# XIV explained — Lavengro > Chapter companion for Lavengro by George Borrow. ## What happens The narrator, having returned home, finds himself idle and turns to the study of languages. He acquires a tesseraglot grammar from a bookstall and begins learning French and Italian. He then finds a master—a banished priest—who becomes his preceptor in those tongues. The chapter also includes a vivid description of the old city (Norwich), its history, its martyrs, and its northern heritage, as well as a conversation between the narrator's parents about his linguistic pursuits. ## Themes in this chapter ### Philology and Learning The narrator's self-directed study of languages via a tesseraglot grammar and his tutelage under the banished priest highlight the theme of philological pursuit. ### Religion and Priestcraft The banished priest is a Catholic exile; the chapter also reflects on Protestant martyrdom and anti-Catholic sentiment in the description of the Lollards' Hole. ### Identity and Belonging The narrator's father worries about the narrator's Irish language knowledge marking him as a 'Papist and rebel,' reflecting anxieties about national and religious identity. ## Character check-ins ### Lavengro Returns home, purchases a tesseraglot grammar, and begins studying French and Italian under a banished priest. ### The Priest A banished priest who becomes the narrator's preceptor in French and Italian; described as elderly, with a snuff-colored coat and a stoop. ### Murtagh Mentioned as the narrator's earlier tutor in Irish, which sparked his interest in languages. ### George Borrow The narrator's father, who expresses concern about the narrator's knowledge of Irish and discusses his language studies with the narrator's mother. ### Brother Mentioned as the narrator's elder brother, whom the father compares to the narrator. ## Key lines > It was a tessara-glot grammar⁠—a strange old book, printed somewhere in Holland, which pretended to be an easy guide to the acquirement of the French, Italian, Low Dutch, and English tongues The narrator bought a polyglot grammar from Holland that claimed to teach four languages easily. _Describes the book that sparked his language studies._ > I wish I had a master! I exclaimed; and the master was at hand. The narrator wished for a teacher, and soon found one. _Leads to the introduction of the banished priest as his tutor._ > Exul sacerdos ; vone banished esprit. I came into England twenty-five years ago, ‘my dear.’ The priest identifies himself as a banished priest who arrived in England twenty-five years earlier. _Reveals the priest's background as an exile._ > I have heard talk of the pleasures of idleness, yet it is my own firm belief that no one ever yet took pleasure in it. The narrator argues that idleness is inherently unpleasant and drives people to seek activity. _Reflects on the motivation behind his language studies._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/xiv - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/lavengro_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/lavengro_se/chapters