Freedom of Thought and Its Heroes in History

He turned his back to the "e;adults"e; and turned to those who had just been his brothers. He said, as if pleading with them, "e;Listen to me, listen to me, and rejoice; I have gone beyond the mountains... I have set foot on new lands, I have shaken hands with other people, and my eyes have seen wondrous things... When I asked someone: What is behind these plateaus? I would answer with a shake of the head and silence, and if I persisted in asking, they would take me to the white bones, the bones of those who dared to defy the gods. I used to shout and say: This is a lie. The gods love the brave, so the "e;knowing adults"e; would come to me and read to me from the holy books, and they would say: Everything in heaven and on earth is decreed by the law, and this valley - according to the text of the law - is ours, we own it and live in it. We have animals, flowers, fruits, and fish, and we can do with them whatever we want, but the mountains belong to the gods, and what is behind the mountains must remain unknown until the end of time.