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"With this, a new perception of the human being emerged," said Helen. "It even revolutionized religion. The Platonic thinking process threw out the old notion that the Holy Spirit emanates from God to humanity, via the Son as an intermediary. People began to see this as a model that justified imperial rule. A new perception came to light in which humanity was seen as the image of God, with the Christ not being an intermediary, but serving as an example. This perception attributed enormous value to each individual human being. It changed the world. It created the Renaissance. It created the foundation for a deep-seated self-love in humanity. People became more aware of their capability as thinkers and creators. They also became more respectful of each other, and closer to each other, and more cooperative with each other. Out of this development the idea of the general welfare was born, and with it the concept of the nation-state in which it would find expression. Love was no longer recognized as a hierarchical flow from a superior being to a lesser being. It was recognized as a lateral flow between equals. It unfolded out of the people's self-love in reflecting their love of the truth about the humanity that they all shared and were a part of. By this development in looking at the truth, love became a totally different thing. People became connected laterally, as we do right here. But Peter, if love unfolds laterally, it has to be universal. Thus, ultimately, love exists only in the form of universal love. Any other form of it is a distortion of it. Can you understand this?"
I reached for the port. I looked at her face, into her eyes, drank in her smile. Yes, I understood some of it. "I love your definition of love as a lateral flow." I said with a smile.
"Because it is true," she added.
"I can sense that it is true," I said and smiled back. "This means I have a solid basis for loving you. There is something wonderful about you that I appreciate deep in my heart, and it isn't all sexual."
"But some of it is," she replied. "Be honest!"
"Oh, a lot of it is. What you are as a woman, and a beautiful woman at that, seems to be a part of my humanity too, otherwise I wouldn't have this warm cuddly feeling just looking at you."
Helen leaned over and kissed me. "Congratulations!" she said. "Do you realize that you have recognized in ten minutes what I have tried for years to get the professor to understand?"
"I think he is too bitter to understand that," I replied.
"He is too scared of what he knows, and of the consequences that he sees unfolding. He is scared of the truth, because with it comes the responsibility of facing up to it, truthfully. That, Peter, can be terribly scary."
"What he said is true," I answered quietly. "This means that he has every right to be scared. We all should be scared."
"That kind of thinking is a trap," Helen cautioned me. "It implies that we don't have the capacity to change the world. The Renaissance has overturned this kind of thinking. Just look at us, we were both despondent less than one hour ago, sitting in that pub, both for our own reason. Now, look at us. We are smiling. You feel cuddly inside. You even say you are in love. I have a warm feeling for you too. Hasn't our world changed?"
"You are a genius," I said and leaned over and kissed her back. "You are totally right. One idea can change the world."
She got up and brought the letter from the kitchen that I had seen earlier. "This is another proof that a single idea can change a person's life."
"Is this the reason you were in the pub?" I asked. "I saw you cry over that letter," I said and put my arm around her.
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