Historical
Fiction
“He
is a mere scholar, he can never rule the people,” declared Napoleon Bonaparte
as he signed the dismissal of Pierre-Simon Laplace as the Minister of Internal
Affairs. “Six weeks in power and what
has he contributed?” thundered the Emperor.
“He sees subtleties everywhere, conceives problems instead of solutions
and thinks in terms of infinity and infinitesimal.”
Laplace
was happy to be out of power. He never
wanted any political power in the first place.
But the Emperor wanted the most intelligent people to be in the
government. What has power got to do
with intelligence? Laplace did not ask
that however.
In
the solitude and peace of powerlessness, Laplace perfected the Newtonian solar
system. Mediocre people wish to become
stars on the earth. Intelligent people
wander among the stars in the heavens.
Newton was one such star who lived among stars. But even he needed a divine hypothesis to
answer certain problems in his scientific model. Laplace pushed God out of the scientific
model.
The
news reached Napoleon. The scientist was
summoned.
“The
Emperor wants to see the toys,” thought Laplace. By “toys” he meant the orrery, the mechanical
model of the solar system, that he had made.
”Where’s
God in the model?” demanded the Emperor as he watched it with some curiosity.
“This
model does not require that hypothesis,” said Laplace.
“But
God is the ultimate hypothesis that explains everything,” exclaimed the Emperor
wondering how Laplace could dismiss such a valuable hypothesis so casually.
The
cosmos does not require God, Laplace said to himself. But Emperors require Him. All those who seek to subjugate human beings
in one form or another require Him. Science
does not need God.
Yet
when he reached home, he concluded the letter to his son by writing, “May God
watch over your days. Let Him be always
present to your mind.”
God
is the eternal law, the law that governs the cosmos. The law of gravity is God. F = ma
is God. These laws don’t play
politics. They don’t hanker after
power. They don’t subjugate anyone or
anything. They liberate, in fact. It is only man and the man-made gods that
subjugate.
“Ah!
We chase after phantoms.” He murmured to
himself many times.
Laplace
allowed one such phantom to give him the last rites as he lay dying a few years
later. The phantoms needed to prove that
the scholar and the scientist was a believer in religion and God. The priest who gave the last sacrament to
Laplace proclaimed the pulpit while delivering the Sunday sermon, “Laplace died
uttering the words ‘We chase after phantoms’.
My dear people of God, Laplace died denouncing science and its
discoveries as phantoms....”
But
Napoleon the Great knew better. While he
awaited his end on the island of Saint Helena, Napoleon the Emperor-no-more
said to General Gaspard Gourgaud, “I often asked Laplace what he thought of
God. He owned that he was an atheist.”
The
scholar died. His lifeless body was
given all the ceremonies which the scholar would have found amusing had he been
alive. Would he have protested,
however? Could he? After all, what is a scholar vis-Ã -vis the
Priest and the Politician?
PS. Only the telescoping of time is fiction in the above story. It's all history. And the history is repeating itself even today, especially in India.
very aptly written Sir! In name of God so mch politics. One wd b truly religious by helping others, being kind to others & self, being non-violent in thought, action.
ReplyDeleteTrue religion is always a victim in the hands of politicians and priests!
DeleteSo wonderfully written. And this is Wow! So gripping and very thought provoking. Feeling like to quote some lines from your post. :)
ReplyDeleteThe scientists and honest thinkers suffered much until the 19th century. Their lives are truly inspiring. Laplace is just one example. Thanks for your very generous appreciation.
Deleteso very true .. what could the scholar do agaisnt a politician or priest SAME as in our country the baba's-priests-religious leaders and above all Politicians are taking the country for a RIDE.. the people who should be leading us are no where to be seen they hardly get a chance ...
ReplyDeleteBikram's
This has become a recurrent theme in my recent writings: that intelligent people don't become politicians... Perhaps, intelligent people won't even survive if they enter politics.
Delete