Gwinne: Act I

Aguntur Londini dum scribo Bacchanalia: num et quod scribam? aguntur Cantabrigiae, ut audio, nonnulla huiusmodi. quod agantur placet; placet, quod audiam; quid si aspiciam? t¤ d¢ efi aÈtoË toË yhr¤ou; ut ille de Demosthene?

In London, while I write, Bacchanalia are being held: is there even something for me to write? At Cambridge, as I hear, certain things of this sort are going on. That they go on pleases me; it pleases me that I hear; what if I should look on? but what if the very beast itself? as that one about Demosthenes?

quin ut agantur libere, ut serius hodie, sic mihi libero, non dico ad mensem, sed magis ad mentem Saturnalia? quid vero? inquit Menedemus:

why not, that they be conducted freely, as later today, thus with me at liberty—not to say for a month, but rather in the mind of the Saturnalia? but what? says Menedemus:

tantumne ab re mea medica otii est mihi,
aliena ut curem, eaque ad medicum quae nihil attinet?

Have I so much leisure away from my own medical business,
that I should attend to others’ affairs—and those which pertain nothing to a physician?

Chremes respondeo: homo sum, humani a me nihil alienum puto. hoc mihi in otio negotium, ne otiosus sim. hoc abs re (metuo) mea; sed in rem (spero) aliorum.

Chremes I reply: I am a man, I think nothing human alien to me. this is my business in leisure, lest I be idle. this is against my own interest (I fear); but in the interest (I hope) of others.

quin aliorum qui procurat, nec suam rem negligit, quod alios, ut decet, diligat; nec, ille ut cecinit, demissis propriis aliena negotia curat; forte et otia. quod ékoinÄvnhton, sit a me alienum: lumen de lumine, aquam e flumine, vel alienis, commodare, non est, non debet esse, alienum. nam si cuiusquam, quin si regis, vita mehercle medici est cura aliorum, quin ergo ista medice?

nay rather, he who manages for others does not neglect his own affair, because he cherishes others, as is fitting; nor, as that one sang, with his own cast down he minds others’ business; perhaps even in his leisure. that what is communal, should be alien to me: to lend light from light, water from the river, even to strangers, is not—ought not to be—alien. for if anyone’s—nay, if a king’s—life, by Hercules, is a physician’s care for others, why then not these things in a physicianly way?

sit sane praemium ex opere cum facio; sit forte pretium in opera cum praelego. at operae non erit pretium si scribo medicinam. tot, tanta, talia, tot, tanti, tales iam typis consignarunt, ut illorum illa (ille quod monuit) evolvere sit taedio, ediscere fastidio, in praxin perducere plusquam tormento: plura affingere sit labor multus, excudere vix locus, nedum nostratibus lucrum typographis.

let there indeed be a reward from the work when I do it; let there perchance be a price for the service when I lecture. but it will not be worth the effort if I write on medicine. so many, so great, such things—so many, so weighty, such men—have already been consigned to types, that to unroll (as that man advised) those works of theirs is a tedium, to learn them by heart a disgust, to bring them into praxis more than a torment: to append more is much labor, there is scarcely room to strike them from the press, not to mention profit for our own typographers.

non doctus dico, sed expertus. sed cur ista poetice? olim sic libuit.

I say, not learned, but experienced. But why these things poetically? Once it so pleased.

quin ergo comice? demum non decuit. etsi et sciam quiddam altius poetice, et acutius ut scribam comice, quam ego quidquam sapiam.

Why then not comically? In the end it was not fitting. Although I also know something loftier, poetically, and something more acute, for me to write comically, than I am wise in anything.

num ergo tragice sufficio? pro me loquantur Tacitus, Suetonius, Dion, Seneca: nam et loquuntur ipsi fere omnia: ego tantummmodo modos feci; ineptus tibicen in comaedia. sed tragica an quenquam decent?

So then, do I suffice tragically? Let Tacitus, Suetonius, Dion, Seneca speak for me: for they themselves say almost everything; I only supplied the modes, an inept piper in comedy. But do tragic things befit anyone?

quidni? an virum nostri ordinis? quin me? an dehonestamenta Musarum?

why not? or a man of our order? why not me? or the disgraces of the Muses?

Musas (ni fallor) dehonestat, hac nota qui inurat castam castarum sobolem: ne dicam gravius, et subiratior sic istas tuear, ut mea Pythias meam Octaviam. quin hoc ipsum ne rodat mirum, pãntvn §pilÆptvr, vitilitigator, qui rodat (puto) corpus Domini; nisi sit magis Taciti, qui apud illum maximi, quam meum, qui minimi. quo nomine et ista, et ex illo audiat: oratorum ac vatum victorias incitamentum ingeniis allaturas: nec cuiquam iudici grave, aures studiis honestis et voluptatibus concessis impartire.

He (if I am not mistaken) dishonors the Muses, who with this brand burns into the chaste offspring of the chaste: not to speak more gravely, and somewhat more irate I would defend those ladies, as my Pythias would my Octavia. Indeed, lest he gnaw even at this very marvel, that censurer of all, a caviller, who gnaws (I suppose) at the Body of the Lord; unless it be rather Tacitus’s, who with him is of the greatest account, than mine, who am of the least. Under which title let him hear both this, and from that man: that the victories of orators and vates will bring an incitement to talents; nor is it burdensome for any judge to impart his ears to honorable studies and permitted pleasures.

quid quod adiungit, in quinquennali ludicro per noctes, et per Neronem instituto, nullo insigni dehonestamento spectaculum transisse? nec vero vel Aristonem Livii, vel Ciceronis Roscium, Aesopum sic asperget os impurum et putidum quin loco demum sint honesto, ut scena dignissimi, sic curia; etsi in scena Roscii, at viri meliores plus veritatis possideant, quam disciplinae. quin instar omnium, pro me sic Plinius, acsi de se loquatur, et studiosus, et senator.

what of the fact that he adds that, in the quinquennial spectacle, through the nights and instituted by Nero, the show passed with no notable dishonor? Nor indeed will his impure and putrid mouth so bespatter either Livius’s Aristo, or Cicero’s Roscius and Aesopus, but that they are at length in an honorable place—as most worthy of the stage, so also of the curia; and although it be on Roscius’s stage, yet better men may possess more of truth than of discipline. Nay rather, as the equivalent of all, let Pliny speak thus on my behalf, as if he were speaking of himself, both a man of study and a senator.

facio nonnunquam versiculos, severos parum facio, comaedias audio, specto mimos, lyricos lego, satyricos intelligo, rideo, iocor, ludo; utque omnia innoxia remissionis genera breviter complectar, homo sum. quid quod addit doctissimos, gravissimos, sanctissimos, qui scriptitarint, recitarint, quorum non seria modo, verum etiam lusus exprimere laudabile: nominibus patriciorum, poetarum, imperatorum plusquam viginti quatuor additis actorem hunc ut proterat. quin de Nerone sic respondet: non corrumpi in deterius, quae aliquando etiam a malis, sed honesta manere, quae saepius a bonis fiunt.

I sometimes make little verses, I make them too little severe; I listen to comedies, I watch mimes, I read lyric poets, I understand satiric writers, I laugh, I jest, I play; and, to embrace briefly all harmless kinds of relaxation, I am a man. what of the fact that he adds most learned, most grave, most holy men, who have written, have recited, whose not only serious works, but even their play, it is praiseworthy to reproduce: with the names of patricians, poets, emperors—more than 24—added, so that he may trample this actor down. Indeed, about Nero he replies thus: things are not corrupted for the worse because they are sometimes also done by bad men, but remain honorable which are more often done by good men.

nec sanctitatem morum distare ordinibus. sic ille dixit, vixit: cuius, quos vocat lusus maiorem gloriam huc usque consequuti, quam huius unquam consequentur seria. at scribi fert: quin legi?

nor that the sanctity of character differs by orders. thus he spoke, he lived: whose pieces, which he calls play, have up to now attained greater glory than his serious works will ever attain. but he asserts they may be written: why not read?

et legi; quin edisci? et edisci; quin recitari? et recitari; quin audiri?

and be read; why not be learned by heart? and be learned by heart; why not be recited? and be recited; why not be heard?

et audiri, quin agi? quin spectari? si idem adest animus, de actu parum interest.

and to be heard; why not be acted? why not be spectated? If the same spirit is present, there is little difference as to the performance.

viva vox magis afficit in omnem partem. sint acriora quae legas, at sedent altius in animo, quae pronuntatio, vultus, habitus, gestus etiam dicentis affigit. recitari nonnunquam frigide, perabsurde, intelligo: sed ab eo cui latera, cui manus, cui cerebrum, non plumbeo, non stolido, non asino, sic recitari vix concesserim.

the living voice affects more in every part. let the things you read be sharper, yet those settle deeper in the mind which delivery, visage, bearing, even the gesture of the speaker fastens. I understand that sometimes things are recited coldly, most absurdly; but by one whose sides, whose hands, whose brain are not leaden, not stolid, not asinine, I would scarcely concede that it is so recited.

quin Italis non alienis a Latinis, recitarí una comedia, id idem est quod agere. honesti demum nomine, Georgiani equites respondeant e sua periscelide, honi soit qui mal y pense. mala mens, malus animus.

indeed, to Italians not alien to the Latins, to recite a comedy is the same as to act. at least in the name of honor, let the Knights of Saint George answer from their garter, honi soit qui mal y pense. evil mind, evil animus.

boni, non nisi bene, de quibusvis dum notint; mali, non nisi male, vel de bonis cum norint, unquam coniicient, ex coniectura iudicabunt, ex iudicio pro rostris praedicabunt. plus indecori, inhumani, illiciti (quod unquam senserim) vident qui absunt, imaginatur qui obtrectant, memorant qui maledicunt, quam qui interfui, vidi, audivi, cogitavi, vel (vigilans si somniaret) somniavi. qui secum in angulis versantur, ne cum malo homine versentur, videant.

good men, only well, about anyone so long as they know them; bad men, only badly, even about good men when they come to know them, will ever conjecture, from conjecture they will judge, from judgment they will proclaim from the Rostra. more of what is indecorous, inhuman, illicit (than ever I have sensed) is seen by those who are absent, more is imagined by the detractor, more is recounted by those who slander, than by me who was present, saw, heard, thought, or—if a waking man should dream—dreamed. let those who keep with themselves in corners, lest they consort with a bad man, take heed.

hic nequid mali lubeat, spectantem pudeat in tanta luce conspici agentem (ne peius dicam) aliud: sin lubeat, non vacet, aures dum arrigit, attendit animum, ne effluat quid audiendum: sin vacet, non liceat, quod ora, oculi, mores, mentes undiquaque spectantium prohibeant, inclament, aversentur. ép¤tv fyÒnow, ép¤tv baskan¤a, ut ait Aristaenetus. quin mundus universus, ut Ioannes Sarisberiensis agit arbitrium, si mimum implet, exercet histrioniam; si vita omnium comaedia, imo tragaedia; si nomine comaediae vel tragaediae tanta est area, quantus est mundus; nec exclusus admittitur, nec inclusus emittitur: Ioannes aliquis, qui Sarisberiensis esse non recuset, qui denique spectator, actor, comicus, tragicus, scenicus recuset esse?

here, lest anything evil be pleasing, let the onlooker be ashamed, in so great a light, to be seen doing (not to say worse) something else: but if it does please, let there be no leisure, while he pricks up his ears, he attends with his mind, lest anything that must be heard slip away: but if there is leisure, let it not be lawful, because the mouths, eyes, morals, minds of the spectators on every side forbid, cry out against, turn away. away with envy, away with the evil eye, as Aristaenetus says. nay, the whole world, as John of Salisbury delivers judgment, if it fills the mime, it practises histrionics; if the life of all is a comedy—nay, a tragedy; if under the name of comedy or tragedy the stage is as broad as the world is; neither is he who is shut out admitted, nor he who is shut in sent out: is there any John who would not refuse to be “of Salisbury,” who, in fine, would refuse to be spectator, actor, comic, tragic, stage-player?

aliis quod sint, exprobret? larvatus dici sustinet, sed metaphorice: quin potius revera personam, ut monet Epictetus, sustinet? at impostura haec, qua scilicet qui decipit, et qui decipitur, est non decepto melior.

Does he exprobrate others for what they are? He puts up with being called larvatus, but metaphorically; why not rather in reality sustain a persona, as Epictetus admonishes? But this imposture, wherein, namely, both the deceiver and the deceived are involved, is no better than the not-deceived.

sed quem fefellit non éna¤syeton, vel puer vel faemina, vel ut rex nebulo, vel idiota ut philosophus, quin idiota, puer, nebulo agnosceretur. nempe magis - fallunt animi sub vulpe latentes qui astutam vapido servant sub pectore vulpem, quod sit in vita pluribus; quam qui personas induunt, exuunt, se simulare non dissumulant, citant ut recitent, dum mortuos viventes representant; quod fit in scena histrionibus. tam putem puerum Octaviam quae olim fuit, quam quae nunc non est, foeminam.

but whom did he deceive who was not éna¤syeton, whether a boy or a woman, or a knave as a king, or an idiot as a philosopher—without the idiot, the boy, the knave being recognized. assuredly, rather—minds lurking under a fox deceive, who keep a cunning fox beneath a vapid breast, which is the case with more people in life, than those who put on and take off personae, do not dissemble that they are pretending, summon so that they may recite, while they represent the dead as living; which happens on the stage with actors. I would as readily take the boy for Octavia—the woman who once existed—as the one who now does not exist.

ferendi magis igitur qui fere fallunt ut delectent, quam qui delectant specie ut fallent opere. qui hominem in vulpe, quam qui vulpem referunt in homine. at scenicorum tandem pestis crambe (ut audio) recoxit nobis; et illis invexit (vereor) incognitas, immeritas, inusitatas.

Therefore more to be borne are those who for the most part deceive in order to delight, than those who delight by appearance in order to deceive in deed. Those who represent the man in the fox, rather than those who represent the fox in the man. But the bane of the stage-players—the “reboiled cabbage” (as I hear)—has been cooked up again for us; and upon them it has brought in (I fear) things unknown, unmerited, unwonted.

quid aliud, si Socrati non scomma solum in scena, sed et cicutam propinassent? si meruissent, si fecissent, fecisse immerito quae arguuntur? si infecissent illos, valere qui se sentiunt plus quam absentes Momos?

What else, if to Socrates they had administered not only a scoff on the stage, but the hemlock as well? If they had deserved it, if they had done it—have they done, undeservedly, the things for which they are arraigned? If they had infected them, are they to prevail who feel themselves to be more than absent Momuses?

maledictum ingerere tam pestilens! - tantane animis caelestibus irae? mitius; mitius.

to hurl in so pestilential a malediction! - is there so great wrath in celestial minds? more mildly; more mildly.

quid enim? num melius in magistratus invehi, saevire in minores, suos suspicere, damnare alios

for what? is it better to inveigh against magistrates, to rage against inferiors, to suspect one’s own, to condemn others?

ut sine rivali seque et sua solus amarit?

so that, without a rival, he alone may love himself and his own?

idque sub zeli spiritu? idque e suggesto theologico? idque bene precari cum magis deceat quam male ominari?

and that under the spirit of zeal? and that from the theological pulpit? and that, when it is more fitting to pray well than to utter ill omens?

verum tragice si placuit, quin placuit ad modos veteres? quin ad leges poeticas -

but if it has pleased to be tragic, why has it not pleased according to the ancient modes? why not according to the poetic laws -

ne quarta loqui persona laboret?

lest a fourth speaking persona should labor?

certe érxa›a êrista. nec dicam facile, maioris an ingenii, an artificii pauca multis extendere, an multa paucis comprehendere. hic tamen magis placuit, quam finxi, kainopr°peia, quam iners, quam fugi, palaiÒthw. vivo moribus praeteritis: loquor verbis praesentibus.

certainly the ancient things are best. nor will I say easily, whether it is of greater genius or of artifice to extend a few things to many, or to comprehend many in few. here, however, what I fashioned pleased more, newfangledness, than the inert, which I fled, old-fashionedness. I live by past customs: I speak with present words.

non pedem calceo, sed pedi calceum accommodo. nec nimis a veteribus recedunt ista, et ad nostros accedunt satis. dormivi forsitan in primis actibus: at non defeci in extremo, qui per se compleat non absonam tragaediam.

I do not shoe the foot, but I accommodate the shoe to the foot. Nor do these things recede too far from the ancients, and they approach our own sufficiently. Perhaps I slept in the first acts; but I did not fail in the last, which by itself completes a tragedy not out of tune.

at isti tragaediae quae scenam instruant (ut olim ille) circa Oxonium vix arbores ligna suppeditent. tuae (respondet ille) tres sufficiant. at cur non acta?

But those tragedies which would set up a stage (as once that fellow did) around Oxford the trees scarcely furnish timber. Yours (he replies) three would suffice. But why not performed?

non dico, quod non apta; forte nec scripta in hunc finem: etsi utrumque innuat et personarum multitudo, et longitudo inaequalis actuum, et modus tractandi non plausibilis . nec dico quod non oblata: nec enim debui, qui multum, qui me debeo Collegio in primis Ioannensi, tum eius praesidi dignissimo, dein sociis doctissimis, Paddaeo demum nostro beneficentissimo convictori, quod apud illos exaratum, certe non debui non offerre: etsi sic (fateor) obtulerim, ut quam acceptam, melius repudiatam tulerim. repudiatam dico: ille dum consulit respublica ne detrimentum capiat, iste ne res privata: alter, melius, peius, prosit, obsit, nihil videt nisi quod lubet: alter, etsi nihil rectum

I do not say that it is not apt; perhaps not written to this end: although both are hinted at by the multitude of persons, and the unequal length of the acts, and a mode of handling not likely to win applause . Nor do I say that it was not offered: for indeed I ought not to have failed, who owe much, who owe myself to the College, above all the Ioannine, then to its most worthy President, then to its most learned Fellows, and finally to our most beneficent table-companion Paddaeus, not to offer what was written out among them—surely I ought not not to offer it: although thus (I confess) I proffered it in such a way that, rather than accepted, I would have borne it better as repudiated. Repudiated, I say: that man, while he consults for the commonwealth that it take no detriment; this one, for the private interest; the one, better, worse, let it profit, let it harm, he sees nothing except what he likes: the other, although nothing right

facit -

he does -

nisi quod ipse facit nihil rectum putat:

except what he himself does, he thinks nothing correct:

apud alios

among others

hoc licet impune facere huic, illi non licet,
non quod dissimilis res sit, sed quod is qui facit:

this is allowed with impunity for this man; for that man it is not allowed,
not because the thing is dissimilar, but because of the one who does it:

apud alios sic valet filaut¤a, ut aut Caesar, aut nihil. foelix temeritas: aperta est vomica: sui quis cuiuspiam affectus inimicus, ab omnibus effectus amicissimus. sed si repudiata, cui cedet in coniugium?

among others thus prevails philautia, that either Caesar, or nothing. happy temerity: the abscess has been opened: someone’s affection for himself, an enemy to some one person, has by everyone been made most friendly. but if she be repudiated, to whom will she yield in marriage?

intacta, illibata, inviolata cui non cedet? tanto maiorem (inquit ille) apud doctos habere debet gratiam, quanto minorem apud indoctos habet.
quo nomine cum cogitarem patrem (par nobile) vestrum, quem nemo fando dixerit, qui non prius:laudaverit mox me mea respicens, sic et ad illum, effugiunt curas inferiora tuas.

intact, illibate, inviolate—to whom will it not yield? by so much the greater (says he) favor among the learned it ought to have, by how much the less it has among the unlearned.
under which title, when I was thinking of your father (a noble pair), whom no one in speaking would name, who has not first:praised soon, turning back to my own concerns, so also to him, the lower things flee your cares.

in publica commoda peccem,
si longo sermone morer tua tempora custos.
nec nostris praebere vacat tibi cantibus aures.

I would transgress against the public advantage,
if by a long discourse I delay your time, guardian.
nor have you leisure to lend your ears to our songs.

et ad me retuli,

and I took it as referring to me,

haec est caelesti pectore cura minor.
non vacat exiguis rebus adesse Iovi.

this is a lesser care to the celestial breast.
Jove has no leisure to attend to exiguous matters.

cum tamen plurima meo meorum nomine illius beneficentiae diu debuerim sim semper debiturus,

although I have long owed very many things, in my own name and in the name of my people, to his beneficence, I shall always be a debtor,

nulla quibus reddi gratia digna potest,

for which no gratitude worthy can be rendered,

quam proxime accedere, apud vos partem aliquam institui exolvere. vos idcirco -

to come as near as possible, to have undertaken among you to discharge some part. You therefore -

animae, quales neque candidiores
terra tulit, neque queis me sit devinctior alter;
ambo animis, ambo insignes praestantibus armis:

souls, such as no more radiant has the earth borne,
nor any to whom I am more beholden;
both in spirit, both distinguished by preeminent arms:

inertis hoc otii inutile opusculum, quod nec labor excudit, nec cura limavit, saltem cum nihil agitis (Ausonius ut rogat) perlegatis, et ne nihil agatis, perlectum defendatis. cui non placet, ne legerit: aut cum legerit, obliviscatur: aut non oblitus, ignoscat. valete in virtutum omnium exempla geniti.

this useless opuscle of inert leisure, which neither labor has hammered out nor care has filed, at least when you are doing nothing (as Ausonius asks) read through, and, so that you not do nothing, having read it through, defend it. to whom it does not please, let him not read: or, when he has read, let him forget: or, not having forgotten, let him pardon. farewell, you born as examples of all virtues.

Londoni ex aedibus Greshamiis in festo Cinerum, 1603. vestro devotus nomini, devinctus ordini.

In London, from Gresham House, on Ash Wednesday, 1603. devoted to your name, bound to the order.

M. G

Lipsi, Neronem nunc habe, votis tuis
oculisque dignum: quique puerilem putas
Octaviam illam, quam rudis mundus iubet
Senecae imputari, Iuste, praestentem loco
substitue: Seneca sic enim iratus iubet.

Lipsius, now have a Nero worthy of your prayers and your eyes:
and you who think that Octavia childish, which the unskilled world bids
to be imputed to Seneca, Justus, put in its place the outstanding one:
for thus Seneca, angered, orders.

5
metemcÊxvsin ille millenam miser
sensit, querelas antequam posset suas
lingua referre propria; tandem tamen .
ex ore Gwinni perstinum servat decus.
Gagere, Buchanane, nec Beza invide .

5
metempsychosis the thousandfold he, poor wretch,
felt, before he could his complaints
recount with his own tongue; at last, however.
from the mouth of Gwinnus it preserves its pristine honor.
Gager, Buchanan, and you, Beza, do not envy .

10
videte; talis Seneca qui Gwinnus fuit.
qui iudicas, fatere; qui nescis, tace.

10
see; such a Seneca Gwinnus was.
you who judge, confess; you who do not know, be silent.

Iohannes Sandsbury Ioannensis

John Sandsbury of St. John's

NEMESIS, TISIPHONE, ALECTO Chorus
MEGAERA
UMBRA VALERIAE MESSALINAE
CLAUDIUS TIBERIUS NERO Imperator
BRITANNICUS Claudii filius ex Messalina
OCTAVIA eiusdem ex eadem
CALISTUS
NARCISSUS liberti Claudii
PALLAS
L. VITELLIUS Censor
AELIA PETINA repudiata uxor Claudii
LOLLIA PAULINA vidua Caii Caligulae Imperatoris
IULIA AGRIPPINA vidua Domitii Aenobarbari, soror Caii, neptis et uxor Claudii
L. SYLLANUS Praetor, sponsus Octaviae
C. POMPEIUS , Q. VERANNIUS Consules
DOMITIUS NERO Imperator
CENTURIO
AGERINUS libertus Agrippinae

NEMESIS, TISIPHONE, ALECTO Chorus
MEGAERA
SHADE OF VALERIA MESSALINA
CLAUDIUS TIBERIUS NERO Emperor
BRITANNICUS son of Claudius by Messalina
OCTAVIA likewise his, by the same
CALISTUS
NARCISSUS among the freedmen of Claudius
PALLAS
L. VITELLIUS Censor
AELIA PETINA repudiated wife of Claudius
LOLLIA PAULINA widow of Gaius Caligula the Emperor
JULIA AGRIPPINA widow of Domitius Ahenobarbus, sister of Gaius, niece and wife of Claudius
L. SYLLANUS Praetor, betrothed of Octavia
C. POMPEIUS , Q. VERANNIUS Consuls
DOMITIUS NERO Emperor
CENTURION
AGERINUS freedman of Agrippina

UMBRA CLAUDII
EQUITES ROMANI QUINQUE
L. ANTISTIUS Consul
L. ANNAEUS SENECA philosophus, Senator
AFRANIUS BURRHUS Praefectus praetorianus
LOCUSTA venefica
M. SYLVIUS OTHO maritus Poppaeae

SHADE OF CLAUDIUS
FIVE ROMAN KNIGHTS
L. ANTISTIUS Consul
L. ANNAEUS SENECA philosopher, Senator
AFRANIUS BURRHUS Praetorian prefect
LOCUSTA poisoner
M. SYLVIUS OTHO husband of Poppaea

UMBRA BRITANNICI
CHARON portitor
POPPAEA SABINA primum Rufii Crispini, tum M. Othonis, demum Neronis uxor
PARIS histrio
<PUER NUNTIUS>
ANICETUS libertus, classis apud Misenum praefectus
HERCULEUS triarchus
OLOARITUS Centurio classiarius

SHADE OF BRITANNICUS
CHARON the ferryman
POPPAEA SABINA, first the wife of Rufius Crispinus, then of M. Otho, finally of Nero
PARIS the actor
<BOY MESSENGER>
ANICETUS a freedman, prefect of the fleet at Misenum
HERCULEUS a trierarch
OLOARITUS a naval centurion

UMBRA AGRIPPINAE
SOPHONIUS TIGELLINUS
FENIUS RUFUS Praefecti Praetorii
C. VIPSANIUS, FONTEIUS Consules
THRASEAS PAETVS socer
HELVIDIUS PRISCUS gener
PYTHIAS ancilla Octaviae

SHADE OF AGRIPPINA
SOPHONIUS TIGELLINUS
FENIUS RUFUS Praetorian Prefects
C. VIPSANIUS, FONTEIUS Consuls
THRASEAS PAETVS father-in-law
HELVIDIUS PRISCUS son-in-law
PYTHIAS maidservant of Octavia

UMBRA OCTAVIAE
CIVES ROMANI QUATUOR
CUBICULARIUS NERONIS
POMPEIA PAULINA uxor Senecae
CLEONICUS libertus Senecae
SUBRIUS FLAVIVUS Tribunus
SULPITIUS ASPER Centurio
ANTONIUS NATALIS Eques
C. PISO CALPURNIUS, PLAUTIUS LATERANUS, FLAVIUS SCEVINUS Senatores
LUCANUS ANNAEUS
EPICHARIS libertina
MILICHUS Scevini libertus
UXOR MILICHI
VOLUSIUS PROCULUS Chiliarchus.
EPAPHRODITUS Neroni a libellis
GRANIUS SILVANUS Tribunus praetoriae cohortis
VEIANIUS NIGER Tribunus
MARTIUS FESTUS Eques
CENTURIO GRANII
CAPITO COSSUTIANUS
PETRONIUS ARBITER
PUERI ILLIUS SYMPHONIACI
PACONIVUS AGRIPPINUS
RUSTICUS ARULENUS Tribunus plebis
DEMETRIUS philosophus Cynicus
ARRIA uxor Thraseae Paeti
DOMITIUS CAECILIANUS
QUAESTOR CONSULIS
NEOPHYTUS libertus Cesaris
CALVIA CRISPINILLA nutrix
SPORUS exectus et vestitus ut Poppaea
GERELANUS Tribunus praetoriae cohortis
PHAON libertus Neronis
CIVES ROMANI DUO
MISSICIUS miles praetorianus
CENTURIO PRAETORIANUS
VOCES INTUS CIVIUM AUT MILITUM

SHADE OF OCTAVIA
FOUR ROMAN CITIZENS
CHAMBERLAIN OF NERO
POMPEIA PAULINA wife of Seneca
CLEONICUS freedman of Seneca
SUBRIUS FLAVIVUS Tribune
SULPITIUS ASPER Centurion
ANTONIUS NATALIS Knight
C. PISO CALPURNIUS, PLAUTIUS LATERANUS, FLAVIUS SCEVINUS Senators
LUCANUS ANNAEUS
EPICHARIS freedwoman
MILICHUS freedman of Scevinus
WIFE OF MILICHUS
VOLUSIUS PROCULUS Chiliarch.
EPAPHRODITUS to Nero, secretary for petitions
GRANIUS SILVANUS Tribune of the praetorian cohort
VEIANIUS NIGER Tribune
MARTIUS FESTUS Knight
CENTURION OF GRANIUS
CAPITO COSSUTIANUS
PETRONIUS ARBITER
THAT MAN’S SYMPHONIAC BOYS
PACONIVUS AGRIPPINUS
RUSTICUS ARULENUS tribune of the plebs
DEMETRIUS Cynic philosopher
ARRIA wife of Thrasea Paetus
DOMITIUS CAECILIANUS
QUAESTOR OF THE CONSUL
NEOPHYTUS freedman of Caesar
CALVIA CRISPINILLA nurse
SPORUS castrated and clothed as Poppaea
GERELANUS Tribune of the praetorian cohort
PHAON freedman of Nero
TWO ROMAN CITIZENS
MISSICIUS praetorian soldier
PRAETORIAN CENTURION
VOICES WITHIN OF CITIZENS OR SOLDIERS

Post horrendum fragorem, fulgur tonitru, ab inferis emergit chorus noctigena e Nemesi et tribus Furiis; qui quasi praeses tragaediae ubi perambulata scena consedit tacitus, diversis sellis; Lydia subinde concinente musica, Valeria Messalina imperatrix cum Caio Silio adultero, strepente circum procaci choro, gerit cothurnos, thyrsum quatit, ducit choreas, illa crine fluxo, hic vinctus hedera. liberti interim (qui summa apud imperatorem dignitate, gratia <fruuntur>) Narcissus ab epistolis, Pallas a rationibus, et Calistus, hor-rescunt, dimirantur, fremunt: an accusanda imperatrix consulunt; hi metu desistunt; ille impetu se proripit ad Claudium. mox tubis resonantibus ab hostia procedit Claudius, cui instat Narcissus ad latus, et ad aurem, ne detur locus audiendae Messalinae, quae filio Britannico, et filia Octavia comitantibus it obviam, quasi deprecatura lachrymis, in genua provolvitur.

After a horrendous crash, lightning and thunder, there emerges from the underworld a night-born chorus out of Nemesis and the three Furies; which, as if presiding over the tragedy, once the stage had been walked through, sits silent on separate chairs; with Lydian music ever and anon chiming in, Valeria Messalina the empress, with Gaius Silius her adulterer, while a procacious chorus clatters around, wears the cothurni, shakes the thyrsus, leads the choreae, she with hair flowing, he bound with ivy. Meanwhile the freedmen (who enjoy the highest dignity and favor with the emperor), Narcissus of the letters, Pallas of the accounts, and Callistus, shudder, are perplexed, growl: they consult whether the empress is to be accused; these desist from fear; that one, with impetuosity, rushes off to Claudius. Soon, with trumpets resounding, Claudius proceeds from the sacrifice, and Narcissus presses at his side and to his ear, lest any place be given to hearing Messalina; she, with her son Britannicus and her daughter Octavia accompanying, goes to meet him, as if to deprecate with tears, and rolls down upon her knees.

Narcissus amovet. Claudius non movetur: pergit in aulam. Narcissus in scenam rediens et Messalinam et Sillium quasi ad necem trahit, accinctus militibus, qui caedem exequantur.

Narcissus removes her. Claudius is not moved; he proceeds into the hall. Returning to the stage, Narcissus drags both Messalina and Silius as if to execution, girded with soldiers, so that they may execute the slaughter.

his per silentium (nisi quod musica accommodetur tragica) peractis, sic prolog¤zei Nemesis.

these things having been carried out in silence (except that tragic music is accommodated), thus prologizes Nemesis.

emissus atro Dite quid spondet chorus,
e filiabus quatuor Noctis nigrae?

sent out by black Dis, what does the chorus promise,
from the four daughters of black Night?

3
caedem, ultionem, lachrymas, cladem, nefas.

3
slaughter, vengeance, tears, disaster, nefarious crime.

2
nocturna scelera, infesta quae prodat dies.
debita sceleribus flagra, Iustitiae manus,

2
nocturnal crimes, which the hostile day exposes.
the scourges owed to crimes, the hand of Justice,

5
distribuo Nemesis; siquis insequitur scelus,
insector Adrasteia, nec quisquam effugit.
indesinenter urget Alecto minax
libidinosos ambitus: odium gravat
Megaera: caedem caede Tisiphone aggerat,

5
I, Nemesis, distribute; if anyone pursues crime,
I, Adrasteia, hound, and no one escapes.
menacing Alecto presses incessantly
upon libidinous solicitations: Megaera weighs down hatred;
Tisiphone piles slaughter on slaughter,

mulctatque. Erinnes furere lymphatos agunt.
theatra digna prorsus inferno choro.
quod si tragaedis materia primum malis
patheticis turbata, lachrymosa, horrida,
quaeratur, ullum terra sustinuit, tulit

and she mulcts. The Erinyes drive the crazed to frenzy.
theaters altogether worthy of the infernal chorus.
but if for tragedies the subject-matter, first disturbed
by pathetic evils—tearful, horrid—
is sought, has the earth sustained, has it borne any

15
natura, vidit Phoebus, historia edidit,
vel par NERONI, vel parallelum malum?
quin si sit illis arbiter rerum chorus,
iudex, vel index, qui malis abstet, bonis
faveat, utrisque sua tribuat, oret deos

15
nature, has Phoebus seen, has history put forth,
either equal to NERO, or a parallel evil?
nay rather, if there be for them a chorus arbiter of affairs,
a judge, or index, who stands aloof from evils, favors the good,
gives to each their due, prays to the gods

20
fortuna miseris redeat, a tumidis eat,
quin nos facinorum vindices, aequae arbitrae?
agenda quin praedicimus, quoniam deae?
interpretamur acta, Iustitiae asseclae?

20
let fortune return to the wretched, and go from the tumid,
why should we not be avengers of crimes, equitable arbiters?
why do we not rather proclaim the agenda, since we are goddesses?
do we not interpret the acts, followers of Justice?

acta, vel agenda, linquimus inultum nihil?

acts, or agenda, do we leave nothing unavenged?

25
nunc, unde veniant, scelera quae venient loquar.
en Messalinae quam procax amor, an furor!
quae quam impudica, et impudens, satyrae canunt,
lassata, nec dum satura, quod fuerit viris.
prodiga pudoris, hactenus tandem pudens,

25
now, whence they come, the crimes that will come I will speak.
behold how saucy the love of Messalina—or madness!
how unchaste and impudent she is, the satires sing,
wearied, and not yet sated, with the men she had.
a prodigal of modesty, to this extent at last modest,

30
ardere Silium. nisi virum ducat, pudet.
ardet, nec audet: audet, o facinus, viro
vivente, prope vidente, sibi moechum virum
inducere: furit Bacchadum infoelix modo.
remedia Silius unica periclis putat

30
Silius burns. Unless she take him as a husband, she is ashamed.
she burns, and does not dare; she dares—O crime!—while her husband lives, almost seeing,
to bring in for herself an adulterous husband:
she raves, ill-fated, just now like the Bacchantes.
Silius thinks the only remedies for the perils

35
pericla: scelera cum patent, audax iuvet
furor: innocentes tuta consilia expetant.
incautus, irae properus Augustus cito
premendus illis: coniuges isti imperent.
ausa, acta tanta, Claudii horrescit domus.

35
the perils: when crimes lie open, let audacious fury help;
let the innocents seek safe counsels.
the incautious, quick-to-anger Augustus must be quickly pressed by them:
let those spouses command.
such things dared, such deeds done, the house of Claudius shudders.

40
flagrante Pallas gratia, haud animo satis.
acer, potens Callistus; at cautus magis.
Narcissus urget; nec mora, accusat: rogat,
suumne norit ipse dissidium; tenet
urbem maritus, inquit. hinc stultus senex,

40
with Pallas’s favor blazing, yet not enough in spirit.
Callistus, keen, powerful; but more cautious.
Narcissus presses; without delay, he accuses: he asks
whether he himself knows his own estrangement; “the husband,”
he says, “holds the city.” From this the foolish old man,

45
uxoriusque, mox fremit, sed mox tremit;
tremensque rogitat an sit imperii potens.
privatus an sit Silius? hinc atrox ruit
procella veniens hostia: occursum cupit
accincta mater liberis: sed non viro

45
and uxorious, soon he rages, but soon he trembles;
and trembling he keeps asking whether he is potent over the empire.
whether Silius is a private citizen? Then a fierce squall rushes in,
the victim approaching: the mother, girded with her children, longs for an encounter;
but not the husband.

50
audita, vel neglecta, vel minime placens.
rediviva ne sit gratia, superbam premit
adulteram libertus. hinc scelerum seges,
quae mox agenda. sed nec in scena silet
Xiphilinus ista, nec tacet Tacitus; nec est

50
heard, or neglected, or least pleasing.
lest favor be revived, the freedman presses the proud adulteress.
hence a harvest of crimes,
which are soon to be acted. But neither on the scene is
Xiphilinus silent about these things, nor does Tacitus keep silent; nor is

55
Tranquillus hic tranquillus: historicos putes
fieri poetas. iste locus at quid valet?
quid grex pusillus, comicus tragicis?

55
Tranquillus here tranquil: you would think historians are becoming poets.
but what does this passage avail?
what of the little troupe, a comic among tragedians?

sed est
voluisse in istis aliquid. aut ista aequius
accipite, vel vos Nemesis urgebit pari .

but there is merit in having willed something in these matters.
or receive these things more equitably,
or Nemesis will press you in equal measure .

miserande coniux, coniugem quidni vocem,
quem Iuno thalamo, fata iunxerunt rogo?
quem non secundo numine, secundum mihi
urbs tota vidit, vir prior vidit virum?
quid sede ab ima, sed tandem sede excitas?

piteous husband, why should I not call you husband,
whom Juno joined to the marriage-bed, the Fates to the pyre?
whom, not with a favoring divinity, the whole city saw beside me,
did the former husband see the husband?
why from the deepest seat—yet at last—from your seat do you rouse yourself?

65
quid ora facibus, anguibus pectus petis?
quid uris, urges, trudis, exagitas, furis,
instas, minaris? nos decet furias pati,
non esse furias; sceleris authorem, comes
persequeris?

65
why do you aim at my face with torches, at my breast with serpents?
why do you burn, press, thrust, exagitate, rage,
press on, menace? it befits us to suffer furies,
not to be furies; do you, as a companion,
pursue the author of the crime?

egi, fateor, et coepi nefas.

I have acted, I confess, and I have begun a nefarious deed.

70
tu praestitisti, mihi virum, regnum tibi
dum petimus: a me tu tamen paenam petis?
ne metue, dabitur magna: vindictam petis?
confide, dabitur horrida: tyrannum petis?
desiste, dabitur fractus, invisus, miser,

70
you provided—for me a husband, for yourself a kingdom—while we were seeking:
yet from me you seek a penalty?
do not fear, a great one will be given: you seek vengeance?
have confidence, a horrid one will be given: you seek the tyrant?
desist; he will be delivered broken, hated, miserable,

75
quo nos perimus, scelere periturus pari.
quid quaeris ultra? dabitur: id lentum putas?

75
by which we perish, you will perish by an equal crime.
what do you seek further? it will be given: do you think that slow?

datur: an et illud? iam datum morti scias,
morti, expavescat quam dies, Roma horreat.
me mihi relinque: repete securus Stygem.

It is given: and that too? know that it has already been given to death,
to a death at which let Day be struck with dread, let Rome shudder.
leave me to myself: return unafraid to the Styx.

Descendit umbra Silii.

The shade of Silius descends.

te, te, imperator vilis, at coniux ferox,
ultura quaero: te Arge criminibus meis,
tuisque talpa, quaero: portentum viri,
vel stulte, vel rex nate: sic mater, soror,
sic avia de te sensit. at primum meos

you, you, base emperor, yet fierce spouse,
avenging I seek: you, Argus, with my charges,
and you, mole, with your own, I seek: a portent of a man,
either fool, or king-born: thus mother, sister,
thus grandmother felt about you. but first my

85
sapis in dolores: innocens, perimi iubes,
nescis peremptam: siccine? excidimus tibi?
non excidemus: fata si novi tua,
tibi Messalinam coniugem optabis, Nero:
adero, sed umbra. te soror et uxor Iovis,

85
you are wise in sufferings: though innocent, you order [me] to be put to death,
you do not know that I am slain: is it so? have I slipped from your memory?
I shall not slip away: if I know your fates,
you will desire Messalina as a consort for yourself, Nero:
I shall be present, but as a shade. you—the sister and wife of Jove,

90
te Trivia silvis, Luna coelo, Hecate inferis,
te nuptiarum praeses, Hymenaee, invoco,
novis adeste nuptiis, quales meis
olim adfuistis; numina quid alta invoco?
ad scelera citius inferum accurret chaos.

90
you, Trivia in the forests, Luna in the sky, Hecate among the dead,
you, presider of nuptials, Hymenaeus, I invoke,
be present at new nuptials, as you
once were present at mine; why do I invoke lofty numina?
to crimes the chaos of the Underworld will hasten more quickly.

95
si nequeo superos flectere, movebo inferos.
adsis superbi sceleris o vindex dea.
adeste tinctae sanguine, veneno, nece,
Eumenides, angue cincta Tysiphone veni,
veni Megaera, tristis Alecto veni.

95
if I cannot bend the gods above, I will move the gods below.
be present, O goddess, avenger of proud crime.
be present, you dyed in blood, in poison, in slaughter,
Eumenides, Tysiphone girt with a serpent, come,
come Megaera, grim Alecto, come.

100
hoc agite, ferte scelera: sit stuprum leve,
libido virtus, fraus fides, odium favor.
incestus ipso in limine quid intro occulit?
ambitio vetitum nil, nihil sacrum putet.
oblitterentur vetera criminibus novis,

100
do this, bring crimes: let rape be a light thing,
let lust be virtue, fraud be faith, hatred favor.
why does incest hide right at the very threshold as it enters?
let ambition think nothing forbidden, nothing sacred.
let old crimes be obliterated by new crimes,

105
meque innocentem faciat egregie nocens.
coniux marito, patruo neptis, gener
socero, patrique filius (timeo loqui)
imperia (quid dico imperia?) vitam auferat.
hac hac eundum est: has Agrippinae faces

105
and let him, egregiously guilty, make me—though innocent—guilty.
a wife from her husband, a niece from her paternal uncle, a son-in-law
from his father-in-law, and from his father a son (I fear to speak)
let him take away their commands (what do I say, commands?) their life.
by this, by this way one must go: these are Agrippina’s torches

110
fero nuptiales, immo ferales rogos.

110
I bear nuptial, nay funereal, pyres.

CLAUD. imperia quisquis metuit, et parva iacens
contentus aura littus admotum legit,
tergumque fatis perfidum lapsis dedit,
me cernat, et te, Roma: vix oetas tulit

CLAUD. whoever fears empires, and lying low
content with a slight breeze coasts the shore drawn near,
and has given a perfidious back to declining fates,
let him behold me, and you, Rome: scarcely has the age borne it

115
exempla quaevis paria, quam stabili bono
fruerentur aÈtokrãtorew, in terra Ioves.
augusta rerum domina, et Europae caput,
in astra surgit Romuli angustus labor,
et talis annos bis quater centum stetit.

115
examples equal to any, how stable a good
the autocrats, Joves on earth, enjoyed.
the august mistress of things, and the head of Europe,
to the stars rises Romulus’s narrow labor,
and such it stood for 800 years.

120
nos Phaebus oriens, per polos currens, cadens,
nos Syria Nino, Persis et Cyro potens,
Graecia Macedone; nos Capro terra addita,
nos Asia Cancro, Ursae Scythia, Librae Africa,
ultra Lyaei terminos, anni vices,

120
us the rising Phoebus, running through the poles and setting, has seen;
Syria under Ninus has known us, and Persia mighty with Cyrus;
Greece by the Macedonian; for us land has been added under Capricorn;
Asia to Cancer, Scythia to the Bear, Africa to the Balance;
beyond the termini of Lyaeus, the vicissitudes of the year,

125
ultra columnas Herculis, solis vias,
nos terra novit omnis, et novit duces.
caelo statuimus gloriam, imperium salo:
caelo capita locamus, ingredimur solo.
Caesare favente, comite fortuna, duce

125
beyond the Pillars of Hercules, the paths of the sun,
every land knows us, and knows our leaders.
in the sky we set our glory, our empire on the sea:
we place our heads in the sky, we tread upon the soil.
with Caesar favoring, Fortune as companion, as leader

130
virtute, vinci quod volo, victum dabo.
vicisse iuvat; at esse vincendum nihil
(da patria veniam) dispudet: dubito tamen,
egone potius Caesari, an Caesar mihi
invideat: ille Britonas ostendit feros,

130
by valor, what I wish to be conquered, I will deliver as conquered.
to have conquered delights; but to have to be conquered does not at all
(grant pardon, fatherland) shame: yet I hesitate,
whether I am rather to envy Caesar, or Caesar me
he displays the fierce Britons,

135
ego subiugavi; vidit, ego vici; tulit
repulsam inultus, ego triumphavi inclytus.
quin (quod beati principis proprium reor)
cedit sedenti, vel relucantes vorans
Oceanus urbes retibus praebens meis.

135
I subjugated; he saw, I conquered; he bore
a repulse unavenged; I, illustrious, triumphed.
Nay rather (which I reckon the proper mark of a blessed prince)
the devouring Ocean yields to one sitting, even swallowing
re-lucent cities, presenting them to my nets.

140
nec sortis esse reputo vulgaris, virum,
quem petere mos est, aemulis thalamis peti;
forma venustis, genere nobilibus peti;
libet, orbe domito, genium et ingenium sequi,
tractare thyrsum Bacchi, et Alcidae colum.

140
nor do I reckon it to be of a vulgar lot, for a man,
who by custom is the seeker, to be sought by rival marriage-beds;
to be sought for his beauty by the lovely, for his lineage by the noble;
it pleases me, the orb subdued, to pursue genius and ingenuity,
to handle the thyrsus of Bacchus, and the distaff of Alcides.

145
levamen habeo mortuae uxoris, novam
eligere quod iam caelibi uxorem licet.
sit causa, sit libido, sit fervens amor,
eligere certum est: nec thorus viduus placet;
nec arat subactum bos iugo liber solum.

145
I have a solace for my dead wife: that now, as a celibate, it is permitted to choose a new wife.
be it cause, be it libido, be it fervent love,
it is fixed to choose: nor does a widowed marriage-bed please;
nor does an ox, free from the yoke, plough the subdued soil.

150
Phaenix iugales sola non novit faces.
dicite, corona pulchra vincenti datur.

150
The Phoenix alone does not know the nuptial torches.
say, a beautiful crown is given to the victor.

NARC. dive imperator, proximum Marti caput,
aptus videtur coniugis iudex bonae,
qui verus index, non malus vindex malae.

NARC. divine emperor, a head nearest to Mars,
he seems apt as judge of a good wife,
who is a true index, not an evil avenger, of a bad wife.

155
Valeria mortem meruit; accepit: probas?
Petina thalamis digna; sollicitat: negas?
nempe inde pulsa: fateor; at causae leves,
et poena faciet nequid admittat novum.

155
Valeria deserved death; she received it: do you approve?
Petina, worthy of the bridal bed; she solicits: you say no?
surely driven from there: I admit it; but the causes are light,
and the penalty will make it so that she commit anything new.

mala retinemus cognita; quid ergo bona?

we keep the known evils; what then of the good things?

160

CAL. auguste Caesar, vice Iovis terris date,
iras repudia longa non faciles ferunt:
animos reducta gratia haud humiles parit.
Paulina Caio nupta, se dignam dedit
Caesare: sit haeres Claudius regni et thori.

CAL. august Caesar, given to the lands in Jove’s stead,
repudiate your wraths: long repudiations do not produce easy tempers;
recalled favor begets spirits not humble.
Paulina, wed to Gaius, has shown herself worthy
of Caesar: let Claudius be heir of the realm and of the bed.

165
tuos fovebit liberos, nullos habens;
steriles novercas matribus dicas pares.

165
she will foster your children, having none (herself);
call sterile stepmothers equal to mothers.

PAL. invicte princeps, columen Augustae domus
cui fama palmam, buccinam, pennas sacrat,
intexta lauro myrtus ut cingat caput,

PAL. unconquered prince, column of the Augustan house
to whom Fame consecrates the palm, the trumpet, the wings,
that myrtle interwoven with laurel may encircle your head,

170
inclyta Thalestris petit Alexandri thoros.
en fratre nata, fratris in thalamos tuos
trahit nepotem, regio natum omine,
clarum familia Claudia, charum omnibus.
faecunditatis foemina expertae, integra

170
illustrious Thalestris seeks Alexander’s marriage bed.
lo, one born of a brother draws a nephew into your bridal chambers,
born under a royal omen, famous in the Claudian family, dear to all.
a woman proven in fecundity, intact

175
ferox iuventa. Caesarum nomen vide
ne stirpem in aliam transferat: Iuno Iovis
cubet in lacertis, Martis in gremio Venus.

175
fierce in youth. See that the name of the Caesars
not transfer the stock into another: let Juno lie in the arms of Jove,
Venus in the lap of Mars.

NARC. Aelia marito, nota non alium colet.

NARC. Aelia, known to her husband, will not cherish another.

CAL. Lollia maritum, et liberos una colet.

CAL. Lollia will cherish her husband, and her children together.

180

PAL. Iulia maritum, liberos, cives colet.

PAL. Julia will cherish her husband, her children, her fellow-citizens.

NARC. Petina Iuno copiis: Iuno placet?

NARC. Juno of Petina with copious resources: does Juno please?

CAL. Paulina Pallas artibus: Pallas placet?

CAL. Paulina favors Pallas for the arts: does Pallas please?

PAL. Iuno, Minerva, Venus, Agrippina: an placet?

PAL. Juno, Minerva, Venus, Agrippina: or is it pleasing?

CLAUD. placet haec et illa; quae tamen placeat magis,

CLAUD. this and that please; yet which, however, should please more,

185
dubito, hanc et illam dum nimis cupio meam.
qualis iuvencas inter incedens duas
taurus decore amabiles, forma pares,
huc flectit oculos, hucque reflectit suos,
incertus utram, cupidus utriusque, involet:

185
I hesitate, while I too eagerly desire to make this one and that one mine.
Such as a bull, striding among two heifers,
lovable for grace, equal in form,
here he bends his eyes, and here he bends them back,
uncertain upon which to spring, desirous of each:

190
talis deabus novus Alexander tribus,
cui pulchriori detur ex auro decus,
dubito; nec interest; dubito multum tamen.
appulsa navis in beatorum insulas
si cuncta, avara; stulta, si nulla avehat.

190
such a new Alexander to the three goddesses,
to whichever is more beautiful let the honor of gold be given,
I doubt; nor does it matter; yet I doubt much.
with the ship brought in to the Isles of the Blessed,
if it carry off everything, greedy; foolish, if it carry off nothing.

195
inops in omni copia, cupio, et fruor.
sed audiantur aemulae primum deae.

195
needy amid all abundance, I desire, and I enjoy.
but let the rival goddesses be heard first.

AEL. PETINA quod, me relicta, Lydiam Alcides nurum,
Thebanam Iason foveris, Graiam Paris,
dolore tacito, debito obsequio tuli.

AEL. PETINA that, with me left behind, you cherish the Lydian, Alcides’ daughter‑in‑law,
the Theban woman of Jason, the Greek woman of Paris,
I have borne it with silent grief, with the owed compliance.

200
dolor feroces flectit, obsequium feras.
non arma, non venena, non diras tuli:
amor arma, lachrymae toxica, et dirae preces.
sed fulminata, Iupiter, Semele redi.

200
grief bends the fierce; compliance tames wild beasts.
I brought no arms, no poisons, no dire imprecations:
love my arms, tears my toxins, and dire imprecations.
but, thunder-struck—Jupiter!—Semele, return.

aliene, tandem Iupiter noster redi.

Stranger, at last, our Jupiter, return.

205
per dulce matris, dulcius natae caput,
per solita vota, perque communes lares,
per sacra et ignes, nuptiis testes tuis,
recipe Petinam gratiae, imperio, thoro.

205
by the sweet head of the mother, by the sweeter head of the daughter,
by the accustomed vows, and by the shared household gods,
by the sacred rites and fires, witnesses of your nuptials,
receive Petina back to favor, to command, to the marriage-bed.

LOL. PAULINA si quid Neronis Aeliam attollat iugum,

LOL. PAULINA, if in any way the yoke of Nero should exalt Aelia,

210
si quid Neronis Iuliam illustret genus,
nihil Neronis Lolliam obscurent faces.
sed haec Neronum decora, non nostra arbitror.
sed sic amet me Caesar, ut amatur mihi,
ut pia noverca Caesares solos amem.

210
if in any way Nero’s lineage illuminates Julia,
let Nero’s torches in no way obscure Lollia.
but these are the adornments of the Neros, not ours, I suppose.
but so may Caesar love me, as he is loved by me,
that, as a dutiful stepmother, I may love the Caesars alone.

215
sic in Nerone maneat imperii decus,
sic a Nerone manet in sobolem piam,
sic sub Nerone Roma, sub Roma omnia,
ut sit Neroni socia Paulina alteri.

215
so may the glory of the empire remain in Nero,
so from Nero it remains into pious offspring,
so under Nero, Rome; under Rome, all things,
so that Paulina may be a partner to the other Nero.

IUL. AGRIPPINA Cupido, victor Martis, Alcidae, Iovis,

IUL. AGRIPPINA Cupid, victor of Mars, of Alcides, of Jove,

220
Martis Venere, Lyda Herculis, Leda Iovis,
Marti ensem adimens, clavam Herculi, fulmen Iovi,
in non minorem Claudium flammas pares
iaculare; amores amet Agrippinae Nero.
quid vota surdos ad deos demens fero?

220
the Venus of Mars, the Lydian woman of Hercules, the Leda of Jove,
taking away the sword from Mars, the club from Hercules, the thunderbolt from Jove,
hurl equal flames into a Claudius no less great; let Nero love Agrippina’s loves.
why, mad, do I bear vows to deaf gods?

225
potius petatur summus in terris deus.
nam mihi supremus Claudius semper deus:
illius aras victimae nostrae imbuunt.
sed fulminantis Claudii testor caput,
Petina, vel Paulina confertur mihi?

225
rather let the highest god on earth be sought.
for to me supreme Claudius is always a god:
his altars our victims imbue.
but I call to witness the head of thunder‑wielding Claudius,
is Petina, or Paulina, compared with me?

230
mihi conferuntur odia thalamorum omnium,
repudia regum? si bene, quid urgent novos?
si male repulsae, coniuges culpant suos.

230
are the hatreds of all marriage-beds being conferred upon me,
the repudiations of kings? if well, why do they press for new ones?
if, badly repudiated, the wives blame their own husbands.

scelus in utroque est, sive fateantur scelus,
sive in maritos transferant. Caium pius

the crime is in either case, whether they confess the crime,
or transfer it onto their husbands. Gaius the pious

235
heres tuere, facta confirmes tua.
has consulari, me triumphali patre,
Germanico, Nerone, germano tuo,
Caesare creatam cernis? et dubitas adhuc?

235
Protect the heir; confirm your deeds.
Do you see her of a consular father, me of a triumphal father—
created by Germanicus Nero, your brother, Caesar? And do you still hesitate?

PET. neptim nefandum est ducere, uxorem pium.

PET. it is unspeakable to marry a granddaughter; take a pious wife.

240

PAUL. viduam fovere regis est regi decus.

PAUL. to foster a widow is a king’s part, an honor for the king.

AGRIP. expulsa vidua et uxor, an neptim expuant?

AGRIP. with the widow and the wife expelled, or are they to spit out the granddaughter?

PET. mihi sit maritus Claudius, adulter tibi.

PET. Let Claudius be a husband to me, an adulterer to you.

PAUL. mihi Caius hoesit coniugi, incestae tibi.

PAUL. For me, Caius clung as a husband; for you, to an incestuous one.

AGRIP. me frater amet et patruus, vos oderit.

AGRIP. let my brother and my uncle love me; let him hate you all.

245

CLAUD. amo te: nec odi caeteras: pariter placent.
est forma in illis, Iuliae innata est Venus.
est lepor in illis, Iuliae Suada insidet.
est splendor in illis, Iuliae divum genus.
quae me maritis praeferet reliquis?

CLAUD. I love you; nor do I hate the others: they please equally.
there is beauty in them; in Julia Venus is inborn.
there is charm in them; in Julia Suada resides.
there is splendor in them; to Julia belongs the stock of the gods.
which of them will prefer me to the other husbands?

OMNES ego.

ALL i.

250

CLAUD. ego quam deabus praeferam?

CLAUD. I—whom am I to prefer to the goddesses?

PET. me.

PAUL. me.

CLAUD. vocas,
Iulia? Neronem recipe et imperium, et thoros.

CLAUD. Do you summon,
Julia? Take back Nero and the empire, and the nuptial beds.

VITELL. bene sit Neroni, Iuliae, imperio, thoro.

VITELL. may it be well for Nero, for Julia, for the empire, for the marriage-bed.

CLAUD. bene sit, Vitelli. sed quid hoc? pectus labat:
nescio quid animus refugit: at refugit, scio,

CLAUD. may it be well, Vitellius. but what is this? my breast wavers:
I know not from what my spirit shrinks: yet it shrinks back, I know,

255
aliquid, nec illud vile: quid feci miser?
fecisse quid paeniteat: at feci miser.
instant procellae, maria sine vento tument.
auguria terrent, modo micans flamma occidit,
et modo refulget: doleo an horresco magis?

255
something, nor is that thing vile: what have I done, wretch?
something done to repent of: but I have done it, wretch.
storms press on, the seas swell without wind.
auguries terrify; now a flashing flame dies,
and now it gleams again: do I grieve or shudder more?

260
an habet voluptas magna, quod lachrymas ferat?

260
or does great pleasure have this, that it brings tears?

VITELL. nec inanis angat principem fortem timor,
nec sociam inundet principis inanis dolor.
causam timoris prome, promendo leva.
aperta relevat vulnera medentis manus.

VITELL. let not vain fear distress the brave prince,
nor let vain sorrow inundate the prince’s consort.
bring forth the cause of fear; by bringing it forth, lighten it.
the physician’s hand relieves wounds when opened.

265

CLAUD. et plura timeo, et video quae timeam duo.
et voto inhibitum, et patruum neptis ferat?
praetorianis data fides, nullam mihi
inauspicatos denuo inituram thoros.

CLAUD. and I fear more things, and I see two that I should fear.
both that she is held back by a vow, and that a niece should take her uncle?
a pledge has been given to the Praetorians, that no woman for me
will again enter ill-omened marriage-beds.

VITELL. male quae voventur, non male eventu carent.

VITELL. what is ill-vowed does not lack an ill event.

270

CLAUD. a plebe, magis a Caesare, colenda est fides.

CLAUD. fidelity is to be cultivated by the plebs, more by Caesar.

VITELL. dea, si det aliquid, si rapit, scelus est fides.

VITELL. goddess, if she gives anything, if she snatches it, faith is a crime.

CLAUD. praetorianis arma quae plectant reum.

CLAUD. arms for the Praetorians that may punish the accused.

VITELL. praetorianis quae colat dominum fides.

VITELL. for the Praetorians, the fidelity that cultivates a lord.

CLAUD. at nupta patruo neptis incestum docet.

CLAUD. but a niece, wedded to her paternal uncle, teaches incest.

275
ad ultionem numina incestus vocat.

275
incest summons the divinities to vengeance.

VITELL. fratrem et maritum forte Iunonis Iovem.

VITELL. Jove, by chance the brother and husband of Juno.

CLAUD. populus negabit.

CLAUDIUS. the people will deny it.

VITELL. Caesari populus neget?
sic imperatur? Caesarem populus reget?

VITELL. Will the people deny Caesar?
Is it commanded thus? Will the people rule Caesar?

CLAUD. lex prohibet.

CLAUD. the law forbids it.

VITELL. es lex tu tibi.

VITELL. you are a law to yourself.

CLAUD. exemplo caret.

CLAUD. is without example.

280

VITELL. exempla proebe. sed nec exemplo caret.
barbarica repete regna.

VITELL. provide examples. but it is not without an example.
recall the barbarian kingdoms.

CLAUD. barbariem sapit.

CLAUD. it savors of barbarism.

VITELL. at ubique liceat, quod loco quovis licet.

VITELL. but let what is permitted in any place be permitted everywhere.

CLAUD. natura pugnat.

CLAUD. nature fights.

VITELL. dura lex statuit thoros,
natura non distinguit, invitat magis

VITELL. a harsh law ordains marriage-beds,
nature does not distinguish, it rather invites more

285
cognata amentur.

285
let kindred be loved.

CLAUD. more vix licitum doces.

CLAUD. you teach it scarcely licit by custom.

VITELL. amore licitum fiat.

VITELL. let it be made licit by love.

CLAUD. id censor doces?

CLAUD. Do you teach that, censor?

VITELL. doceo; senatus, populus id faciam probent.

VITELL. I do teach; let the senate and the people approve that I do it.

CLAUD. impar senatum fugio, nec populum fero.

CLAUD. unequal, I flee the senate, nor do I bear the people.

VITELL. mihi, imperator, obiice hoc quicquid fugis:

VITELL. object this against me, Emperor—whatever you are fleeing:

290
populus iubebit ista, suadebunt patres.

290
the people will command those things, the Fathers will advise.

CLAUD. ventis et undis huc et huc pulsam ratim
provide locasti ~Typhi~ in optato sinu.

CLAUD. by winds and waves beaten hither and thither, the ship you have prudently set
in the longed-for bay, ~Typhi~.

AGRIP. nil habeo pro me quod petam; summa attigi.
qui te dedisti, quod neges retines nihil.

AGRIP. I have nothing on my own behalf to petition; I have touched the summit.
you who have given yourself retain nothing which you might deny.

295
sed ut altiores planta radices agat,
sed ut arctiores novus Hymen nodos alat,
duo me rogare Caesarem natus monet:
ut natus ex me sit tibi lectus gener,
ut natus ex me sit tibi dictus Nero.

295
but so that the plant may drive deeper roots,
but so that the new Hymen may foster tighter knots,
my son advises me to ask Caesar for two things:
that one born from me may be to you a chosen son-in-law,
that one born from me may be to you called Nero.

300

CLAUD. et si negatum nihil Agrippinae velim,
nedum negatum socia quod primum petat;
tamen e duobus nescio quod unum negem,
an utrumque potius: potius utrumque abnego.

CLAUD. and even if I should wish that nothing be denied to Agrippina,
much less that what my consort first asks be denied;
nevertheless, out of the two I do not know which one I should deny,
or rather both: rather I utterly deny both.

AGRIP. generum atque natum coniugi quisquam negat?

AGRIP. does anyone deny to a spouse a son-in-law and a son?

305

CLAUD. habes utrumque: nempe Syllanus gener,
et natus hic est.

CLAUD. you have both: namely Syllanus the son-in-law,
and here is a son.

AGRIP. ergo Syllanum meo
praefers? et isti respuis comitem, meum?

AGRIP. so you prefer Syllanus to mine?
and do you spurn for that one my companion?

VITELL. Syllanus impar filiae coniux tuae.
unum Domitium oppone Syllanis decem.

VITELL. Syllanus is an unequal husband for your daughter.
Oppose one Domitius to ten Silani.

310
nihil est in illo, si gener non sit tuus:
nil desit isti, si gener fiat tuus.

310
there is nothing in that man, if he is not your son-in-law:
let nothing be lacking to that fellow, if he becomes your son-in-law.

PAL. subnixa vitis arbore excelsa, viret:
robore Domitii filius stabit tuus.
charos nepotes habuit Augustus; tamen
complexus est amore privignos pari.

PAL. the vine, propped by a lofty tree, is green:
by the strength of Domitius your son will stand.
Augustus had dear grandsons; nevertheless
he embraced his step-sons with equal love.

315
habuit Tiberius filium Drusum; tamen
Germanicum recepit imperio parem.

315
Tiberius had a son Drusus; nevertheless
he received Germanicus as equal in imperium.

CLAUD. durum negare quod rogas: durum magis
est non negare: si nego, uxori gravis;
nisi nego, natis: misera quid pietas agat?

CLAUD. hard to deny what you ask: harder
it is not to deny: if I deny, I am grievous to my wife;
unless I deny, to my children: miserable piety—what is it to do?

320
utrumque nobis nempe decernant patres.

320
let the Fathers indeed decree both for us.

VITELL. Syllane, quo te proripis?

VITELL. Syllanus, where are you rushing off to?

SYL. censor gravis,
recta in senatum.

SYL. grave censor,
straight into the senate.

VITELL. non licet.

VITELL. it is not permitted.

SYL. cur non licet?

SYL. why is it not permitted?

VITELL. ego te senatu moveo.

VITELL. I remove you from the senate.

SYL. tu censor quidem;
ego praetor, et quod moveat invidiam, gener

SYL. you indeed are the censor;
I am praetor, and, what may arouse envy, a son-in-law

325
Caesaris.

325
of Caesar.

VITELL. uterque scilicet fueras, eris
neuter.

VITELL. of course you had been both; you will be
neither.

SYL. quid hoc est?

SYL. what is this?

VITELL. Caesar, et censor movent

VITELL. Caesar, and the censor move.

te, te senatu, munere, et generi loco.

you, you by the senate, by office, and in the place of a son-in-law.

SYL. quae causa?

SYL. what is the cause?

VITELL. libuit.

VITELL. I felt like it.

SYL. id satis causae putas?

SYL. do you think that is sufficient cause?

VITELL. satis: et sororis haud satis purges notam.

VITELL. enough: and you do not sufficiently purge your sister’s stain.

330

SYL. notam sororis?

SYL. the stigma of my sister?

VITELL. dixi, et hoc dicto vale.

VITELL. I have said, and with this said, farewell.

Vitellius in curiam.

Vitellius enters the curia.

SYL. quae verba, quae lamenta, quos planctus dabo?
audite terrae, et Tartara, et coelum, et mare.
coniugia falsus pacta disrupit Nero:
Nero immerentem perfidus generum expulit.

SYL. what words, what laments, what plaints shall I give?
hear, O lands, and Tartarus, and heaven, and sea.
Nero, false, has broken the marriage pacts:
perfidious Nero has expelled his undeserving son-in-law.

335
auditis et videtis, et vivit Nero?
vivat pater nefandus, invisus socer,
discors maritus, saeculi crimen sui:
generum Procrusten sumat, aut monstri genus,
socerum, parentem, coniugem, fratrem vorans.

335
Do you hear and see, and does Nero live?
Let the nefarious father live, the hated father-in-law,
a discordant husband, the crime of his own age:
let him take a Procrustes as son-in-law, or a genus of monster,
devouring father-in-law, parent, spouse, brother.

340
ecce, ecce pompa ducitur longo ordine
Octaviae iugalis, at funus mihi.
fax nuptialis funebrem accendit rogum.
Syllane, morere, morere: genialis thorus
sit tibi sepulchrum: victimam sacris feri.

340
behold, behold the procession is led in a long order
octavia’s nuptial procession, but for me a funeral.
the nuptial torch ignites the funereal pyre.
syllanus, die, die: let the marriage-bed
be your sepulchre: strike the victim for the sacred rites.

345
quod timida refugit dextra, perficiet dolor.
nec dextra refugit, sed diem caedi eligit,
quo nuptiarum Caesari invidiam augeat.
me sequere, Caesar, sic gener duco viam.

345
what the timid right hand shrinks from, pain will accomplish.
nor does the right hand shrink, but it chooses a day for slaughter,
on which it may augment for Caesar the odium of his nuptials.
follow me, Caesar; thus, as a son-in-law, I lead the way.

Exit Syllanus

Syllanus exits

VITELL. detur petenti venia, conscripti patres,

VITELL. let pardon be granted to the petitioner, Conscript Fathers,

350
ut summa agatur publicae primum rei.
graves labores principis, terrae quibus
orbem capessit, non leve auxilium volunt,
cura familiae vacuus ut patriae vacet.
mentis levamen quod potest melius dari,

350
that the highest concerns of the commonwealth be handled first.
the weighty labors of the princeps, by which he takes up the orb of the earth,
require no slight aid,
that, free from the care of the household, he may be free for the fatherland.
what relief of the mind can be given better,

355
quam socia rebus prosperis, dubiis comes?
cui tradat animi sensa, progeniem piam,
non Veneri inausae, non voluptati datus,
prima a iuventa legibus morem gerens?

355
than as a partner in prosperous affairs, a companion in uncertain ones?
to whom he may entrust the feelings of his spirit, a pious progeny,
not unwelcome to Venus, not given over to pleasure,
from earliest youth paying deference to the laws?

POMPEIUS CO. male fertur uni duplicis colli iugum.

POMPEY CO. ill is the yoke of a double neck borne by one.

360
et urbem, et orbem vix Atlas solus ferat.
multis mariti, coelibes vivunt sibi.
est Caesar, aliquam quod velit, prudens; pius
quod haeret uni: ducat, o ducat cito.

360
and the city, and the world Atlas alone would scarcely bear.
husbands to many, celibates live for themselves.
there is Caesar, prudent in that he wants some wife; pious
in that he clings to one: let him wed, O let him wed quickly.

VITELL. divum Neronem quia maritandum patres

VITELL. because the Fathers must marry off the deified Nero

365
suadetis, opus est faeminam thalamis legi,
faecunditate, genere, pietate inclytam.
quid multa? talis en Agrippina eminet,
faecunditate, genere, pietate inclyta.
nec sine deorum numine favente accidit,

365
you advise: there is need that a woman be chosen for the marriage-bed,
illustrious in fecundity, lineage, and piety.
why many words? lo, such a one Agrippina stands out,
illustrious in fecundity, lineage, and piety.
nor did it befall without the favoring numen of the gods,

370
ut vidua nubat principi experto sua
coniugia tantum: audivimus saeclis patrum,
vidimus et ipsi, coniuges castas rapi
ad iniqua libita Caesarum: quod quam procul
ab hoc pudore! coniugem potius suam

370
so that, as a widow, she may marry a prince experienced only in his own
conjugal unions: we have heard in the ages of our fathers,
and we ourselves have seen chaste wives be snatched
to the iniquitous pleasures of the Caesars: how far
from this modesty that is! rather his own wife

375
ad libita patrum Caesar abiectus capit.
coniugia Romae in filias fratrum nova,
fateor: sed alibi nota, nec leges vetant;
sed mos iniquus: pariter ignotus fuit
thalamus sobrinae, tempore invaluit dato.

375
The Caesar, humbled, takes a wife according to the desires of the Fathers.
Marriages at Rome to brothers’ daughters are novel,
I confess; but elsewhere they are known, nor do the laws forbid;
but custom is adverse: likewise the nuptial chamber was unknown
of a cousin-german; in time, once the occasion was given, it prevailed.

380
accommodantur commodis mores: nova
fuere quae nunc nota: hoc ex illis erit.

380
Mores are accommodated to conveniences: new were the things which are now known: this will be one of them.

VERANNIUS Iulia Neroni nubat, o nubat cito.
id si moratur Caesar, adigamus patres,
et in hoc eamus.

VERANNIUS Let Julia marry Nero—oh, let her marry quickly.
If Caesar delays that, let us compel the Fathers,
and let us go forward in this.

VITELL. siste, volentem intuor.

VITELL. Stay, I behold one willing.

385

Ingreditur Claudius.

Claudius enters.

auguste princeps, prosit imperio et tibi,
censet senatus, populus unanimis iubet,
piam auspicata Iuliam iungas face;
Iulia potentis nomen Augustae ferat.
genti Domitius Claudiae insertus Nero,

august princeps, may it profit the empire and you,
the senate decrees, the unanimous people commands,
that you join the pious Julia with an auspicious torch;
let Julia bear the name of powerful Augusta.
Nero Domitius, inserted into the Claudian gens,

390
gener Neroni, Octaviae sponsus tuae,
vicessimo anno consul, extra urbem interim
princeps iuventae teneat imperium, volunt.

390
as a son-in-law, Nero, the betrothed spouse of your Octavia,
consul in his 20th year, outside the city meanwhile
as Prince of the Youth let him hold imperium, they wish.

CLAUD. quod tanta vobis cura sit nostri, placet:
nec cura nobis, placeat ut vobis, minor.

CLAUD. that you have such great care for us pleases:
nor is the care on our part, that it may please you, any less.

395
sed caveat axes captus ad patrios puer,
ne incendat orbem, fulmen incensus ferat.
nemo familiae Claudiae est ante insitus.
sed inde prodit iunctus Augustae Nero;
et inde natus filiae charus comes.

395
but let the boy, captivated by his father’s axles, beware,
lest he set the world on fire, and, set ablaze, bear the thunderbolt.
no one has previously been grafted into the Claudian family.
but from there emerges Nero, joined to the Augusta;
and from there is born for my daughter a dear companion.

400

Intrant Nero, Agrippina, Britannicus, Octavia, Pallas.

Enter Nero, Agrippina, Britannicus, Octavia, Pallas.

NERO Britannicum salvere Nero fratrem iubet.

NERO Nero bids his brother Britannicus hail.

BRIT. Domiti, salutem, nepe quam iubeas, habe.

BRIT. Domitius, greeting; indeed, take the sort you command.

NERO Domiti? quid hoc est? mater, annon sum Nero?

NERO Domitius? what is this? mother, am I not Nero?

CLAUD. Caesar Neronem, Caesar Augustam suis
nominibus ornat.

CLAUD. Caesar adorns Nero, Caesar adorns the Augusta with his own
names.

AGRIP. Caesar exornat suos:

AGRIP. Caesar adorns his own:

405
sed adoptiones Coesaris spernit puer:
intra penates abrogat quicquid patres,
populusque iussit: nec suo Marte abrogat,
sed ad ista doctus: ista qui doceant nisi
cito arceantur, quas alant flammas vide.

405
but the boy spurns Caesar’s adoptions:
within the Penates he abrogates whatever the Fathers,
and the People have ordered: nor does he abrogate by his own martial prowess,
but has been instructed for these things: unless those who teach these things
are quickly warded off, see what flames they feed.

410

CLAUD. flamma exeduntur ligna, quae flammas alunt.
consilia in ipsos noxia authores cadunt.

CLAUD. the wood which nourishes the flames is eaten away by flame.
noxious counsels fall upon their own authors.

poena monitorum terreat mentem levem.
exilia, mortes, ut libet, statuas licet,
custos novercae detur arbitrio probus.

let the penalty of the monitors terrify the light mind.
exiles, deaths—you may, as you please, decree,
let an upright guard be given to the stepmother’s discretion.

415
sed quid citato centurio portat pede?

415
but what does the centurion carry with hastened step?

Intrat centurio.

The centurion enters.

CENT. quod imperasti Caesar, id factum affero:
patres triginta quinque ceciderunt, tuis
equites trecenti nuptiis clarae hostiae.

CENT. What you commanded, Caesar, I report as done:
thirty-five senators have fallen, and three hundred equites—
illustrious victims for your nuptials.

CLAUD. ego imperavi? testor aeternum Iovem,

CLAUD. I ordered it? I call eternal Jove to witness,

420
non imperasse: quas miser paenas dabis?

420
that I did not give the order: what penalties, wretch, will you pay?

PALLAS potius tuere milites, Caesar, tuos,
ad ultionem sponte currentes tuam.
hostes fuerunt.

PALLAS, rather protect your soldiers, Caesar, your own,
running of their own accord to your vengeance.
they were enemies.

CLAUD. ergo sic hostes eant,
sic auferantur: me dapes lautae manent.

CLAUD. therefore thus let the enemies go,
thus let them be carried off: a sumptuous banquet awaits me.

425

BRITANNICUS ergo, alme genitor, fratrem adoptari parum est,
nisi praeferatur? noscere novercam parum est,
nisi dominetur? scilicet vestis mihi
praetexta, at illi iam triumphalis datur.

BRITANNICUS therefore, kindly father, is it too little that a brother be adopted, unless he be preferred?
is it too little to know a stepmother, unless she domineer?
of course, for me the praetexta vestment is given,
but to him already the triumphal robe is given.

ergo imperator ille, te natus puer?

So then that one is emperor, a boy born of you?

430
custodiendam das ovem pastor lupo,
imo laniandam! potius o potius, pater,
pater misericors more me pecudum immola.
en colla, iugulum, pectus extendo lubens.

430
you give the sheep to be guarded to the wolf as shepherd—nay, to be lacerated!
rather, O rather, father,
merciful father, immolate me after the manner of cattle.
lo, I willingly stretch out my neck, my jugular, my breast.

optanda mors est, qua manu cupias, mori.

A death to be desired is to die at the hand you desire.

435

CLAUD. spes magna patris, specimen egregiae indolis,
nihil nimis confide, nil nimium time.
sit impudicum, impune coniugium mihi
non erit: ¶rvw dÉ §pe¤getai.

CLAUD. great hope of your father, specimen of outstanding inborn character,
put confidence in nothing too much, fear nothing too much.
let the conjugal union be shameless; it will not be with impunity for me: but Eros presses on.

specta, puer.
age cresce, cresce, macte virtute inclyta,

look, boy.
come, grow, grow, be magnified by illustrious virtue,

440
verum ut Quirites Caesarem tandem sciant.
duram novercam patere, dominantem time.
mihi dii dedere, coniugum ut primo feram
flagitia, deinde puniam.

440
but so that the Quirites may at last know Caesar.
endure a harsh stepmother; fear a domineering one.
to me the gods have given, that I should first endure
the flagitious crimes of spouses, then punish them.

concors bibes
a fratre nectar; toxicum discors bibes.

In concord you will drink
nectar from your brother; in discord you will drink toxin.

445
certate melior, non uter maior regat.
utrumque vobis offero, sancti patres:
diligite, amate, colite Caesareum genus.
filum amputare Parca non parcit meum.

445
contend that the better may rule, not that the greater should rule.
I offer both to you, holy fathers:
esteem, love, cultivate the Caesarean stock.
the Parca does not spare to cut my thread.

VITELL. parcat precamur: Claudium norint avum

VITELL. may he spare, we pray: let them know Claudius as grandsire

450
seri nepotes, lenta mors veniat seni.

450
let the grandsons be late-born; let a tardy death come to the old man.

Exeunt omnes praeter Agrippina et Pallanta.

All exit except Agrippina and Pallas.

AGRIP. dilecte Palla, electe prae reliquis amor,
miserae feroces coniugi audisti minas?
quisquamne regum tutus expectet minas?

AGRIP. beloved Pallas, chosen before the rest, my love,
have you heard the ferocious threats against the wretched spouse?
does any of the kings safely await threats?

quin potius illas occupet? potius scelus,

why not rather seize them? better a crime,

455
si sit necesse, quam feras, facias lubens.
cavete tumidas, providi reges, minas:
armant, et acuunt, et viam claudunt sibi.
nam qui malum minatur, ut caveam monet.
scelus antevertam scelere: nam sceleri salus

455
if it should be necessary, what you would endure, do willingly.
beware tumid menaces, prudent kings:
they arm, and they whet, and they close the way to themselves.
for he who menaces evil admonishes me to beware.
I will forestall crime with crime: for to crime salvation

460
scelus est: prematur, ne minus cautam premat.

460
it is a crime: let it be suppressed, lest it press upon one less cautious.

PAL. Augusta, potius flecte parendo virum.

PAL. Empress, rather bend the man by obeying.

AGRIP. cui liceat imperare, parendum mones?

AGRIP. Do you advise that she to whom it is permitted to command should obey?

PAL. es imperatrix.

PAL. you are the empress.

AGRIP. Claudii arbitrio.

AGRIP. At Claudius’s discretion.

PAL. imperas

PAL. you command

et illi.

and to him.

AGRIP. ad instans patitur illudi leo;

AGRIP. to the instant the lion suffers himself to be mocked;

465
mox laniat: ungues timeo: non audis minas?

465
soon he tears to pieces: I fear the claws: do you not hear the threats?

PAL. obsequia flectunt, non minae frangunt minas.

PAL. Acts of deference bend; menaces do not break menaces.

AGRIP. timidae obsequantur: quod minor, faciam scelus.

AGRIP. let the timid be obsequious: because I am the lesser, I will commit a crime.

PAL. scelus ipsa dicis?

PAL. do you yourself call it a crime?

AGRIP. fateor, et magnum scelus.

AGRIP. I confess it, and a great crime.

PAL. perimes maritum?

PAL. will you kill your husband?

AGRIP. nempe ne perimat, perit.

AGRIP. indeed, lest he slay, he perishes.

470

PAL. perit imperator?

PAL. does the emperor perish?

AGRIP. nempe, ut imperio fruar.

AGRIP. indeed, so that I may enjoy the imperial power.

PAL. quae spes?

PAL. what hope?

AGRIP. quid haeres? faemina irata, et potens.

AGRIP. why do you hesitate? an irate woman, and potent.

hic esse crede fulgur et fulmen Iovis.
ira et potestas fulgur et fulmen Iovis:
et utroque maius foemina.

believe that here is the lightning-flash and the thunderbolt of Jove.
wrath and power—the lightning-flash and the thunderbolt of Jove:
and greater than both, a woman.

PALL. potestas tibi

PALL. power is yours

475
est in Neronem?

475
Is it against Nero?

AGRIP. nempe quam dederat Nero.
Burrhus cohortes, Seneca concilium regit.

AGRIP. namely that which Nero had granted.
Burrhus commands the cohorts, Seneca governs the council.

PAL. virtute utrumque nobilem, sceleri advocas?

PAL. Do you call both, noble in virtue, to crime?

AGRIP. sed uterque, cuius creverit studio, memor,
adiunget alter milites, alter patres.

AGRIP. but each, mindful of by whose zeal he has grown,
will add—one the soldiers, the other the Fathers.

480

PAL. pretio merendi milites, pretio patres.

PAL. by pay one merits the soldiers, by pay the Fathers.

AGRIP. subsidia regno pretia quaesivi, et dabo.

AGRIP. I have sought out supports for the realm, I have inquired the prices, and I will pay them.

PAL. sed quis Neronem...

PAL. but who Nero...

AGRIP. Caesarem cedant mihi.

AGRIP. Let them yield Caesar to me.

PAL. quo ge nere mortis . . .

PAL. by what kind of death . . .

AGRIP. toxico.

AGRIP. with poison.

PAL. lento, an cito?

PAL. slowly, or quickly?

AGRIP. praecipite facinus proditur, lento dolus.

AGRIP. by precipitancy a crime is betrayed, by slowness, guile.

485
inde odia nobis, hinc amor nati redit.
quod turbet animum, differat mortem volo.

485
thence hatreds come to me, hence the love of my son returns.
I want that which would perturb the mind to defer death.

PAL. quaenam artifex?

PAL. What artificer?

AGRIP. Locusta, iam sceleris rea.

AGRIP. Locusta, now accused of crime.

PAL. et quis minister?

PAL. and who is the accomplice?

AGRIP. ipse Ganymedes spado
Halotus.

AGRIP. Ganymedes himself, the eunuch
Halotus.

PAL. haec quo?

PAL. these—where to?

AGRIP. natus ut regnet meus.

AGRIP. born so that mine may reign.

490

PAL. id dii secundent.

PAL. may the gods second that.

AGRIP. quid velint superi, scies.
Agerinus ecce nunc ab auguribus redit.

AGRIP. what the gods above may will, you will know.
Behold, Agerinus now returns from the augurs.

Intervenit Agerinus.

Agerinus enters.

quid augur? ede: quid taces? regnat meus?

what, augur? tell: why are you silent? does my son reign?

AGER. tacere liceat.

AGER. let me be permitted to be silent.

AGRIP. loquere, regnabit Nero?

AGRIP. speak, will Nero reign?

AGER. regnabit; at si regnet, in matrem ruet.

AGER. he will reign; but if he should reign, he will rush upon his mother.

495

AGRIP. ruatque coelum; quid mea? regnet modo.

AGRIP. and let heaven fall; what is it to me? let him only reign.

Palla, hinc eamus: causa non patitur moras.

Palla, let us go hence: the cause does not permit delays.

NARC. o dura fata: quid miser primum querar?
te, Caesar, an te, Roma, Medaeae truci
deservientes? te, puer, an et te, soror,

NARC. o harsh fates: what shall I, wretched, complain of first?
you, Caesar, or you, Rome, serving the truculent Medea?
you, boy, or even you, sister,

500
durae novercae subditos? an me querar?
fortuna lachrymas me mea perennes rogat.

500
subjected to a harsh stepmother? Or shall I complain of myself?
Fortune asks from me my perennial tears.

mihi, Messalina, sive Agrippina satus
imperia teneat, certa pernicies adest.
sed adsit, adsit: meritus es, Caesar, tibi

for me, whether one born of Messalina or of Agrippina
should hold the imperial powers, a sure ruin is at hand.
but let it be present, let it be present: you have merited it for yourself, Caesar

505
ut opes, honorem, spiritum impendam meum.
Hydram impudicam capite mulctavi; tamen
novum reciso capite succrevit caput;
nec unum in uno: sola nec restat capra,
sed et est Chimaera, fronte leo, cauda draco.

505
that I may expend my wealth, my honor, my spirit.
I mulcted the impudent Hydra of a head; yet
a new head grew back with the head cut off;
and not one for one: nor does a goat alone remain,
but it is also the Chimaera, a lion in front, a dragon in the tail.

510
seges laborum crescit assidue nova.
nova monstra surgunt: aliud ex alio malum.
perdidimus operam: nunc meas damno manus.

510
a new harvest of labors grows incessantly.
new monsters arise: another evil out of another.
we have wasted our effort: now I damn my hands.

nempe impudicam sustuli, insurgit fera,
cui prostitutus e malis minimum pudor.

indeed I removed the shameless one; a wild beast rises up,
for whom, prostituted among evils, modesty is the least.

515
maechus in Atridem Tyndarim Aegisthus rapit:
regnoque cedunt fas, fides, corpus, decus.
adolesce Oresta, adolesce. maturum tibi
aetatis adsit robur, inimicos fuges
patris, homicidas vindices matris tuae,

515
the adulterer Aegisthus carries off the Tyndarid against the Atridan:
and to kingship yield right, faith, body, honor.
grow up, Orestes, grow up. May the mature
robust strength of age be present for you; you will flee the enemies
of your father, the murderers, the avengers of your mother,

520
et nos in illis: dissipa nubes leves.
sol sole toto conspicere tandem polo.
quid te, quid homines, quod deos potius precer?

520
and us among them: scatter the light clouds.
to behold the sun with the whole sky wholly sunlit at last.
what should I pray of you, what of men, what rather of the gods?

BRIT. Narcisse, vota timeo tam magna: immemor
nostri videris, tanta qui tumide rogas.

BRIT. Narcissus, I fear vows so great: unmindful
of us you seem, you who so tumidly ask for such great things.

525
orbi interempta matre, praesidio undique
nudi, novercae subditi, fratri impares,
patre destituti, regna meditamur? satis,
satis est superque vita, vivamus licet.
satis est superque vita: mors culpa vacet,

525
orphaned by a mother slain, bare of protection on every side,
subjected to a stepmother, unequal to our brother,
destitute of a father, do we contemplate kingdoms? enough,
enough and more than enough is life; let us live, if it is permitted.
enough and more than enough is life: let death be free of guilt,

530
mori iuvabit: magna spes regni excutit
regno minores; luce, spe, vita excutit.

530
to die will be welcome: the great hope of a reign casts the lesser from the reign;
from light, from hope, from life it casts them out.

OCT. o luce frater charior, speret licet
quae spirat anima: sola spes haesit solo,
cum terram et homines reliqua fugerunt bona.

OCT. O brother dearer than light, let whatever soul breathes hope;
only hope has adhered to the soil,
when the remaining goods have fled the earth and men.

535
spem dat superstes vitae et imperii pater.

535
the surviving father gives hope of life and of empire.

BRIT. cum patre vita, cum patre imperium cadet.
Narcisse, nosti, noster an vivat pater?

BRIT. With the father, life will fall; with the father, the empire will fall.
Narcissus, do you know whether our father lives?

NARC. vivit, sed aeger.

NARC. he lives, but he is ill.

BRIT. ergo, si fas est, patrem
visamus aegrum.

BRIT. therefore, if it is right, let us visit
the sick father.

NARC. sistite, noverca evolat.

NARC. halt, the stepmother flies out.

540

Intrant Agrippina et Xenophon medicus.

Enter Agrippina and Xenophon the physician.

AGRIP. perii; vomenti virus ingestum effluet.
male properanti verba sunt irae data.

AGRIP. I am undone; as he vomits, the ingested venom will flow out.
in ill haste, words were given to wrath.

quid, anime, refugis? perge, dum fervent manus.
age perge, perge, Augusta; nisi pergis peris.

why, my spirit, do you shrink back? proceed, while the hands are fervent.
come, proceed, proceed, Augusta; unless you proceed you perish.

remedia morbis ultimis quaere ultima.

seek ultimate remedies for ultimate diseases.

545
facinora Xenophon conscius nostra adiuves.
faveo vomenti Claudio; vitam evomat.
pinnam vomenti, sed venenatam, ingere:
venena supplent saepe medicinae locum.
scelera periclum magna non parvum ferunt:

545
Xenophon, being privy, aid our crimes.
I favor Claudius as he vomits; let him vomit out his life.
thrust in a feather for the vomiting man—but poisoned;
poisons often supply the place of medicine.
crimes bring peril great, not small:

550
pretium peracta non minus tandem ferunt.
aggredere, perage.

550
completed deeds at last bring no lesser reward.
undertake; carry it through.

Exit Xenophon. Agrippina videt Britannicum.

Xenophon exits. Agrippina sees Britannicus.

misera, quid feci? nefas
nati audierunt: audiant potius piam.
o mundi et ocule, et anima, medicinae deus,
o nate Phoebo archiatre, medicorum pater,

wretched me, what have I done? a nefarious act
the sons have heard: let them rather hear a pious one.
o eye and soul of the world, god of medicine,
o son of Phoebus, archiater, father of physicians,

555
o patre magno non minor soboles Salus,
dirigite medici doctam alexicaci manum,
ne quid doloris Claudium capiat meum,
ne quid doloris Claudius sapiat meus.
sed ecce natum. o vera progenies patris,

555
o Salus, offspring no lesser than your great father,
direct, guide the learned hand of the alexicacus physician,
lest any pain seize my Claudius,
lest my Claudius taste any pain.
but look, the son. o true progeny of the father,

560
genitricis in quo forma, genitoris decus,
quam tua lacertis colla complecti iuvat!
o dulce pignus, quam iuvat grata oscula
libare, lacrimas in sinum laetas dare!

560
in whom the mother’s form, the father’s grace,
how it delights to clasp your neck with arms!
o sweet pledge, how it delights to libate welcome kisses
and to give joyful tears into the bosom!

NARC. o quantum inundat flente Agrippina malum?

NARC. O how much evil inundates with Agrippina weeping?

565
sed quid flet? altas nectit insidias amor
novus novercae: timeo vel amentem quoque.

565
but why does she weep? a new love of a stepmother weaves deep insidious snares
I fear even a madwoman too.

BRIT. o mater, aegrum visere parentem licet?

BRIT. O mother, is it permitted to visit my ailing father?

AGRIP. quid, matris o spes, una non liceat tibi?
sed imminuto iam salus morbo redit.

AGRIP. what? O hope of your mother, should not even one thing be permitted to you?
but now, with the illness diminished, health returns.

570

BRIT. laetor, magisque visere valentem placet.

BRIT. I rejoice, and it pleases me more to see you well.

AGRIP. et mihi placeret; medicus at turbas vetat,
ut relevet altus corpus afflictum sopor.
tempus sopori detur, accedet salus.

AGRIP. and it would please me too; but the physician forbids crowds,
that deep sleep may relieve the afflicted body.
let time be given to sleep; health will come.

officia, tempus nisi cavent, fructu carent.

duties, unless they beware the time, lack fruit.

575
cito, si valentem, videris. natos meos,
Narcisse, thalamis quo potes recrees ioco.

575
quickly, if [I am] well, you shall see me. my sons,
Narcissus, in the bridal chambers recreate with jest as you can.

Exeunt Narcissus, Britannicus, Octavia.

They exit, Narcissus, Britannicus, Octavia.

qualis lateribus clausus intextis equi
Troiani Ulisses, tela Laocoon furens
cum torsit, imo pectore extimuit dolos:

such as Ulysses, enclosed in the interwoven flanks of the Trojan horse,
when Laocoön, raging, hurled his spears,
from his inmost breast he shuddered at the stratagems:

580
talis, cavernas natus ut petiit meas,
qui mox peribit angue, Laoocon, tuo,
ne male latentes proderet sonitus dolos
et portae in ipso limine haererem, horrui.
nunc arce posita, claustra quum laxet Sinon

580
such, when your son sought my caverns,
who soon will perish by a serpent, Laocoön, yours,
lest the sounds, ill at hiding, betray the stratagems
and I should stick fast on the very threshold of the gate, I shuddered.
now, with the citadel taken, when Sinon loosens the bars

585
expecto: et ecce signat dat Pallas bona.

585
I wait: and behold, Pallas gives good signs.

Intrat Pallas.

Pallas enters.

PAL. peracta fata: Claudius letho occubat.

PAL. the fates accomplished: Claudius lies in death.

AGRIP. expleta vota: Iuliam laeta occupant.

AGRIP. vows completed: happy things occupy Julia.

PAL. Romae imperator, domitor Oceani Nero,
Britonum subactor, arbiter terrae Nero,

PAL. Emperor of Rome, tamer of the Ocean, Nero,
subduer of the Britons, arbiter of the earth, Nero,

590
velut alta crebris pinus impulsa ictibus,
gemuit supremum, truncus exanimis iacet.

590
just as a high pine, impelled by frequent blows,
groaned its last, the trunk, exanimate, lies.

AGRIP. nunc Troia tota est flamma, nunc Priamus cinis.
i nunc minare coniugi poenam tuae:
i potius, et nunc coniugi Stygiae refer,

AGRIP. now all Troy is flame, now Priam is ash.
go now, threaten punishment to your wife:
go rather, and now report to your Stygian spouse,

595
refer ultionem nomine utriusque inditam.
non ausa scelus, est passa; non passa, audeo.
fortuna timidam afflixit, audentem extulit.

595
report the vengeance imposed in the name of both.
not having dared the crime, she has suffered it; not having suffered it, I dare.
Fortune has cast down the timid, has exalted the daring.

nunc meus ad apicem surget imperii Nero.
me natus, ex me dominus, et per me Nero.

now my Nero will rise to the apex of empire.
born of me, from me a lord, and through me, Nero.

600
celanda mors est Claudii, ut vivat Nero,
Augusta vivat, regnet Augusta et Nero.
post multa me sors saecla principibus dedit
natam, sororem, coniugem, matrem unicam.

600
the death of Claudius must be hidden, so that Nero may live,
let the Augusta live, let the Augusta and Nero reign.
after many ages Fortune has given me to princes
as daughter, sister, consort, the only mother.

en vocat caedes violenta caedem.

Lo, violent slaughter calls for slaughter.

605
flagitant manes queruli, inquieti,
caesus occisor cadat, expietur
sanguine sanguis.

605
the querulous, restless manes demand,
let the slayer, cut down, fall; let there be expiation
blood by blood.

nesciens peccas? male nesciebas.
negligens patras?

Do you sin unknowing? You were badly ignorant.
Do you perpetrate negligently?

male negligebas.

you were neglecting badly.

610
innocens non es: lue, qui nocebas
nescius author.

610
you are not innocent: pay the penalty, you who were doing harm
an unknowing author.

at cecidisti merito nocentem:
iudica, damna; facis innocentem
non ream caedens: merito at nocenti

but you have struck down the guilty deservedly:
judge, condemn; by striking you do not make
the innocent an accused: but to the guilty, deservedly

615
caederis ergo.

615
therefore you will be struck.

Hercules fidam Megaram perimit,
sed furens: absit scelus a furore.
Herculem, an falsa, an furiosa coniux,
Deianira.

Hercules kills faithful Megara,
but furious: let the crime be absent from fury.
Hercules, or a false, or a furious spouse,
Deianira.

620

unda sic undam trahit, ignis ignem:
sic scelus pensat scelus: urget iram
ira: non iustae comes ultionis
ultio iusta.

thus wave draws wave, fire draws fire:
thus crime requites crime: anger urges anger:
not the companion of unjust vengeance is
just retribution.

at sinit iustos aliquando caelum

but heaven sometimes allows the just

625
caedi ab iniustis: fateor: sed illos
alteri vitae, assiduae gehennae
destinat istos.

625
to be slain by the unjust: I confess it: but those
to the other life, to continual Gehenna
he destines these.

sera, sed certa est pede Poena claudo.
ultor a tergo premit irrepressus.

Late, but sure, is Punishment with a limping foot.
an avenger presses from behind, irrepressible.

630
neminem fallit Nemesis; nec ulli
fallitur illa.

630
Nemesis deceives no one; nor is she
deceived by anyone.