The Templar Knight. Jan Guillou

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СКАЧАТЬ ‘Your scriptures say many things. But if, for the sake of vanity, you want me to expose my modesty and make myself fair-smelling like worldly men, I might just as well ask you to stop calling me your enemy. For just listen to the words of your own scriptures, from the sixty-first Sura, words of your own Prophet, may peace be with Him: “Faithful! Be God’s disciples. Just as Jesus, the son of Mary, said to the white-clad: ‘Who will be my disciple for the sake of God?’ And they answered: ‘We will be God’s disciples!’ Among the children of Israel, some came to believe in Jesus while others rejected him. But we supported those who believed in him against their enemies, and the faithful departed with victory.” I particularly like the part about the white-clad…’

      At these words Emir Moussa sprang to his feet as if he were about to reach for his sword, but halfway there he restrained himself and stopped. His face was red with anger when he stretched out his arm and pointed an accusatory finger at the Templar knight.

      ‘Infidel!’ he cried. ‘You speak the language of the Koran; that is one thing. But twisting God’s words with blasphemy and ridicule is another matter that you would not be allowed to survive if it weren’t for His Majes…because my friend Yussuf has given you his word!’

      ‘Sit down and behave yourself, Moussa!’ shouted Yussuf harshly, regaining his composure as Moussa obeyed his command. ‘What you heard were indeed the words of God, and they were from the sixty-first Sura, and they are words you ought to consider. And don’t think, by the way, that the phrase “the white-robed” refers to what our guest spoke of in jest.’

      ‘No, of course it does not,’ the Templar knight hurried to smooth things over. ‘It refers to those who wore white robes long before my order existed; my clothing has nothing to do with it.’

      ‘How do you happen to be so familiar with the Koran?’ asked Yussuf in his customary and quite calm tone of voice, as if no disruption had occurred, and his high rank had not been almost revealed.

      ‘It is a wise thing to study your enemy; if you like, I can help you to understand the Bible,’ replied the Templar knight, as if trying to joke his way out of the topic, seeming to regret his clumsy invasion of the faithfuls’ territory.

      Yussuf was about to utter a stern reply to his lighthearted talk of entering into blasphemous studies, when he was interrupted by a long drawn-out, horrifying scream. The scream turned into something that sounded like scornful laughter, rolling down toward them and echoing off the mountainsides above. All five men froze and listened; Emir Moussa immediately began rattling off the words the faithful use to conjure up the jinni of the desert. Then the scream came again, but now it sounded as if it came from several spirits of the abyss, as if they were talking to each other, as if they had discovered the little fire below and the only people in the area.

      The Templar knight leaned forward and whispered a few words in Frankish to his sergeant, who nodded at once, stood up, and buckled on his sword. He drew his black cloak tighter, bowed to his unbeliever hosts, and then, without saying a word, turned on his heel and disappeared into the darkness.

      ‘You must excuse this rudeness,’ said the Templar knight. ‘But the fact is that we have the scent of blood and fresh meat up in our camp, and horses that must be tended to.’

      He didn’t seem to think he needed to offer any further explanation, and with a bow he stretched out his mocha cup for Emir Moussa to refill it. The emir’s hand shook slightly as he poured.

      ‘You send your sergeant into the darkness and he obeys without blinking?’ said Fahkr in a voice that sounded slightly hoarse.

      ‘Yes,’ said the Templar knight. ‘A man must obey even if he feels fear. But I don’t think that Armand does. The darkness is more of a friend for the man who wears a black cloak than the one who wears white, and Armand’s sword is sharp and his hand steady. Wild dogs, those spotted beasts with their horrid barking, are also known for their cowardice, are they not?’

      ‘But are you certain it was only wild dogs we heard?’ asked Fahkr doubtfully.

      ‘No,’ replied the Templar knight. ‘There is much we do not know between heaven and hell; no one can ever be certain. But the Lord is our shepherd, and we shall not want, even though we wander through the valley of the shadow of death. That is doubtless what Armand is praying as he walks along in the dark right now. That is what I would pray, at any rate. If God has measured out our time and wishes to call us home, there is nothing we can do, of course. But until then we cleave the skulls of wild dogs as we do those of our enemies, and in that respect I know that you who believe in the Prophet, may peace be with Him, and deny the Son of God, think exactly as we do. Am I not right, Yussuf?’

      ‘You are right, Templar knight,’ Yussuf confirmed. ‘But then where is the borderline between reason and belief, between fear of and trust in God? If a man must obey, as your sergeant must obey, does that make his fear any less?’

      ‘When I was young…well, I am not yet a particularly old man,’ said the Templar knight, seeming to think deeply, ‘I was still preoccupied with that sort of question. It is good for your mind; your thoughts grow nimble from exercising your mind. But nowadays I am afraid I grow sluggish. You obey. You conquer evil. Afterwards you thank God - that is all.’

      ‘And if you do not conquer your enemy?’ asked Yussuf in a gentle voice, which those who knew him did not recognize as his normal voice.

      ‘Then you die, at least in the case of Armand and myself,’ replied the Templar knight. ‘And on Judgment Day you and I will be measured and weighed, and where you will then end up, I cannot say, even though I know what you yourself believe. But if I die here in Palestine, my place will be in paradise.’

      ‘You truly believe that?’ asked Yussuf in his strange, gentle voice.

      ‘Yes, I believe that,’ replied the Templar knight.

      ‘Then tell me one thing: Is that promise actually in your Bible?’

      ‘No, not exactly; it does not say that exactly.’

      ‘But you are still quite certain?’

      ‘Yes, the Holy Father in Rome has promised…’

      ‘But he is only a man! What man can promise you a place in paradise, Templar knight?’

      ‘But Muhammed too was merely a man! And you believe in his promise, forgive me, may peace be to his name.’

      ‘Muhammed, may peace be with him, was God’s messenger, and God said: “But the messenger and those who follow him in faith and strive for the sake of God, offering up their property and lives, shall be rewarded with goodness in this life and in the next, and everything they touch will prosper.” Those words are very clear, are they not? And it goes on…’

      ‘Yes! In the next verse of the ninth Sura,’ the Templar knight interjected brusquely. ‘“God has prepared for them gardens of pleasure, watered by streams, where they shall remain for all eternity. This is the great and glorious victory!” So, we understand each other, I presume? None of this is foreign to you, Yussuf. And by the way, the difference between us is that I have no possessions, I have put myself in God’s hands, and when He decides, I will die for His sake. Your own beliefs do not contradict what I say.’

      ‘Your knowledge of God’s word is truly great, Templar knight,’ said Yussuf, but at the same time he was pleased that he had caught his enemy in a trap, and his companions could see this.

      ‘Yes, СКАЧАТЬ