Do Magi Dream of Faerie Sheep? Part 1

PART 1
My master has instructed me to keep a journal, now that I can read and write the Latin tongue. He says that he will beat me if I do not, but it is an empty threat. The hard part was not learning to write, as the letters took little time to recognize and only a little longer to write legibly, but learning to speak like the scholar I am to become, and my master is, will take time. He often corrects me about my accent and grammar, though nobody else ever seems to notice. The color of my skin draws more comments than my speech.
I do not know what I should write about. I suppose a journal is a record of daily activities, as boring as that sounds. So - This week I started reading a large book by the founder Bonisagus, the Theory of Magic. Some of what he says I have already been taught by my master, but other things are confusing. The book itself is almost too heavy to lift, and the words are heavy themselves. Sometimes I feel as if the words will fall to the ground on their own as I doze off and they slip from my mind. Last night I heard them clattering on the floor of the library, I swear.
Today I learned the names of the Arts, the Great Arts that make up our magic. As I said, I already knew them, but now I am expected to know the differences between them. Now when my master asks, I can tell him that breaking a piece of pottery where it stands requires "I destroy", while throwing that pottery against the wall requires "I command" even if it then breaks. To repair the pot requires "I create", unless I "I command" it together as if with glue, or "I change" it into sand and sweep it under the rug, or is that "I destroy" again? I am not sure if I will ever "I understand" the difference. The pot is broken in any case, is it not?
I am more inclined to relate interesting events in this journal, those which I would want to remember. Master says the journal is for me to read, primarily, and I doubt I will ever have much interest in reading "Monday I read a huge book. Tuesday I read the same huge book". So I will relate this.
Lately Master seems agitated. I wanted to ask him about it during dinner, but Master noticed my curiosity before I could speak.
"What is it? What are you hiding?"
"Nothing, Master."
"Do you wish me to discover it for myself, or will you speak?"
"No, I will speak. You received a letter recently."
"Go on."
"Since you received the letter, you have seemed distracted."
"Seemed? I do not like such vague terms. Use a more specific word. One cannot well explain a seeming in a correspondence, but actions are more clear. Tell me of my actions which support your conclusion that I am distracted."
"Actions?"
"Yes, be specific. Hrm, look here; taste the soup."
"It's terrible."
"I know, but be specific. What does it taste like?"
I did not know what he was getting at, but he had that certain look he gets when he is trying to teach me, so I tasted the soup, "It tastes like dirt and potatoes, and it lacks salt."
"Exactly! It tastes terrible because it tastes like dirt and lacks salt!" His grin spread across his face, "Exactly! Marta! Come take away this soup, it tastes like dirt and lacks salt!"
Marta scurried in and with a pat on my head, carried away the soup.
"So, what did you learn?"
"Soups require salt." His grim fell almost immediately. "Oh, yes! You seem distracted because several times this week I have seen you ignore your sodales. It is unlike you."
"Aha! Yes, a sound conclusion. I am distracted. The letter describes a murder. Now eat some bread while we wait for the meat."