The Dream of Scipio

The Dream of Scipio is a novel by Iain Pears. It is set in Provence at three different critical moments of Western civilization -- the collapse of the Roman Empire in the fifth century, the Black Death in the fourteenth, the Second World War in the twentieth -- through which the fortunes of three men are followed:
*Manlius Hippomanes, a gallic aristocrat obsessed with the preservation of Roman civilization
*Olivier de Noyen, a poet and scholar, active in the Papal Court at Avignon
*Julien Barneuve, an intellectual who cooperates with the Vichy government

The story of each man is woven through the narrative, all linked by the "Dream of Scipio", written by Manlius (not Cicero's classical text) that gave the book its title, and that is rediscovered by Olivier and Julien. Inspired by the teachings of Sophia, a student of Plato, Manlius composes the text to justify the decisions he takes when facing attack by the Visigoths and Burgundians, with little support from Rome. Religious issues, and how politics have influenced religious tolerance, shape all three stories: the roots of twentieth-century anti-semitism are traced and linked to other political decisions to use Jews as scapegoats.

But what centrally unites the three stories, and keeps the work absorbing and very important to today's concerns, is its extended deliberation on the question of how one resolves ethical conflicts, emotional commitments, and the quest for the true meaning of human life.

Possible relations to historical figures

Manlius's text appears similar to one by Macrobius, a fifth-century Neoplatonist philosopher. For example, the tenth chapter of Macrobius's commentary on Cicero's "Dream of Scipio" discusses how humans are dead when living, and vice versa, and how the soul ascends after its death on this Earth.

The name "Olivier de Noyen" might be a nod to Chrétien de Troyes. Although de Troyes lived two centuries before Olivier and in another region of France, he is described as having "the peculiar fortune of becoming the best known of the old French poets to students of medieval literature, and of remaining practically unknown to any one else." [ [http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=851456&pageno=3 DeTroyes, C. (12th Century). FOUR ARTHURIAN ROMANCES: EREC ET ENIDE, CLIGES, YVAIN, AND LANCELOT. Produced by Douglas B. Killings, 2007.] ]

Marcel Laplace shares a similarity with Maurice Papon in being one of thefew civil servants to continue working as such after a successful stint in the Vichy government.

Gersonides (Rabbi Levi ben Gershom), the Jewish philosopher who acts as Olivier de Noyen's mentor, is an actual historical figure, well-known as both a Jewish religious scholar and as a scientist (the Lunar Rabbi Levi crater is called for him). However, his encounter with Pope Pope Clement VI (also a historical figure) during the Black Death, depicted in the book, is entirely fictional. In fact, it is disputed among historians whether Gersonides was still alive at that time. Gersonides' servant Rebecca, Olivier's beloved, is also completely fictional.

External links

* [http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/minisites/scipio/ Dream of Scipio official website]