Quo Vadis: a narrative of the time of Nero Part 50

Then he turned to Petronius with a radiant face.

"Petronius," said he, "the people murmur; but if I take my lute and go to the Campus Martius, if I sing that song to them which I sang during the conflagration, dost thou not think that I will move them, as Orpheus moved wild beasts?"

To this Tullius Senecio, who was impatient to return to his slave women brought in from Antium, and who had been impatient a long time, replied,-

"Beyond doubt, O Caesar, if they permit thee to begin."

"Let us go to h.e.l.las!" cried Nero, with disgust.

But at that moment Poppaea appeared, and with her Tigellinis. The eyes of those present turned to him unconsciously, for never had triumphator ascended the Capitol with pride such as his when he stood before Caesar. He began to speak slowly and with emphasis, in tones through which the bite of iron, as it were, was heard,-

"Listen. O Caesar, for I can say: I have found! The people want vengeance, they want not one victim, but hundreds, thousands. Hast heard, lord, who Christos was,-he who was crucified by Pontius Pilate? And knowest thou who the Christians are? Have I not told thee of their crimes and foul ceremonies, of their predictions that fire would cause the end of the world? People hate and suspect them. No one has seen them in a temple at any time, for they consider our G.o.ds evil spirits; they are not in the Stadium, for they despise horse races. Never have the hands of a Christian done thee honor with plaudits. Never has one of them recognized thee as G.o.d. They are enemies of the human race, of the city, and of thee. The people murmur against thee; but thou hast given me no command to burn Rome, and I did not burn it. The people want vengeance; let them have it. The people want blood and games; let them have them. The people suspect thee; let their suspicion turn in another direction."

Nero listened with amazement at first; but as Tigellinus proceeded, his actor's face changed, and a.s.sumed in succession expressions of anger, sorrow, sympathy, indignation. Suddenly he rose, and, casting off the toga, which dropped at his feet, he raised both hands and stood silent for a time. At last he said, in the tones of a tragedian,-

"O Zeus, Apollo, Here, Athene, Persephone, and all ye immortals! why did ye not come to aid us? What has this hapless city done to those cruel wretches that they burnt it so inhumanly?"

"They are enemies of mankind and of thee," said Poppaea.

"Do justice!" cried others. "Punish the incendiaries! The G.o.ds themselves call for vengeance!"

Nero sat down, dropped his head to his breast, and was silent a second time, as if stunned by the wickedness of which he had heard. But after a while he shook his hands, and said,-

"What punishments, what tortures befit such a crime? But the G.o.ds will inspire me, and, aided by the powers of Tartarus, I will give my poor people such a spectacle that they will remember me for ages with grat.i.tude."

The forehead of Petronius was covered with a sudden cloud. He thought of the danger hanging over Lygia and over Vinicius, whom he loved, and over all those people whose religion he rejected, but of whose innocence he was certain. He thought also that one of those b.l.o.o.d.y orgies would begin which his eyes, those of an aesthetic man, could not suffer. But above all he thought: "I must save Vinicius, who will go mad if that maiden perishes"; and this consideration outweighed every other, for Petronius understood well that he was beginning a game far more perilous than any in his life. He began, however, to speak freely and carelessly, as his wont was when criticising or ridiculing plans of Caesar and the Augustians that were not sufficiently aesthetic,-

"Ye have found victims! That is true. Ye may send them to the arena, or array them in 'painful tunics.' That is true also. But hear me! Ye have authority, ye have pretorians, ye have power; then be sincere, at least, when no one is listening! Deceive the people, but deceive not one another. Give the Christians to the populace, condemn them to any torture ye like; but have courage to say to yourselves that it was not they who burnt Rome. Phy! Ye call me 'arbiter elegantiarum'; hence I declare to you that I cannot endure wretched comedies! Phy! how all this reminds me of the theatrical booths near the Porta Asinaria, in which actors play the parts of G.o.ds and kings to amuse the suburban rabble, and when the play is over wash down onions with sour wine, or get blows of clubs! Be G.o.ds and kings in reality; for I say that ye can permit yourselves the position! As to thee, O Caesar, thou hast threatened us with the sentence of coming ages; but think, those ages will utter judgment concerning thee also. By the divine Clio! Nero, ruler of the world, Nero, a G.o.d, burnt Rome, because he was as powerful on earth as Zeus on Olympus,-Nero the poet loved poetry so much that he sacrificed to it his country! From the beginning of the world no one did the like, no one ventured on the like. I beseech thee in the name of the double-crowned Libethrides, renounce not such glory, for songs of thee will sound to the end of ages! What will Priam be when compared with thee; what Agamenmon; what Achilles; what the G.o.ds themselves? We need not say that the burning of Rome was good, but it was colossal and uncommon. I tell thee, besides, that the people will raise no hand against thee! It is not true that they will. Have courage; guard thyself against acts unworthy of thee,-for this alone threatens thee, that future ages may say, 'Nero burned Rome; but as a timid Caesar and a timid poet he denied the great deed out of fear, and cast the blame of it on the innocent!'"

The arbiter's words produced the usual deep impression on Nero; but Petronius was not deceived as to this, that what he had said was a desperate means which in a fortunate event might save the Christians, it is true, but might still more easily destroy himself. He had not hesitated, however, for it was a question at once of Vinicius whom he loved, and of hazard with which he amused himself. "The dice are thrown," said he to himself, "and we shall see how far fear for his own life outweighs in the monkey his love of glory."

And in his soul he had no doubt that fear would outweigh.

Meanwhile silence fell after his words. Poppaea and all present were looking at Nero's eyes as at a rainbow. He began to raise his lips, drawing them to his very nostrils, as was his custom when he knew not what to do; at last disgust and trouble were evident on his features.

"Lord," cried Tigellinus, on noting this, "permit me to go; for when people wish to expose thy person to destruction, and call thee, besides, a cowardly Caesar, a cowardly poet, an incendiary, and a comedian, my ears cannot suffer such expressions!"

"I have lost," thought Petronius. But turning to Tigellinus, he measured him with a glance in which was that contempt for a ruffian which is felt by a great lord who is an exquisite.

"Tigellinus," said he, "it was thou whom I called a comedian; for thou art one at this very moment."

"Is it because I will not listen to thy insults?"

"It is because thou art feigning boundless love for Caesar,-thou who a short while since wert threatening him with pretorians, which we all understood as did he!"

Tigellinus, who had not thought Petronius sufficiently daring to throw dice such as those on the table, turned pale, lost his head, and was speechless. This was, however, the last victory of the arbiter over his rival, for that moment Poppaea said,-

"Lord, how permit that such a thought should even pa.s.s through the head of any one, and all the more that any one should venture to express it aloud in thy presence!"

"Punish the insolent!" exclaimed Vitelius.

Nero raised his lips again to his nostrils, and, turning his near-sighted, gla.s.sy eyes on Petronius, said,-

"Is this the way thou payest me for the friends.h.i.+p which I had for thee?"

"If I am mistaken, show me my error," said Petronius; "but know that I speak that which love for thee dictates."

"Punish the insolent!" repeated Vitelius.

"Punis.h.!.+" called a number of voices.

In the atrium there was a murmur and a movement, for people began to withdraw from Petronius. Even Tullius Senecio, his constant companion at the court, pushed away, as did young Nerva, who had shown him hitherto the greatest friends.h.i.+p. After a while Petronius was alone on the left side of the atrium, with a smile on his lips; and gathering with his hands the folds of his toga, he waited yet for what Caesar would say or do.

"Ye wish me to punish him" said Caesar; "but he is my friend and comrade. Though he has wounded my heart, let him know that for friends this heart has naught but forgiveness."

"I have lost, and am ruined," thought Petronius.

Meanwhile Caesar rose, and the consultation was ended.

Chapter XLIX

PETRONIUS went home. Nero and Tigellinus went to Poppaea's atrium, where they were expected by people with whom the prefect had spoken already.

There were two Trans-Tiber rabbis in long solemn robes and mitred, a young copyist, their a.s.sistant, together with Chilo. At sight of Caesar the priests grew pale from emotion, and, raising their hands an arm's length, bent their heads to his hands.

"Be greeted, O ruler of the earth, guardian of the chosen people, and Caesar, lion among men, whose reign is like sunlight, like the cedar of Lebanon, like a spring, like a palm, like the balsam of Jericho."

"Do ye refuse to call me G.o.d?" inquired Nero.

The priests grew still paler. The chief one spoke again,-

"Thy words, O lord, are as sweet as a cl.u.s.ter of grapes, as a ripe fig,-for Jehovah filled thy heart with goodness! Thy father's predecessor, Caesar Caius, was stern; still our envoys did not call him G.o.d, preferring death itself to violation of the law."

"And did not Caligula give command to throw them to the lions?"

"No, lord; Caesar Caius feared Jehovah's anger."

And they raised their heads, for the name of the powerful Jehovah gave them courage; confident in his might, they looked into Nero's eyes with more boldness.

"Do ye accuse the Christians of burning Rome?" inquired Caesar. "We, lord, accuse them of this alone,-that they are enemies of the law, of the human race, of Rome, and of thee; that long since they have threatened the city and the world with fire! The rest will be told thee by this man, whose lips are unstained by a lie, for in his mother's veins flowed the blood of the chosen people."

Nero turned to Chilo: "Who art thou?"

"One who honors thee, O Cyrus; and, besides, a poor Stoic-"