Reading Diary Week 14 Continued: The Pot of Basil

This is another crazy story about lust just like the last monk story I read. In this one, three brothers all fancy one girl. The girl only love Lorenzo. Because she only loves Lorenzo one of the other brothers gets jealous and literally kills and buries his own brother. In a dream this woman hears Lorenzo say his brother has killed him and told her where to find the body. Upon confirming her dream and finding his body, she chops his head off and plants it in a pot to grow basil. The nutrients from his decaying head and her tears eventually make luscious basil grow. One day finally the brothers check out this basil pot, find their brothers head and re-bury it. The woman is so upset by this that she literally dies from weeping so much.

Pot of Basil, Source

These were the thoughts/summary after reading the story entitled The Pot of Basil, written by J. M. Rigg in 1903. 

Reading Diary Week 14: The Monk and His Abbot

This story was interesting, I have always been fascinated with monks and that was the first thing that drew me into this one. It was about a monk who has forbidden intercourse with a woman. The monk's abbot hears the monk and the woman together alone, but ignore it. The monk leaves and attempts to keeps the woman unseen. The abbot wanting to see what the monks future plans are, allows him to leave even though he knows what the monk has done.

This second part of this story was very intriguing. The abbot thinking he had caught a monk with a woman was actual the person being tested here. The monk tricked the Abbot and after he said he was leaving, returned to watch the Abbot's actions with the woman enclosed in the space. He watched as the Abbot touched the woman and caught him. The Abbot was told that he (the monk) knew more than him and had taught him a lesson and that that this should never be spoken about among the monastery ever. The last sentence states that it is believed every now and again the monk and abbot cause the woman to return. Bunch of corrupt monks who lust the woman...

The Monk and His Abbot, Source

This was a diary post after reading the story entitled The Monk and His Abbot (cont.), by J. M. Rigg in 1903.