Part 7 (1/2)
”A white bull to Jupiter Capitolinus! I ao with you to the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, and to swear on the altar whatever solemn oath you wish”
Pertinax smiled cynically
”The men who slew Julius Caesar were under oath to him,” he remarked ”Most solemn oaths they swore, then turned on one another like a pack of wolves! Octavian and Anthony were under oath; and how long did that last? My first claiiance of our troops in Britain, who had broken the most solemn oath a man can take-of loyalty to Rome An oath binds nobody It simply is an emphasis of what a man intends that minute It expresses an ee themselves I personally, who a men's ives es that make doubt impossible”
”Then you don't like me?” asked Livius
”I would like you better if I knew that I could trust you”
”You shall, Pertinax! Bring witnesses! I will commit myself before your witnesses to do ht and left Then he lowered his voice
”-in bringing about the political change you conte room,” Pertinax answered ”Keep nearspeech not audible to ed You may depend on me,” said Livius ”I trust you more because you use caution Come”
VI THE EMPEROR COMMODUS
The imperial palace was a maze of splendor such as Babylon had never seen It had its own great aqueducts to carry water for its fountains, for the gardens and for the ie, as the Thermae of titus Palace after palace had been wrecked, re erown into a city within a city
There were barracks for the praetorian guard that lacked nota fortress Rooms and stairways for the countless slaves were like honeycoround passages, so; and there was one, for the eao with less risk of assassination
Even te wall tosuites of state apartnificence of his predecessor Oriental s, fountains, the e height of the buildings, awed even the Romans ere used to thenificence that it was said that even Caesar his, ambassadors and Roman citizens adhtest difficulty; there was no unsee; horribly uncoas that court etiquette prescribed, renity by colossal statues of the noblest Ronificently uniformed past masters of the art of cerenificant intruders into a golden old, with his ivory wand of office, see in the marble antechamber to examine visitors' credentials and see that none passed in iilded marble throne was on a dais approached by marble steps, beneath a balcony to which a stair ascended from behind a carved screen Trumpets announced the approach of Caesar, who could enter unobserved through a door at the side of the dais Frorew as rigid as the basalt statues in the niches of the columned walls, it was a punishable crime to speak or even to move until Caesar appeared and was seated
Nor was Caesar himself an anticlimax Even Nero, nerveless in his latter days, when self-will and debauchery had pouched his eyes and sto like a God Vespasian and titus, each in turn, was Mars personified Aurelius had typified a gentler phase of Ronity, but even he, whose worst severity was teret that he could not kill crime with kindliness, had worn the iate
Commodus, in the lamor of the throne, was perfect Handsomest of all the Caesars, he could act his part with such consummate majesty that men who knew him intimately half-believed he was a hero after all Athletic, or, that was purely physical, passed readily for spiritual quality within that golden hall, where the resources of the world were all put under tribute to provide a royal setting He eed He smiled, as if the sun shone He observed the rolled petitions, greetings, testimonials of flattery from private citizens and addresses of adulation froilded basket as the silent throng filed by beneath hi as the esture of impatience the subprefects quietly impelled the crowd to quicker rew tired of dignity and his ferocious scowl clouded his face like a thunderstorm
”Am I to sit here while the whole worldat h to fill the throne-room, but none knehether it was meant for an aside or not and none dared answer hiht hand and bowing as he reached the square of carpet that was placed exactly in front of Caesar's throne
Commodus rose to his feet All movement ceased then and there was utter silence For aon the golden lion's head that flanked the throne Then he laughed
”Toobasket; and in another h the door behind the roups of cringing slaves, he reached a coluht, frolorious with potted flowers, shone on the colored statuary and the Grecian paintings
”What are all these woirls, half- hidden behind the statues, each one trying, as he passed her, to divine his mood and to pose attractively
”Where is Marcia? What will she do to me next? Is this so irl I catch in the corridor shall be hipped Where is Marcia?”
Throwing away his toga for a slave to catch and fold he turned between gilded coluh a bronze door, into the antechareeted hi out of the clouds after a month of rainy weather