Cautiously entering, it took him several moments to take in all that appeared before him. The room was large and circular, lined with overstuffed bookcases. Scattered about the room were piles of manuscripts, antique scientific devices, compasses, hourglasses and ancient maps. Overfilled trunks gave enticing hints as to their contents. Jewels and gold coins were scattered about on various tables as casually as dust and empty ink bottles. Across the room, sitting at a large carved oak desk, was an old man with long white hair wearing a red medieval cloak who seemed entirely engrossed in what he was writing. Afraid of scaring the older man, my friend stood there silently, waiting for the chance to announce his presence. When the old man finished what he was writing, he picked up the piece of paper and reaching his hand out the open window before him, released the paper to a waiting breeze, which took hold of it and caressed it gently before helping the missive float away into the night.
Before the completed page was even out of sight the old man was starting on another. The Lieutenant, realizing that he might not have a better chance to alert the castle’s lone resident of his presence without startling him, softly cleared his throat and in the most non-threatening voice he could muster, said, ‘Excuse me sir, I don’t mean to intrude but it seems that I’m lost.’
However, the old man was not startled. He didn’t even look up from his writing as he replied, ‘Sometimes in our lives, we are all lost young man. The trick though, is knowing that there is always a way back.’ Then he casually released another page out the window and into the arms of the waiting wind.
Since the old man had still not looked at him, my friend asked with a curious voice, ‘How do you know that I’m young?’
‘I heard your footsteps running up the stairs as you were following Cassandra but when you came in the room you were not out of breath, which means not only are you young, but also in fairly good physical condition,’ the old man replied as he set down his pen and turned around to view his visitor. ‘And a soldier, as well, I see.’
‘Cassandra?’ the soldier asked confused by this new name the old man had just mentioned.
‘Oh, excuse my manners. We so rarely get visitors here. My name is Erasmus and this falcon is Cassandra, a close friend and trusted advisor,’ the old man answered motioning towards the bird, that now flew down from her perch atop a bookcase and landed on the desk next to the elderly gentleman, ‘and one of my more dependable helpers.’
‘My name is William, sir and if you don’t mind my asking, what exactly do you do here?’
‘We, my young friend,’ he replied as he smiled and slipped in a wink towards Cassandra, ‘are the keeper of all things lost and forgotten.’
‘Lost and forgotten things?’
‘Yes,’ the old man reaffirmed, ‘lost and forgotten things, until they are needed again.’
Seeing that the soldier was still puzzled, the old man continued his explanation, ‘Here we collect the great works of art, stories, music, inventions, discoveries and ideas that humanity has created and then lost or forgotten. Here, we keep those treasures safe, until we feel the call from a man, woman or child whose pain could be eased or life made better by one of these forgotten treasures and then we arrange for these treasures to be discovered again.’
‘Treasure like gold and jewels?’
‘We do have some things here that contain those objects, like the Fabergé Egg in that corner. But jewels by themselves are only as valuable as a child’s shiny trinkets. Gold, in too great of a quantity, can often just weigh you down. But do you know what is far better than this work of art?’ the old man asked while picking up the Fabergé Egg. ‘Stories! Stories, that inspire hope, creativity, empathy and compassion. Medicines that heal the sick, forgotten victories of the human mind that used rational thought, logic and reason to triumph over superstition and ignorance. I knew another man named William once, whose stories I constantly send out, who wrote “Our faults lie not in our stars but in ourselves.” And music! Music, the universal language of God. Music, a language that never needs translation. It can soothe the afflicted, bring peace to the tormented and hasten the healing of wounds both physical and spiritual. And the best thing about all these treasures that I have just mentioned, is that they enrich the person that they are given to, without making the giver any poorer. But enough about me. As I’ve mentioned before, I see you have decided to become a soldier. What would you say is the most important quality for a soldier to have?’
‘My army instructors said that in battle it is training but I believe that for a soldier the most important thing is … courage.’
‘Courage? Courage.’ the old man replied as he mulled over the word. ‘Excellent answer, courage matters in any battles or fights you face in life, but what matters far more is what you are fighting for.’
“And so started his discussion with the wisest teacher, my friend, the Lieutenant, said that he had ever met. He told me that he learned more in those few hours, than he had in all his days, months and even years at school. They talked on a seemingly endless array of subjects. The old man had a way of taking many of life’s most complicated questions and capturing the essence of the answers in sentences so simple that anyone could understand.”
“Like what?” the child asked.
“Like, that in life words matter, but deeds matter far more and the results of those deeds matter the most. Before you follow men who tell you to destroy something, make them show you something that they have built that is better. It is far easier to destroy than to create. For example, it takes thousands of skilled, hard working individuals to build an ocean liner but any idiot with a stick of dynamite can sink it. All he has really proven is that he can accomplish something that any large chunk of ice floating in the water can do without even trying. Power, like money is important, but what is more important is how you get it and then what you do with it. Loyalty is important, but who or what you are loyal to is far more important. Trust, have faith, but check the facts because sometimes something that was true today will not be true tomorrow. And do not ignore inconvenient facts. Beware of any individual or ideology that claims to have all the answers but does not tolerate any questions. Beware anyone who espouses the belief that all your troubles and failures are the fault of others, though such an individual will never lack for followers.”
“How did the old man know all these things?” the child inquired.
“My friend said it was because the old man studied history! History is the fascinating story of man repeating the same mistakes over and over again. The same mistake, so many times, that many people see only despair and sorrow in the future. But my friend said that Erasmus had a way of studying history that saw hope and infinite possibilities for the advancement and happiness of everyone.”
“How?” the child insisted once again.
“By not only studying history but by carefully learning its lessons. Erasmus told him to study and honor the people that have moved humanity forward. Do not dwell on the monstrous injustices done by humanity to humanity, since the dawn of mankind, more than you study how these wrongs and injustices were corrected. The study of the individuals and civilizations that overcame these evils is the key to mankind moving forward. Also, judge individuals, nations and civilizations by the times in which they existed. It is easy to criticize the child labor of the industrial revolution, just as it will be easy for our descendants to criticize our destruction of the earth’s forests, despite the warnings of places like Easter Island. People who lived in the past are responsible for the past. We are responsible for now and the future. The unique magic of being human is that, “if we listen to our better angel” we have the ability to leave the earth a better place than it was before we were born.
To achieve that, one must always be aware of evil. Evil comes in many disguises; nationalism, religion or ethnic and class differences. Quite often it has a brilliant mask and a voice that mixes a little truth to help distract from its myriad of lies, but in the end, evil’s deeds always force it to reveal itself. Evil, can also be unbelievably patient, therefore, good and civilization must be ever vigilant. History has too often shown that civilizations are at their most vulnerable the longer they have peace and prosperity. Its citizens, that had inherited its bounty, then tend to forget the sacrifices and efforts their ancestors gave to get them there. What a thousand generations took to build can be lost by a single generation’s carelessness, insouciance or simple indifference.
In 400 A.D., in the Western Roman Empire, you could travel thousands of miles, from Petra in Jordan, to Bath in Britain, on safe roads, through cities with lit streets, sanitation systems, and hot and cold running water. During your journey you could stop in the city of Rome itself, crossing rivers on bridges so well built that they are still in use to this day. Roman engineers, invented concrete, discovered the secrets of building archways and domed ceilings. They had already started to develop the steam engine, but by 475 A.D. it had all collapsed with the abdication of the Emperor Romulus and the breakup of Europe among the warring barbarian tribes. All the great libraries were destroyed, the aqueducts and coliseums fell into disrepair and humanity would have to go through centuries of darkness, where life would be, ‘short, harsh and brutish.’
Humanity would not reach the standard of living that it enjoyed under Rome until over thirteen hundred years had passed. Among the many catalysts of this rebirth, was the rediscovery and development of the steam engine which brought about the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the 1850s. But Rome, like all great civilizations, was not an area of land, a population of a certain peoples, tribe, ethnicity or religion. It was a set of ideals that were constantly being re-evaluated and improved upon.
The improvement of the health and happiness of all humans came step-by-step, using God’s gifts of logic and reason, tempered by compassion. The descendants of the barbarians that destroyed Rome, marveled at its ruins for centuries, and strived to figure out a way to put back together, what they had in their ignorance destroyed. During the the Dark and Medieval Ages, men used to look in wonderment upon the Roman ruins and ponder who were these people that could build these great cities. As late as the 1780s the British historian, Gibbon, was so awed by the ruins of Roman edifices and structures that no one could replicate as late as the 1800s, that he was inspired to write, ‘The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.’
Erasmus told my friend that in truth there are only two types of humans; those of good will, who care about others and those who care only about themselves. The latter like to divide the world into us and them. But in the truly great battles of humanity, you fight for everyone or you fight for no-one.
Beware those who profit and thrive on chaos, anarchy and hatred. Beware of men who twist the truth or accuse the innocent scapegoat without proof, so they may more easily seduce the gullible, ignorant and desperate to follow them. Good, spreads its ideas by persuasion and reason, and if it makes a mistake, reason and logic cause it to change its path, while evil will always cling desperately to its lies. Evil usually needs the sword to spread its ideas and often can be stopped by no other way. Jonas Salk did not have to threaten mothers to use his polio vaccine. No-one needed a gun to force people to use Thomas Edison’s electric light, John Harrison’s sea clock, Cai Lun’s paper, Guttenberg’s printing press or Louis Pasteur’s pasteurization. Beware governments that use armies, police and walls to keep their own citizens contained and silent. And most importantly, like Thomas Edison, Andrew Carnegie or George Orwell, if you do make a mistake in your life, announce it as loudly as your triumphs, so that others do not have to make the same errors. Erasmus and my friend could have easily talked all night but then a clock in the room chimed the hour, causing the Lieutenant to suddenly rise from his seat. ‘My God,’ he exclaimed in a near panic voice, ‘how am I going to get back to my base?’
‘Well, how did you get here?’ Erasmus calmly inquired.
‘I fell asleep in a small fishing boat that must have become un-moored and I awoke when it ran aground on the beach below.’
‘Then I think the best plan would be to get back to that boat. Cassandra, will you please lead the way?’
As if she had been anticipating the request, the falcon quickly spread her wings and within seconds was out the door with Erasmus and the Lieutenant following closely behind. The unlikely trio made their way back through the myriad of halls and rooms of the castle and the Lieutenant marveled at the effortlessness of the elderly man’s ability to keep up with Cassandra’s swift flight. Moments later, as they were passing through the clock room, he could have sworn that the clocks ceased their ticking when Erasmus entered, and resumed as he exited, but decided that his mind was playing tricks on him. Before long, they were outside the castle walls, down the cliff steps and standing beside the vessel that was still aground on the beach with Cassandra perched atop the mast.
Gazing at the endless span of ocean before them, the Lieutenant exclaimed sarcastically, ‘Great! This is just great! How on God’s earth am I going to make tomorrow morning’s roll call?’
‘Stay calm Lieutenant. There is always a solution to everything. But if you don’t mind, first I’d like to give you a little gift as a remembrance of our meeting.’ The old man then handed him a small sealed wooden box about the size of a fist. ‘I want you to open it when you are the most worried and scared that you think you will ever be.’
Momentarily distracted, he turned the box over in his hands and could hear something rattling inside of it. ‘How will I know when that will be? Because right now sure seems like a contender.’
‘Don’t worry, you’ll know.’
‘Provided I get out of here, I’m heading directly into a combat zone. Do you think it should be before my first battle?’
‘Don’t worry, you’ll know.’
‘Well, sir, if I’m not back at my base by tomorrow morning this box will be opened in less than twelve hours.’ He then slipped the small box into his jacket pocket and said, ‘But I do thank you, it is very kind.’ Once again the Lieutenant looked across the night ocean. He then sat down on the pile of sails and nets in back of the small boat and sighed in frustration. ‘How am I going to get to tomorrow?’
‘I have found that often the safest way to reach tomorrow is sleep,’ Erasmus replied.
‘I appreciate the words sir, but now is not the time for an esoteric discussion. I need a serious solution.’
‘But I am offering you a serious solution young man. I mean no disrespect, but humor me for a moment. Lie back against the boat’s side, close your eyes and tell me what you see.’
The Lieutenant relaxed against the side of the boat, closed his eyes and after several seconds said, ‘I see nothing.’
‘I know you think that you are answering truthfully but I do not quite believe your answer is correct, so if you will tolerate me a little longer, let us try once again from a different angle. What do you see with your ears?’
The Lieutenant smiled wryly and replied, ‘I see nothing with my ears, sir.’
‘Ahh, now that, I believe, so please, once more close your eyes and tell me what you see.’
The Safest Way Into Tomorrow
(Erasmus)
SLEEP
DON’T TURN AWAY
YOU ARE THE SAFEST WAY INTO TOMORROW
DREAMS
IF YOU WILL STAY
OR AT LEAST THE BEST PARTS LET US BORROW
DAYS ARE COUNTED ‘TIL THEY’RE GONE
NIGHTS ARE MEANT TO CARRY ON
MORPHEUS IS AT YOUR SIDE
OFFERING THE WINGS TO FLY
AND BE THERE
FREE FROM EARTH TO SAIL ACROSS THIS NIGHT
WHERE
STARS ARE ALL ETERNAL AND THE MIND DARES
THE EVENING SIGHS
SO CLOSE YOUR EYES
AND TELL ME WHAT YOU SEE
SLEEP
DON’T TURN AWAY
YOU ARE THE SAFEST WAY INTO TOMORROW
DREAMS IF YOU WILL STAY
AND CAREFULLY ERASE THE SORROWS
LETTING SLEEP EMBRACE ITS TASK
PLACING SADNESS IN THE PAST
MORPHEUS IS AT YOUR SIDE
OFFERING THE WINGS TO FLY
AND BE THERE
FREE FROM EARTH TO SAIL ACROSS THIS NIGHT
WHERE
STARS ARE ALL ETERNAL AND THE MIND DARES
THE EVENING SIGHS
SO CLOSE YOUR EYES
AND TELL ME WHAT YOU SEE
BE THERE
BE THERE
BE THERE
BE THERE NOW
THE EVENING SIGHS
SO CLOSE YOUR EYES
AND TELL ME WHAT YOU SEE
