In addition to his own reason, there were books. The Sogno dil Caravia was not an isolated case. "On confessing several times to a priest of Barcis," Menocchio declared during his first interrogation, "I said to him,'Can it be that Jesus Christwasconceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary? Iadded, however, that Ibelieved this, but sometimes the devil tempted me." The attribution of his own doubts to demoniacal temptation reflected Menocchio's relatively cautious attitude at the beginning of the trial; in fact, he promptly expounded the two premises supporting hisposition:"Ibased mybeliefon thefact that many menhave been born into the world, but none of a virgin woman; and when I read that the gloriousvirgin was married to St. Joseph, I believed that our Lord Jesus Christ was the son ofSt. Joseph, because I have read some histories where St. Joseph called our Lord Jesus Christ his son, and Iread this in a book called Fioreto della Bibia." This is an example chosen at random: Menocchio frequently indicated that this or that book was the source (not the only one in this particular case) of his "opinions." But what had Menocchio actually read?