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Authors: Luigi Pirandello
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somehow to make his peace with God. That swindler! That ugly dog!"
As soon as he returned home, Spatolino spent the entire day designing shrines. Towards nightfall he went to arrange for the building materials and to hire two laborers and a mortar boy. The following day, at daybreak, he began the work.
V
People passing along the dusty highway either on foot, on horseback, or with their carts, would stop to ask Spatolino what he was building.
"A shrine."
"Who ordered it?"
And pointing his finger to the sky, he would gloomily say:
"The Ecco Homo."
He gave no other answer during the entire period of construction. People would laugh or shrug their shoulders.
But some of them, looking towards the gate of the villa, would ask:
"Right here?"
It occurred to no one that the notary himself could have ordered the shrine. On the contrary, because no one was aware that that piece of land belonged to Ciancarella too, and they all thought that everyone was quite familiar with Spatolino's religious fanaticism, they believed that, either due to an order from the bishop or to some vow made by the Catholic Society, he was building the shrine right there to spite the old usurer. And they laughed about it.
Meanwhile, as if God actually resented the construction, every sort of misfortune befell Spatolino as he was doing his work. First of all, it took four whole days of digging before he found solid ground for the foundation. Then there were arguments up there at the quarry over the stone, arguments over the lime, arguments with the kiln man; and finally, when the center was being set up to construct the arch, it fell and only a miracle saved the mortar boy from being killed.
At the very end came the bombshell. On the very day Spatolino was to show him the shrine completely finished, Ciancarella suffered a stroke, one of those serious kinds, and within three hours was dead.
No one could then convince Spatolino that the notary's sudden death was not a punishment from a wrathful God. But he didn't believe at first that God's wrath could rain upon him too, for having lent his services — though reluctantly — for the building of the accursed structure.
But he believed it when he called on the Montoros, the notary's heirs, to seek payment for his work, for he heard them answer that they knew nothing about it, and therefore would not acknowledge liability for a debt unsubstantiated by documentary proof.
"What!" exclaimed Spatolino. "And for whom do you think I built the shrine?"
"For the Ecce Homo."
"So it was my idea?"
"Why, of course..." they said to rid themselves of him. "We would feel that we were showing little respect for the memory of our uncle if we imagined even for one moment that he could actually have given you a job to do which was so contrary to his way of thinking and feeling. There's no proof of it. So what do you expect from us? Keep the shrine for yourself, and if that doesn't suit you, you can take legal action."
Spatolino took legal action immediately. Why, of course! Could he possibly lose the case? Could the judges seriously believe that it was all his idea to build a shrine? Moreover, there was the servant who would act as a witness, Ciancarella's very own servant who had summoned him on behalf of his master. And there was Father Lagaipa, to whom he had gone for advice that very day; then there was his wife, whom he had informed, and the laborers, who had worked with him the whole time. How could he lose the case?
He did lose it, he did lose it, yes sir! He lost it because Ciancarella's servant, who had now gone over to serve the Montoros, went to court to testify that he had indeed summoned Spatolino on behalf of his master — bless his soul — but certainly not because his master — bless his soul — intended to have him build a shrine on that site; no, it was rather because he had heard from the gardener, who was now dead (what a coincidence!) that Spatolino himself intended to build a shrine
As soon as he returned home, Spatolino spent the entire day designing shrines. Towards nightfall he went to arrange for the building materials and to hire two laborers and a mortar boy. The following day, at daybreak, he began the work.
V
People passing along the dusty highway either on foot, on horseback, or with their carts, would stop to ask Spatolino what he was building.
"A shrine."
"Who ordered it?"
And pointing his finger to the sky, he would gloomily say:
"The Ecco Homo."
He gave no other answer during the entire period of construction. People would laugh or shrug their shoulders.
But some of them, looking towards the gate of the villa, would ask:
"Right here?"
It occurred to no one that the notary himself could have ordered the shrine. On the contrary, because no one was aware that that piece of land belonged to Ciancarella too, and they all thought that everyone was quite familiar with Spatolino's religious fanaticism, they believed that, either due to an order from the bishop or to some vow made by the Catholic Society, he was building the shrine right there to spite the old usurer. And they laughed about it.
Meanwhile, as if God actually resented the construction, every sort of misfortune befell Spatolino as he was doing his work. First of all, it took four whole days of digging before he found solid ground for the foundation. Then there were arguments up there at the quarry over the stone, arguments over the lime, arguments with the kiln man; and finally, when the center was being set up to construct the arch, it fell and only a miracle saved the mortar boy from being killed.
At the very end came the bombshell. On the very day Spatolino was to show him the shrine completely finished, Ciancarella suffered a stroke, one of those serious kinds, and within three hours was dead.
No one could then convince Spatolino that the notary's sudden death was not a punishment from a wrathful God. But he didn't believe at first that God's wrath could rain upon him too, for having lent his services — though reluctantly — for the building of the accursed structure.
But he believed it when he called on the Montoros, the notary's heirs, to seek payment for his work, for he heard them answer that they knew nothing about it, and therefore would not acknowledge liability for a debt unsubstantiated by documentary proof.
"What!" exclaimed Spatolino. "And for whom do you think I built the shrine?"
"For the Ecce Homo."
"So it was my idea?"
"Why, of course..." they said to rid themselves of him. "We would feel that we were showing little respect for the memory of our uncle if we imagined even for one moment that he could actually have given you a job to do which was so contrary to his way of thinking and feeling. There's no proof of it. So what do you expect from us? Keep the shrine for yourself, and if that doesn't suit you, you can take legal action."
Spatolino took legal action immediately. Why, of course! Could he possibly lose the case? Could the judges seriously believe that it was all his idea to build a shrine? Moreover, there was the servant who would act as a witness, Ciancarella's very own servant who had summoned him on behalf of his master. And there was Father Lagaipa, to whom he had gone for advice that very day; then there was his wife, whom he had informed, and the laborers, who had worked with him the whole time. How could he lose the case?
He did lose it, he did lose it, yes sir! He lost it because Ciancarella's servant, who had now gone over to serve the Montoros, went to court to testify that he had indeed summoned Spatolino on behalf of his master — bless his soul — but certainly not because his master — bless his soul — intended to have him build a shrine on that site; no, it was rather because he had heard from the gardener, who was now dead (what a coincidence!) that Spatolino himself intended to build a shrine
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