Čitajući Gibonovo Opadanje i propast Rimskog carstva, privukao me Julijan II, o kom zapravo nisam znao skoro ništa. Pošto je bio car jedva tri godine, a avgust jedva godinu i po dana, nije ni to čudno - čudnije je što je eto uspeo da ostavi takav utisak - Gibon o njemu piše na barem dvadesetak strana.

Vidalov istorijski roman, napisan iz ugla tri naratora kroz pisma i Julijanove 'lične zapise', temelji na gomili dokumenata koji su ostali od - možda je on car od kog nam je ostalo i najviše pisama, ličnih zapisa, razmišljanja... Poznat kao 'Julijan Filozof', a među hrišćanima kasnije kao 'Julijan Otpadnik', poslužio je za jedan od najboljih istorijskih romana koje sam pročitao. Verovatno je Julijanova, pomalo romantična, želja da se zaštiti stara religija i hramovi pred naletom agresivnog hrišćanstva, ali i da se sačuva filozofska škola stare Grčke, ima veze s mojom, Gibonovom i Vidalovom opčinjenošću ovim mladićem.

Na Julijanovu i moju žalost, manje od pola veka nakon smrti njegovog strica Konstantina, hrišćanstvo se proširilo Mediteranom sa nekih 5% stanovništva na više od 50%. Povratka nije bilo, čak i da je Julijan vladao decenijama, teško bi obrnuo ovaj trend. Ali, ostaje ono 'šta ako', koje nam kaže da bi se mogla malo bolje očuvati ostavština antike, koja je u tom periodu bespoštedno uništavana.

Julijanov život je više nego zanimljiv, a ovo je odličan roman, lepo i jednostavno ispričan, ali koristeći i Julijanove filozofske poglede (koji su pretpostavljam, uzeti iz njegove lične prepiske?) Marko Aurelije - car filozof? Nakon ovoga, nisam siguran da bih baš njega tako nazvao.

I like Gore Vidal. I admire his writing. This is easily his best work, and easily among the best historical novels. Told in first person narrative by a double act by Libanius and a philosopher called Priscus, it takes you deep into a world already crumbling and now being pulled apart by the establishment of Christianity. The superstition and fanaticism and vicious politics of the age are all clearly on display. It is as if Gibbon had taken to historical fiction. I particularly relish the description of the aged Constantine – all sickness and artificial curls. I also like the description of the growing eunuch hegemony. A definite and positive influence on my own historical fiction.

За масштабом задуму, філігранністю виконання і роботою з історичними джерелами це справді епічний твір! Один із найкращих романів, прочитаних за останні роки; та й взагалі, один із найкращих романів.
Обов'язково рекомендую всім, хто цікавиться пізньою античністю та історією християнства.

4 febbraio 362. L'imperatore Giuliano Augusto ribalta le decisioni dello zio Costantino che aveva sancito il primato della religione cristiana all'interno dell'Impero. Il nipote proclama in antitesi, la liberta' di culto in ossequio alla migliore tradizione di Roma. Questa data e l'atto sono sconosciuti ai piu' e Giuliano e' stato condannato alla damnatio memoriae dai cristiani vittoriosi (ribattezzato con lo spegiativo di Apostata), gli stessi cristiani che fin dagli albori della loro storia si sono adoperati per l'eliminazione fisica dei dissidenti e la cancellazione di ogni pensiero ecclettico. Vidal riesce in questo splendido romanzo a delineare un personaggio affascinante e controverso che si muove in un periodo storico fondamentale. Giuliano muore in battaglia poco piu' che trentenne ucciso a tradimento, probabilmente da una congiura cristiana, mentre il suo tentativo utopico-reazionario di ripristinare gli antichi culti imperiali, anacronistici quanto innocui, e' al massimo dello sforzo. E' un modo che crolla, di piu', e' una visione della vita che scompare. La nuova ideologia religiosa cristiana comincia a opprimere gli uomini con la sua visione mortifera dell'esistenza, compensata da una presunta ricompensa ultraterrrena. E' la religione unica che si fa stato. L'impossibilita' del dissenso, la laicita' negata ma anche in definitiva la negazione di una possibile storiografia attendibile sono i temi svolti dall'autore nella costruzione di un libro veramente gustoso e malinconico. L'elegante ironia non riesce infatti a nascondere la triste constatazione di quanto male possa fare a se stesso l'uomo, tristezza appena addolcita dalla consapevolezza che nessun costrutto umano dura per sempre; religioni comprese.

I’d heard of Julian the Apostate, and I knew he was emperor soon after Constanstine, who Christianized the Roman empire. So the chance to read “his” story drew me to this book. And it’s a wonderful book. The story’s told from a blend of different points of view – an old man reminiscing on days gone by; another old man still wondering if the world might change; and the Emperor Julian himself, in a well-imagined memoir. The voices are convincing, and the world becomes rapidly real. Reading Julian gives readers the chance to learn history, to revisit new arguments that turn out to be singularly old, and to watch the creation and recreation of empires through war, architecture, religion, and diplomacy. I loved this book – a novel of convincing history, fascinating social issues, religious diversity, and of people trying to survive, to do their best, and maybe even to change the world.

Disclosure: I was given a copy by a friend.

4,5
Un affresco vivo ed emozionante della vita di Giuliano, dai primi anni di vita alla prematura morte.
Al di la delle considerazioni storiografiche, politiche e sociali, gore vidal ci porta a conoscere il volto umano del personaggio, con le sue incertezze, fragilità, paure e contraddizioni. Ma anche la sua profonda intelligenza, sensibilità e coraggio. L'immagine complessiva che mi rimane è quella di un uomo: un uomo inspiegabilmente e grandiosamente buono, tollerante di amici e sopratutto nemici, acuto e determinato nella sua umanissima (e disperata) ricerca della felicità individuale e collettiva.

I love Roman history. Had Julian (the Apostate) been less conciliatory, the Christians would have remained a fringe sect. Uncompromising themselves, and ultimately triumphant, the Christians stamped out what Julian loved most: knowledge.

This book is written as letters between Libanius and Priscus, who discuss what to do with Julian's diary. Vidal's prose is sublime--always informing and entertaining, sometimes sharp and often funny. Historical fiction is rarely this good.

And then, he wrote:
n  
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“I have been reading Plotinus all evening. He has the power to soothe me; and I find his sadness curiously comforting. Even when he writes: "Life here with the things of earth is a sinking, a defeat, a failing of the wing." The wing has indeed failed. One sinks. Defeat is certain. Even as I write these lines, the lamp wick sputters to an end, and the pool of light in which I sit contracts. Soon the room will be … ”
n  
n
One should read this to learn how novels are written. But, why Julian? Is its because .. he meets a previous desire and approval of some of Gore's ideas about religions as an esthetic? No one knows, as, writers are wizards, crypts ideas, in the molds of narrative, and so, through the symbols, prints left behind, some on purpose, and some not –and some intending misleading for the followers under the timeless secret concept of the novelists:
"Dear! This is a novel not a book of History!"
.. they enjoy the game a lot, getting much pleasure –and experience too!- from the other's interpretations, and so, if they are masters in the craft , in the art of illusion, they always .. succeed. The writer mentioned a bibliography on which he depended, to create his world, or The History According to Gore Vidal. Here, he uses so many styles to advance his meal, his vision: three narrators so as to show the case, by the opinion, and the opposite opinion, while, that space, between the real and the imagined disappears.

He criticizes the Christianity, in Lipanius reflections:

“From the beginning, the Christians tried to allay man's fear of death. Yet they have still not found a way to release that element in each of us which demands communion with the One. Our mysteries accomplish this, which is why they are the envy of the Christians and the enduring object of their spite. Now I am perfectly willing to grant that the Christian way is one way to knowing. But it is not the only way, as they declare. If it were, why would they be so eager to borrow from us? What most disturbs me is their curious hopelessness about this life, and the undue emphasis they put on the next. Of course eternity is larger than the brief span of a man's life, but to live entirely within the idea of eternity is limiting to the spirit and makes man wretched in his day-to-day existence, since his eye must always be fixed not on this lovely world but on that dark door through which he must one day pass. The Christians are almost as death-minded as the original Egyptians, and I have yet to meet one, even my old pupil and beloved friend Basil, who has ever got from his faith that sense of joy and release, of oneness with creation and delight in what has been created, that a man receives when he has gone through those days and nights at Eleusis. It is the meagreness of Christian feeling that disconcerts me, their rejection of this world in fayour of a next which is—to be tactful—not entirely certain. Finally, one must oppose them because of their intellectual arrogance, which seems to me often like madness.”

Then, in Julian's fast replies on the bishops "using their weapons in arguing" after Christians were accused of burning the temple of Apollo:

“Fortunately, no lives were lost. The Christians suffered nothing more serious than the shutting down of the cathedral. Later a number of bishops came to Julian to complain that he was causing them great hardship, to which he replied with some humour, "But it is your duty to bear these 'persecutions' patiently. You must turn the other cheek, for that is the command of your God.”

About History:

“Traditionally the reporting of speeches in historical texts is not meant to be literal. But my version of Valentinian's comments was accurate because I kept a few notes at the time, which I am using now in making this commentary. Yet here is Julian less than a week later already altering the text. History is idle gossip about a happening whose truth is lost the instant it has taken place. I offer you this banality for what it is: the truth!”

Here, it's a whole world, wars, heroes and anti-heroes, schemes, the role of oracles and superstitions, Mentors and Godfathers, from the prisms of writings, recorded events, confessions, while the artist plays god, weaving his universe, according to his majesty.

This is a masterpiece. One "must" revise himself many times after reading this, if he wants to publish a novel.

And then, Pricsus completes:
n  
n   “ .. Soon the room will be dark. One has always feared that death would be like this. But what else is there? With Julian, the light went, and now nothing remains but to let the darkness come, and hope for a new sun and another day, born of time's mystery and man's love of light”. n  
n

No me esperaba fuera tan entretenido y a la vez tan bien documentado. Todo el debate que gira en torno a la religión y filosofía, acentuado con los diferentes puntos de vista de Juliano, Libiano y Prisco, es una pasada. Sobre el final termina dando lástima el emperador, con todos sus esfuerzos paganos boicoteados por los ateos cristianos.

Si me hubieran hecho elegir en ese tiempo que religión abrazar, de seguro hubiera elegido helenista.

Fue lo primero que leí del autor, y desde entonces compro todo lo suyo que encuentro.

The best book, hands-down, on everyone's favorite revanchist pagan emperor. If it was a person, I would kiss it. But it isn't, so I read it. You should, too.

73/100

Meisterwerk mit massivem Durchhänger

Persönliche Befangenheitserklärung

Julian Apostata oder Julian, der Abtrünnige steht ganz am Anfang meiner Lesekarriere mit Erwachsenenliteratur, Der sterbende Gott von Bruno Brehm war zwar eher ein mittelprächtiger Heimatroman, in dem ein Fund aus der Ära des Kaisers, der die Christianisierung stoppen wollte, eine Nebenrolle spielte. Aber die Faszination dieser historischen Gestalt hat mich nie losgelassen. Der Erstkontakt mit dem seinerzeit im Giftschrank des Deutschen Seminars aufbewahrten Roman von Felix Dahn, hat das Interesse weiter gesteigert, von daher bin ich sofort auf den Roman von Gore Vidal angesprungen, sobald er auf der to-read Liste von GR-Freund Jos auftauchte. Bevor ich eine Empfehlung für Gore Vidals Darstellung ausspreche, muss ich allerdings hinzu fügen, dass die Parallel-Lektüre von Edward Gibbons Fall und Untergang des Römischen Reichs viel zum Verständnis und vollen Genuss des Romans beigetragen hat, manchmal aber auch als die deutlich interessantere Lektüre an der Fiktion vorbei gezogen ist.

Schwächen und Stärken

Gerade der Mittelteil (237-438 in meiner Ausgabe) ist Gore Vidal doch etwas fade geraten, der Weg zum Kaisertum bis zum Aufbruch zu fatalen Persienfeldzug und dem katastrophal verlaufenen Aufenthalt in Antiochia ist doch ziemlich eindimensional geraten, auch wenn die beiden Kommentatoren der (fiktiven) Kaisermemoiren schon in diesem Stadium eine gewisse Tendenz zur Verkennung der Realität aufgrund eines unwiderstehlichen Sendungsbewusstseins, konstatieren. Die gegensätzlichen Philosophen Priscus (Sensoriker, Tatsachenmensch) und Libiamus (Rhetoriker/Neoplatonist) kommentieren die Memoiren und relativieren die Wertungen oder Eingebungen des Kaisers, dessen Charisma sie einst selbst erlegen sind.
Im ersten und im dritten Teil verfolgt der Leser durch die Debatte eine faszinierende Suche nach der Wahrheit bis hin zur Aufklärung des Mordkomplotts an dem Kaiser, der durch seine vorbildliche Lebensweise, philosophische Klarheit und durch militärische Erfolge die Wiederherstellung der alten Götter und Heiligtümer sichern wollte.
Der erste Teil besteht aus der Jugend Julians und seines bevorzugten Bruders Gallus unter der ständigen Bedrohung aus dynastischen Gründen vom eigenen Onkel umgebracht zu werden, der schon ihren Vater töten ließ. Die Todesdrohung, bzw. das vom Augustus Constantius vorprogrammiertes Scheitern als Cäsar bestimmen die erste Hälfte. Vor dem Hintergrund der Doppelmoral des zur Staatsreligion erhobenen Christentums, gewinnen die Kontakte mit zahlreichen Philosophen samt der Einweihung in den Kult des Mithras und die eleusischen Mysterien bilden das Panorama der im Rückgang befindlichen Welt der alten Götter eine glaubwürdige Faszination für den jungen Mann. Zugleich bemerken P und L inwieweit ihr Held von gewissen Leuten wie dem Magier Maximus in diese Richtung manipuliert wurde. Vor dem Hintergrund von Gore Vidals Buch ist mir die Passage in Gibbons Darstellung über die massive Verfolgung der Magier unter den Nachfolgern Valentinian und Valens erst klar geworden, auch sonst hat der Klassiker eher zum Verständnis des Romans bzw. gewisser Antipathien des Verfassers viel beigetragen.
Als Romancier versagt Vidal geradezu eklatant im Mittelteil, trotzdem gerät der Teil, in dem man das Buch am liebsten an die Wand werfen oder zumindest für immer weglegen würde, zum Beginn der Ehrenrettung. In Antiochia, der ersten Station auf dem Weg nach Persien, führt sich der Kaiser als absolut kleinliches Arschloch auf, der den verhassten Christen in Sachen Intoleranz absolut das Wasser reichen kann. Während dieser frühen Phase und vor dem ersten Feindkontakt fällt schon die Entscheidung, dass Julian nicht lebend von diesem Feldzug zurück kehren wird. Der von Maximus Prophezeiungen angefeuerte Juilan, will Alexander übertreffen und lässt darüber die Möglichkeit zu einem günstigen Frieden und maximaler Demütigung des persischen Königs verstreichen. Die verpasste Gelegenheit zum Frieden zu den bestmöglichen Bedingungen, die je ein römischer Feldherr erzielt hat, führt zum endgültigen Verlust der Akzeptanz bei den Generälen und dem raschen Niedergang des so unglaublich erfolgreich begonnenen Feldzugs, zumal Julian, auch wenn er keusch wie ein Mönch lebt, so gut wie sämtliche Versprechen bricht, mit denen er einst Kaiser geworden ist. Die aus Selbstüberschätzung oder falschen Ehrgeiz zunichte gemachten Reformen, machen Gore Vidals Julian zu einem tragischen Helden und die alt gewordenen Philosophen zu Opfern der danach unaufhaltsamen Christianisierung.

Fazit und abschließende Empfehlung

Der tragische und doch so gesetzmäßig plausible Schluss zieht das Buch noch mal deutlich in Richtung vier Sterne, aber nach der gelungenen Jugendgeschichte, gilt es eine lange Durstrecke zu überwinden. Treffende Portraits und bezeichnende Szenen mit historischem Personal machen den Roman zum Lesevergnügen, immer voraus gesetzt, man weiß, wen man gerade vor sich hat, noch bevor einer der Kommentatoren den Namen nennt. Von daher die vermessene Empfehlung, als Kommentar zu 600 Seiten Vidal ruhig noch mal knapp dieselbe Anzahl Seiten des als Vorlage genutzten Edward Gibbon hinzuzuziehen, bzw. nach dem ersten Drittel vorzuziehen. Über manche Wertungen des Altmeisters kann man zwar heute nur noch den Kopf schütteln, manchmal auch über die Gutgläubigkeit des Aufklärers in manchen Fragen, aber Vidals Buch in in vielen Punkten eine Reaktion oder anschauliche Fußnote in Gestalt eines Romans. Von daher würde ich sagen: als Einzellektüre ist der Roman nur ein halber Genuss, jedenfalls für alle Leser, die nicht einen Zweitwohnsitz in der Spätantike haben, von daher aufgerundete vier Sterne. Auch wegen der Durststrecke von 200 Seiten in der Mitte.

Went through a horrible realization, maybe a growth moment, while reading this and that is that Gore Vidal was wrong to write this novel, and that all of his worst qualities are on display here: misanthropy, snobbery, insensitivity to art

I love Gore Vidal, my hero in college, and was shocked when I read that he asked Harold Bloom why his books would never be canonized. "Historical fiction," said Bloom. "Philistines!" said I, about the literary community, unaware that Julian does not have what it takes to be a book at all. "Why am I reading this?" is a question I asked myself many times, and that is not a good start for a book trying to break into the canon. The book makes the mistake of many other 20th century novels in both forgetting and deprecating the reasons that people pick up a book to begin with. It isn't because they want to know what Julian did. People read to find something beautiful and be surprised; learning about Julian is a side effect of that initial process - a welcome side effect, but a side effect nonetheless.

"This could have been an essay" is something else I said often, and it seems odd but it is true, because Vidal's greatest strength is essay-writing, and because the crux of Julian's life is the question, "Why did he bring the ancient Gods back to Rome?" That's the only piece that has weight. The stuff about battles and boyhood and court politics is not framed well enough to be interesting, but the dialogue about Christianity and the Pantheon doesn't happen often enough to be memorable. What is left feels like 500 pages of noise

DNF at 247 pages