Aesop sighed softly: "Father only has me as a son. I have been away from my hometown for nearly sixty years. I am afraid that there are no relatives there. I just want to take a look at my hometown to find the feeling of returning to my roots. My father is a businessman. You often take me with you. I spent a lot of time in Yalun City when I was a child. This is the most representative city-state in the United Kingdom of Heaton. You might as well stay in Yalun City for a few more days. There are many situations here It is different from the countries of Tianshu Continent."
The carriage continued to move forward under the guidance of Aesop. After coming to the United Kingdom of Heaton and falling into the clouds, Medanzuo did not continue to sit in the car with Aesop, he got a horse outside the city, and rode the horse to accompany the car. Mei Danzuo was handsome and handsome, and looked like a guard warrior hired by Aesop who had returned home with a lot of money, while Amon, who was driving on the shaft of the chariot, looked inconspicuous.
When walking through the streets and alleys of Yalun, Medanzuo looked left and right, and nodded to the big girl and daughter-in-law who were staring at him, and asked Aesop when there was no one else: "In my opinion, the city of Yalun is only It is equivalent to a small city-state, but it seems very rich, the nobles are very leisurely and the common people are very busy.
Listening to the discussions of their citizen representatives in the city-state conference hall, they attach great importance to trade with the outside world. They not only require the states that join the alliance to open trade, but also those rich merchants use various methods to earn the benefits of the states. The Citizen Representative Conference here is also unwilling to strictly investigate the improper profit-making behavior of their wealthy businessmen outside. "
Aesop explained: "There are mountains and seas here, and there is no large area of plain land that can be cultivated. There are a lot of materials that need to be imported, and the rulers here are mostly shrewd businessmen like the Salem people in the city of Salem. I am more willing to engage in higher-value work, and I can exchange more wealth with limited labor. Yalun is a trade transfer station between the Kingdom of Heaton and the countries of the Tianshu Continent. It is a center. Half of the city-state’s own income comes from sailing Trade profits, many people here are well-informed."
Mei Danzuo: "Hearing what you said, I think back to the time when I carried things that were not available in the mountains all the way to the Link tribe to trade horse leather blanks. So what do the people here trade with the outside world?"
Aesop: "The most important product here is olive oil. The nearby mountains are not suitable for cultivating grains, but they are very suitable for planting olive trees. The olive oil produced by the Yalun City Gang is expensive and sold throughout the Tianshu Continent. Their city-state guards The staff in the hands of God Yalena is an olive branch. They also exported wine, pottery, marble, and mined silver mines to cast silver coins and various handicrafts.
And other commodities on the mainland, including papyrus and spices from Eju, wood and cloth from Hatti and Baron, and various grains, they imported, not only for their own use but also resold to various city-states for profit. In this city-state, some people live a leisurely life, chatting in the temple square every day, while some people live a very busy life, often sailing on the sea and doing transactions in commercial firms. "
Amon, who had been squinting his eyes, said again: "I saw the sea outside the city. There was a man holding a stone in his mouth, talking endlessly to the empty sea, but he was not praying but calling and agitating What, they don't have a clear belief, they preach irrelevant or contradictory statements."
Amon used the divine detection technique to see the scene in the distance outside the city, and Aesop explained with a smile: "Those are orators and sophists, and they are exercising their tongues."
Meidan asked, "What are they doing this for?"
Aesop replied: "In such a city-state, it is the most important ability to be able to promote various opinions and make the people accept them. Haven't you heard the discussions in the city-state meeting? Sometimes whether a proposal is passed or not is not completely determined. In the proposal itself, but in who and how to promote it. Businessmen often hire special orators to make proposals that are beneficial to them, so some people think that speech and sophistry are the greatest skills in the world one."
Amon asked with great interest: "This is indeed a very interesting place. Besides those orators, who else do you think is the most distinctive person in the city?"
Aesop replied: "There are also sages and wise men. The so-called sages are not necessarily wise, but they like to ask various questions and try to answer them, and they also travel to various places to learn various knowledge; the so-called wise men are not necessarily wise. How wise they are, but they are good at questioning and doubting, trying to refute any known knowledge. These people often gather in the temple square, preaching to passers-by or asking questions to everyone, that is the most lively place in Yalun."
Amon smiled and said: "Successful sages and wise men should also be excellent orators. It is also an achievement to be able to clearly present the thinking in the soul so that the listener can understand the profound thoughts. But they are ignored To sophisticate the things that are proclaimed purely for the purpose will become a different kind of person.
As for doubting all knowledge, it can also arouse people's thinking, which ones are innate and which ones are created by people? But it is useless to just question without giving an answer, although the answer may not be perfect, just like mortals cannot determine whether there are gods in this world, but they can perceive the existence of divinity in human nature. "
Aesop replied: "You are my god."
Amon smiled and said, "The me in Yalun City is just your coachman."
During the conversation, the carriage stopped in front of an inn. In front of this inn was a tavern and a public bathroom, where people drank and chatted. There were rooms in the back yard for accommodation. Aesop said: "Decades have passed, although the appearance of this place has changed too much, it is still an inn."
Mei Danzuo asked: "Aesop, why do you want to live here? There are many places to stay on the way here?"
Aesop sighed: "Please forgive me for an old man! The last time I went to sea with my father, I lived here in Yalun City. Although they are not the same inn, I can still find the breath of memory. .”
Mei Danzuo jumped off the horse and helped Aesop out of the car, and shouted: "Come on! Prepare the best room for my master, we want to stay overnight."
Amon heard Aesop's "breath in memory", watched his back walk into the inn, and quietly activated an unbelievable magic in his soul, which was similar to the legendary big prophecy. It is said that only gods can cast it. And the great magicians in the world can barely see its mysteries. It is one of the highest realms of information magic, the retrospective magic.
He saw a scene in his soul, Aesop turned into a sixteen-year-old appearance, overlapped with the back of Aesop in front of him, and walked into another inn with his father, and that inn was in the same place today Place.
Aesop is very rich and can afford the best rooms. He also brings imposing guards and simple and capable grooms. He looks like an old upstart who returned from an expedition in the Tianshu Continent. The innkeeper's attitude is very respectful, and he always greets him with a smile when he comes in and out, but besides envy, there is also a bit of jealousy or even disdain in his heart.
The people around saw Aesop more or less with this kind of mentality. Amon understood it clearly, and Aesop himself probably understood it very well, but the old man took it calmly. A group of three people lived in Yalun City, and there was nothing magical about it.
Amont told Metanzor intentionally that this place is already the domain of the Olympus pantheon. Although he and Zeus have not made any clear agreement, it is tantamount to entering someone else's oracle without permission. In order to abide by the historical agreement among the gods and not cause unexpected conflicts, he will not perform any miracles or use any divine power here, and Metatron must also be careful not to act as an envoy of God.
Did Zeus and the gods of Olympus know that Amon had come to Aaron? Amon himself couldn't be sure of this, because he didn't feel the feeling of being particularly concerned or locked. He is also a main god himself, and he knows very well that if all living beings only behave in the usual way, they will not attract the special attention of the gods in the domain of the gods. He came here just to hear, see, and feel, as an ordinary driver.
…
The next day, Amon came to Yalun's famous Temple Square, which is located in the "high city" of Yalun. The reason why it is called Gaocheng is that there are three hills here, and its geographical location is high, overlooking the seaside port. On the top of the hill in the middle stands the famous Temple of the Virgin, which is dedicated to the patron saint of Yalun City, Yalunna. She is the goddess of wisdom, the goddess of war, and the god of virgins in the Olympus pantheon.
Amon didn't want to go into the temple to attract the attention of the gods, so he just stood on the square and looked from afar, and couldn't help but nod in admiration. In the outline of the magnificent marble building, there is no straight line, the walls on all sides are slightly curved, and all the columns are slightly curved inward. Although the huge stone building is extremely heavy, it looks light and agile. The temple building is also the crystallization of people's wisdom.
Amon was watching from a distance in the square, when suddenly a person came over and asked, "Are you a foreigner?"
Amon replied: "Yes, I am a driver from a foreign country."
This person didn't come to interrogate Amon's identity, he seemed to just want to talk to someone, and then asked: "You are looking up at the temple, do you believe in gods?"
This sentence made it difficult for Amon to answer, so he could only smile and said: "When you perceive your own soul, you can witness the existence of gods."
At this time, there were already a group of onlookers around in twos and threes, and the person continued to ask: "Oh, how did you witness the existence of the gods? Did you see the statues in the temple, or heard the voices of the gods? Excuse me. Have you ever heard of a god, even if you hear its voice, how do you know it is not an illusion, even if you see someone who claims to be a god, how can you prove that he is a god?"
Amon frowned slightly. The atmosphere here is very open. Some people openly questioned the existence of gods in the temple square, and casually asked the strangers on the side of the road. There were still people waiting to watch the excitement. Amon asked back: "Then do you think the gods in the temple exist?"
The man replied: "This question is too complicated, and human life is too short. I can't be sure whether there are gods or not in this world."
Amon asked again: "Then why do you ask me this question again, do you want to get an answer from me?"
Seeing that there were many people gathered around, the man regained his spirit, opened his arms and said loudly: "People passing by, I am just asking a question. What scale are we using to measure everything in the world? Is it the will of the gods? No! Whether a thing is right or wrong, good or bad, depends on people's desires and needs. Isn't that what you think in your heart?"
Some of the onlookers nodded in agreement, but the person changed the subject and said, "Then do you think that your own desires and needs should be correct, and does truth exist? People in Yalun City, the truth in the world is not voted by citizens." , It is determined by counting the heads. If you believe in the former point of view, can you vote at the citizens' assembly to decide whether the gods exist?"
The person put forward two arguments, pros and cons, one after another, and some people in the audience were confused by the question. Amon replied with a smile: "The temple stands here, and the people here have expressed their choices in their own way. And if you want to discuss the topic of existence today, you might as well say all your questions. In fact, what you want to ask Yes—if gods exist, what kind of existence should they be? To be honest, this is the first time I have encountered such a debate, can I ask your name?"
The man puffed up his chest and replied: "My name is Parmenides. Stranger, are you also a traveling sage? Please answer me one more question, can you tell me what does not exist? Can you describe what is beyond Is it something other than thinking and perception? When you think of something when you think about it and say it in words, there must be something corresponding. Can you really say something that doesn’t exist?”
Amon smiled again: "I think you have already answered the question you raised. Why do people think? Vow, to find your own existence in the complicated world. One of the answers to this question is what you call the gods. Although you have been questioning the gods, you are also assuming the gods at the same time.”
Parmenides couldn't help blinking. He often provoked people to debate in the square, but he didn't expect this humble driver from a foreign country to have such a response.
Amon looked at him, looking at the entire square through the figure of Parmenides, and quietly activated the retrospective spell, as if witnessing the passage of time in his soul, he saw the "breath in memory" on the square - countless People talk about various topics here.
In the end, the god's gaze stopped at a certain scene. It was decades ago, and an old man stopped passers-by to ask questions in the same position.
The old man was bloated and wore a stained robe, but his muscles and blood were extremely strong. He turned out to be a great warrior. He has disheveled hair, a bulbous nose and an unremarkable appearance. He wears thin clothes in the cold weather but doesn't feel the cold at all. He is asking passers-by—
"Do people have a soul? If so, can it be immortal? If so, what kind of existence is an immortal soul?... Why do people have an immortal soul, and why do some people refuse to admit it?... An olive What's the difference from another olive? Why isn't one cat another
If you answered that the coat color and pattern are different, what caused the difference? My lord, under your robe, is flesh and blood any different from that passing coachman? How do you prove that you are better than him if you have all gone to a place where no one knows, or if your parents have swapped babies at birth? ... Please answer another question, what is noble in this world? "
Amon activated his magic to see the scene in memory, and with a smile on his face, he asked a series of questions that the old man had asked, hoping to see the reaction of Parmenides who was standing in the same position on the square .
Parmenides' expression changed, and he suddenly asked, "Who are you, are you also from the Plato Academy?"
A terrified voice from the crowd shouted, "My God, Socrates, he's possessed by the spirit of Socrates!"
For some reason, the crowd of onlookers suddenly dispersed, and in front of Amon was a surprised Parmenides. Amon smiled and asked again: "Let's go back to your question, if I say that I am a god, do you believe it?"
Parmenides breathed a sigh of relief, and seemed to have regained his composure, and asked, "I believe it or not, does it make sense for you to be a god or not?"
Amon pointed to the temple in the distance and said: "It depends on what kind of gods people need. Whether you believe it or not, I stand in front of your eyes. Maybe I won't change anything. I won't change you. Your soul It’s your measure of the world, that’s right, but it’s also the measure of this world’s measure of you. You don’t need to care about the existence outside the world, but you must care about how you exist, and this is my answer.”
At this time, there was the last person left among the onlookers, and he couldn't help interjecting and shouting: "A coachman is discussing such issues with people in the temple square. Don't you feel bored? With this free time, you might as well go to the store to transport some Good luck, earn some more money!"
Amon laughed out loud, turned his head and said to the human: "Thank you for reminding me, what's your name?"
The man replied: "My name is Dewey! I just want to remind you that all people's knowledge is just to deal with their own situation. You should be a smart person to listen to you. Instead of thinking about these boring problems, it is better to improve yourself situation."
When Parmenides heard someone took over the conversation, he turned to Dewey and said, "In your opinion, it doesn't matter whether the gods exist or not. People only live in their own perception and situation. Just like the driver if Claiming to be a god, if he is not your god, he does not exist, if he can give you the miracle you want, then he is a god, right?"
Dewey shook his head and said, "I'm just reminding a driver what to do, I don't want to talk nonsense with you."
Barney Mende asked again: "Then what do you do?"
Dewey replied: "I just like to watch the excitement in the temple square every day. It is my pleasure to listen to you people talking nonsense."