Chapter V - Wandering - In which Aristotle notes that it is not sensible to pray to multiple gods, and that, in all things, unity is preferable to division.
When Aristotle was fifteen years old, he lost his father and mother and was entrusted to the supervision of his nearest relative, Proxène, who lived in a remote region between Stageira and Athens. The young orphan was educated through harsh work of the land. This hardly satisfied him, because he was convinced that his spirit was more capable than his hands. He often met the humble peasants who worked with Proxène. He certainly admired their taste for the simple life, far removed from the sumptuous splendors and luxuries, which, he sensed, led clearly to vices. However, Aristotle was astonished by their customs.
One day, he saw one of them confiding in a prayer. Aristotle remembered his last dialogue with Epimanos, and found the peasant at fault.
Aristotle: "To whom do you address your prayers, good man?"
The peasant: "To the gods, my young friend."
Aristotle: "To the gods? But who are they?"
The peasant: "They are Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Demeter, Dionysus, Hades, Hera, Hermes, Hephaestus, Poseidon, and the most important of all, Zeus. Each sits at Mount Olympus."
Aristotle: "Where is this Olympus?"
The peasant: "It's a marvelous city perched on top of a mountain that no one has been able to conquer. Have you seen Mount Athos? Olympus is a hundred or a thousand times higher, un truc de genre."
Aristotle: "Have you ever even tried to climb this mountain? Aren't you curious to see with your own eyes these divinities to which you pray every day?"
The peasant: "Oh no, young man. I am just a humble peasant. My place is here, not on Olympus."
Aristotle: "But then, how can you believe in the reality of these gods, if you haven't witnessed their existence for yourself?"
The peasant: "Because I was taught that they exist, and that I must pray to them for a better harvest and so that my cows would become fatty."
Aristotle: "This is strange, you don't pray out of love for the Divine, but for your worldly hungers. I think that it is irrational to seek the material from the spiritual. But to speak truthfully, that is not the only thing I find irrational in what you have said."
The peasant: "So you still reproach me?"
Aristotle: "Well, there is one thing that I don't understand: why pray to multiple gods?"
The peasant: "As I told you, this was taught to me, that there are several and that it has been so since the dawn of time."
Aristotle: "This complicates matters unnecessarily. Instead of multiple divinities, isn't it more practical to praise only one?"
The peasant: "You're beginning to wind me up, young traveler. Can I ask you some questions? I will ask you if you wear short pants or trousers? Now, leave me to my meditations."
Aristotle: "No, no, I will do nothing of the sort. You must first admit, good man, that praying to a single god is more logical. What do you expect from a god if not that it is all-powerful and omniscient? To return thanks to many gods is to fragment into parts the power that only one could unite in him. I believe that in all things, unity is preferable to division."
The peasant: "Perhaps."
Aristotle: "No, certainly. The divine one is a single Whole, and the divine one is perfection, therefore perfection is united. Unity is the ideal form of things."
The peasant: "Okay, stop young man, I am far too stupid to listen to your nonsense. I am far from being a well-read man. If I give you advice, will you leave me in peace?"
Aristotle: "Well, yes, that works for me."
The peasant: "Take the road to Athens, if Proxène will allow you, and find there a professor who will be able to listen to you. His name is Plato."
Aristotle: "Thank you, good man."
After his eighteenth spring had passed, Proxène sent Aristotle to Athens. The poor peasant was all too happy to see him go.
Kezdőlap