"IN EUROPE'S MIDDLE AGES, HEALING ARTS DEVELOPED DURING ROMAN TIMES ARE ALMOST FORGOTTEN" "NO DOCTORS OR HOSPITALS..." "ONLY TRAVELING BARBERS WITH LITTLE KNOWLEDGE" "AT THE SAME TIME ON THE OTHER END OF THE WORLD MEDICAL SCIENCE FLOURISHES" "THE PHYSICIAN" "ENGLAND 1021 A.D." "Back and forth, up and down... left to right for more than one hundred years." "But nowhere have I had the pleasure of looking out on a crowd... with prettier girls... than here in your wonderful [?" "Name of town]." "But I especially like it here because..." "I always lay me best eggs here." "Ladies, Lords from broken bones... the teeth rotting down in the jawbone... to useless stumps." "From pustules on the backside to thick, black fluid in your lungs." "No matter the ailment conjured up by the devil to plague us poor Christian folk." "Me and me alone has the cure." "Me and me alone has the cure!" "That's my bread." " Give it back!" " Come up, come up..." "Dear lord Jesus." "Have mercy upon us, your poorest children." "Protect my sweet Rob from the anger and fists of bigger boys." "Turn back the stinky finger my son will use to... pull snot from his nose at table." "And let my baby Anne wait until I finish grace... before she puts a crumb of bread in her greedy little mouth." "Amen." "Amen." "Ma?" "It's nothing." "Ma?" "Mom!" "Dear god, make it stop." "Ma!" "Come quick, my ma needs help." " Go away." "I'm not here." " Please help her." "To hell with "please" bother!" "What do I care about another whore in this dung-hole of a city." "Go home!" "Come back tomorrow if she ain't dead by then!" "Get out of my wagon!" "I cleanse this sinful heart with this sacred oil." "In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost." "Amen." "Hurry!" "Ma, I've brought the barber to heal you." "What's he doing here?" "!" "She's got him." "It's too late... for me." "There is no cure for what ails this woman but the grace of god." "Anything else would be called witchcraft." "Amen, Father." "You've taken the words out of me mouth." "No Barber, please!" "Is there someone here who disputes the authority of the Holy Church?" "Father, not me." "Dear God and Lord Jesus... have mercy on us 3 children." "Return our mother to us." "We need her more than you." "Please, Lord Jesus." "Please God." "The utensils go to whoever takes the youngest." " We can take the 2 youngest." " They can sleep in the stable." "If you can take 2, why not 3?" "The oldest is too grown up." "We can't fill his hungry mouth." "Don't cry, Samuel." "Mother is always with us." "Let's go!" "Come on!" "Come on!" "Rob!" "Come on!" "Come on!" "I'm taking these for the penny owed for the sacred oil." "Where do I go?" "Pray to the Almighty God for guidance." " I can look after horse." "I know horses." " My heart bleeds for you lad." "Who's there?" "Show yourself!" "Before the 3 of us come up and rip you apart." "How did you get here?" "You need a faster horse." "Down." " Please, just tonight." " No." "Get your filthy rump out of here." " Please." " No!" "." "Could you have saved her, Barber?" "There's no cure for side sickness." " Your ma still alive?" " No, she died." " Do you have family?" " No." "I'm sorry." "Who do you talk to when you're alone?" "I don't." "I sleep like now." "You shut your hole." "I've seen everything the good lord put on the earth for us to see." "And some terrifying things no man was supposed to witness." "That's why I can stand here before you and say that..." "I'm gonna tear off your arms." "And then I'm gonna kill you." "I was just dressing a wound." "No where have I had the pleasure... of looking out on a crowd with pretty girls." "No one so delighted." "Than here, in beautiful Ethelweller." "It's broken." "For three pence I can fix it for you." "Come see us at the marketplace." "Nowhere are the girls prettier." " You said that already!" " Oh shut up." "My juggler!" "I found him at the bottom of a well." "The show is for free, and the treatment is almost for free." " Where the hell were you?" " House visit." "A spoonful of kidney ash every morning... gets your kidney problems out of the way." "For forgetfulness, dried tongue of a hooper bird around your neck." " And this is a very special potion." " This is witchcraft!" "I picked the hops myself under a full moon." "You'll end up in hell." "It will stop your wife from bringing more brats into the world." "You'll go to hell!" "Whether their yours or your neighbors." " It's black magic!" " Shut up!" "Come and get healed!" "Can't the young barber do it?" "There's no young barber here." "Just the ignorant apprentice of an ancient master." "If you don't like the looks of me, you shouldn't have fallen off your broomstick hag." "Who's next?" " Goodnight, little boy." " Goodnight." "How was it?" "I'm in love." "You should stick to whores, too." "Much less stress... another mans wives and daughters." "Oh, Rob..." " Need a hand old man?" " Don't you dare!" "Bollocks." "Have you ever wondered what's inside?" "In here." "Flesh, blood, bones." "Your soul, if you have one." "And down here?" "More flesh, more blood." "So does side sickness come from bad blood?" "I don't care if it comes from my ass." "Can't cure it, can't charge for it." "Have you never wondered what's inside?" "Have you never looked?" " I can slice you up after breakfast." " No, I mean like in dead people." "Don't you ever talk about that again." "Never!" "Do you know what the church does to necromancers?" "Burn them at the stake." "Stop talking about the side sickness." "It won't bring your mother back." "Not another word." "Never." "Pliers!" "Open your mouth." "More light." "Hold down on him." "Holy earth from the Mount of Olives." "Stir it in your mead and swallow it in one gulp." "Have you forgotten how to drink, lad?" "I'll remind you." "Like that, boy." "Like that." "The farmer with the tooth." " Death is coming for him." " Death is coming for all of us." "No, I felt it." " You felt death?" " Yes." "Death won't trouble him over a toothache." "My apprentice can see things." "When is my husband coming back from war?" "War, not too soon I hope." "What will harvest be like this year?" "That's them, the devils!" "You there!" " Murderers!" " You need to give us some answers." "In the morning this poor soul went to work in the field." "At noon he went to see you to cure his aching tooth." "By evening, he breathed his last." "Run away!" "You bewitched this poor man with black magic." "You trespassed against the lord and the church." "You owe my sister a husband." "It might be hard if he's as ugly as you are." "Get him!" "I think you'll live another hundred years." "I told you to run." "I'll start on the roof tomorrow." "Then what?" " They'll heal." " Not before we starve." " You should go." " And leave you to the wolves?" "I can always beg for alms outside the church." " Yeah, in winter?" " I'll make a nice meal for the crows." "At least then this miserable life of mine would be over." "Then the world would lose a great barber." "You're not listening boy!" "I can't even hold a pair of tooth pliers." "I could hold them for you." "I've been watching you all these years." "You've also been watching the clouds." "Doesn't mean you can make it rain." "I've seen ugly giant's." "I've seen greedy dwarfs." "And just the other day I had to fight a fire spitting dragon... with me own two hands." "But nowhere have I had the pleasure of... looking out on a crowd of prettier girls." "This will stop your wife from bringing more brats into the world." " Mother have mercy on me." " Who wants to be healed?" "Save me from soiling myself from fear." "Come into the house of wonders." "Come in." "Put the lad on the table." " Bone saw." " Oh, bone saw." " All toes gotta come off." " All toes" "He'll lose his leg." "Put this in your mouth, lad." "Bite down." "Iron." "Iron." " Iron!" " Talking about the iron!" "Is it hot?" "How many times has your apprentice done this?" "Thousands." "Shut up!" "Deep breath then go on." "Swift movements." "Go on until your done with it." "Look, the holy Mary!" "My first amputation." "Mine too." " What's this potion called?" " Tears of the holy virgin." "I can buy them from a monk in Jerusalem." "He stopped praying a while back." "Keep stirring." "It has bitten." "Remember." "The more painful the treatment, the more they respect the barber." "Next!" "For the same pay, a mercenary has to sell his soul." "And a farmer has to work himself to the bone." "Thank the lord for your profession." "Every bloody day." "Thank the lord." "You look very healthy to me." "Rob!" "Rob, come here." "Shut up!" "Rob!" "I hereby Christen Rob Cole a barber." "You're an apprentice no more." "You serve no master but yourself." "Reward this barber Venus." "I'm here, you blind old fob." "[?" "]" "Hold your yap!" "I have eyes like a hawk." "Yes, a dead one." "Your master should see the Jew." "The Jew can heal the blind." " No one can heal the blind." " The Jew can." "He also raises the dead and makes the lame walk on water." "You're talking about Jesus Christ our savior." "He ain't no bloody Jew." "Here, let me do it." "I need to practice." "These people mutilate their children." "They cut off their cocks." "They'll gouge my eyes out." "So what?" "You can't be anymore blind." "How is it done?" "My master keeps the secret to himself." "I'm a barber too." "A barber?" "!" "Excellent." "My hair could do with a trim." "So, I make no promises." "The operation is a difficult one." "30 pennies in advance." "30 pennies!" "That's highway robbery!" "Never!" "Please, do your best." "What's your name?" "Rob." " What's yours?" " I'm Benjamin." "This is Jesse." " Are you Christian, Rob?" " Yes." " Is it true that you are not circumcised?" " Our God does not want us to do so." "Holy is the Lord, king of the universe," "Who brings forth bread from the earth." "Once you've eaten the bread, you can talk." " Why don't you take off his bandage?" " Me?" "A barber can unwind a bandage, can he not?" "Rob." "Is it you?" "Yeah, it's me." "Don't open your eyes yet." "You must remove the sweat." "Can you see?" "Like a child." "He needs to rest now." "Oh bloody rot." "[Speaking in Hebrew]" "What you've done to my master's eyes." "Where did you learn it?" "In a place called Ispahan." "Ispahan" "Is that beyond London?" "Is that beyond London?" "Is he serious?" "There it is." "What is it?" "The World." "The World." "Look." "Here." "This is London." "And here is Ispahan." "The greatest physician the world has ever seen teaches there." "Ibn Sina." "There is no one on earth that can match him for knowledge and wisdom." " Ibn..." " Ibn Sina." "Ibn Sina." "Can he cure the side sickness?" "Ibn Sina can cure many illnesses." " How long would it take me to get there?" " Over a year." "First you have to go the south coast of England, then across the channel... you walk through France and take a sailboat along the coast of Africa." "Then you arrive in Egypt... and here... you will be killed." "Why?" "From this point, the Muslim world begins." "Arabia, Persia." "But Christians have been banished there, only we Jews are tolerated." "My condolences." "You worship the wrong God." "I don't remember the world so beautiful." "I'll take the men, you take the women." "We'll share the earnings fair and square." "You take 1/3 and I'll take 2/3." "No, 2/5th's for you and 3/5th's for me." "No, that's too complicated." "The Jew said that Ibn Sina can cure leprosy, consumption and typhoid." " For how much?" " I don't know... but he's got this huge palace where he treats his patients." "And they stay there until they're well." "How much is he charging?" "He's got another palace called "madrassa", where he teaches his students." " He's got two palaces?" " Yeah." "And I want to go there and study." "A barber with two palaces!" "No!" "I want to become a hakim." "The Saracens call their healers "Hakim"." "I don't care what they call them." "That Jew has been feeding you a story." "We should travel to the Orient." " We?" " Yes." " To the Orient?" " Yes and become great healers." "Heal our patients much better." "Here's your share." "Rise and shine, Mister Hakim." "Rob?" "Rob!" "Rob!" "Bloody hell!" "What are you doing?" "I don't want to treat warts all my life." "I don't want to pull teeth and sell horse piss as a miracle tonic." "I want to learn how to cure cataracts, side sickness and all other diseases." "You told me it couldn't be done, but now you can see again." "There's so much that you know nothing about." "It's huge." "Yeah." "That's Dover." "The best place to get a boat." "Now get off my wagon!" "What are you waiting for?" "Go and drown." "Get eaten by sea creatures." "What do I care." "Here." "Thank you." "Piss off lad." "Piss off." "May the lord have mercy upon me." "Bless me in my long and dangerous journey." "Let not the waves engulf me nor sea monsters devour me." "Let not bandits slit my throat, or wolves eat me alive." "Let me not starve or get lost in the dark woods or cold mountains." "And please let Jesus forgive me." "That I shall deny my faith and soil myself with sin." "To serve your creation and glory." "The caravan to Ispahan leaves in 4 days." "Before you go I'll take you to my brother." "He has nice Jewish robes." "He'll make a good price." "[Note:" "He is circumcising himself so as to appear Jewish]" "Shalom." "Shalom." "How long to Ispahan?" " Two months." " Just two months?" "That's good enough, Jew." "Make sure these are filled with water by sunrise." "Stop reading and sleep." "You're wasting oil." "That girl is as obsessed with her book... as an opium smoker is with his pipe." "You must give good money to bring her to Persia." "More than enough." "A wealthy man came down to earth." "Like this." "Close to the heart." "What's your name?" "Jesse." " Son of?" " Benjamin." "I don't know how Jews pray in England, Jesse ben Benjamin... but here we observe the rules, yes?" "Yes." "Seljuks." " Who are they?" " Northern nomadic tribes." "Gruesome horse people." "They trek across this land and leave a path full of blood everywhere." "By Allah they look like they are praying." "What thieves leave riches like this behind?" "The Seljuks believe Allah has chosen them to punish all sinners." "They despise possessions and pleasure in equal measure." "It's alright." "We should take her with us." "I don't have room on my camel, and you don't even have one." "I have room in my sedan." "With all due respect, she's not your business." "I'm making her my business." "How is she?" "Sleeping." "Don't forget to make her drink." "How come you know so much about fever?" " In England I was a barber." " A barber?" "!" "Englishman!" "Walk somewhere else!" "Or do you find the desert too plain for your liking?" "Jesse!" "Jesse!" "Come!" "The little girl, she's getting worse." "She was shivering with coldness." "Now she's on fire." "We need to lower her temperature." "Do you have any water?" "Here." "And Alladin was startled by the lamp which began to hiss and smoke." "A ghostly fog was formed from which a giant shape emerged." "With eyes the size of cartwheels." ""Who are you?" asked Aladdin." ""I'm a genie, at your service"" "Helping with what?" "What happens next?" "Genie grants Aladdin's wishes... he makes him unbelievably wealthy... and he helps him win the hand of the sultan's daughter." "I wish I had a lamp like that." "My favorite story is about Sinbad the sailor." "He meets cannibals and giants on his voyages." "But he isn't scared of anything." "All those stories are in just one book?" "Yeah, and many more." "It's the most beautiful thing..." "I've seen." "I can take care of her now." "So what are you doing so far away from home, mister barber?" "I'm going to study with the greatest healer in the world." "Where I come from all the boys want to be rabbis or merchants." " I just want to help people." " I can see that." "What brings you to Ispahan?" "Business deal." "What kind of business deal?" "A sandstorm is coming!" "Englishman!" "Tie the camels together." "Jesse!" "Brothers." "We lost the others." "I'll find him." "Help!" "Come on, help me!" "Get the rope!" "I can't hold it." "Rebecca!" "Rebecca!" "Save your strength." "They're all dead." "Keep moving." "Keep moving." "Save us from evil..." "For thine is the kingdom, power and glory... for ever and ever." "Amen." "Who are you?" "The shah!" "This man wants to speak with you." "You're supposed to chase the beggars away from the gate... not drag them into my room." "Please, sir." "I'm no beggar." "I've come to study with the great healer, Ibn Sina." "I see." "You have letters of recommendation... from renowned scholars of science praising your intellectual qualities... heralding you as mankind's greatest hope?" "I haven't, no." "Then I can only assume you are fabulously rich... and wish to provide an additional wing for our library." "No, I've only a pocket full of sand." "Then why should I take you in here?" "The last thing we need is another poor, stinking Jew." " Throw him out." " No, please." " And give him a beating." " No, please." "Please." "I've come from the other end of the world!" "You can't touch those." "Why don't I feel any pain?" "Your wound was made numb... so it could be sewn together without pain." "How?" "Poppy seed ointment." "Poppy seed ointment." "We've used it for centuries." "What do they use in your land?" "Mead." "Lots of mead." "You seem more interested in medicine than my other patients." "I've come to be a student of Ibn Sina." "Have you now?" "I've been told he's the greatest healer in all the world." "No he's not that great." "Quite ordinary, really." " Do you know him?" " A little better each day." " Could you speak to him for me?" " You rest now." "Jew." "Jew!" "Wake up." "Your class is about to start." "You have tricked the master into giving you a seat in this class." "You haven't tricked me." "I've been accepted?" "!" "My eyes are patient." "They shall live to see you fail and leave." "By Allah, not another Jew!" "Better a studious Jew than a lazy, over priveleged Persian loud mouth." "Be careful who you insult, Mirdin." "My father donated 31 rooms to the library... and I can arrange it so you have access to none of them." "Karim." "Mirdin." "I do hope that your heated exchange... is in the name of scientific progress." "Yes, master." "And how's the head of our new arrival from across the earth?" "Much better." " Thank you, sir." " Thank your youth." "Works miracles no physician can match." "No I meant thank you for speaking to Ibn Sina on my behalf." "It was far less trouble than you might imagine." "Yesterday I discovered something..." "This is Ibn Sina's physics class." "...toapatient  and I wish us to incorporate this into our healing." "In my last physics class... we discussed sound." "I demonstrated harmony and resonance continuing lecture and fades..." "Won't your parents mind a stranger staying in their home?" "If they found out I let a fellow student sleep on the street, they'd disown me." " This is Jacob and Sarah." " Hello." "Jesse, would you do us the honor of saying grace." "Yes, of course." "Let us thank the Lord for wheat... and let us thank the Lord for the wheat that uh... he... has born from the earth with his own two hands... so that we who eat bread... have a lot of bread to eat." "This is how you say it in England?" "Criminals." "You shouldn't pity them too much." " Why, what have they done?" " They are zealots." "They believe our shah is violating the laws of Allah." "Tolerance towards other religions, his support for science and the arts... all deadly sins in the eyes of the mullahs." "Does that deserve such harsh treatment?" "Jesse, if these people come to power the madrassa will be closed... and we Jews will be driven out of the city." "We must be thankful to the shah." "Up in time for class Karim." "What's wrong?" "Did your father realize there is more to studying than just buying books?" "One cannot be up in time for class if one never went to bed." "Shame on you Karim." "A true muslim avoids wine and bad company." "A true muslim avoids the advice of a student who is only a janitor." "Exists due to existence..." "Existence is not the consequence of existing." "But a sine qua non of the latter..." "Englishman, do you understand a word of this?" "Not yet." "We don't treat diseases." "We treat the people who suffer from diseases." "Good day to you sir." "My name is Ibn Sina and these are my students." "With your permission, we would like to treat you." "What is your name?" "My name is Abu Husain." "It's a great honor..." "Ibn Sina would like a report on ear infections." "Do you have a book on the topic?" " Up there." " Thank you." " Which one is on ear infections?" " All of them." "Gentlemen, this is lamp oil... and that is vinegar for purification." "These are blocks of ice for cooling patients with fever." "Okay, gentlemen." "Ideas?" "!" " The ice?" " Ice." " Maybe get some rest?" " He's in pain!" "That's how we do it, in England." "Imagine the spheres of the universe... as a series of concentric circles moving within one another." "The great Aristotle claimed... the friction created by this motion generates a sound... which he termed..." ""the music of the spheres."" "Sometimes on a really quiet night, if you listen really hard... the sound is apparent to the human ear." "Master, I hear it." "Are the girls in England as pretty as this?" " Prettier." " Prettier?" "!" " Hello." "Are their bodies like cypresses, their hair like waterfalls?" " Some even have red hair." " Red?" "I do not believe it." " All over?" " Yeah." "Praise be Allah for the plenitude of creation!" "Pray that some redhead English virgins await in paradise." "Did you leave a girl behind to come here?" "Actually, I did." "The most beautiful girl I ever met." "Clever, gentle..." " clever..." " You already said that." " Yeah and beautiful too." " You already said beautiful too." " I would've stolen this girl from you." " I would have killed you first!" "Today we pray for our brothers... who lay in chains down in the tyrants dungeons." "But what misdeed did they commit?" "Did they murder someone?" "No." "Did they dishonor a woman?" "No." "Their only crime... was to follow the laws of the holy Koran, Allah." "Allah, we kneel humbly in the dust before you and ask you... how long do you want us to bear this injustice?" "!" "We call on the righteous and generous Bar Kappara." " Mirdin!" " Honorable Bar Kappara!" "Let me introduce my friend and fellow student..." "Jesse ben Benjamin from England." "From England!" "We are proud of every Jew who gets accepted to the madrassa." "And my future bride is from Spain." "Allow me to introduce her, Rebecca?" "Come." "You may greet him." "Shalom." "Shalom." "Shalom." "I hope you will each do me the honor of attending our wedding." " You are too generous." " We have much to celebrate." "It is a miracle Rebecca survived her passage to Ispahan." "Her caravan was swallowed by the most ferocious sand storm." "Our brave guide saved me and a little girl." "Thank God." "My friend!" "Now you know what the business deal is." "May your marriage be blessed and happy." "And now before we take our leave..." "Thank you." "You seem sad." " I lost someone I cared for very much." " Well... now you have found me." "We must take what we can find in this life." "So why don't we see what we can find... here." "Now listen to me." "I never lie down for anyone for free." "Please be quiet." "Does this hurt?" "What's her ailment?" "I haven't yet diagnosed it, master." "If you are the master tell this maniac to let me go." "The night is nearly over and my purse is empty." "There is no virtue of telling him my child... that this young man has brought you here for a good reason." "Your good reason is?" "She won't survive the night." " She looks and sounds in perfect health." " It's something I can't explain." "I need to go!" "My beautiful rose... as a personal favor, to me grant my student a moment more... of your valuable time." "Now that's how to talk to a lady." "People pay good money to take those off." "Master, look!" "Wake the pharmacist, fetch my bag." "Run!" "Where is he going?" "To save your life." "That was a premonition, was it?" "It's as if... time stands still for a moment." "The fabric of reality is pulled aside like a veil for me to see through." " And what is it you see?" " I see nothing." "I just, feel..." "I know that death is coming." "The first time was with my mother." "She died of side sickness." " It's a curse." " It's a gift." "You saved that girl's life tonight." " A success but many failures." " Well... this is the burden every physician must learn to bear." " You can't look upon death as the enemy." " Than what?" "A friend?" "I've calculated the orbits... of all these stars and planets." "Filled volumes with calculations." "I have barely scratched the real secrets of creation." "Isn't it frustrating there's so much you don't know?" "No." "Fills me with awe." "How tedious would this world be without mystery." "Master." "Could have cured my mother's side sickness?" "That's beyond our reach." "Maybe in a hundred years." "Maybe in a thousand." "Ibn Sina!" "It appears I'm about to be summoned." "Never approach more than five steps." "Never look him in the eye." "Should he address you, answer in short sentences... and always end with one of his honorifics." "Jesse..." "Answer in short sentences and end with honorifics." "I sprained my wrist." "If you'd come earlier... you would have seen me deftly separate this Seljuk's head from his body." "I'm so sorry I missed it." "I'm sure the Seljuk deserved the dissection." "He was sent with a message of a peace treaty." " And hence the immediate decapitation." " Of course" "The Seljuks are constantly violating our borders." "You need to whip these wild animals... or they will slaughter us like a sick goat." "Do you so rank the war a perfect one?" "The Seljuk's have nothing to lose but the beasts beneath their saddles." "You have an entire civilization." "Is that so!" "Which great artist ever glorified a peaceful king?" "War alone will bestow immortal glory upon my name... don't you agree?" "I have studied healing arts, O Sublime One." "I know nothing of the route to immortality." "Did you hear that?" "He dare speak openly in my presence." "I pray my palace will not collapse from such audacity." " Where are you from?" " He hails from England, O Sublime One." "I've read of it." "A barbaric island at the edge of the world... where half-naked pagans resisted Caesar's legions." "My countrymen wear clothes now." " O Protector of the people." " O Protector of the people." "Tell me." "Have you seen strange countries on your journey east?" " More than I can count." " Oh!" "Even a humble student has seen more of the world than the Shah." "Send that stinking head back to the Seljuks." "My son shall have a hero's burial." "What message may I bring to my Shah from the Lord of the Seljuks?" "Don't trouble yourself." "I'll send my own message." "Get one of our brothers who is suffering from the black death." "So, the needle... pierces the middle of the eye... pushing the dimmed lens to the back of the eyeball." "This allows sunlight to reach the patient's eyes..." "Master, someone died in the market." "He had black boils all over." "A falcon's beak can pierce a man's skull." "Did you know that, Englishman?" "Please, Sublime One." "We have heard of the pustulated corpse who expired within your city walls." "We must evacuate the city immediately." "The city has been spared the plague for over a century." "Even my father only ever heard speak of it." "But his son may live to see it with his own eyes." "The Imam and his mullahs... have been praying for God's vengeance to punish my extravagance." "I cannot do them that favor." "My lord, hundreds of thousands of your subjects could die." "My people are fruitful, they will survive!" "Don't disturb my falcon." "This audience is over." "The plague doesn't care if you're rich or poor... common man or nobleman or head of state but it's reached Ispahan." "No wall, however thick, will stop it." " Are you threatening me, Englishman?" " Not a threat, My Lord." "A promise." "Galen believed that the plague was due to a disproportion of the 4 humors." "Hippocrates blamed it on the release of bad air from the ground during earthquakes... caused by a diseased constellation of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn." "The only thing these fellows agree on... is there are approximately 12 hours between contagion and eruption." "Twelve hours, gentlemen." "Twelve hours." "Listen." "On his majesty's orders... the madrassa will be honored to accompany the shah on his hunting trip." "Please express our regrets to the Shah, but we cannot join him." "You refuse to obey?" "!" "We are Hakims not hunters." "I will convey your answer." "I know." "Each of us is thinking "why should I stay and risk my life..."" ""fighting a pestilence that has no cure", well... we must each find our own answer." "So..." "Those who wish to leave, go now with my blessing." "The rest will battle death by my side until... we defeat it." "Or it defeats us." "Since when do we have fleas here?" "Twelve hours are almost gone." "Maybe the all merciful spares us." "Shouldn't you be hunting with the shah instead of risking your life here?" "To hear from Mirdin and you until the end of my days... what a bad doctor and coward I am?" "Is it so important what a bunch of Jews think of you?" "No." "It's only important what my friends think of me." "Help!" "Help!" "Leave her there." "The woman says the Seljuk spit on her before dying." "Master the plague doesn't kill everyone." "The boy will live." " The woman, the two men..." " Stop!" "They're going to die." "We will fight for each and every life." "Do you hear me?" "For each and every one." "Yes, hakim." "The soldiers are closing the gates." "We'll be locked in with the plague." "Yes sir." "You can go through." "Hold back." "Hold them back!" "Get back!" "Hold them back!" "Only members of the royal court are permitted to leave the city." "But I am a member of the court." "Close the latch." "Hold them back." "Dad, Mom... please don't worry, it will all be over in a few days." "Watch out for yourselves." "You too." "Mirdin, hurry to your sponsor's house." " Hasn't Bar Kappara left town?" " He has, yes." "Jesse." "The water cools the fever, yes?" "You'd make a good Hakim." " So this is your good Jew?" " That's what it looks like." " Would you have left her like that?" " No, neither would any good husband." "Tie her down." "She mustn't scratch the boils." "They must burst by themselves." " Why can't we just cut them out?" " The roots are too deep." "According to which authority?" "Hippocrates himself." "He compares them to the roots of a tree." "Did he see them with his own eyes?" "You question Hippocrates?" "You taught me to question all certainties, Hakim." "Whatever the source." "Deeper." "What if humans are different than dogs?" " What if the boils don't inside of us!" " No!" "We have more than enough corpses at our disposal." "What you are proposing, Allah forbids." "As does Yahweh as does Jesus Christ." "People are dying and we can only watch." "How can that be the will of any God?" "One hundred and thirteen." "Today's body count alone." "If we extrapolate the entire city, there are probably... more than a thousand deaths a day." "Like baling out the ocean with a thimble." "But we are bailing, never the less." "Sinbad the sailor has a story to tell." "The story of his life." "The long seasons he kept open house." "His entertainments were the most magnificent of all." "All that were just good buys were at his disposal." "He lavished the good things of his life upon his guests." "Villagers, slaves and attendants, all in great number." "His garden was spacious and beautiful." " It's the fleas, master!" " What?" "The shrouds of the dead are crawling with them." "I believe the plague may be carried by their bite." "When the host dies the body cools and the fleas leave to find a new victim." "So every corpse is a threat." "Great, now we look like women." "It's better than dying." "He won't be satisfied until we're all dead." "You have all these virgins waiting for you." "How many was it again?" "Some say 99, some say 20." "What about yours?" "None." "None?" " Then what's the point in dying?" " To walk with God." "Master." "Look." "Dust flea." "Commonly found in rats." "Gentlemen!" " We mix a strong poison." " Yes sir." "Praise Allah. 110, three less than yesterday." "The rate of death is declining." "Well you heard me." "Get to work." "You look better." "Don't the other patients complain?" "I treat every patient equally." " Do you also read to them for hours?" " If it helps." "Will you grant me one more wish, genie?" "?" "It's so beautiful." "You can even see the snow in the mountains." "Helps you forget everything down there." "What sin has Ispahan committed that God must punish it so?" "I'm just thankful he spared you." "In my fever I dreamt that we were man and wife." "We had children." "Four!" "And did we roam around in a barbers cart?" "No." "No, we lived in a great city." "Where you built a madrassa." "All by myself?" "I helped." "Jesse." "You have to see this." "Bar Kappara!" "You are alive!" "Jesse, don't you see that?" "Quick!" "Quick!" "There!" "Karim." "Don't look at me like that." "Where I am going, there is a river of wine... and women..." "Women that are more beautiful than in the Shah's harem." "There might even be a redhead." "God gives us life... and God takes it back." "Why does he always take more than he gives?" "Looking for reasons not to go home." "Jesse, I wish you a long and happy life." "You deserve it." "Blessed are you, Lord... sovereign of the universe... who has sanctified us with his commandments... and saved us from the plague." "Amen." "Amen." "Amen." "To survival." "If the world were just..." "I should bow to you." "But it is not." "Arise." "Arise heroes of Ispahan." "We have a celebration to attend." "A little wine?" "Are you sure?" "Why so glum?" "You saved us." "You should be drunk on our gratitude." "That and my wine." " ?" " Enjoy yourself Englishman." "My father believed... feelings and emotions... were beneath a true ruler." "When I was a child, to drive them from my heart... he would take me to witness executions." "I watched condemned men beg for their lives." "I watched the swarms of flies feasting on twitching corpses." "But then, over time..." "I became used to the sight, the smell... and the screams." "In time I felt nothing." "My father had succeeded in turning death... into a subject of objective study." "And now I am the Shah, ruler of all you see." "The king of feeling nothing." "What was the name of your heroic friend?" "Karim." "I shall be your new friend, Jesse ben Benjamin." "And perhaps one day I shall mourn your passing." "When Aristotle said that the world had no beginning." "He was not saying there was no creator." "He simply wished to absolve the creator... of the charge of ever having been idle." "I must apologize, Jesse." " For what?" " For not engaging you with Aristotle." "When the plague came... you were as helpless as a beach is to the advance of the sea." "The tide washed over us and dragged our people away... and you could do nothing to stop it." "You ask of medicine that only Allah can perform." "Or Yahweh." "Do you never doubt your calling?" "Every morning and every evening." "In between I work too hard to think about it." "We've just received new patients." "I can offer you a broken hip, worms... or a terminal case of acute side sickness." "Good day, sir." "My name is Jesse ben Benjamin and with your permission, I'd like to treat you today." "Call me Qasim." "Can I give you something for the pain, Qasim?" "Can I still talk to you then?" "No, the opium does dull the senses." "Then I respectfully decline your generous offer." "I fall off the ladder." "The ladder?" "The ladder my soul must ascend to heaven." "It is very long and it is easy to fall off." "May I examine you and ask you some questions?" "Will it shorten the time before I..." "Jesse." "You know I am dying, don't you Jesse?" "Yes" "I didn't want to frighten you." "Would you do me a favor?" "When I'm gone... take my corpse to the tower and leave it for the birds." "You don't want to be buried or cremated?" "We Zoroastrians leave our bodies to the vultures." "They cleanse our souls of earthly remains." "What about resurrection?" "Muslims..." "Jews..." "Christians... doubt the immortality of the soul." "They want to take their bones with them." "Just in case." "So you care nothing for your body?" "Why should God worry about the house... when he can have... the fruit inside?" "Jesse..." "Jesse..." "Thank you." "I hope you found your paradise my friend." "May god have mercy on me." "It's been a long time since we have laid together." "We will have to wait a little while longer." "Why?" "I have my impurity." "My husband would defile himself." "You still have it?" "I'm sorry." "No matter." "I'll tell the servant to prepare a bed for you in the other room." "The lungs, are... a large circle in which the heart resides... with the stomach in front." "A tube runs from the throat to both... the lungs and the stomach." " So gentlemen, lungs..." " lungs..." " heart..." " heart..." " stomach..." " stomach..." " tube." " tube." "What sin did Allah punish us with the plague?" "Why did our women and children have to die?" "And I say unto you... it is the sins committed each and every day in the university... whose godless philosophy corrupts our city." "Allah wishes... that we finally open our eyes and look the enemy in the face." "He gives us the insight and the wisdom." "His mercy allows us to recognize... who is responsible for our misery." "Allah u Akbar [God is great]" "Allah u Akbar" "Mirdin..." " What's going on?" " Where have you been all night?" "Working in the library." "The whole city is up in arms." "The mullahs have taken to the streets." "You're on the wrong side, Davout." "Maybe." "Someday a great koran school will arise within the walls of this university." "and Allah willing, I will be its dean." "I bring you the word of God, father of all Seljuks." "I give you his sword, keeper of the faith." "The faithful of Ispahan need your help." "You promised me a city in chaos, yearning for a strong ruler." "As a man dying of thirst yearns for water." "Under the Shah, the city of Isfahan... is adrift in the desert... decaying from vice and apostasy." "But when the Seljuks have driven out both the Shah and his Jews... we can tether Ispahan to our faith... and rebuild it clean." "And the Seljuks?" "Could conquer all Persia." "Ispahan is your first step." "Expect my army in 10 days." "It will be my greatest honor." "Jesse Ben Benjamin, you are to come with us." "It has attacked and killed countless people." "All the villages around here are being deserted for fear of it." "Finally my boredom ends." "The blood is still wet." "It's beautiful." "You should capture it, my lord." "Take him back to your palace for company." "It will grow old and fat in a gilded cage!" "No, he deserves a glorious death." "I shall not deny him." " My lord, what are you doing?" " Do not worry, Englishman." "We man eating beasts have the greatest respect for one another." "Did Allah ever create a more lowly beast than you?" "Your eyes are still of this world, Jesse ben Benjamin." "The other world is so much better." "Only the road of excess can lead to the palace of wisdom." "You're in pain." "I should examine..." "Our Lord is the very blessing of health... and if anything, illness fears him." "Go ahead." "Quench your desire." "They are very beautiful sire, but..." "But..." "The female body holds no attraction for you." "Am I right?" "We should get back soon." "Only the shah may end an audience." "Are you the shah?" "No." "Bore me after only one day." "Would you permit me to examine your wife in private?" "Of course." "I'd like to congratulate your husband." "But there is no reason to, is there?" "!" "You know whom to congratulate." " Your husband will cut you up." " I cannot wish for more." "Don't be naive." "He will have to hand you over to the others and they will pass judgment... and we both know that judgment will be." "I want to go home." "This is your only chance." "You must lie with your husband tonight." "I'm back my old friend." "Let's work." "Rebecca?" "Rebecca?" "I've always known you are a fraud." "But never in my wildest dreams did I see you as a fraud and necromancer." "Take him." "Jesse!" "Rebecca." "It's time for you to tell your secrets to your husband." "You have no right to arrest me." "The Shah will punish you for this." "The Shah's time is over." "Now there's only God." "It can't be God's will to kill an unborn." "Is there no other solution?" "The child is not yours." "What do you care about the Englishman's bastard?" "Mirdin!" "Rebecca has been found guilty of adultery." "She will be dead by tomorrow." "You promised me you'd be a good Jew." "You promised you'd stay away from her." "But you dishonored her and now she is with child." "What have you done, Jesse?" "Will the witness Davout Hossein arise." "These men trespassed against Allah." "The have desecrated and defiled a corpse... committing the sin of necromancy." "What proof do you have for your accusation?" "They recorded their misdeeds." "Drawings depicting the inside of a corpse." "Which hakim Ibn Sina and his Jewish student cut open... especially for this purpose." "Where did you get these drawings?" "From Ibn Sina's house which I search after his arrest." "Liar!" "I made those drawings." "You took them from me." "Are you certain they are not the result of a deranged imagination... or an opium hallucination?" "See for yourself." "This is the face of the godless madrassa!" "This is the face of the godless Jews who study there." "This is the face of their godless teacher!" "No!" "I alone dissected that body." "You could not have undertaken this without his permission." "Whether or not Ibn Sina held the knife or the pen..." "Ibn Sina was involved." "There can only be one verdict for such a heinous crime." "The court sentences both of them to death." "No!" "You're making a terrible mistake." "This is the most enlightened man of our time!" "This is what becomes of letting Jews in our city!" "They poison the spirit." "They undermine our faith!" "I am no Jew!" "I am no Jew!" "I am no Jew!" "I am no Jew!" "What did you say?" "I am no Jew!" "The Jewish community does not deserve your wrath." "My name is not Jesse ben Benjamin." "It's Rob Cole." "I am a Christian." "Baptized in an English church... in the name of the father... the son... and the Holy Ghost." "Fine performance." "It's true." "Shall we see?" "Looks like a Jew to me." "Enough of this farce." "Take them away." "Forgive me." "How can you expect me to forgive you." "You're my greatest student... to whom God gave such talents and a unique gift?" "You owed it... to the science of healing... to grow old and gray Rob Cole." "It was your duty to live long and heal many." "But you were reckless... and now you will die for it." "What is it like?" "Inside?" "It's both... beautiful... and frightening." "Go on." " I saw the heart." " Describe it." "It has two chambers with an impassable wall in between." "So how does the blood get from one side to the other?" "By way of the lungs I think." "So all our theories about human circulation would be wrong?" "!" "Master... nothing is as it is in the books." "Nothing!" "Continue." "Don't skip a single detail." "It seemed to be infected like a toe." "It was inside and I believe that is what killed him." "You sent for me?" "!" "A trial detained me." "I heard." "First preacher, now judge." "What's your next step?" "I serve Allah wherever he sends me." "So much pride in such a humble servant." "I should lay your head in front of your feet." "But I cannot grant you... the fame of a martyr." "You dare bring me here to tell me... everything you don't want to do because of your fear?" "!" "Set Ibn Sina free." "Immediately." "Rescinding Allah's judgment would be a blasphemy." "It would require someone with greater courage than I possess." "Someone with no fear of the wrath of God." "All the Seljuk army that arise in front of the city walls as we speak... to free us from tyranny." "Clear the gate!" "Everyone inside!" "Thank you, Master, for all that you have taught me." "Thank you, Rob Cole... for all that you have learned." "Come with me!" "The Hakims... have reached a consensus." "I have side sickness." "I shall not live to honor the sunrise." "Only you... have seen the cause of this illness with your own eyes." "You will cut me open and then remove it." "Impossible." " You've done it before." " On a dead man, sun of the state." "If the sun of the state... sets tonight... the army will surrender to the Seljuks... and the mullahs will wipe out everyone... who stands in their way... especially the Jews." "Or does a Christian care nothing for the fate of Jews?" "But you must help me, first." "Stop this!" "This woman is under the protection of shah." "Release her immediately." "Which one of you is Mirdin Askari?" "Right here." "Mirdin!" "Where is Rebecca?" "She's with my mother." "I need your help." "I cannot think of a reason to help a liar and a traitor like you." "The shah has side sickness." "Then you don't need my help or anyone else because he's going to die!" "Master?" "We're going to cut the shah open and remove the sickness." "Are you mad?" "Yes I think we've all gone a little mad." "You're next." "Send your men away now." "Someone has to punish you if you fail." "You wouldn't want to not meet your beloved." "Just like that." "Englishman." "Tonight you are the shah... and I am your subject." "We don't have much time." "We will take our men and place them on that ridge... to go and wait... here." "It is the sins of the Jews, who take every advantage... while they shelter under the protection of that man... who permits all of their sins." "Our friends the Seljuks need our help now... as they try to break down the walls of our prison from the outside... we need to clean it with fire from the inside." "May HaShem be with us in time of distress... and danger." "As our enemies rise against us... lend our congregation, strength..." "Yahweh and help your children... to stand together as one." "Now... we can throw stones at the right people." "Master, hand me the scalpel." " Hold the wound." " Okay." "Can you see it?" "Too much blood." "How's the heart?" "Strong enough." "Mirdin!" "Put some more in." "I think..." "Master, I need the scalpel." "Hurry everyone." "Come and join us." "Quick, get inside!" "Burn them like rats!" "Smoke them out!" "We can bandage him now." "My lord, to stand any chance of survival, you must rest." "The hour of my demise... is already waiting." "Thanks to you... the angel of death will not find me in bed like a simpering old man... but on the battlefield, like a king." "You gave me a gift." "Now I'll give one to you." "Get your people to the east gate." "My guards will escort you." "From there the path is clear to the mountains." "What will you remember me as, Englishman?" "Friend or tyrant?" "Both." "The shah is coming!" "Hurry, the mullahs are gone." "The way out is safe now." "This way." "Come we must move." "Quickly!" "Quickly!" "We took everything, master." "What do we do now?" "To the east gate." "Don't stop!" "Don't stop until the city is but a pinpoint behind you." "Go to the east gate." "Perfect one?" "!" "Let us write some lines of a poem." "Let us go get a place in a painting." " Where is Ibn Sina?" " I saw him at the madrassa." "Ibn Sina?" "In my dreams..." "I had hoped that students would still study here in a thousand years... and ... honor my memory." "Such vanity deserves to go up in flames." "Another ruler will build you a university." "I'm too old to scrape and bow." "What have you done?" "Call it... your final exam, Rob Cole." "Because there's nothing to be afraid of." "Death is merely a threshold we must all cross." "Into the silence after the final heartbeat... drifting away... with our final exhalation... into eternal peace." "Correct my mistakes... add your diagrams... and show the world what we've learned in this place." "Hakim Robert Cole." "Master." "Now do as I say for once... and leave." "Can you take us home now?" "Where to?" "Wherever." "Our home is with you now." "I already miss him." "No." "Nobody is dead." "As long as we are in need of him... his spirit will live on." "But it is in your hands to keep it alive." "How can I do that?" "Be a great physician." "These 2 eyes have seen everything the good lord put on this earth was to see... and some terrifying things that no man was meant to witness in his life." "But nowhere have I seen more... beautiful girls than here in... beautiful London." "So roll up!" "Listen up and shut up!" "What's wrong?" "Nobody's sick in this dump anymore?" "All the sick are at the hospital." " The what?" " The hospital." " Built by the physician from the Orient." " What physician from the orient?" "Physician Cole!" "Cole?" "!" "Him, his wife and a bunch of Jews." "They can cure anything." "Brat!" "Here." "Lead the way." "Tell me about it." "I went for a fever." "You get a soft bed to lie in, hot meals and magic medicine." "Someones playing music." "And then what?" "Physician Cole comes to see you every evening." "And if you ask, he juggles and tells you amazing stories." "With lions and horses... with big humps on their back." "And falcons that can break a man's skull with its beak." " And his wife, what's she like?" " Delicious." " What do you know?" "What are you, nine?" " I'm ten!"