The Ancient Witnesses

Chapter 1: A Journey to Nicaea • 51

“What are you saying?” asked Joseph. “I’m not sure how to explain it,” I replied. “We’re from modernity,” said Cesar, “of course we think differently!” “In what way?” asked Joseph. “For us,” explained Cesar, “ideas are invisible things our heads—neural impulses that register in the brain but are otherwise unreal.” “Sounds unreal to me,” said Preacher, making a pun. “For the ancients,” Cesar continued, “words and ideas were real; they had a tangible reality they no longer have for us.” “But we can think objectively about our ideas,” said Joseph, “they couldn’t.” “Maybe not,” said Cesar, “but have you thought about what it means to be objective?” “Not really,” admitted Joseph. “It means we hold everything at arm’s length and make no commitment to it,” he explained. “To these men, we’re merely spectators, but they could never be spectators. Once they see the truth they must act on it!” “More reading will help us see their viewpoint, right?” I asked. “The ‘reader’ enables us to understand their language,” said Cesar, “but that doesn’t mean we understand them .” The Athenaeum Cesar’s comment reminded me of something our professor might say, and if anyone could shed light on our discovery it was Father Greg. The others agreed we should get him involved. As we were arguing about who