Dean John stopped Dmitry, who was too impatient, and after the usual greetings, they went into the courtyard.

Guo Kang pointed to the statue of Brother Tian on the top of a tower on the opposite side of the courtyard and introduced, "Look, the thunder and lightning are drawn down from there. ”

Dmitry and the others looked up and saw that the statue was made of bronze. Angry, with his muscles and muscles knotted, he wore a Greek robe, and held a long, lightning-shaped staff in his hand, one of which pointed straight to the sky, and the other end was followed by a pillar of metal that extended to the ground and plunged into the earth.

"Is this Brother Heaven or Zeus?" Dmitry, the Greek, always felt that something was wrong with the statue.

"This is 'Brother Thunderbolt'." Guo Kang explained: "Of course, it is normal to be like Zeus. God's outward image is not unchanging, and it is not actually important. ”

"In ancient times, people had a limited level of theological research, and often regarded the multiple images of Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother as different gods. This is a misunderstanding, and there is no need to be demanding. ”

"So......" Dmitry hesitated, putting the question aside, "And how did this idol get the thunder and lightning?" ”

"It's sunny today, and when it thunders and rains, you'll be able to see it." Guo Kang said: "When the time comes, the thunder and lightning will hit the Heavenly Brother's cane, and then it will be transmitted down and enter the earth. This device allows us to avoid lightning and makes it easier for everyone to observe. ”

"It's thunder," said Dmitry, in awe...... "can humans really dye it?" ”

"That's why we asked Brother Tian to pick it up, instead of letting you pick it up." Guo Kang pointed to the statue: "If you go to get involved, it is indeed dangerous enough......"

“……”

Dmitry suddenly felt as if there was some reason.

"Moreover, if one has enough cultivation and is close enough to God, then one can also touch this dangerous power to a certain extent." Guo Kang added: "Of course, you need to have enough knowledge. ”

"I understand this." Dmitry nodded, and looked at the statue again.

"What's wrong?" Seeing that he wanted to speak and stopped, Guo Kang asked.

"Placing the idol like this, isn't it Heavenly Father Thunder Splitting Heavenly Brother? Is this really good? He asked.

"In order to redeem mankind, Heavenly Father even asked Heavenly Brother to sacrifice his life. Compared with letting everyone understand the laws of the world and get closer to the wisdom of God, a statue is nothing if it is struck by lightning. Guo Kang expected this kind of question and answered without thinking.

"And what kind of relationship is that. You think that Heavenly Father is splitting him, but in fact, for Heavenly Brother, it may just make the divine power more abundant. He's not a mortal, so don't speculate with the strange thoughts of mortals. ”

"I see." Dmitry hastened to say.

Grand Lama Wang had already sent someone to inform the people in the monastery to get ready, and Guo Kang accompanied Dmitry to look around.

At the gate of the monastery, their coat of arms hangs: a skull. This thing comes from the Orthodox tradition of the cult of relics, and on the skull, there is a gear in one eyehole and thunder and lightning in the other.

"That's what you mean, to explore the mystical knowledge of God and get close to the power of God." Dmitry said.

"Yes." Guo Kang nodded and said, "This monastery is called the 'Wish of Light' Order. Most of the members here are Greek monastic priests. We believe that the holy light, as well as the thunder and lightning, which the monks had studied before, were manifestations of divine power. ”

"Aristotle and other sages have explored the way in terms of light and electricity. I believe that as long as we keep going, we can definitely get closer to God and feel Him. ”

"I've studied Aristotle's writings before, but it's really the first time I've heard of it." Dmitry said earnestly: "Did Aristotle do any of these studies?" ”

"Yes, but many of our archives have been lost after a long period of war, especially after the Frankish Crusaders sacked the city." Guo Kang shook his head: "From 1204 to the present, it has been more than two hundred years, and it is normal for your sect to have no impression of this. ”

"But it's not just people here who are reading Aristotle's writings—you should know how famous he is." He reminded, "Among other things, I have been in contact with a celestial scholar who studied Aristotle. I can introduce him to you later. ”

"Oh, I've heard of that......" Dmitry nodded.

"Do you know the 'second mentor' Al Farabi?" Guo Kang asked.

"Ah, I've only heard his name." Dmitry was a little embarrassed: "You know, our side has been at war all year round. During the civil war, the monastery was also plundered by mercenaries, lost some books, and many monks and brothers fled and hid in Morea and Trabzon, and have not yet been recovered. ”

"It's even more of a luxury to communicate with scholars from other places." He sighed: "It was only over the years that the situation got better, and we had the heart to sort out the books, go out to search, and start researching again." Until now, the time to be truly stable is only twenty years......"

"Then it's not easy for you." As soon as he poured up the bitter water, he couldn't stop, so Guo Kang had to comfort him and tell him not to complain.

"Anyway...... Long ago, Aristotle's doctrine spread in the East. ”

"Aristotle was Alexander's teacher, and some scholars brought his writings to Bactria during Alexander's army's crusade." Guo Kang told him: "Later, in Bactria, Margiana, and Sogdiana, the doctrines of Aristotle, along with the cultural influence of the Greeks, began to prevail. ”

"Balkh, the central city of Bactria, and Mulu, the central city of Margiana, were both centers of trade and cultural exchange. For example, Buddhism in the south, which came from India, blended with Greek culture here, and finally spread eastward, and is still popular in Seris. And all kinds of learning from the west are the same. ”

"However, the Greek state there, like this one, never ceased to fight among themselves, and eventually collapsed in endless civil strife. By the time of the rise of the Roman Republic, there was only one city-state left. ”

"Soon, though, they gained more knowledge from Egypt."

According to al-Farabi, the Celestial scholars believed that after Aristotle's death, the place where his doctrine really took root was in Alexandria, Egypt. After that, there was a succession of teachers who spread the teachings of Aristotle until the last 'woman' reigned. ”

"'The woman' sorted out some philosophical writings, but King Augustus of Rome struck and killed her and seized her collection. Augustus believed that only the writings left behind by Aristotle himself and his generation of students could be preserved and taught, and that subsequent books should be destroyed. He also assigned special officials to burn books and bring important documents to Rome. ”

(End of chapter)