Fache's expression clouded. "I beg your pardon?"
"Replication. Repeating a symbol is the simplest way to strengthen its meaning. Jacques Saunière positioned himself in the shape of a five-pointed star." If one pentacle is good, two is better.
Fache's eyes followed the five points of Saunière's arms, legs, and head as he again ran a hand across his slick hair. "Interesting analysis." He paused. "And the nudity?" He grumbled as he spoke the word, sounding repulsed by the sight of an aging male body. "Why did he remove his clothing?"
Damned good question, Langdon thought. He'd been wondering the same thing ever since he first saw the Polaroid. His best guess was that a naked human form was yet another endorsement of Venus—the goddess of human sexuality. Although modern culture had erased much of Venus's association with the male/female physical union, a sharp etymological eye could still spot a vestige of Venus's original meaning in the word "venereal." Langdon decided not to go there.
"Mr. Fache, I obviously can't tell you why Mr. Saunière drew that symbol on himself or placed himself in this way, but I can tell you that a man like Jacques Saunière would consider the pentacle a sign of the female deity. The correlation between this symbol and the sacred feminine is widely known by art historians and symbologists."
"Fine. And the use of his own blood as ink?"
"Obviously he had nothing else to write with."
Repulsed 憎恶
Endorsement 背书
Etymological 词源的
Vestige 遗迹
Venereal 性交的
法希脸茫然。"对不起，我没明白。"
"复制。重复一个符号是强化它的意义最简单的方法。雅克。索尼埃把自己放置成了五角星的形状。"一个五角星很好，两个更好。
法希又把手插进了油光光的头发里，眼睛朝索尼埃的五个角看去--胳膊、腿和头。"有意思的分析。"他停了一下又说："那为什么裸体？"他有些不满地说道，好像很讨厌看到一个老年男人的裸体。"他为什么把衣服都脱了？"
兰登心想，真是好问题。从第一眼看到宝丽莱快照，他就一直对这个问题疑惑不解。他最接近的猜测是，裸体是性爱女神维纳斯赞许的事情。虽然现代文化已基本清除维纳斯与男女身体结合的关联，但对词源有研究的人，仍然可以敏锐地发觉"维纳斯（Venus）"本意中有与"性交"（Venereal）有关联的蛛丝马迹。不过，兰登不打算讨论那些。
"法希先生，显然我说不出为什么索尼埃在自己身上画那样的符号，也说不清为什么他那样放置自己，但是我可以告诉你，像雅克。索尼埃那样的人会视五角星符号为一种阴性神灵。这个符号和阴性神灵之间的关联是广为艺术史学家和符号象征学专家所知的。"
"好的。那么他为什么用自己的血当墨？"
"但显然，他没有别的东西可供写字。"
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