Quintus Claudius, Volume 1

And as she spoke she laid her hand familiarly in the young man’s arm.

“Very true,” he said coldly. “Aurelius is not much like those oiled and perfumed gallants, who think themselves happy to kiss the dust on your sandals. But that boy is waiting to speak to you.”

Lycoris looked round; a young slave, who had slowly followed her, glanced at her significantly.

“Madam,” he said, “everything is ready.”

“Ah?” said the lady. “The actors are ready? Very good; then let the music begin.”

The slave bowed and vanished. Lycoris imperceptibly guided her companion into a thickly overgrown sidewalk.

“We have time to spare,” she said, “and the music sounds much better from here than up there from the terrace. What were we talking about?.. oh! the Batavian… Why did you not bring your strange specimen to my house sooner?”

“Because he has not long been in Rome.”

“In Rome…” repeated Lycoris vaguely. Her eyes were searching the shrubbery. Then, recollecting herself, she went on talking vivaciously. Thus the couple lost themselves farther and farther in the recesses of the garden; their conversation ceased, and they listened involuntarily to the Dionysiac hymn which reached them in softened tones from the distance. Out here even, in this remote alley, everything was festally illuminated; every leaf, every pebble in the path, shone in many-colored hues. And yet, how deserted, how lonely it was, in spite of the lights! there was something uncanny and ghostly in their doubtful flicker and sparkle. Suddenly Lycoris stood still.

“By the Styx!” she exclaimed. “I have lost my most valuable ring. Not two seconds since I saw it on my finger! Wait, you must have trodden on it; it cannot be twenty paces off and must be lying on the ground.” Before Quintus fairly understood what had happened, she had vanished down a side path. The young man waited. “Lycoris!” he called out presently.

No answer.

He went back to the turning – of Lycoris, not a sign.

“This is strange!” thought he. “What can it mean?”

Suddenly he stood stock-still, for in the middle of the path stood a girlish form, small, but well made and of the sweetest grace. She pressed her finger mysteriously to her rosebud lips, and then made unmistakable signs to the youth that he was to follow her.

“What do you want?” asked Quintus, going up to her.

“Above all things silence,” said the girl. “My errand is to you alone.”

“Speak on then.”

“Nay, not here, noble Quintus; consider a moment – with impenetrable hedges on each side of us! If any one came upon us, how could we escape?”

“And who are you?” asked Quintus with a meaning smile.

“Only a slave – named Polycharma. Will you come with me?”

“Certainly, Polycharma, I follow you.”

About a hundred yards farther on a small circular clearing opened to their right; the entrance to it was decorated with gold-colored festoons. Just before reaching this spot the path became so narrow, that a stout man could hardly pass along it; the wall of yew on each side had overgrown three-quarters of its width. Polycharma drew the folds of her dress more closely round her slim limbs, while the young man pushed aside the branches to the right and left. He looked round once more to see if he could discover Lycoris, but behind him all was silent and deserted. Even the sound of the music was only heard faintly and as if in a dream. Having reached the round plot, the slave girl took a letter out of her bosom. “My lord,” she said, “I must exact a solemn oath from you…”

“What about?”

“That you will keep my errand an absolute secret, and return me this letter when you have read it.”

“Good, I swear it by Jupiter!”

Polycharma handed him the note; the mere sight of it filled him with a suspicion of its origin. He hastily broke the seal and the silk thread, and by the light of the colored lamps which lighted the place, he read as follows:

“She who is wont only to command, humbles herself to the dust – so terrible is the power of love to change us. The cruel wretch who scorns me – he is the god of my aspirations! Have pity, O Quintus! have pity on the miserable woman, who is dying of love for you. Caesar, my husband, holds out his hand to me in reconciliation. It costs me but one word, and I shall be again, as I have been, the mistress of Rome and sovereign of the world. But behold, beloved Quintus, all this might and all this splendor I will cast from me and go into the remotest banishment without a tear, if you will give me, for one second only, the happy certainty of your love. Crush me, kill me, but ere you kill me say you are mine! Quintus, I await my sentence. At a sign, a glance, from you I reject all reconciliation.”

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1

The publisher of this translation has, for the reader’s convenience, placed all the notes at the foot of the pages containing the corresponding text.

2

Trireme. “Three-oared;” a vessel with three ranks of rowers, one above another. The time was given by the beats of a hammer or by word of command; not unfrequently by an air played on a flute or a sailor’s chant (cantus nauticus).

3

Posidium, now called the Punta della Licosa, south of the Gulf of Salerno.

4

Capreae, (Isle of goats) now Capri.

5

Puteoli. An important port in Campania, now Pozzuoli. Concerning Puteoli’s commerce, see Stat. Silv. III, 5, 75.

6

Apollonius of Tyana in Cappadocia. An ascetic and ecstatic philosopher and miracle-worker (A.D. 50) often compared with Christ by heathen writers. (Philostratus wrote his life.)

7

Ivory map. Sketch-maps of various routes were common in ancient times, and were often engraved on wine-jars, cups, etc.

8

Tunic. The short-sleeved under-garment worn by both sexes, the house costume, over which men, when they went out, threw the toga, women the stola or palla. During the period of the empire a second garment, the tunica interior, corresponding to the shirt of modern times, was worn under the tunic.

9

The palace of Tiberius. For an account of the cruel and extravagant proceedings of Tiberius at Capri, see Tacitus Ann. I, 67, Suet. Tib. 40, Juv. Sat. X, 72 and 93. Insignificant remains of this palace are visible at the present day: Villa di Timberio; the perpendicular cliff 700 feet high is called il salto (the leap.)

10

Castor and Pollux. Leda’s twins, the Dioscuri, were the patrons of sea-faring men.

11

Wax-tablet (tabula cerata). A little tablet covered with wax, on which memoranda were written with the stylus. In the schools the wax-tablet supplied the place of the slate, and in daily life was a substitute for our note-book.

12

Freedman. The institution of slavery (servitium) which existed from ancient times, was an extremely important factor in the organization of Roman society. The slaves (servi) were the absolute property of their masters, who had unlimited control over their destinies and lives. (This right was not withdrawn until A.D. 61, when the law of Petronius prohibited the arbitrary condemnation of slaves to combats with wild beasts, etc.) The slave could then be released by the so-called manumissio, and was styled libertus or libertinus. His position depended upon the greater or less degree of formality with which the manumissio was granted. The most solemn manner bestowed all the rights of the free-born citizen, but even in this case he was socially burdened with the same stigma that rests upon the emancipated slaves in the United States. If a freedman attained power and influence – which under the emperors was very common – the haughty representatives of the ancient noble families paid him external respect, it is true, but the man’s origin was never forgotten.

13

Trajectum. A Batavian city in the Roman province Germania, now Utrecht.

14

Gades. A city in southern Spain, the modern Cadiz.

15

Panormus. A city on the north coast of Sicily, the modern Palermo.

16

Corybas. In the plural Corybantes; priests of Cybele. Their worship was a wild orgy with war-dances and noisy music. (Horace, Od. I, 16, 8: non acuta si geminant Corybantes aera, etc.)

17

Ostia. The port of Rome, situated at the mouth of the Tiber.

18

Massilia. An important city founded by the Greeks on the southern coast of Gaul, now called Marseilles.

19

Rugii. A German race occupying a considerable part of the coast of the Baltic – the present Pomerania and island of Rügen.

20

Frisii. A German race settled in the northern part of what is now Holland and farther east beyond Ems (Amisia).

21

Breakfast. The first meal after rising was called jentaculum. In the time of the republic (and still later among the poorer classes) it consisted principally of pulse. Among the wealthy luxury intruded even here; but in comparison with the second breakfast (prandium) and especially with the principal repast (coena) the jentaculum always remained frugal.

22

Ram’s-head at the prow. These ornaments were usually carved in wood on the prow. They must not be confounded with the ship’s beaks (rostra, ἕμβολα). These beaks – two strong iron-cased beams – were on the fore-part of the ships of war and also on vessels intended for long voyages, where they would be exposed to danger from pirates. They were beneath the surface of the water, and were destined to bore holes in the enemy’s ships. See vol. 2, Chap IX.

23

Magus. A Gothic word – (not the Latin Magus, Greek μάγος – magician, sorcerer,) – means a boy, or knave in the old sense of servant.

24

Parthenope. The ancient name of Naples, from the siren Parthenope, who is said to be buried there.

25

Vesuvius. The famous eruption, which buried the three cities mentioned, took place A.D. 79, that is, sixteen years before the commencement of this story.

26

Baiae, now Baja, the most famous watering-place of ancient times. See Horace, Ep. I, 1, 83.

27

Aenaria and Prochyta, now Ischia and Procida.

28

Alexandria in Egypt was, in point of commerce, the London of ancient times.

29

Tarentine travelling-cloak. The woollen stuffs from Tarentum, now called Taranto, were famous.

30

"Hva gasaihvis?“ – ”Gasaihva leitil skip." Literally: What do you see? (I) see (a) little ship. The earliest existing specimens of Gothic date from several centuries later than the time of this story, namely the period when the Goths left their original settlements on the lower Vistula and settled farther to the southeast on the Black Sea. I thought it permissible, however, to make a Goth of the first century speak the language of Ulfilas, since there is nothing against it in the general analogies of language, and Gothic, in the form in which it remains to us, is so concrete and logical in its structure, that it is hardly credible that it should have varied to any great extent within a period of two or three centuries.

31

Batavia. It was the custom at a very early date to name vessels after towns, persons, or countries, etc.

32

Amulet. A faith in the protecting power of charms and amulets was universal among Roman women, and children were always provided with amulets against the evil eye.

33

Isis. The Egyptian goddess Isis was originally a personification of the Nile country, and as such was the wife of Osiris, the god of the Nile, who is slain by Typhon and longingly sought by the deserted goddess. She was afterwards confounded with every conceivable form of Greek (See Appuleius. Met. XI, 5.) and Roman Mythology and thus in the first century after Christ became the principal goddess. Her worship was chiefly by women.

34

Waxen Ship. Such votive offerings are commonly mentioned. They were generally painted pictures, but models in wax or metal were also given.

35

Nile-Water. The worshippers of Isis ascribed a special power to the waters of the Nile.

36

Sesterces. A Roman silver coin worth about 4 or 5 cents.

The second order, the knights (equites), was scattered over the whole empire. A class specially designated for military service, it became in the time of the Gracchi, a body of rich men, each of whom possessed a fortune of 400,000 sesterces, and also fulfilled the conditions of being of free birth and descent, blameless reputation, and refraining from dishonorable or indecorous methods of making money. Loss of this fortune, whether by their own fault or otherwise, entailed loss of rank. In consequence of the confusion and dissolution of all legal regulations through the civil war, these conditions were largely abrogated. While many who had formerly been entitled to belong to the order of knights, lost their rank through loss of fortune, others, who though possessing the needful property, had none of the other requisites, assumed without opposition the external distinctions of the knights, especially the gold ring and the seat of honor in the theatre. (Friedlander.) There were various degrees of rank in the order of knights, and also great diversity of fortune. Besides the poor titular knights, there were bankers, wholesale merchants, and the directors and members of great commercial companies and societies for mercantile enterprises of every kind.

The third order comprised mechanics, small tradesmen, tavern-keepers, learned men, artists, etc., etc., – except in cases where those who followed these pursuits were slaves, – and also the immense body of proletarians, who subsisted almost exclusively on public alms.

37

Roman Knight. During the reign of the emperors the free population of Rome was divided into three orders: senators, knights, and people (third order). The order of senators was limited to Rome, and in its hands lay the real political power, which in the time of the republic had been exercised by the assembled populace. To the senate belonged the right of conferring and recalling sovereign power, that is, by appointing and deposing the emperors, a right rarely exercised, it is true, but which the emperors formally recognized by allowing themselves to be confirmed by the senate. In their relation to this body, the emperors were only first among their peers, the members of this order being really their equals; a relation which, with the exception of Caligula, Nero, Domitian, and Commodus, the emperors during the first two centuries, more or less earnestly endeavored to maintain. (Friedlander. Rom. Sittengesch. I, 3.) The number of the old senatorial families was comparatively small.

38

My Lord Said the Matron. Concerning the address “lord” (domine), see the minute discussions in Friedlander’s Sittengeschichte, I, appendix. It was not so common as the modern “sir,” but was used as an expression of special courtesy in the most varied relations of life. The emperors themselves used it in intercourse with persons to whom they wished to show attention. Thus Marcus Antoninus writes to Fronto: “Have, mi domine magister.” According to Seneca (Ep. III, 1.) it was already customary under Nero to greet persons, whose names could not be instantly remembered, by this title, in order not to appear uncourteous under any circumstances. The Fronto just mentioned calls a son-in-law “domine,” and when Nero once played the cithara in public, he addressed the spectators as “mei domini.”

Nay, the association of domine with the name, which to our ears has a very modern sound, is often found. Thus in Appuleius (Met. II,) we read: "Luci domine," – “Lord Lucius.” In this story, however, this association is avoided, as it might have produced the semblance of an anachronism. In accosting women domina (lady) corresponds with domine. The French, when referring to subjects connected with ancient Rome, reproduce the sound as well as the meaning of the word correctly by their madame (meam dominam).

39

Titus Claudius Mucianus. The Romans usually had three names. Titus is here the first name (praenomen) which was given sons on the ninth day after their birth. Claudius is the name of the gens, the family in the wider sense of the word (nomen gentilicium). Mucianus is the cognomen, the surname, the name of the immediate family (stirps or familia). Thus several stirpes belonged to a single gens. Daughters bore only the name of the gens; for instance the daughter of Titus Claudius Mucianus was called Claudia. If there were two of them, they were distinguished by the words major (the elder) and minor (the younger); if there were several, by numbers. The Claudia Gens was a very ancient and famous one. The principal characters of the story, belonging to the stirps Muciana, are purely imaginary.

40

Gavius Apicius, the famous Roman gourmand (Tac. Ann. IV, 1) who finding that he had only two million and a half denari left in the world (about 400,000 dollars) killed himself, thinking it impossible to live on so little.

41

Hymettus. A mountain in Attica, famed for its delicious honey. (Horace, Od. II, 6, 14).

42

Polished emerald. (Plin. Hist. Nat. XXXVII, 64) where it is stated that the emperor Nero used such an eye-glass at the public games.

43

The lobster, (cammarus), was less highly esteemed by the Romans than among ourselves. See Plin. Ep. II, 17. "The sea, it is true, has no superabundance of delicious fish; yet it gives us excellent soles and lobsters" – a passage in which lobsters are contrasted with delicious fish.

44

Cut Crystal. Window panes of glass (vitrum) mica plates (lapis specularis) and similar materials were by no means rare in ancient times.

45

Menander, son of the general Diopeithes, B.C. 342. The most distinguished poet of the New Comedy; fragments of his comedies have come down to us.

46

Tibur. A favorite summer resort of the Roman aristocracy, now Tivoli.

47

Cappadocian horses. The province of Cappadocia in Asia Minor was famed for its horses.

48

Litters (lectica). The usual conveyance, somewhat resembling the Oriental palanquin, were supplied with rich curtains (vela) and in other respects became the object of luxurious decorations. The number of litter-bearers (lecticarii, calones) varied from two to eight. In the city of Rome itself, where riding in carriages was not allowed during the day-time, the lecticae took the place of our carriages and hacks, for they could also be hired by the hour, and there were stands of them (castra lecticariorum) in several frequented quarters.

49

Lava Blocks. The usual material for pavements in central and southern Italy.

50

Sicambri. A powerful German tribe, occupying in the time of Caesar the eastern bank of the Rhine, and extending from the Sieg to the Lippe.

51

Red Livery. The usual costume of the litter-bearers in the time of the emperors.

52

Woolly-headed Ethiopians. The name Ethiopian Αἰθίοπες in its more restricted sense, applies to the inhabitants of Upper Egypt; in a more general meaning to the whole population of North-eastern Africa, and South-western Asia. According to Herodotus (VII, 70) the Ethiopians dwelling in the East had smooth, those in the West woolly hair.

53

Baths (thermae, θέρμαι, that is “warm baths”) were public bathing-establishments on the grandest scale, modelled after the Greek wrestling-schools. See Becker, Gallus III, p. 68 and following.

54

Cumae (Κύμη) now Cuma, the oldest of the Greek colonies in Italy, beyond the mountain range that bounds the bay of Baja on the west; it is only a few thousand paces from Baja.

55

In front walked eight or ten slaves. Such a vanguard was customary among people of distinction, even when they went on foot.

56

Lusitanians. A people living in the region now known as Portugal, between the Tagus (Tajo, Tejo) and Durius, (Duero, Douro.)

57

Caecubum. A district on the shores of the bay of Gaeta, famous for its wine. See (Horace Od. I, 20, 9 and I, 37, 5) where it is said, that it would be positively sinful to bring Caecubian wine from the cellar with other kinds on ordinary occasions (antehac nefas depromere Caecubum cellis avitis, etc.).

58

Erymanthian boar. So called from Mt. Erymanthus in Arcadia, where the animal lived until slain by Hercules.

59

Dionysus. A surname of Bacchus.

60

Libation. Wine poured as an offering to the gods.

61

Vestibulum. The space in front of the house-door (fores) which in the time of the imperial government was frequently covered with a portico.

62

Adopted Daughter. The adoption of a child in ancient Rome was regulated by very strict laws. Adoption in its narrower sense (adoptio) extended to persons who were still under paternal authority; with self-dependent persons the so-called arrogatio took place. With women this last form was entirely excluded.

63

Atrium. From the door of the house a narrow passage (ostium) led to the first inner court, the atrium, so-called because this space, where the hearth originally was, was blackened by the smoke (ater). The atrium, which in the more ancient Roman houses possessed the character of a room with a comparatively small opening in the roof, and afterwards resembled a court-yard, was at first the central point of family life, the sitting-room, where the industrious house-keeper sat enthroned among her slaves. When republican simplicity gave way to luxury, the atrium became the hall devoted to the reception of guests, and domestic life was confined to the more retired apartments.

64

Triclinium, (triple couch) really the sofa on which three, and sometimes even more persons reclined at table; the name was also given to the dining-room itself, which comprised the second inner court-yard, the so-called peristyle or cavaedium.

65

Cimbrian Peninsula, now called Jutland.

66

Guttoni. A German race on the lower Vistula.

67

Aestui. A German race living on the coast of Revel.

68

Scandii. Inhabitants of southern Sweden.

69

The Sense of Contrast was a conspicuous trait in Roman character. They were wont to heighten their appreciation of the joys of life by images of death, and the dining-room was intentionally placed so as to afford a view of tombs.

70