Another part of the
imperial
palace.
Krasinski - The Undivine Comedy
^ Abroad,
Or in the walls of his own palace, calm
And majesty ruled all his words and acts.
And made him seem a second Caesar in
Our haughty city.
Do})iitian. All you say is true, —
Yet it proves nothing ! The sons of noblest sires
Now crawl in dust, and eat the bread of shame.
For proof of this, look at the Roman senate,
The fallen People.
Alexander. I can say naught against Iridion.
Although no youthful frankness marks his moods
Nor plays upon his pale and chiseled face,
Yet something noble breathes from his whole being !
I cannot read what throbs at the core of his heart,
But I am sure there's neither fear nor baseness !
Domitian. How is his conduct then to be explained ?
Alexander. Necessity inexorable, blind
And pitiless; inevitable Fate !
Sometimes the Emperor met Iridion
With Elsinoe in the street ; sometimes
Their chariots met in Flavian's circus; I
Have seen the blue veins swell upon my brother's brow.
The golden reins with which he drives his lions
Fall from his hands at sight of Elsinoe.
By Venus ! all there present gazed with him;
A virgin more divinely beautiful
Was never seen by men !
Domitian. When I was wont
To visit brave Amphilochus, she was.
As is the custom with the Greeks, immured
In the Gyneceum, only seen by women.
Alexander. She has no equal in this Empire vast !
The night of her arrival, I was in
The Hall of Narcissus with the Emperor ;
I was in favor then, he leaned on me.
And clasped me in his arms, and gnashed his teeth.
Impatient as a boy. I trembled with
Compassion for the maid; sometimes I thought
I heard strife, struggle, and the sobs of pain,
3i6 I RID I ON.
Then the Praetorian Prefect, the Court Fool,
Eutychian, entered, murmured to his master:
"The gold-haired Greek in the ivory chariot
Waits at your gate. " Then male and female dwarfs,
With the Ethiopians, and Lydian flutists,
Thronged in to welcome the imperial Bride.
The Emperor danced about in childish glee,
Crying: " She comes ! she comes ! the sunny-haired ! "
Still Elsinoe came not ! in her place
Entered a band of brawny gladiators,
All clad in black, and armed with naked swords,
Unknown at court. My brother hung his head,
And bit me in his sudden fright ; meanwhile
Eutychian announced with a wild laugh,
Iridion, son of great Amphilochus,
Had sent these bands as present to his sister.
Their close ranks opened as he spake, and lo ! —
Surrounded on all sides by this wild escort,
Appeared for the first time fair Elsinoe.
JDomitian. Fainting with terror in her women's arms?
Alexander. No. In the Hall she stood erect, and gave
No signs of terror, reverence, nor obeisance.
Perhaps her head a moment sank, but soon
Recovering herself, she raised her brow
As haughtily as if already Empress,
Her dazzling eyes filled with indignant flame.
Then Czesar called her to him, but the Greek
Neither approached, nor answered. Cresar then
Dismissed us, and Mammea led her forth.
Domiiian. The old Hellenic blood is in her veins,
Down which the fiery strength of the gods still flows !
But stays her brother at the court? sees he his sister?
Afainmca. The rumor is that he once visited
The Emperor; was closeted with him
For many hours ; but he avoids society,
Remains secluded in his palace with
Barbarians and slaves, on whom he never tires
Of showering benefits.
Domiiian. So did his father.
Mammea. Pleasure can win him not, nor wealth mis-
lead ;
IRIDION.
317
Though one may see that fierce distracting thoughts
Torture his soul, yet is he strong enough
To rule himself, command them into silence.
Domitian. These stormy thoughts may be his fierce
desires
To avenge his sister's shame ! 'Twere best to win
His confidence, and lure him by false aims,
Until prepared to reveal the true. Perhaps
His pride and treasures yet may aid our cause !
But tell me why the Monster rages still.
Having achieved the height of his desires?
Is it not strange this Greek girl keeps her power ?
Once won with him, was whistled down the wind !
Alexander. Eutychian says she will not yield herself
To her new lord ; that since she left her home,
Caesar secludes himself in the peristyle
Of Agrippina, and no more festivals
Are held in the palace.
Domitian. This mystery cannot last :
He'll murder her, that he may burn her on
A pyre of rich perfumes from Araby,
And while directing this new spectacle,
He will accuse _>w^ of high treason ; rob
You of your wealth ; deprive the First, the Best,
Of life; — this shall not be, — he shall himself . . .
Mammea. Domitian ! No ! He must not die the
death
Of his poor predecessors ! The reign of love.
Of mercy, wisdom, must not thus begin
With cruel murder of my sister's son !
Withdraw him gently from the throne, and like
A sleeping child, bear him to banishment !
Domitian. That would require a Nazarene ! Not far
From this same spot, did Brutus kill his father :
And this light soul shall not be sent below.
Where the troubled, but great shade of the first Caesar
went?
Mammea. Ah, woe is me !
A Slave {entering). Iridion, the Greek,
Sends greeting to Severus, Consul, Csesar,
And to his noble mother.
3i8
IRIDION.
Domitian. He comes in happy hour !
Mamrnea. Escort him here.
{Enter Iridion. )
Welcome, Iridion !
Thy brow is clouded still with gloomy thoughts ;
Cannot the cheerful rays of the divine
Sophia* brighten it with hope and trust ?
Iridion. Ask the proud Roman who at Philippi fell
With how much confidence she him inspired?
I cannot answer for my face, Augusta ;
I know my soul is ever cold and tranquil,
Fearing, desiring, hoping, mourning nothing !
How fares it with you, Caesar? Are the gods
Propitious to your prayers?
Alexajider. This very day
My wishes are fulfilled ; they've given me
Domitian back from Antioch.
Iridion. Roman,
I greet you home. If I am not deceived,
I've seen you often 'neath my father's roof.
Domitian. Even now the voice of brave Amphilochus
Seems sounding in my ears ! The gray-haired man
Who made his home with him, — does he still live?
Iridion. Is it Masinissa?
Domitian. I think that was his name.
I've heard your father say he met him first
Upon a tiger-hunt in Syria,
After a day of heat, when faint and lost.
Iridion. My father's friend still sits beside my hearth,
As when my father lived.
Domitian. I ask for him,
Because he often used to startle me
With wondrous thoughts, sarcastic, bitter words.
I've heard him say Tiberius was the greatest
Of all the Cffisars !
Alexander. By the sacred shade
Of Antoninus, how could he prove that?
Domitian. I have forgotten how, but I remember well
That he debated with such skill, brought out
« The Greek 2o0ia, Wisdom.
IRIDION.
319
Such fearless thoughts, such bold conclusions from
The destiny of men, that I grew still.
Silent in horror,
Mammea. I would not like to argue
With such a fearful, subtle reasoner !
JDomitian. When from the magic of his presence freed,
And flow of logic irresistible, —
My mind grew calm, returned to its own thoughts,
As men from drunken dreams restored to soberness !
How is it possible not to curse those
Who oppress humanity and serve injustice,
Who crush our citizens, because they shame
To yield as brutes? Freemen must curse the lictors'
Rods, taunts, axes ! Son of Amphilochus,
Speak I not truth?
Iridiofi. It may be yes — or no, —
As many souls, so many hearts and wills I
Mammea {aside to Alexander). Look at the fiery lips,
the motionless face.
Pale as a statue's, though the eyes are flame !
Alexander. Mother, I'll speak strong and true words
to him.
Mammea. Not yet !
Domitian. You have the right of life and death
Upon your slaves, Iridion, and yet
You do not beat, chain, or imprison them !
The Marcomanni, Suevi, Dacians, all
Who beg in our streets, are never turned away
Unaided from your door, — so says report.
Iridion. My mother was Barbarian !
Domitian. And would her son
Persuade us that he is an Epicurean ?
Iridion. By the Olympic Zeus, the times are not
Propitious for a Stoic !
Mammea. I shall not live to see the better days ;
But you, Iridion, and Alexander,
Are entering life through the golden gates of youth,
Which like a lovely dream floats o'er your heads,
Inviting you to trust all sweet presentiments.
Iridion, despair suits not my son, nor you !
Alexander. Give me your hand.
320 IRIDION.
Son of Amphilochus ! Misfortune links
Men often close as love ; let us be friends,
That we together may rejoice in happier hours.
IriJion. Thanks, noble Roman ! I am sure the gods
Must love you well to leave you such sweet hopes !
Sooner or later yet awaits us both
The same sad end, — death and oblivion !
Domitian {to Afammea). Either he cheats us with
Hellenic art,
Or Jupiter has moulded him of wax.
{Aloud. ^ And if the present fraud should change to
truth.
And if the shadows now so thick o'er earth
Were to disperse, as clouds before the wind.
And virtue brighten the abyss of crime, —
What course would you pursue, Iridion ?
Iridion. Honor the gods by thanks and sacrifice !
Domitian. Would you do nothing to advance so blest
A day? We play with suppositions now.
As men with dice; speak of the improbable
Simply for pastime : do you understand me ?
Iridion. Better than you do me !
Domitiufi. Well, what reply ?
Iridion. By Odin ! Order such a day to call on me,
And I will answer it in trumpet tones !
Domitian. Do not forget !
Alexander. Remember, Greek !
Iridion. Romans,
I never will forget this hour ! Consul,
We meet again !
Domitian. Where now, Iridion?
Iridion. Some friends await me on the Aventine.
A festival will there be held ; new songs
Be given by the Siculian Poet. I go
To pass the time which hangs so heavily upon us !
Domitian. Young Greek, you go to drown the gener-
ous thoughts
Prompting your inmost soul, in riot and unrest !
Iridion. Why, Lucius Munimius left us Greeks naught
here
Save death or pleasure !
r RID I ON. 321
Long life to Alexander
And Augusta !
(yExit Iridion. ')
Domitian {looking after him). No, Mammea, from that
clay
We mould no solid support to our cause.
SCENE III.
Another part of the imperial palace. A
long atrium zuith its impluvium in the midst. Fauns,
satyrs, and nvmphs adorn the walls in mosaic and fresco ;
tortoises, scorpions, and crocodiles carved in stone stand
upon pillars of jasper ; statues of Venus and Bacchus
near the entrance ; here and there are groups of court-
iers, prcetorians, dancers, musicians, aiid dwatfs. Eu-
TYCHiAN, Prefect of the Prcetorians ; Rupilius, Cubul-
LUS, and his parasites.
Eutychian. By Bacchus! it is of no consequence;
Nothing can wean the Emperor from me ;
But I don't choose to have such guests at court, —
And yet to-day the Emperor will see him,
And sent me here to receive when he should come.
Rupilius. Eutychian is a demigod, and . . .
Eutychian. Yes,
Demigod ; the Emperor is a god
Entire, — I am the first after tlie Emperor!
Rupilius. Tlien, Demigod Eutychian, suppose
We rob the Greek of the light of day, so that
" Dulces moriens reminiscitur argos ! "
Eutychian. Evoe ! Only spare me Maro's verses!
The Augustan poets had no sense of art !
{He seems lost in thought. )
Rupilius. Nay, no conception of true art at all.
Cubullus. And no idea of true poetry.
Rupilius. No knowledge of the drama.
Cubullus. Or aught else.
Eutychian {recovering from his reverie). I've thought
it out, — friend, we must build his way
To the shades I
Meanwhile, list to this stirring song
Composed by the godlike Nero for his dwarfs.
28
322
IRIDION.
Rupiliits. He was the pride of music, lord of rhythm.
Cubullus. True brother of the nine sweet sisters.
FAttychiaji {recites the chorus written for the d7var/s).
We stand at his side while our glorious Lord on his tower
Wreathes with red roses his golden-strung lyre ;
Starless night glooms around him with heavy and ominous
clouds ;
While the home of the gods upon earth at his feet
Shudders and throbs in its mantle of smoke !
He kindled these brightening fires ! He would see for
himself
How old Troy trembled once in devouring flames !
He could not remain a mere mortal, and so made a crown
Of hot light, and created a Drama of fire !
His strong hand wakes the lyre, and entranced by his
marvelous tones.
The lithe flames leap from hill unto hill !
They care not for sighs nor for tears in their merciless joy.
While high o'er the city which crackles and glitters and
falls,
Another Rome burns in the air !
How frightful the glare with the pyramids tall of hot flame,
And the long rows of pillars ablaze !
We shrieked in our joy ! we clapped loudly our hands !
for the day
Of Destruction had come in the fire !
In the hot wavesof Phlegethon, templeand palace go down,
Crashing and crackling they vanish forever away
In the arms of the beautiful fire !
Danger and woe are around us, — but we are all safe !
Delivered from death by the powerful Lord of the Lyre !
The master of art, and the glorious sovereign of tones !
Philosopher [approaching Eutychiati). Eutychian, you
know everything, and are
A very god in Rome ; grant my request.
Have Anaxagoras, the Neo-Platonist,
Ap]X)inte(l \o rt-ad lectures twice a week
In the Caracallan Baths!
IRIDION. 323
Eittychiati. What axioms hold you?
What gods do you confess? Say, are you drunk
Or fostint,^ when you teach your fellow-men?
Philosopher. My god is 'unity, and all non-unities
Arise from unity, which conquers, holds them all.
It alone is, embracing in itself,
Being divine, all the non-unities. ^
Eutychian. Oh, satis est ! Your doctrines won t o er-
throw .
The realm! {To Riipilius. ) Tiresias* down in Hell
himself,
Could never understand them !
Rupilius. Surely not ;
No, nor the triple-headed Cerebus.
Cubullus (Jo Rupilius). What wrote you in your tablets
yesterday ?
Rupilius. Read, friend !
Cubullus {reads). The gladiator Sporus fights
After to-morrow with the tiger Ernan.
Rupilius. Thrice happy memory, great Eutychian !
Eutychian. Why so ?
Rupilius. 1 have an offering for you !
Eutychian. By Isis ! Anubis ! or any gods
Of Egvpt, I will be most grateful for
The gift. Rupilius, tell me what it is!
Rupilius. From Mauritania I brought with me
A royal tiger, with a skin of gold
Spotted wkh ebony, nostrils of blood ;
Of iron muscles, of terrific power:
I have a gladiator too more skilled
Than any at the court ; a man who sold
Himself to me rather than die of hunger,
A real Crotonite;^ then I asked all
My friends to supper, made a bet with Carbo
My gladiator Sporus would subdue
My tiger Ernan, — but to conquer Fate,
I must use Sporus first to kill a man !
Eutychian. Hush! Hush! {To the prcetorians. ) Evoe
to your leader sing
With flutes and lyres united !
324
JRIDION.
CHORUS OF PR^TORIANS.
Live wine, and dice, and games ! Roses and gold !
When the cup foams and Plutus smiles, our feet
Are ready for the dance, our hands for combat !
Live Venus ! give us maidens, Syrian girls,
And sunburned women from the German woods !
Wiser than men of yore, we go no more
To battle with the Parthians and Goths.
Our sires are in their graves, and we with them
Have buried deep their old and gloomy customs !
We stay in Rome, upon soft couches stretched ;
Rose-wreaths and ivy wound around our brows.
If we have foes — why, let them come to Rome !
Here we will meet them, — tear ourselves away
From the soft arms of dark and fair-haired girls,
And clink of foaming cups, and raise the shield,
Wield the sharp battle-axe, bathe the bright sword
Li blood, revel in slaughter !
Evoe ! Now for wine, and dice, and games,
Roses, and women fair and dark, and gold !
Eutychian (Jo Riipiliiis). If you should fail, we'll need
a perjury !
Rupilius. Oh, I can summon all the gods in Rome,
Chaldea, Syria, to bear us witness !
Eutychian. Jacta est alea,* — even to-day . . .
Rupilius. Hush ! Hush ! here comes the Greek !
(Iridion enters and advances tcnoard Eutychian. )
Eutychian {aside). Fear seizes me !
The flames of Hell burn in his dazzling eyes!
I've heard it said his father was a sorcerer.
Rupilius {stepping back). A demigod should know no
fear !
Iridion. The hour
Appointed by the Emperor is here :
Lead me to him !
Eutychian. Without delay, great Greek.
{^To Rupilius. ) What pride and scorn ! Voe capiti ejus ! f
* " The die is cast. " The words of Cresnr as lie crossed the Rubicon,
f An imprecalion common in Rome : " Woe upon his head ! "
IRIDION.
325
Rupilius {to Eutydiiaii). The Lethean waves will cure
his arrogance !
Iridioii. I know that time is squandered willingl}'
In the court of Caesar, — but I am in haste !
Euiychian. Caesar awaits your presence, noble Greek !
I'll lead the way.
{^Exeunt Euiychian and Iridion. ')
SCENE IV. Another part of the palace of Ccesar. The
pinnacle of a tower, surrounded by pillars and a balus-
trade. HeLIOGABALUS a«^ELSINOE.
Elsinoe {going). I trust you to the gods, and to his
power.
Heliogabalus. O dreadful nymph, go pray to Odin for
me !
(Iridion e7iters, Elsinoe stops. )
Elsinoe. The moon is up ; the fires blaze ; the poison
seethes !
{Exit Elsinoe. )
Heliogabalus. Save me I Oh, save ! or if that may not be,
Deceive me not with idle hopes of safety !
Confess at once that my last hour is near,
And I myself will drive this glittering blade
Through my white breast !
{He takes a dagger from otie of tlie pillars. )
Didst ever see before such emeralds?
Iridion. But why should Cassar think of death to-day ?
Heliogabalus. H-s-t, friend ! You are mistaken if you
think
That Caesar lacks the strength to kill himself.
From this bright goblet he might drink himself
Into the Elysian Fields.
{He takes a cup from a tripod. )
Look at these pearls,
Matchless on earth ! A hundred divers died
To fish them for me from the salty sea.
Iridion {taking the cup). To Mithras let us drink from
this rich cup, —
But under other skies, with better men !
Helios;abalus. Here, Greek ! Look me directly in the eye,
28*
326 IRIDION.
That I may read if you are true or false.
Oh, turn away those mystic flashing orbs !
The gods have written in their gloomy blaze
Your motlier was a mighty sorceress !
Step closer to the pillars, clasp the rails.
Look down ! What do you see in the gulf below?
Jridion {looking over the balustrade). I see a glittering
pavement in the depths,
All made of precious stones; the golden ground
Of a deep, brilliant grave !
Heliogabahis. I chose them all myself;
Beryl, and bloody onyx, and amethyst.
Topaz, and sharp-edged chrysolite, — rare gems !
Through one whole day and night my men worked hard
Setting the jewels there. I never slept.
Nor turned away to rest till all was done, —
And tiien I had them murdered — every one.
Jridion. Murdered ! What ! all the men who served
you, slain ?
Heliogabalus. Why ask for them? They were but
wretched slaves,
Who've gone, as they shoultl do, before their Lord !
Was it for Rome to know its Emi)eror
Prepared for death? — not many of them fell, —
Only one hundred, — and two little l)oys.
Or in the walls of his own palace, calm
And majesty ruled all his words and acts.
And made him seem a second Caesar in
Our haughty city.
Do})iitian. All you say is true, —
Yet it proves nothing ! The sons of noblest sires
Now crawl in dust, and eat the bread of shame.
For proof of this, look at the Roman senate,
The fallen People.
Alexander. I can say naught against Iridion.
Although no youthful frankness marks his moods
Nor plays upon his pale and chiseled face,
Yet something noble breathes from his whole being !
I cannot read what throbs at the core of his heart,
But I am sure there's neither fear nor baseness !
Domitian. How is his conduct then to be explained ?
Alexander. Necessity inexorable, blind
And pitiless; inevitable Fate !
Sometimes the Emperor met Iridion
With Elsinoe in the street ; sometimes
Their chariots met in Flavian's circus; I
Have seen the blue veins swell upon my brother's brow.
The golden reins with which he drives his lions
Fall from his hands at sight of Elsinoe.
By Venus ! all there present gazed with him;
A virgin more divinely beautiful
Was never seen by men !
Domitian. When I was wont
To visit brave Amphilochus, she was.
As is the custom with the Greeks, immured
In the Gyneceum, only seen by women.
Alexander. She has no equal in this Empire vast !
The night of her arrival, I was in
The Hall of Narcissus with the Emperor ;
I was in favor then, he leaned on me.
And clasped me in his arms, and gnashed his teeth.
Impatient as a boy. I trembled with
Compassion for the maid; sometimes I thought
I heard strife, struggle, and the sobs of pain,
3i6 I RID I ON.
Then the Praetorian Prefect, the Court Fool,
Eutychian, entered, murmured to his master:
"The gold-haired Greek in the ivory chariot
Waits at your gate. " Then male and female dwarfs,
With the Ethiopians, and Lydian flutists,
Thronged in to welcome the imperial Bride.
The Emperor danced about in childish glee,
Crying: " She comes ! she comes ! the sunny-haired ! "
Still Elsinoe came not ! in her place
Entered a band of brawny gladiators,
All clad in black, and armed with naked swords,
Unknown at court. My brother hung his head,
And bit me in his sudden fright ; meanwhile
Eutychian announced with a wild laugh,
Iridion, son of great Amphilochus,
Had sent these bands as present to his sister.
Their close ranks opened as he spake, and lo ! —
Surrounded on all sides by this wild escort,
Appeared for the first time fair Elsinoe.
JDomitian. Fainting with terror in her women's arms?
Alexander. No. In the Hall she stood erect, and gave
No signs of terror, reverence, nor obeisance.
Perhaps her head a moment sank, but soon
Recovering herself, she raised her brow
As haughtily as if already Empress,
Her dazzling eyes filled with indignant flame.
Then Czesar called her to him, but the Greek
Neither approached, nor answered. Cresar then
Dismissed us, and Mammea led her forth.
Domiiian. The old Hellenic blood is in her veins,
Down which the fiery strength of the gods still flows !
But stays her brother at the court? sees he his sister?
Afainmca. The rumor is that he once visited
The Emperor; was closeted with him
For many hours ; but he avoids society,
Remains secluded in his palace with
Barbarians and slaves, on whom he never tires
Of showering benefits.
Domiiian. So did his father.
Mammea. Pleasure can win him not, nor wealth mis-
lead ;
IRIDION.
317
Though one may see that fierce distracting thoughts
Torture his soul, yet is he strong enough
To rule himself, command them into silence.
Domitian. These stormy thoughts may be his fierce
desires
To avenge his sister's shame ! 'Twere best to win
His confidence, and lure him by false aims,
Until prepared to reveal the true. Perhaps
His pride and treasures yet may aid our cause !
But tell me why the Monster rages still.
Having achieved the height of his desires?
Is it not strange this Greek girl keeps her power ?
Once won with him, was whistled down the wind !
Alexander. Eutychian says she will not yield herself
To her new lord ; that since she left her home,
Caesar secludes himself in the peristyle
Of Agrippina, and no more festivals
Are held in the palace.
Domitian. This mystery cannot last :
He'll murder her, that he may burn her on
A pyre of rich perfumes from Araby,
And while directing this new spectacle,
He will accuse _>w^ of high treason ; rob
You of your wealth ; deprive the First, the Best,
Of life; — this shall not be, — he shall himself . . .
Mammea. Domitian ! No ! He must not die the
death
Of his poor predecessors ! The reign of love.
Of mercy, wisdom, must not thus begin
With cruel murder of my sister's son !
Withdraw him gently from the throne, and like
A sleeping child, bear him to banishment !
Domitian. That would require a Nazarene ! Not far
From this same spot, did Brutus kill his father :
And this light soul shall not be sent below.
Where the troubled, but great shade of the first Caesar
went?
Mammea. Ah, woe is me !
A Slave {entering). Iridion, the Greek,
Sends greeting to Severus, Consul, Csesar,
And to his noble mother.
3i8
IRIDION.
Domitian. He comes in happy hour !
Mamrnea. Escort him here.
{Enter Iridion. )
Welcome, Iridion !
Thy brow is clouded still with gloomy thoughts ;
Cannot the cheerful rays of the divine
Sophia* brighten it with hope and trust ?
Iridion. Ask the proud Roman who at Philippi fell
With how much confidence she him inspired?
I cannot answer for my face, Augusta ;
I know my soul is ever cold and tranquil,
Fearing, desiring, hoping, mourning nothing !
How fares it with you, Caesar? Are the gods
Propitious to your prayers?
Alexajider. This very day
My wishes are fulfilled ; they've given me
Domitian back from Antioch.
Iridion. Roman,
I greet you home. If I am not deceived,
I've seen you often 'neath my father's roof.
Domitian. Even now the voice of brave Amphilochus
Seems sounding in my ears ! The gray-haired man
Who made his home with him, — does he still live?
Iridion. Is it Masinissa?
Domitian. I think that was his name.
I've heard your father say he met him first
Upon a tiger-hunt in Syria,
After a day of heat, when faint and lost.
Iridion. My father's friend still sits beside my hearth,
As when my father lived.
Domitian. I ask for him,
Because he often used to startle me
With wondrous thoughts, sarcastic, bitter words.
I've heard him say Tiberius was the greatest
Of all the Cffisars !
Alexander. By the sacred shade
Of Antoninus, how could he prove that?
Domitian. I have forgotten how, but I remember well
That he debated with such skill, brought out
« The Greek 2o0ia, Wisdom.
IRIDION.
319
Such fearless thoughts, such bold conclusions from
The destiny of men, that I grew still.
Silent in horror,
Mammea. I would not like to argue
With such a fearful, subtle reasoner !
JDomitian. When from the magic of his presence freed,
And flow of logic irresistible, —
My mind grew calm, returned to its own thoughts,
As men from drunken dreams restored to soberness !
How is it possible not to curse those
Who oppress humanity and serve injustice,
Who crush our citizens, because they shame
To yield as brutes? Freemen must curse the lictors'
Rods, taunts, axes ! Son of Amphilochus,
Speak I not truth?
Iridiofi. It may be yes — or no, —
As many souls, so many hearts and wills I
Mammea {aside to Alexander). Look at the fiery lips,
the motionless face.
Pale as a statue's, though the eyes are flame !
Alexander. Mother, I'll speak strong and true words
to him.
Mammea. Not yet !
Domitian. You have the right of life and death
Upon your slaves, Iridion, and yet
You do not beat, chain, or imprison them !
The Marcomanni, Suevi, Dacians, all
Who beg in our streets, are never turned away
Unaided from your door, — so says report.
Iridion. My mother was Barbarian !
Domitian. And would her son
Persuade us that he is an Epicurean ?
Iridion. By the Olympic Zeus, the times are not
Propitious for a Stoic !
Mammea. I shall not live to see the better days ;
But you, Iridion, and Alexander,
Are entering life through the golden gates of youth,
Which like a lovely dream floats o'er your heads,
Inviting you to trust all sweet presentiments.
Iridion, despair suits not my son, nor you !
Alexander. Give me your hand.
320 IRIDION.
Son of Amphilochus ! Misfortune links
Men often close as love ; let us be friends,
That we together may rejoice in happier hours.
IriJion. Thanks, noble Roman ! I am sure the gods
Must love you well to leave you such sweet hopes !
Sooner or later yet awaits us both
The same sad end, — death and oblivion !
Domitian {to Afammea). Either he cheats us with
Hellenic art,
Or Jupiter has moulded him of wax.
{Aloud. ^ And if the present fraud should change to
truth.
And if the shadows now so thick o'er earth
Were to disperse, as clouds before the wind.
And virtue brighten the abyss of crime, —
What course would you pursue, Iridion ?
Iridion. Honor the gods by thanks and sacrifice !
Domitian. Would you do nothing to advance so blest
A day? We play with suppositions now.
As men with dice; speak of the improbable
Simply for pastime : do you understand me ?
Iridion. Better than you do me !
Domitiufi. Well, what reply ?
Iridion. By Odin ! Order such a day to call on me,
And I will answer it in trumpet tones !
Domitian. Do not forget !
Alexander. Remember, Greek !
Iridion. Romans,
I never will forget this hour ! Consul,
We meet again !
Domitian. Where now, Iridion?
Iridion. Some friends await me on the Aventine.
A festival will there be held ; new songs
Be given by the Siculian Poet. I go
To pass the time which hangs so heavily upon us !
Domitian. Young Greek, you go to drown the gener-
ous thoughts
Prompting your inmost soul, in riot and unrest !
Iridion. Why, Lucius Munimius left us Greeks naught
here
Save death or pleasure !
r RID I ON. 321
Long life to Alexander
And Augusta !
(yExit Iridion. ')
Domitian {looking after him). No, Mammea, from that
clay
We mould no solid support to our cause.
SCENE III.
Another part of the imperial palace. A
long atrium zuith its impluvium in the midst. Fauns,
satyrs, and nvmphs adorn the walls in mosaic and fresco ;
tortoises, scorpions, and crocodiles carved in stone stand
upon pillars of jasper ; statues of Venus and Bacchus
near the entrance ; here and there are groups of court-
iers, prcetorians, dancers, musicians, aiid dwatfs. Eu-
TYCHiAN, Prefect of the Prcetorians ; Rupilius, Cubul-
LUS, and his parasites.
Eutychian. By Bacchus! it is of no consequence;
Nothing can wean the Emperor from me ;
But I don't choose to have such guests at court, —
And yet to-day the Emperor will see him,
And sent me here to receive when he should come.
Rupilius. Eutychian is a demigod, and . . .
Eutychian. Yes,
Demigod ; the Emperor is a god
Entire, — I am the first after tlie Emperor!
Rupilius. Tlien, Demigod Eutychian, suppose
We rob the Greek of the light of day, so that
" Dulces moriens reminiscitur argos ! "
Eutychian. Evoe ! Only spare me Maro's verses!
The Augustan poets had no sense of art !
{He seems lost in thought. )
Rupilius. Nay, no conception of true art at all.
Cubullus. And no idea of true poetry.
Rupilius. No knowledge of the drama.
Cubullus. Or aught else.
Eutychian {recovering from his reverie). I've thought
it out, — friend, we must build his way
To the shades I
Meanwhile, list to this stirring song
Composed by the godlike Nero for his dwarfs.
28
322
IRIDION.
Rupiliits. He was the pride of music, lord of rhythm.
Cubullus. True brother of the nine sweet sisters.
FAttychiaji {recites the chorus written for the d7var/s).
We stand at his side while our glorious Lord on his tower
Wreathes with red roses his golden-strung lyre ;
Starless night glooms around him with heavy and ominous
clouds ;
While the home of the gods upon earth at his feet
Shudders and throbs in its mantle of smoke !
He kindled these brightening fires ! He would see for
himself
How old Troy trembled once in devouring flames !
He could not remain a mere mortal, and so made a crown
Of hot light, and created a Drama of fire !
His strong hand wakes the lyre, and entranced by his
marvelous tones.
The lithe flames leap from hill unto hill !
They care not for sighs nor for tears in their merciless joy.
While high o'er the city which crackles and glitters and
falls,
Another Rome burns in the air !
How frightful the glare with the pyramids tall of hot flame,
And the long rows of pillars ablaze !
We shrieked in our joy ! we clapped loudly our hands !
for the day
Of Destruction had come in the fire !
In the hot wavesof Phlegethon, templeand palace go down,
Crashing and crackling they vanish forever away
In the arms of the beautiful fire !
Danger and woe are around us, — but we are all safe !
Delivered from death by the powerful Lord of the Lyre !
The master of art, and the glorious sovereign of tones !
Philosopher [approaching Eutychiati). Eutychian, you
know everything, and are
A very god in Rome ; grant my request.
Have Anaxagoras, the Neo-Platonist,
Ap]X)inte(l \o rt-ad lectures twice a week
In the Caracallan Baths!
IRIDION. 323
Eittychiati. What axioms hold you?
What gods do you confess? Say, are you drunk
Or fostint,^ when you teach your fellow-men?
Philosopher. My god is 'unity, and all non-unities
Arise from unity, which conquers, holds them all.
It alone is, embracing in itself,
Being divine, all the non-unities. ^
Eutychian. Oh, satis est ! Your doctrines won t o er-
throw .
The realm! {To Riipilius. ) Tiresias* down in Hell
himself,
Could never understand them !
Rupilius. Surely not ;
No, nor the triple-headed Cerebus.
Cubullus (Jo Rupilius). What wrote you in your tablets
yesterday ?
Rupilius. Read, friend !
Cubullus {reads). The gladiator Sporus fights
After to-morrow with the tiger Ernan.
Rupilius. Thrice happy memory, great Eutychian !
Eutychian. Why so ?
Rupilius. 1 have an offering for you !
Eutychian. By Isis ! Anubis ! or any gods
Of Egvpt, I will be most grateful for
The gift. Rupilius, tell me what it is!
Rupilius. From Mauritania I brought with me
A royal tiger, with a skin of gold
Spotted wkh ebony, nostrils of blood ;
Of iron muscles, of terrific power:
I have a gladiator too more skilled
Than any at the court ; a man who sold
Himself to me rather than die of hunger,
A real Crotonite;^ then I asked all
My friends to supper, made a bet with Carbo
My gladiator Sporus would subdue
My tiger Ernan, — but to conquer Fate,
I must use Sporus first to kill a man !
Eutychian. Hush! Hush! {To the prcetorians. ) Evoe
to your leader sing
With flutes and lyres united !
324
JRIDION.
CHORUS OF PR^TORIANS.
Live wine, and dice, and games ! Roses and gold !
When the cup foams and Plutus smiles, our feet
Are ready for the dance, our hands for combat !
Live Venus ! give us maidens, Syrian girls,
And sunburned women from the German woods !
Wiser than men of yore, we go no more
To battle with the Parthians and Goths.
Our sires are in their graves, and we with them
Have buried deep their old and gloomy customs !
We stay in Rome, upon soft couches stretched ;
Rose-wreaths and ivy wound around our brows.
If we have foes — why, let them come to Rome !
Here we will meet them, — tear ourselves away
From the soft arms of dark and fair-haired girls,
And clink of foaming cups, and raise the shield,
Wield the sharp battle-axe, bathe the bright sword
Li blood, revel in slaughter !
Evoe ! Now for wine, and dice, and games,
Roses, and women fair and dark, and gold !
Eutychian (Jo Riipiliiis). If you should fail, we'll need
a perjury !
Rupilius. Oh, I can summon all the gods in Rome,
Chaldea, Syria, to bear us witness !
Eutychian. Jacta est alea,* — even to-day . . .
Rupilius. Hush ! Hush ! here comes the Greek !
(Iridion enters and advances tcnoard Eutychian. )
Eutychian {aside). Fear seizes me !
The flames of Hell burn in his dazzling eyes!
I've heard it said his father was a sorcerer.
Rupilius {stepping back). A demigod should know no
fear !
Iridion. The hour
Appointed by the Emperor is here :
Lead me to him !
Eutychian. Without delay, great Greek.
{^To Rupilius. ) What pride and scorn ! Voe capiti ejus ! f
* " The die is cast. " The words of Cresnr as lie crossed the Rubicon,
f An imprecalion common in Rome : " Woe upon his head ! "
IRIDION.
325
Rupilius {to Eutydiiaii). The Lethean waves will cure
his arrogance !
Iridioii. I know that time is squandered willingl}'
In the court of Caesar, — but I am in haste !
Euiychian. Caesar awaits your presence, noble Greek !
I'll lead the way.
{^Exeunt Euiychian and Iridion. ')
SCENE IV. Another part of the palace of Ccesar. The
pinnacle of a tower, surrounded by pillars and a balus-
trade. HeLIOGABALUS a«^ELSINOE.
Elsinoe {going). I trust you to the gods, and to his
power.
Heliogabalus. O dreadful nymph, go pray to Odin for
me !
(Iridion e7iters, Elsinoe stops. )
Elsinoe. The moon is up ; the fires blaze ; the poison
seethes !
{Exit Elsinoe. )
Heliogabalus. Save me I Oh, save ! or if that may not be,
Deceive me not with idle hopes of safety !
Confess at once that my last hour is near,
And I myself will drive this glittering blade
Through my white breast !
{He takes a dagger from otie of tlie pillars. )
Didst ever see before such emeralds?
Iridion. But why should Cassar think of death to-day ?
Heliogabalus. H-s-t, friend ! You are mistaken if you
think
That Caesar lacks the strength to kill himself.
From this bright goblet he might drink himself
Into the Elysian Fields.
{He takes a cup from a tripod. )
Look at these pearls,
Matchless on earth ! A hundred divers died
To fish them for me from the salty sea.
Iridion {taking the cup). To Mithras let us drink from
this rich cup, —
But under other skies, with better men !
Helios;abalus. Here, Greek ! Look me directly in the eye,
28*
326 IRIDION.
That I may read if you are true or false.
Oh, turn away those mystic flashing orbs !
The gods have written in their gloomy blaze
Your motlier was a mighty sorceress !
Step closer to the pillars, clasp the rails.
Look down ! What do you see in the gulf below?
Jridion {looking over the balustrade). I see a glittering
pavement in the depths,
All made of precious stones; the golden ground
Of a deep, brilliant grave !
Heliogabahis. I chose them all myself;
Beryl, and bloody onyx, and amethyst.
Topaz, and sharp-edged chrysolite, — rare gems !
Through one whole day and night my men worked hard
Setting the jewels there. I never slept.
Nor turned away to rest till all was done, —
And tiien I had them murdered — every one.
Jridion. Murdered ! What ! all the men who served
you, slain ?
Heliogabalus. Why ask for them? They were but
wretched slaves,
Who've gone, as they shoultl do, before their Lord !
Was it for Rome to know its Emi)eror
Prepared for death? — not many of them fell, —
Only one hundred, — and two little l)oys.
