The Philosopher

I have written before about my novel set in ancient Rome about 400 AD. Christianity was dominant by then but there were still Pagan believers and practitioners. The upper-class and intellectual Pagan folk believed in a non-mythical philosophy somewhat like Neo-Platonism. I have numerous character portraits from the book which I mostly forgot about till now. This gentleman is named Timotheus Macrobius, a believer and teacher of the "old school" of philosophy, written on the scrolls he holds in his right hand. Much of this philosophy got adapted and absorbed by Christian thinkers in the early Byzantine period, but Timotheus held out for the rest of his Pagan philosophical life. The character was based on my Latin professor at Brandeis University, the long-departed Professor David Wiesen.

Ink and watercolor on sketchbook page, 5" x 8 1/2", later 1974. Click for more detailed view.