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[personal profile] kippurbird
Chapter eight reveals the Shocking Dirty Limerick.

13-3-2-21-1-1-8-5
O, Draconian devil!
Oh, lame saint!


It doesn't really scan well does it? I like mine better. Anyway, it's the Draconian devil bit that apparently makes the Bull think about devil worship. They discuss the message and what it could mean, Langdon not having a clue to it. And then the Bull reveals that the most shocking thing about the message is that a French man in France wrote the message in English. Which, actually, I'll give Brown, as something actually strange. Another thing is that with that invisible ink pen of his, the Curator drew a circle around himself. Thus, according to Langdon, symbolizing The Vitruvian Man, by Da Vinci.

Da Vinci, according to Brown and Langdon:

"Was a flamboyant homosexual and a worshiper of Nature's divine order, both of which placed him in perpetual state of sin against God. Moreover, the artist's eeire eccentricities projected an admittedly demonic aura: Da Vinci exhumed corpses to study human anatomy; he kept mysterious journals in illegible reverse handwriting; he believed he possessed the alchemic power to turn lead into gold and even cheat God by creating an elixir to postpone death; and his inventions included horrific, never-before-imagined weapons of war and torture."


And this is why apparently Fache thinks that Da Vinci was a devil worshiper.

Now, I did a bit of research and yes there is some speculation that Da Vinci may have been a homosexual, but there's nothing concrete about it. He certainly wasn't flamboyant about it. If anything that would have been suicide. As for the rest, people have been searching for a way to turn lead into gold for ages and the same for the elixir to postpone death. It has nothing to do with devil worshiping at all. But why should we let facts get in the way?

Also, apparently:

Even Da Vinci's enormous output of breathtaking Christian art only furthered the artist's reputation for spiritual hypocrisy. Accepting hundreds of lucrative Vatican commissions, Da Vinci painted Christian themes not as an expression of his own beliefs but rather as a commercial venture - a means of funding a lavish lifestyle. Unfortunately Da Vinci was a prankster who often amused himself by quietly gnawing on the hand that fed him. He incorporated in many of his paintings hidden symbolism that was anything but Christian -tributes to his own beliefs and a subtle thumbing of his nose at the Church.


Now I work at the American Jewish University. It's the largest Jewish University in America, I believe. We have non-Jews working there. Does that mean they're being hypocritical for taking a job that will allow them to sustain their preferred lifestyle since they're not Jewish? Of course not! They got the job there because it was where they were able to work using the skills that they knew. In Da Vinci's time the Church was the largest client of artwork. Only the really rich could afford it and he wouldn't have made enough money waiting around for the rich to want a portrait. So, it's only logical that he goes to the Church to take their commissions to earn a living. He may not believe in what they believe in, but that doesn't stop him from painting a picture and earning money so he doesn't starve to death. He may have been a genius but that really have anything to do with earning a living.

There's a brief discussion on the fact that the Curator and Da Vinci shared spiritual beliefs and that the fact that Sauniere would want to tell them who killed him by writing down the murder's name, which he didn't but apparently Fuche thinks that Langdon did it.

Bobo is apparently watching the conversation at Fuche's request. Fuche is apparently a Master at... something. I'm not really sure, but it has to do with his ability with suspects and getting them to confess or something. They suspect Langdon and have managed to slip a tracking device -GPS unit- on him.

Suddenly, the Girl Shows up. She's a Cryptographer (unforunately this doesn't mean she studies crypts). Fuche does not like women in the police force. Fache argued, was weakening the department. Women not only lacked the physicality necessary for police work, but their mere presence posed a dangerous distraction to men in the field I don't think Fache gets laid enough. Or at all. And that's his real problem with women.

The Girl is named Sophia Neveu and she barges right into the crime scene without permission. She gives Langdon a note with a phone number saying it's from the American Embassy. Someone wants to get in touch with him. Langdon doesn't wonder why they didn't call him on his cell phone, but instead wonders who it could be. Does the man not own a cell phone? I mean really.

Anyway, he calls up the number on the paper and it's not the Embassy but instead the Girl's answering machine. Confused, of course, he starts to question her, but she insists that he continue on with the phone call. Her eyes can talk, "Her green eyes sent a crystal clear message".

The message on the machine for Langdon is "Do not react to this message. Just listen calmly. YOu are in danger right now.Follow my directions closely."

My reaction to this would be, "Is this some sort of joke?" I imagine this won't be Langdon's.
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