A Struggle for Rome, v. 2

by Felix Dahn

  CHAPTER XI.

  Shortly afterwards the whole camp was full of strange excitement.

  The report of the approach of the Holy Father, which outsped his gildedlitter, aroused thousands of soldiers, attracted by feelings ofreverence, piety, superstition, or curiosity, from sleep, feasting, orgaming. The captains could scarcely keep the sentries at their posts orthe soldiers at their drill.

  The faithful had hurried to meet the Pope from places miles distant,and now, mixed with groups of country people from the neighbourhood,accompanied the procession into the camp. The peasants and soldiers hadalready harnessed themselves to the litter instead of the mules whichdrew it--in vain had the Pope modestly remonstrated--and shouting inexultation: "Hail to the Bishop of Rome, hail to the holy Petros!" thecrowd, upon whom Silverius continually bestowed blessings, entered thecamp. No one noticed his two colleagues, Scaevola and Albinus.

  Belisarius gravely observed the imposing spectacle from his tent.

  "The Prefect is right!" he cried; "this priest is more dangerous thanthe Goths! Procopius, dismiss the Byzantine body-guard at my tent, assoon as the interview begins. Let the Huns and the heathen Gepidae taketheir place."

  So saying, he re-entered his tent, where, surrounded by his generals,he shortly afterwards received the Roman embassy.

  Procopius had convinced Prince Areobindos of the necessity of leavingthe camp on an expedition of reconnaissance, an office which could onlybe performed by him, and which could not be put off.

  Surrounded by a brilliant train of clergy, the Pope approached the tentof the commander-in-chief. Great crowds of people pressed after him;but as soon as he, with Scaevola and Albinus, had entered the narrowpassage between the tents which led up to that of Belisarius, theguards stopped the way with their levelled lances, and would allowneither priest nor soldier to follow.

  Silverius turned with a smile to the captain of the guard, and preachedhim a fine sermon on the text, "Suffer little children to come unto me,and forbid them not."

  But the German shook his shaggy locks and turned his back. The Gepidiandid not understand a word of Latin beyond the words of command.

  Silverius smiled again, once more blessed the crowd, and then walkedquietly to the tent. Belisarius was seated upon a camp-stool, overwhich was spread a lion's skin; on his right hand sat Antonina,enthroned on a seat covered with the skin of a leopard. Her troubledsoul had hoped to find a physician and comforter in the holy Petrus;but she shrank when she saw the worldly expression on the features ofSilverius.

  As the Pope entered, Belisarius rose.

  Silverius, without the slightest inclination, went straight up to him,and laid both hands--he was obliged to stretch his arms uncomfortablyto do so--as if in blessing, on his shoulders. He wished to pressBelisarius gently down upon his knees; but the general stood as stifflyerect as an oak, and Silverius was obliged to complete his benediction.

  "You come as ambassadors from the Romans?" began Belisarius.

  "I come," interrupted Silverius, "in the name of St. Peter, as Bishopof Rome, to deliver to you and the Emperor the city of Rome. These goodpeople," he added, pointing to Scaevola and Albinus, "have attachedthemselves to me as the members to the head."

  Scaevola was about to interfere indignantly--he had not thus understoodhis relation to the Church--but Belisarius signed to him to be silent.

  "And," continued Silverius, "I welcome you to Italy and Rome in thename of the Lord. Enter the walls of the Eternal City for theprotection of the Church and the faithful against the heretics! Thereexalt the name of the Lord and the Cross of Christ, and never forgetthat your path thither was smoothed by Holy Church. God chose me forHis minister, to lull the Goths into blind security, and lead them outof the city. It was I who won over the wavering citizens to your cause,and frustrated the designs of your enemies. It is St. Peter who, by myhand, delivers up to you the keys of his city, and entrusts it to yourprotection. Never forget my words!"

  With this he handed to Belisarius the keys of the Asinarian Gate.

  "I will never forget them," said Belisarius, and signed to Procopius,who took the keys from the hand of the Pope. "You spoke of the designsof my enemies. Has the Emperor enemies in Rome?"

  Silverius answered, with a sigh:

  "Cease to question me, general. Their nets are torn; they are nowharmless, and it does not become the Church to inculpate, but to_ex_culpate."

  "It is your duty, Holy Father, to discover to the orthodox Emperor thetraitors who hide themselves amongst his Roman subjects, and I callupon you to unmask his enemies."

  Silverius sighed.

  "The Church does not thirst for blood."

  "But she may not prevent justice," said Scaevola. And the jurist steppedforward, and handed a roll of parchment to Belisarius, saying, "Iaccuse Cornelius Cethegus Caesarius, the Prefect of Rome, of treacheryand rebellion against Emperor Justinian. He has called the Emperor'sgovernment a tyranny; he opposed the landing of the imperial army withall his might; finally, a few days ago he, and he alone, voted that weshould not open to you the gates of Rome."

  "And what punishment do you propose?" asked Belisarius, looking at theroll.

  "Death, according to the law," said Scaevola.

  "And his estates," added Albinus, "are lawfully forfeited, partly tothe fiscus, partly to his accusers."

  "And may his soul be recommended to the mercy of God!" concluded theBishop of Rome.

  "Where is the accused?" asked Belisarius.

  "He intended to come to you; but I fear that his bad conscience willprevent him from fulfilling his intention."

  "You err. Bishop of Rome," said Belisarius; "he is already here."

  At these words a curtain in the background of the tent dropped, andbefore his astonished accusers stood Cethegus the Prefect.

  They could not conceal their surprise. With a look of contempt,Cethegus silently advanced until he stood at Belisarius's right hand.

  "Cethegus sought me earlier than you," said the commander-in-chief,after a pause, "and he has been beforehand with you also--inaccusations. You stand before me gravely accused, Silverius. Defendyourself before you attack others."

  "I defend myself!" cried the Pope. "Who can be accuser or judge of thesuccessor of St. Peter?"

  "The judge am I; in the place of your master, the Emperor."

  "And the accuser?" asked Silverius.

  Cethegus half turned to Belisarius, and said:

  "I am the accuser! I accuse Silverius, the Bishop of Rome, of the crimeof lese-majesty and treachery to the Roman Empire. I will at once provemy accusation. Silverius intends to wrest the government of the city ofRome and a great part of Italy from the Emperor Justinian, and,ridiculous to say, to form a State of the Church in the fatherland ofthe Caesars. And he has already taken the first step in the execution ofthis--shall I say madness or crime? Here is a contract with hissignature, which he concluded with Theodahad, the last of the barbarianprinces. Thereby the King sells, for the sum of one thousand pounds'weight of gold, the government of the city and district of Rome, and ofthirty miles of country round, in case of Silverius becoming Bishop ofRome, to St. Peter and his successors. All the prerogatives of royaltyare enumerated--jurisdiction, legislation, administration, customs,taxes, and even military power. According to the date, this document isthree months old. Therefore, at the very moment that the piousarchdeacon, behind Theodahad's back, was summoning the Emperor's army,he also, behind the Emperor's back, signed a contract which would robthe latter of all the fruits of his efforts, and insure the Pope underall circumstances. I leave it to the representative of the Emperor todecide in what manner such wisdom should be appreciated. By the chosenof the Lord the morals of the serpent are looked upon as high wisdom;amongst us laymen such acts are----"

  "The most shameful treachery!" thundered Belisarius, as he sprang fromhis seat and took the document from the Prefect.

  "Look here, priest, your name! Can you deny it?"

 
; The impression made upon all present by this accusation and proof wasoverpowering.

  Suspicion and indignation, mixed with eager expectation of the Pope'sdefence, was written upon each man's countenance; and Scaevola, theshort-sighted republican, was the most taken by surprise at thisrevelation of the ambitious plan of his dangerous colleague. He hopedthat Silverius would victoriously refute the calumny. The position ofthe Pope was indeed highly dangerous; the accusation appeared to beundeniable, and the angry countenance of Belisarius would haveintimidated many a bolder heart.

  But Silverius showed that he wag no unworthy adversary of the Prefectand the hero of Byzantium.

  He had not lost his presence of mind for a moment; only when Cethegushad taken the document from the folds of his dress, had he closed hiseyes as if in pain. But he met the thundering voice and flashing eyesof Belisarius with a composed and steady countenance.

  He felt that he must now fight for the ideal of his life, and thisfeeling nerved him; not a muscle of his face twitched.

  "How long will you keep me waiting?" asked Belisarius angrily.

  "Until you are capable and worthy of listening to me. You are possessedby Urchitophel, the demon of anger."

  "Speak! Defend yourself!" cried Belisarius, reseating himself.

  "The accusation of this godless man," began Silverius, "only asserts,sooner than I had intended, a right of the Holy Church, which I did notwish to insist upon during these unquiet times. It is true that Iconcluded this contract with the barbarian King."

  A movement of indignation escaped the Byzantines present.

  "Not from love of worldly power, not to acquire any new privileges, didI treat with the King of the Goths, at that time master of thiscountry. No! the saints be my witness! I did it merely because it wasmy duty to prevent the lapse of an ancient right of the Church."

  "An ancient right?" asked Belisarius impatiently.

  "An ancient right!" repeated Silverius, "which the Church has neglectedto assert until now. Her enemies oblige her to declare it at thismoment. Know then, representative of the Emperor! hear it, generals andsoldiers! that which the Church demanded of Theodahad has been herright for two centuries; the Goth only confirmed it. In the same placewhence the Prefect, with sacrilegious hand, took this document, hemight also have found that which originally established our right. Thepious Emperor Constantinus--who, first of all the predecessors ofJustinian, received the teaching of the Gospel--moved by the prayers ofhis blessed mother, Helena, and after having trampled his enemies underfoot by the help of the saints, and particularly by that of St. Peter,did, in thankful acknowledgment of such help, and to prove to all theworld that crown and sword should bow before the Cross of Christ,bestow the city of Rome and its district, with all the neighbouringtowns and their boundaries, with jurisdiction and police, taxes andduties, and all the royal prerogatives of earthly government, upon St.Peter and his successors for all time, so that his Church might have asecular foundation for the furtherance of her secular tasks. Thisdonation is conferred in all form by a legal document; the curse ofGehenna is laid upon all who dispute it. And I ask the EmperorJustinian, in the name of the Trinity, whether he will acknowledge thislegal act of his predecessor, the blessed Emperor Constantinus, or if,in worldly avarice, he will overthrow it, and thereby call down uponhis head the curse of Gehenna and eternal damnation?"

  This speech of the Bishop of Rome, spoken with all the power ofecclesiastical dignity and all the art of worldly rhetoric, was ofirresistible effect.

  Belisarius, Procopius, and the generals, who, a moment before, wouldwillingly have passed an angry judgment upon the treacherous priest,now felt as if they themselves were judged. The heart of Italy seemedto be irrecoverably lost to the Emperor, and delivered into the powerof the Church.

  An anxious silence overcame the lately so masterful Byzantines, and thepriest stood triumphantly as victor in their midst.

  At last Belisarius, who wished to avoid a dispute and the shame ofdefeat, said:

  "Prefect of Rome, what have you to reply?"

  With a scarcely visible quiver of mockery upon his fine lips, Cethegusbowed and began:

  "The accused refers to a document. I believe I could embarrass himgreatly if I denied its existence, and demanded the immediateproduction of the original. However, I will not meet the man who callshimself the head of Christendom, with the wiles of a spiteful advocate.I admit that the document exists."

  Belisarius made a movement of helpless vexation.

  "Still more! I have saved the Holy Father the trouble of producing it,which would have been very difficult for him to do, and have broughtthe document itself with my own sacrilegious hands."

  He drew forth a yellow old parchment from his bosom, and lookedsmilingly now at the lines thereon, now at the Pope, and now atBelisarius, evidently enjoying their suspense.

  "Yes, still more! I have examined the document for many days withhostile eyes, and, with the help of still greater jurists than I canboast of being--such as my young friend, Salvius Julianus--have triedto invalidate every letter. In vain. Even the penetration of my learnedand honourable friend, Scaevola, could have found no flaw. All legalforms, all the clauses in the act of donation, are sharply defined withindisputable accuracy; and indeed I should like to have been acquaintedwith the protonotary of Emperor Constantinus, for he must have been ajurist of the first rank."

  He paused--his eyes rested sarcastically upon the countenance ofSilverius, who wiped the sweat off his brow.

  "Therefore," asked Belisarius, in great excitement, "the document isformally quite correct, and can be proved?"

  "Yes, certainly," sighed Cethegus, "the act of donation is faultlesslydrawn up. It is only a pity that----"