STRANGER. I can only see blackness.
CONFESSOR. You still are black; but you'll grow white, quite white! Did you sleep well last night?
STRANGER. Dreamlessly, like a tired child. But tell me: why do I find so many locked doors?
CONFESSOR. You'll gradually learn to open them.
STRANGER. Is this a large building?
CONFESSOR. Endless! It dates from the time of Charlemagne and has continually grown through pious benefactions. Untouched by the spiritual upheavals and changes of different epochs, it stands on its rocky height as a monument of Western culture. That is to say: Christian faith wedded to the knowledge of Hellas and Rome.
STRANGER. So it's not merely a religious foundation?
CONFESSOR. No. It embraces all the arts and sciences as well. There's a library, museum, observatory and laboratory—as you'll see later. Agriculture and horticulture are also studied here; and a hospital for laymen, with its own sulphur springs, is attached to the monastery.
STRANGER. One word more, before the chapter assembles. What kind of man is the Prior?
CONFESSOR (smiling). He is the Prior! Aloof, without peer, dwelling on the summits of human knowledge, and... well, you'll see him soon.