Good-night, great
Mithras!
Krasinski - The Undivine Comedy
Then bending over him, as now o'er you,
I said to him : " Amphilochus, when thou
Shalt meet the Shades to whom thou art descending,
And ask of Masinissa, they will tell thee.
He ne'er forsakes those he has sworn to follow ;
Once his, they are his forever !
Amphilochus ! Thyself, thy son, and I,
Will be united in a trinity
Which never can be parted ! "
Iridion. Yes, thus it passed ; he died in the same hour :
But Elsinoe was with me, and wept
Within my arms !
Masitiissa. Now I repeat to you
The words then said : " Believe and trust in me ! "
Together upon earth — in the Hereafter —
Before Rome's ruin — after its certain fall —
We will be one forever and forever !
Iridiofi. Waves of resolve stream from thy withered
breast
And give me force ! Give me thy hand, old man !
Together upon earth — in the iiereafter —
Before Rome's ruin — after her agony —
We will be one forever and forever 1
i^He throws hijfise/fai the base of the statue of Amphilochus. )
Yes, it befell in such an hour as this.
With Elsinoe weeping in my arms, — ■
Sad, large as setting stars, the dying eyes
Of Hermes gazed upon me, — then I swore . . .
{Shouting and acclaim heard without. ')
{He starts to his feet. )
Hark ! Hearest thou that frightful, brutal cry?
Caesar throws gold to keep his bridal feast ]
3^4
IRIDION.
They shout and share his rapture !
Innocent victim ! Elsinoe ! Gods !
{He wraps his head in the folds of his toga. ')
Away, old man ! I must be left alone
With the wild hell that rages in my heart !
ACT II.
SCENE I. A temple in the vaults beneath the capital.
A golden-rayed statue of Mithras. Music is heard
approaching, and again dying away in the distance.
Priests and augurs ? nove in procession. Heliogabalus,
robed as a High-Priest of the Sun, enters with Elsinoe.
After the passing of the procession they remain alone.
Heliogabalus. Thou seest my power, O haughty
nymph ! I hold
Communion with the God of Light, the Stars,
The Genii of the Night: the High-Priests of the East
Adore my gifts and wonder at my words.
Elsinoe. The daughter of the North, of clouds and
winds,
Feels naught but scorn for weak, voluptuous gods
Immersed in perfume, lulled by the soft lute,
Sprinkled with blood of d^er, or new-born babes.
Tlie diamond sun upon thy purple breast
Com|)ares not with the light of my own North
Flashing from ice and snow and javelined men.
Heliogabalus. Fair serpent whom I love, what wouldst
thou more ?
Elsinoe. Odin, my mother's god, lives in the North.
Fearless, immovable, he stands through storms.
Frost, winds, because he is of rock and glittering steel.
He holds in his strong hands a foaming cup
Filled with the blood of heroes.
His throne is set upon the craggy cliffs,
From whence he looks far o'er the Sea of the North,
IRIDION.
305
Whose icy mirror breaks beneath his feet.
He is the god of warriors, — not of trembling boys !
{She picks up a wreath of hyacinths afid throivs it upon
Heliogabahis. )
Go, withered flowers, and grace a marrowless stalk ! —
The child of the Cimbrian Priestess ne'er can love
A weak, effeminate son of luxury.
{She attempts to go. )
Heliogabalus. Stay ! By the mysteries of Baal, stay !
I am High-Priest ! The Delian Apollo is
Less beautiful than I. The legion chose
Me Caesar for my faultless face and form.
I am Augustus,' Antoninus, and
Aurelius, Lord of Rome, India, and Africa !
Why stand'st thou silent? Why that piercing look?
I've showered upon thee ear-rings, bracelets, gems,
Purple and precious sapphires; set thee feasts,
Richer than ever dreamed by the beloved
Of Sardanapalus ; a hundred lions fought
Before thee yesterday ; I've sent away
Thy rivals from my palace, — the fair nymphs
Who loved me, — yet thou art still immovable,
Colder than marble ; glittering, hard as steel !
Elsinoe. Boy, fed on peacocks' livers, brains of
birds,
Thou vexest me ! Valhalla is my home,
Where my bold fathers sit on steel-girt thrones;
Each foot placed on the coffin of a foe !
Thy childish words disturb my distant thoughts,
Arrest my mystic visions. What canst thou wish.
Or what require from me? The hour is late ;
'Twere better I should pray to my stern gods.
Farewell, Augustus ! Caesar ! Antonine !
Heliogabalus. O sunny-haired ! most lovely ! exqui-
site !
I do implore thee, stay ! I tremble, gasp ;
See how I die, shivering at thy cold feet !
Nor god nor goddess ever saw before
Such clouds of golden hair, such bosom fair,
Such deep-blue eyes, — I do entreat thee, stay !
3o6
IRIDION.
Ehitioe. Wild boy, be still ! I hear my mother's
voice :
It pierces through these vaults.
Heliogabalus. I'd lay me down
Upon the altar's steps to kiss the tips
Of thy white feet !
(ylle approaches Elsinoe, who repulses him. ^
Elsinoe. No. I want iron arms, and manly lips
That chant a fearful hymn of blood and death 1
Slave of the praetors, seek the praetorians !
Heliogabalus. Accursed nymph, bitter shall be thy
end !
I'll have thee nailed upon a cross, and ask
All Rome to see thee suffer, writhe and die ! . . •
goddess, if too beautiful for man,
If Caesar's self is not sufficient for thee,
Mithras shall have thee ! Thou shalt be the Bride
Of the great Sun Himself! I can do this,
For I am able to do all I will !
Stay but a moment with me, even if
Thou wilt no nearer come !
I'm happier if I may but see thy face.
1 am so wretched ! Still so fair and young.
So eager for delight, yet round me stand
Treason, blood, doom and death ! Already life
Disgusts, and Fate is maddening me ! The ends
Of the earth are mine ; yet they avail me nothing !
The consecrated incense, breath of flowers.
The light of Mithras, blood of beasts, of men,
Charm Heliogabalus no more !
Dost hear?
Say, wilt thou love, or wilt thou drive me mad?
Wilt see me die here at thy cold, soft feet ?
Come, Elsinoe, we are both so young.
So fair, so weary, so unfortunate!
Here near thee, I will with thee, hand in hand.
And cheek to cheek, now go to sleep !
Elsinoe. Then sleep, —
Sleej) till the centurions come to murder Cassar !
Unhappy boy ! What arms, what strength hast thou?
With these weak fingers, white and soft as wax.
IRIDION. 307
HoAv canst thon grasp the handle of a sword ?
Rest ! I will go and ask my gods if aid
May yet be found for thee.
{Exeiint Elsinoe. ')
Heliogahalus. Help ! Haste to me !
Eutychian, Priests, come, aid your Emperor !
{^Enter priests, augurs, <z»</ Eutychian. )
CHORUS OF PRIESTS.
Child of the Sun, what has befallen thee,
The Lord of mysteries and sacrifice?
Thy lips are white with foam, thy bosom pants.
The diamond star bursts from the purple bands
Across thy breast ! Thine eyes, dilated, roll
Wild in their sockets, while their wandering gaze
For pleasure seeks, and then asks blood, — then sink
They wearily as in eternal sleep !
Heliogabalus. The Furies tear my limbs ! I know, I
know . . .
Eutychian. Evoe Bacche ! my disciple is
As drunk as thou, when thou didst conquer India.
Heliogabalus. Alexian soon will draw the steel across
My breast, crying : " Caisar, reach me your throat ! "
Save me — and you shall have ten talents all !
Eutychian. Caesar himself I'd strike for that ten
talents !
Heliogabalus. Pity ! The Sun Himself is pledged to
avenge my death !
CHORUS OF PRIESTS.
Arouse thee, godlike Csesar ! Thou art our Lord,
And the whole earth belongs to thee alone.
Gods envious of thy fame torture thy soul
With horrid visions ! These phantoms melt away
In fires eternal, in Mithras' purest rays,
As the gray waves into the deep-blue sea,
The clouds into the sky, or the fair form
Of Semele into the light of Jupiter !
Heliogabalus {recovering himself). Give me your hands !
{Rising. ) What brought you hither, slaves?
3o8 IRIDION.
It is my will she shall come to my couch !
Let her fair body tremble in my arms,
Or you shall all — as many as stand here —
Be given to the claws of the new leopards !
Eutychian. Me Hercule ! I think that I at least
Deserve a lion !
Heliogabalus. Silence! I'll bear no jests !
Where is she, Priests ?
CHORUS OF PRIESTS.
Her tall form lights the dark. The stranger's god
Struggles with Mithras!
Heliogabalus. Silence ! My Greek girl comes !
(Elsinoe enters from the backgroufid, and stands o? i a stone
covered with hieroglyphics. )
Elsinoe. I've asked them all. At first they would not
speak,
Sleeping upon their thrones after their meal of blood.
The armor clashed of one who was awake,
Who raised the crimson skull to his calm lips.
I asked them all, — my cry awakened them !
Where lip and cup touched, fell a drop of blood,
Which flying through the heavens dropped on my brow . . .
Heliogabalus. Speak, godlike Priestess ! I am not
condemned ?
Am not to die before the allotted time?
Elsinoe. The doom of the gods is storming through
my soul !
Kneel to receive it, mortals !
Heliogabalus {kneeling). Mithras, forgive !
Eutychian (Icneeling).
Good-night, great Mithras!
Priests {kneeling). Strike the cursed sorceress dead,
Great Mithras, with thy beams!
Elsinoe. I saw a man
Stand on the earth, with steel and terror armed ;
Calm as a mountain lake his godlike brow,
The sword of victory flashed in his right hand !
I knew him, — but I notliing understood, —
I could not trust my sight !
The night winds then caught up the well-known name,
IRIDION.
309
And all Valhalla echoed with the cry :
" He shall deliver Caesar ! "
Heliogabalus. His name ! His name !
Elsinoe. Sigurd, the son of Crimhild !
{She descends frojn the stone, and approaches Heliogabalus. ^
Writhe and crawl
No longer in the dust ! Stand up and be a man !
Go, courtiers, priests ; the Emperor needs you not !
{Exeunt. )
Couldst thou mount on the shoulders of thy gods.
And on them hunt, as if on untamed colts?
Drink blood from skulls, and ride on meteors' beams ?
Lie on the snow, with ghostly ruins round,
And gaze all night in the icy eye of the moon ?
Thou poor, luxurious boy, with purple robes.
And rosy gods, what is it thou canst do?
But tremble not ; the Greek will rescue thee.
And tear thee from the jaws of the abyss !
Heliogabalus. Iridion? Thy brother ? True, a fierce
And magic fire flashes from his dark eye, —
Oh, that the People had a single neck.
That I might kill them <2//\vith one strong blow !
Then, Elsinoe, I might rest my head
Upon thy heart for happy, quiet hours !
But my good Genius will Iridion be 3
Repeat it, — he is my deliverer !
Elsinoe. Give me thy hand, child ! I will watch thee
sleep.
Fear nothing while my gods keep guard o'er thee !
{She leads him out. )
SCENE n. Another part of the palace of the CcBsars. A
peristyW in which Mammea is sitting before a sacrificial
altar ; Alexander Severus is at her side. An open
antechamber is visible in the background.
Mammea. Tears often fill his eyes, he rarely smiles,
His features are like Plato's in the form,
But sadder in the expression ; even his foes
Cannot resist his holy influence.
27
3IO
IRIDION.
Alexander. My heart hangs daily more upon his doc-
trines.
Miifumea. The sum of earthly wisdom, only hope
Of life eternal, bliss beyond the grave.
Lie in our Bishop's creed-
(DoMiTiAN is seen hi the antechamber. ^
{Mammea rises. ) Domitian ! can it be?
Alexander {throwing himself into the arms of Domitian').
Dearest of men ! My earliest teacher ! friend !
Do7nitian. Be of good cheer, — I bring great news,
Mammea.
Mammea. How long you have been silent ! Darkest
fears
Filled my wrung soul ; I thank the gods they are
Not to be realized !
JDomitiafi. I did not write
From Antioch, because I had no messenger
Whom I could trust. The nearer grows our work
To its allotted end, the more we need
Caution and silence, — soon our aim we'll reach!
Mammea. Speak ! speak !
Dofnitian {looking carefully around him). Are these
walls deaf and dumb?
Alexander. Fear not !
But yesterday Roboam, the Emperor's dwarf.
Brought me a basket filled with poisoned fruit,
Which I spurned with my foot. Our breach is open ;
My disgust is known.
Domitian. Be patient, Alexander,
That here your foes may deem you still a child.
Great changes always generate in calm !
What would have been the consequence if I
In Laodicea, Smyrna, Ephesus,
And Antioch had cried aloud for vengeance.
Proclaimed the Emperor unfit to reign
Or live? . . . I spake no word, was silent everywhere,
But closely watched the People, Legions, Cohorts.
I marked the general murmurs ; when convinced
The germs of hate were ripe, that all hearts longed for
change, —
Then only did I whisper to myself:
IRIDION. 311
The time has come, the spark is widely thrown,
All Asia kindles into flame ! Then first
Did I hold secret converse with the Tribunes,
Questors, Prtetorians. The hour to speak
Had struck, and, shaping my temptation to
The individual wishes of each man
Whom I desired to win, my course began.
To some I offered gain ; some, higher rank ;
Some, wider influence ; thus I gained friends.
Closed contracts for efficient services.
But when I heard that Heliogabalus
Had named you Consul, I began to fear
Some dark design lurked 'neath this specious favor;
I hurried back to Rome to offer you,
In the legions' name, a hope, nay, promise of
The highest destiny ! Be patient ; let
But a short time pass quietly away,
And then our day of liberation comes !
Alexander. But why delay, even until to-morrow ?
Domitian. Because in Rome the Emperor is thronged
By men devoted to him, on account
Of his new shows, and by the praetorians,
Who worship him as the very god of gold
And vast expenditure.
The people always love, until they murder, Caesar !
The men encamped without the city gates
Favor our project.
Alexander. Aristomachus said
This very day, that he would risk his life
To serve Mammea or myself.
Domitian. And when
The hour of tumult strikes there's none like him ;
Until it does, he must be cautious, silent !
He can but serve us in the day of combat ;
And there is much to do ere it begins.
Think of the swarms of guards around the palace ;
The soldiers scattered everywhere through Rome ;
And the whole East against us ! The Syrians ne'er
Forget Heliogabalus, as the bright
And beautiful boy they knew in Emesa;
Or later as their glittering High-Priest
312
IRIDION.
In the Temple of the Sun. Remember too
There is a potent force but in tlie seeming
Of regal power; the natne of Potentate
Compels long after real strength and might
Have passed away, — for empty sounds and words
Rule men when all they typified is dust !
Mammea. You speak the truth, Domitian, yet haste !
We are surrounded by his tools and slaves !
The grave yawns at our feet !
Poison at any hour may drive the blood
From my own cheeks; my son, my joy, my pride,
May bow his bright head on my breast, and die
On the heart of his wretched mother !
Domitian. This very day
I'll see Aristomachus, Tubero . . .
i^He approaches Alexander. ')
Successor of Augustus, have no fear
That the wise Fates will cut your thread of life
Until you've reigned o'er men ! Surely the gods
Will pity this oppressed and wretched realm !
But when you rule this mighty Empire, then
Beware of the poison hidden in the true shirt
Of Dejanira, — the purple of the Caesars !
Mammea. Do you not know that Rome's last glory,
hope.
Rests in my son alone? From Plato's words,
And Christ's diviner teachings, I've instilled
Into his soul love for his fellow-men,
And pity for outraged humanity.
To the oppressed and wretched he will stretch
A Brother's hand.
Domitian. Better he had been taught
To punish rebels ! In all the Asian marts
I've seen the Roman knights with the freedmen fraternize !
Placed on the bench of law and justice, with
The scales and swords committed to their charge,
They ruled the world ; but only used their power
To advance themselves ! They sent swift messengers
With false intelligence to depress or raise
The prices of commodities to suit their views,
Robbing poor wretches of their property, —
IRIDION.
313
Then, from the Roman senate winning aid,
In gloomy prisons they immured their victims,
Or nailed them to the cross ! Oh, I have seen
Their torments, — turned away mine eye in horror !
Alexander. The descendants of our Consuls, famed
Dictators !
Domitian. Yet these enormities now serve our cause,
Will form the steps to lead you to the throne ;
When firmly seated on it you may fling
The stairs into the bottomless abyss :
More than Christ's lessons here will be required !
Alexander. I know the difiiculties in my path,
But my nights pass in studying Trajan's deeds;
I hope to equal him or else die young !
Domitian. Think also of the Republic ; of the men
Who wore the Toga ! Ah ! what remains to us
Of all their glorious examples? Where
Is that great Roman people, whose just laws
Made sweeter, higher music to my ears
Than Plato's subtle dreams or Homer's songs?
Who now can see in Rome a face unstained
By shame, or hear a laugh of hearty joy ?
Gray hairs on heads without a deed of honor ;
Oppression adding weight to hapless years !
Augurs and dancers, singers, sophists, fools,
Burden the Forum ; centuries have flown
Since the brave Julius crossed the Rubicon.
It is impossible to turn back now ;
Even in Cassius' days it was too late ;
The gods have left us nothing but to pray
A Ruler shall be sent us, in whose love
Of justice, right, the Empire may regain
Its youth, even if the lictor's axe must fall
Where the green olive-branch should bud and bloom !
Mammea. I have known earnest, holy men in the
East,
Who say that better times are dawning o'er us,
And that in spite of all its present woe.
The Empire will rejoice under the rule
Of a just Caesar, knowing the true God.
Domitian. A Nazarene ! I pass my life, Augusta,
27*
314
IRIDION.
In thoughts upon divine and human things,
And have no time to follow all the worms
Burrowing and undermining this old earth !
Afanwiea. Still groping in the night of ancient preju-
dice?
Domitian. Great Jupiter, heed not her godless words !
I'm an old Roman ; brought up to revere
Our memories of freedom, fame, although
Before my day such glories were no more !
Now bending to its fall, the kingdom bears
This brood of Nazarenes : to purge it quite,
They must be all destroyed 1
{Advancing to Alexander and seizing him by the ann. )
And by such means alone
As made Rome great, can it be renovated ;
I'hrough dauntless courage, and the forms severe
Of its ancient fathers; — foreign creeds and laws
Must be destroyed and banished !
Alexander. My mother loves,
Reveres the Christians; patience and fortitude.
Mild but heroic virtues, mark their creed.
Domitian, look, her eyes are full of tears !
She loves the Christians ; they would die for me !
Domitian. Use them as tools to be destroyed when
done with,
Is my last counsel with regard to them.
{Music heard approaching. ) Hark! Syrian flutes ! Does
the High-Priest of Mithras
Perchance announce a visit to his brother?
Mamjnea. Not so, for at this hour he daily visits
The gardens of the Palatine with Elsinoe.
Doinitian. Many reports, all evil, circulate
In the East about this Greek; it was said there
Her brother labored long to enhance her price;
Then shamefully to Csesar sold his sister.
Mam7tiea. Did you believe it?
Vomitiafi. My gray hairs long ago
At baseness ceased to wonder ; your dark locks
May fail to understand it !
Mainmea. You knew Amphilochus,
And must remember the still dignity
IRIDIC N. -,e
With which he bore himself when he arrived,
In the time of the great Septimius. ^ 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 !
