The Secret Supper Read Online Free PDF Page B

to create the Holy Inquisition took refuge there after the Albigensian Crusade, but they all perished without having been able to spread the contagion of their ideas to others.”
    “And yet, Master, we cannot dismiss the possibility that their blasphemous notions appealed to the Milanese mind. Otherwise, why are they so open to heterodox ideas? Why would the duke accept pagan beliefs if he himself had not grown up in an atmosphere inclined to them? And why,” I continued, “would a Dominican, loyal to Rome, hide behind anonymous messages, if he himself did not take part in the heresy he now denounces?”
    “Fabrications, Father Agostino! The Soothsayer is not a Cathar. On the contrary: he is concerned with maintaining orthodoxy with greater zeal than the General Inquisitor of Carcassonne himself.”
    “This morning, before your arrival, I once again went over all his letters. And the Soothsayer is clear about his goal from the very first message he sent us: he wants us to send someone to stop Ludovico il Moro’s plans for Santa Maria delle Grazie. It is as if whatever the duke does with the rest of Milan—the piazzas, the navigation channels, the locks—were of no importance to him. And that lends weight to your theory.”
    Torriani nodded with satisfaction.
    “But, Master,” I ventured to contradict him, “before taking action we should decide whether his request does not hold a trap.”
    “What? Do you propose to leave the Soothsayer to his own devices in spite of the proofs he has offered us? But you yourself have for some time now denounced the doctrinal strayings of the duke’s late wife!”
    “Precisely. They are a cunning family. That man, whoever he is, asks for our help, which we can no longer deny him. Furthermore, with the assistance of Cardinal Ascanio, brother of the duke, I’ve corroborated even the smallest detail in his reports. And believe me, they are exact.
    “Exact,” I repeated, while attempting to place my thoughts in order. “But what surprises me most in this affair, Master, is your own change of attitude.”
    “There has been no such change,” he protested. “I set aside the Soothsayer’s letter until I had solid proofs to back them. Had I not believed in them, I would have destroyed them, don’t you think?”
    “Well then, Master Torriani, if our informer is supported by truth, if he is indeed a Dominican worried about the future of his new monastery, why then does he mask his identity when he writes to you?”
    Master Torriani shrugged his shoulders in perplexity.
    “I wish I knew, Father Agostino. It worries me. The more time goes by without our finding answers, the more disturbed I become. These days the breaches in our order are many, and to open yet another wound within the bosom of the Church means bleeding Her with no hope for cure. That is why it is time for action. We cannot allow for the events in Florence to be repeated in Milan. It would be disastrous!”
    Yet another wound. I hesitated to bring up the subject, but Torriani’s silence left me no alternative.
    “I imagine that you’re referring to Father Savonarola—”
    “Who else?” The old man took a deep breath before continuing. “The Holy Father’s patience is at an end, and he is considering excommunication. Savonarola’s sermons against the papal opulence are becoming more and more acrimonious, and furthermore, his prophecies regarding the end of the House of Medici have been fulfilled. Now, with a crowd in tow, he announced the Lord’s dire punishments against the Papal States. He says that Rome must suffer to purge its sins, and the wicked man rejoices in his prediction. And the worst about it is that every day he has more followers. If by chance the Duke of Milan were to join in his apocalyptic ideas, no one would be able to stop the discredit to our institution.”
    In confusion, I crossed myself at the bleak prospect outlined by the Master General.
    In those days, Father Girolamo Savonarola