University of Virginia Library

SCENE THE FIRST.

Nero, Seneca.
Sen.
Lord of the world, what dost thou covet?

Ne.
Peace.

Sen.
'Tis thine, if thou destroy'st it not in others.

Ne.
I should possess it fully, if I were not
Bound to Octavia by a hated tie.

Sen.
But thou, the Cæsar's successor, couldst thou
Inherit and increase their power and lustre
Without Octavia's hand? 'Twas by her means
That thou enjoyest this throne: yet in a hard
And unjust exile, this Octavia pines;
She, though thus robb'd of thee, although she knows
A haughty rival clasps thee in her arms,
(Unhappy lady!) loves, adores thee yet.

Ne.
Grant that she were the instrument to raise me,
She since has proved the instrument alone
Of my misfortunes; and e'en now, alas!
Since her divorce, her baneful influence reigns.
The faithless people dare espouse her cause,
Dare speak of her with pity? dare, oh rage!
Around my very throne to breathe their murmurs?—
I would not only that Octavia's name
Were never loudly thunder'd in my ears,
But that no trembling lip in timid whispers
Scarce audibly dared mutter it around me.—
—I am not Nero if I suffer this.

Sen.
My lord, thou hast not always in contempt
My councils held. Thou knowest well how I
Boldly, with weapons of sage argument,
Have check'd the ardour of thy youthful passions.
I threatened thee with shame, reproach, and mischief,
If thou persisted'st to divorce Octavia,
And from her cruel banishment still worse.
Octavia's image is devoutly cherish'd
In the recesses of the people's hearts:
I told thee this: and added that all Rome
Accounted as ill-omen'd gifts the fields
Of Plautus, and the bloody house of Burrhus,
On her so cruelly expelled, bestowed,
In the esteem of all men, as the types
Of predetermined outrage: and I said ...

Ne.
Amply hast thou exhorted me; but yet
Thou hast obeyed my will. Perhaps formerly
Thou taughted'st me to reign; but neither thou
Canst teach, nor man can learn, to be exempt
Always from error. Let it now suffice me,
That Rome has given me a timely warning.
'Twas no light fault that I expell'd Octavia,
For never should she have, no never long,
A dwelling far from me ...

Sen.
Thou then of this
Repentest? and 'tis true what I have heard?
Octavia returns?

Ne.
Yes.

Sen.
Thou dost feel
Pity for her?

Ne.
Pity? ... yes; I feel pity.

Sen.
And she will be companion of thy throne,
Perhaps of thy royal bed?

Ne.
Within my palace
She now returns. Wherefore, thou wilt behold.
Oh Seneca, thou wise among the wisest,
In manifold emergencies of state
More urgent and more difficult than this,
My guide and minister, I flatter me
Thou wilt not now deceive the implicit trust
That I have placed in thee.

Sen.
Counsel from me,
Alas! 'tis ever thus! thou only seekest,
When in thy heart thou hast already fix'd
The fatal sentence. I guess not thy thoughts;
But for Octavia, hearing thee speak thus,
I tremble.

Ne.
Tell me, didst thou also tremble
That day when, dragg'd to necessary death,
Her brother fell? And on that day when thou
Didst with thy lips pronounce my haughty mother,
Who was become thy foe, worthy of death,
Say, didst thou tremble?

Sen.
What is this I hear?
That infamous, that execrable day
Dar'st thou recall to mind? My hands were not
Bathed in that blood of thine; thou drankest it,
I held my peace; constrain'd, I held my peace,
'Tis true; but from my silence I was guilty,
And shall be while the vital air I breathe.
Fool that I was! I trusted to thee then,
That Nero thus would with maternal blood
Close his career of blood. Now I perceive
This scarce was a beginning. Each renewal
Of thy dire deeds to me brings tribute large
Of hated gifts, with which, I know not why,
Thou hast o'erwhelm'd me. Thou constrainest me
To take them; price of blood thy gifts wilt seem
To the malignant people: ah! resume them;
And leave to me my self-esteem entire.

Ne.
If thou possessest it, to thee I leave it.
Thou art expert in all the milder virtues:
But thou art aware, however plausible,
These virtues are not always fit for practice.
If thou didst wish to keep thy fame untouch'd,
And incorrupt thy heart, why didst thou quit,
For this alluring splendour of a court,
Thy obscure birth-place? Thus thou seest that I,
Myself no stoic, can teach thee who art;
And yet my wisdom I owe all to thee.
Since by thy station here thou hast thyself
Impaired thy candour; since the name of good,
When tarnished once, can never be regain'd,
Thou mayest assist me. Of my former faults
Thou hast diminish'd, or wiped off, the foulness;
Proceed; applaud and varnish o'er my failings;
Thy judgment yet is held in some esteem.
Less criminal than other men, the people
Esteem thee yet; thou always art supposed
Over my heart great influence to possess:
In short, thou'rt so install'd within my palace,
That when thou blamest me, thou blam'st thyself.

Sen.
I know it pleases thee that other men
Should bear the burthen of thy trespasses.
A load divided thus becomes more light.
Yes, I, though guiltless of thy numerous crimes,
Bear all their punishment; and thus incur
That royal privilege—universal hate.
What infamous new task canst thou impose
On me that can increase ...

Ne.
Thou art required
To alienate the people from Octavia.

Sen.
The people change not, as their masters do,
Their partialities; and ill they feign.

Ne.
The wise man shapes his language and his deeds
To the occasion: and art thou not wise?
Go; on that day I shall avail myself
Of all thy virtues, whatsoe'er they be,
When I can say the empire is my own.
Meanwhile I am the master of the art,
And thou the pupil, to obtain that power:
See that I find thee pliant to my purpose.
I do not menace thee with death; I know
That death appals thee not; but of thy fame
The small remains with which thou yet art burthen'd,
Ah think, 'tis all at my supreme disposal.
I can take from thee more than thou possessest.
Be silent then, and aid my purposes.

Sen.
Absolute words I hear, and words that breathe
Rancour and blood. But I wait the event,
Whatever it may be. To thy designs
All my assistance now is vain and guilty.
Who is not well convinced that Nero now
Suffices unassisted to shed blood?