flstandardbreds Chapter 173 Theodore's Journey to Education
Chapter 173 Theodore's Journey to Education
Winter 1447, French Royal Seminary
After the bell rang for the end of get out of class, a group of students dressed in uniform white winter clothes walked out of the classroom.
From their young and immature faces, it can be seen that these students are all from the French King's Hall.
Unlike other countries where students need to be priests to study at the French Palace Theological Seminary, these children born in this land of God are eligible to take the seminary examination at the age of 12.
Although the difficulty of the exam is the same as that of foreign students, most foreign seminaries grant priesthood at the age of 18, which means that these children of the Pope have the opportunity to enter the top schools in the field of theology six years earlier than foreigners, so they have more time to plan their career advancement path in life.
However, even if most of the children come to the seminary, they will be bored with the boring teaching here, so when the bell rings, these children will run out of the classroom. Except for a few eager students, most of the students who stay are foreign students. They deeply understand that this is the only way for them to continue to advance. If they get good grades, they are very likely to stay in the French King's Office and even become bishops or archbishops in the French King's Office.
"I think this passage in the Bible can be interpreted in this way..."
The professors were also pleased to see the students who were eager to learn. Although these professors were considered high-level intellectuals in the French King's Hall, their power and salary were far less than those of the bishops who owned dioceses. Most of them stayed here to spread knowledge and educate future generations.
"Theodore, how are you preparing for next week's debate?"
After everyone had dispersed, the professor asked the last student who remained, and also the student he valued the most.
"I've finished the first draft, and I plan to go to the library when I don't have classes." Theodore responded as he packed his books into a cloth bag.
On the way to the next classroom, Theodore was still thinking about the final task assigned to him by John: to gain a foothold in the political system of the French King's Hall.
Theodore thought about this goal for a long time. First of all, if you want to stay in the King's Hall, you must be born in the King's Hall or rank in the top 20 in your class.
The current development is relatively smooth for Theodore. Although it has been many years since he graduated from the seminary, with his solid knowledge reserves and rigorous learning attitude, he not only crushed the local students in the opening tests and subsequent studies, but even the foreign students who came from abroad exclaimed that Theodore was a learning monster.
However, being good at studying alone is not enough. Graduating from the Theological Seminary of the King's Office is only a starting point for those aspiring clergy, and studying is only one of the ways to start. Strength and connections are the key to paving the way to power.
So Theodore has always acted like a good student in school. Besides the fact that he really wants to learn more in this school, he also wants to make the professors like him more.
As the saying goes, what kind of people are in what kind of group, although these professors do not have much power, they were all good students with excellent character and academic performance when they were still students. Naturally, most of the people who interact with them are capable people. These people were absorbed into the Hall of the King of Dharma, and after a period of hard work in their official careers, they became the backbone of the Hall of the King of Dharma. A very small number of them can even climb to the top of the power of the Hall of the King of Dharma.
What Theodore needs to do now is to win the favor of professors while maintaining top academic performance. He is also looking for opportunities to ask professors to introduce him to others, which can at least save some time and avoid detours.
Theodore, who was still thinking, came to the classroom for the next class. This class was "The Bible". As the name suggests, it mainly talks about the content of the Bible and its profound meaning. The final exam of this course is also very simple. It is to write a 2,000-word essay on the topic of the Bible within the specified time. It requires not only conciseness but also clear expression and argumentation of one's own views.
This was not a difficult task for Theodore, but he still had to pay attention to this class. First of all, this class was worth a lot of credits; secondly, the Bible was a classic reading that all clergymen had to know, and those foreign students like him might not have much difference in knowledge from him.
Looking at the empty first row, Theodore glanced at the local students laughing and playing in the back row, and then chose to sit in the center of the first row. As the class time approached, more and more students entered the classroom, but only a few chose to sit in the first row, and most of them were foreign students like him.
"Boom, boom, boom."
An old man, supported by his servants, walked slowly towards the podium with the help of a cane. Although his hunched back and thin body looked as if they could be blown away by the wind, the heavy Bible tucked under his arm and the loud noise made by his cane on the ground showed that he would twist off the ears of anyone who dared to sleep in his class.
The old man placed the Bible on the table on the podium and turned the pages. Knowing his temper, the whole classroom was silent except for the rustling of pages.
"Open the Bible to page 34, and we'll start from the second paragraph." The old man glanced at the students sitting in their seats, and when he felt that the number of people was right, he asked the students to turn to the page where the previous class ended.
"Theodore, please tell us what the profound meaning of this sentence is: 'Do not walk in the counsel of the wicked, do not stand in the way of sinners, and do not sit in the seat of the scornful.'"
When Theodore heard the old man calling him, he knew it was his chance to show off, so he naturally did not dare to neglect it and quickly stood up and responded:
"'Do not follow the counsel of the wicked' means not to accept or participate in evil acts or plans, to keep a clear mind and make wise choices to avoid being used or harmed by the wicked."
“‘Do not stand in the way of sinners’ means not to walk the path of crime or moral corruption, to maintain one’s own righteousness and conscience, and to avoid making wrong decisions and behaviors.”
"'Not sitting in the seat of the scornful' means not to associate with, accept invitations from, or sit in the seats of, those who are arrogant, disrespectful, and rude. Instead, we should respect others, maintain a humble and God-fearing attitude, and surround ourselves with people who have faith, virtue, and love."
"In short, this sentence tells us to stay away from evil, maintain purity and fear God, and avoid contact with and participation in bad behaviors and attitudes. At the same time, we should also constantly improve our moral standards, abide by laws and regulations, respect others, and maintain good interpersonal relationships and social environment."
After listening to Theodore's explanation, the old man nodded slowly and asked him to sit down. Then he asked a few students who usually performed well to stand up and answer some questions about what they had learned in the previous class, and then he began to explain the rest of the Bible.
Time passed quickly, and the bell for the end of get out of class rang. Just as Theodore was about to pack up and go to the cafeteria, the old man suddenly called him:
"How's your debate preparation going?"
Theodore responded as before:
“The first draft is ready, and all that remains is to find some other books to supplement it.”
After listening to this, the old man asked:
"Which book did you choose to draw the main argument from?"
Hearing this, Theodore looked at the old man and said after thinking for a while:
"I chose to use the Bible."
"Oh?" The old man was a little surprised by Theodore's words, and then asked:
"I originally thought that young people like you would choose those newly compiled theological books, but I didn't expect that you would choose the Bible, which is an obscure book for you."
After hearing this, Theodore retorted to the old man:
“The Bible is the first theological reading for every believer. Although its rich and complex content is the first impression it gives people, it also shows that this book contains infinite wisdom.”
“No matter how the future generations write new theological books, they must use the Bible, the oldest book, as their foundation. Although those authors have let readers understand the knowledge about morality, all things, and gods through their own writing, they cannot interpret the entire Bible in accordance with the meaning of the saints, which will lead to some misunderstandings of the original text.”
“So I think that if you want to be invincible in a debate, you must thoroughly study the profound knowledge of the Bible so that you can truly master the right to communicate theology with others.”
"Well... you said it well."
The old man couldn't help but feel relieved when he heard this. It was the first time in all these years that he heard someone express such a profound understanding of the Bible. Most of those students were keen on simpler and rougher books to cope with homework and exams, or they sneered at learning boring theological knowledge.
Thinking of this, he responded to Theodore with a hint of joy:
“If you have any questions about your studies, especially about the Bible, you can always come to me.”