Chapter 1

SCENE.--_The scene is in the Great Hall in the Palace of the Caesars. At the back are steps leading to a platform with balustrade opening on the air, and beyond, a view of the city_.

[_On the right of the stage is a cedarn couch on which_ CLAUDIUS _is uneasily sleeping. On the right is a door communicating with the inner apartments. On the left a door communicating with the outer halls_.

[XENOPHON _is standing by the couch of_ CLAUDIUS. AGRIPPINA _is sitting with face turned to an_ ASTROLOGER, _who stands at the top of the steps watching the stars_.

[LOCUSTA _is crouching beside a pillar, right. A meteor strikes across the sky. The_ ASTROLOGER, _pointing upwards, comes down the steps slowly_.

ASTROLOGER. These meteors flame the dazzling doom of kings.

[AGRIPPINA _rises apprehensively._

XENOPHON. Caesar is dead!

AGRIPPINA. The drug hath found his heart. [_To_ LOCUSTA, _who steals forward._ Locusta, take your price and steal away! Sound on the trumpet. Go! your part is done.

[_Exit_ LOCUSTA. [_Trumpet is sounded._

That gives the sign to the Praetorians Upon the instant of the Emperor's death.

[_Answering trumpets are heard._

Hark! trumpets answering through all the city. Xenophon, you and I are in this death Eternally bound. This husband have I slain To lift unto the windy chair of the world Nero, my son. Your silence I will buy With endless riches; but a hint divulged----

XENOPHON. O Agrippina, Empress, fear not me!

AGRIPPINA. Meantime his child, his heir, Britannicus, Must not be seen lest he be clamoured for. So till the sad Chaldean give the sign Of that so yearned for, favourable hour, When with good omens may my son succeed, The sudden death of Claudius must be hid! Then on the instant Nero be proclaimed And Rome awake on an accomplished deed.

XENOPHON. Then summon Claudius' musicians in To play unto the dead as though he breathed.

AGRIPPINA. Call them! A lulling music let them bring.

[_Exit_ XENOPHON. [_She turns to_ ASTROLOGER.

O thou who readest all the scroll of the sky, Stands it so sure Nero my son shall reign?

ASTROLOGER. Nero shall reign.

AGRIPPINA. What lurks behind these words? There is a 'but' still hovering in the stars.

ASTROLOGER. Nero shall reign.

AGRIPPINA. The half! I'll know the rest.

ASTROLOGER. Peer not for peril!

AGRIPPINA. Peril! His or mine?

ASTROLOGER. Thine then.

AGRIPPINA. I will know all, however dark. Finish what did so splendidly begin.

ASTROLOGER. Nero shall reign, but he shall kill his mother.

AGRIPPINA. Kill me, but reign!

_Enter_ SENECA

SENECA. The trumpet summoned me, And I am here.

AGRIPPINA. Seneca! Speak it low! Caesar is dead! Nero shall climb the throne.

SENECA. I will not ask the manner of his death. In studious ease I have protested much Against the violent taking of a life. But lost in action I perceive at last That they who stand so high can falter not, But live beyond the reaches of our blame; That public good excuses private guile.

AGRIPPINA. You, Xenophon and Burrus, stand with me.

_Enter_ BURRUS, _right. He salutes the corse of_ CLAUDIUS

BURRUS. Obedient to the trumpet-call I come.

AGRIPPINA. Say, Burrus, quickly say, how stands our cause With the Praetorians who unmake and make Emperors?

BURRUS. The Praetorians are staunch, And they are marching now upon the Palace.

AGRIPPINA. Will they have Nero?

BURRUS. Yes, and double pay. There is a murmuring minority Who toss about the name Britannicus. These may be feared; let Nero scatter gold There where dissension rises--it will cease. Their signal when they shall surround the Palace, The gleam of my unsheathed sword to the dawn.

AGRIPPINA. Stand there until I have from him the sign, Then let thy sword gleam upward to the dawn. [_Turning and pointing to body of_ CLAUDIUS. That is my work! Also, I must betroth Nero unto the young Octavia, And with the dead man's daughter mate my son. This marriage sets him firmer on the throne, And foils the party of Britannicus. [_To_ BURRUS.] You for the army answerable stand. [_To_ SENECA.] And, Seneca, I have entrusted Nero's mind To you, to point an eaglet to the sun. Nero? What does he?

SENECA. Nero knows not yet That Claudius is dead. Rome hath not slept, But to the torch-lit circus all have run To see him victor in a chariot race, Whence he is now returning. A night race By burning torches is his newest whim.

AGRIPPINA. A torch-lit race! And yet why not? My child Should climb all virgin to the throne of the earth, Not conscious of spilt blood: and I meantime Will sway the deep heart of the mighty world. The peril is Britannicus: for Nero, Careless of empire, strings but verse to verse. How shall this dove attain the eagle cry?

SENECA. Be not so sure of Nero's harmlessness.

AGRIPPINA. What do you mean?

SENECA. By me he has been taught, And I have watched him. True, the harp, the song, The theatre, delight this dreamer: true, He lives but in imaginations: yet Suppose this aesthete made omnipotent, Feeling there is no bar he cannot break, Knowing there is no bound he cannot pass; Might he not then despise the written page, A petty music, and a puny scene? Conceive a spectacle not witnessed yet, When he, an artist in omnipotence, Uses for colour this red blood of ours, Composes music out of dreadful cries, His orchestra our human agonies, His rhythms lamentations of the ruined, His poet's fire not circumscribed by words, But now translated into burning cities, His scenes the lives of men, their deaths a drama, His dream the desolation of mankind, And all this pulsing world his theatre. [_Steps heard without._ The dead man's children startled from their sleep! Britannicus, Octavia, wondering.

AGRIPPINA. Till the auspicious hour he is not dead.

OCTAVIA _and_ BRITANNICUS _enter_

OCTAVIA. We could not sleep: father is very sick. We fancied every moment that he called us.

BRITANNICUS. And then these meteors full of coming woe----

OCTAVIA. So brilliant and so silent! O, I fear them.

BRITANNICUS. Is father yet awake? We want to ask him----

[THEY _approach the couch_. AGRIPPINA _interposes_.

AGRIPPINA. Do not disturb your father for this night.

OCTAVIA. We will not speak, nor make the smallest sound To wake him. We must kiss him ere we sleep.

AGRIPPINA. Children, he is in need of some long rest. Go back to bed: your father sleepeth sound.

BRITANNICUS. I will go in to him, I will--and you Are not our mother. By what privilege Do you thus interpose yourself between A father and his children?

AGRIPPINA. Would you then Trouble him, when to sleep is all he asks?

OCTAVIA. Only a moment! But to see him!

AGRIPPINA. No! Come softly back to bed! no--no--this way! Britannicus, with the first peer of light You shall behold your father; but not now. So the physician, Xenophon, enjoined me. Now take Octavia's hand--so, both of you. [OCTAVIA _holds her face to be kissed._ To-night I think I will not kiss you, child. Good-night, good-night.

[_Exit_ OCTAVIA _and_ BRITANNICUS.

SENECA. How often have I taught And written, 'Children shall not be beguiled Even for good ends.' And yet, the single lie Must, for the general good, be spoken; yet----

[MUSICIANS _meanwhile have entered, and are playing dreamy music_. AGRIPPINA _turns to_ ASTROLOGER, _holding out her arms_.

AGRIPPINA. How long till Rome shall greet her Emperor?

ASTROLOGER. Behold the heavens! The moment!

[_Exit_ ASTROLOGER.

AGRIPPINA. Give the sign!

[_Sounds of acclamation and cries of 'Nero.'_ BURRUS _draws his sword_.

BURRUS. See the Praetorians!

SENECA. Nero returns.

_Enter a_ HERALD _gorgeously dressed, bearing a silver wreath_

MESSENGER. From Nero unto Agrippina greeting! He comes a victor from the chariot race.

[_Sounds of acclamation grow louder, the crowd of_ NERO'S _friends and satellites pours in: last comes NERO dressed as a charioteer._

AGRIPPINA. [_Touching_ CLAUDIUS' _body_.] That music be a dirge: Caesar is dead. [NERO _pauses wondering._ Claudius is dead. Reign thou. Ave Caesar!

[BURRUS _leads_ NERO _to back of platform, and addresses the soldiers at back_.

BURRUS. Caesar is dead! Behold Caesar!

[_A great shout of_ 'NERO!' 'CAESAR!' _Meanwhile_ AGRIPPINA _and_ SENECA _are listening close together. Discordant cries are heard of_ 'BRITANNICUS!' _A slave or attendant on_ NERO _scatters gold in the direction of these discordant cries, which gradually subside, and are lost in one long shout of 'Nero, Imperator.'_ NERO _motions for silence_.

NERO. [_Turning to Court._] Behold this forest of uprisen spears, Symbol of might! But I upon that might Would not rely. You hail me Emperor-- Then hail me as an Emperor of peace. First, I declare divinest clemency. No deaths have I to avenge, no wrath to bribe, No desperate followers clamouring for spoil; Pardon from me may beautifully fall. Next, I bestow full liberty of speech; I will not sway a dumb indignant earth-- Emperor over the unuttered curse. Were I myself the mark, I will not flinch. Yet citizens, if freedom of the tongue I grant, I'd wish less freedom of the feast. Then all informers who lie life away I'll heavily chastise; let no man think With hinted scandal to employ mine ear. Last, over all my earth be perfect trust, That every tribe and people, dusk or pale, Legions extreme and farthest provinces, May know that this my hand which striketh down The oppressor and the tyrant from his seat Shall raise the afflicted and exalt the meek. And if this burden grow too vast at times, Then, mother, teach thy son to bear the load.

[_Exit Court._

AGRIPPINA. [_Rushing to embrace him. He is vested with the purple and laurel wreath. The body of_ CLAUDIUS _is borne off. Exit_ BURRUS. NERO _comes down._] Nero, thou art my son!

NERO. To rule the world. How heavy is the sceptre of the earth!

AGRIPPINA. [_Coming down._] Nero, upon this arm behold I clasp This amulet. One dawn two murderers Despatched to kill thee, stealing to thy bed Were frightened by a snake which from beneath Thy pillow glided. From that serpent's skin I made this charm. Wear it, and thou shalt prosper; But lose it, look thou for calamities.

SENECA. [_Prepares to go also._] You will need sleep, sir, for to-morrow's task.

NERO. [_In terror._] I am not pale? Not heavy-eyed?

SENECA. No! No!

NERO. An artist, whatsoever mood he rouse In others, should himself be ever still. Where is a mirror?

SENECA. Sir, one graver word. To-morrow when you first shall sit in judgment, And set your name unto the scroll of death----

NERO. [_Gazing at himself in mirror._] Ah! Must I sign death-warrants? Then I wish This hand had never learned to write.

SENECA. Dear pupil!

AGRIPPINA. Your pupil now the awful purple wears. You tremble but to grasp the pen! But they Who dyed it thus, feared not to grip the brand.

NERO. [_Again looking in mirror._] It is an act to me unbeautiful. To scatter joy, not sadness, was I born.

AGRIPPINA. It is an act to you most necessary, If you would sit secure where I have set you. Now the light things of boyhood, toys of youth, Unworthy that stern seat, you must discard. Acte, the playmate of those careless hours, Henceforth must be forgotten: you shall wed A royal consort--young Octavia, The child of Claudius, of the imperial line.

SENECA. My peaceful counsel you will not forget.

NERO. [_Turning to_ SENECA, _affectionately._] Old friend, I am not like to wade in blood, Thee at my side! I think upon the dooms Of Julius, Caius, and Tiberius, All Emperors--all miserably slain.

SENECA. This dawn art thou the master of the world; Then tremble at the task to thee assigned. Meekly receive the purple and the wreath, And on thy knees accept omnipotence. Good-night, dear pupil! May my teaching lead Thy solemn opportunity aright!

[_Exit_ SENECA.

NERO. You powers sustain me to endure this weight! Mother, I shall go mad!

AGRIPPINA. Not while this hand Is on thy brow, and this voice in thine ear.

NERO. To rule the world!

AGRIPPINA. We two will rule the world.

NERO. We two?

AGRIPPINA. When you have need of me, then call me.

NERO. I ever shall. I need you at this moment More even than when my toothless gums did fumble About thy breast in darkness of the night.

AGRIPPINA. My dear, dear son! And Nero, well I know That you could never hurt or injure me. But you will not forget who set you here-- You will not, tell me?

NERO. Never, mother, never!

AGRIPPINA. Mothers for children have dared much, and more Have suffered; but what mother hath so scarred Her soul for the dear fruit of her body as I? Thy birth-pang was the least of all the throes That I for thee have suffered--a brief pain, A little, little pain we share with creatures; But what was this to torments of the mind, The dark, imperial meditations, Musing with eyes half-closed in moonless night; The crimes--yes, crimes, the blood that has been spilt-- Why, I have made a way for thee through ghosts. Nero, you'll not forget?

NERO. Ah! Never, never!

AGRIPPINA. My son, this very night it was foretold 'Nero shall reign, but he shall kill his mother.' Tell me the stars have lied.

NERO. [_Smiling._] The stars have lied.

_Enter_ BURRUS

BURRUS. The pass-word, sir, to-night?

NERO. The best of mothers.

AGRIPPINA. Kiss me; we both of us must sleep awhile.

[_Exit_ AGRIPPINA. NERO _goes up, gazing out on the city as the dawn comes on greyly._

NERO. O, all the earth to-night into these hands Committed! I bow down beneath the load, Empurpled in a lone omnipotence. My softest whisper thunders in the sky, And in my frown the temples sway and reel, And the utmost isles are anguished. I but raise An eyelid, and a continent shall cower; My finger makes the city a solitude, The murmuring metropolis a silence, And kingdoms pine in my dispeopling nod. I can dispearl the sea, a province wear Upon my little finger; all the winds Are busy blowing odours in mine eyes, And I am wrapt in glory by the sun, And I am lit by splendours of the moon, And diadem'd by glittering midnight. O wine of the world, the odour and gold of it! There is no thirst which I may not assuage; There is no hunger which I may not sate; Nought is forbidden me under heaven! [_With a cry._] I shall go mad! I shall go mad!

[ACTE _steals in noiselessly, and waits till he turns, then comes down to him._

My Acte!

ACTE. [_Shrinking._] O, I seem so far from you, And so beneath you now; your care henceforth The world and nothing less. Long have you been Nero to me, but Caesar must be now High throned, the nations crawling at your feet. And yet be sure that if on some far day The throne should pass from you; if you should stand Lonely at last; your friends all fallen away From you; the laurel upon other brows Set; were you dyed in blood deep as the robe That folds you; were you dead in rags reposing, Yet would I find you, cover up your face, Taking the last kiss from your lips, and I Would gently bury you within the earth.

NERO. Ah!

ACTE. And though none came nigh you, being dead, Who were in life so thronged about and pressed, One hand at least would duly pluck you flowers, One hand at least would strew them on your grave. Sleep now, and I will charm these eyes to close.

[_She takes a harp, and as she plays_ NERO _drops off to sleep. She, seeing him so, softly kisses him and noiselessly disappears. Meanwhile_ NERO _turns uneasily in his sleep, and a procession of dead Emperors passes_--JULIUS, _covering his face, but withdrawing his cloak to gaze a while on_ NERO; TIBERIUS; CAIUS _wounded_; CLAUDIUS _holding a cup_. NERO _rushes forward, uttering a cry_. ACTE _again re-enters at the sound_.

Nero, what ails you? Nero, how the drops Stand on your brow!

NERO. There, there, I seemed to see As in procession the dead Emperors: Julius, Tiberius, Caius, Claudius, All bloody, and all pacing that same path.

ACTE. [_Trying to lead him on the opposite way._] There is another path, will you but take it.

[NERO _is led by her a little way, then hesitates, still gazing after the procession of Emperors. Gradually he looses_ ACTE'S _hand, and she leaves him, gazing._