The diplomat became more specific, encouraged by the approving nods of the Pope:
‘On the one hand there is Sulaiman, Sultan and Caliph of Islam, young, ambitious, with limitless power, but anxious to make the crimes of his father forgotten and to appear as a man of good will. On the other hand there is Charles, King of Spain, even younger and no less ambitious, who has managed, by spending a small fortune, to get himself elected to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire. Facing these two men, the most powerful in the world, is the Papal State, with a gigantic cross and a dwarf sword.’
He made a short pause.
‘Certainly, the Holy See is not alone in fearing this conjunction. There is King François, who is struggling to prevent his kingdom being dismembered. There is also Henry of England, entirely devoted to His Holiness, but too far off to be the slightest help.’
I still did not see how my humble self could be of use in this galaxy of crowned heads. But I did not want to interrupt the Florentine.
‘This delicate situation, to which the Holy Father Leo alluded in your presence, was the subject of frequent discussion with Cardinal Julius and myself. Today, as before, we feel that we must be active in several directions to reduce the dangers. We must, before everything else, reconcile ourselves with François, which will not be a simple matter. For thirty years the kings of France have sought to conquer Italy. They were held justly responsible for the evils which afflicted the peninsula, and their troops were accused of leaving epidemics and devastation in their wake. We must also persuade Venice, Milan and Florence to forget their quarrels and make a common front against the empire.’
He adopted a quieter tone and leaned forward, as he always did when imparting a confidence:
‘We have also thought that we should enter into negotiations with the Ottomans. But how? We have no idea, nor do we know what we might be able to obtain from them. A slowing down of the advance of the janissaries across the Christian lands of Central Europe? Probably not. The re-establishment of peace in the Mediterranean? An end to the depredations of the pirates?’
He replied to each of his own questions with a doubtful frown. Clement took over again:
‘What is certain is that it is time to build a bridge between Rome and Constantinople. But I am not a sultan. If I dared to go too quickly, a thousand criticisms from Spain and Germany would rain down upon me, from my own colleagues.’
He smiled at his slip of the tongue.
‘I mean from the cardinals. We have to proceed very carefully, to wait for opportunities, to see what the French, the Venetians and the other Christian powers are doing. You two will make a team. Leo now knows Turkish, as well as Arabic. Above all he knows the Ottomans well, and their ways of thought and action. He has even been on an embassy in Constantinople; Francesco is completely familiar with Our policies and can negotiate in Our name.’
He added, as if talking to himself:
‘I would only have preferred one of the emissaries to have been a priest…’
And then, louder, in a slightly mocking tone:
‘Master Guicciardini has already refused to have himself ordained. As for you, Leo, I am amazed that Our dear cousin and glorious predecessor never suggested that you should devote your life to religion.’
I was puzzled; why was the man who had introduced me to Maddalena asking me such a question? I glanced at Guicciardini; he seemed worried. I gathered that the Pope wanted to examine my religious convictions before sending me on a mission to the Muslims. Seeing that I hesitated to reply, he tried again:
‘Would not religion have been the best of all ways of life for a man of learning and education like yourself?’
I was evasive:
‘To speak of religion in the Holy Father’s presence is like speaking of one’s fiancée in her father’s presence.’
Clement smiled. Without letting go of me.
‘And what would you say about the fiancée if the father was not there?’
I decided to prevaricate no longer:
‘If the head of the Church was not listening to me, I would say that religion teaches men humility, but that it has none itself. I would say that all religions have produced both saints and murderers, with an equally good conscience. That in the life of this city, there are the Clement years and the Adrian years, between which religion does not allow you to choose.’
‘Does Islam allow a better choice?’
I almost said ‘we’ but caught myself in time:
‘Muslims learn that “the best of men is the most useful to mankind” but in spite of such words, they sometimes honour false zealots more than real benefactors.’
‘And where is the truth, in all that?’
‘That is a question which I no longer ask myself. I have already made my choice between truth and life.’
‘There must be one true faith!’
‘That which unites the believers is not so much a common faith as the ritual actions they perform in common.’
‘Is that so?’
The Pope’s tone was unfathomable. Was he thinking of putting into question the mission with which he had just entrusted me? Guicciardini feared that he might, and hastened to intervene, with the broadest of smiles:
‘Leo is saying that truth belongs only to God, and that men can only disfigure it, or debase it, or subjugate it.’
As if in approval, I murmured sufficiently loudly to be heard:
‘May those who are in possession of the truth release it!’
Clement laughed awkwardly. Then he continued:
‘Let us sum up. Brother Leo will not take religious orders. He will only be a diplomat, like Brother Francesco.’
Reassured, the latter clasped his hands together, made a pious frown and said teasingly:
‘If Brother Leo has a horror of truth, he need have no fear; he will not encounter it often in our brotherhood.’
‘Amen,’ I said in the same tone.
A great number of friends had gathered at my house to celebrate my release, news of which had spread since dawn. Neighbours, pupils and friends all agreed that I had hardly changed after a year in prison. All, that is, except Giuseppe, who resolutely refused to recognize me and went into a sulk for a good three days before saying ‘father’ to me for the first time in his life.
‘Abbad soon came from Naples, to greet my return, but also to exhort me to leave Rome without delay. For me, there was no longer any question of doing so.
‘Are you sure you won’t be shut up again in Castel San Angelo the next time you want to leave?’
‘God will choose whether to leave me here or make me go.’
‘Abbad’s voice became suddenly severe.
‘God has already chosen. Does He not say that one must not stay of one’s free will in the land of the unbelievers?’
The look I gave him was heavy with reproach. He hastened to apologize.
‘I know that I have no right to tell you what to do, I who live in Naples, I who offer gifts twice a year to the Church of San Gennaio, and have Biscayans and Castilians for partners. But I fear for you, by the Book! I feel that you are mixed up in disputes which have nothing to do with us. You go to war with a Pope, and you are only saved by his death.’
‘This city is now my city, and having experienced imprisonment here has only made me feel more attached to its fate and to that of those who rule it. They consider me as a friend, and I cannot treat them as if they were simply Rumis.’