Quo Vadis? -

Henryk Sienkiewicz, H. Sienkiewicz

Macmillan Pub Co./ Simon & Schuster

1993

589 páginas

19h 38m

ISBN-13: 9780025668553

Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero, commonly known as Quo Vadis, is a historical novel set in Rome, under the rule of emperor Nero, circa AD 63. The title of the novel refers to the famous verse in the Bible, where "Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards." (John, 13:36);

Quo Vadis is a historical novel written by Henryk Sienkiewicz. "Quo vadis, Domine?" is Latin for "Where are you going, Lord?" and appears in Chapter 69 of the novel in a retelling of a story from the apocryphal Acts of Peter, in which Peter flees Rome but, on his way, meets Jesus and asks him why he is going to Rome. Jesus says, "If thou desertest my people, I am going to Rome to be crucified a second time", which shames Peter into going back to Rome to accept martyrdom.

The novel tells the story of two lovers, a Christian woman called Ligia (or Lygia Callina) and a Roman patrician called Marcus Vinicius. Many historical figures appear in the book and as already the title suggest, it has a strong Christian message.