达芬奇密码 作者: 美 丹·布朗(英文版)-第78部分

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across　the　table　and　fixed　Teabing　with　an　admonishing　glare。　〃And　frankly；　sir；　considering　your　allegiance　to　the　Crown；　I'm　a　little　surprised　you　didn't　recognize　it。〃
In　a　flash；　Langdon　knew。
No　wonder　the　script　looks　so　damned　familiar！
Several　years　ago；　Langdon　had　attended　an　event　at　Harvard's　Fogg　Museum。　Harvard　dropout　Bill　Gates　had　returned　to　his　alma　mater　to　lend　to　the　museum　one　of　his　priceless　acquisitions—eighteen　sheets　of　paper　he　had　recently　purchased　at　auction　from　the　Armand　Hammar　Estate。
His　winning　bid—a　cool　30。8　million。
The　author　of　the　pages—Leonardo　da　Vinci。
The　eighteen　folios—now　known　as　Leonardo's　Codex　Leicester　after　their　famous　owner；　the　Earl　of　Leicester—were　all　that　remained　of　one　of　Leonardo's　most　fascinating　notebooks：　essays　and　drawings　outlining　Da　Vinci's　progressive　theories　on　astronomy；　geology；　archaeology；　and　hydrology。
Langdon　would　never　forget　his　reaction　after　waiting　in　line　and　finally　viewing　the　priceless　parchment。　Utter　letdown。　The　pages　were　unintelligible。　Despite　being　beautifully　preserved　and　written　in　an　impeccably　neat　penmanship—crimson　ink　on　cream　paper—the　codex　looked　like　gibberish。　At　first　Langdon　thought　he　could　not　read　them　because　Da　Vinci　wrote　his　notebooks　in　an　archaic　Italian。　But　after　studying　them　more　closely；　he　realized　he　could　not　identify　a　single　Italian　word；　or　even　one　letter。
〃Try　this；　sir；〃　whispered　the　female　docent　at　the　display　case。　She　motioned　to　a　hand　mirror　affixed　to　the　display　on　a　chain。　Langdon　picked　it　up　and　examined　the　text　in　the　mirror's　surface。
Instantly　it　was　clear。
Langdon　had　been　so　eager　to　peruse　some　of　the　great　thinker's　ideas　that　he　had　forgotten　one　of　the　man's　numerous　artistic　talents　was　an　ability　to　write　in　a　mirrored　script　that　was　virtually　illegible　to　anyone　other　than　himself。　Historians　still　debated　whether　Da　Vinci　wrote　this　way　simply　to　amuse　himself　or　to　keep　people　from　peering　over　his　shoulder　and　stealing　his　ideas；　but　the　point　was　moot。　Da　Vinci　did　as　he　pleased。
　
Sophie　smiled　inwardly　to　see　that　Robert　understood　her　meaning。　〃I　can　read　the　first　few　words；〃　she　said。　〃It's　English。〃
Teabing　was　still　sputtering。　〃What's　going　on？〃
〃Reverse　text；〃　Langdon　said。　〃We　need　a　mirror。〃
〃No　we　don't；〃　Sophie　said。　〃I　bet　this　veneer　is　thin　enough。〃　She　lifted　the　rosewood　box　up　to　a　canister　light　on　the　wall　and　began　examining　the　underside　of　the　lid。　Her　grandfather　couldn't　actually　write　in　reverse；　so　he　always　cheated　by　writing　normally　and　then　flipping　the　paper　over　and　tracing　the　reversed　impression。　Sophie's　guess　was　that　he　had　wood…burned　normal　text　into　a　block　of　wood　and　then　run　the　back　of　the　block　through　a　sander　until　the　wood　was　paper　thin　and　the　wood…burning　could　be　seen　through　the　wood。　Then　he'd　simply　flipped　the　piece　over；　and　laid　it　in。
As　Sophie　moved　the　lid　closer　to　the　light；　she　saw　she　was　right。　The　bright　beam　sifted　through　the　thin　layer　of　wood；　and　the　script　appeared　in　reverse　on　the　underside　of　the　lid。
Instantly　legible。
〃English；〃　Teabing　croaked；　hanging　his　head　in　shame。　〃My　native　tongue。〃
　
At　the　rear　of　the　plane；　Rémy　Legaludec　strained　to　hear　beyond　the　rumbling　engines；　but　the　conversation　up　front　was　inaudible。　Rémy　did　not　like　the　way　the　night　was　progressing。　Not　at　all。　He　looked　down　at　the　bound　monk　at　his　feet。　The　man　lay　perfectly　still　now；　as　if　in　a　trance　of　acceptance；　or　perhaps；　in　silent　prayer　for　deliverance。
　
CHAPTER　72
Fifteen　thousand　feet　in　the　air；　Robert　Langdon　felt　the　physical　world　fade　away　as　all　of　his　thoughts　converged　on　Saunière's　mirror…image　poem；　which　was　illuminated　through　the　lid　of　the　box。
　
Sophie　quickly　found　some　paper　and　copied　it　down　longhand。　When　she　was　done；　the　three　of　them　took　turns　reading　the　text。　It　was　like　some　kind　of　archaeological　crossword。。。　a　riddle　that　promised　to　reveal　how　to　open　the　cryptex。　Langdon　read　the　verse　slowly。
An　ancient　word　of　wisdom　frees　this　scroll。。。　and　helps　us　keep　her　scatter'd　family　whole。。。　a　headstone　praised　by　templars　is　the　key。。。　and　atbash　will　reveal　the　truth　to　thee。
Before　Langdon　could　even　ponder　what　ancient　password　the　verse　was　trying　to　reveal；　he　felt　something　far　more　fundamental　resonate　within　him—the　meter　of　the　poem。　Iambic　pentameter。
Langdon　had　e　across　this　meter　often　over　the　years　while　researching　secret　societies　across　Europe；　including　just　last　year　in　the　Vatican　Secret　Archives。　For　centuries；　iambic　pentameter　had　been　a　preferred　poetic　meter　of　outspoken　literati　across　the　globe；　from　the　ancient　Greek　writer　Archilochus　to　Shakespeare；　Milton；　Chaucer；　and　Voltaire—bold　souls　who　chose　to　write　their　social　mentaries　in　a　meter　that　many　of　the　day　believed　had　mystical　properties。　The　roots　of　iambic　pentameter　were　deeply　pagan。
Iambs。　Two　syllables　with　opposite　emphasis。　Stressed　and　unstressed。　Yin　yang。　A　balanced　pair。　Arranged　in　strings　of　five。　Pentameter。　Five　for　the　pentacle　of　Venus　and　the　sacred　feminine。
〃It's　pentameter！〃　Teabing　blurted；　turning　to　Langdon。　〃And　the　verse　is　in　English！　La　lingua　pura！〃
Langdon　nodded。　The　Priory；　like　many　European　secret　societies　at　odds　with　the　Church；　had　considered　English　the　only　European　pure　language　for　centuries。　Unlike　French；　Spanish；　and　Italian；　which　were　rooted　in　Latin—the　tongue　of　the　Vatican—English　was　linguistically　removed　from　Rome's　propaganda　machine；　and　therefore　became　a　sacred；　secret　tongue　for　those　brotherhoods　educated　enough　to　learn　it。
〃This　poem；〃　Teabing　gushed；　〃references　not　only　the　Grail；　but　the　Knights　Templar　and　the　scattered　family　of　Mary　Magdalene！　What　more　could　we　ask　for？〃
〃The　password；〃　Sophie　said；　looking　again　at　the　poem。　〃It　sounds　like　we　need　some　kind　of　ancient　word　of　wisdom？〃
〃Abracadabra？〃　Teabing　ventured；　his　eyes　twinkling。
A　word　of　five　letters；　Langdon　thought；　pondering　the　staggering　number　of　ancient　words　that　might　be　considered　words　of　wisdom—selections　from　mystic　chants；　astrological　prophecies；　secret　society　inductions；　Wicca　incantations；　Egyptian　magic　spells；　pagan　mantras—the　list　was　endless。
〃The　password；〃　Sophie　said；　〃appears　to　have　something　to　do　with　the　Templars。〃　She　read　the　text　aloud。　〃　'A　headstone　praised　by　Templars　is　the　key。'　〃
〃Leigh；〃　Langdon　said；　〃you're　the　Templar　specialist。　Any　ideas？〃
Teabing　was　silent　for　several　seconds　and　then　sighed。　〃Well；　a　headstone　is　obviously　a　grave　marker　of　some　sort。　It's　possible　the　poem　is　referencing　a　gravestone　the　Templars　praised　at　the　tomb　of　Magdalene；　but　that　doesn't　help　us　much　because　we　have　no　idea　where　her　tomb　is。〃
〃The　last　line；〃　Sophie　said；　〃says　that　Atbash　will　reveal　the　truth。　I've　heard　that　word。　Atbash。〃
〃I'm　not　surprised；〃　Langdon　replied。　〃You　probably　heard　it　in　Cryptology　101。　The　Atbash　Cipher　is　one　of　the　oldest　codes　known　to　man。〃
Of　course！　Sophie　thought。　The　famous　Hebrew　encoding　system。
The　Atbash　Cipher　had　indeed　been　part　of　Sophie's　early　cryptology　training。　The　cipher　dated　back　to　500　B。C。　and　was　now　used