As they descended, Peter suddenly stopped on a landing and swung his flashlight beam to illuminate a large stone medallion embedded in the wall.
What in the world?! Langdon jumped when he saw the carving.
The medallion depicted a frightening cloaked figure holding a scythe and kneeling beside an hourglass. The figure's arm was raised, and his index finger was extended, pointing directly at a large open Bible, as if to say: "The answer is in there!"
Langdon stared at the carving and then turned to Peter.
His mentor's eyes shone with mystery. "I'd like you to consider something, Robert." His voice echoed down the empty stairwell. "Why do you think the Bible has survived thousands of years of tumultuous history? Why is it still here? Is it because its stories are such compelling reading? Of course not . . . but there is a reason. There is a reason Christian monks spend lifetimes attempting to decipher the Bible. There is a reason that Jewish mystics and Kabbalists pore over the Old Testament. And that reason, Robert, is that there exist powerful secrets hidden in the pages of this ancient book . . . a vast collection of untapped wisdom waiting to be unveiled."
Langdon was no stranger to the theory that the Scriptures contained a hidden layer of meaning, a concealed message that was veiled in allegory, symbolism, and parable.
"The prophets warn us," Peter continued, "that the language used to share their secret mysteries is a cryptic one. The Gospel of Mark tells us, `Unto you is given to know the mystery . . . but it will be told in parable.' Proverbs cautions that the sayings of the wise are `riddles,' while Corinthians talks of `hidden wisdom.' The Gospel of John forewarns: `I will speak to you in parable . . . and use dark sayings.' "
Dark sayings, Langdon mused, knowing this strange phrase made numerous odd appearances in Proverbs as well as in Psalm 78. I will open my mouth in a parable and utter dark sayings of old. The concept of a "dark saying," Langdon had learned, did not mean that the saying was "evil" but rather that its true meaning was shadowed or obscured from the light.
"And if you have any doubts," Peter added, "Corinthians overtly tells us that the parables have two layers of meaning: `milk for babes and meat for men'--where the milk is a watered-down reading for infantile minds, and the meat is the true message, accessible only to mature minds."
Peter raised the flashlight, again illuminating the carving of the cloaked figure pointing intently at the Bible. "I know you are a skeptic, Robert, but consider this. If the Bible does not contain hidden meaning, then why have so many of history's finest minds--including brilliant scientists at the Royal Society--become so obsessed with studying it? Sir Isaac Newton wrote more than a million words attempting to decipher the true meaning of the Scripture, including a 1704 manuscript that claimed he had extracted hidden scientific information from the Bible!" Langdon knew this was true.
"And Sir Francis Bacon," Peter continued, "the luminary hired by King James to literally create the authorized King James Bible, became so utterly convinced that the Bible contained cryptic meaning that he wrote in his own codes, which are still studied today! Of course, as you know, Bacon was a Rosicrucian and penned The Wisdom of the Ancients." Peter smiled. "Even the iconoclastic poet William Blake hinted that we should read between the lines."
Langdon was familiar with the verse:
BOTH READ THE BIBLE DAY AND NIGHT,
BUT THOU READ BLACK WHERE I READ WHITE.
"And it wasn't just the European luminaries," Peter continued, descending faster now. "It was here, Robert, at the very core of this young American nation, that our brightest forefathers--John Adams, Ben Franklin, Thomas Paine--all warned of the profound dangers of interpreting the Bible literally. In fact, Thomas Jefferson was so convinced the Bible's true message was hidden that he literally cut up the pages and reedited the book, attempting, in his words, `to do away with the artificial scaffolding and restore the genuine doctrines.' "
Langdon was well aware of this strange fact. The Jeffersonian Bible was still in print today and included many of his controversial revisions, among them the removal of the virgin birth and the resurrection. Incredibly, the Jeffersonian Bible had been presented to every incoming member of Congress during the first half of the nineteenth century.
"Peter, you know I find this topic fascinating, and I can understand that it might be tempting for bright minds to imagine the Scriptures contain hidden meaning, but it makes no logical sense to me. Any skilled professor will tell you that teaching is never done in code."
"I'm sorry?"
"Teachers teach, Peter. We speak openly. Why would the prophets--the greatest teachers in history--obscure their language? If they hoped to change the world, why would they speak in code? Why not speak plainly so the world could understand?"
Peter glanced back over his shoulder as he descended, looking surprised by the question. "Robert, the Bible does not talk openly for the same reason the Ancient Mystery Schools were kept hidden . . . for the same reason the neophytes had to be initiated before learning the secret teachings of the ages . . . for the same reason the scientists in the Invisible College refused to share their knowledge with others. This information is powerful, Robert. The Ancient Mysteries cannot be shouted from the rooftops. The mysteries are a flaming torch, which, in the hands of a master, can light the way, but which, in the hands of a madman, can scorch the earth." Langdon stopped short. What is he saying? "Peter, I'm talking about the Bible. Why are you talking about the Ancient Mysteries?"
Peter turned. "Robert, don't you see? The Ancient Mysteries and the Bible are the same thing."
Langdon stared in bewilderment.
Peter was silent for several seconds, waiting for the concept to soak in. "The Bible is one of the books through which the mysteries have been passed down through history. Its pages are desperately trying to tell us the secret. Don't you understand? The `dark sayings' in the Bible are the whispers of the ancients, quietly sharing with us all of their secret wisdom."
Langdon said nothing. The Ancient Mysteries, as he understood them, were a kind of instruction manual for harnessing the latent power of the human mind . . . a recipe for personal apotheosis. He had never been able to accept the power of the mysteries, and certainly the notion that the Bible was somehow hiding a key to these mysteries was an impossible stretch.
"Peter, the Bible and the Ancient Mysteries are total opposites. The mysteries are all about the god within you . . . man as god. The Bible is all about the God above you . . . and man as a powerless sinner."
"Yes! Exactly! You've put your finger on the precise problem! The moment mankind separated himself from God, the true meaning of the Word was lost. The voices of the ancient masters have now been drowned out, lost in the chaotic din of self-proclaimed practitioners shouting that they alone understand the Word . . . that the Word is written in their language and none other."
Peter continued down the stairs.
"Robert, you and I both know that the ancients would be horrified if they saw how their teachings have been perverted . . . how religion has established itself as a tollbooth to heaven . . . how warriors march into battle believing God favors their cause. We've lost the Word, and yet its true meaning is still within reach, right before our eyes. It exists in all the enduring texts, from the Bible to the Bhagavad Gita to the Koran and beyond. All of these texts are revered upon the altars of Freemasonry because Masons understand what the world seems to have forgotten . . . that each of these texts, in its own way, is quietly whispering the exact same message." Peter's voice welled with emotion. " `Know ye not that ye are gods?'"