The bloody star, centered on Saunière's navel, gave his corpse a distinctly ghoulish aura. The photo Langdon had seen was chilling enough, but now, witnessing the scene in person, Langdon felt a deepening uneasiness.
He did this to himself.
"Mr. Langdon?" Fache's dark eyes settled on him again.
"It's a pentacle," Langdon offered, his voice feeling hollow in the huge space. "One of the oldest symbols on earth. Used over four thousand years before Christ."
"And what does it mean?"
Langdon always hesitated when he got this question. Telling someone what a symbol "meant" was like telling them how a song should make them feel—it was different for all people. A white Ku Klux Klan headpiece conjured images of hatred and racism in the United States, and yet the same costume carried a meaning of religious faith in Spain.
"Symbols carry different meanings in different settings," Langdon said. "Primarily, the pentacle is a pagan religious symbol."
Fache nodded. "Devil worship."
"No," Langdon corrected, immediately realizing his choice of vocabulary should have been clearer.
Navel 肚脐
Ghoulish 令人毛骨悚然的
Headpiece 头巾
这颗血星以索尼埃的肚脐为中心，这使尸体更显得令人恐怖。照片已令兰登不寒而栗，现在亲自到了现场，兰登更是吓得魂不附体。
他自己弄成这样。
"兰登先生？"法希的黑眼睛又在盯着他。
"这是巫术中的五角形护身符。"兰登说。他的声音在这么大的空间里显得有些沉闷。"这是世界上最早的一个符号，公元前四千年以前使用的。"
"它代表什么？"
在回答这个问题时兰登总是有些犹豫。告诉一个人一个符号"意味"着什么就如同告诉人家听一首歌时感受如何一样不好说--各人的感觉都不一样。三K 党的白巾在美国是仇恨和种族主义的形象，而在西班牙同样的服饰则表示一种宗教信仰。
"符号在不同的环境下表示的意思也不一样。"兰登说。"五角形主要是一种异教符号。"
法希点点头。"魔鬼崇拜。"
"不对。"兰登纠正道。他马上就意识到自己的用词应该更准确一些。
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