Chapter XIII
BEFORE the emperor the anger of Sejanus melted into mild servility. With customary composure he greeted Tiberius as if nothing whatever had happened. He locked the cell door, and as he walked towards his office he said to the emperor: “Truly am I tormented by that wench. She knows a secret, and even slight bodily punishment cannot unseal her lips. Verily I shall be compelled to resort to painful torture to learn the truth.”
“Who is she?”
“I crave thy pardon, O Tiberius, but I will answer thee in my office.”
When they had entered the business room of Sejanus, both seated themselves at a cedar-wood table, covered with reports and letters. Sejanus was the first to speak. “Since the death of thy son, I have already told thee, the friends of Agrippina and Germanicus are jubilant; for the brothers Nero and Drusus are now regarded as thy successors. This woman with whom thou didst find me has bought poison. She is in the employ of Sosia.”
“Sosia, the wife of Caius Silius and the friend of Agrippina?” asked the emperor, greatly surprised.
“And thine enemy,” added Sejanus.
“What has Sosia done?”
Sejanus took up a tablet and read: “‘Sosia received Agrippina in her palace three times in four days. Sosia called at the Palatine to see Agrippina the same number of times on the same days.’ Their conversations at both places are recorded,” added Sejanus, laying down the tablet. “Germanicus was extolled. His death, they said, was due to poisoning by Cneius Piso, acting under thine orders. Sosia has openly made statements reviling thee.”
“Agrippina is sowing her suspicions in the hearts of her friends. The harvest will be a large one,” said Tiberius, with a wicked smile.
“Caius Silius, the husband of Sosia, is equally guilty,” continued Sejanus. “He was a commander, as thou knowest, under Germanicus. He has won many victories for his country. He boasts too much. Here is his conversation with Sabinus,” he said, pointing to a tablet.
“Titius Sabinus, the great and wealthy senator, also talks against me?” gasped the emperor, alarmed.
“O noble Tiberius, these men not only talk against thee, but they are working against thee.”
“But what of the son of Sabinus? Is he loyal?” asked Tiberius.
“He is ruining himself with dissipation. He frequents the taverns and consorts with dancing-girls,” replied Sejanus.
“These men are too beloved by the people to be thrust aside,” Tiberius said, with a significant nod of his head.
“But believe me, O noble Tiberius, in the city there is an undercurrent of discontent, set in motion by these friends of Agrippina, that, if not stemmed in time, will break forth into civil war. Already sides are being taken, and I can prove to thee that there are some who call themselves ‘partisans of Agrippina.’”
“Art thou sure of the information from Agrippina’s house?”
“Ay, O great Tiberius; her maid faithfully reports every two days. The servant who spied for us before was caught. Agrippina had him beaten and cast into the streets. The maid is his sister. We have good reason to trust her reports.”
“What are thy suggestions against these great men?” asked the emperor.
“Charge them with treason.”
“And Sosia?”
“Accuse her also.”
“Are there others who dare to talk openly against me?”
“Ay; through my spies I have learned of Calpurnius Piso.”
“One of that illustrious and noble family is also mine enemy!” exclaimed Tiberius.
“Ay; he has openly said he would abandon Rome so as to be free from the despot and his informers.”
“I have always hated Piso. Are there any more traitors?” bitterly asked the emperor.
“Here is a list of them,” said Sejanus, handing a scroll to his master. “Serenus is the most important after Piso. Thinkest thou not, O Tiberius, that our attack against Sosius and Sabinus will quiet the others?”
“The others shall be marked men,” was the significant reply of the emperor.
“If thou hadst the time to read these reports, thou wouldst fear this seditious movement. These men quickly seek notoriety amongst the people by slyly whispering words of sympathy for Agrippina and her children.”
“Sympathy for the she-wolf and her cubs,” cried the emperor, “while the emperor receives condemnation? For what? Is not the country prosperous? Are not the poor fed? What does Agrippina wish? Of a truth, O vigilant Sejanus, is sedition spreading in the city?”
“Ay, more! I have learned that Agrippina is encouraging her sons to form alliances with the legions.”
“By Hercules! And through whom?” thundered Tiberius.
“Sabinus.”
“By the infernal deities!” roared Tiberius, as he clutched the arms of his curule chair. “She is leaguing with the friends of Germanicus? Can she not wait for my death? What greater honor could she wish than my bestowing the hand of my granddaughter Julia on her son Nero?”
“She has told Piso that she fears thou wilt poison her.”
Tiberius pounded his hand on the table as he said in his drawling tone: “Is that why she refuses to eat when she attends my dinners? Ah! she fears me!”
“Nay, she fears no one,” said Sejanus, recalling his conversation with her. “She distrusts thee and thy friends.”
“She insults me with her imperiousness. Her cousin, Claudia Pulchra, is also insolent.”
“Cannot the pride of Agrippina be broken by an attack on her dearest relation, Claudia?”
“Claudia is a model of purity,” said Tiberius.
“Models of purity can be easily remodelled,” sneered Sejanus.
“What wouldst thou do?” asked the emperor. “No one would take a case against her.”
“Domitius Afer, an orator, comes highly recommended,” suggested Sejanus. “He is youngand has his honors to gain. Give him the case. Bribed accusers can easily be obtained. Teach the people, O Tiberius, teach Agrippina the respect that is due thee.”
“Ay, that will I do. But what shall Claudia’s crime be?”
“Prostitution, adultery, witchcraft, and spells cast upon thee would be a good charge,” slyly advised the minister.
“Adultery with whom?”
“Some one of your enemies,—Furnius.”
“Furnius, Furnius?” said Tiberius, trying to recall the name. “Ay, he who writes lampoons against me.”
“Ay, make the people hold their tongues.”
“Charge them both,” was his imperious order.
“Then, O noble Tiberius, Cremutius Cordus, the historian, has written in his annals praises to Brutus. He has even called Cassius ‘The last of the Romans.’ Men are daring everything! Is this not a direct insult against the Divine Julius and the Divine Augustus? Shall annals be written lauding men who fought for the Roman republic? Let this stimulation of the republican idea once course through the veins of the people and the emperor falls, and with his fall the empire will crumble.”
“Who has told thee this?”
“My agents are everywhere.”
“Truly, O faithful minister, thine eyes never close. Duty has become incarnate in thee. Charge the historian Cordus with his crime. All thoughts of the republic must be stifled. Ah! even the Senate begins to act with freedom. But the attacks against Sosius and Sabinus will quiet that body. Behind their servile flattery, which I abhor, there lurks bitter hatred of me. Oh! verily must I leave Rome and its people! Not a moment of peace is found here.”
“Ay, O worthy Tiberius, the hurry of business in the city, the conflux of suitors in the palace, and the suspicions of treachery everywhere,—all these things burden thee too heavily. Art thou still inclined to go to Capri?”
“Ay; near the shores of the Bay of Neapolis I shall surely find rest and comfort.”
“In retirement and quiet, O Tiberius, the greatest facilities will be afforded for deliberation on important matters. At Capri thou wilt be safe from the importunities of office-seekers and from the intrigues of the dissatisfied.”
“Send to Capri! Have prepared for my reception the palace where the Divine Augustus spent his last days!” said the emperor, as he rose to depart. “Order plans to be made for a new palace to be placed on the higher inaccessible cliffs. Ay, though eleven palaces are already there, one is lacking to complete the number ofthe divinities. Have prepared plans for a palace that will outrival all the others. This new one we will call the Villa Jovis. Fare thee well, O honest minister!”
“Happy omens be thy speed, O mighty emperor!”