Books: Quo Vadis A Narrative of the Time of Nero

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"In that case no injustice is done thee. But I do not understand the
position."

"True, true!" answered Vinicius, feverishly. "We understand each
other no longer."

Another moment of silence followed.

"May Hades swallow thy Christians!" exclaimed Petronius. "They
have filled thee with disquiet, and destroyed thy sense of life. May
Hades devour them! Thou art mistaken in thinking that their
religion is good, for good is what gives people happiness, namely,
beauty, love, power; but these they call vanity. Thou art mistaken
in this, that they are just! for if we pay good for evil, what shall we
pay for good? And besides, if we pay the same for one and the
other, why are people to be good?"

"No, the pay is not the same; but according to their teaching it
begins in a future life, which is without limit."

"I do not enter into that question, for we shall see hereafter if it be
possible to see anything without eyes. Meanwhile they are simply
incompetents. Ursus strangled Croton because he has limbs of
bronze; but these are mopes, and the future cannot belong to
mopes."

"For them life begins with death."

"Which is as if one were to say, 'Day begins with night.' Hast thou
the intent to carry off Lygia?"

"No, I cannot pay her evil for good, and I swore that I would not."

"Dost thou intend to accept the religion of Christ?"

"I wish to do so, but my nature cannot endure it."

"But wilt thou be able to forget Lygia?"

"Then travel."

At that moment the slaves announced that the repast was ready;
but Petronius, to whom it seemed that he had fallen on a good
thought, said, on the way to the triclinium, -- "Thou has ridden
over a part of the world, but only as a soldier hastening to his place
of destination, and without halting by the way. Go with us to
Achaea. Caesar has not given up the journey. He will stop
everywhere on the way, sing, receive crowns, plunder temples, and
return as a triumphator to Italy. That will resemble somewhat a
journey of Bacchus and Apollo in one person. Augustians, male
and female, a thousand citharz. By Castor! that will be worth
witnessing, for hitherto the world has not seen anything like it!"

Here he placed himself on the couch before the table, by the side
of Eunice; and when the slaves put a wreath of anemones on his
head, he continued, -- "What hast thou seen in Corbulo's service?
Nothing. I-last thou seen the Grecian temples thoroughly, as I
have, -- I who was passing more than two years from the hands of
one guide to those of another? Hast thou been in Rhodes to
examine the site of the Colossus? Hast thou seen in Panopeus, in
Phocis, the clay from which Prometheus shaped man; or in Sparta
the eggs laid by Leda; or in Athens the famous Sarmatian armor
made of horse-hoofs; or in Eubcea the ship of Agamemnon; or the
cup for whose pattern the left breast of Helen served? Hast thou
seen Alexandria, Memphis, the Pyramids, the hair which Isis tore
from her head in grief for Osiris? Hast thou heard the shout of
Memnon? The world is wide; everything does not end at the
TransTiber! I will accompany Caesar, and when he returns I will
leave him and go to Cyprus; for it is the wish of this golden-haired
goddess of mine that we offer doves together to the divinity in
Paphos, and thou must know that whatever she wishes must
happen."

"I am thy slave," said Eunice.

He rested his garlanded head on her bosom, and said with a smile,
-- "Then I am the slave of a slave. I admire thee, divine one, from
feet to head!"

Then he said to Vinicius: "Come with us to Cyprus. But first
remember that thou must see Caesar. It is bad that thou hast not
been with him yet; Tigellinus is ready to use this to thy
disadvantage. He has no personal hatred for thee, it is true; but he
cannot love thee, even because thou art my sister's son. We shall
say that thou wert sick. We must think over what thou art to
answer should he ask thee about Lygia. It will be best to wave thy
hand and say that she was with thee till she wearied thee. He will
understand that. Tell him also that sickness kept thee at home; that
thy fever was increased by disappointment at not being able to
visit Naples and hear his song; that thou wert assisted to health
only by the hope of hearing him. Fear no exaggeration. Tigellinus
promises to invent, not only something great for Caesar, but
something enormous. I am afraid that he will undermine me; I am
afraid too of thy disposition."

"Dost thou know," said Vinicius, "that there are people who have
no fear of Caesar, and who live as calmly as if he were
non-existent?"

"I know whom thou hast in mind -- the Christians."

"Yes; they alone. But our life, -- what is it if not unbroken terror?"

"Do not mention thy Christians. They fear not Caesar, because he
has not even heard of them perhaps; and in every case he knows
nothing of them, and they concern him as much as withered leaves.
But I tell thee that they are incompetents. Thou feelest this thyself;
if thy nature is repugnant to their teaching, it is just because thou
feelest their incompetence. Thou art a man of other clay; so
trouble not thyself or me with them. We shall be able to live and
die, and what more they will be able to do is unknown."

These words struck Vinicius; and when he returned home, he
began to think that in truth, perhaps, the goodness and charity of
Christians was a proof of their incompetience of soul. It seemed to
him that people of strength and temper could not forgive thus. It
came to his head that this must be the real cause of the repulsion
which his Roman soul felt toward their teaching. "We shall be able
to live and die!" said Petrothus. As to them, they know only how to
forgive, and understand neither true love nor true hatred.

Chapter XXX

Caesar, on returning to Rome, was angry because he had returned,
and after some days was filled anew with a wish to visit Achaea.
He even issued an edict in which he declared that his absence
would be short, and that public affairs would not be exposed to
detriment because of it. In company with Augustians, among
whom was Vinicius, he repaired to the Capitol to make offerings
to the gods for an auspicious journey. But on the second day, when
he visited the temple of Vesta, an event took place which changed
all his projects. Nero feared the gods, though he did not believe in
them; he feared especially the mysterious Vesta, who filled him
with such awe that at sight of the divinity and the sacred fire his
hair rose on a sudden from terror, his teeth chattered, a shiver ran
through his limbs, and he dropped into the arms of Vinicius, who
happened there behind him. He was borne out of the temple at
once, and conveyed to the Palatine, where he recovered soon, but
did not leave the bed for that day. He declared, moreover, to the
great astonishment of those present, that he deferred his journey,
since the divinity had warned him secretly against haste. An hour
later it was announced throughout Rome that Caesar, seeing the
gloomy faces of the citizens, and moved by love for them, as a
father for his children, would remain to share their lot and their
pleasures. The people, rejoiced at this decision, and certain also
that they would not miss games and a distribution of wheat,
assembled in crowds before the gates of the Palatine, and raised
shouts in honor of the divine Caesar, who interrupted the play at
dice with which he was amusing himself with Augustians, and
said:

"Yes, there was need to defer the journey. Egypt, and predicted
dominion over the Orient, cannot escape me; hence Ach~a, too,
will not be lost. I will give command to cut through the isthmus of
Corinth; I will rear such monuments in Egypt that the pyramids
will seem childish toys in comparison; I will have a sphinx built
seven times greater than that which is gazing into the desert
outside Memphis; but I will command that it have my face.
Coming ages will speak only of that monument and of me."

"With thy verses thou hast reared a monument to thyself already,
not seven, but thrice seven, times greater than the pyramid of
Cheops," said Petronius.

"But with my song?" inquired Nero.

"Ah! if men could only build for thee a statue, like that of
Memnon, to call with thy voice at sunrise! For all ages to come the
seas adjoining Egypt would swarm with ships in which crowds
from the three parts of the world would be lost in listenmg to thy
song."

"Alas! who can do that?" said Nero.

"But thou canst give command to cut out of basalt thyself driving a
quadriga."

"True! I will do that!"

"Thou wilt bestow a gift on humanity."

"In Egypt 1 will marry the Moon, who is now a widow, and I shall
be a god really."

"And thou wilt give us stars for wives; we will make a new
constellation, which will be called the constellation of Nero. But
do thou marry Vitelius to the Nile, so that he may beget
hippopotamuses. Give the desert to Tigellinus, he will be king of
the jackals."

"And what dost thou predestine to me?" inquired Vatinius.

"Apis bless thee! Thou didst arrange such splendid games in
Beneventum that 1 cannot wish thee ill. Make a pair of boots for
the sphinx, whose paws must grow numb during night-dews; after
that thou will make sandals for the Colossi which form the alleys
before the temples. Each one will find there a fitting occupation.
Domitius Afer, for example, will be treasurer, since he is known
for his honesty. I am glad, Caesar, when thou art dreaming of
Egypt, and I am saddened because thou hast deferred thy plan of a
journey."

"Thy mortal eyes saw nothing, for the deity becomes invisible to
whomever it wishes," said Nero. "Know that when I was in the
temple of Vesta she herself stood near me, and whispered in my
ear, 'Defer the journey.' That happened so unexpectedly that I was
terrified, though for such an evident care of the gods for me I
should be thankful."

"We were all terrified," said Tigcllinus, "and the vestal Rubria
fainted."

"Rubria!" said Nero; "what a snowy neck she has!"

"But she blushed at sight of the divine Caesar --"

"True! I noticed that myself. That is wonderful. There is something
divine in every vestal, and Rubria is very beautiful.

"Tell me," said he, after a moment's meditation, "why people fear
Vesta more than other gods. What does this mean? Though I am
the chief priest, fear seized me to-day. I remember only that I was
falling back, and should have dropped to the ground had not some
one supported me. Who was it?"

"I," answered Vinicius.

"Oh, thou 'stern Mars'! Why wert thou not in Beneventum? They
told me that thou wert ill, and indeed thy face is changed. But I
heard that Crown wished to kill thee? Is that true?"

"It is, and he broke my arm; but I defended myself."

"With a broken arm?"

"A certain barbarian helped me; he was stronger than Croton."

Nero looked at him with astonishment. "Stronger than Croton? Art
thou jesting? Croton was the strongest of men, but now here is
Syphax from Ethiopia."

"I tell thee, Caesar, what I saw with my own eyes."

"Where is that pearl? Has he not become king of Nemi?"

"I cannot tell, Caesar. I lost sight of him."

"Thou knowest not even of what people he is?"

"I had a broken arm, and could not inquire for him."

"Seek him, and find him for me."

"I will occupy myself with that," said Tigellinus.

But Nero spoke further to Vinicius: "I thank thee for having
supported me; I might have broken my head by a fall. On a time
thou west a good companion, but campaigning and service with
Corbulo have made thee wild in some way; 1 see thee rarely.

"How is that maiden too narrow in the hips, with whom thou wert
in love," asked he after a while, "and whom I took from Aulus for
thee?"

Vinicius was confused, but Petronius came to his aid at that
moment. "I will lay a wager, lord," said he, "that he has forgotten.
Dost thou see his confusion? Ask him how many of them there
were since that time, and I will not give assurance of his power to
answer. The Vinicii are good soldiers, but still better gamecocks.
They need whole flocks. Punish him for that, lord, by not inviting
him to the feast which Tigellinus promises to arrange in thy honor
on the pond of Agrippa."

"I will not do that. I trust, Tigellinus, that flocks of beauty will not
be lacking there."

"Could the Graces be absent where Amor will be present?"
answered Tigellinus.

"Weariness tortures me," said Nero. "I have remained in Rome at
the will of the goddess, but I cannot endure the city. I will go to
Annum. I am stifled in these narrow streets, amid these
tumble-down houses, amid these alleys. Foul air flies even here to
my house and my gardens. Oh, if an earthquake would destroy
Rome, if some angry god would level it to the earth! I would show
how a city should be built, which is the head of the world and my
capital."

"Caesar," answered Tigellinus, "thou sayest, 'If some angry god
would destroy the city,' -- is it so?"

"It is! What then?"

"But art thou not a god?"

Nero waved his hand with an expression of weariness, and said, --
"We shall see thy work on the pond of Agrippa. Afterward I go to
Antium. Ye are all little, hence do not understand that I need
immense things."

Then he closed his eyes, giving to understand in that way that he
needed rest. In fact, the Augustians were beginning to depart.
Petronius went out with Vinicius, and said to him, -- "Thou art
invited, then, to share in the amusement. Bronzebeard has
renounced the journey, but he will be madder than ever; he has
fixed himself in the city as in his own house. Try thou, too, to find
in these madnesses amusement and forgetfulness. Well! we have
conquered the world, and have a right to amuse ourselves. Thou,
Marcus, art a very comely fellow, and to that I ascribe in part the
weakness which I have for thee. By the Ephesian Diana! if thou
couldst see thy joined brows, and thy face in which the ancient
blood of the Quirites is evident! Others near thee looked like
freedmen. True! were it not for that mad religion, Lygia would be
in thy house to-day. Attempt once more to prove to me that they
are not enemies of life and mankind. They have acted well toward
thee, hence thou mayst be grateful to them; but in thy place I
should detest that religion, and seek pleasure where I could find it.
Thou art a comely fellow, I repeat, and Rome is swarming with
divorced women."

"I wonder only that all this does not torture thee yet?"

"Who has told thee that it does not? It tortures me this long time,
but I am not of thy years. Besides, I have other attachments which
are lacking thee. I love books, thou hast no love for them; I love
poetry, which annoys thee; I love pottery, gems, a multitude of
things, at which thou dost not look; I have a pain in my loins,
which thou hast not; and, finally, I have found Eunice, but thou
hast found nothing similar. For me, it is pleasant in my house,
among masterpieces; of thee I can never make a man of aesthetic
feeling. I know that in life I shall never find anything beyond what
I have found; thou thyself knowest not that thou art hoping yet
continually, and seeking. If death were to visit thee, with all thy
courage and sadness, thou wouldst die with astonishment that it
was necessary to leave the world; but I should accept death as a
necessity, with the conviction that there is no fruit in the world
which I have not tasted. I do not hurry, neither shall I loiter; I shall
try merely to be joyful to the end. There are cheerful sceptics in
the world. For me, the Stoics are fools; but stoicism tempers men,
at least, while thy Christians bring sadness into the world, which in
life is the same as rain in nature. Dost thou know what I have
learned? That during the festivities which Tigellinus will arrange
at the pond of Agrippa, there will be lupanaria, and in them
women from the first houses of Rome. Will there be not even one
sufficiently beautiful to console thee? There will be maidens, too,
appearing in society for the first time -- as nymphs. Such is our
Roman Caesardom! The air is mild already; the midday breeze
will warm the water and not bring pimples on naked bodies. And
thou, Narcissus, know this, that there will not be one to refuse
thee, -- not one, even though she be a vestal virgin."

Vinicius began to strike his head with his palm, like a man
occupied eternally with one thought.

"I should need luck to find such a one."

"And who did this for thee, if not the Christians? But people whose
standard is a cross cannot be different. Listen to me: Greece was
beautiful, and created wisdom; we created power; and what, to thy
thinking, can this teaching create? If thou know, explain; for, by
Pollux! I cannot divine it."

"Thou art afraid, it seems, lest I become a Christian," said
Vinicius, shrugging his shoulders.

"I am afraid that thou hast spoiled life for thyself. If thou canst not
be a Grecian, be a Roman; possess and enjoy. Our madnesses have
a certain sense, for there is in them a kind of thought of our own. I
despise Bronzebeard, because he is a Greek buffoon. If he held
himself a Roman, I should recognize that he was right in
permitting himself madness. Promise me that if thou find some
Christian on returning home, thou wilt show thy tongue to him. If
he be Glaucus the physician, he will not wonder. -- Till we meet
on the pond of Agrippa."

Chapter XXXI

PRETORIANS surrounded the groves on the banks of the pond of
Agrippa, lest over-numerous throngs of spectators might annoy
Caesar and his guests; though it was said that everything in Rome
distinguished for wealth, beauty, or intellect was present at that
feast, which had no equal in the history of the city. Tigellinus
wished to recompense Caesar for the deferred journey to Achaea,
to surpass all who had ever feasted Nero, and prove that no man
could entertain as he could. With this object in view, while with
Caesar in Naples, and later in Beneventum, he had made
preparations and sent orders to bring from the remotest regions of
the earth beasts, birds, rare fish, and plants, not omitting vessels
and cloths, which were to enhance the splendor of the feast. The
revenues of whole provinces went to satisfy mad projects; but the
powerful favorite had no need to hesitate. His influence grew
daily. Tigellinus was not dearer than others to Nero yet, perhaps,
but he was becoming more and more indispensable. Petronius
surpassed him infinitely in polish, intellect, wit; in conversation he
knew better how to amuse Caesar: but to his misfortune he
surpassed in conversation Caesar himself, hence he roused his
jealousy; moreover he could not be an obedient instrument in
everything, and Caesar feared his opinion when there were
questions in matters of taste. But before Tigellinus, Nero never felt
any restraint. The very title, arbiter elegantiarum, which had been
given to Petronius, annoyed Nero's vanity, for who had the right to
bear that title but himself? Tigellinus had sense enough to know
his own deficiencies; and seeing that he could not compete with
Petronius, Lucan, or others distinguished by birth, talents, or
learning, he resolved to extinguish them by the suppleness of his
services, and above all by such a magnificence that the
imagination of Nero himself would be struck by it. He had
arranged to give the feast on a gigantic raft, framed of gilded
timbers. The borders of this raft were decked with splendid shells
found in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, shells brffliant with
the colors of pearls and the rainbow. The banks of the pond were
covered with groups of palm, with groves of lotus, and blooming
roses. In the midst of these were hidden fountains of perfumed
water, statues of gods and goddesses, and gold or silver cages
filled with birds of various colors. In the centre of the raft rose an
immense tent, or rather, not to hide the feasters, only the roof of a
tent, made of Syrian purple, resting on silver columns; under it
were gleaming, like suns, tables prepared for the guests, loaded
with Alexandrian glass, crystal, and vessels simply beyond price, --
the plunder of Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor. The raft, which
because of plants accumulated on it had the appearance of an
island and a garden, was joined by cords of gold and purple to
boats shaped like fish, swans, mews, and flamingoes, in which sat
at painted oars naked rowers of both sexes, with forms and
features of marvellous beauty, their hair dressed in Oriental
fashion, or gathered in golden nets. When Nero arrived at the main
raft with Poppae and the Augustians, and sat beneath the purple
tent-roof, the oars struck the water, the boats moved, the golden
cords stretched, and the raft with the feast and the guests began to
move and describe circles on the pond. Other boats surrounded it,
and other smaller rafts, filled with women playing on citharae and
harps, women whose rosy bodies on the blue background of the
sky and the water and in the reflections from golden instruments
seemed to absorb that blue and those reflections, and to change
and bloom like flowers.

From the groves at the banks, from fantastic buildings reared for
that day and hidden among thickets, were heard music and song.
The neighborhood resounded, the groves resounded; echoes bore
around the voices of horns and trumpets. Caesar himself, with
Poppaea on one side of him, and Pythagoras on the other, was
amazed; and more especially when among the boats young slave
maidens appeared as sirens, and were covered with green network
in imitation of scales, he did not spare praises on Tigellinus. But
he looked at Petronius from habit, wishing to learn the opinion of
the "arbiter," who seemed indifferent for a long time, and only
when questioned outright, answered, -- "I judge, lord, that ten
thousand naked maidens make less impression than one."

But the "floating feast" pleased Caesar, for it was something new.
Besides, such exquisite dishes were served that the imagination of
Apicius would have failed at sight of them, and wines of so many
kinds that Otho, who used to serve eighty, would have hidden
under water with shame, could he have witnessed the luxury of
that feast. Besides women, the Augustians sat down at the table,
among whom Vinicius excelled all with his beauty. Formerly his
figure and face indicated too clearly the soldier by profession; now
mental suffering and the physical pain through which he had
passed had chiselled his features, as if the delicate hand of a
master had passed over them. His complexion had lost its former
swarthiness, but the yellowish gleam of Numidian marble
remained on it. His eyes had grown larger and more pensive. His
body had retained its former powerful outlines, as if created for
armor; but above the body of a legionary was seen the head of a
Grecian god, or at least of a refined patrician, at once subtle and
splendid. Petronius, in saying that none of the ladies of Caesar's
court would be able or willing to resist Vinicius, spoke like a man
of experience. All gazed at him now, not excepting Poppaea, or the
vestal virgin Rubria, whom Caesar wished to see at the feast.

Wines, cooled in mountain snow, soon warmed the hearts and
heads of the guests. Boats shaped as grasshoppers or butterflies
shot forth from the bushes at the shore every moment. The blue
surface of the pond seemed occupied by butterflies. Above the
boats ftere and there flew doves, and other birds from India and
Africa, fastened with silver and blue threads or strings. The sun
had passed the greater part of the sky, but the day was warm and
even hot, though in the beginning of May. The pond heaved from
the strokes of oars, which beat the water in time with music; but in
the air there was not the least breath of wind; the groves were
motionless, as if lost in listening and in gazing at that which was
happening on the water. The raft circled continually on the pond,
bearing guests who were increasingly drunk and boisterous.

The feast had not run half its course yet, when the order in which
all sat at the table was observed no longer. Caesar gave the
example, for, rising himself, he commanded Vinicius, who sat next
to Rubria the vestal, to move. Nero occupied the place, and began
to whisper something in Rubria's ear. Vinicius found himself next
to Poppna, who extended her arm and begged him to fasten her
loosened bracelet. When he did so, with hands trembling
somewhat, she cast at him from beneath her long lashes a glance
as it were of modesty, and shook her golden head as if in
resistance.

Meanwhile the sun, growing larger, ruddier, sank slowly behind
the tops of the grove; the guests were for the greater part
thoroughly intoxicated. The raft circled now nearer the shore, on
which, among bunches of trees and flowers, were seen groups of
people, disguised as fauna or satyrs, playing on flutes, bagpipes,
and drums, with groups of maidens representing nymphs, dryads,
and hamadryads. Darkness fell at last amid drunken shouts from
the tent, shouts raised in honor of Luna. Meanwhile the groves
were lighted with a thousand lamps. From the lupanaria on the
shores shone swarms of lights; on the terraces appeared new naked
groups, formed of the wives and daughters of the first Roman
houses. These with voice and unrestrained manner began to lure
partners. The raft touched the shore at last. Caesar and the
Augustians vanished in the groves, scattered in lupanaria, in tents
hidden in thickets, in grottos artificially arranged among fountains
and springs. Madness seized all; no one knew whither Caesar had
gone; no one knew who was a senator, who a knight, who a
dancer, who a musician. Satyrs and fauns fell to chasing nymphs
with shouting. They struck lamps with thyrses to quench them.
Darkness covered certain parts of the grove. Everywhere, however,
laughter and shouts were heard, and whispers, and panting breaths.
In fact Rome had not seen anything like that before.