I stepped onto the deck, and the sky, still completely dark, was truly the iron sky described in Homer's poems, showing no concern for man's sorrows or joys.

However, the man gazing up at the boundless space was far from indifferent. He was well aware of the woes of his people and the joys of his "imperium sine fine" (empire without end). He knew that he was both human and supremely divine. This was Hadrian the Good, Hadrian the "Almost Wise".

I didn't know much about Hadrian. Only his name and some cursory details occupied a negligible space in my knowledge bank. I was also unfamiliar with Marguerite Yourcenar and Grace Frick. So, reading about a Roman Emperor through fictional memoirs was an unlikely endeavor for me. I was more curious than interested in what exactly this book had accomplished to make several of my friends here write such exceptional tributes in its honor. And now, here I am, adding my voice to tell others that no matter the size of your library, it is essentially incomplete without "Memoirs of Hadrian".

The traces of a golden era that existed centuries ago can be found within the walls of royal palaces, the colors of timeless paintings, and the magnificence of stationary sculptures. They not only reveal the artist's inspiration but also the artists themselves. However, all too often, a thick curtain of those very centuries comes between the creator and the creation. It is then that the need arises to transcend the boundaries of history books, to cross the vanished borders, and to become a completely different person. The insight required to depict a time period other than the one in which one is born and the love needed to capture the beauty of an important individual one has never met form the unwavering foundation of an unparalleled wonder. Marguerite Yourcenar has given us such a wonder that will stay by your side both in this lifetime and beyond.

When useless servitude has been alleviated as far as possible, and unnecessary misfortune avoided, there will still remain as a test of man's fortitude that long series of veritable ills, death, old age and incurable sickness, love unrequited and friendship rejected or betrayed, the mediocrity of a life less vast than our projects and duller than our dreams; in short, all the woes caused by the divine nature of things.

Being a dying person and still feeling a tremendous sense of responsibility towards mankind is a mark of a true leader. Hadrian, while on his deathbed, bequeathed a small package of valuable reflections in the form of a lovely letter to young Marcus Aurelius. But behind the salutation of "Dear Mark", one can imagine their own name being addressed. These are the most beautiful and honest thoughts I have ever encountered. This is how Yourcenar has taken us on a memorable journey to a glorious world that once was and where Hadrian still is. She has not presented her hero in the shining light of perfection and righteousness. Hadrian was fallible, but he knew how to strike that difficult balance between the different philosophies of life. If his conquests were accompanied by humility, his losses contained prudent lessons. If he had an immense love for his empire, he also had a deep respect for other cultures. If he cultivated the virtues of his men, he also mitigated his own vices. He was not God, but he was Godlike.

With its mesmerizing writing, exquisite translation, and the portrait of a majestic ruler, everything here is far more than what their titles suggest. Hadrian was more than an Emperor, Marguerite was more than a writer, Grace was more than a translator, and this book is much more than a book.

Hospes Comesque.

This is a remarkable book that I likely wouldn't have discovered if not for Goodreads. In fact, I probably wouldn't have even known it existed. Technically, this rather obscure novel can be classified as "historical fiction," but that label is somewhat misleading. It is indeed historical fiction, but it is also much more. It incorporates elements of biography, philosophy, meditation, and poetry.

Hadrian reigned as Emperor of Rome from AD 117 to 138. Marguerite Yourcenar crafted this novel in the form of a memoir, purportedly written by Hadrian near the end of his life and addressed to the then 17-year-old future emperor Marcus Aurelius. Hadrian delves into his public role and his efforts to prioritize diplomacy over bloodshed. By the standards of the Roman Empire, his reign was regarded as peaceful, although this was in spite of a war with the Jews that led to hundreds of thousands of deaths and the expulsion of the Jewish people from Jerusalem.

However, the majority of the emperor's recollections center on the personal, even the seemingly trivial. He reflects on the importance of moderation in diet, his passion for hunting, and his admiration for Greek culture. With a reserved tone that masks the depth of his emotions, he relates his love for the young Bithynian, Antinous, and his profound sorrow at Antinous' death. Hadrian coped with his grief by deifying the youth and establishing a cult that endured long after their passing. Today, there are likely hundreds of statues of Antinous in museums around the world, serving as a testament to an emperor's attempt to come to terms with a very personal loss.

Yourcenar appears to channel the character of Hadrian from antiquity, speaking with an authentic dignity and distance that feels anything but modern. Hadrian speaks to us, yet not in a revealing confessional manner. In her notes on the writing of the novel, Yourcenar quotes Flaubert's description of the period when Hadrian lived: "Just when the gods had ceased to be, and the Christ had not yet come, there was a unique moment in history, between Cicero and Marcus Aurelius, when man stood alone." Her Hadrian is a man of that era, not of ours.

The mood of this book is quiet, thoughtful, and peaceful. It evokes the feeling of strolling among ancient ruins, with the eerie sensation that occurs when other tourists are out of sight. As the warm Italian sun glints off fragments of stone, for a moment there is a strange perception that the ruins are whole again, with time somehow distorted.

I was fully prepared to pen a review of this book. However, after reading Kelly's outstanding essay (the term "review" appears far too inadequate to describe her work), I came to the realization that I would be unable to convey my thoughts with the same level of eloquence and thoughtfulness. Therefore, instead, this will be a straightforward two-part review:

First and foremost, go and read Kelly's insights on Memoirs of Hadrian. Then, peruse this excerpt and attempt to explain why you are not rushing to the bookstore to purchase a copy and devour it immediately:

"From the top of a terrace on the night following these celebrations I watched Rome ablaze. Those festive bonfires were surely as brilliant as the disastrous conflagration lighted by Nero; they were almost as terrifying, too. Rome the crucible, but also the furnace, the boiling metal, the hammer, and the anvil as well, visible proof of the changes and repetition of history, one place in the world where man will have most passionately lived. The great fire of Troy from which a fugitive had escaped, taking with him his aged father, his young son, and his household goods, had passed down to us that night in this flaming festival. I thought also, with something like awe, of conflagrations to come. These millions of lives past, present, and future, these structures newly arisen from ancient edifices and followed themselves by structures yet to be born, seemed to me to succeed each other in time like waves; by chance it was at my feet that night that this great surf swept to shore. The solid walls of the Palatine Palace, which I occupied so little, but which I had just rebuilt, seemed to sway like a ship at sea; the curtains drawn back to admit the night air were like those of a high cabin aft, and the cries of the crowd were the sound of wind in the sails. The massive reef in the distance, perceptible in the dark, that gigantic base of my tomb so newly begun on the banks of the Tiber, suggested to me no regret at the moment, no terror nor vain meditation upon the brevity of life."

This is one of those books you don't so much read as worship at the shrine of.

It's not just a regular piece of literature; it's a masterpiece that has the power to transport you to another world.

The words seem to dance off the page, captivating your imagination and pulling you in deeper with each turn.

You find yourself completely immersed in the story, feeling every emotion that the characters experience.

It's as if the author has cast a spell on you, making you a part of their creation.

This book is not something to be taken lightly; it's a work of art that demands your full attention and respect.

You can't help but be in awe of the genius behind it, and you know that it will stay with you long after you've finished reading.

It's a book that you'll want to revisit again and again, each time discovering something new and wonderful.

It truly is a literary treasure that should be cherished and worshipped at the shrine of great literature.

I really liked the beginning, the first two chapters, about 70 pages. I immersed myself in the poetry of the phrase, and I was delighted by the process of forming the future emperor, the effort to discipline his temperament/hedonism, to analyze himself as deeply as possible, not to hide his sins from himself, but also not to whip himself for them.

Then the adult, the emperor, the god of the subjected peoples, seemed boring and tiring to me, as if, after a day of ecstasy on the beach, only sand remained in my teeth. The preciousness of the language killed any interest I had in his administrative achievements and as a "pacifier". With the exception of the wars with the Jews, where it is interesting to see how he considers fanaticism a monotheistic religion and the stubborn refusal to accept other gods, accusing the Jews of blindness, but he cannot see that the desire to impose the "refinement" of Greco-Roman culture on all peoples, thus erasing their uniqueness, is at least as absurd. As absurd as it is not to doubt for a second that he is the Peacemaker, although the price of this "peace" in Israel is total destruction, looting, the demolition of Judea and the killing of 600,000 Jews, the expulsion of the survivors and the invention of a new name (Palestine comes from him, from the 2nd century BC, for those who don't know) for a depopulated country. It was an annihilation, not a pacification, at least here, not just a looting and plundering (like the Dacian gold). In the end, the refusal of the Roman gods also drove him crazy, because in Egypt or other provinces that accept to make a god out of the emperor's dead lover, it is much more lenient with local traditions.

Therefore, Yourcenar did not convince me that this man who feels no remorse at the death of his wife or at the killing of his opponents is a peacemaker. And I passed over his talents as an administrator of the empire's affairs with very little interest because of her pretentious and so lyrical language. I emphasize "her", because her note in the Notebooks at the end of the book is amusing, where she says that she started writing the final version after 40 years, when she was able to "detach" herself from Hadrian. I don't know where the detachment is, there is absolutely no difference in tone, in style, between the "novel" and her notes. But if no emperor can be precious, then who can?

Nevertheless, the documentation and the obsession with this character that she sculpts for decades are impressive.

This is the book that once again made me deeply regret not knowing French or Latin. Although it has been beautifully translated into English by Yourcenar's long-time companion, I can still sense that English is not its original language. The sentences, skillfully stylized, all follow a similar structure - a main clause followed by a myriad of subordinate clauses. In Russian, my native language, it would work fantastically. And I'm certain that in French or Latin, it would read beautifully. But in English, it is somewhat monotonous - you have to work hard to reach the layer of meaning. However, it is a very rewarding effort in the end.

Yourcenar has managed to get into the mind of a person who lived 2,000 years ago and write on his behalf. The book is in the form of a letter from Hadrian, nearing the end of his life, to Marcus Aurelius. Normally, in fiction, one can see the writer behind the characters, the writing style, or even the descriptions. One can also see the hindsight knowledge. But not in this book (with minor exceptions as described below). The result is truly unique - it is not a historical fiction - it is a recreated historical document.
When I started reading it, I was wondering why she chose Hadrian for this. Fortunately, she gave the answer in the notes. She was reading Flaubert's letter where he mentions the time in civilization when mankind disenchanted themselves from many gods, but Christianity had not yet filled the vacuum. So she became interested in how people were dealing with existential problems in that period. The book is very philosophical, dealing with questions of immortality, love, and the morality of the empire; all, of course, from the perspective of Hadrian.
It is interesting that in the political sphere, Hadrian was a supporter of peace and leaving the peoples of the empire to their own devices. Any cults and religions would be tolerated as long as they did not offend others. It sounds like a version of modern religious tolerance in a democracy, I guess. He did not enjoy wars as much as his predecessor, Trajan. But there was one exception: the Jews. His generals fought a campaign, suppressed the Jewish rebellion, and made the Jews leave Jerusalem. It is shocking for me to read this (especially knowing what happened in the following two millennia). However, I believe Yourcenar that this is how a Roman Emperor judged the situation. This ability to believe makes this book so powerful.
It is also striking how much the Roman Empire was directed towards the East. Hadrian spent the majority of his life dealing with Syria, Egypt, Judea, and Greek territories. Yes, he visited Gaul and Britain, but they hardly played any role in the life of the Empire. This is very important to remember when we study history and all European countries' myths (including Russia) claim the inheritance of Rome.
Only once did I manage to see Yourcenar's silhouette behind the line: "I had long since made comparable exemptions everywhere for doctors and professors in the hope of favouring the survival and development of a serious, well-educated middle class. I know the deficiencies of this calls, but only through it does a State endure." I do not believe Hadrian was talking about the role of the middle class in the State. However, it might be just my limitations.
In all other places, Hadrian's voice is very lucid. On the meaning of life: "each of us has to choose in the course of his brief life between endless striving and wise resignation between the delights of disorder and those of stability, between the Titan and the Olympian…". On the destiny of humankind: it needs "perhaps of a periodical bloodbath and descent into the grave. I could see the return of barbaric codes, of implacable gods, of unquestioned despotism of savage chieftains, a world broken up into enemy states and eternally prey of insecurity." On immortality (in the absence of one God): "Catastrophe and ruin will come; disorder will triumph, but order will too, from time to time… Some of men will think and work and feel as we have done, and I venture to count upon such continuators, placed irregularly through the centuries, and upon this kind of intermittent immortality."
And to finish on a lighter note, this book has reminded me of a poem by Josef Brodsky, the Nobel Prize winner, "The letter to a Roman friend". The poem, like the book, is written in the form of a letter from a Roman living somewhere in the provinces to his friend, Postum. Brodsky is a brilliant poet and a perfect stylist as well. Respectively, he is extremely difficult to translate. This is the best translation I found: Maybe, chicken really aren't birds, my Postum, Yet a chicken brain should rather take precautions. An empire, if you happened to be born to, better live in distant province, by the ocean. Far away from Caesar, and away from tempests No need to cringe, to rush or to be fearful, You are saying procurators are all looters, But I'd rather choose a looter than a slayer. The full poem is there: https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/lette...
PS
Yourcenar was a very colorful and interesting character herself. There is a great article in the New Yorker about her: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...

This is not going to be an in-depth review of Mémoires d'Hadrien. Other friends, such as Kelly, Manny, Sarah, and Mark Monday, have covered this ground more extensively and better than I could. If a review is what you seek, I would highly recommend checking out one of theirs instead.

I will instead use this space as a pretext to ponder on writers imagining themselves into the shoes of others, especially when that other is from a different culture and time. Mémoires d'Hadrien is an example of this imaginative effort, and it is truly remarkable. Beautifully written, rich in detail, and filled with atmosphere, it is well worth anyone's time. However, did I believe that Marguerite Yourcenar successfully presented a Roman man from two millennia ago? All I can say is that I never felt a sense of "alienness" from the work, and that was the crucial point for me.

I know it is fashionable to believe that all writers have the right to write about the lives of people from other cultures. But I don't think "right" is the best way to approach this question. While all writers may have that "right", no writer has the "right" to expect their effort to be successful. I have written before about failures of the imagination in this regard, such as The Book of Salt and The Harmony Silk Factory.

Moreover, I would argue that it is impossible for a writer to truly inhabit the sensibility of an other, especially one from a different culture. It is even arrogant to believe that such an effort can succeed. I think the closest a writer can come is to closely observe and describe the external behavior as accurately as possible.

I was raised on a diet of mainly Anglo-Saxon novels, and whenever I read something from a different culture, I often feel a sense of alienation, especially if that culture is far from Anglo-Saxon and from a distant time. I'm thinking of Japanese novels like Kawabata's The Sound of the Mountain, or Eileen Chang's Traces of Love and Other Stories. The characters' behaviors and thoughts are not only unexpected but also inexplicable to my modern Asian/Western mind. I'm also reminded of episodes like the grand funeral procession in Red Sorghum years after the death, or the boiling alive of a young woman to cure her depression in Tales of Hulan River.

Even with French novels, reading Les Trois Mousquetaires 1, I found d'Artagnan's eventual pleasure at working for Cardinal Richelieu odd, given their previous struggle. And Le Grand Meaulnes, the French Catcher in the Rye, is filled with a sense of hopeless romantic honor that I've never encountered in any Anglo-Saxon work.

This is one of the main reasons I've been focusing more and more on books outside the Anglo-Saxon corpus. The very difference is engaging. It's a struggle with a different sensibility, a reminder that different people think and feel differently. Indians, Chinese, Japanese, Turks, and yes, Roman emperors, are not just Westerners in strange costumes. If we truly value diversity and believe that the world is a better place for not being homogenous, then we need to accept this and not try to subsume it under a false idea of universality when what we really mean or want is the eradication of difference.

Memorias de Adriano is one of the best-written books that I have ever read.

The prose of Yourcenar is enchanting from the very first pages, and the first chapter is probably the best.

Although it is a historical novel, one should not expect to find a clear image of what the Roman Empire of the 2nd century was like in it. The book's intention, as the author indicates in her notes, is to describe the thought and life of the people of that era. Therefore, in the book, there are more reflections on all aspects of existence than the description of historical events of the time. The latter are not absent, but they are not the priority.

Yourcenar manages to bring to life the complex and multifaceted world of Emperor Hadrian and his contemporaries. She delves deep into their minds, exploring their beliefs, desires, and fears. Through Adriano's memories, we get a unique perspective on the ancient Roman society, its values, and its challenges.

The language used in the book is beautiful and evocative, painting a vivid picture of the past. It is a pleasure to read and allows the reader to immerse themselves in the world of the story. Overall, Memorias de Adriano is a masterpiece of historical fiction that offers both entertainment and a deeper understanding of the human condition in a bygone era.

The written word has taught me to listen to the human voice, almost as the majestic and motionless attitudes of statues have taught me to appreciate the gestures of men. Vice versa, with the passage of time, life has clarified the books for me.

I would feel very bad in a world without books, but that is not where reality is found, since it is not entirely there.

The true native place is that where for the first time one has cast a conscious look upon oneself: my first homeland are the books.

Calm down, don't worry, "Memoirs of Hadrian" does not only talk about books, but, dealing with a learned emperor, it is natural that it presents quotations on reading and culture. Hadrian is, before being a ruler of the state, a man, with his defects, his passions, his insecurities, his certainties, his doubts. Yourcenar has eliminated the gap of the centuries by telling us the story from the point of view of the philhellenic emperor. She was able to do this especially because the soul of man has not changed much throughout history. The concerns and passions of then are the same as now, the doubts about existence that afflict Hadrian, or those before him, are the same as today. Nothing has changed. The generations have succeeded each other, at times negative periods have been followed by more joyous or calm ones. This circle will continue infinitely, the negative will be defeated when men of genius will try to uproot it. Hadrian leaves ideas of hope, although you find them on his deathbed. That hope that makes us go forward even after the death of a loved one, the end of a dream, the breakdown of a relationship.

"The meditation on death does not teach us to die; it does not make the episode easier, but that is not what I am looking for. Small, sullen and willful figure, your sacrifice has not enriched my life, but my death. Its approach reestablishes between us two a sort of intimate complicity: the living surround me, the devoted servants, sometimes importunate, will never know to what extent the world no longer interests us."

Little wandering and gentle soul,
Companion and guest of the body,
Now you are about to go to places
Pale, rigid, naked,
Nor, as you used to, will you give jokes…

Η Yourcenar often came face to face with the writing of this book. She returned to her notes, trying to give it its final form. After in-depth research and great admiration for Hadrian, she shaped the spiritual form and life of this great Roman Emperor.

This book is not a biography. It is the very voice of Hadrian telling his life story. Addressed to the then young Marcus Aurelius, whom he appointed as his heir and successor, it recounts his journey to the imperial throne and all that shook him politically and personally.

The achievement of Yourcenar, to present the narrative so realistically, leaves the reader spellbound, with his soul shaken by a plethora of emotions.

We live with Hadrian his agonies, his failures, his disappointments and his achievements. We travel with him and get to know places and people through his own eyes.

A man whose goal was the spiritual, ethical and aesthetic elevation of the empire. He is the one who will bring fairer laws for slaves, for marriage, for women. He is the one who will love with all his soul a man, who will grieve at his loss, who will experience a terrible pain at a point of change in his character. Stoic and Epicurean in philosophy, he rebuilds himself and continues with the completion of his work. His legacy is remarkable on all levels, but his personality and spirit are even more震撼.

Deeply humanitarian, with the soul of a poet, sensitive yet at the same time tough with himself, he is the man who does not give up his goal, lives a life that is permeated by asceticism and pleasure as defined in Epicurean philosophy.

"In every man, in his short life, belongs the eternal right to choose between tireless hope and wise absence of it, between the wonders of chaos and stability, between the Titan and Olympus. To choose between them, or to reach a day when he will combine the one with the other."

Hadrian, I stand amazed before you.

Gorgeously written, this work is wise and stately. It is meditative, delving deep into philosophical probing in a profound way. The narrative moves smoothly, exuding a sort of magnificence. The prose is given ample room to breathe, allowing the reader to fully immerse in its beauty. I have every reason to believe that it adheres closely to historical accuracy. Yourcenar spent years researching and getting the details just right, and this meticulousness is evident throughout the text.

Her notes on the research and composition at the end are both illuminating and tersely eloquent. They are truly worth the price of admission on their own merit. This book is virtually unknown, like a hidden diamond in the rough. I would love to quote it at length, but unfortunately, I don't have the copy with me at the moment. I highly, insistently, and with awe recommend this book to all.

This is the kind of book that one desires to discuss at great length. However, I sense that its power is so profound that it perhaps resists simple summary. It contains much wisdom, philosophical speculation, psychological insight, historical grandeur, and subtle, eloquent, and illuminating prose. Additionally, there are some etchings of various Roman sites of antiquity included, which are breathtaking even when viewed in black and white on the page.

Seriously, if you're reading this, READ THIS GODDAMN BOOK! I recently picked up this book again by chance. It had been given back to me by a friend who had read it and left it on his bookshelf for about six months. Isn't it strange how sometimes borrowed books seem to unconsciously become part of our own collections, as if they have a gravitational pull towards their rightful owners? I read it for solace in the evening after a significant setback in my life. It soothed me, moved me, and the stoic wisdom of the man was both calming and enlightening. It cleared my mind while enchanting my imagination, much like a subtle wine on a summer afternoon.

Truly an astonishing book, as those here (many) who have read it already know.

It has nothing in common with the genre of so-called "historical fiction" (which misconception kept me from having even the remotest interest in this book for years).

All I can add is the observation that her scholarship is really outstanding -- even apart from her novelistic skills. It just feels so real that it's hard to fathom how she did it.

This refers not only to her knowledge of history (in the broad sense), and to her remarkable sense for the granular of "everyday life" -- the sort of thing you'll find in Carcopino or Rostovtzeff -- but even more, at the level of syntax or, rather, in the archaic balance of clauses and in the conceptions contained therein.

Though there are modern elements, obviously, it is clear in every line that this is someone who has read thousands of pages in Greek and Latin.

Just a remarkable achievement.

And another amazing book that I never would have opened were it not for Goodreads.

This book is truly a gem. The author's attention to detail and her ability to bring history to life is simply remarkable.

Her understanding of the historical context and the way she weaves it into the story is masterful.

It's not just a fictional account, but a work of art that gives us a glimpse into the past.

The language used is beautiful and evocative, adding to the overall atmosphere of the book.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in history or enjoys a good read.

It's a book that will stay with you long after you've turned the last page.