danbrown.thedavincicode-第45部分

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


　〃Hmmm。。。〃　Teabing　made　a　show　of　seeming　to　have　forgotten。　〃The　Holy　Grail。　The　Sangreal。　The　Chalice。〃　He　wheeled　suddenly　and　pointed　to　the　far　wall。　On　it　hung　an　eight…foot…long　print　of　The　Last　Supper；　the　same　exact　image　Sophie　had　just　been　looking　at。　〃There　she　is！〃
　Sophie　was　certain　she　had　missed　something。　〃That's　the　same　painting　you　just　showed　me。〃
　He　winked。　〃I　know；　but　the　enlargement　is　so　much　more　exciting。　Don't　you　think？〃
　Sophie　turned　to　Langdon　for　help。　〃I'm　lost。〃
　Langdon　smiled。　〃As　it　turns　out；　the　Holy　Grail　does　indeed　make　an　appearance　in　The　Last　Supper。　Leonardo　included　her　prominently。〃
　〃Hold　on；〃　Sophie　said。　〃You　told　me　the　Holy　Grail　is　a　woman。　The　Last　Supper　is　a　painting　of　thirteen　men。〃
　〃Is　it？〃　Teabing　arched　his　eyebrows。　〃Take　a　closer　look。〃
　Uncertain；　Sophie　made　her　way　closer　to　the　painting；　scanning　the　thirteen　figures…Jesus　Christ　in　the　middle；　six　disciples　on　His　left；　and　six　on　His　right。　〃They're　all　men；〃　she　confirmed。
　〃Oh？〃　Teabing　said。　〃How　about　the　one　seated　in　the　place　of　honor；　at　the　right　hand　of　the　Lord？〃
　Sophie　examined　the　figure　to　Jesus'　immediate　right；　focusing　in。　As　she　studied　the　person's　face　and　body；　a　wave　of　astonishment　rose　within　her。　The　individual　had　flowing　red　hair；　delicate　folded　hands；　and　the　hint　of　a　bosom。　It　was；　without　a　doubt。。。　female。
　〃That's　a　woman！〃　Sophie　exclaimed。
　Teabing　was　laughing。　〃Surprise；　surprise。　Believe　me；　it's　no　mistake。　Leonardo　was　skilled　at　painting　the　difference　between　the　sexes。〃
　Sophie　could　not　take　her　eyes　from　the　woman　beside　Christ。　The　Last　Supper　is　supposed　to　be　thirteen　men。　Who　is　this　woman？　Although　Sophie　had　seen　this　classic　image　many　times；　she　had　not　once　noticed　this　glaring　discrepancy。
　〃Everyone　misses　it；〃　Teabing　said。　〃Our　preconceived　notions　of　this　scene　are　so　powerful　that　our　mind　blocks　out　the　incongruity　and　overrides　our　eyes。〃
　〃It's　known　as　skitoma；〃　Langdon　added。　〃The　brain　does　it　sometimes　with　powerful　symbols。〃
　〃Another　reason　you　might　have　missed　the　woman；〃　Teabing　said；　〃is　that　many　of　the　photographs　in　art　books　were　taken　before　1954；　when　the　details　were　still　hidden　beneath　layers　of　grime　and　several　restorative　repaintings　done　by　clumsy　hands　in　the　eighteenth　century。　Now；　at　last；　the　fresco　has　been　cleaned　down　to　Da　Vinci's　original　layer　of　paint。〃　He　motioned　to　the　photograph。　〃Et　voilà！〃
　Sophie　moved　closer　to　the　image。　The　woman　to　Jesus'　right　was　young　and　pious…looking；　with　a　demure　face；　beautiful　red　hair；　and　hands　folded　quietly。　This　is　the　woman　who　singlehandedly　could　crumble　the　Church？
　〃Who　is　she？〃　Sophie　asked。
　〃That；　my　dear；〃　Teabing　replied；　〃is　Mary　Magdalene。〃
　Sophie　turned。　〃The　prostitute？〃
　Teabing　drew　a　short　breath；　as　if　the　word　had　injured　him　personally。　〃Magdalene　was　no　such　thing。　That　unfortunate　misconception　is　the　legacy　of　a　smear　campaign　launched　by　the　early　Church。　The　Church　needed　to　defame　Mary　Magdalene　in　order　to　cover　up　her　dangerous　secret…her　role　as　the　Holy　Grail。〃
　〃Her　role？〃
　〃As　I　mentioned；〃　Teabing　clarified；　〃the　early　Church　needed　to　convince　the　world　that　the　mortal　prophet　Jesus　was　a　divine　being。　Therefore；　any　gospels　that　described　earthly　aspects　of　Jesus'　life　had　to　be　omitted　from　the　Bible。　Unfortunately　for　the　early　editors；　one　particularly　troubling　earthly　theme　kept　recurring　in　the　gospels。　Mary　Magdalene。〃　He　paused。　〃More　specifically；　her　marriage　to　Jesus　Christ。〃
　〃I　beg　your　pardon？〃　Sophie's　eyes　moved　to　Langdon　and　then　back　to　Teabing。
　〃It's　a　matter　of　historical　record；〃　Teabing　said；　〃and　Da　Vinci　was　certainly　aware　of　that　fact。　The　Last　Supper　practically　shouts　at　the　viewer　that　Jesus　and　Magdalene　were　a　pair。〃
　Sophie　glanced　back　to　the　fresco。
　〃Notice　that　Jesus　and　Magdalene　are　clothed　as　mirror　images　of　one　another。〃　Teabing　pointed　to　the　two　individuals　in　the　center　of　the　fresco。
　Sophie　was　mesmerized。　Sure　enough；　their　clothes　were　inverse　colors。　Jesus　wore　a　red　robe　and　blue　cloak；　Mary　Magdalene　wore　a　blue　robe　and　red　cloak。　Yin　and　yang。
　〃Venturing　into　the　more　bizarre；〃　Teabing　said；　〃note　that　Jesus　and　His　bride　appear　to　be　joined　at　the　hip　and　are　leaning　away　from　one　another　as　if　to　create　this　clearly　delineated　negative　space　between　them。〃
　Even　before　Teabing　traced　the　contour　for　her；　Sophie　saw　it…the　indisputable　V　shape　at　the　focal　point　of　the　painting。　It　was　the　same　symbol　Langdon　had　drawn　earlier　for　the　Grail；　the　chalice；　and　the　female　womb。
　〃Finally；〃　Teabing　said；　〃if　you　view　Jesus　and　Magdalene　as　positional　elements　rather　than　as　people；　you　will　see　another　obvious　shape　leap　out　at　you。〃　He　paused。　〃A　letter　of　the　alphabet。〃
　Sophie　saw　it　at　once。　To　say　the　letter　leapt　out　at　her　was　an　understatement。　The　letter　was　suddenly　all　Sophie　could　see。　Glaring　in　the　center　of　the　painting　was　the　unquestionable　outline　of　an　enormous；　flawlessly　formed　letter　M。
　〃A　bit　too　perfect　for　coincidence；　wouldn't　you　say？〃　Teabing　asked。
　Sophie　was　amazed。　〃Why　is　it　there？〃
　Teabing　shrugged。　〃Conspiracy　theorists　will　tell　you　it　stands　for　Matrimonio　or　Mary　Magdalene。　To　be　honest；　nobody　is　certain。　The　only　certainty　is　that　the　hidden　M　is　no　mistake。　Countless　Grail…related　works　contain　the　hidden　letter　M…whether　as　watermarks；　underpaintings；　or　positional　allusions。　The　most　blatant　M；　of　course；　is　emblazoned　on　the　altar　at　Our　Lady　of　Paris　in　London；　which　was　designed　by　a　former　Grand　Master　of　the　Priory　of　Sion；　Jean　Cocteau。〃
　Sophie　weighed　the　information。　〃I'll　admit；　the　hidden　M's　are　intriguing；　although　I　assume　nobody　is　claiming　they　are　proof　of　Jesus'　marriage　to　Magdalene。〃
　〃No；　no；〃　Teabing　said；　going　to　a　nearby　table　of　books。　〃As　I　said　earlier；　the　marriage　of　Jesus　and　Mary　Magdalene　is　part　of　the　historical　record。〃　He　began　pawing　through　his　book　collection。　〃Moreover；　Jesus　as　a　married　man　makes　infinitely　more　sense　than　our　standard　biblical　view　of　Jesus　as　a　bachelor。〃
　〃Why？〃　Sophie　asked。
　〃Because　Jesus　was　a　Jew；〃　Langdon　said；　taking　over　while　Teabing　searched　for　his　book；　〃and　the　social　decorum　during　that　time　virtually　forbid　a　Jewish　man　to　be　unmarried。　According　to　Jewish　custom；　celibacy　was　condemned；　and　the　obligation　for　a　Jewish　father　was　to　find　a　suitable　wife　for　his　son。　If　Jesus　were　not　married；　at　least　one　of　the　Bible's　gospels　would　have　mentioned　it　and　offered　some　explanation　for　His　unnatural　state　of　bachelorhood。〃
　Teabing　located　a　huge　book　and　pulled　it　toward　him　across　the　table。　The　leather…bound　edition　was　poster…sized；　like　a　huge　atlas。　The　cover　read：　The　Gnostic　Gospels。　Teabing　heaved　it　open；　and　Langdon　and　Sophie　joined　him。　Sophie　could　see　it　contained　photographs　of　what　appeared　to　be　magnified　passages　of　ancient　documents…tattered　papyrus　with　handwritten　text。　She　did　not　recognize　the　ancient　language；　but　the　facing　pages　bore　typed　translations。
　〃These　are　photocopies　of　the　Nag　Hammadi　and　Dead　Sea　scrolls；　which　I　mentioned　earlier；〃　Teabing　said。　〃The　earliest　Christian　records。　Troublingly；　they　do　not　match　up　with　the　gospels　in　the　Bible。〃　Flipping　toward　the　middle　of　the　book；　Teabing　pointed　to　a　passage。　〃The　Gospel　of　Philip　is　always　a　good　place　to　start。〃　Sophie　read　the　passage：
　And　the　panion　of　the　Saviour　is　Mary　Magdalene。　Christ　loved　her　more　than　all　the　disciples　and　used　to　kiss　her　often　on　her　mouth。　The　rest　of　the　disciples　were　offended　by　it　and　expressed　disapproval。　They　said　to　him；　〃Why　do　you　love　her　more　than　all　of　us？〃
　The　words　surprised　Sophie；　and　yet　they　hardly　seemed　conclusive。　〃It　says　nothing　of　marriage。〃
　〃Au　contraire。〃　Teabing　smiled；　pointing　to　the　first　line。　〃As　any　Aramaic　scholar　will　tell　you；　the　word　panion；　in　those　days；　literally　meant　spouse。〃
　Langdon　concurred　with　a　nod。
　Sophie　read　the　first　line　again。　And　the　panion　of　the　Saviour　is　Mary　Magdalene。
　Teabing　flipped　through　the　book　and　pointed　out　several　other　passages　that；　to　Sophie's　surprise；　clearly　suggested　Magdalene　and　Jesus　had　a　romantic　relationship。　As　she　read　the　passages；　Sophie　recalled　an　angry　priest　who　had　banged　on　her　grandfather's　door　when　she　was　a　schoolgirl。
　〃Is　this　the　home　of　Jacques　Saunière？〃　the　priest　had　demanded；　glaring　down　at　young　Sophie　when　she　pulled　open　the　door。　〃I　want　to　talk　to　him　about　this　editorial　he　wrote。〃　The　priest　held　up　a　newspaper。
　Sophie　summoned　her　grandfather；　and　the　two　men　disappeared　into　his　study　and　closed　the　door。　My　grandfather　wrote　something　in　the　paper？　Sophie　immediately　ran　to　the　kitchen　and　flipped　through　that　morning's　paper。　She　found　her　grandfather's　name　on　an　article　on　the　second　page。　She　read　it。　Sophie　didn't　understand　all　of　what　was　said；　but　it　sounded　like　the　French　government；　under　pressure　from　priests；　had　agreed　to　ban　an　American　movie　called　The　Last　Temptation　of　Christ；　which　was　about　Jesus　having　sex　with　a　lady　called　Mary　Magdalene。　Her　grandfather's　article　said　the　Church　was　arrogant　and　wrong　to　ban　it。
　No　wonder　the　priest　is　mad；　Sophie　thought。
　〃It's　pornography！　Sacrilege！〃　the　priest　yelled；　emerging　from　the　study　and　storming　to　the　front　door。　〃How　can　you　possibly　endorse　that！　This　American　Martin　Scorsese　is　a　blasphemer；　and　the　Church　will　permit　him　no　pulpit　in　France！〃　The　priest　slammed　the　door　on　his　way　out。
　When　her　grandfather　came　into　the　kitchen；　he　saw　Sophie　with　the　paper　and　frowned。　〃You're　quick。〃
　Sophie　said；　〃You　think　Jesus　Christ　had　a　girlfriend？〃
　〃No；　dear；　I　said　the　Church　should　not　be　allowed　to　tell　us　what　notions　we　can　and　can't　entertain。〃
　〃Did　Jesus　have　a　girlfriend？〃
　Her　grandfather　was　silent　for　several　moments。　〃Would　it　be　so　bad　if　He　did？〃
　Sophie　considered　it　and　then　shrugged。　〃I　wouldn't　mind。〃
　　
　Sir　Leigh　Teabing　was　still　talking。　〃I　shan't　bore　you　with　the　countless　references　to　Jesus　and　Magdalene's　union。　That　has　been　explored　ad　nauseum　by　modern　historians。　I　would；　however；　like　to　point　out　the　fo