Catilina's riddle rsr-3

by Steven Saylor

  'It came to my ears that the praetor Publius Lentulus — yes, citizens, "Legs" Lentulus; save your laughter until you've heard the worst! — was trying to corrupt the envoys of the Allobroges, hoping to set off an insurrection beyond the Alps. These envoys were to set off for Gaul yesterday, with letters and instructions, accompanied by one of Lentulus's henchmen, Titus Volturcius, who was also given a letter addressed to Catilina.

  'By Hercules, I thought, the chance had come at last, the opportunity I prayed the gods would send — a way to prove once and for all the depth of these men's degeneracy and their hatred for Rome, irrefutable proof that I could lay before the Senate and the people. Yesterday, then, I summoned two valiant and loyal praetors, Lucius Flaccus and Gaius Pomptinus, and explained the situation. Being men of irreproachable patriotism, they accepted my orders without hesitation. As night fell, they made their way secretly to the Milvian Bridge, divided their forces into two detachments on either side of the Tiber, and hid themselves in the nearest houses. Then they waited.

  'In the early hours of this morning their patience was rewarded. The envoys of the Allobroges reached the bridge, accompanied by Volturcius and a retinue of his traitorous companions. Our men burst upon them and encircled them. Swords were drawn, but the praetors wielded the advantage of surprise, and when the Allobroges unexpectedly drew aside rather than join in their defence, Volturcius and his men lost heart and surrendered. The letters were handed over to the praetors with their seals intact. Volturcius and his men were taken into custody and delivered to my doorstep just as dawn was breaking. I immediately summoned those men whose seals were upon the letters, or who were otherwise most deeply implicated, among them that notorious hothead Gaius Cethegus and, of course, Lentulus, who arrived a slow last, despite the reputation of his legs. Perhaps he was sleepy from staying up late, writing incriminating letters!

  'Many of our leading statesmen called upon me during the morning. They advised me to go ahead and open the sealed letters myself, so that if I was mistaken as to their contents, I would be spared any embarrassment. But I insisted that they should be unsealed and read before the Senate, and if I was embarrassed, so be it; there is no shame in being overzealous in the defence of freedom! So I hastily convened an emergency meeting of the Senate, here in the Temple of Concord. Remember the significance of this temple and what it commemorates: the harmony of the orders, the happy coexistence and cooperation of the classes, for it is all Romans — plebeians and patricians, rich and poor, freedmen and freeborn alike — who have been saved this day from the calamity that menaced all Rome.

  'First Volturcius was summoned to testify before the Senate. The man was in such a panic he could hardly speak. To loosen his tongue, he was given a promise of immunity — he was only a mere messenger boy, after all, though a knowledgeable one, as it turns out. This stumbling footman comes from Croto, down in the toe of Italy. Oh, but a canker on the toe was enough to cripple the schemes of "Legs" Lentulus!'

  I took a breath and looked around me. The crowd was laughing, as they laughed at all of Cicero's word games. Even in the more sophisticated arena of the Senate, it was said that he could never resist a pun, no matter how awful, especially if it contained an insult for his enemies. Even Eco was smiling, I noticed, though Meto was not. His face was tightly drawn and his eyes narrowed, as if he wrested with a deeper and darker puzzle than Cicero's wordplay.

  ‘What did Volturcius reveal? I will, tell you: first, that Lentulus had given him messages and a letter for Catilina, urging him to mobilize an army of slaves and march on Rome.' At this the crowd's laughter ceased and there were cries of anger and dismay. I remembered Catilina's analogy of the thunderbolts and how Cicero used them to manipulate the crowd, and I found myself looking not at Cicero but at the gleaming new statue of Jupiter, and at the credulous faces around me. 'Within the city their plan was to set the seven hills aflame — yes, with each conspirator taking charge of igniting a given area — and to massacre great numbers of citizens. Catilina was to intercept and slaughter those who fled and then unite his slave army with his loyal forces in the city.'

  A wave of anger passed through the crowd, as palpable as a hot wind. Slaves and fire: these two things are dreaded most by free Romans. Both are tools to be bent to their will and to give comfort, but either may run out of control and wreak terrible havoc. For any man to turn them loose upon his fellow Romans is an act of unforgivable betrayal, and in a single breath Cicero had managed to accuse Catilina and his friends of plotting to use both.

  'Next, the Allobroges were brought before the Senate. They declared that they had been made to swear an oath and been given letters from Cethegus and Lentulus, and moreover had been ordered to send cavalry across the Alps to assist in their planned uprising. Imagine an army of slaves, Gauls, and outlaws, marching on the city in flames! To secure their alliance, Lentulus had declared to them that soothsayers and the Sibylline oracles had foretold that he would be the third of the Comelii, after Cinna and Sulla, to rule over Rome — or what remained of it, for he also declared his belief that this is the year preordained for the destruction of Rome and its empire, being the tenth year after the acquittal of the Vestal Virgins and the twentieth year after the burning of the Capitol' Cicero shook his head to show his disgust with such blasphemy.

  'The Allobroges also informed us of discord within the ranks of these intriguers. It seems that Lentulus, typically lazy, wanted to wait until seventeen days from now and commence their carnage under cover of the festivities of the Saturnalia — the holiday when masters trade places with their slaves. But the bloodthirsty Cethegus, insensitive to such delicate irony, was eager to begin the massacre right away.

  It was time to confront these scoundrels directly. Bach of them was called forward and shown the letters that had been intercepted. We showed Cethegus his letter. He agreed that the seal was his. The thread was cut.Written in his own hand and addressed to the leaders of the Allobroges, the message reiterated the plot exactly as I have already described it. Earlier, upon information from the Allobroges, I had sent one of the praetors to Cethegus's house, where a great cache of swords and daggers had been uncovered and confiscated. When I confronted him about this, Cethegus had answered sarcastically that he was merely a collector of fine weaponry! But now that his letter had been read aloud and his wickedness exposed, he collapsed with shame and fear and fell silent

  'Another of the letter writers, Statilius, was brought in. Again, the breaking of the seal, the reading of the letter, the stuttering confession of guilt

  'Then came Lentulus. His letter was read. It reiterated what we already knew, but Lentulus declined to break down and confess like the others. I offered this man — currently serving as a praetor and once a consul of the Roman people — an opportunity to speak on his own behalf He refused, and instead demanded that Volturcius and the Allobroges be called into his presence, so that he might confront his accusers. This was done; and thus was Lentulus undone, for as our informers resolutely recited the occasions on which they had met with him, he began to crumble, and when they brought up the business of the Sibylline oracles, those of us present witnessed what the exposure of guilt can do to a man. The magnitude of his crime and the glaring absurdity of his delusions suddenly came crashing down on him and robbed him of his wits, and instead of continuing to deny the allegations, which he might easily have done, Lentulus surprised us all by blurting out his confession. He did so in a whimpering voice that none of us had heard before; when he needed them most, his famous oratorical skills and even his notorious sarcasm deserted him completely.

  'Volturcius was then called on to produce the single remaining unopened letter. Seeing it, Lentulus blanched and began to tremble; nevertheless, he acknowledged that the seal and the handwriting were his, though the letter itself was unsigned. I will read it to you now.' Without turning from the crowd, Cicero held out his hand. From behind him, his secretary Tiro appeared and placed the document into his master's palm. Cicero un
rolled it and snapped it stiff between his hands.' "You will know who I am from the man who brings this to you. Remember that you are a man; consider your situation; take steps to do whatever is necessary. Recruit the aid of all, even the lowest." '

  Cicero thrust out his arm, as if the document had an odour, and Tiro relieved him of it.

  'Letters, seals, handwriting, confessions — citizens, these might seem to be the most compelling possible evidence against these men. But even more conclusive was the furtive look in their eyes, the pallor of their faces, their stupefied silence and the way they gazed at the floor, ashamed to look up, or else glanced cringingly at one another. Their own guilty appearance was the most incriminating testimony against them.

  'Acting on the evidence we have gathered, the Senate unanimously voted to put under arrest the nine men most intimately involved in this conspiracy — only nine, despite the alarming number of traitors among us, because the Senate in its leniency believes that the punishment of these nine alone may recall the others to their senses.

  "Thus have the foul schemes of Catilina met with abject failure. Had I not had the foresight to eject him from the city, it might not have been so. For while there was never any real danger, so long as I was vigilant, from lazy Lentulus or the wild-eyed Cethegus, Catilina is another matter. His skill at swaying the hearts of men, his personal attention to every detail of his vast plans, his cunning, his great strength and physical endurance — all these made him the most formidable of Rome's enemies, so long as he was in our midst. He would never have made such a stupid mistake as sending off incriminating letters with his own seal upon them! Had he remained, even with myself to watch his steps and counter his designs, we would have had a bitter fight on our hands, a struggle to the death.'

  Cicero paused. He clasped his hands before him and bowed his head for a moment, then with a deep breath raised his eyes to the statue of Jupiter beside him and stepped closer to it. 'In my conduct of these affairs, fellow citizens, I feel very strongly that I have been guided every step of the way by the will of the immortal gods. Such a conclusion is obvious, for human initiative alone could scarcely be credited with directing these matters to such a fortuitous end. Indeed, throughout these dark days, so persistendy have the gods made known their will that they have virtually been visible before us. Word of their portents has already spread among you, so that I scarcely need mention all the manifestations — the flames seen in the sky by night, me tremblings of the earth, the strange patterns of lightning. By such signs the gods foretold the outcome of this struggle. I will not enumerate them all, but there is one incident so compelling that I must not pass over it

  'Cast your minds back two years ago, to the consulship of Cotta and Torquatus. In that year the Capitol was struck repeatedly by freakish lightning, which jarred the images of the gods from their pedestals, struck down the statues of our ancestors, and melted the brazen tablets of the law. Even the image of our founder Romulus was struck, that gold-covered statue that shows him suckling the she-wolf. Soothsayers, who had gathered from all over Etruria, prophesied slaughter and conflagration, the overthrow of the law, civil war, and the end of Rome and her empire — unless the gods could be persuaded to alter the course of destiny. In accordance with these dire warnings, ceremonial games were held for ten consecutive days, and nothing that might appease the gods was left undone.

  "The soothsayers commanded that a new statue of Jupiter should be made and that it should be placed in a lofty spot facing the dawn and overlooking the Forum and the Senate House. With the image of the Father of the Gods, turned upon our mortal activities, any grave threat to the safety of Rome would be brought to light and made manifest to the Senate and the people. So slowly did the construction of this massive, magnificent statue proceed that only now has it been completed — and it was not ready to be installed in its lofty place beside the entrance to the Temple of Concord until this very day’

  'No man here is so blind that he cannot see how the entire universe, and most specifically this chosen city, is guided and governed by the will and the majesty of the gods. Two years ago we were warned, by those who interpret the signs of the gods, of impending catastrophe and civil chaos. Not all believed the signs, but wisdom prevailed and the gods were placated. Now the time of crisis arrives and — who would dare call it coincidence? — the statue of Jupiter is ready! So timely is the benign intervention of great Jupiter that at the very hour the conspirators were being conducted through the Forum to the Temple of Concord, the engineers were just completing the statue's installation! And now, with Jupiter's terrible gaze upon us, this plot against your safety and the very survival of Rome has been revealed and brought into the bright, harsh light of day.

  'Harsher than ever, then, should be your hatred and punishment of these men who have dared to spread the flames of destruction not only to your homes but to the shrines of the gods as well. How proud

  I would be to assert that their apprehension and arrest is all due to me, but it is not so; it was Jupiter himself who thwarted them. Jupiter wishes for the Capitol to be saved, and for the temples and this city and all of you to be saved as well. In that divine wish I have been his vessel.

  The Senate has decreed a thanksgiving to the gods. Their decree was issued in my name — the first time that such an honour has ever been bestowed upon a civilian. It is framed in these words: "because he saved the city from flames, the citizens from massacre, and Italy from war." Yes, citizens, raise your voices in thanksgiving, but not to me; render your loving praise to the father who has saved you all, to the destroyer of Rome's enemies, to Jupiter Almighty!'

  Cicero raised his arms to the gleaming statue beside him and stepped back. Cheering erupted throughout the crowd, so precisely on cue that I wondered at first if Cicero had seeded his partisans among the crowd. But the ovation was too overwhelming to be false, and why not? It was not Cicero, the mere vessel, whom they were cheering, but the Father of the Gods, who gazed out at us from beneath his thunderous brow. Even so, as he backed away into the shadows, Cicero wore a smile of utter triumph, as if the cheering were entirely for him,

  XXXVI

  This means the end of Catilina,' said Eco that night, reclining on his dining couch. The meal was finished. The food and utensils had been cleared away and only a pitcher of watered wine remained. Diana was fast asleep in her bed, and Bethesda and Menenia had retired to another room.

  'Until today,' Eco went on, 'no one in Rome was certain what would happen. There still seemed a very real chance of an uprising in the city, successful or not. You could feel it in the streets — the anger, the resentment, the restlessness, the longing for any sort of change at any cost. It was as if people were hoping that the sky would open and reveal a whole new pantheon of gods looking down from the heavens.'

  'Is this what you meant in your letter to me, when you said you could speak more frankly face to face?' I said.

  'Well, I could hardly express such ideas in a letter, could I? Look what's become of Lentulus and Cethegus for putting their incriminating thoughts onto parchment! Not that I sympathize with them, but everyone has to be very careful these days — what one says, to whom one talks…'

  ' "The eyes and ears of the consul are everywhere," ' I said.

  'Exactly.'

  'And his eyes watch even one another.' 'Yes.'

  'Then it's too bad all Cicero's cross-eyed spies haven't tripped over their own feet!' said Meto suddenly, with a vehemence that surprised us. He had been sitting quietly on his couch, drinking watered wine and listening.

  Eco looked at his brother, confused. 'What do you mean, Meto?'

  ‘I mean — I'm not sure what I mean, but I thought Cicero's speech today was sickening.' His voice was infused with the fervent passion of those who are very young, very earnest, very angry. 'Do you think there was a word of truth in it?'

  'Of course there was,' said Eco. Meanwhile I kept quiet, leaned back, and listened to them debate. 'You don't suppose Cicero conco
cted those letters himself?'

  'No, but who concocted the scheme in. the first place?'

  'What scheme?'

  "The idea for the conspirators to discredit themselves by dealing with the Allobroges.'

  'Lentulus came up with the scheme, I suppose, or one of the other—'

  'Why not Cicero?' said Meto.

  'But—'

  ‘I was listening to some men talking in the Forum after the speech was over and the crowd was breaking up. These men were saying that the Allobroges are unhappy with Roman rule, and not without reason. The Roman officials in Gaul are corrupt and greedy, like Roman officials everywhere. That's why the envoys came to Rome, seeking redress from the Senate.'

  'Exactly,' agreed Eco. 'And knowing their discontent, Lentulus saw an opportunity to suborn them.'

  'Or was it Cicero who saw an opportunity to use them for his own ends? Don't you see, Eco, it's just as likely that it was the Allobroges who approached Catilina's supporters, that the idea came from them, acting secretly at Cicero's behest. He said in his speech today that he was desperate for a way to expose his enemies, to draw them out. Desperate enough to engineer this whole affair himself! Lentulus and Cethegus were set up, and like fools they took the bait. Now Cicero has them in his net, and they'll never get out'

  Eco leaned back, looking pensive. 'Men were saying this in the Forum?'

  'Not too loudly, as you can imagine, but I have good ears.'

  'It makes sense, I must admit, but it's mad.'

  'Why? We all know that Cicero prefers to operate in secrecy, with trickery and deceit Do you think he's above stage-managing the whole incident? It's so simple, so clear. The Allobroges come seeking favours, and the Senate ignores them. Cicero is the most powerful man in

  Rome; he can get them what they want, if anyone can. He makes them promises, but in return they must act as his agents. So they approach Lentulus and Cethegus, claiming to seek an alliance. Without Catilina to guide them, Lentulus and Cethegus and the rest are getting nowhere on their own, so they eagerly take up the offer. But the Allobroges want an agreement in writing- only that will satisfy Cicero — and the fools give it to them. The envoys pretend to leave for their homeland. Acting on information from Cicero, two praetors stage a dramatic mock ambush on the Milvian Bridge.' 'Why "mock"?' said Eco.