A Pu Na, the Free and Unfettered Cultivator of the Myriad Dharma Sect, and the Bai Ze Calculation he passed down held quite an important place in this book, so this poor Daoist had specially opened a chapter to tell you readers about them.
The counterpart of Divine Lord Bai Ze was the great French mathematician Laplace.
Speaking of which, among modern and contemporary scientists, Laplace was perhaps one of the least liked.
When people mentioned Laplace nowadays, most either heartily mocked his obsession with power or condemned him for plagiarizing others' papers. In recent times, they had added another charge—dragging out him and his spirit pet, the Laplace demon, for a posthumous flogging, as a symbol that science had brought determinism to an end.
Laplace cherished fame, so when he published books, he did not indicate which parts had been quoted from elsewhere.
He was a farmer's son. During the French Revolution, he was a political turncoat; every time he switched sides, his standing rose another rung. By the time he died, he was already a marquis.
He seemed to be a thoroughgoing petty man.
Yet there were two things that were enough to make this poor Daoist stand in solemn respect of him.
The first was this: one of Laplace's students spoke before his classmates about a new mathematical result he had achieved. Later, Laplace called him aside and handed him a yellowed paper. It turned out Laplace had reached that result long ago. Laplace told the student not to say a word about it and to publish it under his own name.
Though Laplace loved fame and profit, he had never suppressed others for their sake. Toward rising talents, he was all care and consideration. He had never been stingy with his praise for Gauss, calling Gauss "the greatest mathematician in the world." When Gauss was hard-pressed for money, he had also generously helped him out—bear in mind, France and Germany were enemy nations at the time.
The second was this: Napoleon asked Laplace, "Teacher, where does God stand in your theory?"
This petty man, who had always bent with the wind, finally revealed a proud expression. He answered, "Your Majesty, my theory has no need of that hypothesis."
Though Laplace's political stance had swayed, he had never changed his creed concerning truth. One had to know that in that era, theology still controlled humanity's spirit. Even Newton's purpose in studying science had been to prove God's existence, and Napoleon himself was a devout believer.
Yet Laplace arrogantly declared to God, "I have no need of that hypothesis."
That sentence was what truly deserved to be called the one that best embodied humanity's greatness.
Newton was an arrogant man. He was arrogant toward people, looking down on everything beneath heaven, yet before God alone he bowed and scraped.
Laplace never begrudged praise for any outstanding person, yet before God alone he was arrogant.
In this book, the precepts of the Myriad Dharma Sect were written by Divine Lord Bai Ze. I think he was qualified to do so.
Before you continue