24. A demon breaks the little bell

At the beginning of his religious life, Benedict lived completely alone in a cave for three years, devoted to reading the Word of God and to prayer.

Notice a curious detail: the artist has portrayed him with long hair. In all the other paintings, you will see the top of his head shaved, as usual among monks.

Only one person knew where he was hiding. It was Romanus, a monk from a nearby monastery, who brought him food.

Now look at the upper part of the painting. There you will find Romanus. As the cave was difficult to get to, he lowered the food down in a basket attached by a long rope. There was also a small bell in the basket. When Benedict heard it ringing, he knew that Romanus was sending him his food.

Now look down towards Benedict. He is sitting inside the cave, completely absorbed in reading a book. But at that moment he raises his head: he has just heard the little bell.

And this is where something surprising happens.

Look closely at the upper left-hand part of the painting. There you will see a demon. According to Pope Gregory, jealous of one man’s charity and the other’s perfection, the demon hurled a stone at the bell and shattered it.

The artist has captured this moment in great detail. Look for the stone: you can still see it flying in the air. And if you look closely at the bell, you will see that it is broken. You can even make out the clapper and the piece that has broken away from it.

It is almost as if the painter had frozen a moment in the story, so that centuries later, we could discover every detail.

But the story also carries a message. The demon manages to break the bell, but he cannot break what united these two men: Romanus’s charity and Benedict’s faithfulness to his life of prayer.