Sophie had never thought about it before. But the more she did, the more clearly she
saw that knowing what you don’t know is also a kind of knowledge. The stupidest
thing she knew was for people to act like they knew all about things they knew
absolutely nothing about.
The next sentence was about true insight coming from within. But didn’t all
knowledge come into people’s heads from the outside? On the other hand, Sophie
could remember situations when her mother or the teachers at school had tried to
teach her something that she hadn’t been receptive to. And whenever she had really
learned something, it was when she had somehow contributed to it herself. Now and
then, even, she would suddenly understand a thing she’d drawn a total blank on
before. That was probably what people meant by “insight.”
So far, so good. Sophie thought she had done reasonably well on the first three
questions. But the next statement was so odd she couldn’t help smiling: “He who
knows what is right will do right.”
Did that mean that when a bank robber robbed a bank it was because he didn’t
know any better? Sophie didn’t think so.
On the contrary, she thought that both children and adults did stupid things that
they probably regretted afterwards, precisely because they had done them against their
better judgment.
While she sat thinking, she heard something rustling in the dry undergrowth on
the other side of the hedge nearest the woods. Could it be the messenger? Her heart
started beating faster. It sounded like a panting animal was coming.
The next moment a big Labrador pushed its way into the den.
In its mouth it held a big brown envelope which it dropped at Sophie’s feet. It
all happened so quickly that Sophie had no time to react. A second later she was
sitting with the big envelope in her hands—and the golden Labrador had scampered
off into the woods again.
Once it was all over she reacted. She started to cry.
She sat like that for a while, losing all sense of time.
Then she looked up suddenly.
So that was his famous messenger! Sophie breathed a sigh of relief. Of course
that was why the white envelopes were wet around the edges and had holes in them.
Why hadn’t she thought of it? Now it made sense to put a cookie or a lump of sugar in
the envelope when she wrote to the philosopher.
She may not always have been as smart as she would like, but who could have
guessed that the messenger was a trained dog! It was a bit out of the ordinary, to put it
mildly! She could certainly forget all about forcing the messenger to reveal Alberto
Knox’s whereabouts.
Sophie opened the big envelope and began to read.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF ATHENS
Dear Sophie, When you read this you may already have met Hermes. In
case you haven’t, I’ll add that he is a dog. But don’t worry. He is very good-
tempered—and moreover, a good deal more intelligent than a lot of people. In
any event he never tries to give the impression of being cleverer than he is.
You may also note that his name is not without significance.
In Greek mythology, Hermes was the messenger of the gods. He was
also the god of seafarers, but we shall not bother about that, at least not for
the moment. It is more important that Hermes also gave his name to the word
“hermetic,” which means hidden or inaccessible—not inappropriate for the