Life of Christ

by Giovanni Papini, Dorothy Canfield Fisher (Translator)

1923. Papini, journalist, polemical critic, poet, and novelist, whose avant-garde polemics made him one of the most controversial Italian literary figures in the early and mid-20th century. He gained international fame with his religious novel Storio Di Christo and the English translation, The Life of Christ, was a huge bestseller.

Genres: Fiction, Religion, Classics, Italy, Theology, Italian Literature, Christianity

424 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1921

About the author

Giovanni Papini was an Italian journalist, essayist, literary critic, poet, and novelist.

Reviews

[K.D. Absolutely · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last Tuesday morning, a 45-year old woman jumped from the 27th floor of the building where she used to work. That building was just across where I work. She was there, lying on the pavement, lifeless, headless. When she jumped, her head caught one of the ledges of the building and so her head got severed. For almost the whole morning, her body was just there waiting for the investigators. Her head, her limbs, her organs were scattered along the pavement, along the street. People were watching, taking pictures, talking to witnesses. I was there on the 18th floor, watching her and the people, looking down.

If I were God looking down from where I was, where was I in all of these? What did God think when the woman was about to jump? What was He thinking when her head got severed?

I was reading this book that morning before going to the office. His life was fresh in my mind prior to witnessing the incident. So, I could not help but wonder where was God in all of those.

Life of Christ by Giovanni Papini was first published in 1957. Papini was an atheist when he was born. Then he was converted to Catholism and wrote this book. Solely based on the Scriptures, he wrote this book with the intention of introducing Christ to the non-believers or those who do not know Him. So, the book is in the prose form and it does not have footnotes or references to the Holy Bible (you know, the book titles, chapter and verse numbers). So, the reading is easy because the narratives are free-flowing just like any other standard novels. Papini also chose not to preach and so this book felt like a biography. But what makes this more enjoyable is Papini's incandescent prose. Being a former atheist, it really made me wonder how he could write with all the conviction and seemingly inspired thoughts. I have been a Catholic since I was baptized seven months after I was born, but I could not write as brilliant as Papini in this book.

I have been a practicing Catholic since the first time my mother brought me to church when I was a toddler. I go to church every Sunday and during days of obligation. I have read the Bible from cover to cover. I have read Harold S, Kushner's When Bad Things Happen to Good People (3 stars). I also know that God gave us the rational mind to decide for ourselves. But this is easy to think about or to say.

But when you are looking at the reality, when you are face-to-face with senseless death, you still ask: "why?"

[María Carpio · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Pero los hombres están sumergidos en una paz de estiércol diluído con lágrimas, de la que, a veces, salen frenéticos, desfigurados, para precipitarse en el rojo lagar hirviente de sangre, esperando lavarse". Este es Papini. Esa es su prosa hiriente y afilada, apasionada, poética, a veces retórica y quizás acaso demagógica. De esto último fue acusado cuando se convirtió al Catolicismo y escribió este libro. Se dijo que era un oportunismo y que sólo se estaba uniendo al tren. Pero de aquello ya han pasado cien años, Papini escribió varios libros más en los que exploraba la religión y la fe, pero siempre desde una profunda observación desde lo literario, y murió converso; nunca se desdijo. Entre esos libros están Gog, San Agustín y El diablo. Si escandalizó en el un lado lo hizo en el otro. También algunos de sus libros fueron prohibidos por la Iglesia y estuvieron en el Índice hasta que Paulo VI lo abolió en 1966. Esto porque Papini planteaba la visión de Orígenes (teólogo del Cristianismo primitivo) en la que el plan de salvación no podría realizarse si no se salva a todas las almas, con lo que la idea de purgar las culpas o pagar por los pecados en el Infierno, carecería de sustento. Esto fue considerado una herejía por las autoridades eclesiásticas de la época.

¿El por qué de su conversión? Papini buscaba certezas y un sostén de Verdad (con V mayúscula) después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, y lo halló en la cruz (de Cristo). Antes había sido un poeta, un crítico y un periodista feroz, irreverente, anticlerical, ateo, luego agnóstico, durante mucho tiempo liderando un movimiento de renovación intelectual en Italia. Renovación ética y estética, y en ello estaba cuando durante años apoyó y participó del movimiento futurista liderado por Marinetti, publicando un par de libros sobre el tema. Luego de su conversión siguió siendo poeta, escritor, crítico y tuvo una prolífica carrera, pero su visión de las cosas había cambiado.

Por eso es que cuando publica Historia de Cristo es un escándalo en el medio literario. Papini sorprende a todos con su conversión pero su proceder es predecible, pues siendo radical y apasionado en su pensamiento, era esperable que impusiera la misma impronta a su nueva fe. Y lo hace en este libro que, como aclara en el prefacio, no está dirigido para creyentes sino para aquellos que no creen. Para ellos es este libro que no es una biografía como tal, ni está narrado de la forma en la que la palabra "historia" podría referir. Es cierto que sí narra la historia de Cristo y que -salvo en el último capítulo en el que se da unas licencias apócrifas- todo está debidamente documentado en la Biblia (y otras fuentes históricas reales), incluso poniendo junto a cada párrafo el libro, versículo y capítulos en los que se hallan la cita o la referencia. Pero todo esto está narrado a la manera de Papini, con una prosa densa (no por difícil sino por condensada), con un estilo narrativo propio, original, poético y a la vez descriptivo, muy literario, que a veces va al punto narrativo de la anécdota, pero que la mayoría de veces lo elude con vericuetos, elucubraciones y florituras pero que son completamente acertadas y pertinentes dentro de su estilo. El desarrollo y las vueltas que da son casi una exégesis (interpretación de los textos bíblicos) de la historia y de la palabra de Cristo. Lo que hace Papini es tratar de revelar el mensaje de Cristo a aquellos que no lo conocen, recurriendo a la belleza desde lo literario-narrativo, pero también desde el fondo, apelando a lo humano, a la sensibilidad, a las emociones. Es por ello que este es un texto profundamente emotivo que apela a ese pathos humano común.

Para Papini, su época (los años veinte) es una época de debacle moral, descrita como el envilecimiento acelerado del hombre (hace cien años ya, y si nos viera ahora, ¡qué diría!), por la ambición, la guerra, el exceso de individualismo, el amor desmedido por uno mismo (qué diría del narcisismo actual), la exacerbación de la lujuria y las bajas pasiones (si escuchara el reguetón de hoy), el reino del dinero, la avaricia y la usura (los bancos, el sistema financiero), y que la única respuesta a ello es el amor (que no practicamos ni entonces ni ahora). Y ese es el mensaje completo de este libro, el único mandamiento que impuso Cristo como solución para todos los problemas de esta mezquina humanidad: ama a tu prójimo como a ti mismo. Después de leer este libro entiendes a profundidad la trascendencia y el verdadero significado de esa frase. No es un romanticismo trillado, ni una frase retórica manoseada que ha perdido fuerza, aunque parezca. En verdad, a todos nos ha costado siempre creer o entender el significado real de esta frase, y de la del "ama a tus enemigos". Es casi impracticable. Pero haría falta en verdad leer este libro para explicar el cómo ha llegado a tomar sentido esta frase. Sentido real. Aplicable a la realidad. Es simple, en teoría: si amas al otro como a ti mismo, no podrías hacerle daño. Cosas como la guerra no existirían, ni las demás iniquidades. Pero encarnarse en el sentido profundo de esa máxima no es fácil, todos parecemos comprenderlo en su superficie retórica. Yo misma lo hice, pero lo abordé en el sentido hippie johnlennoniano al cual llegué tarde (por no ser de "mi época") y lo recibí con escepticismo. Quizás ahora, luego de leer esta obra, sea la primera vez en mi vida en la que realmente entiendo el sentido de esas palabras. Y eso ya es mucho.

Pero, no son cinco estrellas porque hay algo que ya se le reprochó a Papini en su tiempo, y que a día de hoy aún salta a la vista, aunque no logra estropear el conjunto. Esto es un cierto antisemitismo (el cual hay que contextualizar en el tiempo y lugar de Papini; todavía no ocurría el Holocausto judío). Por lo demás, pese a que fue un best-seller en su tiempo y un gran boom, no es un libro que hoy en día sea para todos. Pero sin duda, a mi criterio, es una lectura sin desperdicio.

[Daniela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Changed my life! I was an agnostic, I Became a Christian.

[Yves · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most beautiful books I ever read about the life of Jesus Christ. Not a theological work, which the author freely admits, but one that brings the life of Christ vividly before your eyes. The great change that He brought, how He preached and attracted the hearts of thousands comes to an emotional height with the crucification and His great sacrifice. It also explains why the jews were forced into diaspora by the Romans: because God wills it so. The link between the diaspora and the betrayal by Judas Iskariot is also elaborated upon.

But in general the symbolism of the words used in the Bible is explained beautifully, e.g. the ox and the ass in the stable. Papini also stress the great poverty in which Christ was born. In doing this he correctly rejects any claim on Christ by those who have many and share none. Saint Joseph was a craftman, working himself into sweat to provide for his family. Christ would also throw off any material links, on which Thomas a Kempis would later say "Why do you value that so dear which you will hold such a short time?" (but that's another book).

A must-read, not just for any christian, but for anyone who wishes to understand the great emotions that can come forth from faith.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A treasure in the library of any serious believer. I found this book while in the employment of an antiques dealer and have since purchased copies for myself and several family members. The details of his narrative and the imagery he uses are utterly touched with divine inspiration.

[Arukiyomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

By 1921 when this was published, Papini was a man deeply passionate for Christ. This is apparent from the very introduction, let alone throughout the commentary he has written on his Saviour’s life. As an evangelical atheist for his first four decades, this may come as something of a surprise. It shows that the man certainly underwent a conversion.

For those familiar with the Gospel writings, there will be little here that is unknown in the narrative. Occasionally, Papini embellishes with reference to apocryphal writings or church legend, but he usually lets you know that he is doing so. For those not familiar with the life of Jesus, this would make a fair introduction, not least because the passion Papini writes with is somewhat infections. He manages to bring insight into the most familiar aspects of the story. Take, for example, the opening line:

Jesus was born in a stable, a real stable, not the bright airy portico which Christian painters have created for the Son of David, as if ashamed their God should have lain down in poverty and dirt.

But Papini was very much a child of his time. This becomes apparent whenever the Jewish authorities are in focus and, in particular, during the arrest, trial and subsequent execution of Christ. His portrayal of the physiognomy of Christ’s enemies most strongly brought to mind lines I’d previously heard in the depraved Nazi documentary The Eternal Jew and most recently encountered in Dickens’ depiction of Fagin: hooked noses and hairy brows all round.

Papini was an ardent fascist and a great supporter of Mussolini. He firmly believed in theories of Jewish plots to commandeer the planet and it is a shame that he could not see past his prejudices to understand that Christ himself, as well as all the disciples he so passionately portrays, were very much Jewish.

Having said that, this was a work which surprised me for its intensity and for how little known it is in Christian circles. It may well be that the writer’s association with fascism has prevented this from reaching a wider readership.

[Monty Milne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this solely because it was on my list of 1001 books. I picked it up and groaned as I predicted the ennui of an over familiar story. A century ago, there was a glut of Lives of Christ, few of them of any literary merit. Papini recognises this in his Preface:

“ There is about them an obnoxious odour of extinguished candle, a stench of evaporated incense and bad oil, which takes away one’s breath.”

Here, in a nutshell, is both the strength and weakness of this book. It is, I think, a very arresting image, and this book is full of good writing like this. But...the irony is that it can never quite escape the same “odour of extinguished candle” of which the author himself complains. It is still a book written a century ago, and although one can appreciate and even admire the effort, and even sometimes be stirred afresh by some new and stimulating word play, it is still for me a stale tale. I read it, coincidentally, over Christmas – when I made a rare visit to a church service – and both the book and the service made me feel a bit like the adult who remembers he used to believe in Santa Claus.

Papini takes a swipe at my beloved Horace (“degenerate and plagiaristic”) and contrasts him with “gentle, pious Virgil.” He also says “He who accepts the four gospels must accept them in their full entirety, syllable by syllable, or else he must reject them from first to last.” There is little or nothing that Papini says with which I can agree, but I do acknowledge that he often says it beautifully.

[Vasco Ribeiro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Livro muito denso, escrito de uma forma absolutamente entusiasta, como só seria capaz alguém que trocou de campo. Isto é, que foi ateu e se tornou cristão, e católico. Escrito por volta de 1919, provavelmente em ambiente de época, a linguagem é forte e exaltada contra os inimigos de Cristo.
Se bem que diga algumas verdades, para mim, é entusiasmo a mais e o Amor pelos homens que deteta em cristo, parece-me não ter sobrado muito para o Autor quanto à sua opinião relativamente àqueles que não gostam de cristo, nomeadamente, salvo erro, quanto ao povo Judeu em geral, mesmo os atuais.
Faz muitas citações da Bíblia, principalmente do Novo Testamento, claro, e utiliza alguns evangelhos apócrifos.

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miraculous

[Antonio Gallo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Posseggo la XVII edizione del 1957 di questa opera di Giovanni Papini, un libro che non ha perso la sua grandezza e che riletto a distanza di tanto tempo conserva tutto intatto il suo spessore letterario. Vallecchi riporta in libreria il libro più tradotto del primo Novecento italiano.

Uno dei «libri più entusiasmanti» che siano mai stati scritti sulla figura del Cristo: così ha di recente sottolineato Papa Benedetto XVI, nel suo Gesù di Nazareth. Pubblicato per la prima volta nel 1921 e più volte ristampato fino all’ottava edizione del 1985, “Storia di Cristo”, in libreria dal 29 novembre (Vallecchi, pp. 448; 20 Euro ), considerato il “libro della redenzione” dello scrittore più irriverente del Novecento italiano, ha avuto sin dall’inizio un successo planetario, tanto da essere tradotto in venticinque lingue, tra cui cinese, giapponese, l’arabo e perfino l’esperanto.

Scriveva Papini nella nota al lettore: «Cristo è sempre vivo in noi. C’è ancora chi l’ama e chi l’odia». Nel 1921 l’atto di fede del miscredente Papini giunse inatteso e sorprendente. Come fa notare il Cardinale Ennio Antonelli (nella Presentazione) “E’ impressionante constatare come il grido verso l’Assoluto attraversi la letteratura del ventesimo secolo, anche l’opera di molti autori che a prima vista potrebbero essere catalogati come atei e agnostici. Giovanni Papini, già nella fase della sua ribellione, implicitamente invocava Dio, con tutta la veemenza del suo carattere. La sua ostilità già portava il segno di un’insopprimibile nostalgia. Non si comprende questa “Storia di Cristo” se non si tiene presente che la ricerca dell’autore prende avvio dall’humus culturale di uno scetticismo che, pur brancolando nel buio, non può fare a meno di sentire il richiamo dell’Assoluto”.

Rileggere oggi la prosa di Papini è stato per me un riscoprire non tanto e non solo il valore di una scrittura che cerca di dar forma a contenuti ultraterreni nella figura del Figlio di Dio, quanto anche un ritrovare una forma linguistica nella quale il grande scrittore si cimenta nello stile dei grandi fiorentini della storia.

[Moureco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Já vai tão longe a minha passagem pelo seminário! Começo a duvidar da memória e dos factos que ela retém...

[Layal Azizi · Rating 3 out of 5]

more of the author's biography!

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is less a biography than a fervent literary meditation. Papini, once a radical atheist and later a convert to Catholicism, pours into this book both his passion for Christ and his talent for rhetorical flourishes. Unlike dry theological treatises, Papini writes with the urgency of a poet and the intensity of a convert.

He retells the Gospel story with vivid imagery and emotional immediacy, making the familiar feel startlingly new. Jesus appears not as a distant theological abstraction but as a living, struggling, profoundly human figure who nonetheless embodies divine truth. Papini emphasizes Christ’s radicalism: his defiance of authority, his embrace of the poor and despised, his challenge to hypocrisy.

There is anger in this portrait—anger at corruption, cruelty, and indifference—as well as tenderness for Christ’s compassion and sacrifice. The language soars into lyricism, often bordering on the mystical, as Papini tries to capture the enormity of Christ’s impact. Critics may accuse the book of hagiography and of emotional excess, and indeed it is more devotional than historical. Yet its power lies precisely in its subjectivity.

Papini is not analyzing Christ but encountering him, wrestling with him, adoring him. For readers seeking historical-critical scholarship, this is not the book. For those open to a passionate literary vision, Life of Christ can be profoundly moving. Nearly a century after its publication, it remains a striking testament to how literature can make the sacred intimate, visceral, and alive.

[Eva Tipps · Rating 4 out of 5]

What enticed me to read this 1920s story of Christ was that "Although Giovanni Papini was one of the foremost Italian men of letters, the publication of this book in 1921 came as a stunning surprise. For Papini had been an atheist, a vocal enemy of the Church--a self-appointed debunker of any form of mysticism. A more unlikely source for a reverent portrait of Jesus could hardly be imagined." [Quote from Reader's Digest Great Biographies] I wanted to understand what changed Papini's opinion, if possible. Although the book started slowly for me, I grew more interested as he engaged in more of a story-telling style. I liked finding out what happened to the Disciples and others as he filled in gaps in my knowledge. What really surprised me--but shouldn't have--was how mankind really hasn't changed in all these centuries. There are some good-hearted people, and a whole lot of selfish, wicked, evil people who either don't understand the cruelty they commit or just don't care. "The Pharisees are those who wish to appear saints, and who hate the real saints. They are those who are not visibly sinners, but who are the incarnation of the ugliest of all sins, the betrayal of Truth." [Papini]

[Vivi · Rating 3 out of 5]

”De trei lucruri nu se pot lipsi oamenii. De pâine, de Sănătate și de Speranță.”

”Meseria lui Isus e una din cele patru meserii mai vechi și mai sfinte. Dintre îndeletnicirile de rând, aceea a Țăranului, a Zidarului, a Fierarului și a Lemnarului sunt cele mai adânc legate de viața omului, cele mai nevinovate și cele mai cucernice. (...) Țăranul sparge brazda și scoate din ea pâinea, pe care-o mănâncă sfântul în scorbura lui ca și ucigașul în ocnă. Zidarul cioplește piatra și înalță casa, casa săracului, casa regelui, casa lui Dumnezeu. Fierarul înroșește și îndoaie fierul ca să-i dea ostașului paloș, țăranului- plug, dulgherului- maiul. Lemnarul taie și prinde-n cuie scândura, ca să facă ușa ce apără casa de tâlhari și patul în care vor muri hoții ca și cei cu sufșetul curat.”

"Taina imitării lui Dumnezeu e iubirea: calea sigură a transhumării e Iubirea omului de om, iubirea prietenului și a neprietenului. Dacă această iubire nu-i cu putință, cu neputință e mântuirea. De ne lepădăm de ea, înseamnă că ni-i silă de fericire. De-i absurdă, nădejdile noastre de reînviere nu-s decât absurdități."

[Janet Azucena · Rating 5 out of 5]

En la presente edición nos habla un poco de la biografía del autor en donde se menciona que fue ateo y el contexto donde le tocó desenvolverse le mantenía intranquilo.

Sin embargo, el conocer a su esposa le cambió la perspectiva.

En la obra como tal, realiza una exhaustiva labor de armar una tertulia (no se si así pueda llamarlo con los Evangelios canónicos, las tradiciones, leyendas, parte de los Evangelios Apócrifos y la historia en sí para narrar la vida de Cristo, comentarla a detalle realizando una crítica de lo plasmado.

Es muy probable que los hechos que marcaron el escribir este libro se vieron influenciados por lo ocurrido en la primera guerra mundial debido a la forma en que concluye el libro.

Se nota el sentimiento que el autor narra, dejando un énfasis claro sobre la figura de Cristo.

Para las personas que les agrade leer textos relacionados con Cristo les encantará.

[D.A. Cairns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breathtaking

Life of Christ was a stunning surprise, a truly breathtaking and inspirational narrative and commentary on the combined gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke and John. Stories very familiar to many of us who bear his name are given new life and new power in Papini's passionate descriptions and opinions.

This is not easy to read with very long sentences and very strong language with lots of obscure words, but what an adventure; what divine insight into Jesus Christ.

Life of Christ is amazing. Take it slow, chew thoroughly before swallowing and digesting.

[Cuitlahuac Del Valle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Papini give us in this book his own thoughts about Christ than the actual life of Christ. The whole thing feels more like a sermon than a book. Sometimes he considers himself kind of perfect and all knowing about the facts of christianity. He attacks atheists, non christian and in racist manner jewish people. He repeats himself a lot aading little to the story of Christ from a literary point of view. It's not a bad book but requieres effort and faith or open mind to endure it.

[Bob Kaufman · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could have been a good fictional story if the author hadn't stated in the introduction that he was writing to show the truth of the life of christ as described in the bible. He then proceeded to present traditions and dogma as though they were facts. He also hyperbolized so much of his opinion and stigmatized everyone who didn't believe then and now. In doing so, the entire book took on the flavor of a series of sermons.

[Andrea Santinelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dottissima e dettagliata cronistoria della vita del più grande fra gli uomini. L’utilizzo di un vocabolario arcaico e assai raffinato appesantiscono un po’ la lettura, ma gli insistenti richiami alla amore cristiano e gli anatemi scagliati con violenza verso tutto ciò che è materiale riescono a dare ritmo e vigore ad un testo intriso di energica fede. Non sorprende che tale capolavoro sia stato composto da un ex futurista, ex sostenitore convinto della dottrina del superuomo. Anzi, dalla lettura si ricava l’impressione, così come nel “Vangelo di Pasolini”, di vedere riprodotti i dettami evangelici con maggior rigore e esattezza di tante opere più riuscite da un punto di vista letterario e lontani anni luce da quegli insegnamenti, così miseramente contraffatti, che ci propina giornalmente l’ establishment dei Grandi Inquisitori. Del resto, detto fra noi, una spruzzata di superuomo, per arrivare alle strabilianti profondità dei vangeli, può essere utile, se non strettamente necessario.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book about the life of Jesus Christ and his philosophy of life, including comments on Bible stories and parables.

The authors views are very orthodox, in accord with the time he was writing the book.

This book was first published in 1923.

[Gloria Gna · Rating 4 out of 5]

No me esperaba un relato tan poético, pensaba que sería más prosaico. Con todo, lo que más me ha atraído han sido los datos históricos sobre ciertos personajes o sobre la composición del sanedrín de los judíos.

[Rick Nordal]

This book is beautifully written !

[Matei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Merită citită și dăruită fiecărui prieten...

[Minnie Mickey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Izvrsna!

[Josh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ehhhh, 2.5

[Usturoi8 · Rating 3 out of 5]

nu știu dar mi-a picat în brațe și mă așteptam la cu totul altceva

[Lr Moya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Former atheist Giovanni Papini shows an emotional analysis of the life of the man he spent his entire life hating. The subtext of the story makes him a really strange piece.

[Vincenzo Maria Affinita · Rating 5 out of 5]

«Ho bisogno di un po' di certezza, ho bisogno di qualcosa di vero. Non posso farne a meno; non so più vivere senza» (G. Papini, Un uomo finito, 1913).

[Santi · Rating 5 out of 5]

magnifique , magnífico , an extremely powerful and highly skilled writer ,this is a great opportunity to learn and understand Jesus , the real life of Jesus as it really was , I bless the day I discovered this author . This book is recommended for absolutely everybody interested in the life of Jesus and how the world was and the people he met while he lived on earth . I was captured by the superb style of the author .