Henri Rousseau The Snake Charmer painting

interesting in itself. What's more it's of the first practical importance, clearly. Now, if you'll excuse me. . ."
But they blocked my way.
"AorB?" the young scholar demanded. "If you can't remember what you ate, boy, tell us what you think, and we'll let you go." His superior tut-tutted at this show of coerciveness, but my inquisitor frankly declared that accuracy and thoroughness in scholarly matters were his only values in this flunkèd University, and that as a truly revolutionary researcher he would not hesitate to resort to terrorism if necessary to gain his ends. He didn't give a flunk, he said, whetherA orB was "true" in the philosophical sense -- all such mystical formulations, in fact, he regarded as superstitious mumbo-jumbo: their authors knaves, their Tutees fools -- but upon their like was constructed the whole mad edifice of campus history, for a clear understanding whereof it was absolutely essential to have accurate texts, "believe" them or not.
"Do youhave an opinion?" he asked me wryly.
I smiled, as I had done through the whole episode. "Yes."
"Then let's have it." He clacked the shears grimly. "We'll let WESCAC decide what it's worth."