Gilles et Jeanne by Michel Tournier

Author:Michel Tournier
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2016-03-23T13:00:00+00:00

Thus for hours on end they talked as they walked along the banks of the Arno, through the alleyways of the old city, on the ramparts overlooking the surrounding countryside scorched by the summer sun, and the two men ― the little parish priest from Saint-Malo torn from the pious shadows of his faith and the defrocked clerk, the worshipper of the renascent sun ― constantly came into conflict.

‘Your arguments may have enslaved my intelligence,’ Blanchet would say, ‘but my feelings remain free and rebel against this rich, cruel Tuscany, this Florence so filled with marvels, yet so repulsive by its diseases. How I long to get back to the French countryside with its simple faith and harsh ways!’

Prelati replied to these protests with a loud, contemptuous laugh.

‘Talk on, talk on, Father Blanchet, you know very well that nothing will be the same for you as before your travels. You have seen too much, heard too much. Old Gothic man is dead, a new age is coming to birth within you. Whether you wanted to or not, you have eaten of the fruit of knowledge and you won’t forget its taste in a hurry. And the proof: you struggle against my arguments, but you are taking me with you to see the Seigneur de Rais in the Vendée!’

‘I am taking you because I can’t do otherwise. Gilles de Rais has reached the verge of despair. He sent me to Tuscany in search of a saviour. I have found only you and I still hope that you will be able to help him. But you see how fearful I am. There is a great brightness in you, but I do not know whether it comes from the light of heaven or the flames of hell.’

This led Prelati off on to one of his favourite themes.

The light of heaven and the flames of hell are closer than is often thought. Don’t forget that Lucifer - the Bearer of Light ― was originally the most beautiful of the angels. He has been made the Prince of Darkness, the absolute evil. That is a mistake! Man, steeped in mire, yet animated by the breath of God, needs an intercessor between God and himself. How do you expect him to enter directly into contact with God? He needs an intercessor, yes, and one who is his accomplice in all his evil thoughts and deeds, but one who also has entry to heaven. That is why man feels the need to consult witches, to appeal to magi, to call up Beelzebub in magic circles.’

‘So that is your modern science, nourished on blood and filth! You certainly give the devil his due! Not all science is good, Prelati!’

‘Yes! All science is good! The only evil is ignorance!’

‘There are secrets so majestic that their revelation would destroy the unfortunate man who allowed his curiosity to run away with him.’

‘Knowledge gives power. If the mind has the strength to discover a truth, it also possesses the strength to master that truth.

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