Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero

by Henryk Sienkiewicz

  Chapter XIV

  FOR a number of days after the interview, Chilo did not show himselfanywhere. Vinicius, since he had learned from Acte that Lygia loved him,was a hundred times more eager to find her, and began himself to search.He was unwilling, and also unable, to ask aid of Caesar, who was in greatfear because of the illness of the infant Augusta.

  Sacrifices in the temples did not help, neither did prayers andofferings, nor the art of physicians, nor all the means of enchantmentto which they turned finally. In a week the child died. Mourning fellupon the court and Rome. Caesar, who at the birth of the infant was wildwith delight, was wild now from despair, and, confining himself inhis apartments, refused food for two days; and though the palace wasswarming with senators and Augustians, who hastened with marks of sorrowand sympathy, he denied audience to every one. The senate assembled inan extraordinary session, at which the dead child was pronounced divine.It was decided to rear to her a temple and appoint a special priest toher service. New sacrifices were offered in other temples in honor ofthe deceased; statues of her were cast from precious metals; and herfuneral was one immense solemnity, during which the people wondered atthe unrestrained marks of grief which Caesar exhibited; they weptwith him, stretched out their hands for gifts, and above all amusedthemselves with the unparalleled spectacle.

  That death alarmed Petronius. All knew in Rome that Poppaea ascribed itto enchantment. The physicians, who were thus enabled to explain thevanity of their efforts, supported her; the priests, whose sacrificesproved powerless, did the same, as well as the sorcerers, who weretrembling for their lives, and also the people. Petronius was glad nowthat Lygia had fled; for he wished no evil to Aulus and Pomponia, and hewished good to himself and Vinicius; therefore when the cypress, set outbefore the Palatine as a sign of mourning, was removed, he went to thereception appointed for the senators and Augustians to learn how farNero had lent ear to reports of spells, and to neutralize results whichmight come from his belief.

  Knowing Nero, he thought, too, that though he did not believe in charms,he would feign belief, so as to magnify his own suffering, and takevengeance on some one, finally, to escape the suspicion that the godshad begun to punish him for crimes. Petronius did not think that Caesarcould love really and deeply even his own child; though he loved herpassionately, he felt certain, however, that he would exaggerate hissuffering. He was not mistaken. Nero listened, with stony face and fixedeyes, to the consolation offered by knights and senators. It was evidentthat, even if he suffered, he was thinking of this: What impressionwould his suffering make upon others? He was posing as a Niobe, andgiving an exhibition of parental sorrow, as an actor would give it onthe stage. He had not the power even then to endure in his silent and asit were petrified sorrow, for at moments he made a gesture as if to castthe dust of the earth on his head, and at moments he groaned deeply; butseeing Petronius, he sprang up and cried in a tragic voice, so that allpresent could hear him,--"Eheu! And thou art guilty of her death! At thyadvice the evil spirit entered these walls,--the evil spirit which, withone look, drew the life from her breast! Woe is me! Would that my eyeshad not seen the light of Helios! Woe is me! Eheu! eheu!"

  And raising his voice still more, he passed into a despairing shout; butPetronius resolved at that moment to put everything on one cast of thedice; hence, stretching out his hand, he seized the silk kerchief whichNero wore around his neck always, and, placing it on the mouth of theImperator, said solemnly,--"Lord, Rome and the world are benumbed withpain; but do thou preserve thy voice for us!"

  Those present were amazed; Nero himself was amazed for a moment.Petronius alone was unmoved; he knew too well what he was doing. Heremembered, besides, that Terpnos and Diodorus had a direct order toclose Caesar's mouth whenever he raised his voice too much and exposed itto danger.

  "O Caesar!" continued he, with the same seriousness and sorrow, "we havesuffered an immeasurable loss; let even this treasure of consolationremain to us!"

  Nero's face quivered, and after a while tears came from his eyes. Allat once he rested his hands on Petronius's shoulders, and, dropping hishead on his breast, began to repeat, amid sobs,

  "Thou alone of all thought of this,--thou alone, O Petronius! thoualone!"

  Tigellinus grew yellow from envy; but Petronius continued,--

  "Go to Antium! there she came to the world, there joy flowed in onthee, there solace will come to thee. Let the sea air freshen thy divinethroat; let thy breast breathe the salt dampness. We, thy devotedones, will follow thee everywhere; and when we assuage thy pain withfriendship, thou wilt comfort us with song.

  "True!" answered Nero, sadly, "I will write a hymn in her honor, andcompose music for it."

  "And then thou wilt find the warm sun in Baiae."

  "And afterward--forgetfulness in Greece."

  "In the birthplace of poetry and song."

  And his stony, gloomy state of mind passed away gradually, as cloudspass that are covering the sun; and then a conversation began which,though full of sadness, yet was full of plans for the future,--touchinga journey, artistic exhibitions, and even the receptions required at thepromised coming of Tiridates, King of Armenia. Tigellinus tried, it istrue, to bring forward again the enchantment; but Petronius, sure now ofvictory, took up the challenge directly.

  "Tigellinus," said he, "dost thou think that enchantments can injure thegods?"

  "Caesar himself has mentioned them," answered the courtier.

  "Pain was speaking, not Caesar; but thou--what is thy opinion of thematter?"

  "The gods are too mighty to be subject to charms."

  "Then wouldst thou deny divinity to Caesar and his family?"

  "Peractum est!" muttered Eprius Marcellus, standing near, repeatingthat shout which the people gave always when a gladiator in the arenareceived such a blow that he needed no other.

  Tigellinus gnawed his own anger. Between him and Petronius there hadlong existed a rivalry touching Nero. Tigellinus had this superiority,that Nero acted with less ceremony, or rather with none whatever inhis presence; while thus far Petronius overcame Tigellinus at everyencounter with wit and intellect.

  So it happened now. Tigellinus was silent, and simply recorded in hismemory those senators and knights who, when Petronius withdrew to thedepth of the chamber, surrounded him straightway, supposing that afterthis incident he would surely be Caesar's first favorite.

  Petronius, on leaving the palace, betook himself to Vinicius, anddescribed his encounter with Caesar and Tigellinus.

  "Not only have I turned away danger," said he, "from Aulus Plautius,Pomponia, and us, but even from Lygia, whom they will not seek, evenfor this reason, that I have persuaded Bronzebeard, the monkey, to go toAntium, and thence to Naples or Baiae and he will go. I know that he hasnot ventured yet to appear in the theatre publicly; I have known thislong time that he intends to do so at Naples. He is dreaming, moreover,of Greece, where he wants to sing in all the more prominent cities, andthen make a triumphal entry into Rome, with all the crowns which the'Graeculi' will bestow on him. During that time we shall be able toseek Lygia unhindered and secrete her in safety. But has not our noblephilosopher been here yet?"

  "Thy noble philosopher is a cheat. No; he has not shown himself, and hewill not show himself again!"

  "But I have a better understanding, if not of his honesty, of his wit.He has drawn blood once from thy purse, and will come even for this, todraw it a second time."

  "Let him beware lest I draw his own blood."

  "Draw it not; have patience till thou art convinced surely of hisdeceit. Do not give him more money, but promise a liberal reward if hebrings thee certain information. Wilt thou thyself undertake something?"

  "My two freedmen, Nymphidius and Demas, are searching for her with sixtymen. Freedom is promised the slave who finds her. Besides I have sentout special persons by all roads leading from Rome to inquire at everyinn for the Lygian and the maiden. I course through the city myself dayand night, counting on a chance meeting."<
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  "Whenever thou hast tidings let me know, for I must go to Antium."

  "I will do so."

  "And if thou wake up some morning and say, 'It is not worth while totorment myself for one girl, and take so much trouble because of her,'come to Antium. There will be no lack of women there, or amusement."

  Vinicius began to walk with quick steps. Petronius looked for some timeat him, and said at last,--"Tell me sincerely, not as a mad head, whotalks something into his brain and excites himself, but as a man ofjudgment who is answering a friend: Art thou concerned as much as everabout this Lygia?"

  Vinicius stopped a moment, and looked at Petronius as if he had notseen him before; then he began to walk again. It was evident that hewas restraining an outburst. At last, from a feeling of helplessness,sorrow, anger, and invincible yearning, two tears gathered in his eyes,which spoke with greater power to Petronius than the most eloquentwords.

  Then, meditating for a moment, he said,--"It is not Atlas who carriesthe world on his shoulders, but woman; and sometimes she plays with itas with a ball."

  "True," said Vinicius.

  And they began to take farewell of each other. But at that moment aslave announced that Chilo Chilonides was waiting in the antechamber,and begged to be admitted to the presence of the lord.

  Vinicius gave command to admit him immediately, and Petroniussaid,--"Ha! have I not told thee? By Hercules! keep thy calmness; or hewill command thee, not thou him."

  "A greeting and honor to the noble tribune of the army, and to thee,lord," said Chilo, entering. "May your happiness be equal to your fame,and may your fame course through the world from the pillars of Herculesto the boundaries of the Arsacidae."

  "A greeting, O lawgiver of virtue and wisdom," answered Petronius.

  But Vinicius inquired with affected calmness, "What dost thou bring?"

  "The first time I came I brought thee hope, O lord; at present, I bringcertainty that the maiden will be found."

  "That means that thou hast not found her yet?"

  "Yes, lord; but I have found what that sign means which she made. Iknow who the people are who rescued her, and I know the God among whoseworshippers to seek her."

  Vinicius wished to spring from the chair in which he was sitting;but Petronius placed his hand on his shoulder, and turning to Chilosaid,--"Speak on!"

  "Art thou perfectly certain, lord, that she drew a fish on the sand?"

  "Yes," burst out Vinicius.

  "Then she is a Christian and Christians carried her away." A moment ofsilence followed.

  "Listen, Chilo," said Petronius. "My relative has predestined to theea considerable sum of money for finding the girl, but a no lessconsiderable number of rods if thou deceive him. In the first case thouwilt purchase not one, but three scribes; in the second, the philosophyof all the seven sages, with the addition of thy own, will not sufficeto get thee ointment."

  "The maiden is a Christian, lord," cried the Greek.

  "Stop, Chilo. Thou art not a dull man. We know that Junia and CalviaCrispinilla accused Pomponia Graecina of confessing the Christiansuperstition; but we know too, that a domestic court acquitted her.Wouldst thou raise this again? Wouldst thou persuade us that Pomponia,and with her Lygia, could belong to the enemies of the human race, tothe poisoners of wells and fountains, to the worshippers of an ass'shead, to people who murder infants and give themselves up to the foulestlicense? Think, Chilo, if that thesis which thou art announcing to uswill not rebound as an antithesis on thy own back."

  Chilo spread out his arms in sign that that was not his fault, and thensaid,--"Lord, utter in Greek the following sentence: Jesus Christ, Sonof God, Saviour." [Iesous Christos, Theou Uios, Soter.]

  "Well, I have uttered it. What comes of that?"

  "Now take the first letters of each of those words and put them into oneword."

  "Fish!" said Petronius with astonishment. [Ichthus, the Greek word for"fish."]

  "There, that is why fish has become the watchword of the Christians,"answered Chilo, proudly.

  A moment of silence followed. But there was something so striking in theconclusions of the Greek that the two friends could not guard themselvesfrom amazement.

  "Vinicius, art thou not mistaken?" asked Petronius. "Did Lygia reallydraw a fish for thee?"

  "By all the infernal gods, one might go mad!" cried the young man, withexcitement. "If she had drawn a bird for me, I should have said a bird."

  "Therefore she is a Christian," repeated Chilo.

  "This signifies," said Petronius, "that Pomponia and Lygia poisonwells, murder children caught on the street, and give themselves up todissoluteness! Folly! Thou, Vinicius, wert at their house for a time, Iwas there a little while; but I know Pomponia and Aulus enough, I knoweven Lygia enough, to say monstrous and foolish! If a fish is the symbolof the Christians, which it is difficult really to deny, and if thosewomen are Christians, then, by Proserpina! evidently Christians are notwhat we hold them to be."

  "Thou speakest like Socrates, lord," answered Chilo. "Who has everexamined a Christian? Who has learned their religion? When I wastravelling three years ago from Naples hither to Rome (oh, why did Inot stay in Naples!), a man joined me, whose name was Glaucus, of whompeople said that he was a Christian; but in spite of that I convincedmyself that he was a good and virtuous man."

  "Was it not from that virtuous man that thou hast learned now what thefish means?"

  "Unfortunately, lord, on the way, at an inn, some one thrust a knifeinto that honorable old man; and his wife and child were carried awayby slave-dealers. I lost in their defence these two fingers; since, aspeople say, there is no lack among Christians of miracles, I hope thatthe fingers will grow out on my hand again."

  "How is that? Hast thou become a Christian?"

  "Since yesterday, lord, since yesterday! The fish made me a Christian.But see what a power there is in it. For some days I shall be the mostzealous of the zealous, so that they may admit me to all their secrets;and when they admit me to their secrets, I shall know where the maidenis hiding. Perhaps then my Christianity will pay me better than myphilosophy. I have made a vow also to Mercury, that if he helps me tofind the maiden, I will sacrifice to him two heifers of the same sizeand color and will gild their horns."

  "Then thy Christianity of yesterday and thy philosophy of long standingpermit thee to believe in Mercury?"

  "I believe always in that in which I need to believe; that is myphilosophy, which ought to please Mercury. Unfortunately (ye know,worthy lords, what a suspicious god he is), he does not trust thepromises even of blameless philosophers, and prefers the heifers inadvance; meanwhile this outlay is immense. Not every one is a Seneca,and I cannot afford the sacrifice; should the noble Vinicius, however,wish to give something, on account of that sum which he promised--"

  "Not an obolus, Chilo!" said Petronius, "not an obolus. The bountyof Vinicius will surpass thy expectations, but only when Lygia isfound,--that is, when thou shalt indicate to us her hiding-place.Mercury must trust thee for the two heifers, though I am not astonishedat him for not wishing to do so; in this I recognize his acuteness."

  "Listen to me, worthy lords. The discovery which I have made is great;for though I have not found the maiden yet, I have found the way inwhich I must seek her. Ye have sent freedmen and slaves throughout thecity and into the country; has any one given you a clew? No! I alonehave given one. I tell you more. Among your slaves there may beChristians, of whom ye have no knowledge, for this superstition hasspread everywhere; and they, instead of aiding, will betray you. It isunfortunate that they see me here; do thou therefore, noble Petronius,enjoin silence on Eunice; and thou too, noble Vinicius, spread a reportthat I sell thee an ointment which insures victory in the Circus tohorses rubbed with it. I alone will search for her, and single-handed Iwill find the fugitives; and do ye trust in me, and know that whateverI receive in advance will be for me simply an encouragement, for I shallhope always for more, and shall feel the greater certainty that theprom
ised reward will not fail me. Ah, it is true! As a philosopher Idespise money, though neither Seneca, nor even Musonius, nor Cornutusdespises it, though they have not lost fingers in any one's defence, andare able themselves to write and leave their names to posterity. But,aside from the slave, whom I intend to buy, and besides Mercury, to whomI have promised the heifers,--and ye know how dear cattle have become inthese times,--the searching itself involves much outlay. Only listento me patiently. Well, for the last few days my feet are wounded fromcontinual walking. I have gone to wine-shops to talk with people, tobakeries, to butcher-shops, to dealers in olive oil, and to fishermen.I have run through every street and alley; I have been in the hidingplaces of fugitive slaves; I have lost money, nearly a hundred ases,in playing mora; I have been in laundries, in drying-sheds, in cheapkitchens; I have seen mule-drivers and carvers; I have seen people whocure bladder complaints and pull teeth; I have talked with dealers indried figs; I have been at cemeteries; and do ye know why? This is why;so as to outline a fish everywhere, look people in the eyes, and hearwhat they would say of that sign. For a long time I was unable to learnanything, till at last I saw an old slave at a fountain. He was drawingwater with a bucket, and weeping. Approaching him, I asked the causeof his tears. When we had sat down on the steps of the fountain, heanswered that all his life he had been collecting sestertium aftersestertium, to redeem his beloved son; but his master, a certain Pansa,when the money was delivered to him, took it, but kept the son inslavery. 'And so I am weeping,' said the old man, 'for though I repeat,Let the will of God be done, I, poor sinner, am not able to keep down mytears.' Then, as if penetrated by a forewarning, I moistened my fingerin the water and drew a fish for him. To this he answered, 'My hope,too, is in Christ.' I asked him then, 'Hast thou confessed to me by thatsign?' 'I have,' said he; 'and peace be with thee.' I began then to drawhim out, and the honest old man told me everything. His master, thatPansa, is himself a freedman of the great Pansa; and he brings stones bythe Tiber to Rome, where slaves and hired persons unload them fromthe boats, and carry them to buildings in the night time, so as not toobstruct movement in the streets during daylight. Among these peoplemany Christians work, and also his son; as the work is beyond his son'sstrength, he wished to redeem him. But Pansa preferred to keep both themoney and the slave. While telling me this, he began again to weep; andI mingled my tears with his,--tears came to me easily because of my kindheart, and the pain in my feet, which I got from walking excessively.I began also to lament that as I had come from Naples only a few dayssince, I knew no one of the brotherhood, and did not know where theyassembled for prayer. He wondered that Christians in Naples had notgiven me letters to their brethren in Rome; but I explained to him thatthe letters were stolen from me on the road. Then he told me to cometo the river at night, and he would acquaint me with brethren who wouldconduct me to houses of prayer and to elders who govern the Christiancommunity. When I heard this, I was so delighted that I gave him thesum needed to redeem his son, in the hope that the lordly Vinicius wouldreturn it to me twofold."

  "Chilo," interrupted Petronius, "in thy narrative falsehood appears onthe surface of truth, as oil does on water. Thou hast brought importantinformation; I do not deny that. I assert, even, that a great step ismade toward finding Lygia; but do not cover thy news with falsehood.What is the name of that old man from whom thou hast learned that theChristians recognize each other through the sign of a fish?"

  "Euricius. A poor, unfortunate old man! He reminded me of Glaucus, whomI defended from murderers, and he touched me mainly by this."

  "I believe that thou didst discover him, and wilt be able to make use ofthe acquaintance; but thou hast given him no money. Thou hast not givenhim an as; dost understand me? Thou hast not given anything."

  "But I helped him to lift the bucket, and I spoke of his son with thegreatest sympathy. Yes, lord, what can hide before the penetration ofPetronius? Well, I did not give him money, or rather, I gave it to him,but only in spirit, in intention, which, had he been a real philosopher,should have sufficed him. I gave it to him because I saw that such anact was indispensable and useful; for think, lord, how this act has wonall the Christians at once to me, what access to them it has opened, andwhat confidence it has roused in them."

  "True," said Petronius, "and it was thy duty to do it."

  "For this very reason I have come to get the means to do it."

  Petronius turned to Vinicius,--"Give command to count out to him fivethousand sestertia, but in spirit, in intention."

  "I will give thee a young man," said Vinicius, "who will take the sumnecessary; thou wilt say to Euricius that the youth is thy slave, andthou wilt count out to the old man, in the youth's presence, this money.Since thou hast brought important tidings, thou wilt receive the sameamount for thyself. Come for the youth and the money this evening."

  "Thou art a real Caesar!" said Chilo. "Permit me, lord, to dedicate mywork to thee; but permit also that this evening I come only for themoney, since Euricius told me that all the boats had been unloaded, andthat new ones would come from Ostia only after some days. Peace be withyou! Thus do Christians take farewell of one another. I will buy myselfa slave woman,--that is, I wanted to say a slave man. Fish are caughtwith a bait, and Christians with fish. Fax vobiscum! pax! pax! pax!"