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Title: The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears ISBN: 1-57322-986-5 Publisher: Riverhead Books Pub. Date: 03 June, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.1 (67 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Fascinating blend of philosophy, morality & historic fiction
Comment: Like probably nothing else, the breakdown of social order forces us to reach into ourselves, to draw for guidance on our innermost beliefs and moral values; for absent direction by the established rules of society, we only have ourselves to turn to for advice. - Such is the situation in which find themselves this book's three protagonists: Manlius Hippomanes, Olivier de Noyen and Julien Barneuve; and each resolves the resulting conflict in a different fashion, based as much on his personal nature as his deeply-held convictions and values.
Manlius is a 5th century Roman aristocrat, living during the final years of the Roman Empire. Originally a man of letters more than political or religious leader, he is a member of a dying class: educated in Neoplatonism and the classical Roman tradition, cultured, and placing the survival of civilization - as embodied in traditional Roman virtues - above everything else. Yet, as his city, Vaison, and the rest of Provence comes under the dual onslaught of the Visigoths under Euric and the Burgundians under Gundobad, he abandons (if only publicly) his pagan beliefs and seeks appointment as Bishop, realizing that with the secular power of the Roman Republic weakened beyond recovery, only the Catholic church's growing influence provides a sufficient basis for his ultimate goal: to maintain the essence of Roman civilization and culture while formally accepting the weight of the new political forces; by forming an alliance with Roman-educated Gundobad to save at least part of Provence from destruction by the Visigoths, and to ensure the continuance of Roman law and values under Burgundian administration. (As the author implicitly admits, this book's Manlius is loosely based on St. Avitus of Vienne, who lived approximately 50 years later, actually was an advisor to Gundobad, later converted Gundobad's son and successor Sigismund to Christianity, and whose most prominent piece of writing is a five-book-long poem on Original Sin, Expulsion from Paradise, the Deluge and the Crossing of the Red Sea which, 1100 years later, in part probably inspired Milton's "Paradise Lost.")
Strongly influenced by his muse's, Neoplatonian philosopher Sophia's teachings, Manlius lays down his own philosophy in sermons and letters - and in a treatise he entitles "The Dream of Scipio," for the like-named excerpt from Cicero's "Republica" describing - in the voice of Scipio Africanus - the great Roman's vision of the universe and the rewards of immortality awaiting the good statesman. But unlike Cicero's "Somnium Scipionis," Manlius's manuscript doesn't take the form of a dream by Scipio Junior about a conversation with Scipio Africanus but that of a dream *about* Scipio; or rather, a conversation between Sophia and Manlius about Scipio's comments on the fall of Carthage. And while in Manlius's penmanship the treatise thus contains primarily a discourse on the fall of Rome (and a response to Saint Augustine's "City of God"), this book's two other protagonists, Olivier and Julien, in turn come to appreciate its significance as a treatise on the fall of civilization in general: For Manlius holds that civilization is a purpose in and of itself, to be perpetuated either by action premised on this singular aim, or by teaching.
Olivier and Julien, however, draw different conclusions from Manlius's treatise than did its author for his own time. Olivier, a 14th century poet in the Avignon household of powerful Cardinal Ceccani (but like Manlius originally from Vaison) sees his world fall apart as the plague descends upon the South of France, while Ceccani and his rival Cardinal de Deaux vie for influence in the court of Pope Clement VI. Caught between the lines of political intrigue and the menace of the Black Death are Olivier's Jewish teacher Gersonides and his servant Rebecca. And unlike his master Ceccani, who (similar to Manlius) will sacrifice individuals for a perceived greater aim, Olivier takes the opposite approach, sacrificing himself for an act of humanity and placing the well-being of two individuals - Rebecca and Gersonides - over his master's far-reaching goals. Julien finally, a scholar who has retired to his hometown Vaison to outwait the horrors of the Third Reich and the Vichy Regime, is the most reluctant of all to take action, preferring instead to make his small contribution to the preservation of civilization through teaching. But eventually he is goaded into collaboration with the regime on the grounds that whatever he doesn't consent to do will be done by someone with true national-socialist fervor - only to realize too late, after his lover, Jewish painter Julia Bronsen has been sent to a "labor" camp, that evil actions taken for honorable reasons often constitute the greatest of all evils.
But it is not only "The Dream of Scipio" - written by Manlius, unearthed by Olivier and Julien - and the moral choices they face that unite this novel's three protagonists. Of similarly symbolic importance is the fate of the Jewish population, society's eternal all-purpose scapegoat (persecuted by Manlius, protected by Clement VI after Olivier's act of self-sacrifice and left to perish by Julien's failure to act); and each man is strongly influence by a dark-haired muse, an outsider of society in her own way. And then, there is a little chapel just outside Vaison: consecrated to Sophia (whom, like Manlius, Christian oral tradition has made into a saint for her manifold acts of goodwill), rediscovered by Olivier, decorated by his painter-friend Luca Pisano, and temporary sanctuary to Julien and Julia.
Iain Pears masterfully weaves together the fates of the three men, three pivotal historical moments - observed in the single nucleus of one Southern French town - and philosophical questions as old as civilization itself into this spellbinding successor to his equally stunning "Instance of the Fingerpost." Yet, his writing isn't ponderous or heavy-handed; and while some prior understanding of the philosophical concepts discussed may enhance the book's enjoyment, no great expertise in Neoplatonism or Catholic theology is required on the reader's side. This is historic fiction at its best: engaging, thoughtful and well-researched to boot.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Beautiful Dream
Comment: I rarely write reviews, although I read constantly. But I need to write a review of The Dream of Scipio. This book is one of the finest I've ever read. It is a work of art. It is not an easy read for it follows three different characters in three different timelines. But the characters are interrelated, and a common theme pervades the entire book. There is a symmetry, a beauty, and a message in this work. I strongly recommend it, not to the casual reader, but to the connoiseur of great literature. For this book truly qualifies as such. Enjoy!
Rating: 5
Summary: Do the Right Thing
Comment: This is a three dimensional weaving of exceptional characters in the worst of times. I was cautious reading due to the nature of the three eras and the gruesome realities of those times. The Black Plague, Vichy France and the Fall of the Roman Empire despite the lush south of France setting, tend to exhaust my tolerance for gore. Yet, Avignon could never be more enchanting and true love continues to spur humanity toward a higher good despite our base natures. The historical and artistic details are sublime, but it is as a writer that Pears captivates his audience. Through ingenious plotting with a superb timing and philosophical tension, I found that I was less concerned with the violence and more concerned with the struggle of the individual in time.
From Spike Lee to the Greek tragedians- it is about moral action- and if you are one of those who assume it is easier in these times or that we have advanced stop reading and turn on the TV. This book has wit and yet it requires some effort. If the reader dares, it is extraordinarily worthwhile.
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Title: An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears ISBN: 0425167720 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: March, 1999 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Baudolino by Umberto Eco, William Weaver ISBN: 0156029065 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: 06 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Death and Restoration (Art History Mystery) by Iain Pears ISBN: 0425177424 Publisher: Prime Crime Pub. Date: 07 November, 2000 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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Title: The Raphael Affair by Iain Pears ISBN: 0425166139 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: November, 1998 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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Title: The Bernini Bust (Art History Mystery) by Iain Pears ISBN: 0425178846 Publisher: Prime Crime Pub. Date: 06 March, 2001 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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