War
Images of war are a constant in the novel, sadly regardless of time and regardless of the height of scientific advancement—or even the total lack of it. Humanity it seems will not rest easy until it succeeds in the total annihilation of himself. The author also seems to posit that war and mutually assured destruction is inevitable as man cannot seem to turn to any other, more peaceful means of resolving their differences.
Destruction/Desolation
The images of war and conflict as well as narratives of the effects of war upon the human populace and the landscape abound in the novel, painting a very grim image of the future. Narratives full of the wide scale destruction of cities, books, technology, and entire civilizations can be seen in the novel. Tragic as that is it is only second to another form of destruction that can be seen in the novel: the destruction of humanity and morality. In the novel there is always the mad rush it seems to abandon good sense and more civilized ways of resolving conflict. Despite the ample evidence of the long, repeated stretches of “Dark Ages” falling upon humanity it would seem that the minute man’s technology comes to the point of enabling him to develop nuclear capability he pounces upon that opportunity with nearly manic glee to use that technology to bomb humanity into the next Dark Ages.
Real-Life Historical Analogues
The author separates events in the novel by giving them Latin titles drawn from the bible. In Fiat Homo, the world at large is similar to the Dark Ages and it is a time of great difficulty, ignorance, savagery, and death. Whereas the actual Dark Ages was ushered in by the plague Fiat Homo’s comes under the shadow of nuclear Armageddon. Fiat Lux on the other hand is based upon the Renaissance. Humanity rediscovers science and takes small, gradual steps towards civility. In Fiat Voluntas Tua, the reading audience sees a rebirth of the “modern era” plus some futuristic bonuses like interstellar travel, starships, automata, and the dreaded nuclear arsenal. Through the use of real life historical analogues in the development of Western History the novel is able to critique both past and create conclusions—very cynical conclusions—about man’s distant future.
Religion/Catholic-Monastic Orders
The fictional monastic Order of Leibowitz is symbolic of knowledge and the refusal to give in to barbarism. All of the Order’s energies are focused on discovering, restoring, or protecting knowledge and technology; and for this the members are under the constant threat of death. One of the greatest ironies in the novel is that the Order, despite its seemingly scientific and archaeological objective, is at the very core of it, a Catholic Monastic order. This order, guided by Catholic doctrines and ideologies, is central not just to the novel but central to bringing humanity out of the darkness of ignorance, savagery, and fear. It is also interesting to note that the author’s depiction of the Catholic Church is very positive portraying it as a vanguard not just against ignorance but also against moral decay; ironically, the author also notes that despite that it isn’t enough to keep man’s primitive, violent urges at bay.
The Preservation and Restoration of Knowledge
One of the most enduring images in the novel is the hard work that the monks of the Order put into the restoration and/or preservation of scientific knowledge. This is done as a novel way of resolving the ages old conflict between science and faith. In the novel, the monks are the scientists and vice-versa, and faith serves as the moral counterweight that keeps scientific knowledge from being perverted, i.e. weaponized. Sadly, the whole novel is not just an ingenious way of showing that faith and science can coexist for the betterment of humanity but it is also a very pessimistic take on the human condition as being irredeemably bloodthirsty and self destructive.
