ACT FOURTH

[He casts himself down again on the couch, and turns his face away.

What seest thou?

Julian.

I see nothing.

Maximus.

And yet he is here.

[He waves the wand again.

By Solomon’s seal, by the eye in the triangle—I conjure thee—come to sight!——

What seest thou now?

Julian.

Nothing, nothing!

Maximus.

[Waving his wand once more.] Come forth, thou——!

[He stops suddenly, utters a shriek, and springs up from the table.

Ah! lightning in the night! I see it;—all art is in vain.

Julian.

[Rising.] Why? Speak, speak!

Maximus.

The third is not yet among the shades.

Julian.

He lives?

Maximus.

Yes, he lives.

Julian.

Andhere, sayest thou——!

Maximus.

Here, or there, or among the unborn;—I know not——

Julian.

[Rushing at him.] Thou liest! Thou art deceiving me!Here, here thou saidst——!

Maximus.

Let go my cloak!

Julian.

Then it is thou, or I! But which of us?

Maximus.

Let go my cloak, Julian!

Julian.

Which of us? Which? All hangs on that!

Maximus.

Thou knowest more than I. What said the voice in the light?

Julian.

The voice in the light——!

[With a cry.] The empire! The empire? To found the empire——!

Maximus.

The third empire!

Julian.

No; a thousand times no! Away, corrupter! I renounce thee and all thy works——

Maximus.

And necessity?

Julian.

I defy necessity! I will not serve it! I am free, free, free![10]

[A noise outside; the dancing-girls and flute-players take to flight.

Maximus.

[Listening towards the right.] What is this alarm and shrieking——?

Julian.

Strange men are forcing their way into the house——

Maximus.

They are maltreating your servants; they will murder us!

Julian.

Fear not; us no one can hurt.

The Chamberlain Eutherius.

[Comes hastily across the court.] My lord, my lord!

Julian.

What is that noise without?

Eutherius.

Strange men have surrounded the house; they have set a watch at all the doors; they are making their way in—almost by force. Here they come, my lord! Here they are!

TheQuaestor Leontes, with a large and richly-attired retinue, enters from the right.

Leontes.

Pardon, a thousand pardons, most gracious lord——

Julian.

[Recoiling a step.] What do I see!

Leontes.

Your servants would have hindered me from entering; and as my errand was of the utmost moment——

Julian.

You here, in Ephesus, my excellent Leontes!

Leontes.

I have travelled night and day, as the Emperor’s envoy.

Julian.

[Turning pale.] To me? What would the Emperor with me? I swear I am unwitting of any crime. I am sick, Leontes! This man—[Pointing toMaximus]—attends me as my physician.

Leontes.

Permit me, my gracious lord——!

Julian.

Why do you force your way into my house? What is the Emperor’s will?

Leontes.

His will is to gladden you, my lord, by a great and weighty announcement.

Julian.

I pray you, let me know what announcement you bring.

Leontes.

[Kneels.] My most noble lord,—with praise to your good fortune and my own, I hail you Caesar.

The Quaestor’s Followers.

Long live Julian Caesar!

Maximus.

Caesar!

Julian.

[Retreating, with an exclamation.] Caesar! Stand up, Leontes! What mad words are these!

Leontes.

I do but deliver the Emperor’s commands.

Julian.

I—I Caesar!—Ah, where is Gallus?

Leontes.

Oh, do not ask me.

Julian.

Where is Gallus? Tell me, I conjure you,—where is Gallus?

Leontes.

[Standing up.] Gallus Caesar is with his beloved wife.

Julian.

Dead?

Leontes.

In bliss, with his wife.

Julian.

Dead! dead! Gallus dead! Dead in the midst of his triumphal progress! But when,—and where?

Leontes.

Oh, my dear lord, spare me——

Gregory of Nazianzus.

[Struggling with the guards at the door.] I must go to him! Aside, I say!—Julian!

Julian.

Gregory, brother,—after all, you come again?

Gregory.

Is it true, what rumour is scattering like a storm of arrows over the city?

Julian.

I am myself transfixed by one of its arrows. Dare I believe in this blending of good hap and of ill?

Gregory.

For Christ’s sake, bid the tempter avaunt!

Julian.

The Emperor’s commands, Gregory!

Gregory.

You will trample on your brother’s bloody corpse——

Julian.

Bloody——?

Gregory.

Know you it not? Gallus Caesar was murdered.

Julian.

[Clasping his hands.] Murdered?

Leontes.

Ah, who is this audacious——?

Julian.

Murdered? Murdered? [ToLeontes.] Tell me he lies!

Leontes.

Gallus Caesar has fallen through his own misdeeds.

Julian.

Murdered!—Who murdered him?

Leontes.

What has occurred was inevitable, my noble lord! Gallus Caesar madly misused his power here in the East. He was no longer content with his rank as Caesar. His conduct, both in Constantinople and elsewhere on his progress, showed clearly what was in his mind.

Julian.

’Tis not his crime I would know, but the rest.

Leontes.

Oh, let me spare a brother’s ears.

Julian.

A brother’s ears can bear what a son’s ears have borne. Who killed him?

Leontes.

The tribune Scudilo, who escorted him, thought it advisable to have him executed.

Julian.

Where? Not in Rome?

Leontes.

No, my lord; it happened on the journey thither,—in the city of Pola, in Illyria.

Julian.

[Bowing himself.] The Emperor is great and righteous.—The last of the race, Gregory!—The Emperor Constantius is great.

Leontes.

[Taking a purple robe from one of his attendants.] Noble Caesar, deign to array yourself——

Julian.

Red! Away with it! Was it this he wore at Pola——?

Leontes.

This comes fresh from Sidon.

Julian.

[With a look atMaximus.] From Sidon! The purple robe——!

Maximus.

Apollinaris’s vision!

Gregory.

Julian! Julian!

Leontes.

See, this is sent to you by your kinsman, the Emperor. He bids me tell you that, childless as he is, he looks to you to heal this the deepest wound of his life. He wishes to see you in Rome. Afterwards, it is his will that you should go, as Caesar, to Gaul. The border tribes of the Alemanni have passed the Rhine, and made a dangerous inroad into the empire. He builds securely on the success of your campaign against the barbarians. Certain things have been revealed to him in dreams, and his last word to me at my departure was that he was assured you would succeed in establishing the empire.

Julian.

Establish the empire! The voice in the light, Maximus!

Maximus.

Sign against sign.

Leontes.

How, noble Caesar?

Julian.

I also have been forewarned of certain things; but this——

Gregory.

Say no, Julian! ’Tis the wings of destruction they would fasten on your shoulders.

Leontes.

Who are you, that defy the Emperor?

Gregory.

My name is Gregory; I am the son of the Bishop of Nazianzus;—do with me what you will.

Julian.

He is my friend and brother; let no one touch him!

[A great crowd has meanwhile filled the outer court.

Basil of Caesarea.

[Making his way through the crowd.] Take not the purple, Julian!

Julian.

You, too, my faithful Basil.

Basil.

Take it not! For the Lord God’s sake——

Julian.

What terrifies you so in this?

Basil.

The horrors that will follow.

Julian.

Through me shall the empire be established.

Basil.

Christ’s empire?

Julian.

The Emperor’s great and beautiful empire.

Basil.

Was that the empire which shone before your eyes when, as a child, you preached the word beside the Cappadocian martyrs’ graves? Was that the empire you set forth from Constantinople to establish on earth? Was that the empire——?

Julian.

Mists, mists;—all that lies behind me like a wild dream.

Basil.

’Twere better you yourself should be at the bottom of the sea, with a mill-stone about your neck, than that that dream should lie behind you.—— See you not the work of the tempter? All the glory of the world is laid at your feet.

Maximus.

Sign against sign, Caesar!

Julian.

One word, Leontes!

[Seizing his hand and drawing him aside.

Whither do you lead me?

Leontes.

To Rome, my lord.

Julian.

That is not what I ask. Whither do you lead me: to fortune and power,—or to the shambles?

Leontes.

Oh, my lord, so odious a suspicion——

Julian.

My brother’s body can scarce have mouldered yet.

Leontes.

I can silence all doubt. [Taking out a paper.] This letter from the Emperor, which I had thought to hand you in private——

Julian.

A letter? What does he write?——

[He opens the paper and reads.

Ah, Helena! Oh, Leontes! Helena,—Helena to me!

Leontes.

The Emperor gives her to you, my lord! He gives you his beloved sister, for whom Gallus Caesar begged in vain.

Julian.

Helena to me! The unattainable attained!—But she, Leontes——?

Leontes.

At my departure he took the Princess by the hand and led her to me. A flush of maiden blood swept over her lovely cheeks, she cast down her eyes, and said: “Greet my dear kinsman, and let him know that he has ever been the man whom——”

Julian.

Go on, Leontes!

Leontes.

These words were all she spoke, the modest and pure woman.

Julian.

The pure woman!—How marvellously is all fulfilled!

[He calls loudly.

Robe me in the purple!

Maximus.

You have chosen?

Julian.

Chosen, Maximus!

Maximus.

Chosen, in spite of sign against sign?

Julian.

Here is no sign against sign. Maximus, Maximus, seer though you be, you have been blind. Robe me in the purple!

[TheQuaestor Leontesattires him in the mantle.

Basil.

It is done!

Maximus.

[Murmurs to himself with upstretched hands.] Light and victory be to him whowills!

Leontes.

And now to the Governor’s palace; the people would fain greet Caesar.

Julian.

Caesar, in his exaltation, remains what he was,—the poor lover of wisdom, who owes all to the Emperor’s grace.—To the Governor’s palace, my friends!

Voices among the Quaestor’s Retinue.

Room, room for Julian Caesar!

[All go out through the court, amid the acclamations of the crowd; onlyGregoryandBasilremain behind.

Basil.

Gregory? Whatever comes of this—let us hold together.

Gregory.

Here is my hand.

ACT FOURTH

At Lutetia, in Gaul. A hall in Caesar’s palace, “The Warm Baths,” outside the city. Entrance, door in the back; to the right, another smaller door; in front, on the left, is a window with curtains.

The Princess Helena, richly attired, with pearls in her hair, sits in an arm-chair, and looks out of the window. Her slave,Myrrha, stands opposite her, and holds the curtain aside.

The Princess Helena.

What a multitude! The whole city streams out to meet them.—Hark! Myrrha,—do you not hear flutes and drums?

Myrrha.

Yes, I think I can hear——

Helena.

You lie! The noise is too great; you can hear nothing. [Springing up.] Oh, this torturing uncertainty! Not to know whether he comes as a conqueror or as a fugitive.

Myrrha.

Fear not, my noble mistress; Caesar has always returned a conqueror.

Helena.

Ay, hitherto; after all his lesser encounters. But this time, Myrrha! This great, fearful battle. All these conflicting rumours. If Caesar were victorious, why should he have sent that letter to the city magistrates, forbidding them to meet him with shows of honour outside the gates?

Myrrha.

Oh, you know well, my lady, how little your noble husband cares for such things.

Helena.

Yes, yes, that is true. And had he been defeated—they must have known it in Rome—would the Emperor have sent us this envoy who is to arrive to-day, and whose courier has brought me all these rich ornaments and gifts? Ah, Eutherius! Well? Well?

The Chamberlain Eutherius.

[From the back.] My Princess, it is impossible to obtain any trustworthy tidings——

Helena.

Impossible? You are deceiving me! The soldiers themselves must surely know——

Eutherius.

They are only barbarian auxiliaries who are coming in—Batavians and others—and they know nothing.

Helena.

[Wringing her hands.] Oh, have I deserved thistorture? Sweet, holy Christ, have I not called upon Thee day and night——

[She listens and screams out.

Ah, my Julian! I hear him!—Julian; my beloved!

Julian Caesar.

[In dusty armour, enters hastily by the back.] Helena!

Eutherius.

My noble Caesar!

Julian.

[Vehemently embracing the Princess.] Helena!—Bar all the doors, Eutherius!

Helena.

Defeated! Pursued!

Eutherius.

My lord!

Julian.

Double guards at all the doors; let no one pass! Tell me: has any emissary arrived from the Emperor?

Eutherius.

No, my lord; but one is expected.

Julian.

Go, go! [To the Slave.] Away with you.

[EutheriusandMyrrhago out by the back.

Helena.

[Sinking into the arm-chair.] Then all is over with us?

Julian.

[Drawing the curtains together.] Who knows? If we are cautious, the storm may yet——

Helena.

After such a defeat——?

Julian.

Defeat? What are you talking of, my beloved?

Helena.

Have not the Alemanni defeated you?

Julian.

If they had, you would not have seen me alive.

Helena.

[Springing up.] Then, Lord of Heaven, what has happened?

Julian.

[Softly.] The worst, Helena;—a stupendous victory.

Helena.

Victory, you say! A stupendous victory? You have conquered, and yet——?

Julian.

You know not how I stand. You see only the gilded outside of all a Caesar’s misery.

Helena.

Julian!

Julian.

Can you blame me for having hidden it from you? Did not both duty and shame constrain me——? Ah, what isthis? What a change——!

Helena.

What? What?

Julian.

How these months have changed you! Helena, you have been ill?

Helena.

No, no; but tell me——

Julian.

Yes, you have been ill! You must be ill now;—your fever-flushed temples, the blue rings round your eyes——

Helena.

Oh, ’tis nothing, my beloved! Do not look at me, Julian! ’Tis only anxiety and wakeful nights on your account; ardent prayers to the Blessed One on the cross——

Julian.

Spare yourself, my treasure; it is more than doubtful whether such zeal is of any avail.

Helena.

Fie; you speak impiously.—But tell me of your own affairs, Julian! I implore you, hide nothing from me.

Julian.

Nothingcannow be hidden. Since the Empress’s death, I have taken no single step here inGaul that has not been evilly interpreted at court. If I went cautiously to work with the Alemanni, I was called timorous or inert. They laughed at the philosopher, ill at ease in his coat of mail. If I gained an advantage over the barbarians, I was told that I ought to have done more.

Helena.

But all your friends in the army——

Julian.

Who, think you, are my friends in the army? I have not one, my beloved Helena! Yes, one single man—the knight Sallust, of Perusia, to whom, during our marriage feast at Milan, I had to refuse a slight request. He magnanimously came to me in the camp, appealed to our old friendship in Athens, and begged leave to stand at my side in all dangers. But what does Sallust count for at the imperial court? He is one of those whom they call heathens. He can be of no help to me.—And the others! Arbetio, the tribune, who left me in the lurch when I was blockaded by the Senones! Old Severus, burdened with the sense of his own impotence, yet unable to reconcile himself to my new strategy! Or think you I can depend on Florentius, the captain of the Praetorians? I tell you, that turbulent man is filled with the most unbridled ambitions.

Helena.

Ah, Julian!

Julian.

[Pacing up and down.] If I could but come to the bottom of their intrigues! Every week secret letters pass between the camp and Rome. Everything I do is set down and distorted. No slave in theempire is so fettered as Caesar. Would you believe it, Helena, even my cook has to abide by a bill of fare sent to him by the Emperor; I may not alter it, either by adding or countermanding a single dish!

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