Chapter 1093
"Well said!" Ancitalos' loud praise did not interrupt Plato's desire to continue speaking, "Dear King of Devers, you once criticized my views in the Republic, saying that 'I only care about the citizens of the city and despise the slaves and foreigners'. This time, whether it is in the south or north of Diónia, what I have seen and heard has shocked me greatly!
The people of Rome, the Phoenicians, the Samonians, and even the Volsci who are not citizens of Diónia are trying their best to speak Greek (Diónia), although most of them speak it very awkwardly. I have also met several foreign children asking me questions many times … All these have made me realize that even the completely ignorant and backward indigenous people can be educated to have the same wisdom and love Greek culture as us, and those who are illiterate and unwilling to change are the ones who should be despised by us! … "
Plato took another sip of wine and raised his voice again, "When I first met you, I once praised you as the real king of philosophy, but now I find that this statement is not entirely correct. This time, I stayed in Rome, Benetoum, and Lili for a period of time, carefully observing the governance of the towns under the jurisdiction of the Diónia officials. Although these towns have different situations and environments, there is one thing in common: the Diónia officials there are very serious and responsible in performing their duties, governing the towns under their jurisdiction in accordance with the laws of Diónia, and according to the situation I observed, the governance is good, and the administrative efficiency is very high …
I once said, 'When people are sick, they need to find a professional doctor. When merchants want to ship goods, they all know to look for an experienced captain. It's such a difficult task to govern a city well, yet we let the inexperienced and selfish citizens of the city participate in it. How can a city develop well?!' But it is exactly what many Greek city-states do!
And as far as I know, the senior officials of each town in Diónia are promoted step by step through experience. They have enough experience and wisdom to deal with and solve the various problems encountered by the town. This is what you once told me about 'selecting the best and appointing the best'. So, the original sentence I said should be changed, 'Not only King of Devers, you are a true philosopher, many of your officials are also philosophers. It is under your governance that Diónia has become strong today! "
"Dear Scholar Plato." The Devers, who was in a high position, had heard too many compliments over the years and was used to it, but to be praised by a great man who was known as the "Father of Western Philosophy" in his previous life, he still felt a little proud. With a pleasant smile on his face, he tried to be humble and said, "Did you come today to praise Diónia?"
"Since Diónia has done well, why not praise it!" Plato raised his glass and said, "Let us praise Diónia together!"
The Devers smiled and also raised their glasses.
After finishing the glass with the others, Plato shook his head as if to shake off the slight drunkenness that had surged up. He pinched his face hard and then said, "Dear King of Devers, do you still remember Aesocrates?"
"Of course I remember." The Devers said with a puzzled expression, "He was a famous orator and rhetorician in Athens. We invited him to speak at the first and second Greek Scholar Conference, but when we invited him again, he refused to come again. I used to think that it was because we did not take good care of him during the previous reception, so he was dissatisfied."
"Your Majesty, although Aesocrates is a strict person and does not like to talk much, he is not a person who likes to fuss about this aspect." Lysias, who had lived in Athens for many years and had close contact with Aesocrates, explained, "According to what I know, he has also built a school in Athens and has been busy teaching students for the past few years, so he may not have the time to come to Turií to attend the conference."
"Oh, I see, he has also built a school." The Devers looked at Plato with interest and asked, "Doesn't that mean that there is competition with your school?"
Plato said frankly, "My school and Aesocrates's school have different objectives. His school focuses more on teaching students how to use words and sentences, how to speak, and how to better conduct public and political life … It is more practical. On the other hand, my Academy focuses more on studying the political system of the city-state and how to build a more perfect country … But it is true that there is a certain competition between our two schools. Just last year, I had a debate with him. "
"Oh?" The Devers looked surprised, but in fact, not only did he know about the debate, but he also had a rough record of the debate in his mansion.
"This debate is also related to Diónia," Plato said seriously. "I believe that one of the main reasons why Aesocrates did not accept your invitation to attend the Scholar Assembly in recent years is that he believes that the existence of the Kingdom of Dionia is a great threat to the Greek mainland —" Plato said seriously.
"How is that possible-" Lysias was a little surprised, but before he could finish, Ancitanos continued, "I can also prove this. In the 14th year of the Kingdom of Diónia (380 BC), when our war with Carthage had just begun, at the 99th Olympia, Aesocrates gave a speech called 'The Speech of All Greece'. The main content was to call on all Greek city-states to stop the war and unite against the foreign threat, to restore the glory won by the Greek ancestors in the Greco-Persian War, to complete their unfinished business, and to liberate the Greek compatriots in Asia Minor who were enslaved under the rule of Persia. Any Greek who made peace with Persia or was even tempted by Persia to start a civil war should be cursed …
But at the end of this speech, he also mentioned … Well, this is what the original text said …
"Today, we gather at the Olympia to thank Zeus for his blessing on the Greeks, but we should be able to feel that compared to a few decades ago, this event has become a lot more deserted, not only because of the war, but also because there are fewer city-states participating. Tarantum, Crotone, Locri, Turií, Syracuse, Agrigento … These colonial city-states of the Western Mediterranean, the vanity and superficiality of their people in the past events have indeed made us despise them, but without them at the event, we will feel lonely. They used to be a member of our Greek family, but now they have all become subordinate towns of the Kingdom of Diónia.
Is Diónia a country of the Greeks?
They have never shown up at the Olympia, Pythia, Nemea, or the Isthmian Games, and Delphi has never set up a sacred treasury for them. This shows the attitude of the priests, who represent the will of the gods, towards this Western Mediterranean Kingdom, not only because there are too many barbarian citizens in its country, but also because it distorts our understanding of the gods! Diónia believes that Hades is the lord of the gods, not Zeus, and he also allows his citizens to believe in the gods of the foreign races. Can't Diónia, which has such terrible behavior, be called a Greek country? Of course, the citizens of Diónia, who have been influenced by this misconception, can't become Greeks of the same faith as us!
But why don't we protest against their wrong practices, or even send troops to intervene? Because Diónia is very powerful. It has gathered its strength through the annexation of many Greek colonial city-states. It can even force Naples, which is still a strong independent city-state, not to participate in this year's event, just because it is afraid that Diónia will be dissatisfied with it.
While we are killing each other for our own interests under the instigation of the Persia, Diónia has swallowed our children and colonial cities in the Western Mediterranean Kingdom and expanded into a huge kingdom. Although it has not shown any malice towards us so far, it is so different from us, and so close to us. Once there is a conflict, the consequences will be severe!
O wise Greeks! To our east is our enemy, the Persia, who has never given up on enslaving us. To our west is our neighbor, a powerful kingdom that we can't fathom. Our situation is so dangerous, shouldn't we abandon our prejudices and, like how we faced the invading army of Persia decades ago, unite again, defend our homeland, and regain the glory of our ancestors … "
"Why didn't I know there was such a speech?!" Lysias was very surprised after listening to it.
"At that time, the Thebes and Athens were already at war with Sparta. Neither side dared to offend Persia and us, lest it lead to a change in the war situation. Therefore, they deliberately banned the spread of this speech. This speech was obtained by the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when they were on a diplomatic mission to the Greek mainland. They spent a lot of effort to obtain this manuscript." Ancitanos explained, "From this speech, it can be seen that Aesocrates regards Diónia as a potential threat to the Greek mainland."
"Ever since your victory over Carthage, Aesocrates has regarded Diónia as a real threat to the Greek mainland and Athens since last year. Not only does he often preach this view to his students, but he has also given several speeches at the General Assembly to remind the people. Ever since I participated in the General Assembly of Greek Scholars for the first time, I have written many articles on the political system of the Kingdom of Diónia, suggesting that the Greek city-states led by Athens can learn from them. Every time, many citizens of Athens, even the citizens of Thebes, Corinth, and other city-states would scramble to copy and circulate the articles …" Plato said with a serious expression, "So, Aesocrates regards me as a supporter of the Kingdom of Diónia and must refute me in front of the public in order to unify the citizens of Athens."
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