but he has never ceased to respect me. After all, he was the one who offered me a way of avoiding a trial ten years ago, commanding me to enter the Benedictines, and so silencing my enemies. They muttered for a long time, they waxed ironical222 on the fact that a champion of poverty should enter such a rich order and live at the court of Cardinal Orsini. … William, you know my contempt for the things of this earth! But it was the way to remain in Avignon and defend my brothers. The Pope is afraid of Orsini, he would never have harmed a hair of my head. As recently as three years ago he sent me as his envoy223 to the King of Aragon.”
“Then who wished you ill?”
“All of them. The curia. They tried to assassinate224 me twice. They tried to silence me. You know what happened five years ago. The Beghards of Narbonne had been condemned two years before, and Berengar Talloni, though he was one of the judges, had appealed to the Pope. Those were difficult moments. John had already issued two bulls against the Spirituals, and even Michael of Cesena had given up—by the way, when does he arrive?”
“He will be here in two days’ time.”
“Michael ... I have not seen him for so long. Now he has come around, he understands what we wanted, the Perugia chapter asserted that we were right. But then, still in 1318, he gave in to the Pope and turned over to him five Spirituals of Provence who were resisting submission225. Burned, William ... Oh, it is horrible!” He hid his face in his hands.
“But what exactly happened after Talloni’s appeal?” William asked.
“John had to reopen the debate, you understand? He has to do it, because in the curia, too, there were men seized with doubt, even the Franciscans in the curia?—pharisees, whited sepulchers226, ready to sell themselves for a prebend, but they were seized with doubt. It was then that John asked me to draw up a memorial on poverty. It was a fine work, William, may God forgive my pride. …”
“I have read it. Michael showed it to me.”
“There were the hesitant, even among our own men, the Provincial228 of Aquitaine, the Cardinal of San Vitale, the Bishop229 of Kaffa. …”
“An idiot,” William said.
“Rest in peace. He was gathered to God two years ago.”
“God was not so compassionate230. That was a false report that arrived from Constantinople. He is still in our midst, and I am told he will be a member of the legation. God protect us!”
But he is favorable to the chapter of Perugia,” Ubertino said.
“Exactly. He belongs to that race of men who are always their adversary’s best champions.”
“To tell the truth,” Ubertino said, “even then he was no great help to the cause. And it all came to nothing, but at least the idea was not declared heretical, and this was important. And so the others have never forgiven me. They have tried to harm me in every way, they have said that I was at Sachsenhausen three years ago, when Louis proclaimed John a heretic. And yet they all knew I was in Avignon that July with Orsini. … They found that parts of the Emperor’s declaration reflected my ideas. What madness.”
“Not all that mad,” William said. “I had given him the ideas, taking them from your Declaration of Avignon, and from some pages of Olieu.”
“You?” Ubertino exclaimed, between amazement and joy. “But then you agree with me!”
William seemed embarrassed. “They were the right ideas for the Emperor, at that moment,” he said evasively.
Ubertino looked at him suspiciously. “Ah, but you don’t really believe them, do you?”
“Tell me,” William said, “tell me how you saved yourself from those dogs.”
“Ah, dogs indeed, William. Rabid dogs. I found my?self even in conflict with Bonagratia, you know?”
“But Bonagratia is on our side!”
“Now he is, after I spoke at length with him. Then he was convinced, and he protested against the Ad conditorem canonum. And the Pope imprisoned231 him for a year.”
“I have heard he is now close to a friend of mine in the curia, William of Occam.”
“I knew him only slightly. I don’t like him. A man without fervor232, all head, no heart.”
“But the head is beautiful.”
“Perhaps, and it will take him to hell.”
“Then I will see him again down there, and we will argue logic211.”
“Hush, William,” Ubertino said, smiling with deep affection, “you are better than your philosophers. If only you had wanted ...”
“What?”
“When we saw each other the last time in Umbria—?remember?—I had just been cured of my ailments233 through the intercession of that marvelous woman ... Clare of Montefalco ...” he murmured, his face radiant. “Clare ... When female nature, naturally so perverse, becomes sublime234 through holiness, then it can be the noblest vehicle of grace. You know how my life has been inspired by the purest chastity, William”—he grasped my master’s arm, convulsively—“you know with what ... fierce—yes, that’s the word—with what fierce thirst for penance I have tried to mortify235 in myself the throbbing236 of the flesh, and make myself wholly transparent to the love of Jesus Crucified. … And yet, three women in my life have been three celestial messengers for me. Angela of Foligno, Margaret of Città di Castello (who revealed the end of my book to me when I had written only a third of it), and finally Clare of Montefalco. It was a reward from heaven that I, yes, I, should investigate her miracles and proclaim her sainthood to the crowds, before Holy Mother Church moved. And you were there, William, and you could have helped me in that holy endeavor, and you would not—”
“But the holy endeavor that you invited me to share was sending Bentivenga, Jacomo, and Giovannuccio to the stake,” William said softly.
“They were besmirching237 her memory with their perversions238. And you were an inquisitor!”
“And that was precisely why I asked to be relieved of that position. I did not like the business. Nor did I like—I shall be frank—the way you induced Bentivenga to confess his errors. You pretended you wished to enter his sect239, if sect it was; you stole his secrets from him, and you had him arrested.”
“But that is the way to proceed against the enemies of Christ! They were heretics, they were Pseudo Apostles, they reeked240 of the sulphur of Fra Dolcino!”
“They were Clare’s friends.”
“No, William, you must not cast even the hint of a shadow on Clare’s memory.”
“But they were associated with her.”
“They were Minorites, they called themselves Spirituals, and instead they were monks of the community! But you know it emerged clearly at the trial that Bentivenga of Gubbio proclaimed himself an apostle, and then he and Giovannuccio of Bevagna seduced241 nuns242, telling them hell does not exist, that carnal desires can be satisfied without offending God, that the body of Christ (Lord, forgive me!) can be received after a man has lain with a nun216, that the Magdalen found more favor in the Lord’s sight than the virgin Agnes, that what the vulgar call the Devil is God Himself, because the Devil is knowledge and God is by definition knowledge! And it was the blessed Clare, after hearing this talk, who had the vision in which God Himself told her they were wicked followers of the Spiritus Libertatis!”
“They were Minorites whose minds were aflame with the same visions as Clare’s, and often the step between ecstatic vision and sinful frenzy is very brief,” William said.
Ubertino wrung243 his hands and his eyes were again veiled with tears. “Don’t say that, William. How can you confound the moment of ecstatic love, which burns the viscera with the perfume of incense244, and the disorder245 of the senses, which reeks246 of sulphur? Bentivenga urged others to touch a body’s naked limbs; he declared this was the only way to freedom from the dominion247 of the senses, homo nudus cum nuda iacebat, ‘naked they lay together, man and woman. …’ ”
“Et non commiscebantur ad invicem, but there was no conjunction.”
“Lies! They were seeking pleasure, and they found it. If carnal stimulus248 was felt, they did not consider it a sin if, to satisfy it, man and woman lay together, and the one touched and kissed the other in every part, and naked belly249 was joined to naked belly!”
I confess. that the way Ubertino stigmatized250 the vice118 of others did not inspire virtuous251 thoughts in me. My master must have realized I was agitated252, and he interrupted the holy man.
“Yours is an ardent253 spirit, Ubertino, both in love of God and in hatred of evil. What I meant is that there is little difference between the ardor of the seraphim254 and the ardor of Lucifer, because they are always born from an extreme igniting of the will.”
“Oh, there is a difference, and I know it!” Ubertino said, inspired. “You mean that between desiring good and desiring evil there is a brief step, because it is always a matter of directing the will. This is true. But the difference lies in the object, and the object is clearly recognizable. God on this side, the Devil on that.”
“And I fear I no longer know how to distinguish, Ubertino. Wasn’t it your Angela of Foligno who told of that day when her spirit was transported and she found herself in the sepulcher227 of Christ? Didn’t she tell how first she kissed his breast and saw him lying with his eyes closed, then she kissed his mouth, and there rose from those lips an ineffable sweetness, and after a brief pause she lay her cheek against the cheek of Christ and Christ put his hand to her cheek and pressed her to him and—as she said—her happiness became sublime? ...”
“What does this have to do with the urge of the senses?” Ubertino asked. “It was a mystical experience, and the body was our Lord’s.”
“Perhaps I am accustomed to Oxford255,” William said, “where even mystical experience was of another sort. ...”
“All in the head.” Ubertino smiled.
“Or in the eyes. God perceived as light, in the rays of the sun, the images of mirrors, the diffusion256 of colors over the parts of ordered matter, in the reflections of daylight on wet leaves ... Isn’t this love closer to Francis’s when he praises God in His creatures, flowers, grass, water, air? I don’t believe this type of love can produce any snare257. Whereas I’m suspicious of a love that trans?mutes into a colloquy258 with the Almighty259 the shudders260 felt in fleshly contacts. ...”
“You blaspheme, William! It is not the same thing. There is an immense abyss between the high ecstasy of the heart loving Christ Crucified and the base, corrupt ecstasy of the Pseudo Apostles of Montefalco. ...”
“They were not Pseudo Apostles, they were Brothers of the Free Spirit; you said as much yourself.”
“What difference is there? You haven’t heard every?thing about that trial, I myself never dared record certain confessions261, for fear of casting, if only for a moment, the shadow of the Devil on the atmosphere of sanctity Clare had created in that place. But I learned certain things, certain things, William! They gathered at night in a cellar, they took a newborn boy, they threw him from one to another until he died, of blows ... or other causes. ... And he who caught him alive for the last time, and held him as he died, became the leader of the sect. ... And the child’s body was torn to pieces and mixed with flour, to make blasphemous262 hosts!” “Ubertino,” William said firmly, “these things were said, many centuries ago, by the Armenian bishops263, about the sect of the Paulicians. And about the Bogomils.”
“What does that matter? The Devil is stubborn, he follows a pattern in his snares264 and his seductions, he repeats his rituals at a distance of millennia265, he is always the same, this is precisely why he is recognized as the enemy! I swear to you: They lighted canes266 on Easter night and took maidens267 into the cellar. Then they extinguished the candles and threw themselves on the maidens, even if they were bound to them by ties of blood. ... And if from this conjunction a baby was born, the infernal rite123 was resumed, all around a little jar of wine, which they called the keg, and they became drunk and would cut the baby to pieces, and pour its blood into the goblet268, and they threw babies on the fire, still alive, and they mixed the baby’s ashes and his blood, and drank!”
“But Michael Psellus wrote this in his book on the workings of devils three hundred years ago! Who told you these things?”
“They did. Bentivenga and the others, and under torture!”
“There is only one thing that arouses animals more than pleasure, and that is pain. Under torture you are as if under the dominion of those grasses that produce visions. Everything you have heard told, everything you have read returns to your mind, as if you were being transported, not toward heaven, but toward hell. Un?der torture you say not only what the inquisitor wants, but also what you imagine might please him, because a bond (this, truly, diabolical) is established between you and him. ... These things I know, Ubertino; I also have belonged to those groups of men who believe they can produce the truth with white-hot iron. Well, let me tell you, the white heat of truth comes from another flame. Under torture Bentivenga may have told the most absurd lies, because it was no longer himself speaking, but his lust269, the devils of his soul.”
“Lust?”
“Yes, there is a lust for pain, as there is a lust for adoration, and even a lust for humility270. If it took so little to make the rebellious271 angels direct their ardor away from worship and humility toward pride and revolt, what can we expect of a human being? There, now you know: this was the thought that struck me in the course of my inquisitions. And this is why I gave up that activity. I lacked the courage to investigate the weaknesses of the wicked, because I discovered they are the same as the weaknesses of the saintly.”
Ubertino had listened to William’s last words as if not understanding them. From the old man’s expression, as it became filled with affectionate commiseration272, I real?ized he considered William prey to culpable273 sentiments, which he forgave because he loved my master greatly. Ubertino interrupted him and said in a very bitter voice, “It does not matter. If that was how you felt, you were right to stop. Temptations must be fought. Still, I lacked your support; with it, we could have routed that band. And instead, you know what happened, I myself was accused of being weak toward them, and I was suspected of heresy. You were weak also, in fighting evil. Evil, William! Will this condemnation274 never cease, this shadow, this mire1 that prevents us from arriving at the holy source?” He moved still closer to William, as if he were afraid someone might overhear.
“Here, too, even among these walls consecrated275 to prayer, you know?”
“I know. The abbot has spoken to me; in fact, he asked me to help him shed light on it.”
“Then observe, investigate, look with a lynx’s eye in both directions: lust and pride. ...”
“Lust?”
“Yes, lust. There was something ... feminine, and there?fore9 diabolical, about that young man who is dead. He had the eyes of a maiden seeking commerce with an incubus276. But I said ‘pride’ also, the pride of the intellect, in this monastery consecrated to the pride of the word, to the illusion of wisdom.”
“If you know something, help me.”
“I know nothing. There is nothing that I know. But the heart senses certain things. Let your heart speak, question faces, do not listen to tongues. ... But come, why must we talk of these sad things and frighten this young friend of ours?” He looked at me with his pale-blue eyes, grazing my cheek with his long white fingers, and I instinctively277 almost withdrew; I con?trolled myself and was right to do so, because I would have offended him, and his intention was pure. “Tell me of yourself instead,” he said, turning’ again to William. “What have you done since then? It has been—”
“Eighteen years. I went back to my country. I re?sumed studying at Oxford. I studied nature.”
“Nature is good because she is the daughter of God,” Ubertino said.
“And God must be good, since He generated nature,” William said with a smile. “I studied, I met some very wise friends. Then I came to know Marsilius, I was attracted by his ideas about empire, the people, about a new law for the kingdoms of the earth, and so I ended up in that group of our brothers who are advising the Emperor. But you know these things: I wrote you. I rejoiced at Bobbio when they told me you were here. We believed you were lost. But now that you are with us you can be of great help in a few days, when Michael also arrives. It will be a harsh conflict with Berengar Talloni. I really believe we will have some amusement.”
Ubertino looked at him with a tentative smile. “I can never tell when you Englishmen are speaking seriously. There is nothing amusing about such a serious question. At stake is the survival of the order, which is your order; and in my heart it is mine, too. But I shall implore278 Michael not to go to Avignon. John wants him, seeks him, invites him too insistently279. Don’t trust that old Frenchman. O Lord, into what hands has Thy church fallen!” He turned his head toward the altar. “Transformed into harlot, weakened by luxury, she roils280 in lust like a snake in heat! From the naked purity of the stable of Bethlehem, made of wood as the lignum vitae of the cross was wood, to the bacchanalia of gold and stone! Look, look here: you have seen the doorway! There is no escaping the pride of images! The days of the Antichrist are finally at hand, and I am afraid, William!” He looked around, staring wide-eyed among the dark naves, as if the Antichrist were going to appear any moment, and I actually expected to glimpse him. “His lieutenants281 are already here, dispatched as Christ dispatched the apostles into the world! They are trampling282 on the City of God, seducing283 through deceit, hypocrisy284, violence. It will be then that God will have to send His servants, Elijah and Enoch, whom He main?tained alive in the earthly paradise so that one day they may confound the Antichrist, and they will come to prophesy285 clad in sackcloth, and they will preach penance by word and by example. ...”
“They have already come, Ubertino,” William said, indicating his Franciscan habit.
“But they have not yet triumphed; this is the moment when the Antichrist, filled with rage, will command the killing of Enoch and Elijah and the exposure of their bodies for all to see and thus be afraid of imitating them. Just as they wanted to kill me. ...”
At that moment, terrified, I thought Ubertino was in the power of a kind of holy frenzy, and I feared for his reason. Now, with the distance of time, knowing what I know—namely, that two years later he would be mysteriously killed in a German city by a murderer never discovered—I am all the more terrified, because obvi?ously that evening Ubertino was prophesying286.
“The abbot Joachim spoke the truth, you know. We have reached the sixth era of human history, when two Antichrists will appear, the mystic Antichrist and the Antichrist proper. This is happening now, in the sixth era, after Francis appeared to receive in his own flesh the five wounds of Jesus Crucified. Boniface was the mystic Antichrist, and the abdication287 of Celestine was not valid288. Boniface was the beast that rises up from the sea whose seven heads represent the offenses289 to the deadly sins and whose ten horns the offenses to the commandments, and the cardinals who surrounded him were the locusts290, whose body is Apollyon! But the number of the beast, if you read the name in Greek letters, is Benedicti!” He stared at me to see whether I had understood, and he raised a finger, cautioning me: “Benedict XI was the Antichrist proper, the beast that rises up from the earth! God allowed such a monster of vice and iniquity291 to govern His church so that his successor’s virtues292 would blaze with glory!”
“But, Sainted Father,” I replied in a faint voice, summoning my courage, “his successor is John!”
Ubertino put a hand to his brow as if to dispel293 a troublesome dream. He was breathing with difficulty; he was tired. “True, the calculations were wrong, we are still awaiting the Angelic Pope. ... But meanwhile Francis and Dominic have appeared.” He raised his eyes to heaven and said, as if praying (but I was sure he was quoting a page of his great book on the tree of life): “Quorum primus seraphico calculo purgatus et ardore celico inflammatus totum incendere videbatur. Secundus vero verbo predicationis fecundus super mundi tenebras clarius radiavit. … Yes, these were the promises: the Angelic Pope must come.”
“And so be it, Ubertino,” William said. “Meanwhile, I am here to prevent the human Emperor from being deposed. Your Angelic Pope was also preached by Fra Dolcino. …”
“Never utter again the name of that serpent!” Ubertino cried, and for the first time I saw his sorrow turn into rage. “He has befouled the words of Joachim of Calabria, and has made them bringers of death and filth294! Messenger of the Antichrist if ever there was one! But you, William, speak like this because you do not really be?lieve in the advent of the Antichrist, and your masters at Oxford have taught you to idolize reason, drying up the prophetic capacities of your heart!”
“You are mistaken, Ubertino,” William answered very seriously. “You know that among my masters I venerate295 Roger Bacon more than any other. …”
“Who raved296 of flying machines,” Ubertino muttered bitterly.
“Who spoke clearly and calmly of the Antichrist, and was aware of the import of the corruption297 of the world and the decline of learning. He taught, however, that there is only one way to prepare against his coming: study the secrets of nature, use knowledge to better the human race. We can prepare to fight the Antichrist by studying the curative properties of herbs, the nature of stones, and even by planning those flying machines that make you smile.”
“Your Bacon’s Antichrist was a pretext298 for cultivating intellectual pride.”
“A holy pretext.”
“Nothing pretextual is holy. William, you know I love you. You know I have great faith in you. Mortify your intelligence, learn to weep over the wounds of the Lord, throw away your books.”
“I will devote myself only to yours.” William smiled.
Ubertino also smiled and waved a threatening finger at him. “Foolish Englishman. Do not laugh too much at your fellows. Those whom you cannot love you should, rather, fear. And be on your guard here at the abbey. I do not like this place.”
“I want to know it better, in fact,” William said, taking his leave. “Come, Adso.”
“I tell you it is not good, and you reply that you want to know it better. Ah!” Ubertino said, shaking his head.
“By the way,” William said, already halfway299 down the nave, “who is that monk who looks like an animal and speaks the language of Babel?”
“Salvatore?” Ubertino, who had already knelt down, turned. “I believe he was a gift of mine to this abbey ... along with the cellarer. When I put aside the Franciscan habit I returned for a while to my old convent at Casale, and there I found other monks in difficulty, because the community accused them of being Spirituals of my sect ... as they put it. I exerted myself in their favor, procuring300 permission for them to follow my example. And two, Salvatore and Remigio, I found here when I arrived last year. Salvatore ... he does indeed look like an animal. But he is obliging.”
William hesitated a moment. “I heard him say Penitenziagite.”
Ubertino was silent. He waved one hand, as if to drive off a bothersome thought. “No, I don’t believe so. You know how these lay brothers are. Country people, who have perhaps heard some wandering preacher and don’t know what they are saying. I would have other reproaches to make to Salvatore: he is a greedy animal and lustful301. But nothing, nothing against orthodoxy. No, the sickness of the abbey is something else: seek it among those who know too much, not in those who know nothing. Don’t build a castle of suspicions on one word.”
“I would never do that,” William answered. “I gave up being an inquisitor precisely to avoid doing that. But I like also to listen to words, and then I think about them.”
“You think too much. Boy,” he said, addressing me, “don’t learn too many bad examples from your master. The only thing that must be pondered—and I real?ize this at the end of my life—is death. Mors est quies viatoris—finis est omnis laboris. Let me pray now.”
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mire
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| n.泥沼，泥泞；v.使...陷于泥泞，使...陷入困境 | |
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majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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scant
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| adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略 | |
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inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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surmounted
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| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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con
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| n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的 | |
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robust
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| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
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fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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forefathers
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| n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人 | |
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audacity
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| n.大胆，卤莽，无礼 | |
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choir
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| n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱 | |
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pinnacle
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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adorn
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| vt.使美化，装饰 | |
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adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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18
obliquely
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| adv.斜； 倾斜； 间接； 不光明正大 | |
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19
illuminating
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| a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的 | |
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20
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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21
sylvan
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| adj.森林的 | |
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22
vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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23
lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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24
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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25
enamels
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| 搪瓷( enamel的名词复数 )； 珐琅； 釉药； 瓷漆 | |
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26
tunic
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| n.束腰外衣 | |
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27
embroideries
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| 刺绣( embroidery的名词复数 )； 刺绣品； 刺绣法 | |
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28
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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29
illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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30
docile
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| adj.驯服的，易控制的，容易教的 | |
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31
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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32
horrifying
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| a.令人震惊的，使人毛骨悚然的 | |
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33
beak
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| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
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34
talons
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| n.（尤指猛禽的）爪( talon的名词复数 )；（如爪般的）手指；爪状物；锁簧尖状突出部 | |
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35
hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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36
writhing
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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37
adoration
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| n.爱慕，崇拜 | |
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38
transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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39
triangular
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| adj.三角（形）的，三者间的 | |
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40
ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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41
stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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42
converged
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| v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集 | |
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43
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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44
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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45
postures
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| 姿势( posture的名词复数 )； 看法； 态度； 立场 | |
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46
miraculously
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| ad.奇迹般地 | |
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47
corporeal
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| adj.肉体的，身体的；物质的 | |
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48
frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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49
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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50
dilated
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| adj.加宽的，扩大的v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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51
consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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52
bliss
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| n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福 | |
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53
tunics
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| n.（动植物的）膜皮( tunic的名词复数 )；束腰宽松外衣；一套制服的短上衣；（天主教主教等穿的）短祭袍 | |
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54
perennial
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| adj.终年的；长久的 | |
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55
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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56
unity
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| n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调 | |
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57
wondrous
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| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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58
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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59
hues
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| 色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点 | |
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60
concord
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| n.和谐；协调 | |
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61
strings
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| n.弦 | |
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62
conspiring
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| 密谋( conspire的现在分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致 | |
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63
collage
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| n.拼贴画；v.拼贴；把……创作成拼贴画 | |
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64
vicissitudes
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| n.变迁，世事变化；变迁兴衰( vicissitude的名词复数 )；盛衰兴废 | |
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65
amorous
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| adj.多情的；有关爱情的 | |
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66
nexus
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| n.联系；关系 | |
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67
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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68
splendor
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| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
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69
taro
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| n.芋，芋头 | |
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70
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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71
psalm
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| n.赞美诗，圣诗 | |
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72
symbolic
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| adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的 | |
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73
rampant
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| adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的 | |
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74
hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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75
serpentine
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| adj.蜿蜒的，弯曲的 | |
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76
taut
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| adj.拉紧的，绷紧的，紧张的 | |
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77
snarl
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| v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮 | |
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78
diabolical
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|
| adj.恶魔似的，凶暴的 | |
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79
allusion
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| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
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80
unnaturally
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| adv.违反习俗地；不自然地；勉强地；不近人情地 | |
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81
paraphernalia
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| n.装备；随身用品 | |
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82
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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83
depicted
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| 描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述 | |
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84
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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85
contemplate
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| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
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86
voluptuous
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|
| adj.肉欲的，骄奢淫逸的 | |
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87
gnawed
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| 咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 )； （长时间） 折磨某人； （使）苦恼； （长时间）危害某事物 | |
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88
gnaw
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| v.不断地啃、咬；使苦恼，折磨 | |
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89
foul
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|
| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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90
toads
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| n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆( toad的名词复数 ) | |
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91
miser
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| n.守财奴，吝啬鬼 (adj.miserly) | |
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92
sumptuously
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| 奢侈地，豪华地 | |
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93
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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94
demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
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95
glut
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| n.存货过多，供过于求；v.狼吞虎咽 | |
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96
repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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97
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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98
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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99
hydra
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| n.水螅；难于根除的祸患 | |
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100
brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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101
chimeras
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| n.（由几种动物的各部分构成的）假想的怪兽( chimera的名词复数 )；不可能实现的想法；幻想；妄想 | |
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102
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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103
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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104
vipers
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| n.蝰蛇( viper的名词复数 )；毒蛇；阴险恶毒的人；奸诈者 | |
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105
hyenas
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| n.鬣狗( hyena的名词复数 ) | |
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106
otters
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| n.（水）獭( otter的名词复数 )；獭皮 | |
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107
monk
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| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
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108
owls
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| n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 ) | |
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109
scorpions
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| n.蝎子( scorpion的名词复数 ) | |
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110
lizards
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| n.蜥蜴( lizard的名词复数 ) | |
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111
nether
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| adj.下部的，下面的；n.阴间；下层社会 | |
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112
exclusion
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| n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行 | |
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113
apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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114
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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115
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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116
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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117
novice
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| adj.新手的，生手的 | |
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118
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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119
meditation
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| n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录 | |
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120
delirium
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| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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121
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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122
trumpet
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| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
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123
rite
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| n.典礼，惯例，习俗 | |
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124
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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125
sickle
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| n.镰刀 | |
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126
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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127
reticent
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| adj.沉默寡言的；言不如意的 | |
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128
vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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129
narrated
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| v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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130
celestial
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| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
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131
massacre
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| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
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132
drenched
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| adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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133
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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134
concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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135
penance
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| n.（赎罪的）惩罪 | |
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136
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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137
malign
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| adj.有害的；恶性的；恶意的；v.诽谤，诬蔑 | |
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138
protruded
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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139
nostrum
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| n.秘方；妙策 | |
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140
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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141
monastery
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| n.修道院，僧院，寺院 | |
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142
advent
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| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
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143
adventurous
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|
| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
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144
dire
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| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
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145
chastisement
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| n.惩罚 | |
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146
consensus
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| n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识 | |
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147
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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148
joyful
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| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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149
shards
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| n.（玻璃、金属或其他硬物的）尖利的碎片( shard的名词复数 ) | |
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150
hoofed
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| adj.有蹄的，蹄形状的，装蹄的v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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151
hybrids
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| n.杂交生成的生物体( hybrid的名词复数 )；杂交植物（或动物）；杂种；（不同事物的）混合物 | |
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152
blanched
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| v.使变白( blanch的过去式 )；使（植物）不见阳光而变白；酸洗（金属）使有光泽；用沸水烫（杏仁等）以便去皮 | |
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153
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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154
devoutly
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| adv.虔诚地，虔敬地，衷心地 | |
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155
naves
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| n.教堂正厅( nave的名词复数 )；本堂；中央部；车轮的中心部 | |
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156
nave
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| n.教堂的中部；本堂 | |
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157
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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158
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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159
ineffable
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| adj.无法表达的，不可言喻的 | |
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160
abdomen
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| n.腹，下腹(胸部到腿部的部分) | |
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161
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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162
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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163
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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164
tapering
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| adj.尖端细的 | |
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165
maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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166
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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167
premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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168
paraphrase
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| vt.将…释义，改写；n.释义，意义 | |
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169
arbor
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| n.凉亭；树木 | |
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170
monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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171
clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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172
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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173
corrupt
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| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
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174
feudal
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| adj.封建的，封地的，领地的 | |
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175
magistrates
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| 地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
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176
precepts
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| n.规诫，戒律，箴言( precept的名词复数 ) | |
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177
lurked
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| vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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178
meekness
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| n.温顺，柔和 | |
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179
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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180
corrupted
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| （使）败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏 | |
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181
condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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182
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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183
dissemination
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| 传播,宣传,传染(病毒) | |
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184
heresy
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| n.异端邪说；异教 | |
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185
inflicts
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的第三人称单数 ) | |
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186
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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187
inciting
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| 刺激的，煽动的 | |
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188
putrefaction
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| n.腐坏，腐败 | |
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189
vehemently
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| adv. 热烈地 | |
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190
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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191
hermit
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| n.隐士，修道者；隐居 | |
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192
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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193
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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194
renounced
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| v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃 | |
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195
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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196
mediator
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| n.调解人，中介人 | |
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197
cardinals
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| 红衣主教( cardinal的名词复数 )； 红衣凤头鸟（见于北美，雄鸟为鲜红色）； 基数 | |
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198
cardinal
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| n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的 | |
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199
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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200
doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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201
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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202
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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203
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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204
clement
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| adj.仁慈的；温和的 | |
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205
smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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206
persecuted
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| （尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人 | |
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207
perverse
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| adj.刚愎的；坚持错误的，行为反常的 | |
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208
condemning
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| v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地 | |
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209
legendary
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| adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学） | |
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210
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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211
logic
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| n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性 | |
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212
penitent
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| adj.后悔的；n.后悔者；忏悔者 | |
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213
initiated
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| n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入 | |
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214
ardor
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| n.热情，狂热 | |
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215
deposed
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| v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证 | |
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216
nun
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| n.修女，尼姑 | |
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217
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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218
disarmed
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| v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒 | |
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219
rumors
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| n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷 | |
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220
waned
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| v.衰落( wane的过去式和过去分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡 | |
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221
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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222
ironical
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| adj.讽刺的，冷嘲的 | |
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223
envoy
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| n.使节，使者，代表，公使 | |
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224
assassinate
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| vt.暗杀，行刺，中伤 | |
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225
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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226
sepulchers
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| n.坟墓，墓穴( sepulcher的名词复数 )；圣物置放处v.埋葬( sepulcher的第三人称单数 ) | |
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227
sepulcher
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| n.坟墓 | |
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228
provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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229
bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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230
compassionate
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| adj.有同情心的，表示同情的 | |
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231
imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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232
fervor
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| n.热诚；热心；炽热 | |
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233
ailments
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| 疾病（尤指慢性病），不适( ailment的名词复数 ) | |
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234
sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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235
mortify
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| v.克制，禁欲，使受辱 | |
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236
throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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237
besmirching
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| v.弄脏( besmirch的现在分词 )；玷污；丑化；糟蹋（名誉等） | |
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238
perversions
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| n.歪曲( perversion的名词复数 )；变坏；变态心理 | |
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239
sect
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| n.派别，宗教，学派，派系 | |
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240
reeked
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| v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的过去式和过去分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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241
seduced
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| 诱奸( seduce的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾引； 诱使堕落； 使入迷 | |
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242
nuns
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| n.（通常指基督教的）修女， （佛教的）尼姑( nun的名词复数 ) | |
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243
wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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244
incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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245
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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246
reeks
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| n.恶臭( reek的名词复数 )v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的第三人称单数 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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247
dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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248
stimulus
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| n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物 | |
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249
belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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250
stigmatized
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| v.使受耻辱，指责，污辱( stigmatize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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251
virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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252
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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253
ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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254
seraphim
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| n.六翼天使(seraph的复数)；六翼天使( seraph的名词复数 ) | |
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255
Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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256
diffusion
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| n.流布；普及；散漫 | |
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257
snare
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| n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑 | |
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258
colloquy
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| n.谈话，自由讨论 | |
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259
almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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260
shudders
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| n.颤动，打颤，战栗( shudder的名词复数 )v.战栗( shudder的第三人称单数 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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261
confessions
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| n.承认( confession的名词复数 )；自首；声明；（向神父的）忏悔 | |
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262
blasphemous
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| adj.亵渎神明的，不敬神的 | |
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263
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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264
snares
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| n.陷阱( snare的名词复数 )；圈套；诱人遭受失败（丢脸、损失等）的东西；诱惑物v.用罗网捕捉，诱陷，陷害( snare的第三人称单数 ) | |
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265
millennia
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| n.一千年，千禧年 | |
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266
canes
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| n.（某些植物，如竹或甘蔗的）茎( cane的名词复数 )；（用于制作家具等的）竹竿；竹杖 | |
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267
maidens
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| 处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球 | |
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268
goblet
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| n.高脚酒杯 | |
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269
lust
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| n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望 | |
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270
humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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271
rebellious
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| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
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272
commiseration
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| n.怜悯，同情 | |
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273
culpable
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| adj.有罪的，该受谴责的 | |
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condemnation
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| n.谴责; 定罪 | |
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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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276
incubus
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| n.负担；恶梦 | |
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277
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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278
implore
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| vt.乞求，恳求，哀求 | |
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insistently
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| ad.坚持地 | |
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280
roils
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| v.搅混（液体）( roil的第三人称单数 )；使烦恼；使不安；使生气 | |
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281
lieutenants
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| n.陆军中尉( lieutenant的名词复数 )；副职官员；空军；仅低于…官阶的官员 | |
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282
trampling
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| 踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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283
seducing
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| 诱奸( seduce的现在分词 )； 勾引； 诱使堕落； 使入迷 | |
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284
hypocrisy
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| n.伪善，虚伪 | |
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285
prophesy
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| v.预言；预示 | |
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286
prophesying
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| v.预告，预言( prophesy的现在分词 ) | |
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287
abdication
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| n.辞职；退位 | |
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valid
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| adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的 | |
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offenses
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| n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势 | |
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290
locusts
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| n.蝗虫( locust的名词复数 )；贪吃的人；破坏者；槐树 | |
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291
iniquity
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| n.邪恶；不公正 | |
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292
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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dispel
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| vt.驱走，驱散，消除 | |
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294
filth
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| n.肮脏，污物，污秽；淫猥 | |
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295
venerate
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| v.尊敬，崇敬，崇拜 | |
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296
raved
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| v.胡言乱语( rave的过去式和过去分词 )；愤怒地说；咆哮；痴心地说 | |
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297
corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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299
halfway
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| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
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300
procuring
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的现在分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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301
lustful
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| a.贪婪的；渴望的 | |
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