28 - Publius Philostratus to an Author

Summary

Lux Gentilibus Publishing

Villa Industria

Via Omnis Carnis

Roma

Dear Sir,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript, ‘The beginning of the Good News’, to us for consideration. I am sorry that we have taken so long to respond, but I am now able to tell you the outcome of our deliberations. We solicited a reader's report, which has now been received, and I will now communicate to you the gist of the remarks and recommendations made to us.

Your work shows great promise, but also some signs of immaturity. This is often the case with an author's first effort. You have chosen an interesting topic: a religious reformer (actually, he seems like a peripatetic Cynic to us) who antagonized the authorities in Jerusalem and was ultimately executed by the procurator. This is admittedly not an unusual occurrence nowadays, especially in that part of the world, but we understand that this man still enjoys a wide popular following and potentially there is a good market for this particular work. We are informed that his cult continues to spread.

However, we are unable to accept your manuscript as it presently stands. In the first place, it needs a much better beginning and ending. The main character appears very suddenly (though not even at the beginning), and we are told nothing of his birth or childhood, where he came from and how he started his career. These sorts of details are traditionally provided in tales about holy men, and our readers find them fascinating.