Marcus Gratus
Marcus Gratus is one of the four faction legionaries at the gates of Jerusalem on the day after the triumphant entry of Jesus (Palm Sunday). He is doubtless part of the Roman garrison stationed at the Antonia, that fortress overlooking the Temple. It is midnight and Jesus wants to enter the city to join his mother.
The eldest of the four soldiers, doubtless an officer, lets him enter despite orders:"Truly the order would be not to let you pass, but you would pass anyway. He who forces the gates of Hades[1] can well force the gates of a closed city. And you are not a man to provoke uprisings. The defense falls for you. Make sure not to be seen by the patrols inside. Open, Marcus Gratus. And you, pass quietly. We are soldiers and we must obey..."Vital, the youngest of the four soldiers, expresses his admiration for Jesus. Marcus Gratus, "in the full strength of age" mocks: "A God on a donkey?" And he argues his Atheism:
"Believe me: Gods are a fable. Olympus is empty, and the Earth has none [...] Caesar himself does not believe in the Gods, nor do the pontiffs[2], the augurs[3], the haruspices[4], the arval brothers[5], the vestal virgins[6], nor anyone? [...] Why the rites? Because they please the people and are useful to priests and serve Caesar to be obeyed as if he were an earthly God held by the hand by the Gods of Olympus. But the first not to believe are those we venerate as ministers of the Gods. I am a Pyrrhonian.[7] I have traveled the world. I have had many experiences. My Hair is graying at the temples and my thought has matured. I have as a personal rule three principles: Love Rome, the only goddess and only certainty, even to the sacrifice of my life. Believe nothing since everything is an illusion of what surrounds us, except the sacred and immortal Homeland. We must also doubt ourselves because it is not even certain that we live. The senses and reason are not enough to give us certainty of arriving at knowing the Truth, and life and death have the same value because we do not know what life is and what death is," he says, affecting the philosophical skepticism of a superior being."[8]As Vital maintains his desire to listen to Jesus, Marcus Gratus pushes him:
"May Aesculapius[9] save you! You are ill! It is only recently that you went up to the city of the valley, and fevers arise easily in those who make this journey and are not yet acclimated to this region. You are delirious. Come. There is nothing like hot wine and aromatics to bring out the sweat of the Jordanian fever..."And he pushes him toward the guardhouse, but Vital frees himself. He will wait for Jesus.
Remarkable points
This testimony of Marcus Gratus is part of the remarkable historical knowledge of Maria Valtorta, but above all illustrates the shift from the skepticism of agnostics to Atheism.
His name
Gratus means "thankful". An echo is found in the word "gratitude". Marcus Gratus shows none in his speech.
Where is it mentioned in the work?
EMV 592
Notes and references
- ↑ The place of the dead. This is an allusion to the resurrection of Lazarus which caused a great stir and left a strong impression.
- ↑ The Roman pontiffs (3 to 5) were responsible for public worship and the religious calendar. The supreme authority was held by the Pontifex maximus.
- ↑ The augurs were responsible for observing the will of the Gods through signs such as the flight of birds. They consecrated Temples and fields.
- ↑ The (h)aruspicers were diviners charged with reading the Future in the entrails of animals, notably.
- ↑ The arval brothers were a college of twelve priests dedicated to worship of Ceres. It was celebrated at the full moon of May and guaranteed good harvests.
- ↑ The vestal virgins were priestesses dedicated to Vesta, goddess protector of hearths and the City. They were responsible for maintaining the sacred Fire.
- ↑ Pyrrho of Elis (360–270 BC): Greek philosopher, founder of skepticism. He was agnostic and refrained from giving his opinion on any subject. He denied that anything was good or bad, true or false in itself. He doubted the existence of everything.
- ↑ EMV 592.2.
- ↑ Aesculapius: God of medicine. Originally worshipped at Epidaurus. One of his symbols is the snake coiled around a staff. It is still found today in the caduceus of pharmacists and nurses.