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Volume 2 318. The wolf is coming

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    After Am¨¦ng left, Aesop has been living a comfortable life in Miduli in his later years. He is a good friend of the famous sage Thales and often goes to the temple square to chat with people.  He is older and has nothing else to do but like to tell stories.  He has been to various parts of Tianshu Continent and experienced too many things. It would be quite exciting to briefly tell a few paragraphs about what he has experienced in his life.

    Many young people and children especially like to listen to Aesop telling stories. Gradually, Aesop telling stories in the Temple Square has become a scenery in Miduli.  Aesop tells people about his experiences and legends in various places. The protagonist of the story is not himself. Of course, when he looks back on his experiences, he often mentions Am¨¦ng.  From Aiju to Duke Plain, including all the countries in the original Tianshu continent, Am¨¦ng has left behind many legends.

    A young man who walked out of the mountains eventually became a legend in the world. This experience fascinates other young people in the world.  People can't help but think of Aesop's former coachman, who was also named Am¨¦ng. Perhaps it was the name given by this old man, symbolizing the nostalgia for the past years. At this time, no one realized that the god Am¨¦ng actually once lived in Mi.  Dolly.

    Aesop¡¯s story unknowingly influenced many people, and some young people even began to worship Am¨¦ng. This caused dissatisfaction among others, especially the priests of Miduli.  When communicating with people in Temple Square, you will inevitably be asked questions about gods and beliefs. In the city-states of Heaton, the atmosphere of conversation is quite open.

    Someone noticed that although Aesop was very rich, he never went to the temple to offer sacrifices to the gods, nor did he participate in the city-state's god-sacrifice ceremonies.  Someone then asked him: "Aesop, do you believe in gods or not?" Aesop replied: "I have my god in my heart." Someone asked again: "Then why do you never offer sacrifices in the temple?"  Aesop asked: "After listening to my story, don't you understand where my god is?"

    Of course the wise man understood. Aesop did not directly say anything disrespectful to the gods, but the god in his heart was not in the temple on the square.  So some people deliberately distanced themselves from him, but there were still people who were willing to listen to his stories.  Aesop's eloquence was excellent, the stories he told were both interesting and full of truth, and his knowledge seemed endless.

    Finally one day, a young man walked out of the temple and came to Aesop.  Aesop actually knew him. He had seen him in his shop before, and he was the passer-by who once pointed at the statue and asked for its price.  Am¨¦ng once reminded Aesop that this man was Hermes who came to the world.

    Hermes said to Aesop: "Old man, can I make a request to you?"

    Aesop nodded with a smile and replied: "Young man, please tell me."

    Hermes: "This is the Temple Square of Miduli. The patron saint of this city-state is Hermes. When others ask you whether you believe in gods, should you give Hermes enough respect?  "

    Aesop smiled and replied: "I did not answer that I did not believe in the existence of Hermes or the gods of Olympus. Young man, when I saw you, I believed that they existed. But what people ask  'Faith' does not mean belief, but the true belief and following in my heart. Precisely because in the temple square and under the eyes of the gods, I could not deceive myself. I did not deny people's belief in Hermes, nor did I directly answer  My belief is already my respect for the gods.¡±

    Hermes stared at Aesop and said: "Can't you agree to a request? When people ask you again, you answer them that you believe in gods. Although you have your gods in your mind, you cannot be the same as others.  Are you offering sacrifices to Hermes in the temple? Even if you don¡¯t contribute your property, you just participate in the ceremony and salute. That way, you will be more popular.¡±

    Aesop did not answer Hermes' question directly, but told him a story about "The Boy Who Cried Wolf".

    There was a child who was herding sheep on the mountain. He was bored and yelled that there were wolves. The adults at the foot of the mountain caught up with the wolves and found that they had been deceived.  A few days later, the child shouted that there was a wolf again, and people went up the mountain and found that they had been deceived again.  A few days later, the wolf really came. The child shouted that there was a wolf, but no one came up the mountain to rescue him.

    The story is very short, finished in a few sentences, and then Aesop looked at Hermes with a smile and asked: "Is the wolf coming?"

    Hermes said nothing and walked back to the temple with a straight face. There was nothing he could do to Aesop.  He actually asked Aesop to pretend to believe in him, but Aesop asked him what was the meaning of such pretense of belief and sacrifice?  If everyone in the world is like this, sooner or later they will lose their true belief, and the gods on the altar will cease to exist.  Aesop's reasoning is very clear. Since Hermes is a god, he can no longer entangle with him on this issue.

    After some time, one day Aesop was telling a group of young people in the square about the past of founding the city of Salem in the Duk Plain, and the high priest of the Midori Temple came over.  Everyone bowed and dispersed, and Aesop also got up and left.He said politely: "Dear Sir, what can I do for you?"

    The high priest said: "I heard the voice of the messengers of the gods, saying that you are the most eloquent person in the city of Miduli. Why don't you use this talent to praise the gods? You have told so many stories, but I have not  I have heard your praise of the gods. The patron saint of our city-state symbolizes the glory of the city-state, why don¡¯t you tell more about his legend?¡±

    Aesop spread his hands: "Sir, you know that I left here when I was very young and only returned to my hometown when I was old. I am talking about what I have seen and heard in various places, but I have not heard much about Hull.  The legend of Moss.¡±

    The high priest smiled cheerfully and said: "It doesn't matter. With your eloquence, you can tell so many wonderful legends. Why not use the names of Hermes and the gods? This is just a small trick, and it is also the name of the gods.  expect."

    Aesop also smiled and said: "Then let me tell you a story about the gods."

    One day Zeus, the father of the gods, suddenly had the idea to choose the most beautiful bird in the world as the king of birds.  The crow knew that he looked ugly, so while the birds were grooming themselves by the water, he secretly picked up the most beautiful feathers that fell by the water and inserted them into his body.  When Zeus arrived, all the birds lined up to greet him, but they found that the crow was the most beautiful.  The birds got angry and took back their own feathers, but the crow was still a crow.

    After Aesop¡¯s story was told, the high priest shook his head, turned around and walked into the temple without saying anything else.  Soon after, the city-state of Meduli was conquered by Macedonia and came under the rule of the Kingdom of Macedonia, but it still retained the original city-state temple and the citizens' assembly to handle the city-state's internal affairs.

    Immediately after the annual Delphi Oracle Ceremony on the Heaton Peninsula is about to come, the city-state of Miduli attaches great importance to this ceremony. The merchants paid a large sum of taxes as a gift to the Delphi temples, among which the Yi  Asked for the most money.  It's not that Aesop believes in the Olympus gods, but because this is a law of the city-state, merchants must pay this tax. Today, Aesop is the richest merchant in the city of Miduli.

    After all the taxes for the gifts have been collected, envoys need to be sent to Delphi to donate to various temples.  As usual, the temple priests will recruit nobles and citizen representatives to select the envoys, and they will first offer sacrifices to the patron saint in the temple of the city-state.  This year's sacrificial ceremony has an additional element. According to the decree of the Kingdom of Macedonia, the father of the gods, Zeus, must be sacrificed first, and then the patron saint of the city-state.

    At this time, Hermes sent an oracle, assigning Aesop, the most eloquent of the Medurian city-state, to go to Delphi, and let this wise messenger decide to whom the gold of the Medolian city-state would be dedicated.  The god, which temple, must be a god that he thinks is worthy of dedication.

    Delphi is the holy land of the Olympus god system in the human world. It has many temples, large and small. In addition to the twelve main gods today, the ancient gods also have temples here.  A long time ago, the most important temple here was the Temple of Themis, but now the main place is the Temple of Apollo, which is also the most magnificent among the temples at Delphi.

    In the near future, the Kingdom of Macedonia will build a more magnificent main temple in Delphi. Breaking the historical practice, it will no longer worship a certain god alone, but will worship Zeus, the father of the gods, and the Olympian gods.  Accompany the sacrifice.

    This year's Oracle of Delphi will still be promulgated by the Temple of Apollo. Naturally, the most gold brought by Aesop should be dedicated to the Temple of Apollo. The rest of the temples, large and small, must be more or less evenly distributed and cannot be left out.  , to show respect for the gods, and no one should be offended.  Because the priests of Delphi are in a sense an interest group, symbolizing the theocratic status of the Heaton Peninsula.  You cannot pay attention to one god and ignore other gods, otherwise you will offend the entire Delphian priest group.

    However, the status of gods in the human world is different, and each city-state will inevitably be a little snobbish. Generally, sacrifices will be made to each temple, but the distribution will be determined according to the interests of the city-state. A smart messenger knows how to use limited gifts.  Make the most of it.  This time, an oracle appointed Aesop as the messenger and gave Aesop the power to make his own decisions.

    Aesop led the envoy from the city-state of Miduli to Delphi with a large sum of gold. He stayed in Delphi for more than ten days. Every day he went to the gates of various temples to see the crowds of people offering sacrifices and the behavior of the priests.  But he never gave away the gold.  Just the day before the grand ceremony, on the way to an ancient temple in the middle of the mountain, a fallen rock blocked half of the mountain road - it had been in disrepair for a long time.

    The stone was so big that people had to walk around it when passing by. Aesop sat not far away and watched.  After dusk, he finally stood up. At this time, a priestess came from the bottom of the mountain. This woman was very strong and spent a long time moving the stone away. She also found gravel to fill the hole in the road.  It was already dark, and Aesop watched her walk into the Temple of Themis.

    ? ?The next day, Aesop brought a plate full of gold to the Temple of Themis. He found the priestess and said, "This is a gift I presented to the temple on behalf of the city-state of Miduli. It is enough to rebuild the mountain road leading here."  .¡±

    The priestess frowned and said: "A kind and generous person, you should first say that you will donate it to the gods."

    Aesop smiled and said: "It is dedicated to the temple where the gods are, but the people who use it are the priests in the temple."

    The priestess added: "But that road does not only lead to this temple."

    Aesop placed the gold on the altar and saluted the priestess: "But I only saw you."

    The next day, the Delphi Oracle Ceremony was officially held. As an envoy appointed by the city-state, Aesop also participated in the ceremony and saluted and offered sacrifices to the gods.  The so-called sacrifice has a double meaning. One is to perform rituals according to the ceremony, and the other is to offer gifts to the temple. However, Aesop only participated in the ceremony and did not send the gold.

    It was the Oracle of Delphi that year. Apollo sent down the oracle and declared that among the messengers of various city-states, those who blasphemed and offended the gods would be punished by the gods.  The Delphic priests would send envoys to find this man and formally accuse him.  When the priest announced the news, there was an uproar at the ceremony, and people were talking about who was the messenger who would be punished for blasphemy?

    After the ceremony, Aesop set out to return to Miduli. The plate full of gold he presented to the priestess was only a small part of the gift, and most of the other gold was brought back intact. This move naturally angered him.  the priests of Delphi.  The entourage in the mission was also very uneasy, but the oracle gave Aesop the power to make decisions, and they could not interfere.

    The gold dedicated to the gods was brought back to the city-state. This was something that had never happened in the history of Miduli. People were very worried after hearing the news. In doing so, Aesop offended the gods and the priests of Delphi, the holy land.  , it may bring disaster to the city-state.  Aesop was questioned by the noble assembly and citizen representatives in the city-state temple, asking him to explain his actions.

    Aesop explained: "I did not violate the oracle. It was in this temple that the oracle gave me the power to make a choice and donate gold to the gods and temples that I thought were worthy of donation. I have already answered  However, I have my god, and I don¡¯t want to name him here. I am also loyal to my duty. As the envoy of Midori, I arrived at Delphi. It took ten days to find only one person who really needed it.  As for the remaining gold from this sacrifice, I brought it back to the city. It was raised by the merchants of Meduli. Since there was no donation, it should be returned to the merchants."

    People¡¯s emotions were boiling. Even the merchants who had offered gold felt panic and anger when they found out that the gold they had donated was returned by Aesop.  In their view, this is tantamount to losing the opportunity to pray to the gods, or the gods have rejected their prayers.  All of this was caused by Aesop. They cursed Aesop one after another and jointly filed a complaint with the city-state court, demanding severe punishment for Aesop!

    There are some smart onlookers who believe that Aesop brought back the gold because of greed and selfishness, and returned the gold to the merchants to win people's hearts, because the one who paid the most money among these merchants was Aesop himself.

    Aesop defended: "You want to accuse me in the name of faith, but you don't know the price to pay to protect your faith. The oracle here gave me the power to make choices, and the choices I made are in line with my beliefs. You  The accusation is the price I pay. The oracle made this arrangement, but it is you who accuse me."

    Just at this time, the envoy sent by the Holy Land Delphi came to Miduli. He saw this scene and determined that the blasphemous person pointed out in the Delphi Oracle was Aesop, and he publicly accused him.  In this case, Aesop's defense was useless, and he was sent to the city-state court for trial.

    The trial has its own procedure. The messenger from Delphi is named Antonio.  The Oracle of Delphi did not name Aesop, and Antonio wanted to accuse him and prove to the world that Aesop was that person.

    So Antonio investigated many of Aesop¡¯s past events in Midori, and formally accused him of promoting new gods and poisoning and corrupting the younger generation.

    If this crime is proven, combined with Aesop's performance at the Delphi Ceremony, then there is no doubt that Aesop will become the person who blasphemed and offended the gods in the oracle.  The judge who presided over the trial was a friend of Thales, and he allowed Aesop to defend himself before passing judgment.

    Aesop did not explain what he had done, but told another story in court, about a wolf and a sheep.  The wolf is upstream and the sheep is downstream. They drink from the same river, but the wolf accuses the sheep of soiling the water it drinks.  No matter how the sheep explained it, the wolf still ate the sheep.  Because its purpose is not to discuss with the sheep who has soiled whose water, it just wants to eat.?This sheep.

    Some people were confused and confused, while others were angered by Aesop's attitude and cursed him for contempt of court.  But the judge understood what Aesop meant, frowned and asked, "Are you no longer defending yourself?"

    Aesop nodded and said: "I have defended myself and did not violate the oracle."

    The judge said with some regret: "You did not violate the oracle of the patron saint. The patron saint gave you the power to choose, and you made your own choice. But your choice angered people, and you need to pay a price. There is no  Violating that oracle does not make you innocent, I will find you guilty."

    Thales suggested in public: "According to the laws of the city-state, Aesop can choose to apologize to the gods and pay a sum of money to the city-state to atone for his sins. His behavior did not violate the substantial interests of the people here. If so, please stand."  Come out, otherwise, the court should give Aesop that choice."

    The judge asked: "Mercy merchants, Aesop brought back the gold you paid, but he did not take it for himself, nor did he deprive you of the right to sacrifice to the gods. The envoy of Delphi is here,  You can dedicate your gold to this messenger and take it back to the Holy Land. If anyone thinks what I said is wrong, you can stand up."

    No one came forward, and the judge said to Aesop: "I will give you a choice. You can contribute a sum of money to the temple to atone for your sins."

    Aesop smiled: "Okay, I'll pay thirty silver coins."

    Everyone was stunned. Aesop, the richest businessman in Miduli City, only paid thirty silver coins in order to atone for his sins!  The judge frowned and asked, "Why do you only have so little money?"

    Aesop smiled and said: "Because it's only worth so much!" ro!  .
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