The Robe, written by Lloyd C. Douglas, is a story taking place in the 1st century Roman Empire. This novel recounts the journey of the young Roman tribune, Marcellus Gallio, who gambled for the robe of Jesus Christ and won it. The book describes the main character Marcellus and his loyal slave Demetrius as they trek through the historical events recorded in the Bible and the struggles of early Christianity in ancient Rome. As being the main character of this lengthy quest for truth, Marcellus is a young man of many qualities and traits. Marcellus Gallio is seen to continuously express the traits of: his pride, his hunger for truth, as well as his humility which grows out of his abandoned pride, throughout the novel. Early in the beginning of the story, Marcellus …show more content…
When confronted by the emperor of Rome himself, Tiberius, Marcellus is offered a choice to either reject his newfound belief in Christ and continue his life happily, or cling to truth he found and bear the wrath to come. Marcellus solemnly made it known that he would not denounce Jesus and so bore the insults thrown at him by the emperor, silently walking away humiliated. At the end of the story, Marcellus humbly made the ultimate sacrifice for Christ and piously faced his own execution, echoing the glorious example of Jesus whom Marcellus himself executed. Marcellus Gallio was a deep character who displayed the traits of his pride, his desire for truth, and his Christian humility clearly over the course of the adventure. The tribune's pride stood as an obstacle to his spiritual growth. His hunger for the truth led him to his faithful conversion. Marcellus' Christian humility stood as the force which brought him to his martyrdom. With these traits, Marcellus proved to be an exemplary as well as inspiring