In an ancient monastery in a faraway place, a new monk arrived to join his brothers in copying books
and scrolls in the monastery's scriptorium. He was assigned to be a replicator of books that had already
been copied by the other monks. One day, he asked Father Florian (the rather ancient head of the
scriptorium),
"Does not the copying by hand of other copies allow for error?
How do we know we are not copying the mistakes of someone else? Are they ever checked against the original?"
Father Florian was taken aback by the observation of this youthful monk. "A very good point, my son. I will take
one of the latest books down to the vault and compare it against the original."
Father Florian went down to the vault and began his verification. After a day had passed, the monks began to worry
and went down looking for the old priest.
They were sure something must have happened. As they approached the vault, they heard crying. When they opened the
door, they found Father Florian sobbing over the new copy and the original ancient book, both of which were opened
before him on the table. It was obvious to all that the poor man had been crying his heart out for a long time.
"What is the problem, Reverend Father?" asked one of the monks.
"Oh, my God, my God," sobbed the priest. "In the ancient book of the sacred rites of priesthood... the word is 'celebrate'."
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