awareness of his own rights, then, had specifically religious origins. A miller may claim to be able to expound the truths of the faith to the pope, to a king, to a prince, because he has within himself that spirit which God hasimparted to llmen. Forthe same reason he may dare "to speak out against his superiors about their evil deeds. What led Menocchio to denouce the existing hierarchies so impetuously in his speeches wasn't only his perception of the oppression, but also a religiosity that affirmed the presence in every man of a "spirit" that he sometimes called "Holy Spirit," sometimes "spirit of God.