[Infrastructure] After being mistaken for a god

540 BC.

After the "Kingdom of Babylon" became the "Republic of Chaldea", the city of Babylon is still prosperous and is the world's leading metropolis.

It brings together craftsmen, artists and scholars from all over the world.Countless young people travel here every year.They marveled at the solid and thick walls of Babylon, the towering Tower of Babel, and the extremely beautiful hanging gardens.

They walked through the cobweb-like streets of the city, tried the newly brewed beer in the tavern, met a beautiful Babylonian girl, and if they were lucky, they could even find a love.

There is a small square in front of the Tower of Babel. It is said that all languages ​​​​from all over the world can be heard here.

Correspondingly, no matter what language you speak, as long as you can find a way for the audience to understand, someone will stay here to listen to your speech-on this point, the Babylonians have always been very tolerant.

On this day, a Greek came to the small square in front of the Tower of Babel.

He is a young man in his twenties, wearing a Greek-style robe, and has beautiful curly hair; but the beard on the chin conceals his age, and when he stands in front of the square, everyone thinks he is middle-aged scholar.

"Hello, friends of Babylon!"

The Greeks greeted people in the square flexibly. He used three languages ​​to express this simple greeting: Greek, Egyptian, and Babylonian.

Such a warm greeting immediately attracted many people.In the city of Babylon, many people were engaged in commerce and trade.Many of them, in addition to their own, understood some Greek and Egyptian.

The point is, the way this Greek is trying to express himself is admirable.

"My name is Pythagoras." The Greek reported his family name, "I come from Samos, a small island in the Aegean Sea. I have traveled to Egypt and now I am in Babylon. It is a great honor to communicate with you!"

Relatively complex long sentences, the Greeks finally chose to express them in their native language.

The Babylonians applauded enthusiastically, and some responded in broken Greek: "Pythagoras, what do you want to tell us?"

Pythagoras said excitedly: "Mathematics! What I want to say is mathematics!"

This Greek scholar was really talking about mathematics.He introduced his understanding of the concept of "everything is number", and then described his cognition of "beauty" in poetic language: "Beauty is harmony and proportion, so everything is related to mathematics."

He literally went on and on about how what he believed in in the "beauty of mathematics" applied to architecture, sculpture, and music.

Although Pythagoras spoke abstractly, it still attracted a large number of Babylonians to stop and listen, and more and more people gathered in the square.Many people nodded approvingly and applauded Pythagoras.

Most Babylonians said: "Very interesting!"

It was the first time that Pythagoras gave a speech on such an occasion, and he received so much recognition. The young man was a little flustered, and immediately lowered his voice: "Since everyone is very interested in what I said, then I decided to speak at the Here is an unprecedented discovery—a very important theorem, very, very important!"

Seeing that he spoke solemnly, the Babylonians listened intently.There was a sudden silence in the square.

The Greeks are still playing tricks: "I named it 'Pythagoras Theorem'①."

Then he whispered the content of his "theorem".

"Tch, what kind of unprecedented discovery is this?"

"The Babylonians already knew!"

Pythagoras: Shocked...he thought he was the first to find out.

"Not only do we know, we also know many arrays, all of which conform to your theorem."

"Otherwise, how did the Babylonians build so many great buildings?" A Babylonian pointed to the Tower of Babita that went straight into the sky behind Pythagoras.

Pythagoras: ... also.

"I think this little brother is too confident, right? What he said is very ordinary."

"It's gone! It's gone!"

The crowd that had gathered in front of the square dispersed in an instant.Leaving Pythagoras alone in a daze - did he really think too highly of himself?What he thought was a great discovery, but everyone in Babylon knew about it?

Unexpectedly, at this time, a little girl wearing traditional Babylonian women's clothing ran up to Pythagoras, a pair of dark eyes rolled on his face, and then she saluted slowly, raised her head and said: "My master I want to invite you to meet and chat."

In this way, Pythagoras was led by the little girl through the streets of Babylon and came to a quiet courtyard.Here, the hustle and bustle of the city seems to be separated by a layer and blocked from the courtyard wall.There is a gentle breeze in the courtyard, and the fragrance of flowers bursts out, making it very pleasant.

"Pythagorean Theorem?" A young woman walked in with a smile.As soon as she spoke, she spoke perfectly Greek.

Pythagoras immediately blushed with embarrassment and was very embarrassed, saying: "I was too ignorant, so I made a slip of the tongue."

Who knew that the woman shook her head: "You proved it, not just discovered it, right?"

When Pythagoras heard this, he immediately felt a warm current rushing into his heart: discovering phenomena and giving proofs have completely different meanings.It's just that in the square just now, he only knew how to tease people's appetite blindly and showed off too much, but he didn't have the eloquence to explain the process of proof clearly in the shortest time.

Unexpectedly, there was someone here who could understand him.

Pythagoras raised his eyes, glanced at the woman in front of him, only glanced once, then quickly lowered his head, not daring to look further.After reading more, I was afraid that I would stay in Babylon forever, and refused to leave even one step.

This woman is so beautiful.Pythagoras traveled everywhere, but never saw such a beautiful woman.

People dare not stare at such a beautiful woman: her eyes are clear and transparent, but with insights that are completely out of proportion to her age, as if one can see through a person's deepest heart with just one glance.

"I hope you will neither be proud of a little discovery, nor belittle yourself because of a little setback."

The woman invites Pythagoras to take a seat in her little courtyard.The breeze blew by, and the green vines crawling on the pillars of the courtyard made a rustling sound.

However, Pythagoras was completely shocked by the first two sentences of the other party, and sat with his head bowed all the time, not daring to say a word.

"Excuse me, do you believe that there are gods in this world?"

After a long silence, the other party suddenly asked quietly.

Pythagoras was so surprised that he finally couldn't help raising his head: Is the other party serious?Did you invite him here just to ask this question?

When he raised his head, Pythagoras happened to see the beautiful lady on the opposite side who was also looking at him carefully. After looking for a long time, there seemed to be a little more disappointment in those beautiful and clear eyes.

"That's a good question." Pythagoras thought for a while and answered decisively.

"I've traveled to the East, I've been to Egypt, I've retreated in temples. I've studied hieroglyphs and Egyptian mythology, how different they are from native Greek beliefs..."

"I must say, I believe in the existence of gods—"

When Pythagoras said this, a small flame seemed to be extinguished in the eyes of the beautiful woman opposite him.Disappointment is evident in her, and Pythagoras does not know why.

"Or in other words, I believe that there are things in this world that I am willing to dedicate my life to."

His research, his philosophy, his mathematics... are all things he is willing to dedicate his life to.

When the beautiful woman on the opposite side heard about it, she immediately turned from worry to joy, the corners of her lips raised, showing a beautiful smile, and she nodded slightly to express her understanding.

"I believe," she said, "that if you persevere, you will succeed in your field sooner or later."

As she spoke, she picked up the pottery cup in her hand, and immediately two maids walked into the courtyard.They are here to see off guests.

Pythagoras was in a hurry, he felt something at this moment, he suddenly realized that the person in front of him was extraordinary: she seemed to know everything... as if she could know the future.

"Miss, beautiful lady..." Pythagoras suddenly hesitated, instead of leaving, he took another step closer to the woman, "What advice do you have for Pythagoras?"

"The great mathematician..."

Pythagoras heard the person on the opposite side sigh in a low voice.

Pythagoras himself was never regarded as a "mathematician", and even he himself believed that he was preoccupied with the study of "philosophy", or "wisdom".

"Please promise me one thing!" The woman raised her voice suddenly, and at the same time raised her head with a smile on her face, "When you can create a school of your own in the future, I hope that when you give lectures, Enroll female students."

"Because women have the right to education too."

Pythagoras agreed with this very much, and immediately bowed and agreed: "Dear Miss Babylon, I can't promise you now... After all, I'm not very knowledgeable, and I'm not sure if I can really create a school in the future..."

The setbacks in Babylon not only taught him to be humble, but also rekindled his belief in struggle.

"But if I really do it one day, I promise that my school will definitely recruit female students openly, and they will not be turned away who are dedicated to studying."

Pythagoras, led by the maids, left the small courtyard.

The moment the maids left, Pythagoras immediately felt lost in the streets of Babylon.He turned back abruptly, and found that he could not find a way to bring him back to the fresh and pleasant little courtyard just now.

The noisy voices in the market became extremely clear: the brief conversation that happened just now was like a dream; but he remembered every word.

"Is it really a god?" Pythagoras asked himself.

But he himself had no answer.

"Her beauty can only be expressed by mathematics."

Pythagoras finally came to such a conclusion and left Babylon contented.

In 520 BC, Pythagoras started his own school.He kept his promise, and his school included more than a dozen women scholars, which no other school had at the time.

In 457 BC, another young man from Greece, like Pythagoras, came to Babylon.

His name was Herodotus.

Unlike Pythagoras, Herodotus was obsessed with speaking in front of people.He is an unknown listener, carrying a parchment with him, roaming the streets of Babylon, wine shops and restaurants, and when he hears any interesting "story", he will take out the parchment in his arms and write it down in a hurry .

As a result, the fingers of his right hand were stained with ink all the year round, and he was always worried about having no money to buy parchment.

One day Herodotus huddled in the corner of the tavern, used up the last corner of the last piece of parchment in his hand, and was sighing contentedly, but immediately woke up: he was out of food again.

Walking out of the tavern, the young man thought to himself to find a cheaper lodging, and then go to the market to find a part-time job, so as to earn him another roll of parchment.

Unexpectedly, he hadn't walked very far when he suddenly felt a light pat on his shoulder, and a clear female voice said "Hello" behind him.

Herodotus turned his head sharply, but there was no one behind him.On the ground lay a roll of parchment tied with a silk ribbon, brand new, with no words written on it.

The young man was very grateful, but he didn't know who to thank, so he could only pray to the sky: "Gods are above, Herodotus, thank you for the kind person who gave me the parchment!"

He didn't get any feedback from the gods. Instead, he heard a chuckle beside his ear. Like the "Hello", it was the voice of a young girl, as if he had already received his thanks.

Soon the young man found a job as a copyist at the clerk's office in the market.He was responsible for transcribing the contents of many clay tablets onto sheepskin scrolls—clay tablet records have lasted for thousands of years, but because the clay tablets are too large, they take up a lot of space in preservation, so the Babylonians began to transfer some Important documents were transcribed on parchment scrolls.

For Herodotus, it was a dream job.

He was gifted enough to read cuneiform, and he could deduce the meaning of older ancient cuneiform from context.Therefore, his job is not just simply copying.

Therefore, he is desperately sucking nourishment in the ancient texts of Babylon.

When he returned to his residence with his right hand sore after copying for a day, and wanted to write down all his feelings for the day, he suddenly realized—yes, he was out of food again.

Suddenly hearing two pecks outside the window, Herodotus opened the curtain hanging on the window, and a roll of brand new blank parchment rolled down from the window sill.The girl's crisp laughter sounded in the distance: "This is given to you by my master, you don't need to thank me, just thank her!"

Herodotus was very grateful for this timely action, and held the parchment tightly to his chest.He hasn't seen the appearance of a "good-hearted person" until now, but his heart is already filled with endless goodwill.

This situation lasted for several months, and Herodotus really couldn't bear the curiosity in his heart.Finally one day, when he received another gift, he pretended to pray to heaven and said sincerely: "Great god, if you let Herodotus meet this kind man, he will Even more grateful!"

Sure enough, the pretty girl said "hmm" and responded, "Got it!" Then there was the sound of footsteps, and they went away.

Another day later, Herodotus saw the "good-hearted man"—the kind-hearted beauty.

She was sitting under the flower stand covered with ivy, reading a parchment in her hand.She looked like a sculpture made of alabaster, and if she hadn't occasionally chanted softly, Herodotus would have thought he was being led to a classical statue.

The young Greek had never seen such beauty.He stared dumbfounded for a long time, and immediately felt that his heart was filled with love.

After a long time, the girl raised her eyes, she just realized the existence of Herodotus.

"Please sit down!" She greeted warmly.

Herodotus felt that he could not resist, and sat down extremely nervously.Herodotus couldn't breathe when her eyes turned to him.

"Herodotus." She called out his name accurately.

"Excuse me, do you believe that there are gods in this world?" For some reason, the girl asked him such a question.

Herodotus stared at the person in front of him dumbfounded, and nodded for a long time before saying: "I believe!"

The girl was astonished, looked at Herodotus for a long time, and then said disappointedly: "Here is some money, you can take it. You can buy as many parchments as you need in the future."

The young maid beside her smiled and brought Herodotus a purse, which was jingling and must contain silver coins.

For ordinary people, this is a windfall.

Unexpectedly, Herodotus shook his head, stretched out his hand to push away the purse, and continued to answer the girl's question: "I don't know if there are gods in the world, but your appearance made me believe in the creation of gods. is real."

Hearing his answer, the girl's expression was very speechless at first, and then turned into sadness.She was quiet for a while before asking again: "If this is the case, how can the gods let people know that he does not actually exist?"

Herodotus: Such a question...why ask a mortal?

But he lowered his head to think, and then answered seriously: "Perhaps, when the power of the gods begins to decline, mortals will gradually forget them?"

After hearing what Herodotus said, the girl raised her hand seriously and looked at it: "The strength is declining..."

"Yes," Herodotus said quickly without knowing where the courage came from. "Haven't you noticed? This ordinary world is different from the past."

The girl nodded her head and said encouragingly: "Please continue!"

At this time, it had not been a few years since the end of the war between Greece and Persia, but the girl obviously did not expect to say from this young man: This world is not the same anymore.

"How exactly is it different?"

Herodotus plucked up his courage in front of the girl and said: "In this world, pure force is no longer the criterion for judging whether an individual is strong or not."

The girl raised the corners of her mouth, seemingly interested, and asked, "So what is it, is it blood, class, or wealth?"

Herodotus plucked up his courage and said: "It is wisdom and vision, but also academics and culture!"

This is a very distinctive feature of the newly rising Greek city-state civilization.

The girl clapped her hands immediately: "Well said!"

Herodotus mustered up his courage again: "As for the question you just asked, I think that as long as this matter is beneficial to people, it will appear in this world no matter what."

"Thank you!" The woman, looking similarly inspired, nodded and said, "My friend, I will always remember your words."

She personally took the money bag from the young maid, handed it to the Greek tenderly, and said: "If you are willing to accept a gift from a friend, then please accept it."

Herodotus wanted to say: In fact, I already have a job, I am no longer poor, and my job is enough to support my expenses.

Unexpectedly, the girl said: "I still have some power in the place where you work. From tomorrow, you will have the right to consult all ancient books. It is open to you. You can read whatever you want."

Herodotus really did not expect that such a good thing would fall from the sky like a pie and hit him on the head.

Dazed with joy, he couldn't help accepting the girl's gift, and heard the girl say: "Dear friend, if you can, please start your favorite job earlier."

"Also, the stories you heard may be able to be judged again, or to prove each other - a calm and true description will make your words have a higher value and meaning."

Herodotus didn't understand what he meant, but he agreed indiscriminately.He asked obsessively: "As a friend, can I see you again?"

The girl smiled and shook her head.

What she meant was very clear, there was no such possibility in this life.

Herodotus felt that he had just fallen in love and then fell out of love again.

Such a brief but strong emotion made the young man very poetic. He stretched out his hand to the girl with half regret and half melancholy, and chanted loudly:

"I look at the moon,

But only see you. "

No matter what happens in the future, I will always be like this.

The girl was startled, she really didn't expect to hear this famous sentence from the mouth of this young man.

Then she laughed, although there was sadness in her eyes at the same time.

She nodded to Herodotus: "Thank you for writing such a beautiful poem."

Herodotus looked at the look in her eyes, and instantly understood—it turned out that they are both fallen people in the world. When everyone in this world looks at the moon, there is someone they want to see.

It turned out that a woman who was so close to perfection had the same sentimentality as him.Herodotus was no longer sad, but calmed down, saluted the girl and said goodbye.

When he was leaving, he told the girl: "Today, every word you said has been deeply engraved in my heart."

After Herodotus left, Yi Nan looked at his back: the father of history, he is still such a simple and passionate young man.

I wonder if Herodotus' "History" can be successfully written after such a reminder from her.

Yi Nan reached out and patted the colonnade in the courtyard lightly: the result was that the colonnade only swayed slightly, and the leaves of the vines crawling on it only rustled.

The longer and longer she stayed in this time and space, her "power" had indeed begun to wane.