The Washington times., 1901-09-01
A New Russian Novelist.

yet represented only by trilogy of nov
els, all historical romances, of which the
first THE Death of the Gods" has now
been translated
The novel is complete in itself, and
deals with the career of Julian, called
the Apostate. who in the fourth century
A. D., endeavored to revive the worship
of Olympian deities and to cause a rever-
sion of the religion OF the Roman EN-
pire from Christianity to Hellenism. This
complex and fascinating historical char
acter has been handled by no great nov
elist before. and Merejkowski has clear
field, not only in picturing the character
of Julian, but In reproducing the atmo-
sphere of time and place. The book is ar
tistically far superior to either Quo
Vadis" or "Hypatia," the two historical
novels with which it will inevitably be
compared. Whether ii will ever attain
the popularity of the former is a matter
of doubt When a historical novel be-
comes so much in demand that it is given
away with pound of soap it is usually
safe to infer that fashion and the whim
of the moment have something to do with
its popularity. Moreover, for such popu-
larity it is important that the author Of
fend no ruling prejudice. and the calm.
impartial attitude of the Russian, and
his mastery analysis of Julian's char
acter. are not likely TO appeal to those
who like their morals laid on with
whitewash brush. He is superior in in
dependence and keenness of philosophical
perception and thought, to either Kings
ley SienkewicsZ. Kingsley could new
er forget that he was a clergyman of the
Church of England; Mere jkowskis mem
ory is evidently not in need of any Leth-
can draught. Sienkiewcsz is n story-tell-
Ter first and a historian afterward; Mere
jkowsld sacrifices no realism and no truth
to sensational effect He does not blink
vice, nor does he drag ii in by the hair
to pay tribute TO virtue.
The two novels which will follow this
are THE Resurrection Of the Gods" of
which LEONARDO da Vinci is the hero
and THE Anti-Christ'' which deals with
Peter the Great. creator of modern Rus
sia. In all three of these works the nov
elist has dealt with new material, and
those who have read the first will be
eager to possess all three, for it is evil
dent that artistically they belong to-
gether naturally as the three leaves of
a clover.
Perhaps the first impression that the
reader familiar with current European
literature will obtain from this work, is
that the author has risen above or passed
outside of his nationality. Most Russian
authors are SO Enthusiastically Russian that
one must undergo mental transfcrrna-
ton in order to get the full flavor of
their work. This one, however, is only
subtly and deeply permeated with the ma
tional character, and it becomes evident
only in his evident and peculiar fitness
for f1la han of ha h.a
has chosen. In this, he has shown the
never undertakes to make a masterpiece
Of material which he does not under
stand The Russian. commingling as he
does the Orient and the Occident, the
extreme of modern thought and an al
most Chinese conservatism of nature. is
strongly akin to human nature in its peri
DDS of change and complexity from one
order to another. With relentless clear
ness, Merejkowsd recognizes, as one or
two other modern novelists have done
less definitely. that the new religions
are in the main the old, under another
form, and that the essential ideas in
which Christianity really differs from
paganism are, as a rule, last to be rec
ognized as essential by the individual and
by the race. On the whole, the salient
characteristic of his work is its absolute
rightness of perception and balance No
where is there prejudice or lack of pro-
portion; yet nowhere is there lack of
knowledge of human nature. This Rus
sian writer possesses the rare gift of max
ing ancient scenes and characters seem
real without undermining them We see
IN his mobs, his camps. his crowds. his
street scenes, the elements which go to
make up similar scenes today, but they |
are clothed in the garo of Antioch, of |
Athens and of Rome. A striking instance |
of this is in the chapter which describes
the dispute between the Galileans and the /
Hellenes over the possession of the grove !
Of Daphne. The sacred wood had been
invaded by monks, who inferred relics
there. Julian ordered the relics to be dis
inferred and the festival of Helios cele-
breted.. In the figure of the temporizing
arch priest, one sees a modern church dig
nitary; the simple, whole hearted priest of !
the shrine Of Helios, and the old peasant
couple, whom the order OF the Emperor
OF their humble cottage, are
people who might exist today; and, fin
ally, street urchin, lodging in and out |
among the laurel bushes filings frag- |
ment of a popular song at the Emperor |
the least out of character
The character of Julian is presented ac-
cording TO a new conception. The riddle |
of his apostacy has never before been !
perfectly solved. 1t is solved by the novel |
list in two ways-frst, by the presentation |
of the average fourth century Christian |
precisely as he existed, and OF his ideals |
precisely as they were, material, base. and |
sometimes degrading, and second, by a |
skillful analysis OF the character of !
Julian, which results in the conclusion |
that he was an ideslist and a philosopher, |
with all the impulses and imperiousness |
OF his forefathers the Caesars, with |
their faults and imperfections, but with |
n soul which was forever seeking for an |
ideal The religion of the Galileans, as !
to him. was disgusting; he felt, !
IN an intensified form, the revulsion of |
an ardent and aristocratic Jacobite COM
PEELED to live in a Puritan manufacturing |
town. He encountered not only barren |
ness and lack of appreciation of beauty, |
but actual physical uncleanness and deg
radiation, actual moral pettiness and |
venality. So he dreamed dream, that |
out of this mud at his feet he could |
create realm of the gods, and he failed |
In the light of this powerful, pathetic, |
and dramatic story. the legend OF the |
hero's dying cry Of bitterness, "Galilean, /
thou hast conquered" takes on a new
aspect Merejkowski makes him say a |
few weeks before his death:
IF. as you say, i have been unjust
toward the wisdom of the Galileans,
remember what l have borne at their
handsi How numberiess. how despic-
able were my enemiesi The other day
some Roman soldiers found before nv