The more we learn, the more we realize that things are not so simple.

They could accuse the Inquisition of being weak on bribes and power, accuse torturers of being sadists, and accuse those in favor of war for the sake of colonial expansion of having made war." The author also states. It is easy to condemn a man who commits atrocities as an "evil man" and hold him responsible for his evil. But what if the evil is not unique to him, but is borne by human beings themselves? By blaming him, we are also blaming the human being itself, including ourselves.

The system of the Inquisition is not limited to medieval Spain. It continues in our world today. It is necessary to think about such human beings themselves.

Although Montaigne was a Frenchman famous for his Enlightenment ideas, it is said that his lineage had its roots in Converso, Spain. Surprisingly, the history of Spain, where the Inquisition was rampant, had a great influence on Montaigne's thought.

The Inquisition, which sought to eliminate those with hostile ideas, ended up creating these more powerful entities. The trend of distrust, skepticism, and atheism gradually eroded the authority of the Church.

It was very interesting to see how the Inquisition had a major impact on how modern European philosophers were born.

The repression and exile by the Inquisition was not merely a political issue; it was also tremendously damaging to the economy. This quote is one of the most memorable in the book.

We are reminded here that eliminating others will ultimately strangle us. We may think that we have defeated the bad guys by letting our emotions get the better of us, but in reality, we have not solved any of the problems.

This is the same today. They make someone look bad, attack and eliminate them as they are responsible. Time goes by without discussing what really needs to be looked at and without taking any action...

The result is a terrible loss and a country in decline... The Spanish Inquisition is no stranger to this. This is exactly the problem we are facing now.

It was in 1605 that "Don Quixote" was published by Cervantes.

１４９２年にグラナダが陥落し、カトリック勢力がスペイン全土を統一してからおよそ１００年少し。この間に異端審問は全盛を極め、ユダヤ人やイスラム教徒は迫害を受けました。

In response to this persecution, Cervández satirizes it with surprising skill and irony in his work. This is a level of irony that would not be noticed by the average reader. Without knowledge of the history of the time and further explanations, you would probably pass it by.

I myself rediscovered how great "Don Quixote" is after reading this book.

It was such a surprise to me that the biggest highlight of the book was the connection between this "Don Quixote" and the history of Spain, which is written at the end of the book.