百年孤独(英文版)-第19章
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along with the chair he was sitting on。
“Hoc est simplicissimus；？Jos？Arcadio Buendía said。 “Homo iste statum quartum materiae invenit。？
Father Nicanor raised his hands and the four legs of the chair all landed on the ground at the same time。 “Nego；？he said。 “Factum hoc existentiam Dei probat sine dubio。？
Thus it was discovered that Jos？Arcadio Buendía’s devilish jargon was Latin。 Father Nicanor took advantage of the circumstance of his being the only person who had been able to municate with him to try to inject the faith into his twisted mind。 Every afternoon he would sit by the chestnut tree preaching in Latin； but Jos？Arcadio Buendía insisted on rejecting rhetorical tricks and the transmutation of chocolate； and he demanded the daguerreotype of God as the only proof。 Father Nicanor then brought him medals and pictures and even a reproduction of the Veronica； but Jos？Arcadio Buendía rejected them as artistic objects without any scientific basis。 He was so stubborn that Father Nicanor gave up his attempts at evangelization and continued visiting him out of humanitarian feelings。 But then it was Jos？Arcadio Buendía who took the lead and tried to break down the priest’s faith with rationalist tricks。 On a certain occasion when Father Nicanor brought a checker set to the chestnut tree and invited him to a game； Jos？Arcadio Buendía would not accept； because according to him he could never understand the sense of a contest in which the two adversaries have agreed upon the rules。 Father Nicanor； who had never seen checkers played that way； could not play it again。 Ever more startled at Jos？Arcadio Buendía’s lucidity； he asked him how it was possible that they had him tied to a tree。
“Hoc est simplicissimus；？he replied。 “Because I’m Crazy。？
From then on； concerned about his own faith； the priest did not e back to visit him and dedicated himself to hurrying along the building of the church。 Rebeca felt her hopes being reborn。 Her future was predicated on the pletion of the work； for one Sunday when Father Nicanor was lunching at the house and the whole family sitting at the table spoke of the solemnity and splendor that religious ceremonies would acquire when the church was built； Amaranta said： “The luckiest one will be Rebeca。？And since Rebeca did not understand what she meant； she explained it to her with an innocent smile：
“You’re going to be the one who will inaugurate the church with your wedding。？
Rebeca tried to forestall any ments。 The way the construction was going the church would not be built before another ten years。 Father Nicanor did not agree： the growing generosity of the faithful permitted him to make more optimistic calculations。 To the mute Indignation of Rebeca； who could not finish her lunch； ？rsula celebrated Amaranta’s idea and contributed a considerable sum for the work to move faster。 Father Nicanor felt that with another contribution like that the church would be ready within three years。 From then on Rebeca did not say another word to Amaranta； convinced that her initiative had not the innocence that she attempted to give it。 “That was the least serious thing I could have done；？Amaranta answered her during the violent argument they had that night。 “In that way I won’t have to kill you for three years。？Rebeca accepted the challenge。
When Pietro Crespi found out about the new postponement； he went through a crisis of disappointment； but Rebeca gave him a final proof of her loyalty。 “We’ll elope whenever you say；？she told him。 Pietro Crespi； however； was not a man of adventure。 He lacked the impulsive character of his fiancée and he considered respect for one’s given word as a wealth that should not be squandered。 Then Rebeca turned to more audacious methods。 A mysterious wind blew out the lamps in the parlor and ？rsula surprised the lovers kissing in the dark。 Pietro Crespi gave her some confused explanations about the poor quality of modern pitch lamps and he even helped her install a more secure system of illumination for the room。 But the fuel failed again or the wicks became clogged and ？rsula found Rebeca sitting on her fiancé’s lap。 This time she would accept no explanation。 She turned the responsibility of the bakery over to the Indian woman and sat in a rocking chair to watch over the young people during the visits； ready to win out over maneuvers that had already been old when she was a girl。 “Poor Mama；？Rebeca would say with mock indignation； seeing ？rsula yawn during the boredom of the visits。 “When she dies she’ll go off to her reward in that rocking chair。？After three months of supervised love； fatigued by the slow progress of the construction； which he went to inspect every day； Pietro Crespi decided to give Father Nicanor the money he needed to finish the church。 Amaranta did not grow impatient。 As she conversed with her girl friends every afternoon when they came to embroider on the porch； she tried to think of new subterfuges。 A mistake in calculation spoiled the one she considered the most effective： removing the mothballs that Rebeca had put in her wedding dress before she put it away in the bedroom dresser。 She did it when two months were left for the pletion of the church。 But Rebeca was so impatient with the approach of the wedding that she wanted to get the dress ready earlier than Amaranta had foreseen。 When she opened the dresser and unfolded first the papers and then the protective cloth； she found the fabric of the dress and the stitches of the veil and even the crown of orange blossoms perforated by moths。 Although she was sure that she had put a handful of mothballs in the wrappings； the disaster seemed so natural that she did not dare blame Amaranta。 There was less than a month until the wedding； but Amparo Moscote promised to sew a new dress within a week。 Amaranta felt faint that rainy noontime when Amparo came to the house wrapped in the froth of needlework for Rebeca to have the final fitting of the dress。 She lost her voice and a thread of cold sweat ran down the path of her spine。 For long months she had trembled with fright waiting for that hour； because if she had not been able to conceive the ultimate obstacle to Rebeca’s wedding； she was sure that at the last moment； when all the resources of her imagination had failed； she would have the courage to poison her。 That afternoon； while Rebeca was suffocating with heat inside the armor of thread that Amparo Moscote was putting about her body with thousands of pins and infinite patience； Amaranta made several mistakes in her crocheting and pricked her finger with the needle； but she decided with frightful coldness that the date would be the last Friday before the wedding and the method would be a dose of laudanum in her coffee。
A greater obstacle； as impassable as it was unforeseen； obliged a new and indefinite postponement。 One week before the date set for the wedding； little Remedios woke up in the middle of the night soaked in a hot broth which had exploded in her insides with a kind of tearing belch； and she died three days later； poisoned by her own blood； with a pair of twins crossed in her stomach。 Amarante suffered a crisis of conscience。 She had begged God with such fervor for something fearful to happen so that she would not have to poison Rebeca that she felt guilty of Remedios？death。 That was not the obstacle that she had begged for so much。 Remedios had brought a breath of merriment to the house。 She had settled down with her husband in a room near the workshop； which she decorated with the dolls and toys of her recent childhood； and her merry vitality overflowed the four walls of the bedroom and went like a whirlwind of good health along the porch with the begonias： She would start singing at dawn。 She was the only person who dared intervene in the arguments between Rebeca and Amaranta。 She plunged into the fatiguing chore of taking care of Jos？Arcadio Buendía。 She would bring him his food； she would help him with his daily necessities； wash him with soap and a scrubbing brush； keep his hair and beard free of lice and nits； keep the palm shelter in good condition and reinforce it with waterproof canvas in stormy weather。 In her last months she had succeeded in municating with him in phrases of rudimentary Latin。 When the son of Aureliano and Pilar Ternera was born and brought to the house and baptized in an intimate ceremony with the name Aureliano Jos？ Remedios decided that he would be considered their oldest child。 Her maternal instinct surprised ？rsula。 Aureliano； for his part； found in her the justification that he needed to live。 He worked all day in his workshop and Remedios would bring him a cup of black coffee in the middle of the morning。 They would both visit the Moscotes every night。 Aureliano would play endless games of dominoes with his father…in…law while Remedios chatted with her sisters or talked to her mother about more important things。 The link with the Buendías consolidated Don Apolinar Moscote’s authority in the town。 On frequent trips to the capital of the province he succeeded in getting the government to build a school so that Arcadio； who had inherited the educational enthusiasm of his grandfather； could take charge of it。 Th
