Are they
immortal
gods?
Krasinski - The Undivine Comedy
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.
Why do you look so sternly at me, Greek?
I will not give my white, smooth limbs into
The jaws of w-olves, to be torn with claws and teeth !
I will myself strike off my sacred head,
And fall in that deep grave of precious stones;
My blood shall flow o'er priceless gems to Erebus !
Jridion. What threatens Cnesar thus unceasingly ?
JJcliogabalus. My brother Alexander I dreadful name !
He comes to cut me off before my time !
He ! he ! Alexis 1 treason plots and death !
To the thrice mighty Hecate I devote his head !
Jridion. My watchful eye is on him and his mother.
JJeliogabalus. Ai)i)al me not ! And if you love your
life.
Protect him not ! Hearken ! that you might know
It all, I sent for you. My spies report,
IRIDION.
327
He with Domitian plots, that he grows pale,
Straightens his hair, then rolls it round his finger; —
Domitian, just returned from Antioch —
Ha ! Greek, you know it all ! and what they plot?
Iriifian. Men say Domitian is a wondrous jurist.
HcUogahaliis. Immortal gods ! and you can dare to
praise him !
I tell you that for the last thirty years
No treason has been hatched in Rome without
The aid and sanction of this " wondrous jurist" !
Although his bearing is so smooth and fair,
He is a most uncompromising Stoic,
Ready to murder those who are in power,
And strong enough to turn, if he should fail,
The sword in his own breast 1 I know the man.
He's an embodied treason, breathing curse
Against all governments, living to destroy;
An eating, drinking, and incarnate revolution !
Damocles' sword hangs by its single hair
Above my head — and you can praise my foe !
"A famous jurist ! " Mithras! Proh Jupiter !
I would I might not only take his head.
But murder with him «// the accursed thing
Which men call Jurisprudence !
Speak, Greek ! What can I do to escape their plot?
Iridion. While all is quiet, doubt not nor despair;
Should danger really come, rely on me !
Hcliogabalus. Wliat if the omens of my sudden doom
Already speak? And what if stronger gods
Should combat, conquer Elsinoe's Odin !
{^Opciiing a ro/l. ) Here Symmachus Niger gives me an
account
Of prodigies occurring on the Danube,
Signs even in the sky !
At sunrise there appears the holy train
Of Bacchus; consecrated hands swing high
The thyrsus, and the heads are ivy-crowned ;
And in their midst, on an extended plain,
Is seen the Macedonian Alexander,
The dazzling armor on his manly breast
Worn by him when he conquered India ;
328
IRIDION'.
A golden helmet glitters on his head ;
The rulers whom he conquered foUovv him;
The people of Moesia, Thrace, bow down
Before the passing hero, crowds on crowds
Pursue him to the borders of the sea,
The air is full of shadows, of the dead . . .
{He leans agai? ist a pillar for suppo7-t? )
Quick ! hand me the Falernian ! I faint !
(^He takes the cup. ) Thus, aided by the Macedonian,
Will Alexander take my kingdom, life !
Dii avertite omen ! *
Jridion. Have you forgotten that Septimius,®
Son of the Macedonian, loved your mother once?
That Alexander's soul throbbed in his noble breast ?
And when the hero comes back from the dead —
Your father's guardian spirit — to announce
You victory, you shiver and turn pale.
Grow faint, and need the hand of a new friend
To prevent your falling prostrate on the earth !
O son of Caracalla, shame upon you !
Heliogabalus. No, no. 'Tis Alexander whom he
smiles on
With his dead lips ! He greets the rising sun !
Each secret wish, voice, gesture, look and word,
The Senate, people, Rome entire, the world, —
Seek, plot even now my sudden dreadful death !
Tile gohien-haired, and you, Iridion, you,
Conspire with them to tear me from the earth,
The sun, my gems and flowers, all things I love,
And hurl me into the abyss of hell !
Iridion. In the eternal strife between the man and
State,
Is it not possible the man for once
Siiould conquer?
Heliogabalus. I know not what you mean !
Iridion. I speak
Of the strange fate of all the Caesars, which
May be your own to-morrow ! They all fall,
* " The gods avert the omen ! " A standing formula among the Ro-
mans to avert evil auguries.
IRIDION. 329
Either by suicide, driven by despair,
Or by the hands of traitors, sword, or poison ;
But all go down in shame to death, betrayed
By those they've trusted ! Must this ever be?
Rome treason plots, and kills her Emperors,
Suppose her Emperor should turn on her,
Become himself the chief cofispirator,
Might he not save his life, avenge his wrongs,
And murder Rome, even while she plots his murder?
Heliogahalus. How ? Murder whom ? What do you
mean ? Speak, Greek !
Strange fire burns in your eye and lights your brow —
I do not understand you.
Iridion. Has Fate decreed
These palaces and amphitheatres,
Temples and shrines, already thrice destroyed by fire,
Shall stand forever? Shall Jupiter ne'er fall?
Have you ne'er heard of cities in the East,
Stronger, more beautiful than Rome now is,
Beloved by gods, and wondered at by men ?
Now clouds of sand drift o'er their haughty halls,
The fierce hyena stalks along their streets,
And herds of wolves howl on their lonely walls 1
Jerusalem, with her devoted people,
With \-\tx one God, as powerful as Fate,
Could she resist the doom of her destruction?
Go — ask the desert when they'll rise again !
These palaces upon the seven hills.
Are they immortal gods? No — mortal foes 1
They are the veritable Alexanders,
They your true enemies, now lying stretched
Out at your feet, but creeping day and night,
Ever more near to plunge you into ruin.
Unless you hasten to prevent it now I
Merciless giants will arise therefrom
To plunge their daggers in your royal heart.
Or throttle you with grasp of monstrous hands !
{Seizing him by the arm. ) Kindle a lofty will in your
young breast.
Challenge your murderers to instant combat !
Become what few on earth have ever been —
33°
IRIDION.
Destroyer ! and villas, monuments and domes,
Temi)les and idols on the seven hills,
HoUiing but your assissins, we'll devote
To snakes and scorpions — fitting heritage !
Heliogahaliis. Ha! I have sometimes felt such things
might be !
Mithras would glory if his own High-Priest
Should force proud Jupiter to bite the dust !
But who is strong enough to do this work,
Or lift his hand against eternal Rome?
Iridion. The son of Odin's priestess, of Amphilochus.
Heliogabalus. In the decisive hour do you believe
A single soldier would declare for us?
Senate and people, praetorians, against us !
Have you a plan? — Do you not fear the gods?
Iridion. My plan will make the gods themselves save
C? esar !
Heliogabalus. Rome's Guardian Genius conquers all
her foes !
You would make Jupiter my enemy !
I dare not tempt the gods — I shiver ! fear !
Iridion. Live then in fear, until you die in torment !
Heliogabalus. O mighty Greek, obey the will of the
gods!
If you succeed, you shall wear purple robes,
And I will take the sandals off my feet
And bind on yours. Oh, stand by me with help
In your strong hands ! Save me from death, Iridion !
Iridion. I only see one way to save your life.
The Senate must be sent to banishment.
The i)r3etors throttled, and the court removed !
Heliogabalus. The Senate might be scattered speed
iiy-
But the praetorian guard, the Roman people?
Iridion. Of old, keen Catiline; Nero, in later days.
Planned Rome's destruction through the aid of fire !
Easier to ruin that which stands to-day
Than to build that of stone shall stand to-morrow !
The few who linger midst the smoking embers
Will call themselves still Romans; while the rare
Buildings here left to crumble and decav,
IRIDION. 331
Will still be Rome, and we may safely leave
The gray-haired children the great name they worship ;
But all creative or destructive power,
All living force will surely vanish from
This place accursed forever and forever !
On the dread day of death and slaughter, I
Will furnish faithful troops, and stand beside you.
Heliogabaliis. Where will we stand ? and who will stand
with us?
Iridion. Oh, deem not, Caesar, that to you alone
Has Rome made wretched the sweet days of life !
Remember all the gladiators, slaves.
The humble followers of the Nazarene,
And the barbarians from every clime!
You are the Head indeed; they are the feet;
Together you may doom Rome's haughty Genius
To a life of anguish and a death of shame.
High as you are, a common wretchedness
May join you all for the hour of retribution
Into a living coil of deadly vengeance!
Think you the lords of the amphitheatres,
The hired soldiers and praetorians,
Could stand before the thousands of the wronged
And hungry men, raging with bitter hate,
Maddened by cruelty, all eager for revenge
And urged to combat by such burning passions?
Heliogabaliis. True I true! But if these savage men
should turn
Upon ourselves? Where should we shelter find
In the hour of bloody turmoil? Who could set bounds
To their wild rage, or quench their thirst for blood?
Ever insatiate when fairly kindled in
The breasts of lawless, vicious, cruel mortals!
Iridion. At first, while Rome is burning, blood and
gold
Will satisfy our men; but as they're held
Together only by their hate of Rome,
When that is glutted, they will fall apart,
Each will return to early prejudice,
The customs of his nation, race and creed;
Hate will be generated, they will fight
332
IRIDION.
Over the common plunder, kill each other;
Exhausted by unbridled license, some
Of them, in hope of richer spoils abroad,
Will go with us to the East, where they will die
Under the burning heat, or fall a prey
To that licentiousness, so fatal to
Barbarians and brutish conquerors!
Or should a few remain, they will be lost
Among a peoi)le serving you alone.
Worshiping you and your great God of light ! —
On without fear! Be silent as the dead,
That thus you may secure the right to live!
Heliogabalus. Prometheus, you have stolen the fire
from Heaven !
lo triumphe! Greek, you cannot fail!
{He claps his hands joyously together. ^
I'll build a glorious fane at Emesa,
And live in peace with my own prophets there!
Iridion. Yes, in the sunny regions of your birth,
You'll go to found new empires. Sleepless nights
And anxious days will trouble you no more.
High-Priest and Caesar both, sweet hours you'll pass,
Like the old demigods upon the Nile,
Lulled by the lilies', aloes', myrtles' breath,
And the soft tones of flutes and lyres. Where'er
Your glance m:iy fall, your slaves will throw themselves
Prostrate before you; your white feet will shine
Upon their dusky throats!
Whatever you may wish will be your own;
What you desire forgot, shall be forgotten;
No fame shall live on earth except your own;
What you command men think, alone be thought!
No Senate there will venture to debate;
No jurist dare to dream mad dreams of fierce
And free republics; none will dare to scorn
The gold-rayed Mithras; mock the snowy robes
Swee[)ing the earth, you wear as his High-Priest!
Heliogabalus. The wretched quirites! As if their
antique
Tunics, and togas, fibulas, were half
As beautiful! O Mithras, hear me swear]
IRIDION. 333
Thy golden rays shall pleasure me no more,
The genii of the night shall rend my limbs,
If I lead not these gods of Rome in chains.
And throw them at thy feet !
What you advise,
Son of Amphilochus, is wise and good !
By Baal and Ashtoreth, we'll storm and burn
The city of our foes! What more, brave Greek?
Iridion. Collect your treasures, send them secretly
To Emesa; amuse with games the people,
And the praetorians with gifts; order
The Vindelician legions back to Rome;
From Goth the mercenaries; the Cheruski
From the Rhine; as they return, 't will be
My task to know them all, secure their aid : —
The rough speech of the North my mother taught me.
Heliogabalus. 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.
