Volume 6: The Meeting of Two Heroes, Chapter 10: A Visit to Dionia Academy

Davos said calmly, “Mariji, there is an ancient Eastern saying—have you heard it?”

“What saying?”

“If the gods wish to destroy a man, they first drive him mad.”

…

Nicostratus, Stasippus, and Lycasus stood before the great gate of the Daonia Academy.

It was a gate of peculiar design: a large white arch, with an enormous stone ball balanced on its keystone, and a thick, sword-shaped stone marker rising straight up from the middle of the arch, pressing against the keystone and thus splitting the arch in two.

An inscription was carved into the stone marker: *All things operate according to their own laws; only the unrelenting explorer can uncover their mysteries.*

Nicostratus savored this phrase, nodding repeatedly. Then his eyes dropped to the signature—Davos.

“Davos? Which Davos?” Nicostratus asked in surprise.

“Which one could it be? Davos, the magistrate of Daonia!” Stasippus replied.

“This is a gathering place for scholars, a sacred venue! What right does he have to be here?” Nicostratus’s face changed color, and he was about to say more.

Stasippus was alarmed and hastily tried to stop him: “Don’t speak carelessly! Davos is not just a magistrate—he is respected as a teacher by the doctors of Daonia, and even the scholars studying mathematics hold him in high regard. They say he has given them many insights, so everyone in this academy respects him. Besides, I attended one of Davos’s lectures last year, and the medical knowledge he imparted was both unique and thought-provoking… No wonder many call him ‘a messenger sent by the gods to the mortal world.’ If those people hear you insulting him here, they will surely clash with you!”

“I’m not afraid of the Daonians…” Nicostratus muttered stubbornly, but he fell silent and went through the academy gate with Stasippus.

Lycasus had been staring at the ball on the keystone. He crossed the threshold timidly, took a few steps, then could not help looking back and muttering to himself, “What’s the point of putting such a heavy stone ball up there? Aren't they afraid it will fall?”

“Little fellow, you just don’t get it.” A young man in his twenties standing just inside the gate explained loudly, “The sphere on the arch symbolizes the land we live on—”

“Wait, are you saying the ground beneath our feet is round?!” Lycasus interrupted in astonishment.

“Of course it is! Otherwise, why is it that when you watch a ship sailing in the distance, you always see the sail first? You know, over two hundred years ago, Thales of Miletus once… Ah, never mind, I can’t explain it all to you in a moment. Just remember that the land we live on is a great ball!” the young man said impatiently. Then, pointing at the keystone, he continued, “Now look—what does this arch remind you of?”

Lycasus looked more closely. “Oh, it’s a pair of arms!”

“Exactly! Two hands supporting the sphere means humanity can transform the earth!” the young man said excitedly. “But with what do we overcome terrible disasters and reshape the land?”

“How should I know?” Lycasus glared at the young man who had forcibly engaged him, answering testily.

“See the words carved on that stone marker!” The young man pointed to the sword-shaped stele, his spirits soaring. “It relies on knowledge! On exploration! On us scholars who tirelessly study! Lord Davos’s design for this gate is truly profound!”

Lycasus snorted, unimpressed by the young man’s self-promotion.

The youth, clearly oblivious to Lycasus’s expression, continued to hold his hand and said, “Now I’ll tell you why the stone ball doesn’t crush the arch and fall. It’s because an arch has the property of distributing weight toward its ends…” He picked up a twig and began drawing a diagram of force decomposition on the ground. “Of course, the ball’s weight isn’t completely dispersed; the pressure on the arch still exists. That’s where the support of the stone marker is key…”

Poor Lycasus found the young man’s expert explanation as incomprehensible as listening to a foreign language—he was utterly lost.

Nicostratus, who had been eavesdropping out of curiosity, had grown thoroughly impatient. He called out, “Lycasus, we need to go! It’s getting dark; don’t miss the registration!”

“Yes!” Lycasus, startled, yanked his hand back, nearly causing the young man to stumble.

“Registration? What registration?” the young man asked, puzzled.

“We’re here for the Medical Forum,” Stasippus replied.

“Oh, you’re looking for those doctors who deal with corpses and skeletons!” the young man said, suddenly understanding.

“Go on, go on!” He immediately lost interest in playing teacher and brushed his hand as if to shake off any contamination.

“This man is sick—completely crazy…” Lycasus thought to himself as he followed Stasippus onward.

The academy was lush with trees, and a gravel path wound through the thick green canopy of interwoven branches.

The three walked leisurely. They had not gone far when they heard a sudden cry: “Watch out! Don’t step!”

Stasippus stopped short and noticed a man crouched on the ground beside the path, holding a piece of limestone. On a relatively flat paving stone in front of him, he had densely inscribed characters and symbols.

The man shielded the stone with his body, glanced up at them, and urged impatiently, “Move along! Move along!”

“These are probably scholars from the Mathematical Academy here in the Daonia Academy—most of them are said to be from the Pythagorean school in Tarentum,” Stasippus explained to the disgruntled Nicostratus.

*So these are the madmen!* Nicostratus thought with understanding. The Pythagorean school revered mathematics as divine, often performed strange rituals, and kept their activities secret. In earlier years, they had close ties with the aristocracies of various Magna Graecia cities and opposed democracy, so many common people considered them heretics and avoided them as much as possible.

*And Daonia has actually accepted them!* Nicostratus felt a surge of disgust.

By the time they saw others—one leaning against a tree, gazing at the sky and murmuring to himself; another with vacant eyes, walking like a puppet, lost in thought; yet another who had been lying on the muddy ground, suddenly springing up with wild joy—they were no longer surprised by such eccentric behavior.

Rounding a few tall trees, they came upon a small pavilion. A crowd of people formed a circle around something in the center…

As they fiddled with the object, they argued heatedly.

Curious, Lycasus approached the pavilion and overheard phrases like “How long should the span of the bridge be?” … “Where should it be positioned to ensure the bridge deck is level?” … “How many piers are needed to support this bridge?” … “What should the distance between them be?”

“Are you here for the Medical Forum?” A man stepped out from the group and asked, noticing the medical bag at Lycasus’s waist.

Before Lycasus could answer, Stasippus had already bowed respectfully and said, “Greetings, Doctor Stesicondas!”

“You are?” Stesicondas looked at him questioningly, trying to recall his name.

“I am Doctor Stasippus of Croton, and this is Doctor Nicostratus and Lycasus, also from Croton,” Stasippus quickly introduced.

“Oh, my memory! I’m so sorry! Now I remember—last year you gave a talk on… hmm… ‘The Use of Aloe Vera in Sports Bruises’!” Stesicondas slapped his forehead apologetically.

“Yes, that was a small insight I shared last year. You still remember it after all this time!” Stasippus beamed.

“Of course I do! Inspired by your lecture, some doctors in our School of Medicine spent the whole year doing deeper research on aloe vera and made new progress, which will be mentioned at this forum,” Stesicondas said earnestly.

“That’s wonderful!” Stasippus exclaimed joyfully, completely forgetting the awkward Nicostratus beside him.

But Stesicondas did not forget. He stepped forward and greeted Nicostratus: “Welcome, Doctor Nicostratus!”

Nicostratus returned the greeting with restraint.

“And you, Lycasus! Welcome to the Daonia Academy!” Stesicondas said warmly, leading them toward the School of Medicine.

“I’m sorry about that! It was my turn today to greet the doctors arriving for the forum at the academy gate, but after standing for most of the day, I got a little tired and stopped to rest in that pavilion. I also wanted to listen to the Mathematical Academy’s discussion on building a stone bridge—I nearly missed you!” Stesicondas said apologetically as they walked.

Stasippus was taken aback. “Did you say building a stone bridge?”

“Yes. The Daonia Road and Bridge Management Department plans to construct a stone bridge over the Saraceno River to replace the old wooden bridge. After receiving approval from the Senate, they assigned the design and surveying tasks to the Mathematical Academy. The deputy director of the Mathematical Academy, Matikoris, has been leading his team in working on it for over ten days, and the plan is nearly complete… If this stone bridge over the Saraceno is successful, and a few more bridges are built to gain enough experience, Little Heracleides can then build a great bridge over the Crati River!” Stesicondas chuckled, clearly full of anticipation—because if a stone bridge directly connecting the main city of Thurii to the southern district could be built, then travelers coming and going could cross it instead of having to use the wooden bridge near the delta, and the surroundings of the academy would become much quieter.