The Testament of James (Case Files of Matthew Hunter and Chantal Stevens) by Vin Suprynowicz Page A
Authors: Vin Suprynowicz
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nakedness, sometimes knowledge of things which he is as yet unprepared to properly control.”
“I see you’re better schooled in these things than I, Brother Matthew.”
“I doubt that. But my question is, if man fell into sin because he gained knowledge, and if one’s goal is to once again bring man closer to God, aren’t there times when it would be better achieved by keeping him in ignorance?”
“Ignorance is a relative term.”
“Yes it is. A classical scholar lecturing at the University of Rome in 1563 once saw a copy of a history by Eunapius in the Vatican Library. Perhaps you know the story. He asked Cardinal Sirlet to arrange for a copy to be made, but he was refused. He was told the pope himself considered the book ‘impious and wicked.’ A member of the Society of Jesus later informed him that the book ‘had perished by an act of divine providence.’”
“It was the last known copy.” Matthew sighed. “The withholding of knowledge till the would-be recipients are ‘ready’ can be a habit that’s hard to break, Brother Dominic. Who is to decide when the people are ready for knowledge?”
“He who possesses the knowledge.”
“Exactly. And I am not retained by the great religions of the world to help them keep the faithful bound in their chains of ignorance.”
“All this drama, Mr. Hunter, so counterproductive,” the big man himself now sighed as he finally leaned back, a bit theatrically. “In the end, you’re a book dealer, and we’re customers for a book. There’s a saying in the trade that the biggest sales are often the easiest, because you’re dealing with a knowledgeable buyer. He knows ‘the ropes.’”
“That’s often true.”
“I hope I’ve made it clear that my patron can pay cash, there would be no need for any complicated bank transactions to leave tracks for your tax men. This would-be buyer from California, you understand he’s not a real divine. Some kind of mail-order divinity degree, as I understand it. He ministers to the Hollywood set, promoting the latest feel-good nostrums. Not that it isn’t understandable that these wandering souls would try this and that, in a nation with so little authentic religion. But more to the point, a man of limited means, with volatile backers, buying certain older manuscripts for their counter-cultural appeal, merely as a hobby or a means of self-advancement. Sell to an inexperienced amateur, he can go whooping and bragging about his new treasure, he wants his picture in the newspapers, and the taxmen can show up like sharks at the smell of blood.
“In contrast, we understand how greedy state and national governments can be when a large transaction occurs within their . . . giuriadizione . We have long experience arranging discreet cash transactions where the seller doesn’t have to share the proceeds with some posturing potentate.”
“But when your patron buys a book, Brother Dominic, it’s never seen again.”
“And how is that so different from any other private sale? One time in a thousand, some overgrown college of agriculture wants to buy a Shakespeare folio to create some good publicity, making up for the fact they lost that promising young athlete to Notre Dame.” He pronounced the name of the Indiana football school like it was a cathedral in France. “Otherwise, you sell a book and it disappears into a private library for a generation, if not longer. Sometimes there are even fires or floods, the work is gone for good.
“My principal is no barbarian, I assure you. His vaults have proven secure for quite a long time. The book will be read, studied, preserved and cared for.”
“Until it rots away. I sincerely doubt the book would be available to any outsider to study, any more than the other copies he’s acquired over the centuries. Besides, as you mentioned, you and your associates haven’t been so very quiet and discreet in recent days, at all. So much drama, Brother Dominic.”
“Yes. You
“I see you’re better schooled in these things than I, Brother Matthew.”
“I doubt that. But my question is, if man fell into sin because he gained knowledge, and if one’s goal is to once again bring man closer to God, aren’t there times when it would be better achieved by keeping him in ignorance?”
“Ignorance is a relative term.”
“Yes it is. A classical scholar lecturing at the University of Rome in 1563 once saw a copy of a history by Eunapius in the Vatican Library. Perhaps you know the story. He asked Cardinal Sirlet to arrange for a copy to be made, but he was refused. He was told the pope himself considered the book ‘impious and wicked.’ A member of the Society of Jesus later informed him that the book ‘had perished by an act of divine providence.’”
“It was the last known copy.” Matthew sighed. “The withholding of knowledge till the would-be recipients are ‘ready’ can be a habit that’s hard to break, Brother Dominic. Who is to decide when the people are ready for knowledge?”
“He who possesses the knowledge.”
“Exactly. And I am not retained by the great religions of the world to help them keep the faithful bound in their chains of ignorance.”
“All this drama, Mr. Hunter, so counterproductive,” the big man himself now sighed as he finally leaned back, a bit theatrically. “In the end, you’re a book dealer, and we’re customers for a book. There’s a saying in the trade that the biggest sales are often the easiest, because you’re dealing with a knowledgeable buyer. He knows ‘the ropes.’”
“That’s often true.”
“I hope I’ve made it clear that my patron can pay cash, there would be no need for any complicated bank transactions to leave tracks for your tax men. This would-be buyer from California, you understand he’s not a real divine. Some kind of mail-order divinity degree, as I understand it. He ministers to the Hollywood set, promoting the latest feel-good nostrums. Not that it isn’t understandable that these wandering souls would try this and that, in a nation with so little authentic religion. But more to the point, a man of limited means, with volatile backers, buying certain older manuscripts for their counter-cultural appeal, merely as a hobby or a means of self-advancement. Sell to an inexperienced amateur, he can go whooping and bragging about his new treasure, he wants his picture in the newspapers, and the taxmen can show up like sharks at the smell of blood.
“In contrast, we understand how greedy state and national governments can be when a large transaction occurs within their . . . giuriadizione . We have long experience arranging discreet cash transactions where the seller doesn’t have to share the proceeds with some posturing potentate.”
“But when your patron buys a book, Brother Dominic, it’s never seen again.”
“And how is that so different from any other private sale? One time in a thousand, some overgrown college of agriculture wants to buy a Shakespeare folio to create some good publicity, making up for the fact they lost that promising young athlete to Notre Dame.” He pronounced the name of the Indiana football school like it was a cathedral in France. “Otherwise, you sell a book and it disappears into a private library for a generation, if not longer. Sometimes there are even fires or floods, the work is gone for good.
“My principal is no barbarian, I assure you. His vaults have proven secure for quite a long time. The book will be read, studied, preserved and cared for.”
“Until it rots away. I sincerely doubt the book would be available to any outsider to study, any more than the other copies he’s acquired over the centuries. Besides, as you mentioned, you and your associates haven’t been so very quiet and discreet in recent days, at all. So much drama, Brother Dominic.”
“Yes. You
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