Volume 25, Number 17 · November 9, 1978
The Lost Cause
By W.H.C. Frend
Julian the Apostate
by G.W. Bowersock
Harvard University Press, 135 pp., $12.50
Like other heroes of lost causes, the emperor Julian will always have his admirers. General Lee surrendering the Army of Virginia to Grant's forces at the Appomattox Courthouse, Julian killed in battle against the Persians—both symbolized irrevocable defeat of the cause they had nobly championed. In Julian's case, the cause was that of Greco-Roman paganism against Christianity. If Greco-Roman paganism did not die with him, its restoration became infinitely less probable. The 'Galilean' triumphed, whether or not the world was to grow cold with his breath.
Review, 2347 words
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