Quo Vadis?

December 19, 2024

Reviewer: J Robert Taylor

About 2000 years ago, the message of Jesus went to Rome and it was not pretty. The might and power of Rome took advantage where it could. The initial forays of Christianity suffered accordingly.  But because the upstart movement from the east won out in the long run, it is hard today to grasp the extent of the initial conflict between Rome and Christ. Today we show compassion to the weak, we have anti-discrimination rights and we fund hospitals for the sick (among other things), concepts foreign to Rome.

Some great recently published books explain the long-term benefits of the ‘new movement’ on the philosophy and culture of Rome and hence on the West—books by Larry Siedentop, Vishal Mangalwadi, David Bentley Hart, Tom Holland, Glen Scrivener and more. But some old novels also do the trick.

If you want to understand the origins of Marxism in the 19th century, read a Charles Dickens novel. It is not that Dickens was a Marxist, but rather that his novels bring to life a society without a welfare state, without checks and balances on a market economy. Marx and Dickens wrote at the same time, when poverty frequently meant death. Similarly, good historical novels about the period when the first Christians collided with the power and might of Ancient Greece and Rome can powerfully illuminate the differences between the worldviews.  Quo Vadis is a novel which does that.

Quo Vadis is a classic story about antiquity, contrasting elite Romans and their sumptuous banquets, holidays on the coast, lust and power, with the new movement from the east of the Empire, a movement eschewing wealth, power and gluttony. I didn’t realise it was a novel, until I stumbled across it in my local second-hand bookstore. I was aware of its exotic sounding name, and that it was a classic 1950s movie, up there with Ben Hur (also an excellent novel). But that was all I knew. Written by Henryk Sienkiewicz, it was first published in Polish in the late 19th century, well before the movie was released.

The novel is set in the 60s AD/CE. The great fire of Rome in the northern summer of 64 is a headline event, and we focus on two wealthy Roman aristocrats. The elderly Petronius, a confidant of Emperor Nero, is tied in to the powerful elite of Rome. The other is his inexperienced and somewhat naïve nephew, Marcus Vinicius.

Early in the novel, young Vinicius falls in love with Lygia, a barbarian princess from a northern tribe who has been sent to Rome as a kind of ransom or insurance that her tribe will behave. She is a convert to the new religion from the east, and because of this, young Vinicius is open to considering this new Christian religion. It has engrossed the woman he loves. How can he ignore it?

At first, Vinicius tries to force Lygia into his household and into his bed. He is, after all, Roman elite and entitled to take a young foreigner for sexual satisfaction if he wishes. That would be natural, how his world works. But Lygia resists, and with the help of the underground church she escapes and hides. This outrages Vinicius: such disobedience from the lesser classes is contrary to all that is ‘right’. But he loves Lygia and his outrage gives way to confusion as he tries to understand what motivates her departure from standard Roman behaviour.

Vinícius’s search for Lygia leads him to discover the underground Church in Rome—and into danger.  By associating with the Christians he risks being characterised as one of them, and they are not perceived as good Romans. It is strange for the wealthy and well-connected Vinicius to mix with those on the margins—people who, he discovers, resort to secret signs, meetings and ways of greeting each other to keep themselves from the eyes of the authorities.

The great fire of Rome occurs one hot summer night. We feel the fire and smoke, crowds and panic all round Vinicius. The Christians are blamed and rounded up, at Nero’s instigation. Many end up in the Colosseum, as fodder for wild animals and worse. It is horrific. And Lygia is one of those in the cells.

The grace and humility of the responses to persecution shown by Lygia and her Christian friends reaches through to Vinicius. At first it confuses him. It is not a Roman way to act. But he is eventually convicted and turns to Christ. To do so makes more sense, provides more meaning, than endless gluttony and power. He starts to treat his slaves well, like fellow humans, and rejects the sexual depravity of Rome.

In contrast, his uncle also hears and appears to understand the Christian story, but is not convicted by it.  Petronius prefers the trappings and wealth of elite Rome. In frequent friendly dialogue, Petronius and Vinicius explore this new faith, contrasting it with the gods and philosophies of Rome, with occasional interjections by a Greek philosopher and the apostles Peter and Paul. It makes for fascinating reading.

Petronius insightfully sees the danger ahead for those who associate too closely with the Christians, and encourages Vinicius to draw back. But Vinicius sees a bigger picture than his uncle. He senses the futility of wandering in the desert of gluttony and power and dressing up for parades. He continues to try and persuade his uncle to give up his life in order to save it, but fails. There is no happy ending for Petronius. Nero’s whims and violence turn on Petronius and he loses his life without gaining anything.

Quo Vadis is a novel, not a history text (Sienkiewicz won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1905). But much of it is faithful to history, even if several years of Nero’s court are compressed into a shorter period. The novel effectively highlights the disgust and confusion experienced by wealthy Romans hearing this message from out East, from the crass provincials. The message of Christ was a shock, it was counter-cultural. Reading the novel, I too experienced that shock.

But I also enjoyed seeing Vinicius’ eyes opened to the futility of wealth and gluttony and earthly power as he is drawn in to the faith and joy-filled life of the Christians around him. It forced him to ask—as we all should today—Quo Vadis? Where are you going?

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