"
He was not insensible of the risk of thus opening himself to a stranger;
but the sense of peril made him the more eager to proclaim himself on
the side of the cause he seemed to have deserted.
Gamba turned as he spoke, and their eyes met in one of those revealing
glances that lay the foundations of friendship.
"I fear, Cavaliere," said the hunchback with a smile, "that you will
find both branches of investigation somewhat difficult to pursue in
Pianura; for the Church takes care that neither the philosophers nor
their books shall gain a footing in our most Christian state. Indeed,"
he added, "not only must the library be free from heretical works, but
the librarian clear of heretical leanings; and since you have honoured
me with your confidence I will own that, the court having got wind of my
supposed tendency to liberalism, I live in daily expectation of
dismissal. For the moment they are content to keep their spies on me;
but were it not for the protection of the good abate, my superior, I
should long since have been turned out."
"And why," asked Odo, "do you speak of the court and the Church as one?"
"Because, sir, in our virtuous duchy the terms are interchangeable. The
Duke is in fact so zealous a son of the Church that if the latter showed
any leniency to sinners the secular arm would promptly repair her
negligence. His Highness, as you may have heard, is ruled by his
confessor, an adroit Dominican. The confessor, it is true, has two
rivals, the Countess Belverde, a lady distinguished for her piety, and a
German astrologer or alchemist, lately come to Pianura, and calling
himself a descendant of the Egyptian priesthood and an adept of the
higher or secret doctrines of Neoplatonism.
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