Quo Vadis Page #12

The lions will sing louder, I think.

Oh, Peter, could our Lord

at least not have saved you?

Oh, Peter, why did you come back?

It was the Lord's will.

Nazarius is safe.

Some good people sheltered him

outside the city.

Yes, sing to him

as he now opens his arms to you.

Sing to the welcome of Christ, our Lord.

More singing. Why aren't they afraid?

They irritate me.

They should have been tortured first,

their insolence destroyed.

What of Marcus Vinicius

and the girl Lygia?

- Shall we bring them after these?

- Yes.

Alone, with one lion.

- The hungriest.

- Not yet, my lord.

I should like Vinicius and his little flower

held in reserve.

I am planning something most unusual.

A surprise for you.

What is it, Poppaea? Tell me.

It will not be a surprise, then.

Please, Poppaea.

My lord, have I ever disappointed you

in conceiving new delights?

New thrills?

True.

You haven't.

Singing.

How can they?

It's beyond understanding.

Don't have the arena cleared

at the end of the day.

I'm most curious.

No face on this one at all.

Oh, look, there's another one smiling.

It's monstrous of them to die smiling.

It's inhuman.

Yet they look no different

from other people.

The man, Peter,

he put an evil spell on them.

Yes.

The man, Peter.

Something singular

must be done with him.

Marcus.

Yes?

Nothing do I see that is not perfection.

That night you said it, even though

you were most predatory about it...

...even then,

my heart must have told me:

"That is the man you will love."

Only, then, you wouldn't let me hear

my heart talking, Marcus.

I said a great deal, I remember.

All of it loud and empty.

I would so love to have given you a son.

Lygia.

Oh, Marcus.

No matter what,

I want to be your wife now.

- Peter will say the words over us.

- Lygia, you know l...

I want it to be that way

before they take us...

...so that it will be that way

when we are together again.

You would never wish me to pretend,

would you?

Pretend?

That I feel myself Christian.

It's still strange, new.

There's something I can't quite...

I mean...

Yes, it's proven good...

...full of courage, right here.

But there are many things

I cannot believe, understand.

Christ is within you, Marcus.

You feel him more strongly

than you know.

Come.

Peter.

Before I die, I want to marry Marcus.

This is a holy thing, my son.

It concerns Lygia.

I look upon it as holy.

Marcus.

Lygia.

May he who blessed

the marriage at Cana bless you also.

Love one another

from this moment forward...

...as man and wife in his holy name.

In the name of the Father and of the Son

and of the Holy Ghost.

In this life and the next...

...now and forevermore.

Marcus.

My husband.

Here he is, Your Majesty.

He meets with your approval?

Very much so.

It will be like a fresco from Crete.

The maiden sacrificed to the Minotaur.

It will be a spectacle

worthy of the eyes of the emperor.

Superb conception.

You seem sad and restless,

my little black friend.

But do not grieve.

I promise you a rare playmate

for your lonely horns...

...to fondle and caress.

You are the man Peter?

I am Simon, called Peter.

"The man called Peter has been heard

to preach rebellion and blasphemy...

...against the rule

and the divinity of the emperor.

It is accordingly decreed

that he be taken to Vatican Hill...

...where it has been confessed

he made his first preachment...

...to be crucified and left there

as a warning to all and any...

...who henceforth

wish to call themselves Christians. "

To die as our Lord died

is more than I deserve.

We can change that.

You'll notice, Divinity,

they've stopped singing.

They have, haven't they?

I seem to know that man.

General Plautius.

He conquered Parthia

and the north countries...

...when you were a boy.

Rome made him famous,

and he repaid her with treason.

What a dramatic reversal.

Now he faces his first defeat.

I shall write a poem.

People of Rome.

I am Aulus Plautius...

...once general of your armies.

Rome is ruled by a monster...

...who tells you

the Christians burned Rome.

But he lies.

You lie, Nero.

You are the incendiary.

Nero kills Christians to deceive you.

He alone is guilty.

I swear it by my death and by my...

I begin to envy Petronius.

I have envied him long since.

I tell you,

this is a horrible blot on Roman justice.

The mob isn't as happy as it was.

Have you noticed?

Heaven's son

Eternal lord

Who reigns above

We pray to thee

As night goes on

o shield us

They are singing!

With thy fatherly love

Securely sheltered

From all fear

Thy grace abounding

Let us rest

He said something to Nero.

I could not hear the words.

Nero's looking at a man

That knows how to die.

Take him!

Commander?

Theyre not parting us.

Prepare her.

Here is our honoured guest.

Why is he not in the arena?

He will be...

In spirit.

It's a giant!

It's Hercules himself.

Let us see him

guard the girl from death.

But what is the contest?

Look!

They brought Marcus here to face this!

Do not fret, Vinicius.

Remember I said I did not hate her.

I wish her no pain...

Lasting pain, that is.

I am devastated

dear Petronius is not here

To witness our pleasure, Vinicius.

"Sing no more," he said.

Upon these lilies I heap now

Red roses upon red

A blood-red tide shall surge

Upon her milk-white flesh

You do have some taste,

But she's too narrow in the hips.

They know how to die.

In death you will squeal.

Give him the sword!

No! Stay!

My lord, would you deprive him

of his final pleasure?

Superb, Poppaea! Magnificent!

A fair contest.

Nero's justice is proverbial.

If the bull wins, the girl dies.

If our Hercules

destroys the poor animal,

I shall spare her life...

For Vinicius to breed more Christians.

Christ! Christ, give him strength!

Seize him!

Burner of Rome!

Thumbs up!

Burner of Rome!

Ready up there?

First line, follow me.

Citizens of Rome!

I am Marcus Vinicius,

commander of your 14th legion.

This man burned Rome,

Killed innocents for his crime.

The rule of this madman has ended.

Rome is yours again!

Tonight

general Galba marches from the north.

Your army has risen.

Hail Galba!

Galba, new emperor of Rome!

A sword from Plautius!

Where are the praetorian guard?

Dead...or in revolt.

Dead! All dead!

My dear mama, Octavia, the wife I loved,

My friend, Petronius...

All dead.

Dead.

You a lone are left.

"Kill the Christians," you said.

It was you.

It was you who turned my people,

My faithful subjects...

Against me.

You are my evil genius!

What are you doing here?

I banished you!

I told you that when you needed me,

I would come.

You defied me! Be gone!

Acte, what will they do to me?

They will kill you.

They won't get in!

You've lived like a monster.

Now die like an emperor...

By your own hand.

I didn't wish to be a monster.

The gods willed it!

Now, or they will find you here.

Is this, then, the end of Nero?

Yes, my lord. To be lord of the earth

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