by Georg Ebers
CHAPTER XXV.
The next morning the Queen had many whispered conversations withCharmian, and the latter with Anukis. The day before, Archibius'sgardener had brought to his master's sister some unusually fine figs,which grew in the old garden of Epicurus. This fruit was also mentioned,and Anukis went to Kanopus, and thence, in the steward's carriage, witha basket of the very best ones to the fish-market. There she had a greatdeal to say to Pyrrhus, and the freedman went to his boat with the figs.
Shortly after the Nubian's return the Queen came back to the palace fromthe mausoleum. Her features bore an impress of resolution usually aliento them; nay, the firmly compressed lips gave them an expressionof actual sternness. She knew what duty required, and regarded herapproaching end as an inevitable necessity. Death seemed to her likea journey which she must take in order to escape the most terribledisgrace. Besides, life after the death of Antony was no longer thesame; it had been only a tiresome delay and waiting for the children'ssake.
The visit to the tomb had been intended, as it were, to announce hercoming to her husband. She had remained a long time in the silent hall,where she had garlanded the coffin with flowers, kissed it, talked tothe dead man as if he were still alive, and told him that the day hadcome when what he had mentioned in his will as the warmest desire of hisheart--to rest beside her in the same tomb--would be fulfilled. Amongthe thousand forms of suffering which had assailed her, nothing hadseemed so hard to bear as to be deprived of his society and love.
Then she had gone into the garden, embraced and kissed the children,and entreated them to remember her tenderly. Her purpose had not beenconcealed from Archibius, but Charmian had told him the menace of thefuture, and he approved her decision. By the exertion of all his innatestrength of will, he succeeded in concealing the grief which renthis faithful heart. She must die. The thought of seeing her adorn thetriumphal procession of Octavianus was unbearable to him also. Herthanks and entreaties to be an affectionate guardian to the childrenwere received with an external calmness which afterwards seemed to himutterly incomprehensible.
When she spoke of her approaching meeting with her lover, he askedwhether she had entirely abandoned the teachings of Epicurus, whobelieved that death absolutely ended existence.
Cleopatra eagerly assented, saying: "Absence of pain has ceased toappear to me the chief earthly blessing, since I have known that lovedoes not bring pleasure only, since I have learned that pain is theinseparable companion of love. I will not give it up, nor will I partfrom my lover. Whoever experiences what fate has allotted to me haslearned to know other gods than those whom the master described asdwelling happily in undisturbed repose. Rather eternal torture inanother world, united to the man I love, than painless, joyless mereexistence in a desolate, incomprehensible, unknown region! You will bethe last to teach the children to yearn for freedom from pain--"
"Because, like you," cried Archibius, "I have learned how great ablessing is love, and that love is pain."
As he spoke he bent over her hand to kiss it, but she took his templesbetween her hands and, bending hastily, pressed her lips on his broadbrow.
Then his self-control vanished, and, sobbing aloud, he hurried back tothe children.
Cleopatra gazed after him with a sorrowful smile, and leaning onCharmian's arm, she entered the palace.
There she was bathed and, robed in costly mourning garments, reclinedamong her cushions to take breakfast, which was usually served at thishour. Iras and Charmian shared it.
When dessert was carried in, the Nubian brought a basket filled withdelicious figs. A peasant, she told Epaphroditus, who was watching themeal, had given them to her because they were so remarkably fine. Somehad already been snatched by the guards.
The Queen and her companions ate a little of the fruit, and Proculejus,who had come to greet Cleopatra, was also persuaded to taste one of thefinest figs.
At the end of the meal Cleopatra wished to rest. The Roman gentlemenand the guards retired. At last the women were alone, and gazed at eachother silently.
Charmian timidly lifted the upper layer of the fruit, but the Queen saidmournfully:
"The wife of Antony dragged through the streets of Rome behind thevictor's chariot, a spectacle for the populace and envious matrons!"Then, starting up, she exclaimed: "What a thought! Was it too greatfor Octavianus, or too petty? He who so loudly boasts his knowledgeof mankind expects this impossibility from the woman who revealed herinmost soul to him as fully as he concealed his from her. We willshow him how small is his comprehension of human nature, and teach himmodesty."
A contemptuous smile flitted over her beautiful lips as, with rapidmovements, she flung handful after handful of figs on the table, tillshe saw some thing stirring under the fruit, and with a sigh of reliefexclaimed under her breath:
"There it is!" as with hasty resolution she held out her arm towards theasp, which hissed at her.
While gazing intently at the movements of the viper, which seemed afraidto fulfil the dread office, she said to her attendants:
"I thank you-thank you for everything. Be calm. You know, Iras, it willcause no pain. They say it is like falling asleep." Then she shudderedslightly, adding: "Death is a solemn thing; yet it must be. Why does theserpent delay? There, there; I will keep firm. Ambition and love werethe moving forces of my life. Men shall praise my memory.--I follow you,Mark Antony!" Charmian bent over the left arm of her royal mistress,which hung loosely at her side, and, weeping aloud, covered it withkisses, while Cleopatra, watching the motions of the asp still moreclosely, added:
"The peace of our garden of Epicurus will begin to-day. Whether it willbe painless, who can tell? Yet--there I agree with Archibius--life'sgreatest joy--love--is blended with pain, as yonder branch of exquisiteroses from Dolabella, the last gift of friendship, has its sharpthorns. I think you have both experienced this. The twins and my littledarling--When they think of their mother and her end, will not thechildren--"
Here she uttered a low cry. The asp had struck its fangs into the upperpart of her arm like an icy flash of lightning, and a few instants laterCleopatra sank back upon her pillows lifeless.
Iras, pale but calm, pointed to her, saying "Like a sleeping child.Bewitching even in death. Fate itself was constrained to do her will andfulfil the last desire of the great Queen, the victorious woman, whom noheart resisted. Its decree shatters the presumptuous plan of Octavianus.The victor will show himself to the Romans without thee, thou dear one."
Sobbing violently, she bent over the inanimate form, closed the eyes,and kissed the lips and brow. The weeping Charmian did the same.
Then the footsteps of men were heard in the anteroom, and Iras, who wasthe first to notice them, cried eagerly:
"The moment is approaching! I am glad it is close at hand. Does itnot seem to you also as if the very sun in the heavens was darkened?"Charmian nodded assent, and whispered, "The poison?"
"Here!" replied Iras calmly, holding out a plain pin. "One little prick,and the deed will be done. Look! But no. You once inflicted the deepestsuffering upon me. You know--Dion, the playmate of my childhood--It isforgiven. But now--you will do me a kindness. You will spare my usingthe pin myself. Will you not? I will repay you. If you wish, my handshall render you the same service."
Charmian clasped her niece to her heart, kissed her, pricked her armlightly, and gave her the other pin, saying:
"Now it is your turn. Our hearts were filled with love for one whounderstood how to bestow it as none other ever did, and our love wasreturned. What matters all else that we sacrificed? Those on whom thesun shines need no other light. Love is pain," she said in dying, "butthis pain--especially that of renunciation for love's sake--bears withit a joy, an exquisite joy, which renders death easy. To me it seems asif it were merely following the Queen to--Oh, that hurt!" Iras's pin hadpricked her.
The poison did its work quickly. Iras was seized with giddiness, andcould scarcely stand. Charmian had just sunk on her knees, when some oneknocke
d loudly at the closed door, and the voices of Epaphroditus andProculejus imperiously demanded admittance.
When no answer followed, the lock was hastily burst open.
Charmian was found lying pale and distorted at the feet of her royalmistress; but Iras, tottering and half stupefied by the poison, wasadjusting the diadem, which had slipped from its place. To keep from herbeloved Queen everything that could detract from her beauty had been herlast care.
Enraged, fairly frantic with wrath, the Romans rushed towards the women.Epaphroditus had seen Iras still occupied in arranging Cleopatra'sornaments. Now he endeavoured to raise her companion, sayingreproachfully, "Charmian, was this well done?" Summoning her laststrength, she answered in a faltering voice, "Perfectly well, and worthya descendant of Egyptian kings." Her eyes closed, but Proculejus, theauthor, who had gazed long with deep emotion into the beautiful proudface of the Queen whom he had so greatly wronged, said: "No other womanon earth was ever so admired by the greatest, so loved by the loftiest.Her fame echoed from nation to nation throughout the world. It willcontinue to resound from generation to generation; but however loudlymen may extol the bewitching charm, the fervour of the love whichsurvived death, her intellect, her knowledge, the heroic courage withwhich she preferred the tomb to ignominy--the praise of these two mustnot be forgotten. Their fidelity deserves it. By their marvellousend they unconsciously erected the most beautiful monument to theirmistress; for what genuine goodness and lovableness must have beenpossessed by the woman who, after the greatest reverses, made it seemmore desirable to those nearest to her person to die than to livewithout her!"
[The Roman's exclamation and the answer of the loyal dying Charmian are taken literally from Plutarch's narrative.]
The news of the death of their beloved, admired sovereign transformedAlexandria into a house of mourning. Obsequies of unprecedentedmagnificence and solemnity, at which many tears of sincere grief flowed,honoured her memory. One of Octavianus's most brilliant plans wasfrustrated by her death, and he had raved furiously when he read theletter in which Cleopatra, with her own hand, informed him of herintention to die. But he owed it to his reputation for generosity togrant her a funeral worthy of her rank. To the dead, who had ceased tobe dangerous, he was ready to show an excess of magnanimity.
The treatment which he accorded to Cleopatra's children also won theworld's admiration. His sister Octavia received them into her own houseand intrusted their education to Archibius.
When the order to destroy the statues of Antony and Cleopatra wasissued, Octavianus gave his contemporaries another proof of hisdisposition to be lenient, for he ordered that the numerous statues ofthe Queen in Alexandria and Egypt should be preserved. True, he hadbeen influenced by the large sum of two thousand talents paid by anAlexandrian to secure this act of generosity. Archibius was the name ofthe rare friend who had impoverished himself to render this service tothe memory of the beloved dead.
In later times the statues of the unfortunate Queen adorned the placeswhere they had been erected.
The sarcophagi of Cleopatra and Mark Antony, by whose side rested Irasand Charmian, were constantly heaped with flowers and offerings to thedead. The women of Alexandria, especially, went to the tomb of theirbeloved Queen as if it were a pilgrimage; but in after-days faithfulmourners also came from a distance to visit it, among them the childrenof the famous lovers whom death here united--Cleopatra Selene, now thewife of the learned Numidian Prince Juba, Helios Antony, and Alexander,who had reached manhood. Their friend and teacher, Archibius,accompanied them. He taught them to hold their mother's memory dear, andhad so reared them that, in their maturity, he could lead them withhead erect to the sarcophagus of the friend who had confided them to hischarge.
ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:
Aspect obnoxious to the gaze will pour water on the fire Contempt had become too deep for hate Epicurus, who believed that with death all things ended Everything that exists moves onward to destruction and decay Fairest dreams of childhood were surpassed From Epicurus to Aristippus, is but a short step Golden chariot drawn by tamed lions Jealousy has a thousand eyes Life had fulfilled its pledges No, she was not created to grow old Nothing in life is either great or small Pain is the inseparable companion of love Preferred a winding path to a straight one Priests: in order to curb the unruly conduct of the populace See facts as they are and treat them like figures in a sum Shadow of the candlestick caught her eye before the light She would not purchase a few more years of valueless life Soul which ceases to regard death as a misfortune finds peace To govern the world one must have less need of sleep Trouble does not enhance beauty Until neither knew which was the giver and which the receiver What changes so quickly as joy and sorrow Without heeding the opinion of mortals Zeus does not hear the vows of lovers