Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero

by Henryk Sienkiewicz

  Chapter LVI

  THE sun had lowered toward its setting, and seemed to dissolve in thered of the evening. The spectacle was finished. Crowds were leaving theamphitheatre and pouring out to the city through the passages calledvomitoria. Only Augustians delayed; they were waiting for the streamof people to pass. They had all left their seats and assembled atthe podium, in which Caesar appeared again to hear praises. Though thespectators had not spared plaudits at the end of the song, Nero was notsatisfied; he had looked for enthusiasm touching on frenzy. In vain didhymns of praise sound in his ears; in vain did vestals kiss his "divine"hand, and while doing so Rubria bent till her reddish hair touched hisbreast. Nero was not satisfied, and could not hide the fact. He wasastonished and also disturbed because Petronius was silent. Someflattering and pointed word from his mouth would have been a greatconsolation at that moment. Unable at last to restrain himself, Caesarbeckoned to the arbiter.

  "Speak," said he, when Petronius entered the podium.

  "I am silent," answered Petronius, coldly, "for I cannot find words.Thou hast surpassed thyself."

  "So it seemed to me too; but still this people--"

  "Canst thou expect mongrels to appreciate poetry?"

  "But thou too hast noticed that they have not thanked me as I deserve."

  "Because thou hast chosen a bad moment."

  "How?"

  "When men's brains are filled with the odor of blood, they cannot listenattentively."

  "Ah, those Christians!" replied Nero, clenching his fists. "They burnedRome, and injure me now in addition. What new punishment shall I inventfor them?"

  Petronius saw that he had taken the wrong road, that his words hadproduced an effect the very opposite of what he intended; so, to turnCaesar's mind in another direction, he bent toward him and whispered,--

  "Thy song is marvellous, but I will make one remark: in the fourth lineof the third strophe the metre leaves something to be desired."

  Nero, blushing with shame, as if caught in a disgraceful deed, had fearin his look, and answered in a whisper also,--

  "Thou seest everything. I know. I will re-write that. But no one elsenoticed it, I think. And do thou, for the love of the gods, mention itto no one,--if life is dear to thee."

  To this Petronius answered, as if in an outburst of vexation and anger,

  "Condemn me to death, O divinity, if I deceive thee; but thou wilt notterrify me, for the gods know best of all if I fear death."

  And while speaking he looked straight into Caesar's eyes, who answeredafter a while,--

  "Be not angry; thou knowest that I love thee."

  "A bad sign!" thought Petronius.

  "I wanted to invite thee to-day to a feast," continued Nero, "butI prefer to shut myself in and polish that cursed line in the thirdstrophe. Besides thee Seneca may have noticed it, and perhaps SecundusCarinas did; but I will rid myself of them quickly."

  Then he summoned Seneca, and declared that with Acratus and SecundusCarinas, he sent him to the Italian and all other provinces formoney, which he commanded him to obtain from cities, villages, famoustemples,--in a word, from every place where it was possible to findmoney, or from which they could force it. But Seneca, who saw that Caesarwas confiding to him a work of plunder, sacrilege, and robbery, refusedstraightway.

  "I must go to the country, lord," said he, "and await death, for I amold and my nerves are sick."

  Seneca's Iberian nerves were stronger than Chilos; they were not sick,perhaps, but in general his health was bad, for he seemed like a shadow,and recently his hair had grown white altogether.

  Nero, too, when he looked at him, thought that he would not have to waitlong for the man's death, and answered,--

  "I will not expose thee to a journey if thou art ill, but throughaffection I wish to keep thee near me. Instead of going to the country,then, thou wilt stay in thy own house, and not leave it."

  Then he laughed, and said, "If I send Acratus and Carinas by themselves,it will be like sending wolves for sheep. Whom shall I set above them?"

  "Me, lord," said Domitius Afer.

  "No! I have no wish to draw on Rome the wrath of Mercury, whom ye wouldput to shame with your villainy. I need some stoic like Seneca, or likemy new friend, the philosopher Chilo."

  Then he looked around, and asked,--

  "But what has happened to Chilo?"

  Chilo, who had recovered in the open air and returned to theamphitheatre for Caesar's song, pushed up, and said,--

  "I am here, O Radiant Offspring of the sun and moon. I was ill, but thysong has restored me."

  "I will send thee to Achaea," said Nero. "Thou must know to a copper howmuch there is in each temple there."

  "Do so, O Zeus, and the gods will give thee such tribute as they havenever given any one."

  "I would, but I do not like to prevent thee from seeing the games."

  "Baal!" said Chilo.

  The Augustians, delighted that Caesar had regained humor, fell tolaughing, and exclaimed,--

  "No, lord, deprive not this valiant Greek of a sight of the games."

  "But preserve me, O lord, from the sight of these noisy geese of theCapitol, whose brains put together would not fill a nutshell," retortedChilo. "O first-born of Apollo, I am writing a Greek hymn in thy honor,and I wish to spend a few days in the temple of the Muses to imploreinspiration."

  "Oh, no!" exclaimed Nero. "It is thy wish to escape future games.Nothing will come of that!"

  "I swear to thee, lord, that I am writing a hymn."

  "Then thou wilt write it at night. Beg inspiration of Diana, who, by theway, is a sister of Apollo."

  Chilo dropped his head and looked with malice on those present, whobegan to laugh again. Caesar, turning to Senecio and Suilius Nerulinus,said,--

  "Imagine, of the Christians appointed for to-day we have been able tofinish hardly half!"

  At this old Aquilus Regulus, who had great knowledge of everythingtouching the amphitheatre, thought a while, and said,--

  "Spectacles in which people appear sine armis et sine arte last almostas long and are less entertaining."

  "I will command to give them weapons," answered Nero.

  But the superstitious Vestinius was roused from meditation at once, andasked in a mysterious voice,--

  "Have ye noticed that when dying they see something? They look up, anddie as it were without pain. I am sure that they see something."

  He raised his eyes then to the opening of the amphitheatre, over whichnight had begun to extend its velarium dotted with stars. But othersanswered with laughter and jesting suppositions as to what theChristians could see at the moment of death. Meanwhile Caesar gavea signal to the slave torch-bearers, and left the Circus; after himfollowed vestals, senators, dignitaries, and Augustians.

  The night was clear and warm. Before the Circus were moving throngs ofpeople, curious to witness the departure of Caesar; but in some way theywere gloomy and silent. Here and there applause was heard, but itceased quickly. From the spoliarium creaking carts bore away the bloodyremnants of Christians.

  Petronius and Vinicius passed over their road in silence. Only when nearhis villa did Petronius inquire,--

  "Hast thou thought of what I told thee?" "I have," answered Vinicius.

  "Dost believe that for me too this is a question of the highestimportance? I must liberate her in spite of Caesar and Tigellinus. Thisis a kind of battle in which I have undertaken to conquer, a kind ofplay in which I wish to win, even at the cost of my life. This day hasconfirmed me still more in my plan."

  "May Christ reward thee."

  "Thou wilt see."

  Thus conversing, they stopped at the door of the villa and descendedfrom the litter. At that moment a dark figure approached them, andasked,--

  "Is the noble Vinicius here?"

  "He is," answered the tribune. "What is thy wish?"

  "I am Nazarius, the son of Miriam. I come from the prison, and bringtidings of Lygia."

  Vinicius placed his
hand on the young man's shoulder and looked intohis eyes by the torchlight, without power to speak a word, but Nazariusdivined the question which was dying on his lips, and replied,--

  "She is living yet. Ursus sent me to say that she prays in her fever,and repeats thy name."

  "Praise be to Christ, who has power to restore her to me," saidVinicius. He conducted Nazarius to the library, and after a whilePetronius came in to hear their conversation.

  "Sickness saved her from shame, for executioners are timid," said theyouth. "Ursus and Glaucus the physician watch over her night and day."

  "Are the guards the same?"

  "They are, and she is in their chamber. All the prisoners in the lowerdungeon died of fever, or were stifled from foul air."

  "Who art thou?" inquired Petronins.

  "The noble Vinicius knows me. I am the son of that widow with whom Lygialodged."

  "And a Christian?"

  The youth looked with inquiring glance at Vinicius, but, seeing him inprayer, he raised his head, and answered,--

  "I am."

  "How canst thou enter the prison freely?"

  "I hired myself to carry out corpses; I did so to assist my brethren andbring them news from the city."

  Petronius looked more attentively at the comely face of the youth, hisblue eyes, and dark, abundant hair.

  "From what country art thou, youth?" asked he.

  "I am a Galilean, lord."

  "Wouldst thou like to see Lygia free?"

  The youth raised his eyes. "Yes, even had I to die afterwards."

  Then Vinicius ceased to pray, and said,--

  "Tell the guards to place her in a coffin as if she were dead. Thou wiltfind assistants to bear her out in the night with thee. Near the 'PutridPits' will be people with a litter waiting for you; to them ye will givethe coffin. Promise the guards from me as much gold as each can carry inhis mantle."

  While speaking, his face lost its usual torpor, and in him was rousedthe soldier to whom hope had restored his former energy.

  Nazarius was flushed with delight, and, raising his hands, he exclaimed,

  "May Christ give her health, for she will be free."

  "Dost thou think that the guards will consent?" inquired Petronius.

  "They, lord? Yes, if they know that punishment and torture will nottouch them."

  "The guards would consent to her flight; all the more will they let usbear her out as a corpse," said Vinicius.

  "There is a man, it is true," said Nazarius, "who burns with red-hotiron to see if the bodies which we carry out are dead. But he will takeeven a few sestertia not to touch the face of the dead with iron. Forone aureus he will touch the coffin, not the body."

  "Tell him that he will get a cap full of aurei," said Petronius. "Butcanst thou find reliable assistants?"

  "I can find men who would sell their own wives and children for money."

  "Where wilt thou find them?"

  "In the prison itself or in the city. Once the guards are paid, theywill admit whomever I like."

  "In that case take me as a hired servant," said Vinicius.

  But Petronius opposed this most earnestly. "The pretorians mightrecognize thee even in disguise, and all would be lost. Go neither tothe prison nor the 'Putrid Pits.' All, including Caesar and Tigellinus,should be convinced that she died; otherwise they will order immediatepursuit. We can lull suspicion only in this way: When she is taken tothe Alban Hills or farther, to Sicily, we shall be in Rome. A week ortwo later thou wilt fall ill, and summon Nero's physician; he will tellthee to go to the mountains. Thou and she will meet, and afterward--"

  Here he thought a while; then, waving his hand, he said,--

  "Other times may come."

  "May Christ have mercy on her," said Vinicius. "Thou art speaking ofSicily, while she is sick and may die."

  "Let us keep her nearer Rome at first. The air alone will restore her,if only we snatch her from the dungeon. Hast thou no manager in themountains whom thou canst trust?"

  "I have," replied Vinicius, hurriedly. "Near Corioli is a reliable manwho carried me in his arms when I was a child, and who loves me yet."

  "Write to him to come to-morrow," said Petronius, handing Viniciustablets. "I will send a courier at once."

  He called the chief of the atrium then, and gave the needful orders.A few minutes later, a mounted slave was coursing in the night towardCorioli.

  "It would please me were Ursus to accompany her," said Vinicius. "Ishould be more at rest."

  "Lord," said Nazarius, "that is a man of superhuman strength; he canbreak gratings and follow her. There is one window above a steep, highrock where no guard is placed. I will take Ursus a rope; the rest hewill do himself."

  "By Hercules!" said Petronius, "let him tear himself out as he pleases,but not at the same time with her, and not two or three days later, forthey would follow him and discover her hiding-place. By Hercules! do yewish to destroy yourselves and her? I forbid you to name Corioli to him,or I wash my hands."

  Both recognized the justice of these words, and were silent. Nazariustook leave, promising to come the next morning at daybreak.

  He hoped to finish that night with the guards, but wished first to runin to see his mother, who in that uncertain and dreadful time hadno rest for a moment thinking of her son. After some thought he haddetermined not to seek an assistant in the city, but to find and bribeone from among his fellow corpse-bearers. When going, he stopped, and,taking Vinicius aside, whispered,--

  "I will not mention our plan to any one, not even to my mother, but theApostle Peter promised to come from the amphitheatre to our house; Iwill tell him everything."

  "Here thou canst speak openly," replied Vinicius. "The Apostle was inthe amphitheatre with the people of Petronius. But I will go with youmyself."

  He gave command to bring him a slave's mantle, and they passed out.Petronius sighed deeply.

  "I wished her to die of that fever," thought he, "since that would havebeen less terrible for Vinicius. But now I am ready to offer a goldentripod to Esculapius for her health. Ah! Ahenobarbus, thou hast the wishto turn a lover's pain into a spectacle; thou, Augusta, wert jealous ofthe maiden's beauty, and wouldst devour her alive because thy Rufius hasperished. Thou, Tigellinus, wouldst destroy her to spite me! We shallsee. I tell you that your eyes will not behold her on the arena, for shewill either die her own death, or I shall wrest her from you as from thejaws of dogs, and wrest her in such fashion that ye shall not know it;and as often afterward as I look at you I shall think, These are thefools whom Caius Petronius outwitted."

  And, self-satisfied, he passed to the triclinium, where he sat down tosupper with Eunice. During the meal a lector read to them the Idyls ofTheocritus. Out of doors the wind brought clouds from the direction ofSoracte, and a sudden storm broke the silence of the calm summer night.From time to time thunder reverberated on the seven hills, while they,reclining near each other at the table, listened to the bucolic poet,who in the singing Doric dialect celebrated the loves of shepherds.Later on, with minds at rest, they prepared for sweet slumber.

  But before this Vinicius returned. Petronius heard of his coming, andwent to meet him.

  "Well? Have ye fixed anything new?" inquired he. "Has Nazarius gone tothe prison?"

  "He has," answered the young man, arranging his hair, wet from the rain."Nazarius went to arrange with the guards, and I have seen Peter, whocommanded me to pray and believe."

  "That is well. If all goes favorably, we can bear her away to-morrownight."

  "My manager must be here at daybreak with men."

  "The road is a short one. Now go to rest."

  But Vinicius knelt in his cubiculum and prayed.

  At sunrise Niger, the manager, arrived from Corioli, bringing with him,at the order of Vinicius, mules, a litter, and four trusty men selectedamong slaves from Britain, whom, to save appearances, he had left atan inn in the Subura. Vinicius, who had watched all night, went to meethim. Niger, moved at sight of his
youthful master, kissed his hands andeyes, saying,--

  "My dear, thou art ill, or else suffering has sucked the blood from thyface, for hardly did I know thee at first."

  Vinicius took him to the interior colonnade, and there admitted himto the secret. Niger listened with fixed attention, and on his dry,sunburnt face great emotion was evident; this he did not even try tomaster.

  "Then she is a Christian?" exclaimed Niger; and he looked inquiringlyinto the face of Vinicius, who divined evidently what the gaze of thecountryman was asking, since he answered,--

  "I too am a Christian."

  Tears glistened in Niger's eyes that moment. He was silent for a while;then, raising his hands, he said,--

  "I thank Thee, O Christ, for having taken the beam from eyes which arethe dearest on earth to me."

  Then he embraced the head of Vinicius, and, weeping from happiness, fellto kissing his forehead. A moment later, Petronius appeared, bringingNazarius.

  "Good news!" cried he, while still at a distance.

  Indeed, the news was good. First, Glaucus the physician guaranteedLygia's life, though she had the same prison fever of which, in theTullianum and other dungeons, hundreds of people were dying daily. Asto the guards and the man who tried corpses with red-hot iron, there wasnot the least difficulty. Attys, the assistant, was satisfied also.

  "We made openings in the coffin to let the sick woman breathe," saidNazarius. "The only danger is that she may groan or speak as we pass thepretorians. But she is very weak, and is lying with closed eyes sinceearly morning. Besides, Glaucus will give her a sleeping draughtprepared by himself from drugs brought by me purposely from the city.The cover will not be nailed to the coffin; ye will raise it easily andtake the patient to the litter. We will place in the coffin a long bagof sand, which ye will provide."

  Vinicius, while hearing these words, was as pale as linen; but helistened with such attention that he seemed to divine at a glance whatNazarius had to say.

  "Will they carry out other bodies from the prison?" inquired Petronius.

  "About twenty died last night, and before evening more will be dead,"said the youth. "We must go with a whole company, but we will delayand drop into the rear. At the first corner my comrade will get lamepurposely. In that way we shall remain behind the others considerably.Ye will wait for us at the small temple of Libitina. May God give anight as dark as possible!"

  "He will," said Niger. "Last evening was bright, and then a sudden stormcame. To-day the sky is clear, but since morning it is sultry. Everynight now there will be wind and rain."

  "Will ye go without torches?" inquired Vinicius.

  "The torches are carried only in advance. In every event, be near thetemple of Libitina at dark, though usually we carry out the corpses onlyjust before midnight."

  They stopped. Nothing was to be heard save the hurried breathing ofVinicius. Petronius turned to him,--

  "I said yesterday that it would be best were we both to stay at home,but now I see that I could not stay. Were it a question of flight, therewould be need of the greatest caution; but since she will be borne outas a corpse, it seems that not the least suspicion will enter the headof any one."

  "True, true!" answered Vinicius. "I must be there. I will take her fromthe coffin myself."

  "Once she is in my house at Corioli, I answer for her," said Niger.Conversation stopped here. Niger returned to his men at the inn.Nazarius took a purse of gold under his tunic and went to the prison.For Vinicius began a day filled with alarm, excitement, disquiet, andhope.

  "The undertaking ought to succeed, for it is well planned," saidPetronius. "It was impossible to plan better. Thou must feign suffering,and wear a dark toga. Do not desert the amphitheatre. Let people seethee. All is so fixed that there cannot be failure. But--art thouperfectly sure of thy manager?"

  "He is a Christian," replied Vinicius.

  Petronius looked at him with amazement, then shrugged his shoulders, andsaid, as if in soliloquy,--

  "By Pollux! how it spreads, and commands people's souls. Under suchterror as the present, men would renounce straightway all the godsof Rome, Greece, and Egypt. Still, this is wonderful! By Pollux! if Ibelieved that anything depended on our gods, I would sacrifice sixwhite bullocks to each of them, and twelve to Capitoline Jove. Spare nopromises to thy Christ."

  "I have given Him my soul," said Vinicius.

  And they parted. Petronius returned to his cubiculum; but Vinicius wentto look from a distance at the prison, and thence betook himself to theslope of the Vatican hill,--to that hut of the quarryman where he hadreceived baptism from the hands of the Apostle. It seemed to him thatChrist would hear him more readily there than in any other place; sowhen he found it, he threw himself on the ground and exerted all thestrength of his suffering soul in prayer for mercy, and so forgothimself that he remembered not where he was or what he was doing. Inthe afternoon he was roused by the sound of trumpets which came fromthe direction of Nero's Circus. He went out of the hut, and gazed aroundwith eyes which were as if just opened from sleep.

  It was hot; the stillness was broken at intervals by the sound of brassand continually by the ceaseless noise of grasshoppers. The air hadbecome sultry, the sky was still clear over the city, but near theSabine Hills dark clouds were gathering at the edge of the horizon.

  Vinicius went home. Petronius was waiting for him in the atrium.

  "I have been on the Palatine," said he. "I showed myself therepurposely, and even sat down at dice. There is a feast at the house ofVinicius this evening; I promised to go, but only after midnight, sayingthat I must sleep before that hour. In fact I shall be there, and itwould be well wert thou to go also."

  "Are there no tidings from Niger or Nazarius?" inquired Vinicius.

  "No; we shall see them only at midnight. Hast noticed that a storm isthreatening?"

  "Yes."

  "To-morrow there is to be an exhibition of crucified Christians, butperhaps rain will prevent it."

  Then he drew nearer and said, touching his nephew's shoulder,--"But thouwilt not see her on the cross; thou wilt see her only in Corioli. ByCastor! I would not give the moment in which we free her for all thegems in Rome. The evening is near."

  In truth the evening was near, and darkness began to encircle the cityearlier than usual because clouds covered the whole horizon. With thecoming of night heavy rain fell, which turned into steam on the stoneswarmed by the heat of the day, and filled the streets of the city withmist. After that came a lull, then brief violent showers.

  "Let us hurry!" said Vinicius at last; "they may carry bodies from theprison earlier because of the storm."

  "It is time!" said Petronius.

  And taking Gallic mantles with hoods, they passed through the gardendoor to the street. Petronius had armed himself with a short Roman knifecalled sicca, which he took always during night trips.

  The city was empty because of the storm. From time to time lightningrent the clouds, illuminating with its glare the fresh walls of housesnewly built or in process of building and the wet flag-stones with whichthe streets were paved. At last a flash came, when they saw, after arather long road, the mound on which stood the small temple of Libitina,and at the foot of the mound a group of mules and horses.

  "Niger!" called Vinicius, in a low voice.

  "I am here, lord," said a voice in the rain.

  "Is everything ready?"

  "It is. We were here at dark. But hide yourselves under the rampart, orye will be drenched. What a storm! Hail will fall, I think."

  In fact Niger's fear was justified, for soon hail began to fall, atfirst fine, then larger and more frequent. The air grew cold at once.While standing under the rampart, sheltered from the wind and icymissiles, they conversed in low voices.

  "Even should some one see us," said Niger, "there will be no suspicion;we look like people waiting for the storm to pass. But I fear that theymay not bring the bodies out till morning."

  "The hail-storm will not last," said Petron
ius. "We must wait even tilldaybreak."

  They waited, listening to hear the sound of the procession. Thehail-storm passed, but immediately after a shower began to roar. Attimes the wind rose, and brought from the "Putrid Pits" a dreadful odorof decaying bodies, buried near the surface and carelessly.

  "I see a light through the mist," said Niger,--"one, two, three,--thoseare torches. See that the mules do not snort," said he, turning to themen.

  "They are coming!" said Petronius.

  The lights were growing more and more distinct. After a time it waspossible to see torches under the quivering flames.

  Niger made the sign of the cross, and began to pray. Meanwhile thegloomy procession drew nearer, and halted at last in front of the templeof Libitina. Petronius, Vinicius, and Niger pressed up to the rampart insilence, not knowing why the halt was made. But the men had stopped onlyto cover their mouths and faces with cloths to ward off the stiflingstench which at the edge of the "Putrid Pits" was simply unendurable;then they raised the biers with coffins and moved on. Only one coffinstopped before the temple. Vinicius sprang toward it, and after himPetronius, Niger, and two British slaves with the litter.

  But before they had reached it in the darkness, the voice of Nazariuswas heard, full of pain,--

  "Lord, they took her with Ursus to the Esquiline prison. We are carryinganother body! They removed her before midnight."

  Petronius, when he had returned home, was gloomy as a storm, and did noteven try to console Vinicius. He understood that to free Lygia from theEsquiline dungeons was not to be dreamed of. He divined that very likelyshe had been taken from the Tullianum so as not to die of fever andescape the amphitheatre assigned to her. But for this very reason shewas watched and guarded more carefully than others. From the bottom ofhis soul Petronius was sorry for her and Vinicius, but he was woundedalso by the thought that for the first time in life he had notsucceeded, and for the first time was beaten in a struggle.

  "Fortune seems to desert me," said he to himself, "but the gods aremistaken if they think that I will accept such a life as his, forexample."

  Here he turned toward Vinicius, who looked at him with staring eyes."What is the matter? Thou hast a fever," said Petronius.

  But Vinicius answered with a certain strange, broken, halting voice,like that of a sick child,--"But I believe that He--can restore her tome."

  Above the city the last thunders of the storm had ceased.