"Scott Mackay - The Sages Of Cassiopeia2" - читать интересную книгу автора (Mackay Scott)

the fire, and stirred the embers with the poker. The fire danced from the
ashes,
casting unruly shadows on the rafters. So prudent to please the court, and
more
importantly, the Church, even after the Reformation, especially because he was
a
Lutheran in Catholic territory. But what, exactly, pleased Bishop Anders?
Bishop
Anders preached frugality and sacrifice from the pulpit, yet lived like a
prince
and allowed the brothers of the order to eat red meat every day. How was one
to
reconcile the stag's head mounted on the wall with the figure of Christ on the
Crucifix next to the window? Truly a puzzling man, an unpredictable and
unpleasant man, a man who had always envied the house of Brahe. The bishop
turned from the fire.

"Circles and numbers and endless observations," said Bishop Anders. "A truly
meticulous account of Our Lord's universe." He walked to the table and
shuffled
through the sheets. "But this here," he said, pointing, "where you mention
Kopernik of Cracow. Why must you do that? Everyone knows he was damned as a
heretical fool. His work is no better than the scrawl of a madman."

"Your Holiness, I mention Kopernik because of the discrepancies he discovered
in
Ptolemy's system. Certainly he was misguided to claim the sun resides at the
center of the universe, but perhaps you haven't fully understood my final
calculations," said Tycho. "You'll see that I've explained Kopernik's
inconsistencies while keeping earth in its true and proper place."

"I don't care about your calculations, Lord Brahe," said the bishop. "I care
about your soul. And I sometimes fear the way of science leads directly to the
Devil. Is it not better to behold and worship God's miracles? Everything you
need to know is written here." The bishop tapped the thick Bible on the table.
"Let us not question God's wisdom in putting the earth in the center of the
universe. Let us not question this new star in the sky, for there was once a
star over Bethlehem with the same benign radiance. Let us not question how
your
brother has gained reason or how the widow Huitfeldt's Peder has been touched
with intelligence. These are miracles, Lord Brahe, and to pursue them with
scientific study shows ill judgment and a temperament hardly attuned to the
truer course of prayer."

The Brahe brothers walked through the village of Knudstrup, Tycho on his mare,
Magnus leading the horse by a rope. As they neared the canal, the village
bullies emerged from behind the embankment and pelted Magnus with mud and cow
dung, laughing, shrieking with cruel glee.

"Be gone with you, wretched curs," cried Tycho, drawing his sword.