Lucius Annaeus Seneca

“ Saved from a watery grave, slain by the sword, defiled by wounds, among my own household gods, I breathed my last, nor did I quench with my blood my son’s hatred. The fierce tyrant rages at the very name of mother. He desires to forget benefits; he destroys his mother’s statues and titles of honor throughout the entire empire which her ill-fated love gave to him to control for her punishment. My murdered husband disturbs and threatens me even after my death, and with flames seeks my hated features. ”

“ Thou hadst better conquer pitiless Nero by obedience.
[17]
OCTAVIA: For what purpose? That he may restore to me my brother whom he has murdered?
NURSE: That thou, thyself, mayst be safe; that thou by thy progeny, mayst keep from ruin the former home of thy father.
OCTAVIA: The home of the emperor desires another offspring. The dreadful death of my brother distracts me.
NURSE: Such great favor of the citizens toward him should soothe thy mind. [34]
OCTAVIA: It alleviates my sorrows but does not free me from them.
NURSE: The power of the people is great. ”

“ Thou art destined to die by the sword of thy son whose infamous crime posterity will scarcely believe and to which succeeding generations will always be slow to give credence. The unnatural son is furious at his mother’s escape, he grieves that she is saved from the sea, and he commits a greater crime by hastening her death. The servant sent to commit the murder lays open the breast of the mother with his sword. The unhappy woman, while dying, commands the slave to bury the fierce sword in her womb. “Here, here is the place. The sword must pierce the womb which bore such a monster.” ”

“ O, too lenient is the band of my soldiers and my anger after such a great wrong, since civilian blood has not quenched the torches burning for us and since Rome which produced such a monster does not reek with the blood of the people. The wicked crime of the common people deserves more severe punishment. But let that woman who has stirred up rebellion among the citizens and whom I have always suspected though she was wife and sister, too—let her die by my wrath and let her extinguish my anger in her own blood. ”

“ NERO: It is easy for him to be just whose heart is free from fear.
SENECA: Clemency is a great cure for fear.
NERO: To destroy an enemy is the greatest virtue of a leader.
SENECA: It is a greater virtue to preserve the citizens for the father of the fatherland. [65]
NERO: It is right for a merciful old man to admonish youth.
SENECA: Glowing young manhood must be guided more.
NERO: I think there is enough advice for this period of life.
[31]
SENECA: May the gods always sanction thy policy.
NERO: I should be foolish to fear the gods for what I myself have done. ”

“ The unhappy sister and wife sorrows; restrained indignation cannot conceal the grievous affliction of a cruel husband whom she in her innocence always escapes, while the passionate husband burns with a mutual hatred. In vain my fidelity and loyalty to soothe her sorrowing mind. Pitiless grief frustrates my plans; the mind’s generous ardor cannot be subdued but gathers strength for evils. Alas, what an infamous crime our terror foresees. O, may the gods avert it. ”

“ A single portentous day brings forth varying fortunes. May the many misfortunes which thy home has endured strengthen thy mind. What is more cruel to thee than destiny, Octavia? Thou, a mother worthy of many sons, daughter of Agrippa, daughter-in-law of Augustus, and wife of Caesar [96] whose royal name is illustrious in the entire world, soon a barren wife, thou wilt endure exile, the scourge, cruel fetters, gloomy sights, sorrows, long continued torture, and finally death itself. [50] Livia, blessed in the couch and sons of Drusus, committed a great sin and received punishment. ”

“ Desire for war and thirst for gold increased throughout the entire world. The greatest misfortunes had their origin in luxury, that beguiling evil, which gained strength from time and serious error. Vices acquired during so many long ages abound in us. We are oppressed by an infamous age in which crime rules, raging impiety grows furious, and passionate lust and disgraceful love conquer. With avaricious hands, victorious Luxury grasps the immense resources of the world to destroy them. But, lo, with frenzied step and fierce glance Nero enters. ”

“ Soon thou wilt quietly win over thy husband with caressing obedience.
OCTAVIA: I could conquer the savage lion and the fierce tiger sooner than the merciless heart of a barbarous tyrant. He hates men of noble descent, he scorns both gods and men, and not yet does he meet the fate which his infamous mother by a dreadful crime bestowed upon him. Although he may be ashamed to have gained this unacknowledged empire by the kindness of his ill-omened mother, yet she will bear this title of honor [19] after death for endless generations. ”

“ Great crowds corrupted by the prosperity of the times run riot; moderation does not please it, nor can it endure a peaceful reign, but it is borne hither by restless audacity, and is hurled thither by its own temerity. Misfortune must govern it; a heavy yoke must always crush it down lest it should dare to compare me with former rulers and to conspire against my wife. Crushed by fear of punishment, the people will learn to obey the will of its own leader. But I see a man coming whose singular loyalty and remarkable fidelity have placed him in command of my legions. ”

“ Borne along in this vessel, once a wife, now only a sister, driven from my own palace, sorrowfully I shall drift away. Loyalty now has no divinity, nor are there gods above. Gloomy Erinys rules in the world! What nightingale can return soft plaintive notes to my weeping? I would like to escape my sorrows on the uplifted pinions of a bird and borne aloft and far away flee from the gloomy crowds of men and fierce carnage. ”

“ Where now is the power of the Roman people which often destroyed noble leaders, which once gave laws to an invincible fatherland and fasces to worthy citizens, which commanded war and peace, which conquered fierce tribes and imprisoned royal captives? Behold the images of Poppaea and Nero gleam every where before our sight. [85] May the angry people dash to the ground the exquisitely carved statues of the mistress, and may it drag her from the royal couch. [86] May it soon seek the palace of the emperor with hostile flames and fierce weapons. ”

“ NERO: I consider Love to be the greatest reason for existence; through it, passions spring up. Love is harmless; the human race is always refreshed by pleasing love which soothes the fierce wild beasts. May Cupid bring to me nuptial torches, and may he join Poppaea to me in wedlock.
SENECA: The grief of the people can hardly endure these nuptials, nor can sacred loyalty consent. [75]
NERO: Shall I alone be forbidden what is permitted to all?
SENECA: The people always exact greater deeds from the emperor. ”

“ OCTAVIA: For a long time our home has been beset with the heavy wrath of the gods. Pitiless Venus first exacted punishment for the madness of my wretched mother who was united in incestuous marriage, regardless of me, of her husband, and forgetful of the laws. [51] With her hair flowing and entwined with serpents, that avenging Erinys came to the fatal marriage couch and quenched in blood the torches snatched from the marriage chamber. Anger aroused the heart of the fierce leader to disgraceful murder. Our unhappy mother perished by the sword, and her death continually saddens me. ”

“ O how delightful it was to watch the sky which is as great as anything Mother Nature, the builder of the universe, has produced, to gaze upon the alternating changes of the sun and moon surrounded by wandering stars, the far shining glory of the lofty firmament. If this world wanes, if, although so great, it returns again to gloomy chaos, be thou present to the world, that last day which overwhelmed the wicked race of the world with ruin so that rising again, it produced a new and better generation. Such a people [58] Jupiter brought forth when Saturn held the dominion of the universe. ”

“ Loyalty still remained in silent hearts though scorned even in the hour of bitter death. Many hasten to aid their mistress whose strength is broken by the force of the sea. With shouts they encourage her as she slowly but persistently waves her arms. ”

“ I acknowledge that he is unworthy of thee but submit to fate and fortune, daughter, and do not, I implore thee, arouse the wrath of thy angry husband. Perhaps some avenging god will appear and a joyful day will dawn. ”

“ NERO, THE EMPEROR
SENECA, THE TUTOR OF NERO
PREFECT
MESSENGER
OCTAVIA, THE DIVORCED WIFE OF NERO
POPPAEA, THE MISTRESS OF NERO
NURSE OF OCTAVIA
NURSE OF POPPAEA
AGRIPPINA, MOTHER OF NERO
CHORUS
[6]
OCTAVIA, A TRAGEDY. OCTAVIA: Already glorious Aurora [1] chases the wandering stars from the sky. Titan, [2] with radiant hair, rises and returns a clear day to the world. Come, thou [3] who art burdened by so many great misfortunes, utter once more thy sad lamentations. Surpass the kingfishers [4] and the swift nightingales, for thy fate is more grievous than theirs. ”

“ It is fostered in youth and nourished in extravagance and idleness, among the joyful blessings of Fortune. If thou shalt cease to nourish and to cherish this Love, it falls in a short time and destroys its own strength. ”

“ This generation has seen the infamous crime of a son who sent into the Tuscan seas his mother enticed into the fatal boat by treachery. [55] The sailors are ordered to leave the peaceful port; the waves resound with the measured beat of the oars. The ship is borne along upon the deep seas; sinking slowly, it suddenly divides and sucks in the waters. A great clamor mingled with women’s wailing is raised to the stars; a dreadful death threatens them; each one seeks for himself escape from death ”

“ May the ruler of the heaven dwellers who often shakes the world with his deadly thunderbolts and terrifies our mind with sacred lightning,—may he prepare to overwhelm the head of the impious chief with flames. ”

“ May the soldiers who guard the palace of the emperor defend the hall which the furious people threaten. Behold, the anxious cohorts bear aid to the city. The anger of the people rashly aroused does not yield to fear but gathers strength and force.
CHORUS: What madness and terror distract his mind?
MESSENGER: The crowds of people are strongly attached to Octavia, and frenzied by her great wrongs and persecutions they [45] surge in turmoil everywhere. ”

“ They prepare to burn the palace of the emperor unless he surrenders the new wife to their wrath and submissively returns to Claudia her own penates. I shall not delay to carry out the commands of the prefect, that Nero may know the movements of his citizens.
[46]
CHORUS: Cupid carries invincible weapons with which thou dost vainly excite fierce wars. He will overwhelm thee with the fires of passion with which he has often destroyed thunderbolts and has drawn captive Jove from the sky. Thou wilt pay the penalty with thy life. Glowing with passion, he is not patient nor easily controlled. ”

“ The maiden Justice, the goddess of divine majesty, sent with sacred Piety from heaven, mercifully ruled the human race. The nations had not known wars, nor the fierce blasts of the trumpets, nor arms; they did not surround their cities with walls ”

“ Order Octavia to be placed on a ship and carried far away to a desert isle. There let her be killed that the fear in my heart may subside.
CHORUS: Indignation at the present instance forbids mention of many examples of fickle fortune. The woman upon whom the citizens wished to bestow the empire of the world, now they see led weeping to bitter punishment and death. Well does contented poverty conceal itself in humble dwellings. Often tempests shake those homes or fortune overwhelms them. ”

“ Octavia is the only extant tragedy in fabula praetexta or historical Roman tragedy in Roman scene and setting. It is remarkably true to fact, and almost every statement may be verified by reference to the ancient historians.
It deals with the sad story of Octavia, the daughter of Claudius and Messalina. Married against her will when only twelve years old to Nero, a lad of sixteen, she was after five years divorced by her husband on a charge of barrenness in favor of Poppaea Sabina, and in 62 A.D. was banished to a desert island there to be executed. ”

“ Appius Silanus to whom Octavia was affianced. Agrippina by a pretended charge of immorality caused him to be disgraced and the betrothal to be rescinded. At the marriage of Agrippina and Claudius, Silanus put an end to his own life.
[32] Nero.
[33] Agrippina was innocent of the death of Britannicus. The simple pyre had been prepared before and the corpse was consumed that very night in the midst of a sudden tempest.
[34] The sympathy of the people was with Britannicus. The superiority of natural over legal descent seems to have been generally acknowledged. ”