Complete Works of Henrik Ibsen (159 page)

THEMISTIUS.
In this fire, oh incomparable one, I see wisdom purged of all scandal and reproach. The wine of your libation is like purple, wherewith you deck the truth, and set her on a royal throne. Now, as you lift up your hands —

MAMERTINUS.
Now, as you lift up your hands, it is as though you glorified the brow of knowledge with a golden wreath; and the tears you shed —

THEMISTIUS.
[Pressing nearer
.] Yes, yes, the tears I see you shed are like costly pearls, wherewith eloquence shall once more be rewarded in kingly wise. Once again, then, the Greeks are suffered to raise their eyes to heaven, and follow the eternal stars in their courses! How long it is since that was vouchsafed us! Have we not been forced, for fear of spies, to tremble and bow our faces to the earth, like the brutes? Which of us dared so much as to watch the rising or the setting of the sun?
[He turns to the crowd.
Even you husbandmen, who have to-day flocked hither in such numbers, even you did not venture to note the position of the heavenly bodies, although by them you should have regulated your labours —

MAMERTINUS.
And you seamen, — have either you or your fathers dared to utter the names of the constellations by which you steered? Now you may do so; now all are free to —

THEMISTIUS, Now no Greek need live on land or sea without consulting the immutable laws of the heavens; he need no longer let himself be tossed about like a plaything, by chance and circumstance; he —

MAMERTINUS.
Oh, how great is this Emperor, to whom we owe such blessings!

JULIAN.
[Before the altar, with uplifted
arm.] Thus have I openly and in all humility made libations of oil and wine to you, ye beneficent deities, who have so long been denied these seemly observances. I have sent up my thanksgiving to thee, oh Apollo, whom some of the sages — especially those of the East — call by the name of the Sun-King, because thou bringest and renewest that light, wherein life has its source and its fountain-head. — To thee, too, I have made offering, oh Dionysus, god of ecstasy, who dost lift up the souls of mortals out of abasement, and exaltest them to an ennobling communion with higher spirits. — And, although I name thee last, I have not been least mindful of thee, oh Fortuna! Without thine aid, should I have stood here? I know indeed that thou dost no longer visibly manifest thyself, as in the golden age, of which the peerless blind singer has told us. But this I know, too, — and herein all other philosophers are at one with me — that it is thou who hast the decisive share in the choice of the guardian spirit, good or evil, that is to accompany every man on his path through life. I have no cause to chide thee, oh Fortuna! Rather have I the strongest reason to yield thee all thanks and praise. This duty, precious to my heart, have I this day fulfilled. I have not shrunk from even the humblest office. Here I stand in open day; the eyes of all Greece are upon me; I expect the voice of all Greece to unite with mine in acclaiming you, oh ye immortal gods!
[During the sacrificial service, most of the Christian onlookers have gradually stolen away; only a little knot remains behind. When
Julian
ceases speaking, there arise only faint sounds of approval mingled with subdued laughter, and whispers of astonishment.

JULIAN.
[
Looking round
.] What is this? What has become of them all? Are they slinking away?

THEMISTIUS.
Yes, red with shame at the ingratitude of so many years.

MAMERTINUS.
Nay, ‘twas the flush of joy. They have gone to spread the great tidings throughout the city.

JULIAN.
[Leaving the altar
.] The ignorant multitude is ever perplexed by what is unaccustomed. My task will be arduous; but no labour shall daunt me. What better befits a philosopher than to root out error? In this mission I count on your aid, enlightened friends! But our thoughts must turn elsewhere, for a little time. Follow me; I go to other duties.
[He departs hastily, without returning the citizens’ greetings; the courtiers, and his other attendants, follow him.

SCENE SECOND
.

A great hall in the Imperial Palace. Doors on both sides, and in the back; in front, to the left, on a dais by the wall, stands the imperial throne. The
Emperor Julian,
surrounded by his court and high officials, among whom is
Ursulus,
the Treasurer, with the orators
Themistius
and
Mamertinus.

JULIAN.
So far have the gods aided us. Now the work will roll onwards, like the waves of a spring flood. The sullen ill-will which I can trace in certain quarters where I least expected it, shall not disturb my equanimity. Is it not precisely the distinguishing mark of true wisdom, that it begets patience! We all know that by suitable remedies bodily ills may be allayed; — but can fire and sword annihilate delusions as to things divine? And what avails it though your hands make offerings, if your souls condemn the action of your hands? Thus will we live in concord with each other. My court shall be open to all men of mark, whatever their opinions. Let us show the world the rare and august spectacle of a court without hypocrisy — assuredly the only one of its kind — a court in which flatterers are counted the most dangerous of enemies. We will censure and expostulate with one another, when it is needful, yet without loving one another the less.
[To
Nevita,
who enters by the back.
Your face is radiant, Nevita; — what good tidings do you bring?

NEVITA.
The best and happiest indeed. A great company of envoys from princes in furthest India have come to bring you gifts, and to entreat your friendship.

JULIAN.
Ah, tell me, — to what peoples do they belong?

NEVITA.
To the Armenians, and other races beyond the Tigris. Indeed, some of the strangers aver they come from the islands of Diu and Serandib.

JULIAN.
From the uttermost verge of the earth my friends!

THEMISTIUS.
Even so far has rumour carried your name and your glory!

MAMERTINUS.
Even in those unknown regions is your sword a terror to princes and peoples!

THEMISTIUS.
Diu and Serandib! Far east in the Indian sea —

MAMERTINUS.
I do not hesitate to say: beyond the orb of the world —

JULIAN.
Bid the barber come!
[A courtier goes out to the right.
I will receive the envoys in seemly guise, — yet without display or adornment. So would the august Marcus Aurelius have received them; and him I make my pattern, rather than the Emperor whose death we have lately had to mourn. No more parade of transitory mundane things! Even the barbarians shall see that wisdom — in the person, truly, of her meanest servant — has resumed her place upon the throne.
[The courtier returns with
Eunapius,
the barber
,
who is magnificently attired,

JULIAN.
[Looks at him in astonishment, then goes to meet him, and greets him.]
What seek you here, my lord?

EUNAPIUS.
Gracious Emperor, you have commanded my attendance —

JULIAN.
You mistake, friend; I have not sent for any of my councillors.

EUNAPIUS.
Most gracious Emperor —

URSULUS.
Pardon me, sire; this man is the imperial barber.

JULIAN.
What do I hear? Can it be? This man — oh, you jest — this man, in silken raiment, with gold embroidered shoes, is — ? Ah, indeed! So you are the barber!
[He bows before him
] Never shall I presume to let myself be served by such delicate hands.

EUNAPIUS.
Most gracious Emperor, — I pray you, for God and my Saviour’s sake —

JULIAN.
Ho-ho! A Galilean! Did I not think so! Is this the self-denial you boast of? But I know you well! What temple of what godhead have you plundered, or how many dips have you made into the Emperor’s coffers, to attain such magnificence as this? — You may go; I have no occasion for you. [Eunapius
goes out to the right.
Tell me, Ursulus, what is that man’s wage?

URSULUS.
Gracious Emperor, by your august predecessor’s command, the daily maintenance of twenty men is assigned him —

JULIAN.
Aha! No more than that?

URSULUS.
Yes, sire; latterly he has had free stabling in the imperial stables, together with a certain yearly allowance of money, and a gold piece for every time he —

JULIAN.
And all this for a barber! What, then, must the others — ? This shall not last a day longer. — Admit the foreign envoys! [Nevita
goes out by the back.
I will receive them with uncut hair. Better so; for although I know well that it is not the unkempt hair, nor the tattered cloak, that makes the true philosopher, yet surely the example given by both Antisthenes and Diogenes may well be respected by one who — even on the throne — desires to follow in such great teachers’ footsteps.
He ascends the dais on which stands the throne. The court ranges itself below. The Envoys, introduced by
Nevita
and the Chamberlain
Eutherius,
enter in magnificent procession, accompanied by slaves, who bear gifts of all sorts.

NEVITA.
Most gracious Lord and Emperor! Not being possessed of the noble idiom which so many eloquent men, and you yourself not the least, have perfected beyond all other tongues, — and therewith fearful of letting barbarous sounds offend your ear, — these envoys from the princes of the East have deputed me to be their spokesman.

JULIAN.
[Sitting on the throne
.] I am ready to hear you.

NEVITA.
First, the King of Armenia lays at your feet this suit of mail, begging you to wear it in battle against the foes of the empire, although he knows that you, invincible hero, stand under the protecting eye of the gods, who will suffer no weapon of mortal man to wound you. — Here are priceless carpets, tents, and saddle-housings from the princes beyond the Tigris. They thereby acknowledge that, if the gods have granted those lands exceeding riches, it was with the design that these riches should be at the service of their favourite. — The King of Serandib, and likewise the King of Diu, send you these weapons, sword, spear, and shield, with bows and arrows; for, they say, “We esteem it wisest to stand unarmed before the victorious lord who, like a divinity, has shown himself so mighty as to overwhelm all opposition.” — In return, all pray for the supreme favour of your friendship, and especially beg that if, as report says, you propose next spring to annihilate the audacious Persian king, you will spare their territories from hostile invasion.

JULIAN.
Such an embassy cannot come quite as a surprise to me. The gifts shall be deposited in my treasury, and through you I apprise your masters that it is my will to maintain friendship with all nations who do not — whether by force or guile — thwart my designs. — As to your being led, in your distant lands, to regard me as a divinity on account of my fortunate victories, I will not enter further into the matter. I reverence the gods too highly to arrogate to myself an unmerited place in their midst, although I know that frequently, and chiefly in the days of old, there have lived heroes and rulers who have been so greatly distinguished by the favour and grace of the gods, that it has been difficult to determine whether they should rightly be reckoned among mortals or immortals. Of such things, however, it is rash to judge, even for us Greeks. How much more, then, for you? Therefore, enough of that. — Eutherius conduct the strangers to repose, and see that they lack nothing.
[The Envoys and their train leave the hall, conducted by
Eutherius. Julian
descends from the dais; the courtiers and orators surround him with admiring congratulations.

THEMISTIUS.
So young, — and already so highly honoured above all other Emperors!

MAMERTINUS.
I ask: will not Fame lack lungs to proclaim your renown, if the gods, as I confidently hope, grant you a long life?

THEMISTIUS.
The yell of fear, uttered by the flying Alemanni on the furthest shores of the Rhine, has swept eastward until it dashed against Taurus and Caucasus —

MAMERTINUS.
 
— and now rolls, like the echoes of thunder, over the whole of Asia.

NEVITA.
What has so overawed the Indians is the likeness between our Greek Julian and the Macedonian Alexander —

MAMERTINUS.
Oh where is the likeness? Had King Alexander secret enemies in his own camp? Had he to struggle against an envious and backbiting imperial court?

NEVITA.
True, true; and there were no incapable generals to clog Alexander’s progress.

JULIAN.
Ursulus, it is my will that the coming of these envoys shall be made known both in the city and through all regions of the empire. Everything shall be exactly set forth, — the places whence they came, and the gifts they brought with them. I will withhold from my citizens nothing that concerns my government. You may also allude in passing to the strange belief among the Indians, that Alexander has returned to earth.

URSULUS.
[Hesitatingly.]
Pardon me, most gracious Emperor, but —

JULIAN.
Well?

URSULUS.
You have yourself said that in this court no flattery is to be tolerated —

JULIAN.
True, my friend!

URSULUS.
Then let me honestly tell you that these envoys came to seek your predecessor, not you.

JULIAN.
What do you dare to tell me?

THEMISTIUS.
Pooh, what preposterous nonsense!

MAMERTINUS.
What a fable!

URSULUS.
It is the truth. I have long known that these men were on their way, — long before the Emperor Constantius closed his eyes. Oh, my most gracious lord, let not a false vanity find its way into your young mind —

JULIAN.
Enough, enough! Then you mean to say that —

URSULUS.
Think for yourself. How could your victories in Gaul, glorious as they have been, reach the ears of such distant nations with such rapidity? When the envoys spoke of the Emperor’s heroic deeds, they had in mind the war against the King of Persia —

NEVITA.
I did not know that the war against King Sapor had been so conducted as to spread terror to the ends of the earth.

URSULUS.
True; fortune has been against our arms in those regions. Bat ‘twas the rumour of the great armament which the Emperor Constantius was preparing for the spring that alarmed the Armenians and the other nations. — Oh, reckon out the time, sire, count the days if yon will, and say if it can possibly be otherwise. Your march hither from Gaul was marvellously rapid; but the journey of these men from the Indian isles — ; it would be tenfold more marvellous if — ; ask them, and you will hear —

JULIAN.
[Pale with anger.]
Why do you say all this to me?

URSULUS.
Because it is the truth, and because I cannot bear to see your fresh and fair renown darkened by borrowed trappings.

THEMISTIUS.
What audacity! Mamertinus. What brazen audacity!

JULIAN.
You cannot bear, forsooth! You cannot bear! Oh, I know you better. I know all you old courtiers. It is the gods whose glory you would disparage. For is it not to the glory of the gods that through a man they can compass such great things! But you hate them, these gods, whose temples you have thrown down, whose statues you have broken to pieces, and whose treasures you have rifled. You have scarcely even tolerated these our most beneficent deities. You have scarcely suffered the pious to cherish them secretly in their hearts. And now you would also break down the temple of gratitude which I have dedicated to them in my heart; you would rob me of the grateful belief that I am indebted to the immortals for a new and much-to-be-coveted benefaction; — for may not renown be so termed?

URSULUS.
The one God of heaven is ray witness that —

JULIAN.
The one God! There we have it again! So are you always. What intolerance! Contrast yourselves with us. Do we say that our gods are the only ones? Do we not esteem both the gods of the Egyptians and that Jewish Jehovah, who has certainly done great things among his people? But you, on the contrary, — and a man like you, too, Ursulus — ! Are you a Roman born of Grecian race? The one God! What barbarous effrontery!

URSULUS.
You have promised to hate no man for his convictions’ sake.

JULIAN. — That I have promised; but neither will I suffer you to treat us too insolently. These envoys have not come to ——
 
—— ? That is to say, in other words, that the great and divine Dionysus, whose especial gift it is to reveal what is hidden, — that he is not as powerful now as in bygone ages. Ought I to suffer this? Is it not overweening audacity? Am I not forced to call you to account?