Pontius Pilate

Studies in Religion and Culture

by Roger Caillois, Charles Lam Markmann (Translator), Ivan Strenski (Introduction)

If you thought you knew all there is to know about Pontius Pilate and Jesus, this little book has some surprises for you. In this "greatest story never told," Pontius Pilate finally gets a chance to tell his side of the story, filling in what the Bible left out. For someone who made one of the most momentous decisions of all time, we know almost nothing about him. Who was this man who sentenced Jesus to death? What went through his mind as he weighed the alternatives? Was he a villain or a victim of circumstance? If we can imagine Pilate as our contemporary, what would we have done in his place? Written by one of France's great men of letters of the twentieth century, Pontius Pilate is a highly provocative and psychologically gripping novel that reconstructs Pilate's state of mind in deciding to convict Jesus. Taking his place alongside the authors of other such "sacred fantasies" as Nikos Kazantzakis (The Last Temptation of Christ) and Dan Brown (The Da Vinci Code), the surrealist Roger Caillois conjures countless plausible dramas of the "what ifs" that might have played out inside Pilate's mind during the final twenty-four hours before he decided Jesus's fate. Transgressive, disconcerting, and original, Pontius Pilate provides a fascinating opportunity to contemplate the mind of a man who, with one decision, arguably changed the course of human history. It explores the interplay of politics and conscience, fundamentalism and cosmopolitanism, and fanaticism and pragmatism--themes even more compelling today than they were forty-some years ago when the book was originally published. With an introduction by the religion scholar Ivan Strenski, this new American edition of Charles Lam Markmann's original English translation (published in 1963 and long since out of print) makes available once again for the English-language reading public a remarkable work of intelligence, wit, and imagination. Pontius Pilate offers an engaging and climactic read for anyone interested in the interplay of religion and culture and in the mysteries of this pinnacle moment in the biblical narrative.

Genres: Fiction, Religion, Christianity, France, Philosophy, Literature

118 pages, Hardcover

First published October 5, 1961

Reviews

[Martyna Antonina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Krótka opowiastka teologiczno-filozoficzna, która świetnie korzysta ze swojej objętości, stylizując treść pod rzeczywistość, którą kreuje (a właściwie przedkłada) językiem hipotezy. Symboliczna i esencjonalna - paradoksem ostatniego zdania otwiera drzwi i oczy wielu innym, równolegle (nie)opowiadającym się historiom.
O sprawczości, którą tłumaczy się przypadkiem i o ludzkiej miłości, która kocha się sobie wyobrażać.

[Antoine Charette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dans un récit court mais dense, Caillois parvient à faire de Ponce Pilate un protagoniste fascinant et troublant d'humanité. L'auteur dresse avec doigté la trajectoire houleuse d'un homme dont la lucidité n'a d'égale que sa lâcheté et chez qui l'option de sauver le soi-disant Roi des Juifs provoque un dilemme moral éprouvant. C'est avec déférence que le lecteur suit le combat d'un homme imparfait contre sa propre nature - le tout mené par la plume émérite de Caillois.

Notons aussi les savoureuses observations des personnages sur la corruption de nos idéaux moraux, l'insuffisance de la sagesse pour sauver le monde et les sacrifices inévitables du courage.

[Nadia Costa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Et si Ponce Pilate avait liberé Jésus au lieu de Barradas, qu'en serait-il de ces deux derniers millenaires?
Une uchronie qui puise dans les enjeux politiques à la base de l'arrestation de Jésus de Nazareth et dans le profil psychologique de Pilate, ses sensibilités philosophiques et esthétiques qui le méneront à - ou à ne pas - illiber Jésus.
Une oeuvre phare pour tout ceux qui s'interessent a ce genre qui est l'uchronie.

[Jesus Garcia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Libro que nos narra que hubiera pasado si Poncio pilatos hubiera decidido salvar a Jesús en vez de a barrabas. Realmente esto es lo que nos vende el libro, pero eso que nos vende solo ocupa el 1% del mismo.
Nos narra la historia de Pilatos desde que ponen a Jesús delante de él y las decisiones que tomo o que podría haber tomado.
El libro acaba complementado por el evangelio apócrifo de Nicodemo (bastante interesante).

[Leanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

(This is about Amos Oz's Judas and Roger Caillois' Pontius Pilate)

Judas' name has become synonymous with betrayal. And yet, philosophers see it differently. Think about it. Why would Judas, the only apostle who ever had any money, sell out his rabbi for a few shekel--only then to throw the coins away and hang himself?

In Amos Oz' new novel,

"The Judas that takes shape is a spy, sent by the Jewish authorities, to infiltrate the inner circle of Jesus, a preacher in distant Galilee who has attracted an enthusiastic following with his miracles and his reinterpretation of what it means to follow God. But Judas goes native, and becomes the most ardent believer in Jesus’s divinity, more so than the man himself. It is, therefore, Judas who encourages Jesus to take his message to Jerusalem, and Judas who presses the chief priest to have Jesus crucified, believing he will rise from the dead on the cross. When Jesus doesn’t, Judas recognizes himself as potentially the first and the last Christian and, in despair, takes his own life by hanging himself from a tree."

The book is an absolutely stunning exploration of the pathos caused over the realization that oftentimes our lives have no real impact. Or worse, we fail so deeply that we simply cannot look ourselves in the mirror.

Think of Peter's tears. Lagrime di San Pietro.... to fail miserably. To be a miserable failure in the eyes of the world. In the eyes of God...

Or maybe not.

I have never read Amas Oz before--and realize I have been missing out.

The Kingdom by Emanuel Carrere is still my top read of 2017 but Judas is a close runner up.

Jerusalem in winter. The author's incredibly evocative descriptions of the city at that time of year have me longing to return. It was also fascinating to read about the Jerusalem of 1959.

A pacifist who loves his country but "doesn't like it," some of his fellows have accused him of being a traitor himself. But as with Judas Iscariot, it is so much more complicated than that.

Uchronia. To go back in time and find the loose thread--that is where alternative history begins. And if Judas had not betrayed his rabbi, there would have been no church is the way the story goes. That is the way Amos Oz paints it and that is the Judas of existentialist philosophy as well.

Another wonderful book along these lines is philosopher Roger Caillois' Pontius Pilate. (like Bulgakov and Dostoevsky), Callois intertwines Pilate and Judas. [This book was mentioned by Emanuel Carrere in the Kingdom]

In Callois, Judas is portrayed as a raving lunatic. He believes (frothing at the mouth) that if he doesn't force his reluctant rabbi back to Jerusalem to face death, then God will not be able to swoop down and save him thereby showing the world that he is the Christ. And so Judas betrays Jesus so as to bring about what he believes is God's plan. In the novel, Caillois has a weak Pilate so moved by the ravings of the lunatic Judas that he declines crucifying him. .... Any by moved meaning, Pilate is disgusted and wants no part of this crazy Jewish plan plan. As Pilate is a stoic.

"The whole tirade seemed nothing but delirium. How did these people attain such grotesque stupidity? What sense could be made by the idea of a God who died for the salvation of man? What sense could be made of a God who died for the salvation of man? In the first place, God does not die, it would be a contradiction. In the second place, a God does not concern himself with the fate of humanity. That would be ridiculous. And to imagine that a Roman magistrate should be available expressly to fulfill some ancinet Jewish prophesy was really insane."

So, in the novel, Pilate decides to let the rabbi go free. And Jesus lives to an old age and is much loved and respected and then disappears into the mists of time. No church would develop since there was no miracle and therefore world history went down a different path.

I tend to side with Carrere that it was the conversion of Constantine that was the ultimate loose thread in the path of Western history. But Amos Oz' Judas and Caillois' Pilate are the other loose thread. THAT is the fork in the path. Highly recommend all three novels. (Carrere is known for his book on Philip K. Dick and wrote his dissertation on Uchronia).

[David Karacsony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remek kis fikció, Pilátus szempontjából mutatja be a történteket, és hirtelen a gonosz és megátalkodott zsarnokból csupán egy határozatlan, kisstílű politikus lesz, aki helytartók, a császár, feelsége és a nép megnyerése érdekében egyik rossz döntést a másikra halmozza, sőt a zsidó főpapok iránti ellenszenve politikai színezetet kap, és a világrengető eseményekből csupán egy poros vidéki város ügyes-bajos dolgai rajzolódnak ki. Júdás is megtalálja őt, de szinte egy szót sem ért abból a halandzsából, amit előad, hogy ennek meg kell történnie és mindennek úgy kell lennie, ahogy most is van. Végül csillagjósához fordul, aki roppant bölcs ember hírében áll, aki pedig egy hosszú vallástudományi diskurzusba kezd a csillagoktól ragyogó égbolt alatt. Lerántja a misztikus réteget a kereszténységről, feltárja előzményeit és alakító tényezőit, az akkor még csak elszigetelt szektának tekintett újdonságként elemezve a legújabb hittételeket. Majd a bölcs egy megmosolyogtató, de igen érdekes látomásba kezd, ami a jövendő világ történéseiről beszél, birodalmak összeomlásáról, háborúkról, emberek felemelkedéséről és bukásáról, amiben persze mind fel lehet ismerni a világtörténelem egy-egy jelentős eseményét, majd nem felejti megemlíteni, hogy egyszer, kétezer év múltán lesz egy fiatalember, aki az egyik francia újság hasábjain majd szóról szóra leírja ezt a beszélgetést... Szép keretes így a szerkezete, izgalmas Pilátus nézőpontja és valóban megér egy délutánt végigszaladni rajta.

[Alice Raffaele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una lettura breve però densa, densissima, e soprattutto universale, perché riguarda l'umanità, al di là della fede.

Roger Caillois rappresenta la complessità delle ultime ventiquattro ore di Ponzio Pilato, le sue facce e i suoi spigoli che l'hanno condotto a scegliere, o forse a sciogliere un nodo di intersezione di religione, politica, filosofia, etica e morale. Perché, per quanto alla fine Pilato si trovi a prendere una decisione tra due all'apparenza semplici opzioni (salvare o non salvare la vita a Gesù Cristo), ciò che lo conduce alla sua soluzione è l'esatto contrario del binarismo a cui alcune, molte persone si affidano in maniera istantanea, schierandosi da una parte o dall'altra senza riflettere, abbracciare e accettare la totalità della realtà. Per far proprio questo, Callois l'intellettuale sociologo e antropologo nonché esperto di miti, ricorre come strumento di analisi e previsione alla matematica.

“Marduk voleva mostrare come tutto fosse concatenato fino al minimo particolare e come la moltitudine infinita degli accadimenti potesse trovarsi implicitamente contenuta in un germe impercettibile: la scelta della via da seguire a un bivio decisivo. Ma chi poteva antivedere prima del tempo quale delle biforcazioni era la decisiva?” – Pag. 54

Attraverso il personaggio di Marduk, il teologo presentato anche appunto come matematico, Caillois descrive l'effetto farfalla di una singola scelta a distanza di cento, mille e duemila anni. Il capitolo dedicato al caldeo è il cuore dell'opera, che batte e si contrae come una teoria matematica, costruita a partendo da qualche assioma da cui sono derivati poi lemmi, congetture e teoremi, montati e rismontati, che arrivano a immaginare i problemi e le battaglie del tempo presente. Tuttavia, quasi ad affermare la distanza irrisolta tra la teoria e la pratica, l'arbitrio rimane a Ponzio Pilato. Quanto libero? A voi valutarlo.

[Xi'an · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grâce à une mention dans une revue de presse de France Inter, j'ai lu en un coup ce livre imaginant une uchronie où (spoiler!) Pilate laisserait Jésus vivre et en liberté, avec les conséquences qu'on imagine sur les religions chrétiennes (ou plutôt leur absence). Avec plaisir et appréciation de la langue de Caillois, ainsi que sa représentation de Pilate, stoïcien mou qui soudain se révèle. Même si le personnage est anachronique dans sa réflexion humaniste et rationnelle. Plusieurs passages m'ont rappelé Jorge Luis Borgès, dont les Three Versions of Judas furent publiées en 1944, ce que la critique du Monde de l'époque ne manque pas de signaler.

[Minäpäminä · Rating 3 out of 5]

Caillois kuvittelee Pilatuksen stooalaiseksi. Kääntäjä Kauko Kare kuvailee kirjaa osuvasti historianfilosofiseksi tai teologiseksi pakinaksi. Pilatuksen kanssa Jeesuksen kohtalosta keskustelevat juutalaiset ylipapit Hannaa ja Kaifaa, reaalipoliitikko Menenius, gnostilainen Juudas sekä esiteosofi Marduk. Viiltäviä psykologisia kuvauksia ja juuri sopivan mittainen kaltaisekseen ajatusleikiksi (sanan neutraalissa mielessä).

[Joseph S.]

Pilate is an Everyman figure in the most notable pages of the novel, the analyses of his mediocrity, worthy of the French moralistes: the end of chapter 2 (pp. 4-1 in L'Imaginaire edition) and chapter 6. Unconvincing are the excurses into Stoic and Epicurean philosophy. Caillois refers to Cicero, De finibus potentiae deorum, a mistake for De finibus bonorum et malorum.

[Francesco Tenaglia · Rating 3 out of 5]

bureaucracy, divergence of opinions, misunderstandings behind a difficult choice

[Francesco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5/5.

[Duarte Godinho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found it in the middle of some old books in storage.
It was okay, read i

[chiara · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 pero póñolle 5 porque a estructura en forma de evanxelio é unha ideaza. fanfic au da biblia no que pilatos non mata a jesús.

[Mario Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

"L' ottimismo di Pilato non era tattico, ma scaturiva spontaneamente dal suo orrore per le complicazioni."

[bambi · Rating 4 out of 5]

judas slaying

[Piego di Libri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roger Caillois ha ricostruito le ventiquattrore della vita di Pilato che trascorrono tra l'arresto di Gesù e il momento in cui il funzionario romano deve prendere una decisione in veste di rappresentante dell'imperatore Tiberio a Gerusalemme.
http://www.piegodilibri.it/libri-disp...

[Claudia Șerbănescu · Rating 1 out of 5]

Intamplarea a facut ca, acum 8 ani, dupa ce am citit "Maestrul si Margareta", in care unul dintre personaje este Pilat din Pont, sa apara aceasta cartulie la Editura Humanitas. Am cumparat-o, curioasa sa aflu o noua abordare. Am citit cartea abia acum. Slabuta si neconvingatoare.

[Paul Marin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short historical fiction on Pilate's torment dealing with Christ. Silly ending ruins the book.