by Aldus Marius on Thu Apr 10, 2008 4:54 am
Salve, mi Flavi!
> But I need a book that will move me, in a way that only those classics can.
Hmm, that's a tough one; one reason I haven't chimed in before now. I know which books have transported me, have strengthened my Romanitas, have made me soar and yearn and weep...but maybe that's just Marius being a mush-pot. (I am, you know.) And the ones that come most strongly to mind for me are a looonng way from being considered "classics". My absolute favorite is a garden-variety, mass-market paperback, and has no pretensions of being anything else; it's probably embarrassed by its professional mylar jacket and by the little custom bookmark I made for it. Would it fit in a world full of Vidals and Yourcenars? (I've got those, too; but they didn't clutch at my heart.)
But, okay, I'll share: It's The Lost Eagles by Ralph Graves, published in 1955. In it, Severus Varus, nephew of the hapless general, sets out to recover the lost standards and avenge his uncle's defeat at Teutoberger Wald. I really like the character development in this one. The earnestness and idealism of the young Tribune, coupled with creative thinking and a truly terrifying level of self-discipline; his faith in the emperor Augustus, his personal vow, and having to return to a jaded Rome in the reign of a hard-nosed Tiberius; the lackluster "hero's welcome", standing in stark contrast to the respect he earns among the Germanic peoples... I love it. He learns how to function as a Roman and as a German, and infiltrates a tribe even Arminius feared--I love it. He almost throws it all away for a barbarian girl--I hate it!! But redeems himself the only way he can at that point. And Marius wept. Damn, that was good.
And yet...it's hardly a classic. It's out-of-print, completely forgotten the year after it was made, which wasn't recently. I've only ever seen two copies. I've no idea where you could get one, or whether you'd love it as I did.
Good luck in your search, however it turns out!
In amicitia et fide,
Aldus Marius Peregrinus.