amaotonovel Chapter 50 On Knowledge
Chapter 50 On Knowledge
As the foundation of national spirit, the documents, declarations, and laws created by humankind are undoubtedly important ideological foundations and crucial means for Alice to construct her superstructure.
Here, universities, especially the Amelansi National Union University, provided her with a solid foundation. Ever since Alice put forward the slogan of compulsory education, "Knowledge is power, education is enlightenment!", there have been more and more voices from the people. Compared with the South, it is obvious that the North pays more attention to their voices, especially in the more southern regions of the Holy Church of Humanity. Their oppression of free speech and natural science has reached an outrageous level. A large number of human, elf, and even orc scholars have fled. The direct consequence of the last large-scale persecution of scholars by the Church was the rise of the Eastern Desert Empire, which cut off the commercial trade between the human papacy and the Eastern Elf Empire.
In general, during this period, the center of knowledge on the continent shifted from south to north. Until Alice's modern university system was established, unprecedented freedom of speech once again attracted scholars from all sides, which gave rise to an important forum—the salon.
Simply put, a salon is like a small, private academic conference or debate. In the South, salons were often informal meetings held in private drawing rooms because the aristocracy suppressed scholars’ free discussion in public. They evolved from the local word “drawing room.”
In the north, without any obstacles, scholars moved the salons to large lecture halls, and the scale of the salons expanded once again, almost turning into lectures or debates.
Now, after a period of settling down, various schools of thought, which Alice was happy to see emerge like mushrooms after rain, have sprung up, representing different ideas, such as the humanist school, the revival school, the industrial school, and even the radical reformist church of the human church.
"Colleagues, our brothers, in Lower Lagawiss, I will first speak on behalf of the Revivalists. Based on the investigations of our wise colleagues, we are convinced that we have recovered some of the ancient Amelianci records, which describe to us a luminous system of Amelianci in ancient times!"
Rajavix turned to a page. The restoration work on the ancient books had actually been ongoing, but in the past, they had mostly been carried out in the capital area, which was said to be the ancient capital of Emerald.
"...Every citizen of Amelansi who violates the law must be reviewed by a professional judicial body. Specialized police officers collect evidence, which is then submitted to the judicial authorities. Finally, the case is reviewed according to a professional, clearly defined law established by the citizens' assembly. During this process, a citizen jury can make a preliminary judgment based on the law and the facts, or raise objections to the judge's decision..."
"This passage fully demonstrates the advanced nature of the legal system of ancient Amelia, especially the so-called clear laws formulated by the citizens' assembly. This passage shows that written law is extremely important. We cannot allow the rich and nobles to dictate the law!"
The attendees began to whisper among themselves. Indeed, written law existed in ancient times, but it disappeared along with the ancient Emilia.
Now that they have chosen to inherit Amelia's legacy, the system of written law must be put back on track.
"Yes, that's right. Without a sound legal system, good people will have nowhere to seek justice, bad people will commit evil everywhere, and the future of the country will inevitably be chaotic."
The humanities school was dedicated to compiling classic texts, and many of its members were artists, sculptors, writers, poets, and philosophers.
However, among the crowd, there was one person, wearing a hooded robe, sitting in the last row, not saying a word, just quietly watching the audience.
"Hey colleague, what are your thoughts on this?"
The scholar, also sitting in the last row and dressed in a tailcoat, looked at the mysterious man. He had done nothing but take notes with a pencil. No one knew which school of thought he belonged to, or where he had learned about this salon.
The hooded man remained silent, only waving his hand to indicate that he had nothing to say. The scholars became wary. Almost everyone in the salon knew each other, and even newcomers to a school of thought would be introduced. Who would come to such a "boring" salon meeting without saying a word?
They're probably spies or assassins!
The scholar calmly summoned a waiter and asked him to find out the man's identity. The waiter went around the meeting, and the leaders of each school of thought said they did not recognize the mysterious man.
"Sir, this is a private meeting. I'm sorry, but please identify yourself. Otherwise, I'm sorry, I'll have to ask you to leave."
The waiter looked at the hooded man as politely as possible, which for a moment attracted some people to turn around and look.
"what happened?"
"There's this guy who wasn't invited... oh damn, could he be a spy?"
"How could that be? This isn't the South. Oh! You mean, this isn't some madman sent by southern rebels?"
"Alright, alright, gentlemen, that's impossible. Perhaps they're just poor souls who've wandered into the wrong place..."
The hooded woman stopped what she was doing, and as she took off her hood, revealing her striking face, everyone couldn't help but scream.
"your Highness!"
"Oh my goodness, is it that academic giant? Our wise and visionary Princess Alice!"
The waiter was at a loss for words, and the scholar stammered. Who would have thought that a member of the royal family, the future Empress, the reformer of northern society, the princess, would personally grace their little salon?
This was unprecedented for scholars.
Alice simply stood up, walked downstairs, and opened her booklet.
"Dear scholars and colleagues, gentlemen, I apologize for disturbing your salon. Today I have enjoyed an open atmosphere and witnessed your boundless wisdom."
"Personally, I fully support and urgently need a further improvement in the written laws that address the foundations of the nation and the daily lives of its citizens. This code is not only a revival of the glory of ancient Amelia, but also the best voice for the current state of the country."
A law is the best way to account for citizens. Alice lives in this world, so naturally she needs to consider people's lives. She's not playing Hearts of Iron IV.
The lives of the people were always reflected in her eyes; if this country wanted to move towards modernization, laws were indispensable.
"But we still need to think more about who this law is for. Therefore, I recommend that you read the new book recently published by the Great Library, 'The Spirit of the Laws,' which is the posthumous work of a friend of mine."
Alice couldn't conjure Montesquieu, so she could only say that he was her friend. After all, who knew how many friends the princess had?
"Your Highness, our philosophy department wishes to receive your guidance, but you have never visited our department before..."
An old man with a white beard stood up. Alice nodded and then said, "Have you read 'Novum Organum'? It's a work by Mr. Bacon."
"Ah...Novum Organum, I'm currently reading it, it's truly a groundbreaking work..."
"I'd like to recommend another book: Rousseau's *The Social Contract*. I'm sorry, these great writers have all passed away..."
Alice brought out a whole bunch of books from the Enlightenment and Renaissance periods, after all, society really needed and was suited to these books.