Chapter 41
The Greenwich Police Station, Arthur’s office.
Arthur and the rumored uninvited guest sat on opposite sides of the desk.
As described by the officer who delivered the message to Arthur, the guest was wearing a black cloak over a white, collared shirt. A silver crucifix hung from his chest, and his thin face held a high nose bridge. His clean hands showed no signs of calluses, clearly indicating that he had never engaged in any heavy physical labor.
All of the above information suggested that the guest was undoubtedly from a middle-class or higher family, and had received a significant level of education.
Arthur was unsure of the visitor’s intentions and could only inquire with a friendly tone, “I don’t think I know you. How should I address you?”
The other party smiled politely, “Mr. Hastings, it’s a pleasure to meet you.
I am John Newman, a priest of the Church of St. Mary, Oxford University, and a special researcher at Oriel College, Oxford University.
You can call me Father, or Mr. Newman, or John, if you like.”
Oxford University?
A priest?
Arthur couldn’t help but take a deep breath.
For him, encountering one of these two things was already difficult enough, but how could the two be combined into one person?
Worse yet, this guest was a researcher at Oriel College, Oxford University.
If Oxford University was the stronghold of the conservative party throughout Great Britain, then Oriel College, which specialized in teaching theological knowledge and cultivating priests of the established church, was simply the stronghold of the stronghold.
It was no exaggeration to say that, based on Arthur’s values and understanding of Oriel College, everyone there should be sentenced to death, and the sentence should be repeatedly carried out.
However, Arthur had already encountered Darwin, a graduate of Emmanuel College, Cambridge University, so when facing Newman, who worked at Oriel College, Oxford University, he managed to maintain a calm expression.
But this didn’t stop the red devil sitting at the desk from laughing out loud.
Agareus pointed at Arthur’s face, holding his stomach and laughing so hard that he drooled.
“Arthur, look at your expression, you’re about to cry, you’re about to laugh, if you didn’t know better, you’d think you smelled the dung of the Baal dung heap.”
Arthur just snorted, muttering, “Agareus, I forbid you to insult dung like that.”
But Newman, the priest sitting opposite him, obviously didn’t hear Arthur’s words, he was stunned, “What did you say?”
Arthur quickly put on a smile, “Nothing, I said the rain today is so heavy, it makes the office lack light.”
He seized the opportunity while Newman didn’t think much of it, and hurriedly changed the subject, “What brings you here today?”
Newman, upon hearing this, took two books from the leather bag he carried with him and placed them on Arthur’s desk.
Arthur looked down and saw that the two books were Thomas Paine’s _Rights of Man_ and _Common Sense_.
His brow furrowed, and he asked, “Can I confirm your profession again? You are a priest?”
Newman nodded, “That’s right.”
Arthur asked again, “And you graduated from Oxford University?”
Newman continued to nod, “Graduated in 1820.”
Arthur took a deep breath, one hand covering his mouth. He looked at Newman, then at the two books.
After looking for a long time, he finally spoke, “To be honest, Mr. Newman, I’m a little confused. I can’t connect an Oxford-educated priest with these two books.”
Newman suddenly smiled, “You have indeed read these two books.”
Arthur shook his head, flatly denying, “I haven’t.”
Newman was taken aback, “Then how do you know you can’t connect an Oxford priest with these two books?”
Arthur picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip, “Because of Scotland Yard’s rules, I can’t at least admit to reading them.
Although these two books are no longer considered illegal publications, they have only been unbanned for a year.
Moreover, we, the Scotland Yard police, are at least nominally directly under the command of His Majesty the King, and you should be very clear about how these two books refer to the late King George III.”
“Are you talking about this part?”
Newman picked up _Common Sense_, skillfully flipped to the bookmarked page, and read the content above in a normal tone.
“George the Third is but a royal brute of Great Britain, he is the chief culprit in the North American affair. The British royal family is not sacred, for according to the history of the conquest of the British Isles, the ancestor of the British king was nothing more than the most evil leader of a group of scoundrels.”
Arthur’s lips twitched, he inhaled and exhaled, and it took him a long time to barely pull back the raised corners of his mouth.
Arthur rubbed his face with both hands, calmly said, “Mr. Newman, some things you’ve read are enough, there’s no need to read them out loud. If you want me to lose my job, just say so, using this kind of method is too low.”
“Lose your job? Why would you lose your job because of this?”
Newman stood up, puzzled, pointing at the words in _Common Sense_, “Isn’t this the truth?”
Arthur glanced at the line of words, pursed his lips, and his voice trembled as he spoke.
“Mr. Newman, you must know that in most cases, the truth is the most hurtful.”
Agareus took the opportunity to come over and pat him on the shoulder, pretending to comfort Arthur, “Arthur, laugh if you want to laugh. Holding it in is bad for your health.”
Newman seemed to have lost his energy and sat back down, “To be honest, before reading these two books, I always thought Thomas Paine was a cynical and evil person.
But now, I’m convinced. Although he is an atheist, his actions, his ideals, are more like a devout believer than anyone else.”
“So you forgive him?”
Arthur said, “I remember he also criticized the church, he said, ‘The Christian system in religion is an insult to common sense.’
He also said, ‘They call that book the _Bible_, and say it’s the word of God, which is a complete blasphemy. It is a book full of lies and contradictions, a record of the history of a bad time and bad people.’
Because of these words, I remember Oxford University would drag him out for criticism every now and then!”
Newman was confused, “Maybe others think so, but I think it’s because they don’t understand Thomas Paine. Look at the ideas he expressed, look at the contributions he made.
He proposed to establish public education, set minimum wage standards, he criticized George III, and had to leave Britain because of it.
He helped the North American colonies break away from Great Britain, personally participated in the war, and every American soldier had a copy of _Common Sense_. The words he said were recited by all Americans.
But after the independence of the United States, he was ostracized and dismissed for exposing the corruption within the government, and he left the United States in disgrace.
He participated in the French Revolution, but was forced to leave France because he opposed Robespierre’s execution of Louis XVI and their bloody policies.
He opposed Napoleon’s becoming emperor, refused his summons and invitation, but it did not affect Napoleon’s admiration for him.
Many times, he could have just kept his mouth shut and lived a comfortable and prosperous life, instead of dying in a rented cottage in misery.
But he didn’t, he never stopped speaking out, he only insisted on what he thought was right, insisted on upholding his virtues, just like you did in court earlier.
Is he an atheist? I think he is a true believer.
Unfortunately, Paine is dead and can no longer answer my questions.
But I am comforted by the fact that I saw you in the newspaper.
So I came here today, wanting to ask you, who is as unwilling to remain silent as he is, how you view these issues?”
(End of Chapter)