But the Enemy fled away, thinking:

"This man I have not been able to tempt by reason of his utter
simplicity."


VII

THE SUBTLE DOCTOR

Satan returned and sat on the Mountain that looks towards Viterbo,
laughing under its crown of olives. And he said in his heart: "I will
tempt that man yonder." He conceived this purpose in his spirit, because
he had seen Fra Giovanni, girt about with a cord, and a sack over his
shoulder, crossing the meadows below on his way to the city to beg his
bread there according to the rules.

So Satan took on the appearance of a holy Bishop, and came down into the
plain. A mitre was on his head sparkling with precious stones, that
flashed like actual fire in the sunlight. His cope was covered with
figures embroidered and painted so beautifully no craftsman in all the
world could have wrought their like.

Amongst the rest he was depicted himself, in silk and gold, under the
guise of a St. George and a St. Sebastian, as also under that of a
Virgin St. Catherine and the Empress Helena. The loveliness of the
faces troubled the mind and saddened the heart. The garment was truly of
a wondrous workmanship, and nothing so rich and rare is to be seen in
the Treasuries of Churches.