Cethegus took a deep draught from the cup which stood before him, which
was made of chased gold and shaped like a tower.
He was considerably changed since that last night in Rome. The wrinkles
on his temples were more sharply defined; his lip more firmly closed;
his under-lip protruded still farther than before; and the ironical
smile, which used to make him look younger and handsomer, very rarely
played round the corners of his mouth. His eyes were generally half
shut; only sometimes did he raise the lids to dart a glance, which,
always dreaded by those upon whom it fell, now appeared more cruel and
piercing than ever.
He seemed to have become, not older, but harsher, more inexorable, and
more merciless.
"You know," he began, "all that happened until the fall of Rome. In one
night I lost the city, the Capitol, my house, and my Caesar! The crash
of the fall of that image pained me more than the arrows of the Goths,
or even of the Romans. As I was about to punish the destroyer of my
Caesar, my senses forsook me. I fell at the foot of the statue of
Jupiter. I was restored to my senses by the cool breeze that blows over
the Tiber, and which once before, twenty years ago, had restored a
wounded man."
He paused.
"Of that another time, perhaps--perhaps never," he said, hastily
cutting short a question from his host. "This time Lucius Licinius--his
brother died for Rome and for me--and the faithful Moor, who had
escaped the Black Earl as if by miracle, saved my life. Cast out of the
front entrance by Teja--who, in his eagerness to murder the master, had
no time to murder the slave--Syphax hurried to the back-door. There he
met Lucius Licinius, who had only just then reached my house by a
side-street. Together they followed the trace of my blood to the hall
of the Jupiter. There they found me senseless, and had just time to
lower me from the window, like a piece of baggage, into the court.
Syphax jumped down and received me from the hands of the tribune, who
then quickly followed, and they hurried with me to the river.
"There very few people were to be seen, for all the Goths and friendly
Romans had followed the King to the Capitol to help to extinguish the
flames. Totila had expressly ordered--I hope to his destruction!--that
all non-combatants should be spared and left unmolested. So my bearers
were allowed to pass everywhere. It was thought that they carried a
dead man. And they themselves, for some time, thought so too. In the
river they found an empty fishing-boat full of nets. They laid me in
it. Syphax threw my bloody mantle, with the purple hem of the 'princeps
senatus,' upon the shore, in order to mislead my enemies. They covered
me with sail-cloth and nets, and rowed down the river, through the
still burning boats. When we had passed them, I came to myself. Syphax
bathed my face with the water of the Tiber. My first glance fell on the
still burning Capitol. They told me that my first exclamation was,
'Turn back! the Capitol!' And they were obliged to keep me quiet by
force. My first clear thought was naturally: 'To return; to take
revenge; to re-conquer Rome.' In the harbour of Portus we met with an
Italian ship laden with grain. There were seven rowers in it. My
companions approached it to beg for wine and bread, for they also were
wounded and exhausted. The rowers recognised me. One of them wanted to
take me prisoner and deliver me up to the Goths, sure of a rich reward.
But the other six had served under me at the Mausoleum. I had nourished
them for years. They slew the man who wanted to betray me, and promised
Lucius that they would save me if it were possible. They hid me in
heaps of grain while we passed the Gothic guardships which watched at
the entrance of the harbour, Lucius and Syphax put on the dress of
sailors, and rowed with the others. Thus we escaped. But while on board
this vessel I was dangerously ill from my wounds. Only the ceaseless
care of Syphax and the sea-air saved me. For days, they say, I only
reiterated the words, 'Rome, Capitol, Caesar!' When we landed at
Panormus, in Sicily, under the protection of the Byzantines, I rapidly
recovered. My old friend Cyprianus, who had admitted me into
Theodoric's palace when I was made Prefect, received me at Panormus as
captain of the harbour. Scarcely recovered, I went to Asia Minor--or,
as you say, Asiana--to my estates; you know that I had splendid
possessions at Sardes, Philadelphia, and Tralles----"
"You have them no longer--the columned villas?"
"I sold them all, for I was obliged at once to find the means of
engaging fresh mercenaries, in order to liberate Rome and Italy."
"Tenax propositi!" cried Procopius, amazed. "You have not, even now,
given up hope?"
"Can I give up myself? I have sent Licinius to enlist a wild and savage
race, the Longobardians."
"God protect your Italy if _they_ ever set foot in it."
"I have also succeeded in winning the Empress to my cause, and by her
means the propositions of peace made by Cassiodorus were refused at the
last moment. For Rome must be freed from the barbarians! But when shall
I find means to move this lazy colossus, Justinian? When will fate call
me to my battle-field--Italia?"
At this moment Syphax entered the room. He brought Cethegus a message
from the Empress. It ran:
"To the Jupiter of the Capitol. Do not leave your house to-morrow until
I call you.--Theodora."
On the next day the Emperor Justinian was standing buried in deep
reflection before the tall golden crucifix in his room. The expression
of his face was very grave, but without a trace of alarm or doubt.
Quiet decision lay upon his features, which, else not handsome or
noble, at this moment betrayed mental power and superiority. He lifted
his eyes almost threateningly to the crucifix.
"God of the Cross," he said, "Thou puttest Thy faithful servant to a
hard proof! It seems to me that I have deserved better. Thou knowest
all that I have done to the honour of Thy name! Why do not Thy strokes
fall upon Thine enemies, the heathens and barbarians? Why not?"
He was interrupted in his soliloquy by the entrance of the chamberlains
and wardrobe-keepers.
Justinian exchanged his morning garment for the robes of state. His
slaves served him upon their knees.
He apparelled himself in a tunic of white silk, reaching to the knees,
embroidered with gold on both sides, and confined by a purple girdle.
The tightly-fitting hose were also of silk of the same colour. His
slaves threw over his shoulders a splendid mantle of a lighter shade of
purple, with a broad hem of gold thread, upon which red circles and
symbolic animal-forms, embroidered in green silk, alternated with each
other. But the pearls and precious stones which were lavishly strewed
over it, rendered the design almost invisible, and made the mantle so
heavy, that the assistance of the train-bearer must have been indeed a
welcome relief.
On each of his arms the Emperor wore three broad golden bracelets. The
wide crown was made of massive gold, arched over with two rows of
pearls. His mantle was fastened on the shoulder with a costly brooch of
large precious stones.
The sceptre-keeper put into the Emperor's hand a golden staff the
length of a man, at the top of which was a globe made out of a single
large emerald, and surmounted with a golden cross.
The Emperor grasped it firmly and rose from his seat.
A slave offered him the thick-soled buskins which he usually wore, in
order to increase his height.
"No; to-day I need no buskins," said Justinian, and left the room.
Down the Stairs of the Lions, so called from the twenty-four immense
marble lions which guarded the twelve steps, and which had been brought
from Carthage by Belisarius, the Emperor descended to a lower story,
and entered the Hall of Jerusalem.
This hall derived its name from the porphyry columns, the onyx vases,
the golden tables and the numerous golden vessels which, arranged on
pedestals and along the walls, were said to have formerly decorated the
Temple of Jerusalem. These treasures had been taken to Rome by Titus,
after the destruction of Jerusalem. From Rome the Sea-king Geiseric had
taken them on his dragon-ships, together with the Empress Eudoxia, to
his capital, Carthage. And now Belisarius had brought them from
Carthage to the Emperor of the East.
The cupola of the hall, representing the firmament, was wrought in
mosaic. Costly blue stones formed the ground-work, in which was inlaid,
besides the sun, the moon, the eye of God, the lamb, the fish, the
birds, the palm, the vine, the unicorn, and many other symbols of
Christianity, the whole zodiac and innumerable stars of massive gold.
The cost of the cupola alone was estimated as high as the whole income
of the taxes on property in all the Empire for forty-five years.
Opposite the three great arches of the entrance, which were closed by
curtains--it was the only entrance to the hall--and were guarded
outside by a threefold line of imperial body-guards--the "Golden
Shields"--stood, at the bottom of the semicircular hall, the elevated
throne of the Emperor, and below it on the left the seat of the
Empress.
When Justinian entered the hall with a numerous retinue of palace
officials, all the assembly, consisting of the highest dignitaries of
the realm, threw themselves upon their faces in humble prostration.
The Empress also rose, bowed deeply, and crossed her arms upon her
bosom. Her dress was exactly similar to that of her husband. Her white
stola was also covered by a purple mantle, but without hem. She carried
a very short sceptre of ivory.
The Emperor cast a slight but contemptuous glance at the patriarchs,
archbishops, bishops, patricians and senators, who, above thirty in
number, occupied a row of gilded chairs set in a semicircle and
provided with cushions. He then passed through the middle of the hall
and ascended his throne with a quick firm step. Twelve of the chief
officers of the palace stood upon the steps of the two thrones, holding
white wands in their hands. A blast of trumpets gave the signal to the
kneeling assembly to rise.
"Reverend bishops and worthy senators," began the Emperor, "we have
called you together, to ask your advice in an affair of great moment.
But why is our Magister Militum per Orientum, Narses, absent?"
"He returned only yesterday from Persia--he is sick and confined to
bed," answered the usher.
"Where is our treasurer of the Sacri Palatii, Trebonianus?"
"He has not yet returned from his embassy to Berytus about the code."
"Where is Belisarius, our Magister Militum per Orientum extra Ordinem?"
"He does not reside in Byzantium, but in Asia, in the Red House at
Sycae."
"He keeps too far apart in the Red House. It displeases us. Why does he
avoid our presence?"
"He could not be found."
"Not even in the house of his freedman, Photius?"
"He has gone hunting to try the Persian hunting-leopards," said Leo,
the assistant-huntsman.
"He is never to be found when wanted, and is always present when not
wanted. I am not content with Belisarius.--Hear now what has lately
been communicated to me by letter; afterwards you shall hear the report
of the envoys themselves. You know that we have allowed the war in
Italy to die away--for we had other occupation for our generals. You
know that the barbarian King sued for peace and the quiet possession of
Italy. We rejected it at that time; awaiting more convenient
circumstances. The Goth has answered, not in words, but by very
insolent deeds. No one in Byzantium knows of it--we kept the news to
ourselves, thinking it impossible, or at least exaggerated. But we find
that it is true; and now you shall hear it and advise upon it. The
barbarian King has sent a fleet and an army to Dalmatia with great
haste and secrecy. The fleet entered the harbour of Muicurum near
Salona; the army landed and carried the fortress by storm. In a similar
way the fleet surprised the coast-town of Laureata. Claudianus, our
governor at Salona, sent numerous and strongly-manned vessels to retake
the town from the Goths. But a naval combat took place, and the Goth,
Duke Guntharis, beat our Squadron so thoroughly that he made prizes of
all the vessels without exception, and carried them victoriously into
the harbour of Laureata. Further, the Gothic King equipped a second
fleet of four hundred large ships at Centumcellae. It was formed for the
most part of Byzantine vessels, which, sent from the East to Sicily to
reinforce Belisarius, in ignorance that the Italian harbours were again
in possession of the Goths, had been taken by a Gothic earl, Grippa,
with all their crews and freights. The goal of this second fleet was
unknown. But suddenly the barbarian King himself appeared with the
fleet before Regium, the fortress in the extreme southern part of
Bruttia, which place we had won on our first landing in Italy, and had
not since lost. After a brave resistance, the garrison of Herulians and
Massagetae were forced to capitulate. But the tyrant Totila sailed
immediately to Sicily, to wrest from us that earliest of Belisarius's
conquests. He beat the Roman governor Domnentiolus, who met him in the
open field, and in a short time took possession of the whole island,
with the exception of Messana, Panormus and Syracusae, which were
enabled to hold out by reason of their formidable fortifications. A
fleet which I sent to attempt the reconquest of Sicily was dispersed by
a storm. A second was driven by the north-west wind to the
Peloponnesus. At the same time a third fleet of triremes, equipped by
this indefatigable King and commanded by Earl Haduswinth, sailed for
Corsica and Sardinia. The first of these islands presently fell to the
Goths, after the imperial garrison of the capital city of Alexia had
been beaten before the walls. The rich Corsican Furius Ahalla, to whom
the greater part of the island belongs, was absent in India. But his
stewards and tenants had been ordered, in case of a landing of the
Goths, in nowise to oppose them, but to aid them to the best of their
power. From Corsica the barbarians turned to Sardinia. Here, near
Karalis, they beat the troops which our magister militum had sent from
Africa to conquer the island, and took Karalis as well as Sulci, Castra
Trajani and Turres. The Goths then settled down in both islands and
treated them as permanently-acquired dependencies of the Gothic
kingdom, placing Gothic commanders in all the towns, and raising taxes
according to Gothic law. Strange to say, these taxes are far less heavy
than ours, and the inhabitants shamelessly declare that they would
rather pay the barbarians fifty than ninety to us. But all this was not
enough. Sailing to the north-east from Sicily, the tyrant Totila united
his squadron with a fourth fleet, under Earl Teja, off Hydrus. Part of
this united fleet, under Earl Thorismuth, sailed to Corcyra, took
possession of that island, and thence conquered all the surrounding
islands. But not yet enough. The tyrant Totila and Earl Teja already
attack the mainland of our Empire."
A murmur of terror interrupted the august speaker.
Justinian resumed in an angry voice:
"They have landed in the harbour of Epirus vetus, carried the towns
Nicopolis and Anchisus, south-west of the ancient Dodona, and taken a
great many of our ships along the coast. All this may excite your
indignation against the insolence of these barbarians; but you have now
to hear what will move you in a different way. Briefly, according to
reports which reached me yesterday, it is certain that the Goths are in
full march upon Byzantium itself!"
At this some of the senators sprang to their feet.
"They intend a double attack. Their united fleet, commanded by Duke
Guntharis, Earls Markja, Grippa, and Thorismuth, has beaten, in a
combat of two days' duration, the fleet which protected our island
provinces, and has driven it into the straits of Sestos and Abydos.
Their army, under Totila and Teja, is marching across Thessaly by way
of Dodona against Macedonia. Thessalonica is already threatened. Earl
Teja has razed to the ground the 'New Wall' which we had there erected.
The road to Byzantium is open. And no army stands between us and the
barbarians. All our troops are on the Persian frontier. And now listen
to what the Goth proposes. Fortunately God has befooled and blinded him
to our weakness. He again offers us peace under the former conditions,
with the one exception that he now intends to keep possession of
Sicily. But he will evacuate all his other conquests if we will
acknowledge his rule in Italy. As I had no means, neither fleets nor
cohorts, to stop his victorious course, I have, for the present,
demanded an armistice. This he has agreed to, on condition that
afterwards peace is to be concluded on the former conditions. I have
agreed to this----"
And, pausing, the Emperor cast a searching glance at the assembly, and
looked askance at the Empress.
The assembly was evidently relieved. The Empress closed her eyes in
order to conceal their expression. Her small hand grasped convulsively
the arm of her throne.
"But I agreed to it with the reservation that I should first hear the
opinion of my wife, who has lately been an advocate for peace, and that
also of my wise senate. I added that I myself was inclined to peace."
All present looked more at ease.
"And I believed that I could tell beforehand what would be the decision
of my counsellors. Upon this understanding, the horsemen of Earl Teja
unwillingly halted at Thessalonica; unfortunately they had already
taken prisoner the bishop of that city. But they have sent him here
with other prisoners, carrying messages and letters--you shall hear
them and then decide. Reflect that if we refuse to conclude a peace,
the barbarians will soon stand before our gates, and that we are only
asked to yield that which the Empire has given up long ago, and which
Belisarius in two campaigns failed to reconquer--Italia! Let the envoys
approach."
Through the arches of the entrance the body-guard now led in several
men, in clerical, official, and military costume. Trembling and
sighing, they threw themselves at the feet of Justinian. Even tears
were not wanting.
At a sign from the Emperor they rose again, and stood before the steps
of the throne.
"Your petitions and lamentations," said the Emperor, "I received
yesterday. Protonotary, now read to us the letter from the Bishop of
Nicopolis and the wounded Governor of Illyricum--since then the latter
has succumbed to his wounds."
The protonotary read:
"To Justinianus, the unconquerable Emperor of the Romani, Dorotheos,
Bishop of Nicopolis, and Nazares, Governor of Illyricum. The place
whence we write these words will be the best proof of their gravity. We
write on board the royal barge of the Gothic King, the _Italia_. When
you read these words, you will have already learned the defeat of the
fleet, the loss of the islands, the storming of the 'New Wall,' and the
destruction of the army of Illyricum. Quicker than the messengers and
the fugitives from these battles, have the Gothic pursuers reached us.
The Gothic King has conquered and spared Nicopolis. Earl Teja has
conquered and burnt Anchisus. I, Nazares, have served in the army for
thirty years--and never have I seen such an attack as that in which
Earl Teja overthrew me at the gates of Anchisus. They are irresistible,
these Goths! Their horsemen sweep the country from Thessalonica to
Philippi. The Goths in the heart of Illyricum! That has not been heard
of for sixty years. And the King has sworn to return every year until
he has peace--or Byzantium! Since he won Corcyra and the Sybotes, he
stands upon the bridge of your Empire. Therefore, as God has touched
the heart of this King, as he offers peace at a moderate price--the
price of what he has actually gained--we beseech you, in the name of
your trembling subjects, and of your smoking towns, to conclude a
peace! Save us and save Byzantium! For your generals Belisarius and
Narses will rather be able to stop the course of the sun and the
blowing of the wind, than to stay King Totila and the terrible Teja."
"They are prisoners," said the Emperor, interrupting the reader; "and
perhaps they speak in fear of death. Now it is your turn to speak,
venerable Bishop of Thessalonica; you, Anatolius, commander of Dodona;
and you, Parmenio, brave captain of the Macedonian lancers. You are
safe here under our imperial protection, but you have seen the
barbarian generals. What do you advise?"
At this the aged Bishop of Thessalonica again threw himself upon his
knees, and cried:
"O Emperor of the Romani, the barbarian King, Totila, is a heretic, and
accursed for ever, yet never have I seen a man more richly endowed with
all Christian virtues! Do not strive with him! In the other world he
will be damned for ever, but--I cannot comprehend it--on earth God
blesses all his ways. He is irresistible!"
"I understand it well," interposed Anatolius. "It is his craft which
wins for him all hearts--the deepest hypocrisy, a power of
dissimulation which outdoes all our much-renowned and defamed Grecian
cunning. The barbarian plays the part of a philanthropist so
excellently, that he almost deceived me, until I reflected that there
was no such thing in the world as the love which this man pretends,
with all the art of a comedian. He acts as if he really felt compassion
for his conquered enemies! He feeds the hungry, he divides the
booty--your tax-money, O Emperor!--amongst the country people, whose
fields have been devastated by the war. Women who had fled into the
woods, and were found by his horsemen, he returns uninjured to their
husbands. He enters the villages to the sound of a harp, played by a
beautiful youth, who leads his horse. Do you know what is the
consequence? Your own subjects, O Emperor of the Romani, rebel to him,
and deliver your officers, who have obeyed your severe laws, into his
hands. The peasants and farmers of Dodona did so by me. This barbarian
is the greatest comedian of the century, and the clever hypocrite
understands many other things besides fighting. He has entered into an
alliance against you with the distant Persians, with your inveterate
enemy Chosroes. We ourselves saw the Persian ambassador ride out of his
camp towards the East."
When Anatolius had ceased speaking, the Macedonian captain gave his
report, which ran:
"Ruler of the Romani--since Earl Teja gained the high-road of
Thessalonica, nothing stands between your throne and his battle-axe but
the walls of this city. He who stormed the 'New Wall' eight times in
succession, and carried it at the ninth attempt, will carry the walls
of Byzantium at the tenth. You can only repel the Goths if you have
sevenfold their number. If you have it not, then conclude a peace."
"Peace! peace! we beseech you, in the name of your trembling provinces
of Epirus, Thessaly, and Macedonia!"
"Deliver us from the Goths!"
"Let us not again see the days of Alaric and Theodoric!"
"Peace with the Goths! Peace! peace!"
And all the envoys, bishops, officials, and warriors sank upon their
knees with the cry of "Peace!"
The effect upon the assembly was fearful.
It had often happened that Persians and Saracens in the east. Moors in
the south, and Bulgarians and Slavonians in the north-west, had made
incursions into the country, slaying and plundering, and had sometimes
beaten the troops sent against them, and escaped unhindered with their
booty. But that Grecian islands should be permanently conquered by the
enemy, that Grecian harbours should be won and governed by barbarians,
and that the high-road to Byzantium should be dominated by Goths, was
unheard of.
With dismay the senators thought of the days when Gothic ships and
Gothic armies should overrun all the Grecian islands, and repeatedly
storm the walls of Byzantium, only to be stopped by the fulfilment of
all their demands. They already seemed to hear the battle-axe of the
"Black Earl" knocking at their gates.
Quietly and searchingly did Justinian look into the rows of anxious
faces on his right and on his left.
"You have heard," he then began, "what Church, State, and Army desire.
I now ask your opinion. We have already accomplished an armistice.
Shall war or shall peace ensue? One word will buy peace--our assent to
the cession of Italy, which is already lost. Whoever among you is in
favour of war, let him hold up his hand."
No one moved; for the senators were afraid for Byzantium, and they had
no doubt of the Emperor's inclination for peace.
"My senate unanimously declares for peace. I knew it beforehand," said
Justinian, with a singular smile. "I am accustomed always to follow the
advice of my wise councillors--and of my Empress."
At this word Theodora started from her seat, and threw her ivory
sceptre from her with such violence, that it flew far across the hall.
The senators were startled.
"Then farewell," cried the Empress, "farewell to what has ever been my
pride--my belief in Justinian and his imperial dignity! Farewell all
share in the cares and honours of the state! Alas, Justinian! alas for
you and me that I must hear such words from your lips!"
And she hid her face in her purple mantle, in order to conceal the
agony which her excitement caused her.
The Emperor turned towards her.
"What! the Augusta, my wife, who, since Belisarius returned to
Byzantium for the second time, has always advocated peace--with a short
exception--does she now, in such a time of danger, advise----"
"War!" cried Theodora, uncovering her face. And, in her intense
earnestness, she looked more beautiful than she ever did when smiling
in playful sport. "Must I, your wife, remind you of your honour? Will
you suffer these barbarians to fix themselves firmly in your Empire,
and force you to their will? You, who dreamt of the re-establishment of
the Empire of Constantine! You, Justinian, who have taken the names of
Persicus, Vandalicus, Alanicus, and Gothicus--you will allow this
Gothic stripling to lead you by the beard whithersoever he will? Are
you not the same Justinian who has been admired by the world, by
Byzantium, and by Theodora? Our admiration was an error!"
On hearing these words, the Patriarch of Byzantium--he still believed
that the Emperor had irrevocably decided upon peace--took courage to
oppose the Empress, who did not always hit upon the strict definition
of orthodoxy of which he was the representative.
"What!" he said, "the august lady advises bloody war? Verily, the Holy
Church has no need to plead for the heretic. Notwithstanding, the new
King is wonderfully mild towards the Catholics in Italy; and we can
wait for more favourable times, until----"
"No, priest!" interrupted Theodora; "the outraged honour of this Empire
can wait no longer! O Justinian!"--he still remained obstinately
silent--"O Justinian, let us not be deceived in you! You dare not let
that be wrung from you by defiance which you refused to humble
petitions! Must I remind you that once before your wife's advice, and
will, and courage, saved your honour? Have you forgotten the terrible
rebellion of the Nika? Have you forgotten how the united parties of the
Circus, of the frantic mob of Byzantium, attacked this house? The
flames arose, and the cry of 'Down with the tyrants!' rang in our ears.
All your councillors advised flight or compliance; all these reverend
bishops and wise senators, and even your generals; for Narses was away
in distant Asia, and Belisarius was shut up by the rebels in the palace
on the shore. All were in despair. Your wife Theodora was the only hero
by your side. If you had yielded or fled, your throne, your life, and
most certainly your honour, would have been lost. You hesitated. You
were inclined to fly. 'Remain, and die if need be,' I then said; 'but
die in the purple!' And you remained, and your courage saved you. You
awaited death upon your throne, with me at your side--and God sent
Belisarius to our relief! I speak the same now. Do not yield. Emperor
of the Romani--do not yield to the barbarians! Stand firm. Let the
ruins of the Golden Gate overwhelm you if the axe of the terrible Goth
can force it; but die an Emperor! This purple is stained by the
immeasurable insolence of these Germans. I throw it from me, and I
swear by the wisdom of God, never will I again resume it until the
Empire is rid of the Goths!"
And she tore off her mantle and threw it down upon the steps of the
throne. But then, greatly exhausted, she was on the point of sinking
back into her seat when Justinianus caught her in his arms and pressed
her to his bosom.
"Theodora," he cried, "my glorious wife! You need no purple on your
shoulders--your spirit is clothed in purple! You alone understand
Justinian. War, and destruction to the Goths!"
At this spectacle the trembling senators were overwhelmed with terror
and astonishment.
"Yes, wise fathers," cried the Emperor, turning to the assembly, "this
time you were too clever to be men. It is indeed an honour to be called
Constantine's successor, but it is no honour to be _your_ master! Our
enemies, I fear, are right; Constantine only planted here the dead
mummy of Rome, but the soul of Rome had already fled. Alas for the
Empire! Were it free or a republic, it would now have sunk in shame for
ever. It must have a master, who, when, like a lazy horse, it threatens
to sink into the quagmire, pulls it up by the rein; a strong master
with bridle, whip, and spurs!"
At this moment a little crooked man, leaning on a crutch, forced his
way into the hall, and limped up to the steps of the throne.
"Emperor of the Romani," he began, when he rose from his obeisance, "a
report reached me on my bed of pain of all that the barbarians had
dared, and of what was going on here. I gathered all my strength and
dragged myself here with difficulty, for, by one word from you, I must
learn whether I have been a fool from the beginning in holding you to
be a great ruler in spite of many weaknesses; whether I shall throw
your marshal's staff into the deepest well, or still carry it with
pride! Speak only one word: war or peace?"
"War! war!" cried Justinian, and his countenance beamed.
"Victory! Justinian!" cried the general. "Oh, let me kiss your hand,
great Emperor!" and he limped up the steps of the throne.
"But how is this, patrician, you have all at once become a man!" mocked
the Empress. "You were always against the war with the Goths. Have you
suddenly become endowed with a sense of honour?"
"Honour!" cried Narses, "after that gay soap-bubble Belisarius, that
great child, may run! Not honour but the Empire is at stake. As long as
danger threatened from the east, I advised the Persian war. Nothing was
to be feared from the Goths. But now your piety, O Empress, and
Belisarius's hero-sword, have stirred up the hornets' nest so long,
that at last the whole swarm flies dangerously into our faces. Now the
danger threatens from that side, and I advise a Gothic war. The Goths
are nearer to Byzantium than Chosroes to the eastern frontier. He who,
like this Totila, can raise a kingdom from an abyss, can much more
easily hurl another kingdom into an abyss. This young King is a worker
of miracles, and must be stopped in time."
"For this once," said Justinian, "I have the rare pleasure of finding
my Empress and Narses of one mind."
He was on the point of dismissing the assembly, when the Empress caught
his arm.
"Stay, my husband," she said. "To-day, for the second time, I have the
honour to be proved your best adviser! Is it not so? Then listen to me
and follow my further advice. Keep this wise assembly--all except
Narses--confined in this hall.--Do not tremble, Illustrissimi; this
time your lives are not in jeopardy. But you are unable to keep a
secret; at least unless your tongues are slit. For this time, we will
insure your silence by confinement.--There exists a conspiracy against
your life, Justinian, or at least against your free will. A certain
party had decided to force you to a war with the Goths. This object,
truly, is now attained. But either to-night or to-morrow early the
conspirators will again finally assemble. We must allow them to do so.
We must not hinder them in their purpose by letting them know that
their object is already planned. For dangerous persons--persons
suspected long ago, and--O Justinian--very very _rich_ persons are
concerned in it. It would be a pity if they escaped my snare."
Justinian was not alarmed at the word conspiracy.
"I also knew of it," he said. "But is it already so far advanced?
To-morrow! Theodora," he cried, "you are more to the Empire than
Belisarius or Narses!--Captain of the Golden Shields, you will keep all
present confined here until Narses comes to fetch them. Meanwhile, my
pious and wise fathers, reflect upon this hour and its teachings!
Narses, follow us and the Empress."
So saying, Justinian descended the steps of the throne. When he, with
Theodora and Narses, had left the Hall of Jerusalem, the entrance was
immediately blocked with threatening spears.