ACT IISCENE I.—The Garden of EUDEMUS.EnterSejanus, LiviaandEudemus.SEJANUS.Physician, thou art worthy of a province.For the great favours done unto our loves;And, but that greatest Livia bears a partIn the requital of thy services,I should alone despair of aught, like means,To give them worthy satisfaction.LIVIA.Eudemus, I will see it, shall receiveA fit and full reward for his large merit.—But for this potion we intend to Drusus,No more our husband now, whom shall we chooseAs the most apt and able instrument,To minister it to him?EUDEMUS.I say, Lygdus.SEJANUS.Lygdus? what’s he?LIVIA.An eunuch Drusus loves.EUDEMUS.Ay, and his cup-bearer.SEJANUS.Name not a second.If Drusus love him, and he have that place,We cannot think a fitter.EUDEMUS.True, my lord.For free access and trust are two main aids.SEJANUS.Skilful physician!LIVIA.But he must be wroughtTo the undertaking, with some labour’d art.SEJANUS.Is he ambitious?LIVIA.No.SEJANUS.Or covetous?LIVIA.Neither.EUDEMUS.Yet, gold is a good general charm.SEJANUS.What is he, then?LIVIA.Faith, only wanton, light.SEJANUS.How! is he young and fair?EUDEMUS.A delicate youth.SEJANUS.Send him to me, I’ll work him.—Royal lady,Though I have loved you long, and with that heightOf zeal and duty, like the fire, which moreIt mounts it trembles, thinking nought could addUnto the fervour which your eye had kindled;Yet, now I see your wisdom, judgment, strength,Quickness, and will, to apprehend the meansTo your own good and greatness, I protestMyself through rarified, and turn’d all flameIn your affection: such a spirit as yours,Was not created for the idle secondTo a poor flash, as Drusus; but to shineBright as the moon among the lesser lights,And share the sov’reignty of all the world.Then Livia triumphs in her proper sphere,When she and her Sejanus shall divideThe name of Cæsar, and Augusta’ s starBe dimm’d with glory of a brighter beam:When Agrippina’s fires are quite extinct,And the scarce-soon Tiberius borrows allHis little light from us, whose folded armsShall make one perfect orb.[Knocking within.]Who’s that! Eudemus, Look.[ExitEudemus.]’Tis not Drusus, lady, do not fear.LIVIA.Not I, my lord: my fear and love of himLeft me at once.SEJANUS.Illustrious lady, stay—EUDEMUS.[within.] I’ll tell his lordship.Re-enterEudemus.SEJANUS.Who is it, Eudemus?EUDEMUS.One of your lordship’s servants brings you wordThe emperor hath sent for you.SEJANUS.O! where is he?With your fair leave, dear princess, I’ll but askA question and return.[Exit.]EUDEMUS.Fortunate princess!How are you blest in the fruitionOf this unequall’d man, the soul of Rome,The empire’s life, and voice of Cæsar’s world!LIVIA.So blessed, my Eudemus, as to knowThe bliss I have, with what I ought to oweThe means that wrought it. How do I look to-day?EUDEMUS.Excellent clear, believe it. This same fucusWas well laid on.LIVIA.Methinks ’tis here not white.EUDEMUS.Lend me your scarlet, lady. ’Tis the sun,Hath giv’n some little taint unto the ceruse;You should have used of the white oil I gave you.Sejanus, for your love! his very nameCommandeth above Cupid or his shafts—[Paints her cheeks.]LIVIA.Nay, now you’ve made it worse.EUDEMUS.I’ll help it straight—And but pronounced, is a sufficient charmAgainst all rumour; and of absolute powerTo satisfy for any lady’s honour.LIVIA.What do you now, Eudemus?EUDEMUS.Make a light fucus,To touch you o’er withal.—Honour’d Sejanus!What act, though ne’er so strange and insolent,But that addition will at least bear out,If’t do not expiate?LIVIA.Here, good physician.EUDEMUS.I like this study to preserve the loveOf such a man, that comes not every hourTo greet the world.-’Tis now well, lady, you shouldUse of the dentifrice I prescribed you too,To clear your teeth, and the prepared pomatum,To smooth the skin:—A lady cannot beToo curious of her form, that still would holdThe heart of such a person, made her captive,As you have his: who, to endear him moreIn your clear eye, hath put away his wife,The trouble of his bed, and your delights,Fair Apicata, and made spacious roomTo your new pleasures.LIVIA.Have not we return’dThat with our hate to Drusus, and discoveryOf all his counsels?EUDEMUS.Yes, and wisely, lady.The ages that succeed, and stand far offTo gaze at your high prudence, shall admire,And reckon it an act without your sex:It hath that rare appearance. Some will thinkYour fortune could not yield a deeper sound,Than mix’d with Drusus; but, when they shall hearThat, and the thunder of Sejanus meet,Sejanus, whose high name doth strike the stars,And rings about the concave; great Sejanus,Whose glories, style, and titles are himself,The often iterating of Sejanus:They then will lose their thoughts, and be ashamedTo take acquaintance of them.Re-enterSejanus.SEJANUS.I must makeA rude departure, lady: Cæsar sendsWith all his haste both of command and prayer.Be resolute in our plot; you have my soul,As certain yours as it is my body’s.And, wise physician, so prepare the poison,As you may lay the subtile operationUpon some natural disease of his:Your eunuch send to me. I kiss your hands,Glory of ladies, and commend my loveTo your best faith and memory.LIVIA.My lord,I shall but change your words. Farewell.Yet, this Remember for your heed, he loves you not;You know what I have told you: his designsAre full of grudge and danger; we must useMore than a common speed.SEJANUS.Excellent lady,How you do fire my blood!LIVIA.Well, you must go?The thoughts be best, are least set forth to shew.[ExitSejanus.]EUDEMUS.When will you take some physic, lady?LIVIA.WhenI shall, Eudemus: but let Drusus’ drugBe first prepared.EUDEMUS.Were Lygdus made, that’s done;I have it ready. And to-morrow morningI’ll send you a perfume, first to resolveAnd procure sweat, and then prepare a bathTo cleanse and clear the cutis; against whenI’ll have an excellent new fucus made,Resistive ’gainst the sun, the rain, or wind,Which you shall lay on with a breath, or oil,As you best like, and last some fourteen hours.This change came timely, lady, for your health,And the restoring your complexion,Which Drusus’ choler had almost burnt up!Wherein your fortune hath prescribed you betterThan art could do.LIVIA.Thanks, good physician,I’ll use my fortune, you shall see, with reverence.Is my coach ready?EUDEMUS.It attends your highness.[Exeunt.]SCENE II.—An Apartment in the Palace.EnterSejanus.SEJANUS.If this be not revenge, when I have doneAnd made it perfect, let Egyptian slaves,Parthians, and bare-foot Hebrews brand my face,And print my body full of injuries.Thou lost thyself, child Drusus, when thou thoughtstThou couldst outskip my vengeance; or outstandThe power I had to crush thee into air.Thy follies now shall taste what kind of manThey have provoked, and this thy father’s houseCrack in the flame of my incensed rage,Whose fury shall admit no shame or mean.—Adultery! it is the lightest illI will commit A race of wicked actsShall flow out of my anger, and o’erspreadThe world’s wide face, which no posterityShall e’er approve, nor yet keep silent: thingsThat for their cunning, close, and cruel mark,Thy father would wish his: and shall, perhaps,Carry the empty name, but we the prize.On, then, my soul, and start not in thy course;Though heaven drop sulphur, and hell belch out fire,Laugh at the idle terrors; tell proud Jove,Between his power and thine there is no odds:’Twas only fear first in the world made gods!EnterTiberius, attended.TIBERIUS.Is yet Sejanus come?SEJANUS.He’s here, dread Cæsar.TIBERIUS.Let all depart that chamber, and the next.[ExeuntAttendants.]Sit down, my comfort. When the master princeOf all the world, Sejanus, saith he fears,Is it not fatal?SEJANUS.Yes, to those are fear’d.TIBERIUS.And not to him?SEJANUS.Not, if he wisely turnThat part of fate he holdeth, first on them.TIBERIUS.That nature, blood, and laws of kind forbid.SEJANUS.Do policy and state forbid it?TIBERIUS.No.SEJANUS.The rest of poor respects, then, let go by;State is enough to make the act just, them guilty.TIBERIUS.Long hate pursues such acts.SEJANUS.Whom hatred frights,Let him not dream of sovereignty.TIBERIUS.Are ritesOf faith, love, piety, to be trod down,Forgotten, and made vain?SEJANUS.All for a crown.The prince who shames a tyrant’s name to bear,Shall never dare do any thing, but fear;All the command of sceptres quite doth perish,If it begin religious thoughts to cherish:Whole empires fall, sway’d by those nice respects;It is the license of dark deeds protectsEv’n states most hated, when no laws resistThe sword. but that it acteth what it list.TIBERIUS.Yet so, we may do all things cruelly,Not safely.SEJANUS.Yes, and do them thoroughly.TIBERIUS.Knows yet Sejanus whom we point at?SEJANUS.Ay,Or else my thought, my sense, or both do err:’Tis Agrippina.TIBERIUS.She, and her proud race.SEJANUS.Proud! dangerous, Cæsar: for in them apaceThe father’s spirit shoots up. GermanicusLives in their looks, their gait, their form, t’ upbraid usWith his close death, if not revenge the same.TIBERIUS.The act’s not known.SEJANUS.Not proved: but whispering FameKnowledge and proof doth to the jealous give,Who, than to fail, would their own thought believe.It is not safe, the children draw long breath,That are provoked by a parent’s death.TIBERIUS.It is as dangerous to make them hence,If nothing but their birth be their offence.SEJANUS.Stay, till they strike at Cæsar; then their crimeWill be enough; but late and out of time For him to punish.TIBERIUS.Do they purpose it?SEJANUS.You know, sir, thunder speaks not till it hit.Be not secure; none swiftlier are opprest,Than they whom confidence betrays to rest.Let not your daring make your danger such:All power is to be fear’d, where ’tis too much.The youths are of themselves hot, violent,Full of great thought; and that male-spirited dame,Their mother, slacks no means to put them on,By large allowance, popular presentings,Increase of train and state, suing for titles;Hath them commended with like prayers, like vows,To the same gods, with Cæsar: days and nightsShe spends in banquets and ambitious feastsFor the nobility; where Caius Silius,Titius Sabinus, old Arruntius,Asinius Gallus, Furnius, Regulus,And others of that discontented list,Are the prime guests. There, and to these, she tellsWhose niece she was, whose daughter, and whose wife.And then must they compare her with Augusta,Ay, and prefer her too; commend her form,Extol her fruitfulness; at which a showerFalls for the memory of Germanicus,Which they blow over straight with windy praise,And puffing hopes of her aspiring sons;Who, with these hourly ticklings, grow so pleased,And wantonly conceited of themselves,As now, they stick not to believe they’re suchAs these do give them out; and would be thoughtMore than competitors, immediate heirs.Whilst to their thirst of rule, they win the rout(That’s still the friend of novelty) with hopeOf future freedom, which on every changeThat greedily, though emptily expects.Cæsar, ’tis age in all things breeds neglects,And princes that will keep old dignityMust not admit too youthful heirs stand by;Not their own issue; but so darkly setAs shadows are in picture, to give heightAnd lustre to themselves.TIBERIUS.We will commandTheir rank thoughts down, and with a stricter handThan we have yet put forth; their trains must bate,Their titles, feasts, and factions.SEJANUS.Or your state.But how, sir, will you work!TIBERIUS.Confine them.SEJANUS.No.They are too great, and that too faint a blowTo give them now; it would have serv’d at first,When with the weakest touch their knot had burst.But, now, your care must be, not to detectThe smallest cord, or line of your suspect;For such, who know the weight of prince’s fear,Will, when they find themselves discover’d, rearTheir forces, like seen snakes, that else would lieRoll’d in their circles, close: nought is more high,Daring, or desperate, than offenders found;Where guilt is, rage and courage both abound.The course must be, to let them still swell up,Riot, and surfeit on blind fortune’s cup;Give them more place, more dignities, more style,Call them to court, to senate; in the while,Take from their strength some one or twain, or more,Of the main factors, (it will fright the store,)And, by some by-occasion. Thus, with slightYou shall disarm them first; and they, in nightOf their ambition, not perceive the train,Till in the engine they are caught and slain.TIBERIUS.We would not kill, if we knew how to save;Yet, than a throne, ’tis cheaper give a grave.Is there no way to bind them by deserts?SEJANUS.Sir, wolves do change their hair, but not their hearts.While thus your thought unto a mean is tied,You neither dare enough, nor do provide.All modesty is fond: and chiefly whereThe subject is no less compell’d to bear,Than praise his sovereign’s acts.TIBERIUS.We can no longerKeep on our mask to thee, our dear Sejanus;Thy thoughts are ours, in all, and we but provedTheir voice, in our designs, which by assentingHath more confirm’d us, than if heart’ning JoveHad, from his hundred statues, bid us strike,And at the stroke click’d all his marble thumbs.But who shall first be struck?SEJANUS.First Caius Silius;He is the most of mark, and most of danger:In power and reputation equal strong,Having commanded an imperial armySeven years together, vanquish’d SacrovirIn Germany, and thence obtain’d to wearThe ornaments triumphal. His steep fall,By how much it doth give the weightier crack,Will send more wounding terror to the rest,Command them stand aloof, and give more wayTo our surprising of the principal.TIBERIUS.But what, Sabinus?SEJANUS.Let him grow a while,His fate is not yet ripe: we must not pluckAt all together, lest we catch ourselves.And there’s Arruntius too, he only talks.But Sosia, Silius’ wife, would be wound inNow, for she hath a fury in her breast,More than hell ever knew; and would be sentThither in time. Then is there one CremutiusCordus, a writing fellow, they have gotTo gather notes of the precedent times,And make them into Annals; a most tartAnd bitter spirit, I hear; who, under colourOf praising those, doth tax the present state,Censures the men, the actions, leaves no trick,No practice unexamined, parallelsThe times, the governments; a profest championFor the old liberty-TIBERIUS.A perishing wretch!As if there were that chaos bred in things,That laws and liberty would not rather chooseTo be quite broken, and ta’en hence by us,Than have the stain to be preserved by such.Have we the means to make these guilty first?SEJANUS.Trust that to me: let Cæsar, by his powerBut cause a formal meeting of the senate,I will have matter and accusers ready.TIBERIUS.But how? let us consult.SEJANUS.We shall misspendThe time of action. Counsels are unfitIn business, where all rest is more perniciousThan rashness can be. Acts of this close kindThrive more by execution than advice.There is no lingering in that work begun,Which cannot praised be, until through done.TIBERIUS.Our edicts shall forthwith command a court.While I can live, I will prevent earth’s fury:Ἐμοῦ θανόντος γαῖα μιχθήτω πυρι.[Exit.]EnterJulius Posthumus.POSTHUMUS.My lord Sejanus—SEJANUS.Julius Posthumus!Come with my wish! What news from Agrippina’s?POSTHUMUS.Faith, none. They all lock up themselves a’ late,Or talk in character; I have not seenA company so changed. Except they hadIntelligence by augury of our practice.—SEJANUS.When were you there?POSTHUMUS.Last night.SEJANUS.And what guests found you?POSTHUMUS.Sabinus, Silius, the old list, Arruntius, Furmus, and Gallus.SEJANUS.Would not these talk?POSTHUMUS.Little:And yet we offer’d choice of argument. Satrius was with me.SEJANUS.Well: ’tis guilt enoughTheir often meeting. You forgot to extolThe hospitable lady?POSTHUMUS.No; that trickWas well put home, and had succeeded too,But that Sabinus cough’d a caution out;For she began to swell.SEJANUS.And may she burst!Julius, I would have you go instantlyUnto the palace of the great Augusta,And, by your kindest friend, get swift access;Acquaint her with these meetings: tell the wordsYou brought me the other day, of Silius,Add somewhat to them. Make her understandThe danger of Sabinus, and the times,Out of his closeness. Give Arruntius’ wordsOf malice against Cæsar; so, to Gallus:But, above all, to Agrippina. Say,As you may truly, that her infinite pride,Propt with the hopes of her too fruitful womb,With popular studies gapes for sovereignty,And threatens Cæsar. Pray Augusta then,That for her own, great Cæsar’s, and the publicsafety, she be pleased to urge these dangers.Cæsar is too secure, he must be told,And best he’ll take it from a mother’s tongue.Alas! what is’t for us to sound, to explore,To watch, oppose, plot, practise, or prevent,If he, for whom it is so strongly labour’d,Shall, out of greatness and free spirit, beSupinely negligent? our city’s nowDivided as in time o’ the civil war,And men forbear not to declare themselvesOf Agrippina’s party. Every dayThe faction multiplies; and will do more,If not resisted: you can best enlarge it,As you find audience. Noble Posthumus,Commend me to your Prisca: and pray her,She will solicit this great business,To earnest and most present execution,With all her utmost credit with Augusta.POSTHUMUS.I shall not fail in my instructions.[Exit.]SEJANUS.This second, from his mother, will well urgeOur late design, and spur on Cæsar’s rage;Which else might grow remiss. The way to putA prince in blood, is to present the shapesOf dangers, greater than they are, like late,Or early shadows; and, sometimes, to feignWhere there are none, only to make him fear?His fear will make him cruel: and once enter’d,He doth not easily learn to stop, or spareWhere he may doubt. This have I made my rule,To thrust Tiberius into tyranny,And make him toil, to turn aside those blocks,Which I alone could not remove with safety,Drusus once gone, Germanicus’ three sonsWould clog my way; whose guards have too much faithTo be corrupted: and their mother knownOf too, too unreproved a chastity,To be attempted, as light Livia was.Work then, my art, on Cæsar’s fears, as theyOn those they fear ’till all my lets be clear’d,And he in ruins of his house, and hateOf all his subjects, bury his own state;When with my peace and safety, I will rise,By making him the public sacrifice.[Exit.]SCENE III.—A Room in AGRIPPINA’S House.EnterSatriusandNatta.SATRIUS.They’re grown exceeding circumspect, and wary.NATTA.They have us in the wind: and yet ArruntiusCannot contain himself.SATRIUS.Tut, he’s not yetLook’d after; there are others more desiredThat are more silent.NATTA.Here he comes. Away.[Exeunt.]EnterSabinus, ArruntiusandCordus.SABINUS.How is it, that these beagles haunt the houseOf Agrippina?ARRUNTIUS.O, they hunt, they hunt!There is some game here lodged, which they must rouse,To make the great ones sport.CORDUS.Did you observeHow they inveigh’d ’gainst Cæsar?ARRUNTIUS.Ay, baits, baits,For us to bite at: would I have my fleshTorn by the public hook, these qualified hangmenShould be my company.CORDUS.Here comes another.Domitius Aferpasses over the stage.ARRUNTIUS.Ay, there’s a man, Afer the orator!One that hath phrases, figures, and fine flowers,To strew his rhetoric with, and doth make haste,To get him note, or name, by any offerWhere blood or gain be objects; steeps his words,When he would kill, in artificial tears:The crocodile of Tyber! him I love,That man is mine; he hath my heart and voiceWhen I would curse! he, he.SABINUS.Contemn the slaves,Their present lives will be their future graves.[Exeunt.]SCENE IV.—Another Apartment in the same.EnterSilius, Agrippina, NeroandSosia.SILIUS.May’t please your highness not forget yourself;I dare not, with my manners, to attemptYour trouble farther.AGRIPPINA.Farewell, noble Silius!SILIUS.Most royal princess.AGRIPPINA.Sosia stays with us?SILIUS.She is your servant, and doth owe your graceAn honest, but unprofitable love.AGRIPPINA.How can that be, when there’s no gain but virtue’s?SILIUS.You take the moral, not the politic sense.I meant, as she is bold, and free of speech,Earnest to utter what her zealous thoughtTravails withal, in honour of your house;Which act, as it is simply born in her,Partakes of love and honesty; but may,By the over-often, and unseason’d use,Turn to your loss and danger: for your stateIs waited on by envies, as by eyes;And every second guest your tables takeIs a fee’d spy, to observe who goes, who comes;What conference you have, with whom, where, when.What the discourse is, what the looks, the thoughtsOf every person there, they do extract,And make into a substance.AGRIPPINA.Hear me, Silius.Were all Tiberius’ body stuck with eyes,And every wall and hanging in my houseTransparent, AS this lawn I wear, or air;Yea, had Sejanus both his ears as longAs to my inmost closet, I would hateTo whisper any thought, or change an act,To be made Juno’s rival. Virtue’s forcesShew ever noblest in conspicuous courses.SILIUS.’Tis great, and bravely spoken, like the spiritOf Agrippina: yet, your highness knows,There is nor loss nor shame in providence;Few can, what all should do, beware enough.You may perceive with what officious face,Satrius, and Natta, Afer, and the rest.Visit your house, of late, to enquire the secrets;And with what bold and privileged art, they railAgainst Augusta, yea, and at Tiberius;Tell tricks of Livia, and Sejanus; allTo excite, and call your indignation on,That they might hear it at more liberty.AGRIPPINA.You’re too suspicious, Silius.SILIUS.Pray the gods,I be so, Agrippina; but I fearSome subtle practice. They that durst to strikeAt so exampless, and unblamed a life,As that of the renowned Germanicus,Will not sit down with that exploit alone:He threatens many that hath injured one.NERO.’Twere best rip forth their tongues, sear out their eyes.When next they come.SOSIA.A fit reward for spies.EnterDrusus junior.DRUSUS JUNIOR.Hear you the rumour?AGRIPPINA.What?DRUSUS JUNIOR.Drusus is dying.AGRIPPINA.Dying!NERO.That’s strange!AGRIPPINA.You were with him yesternight.DRUSUS JUNIOR.One met Eudemus the physician,Sent for, but now; who thinks he cannot live.SILIUS.Thinks! if it be arrived at that, he knows,Or none.AGRIPPINA.’Tis quick! what should be his disease?SILIUS.Poison, poison-AGRIPPINA.How, Silius!NERO.What’s that?SILIUS.Nay, nothing. There was late a certain blowGiven o’ the face.NERO.Ay, to Sejanus.SILIUS.True!DRUSUS JUNIOR.And what of that?SILIUS.I’m glad I gave it not.NERO.But there is somewhat else?SILIUS.Yes, private meetings,With a great lady [sir], at a physician’s,And a wife turn’d away.NERO.Ha!SILIUS.Toys, mere toys:What wisdom’s now in th’ streets, in the common mouth?DRUSUS JUNIOR.Fears, whisperings, tumults, noise,I know not what: They say the Senate sit.SILIUS.I’ll thither straight;And see what’s in the forge.AGRIPPINA.Good Silius do; Sosia and I will in.SILIUS.Haste you, my lords, ITo visit the sick prince; tender your loves,And sorrows to the people. This Sejanus,Trust my divining soul, hath plots on all:No tree, that stops his prospect, but must fall.[Exeunt.]
EnterSejanus, LiviaandEudemus.
SEJANUS.Physician, thou art worthy of a province.For the great favours done unto our loves;And, but that greatest Livia bears a partIn the requital of thy services,I should alone despair of aught, like means,To give them worthy satisfaction.
LIVIA.Eudemus, I will see it, shall receiveA fit and full reward for his large merit.—But for this potion we intend to Drusus,No more our husband now, whom shall we chooseAs the most apt and able instrument,To minister it to him?
EUDEMUS.I say, Lygdus.
SEJANUS.Lygdus? what’s he?
LIVIA.An eunuch Drusus loves.
EUDEMUS.Ay, and his cup-bearer.
SEJANUS.Name not a second.If Drusus love him, and he have that place,We cannot think a fitter.
EUDEMUS.True, my lord.For free access and trust are two main aids.
SEJANUS.Skilful physician!
LIVIA.But he must be wroughtTo the undertaking, with some labour’d art.
SEJANUS.Is he ambitious?
LIVIA.No.
SEJANUS.Or covetous?
LIVIA.Neither.
EUDEMUS.Yet, gold is a good general charm.
SEJANUS.What is he, then?
LIVIA.Faith, only wanton, light.
SEJANUS.How! is he young and fair?
EUDEMUS.A delicate youth.
SEJANUS.Send him to me, I’ll work him.—Royal lady,Though I have loved you long, and with that heightOf zeal and duty, like the fire, which moreIt mounts it trembles, thinking nought could addUnto the fervour which your eye had kindled;Yet, now I see your wisdom, judgment, strength,Quickness, and will, to apprehend the meansTo your own good and greatness, I protestMyself through rarified, and turn’d all flameIn your affection: such a spirit as yours,Was not created for the idle secondTo a poor flash, as Drusus; but to shineBright as the moon among the lesser lights,And share the sov’reignty of all the world.Then Livia triumphs in her proper sphere,When she and her Sejanus shall divideThe name of Cæsar, and Augusta’ s starBe dimm’d with glory of a brighter beam:When Agrippina’s fires are quite extinct,And the scarce-soon Tiberius borrows allHis little light from us, whose folded armsShall make one perfect orb.
[Knocking within.]
Who’s that! Eudemus, Look.
[ExitEudemus.]
’Tis not Drusus, lady, do not fear.
LIVIA.Not I, my lord: my fear and love of himLeft me at once.
SEJANUS.Illustrious lady, stay—
EUDEMUS.[within.] I’ll tell his lordship.
Re-enterEudemus.
SEJANUS.Who is it, Eudemus?
EUDEMUS.One of your lordship’s servants brings you wordThe emperor hath sent for you.
SEJANUS.O! where is he?With your fair leave, dear princess, I’ll but askA question and return.
[Exit.]
EUDEMUS.Fortunate princess!How are you blest in the fruitionOf this unequall’d man, the soul of Rome,The empire’s life, and voice of Cæsar’s world!
LIVIA.So blessed, my Eudemus, as to knowThe bliss I have, with what I ought to oweThe means that wrought it. How do I look to-day?
EUDEMUS.Excellent clear, believe it. This same fucusWas well laid on.
LIVIA.Methinks ’tis here not white.
EUDEMUS.Lend me your scarlet, lady. ’Tis the sun,Hath giv’n some little taint unto the ceruse;You should have used of the white oil I gave you.Sejanus, for your love! his very nameCommandeth above Cupid or his shafts—
[Paints her cheeks.]
LIVIA.Nay, now you’ve made it worse.
EUDEMUS.I’ll help it straight—And but pronounced, is a sufficient charmAgainst all rumour; and of absolute powerTo satisfy for any lady’s honour.
LIVIA.What do you now, Eudemus?
EUDEMUS.Make a light fucus,To touch you o’er withal.—Honour’d Sejanus!What act, though ne’er so strange and insolent,But that addition will at least bear out,If’t do not expiate?
LIVIA.Here, good physician.
EUDEMUS.I like this study to preserve the loveOf such a man, that comes not every hourTo greet the world.-’Tis now well, lady, you shouldUse of the dentifrice I prescribed you too,To clear your teeth, and the prepared pomatum,To smooth the skin:—A lady cannot beToo curious of her form, that still would holdThe heart of such a person, made her captive,As you have his: who, to endear him moreIn your clear eye, hath put away his wife,The trouble of his bed, and your delights,Fair Apicata, and made spacious roomTo your new pleasures.
LIVIA.Have not we return’dThat with our hate to Drusus, and discoveryOf all his counsels?
EUDEMUS.Yes, and wisely, lady.The ages that succeed, and stand far offTo gaze at your high prudence, shall admire,And reckon it an act without your sex:It hath that rare appearance. Some will thinkYour fortune could not yield a deeper sound,Than mix’d with Drusus; but, when they shall hearThat, and the thunder of Sejanus meet,Sejanus, whose high name doth strike the stars,And rings about the concave; great Sejanus,Whose glories, style, and titles are himself,The often iterating of Sejanus:They then will lose their thoughts, and be ashamedTo take acquaintance of them.
Re-enterSejanus.
SEJANUS.I must makeA rude departure, lady: Cæsar sendsWith all his haste both of command and prayer.Be resolute in our plot; you have my soul,As certain yours as it is my body’s.And, wise physician, so prepare the poison,As you may lay the subtile operationUpon some natural disease of his:Your eunuch send to me. I kiss your hands,Glory of ladies, and commend my loveTo your best faith and memory.
LIVIA.My lord,I shall but change your words. Farewell.Yet, this Remember for your heed, he loves you not;You know what I have told you: his designsAre full of grudge and danger; we must useMore than a common speed.
SEJANUS.Excellent lady,How you do fire my blood!
LIVIA.Well, you must go?The thoughts be best, are least set forth to shew.
[ExitSejanus.]
EUDEMUS.When will you take some physic, lady?
LIVIA.WhenI shall, Eudemus: but let Drusus’ drugBe first prepared.
EUDEMUS.Were Lygdus made, that’s done;I have it ready. And to-morrow morningI’ll send you a perfume, first to resolveAnd procure sweat, and then prepare a bathTo cleanse and clear the cutis; against whenI’ll have an excellent new fucus made,Resistive ’gainst the sun, the rain, or wind,Which you shall lay on with a breath, or oil,As you best like, and last some fourteen hours.This change came timely, lady, for your health,And the restoring your complexion,Which Drusus’ choler had almost burnt up!Wherein your fortune hath prescribed you betterThan art could do.
LIVIA.Thanks, good physician,I’ll use my fortune, you shall see, with reverence.Is my coach ready?
EUDEMUS.It attends your highness.
[Exeunt.]
EnterSejanus.
SEJANUS.If this be not revenge, when I have doneAnd made it perfect, let Egyptian slaves,Parthians, and bare-foot Hebrews brand my face,And print my body full of injuries.Thou lost thyself, child Drusus, when thou thoughtstThou couldst outskip my vengeance; or outstandThe power I had to crush thee into air.Thy follies now shall taste what kind of manThey have provoked, and this thy father’s houseCrack in the flame of my incensed rage,Whose fury shall admit no shame or mean.—Adultery! it is the lightest illI will commit A race of wicked actsShall flow out of my anger, and o’erspreadThe world’s wide face, which no posterityShall e’er approve, nor yet keep silent: thingsThat for their cunning, close, and cruel mark,Thy father would wish his: and shall, perhaps,Carry the empty name, but we the prize.On, then, my soul, and start not in thy course;Though heaven drop sulphur, and hell belch out fire,Laugh at the idle terrors; tell proud Jove,Between his power and thine there is no odds:’Twas only fear first in the world made gods!
EnterTiberius, attended.
TIBERIUS.Is yet Sejanus come?
SEJANUS.He’s here, dread Cæsar.
TIBERIUS.Let all depart that chamber, and the next.
[ExeuntAttendants.]
Sit down, my comfort. When the master princeOf all the world, Sejanus, saith he fears,Is it not fatal?
SEJANUS.Yes, to those are fear’d.
TIBERIUS.And not to him?
SEJANUS.Not, if he wisely turnThat part of fate he holdeth, first on them.
TIBERIUS.That nature, blood, and laws of kind forbid.
SEJANUS.Do policy and state forbid it?
TIBERIUS.No.
SEJANUS.The rest of poor respects, then, let go by;State is enough to make the act just, them guilty.
TIBERIUS.Long hate pursues such acts.
SEJANUS.Whom hatred frights,Let him not dream of sovereignty.
TIBERIUS.Are ritesOf faith, love, piety, to be trod down,Forgotten, and made vain?
SEJANUS.All for a crown.The prince who shames a tyrant’s name to bear,Shall never dare do any thing, but fear;All the command of sceptres quite doth perish,If it begin religious thoughts to cherish:Whole empires fall, sway’d by those nice respects;It is the license of dark deeds protectsEv’n states most hated, when no laws resistThe sword. but that it acteth what it list.
TIBERIUS.Yet so, we may do all things cruelly,Not safely.
SEJANUS.Yes, and do them thoroughly.
TIBERIUS.Knows yet Sejanus whom we point at?
SEJANUS.Ay,Or else my thought, my sense, or both do err:’Tis Agrippina.
TIBERIUS.She, and her proud race.
SEJANUS.Proud! dangerous, Cæsar: for in them apaceThe father’s spirit shoots up. GermanicusLives in their looks, their gait, their form, t’ upbraid usWith his close death, if not revenge the same.
TIBERIUS.The act’s not known.
SEJANUS.Not proved: but whispering FameKnowledge and proof doth to the jealous give,Who, than to fail, would their own thought believe.It is not safe, the children draw long breath,That are provoked by a parent’s death.
TIBERIUS.It is as dangerous to make them hence,If nothing but their birth be their offence.
SEJANUS.Stay, till they strike at Cæsar; then their crimeWill be enough; but late and out of time For him to punish.
TIBERIUS.Do they purpose it?
SEJANUS.You know, sir, thunder speaks not till it hit.Be not secure; none swiftlier are opprest,Than they whom confidence betrays to rest.Let not your daring make your danger such:All power is to be fear’d, where ’tis too much.The youths are of themselves hot, violent,Full of great thought; and that male-spirited dame,Their mother, slacks no means to put them on,By large allowance, popular presentings,Increase of train and state, suing for titles;Hath them commended with like prayers, like vows,To the same gods, with Cæsar: days and nightsShe spends in banquets and ambitious feastsFor the nobility; where Caius Silius,Titius Sabinus, old Arruntius,Asinius Gallus, Furnius, Regulus,And others of that discontented list,Are the prime guests. There, and to these, she tellsWhose niece she was, whose daughter, and whose wife.And then must they compare her with Augusta,Ay, and prefer her too; commend her form,Extol her fruitfulness; at which a showerFalls for the memory of Germanicus,Which they blow over straight with windy praise,And puffing hopes of her aspiring sons;Who, with these hourly ticklings, grow so pleased,And wantonly conceited of themselves,As now, they stick not to believe they’re suchAs these do give them out; and would be thoughtMore than competitors, immediate heirs.Whilst to their thirst of rule, they win the rout(That’s still the friend of novelty) with hopeOf future freedom, which on every changeThat greedily, though emptily expects.Cæsar, ’tis age in all things breeds neglects,And princes that will keep old dignityMust not admit too youthful heirs stand by;Not their own issue; but so darkly setAs shadows are in picture, to give heightAnd lustre to themselves.
TIBERIUS.We will commandTheir rank thoughts down, and with a stricter handThan we have yet put forth; their trains must bate,Their titles, feasts, and factions.
SEJANUS.Or your state.But how, sir, will you work!
TIBERIUS.Confine them.
SEJANUS.No.They are too great, and that too faint a blowTo give them now; it would have serv’d at first,When with the weakest touch their knot had burst.But, now, your care must be, not to detectThe smallest cord, or line of your suspect;For such, who know the weight of prince’s fear,Will, when they find themselves discover’d, rearTheir forces, like seen snakes, that else would lieRoll’d in their circles, close: nought is more high,Daring, or desperate, than offenders found;Where guilt is, rage and courage both abound.The course must be, to let them still swell up,Riot, and surfeit on blind fortune’s cup;Give them more place, more dignities, more style,Call them to court, to senate; in the while,Take from their strength some one or twain, or more,Of the main factors, (it will fright the store,)And, by some by-occasion. Thus, with slightYou shall disarm them first; and they, in nightOf their ambition, not perceive the train,Till in the engine they are caught and slain.
TIBERIUS.We would not kill, if we knew how to save;Yet, than a throne, ’tis cheaper give a grave.Is there no way to bind them by deserts?
SEJANUS.Sir, wolves do change their hair, but not their hearts.While thus your thought unto a mean is tied,You neither dare enough, nor do provide.All modesty is fond: and chiefly whereThe subject is no less compell’d to bear,Than praise his sovereign’s acts.
TIBERIUS.We can no longerKeep on our mask to thee, our dear Sejanus;Thy thoughts are ours, in all, and we but provedTheir voice, in our designs, which by assentingHath more confirm’d us, than if heart’ning JoveHad, from his hundred statues, bid us strike,And at the stroke click’d all his marble thumbs.But who shall first be struck?
SEJANUS.First Caius Silius;He is the most of mark, and most of danger:In power and reputation equal strong,Having commanded an imperial armySeven years together, vanquish’d SacrovirIn Germany, and thence obtain’d to wearThe ornaments triumphal. His steep fall,By how much it doth give the weightier crack,Will send more wounding terror to the rest,Command them stand aloof, and give more wayTo our surprising of the principal.
TIBERIUS.But what, Sabinus?
SEJANUS.Let him grow a while,His fate is not yet ripe: we must not pluckAt all together, lest we catch ourselves.And there’s Arruntius too, he only talks.But Sosia, Silius’ wife, would be wound inNow, for she hath a fury in her breast,More than hell ever knew; and would be sentThither in time. Then is there one CremutiusCordus, a writing fellow, they have gotTo gather notes of the precedent times,And make them into Annals; a most tartAnd bitter spirit, I hear; who, under colourOf praising those, doth tax the present state,Censures the men, the actions, leaves no trick,No practice unexamined, parallelsThe times, the governments; a profest championFor the old liberty-
TIBERIUS.A perishing wretch!As if there were that chaos bred in things,That laws and liberty would not rather chooseTo be quite broken, and ta’en hence by us,Than have the stain to be preserved by such.Have we the means to make these guilty first?
SEJANUS.Trust that to me: let Cæsar, by his powerBut cause a formal meeting of the senate,I will have matter and accusers ready.
TIBERIUS.But how? let us consult.
SEJANUS.We shall misspendThe time of action. Counsels are unfitIn business, where all rest is more perniciousThan rashness can be. Acts of this close kindThrive more by execution than advice.There is no lingering in that work begun,Which cannot praised be, until through done.
TIBERIUS.Our edicts shall forthwith command a court.While I can live, I will prevent earth’s fury:Ἐμοῦ θανόντος γαῖα μιχθήτω πυρι.
[Exit.]
EnterJulius Posthumus.
POSTHUMUS.My lord Sejanus—
SEJANUS.Julius Posthumus!Come with my wish! What news from Agrippina’s?
POSTHUMUS.Faith, none. They all lock up themselves a’ late,Or talk in character; I have not seenA company so changed. Except they hadIntelligence by augury of our practice.—
SEJANUS.When were you there?
POSTHUMUS.Last night.
SEJANUS.And what guests found you?
POSTHUMUS.Sabinus, Silius, the old list, Arruntius, Furmus, and Gallus.
SEJANUS.Would not these talk?
POSTHUMUS.Little:And yet we offer’d choice of argument. Satrius was with me.
SEJANUS.Well: ’tis guilt enoughTheir often meeting. You forgot to extolThe hospitable lady?
POSTHUMUS.No; that trickWas well put home, and had succeeded too,But that Sabinus cough’d a caution out;For she began to swell.
SEJANUS.And may she burst!Julius, I would have you go instantlyUnto the palace of the great Augusta,And, by your kindest friend, get swift access;Acquaint her with these meetings: tell the wordsYou brought me the other day, of Silius,Add somewhat to them. Make her understandThe danger of Sabinus, and the times,Out of his closeness. Give Arruntius’ wordsOf malice against Cæsar; so, to Gallus:But, above all, to Agrippina. Say,As you may truly, that her infinite pride,Propt with the hopes of her too fruitful womb,With popular studies gapes for sovereignty,And threatens Cæsar. Pray Augusta then,That for her own, great Cæsar’s, and the publicsafety, she be pleased to urge these dangers.Cæsar is too secure, he must be told,And best he’ll take it from a mother’s tongue.Alas! what is’t for us to sound, to explore,To watch, oppose, plot, practise, or prevent,If he, for whom it is so strongly labour’d,Shall, out of greatness and free spirit, beSupinely negligent? our city’s nowDivided as in time o’ the civil war,And men forbear not to declare themselvesOf Agrippina’s party. Every dayThe faction multiplies; and will do more,If not resisted: you can best enlarge it,As you find audience. Noble Posthumus,Commend me to your Prisca: and pray her,She will solicit this great business,To earnest and most present execution,With all her utmost credit with Augusta.
POSTHUMUS.I shall not fail in my instructions.
[Exit.]
SEJANUS.This second, from his mother, will well urgeOur late design, and spur on Cæsar’s rage;Which else might grow remiss. The way to putA prince in blood, is to present the shapesOf dangers, greater than they are, like late,Or early shadows; and, sometimes, to feignWhere there are none, only to make him fear?His fear will make him cruel: and once enter’d,He doth not easily learn to stop, or spareWhere he may doubt. This have I made my rule,To thrust Tiberius into tyranny,And make him toil, to turn aside those blocks,Which I alone could not remove with safety,Drusus once gone, Germanicus’ three sonsWould clog my way; whose guards have too much faithTo be corrupted: and their mother knownOf too, too unreproved a chastity,To be attempted, as light Livia was.Work then, my art, on Cæsar’s fears, as theyOn those they fear ’till all my lets be clear’d,And he in ruins of his house, and hateOf all his subjects, bury his own state;When with my peace and safety, I will rise,By making him the public sacrifice.
[Exit.]
EnterSatriusandNatta.
SATRIUS.They’re grown exceeding circumspect, and wary.
NATTA.They have us in the wind: and yet ArruntiusCannot contain himself.
SATRIUS.Tut, he’s not yetLook’d after; there are others more desiredThat are more silent.
NATTA.Here he comes. Away.
[Exeunt.]
EnterSabinus, ArruntiusandCordus.
SABINUS.How is it, that these beagles haunt the houseOf Agrippina?
ARRUNTIUS.O, they hunt, they hunt!There is some game here lodged, which they must rouse,To make the great ones sport.
CORDUS.Did you observeHow they inveigh’d ’gainst Cæsar?
ARRUNTIUS.Ay, baits, baits,For us to bite at: would I have my fleshTorn by the public hook, these qualified hangmenShould be my company.
CORDUS.Here comes another.
Domitius Aferpasses over the stage.
ARRUNTIUS.Ay, there’s a man, Afer the orator!One that hath phrases, figures, and fine flowers,To strew his rhetoric with, and doth make haste,To get him note, or name, by any offerWhere blood or gain be objects; steeps his words,When he would kill, in artificial tears:The crocodile of Tyber! him I love,That man is mine; he hath my heart and voiceWhen I would curse! he, he.
SABINUS.Contemn the slaves,Their present lives will be their future graves.
[Exeunt.]
EnterSilius, Agrippina, NeroandSosia.
SILIUS.May’t please your highness not forget yourself;I dare not, with my manners, to attemptYour trouble farther.
AGRIPPINA.Farewell, noble Silius!
SILIUS.Most royal princess.
AGRIPPINA.Sosia stays with us?
SILIUS.She is your servant, and doth owe your graceAn honest, but unprofitable love.
AGRIPPINA.How can that be, when there’s no gain but virtue’s?
SILIUS.You take the moral, not the politic sense.I meant, as she is bold, and free of speech,Earnest to utter what her zealous thoughtTravails withal, in honour of your house;Which act, as it is simply born in her,Partakes of love and honesty; but may,By the over-often, and unseason’d use,Turn to your loss and danger: for your stateIs waited on by envies, as by eyes;And every second guest your tables takeIs a fee’d spy, to observe who goes, who comes;What conference you have, with whom, where, when.What the discourse is, what the looks, the thoughtsOf every person there, they do extract,And make into a substance.
AGRIPPINA.Hear me, Silius.Were all Tiberius’ body stuck with eyes,And every wall and hanging in my houseTransparent, AS this lawn I wear, or air;Yea, had Sejanus both his ears as longAs to my inmost closet, I would hateTo whisper any thought, or change an act,To be made Juno’s rival. Virtue’s forcesShew ever noblest in conspicuous courses.
SILIUS.’Tis great, and bravely spoken, like the spiritOf Agrippina: yet, your highness knows,There is nor loss nor shame in providence;Few can, what all should do, beware enough.You may perceive with what officious face,Satrius, and Natta, Afer, and the rest.Visit your house, of late, to enquire the secrets;And with what bold and privileged art, they railAgainst Augusta, yea, and at Tiberius;Tell tricks of Livia, and Sejanus; allTo excite, and call your indignation on,That they might hear it at more liberty.
AGRIPPINA.You’re too suspicious, Silius.
SILIUS.Pray the gods,I be so, Agrippina; but I fearSome subtle practice. They that durst to strikeAt so exampless, and unblamed a life,As that of the renowned Germanicus,Will not sit down with that exploit alone:He threatens many that hath injured one.
NERO.’Twere best rip forth their tongues, sear out their eyes.When next they come.
SOSIA.A fit reward for spies.
EnterDrusus junior.
DRUSUS JUNIOR.Hear you the rumour?
AGRIPPINA.What?
DRUSUS JUNIOR.Drusus is dying.
AGRIPPINA.Dying!
NERO.That’s strange!
AGRIPPINA.You were with him yesternight.
DRUSUS JUNIOR.One met Eudemus the physician,Sent for, but now; who thinks he cannot live.
SILIUS.Thinks! if it be arrived at that, he knows,Or none.
AGRIPPINA.’Tis quick! what should be his disease?
SILIUS.Poison, poison-
AGRIPPINA.How, Silius!
NERO.What’s that?
SILIUS.Nay, nothing. There was late a certain blowGiven o’ the face.
NERO.Ay, to Sejanus.
SILIUS.True!
DRUSUS JUNIOR.And what of that?
SILIUS.I’m glad I gave it not.
NERO.But there is somewhat else?
SILIUS.Yes, private meetings,With a great lady [sir], at a physician’s,And a wife turn’d away.
NERO.Ha!
SILIUS.Toys, mere toys:What wisdom’s now in th’ streets, in the common mouth?
DRUSUS JUNIOR.Fears, whisperings, tumults, noise,I know not what: They say the Senate sit.
SILIUS.I’ll thither straight;And see what’s in the forge.
AGRIPPINA.Good Silius do; Sosia and I will in.
SILIUS.Haste you, my lords, ITo visit the sick prince; tender your loves,And sorrows to the people. This Sejanus,Trust my divining soul, hath plots on all:No tree, that stops his prospect, but must fall.
[Exeunt.]