Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero

by Henryk Sienkiewicz

  Chapter XL

  IN Antium, meanwhile, Petronius gained new victories almost dailyover courtiers vying with him for the favor of Caesar. The influence ofTigellinus had fallen completely. In Rome, when there was occasion toset aside men who seemed dangerous, to plunder their property or tosettle political cases, to give spectacles astounding by their luxuryand bad taste, or finally to satisfy the monstrous whims ofCaesar, Tigellinus, as adroit, as he was ready for anything, becameindispensable. But in Antium, among palaces reflected in the azure ofthe sea, Caesar led a Hellenic existence. From morning till eveningNero and his attendants read verses, discoursed on their structure andfinish, were delighted with happy turns of expression, were occupiedwith music, the theatre,--in a word, exclusively with that which Greciangenius had invented, and with which it had beautified life. Under theseconditions Petronius, incomparably more refined than Tigellinus andthe other courtiers,--witty, eloquent, full of subtile feelings andtastes,--obtained pre-eminence of necessity. Caesar sought his society,took his opinion, asked for advice when he composed, and showed amore lively friendship than at any other time whatever. It seemed tocourtiers that his influence had won a supreme triumph at last, thatfriendship between him and Caesar had entered on a period of certaintywhich would last for years. Even those who had shown dislike previouslyto the exquisite Epicurean, began now to crowd around him and viefor his favor. More than one was even sincerely glad in his soul thatpreponderance had come to a man who knew really what to think of a givenperson, who received with a sceptical smile the flattery of his enemiesof yesterday, but who, either through indolence or culture, was notvengeful, and did not use his power to the detriment or destruction ofothers. There were moments when he might have destroyed even Tigellinus,but he preferred to ridicule him, and expose his vulgarity and want ofrefinement. In Rome the Senate drew breath, for no death sentence hadbeen issued for a month and a half. It is true that in Antium and thecity people told wonders of the refinement which the profligacy of Caesarand his favorite had reached, but every one preferred a refined Caesar toone brutalized in the hands of Tigellinus. Tigellinus himself lost hishead, and hesitated whether or not to yield as conquered, for Caesar hadsaid repeatedly that in all Rome and in his court there were only twospirits capable of understanding each other, two real Hellenes,--he andPetronius.

  The amazing dexterity of Petronius confirmed people in the convictionthat his influence would outlive every other. They did not see how Caesarcould dispense with him,--with whom could he converse touching poetry,music, and comparative excellence; in whose eyes could he look to learnwhether his creation was indeed perfect? Petronius, with his habitualindifference, seemed to attach no importance to his position. As usual,he was remiss, slothful, sceptical, and witty. He produced on peoplefrequently the impression of a man who made light of them, of himself,of Caesar, of the whole world. At moments he ventured to criticise Caesarto his face, and when others judged that he was going too far, or simplypreparing his own ruin, he was able to turn the criticism suddenly insuch a way that it came out to his profit; he roused amazement in thosepresent, and the conviction that there was no position from which hecould not issue in triumph.

  About a week after the return of Vinicius from Rome, Caesar read in asmall circle an extract from his Troyad; when he had finished and theshouts of rapture had ended, Petronius, interrogated by a glance fromCaesar, replied,--

  "Common verses, fit for the fire."

  The hearts of those present stopped beating from terror. Since the yearsof his childhood Nero had never heard such a sentence from any man. Theface of Tigellinus was radiant with delight. But Vinicius grew pale,thinking that Petronius, who thus far had never been drunk, was drunkthis time.

  Nero, however, inquired in a honeyed voice, in which more or less deeplywounded vanity was quivering,--

  "What defect dost thou find in them?"

  "Do not believe them," said Petronius, attacking him, and pointing tothose present; "they understand nothing. Thou hast asked what defectthere is in thy verses. If thou desire truth, I will tell thee. Thyverses would be worthy of Virgil, of Ovid, even of Homer, but they arenot worthy of thee. Thou art not free to write such. The conflagrationdescribed by thee does not blaze enough; thy fire is not hot enough.Listen not to Lucan's flatteries. Had he written those verses, I shouldacknowledge him a genius, but thy case is different. And knowest thouwhy? Thou art greater than they. From him who is gifted of the gods asthou art, more is demanded. But thou art slothful,--thou wouldst rathersleep after dinner than sit to wrinkles. Thou canst create a work suchas the world has not heard of to this day; hence I tell thee to thyeyes, write better!"

  And he said this carelessly, as if bantering and also chiding; butCaesar's eyes were mist-covered from delight.

  "The gods have given me a little talent," said he, "but they have givenme something greater, a true judge and friend, the only man able tospeak the truth to my eyes."

  Then he stretched his fat hand, grown over with reddish hair, to agolden candelabrum plundered from Delphi, to burn the verses. ButPetronius seized them before the flame touched the paper.

  "No, no!" said he; "even thus they belong to mankind. Leave them to me."

  "In such case let me send them to thee in a cylinder of my owninvention," answered Nero, embracing Petronius.

  "True; thou art right," said he, after a while. "My conflagration ofTroy does not blaze enough; my fire is not hot enough. But I thoughtit sufficient to equal Homer. A certain timidity and low estimate of mypower have fettered me always. Thou hast opened my eyes. But knowestwhy it is, as thou sayest? When a sculptor makes the statue of a god, heseeks a model; but never have I had a model. I never have seen a burningcity; hence there is a lack of truth in my description."

  "Then I will say that only a great artist understands this."

  Nero grew thoughtful, and after a while he said,--"Answer one question,Petronius. Dost thou regret the burning of Troy?"

  "Do I regret? By the lame consort of Venus, not in the least! And I willtell thee the reason. Troy would not have been consumed if Prometheushad not given fire to man, and the Greeks made war on Priam. AEschyluswould not have written his Prometheus had there been no fire, just asHomer would not have written the Iliad had there been no Trojan war. Ithink it better to have Prometheus and the Iliad than a small and shabbycity, which was unclean, I think, and wretched, and in which at bestthere would be now some procurator annoying thee through quarrels withthe local areopagus."

  "That is what we call speaking with sound reason," said Nero. "For artand poetry it is permitted, and it is right, to sacrifice everything.Happy were the Achaeans who furnished Homer with the substance of theIliad, and happy Priam who beheld the ruin of his birthplace. As to me,I have never seen a burning city."

  A time of silence followed, which was broken at last by Tigellinus.

  "But I have said to thee, Caesar, already, command and I will burnAntium; or dost thou know what? If thou art sorry for these villas andpalaces, give command to burn the ships in Ostia; or I will build awooden city on the Alban Hills, into which thou shalt hurl the firethyself. Dost thou wish?"

  "Am I to gaze on the burning of wooden sheds?" asked Nero, casting alook of contempt on him. "Thy mind has grown utterly barren, Tigellinus.And I see, besides, that thou dost set no great value on my talent ormy Troyad, since thou judgest that any sacrifice would be too great forit."

  Tigellinus was confused; but Nero, as if wishing to change theconversation, added after a while,--

  "Summer is passing. Oh, what a stench there must be in that Rome now!And still we must return for the summer games."

  "When thou dismissest the Augustians, O Caesar, permit me to remain withthee a moment," said Tigellinus.

  An hour later Vinicius, returning with Petronius from Caesar's villa,said,--"I was a trifle alarmed for thee. I judged that while drunk thouhadst ruined thyself beyond redemption. Remember that thou art playingwith death."

  "That is my arena," answer
ed Petronius, carelessly; "and the feelingthat I am the best gladiator in it amuses me. See how it ended. Myinfluence has increased this evening. He will send me his verses in acylinder which--dost wish to lay a wager?--will be immensely rich and inimmensely bad taste. I shall command my physician to keep physic init. I did this for another reason,--because Tigellinus, seeing how suchthings succeed, will wish surely to imitate me, and I imagine what willhappen. The moment he starts a witticism, it will be as if a bear of thePyrenees were rope-walking. I shall laugh like Democritus. If I wishedI could destroy Tigellinus perhaps, and become pretorian prefect in hisplace, and have Ahenobarbus himself in my hands. But I am indolent; Iprefer my present life and even Caesar's verses to trouble."

  "What dexterity to be able to turn even blame into flattery! But arethose verses really so bad? I am no judge in those matters."

  "The verses are not worse than others. Lucan has more talent in onefinger, but in Bronzebeard too there is something. He has, above all, animmense love for poetry and music. In two days we are to be with him tohear the music of his hymn to Aphrodite, which he will finish to-dayor to-morrow. We shall be in a small circle,--only I, thou, TulliusSenecio, and young Nerva. But as to what I said touching Nero's verses,that I use them after feasting as Vitelius does flamingo feathers, isnot true. At times they are eloquent. Hecuba's words are touching.She complains of the pangs of birth, and Nero was able to find happyexpressions,--for this reason, perhaps, that he gives birth to everyverse in torment. At times I am sorry for him. By Pollux, what amarvellous mixture! The fifth stave was lacking in Caligula, but stillhe never did such strange things."

  "Who can foresee to what the madness of Ahenobarbus will go?" askedVinicius.

  "No man whatever. Such things may happen yet that the hair will standon men's heads for whole centuries at thought of them. But it is thatprecisely which interests me; and though I am bored more than once, likeJupiter Ammon in the desert, I believe that under another Caesar I shouldbe bored a hundred times more. Paul, thy little Jew, is eloquent,--thatI accord to him; and if people like him proclaim that religion, our godsmust defend themselves seriously, lest in time they be led away captive.It is true that if Caesar, for example, were a Christian, all would feelsafer. But thy prophet of Tarsus, in applying proofs to me, did notthink, seest thou, that for me this uncertainty becomes the charm oflife. Whoso does not play at dice will not lose property, but stillpeople play at dice. There is in that a certain delight and destructionof the present. I have known sons of knights and senators to becomegladiators of their own will. I play with life, thou sayest, and thatis true, but I play because it pleases me; while Christian virtueswould bore me in a day, as do the discourses of Seneca. Because of this,Paul's eloquence is exerted in vain. He should understand that peoplelike me will never accept his religion. With thy disposition thoumightst either hate the name Christian, or become a Christianimmediately. I recognize, while yawning, the truth of what they say. Weare mad. We are hastening to the precipice, something unknown is comingtoward us out of the future, something is breaking beneath us, somethingis dying around us,--agreed! But we shall succeed in dying; meanwhilewe have no wish to burden life, and serve death before it takes us. Lifeexists for itself alone, not for death."

  "But I pity thee, Petronius."

  "Do not pity me more than I pity myself. Formerly thou wert glad amongus; while campaigning in Armenia, thou wert longing for Rome."

  "And now I am longing for Rome."

  "True; for thou art in love with a Christian vestal, who sits in theTrans-Tiber. I neither wonder at this, nor do I blame thee. I wondermore, that in spite of a religion described by thee as a sea ofhappiness, and in spite of a love which is soon to be crowned, sadnesshas not left thy face. Pomponia Graecina is eternally pensive; from thetime of thy becoming a Christian thou hast ceased to laugh. Do not tryto persuade me that this religion is cheerful. Thou hast returned fromRome sadder than ever. If Christians love in this way, by the brightcurls of Bacchus! I shall not imitate them!"

  "That is another thing," answered Vinicius. "I swear to thee, not by thecurls of Bachus, but by the soul of my father, that never in timespast have I experienced even a foretaste of such happiness as I breatheto-day. But I yearn greatly; and what is stranger, when I am far fromLygia, I think that danger is threatening her. I know not what danger,nor whence it may come; but I feel it, as one feels a coming tempest."

  "In two days I will try to obtain for thee permission to leave Antium,for as long a time as may please thee. Poppaea is somewhat more quiet;and, as far as I know, no danger from her threatens thee or Lygia."

  "This very day she asked me what I was doing in Rome, though mydeparture was secret."

  "Perhaps she gave command to set spies on thee. Now, however, even shemust count with me."

  "Paul told me," said Vinicius, "that God forewarns sometimes, but doesnot permit us to believe in omens; hence I guard myself against thisbelief, but I cannot ward it off. I will tell thee what happened, so asto cast the weight from my heart. Lygia and I were sitting side by sideon a night as calm as this, and planning our future. I cannot tell theehow happy and calm we were. All at once lions began to roar. That iscommon in Rome, but since then I have no rest. It seems to me thatin that roaring there was a threat, an announcement as it were ofmisfortune. Thou knowest that I am not frightened easily; that night,however, something happened which filled all the darkness with terror.It came so strangely and unexpectedly that I have those sounds in myears yet, and unbroken fear in my heart, as if Lygia were asking myprotection from something dreadful,--even from those same lions. I am intorture. Obtain for me permission to leave Antium, or I shall go withoutit. I cannot remain. I repeat to thee, I cannot!"

  "Sons of consuls or their wives are not given to lions yet in thearenas," said Petronius, laughing. "Any other death may meet thee butthat. Who knows, besides, that they were lions? German bisons roar withno less gentleness than lions. As to me, I ridicule omens and fates.Last night was warm and I saw stars falling like rain. Many a man hasan evil foreboding at such a sight; but I thought, 'If among these is mystar too, I shall not lack society at least!'" Then he was silent, butadded after a moment's thought,--"If your Christ has risen from thedead, He may perhaps protect you both from death."

  "He may," answered Vinicius, looking at the heavens filled with stars.