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Always check your sources
A visitor arrived at a monastery high in the mountains. Since they didn't get many visitors, the abbot was happy to show him around. He was proudest of the scriptorium, where the monks spent hours every day making copies of precious manuscripts. "We take turns proofreading each other's work," the abbot said. "Every page is checked over at least six times to make sure that no error is introduced in the process of copying."
"And these are the original texts they're copying from?" asked the visitor.
"Oh, no," said the abbot. "We wouldn't want to take a chance on anything happening to those. We keep them safely locked in our crypt. The monks in the scriptorium use copies that were made from the original manuscripts centuries ago."
"I see," said the visitor. "But are you sure there are no errors in the copies you're copying from? I mean, it doesn't matter how carefully you copy the copies if they have mistakes in them."
The abbot chuckled. "I don't think there's much chance of that. But, when I get a little time, maybe I'll take a look at the originals just to make sure."
The next morning, when the monks assembled for prayer, the abbot was not among them, nor was he in his quarters. Joined by the visitor, the monks searched through all the monastery buildings. In the chapel, they heard muffled sobs, and after looking around for a bit they found a door open behind the altar, with a flight of steps leading down. "Where does this go?" asked the visitor.
"To the crypt," the monks told him. They all scrambled down the stairs, and found the abbot sitting at a desk. The desk was covered with ancient manuscripts, dimly illuminated by candles. The abbot was weeping as if his heart would break.
"Father Abbot," asked the monks anxiously, "what is the matter?"
The abbot raised his tearful eyes and looked at them. "It says CELEBRATE," he sobbed.
//Mollis
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Lite skoj bara..., ..för den som orkar läsa engelska
12-07-2007, 12:43
(åtminstone för mig:-)
