2 Emily Gertrude Moore 



Hence, to him, Libanios' words call up the vision of an ideal. 

 " Es gibt eine ganze herrliche Welt, fiir die Ihr Galilaer blind 

 seid. Da ist das Dasein ein Fest inmitten Bildsaulen und unter 

 Tempelgesangen, mit vollen schaumenden Schalen, und mit Rosen 

 im Haar." 



Yet when he has drained to the dregs all that Libanios can offer 

 him, he is not satisfied. " Ich musz leben, Gregor, — und dieses 

 Treiben hier an der Weisheitsschule, das ist kein Leben." The 

 wisdom of books has become mere prating to him. " Biicher 

 niitzen mir nichts — nach Leben hungert mich, Zusammenleben 

 mit dem Geist — von Angesicht zu Angesicht ! Ward Saulus se- 

 hend durch ein Buch ? . . . Geschriebenes, das ist nicht Wahrheit 

 fiir das Fleisch. . . . Es musz eine neue Offenbarung kommen. 

 Oder eine Offenbarung von etwas Neuem." 



From Maximos, the mystic, he hopes to find a solution of the 

 problem. It is Maximos who first suggests to him the idea of a 

 " Third Kingdom," which is to be founded upon the tree of knowl- 

 edge and the cross. It is to have its source in Adam's Garden 

 and in Golgotha. Julian conceives the idea that he is to be the 

 founder of this Third Kingdom, and the rest of his life is pro- 

 foundly influenced by this idea. But the concept remains vague ; 

 it fills Julian with a delusion of greatness, but it never inspires 

 him to any definite, persistent and constructive course of action. 



At the end of " Ciisars Abfall " Julian, who has hitherto vacil- 

 lated between the conflicting claims of Christianity, paganism, 

 Greek philosophy and mysticism, definitely cuts loose from Chris- 

 tian ideals and inspiration. Up to this point he has vaguely in- 

 tended to carry out the mission predicted by his boyhood friend, 

 Agathon, and urged upon him by Gregory and Basilios, and become 

 the restorer of a purified Christianity. From now on Marcus 

 Aurelius becomes his inspiration, and the customs of the ancients 

 his law of conduct. 



Archer suggests that while Ibsen wrote " Casars Abfall " in 

 full sympathy with Julian, he ultimately came to realize the abso- 

 lute inferiority of paganism to the religion Julian would supplant 

 and also realized that he had nothing better to offer in its stead. 



244 



