by Mika Waltari
As I continued silent Arsinoe fingered the edge of her matron’s robe nervously, looked at the floor and said, “You frightened me with your sudden appearance, Turms, for I did not expect you yet. Of course I have many things to explain to you but in this condition I cannot bear to be agitated. Therefore it may be best that you first meet dear Tertius. Valerius.”
She quickly withdrew to her room, burst into tears and called for her servants. Alarmed by her weeping and shouting, Tertius Valerius rushed forth from his own room with upraised stick. But when he recognized me he lowered it and looked embarrassed.
“You, Turnus,” he said slowly. “I did not expect you to return, for we-received word that you had drowned in a storm at sea. It was Arsinoe: herself who met the sailor when she was every day seeking news of you. She brought the man here and he swore, hand on the hearth, that he; had seen you go down. We have lived through difficult times ourselves. with the Volscians’ siege, and I did not doubt his story.”
I said quietly that I had been unable to send news of myself because: of the siege. Then with some bitterness I added that the news apparently had not been missed and that it would have been better had I not returned.
Tertius Valerius replied hastily, “No, no, do not misunderstand, Turnus. You are always welcome in my house and I rejoice that you are alive and apparently well. Judicially it in no way affects the situation. After all, Arsinoe herself admitted that you have never understood each other and that circumstances compelled her to accompany you for lack of another protector because of her burning desire to return to the city of her birth. Where was I? Ah, yes. No, I bear you no grudge, nor does Arsinoe. After all, you were never legally married, at least not bindingly according to Roman laws. When her goddess made me virile again even at my age I considered it my privilege and even, because of her condition, my duty to marry her legally. Since then I have grown younger by ten, perhaps even by twenty years. Don’t you agree that I am rejuvenated, Turnus?”
The heretofore sensible old man began to prance and arch his neck before me like a cock while the wrinkles hung like a wattle under his thin jaw. He had even shaved his beard and was clutching his purple-bordered toga as foppishly as a vain youth. So pathetic a sight was he that I did not know whether to weep or to laugh.
When I said nothing Tertius Valerius continued, “Of course there were many difficulties, since we first had to prove that she is a Roman citizen and a patrician. She has probably told you through what quirks of fate she found herself a helpless orphan in a strange land. But her bravery during the siege and the reputation she won for herself among the Roman women proved helpful, for the senators were made to understand by their wives that only a true Roman woman could have behaved so unselfishly. This was accepted by the Senate as evidence of her birth and she was accordingly recognized as a citizen and finally as a patrician. Without that recognition we could not have been married, for the law forbids marriage between a patrician and a plebeian.”
He rapped on the floor with his stick and added, “Because of our legal marriage all other previous bonds are dissolved as a matter of course. From now on Roman law will protect the reputation, honor and property of the person concerned.”
Summoned by the rapping, a new housekeeper dressed in splendid clothes appeared with a bow and Tertius Valerius bade him bring bread and wine with which to bid me welcome. Absently I had laid my hand on the hearth and his experienced eye noticed my gesture and he respected the tradition.
When we had drunk wine and broken bread we sat on the comfortable seats facing each other. The unaccustomed wine rose to the old man’s head, and soon his cheeks and temples were deeply flushed.
“I rejoice that you are reacting sensibly to this matter,” he said. “It shows you are an understanding man. Arsinoe had to admit that she sent you away because of her fondness for me and besides, you are sterile and could never give her the joy of motherhood. It was not her fault that that cruel Greek took advantage of her defenseless position and forced her to submit. But she herself is innocent and without a single evil thought. Indeed, I respect her greatly for having kept Misme although the sight of the girl must arouse dismal memories. I can well realize how much your return reminded her of those sad times. Women in her condition are very sensitive.”
He began to titter. “I am a farmer at heart and accustomed to breeding cattle, so that I am not unduly shy in matters pertaining to the sexes. But I have never met more sensitive innocence than Arsinoe’s among the women of Rome. Still, she is a heroine. As the most courageous of the Roman women she was instrumental, with the help of her goddess, in persuading Coriolanus to lift the siege and depart with the Volscians.”
His brow darkened, he gripped the stick tightly and recollected, “As the Volscians left they burned and plundered even the patricians’ houses, so that I suffered great material loss.” Then he brightened again. “But the land remains and we are rid of Coriolanus. The Volscians no longer trust him because he lifted the siege without a battle, although by dint of great effort they had built siege towers and battering rams with which to break down the gates. Now the women of Rome believe in Arsinoe’s goddess and worship her as Venus. I myself have vowed to erect a temple to her in Rome and intend to propose it in the Senate time and again. If it is not accepted I shall erect the temple, at least a small one, with my own money.”
“I know Arsinoe’s goddess,” I said impatiently. “I don’t doubt that the women of Rome will donate their jeweled hairpins and brooches to a collection for the temple.”
“A splendid idea!” cried Tertius Valerius. “You understand me best of all, dear Turnus. Arsinoe has even predicted that the descendants of the goddess Venus will one day rule the world from Rome.”
“Continue your story,” I urged.
Tertius Valerius’ mouth dropped open as he searched his memory. “Ah, yes. I began with the bulls and Arsinoe’s modesty. Although I convinced the Senate I had a harder time persuading my relatives. Not until they saw with their own eyes did they believe that I had regained my manhood. We Romans are not unduly bashful in such matters, but before I could prove it I had to overcome Arsinoe’s shyness, for although she is a mature woman she is as bashful as a young girl who for the first time submits to a man’s embrace.”
“Undoubtedly,” I said with gall in my throat. “Undoubtedly.” Tertius Valerius recollected the event with enthusiasm. “My brothers, my brother’s son and a representative chosen by the Senate saw with their own eyes that I could fulfill my conjugal responsibilities as well as anyone else. After that no one doubted that Arsinoe had become pregnant by me.”
At this moment Arsinoe entered the room with tear-swollen eyes, lagging steps and downcast eyes. She stooped to kiss Tertius Valerius’ forehead and in passing deftly wiped his chin and wattle with a linen towel.
“Surely you are not exerting yourself with tiresome matters, my dear Tertius,” she said affectionately, and gave me a reproachful glance.
Tertius’ head ceased wobbling and he straightened himself like the senator he was. “Unpleasant matters are best settled immediately,” he declared. “Everything has turned out for the best and only certain financial matters remain. When you arrived in our city, Turnus, your property was mistakenly entered in your name, but I will not believe that you did so with calculated slyness. You probably wished only to protect Arsinoe’s money since you did not know our city’s laws and thought that it was not possible for a woman to own property. Similarly you had entered in your name that talent of silver which Arsinoe had you bring for her on your previous journey. After all, her pride demanded that she have a dowry as though I were not sufficiently wealthy.”
He stroked Arsinoe’s hand. In her defense I must say that she dared not meet my glance. “As a man of honor, Turnus,” continued Tertius Valerius emphatically, “will you be so kind as to transfer Arsinoe’s property to her name officially, just as I transferred certain estates with their slaves to her name at our marriage? No one can compe
l you to do so, of course, but I fear that your past would not stand a trial.”
I looked at Arsinoe’s beautiful face, at the glow of her eyes and the smooth whiteness of her bare arms. “I shall arrange the matter tomorrow,” I said. “I am only too happy to serve Arsinoe as I have in the past. A silver talent and a moderate amount of gold in coins and objects is a dowry not to be scorned by even a Roman senator. Let it add to her fame among the noblewomen, although her most precious dowry, of course, lies in her modesty and irreproachable manners.”
Arsinoe did not blush but merely nodded as she stroked the old dotard’s thin hair.
Why didn’t I fly into a rage at those contemptible lies? Why didn’t I open Tertius Valerius’ eyes to the kind of woman Arsinoe really was? Above all, why didn’t I snatch her into my arms and carry her away as I had before?
Because at last I realized the futility of such actions. Arsinoe knew what she wanted and if she preferred wealth, security and a high position at the side of a friendly old man to me, why should I try to change her mind? The crock was broken and the wine had seeped out. Perhaps the crock could have been repaired somehow but why should I have tormented her and myself any longer? If Tertius Valerius was happy, why should I have disturbed his joy by arousing unnecessary doubts?
When I relinquished all my rights willingly and without haggling, Tertius Valerius glanced questioningly at Arsinoe as though seeking advice. She nodded.
Overcoming his innate miserliness Tertius Valerius said magnanimously, “You are a fine fellow, Turnus, and deserve compensation for rescuing Arsinoe from the heartless Greek and returning her safely to the city of her birth. Therefore, with my wife’s permission, I have thought of giving you a small farm with fifteen jugera of land and the necessary farming implements as well as two slaves. The farm is on the opposite bank of the river some distance from the city and near the Etruscan border. I myself obtained it as security for a loan after a plebeian was killed in the war, and though the slaves are old, they are a dependable couple. The Volscians burned the house but the necessary sties and pens are being built and the slaves are living in a provisional shelter.”
His offer was undeniably generous considering his miserliness, but upon deliberation I realized that he wished me out of his house and out of the city as soon as possible. Yet to begin cultivating fifteen jugera I would be compelled to seek Roman citizenship, and that I wanted to avoid.
Finally I said, “I accept your gift lest I shame your generosity, noble Tertius Valerius. I shall be happy to have the farm as a memento of Arsinoe, though I hardly think I myself will cultivate it, for I prefer to continue to live in the city. Presumably I can earn my living by teaching Greek to children or prophesying from the hand or appearing as a dancer in the sacred performances at the circus.”
Arsinoe’s head moved violently and Tertius Valerius felt ashamed for me. Touching her hand reassuringly he said to me, “Dear Turnus, I am happy that you are not ashamed to admit your humble origin but are content to be what you are without aspiring to citizenship. I think that Suburra is just the right place for you, for I heard earlier that you had enjoyed life there with your own kind although I didn’t mention it while you were my guest.”
Arsinoe flushed and exclaimed, “At last you have betrayed yourself, Turms! That is your place, among the disreputable women, and I cannot say that I miss you. But drag yourself in the mud if you will, I cannot watch out for you all my life. I must think of my own future and that of my unborn son. Go to your sluts, the sooner the better I I will not have such a notorious man in this house.”
“Now, now,” said Tertius Valerius soothingly. But I was warmed by the knowledge that Arsinoe still was jealous of me even though she had chosen the better life. Finally she burst into tears once more, covered her eyes with her hands and fled from the room.
Everything happened according to plan and soon I was inspecting my weed-covered fifteen jugera far beyond the hill of Janiculum near the Etruscan border. The gray and toothless slave couple feared me greatly and tremblingly showed me a sow in the sty and a few goats and heifers. As his greatest treasure the old man brought out an ox hide that he himself had tanned and hidden from the Volscians, for he had had sufficient wit to slaughter the ox and skin it before the Volscians’ arrival.
I would, of course, have had the right to kill the old couple, incapable of work as they were, using as a pretext the wretched condition into which they had allowed the farm to lapse. That was what the Romans did to their decrepit slaves, as mercifully as they killed old beasts of burden. But my heart did not permit it so, instead, I sold my gold ring and jeweled band for a pair of oxen, and to help the old slaves hired a shepherd boy whose parents had been killed by the Volscians. Later I built a small summer house and decorated its gables with painted clay ornaments in the Etruscan manner.
In Suburra, where I rented a room, and at the market place it was easy for me to obtain the truth about Arsinoe’s incomparable heroism during the Volscian siege, truth which made it apparent that she had deliberately sent me away so that she might be free to win a place for herself among the women of Rome.
When the Volscians had besieged the city the people had emphatically refused to fight beside the patricians. Disturbances increased in the Forum and the Senate did not even dare to appoint a dictator as it had during previous emergencies. Arsinoe had found her opportunity by joining the sewing circle in which the Roman women regardless of rank wove warm shirts for those unselfish citizens who placed the fatherland above class conflicts and shivered atop the wall during the cold autumn days and nights.
Side by side with the patrician women Arsinoe had carried hot soup and warm bread to the wall from Tertius Valerius’ kitchen. Among the patriotic women who thus distinguished themselves were Coriolanus’ spirited mother Veturia and his Etruscan-born wife Volumnia, whom he had married only for her dowry and for whom he cared little although she had given him two sons. Both the women, the old mother and the humiliated wife, sought to prove by their actions that their sympathies were entirely with Rome.
When the people had compelled the Senate to send emissaries to Coriolanus’ camp to offer peace and the priest of Regia had in vain attempted to persuade him, Arsinoe had suggested that the Roman women send their own delegation to Coriolanus. Surely he could not resist the tears of his old mother, the reproachful look of his wife and the sight of his young sons.
Although the women had been afraid of the Volscians, Arsinoe’s enthusiasm and fearlessness had been contagious and some twenty patrician women had followed her as she herself led the swaying Veturia and the weeping Volumnia and her sons. The soldiers, remembering Arsinoe’s hot soup and friendly visits, had opened the gates before the Senate had had time to forbid such a foolhardy venture.
The shivering and hungry Volscians had been so amazed by the arrival of the women that they had gladly accepted the meat and bread in the women’s baskets, and led them in a festive procession to the camp and Coriolanus’ tent. There the women had gathered about a fire to warm themselves, for it was night before Coriolanus consented to see his mother and sons. There by the fire Arsinoe had told the women in confidence about her goddess and assured them that as a final resort she herself, with the aid of the goddess, would persuade Coriolanus.
Finally Coriolanus had admitted the women into his tent. His mother had tearfully cursed her son and declared that she would have strangled him in his crib with her own hands had she known that she had given birth to a traitor. Volumnia for her part had thrust forward her sons and demanded whether he intended to destroy his own sons’ fatherland.
Coriolanus, who was a handsome man and a head taller than the other Romans, had listened patiently while glancing with curiosity at Arsinoe, who stood with shyly bowed head. But if I knew her she surely made certain that Coriolanus saw her red-gold curls and white neck and probably she had even allowed her robe to slip open.
At length Coriolanus had spoken a few sharp words to his mother and wif
e and declared that unless the women had more sensible things to say he would send them back to the city. At that point the women had pushed forward a modest Arsinoe and urged her to call upon her goddess. Arsinoe had explained that to do that she had to be alone with Coriolanus in his tent. And so he had dismissed the women and his guards.
More than that was not known about the conversation between Arsinoe and Coriolanus, but she had remained in his tent until dawn. When she finally appeared, exhausted from her efforts to persuade Coriolanus, she had urged the women to praise the goddess Venus and her power, and had fallen unconscious into their arms. Coriolanus had not appeared at all but had courteously sent guards to escort the women to the city. That same day he had given the order to lift the siege.
Whether the ending of the siege was due to Arsinoe and her goddess I dare not say. On the basis of what I heard I concluded that the Vol-scian army was incapable of storming the Roman wall and did not even wish to try. Also, autumn was far advanced and no nation of Latium could endure a winter war. Coriolanus was an able commander and even without the intervention of the women would surely have dispersed his army before winter.
With or without reason Veturia and Volumnia achieved fame as a result of the event and willingly shared their glory with Arsinoe. They received the public thanks of the Senate as the saviors of the city and from that moment Arsinoe was a famous woman in Rome, and her goddess and secret knowledge were respected.
