The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1242: Chapter 150: The Pan-European Electromagnetism Conference

The virtue of prosperity is temperance; the virtue of adversity is fortitude, which is a superior virtue.

——Francis Bacon

George Ohm stood backstage at the Gottingen University Conference Hall, filled with complex emotions.

Through the gaps in the dark curtain, he could vaguely see the packed seats of the conference hall.

Due to the presence of the Duke of Sussex, President of the Royal Society, at the venue, the Gottingen police, having nothing to do with academia, volunteered to take on the responsibility of maintaining order to ensure the safety of the Royal Family members.

Under the arrangement and command of these German-helmeted police officers, the originally chaotic venue became orderly.

The building where the venue was located was not far from the Gottingen Town Hall, adjacent to the main thoroughfare of Weender Strasse in Gottingen City. During this time, when they were supposed to be in class, many students even skipped today’s courses just to get a chance to stand and listen to the lectures of Europe’s top scholars.

Of course, not all students were so enthusiastic about science; many came with a carnival mentality to join in the excitement.

Curiosity is innate to humans, and even just being here to see what these famous scholarly figures look like, to personally confirm whether their smart heads are indeed larger than normal as phrenology suggests, students felt satisfied.

The professors and lecturers had no complaints about the mass absenteeism of students, and many had even announced the cancellation of classes days in advance.

For these researchers of Natural Philosophy, the opportunity to engage with the world’s most cutting-edge research fields on-site was one not to be missed. Moreover, many of the great scholars present were editors or reviewers of various academic journals. Hence, even just becoming familiar with them could provide endless benefits for future research paths.

The fervor among the professors and students quickly spread to the citizens of Gottingen. As a small city with only ten thousand people, they had always taken pride in having Gottingen University, simply believing that even dogs born in Gottingen naturally had a higher education than other dogs.

Every year, when the doctoral graduation season of Gottingen University arrived, the small city would fall into a state of celebration.

Citizens would enviously watch from the roadside as the parade of doctoral carriages circled Gottingen, watching the doctoral carriages stop in front of the Town Hall Square amidst blessings.

Clad in academic robes of pitch black, with tassels decorated with wheat ears on their caps, the doctors would disembark at the square, then purchase a bouquet of colorful flowers from a nearby flower shop to place in the arms of the bronze statue of the Goose Girl, then kiss the little girl.

This is a tradition in Gottingen that has been passed down for two hundred years. The mayor cannot, the police chief cannot, nor are the wealthy or the nobility allowed; only the honored doctors of Gottingen are qualified to offer flowers and kiss the Goose Girl.

In such an academically esteemed atmosphere, the citizens naturally held an unspoken reverence for the profession of scholars.

The wisdom scholars possessed and their incomprehensible academic achievements rendered them almost akin to priests, seen as great figures capable of communicating with God.

Moreover, since Gottingen University was established by the Royal Family, unlike church-founded universities like Oxford and Cambridge or the informal University of London, the professors of Gottingen University rightfully enjoyed national appointments. In some sense, they were not only scholars but also officials.

This special status rendered the profession of scholars in the eyes of Gottingen citizens as earthly envois who wielded both traditional power, divine power, and legal power.

In Gottingen, there might be some who would disrespect the mayor or gossip about Police Chief Schmidt behind his back, but everyone would habitually doff their hats in respect when they encountered Mr. Gauss.

And today, although most citizens couldn’t fathom what electromagnetism was all about.

They had heard from the students that apparently the conference hall today hosted many scientific giants who could rival Mr. Gauss.

As such, many citizens, even at the expense of abandoning their businesses, had to find a good spot at the back of the conference hall to catch a glimpse of rare scenes usually only seen in religious paintings.

They engaged in lively discussions about the Twelve Apostles, enthusiastically deliberating who among these scholars held a status comparable to Jesus, who was Saint-Simon, who was Saint Peter, and who was St. Andrew, among others.

Amid the buzzing discussions of the citizens, one could occasionally hear complaints: ”Hey! All of Jesus’ Twelve Apostles were martyred, this is simply a curse!”

But those who could afford to complain were considered to be in good luck today because at least they were inside the venue.

Limited by the narrowness of the venue, most citizens could only gather in the square outside, and many unlucky ones could only stand on tiptoe to glimpse the scene inside through the window glass.

Among them were many parents who, influenced by some street peddlers’ hearsay, believed that having their children breathe more of the air inside the venue would make them smarter.

Some took it further, expressing that if possible, it would be best for the visiting scholars to bless their children by placing their hands on their heads, much like priests and pastors do during the Mass, helping the children establish a spiritual connection with Natural Philosophy.