NIGHT
In which Adso, distraught, confesses to William and meditates1 on the function of woman in the plan of creation, but then he discovers the corpse2 of a man.
I came around to find someone bathing my face. There, holding a lamp, was Brother William, who had put something under my head.
“What’s happened, Adso?” he asked me. “Have you been roaming about at night stealing offal from the kitchen?”
In short, William had awakened3, sought me for I forget what reason, and, not finding me, suspected me of going to perform some bit of bravado4 in the library. Approaching the Aedificium on the kitchen side, he saw a shadow slip from the door toward the vegetable garden (it was the girl, leaving, perhaps because she had heard someone approaching). He tried to figure out who it was and follow her, but she (or, rather, the shadow, as she was for him) went toward the outside wall of the compound and disappeared. Then William—?after an exploration of the environs—entered the kitch?en and found me lying in a faint.
When, still terrified, I mentioned to him the package with the heart, blurting5 out something about another crime, he started laughing: “Adso, what man could have such a big heart? It’s the heart of a cow, or an ox; they slaughtered6 an animal today, in fact. But tell me, how did it come into your hands?”
At that point, overwhelmed with remorse7, and still stunned8 by my great fear, I burst into a flood of tears and asked him to administer to me the sacrament of confession9. Which he did, and I told him all, concealing10 nothing.
Brother William heard me out earnestly, but with a hint of indulgence. When I had finished his face turned grave and he said: “Adso, you have sinned, that is certain, against the commandment that bids you not to fornicate, and also against your duties as a novice11. In your defense13 there is the fact that you found yourself in one of those situations in which even a father in the desert would have damned himself. And of woman as source of temptation the Scriptures14 have already said enough. Ecclesiastes says of woman that her conversa?tion is like burning fire, and the Proverbs say that she takes possession of man’s precious soul and the strongest men are ruined by her. And Ecclesiastes further says: ‘And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares15 and nets, and her hands as bands.’ And others have said she is the vessel16 of the Devil. Having affirmed this, dear Adso, I cannot convince myself that God chose to introduce such a foul17 being into creation without also endowing it with some virtues18. And I cannot help reflecting that He granted her many priv?ileges and motives19 of prestige, three of them very great indeed. In fact, He created man in this base world, and from mud; woman He created later, in paradise and of noble human matter. And he did not mold her from Adam’s feet or his viscera, but from the rib20. In the second place, the Lord, who is all-powerful, could have become incarnate21 as a man directly in some miraculous22 way, but he chose instead to dwell in the womb of a woman, a sign that it was not so foul after all. And when he appeared after the Resurrection, he appeared to a woman. And finally, in the celestial23 glory no man shall be king of that realm, but the queen will be a woman who has never sinned. If, then, the Lord showed such favor to Eve herself and to her daughters, is it so abnormal that we also should feel drawn24 by the graces and the nobility of that sex? What I mean to say to you, Adso, is that you must not do it again, of course, but it is not so monstrous25 that you were tempted26 to do it. And as far as that goes, for a monk27 to have, at least once in his life, experience of carnal passion, so that he can one day be indulgent and understanding with the sinners he will counsel and console ... well, dear Adso, it is not a thing to be wished before it happens, but it is not something to vituperate too much once it has happened. So go with God and let us speak of it no more. Indeed, rather than reflect and dwell too much on something best forgotten, if possible”—and it seemed to me at this point that his voice faded as if at some private emotion—“let us ask ourselves the meaning of what happened this night. Who was this girl and whom was she meeting?”
“This I don’t know, and I didn’t see the man who was with her,” I said.
“Very well, but we can deduce who it was from many and certain clues. First of all, the man was old and ugly, one with whom a girl does not go willingly, especially if she is beautiful, as you say, though it seems to me, my dear wolf cub28, that you were prepared to find any food delicious.”
“Why old and ugly?”
“Because the girl didn’t go with him for love, but for a pack of scraps29. Certainly she is a girl from the village who, perhaps not for the first time, grants her favors to some lustful30 monk out of hunger, and receives as recompense something for her and her family to eat.”
“A harlot!” I said, horrified31.
“A poor peasant girl, Adso. Probably with smaller brothers to feed. Who, if she were able, would give herself for love and not for lucre32. As she did last night. In fact, you tell me she found you young and handsome, and gave you gratis33 and out of love what to others she would have given for an ox heart and some bits of lung. And she felt so virtuous34 for the free gift she made of herself, and so uplifted, that she ran off without taking anything in exchange. This is why I think the other one, to whom she compared you, was neither young nor handsome.”
I confess that, profound as my repentance35 was, that explanation filled me with a sweet pride; but I kept silent and allowed my master to continue.
“This ugly old man must have the opportunity to go down to the village and deal with the peasants, for some purpose connected with his position. He must know how to get people into the abbey and out of it, and know there would be that offal in the kitchen (perhaps tomorrow it would be said that the door had been left open and a dog had come in and eaten the scraps). And, finally, he must have had a certain sense of economy, and a certain interest in seeing that the kitchen was not deprived of more precious victuals36: otherwise he would have given her a steak or some choice cut. And so you see that the picture of our stranger is drawn very clearly and that all these properties, or accidents, are suited to a substance that I would have no fear in defining as our cellarer, Remigio of Varagine. Or, if I am mistaken, our mysterious Salvatore—who, for that matter, since he comes from these parts, can speak easily with the local people and would know how to persuade a girl to do what he would have made her do, if you had not arrived.”
“That is certainly all correct,” I said, convinced, “but what is the good of knowing it now?”
“None. Or much,” William said. “The story may or may not have a connection with the crimes that concern us. On the other hand, if the cellarer was a Dolcinian, that would explain this, and vice12 versa. And we now know, finally, that this abbey is a place of many, bizarre events at night. And who can say that our cellarer, and Salvatore, who move through it in darkness with such ease, do not know, in any event, more things than what they tell?”
“But will they tell them to us?”
“No, not if we behave in a compassionate37 manner, ignoring their sins. But if we were really to know something, we would possess a way of persuading them to speak. In other words, if there is need, the cellarer and Salvatore are ours, and may God forgive us this deception38, since He forgives so many other things,” he said, looking at me slyly; I did not have the heart to make any comment on the licitness of these notions of his.
“And now we should go to bed, because in an hour it is matins. But I see you are still agitated39, my poor Adso, still fearful because of your sin. ... There is nothing like a good spell in church to calm the spirit. I have absolved40 you, but one never knows. Go and ask the Lord’s confirmation41.” And he gave me a rather brisk slap on the head, perhaps as a show of paternal42 and virile43 affection, perhaps as an indulgent penance44. Or perhaps (as I culpably45 thought at that moment) in a sort of good-natured envy, since he was a man who so thirsted for new and vital experiences.
We headed for the church, taking our usual path, which I followed in haste, closing my eyes, because all those bones reminded me too obviously, that night, of how I was dust and how foolish had been the pride of my flesh.
When we reached the nave46 we saw a shadowy figure before the main altar. I thought it was again Ubertino, but it was Alinardo, who did not recognize us at first. He said he was unable to sleep and had decided47 to spend the night praying for that young monk who had disappeared (he could not even remember the name): He prayed for his soul, if he were dead, and for his body, if he were lying ill and alone somewhere.
“Too many dead,” he said, “too many dead ... But it was written in the book of the apostle. With the first trumpet48 came the hail, with the second a third part of the sea became blood; and you found one body in the hail, the other in blood. ... The third trumpet warns that a burning star will fall in the third part of rivers and fountains of waters. So I tell you, our third brother, has disappeared. And fear for the fourth, because the third part of the sun will be smitten49, and of the moon and the stars, so there will be almost complete dark?ness . ...”
As we came out of the transept, William asked him?self whether there were not some element of truth in the old man’s words.
“But,” I pointed50 out to him, “this would mean assum?ing that a single diabolical51 mind, using the Apocalypse as guide, had arranged the three disappearances52, also assuming that Berengar is dead. But, on the contrary, we know Adelmo died of his own volition53. …”
“True,” William said, “but the same diabolical or sick mind could have been inspired by Adelmo’s death to arrange the other two in a symbolic54 way. And if this were so, Berengar should be found in a river or a fountain. And there are no rivers or fountains in the abbey, at least not such as someone could drown or be drowned in. ...”
“There are only the baths,” I observed, almost by chance.
“Adso!” William said. “You know, that could be an idea? The balneary!”
“But they must have looked there. ...”
“I saw the servants this morning when they were making the search; they opened the door of the balneary and took a glance inside, without investigating. They did not expect to find something carefully hidden: they were looking for a corpse lying somewhere theatrically55, like Venantius’s body in the jar. ... Let’s go and have a look. It is still dark anyway, and our lamp seems to go on burning merrily.”
So we did, and without difficulty we opened the door of the balneary, next to the infirmary.
Separated one from the other by thick curtains were some tubs, I don’t recall how many. The monks56 used them for their ablutions, on the days the Rule established, and Severinus used them for therapeutic57 reasons, be?cause nothing can restore body and mind better than a bath. A fireplace in one corner allowed the water to be heated easily. We found it dirty with fresh ashes, and before it a great cauldron lay, overturned. The water could be drawn from a font in another corner.
We looked in the first tubs, which were empty. Only the last, concealed58 by a drawn curtain, was full, and next to it lay a garment, in a heap. At first sight, in the beam of our lamp, the surface of the liquid seemed smooth; but as the light struck it we glimpsed on the bottom, lifeless, a naked human body. We pulled it out slowly: Berengar. And this one, William said, truly had the face of a drowned man. The features were swollen59. The body, white and flabby, without hair, seemed a woman’s except for the obscene spectacle of the flaccid pudenda. I blushed, then shuddered60. I made the sign of the cross as William blessed the corpse.
收听单词发音 |
1
meditates
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的第三人称单数 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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bravado
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| n.虚张声势，故作勇敢，逞能 | |
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blurting
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| v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的现在分词 ) | |
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slaughtered
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| v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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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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confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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novice
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| adj.新手的，生手的 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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scriptures
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| 经文，圣典( scripture的名词复数 )； 经典 | |
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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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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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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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virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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rib
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| n.肋骨，肋状物 | |
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incarnate
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| adj.化身的，人体化的，肉色的 | |
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miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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celestial
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| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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monk
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| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
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cub
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| n.幼兽，年轻无经验的人 | |
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scraps
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| 油渣 | |
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lustful
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| a.贪婪的；渴望的 | |
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horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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lucre
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| n.金钱，财富 | |
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gratis
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| adj.免费的 | |
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virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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repentance
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| n.懊悔 | |
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36
victuals
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| n.食物；食品 | |
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compassionate
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| adj.有同情心的，表示同情的 | |
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38
deception
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| n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计 | |
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agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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40
absolved
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| 宣告…无罪，赦免…的罪行，宽恕…的罪行( absolve的过去式和过去分词 )； 不受责难，免除责任 [义务] ,开脱（罪责） | |
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confirmation
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| n.证实，确认，批准 | |
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paternal
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| adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的 | |
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virile
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| adj.男性的；有男性生殖力的；有男子气概的；强有力的 | |
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44
penance
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| n.（赎罪的）惩罪 | |
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culpably
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| adv.该罚地，可恶地 | |
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nave
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| n.教堂的中部；本堂 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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48
trumpet
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| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
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49
smitten
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| 猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去分词 ) | |
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50
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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51
diabolical
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| adj.恶魔似的，凶暴的 | |
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52
disappearances
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| n.消失( disappearance的名词复数 )；丢失；失踪；失踪案 | |
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53
volition
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| n.意志；决意 | |
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54
symbolic
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| adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的 | |
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theatrically
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| adv.戏剧化地 | |
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monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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57
therapeutic
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| adj.治疗的，起治疗作用的；对身心健康有益的 | |
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58
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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59
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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60
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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