Harry Potter Morning Light

Chapter 1929 Under the Lion's Claw ([-])

In 1642, Captain Banning Kirk, the captain of the shooter, and his team members offered 100 Dutch guilders each, and asked Rembrandt to draw a group portrait.At that time, the citizens' army no longer had any battles to fight, and became a social club for wealthy citizens. They were keen to ask painters to paint their own portraits to show their martial arts, and these well-dressed and well-dressed young people were also very popular. favored by the citizens.Captain Banning Kirk saw the portraits painted by Rembrandt for Pastor Anselau and his wife. He liked the paintings very much. They draw a group portrait.

According to general requirements, this type of commissioned painting needs to arrange the painted objects in order of official position and size.But when Rembrandt created this painting, he did not draw it according to the request of the client. If he did so, the picture of the painting would be very rigid.The characters in Rembrandt's final works are arranged naturally, each person's posture and expression are different, and the light also has different performances in different parts of the picture.The composition of this work adopts a method close to the stage effect, which not only allows everyone's image to appear on the screen, but also arranges them in a patchwork manner, with strong contrast between light and dark, rich layers and full of drama.

But the buyers were not satisfied. They paid 100 guilders each, just to show half of their face?The patrolmen protested to the painter because they paid the same money but could not have the same status on the painting, and the painting was refused.In order to claim back the commission, the guild took the matter to court.

Rembrandt used his wife as a model and painted many controversial religious historical paintings. He was attacked in court. Even if he won the lawsuit, his career suffered a serious setback. downhill.Not long after his wife passed away, under the double blow, he made up his mind not to cater to the appetite of buyers, but to paint what he wanted.

The color of his later paintings was dull, in addition to his painting style, but also because he could not afford too expensive pigments, Siena ocher was brownish-yellow before heating, and it would turn reddish-brown after heating.

During the plague of Milan in 1630, someone witnessed a man riding a carriage in the outskirts of Milan, followed by several people. The next day after they appeared, the lintels of every house in Milan were smeared with blood, which looked horrifying.

This time Milan was not as lucky as the Black Death in the 14th century, with heavy casualties.

In 1494, Savonarola, a group of monks from my church, served as the spiritual and secular leaders of Florence and established the Florentine Republic.He burned many luxuries that he considered immoral, and he also targeted Pope Alexander VI and the Medici family in his sermons.

The raging fire that was lit on the square of the Florence Town Hall was what he called the "fire of vanity", including mirrors, cosmetics, portraits, pagan books, gambling and game instruments, lutes, women's hats, etc. Renaissance art, philosophy, and secular books were all burned.Including Botticelli, who once loved pagan themes, was also obsessed with Savonarola's sermons in his later years, and threw his own works into the fire himself.

Spices can not only make perfume, but also be used for burning. Some people use it to smoke clothes, and some people put it in incense burners as supplies for religious ceremonies, or to drive away diseases. Some spices were once as valuable as gold. Coupled with Marco Polo's travel notes, Westerners feel that the East is full of spices and gold.

The Crusades brought back many books preserved by the Saracens, which they spent money to get translated from the Alexandria Library.

A wax figure of Savonarola is kept in a church in Florence, and many of the so-called pagan books he burned were about Greek gods.The Florentines soon got tired of it, and some shops were forced to close because they violated his ban. The prosperous Florence suddenly fell into poverty, and with the arrival of 1500, the end of the world was not coming. There was booing during Lola's sermon, a civil uprising ensued, he and his followers drifted away, and things went back to normal.

The Latin Quarter is not only a university city, but also many bookstores. There are several rare bookstores on the street next to the Luxembourg Gardens. From the window of the bookstore, you can see the movement of the Fountain of Innocence opposite, so Severus went to Ask Orlando to stop the carriage at the intersection and walk to one of the rare book shops.

A clerk in a white shirt was sitting at the desk by the entrance, writing something, when he saw a customer coming, he raised his head and greeted Severus.

"Bonjour."

Severus ignored him, looking casually at the bookshelves around him.

The so-called rare books refer to precious or rare books or materials. The manuscript of the Declaration of Independence is written on ordinary paper, and its preciousness is mainly reflected in its content.But this rare book store sells beautifully bound books, which look really visually impactful as a set of bronzing books arranged neatly.

In the past, people put knowledge and books in a supreme position, and even used gold and gemstones to frame them. When they were placed on the bookshelves that went straight to the ceiling, they looked like colorful mosaics.

"Need help, sir?" the clerk said in English.

"I want to see for myself first," Severus said patiently.

So the clerk sat down again.

He turned around among the bookshelves, found a convenient place to monitor, then took a book at random, and held it while pretending to read it, but his eyes were looking into the dark forest.

There seemed to be nothing abnormal over there, as if all the ambushes had been evacuated.

At this moment, he looked down at the book in his hand, and it turned out to be a "Ten Days Talk".

Brushing gold on the raw edge is a relatively common process in French rare book binding. The cover of the book is made of sheepskin, and the golden flower pattern is hot-plated on the black base.Turning to the first page, there is an engraving printed on silk cloth, which is the scene of a group of young men and women in Florence telling stories.

The page Severus turned to told the first story of the fourth day.

Prince Don Clay of Salerno was a kind and magnanimous prince, but in his later years, his hands were stained with the blood of a couple.There are no three men and two women under his knees, but only one princess who is raised alone. The prince really loves her in every possible way. Since ancient times, fathers love their daughters in this way; It would be happier.Since the prince loved the princess so much, he was reluctant to marry her off regardless of delaying his daughter's youth; until later, he couldn't hide it anymore.This married her to the son of the Duke of Capua.Shortly after the unfortunate marriage, her husband died, and she became a widow and returned to her father again.

She was in the prime of her youth, with a vivacity of nature, figure and features, all very pretty, and quick-witted.It's a pity to be a woman.She lived in her father's palace, pampered and lived a luxurious life; later, seeing that her father loved her so much, he didn't want to remarry her at all, and she was too embarrassed to speak up, so she secretly planned to find a man she liked to be his lover.

in and out of her father's court.There were people of the third and lower classes, and she carefully observed the behavior of many men, and saw a young squire named Guiscardo in front of her father, although he came from a humble background.But his character is noble and imposing, and he is indeed superior to everyone else. She likes him so much that she falls in love with him secretly.The young man was not a fool, and he soon sensed her intentions, and he couldn't help being moved. He only thought about her all day long, and forgot everything else.It has been a long time since the two of them exchanged glances like this, the princess just wanted to find a chance to have a tryst with him.

There is a mountain near the prince's palace, and on the mountain there is a stone chamber dug many ages ago. In the mountainside, another tunnel was dug at that time, and through the twilight, it led directly to the cave.The stone chamber had been abandoned for a long time, so the exit of the tunnel was overgrown with thorns and weeds, almost covering the entrance of the cave.In the stone room, there is a secret stone step leading directly to the palace. There is a heavy door between the stone step and the palace. Open the door and you will be a room downstairs of the princess.Because the cave has been abandoned for a long time, everyone has forgotten this stone step.But nothing can escape the lover's eyes, so it was actually remembered by the amorous princess.

She didn't want anyone to know her secret, so she found a few tools and opened the door by herself. After several days of hard work, she finally opened the door.She climbed up the stone steps until she found the exit of the cave. She wrote down the topography of the tunnel and the approximate height of the cave from the ground, etc., and asked Guiscardo to try to sneak into her palace through this tunnel.

Guiscardo immediately prepared a rope, with many knots and many turns, for climbing up and down.The next night, putting on a fur coat so that the thorns would not hurt him, he sneaked to the foot of the mountain alone, found the opening, fastened the end of the rope to a strong tree stump, and walked down the road. rope, descended to the bottom of the cave, and waited for the princess there.

The next day, the princess hypothesized that she was going to take a nap, sent out all the maids, and locked herself in the room alone.So she opened the secret door, walked down the stone steps and down the cave, and found Guiscardo, and they were all overjoyed.The princess led him into her bedroom, and the two stayed in the room for a long time, really happy like a fairy.When they parted, the two agreed that everything should be done cautiously and that others should not know their private affairs.So Guiscardo returned to the cave, and the princess locked the secret door and went to her maid.After dark, Guiscardo climbed up the rope, went out through the entrance hole, and returned to his dwelling.Since the discovery of this shortcut, the lovers have had frequent trysts.

After all, the paper can't contain the anger, and in the end their affairs were found out by the prince, and the angry prince shouted angrily.

"Jiscardo, I usually treat you kindly, but I don't want to let me see you with my own eyes today. You dare to ruin my daughter's reputation!"

Guiscardo didn't say a word, just answered him like this: "The power of love is beyond your control."

The prince ordered him to be closely guarded, and he was immediately imprisoned in a secret room in the palace.

At night when he saw his daughter, he began to yell again, "Kismonda, I always thought you were dignified and stable, but I never thought you would do such a thing: if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, but heard it told me, then You have sex with a man other than your husband, even if you have this kind of desire, I will never believe it. I have reached the end of my life, and I don’t have a few more years to live. I don’t want to encounter such a scandal. Tell me from now on When I think about it later, I feel heartache! Even if you want to do such a shameless thing, my God, you have to choose a man with a suitable status! Many princes and grandchildren come and go in and out of my court, but you have just taken a fancy to it Guiscardo—this is a lowly servant, so to speak, who has relied on us since he was a child to keep him in the palace. Your behavior really disturbs me, and I don't know how to deal with you. As for Guiscardo, as soon as he climbed out of the cave last night, I caught him and locked him up. I have my own way of dealing with him. As for you, God knows, I can't make up my mind at all. On the one hand, I I can't be cruel to you. No father in the world loves you as deeply as I do. On the other hand, when I think of you being so frivolous, how can I not burst into anger? If you look at the father and daughter I have no choice but to forgive you; if it is a matter of fact, I will not care about the relationship between my brothers and sisters, and I must punish you severely. However, before I make up my mind, let me hear what you have Nothing to say."

When Zismonda heard her father's words, knowing that not only their affair had been exposed, but that Guiscardo had also been imprisoned, she felt an unspeakable grief, and several times almost felt like a woman. Crying and screaming.She knew that her Guiscardo was bound to die, but the noble love overcame the fragile feelings. With amazing willpower, she forced herself to be calm, and made up her mind that she would rather die than say a word of begging for mercy.Therefore, in front of her father, she did not look like a woman crying because she made a mistake and was blamed, but she was fearless, with no tears in her eyes, and no worry on her face, and answered her father frankly:

"I'm not going to deny it, and I don't want to ask you for mercy; because the first thing won't do me any good, and the second thing is good, I don't want to do it. I don't want you to look at the father and daughter No, I just need to tell the truth of the matter, defend my reputation with good reasons, and then respond firmly to the great call of my soul with deeds. Yes, I am in love For Guiscardo, I will love him as long as I live—not long, I am afraid. If one loves after death, I will continue to love him after death. Falling in love is not so much because of a woman's weak will, but because you don't want to find me another husband, and at the same time because he is respectable and lovely. Some women are satisfied as long as they find a man casually, I It is not so; I chose Guiscardo among many men, after some observation and deliberation, with the intention of teasing him, and we both enjoyed a good deal of pleasure by playing it safe. I scolded, and listened to your tone, I entered into an affair, and the crime was relatively minor; it's just that I should never have sex with a low-spirited man, as if I were to find a prince and grandson as my lover , then you won't be angry with me. This is completely unreasonable worldly prejudice. You shouldn't blame me, you have to complain, you can only blame the god of fate, why does he always let those vulgar and incompetent people steal Occupying a prominent and honorable high position, those heroes of the world are buried in the grass. Our souls are all given by God, with the same function, the same utility, and the same virtue. We humans are born equal Yes, only morality is the criterion for distinguishing human beings, and those who display their great talents and virtues can be regarded as "noble"; But it is not blotted out, but it shows itself in the nature and manners of men; so that every man of virtue proves his nobility, and if such a man is said to be base, it is not his. As for his character and talent, I don't trust other people's judgments, but only your words and my own vision. Who has praised him so many times and regarded him as you did? To be a man of excellence? Really, your many praises are not without reason. If I am not mistaken, I dare to say: you deserve every word you praise him. You think he is enough, but he is better than you. Praise is worth three points. If I misunderstood him, then I was fooled by you."

The prince, enraged, ordered the two guards guarding Guiscardo that night to hang him in private, and to dig out his heart and bring it to him.The two guards did follow his orders.

The next day, the prince asked someone to take out a large and exquisite golden cup, put Guiscardo's heart in it, and ordered his confidant servant to give the golden cup to the princess, and at the same time told him to spread the word: "Your father Wang, because you comforted him with his most beloved things, so now he also sends your most beloved things to comfort you."

Besides, after her father left, Qismonda was determined, so she asked someone to pick the poisonous root of the weed and boiled it into poisonous juice, preparing to use it at any time once her doubts became a reality.The attendant brought the prince's gift, and also told the prince's words.Without changing her face, she took the golden cup, opened it, and saw that there was a heart inside, and she understood why the prince said such words, and at the same time understood that it must be Guiscardo's heart; so she Turning back to the servant, he said:
"Only by using gold as a tomb, can this heart not be wronged. My father did this very well!"

Then she held the golden cup tightly, lowered her head, gazed at the heart, and said, "Oh, you are my safe haven, and all my happiness rests on you. The most damning thing is that man's cruel behavior."

After speaking, she took out the bottle containing the poison that she had prepared yesterday, and she poured it into the golden cup, pouring all the poison on the heart that had been washed by tears; so she had no fear Lifting the golden cup, brought it to his mouth, and drank the poisonous juice in one gulp.After drinking, she still held the golden cup in her hand, climbed onto the bed, slept very upright and peacefully, pressed her lover's heart on her own, and waited for the arrival of death without saying a word.

Hearing what she said, the prince felt as if a knife was piercing his heart, and he couldn't answer for a while.

This is the end of Guiscardo and Qismonda, the hard-fated lovers.It was useless for Don Klein to cry, and it was too late to repent, so they were buried together in a grand ceremony, and the people of Salerno felt sad when they heard their deeds.

A poet said: I have always secretly imagined that heaven should look like a library.

Voltaire put his heart in the library and his body is buried in the Pantheon.

"I'm sorry." Severus raised the rare book in his hand and said to the clerk, "I want to buy this one."

"Yes sir, is this the only one?" said the clerk.

"I'll take a look," Severus said.

After he finished speaking, he continued to browse in the bookstore, as if he had forgotten about the surveillance.

(End of this chapter)