The
infernal
gods never refuse revenge
To those who seek it with their heart and soul!
To those who seek it with their heart and soul!
Krasinski - The Undivine Comedy
But the Italian legions, those in Ephesus,
In Tarsus, in Pergamus? what of them?
Iridion. Dispatch a messenger to Varius
With orders to collect and lead those troops
By rapid marches to attack far Parthia;
And if the news from Rome should reach them, when
Engaged in war upon the Caspian Coasts,
Some would continue to harass the foe.
Many disperse, a {&\^ come back to Rome,
Or join with you, — hoping to live in peace,
And find high favor at your royal court.
Ht'Iiogabaliis. Bold cohorts — likely to be dangerous —
Is it not so, Iridion?
• Iridion. Not so !
Rome once destroyed, there's nothing else to fear.
Men safely tread a corpse from which they've driven the
soul.
We will tear out the soul of Rome ; the soul
Of the world, — and crush it 'neath our feet !
Heliogabalus. But what if Alexander should precede us?
The soldiers murmur loud without the walls.
Forever chant his courage in fierce strains;
Domitian draws the Senate to support
His claims Iridion! at dead of night
They will rush in upon, and murder me!
29
334
IRIDION.
Iridion. "Salve Eternum"* you shall surely say
First over them !
Trust not Eutychian,
Preserve a calm cold mien, visit Mammea,
Alexander; use gentle words and keep
A quiet bearing; if they confide in you
Or not, that for the present will prevent
Recourse to stronger measures. Silence and prudence;
Heliogabahis. Smile, gods ! Mithras, clear up thy
clouded brow ;
O Venus, mother of delights, repose
Softly on the white foam of the blue waves
While rosy Cupids sport around thee ! Drink,
Bacchus, drink my health in blood-red wine;
Bring perfumed roses and Falernian !
Dearest of men, come let us rest our limbs
On down and purple, drink, and praise the gods,
For they will bring swift ruin on our foes.
{^He throws himself into the arms of Iridion. ')
From Caesar take this kiss ! Is it not true
My brow is smooth, my lips are soft and ripe
As those of fairest virgin found in Rome ?
Come, Greek ! With Elsinoe I will rule
In Syria, my country, where the stars
Stoop from the skies to speak with man, reveal
To him his future : Iridion, come.
{Exeu? it together. )
SCENE V, A ga7-den of the Caesars upon the Palatine
Hill, adorned with fountains, rases and statues. Elsinoe
and Iridion are seen standing by a marble Diana.
Ttmlight, with the moon in the sl;y.
Elsinoe. I can no farther go. I must return
To watch the Accursed when he wakes from sleep.
Yet, brother, stay a moment longer with me :
Do not so soon forsake me !
Iridion. Fate urges haste :
*" Eternal rest," a chant commonly suns; at Roman funerals over the
body of the dead before it was placed upon the funeral pyre.
IRIDIOM.
335
Look ! the last rays of daylight fade away
Over the amphitheatre, and I must see
The pr? etorian guard before I seek my home.
Elsiuoe. I ask not hours from thee, Iridion :
Spare me one jnoment to refresh my soul :
{She lays her head at the feet of Diana. )
Look into this unsullied virgin face ;
How soft the veil of twilight drapes its snow;
As chaste as Dian, I might once have loved,
When leaning on her bow she floated down
At midnight hour, to bless Endymion :
My life is blasted — and I dare not dream !
Son of Amphilochus, go, ask of men,
" Where is my Elsinoe? " They will point
In scorn to where her altars stand between
Poppea's, Messalina's ! — Brother, go !
How could I beg thee stay to share my shame !
Iridion. Self-sacrifice \% glory, and not shame /
Souls strong enough to offer uj) themselves
To save their fellow-men, need never heed
Human opinions, thoughts. The only Son
Of the Eternal thus redeemed the world.
Endured the shame of the accursed cross,
A death of agony !
Such fate is thine and mine, O Elsinoe.
Elsinoe. Hast thou assumed another faith, and sought
For consolation in a world-scorned creed?
'Tis rumored Alexander has embraced it.
Dost know him, brother? Men say he's great and
good ;
Will equal Trajan, and at last save Rome.
I met him late in Dejanira's Hall ;
At first his look was flickering and vague,
Soon it grew clear and searching ; then he turned
Away in silent scorn. Oh, brother, save !
{She buries her face in her hands and sobs. )
Iridion. Scorn ! scorn ! Why, he and all who live
within
These walls accursed, are doomed to instant death 1
33^
IRIDION.
Elsinoe {throwittg herself into Iridion' s arms).
Unsay ! Recall 1 I ask for no revenge:
Let me alone be victim !
Iridion. Poor child, be calm :
How pale and faint thou art I How is it with thee?
Elsinoe. The gods could never doom me to such
grief;
Iridion, go ! See — I am better now.
I must return where thou hast sent me, brother,
There where the Furies wait to torture me :
To amuse the reptile writhing, crawling round me —
Stinging my soul ! There where an early death
Were best reward for shame and agony;
I go to struggle with fell spasms of
Resistance and abhorrence ! . . . What canst thou know
Of secret tortures in a virgin's soul ?
Iridion. My Elsinoe ! thou wliose young life flamed
In such unequalled splendor, beauty's own ;
How has thy bloom been blasted ! See, these tears,
Raining so fast over thy perfect face.
Are all for thee !
(ylle folds her in his arms. )
I shed none for myself,
Though I am blighted in the self-same storm :
Go, sister, go. Remember the decrees
Of Odin, and endure until the end !
Elsinoe. O brother, save ! It is not yet too late.
Iridion. Inflame the madness of the Accursed ; de-
stroy
His mind and life ! Farewell, my sunny-haired !
Elsinoe. Shatlcs of Am])hilochus and Crimhild, guard
Your wretched children ! Vale, Iridion !
( They embrace, and depart on different sides. )
SCENE VI. The great hall of Amphilochiis as in Scene I.
Iridion enters with Masinissa, followed by Pii. ades,
an old servant and noiv overseer of the slaves. Night.
Iridion. What wants he, Pilades?
Filades. I do not know ;
IRIDION.
337
He has not spoken since he came, my lord.
As is the custom of your house, he has
Had bread, meat, wine.
Iridion. Go, bring him here.
Masinissa. Beware !
Iridion. Of what?
Masinissa. His mission is to kill. Take this {hands
a sword).
Iridion. If you divine aright, I do not need
That glittering Carthaginian steel. I'll break
His head with this Corinthian cup, from which
Amphilochus was wont to drink.
{Takes a cup from a tripod. )\
{Enter Gladiator. ) What want
You, slave?
Gladiator. To see Iridion alone.
Iridion. This is my friend : speak boldly before him.
Gladiator. My master said to me : " Murder the Greek
Instead of fighting with the tiger Ernan,
And I will give you freedom. " But he who sent
Me here is worse than you.
{He throws his sword on the ground. )
Curses on slavery !
Iridion. My friend, who sent you here to murder me?
Gladiator. One of the new men, coward and plebeian,
Blood-hound and despot.
Iridion. Then it was a Roman.
Gladiator. You've read aright ; it was Rupilius.
Iridion. Court-fool of the court-fool ! I thought as
much.
Look at these prongs upon this master-piece
{Shows him the cup. )
Of Grecian art ; they would have broken your skull,
Scattered your brains, if . . .
Gladiator. Son of Amphilochus,
I fear you not. The desert kings on which
I set my feet are stronger far than you ;
I've throttled tigers in the arena sands:
But I was hungry, you have given me food ;
Was thirsty, you have given me golden wine ;
29*
338 I RID I ON.
And as I waited for you in your hall,
I heard your gladiators bless your name.
I cannot kill you. To-morrow I will fall
Into the famished tiger's jaws, — Farewell !
Iridion. That shall not be ! Live, and avenge your
wrongs !
Ho, Pilades ! Give to this man a tunic,
An iron ring, as worn by all my household,
And add a hundred sesterces. Your name?
Gladiator. I'm only known as Roman Sporus now.
Iridion. A certain pride lies latent in your speech;
A smouldering fire, shining like lamps through rents
In sepulchres, speaks of a better past ;
You're more than slave, — give me your real name!
Gladiator. Like gods, my sires were once revered in
Rome
And in the Senate. The past is past forever !
My name is Lucius Tiberius Scipio.
Iridion. Slave, you dream ! That race has long since
perished.
Gladiator. Perished but in its country's memory!
The last of us they chose to recollect
Was robbed of wealth at home and fame abroad ; ^
Then Nero stole his wife and banished him
To the Chersonesus ; after many years
His son returned, a beggar, back to Rome,
Since which we've been in utter poverty;
My father was a gladiator, Greek.
Iridion. Why have the older Romans not received
you ?
Gladiator. Why, who would aid an old patrician's
son ?
The children of the lictors, now rich Lords,
The Emperor, sworn foe of all the past?
Dragged from the sands of the amphitheatre.
My father in the spoliarium died,*
Cursing the gods. Oh, may the city which
Has thus betrayed the children of her consuls,
* "Spoliarium. " The place close by the amphitheatre, in which the
gladiators who had received mortal wounds were dragged to die.
IRIDION.
339
Fall into ruin ! {^He takes up his sword. ) Say but the
word, and I
Will kill Rupilius, — that upstart Roman !
Iridion. To murder one where thousands are required,
Were folly ! Save your strength for nobler work !
Gladiator. Should such work come with vengeance in
its grasp,
I can bring Cassius, Verres, Sylla, men
Of races old as mine, wretched like me,
Who only dream revenge.
Iridion. Bring them all here.
They shall find support, and a home with me.
Masinissa.
The infernal gods never refuse revenge
To those who seek it with their heart and soul!
{Exit Gladiator. )
Iridion. Old man, I conquer ! I shall surely conquer !
Ha ! ha ! ye fierce old tyrants ! Ye who led
My ancestors in chains to grace your triumphs,
Who ruined Carthage, Syracuse and Corinth,
The last of your proud Scipios is the slave
And tool of the Greek ! He came to-day to beg
For bread, and murder! {Laughs. ) Drain this cup, old
man.
To the health of the noble Scipios ! Ha ! Ha !
{He fills the cup, and hands it to Masinissa. )
Masinissa. Long life to the Scipios!
{He returns the cup to Iridion. )
Iridion {drinks and fiings away the cup). Thus may the
pride
Of Rome lie shattered 'neath our vengeful feet !
Masinissa. Sigurd, we're hourly gaining force and
power.
But until Nazareth be won to aid us.
We never can succeed.
Iridion. Old man, the God to whom they bend the knee.
Stretched out his arms to die for them, beneath
The darkened vaults of Heaven. His Spirit came.
Descended on my brow in holy water
Full of high power and mystery ! . . .
A band of pallid brothers stood around
340 iridion:
Chanting my new name ever and again :
" Hieronymus ! Hieronymus! " as sad
As if a funeral train swept through the sky
Unseen l:)y mortal eye, their voices tolled ;
And yet the solemn chant seemed full of hope.
Masinissa. You hung their cross upon your warlike
breast ?
Iridion. I did.
Masinissa. And pressed it to your lips ?
Iridion. I did.
Masinissa. Well done ! Now can we rend their hearts
asunder !
Iridion. Dissension is already busy with them.
I can do nothing with the older Christians ;
They've suffered torture, seen the martyrs die,
The Heavens open, and will not be taught
To wreak retaliation on their foes !
Monotonous as is the dash of waves
Forever breaking on the self-same rock,
Their words recur perpetually : " Forgive
Your enemies ! Forget all injuries !
Pray for your foes, and love your murderers ! "
To them I dare not even speak of vengeance !
But with the young disciples, the new converts,
Barbarians, pilgrims from the desert, slaves
And soldiers, I am more successful far.
Stronger vitality throbs in their veins ;
Eyes flash at the words shame and martyrdom ;
They thirst for life and bliss. When I approached
Them first, they too would pray for foes and murderers,
But now the wild blood throbs against their wills
In their full veins, and I can sometimes catch
Even a furtive curse upon their trembling lips !
Masinissa. To incorporate a force in human passions,
A force not of this world, we need a woman.
Ah ! they adore a woman; a frail being,
Precocious in old age, yet an eternal infant !
Upon the ruins of their carnal lusts
They build a strange, mysterious worship, and bow
Before a woman, slave to her husband's will !
Virgins there are who pass their lives in prayer ;
IRIDION. 341
Choose from among them one fo^/^"ifice
Stamp on her soul yourself, your being, thoughts
Through her alone they'll germ into brave deeds !
She wm not understand their hidden scope,
But well reflect them to the outer world,
Eorne on and overpowered, almost crazed
By that male powei which burns in the heart of a man !
Jridion I know a maiden, holy, blessed, pure ;
She <^ladlv talks to me of faith and Heaven.
Mallsa ^asidey I've touched the strings, they
answer !
{To Iridion. ') Her eye is dark.
Dewy and lustrous ; in years almost a child ;
And with her dies the old Metellus line.
Iridion. Why do you ask me, since you know it all?
Masinissa. Do not forget to praise the Crucified,
To kiss the cruel nails that pierced His tiesh ;
She loves that body with its ghastly wounds.
The features which she dreams so fair, the eyes
Which in their sockets die through might of love. —
She never knew Him ; did not see Him when
He ac^onized in hideous contortions.
Livid with pain : nor saw the thorn-crowned face
All stained with trickling blood, convulsed and drawn,
Its shuddering anguish darkening into death ;
Nor heard the black storm whistle through the hair
Streaming disordered in the wind ! . . .
Lead all her thoughts from Him, and fix them on
Yourself! He is far ! far ! Though once upon
The earth. He never will return— and you
Are near, in the young flush of life, and full
Of love,— and you must win her soul, and be her god !
O Alma Venus! Eros to our aid !
Iridion. Ah ! who can comprehend her mystic lite.
Who read the secrets of her virgin soul?
Within the gloom of the sad catacombs
She lives unknown to earth, and vowed to pain,
Surrounded by that sovereign majesty
Which ever marks its voluntary victims.
Her face is calm ; so full of heavenly light
342
IRIDION.
Phidias himself could ne'er have caught its charm.
With her last sigli passes away this beauty,
With its divinity of pathos, from the earth.
Against her I am powerless, old man.
Masinissa. Why do you linger? doubt ? She must be
yours !
Not for voluptuous pleasure, idle jest.
But that I know our cause exacts her ruin,
As question demands answer, tones their chord.
Son, when her head shall rest upon your breast,
Her bosom throb, as throbs man's simple slave,
Her heavenly soul forget itself, and sink
In vain illusions of the flesh, — then
True friends will aid us in the catacombs !
My spirit will be with you, and revenge
Take flesh ; embodied — ruin Rome ! {^He retires. ')
Iridion. Stay, Masinissa !
Masinissa. What would Iridion ?
Iridion. Answer as friend — nay more — as judge severe !
Examine every act, word, thought, wish, hope,
From boyhood's happy days — when I could laugh
Unconscious of revenge, my country's shame —
Recall them all ! Dost understand, old man? . . .
Masinissa. Why is your voice so broken ? face so pale?
Iridion. All that is sweet and holy for a man,
Is sacrilege for me — yet I have borne it !
Have I not always kept the utmost faith,
With the ferocious virtue wliich I i)ledged
The vengeful Furies? immolated all?
Has there till now been found on me a stain
Of useless pity or compassion ? Speak !
Masinissa. To know nor pity nor remorse, is yet not
action.
Words are for boys ! deeds are for full-grown men.
You have as yet brought forth no fitting act ;
Your children sleep in swaddling bands of nothingness;
You rest unknown to fame and therefore weak !
Incorporate your soul in daring deeds,
Then in your work you'll live ! your work in you!
Iridion. Alas ! the gods have planted in my breast
That which must be forever useless to me !
IRIDION.
343
I feel the subtle poison swell my heart,
Burn round my brow, and press beneath my eyelids : —
Women would call it tears! . . . Is it that I
Am never destined to become a man ?
Masinissa. This coward weakness marks you most as
man !
Do you not know that each of you might be
Omnipotent through invincible intellect,
Implacable and never-swerving will?
Your mortal enemy foresaw this power ;
To neutralize your force he placed a heart
Within your breast — a dread — and an illusion
You caress as slaves who have accepted their own shame !
This gift makes slaves of women ; boys of men;
Divides the being, and erects itself
In opposition to the mighty brain ;
And thus both heart and brain are paralyzed,
And endless war weakens the human soul !
Thus the Great Foe perpetuates his rule,
Making you wretched, miserable, weak, —
Although to hurl this Foe from His high Throne
If men should will it, might be possible.
Iridion. Who makes me wretched, miserable, weak?
Where is the Enemy whom you denounce?
I know but one Great Foe : — his name is Rome !
Masinissa. There is another, a far higher Rome :
Not weakly stands It on the seven hills.
But reigns o'er infinite worlds and endless stars.
Not puny, driveling men, but countless hosts
Of glorious angels, has It doomed to woe.
Like fools men bend before It, chant its praise
For leave to be so wretched, while the wronged
And beautiful Immortals loudly call
Upon them for revenge on this Great Foe !
Iridion. Incomprehensible and fearful one.
What is it that you thus proclaim to me?
Masinissa. Eternal war !
Ii-idion. When? Where? For what? With whom ?
Masinissa. Throughout the eternal ages ! Every-
where !
Before, and at, after the fall of Rome !
344
IRIDION.
Wherever spirits tliink, or feel, or act :
And with the infinite God !
Iridion. But without end?
Forever? Everywhere? and with the Infinite?
Masiiiissa. I will myself conduct you in the strife:
Meanwhile among the Fallen play your part,
Live on the earth which our Great Foe has cursed.
But one day you sliall raise your head in all
The plenitude of a great intellect
Against Him and His servants !
Iridion. But victory ! Will victory smile at last?
If never here, at least on some far star
I am at last to take my armor off?
At last to lay down quietly my head
Upon some cherished breast in utter trust,
To love and be beloved; to guard, not doom?
Masinissa. Seek not to know before the appointed
hour !
On ! on ! and learn to rule your fi. iltering heart,
To be alone on earth, as He above the stars,
To endure as spirits mightier far than man !
Before you can attain the utmost height
Which man may reach, a thousand times
His hot fires will break over and consume you :
A thousand times death will transform, and fit
For wilder pangs ! You are a foaming wave.
One moment scaling Heaven in utmost bliss.
Then dashed to Hell in uttermost despair!
He smiles on this eternal surge of souls.
Sentient and quivering, breaking at His feet
In ever-changing, writhing agony !
Iridion. My spirit does not quail before this foe —
God should be generous to what He makes :
But it grows late — I'm weary — so good-night !
Early to-morrow come to me again.
I had no pity on my Elsinoe, —
And shall I spare the unknown virgin now?
In Tarsus, in Pergamus? what of them?
Iridion. Dispatch a messenger to Varius
With orders to collect and lead those troops
By rapid marches to attack far Parthia;
And if the news from Rome should reach them, when
Engaged in war upon the Caspian Coasts,
Some would continue to harass the foe.
Many disperse, a {&\^ come back to Rome,
Or join with you, — hoping to live in peace,
And find high favor at your royal court.
Ht'Iiogabaliis. Bold cohorts — likely to be dangerous —
Is it not so, Iridion?
• Iridion. Not so !
Rome once destroyed, there's nothing else to fear.
Men safely tread a corpse from which they've driven the
soul.
We will tear out the soul of Rome ; the soul
Of the world, — and crush it 'neath our feet !
Heliogabalus. But what if Alexander should precede us?
The soldiers murmur loud without the walls.
Forever chant his courage in fierce strains;
Domitian draws the Senate to support
His claims Iridion! at dead of night
They will rush in upon, and murder me!
29
334
IRIDION.
Iridion. "Salve Eternum"* you shall surely say
First over them !
Trust not Eutychian,
Preserve a calm cold mien, visit Mammea,
Alexander; use gentle words and keep
A quiet bearing; if they confide in you
Or not, that for the present will prevent
Recourse to stronger measures. Silence and prudence;
Heliogabahis. Smile, gods ! Mithras, clear up thy
clouded brow ;
O Venus, mother of delights, repose
Softly on the white foam of the blue waves
While rosy Cupids sport around thee ! Drink,
Bacchus, drink my health in blood-red wine;
Bring perfumed roses and Falernian !
Dearest of men, come let us rest our limbs
On down and purple, drink, and praise the gods,
For they will bring swift ruin on our foes.
{^He throws himself into the arms of Iridion. ')
From Caesar take this kiss ! Is it not true
My brow is smooth, my lips are soft and ripe
As those of fairest virgin found in Rome ?
Come, Greek ! With Elsinoe I will rule
In Syria, my country, where the stars
Stoop from the skies to speak with man, reveal
To him his future : Iridion, come.
{Exeu? it together. )
SCENE V, A ga7-den of the Caesars upon the Palatine
Hill, adorned with fountains, rases and statues. Elsinoe
and Iridion are seen standing by a marble Diana.
Ttmlight, with the moon in the sl;y.
Elsinoe. I can no farther go. I must return
To watch the Accursed when he wakes from sleep.
Yet, brother, stay a moment longer with me :
Do not so soon forsake me !
Iridion. Fate urges haste :
*" Eternal rest," a chant commonly suns; at Roman funerals over the
body of the dead before it was placed upon the funeral pyre.
IRIDIOM.
335
Look ! the last rays of daylight fade away
Over the amphitheatre, and I must see
The pr? etorian guard before I seek my home.
Elsiuoe. I ask not hours from thee, Iridion :
Spare me one jnoment to refresh my soul :
{She lays her head at the feet of Diana. )
Look into this unsullied virgin face ;
How soft the veil of twilight drapes its snow;
As chaste as Dian, I might once have loved,
When leaning on her bow she floated down
At midnight hour, to bless Endymion :
My life is blasted — and I dare not dream !
Son of Amphilochus, go, ask of men,
" Where is my Elsinoe? " They will point
In scorn to where her altars stand between
Poppea's, Messalina's ! — Brother, go !
How could I beg thee stay to share my shame !
Iridion. Self-sacrifice \% glory, and not shame /
Souls strong enough to offer uj) themselves
To save their fellow-men, need never heed
Human opinions, thoughts. The only Son
Of the Eternal thus redeemed the world.
Endured the shame of the accursed cross,
A death of agony !
Such fate is thine and mine, O Elsinoe.
Elsinoe. Hast thou assumed another faith, and sought
For consolation in a world-scorned creed?
'Tis rumored Alexander has embraced it.
Dost know him, brother? Men say he's great and
good ;
Will equal Trajan, and at last save Rome.
I met him late in Dejanira's Hall ;
At first his look was flickering and vague,
Soon it grew clear and searching ; then he turned
Away in silent scorn. Oh, brother, save !
{She buries her face in her hands and sobs. )
Iridion. Scorn ! scorn ! Why, he and all who live
within
These walls accursed, are doomed to instant death 1
33^
IRIDION.
Elsinoe {throwittg herself into Iridion' s arms).
Unsay ! Recall 1 I ask for no revenge:
Let me alone be victim !
Iridion. Poor child, be calm :
How pale and faint thou art I How is it with thee?
Elsinoe. The gods could never doom me to such
grief;
Iridion, go ! See — I am better now.
I must return where thou hast sent me, brother,
There where the Furies wait to torture me :
To amuse the reptile writhing, crawling round me —
Stinging my soul ! There where an early death
Were best reward for shame and agony;
I go to struggle with fell spasms of
Resistance and abhorrence ! . . . What canst thou know
Of secret tortures in a virgin's soul ?
Iridion. My Elsinoe ! thou wliose young life flamed
In such unequalled splendor, beauty's own ;
How has thy bloom been blasted ! See, these tears,
Raining so fast over thy perfect face.
Are all for thee !
(ylle folds her in his arms. )
I shed none for myself,
Though I am blighted in the self-same storm :
Go, sister, go. Remember the decrees
Of Odin, and endure until the end !
Elsinoe. O brother, save ! It is not yet too late.
Iridion. Inflame the madness of the Accursed ; de-
stroy
His mind and life ! Farewell, my sunny-haired !
Elsinoe. Shatlcs of Am])hilochus and Crimhild, guard
Your wretched children ! Vale, Iridion !
( They embrace, and depart on different sides. )
SCENE VI. The great hall of Amphilochiis as in Scene I.
Iridion enters with Masinissa, followed by Pii. ades,
an old servant and noiv overseer of the slaves. Night.
Iridion. What wants he, Pilades?
Filades. I do not know ;
IRIDION.
337
He has not spoken since he came, my lord.
As is the custom of your house, he has
Had bread, meat, wine.
Iridion. Go, bring him here.
Masinissa. Beware !
Iridion. Of what?
Masinissa. His mission is to kill. Take this {hands
a sword).
Iridion. If you divine aright, I do not need
That glittering Carthaginian steel. I'll break
His head with this Corinthian cup, from which
Amphilochus was wont to drink.
{Takes a cup from a tripod. )\
{Enter Gladiator. ) What want
You, slave?
Gladiator. To see Iridion alone.
Iridion. This is my friend : speak boldly before him.
Gladiator. My master said to me : " Murder the Greek
Instead of fighting with the tiger Ernan,
And I will give you freedom. " But he who sent
Me here is worse than you.
{He throws his sword on the ground. )
Curses on slavery !
Iridion. My friend, who sent you here to murder me?
Gladiator. One of the new men, coward and plebeian,
Blood-hound and despot.
Iridion. Then it was a Roman.
Gladiator. You've read aright ; it was Rupilius.
Iridion. Court-fool of the court-fool ! I thought as
much.
Look at these prongs upon this master-piece
{Shows him the cup. )
Of Grecian art ; they would have broken your skull,
Scattered your brains, if . . .
Gladiator. Son of Amphilochus,
I fear you not. The desert kings on which
I set my feet are stronger far than you ;
I've throttled tigers in the arena sands:
But I was hungry, you have given me food ;
Was thirsty, you have given me golden wine ;
29*
338 I RID I ON.
And as I waited for you in your hall,
I heard your gladiators bless your name.
I cannot kill you. To-morrow I will fall
Into the famished tiger's jaws, — Farewell !
Iridion. That shall not be ! Live, and avenge your
wrongs !
Ho, Pilades ! Give to this man a tunic,
An iron ring, as worn by all my household,
And add a hundred sesterces. Your name?
Gladiator. I'm only known as Roman Sporus now.
Iridion. A certain pride lies latent in your speech;
A smouldering fire, shining like lamps through rents
In sepulchres, speaks of a better past ;
You're more than slave, — give me your real name!
Gladiator. Like gods, my sires were once revered in
Rome
And in the Senate. The past is past forever !
My name is Lucius Tiberius Scipio.
Iridion. Slave, you dream ! That race has long since
perished.
Gladiator. Perished but in its country's memory!
The last of us they chose to recollect
Was robbed of wealth at home and fame abroad ; ^
Then Nero stole his wife and banished him
To the Chersonesus ; after many years
His son returned, a beggar, back to Rome,
Since which we've been in utter poverty;
My father was a gladiator, Greek.
Iridion. Why have the older Romans not received
you ?
Gladiator. Why, who would aid an old patrician's
son ?
The children of the lictors, now rich Lords,
The Emperor, sworn foe of all the past?
Dragged from the sands of the amphitheatre.
My father in the spoliarium died,*
Cursing the gods. Oh, may the city which
Has thus betrayed the children of her consuls,
* "Spoliarium. " The place close by the amphitheatre, in which the
gladiators who had received mortal wounds were dragged to die.
IRIDION.
339
Fall into ruin ! {^He takes up his sword. ) Say but the
word, and I
Will kill Rupilius, — that upstart Roman !
Iridion. To murder one where thousands are required,
Were folly ! Save your strength for nobler work !
Gladiator. Should such work come with vengeance in
its grasp,
I can bring Cassius, Verres, Sylla, men
Of races old as mine, wretched like me,
Who only dream revenge.
Iridion. Bring them all here.
They shall find support, and a home with me.
Masinissa.
The infernal gods never refuse revenge
To those who seek it with their heart and soul!
{Exit Gladiator. )
Iridion. Old man, I conquer ! I shall surely conquer !
Ha ! ha ! ye fierce old tyrants ! Ye who led
My ancestors in chains to grace your triumphs,
Who ruined Carthage, Syracuse and Corinth,
The last of your proud Scipios is the slave
And tool of the Greek ! He came to-day to beg
For bread, and murder! {Laughs. ) Drain this cup, old
man.
To the health of the noble Scipios ! Ha ! Ha !
{He fills the cup, and hands it to Masinissa. )
Masinissa. Long life to the Scipios!
{He returns the cup to Iridion. )
Iridion {drinks and fiings away the cup). Thus may the
pride
Of Rome lie shattered 'neath our vengeful feet !
Masinissa. Sigurd, we're hourly gaining force and
power.
But until Nazareth be won to aid us.
We never can succeed.
Iridion. Old man, the God to whom they bend the knee.
Stretched out his arms to die for them, beneath
The darkened vaults of Heaven. His Spirit came.
Descended on my brow in holy water
Full of high power and mystery ! . . .
A band of pallid brothers stood around
340 iridion:
Chanting my new name ever and again :
" Hieronymus ! Hieronymus! " as sad
As if a funeral train swept through the sky
Unseen l:)y mortal eye, their voices tolled ;
And yet the solemn chant seemed full of hope.
Masinissa. You hung their cross upon your warlike
breast ?
Iridion. I did.
Masinissa. And pressed it to your lips ?
Iridion. I did.
Masinissa. Well done ! Now can we rend their hearts
asunder !
Iridion. Dissension is already busy with them.
I can do nothing with the older Christians ;
They've suffered torture, seen the martyrs die,
The Heavens open, and will not be taught
To wreak retaliation on their foes !
Monotonous as is the dash of waves
Forever breaking on the self-same rock,
Their words recur perpetually : " Forgive
Your enemies ! Forget all injuries !
Pray for your foes, and love your murderers ! "
To them I dare not even speak of vengeance !
But with the young disciples, the new converts,
Barbarians, pilgrims from the desert, slaves
And soldiers, I am more successful far.
Stronger vitality throbs in their veins ;
Eyes flash at the words shame and martyrdom ;
They thirst for life and bliss. When I approached
Them first, they too would pray for foes and murderers,
But now the wild blood throbs against their wills
In their full veins, and I can sometimes catch
Even a furtive curse upon their trembling lips !
Masinissa. To incorporate a force in human passions,
A force not of this world, we need a woman.
Ah ! they adore a woman; a frail being,
Precocious in old age, yet an eternal infant !
Upon the ruins of their carnal lusts
They build a strange, mysterious worship, and bow
Before a woman, slave to her husband's will !
Virgins there are who pass their lives in prayer ;
IRIDION. 341
Choose from among them one fo^/^"ifice
Stamp on her soul yourself, your being, thoughts
Through her alone they'll germ into brave deeds !
She wm not understand their hidden scope,
But well reflect them to the outer world,
Eorne on and overpowered, almost crazed
By that male powei which burns in the heart of a man !
Jridion I know a maiden, holy, blessed, pure ;
She <^ladlv talks to me of faith and Heaven.
Mallsa ^asidey I've touched the strings, they
answer !
{To Iridion. ') Her eye is dark.
Dewy and lustrous ; in years almost a child ;
And with her dies the old Metellus line.
Iridion. Why do you ask me, since you know it all?
Masinissa. Do not forget to praise the Crucified,
To kiss the cruel nails that pierced His tiesh ;
She loves that body with its ghastly wounds.
The features which she dreams so fair, the eyes
Which in their sockets die through might of love. —
She never knew Him ; did not see Him when
He ac^onized in hideous contortions.
Livid with pain : nor saw the thorn-crowned face
All stained with trickling blood, convulsed and drawn,
Its shuddering anguish darkening into death ;
Nor heard the black storm whistle through the hair
Streaming disordered in the wind ! . . .
Lead all her thoughts from Him, and fix them on
Yourself! He is far ! far ! Though once upon
The earth. He never will return— and you
Are near, in the young flush of life, and full
Of love,— and you must win her soul, and be her god !
O Alma Venus! Eros to our aid !
Iridion. Ah ! who can comprehend her mystic lite.
Who read the secrets of her virgin soul?
Within the gloom of the sad catacombs
She lives unknown to earth, and vowed to pain,
Surrounded by that sovereign majesty
Which ever marks its voluntary victims.
Her face is calm ; so full of heavenly light
342
IRIDION.
Phidias himself could ne'er have caught its charm.
With her last sigli passes away this beauty,
With its divinity of pathos, from the earth.
Against her I am powerless, old man.
Masinissa. Why do you linger? doubt ? She must be
yours !
Not for voluptuous pleasure, idle jest.
But that I know our cause exacts her ruin,
As question demands answer, tones their chord.
Son, when her head shall rest upon your breast,
Her bosom throb, as throbs man's simple slave,
Her heavenly soul forget itself, and sink
In vain illusions of the flesh, — then
True friends will aid us in the catacombs !
My spirit will be with you, and revenge
Take flesh ; embodied — ruin Rome ! {^He retires. ')
Iridion. Stay, Masinissa !
Masinissa. What would Iridion ?
Iridion. Answer as friend — nay more — as judge severe !
Examine every act, word, thought, wish, hope,
From boyhood's happy days — when I could laugh
Unconscious of revenge, my country's shame —
Recall them all ! Dost understand, old man? . . .
Masinissa. Why is your voice so broken ? face so pale?
Iridion. All that is sweet and holy for a man,
Is sacrilege for me — yet I have borne it !
Have I not always kept the utmost faith,
With the ferocious virtue wliich I i)ledged
The vengeful Furies? immolated all?
Has there till now been found on me a stain
Of useless pity or compassion ? Speak !
Masinissa. To know nor pity nor remorse, is yet not
action.
Words are for boys ! deeds are for full-grown men.
You have as yet brought forth no fitting act ;
Your children sleep in swaddling bands of nothingness;
You rest unknown to fame and therefore weak !
Incorporate your soul in daring deeds,
Then in your work you'll live ! your work in you!
Iridion. Alas ! the gods have planted in my breast
That which must be forever useless to me !
IRIDION.
343
I feel the subtle poison swell my heart,
Burn round my brow, and press beneath my eyelids : —
Women would call it tears! . . . Is it that I
Am never destined to become a man ?
Masinissa. This coward weakness marks you most as
man !
Do you not know that each of you might be
Omnipotent through invincible intellect,
Implacable and never-swerving will?
Your mortal enemy foresaw this power ;
To neutralize your force he placed a heart
Within your breast — a dread — and an illusion
You caress as slaves who have accepted their own shame !
This gift makes slaves of women ; boys of men;
Divides the being, and erects itself
In opposition to the mighty brain ;
And thus both heart and brain are paralyzed,
And endless war weakens the human soul !
Thus the Great Foe perpetuates his rule,
Making you wretched, miserable, weak, —
Although to hurl this Foe from His high Throne
If men should will it, might be possible.
Iridion. Who makes me wretched, miserable, weak?
Where is the Enemy whom you denounce?
I know but one Great Foe : — his name is Rome !
Masinissa. There is another, a far higher Rome :
Not weakly stands It on the seven hills.
But reigns o'er infinite worlds and endless stars.
Not puny, driveling men, but countless hosts
Of glorious angels, has It doomed to woe.
Like fools men bend before It, chant its praise
For leave to be so wretched, while the wronged
And beautiful Immortals loudly call
Upon them for revenge on this Great Foe !
Iridion. Incomprehensible and fearful one.
What is it that you thus proclaim to me?
Masinissa. Eternal war !
Ii-idion. When? Where? For what? With whom ?
Masinissa. Throughout the eternal ages ! Every-
where !
Before, and at, after the fall of Rome !
344
IRIDION.
Wherever spirits tliink, or feel, or act :
And with the infinite God !
Iridion. But without end?
Forever? Everywhere? and with the Infinite?
Masiiiissa. I will myself conduct you in the strife:
Meanwhile among the Fallen play your part,
Live on the earth which our Great Foe has cursed.
But one day you sliall raise your head in all
The plenitude of a great intellect
Against Him and His servants !
Iridion. But victory ! Will victory smile at last?
If never here, at least on some far star
I am at last to take my armor off?
At last to lay down quietly my head
Upon some cherished breast in utter trust,
To love and be beloved; to guard, not doom?
Masinissa. Seek not to know before the appointed
hour !
On ! on ! and learn to rule your fi. iltering heart,
To be alone on earth, as He above the stars,
To endure as spirits mightier far than man !
Before you can attain the utmost height
Which man may reach, a thousand times
His hot fires will break over and consume you :
A thousand times death will transform, and fit
For wilder pangs ! You are a foaming wave.
One moment scaling Heaven in utmost bliss.
Then dashed to Hell in uttermost despair!
He smiles on this eternal surge of souls.
Sentient and quivering, breaking at His feet
In ever-changing, writhing agony !
Iridion. My spirit does not quail before this foe —
God should be generous to what He makes :
But it grows late — I'm weary — so good-night !
Early to-morrow come to me again.
I had no pity on my Elsinoe, —
And shall I spare the unknown virgin now?
