Greg's answer, in the plural, implied that he wasn't the only one at risk of being beheaded. The three of them knew too much about The Widow's Sons.
Geovanna stood up with that aura of good humor that had once enamored Gregory.
— Well! It's time to eat! — she exclaimed jovially. — I'm thinking of making a paella that will make you all suck your fingers.
For that, you need to go outside, to the garden. There you can continue talking about Templars and cathedrals. Come on! Outside!
That discordant note of positive energy drew smiles from the men who, urged by the advice, decided to take a walk, taking advantage of the enviable temperature outside. Their feet carried them to the path lined with volcanic stones. And from there, to the pink marble fountain, in the center of which stood an image of the god Mercury.
— It may seem stupid, but I still don't understand why there's so much mystery surrounding knowledge that nowadays we should value as hackneyed and insubstantial," said Gregory, his brain working at breakneck speed.
— We're in the 21st century. Everything is feasible thanks to modern science and human technological advancement. We've even mastered the language of God, as we're capable of modifying our own species, thanks to DNA.
— Space engineering, genetics, nuclear energy, and the rest of the latest scientific discoveries are the result of the use of the Liberal Arts. — Monroe was ready to defend ancestral values with all his might. — However, you don't understand the importance of the knowledge that the Freemasons defend.
— That's because no one has explained it to me... — He grimaced. — But I'm sure you're thinking about doing that right now.
Umbert smiled spontaneously.
— Talking about the Liberal Arts won't help you at all, and even less so if you don't know how to interpret its relevance to God's direct communication with humanity.
— Let's just say I'm curious...
— Okay, but don't say I'm the one filling your head with stories — he warned, first of all. "According to the Cooke Manuscript, which is kept in the British Museum in London, the first of the Liberal Arts is Grammar, which teaches man to speak and write correctly. The second is Rhetoric, with which he learns to speak with decorum and elegance. The third is Dialectic, which prepares man to distinguish between truth and falsehood, and is the mother of Philosophy. Then comes the fourth science, Arithmetic, which teaches man to calculate and count numbers. The fifth, the most important of all, is the science of the Great Masters, Geometry, capable of educating man in the wise management of the limits, measures, and weights of the other arts. The sixth is Music, which teaches man the seven intonations and how to convey them through song and various string, wind, or percussion instruments.
The last is Astronomy, which brings man closer to the most obscure and primitive science: the movement of the Sun, the Moon, and other celestial bodies... Whoever mastered the seven sciences was worthy of entering the temple of God and fulfilling their spiritual needs by speaking directly with Him. The cathedral is the symbol of universal mysticism. Whoever seeks the protection of its arches feels within them the magic that projects the wisdom of the Great Architect and feeds on it.
— Iacobus speaks of the telluric magic of stone. Are we talking about the same thing? — Gregory asked.
— You said it yourself. The stone, from the moment it is ripped from the earth, becomes a divine element for Masons, something like the consecrated host that the priest places in the mouth of the Christian...
Then he stopped, staring at him coldly.
— Listen, medieval stonemasons loved their craft above all else and honored it.
Back then, the worst thing that could happen to one of them was to damage one of the stones intended to cover the cathedral's walls, forcing work to halt until a new piece could be cut to replace it. The defective piece was placed on a cart, and the careless mason was dressed in a black cape. Then, they were forced to carry the stone in procession from the damaged site to the temple's cemetery or ossuary. Once there, the stone was buried with all the honors a human being could receive, including prayers. Afterwards, everyone returned to the guild to flog the person responsible for the loss in front of their fellow workers. And at night, while everyone slept, the embarrassed mason had to cut and hew a new stone, which had to fit perfectly into the still-open hole, so that everyone would forget what had happened...— he paused for a moment.
— Do you still not understand the extent of the obsession of those men, for whom rocks held an almost divine value?
— I'm starting to get the idea.
Gregory Evans had to admit that the lodge's rules bordered on fanaticism. A doctrine that shrouded the stones could not be reconciled with human rational thought, no matter how much Umbert insisted. Believing she knew what was going on in his mind, Monroe offered him some advice:
— If the behavior of cathedral builders seems extravagant to you, I suggest you brush up on the Book of Psalms. The verses will amaze you, I assure you.
Then they heard Alissa's voice calling them from the doorway. She held a bottle of wine and claimed a man's skill in opening it. By mutual agreement, they decided to return.
And they did so in silence, each of them absorbed in the depths of their own reflections.