Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero Page 4

  Chapter IV

  IN fact, Petronius kept his promise. He slept all the day following hisvisit to Chrysothemis, it is true; but in the evening he gave command tobear him to the Palatine, where he had a confidential conversation withNero; in consequence of this, on the third day a centurion, at thehead of some tens of pretorian soldiers, appeared before the house ofPlautius.

  The period was uncertain and terrible. Messengers of this kind were morefrequently heralds of death. So when the centurion struck the hammer atAulus's door, and when the guard of the atrium announced that therewere soldiers in the anteroom, terror rose through the whole house.The family surrounded the old general at once, for no one doubted thatdanger hung over him above all. Pomponia, embracing his neck withher arms, clung to him with all her strength, and her blue lips movedquickly while uttering some whispered phrase. Lygia, with a face paleas linen, kissed his hand; little Aulus clung to his toga. From thecorridor, from chambers in the lower story intended for servant-womenand attendants, from the bath, from the arches of lower dwellings, fromthe whole house, crowds of slaves began to hurry out, and the cries of"Heu! heu, me miserum!" were heard. The women broke into great weeping;some scratched their cheeks, or covered their heads with kerchiefs.

  Only the old general himself, accustomed for years to look deathstraight in the eye, remained calm, and his short eagle face became asrigid as if chiselled from stone. After a while, when he had silencedthe uproar, and commanded the attendants to disappear, he said,--"Let mego, Pomponia. If my end has come, we shall have time to take leave."

  And he pushed her aside gently; but she said,--"God grant thy fate andmine to be one, O Aulus!"

  Then, failing on her knees, she began to pray with that force which fearfor some dear one alone can give.

  Aulus passed out to the atrium, where the centurion was waiting for him.It was old Caius Hasta, his former subordinate and companion in Britishwars.

  "I greet thee, general," said he. "I bring a command, and the greetingof Caesar; here are the tablets and the signet to show that I come in hisname."

  "I am thankful to Caesar for the greeting, and I shall obey the command,"answered Aulus. "Be welcome, Hasta, and say what command thou hastbrought."

  "Aulus Plautius," began Hasta, "Caesar has learned that in thy house isdwelling the daughter of the king of the Lygians, whom that king duringthe life of the divine Claudius gave into the hands of the Romans as apledge that the boundaries of the empire would never be violated by theLygians. The divine Nero is grateful to thee, O general, because thouhast given her hospitality in thy house for so many years; but, notwishing to burden thee longer, and considering also that the maiden asa hostage should be under the guardianship of Caesar and the senate, hecommands thee to give her into my hands."

  Aulus was too much a soldier and too much a veteran to permit himselfregret in view of an order, or vain words, or complaint. A slightwrinkle of sudden anger and pain, however, appeared on his forehead.Before that frown legions in Britain had trembled on a time, and evenat that moment fear was evident on the face of Hasta. But in view of theorder, Aulus Plautius felt defenceless. He looked for some time at thetablets and the signet; then raising his eyes to the old centurion, hesaid calmly,--"Wait, Hasta, in the atrium till the hostage is deliveredto thee."

  After these words he passed to the other end of the house, to thehall called oecus, where Pomponia Graecina, Lygia, and little Aulus werewaiting for him in fear and alarm.

  "Death threatens no one, nor banishment to distant islands," said he;"still Caesar's messenger is a herald of misfortune. It is a question ofthee, Lygia."

  "Of Lygia?" exclaimed Pomponia, with astonishment.

  "Yes," answered Aulus.

  And turning to the maiden, he began: "Lygia, thou wert reared in ourhouse as our own child; I and Pomponia love thee as our daughter. Butknow this, that thou art not our daughter. Thou art a hostage, givenby thy people to Rome, and guardianship over thee belongs to Caesar. NowCaesar takes thee from our house."

  The general spoke calmly, but with a certain strange, unusual voice.Lygia listened to his words, blinking, as if not understanding what thequestion was. Pomponia's cheeks became pallid. In the doors leadingfrom the corridor to the oecus, terrified faces of slaves began to showthemselves a second time.

  "The will of Caesar must be accomplished," said Aulus.

  "Aulus!" exclaimed Pomponia, embracing the maiden with her arms, as ifwishing to defend her, "it would be better for her to die."

  Lygia, nestling up to her breast, repeated, "Mother, mother!" unable inher sobbing to find other words.

  On Aulus's face anger and pain were reflected again. "If I were alone inthe world," said he, gloomily, "I would not surrender her alive, and myrelatives might give offerings this day to 'Jupiter Liberator.' But Ihave not the right to kill thee and our child, who may live to happiertimes. I will go to Caesar this day, and implore him to change hiscommand. Whether he will hear me, I know not. Meanwhile, farewell,Lygia, and know that I and Pomponia ever bless the day in which thoudidst take thy seat at our hearth."

  Thus speaking, he placed his hand on her head; but though he strove topreserve his calmness, when Lygia turned to him eyes filled with tears,and seizing his hand pressed it to her lips, his voice was filled withdeep fatherly sorrow.

  "Farewell, our joy, and the light of our eyes," said he.

  And he went to the atrium quickly, so as not to let himself be conqueredby emotion unworthy of a Roman and a general.

  Meanwhile Pomponia, when she had conducted Lygia to the cubiculum, beganto comfort, console, and encourage her, uttering words meanwhile whichsounded strangely in that house, where near them in an adjoining chamberthe lararium remained yet, and where the hearth was on which AulusPlautius, faithful to ancient usage, made offerings to the householddivinities. Now the hour of trial had come. On a time Virginius hadpierced the bosom of his own daughter to save her from the hands ofAppius; still earlier Lucretia had redeemed her shame with her life.The house of Caesar is a den of infamy, of evil, of crime. But we, Lygia,know why we have not the right to raise hands on ourselves! Yes! The lawunder which we both live is another, a greater, a holier, but it givespermission to defend oneself from evil and shame even should it happento pay for that defence with life and torment. Whoso goes forth purefrom the dwelling of corruption has the greater merit thereby. The earthis that dwelling; but fortunately life is one twinkle of the eye, andresurrection is only from the grave; beyond that not Nero, but Mercybears rule, and there instead of pain is delight, there instead of tearsis rejoicing.

  Next she began to speak of herself. Yes! she was calm; but in her breastthere was no lack of painful wounds. For example, Aulus was a cataracton her eye; the fountain of light had not flowed to him yet. Neither wasit permitted her to rear her son in Truth. When she thought, therefore,that it might be thus to the end of her life, and that for them a momentof separation might come which would be a hundred times more grievousand terrible than that temporary one over which they were both sufferingthen, she could not so much as understand how she might be happy even inheaven without them. And she had wept many nights through already, shehad passed many nights in prayer, imploring grace and mercy. But sheoffered her suffering to God, and waited and trusted. And now, whena new blow struck her, when the tyrant's command took from her a dearone,--the one whom Aulus had called the light of their eyes,--shetrusted yet, believing that there was a power greater than Nero's and amercy mightier than his anger.

  And she pressed the maiden's head to her bosom still more firmly. Lygiadropped to her knees after a while, and, covering her eyes in the foldsof Pomponia's peplus, she remained thus a long time in silence; but whenshe stood up again, some calmness was evident on her face.

  "I grieve for thee, mother, and for father and for my brother; but Iknow that resistance is useless, and would destroy all of us. I promisethee that in the house of Caesar I will never forget thy words."

  Once more she threw her arms around
Pomponia's neck; then both went outto the oecus, and she took farewell of little Aulus, of the old Greektheir teacher, of the dressing-maid who had been her nurse, and of allthe slaves. One of these, a tall and broad-shouldered Lygian, calledUrsus in the house, who with other servants had in his time gone withLygia's mother and her to the camp of the Romans, fell now at her feet,and then bent down to the knees of Pomponia, saying,--"O domina! permitme to go with my lady, to serve her and watch over her in the house ofCaesar."

  "Thou art not our servant, but Lygia's," answered Pomponia; "but if theyadmit thee through Caesar's doors, in what way wilt thou be able to watchover her?"

  "I know not, domina; I know only that iron breaks in my hands just aswood does."

  When Aulus, who came up at that moment, had heard what the question was,not only did he not oppose the wishes of Ursus, but he declared that hehad not even the right to detain him. They were sending away Lygia as ahostage whom Caesar had claimed, and they were obliged in the same way tosend her retinue, which passed with her to the control of Caesar. Here hewhispered to Pomponia that under the form of an escort she could add asmany slaves as she thought proper, for the centurion could not refuse toreceive them.

  There was a certain comfort for Lygia in this. Pomponia also was gladthat she could surround her with servants of her own choice. Therefore,besides Ursus, she appointed to her the old tire-woman, two maidens fromCyprus well skilled in hair-dressing, and two German maidens for thebath. Her choice fell exclusively on adherents of the new faith; Ursus,too, had professed it for a number of years. Pomponia could count on thefaithfulness of those servants, and at the same time consoled herselfwith the thought that soon grains of truth would be in Caesar's house.

  She wrote a few words also, committing care over Lygia to Nero'sfreedwoman, Acte. Pomponia had not seen her, it is true, at meetings ofconfessors of the new faith; but she had heard from them that Acte hadnever refused them a service, and that she read the letters of Paul ofTarsus eagerly. It was known to her also that the young freedwoman livedin melancholy, that she was a person different from all other women ofNero's house, and that in general she was the good spirit of the palace.

  Hasta engaged to deliver the letter himself to Acte. Considering itnatural that the daughter of a king should have a retinue of her ownservants, he did not raise the least difficulty in taking them to thepalace, but wondered rather that there should be so few. He beggedhaste, however, fearing lest he might be suspected of want of zeal incarrying out orders.

  The moment of parting came. The eyes of Pomponia and Lygia were filledwith fresh tears; Aulus placed his hand on her head again, and after awhile the soldiers, followed by the cry of little Aulus, who in defenceof his sister threatened the centurion with his small fists, conductedLygia to Caesar's house.

  The old general gave command to prepare his litter at once; meanwhile,shutting himself up with Pomponia in the pinacotheca adjoining the oecus,he said to her,--"Listen to me, Pomponia. I will go to Caesar, thoughI judge that my visit will be useless; and though Seneca's word meansnothing with Nero now, I will go also to Seneca. To-day Sophonius,Tigellinus, Petronius, or Vatinius have more influence. As to Caesar,perhaps he has never even heard of the Lygian people; and if he hasdemanded the delivery of Lygia, the hostage, he has done so because someone persuaded him to it,--it is easy to guess who could do that."

  She raised her eyes to him quickly.

  "Is it Petronius?"

  "It is."

  A moment of silence followed; then the general continued,--"See what itis to admit over the threshold any of those people without conscience orhonor. Cursed be the moment in which Vinicius entered our house, forhe brought Petronius. Woe to Lygia, since those men are not seeking ahostage, but a concubine."

  And his speech became more hissing than usual, because of helpless rageand of sorrow for his adopted daughter. He struggled with himself sometime, and only his clenched fists showed how severe was the strugglewithin him.

  "I have revered the gods so far," said he; "but at this moment I thinkthat not they are over the world, but one mad, malicious monster namedNero."

  "Aulus," said Pomponia. "Nero is only a handful of rotten dust beforeGod."

  But Aulus began to walk with long steps over the mosaic of thepinacotheca. In his life there had been great deeds, but no greatmisfortunes; hence he was unused to them. The old soldier had grown moreattached to Lygia than he himself had been aware of, and now he couldnot be reconciled to the thought that he had lost her. Besides, he felthumiliated. A hand was weighing on him which he despised, and at thesame time he felt that before its power his power was as nothing.

  But when at last he stifled in himself the anger which disturbed histhoughts, he said,--"I judge that Petronius has not taken her fromus for Caesar, since he would not offend Poppaea. Therefore he took hereither for himself or Vinicius. Today I will discover this."

  And after a while the litter bore him in the direction of the Palatine.Pomponia, when left alone, went to little Aulus, who did not ceasecrying for his sister, or threatening Caesar.