danbrown.thedavincicode-第22章

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　Langdon　laughed；　but　nobody　else　seemed　to　get　the　joke。
　Stettner　slumped。
　〃This　number　PHI；〃　Langdon　continued；　〃one…point…six…one…eight；　is　a　very　important　number　in　art。　Who　can　tell　me　why？〃
　Stettner　tried　to　redeem　himself。　〃Because　it's　so　pretty？〃
　Everyone　laughed。
　〃Actually；〃　Langdon　said；　〃Stettner's　right　again。　PHI　is　generally　considered　the　most　beautiful　number　in　the　universe。〃
　The　laughter　abruptly　stopped；　and　Stettner　gloated。
　As　Langdon　loaded　his　slide　projector；　he　explained　that　the　number　PHI　was　derived　from　the　Fibonacci　sequence…a　progression　famous　not　only　because　the　sum　of　adjacent　terms　equaled　the　next　term；　but　because　the　quotients　of　adjacent　terms　possessed　the　astonishing　property　of　approaching　the　number　1。618…PHI！
　Despite　PHI's　seemingly　mystical　mathematical　origins；　Langdon　explained；　the　truly　mind…boggling　aspect　of　PHI　was　its　role　as　a　fundamental　building　block　in　nature。　Plants；　animals；　and　even　human　beings　all　possessed　dimensional　properties　that　adhered　with　eerie　exactitude　to　the　ratio　of　PHI　to　1。
　〃PHI's　ubiquity　in　nature；〃　Langdon　said；　killing　the　lights；　〃clearly　exceeds　coincidence；　and　so　the　ancients　assumed　the　number　PHI　must　have　been　preordained　by　the　Creator　of　the　universe。　Early　scientists　heralded　one…point…six…one…eight　as　the　Divine　Proportion。〃
　〃Hold　on；〃　said　a　young　woman　in　the　front　row。　〃I'm　a　bio　major　and　I've　never　seen　this　Divine　Proportion　in　nature。〃
　〃No？〃　Langdon　grinned。　〃Ever　study　the　relationship　between　females　and　males　in　a　honeybee　munity？〃
　〃Sure。　The　female　bees　always　outnumber　the　male　bees。〃
　〃Correct。　And　did　you　know　that　if　you　divide　the　number　of　female　bees　by　the　number　of　male　bees　in　any　beehive　in　the　world；　you　always　get　the　same　number？〃
　〃You　do？〃
　〃Yup。　PHI。〃
　The　girl　gaped。　〃NO　WAY！〃
　〃Way！〃　Langdon　fired　back；　smiling　as　he　projected　a　slide　of　a　spiral　seashell。　〃Recognize　this？〃
　〃It's　a　nautilus；〃　the　bio　major　said。　〃A　cephalopod　mollusk　that　pumps　gas　into　its　chambered　shell　to　adjust　its　buoyancy。〃
　〃Correct。　And　can　you　guess　what　the　ratio　is　of　each　spiral's　diameter　to　the　next？〃
　The　girl　looked　uncertain　as　she　eyed　the　concentric　arcs　of　the　nautilus　spiral。
　Langdon　nodded。　〃PHI。　The　Divine　Proportion。　One…point…six…one…eight　to　one。〃
　The　girl　looked　amazed。
　Langdon　advanced　to　the　next　slide…a　close…up　of　a　sunflower's　seed　head。　〃Sunflower　seeds　grow　in　opposing　spirals。　Can　you　guess　the　ratio　of　each　rotation's　diameter　to　the　next？〃
　〃PHI？〃　everyone　said。
　〃Bingo。〃　Langdon　began　racing　through　slides　now…spiraled　pinecone　petals；　leaf　arrangement　on　plant　stalks；　insect　segmentation…all　displaying　astonishing　obedience　to　the　Divine　Proportion。
　〃This　is　amazing！〃　someone　cried　out。
　〃Yeah；〃　someone　else　said；　〃but　what　does　it　have　to　do　with　art？〃
　〃Aha！〃　Langdon　said。　〃Glad　you　asked。〃　He　pulled　up　another　slide…a　pale　yellow　parchment　displaying　Leonardo　da　Vinci's　famous　male　nude…The　Vitruvian　Man…named　for　Marcus　Vitruvius；　the　brilliant　Roman　architect　who　praised　the　Divine　Proportion　in　his　text　De　Architectura。
　〃Nobody　understood　better　than　Da　Vinci　the　divine　structure　of　the　human　body。　Da　Vinci　actually　exhumed　corpses　to　measure　the　exact　proportions　of　human　bone　structure。　He　was　the　first　to　show　that　the　human　body　is　literally　made　of　building　blocks　whose　proportional　ratios　always　equal　PHI。〃
　Everyone　in　class　gave　him　a　dubious　look。
　〃Don't　believe　me？〃　Langdon　challenged。　〃Next　time　you're　in　the　shower；　take　a　tape　measure。〃
　A　couple　of　football　players　snickered。
　〃Not　just　you　insecure　jocks；〃　Langdon　prompted。　〃All　of　you。　Guys　and　girls。　Try　it。　Measure　the　distance　from　the　tip　of　your　head　to　the　floor。　Then　divide　that　by　the　distance　from　your　belly　button　to　the　floor。　Guess　what　number　you　get。〃
　〃Not　PHI！〃　one　of　the　jocks　blurted　out　in　disbelief。
　〃Yes；　PHI；〃　Langdon　replied。　〃One…point…six…one…eight。　Want　another　example？　Measure　the　distance　from　your　shoulder　to　your　fingertips；　and　then　divide　it　by　the　distance　from　your　elbow　to　your　fingertips。　PHI　again。　Another？　Hip　to　floor　divided　by　knee　to　floor。　PHI　again。　Finger　joints。　Toes。　Spinal　divisions。　PHI。　PHI。　PHI。　My　friends；　each　of　you　is　a　walking　tribute　to　the　Divine　Proportion。〃
　Even　in　the　darkness；　Langdon　could　see　they　were　all　astounded。　He　felt　a　familiar　warmth　inside。　This　is　why　he　taught。　〃My　friends；　as　you　can　see；　the　chaos　of　the　world　has　an　underlying　order。　When　the　ancients　discovered　PHI；　they　were　certain　they　had　stumbled　across　God's　building　block　for　the　world；　and　they　worshipped　Nature　because　of　that。　And　one　can　understand　why。　God's　hand　is　evident　in　Nature；　and　even　to　this　day　there　exist　pagan；　Mother　Earth…revering　religions。　Many　of　us　celebrate　nature　the　way　the　pagans　did；　and　don't　even　know　it。　May　Day　is　a　perfect　example；　the　celebration　of　spring。。。　the　earth　ing　back　to　life　to　produce　her　bounty。　The　mysterious　magic　inherent　in　the　Divine　Proportion　was　written　at　the　beginning　of　time。　Man　is　simply　playing　by　Nature's　rules；　and　because　art　is　man's　attempt　to　imitate　the　beauty　of　the　Creator's　hand；　you　can　imagine　we　might　be　seeing　a　lot　of　instances　of　the　Divine　Proportion　in　art　this　semester。〃
　Over　the　next　half　hour；　Langdon　showed　them　slides　of　artwork　by　Michelangelo；　Albrecht　Dürer；　Da　Vinci；　and　many　others；　demonstrating　each　artist's　intentional　and　rigorous　adherence　to　the　Divine　Proportion　in　the　layout　of　his　positions。　Langdon　unveiled　PHI　in　the　architectural　dimensions　of　the　Greek　Parthenon；　the　pyramids　of　Egypt；　and　even　the　United　Nations　Building　in　New　York。　PHI　appeared　in　the　organizational　structures　of　Mozart's　sonatas；　Beethoven's　Fifth　Symphony；　as　well　as　the　works　of　Bartók；　Debussy；　and　Schubert。　The　number　PHI；　Langdon　told　them；　was　even　used　by　Stradivarius　to　calculate　the　exact　placement　of　the　f…holes　in　the　construction　of　his　famous　violins。
　〃In　closing；〃　Langdon　said；　walking　to　the　chalkboard；　〃we　return　to　symbols〃　He　drew　five　intersecting　lines　that　formed　a　five…pointed　star。　〃This　symbol　is　one　of　the　most　powerful　images　you　will　see　this　term。　Formally　known　as　a　pentagram…or　pentacle；　as　the　ancients　called　it…this　symbol　is　considered　both　divine　and　magical　by　many　cultures。　Can　anyone　tell　me　why　that　might　be？〃
　Stettner；　the　math　major；　raised　his　hand。　〃Because　if　you　draw　a　pentagram；　the　lines　automatically　divide　themselves　into　segments　according　to　the　Divine　Proportion。〃
　Langdon　gave　the　kid　a　proud　nod。　〃Nice　job。　Yes；　the　ratios　of　line　segments　in　a　pentacle　all　equal　PHI；　making　this　symbol　the　ultimate　expression　of　the　Divine　Proportion。　For　this　reason；　the　five…pointed　star　has　always　been　the　symbol　for　beauty　and　perfection　associated　with　the　goddess　and　the　sacred　feminine。〃
　The　girls　in　class　beamed。
　〃One　note；　folks。　We've　only　touched　on　Da　Vinci　today；　but　we'll　be　seeing　a　lot　more　of　him　this　semester。　Leonardo　was　a　well…documented　devotee　of　the　ancient　ways　of　the　goddess。　Tomorrow；　I'll　show　you　his　fresco　The　Last　Supper；　which　is　one　of　the　most　astonishing　tributes　to　the　sacred　feminine　you　will　ever　see。〃
　〃You're　kidding；　right？〃　somebody　said。　〃I　thought　The　Last　Supper　was　about　Jesus！〃
　Langdon　winked。　〃There　are　symbols　hidden　in　places　you　would　never　imagine。〃
　　
　〃e　on；〃　Sophie　whispered。　〃What's　wrong？　We're　almost　there。　Hurry！〃
　Langdon　glanced　up；　feeling　himself　return　from　faraway　thoughts。　He　realized　he　was　standing　at　a　dead　stop　on　the　stairs；　paralyzed　by　sudden　revelation。
　O；　Draconian　devil！　Oh；　lame　saint！
　Sophie　was　looking　back　at　him。
　It　can't　be　that　simple；　Langdon　thought。
　But　he　knew　of　course　that　it　was。
　There　in　the　bowels　of　the　Louvre。。。　with　images　of　PHI　and　Da　Vinci　swirling　through　his　mind；　Robert　Langdon　suddenly　and　unexpectedly　deciphered　Saunière's　code。
　〃O；　Draconian　devil！〃　he　said。　〃Oh；　lame　saint！　It's　the　simplest　kind　of　code！〃
　　
　Sophie　was　stopped　on　the　stairs　below　him；　staring　up　in　confusion。　A　code？　She　had　been　pondering　the　words　all　night　and　had　not　see