Eco: Foucalt's Pendulum (30 page)

When it is recalled that
Daath is situated at the point where the abyss bisects the Middle
Pillar, and that up the Middle Pillar lies the Path of the Arrow,
the way by which consciousness goes when the psychic rises on the
planes, and that here also is Kundalini, we see that in Daath is
the secret of both generation and regeneration, the key to the
manifestation of all things through the differentiation into pairs
of Opposites and their union in a Third.

¡XDion Fortune, The
Mystical Qabalah, London, Fraternity ofthe Inner Light, 1957,
7.19

In any case I wasn't
supposed to concern myself with Manutius; my job was the wonderful
adventure of metals. I began by exploring the Milan libraries. I
started with textbooks, made a bibliography on file cards, and from
there I went back to the original sources, old or new, looking for
decent pictures. There's nothing worse than illustrating a chapter
on space travel with a photograph of the latest American satellite.
Signer Garamond had taught me that it needs, at the very least, an
angel by Dore.

I reaped a harvest of
curjous reproductions, but they weren't enough. To choose the right
picture for an illustrated book, you have to reject at least ten
others.

I got permission to go
to Paris for four days. Not much time to visit all the archives.
Lia came with me. We arrived Thursday and had return reservations
for the Monday-evening train, and I scheduled the Conservatoire for
Monday, a mistake, because I found out the Conservatoire was closed
Mondays. Too late. I left Paris crestfallen.

Belbo was vexed, but I
had collected plenty of interesting things, and we went to show
them to Signer Garamond. He leafed through the reproductions, many
of them in color, then looked at the bill and let out a whistle.
"My dear friend," he said, "our work is a mission, true, we toil in
the fields of culture, ca va sans dire, but we're not the Red
Cross¡Xmore, we're not UNICEF. Was it necessary to buy all this
material? I mean, I see here a mustachioed gentleman in his
underwear who looks like d'Artagnan, surrounded by abracadabras and
capricorns. Who is he? Mandrake?"

"Primitive medicine.
Influence of the zodiac on the different parts of the body, with
the corresponding curative herbs. And minerals, including metals.
The doctrine of the cosmic signatures. Those were times when the
boundary between magic and science was rather
ill-defined."

"Interesting. But what
does this title page mean? Philosophia Moysaica. What's Moses got
to do with it? Isn't that being a little too primitive?"

"It's the dispute over
unguentum armarium, otherwise known as weapon salve. Illustrious
physicians spent fifty years arguing whether this salve could heal
wounds by being smeared on the weapon that had dealt the
blow.''

"Incredible. And that's
science?"

"Not in today's sense of
the word. But they considered this seriously, because they had just
discovered the marvels of the magnet, the magic possibility of
action at a distance...These men were wrong, but later, Volta and
Marconi were not. What are electricity and radio if not action at a
distance?"

"Well, well. Bravo,
Casaubon. Science and magic going arm in arm, eh? Great idea. Let's
pursue this. Throw out some of those revolting generators and put
in a few more Mandrakes. Perhaps a summoning of the Devil, say, on
a gold background."

"I wouldn't want to go
too far. This is the wonderful adventure of metals. Oddities work
only when they're to the point."

"The wonderful adventure
of metals must be, most of all, the story of science's mistakes.
Stick in the catchy oddity, and in the caption say it's wrong. In
the meantime, the reader's hooked, because he sees that even the
greats had crazy ideas, just like him."

I told them about a
strange thing I had seen in Paris, a bookshop near quai
Saint-Michel. Its symmetrical windows advertised its own
schizophrenia: on one side, books on computers and the electronics
of the future; on the other, occult sciences. And it was the same
inside: Apple and cabala.

"Unbelievable," Belbo
said.

"Obvious," Diotallevi
said. "Or, at least, you're the last person who should be
surprised, Jacopo. The world of machines seeking to rediscover the
secret of creation: letters and numbers."

Garamond said nothing.
He had clasped his hands as if in prayer, and his eyes were turned
heavenward. Then he smacked his hands together. "What you've said
today confirms an idea of mine. For a while now IVe...But all in
good time; it needs more thought. Meanwhile, carry on. You've done
well, Casaubon. We must look at your contract again; you're a
valuable colleague. And, yes, put in plenty of cabala and
computers. Computers are made with silicon, aren't
they?"

"But silicon isn't a
metal. It's a nonmetallic element."

"Metallic, nonmetallic,
why split hairs? What is this, Rosa rosarum? Computers and
cabala."

"Cabala isn't a metal
either," I said.

He accompanied us to the
door. At the threshold he said: "Casaubon, publishing is an art,
not a science. Let's not think like revolutionaries, eh? Those days
are past. Put in the cabala. Oh, yes, about your expenses: I've
taken the liberty of disallowing the couchette. Not to be stingy,
believe me. It's just that research requires¡Xhow shall I put
it?¡Xa Spartan spirit. Otherwise you lose your faith."

He summoned us again a
few days later, telling Belbo there was a visitor in his office he
wanted us to meet.

We went. Garamond was
entertaining a fat gentleman with a face like a tapir's, no chin, a
little blond mustache beneath a large, animal nose. I thought I
recognized him; then I knew who it was: Professor Bramanti, the man
I had gone to hear in Rio, the referendary or whatever of that
Rosicrucian order.

"Professor Bramanti,"
Garamond said, "believes this is the right moment for a smart
publisher, alert to the cultural climate of the time, to inaugurate
a line of books on the occult sciences."

"For...Manutius," Belbo
suggested.

"Why, naturally." Signor
Garamond smiled shrewdly. "Professor Bramanti¡Xwho, by the way, was
recommended to me by my dear friend Dr. De Amicis, the author of
that splendid volume Chronicles of the Zodiac, which we brought out
this year-has been lamenting the fact that the few works published
on his subject¡Xalmost invariably by frivolous and unreliable
houses-fail to do justice to the wealth, the profundity of this
field of studies..."

"Given the failure of
the Utopias of the modern world," Bramanti said, "the time is ripe
for a reassessment of the culture of the forgotten
past."

"What you say is the
sacred truth, Professor. But you must forgive our¡XI don't like to
say ignorance¡Xour unfamiliarity with the subject. When you speak
of occult sciences, what exactly do you have in mind? Spiritualism,
astrology, black magic?"

Bramanti made a gesture
of dismay. "Please! That's just the sort of nonsense that's foisted
on the ingenuous. I'm talking about science, occult though it be.
Of course, that may include astrology when appropriate, but not the
kind that tells a typist that next Sunday she'll meet the man of
her dreams. No. What I mean, to give an example, would be a serious
study of the de-cans."

"Yes, I see. Scientific.
It's in our line, to be sure; but could you be a little more
specific?"

Bramanti settled into
his chair and looked around the room, as if to seek astral
inspiration. "I'd be happy to give you some examples, of course. I
would say that the ideal reader of a collection of this sort would
be a Rosicrucian adept, and therefore an expert in magiam, in
necromantiam, in astrologiam, in geo-mantiam, in pyromantiam, in
hydromantiam, in chaomantiam, in medicinam adeptam, to quote the
book of Azoth, which, as the Raptus philosophorum explains, was
given to Staurophorus by a mysterious maiden. But the knowledge of
the adept embraces other fields, such as physiognosis, which deals
with occult physics, the static, the dynamic, and the kinematic, or
astrology and esoteric biology, the study of the spirits of nature,
hermetic zoology. I could add cosmognosis, which studies the
heavens from the astronomical, cosmological, physiological, and
ontological points of view, and anthropognosis, which studies human
anatomy, and the sciences of divination, psychurgy, social
astrology, hermetic history. Then there is qualitative mathematics,
arithmology...But the fundamentals are the cosmography of the
invisible, magnetism, auras, fluids, psy-chometry, and
clairvoyance, and in general the study of the five hyperphysical
senses¡Xnot to mention horoscopic astrology (which, of course,
becomes a mere mockery of learning when not conducted with the
proper precautions), as well as physiognomies, mind reading, and
the predictive arts (tarots, dream books), ranging to the highest
levels, such as prophecy and ecstasy. Sufficient information would
be required on alchemy, spa-gyrics, telepathy, exorcism, ceremonial
and evocatory magic, basic theurgy. As for genuine occultism, I
would advise exploration of the fields of early cabala, Brahmanism,
gymnosophy, Memphis hieroglyphics¡X"

"Templar phenomenology,"
Belbo slipped in.

Bramanti glowed.
"Absolutely. But I almost forgot: first, some idea of necromancy
and sorcery among the other races, ono-mancy, prophetic furies,
voluntary thaumaturgy, hypnotic suggestion, yoga, somnambulism,
mercurial chemistry...For the mystical tendency, Wronski advises
bearing in the mind the techniques of the possessed nuns of Loudon,
the convulsives of Saint-Mldard, the mystical beverages, the wine
of Egypt, the elixir of life, and arsenic water. For the principle
of evil¡Xbut I realize mat here we come to the most delicate part
of a possible series¡X I would say we need to acquaint the reader
with the mysteries of Beelzebub as destruction proper, with Satan
as dethroned prince, and with Eurynomius, Moloch, incubi and
succubi. For the positive principle, the celestial mysteries of
Saint Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and the agathodemons. Then of
course the mysteries of Isis, Mithra, Morpheus, Samothrace, and
Eleusis, and the natural mysteries of the male sex, phallus, Wood
of Life, Key of Science, Baphomet, mallet, then the natural
mysteries of the female sex, Ceres, Cteis, Patera, Cybele,
Astarte."

Signor Garamond leaned
forward with an insinuating smile. "I wouldn't overlook the
Gnostics..."

"Certainly not, although
on that particular subject a great deal of rubbish is in
circulation. In any case, every sound form of occultism is a
gnosis."

"Just what I was going
to say," said Garamond.

"And all this would be
enough?" Belbo asked innocently.

Bramanti puffed out his
cheeks, abruptly transforming himself from tapir to hamster.
"Enough? To begin with, yes, but not for beginners, if you'll
forgive the little joke. But with about fifty volumes you could
enthrall an audience of thousands, readers who are only waiting for
an authoritative word...With an investment of perhaps a few hundred
million lire¡XI've come to you personally, Dr. Garamond, because I
know of your willingness to undertake such generous ventures¡Xand
with a modest royalty for myself, as editor in chief of the
series..."

Bramanti had now gone
too far; Garamond was losing interest. The visitor was dismissed
hastily, with expansive promises. The usual committee of advisers
would carefully weigh the proposal.

But you must know that
we are all in agreement, whatever we say.

¡XTurba
Philosopkorum

After Bramanti had left,
Belbo remarked that he should have pulled his cork. Signor Garamond
was unfamiliar with this expression, so Belbo attempted a few
polite paraphrases, but with little success.

"Let's not quibble,"
Garamond said. "Before that gentleman said five words, I knew he
wasn't for us. Not him. But the people he was talking about,
authors and readers alike¡Xthat's different. Professor Bramanti
happened to confirm the very idea I Ve been pondering for some days
now. Here, look at this," he said, theatrically taking three books
from his drawer.

"Here are three volumes
that have come out in recent years, all of them successful. The
first is in English; I haven't read it, but the author is a famous
critic. What has he written? The subtitle calls it a gnostic novel.
Now look at this: a mystery, a best-seller. And what's it about? A
gnostic church near Turin. You gentlemen may know who these
Gnostics are..." He paused, waved his hand. "It doesn't matter.
They're something demoniacal; that's all I need to know...Yes,
maybe I'm being hasty, but I'm not trying to talk like you, I'm
trying to talk like Bramanti¡Xthat is, I'm speaking as a publisher,
not as a professor of comparative gnoseology or whatever it is.
Now, what was it that I found clear, promising, inviting¡Xno, more,
intriguing¡X in Bramanti's talk? His extraordinary capacity for
tying everything together. He didn't mention Gnostics, but he
easily could have, what with geomancy, maalox, and mercurial
Radames. And why do I insist on this point? Because here is another
book, by a famous journalist, who tells about incredible things
that go on in Turin¡XTurin, mind you, the city of the automobile.
Sorceresses, black masses, consorting with the Devil¡Xand for
paying customers, not for poor crazed peasants in the south.
Casaubon, Belbo tells me you were in Brazil and saw the savages
down there performing satanic rites...Good, later you can tell me
about it, but really, it's all the same. Brazil is right here,
gentlemen. The other day I went personally into that bookshop¡X
what's it called? Never mind; it doesn't matter¡Xyou know, the
place where six or seven years ago they sold anarchist books, books
about revolutionaries, Tupamaros, terrorists¡Xno, more,
Marxists...Well, the place has been recycled. They stock those
things Bramanti was talking about. It's true today we live in an
age of confusion. Go into a Catholic bookshop, where there used to
be nothing but the catechism, and you find a reassessment of
Luther, though at least they won't sell a book that says religion
is all a fraud. But in the shops I'm talking about they sell the
authors who believe and the authors who say it's all a fraud,
provided the subject is¡Xwhat do you call it?"

"Hermetic," Diotallevi
prompted.

"Yes, I believe that's
the right word. I saw at least a dozen books on Hermes. And that's
what I want to talk to you about: Project Hermes. A new
branch..."

"The golden branch,"
Belbo said.

"Exactly," Garamond
said, missing the reference. "It's a gold mine, all right. I
realized that these people will gobble up anything that's hermetic,
as you put it, anything that says the opposite of what they read in
their books at school. I see this also as a cultural duty: I'm no
philanthropist, but in these dark times to offer someone a faith, a
glimpse into the beyond...Yet Garamond also has a scholarly
mission..."

Belbo stiffened. "I
thought you had Manutius in mind."

"Both. Listen, I rooted
around in that shop, then went to another place, a very respectable
place, but even it had an occult sciences section. There are
university-level studies on these subjects sitting on the shelves
alongside books written by people like Bramanti. Think a minute:
Bramanti has probably never met any of the university authors, but
he's read them, read them as if they were just like him. Whatever
you say to such people, they think you're talking about their
problem, like the story of the cat, where the couple was arguing
about a divorce but the cat thought they were disagreeing about the
giblets for its lunch. You must have noticed it, Belbo; you dropped
that remark about the Templars and he nodded immediately. Sure, the
Templars, too, and cabala, and the lottery, and tea leaves. They're
omnivorous. Omnivorous. You saw Bramanti's face: a rodent. A huge
audience, divided into two categories¡XI can see them lining up
now, and they're legion. In primis: the ones who write about it,
and Manutius will greet them with open arms. All we have to do to
draw them is start a series that gets a little publicity. We could
call it...let's see..."

"The Tabula Smaragdina,"
Diotallevi said.

"What? No. Too
difficult. It doesn't say anything to me. No. What we want is
something that suggests something else..."

"Isis Unveiled," I
said.

"Isis Unveiled! That's
good. Bravo, Casaubon. It has Tutankhamen in it, the scarab of the
pyramids. Isis Unveiled, with a slightly black-magical cover, but
not overdone. Now let's continue. The second group: those who buy
it. I know what you're thinking, my friends: Manutius isn't
interested in the buyer. But there's no law to that effect. This
time, we'll sell Manutius books. Progress, gentlemen!

"But there are also the
scholarly studies, and that's where Garamond comes in. We'll look
through the historical studies and the other university series and
find ourselves an expert, a consultant. Then we'll publish three or
four books a year. An academic series, with a title that'sxdirect
but not too picturesque..."

"Hermetica," Diotallevi
said.

"Excellent. Classical,
dignified. You ask me: Why spend money with Garamond when we can
make money with Manutius? But the scholarly series will act as a
lure, attracting intelligent people, who will make suggestions and
point out new directions. And it will also attract the others, the
Professor Bra-mantis, who will be rerouted to Manutius. It seems
perfect to me: Project Hermes, a nice, clean, profitable operation
that will strengthen the flow of ideas between the two firms...To
work, gentlemen. There are libraries to visit, bibliographies to
compile, catalogs to request. And find out what's being done in
other countries...Who knows how many people have already slipped
through our fingers, people bearing treasures, and we dismissed
them as worthless. Casaubon, don't forget, in the history of
metals, to put in a little alchemy. Gold's a metal, I believe. Hold
your comments for later: you know I'm open to criticism,
suggestions, objections, as all cultured people are. This project
is in effect as of now.

"Signora Grazia, that
gentleman's been waiting two hours. That's no way to treat an
author! Show him in!" he shouted, to make himself heard as far as
the reception room.