The Fall of the Roman Empire Page #6

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my brother has set upon us.

They may be a great deal of wrong with

what Commodus has done,

but this is not the way to oppose him.

I cannot let you destroy the empire!

Cannot?

Cannot?

If you cannot then take your army

back to Rome.

Let us make our own destiny here.

And let rebellion go on unpunished?

I am part of this rebellion!

I am beginning to wonder

if you ever loved me.

It is out of love that I dared so much.

Run, Lucilla.

Hide somewhere now before it is too late.

Because as certain as death,

we will fall upon the

rebellious armies and crush them.

I do not run, Livius.

You have violated the truce!

We have done more than that, Lucilla.

We have joined with the Persians.

The Persians.

What can we do?

Join Livius?

How would Commodus repay us except

with torture and death.

It is Romans against Persians

while we stand by.

Set the fires behind us!

If I die, Livius, know this...

I have given orders

to have Lucilla killed at once.

The King is dead!

The king is dead!

I have lost! Let me die!

No, Lucilla. I want you to live.

I want you to live.

I want to die! I want to die!

Hail Livius!

Commodus,

Emperor of the Roman world salutes you

and proclaims that henceforth,

you will be known as

Gaius Martellus Livius Parthius,

Conqueror of Persia.

Caesar has asked me to say to you,

Livius, my friend, my brother,

I wish you to share the throne,

to become Caesar with me.

But first...

the following villages

to be destroyed.

From each rebel city of

Cappadocia, Syria, and Egypt,

five thousand persons

are to be taken and crucified,

five thousand persons

from each city to be burned alive.

We'll teach them to make revolution.

Stop the crucifixions!

Cease these men!

Romans!

Romans!

Romans! Romans!

Now can we say to our Senate,

to our empire,

to the whole world,

look!

Here we meet in friendship,

the blond people from the north

and the dark people from the south.

What we have done here could be done

the whole world over.

Where is this gift from Gaius Livius?

It was Livius who did this to us!

Gaius Martellus Livius!

You told him I would share

the throne with him?

This was his answer.

Tell Caesar,

there will be a new Rome or a new Caesar.

Cleander!

Get me gold, Cleander.

Strip all the public monuments,

The temples,

the gods and goddessess.

Get me enough gold, Cleander,

to drown Livius

and his new Rome.

Destroy the Barbarians!

Men of Rome! Men of Rome!

Do not touch these people!

They've become your brothers!

Let them live in peace,

they are Romans now!

Do not harm them!

The whole northern people

will answer with death and fire!

Their hatred will live

for centuries to come.

Romans and Roman blood

will pay for this.

You will make nations of

killers out of them!

Put aside your weapons,

let us live together in peace!

Peace!

No! No! No!

What happened, gentle Greek?

Did you try to tell them

there were three possibilities?

Did you not know that

there was a fourth possibility?

This is the way they answer reason.

And now even you must see

that this is the only way

to answer them.

Look at his face.

Tell me what I must do in his name.

March the army into Rome

and drench the city with blood!

He is dead.

He does not seem dead to me.

I can still feel his life.

And can hear his words.

He was my father's friend.

I will go alone into Rome.

If I do not return by sunset,

then let the army into Rome.

I've been made a god.

Did you know?

I have ordered 30 days of celebration

to mark the event.

Leave at once, Commodus!

I can still spare your life!

I've finally understood

why they have sent me this pestilence.

There was famine,

there were too many mouths,

so the gods

made less mouths.

Commodus, the army is

at the gates of the city.

If I do not return by sunset,

the legions will march on Rome!

I offered you everything

and yet you put yourself against me.

You could have become a god.

Take a sword, Commodus,

And I will show you.

I will show you

how much of a god you are.

I will appeal to the Senate.

There must some love

for the empire left among them.

I loved you, Livius.

Yet now you must die.

But that's the sort of joke

the gods love best.

You told me once you'd never heard

the gods laughing.

Listen.

Listen, carefully.

Glorious Caesar!

Who has been named Lucius Aelius Aurelius

Commodus Augustus Pius Felix,

Pacifier of the whole earth, Invincible.

Invincible!

The Roman Hercules!

High priest! Emperor!

Father of his Country!

And now, Conqueror of Persia!

We are gathered here

to beg permission of our divine Caesar

that he authorizes us

to proclaim that from this day forth

our empire be called,

not the Roman empire,

but the empire of Commodus.

And that the city be called, not Rome,

but the city of Commodus.

You have my permission.

Gaius Livius is among us.

Gaius Livius wishes to speak.

Speak.

Honorable fathers of Rome.

What have you done?

What have you become?

You are the Senate of the people of Rome.

The voice!

The conscience of the empire!

Stand up!

Rid yourselves of this man,

who has imperiled the life of the empire.

The northern army is at the gates of Rome.

The army will support you.

Traitor!

Treason!

From Caesar!

From Caesar!

A change of command!

A change of command!

Gaius Livius

is no longer your leader!

Your new commander is

Caesar himself!

Gold! Gold!

Caesar has sent gold

for the soldiers of Rome!

Gold! Gold! Gold!

Gold! Gold!

Three thousand dinars for each man

in gold.

Three thousand dinars! Gold! Gold!

Three thousand dinars in gold

for each man.

There's not enough gold

in the whole world

to pay each man

three thousand dinars. Look! Look!

You see, Livius,

the day has run its course

and no army marches on Rome.

Our new god, Caesar,

demands human sacrifices.

You,

and these others

will be the first.

There is your great Roman army.

Bought for a handful of gold.

What are we waiting for?

Let's take our share!

What about Livius?

What of the years you have given,

Victorinus?

The blood you have shed.

The comrades who have died.

Will you throw all this away?

Our time has come.

Time! Time, oh, betrayal!

Deserters!

We are not deserters!

We obey our Caesar!

Your Caesar!

Your Caesar is buying you!

If you touch that gold, you are a traitor!

You are a traitor!

You call me traitor?

You are leading a rebellion!

Bolivius! Bolivius!

Run, Lucilla, save yourself!

It cannot be.

Not my father's army.

What's become of it?

There's nothing left. Darkness. Death.

Run quickly, Lucilla.

Bolivius!

There's no use crying!

You don't understand all this, do you?

In the old days there was gold from

the wars for the legionaires.

But your father,

he was a great man,

but with this new Rome,

it has all changed.

Verilus.

Verilus, Verilus help me.

Help me.

Help me save the man I love.

I want you to kill my brother.

I'll give you money,

my jewels.

I'll give you everything I have.

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