episode_0070

In the capital of the empire, there is a place called ‘Beyond the Yellow Wall’.

To put it simply, it was a slum.

People who live in the capital but cannot enjoy the prosperity of the capital – disabled people with amputated arms, low-income people born in wretched conditions, criminals who cannot be introduced to work, and poor people who do not even have the means to afford a single meal live together there.

Such a slum was a place that existed but did not exist.

The capital’s prosperity was too brilliant to acknowledge the existence of slums. Isn’t it strange that the greatest city has slum-like ‘filth’?

So the citizens of the capital simply called it ‘beyond the yellow wall’ and treated it as if it did not exist. It is a shadowy place that is clearer because it is close, but no one bothers to look closely because it has always been there.

Since it cannot be named, it is simply called ‘beyond the yellow wall’.

“Monk Paul. Are you going ‘over the wall’ again today?”

“Ah, brother. Thank you for your hard work on security. I am on my way to the cafeteria carrying the food to be distributed.”

“The priest is really going through a lot of hardships. Those lazy bastards shouldn’t harm the priest… If you don’t mind, would it be okay if I had a soldier attached to you?”

“Haha, it’s okay. I can at least protect my body.”

The people on the other side of the wall were abandoned even in the workhouse. More precisely, they were people who could not benefit from the religious principles of the workhouse.

It is easy to understand if you think of the saying, ‘He who does not work, neither should he eat.’ A workhouse is a place that teaches the poor to work, feeds them while they learn to work, and introduces them to jobs, thereby helping them develop their ability to support themselves.

However, the people in the slums were people who did not ‘work’.

People who are unable or unwilling to work live here ‘beyond the wall.’

For those who cannot receive help from the workhouse, the only thing they can rely on is the soup kitchen operated jointly by the church and the empire. Instead of receiving food rations from cafeterias, they do not dare to invade ‘inside the wall’.

Therefore, the ‘inside walls’ of the empire are always kept clean.

Citizens of a great empire live in an ideal city with ‘no poverty and no crime’. There are not even disabled people or criminals. If what you can’t see doesn’t exist, then the capital of the empire was definitely an ‘ideal’ place.

The empire’s subjects live in simple happiness, working busy in factories, enjoying beer, magazines, and fighting.

Although the beasts of the empire are discriminated against in many ways, they support each other in their own society and consider wealth an honor.

Even though the nobles of the empire bicker and fight unsophisticatedly in parliament, they show off in social circles by dressing themselves up with pretense and old-fashioned manners.

The Empire’s priests help those in need and share the good news in orphanages and churches.

Although each person has their own sadness, misfortune, and hardship.

The empire was an ideal society even with such sorrow.

“Still, when walking down the street, be careful not to go into too deep an alley.”

“I’ll only take the route I always take, so don’t worry too much.”

“Yes. Then, good luck.”

“Yes. Good luck.”

but.

If we move a little bit to the side of such an ideal society.

“This is Paul, a religious priest. I brought food to be used at the soup kitchen.”

“… Leave it at the door.”

“If you leave it in front of the door, won’t someone take it?”

“If there is a senseless guy who tries to steal food from the cafeteria, he won’t be able to live here for long anyway. Leave it behind.”

“… yes. Okay.”

There exists a miserable and miserable society where helpless people shine with bloodshot eyes from under the shadows.

Monk Paul could not get used to the air here.

It’s a place I’ve been to many times… Nonetheless, I had an eerie feeling. Maybe it was some kind of religious rejection that I felt as a priest – disgust and disgust.

Drug addicts, beggars, helpless and unfaithful people.

Such trash people were more common here than the trash lying on the streets.

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“Monk priest, have you returned?”

“Yes, brother. Did anything happen while I was away?”

“New books have arrived at the monastery. It is said that a new work by Homer Ga Kyeong-ja also exists.”

“Hmm… Is that so?”

In fact, unlike the priests of the Vatican, Paul, a monk, did not like ‘Homer’ very much.

Of course, I respect it.

How can one not respect the person who achieved ‘universal child welfare’, which was the church’s eternal wish, and furthermore, the saint who was granted the ‘miracle’ of enabling people to give charity to their children?

However, as a monk who considers poverty and sincerity as virtues… .

Homer’s ‘virtue of sharing’ also felt too excessive. If relief is unconditionally guaranteed to the poor and idle, how can they find salvation?

Of course, if he, a priest, said something like this out loud, he would be criticized as being no different from the stingy scribes, and could even be excommunicated—.

also.

It was difficult to look good.

“This would also be committing a sin with one’s thoughts… .”

therefore.

It could be said that the monk Paul had two selves.

The ego as a priest who reveres Homer, the ‘venerable man’ who received miracles, and the ego as a monk who disapproves of Homer, a ‘philanthropist’ who runs a welfare foundation.

Monk Paul, struggling between two selves, swept the cover of the book brought by the minister down with his hand.

“… I wonder if I can find the answer in this book.”

In the end, both egos loved the ‘writer’ Homer.

If Homer is later canonized as a saint, he will become the patron saint of literature. Regardless of personal character or inclination, each of Homer’s works were masterpieces filled with deep philosophy and thought.

Also, for a monk who always sought answers through contemplation, literature was a very good hobby to spend time on.

Therefore, the monk Paul decided to find a consensus on such agony, stop worrying and read Homer’s new work.

[The Brothers Karamazov]

“It’s good because it has a lot of content… . I won’t be wasting any time off for the next few days.”

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The Brothers Karamazov are typical… It was a Russian literary novel.

If these expressions do not fully explain the great work of a great writer.

Let me say it again:

The Brothers Karamazov was ‘Russian literature’ itself. It was one of the ideal points of ‘perfect novel’ that many novelists aim for, and a masterpiece that fully captured the wretchedness and ideals of people.

“This work is a little… I feel confused.”

“Really? In what way?”

“Although it seems to be a novel about sin, it constantly talks about love… There are unforgivable crimes such as murder and suicide… It is also full of hope. Well, it’s hard to explain because I’m not good at words, but… Even though people are in very extreme situations, it feels very natural. It’s a little different from The Sorrows of Young Werther, which you called ‘romantic’, or ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’, which you called ‘hardboiled’.”

“That’s right! No matter how extreme the situation is, it is a normal and natural ‘life’ for the person experiencing that situation. That’s why it’s a more precious life.”

Dostoevsky was sentenced to death and had experience living with death row prisoners in a concentration camp.

Extreme situations, extreme crimes, extreme environments.

In an environment that drives people toward dark malice, Dostoevsky gained a deeper understanding of the goodness and ordinariness of the ‘prisoners’.

I learned why good and evil coexist and why the laws of the country and people’s morals are contradictory.

and.

I also learned about the ‘love’ that should last forever despite all the wretchedness of human history. God’s love.

In fact, the reason why Dostoevsky was fascinated by God’s love is a bit simple: the Bible was the only reading allowed in the camp. While reading the Bible, it was natural to feel that it was a ‘miracle of God’ that he was suddenly pardoned and released right before his execution.

Anyway, for that reason, ‘The Brothers Karamazov’ was an extremely Russian literary novel, and Russian literature itself.

Dostoevsky’s life was the very contradiction of Russia.

Dostoevsky’s ‘The Brothers Karamazov’ contains Dostoevsky’s life.

[“I think that people in the world should love life more than anything else.”]

[“You should love life itself more than the meaning of life?”]

[“Definitely.”]

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[“I trust people. Just like I trust my brother.”]