ACT II.

SENECA. [377-436]
THE philosopher despises the vices of his times, praises the simplicity of his former life, and gives it, as his opinion, that all things are tending in a direction for the worse.

WHY, oh powerful fortune, who hast been so alluring to me with deceptious outside show, hast thou summoned me from my former position, with which I was supremely contented? Is it, that from my being raised so high, I should fall all the more heavily, or that I might have a fuller prospect, from my elevated post, of the many dangers I might see around me? I was much better off, when I was hidden away at a distance, remote⁷ from the perils of envy, amongst the rocky coasts of the Corsican sea, where my inclinations were unfettered and where I felt that I was my own master, and where an ample margin was afforded me for the following up of my favorite pursuits. Oh! how it used to delight me, to look at the glorious sun, than which, our first parent, nature, the artificer of that immense work, has produced nothing grander, and the awe-inspiring courses traced out by that solar luminary, to contemplate the revolutions of the heavenly bodies, and the alternate tracks of the sun (indicating day and night) and the planet Phoebe, that orb which the wandering stars surround, and far and wide, the resplendent ornament of the firmament. Now, verily the world has arrived at its last day, which, if not so, and it lives to be older, so much so as again to lapse into the condition of indescribable chaos, when the crash of the fallen heavens will overwhelm impious mankind, so that it may for the second time, create a new race, and the one, that is to be born again, to be an improvement upon the present one - as it was, indeed, at its earlier periods, when Saturn held the dominion of the skies (the golden age). Then it was the Virgin Justitia (Astraea) that goddess of such distinguished reputation amongst the deities commissioned from Heaven, with that sacred trust, ruled the earth with mildness - The human race had never known what wars were, nor had they ever heard the battle-inspiring blasts of the shrill war-trumpet! and the people of those days were unacquainted with the weapons used in battle - they did not surround their cities with walls - the land was one grand highway, open to all; and the enjoyment of all things was within the reach of and common to everyone - and the smiling earth freely disclosed its fruitful bosom, and this Parent was happy in having the protection of such contented children. - Another age (the silver age) supervened, but the race of mankind was considered inoffensive, and the third (the brazen age) produced a skilled progeny - one that applied itself to new inventions, but yet was quite observant of the sacredness of the laws! by and bye, men became restless (the fourth race) and ventured to hunt the savage wild beasts, to draw out from the sea, in a net, the large fishes, which had hitherto been unmolested and protected by the waves, or to take the birds of the air aback, with their swift arrows, to bring into subjection the fierce bulls, and submit their necks to the yoke - to plough the earth, before free from the wounds of the ploughshare, which, however, when thus torn up, was found to hide away its productiveness, much deeper down in the bosom of its sacred interior (sacred because it had never been intruded upon). But this discontented age penetrated into the very bowels of its parent, and out of it, soon showing themselves, came the dreadful sword (iron) and gold (that incentive to crime), and very soon, mankind carried weapons of destruction, in their cruel hands! They parcelled out kingdoms, and defined the limits of territorial holdings, and built new cities - sometimes they defended the homesteads of others, used those weapons, threateningly, with plunder, only, for their object! Astraea, the bright ornament of the starry firmament, finding herself no longer held in respect or veneration, fled the earth, and avoided their savage ways, and looked with abhorrence at the hands of mankind stained with the blood, which flowed from their savage slaughters - and the thirst for gold likewise - and then came into view, the greatest evil of all, and spread throughout the world. - Luxury, that insidious curse of mankind, the long-continued indulgence in which involving such a pernicious departure from the lines of moderation, acquired additional power over mankind, as it became more confirmed, and the aggregate vices accumulating throughout so many ages, have been very abundantly shown amongst us for a long time now - we are oppressed by very distressing times an age, in which crime seems to rule paramount, and rampant wickedness seems to take cruelty as its guide, whilst irrepressible debauchery is presided over by that salacious Goddess, Venus! Luxury, that successful conqueror, some while since, has grasped, with its greedy hands, the immense resources of the world (riches) so that they may be only squanderingly got rid of! But, behold, Nero is approaching with a step suggestive of something out of the usual way, by his truculent look - I quite shudder in my very soul, as to what is uppermost in his mind!

NERO - PREFECT - SENECA. [437-592]
The philosopher warns his patron Nero to no purpose, who pertinaciously insists on carrying out his tyrannical plans, and appoints the next day for his marriage with Poppaea.

NERO.

CARRY my orders out exactly, despatch some one, who will bring me, as soon as they have been cut off, the heads of Plautus and Sulla. ⁸

PREF. I will not delay the execution of thy commands, I will forthwith repair to the camp.

SEN. It is wiser for thee to determine nothing rashly, especially towards friends, and those, allied to thy cause.

NERO. It is easy to preach that doctrine to a man who himself is credited with justice, and does not suspect others, about whom, in short, his mind is free from apprehension.

SEN. Clemency is the most powerful remedy, in counteracting any danger arising from others.

NERO. To stamp out an enemy, is the highest triumph an Emperor could wish for.

SEN. To look to the welfare of the citizens, constitutes the greatest virtue, in the father of a country.

NERO. It is quite in keeping, that an old man should be mild, when he is laying down precepts for youngsters.

SEN. The ardor of the adult youth, on the other hand, requires more governing than that of mere boyhood.

NERO. I think, that at my age, my own will is all that is necessary.

SEN. So long as the Gods above, may always approve of thy acts.

NERO. It would be in a very silly superstitious way, that I should fear the Gods, when I am about to do anything!

SEN. Fear all the more, as to what would be considered right for thee to do.

NERO. My good fortune (position) permits all things I may wish to do.

SEN. Be careful, as to the confidence, thou reposest in that fickle deity, Fortune, she is a very frivolous Goddess!

NERO. He must be a dullard indeed, who does not know, what to permit himself to do.

SEN. It is a praiseworthy thing to do what is right, but the reverse, when it is not so.

NERO. The common herd of mankind are inclined to spurn a man who is kind, gentle, and of whom they can take advantage.

SEN. They will seek to punish, though, one that is an object of hatred to them.

NERO. The sword is the protection of an Emperor.

SEN. But it is a safer kind of protection that he should be beloved.

NERO. It is proper that they should fear a Cesar.

SEN. But it is better that a Caesar should be loved.

NERO. But it is also indispensable that they should fear.

SEN. Whatever is extorted from a man is sometimes an irksome gain to him, who obtains a thing by such means.

NERO. But they must obey my commands.

SEN. That is all the greater reason that thy commands should be tempered with justice.

NERO. I shall myself always determine, (what is, and what is not to be done).

SEN. But which, it is to be presumed, will obtain a favorable reception from thy subjects.

NERO. The drawn sword, the employment of which some affect to despise, will do all that.

SEN. I pray thee, may such wickedness be absent from everything, thou mayest ever do.

NERO. Shall I suffer anything more than that, as an unrevenged emperor? that my very blood should be regarded with contempt, and that I should be fallen upon unawares. Simple exile, I perceive, has not subdued the turbulent natures of Plautus and Sulla, though they have been removed to a long distance off - they, whose persistent madness is now arming the willing instruments of crime (assassins) with the view to my destruction! Considering also, that a large amount of sympathy towards the conspirators, whom I have exiled, still prevails amongst the people in this city, and who, no doubt, would further the aspirations of those exiles by every means in their power - my enemies, therefore, and those, I suspect to be such, must be removed by the sword - that odious wife of mine must perish, - she must follow that darling brother of hers; in short, whatever else is of lofty rank (and derives prestige from it) must fall!

SEN. Oh! it is an admirable thing to shine conspicuously amongst the illustrious men of the land, to consult the welfare of one’s country, to spare those that are afflicted, to abstain from cruel slaughter, to control one’s anger (to give time for it to cool down), to secure tranquillity for the world, peace to the age in which we live - this is the highest form of virtue, and by such a road is heaven only to be arrived at. It was in such a way, that the first Augustus (Octavius), the great parent of his country, was enabled to reach the stars, and he is worshipped now as a very god in the temples. Fortune, however, tossed him about both by sea and land, through many trying vicissitudes of war, as long as ever he contended against the enemies of his father, (Julius Caesar, who adopted Octavius). But the goddess, Fortune, without any shedding of blood, has showered her favors upon thee, has given thee government of a mighty empire, that thou mightst rule it without any difficulty, and has subjected the Earth and the Sea to thy very nod! Contemptible envy has stepped aside, abased and overpowered by the devoted acclamations, which have been poured forth - the enthusiastic support of the Senate, and the equestrian order has been accorded thee, and it is by the unanimous vote of the people, ratified by the decrees of the senators, that thou hast been chosen as the fountain-head of peace, and the chief ruler of the human race; thou as a parent to thy country, governest the world in thy quasi-divine person Rome expects thee to cherish this honoured reputation, and thus freely hands over her citizens to thy safe keeping.

NERO. It is a gift of the Gods, no doubt, that Rome and the Senate should be subservient to my authority, forasmuch as it is only the fear they entertain of me, which draws from their reluctant lips, those cringing supplications, and the low-toned fawning voices which mask all this affected humility. But that the factious citizens, conspirators against their country, and my person as Emperor, puffed up with pride, about their illustrious descent, should pretend to serve me willingly! What downright madness it would be, to entertain such a wild notion! But at the same time, it is competent for me, an Emperor, with one word to consign anyone, that I might suspect of criminal designs, to immediate death! Brutus armed his hands for the slaughter of his generalissimo (Julius Caesar) from whom he had received every marked friendship, and support. And that great Caesar, who had never been vanquished in battle, the conqueror of so many nations, oftentimes was regarded, as the equal of Jupiter himself, judging from the elevated pinnacle, to which his honors had raised him, in the eyes of the people, (Jupiter ruled all things in heaven, Caesar, all things on earth) fell by the crimes of the citizens! How much blood did Rome, torn by the intestine factions of its citizens, see shed by such internecine slaughter! Divus Augustus, who won his way to Heaven, by those praiseworthy deeds of valor of his: how many nobles, young men, and old men, had he slain, scattered as they were, over the world, when they deserted their very homesteads, with the fear of death staring them in the face, and fled from the swords of the triumvirs, shuddering as they cast their eyes at the proscription tables, which registered the names of those that were doomed to death! and the grieving senators saw the heads of the slain, exposed for inspection in their very Rostra, (a place in the Senate, Rostrum) nor was it allowable for anyone to weep for the loss of those who had belonged to them, nor to sigh even, when the forum became positively infectious, through that dreadful slaughter, the sanious filthy discharges still dripping from their decomposing faces; nor did this blood-and-slaughter business stop here, by any means - the cruel birds of prey, and wild animals feasted for many a day on the mortal remains which lay exposed⁹ (unburied) on the plains of Philippi, and the Sicilian sea drew their ships into its watery gulf, and the crews, which had been worsted in this fratricidal fray, by men of their own blood, and the bulk of the people, were fairly shattered by the warlike persistency of the combatants! But Antony, being worsted in a battle, was obliged to make for the Nile, in the ships already prepared for flight, - he himself being doomed to perish, shortly after - and thus, incestuous Egypt, (on account of the marriage of Cleopatra with her brother Ptolemy) again imbibed the blood of a Roman general, and now it covers up his insignificant remains! Then, indeed, was the civil war, which lasted so long, brought to an end, and then at last, the tired conqueror sheathed his truculent sword, absolutely rendered blunt by the many terrible blows it had inflicted, and he continued to rule, but it was through the fear he had inspired! He was safe then, with his armaments, and the fidelity of his soldiery. - Here, then, was that Deity, who was made great by the devoted services of a son (Tiberius), canonized after death and handed down for adoration in the temples. And in a similar manner, the stars will hold good for my reception, if I am prompt with the stern sword, and employ it against everything that is hostile to my interests! and I myself shall have laid the foundation-stone of a future dynasty, for some offspring equally worthy!

SEN. That glorious ornament of the race of Claudius, will yet live to fill the palace with the celestial stock, descended from a Divus, (by Octavia is here meant) after the example set by Juno, sharing the nuptial-bed of her brother (having buried past differences).

NERO. An incestuous mother-in-law (Messalina) is rather apt to shake confidence out of a son-in-law, and what is more, the disposition of this wife of mine, has never harmonized with my own.

SEN. During the tender years of a young woman’s life, her confiding love is not sufficiently shown, she is then so much under the dominion of bashfulness, that she conceals from observation, the amorous fires which lurk beneath that shyness.

NERO. Indeed! I have clung to that notion in vain, for a long time too! and altogether it is self-evident to me, from her unsociable tone, and manner, the symptoms of absolute hatred towards me, are obvious enough in her very look - so much so, that my burning indignation has determined me to take my revenge, and with that end, I have found a wife worthy of my marriage-bed, both as regards her birth and her unequalled beauty, a woman to whom Venus herself would yield the palm, or even the wife of Jupiter, or that other goddess, so fierce in battle (Minerva).

SEN. Probity, faithfulness in a wife, strict morality, and modest reserve should be, what ought to please a husband - those lasting advantages of mind, and heart, second to none in importance, are those and those only which continue permanent, and as long as life lasts; but thou oughtest to know that each day steals away a portion of the beauty of every flower.

NERO. A kind deity has moulded all these gifts in one individual, Poppaea; thou perceivest that the kind Fates have actually willed that such a one (impersonating all these qualifications) should have been born expressly for me.

SEN. Let all thoughts of love be banished from the mind at once, lest in some rash foolish moment, thou mightest believe all this sort of thing to be a downright reality!

NERO. Dost thou mean that little deity, whom the God of Lightning, and the grand ruler of the heavens, is unable to drive away from himself, who penetrates the recesses of the angry sea, the kingdom of Pluto, and draws down from their celestial abodes, the very Gods above?

SEN. It is a mistake, we mortals commit, when we picture the winged god Cupid as a cruel deity; we arm his hands with arrows, and add to them the fatal bow and the cruel torch, and delude ourselves that he was born from Venus and sprung from the loins of Vulcan - the fact is, Love is a potent force springing from the imagination, and an insinuating passion, which rises up in the human breast; it begins to show itself in youth, and is kept alive by luxurious surroundings, want of occupation amid the alluring advantages held out by fortune, the which, if thou failest to cherish, and pamper, soon languishes, and being thus deprived of what preserves its existence, loses its influence in a short time!

NERO. I am of opinion that this passion is the principal object in life, by whose influence, pleasure accrues to its votaries, for as much, too, as the human race will always continue to be reproduced by this agreeable means, (Love) it is that likewise, which has the power of mollifying the fierceness of the wild beasts. At all events, this little deity shall lead the way, with his marriage torches, and shall yoke Poppaea to my nuptial couch with his seductive fires!

SEN. The indignation of the populace will scarcely tolerate being the witnesses of this marriage, nor will the solemn ordinances of piety sanction it.

NERO. Shall I be the only one to be prevented from divorcing a wife, a privilege which is allowed to every one.

SEN. The people exact higher and nobler observances from him who is the acknowledged head over all men.

NERO. It will please me to try, and, moreover, whether that foolish partiality for Octavia, which has crept into the noddles of the Romans, shall not give way, when it is beaten out of them, by my weight and authority.

SEN. Rather comply placidly with the wishes of the citizens.

NERO. It must be, indeed, a sorry departure from the methods of governing, when the vulgar herd dictate terms to an emperor.

SEN. That man only has a right to complain, who can obtain nothing whatever, that he seeks, to be granted him.

NERO. It is quite right then, to enforce a thing to be granted, which solicitations fail to obtain?

SEN. It is hard to have to deny anything to a suppliant.

NERO. But it is a crime, I should think, to attempt, even to coerce an emperor.

SEN. But that emperor should relax his desires sometimes.

NERO. But then the report would get about, - Oh! we have brought the emperor to his senses, thou seest! (that the emperor was beaten).

SEN. Such a report as that, would be silly, and exercise no effect on anyone.

NERO. But it might be that such a notion would strike the minds of many.

SEN. As a rule, the public approach matters, above their own level, with some degree of diffidence.

NERO. They might not censure the less, however.

SEN. But that could easily be put down. Will not the tender age of thy wife, her probity, her modesty have any effect in breaking through thy objections, to say nothing of the great benefits which thou hast received at the hands of her father Divus?

NERO. Do cease, for the last time, urging thy objections - it is really too much for me to listen to; it is in my power to do what Seneca condemns, and I myself am only biding my time for the acquiescence of the people, when Poppaea shall carry in her uterus some pledge of my affection, and a representative part of my ownself! Therefore I fix the earliest day for my marriage, namely to-morrow!