Perhaps there may be some who having worked on Sauniere's cipher, will have recognised his rebus language or hit upon his words of encouragement.

 

'Bravo! Beginings - you learn the ways of Rennes'

Our sympathy goes out to our young priest as we read de Sède's words. Many experts will discount de Sède or attribute this to someone other than to Saunière's friend, Antoine Beaux, then Curé of Campagne-sur-Aude, when he said to Saunière , half jokingly,

 

"My dear fellow, seeing you living in such magnificent style leads one to think that you have unearthed a treasure."

 

He looked him straight in the eye s and in the langue d'Oc he replied as follows, enunciating every word,

 

"It was shown to me, I put my hand upon it, I have worked it all out and I am holding it firmly."

 

It was a long struggle for the young priest as is shown in Saunière's reported conversation with the Bishop of Carcassonne, Felix Arsène Billard regarding the documents he had found.

 

"...but they are difficult to decipher. For over a year now, I have struggled with them for many nights without success."

 

Neither has Bérenger Saunière put in our hands documents that are easy to translate.  None are in the lingua franca of the year 2008 and we would be surprised if they were. My 'Petit Larousse Illustré' 1913 edition has been a great help together with various Latin dictionaries and with reference to those well versed in these languages and to the internet sources. Of course not every document that has come to our hand is authored by Saunière, for example the document in the glass phial dated several centuries earlier was not his.

 

What were the several languages of the ecclesiastics in 1898 - 1902? What was the local variety of the langue d'oc spoken by the locals? We see major changes in language over our short span whether English, Paris French, or the French of the Pyrénées.

 

'Peut être on parle français comme un basque espanõl.'

 

Certain faux amis in the languages present problems. For instance in a simple sentence such as 'Marie prend sa valise de son auto' , we know that the valise is feminine and the car is masculine but what is the gender of the owner? In English we would say Marie took his valise from his car and we would know that it was probably referring to Jean-Marie Le Pen or someone else whose middle name comprises his Mother's christian name as is a common practice in France. However, both Jean and Marie are girl's names in English!

 

Now if Saunière were to take the local patois, the Latin and the French languages and use every nuance of cryptography to impart a series of great secrets we might well come across a phrase such as 'vous sui vre.' The unexpected use of the infinitive 'to follow'concentrates the mind wonderfully on the verb being split into the II and III key sections on the document. Further examination of the document identifies the vital instructions one then must follow. These instructions employ the infinitive, 'Chercher', réussir',multiplier', and Révéler' and are to be followed meticulously to achieve the next clue and so unearth the part III document.

 

The modus operandi is to follow instructions gained in one exercise even if not by written words but by actions. The instructions to dig on a 45 degree slope in the following phase was clearly learnt as Ben slid down such an incline pursued by a large stone. The lesson was graphic and stood us in good stead at a later phase, all having survived such a thorough method of instruction from such a good instructor. The documents are not just a set of ciphers interwoven but a training course.

 

Why such extremes you may enquire?

 

Quite simply, Bérenger Saunière had a secret, which was life threatening and no expense would be spared to entrust its safe exposure in hopefully a more enlightened era. To whom could he entrust it? He needed someone with specific qualities. Anyone of thousands could attempt to qualify but to be able to achieve that position he or she would require diligence, discernment, perseverance and integrity amongst other things. Ben Hammott is his man! Anyone from Rennes in the last hundred years could have achieved this but lacked those crucial qualities searched for by the priest; the character traits that will lift the lid on this nest of spiders.

 

He has a team that has built up mutual trust through what has not been an easy time and who are able to face up to the forthcoming challenges, mocked and ridiculed by a jealous pack of peepers and scryers and those who love a lie.

Ben wants all details revealed in his search for the truth and this he has done in his forthcoming book. Sandy Hamblett wants all revealed from an archaeological perspective.

Bill Kersey wants the truth but shares the feeling that there is still much research to be accomplished and would say,

 

" Me l'han donat,l'hay panat,l'hay parat e bé le téni."

1) YY UR YY UB IC UR YY ME ME ME ME - a rebus. It can be read as: 'Too wise you are, Too wise you be, I see you are too wise for me'