ACT · V
SCENE · 1
A strong room in the palace dungeon. TIGELLINUS seated at a table CENTRE. NATALIS scared, and with his hands bound behind him, stands R. before two Guards.
TIGELLINUS (to Guards).
[Exeunt Guards.
Leave him.—
Natalis, thou hast had a taste of the rack?
NATALIS (kneels).
Mercy, my lord; have mercy on me I pray thee:
I will tell all, and better without torture.
Tig. So far I have had mercy, sir: I have shown thee
2100In this Epicharis what thou mayst look for,
Should I lack mercy. Canst thou too be silent?
Nat. Nay, my lord, nay. My lord, I am not brave.
Knowing I cannot suffer, I will speak truth
Without the torture.
Tig.Truth, fool! what is that?
I haggle not with thee for thine own tale:
That cannot serve thee. I require of thee
Such answers as best please me.
Nat.I will confess.
Tig. Thou hast betrayed thy master Piso; now
Tell me, was Seneca in this conspiracy?
Nat. No, my lord.
Tig. (calling). Guards!
(Enter Guards.)
Nat.I swear he was not.
Tig.Guards!
Take him to torture.
Nat.Oh, my lord, have pity!
Ask me not this.
Tig.I’ll ask thee nothing else
While thou art parting with thy skin. Once more:
Was Seneca in this conspiracy?
Nat. He was.
Tig.Just as I thought; hold fast to that;
Else, by great Jupiter, the things thou hast seen
Are nothing.—Take him off and send in the other.
[Exeunt Guards with Natalis.
Now I am rid of Seneca. This method
Is easy and short. The foolish rich Scevinus
May serve me another way.
Enter two Guards with Scevinus, whose hands are bound before him.
(To Guards.) Leave him.—(Exeunt Guards.) Scevinus,
Cæsar hath ordered thee the rack.
SCEVINUS (kneels).
My lord,
Have pity upon me I beg. I turn informer.
I will betray it all: I withhold nothing.
Tig. Thou hast seen the torture of Epicharis....
Sce. O, my dear lord, not that! mercy!
Tig.Since she
Hath baulked my inquisitors, I have promised them
Some noisy victim to restore their credit.
Sce. Not me, not me!
Tig.And why not thee? I think thee
A likely fellow.
Sce.My lord, I am too tender.
2130The least prick of my finger, or if the wine
I drink be overheated, ’tis enough
To put me in a frenzy: I should die
At first stretch of the rack.
Tig.Pooh! man: they’d keep thee
Alive for a week.—
Sce.O spare me, good Tigellinus!
Spare me, I pray, kind Tigellinus, spare me!
Tig. Shall I? and if I do, what is it worth?
Hast thou two thousand sesters?
Sce.Oh, my lord,
I have not the tenth of it.
Tig. (calling).Guards!
(Enter Guards.)
Sce.I swear I have not.
Tig. Get up, that is the price.—Guards, take him off.—
I’ll make good use of thee.
Sce.Sir, I might find it.
Tig. (motioning Guards back). Hark, thou canst raise the money, and mayst write
From prison to thy friends: and if ’tis paid
To me to-night, I will respect thy wish.—
Guards, take this prisoner to the outer cell;
Let him there write what missives he desires,
And see they be delivered in the city.
[Exeunt severally.
SCENE · 2
A room in the house of Piso.
Enter FLAVUS and PISO, meeting.
FLAVUS.
My lord, I come from Rufus.
PISO.
Give thy message.
Fla. Natalis and Scevinus both are taken.
All must be known; and your complicity
The first: meanwhile Rufus is unsuspected;
Cæsar hath summoned him to sit as judge
In trial of the accused this afternoon.
He has therefore this last hope, but only this,
That you with all your friends proceed at once
To the fort of the guard: he will proclaim you there,
Relying on the people, who well know
Your prudence, and may passively accept
The revolution as a thing accomplished.
Seeing you countenance it, and have your title
Supported by the guards.
Pis.Calls he this hope?
’Tis the forlorn hope.
Fla.Desperation, my lord,
Is not despair. I venture it with gladness.
Pis. So do not I. I am no doubt betrayed
Already and watched.
Fla.Rufus may still be clear:
The informers will not name him while the guards
Remain their last resource.
Pis.Bid him act quickly,
And for himself.
Fla.My lord, he looks to you.
Unless you appear we cannot gain the people.
Consider how we have all trusted our lives
To your concerted action: now stand forth
And help us as you can.
Pis.Stay, man; consider
How I have trusted my life to your action;
And what ye have done with it: my stake in this
Compares no more with thine than does my prize
In the success with thine: I should be Cæsar,
Thou Flavus still: so, if we fail, I suffer
In like degree, my family dishonoured,
My rich estates cónfiscate, my innocent,
Honest dependants, whom I count by thousands,
All plunged in misery: to them my duties
Forbid this reckless hazard.—Return to Rufus,
And say so much. I utter no reproach
’Gainst thee nor any other; I forgive
What reproach thou didst hint. I know thou’rt brave;
Thou hast wished well, and I with thee; but now
Our ill-built ship founders. I am your captain;
My word is each man for himself: my part
I shall act no less bravely, that I see
All goes to the bottom.
Fla.Defer, my lord, to the last.
I’ll save you if I may. I will go armed
To the trial.
Pis.Act for thyself; think not of me.
Now bear my word to Rufus. Go this way.
[Exit, showing Flavus out.
SCENE · 3
The previous scene withdraws and discovers an open court of the palace disposed for the trial, the seats in a half-circle. Nero’s at centre, back, the seat for the Judge at left front: the raised platform for the accused at right front. Guards behind NERO, and lining the half-circle.
Enter LUCAN, FLAVUS and ASPER (L.). They stand talking under cover of Judge’s seat. Guards and most of audience are assembled.
LUCAN.
Rufus will do his best: trust we to Rufus
To minimize the matter; ’tis his interest.
FLAVUS.
If Cæsar come unguarded, I will kill him.
ASPER.
I will stand by thee. Is Lateranus here?
Luc. He said he should not come. I pray you both
Wait: let us first see who is betrayed.
Fla.Go thou,
And wait thy death. (Lucan goes to his place.)
Asp.Let us die bravely, Flavus;
’Tis all we can. (Coming forward to centre.)
2200
Fla.We will. Ah, see! he is guarded.
Enter R. Nero, Tigellinus and Rufus; preceded by Guards, who thrust Flavus and Asper back, making passage for Cæsar.
NERO (at centre).
Here is our court. I love the open air:
It savours more of justice, heavenly justice;
And while we sit, we breathe. Rufus, ascend.
(Showing Judge’s seat.)
Cæsar is plaintiff, and in his own cause
Might bear a bias: so I make thee judge.
My counsel, Tigellinus, sit by me. (They sit.)
Fla. (to Asp.) I’ll not despair. I’ll keep my dagger ready.
Be near him if I rush. (Asper takes a seat on Rufus’ proper left.)
Ner.Is it in order. Rufus,
That I speak first?
RUFUS.
’Twere well for form’s sake, Cæsar,
To state the purpose of this court, and read
The names of those denounced. Where are the informers?
Ner. Bring in the prisoners.—As for this court, general,
’Tis called to inquire upon a matter known
To most here: they that know it not may gather it
As we proceed; I will premise thus far:—
You will hear certain citizens confess
That they, with others whom they name, were joined
In a conspiracy to murder another,
And him your chiefest citizen, myself.
Rome at the first had kings, and being returned
To an autocratic rule, in the exigency
Of wide dominion, I, her king, her Cæsar,
Her prætor, tribune, consul, typify
The general weal: who aims at my life, aims
At Rome and all. Therefore, though Cæsar needs
No sanction to his sentence, he invites
The public ear unto the public wrong,
That all, before the guilty are arrested,
May hear the evidence, and self-impeachment
2230Of the two chief informers. There they are;
Natalis and Scevinus.—(They have been brought in guarded during Nero’s speech, and now stand up. R.)
As plaintiff I shall watch the case, as Cæsar
I watch the judge. Proceed!
TIGELLINUS.Scevinus.
SCEVINUS.Here, sir.
Tig. Thou in this writing hast confessed the truth
Of all the several charges brought against thee
By thy slave Milichus.
Sce.I have, my lord.
Tig. ’Tis true there was a plot ’gainst Cæsar’s life,
And thou the instrument?
Sce.My lord, ’tis true:
I crave great Cæsar’s mercy.
Tig.In hope of that,
And moved by late contrition, thou hast revealed
The names of thy confederates.
Sce.I have.
Ruf. Will Cæsar let me scan the information?
Ner. No need. Take each in turn.
Tig. (to Sce.).I ask thee, therefore,
Now to confirm this paper in open court.
Who was the head of this conspiracy?
The man who thought to sit in Cæsar’s place,
When ye had murdered Cæsar?
Sce.Calpurnius Piso.
Tig. Stand forth, Natalis.
NATALIS.Here, my lord.
Tig.Art thou
Of Piso’s household?
Nat.I am, my lord.
Tig.Then thou
Shouldst know: was Piso head of this conspiracy?
Nat. He was, my lord.
Ner.Judgment!—
Ruf. Arrest Calpurnius Piso on this charge.
Ner. (to Tig.). Send and arrest him. (Tig. speaks to those behind.)
Fla. (to Ruf.).Let me by thee, Rufus!—
Send me to Cæsar with some paper, Rufus!—
Now I may reach him.—To save Piso, Rufus!—
Ruf. (to Flav., thrusting him back). Be still!
Tig. (looking up). Order! who speaks?
Ner. whispers to Tigellinus, who sets two Guards before Nero’s seat.
Ruf. (to Flav.). See, fool; he hath smelt thee.
Tig. I’ll ask Natalis further if he knew
Of any other chief man in the state
Cognizant of this plot, or joined therein.
Nat. Calpurnius Piso was the chief, my lord.
Tig. No other? and I have here thy writing!
Fla. (aside to Rufus).Now,
General, thy turn is come.
Ruf. (to Natalis).Speak, sir!
Nat.I pray,
Rufus, to urge not this: nay, from my heart
I say . . .
Tig.’Tis written here.
Ruf.This witness, Cæsar,
I do not trust.
Tig.Carry Natalis out
To torture.
Nat. I will speak.
Tig.Then name, sir, name!
Nat. Seneca.
Ruf.Seneca!
Tig.Yes, Seneca.
Let Seneca be arrested. Judge, what sayst thou?
Ruf. Let Seneca be arrested.
Fla. (to Ruf.).Villain thou art!
Ner. (to Tigell. who has whispered to him). Leave
2270Seneca to me.
Tig. These are the heads. Now will I read three names:
Tell me, Scevinus, if I read aright:
Quintian, Senecio, Lucan.
Sce.I denounce them.
Ner. Three hypocritical and fawning curs,
The lap-dogs of the palace. Where áre they?
Tig. They are here, Cæsar.—Quintian, stánd forth.
QUINTIAN.
Here,
My lord.
Tig. Dost thou confess?
Qu.I give Scevinus
The lie direct.
Ner.We found thee in his company,
The hour of his arrest.
Qu.Cæsar, I knew
Of nothing ’gainst thy life. ’Tis true that oft
I have spoken against Vatinius; were he Cæsar,
I should be guilty: but yourself have loved
To prick me to it; and so, maybe, my tongue
Hath given Scevinus undeserved occasion
To think me of his party.
Ner.Rufus, judge!
Ruf. I look for evidence.
Tig.Dost thou?—Then, Quintian,
To save thy life wilt thou inform?
Qu.I will.
Tig. Then was not Lucan with you?
Qu.He was.
Ner.O Quintian,
Quintian! if I forgave thee for thy treason,
I could not for thy folly. Arrest him.
Ruf.Arrest Quintian.
The next?
Tig. Senecio, General, hath confessed.
His evidence we will take later. Where is
Lucan?
Luc. I am here, my lord, ready to answer.
Ruf. Then let us hear thine answer.
Luc.I deny
The charge of treason: but so far confess
My intimacy with the accused, that oft
My zeal for senatorial forms hath led me
To listen to them, when the words that passed
Might tell against me: and if I was betrayed
2300By antiquarian taste, to trust these men
Against advice and warning . . .
Ner.Ah! thou sayest
Against advice. Who warned thee?
Luc.Cæsar, I said . . .
Ner. Sir, I will know who warned thee of this plot,
And warned not me.
Luc.Sire, I meant not so much.
Tig. We heard thee.
Luc.I make appeal to Rufus, whether
I must betray the innocent.
Ner.If thou look
For thine own pardon.
Tig.We can make thee speak.
Ruf. Tell us, sir, who these wondrous patriots were,
Who set thy private safety above Cæsar’s.
Luc. If Cæsar bids me speak, I may hide nothing.
I will confess it was my mother, Atilia,
Who warned me against these men. Punish not her
For not betraying her son.
Ner.Nay, sir, but thee
Who in this bungle of prevarication
Betrayest thine own mother. Judge!
Ruf.Arrest him.
Luc. I am arrested, Cæsar, not condemned.
Ner. Thou’lt see. Stand by!—(To Tigell.) Another woman! why
Comes not Epicharis?
Tig.I know no cause
For the delay. I’ll send again.
Ner.Do so.
(To Scevinus.) Go on, sir: who is next?
Sce.Plautius Lateranus.
Ner. Plautius Lateranus! Have more care
Whom thou accusest. This is one bounden to me
By special favours: from disgrace I raised him
To sit among the senate, and now he is chosen
Consul.
Tig. Dost thou denounce him?
2325
Sce.I do, my lord.
Ner. Whom then can Cæsar trust? Judge, Rufus, judge!
Tig. Judge!
Ruf.Let him be arrested.
Ner.Send to his house.
Enter an Officer.
OFFICER.
Cæsar, being sent to arrest Calpurnius Piso,
We found him dead.
Ruf.Dead! how?
Ner.Is Piso dead?
Fla. (to Rufus). See how thou hast ruined all!
Ruf. (to Flavus) Speak not to me!
Off. He died by his own hand as we arrived.
I viewed the body.
Tig.He must have killed himself
To escape the confiscation.
Ner.Bah! he hath robbed
The treasury.
Tig.We shall have pickings yet.
Ruf. Cæsar, the untimely suicide of the accused
Confirms the charge against him in so far
As he hath declined to meet it. But the trial
Falls to the ground: we lose both the defence
And the chief witness.
Ner.Not so. My chief object
Remains, and my chief witness.—(To Tig.) Where is Epicharis?
Tig. I see a litter passing ’neath the trees.
Ner. Meet them, and bring her in.—
[Exit Tigellinus.
I now produce a woman in the court.
Her name Epicharis: she lives at Naples,
And there was used by the conspirators
To tamper with the navy: the Admiral
Arrested her; but she, being charged before me,
Turned off suspicion with a specious tale,
Which I more readily believed, because
2350I hate informers, nor will lightly think
Evil of anyone. Senecio
Confirmed her story, but hath since confessed
He knew it false: himself, as he affirms,
Was not in Piso’s confidence; this woman
Knew all. Now Piso towards Senecio
Trusted too much in trusting but a little,
Trusting Epicharis much he trusted well:
For in the extreme of torture she hath not flinched,
Nor given a sound: but seeing her silence now
Confuted by so many tongues, she hath yielded,
And promised to speak truth. See, here she is.
During this speech Epicharis has been borne in on the litter, and is set down at the centre of the stage.
Her speech shall now unmask what traitorous faces
Still screen their villany.
Ruf.A woman, Cæsar;
And in the pangs of torture, and fear of death!
What evidence is this?
Ner.What would ye object?
Ruf. Shall Romans have their free lives played with thus?
Ner. What puts thee in fear? Silence!—Epicharis,
I bid thee now speak truth before the court.
Piso is dead. Thou seest thy comrades taken.
Truth may not save thy life: yet speak the truth
As thy last hope. Let no man interrupt her.
EPICHARIS (speaks from the litter).
Cæsar, I thank thee that in all my torture
Thou hast spared my tongue to tell thee truth at last:
That I am admitted where my free confession
2375May reach the public ear, nay not denied
Thine own ear, and for that I thank thee most;
And for my torture I thank thee too: ’tis proved
I speak not lightly, and must be well believed.
Thou bidst me, mighty Cæsar, tell thee truth:
Weak is my tongue to tell the mighty truths
Cæsar dare hear, and none hath dared to tell:
And I die . . . hearken quickly. Of all thou seest
There is not one whom thou canst trust: all hate thee . . .
Yet needst thou not, great Cæsar, fear them much;
For all are cowards: nay, there is not among them
One brave enough to kill thee. And yet again,
Great Cæsar, I counsel thee to fear them too;
For all the world ’gainst one will have their way.
I know thou fear’st. Then who is most thy foe?
Whom first to kill? That I can tell thee, Cæsar:
For none of all thou seest, or ever saw’st,
Or wilt see again, nay, not thy murdered mother,
Thy poisoned brother, thy beheaded wife,
Whose bloody ghosts watch on the banks of hell
To mark thy doom, none hateth thee as I,
Defieth thee as I, curseth thee as I.
O emperor of the world, thine hour is come.
Within thy cankered soul dwell side by side
Remorse and vanity to drive thee mad:
The grecian furies hound thee, the christian devils
2401Dispute for thee. Fly to thy dunghill, Cæsar,
Where thou must perish . . .
Ner.Will none there stop her mouth?
Ep. Plague-spotted, abhorred for ever—by all—accurst—
Asp. Let no man interrupt her!
Ner.Who spoke? Arrest him.—
Epicharis’ last words are spoken as the Soldiers surround her. She struggles on the litter violently, and falls back dead. Other Guards arrest Asper.
Who art thou, sir? thy name?
Asp. My name is Asper.
I am centurion under Rufus.
Ner. Rufus,
Know’st thou thy man?
Ruf.I grieve, sire, it is true:
He is one of my centurions.
Ner.Question him.
Tig. (who is standing by Epicharis, to Nero). Epicharis is dead.
Ner. Ye have killed her, fools?
Hath she got quit?
Tig.’Twas her own doing, Cæsar:
She meshed her neck among the cords, and so
Hath reft her of what little life remained.
Ner. Remove her to the prison, and let physicians
Attend her at once.
Tig.She is dead. (They carry Epicharis out.)
Ner.Rufus, proceed
With thy centurion.
Asp.If all hate thee, Cæsar,
How wilt thou bid that hater question this?
Ruf. What, fellow?
Asp.Thou that sittest there to judge,
And shouldst stand here, wilt thou dare question me?
Ruf. I, fellow?
Ner.Ha! Rufus, thou turnest pale.
Ruf. With anger I turn pale, that in your presence
A traitor should defame me.
Ner.Be cool, sir:
Thou wast suspected, now accused thou art.
2423Thou hast but one appeal: In thy worst case
’Tis to thy friends (pointing to accused).
Ruf.Call not those men my friends.
Ner. I’ll see. Speak, traitors all; was Rufus with you?
Luc., Sce., and others. He was. He is guilty.
Ner.Arrest the judge.
Ruf.Who dares?
What officer of mine dares raise his hand
Against his general?
CASSIUS.
That will I, my lord;
Knowing that thou deservest more than all.
Ruf. Help! help!—(To Flavus.) Now, man, strike now or never.
Fla. Hush!
(Rufus is seized after a struggle.)I am the last.
Ner. (stepping down). Now will I mount myself the judge’s seat.
(Fla. rushes forward to stab Nero.)
Ner. Ha! Murder! (Tigellinus, who has watched Flavus, intercepts him. Flavus is seized.)
Tig.Clear the Court!
The inner line of Guards faces outwards, and all present except the prisoners are driven from centre into the wings, and the court begins to clear.
Ner. (to Flavus, who is held before him). Who art thou, sir?
Fla. A tribune and an honest soldier, Cæsar;
And none more faithful, while you well deserved.
But I began to hate you from the day
You killed your mother, and debased yourself,
Performing to the people: and I am freed
From all my oaths, by all the gods in heaven,
With all the world; and sworn with half the world
To kill thee or be killed.
Ner.Fool! I shall kill thee,
With thy half world, and rule the other half.
(The curtain falls, or scene shuts across.)
SCENE · 4
A room in the palace. Enter Tigellinus.
TIGELLINUS.
Rufus, my rival, is condemned to die:
The city troops are mine: I am secure:
Cæsar I hold by flattery, Rome by force.
Sophronius Tigellinus of Agrigentum!
Of Agrigentum,—well done! be content.
Thou hast the second place in all the world,
And rulest the first; while of thine envious foes,
2450Sulla, Plautus, and Piso, all three are dead:
A few remain: but on the Spaniard Seneca
Shall the Sicilian eagle swoop to-night,
As on a flying hare. Poppæa, in this
My keen ally, hunts with me eagerly.
Enter Nero and Poppæa.
Hail, mighty Cæsar! fairest Augusta, hail!
(They salute.)
The assassin hath not hurt thy spirits?
NERO.
Fear not,
I have dined.
Tig.Dined well, I pray the gods.
Ner.Superbly.—
We sent to speak with thee of Seneca;
What should be done.
Tig.What hath been done already?
Ner. Hark, I will tell thee. I sent a letter to him,
Pressing the information of Natalis;—
‘Why, if thou knewest of this plot’—I said—
‘Didst not thou warn me? And if thou knewest not,
What was thy reason why thou didst refuse
Audience to Piso, alleging that such meetings
Were good for neither; adding also, I hold
Thy life needful for mine?’ Now I await
His answer.
Tig.The tribune is returned.
Ner.Impossible;
Seneca is in Campania.
Tig.Nay, your majesty;
He is in the suburbs: he returned to-day,
Trusting his wit before his innocence.
[Exit Tigellinus.
Ner. Go, fetch the tribune in.
POPPÆA.
Why dally thus?
Ner. I dally not: I go the shortest way
To find if he be guilty.
Pop.Stick you at that?
2475
Ner. Romans are free. There is no man can be touched
On an unproven charge.
Pop.Are you not Cæsar?
Ner. Cæsar administers the law, while it
Can minister to him.
Re-enter Tigellinus.
Tig.Here is his answer written.
Ner. Read it us, Tigellinus.
Tig.If I can . . .
The letters are so pinched and shaky . . . it needs
The scholarship of Cæsar.
Ner.Give it to me.
(Reads.) ‘To Cæsar, Lucius Annæus Seneca
Greeting . . . In answer to thy message; first
’Tis true that once Natalis came to me
From Piso, and begged that I would visit him:
And I excused myself on plea of sickness,
And need of quiet: As to the words imputed,
However I may prize thy safety, Cæsar,
I have no cause to set a private person’s
Above my own; nor do I stoop to flattery,
As well thou knowest; nor to such shallow arts
As would hide treason in a salutation.’
Tig. Is that the sum?
Ner.’Tis all. He is not guilty.
Tig. Not guilty!
Ner.Nay.
Pop.Why, he confesses it.
Ner. I know the man: his mind is here at ease.
The style is pithy and careless. When he has aught
To excuse, he is wordy.
Tig.He was wordy enough
In the matter of Agrippina, true.
Ner.Well, sir!
Pop. And in the matter of Britannicus.
2500
Ner. Why raise these matters now?
Tig.These are the matters
That Seneca harps on: while he lives they live.
Pop. These are the deeds Epicharis charged against thee.
Tig. This was the root of Flavus’ hate.
Pop. ’Tis this
The people mean, who whisper when I pass,
‘Octavia, Octavia.’
Tig.And he now persuades
Half Rome ’twas not himself who did these things,
But thou . . . which thou, permitting him to live,
Indorsest with thy name; dost set, I say,
The imperial warrant on the black account:
As orphans sign away their patrimony
To scheming uncles; as unwitting pupils
To crafty tutors fall a prey.
Ner.One lesson
He taught me perfectly, that is to hate him.
Pop. Thy hate and love go by half measures, Nero.
Tig. ’Twere pretty, Cæsar, wert thou a private person,
To play the philosopher upon the man
Who led thee astray—albeit to sacrifice
Thy wife and friend,—if he who saved thy life
May style himself thy friend . . .
Ner.Yes, friend; thou savedst
My life to-day.
2520
Tig.And yet saved not, if thou
Wilt throw it straight away, and with thy saviour’s.
Ner. Stay, I am resolved: I will not vex you further:
I yield. I know there is no man in the world,
Nor ever was, but hath his flaw: In some
’Tis a foul blot, that in the eye of nature
Stands out unpardonable and unredeemed
By all the school of virtues, howsoe’er
They dance in grace around it: In another
’Tis like a beauty-mark, a starry mole
2530Which on a virgin’s body but sets off
The dazzling flesh, that else were self-extinguished
In its own fairness.—Yet by these flecks and flaws,
Whate’er they be, ’tis fated that men fall:
And thus may I, nay must; unless in time
I heed good warning, for my fault is gross.
I am over-generous; yes; ye say it; I know it.
That is my flaw. It is because my schemes
Are wider than his own, that Seneca hates me:
Because the world hath tasted more of freedom
Under my rule than under any Cæsar
Who went before—and that can no man question—
It is for this my throne hath more been envied,
And by more plots and treacheries besieged,
Than ever others were: and when I saw
(My safety and the people’s good being one)
I must make holocaust of private feelings
To that which helped the whole, then ’twas for that
The bungling crowd condemned me, & where I looked
For gratitude to be my consolation,
2550I met reproach. ’Twas Seneca, ye say,
Who did those things. ’Tis true those deeds were his
In reason and connivence; but in the act,
Doing and suffering they were mine, and are.
Yet now, if he withdraw his countenance,
Condemn, wear vulgar horror on his face,
And turn men’s hearts against me, what could move
My anger more if I were vain or cruel?
No. Have your will;—and if I hinder not,
He cannot blame me; since I do but play
Seneca to your Cæsar.
Tig.I thank thee, sire.
He dies to-night; or shall we wait to have him
Compose the palliation?
[Exit Tig.
Ner.Jest not; ’tis done.
Pop. You have talked too long, Nero; come in & rest.
Ner. He was my tutor once, and once I loved him.
Pop. You might have done it with a nod.
Ner.He is old:
I rob him not of much. The end of life
Is tedious, I believe. Come back, Poppæa;
And while we are in our prime, let us be merry
[Exeunt.And thank the gods.
SCENE · 5
(As epilogue.)
Scene withdraws and shows Seneca’s garden in the suburbs: a table set out under a tree.
Enter SENECA, THRASEA, and PRISCUS.
SENECA.
This way: I have bid them set a table, Thrasea,
Under my favourite tree. Here let us sit,
And watch the April sunset; the mild air
Permits this summer pleasure.
THRASEA.
I long doubted
Whether to come upon an invitation
2575Written before these troubles.
Sen.You did well
Not to desert me. Fannia too shall comfort
My grieved Paullina.—Here is the best wine
Of all my vineyards: drink to my long journey:—
But first remember solemnly our friends
Who have already died to-day: I pour
This cup to them, and specially must name
My nephew Lucan.
Thr.’Tis an ancient custom.
Sen. (offering to Thrasea). And should be kept.
Thr. (taking and sprinkling). I’ll name the gentle Piso.
PRISCUS (taking from Thrasea).
(Sprinkling.)
This to Epicharis.
Thr.Well spoken, son.
No better wish than that we all may die
Bravely as she.
Sen.So be it! Now let us sit. (They sit.)
And I between (sitting). I would so spend this hour,.
That ye shall not forget it in after-days,
When ye think of me. ’Tis the last time, friends,
That ye will sup with me.
Pr.Nay, say not so:
I trust you have escaped.
Sen.Look on yon sun:
An hour hence he will set; and now he sinks
Smiling eternal promises. Ye both
Shall see him rise, but I—I shall not see it.
This tree shall hang its branches, and another
May sit and comfort his poetic sadness.
As I have done, only not I: I only
Not here . . . not there, where I have been: all things
Have hitherto existed with me, henceforth
All will exist without me.
2600
Pr.Have more hope.
Sen. Nay, it is so; what else could Cæsar mean?
Thr. Your answer may convince him.
Sen.Nay, good Thrasea;
These be the last hours of my life: I’d say
To you, my friends, what I have most at heart.
And first rejoice with me that I depart
With all my senses perfect, not as some,
Tortured by pain and praying for release;
Nor like a man, who walking in the dark,
Comes to a brink upright, and steppeth over
Unhesitatingly, because he knows not.
Nor is my term much shortened, I shall die
Like aged Socrates, and with his hope
That the spirit doth not perish;—I mean not
A senseless immortality of fame:
That I shall have, but more I’ll have; I dream
Of life in which I may be Seneca again,
Seneca still.
Thr. Now if thou couldst convince us,
Seneca, of that, ’twere worthy thy last hour.
Teach me to picture what thou thinkst to see,
That land betwixt oblivion and regret;
Where is’t? how is it?
Sen.It lies not in the scope
Of demonstration, Thrasea; but my heart
Bears witness to it: the best that I could say
Is in my books. What all mankind desires,
2625The mind requires; what it requires believes:
And calls it truth. I hold that one God made us,
And at our death receives our spirits kindly:
We shall meet elsewhere those whom we leave here.
Pr. This will not comfort Romans: Nero again,
And Tigellinus....
Sen.Why may there not be
Distinction, Priscus, as old fables tell;
Rewards for good, and punishments for ill?
The myths are gross and brutal, but philosophy
Finds reason in religion.
Thr.Then the vulgar,
’Gainst whom you have waged your philosophic war,
Hold the last truth.
Sen.The sanction of all truth
Lies in our common nature. A religion
Based on the truth of what all men desire
Must carry all before it.
Thr.But you said
Philosophy found reason in religion.
What is your ground?
Sen.My first is this, that else
All were unjust. It needs a second life
To set this even.
Thr.You have not found in life
Its own reward?
Sen.Nay, I have not.
Thr.I know not
If ’tis not sadder, this profound impeachment
Of God’s whole constitution as we see it,
Than the belief that death’s our end of all.
To live in conscious harmony with nature
May satisfy our being; but religion
2650Looks like the poetry which childhood makes
To cloke its empty terrors, or bedizen
Its painted idols: such is my persuasion.
Pr. And mine.
Sen.Ah, Priscus, thou art young. I once
Looked forward into life with a proud heart,
Nor saw the exigency and irony
Of all-subduing Fate. Consider, Priscus,
Whether your father’s virtue or Nero’s crimes
Have found their recompense.
Pr.If Thrasea’s heart
Is comforted by virtue, sir, and Nero
Made wretched by his crime . . .
Sen.Then put it thus:
If any were to make a tragedy
Of these events, how would it pass or please,
If Nero lived on at the end unpunished,
Triumphing still o’er good?
Thr.Yes, Seneca:
But see you make not now your god of the stage
The God of Nature. Our true tragedy
Is just this outward riddle, and the god
That mends all, comes not in pat at his cue
On a machine, but liveth in our hearts
Resolving evil faster than it falls,
As the sun melts the snow.
Sen.’Tis not enough,
Thrasea, ’tis not enough: there must be more.
Hear you a tramping? That is Cæsar’s men:
They will surround the garden. Come aside.
(Comes to front with Thrasea.)
2675
Stand by me, Thrasea, to the last. I would not
Slur the last act of life. Be thou my witness
Of word and deed.
Enter Paullina with Fannia, who goes to Priscus.
PAULLINA.
O Seneca, they are come;
They are come again.
Sen.Dear wife, remember, and help me.—
See, friends, the sun is almost set; ’tis time
We went within.
Pau.Alas! (weeping.)
Sen. (to Paullina). Thy tears distract me,
And shame us both.
Enter a Centurion.
CENTURION.
Annæus Seneca!
Sen. Well, sir: thy message? Art not thou Silvanus,
That stoodst with Rufus and with Subrius Flavus?
How hast thou wriggled out?
Cent.I am Silvanus,
And bring thee Cæsar’s bidding.
Sen.Is it death?
Cent. ’Tis death.
Pau.Shame on thee.
Sen.Hush, wife: be brave.—A man
Need not be shamed, sirs, that his wife bewail him.
(To Paullina.) Go thou, Paullina, fetch my will.
Cent.Stay, madam:
’Tis not allowed.
Sen.This is unkind: my wealth
Was Cæsar’s gift: but now he takes from me
More than he ever gave, my life: ’tis mean
To grudge me my last freedom, the little use
I’d make of his old favours. I but wished
To leave mementoes to three loving friends,
Who have supped with me to-night.—In lieu thereof
The example of my constancy shall be
More lively undelayed by gentle speeches
And farewell gifts. Come with me, all is ready.
Cent. I await thee.
Sen.Farewell, friends! Farewell, Paullina!
Pau. Not to me here.
Sen.Yes, we must part: the day
Is not much hastened. See how skeleton-like
Already the hand, with which I go to shear
The filmy threads of life.
Pau.But I will die
With thee.
Sen.Be still. Let not thy heart rebel.
Now is the hour of proof.
Pau.If ’twere God’s will.
Sen. All is God’s will: and as we lived together
In love, so now we part.
Pau.Why should we part?
What thou doest I will do: I fear not death.
I’ll hold my little candle by thy sun....
Sen. It may not be. Use thy high courage rather
To live. Yes, live in peace: live long.
Pau.With thee
Murdered! Alas!
Sen.Give me thy last embrace.
Pau. Was not my faith then true? Are we not one?
Sen. Yes, yes: we are one.
Pau.Then now forbid me not
To die with thee.
FANNIA.
Do not this thing, madam!
Pau. Nay, hold me not!
Sen.Paullina, dost thou make
This desperate choice truly with all thy heart?
Pau. With all my heart.
Sen.Thou dost? Dear wife, I thought
Cæsar could part us: now I can forgive him.—
To you, my friends, farewell! Thrasea, farewell!
Priscus, farewell! Fannia, farewell!—Paullina,
(Taking her hand)
Since thou canst dare, we will go hand in hand
To learn the mighty secret; we will set forth
2724Together unto the place where all have gone.