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Medico de cuerpos y almas
La vida de Lucano, un hombre de gran cultura, viajero infatigable. Conocio la corrompida sociedad imperial romana, asi como la hebrea y ejercio su apostolado entre los mas humildes.
480 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1958
About the author
Taylor Caldwell
134 books519 followers Also known by the pen names Marcus Holland and Max Reiner.
Taylor Caldwell was born in Manchester, England. In 1907 she emigrated to the United States with her parents and younger brother. Her father died shortly after the move, and the family struggled. At the age of eight she started to write stories, and in fact wrote her first novel, The Romance of Atlantis, at the age of twelve (although it remained unpublished until 1975). Her father did not approve such activity for women, and sent her to work in a bindery. She continued to write prolifically, however, despite ill health. (In 1947, according to TIME magazine, she discarded and burned the manuscripts of 140 unpublished novels.)
In 1918-1919, she served in the United States Navy Reserve. In 1919 she married William F. Combs. In 1920, they had a daughter, Mary (known as "Peggy"). From 1923 to 1924 she was a court reporter in New York State Department of Labor in Buffalo, New York. In 1924, she went to work for the United States Department of Justice, as a member of the Board of Special Inquiry (an immigration tribunal) in Buffalo. In 1931 she graduated from SUNY Buffalo, and also was divorced from William Combs.
Caldwell then married her second husband, Marcus Reback, a fellow Justice employee. She had a second child with Reback, a daughter Judith, in 1932. They were married for 40 years, until his death in 1971.
In 1934, she began to work on the novel Dynasty of Death, which she and Reback completed in collaboration. It was published in 1938 and became a best-seller. "Taylor Caldwell" was presumed to be a man, and there was some public stir when the author was revealed to be a woman. Over the next 43 years, she published 42 more novels, many of them best-sellers. For instance, This Side of Innocence was the biggest fiction seller of 1946. Her works sold an estimated 30 million copies. She became wealthy, traveling to Europe and elsewhere, though she still lived near Buffalo.
Her books were big sellers right up to the end of her career. During her career as a writer, she received several awards.
She was an outspoken conservative and for a time wrote for the John Birch Society's monthly journal American Opinion and even associated with the anti-Semitic Liberty Lobby. Her memoir, On Growing Up Tough, appeared in 1971, consisting of many edited-down articles from American Opinion.
Around 1970, she became interested in reincarnation. She had become friends with well-known occultist author Jess Stearn, who suggested that the vivid detail in her many historical novels was actually subconscious recollection of previous lives. Supposedly, she agreed to be hypnotized and undergo "past-life regression" to disprove reincarnation. According to Stearn's book, The Search of a Soul - Taylor Caldwell's Psychic Lives, Caldwell instead began to recall her own past lives - eleven in all, including one on the "lost continent" of Lemuria.
In 1972, she married William Everett Stancell, a retired real estate developer, but divorced him in 1973. In 1978, she married William Robert Prestie, an eccentric Canadian 17 years her junior. This led to difficulties with her children. She had a long dispute with her daughter Judith over the estate of Judith's father Marcus; in 1979 Judith committed suicide.
Also in 1979, Caldwell suffered a stroke, which left her unable to speak, though she could still write. (She had been deaf since about 1965.) Her daughter Peggy accused Prestie of abusing and exploiting Caldwell, and there was a legal battle over her substantial assets.
She died of heart failure in Greenwich, Conn
Taylor Caldwell was born in Manchester, England. In 1907 she emigrated to the United States with her parents and younger brother. Her father died shortly after the move, and the family struggled. At the age of eight she started to write stories, and in fact wrote her first novel, The Romance of Atlantis, at the age of twelve (although it remained unpublished until 1975). Her father did not approve such activity for women, and sent her to work in a bindery. She continued to write prolifically, however, despite ill health. (In 1947, according to TIME magazine, she discarded and burned the manuscripts of 140 unpublished novels.)
In 1918-1919, she served in the United States Navy Reserve. In 1919 she married William F. Combs. In 1920, they had a daughter, Mary (known as "Peggy"). From 1923 to 1924 she was a court reporter in New York State Department of Labor in Buffalo, New York. In 1924, she went to work for the United States Department of Justice, as a member of the Board of Special Inquiry (an immigration tribunal) in Buffalo. In 1931 she graduated from SUNY Buffalo, and also was divorced from William Combs.
Caldwell then married her second husband, Marcus Reback, a fellow Justice employee. She had a second child with Reback, a daughter Judith, in 1932. They were married for 40 years, until his death in 1971.
In 1934, she began to work on the novel Dynasty of Death, which she and Reback completed in collaboration. It was published in 1938 and became a best-seller. "Taylor Caldwell" was presumed to be a man, and there was some public stir when the author was revealed to be a woman. Over the next 43 years, she published 42 more novels, many of them best-sellers. For instance, This Side of Innocence was the biggest fiction seller of 1946. Her works sold an estimated 30 million copies. She became wealthy, traveling to Europe and elsewhere, though she still lived near Buffalo.
Her books were big sellers right up to the end of her career. During her career as a writer, she received several awards.
She was an outspoken conservative and for a time wrote for the John Birch Society's monthly journal American Opinion and even associated with the anti-Semitic Liberty Lobby. Her memoir, On Growing Up Tough, appeared in 1971, consisting of many edited-down articles from American Opinion.
Around 1970, she became interested in reincarnation. She had become friends with well-known occultist author Jess Stearn, who suggested that the vivid detail in her many historical novels was actually subconscious recollection of previous lives. Supposedly, she agreed to be hypnotized and undergo "past-life regression" to disprove reincarnation. According to Stearn's book, The Search of a Soul - Taylor Caldwell's Psychic Lives, Caldwell instead began to recall her own past lives - eleven in all, including one on the "lost continent" of Lemuria.
In 1972, she married William Everett Stancell, a retired real estate developer, but divorced him in 1973. In 1978, she married William Robert Prestie, an eccentric Canadian 17 years her junior. This led to difficulties with her children. She had a long dispute with her daughter Judith over the estate of Judith's father Marcus; in 1979 Judith committed suicide.
Also in 1979, Caldwell suffered a stroke, which left her unable to speak, though she could still write. (She had been deaf since about 1965.) Her daughter Peggy accused Prestie of abusing and exploiting Caldwell, and there was a legal battle over her substantial assets.
She died of heart failure in Greenwich, Conn
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December 8, 2017
This was one of my late grandmother’s books, and I am eternally grateful to my parents for not throwing it out or selling it when we moved Grandpa out of that house. What a find!
Dear and Glorious Physician chronicles the life of St. Luke the Physician, starting when he is a ten-year-old child, a Greek slave in the Roman province of Syria. Despite his ostensibly lowly rank, Lucanus (as he is then called) grows up in a happy, stable environment with both of his biological parents. His master is a kind if austere man who allows the lad to be friends with his own sickly daughter, Rubria. That winter a great, bright star appears in the heavens overhead, which fascinates Lucanus, who was always somewhat otherworldly even as a child but becomes steadily more ethereal from that point forward.
Lucanus is in for a rough adolescence. He falls in puppy love with Rubria, but she succumbs to her sickness, grieving him deeply. He decides to train as a physician, and becomes locally renowned as a healer, but is unable to save Rubria’s mother from dying in childbirth (although he did save the infant, which was no small feat). His father, whom he never liked much, drowns not long after. Lucanus begins to feel that life is arbitrary and God is cruel. This hatred for the way things are is all that drives him.
He goes to Alexandria to further his medical training. Meanwhile his master, Diodorus, remarries—to Lucanus’ mother, Iris.
While in Egypt Lucanus meets another girl, a young Jewish aristocrat named Sara (whose name should be spelled with an H, by the way). The attraction between them—emotional, physical, and spiritual—is instant and powerful, but Lucanus is too angry with the world to allow himself to truly love Sara, or accept her belief in a loving God who watches over all. His mother and step-family have moved to Rome, and he joins them there.
Rome is both the crown jewel and the cesspit of the Western world at the moment. Nowhere else would you find more art, more education, more commerce—and nowhere else would you find such apathy, such madness, such depravity and such decay.
Lucanus is an established doctor by now, and the step-son of a loyal Roman soldier. With a solid reputation for himself and a good family background, he is sought as the personal physician to Emperor Tiberius. The young man is also a great athlete and very handsome—with the fair hair, blue eyes, and height so coveted by the Greco-Romans—and the wicked empress, Julia, wants to make him her next conquest. She gets him drunk at a party and almost has her way with him, but he evades her and flees the imperial city. Her favorites, having displeased her, tend to wind up dead.
Back in the Near East, Lucanus makes a travelling companion, a man from deep in Africa named Ramus who has come to seek the Messiah, and has sworn an oath of silence until he finds Him. For years these two friends wander the Mediterranean coast, Lucanus healing everyone who seeks him, his Nubian friend ever looking out for the One born beneath that Star all those years ago.
In Greece the two men suffer violence and Ramus is blinded, but when Lucanus weeps over the man his eyes are miraculously restored. Not long after, Ramus strikes off alone to seek the Messiah. He has heard rumors of a man named Yeshua in Judaea.
With all his Roman enemies dead, Lucanus returns to the Eternal City, where he meets again with his darling Sara, who is dying of tuberculosis (if memory serves). She wants to marry him, so her last years may be brightened by the man she loves and possibly a child. But Lucanus cannot make this jump, although he assures her that he loves her. He sails East again, and they exchange letters until her death. His step-brother has taken ill.
Lucanus finds that his step-brother got sick after participating in the crucifixion of one Jesus of Nazareth, a young Jew executed for supposedly fomenting rebellion. He heals his brother, but both men are convinced that the illness was supernatural in origin and journey across the small country in search of more information about Jesus. The more they hear, the more assured they become of the man’s divinity, and soon both are welcomed among His followers.
The book ends with Lucanus, alone this time, interviewing the Virgin Mary about her Son, in the first of many sessions that will eventually be written down as the Gospel of Luke.
Caldwell’s gift for description is beyond compare. As much as I wish for an intelligent film or television adaptation of this magnificent tome, it would almost be redundant. Such is her way of setting a scene that you can already see, hear, smell, and touch it. Not the smallest flower in the garden, not the most distant birdsong, not the briefest gleam of sunset against a sea wave escapes her. Her research—reportedly including thousands of books—is clear, and her reputed mystical experiences would also explain a lot.
The characters emerge as real, too: Luke, Sara, Diodorus, Iris, Keptah, and Ramus escapes me especially. Even those who seem a bit too pretty and perfect at first—such as our hero, whose golden hair, sapphire eyes, and perfect features never go unremarked upon—have vivid personalities and intricate internal monologues. Luke’s arc is long and agonizing, and one wishes at first for a happier ending, but the more time I’ve had to process the story, I think it’s ending is perfect.
There are too many brilliant scenes to list them all. Some of the best were the sickening slave market scene sequence in Antioch, Julia’s orgy in Rome—where Caldwell so well describes Lucanus’ drunken stupor that my own vision started to blur, and the last quiet tableaux, where Luke is both awed by Mary and reminded of his own mother.
Content Advisory
Please note: just because this is Christian fiction doesn’t mean it’s squeaky clean.
Violence: lots of off-page, unseen, murders and rapes. Those Romans were sick.
Gore: There are a handful of graphic medical scenes, including one where a woman dies in childbirth. Very hard to read.
Sex: A teenaged Lucanus is molested by slave traders, who remark on his beauty and tell him that some pederast or cougar back in Rome would pay a great deal for him. He seeks refuge in a temple and escapes this fate. Later on, a gay soldier makes a mild pass at him and gets rebuffed.
Julia shows up to her party in a hypersexed parody of a Minoan priestess’ garb, complete with exposed nipples. She and her ladies lean suggestively on Lucanus and every other man they can find, and they spread a rumor about a rival lady experimenting with bisexuality. The slaves at this party are forced to serve the guests nude, and later others are made to don satyr and nymph outfits and perform a foul mythological burlesque, portraying a mass rape. A plastered Lucanus wakes up to the rapacious older woman straddling him and kissing him all over. Disgusted, he shoves her back onto her lounging attendants and flees the scene. Date rape, aided with alcohol. It happens to men too.
Given that this is the classical world, we also see some nudity in non-sexual contexts. Lucanus meets two of Julia’s other boy-toys practicing wrestling in the buff, and proceeds to embarrass them both with his sweet kung-fu skills. (This really happened. Supposedly he was trained by a travelling monk from Cathay whom he met in Alexandria).
Napoleon Dynamite approves:
As previously stated, nothing sexual about this scene, but it’s a little awkward that they’re just hanging out doing martial arts in their birthday suits.
Language: Nothing to worry about.
Substance Abuse: That one time Lucanus gets hammered is about it, but it’s written so vividly that I felt drunk just reading it.
Anything Else: Some will feel uncomfortable that a few of the stories about Jesus at the end of the book are not sourced in the Gospel. Caldwell drew on the visions of Catholic saints and medieval legends for extra material.
Then there is the very awkward subplot involving a black man seeking Jesus because he wants the "curse of Ham" lifted. Oh dear. Remember it was written in 1958.
All in all, an outstanding book for adults and older teens of any or no faith. Like all the best historical fiction, it draws you back into its era and breathes life into people long dead, and places long since fallen into ruin. It may also give you a different perspective on God, and the problem of death. An underrated classic; highly recommended.
Dear and Glorious Physician chronicles the life of St. Luke the Physician, starting when he is a ten-year-old child, a Greek slave in the Roman province of Syria. Despite his ostensibly lowly rank, Lucanus (as he is then called) grows up in a happy, stable environment with both of his biological parents. His master is a kind if austere man who allows the lad to be friends with his own sickly daughter, Rubria. That winter a great, bright star appears in the heavens overhead, which fascinates Lucanus, who was always somewhat otherworldly even as a child but becomes steadily more ethereal from that point forward.
Lucanus is in for a rough adolescence. He falls in puppy love with Rubria, but she succumbs to her sickness, grieving him deeply. He decides to train as a physician, and becomes locally renowned as a healer, but is unable to save Rubria’s mother from dying in childbirth (although he did save the infant, which was no small feat). His father, whom he never liked much, drowns not long after. Lucanus begins to feel that life is arbitrary and God is cruel. This hatred for the way things are is all that drives him.
He goes to Alexandria to further his medical training. Meanwhile his master, Diodorus, remarries—to Lucanus’ mother, Iris.
While in Egypt Lucanus meets another girl, a young Jewish aristocrat named Sara (whose name should be spelled with an H, by the way). The attraction between them—emotional, physical, and spiritual—is instant and powerful, but Lucanus is too angry with the world to allow himself to truly love Sara, or accept her belief in a loving God who watches over all. His mother and step-family have moved to Rome, and he joins them there.
Rome is both the crown jewel and the cesspit of the Western world at the moment. Nowhere else would you find more art, more education, more commerce—and nowhere else would you find such apathy, such madness, such depravity and such decay.
Lucanus is an established doctor by now, and the step-son of a loyal Roman soldier. With a solid reputation for himself and a good family background, he is sought as the personal physician to Emperor Tiberius. The young man is also a great athlete and very handsome—with the fair hair, blue eyes, and height so coveted by the Greco-Romans—and the wicked empress, Julia, wants to make him her next conquest. She gets him drunk at a party and almost has her way with him, but he evades her and flees the imperial city. Her favorites, having displeased her, tend to wind up dead.
Back in the Near East, Lucanus makes a travelling companion, a man from deep in Africa named Ramus who has come to seek the Messiah, and has sworn an oath of silence until he finds Him. For years these two friends wander the Mediterranean coast, Lucanus healing everyone who seeks him, his Nubian friend ever looking out for the One born beneath that Star all those years ago.
In Greece the two men suffer violence and Ramus is blinded, but when Lucanus weeps over the man his eyes are miraculously restored. Not long after, Ramus strikes off alone to seek the Messiah. He has heard rumors of a man named Yeshua in Judaea.
With all his Roman enemies dead, Lucanus returns to the Eternal City, where he meets again with his darling Sara, who is dying of tuberculosis (if memory serves). She wants to marry him, so her last years may be brightened by the man she loves and possibly a child. But Lucanus cannot make this jump, although he assures her that he loves her. He sails East again, and they exchange letters until her death. His step-brother has taken ill.
Lucanus finds that his step-brother got sick after participating in the crucifixion of one Jesus of Nazareth, a young Jew executed for supposedly fomenting rebellion. He heals his brother, but both men are convinced that the illness was supernatural in origin and journey across the small country in search of more information about Jesus. The more they hear, the more assured they become of the man’s divinity, and soon both are welcomed among His followers.
The book ends with Lucanus, alone this time, interviewing the Virgin Mary about her Son, in the first of many sessions that will eventually be written down as the Gospel of Luke.
Caldwell’s gift for description is beyond compare. As much as I wish for an intelligent film or television adaptation of this magnificent tome, it would almost be redundant. Such is her way of setting a scene that you can already see, hear, smell, and touch it. Not the smallest flower in the garden, not the most distant birdsong, not the briefest gleam of sunset against a sea wave escapes her. Her research—reportedly including thousands of books—is clear, and her reputed mystical experiences would also explain a lot.
The characters emerge as real, too: Luke, Sara, Diodorus, Iris, Keptah, and Ramus escapes me especially. Even those who seem a bit too pretty and perfect at first—such as our hero, whose golden hair, sapphire eyes, and perfect features never go unremarked upon—have vivid personalities and intricate internal monologues. Luke’s arc is long and agonizing, and one wishes at first for a happier ending, but the more time I’ve had to process the story, I think it’s ending is perfect.
There are too many brilliant scenes to list them all. Some of the best were the sickening slave market scene sequence in Antioch, Julia’s orgy in Rome—where Caldwell so well describes Lucanus’ drunken stupor that my own vision started to blur, and the last quiet tableaux, where Luke is both awed by Mary and reminded of his own mother.
Content Advisory
Please note: just because this is Christian fiction doesn’t mean it’s squeaky clean.
Violence: lots of off-page, unseen, murders and rapes. Those Romans were sick.
Gore: There are a handful of graphic medical scenes, including one where a woman dies in childbirth. Very hard to read.
Sex: A teenaged Lucanus is molested by slave traders, who remark on his beauty and tell him that some pederast or cougar back in Rome would pay a great deal for him. He seeks refuge in a temple and escapes this fate. Later on, a gay soldier makes a mild pass at him and gets rebuffed.
Julia shows up to her party in a hypersexed parody of a Minoan priestess’ garb, complete with exposed nipples. She and her ladies lean suggestively on Lucanus and every other man they can find, and they spread a rumor about a rival lady experimenting with bisexuality. The slaves at this party are forced to serve the guests nude, and later others are made to don satyr and nymph outfits and perform a foul mythological burlesque, portraying a mass rape. A plastered Lucanus wakes up to the rapacious older woman straddling him and kissing him all over. Disgusted, he shoves her back onto her lounging attendants and flees the scene. Date rape, aided with alcohol. It happens to men too.
Given that this is the classical world, we also see some nudity in non-sexual contexts. Lucanus meets two of Julia’s other boy-toys practicing wrestling in the buff, and proceeds to embarrass them both with his sweet kung-fu skills. (This really happened. Supposedly he was trained by a travelling monk from Cathay whom he met in Alexandria).
Napoleon Dynamite approves:
As previously stated, nothing sexual about this scene, but it’s a little awkward that they’re just hanging out doing martial arts in their birthday suits.
Language: Nothing to worry about.
Substance Abuse: That one time Lucanus gets hammered is about it, but it’s written so vividly that I felt drunk just reading it.
Anything Else: Some will feel uncomfortable that a few of the stories about Jesus at the end of the book are not sourced in the Gospel. Caldwell drew on the visions of Catholic saints and medieval legends for extra material.
Then there is the very awkward subplot involving a black man seeking Jesus because he wants the "curse of Ham" lifted. Oh dear. Remember it was written in 1958.
All in all, an outstanding book for adults and older teens of any or no faith. Like all the best historical fiction, it draws you back into its era and breathes life into people long dead, and places long since fallen into ruin. It may also give you a different perspective on God, and the problem of death. An underrated classic; highly recommended.
July 28, 2020
This book is rated as Taylor Caldwell's greatest novel. She covers the basic facts of the life of St Luke...born a Greek - Lucanus... and trained in medicine to become a famous physician who travelled all over healing the sick with the background of the Roman Empire. Later in the book he becomes deeply interested in Christianity and although he had never met Jesus, he moves around those who knew him including his Mother and Pontius Pilate to find out all he can, eventually embracing Christianity and writing his Gospel according to St Luke. The author visited The Holy Land to meticulously research the historical facts. The result is a detailed, imaginative and absorbing portrait of Luke's background, his love story, his suffering, his travels and interesting details about what in those days was known as 'The White Sickness' I found this book to be a most powerful read many years ago and have had deep satisfaction in reading it once more so many years later....exciting, extremely interesting, immensely moving and for me personally unforgettable. You do not have to be a Christian to enjoy this brilliant book in it's own right. I recommend it highly
April 15, 2009
I read this first in the summer of 1966- my Mom had gotten it out of the library & my best friends were on vacation so I started reading it out of boredom. This is NOT a kids book BTW! The story stuck in my sub-conscience & when I joined The International Order of St Luke I remembered it & decided to re-read it.
This is a "historical novel" about St Luke or Lucanus as he was called in life. St Luke (like St Paul)never saw Jesus. He was a Greek physician who as a convert decided to write the history of the Lord he worshiped. The author read extensively about St Luke before she wrote this book & there is a nifty bibliography in the back. The story suffers from the lack of modern biblical scholarship but is a wonderful read none the less.
The part where a centurion relates what it was like for him at the crucifixion was very moving.
An oldy but a goody!
This is a "historical novel" about St Luke or Lucanus as he was called in life. St Luke (like St Paul)never saw Jesus. He was a Greek physician who as a convert decided to write the history of the Lord he worshiped. The author read extensively about St Luke before she wrote this book & there is a nifty bibliography in the back. The story suffers from the lack of modern biblical scholarship but is a wonderful read none the less.
The part where a centurion relates what it was like for him at the crucifixion was very moving.
An oldy but a goody!
February 26, 2010
This is probably the best book I have ever read. It is incredibly humbling to read. My favorite part is reading of Luke's childhood. His innocent devotion to God convicts and exhorts us to do the same. This book changed the way I viewed God and the way I relate to him.
Taylor Caldwell can just flat out write. Her sentences are packed with imagery. Each word is measured for maximum power. Intelligent? Why yes she is. This fact smacks you in the face. I had to look up much of the Greek mythological references and some of her vocabulary as well. Give the book a read. You won't regret it.
Taylor Caldwell can just flat out write. Her sentences are packed with imagery. Each word is measured for maximum power. Intelligent? Why yes she is. This fact smacks you in the face. I had to look up much of the Greek mythological references and some of her vocabulary as well. Give the book a read. You won't regret it.
March 20, 2023
Historical fiction at its best. Taylor brings to life a world that passed two thousand years ago and the story of the physician Lucas who was caught up in the early decades of the Christian faith. With scholarship to back it up, it’s believed the good doctor wrote the gospel that bears his name as well as what is called the Acts of the Apostles. It’s a solid novel which you don’t have to be religious to enjoy.
January 28, 2011
The plotting in this novel is leisurely by postmodern standards, and Taylor Caldwell's prose sometimes veers toward purple, with each Antiochan, Alexandrian, and Roman sunset seemingly more beautiful than the one before it, and scented gardens hosting conversations between principal characters.
Despite those flaws, "Dear and Glorious Physician" is -- like "Quo Vadis" -- a novel for the ages, full of lush description, virtuous friendship, and dark nights of the soul. Its confident portrayal of first-century life and politics in the Roman Empire notes sights, sounds, and smells throughout. Caldwell's affection for Saint Luke is palpable, but the hagiography here rises above the merely sentimental to become memorable. Like any good doctor, even in "primitive" times, Luke is no mere pill-pusher. I also like that while Caldwell's language is painterly, her point of view is compassionate.
Caldwell shows a deft understanding of power politics. A letter from Tiberius (Caesar) to Lucanus is unexpectedly poignant, and a dinner hosted by Pontius Pilate lingers in memory as a textbook example of high-level imperial politicking at its most subtle and dangerous.
Despite those flaws, "Dear and Glorious Physician" is -- like "Quo Vadis" -- a novel for the ages, full of lush description, virtuous friendship, and dark nights of the soul. Its confident portrayal of first-century life and politics in the Roman Empire notes sights, sounds, and smells throughout. Caldwell's affection for Saint Luke is palpable, but the hagiography here rises above the merely sentimental to become memorable. Like any good doctor, even in "primitive" times, Luke is no mere pill-pusher. I also like that while Caldwell's language is painterly, her point of view is compassionate.
Caldwell shows a deft understanding of power politics. A letter from Tiberius (Caesar) to Lucanus is unexpectedly poignant, and a dinner hosted by Pontius Pilate lingers in memory as a textbook example of high-level imperial politicking at its most subtle and dangerous.
February 7, 2017
He leído pocos libros capaces no solo de entretener o de ilustrar sino también de alimentar el espíritu. Médico de Cuerpos y Almas de Taylor Caldwell es uno de ellos. Tal vez el primero con la fuerza y el impacto suficiente para emocionar hasta las lágrimas en cada capítulo. Para mi, eso es suficiente a efecto de considerarlo no únicamente como una gran lectura sino también como una obra maestra, un nuevo y personal gran favorito. Una historia de consuelo que me acompañará a lo largo del resto de mis días y que sin duda reservaré para las horas más difíciles.
Médico de Cuerpos y Almas fue escrito hace más de medio siglo y su narrativa ha sido muchas veces criticada como obsoleta o fuera de los estándares modernos. Entiendo el por qué de esas opiniones aunque no las comparto. Una historia como la de San Lucas merece el tiempo, cuidado y la dulzura que Taylor Caldwell le dio a cada capítulo en honor a los cerca de cuarenta años que tardó en escribirlo. Tomando en cuenta todo eso nunca encontré, dentro de su amplia extensión, algún capítulo, párrafo o línea tediosa, mucho menos cursi o sobrecargada.
Por el contrario, Taylor Caldwell fue capaz de trasladarme al imperio romano gobernado por Tiberio y a la Jerusalen de Herodes y de Poncio Pilatos. Gracias a su prosa elocuente y descriptiva fui capaz de ver, a través de la mirada atenta de Lucano, la misericordia y bondad de un espíritu inquebrantable y decidido al mismo tiempo que atormentado. También fui capaz de sentir, aunque fuera por unos instantes, la belleza del mundo y la paz que el mensaje de Cristo trató de mandar a todas las naciones no obstante la arrogancia, egoísmo y brutalidad de los hombres que se encargarían de cumplir con la misión.
Médico de Cuerpos y Almas no es una lectura sencilla, es un libro que debe ser tomado en el momento preciso y cuando el hambre de esperanza embarga el espíritu del lector. Para mi llegó en el momento preciso y con toda seguridad puedo afirmar que su mensaje se mantiene vigente.
Lucano, como la mayoría de los hombres libres, inició su viaje a la conversión ostentándose con rivalidad y altanería hacia Dios para luego terminar como uno de sus más fieles seguidores. Su transformación gradual al Cristianismo le convirtió en uno de los tres evangelistas de la Roma imperial con poder suficiente para sanar el cuerpo y las almas de los oprimidos...puedo asegurar que el viaje a través de sus páginas vale la pena, aun para los más escépticos...
Aunque estas líneas reflejen totalmente lo opuesto, deben saber que no soy alguien religioso, pero inesperadamente, este libro me lleno de paz, esperanza, al mismo tiempo que de un sentimiento cargado de gran nostalgia ante el profundo deseo de mantener la fe en un mundo como el actual en el que los líderes más poderosos desdeñan a los débiles con la mayor facilidad e impunidad posibles. Al iniciar esta lectura, incluso estuve seguro de que no lograría terminarlo. Para mi sorpresa quedé enganchado con la fuerza de la historia a partir del prólogo.
Y como diría el noble Lucano, !Que la paz esté con todos ustedes!
LZM
Médico de Cuerpos y Almas fue escrito hace más de medio siglo y su narrativa ha sido muchas veces criticada como obsoleta o fuera de los estándares modernos. Entiendo el por qué de esas opiniones aunque no las comparto. Una historia como la de San Lucas merece el tiempo, cuidado y la dulzura que Taylor Caldwell le dio a cada capítulo en honor a los cerca de cuarenta años que tardó en escribirlo. Tomando en cuenta todo eso nunca encontré, dentro de su amplia extensión, algún capítulo, párrafo o línea tediosa, mucho menos cursi o sobrecargada.
Por el contrario, Taylor Caldwell fue capaz de trasladarme al imperio romano gobernado por Tiberio y a la Jerusalen de Herodes y de Poncio Pilatos. Gracias a su prosa elocuente y descriptiva fui capaz de ver, a través de la mirada atenta de Lucano, la misericordia y bondad de un espíritu inquebrantable y decidido al mismo tiempo que atormentado. También fui capaz de sentir, aunque fuera por unos instantes, la belleza del mundo y la paz que el mensaje de Cristo trató de mandar a todas las naciones no obstante la arrogancia, egoísmo y brutalidad de los hombres que se encargarían de cumplir con la misión.
Médico de Cuerpos y Almas no es una lectura sencilla, es un libro que debe ser tomado en el momento preciso y cuando el hambre de esperanza embarga el espíritu del lector. Para mi llegó en el momento preciso y con toda seguridad puedo afirmar que su mensaje se mantiene vigente.
Lucano, como la mayoría de los hombres libres, inició su viaje a la conversión ostentándose con rivalidad y altanería hacia Dios para luego terminar como uno de sus más fieles seguidores. Su transformación gradual al Cristianismo le convirtió en uno de los tres evangelistas de la Roma imperial con poder suficiente para sanar el cuerpo y las almas de los oprimidos...puedo asegurar que el viaje a través de sus páginas vale la pena, aun para los más escépticos...
Aunque estas líneas reflejen totalmente lo opuesto, deben saber que no soy alguien religioso, pero inesperadamente, este libro me lleno de paz, esperanza, al mismo tiempo que de un sentimiento cargado de gran nostalgia ante el profundo deseo de mantener la fe en un mundo como el actual en el que los líderes más poderosos desdeñan a los débiles con la mayor facilidad e impunidad posibles. Al iniciar esta lectura, incluso estuve seguro de que no lograría terminarlo. Para mi sorpresa quedé enganchado con la fuerza de la historia a partir del prólogo.
Y como diría el noble Lucano, !Que la paz esté con todos ustedes!
LZM
June 9, 2016
I probably would have liked it better if I had read it when it was first published. I was in high school at the time. With more than 50 years of education and experience since then, I guess my standards have changed. Here are some of the things that disappointed me about the book.
First, overwritten. My thesaurus also mentions florid, ornate and embellished. Some parts just put me to sleep. And my dreams when I dozed off were more interesting than the corresponding part of the book.
Second, anachronisms. The reference to a constitution of the Roman republic. I asked my husband, our family expert on history and government, and he asserts that a written constitution was an invention of the 18th century - specifically the birth of the US. Or the attempt to make bloodletting a logical treatment for high blood pressure. It was more that a thousand years after the setting of the story before there was any understanding of the scientific concept of pressure, and of any way to measure it. And several hundred years after that before measurements were applied specifically to blood pressure, and even longer before the medical profession began to understand the impact of blood pressure on health.
A related irritation - some years after the book was published, I took am introductory college class in cultural anthropology, which concentrated on how the physical and social environment affect the way people think. In this book, I saw no indication that the author understood this. The emotions and motivations of the people in the book struck me as being very 20th century, and the various historic facts were treated kind of like scenery, just like the descriptions of the landscape and buildings.
But most of all, I was bothered by theological differences. A few examples: The Catholics called the concept "Immaculate Conception" and there may be some Protestant denominations with similar beliefs. But I reject the idea of original sin, so it makes no sense to me to suppose that Jesus's mother Mary was miraculously born free from sin. I do believe in the spiritual gift of healing, but it seemed wrong to me to attribute such power to Luke before he had fulfilled the prerequisites thereof.
I really disliked the way she portrayed James and John. I guess that's a personal objection, but she also was wrong to have Mary living alone at the end. The scriptures are very clear that John, obeying the wish of Jesus on the cross, brought Mary into his own household for the rest of her life.
The author made points with me when she pointed out that Pontius Pilate was not the evil being some have made him out to be. He did his best to avoid giving in to the mob, but finally had to carry out his duty to keep the peace with the Jewish people. The fact was that a small group of protesters was going to carry out violence unless he gave in to them. And he must have regretted doing so. I would have given another half a star for that insight alone, if only she hadn't ruined it, on virtually the same page. She claimed that the Greek word "ichthos" (fish) was an anagram. I had always understood it to be an acronym - the initials of a phrase which translates in English as "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior."
My apologies to all those who found the story inspiring. The plot was good, I think, but I was too troubled by those irritating details to fully appreciate it.
The book is due back at the library soon, and I have no impulse to reread it, nor to read anything else by this author.
First, overwritten. My thesaurus also mentions florid, ornate and embellished. Some parts just put me to sleep. And my dreams when I dozed off were more interesting than the corresponding part of the book.
Second, anachronisms. The reference to a constitution of the Roman republic. I asked my husband, our family expert on history and government, and he asserts that a written constitution was an invention of the 18th century - specifically the birth of the US. Or the attempt to make bloodletting a logical treatment for high blood pressure. It was more that a thousand years after the setting of the story before there was any understanding of the scientific concept of pressure, and of any way to measure it. And several hundred years after that before measurements were applied specifically to blood pressure, and even longer before the medical profession began to understand the impact of blood pressure on health.
A related irritation - some years after the book was published, I took am introductory college class in cultural anthropology, which concentrated on how the physical and social environment affect the way people think. In this book, I saw no indication that the author understood this. The emotions and motivations of the people in the book struck me as being very 20th century, and the various historic facts were treated kind of like scenery, just like the descriptions of the landscape and buildings.
But most of all, I was bothered by theological differences. A few examples: The Catholics called the concept "Immaculate Conception" and there may be some Protestant denominations with similar beliefs. But I reject the idea of original sin, so it makes no sense to me to suppose that Jesus's mother Mary was miraculously born free from sin. I do believe in the spiritual gift of healing, but it seemed wrong to me to attribute such power to Luke before he had fulfilled the prerequisites thereof.
I really disliked the way she portrayed James and John. I guess that's a personal objection, but she also was wrong to have Mary living alone at the end. The scriptures are very clear that John, obeying the wish of Jesus on the cross, brought Mary into his own household for the rest of her life.
The author made points with me when she pointed out that Pontius Pilate was not the evil being some have made him out to be. He did his best to avoid giving in to the mob, but finally had to carry out his duty to keep the peace with the Jewish people. The fact was that a small group of protesters was going to carry out violence unless he gave in to them. And he must have regretted doing so. I would have given another half a star for that insight alone, if only she hadn't ruined it, on virtually the same page. She claimed that the Greek word "ichthos" (fish) was an anagram. I had always understood it to be an acronym - the initials of a phrase which translates in English as "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior."
My apologies to all those who found the story inspiring. The plot was good, I think, but I was too troubled by those irritating details to fully appreciate it.
The book is due back at the library soon, and I have no impulse to reread it, nor to read anything else by this author.
September 14, 2010
Interesting interpretation of St. Luke's life. Not Gospel by any means, but still worth reading.
I never saw the Evangelist to the Gentiles as quite so tormented as Caldwell portrays him here ... so this book gave me a lot to mull over. But it does raise the question/issue of great suffering being a prerequisite of great sanctity and deep compassion. And yet, it wasn't so much what happened to him as how the Spirit within him worked on those events. A very thought-provoking read.
I never saw the Evangelist to the Gentiles as quite so tormented as Caldwell portrays him here ... so this book gave me a lot to mull over. But it does raise the question/issue of great suffering being a prerequisite of great sanctity and deep compassion. And yet, it wasn't so much what happened to him as how the Spirit within him worked on those events. A very thought-provoking read.
April 29, 2019
No logro entender como la autora fue capaz de escribir algo tan maravilloso; realmente creo que esta historia tenía que ser contada y desde allá arriba guiaron su mano. Lleno de espíritu, de corazón, de relaciones humanas de lo más apasionadas y sinceras.
Conocer una época muy muy lejana y que a pesar de ello no se aleja de la realidad actual en muchos ámbitos de la sociedad.
Descubrir a San Lucas desde su lado como hombre, que vivió y sufrió, que estudió, aprendió, sacrificó y recorrió un sin fin de lugares para encontrar la verdad que buscó desde niño. Para encontrarle lugar a ese Dios desconocido y llevarlo al mundo entero.
Hay muchísimos diálogos llenos de una inteligencia nata que llegan y golpean a uno y lo dejan reflexionando.
Un gran libro, que merece más de cinco estrellas.
Conocer una época muy muy lejana y que a pesar de ello no se aleja de la realidad actual en muchos ámbitos de la sociedad.
Descubrir a San Lucas desde su lado como hombre, que vivió y sufrió, que estudió, aprendió, sacrificó y recorrió un sin fin de lugares para encontrar la verdad que buscó desde niño. Para encontrarle lugar a ese Dios desconocido y llevarlo al mundo entero.
Hay muchísimos diálogos llenos de una inteligencia nata que llegan y golpean a uno y lo dejan reflexionando.
Un gran libro, que merece más de cinco estrellas.
March 25, 2008
This was a great way to understand the time Christ lived in (the Bible being the best of course, Then Jesus the Christ by James Talmage) through characters that crossed his path, Christ is not the main character in this novel but is the main point of this novel. It is a wonderful journey I did feel a gained a bit of insight into that time, a greater appreciation of what was involved with those early saints and humble followers of Christ and what they went through with so many different cultures coming together to have a belief in Christ.
April 14, 2016
A somewhat old-fashioned although beautifully written book. This novel tells the story of St. Luke, called herein Lucanus, from childhood, adoption by a kindly Roman patrician as the latter's son, medical studies in Alexandria, to his wanderings to serve the poor. He comes to a belief in Christ as Messiah after railing against God for years because of the deaths of loved ones and the cruelty of men against others. He has the marvelous idea to write down what he hears about Christ. The prose is really purple [I'm surprised my hands aren't stained :)] and it does get a tad sentimental at times. It's a moving novel nonetheless and well worth reading. This might make a good choice for Lent or Advent, now that the latter is nearly upon us.
The pace is slow, like other novels of yesteryear, but oh, Ms. Caldwell could really write. She made St. Luke human for me, and not a dusty historical figure. If you look at it with the eyes of today scrutinizing anything historical it comes up short, but everything else makes up for any inaccuracies. Luke's interviews of Biblical figures in the Christ story are fascinating: Pilate, John and James, and the Virgin Mary. The testimony of his brother, Priscus, a Roman soldier at the crucifixion, is especially poignant and had me teary-eyed.
The pace is slow, like other novels of yesteryear, but oh, Ms. Caldwell could really write. She made St. Luke human for me, and not a dusty historical figure. If you look at it with the eyes of today scrutinizing anything historical it comes up short, but everything else makes up for any inaccuracies. Luke's interviews of Biblical figures in the Christ story are fascinating: Pilate, John and James, and the Virgin Mary. The testimony of his brother, Priscus, a Roman soldier at the crucifixion, is especially poignant and had me teary-eyed.
January 7, 2023
Le daría todas las estrellas posibles, es un gran libro!
Muy interesante la vida de San Lucas.
Muy interesante la vida de San Lucas.
January 25, 2020
At least 4 stars, probably 5.
This is my first Taylor Caldwell, and I'm impressed with her detailed style. Rather than simply reading, the reader experiences the story. I marvel at the few authors who can truly pull this off, and Caldwell is one of them. The story is long (500+ pages) with enough detail to slow the reader down.
This fictionalized story of Luke took a number of probable liberties about Luke's background from a young boy to the writer of the Gospel of Luke, but always upheld the deity of Christ.
I disagree with Caldwell on several of her positions that are contrary to the Scriptures: Luke designated as an apostle of Jesus; Jesus with golden hair (and Mary) with blue eyes when the Jewish trait is dark, not Gentile; and Mary born without sin.
One item nettled me slightly before I ignored it completely was Caldwell's use of the British order of dialog punctuation where the comma is placed outside of the quotation marks when the attribution follows, like this: "The boy is too serious for his age", Aeneas once said to his wife. Maybe this was an editorial insertion even though Caldwell was a British-born American writer.
Caldwell's vocabulary was a refreshing stretch from the latest plethora. She used a lot of words I had banked but needed to think about for a moment to retrieve the meaning. And then, she used a fair number of words I'd never come across and loved having to dig out my dictionary again.
Quotes to note, particularly for Caldwell's use of description and wordsmithing:
Never had he seen so glorious a sunset before, so full of rosy light and golden lances, so brilliant and pure that the boughs of the trees the shivering fronds of the palms, the columns of the house beamed with a radiance of their own and reflected the colors of the sky. Gentleness and majesty radiated from it, as if some mighty Voice had bestowed a benediction to all the world, as if a mighty Hand had been lifted in tenderness and love. . . .His disciplined ind told him that this was only an unusually resplendent sunset; his soul told him that a Word had been spoken.
The door opened with a complaint of hinges.
A sound mind cannot exist except in a sound boy, and a sound body cannot exist without a sound mind.
Did a nation decline and decay when women won dominance and when no doors of law, business, or politics were closed to them, or did the dominance of women merely indicate that a nation was decaying?
God is never absent from the affairs of men, though we are not conscious of Him very often.
Death is not a calamity to him who dies; it is only a calamity to those he leaves behind, for death is deliverance and joy and eternal peace and bliss.
O You who have brought me from the waste spaces, and the darkness, and the barrenness, out of Your love and Your eternal mercy! O You who are compassionate beyond imagining, You who have haunted my life to bring me to You! O You who know the sufferings of men, because You have suffered them! Oh, hallowed are You in my soul, and I implore that You will accept my life that I may serve You! Always have I loved You, even when I contended with You out of my lack of understanding! Be merciful to me, a sinner, a man without importance! Hear my voice that calls to You.
Poor creature! He remembered that God had blessed the animals of the earth long before He had created man.
Once, I was without hope. The world was utterly corrupt, and without God. I lived in bitterness and despair. But, . . . a Revelation has been given to man by God, and never will the world be the same again. Hope and joy have been bestowed upon it; a new age has arisen, full of portent.
John's voice took on triumphant trumpet notes and jubilation.
This is my first Taylor Caldwell, and I'm impressed with her detailed style. Rather than simply reading, the reader experiences the story. I marvel at the few authors who can truly pull this off, and Caldwell is one of them. The story is long (500+ pages) with enough detail to slow the reader down.
This fictionalized story of Luke took a number of probable liberties about Luke's background from a young boy to the writer of the Gospel of Luke, but always upheld the deity of Christ.
I disagree with Caldwell on several of her positions that are contrary to the Scriptures: Luke designated as an apostle of Jesus; Jesus with golden hair (and Mary) with blue eyes when the Jewish trait is dark, not Gentile; and Mary born without sin.
One item nettled me slightly before I ignored it completely was Caldwell's use of the British order of dialog punctuation where the comma is placed outside of the quotation marks when the attribution follows, like this: "The boy is too serious for his age", Aeneas once said to his wife. Maybe this was an editorial insertion even though Caldwell was a British-born American writer.
Caldwell's vocabulary was a refreshing stretch from the latest plethora. She used a lot of words I had banked but needed to think about for a moment to retrieve the meaning. And then, she used a fair number of words I'd never come across and loved having to dig out my dictionary again.
Quotes to note, particularly for Caldwell's use of description and wordsmithing:
Never had he seen so glorious a sunset before, so full of rosy light and golden lances, so brilliant and pure that the boughs of the trees the shivering fronds of the palms, the columns of the house beamed with a radiance of their own and reflected the colors of the sky. Gentleness and majesty radiated from it, as if some mighty Voice had bestowed a benediction to all the world, as if a mighty Hand had been lifted in tenderness and love. . . .His disciplined ind told him that this was only an unusually resplendent sunset; his soul told him that a Word had been spoken.
The door opened with a complaint of hinges.
A sound mind cannot exist except in a sound boy, and a sound body cannot exist without a sound mind.
Did a nation decline and decay when women won dominance and when no doors of law, business, or politics were closed to them, or did the dominance of women merely indicate that a nation was decaying?
God is never absent from the affairs of men, though we are not conscious of Him very often.
Death is not a calamity to him who dies; it is only a calamity to those he leaves behind, for death is deliverance and joy and eternal peace and bliss.
O You who have brought me from the waste spaces, and the darkness, and the barrenness, out of Your love and Your eternal mercy! O You who are compassionate beyond imagining, You who have haunted my life to bring me to You! O You who know the sufferings of men, because You have suffered them! Oh, hallowed are You in my soul, and I implore that You will accept my life that I may serve You! Always have I loved You, even when I contended with You out of my lack of understanding! Be merciful to me, a sinner, a man without importance! Hear my voice that calls to You.
Poor creature! He remembered that God had blessed the animals of the earth long before He had created man.
Once, I was without hope. The world was utterly corrupt, and without God. I lived in bitterness and despair. But, . . . a Revelation has been given to man by God, and never will the world be the same again. Hope and joy have been bestowed upon it; a new age has arisen, full of portent.
John's voice took on triumphant trumpet notes and jubilation.
June 15, 2021
ENGLISH: 2.5 stars.
I have a problem with the first forty chapters of this novel: It is a compelling adventure story about Roman times, and I'd have liked it without any trouble if the protagonist had been named by another name, for instance, Quintus Nevius. But I cannot identify Lucanus with St. Luke. I think they are too different, from what we know about St. Luke from Paul epistles and Acts of the Apostles.
In the foreword, Taylor Caldwell states that Almost all the events and background of St. Luke’s earlier life, manhood, and seeking, also his family and the name of his adopted father, are authentic. However, she doesn't say where she got that information from. The Encyclopaedia Britannica says that Information about his life is scanty. Other sources confirm that we know nothing about his life before he appears in Acts of the Apostles and some of St. Paul's epistles.
Caldwell says that she has read about 1000 books about St. Luke and his times, but in the bibliography at the end of the novel there's a single book about St. Luke: Luke the Physician: The Author of the Third Gospel & Acts of the Apostles by Adolf von Harnack.
It looks like Caldwell has used extra-historical information, such as the book written by a nun who then lived in Antioch, containing many of the legends about St. Luke which will not be found in historical books about him nor in the Bible. But this book is not mentioned in the bibliography.
In chapter 3, when Lucanus is 10 years old, the star appears and the magi travel to worship Jesus. So Lucanus is 10 years older than Jesus. Since Christ was born around 2-6 B.C., this must have taken place around that date. In chapter 7 he is 16 (six years older), so it must be the year 1-4, but Caldwell says we are now in the reign of Tiberius. But Augustus died in the year 14, so the two dates contradict each other. Therefore, this is an anachronism.
In chapter 20, Joseph Ben Gamliel says that the star appeared 13 years earlier. Therefore, Luke is 23 years old when he finishes his studies as a doctor in Alexandria, and we are in the year 6-11, also before the reign of Tiberius begins. According to Gamliel, the adventure of the Child lost and found in the temple took place a year earlier. This is another anachronism, related to the previous one.
Incidentally, Gamliel's name recalls that of Gamaliel (or Gamliel) the Elder, who died around 52, was a teacher of the Law in Jerusalem and taught Saul of Tarsus. Caldwell's Gamliel was a teacher of the Law in Jerusalem around the year 2 B.C., and a teacher in Alexandria around the year 11. It is, therefore, an invented character, who has nothing to do with the historical Gamaliel, except for his name.
Another important historical error is the presence of Julia in Rome in chapter 29, as the Empress and wife of Tiberius. She had been exiled by her father Augustus in 2BC, and never came back to Rome. In fact, her marriage to Tiberius was annulled at the same time. And she died on the year 14 AD, just after Tiberius became Emperor.
Between chapters 12 and 20, Caldwell becomes excessively repetitive. Phrases like this: he was filled with seething anger against God, who hates mankind are repeated at least twice a chapter. I think the first three times should have sufficed: the reader doesn't need that this idea be repeated 18 times or more.
In chapter 43 Lucanus starts to write his Gospel in the same year when Christ died and resurrected and before speaking to the Apostles. This is unbelievable. Luke's Gospel was almost certainly written after Mark's Gospel, in the 50's, 20 years or more after Caldwell says. In fact the three Synoptic Gospels are supposed to have been based on Mark's, or on a previous document that has been lost, which would explain the similarities between them.
Finally Caldwell presents a fanatic John the Evangelist, perhaps to stress how Luke was so good and so tolerant, so much according to the twentieth century way of thinking. But the Luke she is presenting is of her own invention.
ESPAÑOL: Tengo un problema con los 40 primeros capítulos de esta novela: Es una historia de aventuras interesante sobre la época romana, pero me habría gustado más si el protagonista se hubiese llamado, por ejemplo, Quintus Nevius, porque no puedo identificar a Lucano con San Lucas. Creo que son demasiado distintos, por lo que sabemos sobre San Lucas de las epístolas de Pablo y los Hechos de los Apóstoles.
En el prólogo, Taylor Caldwell afirma que Casi todos los sucesos y antecedentes de la niñez, adolescencia y búsqueda de San Lucas, incluidas su familia y el nombre de su padre adoptivo, son auténticos. Sin embargo, no dice de dónde sacó esa información. La Enciclopedia Británica dice que la información sobre su vida es escasa. Otras fuentes confirman que no sabemos nada sobre San Lucas antes de que aparezca en los Hechos de los Apóstoles y en algunas de las epístolas de San Pablo.
Caldwell dice que ha leído unos 1000 libros sobre San Lucas y su época, pero en la bibliografía al final de la novela hay un solo libro sobre San Lucas: "Lucas el médico", por [autor:Adolf von Harnack|13771439].
Parece que Caldwell ha utilizado información extrahistórica, como el libro escrito por una monja que vivió en Antioquía, que contiene muchas leyendas sobre San Lucas que no se encontrarán en libros históricos ni en la Biblia. Pero este libro no aparece en la bibliografía.
En el capítulo 3, cuando Lucanus tiene 10 años, aparece la estrella y los magos viajan para adorar a Jesús. Por lo tanto, Lucano es 10 años mayor que Jesús. Puesto que Cristo nació hacia el año 2-6 A.C., esto debió ocurrir en esa fecha. En el capítulo 7 tiene 16 años (seis años más), así que tiene que ser el año 1-4, pero Caldwell dice que ya estamos en el reinado de Tiberio. Pero Augusto murió el año 14, por lo que ambas fechas se contradicen. Por lo tanto, esto es un anacronismo.
En el capítulo 20, Joseph Ben Gamliel dice que la estrella apareció 13 años antes. Por lo tanto, Lucas tiene 23 años cuando termina sus estudios como médico en Alejandría, y estamos en el año 6-11, también antes de que empiece el reinado de Tiberio. Según Gamliel, la aventura del Niño perdido y hallado en el templo tuvo lugar un año antes. Se trata de otro anacronismo, relacionado con el anterior.
Por cierto, el nombre de Gamliel recuerda al de Gamaliel el Viejo, que murió hacia el año 52, fue maestro de la Ley en Jerusalén y profesor de Saulo de Tarso. Gamliel habría sido maestro de la ley en Jerusalén hacia el año 2 A.C., y profesor en Alejandría hacia el año 11. Se trata, por lo tanto, de un personaje inventado, que no tiene nada que ver con el Gamaliel histórico, excepto por el nombre.
Otro error histórico importante es la presencia de Julia en Roma en el capítulo 29, como emperatriz y esposa de Tiberio. Exiliada por su padre Augusto en el año 2 a.C., Julia nunca regresó a Roma. De hecho, su matrimonio con Tiberio fue anulado entonces. Y murió en el año 14, justo después de que Tiberio llegara a ser emperador.
Entre los capítulos 12 y 20, Caldwell se repite excesivamente. Frases como esta: se llenó de ira hirviente contra Dios, que odia a la humanidad se repiten al menos dos veces por capítulo. Creo que las tres primeras veces deberían haber sido suficientes: el lector no necesita que le repitan esta idea 18 veces o más.
En el capítulo 43, Lucano comienza a escribir su Evangelio en el mismo año en que Cristo murió y resucitó y antes de hablar con los Apóstoles. Pero es casi seguro que el Evangelio de Lucas se escribió después del Evangelio de Marcos, en los años 50, 20 años o más después de que dice Caldwell. De hecho, se supone que los tres evangelios sinópticos se basaron en el de Marcos o en un documento anterior que se ha perdido, lo que explicaría las similitudes entre ellos.
Finalmente, Caldwell presenta a un Juan el evangelista fanático, quizá para enfatizar que Lucas eran mucho más bueno y tolerante, más acorde con la forma de pensar del siglo XX. Pero el Lucas que presenta es de su propia invención.
I have a problem with the first forty chapters of this novel: It is a compelling adventure story about Roman times, and I'd have liked it without any trouble if the protagonist had been named by another name, for instance, Quintus Nevius. But I cannot identify Lucanus with St. Luke. I think they are too different, from what we know about St. Luke from Paul epistles and Acts of the Apostles.
In the foreword, Taylor Caldwell states that Almost all the events and background of St. Luke’s earlier life, manhood, and seeking, also his family and the name of his adopted father, are authentic. However, she doesn't say where she got that information from. The Encyclopaedia Britannica says that Information about his life is scanty. Other sources confirm that we know nothing about his life before he appears in Acts of the Apostles and some of St. Paul's epistles.
Caldwell says that she has read about 1000 books about St. Luke and his times, but in the bibliography at the end of the novel there's a single book about St. Luke: Luke the Physician: The Author of the Third Gospel & Acts of the Apostles by Adolf von Harnack.
It looks like Caldwell has used extra-historical information, such as the book written by a nun who then lived in Antioch, containing many of the legends about St. Luke which will not be found in historical books about him nor in the Bible. But this book is not mentioned in the bibliography.
In chapter 3, when Lucanus is 10 years old, the star appears and the magi travel to worship Jesus. So Lucanus is 10 years older than Jesus. Since Christ was born around 2-6 B.C., this must have taken place around that date. In chapter 7 he is 16 (six years older), so it must be the year 1-4, but Caldwell says we are now in the reign of Tiberius. But Augustus died in the year 14, so the two dates contradict each other. Therefore, this is an anachronism.
In chapter 20, Joseph Ben Gamliel says that the star appeared 13 years earlier. Therefore, Luke is 23 years old when he finishes his studies as a doctor in Alexandria, and we are in the year 6-11, also before the reign of Tiberius begins. According to Gamliel, the adventure of the Child lost and found in the temple took place a year earlier. This is another anachronism, related to the previous one.
Incidentally, Gamliel's name recalls that of Gamaliel (or Gamliel) the Elder, who died around 52, was a teacher of the Law in Jerusalem and taught Saul of Tarsus. Caldwell's Gamliel was a teacher of the Law in Jerusalem around the year 2 B.C., and a teacher in Alexandria around the year 11. It is, therefore, an invented character, who has nothing to do with the historical Gamaliel, except for his name.
Another important historical error is the presence of Julia in Rome in chapter 29, as the Empress and wife of Tiberius. She had been exiled by her father Augustus in 2BC, and never came back to Rome. In fact, her marriage to Tiberius was annulled at the same time. And she died on the year 14 AD, just after Tiberius became Emperor.
Between chapters 12 and 20, Caldwell becomes excessively repetitive. Phrases like this: he was filled with seething anger against God, who hates mankind are repeated at least twice a chapter. I think the first three times should have sufficed: the reader doesn't need that this idea be repeated 18 times or more.
In chapter 43 Lucanus starts to write his Gospel in the same year when Christ died and resurrected and before speaking to the Apostles. This is unbelievable. Luke's Gospel was almost certainly written after Mark's Gospel, in the 50's, 20 years or more after Caldwell says. In fact the three Synoptic Gospels are supposed to have been based on Mark's, or on a previous document that has been lost, which would explain the similarities between them.
Finally Caldwell presents a fanatic John the Evangelist, perhaps to stress how Luke was so good and so tolerant, so much according to the twentieth century way of thinking. But the Luke she is presenting is of her own invention.
ESPAÑOL: Tengo un problema con los 40 primeros capítulos de esta novela: Es una historia de aventuras interesante sobre la época romana, pero me habría gustado más si el protagonista se hubiese llamado, por ejemplo, Quintus Nevius, porque no puedo identificar a Lucano con San Lucas. Creo que son demasiado distintos, por lo que sabemos sobre San Lucas de las epístolas de Pablo y los Hechos de los Apóstoles.
En el prólogo, Taylor Caldwell afirma que Casi todos los sucesos y antecedentes de la niñez, adolescencia y búsqueda de San Lucas, incluidas su familia y el nombre de su padre adoptivo, son auténticos. Sin embargo, no dice de dónde sacó esa información. La Enciclopedia Británica dice que la información sobre su vida es escasa. Otras fuentes confirman que no sabemos nada sobre San Lucas antes de que aparezca en los Hechos de los Apóstoles y en algunas de las epístolas de San Pablo.
Caldwell dice que ha leído unos 1000 libros sobre San Lucas y su época, pero en la bibliografía al final de la novela hay un solo libro sobre San Lucas: "Lucas el médico", por [autor:Adolf von Harnack|13771439].
Parece que Caldwell ha utilizado información extrahistórica, como el libro escrito por una monja que vivió en Antioquía, que contiene muchas leyendas sobre San Lucas que no se encontrarán en libros históricos ni en la Biblia. Pero este libro no aparece en la bibliografía.
En el capítulo 3, cuando Lucanus tiene 10 años, aparece la estrella y los magos viajan para adorar a Jesús. Por lo tanto, Lucano es 10 años mayor que Jesús. Puesto que Cristo nació hacia el año 2-6 A.C., esto debió ocurrir en esa fecha. En el capítulo 7 tiene 16 años (seis años más), así que tiene que ser el año 1-4, pero Caldwell dice que ya estamos en el reinado de Tiberio. Pero Augusto murió el año 14, por lo que ambas fechas se contradicen. Por lo tanto, esto es un anacronismo.
En el capítulo 20, Joseph Ben Gamliel dice que la estrella apareció 13 años antes. Por lo tanto, Lucas tiene 23 años cuando termina sus estudios como médico en Alejandría, y estamos en el año 6-11, también antes de que empiece el reinado de Tiberio. Según Gamliel, la aventura del Niño perdido y hallado en el templo tuvo lugar un año antes. Se trata de otro anacronismo, relacionado con el anterior.
Por cierto, el nombre de Gamliel recuerda al de Gamaliel el Viejo, que murió hacia el año 52, fue maestro de la Ley en Jerusalén y profesor de Saulo de Tarso. Gamliel habría sido maestro de la ley en Jerusalén hacia el año 2 A.C., y profesor en Alejandría hacia el año 11. Se trata, por lo tanto, de un personaje inventado, que no tiene nada que ver con el Gamaliel histórico, excepto por el nombre.
Otro error histórico importante es la presencia de Julia en Roma en el capítulo 29, como emperatriz y esposa de Tiberio. Exiliada por su padre Augusto en el año 2 a.C., Julia nunca regresó a Roma. De hecho, su matrimonio con Tiberio fue anulado entonces. Y murió en el año 14, justo después de que Tiberio llegara a ser emperador.
Entre los capítulos 12 y 20, Caldwell se repite excesivamente. Frases como esta: se llenó de ira hirviente contra Dios, que odia a la humanidad se repiten al menos dos veces por capítulo. Creo que las tres primeras veces deberían haber sido suficientes: el lector no necesita que le repitan esta idea 18 veces o más.
En el capítulo 43, Lucano comienza a escribir su Evangelio en el mismo año en que Cristo murió y resucitó y antes de hablar con los Apóstoles. Pero es casi seguro que el Evangelio de Lucas se escribió después del Evangelio de Marcos, en los años 50, 20 años o más después de que dice Caldwell. De hecho, se supone que los tres evangelios sinópticos se basaron en el de Marcos o en un documento anterior que se ha perdido, lo que explicaría las similitudes entre ellos.
Finalmente, Caldwell presenta a un Juan el evangelista fanático, quizá para enfatizar que Lucas eran mucho más bueno y tolerante, más acorde con la forma de pensar del siglo XX. Pero el Lucas que presenta es de su propia invención.
July 25, 2020
This was a strange book. It's the fictionalized account of Luke the Physician, the writer of the biblical gospel of Luke. I expected to be enriched by the fleshing out of the main character's life but, although there were moments of brilliance and moments of entertainment, I was not enriched. The book had a hard, bitter edge to it.
I must hasten to explain that Taylor Caldwell is a very capable and literary writer. She descriptively contrasted the Roman, Jewish, and Greek cultures in colorful language which reflected a depth of historical insight. I surmise that Taylor must be a wine aficionado, because there were a disproportionate number of descriptions in that category.
Most of her characters were well developed and exhibited viewpoints that illustrated the various political, religious, and cultural elements of the times.
So what's not to like?
Luke the physician, for one. He was portrayed as being utterly unlikable--- a nearly God-like, perfect Greek whose soul was entirely moth eaten by bitterness.
In spite of his bitterness, the author would have us believe he had an almost super-human compassion for the down and out of the world. It seems improbable to me that a man so thoroughly embittered could at the same time exude such compassion. Also, I thought it odd that Luke wrought miraculous healings when he was estranged from God. Why did he even need God if he could achieve miracles without Him?
I took issue also with her portrayal of James and John, Jesus' disciples. She created them utterly unlikable, in spite of the fact that Luke met them after Pentecost, at which time the Holy Spirit transformed the "Sons of Thunder" into apostles of love.
Mary was portrayed as having skin that supernaturally glowed. Ugh.
Sorry, this book left a bad taste in my mouth, in spite of the author's talent.
There's an interesting interview with Taylor Caldwell here:
http://georgefsmith.blogspot.com/2009...
I think this interview clears up my puzzlement over the incongruous spiritual underpinnings of the book. Here are a few of the curious views held by the author:
CALDWELL: I’m a Catholic-atheist, because the tragedies in life have overwhelmed me.
WYB: What’s a Catholic-atheist?
CALDWELL: It really means that, as the ancient Romans said, all roads lead to Rome. No matter what name you give to the spirit that rules law and order in the universe, it’s the same thing. But it’s forever shut out from man. It’s just the manifestations that we see. There’s really no such thing as an atheist.
CALDWELL: . . .you’ve got to look at life clearly. No rose-colored glasses. The human race is not very admirable. It was a big mistake of God’s . . . The more I see of people, the more bitter I become. [SNIP]
Well, I don’t like women. I never did. That’s why I don’t belong to women’s lib. Most of my relatives were male. Women are the inferior sex. There’s no doubt about it -- women are the inferior sex, in every way. There’s never been any woman genius -- never.
Not all women are mommies. I have two children of my own, but I was never a mommy. I said I don’t like children, I never wanted any children, they’re a waste of time. And they become your mortal enemies.
After reading this interview, I understood how it was the author created an unlikable, bitter protagonist. I won't be seeking out any other of Caldwell Taylor books after reading this one.
I must hasten to explain that Taylor Caldwell is a very capable and literary writer. She descriptively contrasted the Roman, Jewish, and Greek cultures in colorful language which reflected a depth of historical insight. I surmise that Taylor must be a wine aficionado, because there were a disproportionate number of descriptions in that category.
Most of her characters were well developed and exhibited viewpoints that illustrated the various political, religious, and cultural elements of the times.
So what's not to like?
Luke the physician, for one. He was portrayed as being utterly unlikable--- a nearly God-like, perfect Greek whose soul was entirely moth eaten by bitterness.
In spite of his bitterness, the author would have us believe he had an almost super-human compassion for the down and out of the world. It seems improbable to me that a man so thoroughly embittered could at the same time exude such compassion. Also, I thought it odd that Luke wrought miraculous healings when he was estranged from God. Why did he even need God if he could achieve miracles without Him?
I took issue also with her portrayal of James and John, Jesus' disciples. She created them utterly unlikable, in spite of the fact that Luke met them after Pentecost, at which time the Holy Spirit transformed the "Sons of Thunder" into apostles of love.
Mary was portrayed as having skin that supernaturally glowed. Ugh.
Sorry, this book left a bad taste in my mouth, in spite of the author's talent.
There's an interesting interview with Taylor Caldwell here:
http://georgefsmith.blogspot.com/2009...
I think this interview clears up my puzzlement over the incongruous spiritual underpinnings of the book. Here are a few of the curious views held by the author:
CALDWELL: I’m a Catholic-atheist, because the tragedies in life have overwhelmed me.
WYB: What’s a Catholic-atheist?
CALDWELL: It really means that, as the ancient Romans said, all roads lead to Rome. No matter what name you give to the spirit that rules law and order in the universe, it’s the same thing. But it’s forever shut out from man. It’s just the manifestations that we see. There’s really no such thing as an atheist.
CALDWELL: . . .you’ve got to look at life clearly. No rose-colored glasses. The human race is not very admirable. It was a big mistake of God’s . . . The more I see of people, the more bitter I become. [SNIP]
Well, I don’t like women. I never did. That’s why I don’t belong to women’s lib. Most of my relatives were male. Women are the inferior sex. There’s no doubt about it -- women are the inferior sex, in every way. There’s never been any woman genius -- never.
Not all women are mommies. I have two children of my own, but I was never a mommy. I said I don’t like children, I never wanted any children, they’re a waste of time. And they become your mortal enemies.
After reading this interview, I understood how it was the author created an unlikable, bitter protagonist. I won't be seeking out any other of Caldwell Taylor books after reading this one.
March 29, 2011
Taylor Caldwell is an author I have been aware of for a good long while but have never read. Thanks to a recommendation by BYU football coach, Bronco Mendenhall by way of his mother, I chose to break that particular drought in my literary experience by reading this story about Luke of New Testament fame. My future reading of the twenty-four chapters of St. Luke will never be the same again.
Three quarters of this book deals with Luke aka Lucanus’s conversion. The remaining quarter of the novel focuses on Luke’s writing of his contribution to the New Testament through interviews with factual (think James, John and Mary, His mother) as well as fictional first hand witnesses to the life and death of Jesus Christ. My wish regarding this story would be that the author would have devoted a bit more time to Luke’s interaction with Christ’s contemporaries (like Peter ).
This creation gives you a great deal of detailed information about the Roman empire and it’s influence on the world at that time. Lucanus grows up in the home of his stepfather, the Roman governor of Antioch. He studies medicine in Alexandria and becomes one of the most noted physicians of the ancient world. My natural affinity for all things historic was richly satisfied by the adept writing of this author.
As you follow Lucanus through his life you feel you come to know who this man was and he becomes an endearing acquaintance as a result. A very rich and satisfying read.
Three quarters of this book deals with Luke aka Lucanus’s conversion. The remaining quarter of the novel focuses on Luke’s writing of his contribution to the New Testament through interviews with factual (think James, John and Mary, His mother) as well as fictional first hand witnesses to the life and death of Jesus Christ. My wish regarding this story would be that the author would have devoted a bit more time to Luke’s interaction with Christ’s contemporaries (like Peter ).
This creation gives you a great deal of detailed information about the Roman empire and it’s influence on the world at that time. Lucanus grows up in the home of his stepfather, the Roman governor of Antioch. He studies medicine in Alexandria and becomes one of the most noted physicians of the ancient world. My natural affinity for all things historic was richly satisfied by the adept writing of this author.
As you follow Lucanus through his life you feel you come to know who this man was and he becomes an endearing acquaintance as a result. A very rich and satisfying read.
May 13, 2024
This was bad. Really bad. I felt like the book was very poorly researched, which destroyed my suspension of disbelief. References to scientific knowledge of the time were very anachronistic. Blood pressure is mentioned quite often, but in fact blood pressure was not discovered until the recent centuries. Lucanus’ tutor describes a proof by contradiction, a mathematical tool which simply did not exist at the time. Lucanus attributes the plague to flea bites, which although correct would not have been known at the time.
But cultural and religious references are also riddled with flaws that really distract from the story. At one particularly egregious moment, a character draws the ichthus and asks Lucanus, “In Greek what is that, if arranged in an anagram?” Without hesitation, Lucanus responds that it makes “Christus”. WHAT? What was the the author doing here? One, the word ichthus an acronym, not an anagram. Two, even if it was an anagram, the word Christus is a Latin word, while Christos is the Greek. And three, having had minimal contact with actual Christians, does Lucanus even know what Christus means? I don’t even care to talk about the Babylonians and their supposed secret knowledge and monotheistic religion and prophecies about the Messiah. Each additional error made me more skeptical about the overall plot.
Most importantly, the story itself was not particularly coherent. Despite his Greek upbringing, the child Lucanus is highly faithful and drawn to the Jewish God. But as he loses loved ones and encounters evil in the world, he accuses the God of maliciously inflicting sickness and death on the human race. He makes it his life’s mission to heal those who have no one to care for them, thereby stealing these victims from God. Yet at some indeterminate point he does a complete 180 and says that humanity is evil and that every punishment from God is fully deserved, and he falls into a depression for the whole middle part of the book. But does that change anything for him practically? Nope, he continues to heal the poor as if he still believes it makes a difference. In actuality, this mindset shift is simply a plot device, setting up Lucanus for his come-to-Jesus moment, which allows him to recognize in Christ a God who takes on human suffering. He then interviews people and writes the Gospel because he feels like it. Honestly, the way I just described it makes a lot more sense than how it is presented in the book. This is just a mess, which starts compellingly enough but just falls apart by the end.
But cultural and religious references are also riddled with flaws that really distract from the story. At one particularly egregious moment, a character draws the ichthus and asks Lucanus, “In Greek what is that, if arranged in an anagram?” Without hesitation, Lucanus responds that it makes “Christus”. WHAT? What was the the author doing here? One, the word ichthus an acronym, not an anagram. Two, even if it was an anagram, the word Christus is a Latin word, while Christos is the Greek. And three, having had minimal contact with actual Christians, does Lucanus even know what Christus means? I don’t even care to talk about the Babylonians and their supposed secret knowledge and monotheistic religion and prophecies about the Messiah. Each additional error made me more skeptical about the overall plot.
Most importantly, the story itself was not particularly coherent. Despite his Greek upbringing, the child Lucanus is highly faithful and drawn to the Jewish God. But as he loses loved ones and encounters evil in the world, he accuses the God of maliciously inflicting sickness and death on the human race. He makes it his life’s mission to heal those who have no one to care for them, thereby stealing these victims from God. Yet at some indeterminate point he does a complete 180 and says that humanity is evil and that every punishment from God is fully deserved, and he falls into a depression for the whole middle part of the book. But does that change anything for him practically? Nope, he continues to heal the poor as if he still believes it makes a difference. In actuality, this mindset shift is simply a plot device, setting up Lucanus for his come-to-Jesus moment, which allows him to recognize in Christ a God who takes on human suffering. He then interviews people and writes the Gospel because he feels like it. Honestly, the way I just described it makes a lot more sense than how it is presented in the book. This is just a mess, which starts compellingly enough but just falls apart by the end.
July 14, 2020
Calificación real: 5 de 5
Novela que cuenta de manera biográfica la vida del quinto escritor de los evangelios bíblicos San Lucas (Lucano) que fue de ascendencia griega y aparte de escribir sobre la vida de Jesucristo sin haberlo conocido personalmente también fue medico de aquella época.
Su autora se centra en la vida de Lucano desde su niñez marcada por la tragedia personal y familiar, su primer encuentro con la religión judía que un día le llevaran a convertirse en lo que fue mientras antes lucha con dudas en su corazón e intenta ayudar a los demás a través de sus conocimientos médicos.
Simplemente maravillosa si les gusta el genero de ficción histórica religiosa y tienen curiosidad por saber mas de San Lucas.
Novela que cuenta de manera biográfica la vida del quinto escritor de los evangelios bíblicos San Lucas (Lucano) que fue de ascendencia griega y aparte de escribir sobre la vida de Jesucristo sin haberlo conocido personalmente también fue medico de aquella época.
Su autora se centra en la vida de Lucano desde su niñez marcada por la tragedia personal y familiar, su primer encuentro con la religión judía que un día le llevaran a convertirse en lo que fue mientras antes lucha con dudas en su corazón e intenta ayudar a los demás a través de sus conocimientos médicos.
Simplemente maravillosa si les gusta el genero de ficción histórica religiosa y tienen curiosidad por saber mas de San Lucas.
January 9, 2010
Unabridged audio.
The novelized life of Luke the writer of the third Gospel of the New Testament. While it's readable and a lasting story I'd remind all that it's a novel. So, enjoy (I suppose ) but get your theology from the book the main character transcribed a couple of thousand years ago.
The novelized life of Luke the writer of the third Gospel of the New Testament. While it's readable and a lasting story I'd remind all that it's a novel. So, enjoy (I suppose ) but get your theology from the book the main character transcribed a couple of thousand years ago.
December 23, 2022
Médico de almas y cuerpos es una fascinante novela de ficción histórica que trata sobre la vida de Lucano, mejor conocido como Lucas, el evangelista.
El libro impacta y emociona, no solo por su elocuente y ágil narrativa, al trasladarnos a la época del Imperio Romano, gobernado por Tiberio, y a la Jerusalén de los tiempos de Herodes y Poncio Pilato, sino también por ser un relato que nos permite ver, a través de los ojos de Lucano, la bondad, y la misericordia inherente en cada ser humano, pero también del egoísmo, la depravación, los vicios y la brutalidad que en él brotan.
Por medio de su camino de aprendizaje, desamor y tormento, conocemos a un Lucano que decide estudiar medicina para luchar contra Dios, por haberle arrebatado a un ser amado, para llegar más tarde a la comprensión de que la sanación que ejerce en las personas no es por la ciencia que ha estudiado, sino por un don que Dios le ha otorgado.
Un libro que, sin importar el credo que el lector profese, no deja indiferente a nadie pues, a decir de la autora, la historia de Lucano es la historia de la peregrinación de todos los hombres que, a través de la desesperación y de la vida en tinieblas, el sufrimiento y la angustia, la amargura y la pena, la duda y la desesperación, han llegado a la comprensión de Dios. Aunque no sea consciente de ello, la búsqueda de Dios es lo que da sentido a la vida del hombre, pues sin ella, su vida carece de todo significado.
4.5 ⭐
El libro impacta y emociona, no solo por su elocuente y ágil narrativa, al trasladarnos a la época del Imperio Romano, gobernado por Tiberio, y a la Jerusalén de los tiempos de Herodes y Poncio Pilato, sino también por ser un relato que nos permite ver, a través de los ojos de Lucano, la bondad, y la misericordia inherente en cada ser humano, pero también del egoísmo, la depravación, los vicios y la brutalidad que en él brotan.
Por medio de su camino de aprendizaje, desamor y tormento, conocemos a un Lucano que decide estudiar medicina para luchar contra Dios, por haberle arrebatado a un ser amado, para llegar más tarde a la comprensión de que la sanación que ejerce en las personas no es por la ciencia que ha estudiado, sino por un don que Dios le ha otorgado.
Un libro que, sin importar el credo que el lector profese, no deja indiferente a nadie pues, a decir de la autora, la historia de Lucano es la historia de la peregrinación de todos los hombres que, a través de la desesperación y de la vida en tinieblas, el sufrimiento y la angustia, la amargura y la pena, la duda y la desesperación, han llegado a la comprensión de Dios. Aunque no sea consciente de ello, la búsqueda de Dios es lo que da sentido a la vida del hombre, pues sin ella, su vida carece de todo significado.
4.5 ⭐
March 3, 2021
Vale a pena a leitura. A jornada de São Lucas é interessante, gostei da evolução do personagem e de como descreveram homens 'santos' como pessoas com defeitos. Entretanto, o livro é arrastado em algumas partes e algumas mudanças de pensamentos dos personagens parecem muito rápidas. Além disso, o livro carrega alguns preconceitos da época (que me incomodaram um pouco).
November 17, 2024
This book falls between 4 and 5. It’s almost up there with the best but not quite. It’s almost as good as The Robe but not quite. The first 3/4 of the book was incredible. And really the last part was interesting but it just moved a lot slower it seemed or something. Anyway. It was an incredible depiction of Luke’s life. Wonder how much of it could be true… it’s a long book. I listened to it and it took me a long time to get through it ( my dates are inaccurate) but I definitely would recommend it to anyone wanting to read about the time when Jesus walked on earth.
February 29, 2012
Can you be mad at someone who is dead? Well, I suppose so. I am mad at Taylor Caldwell because it took me so long to read this book. It was the #7 bestseller of 1959. I have read a fair share of what I call "Jesus books" in My Big Fat Reading Project so far. The tone in these books is usually a similar one of wonder and faith but after a while you see that it is all conjecture because no one writing these books was there. The Gospels in the Bible are I guess the closest thing to a true account.
Anyway, Jesus is just alright with me. I was raised to believe that he loved me; helpful to a child when she feels no one else does. Some of the teachings of Jesus still inform the way I treat others when I am acting in a manner that makes me respect myself: loving my friends, family, and enemies; practicing forgiveness; standing up in opposition to war; etc. But I am pretty much over the historical novels about him.
Dear and Glorious Physician is the story of how Lucanus, son of freed Greek slaves, became Saint Luke. Caldwell worked on the book for decades. Her descriptions of ancient Greece, Rome, Alexandria, and the Holy Land are nicely done, but much too frequent. While reading this novel, I learned to skim.
I also admired the passages showing Luke's healing powers. Though he is pictured as a man with an almost mystical ability to heal the sick, he could not heal his own broken heart and bitterness toward God after the death of the first woman he loved. It took the message of Jesus to do that.
Another interesting historical aspect was the way Caldwell traced the many predictions concerning Jesus the Messiah, showing that philosophers and mystics of all stripes were aware of these prophecies.
Overall it was a mixed reading experience. Some parts gripped me and sped by. Others were tedious and felt endless.
I came across a great interview with Taylor Caldwell when she was in her seventies and still writing bestsellers. (I have five more to go in the next decade of the reading plan.) She was wonderfully crotchety and inconsistent--I heard the voice I sometimes hear in her books. She took her work seriously and admitted that it was grueling hard work. She made a lot of money from it and was never financially dependent on a man though she was married many times. What a woman!
August 21, 2008
I loved this book! We know so little about Luke and I realize that this is fiction but Ms. Caldwell is almost more historian than fiction writer in many ways. Her grasp on Rome and the what lead to its fall is powerful. I had read this initially as a library copy but I had order my own because there was so many great quotes to mark...The following quote is my favorite...
"You misunderstand me, Priscus. I know that it was inevitable that Rome become what she is. Republics decay into democracies, and democracies degenerate into dictatorships. That fact is immutable. Where there is equality - and democracies always bring equality - the people become faceless, they lose power and initiative, they lose pride and independence, they lose their splendor. Republics are masculine, aon so they beget the sciences and the arts; they are prideful, heroic and virile. They emphasize God, and glorify Him. But Rome has decayed into a confused democracy, and has acquired feminine traits, such as materialism, greed, the lust for power, and expediency. Masculinity in nations and men is demonstrated by law,
idealism, justice and poesy, femininity by materialism, dependency on others, gross emotionalism, and absence of genius. Masculinity seeks what is right; femininity seeks what is immediately satisfying. Masculinity is vision; femininity ridicules vision. A masculine nation produces philosophers, and has a respect for the individual; a
feminine nation has an insensate desire to control and dominate. Masculinity is aristocratic; femininity has no aristocracy, and is happy only if it finds about it a multitude of faces resembling it exactly, and a multitude of voices echoing its own tiny sentiments and desires and fears and follies. Rome has become feminine, Priscus. And feminine nations and feminine men inevitably die or are destroyed
by a masculine people."
"You misunderstand me, Priscus. I know that it was inevitable that Rome become what she is. Republics decay into democracies, and democracies degenerate into dictatorships. That fact is immutable. Where there is equality - and democracies always bring equality - the people become faceless, they lose power and initiative, they lose pride and independence, they lose their splendor. Republics are masculine, aon so they beget the sciences and the arts; they are prideful, heroic and virile. They emphasize God, and glorify Him. But Rome has decayed into a confused democracy, and has acquired feminine traits, such as materialism, greed, the lust for power, and expediency. Masculinity in nations and men is demonstrated by law,
idealism, justice and poesy, femininity by materialism, dependency on others, gross emotionalism, and absence of genius. Masculinity seeks what is right; femininity seeks what is immediately satisfying. Masculinity is vision; femininity ridicules vision. A masculine nation produces philosophers, and has a respect for the individual; a
feminine nation has an insensate desire to control and dominate. Masculinity is aristocratic; femininity has no aristocracy, and is happy only if it finds about it a multitude of faces resembling it exactly, and a multitude of voices echoing its own tiny sentiments and desires and fears and follies. Rome has become feminine, Priscus. And feminine nations and feminine men inevitably die or are destroyed
by a masculine people."
January 23, 2022
Excelente libro sobre la vida de Lucano, mejor conocido como San Lucas y un gran médico. Una exhausta investigación y devoción por la vida de este evangelista transformada en una gran historia novelada. Que te lleva a conocer a Alejandría, Roma, Jerusalén de hace más de 2000 años ; y de forma paralela conocer la vida de San Lucas y su forma de conocer y amar a Jesús... Su conversión al cristianismo. Es una lectura que te llega al alma ❤️ Los pasajes y paisajes tan bien descritos... Son fotografías que te trasportan a la época de Jesucristo.
Hay muchísimas frases que me llegaron, solo por mencionar unas pocas:
"Sin duda Dios escoge a sus siervos al nacer, o quizás incluso antes de nacer".
"" He sido purificado. He sido salvado. Todo lo malo, o malicioso, o dudas que en mí existían han sido destruidas. He sido bañado en las aguas de la vida. Desde este momento en adelante soy un nuevo ser. ¡Bendito sea el nombre del Señor!"
"Es en los momentos críticos, cuando el hombre demuestra lo que es. Por lo tanto, cuando la crisis te afecte recuerda que Dios, como un entrenador de luchadores, te ha enfrentado con un rudo y valeroso antagonista. ¿A qué fin?, te preguntarás. A fin de que puedas salir victorioso en los grandes juegos".
"... si un hombre carece de Dios no tiene nada, y si tiene a Dios entonces tiene a todo lo demás en su corazón".
"Desea que tú te acerque más a Él, que descanses en su corazón y que seas uno con Él. Escucha, te aseguro que Él te ama y está siempre contigo".
Hay muchísimas frases que me llegaron, solo por mencionar unas pocas:
"Sin duda Dios escoge a sus siervos al nacer, o quizás incluso antes de nacer".
"" He sido purificado. He sido salvado. Todo lo malo, o malicioso, o dudas que en mí existían han sido destruidas. He sido bañado en las aguas de la vida. Desde este momento en adelante soy un nuevo ser. ¡Bendito sea el nombre del Señor!"
"Es en los momentos críticos, cuando el hombre demuestra lo que es. Por lo tanto, cuando la crisis te afecte recuerda que Dios, como un entrenador de luchadores, te ha enfrentado con un rudo y valeroso antagonista. ¿A qué fin?, te preguntarás. A fin de que puedas salir victorioso en los grandes juegos".
"... si un hombre carece de Dios no tiene nada, y si tiene a Dios entonces tiene a todo lo demás en su corazón".
"Desea que tú te acerque más a Él, que descanses en su corazón y que seas uno con Él. Escucha, te aseguro que Él te ama y está siempre contigo".
July 7, 2021
I enjoyed this as a novel set in Roman times, about the physician Lucanus who travels the world healing the sick among the poor and the slaves. In the course of his travels, he hears more and more about Jesus and, despite his anger toward God, something compels him to learn more about him.
On the other hand, I don’t think this is a historical portrayal of Luke the Evangelist, despite what the author states in the introduction. He and many characters, both pagan and Jewish, know from afar that “God has become man” on the same day of the birth of Jesus; they have an understanding of the Jewish prophesies and of Christian theology that was not developed till after the resurrection-or indeed after the Nicene Council. In addition, Lucanus is perfect in every way, beautiful as Apollo, the best physician, excelling in ten different sports and beating Roman gymnasts and soldiers at them, the best mathematician, and a wonderful painter of portraits. There is a tradition of old icons being painted by St. Luke, so I understand why the author included this last talent, but put together with all of his other accomplishments, it rings unbelievable.
Finally, St. John and St. James are presented, after the resurrection, as “without any hint of charity”, despising the gentiles and completely unwilling to preach to them. One only has to read the Gospel of John and his letters to question this. Why did Taylor Caldwell choose to portray them this way?
On the other hand, I don’t think this is a historical portrayal of Luke the Evangelist, despite what the author states in the introduction. He and many characters, both pagan and Jewish, know from afar that “God has become man” on the same day of the birth of Jesus; they have an understanding of the Jewish prophesies and of Christian theology that was not developed till after the resurrection-or indeed after the Nicene Council. In addition, Lucanus is perfect in every way, beautiful as Apollo, the best physician, excelling in ten different sports and beating Roman gymnasts and soldiers at them, the best mathematician, and a wonderful painter of portraits. There is a tradition of old icons being painted by St. Luke, so I understand why the author included this last talent, but put together with all of his other accomplishments, it rings unbelievable.
Finally, St. John and St. James are presented, after the resurrection, as “without any hint of charity”, despising the gentiles and completely unwilling to preach to them. One only has to read the Gospel of John and his letters to question this. Why did Taylor Caldwell choose to portray them this way?
May 3, 2012
My mother suggested I read this book about 30 years ago. I really don't like writers who take 30 words to say what 4 words will do, and Taylor Caldwell does just that. I however, fell in love with this wonderful book.
It is a fictional account of the life of Luke, of the four gospel fame. It starts with his early childhood and goes thru his life. She weaves a beautiful story of a young man who realized that he would find his happiness in life by serving others. It goes thru his life until after he gathers information about Christ after his death. Luke writes one of the most loving, caring accounts of the Savior's life, gathered by interviewing those who interacted with him. Her story helps you to know Luke and his genuine, caring, interest in humankind.
I would recommend this book to everyone.
It is a fictional account of the life of Luke, of the four gospel fame. It starts with his early childhood and goes thru his life. She weaves a beautiful story of a young man who realized that he would find his happiness in life by serving others. It goes thru his life until after he gathers information about Christ after his death. Luke writes one of the most loving, caring accounts of the Savior's life, gathered by interviewing those who interacted with him. Her story helps you to know Luke and his genuine, caring, interest in humankind.
I would recommend this book to everyone.
August 6, 2009
This book was a wonderful look at a man that not much is known about. It was quite obvious that Ms. Caldwell researched her subject well. This is the story of Luke, or Lucanus from the New Testament. In the story, Luke despises a God who would allow his children to suffer from physical pain, ailments,etc... He sets out to heal as many people as he can. And then he was introduced to a lowly man from Gallilee who could heal with a mere thought to the oppressed. The story details the fascinating transformation in the life of St. Luke. Please beware! This story is not dry and boring. It is an excellent work in character development.
August 27, 2012
Currently re-reading this wonderful book on the life of St. Luke. She researched this for decades and you can tell by all of the minutae that is included. St. Luke never met Christ, but he has one of the most beautiful books in the New Testament.
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