Lionel took the newspaper and saw it was La République, a paper he had recently developed a good relationship with.
The headline in large type read:
"From the Alps to the Sorbonne Dome, a Myth of Public Education: Lionel Sorel"
The report enthusiastically used him as an example to praise France's excellent public education:
"...At the public secondary school in Laragne, Lionel received systematic training in French, history, mathematics, and science.
It was these secular, rational forms of knowledge that forged his keen observation skills, rigorous logic, and critical thinking, which became the cornerstone for his later creation of masterpieces such as The Old Guard and Letter from an Unknown Woman!
Public education proves that wisdom and talent are not the exclusive domain of the aristocracy and the church.
They reside within thousands upon thousands of ordinary French children, waiting only to be illuminated and discovered!
Let more children enter such schools, and France will surely produce countless 'Lionels'!
This is the Republic's most worthwhile investment, and the only righteous path to combat ignorance and shape the French citizenry!"
Lionel was not surprised; from the moment he decided to attend Count Rohan's ball, he had prepared himself for entanglement.
In 19th-century France, no writer with influence would shirk their social responsibilities; on the contrary, they often actively threw themselves into the burgeoning social reform movements.
If Lionel were to declare:
"France's educational reform has nothing to do with me; I can only represent myself..."
Then he would be abandoned by the French people the very next day and deemed a complete coward.
Moreover, the educational reforms promoted by Jules Ferry, the current Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts, not only aligned with Lionel's ideals but would also benefit France for a hundred years.
"Lion, look..."
Alice pointed to a corner of the newspaper:
"'At least one normal school must be established in each province, especially for women...'"
Lionel looked at that report, which was one of the recent focal points of parliamentary debate.
Implementing free compulsory education required a large number of teachers; gender-segregated classes, in turn, created an urgent demand for female teachers.
Currently, there are 140 male normal schools across France, covering the entire country; however, there are only 15 female normal schools, concentrated in major cities like Paris and Lyon.
This meant that girls' education at the time primarily relied on the nuns of religious orders.
According to statistics, only 28% of nuns teaching were certified, while 93% of secular female teachers held certificates.
In the future, specially trained professional teachers would replace the priests and nuns in existing schools, making education completely secular.
Naturally, the church was unwilling to easily abandon this ground, wanting to maintain the influence granted to them by the "Falloux Law" of 1850, and therefore mobilized considerable forces to resist.
Lionel looked up at Alice:
"Do you want to be a teacher?"
Alice's face flushed slightly, then she said with disappointment,
"What if I do? No school would take me..."
Lionel sighed, saying nothing more.
In this era, non-manual labor jobs available to women were very scarce; teaching was one of the few positions with decent income and status.
Alice had been with him for almost half a year, and lacking a normal social life, she was already showing signs of depression.
If it weren't for Petti being at home, whom she could teach to write and talk to every day; if she didn't have to transcribe various manuscripts daily, giving her a certain sense of being needed...
Lionel folded the newspaper and handed it to Petti:
"La République is softer and doesn't rub off ink, so use it in the toilet from now on. Le Petit Parisien can be used to wrap fruit."
Although this apartment had a private toilet, the cleaning apparatus was a thick hemp rope, which Lionel simply couldn't stand.
In fact, "toilet paper" produced in Britain and America was already being sold in high-end Parisian department stores, but a roll or a box would cost half a franc or 15 sous.
Lionel did want to buy some to try, but Alice and Petti adamantly pulled him away—neither girl could accept such a wasteful act as using half a centime's worth of paper just to wipe after using the toilet.
Petti joyfully took the newspaper.
She would first soften the paper, then tear it into small pieces, fold them neatly, and place them in the iron box in the toilet.
After lunch, Lionel began writing Old Père Milon.
This novel was originally to be created by Maupassant several years later, and along with Boule de Suif and Mademoiselle Fifi, it is considered among Maupassant's finest works depicting the Franco-Prussian War.
The greatest value of Old Père Milon lies in its portrayal of a vengeful peasant who is an "anti-Francist," breaking through the barriers of previous novels of this type.
Moreover, the entire story is full of twists and turns, thrilling and suspenseful.
While it lacks the panoramic, ensemble-cast breadth of Boule de Suif, it possesses immense explosive power and equally captivating literary charm.
The next morning, as the aroma of Petti's fried eggs wafted in through the door crack, Alice's voice rang out in the living room:
"Lion, you're in the newspaper again; and there's a letter."
Lionel put on his coat and came to the living room, where Alice handed him a copy of L'Univers and an envelope.
Lionel opened L'Univers first.
This was a church newspaper, with low circulation but considerable influence, and conservative elites were its loyal readers.
"The Cradle of the 'Sorbonne Conscience' — Church Schools, the True Foundation of French Civic Education"
Lionel frowned.
How had he become a positive example for church education again?
He patiently continued reading—
"...La République deliberately ignored a crucial fact: Mr. Lionel Sorel's ability to express compassionate sentiment in his works stems from the fact that the earliest and most important formative period of his life was spent at Saint Joseph's School in his hometown of Montheil!
It was under the meticulous guidance of those devout nuns and priests that young Lionel learned to pray and understood eternal, faith-based moral principles such as honesty, kindness, compassion, and responsibility.
Church schools not only impart knowledge but also shape souls! It was this experience of growing up in the embrace of the church that sowed the seeds of love and justice in his heart, laying the moral foundation for his future integrity and compassionate spirit!
Lionel Sorel's success precisely demonstrates the indispensable role of the church in education! If citizens miss this lesson during the most critical stage of their lives, they will be tempted by 'poisons' like Decadent City and fall into the abyss of hell!"
Upon reading this, Lionel thought: "..."
He had indeed received his childhood education at Saint Joseph's School and had been recommended to Laragne Public Secondary School afterwards.
However, L'Univers had found a rather tricky angle.
In reality, any literate French person of that era would have received some form of religious education.
But this did not mean that only religious education could shape character.
Immediately after, Lionel saw a preview in L'Univers:
"The Holy See has appointed Father Jean-Joseph Fourcade to perform a Grand Exorcism on Édouard-Benoît de Villeneuve.
The ceremony will be open to the public, demonstrating to Parisians how divine power casts out the demon possessing this author of obscene books!"
Only then did Lionel recall that Detective Claude—oh, he should be called Superintendent now—had informed him that the con artist's real name was Édouard-Benoît de Villeneuve, from a bankrupt minor aristocratic family in the Normandy region.
As a youth, he had attended a church school, where he learned French rhetoric and basic Latin, and had even published some poetry; later, he spent years defrauding people in various provinces, which precisely confirmed his identity as "an honest Parisian."
A few days prior, the Paris court had already sentenced him to 1 year and 6 months in prison and had agreed to the church performing an exorcism on him.
L'Univers simultaneously delivered a piece of bad news and a piece of good news to him, causing him to turn his gaze to the envelope with mixed feelings.
This truly surprised him.
The letter was signed by the "Société des Gens de Lettres" (The Society of People of Letters), SGDL.
(End of this chapter)
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