The Da Vinci Code Chapter 56-59

CHAPTER 56Sophie stargond at Teabing a eagle-eyed present moment and then turned to Langdon. The consecrated grail is a person? Langdon nodded. A wo universe, in fact. From the blank look on Sophies face, Langdon could tell they had al bear witnessy lose her. He rec e very(prenominal)ed having a similar reaction the first time he heard the statement. It was not until he understood the symbology behind the grail that the char muliebrityish connection became clear.Teabing apparently had a similar thought. Robert, perhaps this is the moment for the symbologist to sort proscribed? He went to a or soby end table, found a set up of typography, and laid it in front of Langdon.Langdon pulled a pen from his pocket. Sophie, are you familiar with the new-fashioned pics for antheral and young-bearing(prenominal)?He drew the common male symbol The Da Vinci Code The Da Vinci CodeOf course, she give tongue to.These, he express quietly, are not the original symbols for male and fema le. M whatsoever(prenominal) peck falsely assume the male symbol is derived from a shield and spear, opus the female symbol represents a mirror reflecting beauty. In fact, the symbols originated as ancient galactic symbols for the planet-god Mars and planet-goddess Venus. The original symbols are far simpler. Langdon drew an some other(prenominal) icon on the paper.The Da Vinci CodeThis symbol is the original icon for male,he told her. A rudimentary phallus.Quite to the lodge, Sophie say. As it were, Teabing added. Langdon went on. This icon is formally cognize as the blade, and it represents aggression and manhood. In fact, this consume phallus symbol is tranquillise used today on modern military uniforms to de line of business rank.Indeed. Teabing grinned. The more penises you spend a penny, the higher your rank. Boys testament be boys. Langdon winced. Moving on, the female symbol, as you superpower imagine, is the exact opposite. He drew another symbol on the page . This is called the chalice.The Da Vinci CodeSophie glanced up, looking surp purloind.Langdon could chink she had made the connection. The chalice, he said, resembles a loving cup or vessel, and more important, it resembles the shape of a cleaning womans womb. This symbol communicates femininity, womanhood, and fertility. Langdon looked directly at her beneficial a mien. Sophie, legend tells us the set apart Grail is a chalice a cup. scarce the Grails description as a chaliceis actually an allegory to nourish the true nature of the holy place Grail. That is to say, the legend uses the chalice as a metaphor for something far more important. A woman, Sophie said.Exactly. Langdon smiled. The Grail is literally the ancient symbol for womanhood, and the divine Grail represents the inspirational feminine and the goddess, which of course has now been mixed-up, virtually eliminated by the church. The power of the female and her ability to produce keep was formerly very sacr ed, only it posed a threat to the rise of the predominantly male church building, and so the sacred feminine was demonized and called unclean. It was man, not God, who created the impression of original sin, whereby Eve tasted of the apple and caused the defeatfall of the human race. Woman, erst the sacred giver of life, was now the enemy.I should add, Teabing chimed, that this concept of woman as life-bringer was the institution of ancient religion. Childbirth was mystical and strong. Sadly, deliverymanian philosophy decided to peculate the females creative power by ignoring biological truth and making man the Creator. Genesis tells us that Eve was created from Adams rib. Woman became an onwardshoot of man. And a sinful one at that. Genesis was the beginning of the end for the goddess.The Grail, Langdon said, is symbolic of the lost goddess. When saviorianity came along, the old pagan religions did not die easily. Legends of chivalric quests for the lost Grail were in fa ct stories of nix quests to find the lost sacred feminine. Knights who claimed to be searching for the chalice were speaking in code as a way to protect themselves from a Church that had subjugated women, banished the Goddess, burned nonbelievers, and forbidden the pagan reverence for the sacred feminine.Sophie shook her head. Im sorry, when you said the Holy Grail was a person, I thought you meant it was an actual person.It is, Langdon said.And not just any person, Teabing blurted, clambering excitedly to his feet. A woman who carried with her a secret so sizable that, if revealed, it threatened to devastate the very foundation of ChristianitySophie looked overwhelmed. Is this woman well cognise in history?Quite. Teabing collected his crutches and motioned down the hall. And if we adjourn to the study, my friends, it would be my delight in to show you Da Vincis create of her.Two rooms away, in the kitchen, manservant Remy Legaludec stood in silence before a television. The new s station was broadcasting photos of a man and woman the same two individuals to whom Remy had just served tea.CHAPTER 57 anticipate at the roadblock outside the Depository Bank of Zurich, Lieutenant collet wondered what was taking Fache so long to come up with the search warrant. The bankers were patently hiding something. They claimed Langdon and Neveu had arrived primitively and were turned away from the bank because they did not have maintainer ac figuring identification.So why wont they let us impairment for a look?Finally, ferrules cellular phone rang. It was the command post at the Louvre. Do we have a search warrant yet? collet chuck demanded.Forget about the bank, Lieutenant, the agent told him. We just got a tip. We have the exact location where Langdon and Neveu are hiding.Collet sat down hard on the hood of his car. Youre kidding.I have an address in the suburbs. Somewhere near Versailles. Does Captain Fache know? non yet. Hes busy on an important call.Im on my way. Have him call as presently as hes free. Collet took down the address and jumped in his car. As he peeled away from the bank, Collet realized he had forgotten to ask who had tipped DCPJ off to Langdons location. Not that it mattered. Collet had been blessed with a chance to redeem his skepticism and earlier blunders. He was about to make the most high-profile arrest of his career.Collet radioed the 5 cars accompanying him. No sirens, men. Langdon gouget know were coming.Forty kilometers away, a black Audi pulled off a rural road and parked in the shadows on the thot against of a field. Silas got out and peered finished the rungs of the wrought-iron fence that encircled the vast unite before him. He gazed up the long moonlit slope to the chateau in the distance.The downstairs lights were all ablaze. Odd for this second, Silas thought, smiling. The information the instructor had given him was apparently accurate. I willing not leave this house without the keystone, he v owed. I will not fail the bishop and the Teacher.Checking the thirteen-round clip in his Heckler Koch, Silas pushed it by dint of the bars and let it fall onto the mossy ground inside the compound. Then, entrancing the top of the fence, he heaved himself up and over, dropping to the ground on the other side. Ignoring the slash of pain from his cilice, Silas retrieved his gun and began the long trek up the sedgelike slope.CHAPTER 58Teabings study was like no study Sophie had ever seen. vi or seven times larger than even the most sonsie of office spaces, the knights cabinet de travail resembled an ungainly hybrid of science laboratory, archival library, and indoor flea market. Lit by three overhead c eliminateeliers, the boundless roofing tile floor was dotted with clustered islands of manoeuvretables buried beneath records, artwork, artifacts, and a strike amount of electronic gear computers, projectors, microscopes, copy machines, and flatbed scanners.I born-again the ball room, Teabing said, looking sheepish as he shuffled into the room. I have runty occasion to dance.Sophie tangle as if the entire night had become some kind of twilight zone where nothing was as she expected. This is all for your work?Learning the truth has become my lifes grapple, Teabing said. And the sangreal is my favorite mistress.The Holy Grail is a woman, Sophie thought, her mind a collage of interrelated ideas that seemed to make no sense. You said you have a picture of this woman who you claim is the Holy Grail.Yes, notwithstanding it is not I who claim she is the Grail. Christ Himself made that claim. Which one is the create? Sophie asked, scanning the walls. 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 sound Supper, the same exact image Sophie had just been looking at. There she isSophie was sure she had missed something. T hats the same ikon you just showed me.He winked. I know, but the enlargement is so much more exciting. Dont you think? Sophie turned to Langdon for help. Im lost. Langdon smiled. As it turns out, the Holy Grail does indeed make an appearance in The LastSupper.Leonardo include 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 skeletons saviour Christ in the middle, sestet disciples on His left, and six on His right. Theyre all men, she confirmed.Oh? Teabing said. How about the one set in the indicate of honor, at the right hand of the Lord?Sophie examined the figure to saviour immediate right, focusing in. As she studied the persons face and body, a roll of astonishment rose within her. The individual had flowing red hair, flabby folded hands, and the hint of a bosom. It wa s, without a doubt female.Thats a woman Sophie exclaimed.Teabing was laughing. Surprise, surprise. moot me, its no mistake. Leonardo was skilled at painting the difference surrounded by the sexes.Sophie could not take her eye 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 numerous times, she had not once noticed this glaring discrepancy.Everyone misses it, Teabing said. Our preconceived notions of this scene are so puissant that our mind blocks out the incongruity and overrides our eyes. Its 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 retains were taken before 1954, when the details were keep mum inscrutable beneath layers of grime and some(prenominal) restorative repaintings done by tactless hands in the eighteenth century. Now, at last, the fr esco has been cleaned down to Da Vincis original layer of paint. He motioned to the photograph. Et voilaSophie moved closer to the image. The woman to deliverer 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 unforesightful breath, as if the word had injured him personally. Magdalene was no such thing. That unfortunate misconception is the bequest of a smear campaign launched by the early Church. The Church indispensable to defame Mary Magdalene in order to cover up her chancy 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 oracle saviour was a divine being. Therefore, any gospels that described terrene aspects of Jesus life had to be omitted from the B ible. Unfortunately for the early editors, one particularly unreassuring earthly theme kept recurring in the gospels. Mary Magdalene. He paused. More specifically, her spousals to Jesus Christ.I beg your pardon? Sophies eyes moved to Langdon and then back to Teabing.Its a matter of historical record, Teabing said, and Da Vinci was certainly witting 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 ha rubbish were inverse colors. Jesus wore a red robe and blue vest 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 listing away from one another as if to create this clear delineated negati ve space between them.Even before Teabing traced the mannequin for her, Sophie axiom 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 compositional 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, wouldnt 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 evidence is that the secret M is no mistake. Countless Grail-related wor ks contain the unnoticeable letter M whether as watermarks, underpaintings, or compositional allusions. The most continuant M, of course, is emblazoned on the altar at Our Lady of genus Paris in London, which was knowing by a former Grand Master of the Priory of Sion, Jean Cocteau.Sophie weighed the information. Ill admit, the hidden Ms 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 unceasingly 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 condemne d, 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 Bibles 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 take in The Gnostic gospel singings.Teabing heaved it exonerated, and Langdon and Sophie joined him. Sophie could see it contained photographs of what appeared to be magnified passages of ancient documents broken-down papyrus with handwritten text. She did not recognize the ancient language, but the liner pages wear typed translations.These are photocopies of the Nag Hammadi and Dead Sea scrolls, which I mentioned earlier, Teabing said. The earlier 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. T he Gospel of Philip is always a good place to start. Sophie carry the passageAnd the companion of the Saviour is Mary Magdalene. Christ love 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 scantily seemed conclusive. It says nothing of marriage.Au contraire. Teabing smiled, pointing to the first line. As any Aramaic savant will tell you, the word companion, in those days, literally meant spouse.Langdon concurred with a nod.Sophie read the first line again. And the companion of the Saviour is Mary Magdalene.Teabing flipped through the book and pointed out several other passages that, to Sophies surprise, clearly suggested Magdalene and Jesus had a amatory relationship. As she read the passages, Sophie recalled an angry priest who had banged on her granddads door when she was a schoolg irl.Is this the home of Jacques Sauniere? 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 mornings paper. She found her grandfathers create on an article on the second page. She read it. Sophie didnt 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 grandfathers article said the Church was arrogant and wrong to ban it.No wonder the priest is mad, Sophie thought.Its 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. Youre 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 cant 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 wouldnt mind.Sir Leigh Teabing was still talking. I shant bore you with the countless references to Jesus and Magdalenes union. That has been explored ad nauseum by modern historians. I would, however, like to point out the following. He motioned to another passage. This is from the Gospel of Mary Magdalene.Sophie had not known a gospel existed in Magdalenes words. She read the textAnd Peter said, Did the Saviour really sp eak with a woman without our knowledge? Are we to turn about and all listen to her? Did he prefer her to us?And Levi answered, Peter, you have always been hot-tempered. Now I see you contending against the woman like an adversary. If the Saviour made her worthy, who are you indeed to hold out her? Surely the Saviour knows her very well. That is why he loved her more than us.The woman they are speaking of, Teabing explained, is Mary Magdalene. Peter is jealous of her.Because Jesus preferred Mary?Not only that. The stakes were far greater than mere affection. At this point in the gospels, Jesus suspects He will soon be captured and crucified. So He gives Mary Magdalene instructions on how to carry on His Church after He is gone. As a result, Peter expresses his discontent over playing second fiddle to a woman. I daresay Peter was something of a sexist.Sophie was trying to keep up. This is Saint Peter. The rock-and-roll on which Jesus built His Church.The same, except for one catch. A ccording to these unreduced gospels, it was not Peter to whom Christ gave directions with which to establish the Christian Church. It was Mary Magdalene.Sophie looked at him. Youre saying the Christian Church was to be carried on by a woman?That was the plan. Jesus was the original feminist. He intended for the future of His Church to be in the hands of Mary Magdalene.And Peter had a caper with that, Langdon said, pointing to The Last Supper. Thats Peter there. You can see that Da Vinci was well aware of how Peter felt about Mary Magdalene.Again, Sophie was speechless. In the painting, Peter was leaning menacingly toward Mary Magdalene and slicing his blade-like hand across her neck. The same expectant gesture as in Madonna of the RocksAnd here too, Langdon said, pointing now to the concourse of disciples near Peter. A bit ominous, no?Sophie squinted and saw a hand emerging from the crowd of disciples. Is that hand wielding a dagger?Yes. Stranger still, if you count the arms, yo ull see that this hand belongs to no one at all. Its disembodied. Anonymous.Sophie was starting to have overwhelmed. Im sorry, I still dont understand how all of this makes Mary Magdalene the Holy Grail.Aha Teabing exclaimed again. in that lies the rub He turned once more to the table and pulled out a large chart, spreading it out for her. It was an elaborate genealogy. Few people realize that Mary Magdalene, in addition to being Christs right hand, was a powerful woman already. Sophie could now see the title of the family tree.THE TRIBE OF benzoinMary Magdalene is here, Teabing said, pointing near the top of the genealogy. Sophie was surprised. She was of the House of Benjamin? Indeed, Teabing said. Mary Magdalene was of kingly descent. moreover I was under the impression Magdalene was poor. Teabing shook his head. Magdalene was recast as a whore in order to erase evidence of her powerful family ties.Sophie found herself again glancing at Langdon, who again nodded. She turned b ack to Teabing. But why would the early Church care if Magdalene had violet blood?The britt smiled. My dear child, it was not Mary Magdalenes over-embellished blood that concerned the Church so much as it was her consorting with Christ, who also had kinglike blood. As you know, the nurse of Matthew tells us that Jesus was of the House of David. A descendant of faggot Solomon King of the Jews. By marrying into the powerful House of Benjamin, Jesus fused two royal bloodlines, creating a potent political union with the potential of making a legitimate claim to the throne and restoring the line of kings as it was under Solomon. Sophie sensed he was at last coming to his point. Teabing looked excited now. The legend of the Holy Grail is a legend about royal blood. When Grail legend speaks of the chalice that held the blood of Christ it speaks, in fact, of Mary Magdalene the female womb that carried Jesus royal bloodline.The words seemed to echo across the ballroom and back before they fully registered in Sophies mind. Mary Magdalene carried the royal bloodline of Jesus Christ? But how could Christ have a bloodline unless ? She paused and looked at Langdon.Langdon smiled softly. Unless they had a child. Sophie stood transfixed. Behold, Teabing proclaimed, the superlative cover-up in human history. Not only was Jesus Christ married, but He was a father. My dear, Mary Magdalene was the Holy Vessel. She was the chalice that bore the royal bloodline of Jesus Christ. She was the womb that bore the lineage, and the vine from which the sacred growth sprang forthSophie felt the hairs stand up on her arms. But how could a secret that big be kept quiet all of these old age?Heavens Teabing said. It has been anything but quiet The royal bloodline of Jesus Christ is the source of the most enduring legend of all time the Holy Grail. Magdalenes story has been shouted from the rooftops for centuries in all kinds of metaphors and languages. Her story is everywhere once you open your eyes.And the Sangreal documents? Sophie said. They allegedly contain proof that Jesus had a royal bloodline?They do.So the entire Holy Grail legend is all about royal blood?Quite literally, Teabing said. The word Sangreal derives from San Greal or Holy Grail. But in its most ancient form, the word Sangreal was divided in a different spot. Teabing wrote on a piece of scrap paper and handed it to her. She read what he had written. Sang Real Instantly, Sophie recognized the translation. Sang Real literally meant Royal Blood.CHAPTER 59The male receptionist in the tap of the writing Dei headquarters on Lexington Avenue in New York metropolis was surprised to hear Bishop Aringarosas voice on the line. Good evening, sir. Have I had any messages? the bishop demanded, sounding unusually anxious. Yes, sir. Im very corpus sternum you called in. I couldnt discover you in your apartment. You had an urgent phone message about half an hour ago.Yes? He sounded relieved by the news . Did the caller leave a spend a penny? No, sir, just a number. The operator relayed the number.Prefix thirty-three? Thats France, am I right?Yes, sir. Paris. The caller said it was critical you contact him immediately.Thank you. I have been waiting for that call. Aringarosa quickly severed the connection.As the receptionist hung up the receiver, he wondered why Aringarosas phone connection sounded so crackly. The bishops daily schedule showed him in New York this weekend, and yet he sounded a world away. The receptionist shrugged it off. Bishop Aringarosa had been acting very strangely the last few months.My cellular phone must not have been receiving, Aringarosa thought as the Fiat approached the exit for Romes Ciampino Charter Airport. The Teacher was trying to reach me.Despite Aringarosas concern at having missed the call, he felt encouraged that the Teacher felt confident enough to call Opus Dei headquarters directly.Things must have gone well in Paris tonight.As Aringarosa be gan dialing the number, he felt excited to know he would soon be in Paris. Ill beon the ground before dawn.Aringarosa had a chartered turbo prop awaiting him here for the short flight to France. Commercial carriers were not an option at this hour, especially considering the contents of his briefcase.The line began to ring.A female voice answered. command Centrale Police Judidaire.Aringarosa felt himself hesitate. This was unexpected. Ah, yes I was asked to call this number?Qui etes-vous? the woman said. Your name?Aringarosa was uncertain if he should reveal it. The French Judicial Police?Your name, monsieur? the woman pressed. Bishop Manuel Aringarosa. Un moment. There was a click on the line.After a long wait, another man came on, his tone gruff and concerned. Bishop, I am glad I finally reached you. You and I have much to discuss.