Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero Read online

  Chapter LI

  THE cry, "Christians to the lions!" was heard increasingly in every partof the city. At first not only did no one doubt that they were the realauthors of the catastrophe, but no one wished to doubt, since theirpunishment was to be a splendid amusement for the populace. Still theopinion spread that the catastrophe would not have assumed such dreadfulproportions but for the anger of the gods; for this reason "piacula,"or purifying sacrifices, were commanded in the temples. By advice of theSibylline books, the Senate ordained solemnities and public prayer toVulcan, Ceres, and Proserpina. Matrons made offerings to Juno; a wholeprocession of them went to the seashore to take water and sprinkle withit the statue of the goddess. Married women prepared feasts to the godsand night watches. All Rome purified itself from sin, made offerings,and placated the Immortals. Meanwhile new broad streets were openedamong the ruins. In one place and another foundations were laid formagnificent houses, palaces, and temples. But first of all theybuilt with unheard-of haste an enormous wooden amphitheatre in whichChristians were to die. Immediately after that consultation in the houseof Tiberius, orders went to consuls to furnish wild beasts. Tigellinusemptied the vivaria of all Italian cities, not excepting the smallerones. In Africa, at his command, gigantic hunts were organized, inwhich the entire local population was forced to take part. Elephants andtigers were brought in from Asia, crocodiles and hippopotamuses from theNile, lions from the Atlas, wolves and bears from the Pyrenees, savagehounds from Hibernia, Molossian dogs from Epirus, bisons and thegigantic wild aurochs from Germany. Because of the number of prisoners,the games were to surpass in greatness anything seen up to that time.Caesar wished to drown all memory of the fire in blood, and makeRome drunk with it; hence never had there been a greater promise ofbloodshed.

  The willing people helped guards and pretorians in hunting Christians.That was no difficult labor for whole groups of them camped with theother population in the midst of the gardens, and confessed theirfaith openly. When surrounded, they knelt, and while singing hymns letthemselves be borne away without resistance. But their patience onlyincreased the anger of the populace, who, not understanding its origin,considered it as rage and persistence in crime. A madness seizedthe persecutors. It happened that the mob wrested Christians frompretorians, and tore them to pieces; women were dragged to prison by thehair; children's heads were dashed against stones. Thousands of peoplerushed, howling, night and day through the streets. Victims were soughtin ruins, in chimneys, in cellars. Before the prison bacchanalian feastsand dances were celebrated at fires, around casks of wine.

  In the evening was heard with delight bellowing which was like thunder,and which sounded throughout the city. The prisons were overflowingwith thousands of people; every day the mob and pretorians drove innew victims. Pity had died out. It seemed that people had forgottento speak, and in their wild frenzy remembered one shout alone: "Tothe lions with Christians!" Wonderfully hot days came, and nights morestifling than ever before; the very air seemed filled with blood, crime,and madness.

  And that surpassing measure of cruelty was answered by an equal measureof desire for martyrdom,--the confessors of Christ went to deathwillingly, or even sought death till they were restrained by the sterncommands of superiors. By the injunction of these superiors they beganto assemble only outside the city, in excavations near the Appian Way,and in vineyards belonging to patrician Christians, of whom none hadbeen imprisoned so far. It was known perfectly on the Palatine that tothe confessors of Christ belonged Flavius, Domitilla, Pomponia Graecina,Cornelius Pudens, and Vinicius. Caesar himself, however, feared that themob would not believe that such people had burned Rome, and since itwas important beyond everything to convince the mob, punishment andvengeance were deferred till later days. Others were of the opinion, buterroneously, that those patricians were saved by the influence of Acte.Petronius, after parting with Vinicius, turned to Acte, it is true, togain assistance for Lygia; but she could offer him only tears, for shelived in oblivion and suffering, and was endured only in so far as shehid herself from Poppaea and Caesar.

  But she had visited Lygia in prison, she had carried her clothingand food, and above all had saved her from injury on the part of theprison-guards, who, moreover, were bribed already.

  Petronius, unable to forget that had it not been for him and his planof taking Lygia from the house of Aulus, probably she would not be inprison at that moment, and, besides, wishing to win the game againstTigellinus, spared neither time nor efforts. In the course of a few dayshe saw Seneca, Domitius Afer, Crispinilla, and Diodorus, through whomhe wished to reach Poppaea; he saw Terpnos, and the beautiful Pythagoras,and finally Aliturus and Paris, to whom Caesar usually refused nothing.With the help of Chrysothemis, then mistress of Vatinius, he tried togain even his aid, not sparing in this case and in others promises andmoney.

  But all these efforts were fruitless. Seneca, uncertain of the morrow,fell to explaining to him that the Christians, even if they had notburned Rome, should be exterminated, for the good of the city,--in aword, he justified the coming slaughter for political reasons. Terpnosand Diodorus took the money, and did nothing in return for it. Vatiniusreported to Caesar that they had been trying to bribe him. Aliturusalone, who at first was hostile to the Christians, took pity on themthen, and made bold to mention to Caesar the imprisoned maiden, and toimplore in her behalf. He obtained nothing, however, but the answer,--

  "Dost thou think that I have a soul inferior to that of Brutus, whospared not his own sons for the good of Rome?"

  When this answer was repeated to Petronius, he said,--

  "Since Nero has compared himself to Brutus, there is no salvation."

  But he was sorry for Vinicius, and dread seized him lest he mightattempt his own life. "Now," thought the arbiter, "he is upheld by theefforts which he makes to save her, by the sight of her, and by his ownsuffering; but when all means fail and the last ray of hope is quenched,by Castor! he will not survive, he will throw himself on his sword."Petronius understood better how to die thus than to love and suffer likeVinicius.

  Meanwhile Vinicius did all that he could think of to save Lygia. Hevisited Augustians; and he, once so proud, now begged their assistance.Through Vitelius he offered Tigellinus all his Sicilian estates, andwhatever else the man might ask; but Tigellinus, not wishing apparentlyto offend the Augusta, refused. To go to Caesar himself, embrace hisknees and implore, would lead to nothing. Vinicius wished, it is true,to do this; but Petronius, hearing of his purpose, inquired,--

  "But should he refuse thee, or answer with a jest or a shameless threat,what wouldst thou do?"

  At this the young tribune's features contracted with pain and rage, andfrom his fixed jaws a gritting sound was heard.

  "Yes," said Petronius, "I advise thee against this, because thou wouldstclose all paths of rescue."

  Vinicius restrained himself, and passing his palm over his forehead,which was covered with cold sweat, replied,--

  "No, no! I am a Christian."

  "But thou will forget this, as thou didst a moment ago. Thou hastthe right to ruin thyself, but not her. Remember what the daughter ofSejanus passed through before death."

  Speaking thus he was not altogether sincere, since he was concernedmore for Vinicius than for Lygia. Still he knew that in no way couldhe restrain him from a dangerous step as well as by telling him that hewould bring inexorable destruction on Lygia. Moreover he was right; foron the Palatine they had counted on the visit of the young tribune, andhad taken needful precautions.

  But the suffering of Vinicius surpassed human endurance. From the momentthat Lygia was imprisoned and the glory of coming martyrdom had fallenon her, not only did he love her a hundred times more, but he begansimply to give her in his soul almost religious honor, as he would asuperhuman being. And now, at the thought that he must lose this beingboth loved and holy, that besides death torments might be inflicted onher more terrible than death itself, the blood stiffened in his veins.His soul was turned into one groan,
his thoughts were confused. At timesit seemed to him that his skull was filled with living fire, which wouldeither burn or burst it. He ceased to understand what was happening; heceased to understand why Christ, the Merciful, the Divine, did not comewith aid to His adherents; why the dingy walls of the Palatine didnot sink through the earth, and with them Nero, the Augustians, thepretorian camp, and all that city of crime. He thought that it could notand should not be otherwise; and all that his eyes saw, and becauseof which his heart was breaking, was a dream. But the roaring of wildbeasts informed him that it was reality; the sound of the axes beneathwhich rose the arena told him that it was reality; the howling of thepeople and the overfilled prisons confirmed this. Then his faith inChrist was alarmed; and that alarm was a new torture, the most dreadfulof all, perhaps.

  "Remember what the daughter of Sejanus endured before death," saidPetronius to him, meanwhile.