Casaubon visits Salvador de Bahia to study its syncretic churches. He and Amparo meet an elderly Italian art collector named Signor Agliè. They talk about Agliè’s interest in the Isis cults of the Roman Empire, which leads Agliè to reference a historical occultist called the Comte de Saint-Germain. Later, Agliè exaggerates how old he really is.

Agliè discusses the Brazilian Umbanda religion, which he describes as being like the Templars. Casaubon mentions his expertise in the Templars, which interests Agliè. Amparo confesses she feels remote from her own native culture.

While studying the Rosicrucians monograph, Casaubon finds a reference to the Comte de Saint-Germain, who found favor with the European aristocracy and was rumored to have been immortal. Casaubon theorizes that Agliè wants people to think that he is the Comte de Saint-Germain.

Agliè invites Casaubon and Amparo to a terreiro de candomblé. He explains the cultural origins of the terreiro, which draws from African and European occult traditions. When Amparo laments her distance from Brazilian culture once again, Agliè reassures her by informing her that Brazilian religious tradition has a political history as well, helping formerly enslaved people to reclaim their identity from the Europeans.

Agliè elaborates that before the Roman Empire legitimized Christianity, the mystical religions of the Mediterranean preserved various traditions of knowledge from all over the world. Amparo protests that religion is the elite’s way of keeping the people in order. Agliè retorts that religion makes people hopeful of a desired outcome.

After the tour of the terreiro, Casaubon and Amparo joke that Agliè really is immortal.

Casaubon and Amparo enjoy a passionate romance in Bahia. He reads to her from the Rosicrucian monograph and explains the occult interests of Christian Rosencreutz, founder of the Confraternity of the Rosy Cross. The monograph discusses two 17th-century manifestoes, both narrating the discovery of a secret chamber containing Rosencreutz’s tomb. The manifestoes promise that there is a great treasure waiting to be found. These incidents remind Casaubon of Ardenti’s manuscript and make him realize that the Rosicrucians were linked to the Templars.

Casaubon tries to guess at the authorship of the manifestoes, but this remains a mystery since no one knew how to contact the Rosicrucians. This reached a fever point in which anyone could accuse others of being Rosicrucians, but no one could ever discern which accusations were true. Eventually, the world lost interest in the treasure as the trail had gone cold.

Upon returning to Rio de Janeiro, Casaubon discovers the existence of an Order of Ancient and Accepted Rosy Cross. He and Amparo visit their office and attend a talk being given by a scholar named Professor Bramanti. Bramanti discusses an ancient educational order called the Great White Fraternity, which was the precursor to the Rosicrucians, dating back to Ancient Egypt. Bramanti is accused of violating the Fraternity’s code of silence, after which he ends the lecture.

Later, Agliè invites Casaubon and Amparo to witness an Umbanda ritual.

Agliè dismisses Bramanti’s assertions on successor legitimacy, arguing that the texts Bramanti cited were the origin points of their predecessors, even though they were historically written later on. His argument hinges on the idea that tradition is greater than time, and that any result is symbolic of its causes, rather than a direct outcome of them. It is thus unnecessary to pass on knowledge to bestow the legitimacy of legacy. What matters is the willingness and receptiveness to possess that knowledge.

Agliè clarifies this point in the context of the Great White Fraternity: The order preserves knowledge through secrecy, thus anyone claiming to be a Rosicrucian or Templar is lying because they are more concerned with legacy than knowledge. The knowledge that a secret exists is enough to convince people that life is worth living.

On the evening of the Umbanda ritual, Amparo remains skeptical, still believing that religion is an imperialist tool. As soon as Amparo and Casaubon enter the ritual space, participants dance, trying to fall into a possessive trance. After the first possessions begin, Amparo asks if they can leave. The pai-de-santo suggests that she is eligible for possession, but Amparo is too sick to continue. Later, Amparo returns and is possessed by a spirit. When she exits her trance, Amparo is deeply embarrassed, fearing that she has perpetuated a colonialist stereotype.

Agliè first tries to reassure Amparo. Later, he explains to Casaubon that Amparo channeled a deeply intimate part of her true self into the ritual, which she was unprepared to experience. Soon, Agliè leaves for Milan. Amparo leaves Casaubon. After another year, Casaubon returns to Milan.

Casaubon experiences culture shock upon returning to Italy, unable to discern the new political divisions and shifts in pop culture. He reunites with Belbo, who has become enamored with a married woman named Lorenza Pellegrini. Casaubon tries to find work as a bibliography writer. Two years later, in 1981, he meets a woman named Lia.

Casaubon meets Lia at the library when they end up needing the same book. He finds out that Lia also studies references for work. They start dating; Casaubon admires her critical ability.

After hearing about his work, Belbo invites Casaubon to join a commissioned book project on the history of metals.

Casaubon describes an acquaintance of Belbo’s, a psychoanalyst named Dr. Wagner, using a file from Abulafia entitled “Doktor Wagner.” The file describes Belbo’s testy but codependent relationship with his psychoanalyst. Once, Wagner humiliated Belbo by exposing his romantic neuroses, which Belbo could not help but accept as true in the context of his affair with Lorenza. Belbo’s obsession with Lorenza became more intense, and though Lorenza eventually left her husband, she took on a different lover.

Belbo briefs Casaubon on the metals book project they are working on, suggesting places Casaubon could visit to enhance their materials. This includes Foucault’s pendulum, which Belbo describes as a symbol of existential hope for his generation, who lived through the disillusionment with Fascism and the resistance to it. He contrasts his generation against Casaubon’s, who are more carefree and reckless about the sociopolitical shifts of their time.

Belbo brings Casaubon to meet his employer, Signor Garamond. His office is contained in the other half of the same building, which houses Garamond Press’s sister company, Manutius Press. They discuss the metals book project, but are interrupted by the arrival of Garamond’s next appointment, Commendatore De Gubernatis. Garamond spends the whole appointment speaking for De Gubernatis, giving him the spiel of their publication conditions. During the appointment, Garamond takes a fake phone call from his secretary, making it appear as though he is speaking to another Manutius author. De Gubernatis is convinced by this and leaves his manuscript with Garamond.

Manutius is revealed to be a vanity press that publishes self-financing authors. Signor Garamond convinces people like De Gubernatis that their manuscript will receive the same level of legitimacy and sociocultural capital as prestige writers. This makes the author pliable to financing production costs on behalf of the press. Garamond uses the publication contract to exploit the author’s intellectual property rights and set the author up to purchase the backlog of unsold books after one year. Manutius thus manages to operate profitably each year.

Casaubon reflects on Belbo’s motivations for working with the exploitative Signor Garamond. He presents a file from Abulafia entitled “Vendetta.” The file suggests that Belbo uses his work to channel his resentment over being passed up by Lorenza for other men.

Casaubon begins working on the metals book project, traveling with Lia to Paris to research illustrations. He impresses Garamond with illustrations linking the history of metals to ancient magic and alchemical science.

Casaubon is surprised to encounter Professor Bramanti in the Manutius office. Bramanti has pitched a series of books on occult sciences to Garamond, such as astrology and esoteric biology, which he himself will edit. The pitch is too exorbitant to garner Garamond’s interest, however.

After Bramanti leaves, Garamond reveals that he has already been conceiving an occult studies book project similar to Bramanti’s for some time. He admires Bramanti’s expertise, however, and wants to model his idea after Bramanti’s pitch. The project, which he calls “Project Hermes,” will utilize both publishing houses to produce academic titles via Garamond while also attracting self-proclaimed experts to publish vanity projects via Manutius. He suggests inaugurating Project Hermes with a Garamond series called “Hermetica” and a Manutius series called “Isis Unveiled.”

Manutius begins to publicize its forthcoming series, planting articles in magazines and sending fliers to every secret society in the world. Lorenza becomes involved with the publicity campaign when she offers to connect Belbo to Picatrix and market the series to occult bookshops. Subject experts begin to register their interest with contributing a title to Isis Unveiled. The Garamond editors collectively refer to these authors as “the Diabolicals.”

Casaubon, Belbo, and Diotallevi welcome the first prospective Diabolical, a man named Professor Camestres, who speaks on his bias against occultist Aleister Crowley and pitches a book project with the intention of superseding Crowley’s influence. When it becomes clear that Camestres will not finance his own publication, the editors dismiss him.

The editors comb through stacks of manuscripts, but find it difficult to determine which ones are worth publishing for Isis Unveiled. Belbo suggests that they should hire a consultant to determine the manuscripts of worth. Casaubon suggests Agliè.

Casaubon brings his colleagues to Agliè’s house, informing them that Agliè wants people to think he is the Comte de Saint-Germain. While waiting for Agliè, the editors overhear him in conversation with Bramanti and a third person named Pierre. Agliè is trying to settle a dispute between the two men, following Bramanti’s claim that Pierre has cursed him over an article he has written disparaging the Luciferians. Agliè resolves the matter by declaring that a poltergeist is causing their troubles.

Agliè joins the Garamond editors and impresses them with the collection of antiques and books in his study. Belbo shares their project with Agliè, and Agliè accepts the offer out of devotion to occult knowledge. He demonstrates his skills by assessing a manuscript on the Egyptian pyramids on the spot, predicting its contents based on the index alone.

Agliè assesses that the manuscript is repeating previously established ideas about the numerology of pyramids. He explains how easy it is to leverage numerology to support invented truths, though he clarifies that he still believes in the numerology of the natural universe. He further downplays the manuscript’s thesis that the Egyptians used electricity to build the pyramids, offering “telluric currents” as an alternative energy source.

Agliè excuses himself to entertain another guest, who is revealed to be Lorenza, though Agliè calls her “Sophia.” Belbo is mortified.