The Roman Traitor, Vol. 1

  CHAPTER XVI.

  THE SENATE.

  Most potent, grave, and reverend Seniors. OTHELLO.

  The second morning had arrived, after that regularly appointed for theConsular elections.

  No tumult had occurred, nor any overt act to justify the apprehensions ofthe people; yet had those apprehensions in no wise abated. The veryindistinctness of the rumored terror perhaps increased its weight; and sowide-spread was the vague alarm, so prevalent the dread and excitement,that in the haggard eyes and pale faces of the frustrated conspirators,there was little, if anything, to call attention; for whose features woretheir natural expression, during those fearful days, each moment of whichmight bring forth massacre and conflagration? Whose, but the greatConsul's?

  The second morning had arrived; and the broad orb of the newly risen sun,lurid and larger than his wont, as it struggled through the misty haze ofthe Italian autumn, had scarcely gained sufficient altitude to throw itsbeams over the woody crest of the Esquiline into the hollow of the SacredWay.

  The slant light fell, however, full on the splendid terraces and shrinesof the many-templed Palatine, playing upon their stately porticoes, andtipping their rich capitals with golden lustre.

  And at that early hour, the ancient hill was thronged with busymultitudes.

  The crisis was at hand--the Senate was in solemn session. The knights weregathered in their force, all armed. The younger members of the patricianhouses were mustered with their clients. The fasces of the lictorsdisplayed the broad heads of the axes glittering above the rods, whichbound them--the axes, never borne in time of peace, or within the citywalls, save upon strange emergency.

  In the old temple of Jupiter Stator, chosen on this occasion for thestrength of its position, standing on the very brink of the steepdeclivity of the hill where it overlooked the great Roman forum, thatgrand assembly sate in grave deliberation.

  The scene was worthy of the actors, as were the actors of the strangetragedy in process.

  It was the cella, or great circular space of the inner temple. The brazendoors of this huge hall, facing the west, as was usual in all Romantemples, were thrown open; and without these, on the portico, yet soplaced that they could hear every word that passed within the building,sat on their benches, five on each side of the door, the ten tribunes(19)of the people.

  Within the great space, surrounded by a double peristyle of tall Tuscancolumns, and roofed by a vast dome, richly carved and gilded, but with acircular opening at the summit, through which a flood of light streameddown on the assembled magnates, the Senate was in session.

  Immediately facing the doors stood the old Statue of the God, as old, itwas believed by some, as the days of Romulus, with the high altar at itsbase, hung round with votive wreaths, and glittering with ornaments ofgold.

  Around this altar were grouped the augurs, each clad, as was usual onoccasions of high solemnity, in his _trabea_, or robe of horizontalstripes, in white and purple; each holding in his hand his _lituus_, acrooked staff whereby to designate the temples of the heaven, in which toobserve the omens.

  On every side of the circumference, except that occupied by the altar andthe idol, were ranged in circular state the benches of the order.

  Immediately to the right of the altar, were placed the curule chairs, richwith carved ivory and crimson cushions, of the two consuls; and behindthem, erect, with their shouldered axes, stood the stout lictors.

  Cicero, as the first chosen of the consuls, sat next the statue of theGod; calm in his outward mien, as the severe and placid features of themarble deity, although within him the soul labored mightily, big with thefate of Rome. Next him Antonius, a stout, bold, sensual-looking soldier,filled his place--worthily, indeed, so far as stature, mien, and bearingwere concerned; but with a singular expression in his eye, which seemed toindicate embarrassment, perhaps apprehension.

  After these, the presiding officers of the Republic, were present, eachaccording to his rank, the conscript fathers--first, the Prince of theSenate, and then the Consulars, Censorians, and Praetorians, down to thosewho had filled the lowest office of the state, that of Quaestor, which gaveits occupant, after his term of occupancy expired, admission to the grandrepresentative assembly of the commonwealth.

  For much as there has been written on all sides of this subject, there nowremains no doubt that, from the earliest to the latest age of Rome, theSenate was strictly, although an aristocratical, still an electiverepresentative assembly.

  The Censors, themselves, elected by the Patricians out of their own order,in the assembly of the Curiae, had the appointment of the Senators; butfrom those only who had filled one of the magistracies, all of which wereconferred by the popular vote of the assembly of the centuries; and all ofwhich, at this period of the Republic, might be, and sometimes were,conferred on Plebeians--as in the case of Marius, six times elected Consulin spite of Patrician opposition.

  Such was the constitution of the Senate, purely elective, though like allother portions of the Roman constitution, under such checks and balancesas were deemed sufficient to ensure it from becoming a democraticalassembly.

  And such, in fact, it never did become. For having been at first anelective body chosen from an hereditary aristocracy, it was at that time,save in the varying principles of individuals, wholly aristocratic in itsnature. Nor, after the tenure of the various magistracies, which conferredeligibility to the Senate, was thrown open to the plebeians, did any greatchange follow; since the preponderance of patrician influence in theassembly of the centuries, and the force perhaps of old habit, combined tocontinue most of the high offices of state in the hands of members of theOld Houses. Again, when plebeians were raised to office, and became, asthey were styled, New Men, they speedily were merged in the nobility; andwere no less aristocratic in their measures, than the oldest members ofthe aristocracy.

  For when have plebeians, anywhere, when elevated to superior rank, beentrue to their origin; been other than the fellest persecutors ofplebeians?

  The senate was therefore still, as it had been, a calm and conservativeassembly.

  It was not indeed, what it had been, before Marius first, and then Sylla,the avenger, had decimated it of their foes with the sword; and filled thevacancies with unworthy friends and partizans.

  Yet it was still a grand, a wise, a noble body--when viewed as a body--and,for the most part, its decisions were worthy of its dignity and power--weresage, conservative, and patriotic.

  On this occasion, all motives had conspired to produce a full house;doubt, anger, fear, excitement, curiosity, the love of country, the strongsense of right, the fiery impulses of interest, hate, vengeance, had urgedall men of all parties, to be participants in the eventful business of theday.

  About five hundred senators were present; men of all ages from thirty-twoyears(20) upward--that being the earliest at which a man could fill thiseminent seat. But the majority were of those, who having passed the primeof active life, might be considered to have reached the highest of mentalpower and capacity, removed alike from the greenness of inconsiderateyouth, and the imbecility of extreme old age.

  The rare beauty of the Italian race--the strength and symmetry of theunrivalled warrior nation, of which these were, for the most part, thenoblest and most striking specimens; the grand flow of the snow-whitedraperies, faced with the broad crimson laticlave--the classic grace oftheir positions--the absence of all rigid angular lines, of anything meanor meagre, fantastic or tawdry in the garb of the solemn concourse,rendered the meeting of Rome's Fathers a widely different spectacle fromthe convention of any other representative assembly, the world has everwitnessed.

  There was no flippancy, no affectation, no light converse--The members,young or old, had come thither to perform a great duty, in strength ofpurpose, singleness of spirit--and all felt deeply the weight of thepresent moment, the vastness of the interests concerned. The good and thetrue were there convened to defend the majesty, perhaps the safety,
oftheir country--the wicked to strive for interest, for revenge, for lifeitself!

  For Catiline well knew, and had instilled his knowledge carefully into theminds of his confederates, that now to conquer was indeed to triumph; thatnow to be defeated was to fail, probably, forever--to die, it was mostlike, by the dread doom of the Tarpeian.

  Not one of the conspirators but was in his appointed place, firm,seemingly unconscious, and unruffled; and as the eye of the great consulglanced from one to another of that guilty throng, he could not, even amidhis detestation of their crimes, but admire the cool hardihood with whichthey sat unmoved on the brink of destruction; could not but think, withinhimself, how vast the good that might be wrought by such resolution, undera virtuous leader, and in an upright cause. Catiline noticed the glance;and as he marked it run along the crowded benches, dwelling a moment onthe face of each one of his own confederates, he saw in an instant, thatall was discovered; and, as he saw, resolved that since craft had failedto conceal, henceforth he would trust audacity alone to carry out hisdetected villainy.

  But now the augurs had performed their rites; the day was pronouncedfortunate; the assembly formal; and nothing more remained, but to proceedto the business of the moment.

  A little pause ensued, after the sanction of the augurs had been given; ashort space, during which each man drew a deep breath, as though he wereaware that ere long he should hear words spoken, that would thrill hisevery nerve with excitement, and hold him breathless with awe andapprehension.

  There was not a voice, not a motion, not the rustling of a garment,through the large building; for every living form was mute, as the marbleeffigies around them, with intense expectation.

  Every eye of conspirator, or patriot, was riveted upon the consul, the newman of Arpinum.

  He rose, not unobservant of the general expectation, nor ungratified; forthat great man, with all his grand genius, solid intellect, sound virtue,had one small miserable weakness; he was not proud, but vain; vain beyondthe feeblest and most craving vanity of womanhood.

  Yet now he showed it not--perhaps felt it, in a less degree than usual; itmight be, it was crushed within him for the time, by the magnitude of vastinterests, the consciousness of right motives, the necessity ofextraordinary efforts.

  He rose; advanced a step or two, in front of his curule chair, and in aclear slow voice gave utterance to the solemn words, which formed theexordium to all senatorial business.

  "May this be good, and of good omen, happy, and fortunate to the Romanpeople, the Quirites; which now I lay before you, Fathers, and ConscriptSenators."

  He paused, emphatically, with the formula; and then raising his voice alittle, and turning his eyes slowly round the house, as if in mute appealto all the senators.

  "For that," he said, "on which you must this day determine, concerns notthe majesty or magnitude of Rome--the question is not now of insolent foesto be chastised, or of faithful friends to be rewarded--is not, how thecity shall be made more beautiful, the state more proud and noble, theempire more enduring. No, conscript fathers; for the round world has neverseen a city, so flourishing in all rare beauty, so decorated with thevirtue of her living citizens, so noble in the memories of her deadheroes--the sun has never shone upon a state, so solidly established; uponan empire so majestical and mighty; extending from the Herculean columns,the far limits of the west, beyond the blue Symplegades; from Hyperboreansnows, to the parched sands of Ethiopia!--no! Conscript Fathers, for wehave no foes unsubdued, from the wild azure-tinctured hordes of Gaul tothe swart Eunuchs of the Pontic king--for we have no friends unrewarded,unsheltered by the wings of our renown.

  "No! it is not to beautify, to stablish, to augment--but to preserve theempire, that I now call upon you; that I now urge you, by all that issweet, is sacred, is sublime in the name of our country; that I imploreyou, by whatever earth contains of most awful, and heaven of most holy!

  "I said to preserve it! And do you ask from whom? Is there a Gallictumult? Have Cimbric myriads again scaled the Alps, and poured theirfamished deluge over our devastated frontiers? Hath Mithridates trodden onthe neck of Pompey? By the great gods! hath Carthage revived from herashes? is Hannibal, or a greater one than Hannibal, again thundering atour gates, with Punic engines visible from the Janiculum?

  "If it were so, I should not despair of Rome--my heart would not throb, asit now does, nor my voice tremble with anxiety.

  "Cisalpine Gaul is tranquil as the vale of Arno! No bow is bended in theTeutonic forests, unless against the elk or urus! The legions have notturned their backs before the scymetars of Pontus! The salt sown in themarket-place of Carthage hath borne no crop, but desolation. The one-eyedconqueror is nerveless in the silent grave!

  "But were all these, now peaceful, subjugated, lifeless, were all these, Isay, in arms, victorious, present, upon this soil of Italy, around thesewalls of Rome, I should doubt nothing, fear nothing, expect nothing, butpresent strife, and future victory!

  "There is--there is, that spark of valor, that clear light of Roman virtue,alive in every heart; yea! even of our maids and matrons, that they wouldbrook no hostile step even upon the threshold of our empire!

  "What then do I foresee? what fear?Massacre--parricide--conflagration--treason! Treason in Rome itself--in theForum--in the Campus--_here!_ Here in this holiest and safest spot! Here inthe shrine of that great God, who, ages since, when this vast Rome was buta mud-built hamlet, that golden capitol, a straw-thatched shed, rolledback the tide of war, and stablished here, here, where my foot is fixed,the immortal seat of empire!

  "Even now as I turn my eyes around me they fall abhorrent on the faces,they read indignant the designs, of their country's parricides!

  "Aye! Conscript Fathers, praetorians, patricians of the great old houses, Isee them in their places here; ready to vote immediately on their ownmonstrous schemes! I see them here, adulterers, forgers of wills,assassins, spendthrifts, poisoners, defilers of vestal virgins, contemnersof the Gods, parricides of the Republic! I see them, with daggerssharpened against all true Romans, lurking beneath their fringed andperfumed tunics! Misled by strange ambition, maddened with lust, drunkwith despairing guilt, athirst for the blood of citizens!

  "I see them! you all see them! Will you await in coward apathy, until theyshake you from your lethargy--until the outcries of your murdered children,of your ravished wives arouse you, until you awake from your sleep andfind Rome in ashes?

  "You hear me--you gaze on me in wonder, you ask me with your eyes what itis that I mean I who are the traitors? Lend me your ears then, and fixwell your minds, lest they shrink in disgust and wonder. Lend me your earsonly, and I fear not that you will determine, worthily of yourselves, andof the Republic!

  "You all well know that on the 16th day before the calends of November,which should have been the eve of the consular Elections, I promised thatI would soon lay before you ample proofs of the plot, which then Iforetold to you but darkly.

  "Mark, now, the faces of the men I shall address, and judge whether I thenpromised vainly; whether what I shall now disclose craves your severeattention--your immediate action."

  He paused for a moment, as if to note the effect of his words; thenturning round abruptly upon the spot, where Catiline sat, writhing withrage and impatience, and gnawing his nether lip, until the blood trickleddown his chin, he flung forth his arm with an indignant gesture, andinstantly addressed him by his name, in tones that rang beneath thevaulted roof, over the heads of the self-convicted traitors, like heaven'sown thunder, and found a fearful echo in their dismayed and guilty souls.

  "Where wert thou, Catiline?" he thundered forth the charge, amid the muteastonishment of all--"Where wert thou on the evening of the Ides? what wertthou doing? Speak! Unless guilt and despair hold thee silent, I say tothee, speak, Catiline!"

  Again he stopped in mid-speech, as if for an answer, fixed his eyesteadily on the face of the arch conspirator. But he, though he spoke notto reply, quailed not, nor shunned that steady gaze, bu
t met it with aterrible and portentous glare, pregnant with more than mortal hatred.

  "Thou wilt not--can'st not--darest not! Now hear and tremble! Hear, and knowthat no step of thine, or deed, or motion escapes my eye--no, traitor, notone movement!

  "On the eve of the Ides, thou wert in the street of the Scythemakers! Ha!does thy cheek burn now? In the house of a senator--of Marcus Porcius Laeca.But thou wert not there, till thou hadst added one more deed of murder tothose which needed no addition. Thou wert, I say, in the house of Laeca;and many whom I now see around me, with trim and well-curled beards, withlong-sleeved tunics and air-woven togas, many whom I could name, and will,if needs be, were there with thee!

  "What beverage didst thou send around? what oath didst thou administer,thou to thy foul associates? and on the altar of what God?

  "Fathers, my mind shrinks, as I speak, with horror--that bowl mantled tothe brim with the gore of a human victim; those lips reeked with thatdread abomination! His lips, and those of others, fitter to sip voluptuousnectar from the soft mouths of their noble paramours than to quaff suchpollution!

  "That oath was to destroy Rome, utterly, with fire and the sword, till notone stone should stand upon another, to mark the site of empire!

  "The silver eagle was the god to whom he swore! The silver eagle, whosewings were dyed so deep in massacre by Marius--to whom he had a shrine inhis own house, consecrated by what crimes, adored by what sacrilege, I saynot!

  "The consular election was the day fixed; and, had the people met on thatday in the Campus, on that day had Rome ceased to be!

  "To murder me in my robes of peace, at the Comitia, to murder the consulselect, to murder the patricians to a man, was his own task, most congenialto his own savage nature!

  "To fire the city in twelve several places was destined to his worthycomrades, whose terror my eye now beholds, whose names for the present mytongue shall not disclose. For I would give them time to repent, to changetheir frantic purpose, to cast away their sin--oh! that they would do so!oh! that they would have compassion on their prostrate and imploringcountry--compassion on themselves--on me, who beseech them to turn back, ereit be too late, to the ways of virtue, happiness, and honor!

  "But names there are, which I will speak out, for to conceal them wouldavail nothing, since they have drawn the sword already, and raised thebanner of rebellion against the majesty of Rome.

  "Septimius of Camerinum has stirred the slaves even now to a fresh servilewar! has given out arms! has appointed leaders! by the Gods! has a forceon foot in the Picene district! Julius is soliciting the evil spirits ofApulia; and, ere four days have flown, you shall have tidings from thenorth, that Caius Manlius is in arms at Faesulae. Already he commands morethan two legions; not of raw levies, not of emancipated slaves, orenfranchised gladiators--though these ere long will swell his host. No!Sylla's veterans muster under his banner--the same swords gleam around himwhich conquered the famed Macedonian phalanx at bloody Chaeronea, whichstormed the long walls of Piraeus, which won Bithynia, Cappadocia,Paphlagonia, which drove great Mithridates back to his own Pontus!

  "Nor is this all--for, if frustrated by the postponement of the consularcomitia, believe not that the rage of the parricide is averted, or histhirst for the blood of Romans quenched forever.

  "No, Fathers, he hath but deferred the day; and even now he hathdetermined on another. The fifth before the calends! Await that day inquiet, and ye will never rue your apathy. For none of you shall live torue it, save those who now smile grimly, conscious of their own desperateresolve, expectant of your apathy.

  "Nor is his villainy all told, even now; for so securely and so wisely hashe laid his plans, that, had not the great Gods interfered and granted itto me to discover all, he must needs have succeeded! On the night of thecalends themselves he would have been the master of Praeneste, that richand inaccessible strong-hold, by a nocturnal escalade! That I myself havealready made impossible--the magistrates are warned, the free burghersarmed, and the castle garrisoned by true men, and impregnable.

  "Do ye the like, Fathers and Conscript Senators, and Rome also shall besafe, inaccessible, immortal. Give me the powers to save you, and I devotemy mind, my life. I am here ready to die at this instant--far worse thandeath to a noble mind, ready to go hence, and be forgotten, if I mayrescue Rome from this unequalled peril!"

  Again, he ceased speaking for a moment, and many thought that he hadconcluded his oration; but in a second's space he resumed, in a tone morespirited and fiery yet, his eyes almost flashing lightning, and his wholeframe appearing to expand, as he confronted the undaunted traitor.

  "Dost thou not now see, Catiline, that in all things thou art my inferior?Dost thou not feel thyself caught, detected like a thief? baffled?defeated? beaten? and wilt thou not now lay down thine arms, thy rage, thyhate, against this innocent republic? wilt thou not liberate me now fromgreat fear, great peril, and great odium?

  "No! thou wilt not--the time hath flown! thou canst not repent--canst notforgive, or be forgiven--the Gods have maddened thee to thy destruction--thycrimes are full-blown, and ripening fast for harvest--earth is aweary ofthy guilt--Hades yawns to receive thee!

  "Tremble, then, tremble! Yea! in the depths of thy secret soul--for allthine eye glares more with hate than terror, and thy lip quivers, not withremorse but rage--yea! thou dost tremble--for thou dost see, feel, know, thyschemes, thy confederates, thyself, detected, frustrated, devoted todestruction!

  "Enough! It is for you, my Fathers, to determine; for me to act yourpleasure. And if your own souls, your own lives, your own interests, yea!your own fears, cry not aloud to rouse you, with a voice stronger than theeternal thunder, why should I seek to warn you? Whom his own, his wife's,children's, country's safety, the glory of his great forefathers, theveneration of the everlasting Gods awaiting his decision from thetottering pinnacle of Rome's capitol--whom all these things excite not toaction--no voice of man, no portent of the Gods themselves can stir toenergy or valor; and I but waste my words in exhorting you to manhood!

  "But they _will_ burst the bonds of your long stupor; they _will_re-kindle, in your hearts, that blaze of Roman virtue, which may sleep fora while, but never can be all extinguished!--and ye _will_ stir yourselveslike men; ye _will_ save your country! For this thing I do not believe;that the immortal Gods would have built up this commonwealth of Rome tosuch a height of beauty, of glory, of puissance, had they foredoomed it todestruction, by hands so base as those now armed against it. Nor, had itbeen their pleasure to abolish its great name, and make it such as Troyand Carthage, would they have placed me here, the consul, endowed bythemselves with power to discern, but with no power to avert destruction!"

  His words had done their work. The dismayed blank faces of all theconspirators, with the exception of the arch traitor only, whom it wouldseem that nothing could disconcert or dismay, confirmed the impressionmade upon all minds by that strong appeal. For, though he had mentioned noman's name save Catiline's and Laeca's only, suspicion was called instantlyto those who were their known associates in riot and debauchery; and manyeyes were scrutinizing the pale features, which struggled vainly to appearcalm and unconcerned.

  The effect of the speech was immediate, universal. There were not threemen of the order present who were not now convinced as fully in their ownminds of the truth of Cicero's accusation, as they would, had it comeforth in thunder from the cold lips of the marble God, who overlookedtheir proud assembly.

  There was a long drawn breath, as he ceased speaking--one, and simultaneousthrough the whole concourse; and, though there were a few men there,Crassus, especially, and Caius Julius Caesar, who, though convinced of theexistence of conspiracy, would fain have defended the conspirators, in theexisting state of feeling, they dared not attempt to do so.

  Then Cicero called by name on the Prince of the Senate, enquiring if hewould speak on the subject before the house, and on receiving from him agrave negative gesture, he put the same question to the eldest of theconsula
rs, and thence in order, none offering any opinion or showing anywish to debate, until he came to Marcus Cato. He rose at once to speak,stern and composed, without the least sign of animation on his impassiveface, without the least attempt at eloquence in his words, or grace in hisgestures; yet it was evident that he was heard with a degree of attention,which proved that the character of the man more than compensated theunvarnished style and rough phraseology of the speaker.

  "As it appears to me," he said, "Fathers and Conscript Senators, after thevery luminous and able oration which our wise consul has this day heldforth, it would be great folly, and great loss of time, to add many wordsto it. This I am not about to do, I assure you, but I arise in my place tosay two things. Cicero has told you that a conspiracy exists, and thatCatiline is the planner, and will be the executor of it. This, though Iknow not by what sagacity or foresight, unless from the Gods, hediscovered it--this, I say, I believe confidently, clearly--all thingsdeclare it--not least the faces of men! I believe therefore, every word ourconsul has spoken; so do you all, my friends. Nevertheless, it is just andright, that the man, villain as he may be, shall be heard in his ownbehalf. Let him then speak at once, or confess by his silence! This is thefirst thing I would say--the next follows it! If he admit, or fail clearlyto disprove his guilt, let us not be wanting to ourselves, to our country,or to the great and prudent consul, who, if man can, will save us in thiscrisis. Let us, I say, decree forthwith, 'THAT THE CONSULS SEE THEREPUBLIC TAKES NO HARM!' and let us hold the consular election to-morrow,on the field of Mars--There, with our magistrates empowered to act, ourclients in arms to defend us, let us see who will dare to disturb theRoman people! Let who would do so, remember that not all the power orfavor of Great Marius could rescue Saturninus from the death he owed thepeople--remember that we have a consul no less resolute and vigorous, thanhe is wise and good--that there are axes in the fasces of the Lictors--thatthere stands the Tarpeian!"

  And as he spoke, he flung wide both his arms; pointing with this hand tothe row of glittering blades which shone above the head of the chiefmagistrate, with that, through the open door-way of the temple, to thebold front of the precipitous and fatal rock, all lighted up by the gaysunbeams, as it stood fronting them, beyond the hollow Velabrum, crownedwith the ramparts of the capitol.

  A general hum, as if of assent, followed, and without putting the motionto the vote, Cicero turned his eye rapidly to every face, and receivingfrom every senator a slight nod of assent, he looked steadily in thefierce and ghastly face of the traitor, and said to him;

  "Arise, Catiline, and speak, if you will!--But take my counsel, confessyour guilt, go hence, and be forgiven!"

  "Forgiven!" cried the traitor, furious and desperate--"Forgiven!--this to aRoman citizen!--this to a Roman noble! Hear me, Fathers and ConscriptSenators--hear me!--who am a soldier and a man, and neither driveller nordotard. I tell you, there is no conspiracy, hath been none, shall benone--save in the addled brains of yon prater from Arpinum, who would fainset his foot upon the neck of Romans. All is, all shall be peace in Rome,unless the terror of a few dastards drive you to tyranny and persecution,and from persecution come resistance? For myself, let them who would ruinme, beware. My hand has never yet failed to protect my head, nor have manyfoes laughed in the end at Sergius Catiline!--unless," he added with aferocious sneer--"they laughed in their death-pang. For my wrongs past, Ihave had some vengeance; for these, though I behold the axes, though Isee, whence I stand, the steep Tarpeian, I think I shall have more, andlive to feast my eyes with the downfall of my foes. Fathers, there are twobodies in the State, one weak, with a base but crafty head--the otherpowerful and vast, but headless. Urge me a little farther, and you shallfind that a wise and daring head will not be wanting long, to that boldand puissant body. Urge me, and I will be that head; oppress me, and--"

  But insolence such as this, was not tolerable. There was an universalburst, almost a shout, of indignation from that assembly, the wonted moodof which was so stern, so cold, so gravely dignified, and silent. Manyamong the younger senators sprang to their feet, enraged almost beyond thecontrol of reason; nor did the bold defiance of the daring traitor, whostood with his arms folded on his breast, and a malignant sneer ofcontempt on his lip, mocking their impotent displeasure, tend to disarmtheir wrath.

  Four times he raised his voice, four times a cry of indignation drownedhis words, and at length, seeing that he could obtain no farther hearing,he resumed his seat with an expression fiendishly malignant, and a fierceimprecation on Rome, and all that it contained.

  After a little time, the confusion created by the audacity of that strangebeing moderated; order and silence were restored, and, upon Cato's motion,the Senate was divided.

  Whatever might have been the result had Catiline been silent, the majoritywas overwhelming. The very partisans and favorers of the conspiracy, notdaring to commit themselves more openly, against so strong amanifestation, passed over one by one, and voted with the consul.

  Catiline stood alone, against the vote of the whole order. Yet stood andvoted resolute, as though he had been conscious of the right.

  The vote was registered, the Senate declared martial law, investing theconsuls with dictatorial power, by the decree which commanded them to SEETHAT THE REPUBLIC TAKES NO HARM.

  The very tribunes, factious and reckless as they were, potent for ill andpowerless for good, presumed not to interpose. Not even Lucius Bestia,deep as he was in the design--Bestia, whose accusation of the consul fromthe rostrum was the concerted signal for the massacre, theconflagration--not Bestia himself, relied so far on the inviolability ofhis person, as to intrude his VETO.

  The good cause had prevailed--the good Consul triumphed! The Senate wasdismissed, and as the stream of patrician togas flowed through the templedoor conspicuous, the rash and reckless traitor shouldered the mass to andfro, dividing it as a brave galley under sail divides the murmuring butunresisting billows.

  Once in the throng he touched Julius Caesar's robe as he brushed onward,and as he did so, a word fell on his ear in the low harmonious tones whichmarked the orator, second to none in Rome, save Cicero alone!--

  "Fear not," it said--"another day will come!--"

  "Fear!--" exclaimed the Conspirator in a hoarse cry, half fury, halfcontempt. "What is fear?--I know not the thing, nor the word!--Go, prate offear to Cicero, and he will understand you!"

  These words perhaps alienated one who might have served him well.

  But so it ever is! Even in the shrewdest and most worldly wise of men,passion will often outweigh interest; and plans, which have been framedfor years with craft and patience, are often wrecked by the impetuousrashness of a moment.

  END OF VOL. I.