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The Marlowe Project The project consists of 12 adaptations of plays by Christopher Marlowe or connected with him. The twelve plays are: 1. The Spanish Tragedy, by Thomas Kyd 2. Arden of Feversham 3. The Jew of Malta 4. The Paris Massacre The Marlowe Trilogy, dealing with the case of Marlowe in three dramas: 5. The Plot 6. The Ghost Writer 7. The Dishonour 8. The Lost Duchess, adapted from “The White Devil” by John Webster 9. The Duchess of Amalfi, adapted from “The Duchess of Malfi” by John Webster 10. Appius and Virginia, by John Webster 11. The Bride’s Tragedy, adapted from “The Maid’s Tragedy”, by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher 12. The Royal Cousins, adapted from “Two Noble Kinsmen” Only two (3 and 4) of these twelve plays can be safely attributed entirely to Marlowe, in the first two his hand is almost certain to at least some degree, the authorship of John Webster was always doubtful, while there are many elements in these three plays of Marlovian character, “The Maid’s Tragedy” was published in the name of Francis Beaumont (deceased since three years) and John Fletcher in 1619 (300 years ago) and is perhaps the most original in the whole Shakespeare canon for being entirely without sources, while the last, attributed to Shakespeare and Fletcher, is very Marlovian for being related to Canterbury by being Chaucerian. All these play adaptations were written in Swedish between 1998 and 2009, and it is these adaptations that have been translated by the author to English in this winter of 2018-19.

Contents (in digital pagination). 1. Hieronimo, or The Spanish Tragedy 2. Arden of Feversham 3. The Jew of Malta 4. The Paris Massacre The Marlowe Trilogy 5. The Plot 6. The Ghost Writer 7. The Dishonour 8. The Lost Duchess 9. The Duchess of Amalfi 10. Appius and Virginia 11. The Brideâ€™s Tragedy 12. The Royal Cousins

1 46 100 144 172 175 247 290 307 340 378 422 466

The case for Christopher Marlowe is introduced in The Marlowe Trilogy.

Hieronimo or The Spanish Tragedy after Thomas Kyd

revised and slightly modernized by Christian Lanciai (2002, translated 2018)

Dramatis personae: Venganza Andrea, fallen knight King of Spain his general Don Cypriano of Castille, his brother Lorenzo, his son and nephew to the King Princess Bel-Imperia, his sister Marshal Hieronimo Isabella, his wife Horatio, their son Prince Balthasar of Portugal a Portuguese ambassador

Pedringano, a valet Serberino, another valet King of Portugal Villuppo Alejandro a page two guards a messenger a notary three citizens with petitions an old man a servant The action is in Spain and Portugal during theRenaissance.

The Argument In a battle between Spain and Portugal the Spanish knight Andrea falls, and Don Balthasar, son of the king of Portugal and heir to the throne, is taken prisoner by Horatio, the son of the Spanish marshal Hieronimo, the King’s oldest and most faithful servant, and by Don Lorenzo, the King’s nephew, son to Don Cypriano, the King’s brother. He also has a daughter, the beautiful Bel-Imperia, Lorenzo’s sister, who was Andrea’s love and betrothed. She is unconsolable after his death. Don Balthasar is entrusted in the care of Don Lorenzo, but as Horatio treated him better, Don Balthasar asks him to keep him company in his imprisonment in expectation of the Portuguese ransom. The Spanish King immediately sees an opportunity to make peace by joining Don Balthasar and his niece Bel-Imperia in marriage, but Bel-Imperia takes a liking to Horatio, and they become lovers. Don Balthasar can not accept that, and together with Don Lorenzo they decide to do away with Horatio. That’s the beginning of the great and complicated plot.

Hieronimo or The Spanish Tragedy Prologue. Venganza What’s wrong, my friend? Andrea I sigh about the life that I have lost. Venganza That’s no good sighing for. Andrea I loved. Venganza You’re loving still. You’ll never do without your love. Andrea But I am dead, while the one I loved is still alive. Venganza Not for long. Andrea What do you mean? Venganza I am familiar with your case, my friend. You were among the elites in the princely corridors of power. Who is torn away by violence from that merry-goround will not wait long until he will have company of many good old friends. Andrea Is that supposed to be some comfort? Venganza I just wished to cheer you up. Some mirth at others’ harm is probably the only joy available for us the dead. Andrea You bring no joy and are no good. Venganza My friend, I am your curate for eternity. I only wish to teach you some good patience to regard the world more calmly with detachment, which you will get soon enough. You learn from being dead. Andrea You are Venganza, vengeance, if I understand you well. How could I have revenge? I am too miserable, tired and unhappy to be able even to desire it. Venganza Be calm and take it easy. It will all resolve itself. All that you need to do is wait, and with time you’ll see the corpses of your enemies come floating down the river more dead than yourself. Andrea Is that supposed to be a comfort? Venganza I bring you no comfort but will only teach you realism. Everything will be arranged, if only you will let it all arrange itself. Andrea You are a strange one for a curate. Venganza I have no ambition to accomplish cures, but only to present how everything will cure itself, if only you allow it. The great art is to let destiny do all the work for you and never fight your destiny. Andrea That’s fatalism. Venganza No, pragmatism. Andrea I don’t believe in you, but I should still give your philosophy a chance. Venganza It will pay off. You’ll see. You can’t imagine to what lengths the mortals readily will go to perish in the self-deceit of their own vanity.

Andrea Your cynicism alarms me. Venganza Cynicism is realism. Just view it positively, and reality will seem more entertaining in its comic aspects than as the depressing dismalhorrible reality it is. Andrea You promiseentertainment by catastrophes and tragedies. Venganza And what could be more entertaining? Andrea I would rather stick to life. Venganza That does no good and only lives to thrive in its perdition. Andrea I am sceptical against your cynicism. Venganza Just lean back, my friend, and take it easy in enjoying death that you have won while all still living in their folly rush and bolt to reach it. Andrea Let’s see if you are correct. I doubt it. Venganza The conflict between Portugal and Spain have now brought your own murderer to prison in Castille at the Castilian king’s intriguing court. You’ll see how life’s abundant richness, avarice and beauty will bring forth the mad greed of more power with the plotters. Now the play begins. Don’t interfere, but let the madness of the mechanisms of vanity go berserk round the world, as something of its deadliest fever, for there is no illness more severe than what they all are striving for. Andrea Life after death? Venganza No, death by power. Andrea Then let’s see if there is something in your theories.

Act I scene 1. The Spanish court. King A day of joy has been bestowed on us by heavenly powers! Lovely is your victory over the Portuguese, my vassals, knights and noblemen! When Spain triumphs, the whole world will make progress in her name, since Spanish happiness means welfare and good fortune across all the world! General The greatest of our losses was the fall of Don Andrea by the hand of the most noble prince Don Balthasar of Portugal. King Don Andrea? Bel-Imperia’s suitor? That will be a hard blow to the Princess. Widows face no easy life, but it is worse to lose a husband even before you are married. But you won the battle anyway? General With flying colours, thanks to most of all the son of marshal Hieronimo, our noble knight Horatio. King Hieronimo, you are reliability impersonated. Wherever you appear there is but fortune, happiness, success, perfection and accomplishment. If it was your son who turned the battle to its victory, he shall be crowned with royal honours. Hieronimo We are as always at your service, gracious majesty. (flourish) General But that’s not all. We still have all the best to show, which we have saved for something of a final touch. Let the command bring in the prisoners! (Enter the militaries with prisoners. In the lead are Lorenzo and Horatio with Balthasar as prisoner between them.)

King You bring the loveliest surprises! Is that not Balthasar himself, the unconquerable prince of Portugal? General It is himself, whom we have taken prisoner. King And who walks there beside him? Who succeeded in defeating him? Hieronimo It pleases me, your majesty, to answer that it is my son Horatio, at your service. Horatio Always ready at your service at all times, your majesty. King This is magnificent indeed. But you are two who guard this prisoner. Who is most worthy of the honour? Lorenzo It was I who caused his horse to stumble. Horatio But it was my lance that cast him off the saddle. Lorenzo I dismantled and unarmed him. Horatio But before that I forced him to lay his weapons down. King It seems that it would be the prisoner himself who would best know the answer to this tricky issue. Prince Balthasar, tread forth! Take off your hands from him. Like in your palace home in Portugal, you will be treated with the same respect here of your royal dignity, and you have nothing more to fear. Your father will bring you your ransom, that is all, a plain formality, whereafter you will have your freedom back. But tell us now who has the honour of depriving you of all your liberty. Balthasar One took me prisoner by chivalry, the other one by violence. One won me honourably by courtesy, the other one by strikes and blows. One promised me good grace and life and mercy, while the other wished to kill me. One of them won my affection, while the other won me by subjection. Therefore I am prisoner of both of them. Hieronimo It’s evident, your majesty, that our prince would rather have Horatio, my son, for his protector, than Lorenzo for his murderer. King Good marshal, your are partial since Horatio is your son, so watch your tongue. Good gentlemen, I ask you to respect my verdict, which I find a just solution. Nephew, you have fought to have the prince’s horse and weapons. Keep them. They are yours by every right. The ransom we shall have for Balthasar, however, shall belong to Don Horatio. Thus to each his own for proven bravery. The prisoner, however, shall be kept by Don Lorenzo, since he has enough resources to maintain and entertain a royal prisoner of highest rank, while your house, Don Horatio, is too poor. Do you accept my verdict? Balthasar I have no objection but would rather see Horatio keep me company in Don Lorenzo’s castle. King Horatio, never let down such a royal friend who thus applies to you for company! Join him in his imprisonment, transforming it into the sweetest holiday of dearest friendship! Let’s now celebrate the victory with great festivities to entertain ourselves and our guests! This day must never finish but to the salute of cannons to our toasts of happiness and welfare! (breaks up, leading the way for the court to the banquet)

Scene 2. A garden. Bel-Imperia I am inconsolable, refusing to believe my love is dead. It cannot happen. He is still around, I feel him constantly in front of me, as if he watched consistently his Bel-Imperia, his fiancée, this now poor wasted empty shell of grief, where all is emptiness and darkness in her formerly so joyous warm and loving heart. But here is now Horatio, the best friend of my beloved lost Andrea. Horatio Pray, how are you, dearest princess? Bel-Imperia As miserable as ever, and I still refuse accepting that Andrea is no longer with us. Horatio I sincerely understand and empathize with your deep grief. Bel-Imperia While the outrageous villain who took my beloved’s life is walking freely around here and thriving like a spoilt and fancy dude, and you, Andrea’s friend, is courting him. Horatio I am commanded thereto by his majesty. I have no choice. Bel-Imperia They say that this Don Balthasar the killer holds you dear having taken a liking to you. But I thought you were Andrea’s friend, the best friend of the nobleman whom Balthasar, your new friend, killed. Horatio My princess, Don Andrea fell in battle, dying on the battlefield of bravery in a most honourable death, killed as a soldier by a soldier whose main duty was to kill enemy soldiers. We eventually carried the day to victory and had the luck to catch him as a prisoner alive. That he then took a liking to his overlord was not my fault. Bel-Imperia These men do always as well as they can but then irrevocably end up messing things up to make everything go wrong, and that’s the only reason why they do at all make war. We women never start a war. Horatio Don’t you forget Helen of Troy? Bel-Imperia You know how innocent she was. It was the crazy men who started war for her. They made her their excuse to war until they all went down and perished, the poor miserable fools. But I would rather have seen you kill Balthasar, Andrea’s murderer, than bring that dandy here to Spain into our homes, where he is princely entertained. Horatio He is the royal son of Portugal. His rank gives him the right to privilege and royal flair if even he is our prisoner. Bel-Imperia And I would rather see you courting me than following that fop. Horatio I always did respect you, princess. Bel-Imperia You were the best friend of my beloved. I have no one after him. Horatio I only find my greatest honour in fulfillment of my duties towards you, but I must also carefully obey the king. Bel-Imperia To court in flattery Andrea’s murderer? Horatio He is as royal as the king, and they command me both by right of rank. Bel-Imperia So leave me to amuse yourself then with that fag. Leave me alone with my unfathomable sorrow. Horatio He is calling on me. I will soon be back, my dearest princess. (leaves)

Bel-Imperia Yes, he is my love, he knew Andrea well and will take over his part in my life. Andrea is no more and has left me alone, but there is still Horatio. Love me then, Horatio, and I will be yours and as faithful to you as to my Andrea’s memory, for there is something in you of what I loved in Andrea. So do I live now only for my longing for the company of Don Horatio and the death with my Andrea. But his murderer is still at large, and there I find a duty of revenge. I still have reasons to hang on to life, if even the sole reason being death. Lorenzo (entering with Bathasar) I find you walking here alone, my sister, with dark unsound clouds across your front, as if you laboured with sick thoughts. Bel-Imperia Who doesn’t? And do not forget: I am in mourning. Lorenzo Your mourning is but vanity of self love, since the one you mourn is dead. Bel-Imperia That’s why I mourn him. Lorenzo The living mourn the dead in vain. It is not rational. It is to waste the life and energy of sorrow into the dark chest of death. Bel-Imperia But sorrow is a beautious entity. Only the dead have made themselves deserving of its sacred purity and worthy of its elevated beauty, since the living just make of themselves a stinking nuisance. Lorenzo But the living will all die, and they deserve that we are sorry for them, since they are alive. Bel-Imperia Whom is it fit for me to mourn then? The only one I loved is dead, and I love him the more for being dead. Lorenzo Here is a prince who gladly would enjoy your company. Bel-Imperia What prince have you in mind? Lorenzo Prince Balthasar of Portugal. Balthasar (politely) If I can help you cure your sorrow, dearest princess, that would be my most delightful duty. Bel-Imperia You were the one who killed my love. If you could bring him back alive to me and happy, that would be the success of your duty. Lorenzo He died honourably honestly in battle, sister. That’s the law of war. Bel-Imperia And do you think that changes any aspect of the matter? He will anyway be just as dead, no less, no more, and here we have his murderer, who none the less will be his murderer. Balthasar Unwillingly and absolutely unintentionally. Bel-Imperia Try convincing someone else. No man kills unintentionally. Your false pretenses and flatteries disgust me. I desired but to be alone, but you would not allow me. Let me then just leave. (leaves but drops a glove) Horatio (entering, picks it up) Princess, don’t forget your glove. Bel-Imperia My friend, pray keep it, for your kindness. Balthasar You stooped in the right moment, Don Horatio. Horatio That bequeathed on me a higher honour than I had deserved and wished for. Lorenzo Don’t take the fleeting flair of her caprice for serious. A woman’s grace is like spoiling and seducing sunshine which immediately passes over for no reason

into rain and storm and thunder without explanation. Let’s devote ourselves to better practices and sports than the loose grace of whimsical capricious ladies. Horatio I came here just to be present at the party which the king will give the Portuguese ambassador, who has arrived with gifts and ransom for our guest the prince. Balthasar Then I will surely have good news from home. King (enters with ambassadors and followers) Well, what do you say now, your excellence? Who stands there if not Balthasar, your king’s own son? Ambassador What do I see? It’s true! Prince Balthasar! Your father walks around at home in constant torment and distress and crying all day long believing you were lost! Balthasar We did send word to Portugal that I was in good hands, well treated and well taken care of. Ambassador No word of that kind has reached us. We bemoaned you, celebrating Requiem masses, the whole country clad in grief, as there was no doubt you were dead. Balthasar I am but prisoner in the good care of friends, who keep me chained but in the pleasure of their games and in the beauty of their ladies. Yes, I am completely lost here in the pleasures of Madrid, where paradise is dominating the horizon with no end to joys and courtly beatitudes. King Which only have begun. Let’s now be merry at our party, for the one you thought was lost, ambassador, is more alive than ever and has by his personality united Portugal and Spain in a most wondrous unity of harmony and mind, which brings us all to wonder: why did we make war? However was it possible? We were one country on the same ground on the same peninsula, like brothers for all time, to say the least. Ambassador Let’s then celebrate this fact, endorsing and confirming peace between our lands preferably forever. King Splendid! No one can object! So let us drown all sullen thoughts and lunacy of history in the one power that should always rule our lives: the sweetness of the elixir of life called wine. Balthasar Never did a king speak wiser words. King We are then all agreed on lasting peace of permanence. Hieronimo May that continue in the same vein throughout your reign! Horatio Cheers, father, to your providential diplomacy! Balthasar (regarding Bel-Imperia) To beauty and to love forever! Lorenzo (implying to the ambassador) A suitable match to seal our agreement with and perhaps to even finally unite our countries with? Ambassador Why not? Bel-Imperia Only I remain outside and do not trust the politics of artificial joy and celebration. Yes, get drunk, old men, and forget about reality, so that it may come stealing on you like the darkness from behind out of the cold night of the storm.

Strained joy of artifice is like the cold dead grin and empty grimace of a deathskull stuck in terror in its permanence of the eternity and inevitability of death. (All the others indulge in cheers and party. Balthasar throws wishful glances at times at Imperia in agreement of mind with Lorenzo, while Horatio regards her more with some understanding.) (Enter Andrea and Venganza at some distance.) Andrea Did we come here from the eternity of the abysmal darkness only to behold the happiness and pleasures of my murderer? These parties hurt me more and are more painful than the cruellest autodafés. Venganza Calm down. This is only the beginning. There are never any parties wíthout their derailing. And the merrier the party, the more dreadful it will end. Andrea They are too happy for my taste. I cannot stand it. Venganza You won’t have to suffer for much longer, for the intrigues have begun to form already by themselves. Andrea So far they are only frames of mind, and you keep promising without a single sign of any progress. Venganza Patience, my good friend! Soon you will be the lord and master of the banquets of festivities, when the others are collected for your harvest. Andrea I begin to think the progress is too slow. Venganza For the planning of a great event there must be firm foundations laid out carefully and slowly, if it is to work. Just take it easy! (They leave. The party goes on.)

Act II scene 1. Lorenzo Don’t give up, my dearest friend, for diligence must always win. No fruit will ripen without falling off the tree. Balthasar It is my fault, not hers, that I have no success in reaching to her heart. I always fumbled by my clumsy methods. Maybe she could love me for my royal blood, but I am only still a prisoner. Perhaps she then could love me since I am your friend and you her brother, but I must suspect she has another aim in sight. Perhaps that she could love me if I made myself her thrall of love, but it could never end up well, and I suspect she isn’t interested at all in all my love. Lorenzo We’ll manage her, I’m sure. If she loves someone else, we shall find out about it. Pedringano! Pedringano Yes, my lord. Lorenzo Spy my sister and find out to whom her heart belongs, but with discretion: she must not suspect that we investigate her private life. Pedringano I might already know to whom her heart belongs. Lorenzo If you reveal it, you shall have rewards in gold and jewels. Pedringano Her heart belongs to Don Andrea. Lorenzo But he is dead, you bloody knave! Pedringano I know.

Lorenzo How can she love him then? Pedringano Since he is dead. Lorenzo Has she then had none other after him? Pedringano None that I know of. She is constantly in mouring, crying after him, and since his death her heart has been closed up to all the others and especially to me. Lorenzo How dare you, scoundrel of a knave! Do you not think that I know her, my sister of uniqueness? She has never had another thought in her brain than erotical indulgence. Yes, she loved Andrea, but that he is dead does only mean one thing: that she has turned her love to someone else. Pedringano I can know nothing about that. Lorenzo You lie! (pulls his sword) My arrant knave, your credit is withdrawn! (forces him on to the wall with the steel against his throat) If you don’t tell me what you know immediately, you will get paid with interest by cold steel once and for all. Pedringano To tell the truth, I don’t think she loves anyone more than Andrea, if it wasn’t for Horatio. Lorenzo (surprised) Horatio? Pedringano He is the only possible alternative. Lorenzo The marshal’s son Horatio? Pedringano There could be no one else. Lorenzo How do you know this, tell me, and you will be more than well rewarded. Fear no punishment from me for telling what you know. Pedringano I know that she has written letters to him, which I perused on the way. Lorenzo So it is thus an already established and far gone affair? Pedringano I know she now prefers Horatio to Balthasar in spite of his nobility as prince. Balthasar And it is her own words, you scoundrel? Pedringano I regret to say it is. Balthasar Horatio! And I considered you my friend! Lorenzo Watch her closely, Pedringano! Tell me where they meet, report to me what tokens they exchange of love, keep me informed! This must be charted and investigated carefully for plannings and proceedings. Pedringano, serve her well and faithfully as you have always done, but you must keep me up to date on this small tender matter of indelicacy, and you will go free from punishment and prosecution. Pedringano I have given you in confidence away my mistress’ sublime secrets, but if you abuse them, may this sword, that you have threatened me with to my life, be turned against yourself and used by destiny against your own life. (leaves) Balthasar Do you think that we could trust that fool? Lorenzo He is just a coward. A true lackey cannot lie but is obedient unto death from cowardice alone and fear. Balthasar We cannot rule Imperia or manipulate her love. Lorenzo Can’t we? Where the word is not sufficient, violence takes over and provides results, but gold is even more efficient, even without violence. You cannot guess how far you can make people prostitute their souls for gold, and Pedringano is

completely sold and lost. He now belongs to us and is as far gone to perdition as my sweet sick sister in her love, which we no doubt will find out how to cure. Balthasar I canâ€™t see how. I see no other way than to put Don Horatio out of business. Lorenzo That will not be difficult. Balthasar But I must fear, if we remove him from your sisterâ€™s heart, that she will only even more remove herself from me. Lorenzo That remains to be seen. You may decide the matter. Shall we have him liquidated? Balthasar I now see all things clearly. He alone has caused my entire misfortune. He commenced the war, defeated me and took me prisoner for my humiliation. As if this was not enough he also took away from me my love. All this is not acceptable. Lorenzo Let us proceed then. Balthasar He has asked for it himself. Lorenzo He has himself to blame. We are all set, then. Balthasar I begin to like you, Don Lorenzo.

Scene 2. Horatio My love, if now our secret has transcended from an intimate well guarded glow into an open flame, why then do you conceal yourself retiring introverting in avoiding me? Bel-Imperia I am like a ship but without helm out in the stormy ocean, knowing that the harbour is the only safe and certain destination, and that harbour, I know well, is you yourself, my lover. But I am still lost out in the dark over the depths alone without a helm on the most desolate and turbulent dark ocean finding no way home, no peace and have no pilot to show me the right way in to port. Pedringano (aside, to Lorenzo and Balthasar) Here are the turtle children, as I promised to present to you. Lorenzo And taken in the open! Balthasar Be quiet! Let us hark their cooing. Horatio Let me show the way across the shallows then, as your own pilot, for I am the only proper shore. Bel-Imperia Yes, I know well, but still I canâ€™t escape the loneliness out in the storm of the dark seas. I see but threats of shipwreck and disaster everywhere and cannot find a single pilot and not even you to trust, from fear of dragging innocents into a tragedy of inevitability. Balthasar I cannot bear it! How can they together be so intimate and I stand hopelessly outside without a chance? Lorenzo Be patient, brother. We will soon be rid of him. Balthasar I see no sign thereof. Bel-Imperia You are so quiet, dear Horatio. Horatio If the voice is silent, thinking then will be the louder.

Bel-Imperia What are then your thoughts about? Horatio About the crises that have been and our happiness that will be. Balthasar No, about the happiness that has been and the crises now expecting you. Lorenzo Be quiet! Bel-Imperia What crises, and what happiness? Horatio The crises and calamities of war and our happiness of love. Lorenzo No, your own death and no more happiness at all. Balthasar Shut up! Bel-Imperia The crises of the war are over, so forget them, and let us instead be concentrating on our love and happiness. Write dedicated poems to me of your sweetest love, and I will answer them. Give me honeyed kisses of your sweetness, and I will return them with good interest. Let me be your love, and it shall grow in me to be aggrandized to invaluable proportions. Horatio So let us define the time and place for publishing the banns of our engagement. Balthasar This transcends all limits for endurance, decency and tolerance. Lorenzo So let their fire forge the blade and harden it for your most righteous vindication. Bel-Imperia Let us publish our engagement where we first had our meeting, for the court is dangerous for its public exposition. Let us be engaged in secret so that nothing may disturb or interfere with it before it is a fact. I lost a lover once which was too much. That must not ever be repeated and not even risked. Lorenzo You have already risked it, and your second lover is already dead. Balthasar Do not anticipate and celebrate a victory before it has been won. Horatio You know, my darling, that I will be the last man in the world to dare risk anything for you. Bel-Imperia What do you mean? Horatio I mean whatever that may import any risk for you. Bel-Imperia Yes, that was better. Balthasar For it was so much worse. Lorenzo Let their engagement then for our part be the seal of death for that most dashing cavalier. Are we agreed on this? Balthasar We have no choice. Lorenzo Thatâ€™s what I mean. (They join their hands on it while at the same time BelImperia and Horatio meet in a kiss. Pedringano shakes his head in unshakeable misgivings.)

Scen 3. The court. King My worthy brother Don Cypriano of Castille, what is your daughter Bel-Imperia’s answer to Don Balthasar’s proposal? Cypriano I can have no doublt that she but can accept it. She plays shy and humble but can not at length resist the prince’s love, for she well knows, that if she loses her best opportunity, she also will lose her own father’s grace and love. King Then I suggest, your excellence of Portugal, that you admonish urgently your king to fix this marriage for a closer union of our countries. She will have a dowry most generous, and if she will give Balthasar a son, he shall be heir to both the crowns of Spain and Portugal. Ambassador It is an offer of such advantageous consequences that no one could possibly resist it. King That is what I mean. So bring our greetings to the king in Lisbon, our brother. When do you think that Don Balthasar will leave? Ambassador He is well on his way in preparation for his leave. King Do not forget arranging with the ransom, which his guardian shall have, Horatio, the marshal’s son. Ambassador It will be well arranged. King Then thanks again, and happy journey. Ambassador Farewell, all of you, with many thanks for all your generosity and hospitality, with compliments to Bel-Imperia for her beauty. (bows and leaves) King Now, my brother, look well to it, that your daughter does not ditch this marriage. That would be deplorable if she now by capriciousness allowed this possibility to get out of our hands. Cypriano It is to everybody’s interest and the state’s that she will humour us and carry through the deal. Or else she will be sorry, which she knows. King That’s good. We trust you to cooperate with your best will. Cypriano There shouldn’t be a problem, brother.

Scene 4. A park with a pavilion Horatio Once more we meet again, my loveliest Imperia, to renew our vows of love and seal them with a sacred kiss. Imperia Still I am worried. There is something going on that we cannot control. Horatio Do you not trust your servant? Imperia That’s why I brought him with me. Pedringano, please stand guard outside the entrance of the park and give me warning instantly if someone importunely should approach who could disturb our peace. Pedringano Yes, mistress. (aside) I’ll instantly fetch Don Lorenzo, the right person to eternalize your crazy union. (leaves) Horatio Don’t get worried, my beloved.

Imperia The more you ask me not to worry, the more worried I become. Horatio You will get over it. When love is true, there’s nothing that could stop it. Imperia But when it is at its fullest truth, reality and beauty, it is most endangered. Horatio Not with me. Imperia Horatio, I love you. Always do remember that whatever happens. Horatio I did never doubt it. I will always stand by you whatever happens. And we are in safe hands, for my father has all military power in his hands of competence. So how could anything disturb or happen to us? Imperia When security is absolute, the danger is most lurking. No assault can be more sudden than the ambush of infernal ill will striking at the heart of happiness. Horatio Enough, my love, of all your dismal prohecies. Please open up the door for our love uniting by your lips. Imperia To you all doors to me are always open. (They kiss. Suddenly Lorenzo, Balthasar, Pedringano and masked assassins rush in.) Imperia Pedringano! We have been betrayed! Lorenzo Seal that mouth on that lewd wench! Hang that accursed seducer in the nearest tree! Let it be done at once efficiently! Horatio Don Balthasar! What did I do to you? What is this kind of a bad joke? Balthasar It is no joke, my friend. You stand in my way for the ways of power . Imperia My brother! Do with me whatever you may wish, but spare the innocent Horatio! Lorenzo Wicked slut, you have gone too far in your self-indulgent self-will. It is now too late. Pedringano Unfortunately, princess, we have our instructions. (gags her) Horatio You don’t know what you are doing. Lorenzo That’s exactly what we know, you rapist of the bride of the deceased! Feel this for some reward! (stabs him) Imperia (gets rid of the gag) Spare him! He is innocent! I am the only guilty one! I loved him and desired him, but he did never violate me or make love to me! Balthasar But I want to make love to you, and no one turns me down. Lorenzo It doesn’t matter, as he now is dead. If he did not desire or make love to you, my sister, although you invited him, he need not bother any more about it. Imperia You inhuman murderers and slaughterers! Lorenzo Shut up that bawling harlot’s mouth, for hell’s sake, and take her away from here! We’ll steal away before we get more credible and invonvenient witnesses. (Imperia is abducted, gagged. All disappear instantly. Only Horatio’s corpse is left, hanged and bloody.) (enter Hieronimo) Hieronimo They wanted me to join them here to learn about some secret. I just hope my son treads carefully, as princesses are never to be trifled with. If ordinary girls sometimes are playful with capricious tricks, then princesses could cause disasters without even being touched by them. But what is this? There seems to have been some irregularity committed here. Here’s someone hanging in the tree, cut up

he is as well, as if he had been disembowelled. Such a poor thing of a devil canâ€™t be left without a helping hand. (liberates Horatio and puts him on a bench) But what is this? What is this deadly joke of outrage and grotesque morbidity that someone mocks me with? Horatio! This must not be you! Tell me you are alive! Tell me this is nought but a nightmarish illusion! This must not be true! Horatio! My own son! How could this happen? This soft hair that I caressed so many hundred thousand times, these noble traits of only honour, honesty and courage, my own boy, no, itâ€™s impossible! This cannot have occurred! And here, so close to my own home, in my own garden!

Isabella (entering) What cries and woes of strangeness do I hear, my husband? Why are you not coming in? Hieronimo Look here, my love, our only son, most brutally and scandalously massacred, outrageously abused and doubly murdered both by hanging and by slaughter, madly executed by inexcplicable hatred and insane hysteria! This seems thoroughly absurd and crazy in its almost surrealistic exaggeration. Isabella And our only son! But who could have committed such a crime? He was among the most appreciated leading popular young men in Spain, and no one had more friends. He had no enemies, and no one wished him harm. He was to everyone, especially to us, the ideal hero. Hieronimo I cannot understand it. Someone must have gone more than out of his mind. There is no sense, no motive and no method, nothing fits, and everyone could only lose by such a loss. The only thing I know for certain is, that those who did it shall be traced and punished. Isabella It is beyond comprehension. I am seized and overwhelmed by such an ocean of dark emptiness that I can find no tears to cry for that outraging storm that boils within my heart in a cascade of waterfalls that never can run out but drag me

down into abysmal grief without a bottom, and it only keeps on tearing me and dragging me forever further down, allowing nothing to come out from that black hole of sorrow. Hieronimo (embracing her and comforting her) My beloved wife, this sorrow without end shall be the sign for our future. I have served my country faithfully throughout my life as marshal incorruptible without a flaw and never a mistake. Shall this then be the gratitude for a lifetime of fidelity, self-sacrifice and risking of my life? No, this is not acceptable! I shall go to the bottom with this worst of felonies in our history, and no one who took part in it shall ever more be safe. I shall fanatically persecute them unto death and to the very heart of hell if necessary! My revenge shall be more inescapable and certain than the holiest plight in christendom! Isabella And I shall weep over the body of my son until I die. May I shed constant tears of blood over the end result of all the efforts of my love and life in deeper oceans of my grief than what the whole Atlantic fathoms. Hieronimo At least until you are revenged. Then we can bury our son and proclaim peace over his memory when our duty of revenge has been fulfilled. Isabella His memory will never give me peace. Hieronimo Me even less. It shall be like the energy and fuel for the black flame of revenge that never can be quenched. Isabella My husband, this is far too much. Hieronimo Indeed it is, as we did not deserve one bit of this injustice, as we were always innocent and honest like our son. Isabella I shall stand up for him and stand you by in the crusade and quest for vengeance. Hieronimo That’s the spirit. It shall kee us going and alive. (leaves with Isabella, who at last breaks out in terrible crying. Horatio’s body remains lying on the bench in the foreground, as Andrea and Venganza appear.) Andrea What do you mean by this, my brother? It was Balthasar you were supposed to venge yourself upon and not unreasonably cause the death of my best friend Horatio. And my love, sweet Bel-Imperia, is now imperilled at the mercy of the villains, who will surely find the opportunity to ravish her. All your intrigue has backfired. Have you got everything completely wrong? Venganza You talk about your harvest although just the seeds have found their ground. Don’t worry. Something drastical was needed just to wake up good old Hieronimo. Now he has found himself in a reality which will compel him soon enough to rage and action. And when the King’s most loyal servant moves into an angry mood, it’s best to keep away, for righteous sacred ire is but the more terrible the more it is well founded; and the more outrageous, the more sacred it is as well.

Act III scene 1. The royal court of Portugal King of Portugal My son, my loved, unfortunate and only son! One day the pride and hope of all the nation for the future and the leading star to our national success, the next day a dispersed forgotten dream, a sun gone from the sky and leaving only darkness, all our hopes annihilated, crushed to atoms of invisibility and a body whisked away and lost, as if there was some foul political necessity for the denial and the disappearance of a corpse. Now I have nothing left to do in life but to confine myself in loneliness of everlasting grief and sorrow ever getting worse and deeper. Villuppo Don’t blame it all on Alejandro, though. It was perhaps not his fault, and I saw him shortly before battle stand and talk with our prince on very friendly terms. There was no doubt, that they were only best of friends. Portugal Still the responsibility is Alejandro’s, who enticed my son to join the fateful battle, and I have no doubt that it was Alejandro’s wish to thus get Balthasar out of the way. My son was good and only thought the best of all, so Alejandro had no difficulty in persuading him and tempting him into the trap of death. Bring in the bloody villain! We shall trifle no more with the criminal conspirer and murderer! (Some knights bring in Alejandro in chains.) There is nothing, Alejandro, that can save you any more! My son demands revenge, and I will have no peace for mourning until his betrayer is disposed of! Alejandro With your leave, your majesty, but there has not been any evidence of that your son is dead. Grant patience any chance for common sense to have a say. Portugal You only try to trick me. I am to be fooled no longer, and no patience in the world can save you any more! Take him away and torture him and press him for confessions on the burning rack for his intrigue! And burn him on the stake if he persists in lying! (Alejandro is tied up on the torture instrument.) Alejandro Villuppo, it is you who have brought me to death, but I will haunt you by my ghost eternally for my revenge! Villuppo On the contrary, my friend, I was your lawyer of defense. Alejandro You worm of falsity, who made our liege believe that Balthasar was murdered and by me! Villuppo You are mistaken. On the contrary, I always claimed that there was never any evidence of any corpse of Balthasar. (enter Ambassador) Ambassador What’s this? Portugal An execution of the cause of my son’s death. Ambassador Desist! He lives! Portugal Who? Ambassador Your son! Portugal My Balthasar? He lives? Ambassador Indeed he does, and well, in custody in Spain, where he found solace in the princess, and we are engaged with interest in binding both the royal houses close together by their marriage.

Portugal What are these strange utopias? Is then Balthasar not dead? Ambassador Of course he isn’t. He was rescued in the battle by a certain warrior Horatio, who protected Balthasar his enemy by his own shield and made him willingly surrender to him as a prisoner. He’s living like a prince in comfort at the court of Spain among the loveliest of princesses. Portugal Set Alejandro instantly at liberty! (He is released. The King embraces him fondly.) My friend, I beg you to forgive me! All the circumstances spoke against you. I regret that I did not believe you and allowed to proceed thus far. Alejandro It is bitter that you have to prove your innocence in order to avoid a traitor’s death by a mistaken execution. No one wished to hear about my innocence only because you stubbornly believed that I was guilty of what hadn’t even happened, and without a shred of evidence. Portugal Yes, but it is all over now. Go home in peace. Now we shall have a banquet for a celebration, for the son we thought was dead has now been proved alive and more alive than ever! My favourite ambassador, tell me some more! What is this match you have in thought? How far have these intriguing plans proceeded? (takes cordially the ambassador along, and the court follows.) Alejandro (the last to remain) Thus they superficially extol while feasting and have already forgotten hat they were about to mutilate and execute an innocent. I almost wish that overbearing Balthasar to have been dead.

Scene 2. Hieronimo Has Hieronimo no right to grieve, since he is a grand of Spain? Should Hieronimo have no right to cry since he is his country’s and his monarch’s marshal? Has Hieronimo no right to go mad when his only son so obviously has been murdered by the very royal family he has served all his life? Have I no right to grieve as a father for my only son, because I have such a high important position of responsibility? Have I no right to cry out my woe and misery, a more unfathomable bitterness than Lucifer’s, because I am in a position? Have I no right… no, I have no right, for a son was all I had, and this only begetted son has been murdered. I have no right to cry, for the one I cry for is now dead, my only son. I have no right of any life any more since my only son has been murdered. Like my wife I am just a shallow shell of emptiness without anything within but bottomless abyssals of the empty dry black tears of oceans of sorrows, like a subterranean lake that never can have any outlet. All I still have left to live for is an overwhelming urge and desperate demand for a revenge, the natural storm of power of which craves resounding justice with more violence and consequence than any legal measure. If the court is behind this, the whole court must be brought to justice, mangled, quartered, hanged and mutilated everyone of them! That is the absolute irrevocable law’s command of the law of nature of Hieronimo, more strong and with more power and irresistibility of force than any exploding volcano! For it is the father’s law whose son has been

assassinated! – But what is this? (takes up a letter) A letter on my way, for me? It must be something confidential. (opens it) It’s written in red ink. But can this be possible? (reads) ”Hieronimo, for want of ink this is now written in my blood. I am kept in captivity and isolation by my brother and prince Balthasar, who murdered my beloved and your son Horatio. I implore you to revenge him and myself, who do not fare well in these brutal hands of murderers. Good luck with this necessity and its fulfillment and success, which sadly your misfortunate Imperia now is missing.” The letter is sincere indeed, but what does she mean? What reason did they have to murder him? He and Balthasar were the best of friends, and also Lorenzo had nothing against my son Horatio. This is hardly reasonable, and still this Bel-Imperia is sincere and serious. Or could this be some kind of a trap? Beware, Hieronimo, of intrigues of deceit! There is something in this that you cannot see. Could she have any reason to set me against her brother and prince Balthasar? I cannot know anything about that. But before I proceed I must have clearance in this most incredibly unlikely charge and accusation by the princess. But here is Pedringano, her own servant, just in time, like on demand! Hey, good faithful Pedringano! Pedringano Marshal Hieronimo! Hieronimo Where is your lady? Are you not her servant? Pedringano I know not where she is. But ask her brother, who is here, Lorenzo. Lorenzo (appearing) What is it, Pedringano? Is anybody asking for me? Hieronimo! Hieronimo Your faithful servant. Pedringano He asks for Bel-Imperia. Lorenzo She is not available. Hieronimo I hope she isn’t ill? Lorenzo No, she has merely left the city. There was some slight division between her and our father, so he sent her out of town. Can I leave a message? Hieronimo Not at all, it’s still too late, and I regret that she is out of grace. Lorenzo But maybe I can help? Submit your case to me. Hieronimo No, it can’t be done. I must find other ways. Thanks anyway. Lorenzo Goodbye, then. Hieronimo My sorrow cannot be expressed by all my heart, and my thought must not be misinterpreted by any tongue. (leaves) Lorenzo Look, Pedringano, who goes there. Pedringano Yes, one of your accomplices and hired men. Lorenzo Do you think he could have divulged the matter? Pedringano Hardly, since it was so late, and since he was with me most of the time. Lorenzo Still I regret that he was in on it and with us. Here is gold, if you can make him meet us at the park of San Luigi. Meet him there, strike home into his heart, for he must die. Pedringano But how could I make him come there? Lorenzo I will send him there. Just look to it that he does not leave you alive. Pedringano Well then, I go to arm myself. Lorenzo Yes, go to it. (Pedringano leaves.) You there.

A page Your grace? Lorenzo Go tell him, your master Serberino, that I wish to meet him eight oâ€™clock sharp behind the small house. Page Yes, my lord. (leaves) Lorenzo Everything will be arranged. Now to organizing and collecting for the liquidation of all evidence. That Hieronimo all of a sudden asks about my sister means he is investigating, and when someone starts investigating it means that he knows too much already. Therefore I must see to it that Pedringano doesnâ€™t babble but gets caught in his own crime. I must have some words with the guard and provide him with some tips.

Scene 3. Pedringano (aiming with his gun) Stay a moment, and consider for a second, Pedringano. What are you actually doing? You shoot in cold blood your own brother, whom you worked with under the same roof for many years, because your lord gave you some gold to do the deed. Am I then not a hired assassin? What ill has ever Serberino done to you, Pedringano? Nothing! He always showed you kindness and fidelity. But I have no choice, for I am bought to kill him, and the only law is money. If I spite my lord I will be called a coward and get sacked, while he gives someone else some gold to kill poor Serverino in my stead. So I might as well get through with it and murder him, and my lord will stand between me and the law for safe protection. I have nothing to fear and only to be rewarded. (takes aim) (enter patrolling guards) Guard 1 And why should we guard the park more carefully this evening? Guard 2 I have no idea. Someone must have heard about something or perhaps had some tip of something going on. Guard 1 I usually smell scoundrels at some distance, and here I feel the stench of far more than only dirty tricks. 2 We had better not go to sleep. If we should fall asleep anyway, we had better do it with our pistols triggered. 1 You said it. 2 Quiet! Someoneâ€™s coming! (They retire.) Serberino (entering) Here is the place for the encounter. What would they want with me, those high and noble gentlemen? It must be some confidential mission, some secret, probably a message of some delicacy, which they wish me to deliver to some lady. That is usually the case. Pedringano Here he is, and punctual at that! Shoot then, Pedringano, and be certain not to miss! (aims) Serberino I wonder why the lords please to be late or absent. Still they wanted me explicitly to be exactly punctual. The time so late at evening also is not too well chosen. Everything seems most remarkably improper, odd and inconvenient.

Pedringano I have you, Serberino, now! (shoots him) There he lies, and I have done my job. (The guards rush forth.) Guard 1 It was a gunshot! 2 And here lies someone dead! Arrest the murderer! Pedringano No one is arrested here, for I am Pedringano and have licence! (They fight. The guards bring down Pedringano.) Guard 1 My lord, you shouldn’t be out at this late hour. Why didn’t you stay in bed? 2 And why did you kill this innocent man? Pedringano He wandered about late and came in my way. Guard 1 We must take care of you, Sir. 2 We’ll bring him directly to Hieronimo. Pedringano Take me wherever! I have a licence and can well defend myself to anyone! I spite the entire world! 2 Out with him! 1 We had better lock you up. (They lead him out.) Lorenzo (coming out of the shadows in a hooded cloak) One out of the way. One less. But how many are remaining? Never mind. We’ll manage them all by careful methodology. Two flies in one blow has made my evening glow. (retires in the opposite direction)

Scene 4. Balthasar What’s on, Lorenzo? Already up? Lorenzo Only to warn you. Balthasar Has anything happened? Lorenzo There is something in the air. Balthasar Like what? Lorenzo That someone might have informed Hieronimo. Balthasar Who would do a thing like that and why? Lorenzo That’s more than I know. Balthasar You are hysterical and have grown anxious. Say, it’s not just a bad conscience? Lorenzo I know that something is coming, and that someone knows too much. Therefore I have taken precautions… But here is my page. What news, my friend? Page Your grace, Serberino has been found dead. Lorenzo Who did you say? Serberino? Who used to be my servant? Page The very man. Lorenzo And has the murderer been arrested? Page Yes, they have caught the one who did it. Lorenzo Who was it? Page Pedringano.

Balthasar This is too much. Serberino, my must loyal and trusted servant, has been murdered by his own best friend! How is it possible? Had Pedringano had too much, or did he just go crazy? Page He was sensible enough with all his wits at hand, but very overweening. Lorenzo Such a crime cannot be tolerated or forgiven. We must immediately demand revenge for your good servant with the king. A murder of this kind is not acceptable. Balthasar But what was their quarrel? What went into your cursed servant’s suddenly demented mind? There never was an argument between them earlier. Lorenzo Neither I can understand this. But we must have justice! You have my endorsement of that Pedringano must be punished and with death! Balthasar I shall demand it personally by the king and speed the course of law and justice. Your servant must be held accountable and pay for this atrocious murder on my servant by his life! (leaves) Lorenzo Thus everything arranges by itself. I bestow the conspiration, and you buy it and efficiently dispose of all the traces, so that no one can find out how it was all contrived. Thus we appear as most impeccable and honourable men while only innocents are sacrificed to make our way. It all ends up accordingly if only you keep quiet about what you know. The only criminal offence is not to keep your mouth shut. (enter messenger with a letter) Is that a letter and for me? Messenger To you, from Pedringano, who has been imprisoned. Lorenzo So he is safely kept locked up? Messenger Until he is condemned an hanged. Lorenzo What does he want of me? Messenger It’s his belief that you could save him. Lorenzo Is it so indeed? Let’s see. (opens letter) Tell him, that we received his letter and are now aware of his predicament and will do what we can. Tell that to him for comfort. He will need all solace he can get. Messenger Yes, Don Lorenzo. (leaves) Lorenzo My page, poor Pedringano will need comfort. Give him my best greetings with this wallet with some gold. There will be more. You are familiar with the prison. See to it that he will have the wallet so that no one else discovers it. Tell him that his case will be tried this very day and that he will have nothing more to fear. His pardon is already written. Show him this document envelope but don’t break its seal. Tell him that it contains his pardon. That will make him happy. He must not open it though until the process reaches a successful end. Not until then is the right moment. Have you got it? Page It’s a simple matter. I will instantly deliver. Lorenzo Look to it that it is carefully delivered with discretion. (aside) So far so good. May it work out well. It only now remains to give the hangman his directions. Then my conscience will find peace and sleep when all that gnawed on it are dead. There’s no one who knows my intentions. That I have my will is all that matters.

Page (aside) My lord forbade me to have any look into his confidential document, which only can be interpreted one way, that I must do so. It must be opened anyway, and Pedringano need not ever know about the seal. So, (opens it) let’s see what is so confidential. (disappointed) But here is nothing. That’s what I call a most royal joke. So they just send poor Pedringano straight to death and laugh about it! And poor Pedringano! Believing that he has his pardon in his pocket he will laugh and scorn the court and judge and joke about the hangman, as he will be certain of how he will get away with ease, but it will only be the opposite. And I can only stand by him in front of him and say: ”Fear nothing, Pedringano, for here is your pardon!” edifying him before his execution with the lies of fickle false dreams of illusions. What a cruel thing is power, as it thus distorts and turns all justice to its opposite unto irrecognizability to the destruction of herself! I am sorry, but I can’t cry for you, Pedringano, since you actually went into your own trap. All I can do is to congratulate you for not knowing that you are hopelessly stuck in your own trap. (leaves)

Scene 5. Hieronimo So you slave for the world order superiority, sustain it in its mask of so called right, as if there was the faintest trace of justice in the office of command. The so called right is but an instrument manipulated howsoever by whoever, and woe betide that servant of established right who doesn’t follow the commands of superiority! Thus we serve the unpredictability of a strange law and right of a capricious superiority demanding everyone’s respect for that illusion but without a chance yourself of any right or even any insight or investigation. Next case! What’s on the agenda? Notary Pedringano, accused of homicide. Hieronimo Are there any witnesses? Notary He was caught in the very deed with a smoking gun and proud of the assassination. Hieronimo That will be an easy case then. Bring on the court, and bring in the prisoner. Notary Bring in the prisoner! (Pedringano is brought in in chains, with a letter in his hand.) Pedringano That was about time indeed! In prison you are easily forgotten by a careless and indifferent fumbling state of jurisdiction which can’t even keep the drains clean of society. Hieronimo You lousy dog of a premeditating murderer, how dare you preach and lecture the king’s state of jurisdiction? Confess instead your infamous premeditated murder! Pedringano I kicked a dog to hell who was standing in my way. Such are executed constantly by the superior command, for superiority commands its servants to kill

anyone for nothing. You must be a soldier and have some experience yourself, your honour. Hieronimo Your intolerable arrogance is as contemptible as your contempt of court. So you confess that you in cold blood murdererd Serberino without scruples and intentionally? Pedringano Yes, because I had no choice. Hieronimo You could have let him live, you villainous conceited scoundrel! That would have been easier for all of us including you! No we must kill you too, because you killed an innocent poor servant, since that is the law. Pedringano What is the hurry? Take it easy, honourable gentlemen, for I can not be held responsible for this occurrence. Hieronimo You committed it, and you confessed it. How can you then claim that you are not accountable? Pedringano The murder was by order of command. I beg you, gentlemen, to read the contents of this letter. Afterwards you may condemn me, if you dare. Hieronimo (to the notary) What kind of letter is it? Notary (taking care of Pedringano’s letter) It’s an open letter to Don Lorenzo, a nephew of the king’s, son of Cypriano, duke of Castille. It seems to be some intricate confession. Hieronimo So let us read it. (receives and reads it aloud) ”Sir, it was by your command that I committed that requested murder which I now am being tried and sentenced for to death. If you will not come to my rescue, I must then confess your own and my part in the plot that also noble Balthasar of Portugal participated in, that is the murder of the noble Don Horatio.” Pedringano, you absurd and wicked scoundrel, do you then confess your part in also the assassination of Horatio, who made prince Balthasar his prisoner? Pedringano It was I, Don Balthasar and his accomplice Serberino, Don Lorenzo and some more. But Don Lorenzo afterwards grew frightened, ordered me to murder Serberino and saw to it that I was caught by witnesses, to have all his own witnesses disposed of. Hieronimo This will hardly save your neck, poor instrument of criminal conspiracy, but it will surely bring some more up to the scaffold of the executing justice. Pedringano If I am to die it might be comfortable not to die alone. Hieronimo Away with him, and clear the court! May justice have its course! Bring him up the scaffold! He is guilty many times over and over! Nothing more can save him. Pedringano I am satisfied as long as you, if you are just, your honour, see to it that all the others also follow me to hell. Hieronimo If you’ll have any say at all to where you will be sent, bring your case up in front of heaven’s gate, for only heaven will be able to accomplish that divine development of justice that you wish for. Take away the prisoner! (Pedringano is brought out. The court is cleared.)

So it was true, what Bel-Imperia wrote to me in that letter, and I was grossly mistaken in disbelieving her. But Don Balthasar! He was my son’s best friend, and he requested specially to have him for his friend and host in his captivity! It makes no sense. And neither did Lorenzo have anything against my son. How did they turn such wicked and distorted knaves? Here is something still that I don’t know of. Let me now go home to my mad wife. We lost our only son, but it was even crueller against me by destiny that my beloved wife should lose her reason, so that now I must endure both my own grief and be her caretaker in her abysmal hell of madness caused by too much strain that darkened and replaced her brains with infinite extreme despair.

Scene 6. Lorenzo And are you sure that he was absolutely dead? Page He could impossibly have been more dead. Lorenzo Then we are safe. Then Bel-Imperia can be released. Look to it that it is well arranged, and see to it that she is sent to me, for I must have a talk with her. Page Yes, your grace. Lorenzo Then we can start embarking on our plans. The witnesses have been disposed of, and it is all set for action now, if only my good sister will cooperate. Balthasar It is indeed time for her presentation, since your father the duke also has been asking about her. Lorenzo I gave him reasons good enough for her indisposition, which excluded any possibility of doubt or any shadow of suspicion. Balthasar Everything will be all right if only she comes out into the open. Lorenzo Do you love her still? Balthasar Of course. Lorenzo I ask you only to be careful with her. Mind you, she is still in mourning after her Andrea. Take no risk of venturing the slightest matter to displease her. She must only be well humoured. That’s the only possibility for you to reach her heart. Balthasar As if I didn’t know, that’s how all women work. They cannot take the slightest criticism but fall for any false and superficial flattery. If you say something true which isn’t pleasing, you are worthless as a damned villainous liar. The only truth for women is what pleases them and what they wish to hear. That’s why women speak too much while men subjected to their company will have no sense if they do not keep quiet. Lorenzo With your knowledge and experience you surely will be able to soon have her round your finger. But here she is now. Welcome, dearest sister! Bel-Imperia Sister? No. You are my enemy, or else you would not have abused your sister so outrageously. I do not know the man who turned his weapons in my company against my love to butcher him and hang him under my own eyes. I do not know the man who locked me up under the pretext that I was demented for nine

days, although you personally represented the supremest form of madness by your violence. Lorenzo I beg you to control yourself, my dear. All I did was for my family and to your honour. You don’t seem to yet have realized that it was only for the best of all and your own good. Bel-Imperia Scorn me as you like, but don’t humiliate me any more. You reason like inquisitors, who burn heretics at the stake for their own good, and torture them for the extortion of confessions of their intercourse with Satan’s mythical appearance and garotte them to allow them entry into the beatitude of heaven in spite of their repentance of their self-will and free-thinking to give them free access to the glory of the whiteness of the angels’ wings and all the orchestras of only harps. Lorenzo My sister, keep the inquisition out of this! Our family is far above it, it is only simple people, foreigners, ignobles and all kinds of trash of doubtful innocence that are subjected to the systematic beneficial cleansings, but although we stand above it we must never criticize or question that establishment. You are no witch – as yet. Bel-Imperia Your defense of my honour has almost totally destroyed it. Lorenzo You don’t seem to understand the seriousness of your position and the situation. You are to be married with the heir of Portugal’s immense world empire! Bel-Imperia Horatio’s murderer? (points at Balthasar) That one? Balthasar Patience, princess. I am not as bad as it may seem. Lorenzo Guard your tongue, my sister. There are only worse alternatives, and all of them are punishments. Remember your imprisonment. Bel-Imperia You threaten me, your sister? Balthasar Do not get excited. You are both exaggerating, going to extremes for nothing, understanding nothing, getting it all wrong and making it appear in twisted versions. No family honur is so sacred and untouchable that it will go unscathed if someone goes to far in action for it. Bel-Imperia And how will you defend your family honour, murderer and pimp? Lorenzo Remember, Bel-Imperia, you are speaking to a crown prince. Bel-Imperia No, he is the one who should remember that, not I. It’s not my honour dragged in dirt by you it’s all about, but your own royal family honour, you worthy scoundrels and deceivers. Balthasar Don’t get me wrong, Imperia, but try to understand me. Lorenzo No, let me account for how it happened. There I was with our prince and duke, and we discussed the possibility of finally a union of a marriage between Portugal and Spain, between yourself and Balthasar, to once and for all establish an eternal peace and unity, when we discover you in the pavilion with that simple Don Horatio, far beneath your rank! Too well aware of how you scandalized yourself with Don Andrea, also without rank of simple origin, I couldn’t help humiliating you in the same way once more under the eyes of noble Balthasar, the duke and all the world! It could not be acceptable when you were to be queen of our future! So we found it necessary to immediately free you from this burden of dishonour.

Balthasar And at the same time we found it safest to deliver you from the suspicion of an intercourse with such a simple man, so we brought you into safety far away from any possibility of human evil and satanic slander. Lorenzo So it only was for your own good. Bel-Imperia So why was not our father informed of where I was? Lorenzo O sister, your unworthy grief and terrible despair for Don Andrea had affected him so deeply that we found it safest also to keep you away from him. Bel-Imperia Did he not ask for me and wonder where I was? Lorenzo Yes, and we answered him, that you would soon come back, and here you are, so there is no more worry about that. Bel-Imperia So you killed my lover and sequestered me in a secluded unknown place all for my best and also for the duke’s best and the best of all. Lorenzo Yes, you can see it that way, even if you put it rather bluntly. Bel-Imperia Don Balthasar, if I am to be yours I will not answer for the consequences. Balthasar So you accept? Bel-Imperia It’s not for me to decide on this issue. Everything is settled for the best of all the others. I am just a pawn in your intrigue game to be handled as you please. Lorenzo That’s right, my sister. The main thing is that you don’t obstruct us but cooperate and willingly without resistance. Bel-Imperia We shall see. I am without responsibility. Lorenzo Balthasar, she has accepted you. Balthasar I knew it! Lorenzo All our plans will be fulfilled. Thank you, my sister, for your wisdom. Bel-Imperia All wisdom in this business is your own. I am just one among the dead fish following the mainstream. Lorenzo Thanks for that. (to Balthasar) Then we can meet the duke and face the Portuguese, since now we have an offer not to be resisted. (leaves with Balthasar) Balthasar Until later, princess. (kissing her hand and leaving) Bel-Imperia I would rather have been kissed by a disgusting slimy toad. Your spider webs are only getting you yourselves into a tangle, gentlemen. I shall prepare myself to watch how you are caught by time in your own snares and then like prisoners of destiny helplessly flounder until you are suffocated in the stench of noisy gases of your poisonous intrigues.

Scene 7. (Enter 5 Portuguese gentlemen.) 1 Hieronimo 2 Hieronimo

Say, my good man, could you maybe show me to the ducal palace? You have that in front of you. We mean the house in which he lives. You still have that in front of you. You only need to look ahead.

1 But there are many houses. 2 We are looking for the son, the valiant Don Lorenzo. Hieronimo You mean Don Lorenzo, son of Don Cypriano? 1 Yes, the very man. Hieronimo I know him well, for all roads lead to him. Next to you is the road from a bad conscience leading directly into a fearful wood of terror and suspicion, a most dangerously dark and horrifying forest, which is rather perilous to pass. There you will find the deepest melancholy, and if you just follow the road straight it will for sure lead you to death by sheer despair, the fateful rocks of which encircle a deep valley where night rules forever without ever letting any glimpse of sunshine through by any chance. There you will languish easily, if that amuses you, for that familiar valley stinks in general of poisonous evaporations, that could bring down anyone in the black bogs of crime, that never will let anyone go free. And in that valley there’s an inn that murderers have built into a temple for their cursed souls, for there’s a sulphur fountain in direct touch with hell. If you have found your way there you will find Lorenzo bathing in a sulphur basin in unmitigable anger boiling over, which is kept in flaming constancy and flowing of the blood of all his innocent and slaughtered victims, which in that valley is transformed into black boiling poisoned lead… 1 Ha-Ha! Ha-ha! Hieronimo Ha-ha! Ha-ha! Yes, wasn’t that funny? Ha-ha! Ha-ha! (leaves) 2 That was a true madman, or perhaps he only was too old? 1 Come, let’s go on to the duke’s and find our Don Lorenzo. (They leave.) Hieronimo (returning with rope and dagger) Now I must see the king. There is somewhere a judge to whom you can appeal, if even he holds court in hell, and those judgements of justice cannot be appealed, for he who brings a case to that court can be answered but by sentences of certain death to anyone found guilty. So go to hell, Hieronimo, with your demand of just revenge with all the might and power of that sea of innocents eternally condemned! Lucifer was only number one; all who were sentenced later with him for their just demands of justice, truth and freedom are now storming bitterly around in hell demanding all the world for company in the pitch dark blazing fires, for the whole world is by far more rotten and hopelessly evil than all hell, which in comparison has only innocence and harmlessness to boast of. But be quiet! Here we have the king with all his following. (Enter the king with Lorenzo, Cypriano and the ambassador.) King Worthiest ambassador, what is the word now from your king? Has he received our message and our gifts? Hieronimo Justice, majesty, I call for justice! Lorenzo Marshal, don’t you see the king is busy? Hieronimo Oh, is he indeed? King Who is calling on us, interfering in our business? Hieronimo It’s not me. Don’t let me importune, just passing by.

Ambassador Your majesty, he has indeed received your message and your gifts. And it is with boundless joy that he accepts all its suggestions. He delights in the idea of Bel-Imperia uniting with his son in marriage and is eager to himself be present at the solemn act, confirming the eternal union of our countries by a mutual double crowning ceremony of the future monarchs of our glorious united nations. King So it is his wish to give his crown to Bel-Imperia and Don Balthasar at the same time? Ambassador Yes, exactly, and with sincerest joy. King (to Cypriano) My brother of Castille, what do you think? Cypriano He pleases thus to honour us in most commendable representation. So we are then to look forward to the highest solemn moment in the history of Spain and Portugal. King So it seems indeed. Ambassador In addition our king of Portugal provides as a returning gift the promised ransom to the son of marshal Hieronimo, the valiant Don Horatio, for his graceful hospitality and honourable treatment of our prisoner Don Balthasar, whom he has treated as a guest and brother. Hieronimo (aside) Who mentions Don Horatio, my son? King With graceful thanks we will see to it that the ransom will reach Don Horatio presently. Lorenzo (aside) This is awkward. Balthasar has obviously not informed his kin in Portugal of Don Horatio’s death, and neither has the court yet been informed, since it was a most private settlement. Hieronimo Justice, your majesty! I must have justice! King Who is that? Is it not old Hieronimo, our marshal? Hieronimo Justice! Have I no right of justice for my only son, who can’t be reached by ransom or by grace! Lorenzo Hieronimo, your case is out of place here. Hieronimo Try not to stop me, Don Lorenzo! Give back to me my son Horatio! He can not be ransomed! King What is this? Ambassador He is not of sound mind. Hieronimo If I am to dig through all the earth and break up all the world, I shall get through to my son in the underworld where he is in Elysium and ferry him across the river of the dead back to our world if only to expose his mortal wounds and marks around his neck how he was hanged! Try not to hinder me! My justice shall be carried through, and I will quit my marshal’s office to instead devote and sacrifice my life to the right of a lonesome father for his murdered one begotten son! King Can nothing put a stop to this unpleasant horrible performance? Hieronimo Don’t worry about me, and don’t feel embarrassed, I will gently walk out of your way, the court shall not be scandalized. I go my way alone out of your way to search alone all by myself for the right instance and authority, the right judge and justice that will do the job. (leaves)

King I never saw my old and faithful marshal so upset. Does anyone know what has happened? Lorenzo I can explain it. I have heard that his wife lately has gone mad, and he has been affected, taking it to heart too strongly. Therefore he has some touch of hysteria. King So the wife’s hysteria has been passed over to the husband? Lorenzo That is the one reasonable explanation. King I hope indeed he will get over it. Lorenzo He surely will. At the same time the ransom to his son has slightly touched his head. Ambassador Surely it must be the age, as anyone can have a touch of gaga in advance. King I think his pain goes deeper. It hurts me to see such a faithful servant suffer. Good Lorenzo, look to it that he receives the entire ransom. What the father gets will also be the son’s. Perhaps he thereby will have some encouragement and comfort. Ambassador He will need it if his wife is really mad. Lorenzo But if he is incalculable in his instability, wouldn’t it be better to relieve him of his heavy duties? Someone more discreet and a more quiet bureaucrat should have the office. King Then we only would risk turning the stick deeper into his now bleeding wound. Look to it as I ordered. A commission should be presently appointed to look deeper into what has happened, for my hunch is there is something more to this than just a personal misfortune. I just hope, ambassador, that this may not disturb or tarnish our national and boundless happiness. Ambassador Of course there’s nothing that could possibly affect it. King I hope so. Let us now withdraw into the castle and decide a date for the unification of our nations in a most ideal and happy marriage. Ambassador We all look forward to it. King And to the arrival of your king to this historically solemn moment. Ambassador Absolutely. King After you, Sir. (shows the way to the ambassador.)

Scene 8. Hieronimo What do I get for exposing my purposes? No, lie still, my harm, so that you may simmer seething in continuous unrest to constantly grow more unendurable until the right moment, when everything explodes in wonderful beatifying vengeance! May no one suspect what I know and covertly plan insidiously, but let it come as a surprise to all the villains in their happiest moment, to see the earth and their foundations shatter under them to give a simple man of the people his justice. May they believe that I am stupid and allow the criminals to get away, they know for certain that I have nothing to put up against their power and nobility; so cover your intentions in a friendly mask of only lenient diplomacy.

Behave with courtesy, bow deep in obseqious humility with your hat in your hand and head uncovered, let no one doubt your foolishly good simplicity, and you shall have your chance one day… But what is this? Servant Petitions. Here are gathered a number of applicants for help and justice. Hieronimo So show them in, and we shall see what we can do. (Three citizens and an old man are showed in.) Citizen 1 No lawyer wants to take on my case. You are my last hope. Hieronimo Let’s see your papers. Citizen 2 Signor Corregidor, my issue is of highest importance. Hieronimo No issue is more important than another. The law applies equally to all with no exception. Citizen 3 I think that only you can take my obvious complaint against the crown. Hieronimo Unreasonable taxation? Citizen 3 What else? But I have no money. Hieronimo Then happy you who has nothing to lose. And you, old man, what keeps you away from me? Do you also have a petition for me with a warrant for me to carry through your case? Old man Alas, Don Hieronimo, my delicate case is enough to extort tears from the hardest rocks of granite! Read my petition, and publish it to all the world, and how all human hearts will melt of pity by its knowledge! Hieronimo So you think you can melt the hardest hearts of the world? Tell me then what your petition is about. What is your case? Old man Read the petition! Hieronimo (reads it) Don Basulto appeals and demands justice for his only begotten son, who shamefully was murdered. Old man Yes, Don Hieronimo, that was my case. Tell me if I have any chance. Hieronimo It was not your son, Don Basulto, who was murdered, but mine! We are colleagues! Behold your mirror, and I see myself in yours! Take my handkerchief and cry your heart out in it, as I already have drowned it several times, but it can not be filled with tears! Behold the dagger here that my son was murdered by although he was defenseless, pinioned and hanged! Take all the weapons! Share all my limitless griefs and sorrows, take my wallet also, here you have my money, would you also share with me my poor demented wife? Let’s share everything, for by our sorrows we are all in the same boat! (gives out his money) Citizen 1 O generous Hieronimo! Citizen 2 I always said he was a gentleman. Citizen 3 And more than just a gentleman, for he is kind at heart. Hieronimo I accept all your cases! Let’s go for a crusade together against the overbearing corrupt establishment and crush its sucking tentacles of extortion, cutting limb by limb off its inhuman carcass, until there is no villain left in bullying state! Let’s never surrender until we had our just revenge! I will show you how you tear them all asunder, piece by piece, like this! (tears asunder their petitions) Citizen 1 My petition!

Citizen 2 You are tearing up my life’s work! Citizen 3 Don’t let us down, for we have nothing left but our prayers! Hieronimo Do you really think the world could hear your prayers and pay notice to them? No, to the authorities you are but a boring trash annoying them! With your pious and pathetic appeals to be heard at all you will but be scorned by justice, making fun of you and using you to fill their pockets with your money regardless by what means. You might get something done with bribes. If you even cannot bribe you must end up as wrecks of justice. All your cases are as hopeless as mine! Try to save your papers, if you can! Here they go, caught only by the wind! (throws out the papers and runs out with them. The citizens run after. Only the old man is left.) Old man He knows what he is saying and doing, for he has worked with justice all his life and is the expert of it. Hieronimo (returns) Are you still here alone to face me with my son’s admonishing cold eyes, that piercingly appear to charge me with the accusation of not yet having taken on his case? Are you come here to force more fountains out of my demented wife’s abysmal tearful rivers from her heart so many times already bled to death? There is no justice in this world for us, old man, or for anyone at that. All we have here are two miserable fathers, you and me, who lost their only sons. Old man I was not aware that anyone could be more miserable than I. Hieronimo Now you know. There always are and will be. Misfortune can never reach a maximum but can grow worse forever and constantly surpass itself. To that expansion there are never any limits. But since all the others have deserted me and you alone are left you must be some kind of a ghost. Yes, you are the gost of my son Horatio, but as such you are much older than myself. Old man I am no ghost. I only came here with my grief in the belief that you were the last instance of appeal, but I was wrong. Now I know there is no possibility for someone wronged to ever have an appeal accepted. Hieronimo Exactly! You are learning! And now I know who you are. You are the portrait of my grief, my own double. More than well I recognize myself in you although you are so much older, your harrowed face, the mouth without a smile but rather of the opposite, the sad wrinkles around the eyes, the hollow cheeks, the extreme exhaustion of your emaciated body, your broken crooked carriage of a body that can never rise again in straight position, the half demented lack of expression in your dimmed and muddy eyes, and the thin pale lips that drivelling betray that trembling which will soon give vent to constant muttering of monologues that no one ever will give any ear to, since it’s only gaga… Come, my friend, I must present you to my wife. You match each other well. She is like you, a comfortless and lifeless mummy, like a living dead, completely out of reason, mind and sense… We all three now have an eternity to share. Come in, I beg you, into the unblessedness of sadness in a temple of eternal darkness, where you never more shall need to be alone. We are all there, we wonderful and privileged, eternal children of the timeless grief, the sorrow without end or bottom, pulling all of us down into the dark hopelessness that

ever will grow only darker, thicker and more hopeless. Meet my wife. There. We are home now. (He brings him with him inside. Isabella is there pale like a living dead.) Isabella (like a robot) Welcome, friend. We have much to talk about together. Here we are in safety, for here everyone is dead. Old man Good madam, I am sorry to see you so sad. Isabella I am not sad. I am only dead. But it will pass. But you must meet my son, our pride, who even was the pride of all the nation, Don Horatio, our only son. Come with me to join him in the dark. (brings the old man with her into total darkness) Hieronimo I leave you two together. I must back to work. I will be with you soon. Pray, entertain each other in the meantime. (leaves)

Scene 9. The court. King Welcome to Spain, dearest cousin! It’s our pride and honour to welcome you with joy to our daughter’s wedding with your son tomorrow! If anyone has anything to charge against this, may he now appear or else forever remain silent. Portugal We have brought with us the entire court intent on celebrating this great wedding feast, and there is not a single one in our contries that could have the slightest second thought about this. Let the feast and union be to all our glory as a fact, and our presence at this double national occasion is perfectly without reservations. I give my crown over to my son ty retire myself into a monastery, as I have wished for all my life, in freedom with my loneliness and books and studies. King Let’s then immediately proceed to get the action going, the formalities and preparations. We have many paragraphs and details to go through together, for a union of two states cannot be carried through without a contract and administrative comprehensive measures. Portugal I am all at your disposal. King So let us then enter our cabinet to our proceedings in the next room. (Exeunt all except Cypriano and Lorenzo.) Cypriano One moment, Don Lorenzo! May I have a word with you? It is of utmost importance that this enterprise is carried through without delay nor any problem anywhere. Lorenzo Of course. Cypriano So it is in the common interest of us all. But there is a rumour that you wronged Hieronimo, our old marshal, that he has some kind of an issue against the crown that has been played down by you. Is that correct? Lorenzo Who is spreading such old wives’ tales? Cypriano It is told in various directions. I must remind you of how faithfully Hieronimo for three generations has served the crown more constantly than any other and how he on different occasions rendered splendid services to Spain. Lorenzo There is no need for you to remind me of all that.

Cypriano Finally I must bring your attention to the king’s concern about his marshal. If Hieronimo then appear with issues against you to court, how would it not impede the harmony of our wedding! I ask you then to tell me honestly what happened between you and Hieronimo. Lorenzo Nothing happened. What you have heard is just the gossip of the envious crowd, which always keeps on going and insulting in its slander of the crown and court by fantasies of intrigues and conspiracies. Cypriano But there is as a rule never smoke without some fire, and rumours that keep circulating always have a source. And I have seen myself how you have rejected and neglected him with his petitions from the king’s attention. Lorenzo You saw yourself how most improperly he importuned. He was beside himself and as hysterical as only very old men get. He should have a convenient pension and thus be removed from further service. I turned the old man away mainly to spare him, for he only made a fool of himsel, which you yourself were witness of. Cypriano So there is nothing in these rumours? Lorenzo Nothing. Cypriano On your word of honour? Lorenzo On my word of honour. Cypriano I must trust my son, even if I fear he’s hiding something from me, that could mean some fearful consequences. It is now my duty to call Hieronimo to court. (leaves) Lorenzo The deception holds, as long as anyone believes in it, and the instigator of it must believe the lie and stand up for it most of all, although he is the one who best knows the extent of the avalanche-like wildfire of the lie. But there is nothing more to do, as nothing more can stop the avalanche and spreading of the lie. It’s just to face the fact that it is on its way in gliding progress with its potent possibility to drag down with it everything and everyone. (leaves)

Scene 10. Balthasar I beseech you, my beloved, to disperse these bleak eyes of melancholy now as we are getting married. You have not the slightest reason any more for sorrow. Let the clouds depart from your sweet face with its invaluable sunshine of your soul’s candescent smile, and please forget all that has been. No happiness was built on sorrows of the past. Imperia You must excuse my shyness, but I don’t know you yet. Give me time to mature. No fire of love must be enforced, for then it only will consume. But here I see my father. Balthasar Let’s greet him and treat him well. Cypriano Welcome, Balthasar, and I see that you already found your way into Bel-Imperia’s heart and intimacy.

Balthasar We must get acquainted before our wedding. Cypriano Daughter, cheer up and try to show some cheer and courteous obligation, for the times are not the same as when your Andrea was alive. Here you have a better suitor, smarter and more cultivated, with whom you could find some stable happiness in contrary to Andrea. Imperia Alas, my father, don’t remind me of Andrea. Cypriano No, I admit that it was clumsy. Pray forgive me. It is long since now already since he died. – But here is Hieronimo, whom I have called to court. I must have some small talk with him. Hieronimo (enters) Where is the duke? Servant He is here. Hieronimo (aside) What are they up to now? They certainly have new machinations going on. Just keep quiet, Hieronimo, and listen only without talking more than what is necessary. Cypriano Welcome, good Hieronimo. Balthasar Welcome indeed, Hieronimo. Lorenzo (who has entered) Thus I greet you similarly. Hieronimo I thank you for my Horatio. Cypriano That was the reason why I called you here. Hieronimo Then I thank you and will leave, if there is nothing more to say. (wants to leave) Cypriano Stay, Hieronimo! I haven’t even started! Call him back immediately, my son. Lorenzo (stops Hieronimo) My father wishes to speak with you. Hieronimo Yes, he did. I thought that he had finished. Lorenzo (aside) I wish he had! Hieronimo I am at your command, Sir. Cypriano There has been word that you have some complaint and issue with the crown which hasn’t been appropriately handled. Is that correct? Hieronimo Is it so unusual that such occurrences take place, lord Cypriano? Cypriano I hope indeed that you have no complaint and cause against my son Lorenzo, since that would not be acceptable, since your reputation is the most impeccable in our court and all respect you for your long and spotless service. Therefore I would like to hear from your own mouth if you have any issue with him. Hieronimo Against your son Lorenzo? This infallible and noble grand of Spain? (pulls his sword) Who dares to venture anything against him? Show me those delinquents, and I will make a clean sweep among them in the name of honour! Let him meet me privately between four eyes and tell me what he might have against Lorenzo! Such infamous reports can only have been fabricated by my personal enemies, who from only biassed prejudice could cultivate a personal fanatic hatred against him! Would I then be suspected of having any complaint against him, who ever loved my son so truly and sincerely? They were the very best of friends! I am sorry and regret that such a slander against him has taken place.

Lorenzo Noble Hieronimo, I know that I did never give you any slightest reason for complaint. Hieronimo That’s what I mean. Cypriano So that is settled, then. Welcome, faithful Hieronimo, to my palace, and accept it as your home! And you are hereby invited to participate in the most solemn celebration of the wedding between Balthasar and Bel-Imperia, between Portugal and Spain this time tomorrow. Demonstrate that there are no hard feelings between you, my son and Balthasar by cordially embracing them and giving them each one a kiss of peace. Hieronimo By all means, excellency, I will gladly love the entire world and give it my most peaceful generous embrace, especially you two, Lorenzo and Don Balthasar, (embracing them and kissing them with fervour) so that it will be obvious that we are the best of friends, like you with my Horatio. Or else no one knows what people and the world may think. Balthasar I thank you for your friendship, Hieronimo. Lorenzo I hope thereby that possible controversies and differences in the past may be forgotten. Hieronimo It would be shameful if they were not. Cypriano Come, my good Hieronimo! Today you shall be our guest of honour at our court and in my house! Hieronimo I am yours humbly to command. (aside) Who caresses smoothing hairs with only flattery has already betrayed you or will do so. (They leave.) Andrea Awake, Venganza! This is going all to hell! Venganza What is the matter, poor young man? Is there a fire? Andrea You are sleeping on your guard, Venganza! Now Hieronimo has joined Lorenzo and appears to swallow and accept the marriage between Balthasar and my Imperia without any second thoughts at all! Venganza You are panicking for nothing. It is only subtle threads of mechanisms of fate that now are being woven carefully together. Take it easy. What did I tell you about patience? Andrea But this harmony will ruin utterly our plans! Venganza Have they no right to? Let them try. Let them keep on as long as they imagine to have some success. They will get over it. They think they win and will collect the gains with gaiety for all the harm they’ve done but only to lose everything in the grand slam of destiny, which is life’s only victor. Andrea You mean death? Venganza What else? Andrea But I cannot bear to see Imperia becoming someone else’s wife. Venganza Would you have preferred her grieving for you all her life in widow’s virgin veils and slowly waste away before her time like any withered nun and mummy? Give her a break. It’s only momentarily. You will see that it will pass.

Andrea I will be satisfied if I may see the coupleâ€™s wedding party getting drowned in floods of blood in their own bridal bed. Venganza It happens often, but in this case I think chances are better than ever. Just be patient. Even the most lasting period of sunshine will infallibly be interrupted by the most unwelcome storm and rains. Andrea I must calm down then and try to even more collect my patience. Venganza That is all we dead and buried ghosts can do.

Act IV scene 1. Imperia Hieronimo, you amaze me. They assassinate your son in the most beastly fashion, and you pardon them and bless them and cooperate with them. I cannot figure it. Has something happened to your brain? Hieronimo Donâ€™t worry, Bel-Imperia. I am just making way for planning my revenge as perfectly as possible. No one will end up in a trap unless there is a bait. Imperia So you are just pretending? Hieronimo No, I would not call it that. I would rather call it falling in and finding out a character, to naturally find your part in a role play and act a figure in a theatre. Imperia Was it like that from the beginning? Hieronimo I confess, Imperia, that I doubted your primary information. I could not believe it could be true but rather thought it was a trap, which I now must apologise for. When eventually one servant after the other was disposed of I realized it could but be true, and then my theatre was introduced. But I must play my part now to the end, and I must ask you also to play yours, for your part might still be the most important. Imperia Tell me how to act and play, direct and execute, and it will be my pleasure to perform it well. Hieronimo The plan is almost ready. But here we have now two more of the main parts.(enter Lorenzo and Balthasar.) Balthasar What do I see, Hieronimo? On intimate terms with Bel-Imperia? Hieronimo Who does not love her? But, my prince, she loves not me, for you have all her heart. Lorenzo Of course. How excellent that you are here, old chap, for we shall need some help from you. Hieronimo Tell me. Lorenzo The king wants some kind of an entertainment here at court for the occasion with so many noble guests. You are experienced as a poet and know something about how to stage a play. You almost are the poet laureate at court, for there is no one else. Hieronimo I see. What do you wish me then to do?

Balthasar My father’s highest wish is a real play, of such a kind that they are playing now all over Europe, with intrigue and passion, love and duels and dramatic complications. Hieronimo Isn’t there enough of that in all reality? Balthasar Yes, but there you are yourself engaged. The advantage of observing it on stage is that you then have some detachment to the plot. You need not feel concerned yourself. Hieronimo A play on stage will need some actors. I know something gorgeous that could fit your purpose well. Lorenzo What play is that? Hieronimo The tragedy of Soliman who loved Perseda. Balthasar That sounds romantic and exotic well enough, the very kind of subject that for sure would please my father. Hieronimo It has three main parts: the lover, the beloved, and her husband. Those parts are just like made for you, Lorenzo, Balthasar and Bel-Imperia. Lorenzo So we should act our play ourselves? Balthasar Why not? I acted for my father several times in Lisbon in most fitting parts. Bel-Imperia A romantic play could always be enjoyable to share and act in. Lorenzo But can you stage a play, Hieronimo? It needs a lot of study, preparation and instruction. Hieronimo Are you joking? Everything is almost ready. This play was already written many years ago when I worked in Toledo with a theatre almost every day. I know the methods of the craft. Here are your parts. (gives them manuscipts) Lorenzo Tell me more about the plot. Hieronimo It’s actually a true and real story. It was a knight of Rhodes who married the Italian beauty Perseda, who gave every man a crush on her. One who became completely potty about her was sultan Soliman, who was invited as a guest of honour to the wedding. He could not get out of his unhappy crush on her and then initiated a close friend in his most painful and embarrassing dilemma, who offers to efficiently remove the knight from being in the way, so that the sultan gets Perseda. But she then acquires such a hatred and abomination of the murderer, that she in wedlock takes his life in bed. And then she kills herself to escape punishment. Lorenzo But that is absolutely wonderful! Balthasar Who plays which part? Hieronimo It’s in your manuscripts. Lorenzo is the knight of Rhodes, the sultan is for Balthasar, and Bel-Imperia is Perseda. Lorenzo And who plays the friend, who kills me? Hieronimo That’s for me to do. Balthasar How does he end? Hieronimo He hangs himself from grief for what he has accomplished. Lorenzo It is on my honour an accomplished tragedy, – but wouldn’t it be better with a comedy?

Hieronimo A comedy is just a superficial trash of entertainment, raising small and passing interest, bad attention, yawnings and disturbing derogatory and silly comments. Comedies are never taken seriously and are regarded condescendingly as something base. A tragedy is on the other hand a strong experience evoking feelings and becomes a lasting memory. It puts life to the test and is a thought-provoking trial, mirroring the world as in a nutshell. Balthasar Yes, I prefer a mighty tragedy, and so does certainly the king my father also. Lorenzo That settles it, and we have already the material. Imperia It is not even difficult. Hieronimo Then we are agreed. If we rehearse this evening, everything will work on the occasion. Balthasar We are lucky to have found a poet among us. Lorenzo Yes. But Hieronimo is known for never having failed in finding the solution to a problem. Imperia Every court has its factotum, some magician who can manage everything and make it work. Hieronimo I am obliged to you and to the court in humble service, gentlemen. (bows) Lorenzo Good for us that he is humble. Balthasar Then letâ€™s go to our studies for our parts! Come, Bel-Imperia! Lorenzo See you again this evening, Hieronimo. (they leave) Hieronimo So shall we see a presentation of the fall of Babylon again on stage in a most bloody tragedy, and woe betide me if I fail in the direction! (leaves)

Scene 2. The garden. Isabella Here is where they killed my son, those clever lads. In this green innocently but sincerely quiet tree they hanged Horatio, in this very branch, and struck the dagger down below the belt, like this, (demonstrates with her dagger,) with his hands tied behind him, so that he could not defend himself. Where did that evil come from? Who put such a sick inhuman and disgusting worm into the minds of men to make them sometimes feel obliged to execute most hideous murders without motivation, as if they were programmed, operating in their sleep, or as if something alien, subconscious and invisible, perhaps some ghost or demon, urged them to such meaningless dishonourable deeds? Was it Andrea, Bel-Imperiaâ€™s lover, lost in battle, who turned on that jealousy against Horatio, forcing Don Lorenzo and Don Balthasar to execute my son? Can spirits of the dead have such an influence and power? I must doubt it. And my husband is now equally possessed with vengefulness, so that he plans to murder the entire mob. I donâ€™t want to continue any longer. Let me die here like my son. Let me suffer like Horatio, so that I may join him on the other side to motherly and tenderly there keep him company. I have been longing there all since he died and hardly thought of anything else. So take me, sweet and quiet virgin

tree, and let my silence from now on be as eternal as your own in joining your perpetual peace in blissful innocence. (hangs herself in the tree) Hieronimo (from afar) Isabella! Isabella! (appears and discovers her) No! Not you as well! Isabella Follow me, Hieronimo! I will await you on the other side. (thrusts her dagger with a last effort into her womb and dies.) Hieronimo No, you mustn’t do like that! Spare me! (cuts her down) Too late. That dagger found her way too straight into her heart to give it any chance of healing and not breaking. It has broken slowly within you all since Horatio died, but now the limits of its pain had long since been transgressed. You could not wait for even further pain. Thus am I left alone, but there is still a way for me to go. You mustn’t leave until you have fulfilled all duties. I will have my vengeance for both you and our son, and I will not be free until it all has been accomplished. (sits down wagging and whining with the body) Andrea It’s only getting worse all of the time, your strategy is harvesting more innocents each day, so how can you explain this and defend it? Venganza It was you whom she accused for the manipulation of prince Balthasar and that crook Lorenzo. Were you behind their unconscious acts? Andrea On the contrary. Horatio was my friend. I only wished to reach his murderer Don Balthasar. But for all the corpses harvested already and of only innocents you seem to me to bear responsibility. Venganza Do not evade your blame. Andrea Who is evading it but you? Venganza Let’s have no argument about it. The last word is still with Hieronimo. He still has an entire play in his back pocket to perform. Andrea It probably will end up with another load of murdered innocents or suicides by mistake. Venganza You are too pessimistic. I have still good hope for some kind of a fair deal of a settlement of justice. Just be patient. Andrea Yes, until all innocents are lying dead. Venganza Don’t jump to pessimistic premature conclusions. Just you wait.

Act V scene 1. (Hieronimo opens the scene by thumping the floor behind the curtain, in the usual way, whereafter he enters in front of it.) Hieronimo Welcome, honoured audience of ladies and gentlemen! I hope you will not be bored by our performance, which will display a most unique staging of a drama from real life: Soliman Pascha’s most misfortunate love of the beautiful Italian Perseda, to whose wedding with the knight Sir Erasto of Rhodes he was invited. Be welcome to applause, but you are also most welcome to tears, for I warrant you, that this tragedy could have moved a heart of granite to tears. Raise the curtain! (The curtain is raised.)

Cypriano What now, Hieronimo? You alone on the stage? Where are your players? Hieronimo We haven’t started yet. I am just checking that everything is working as it should. We owe that to the playwrights, who made such a bother with meticulous instructions. May I ask you to present the king with a copy of the entire play, so that he can follow and understand what is happening to prevent his being shocked by the realistic details? Cypriano How considerate of you, Hieronimo. The king will surely appreciate that. Then he can in peace and calm prepare himself for all the worst in advance and need not fear unpleasant surprises. Hieronimo That exactly was my intention. May I in addition ask you of a favour? Cypriano Of course. Hieronimo When the court has passed the gallery, could you then throw down the key to me? Cypriano A trifle. (leaves) Hieronimo Are you ready, Balthasar? An armchair with a cushion for the king! Balthasar (provides an armchair with cushion) Here is the king’s armchair. Hieronimo Splendid! Our scene is Rhodes. Hang up the sign! But what now? What’s the matter with your beard? Balthasar I am on my way. I only had time enough for half the beard. Hieronimo Then make it whole before the performance starts. (Balthasar leaves.) We can have no trickery tonight. Everything must work absolutely perfectly, or else we will have no applause. Join me now, Horatio and Isabella, for you, although invisible, are the leading characters of the evening. But when the time comes I will enter you. Now to the most important details behind the curtain. (disappears) King (has entered with his court and taken their seats) Now, my brother Portugal, we shall be entertained with a fateful drama about the sultan Soliman and his famous but unfortunate love affair. I have the drama here, a splendid play, which now will be performed by your son and my nephew Don Lorenzo together with Bel-Imperia, his sister, our bride to be tomorrow. Portugal We are looking forward to it indeed. An evening entertainment is never wrong. King It’s our marshal and factotum Hieronimo who has collected a special company for us today, and he will act a part himself. Portugal So we shall see him on stage? King Here is the entire story, if you want to learn the plot and cheat by reading the last page before the play begins. Portugal There is no time for that. The play is about to begin. Cypriano Here is now our prologue already. Andrea (being seen with Venganza and Isabella) You here, Madame? Isabella I took leave. This is something we must not miss. Venganza Just wait for the finale.

Hieronimo (appearing) This play is written in various languages, in French and Greek, in Spanish, Hebrew and Latin and has also been translated into English and Italian, but here we shall present it in the only language you will understand. King For that we are most grateful, Hieronimo. (to Portugal and Cypriano) Not all are so considerate to unschooled public and their ignorance. Cypriano You have stretched our expectations to the point of breaking by this fortunate idea of an evening entertainment. Hieronimo You shall not be disappointed. Are you ready, actors? Let the play begin! (The scene on stage is Rhodes with the sultan (Balthasar), his pasha (Hieronimo) and Perseda (Bel-Imperia). Balthasar That we succeeded in acquiring and conquering Rhodes, which now is Turkish actually, we owe our holy prophet Mahomet all praise and honour, thanks and glory, but the loveliest reward of Rhodes would be the beautiful Perseda, the loveliest lady in the world! King Observe how Balthasar your son engages wholly in his part as lover of some magnitude! He plays the sultan Soliman and ardently explains his storming passion well. Portugal No doubt his Bel-Imperia already taught him something about that. Cypriano Yes, he thinks of no one else ever again. Hieronimo And what more do you wish of this world’s riches? Balthasar Only the beautiful Perseda herself, whom I love more than all the world. But she is married to Erasto, my own foster brother and best friend, the noblest knight on Rhodes. (enter Lorenzo) King Here he comes, your own son, Cypriano, but what part was he supposed to play? Imperia Welcome, noble husband, my Erasto! Lorenzo What does it matter that all Rhodes is lost, if only I have you still with me, loveliest Perseda! You are more than all the world! Balthasar Alas, my pasha, here is the dilemma: whom I love the most is married to the one I honour most. Hieronimo There are other knights of Rhodes. He is far from indispensible. Get rid of him and make Perseda your own property. Balthasar Erasto is my friend, and she will never separate from him. Hieronimo Don’t let Erasto live to be a burden and a pain to sultan Soliman. Balthasar I hold him dear and high in honour. Hieronimo Think of him for what he is: a rival in your way. That should make him worthless. Balthasar It’s against my conscience thus to act against my heart. Is there no other way? Hieronimo Of course there is. There always is. – Noblest Erasto, my lord and sultan Soliman salutes you with the best wishes of good health and welfare and a greeting, which you must accept at once, for he will only send it once. (murders him with a dagger just like he murdered Horatio.)

Portugal Very real to life. Bel-Imperia Woe is me! What’s this? Behold, o mighty sultan, how my husband, your most noble knight Erasto, has been murdered here! King Very well played, with convincingly expressive realism. Cypriano Yes, you could suspect they were professionals. Hieronimo Do not grieve, o fairest princess! Sultan Soliman remains and is expecting you. Imperia What do you mean? Balthasar Behold and welcome, my beloved, in my open arms! All my life is waiting for you! The sincerity of your deep sorrow only makes you more desirable and beautiful! Imperia What do you mean, false tyrant? Did you murder my beloved husband with the motive to replace him and take care of me? Do you then think that you are worth more than his shadow? You aren’t even worth your own! – If you are capable of killing for your love, I must subordinate myself to such convincing demonstration of an overwhelming argument of violence. So take me then into your bed as your own love, invincible victorious and indomitable sultan, but there is a price for such a sacrifice, which the victim has a right to claim. (feigns to meet him in an embrace but cuts him down with a dagger, just like Lorenzo struck Horatio.) That makes us even. Let me now pay also my debt for my crime and crown my sorrows with a final liberation and release! (kills herself with the bloody dagger) Portugal What great play-acting! What convincing passions! Bravo! Hieronimo, this excellent performance has been executed wholly with outstanding art! Hieronimo But it isn’t over yet. King But everyone is dead. Hieronimo That’s what I mean. This was a real performance executed by myself and Bel-Imperia. Now they are all dead, except for one, who still has something to enact. (disappears behind the curtain) Portugal What does he mean? Cypriano I begin to fear a worse and greater show than what we paid for. Hieronimo (returns with Horatio’s body) Here he is, my Horatio, the finale of my play! He loved Imperia, who answered his love by returning it as sincerely as he loved her. But sultan Soliman was seized by an imperative desire for Imperia, and he was a better match for her. That’s why Lorenzo butchered this my only son, this lover and this innocence, Don Balthasar’s protector, host and friend, whom Balthasar enthusiastically shared in sacrificing, not only him, but also my good wife, his mother, willingly went into death for his sake since she couldn’t bear her sorrow which was growing worse for every day, just like my own! There is no human endurance that can continue grieving, crying, sorrowing and pining in despair in constantly increasing agony forever. Now we are revenged. Imperia as the hero of the tragedy struck down the man who caused his friend’s and benefactor’s death, Horatio, whom Imperia loved too well. I killed myself Lorenzo, who was my son’s direct murderer, in the character of the advising sultan’s friend, the pasha. As you

notice, normally after the end of a performance, all the corpses of the tragedy rise to their feet to be applauded when it all is past and done with, but that’s not the case this time. They all lie still, for they are all quite dead, except myself, who now takes leave in fulfilling my act by following my wife’s and son’s course into death. (escapes) King (rising) Stop him! Cypriano Close all doors! Portugal This cannot happen! This cannot be true! A play displaying murder in the open! This was not a theatre performance! This was a display of flagrant murders and real suicides! King I regret this shocking scandal, brother, but perhaps there is still hope that everything was just a play. Cypriano My children! What kind of a deadly play have you been venturing into? Portugal So I came here on a fatiguing journey looking forward to my son’s release and wedding, but was entertained instead by having to behold how he was killed in public! I can only call it the most unacceptable infamous and grotesque deceit! (enter guards and soldiers) King Have you arrested Hieronimo? Soldier He got away. When we caught up with him he was already dead. King What a shameful theatre performance of an overwhelming harvest of too many corpses, finding Portugal and Spain now both without succession! Cypriano Alas, I warned my son, but he was too fanatic for his reason! Portugal What can I do but travel home with my son’s body to spend the rest of my life in burying him and my own life in sorrow. King There is no expression for our own immeasurable grief. Portugal Grieve for Spain, and I will grieve for Portugal. Cypriano It is too much! I cannot bear it! Both my children! Venganza Thus it all comes to an end in weeping and despair with gnashing teeth. Are you content now, Isabella? Are you now avenged, Andrea? Andrea You did it too well. I wished no harm to come to Bel-Imperia. She could have been given licence to live on. Venganza With her unfathomable sorrow? She belongs to us. Here she comes now with some others. Imperia May I now at last embrace Andrea, finding him again? Andrea My love! Here we meet now where we never can be happy! Imperia There is another life. Hieronimo (enters with Isabella) How did you like the play? Venganza Those who survived it were not happy. Hieronimo That was neither the intention. Horatio The happy ones are all the dead. Imperia Dearest Horatio! (embraces him) Horatio Yes, here I am, but you belong to your Andrea, as you always did, and I should not have importuned into the void that you had after him. Imperia But I invited you. And here I now can freely love you both.

Hieronimo Thus is the family all gathered and united. Now, donâ€™t object to this most bloody play, for it was not just theatre. These things happen every day, and this was only something of a glimpse and moment of reality. Horatio No one is more dangerous to execute as someone innocent, for he shall not be quiet after death. Andrea You had your play, Venganza. We are satisfied and are now ready to go home. Venganza Just wait. There will be more. This was only the beginning. (Exeunt.)

The End.

(Virhamn 17.6.2002, translated in October 2018.)

Arden of Feversham Social-realistic renaissance drama from Canterbury

translated from English to Swedish, and then translated again into English in revised versions by Christian Lanciai (2001 and 2018)

Dramatis Personae : Arden Alice, his wife Franklin, his friend Mosbie, Aliceâ€™s lover Adam Fowl, host at the Golden Lily Michael, groom Clarke, painter Susan, his love, Mosbieâ€™s sister Dick Greene, ruined farmer Bradshaw Black Will Shakebag An apprentice Lord Cheiny a ferryman Dick Reede a sailor Mayor of Feversham A guard

The action is at Feversham, in London and in between, in the year 1550.

Arden of Feversham Act I scene 1. The House of Arden. Franklin But what have you to complain of, Arden? The estate is yours! The duke has given you all the estates that belonged to the Feversham monastery with the king’s own consent! Thank the old king and his plunder of the church for that! Now your family has something to live on forever! Arden That’s not what worries me, Franklin. My wife is betraying me. Franklin With whom? Arden With that fellow Mosbie. I have seen on his own finger the wedding ring that Alice had from me by the priest. Franklin But that is not very honest. Arden That’s exactly what it isn’t. Franklin Then I understand your downcast state. How could an honest Christian behave in that way? But be comforted, my friend. It’s hardly uncommon that women are deceitful and false. That’s actually rather commonly the case. A faithful wife is a rare exception which the world refuses to believe in. Arden But how could she fall for such a cheap nobody? I don’t understand it. Franklin What is he then? Arden A simple patching tailor! Franklin But how could he get at your wife? Arden That slimy eel has sneaked into the favours of lord Clifford and now dresses up in silk and thinks he can fool the world. Franklin That’s outrageous not to say impertinent. Arden Yes, that’s exactly what it is. Franklin What will you do about it? Arden Hang him, of course! I will tie him to my wife’s bed and there flog him until his bones are laid bare and then cut him into a hundred thousand pieces, so that he may sigh to death all naked in his own soaking blood! I will then prolong his death struggle as long as possible! Franklin You must really love her then. Arden The devil knows I do! Franklin But believe me, my friend, the best weapon against women is mildness and leniency. Pretend that you know nothing and come with me to London. Then she will miss you in no time, and thus you will get her back. Arden Do you really think so? Franklin I think it’s worth a try. The contrary will only make it worse. If you reproach her for her dishonesty, she will only feel provoked to go even further. Whatever you do, never show your jealousy. Arden I think I know what you mean. I will dare it. (calls) Alice! Alice (enters) Yes, my husband? Up so early? You left my bed before I woke up. Arden You called for Mosbie in your sleep. Why do you dream about Mosbie?

Alice Can you help what you dream of? Can you decide your dreams yourself? Arden But you hugged me in your sleep while you all the time repeated ’Mosbie’ with obvious desire. Was it then only Mosbie you desired when you embraced me? Alice You must have dreamt yourself. In our dreams we are all victims to uncontrollable fantasies. Franklin Don’t push it further, Arden. No one can be held responsible for what she dreams. Arden No, I expect not. Alice Now I know! We talked about Mosbie the other night! Of course, that’s what caused the dream! Franklin Of course, that’s how it was. I remember myself how Mosbie was mentioned the other night. Arden That’s most probably how it was. My dearest wife, I know how much you love me. That’s enough for me. Whatever you may dream doesn’t matter. Alice Of course. Arden But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. I have to go to London. Alice To London! For how long? Arden Only for as long as my business will take. Franklin A month at most. Alice A month? That long! You kill me! I pray, for your own sake! Postpone your journey a day or two! Arden It’s not possible. Alice Or else you kill me! Arden I will be back as soon as I can. You know I can’t be away from you for long. Now get me my breakfast, and then we’ll leave. Come, Franklin, let’s go to the harbour and check that my goods are brought ashore as they should. (gets up and leaves with Franklin) Alice (alone) A whole month of freedom! What a lovely message! O, ye gods, throw my husband off his horse, let him be attacked by heinous bandits and buried deeper under the earth than anyone can find him! Mosbie! I only love you, and you are all in life that I desire! Marriage is just words and a superficial connection. (enter Adam from the Golden Lily) Here is Adam from The Golden Lily! I hope indeed that he brings news for me from my darling. – How is it, Adam? Any message for me? You can speak quite openly. My husband is not at home. Adam I have greetings to you from Mosbie, who is in town. Alice Dear me, what does he say? Adam You must under no circumstances visit him. Alice But what does he mean? Adam And not show any sign of his arrival. Alice Good God! Is he then angry with me? Adam I can’t tell. But he seems dejected. Alice But I must see him. It’s impossible to live without it. You can’t forbid me!

Adam I have delivered my message. If you get cross I had better leave. Alice No, wait! Ask him why he is cross with me. Look, here is a gift for him from me. It’s two dice in silver. We often played with them about kisses, so that whoever lost made us both win. – Ask him to come by tomorrow. My husband is in London, so there is no danger. He can just stop for some exchange of courtesy. Adam I shall tell him what you said. (takes the dice and leaves) Alice Yes, please do. I know that he only fears my husband and the gossip of our neighbours, but he won’t have to any more from now on, for my husband will die, if even I have to settle it myself. (Michael passes by.) Michael, what are you doing here? Michael I came to fetch my master’s horse. Alice Of course. You won’t forget your promise? Michael He will be dead within a week. Alice That’s the spirit! Here is my hand. As soon as he is dead, you will have Mosbie’s sister. Michael But I heard that the painter is also eager for her. He has even boasted that she belongs to him. Alice Just idle gossip! Michael They say he wrote verses to her that filled her heart with fancies. But I will send her a letter from London that will make her heart burn! Alice Yes, do so, but don’t overdo it! Susan is yours anyway beforehand. Michael If only you keep your promise you can trust me for disposing of your husband. I will then obey you whatever you say. Alice That’s all I ask for. But don’t do anything foolish. Michael Even if I get caught, I shall never confess that you ordered it, and Susan could then as a virgin plead my release from the gallows. Alice You shall never get caught! I promise you that! Michael But tell Susan, madam, that I am worth at least ten master painters! And if I then get rid of my elder brother also I will take over Bocton’s farm, and then our whole life will be well provided for. Such prospects are worth waging any risks! (enter Mosbie) Alice Here is Mosbie. Go to it, Michael. Do your duty, and remember that my orders are strictly private and most secret. Michael Of course. (leaves) Alice Mosbie! My love! Mosbie We can’t talk now. Alice What’s wrong? You have nothing to fear. Mosbie Where is your husband? Alice Down by the river to check his cargo. Mosbie I hope he will stay away. And I must ask you never more to come near me. Alice Is this the love you pledged to me? Have I then forfeited my honour for nothing? Have you forgotten how we intimately in the darkness of the night planned my husband’s death for the sake of our love? Are you so heartless in your breach of trust? Then get lost, and never come near me again!

Mosbie Alas, so it is true what everybody says. A woman’s love is like the flame of the moth’s approach to the candle, passing as a lightning in the same moment it was lit. I just wanted to probe you. Alas, why could you not stand my test? Alice When was I ever deceitful? What did I do to make you probe me? Mosbie Forgive me, my dear. When you love you are jealous. Alice Everything is forgiven, for I love you and listen gladly to the song of the siren, which I well know will lead me to perdition. Mosbie Don’t paint the devil on the wall, Alice. The world may perish, but I will see to it that we don’t. Alice Now I recognize you. You are a man, in contrast to my husband, who only thinks of his gold and to nourish his greed. Now he is unloading his cargo in the harbour, with all those riches that will be yours, but then he will go off to London together with that stupid nincompoop Franklin. Mosbie If you just do as I say, he will not return from there. Alice If only that could be true! Mosbie Listen now! I know a painter who can mix colours without leaving a trace. Alice What painter is that? Mosbie His name is Clarke and lives nearby. Well, there he is! Hello, Clarke! Come in! Clarke (enters) What is it? Mosbie We can trust you? Clarke Of course, but on a condition. You have a sister, Mosbie, whom I love. I’ll do anything for you, if only she will be mine. Mosbie That’s not a difficult deal. You are a man as good as any man. Here is my hand on the agreement. Clarke Then my art, my life and all I have is at your service. (They shake hands on it.) Alice But most important of all is for you to keep quiet! Mosbie I know him. He is well informed about the problem. Clarke Yes, I know it very well. You have a husband you wish to get rid of. I call that the bravest nobility, since you rather risk your life for a man you love than live with a husband who is a burden to you. I call that true love. I would do the same for my Susan, if it was needed. Alice I am only doing it because I have no choice. I would let my husband live on indeed if he would only let me have my Mosbie, but since he is jealous and interferes in my private affairs it doesn’t work any longer. He will lie as he makes his own bed. Mosbie What poison do you suggest? I know you have something of a rich repertoire. Clarke Indeed. (shows a small bottle) A drop of this in something he eats or drinks, and he is stone dead within the hour. Mosbie That sounds like it. Alice That’s what I call a party. And then we will have a celebration for you and your Susan.

Mosbie Clarke

I shall generously bestow my sister’s dowry. It’s all arranged, then. But I see your husband. I had better leave. (Arden and Franklin return.) Alice But here is my husband like on demand! Then you can ask him yourself, Mr Mosbie. Mosbie Sir, when I was in London I was offered, I know not by what right, the monastery estate which the king appears to have given you. The man who offered me the estate was Mr Greene in the service of Tony Ager. That is why I ask you now: does anybody else have any right to the property, or is it all yours? Arden It belongs only to me, for I have the king’s own warrant thereof. But I need also a warrant for my wife. But how does that concern you? Alice, my breakfast! I am in a hurry now and must leave at once. And what are you doing here alone with my wife? She must not associate with such lowborn commoners as you. Mosbie I was not looking for her but for you and renounce your insinuating insults. Arden Are you looking for a fight, you deceitful scumbag? Franklin Gentlemen, no quarrel, please! You are in the company of a lady! Arden You conceited upstart! You are only a tailor and are not allowed to carry a sword, according to law. I will relieve you of it. (takes care of Mosbie’s rapier) Get you gone now to your needles and scissors! Next time I see you here, you blasted seducer, I shall cut off both your legs and include your throat! Mosbie I call God for witness, Sir, that you here have insulted me! Arden Yes, just make a fool of yourself in public from my house! They will laugh at it, you boasting fool of a blasted miscreant! Mosbie I never desired your wife, Arden, I assure you! I showed my weakness to her once, yes, I admit it, but it passed, and if I visit you again it will only be for my sister’s sake, since she will be her maid at the wedding. I wish her welfare and happiness, and also yours, and may God punish me with eternal torments if I even come near to the possibility to violate her honour or yours. Arden My friend, forgive me. Your eloquence has convinced me, and I retract everything. Forget everything I told you, and let’s be friends. Franklin This I like: reconciliation and diplomacy, good will across all borders! That’s how all relationships should be handled. But I pray you, Mosbie, just for security, avoid this house in the future, so that wicked tongues may not find nourishment for lies and slander. Arden No, on the contrary, my dear Mosbie! Come here as often as you please and feel at home! I will be gone for London now for a month, so why don’t you come here and live here in the meanwhile? Alice (bringing in the food) Your breakfast gets cold, dear husband. Eat your fill now. Arden Mr Mosbie, won’t you sit down and share this meal with me? Mosbie I’ll be glad to keep you company but no more than that. I am not hungry. Arden Please yourself. (tastes the soup) Have you seen Michael, wife? Did he manage the horses? Alice Of course. But why will you not eat? Is the soup not tasty enough?

Arden There is some odious extra taste to it that doesn’t fit. Did you make the soup yourself? Alice Of course, and that’s the only reason why you don’t like it. (pours it in the drain) I can never make you anything that pleases you! You must always complain and quarrel, criticize, be gloomy and negative! You might as well have accused me of mixing poison in your soup! Whatever I do you get suspicious and think only the worst of me! Accuse me then thoroughly at once! Have you ever seen me giving Mosbie a kiss of any other kind than just for greeting? Present the evidence, if you have any! Mosbie Lady Alice, you wrong both him and me by such unreasonable outburst! Your husband is not jealous! Arden Dear wife, just because I don’t have an appetite you don’t have to go berserk in senseless hysteria! My good Franklin, give me some mithridate to alleviate my small pain. Franklin Here you are. And then let’s promptly sit up on horseback and get away at last! Arden Exactly! Alice Let me taste the soup myself! Let me prove to you that I never had a thought of putting poison in it! I really wish it was replenished with all possible kinds of poisons, so that I could die! That you could torture a poor wife with such a horrible suspicion! Arden But, my dearest wife, whatever gave you that idea? I never suspected you for anything one bit! And you poured away the good soup down the drain. Alice So it’s good now, when you no longer can have it! Arden Don’t start all that again! Alice And if you dare mistrust me, God will punish you, for never did a wife love her husband as faithfully as I have been true to you. Arden I believe you. Stop it now, or else you will make me cry. Franklin But what’s the meaning of these preposterous scenes? Come, let’s be off! Alice Let me follow, so that he can travel in my arms. Arden It pains me, dearest, but I am sorry to say that I will have to go without you. Alice Alas, you go away and leave me alone! Stay, if you love me! But if you have such important business, then go, stay away, and I will bewail you like dead. At least write me some letters, every week, yes, every day, if you don’t want me to die from grief. Arden What did I do to deserve such an ideal wife? Yes, my heart, I will write every day to you, so that you drown in the floods of correspondance that I will send you. Alice Goodbye then precious husband. Take well care of him, Franklin, and look to it that you bring him home again in a perfect condition. (kisses him) Franklin But if he loiters it’s not my fault. Remember your promise, Mosbie! Behave yourself! Mosbie Of course. He has no reason for any jealous mistrust.

Arden Hey, my friend, you have my fullest confidence and trust forever. Come now, Michael. Letâ€™s go. And Mosbie, always think of me as your best friend. (leaves with Franklin and Michael) Alice (sighs) At last! I thought he would never leave! But did you mark how well I acted my part? Mosbie You almost did it too well. But what a fumbling idiot and failure of a fake that painter was! What was the poison he gave us? Sugar pills? Alice What a bluff of a worthless deceiver! His poison should have been tasteless and unnoticeable! But my crook of a husband got a bitter taste at once and refused to taste any more of it, while he remained completely untouched by that so expressly guaranteed deadly decoction! Mosbie Yes, it was a thorough fiasco indeed. Alice But my husband is gone now and we are here. Mosbie But I have now sworn never more to strive for your grace as long as he remains alive. Alice What are sworn oaths? Only loose words! I swore a pledge of faith at the altar to my unhanged husband, and nothing has grown so worthless and ridiculous to me as that oath. Promises are winds and whims of weather blowing one direction one day only to the following day blow everything away. Mosbie Still I intend to keep my promise. Alice Do so then! Which means, that you are free to love me as soon as he is dead. That soup and its poison was just trash going down the drain. But there are other means and methods, arenâ€™t there? How many a day are not struck down or clubbed down in the pubs of London? We could arrange some convenient accident in a dark corner of some pub that we made him visitâ€Ś (enter Greene) Mosbie Who is that? Do you know him? Alice Yes, I think he could be the right instrument for us. Leave me alone with him. I will arrange something. (Mosbie leaves.) Greene I heard that your husband unfortunately has left for some business. Alice Perhaps I could help you instead? Greene Perhaps. I am only looking for some information. Alice Then I am sure to be of help. Greene I heard that your lawful wedded husband some time ago by royal grant obtained some property that earlier belonged to the Feversham monastery. But others had the right of property before him. He has stolen it and under public eyes. Tell me, madam, did he obtain a royal legal confirmation of the property? Alice Yes, he did. All other certificates of that property have no legal validity any more. Greene If that is the case he robs me of my livelihood, for I waged all I had in those grounds when I held the lease. If he with such ruthlessness cultivates his morbid greed, forcing honest working people to be beggars, I must ask you to forward to him that we intend to avenge ourselves in such a manner that he will regret this foulest deed of his life to his death!

Alice I know nothing about this but convey my sincerest regrets. If he acts like that against others, you might well imagine how he treats me. Greene You don’t mean to say that he mistreats you, his own wife, who is of such a good family, of highest reputation and respect all over Kent! Alice I must ask you not to spread the word any further, but if I could confess myself to you, you would have insights in the tyranny of a brutal rake. If he doesn’t scorn me, accuse me of unheard of and absurd crimes and thinks the worst of me, he beats me to exhaustion to then party around London among prostitutes and other doubtful people while he tries to engage lewd killers to visit me in private to do away with me… Greene But that is outrageous! How is such a bully allowed to carry on? Every year he lives is one year too long! I thought that villain guilty of many things but never of such atrocious baseness! Imagine! And he goes around with such an impeccable image and reputation! He makes business earning him more respect than any nobleman in Kent! That blasted villain! And such a fellow is allowed to go free without being hanged! It’s not fair! But we are a number who have reason enough to salt some bills for him. He has fooled many and not only maltreated you. I believe, my lady, that God has sent me to you to release you from this hell and marriage with this cruel monster of a husband. I shall have the deed of gift to that property, and my price shall be no more than what he deserves! Alice You seem quite serious. Greene God knows that I would rather part with my life than with my life’s work in that property! Alice But you can’t take the law arbitrarily into your own hands just like that. It’s too risky. Let me present a safer suggestion. Here are ten pounds for you. For that you could probably find a willing underground murderer to do the job for you. Then when my husband is safely dead, I promise you twenty pounds more plus the property that was stolen from you. Greene That sounds too good to be completely convincing. What security do you offer me? How can I be sure? Alice I can give you no more than my word of honour. Here is my hand, and with the other (raising it) I swear to stand by my word. Greene Then I willingly accept your word and hand. (accepts her hand) I will go to London at once. When I return he shall be dead. Alice I will thank you for that. My gratitude is without limits. Greene You may already regard the mission as accomplished. (leaves) Alice Whoever accomplishes the deed, I wish him luck. May God keep that murderer’s hand steady when he strikes! – But here is Clarke and Mosbie. We will probably hear about how that failure of a painter was mistaken and blundered on his sacred mission. Mosbie How did it go, Alice? Alice Good news. We have a man on his way to London.

Mosbie We’ll deal with that later. But our friend the painter here wishes to know at once how you persuaded my sister to marry him. Alice He hasn’t fulfilled his obligations. And he had better propose himself. Clarke I gave you the poison! Did you not use it? Alice My husband refused to eat of the bitter medicine. Clarke We’ll just have to try again, then. But I take you on your word and go at once to secure Susan by proposing to her myself. (leaves) Mosbie Well, how did it go? Alice The man was Dick Greene, you know, whom Arden cheated of the monastery property. He if anyone has reason enough to revenge himself on Arden, and I succeeded in boosting his reasons! I gave him ten pounds to hire some cheap murderer to efficiently transport Arden into a better world, and promised our angel twenty pounds extra except that propoerty when the mission was accomplished. He has already left for London. Mosbie That’s careless! You give any groom and angry amateur in London ten pounds to blunder away with and expose us to the world! Couldn’t you have managed it a bit more discreetly? Alice He seemed absolutely honest. Mosbie Yes, what you have done cannot be undone. We’ll just have to wish him luck and hope that he doesn’t immediately drink it all up in the pubs of London and forget all about it. Alice But I know him. He is pious and highly praised for his saintliness. Mosbie I just hope you are right. Or else there are alternatives. (enter Clarke and Susan) Alice Well, Clarke? Have I managed to put a good word for you to Susan Chastity? Clarke Yes, thank you, you have succeeded well. Mosbie So there will be nuptials? Clarke Yes, to be sure! She said yes! Alice Look how she blushes! Clarke She is only shy. Mosbie So, sister, it pleases you to have your painter for a husband? Susan It’s up to you. If you agree to it I will not protest. Mosbie I agree, but then the painter also must accomplish his task. Clarke I’ll do whatever you wish. Just tell me what to do. Mosbie I know that you know the art of preparing a crucifix, so that who gets it in his hand immediately gets sorted out and dies. I ask you to produce and deliver such a holy crucifix. Clarke And who will be the recipient? Mosbie That’s our business. Clarke It could take some time. Mosbie How long? Clarke About ten days.

Mosbie Alice Clarke Mosbie

Ten days’ delivery? Just have it done securely, so that the results are garanteed not to fail. I know my art well enough to make a more sacred cross than anyone else. Go to your honest craft then, and we’ll go to ours. (Clarke leaves with Susan.) I think we can consider your husband as dead with calm assurance. Alice You mean, that you could already tonight forget all about your oath and use me as you please to replace that husband that is to be murdered? Mosbie Our cards are safe now. For every day that Arden lives on, there are more and more deadly traps triggering more murderers against him. Alice Then use me as my husband. The lord of my heart is also lord of my house. (They leave.)

Act II scene 1. A dark pub in London. (Greene and Bradshaw by a table, each with a pint of beer.) Bradshaw It’s easy to get people killed in these days. You could practically hire anybody. Greene Well, it can’t really be as easy as that. Bradshaw Naturally, if you want to be sure of the outcome, you can’t exactly engage any virgin. (enter Will and Shakebag into the pub) Greene Of course not. But the price must be fair. Bradshaw Do you see those two? Greene Of course. They look scary. Do you know them? Bradshaw One of them is Will, one of the worst rotten eggs on earth. The other I don’t know, but he should be of the same sort. Will and I were together at war in Boulogne, where he conducted such tricks that he scared all the regiment. He is called Black Will, and if you just give him the smallest coin he will kill anyone for you anywhere. Greene That sounds good. That’s just the man I am looking for. Will (coming up to them) Hello, Bradshaw, you old archdevil rotten to the core! What are you doing here so early? Bradshaw Don’t talk to me, Will. I denied and refused your acquaintance long ago. Will But Bradshaw, weren’t we friends at Boulogne camping together? Have you forgotten all our merry war memories, happy fights and naval battles uniting comrades for life unto death! (thumps him vigorously in the back) Bradshaw Leave us alone, Will. Will You were not cocky then, when you were only a mercenary and I a corporal! In those days you were merry and asked to join our merry pranks! Do you remember how I stole that half ox from the canteen-keeper and shared it with all the company? Those were happy days! Now you are cocky because you have become a

goldsmith and made three silver tablets in the shop! Are you so aloof and inhuman just because you became established? Bradshaw I left all dirty business behind me, Will. I am straight now. Will Do you call it dirty business to work for your daily bread so that the villains go down while the merrier kind manages? You are unfair, Bradshaw! Although you are snooty I would gladly share my purse with you over a few drinks, if I wasn’t in good company already. But what are you up to being busy so early, and who is your friend? Bradshaw Perhaps you could help me. I have something going on in London. This is my friend Greene from Feversham. Will What’s your racket? Bradshaw Some time ago I came across a silver piece quite cheaply, which appeared to have been stolen from a lord, who now wants to see me hanged because it was found with me. Now I must find the thief, or else I am done for. Will Do you know who the thief was? Bradshaw A thin villain with a crooked nose, deep wrinkles in his brow, holloweyed and harrowed, emaciated by liquor and abuse, long curly hair hanging down in stripes across his face with insanely angry eyes… Will How was the bloke dressed? Bradshaw In torn clothes with holes everywhere, threadbare trousers patched up everywhere, sticking out knees and elbows and toes in fresh holes, but with countless pockets inside. He was a wandering professional cache. Will Shakebag, come here! Do you remember when we were sitting in Sittingburn and I knocked off a few bottles, we partied so that I then bashed the skull of a waiter with a cudgel when he wanted to throw us out? Shakebag Of course I remember. Will We had some silver we had bought with which we paid the salted bill to the last penny. (to Bradshaw) What do you give for the name of the man who sold us the silver? Bradshaw Who was it, good Will? Will I sure know who it was. It was Jack the Pussy, no one else. And he is exactly as rough as you just described your chum, who sold you your stolen silver. Bradshaw And where is he now? How could I find him? Will The Pussy is in jail waiting for his sentence for a stolen horse. Bradshaw That’s good news! Now I feel better at once. Then I report that villain to the angry lord, and the matter will be settled. I leave you, Mr Greene, for now I am in a hurry. Greene Would you just leave this letter to Alice Arden when you pass Feversham? Bradshaw I’ll be delighted. Here, my old pal Will, a coin with thanks for your help! (gives Will a coin) Will Thanks for that! There you see! Old veterans from the French war in the channel can not stop being friends no matter how damned honest they desperately try to become. And to your honour, Bradshaw, I shall never touch a drop of water

until this coin is used up for drinking to the last drop! Come on now, Shakebag, to business and drinking! Greene No, my good gentlemen, I pray, please stay for a moment! I might have something for you, if you want to earn real money, say, twenty coins. Will Twenty? That’s not a bad offer. You can get your own father murdered for that sum, if you wish to inherit him! We only make clean jobs. We dispose of all witnesses in the bargain! Shakebag Yes, just let us know if you would like to dispatch the mother in the same way with all your brothers and sisters and relatives! Greene Indeed, you make an impression of honesty and reliability itself! I think we could reach some agreement with profits for everyone. Will Let’s hear the deal! Greene Do you know Arden, patron of Feversham? Shakebag A stupid, self-important, complacent and troublesome miser. Greene He has robbed me of the entire property of the Feversham monastery, and I want revenge for it with a vengeance! Nothing less can satisfy me now than the crook’s liquidation. Shakebag Where is the money? Greene I have it here. (produces a pouch) I wish to make a deposit of it in the villain’s own blood! Will You have already deposited it in hell. Give it over to me, and it shall be my sport to cut that idiot down when he stands pissing against a wall. You can calmly consider him dead already. Shakebag Where is he? Greene He is here in London now staying at Aldgate Street. Shakebag He couldn’t be more dead when I and Will condemned his soul in advance to eternal death in hell. He has set his last onions and is finished. Greene There are ten pounds in this pouch. You shall have the rest when he is done for. Will You make it tickle agreeably in my fingers. We understand each other. If only we had jobs like this all the year round! We would deserve it, since our craft is both honest and propitious – we only take care of abominable inhuman and ugly idiots who only make a nuisance of themselves in bullying their vicinity. By my soul, our profession should be made legitimate! And I would then be an exemplary leader and father to the union organization! Now I propose that we baptize the job and the contract in a jug of sack! How about it? Shakebag There is no valid deal until you have drunk to it. Greene Be my guests! Will Cheers! Then we are agreed! Let’s have a jug of sack right away if not two! (They are being served and start drinking.)

Scene 2. At Arden’s inn. Michael Now I have indeed put together a letter that could make any seducing painter pale and crack up: (reads his letter) ”Alas, Miss Susan, here I go sighing and longing for you like a turtledove for his nest! Just give that shabby painter with his colour buckets of poison the boot so that he gets lost out of our lives, and everything will then be settled. Think of your faithful Michael instead, who drunk by the dregs of your love will stick to you with his fidelity like the tar plaster on the back of a saddle-broken horse, as an insurance that I will remain eternally yours, your servant Michael.” Arden (has entered with Franklin) What are you up to, knave? Don’t know that I am in a hurry for Kent? Franklin He seems to be busy writing love letters instead of attending to his duties. Arden Let me see! (snatches the letter from Michael) But this is downright funny! The painter, the groom and the maid! An eternal-triangle drama! You mustn’t waste your time on things like that in working hours, you profligate! Seduce whoever you like whenever you like, but not during work hours in my service! Understood? Michael Yes, Sir. (Greene, Will and Shakebag show up) Arden She is even Mosbie’s sister, an ordinary dirty hussy! Can’t you do better? She has nothing under her skirts except slimy lewdness and debauchery. She will be thrown out of my house as soon as I get home. You can chase better petticoats, Michael, off my house! Michael Yes, Sir. Arden We leave now but will soon be back. Get the horses ready till then! Michael Yes, Sir. (they leave) That’s for me to decide, which wench I prefer. Greene (to Will) You just saw Arden leave with his best friend Franklin. That is his groom over there. Will It will be easy to kill all three. Greene No, gentlemen, not so fast, please! Take it easy! Don’t touch the servant! He is innocent. Wait here in peace and quiet until Arden comes back, and then you can easily dispose of him. I leave you until all is done with. (leaves) Shakebag If we don’t manage this I am a deceiver. Will It will be an easy match, for sure, buddy! When he comes I’ll just pierce him right through, and then we vanish at once across the river. Shakebag Just don’t miss the target, Black Will. Will How could I miss with twenty quid in sight? It’s a practical impossibility! An apprentice (looks out from a window above them) It’s late. I had better close the window before people come out from St. Paul’s. (lets the window down, which hits Will in his head) Will God’s death and hell to all cursed demons, Shakebag! Who the devil is trying to kill me? Shakebag Someone let the window down.

Will I am almost dead! Here I lie with a cloven skull! How can we manage our business now? Shakebag Did he cleave your skull, that inconsiderate peeping Tom? Will I was punctured! I was shot under the water mark! I just can’t make it any more! (Arden and Franklin return with Michael) Arden What’s on? What’s the racket? Franklin Surely just an ordinary brawl arranged by hoodlums to be able to empty the pockets of people coming from church, when curiosity halts them and make them throng and bustle together to watch the row. Arden Just ordinary rowdies. Well, that’s nothing then. (leaves with Franklin) Will I shall have indemnity for this! Apprentice (opens the window) I know your kind! You always keep hanging around here waiting for an opportunity to empty peoples’ pockets! Just get out of here! Will What restitution will I have for my crushed skull? Apprentice You’ll have a good spanking and thrashing for nothing and then bread and breakfast free of charge in jail if you don’t get lost! Shakebag Hard times. Will Hard windows but fortunately a harder skull. Yes, I’ll leave, but next time I get a window on my head I will smash all the windows of that house and start a fire of it! I warn you, accursed blooming window hooligans! (leaves with Shakebag) Alas, Shakebag, this will ruin us for the moment. My skull doesn’t matter, but that Arden got away is a total disaster. Greene (enters) So there you are, you miserable blunderers! What’s the matter with you? Don’t you dare to do the job? I saw Arden a moment ago, as full of complacency as an intact unopened sack of marzipan. Shakebag We were sabotaged. Will Of course we’ll dare fulfill the mission, but we didn’t count on the extra charges. Murdering that man imperils our lives. We must have ten pounds more to outweigh the odds. Behold this bump! Every drop of blood of me is worth at least one French crown, and I was given ten pounds just to steal away a dog, and we didn’t get any more for such an advanced murder as this! Do it yourself, if you want to risk losing your head! Greene (to Shakebag) What happened? Shakebag He had an unlucky blow from above by misfortune just as Arden came quite willingly to get dispatched. Greene Accident at work? Will To say the least! My bump doubles the specific weight of my head! Shakebag We shall manage better next time, and then we’ll not be in the way of dropped window bombs. Greene Tough luck, boys! But our deal is confirmed, and it must be executed. I have your word on it, which you solemnly swore by your own blood in the holy water of sack! Just try again, some other time, some other place.

Will But in order to patiently carry on walking around the well the donkey must have a carrot. We managed one round, and the carrot is lost. I broke any oaths in my past, for nothing is sacred, not even a vow confirmed by sack! So taunt us, and revitalize our morals by more money, and we promise you, that no one would feel a greater urge to end Arden’s tragedy in blood than we! I shall not wipe off my own blood from my brow, that keeps running down my front, until I carry in my hand the dead heart that once belonged to the wickedness of Arden the miser! Greene That’s the spirit! Are you with us. Shakebag? Shakebag You can fail once, but you always have better chances the second time. Greene That’s fair reasoning, Shakebag! You learn to eliminate risks! So let’s now instead decide when and where we shall shed the thick blood of Arden and drink it… (enter Michael) Here is his valet, a stolid groom. That nut is enamoured with the little sister of Mrs Arden’s lover Mr Mosbie, and he swore to Mosbie to take the life of his master if he would only have Mosbie’s sister… We could use that idiot. – Michael, hey, where are you going? Michael My master just finished his dinner, and I was going to make his bed. Greene Where did he have his dinner? Michael As always here in London at ”The White Mare”. But good day to you, Mr Shakebag! And isn’t it Black Will? But my Lord how you’re bleeding! What has happened? Will Can’t you see for yourself that it is only noseblood? It happens all the time and to anybody! Have you never seen blood before in your life? You should be hanged for your rude impertinence! Michael No offence! And if you are mean without a cause I had better leave. Greene No, stay! Will is only out of humour since he had a hole in his head – anyone could be for less. Michael, say, you do care for your master? Michael Yes, but why do you ask? Greene I thought you might perhaps care more for his wife. Michael I don’t think so, but if it were, what is it to you? Shakebag Don’t stand there talking nonsense, but get to the point! Michael, I heard you had some sweetheart in Feversham. Michael So what? If I have five, how does that concern you? Will Shakebag, Greene, are you then complete fools? Can’t you manage a conference without getting lost in idle blind alleys of roundabouts and thus lose all bearings of the subject? Michael But what is the subject? Will You love Mosbie’s sister, don’t you? And you promised Mosbie, in order to have his sister, to help her mistress in doing away with that boor and bully Arden, the horned bastard, didn’t you? Michael I didn’t promise anything!

Will You are known to be more than just a coward, you are the acclaimed worst coward in all Kent! How then is it possible that you so sacredly and solemnly swear and promise Mosbie to take the life of your master and provider? Michael I was blinded by my love! Alas, Susan was on her way to let herself be seduced by a simple dauber! Shakebag Yes, that explains it. Will Quiet! Shut up! I am the examiner here running the case! Now, my good Michael, expert on horse farts stable cowboy and dung collector, I am the one provided by destiny to send Arden from here to eternity in hell! We know your oath and your plot with Mosbie and your sweetheart, and we’ll take care of Arden himself alone! Do you get it? Michael I get it, but I don’t see the point. Will You will help us! It’s your only way of getting away yourself! So tell us, where and in what manner could he be murdered? Shakebag You have everything to gain, Michael: Mosbie’s friendship and his sister for your wife. Greene And you will also be rewarded by your mistress, who will raise your salary and status. Michael So what’s your angle? Will Are you slow in mind? You must help us! Tip us, give advice, make yourself a bait for him, allure him to where we can dispatch him and metamorphise him into a formidable stinking useless corpse to the joy of us all who will survive him! Michael Well, I give in and admit everything. Yes, I promised to assist in accomplishing my master’s death, although he was always kind to me, and I thought indeed that I could never manage such an enterprise alone. But if you will do the job, I could be of service. Will (to Shakebag) At last he got it. Michael Come to his lodgings at Aldersgate tonight, and I will open the gate for you. Then walk up the stairs, and his room will be the one to the left. There you can do whatever you like with him, and I need not even look upon it. Shakebag That sounds fair. What do you say? Will Just be reliable and keep your promise, Michael, and everything will reach a happy and profitable end. Michael I promise to do everything I can and all my best. Will That’s good. Or else you are lost. Greene Leave now! Wait for us when we arrive late at night. Michael You are welcome. (leaves) Shakebag Then everything is arranged. Greene Yes, everything will work out fine, and I am at ease. Will We’ll need a drink to that. I always get so damned thirsty when I am annoyed and get angry. Shakebag On top of that you are worked up. Will Which hardly makes it any better.

Greene Come! To the pub! (they leave) Michael (alone) What shall I do? I am lost in the darkness of a passion play by devils about human souls. The lamb walks in peace grazing in the meadow, and I have invited the wolves to a gruesome wallowing feast on a lonely defenseless prey. But what can I do? I am caught in the hands of a league of murderers and can only hang on and follow the course or get sacrificed myself on the altar of evil. Alas, my lord, what did you do to deserve being hated by so many, yes, by all except myself and your friend Franklin? I never suffered any harm from you, you never changed my salary but observed it carefully and even gave me gratifications. But I have no choice but to keep my vows to my mistress and Mosbie and to this cruelly perverse gang of murderers and thus by treacherous hypocrisy lead my own master and benefactor, betrayed by the powers of greed and passion, to be butchered, without even being able to warn him. All I can do is to repress all silent voices of conscience, pretending they are not there, harden myself and blindly obey the rage of blind violence. Alas, how will this end?

Act III scene 1. The White Mare. Arden and Franklin sitting by a pint of beer each. Franklin My friend, don’t grieve for your wife. Women can’t help being like that. Arden I know that more than well, but it’s not her folly that grieves me. No, I am sorry for myself, my fate and that I allowed myself to be tricked. If she at least could feel some kind of shame! In that case I would be able to feel pity and inclined for a reconciliation. But she is so stuck in her shamelessness that she rejects my warnings and are not even aware of her own tragic debasement. The whole world is witness to my wife’s unfathomable shame, which stands carved in letters of fire in her front with the only name ’Mosbie’, which she alone is unable to see. And whatever I try to wake her up will only goad her like an encouragement of her vice to make her proceed to worse overdrafts. Dear me, I can’t think of my own case and this humiliation without my eyes getting red for flushing tears! Franklin My dear good Arden, you are not alone, and there are uncountable victims in the same position with even heavier burdens and with wives behaving even more recklessly with even more lovers! She must arrive at some repentance eventually, and by her regrets your sorrow will disappear if not earlier then at least by her death. She is after all digging her own grave. Arden But I can’t live with her any more! My own home has grown detestable and unbearable to me! Franklin Then stay in London. You can live with me for the time being. Arden But then Mosbie will have free hands and can boast from my empty seat about the feats of his utter shamelessness! Alas, whatever I do, the situation will only grow worse, since I can see no other solution to it than my own miserable death! (enter Michael)

Franklin Here is Michael. Pull yourself together. Arden What’s the time, my boy? Michael She is soon ten. Arden Nothing is slower than time, and you think you have all the time in the world, and then she runs out and far ahead of you, and you have lost it. Come, my friend, it’s time to go to bed. (leaves with Michael) Franklin I will follow you soon. Just go ahead. What a misery is jealousy! What noble and elevated monseigneur could not by jealous broodings be reduced to a pitiable ridiculous pathetic clown with only base despicableness left of his whole being! It is too woeful, as if he wound himself into a bloodsucking tangle of octopus arms of self torment instead of working for his liberation! But I guess that’s the deplorable nature of love. Michael (returns) My master asks if you are not coming. Franklin I will come presently. Is he already in bed? (leaves) Michael (coils up in a sofa) Yes, and he would like you to put out the lights. (to himself) In darkness two worlds fight each other: the force of reason in league with love against my conscience and the constant acceleration of its uncontrollable worry. Shall I then sacrifice the girl and my love and betray her mistress to save my provider, his money and his life? But the heaviest weight in the scales is hopelessly Black Will, the wild and cruel villain and his accomplice Shakebag, both murderers and hooligans without a conscience, who never showed pity in their bloody business deals, which they have the impudence to call an ordinary craft. These bandits have promised to kill me if I reveal anything of the conspiracy, and the more I think of it, the worse they appear, these terrible crooks, the worst in all Kent, and the less I can sleep. I can see them in front of me how they silently steal down on me in my sleep, drivelling of wrath and with knives dripping of blood in their mouths, how they grab me by the throat and growl like starved wolves: ”We might as well send him directly to the other side before he betrays us!” To them I am just a mortal parenthesis, my death is a bad joke to immediately forget and my life a trifle to bloodily disappear in dark water to tracelessly flow out to sea to be gnawed at by fish until only white bones remain that quickly disappear in the sands of the dark abyss of the sea… No! I see them coming, and in their grinning wrinkles I find only all our graves! Alas, they are able to kill just for their own pleasure! I can’t stand it! Wake up the neighbours! Help! The murderers are here! They are coming! (yells and wakes up. Arden and Franklin come down in nightcaps with lighted candles.) Franklin Who is yelling so infernally around here? Is anybody butchering someone or cutting his throat! Arden It’s only Michael. He has been dreaming again. What’s the matter. Michael? You are filling the whole house with terror! Michael Alas, my lord, I dreamt something terrible again! I dreamt that two hired murderers were coming to kill me! I am sorry that I disturbed you! Arden You only woke up the whole house. Tell me, is the gate locked well enough? Michael I think I locked it.

Arden I had better go and have a look. (leaves) Franklin Do you often have such terrible nightmares? Michael No, I only have them now and then, but they have returned more often lately and also grown worse. Franklin Just take it easy. You’ll see that it will be all right. Arden (returning) I can’t believe my eyes! Can you imagine? Nothing was closed! Any murderers or thieves could get in here by every door and window! It’s inexcusable! Michael, you are responsible for this! Don’t do it again! Go now back straight to bed, and sleep tight this time! Michael I will do my best. Franklin I think you will succeed, now that everything is closed and all windows and the gate thoroughly locked. Perhaps it was your instinct which protected us bringing us to awareness of the danger that maybe was actually threatening. Arden Goodnight, my boy. Sleep without dreams. (leaves with Franklin) Michael (alone) Without intending it I actually saved my master’s life for one more night and without betraying anyone. Perhaps I could at last go to sleep now. (goes out with the lights and the scene.)

Scene 2. Outside Shakebag Glorious night, inviting to crime and the blackest affairs of wickedness! Tonight we shall succeed! I feel it must! Mr Greene, keep away now, but be back again in an hour. Then we shall have sent that lousedog Arden from splendid solvency to total liquidation! Greene I hope you will succeed this time, boys, or else you will soon lose all your credibility. Will Are we then not qualified as villains? An accident happens very easy, and that villainous sabotage that last time ruined our possibilities was not even intentional. We can put every villain in all London out of business, if only we get started! Greene My friends, I never doubted your good will and intentions. Now I leave you to fulfill your mission and make yourselves worthy of the entire reward. (leaves) Will Damn, Shakebag, I wish it was all over! My legs feel like filled with lead. That’s no good portent. Shakebag Nonsense, all we have to do is to club that old man to death or smother and strangle that knave. He will not even make any resistance. He is just a flourbag full of money. Will I know. That’s what’s wrong. Our job is too easy. There is no challenge in it. Shakebag You almost sound like being on the verge of getting redeemed for salvation. You are not a puritan, are you? In that case we might as well go to bed. Will Surely you don’t accuse me of being a coward? Shakebag No, I guess that’s the last thing I’ll do.

Will Let’s not hesitate then from accomplishing our uplifting and honourable craft. We must not fail our sacred duty! Shakebag That’s what I mean. Will So move on then! Honour demands that we fulfill this honourable mission! Shakebag That’s what I mean. Here is now the house we are supposed to haunt. Will If it’s the right house the gate should have been opened in advance by our fellow Michael. Shakebag (tries the gate) Damn, it’s locked! Will Is it the right house? Shakebag There is no other white mare in London. Michael has fooled us, that miserable cheat! Will Then damn me he shall see the devil! Try the sword and beat the latch! Then perhaps he will wake up. Shakebag (doing so) He is sitting in there laughing at us. I am sure of it. Will He has planted his last potato! That’s for sure! If I don’t cut off the arms and legs of that rapscallion when we next meet, Black Will doesn’t live up to his reputation! Shakebag You can’t cheat two professional experts in the craft of assassination like that! Will You don’t cheat honest professional killers! Shakebag No! I’ll cut out his nose and trample on it for his infamous cowardice! Will We must tell Mr Greene about this. He will not be happy about it. Shakebag Surely not. Such a high treason could make a peasant swear himself to death from anger! Will There is another pub close by. We could go and sit there and wait out Arden while we fashion new intrigues with Greene. Shakebag And there we can also fortify ourselves by suitable pints and jugs of not only ale and sack but also various other liquids. Will Yes, that’s the best thing we can do for the moment. (They go off.)

Scene 3. Arden’s bedchamber. Arden (sleeps bad, turns around, wakes up with a cry) Hoo! (calls:) Michael! Come here at once! Michael (enters) What is it, master? Arden Find out when the tide is coming so that we can leave immediately! But clean up first! And then we leave as soon as possible! Michael Yes, Sir. (leaves, runs into Franklin in the door) Franklin What is it, Arden? Why did you cry out? Arden I had such a terrible dream! Franklin Not again!

Arden But this time it was different. I was lost in the woods, and then there was a net for the stag. However it was, I fell asleep there by the net but was then awakened by trumpeting horns, and then there was a horrible black-browed rogue telling me: ”But here is the man we are looking for! Now you are caught, you blackguard!” he growled, and I was utterly terrified. Franklin Just a foolish dream, Arden. Arden But I have had several of that kind, and they all bode the same thing! Franklin What? Arden That’s what I don’t know! I hope it isn’t something unpleasant. Franklin It surely can’t be when you wake up next time. We are going back to Feversham now. There you can take it easy and rest from your dreams and terrible London ordeals. Arden Yes, exactly! It will be lovely! Franklin Rest now, and then we leave. And don’t dream up any more wild absurd nightmares. (leaves) Arden No, I had better not. But you never know. I just hope the dreams won’t come true, for in that case I will be in a bad spot indeed. (lies down again and tries to sleep) Alackaday! (yawns)

Scene 4. At the pub. Greene But how could you fail again? Shakebag It was that blackguard Michael’s fault. He locked the gate to us when he was supposed to have opened it. Will I will both flay and scalp him alive! Greene Surely there must have been a mistake. Will You can tell that to the devil that it was a bloody mistake indeed! Shakebag Don’t bloody swear so damnedly. I am sure Michael does as well as he could. Will Yes, he does his very best to let us down! Greene Perhaps he forgot to unlock the gate or overslept it. Will If only he had fallen asleep on his guard! But instead he locked up instead of opening up! It’s unforgivable! Greene I understand that you are upset. (enter Michael) Will Get ready with your sword, Shakebag. Here he is. Greene Don’t execute him at once. Let’s hear first what he has to say for his defense. Shakebag Well, you worthless scoundrel, what have you to say? Will Talk, but fast, and for the last time! Michael Gentlemen, I am really very sorry, but I actually did all I could. Shakebag Villain! The gate was locked!

Michael Alas, my master suddenly woke up from some nightmare and was afraid and would suddenly check all exits and windows and look for bandits under every bed! He was simply struck by panic! So he locked the gate. Shakebag Accident at work. Will Again. Michael But I will now go to inform myself of when the tide comes, and then he will go home with Franklin. Then you can hide and wait for him at Rainham Down. It’s a good place for such things. Greene For what? Michael Assassination. Will Good, Michael. We’ll meet next time at the pub ”The Salute” where you will be our host when we forge our next plans. Greene Tell your master when there will be a suitable tide, so that these gentlemen in good time will reach the black meadow of Rainham before him. Michael It will work all right! Just trust me! Will That’s good, Michael. We trusted you so far, and it only went to hell all the time with a most remarkable consistence. If only it finally goes to hell with Arden we will be completely satisfied, and so will you. Michael I am beginning to like your company. (They drink each other’s health.)

Scene 5. Mosbie People are loathsome to me as I a brooding loner prefer my own company, but how did I become like that? I only find fear everywhere; if I see human eyes watch me I immediately get the suspicion that they see through me and read my private life and my most secret thoughts. My only escape from my mental unsoundness is by liquor. Then I relax and grow calmer and more satisfied with myself and can continue planning and stealthily intriguing, as if I hadn’t awoken from the nightmare but only liked and felt at ease with it. It was better before when I was poor and lacked means and only had my daily bread to struggle for. As soon as I acquired gold and found an immense fortune within reach I sank down into the bog of vice where I flunder and struggle in vain and only get more sullen while nothing can change our course. Arden’s death is decided and cannot be averted. Greene weeds the field before me with his plough, and when his work is finished he must be liquidated as well, or else he might cause trouble. And Michael and the painter? They are a lesser problem. When we have won the game and rowed the boat ashore I will throw them a bone to gnaw at like to dogs to fight about forever. Then there is Alice, but she is me, and when we have been married I own everything she has got. But it is very probable that I also one day have to dispose of her… Here she is. (enter Alice) Dearest Alice, how is it? Alice Dear me, I am not feeling well.

Mosbie No, I can see that. What ails you then? Alice Alas, my husband, with whom I lived for so many years, we did have some happiness and love together! How could I possibly murder my love? Mosbie What do you mean? Alice Only what I say. Alas, Mosbie, we had better not see each other any more. We should never have met. Let our immoral love fade out, that it may not grow worse and we both with time may not become a rant and exposed to scorn and slander and indescribable disgrace… Mosbie So you intend to retire and withdraw from the game? Alice I have become Mrs Arden once again, a virtuous and most honourable lady, born noble and my husband’s pride, to the glory and honour of the county… Mosbie But the money! Alice But you are only a tailor, and I was stupidly weak to allow myself to be seduced by you. Mosbie You seduced by me? Who was the seducer? I let myself be bewitched by you, and now I have sacrificed my career and happiness for you, I could have married a much better lady with more money than you, for your sake I have thrown away all my life’s possibilities, and then you break the covenant, you slut! Now I see who you really are! Go to your grooms and fornicate with them, if you regard yourself too noble to any more keep me as your friend! Alice And you never loved me but only saw the money behind me. Take me then for my money! I beg your pardon and want to atone for my inconstancy. I want to sacrifice everything for you, if only you are gentle and faithful. Mosbie Would I take you for your money? What nonsense is that? Could beggars associate with nobility? Not for a thousand pounds could I even walk in the shadow of you, for I am nought but a craftsman. Alice Whoever your father was, you are yourself as noble as gold, for you are what you are by yourself and not by your birth. Who I am and what I am is therefore irrelevant. Mosbie How you women can oil your way into men’s hearts! I always loved you, Alice, but chiefly for your beauty. So let’s no more argue about nothing, and don’t introduce new trials. (enter Bradshaw) Alice Give me a kiss, so that I know you are in earnest. (They kiss.) Bradshaw Ahem! Mosbie There is someone here! Be careful! (separates from her) Alice Bradshaw! What news? Has the plot succeeded? Bradshaw I only carry a letter to deliver to you from Greene. Alice All right, my friend. Go to the kitchen and have something. (Bradshaw leaves.) (reads) ”The plot failed in London, but we will try again on the road back and will surely succeed. Best regards, Richard Greene.” What do you think about that?

Mosbie I wish it had been done. Alice But it will be done, and then there will be happy days! But until then we’ll have to tread carefully and worryingly through life together. Mosbie I will follow you faithfully even unto death. (embraces her)

Scene 6. Shakebag Hey, Will, is everything in order? Is your gun working, is the powder dry enough, and is the flint striking fire? Will What questions! You clodpate! You might as well ask me if I have my nose left in my face, if my tongue hasn’t frozen and gone stiff in my mouth, if I had tied myself into a knot or put my thumb into my arse! Are you some interrogator in some kind of a court, you blockhead? Aren’t you also going to ask me how many pistols I have fired, how many guns I’ve had, if I have gone allergic against gunsmoke, if I can stand hearing a gun, if I twinkle when I shoot and demand that I deliver the answers under oath, you dunderhead! Have you no other redundant questions to ask? Don’t you know that I have stolen more guns in this county than you have had pistols in your hand? Shakebag You could have nicked more pouches in the crowd with money in them: but if we are to brag about stolen goods my surplus would be greater than all your family and all that you’re worth! You are poisonous creeps having daggers in your tongues but never honest weapons in your hands and are only good at knifing your victims in the back! Will Listen to that stinker of a toad how he exalts his poisonousness so that he’ll soon go over the brim with his swollen conceit and explode in vitriol fumes of marsh gas! My honour cannot stand this, Mr Greene! I did after all honestly serve my king as a brave and active soldier in Boulogne, and then he shames me as if I was a coward! Shakebag You started it! You are like that crackpot Jack in Feversham, who when he was struck by an ordinary blow and was shouted in his ear went off in a faint and thought he had been shot! Will Are you accusing me of losing control in exaggerated fits of bad temper? Shakebag That’s what you always do! Will Don’t provoke me! I am never the one who overreacts! Shakebag You fool! Tell that to our fellows in the killers’ guild, who never fight without having a glass, while you alone always do! Will Enough! (pulls his sword and starts fighting. Shakebag defends himself.) Greene My boys! Mind your business! Will That’s what we are fighting about! Shakebag We always stick to the point! Greene Cool off and calm down! While you are fighting, Arden, our target will come by and get away! (separates them)

Shakebag He started! Will And I will stop! We’ll save it for a better occasion. One day we’ll get even! Shakebag And let’s never forget it! Will May I sooner be dead! Greene Take it easy now and mind your duties! He will pass any time now, and then you must be ready with your guns! I will come forth when I’ve heard your gunshots. Then it will be a sincere pleasure to plunder that scoundrel! But woe unto you if you go blundering! Shakebag He will get enough lead in his arse to immediately start leaking like a drain! Will You have nothing to boast of. Who is the best shot here? By me he will get his glans shot off while at the same time I’ll prick his nipples! Shakebag All you can fire is wind puffs! Will We can take up our swords again, if that’s what you want! Greene Slow down, boys! You mustn’t quarrel in the moment of truth! Everything depends on that you don’t miss your opportunity! Will (to Shakebag) Behave now, you pigfart! Shakebag You are not making our job any easier. Trust us, master Greene! If Mr Arden comes by here we will súrely blow him to death so that he can feel that he is alive! Will You dumbbell, that’s precisely what we are here for to prevent and make impossible, when we have finished our job for him! Greene Shut up, aim, mind your business and do your duty! They are already on their way! (disappears) Shakebag Shut up! Will Says you! Shut your trap yourself and stop the draft before I shut you down! Shakebag Here they come! Quiet! (They take aim.) (Arden, Franklin and Michael appearing.) Michael Gentlemen, I am very sorry, but my horse has a limp. Regrettably I will be obliged to return to Rochester. Arden Do as you please. We are grown-ups and can manage without you. But try to catch up with us before we reach that spooky Rainham Down. If we are lucky we’ll get there before dark, but we will probably not reach Feversham until the night. Michael (to himself) That I know well enough that you’ll never pass that meadow. That’s the only reason why I have wounded my horse in his foot to get away from the scene of your murder. Franklin (stops) Dear me, I can’t go on any longer. Arden What is it? But what’s the matter, my dear friend Franklin? Franklin I don’t know myself. This has never happened to me before. Suddenly I feel very strange. I can’t breathe, I am dizzy and have a horrible attack of giddiness…(falters) Arden There, my friend, let me support you. If we take it a little easier the trouble will surely cease. I often felt like that myself. It’s probably something you

have eaten, but it could also be the dust. But pray continue telling your murder story. It will make the journey both easier and shorter. Franklin Yes, that wife was charged with infidelity no matter how much she denied it with the most shameless impertinence. But I am very sorry, this goes against me, I get a stitch, I can’t understand what’s the matter with me. Arden We have almost reached Rainham Down. If you could just go on a little further and finish your exciting account from real life… Franklin It was exactly by Rainham Down that the disaster occurred… Shakebag Just a little more, and we have them both! Will Shut up! We must neither be heard and least of all seen! We must firmly stick to only stealth and quiet! Shakebag But I am as quiet and stealing as a worm! Will Yes, yes, but shut up, and be quiet as well! Or else we will be blown and not he! Shakebag Keep still! Franklin I must be allowed to stop and pant. I can’t manage this travelling any more. I can’t make it. (stops and pants) Arden I thought you were in a much better condition than I. Franklin I thought so too. I can’t understand what’s happening to me. Lord Cheiny (entering with company) It’s getting dark. We must make necessary haste before the storm comes. Will Oh no! A lord! That does it! Shakebag Keep still! We can still get them! Will Yes, and then we get the wrong person, while our man gets away again, and then we are caught for the wrong murder, you ingenious nincompoop! Shakebag Quiet! Cheiny But who do we find here? It’s Arden! That was indeed fortuitous, by my soul! I have been looking for you for a fortnight! It was far too long since I last saw you at home for a visit! Arden I am always at your service, my lord. Cheiny Have you travelled without company from London? Arden My groom had problems with his horse and was obliged to turn back to Rochester. But my friend here, the good Franklin, has kept me company, but then he suddenly had problems with his condition just as he was telling a most thrilling story about infidelity and murder and other exotic and devilish things. He had both a dizzy spell, lost his breath and a bad nausea. Cheiny (to Franklin) If I am not mistaken, you belong to the acquaintance of the Lord Protector? Franklin Yes, I usually travel with him. Cheiny Welcome to join my company! Come home with me, rest until the morning, and then continue in better health tomorrow! Isn’t that sensible? Arden What do you say, Franklin? Franklin It sounds very sensible indeed.

Will Damn! Franklin (hearkens) What was that? Arden Just a frog croaking. Cheiny There are always poisonous toads around here making much noise with their croaking. Franklin Let’s get away from this place immediately! Shakebag They are coming! Put down your gun immediately! They will see us! Will You croaker! Now you have ditched our chances! (They quickly hide their weapons.) Cheiny But who do we find here? Black Will! Do you think you could pick pockets out in the swamp? You are usually at it among throngs in London. Will No, we are just travelling like you. Cheiny Are you indeed? Then I sincerely hope it’s in the opposite direction. You will hang one day, Black Will, mark my words. Will I honestly hope I won’t, since I actually pray for you every day, your grace, that you as a sensible and honourable gentleman at least would protect me against bandits and cheats! Cheiny You probably never in your life even told the shortest prayer. But give the tramps each a coin, so that they might turn to better ways. For you shall know, you rascal Will, that if you one day get caught even for stealth of the smallest penny, nothing can save you from immediately getting hoist in the gallows. Come with us, Mr Arden. We can go together three or four miles. (All pass Will and Shakebag, who humbly stand with their caps in their hands.) Will (when they are gone) May the devil take you within those four miles, you rotten rabble! There we were ready with our guns and had those capitalists perfectly on target, and then the lord himself comes a tramping disturbance to ruin the whole party! It’s a shame! You can’t do like that, and least of all if you are a lord! Shakebag It’s Arden’s fault. He is persecuted by good luck. It’s even outrageous how he wrongfully keeps getting away from his destiny! Will It’s worse than outrageous! It’s downright indecent! Greene (coming on) Well, boys! How did it go? Is the scoundrel done with? Shakebag He made it and is now on his way to Feversham, that blasted crook! Greene What! Have you then made another failure? Shakebag It was not our fault. It was that Lord Ceiny who suddenly appeared getting straight in the way for us! Will It was like a miracle but of the wrong kind. Greene I understand. So our villain got away again. Will He is now under the lord’s protection and invited to his place at Shurland. Greene So it’s over for this time. Will But we’ll put a bullet in his fat belly and fleshy arse and protruding navel tomorrow, when he travels on home from Shurland! Greene That’s the spirit! I sure hope so! Shakebag We are not the kind of crooks that give in!

Greene Yes, you had better finish the business, as Mrs Alice Arden hardly will be happy when she hears about your failure. Will It was not our fault! It was the lord’s! Greene Yes, yes, I know. You were unlucky. And that arch robber Arden is like supernaturally possessed by a luck that he isn’t even aware of. Shakebag We’ll be sure to make it in the end! Will Mr Arden is already booked and has no chance. Shakebag The odds against him keep mounting every time he gets away. Greene I think Mrs Arden believe you are cowards who dare not do it. Will Let her believe whatever she wants. When she then will see her husband unrecogizably massacred with bullet holes all over like a trough she will be impressed enough and think otherwise. Greene I think you should confer with her. Will Then we’ll do so. Shakebag We’ll look her up first thing tomorrow! Greene That will probably pay off, gentlemen. After all, we have the best good will in the world and more than that, all three of us, to help our lady, haven’t we, my friends? Shakebag Absolutely! Will If there is anything we have, it’s strong intention and good morals! Greene That’s a good veteran speaking. Let’s immediately start scheming and then initiate our employer in our plans. (They leave.)

Act IV scene 1. At home with Ardens. Arden Time to go, Franklin. Lord Cheiny is expecting us. Alice But you have hardly rested enough, darling, after your terrible journey! Please, stay with me! Arden But we can’t let a lord wait! Alice You always have your reasons. Hardly have you come back home, and then you immediately long to get away again, as it seems, just to get away from me. Franklin But can’t Mrs Alice come with us? The lord will certainly have no objection against her charming company. Arden Of course, Alice, you will come with us! You will cheer up the lord, he will only be happy, and all we need is a saddled horse. Alice No thank you, lords are not for me, and who will mind the home and the farm in my absence? I had better stay. Arden Isn’t she capricious! Dear, your false shyness can’t fool me. Don’t be prejudiced against the poor lord! He doesn’t bite, you know! Alice No, I want to stay. I know my place well enough. Arden She is hopeless. But my dearest, whatever your opinion may be, I will always remain faithful to you for good and for worse with all my love.

Alice Prove it by coming back soon. Arden I will be back before the fall of darkness in the night, if I only live. See you at supper. Have my dinner ready when I come. Farewell. (kisses her goodbye. She leaves.) Franklin Come now, Michael. The horses are waiting. Michael But I am not ready. I just lost my invaluable purse when I saddled the horse for madam which she wouldn’t have. There were thírty-six shillings in it. Franklin Come then, Arden, and we’ll ride in advance. Our groom will surely catch up with us. Arden As usual. But don’t loiter, Michael, but hurry in coming after us. Michael Of course. (Arden and Franklin leave.) Good riddance to you, for hiding in front are Black Will and his Shakebag for a friend, stealing in the grass where you least of all would suspect anything such. Your journey will be longer with them for guides than you can imagine, for this time you will surely not return. (enter the painter) But who comes here? Is it the painter, who thinks he will get the chaste Susan? Clarke How is it, Michael, my friend? And how is my beauty and the rest of the family? Michael Who do you mean? Clarke The lovely Susan of course! Michael Has she become your lovely now as well? Clarke Yes. How is she and the whole clan? Michael They are all well except the one you talked about. Clarke Is she ill? Michael Yes, she is. Clarke What’s the matter with her? Michael She is in bed. Clarke Is she afraid? Michael Yes, of you. That’s why she runs a high fever. Clarke How can she get fever from fear? Michael She fears loose killers going around stealing in the grass. Clarke Good Michael, you are pulling my leg. You just want her for yourself. Michael But as an employee in the house it is my responsibility to protect that girl against importuning painters. Clarke So? But she is not to be protected against dirty grooms like you? Michael You are the dirty one! You just daub her down! Clarke You seem to want trouble. Just tell me when and where, and I am ready. Michael What do you fence with? Frayed pencils? Clarke Stop it, here and now, impertinent servant! (hits him) (enter Mosbie, Greene and Alice) Alice (her hands on her hips) Was that why you stayed behind, Michael, to have a fight with Clarke about a girl? When so much is at stake! Clarke, did you provide what you promised? Clarke I have it here. But don’t try to touch it! Whoever touches it will be dead.

Alice Good. I will have it for a warrant of my husband’s death in case everything else will fail. What has he got do with what I am doing at home? He is just an ass with horns. ”It’s under my dignity that you accept other men at home than myself!” Thanks awfully! His dignity is just a slack pouch which he is saving on.”My honour demands that I leave you!” Just leave me then! Leave life for your death and leave me to live my own life! He can go to hell himself. Only you, Mosbie, could give love to return to me my life. As long as we live we shall only love each other, us two, and forever. Mosbie Of course, but love also needs to be based on faith, or else it must crumble to pieces like houses without mortar. Alice Would I not be faithful to you? What do you think of me, Mosbie? Mosbie Don’t start all that again! We still have our most difficult step ahead of us which we must take before we could seriously have each other. Greene Yes, Mosbie, leave the petting to later. Now it’s the question of life and the plan. Shakebag and Black Will have hidden in the grass to steal on Arden to at last finish off their gracious mission. Alice What kind of fools did you really hire? They seem least of all to be able to even hurt a fly. Greene They are the most professional criminals of Kent. If you can’t trust them, you cannot even trust the king. Mosbie If there is anyone in this country you cannot trust, it’s the king. Greene Yes, that’s another matter, and that’s just what I mean. You can’t trust the king, but you can trust Shakebag and Black Will! Alice Yes, so they consistently proved so far again and again. Greene They haven’t resigned from the job. Alice And they haven’t done it either. They have only lifted the salary. Greene What do you ask for? If you don’t pay them, they will not do the job. Alice They don’t do the job although you pay them, and they only want more all the time. Greene A murder is the most difficult of all jobs! Alice If you don’t do it yourself. Greene But that’s precisely what you didn’t want to do! That’s where the complications started! Mosbie Let’s go to the boys now hiding out there in the grass and stealing on the villains and see if perhaps they have managed to perform what they have been paid for. Michael What have they paid for? Clarke Nothing, stupid! Michael How can they then do the job? Clarke That’s what I mean! Greene Don’t stand there drivelling nonsense! Let’s go now to see if they have succeeded. Alice They must, or they will be out of work!

Mosbie No, Alice, that kind is never out of work, but your work will not be working. Alice It must, or I am dead! Mosbie We’ll all be dead sooner or later. Alice Don’t remind me of it. The point is that one has to die to make us live. Mosbie Yes, that’s what we live for, to have an end on it. Greene Are you coming or not! (They all leave.)

Scene 2. By the ferry. Arden (entering with Franklin) Hallo, ferryman! Fie, what a fog! Where are they? Ferryman What are you standing there shouting for? I am here, am I not? Arden Then answer us and say so! Ferryman Can’t you hear that’s what I say? Franklin Sorry, ferryman, but it’s so damned foggy here! You can’t see anything! Ferryman Yes, it will be difficult to find the right course across the river. Arden We can’t wait. Franklin What do you think about the bothersome fog, my good expert? Ferryman Yes, I can see that it is thick indeed. Arden We can see that as well by ourselves, Mr Expert! Ferryman No, that’s what nobody can see, because it is too thick. Franklin Can we go across in it or not? Ferryman We’ll see. Arden So you have at least eyes to see through the fog? Ferryman You can’t see through it, because it is too thick. You can see that for yourselves. Arden But you just said that you could see how the situation is! Ferryman No, I only said, that we shall see. Arden But that’s what I said! Ferryman I only stick to what I’ve said myself. Arden Yes, you had better! Franklin We don’t get anywhere this way. We entrust ourselves to you, ferryman. Our lives are now in your hands on your responsibility. We trust you. Ferryman Come along then, so that we at last get going! Arden Why didn’t you say so in the first place? Ferryman You impeded me by questioning whatever I said. Franklin That was not our intention. Come on now! (They disappear. Will and Shakebag come on stealing from different directions.) Shakebag Hallo, Will, where are you? Will We have both arrived in hell, for smoke is all there is! Can you see anything at all in these unchristian fumes?

Shakebag We had better keep talking so that we at least keep in touch by hearing. Here I just keep on stumbling and will soon be ditched if my feet don’t see any better than my eyes. Will I have never seen better weather for a man to run away with another man’s wife. In this weather all people are completely misguided. Shakebag Here you can play hide and seek so efficiently that you’ll never find yourself again. But what horses do I hear approaching? Say, did you hear them? Will Yes, of course I heard them. Shakebag Have we now missed our target again? Will I can wage my life on that it was Arden and his fat company. In that case we have indeed missed them completely. Shakebag I almost think this is getting a bit annoyingly repetitive. Will It’s not our fault. This time Arden was swept into fog, as when some god carried away Ganymede in some smoke or gas that he let out. Shakebag You mean that the gods can fart? Will Who is it that cannot? Shakebag But a god! Will Take it easy. This was only Arden. And calm down. They wander about in the same thick fog as we. They are not on horseback, for not even horses can find their way in a fog. They walk beside as blind as we and go down into ditches and bogs like we. Shakebag (falls into a ditch) Help! I am drowning! Will That’s what I mean. No one is safe here, not even Arden. Ferryman (in) Who is calling for help? Will There is no one here except yourself, old unknown ghost that comes ahaunting us here through the mists. Ferryman I came to help whoever called for help. But here is a poor man in a ditch! Will It’s only Shakebag. He staggered and went wrong. Ferryman Poor fellow! Blame yourself going here without a guide alone and straying from the road! Are you drunk? (helping up Shakebag) Will Not at all. We are just out hunting. Ferryman For ducks? Will No, a company that rode ahead of us. You haven’t by any chance ferried a couple of travellers today across the river? Ferryman No, only two gentlemen going for dinner at old lord Cheiny’s. Will What did I tell you, Shakebag? Now we have shaken them off again! Ferryman Can I leave them a message when they return? Will No, just get on your own way. Ferryman Tell me, have you ever seen such a fog? Shakebag Who can see through such a fog at all? Ferryman That’s what I mean. Shakebag But you said the contrary. Ferryman Did I?

Shakebag Yes, that’s exactly what you did. Ferryman I didn’t. I just asked. Shakebag But it was a leading question. Ferryman You can’t lead a soul in this thick fog. Will The devil could lead anyone even in a fog, and you led two old men across. They managed, for they were led by their noses by the devil. Ferryman I think I’ve had enough of you. Will Who do you think you could lead by the nose? Ferryman (to Shakebag) Who is he? Shakebag It’s Black Will. Ferryman I hope to see him hanged one day, whether he likes it or not, the way he will lead everyone astray. (leaves) Will That was Charon himself, I think. He ferries the dead across, but with doomed souls like Arden and his brother of destiny he reverses the procedure and saves their lives. Shakebag I am getting tired of sneaking around here in the fog only to constantly lose track of the villains who only get away all the time. Will Quiet! I hear voices! (enter Greene, Mosbie and Alice and then Michael) Mosbie But here you are, Shakebag and Black Will! What are you doing here? Have you at last fulfilled your mission’s obligations? Will What do you think we are doing here in the fog? Can’t you see that every human being is reduced to blindness in this thickness! Michael We see nothing at all. Will That’s what I mean! How can we take anyone’s life when everyone here is blind? We just drop into the waters and tumble into ditches and are haunted by ferrymen from the other side! Mosbie But you must have heard when they passed this way. Will What’s the use of hearing when you can’t see? Greene So you failed again? Will Take it easy, noble gentlemen. They will come by once more when they go back. Shakebag And then perhaps the fog is gone. Will Yes, perhaps. Shakebag Damn me if I ever had so much trouble just for a small simple murder! Mosbie You look as if you came right up from the swamp. Will That’s what he did. He first dropped off. A ditch that appeared suddenly was his fall. Michael How can a ditch appear suddenly? Isn’t it always there under the level? Will If ditches don’t suddenly appear showing up, they will have you ditched anyway. That’s why the ditches are there, so that you shall go somewhere in case something shows up.

Alice You suffered enough. Here is a coin for a fire with a dinner and something to drink with it for you to have at the pub in Feversham. (gives Will a coin) Greene I’ll see to it. These two buddies are under me. Will Dear lady, my friend and I thank you and bow to your good will. This gratuity will come to additional use some other time when we get stuck in the fog and the mud and can’t even reach our targets by traction. (Greene, Will and Shakebag leave) Mosbie Those fools will never arrive at anything. They will just go on failing as long as we go on paying them for it. We should let down the whole project. Alice But listen to my new idea and suggestion! When my husband now returns with Franklin, we’ll meet him here on the way quite audaciously arm in arm, so that my old man will be brought to a halt to start quarrelling. And in the middle of the quarrel we call for our boys, who then immediately finish them off. What do you think of such a plan? Mosbie Perfect! Such an intrigue and so bold a design deserves a kiss! (kisses her)

Scene 3. Enter Dick Reede and a sailor. Sailor No, trust me, Reede, it’s no idea. His conscience is too spacious, he is too mean, he has no scruples when it comes to money. He never gives away anything if he isn’t sure he will have back the double. Reede I have heard that he is on his way home from Shurland. So I’ll wait for him here, since I will never be let in to his home and never have anything there. My only chance is here, and if he puts me off here as well as home we’ll see how a curse of mine could work. Sailor You have no chance. Reede Neither has he against his destiny if he persists. Sailor You seem quite sure of your superstitious power. Reede I know what it is all about. Sailor Good luck. (enter Arden, Franklin and Michael) Reede Here he is, just on time! Mr Arden, I will soon go to sea, but first I wanted to talk with you about that piece of land that you expropriated from me without right. Although it is small and inconspicuous and give very small rent it means life to my wife and my children. I therefore ask you to return it. Arden Have you ever heard such insolence, Franklin? There stands that beggar demanding of me to give him a piece of land for nothing that I paid for dearly! You blackguard, if you don’t stop going around spreading slander about me you have planted your last seed! I will have you imprisoned for calumny where there will be neither sunshine nor moonlight for a year for your wicked loafing! I can’t bear with your foul subversive activities any more!

Reede You do me wrong, and then you threaten me! Then I spite you, Arden! Do your worst! I pray to God to punish you and your whole family, your house and folk and cattle! May this piece of earth, that you robbed me of by trickery, and I speak these words with the anguish of death on my mind, be your destruction and perdition! May you there be scorned by your best friend and become a disgrace to be spat and laughed at by the whole world, may everything pertaining to it go wrong for you, and may you there find your death in the most disgraceful possible manner! Arden Who can listen to such a maniacal drivel? Franklin Fie, you lousy groom, to speak in such a manner! Don’t you know that evil curses only befall their originators? Reede So let them befall me! I am not afraid! If even I meet with a mortal storm at sea I will in my moment of death not pray for my own life but for the curse to still haunt and hit the entire household of Arden and especially himself! And before I leave home I will teach my wife to always remember and repeat my curse of you! I leave you, but my curse remains! Come, my friend. Let’s leave this villain alone to his vultures of fury and fate. (leaves with the sailor) Arden He is the worst calumniator in the country, and he has chosen me specially for a target for his senseless meaningless hatred. What he says has no relevance at all. I ask you, Franklin, believe me when I tell you I am completely guiltless. Franklin We all are. Arden Perhaps now as we sent the horses in advance we’ll be met by my wife, since she must understand by the horses that we are on our way, for that conciliation which she now displays is the opposite of her former capricious inconsitence, as if she now had fallen in love with me anew, as if she was a virtuous and holy girl. Franklin If the change is real it is wonderful and good. But be careful, when you talk about lord Cheiny. Don’t raise her envy but letting her know how friendly the lord was and what a nice party he gave. She should have come with us. I know that for sure. Arden Let’s hurry, Franklin! Perhaps we could surprise her standing in the kitchen in her cooking, for I know she is now preparing our dinner and doing all she can to provide us with a pleasant evening. Franklin When a woman is in a good mood she is the most accomplished creature on earth. (enter Alice arm in arm with Mosbie) Arden But who comes here? You bitch, are you coming here arm in arm with that scoundrel Mosbie? Split at once! How dare you show such impudence! Alice He wants us to split. Let’s do so then with a kiss. Arden You vicious perjurer, Mosbie, monster, shameless dogs, you behave like animals! Mosbie If we are animals we have no horns, since they belong to you. Franklin This is going too far. I sense some danger. Arden, let’s withdraw.

Arden I can’t do that! I am married to her! Am I not a lawfully wedded husband? I must not be a coward in this decisive moment! You son of a bitch, Mosbie! Let’s settle once and for all! (attacks Mosbie. Will and Shakebag appear.) Alice Help! Here are some more murderers! They want to kill my husband! Shakebag What? Who dares to attack Mr Mosbie? (attacks Arden) Mosbie (hurt) Alice, I have you to thank for this! Shakebag (wounded by Arden) Help, Will! He murders me! Will What kind of trash is this we’ll have to deal with! You miserable fumbler! (pulls Shakebag out of the fight and disappears with him, like Mosbie in the opposite direction) Alice Alas, my husband, what have you done now! Here we came to heartily greet you and welcome you home, and next you are again possessed by blind and raving jealousy violently attacking the one who used to be your best friend, all for a kiss, a slight embrace, a sign of friendship, to see if you had some patience! It was all my own fault, for I staged the joke. Franklin What joke! It could have ended badly! Alice Didn’t you mark how we as friendly suns beamed towards you when he gave me his arm and I just kissed him lightly on his cheek? Have I not acted lovingly and tenderly towards you lately? Didn’t you hear how I called out with terror in my need: ”Help! Murder! They are killing my husband!” For your sake only I called for help! Your eye was twisted by prejudice gone wild, and I never want to see that man again! I was a hussy who at all trusted that mean bloke! I want to be your slave now and forever, not just your wife but a humble servant, just to tenderly please you. That I am happy sometimes you misinterpret to looseness, if I seem sad you complain about my being depressive, and if I paint myself and add to my looks you call me vain. So I keep simple and humble just to please you, and then you call me wanton. I am always but your thing of a wife, whom you have no idea about how much you torture her with your capriciousness and wild whims. Arden Is it true on your word of honour that you and Mosbie didn’t misbehave on purpose? Alice I call heaven as a witness of my innocence. Arden Then I honestly apologise, darling. I’ll never doubt you any more. Just don’t be angry with me, for I couldn’t bear with that. Alice If you really loved me, you would have remembered what the mean Mosbie said, that it was my fault that he was wounded when you attacked him! And then you would defend me against him and even made sure to honestly reconciliate yourself with him, apologised to him and dressed his wounds! I will never be happy again until you two are reconciled as truly good friends. Arden Calm down, my darling. You will get everything you want. I will be reconciled with Mosbie at once. Come with us and mediate beween us. All will be well again.

Franklin You don’t mean, Arden, that you intend to fawn to that ruffian who when you were away used your wife as his mistress? Alice Don’t listen to your false friend. He doesn’t know what he is saying and only makes himself guilty of slander. He doesn’t even have the slightest evidence. If you have any case against me you must prove it, or else you have nothing to say. Franklin But didn’t Mosbie tell you frankly that you had horns? Alice For an answer to having been insulted himself by being called an animal. If you are offended and get angry you’ll say any kind of stupid things. Arden You are perfectly right, my dear wife. Hasn’t she, my dear friend? Franklin Well, it might be interpreted that way. But if I were you I would think twice before going in to my wife’s lover and fawn him. Alice Franklin, you are obstinate in your prejudice. Give me a break. And what have you to gain by turning Arden against his wife? Nothing! You are only doing it from meanest baseness and menace! Arden Calm down, my good Franklin. She is actually right. I know that she only means well, but your intentions in this case are more debatable. Now I will go to Mosbie with my wife and be reconciled with our friend and dress his wounds, so that he will have no reason for any hard feelings against us. That’s the last thing we wish. (leaves with Alice) Franklin You are going down the drain, poor man, as insistently as your sinning wife and can’t see the trap you are walking into all by yourself, although it is more than obvious. Your own wife is the instrument of the crime, and all I can do as your friend is to sadly keep quiet and watch.

Act V scene 1. Arden’s home. Will Greene, when did ever a murderer spend so much time just to kill one man? Greene We might as well give up the whole enterprise. It seems plain impossible no matter how hard we try with whatever means and methods. Shakebag No, damn it, of course he must die, when we reached so far and put so much effort in it! We can’t let that old crook get away now after all our trouble! He must die even if we are to perish in the effort! Will You know, Greene, that during my twelve years in London, countless bastards have been furnished with wooden legs just because they happened to pass me by on the wrong side of the street. Others have acquired silver noses just for saying; ”There goes Black Will”, and others have got crutches and prostheses for life for having had dealings with me in the wrong way. I have broken as many sharp blades as you have cracked nuts. Greene You are just letting out wind. Will Shakebag can testify for me. All virgin houses have been obliged to pay me tribute. There wasn’t a harlot in her time who could open her business without my permission. No one has let loose as many gaiety girls as I. And once when a beer

salesman dared to challenge me I made holes in all his barrels and held him in his ears until all his beer had flooded out. I have cracked more skulls on police sergeants with their own batons than there are jails and prison cells, and with my own sword I have forced anyone to bail me. Every morning the innkeepers used to stand outside their pubs and invite me for nothing for a drink just to avoid having their signs and shops broken up. Is there anything I haven’t done and haven’t succeeded with? Not even Shakebag can answer that. And still I can’t get this done! This petty trifle, this minuscule child’s play of a ridiculously simple assassination is impossible for me! There must be supernatural forces obstructing the play. (enter Alice and Michael) Greene Move over, Will. Here is Mrs Arden and Michael. Alice (to Michael) So you are positive they have become friends? Michael I saw them shaking hands myself. Mr Mosbie was bleeding, and my master was crying for pity of him while he quarrelled with Franklin, whom he gave the whole blame for nothing. He paid the barber-surgeon himself for his services and invited both Mosbie and Franklin and Bradshaw and others home for general reconciliation and fraternisation. Alice Run back, Michael, and tell Mosbie to steal home to me as soon as my husband has left for the market. You will have your Susan already tonight if you do so. Michael Of course I will do it. Alice Tell John the cook that we will have guests, so that he makes it grand and doesn’t spare his art. Michael So be it. (leaves) Will It looks like a party. In that case we must be on. Hallo, Mrs Arden, invite me and Shakebag and Greene also. Or else we’ll come anyway. Alice But of course you are welcome! Just tell me why you have failed now again. Greene It’s Shakebag’s fault who messed it all up again as usual. Shakebag How could I know that Arden would be such a skilful swordsman that Mosbie should miss him and hit me instead? Will It wasn’t like that at all. It was that Franklin who ruined the whole show. Shakebag advances and fumbles and waves his sword like an incapacitated scarecrow, and then Franklin strikes him, like this, and disappears. Then of course that fumbler Shakebag here should have struck back immediately, but instead he just stands there wobbling and missing all his chances, completely at a loss and paralysed. Then I join the fight and stand like a solid wall and parry all attacks, but what good does it do when Arden suddenly runs Mosbie through his shoulder? Shakebag, why the devil didn’t you use your sword? Alice But why did both you and Greene stand still? Will Everything happened so fast. No devil had time to interfere before everything was too late, and Arden was lucky as usual. He happened to hit, and we happened to miss. Alice Alas, if only he had died yesterday, I would have filled all your pockets with golden coins!

Will It’s never too late. We can trace Arden to the market and there flay him alive. (enter Mosbie) Alice That will be difficult, but here comes the right man to give us advice. Dear Mosbie, cover your arm, I can’t bear to see your wound! Mosbie You if anyone should see it who caused it. Alice Don’t say so, my dearest friend. When I saw you wounded I could have taken the sword, when you dropped it, and attacked Arden myself; for I have promised you to never close my eyes again, which he finds so offensive, until he has ended his life. I woke up several times tonight with an irresistible lust to at last take his life myself, when all others so awkwardly and constantly have failed. Shakebag Why didn’t you do it then? Then we would have got rid of the trouble. Will But lost our reward, you nitwit. Mosbie If you had done it in the middle of the night we would all have been lost, for you would in no way have been able to get away with it. Alice That’s why I didn’t do it. But how long will he then still go on living? Mosbie Not longer than this day. Black Will and Shakebag, are you prepared to execute my new plan? Shakebag Always ready! Will If not, you can call me a villain. Greene If they fail you I will do it myself. Mosbie You, Greene, will look up Arden and keep him busy so that he will not get home until in the evening. Then I will make him company, and you two then join me and follow. Alice And how will he then be murdered? Mosbie Shakebag and Will hide in the adjoining room, and on a given signal they rush forth and execute the deed efficiently. Will And what will the signal be? Mosbie ”Ha-ha, I’ve got you!” But don’t come out too early. Then everything will be ruined again. I must be able to prepare him first. Greene Five determined killers against a poor defenceless innocent should this time be odds enough even for idiots. Alice He is not innocent! Will We won’t crush the party by breaking in too soon, but who will let us in? Alice I will do it, and you shall have a key of your own. Mosbie Come along, Greene, and let’s go together. Look to it that everything is ready when we come. Alice You can count on it. Just look to it that the rogue comes home, (Mosbie and Greene leave), and if he walks out again it will be my fault. Come now, Black Will, you dashing murderer and irresistibly charming professional of a criminal, next to Mosbie you appeal to me the most. I will not entertain you with pretty words and promises but please you with something more concrete. What about this? (presents a clinging pouch of coins) Will you do it? Shakebag Do we have any choice?

Will My lady, our ways of thinking are the same. We think best together and can better understand each other than brother and sister. You should have become a professional killer like us. Now listen to my plan. Put Mosbie as a guest in a fine armchair and give your husband an ordinary simple chair. I will then steal on him from behind and pull him down with a towel on the floor, where I will prick him to death until his blood will gush like a fountain from a thousand red wells. Then we carry the body to the monastery church and drop it there. People will then think he was robbed and murdered. Alice You are a genius! Nothing could be easier to accomplish! It’s splendid! Here are twenty pounds, and when he at last is dead I will give you forty extra for the trouble. To then make it easier for you to disappear, I will let Michael saddle two extra horses for you. Then you can ride directly to Scotland and Wales, and none of us have ever seen you around here. Will We are like cut and shorn for each other. On such conditions I could murder a thousand men directly. But we had better have the key at once. Where shall we hide? Alice In there in the office. But you must swear to do it and not fail. You mustn’t bungle your mission once too much. Will What are you thinking of us, madam? Do you think we are amateurs and professional bunglers? Bradshaw Don’t wound their professional pride. They will do it. That’s for sure this time. Alice But if anything should fail, Mosbie will be here, and one eye from him would be enough for me to harden my whole being like steel for the final so long and earnestly longed for execution of my husband with my own hands! Will No, madam, that hard work is too rough for the fine delicacy of a lady’s hands. Leave the butchery to us who are used to it. Now we will enter the office to make ready and stay hidden there until the moment comes of the final truth. When the door opens next time Arden will die with interest. Shakebag We have extra instruments, madam, if anything should miss. Will Your crow-bar and your saw and your meat-axe will not be needed this time, Shakebag. Everything is already served. Our contribution will just be a minimum of exercise, like when you set a good example. Come, Shakebag! All we have to do is to stay quiet and keep still until the signal comes. Shakebag I just hope we don’t get bored and fall asleep. Will No risk, madam. We shall stay alert. Shakebag What was the signal again? Will Leave it to me, you slow and imbecile buffoon. I can’t misunderstand a signal to murder, and I will see to it that you won’t be able to miss the opportunity again, oversleep or mess it all up. I will take care of him, madam, and take the responsibility that he behaves! (goes out into the office with Shakebag) Alice If only Arden were here and the door could be opened now! This closed door will be the exit of my liberation and entrance to a new better life! Instead of my husband’s slimy and unbearably stinking and sloppy embraces I shall enjoy Mosbie’s

finer arts, a man who always succeeds and who comes home to make me feel alive. What is my fat and incompetent husband to my lover? A beast to an azure prince, and I know that for sure, that there will not be a man in the world to regret his departure. On the contrary. They will all give a sigh of relief. Michael (enters) Master is soon here now, madam. Alice Is he coming alone or with someone? Michael He is coming with Mosbie. Alice That’s good, Michael. Bring out the chequers, and then stand in front of the office door. Michael Why? Alice Because the moment of truth will stand by the door. Shakebag and Black Will are in there, and the occasion is finally coming. Michael For serious? Alice Do you think I am joking? Michael Tonight? Alice Yes, this very night. Michael But shouldn’t Susan know about it? Alice Of course, and she will be as quiet about it as everybody else. Michael Then I’ll fetch the chequers. Alice Wait a moment! Listen to all my instructions. When Arden has arrived you will close the gate outside. He must die, and everything must be ready prepared before our guests arrive. Michael Yes, madam. (leaves. Arden and Mosbie are heard outside.) Arden (outside) Come in, dear Mosbie! Make yourself at home! I want everything to be just like it used to be before there was any division between us. Mosbie (outside) Your goodness seems to have no limits. Alice They are coming! Alice, be very present now and prepared to improvise! Truth works best if you just are in it yourself and creating it. (enter Arden and Mosbie) But what is this, my dear husband? Of course I wished you reconciled, but it was mostly for your sake and not for his. You must know that he associates openly with such rough villains as the hairy Shakebag and Black Will, bandits of the very worst kind! Therefore I wanted to see you as friends, but why exaggerate and invite him home to us? Now his mere appearance has ruined my evening. Mosbie Dear Arden, I had better leave again. Arden No, my dear friend, you must know that women will quarrel! That’s their chief occupation in life, and intellectually they are no good for anything else. Wife, be reasonable now and welcome him as the dear friend he always was to both of us! Alice You can force me, but I would rather die than welcome him. He has caused us so much trouble and mischief, that I would fain avoid his company. Mosbie (aside) How marvellously she feigns! Arden But now he is here, so please behave yourself!

Alice Don’t be angry with me, my dearest husband! Sit down, Mr Mosbie, make yourself at home, and we wish you welcome indeed! Arden That’s the spirit! When she feels like it she is all amiability. Mosbie I know how welcome I am in Arden’s heart, but you, my lady, speak not of your heart. Alice If I don’t I have my reasons. Mosbie Pardon me, dear Arden, but in that case I had better leave. (wants to rise) Arden No, dear Mosbie, never mind that hussy! She is just capricious. Please remain seated! Now we shall have a pleasant evening, if only she would let us. Alice We have guests enough anyway, Mr Mosbie, even if you leave. Mosbie Now I pray you, Arden, let me go! Arden Just let her haggle. It will pass. It means nothing. She is like the weather: a sudden shower now and then, and suddenly sunshine in between. Alice Still the gate isn’t closed out there. You may go. No one will stop you. Michael No. It’s a lie, because I closed it. Arden Bring in some wine! We must now be friends all three of us! I have a sacred mission here today, which is to reconciliate you. Mosbie will not leave this house today until my wife speaks kindly to him and means what she says. And you will do that now, you obstinate shrew! Please be cooperative now for one time’s sake! Alice I always mean what I say. Arden That’s what I mean, that you should say what you mean and speak to him with candour and friendship, like you always speak to me in the night! Alice Mind your own business. Leave me alone. Arden You bitch! Am I not obliged to make up for all that he suffered for your sake? Wasn’t he wounded because of you? Will you not have the slightest bad conscience for his sake, for having ruined his life? Do I have to do everything alone that you should have done and make up for your crimes? Alice (pours herself a glass) I am sorry then, Mr Mosbie, for all the harm I did to you and will do in the future also to others, but I must tell you the truth: it was unintentional. Here I drink to your health, Mr Mosbie, but let us from now on be like strangers and only have a casual friendship. They talked ill of me for your sake, and I did not deserve that. So I beg of you to never come back here again from now on. (drinks to him) Mosbie I am visiting your husband, not you. I swear though here and now and to your husband, that this is the last time you will see me in your house. I will keep that promise, even if I will have to walk on my knees to Rome to confirm it. Arden I don’t like sworn oaths. It’s exaggerated and unnecessary, and you always regret them afterwards and break them more easily and fain than solemn simple promises. Alice Let Mosbie swear as he thinks fit. On this condition, Mosbie, I beg of you to confirm your sworn oath by also drinking to the health of me. Mosbie Gladly, as willingly as I want to live. Arden Alice, how about the dinner?

Alice It’s soon ready. Play your game in the meantime. Arden Excellent idea. What shall we play about, Mosbie? Mosbie A French crown. Three deals. Arden That sounds perfect. Let’s go. A fair deal for an honest game. (They play.) Will (opens the door slightly, whispering to Michael) He should strike now. It’s the right moment. Shakebag Don’t wreck our murder now again, you blundering scumbag! Will Quiet! Michael Be patient. Mr Mosbie knows what he is doing, I am sure. Alice Now they are completely lost in their game. Could he have forgotten what he was supposed to do? This constant waiting is more unbearable than any constantly extenuated process. Alas, dear Will, when will you save me? Will (to Michael) I fear that he will notice us as we enter. Michael Sneak cautiously between my legs, and he won’t notice anything. Shakebag Just don’t mess it all up again, Will. Will That accounts for you as well. Look to it that you don’t stumble on the carpet. Mosbie One, or I have lost the game. Arden No, it isn’t that bad. You could make it with a two as well. Fill up your glass, my friend, just to clear your thoughts. (refills his glass) Mosbie Thanks, my friend. I wish I could think faster and reach the goal with less effort, but wine will undoubtedly make it easier. (moves a pawn) Ha-ha, my friend, I’ve got you! (Will and Shakebag immediately storm out. Will drags Arden down from his chair with a great towel around the chair.) Arden Help! What’s happening? What is this? Mosbie! Alice! What are you doing? Where are you, Michael? Will Sir, we just wanted to make the end of the game better. Mosbie (brings out a hidden weapon and pierces him) There you are for always insulting me as a tailor! Shakebag (piercing him) Here’s for ten pounds in my pocket! Alice (has come forth) He is still groaning. Can’t you finish a proper job? Give me the weapon! (takes it from Mosbie) Here’s for a lifetime of marital torture, you worthless dungload, and that you wouldn’t give me to Mosbie! (strikes and pierces him several times) Michael This is too heavy! Will He betrays us! Mosbie Calm down! I’ll make sure that the groom keeps quiet. Michael Calm down! Do you think I could brag and senselessly betray both you and me? I am part of the crime! Shakebag I’ll go off to Southwark. There I know a widow who could hide me. If she won’t have me, I’ll just plunder her to her last linen! Will You will have to do the rest yourselves. We have done our job and are gone.

Alice Take away the body first. Put it in the office. (Will and Shakebag carry out the body.) Will We already had our pay and are satisfied. I hope this business deal now has been to the satisfaction of all parties. (looks at the body) Only one can not complain. We thank you. Good bye. (disappears immediately with Shakebag) Mosbie So it’s done. Now life begins. Susan (enters) The guests are at the gate. Shall I let them in? Alice Mosbie, go and receive them. (Mosbie leaves) Susan, you must now wash the floor. Susan But there are stains of blood! They can never be washed away! Alice Must I force you, strumpet? Susan Even if you yourself scratch with your nails for weeks and months you will see that the blood simply refuses to vanish. Alice Try anyway! Susan I can try, but it will not work. Alice I know. They say, that bloodstains will ever remain if the victim’s murderer didn’t blush at the crime. If there is anything I did in life which didn’t make me blush, it was this. Mosbie (enters) What are you standing idling and gaping for? What’s wrong? Alice Nothing, except that my husband has been murdererd. Look at these tale-telling stains. They will never disappear. Mosbie Cover them with some straw then. Or do something else. Lay the carpet on. (to Susan) Don’t just stand there! Do something! Alice It was you who cruelly seduced me to commit this heinous crime. Mosbie Don’t try that sort of thing. With the same right I could claim that it was you who led me to this. Alice It just mustn’t be discovered! Mosbie It will not be discovered, if you just keep quiet. Alice And how could I keep quiet, when I killed my own husband? He will haunt me now forever! Mosbie You should have thought of that earlier. It’s a bit late now, for I am now your husband. Forget him. He is wasted and is no more. Stand up to it, and don’t make a fool of yourself. Be prepared to receive your guests. Be calm and sensible, remember our plan, and just act naturally. (enter Adam Fowl and Bradshaw) Bradshaw What now, my lady? What tears? Mosbie She cries for worry for her too much lingering husband, who now has been late too long. Yesterday he was threatened by a couple of bandits, and now she thinks something might have happened. Bradshaw Just calm yourself. He will probably be here soon. Greene (enters) God’s peace in here! What’s up? Are you expecting guests? Alice Alas, my dear Greene, have you not seen my husband? Greene Yes, I just saw him by the monastery wall. (enter Franklin)

Alice There you are, Franklin! We have all been so desperately worried. Why is my husband so late? Tell me, when did you leave him? Franklin I haven’t seen him since this morning. He will probably turn up any moment. Your guests can sit and wait in the meantime. Alice Yes, they can. Please, Bradshaw, take a seat here. And you, Mosbie, can sit in Arden’s chair over there. I just hope he will come. Michael Susan, shall we attend on them? If you want to we could sit down and wait as well. Susan I have other things to do. Alas, Michael, what will we do if we are discovered? Michael Just keep up appearances. That’s the only important thing. If we celebrate our wedding tomorrow it doesn’t matter if I will be hanged in the evening. And if matters come to the worst, we could each buy a can of rat poison. Susan What do you mean, Michael? Taking poison after our wedding? Michael No, my lady seems unreliable. If it comes to the worst we’ll have to do without her. Susan No, she will never squeal. She is a woman. You don’t know us or her. You have nothing to be afraid of. Mosbie Hey, Michael! Have some beer! We are about to drink a toast to Arden, our old benefactor and the best friend we ever had, wasn’t he, Mrs Arden? Alice My husband? Are we to drink to him? Franklin What is the matter, Alice? Why are you crying? Alice Alas, my friends and dearest neighbours, I am so afraid that something might have happened. He should have been here some time ago, and he has sent no message, which he usually does when he gets detained. Now I feel that something definitely has gone wrong. Mosbie She will contaminate us all with her nervous touches of fever. Greene Just calm down, Mrs Arden. He is whole and sound. Alice I know it isn’t like that at all! I pray you, Mr Frankin, go out and try to find out if anything has happened. Go and look for him. Perhaps you will meet him. Mosbie I will come with you. Greene Me too. (Franklin leaves with Mosbie and Greene.) Alice (to Michael) How will I now get rid of the others? Michael Just leave it to me. – Mr Bradshaw, it’s already late, and there are many dangerous rogues moving around here in the dark. Bradshaw Yes, I heard myself recently that the notorious criminals Shakebag and Black Will have been seen here. Michael And we have a number of dark risky alleys to pass. Bradshaw You are absolutely right. We had better leave before the dark gets thicker. Just lend us a torch to light our way. Alice Follow them to the gate, but then don’t tarry. You know, that I am not glad to be left here alone at this hour. (Michael leaves with Bradshaw and Adam.) Susan, you can go and fetch your brother. No, wait! What would you do that for? This place is full of dangers. No, stay with me instead, help me and advise me.

Susan How could I advise you? I am myself mad with fear! Alice Let’s see if our murdered husband is still there or if he has wandered away somewhere. (opens the door to the office and looks at Arden) Susan He is still there. Alice He is your former master, Susan. Look what has become of him and all his glory! Only bloody and smeary and stiff in a lifeless, abominable and terrifying lump of meat! Susan We shall all regret this. Alice Help me pull him out of there. We will clean him up and put him in order for his last respectable appearance in public as a corpse in a coffin in church. (enter Mosbie and Greene) Mosbie What now, Alice? What will you do with the body? Alice At last, darling, here you are! Now I don’t need to cry any more! There is nothing amiss, as long as you are here! Greene We are all in mortal danger as long as the corpse is still in the house. We must remove it with the greatest caution. Mosbie Yes. Franklin thinks we have killed him. Alice But that’s what we have done! Mosbie Yes, but we must not seem to know about it. Anything but the truth! Alice Yes, you are right, and dear Mr Franklin can’t allege anything without evidence. Let’s party all night and forget all worries and nightmares and only abandon ourselves to the happiness of the moment! Greene My lady, there is no time for wantonness now. The body must immediately be got out from here. Michael (enters, upset) Oh my lady, now we are done for! The guard with the mayor himself are on their way here with soldiers carrying swords, hallberds and other sharp weapons! Alice Bar the gate! No one must enter! Mosbie How shall I get away? Alice Yes, that’s right, think only of yourself. Go to the back door across the backyard, and then stay for the night at the Golden Lily. Mosbie That would be giving myself away directly. Greene Dear lady, if I am discovered here I will be taken as a grave suspect. You must now help me out. Alice Go with Mosbie, and take the corpse with you. Then dump it at some muddy old forgotten field. Mosbie Yes, your advice is probably the best. Goodbye, my dearest love, until we meet under safer circumstances. But whatever you do, keep your mouth shut and don’t admit to anything, not even under pressure and torture! Greene Yes, be stalwart, madam, and everything will come out well. Think of the fact, that you have only been useful, since the world has been liberated from yet another unhanged villain and by all rights! Alice But he was my husband! (Mosbie and Greene carry off the body and disappear.)

May the law enter and do what is best. My house is now clean. Susan But I recall it was snowing when we came here. They could trace our footsteps in the snow. Alice But it will snow some more, and they will be covered. Susan But it stopped snowing before we were ready. (beatings on the gate outside) Alice Michael, let the vulgar mob in with all their ignorance and stupidity! My house has nothing to offer them any more. (enter mayor and guard) Lord mayor! And the guard! Any news about my husband? Mayor He was seen an hour ago as he left for home. Alice It couldn’t have been my husband. It must have been some Londoner. Mayor Mrs Arden, I am afraid I must ask you a few inconvenient questions. Are you familiar with a person who is widely known as Black Will? Alice No. Who is it? I have no connections with the underworld. Mayor He has been seen in the vicinity, and I have orders to arrest that villain. Alice Well, do it then. It’s safest to keep such people behind bars, so that they don’t walk aroung killing people off here and there. Do you think we are harbouring notorious bandits? Mayor He appears to have been visiting this house. I am sorry, but we must search the house. Alice Then search it by all means, every room and every wardrobe and cupboard. But if Arden was here you would never have dared to importune like this for nothing. (enter Franklin looking sinister) But here is Franklin! What news? Why so sinister? Franklin My friend and your husband has been found murdered. Alice My God! What calamity! Do you know by whom? Franklin No one knows, but he is lying badly molested and dead behind the monastery garden. I have never seen a corpse so badly desecrated. Alice But that is absolutely horrible! Mayor Is it then certain that it’s him? Franklin Alas, if only it was a mistake! But it’s unfortunately all too certain. It’s him all right, and it can’t be anyone else. Alice But where are the murderers? Search them and find them! Franklin We will. But you must come with us. Alice Why? Franklin Have you seen this towel and knife before? Susan (to Michael) Oh Michael, now you have betrayed us by your carelessness! Michael Dear me! And Ì thought I had thrown them into the well! I must have been absent-minded! Alice It’s blood from a pig that we slaughtered. You must know, that even slaughtered pigs make a bloody mess. Don’t stand here any more loitering, but start looking for the murderers!

Mayor With respect, Mrs Arden, but unfortunately we have reasons to fear that you yourself might be one of them. Alice Me? What is this? Some base conspiracy? Would I butcher my own husband? This is unlike you, Mr Franklin. Your imaginative suspicion is running away with you. Franklin There are traces of blood in the snow from your house to the monastery garden, which all too obviously show that your husband was dragged in his own blood from here. And we will surely find more traces of blood here in this house. What is concealed under the carpet, for example? Straws in his shoes indicate that he was murdered here in his own home and in this very room. Mayor Here is the chair he used to sit in, and there is blood in it. The blood could only be his. Alice It’s wine, spilled by the careless Michael. Everybody knows, that stains of red wine are almost impossible to wash away. Michael It’s true. I am too clumsy. Franklin I know you, Alice, you venal hypocrite and adultress of double standards! It’s his own blood that you have shed with the asistance of professional criminals, and you shall regret it with all those who participated in the heinous godless deed! Don’t you think that I long ago realized what conspiracy was being planned here against my friend Arden’s unprotected life? Alice You always devoted yourself to believing the worst of me. You are partial and have always been, as you tried to alienate my husband from me without reason. But I call God’s heaven to witness that I always loved Arden more than anyone else. Bring me to him then, so that I may see him a last time, if he really has been murdered. Franklin Bring that villain of a groom along also, and the maid, a sister of Mosbie’s. And one of you must go straight to the Golden Lily, where I think Mosbie has taken in, if he still is there. He is probably the brain in the entire plot. Mayor The house is perfectly clean, but what does it help when there are blood stains? Nothing is so difficult to clean up as the misdeeds people so fervently engage themselves in. Not all history accounts in the world can efface the traces of blood that man has left for eternity like marks and sores in nature. This house can never get clean again. Come, let’s get out of here.

Scene 2. London, Southwark. Shakebag (messed up) When her husband lived, the widow Chambley was good to me and glad to take me in, but when her husband died she became another person, a haughty and fastidious harridan, who often betrayed friends. I hoped to stay with her in her bed like in olden times, when her husband always was gone for business, but she turned me out. Then it went too far, I went up to her and gave such a kick of precision in the bull’s eye of her arse, that she tumbled down the stairs and broke

both her leg, her spine and her neck. I then cut the throat of her waiter and will now dispose of both corpses into the Thames. Here I now have all her money. I don’t care if it will be discovered. I will get asylum on the other side. (exit)

Scene 3. Mayor Mrs Arden, here is now your husband’s body. You might as well confess at once so that you then can dedicate yourself to repentence and atonement. Alice Alas, my husband, what a poor state we all now are brought down to by our weakness for the conceited egoism of passion and its blindness! As I now behold you I start bleeding inside from repentance, and the tears seek to explode in hysteria in all my being! I can’t understand why I did it. Yes, Arden, you were right, and I regret it now, as you usually regret something the more bitterly the more it is too late. I would fain now buy your life at the price of my own, but it’s not possible. I thought I could win my life by shortening yours, but I now realize my mistake: we were one flesh, so in the bargain we both lost our lives, and no one gained anything. In all conflicts all parts will only be losers, and they can never see that in the fatal blindness of the conflict until they wake up from the nightmare of division. Take me away. I accept my crime and will confess every detail. The only hope for me, Arden, is to be able to love you in heaven more than I could in life. (She is taken away.) Mayor Well, Mosbie, why did you lower yourself to this heinous murder? Franklin Don’t try to wringle any more. We found his belt and purse by your own bed. It’s no use denying it. Mosbie I employed two aids, Shakebag and Black Will, to commit the practical part. I have nothing more to say. Take me away. The sooner we get it all over with, the better. Franklin We shall also get the two professional murderers. They are now summoned to the court of London and will not get away. Mayor Enough of this dirty and bottomless misery. Alas, when will people ever learn? Here seven murderers faltered in blindness for the folly of passion, one tailor seducing his neighbour Arden’s wife, she beguiled to shameless intrigues, in which her servant was promised Mr Mosbie’s sister if he assisted, so that both these were involved in the spider’s web of crime and got stuck, like Mr Bradshaw, because he gave the wife a criminal letter from Greene, who engaged two villains to commit the worst part of the crime. Seven people sacrificed for nothing, for the death of Mr Arden! And Arden himself was found as a corpse in exactly that piece of land which he ages ago bereft the poor farmer Reede, who went off to sea as a ruined man and never came back. Was it all then a kind of avalanche of tragedy originated by Mr Arden’s wicked ruthlessness against poor Reede? Yes, you might well ask, but you’ll never get any satisfactory or even reasonable answer. Only Shakebag and Black Will have absconded the law, but the miserable Shakebag was murdered in Southwark on his way to Greenwhich. Black Will went

abroad but was in Holland burnt as a criminal at the stake. They got away from the justice of the law but not of God. The other six were executed by English right of law, Mrs Alice Arden burnt in Canterbury, Mosbie and his sister brought to London where they faced their death sentence by Smithfield, Michael the groom and Mr Bradshaw executed in Feversham, and Greene finally hanged in Ospringe – eight dead for the slaughter of a ninth. Alas, when will humanity find detachment from their constantly more bizarre and seriously derailing hysterical madness of vanity? Virhamn, Finland, 18-23 June 2001, translated in November 2018.

Comment on ’Arden of Feversham’. This fantastic play is outstanding in early Elizabethan drama by its consistent and extremely vivid realism. Almost the only plays coming in the vicinity of its juicy and palpable realism are ”A Yorkshire Tragedy” and ”Merry Wives of Windsor”. The remarkable description of actual localities like the Rainham Down, the White Mare inn in London and the Golden Lily in Feversham, the key places of Reede’s field and the monastery garden of Feversham, and the characterization of the ferry in Act IV scene 2 plus the striking character descriptions of secondary persons like Dick Greene and John Reede, both victims to Arden, the tailor and his sister, the simplicity of Michael the groom and even the short episode with lord Cheiny gives the drama a genuine stamp of reality which indicates that the playwright must have experienced it all himself or at least had very live descriptions of the matter. The crime was sensational in its day in Canterbury, it was the dominating scandal of Kent at that time, and the play betrays a very convincing review of the whole thing to an almost credible exactness. Most remarkable of all though are the characterizations of the main characters, Alice Arden and the murderer Black Will. Alice’s personality is rendered with an almost lyrical empathy, she represents the highest literary qualities of the drama and its most carefully carved psychological portrait. You feel with her all the way and understand her no matter how extremely she keeps alternating between shameless criminality, sensitive hesitation and true feminine sentimentality and capriciousness. Her manouevres are so perfectly womanish, that it’s difficult to imagine her part being played by a male actor. Black Will is the contrary: a clearcut villain of such dimensions, that he finds his honour in his villainy. But worst of all is that he is intelligent and subtle, he is funny almost all the way, and you understand his original personality from the background that he was educated to a professional murderer by real activity in the war. The honour he gained in the war he maintains as a professional murderer, as if there was no difference between killing people in war or in peace. They are irresistible as a couple.

Who is then the author of this uniquely social-realistic play about happenings in Canterbury 1550? My opinion is that it could only be Christopher Marlowe, born and bred in Canterbury, where the matter must have been continuously discussed by his parents and their generation during his adolescence, since they experienced the event during their prime, and where Alice Arden herself was burnt. Richard Greene was hanged in Ospringe which was the home place of Marlowe’s father only 10 miles from Canterbury and which today is a suburb of Feversham, where the groom Michael and Bradshaw were publicly executed. The play bears evidence of having been all but personally experienced, and the closest you can get to that is childhood impressions of authentic recounts. All this would fit Marlowe but no other contemporary English dramatist. The play also invites to other speculations. Its leading figure ’Arden’ carries the same family name as William Shakepeare’s mother. It’s almost out of the question, though, that Shakepeare could have written the play, since he had no connections at all with Kent. There is the theory, though, that Marlowe could have been forced underground by the persecution of free-thinkers by certain governmental authorities, and could have continued his dramatic activities as a ghost writer under the cover of Shakespeare. Marlowe’s personality, as we have come to know it by other plays under his name, fit almost uncannily into Black Will’s personality. It’s almost probable that Marlowe could have acted this figure on stage. This personality is so suggestive that it must have created a deep impression on the audience, and Marlowe himself, as its impersonator in writing and perhaps also on stage, must have identified himself with him to some degree. Since he after the crisis in May 1593 no longer could appear under his own name and could have continued writing plays under Shakespeare’s, he also could have identified himself with the name ’Will’ for example in the Sonnets. That would explain the sonnets 134-136 and their hints and word play with the name ’Will’. This is just conjecture which however leads to also other realistic possibilities that can’t just be shut out. That the play is Shakespearean is undeniable. The sincere lyricism, the fantastic language, the juicy humour, the astute characterizations – everything indicates an early Shakespeare, who probably was Marlowe.

Gothenburg February 9th, 2004, translated November 7th 2018.

The Jew of Malta after Christopher Marlowe revised and slightly modernised by Christian Lanciai (2001, translated 2018) Dramatis personae: Farnese, guvernor of Malta Lodovico, his son Suleiman, Turkish ambassador Barabas, a rich Jew Abigail, his daughter Aaron, Amos and Abraham, Barabas three Jewish friends Fra Giacomo Fra Bernardino An abbess Mathias, Abigailâ€™s lover Katherine, his mother Vice Admiral Martin del Bosco Ithamar, turkish slave Bellamira, beautiful prostitute Piglia-Borza, a thief A Maltese knight Turks knights in Farneseâ€™s council Turkish and Maltese attendants The action is Malta 1564-65.

The Jew of Malta Act I scene 1. Farnese Gentlemen, we have a problem 1st knight Let’s hear it. Farnese The Turk. 2nd knight It’s always the Turk. Farnese For many years we have honestly been paying tribute to the Turks according to the treaty, and he has honoured our reliability and punctuality by constantly raising the amount. Much will have more, and the Turk wants everything. We can no longer afford to bend to the Turk. 1st knight What is the alternative? Farnese That the Turks take Malta, like they drove us out from Rhodes. 2 A dreary situation. 3 We must collect money. Farnese The amount now demanded by the Turks is more than any Christian holds on Malta. I seem to remember that there was a certain Jew who betrayed Rhodes to the Sultan. Have we no Jews on Malta? 2 Yes, and they are rich. 3 The richest one, a certain Barabas, holds more than the entire rest of the island. 1 Can’t we ask the Jews to help us? Farnese They will never give anything willingly. 3 Then we will have to make them. Necessity has no law, and the Jews are outlawed anyway. Farnese Can I count on your support, gentlemen, in this delicate matter? All knights (exchanging glances and nodding) Yes. Farnese Then we have some backbone. Paolo, show the Turkish delegation in. (1st knight opens to let in a group of impressive Turks) Suleiman Most honourable lord and governor of Malta, we profess our sincerest regard. (bows with veneration, and rich gifts are carried forth) Farnese For generous and sumptuous presents, we thank you. What can we do for you? Suleiman I think you might very well know, most honourable effendi. You have not paid last year’s tribute, which with interest now exceeds and doubles all your previous debts. Farnese We have problems with our economy, and we beg you to forbear with our concerns. Our good will is not lacking, but what we do lack is means. Suleiman The Sultan’s patience is drawing to a close in reaching the highest level of pain. Farnese We must ask for a respite. Suleiman How long? Farnese A month.

Suleriman We must warn you, most venerable and honoured knights. If the tribute isn’t provided, the Sultan will invade Malta by force. Farnese We do take your warning most seriously and ask only for a month’s respite. Suleiman A month is short. Farnese The more benevolently it should be granted us. Suleiman The Sultan’s patience is infinite but sinister. You will have your month but not a day longer. Farnese We are deeply thankful for the Sultan’s patient grace. (The Turks bow their way out.) 1 The Sultan is serious. He longs for a reason to crush us. Farnese We can manage. We got a month. The fate of Malta depends on the Jews. 4 The most unreliable people in the world. 3 But they have money and are reliable in business. 2 Do you think they will help us? Farnese They must. And they are not unreasonable. 1 Good luck governor Farnese. You have our full support. Farnese Thank you.

Scene 2. At home with Barabas Barabas Welcome, brothers. What can I do for you? Aaron Barabas, we have a problem. Barabas We always have but they can always be solved. How can I solve yours? Amos It’s about the Turk. Barabas The Turk is our friend. How could he cause a problem? Abraham By well informed sources we have heard that the Sultan intends to invade Malta. Barabas And how coud it affect us? How does it concern us? Aaron We don’t know what position to take. Shall we help the Christians against the Turk or the Turk against the Christians? Barabas Dear Aaron, have you forgotten the golden rule? When it comes to Muslims and Christians there is only one valid rule: wage on the winner whoever he is. Amos We think the Christians will make a hard resistance, and it is not at all certain that the Turk will prevail. Barabas You mean, Amos, that it is impossible to guess who the winner will be. Abraham Malta is very well fortified, but the Turkish fleet is overwhelming. The risk is that we Jews will be stuck in between. Barabas Ah, now I see! Why then not increase the weights in one scale to make it weigh down the other? All three Which one? Barabas The Turk, of course! The Turks always treated us well. When Ferdinand and Isabel exiled and exterminated all Jews from Spain, the Sultan opened the gates

of Constantinople to us, welcomed us and gave us civil rights. As a consequence we helped the Sultan economically to become a super power. What did the Christians ever provide us with except meaningless persecutions? Aaron Barabas is right! I knew it! Amos But the Christians could demand our economical support against the Turk. Barabas Let’s cross that bridge when we reach it. Abraham Barabas, you are an example to all Jews across the entire Mediterranean. Out of nothing you have created a fantastic fleet of commerce shipping cargo over the entire Levant from Alexandria to Venice and from Malta to Constantinople. You alone are worth more than all Malta. So I sincerely hope your advice really is the right one. Barabas Let each one be his own counsellor, dear brother Abraham. I can only give you suggestions to good advice. How you use it is entirely your own business. Aaron We are satisfied, Barabas. Come, brothers, let’s go. Amos Thank you, Barabas. Barabas You are welcome, and most welcome back. Abraham When the hour of need is come, we will meet again. Barabas Farewell, good Abraham. You can always trust me. We always stuck together, didn’t we? (The three Jews leave.) Abigail What did the three Jews want, father? Barabas They are worried about the Sultan’s invasion plans. But it’s nothing to worry about. I calmed them down considerably. Abigail What happens if there is a war and the Turks come here? Barabas Are you worried as well, dear Abigail? Abigail No woman ever wants war. Barabas Dearest daughter, all we need to worry about is invidious attacks by the Christians. Everything else is just a game of fleas in the dust. Abigail What can the Christians do to us? Barabas Anything. We never know in advance. Abigail Thanks for being here, father. You are security itself. Barabas (embracing her) At least for the time being. Abigail As long as you live, father, and as long as I live. Barabas If the Christians start troubling us, I will set the Turks on them. Abigail Do you have such power? Barabas It’s growing every day, Abigail, and it will be all yours one day. All I have is a loan from you and your future. Abigail You administer it well. Barabas To use life to good ends and to leave it in a better state than you found it, is the primary duty of every Jew. Abigail And a Jewess’? Barabas The continuity of the Jewish people. Abigail Then I will need a husband. Barabas The whole world is full of them. That will be the simplest thing of all.

Abigail Barabas Abigail Barabas

But I can only have the right one. No one will be good enough for you except the best one. He doesn’t need to be perfect, as long as he is right. You will get whatever you want, my love.

Scene 3. Farnese Gentlemen, I have asked four of the leading Jews of the city here today to persuade them to help us. Therefore I have asked you to attend, in case there would be a problem. 1st knight We trust you, Farnese. 3 You will manage them all right. 2 Just don’t provoke them, for then it will grow difficult. Farnese I know how to take them on. It will be a pure business deal – nothing else. 4 We will back you up a hundred percent. Farnese Thank you. Then we are all set. Let in the Jews, Paolo. (The four Jews are showed in by the 1st knight. They are very humble except Barabas, who is more self-confident.) Farnese Gentlemen, we asked you here to help us out of a difficult crisis. Abraham Have the Turks declared war? Farnese No, it’s not that bad, but that’s all we want. It’s naturally to the interest of all of us and to the world that there will be no Turkish invasion. Barabas How can it be avoided? Farnese In the ordinary way. We pay tribute. Amos Then the matter is settled. You don’t need us. Farnese Unfortunately we do. That’s why we invited you here. Our resources are exhausted. The treasures of Malta are spent. You are the only ones on Malta who can help us. Aaron How much? Farnese Fifty thousand crowns. Barabas Impossible. Abraham Your grace, none among us own that much. Farnese You own it together and more. Barabas With all respect, governor, but it’s absurd. You have no legal right to demand half our fortune to bribe the Sultan. Farnese We must. Necessity has no law, and you stand outside the law. Amos You mean to expropriate our resources by arbitrary confiscation? Farnese You have no choice. You have to sacrifice half of what you own. Aaron And if we refuse? Farnese Then we’ll have to do like they do in Spain. You must convert to Christianity or die. That’s the only way for you to get away with it. Abraham Then our fortunes will be taxed instead.

Farnese Of course. It’s your choice. Amos (to the others) If we become Christians and liable to taxation we shall never be free again. Farnese You had better cooperate. It’s a one time occurrence. Aaron (to the others) Hadn’t we better accept? Do we have any choice? Abraham We accept. Barabas Speak for yourselves. I will not accept. Farnese So you three accept, and you, Barabas, will not accept? Abraham Barabas, you are taking a great risk. Barabas I am used to high stakes and gambles. Amos We three accept. Farnese That’s wise of you. Barabas, you are the richest man on the island, and half of your fortune would have been enough for the tribute. But you have chosen not to cooperate. Therefore we must confiscate all your property. Barabas Wait! You shall have half! Farnese Too late, Barabas. You have lost the game. My lords, you have my authority to implement the collection of half the property of these three gentlemen and the entire property of the fourth. The state is in danger. See to it. (The knights rise and leave.) Barabas Do you call this justice? Is robbery the basis of your Christianity? Farnese No, Barabas. View it as a game that you lost. You knew you were taking a risk. You can’t accuse us for the state being in danger. And it is better for one man to be ruined than for the whole people to perish. Wasn’t those the words of your own high priest? And you still have your freedom. You can start from another beginning. Barabas How could I start from a new beginning at my age? This is not fair play. Nothing can be multiplied by nothing. Farnese You rose from nothing. If you now want to please yourself with nothing, suit yourself. Everything is up to you. It is not my fault that you belong to a people that preferred to remain beyond the law. Barabas Don’t confuse religion with ordinary human justice. You have no right to in the name of religion consider yourselves superior to us. Certain Jews are certainly as mean as all Christians, but to condemn my whole tribe for the sake of a Christian prejudice is indefensible. Am I to be punished for the sins of my forefathers? Is that fair? What misdeeds did I do to be punished thus? Can you blame or burden me with any single fault? Farnese It’s the course of the law. Away with you, damned Barabas! Don’t you think we know your kind? If you really are totally honest, you have something to fall back on, and could you earn your daily bread in an honourable way. But you became rich only by greed, and nothing is more liable to provoke general loathing. Barabas But theft is worse and criminal, and such a crime can only lead to worse crimes. For it must raise the furies of revenge to an irrevocable life of nightmares, not for the robbed victim but for his perpetrators.

Farnese And now he threatens! Barabas, you are only making your own situation worse. Let his house be confiscated and turned into a holy nunnery! Thus we transform the prison of his musty greed into sacred ground for pious aspirations. Barabas Why don’t you take my life also together with everything else? Farnese Your just punishment will be to be able to go on living for your greed but without your property, Barabas, for your foolishly proud pettiness. We don’t care about your blood. We are finished with you. Come, Paolo. We have spilt enough time and patience on the putrid breath of these niggardly Jews. (leaves with Paolo, 1st knight) Aaron That was unnecessary, Barabas. Amos For once you have made a fool of yourself. Barabas Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord! Abraham Patience, Barabas. We have funds, and we will soon get you on your feet again. Barabas Patience? How can you witness such an injustice and keep quiet? I didn’t make my riches for nothing. They cost me many years’ hard work and bitterly consistent trouble. Aron We have been hit ourselves, Barabas. We can only give you our compassion. Barabas You gave in, you dogs! Joined together our resistance could have had some effect! Amos Think of Job, Barabas. He got everything back as a reward for his persistence in his good faith. Barabas Leave me alone from your sanctimonious commiseration! Go back to your own homes that you still have left, and leave me to my homelessness! A nunnery! No one could have found out a grosser insult! Abraham Come, let’s go. Whatever we say, it will only eke his pain. Amos It will pass. He will get over it by time. Aron Farewell, Barabas. Look us up whenever you feel like it. (The three Jews leave.) Barabas A foundered ship, a wreck, a smashed jar – what more am I without money? But I still have my slyness, and there is that within me that can make a whole world founder. A wise man never offends Barabas, and only fools get away with it and will face a bitter prospect; for there is no revenge more awesome than the carefully premeditated scheme which only progresses with slowness to smother its victims in a hopelessness without end against which my temporary ruin shall be but a trifle. Abigail (rushes in, desperate and in tears) Father, they told me I could find you here. What has happened? They came home, drove me out of the house and carried off all our property! What is this disaster that has befallen us? Barabas The Christians want it like that, my dear, and think they are right. I can’t give them right. They wanted to force me to become a Christian. When I refused, they expropriated all my property. That’s why we suddenly are without a home.

Abigail But how can they do such a thing? Aren’t they human? Aren’t they Christian? Barabas They have done like that all over Spain, my dear, and without justifiable reason. Here at least they had reason. They needed money. Abigail But it’s robbery! Barabas Yes, my dear, it’s robbery, but don’t worry. We’ll manage somehow. I have some hidden resources in other places. But first of all I have a sack of gold and jewels concealed under the floor in the cellar. If only we could save it! Abigail They are now making a nunnery out of our home. None of us can any more be let in. Barabas I have a plan. Abigail Tell me! Barabas All we want is our right, Abigail. We will not do any harm. We will only take care of what is ours. Become a nun, Abigail. Join the order, and they will receive you with open arms for converting from jewry. By being saved you will save us both. Abigail Don’t you think they might become suspicious? Barabas Never, if you play your part well and are fully consistent. Then when we have obtained the sack, you can repent and leave the order. Many nuns do. You are not forsworn to their religion for life, which you are if you become a Muslim. Abigail Can’t I be punished and executed if I leave? Barabas Only Muslims execute renegades. You will not even be punished. That’s the advantage of Christianity. You can become a Christian if you must, but when you don’t need to be any more, you can just leave. Abigail How weird this matter of religion is! Barabas Yes, they tangle themselves into rules that only smother the root of truth they originally came from, with the only consequence that they all lose their original purpose and meaning, which only is to further man and her imagination and constructive creativity. Abigail I will do as you say, father. I will be a nun. Barabas Good, my daughter. Thus you save your own future. Abigail All will be well again since I have such a wise father. Barabas I hope I may remain so. Abigail I am sure you will. (kisses him) Now straight to the abbess! (out) Barabas The crisis seems to be over, but there will always be new turns. Brace yourself, Barabas, keep your hand steady on the helm, for there is nothing more capricious than the way in which the winds of destiny constantly change direction. You will always be blown out in the end, and if not in other ways, at least finally out of life. (exit)

Act II scene 1. Home of Barabas Giacomo This used to be the home of the greedy Jew Barabas, that we now have taken over. Admit, dear reverend abbess, that it is better fitted out as a sacred nunnery. Abbess Of course, fra Giacomo. But I am afraid it will take some time before we have managed to exorcise his house from all his old evil thoughts of foul play for greed to some cleanness. Bernardino He was the greediest of all Jews on Malta, so considerable exertions could really be needed to cope with all remnants in the air of the evil pagan Jew’s dark perversions and infernal intrigues. Abbess We shall sprinkle holy water in buckets in every room on a daily basis, since we must consider that nuns are to live and sleep here. They mustn’t be troubled by unholy nightmares of any dangerous kind. Bernardino Who knows what tribulations of spirit could affect you in a Jewish house? Giacomo A former Jewish house. In future there shall never have been anything else here but a sacred convent. Abbess But who comes here? (enter Abigail as a nun) Abigail Most sacred gracious mother, after having sincerely regretted all the crimes of my forefathers through the centuries, I have subjected myself and been accepted by the only sanctifying church to be admitted to your holy orders. Thus I humbly request to be allowed to do altar service here in your holy convent. Abbess Is this not Abigail, the Jew Barabas’ own and only daughter? Giacomo It certainly is. This sacred conversion is a supremely great victory to the church! That’s what I always said: it is far from predestined that all Jews must forever be doomed and lost! Abigail here is indeed a brilliant example of how even a Jew could become a holy virgin! Bernardino Ferdinand and Isabel already proved the matter by converting hundreds och thousands of lost Jews by burning them at the stake if they didn’t convert willingly. Giacomo This is a wonderful moment in the history of Malta and the holy church! Welcome to the community of the holy ones, dear girl! Abigail (curtseys humbly) I thank you from the depth of my heart for your high grace, noble gentlemen and gracious abbess, and reckon it as an honour and a privilege to ast last have been baptized. Giacomo But who comes here? Bernardino The Jew himself. Barabas (playacting) What is it I see? My own daughter covered in a veil of dishonour! Woe me, what is this? How could you have deserted the faith of your ancestors? (aside to her) Is the coast clear? Abigail (playacting) O father, I have converted to become a nun completely by the conviction of my heart, since I must prefer holiness to belong to a cursed race. (aside to him) O father, our way has been rolled out for us on red carpets.

Barabas (playacting) How dare you, wicked cursed child? How dare you forget your own father and his sacrifices for your welfare? How dare you reject the most honourable and oldest, the only unalterable religion? (to her) Good girl. The sack is in the cellar under the floor by the wine barrels. Abigail (playacting) My conscience urged me thereto, and it denounces both father and tradition and old lousy habits. I have excluded Satan from my life! Go thou and do likewise, if you are my father! (to him) The coast will be clear tonight. Barabas (playacting) Corrupted accursed girl! I hereby must denounce you! Avaunt, aborted witch, out of your angry father’s sight! I shall never ever forgive you! (to her) I will return after midnight behind the wall. (playacting) I never want to see you again, you monster of ingratitude and outrageous disgrace! (leaves) Abigail (playacting) Oh father, if only you could understand! Then you would turn into a holy Christian like me! (cries) (aside) We almost did it too well. Giacomo What a proud moment, my dear lady abbess, for your victory in your house! Its former owner’s own daughter becomes your primary maid and servant! Abbess How wondrous are not the ways of our Lord! Bernardino Sister, we are sincerely touched by your pathos. Imagine that such a hopeless and lost Jew could turn into such a paragon of a Christian saint! Abigail I am not a saint yet. Just you wait. Abbess Yes, my child, we have a long way ahead of us of repentance and atonement and obsequies. If we are to be convincing enough as saints, we should commit ourselves immediately to prayers and mortification. (leaves with Abigail) Giacomo It’s almost a pity for such a lovely virgin. Bernardino Now she will remain a virgin, and there is nothing we can do about it. (leaves) Giacomo Nothing? I am not so sure. For a secure virginity nothing is impossible. All she needs is a wooer of some grace to make her enter other thoughts. Mathias (enters) Wasn’t this the place of the Jew Barabas? Giacomo It was his residence. Who are you? Mathias Mathias. What happened to the Jew’s daughter? Giacomo This is a nunnery now, and she is a nun herself. Mathias No! It can’t be true! What a waste! Tell me it isn’t true! Giacomo My friend, your name says nothing. Who are you? Mathias I loved the rich Jew’s daughter. Giacomo So you are a suitor. Nothing could be better! But that Jew is nowadays ruined. Do you still love his daughter? Mathias If! That she has become a nun will only spur my love to fiercer heat! And I can’t believe that she took the veil without having been forced. Giacomo No Jewish maid did ever so spontaneously and fain convert to our holiest church to accept the veil with greater pleasure and truer joy. Mathias Something is not right here. Did then the Jew agree to her conversion?

Giacomo No, he swore and cursed his daughter and condemned her with an all too convincing demonstrative efficiency. Mathias That settles it. Then I will never have her. Giacomo Don’t be too sure. She is still beautiful, and you have rivals. Mathias Perhaps she will regret it? Giacomo Even God has occasionally shown regrets. And why then not a saint? Mathias This sounds intriguing. What more do you know? Giacomo Come, and we will discuss our possibilities. (takes him aside)

Scene 2. The governor’s palace. Farnese We wonder at your visit, Don Bosco. You have entered our harbour without permission, you sail alone without a fleet – do you need a port of refuge? What is your destination? Bosco I was on my way to you, lord governor, in a matter of extreme importance. I am Vice Admiral of Spain, my name is Martin del Bosco, and I am here to deliver interesting news at your service. Farnese (to a knight) Is he really Martin del Bosco? 1st knight Yes, he is without doubt. Farnese Well, our most honoured guest and Vice Admiral Martin del Bosco, what do you have to tell us? Bosco The Turks are defeated. Below deck I have a cargo of prisoners taken in a naval battle where a Turkish fleet was completely annihilated including their admiral. Farnes That’s welcome news indeed. What do you intend to do with your prisoners? Bosco The normal procedue is to sell them as slaves. I would be glad to sell them to you. Farnese Unfortunately we have a deal with the Sultan which makes that option impossible. We are paying regular tribute to the Sublime Porte, which is a warrant to us for peace throughout the eastern Mediterranean. 1st knight (can’t keep still, to del Bosco) Noble Vice Admiral, that peace is worrisome in its expensive painfulness. Now we have the chance. Persuade the governor to unite with you and Spain and break the peace with Constantinople. Bosco Gentlemen, you surprise me. Didn’t the Knights of St. John receive Malta to organize the island into a fortress and unassailable stronghold against the cruel Turk and his overbearing forces? And still I hear that you cringe to the Osman dog and bribe him to leave you in peace, like a vassal! This is not acceptable. Aren’t you free Christians? Are you allowing the Muslims to trample you down into heathen thralldom? Farnese We have no choice. They annihilated us on Rhodes. Malta is no more than a devastated fragment of a wreck. Bosco How much do you owe the Turk? Farnese A hundred thousand crowns with interest.

Bosco My lord the king of Spain intends to exile you from Malta. My advice is: keep that money. In my turn I will convince the king to send a fleet for your support. Together we will then be able to liberate the entire western Mediterranean from Turkish piracy. Farnese That’s a fair and decent offer. Some lucky star sent you to us in the right moment. Remain and be our general! Together we could really deliver all the Mediterranean from a murderous Turkish domination. Bosco Be well aware of the risks, though. On Rhodes the knights of St. John adopted an equally spiteful attitude against the Turks. They fought defending the island to their last man, and no one survived to tell the tale. Farnese We will do the same now and with joy, if necessary. The honour of glory is acquired by blood and not by money. Bosco That’s the spirit! This time I think you will prevail. (clasps Farnese’s hand: the alliance is sealed.)

Scene 3. The market. I heard, Barabas, that your enchanting and beautiful daughter has left

Lodovico the convent. Barabas Yes. Are you also one of her suitors? Lodovico I must admit that I did since long admire her. Barabas Lodovico, you are lucky. She had enough of sanctimony in there, so she resumed her previous routines. Lodovico Not only my father the governor is surprised in observing how you managed to acquire a new house and home so shortly after having been ruined. Barabas Lodovico, I am only a business man, and sometimes you are lucky. Lodovico Your daughter is still the loveliest maid on Malta, and now after having left the convent she is more attractive than anyone else. Do you think I could stand a chance? Barabas As a son of the governor you stand any chance. But you have rivals, be aware of that! But tell me, dear Lodovico, where do all these new slaves come from? We never had any slaves for sale here at the market previously. Lodovico It appears to have been a capture from an important victory recently over Turkish galleys. Barabas These slaves are Turks then? That’s just what I need! What is the last price, marketeer? Knight Two hundred crowns. Barabas That’s expensive! Are they all equally expensive? Knight Not at all. A Turk is cheaper than a Negro, since a Negro is a better collaborator with greter patience. Turks are more unreliable. Barabas And how much then is an ordinary Turkish dogslave? Knight A hundred crowns.

Barabas This one looks modest enough. What do you think, slave, about working with a Jew? Have you got a name? Knight His name is Ithamar, but I must warn you. He is rather furtive. Barabas What do you think, Ithamar? Can you work for me and take my orders? Ithamar Noble lord, I will be a most humble and obedient dogslave to you, for I would rather serve a Jew than arrogant Christian bullies, who would only practice cruelty. Barabas Here is my man. I buy him at once. Release him from his shackles. He shall be the manager of my house. Ithamar My lord, we understand each other. I will always obey you. Barabas As a reward you shall always be treated fairly. Come along with me. Lodovico When may I meet your famous daughter? Barabas Whenever you wish, and whenever it suits her. But you have competitors, Lodovico. I am only informing you. But I would gladly put in a word for you. Lodovico You enliven me with happiness at once! Barabas Just play your cards well, and I will play mine. Good luck, my dear Lodovico. Lodovico I am almost like drifting on clouds! (leaves) Barabas That knave, that fool, that vain idiot, Ithamar, is the son of my arch enemy, the governor of our Malta, who without right confiscated all my property. I hope I will be able to trust you in precarious intrigues against unbearable cursed Christian bullies and villains? Ithamar As I said, master, we understand each other. Barabas Splendid! Let’s go. But wait! There’s that poor lover Mathias. He and Abigail have something in common, which could threaten our plans. Here we are already challenged by the incomprehensible mechanisms of capricious destiny. Let’s quietly listen to what they might be up to. (they retreat discreetly into the background) Mathias (with his mother) Apparently Lodovico has something going on with Barabas. It must concern Abigail. Oh mother, I fear the most dark and fearful intrigues! Katherine Have nothing to do with Barabas the Jew! His whole family and tribe are lost to perdition. Mathias But his daughter loves me, and it is mutual. Katherine She is just as dangerously possessed as he. They are both doomed. The governor did right in expropriating everything he owned. They did like that in Spain, and it should be done everywhere to all Jews. Mathias Mother, you are prejudicial. Katherine No, I only know what the whole world knows. Everybody knows, that every Jew is just a greedy devil. Mathias Mother, leave me with her. I borrowed books from his library, and I am indebted to him. Katherine Beware, my son! It will end up badly! If he as much as lends you the tip of a handkerchief, he will bind you to him like a slave for life by his usury!

Mathias It’s a debt of honour. – Father Barabas, I have read your book with great interest. Barabas That gives me pleasure. Keep it. Mathias May I keep the book? Barabas Of course. I only lend doublets, since I never get back any book I lent anyway. Mathias Thus speaks a blessed, generous and noble heart. Barabas Thank you, my son. Mathias How is your daughter? Barabas Only well. Mathias When may I see her? Barabas Whenever you want, if she wants. Mathias I heard about your successful recovery after the disaster. Barabas Yes. Luckily for my daughter and all her suitors, she didn’t have to stay long in her nunnery. Mathias The nuns appear to be angry and disappointed. Barabas Let them be. There are other things needed than practised sanctimony. Mathias They think you have robbed them and cheated them, making Abigail take the veil only to collect your hidden treasures. Barabas Let them believe what they please, since they are only paid for believing. I couldn’t care less about what they think. Mathias For me the only important thing is the welfare of Abigail. Barabas She never felt better. Mathias Thanks for the book, father Barabas. Barabas Thank you on behalf of the book that it found a worthy reader, who has sense enough to understand and appreciate constructive reading. (exit Mathias) Katherine What did I tell you, poor son? He is only there to cheat you! And the daughter is of the same treacherous ilk of only deceit! (leaves with Mathias) Barabas My good Ithamar, here we have a conflict. To have my revenge on the governor I must have his son for my son-in-law. But my daughter loves the modest and harmless Mathias, and he loves her. Here we have a human problem. How shall we solve it? Ithamar Two suitors – two birds with one stone. What about that? Barabas My friend, I seem to have purchased a demon in a bottle, a gold mine of intrigue and cleverness! I knew that my intuition was correct! There is no one in the world you can trust except yourself, and even he you can only trust with long antennae. Come! You shall meet Abigail, my invaluably wonderful daughter.

Scene 4. Abigail. Abigail Father was ruined by foul play, but as if by a miracle he landed on his feet by his own cunning. I cheated a convent by saving his concealed reserves disguised as a nun – of course it was a nasty deceit, but it was by all means justified. If the state causes harm without right, it gives you the right to arbitrarily take the law into your own hands as a means of self-defense, for there are always higher laws than the mundane ones. Father is at it again, and he is making progress. We have a new house, and I have new suitors. But I have no love except the son of father’s arch enemy. Mathias, you are everything to me, but father doesn’t want to hear of it, and that’s the problem. Barabas (enters) Abigail, meet our new servant and factotum, Ithamar the Turk. Ithamar I am your servant and slave, my mistress. Abigail Humility always wins by being sympathetic, as long as it is genuine. (greets him. He kisses her hand.) Barabas My daughter, Lodovico is eager for you. You must win him. Abigail But my heart belongs to Mathias, and you know it, father. Barabas Still Lodovico must be encouraged. He is after all the governor’s own son. You must win him. Abigail What do you ask of me? Barabas That you obey me. Abigail You know that I do. Barabas So do it. Abigail What shall I do with Lodovico? Barabas Oil him. Make him believe the most of it. Receive him privately. Give him all licence. Give him everything, except your virginity. Abigail That is reserved for whom I love. Father, I will humour you in all matters, for such easy terms are easy to follow. A woman can give everything and promise anything if only she isn’t violated. Barabas That’s right, sweet daughter! We understand each other. Ithamar Here is another suitor. Barabas But isn’t it Mathias himself? I will intercept him. (hurries out to intercept Mathias) Dearest Mathias, are you looking for my daughter? Wait a little. Mathias Yes, how could you guess it, father Barabas? Barabas Since I know that she loves you and that you love her. It can’t be concealed. It’s too evident. But we have a problem, my friend. Don Lodovico, the governor’s own son, is also chasing her, sends her love letters and drowns her with presents, convinced that she will be his own. Mathias Lodovico! That infamous villain! Barabas He is only soft in his love. You know how love works. Forbear with the delusional fool! He is only the victim of his own pottiness. Mathias But Abigail is mine! He must not come near her!

Barabas Look, there he takes her out. (Lodovico is seen taking out Abigail.) What about that? Mathias He is a crook, an arch villain and a wicked bandit! Barabas Yes, mildly speaking, but you can do better, can’t you? Mathias If he importunes her with one word I shall challenge him to a duel of life or death! Barabas But Lodovico is a an undefeated and dangerous swordsman. What if it will cost you your life? Mathias I will gladly die, if it only is for Abigail! Barabas That’s the spirit, dear son-in-law! But what would you say if Lodovico marries her? Mathias He mustn’t! Barabas But his father is the governor of Malta. He has so much power and influence, that nothing can be denied him. Mathias But surely you can’t mean to give your daughter to such a knave? Barabas My friend, his power is greater. The governor already bereft me of my house and all my property. If he wants to steal Abigail from us, we have no possibility to say no. Mathias I am sure that two can play at that game! Barabas So you are prepared to take my defense against the governor? Mathias Yes, for the sake of Abigail, my own and her future! Barabas You could be exiled and sentenced to death for opposing the governor. Mathias Barabas, I don’t care a damn! Barabas You are on our side? We can trust you? Mathias Absolutely! Barabas Good! Then I accept you as my son-in-law, which is a promise. Mathias Thank you, good father! Barabas Then we have to resolve the knotty problem of Lodovico. Mathias Leave the damned rascal to me! (rushes out) Barabas What do you think, Ithamar? Ithamar To divide is to rule. No power is greater than the capacity to cause a division. Barabas And it’s only about Christians. Ithamar As usual they will have to blame themselves for their own stupidity. Barabas Yes, we can’t stop them, can we? Ithamar My lord, leave them to me. I will watch them, so that they don’t act stupid. Barabas Do so, my good Ithamar. I trust you blindly until you betray me. Ithamar I never will, Barabas, as long as you give me wages. Barabas I will, Ithamar, as long as you deserve it. Ithamar Then we are agreed. (leaves) Barabas A talent like a gift of God! He reads my mind and is almost too good to be true. All I need to do is to wash my hands. I am absolutely innocent. All things will happen by themselves. My only profession and craft as a good businessman is to profit by the situation.

Act III scene 1. Piglia-Borza Shouldn’t I profit by the situation? Bellamira, these are golden times! Bellamira Not for me. I never made so miserably bad business. Piglia-Borza It’s not my fault. Bellamira No, but you are getting on my nerves. You keep hanging here all the time. Piglia-Borza Of course, since you are mine! I have no one else! Now as you are without customers I couldn’t enjoy the opportunity more of being here in bed with you! Bellamira That doesn’t make us rich. Piglia-Borza There are other means. Have you forgotten that I am a craftsman? Bellamira I can’t see that you manage any handiwork here in my bed. Piglia-Borza I mean outside. I am after all a thief! I am an expert! If there is anything I can do, it is to unnoticeably snatch purses out of pompous patrons’ pockets! Bellamira Do it then! Support me! I am out of work! Piglia-Borza What about this? (presents a stuffed purse) Bellamira My prince! Where did you get it? Piglia-Borza A Jew happened to pass by. He was too thick, so I relieved his graciousness from something of his overweight. Bellamira They say that it’s the fault of the Jews that I am out of work, that the Jews set the Turks on Malta. Piglia-Borza That’s typical of them. They want nothing as much as the end of Christianity. But quiet! Someone is coming! (steals up to the window) It’s the Jew’s new slave, a Turkish prisoner. He has seen me and followed me here. Hide the purse, quickly! I had better get lost. (disappears. Enter Ithamar.) Bellamira Who are you, and what do you want? Ithamar No harm, my lovely. I serve Barabas, who I saw robbed by a simple thief. I followed him here. He can be nowhere else. Bellamira There is no one here, as you well can see. I am broke. The war took every customer away from me. This place used to be thronged with wealthy merchants. Ithamar No thieves? Bellamira None, unless you are one yourself. Ithamar No, I am honest. But what are you? Bellamira An honest business lady. Ithamar Yes, I can see that. You are lovely. Bellamira That’s my profession. Or else I wouldn’t be worth much. Mathias (outside) Halt, Lodovico! Lodovico That’s me. What pimp is that, who sullies my name by using it in a sultry mouth? Ithamar I’ll be back later, my beauty. Now for my duties. (leaves Bellamira) Mathias The betrothed of the virgin you violated! (pulls his sword) Lodovico Oho! That miserable bumpkin and bastard Mathias! Mathias You villain! You dare insult my origin?

Lodovico It’s no insult to call a bastard by his right name but a matter of fact, you poor bumpkin! Mathias Is that what you say, you rotten gadfly of a lowborn mad dog’s excrements! Lodovico Save your compliments, that only make you awkwardly stumble with your stuttering and staggering blathermouth, you blundering blackguard! Your laughable lack of language surpasses the qualified gaga of demented old whores! Mathias And all you produce by your mouth is shit, which should come out the other way, you imbecile preacher farting worse than horses! Shit down your pants, and you will do better! Lodovico No need, the way you keep spurting diarrhoeas! Mathias Cretin! Defend yourself! Lodovico Against you, ignominous cockroach? Don’t you know that cockroaches don’t know how to fight? Mathias Then I will kill you unarmed! Lodovico As you wish! Since you asked for it! (They fight.) Ithamar Now is my opportunity. All to please the one I serve. He will then be under an obligation of gratitude for the rest of his life. (steals up behind the fighters) Lodovico Die, poor loser! (nails Mathias) Mathias I die! My beloved, farewell! May my destroyer be accursed forever! Ithamar (aside) I will promptly send him after you to hell. (pierces Lodovico from behind) Lodovico I am lost! Invidious ambush! Brother Mathias of destiny, it’s not fair play to bring seconds to the duel without informing the opponent! It’s against the rules! Mathias What are you talking about? Are you delirious? If anyone broke the rules, it was you, who violated my right as Abigail’s betrothed! Lodovico What do you mean? Who nailed me from behind if not your partner? Mathias Die, you perficious villain! We’ll settle the matter in hell! (dies) Lodovico So we die even, and none of us will get the bride. Maybe it’s just as well. (dies) Ithamar Full score! This will make the Jew happy! (calls) Alarm! Alarm! There is a duel going on here! (runs away. People flock around the corpses.) Knight But it is Lodovico! A citizen Katherine! Could it be your son Mathias? Katherine My son! My son! (throws herself over Mathias’ body) It’s that lousy Jew’s fault! The citizen So it was really your son! I am so sorry, mistress Katherine. Knight Governor, this looks really bad. Farnese What is it? Knight It’s Lodovico, your own son. Farnese Make way, move over, let me through! (reaches Lodovico) My son! It cannot be true! This must not be! The villain behind this shall be tortured to death! Knight Lord governor, unfortunately he is already dead. Look for yourself. They have duelled in fury and given each other mortal wounds. Farnese It must not be true!

Katherine You already said that, you old fool. But the Jew is behind this, and I demand that he be punished! Farnese We already struck him to a maximum by unfair expropriation, which by time proved utterly unnecessary. Katherine Was it? From where did he then get his new villa and his new monopoly? Farnese But by what right do you charge him with causing the evil tragedy that here has struck us? Katherine I know why they fought! They fought for the Jew’s daughter! Farnese So that was the motive, backfiring passion of love. Yes, my Lodovico had really a weakness for the Jewess. There was even a rumour that he intended proposal. But everyone knew that she belonged to Mathias. And here they both lie now as victims of their own folly. The matter is regrettably clear. We have nothing to do but to bury our sons. Katherine But I demand revenge! Farnese You have no right of it. If you insist on demanding it you’ll have to do it alone. I must place the safety of Malta first. There is a war going on. I advise you, mistress Katherine, to bury your son in peace and then to think more of Malta and life than of yourself. Carry them out into the cathedral! This is a day of sorrow, for the first fallen in the new war did not fall gloriously in battle but by their own hands. This was my only son. I will not be available now for some time, for I must work out my inconsolability first, which will take a lot of effort, for such a sorrow is more difficult to bury than a mere body. (can’t bear it any longer and retires.) Katherine Still I must suspect the greedy Jew, for he is the only one who profited from the quarrel: now he can keep his fatal daughter. Who can endure such profitable success of death? Not the ones who had to pay for it. (follows the others, carrying the bodies to the cathedral.) Scene 2. Home of Barabas Barabas What joy, and what relief! It’s all too wonderful to be taken for granted for something true! And how duellists manage to take each others’ lives just by swords! It’s a magnificent, incredible stroke of good luck! Ithamar Are you satisfied, master? Barabas If I am! I may keep Abigail at home, she is in mourning now and will not hear of any other suitor, so she can run my entire household. Everything has come out for the best and far better than I had dared to hope for and even less wished for! Ithamar Then I am also satisfied, master. Barabas (struck by a sudden suspicion) Did you have anything to do with this? Ithamar Not in the least. The duel was completely managed by Lodovico and Mathias by themselves. Barabas Of course. Here is now my daughter.

Abigail O father, I am comfortless unto the lowest depths of despair! Barabas Of course, my daughter. Abigail We had just decided to get married, and then he gets mixed up in a duel with that loathsome Lodovico! Barabas Yes, it’s absolutely horrible. Abigail I have decided, father. Barabas To remain a virgin? Abigail Yes. Barabas Forever here with me in my house? Abigail I want to be dead to the entire world. The nunnery is the best possibility. There all are virgins, there you are left in peace, and you are allowed to be alone and retire from life as much as you want. Barabas My daughter, this is shocking and dire news! Didn’t you have enough of the nunnery the first time? Isn’t such a decision rather sudden? Abigail The first time, I became a nun just to please you. You got your sack of money. That mission was carried through and completed, but the death of my Mathias has shaken me to the core. I have reconsidered. I now wish to become a nun for serious. Barabas Alas, my child, don’t you see the hypocrisy and deceit and delusion which is all that Christianity consists of? Abigail There certainly is much and enough of that in it, but we lack celibacy in jewry, which I find appropriate in my case. That is what decides the matter. Barabas No more suitors? No more flair and pleasures? No money, luxury and delightful surplus? Only callous white walls and sterile morbid meditations? Only contemplation of your navel and fruitless introspection? No love, no future family and no children? Only full time bleak boredom in the void? Abigail Father, I have made up my mind. Barabas Grant yourself some respite at least! You don’t jump into barrels and set out down waterfalls without calculating the risks! Abigail I have made up my mind. Barabas This is a fatal and cruel disappointment, a greater defeat than both the deaths of Lodovico and Mathias! Abigail Alas, don’t remind me of it! (cries) Barabas (embraces her) Alas, my daughter, weren’t we happy together? Didn’t I give you the best of homes, the best possible education and the safest possible environment for your growth and cultivation? And you wish to throw all that away for taking the veil! It’s not fair! Those robbers, who took our home! Abigail I am sorry, father. The death of Mathias has decided my destination, and none of them can be altered any more. Barabas Defeat! It all ended up a defeat! What then did I live for, if you will not take over and continue my life’s work? Abigail Give it to my convent. Barabas Never! I would rather give it to the Turk! Abigail Father, you wished for Mathias’ death.

Barabas You can’t judge my thoughts. Lodovico’s death was more to my interest. Abigail So you wished the death of both? Perhaps you even instigated the duel? Barabas Abigail, don’t be absurd. The duel was a private settlement between them. No one can be charged with the violence they practised on each other except themselves. Abigail But you wished for it, father. Barabas I only wished for revenge on those villains who expropriated all my property without right! And it was even unnecessary, for now Malta is engaged in war with the Turk anyway. But did they return a single brick to me? No! They not even apologised! Abigail Perhaps then you wish for the Turks to conquer Malta. Barabas I don’t give a damn about Turks, Christians or Muslims! They are all the same kind of rotten robbers and conceited bandits! Abigail So let me get out of their way and disappear in my convent. Barabas Get thee to a nunnery then, accursed daughter! But never believe for a moment that I could accept it! Abigail You are my father, and I understand you. But it’s about my life, not yours. Barabas Your life, that you wish to throw away on chalked walls, old spinsters, brainwash and superstition! Abigail Here is now Fra Giacomo, whom I have been waiting for. Giacomo My daughter, welcome back. (offers his hand for her to kiss. She kneels to him, like offering herself in total subordination.) Abigail Monsignore, it’s an honour for me to be welcomed back, although I already once have deserted you. Giacomo A prodigal daughter is even more than a prodigal son, when she returns home to her family. Barabas I can’t bear it! (leaves) Giacomo Your father seems not to have endorsed your decision. Abigail He is my father and reacts as such. He will remain a Jew. Please forbear with him! He is only reacting naturally. Giacomo But he is a Jew and doomed as such. Abigail, the sooner you leave this house, the better. Come with me now at once. Abigail Yes, I will go with you. Giacomo That’s right, good girl. You are now a daughter of Jesus and not of the cursed house of Barabas. Abigail But wasn’t Jesus a Jew as well? Giacomo That is not relevant. That’s an entirely different matter. Come now, let’s go. (leaves with Abigail) Ithamar A miscalculation, my good employer, which no one of us could foresee. But perhaps we could remedy even this damage? Perhaps a trusted and loyal Turkish slave could accomplish more and greater miracles than any Christian. Appropriate moment for a possible intermission.

Scene 3. The palace of the governor. Farnese Welcome, ambassadors of Constantinople! Messenger Unfortunately I bring no good news. Farnese We are prepared for the worst. Out with it! Messenger You have not paid your tribute. You were allowed a month’s consideration. Suleiman sends his deep regrets, but he is now obliged to obtain your tribute by force. Farnese So let him try to get it by force. Messenger But you haven’t paid it although you had means to, by extortion of the Jews of Malta. Why haven’t you paid it? Farnese Because we don’t give a damn about the Sultan. He could stick up his fleet, his armada, his slaves and his extorted tribute up in his arse! Messenger (offended) Such language is alien to all diplomacy. You must consider the consequences of such inconsiderate speech. The answer to such an unfriendly retort could only be open war. Farnese Let your Sultan try to subjugate us. We will give him a prompt answer with a vengeance with fire in his breeches to make him implode. You can tell him that. Messenger This means war! Farnese So it has all this month. Haven’t you noticed how we have mobilized? No merchant ships have arrived here any more, well aware of the state of conflict between ourselves and the Sublime Porte. I wonder at the Sultan not having done it in his trousers yet. Messenger This is too much! Next time we will anser with blunderbuss, scimitars and cannons! Farnese Just let it off. It’s only a sign of health when farts are heard in public. Messenger You are completely obscene! Farnese Isn’t the Sultan with his thousand harem ladies? Double standards and morals is nothing to us any more, circumcised lackey! Go home and kiss your master’s slippers and his arse, which you have been paid for. Malta does not cringe to Islam any more. We don’t buy it any more.

Scene 4. The convent. Giacomo This is absolutely terrible. All nuns are dying, and no one can explain it. It’s a monstrous epidemic. Bernardino The only one who hasn’t been touched is Abigail. Giacomo And how can you explain it? Bernardino She is a saint. Giacomo Let me then be the devil’s advocate. She used to own this house together with her father. Bernardino What is your hint?

Giacomo Only, that there could be a motive for revenge. She might have wished to return the house to her father. Bernardino Impossible. He has completely denounced her. She is saintliness personified and more pious than anyone else. Giacomo Still it’s a bit suspicious that she alone has been untouched by the epidemic, isn’t it? Bernardino Here she is herself. Let her answer your insinuations herself. (enter Abigail as a nun in white robes) Giacomo How are you, Abigail? You look a bit pale and not quite well. Abigail The epidemic has reached me. I am going the same way as everyone else here in the convent. None of us nuns will get away. We are all poisoned. Bernardino and Giacomo (shocked) Poisoned? Abigail That’s what I believe. Bernardino But who and why would anyone do a thing like that? Abigail I can’t understand it myself. But I can only find one motive, which is, I am ashamed to say, with my own father. Giacomo The greedy Jew Barabas? Abigail You took his house and home away from him with all his riches without any right. Naturally he became possessed by the bitter demon of revenge, but still I managed to help him up on his feet again. He became rich again and felt rather recompensed. Then my beloved Mathias died, and I took the veil to never take it off again. That made him angry, and the mad black angel of revenge possessed him again. Giacomo So he would sacrifice even his own daughter for his own personal revenge? That would be supremely unnatural and makes no sense. Abigail I can’t believe it myself, but no other theory or explanation is possible. Giacomo This is absolutely terrible! Bernardino Still you can continue along these lines and start adding two and two. Giacomo What do you mean? Bernardino Who would have had any interest in the death of both Lodovico and Mathias? Giacomo No one but the Jew. Abigail Would he then have caused the death of both my beloved and Lodovico? It’s impossible! My father is after all human. Bernardino Is he? Wasn’t he highly motivated to cause the governor excessive damage after having been bereft of all his assets? Abigail But my beloved Mathias! No one wished to harm him except Lodovico only. Giacomo Yes, it doesn’t hold water, Bernardino, even if it would be true. Bernardino I know it is true. That Jew is possessed by his desire of revenge and worse, far more dangerous than any inhuman demon let loose! Abigail Don’t abuse my father by ridiculous exaggerations! He couldn’t have carried through the mass murder of all my holy sisters here including me! Both And why not?

Abigail You are trying to make it an act of wishful thinking! That’s not fair! You are blinded by your own partiality! Giacomo Sister, take it easy. Nothing can be proved, but everything must be investigated. Abigail I declare my father to be absolutely innocent, and I will die with that for my last testimony! (faints) Bernardino She is gliding through our hands. Giacomo We have lost her, like all the nuns. We must get to the bottom of this. Bernardino Absolutely. It’s a case for the holy inquisition. Giacomo We don’t have it on Malta. Bernardino Don’t we? That’s a pity. Giacomo We must first deal with the Turkish danger. Then we can start investigating the possible mass murders by Jews. Bernardino Abigail’s testimony is final. There is not a shred of evidence. Giacomo In the lack of definite proof we have to resort to circumstantial evidence, and, Bernardino, you have to admit that they are overwhelming. Bernardino We can’t ignore them. That’s for sure. But if it is true it’s a strange case indeed of an obsession of revenge running amuck with its holder beyond all human reason and rational sense. Giacomo So let’s carry out the poor girl to the other victims. I don’t think she will wake up any more. Bernardino At least she died a good Christian, saved and sanctified for the church. Giacomo Yes, we succeeded at that at least.

Act IV scene 1. Barabas But how is it possible? Is there no explanation at all to such an epidemic tragedy? Ithamar You could see it as an act of God for a punishment. That convent, remember, was stolen property from you. Barabas But Abigail, my own daughter! Ithamar Didn’t she abandon God and turn into a cursed Christian? Barabas Yes, but not by sin but by the deepest and sincerest sorrow. She found a convent the best place for contemplation where to cry out her grief and loss of Mathias. Ithamar But here are now three knaves and rotten scoundrels. Barabas It’s Don Giacomo and the governor himself. Leave them to me, my good Ithamar. We have some business in common. Farnese Barabas, I come to you concerning this great new calamity and grief, which has fallen even upon you. Giacomo Your daughter was a pearl and a pride to our new nunnery. The disaster touches all of us but perhaps you most of all.

Barabas Abigail was everything to me. Now I have nothing. But did you come only for condolences? What can I do for you? Bernardino We investigate the great tragedy of the convent and have already reached incredible results. Barabas Tell me! Ithamar (listens without being noticed) They can never trace it to me. Bernardino We are hoping for your cooperation, Barabas. This matter concerns all of Malta. Barabas But me most of all. Farnese We take that for granted, Barabas. Giacomo Whatever people say, we will stick to the naked truth only. Barabas You know something I don’t know. So let me know it. Bernardino The epidemic was not natural. All the nuns were cruelly poisoned. Barabas Poisoned? But how and why? Giacomo That’s the riddle. But people talk, and you should know what they say. Barabas I don’t know what they say. Tell me! Bernardino People are saying that you yourself put poison in their food to avenge both that we took your house from you and that Abigail, your daughter, converted to the only sanctifying religion. Barabas This is infamous! How far can the stupid prejudice of people go to poison their minds to unreasonable recklessness! Farnese That’s pinpointing our problem: evidently no limits to how far. Giacomo And they have already condemned you and are ready to burn you and have you mangled to death. Barabas And can’t you talk sense into them? You have the power in the country and all responsibility. Giacomo We have no law protecting any Jew. Barabas Gentlemen, I have been struck by the most traumatic sorrow of my life, my own and only daughter’s untimely death, and you are inhuman enough to come here accusing me of the most outrageously unnatural murder! Bernardino A motive has been found with you and nowhere else. Giacomo You must admit, Barabas, that it looks bad for you. Ithamar (invisible, aside) Now I have really put my master in a jam. Farnese We can’t believe that you could be guilty. Not even a Jew could be so incredibly unnatural to murder his own daughter for converting to our Christian church. That’s what we think. But people demand retaliation for the other nuns and have by their prejudice pronounced you guilty. Barabas What then do you ask of me? Giacomo There is only one solution. Barabas Well? Bernardino You have money. Barabas Shall I pay for my innocence?

Farnese Yes, that’s your only way out. You must prove your trustworthiness by standing faithfully on our side against the Turks. Giacomo Therefore you must become a Christian. Barabas I understand. Will that satisfy the people? How much must I pay? Farnese Half is enough this time. Barabas Good. I agree to cooperate just to be left in peace with my sorrow. I convert, and I leave half of my assets to you. Is that enough? May I then live on with my human dignity preserved and intact? Farnese You may, Barabas. We are sorry to have disturbed you. Giacomo But unfortunately we had to convince ourselves. Barabas Well, are you convinced enough now? Bernardino For the time being. But the last word is always with the people. (the three leave) Barabas Damned sanctimonious blackmailers and hypocrites! They never visit a Jew except to humiliate him! And that accounts for all Christians. They never do business with him except to pull him down to their level. Here they come trampling on my dead daughter’s body, and I am obliged to pay them and humour them by pretending christianity. This is going too far! Ithamar Master, I understand your grievous predicament. Barabas And have you any bright ideas? Ithamar Revenge. Barabas How? Ithamar Help the Turk. Barabas It’s tempting enough. But could I get away with it? Ithamar Only trust me. When the Turks have taken Malta, you will be the sole survivor as the last Christian. Barabas Can you make it? Ithamar Of course! I am a Turk! I guarantee your success; but not without payment. Barabas And what is your price? Ithamar Make me your heir. Barabas I have no other. I have nothing to lose. Why not? Ithamar So we have an agreement? Barabas Consider yourself a son in the house. But you must obey me in everything. Ithamar Of course. Barabas Tell me what intrigue you have figured out. Ithamar We should start with the evil monk Bernardino, for he is the most avaricious. Everyone wants your money. Tell them that you give it to Giacomo. That will turn Bernardino dark with anger. Barabas You mean that I would gain control by turning them against each other? Ithamar What could be easier? Cultivate greed in the human passion, and you will have a monster at your service capable of anything. Barabas You know something about human nature.

Ithamar I am your slave and see everything from below. Most people only look from above and get the more dazed the higher up they believe themselves to be in relation to others. Barabas We shall try your advice, my cunning servant. As I see it, the Christian lords have in their dealings with me only dug their own graves. Ithamar So let them fall. All they need is a push. Barabas Let us try the experiment and see if you are right. Ithamar I am always right. Barabas But we Jews don’t believe anything until we see a practical result. Ithamar My lord, you will have the front seat in the honorary box for the performance. Barabas Let’s see how your direction will work.

Scene 2. Bernardino It can’t be true! The Jew’s donations were supposed to go to us! Giacomo I had the governor’s word of honour, that everything would go to the Order of St. John. Bernardino But it’s not fair! The Jew’s daughter was a nun of our own order! Giacomo But we had the right to all the money. Your abbess can go fishing elsewhere. Bernardino Then you are a robber and miser with no sense of shame! Giacomo What did you say? And what are you? A philantropist? Don’t you think that we know how you make extra money as a procurer? Bernardino Are you trying to be smart? Try throwing stones in a glass house! I am well aware of your embezzling business behind the governor’s back! Giacomo What do you know? You know nothing! If you as much as whispers a word of that you are dead! Bernardino Just hand over the Jew’s money to my convent, and everyone will be satisfied. Giacomo Never! I would rather die! Bernardino Since you asked for it! (pulls his sword) Giacomo You false and miserable monk, you go too far! I happen to be unarmed for now, and you owe your thanks for your life only to that! Bernardino But I am not! (threatens to kill him) And there is no one to watch us here! Giacomo Accursed murderous priest! Next time we meet we shall settle things! Bernardino I’ll be delighted! Be armed then and not a coward, stupid procurer! Giacomo Who is the worst procurer among us? I will reveal your procuring business to the abbess! Bernardino You are the only one with interests in it and my greatest customer! Giacomo But you choose the victims, corrupted rotter! Now I have completely lost my self control, and it’s all your fault! Bernardino Get lost then, before it gets worse!

Giacomo I will only go home to fetch my weapons! Bernardino Hurry! I’ll wait! Giacomo Then you will be dead, and the convent will be one devil the poorer! Berbardino You will be the dead devil in that case! Giacomo Bandit! Bernardino Blackguard! (Giacomo disappears.) He only thinks of the profits. Is then greed the main driving force in the world and not God? If it’s greed, then God doesn’t seem very interested in interfering. (Ithamar and Barabas are seen concealed behind horses.) Ithamar Now, my lord, we have the chance. He is alone. Barabas Quickly then! That’s the only recipe of happiness in life: grab chance the moment it’s offered you! Ithamar I will attack him and keep him busy while you take his temperature. Barabas Yes, on to him! (They attack Bernardino concealed by hoods.) Bernardino Help, thiefs, bandits! I have nothing on me! Save me! There is nothing here! Barabas This is no robbery, you chief of robbers, but only some restitution for all your lifetime’s robberies! (throws a noose around his neck and strangles him while Ithamar holds him firm.) Ithamar There. Now he is dead. How did it feel? Barabas Like an act of mercy to please God. He will prostitute no more nuns. Ithamar So let’s leave. Barabas One moment. Don Giacomo could return here. We must not miss that chance. Put the precious prelate here comfortably to wait for the other. (They put him on a bench.) Ithamar Is that all right? Barabas Yes, there he sits at ease in peace, as if he slept in the soundest dreams. I hear another chap coming. It could only be Giacomo. Ithamar Come! Let’s hide! (They hide.) Giacomo (returns) There’s that bandit sitting sound asleep! Now I have my chance! They will think that robbers battered that freak to death. Nothing would suit me better. Here you are, Bernardino! Here and here! (Thrusts his sword into him.) Now bleed to death like a bloody sieve, and let your corruption pour out of you in the drains! Ithamar (to Barabas) Now is my chance! (pretends to be passing by) But what is this? Someone is beating a pious priest to death! Help, murder! Here is some villainy going on! Giacomo Shut up, you stupid slave! He quarrelled with me, so I only give him what he deserved! Barabas (coming on) What is this? Ithamar My lord, I happened to pass by and saw this cruel fellow beat an innocent priest to death! Barabas But it’s Don Giacomo!

Giacomo (aside) Now I am done for. Barabas has recognized me. – Barabas, I just had a small quarrel with our friend. He outraged me by his insults. I only tickled him a little when he provoked me. Look, he pulled the sword himself! He started the duel! I was forced to defend myself! Barabas But he is dead! Giacomo He mustn’t be! You don’t die from some tickling. We just had a row for a joke. Barabas Whether by mistake or not, you killed him, my dear noble Don Giacomo. Giacomo It must not be true. Barabas It is. Ithamar What do we do now? Giacomo This must not come out. I promise you, on my word of honour, that I never intended to kill him! Barabas Tell that to the court, noble Don Giacomo. Giacomo Only you know about it. Spare me! My life is ruined if this comes out! Ithamar He has run him through with his sword, here and here. (exmines the body) Barabas You seem unharmed yourself, Don Giacomo, as if you took him by surprise. Then this isn’t just manslaughter but homicide. Ithamar It looks rather like some butchery, no, the rudest execution! Barabas What were you thinking of, Don Giacomo? Giacomo It was self defense, I promise! Ithamar Here are two priests piously and efficiently beating each other to death, and then you force my lord here, a totally innocent Jew, to become an equally corrupt Christian! Where are your manners? Barabas I was just on my way to you to fulfill my conversion, but this makes me back down and pull back my ears. Giacomo But you still intend to bequeath half your property to us as promised, I hope? Barabas I promised nothing, but you tried to force me. I see now that you hardly have that power any more, for two holy prelates in a duel with one ending up dead is a heavier scandal than obvious and natural feelings of revenge in a Jew. The court will settle this matter, noble Don Giacomo, tomorrow! Giacomo Spare me! Barabas I have no power and no right, for I am beyond the law. Only the court can judge you, Don Giacomo. Give me a hand here, slave! We must bring this corpse to the police! (He and Ithamar carry away the body.) Giacomo (in despair) I am lost!

Scene 3. The governor’s palace. Farnese This is terrible, brother Giacomo! Two leading prelates involved in a duel with weapons, and one dead with wounds like in a sieve, the other unharmed without as much as a scratch! This is the most unheard of scandal that ever occurred here in the streets of Malta! You must understand, that there can be only one possible punishment? Giacomo (pinioned) I am lost, and I know it. Farnese Knights, what do you say? 1st knight He must die. 2nd knight But it’s of the highest importance that this will not come out. What will become of the church, if this scandal is made public? Farnese Thanks to the Jew’s prudence we can handle this affair discreetly. No one knows about it except us. 3rd knight But I wish to hear what Don Giacomo could have to say for his defense of what he has done. Farnese Don Giacomo, we are waiting. Giacomo I have nothing to say for my defense. What I have done, I have done, and it cannot be defended. I and Bernardino entered into an impossible conflict, we provoked each other to madness and couldn’t control ourselves, and the consequence was a disaster. I plead guilty. I can’t do otherwise. But behind this is something else. What was the reason for our quarrel? Barabas’, the Jew’s money. He was ready to become a Christian and give us half of his riches in donations. For some reason he promised us both the full sum. Then we found ourselves quarrelling about who had the right of it. So greed opened to us like a trap, and in our blind folly we went down in it to our destruction. We both have to pay for it. But behind this was yet another matter: the evil started with the ruining of Barabas, when we unrightfully took his property and turned him over to naked poverty. Farnese But like a cat he landed safely on his four feet. Giacomo We still acted unrightfully. We needed the money for a tribute to the Turk, which never was paid. Farnese Instead it has been used for better purposes: rearmament of the fleet and the fortificaton of all Malta in expectancy of the Turkish invasion. Giacomo That may be so, but I have now confessed to you all what burdened my conscience, and I was not alone in originating this tangled mess of guilt. Farnese Still, Giacomo, I suspect some angry scheme which you haven’t discerned yourself. Tell me, why do you think the Jew promised you both his donation? Why is it Barabas and no one else that witnesses your quarrel and fight? From all of this I must conclude that there are obvious reasons to suspect Barabas of infernal intriguing calculations. Giacomo We would never have had to suffer them if we didn’t from the start confiscate his property without right.

1st knight He is only a Jew. Have we not the right to do what we like with such a creature? 2nd He is no better than a Turk. The whole world knows, that Turkey is the only nation in the world to welcome Hebrews and give them civil rights. No other country is that presumptuous. 3rd knight He might well be in league with the Sublime Porte and serve here as their agent. 4th knight We have seen well enough his penchant for intrigue. Farnese Enough! I regret, noble Don Giacomo, that your sentence must be passed as inevitable. Out with him! Do you prefer the sword or hanging? Giacomo St. Paul himself was decapitated with honour. Farnese So be it! May the law have its course, and may our Christian faith not keep us from doing justice. Don Giacomo, you shall have a priest before your execution. Take the miserable murderer away! (Fra Giacomo is brought out.) Now to that other matter. What do you think about Barabas? 1st knight Don Giacomo was right, and we should take his warnings seriously. 2nd knight He is dangerous, and we must watch out with him. 3rd knight From where did he get his riches when everything was taken away from him? 4th knight The poisoning of the saintly nuns has still not reached any satisfactory explanation. Farnese And I agree with the general sentiment. Let’s be on our guard, especially now as we are expecting a Turkish attack at any moment.

Scene 4. Ithamar Don Giacomo has had his neck cut off with honour. This is almost going far too easily. I must recuperate from this success and make a visit down to earth. This I think was the place f that lovely courtesan. (pulls the bell string) Bellamira (waking up with Piglia-Borza) A customer! A customer! Piglia-Borza Let him be. You have me. Bellamira But you have no money. I’ll just go and see who it is. (gets up taking on a nightgown) It’s that Turk. Piglia-Borza The bloke in the service of that extremely rich Jew? Bellamira Yes. Piglia-Borza Then you can surely squeeze him for some money. Let him in at once. Bellamira (lets in Ithamar) Welcome, comrade! Ithamar (enters) I could not resist the temptation. Bellamira You did the right thing. That’s why I exist. Piglia-Borza Do you have any money?

Ithamar Not much, but I am in the service of the Jew. Piglia-Borza Make him finance you then. Bellamira is the most beautiful and most demanded of her trade in town and does not offer her services for nothing. Ithamar What is her price? Piglia-Borza Three hundred crowns. Ithamar I could get three thousand from my employer. I am his heir, since he took his only daughter’s life himself. Piglia-Borza This is welcome news. Then you could both press him for money and take out some inheritance in advance. Ithamar Why not? Piglia-Borza Settle the matter immediately! Write him a letter and tell him you need money. Ithamar He will not be happy. I could be deleted from his will. Piglia-Borza Try him. A few hundred is a modest beginning, and he must accept it. Then we could press the matter further. Ithamar Well, let’s try. And I did actually serve him well. (sits down to write) Piglia-Borza Write: I need money at once. Send me threee hundred crowns. Ithamar So blunt and commanding? He will never agree. Piglia-Borza Go on: ’Or else I go to the police with all I know.’ Bellamira Then he can’t refuse. Ithamar That is called a threat. Piglia-Borza No, it’s just a business offer which he can’t refuse. Write it down, and I will deliver it to him at once! Ithamar (looking at Bellamira and turns on.) As you wish. (writes)

Scene 5. Barabas (reads the letter) Who are you, swindler? Piglia-Borza A servant of a most virtuous and honourable lady. Barabas I believe you. I know the notorious but lovely Bellamira. So my servant has fallen in love with her and needs money like everyone else. Well, he can get ten crowns. (gives him ten crowns) Piglia-Borza That’s not what he asks for. Barabas And do you think I am stupid? Do you think I can take any form of blackmail seriously? He may go to the authorities and tell what he knows, but I can strike him out of my will. Who will be the happier for that? Piglia-Borza I will then bring him your answer with the ten crowns. Barabas You will do right therein, and don’t feel welcome back. (Piglia-Borza leaves.)

What a nitwit! My servant might now be lost. Well, he has only himself to blame. The world is full of cheats like him. If I only pay a salary, I could get anyone to murder for me whoever I would wish.

Scene 6. Bellamira Well, what did he say? Did you get any money? Piglia-Borza First he turned sour. Then he gave me ten crowns. (gives them over) Bellamira (upset) Is that all? Piglia-Borza Yes, that is all. Bellamira When he is a millionaire! It’s an insult! Piglia-Borza He said, that if you went to the police, Ithamar, you would be stricken out of the will. Ithamar That’s what I thought. Bellamira This will not do. We must anticipate him. Why don’t we fix him at once? Then our friend here would have all his millions directly. Ithamar He is well guarded. He must then be tricked to come here in some way. No, I believe more in the blackmail method. Piglia-Borza Do you have any catch on him? Ithamar If I have. I know everything about him. I have his whole career on my five fingers. I can testify to all his crimes. First he made his daughter steal all the riches of the convent… Piglia-Borza (makes a note of it) Item one. Ithamar Then he poisoned all the nuns of the convent including his daughter for persisting to remain a nun. Piglia-Borza (noting) Item two. Ithamar But before that he had strangled Don Bernardino, for which crime Don Giacomo was executed for a punishment. They both had it coming and deserved it, but nonethelesss Barabas caused the death of both, and I was an eyewitness. Piglia-Borza (notes) Item three. Ithamar But before that he had caused the death of the governor’s son and young Mathias, his daughter’s suitors. I witnessed the duel myself. When one had been run through, the Jew ran the other through himself, since he wanted to keep his daughter for himself. Did you get it all? Piglia-Borza Item four. Some merit list of a mass murderer! And such a villain is allowed to go free with no limit to his riches without anyone relieving him of his overload! Bellamira Let’s get on with it! Let’s press him at once! Ithamar How much do you want? Bellamira Some hundred thousand. When they are finished we can ask for more.

Piglia-Borza Good. I will sum up his merit list to some three hundred thousand. Then he will be obliged to accept our business offer or take the consequences of the deficit. The case is clear. Bellamira Go at it at once, Piglia-Borza! Piglia-Borza I will run for it. (A guitar is heard.) Bellamira Wait! Piglia-Borza Make up your mind! Bellamira Do you hear the musician? Piglia-Borza Does my lady suggest the fool? Bellamira He is no fool just for pulling strings. Piglia-Borza Only I must pull your strings. Bellamira But these are different strings. Piglia-Borza But obviously she wants the player pulling them. Bellamira Yes, fetch him at once! Piglia-Borza (goes out on the balcony) You there with the guitar! Barabas (enters disguised as a musician with an enormous hat and a fantastic bouquet) Who? Me? Piglia-Borza Yes, you exactly! Barabas What about me? Piglia-Borza Get up here with your guitar! The lady here desires some music. Barabas (bowing deep, sweeping his hat) I shall be delighted to be at your service, my good gentlefolks! Piglia-Borza (to the others) He is coming up. Bellamira At last we’ll have some fun for a change! Piglia-Borza Weren’t you always pleased with me? Bellamira You were always boring as you never had any money. Ithamar Give him a break. I haven’t started the action yet. Bellamira All you have done so far is to bring ten crowns. Let’s have some music now! Barabas (flashing his hat) At your service, madame! I shall only have to tune the guitar first. (tests the guitar) Piglia-Borza He seems to be French. Bellamira Have you been long here on Malta? Barabas Just a few months. Piglia-Borza Do you know anything about the Jew Barabas? Barabas No, he never invited me to come and play. Should I know something? Do you know something? Bellamira Ithamar here knows everything. He is his heir. Barabas Well, then he should be well informed. Bellamira Tell him, Ithamar! (watches the Jew’s bouquet) Ithamar He is the greatest knave around the Mediterranean. First he manipulated his two son-in-law candidates into a duel with each other. One was the governor’s son, and when one of them died he himself pierced the other to death.

Barabas Not bad! Can it be proved? Ithamar I saw it myself. Barabas (aside) You did it yourself, you treacherous dog. Bellamira You are carrying a sumptuosly splendid bouquet on your hat. Could it possibly be for me? Barabas Of course, my lovely! Anything for a beautiful lady! (offers her the bouquet most chivalrously) Bellamira (smells them) Mmmm! They smell marvellously! Barabas (aside) They are intended to. Bellamira Tell me more, Ithamar! Ithamar Then he poisoned all the nuns of the entire convent including his own daughter as a revenge for her becoming a nun. Piglia-Borza May I smell it, Bellamira? (Bellamira hands over the bouquet.) Mmmm! (smells) Barabas (aside) I had some inkling but couldn’t believe it. So you did that as well, you infernal servant! But there you committed your fatal transgression. My daughter was no game. Bellamira Tell me more, Ithamar! (yawns) Ithamar Not the way you yawn. Am I that boring? Bellamira It must be the flowers. They smelled so sweet and lovely. Ithamar May I? (takes over the flowers and smells them) Piglia-Borza Absolutely stunning. Barabas Do you want to listen to Ithamar’s gossip or to my music? Bellamira Tell me more, Ithamar. (gets drowsy) Ithamar And then he… (yawns) Piglia-Borza Don’t you agree? Their sweetness is absolutely benumbing. (yawns) Ithamar I begin to suspect something behind this. Bellamira (drowsy) How was it with the priestly duellists? (falls asleep) Barabas You just keep falling asleep. Don’t you want to hear my music? Piglia-Borza Yes, we would love to, but… (falls asleep) Ithamar Who are you, musician? Barabas Don’t you know, Ithamar, that you can never fool a musician? Ithamar Now I know! You are the Jew himself! Barabas Too late, Ithamar. You have all three inhaled the poison which I perfumed with irresistible scents. Your boons behind my back are finished now! You are not just disinherited. You are dead! Ithamar (going out) He anticipated us… (falls asleep) Barabas Your sleep is eternal. I remove the evidence (takes care of the bouquet) and disappear. I have never been here. Good night! You made a good try, but there is no enterprise more risky than to wage on shortcuts and fast money by blackmail, and least of all against Jews. Enjoy your sweet death if you can, as your well earned wages! (leaves) (The scene remains. After Barabas’ disappearance, Del Bosco turns up, sounding the bell.)

Del Bosco Alas, no one at home! But they told me the best strumpet in town lived here. But the door is open? (enters) Anyone here? (calls) Hallo! (silence) No answer. There is a strange sweet smell here. (comes across the three bodies.) What do I see? O horror! What terrifying sight! By my grandmother’s ghost! This is absolutely terrible! (collects himself) All three are dead. What manner of murderous iniquity is this? Dear me, what a waste of such splendid beauty! (clasps his hands over Bellamira) But this one is a notorious pickpocket. And who is this? A Turk! I have seen him before. He served Barabas. But here is some paper. Let me see. (reads aloud with steadily increasing astonishment) Item one. He made his daughter steal all the riches of the convent. Item two. He poisoned all the nuns of the convent including his daughter for persisting to remain a nun. – But this is outrageously awful! And it’s written by a dead man’s hand! And the list is long! Only murders upon mass murders, infernal intrigues, and three fresh bodies to verify it! Flagrant evidence galore! That Jew is only spreading death around him! This must be of intrerest to the governor. I must run to his headquarters at once! My first duty now is to avenge the irrepairable loss of the only proper courtesan with the highest reputation in the city! (out)

Act V scene 1. The governor’s palace. Farnese But this is absolutely terrible! We owe you a great amount of gratitude for tracking down these outrageous crimes! At last all these unsolved problems and grotesque mysteries have found a solution! Imagine, that he alone was guilty of them all! Del Bosco But he will have a fair trial, I hope? I find it next to impossible to believe that one lone Jew could be guilty of such unheard of crimes exceeding all credible cruelty. Farnese Of course we shall hear him out. He has been imprisoned and will have a fair trial, but these are hard times – the Turkish armada has now been sighted off Sicily, and we are to expect a most horrible siege. There might perhaps be space and time only for a court martial to the Jew. Knight Most noble knights and governor, I beg to present Barabas, the worst villain that ever lived. (enter Barabas brought in chains) Farnese Barabas, you wicked devil and impertinent swine, so we finally got you at last! Barabas Save your flattery for the Turk, who needs and deserves it better. Farnese You have been found guilty of the worst crimes ever committed on Malta: multiple murder, all nuns in a convent including your own daughter Abigail, and my own son, besides priests and barons, all innocent, and who knows how many more! Barabas (calmly) What is your evidence?

Farnese An overwhelming mass! Barabas, even the dead testify against you from the other side of the grave! Read! (holds the paper to Barabas, who has to read it with his hands pinioned.) Barabas By whom did you find the paper? Del Bosco A most respectable lady, whose noble cavalier must have noted the list on your own servant’s dictation! All three were dead, obviously poisoned by you! Barabas (calmly) What is your evidence? Farnese Don’t you see, Barabas, there is no need for any more vidence, when the whole world testifies against you! And there can be no stronger evidence than a testimony by a dead man’s hand! Barabas The respectable lady in question appears then to have been Bellamira, the most industrious courtesan in town. Who did what with her, who found the note? Farnese We ask the questions! The hearing is run by us! 1st knight Excuse me, but he actually has a right to his defense, impartiality and an advocate. Lord governor, you are not unbiassed, since you lost your own son in these intricacies. Barabas asked you a question, and it should be easy to answer. Farnese Well, don Bosvo, answer the question of the accused! Del Bosco I was only making a respectable visit. Barabas To the worst whore in town? No one went to her except on business, or what? Farnese Del Bosco? Bosco Yes, I guess that’s correct. Barabas So you fond the paper in such a fantastic company: the whore, the pimp and the Turk. Did you know that they tried to press me for money? I have a letter from them for evidence. I claim, that they dictated that writing for the purpose of pressing me for money. 1st knight But your own servant? Your Turk? Barabas I had deleted him from my will. He was the brain in the plot. They hoped to anticipate my altering the will. Instead I intercepted them. His motive was clear. 2nd But the nuns in the convent and your daughter? Barabas This is the most infamous and inhuman accusation. A father can never bring himself to bereave his own daughter of her life, no matter what she might have done. Tyrants have disposed of sons for jealousy of mad power, but never in the human history has a father taken the life of his own daughter by his own will. Not even our Bible mentions anything such. The terrible poisoning of all the nuns in the convent was executed by Ithamar, my own servant, without my knowing it. That Turk thought he thereby could improve his position with me, as a kind of aborted flattery. 1st knight I am convinced. Barabas’ explanantion is more plausible than that he himself would have done such a thing. Farnese Well, what about Mathias and my son, then? Barabas Both proposed to Abigail, my daughter. Therefore they were angry with each other. I have an alibi that I had nothing to do with the duel. I never wanted Mathias to die, since he was loved by my daughter.

1st knight That is also reasonable and convincing. 3rd knight Well, what about the duel between the prelates? How do you explain that two príests furiously attack each other in a fight for life or death, who usually only dedicate themselves to peace? Barabas Don Giacomo accepted his guilt and was punished. I have nothing more to say about it. 2nd knight Well, what do you have to say about the three corpses in the whorehouse? Who had any motive of killing them but you? Barabas There you are. I had reasons enough to wish them out of this world, but you can’t bind me to any crime. Farnese Shall we then accept that they died by themselves? Barabas Do you have any other more demonstrable theory? Bosco (to himself) That Jew is too sleek. They will never get at his money. Farnese I am the governor and highest judge on the island, and I decide the following. We know you since of old, Barabas. You never lived for anything but your own wealth. You didn’t want to contribute when Malta was in danger, and that’s where the problems started. Then the terrible crimes started occurring. I sincerely believe that Abigail, your daughter, first became a nun to help you get back something of your lost wealth. Only that could at all explain that you landed on your feet after having lost everything. I don’t think you caused the death of your daughter or of any nun. Like your defender I think that your servant did all that behind your back. Neither can you be charged for the duel between Lodovico and Mathias. I know how Lodovico loved your daughter, who promised herself to his rival. But you can’t be absolved from all responsiblity in the fight between the priests. Neither can I believe in your innocence in the death of your servant and his fellow blackmailers. I find Barabas of Malta guilty of at least the death of four people, and that three of them were crooks is not alleviating circumstance. So you are pronounced guilty. All your property will be confiscated, and you will be hanged. Bosco It’s fair. Barabas It isn’t fair! You can’t prove anything! You can’t judge me on the sole ground that I can’t prove myself innocent! Farnese I have passed your sentence, and it stands firm. Take the poor devil away. He is outside the law anyway and has no right of appeal. (Barabas is taken away.) So I hope we at last will never see that knave again, and that he doesn’t resurrect yet again with all his riches. Messenger Lord governor! The Turkish fleet has been sighted! Farnese That was about time. At last we may fight. Knight (enters, sinister) Lord governor, a sad tiding. Farnese Well? Knight The Jew Barabas is dead. He must have taken poison himself. Farnese He always manages to intercept us. So he outwitted us unto the end. Knight What shall we do with his body?

Farnese We can’t have it here. We can’t give his paganism a Christian burial. Throw his body to the Turks! He was after all an agent in their service. Knight Shall we then just drop it over the wall? Farnese Yes. It’s a dog’s burial, and he was after all less than dog to us. Throw him to the Turks as a rotting corpse for a present to welcome them. Nothing vould be more appropriate. Knight (clicks his heels and salutes to acknowledge order received and leaves.) Farnese So we are rid of the inside enemy. Now we have only the outside enemy to think of. Take your positions for the defense! (All break up.)

Scene 2. Barabas That’s what I thought, that they wouldn’t like to keep a Jewish corpse in Malta. So here I am now, completely free and at large, just in time to welcome the Turkish armada and their invasion. Suleiman (enter with Turks) And who do we find here? A spy? Barabas (politely bowing) At your service, most gracious lord. Suleiman Who are you? Barabas A Jew, Barabas, just the right man to guide you and to give you the keys to the city. Suleiman Barabas, who was plundered by the governor, so that his tribute to us with your money should be paid, which it never was? Barabas The very man, at your service. Suleiman And what then are you doing here? Barabas You will have no other reception comittee. They just threw me out of the city, for they did not want to have a Jewish corpse on their hands when you came for a visit. So therefore they threw me to you. Suleiman This I don’t understand. Does that mean that you were dead? Barabas No, but well sentenced to death. I then took a herb and anticipated them, seemed like dead, and then I was passed on here as a body, and more like me and live again I was in good time for your embarkment. Suleiman I call that some strike of luck. So you can then give us the city? Barabas I know all about its bastions, gates and fortifications, and I can lead you to the heart of its massive defense system by the back door, so you can swiftly take them aback. It should be an easy game. Suleiman I believe so. If they are foolish enough to mishandle a Jew, they should know, that God himself can take revenge by the double and multiple on everyone who dares to inflict anything on anyone of his people! Barabas That’s right, my good Turk! So let’s go to it at once!

Scene 3. Turks march in with Farnese and the knights as prisoners in chains. Suleiman Well, you proud Christian dogs, how do you feel now? Wouldn’t it have been better to keep your promise to us and pay your tribute? On your knees, you unreliable cheats and indefensible opportunists! You are now slaves, who used to be so eager to make us slaves! Farnese We have nothing to say. We are prisoners and can only obey. Suleiman Serves you right, you false breaker of promises! I deliver you all with warm hands to our new governor. Welcome, Barabas, and may now your property be multiplied as thanks for having delivered Malta to us! Farnese Barabas, you insidious traitor! Suleiman Shut up, slave! You are now the property of your new governor Barabas, who has the power to do with you whatever he pleases. Barabas I thank you, Suleiman, for your generosity and my exoneration, and I will govern Malta according to common sense and liberal tolerance and without stupid persecution of alien and different religions. Suleiman Thereby we transfer our highest authority to you with the keys of Malta and these prisoners. (The keys of Malta are solemnly carried to Barabas on a red velvet cushion with tufts.) You have given us proof of extraordinary loyalty. We trust you completely and confer on you all our responsibility. That’s all. Back to our camp! (The Turks march off.) Farnese So you are now the governor with all that it means. You have been given the highest power over Malta and are now richer than ever before. I guess we have nothing else to look forward to than eternal darkness in a dungeon, if we are allowed any life at all? Barabas Gentlemen, nothing is more dangerous than to pass judgement by your prejudice. You were always prejudicial and therefore rather blind. I need you. As a governor I am not loved by the people, we are rather more hated than even the Turks. I suggest a coup. What if I give you Suleiman for a prisoner with his highest officers in your hands, so that Malta for all future will be free from Turkey? Farnese Barabas, you never cease to astonish me. If this could be carried through, all Christianity would be grateful to you, and you would naturally not only keep your riches but also your position as governor. Barabas I ask for nothing more. Then that’s settled. You shall have my instructions. I never failed before, so I could but win also now. (leaves) 1st knight Do you think he is serious? 2nd knight A Jew is always serious when he means business. 3rd knight He could make it. That’s for sure. Farnese So all we have to do is to wait for the redemption and that everything will return to normal.

Scene 4. The Turkish camp Suleiman This went smoothly enough, didn’t it, gentlemen? 1st Turk Yes, great general. Suleiman Malta is now subdued for all future, and we leave it in good hands and sensible care to a highly knowledgeable Jew who has proved himself more constructive and liberal than any Christian. We have seldom reached such a perfect political settlement. 2nd Turk Great admiral, a messenger. Messenger From Barabas, your governor of Malta. He greets you and wishes to see you with your staff on a banquet with him before you sail. Suleiman That’s decent of him. But can he afford such a feast? Malta is bombed to pieces by all wars, and there is hardly any food on the island. We do not wish to complicate his situation further by helping him rebuild the city. Messenger Barabas always has extra secret resources. Suleiman Where does he wish to meet us? Messenger In the nunnery at the outskirts of the city. Suleiman Tell him that we are honoured and that my whole command including myself will attend. Messenger Most welcome then. (leaves) Suleiman What about that? I call that a royal gesture. He wants to celebrate us with a farewell banquet! Scene 5. Barabas What do you give me for my trouble? Farnese What about a hundred thousand crowns? Barabas That’s reasonable. Agreed. (They shake hands) Farnese But please repeat the entire plan once more, so that you don’t miss anything. Barabas So, as the Turkish army enters the fortress and is seated at the festive banquet, the whole floor will explode, having been carefully mined. None of them will come out of that death trap alive. You immediately capture and take all survivors prisoners. But for Suleiman and his generals, I have prepared a far juicier surprise. As they pass the gallery to my party at the convent, you just swiftly cut the line here, and whoever is up on the balcony will then hopelessly fall down all the way to the cellar to drown there in a tub, which I prepared to be heated by a fire. They will all die in a minute, fried like frogs to rags of flesh. Farnese But how do I know when to cut the line? Barabas As soon as you see Suleiman cross the bridge. You can see it very clearly from here. Farnese Then I am ready. (to the knights) Be ready for the signal! Barabas And I will go to receive my Turkish delegation for the banquet. (Farnese and his knights conceal themselves. The Turks arrive.)

Most gracious effendi, most welcome to this final banquet! I hope it shall please you to the highest! Suleiman We know that much of your hospitality, great Barabas, that no one is ever disappointed. You always led a life of high moral standards and virtue and consequently only fair play. From the Christians we always had only trouble as they insisted on constantly giving us hell, but we always found that we could trust you as an honourable neutral, true and good honest Jew. Barabas And I am sure you will all be happy and satisified with our politics and that our collaboration by the years only will import the best harvest of results for the good of all. (aside) Why doesn’t Farnese cut the line? Maybe something has got stuck. (A terrible roar of noise in the background) Suleiman What was that? It sounded like some detonation. 1st Turk (enters suddenly) Lord general, a terrible accident! The whole fortress has exploded! Suleiman (alarmed, on his guard) What is this, Barabas? An attack, just when our greatest force was gathered there for pleasure and festivities? Barabas This is terrible! It must be saboteurs, terrorists, partisans and traitors! (aside) Something is wrong. I must check the mechanism. (goes up to the gallery himself) Farnese Now! (The line is cut, and Barabas falls down alone but gets a grip on a balk.) Del Bosco (rushes forth with his knights) Suleiman, you are all here taken prisoners! Suleiman This is treason! Farnese (steps forth) No, honoured colleague, it’s only war. We don’t give up Malta that easily. You were only fooled in here so that we could capture you and send you to death. Suleiman And the agent Barabas? Farnese Just a pawn in the game. It has filled its function. He fell himself into the trap he set up for you, believing that we as good Christians would give him extra gratifications. Suleiman So you tricked him to death by provoking his greed in a typical JewishChristian double play? Del Bosco (observes Barabas) He is still alive, lord governor, he hasn’t fallen down all the way. Farnese Will we then never have done with him? Barabas No, for the game isn’t over as long as I live. Suleiman Barabas, what trap is this that you have fooled us into and fallen into yourself? Farnese The fair lie of greed. He just wanted more money. To that pipe of lies all humanity keeps dancing to death. Suleiman Barabas, explain yourself! Barabas Suleiman, I apologise and ask you for forgiveness, for unfortunately Farnese is perfectly right: in my effort to fool you we both met with our destruction. We are lost, and it’s my fault. Yes, my carrot was to eke my fortune, for much wants more, and it’s not more than human that no one ever is quite content. You Christians

and you Turks and Muslims have taken everything away from us Hebrews, ruined our homeland, burnt out temple, expelled us and reduced us to homeless gipsies, despised and exiled by your prejudice beyond the law. We are fair game, and there is almost money for shooting us. Our only freedom that wasn’t taken away from us by force was to make money. And by the greed of humanity we saw our opportunity to still have power and some kind of influence on the course of the world, so we turned into merchants and bankers, profiteers on the perpetual greed of humanity. But I became greedy myself and fell into the trap of that weakness by which all human greed self-destructively keeps digging its own grave. Then fall, Barabas, and find your wages! (let’s go of his grip and falls) Suleiman We have lost our only friend in the world. Farnese I am sorry, gentlemen, but you have lost the war against Malta, which will remain free as a Christian freehold without Turkish tyranny. You must accept Christian captivity. If you are lucky your Sultan will ransom you fairly. Suleiman Money, governor Farnese? Farnese What else? As the fallen Jew said: man will never be satisified. Noble knights of St. John, bring out the prisoners! (The prisoners are taken out.) Del Bosco (to the audience) Thus ends our play, a study in capitalism, instructive for good and for worse perhaps, but actually only a documentary, a chart of the human squirrel’s wheel, which constantly whirls around madly driven by our urge and desire, to what purpose and aim? Yes, to get further on into the enclosedness of the squirrel’s wheel, but without ever understanding, that we are only our own prisoners. (bows and leaves)

The End.

(Athens-Palermo 7.4.2001, translated December 3rd 2018)

The Paris Massacre drama by Christopher Marlowe revised and slightly modernised by Christian Lanciai (2001)

Dramatis personae: Charles IX, king of France Henry of Anjou, his brother, later king Henry III Margaret, their sister Catherine of Medici, their mother Henry of Navarre Prince of CondĂŠ, his cousin Admiral de Coligny Duke of Guise Duke of Dumaine, his brother Cardinal Lorraine, their brother Gonzago Montsorrell PleshĂŠ Mugeroun, Henrik III:s favourite Duchess of Guise Her maid Epernoun Three hired murderers Brother James a doctor Attendants Court people Soldiers The action is in France 1572-89. Copyright Christian Lanciai 2001-2018

The Paris Massacre Act I scene 1. Paris, the Court, 1572. Charles IX This is a golden moment for us in France and for the entire world and a joy without limits, that peace is now secured for an indefinite future by the marriage between Margaret, our sister, and our noble cousin Henry of Navarre. May the union between our families and the destiny of our countries with this marriage be the seal on the welfare of ourselves and our country and on a lasting peace between catholics and protestants. Navarre Dear cousin, your eloquence and generosity and good will I accept with humility and joy in now subjecting my will to yours and that of your court, your mother’s and that of your lovely France. Catherine Thank you, dear son-in-law. We never doubted your good will, and that you now are one of us and belong to us will only import welfare, protection and safety for your name, your country and all huguenots, whatever they may think of us. Charles Let’s now forget about religion. We have great festivities to celebrate and a royal wedding, which will introduce a new better age of unity, tolerance and freedom, or what do you say, dearest sister? Margaret I am happy and content as long as I may do what I want. Charles You always had that licence, and you always will retain it. You are after all royal. Catherine Will you join us at mass, Margaret? Margaret I guess I must. After all, I am a catholic. Catherine (to Margaret) And so all must be. That was the only reason why you were married to that peasant of Navarre. He is the leader of the huguenots, and they will all now become catholics. Margaret By compulsion, mother? (leaves with Catherine and Charles) Navarre Condé, my prince, my good admiral, now we are safe. That I am now allied with the royal family should leave the huguenots in peace from all evil intrigue. Don’t you think we ought to be safe enough now? Condé Don’t be too sure. Perhaps you have been able to give the huguenots a moment’s relief, but the catholics are angry underneath and will have no competition. It is not allowed by the pope nor by the king’s mother without second thoughts. Coligny Their instrument is the duke of Guise, our only real dangerous enemy. Navarre No one would dare to touch a hair on a member of the royal family. Condé Don’t be naïve, my dear Henry. The cardinal, the duke’s brother, did all he could to stop the marriage, and even more fierce was the duke of Dumaine in raising storms against all plans to unite the French royal house with the Bourbons. Coligny I don’t think the danger is over. I rather suspect that now begins the time when we really have to be careful at the peril of our lives. Navarre And what can we do? 2

Condé Just pray, that sense in time at last will grab the helm of France so hard beset by turbulences, so that peace, growth and good judgement could rather dominate her destiny than vain fanaticism and insane cruelty, which so far has been the case. Navarre Let’s pray, gentlemen, that our sorely divided country soon may be redeemed by evangelization to the benefit of all. Come, let’s go to our chapel. (They leave.) Guise (enters stealthily) What falsity and hypocrisy that permeates the entire court, this corrupt damned circus of twisted lies, to this artificial wedding arranged by opportunism on both sides, the fool of a king believing it will provide him with better space for his play, and the vagabond fooled into believing that he has bought himself some security! And Margaret, the most licentious girl in the country, runs wantonly around embracing every man who is more handsome than her latest pastime, and buys the marriage only on condition that it will give her more freedom. What a black mass! It’s worse than a mad christmas for fools! A firm hand is needed here to take charge of the helm in bringing the ship out of the whirlpools and shaky ground of turbulence before chaos by the huguenots has driven us down to shipwreck! Something has to be done at once. Catherine Guise, my good man, you are a man according to my taste. I think we have the same thoughts. Guise Queen Catherine, in this country you are the only one to keep your head on your shoulders. All the others are rather loose, for they are not properly fixed. Catherine All catholics in this town who carry weapons are just waiting for the signal. Guise But who will give the signal? We can’t do anything without the king’s silent consent. Catherine The king will do whatever I wish. I think we can start without him. Guise And with whom? Who shall be our target? Catherine We should concentrate on the admiral Coligny. If we only can get rid of him, all others will fall easily. Guise And Henry of Navarre? Catherine He is just a sheep. He will follow the others later to the slaughterhouse. Guise So Coligny it is. Catherine He is the foundation of the protestants. If only he is out of the way, the others will stand without protection, frightened into exposed nakedness. Guise My queen, trust your duke. The matter will be arranged smoothly with ease. Coligny is dead. Catherine Thanks in advance. Guise We shall take care of the country well enough. (They leave.)

Scene 2. Navarre Margaret, we don’t love each other, but let’s not be enemies. Margaret You peasant lurch, I despise you, and I only agreed to the marriage because you are so simple and stupid. That would give me a eunuch for a guard and a warrant for my freedom of a life of my own. Navarre You can have whatever you wish, but please consider decency and our image to the world. We are after all royal. Margaret But you are a protestant, and I am catholic. That separates us more than any divorce. We can never be one soul together and even less one flesh. Navarre I accept that. But the more important it then becomes that we leave each others’ religions in peace. Margaret I don’t care about your religion, my dear king, like I don’t give a damn about my own. Navarre Your mother should listen to that. Margaret That old bitch! She only thinks of her sons. All her ambition for power is for her sons. To her religion is just a means for more power. Navarre So the less we have anything to do with her, the better. Margaret That’s what everybody thinks. Only her sons will have to do with her to their own perdition. Navarre The king’s position isn’t easy. Margaret She doesn’t even allow him to rule, even less to live. Coligny (enters) King Henry of Navarre, unfortunately I bring no good news. Navarre What has happened? Coligny Your mother. Navarre Yes? Coligny She has been poisoned and is dying. Navarre Poisoned? Why? Coligny Why, she is a protestant. Margaret No, she is just an old bitch. I wish it had been my own mother instead. Coligny Margaret, you are your own mother’s daughter. Margaret To my own permanent perdition. Navarre I must hurry to my mother. Coligny I am afraid it is already too late. Navarre Too late? It mustn’t be! Coligny Follow me! (Navarre follows him out) Margaret He is his mother’s son, and when she is gone that oaf will need another mother, not a queen, not a woman. But so they all are, those men. Coligny (outside) Navarre! I have been shot! Navarre (enters staggering with a badly wounded and bleeding Coligny) An assault in broad daylight in the middle of the street! This is no good portent. 4

Coligny (panting) I’ll manage. But the catholics have got started. Now they can’t stop. All huguenots must take cover! Navarre Tell that to all weaponless harmless protestants spread all over the country! Simple people, innocent citizens and good, ordinary, honest human beings! Coligny Your mother was the first victim. I was the second. The avalanche has started, and it’s already booming! Margaret Henry, my husband, you must escape. Navarre I refuse. This must not be true. You are exaggerating your paranoia. Coligny I warned you. And something tells me I will not get away next time. Navarre I can never take any threat seriously until I am exposed to it. Coligny I was exposed to it. Take it seriously. Margaret Henry, it’s serious. Henry Very well. I will blow. (leaves at once) Margaret And I follow him, for I am his wife. (leaves) Coligny (alone) Left alone in the middle of Paris bursting with weapons and murderers. What else have you to expect but the most unwelcome visitors? Charles (enters with some friends) My friend and admiral, my good Coligny, I heard you had been wounded! Coligny Yes, I was viciously attacked from behind, and the man responsible was set to kill me. But this is only the beginning. A catholic league under the leadership of the ruthless duke of Guise is set to cleanse the whole country and especially Paris from all protestants. Charles What are you saying? Coligny Wake up to reality, my king! Charles I promise you solemnly, that the man responsible for the assault against your life shall be hunted down with dogs if needed! I will leave you with a life guard of at least twenty reliable knights, so that no one will dare to approach you except your king. Coligny Charles, you must take care yourself! There are hired assassins lurking behind the curtains even in your castle! Charles Yes, I know. We live in troublesome and cruel times. Good Coligny, farewell. I will visit you with regular diligence. Coligny Farewell, my good king! (Charles leaves with his attendants.) I will probably never see him again. Everything related to religion is but irresponsible and murderous hypocrisy. (Murderers break in with Guise and Anjou in the background.) Dumaine Kill the admiral! Gonzago Is that the fellow lying here bleeding in his bed? Dumaine Yes, that’s him. I recognize the damages from the earlier failed attempt. Montsorrell Die, heretic seducer of the people! (attacks him) Coligny Am I then not even granted a confession? Gonzago You may kiss the cross here. That’s enough for your blessed eternity. (cuts his throat) 5

Montsorrell I just hope we executed the right man. Guise And is he really dead? Dumaine He is massacred. We can’t do it any better. Guise Then throw out his body in the street. Let this be the signal and introduction to our crusade. Rid Paris of all protestants! Let no one get away! Dumaine You heard the signal. Get going. Montsorrell There are thirty thousand catholics in this city just waiting to send the huguenots directly down to hell. Gonzago And at least eight thousand protestants. Guise So we have some work to do! Let’s get going! Dumaine All this must be accomplished this night! They must be taken by surprise! (Outcries in the streets.) Montsorrell The massacre has already started. Guise This will bring joy to queen Catherine. Dumaine Action, gentlemen! Call on all hangmen! Now is the hour of settlement with the false heresy! Gonzago More blood, if God is good! Guise Cut off the bastard’s head! Send it to the Vatican, to make the pope happy as well. Your fortune is made, my good admiral. You were finally martyred for the catholic church. Send my love to hell! (kicks the corpse and leaves. The others follow except certain brutal soldiers, who are left to manhandle the corpse before it is thrown out in the street.)

Scene 3. Condé My friend! You must escape! They kill all protestants! Navarre So it’s true. At first I thought I was dreaming. There were grievous outcries throughout the city, it was like a nightmare, and I heard the cries: ”Kill! Kill! Kill!” There were the cries of children and hysterical women in horrendous heartrending terror. But, my dear friend, we have nowhere to go. We are like shut up in the city with only murderers around us. Condé If we survive this we are immensely lucky. (Guise, Anjou, Gonzago, Montsorrell and soldiers break in.) Anjou It’s Navarre with Condé. Gonzago They are protestants as well. Kill them! Condé Anjou, are you yourself behind this? Anjou Henry, my dear brother-in-law, and Condé, on the contrary, I am only here to save you and bring you to safety. You must run away. Terrible things are occurring here this night, but no one wishes to see any royal blood being spilt. You are therefore both arrested. You have your king to thank for your protection and your lives. 6

Navarre Is the king in any way responsible for this meaningless rage of mass killing which makes your French capital drown and bleed to death in supreme abominable barbarity and brutality? Guise No member of our royal family knows anything about it. No one is to blame. It’s only the fault of the free-thinkers, who obstinately kept provoking France for years to bitter animosity against their arrogance and haughtiness. Anjou My mother is innocent, Navarre. She knows nothing and has not commanded a single murder. Navarre I believe you, Henry of Anjou. Anjou So follow me at once. Or else you have no chance. Soldiers, take away the prisoners! (Candé and Navarre are taken away.) Guise (to Anjou) They are the head of the dragon. We can’t spare them. Anjou You forget, my good duke, that he is my sister’s husband. And you said yourself that the entire royal family has nothing to do with what is going on. So my brother-in-law is above politics and protected against all violence together with our family, even if the initiative would have originated from the throne itself and its intriguing mother. Guise Henry, don’t abuse your mother. Anjou I will kill anyone who does. Tell her I told you so. (leaves) Guise The queen will not be happy. That Navarre should have been taken out was taken for granted. Now he is free to carry on, and we only succeeded in liquidating a few thousand protestants, perhaps only a fifth. It’s just a decimation. Our only success was to strike terror in them all, so that they will stay put in the future and not dare to raise their heads in dangerous pretensions and ambitions any more, and that at least is something.

Scene 4. Charles Mother, what kind of a human disaster has broken loose in rabiatic frenzy and madness all over France? Could you have any part in this? Catherine I don’t know what you are talking about. What has happened has come quite spontaneously from the people. Charles But our admiral was loved by them! He was the most trusted and only wise statesman in our country! There was no one I trusted as much as him! Catherine Don’t you trust your own mother? Charles Women is another matter! I am now talking about men! And the admiral was my right hand! He was more than like an uncle to me! Catherine I know nothing about it. Charles Of course you don’t. But don’t you see, that the government and our royal house is to the highest degree severely and irrevocably compromised in the eyes of the world? Mine is the responsibility for what has happened, for I am the king! I have 7

been sullied with blood on my hands without myself having committed as much as an evil thought! Catherine Then wash your hands. And surely you aren’t stupid enough to take up a defence for the huguenots with their dangerous free-thinking and evil doctrine? Charles Mother, you are going too far. Aren’t we all human beings? Is not your own daughter married to the leader of the protestants? Catherine He must convert to the only safe church. Or else the entire French royal house can not be responsible for his life. Charles Is that an ultimatum? Catherine No, a statement of facts. Regard it as an order. Charles You are a realist, mother. That can not be denied, and I respect you for always seeing things straight as they are. But I will never get over this meaningless terrible massacre at Paris. Catherine Please yourself. But Charles, my son, you must realize that as a king you must be strong and firm. You must not show any weakness. If you do you will no longer be able to be king. Charles Is compassion then a weakness? Is it a weakness to from responsibility feel regret for the crimes of others? Is it a weakness in a king to feel disgust, abhorrence and woe when faced with senseless cruelty? Is it a weakness to be human when all the world has gone mad and inhuman? Is it weakness to show that you are upset at the worst crime committed in French history? Catherine Yes, it is. A king must not show his feelings. Charles And a woman? What is then a woman without feelings? Is she a woman at all, or has she turned into something that is no longer human? Catherine Don’t go too far, my son. Charles And were we not christians before this night? But in the name of christianity we have now committed a worse crime than was ever committed in the name of any religion. Thereby we have murdered our christianity and completely robbed it of its moral ground of existence. Catherine Charles, you begin more and more to sound like a protestant. Do you wish to go off the same way as the cursed heretics? Charles Mother, are you threatening your son? Catherine We get nowhere like this. What is done cannot be made undone, and the sting is removed from the poisonous arse of the protestantic insects. They can’t sting us any more, and for that we should be grateful. Charles By celebrating masses and Te Deum? Catherine Why not? Nothing could be more appropriate. (leaves) Charles She keeps us all in her power, for she is the mother, but I am stifled by the pressing regime of her skirts. I wish I could abdicate, but she would never allow it. I will die as a king for the macabre massacre disaster of my reign, and the sooner, the better.

Act II scene 1. Margaret I have never seen anyone so ill. He is sweating blood and is in constant anguish, like a Jesus in Getsemane who never reaches the end of his night. And he is constantly tortured by nightmares and ghastly visions, as if all the terrors of Saint Bartholomew’s Eve had befallen only him. Navarre So he must be dying? Margaret But he wishes to see you before he dies. He never wished what happened to happen, and he thinks that only you could accept and understand that. Navarre And after him your brother Anjou will be king, who is now king of Poland and will be Henry III as king of France. Margaret And mother Catherine is longing for that day and looking forward to it as some kind of delivery. Navarre Even though it means her son’s death? Margaret She hasn’t looked kindly on him ever since the massacre on the huguenots. She hasn’t forgiven him for getting a bad conscience. And many tongues suggest that she must have poisoned him. Navarre Could she really? Margaret Not willingly. But she has definitely poisoned him from the start by her mother’s milk. Pleshé Henry, the king is on his way. Navarre In what condition? Pleshé He can’t walk but stagger, he can’t breathe but pant, he can’t do anything without starting to bleed. (enter Charles staggering with support, sweating blood) Margaret (rushing up to him) My brother, I told you not to exert yourself! 9

Charles My sister, even if I don’t, it’s a more than exhausting effort. Navarre My brother-in-law, Margaret is right. You should have allowed me to visit you instead. Charles I beg your pardon that I anticipated you, but I could die at any moment. Navarre (cautiously) Have you been poisoned? Charles Only by nature. All my cursed life was hopelessly poisoned from the very beginning, for I was ordained to be a king. All mother’s sons were destined to be kings, and we shall all die cursed as kings, poisoned by the womb of our origin. But she will receive her punishment. None of us will give her any grandchild. You will be king one day, Henry. Then you can bandage our country and atone for all the crimes committed by my family. Navarre It can’t be that bad. You are painting the devil on wall. Your brother Henry is a healthy nature with some detachment from Catherine. Charles If he tries to manage without her at all, she will kill him, like she poisoned me. Navarre You exaggerate. You are sick. Charles I know that I am sick. I am not exaggerating, since a dying man sees things more clearly than anyone living. I know Catherine, this horrifying monstrous mother, who will sacrifice anyone for the power of being able to decide the destiny of the world herself. Margaret Someone told me that you by mistake was poisoned by a book about falconry intended for my husband. Navarre But I am a catholic! I converted to the state religion for the sake of the family and peace! I bought my life by becoming a catholic! Margaret That makes no difference to her. If she has conceived the idea that someone is a threat to her purposes and position, he is dead even if he converts to the devil’s own catholic church and becomes a hired murderer at the service of the queen in the pope’s own name. Charles I regret to say that my sister is right. You must leave France directly when I am dead and protect your Navarre, for there are rumours about a dangerous alliance between the duke of Guise and the king of Spain. Navarre Will they never stop? Why are protestants so dangerous? How are we threatening our own country? How does our own free conscience concern the catholics? Charles Henry, if you return to Navarre you can resume your protestantism and be a protestant as much as you please, and then you can forget all about the religious hubbub of France. Navarre For once you are ahead of me in your good sense. Charles I am dying, dear sister. After me France will have a better king who had no responsibility for Saint Bartholomew’s Eve although he took part in it himself, since he had no official responsibility. That was all mine, who never took part and never wanted it. Margaret It’s all the fault of our cruel mother. 10

Charles I don’t think it’s that simple. Mother probably did not want it herself, although she was the one who started it. Margaret If she did not want it, why did she start it? Charles No one can understand the capriciousness of women. They don’t want to but still will do anything, they only wish the best for all but cause the greater harm for that, they only seek love but use it to tangle life so hopelessly into a mess driving all men to impotency, especially all her sons. Ask her about it. I can never understand her, although I tried hard all my life. Perhaps that’s why my life turned into such a complete royal fiasco of disastrous awkwardness. I must go. My mother is expecting me. (staggers out with the help of many) Margaret He will not survive the night. Pleshé Henry, it’s advisable for you to immediately abandon Paris and go home. Navarre I know. We’ll start immediately. Margaret I will remain here to watch your interests. Navarre Margaret, I sold all my shares in Paris, which isn’t even worth as much as a mass any more. Margaret I know. But one day you will start afresh from a new beginning. Navarre Not as long as the duke of Guise is alive. Margaret We should be able to get rid of him. My brother Henry will probably take care of the matter. Navarre Let him try without me. I resign. Margaret All the best to you and your Navarre. Navarre Perhaps we’ll see each other again one day when the huguenots at least will be granted so much freedom in our world so as to be able to breathe. (leaves) Margaret My elder brother is dead. My husband lives. My brother Henry also lives and will be king, but for how long? No one will live long around here, as long as mother lives.

Scene 2. Catherine Welcome, my favourite son, back to your own France, back to your throne and kingdom! You are now the lord of all of us and will rule the destiny and progress of the world. Henry III Thanks, mother, but I never desired the throne, since I already had Poland, which actually was a much greater realm. But since you have now given me my French throne, I will be obliged to keep it. But why has my brother-in-law and your husband, dear sister, left Paris, returned to the wild Navarre and relapsed to become a protestant anew? Didn’t you make him convert to your church by threatening his life during the Bartholomew night? Catherine We will soon get even with the few huguenots that still remain, among which Henry of Navarre was the most foolish and obstinate. We have formed an 11

unholy alliance between ourselves and Guise on one side and the Spanish king on the other. Against us together, Navarre will be but an easily quashed fly. Henry We have no quarrel with Navarre. Leave me in peace from your murderous intrigues, mother. Keep them to yourself. I want my France to be lovely and gay and filled with happy games and plays, tournaments, healthy sports, hunts and easy pleasures. Forget your fanaticism, if you want to keep any influence at all in my reign. Catherine My son, what is your meaning? Can’t you see the necessity for France to become as perfectly catholic as Spain? Henry With inquisitions and heretics’ piles as a gloomy terror all the way from Normandy to the Mediterranean? Forget it, mother. We don’t want any more Bartholomew nights, and if my conjecture is correct, that disaster ruined Charles’ life and killed him, your son, who wanted nothing to do with it and only died with a worse conscience for that. Catherine A heretic seduces the people and dissolves the religion and world order! Henry No, that’s due to the papal follies that dig the grave of the church by excommunications and useless intolerance for nothing against progressive thinkers who only want to cherish common sense! But you desire the opposite. Therefore you are not fit to have any part in our government. Catherine But this is outrageous, my son! You engaged yourself in the Bartholomew massacre with heart and soul! Henry Because I was young and naughty and reckless and allowed myself to be governed by you and the duke of Guise. I regret that now exactly as bitterly as your son king Charles himself regretted it unto his death. Catherine Has Poland made you so dangerously liberal? Henry Poland is a great power and very significant. Why? Because it has opened all doors to all Jewish enterprise, just like the great power of Turkey, which is even greater. Catherine Jews! Protestants! Scum! What will you turn our France into? A cesspool to all the illegal immigrants and refugees of the world? Henry Rather that than a stifling and gloomy hell of superstitious bigotry like Spain, where no one ever will be free again, since the church is strangling everything that doesn’t automatically repeat everything what the church says. Catherine Beware, my son, of making myself and the church your enemy! Henry Mother, you are retired and redundant. You have nothing more to do with the state. Catherine And this I have to listen to from my own son! Henry No, from the king of France, to whom you gave the title yourself. Catherine Don’t count with any support from me in your liberal politics. There are still more serious politicians and elements of power in the country. Henry Like the duke of Guise? Catherine He alone carried through the Bartholomew massacre. 12

Henry Was it indeed? I thought it was you. Catherine You are impossible, you monster of monomaniacal conceit! (leaves) Henry She is furiously delusional. Mugeroun But it wasn’t one day too early to have that bitch put into place. You will not have her puffing down your neck in the government. Henry I sincerely hope so. But could she still be dangerous? Mugeroun Not she, but the duke of Guise. Henry I know. He will be the problem to our state and government. Entertain contacts with Henry of Navarre, and ensure him about my friendship. Mugeroun That will please him. Henry We shall need each other as free kings. And he is next to my throne, if I like my brother was to suddenly die for some reason or another, since I have no children. Mugeroun You will have, I am sure. Henry Probably not, as long as my mother lives.

Scene 3. Duchess Give me some papers and a pen. Maid Yes, my lady. Duchess I must write love letters to the one I love, since I may not meet him. Maid Here you are, my lady. Duchess Thank you. – Dear friend, how shall I approach you? As a girl I was cheated of your love as they married me to the duke of Guise, but I have never forgotten you or ceased to love you. Perhaps we could meet just for once, so we at least could love each other only for once even if but with our eyes… Guise (has entered) What are you writing, my friend? Duchess Nothing. Guise Then it must be interesting. May I see? Duchess No. It’s nothing but nonsense. Guise Nothing is more interesting than womanly nonsense. (tears the paper from her) What is this? Love letters! Treason! My own wife! This is terrible! How could you do something like that behind my back? Are you not honourable? No, obviously you aren’t any longer. You are just a cursed whore! And that devil with whom you have been together is done for! Duchess Alas, don’t let him come to any harm! Guise Why not? He deserves it! He will top my black list for the next Bartholomew massacre! He has no chance, just because you have mentioned his name! I swear to that by all the devils of Satan and his catholics! (leaves furious) Duchess What have I done? I must warn him – but how?

Act III scene 1. Guise Your majesty, I bring bad news. Catherine All news these days seems to be bad. Guise We have lost the war. Catherine That’s all we needed. Guise Navarre and his protestants are triumphant, and your son king Henry leers at my defeat and gives me donkey’s ears. Catherine Is then the whole world gone crazy? Doesn’t anyone any more see the obvious necessity for the triumphant church to manage the world order alone? And that unhanged lurch of Navarre! For every advancing step he makes the world becomes a constantly more uninhabitable place. How can he be so lucky? Guise He is regrettably popular, and that is our misfortune. Catharine Yes, and that of France, since he will be king one day, as my son Henry is as unfit as any of the stillborn sons of my miserable life. They will be kings, but they will never be men. Guise Still you have me, my queen. Catherine Yes, but you have fallen out of grace, and the whole country is laughing at you for your horns, the long ridiculous horns of a deceived husband. Guise It is not my fault. Catherine Isn’t it? No wife deceives her husband unless something is lacking in his love. Guise She never loved me. Catherine So you blame her? Guise No, the rogue who stole her heart. Catherine Do you know who it is? Guise Yes, the king’s own favourite. Catherine You will never be a man again until you are revenged. Guise Shall I dispose of the king? Catherine Not yet. He is after all my son. Guise But later? Catherine Only if necessary. Guise It’s always safer to act in advance. Catherine He holds nothing against you. He just finds you amusingly ridiculous. Guise He is like a child who lives only for his games and pleasures. Catherine And as a child he is innocent. Guise Well, for your sake I will leave that innocence in peace for the time being. Catherine But don’t give up against Henry of Navarre! Guise He is after all your son-in-law. Catherine Yes, but a protestant, which makes me constantly furious! Guise I have the honour of completely sharing your fury with you, Madame. (bows and kisses her hand) 14

Catherine I thank you, my only friend. (Guise leaves.) He will go at any length, and he is all I have to put up against the foolish wantonness of my royal son.

Scene 2. Navarra Margaret! What news from court? Margaret The king congratulates you to your victory against him. That serves the duke of Guise right, he argues, and shows him his horns, while Guise is consumed by his ignominy as a deceived husband. Navarre Is he and the queen still at it with their intrigues? Margaret Yes, all they dream about is renewing the golden age of their dreams with the bloodbaths and massacres of Saint Bartholomew. Navarre The old lady is sick. She can’t be normal. Margaret Neither is Guise. But Guise is dangerous, for he is always particular about taking out vengeance. Navarre Has he ever poisoned anyone? Margaret No, but the king’s favourite Mugeroun was the other week knifed to death. The murderer naturally got away, so it could only have been an intrigue by the duke of Guise. Navarre What does the king say about it? Margaret He is sane enough not to want anything more to do with mother, but he fears the duke of Guise. Navarre Is he that powerful? Margaret The pope, the Spanish king, the church, all the fanatics of France and, worst of all, mother are supporting him. Navarre But no one else. The people hate him. Margaret By all rights. Navarre There will probably be some settlement by and by. Margaret I think so too, perhaps also between us. Navarre Do you wish to dissolve our marriage? Margaret It was just a formality and a farce from the beginning. We hardly did anything as a married couple except deceive each other. Navarre How many did you have? Margaret At least as many as you. Navarre So we are rather even. Margaret Yes, so far. And until you become king, I will remain your agent. Navarre What about your brother? Can’t he have children? Margaret You know how he works. He doesn’t work. Navarre Well, I suppose you are right. Your mother only had impotent sons, but her one daughter compensated them all. 15

Margaret Navarre Margaret Navarre Margaret

I have nothing against it. Neither have I, as long as you remain loyal. My friendship, Henry, is far more precious and safer than ever my love. I thank you for it. A kiss? The seal of our friendship. (They kiss.) Scene 3.

Catherine This can’t go on, my dear Guise. You must do something about it. Guise Why don’t you do something about it yourself, queen Catherine, who alone holds all the power? Catherine My son refuses to work with me. He doesn’t even want to see me. Guise Then kill him, like you killed your other royal son. Catherine I never wanted the death of Charles. Guise Why then did you arrange it? Catherine It wasn’t me. It was an accident. Guise But you organized it. Catherine It was intended for Henry of Navarre. The wrong book was read by the wrong royalty. Guise But your son was the one who died, and you caused his death. Confess. Catherine No, it was Navarre who caused his death, for if he had only read the book himself, my son would never have obtained it. Guise And Henry of Navarre is still alive. Catherine I don’t know how many attempts he has escaped already. Guise Perhaps it would be easier to murder your son the king. Catherine Don’t ask me for the impossible. Guise Remember, he has no issue. If he dies Henry of Navarre will be king. Catherine That’s exactly what we must evade at any cost! Navarre must never be king! France must remain catholic! Guise Tell that to Navarre, and he will only laugh at you. Catherine There is a way to solve the problem. Guise You can’t kill Navarre. He knows all your methods. Catherine Both must die. Guise Both kings? Your son and son-in-law? Catherine We have no choice. I hereby give you the commission. All means will be at your service. I give you carte blanche myself. As a reward I offer you the French crown. Guise That will introduce an entirely new royal family called Guise. Catherine That’s what France needs: fresh blood, new masters, and a catholic totalitarian monopoly of faith and creed, like in Spain. Guise It will be my pleasure to oblige and obey you, Madame. The question is only if it is feasible. 16

Catherine It must be feasible! What the pope can do, you can do. Guise The pope controls only Italy. There he can poison and have anyone murdered. In Spain the king manages all settlements at the smallest wink of the pope. But for the rest of the world the pope is rather powerless. Catherine So you shall be his closest agent. Guise It could be dangerous. Your son is on guard. Catherine May the best part survive, and may he be a catholic, so that all will follow him. Guise I regard it as a mission of honour. Catherine You must succeed, my good duke! It’s an order! Guise (with a bow) Madame, I obey you, for the sake of the welfare of the world.

Act IV scene 1. Henry To murder or be murdered – that’s the law of the age. To be kind in these times as the same as to be killed. Goodness has no chance. You have to murder the murderers before they murder you, or else there will be no end to the murders. (to the three murderers) Are you fit? 1st murderer We couldn’t be fitter. Henry I mean, are you ready to go for it? 2nd murderer With every harlot in Paris, Monsieur, who just is willing enough. Henry I mean, dumbbells, if you are ready with what you are about to do? 3rd murderer How can we be ready before we have finished the job? Henry Epernoun, they don’t get what I say. Talk to them to set them right. Epernoun Do you get it, comrades, that as soon as the duke enters the room you attack him from behind, slit his throat, cut up his belly to make all his bowels fall out, so that he doesn’t produce any more shit in this life, and then you castrate him with a vengeance. Is that clear? 1st murderer Everything at once? Epernoun Of course! 2nd murderer But if the king resists? Epernoun It’s not the king you must kill, you fools, it’s the duke! 3rd murderer But if the duke doesn’t want to? Epernoun Then hang him, or shoot him in his head, or cut his neck, whatever, as long as he dies! 3rd murderer A duke’s neck can be extremely tough. Some hangmen haven’t succeeded in cutting off heads until the third stroke. Epernoun Don’t protest, just do it! All three killers Do what? Epernoun (crying) Kill the king! (The murderers get confused, the king gets desperate.) 1st murderer Wasn’t it the duke we were supposed to murder? 17

2nd murderer What duke? Henry Epernoun, your hired killers seem a bit uncertain about their mission. Epernoun Of course they must be, with you yourself standing here watching! Get lost, your majesty, or else we’ll never get the king slaughtered! 1st murderer Wasn’t it the duke we were supposed to murder? Epernoun Just murder whoever you wish, as long as you get it done! 3rd murderer Pardon us, but it’s a bit difficult to act on such ambiguous orders. Was it the cardinal or the admiral we were supposed to kill? Epernoun (suddenly on his guard) Quiet! I hear him coming! Scram, all three of you! Hide! Here he comes! (The murderers and the king disappear.) Guise (enters) Epernoun, my dear friend, I am looking for the king. Epernoun He is not here. Guise I had an appointment with him here. Epernoun But he isn’t here. Guise You seem on edge. Are you hiding something? Epernoun Not at all. Guise Are you at a loss for a toilet? Don’t hold it back for my sake. Epernoun I am not holding anything back. Guise Are you ill? Epernoun Even less. Guise How can you be so sure? I am not so sure. Epernoun But I am. I have never been healthier. Guise Thus speaks only the mortally ill. No one imagines himself healthier than the man who is right about to die. It’s a well known phenomenon. Epernoun I am sorry, but I am not dying at all. Guise Have you been too long in the sun then? Epernoun Even less. Guise What then are you doing here? Epernoun Nothing. Guise So go for God’s sake and make yourself useful! Find the king and tell him that I am here! Epernoun As you wish, your grace. (bows and leaves) Guise What’s the matter with that fellow? He looked at me as if I had been some ghost. (enter the king) Well, at last a man you can speak with! Good morning, your majesty! Henry Good morning, cousin. How is it? Guise I understand that my extensive and expensive court has raised your eyebrows. Henry Not only that. You murdered my friend Mugeroun. Guise He made love to my wife! Henry No, cousin, he didn’t. He knew your wife long before she was known to you. They were just childhood friends. Guise But she loved him! He gave me horns! 18

Henry And did you never deceive your wife yourself? Come on, duke! Here in France everybody loves everybody without anyone being so stupid as to protest, for the general love game is beneficial to all. Guise But my own wife! Henry Do you then own her? Guise Yes, at least her body! Henry Property is something you control. If you can’t control it you must lose it. Guise I am sorry about your favourite’s sudden violent death. Henry So am I, but the worst thing is that no one has avenged him. Guise Was that all you wanted? Blunt moralising? Henry Wait here. I’ll just have a word with Epernoun. (leaves) Guise What does he mean? Will he drive the matter to some point? (pulls his sword) Well, I have my sword. Perhaps it would be best to kill him right here and now. (enter 3rd murderer) 3rd murderer Pardon me, your grace, but I don’t want to murder you. Guise And why on earth by all the saints should I murder you? Have we any unfinished business? Do I know who you are? Should I know? 3rd murderer No, you don’t know who I am, and that’s just as well, because I leave now. I am pulling out. Guise Out of what? 3rd murderer (cautiously) In the next room there are two hired murderers waiting for you. Guise Is it my hired murderers who are here to murder the king? 3rd murderer No, it’s the king’s hired murderers who are here to murder you. Guise Are you sure? 3rd murderer Unless I got it all wrong. Guise My friend, you had better leave. Obviously you are confused. 3rd murderer Thanks for that. Then I’ll get lost for good. (disappears quickly) Guise What was that all about? Some joker out of a black comedy? Maybe one of my hired killers who got confused about the whole thing. Such things happen. Well, he is absolved. He doesn’t have to be on. 1st murderer (outside) Listen, buddy, Quasimodo tried to spoil the whole thing. 2nd murderer Who is left in there? 1st murderer I’ve no idea. 2nd murderer Good, let’s then go in and kill him straight and get it over with. We have free hands, and then we can blame it all on both the duke and the king. 1st murderer Yes, let’s do it. (they go in to the duke) Guise More hired killers! Weren’t you the ones I hired to kill off the king? 2nd murderer Yes, and you must be the king. Guise No, I am the duke of Guise. You are mistaken. 1st murderer If we say you are the king you are the king, and that’s that! (They both cut him down.) 19

2nd murderer One fly missing out of the crazy nobility. 1st murderer The devil will hardly miss him. 2nd Come! Let’s now get our reward! 1st By the duke or the king? 2nd It doesn’t matter. By the one whom we didn’t kill, for the other one has hardly anything left to give. Come! (They leave.) Guise What infernal blunderers! Sixtus, now strike the world with your inquisition for my sake! Parma, Philip of Spain, vengeance on the house of Valois! My queen, I have failed you, and may your entire royal house be damned for that matter! (dies) (enter the king and Epernoun) Epernoun They made it! Henry Be damned, deceitful duke, the instigator of all the massacres and persecutions in France! At last we have extracted those adder’s teeth out of my mother! You can try now, mother, to force France into your compulsory inquisition! At last we can in peace and quiet forget about the papal church and just let it be damned! Epernoun Sire, I hear your mother coming. Henry Let that bitch behold the perfect sum of all her intrigues and twisted ambitions herself! Catherine (enters) Alas! What do I see? The duke of Guise! Murdered! Henry Yes, mother, and we did it ourselves. Here is the root of all evil, of the French civil wars, of the division between Valois and Navarre and of the school of professional hired murderers who were sent from here by you and him to all the world, even to the queen of England! Here is the waster of the funds of state, who ruined our France only to equip an armada against England to let it founder! Catherine My son, you are mad. Henry No, mother, at last I have found myself! I was no king until now! It’s your own evil work you are beholding, not mine! I never wanted anything of all you did, as little as my brother wanted it, who died of guilt because of your actions! Behold your innocent children, who are dying for you, for your bloodstained hands! Behold your instrument, who passed all bounds of lunacy by his fanaticism, the duke of Guise! He is now dead. Have you understood? He is now dead! Catherine (terrified) And you murdered him! Henry With a vengeance, because it was right! Catherine My son, you are a monster! If only I had killed you already in your cradle! You are not my son. You are a changeling, a bastard, a cuckoo, a gipsy orphan, that some devil gave to me to deprive me of my life! Henry Then cry for Guise, who maybe was your true son? In that case, be comforted by his body, for he is now dead and yours forever. Come, Epernoun. Leave the vulture alone with that corpse. (leaves with Epernoun) Catherine (throws herself on the body) My Guise, my dear Guise, what will now become of your world? We only wished it well, and we did only well, for all we wanted was the world to come to its senses and become uniformly catholic! Now everything falls apart, 20

for the world is confirmed in its madness, and only we, who were sensible, are blameless for its ruin! Now there will never be any French inquisition, now there will be no more invincible armada against the mad and heretic England, which now will remain hopelessly established in its irreligiousness and shut up in its own voluntary mental asylum named Tolerance; now the pope himself will lose his zest when his right hand is gone, and now there will be no more wars against the arch villain Henry of Navarre, the only origin of all evil and the very incarnation of its hopeless madness! All I have left to do now in life is for my country is to see to it that both he and the king dies, for although he is my son, it’s far better than no one at all may be king than that such monsters are allowed to govern! You, my Guise, was the world’s only hope. Now there is nothing left in the world when you are gone, except raving antichristian lunacy!

Scene 2. Cardinal Lorraine (in prayer) What did I do wrong? I only did what I thought was right. I served my church, and for the sake of the church I sanctioned the Saint Bartholomew Eve’s massacre. Queen Catherine was right: the free-thinkers and huguenots were the greatest threat against the state. We had no choice but to try to eliminate the growing tumour by drastic surgery. Still I have a bad conscience, and I can’t understand why. 1st murderer Cardinal Lorraine? Lorraine Yes? Who are you? I don’t know you. 1st murderer You are an old crook. Lorraine So what? Aren’t we all, when we reach a certain age of maturity? 1st murderer But you are an old murderer. Lorraine No, I am not guilty of murder. 1st murderer What about St. Bartholomew’s Eve, then? Lorraine It wasn’t me. It was king Charles and the duke of Guise and the king ruling now, then the duke of Anjou. 2nd murderer Don’t try to get away with it! Lorraine What do you mean? Who are you? 1st murderer The duke of Guise is dead. And king Charles IX is dead. 2nd Only you remain of the murderers, you old knave, and your brother Dumaine, but we will settle with him as well. Lorraine What do you mean? Why are you here? 1st We have come for confession. Lorraine Both at the same time? It can’t be done. I have to take one at a time. 1st Start with me, then. It was I who murdered the duke of Guise. 2nd No, it was I. 1st It was both of us. And now it’s your turn, fake cardinal. Lorraine But consider what you are doing! I am a true cardinal! 21

2nd That’s just it, mean villain! (puts the rope around his neck) Pull it tight! You will avoid dying like your victims of Bartholomew’s Eve, reverend cardinal! You let your soldiers massacre ordinary people and cut out their bowels, but you will only be hanged. Be happy and thankful for that privilege. 2nd (strangles him thoroughly) I think he has planted his last potato. 1st Let’s proceed then to the next one. 2nd Is the list still long? 1st There are still many dukes and barons. 2 How many? 1 I never could count, you know. I could only act. Others will do the thinking for me. 2 All right then. The point is we get paid. 1 And not all professional murderers are paid directly by the king. (butts him with the elbow, blinking) 2 So we sent the cardinal on his way by his order straight to hell. And who is next? The sow that survived herself who is his mother? 1 Don’t ask unnecessary questions. We are to kill, not to ask questions. 2 But shouldn’t we kill the right person at least? 1 Yes, but we shouldn’t know who it is. 2 It doesn’t matter. The point is that they are killed. 1 Exactly! Next one in the row!

Scene 3. Dumaine My brother the duke of Guise is dead, and murdered! I am still living – by what right? With the right of vengeance, my most sacred duty, on all his damned murderers and their followers the huguenots. It’s time for someone to at last do something about it and liberate the country from free-thinking and get its greatest threat that peasant of Navarre out of the vicinity of politics and out of our lives for good! He is a phantom who still dares to live when so many others for his sake have died! Yes, what is it, brother James? James Your grace, bad news. Dumaine Not again! James Your brother cardinal Lorraine has been murdered. Dumaine Not him as well! James Strangled by order of the king, no doubt. Dumaine Then we have only one thing to do. This means war! We must gather new armies against the king and his brother-in-law, that incorrigible heretic Henry of Navarre! James There are no armies left for you to gather. All have been wasted. I have a better suggestion. 22

Dumaine Well? James Leave the king to me. Dumaine You mean… (makes a sign across his throat) James I have sinned much in my life and have much to atone for. Dumaine But how will you get at him? James I am a catholic and a trusted Jacobin. I am a personal confidant of the queen. Dumaine Well then! That opens all possibilities! You will surely succeed with the impossible. But do it at once! You must not be anticipated! James I have nothing to fear. I am a Jacobin, remember. Dumaine But what about me, you jackass! Both my brothers have been assassinated, and no head is more loose on his shoulders than mine! James Trust me. I know my duty. Dumaine A man’s primary duty towards himself is to survive, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult in these days. Just get on with it! My life depends on the king’s death! James He is dead already, for his mother has already sacrificed him in her heart. Dumaine So it’s just to plant the knife and wring it around? James A mere formality. Dumaine Good luck then. James Thank you. (leaves) Dumaine But Henry of Navarre is still there. When will we at last get rid of this dragon called free thinking? Perhaps never, since the more we kill, the more there are survivors, who remain, with those who avenge themselves.

Act V scene 1. Henry III Welcome, dear sister, home to hell and the court of Paris! How is my dear brother-in-law? (Catherine moves among the curtains in the background.) Margaret Henry of Navarre sends his greetings that he prefers keeping where he is for the sake of general peace and wants absolutely nothing to do with the intrigues and plots in Paris. Henry That’s the greeting of a wise man. Lucky for us that there is one man more than I who has his head correctly screwed on. Catherine (aside) On the contrary. You alone are both screwed in your brains, but it is not your fault but the consequence of power. Margaret Is our mother well? Henry She lives. That’s all I can say. Margaret The duke of Guise and cardinal Lorraine have been murdered, and I assume that she is the only one to mourn for them. Catherine (aside) More than for her own children. 23

Henry I know nothing about that. The less I learn about my mother, the better. No news are the only good news I ever hear of her. A servant Your majesty, a monk is here with a letter for you. Henry What kind of a monk? Servant A Jacobin. (James appears.) Epernoun I don’t like his looks. He can’t have anything good to bring. Henry Still he is a monk and holy as such. Am I not a catholic? Of course the monk is welcome, if he brings me any message. James (appearing) Your majesty, I only bring a simple petition. Henry It is our duty to receive it. James The president of Paris asks for a quick answer to these lines. (delivers a letter) Henry Then I must read the letter at once. James Read it carefully, and consider well its contents. (The king reads. James pulls a dagger.) May the only God of the only beatific church now stand me by! (strikes the king from behind) Epernoun An assault! Lock the doors! Henry You insidious villain! And did you imagine that you could kill me and get away with it? (strikes the monk) James Yes, with beatitude for my reward! (dies) Henry You stupid, imbecile, infantile, ridiculous and ignorant villain! Who paid you for your folly? Epernoun He is dead. How is it with you, my liege? Henry Bad. I am dead and will not last for long. Catherine (coming out) My son! Henry Out of my way, you atrocious witch! Leave me alone from your touch, which in France by your hands has spread death like a plague, you vile swinish whore! Drive out the hag! I don’t ever want to see that infective crone again, especially not if I am to die! Catherine My son! I never wanted anyone’s death among my sons! Henry Still you alone caused the death of them all. And how do you explain it? Margaret Mother, you had better leave. Catherine Yes, I will take my leave, my children, now that you all are dead. (leaves, upset in despair) Henry She is far worse than an ordinary hangman. Margaret Brother, you must not die. France needs you. Henry I must die, for France to at last get a sensible king. Margaret Who? Henry Your husband, Henry of Navarre. Margaret But he is a protestant? Henry Yes, and that serves the whole damned world right. What it needs is a real king who can give the pope a necessary kick in the arse that he will never forget. And concerning France the role of the church seems now to reach an end. It can never 24

regain the people’s respect after the career of the duke of Guise and his night of Saint Bartholomew, in which all catholics took part including myself. The cruel fanaticism has deprived christianity of all credibility. Epernoun Here is the physician. Henry What is your verdict, doctor? Have I any chance left for any sort of life, or have I been paid off? Doctor (examining) It’s a very serious wound. It’s not deep, but its damages inside are considerable. The murderer has not cut deep, but still he has cut off your life’s thread, for that knife, which I can now conclude from the reaction of the blood, was viciously prepared and poisoned. Henry So I am done for. Doctor Unfortunately the poison has reached circulation. Henry Margaret, my Epernoun, I die after a sordid failure of a government, which I am now refused the possibility to amend. But there will be someone coming after me. He will have a considerable job cleaning up the mess after all our ravings. Margaret My brother, Henry is on his way. There is still time for you to meet him. Henry That was good news. Don’t tell mother, for she would only block my last opportunity. Margaret She wouldn’t dare. Navarre (enters) Brother-in-law, royal cousin, my dearest friend, yet again is France then beset by an apocalyptic tragedy, and that’s one too much! Henry But it’s the last one, for you will now be king after me. Navarre How can I? I am a protestant. Henry That’s why, stupid! That’s what our country needs: at last a human being who is not a catholic. Margaret I hear our mother approaching. Henry That’s all we wanted. Catherine My son! My last most beloved son! Henry Behold your handiwork, dear mother. Behold the end result of your intrigues. Here lies your last son dying as a victim of your intrigues. Now you have succeeded in killing off your entire family. Catherine Don’t be so cruel. I never wanted this. The monk was under the order of the duke Dumaine, who avenged his brother the duke of Guise. Henry And who was the duke of Guise if not a dearer cousin and more trusted as such than any of your sons? Catherine He was a moral support with a backbone. Henry While your sons were just spineless animals indulging in immorality. But who broke their backs? Who taught them all the vices of the world, strategies of assassination, insidiousness, cruelty, bloodthirst and consistently furtive deception? No one but you. Catherine Don’t be so cruel. Try to repent your sins now instead as you are facing your departure. 25

Henry I have nothing to repent which I did not repent already, except the one thing for which I was not to blame: that I had you for a mother. That crime, the only astronomical one, was not my fault. Catherine You renegade son, can’t you be reconciled with your mother even at the moment of death? Henry Never! And I will give you some heritage. After me you will have for a king your beloved Navarre, the protestant. Catherine This is too much! Henry I thought so. That was intended. One last blessing for my holy catholic mother, and something to laugh at for the rest of eternity. (tries to laugh but dies) Margaret Now I have no brother left in life except you, my husband, and you are now the king. Navarre And I fear for that part. Why me? Can’t you be a queen without me? Margaret Ladies are not involved in the French succession. We always had to content ourselves with manoeuvring back stage at all times. Navarre And you did so with the more energy. Catherine King Henry of Navarre, I have now lost all my sons, and it is up to you now to form a government. You can’t do that unless you cooperate with the old one. First of all I therefore beg of you a favourable introduction. I ask for reconciliation. Navarre I never had anything against you. You were hated and loved by your sons, but I was always careful not to take part in anything. Catherine You have won, and I must admit that I always respected your sound peasant common sense. That is perhaps what France is most needing now. I want to give the chance to raise France on her feet. But you can’t be a protestant. You must convert to papacy. Or else you can never have that freedom to govern which is so vital for an enlightened king like you. Margaret She is right, my husband. As a protestant your hands are politically pinioned behind your back. Navarre (takes his place between the ladies, taking care of both) Two women urge me to fall. Who can resist any of them? That man is an idiot who turns any woman down, especially if that woman herself makes the offer. But there is a third woman, which it is my greatest duty unfortunately, no matter how revolting it is, to take care of, and that is the deepest fallen woman of them all, which is our France. I accept your invitation, my ladies, and will become a catholic for the sake of this fallen woman. Catherine Then you also have my support, Henry of Navarre. Margaret She considers it her life’s greatest victory that a leader of the protestants finally becomes king of the country and a catholic. But here our destinies separate, Henry. You don’t need me any more. I have protected you through the troublesome years with my royalty and status, which has given you power, the crown and the nation. Now find yourself a real wife, for a Valois is not good enough for you any more. Navarre Margaret, I sincerely hope we will remain the best of friends nonetheless? 26

Margaret Of course. We always were, although we were married. Navarre So, my ladies, friendship and reconciliation, love without limits, peace and welfare, reconstruction of our country and an end to fanaticism shall mark my government. Nothing is more unnecessary in life than inconvenient enmity, and I only want the whole world to be my friends. So let’s be positive in view of the future; since the least thing we can do, in view of how the recent past has destroyed all human values, is to piously concentrate on giving France a future. Epernoun Long live Henry of Navarre! Long live the king of France, king Henry the Fourth! (All join in with cheers.) All Long live the king of France! Epernoun So let us carry out our dead king and give him the worthiest possible funeral, so that we then can celebrate a new era with a still better king. Navarre Thanks, my good Epernoun. We will start at once. (Henry leads with both ladies, the others follow carrying the body of Henry III.)

The End

Comment The subject of this play is the most revolting imaginable: the greatest moral fall in history of the catholic church by the massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Eve with 6000 protestant victims in Paris August 1572. At the centre of this human disaster stands Catherine de’Medici, one of the most debatable women in history. To visualize this as a drama is practically impossible, as the event is so utterly offensive. Still there has been a number of successful attempts, like by Alexandre Dumas père, whose novel ”Queen Margot” although historically grossly incorrect and exaggerated, was filmed with great success with Virna Lisi as an unforgettable Caterina de’Medici. But the best dramatization of the event is still Christopher Marlowe’s, who almost was in it himself. When it happened he was a pupil eight and a half years old at the Canterbury Cathedral School, and his future employer Sir Francis Walsingham, the founder of England’s secret intelligence service, was frequently in Paris in those years and could have been an eyewitness. Marlowe’s play ”Massacre at Paris”, probably the last one he wrote under his own name, is his most condensed, wild and sensational production: it is almost like a modern evening press report. Its almost journalistic 27

briefing and accentuation of the atrocities has brought many to believe itâ€™s just a fragment, that the real original play has been lost and that the version preserved is just a rough bad copy, a hasty edition for a secondary theatre after many cuts. Still this mutilated play has preserved an important characteristic of cold detachment and objectivity, which attitude to the problem complexities of the Bartholomew Eve is much more efficient and fair than the passionate exaggerations of Alexandre Dumas. The version presented here has followed up and tried to fulfil Marloweâ€™s ideas. The structure of his play is a devastating analysis of the untenability of the catholic church in theory and practice, completely ignored by Dumas, while here instead we have tried to confirm it. This version is founded completely on Marlowe, while the characters Margaret and Catherine have been given wider space. Perhaps we also to some degree have tried to patch together Marloweâ€™s punctured fragment and approach something of how the real, more extensive original could have been.

Verona, 11.4.2001, in Swedish, translation completed 21.11.2018.

The Marlowe Trilogy 1. The Plot

2. The Ghost Writer

3. The Dishonour

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A Case for Christopher Marlowe In the view of the establishment there is no mystery. There is no reason even to doubt that the Shakespeare dramatic works could not have been written by anyone but Shakespeare, since they were published in his name. The printed standard edition of his works however was not published until six years after his death and nine years after he had left the theatre for good, and this standard version, The First Folio, consisted almost half of it of works that never had been published earlier, some even never staged earlier, and some of the plays that had been published earlier (in bad Quarto editions) appeared in the final edition in altered and even very altered form, especially Hamlet and Othello. Someone must have edited and added to the plays after the official poetâ€™s death and that to a considerable degree. The actors involved in the Shakespeare drama are mainly the following: The earl of Oxford, 1550-1604, an acknowledged pioneer in Elizabethan drama, who owned a theatre company and wrote plays himself, among others an early version of Romeo and Juliet, but none of his own plays have survived.

His son-in-law William Stanley, 1561-1642, the sixth earl of Derby, who also led a theatre company and was the leader of the Catholics by his bloodline as close to the throne as Mary Stuart, mainly active in Lancashire in north England – he owned the Isle of Man. His elder brother Ferdinando Stanley, the fifth earl of Derby, 1559-1594, known as Lord Strange, who also led and owned a theatre company that produced Marlowe’s plays. He was poisoned by the Catholics when he refused to be their candidate for the throne, which prompted his younger brother to extreme caution in public life. He also resigned from all claims of the throne to rather devote himself to the theatre. He had problems in his marriage with his wife, Oxford’s daughter, who deceived him and almost ruined him. Christopher Marlowe, the actual creator of the Elizabethan drama and the theatre of cruelty, so called because of atrocities that could take place both on stage and in the audience during his performances – on one occasion a member of the audience was accidentally killed. The first of his plays was Tamburlaine the Great, produced in 1588, but almost all his plays were equally cruel – in Edward II the king is murdered by a hot poker pierced through his rectum. Marlowe was born two months before Shakespeare and was officially killed in a tavern brawl on May 30th 1593. Shakespeare’s name begins to appear after this date as the author of the poem Venus and Adonis, which already had been ready for print for some time, and which displays clear likenesses with Marlowe’s poem Hero and Leander, as if ”both poets had known the other poem by heart”, according to the biographer John Bakeless. He was married in Stratford to a six years older lady, whom he had been obliged to marry after having made her pregnant, he was the son of a skinner and had no more than hardly even an elementary education, but he was a clever businessman and died as one of the richest citizens of England, while his children seems to have been illiterate and he didn’t leave one single book nor any document at all with any connection to any play after his death. When the last Shakespeare production Henry VIII in 1613 led to the accident that his whole theatre burnt down, he left the theatre for good. He died without raising any attention, no memorials were held and no obituaries written, while his colleagues of the same age were celebrated with processions and solemnities. The collected works published in his name in The First Folio were edited and published by Ben Jonson and others of his colleagues, probably under the surveillance of Francis Bacon, Ben Jonson being his secretary, and financed by the sons of Mary Sidney, sister of the first great Elizabethan poet Philip Sidney, who invited Giordano Bruno to England and fell in battle only 32 years old in 1586. His sister carried on his literary activity and served with her home as a kind of court to the Elizabethan poets. Sir Philip Sidney was the first one of these to insist on anonymity in his writing, which example was followed by almost all the others, especially Sir Walter Raleigh, Marlowe’s first patron. The first one to publish all his writings in his own name was Ben Jonson. Marlowe was born in Canterbury and was early discovered for his talents and sent on a scholarship to Cambridge for higher education, where he soon came in touch with the leading free-thinkers of the age, especially Sir Walter Raleigh, the first Elizabethan, the only one to still uphold a position as a favourite with Queen Elizabeth at her death. The intention was to educate Marlowe to a theologian, but he turned the other way, challenged

the church, preached atheism and found his voice in the theatre. He found a rival in Thomas Kyd, who wrote the epoch-making The Spanish Tragedy with a play in the play for a finale, and they probably worked together on at least Arden of Feversham, a realistic social drama from reality in Marlowe’s own vicinity, a sensational murder that resulted in a number of executions. He also collaborated with John Penry, another free-thinker who challenged and threatened the established church and who therefore was persecuted. They had been to school together, but in May 1593 he was arrested, sentenced and hanged. At the same time Marlowe was reported by a colleague in intelligence called Richard Baines to the Queen and her Privy Council, accused of ”atheism, homosexuality and coining” among other things. He was then an established playwright under the protection of Ferdinando Stanley, who produced his plays, and his and William Stanley’s father was in the Privy Council. Since both lived mostly for the theatre, they would both have been concerned about rescuing Marlowe. He was arrested and interrogated and ordered to remain in London, probably for a final trial and execution like his colleague John Penry, who was executed on May 29th. The following day occurs the so called Deptford incident, where Marlowe is said to have been killed in a quarrel about the payment of a bill by three of his patron’s employees. The corpse quickly vanished into an unknown anonymous grave, the Queen’s own coroner wrote a meticulous report about how everything had happened, where nothing is convincing or makes any sense. Thereby Marlowe was officially and legally confirmed dead, and the document disappeared for 300 years. What follows is the fantastic Shakespeare production. We regard it as likely that Marlowe was saved from the English inquisition by his patrons in a high position, maybe by the Queen herself, and so could continue developing the English drama under the trademark of the businessman William Shakespeare. The following three dramas were written 1998-2008 as a consequence of our devoted research in the matter, in an effort to put things together in a very comprehensive and complex picture of how it all could have happened. ”The Plot” is the central play, while the other two are complementary, both beginning with flashbacks.

Gothenburg, February 2nd, 2019

Elizabethan drama in five acts The strange case of Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare, as it could have taken place, which is difficult to disprove, by Christian Lanciai (in Swedish 1998, translated 2018) Dramatis Personae: Nicholas Skeres Ingram Frizer Francis Archer, a sailor Eleanor Bull Sir Thomas Walsingham Robert Poley William Danby, the Queenâ€™s coroner A priest Christopher Marlowe 4

Toby, a servant William Stanley, sixth earl of Derby Queen Elizabeth of England Richard Hesketh, catholic agent Ferdinando Stanley, fifth earl of Derby William Stanley II, his cousin William Shakespeare Lady Audrey Walsingham Sir Walter Raleigh Thomas Kyd Thomas Thorpe Henry Wriothesley, earl of Southampton Robert Devereux, earl of Essex Edward de Vere, earl of Oxford Lady Elizabeth Stanley, his daughter Ben Jonson King Henry IV of France King James I His Queen Sir Robert Cecil A prison guard An inebriated guest An usher Sir Francis Bacon Wedding guests Pub customers Actors An audience The action is in England 1593-1613 and at Henry IV:s court in France. The drama is a developed elucidation of the theory expressed in Calvin Hoffman’s ”The Man who was Shakespeare” published in 1955, a work of originally more than 700 pages, but only some hundred were ever published. The drama will have a sequel called ”The Ghost Writer”, which will deal further with Bacon, Oxford and Raleigh. “Mind you, it is only a play.”

The Plot Act I scene 1. Nicholas Skeres What the hell are we doing here? Ingram Frizer Shut up! We are here on business! Skeres But what the hell for? Frizer Shut up! It must be important since the old man orders it! Skeres I wish he would sometime do his job himself. We are damned to be his slaves! Frizer Shut up! He has influence, and he gives us money! And what he asks is never impossible! We are businessmen and want to live, don’t we? Skeres Yes, you’ll do just anything for some daily bread! Frizer There’s one! What about him? Skeres He looks good enough. He will do as well as another. Frizer He looks like a fish out of water, hardly any family type, will probably go back to sea at once after one night’s revelry ashore, don’t you think? Skeres Could be. Frizer (addressing the wild sailor) Hey, chum! How is it? Sailor Thanks for asking. There’s nothing wrong I guess. Skeres What about a drink over there at the pub? Sailor Can’t you drink for yourselves? I was heading elsewhere. Frizer Home to wife and kids? Sailor What I need is a dame for tonight. Skeres No home? Sailor Not yet for tonight. Frizer We might get you a place for tonight, with a nice hostess. And you might even make some money on it. Sailor Some work? Frizer Easy work. Sailor Well paid? Frizer Of course! Sailor Honest? Frizer Of course! Sailor All right then! What are we waiting for? Skeres That’s the spirit! Be our guest! (Frizer and Skeres cordially take care of the sailor and lead him on to Eleanor Bull’s place.) Sailor But this is no pub. Frizer No, it’s even better. It’s Mistress Bull’s house, and she invites us for drinks. Sailor You seem to know about these places. Skeres Wouldn’t Mrs Bull be exactly what you need after your journey? Sailor (with a twinkle) A sailor ashore will never refuse a woman. Skeres That’s the spirit! (gives him a friendly nudge in the back) Sailor But why are you so friendly? What have I done to deserve it?

Frizer You will deserve it, old boy! Skeres Here is Mistress Bull with the drinks. Mrs Bull (a steady woman, carrying drinks on a tray) Help yourselves, lads! Frizer This is exactly what we need! (grabs a mug) Skeres Here, chum! (takes another and gives the third to the sailor) Cheers! Sailor Your health then, lads! (raising his mug, still somewhat unsure) (They drink.) Now tell me what you want me to do. Frizer We are just waiting for a third man who should join us. Sailor A third man? Skeres Our employer. He ordered the mission. Sailor I see. When will he come? Frizer Any time. Sailor But you should know what it is all about. You could tell me something. Skeres You can talk better than I, Ingram. Frizer The thing is, chum, that we have a friend in trouble. Sailor (willing) How could I help him? Skeres Don’t say too much, Ingram. Frizer (darkly) He has got into trouble by a friend who betrayed him. That’s why we need an unknown friend to help him. Sailor I would gladly give him a hand. Frizer You will save his life, old boy. Sailor That would please me. (carefully) And how much would I get for the trouble? Frizer At best a good report forever. Sailor Dear me! I never dreamt of anything of the sort! Skeres (worried) Why the hell will they never come! Mrs Bull (dropping in) Some more sack, boys, while you wait? Frizer We could really need that, old girl! Sailor And who is your friend in need? Frizer He is not just anyone, my friend. Skeres (brightening) Here they come! Frizer Poley also? Skeres Yes, they are both here. Bull Here you are, boys! (refills their mugs) Frizer You are an angel, my girl! Bull All to make things easier. (Enter Thomas Walsingham with Robert Poley. The latter looks terrible, since he has had a long ride through rain and mud.) Frizer More sack for our gentleman and his groom here, Eleanor! (Exit Bull to fetch some more.) Skeres What luck that you could come, Bob! Poley You’ll do anything for business. Walsingham (has taken a seat by a table, eyes the sailor at some distance) Is this our man?

Skeres We found none better. Walsingham He will do. What is your name, my good man? Sailor Francis Archer. Walsingham A good name. Welcome to the club, Mr Archer. Sailor What sort of a club is it? Skeres It has many names. Kit has sometimes called it the School of Night. Sailor Kit? Frizer The fellow you will help out. Sailor How? Walsingham Enough talk. Get to the point. Poley I am ready. Skeres Shouldn’t we have a drink first? Walsingham Please yourselves. I am leaving. You know what you have to do. (gets up and leaves) Sailor Doesn’t it all seem somewhat odd? Poley You will understand it all right when the time comes, my friend. Bull (arriving with a new bottle and two new mugs, fills up the others as well) Where did our gentleman go? Poley He rode home. He will not be back. Sailor Who was the fine gentleman? Skeres You shouldn’t ask any questions, chum. The less you know, the better. Frizer Get out now, Mrs Bull! We will get down to business. Bull Of course. (leaves) Sailor I am ready. Poley Ready for what? Sailor For learning my mission. Skeres We are also ready. Poley What are we waiting for? Frizer Another glass. (empties his mug) Skeres Are you a coward, Ingram? (empties his mug) Poley You had time enough to drink before. Get going! Frizer It’s easier if our friend here first makes himself well at home. You’ll need more sack, my friend. (fills up the sailor’s mug.) Sailor You really spoil me. Frizer That’s our intention. Sailor I just hope I don’t get too drunk to work. But that’s up to your reckoning. Frizer Yes, the moment of reckoning is approaching. Poley Will you just go on drinking and never start acting? Skeres He is right, Poley. We must first entertain our friend well enough, so that he will get satisfied enough with us and all eternity. Frizer Drink, my friend! (toasts the sailor) Sailor I understand less and less. (drinks)

Poley If you intend to drink him under the table, it could take all day and all night. Sailors can take any quantity. Sailor (somewhat muddled) I happen to have fasted all day. I am happy drinking. Frizer This is working out well. Have your fill, my friend, which will only make it easier for you later. Skeres He knows what he is doing, Bob. Poley I can’t wait here all day. Do it now! Skeres Don’t press us, Bob. Frizer We must take it easy, Robbie. Frank hasn’t finished drinking yet. Poley I had better drink myself, then. This seems to take some time. Skeres That’s right, Bob! Relax! Sailor I had better learn what I am supposed to do before everything fades out. Poley He is fading out. Skeres He is happy, Ingram. Get going. Frizer Just take it easy, and we’ll do it swiftly without pains! Sailor Imagine getting into such good company! Here I am invited to the best sack for free, to make me feel like a prince! And you haven’t even told me yet what I am to do. Poley Shall I tell him the story? Skeres Do it, Robbie. You can make it short. Poley There is a plague in London, old boy, and Kit must not leave the town. Sailor Why must not Kit leave the town? Poley Because he is arrested but free on bail. But he must not leave the town. Sailor Tell me more. Poley That means only one thing. He will be executed. Sailor What did he do? Poley He has been reported for atheism and coining. A friend betrayed him on the rack. Sailor And what do you want me to do? Set him free? Poley (rising) No, my friend. You are needed for something higher. (pulls his sword. The other two do the same.) Sailor What is this? I don’t get it. (empties his mug in alarm) Poley You don’t have to. Frizer Yes, empty your cup, my friend. You have a long journey ahead. Sailor But what is the meaning? Poley We need your body. Sailor My body? Frizer Instead of Kit’s. Skeres Stop talking and start acting! (Skeres and Frizer strike at the sailor) Sailor (mortally wounded) Why me? Poley We have no time to answer that now. (pierces him to death. The sailor dies.) Frizer At least we gave him enough to drink. Skeres It’s done. What do we do now?

Poley Now we’ll just have to wait. Ingram, get yourself a few cuts in your head, and it will look better. Frizer Isn’t it enough with one person dead? Poley Do as I say! Skeres I’ll fix it. Stand still, Ingram. (gives Ingram two slight wounds in his front) Now you have been in a brawl and was forced to defend yourself and kill our friend in self defence. Poley And the body must be buried quickly, as there is a plague in town. Is the cart ready outside? Frizer The grave is also dug and ready. Poley All according to plans. Bull (enters with another tray) More drinks, gentlemen? Skeres That’s just what we need. (grabs a mug) Frizer Don’t drink too much, Nicky. It isn’t over yet. Bull But what a mess you have made of it! This place hasn’t looked like this since they cut up Bill Fountain. Frizer Was it long ago? Bull It was ages ago, last year. Poley Mistress Bull is used to most things. Why do you think we chose this place? Bull He is all messed up in his face! Poley Let him be. It will make things easier for the coroner. Skeres When will he come? Poley As soon as the coast is clear. We’ll just sit here and wait in the meantime. Bull (offers him a mug) It’s on the house. Poley (drinks it all up in silence) Skeres (looking out through the window) He is here! Poley Good! Walsingham (returns) Is it done? Poley He is stone dead. Walsingham (enters, shuts the door, inspects the body with his arms crossed) So there you are, Kit, stone dead and insured against eternity! No one can touch you any more, for the dead may haunt the living, but no living person will freely seek a quarrel with someone dead. You’ve done a great job, boys! You have totally ruined his face. No one could see that this ruined carcass is not Christopher Marlowe. I couldn’t have done it better myself. The thing is settled. I will go and fetch the coroner. (leaves again in haste) Bull (delighted) This is the best murder to my experience! Poley It will make a page in history. Bull (looks at the body) So this is Kit Marlowe, who struck terror in all London and made all England quake and the whole establishment shiver! What a fine end product the greatest boaster on stage has made! Is it true that he wanted to abolish the whole Bible? Poley No. He just wanted to rewrite it.

Bull He wrote better stuff himself. He could have carried on doing that instead of lying here. Poley That’s what he can do now. This is only a beginning. Now he can start writing real plays. But mark well: We know nothing about it. For our part, it is Kit Marlowe lying here on the table unhappily killed in self defence by our friend Ingram here, who had to defend his life when he was attacked from behind by Kit. Frizer We have done a great service to the world. Now at last Kit may start working without being disturbed. Poley But we know nothing about it. Skeres (looks out through the window) Here they come. (enter Walsingham together with coroner Danby) Walsingham A most unfortunate incident, Mr Danby. And that it should happen here and in the house of a respectable lady! Danby Good luck for you that I was in the vicinity. Or else there would have been a problem. Walsingham You are thinking of the plague? Danby Partly that, and corpses will rot easily at this time of the year. (sees the body) So this is the carcass. What a sorry sight! Frizer (reporting) I was the one who did it. As you see, I haven’t run away from the crime but plead guilty. Danby Of course. Sir Thomas, I will take care of the rest myself. You have never been here. Understood? Walsingham Do you understand, boys? I have never been here. The three assassins Understood! Bull And I have never seen you in my whole life, Sir Thomas! Walsingham You will all have your rewards. (leaves) Danby You understand that I have to write a detailed report? (brings out documents) Poley Of course. Danby So. Let’s get it over with. Let’s start with the names. Your names, gentlemen? Skeres Nicholas Skeres. Poley Robert Poley. Frizer Ingram Frizer. I was the one who did it. Danbý I know. You were attacked from behind by Kit as you sat by the table with your backs turned on him, as he (looking around) lay there on the bench. I see that he has sorely wounded you, Mr Frizer. Of course you had to defend yourself, and then unfortunately you happened to strike the outstanding poet to death. Bad luck, gentlemen! Shit happens! And here is the body. I can see exactly what has happened. Here is the mortal wound that has struck him straight in the eye and entered his head by some inches. The cut is one inch in breadth and has passed two inches into the brain. That sounds good! It’s all settled! Mortally wounded with instant death! It couldn’t have been more perfectly arranged! You have done well, gentlemen. All we need now is sixteen witnesses. Bull (dismayed) Aren’t we enough?

Danby Don’t worry, Madame! We will fix the sixteen witnesses tomorrow. Now we must get rid of the body. Or else it will start smelling and stinking, and there is a plague in town. Poley There is a cart outside. Danby So get the corpse to the priest at once! Saint Nicholas is only a few blocks from here. There are several empty graves. Get the corpse into one of them, and I will see to it that it gets covered up instantly. He was an atheist, so a tombstone won’t be necessary. Priest (enters) I heard something was going on here. Is this there where the regrettable incident took place? Danby You couldn’t have arrived in a better moment, reverend. We just finished the inquest. Priest (reaching the body) So this is what remains of the great blasphemer! What an inhuman end to a human being! But then he was an atheist. What do we learn from this? May all atheists end up the same way, for a warning to all heretics in the world! Here we see the just punishment of haughtiness in supreme justice! Where are your proud ambitions now, Christopher Marlowe? You who thought you could conquer the world alone from a stage by a loose tongue, how much more expressive than all your life’s work is now your horrible silence dressed in blood! I scorn you, miserable excrement of worms, like you dared to scorn the church and the Holy Writ! A bloody scrap of meat stinking worse than all your sweat is all that remains of your outrageous towering hubris! Behold the sum of your work, Christopher Marlowe, the end result of all your indecent vanity, your own bloodily ravished corpse! – Remove the carcass. Skeres There is a cart outside. Priest Good. Then I don’t have to touch him. But you must carry him out for me. Poley We are happy to be of service, reverend. Priest (to Frizer) Are you the praiseworthy perpetrator? God bless you! Let me shake your hand! Congratulations! Frizer It was a pleasure, reverend. Poley Take a hold over there, and we’ll carry out together the corpse of Kit Marlowe. Skeres Shall I be the carrier of his head? Poley Grab his shoulders, stupid. I assure you that his feet stink worse than the rest. Bull A quick one for the road, reverend? Priest No thank you, Madame. I will give a sermon tonight. Bull Any sermon will be better with some liquor to it. Priest Yes, but it will not do if I talk thick. Come on now! Let’s scrap the atheistic bummer and heave him to the worms where he belongs! (Skeres and Poley carry the corpse away, the priest following them.) Poley Easy now! Don’t drop it! Skeres Trust me, Bob! Bull May I invite the murderer for a drink? Frizer God knows I don’t do this every day.

Danby I would suggest the contrary. It’s not every day that I get such a confidential commission. Frizer Isn’t that the same thing? Danby Only if you look to the payment. Frizer You are the Queen’s own coroner, aren’t you? Danby That’s why the unfortunate incident had to happen in Deptford. It was within the verge of the Queen’s own jurisdiction. An ordinary lawman would not have been as easy to instruct. Frizer So my employer can influence the Queen’s men but not the law’s? Danby Exactly. He has money, and his cousin was prime minister. Your employer is not stupid enough to let go of that influence he gained as the prime minister’s cousin. Frizer And that influence he can only maintain by keeping such knaves as me, Poley and Skeres in his employment. Danby We are all knaves in the establishment. That’s why we are established. Free minds like Kit Marlowe could never get into the establishment. Frizer We were all witnesses to that. Bull Cheers, my dear wicked knaves! Frizer Cheers to the freedom of free minds! (They drink.) Bull Pity only about such a good and able-bodied seaman. Danby Mistress Bull, I can assure you, that that sailor made a contribution and was happy to sacrifice his life in the service of the crown and even in a most exceptional way. He will go down in history. Frizer I must agree with Mrs Bull though, that it felt a little unnecessary to have to murder to produce a corpse. Danby The problem was that we had to have a corpse fresh and healthy. It could not have been marked by the plague, for then it would not have been credible as Marlowe’s. By presenting an authentic corpse, the matter can now in no way be brought into question, and that was the meaning of it. The Queen will be satisfied by Walsingham’s efforts. Frizer But couldn’t we have let the hanged John Penry pass as Marlowe? Danby With bruises around the neck from the rope he was hanged in? Mr Frizer! Do you think justice can be fooled by anything? Frizer Mr Danby, with you as its representative I actually think so. Danby I don’t represent justice, Mr Frizer. I am the Queen’s man, and she is also your employer’s employer. Frizer So we had no choice, since we had to please the Queen. Danby And don’t forget, that it’s Kit Marlowe who is dead, no one else. Frizer Cheers to the Queen. I hope she knows what she is doing. Danby She always knows what she is doing. Therefore no one else needs to know. (They continue poculating.)

Scene 2. An open salon with an open fire at Scadbury Park, the Walsingham property. Christopher Marlowe is sitting alone by the fire. Marlowe I am dead. And yet I am alive. This is no longer reality. I am executed and exist only as a shadow. The king is dead and may only go on by ghosts. And you can bet on that that’s what I will do! What phantoms and ghosts and nightmares he will haunt the centuries with! The stages will forever quake before their own Tamburlaine the Great, the invincible world ruler on stage, who had to be murdered to have his power established forever, like Jesus. Yes, I have become like the crucified myself, the new age Messiah, atheist and blasphemer and follower of platonic love as the only true and lasting way of love, like another Orpheus. Orpheus and Messiah – whatever has become of you, Christopher Marlowe, the shoemaker’s son who was such a natural talent that he was sent on scholarship to study at Cambridge and learn the most dangerous and heretical writings of the most forbidden authors to be able to scourge society with? And I am still young, although I am already dead. The irony of my life is greater than the world, and I have only started. But how could I ever continue now when I am dead and deprived of everything – and most of all of my own kingdom the stage? How could I endure and survive the loss of London, my entire world? No, I can’t understand my own destiny. But methinks I hear my protector coming. (noise outside. Enter Walsingham.) Well, brother, how did you manage the staging of my death? Walsingham Everything is ready. Now it’s just for you to disappear. Marlowe One last night together? Walsingham We can’t risk it. The government is watching me. Anyone could come for a visit here at any moment. A ship is waiting for you at Dover. Here are your new documents with clearance. Your new name is Francis Archer. Marlowe Profession? Walsingham Sailor. Marlowe Suitable enough for a wayward poet. Walsingham (taking a seat) Your new life begins now, Kit. Take it as a challenge. Either you make it and will then really become something of the new age prophet and leader, or you will not make it, perish and vanish. You must not do that. You must make it, for both our sake and for the Queen’s, who sanctioned your rescue. You must succeed in proving you were right. Marlowe I see it more like a trial to my friends. Walsingham How do you mean? Marlowe When they will learn that I am dead, they will all speak the truth. I always wondered about the true stand of Tom Kyd, Baines and all the others. Now I will never know, since you force me away. Walsingham Kit, the truth is that you have no friends. They all betrayed you and especially Baines and Thomas Kyd. This was necessary only because of them. Marlowe It was Robert Greene who started it.

Walsingham He is dead. He is out. Marlowe But what about Baines? Walsingham I think he was the man who wrote your death sentence. Marlowe So if I hadn’t been killed at Deptford I would surely have been executed anyway? Walsingham Most probably, thanks to Baines. The risk was too imminent and serious to be taken. But you drove him to it, Kit. You are yourself responsible for your own destiny. Marlowe (rising) Is it my fault that Tom Kyd was arrested and babbled under torture? Walsingham You know what I mean, Kit. You did everything to challenge destiny. You always boasted a lack of discretion. Already at Cambridge you started preaching atheism. You challenged the establishment everywhere except on stage. You were caught for coining in Holland. You associated with sodomites and celebrated black masses with them in the forest. You wouldn’t just have been executed for atheism and coining but also for homosexuality and witchcraft, the worst crimes England knows. Marlowe Thanks, my prosecutor. Let me then plead for my defence. I never tried to conceal my vices like everyone else. I was never a hypocrite. I never told a lie. I tried everything and am not ashamed of it. I knew and learned from all kinds of people without exception. I wandered in paradise with the learned in Cambridge and sunned myself in the basking light of gods like Sir Philip Sidney and Giordano Bruno, but at the same time I never objected to the company of the worst. You yourself keep people like Frizer, Nicky Skeres and Bob Poley in your service. We both tried everything from the highest and loveliest spirituality to the lowest possible vices. Yes, I associated with satanists, witches and warlocks, but only to get to know them and understand them as characters. I was your bedpartner, Tom, but also your guardian angel. You could judge me better than anyone else. Walsingham You are dead, Kit. That’s what saves you. You were too good to live. Marlowe Our relationship was too good to be able to last. Walsingham You can keep it alive as a poet and give it everlasting continuity, but only if we now part for good. Marlowe Don’t get sentimental, Tom. I can’t stand it. Walsingham The same accounts for you. We are both men, Kit. Only women are sentimental, like Socrates said. Marlowe No, it was Plato. Walsingham The inventor of platonic love. Marlowe He meant only friendship. Walsingham Friendship is stronger and lasts longer than love. Marlowe Yes, than carnal love. But spiritual love is above friendship. Walsingham And that’s platonic love, isn’t it? Marlowe Like our love, Tom. (Hard knocks are heard outside.) Walsingham Who the devil dares to come visiting us with a disturbance!

Marlowe Should I hide? (enter a groom) Walsingham Who is it, Toby? Groom Sir Thomas, by my soul I believe it is Lord Strange. Walsingham Lord Strange? What the devil does he wish from here? Groom I don’t know, Sir. Walsingham (vexed) Well, show him in. Marlowe Who is it? Walsingham You should know. He is the owner and leader of our greatest theatre company and has produced almost all your plays. Marlowe Should I hide? Walsingham No, Kit, there is no need. He might even be able to solve some of our problems. Marlowe Hasn’t he something to do with the government? Walsingham It was his father who warned us in time, Kit, so that we could take measures. It was the old earl of Derby who first sounded the alarm at the report from your friend Baines. He warned us, not the government, for his first interest, like that of his sons, was the theatre and not politics. The government knows nothing about this. But Ferdinando could be our next king, if things turn out well. Marlowe A solution for us? Walsingham That’s what I would like to investigate. Groom Lord Stanley, Sir. (presents Stanley and leaves) Walsingham My good lord… but this is not Lord Strange. What the devil are you doing here? Stanley Pardon me for intruding, Sir Thomas. I was just dropping by… Walsingham Of all unexpected guests turning up at the worst possible moment! Marlowe Isn’t it Ferdinando? Walsingham I am sorry, Kit. This is not Lord Strange but his younger brother. Nevertheless, he also leads and owns a theatre company, although a lesser one. The theatre is all the life there is for these two brothers, isn’t it, Lord Stanley? But what the hell do you want here? Stanley I know, Sir Thomas, that you still have some influence at court. Walsingham It was my cousin. Stanley But to some degree you have taken it on. The Queen trusts you. She does not trust us. Walsingham With good reasons. You are leaders of the Catholics and cousins to the Queen. Stanley Our father was. Walsingham And you are also related with Mary Stuart. That’s why the Catholics wish to make your father king after Elizabeth, which doesn’t please Elizabeth. Stanley It doesn’t please us either. That’s why I am here. Walsingham Do you then wish to betray the cause of your family? Stanley My father isn’t interested at all in the Catholic issue. On the contrary, he is a puritan. That’s why the Catholics place all their hopes in my elder brother. But

like myself, his only interest is in the theatre. I really just wanted to try to interest you in conveying that to the Queen, that if my brother is asked to become the candidate of the Catholics to the throne after our Queen, he intends to decline the offer. Walsingham That’s great and vital news. You surprise me, Lord Stanley. It’s not your ancestry that has stirred Queen Elizabeth. It is your strong position of power in Lancashire between Scotland and England. Stanley I have delivered my message. Let me not intrude any more. But isn’t this our famous Kit Marlowe? Marlowe It really isn’t. Stanley I heard a rumour that you were dead. Marlowe Already? Stanley There are people in London claiming that you died in the plague. Marlowe Since I haven’t, perhaps you, Lord Stanley, could help us with a small problem. Walsingham Don’t say too much, Kit. We just learned that no Stanley ever will be king. Marlowe That’s why I consider him reliable. I wish to have him taken into our full confidence. Stanley I am good at keeping secrets. Marlowe I believe so, Lord Stanley. Perhaps you have heard that I was accused of atheism and coining? Stanley What I know is that our poor friend Thomas Kyd was arrested for alleged participation in the Babington conspiracy and tortured and that he under torture tried to put all the blame on you. Marlowe After that there have been more allegations so serious that I am compelled to leave the country. Stanley I am sorry. Marlowe If I remain I am dead. If I escape I will be outlawed for life. To give me some respite and peace to continue my work, Sir Thomas has conveniently arranged my official death. Formally I am dead from this day on, Lord Stanley. I can only carry on incognito. Walsingham This is a state secret, Lord William. Do you understand? Stanley I understand perfectly well. Please continue and get to the point. Walsingham Kit will continue working, but no one must suspect that he isn’t dead. All who know about it are present in this room, his official murderers, who are all in my service, and the Queen. It is imperative that no one else ever knows about it, and that we who know bury the secret in our hearts for as long as we live and keep it buried unto our graves. Are you with us? Stanley Of course. Walsingham The thing is, that since Kit’s voice and pen can’t be silenced, we need someone neutral and reliable in whose name his poetry could be published. Stanley Only his poems?

Marlowe Also my plays, if possible. They could be presented in some other name than mine. Stanley This is curious, because I am in the same position myself. I have written some Italian comedies that I impossibly could publish in my own name, since my family has its position. There are several others in the same dilemma, like the earl of Oxford. For our part, I think we have found the solution. And I think you could be part of the same solution, if you wish. Walsingham Sit down, Lord Stanley, and tell us. Stanley (takes a seat) Six years ago I returned from my extensive journeys around Europe. I then stayed at our house in Chester, where my brother’s theatre company frequently gave performances. In his troupe there was a young man from Stratford, who had tired of his wife and escaped to become an actor. He looks like you, master Marlowe, and is about the same age. He is a reliable and faithful theatre man whom anyone could entrust with anything. I intend to ask him if he for a certain amount could lend his name to my and Oxford’s plays. If he agrees, he could also dress your poems. Marlowe His name? Stanley William Shakespeare. Marlowe Never heard of him. Walsingham Neither did I. Stanley Do you wish me to ask him? Walsingham Do you think it’s safe? Could he keep secrets as well as you? Stanley I consider it perfectly safe, as he is paid for it. He is an accomplished businessman who never gives a secret income source away. Walsingham He almost sounds like our man. Marlowe We hardly have any choice but to trust him and you. Stanley (rising) Good. Then the matter is settled. Pardon me for disturbing you, gentlemen. Walsingham I am looking forward to a possible future collaboration in literature, Lord Stanley, under the code name of William Shakespeare. Marlowe But we can’t let you go without having given a solemn promise. Stanley Well? Marlowe You have never seen me here. Understood? Stanley Of course I haven’t been able to see Kit Marlowe here since everybody already knows that he died today. What man is that man talking about, Tom? Who is it? Walsingham It’s a wayward sailor by the name of Francis Archer. Stanley I am glad to make your acquaintance, Mr Archer, and happy journey, wherever you are going. Walsingham We will hear from him. He will write letters. Stanley Many and long ones, I hope. Good evening, gentlemen! (leaves promptly) Marlowe He got the whole picture at once.

Walsingham And he provided us immediately with a promising agent. It was as if he was sent here by an angel. Marlowe He seems honest and reliable. Walsingham He is a quiet person who never makes much of himself. Marlowe In your first letter to me in France you must tell me all about this man Shakespeare. Walsingham I will investigate him carefully. But he seems reliable like Lord Stanley. Marlowe For the first time in many days I feel safe in good hands. Walsingham You have reason to. Remember that we have committed a murder for your survival. Marlowe Tom, you can’t blame me for that. I was in no way accountable. What you did was entirely on your own responsibility. I wasn’t even involved. I didn’t even know about it. If you had shared your plans or asked me about it, I would have refused it. Walsingham (darkly) That’s why you were kept out of it. Nevertheless, it was a human sacrifice for your sake, to save your honour and your art and the means for you to continue working. Remember, that you yourself created the theatre of cruelty, of which this was perhaps the last risky play. And as much as we did it for you, we did it as there was no other option. It was a necessity rather than a murder. Marlowe But it was wholly on your responsibility, and you reason like a satanist. Is my pen then an instrument of the devil? There is no power without corruption, and I will have absolutely nothing to do with that. Well, Tom, I give myself my punishment. If you have killed in my name for the sake of my poetry, then may my just punishment be that there may be nothing more written in Kit Marlowe’s name. Walsingham You are no devil, Kit. You are the divinity of the new age. Marlowe Even worse. May that divinity in that case have no name. Walsingham Let’s satisfy ourselves with that. Happy journey, Kit. It’s time for you to leave. Marlowe That’s how I feel also. We have reached some settlement and verdict. Farewell, my friend. No tears, no kisses. But if we meet again, we shall smile indeed. Walsingham Live well, Kit, and enjoy being a poet who from now on at last may write in peace. Marlowe I will miss my London stages. They were my kingdom, which I loved. I had only started. Shall I now leave all this and leave the rest of the world unconquered by my art? Walsingham It’s your challenge, Kit. You still have time and may succeed. The worst mishap and fate in the world can be turned to good ends. Marlowe I hope you are right. Until I write, my friend, the rest between us will only be silence. Walsingham Hurry on, so that you may soon be back. Marlowe Thanks for still believing in me. That’s all I need. Farewell Walsingham Farewell, my dearest friend and most incurable and incorrigible poet. (Kit leaves as promptly as Stanley.)

(When he opens the door there is a flash of lightning and immediate booming thunder. In the door there is a man in a black cloak.) (Kit is taken aback and retires almost in shock. Walsingham pulls his sword.) Walsingham What kind of a trespassing importunity is this into my house? Marlowe (calming down and collecting himself) Take it easy. There is no danger. It’s our former guest who has returned. Stanley (entering) I am sorry. I had no intention to startle you. This thunderstorm was really most unwelcome. I came back, because I got an idea. Walsingham Lord Stanley? Stanley Yes. Did you expect someone else, or worse, perhaps? Walsingham (sheathing his sword) I expected no one at all. What idea brought you back? Stanley Sir Thomas, it occurred to me, that our young playwright doesn’t have to leave England at all. Walsingham If he stays he will not only risk his own life but also mine and my entire future and even Sir Walter Raleigh’s, whose disciple he was from the start, with all the other free-thinkers of his circle. Stanley He would be as safe among the Catholics in the north as in France. Walsingham Would you risk your life by taking care of him? He is the hottest controversy in England. Stanley And he is England’s number one dramatist. England cannot afford to lose him. Yes, I would protect him with my own life, and I know my brother would also. He could continue writing plays but exclusively for our theatre companies. We can stage his new plays in Chester and Lancashire and try them there before bringing them to London. I know that would please my brother, who would be most enthusiastic. Walsingham Kit, you would then as an artist completely belong to Lord Strange’s and the Lord Admiral’s men. Stanley What do you say, Kit? Walsingham Lord Stanley, your proposition is interesting and not to be discarded or despised. It will be carefully considered by and by. But at the moment it is necessary that he disappears from England. Stanley For how long? Walsingham Three years at least. Stanley And then? Marlowe In the meanwhile and later I can write for both you and Sir Thomas. Stanley In the meanwhile? Walsingham His poem ’Venus and Adonis’ is already finished. It can be published at once. The only problem was that it needed another signature. He also has other poems coming. And he can write plays. Marlowe What kind of plays do you desire, Lord Stanley, the only one in England except Sir Thomas here who has cared for me as a human being?

Stanley Is there any more dramatic subject than the War of the Roses? You already started dramatising Holinshed’s chronicles, Kit, by ’Edward III’ and ’Edward II’. Marlowe You are right. It’s just for me to carry on. I could write the most diabolical drama thinkable about Richard III. Stanley But no tendencies, Kit! No homosexuality on stage ever again, like in ’Edward II’, and no more atheistic propaganda or attacks on the church, like in ’King John’. If you wish to continue as a dramatist although you are dead, your plays must be clinically purged from everything except what is human. Marlowe And drama. Stanley Of course. Marlowe It’s reasonable and fair. I agree. Stanley You stand your best chances in the world, Kit, if you now go to France. There you can get to know women. Marlowe They are all faithless, calculating and inconsistent. They have no word of honour. I have been to France. Stanley Love the women anyway, Kit, even if it is only at some distance. And don’t content yourself with France. Go on to Italy, get to know the Renaissance movement and culture and its writers with the modern Italian literature. There you will find the best dramatic material today. Italy is more the mother of the world today than Rome was in the Antiquity. Marlowe I shall follow your advice. And I will later join you in Lancashire. Stanley Do it soon. I don’t think three years would be necessary, Sir Thomas. The world will soon forget all about Kit’s upsetting atheistic preachings and sexual liberalism and even his murder. By the official acceptance of his murder he should be safe and immune against any kind of transgression. Since everybody knows that he is dead, it cannot be him. It’s a practical impossibility that he exists, since he is confirmed dead by law. On the other hand, the world will never forget his dramatic output, and that it must never forget. Walsingham I agree. Stanely So let’s go, Kit, out in the storm together against all future thunders and lightnings and bravely spite them together by our free spirits! Marlowe I leave, Tom. Walsingham You see that the world cares about you, not only I. Marlowe And I suddenly feel in good hands. Stanley Come, Kit! Your ship is waiting! (They leave, Stanley covering Marlowe with his cloak.) Walsingham He will be back with a vengeance with all his love. He is too good for the world ever to be able to lose him. Kit Marlowe is not dead. He has just been born. (retires)

Scene 3. The Court. Elizabeth What I can’t understand is this homicide on that poet. He was our prime playwright. How could he associate with criminal murderers way out in Deptford, and how could he be killed by them? How could such a thing happen? We have no surplus of qualified playwrights, and too many of them already died far too young. Danby Your majesty, I was not present when the incident occurred. Elizabeth No, but you were conveniently handy afterwards. Was there nothing fishy about that company in that hospitable place? Danby Your majesty, my only duty was to establish facts. It’s all there in my report. Elizabeth I have studied it. It makes a queer impression. The risk is that many will question it. Danby In what way, your majesty? Elizabeth In every way. The reckoning – how could it trigger a deadly brawl? Would that have been the motive for our greatest dramatist, a Cambridge philosopher who associated with Bruno and muses and gods, to draw his rapier to threaten the life of an oaf, a groom, a bum? And how could this oaf, this bum kill our poet behind his back? It says here that he couldn’t turn around as he sat squeezed in between the two other dolts, who did nothing, as if they were paralyzed. In brief, Danby, the way this homicide is described in your report, makes it incredible and impossible. Danby Your majesty, I was not present myself when the accidental homicide was committed. My report is founded entirely on the unfortunate killer’s own confession and my investigation of the body. Elizabeth In what condition was the body? Danby Completely dead, your majesty. Elizabeth Of course, you idiot, but what did it look like? Danby All bloody. Elizabeth The report describes a deep wound in his head. Could you see the face of the poet? Danby No, your majesty. Elizabeth You didn’t wipe the blood off the dead man’s face so that you could identify the body? Danby Your majesty, I never saw the man in reality. Even if I had washed away the blood I could not have identified him. But they all assured me that it was Christopher Marlowe. Elizabeth Even the sixteen witnesses, that could swear on it? Obviously they could all identify him much easier than you, although they were much simpler people than you and they even less than you ever had heard of the poet Christopher Marlowe. Danby Your majesty, I have only done my job. Elizabeth The deceased was not only our foremost poet. He was also a valuable spy for Sir Francis Walsingham, my late friend, my only consistently trustworthy servant. As an agent in his service the poet accomplished several important missions

for us in France and the Netherlands. How is it then possible that a servant of Sir Thomas Walsingham even by accident could have killed him and just for a petty bill? Danby Your majesty, I am sorry if my way of handling this affair hasn’t been wholly to your satisfaction. Elizabeth That’s not the issue, you fool. I would like to meet this murderer, this clout, this lurch who by accident happened to kill the most promising talent of our country, this – what was his name again? Danby Ingram Frizer. Elizabeth The poet killer Ingram Frizer. Walsingham (enters) Your majesty, you wanted me. (bows very deep) Elizabeth Sir Thomas, why was Christopher Marlowe murdered? I have reason to suspect your hand in this, since his death was caused by your servants. I happen to know that you are about to marry and that you had a relationship with Christopher Marlowe. What kind of a sordid scandalous bugger tale is this? Walsingham Your majesty… (indicates the presence of Danby) Elizabeth Get out, Danby. (Danby bows and leaves.) Well, Sir Thomas! Walsingham Your majesty, you are well familiar with the accusations against our departed friend. Thomas Kyd accused him on the rack of sodomy, atheism and coining. Two weeks ago Kit Marlowe was arrested. On May 29th we received the written accusations from Richard Baines against him of all kinds of atheism. All this should be familiar to you, your majesty. Elizabeth I was willing to disregard them. And Kit Marlowe only coined foreign money, never English. There was no reason to have him dead. Walsingham But he had powerful enemies that were too powerful. When he lay dead at mistress Bull’s, a priest desecrated his body to scorn him after his death. And he knew himself how powerful his enemies were. Elizabeth Were you one of them? Walsingham Never. I was fully responsible for him as his nest friend and protector. Elizabeth Still he was murdered by your closest servants. I can only understand it that they did it by your command. Walsingham Your majesty, let the world think so. Elizabeth What do you mean? Walsingham Kit Marlowe had no friends besides me. He thought his best friend was Thomas Kyd. That man betrayed him more basely than any cursed soul could betray his benefactor, even if it was under torture. Friends don’t betray each other under torture, not here in England. Even Richard Baines was a friend who betrayed him and without torture. Add two and two, your majesty. You can think. Kit Marlowe felt inexorably urged to vanish. He has obeyed the voice of his destiny and vanished. Elizabeth So the dead man was – who was he? Walsingham An unknown sailor without family who just wanted a slut. Elizabeth His name? Walsingham Francis Archer. But the lost Francis Archer has left the country.

Elizabeth I understand. Will he be back? Walsingham In a few years at the earliest. Meanwhile his art will expand. Elizabeth Sir Thomas, I misjudged you. You should be rewarded for having sensed my most secret wishes in this affair. It’s only Danby who managed the matter clumsily with the affected conceit of his pedantic formalism, which produced this recklessly insane criminal report where nothing by closer scrutiny could possibly make sense. I hope this report never will be called to attention by posterity. But what can I do for you? Walsingham Release and pardon my servant Ingram Frizer. Elizabeth That will be easy. According to the report, he acted on self defence. Whose idea was it? Walsingham His own. He learned something from the duel with William Bradley, who was killed by Thomas Watson. Watson got away with it by pleading self defence. Elizabeth I remember. Our friend Kit has learned some intrigue. Walsingham He will remain invaluable to England. Elizabeth And that he shall be allowed to remain. But he is dead, Sir Thomas. Danby’s report must never be questioned, and it’s probably only we who know the truth who will be the only ones who ever saw through it. He is my own coroner. If this deceit ever is discovered, Sir Thomas, your own head will be at risk like my crown and England’s. Do you see? Kit Marlowe is dead. Walsingham Your majesty, I can assure you of that being the case. He is and remains dead. He has assured me of that himself. Elizabeth That sounds comforting, to have his death certificate from his own mouth. You will understand that it was necessary for me to learn the whole truth? Walsingham It’s necessary for the welfare of the state that you know all, and I have concealed nothing of the entire intrigue. Elizabeth It’s good to know that he by his death is out of reach from our medieval torturers and that inquisitor Whitgift, and the circumstances around his death assure me that he really will remain so. Walsingham He was himself quite clear about the necessity of that, your majesty. Elizabeth Can I really trust you, Walsingham? Walsingham Why couldn’t you, your majesty? Elizabeth You don’t answer the queen of England by asking questions! How much can I trust you? Be specific! Walsingham (kneels and bends his neck) Totally, your majesty. My life belongs to you and England without any reservations on my side. Elizabeth I think you are lying. I don’t think he has left England at all. Why all these lies? Walsingham Your majesty knows, that you had no more reliable servant in the world than my cousin Sir Francis, whose total fidelity and discretion I have inherited. Elizabeth Yes, yes, but why then do you lie?

Walsingham (rising) Your majesty, Sir Francis entrusted me with the poetâ€™s life when he passed away. If I can save his life I must do so, even if it makes some white lies inevitable even to the crown. Elizabeth Bring the poet to me, Sir Thomas. I want to give him a mission in France. Walsingham Your majesty, all my actions in this case have aimed exclusively at protecting him and saving his life. Elizabeth I can see that. Thatâ€™s why I think I can trust you and him. Walsingham I will bring him to you, your majesty, but absolutely incognito and on condition that it never happened. Elizabeth Of course. We understand each other. Then I am satisfied. You may leave, Sir Thomas. (He leaves.) If the world ever gets to know anything about this plot, I hope it will be long after my death.

Scene 4. Walsingham Your majesty, I have performed my duty. Elizabeth Is he here? Walsingham We have brought him here. Elizabeth (slightly on edge) Remember, Sir Thomas. This has never happened. Our meeting has never taken place. Christopher Marlowe is dead, and I have never met him. This is our only and last meeting. Walsingham I am completely in confidence. Elizabeth I hope you are. If a single word ever comes out about this, both you and Marlowe and everyone who knows anything about it are dead. This is my word, and I shall keep it. Walsingham Your majesty, I have never been here today with anyone. Elizabeth And only you and me and he knows that you never have been here today with anyone. Total secrecy. The secret is dead and buried with Kit Marlowe and will remain so until we are all dead. Walsingham Yes, your majesty. Elizabeth Bring in the poor boy. Then you will not stir one step from your place in the corridor until he comes out again. And I had better warn you: when I am finished with him, he will no longer be the same. Walsingham Understood, your majesty. (bows and leaves. Enter Marlowe.) Marlowe (bows respectfully and humbly as soon as he enters,) Your majesty. Elizabeth I am not your majesty to you, Kit Marlowe. I am something much worse. Marlowe (dares not look up) What could be worse than death? Elizabeth There is actually something even worse than death, and under certain circumstances it is life. It is to me, and it will be to you. Marlowe Your majesty speaks in riddles.

Elizabeth Come in here, for God’s sake, boy! Is it true that you have said that you have as good a right to coin as the Queen of England? Marlowe I am afraid that something like that might have slipped out of my mouth in improper company. Elizabeth Very improper company! A pathetic puritan! Extremely inconsiderate and careless! That’s why you are dead! And you must remain dead! Do you understand? Marlowe I am aware of the conditions of my so called life but don’t quite understand them. Elizabeth Don’t you understand anything, you bastard? Marlowe What is it I don’t understand? Elizabeth Who was your father and mother? Marlowe An honest shoemaker in Canterbury and his wife. Elizabeth You were the only son among a number of sisters. Did you never feel out of place? Marlowe Yes. Elizabeth Were you like anyone of them? Marlowe No. Elizabeth Were you like your father the shoemaker or his wife? Marlowe No. Elizabeth Did you ever wonder why you got the best possible education? Marlowe The Archbishop of Canterbury got his eyes on me and sent me to Cambridge. Elizabeth You were deprived of your family for the sake of your education. And who financed your education? Marlowe The Archbishop of Canterbury, I guess. Elizabeth So you don’t know anything about yourself. Did you never wonder who you really were? Marlowe Life is full of wonders, and I always wondered about them all. Elizabeth From where do you think you got your red hair? Your intelligence? Your penchant for brooding on politics? Your towering ambitions? Was your father and his wife like that? Marlowe No. Elizabeth Was the Archbishop of Canterbury like that? Marlowe No. He wanted to make a theologian out of me. That’s why I was sent to Cambridge. Elizabeth That’s what you thought! But you rebelled, for you wanted your life to turn your own way. That’s how you became an atheist and questioned the credibility of the Bible, and your towering ambitions you gave expression by proud blasphemers like doctor Faustus and the Jew Barabas of Malta, while at the same time you associated with the boldest men of the time like Sir Philip Sidney and Sir Walter Raleigh! Did you never wonder why you were so well taken care of and found such friends and protectors in such high positions?

Marlowe I considered it a course of nature. Elizabeth A course of nature! All doors were opened to you, and you neither wondered why or who opened them! According to the rules you should never have made your degree at Cambridge, but you had it anyway, and you never wondered by whose grace it was given you! Marlowe I assumed it was by Sir Francis Walsingham, in whose service I was already. I did carry out certain missions for him in France… Elizabeth My closest associate for thirty years! And why do you think he brought you into his service? Marlowe I always wondered about his good will towards me and why he employed me. Elizabeth At last some wondering! Well, Christopher Marlowe, let’s assume that the shoemaker of Canterbury and his wife were not your real parents. Let’s assume that someone gave them a bastard to take care of, a bastard of some nobility, and that they were paid well for it. Who could then your real parents have been? Marlowe Your majesty seems to know more about me than myself. Elizabeth Seems! Let’s assume that I know everything about you. Does that seem frightening? Marlowe No, but uncomfortable. If you do know all about it, do you intend to reveal who my real parents were? Elizabeth On certain conditions. If you break a single one of them, you must die together with Sir Thomas Walsingham, who took care of you after the death of Sir Francis. You are the greatest state secret of England. Do you understand? Marlowe I understand and hold my tongue and wait for my sentence, that is the condition. Elizabeth The conditions are: never more any politics! You took the initiative yourself for a theatrical career. Follow it! You are our greatest poet. But Christopher Marlowe is dead, and he must remain dead. The secret about that name must be buried forever. Marlowe Go on, your majesty. Elizabeth Stop calling me your majesty! I am your mother! Marlowe (is shattered, turns white and falls on his knees) Your majesty, it must not be true! You must be mistaken! Is this some kind of a weird practical joke, played on us by others? Elizabeth I never practice jokes! I am not your biological mother but the more your natural mother, since your father was the only cavalier at my court whom I always loved and who never let me down, in contrast to that miserable Robert Dudley of Leicester, who turned all my ladies in waiting into whores, and his adventures almost made all England go to hell. It was the time of the great plot, when Walsingham was compelled to execute Norfolk, Arundel and several others of the leading Catholics. It was a time of great misery, and you were the great family failure of it, born as the son I could never have myself. Your father was my dearest uncle, the only respectable man in England, who rather than risk the causing of any major

upset by taking responsibility for having made one of my ladies pregnant, like all the others did and especially Dudley and Raleigh, he placed the child discreetly among his wards in Canterbury, the persecuted exiled Huguenots, who he had taken under his wings since so many of their kin in France had been martyred. It would have been the end of my establishment if it had become known that my last mother had a nephew, since no one else in our family had any children, and to protect you and your life and also your father’s, all precautions were taken. We hid you from the world and sought desperately a way to both save you and get rid of you, since you would be the only child of the family! And you graciously served and helped us by your premature birth, which only that helped us to get away with it. Only Walsingham knew about it except your father, and their secrecy was the only honest discretion in the country. They smuggled you to Canterbury and found a reliable family for you. They and I have watched you since and opened all doors and ways to you until now, when you burped the unfortunate statement that you had as good a right to coin as the Queen of England. Then you had to disappear, for England’s sake. Do you understand? Marlowe (pale, still on his knees) I begin to understand… Elizabeth Now you are already as ruined in your soul as I, but at least you will escape becoming a king. Marlowe I never wanted anything such. I was always happy to stay out of everything. Elizabeth You have a twin soul in the younger son of the earl of Derby, William Stanley. He is heir to the throne but also has no wish to be king. He is your only equal in the world. You are both wise, and you have the theatre in common. Stick to it. Remain a poet, Kit Marlowe, but forget your name, forget your ancestry, and write instead the world’s loveliest plays and be a king forever in the better world of the theatre! That’s a happier world than any kingdom, and there you could really be something of an ideal king and remain so forever. Marlowe Your majesty, you overwhelm me. I don’t think this can be true. Pardon me, but I can’t grasp or accept that I would be a member of the royal family. Are you certain you are not suggesting all this just symbolically and virtually? Elizabeth My mother was a whore who was beheaded, and I myself have always been called a bastard. You are another such bastard, illegitimate son of my uncle William Parr and would have been baptized William like he, the most prudent and talented diplomat and reconciler in England. I know it can never be proved, we made indeed certain ourselves that it never could be, your parents never learned the origin of their child and accepted it because they were childless, they were paid for the promise to keep silent at the risk of their lives if they didn’t, but they loved you, and the fact that they then only had daughters endorsed and augmented their love for their only son. But since you had no idea that you could be anyone else’s son until now, you also can’t be considered that until from this moment. But you are like me. You have the same poetical clear view and natural inborn sense of responsibility for the world. Your plays betray that faculty. But forget this world, its politics and

miserable failed and aborted religions, which all went wrong from the beginning. Devote yourself to people instead. Marlowe I could never stop writing plays about human nature. Elizabeth That’s the spirit. Now I recognize you. But you must learn more about the world. And you must immediately go abroad. Henry of Navarre is already expecting you. Your only contacts here at home will be Sir Thomas Walsingham and William Stanley of Derby. You will never lack funds wherever you go. Everything will be paid for you. But you must forget all about politics. Kit Marlowe, the royal clandestine bastard, can never get as good a right to coin as the Queen of England. That arrogance has already cost you your life, Christopher Marlowe. You will have a new life. Don’t ruin that as well, but use it well. Your only mistake has been committed. You will not make another. Marlowe I hear and obey, Madame. Elizabeth This is the only time we meet. And it has never happened. Marlowe From now on I shall be like a most obedient son. Elizabeth Do so, and follow your destiny, for good and for worse, like I as a slave followed my own to my own bliss and ruin. The theatre includes both masks. There’s your kingdom, which I give you as a better heritage than the miserable world of politics, which ruined me. And your only fortune, Christopher Marlowe, is perhaps that you are already dead. Marlowe I shall take care of it, my mother. Elizabeth Do so, and manage it well. You will only have it once and never again. Marlowe (falls on his knees, bows and retires without another word, emotionally overwhelmed, while Elizabeth already has turned her back on him. As he leaves he closes the door audibly behind him, which makes Elizabeth produce a sigh.) Elizabeth The only good action of my life I have now left behind. I am already dead since long, but my love lives on, and if nowhere else, at least in the theatre. (is tired out and leaves.)

Act II scene 1. Lathom House, Chester. Richard Hesketh Ferdinando, we beg you not just for our own sake. It’s for the sake of England and the world. Ferdinando I am still in mourning for my father. William Stanley II You have taken over his responsibility, cousin. You must live up to it. Hesketh All you need to do is to raise your little finger, and all the catholic world will back you up. Ferdinando Against the Queen? Against England? To launch this free land into a bloody civil war with no certain end to it? To turn history two centuries back in time and drench this flourishing realm in cruelty and barbarity? And you talk about responsibility?

W. Stanley Ferdinando, cousin, brother, beloved friend, your father is dead with all his abominable puritanism. What did he get for all his support to the Queen? Only mistrust and suspicion. The only ones who ever believed in you and helped you are the Catholics. Now it’s your turn to meet their expectations. Give them their reward for their faithfulness. Accept the crown of England. Ferdinando A word of this in someone else’s ear could have you hanged. W. Stanley I am prepared to take that risk. Why do you hesitate? Hesketh Ferdinando Stanley, earl of Derby, you can’t lose. The Queen has no heir and has beheaded Mary Stuart herself. Ferdinando Her son is king of Scotland. W. Stanley A fool, a debile poser, an illiterate imbecile, whose father we know who it was – one of Mary Stuart’s many pimps. No one wants such a fake on the throne of England. Ferdinando My brother is more appropriate than I. W. Stanley You refuse? Ferdinando I am sorry, gentlemen, but I can’t accept your offer. My father served the Queen with honour as long as he lived. He had no reward or gratitude for that, but he did it with the greater honour. I can’t fail his honour, no matter how much I sympathize with the catholic cause. I can’t accept the responsibility for starting another War of the Roses under religious pretexts, which would undo everything that England has accomplished for the last hundred years. W. Stanley Cousin, you are an idiot. You shall never see me again. (leaves in fury) Hesketh We should have turned to your brother directly. Ferdinando Richard Hesketh, I must warn you. It is my duty to report your conspiracy to the Queen. You are no longer safe in this country. Instead of seeing my brother, I advise you to leave the country at once. Or else you will be hanged. Hesketh Ferdinando, I considered you a man of honour. Now I see that your brother was right and several other nobles with him. You are not worthy of the title earl of Derby, even less king of England. If you betray me, I warrant that your own Catholics will take revenge. Ferdinando A religion of revenge is no religion for me. I am a Christian who believes and trusts in peace and love. You evidently don’t. Please leave my house at once. Hesketh God will have his revenge on you, Ferdinando Stanley! Ferdinando Go to hell! (Hesketh withdraws towards the exit. When he opens the door, he is met by guards with halberds.) Guard Richard Hesketh, in the name of the Queen we must arrest you. Hesketh (furious) Have you had eavesdropping spies behind the tapestry all the time? Ferdinando The Queen has a constant watch on me. I can’t move one step or say one word without her being notified. Guards, what about cousin Stanley? Guard By your request, we allowed him to slip away. He is probably now already on his way to Spain.

Ferdinando May he stay there and not trouble England any more. Take this man to London. The Queen is expecting him. Hersketh You sold your honour and future to fawn on the sow of Westminster! Ferdinando No, my friend. I saved my family, my family honour and our future. But you and my cousin wanted to sacrifice England to catholic butchers and hangmen. Hesketh You will regret it! Ferdinando Take him away. He is finished here. I will not inform you of what you will regret, Richard Hesketh. (The doors close on him and the guards.) My brother, what is your part in this? By God I hope none at all. For if you took part in this conspiracy against our free England, our family is finished, for only you can keep it going. We must have some enjoyment after this. Let’s have a play tonight. Master Will! Shakespeare (rising from anonymity) At your service, my lord. Ferdinando What plays do you have on your program? Shakespeare Comedy, tragedy, tragical comedy or comical tragedy? Or a chronicle? We can act all the classics, as you trained us to. Ferdinando You worked yourself well up from nothing. I want to laugh tonight. Prepare a black comedy about all the world’s misery. Shakespeare Then the tragedy of Hamlet would be most suitable. Ferdinando That comprehensive corruption scandal from Denmark? Yes, that will do fine. It makes mincemeat of all the world’s hypocrisy and morals, as is most fitting. And it suits me well, for it might be my own death I will behold. Shakespeare (doesn’t understand) My lord? Ferdinando (claps his shoulder) Nothing. Just act your play, and don’t think of how true it could be. (leaves the hall) Shakespeare Actors! Make ready! Quick rehearsal for tonight’s performance! It’s Hamlet, Prince of Denmark! (The actors gather around Shakespeare. Curtain.)

Scene 2. Like Act I scene 2: Scadbury Park. Walsingham If anyone asks me what I know, I know nothing. Could I then deny what I know even to myself? I must do it in public, and thereby I must deny a part of myself, for he has hopelessly become a part of myself, the fallen poet, the doomed Lucifer, who sacrificed himself in order to survive. No, I know nothing and understand nothing, and the more I try to find my way in it, the more I get lost. He is dead, but he lives. He lives, but he is dead. What’s the difference? It all comes to the same point of nothing. He has obliterated the limits of life and death, and all that is left is immortality. – Yes, what is it, my love? Audrey (enters) Are you still brooding and grieving? Walsingham He was my best friend.

Audrey I am now. Walsingham No, my love. No love can outweigh true friendship. All earthly love is powerless against the love that stands above all carnal intercourse, as Kit said himself. Audrey So I am only earthly love to you? Walsingham You are the mother of my coming children. That also means something. At least it should mean something to you. Audrey I know that you love me. I only wish that there was not someone dead standing between us. Walsingham He united us. Audrey You love him more than me. Walsingham He loved me more than you. Audrey You try to make a play of it. Walsingham I try to make you see it positively. Audrey That such a small man could have such a great influence on you! Walsingham His soul was the greater. He was 1,67 on earth, but in his soul he is greater than all England. Audrey Thatâ€™s why he couldnâ€™t remain here. (Enter a servant.) Servant My lord, you have a visitor. Walsingham Who is it? Servant Sir Walter Raleigh. Walsingham My love, I know what he wants. Please leave me alone with him. Audrey Is it about the murder? Walsingham I think so. Audrey Good. I leave you with your dead friend and his murder. (leaves) Walsingham What marriage is happy? You enter it like into the most perfect delightful dream, but sooner or later you wake up with an unforgiving hangover into a hostile reality like an overwhelming reprimand. Show Sir Walter in, Toby. (Sir Walter is shown in.) Raleigh What is it I hear, Tom? Is it true? Walsingham What is true? Raleigh That Kit has been murdered? Walsingham That should bring you joy and relief, if anyone. Now he will not be brought to trial and forced to reveal you and the entire circle of free-thinkers under torture. Raleigh He was my finest disciple! Walsingham As a satanist? Did he get his atheism from you? Raleigh You know what I mean. First they said he had died in the plague. Then someone knew he had been killed at a brawl in a tavern. But no one knew anything about his grave. What sort of a plot is this, Tom? It must not be true, not him! Tell me that you saved him!

Walsingham He was in mortal danger. He was reported to the Queen of atheism and witchcraft, sodomy and coining. He had no chance, and he knew it. We solved the problem. Raleigh Is he abroad? Walsingham Sir Walter, I don’t know if I can trust you. Raleigh You know me. I will soon go to America. We will provide the Queen with some gold mines and things like that. I take all secrets with me and bury them in the bottomless marshes of Guyana. Walsingham Kit needed some time out. Raleigh So he is alive. Walsingham He needed some relief from himself. Perhaps you remember his motto: ”What gives me life consumes me.” He was the most indulgent of all people. To some degree he loved himself to death. He needed some detachment from existence. The only way for him to learn who his enemies really were was to die. Raleigh Well, he is dead now. Who were his enemies? Walsingham All his closest friends except me. His closest associate, Thomas Kyd, who betrayed him under torture, and Richard Baines, who betrayed him without torture. They both defecated and pissed down his grave, so he robbed them of his grave. Raleigh So they and no one else know where it is. Walsingham They will be the last to ever learn that he lives. Tom Kyd is himself dying now by the way. Raleigh Did he make it? Walsingham What? Raleigh To survive himself? Walsingham He is writing greater plays than ever. He has found himself. He has rewritten all ”Richard, Duke of York” and made his drama five times greater. He has found his humanity. Raleigh Which he couldn’t, if he had been allowed to go on as he did? Walsingham Probably not. Raleigh I begin to understand. But I haven’t seen his name. It is deleted. Walsingham Sir Walter, no one must even suspect that his death was only a play for the galleries. Raleigh How many know? Walsingham As far as I know, only very few are initiated in the secret, myself, the earl of Derby, Tom Thorpe, Essex and Southampton maybe, maybe the Bacon brothers, in that case also father and son Cecil, you, her majesty the Queen and William Shakespeare. Raleigh Who is William Shakespeare? Walsingham Our poet’s new name. Raleigh I understand. But didn’t the earl of Derby die recently? Walsingham Lord Strange, earl Ferdinando of Derby, knew less than his brother William Stanley, the sixth earl of Derby, who knows it all.

Raleigh Are the others reliable? The earl of Essex is an honest man, but what about the young dashing dandy Southampton? Walsingham He is completely under the influence of Essex. Raleigh (lower) Do you know anything about our friend Ferdinando Stanley’s death? Walsingham He was poisoned by Jesuits for refusing to accept the catholic candidature for the throne. He betrayed the leader of the Catholics to the Queen. The Catholics reacted as usual by killing the one they wanted for a king. The Catholics have no sense of humour. Raleigh Neither have the puritans. Walsingham No. All such fanatic rubble are just a plague to the nation, like a boil of pus, which the country only can recover from by letting it bleed to death. Raleigh I will soon go to America. I might never come back. Walsingham Good luck, Sir Walter. Raleigh You don’t wish to divulge where our friend Kit is at present? Walsingham My friend, no one knows the whereabouts of his grave. Raleigh I understand. Farewell, brother. Walsingham You will be welcome back from America, Sir Walter. Even Kit has friends left in England. If he with such enemies still has friends, you always will as well. Raleigh Thanks for those words, Tom. I will be back. (leaves) Walsingham An honest man. He is so honest, that one day he will be rewarded for his honesty by betrayal, for honest men are too good for this world. Kit proved that once and for all. Thanks for still being alive, Kit. (drinks a cup, toasts the fire in the fireplace.)

Scene 3. Thomas Kyd’s death bed. (Thomas Kyd lying fighting with death.) Kyd I didn’t want it myself! They forced me to it! Thorpe Take it easy, Thomas Kyd. We know what those inquisitors are good for. Kyd But I must know if he in the least way was behind it himself! Thorpe Who? Kyd Kit, of course! Kit Marlowe! Thorpe Behind what? Kyd That I was arrested! Who the hell reported me if it wasn’t he! Thorpe Why would he have done something like that? Kyd Professional jealousy! We were the two most skilful dramatists! He was number one, but I stuck up and beat him! My Hieronimo beat all Kit Marlowe’s heroes! I created the anti-hero! Thorpe I know nothing of Marlowe’s eventual culpability in your case, but I find it hard to believe. Kyd I must know it! I must know it! I must know if I am to condemn him or glorify him!

Thorpe You only had some bad luck, Thomas Kyd. They caught you on the suspicion of lying behind those pamphlets against the Flemish. They therefore ransacked your house and trampled straight into your most heretical philosophical arguments. Kyd So Kit was innocent? And I reported him? Thorpe He loved you, Thomas Kyd. Kyd Then I am the cursed traitor who murdered him, blind in my own envy and suspicion! Marlowe (appearing out of the shadows) Not at all, Thomas Kyd. Kyd Kit! You come to visit me? Am I already dead, since I see your ghost? Marlowe You called on me. I have come. Kyd Kit! Can you forgive me? Marlowe Anyone can be made to say anything on the rack. Kyd Kit! I never wanted your death! Marlowe Who said that I am dead? Kyd Don’t tell me that you are alive! Marlowe It’s worse than that, Tom. You are dying, and I am living on, when it should have been the contrary. Kyd But how is this miracle possible? First they all told me you had died in the plague, and then we heard that you had perished in a miserable tavern brawl. Was it all then just a play for show? Marlowe The best performance I ever made. I didn’t even have to act myself. But my disappearance from the public stage by a trap-door in the floor was most appropriate and necessary after your clumsiness. Kyd I know. I was caught. When we both could have continued together towards ever greater heights as infernal competitors for the world scene! So you never reported me? Marlowe I promise you, brother, that I never even dreamt of it. Morally we were together on the same side against the puritans and the hypocrisy of society. None of us had anything to gain by working against the other. On the contrary. When you no longer could back me up, I also had to fall together with you. Kyd So you forgive me my greatness in my ”Spanish Tragedy”? Marlowe It’s the greatest drama that has been written for the English stage. All my characters are butterflies against your tragic, mad, wonderful Hieronimo. No one has taught me as much as you. Kyd Then live on, Kit, and fulfil both of us. Marlowe You burden me with your life’s work. I will manage it and carry on. Kyd But how can you be alive? Are you not on the black list of the law? Aren’t you heading Elizabeth’s death list? Marlowe Formally I am dead already. I can’t be more dead, since I have a paper on it. I can’t die any more. A man dies only once, and I am already dead. But I keep on working under another name. Kyd May I ask which?

Marlowe William Shakespeare, a bloke from Stratford of the same age, who thinks he can act and ran away from his old bitter wife to the theatre to devote the rest of his life to a most needful and profitable escape from reality. He has a sense of humour and immediately grasped and accepted the joke. He has already made great money on what I write, which of course he shares with me. Haven’t you read his ”Venus and Adonis”? Kyd Was it you who wrote it? Marlowe Who else? Kyd Didn’t I hear the voice from ”Hero and Leander” in the lines of ”Venus and Adonis”? But it’s the most popular poem in England. Marlowe That pleases Kit Marlowe, who is dead. Kyd But Kit, such a joke could turn bitter with time. And as long as you live you will remain in mortal danger since you should be dead. You shouldn’t be in England. Marlowe I never left England. You who know me well, Tom, must know that I never feared death, whatever I did. I have even died without succeeding, as you can see for yourself! Kyd Still as presumptuous as ever, Kit. That’s your basic character: Chronic, hopeless hubris. That made your plays. Marlowe And by punishing myself for it there will be many more plays. I never give up, Tom Kyd, the work we started. You had a better sense of form in your division of acts than I had. I will work on that. Kyd So we seem to have become like one in the end. But the result is neither you nor me. It turned out to be William Shakespeare. Marlowe But he is only one. He has no competition, and since I am dead he may work entirely in peace. He has no risky political contacts like me and no burdens of the past. He is just an artist, and he is rid of me. Kyd It’s a precarious destiny you have entered on, Kit Marlowe. Marlowe I know. It’s my play of life. And I am curious about how it will end. Kyd I die, Kit Marlowe. (takes his hand) Thanks for coming and giving me a final applause. Marlowe I didn’t want to miss your last line. Kyd I am sorry that I reported you. Marlowe I will never forgive those who accused and tortured you. Kyd The only thing we made ourselves guilty of, Kit, was common sense – no heresy or blasphemy or atheism or paganism. We both know that. Marlowe And so does our tutor Sir Walter Raleigh. Kyd Farewell, Kit. I will be your protector from the other side of the grave. Marlowe And I will be your defender to eternity. (Thomas Kyd dies.) Thorpe An honest man’s heart has broken. Marlowe And what’s worse – he was innocent. A splendid power of creation was in the morning of his budding creative accomplishment broken by the blind berserk violence of ruthless politics entirely without cause or reason. He was a pious philosopher who saw the best in the deepest fallen of men. Hieronimo is in his

greatness a paragon and teacher to all mankind, for which mankind now has killed him. He is the martyr of this age to its blindness, ignorance and evil – not I. He was my twin soulmate, and I am condemned to carry on but without him, without my brother, without my stage and without my identity. For I can only go on living if I am dead. (cries) Thorpe Take cover, Kit. You must not be seen here. We demand that you go abroad. Marlowe I can’t give up my England. And I have powerful guardians. I don’t fear for my life, Tom Thorpe, for I am dead in my heart and soul after they brought down and took the life of Tom Kyd, my only respectable colleague and master. (Tom Thorpe leads him out.)

Act III scene 1. Lord Stanley’s wedding. A huge banquet with sumptuously dressed up Elizabethans. Southampton What a sumptuously capital wedding, isn’t it, my lord Essex? Essex My dear Southampton, it couldn’t be more perfect. I couldn’t have married better myself. The daughter of Edward de Vere, the earl of Oxford, isn’t just anyone. Southampton I wonder why the Queen isn’t here. Essex She is related with the bridegroom. She doesn’t like relatives. Southampton But surely there is nothing wrong between them? Essex The Stanleys have always shown the crown a servile benevolence, and for each new sacrifice the house of Derby has laid down for the crown, the crown has grown more callous and suspicious, as if their majesties thought: ”Another flattery to bribe us to more safely be able to knife us in the back!” But there were never any long knives with the house of Derby. Southampton But they are Catholics? Essex The father of the Stanley brothers was a puritan. That’s why the house of Stanley sympathizes with the Catholics, which Lancashire is crowded with. But they will never be Catholics themselves. Southampton What about their dangerous cousin William Stanley in Spain then? Essex He is a Catholic to be sure, but he will never again become an Englishman. Southampton How did actually the elder brother Stanley die, the former lord Stanley? There are so many rumours. Essex He was secretly poisoned by the Jesuits. He aroused the Catholics’ resentment when he refused to be their candidate for the throne and instead betrayed their conspiracy to the Queen. By that he dug his own grave. That was the latest sacrifice of the Derbys to the crown: the fifth earl of Derby deliberately sacrificed himself. Or was he only stupid? He appears to have raised some resentment already before his taking sides, and the Catholics actually wanted our bridegroom William Stanley here for their king from the start. Southampton I think they are preparing some speech. Essex So let’s listen.

Edward de Vere (rising solemnly) My dear son-in-law, thus our families at last have been fused into one! Many thought you would never marry, the nobility had already considered you lost to the theatre forever, but then suddenly you get family fancies and want children. I hope this was not only instigated by your elder brother’s so tragic and sudden death without issue. Stanley No man can endure standing alone at length. He was made for a woman. He is fashioned by nature to beget children. Why would I then be different? Oxford I can only assure you, that we all gave a sigh of relief when that proved not the case. And now we no longer share just our passion for the theatre but also our common affection for the same woman, my beloved daughter, your beloved wife, the mother of our children and grandchildren in common. Welcome to our family life, my dearest boy and colleague! (embraces him. All cheer and applaud.) Stanley Thank you, father-in-law. Oxford But you should know, who has remained a bachelor for so long, that woman isn’t just anyone. She is not just a bag to carry around, she is no armchair for your comfort, she is no servant to command, and least of all she is calculable. And most of all: she costs money. So mind your house, and make it worthy your wife, she will not tolerate that you just waste your assets on plays, she is worth your thrift and continence, your virtue and your attention, your piety and your humility. Stanley Surely you don’t mean that I should abandon the theatre? Oxford Everything except that, my son, everything except that! The theatre is always there waiting for you, but your wife will only be there waiting for you as long as you are good for her. That’s the whole difference. Stanley May then my father-in-law’s impressive wisdom catch on to me, so that I would get wiser. Which brings me at last to call for a toast to my beloved bride Elizabeth! (raising his glass. All share his toast with enthusiasm:) Elizabeth and the Queen! (all drink) Elizabeth de Vere (rising) Now it’s my turn to say a few words. A wise wife will never stand in the way of her husband. She will choose her husband carefully, so that she can be certain that he will never let her down. It’s more important that the man is calculable to the wife than the contrary. But a good wife also needs to often be left in peace from her husband. If he uses her too fastidiously, she knows that both could tire of each other. That is why I chose my husband, who not only is possessed by the greatest interest in the theatre in the country, but who also is an accomplished lawyer and scholar, devotes himself to hunting and politics, is more outdoors than indoors and more often away than at home. That gives the housewife full licence to rule at home and full care of her children. Like yourself, William, I hope to bear you many handsome sons. (raises her glass) Stanley (rising enthusiastically) Well, did I choose the right wife or not? All Cheers! Cheers! Elizabeth and the Queen! The Queen and Elizabeth! (All share the general toast enthusiastically.) Southampton How close is actually this Stanley to the throne?

Essex Closer than he would admit. He is related both with Queen Elizabeth and Mary Stuart. Southampton Queen Elizabeth’s aunt was his grandmother. Is that it? Essex Grandmother’s mother, if I remember correctly. Southampton And Elizabeth has no progeny. Essex Stanley is as close to the throne as king James of Scotland. Southampton And many would surely prefer Stanley? Essex All outside Scotland would prefer Stanley. Southampton So we are perhaps today guests with our next king? Essex That’s why we are here. Southampton How does the Queen like that you are here? Essex She doesn’t like it. I challenge here and am aware of it. But she is too old for me. I can’t be her golden favourite as a substitute for her lack of grandchildren. I am an independent Englishman with a life and name of my own, and she must accept it. Southampton And if she doesn’t? Essex If she can’t accept me as I am, she has the power to cut my head off, as her father did with several of his ladies. But I would rather be executed with my soul intact and free than honoured and elevated as a slave. What about you? What are your inclinations? Southampton You know that I am devoted to you. I would rather follow your ways than the Queen’s. Stanley (approaching them) Gentlemen, you stand off from society. I hope you are not conspiring? Essex Dear William, you know me. I never conspire unless I must. Southampton How about your theatre company now when you must devote yourself to a wife? Stanley You heard. They can be combined. And you are taking well care of young Will Shakespeare. Southampton Yes, that’s a completely different poet from that wild atheist who died the other year. Our man from Stratford is only compliant and accomodating, has no controversial ideas, suffers from no delusion of grandeur, is well established and married in Stratford. Essex But didn’t he run away from his shrew of a much older wife? Southampton What do you mean by that? Rather a married poet for my protegé than a homosexual fantastic constantly carried away by his fancies. Essex I guess it was a good thing for England to at the same time get rid of both the wild Marlowe and the garrulous Thomas Kyd. If Marlowe had lived on, he could have done anything, preach atheism from the stage, organize coining, seduce young men to chronic perversity and homosexuality, practise black magic… Stanley Marlowe only coined Dutch money. Essex Are you defending him?

Stanley You have no right to calumniate a dead man just because he is dead and everyone is doing it. And you, my good Henry Wriothesley, you dashing earl of Southampton, surely you could have no objection against affection between men? They say you associate with Will Shakespeare on a daily basis, giving money enough for him to buy houses and properties for. Southampton He is worth it. His poems are delicious. And he is very good company. Stanley Just that? (leaves) Essex Of course you must know, Henry, that Will Shakespeare didn’t write his poems himself? Southampton Who says so? Essex Those who know, the Queen among others. Southampton Who is then his ghost writer? Essex I wonder that as well. But a good guess is our host here today. Southampton Lord Stanley? Essex Put two and two together. He has journeyed all around Europe. He has an extensive education. He is a jurist and politician and incurable theatre enthusiast. He has everything that Will Shakespeare lacks. And above all: a royal relation doesn’t write plays and poems. He has every reason in the world to stick to anonymity. Southampton I could make some research and ask from where Will gets his plays and poems. Essex No, don’t let him suspect that you know. That would only hurt him. He is a theatre man. He needs his vanity. Southampton Well then. As long as the works keep appearing we have no reason to complain. Essex And a mystery has no need of a solution as long as everyone enjoys it. Southampton Do you think Stanley will keep on like that all his life? Essex He is a man of sound habits, good sense, great wisdom and best possible health. Such a man could survive all his generation. Southampton And consequently keep such a secret? Essex That would be most exciting to see. But I would be surprised if he ever removed his wonderful mask.

Scene 2. Behind the curtains of a theatre. (some actors reasoning) 1 It’s no joke, I promise! 2 If there is anything you can’t trust in this world, it’s the word of an actor. 1 Everybody knows that Kit Marlowe is still alive and kicking! Ask anybody! 2 Everybody knows that he is but a ghost of haunting unblessedness. No wonder, ending so badly after the way he lived! 1 He was an agent in Sir Francis Walsingham’s secret service, wasn’t he?

2 You are right so far. 1 And he went to several missions in Holland and France, didn’t he? 2 It’s true. 1 Imagine that his death was arranged. Where would he be then? 2 Dead. He could never show up again alive. 1 Right – in England! But abroad he would have no problem. 2 What are you driving at? 1 Where abroad? He was a bugger, wasn’t he? Where is the world’s leading bugger king? 2 In France. 1 Right! And that’s where he was seen close to Henry IV! He has never into safer and more loving hands! 2 So you suggest that Kit Marlowe is at the court of Henry IV? 1 Right! 2 If there is anything you can’t trust in this world, it’s the word of an actor. 1 Then you can’t trust yourself. But I trust myself to know that what I say is right. 2 Then you are no actor. 1 Yes, when I act on stage, but this is backstage! 2 Listen. I was there at the time. I played all the roles of Kit Marlowe and Tom Kyd. Both are dead. Will Shakespeare’s plays are better. Would you like a good advice? Be happy with them, stick to them, and forget Tom Kyd and Kit Marlowe. He would have said the same thing himself if he had seen our theatre today. Jonson If Will Shakespeare has written a single one of his dramas himself, then I have written the entire Bible. 2 Are you here now again, you importunate knave? Haven’t you understood that you are not welcome? Jonson I am waiting for a verdict on my play. 1 If Will Shakespeare doesn’t write his plays himself, who is doing it for him? Jonson It doesn’t matter. Anyone can write trash like that. He has probably dozens of ghost writers locked up in his wardrobe. He is just a clever businessman. That’s all. (Will Shakespeare appears with some others and starts listening, gives a sign to the others to stay quiet.) He saw to it that Kit Marlowe and Tom Kyd destroyed each other, so that he could dominate the stage alone. Shakespeare (to his closest man) Who is that man? 3 Ben Jonson, who wrote that dreadful play. 2 You are just a damned trouble-maker, you clown, who only comes here to talk a lot of bullshit! 1 If Will Shakespeare doesn’t write his plays himself, it’s probably Kit Marlowe hiding behind him. 2 Kit Marlowe is dead, you miserable humbug! Jonson Or the theatre earl Stanley. Or his bugger friend the earl of Southampton. Or anyone. Maybe Essex, Raleigh or even Edmund Spenser. Everyone can write excellent stuff except him.

3 Don’t come here talking shit about England’s greatest playwright! Jonson Evidently you are another one of his arse-lickers. 3 (throws a play in his face) Here is your bloody miserable play! It’s the worst play ever written! Kit Marlowe, Tom Kyd, Greene and Sackville, Shakespeare and Heywood, they are all better than you! Jonson If I differ so sharply from such a bunch of bumpkins I must be the best of all. Shakespeare Enrol him. 3 What? Shakespeare He acts well. Jonson I am a playwright, no actor, you nitwit. Shakespeare If you want your plays performed, you have to accept acting in them yourself. Jonson Does that mean that you accept my play? Shakespeare Of course. 3 (shocked) That silly trash? Shakespeare I write worse myself. Jonson So you are – Will Shakespeare? Shakespeare And you, I understand, are Ben Jonson. Jonson (They shake hands.) At least we could probably collaborate on stage. Shakespeare This country needs new playwrights. Welcome. 1 (continuing the discussion with 2) I tell you, that Kit Marlowe lives! (During the following, Shakespeare leaves.) 2 And I tell you he is dead! That blasphemer and atheist got what he deserved! He dug his own grave! He said that the Jews did right in crucifying the Saviour, and for that Kit Marlowe got silenced enough in his own crucifixion! May the devil take him, as he took his doctor Faustus! 1 You are such a good actor that you believe yourself in the play you are acting! 2 And you are such a bad actor that you’d never understand that the truth doesn’t matter! 1 What do you mean? 2 I have been in it longer than you. Even if Kit Marlowe lives and writes Shakespeare’s plays, it doesn’t matter, for all that matters in his theatre are the plays! Stick to the play, and don’t bother about the truth! 1 Who taught you that? 2 Kit Marlowe! (leaves in a fury) 1 There is actually something to it. It’s the play that must live and not the playwright, as he writes his plays like an act of self-effacement to endow his plays with life at the cost of his own. Kit Marlowe would perhaps prefer being dead in order to live, although he lives. That’s how it must be. Now I understand what the theatre is! 3 How could Shakespeare accept such a bad play as this rot by Jonson? Does he desire the contrary to his own? Jonson Don’t you get it?

3 No. Jonson He is painfully aware that his own plays are the worst of all. Therefore he tolerates mine, which are the second worst. I come closest. 3 You have only come here to talk rubbish! Get down to work instead! Learn this part by heart! At once! (gives him a manuscript) Jonson (throws a glance in it) You must be damned to be an actor! Once you are, it’s farewell forever to all your credibility. Then all that matters is the masks and the characters. (leaves studying his manuscript) 3 (to 1) And you, don’t just stand there with your mouth open! Do you want to play the fool? 1 I was always a fool up till now, but suddenly I have realized the meaning of life. 3 And what’s that? 1 To be true to all the lies that you perform to your audience. 3 Are you a philosopher? 1 The divinest philosopher is a playwright who only lives to deceive his audience. No one is wiser than he. 3 Who is that? 1 Kit Marlowe. 3 He is dead. 1 Then it’s Will Shakespeare who doesn’t exist. (leaves) 3 Perhaps after all that we could be in need of a miserable failure like Ben Jonson just to balance all that first class incomprehensible nonsense that already is too immortal on stage for us ever to be rid of it. It would have been different if Kit Marlowe had been allowed to continue acting!

Scen 3. The court of Henry IV in France. Royal banquet in great festivity. Food and drink is served around. General song: "Vive Henri Quatre, vive ce roi vaillant!" Henry IV (after the song is over) Well, how do you like it in my country, my friend? Marlowe I never felt better, your majesty. Henry Call me Henry. We are after all colleagues. (twinkles, and raises his cup) Marlowe Honestly, Sir, I never quite understood your overwhelming good will for me. I find it difficult to believe it’s true. Henry I know you, my friend. Not many are those who know you, but those who do have the world’s greatest sympathy for you. And it’s not just because you are the most important diplomatic link between France, England and Holland. We trust you, my darling. Marlowe But your wife, my king? How can you deceive her with me? Henry Woman, my friend, is the saddest of all human chapters. Ask me, who had my life and destiny run by Catherine of Medici. I know the women. On my wedding night all the decent people of Paris were murdered just because I was

obliged to marry the daughter of Catherine of Medici. Whatever you do, Kit, don’t call her a queen. She is just a woman. Her mother could run my life and everyone’s life according to her will, but after the old terrible hag is gone with all her intrigues, I will do with her daughter as I please. I never hesitated in deceiving her and least of all with handsome young men. Marlowe But, my king, aren’t women still human, and shouldn’t they be treated humanly? Man’s love of woman is natural, but love between the same sex is unnatural. Henry Are you pulling my leg, my friend? Or are you just teasing me? You must surely know as an unprejudiced and wise man that all love is natural. All men are by nature bisexual. So let them! Let nature have its course! Of course it is a fact that only women can be mothers. You can only get sons by sexual intercourse with women. That’s undisputable. And for the sake of the family and his children, a man should be faithful to his wife, and he acts wrongly if he isn’t. But it is an entirely different story if you are the king of France. All courts have always been totally corrupted. I will not brag about it, just acknowledge facts. But please allow me a question of some intimacy, my dear friend. Marlowe Please go ahead. Henry Have you actually never had a woman? Marlowe I never drilled a hole in a woman, if that’s what you mean. Henry That’s exactly what I mean. Did you drill a man in that way? Marlowe I don’t drill holes, your majesty. I am too sensitive for that. I was early seduced by older men and learned love that way. I love. That is all. Henry And that gave you your strange destiny. You loved yourself away. You are a dead man without a human existence. How does it actually feel to be nothing and still the greatest craftsman of words of your country? Marlowe Honestly, my king and friend, I gave a sigh of relief when I was dead. I didn’t have to pose and act any more and could start observing life from its true perspective – from the gutter. I was no longer stuck in any position. I was free at last to start writing for real. Henry But you can never retrieve your position. You can never form a family or live safely at home in your own country. Marlowe But my art will remain established. I still have friends in England who will protect me with their lives. And if I wish I can go home and operate under other names. But I prefer to live completely for my art as the best channel of my love. Henry So your plays are like your children? Marlowe Yes, my spiritual children, and as such I endow them with immortal life. Henry What play are you working on now? Marlowe Henry IV. Henry About me? Marlowe No, an English king 200 years ago. But the play reflects much of my free life without responsibility in good company. Henry Would you include me in any of your plays?

Marlowe You already are, your majesty, in two of them. Henry Let me guess – a tragedy and a comedy. Marlowe Quite correct, your majesty. Your life almost turned into a tragedy by the massacre at Paris after your wedding but still turned a comedy by your sensible detachment from religion. Henry If Paris had been worth a black mass I would have celebrated that as well. Religion is fool’s play which only admits morons void of all self-criticism and common sense. Politics is something else. Marlowe What is politics, your majesty? Henry Just stick to calling me Henry. We are colleagues, aren’t we? (twinkles and raises his cup) Politics, my friend, is to make sure that every Frenchman has his own chicken for dinner every Sunday. If you succeed with that, you are a good politician and may retain your power. Cheers, my friend, for good hunting! Marlowe To follow you on your chase, my friend Henry, has become my life’s greatest pleasure. Henry That’s the spirit! More wine! More geese on the plates! We have a party here! (The general song is resumed, and the banquet goes on in the best of moods.) Henry Damn, Kit, I envy you. We shall share the night together, and we shall make love like pigs, but you are still young, your whole life is still ahead of you, and you must allow yourself some true love with a woman, the real, natural, carnal love, so that you become a human being of flesh and meat and not just remain an eternally dying soul out of touch with reality. Go to Italy. I will send you as my ambassador to Mantua and Florence, Verona and Venice, and shall pay all your costs. Love women, Kit, love life, and think of me who gave it to you. Write poems of me. Write love poems to your king, the man who loved you more than any man can love a woman. Marlowe I don’t know Italian, my king. Henry It is easy to learn. You know Latin, you dunce, and Greek as well. In Italy you will be like a fish in water. That’s where you should have lived from the start. You are a renaissance poet and could become the greatest of all. Go to Italy, my friend, at my cost, and love the women of Venice, at my cost, and think of me, your king, who never could allow himself a human life, because he was stuck in his role as a king; except with you, my friend, who came and saved me from all my power and inhumanity by your total honesty in the lack of roles. (pause) Marlowe My king, I have loved many, but none have loved me as you. Henry And you say that without my having touched you. Marlowe Yes. Your love is greater than any flesh can express. Henry Then I will touch you even less. You are sacred by your total humanity. Be my friend, young poet, but never forget me. Marlowe Your love, Henry, will never die. Henry Thanks for those words, my friend. You almost make me feel like a human being.

Scene 4. Scadbury Park (like act I scene 2 and act II scene 2.) (Sir Thomas by the open fireplace.) Walsingham The years pass and only grow longer while the increasing slowness of age makes life only vanish the quicker out of your hourglass. At the same time positions are more hopelessly locked, crises more difficult to solve and the burdens of your life’s mistakes more heavy on your heart and more difficult to bear. And then the ailments enter your body with the increasing lust to just forget and bury everything in the cup of drunkenness, which only dims your brains and hastens your senility. But it’s perhaps best that way, so that you the sooner may die and forget everything. What is it Toby? (enter Toby) Toby A guest, Sir. Walsingham The one I expected? Toby The same. Walsingham Show him in. (Toby leaves.) And as the only happy one, he in his loneliness appears, who survived his own death and lives on like a ghost without position and identity and with no honour, but the freer in constantly increasing creativity, which just goes on impressing more and more in confounding greatness of output. (Enter Lord Stanley.) Lord William Stanley! Thanks for visiting me! You are one of those few who always return and are the more welcome each time. Stanley I just wished to hear the latest news as usual. Walsingham Nothing new. He writes poems, produces plays, lives freely and keeps on constantly surpassing himself. Stanley What is the latest? Walsingham (producing a bunch of papers) A fresh intrepid war drama of the fifth Henry of Lancaster. Stanley He never took part in any battle but still describes war as if he lived in it as a general. Walsingham And he is always victorious, even if there is a long way through defeats and tragedies to a still infallible glorious end. There is no greater fighting spirit in all England than in the dramas of this dead exile. Stanley Have you already written it out? Walsingham It’s copied and finished. The distribution will now be on your responsibility as usual. And our man on stage, William Shakespeare, does his job thoroughly, I understand? Stanley He undertakes his task with great seriousness. We could never have found a more reliable man. He studies the dramas meticulously, shows a deep understanding for their texts, has a good hand with the players and produce them with splendid results, as if he had written them himself. Walsingham It’s just a pity that Kit cannot see them. Stanley Who is Kit? I thought he was dead. Maybe you mean someone else? Walsingham Pardon me. I forgot myself. (enter Toby, greatly agitated)

What is it, Toby? Toby Sir, another most unexpected visit! Walsingham Who is it? Elizabeth (outside) Don’t loiter, boy, but show me in! I haven’t come here from London to be antichambered! Walsingham and Stanley The Queen! Elizsabeth (breaking in) So you are two? So much the better! Tom, I am to knight you, so it is just as well that I may see how you live. (looking around) It will do. There is room enough here for my retinue. I can stay here for a few days. That will be a nice and suitable rest and relaxation from my working life. (takes a seat in the greatest armchair) How are you, gentlemen? Stanley Thank you, life goes on. Walsingham We manage. Elizabeth And how is your strange ward, Tom, whom you had killed and then sent on to the continent? Walsingham He writes beautiful letters and poems, plays and compositions. Our hastily and unnecessarily executed poet has never felt or written any better. Elizabeth Where is he today? Walsingham If he isn’t with the intrepid Henry of Navarre, he should be knocking around in Italy. Elizabeth What is he up to in Italy? His place is on the continent. After all, he is our most important agent in France, the Netherlands and Vienna. Walsingham King Henry sent him on a mission to Italy. Elizabeth (angry) He is in our service and not in king Henry’s! Walsingham Your majesty, he is a free man after his murder, since he no longer exists. Elizabeth God damn and God’s blood! Get him home to England at once! Henry could change sides any time, as he has done before, and again become a Catholic in league with that old scoundrel Philip! Don’t you know that we are at perpetual war with Spain? Ireland is in rebellion again, and Philip intends to send another armada against us! Stanley My Queen, I heard from reliable sources that our arch enemy king Philip now is dead. To the relief of all Spain, there will be no fifth armada sent against England to its own certain destruction. Elizabeth Philip dead? Can such tough scoundrels die? Stanley He appears to have died of joy when he heard about the new rebellion in Ulster. Elizabeth Then the Ulster men’s rebellion brought a piece of good news, even if it was the only one. And I must send Essex there to clear up the mess. Him I cannot trust. Lord Stanley, you will go with him, although I do not trust you either. It will be your task there to guard him. But what was the subject we were discussing? Oh yes, our dead heretic poet! He must come home to England! Walsingham My Queen, there is one thing I can assure you, and that is that our poet will not change sides. There is no greater patriot and no more loyal Englishman than

the poet we murdered, buried without a grave and exiled without honour. His own plays prove it. Elizabeth The ones that are making master Shakespeare rich? Walsingham Not without deserving it. He produces them, enacts them and entertains all England with them as if he had written them himself. Elizabeth A great opportunism, brilliant double standards, a perfect arrangement, and what a double play! What does our poet think about it? Walsingham He is quite satisfied if he is allowed to work in peace. Elizabeth So it seems to work out all by itself. You, Stanley, will accompany Essex to Ireland. Remember, that you watch him for me! If he turns against me you are both dead! Stanley My Queen, I am as faithful as your poet. Elizabeth I will knight you in a few days, Tom. I just wanted to look around and make sure that you deserve your knighthood. You deserve it for the poet’s sake. I wish I could knight him along with you. Walsingham I will write that to him, your majesty. Elizabeth You will do nothing of the sort. He is dead, so it will not do. He must wait until some day he will have some sort of an exoneration, and it will hardly occur in my lifetime. Look to it that you behave and act your parts, gentlemen. I haven’t been here tonight. (departs) Walsingham You never know where you have that woman. Stanley The same accounts for every woman, Tom. Walsingham Are you not happily married? Stanley My wife is more with Essex than with me. She rather stays here in London than with me in Lancashire. Walsingham What do you think of the Irish rebellion? Stanley The Irish just are like that. It’s a hell every time it happens and you have to go there to massacre them. Most tired out of that sordid business of all is our good friend Essex. Walsingham Is she sending him there to be rid of him? Stanley That is to be feared, Tom. Of all punishments, that’s the worst, the most inhuman and thankless. If he doesn’t fall in battle there, it will make him an irreconcilable enemy to her. Walsingham So she will get what she wants whatever happens? Stanley It looks bad for Essex, Tom. He is practically executed already. Thanks for the play. Fortunately the theatre will always survive. Walsingham Good night, Sir William. (Stanley takes his hat on and leaves.) She might have five years left to live at most. What will come after her? Nobody knows. But no matter how she governs, no one can follow her. Our good days are hopelessly drawing to a close, and every man knows, that after each day of sunshine, there will be a night of darkness. (resumes his place, brooding by the fire.)

Act IV scene 1. An army camp in Ulster. Essex It’s hopeless, Derby. We can’t defeat Tyrone. Stanley It’s unlike you to give up, Robert. Essex We have no choice. I am no general. I can’t handle a war. I am a courtier and cavalier, like the earl of Leicester. I should be sitting down by the skirts of the Queen and not be cast out into a warfare masquerade to the wild Ireland, where I can only make a fool of myself. Stanley You begged for this mission yourself. Essex I know. Stanley The Queen expects you to go through with it. She will never forgive you if you fail. Essex She coolly calculated on that I would augment her cult by my Irish victories. She thought that I better than anyone else could increase her prestige and pour some oil on the senseless psychosis of nationalism. It turned out to be water instead, and her proud army in Ireland has been lost in the rains dwindling to a fourth. We have nothing else to do than to admit our defeat. Stanley What will you do? Essex Make peace. Stanley For that you could be beheaded in London. Essex Do I have any choice? Stanley Go on with the war. Essex And sacrifice the last fourth? Consummate my defeat? Come home to London naked? To cut the losses now and go home is my only chance. Stanley You risk your life. Essex Here there is nothing else to do for all of us than to lose our lives. Stanley Our poet’s nationalistic drama production will get upset and fall out of fashion. He will not be happy. Essex You mean that William Shakespeare, alias Kit Marlowe. Stanley You know about it? Essex I am related to Sir Thomas. We still have that state secret left even if we lose everything else. But where is the poet now? How did he manage to remain concealed all these years without raising any suspicions? Stanley He has a safe refuge with Henry of Navarre in France and another with me in Lancashire. I do have several castles. Essex And then he can hide with Sir Thomas but never for long. Sometimes he has been seen haunting London but only to always disappear at once. Stanley He is very careful and very restless. Wherever he stays it’s never for long. It’s only with me and king Henry that he feels quite safe. But his best protection is William Shakespeare. Essex But they haven’t even met.

Stanley No, but that theatre man is very careful about handling the business well. He makes much on it, since the plays are given in his name, and he doesn’t want to lose that productive milk cow. His name has become synonymous with a good play of quality which must fill the house. He lives on not falling out of his role, and his stagings are always perfect. Essex Is that why the Queen favours him? Stanley Yes, she also doesn’t want to lose her role. Essex What does the poet himself say about it? Stanley Nothing. He just goes on working, obsessed by his art and by humanity. Essex How long do you think it can go on? Stanley Until he is abandoned by his muse. (enter Southampton) Southampton Gentlemen, aren’t we ready for attack? Essex There will be no more attack. Southampton What? Essex Sit down and take it easy. We have more important things to discuss than vain and futile wars. Southampton Like what? What could be more important than winning the Queen’s war? Essex Your poet, who writes love poems to you. Southampton (brightening up) William Shakespeare? Stanley (aside to Essex) Doesn’t he know? Essex (back) He knows absolutely nothing. – Yes, the very same. Southampton It’s an honour for me to be his sponsor. His love poetry is the most beautiful in the world. Stanley And he writes all his love poems only to you? Southampton I take that for granted. They are all dedicated to me ever since his first great poem ”Venus and Adonis”. Essex Yes, there will be reasons enough to discuss William Shakespeare’s love poems to Henry Wriothesley of Southampton for several hundred years. (Stanley laughs aside.) Southampton What is the joke? Stanley (cheerful) Nothing, my friend, just your debatable future legendariness. Southampton (doesn’t understand, doesn’t care) But isn’t it risky to interrupt the war? What will the Queen say? Essex She may say what she pleases. I don’t care. I don’t want to kill and sacrifice more people, and I am tired of being her puppet and jumping-jack. I am a free human being and no slave and least of all an old capricious vain and tyrannical old maid’s lackey. Southampton If your views reaches the Queen’s ear, your head will be likely to come off. Essex Let her hear it! Let all women hear what cruel tyrants they are, who aren’t even aware of the irresponsibility with which they handle men’s feelings and

make themselves guilty of unfathomable tragedies to them! She will be certain to cut off my head, since she is a woman, and I loved her! Stanley Take it easy, Robert. You still have your wife to live for. Essex Yes, I have, just as you have your wife to live for. Stanley That was unnecessary. Essex So? I happened to hit the bull’s eye? I didn’t even think of aiming. Southampton Gentlemen, don’t start arguing about your women. Stanley We might as well have it sorted out immediately. You know very well, Robert, that my wife rather stays with you than with me. Essex I can only admit that she is keen on me. Judge her, not me. Stanley Have you slept with her? Essex Ask her. She knows best that I rather slept than was awake. Stanley So it’s true. Essex I can’t judge her. You may judge her, for she is your wife. But take into your account, that she was bored up in the cold winter fortresses of Lancashire and always wanted festivity and warm society around her, which she only found in London. (laying his hand on him) She is only a woman, William. Don’t judge her for being a woman. Then you must judge the whole female sex. Stanley Kit Marlowe did that, who created our theatre for only male actors to play both women and men, so that no women could drag the female ideal in the mud, and by the years I am more and more tempted to give him right. Southampton There are also good women. Stanley Yes, they always mean well but cause irreparable damage nonetheless. Essex All can not be buggers like Kit Marlowe. The world must also have children. And we men must have sons. Stanley You are right, Essex. We can’t judge woman. This trial is not correct since there is no woman present to defend her hopeless cause. So we close the case. Essex The judge has spoken. May we instead be judged by Queen Elizabeth. Stanley I am afraid that woman could be worse as a prosecutor than as an advocate. Essex Especially if she has power. Stanley I resign. Mind your business, gentlemen. (leaves them) Southampton We are in the same boat, Robert. I had fallen out of grace even before I followed you to Ireland. Essex Still I don’t think she will touch a hair on your head. She needs you more than me. Southampton For what? Essex You protect Shakespeare. Southampton And why am I needed for that? Essex Because you don’t know who you are protecting. (leaves him) Southampton Now he also speaks in riddles. The devil take these cryptic literates! If Essex now will turn as mysterious as Shakespeare in his incomprehensible love poems to me, I think I will have just had it!

Scene 2. The Queen’s bedchamber. She is completely unmasked with long grey hairs, old and awful. Elizabeth (facing her mirror) Behold the power of England, that defeated Spain with her four invincible world armadas and fundamentally ruined the catholic papal empire with its world monopoly! What is then this brave England, which thus can act a police and bringer of freedom to the world? – Nothing but this shallow shell of a bitter crone, frustrated of all things human and with nothing left except this rotten superficial artifice of power. If England could see the soul of England in this fallen derelict shed, this dusty outlived ruin of what once could have become a woman, this mummy that survived herself for generations, England would implode for shame to never more be able to show herself even politically to this world. All my power and glory and sovereignty are but theatrical effects in a superficial masquerade in the theatre of vanity, which only gets more exhausted in its emptiness the longer it is hanged out as a scarecrow on stage to there catch an easily beguiled audience in fascination of her lies, borrowed feathers and deceits piled up like towering stones of cliffs on each other in a pyramid just to conceal a black hole of a grave that never gets filled up enough with only vanity and emptiness. (Essex suddenly opens the door and breaks in.) Elizabeth (frightened) Essex! Essex (throws himself on his knees in utter humility) My Queen, I had to see you at once to explain everything. Elizabeth What has happened? Why aren’t you in Ireland? Essex I have made peace with Tyrone. Elizabeth (finds herself immediately) So he is still alive? You were to vanquish him once and for all and triumph with his severed head on the Tower! Essex My Queen, three fourths of my army was lost. They just went down in fevers, desertion, cowardly escape, they fell on the battlefields, disappeared in the forests, went over to the enemy, ran home to their farms – I can’t say more. I couldn’t crush Tyrone, and to save your last four thousand men I made peace. Elizabeth (pretends benevolence) My friend, you are brave coming here with such a confession, accepting your own responsibility for such a backlash to my entire government. Your honesty is impressing in its straightforward fearlessness. Essex (still on his knees) No one else is guilty. I carry the whole burden of accountability. I have failed. Forgive me. Elizabeth All my men have failed in Ireland. You are but one of many, but the last one. Essex Don’t judge Southampton. Judge none of the others. Judge only me. Elizabeth I am looking through you, my friend. (takes his chin) You forget that I know you. With your eloquence and nobility as means and arguments you ask me to overlook your failure. That is not for me to do. Your destiny is decided by the council, not by me. I am still less a military than you. But I appreciate your honesty,

and I forgive you your worst crime: (harder) to dare to impose on my privacy on your own initiative and surprise me in my own bedchamber! Essex Please forgive me, your majesty. Elizabeth (softer) I forgive you. But go straight home and change. Your clothes are muddy. Neither am I very representative. Come to dinner, and we will talk better. This is quite unworthy of both of us. Essex My Queen… Elizabeth (angry) Get lost! (Essex pulls out, backwards.) (embittered) What a scoundrel! (blackout)

Scene 3. Stanley False, miserable woman! Are you happy now with your love? You haven’t just completely put yourself to shame and lost all your credibility, but also deceived me with the greatest traitor of the country! Elizabeth de Vere (desperate) My husband, I haven’t committed adultery. Stanley No, and Essex has in no way made any rebellion! He only conspired by mistake! By accident he happened to raise the banner of rebellion! Elizabeth Don’t condemn me. He was the favourite of the Queen and of the whole country. He flirted with me and invited me to friendly intimacy. We didn’t go to bed. Stanley You are infected with that man’s lies! He proclaimed his rebellion in the noble intention not to harm the Queen! He only wanted to overthrow the state but keep the Queen! His lies are like yours: you didn’t sleep with each other. You only loved each other. Elizabeth (throwing herself on the floor) Then kill me rather than bereave me so cruelly of my soul and womanhood! Stanley You didn’t know what you were doing. Women never know what they are doing. They just do it and repress it and forget it, deny it and regret it for the rest of their tortured lives. You didn’t know what you were doing when you preferred the vain superficial charlatan to honour and your country and your life with your husband. Elizabeth My husband, you were like a desert, sinister, cold and gloomy. I needed some change, I couldn’t live without water, I desperately needed an oasis. Our friend the proud Essex showed me understanding, like as if he could think like a woman himself. Stanley He acted just like a woman. He was more womanly in his distraction and impulsiveness than the Queen, who in all her frigidity still is a woman who understands how to guard her honour. (enter a servant) What is it? Servant Sir Walter Raleigh, my lord. Stanley Away with you, woman! Your narrow luck is that I have been faithful to you. I pardon you. Now get out!

Elizabeth I only wanted to have some fun for a change. (leaves) Stanley Alas, that’s what they all want, but they all find it more difficult than anything else, and it always ends up badly: tears, blood and tragedy is all that my wife and Essex harvested on their quest for having fun. (enter Raleigh) What’s up, Sir Walter? Raleigh In brief, everything is going to hell. Stanley Is there any hope for Essex? Raleigh He dug his own grave in sheer thoughtlessness. Stanley What will be his verdict? Raleigh The Queen can forgive him everything, but when she blocked him from his business monopoly on sweet wines his true ego burst forth. He could not forgive her that, and then he let the whole world know that she was an abominable living carcass. Stanley Essex carelessness galore. Raleigh A woman can forgive anything except being hurt in her vanity by an unpleasant truth. That’s why Essex will be decapitated in February. Stanley Thereby she executes the finest remains of her proud and free England. He was the final glorious flower of all her fruitful gardening. Raleigh That’s the way all England feels. But there will still be another age after her. Our country will not perish with her. Stanley What are you insinuating? Raleigh We must have a King after the Queen. Stanley Of course. King James of Scotland, Mary Stuart’s son. Raleigh No one wants him in England. He is a conceited fool. Stanley No one else is possible. Raleigh There is only one candidate. Stanley Oh no. Don’t try that one on me, Sir Walter. Raleigh You are the only one, William. You have everything which that Scottish fop is lacking. Stanley He has everything which I lack: legitimacy. Raleigh What is that legitimacy? A royal family of petty egoists, vain maniacs, metaphysical drunkards and incompetent fools? Half of all the Stuarts have been decapitated or murdered in other ways and never without a reason. Stanley That merit is shared by most royal families. Raleigh William, accept your responsibility! Your family is spotfree. You have no maniacs in the family. You are all intelligent, cultural and diplomatic characters of integrity. Your balance and world knowledge is needed as a counterweight to the passions and exaggerations of the last century! Stanley I have a more important obligation. Raleigh Impossible! What do you have to live for besides politics except the theatre? Stanley The theatre is more important than all the world. Raleigh Are you then a fool? Stanley No, I am all that for which you accuse me: a balanced, world wise diplomat.

Raleigh Then you fail your country! Stanley No, Sir Walter, I only fail you. I know that you have nothing good to expect of king James. But put yourself in my situation. Perhaps you intentionally forget, that my family is gravely involved with the Catholics. I was always the candidate of the Catholics to the throne, and if I were to accept that candidature as pretender to the throne, not only the Protestants and puritans would react sourly with violence. I would also have James and Scotland against me. While if James now would be king, Scotland and England would be united in peace. That would constitute a firm ground for a great age of the kingdom of the united British Isles. That’s what Elizabeth and England needs and wants. You must weigh the political advantages against the disadvantages of the alternative. I will vanish in that scale, Sir Walter. Raleigh King James would wish to see me dead. Stanley I will do anything to help you. My voluntary abstention from the candidature would perhaps help you most of all. Raleigh You commit political suicide for England’s political future. What will you get out of that? You must realize yourself that you are so much better than that conceited faker. Stanley I have my theatre. Raleigh I know. Many believe you wrote all those excellent chronicles that appear in the name of William Shakespeare, for they all carefully follow your own family. Stanley I trust you belong to those who know about the secret of the murder of Christopher Marlowe? Raleigh You don’t mean to say that he is still keeping busy writing plays? Stanley Who else? Raleigh Who else but you? All Catholics know and tear their hairs for that you don’t care about the crown and only wants to pen comedies. Stanley Marlowe lives under my and Walsingham’s protection and also under king Henry’s of France if necessary. Sometimes I considered sending him to Man. There would be no place safer for him. Raleigh Where is he now? Stanley Only he knows. Raleigh I always wondered about his departure. Still today many maintain that he was the greatest poetical genius of all and that not even Shakespeare surpasses him. But you go well together, the two of you. You are both masters of selfeffacement for the sake of England. Stanley Don’t be surprised if he suddenly turns up. Raleigh Can’t you make him do just that? I would like to meet him, if he is actually still alive. (A secret door opens in the tapestry, and Marlowe comes forth.) Marlowe Pardon my eavesdropping. Raleigh Kit Marlowe! You are really alive! (goes up to him, touches him, embraces him) My son! My disciple! All your fate is entirely my fault! It was I who first seduced you by my heresies! Marlowe Sir Walter, no one must know that I am alive.

Raleigh Is that your condition for staying alive? Marlowe My sincere and sinister condition. Raleigh An inhuman condition. How long can you allow an amateur from Stratford to harvest all the glory that only is yours? Marlowe He does a good job. He produces my plays and makes them successful. I could never have done that myself. Raleigh And he makes outrageous fortunes on them. Marlowe Some of that reaches me. Some goes to Walsingham’s clerks, who write them out. And some goes to Lord Stanley here, who copies them. But the most important thing is that the poetry reaches all England. Raleígh How can you accept such an existence? Without family, without name, without future? Marlowe Look at Essex and Southampton, Shakespeare’s sponsors. They had a name, family and future. Southampton betrayed Essex, so that Essex will end on the scaffold. For that the dashing Southampton got a life sentence in prison. There’s England’s glory and destiny for you, Sir Walter. And if you survive them yourself with your doubtful merits, it would perhaps be a miracle. Perhaps I am the happiest among you who is already dead. Raleigh My Kit, my darling boy! (embraces him) Shall we meet again? Marlowe At least on the other side of the grave if not before. Raleigh I can only say, what they all say in your tragedy, that if we meet again we will smile indeed. Marlowe That’s what Brutus and Cassius say with sadness, since they know they will never meet again. Raleigh This is too much. I came to you, Lord Stanley, full of hopes but part from you with a broken heart. I have seen too much, having seen the truth. Stanley Farewell, my brother. The theatre is always there. Raleigh But for how long? Everything is falling apart in this world of betrayed ideals. And when our glorious Queen is no more, we shall have a vain imbecile and flimsy clown for a fake king who isn’t even funny. The tragedy is masked in a most pathetic political black comedy which only can end up in disaster. I don’t believe in your new England, Stanley. Only you could have saved it. (leaves) Marlowe I apologise that I couldn’t keep myself from appearing. Stanley Absolutely no harm is done. Sir Walter Raleigh belongs to us reliable enough to rather vanish in a grave without honour than divulge anything of our secret. We still have our theatre, my friend, no matter how much England may go to hell.

Act V scene 1. The King’s own private theatre. The entire court enters with King James leading with his Queen. Among the others are Sir Thomas Walsingham and in the end Lord Stanley. They all find their seats (with their faces to the audience) expecting a theatre performance. James What is it now, Lord Stanley, that you have come up with? How dare you present surprises? Stanley Your majesty, it is an old play which always has been performed with success, but it has now found a new form and been greatly expanded. Queen No indecencies, I hope? Stanley Of course not, my Queen. Walsingham I know the play. It was performed with success already twenty years ago, and didn’t you yourself act in it in Denmark? Stanley It was to the Danish court in Elsinore, which castle Kronborg then was inaugurated. But much water has flowed both in the English Channel and the Danish since then. James Was that the king who was so flamboyant that he fired cannons to every common toast taken at his party? Stanley The very king. James That was no king for gloomy puritans, who think they will be admitted to heaven just for banning all humour. Queen Is the play amusing? Stanley It’s an exciting and in parts amusing tragedy. Walsingham Let’s just have enough corpses filling all the stage with blood in the finale, and it will be like in Kit’s good old days. Queen Who is Kit? James A deceased scandal writer. Walsingham It was he and Tom Kyd who created the English drama. Our all dominating theatre man Shakespeare is just like a village craftsman in comparison. James Don’t talk ill of our good man Shakespeare. He has given us many good laughs by his cheerful comedies. He will be here tonight, won’t he? Stanley He is the producer of the play who staged it. James Call him out. I want to see him. Stanley (giving a sign to the backstage. Calls are heard: Will Shakespeare! He appears from one side.) James My good entertainer, they tell me you are responsible for the performance tonight. Shakespeare May it please your majesty. James It pleased earl Derby here to make it a surprise. I hope there will be no unpleasant surprises to my Queen?

Shakespeare There is a ghost in the beginning. But like in all real tragedies there are lots of tears and blood, but may it please your majesty that all villains will die in the end. James In other words: a happy ending! I like that! Walsingham (aside) Let’s see how you like it that the king is a villain! James So let the show begin! We are eagerly expecting it! Shakespeare It will be my pleasure, your majesty. (bows and leaves) Stanley (aside to Shakespeare) No truncations of the text? Shakespeare It’s like an entirely new play now performed for the first time. (exit) Walsingham What have you really come up with, Stanley? No unpleasant reminders of Sir Walter Raleigh? Stanley He is with us tonight like in the good old days. Walsingham He and Southampton are imprisoned for life. What does master Shakespeare think of that? Stanley He never touched on the subject with one word. Walsingham Not even in this new play? Stanley Least of all. Walsingham Then we’ll manage. James (impatient) Get on with the show now! What are we waiting for? (The staff is thumped in the floor. The lights are cut, except for a cold light on stage.) Queen (shuddering) Evidently it’s cold in Denmark. Stanley It will pass. Cecil Horatio? Wasn’t there a Horatio in Thomas Kyd’s play? Walsingham All ghosts of the past come back in this play. Queen Whew! James There is the ghost! But that is master Shakespeare himself! Cecil Quiet! Don’t ruin our play! Walsingham A sad old countenance, one of the constantly more common unblessed spirits of our realm, that unjustly were forced out into limbo and therefore never will find peace. Stanley I share your melancholy, Sir Thomas. James I think I recognize this. Queen Have you seen the play before? James It’s possible. But it is very daring to start a play with an unblessed ghost. Cecil Don’t ruin the whole play for us by sitting gossiping! Another wants to hear what the actors are saying! Queen They have their written parts. What we say is more relevant. Cecil But not during the performance! James (to the Queen) My dear, Sir Robert Cecil is right. Walsingham So there is the protagonist. Another sad melancholy character from yesterday. It could have been Kit. Queen He seems depressed. Could he suffer from tooth-ache? Perhaps he has an indigestion.

James He is probably only suffering from spleen, like everybody else. Cecil Can’t you keep quiet? Queen Surely we have a right to talk? Cecil But not in the middle of the drama! Walsingham Your theatre production is like pearls to swine, Stanley. Stanley It has always been like that. That’s why Kit left it all – and concentrated on writing even better plays instead. Shakespeare (looking furtively out of the curtain, to Stanley) Is the performance all right? Stanley Splendid, Will, just splendid! James I want to see the ghost again! Shakespeare It will come! (disappears) Cecil I don’t like that old chancellor. Is that to be some caricature of my father? Stanley How on earth could you get such an idea, Sir Robert? (The light darkens and gets blue again.) Queen Oh oh! Now it’s getting cold again! Walsingham Night of fate, night of horror, night of destiny. James What do you mean, Sir Thomas? Walsingham I just wanted to join in the mood. Queen Whew! I dare not look! James So that was it. The ghost was murdered by his brother, who usurped the power. But the brother is an anointed king, and this king is a villain. Is this very appropriate and constructive to morals of society. Lord Stanley? Stanley It happened in Denmark long ago. James So it’s only in Denmark that something is rotten in the state and only long ago. Is that correct, Lord Stanley? Stanley Exactly so. James Yes, it is best seen symbolically. Or else, who knows who might become inspired to what? Cecil That old clown again! He reminds too strongly of my father. Can’t you strike him out of the play? Stanley Too late, Sir Robert. But he will be disposed of. James A bold play, on my honour, which sets the entire court in a state of embarrassment: a criminal king and a mad crown prince. Could it get worse? Queen Can’t you make it quicker so that we can see how it ends? Like all actors they talk too much. Cecil It’s always like that in all of Shakespeare’s scenes. James It has been said that he doesn’t write them himself. Who else could it be? Could it be you, Lord Stanley, who gave up your candidature for the throne for the theatre? Stanley I am innocent, your majesty. James Yes, you are almost the only one in the country who managed to keep your family innocent by keeping out of every intrigue. But you could have taken the crown after Elizabeth, Stanley. Why didn’t you?

Stanley I didn’t want it. James I thank you for it. Stanley Nothing to be thankful for. Queen But that he is allowed to go at the poor innocent Ophelia like that! Can no one teach him manners? James But he is mad, my love. Madmen are allowed anything on stage. Queen But little Ophelia could be harmed by such an offensive and clumsy manly brutality! Walsingham Mind you, it’s only a play. James But the intrigue has petered out. Will there be no action soon? Stanley The action hasn’t even started yet. James (bored) Yes, I can see that. And of course we’ll not see any more sign of the ghost? Stanley Just wait. James (invigoured) That sounds good! Queen You and your ghosts! Is that all that could interest you? Walsingham Unfortunately all interesting people are but ghosts nowadays. James Just don’t mention Essex! Walsingham I haven’t mentioned him. Queen What about Essex? James Elizabeth cut off his head. I am content with having them in the Tower for life. Queen You are gracious, my king. James But what is this? A play in the play? Stanley Why not? Sometimes you need a theatre for a mirror to see your own reality. That’s what’s happening to this Danish court now. Queen Will that not somewhat complicate the intrigue? James You bet it will. Walsingham He suddenly sounds like Elizabeth. Stanley To please you, my Queen, there will now be a pantomime, so that none of the actors will say a word, so you may talk as much as you please. James I think that murder of the king is getting a little too much of an argument. Queen Weren’t your own father murdered in a similar way, darling? James My father was blown up in pieces. Queen By his wife’s lover, who assumed power after him? James Please don’t remind me of it. Queen Earl Derby, you seem to have projected your king’s own terrible past in a play on stage. For what purpose? Stanley None at all. This king was murdered by leprosy poison by his own brother. That’s much worse than any royal assassination that ever took place in Scotland. James You are right. I like the play. There are different dimensions to it. Walsingham It’s a correct review of all the world’s politics.

Cecil But how could Hamlet doubt the ghost? Why doesn’t he at last take the life of that criminal usurper? To say the least, it is criminal to tarry! Walsingham Because he is a Catholic. He didn’t want to send the king to heaven but to hell. Pure superstition, so to say. Kit would have liked that satire. Superstition paralyses power and politics. Queen No, this is going too far! Now the boy abuses his own mother! Walsingham He is only bitter against the female sex. James For some good reason, it seems. His own mother let him down, didn’t she? Queen But he just can’t behave in such a manner! First his beloved Ophelia, and now his mother the Queen! This is outrageous! What kind of a play is this? Stanley Try to look at it in its correct perspective of time, my Queen. Queen What do you mean? Stanley It happened many hundred years ago. Queen But it’s happening now and on stage! I can see it for myself! Walsingham Let me remind you, that it is just a play. Queen That’s not so just! James Don’t get upset, my dear. It will soon be over. Queen Let’s hope so indeed! James Hurray, there’s my dear ghost again! Queen You can go to blazes with your darn ghosts! Cecil The king is perfectly right in sending his nephew to England. Such a talented young man belongs here. But listen, Lord Stanley, wasn’t there a real Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? I mean, in our own time? Stanley It’s true. They were present at the court of Frederick II in Denmark. Cecil Did you know them? Stanley Yes. Cecil So you wrote the text! You are the man! Stanley The playwright got them from me. He will show up in the end. James Isn’t it master Shakespeare? Stanley You will see. Queen So that irresponsible playboy succeeded in driving poor Ophelia both to madness and suicide. Will he kill his mother the Queen as well? Stanley No. Queen This is at least no play for ladies. That’s for certain. James I think it’s getting better and better. Cecil Yes, things are starting to happen now as people begin to die. Stanley I am afraid there will be no more ghosts, your majesty. Queen Thank heavens! James It doesn’t matter. People are beginning to die off instead. Cecil Now they start fighting even though they have no woman to fight for. Walsingham The honour, Sir Robert! Honour is like a woman, for which anyone could do anything. Just look at Essex, Southampton and Sir Walter Raleigh. Stanley So you got it out at last.

James I have heard nothing, Sir Thomas. Walsingham (aside) Good for you, you incompetent shitbag! Cecil There! Now they are all dead! Are we satisfied now? James A splendid play, lord Stanley, the best I’ve seen for a long time! When can we have a second performance? Walsingham Every day, if you wish. Stanley Any time, your majesty. James Call the author! You promised we would see him! Stanley Look, there he is! (Kit appears surprisingly dressed and masked as Shakespeare.) Marlowe Thus was this play just a flight of thought, a dream quietly passing by unnoticed to immediately be forgotten and vanish, not even going up in air. So are we all mere mirages of air, we the living dreams, who but for a brief moment flutter by, as some kind of a glimpse of a higher truth, like a thought-provoking reminder of an appearance that we only truly can see in our mind’s eye. If this dream of air could in some way possibly bring up man and make her better – then the actor’s life’s effort was not entirely in vain. Thanks for your interest – and forget us! (bows) James (applauds) More! More! (to Stanley) Is that the writer? Stanley Yes, your majesty, the same, the unknown actor. James But the man is dressed up like Shakespeare. Isn’t he the one? Stanley No, he is unknown. James Let me see! Bring on Will Shakespeare! Stanley (calls) The King wishes to see William Shakespeare! (Shakespeare appears together with Kit.) Shakespeare (embraces Kit) My brother, you are the best of all. Marlowe No, we are a team, and as such we are the best of all. James Who is he? Off with the masks! Marlowe Your majesty, an actor must never remove his mask. If he does, he is no longer qualified for the theatre. (bows and quickly disappears) James No, don’t let him go away! I want to see him! Off with the masks! Stanley It doesn’t matter, your majesty. James What doesn’t matter? Stanley Who wrote the play. It’s only the play itself that matters. Isn’t it right, Will Shakespeare? Shakespeare Yes, that’s right. James Now I got furiously thirsty. First you get both horny and hungry from such a damned good performance! Well, it doesn’t matter who wrote the play, but I want to see it again soon! Stanley As you please, your majesty. James Away now to our supper! Walsingham (to Stanley) How could you let Kit appear? Stanley He asked for it. Walsingham He risks his life and all our lives!

Stanley You saw for yourself the king’s duplicity. In front of his very eyes there was his own family history, how his father was murdered by his own wife’s lover, and he didn’t even react! Elizabeth would not have contented herself with less than an execution. Walsingham You are right. Still Kit took a great risk. Stanley He wanted to test the king. Now he can write whatever he likes. Walsingham And Shakespeare? Stanley He cooperates as usual. He is the actor and director who is only grateful for each new play, whatever it contains. He is paid for it, you know. (nudges his arm) Come, let’s join the King at his supper and keep up our good countenance in this decadent masquerade of hypocrisy and deceit which our court now has become! I chose right in preferring the theatre to the crown. What happens on the theatre is so much more sophisticated than everything that’s happening in the whole banal world. Walsingham You go alone. I am not much for royal banquets. Stanley Perhaps you will join us later? Walsingham Possibly. Stanley The king will take it as a discourtesy. Walsingham No, he is not that thoughtful. (Stanley leaves.) A queen lost, who raised England to a leading country of justice and freedom like nowhere else, though cocks and adventurers like Essex and Henry Wriothesley of Southampton finally had to pay for it. And then comes this dog from Scotland demanding obedience from all England and imprisoning Sir Walter Raleigh for life, the oldest and first of Elizabethans, only because he remains a worthy Elizabethan and makes James feel what he is – worthless. (King James returns alone.) Your majesty – have you forgotten something? James No, I am just not satisfied. Walsingham With the performance? James No, the play was splendid – I have never seen a better show. But I am not pleased with the poet. Walsingham The play was good but not the author? James I don’t even know who he is! Walsingham William Shakespeare. Who else? James It doesn’t fit. In play after play we have this motive of exile with longing melancholy heroes, unfairly dealt with who may not come home – already Romeo in exile in Mantua was like that. You can only write things like that if you have been exiled yourself. Walsingham Your majesty is wise. James Now I want to know who the poet is, so that I can exonerate him, if possible. Walsingham I don’t know who he is myself. James Still he was appearing here tonight dressed up as William Shakespeare. Walsingham It could have been someone else – symbolically. James So you don’t know who it is?

Walsingham May I come with a suggestion. Christopher Marlowe. James Are you pulling my leg? That atheist and coiner was justly murdered in a tavern brawl. Walsingham Then there is only William Shakespeare. James That smug self-complacent businessman speculating in properties and houses, who has been at home all his life stuffing his greed, while he writes plays with expert knowledge from foreign lands – he is the least probable of all. Don’t try to fool me. Walsingham Then we have William Stanley. James Many suspect him. He has been travelling all around the world and has much experience and wisdom. It could be he – and he would have his reasons to keep anonymous. He is a royal relative, and royalties don’t write challenging plays. But Stanley was never exiled. Walsingham Then I can’t think of anyone else. James Neither can I. (rising) Pity. Whoever he is I can’t exonerate him in any way as long as I don’t know who he is. – Aren’t you joining the party? Walsingham I will come presently, your majesty. James Lucky for you. Or else I might have started suspecting you for belonging to Raleigh’s party. It was he, that devilish crook, who first seduced and ruined Christopher Marlowe, and you also knew him in those days. I know you well enough, you old Elizabethans, and I know all about you! Walsingham (bowing) You are wiser than I thought. James Nobody knows me, but I know everyone! Come now, my friend, and you shall tell me everything about your cousin Sir Francis Walsingham’s activities in those days! (takes him around the shoulder, and Walsingham must follow.)

Scene 2. Sir Walter Raleigh in prison. Raleigh What the hell got into you, vain peacock without feathers, when you got the idea that I was an enemy of the state? Or was it the same ambitious man to bring about my fall who whispered those deadly words into the ears of Queen Elizabeth to make her execute the earl of Essex at Sir Francis Bacon’s hint of an insinuation about his subversiveness or guilt? My only crime is the perpetual crime of all humanity – I failed. Broken and ruined I came home from America with my pockets plundered instead of filled, but the same did Columbus. He was not imprisoned for his failures, but I got a life sentence, like the unfortunate true peacock Henry Wriothesley of Southampton for betraying Essex to keep his own life. So this most glorious height and glory of beauty in England also turned into the deepest dishonour of falseness and cowardice. Maybe he actually deserved his life sentence for that in contrast to me. Or perhaps king James simply couldn’t accept that we kept Queen Elizabeth’s secrets to ourselves. Only I and Sir Thomas Walsingham are still around who know the secret of England’s best agent abroad, a secret that king James could never

understand. Perhaps that is the answer. He can’t stand that Elizabethans know more about certain things that he is not qualified to handle the knowledge of, which he is unconsciously conscious of and refuse to accept for himself. (The gate is opened.) But there is some rattling in the door. Guard Sir Walter Raleigh, you have a visitor. Raleigh Who is it? Guard Don’t ask me. I know nothing and want to know nothing. That’s why I was also set to guard Mary Stuart and the earl of Essex and many others who got their heads chopped off. But I know nothing about that, for I wish to survive and know nothing. Raleigh But I am not to be decapitated. Guard You never know. (raises a finger) Don’t be too sure! Mary Stuart was absolutely certain that Elizabeth would never dare to have her head chopped off, but she had it coming to her anyway! But I know nothing. They all took their secrets with them down the grave, and I keep their secrets with them. Raleigh But still you must know who my guest is? Guard Can’t you understand? I know nothing! I am a grave to all my prisoners, and the grave is silent forever with what it knows whatever it knows. Raleigh Do you mean that… (is interrupted by Walsingham who enters) Walsingham My dear Sir Walter, it gives me pleasure that you seem unbroken. Raleigh If the worst swamp fevers of South America can’t break me down, then not even the worst cruelty of England could do it. Walsingham We are working on your release. The King must realize that he has no case against you. Your chances are good. Raleigh Don’t try to bluff me, Sir Thomas. That king will never get his thumb out of his arse. Even if he knows that I am innocent it will take such a long time for him to mobilize his bureaucracy that I will die of old age before he gets to the first table of rounds. Walsingham He is completely without Elizabeth’s excellent intuition and contact with the people. It’s surprising that she chose such an awkward successor. Raleigh Power, my friend. England and Scotland together. Diplomatic triumph. That was her temptation, overwhelming enough to bring even her down. Walsingham As always, in theory ideal, but practically devastating. Raleigh Is he a disaster? Walsingham He doesn’t understand anything about politics and has no imagination. All he has is vanity. If the house of Stuart commences that bad, it will end even worse. Raleigh What alternatives were there except William Stanley? Walsingham A wise man in a difficult position. The Catholics adore him, and the puritans hate him. King James has from Elizabeth inherited the crown’s suspicion against him. He would have made an ideal king, but his position would have been untenable from the start. Kit realized that when he wrote ’Hamlet’, which really is all about William Stanley’s dilemma.

Raleigh You dare say Kit and not William Shakespeare. Walsingham We who know the secret are constantly getting fewer. King James is not worthy the knowledge of it. No one keeps secrets better than Henry of Navarre, and Will Shakespeare’s whole career rests on it being kept. Essex is gone with Elizabeth, and Southampton never even suspected it. Left are only you and I. Raleigh And your hired assassins. Walsingham They have been paid to keep it, and no one suspects them. Raleigh It was an ingenious venture. Who thought it out? You or Kit? Walsingham We worked it out together. But Kit showed the greatest courage, who agreed to be the victim. Raleigh Did he ever regret it? Walsingham That you must ask himself. (sweeps his arm backwards like to prepare the way for another, and Kit comes forth.) Raleigh I don’t believe my eyes. Walsingham Who would if he didn’t see it for himself? Raleigh My darling boy! (embraces Kit) Marlowe Sir Walter Raleigh, we all three risk our lives in this moment, but I wanted to take the risk just to see you again. Raleigh (touched, cries) It’s all my fault. All your tragedy was only my fault. Marlowe Nonsense. It was my own. Walsingham Nonsense. You were unlucky. If you hadn’t caught the eye of the government by Richard Baines damning report, you would never have been obliged to disappear underground. Raleigh (let’s go of him, looks at him) It was the authorities, the English inquisition, the persecution of your colleague John Penry and other free-thinkers, probably prompted by the puritans. But how do you live? Marlowe It’s all right with me. But you are worse off, Sir Walter. Raleigh And I deserved it, because it was I who first seduced and corrupted you and brought you into dangerous company with satanists, atheists, whisky drinkers and tobacco smokers. Marlowe But also with enlightened philosophers and scientists like Harriot and Northumberland, the Throgmortons and John Penry. Raleigh Qualified heretics, who corrupted your soul, ruined your security and risked your life! Marlowe I never regretted one day of my life, Sir Walter. Raleigh Still I hear you are writing so bitter tragedies nowadays. Marlowe It’s because of the age. It’s hopelessly out of joint, we all suffer from the pathetic fake king who replaced the best queen of all ages, Essex is executed betrayed by his best friend Southampton, and Lord Stanley’s life is being poisoned by lawsuits fired at him by his relatives. Raleigh What relatives? The king? Walsingham No, it’s worse than that. His deceased elder brother’s widow claims that it was he who poisoned his own elder brother.

Raleigh But that’s the very intrigue of Hamlet! Walsingham But Stanley didn’t do it. It was the Jesuits. But the widow demands indemnity from Stanley. In addition to that, his wife is ruining him. Raleigh Elizabeth de Vere, the daughter of the earl of Oxford? Walsingham She was spoilt by her father to a perpetual life of luxury, which Stanley can’t afford. He will soon be ruined. Raleigh And you, Kit? Are you also affected by this? Marlowe No one taught me as much as Lord Stanley. I dedicated my ”King Lear” to him. Raleigh Another bitter tragedy? Marlowe The most bitter of all. It’s the story of a king who voluntarily resigns from power leaving it all to his children and is rejected by them, so that he old and in despair is driven out on the moor in madness. Raleigh Dear me, what will become of this England? Marlowe The fight is between Lord Stanley and the puritans. They have the real power in England. Stanley still represents the age of Elizabeth with all its best aspects, while the puritans wish to dispose of it, bury it alive, forget it and introduce an intolerant autocracy. Their religious fanaticism turn them into something of a supreme evil. Raleigh Well, they aren’t exactly amusing. Guard You must leave now before I get to know too much. Walsingham You realize the importance of your silence? If you tell anyone about this meeting you will lose your job and be placed in an asylum. Guard Of course. Walsingham Farewell, Sir Walter. See you at liberty. Raleigh You restored a whole world to me. You gave an old man something to hope for. Marlowe Sir Walter, I owe you the obligation to see to it that you will not become a king Lear. Raleigh Thank you, my friend, my darling son, the best of my disciples. (Walsingham and Marlowe leave.) Guard Your grace, no one knows better than I that those two fellows never have been here. You had better learn that as well. (twinkles and leaves) Raleigh That man has learned much from Mary Stuart and the earl of Essex. That twinkle from such a guard gives me better hopes of life and freedom than any royal pardon ever could do. Kit lives on as England’s greatest secret, and the king doesn’t know. Thereby the king is lost, and that is my joy.

Scene 3. A London theatre, like in Act III scene 2. Walsingham How are things going, master Jonson? Ben Jonson Not very well. The audience are getting tired. The theatre isn’t the same public festival as it used to be. Walsingham What’s wrong? Jonson Don’t ask me. Ask the age. Ask the royal bore, whose boredom seems to infect the whole country. People are bored and yawn at the theatre faced with Shakespeare’s constantly more boring spectacles. Walsingham I know. He went from cheerful comedies and sumptuous chronicles to painful tragedies. Jonson And do you think people can feel or appreciate that pain? No. When Julius Caesar was concluded with war and suicide, people believed it was some kind of a merry dance. Othello’s strangulation of Desdemona they sense as some kind of a sensational sex murder. And all those whining misanthropes – Timon, king Lear, Coriolanus – they feel as exasperating grumblers. Our great director himself seems dissatisfied, as if it were the works of someone else he had to stage. Walsingham But the language is all right, isn’t it? Jonson It’s the language that saves the plays. Ever since the first night of ”Tamburlaine the Great” twenty years ago this wonderful theatrical language has turned the theatres into a better alternative than both church and university. They say that Shakespeare never had to blot a single line. But between ourselves, I wish he had blotted some thousand. Marlowe’s plays were much more concise and intensive. Walsingham Do you mean to say that master Shakespeare is getting tired? Jonson Yes, he seems tired. He is also troubled by some growth like a boil in one eye. They say that’s what he got for crying too little over all his murdered victims’ blood. Walsingham Here he is in person. Thank you, Ben Jonson. You will go on writing plays yourself? Jonson I don’t spit them out as easily as master Shakespeare. Walsingham But they are good. I’ll never forget ”Volpone” and ”Every Man in his Humour”. Jonson Rare strokes of good luck. Walsingham You are a wonderful satirist. Neither Shakespeare nor Marlowe were ever like that. Jonson Yes, Marlowe was in ”Doctor Faustus” and ”Massacre at Paris”. To me he is more a master than Shakespeare. Shakespeare (entering) Welcome, Sir Thomas! You are just the man I needed to talk with. Ben Jonson, could you leave us alone? Jonson Are there some state secrets for you to discuss? Remember what I said, Sir Thomas! (shows his thumb up and leaves) Shakespeare We have a problem. Walsingham Master Jonson said something about the audience getting bored.

Shakespeare That’s not the trouble. Ben Jonson is a pedant who sees everything darkly. Just because he can’t write great dramas himself, he wants to scrap the theatre and replace it with lighter entertainment. He will surely have his way in his time when I am gone. Walsingham Are you thinking of quitting? Shakespeare Not yet, but I have a problem with my left eye, and I feel that I don’t have many years left. I am beyond the age when ordinary actors quit. No, the problem is another one. It’s Timon and Coriolanus. I don’t want to produce such plays any more. Walsingham What’s wrong with them? Shakespeare Coriolanus is perhaps the most brilliant play ever written. But people don’t come to the theatre to get abused from the stage or to experience how traitors of their country can be right, and the king doesn’t like to see how a Scottish king is corrupted beyond repair just because he obtains power. Walsingham You are thinking of ”Macbeth”. Shakespeare I am tired of all these hopeless tragedies. Can’t he write anything positive any more? If that is the case, both he and I had better quit. Walsingham What do you wish? Shakespeare Something really positive and uplifting, like for instance some fairy tale motive from our ancient Celtic days. Walsingham I will convey your preference. But I sincerely hope you will continue as long as possible. The cooperation between you and our friend is the most wonderful chapter written in our English literature so far. Shakespeare But he writes everything alone. I only make it real. Walsingham But you get the honour and the reward while he is happy with being dead and forgotten. Shakespeare How could he be happy with such a miserable lot? Walsingham Because you exist, who can represent him. Shakespeare Thank you, Sir Thomas. I will try to do my best. Walsingham Thank you, Will Shakespeare.(leaves) Shakespeare But a more serious threat than both my age and worsening eyesight is the puritan hostility against the theatre. The renaissance theatre has succeeded in driving the church out of business by stealing the public, but when the church will react with a vengeance, I will no longer wish to be at the theatre.

Scene 4. Stanley Let me hear the worst of it. Jonson It was nobody’s fault, your grace. It was precisely at the first performance. There was a cannon fired for a salute, we always use real cannons, for the sake of the effect. Stanley Yes, everything for the effect.

Jonson Unfortunately the cannon balls landed on the roof and set fire to it. It was just straw. You know. Stanley So the whole theatre burned down. Jonson Yes. Nothing could stop it. Stanley Tough luck. And it happened to be the best and greatest theatre in London, and it happened to be at William Shakespeare’s last premier. How did he take it? Jonson We theatre people are hopelessly superstitious. We take omens seriously. William went home to Stratford and refuses to ever again set his foot on a stage. Stanley But you have to agree it was not a very good play. Jonson It was completely adjusted to the audience. It was completely fit to suit the king’s taste. It was completely intended to soothe the taste of the public and the establishment. Formally it was a perfect play. Stanley It was a damned arse-licking play that never should have been produced at a decent theatre! Jonson But my lord Derby! Stanley Pardon me. Have you met Will Shakespeare since? Jonson Yes. He will never get over the first and last failure of his life. He takes it as a punishment by destiny. He says that he has been a slave on stage all his life and only turned his coat to the wind and been a dishonest opportunist. He feels directly and totally guilty of the entire fire disaster. Stanley Poor fellow. That puts an end to an era. Then there will be no more Shakespeare plays. Jonson It doesn’t look like it, does it? Stanley Has he told you what he will do with them? Jonson That’s the oddest thing of all. He doesn’t care about them at all. He says that we can do with his plays whatever we wish. He doesn’t want to hear anything more about them. Walsingham Poor man. I understand him. Jonson Do you? Can you then explain him to me? How can he be so completely self-despising and self-effacing? Stanley It’s a long story, my friend, which I have no right to divulge. You had better leave now, my good Ben Jonson, to continue writing new plays to fill out the vacuum after Shakespeare. Jonson (rising) That void I can fill as little as anyone else. Stanley But the king likes your masks. Jonson Yes, I can write for money. I can be a royal arse-licker. That’s all I can, Lord Stanley. I am not even a shadow of Shakespeare. (leaves) Stanley (after he’s gone) You could have been, my friend, if you had known who Shakespeare was. I regret that it is too late now.

Scene 5. The inn at Deptford, (like in act I scene 1). Much people, noise and movement. Mrs Bull handles the business. Poley (coming up to the bar) How is business, Nellie? Mrs Bull (with a light fright at first) It was a long time since I saw you here, Bob Poley. Poley You chose a fitting name for your pub. Bull How long since is it? Twenty years? Poley More. Bull I owe all my thanks to that day. My pub has become a historical monument. Everyone is coming here to see where Kit Marlowe was murdered. Poley Still it’s all a fake and a myth. Bull People love myths. That’s what they are living for. Nothing is more exciting than a myth, especially if it isn’t true and if the origin and history of its construction is veiled in an unfathomable mystery. Bacon (has entered as a customer, reaches the bar) A strange name for a pub. Who was the poet? Poley You were evidently born yesterday. Bacon (offended) I apologise for my ignorance, Sir, but if this pub is called ’The Dead Poet’, I could believe that you were his murderer. Bull (interferes) ’The Dead Poet’ was Christopher Marlowe, and he was actually murdered here in a brawl. I witnessed it myself. Bacon So? How interesting! I thought he was murdered for his dangerous contacts with catholic agents abroad. A drunken guest Kit Marlowe isn’t dead. I saw him yesterday. Bacon And who are you, my good Sir? Guest Who are you yourself, you conceited fop? Bacon Sir Francis Bacon, at your service. Guest You bastard! It was you who betrayed the good and honest earl of Essex! Bull That’s enough, Paddy. You’ve had enough. Get out and cool down. Guest (excusing himself) I just wanted to fight with this haughty gentleman. Bull No fighting here. There has long ago been one brawl too much in here. Guest And on that fight you have lived well ever since. Don’t you want another? Wouldn’t you like to see me knead this Bacon to some edible decency as well, to double your career? (Mrs Bull alerts a chucker-out) Chucker-out Enough. Get out. Guest Mrs Bull lives on borrowed feathers, just like Will Shakespeare! I know that Kit Marlowe lives! Bull Get him out of here. (The drunken guest is thrown out.) Poley What a place for you to visit, Sir. Bacon The name caught my attention. So you were actually here when the dangerous poet was murdered, Mrs Bull? Bull He wasn’t that dangerous. He was as placid as a child. Bacon How did it happen? Bull (getting uncertain, looking at Poley for support)

Poley Tell it, Nellie. Or else I will. Bacon Were you also present? Poley I was sitting beside the poet’s murderer. Bacon How very interesting! Was everybody drunk, since there was a fight? Poley We had finished eating when there was an argument about the reckoning. Kit withdrew and attacked Frizer from behind. Frizer had no chance sitting squeezed in between me and Nick Skeres and couldn’t get away. He had to defend himself and thrust his dagger in Kit’s eye. It was an unintended death blow. Bacon So it was an accident? Poley You could call it that. Bacon But Mrs Bull just said that the poet was as placid as a child. How could he then insidiously attack a sitting man from behind? (Poley and Bull get uncertain and exchange glances: none of them knows what to say.) Bacon (receiving no answer) The poet was also a learned man and as intelligent as Shakespeare. He is known to never have attacked anybody and least of all from behind. Only once he was involved in a fight and against his will. There is something in your story that doesn’t make sense. Have I by mistake come across an old crime? You can’t answer? Bull (after some hesitation) We know nothing. Bacon That was the most stupid thing you could have said, Madame. You were present yourself and know nothing. That equation does not work. Poley You had better leave, Sir. Bacon Will you throw me out, like you did with that drunkard who talked too much? Don’t you know that I am the King’s own secretary? Poley It could be dangerous to get to know too much. Bacon That’s the experience I believe young Kit Marlowe made. Another guest (in another part of the pub) I know who you are. A third Who is he then? Guest 2 It’s that playwright William Shakespeare, who retired to Stratford when his theatre burned down. But he never dared to show himself in London since. What are you doing here, Will Shakespeare? Marlowe (hasn’t been seen before) You have taken me for the wrong man. Guest 2 Who are you then? Marlowe Nobody. 2 What kind of a bloody answer is that? Marlowe Gentlemen, I didn’t come here to argue. (The argument catches the attention of several guests, including Bacon, Poley and Mrs Bull.) Poley (grows pale) Oh no! Bacon What is it? You look as if you had seen a ghost. Guest 3 So what did you come here for then? Marlowe It’s none of your business. Bacon There seems to be interesting things going on in your pub, Mrs Bull. Bull (to Poley) Try to get him out of here before anything happens.

3 I don’t like your attitude, buddy. Either you are honest with nothing to hide, or you are in for some refreshment. Perhaps you are here for spying? Bacon (to Mrs Bull) Do you often have fights here? I thought you said you had had one too much long ago. Well, here is another one coming up. Marlowe I came here to visit the place of the crime. 3 What bloody crime? Marlowe The murder of Christopher Marlowe. 2 Have you never been here before? Marlowe No, never. 2 But I am sure that I have seen you somewhere. Are you sure you are not Will Shakespeare? Marlowe Absolutely. He is at home in Stratford. 2 How do you know? Marlowe Is this a cross examination? 2 No, but I do recognize you. If you aren’t Will Shakespeare you must be Christopher Marlowe, but he is dead, so you must still be Will Shakespeare. They were almost as like each other as twins. Poley (calls) Leave him alone. 2 And who are you commanding us? Do you know this bloke who talks so fine and still denies being Will Shakespeare? Poley (coming over. Mrs Bull feels some relief for his interference.) I am one of them who were present when Kit Marlowe died. I helped Mrs Bull start this pub in his name after that. 3 Then perhaps you know where to find his grave. I always wondered about that. Poley What will you do there? Throw some water on it? Marlowe My grave is the theatre. (Everybody falls quiet.) 2 (meaningly) He is a philosopher. 3 Explain yourself, stranger. Marlowe My grave is the theatre. I have no other grave and will never have any other grave. 2 He talks in riddles. 3 We can’t guess your riddle, pal. Give us a clue. Marlowe The theatre has burned down. Will Shakespeare has gone home. There will be no more plays in Will Shakespeare’s name. Bacon This is getting more and more interesting. 2 We are nearing the truth! More clues! Marlowe I am dead but have no grave. The theatre is my only grave, and therefore I will never die. 3 (dissatisfied) This is getting too tricky. I can’t follow. Poley (calling) I can solve the riddle. You must be Kit Marlowe. 2 But he is dead, isn’t he? 3 (frightened, to Kit) Then you must be his ghost.

Marlowe I am no ghost. I give you my thanks, gentlemen. The show is over. You will never see me again. (wants to leave) 2 Stop! Wait! Bacon You really have a mystery in your pub, Mrs Bull. Bull Yes, I should close up immediately. Poley No, Nellie, this is good for business. 2 Let’s sort this out piece by piece. You are not Will Shakespeare, and Kit Marlowe is dead. Are you then Ben Jonson? 3 He doesn’t look like it, stupid. 2 But I remember Kit Marlowe. He was a small man of your own size. Are you his brother? 3 Give us more clues. Poley (calling) Kit, Mrs Bull wants you to leave. She wants no more mysteries in her pub. 2 You called him Kit! So you must be Kit Marlowe. Marlowe I assure you, gentlemen, that Kit Marlowe is dead. Bacon The man is right. There are two witnesses here who were present at the poet’s death twenty years ago. 3 Then you must still be a ghost. Marlowe (offers his hand) Touch me and feel my hand. (3 receives his hand. They shake hands.) 3 He lives! 2 Kit Marlowe lives! Poley (calling) Long live Kit Marlowe! Bull (falling in) May the dead poet live forever! Poley Cheers for Kit Marlowe! Bacon (shares the toast but with hesitation) Most strange indeed. Poley What, Sir? Bacon There is something wrong here. Poley Could there possibly be something rotten in your state? Bacon That sounded like a quotation. Poley So it was. Bacon Of Christopher Marlowe? Poley No. William Stanley. Bacon I give up. (will leave, looks around for Kit, but he has disappeared as unnoticeably as he showed up. Bacon shrugs his shoulders and leaves. The pub life continues as if nothing had happened. Poley returns to being like any other visitor, and Mrs Bull returns to business as usual.)

Epilogue. Bacon (before the curtain) I could never fathom the mystery. I found that many suspected William Stanley for being the author of William Shakespeare’s works, but William Stanley’s complete works and documents were destroyed when the puritans burned his castle in the civil war. Thereby we shall never know what part William Stanley played in Shakespeare’s works. Christopher Marlowe’s patron Sir Thomas Walsingham died in 1630. His tomb was opened 325 years later in the hopes of finding a clue as to what part he played in Shakespeare’s works by possible manuscripts in his coffin, but the coffin was utterly empty. Sir Thomas was not in his own grave, and we were only one mystery the richer. All we know for sure about William Shakespeare’s part in the works published in his name by probably William Stanley and Sir Thomas Walsingham is, that he actually played several parts in these plays in the theatre.

(bows and leaves.)

29.5 – 14.6.1998, Gothenburg, Stockholm, Virham, translated after Christmas 2018, 1.1.2019.

The Ghost Writer the fall of the Elizabethans, a tragedy in five acts by Christian Lanciai (2002, translated 2019) Dramatis personae: Queen Elizabeth of England William Cecil, Lord Burleigh Earl Robert Devereux of Essex Lady Derby Lord Chamberlain Ben Jonson Richard Burbage William Shakspere John Hemmings Francis Bacon Sir Thomas Walsingham Lady Audrey Walsingham Christopher Marlowe Sir Walter Raleigh 76

Robert Cecil Earl Henry Wriothesley of Southampton Earl William Stanley of Derby Earl Edward de Vere of Oxford Two lords A prison guard King James I Crown Prince Henry Duke of Buckingham Captain Keymis Sir Walter Raleigh’s other captains His son Wat Sir Lewis An agent Guards Robert Burton The action is about 1598-1623 in England and (Act IV) in Venezuela. The drama is in part a sequel to ”The Plot”. Copyright Christian Lanciai 2002-2019

The Ghost Writer Act I scene 1. The court, after a theatre performance. Elizabeth Our poet laureate is only excelling himself all the time. Tell him that I wish to speak with him. Cecil Your majesty, no matter how good he is, and however admirably he works for the edification of your monarchy and government, he is still just a poet, a common man of the people, an entertainer of the masses. Elizabeth Burleigh, obviously you didn’t hear me very well. I wish to see him. Essex Your majesty, I know him and can forward your wishes to him with need for you to be seen in his simple company. Elizabeth You too, Essex? May I then not see whoever I wish? Lady Derby Your majesty, my husband is intimate with the actors and playwrights. Elizabeth I know that well, but he is not the man I wish to see, lady Derby, and no actors, but only our personal poet, since he needs some direction. Lord Chamberlain Has the play displeased your majesty? Elizabeth But there you are, my lord Chamberlain! Not at all! It’s the best play you ever produced, but I don’t like the ending. Chamberlain That Henry V is crowned king? Elizabeth That he dispose of Falstaff. It’s that fool who makes the play. He must not be dispatched by an ungrateful and intolerable brat king like that. I must demand an exoneration of Falstaff. Cecil Your majesty, it is not appropriate… 77

Elizabeth Don’t be ridiculous, lord Burleigh. I only wish to remedy a human lack of balance. An English king must never show himself inhuman and least of all on stage. Chamberlain If it would please your majesty to suggest certain changes… Elizabeth Would I correct an already finished poetical masterpiece? Leave the play as it is. But let the poet write a new play. I wish to see Falstaff honoured by a comedy. Chamberlain Your majesty, I am sure it could be arranged… Elizabeth A joyful comedy, which would make you laugh heartily, where the good man Falstaff could triumph and be merry all the time without a dreary future to have to face. I wish to see Sir John Falstaff in a good humour and funny from beginning to end. Essex A reasonable wish, lord Burleigh. Cecil Every Queen has her whims. I will not interfere. Chamberlain Your majesty, I think there will be no difficulty in delivering what you wish. Elizabeth I wish for nothing less. It’s just for you to get going. Chamberlain Your majesty. (bows and leaves.) Elizabeth After all, he can’t just go on writing tragic chronicles, that man Shakespeare. We have seen excellent proofs of his comical art, and his Midsummer Night’s Dream for your wedding, lady Derby, was the most fascinating spectacle I have seen. I want to forget the bloody Lancaster saga and especially that miserable martyr Richard II. Such chronicles are honestly speaking not proper to present to the public. Essex But it is beautiful, your majesty. Elizabeth Too beautiful, Robert. Such a beautiful royal martyrdom could tempt people to repeat the play in reality one day. Such a prospect I would like to defer far beyond the horizon of my life and reign. Essex There is no risk for something like that happening to you, your majesty. Elizabeth Why then do I constantly recognize myself in the unfortunate king? Never mind, what we need is a comedy with Falstaff without kings! People need to feel good from laughing. Essex We all do. But we also love crying. Elizabeth You can cry alone in privacy, lord Essex, but never in public. That’s that. Let’s go home now. (The court breaks up.)

Scene 2. Off stage Jonson What did the Queen say? Chamberlain She was satisfied by the performance. Burbage Of course she was. We never acted better. Shakspere The credit is yours, Burbage. Burbage Are we not a team? Are we not all working together? Are we not all helping each other? What is an actor without the others for support? Remember the

great Edward Alleyn, the only stage emperor ten years ago! What is he doing now? In the vanity of his greatness he has fallen down to an ordinary manager! Hemmings The best talents of the theatre remain and act backstage if they no longer are good on stage. Chamberlain But the Queen had an important message. All Well? Chamberlain She wishes to see Falstaff on stage again but in a comedy without melancholy. Burbage A clear-cut comedy with only room for laughter? That’s only for common people. Chamberlain That’s what she wished. What else can we do than please her? Hemmings (nudging Shakspere) Fix it, Shakspere. Jonson No poet can write on command. Her majesty should know that. Chamberlain She only expressed a desire. No one has to feel pressed. Shakspere We’ll make it, my lord Chamberlain. Just give us some time. Chamberlain We have all the time in the world, and you shall have all the time in the world. Burbage If only her majesty doesn’t come importuning behind the curtains, we could manage anything. We can make the public believe whatever, as long as they don’t see our tricks behind stage. Hemmings We’ll do our best, Lord Chamberlain. Chamberlain I never doubted that for a moment. (leaves) Jonson (nudging Shakspere) Get going, Shakspere. It’s your job. Shakspere It’s more than my job. It’s my duty. Burbage Now we must celebrate! (The actors settle for a noisy and cheerful supper, while Shakspere sneaks out the back door.)

Scene 3. Bacon’s study. Bacon Our good earl is drawing his bow ever tighter as if he took for granted that it would never break, but with his policy he must go too far one day, and then I can’t follow him anymore. But how shall I be able to alert him to make him take my warnings seriously? (enter Shakspere) Yes, what is it, master Shakspere? Shakespere The Queen has requested a play. Bacon Has the Queen requested a play? That is unusual. Is she not satisfied with what she gets? Shakspere The more she gets, and the more satisfied she gets, the more she desires, and the higher her demands. Bacon She has no right to demand anything of literature since she doesn’t write herself, since like her father she is a dilettante. This must be something special. What did she say?

Shakspere She was unhappy about the end of Falstaff in ”Henry IV” and therefore wishes to see him in a comedy with a happy ending. Bacon The royal bad conscience. Every time a king misbehaves or dies on stage the bad royal conscience is stirred, which constantly grows worse. But of all monarchs she least of all has any reason for a bad conscience. She will have her comedy with Falstaff. Shakspere She especially requested it without royalties. Bacon You can’t tailor-make a play. It lives its own life, and its characters live independent of the author. The poet is just the instrument. The muse directs everything. She must be patient and accept the result as it will be. Shakspere That’s what the other actors meant also. – My lord Essex! Essex (enters) What luck! Both my secretary and our leading theatre man! Are you discussing the new play? Bacon Your grace, I have warned you a number of times, but you are closing your eyes to my warnings. You can’t challenge the Queen. Essex Take it easy, Bacon. I can handle her. I know her and feel instinctively how far I can push her. Bacon But you can’t deceive her! Essex You once spited her yourself, Francis. Bacon And it cost me some invaluable years that were lost! I learned to never try challenging royalties anymore! Essex Royalties are there to be challenged. They need it, or else they have to govern without challenges, which makes them decay into boredom and sloth. The character is only moulded by crises. Bacon But you are drowning in the deep water of your reckless foolhardiness! Essex Not as long as the Queen is there. She is a mother to us all, and she would never allow any of her children to drown. Bacon Don’t be too sure. All is lost if there is once too much. Essex That would be her own destruction as well in that case. Bacon The more self-confident you get, my lord, the more it worries me. Essex Don’t worry. I don’t. Bacon That’s all right, Shakspere. You may go. We will try to get your play fixed as the Queen would want it. (Shakspere bows and leaves.) Essex Are you a ghost writer for the theatre? Bacon Someone must write the plays. You might as well leave it to a professional then. Essex Are you that qualified? Isn’t science and philosophy your line? What do you know about dramaturgy? Bacon I have it all too close upon me to ever be able to be rid of it. Essex I thought the contrary, that you always kept as far away from it as possible. Bacon When you hold and manage the strings, you must not get tangled up in them. Essex But no strings will hold at length, Francis. I lead my own life and am independent even of the Queen.

Bacon No one is independent of the Queen. We are all dependent on her for our lives and our freedom. Essex No freedom is political. Bacon Politics is a discipline that makes freedom possible. Essex Freedom exists independent of politics. Bacon I have warned you, my lord, and I will continue warning you until you fall. Essex Just go on, Bacon. An eagle with wings will never fall unless it is shot down. Bacon You are no eagle, Essex. You are just a man. Essex So are you, Bacon. We are in the same boat. Never forget that. (leaves) Bacon That earl is constantly getting more dangerous especially to himself. But now to the Queen’s problem. Let’s see how her court poet will be able to please her better next time.

Scene 4. With the Walsinghams Thomas I hope you are happy now, my love. Audrey We had a happy wedding after a long engagement. How could I be happier? Thomas We lost our poet. Audrey We have never lost him, and you know it. The last work in his own name has now been published with public dedications to us both. Thomas Thanks to old George Chapman. Audrey There is no risk for our poets ever to die out. Already Sir Philip Sidney said that. Thomas The liberal host of Giordano Bruno, who opened England to all free-thinkers. Audrey Even to the point that others found it necessary to start inquisitions here. Thomas We have managed. Audrey But others were visited, like Sir Walter Raleigh. Thomas He was only investigated. They couldn’t do anything to him. Audrey While others had to go underground. Thomas Like always, it’s those in a position with responsibility that have to stand up to fire. We without ambitions and pretensions are left in peace. Audrey And the Queen protects us. Thomas Yes, we won her protection, and that is part of our happiness. Nothing could ever come between us, my love. (gives her a kiss. There is a knock on the door.) Audrey Who could that be? Thomas (calling) Who is it? Bacon Francis Bacon, at your service. Thomas It’s only Francis Bacon, my love. Audrey Essex’ secretary. I hope Essex isn’t in any trouble. Thomas Essex is always in trouble. (opens) Welcome, Francis. Bacon Pardon me for disturbing. I only come in a small matter. Audrey We hope it has nothing to do with Essex.

Thomas We would like to stay out of politics. I just happened to mention to Audrey, that if Essex isn’t in trouble, he makes trouble. Bacon This has nothing to do with Essex. The Queen has only wished for a play. Thomas She has never done that before. Bacon Apparently she was inspired by the last one. Thomas Henry IV? Bacon Yes. She wishes to see another play with Falstaff. Is the poet available? Do you have any contact with him? Thomas We are always in touch with him. Bacon Where is he now? In Spain or Italy? (A door opens discreetly, and Marlowe enters.) Marlowe I happened to hear what you were talking about. Bacon Marlowe. I am happy to see you alive and well. Marlowe Never forget that I am dead. Thomas The Queen wants a new play with Sir John Falstaff, Chris. Marlowe What’s wrong with the old one? Bacon It ended badly for Falstaff. Marlowe That clown didn’t deserve any better. No monarch can keep a beer barrel for a fool at court. If the king is to have any credibility as king, he must leave Falstaff behind. Bacon I think the Queen understood that as well. That’s why she wants a new play with Falstaff but without a king. Marlowe Just a comedy then? Bacon With a happy end and with a merry and funny Falstaff all through. Marlowe In other words, a comedy just to make people laugh. A common comedy, coarse and vulgar with no stylish language, with no eloquence or royalty, with almost anything allowed. If it should be really vulgar it must be entirely in prose. Bacon That’s for the poet to decide. Marlowe I think we understand each other. Bacon Like always. Thomas Marlowe doesn’t remain long in England. You don’t have much time to write yet another great comedy, Chris. Marlowe That’s why it must be in prose. Thomas When it comes to creative writing, nothing is impossible for Marlowe. Marlowe But we are lucky to have Shakspere for a reliable agent. Thomas How reliable is he, Francis? Bacon As long as he is paid, he is completely reliable. The only thing worrying him is, if the flow of plays would stagnate. Thomas I don’t think there is any risk. Marlowe A poet lives only for his art, even if he is dead. Bacon We are grateful for that, Marlowe. Marlowe How is the case proceeding? Bacon What case?

Marlowe My exoneration. Bacon Sir Walter is working on it. He is about to regain his old position at court. I am sure you will be able to come out in the clear again as soon as the coast is clear, but the Queen has to be sure of your safety. Thomas Time is working for us, Chris. All we need is patience. Marlowe No patience lasts forever. Bacon We trust yours as long as you live. And as long as you have your exoneration to look forward to, you have something to live for. Marlowe Sir Walter is my only hope. Derby as a Catholic can’t do much for me, unless he becomes king after the Queen’s demise. Thomas I don’t think he wants to. Bacon Burleigh prefers Mary Stuart’s son. Marlowe So nothing is certain. Bacon I have delivered my message. The Queen will be pleased, if you provide the play, Marlowe. Marlowe I will give her something to laugh at. I have as many funny Canterbury tales at hand as Chaucer. Bacon (pleased) That sounds good. Farewell, my gentlefolk. (leaves) Thomas Thanks for the visit, Francis. Audrey Do you really think you could write something really funny? Marlowe Comedy or tragedy, that’s the question. The one never excludes the other. (leaves in thoughts) Thomas He will make it, Audrey. He will make anything. Audrey Even life, although he is dead.

Scene 5. Bacon No, Essex, you are going too far. I can’t support you in such measures. Essex Do you mean to let me down after all I have done for you? Bacon I can’t follow you if you take action against the state. Essex I am not taking action against it. I am taking over it. And only you can help me. You will be my prime minister for life. Bacon Essex, taking over the government without its ruler’s agreement is the same as rebellion and treason. Essex I will procure her agreement by her own will. She loves me. Nothing can stop us. Bacon And what about the Cecils? Essex I have no fear of any dry impotent petty popes. If you squeeze them, all you will get out of them is putrid air. Swelling puffers in politics are only there to rot and spread infections. Bacon You underestimate them. Essex You overestimate them.

Bacon And what about Raleigh? He is closest to the Queen, and his loyalty is total. You can never touch or move his honour. Essex People who don’t give way when they are in the way you can always dispose of. Bacon And for that you could be disposed of yourself. You usually are. Essex You are a negative coward. So I’ll have to manage alone. Bacon Yes. Essex But I will prevail. When I come home from Ireland as a victor no one will be able to deny me anything, not even the Queen! And woe betide anyone standing in my way! Bacon And if you fail? Essex I can’t. Everyone is with me. Both Southampton and Derby follow me to Ireland. Only you will remain here lagging behind to get mouldy and rot by your pulpet like another Cecil. Bacon Burleigh has managed the country well and given it stability over 30 years. Essex Those days are over now. Raleigh and Drake paved the way. The destruction of the armada opened the oceans to us with vast possibilities. We will fathom them all. Bacon Do you mean to aim at conquering the oceans? Essex Of course! All of them! That was the favourite vision of Henry VIII. Bacon So that England will achieve world domination? Essex Nothing less. Bacon It’s a long way there. It will take at least some centuries. Essex The more important it is to get the right direction from the start. Bacon I am with you on that project but no other. You have to take the wills of others into consideration and above all not underestimate the opponents and the obstacles. Essex Stay here and cultivate your mould in your musty sloth. I will give the Queen Ireland in her hand. Bacon Good luck, but nothing is more dangerous than growing too powerful. Essex You are a frightened superstitious coward. Bacon No, I am a precocious realist or try to be at least. Power has an intoxicating effect on the mind and easily leads to disorientation and loss of correct perspectives and will in nine cases out of ten bring you to a logical downfall. Essex Then I will be the tenth. Bacon And the other nine who precede you by falling? Who will they be? Essex They don’t exist. Bacon There you are, completely blind and unrealistic. A sea is full of invisible shallows, but you as a captain deny their existence and will not hesitate to bypass them all to risk foundering. Essex What a bore you are. Goodbye, Bacon. When I come back you will think differently when you see my triumphs.

Bacon Don’t trust anything, Essex, and least of all another human being. And even if you achieve your aims and gain your power, it will never be yours as long as the Queen lives. Essex That old hag! She is already dead since many years. She is hardly more than a living mummy. Bacon I didn’t hear that, Essex. Leave now. Essex I leave, sourpuss. (leaves) Bacon He is lost. Not even all possible victories in Ireland could save him.

Act II scene 1. The court. Elizabeth Is there anyone who understands what Essex actually is up to on Ireland? Burleigh Your majesty, it is obvious that he doesn’t know it himself. Robert Cecil He is just wreaking havoc, gets everything wrong, he claims victories but accomplishes only defeats, and is constantly demanding reinforcements and more funds, while his Irish campaign shows no other sign than of a total disaster. Elizabeth My dear Sir Walter, you know the Irish since of old since you have been there yourself for some ravaging. Do you share Robert Cecil’s opinion? Raleigh Essex has not yet lost everything. Elizabeth Do you mean that he must lose everything before he can be judged? Raleigh Ireland is one bottomless bog of chaos and tough rebels. No one gets out of there without hard lessons. The Irish are incorrigible and the most hopelessly stubborn papists in the world. On top of that they have their own elixir at hand which drives them utterly obstinate and mad. Elizabeth If I don’t remember wrong, you imported that medicine here. Raleigh The Scots are as crazy as the Irish about whisky, but I think it’s the salvation of the English that they prefer beer. Elizabeth Or perhaps we are enough sensible to limit our consumption of whisky to reasonable proportions. But I didn’t want to discuss whisky with you but Ireland. Raleigh Although I love Essex as a friend, and I think we all do, there are reasons enough to recall him before it gets worse. Burleigh Wisely reasoned, Raleigh. Robert Cecil I think we all commend Sir Walter Raleigh’s advice. Elizabeth And what about you, Francis Bacon, his closest man? Do you think we should give Essex another chance? Bacon No, Madame. Elizabeth You surprise me. You always defended Essex until now. Bacon Nothing can defend his irresponsibility any longer. He is wasting lives and resources only for his own sake, as if he gambled with her majesty’s means. I have repeatedly warned him, but he has refused to listen to me. For once Sir Walter Raleigh is right.

Elizabeth I find that we are all more or less agreed on the matter. So we shall recall Essex, and his Irish campaign shall be disrupted. Robert Cecil And if he refuses, your majesty? Elizabeth He is in no position to refuse. He obeys us or is opposed, and if he chooses the latter he must face the consequences. It’s his own choice. There is nothing more to discuss. Now I want to go to the theatre. What is the latest production of master Shakspere? Chamberlain A war play about Henry V, your majesty. You recognize Essex’ glory in almost every scene. Elizabeth His Falstaff comedy was too coarse. Is Falstaff in the new play? Chamberlain Yes, your majesty. He dies. Elizabeth Well then. Let’s go to the theatre and see how Falstaff dies.

Scene 2. Southampton I can’t understand it. Essex has done everything for him. It’s a knife in the back on Essex. Derby I am also bewildered, Henry. It could only mean one thing. Essex career is nearly finished. Bacon is no fool. If he goes against Essex he can only do so because he has no other choice. Southampton Essex should never have accepted his mission in Ireland. Derby His own ambitions drove him to it. We both knew him in his days of glory, and we both believed in him. If he had managed the crisis in Ireland he would have been invincible for life and have the entire people to back him up. Southampton And so it all turned into a massive failure. But all is not lost yet. He could still turn his defeat to victory. Derby He is the only one to believe it. No, Wriothesley, he is finished. He has only confirmed and strengthened the rebellions of Ireland, instead of turning them into our friends he has made their enmity incurable, and he has wasted both the Queen’s armies and finances on exacerbating the situation. He has already been recalled. Southampton Then he is lost. Derby I am afraid so. Southampton What settled the Queen’s decision? What is Bacon’s turning against him? Derby We don’t know. Bacon’s stand could not have mattered. Southampton I am not so sure. Bacon was Essex’ man completely. If his closest friend now lets him down, who could then possibly support him? Derby Least of all himself. He lacks perspective and has no judgement. Southampton His judgement and perspective was Bacon. Now Essex falls while Bacon rises. Whose back will he knife next time?

Derby You exaggerate, Henry. Bacon is no traitor. Southampton But he made Essex a traitor. Whom will he make a traitor next time? Derby You mean that no one is safe for Baconâ€™s ambitions? Southampton Precisely. Derby Then we had better keep out of the way for Bacon.

Scene 3. The court. A lord (to another) I expect there will be a show now as Essex will perform in front of the court. Lord 2 You can count on that. He has laid all England to his feet and believes himself to be the most popular man in the country. He believes himself that he was only victorious in Ireland and that he transformed all his defeats and disasters into triumphs. Lord 1 But the people love him. Lord 2 They are drunk with his dashing sport. They adore him. Lord 1 England could never have a better idol. Lord 2 And still he is only a bluff. Elizabeth (appearing) My lords, I have summoned the earl of Essex here to answer for his actions and your questions. Lord 1 (aside) He will have to run the gauntlet. Elizabeth Consider your questions well while he is available, for he is as volatile and fleeting as the first romance of youth. Lord 2 (aside) It sounds as if he was her last romance and that she has accepted it. A herald The earl of Essex! (He enters to the centre of the stage and kneels to the Queen.) Essex Madame, I bring Ireland to lay it down at your feet. Elizabeth You do not. You have wasted it, and instead of curing an enemy you have made all Ireland our enemy. Essex You have listened to loose rumours and exaggerated them to yourself. Elizabeth I have received exact reports of figures and losses. I gave you an army and ample means to put down a rebel. You wasted it all, and the rebel is still there. Essex I was not permitted to fulfill my mission. Robert Cecil My lord Essex, you have ignored our orders and more often than not applied the contrary to our instructions rather than followed them. How do you explain it? Essex Here in Westminster no one knows anything about the conditions of Ireland. I suited my actions to the actual conditions to minimize the losses. (The court laughs.) Robert Cecil Minimize the losses? Could they have been more maximized? Burleigh My lord Essex, you have bought the love of the people at the prize of the Queenâ€™s armies and money and the stability of Ireland.

Essex There was never any stability in Ireland. Burleigh Let me finish! You wasted your pound and can’t have it back. England is through with you. Essex You bereave me of my command? Burleigh Yes, Essex. You give us no alternative. Essex You recall me before I have had time to finish the war and imagine that you in that manner will have a happy end to the war. What logic is that? Burleigh Lord Essex, you are appearing before the Queen. Essex Don’t you think I am aware of it, you blooming bummers? We are all appearing before the Queen and are ashamed of our Irish failure. Sir Walter Raleigh, did you succeed any better? Go over yourself to that rainy swamp in the west and see if you can dry it out of marsh muskrats and bog bugs! They will just crawl up your sleeves and start swarming in your beds when you sleep! They will hide behind you and stick their knives into your backs all the time while you will not even see them! I accepted the Irish command because I wanted to do something about it. Maybe it was wrong, but I haven’t failed any more than anyone before me. Elizabeth Lord Essex, go home and wait until we call for you. Essex Have I done anything wrong? Have I broken my faith? Have I compromised anyone? Let me know if I have, so that I may know where I stand, and don’t stick knives in my back without showing who you are. Elizabeth Go home, Essex. (Essex kneels, bows and leaves.) Lord 1 He hasn’t settled with the Queen yet. He still has some ammunition left. Lord 2 If there will be a break between them, who will then profit by it? Lord 1 The struggle has only started. It will be fierce and break them both. (As soon as Essex is out of sight, the Queen falters.) Robert Cecil Look to the Queen there! Southampton Are you not well, your majesty? Elizabeth (tired) I am just so tired out by all these quarrels and disputes! Why can’t you gentlemen ever keep your gentle peace? I can’t stand any more arguments! Robert Cecil Help the Queen out if here. (The Queen is walked out with some support.) Southampton (to Bacon) everybody knows that you are behind the disgrace of Essex. Bacon Am I? I didn’t know. Southampton You can’t fool us, Sir Francis. You may be the most influential man in the country, but you can’t fool us. You could possibly fool yourself. But Essex would never have fallen if you hadn’t tripped him. Bacon He has not fallen yet, and the crisis of his career is entirely of his own making. Southampton We both know better than that, Sir Francis, and we both know that you pretend. (leaves) Bacon Is this court play transforming into a lower grade of insidiousness? I did report and prosecute Essex, but that was my duty to the crown, and I cannot regret it. Oxford Bacon, I heard you. You are incorrigible, but you will never be king after Gloriana. Bacon I never even thought of any such thing. You are absurd.

Oxford Am I? You believe yourself to be her bastard son. Bacon Don’t you believe it? Oxford I am too old. I couldn’t have been her son, fortunately, and my family is of much older and nobler blood than hers. But you are a dastard, Bacon, whom everyone disdains. Bacon And you are an old drunk who should keep away from court. Oxford Wine is only good for your health. Bacon If only you had only wine! Oxford Essex’ blood will be on your hands. Bacon No risk. He will not bleed. Oxford You are lying to everyone but most of all to yourself. (wants to leave) Bacon Just for your information, Oxford, after Gloriana James of Scotland will be our king, and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Oxford That milksop! Was it arranged by you? Bacon No, it’s the Cecil company, father and son, since your son-in-law is a Catholic and only pens comedies. Oxford That’s why he should have been the king. Goodbye, you stinking Bacon. Bacon Get lost, which you already are, you old drunkard!

Scene 4. Derby (aside) My wife, how could you give yourself over to such a maniac as Essex? That man has seduced all England and wringed its helm out of the Queen’s hand – to run it where? He has no sense and lacks all judgement, like a weathercock, completely out of character and a victim to his own impulses. But everyone has a weakness for him, and I even loved him myself as the dashing romantic hero he was to all of us. But my own wife! She claims innocence, and maybe I am just a blinded victim to my own jealousy, but everyone can see that he has seduced her like he has seduced all England. My Essex, my darling boy, nothing can save you now. – My gentlefolk, we are heading for difficult times. Walsingham What’s happening, Derby? Derby Lord Essex is only making his own case worse when he in desperation grabs hold of everything he can reach around him in an effort to pull the whole nation down with him in his fall. And most seriously affected of all will be the Queen herself. Walsingham And what can we do? Derby Not much more than take cover. Our Queen’s days are reaching their end, and when she and Essex are gone there could follow a dark age under the restricted meanness and suspicion of a Scottish king as a dominating factor touching all our lives. Without doubt heads will roll. Walsingham Are you thinking of anyone special? Derby Walter Raleigh, Southampton, Lord Bacon and all free-thinkers.

Walsingham Francis Bacon is the cat with nine lives always landing on his feet. Sir Walter is immune to warnings. Wriothesley is like he is, and nothing can change him, but no one would ever wish to have him executed. By his effeminate ways he stands above all politics. But what about Marlowe? Derby Our next king doesn’t know that he exists. Our poet could easily evade all dangers by simply keeping away like heretofore. He would be safer though at some alienating distance from London, for example among us Catholics in Lancashire. Walsingham Thanks for your offer. Chris would gladly accept it, especially if the situation in London would grow dangerous again, since all he wants and needs is to be able to work in peace. Derby My estate and security will always be open to him, as the very safest form of exile out of reach of any regime without even having to leave the country. Walsingham Let’s hear his own wishes about it. Come in, Marlowe! (enter Marlowe) Derby is here for a visit. Marlowe Is there any problem? Walsingham Not yet, but there could be with the next regime. Marlowe I am always prepared for another exile. There is ever too much to do in warmer countries. Derby But soon we will be getting old, and travelling will become more nervous and tedious. Live, Marlowe, as if my brother was still alive, your school fellow, who embraced you with his love like a younger brother. If he was your brother, I am the same none the less. My home is your home, and you will always find comfort there, for we Catholics are fortunately clinically excluded from intrigues of the crown and infections of politics. Marlowe Ferdinando is dead, cruelly poisoned because he didn’t want to share what you call infectious world politics. He died as a martyr for his integrity, like Kyd, my colleague and brother, who had a far more difficult death, since in his case his soul was poisoned by the inquisition. We will never be rid of those powers, and that’s why I also prefer remaining dead. Although so many of my friends now are dead, like Greene, Philip Sidney and Kyd, there are still many left who could recognize me. We know nothing about the new regime, but if it prove difficult I am grateful indeed, lord Derby, for your invaluable security offer as a complement to that of lord Walsingham. Derby Feel completely free at large. You are dead and liberated, and that is your fortune. we who know about it are just a few, a handful reliable men whose wives will not gossip. you might thereby be more fortunate than any of us, and the only price we gratefully accept from you for our protection and silence is your beautiful art, which protects you more than anything else. As long as you carry on your poetical work, you will remain immortal and invulnerable. Marlowe Your words warm my heart as if they came from a colleague and more than a brother. I feel no bitterness. I can view my case with darkness, but I have come out of it like the butterfly out of my pupal stage, my personal ego, which I have left behind. My human feelings are not mine any more. They are well masked in virtual

characters carefully concealed behind the painted faces of actors, which give public expression to all I feel except my ego. I feel safe in the role as a medium for human feelings and every personality but my own. My non-existence is my best protection, and thanks to that I can write poetry at all. Walsingham As long as you keep busy at your work we are gratefully happy about your presence. Marlowe I am the only one who should be grateful. Derby I will return to Lancashire. Marlowe, your home and your security will wait for you there whenever you need it. Marlowe Thank you, lord Derby. (Derby leaves.) Walsingham His instinct has never failed. He knows what he is talking about. When Robert Devereux, the earl of Essex and the Queen’s days are over, no one will be safe anymore. Marlowe My last wish is to expose you, my lord Thomas, to any compromising danger. Walsingham I will never let you down. Marlowe For which I am grateful, and my trust in you will likewise never fail. I would rather leave you in peace with your Audrey than risk a breach of trust. Thomas Audrey is yours as she is mine. Audrey We are the Queen’s closest friends and absolutely impeccable as such. Nothing could harm us, not even a Scottish king. You are as safe with us as with Derby. Marlowe For which I thank you. Still my single absolutely perfect safety is only in my own privacy, which will follow me wherever I go. Walsingham And we are aware of your safety within yourself. That’s why everyone who knows you gratefully will receive you. Marlowe But they are few and getting fewer. The more invaluable be those who are left. Audrey They are more than you think, and with Sir Walter Raleigh as our flagship we are unassailable. Marlowe Yes, he will always remain our ultimate security, and only he can still save my life.

Scene 5. Essex imprisoned. Essex What did I do wrong? It’s a nightmare. Everyone turned against me without reason, and I no longer have any friends. Everything has turned against me as if by a stroke of destructive magic, and I as the fool I was did not make things better by going desperate. Here I am now cornered by destiny without anything more to expect from life than death. Guard Sorry to disturb you, Sir, but you have a visitor.

Essex You shouldn’t be sorry for that. I deserve no visit but am honoured if I have one. Guard That’s the question, since it must depend on who the visitor is. Essex In my lonesomeness even death would be a welcome visitor. Guard Please enter then, my lady. (allows Elizabeth to enter) Essex (rising, terrified) My Queen! Is it real, or am I raving mad and hallucinating? Elizabeth Sir down, incorrigible knave! I only wish to give you what they call a fair chance of an explanation. Essex There is nothing to explain. Elizabeth Oh yes, there is, and I if anyone have the right to demand some answers. Essex I am ready for the rack. Elizabeth Don’t be silly. This is not a question of torture. Essex There is no more dire torture than to be tried by a woman superior in power from whose grip there is no escape. Elizabeth Why did you desert me, your best friend? What made you spite my orders, turn against me and try a rebellion against me? Essex It was you who turned against me. I was the last one to deserve any enmity from you. Elizabeth You are trying to wriggle out of the issue, my poor friend. You tired of me and found me an encumberment, wherefore you traduced your queen and became a rebel. Essex I had no other choice when I became desperate. Elizabeth You went out of your mind. Essex Yes. Elizabeth That is no excuse. You ruined our friendship completely yourself when you in the presence of others called me more dead than alive and hardly more than a carcass. Essex My Queen, is that why you have sentenced me to death? Elizabeth I was no more than a woman, Robert, and I was your best friend. I trusted you unreservedly and loved you like a son, yes, like more than a son. All England shared my love. But you did not know woman well when you trampled on her and on England’s heart. Women cannot do without their men when they have given them their hearts. They are all the ground they have to stand on. If a woman is betrayed by the man whom she entrusted with her life, she will no longer have any life. She has lost everything and haven’t even any strength left for revenge. You have trampled on my soul, but that is not why you will be executed. Your process is entirely a result of your own mistakes, nothing has been able to stop it, you started the avalanche yourself by your insubordinations and betrayals – I have nothing to do with them. I came here as a woman only to release you. Essex What do you mean? Release? Elizabeth I give you your life. I offer you safe conduct out of the country. All doors between you and your freedom are open.

Essex No, your majesty, you can’t thus manipulate me and once again demonstrate your power. I will not allow you to triumph. I am aware that I forfeited my life and any right to live. Let then destiny have its course, and let me be executed tomorrow. Elizabeth So you spite me even to the bitter end? Essex I never belonged to you, and you can never bring me under you. Elizabeth (sighs) So you save at least your honour at last. I have given you a fair chance, and you have taken it but in your own way. I leave you with my errand unfulfilled but still not without some reward. Now, my Essex, I can leave you be. Essex I regret everything that happened. Elizabeth That’s the least thing any man can do. I wish you a good journey to the other side, Robert Devereux, my last favourite, where I believe we will meet soon again. Essex Perhaps under different circumstances. Elizabeth There is nothing more to say to these. Farewell. (leaves) Guard (enters when Elizabeth is gone) Well, was the lady kind to you? Essex You can’t blame her, for she made an effort at kindness which I was not worthy. Guard Then die worthy, my good lord, tomorrow. Then you don’t need to worry about that any more. Essex Leave me alone, poor cynic. (The guard walks out. Essex buries his head in his hands.)

Scene 6. Behind the curtains. Chamberlain Lord Bacon! What an honour! What gives us the honour? What can we do for you? Bacon May I have a talk with the actors? Chamberlain They are all here. Jonson The Queen is dead, and our new king is a foreigner, but we still have our lord Bacon. Hemmings What can we do for you, lord Bacon? I hope nothing has changed. Bacon I hope so too. Burbage Some special reason must have brought you here. Is it because of the new king? Bacon Listen to me, my friends. We have a new king, and he must know his place. We need a play to show him that the theatre is superior to him and his establishment. He must be made aware of that we know more about him than he knows about himself. Shakspere What do you know about him?

Bacon His soft spot is his mother, who helped her lover to kill her husband, his father. After the murder she ruled shamelessly with the lover until she was overthrown by her people’s outrage. Hemmings We never dared to present a play on Mary Stuart. The subject was always untouchable, since Queen Elizabeth decapitated her. Bacon But she is dead now. She was finished when she decapitated Essex, and now she is dead for real. The new king must be put into place with Mary Stuart or without. Is there no play that resembles her story, that could be dusted off as a healthy reminder? Shakspere We have Kyd’s old play about Hamlet, whose mother married her husband’s murderer. That I guess is the closest we could get. Bacon Let me see. So it has not been performed since Thomas Kyd died? Shakspere It disappeared with Kyd and Marlowe. Hemmings But if there is anything that could remind of king James’ precarious position, it’s that play. Bacon We could always remake it and render it more relevant. That’s maybe just what we are looking for. The main thing is that the king will realize that there are higher powers than his own. Jonson Here is the play, Sir. Rewrite it, manipulate it as you wish, make a parody of all the dead, and it must turn out a success. Bacon I will take care of it. When you’ll have it back, you can count on something extra. Jonson We are looking forward to it, Sir. Hemmings Derby presented it with Kemp and others to the Danish king in Elsinore 18 years ago in German. It made a success even then, but it needs some improvement. Kyd and Marlowe were never finished with it before they both died. Bacon We will resurrect their spirits. I will be back soon, gentlemen. (leaves) Burbage Do you think he could make something presentable out of that bloody play? Jonson Lord Bacon has many tricks down his sleeve. It wouldn’t surprise me if we at last got a real play to perform.

Act III scene 1. James What kind of a damned play is this? How dare they show something like this to me? Don’t they know that I am the king now? Robert Cecil Your majesty, it is only an entertainment. James Some entertainment indeed! Death and murder, intrigue and treachery, ghastly ghosts and mad women! It could hardly get worse, could it? Cecil The actors are only trying their best to please, your majesty. James One could almost suspect that some devil manufactured the play just to lecture me.

Bacon Your majesty, it was written for the king of Denmark for his inauguration of his castle Kronborg in Elsinore eighteen years ago. The story is from the chronicles of Denmark. Our English actors made a great success of it at the court of Denmark. James So it is a true story? Bacon Practically, yes. James But who wrote it? Find the author of the play! He is dangerous since he knows more about court intrigues than the court knows about him. Cecil It is a certain William Shakespeare, your majesty, an honest actor from the country. James Don’t you think I know that, you silly dolt? Everybody knows, that William Shakespeare is the trademark of all controversial plays, so that their authors can’t be reached and questioned. He is just an agent, a playmonger who makes money on those aristocrats who use his name to avoid getting the attention of the government. That’s how Oxford produced his plays, so did Derby, and whoever is behind this play has followed the same procedure. I suspect Sir Walter Raleigh. He is here, isn’t he? Cecil He is at your command, your majesty. James Sir Walter, I have some questions to ask of you, if you don’t mind. Raleigh I am at your service, your majesty, like I was to her unforgettable majesty’s humble service. James What did you really have to do with Arabella Stuart? Raleigh Nothing. James You are lying, you dastard. Raleigh If I am lying, your majesty, you should have it proven before having me accused. James I know that you are lying! You wanted her on the throne instead of me! Raleigh I was innocent of that plot, your majesty. James But you knew about it! Raleigh I didn’t take it seriously. James So you knew about it! So you were an accomplice! Away to the Tower with him! He has already proved himself guilty! Cecil Your majesty, Sir Walter Raleigh is the oldest and sincerest defender and servant of the crown. It would be a scandal to put him in the Tower for a mere suspicion. James Are you defending a traitor, you dolt? Are you also applying for a stay at the Tower? Cecil Your majesty, I only advise you not to rush things. James I never rush things! Everything will be conducted in legal order, and Raleigh shall be prosecuted and tried for high treason! If he can prove his innocence he will be set free, but we already have written evidence that he would have preferred Arabella Stuart to me on the throne! File the prosecution, Bacon!

Bacon Your majesty, a written carelessness in a private letter is not a case enough for a prosecution of high treason… James File the prosecution, or you are done for! Southampton Your majesty, no one has rendered greater service to the country than Sir Walter Raleigh. James So you have also taken part in the conspiracy, you insipid freak? Do you wish to share Raleigh’s company in prison? Cecil (to Bacon) The king is out of his humour, and there is nothing we can do. Bacon I hope it will pass. Cecil It could take years. I am afraid that the problem is in the character. James Away with them to the Tower! Let them prove their innocence if they can, but I am certain they can’t! No bloody Englishman wanted a Scots king to command them, so all leading Englishmen are equally accountable! They all need some thumb screws! Southampton Bacon, are you siding with the king against us? Bacon You will need someone left in a leading position to get you out. Cecil He is right. Be patient, gentlemen. Raleigh Henry, with such an incompetent greenhorn for a king we need some forces left at the top who could govern. A ship with a drunken crew and a mad captain could still reach its destination if only the helmsman is sober. James What kind of a twaddle is that? Get them out of here! The case is closed! Cecil (notifies guards to take out Raleigh and Southampton) Everything will be arranged to your majesty’s satisfaction. James I hope so indeed. Or else the house of Stuart knows how to chastise hopeless delinquents. We had enough of troublesome clans in Scotland and would rather do without them in England. Bacon Your majesty, you can fully confide in us in matters of maintaining law, order and justice. James Well, Bacon, that’s my man. Then at least there is one for me to stick to. My predecessor had too many favourites, and she learned nothing from their presumption until she was forced to execute them. A government works better without favourites. Raleigh But she had a damned good taste. James Don’t I? Raleigh Your majesty, that’s exactly what you are missing. (is taken out) James Foppish coxcombs and finikin snobs! But I will teach them! No one shall teach me my job! No one has a right to teach the world manners except me! Cecil (bending his neck together with Bacon) Yes, your majesty. (Raleigh and Southampton are taken out by armed guards.) James You might as well get lost as well, you dolt. I want a word with Bacon the lawyer here. (Cecil takes his leave.)

I don’t know, Francis, if you had any part in the manufacture of this play, but you are not so stupid that you could have failed to grasp that the play is a mortal insult to my dead mother! Bacon Your majesty, I assure you that the play has its only source in actual medieval happenings in Denmark. James Don’t argue! You always know more than you will admit. You irritated me from the beginning with your supercilious superiority. I will not have it. But you are the cleverest lawyer in the country, and I need you. Either you obediently cooperate, or you will be dismissed. Is that clear? Bacon Your majesty, I am only due for cooperation. James You bloody hypocrite! You don’t seem to get what I want. I want you to cooperate on my terms, not yours. Bacon You make the terms. I never made any terms. James Liar! Your terms were always conditions! You are dangerous, and you are the only one I fear as a political competitor, just because I need you. You must marry. That’s my first condition. And your wife must be of the lesser gentry. Bacon Any particular on your mind? James I only have all that rubbish on my mind that you could possibly have been a bastard son of the old hag the former queen, and that you could inherit the throne, which must be silenced. You must never have the throne and none in your family either. Bacon I bow to your will. I only beg to remind you that there was only one condition ever that I made for my full support of you. James Which was? Bacon The freedom of expression for concealed poets. James You mean the right of underground scandal writers to conspiracies? As long as they remain concealed I will not get at them anyway. No one can silence poets. I give your poets license, but your loyalty must be absolute! Bacon I always served the crown without reservations. James So get married then! I have just found the right wench for you. Bacon I give you all I have, your majesty, and only reserve my life for myself. James It’s a deal. You may keep it – for the time being. Leave now. (Bacon leaves.) He stinks and is abhorrent to me, but it would be stupid not to use him as far as possible. But the sincerest pleasure of my reign will be to one day kick him out.

Scene 2. The Tower. Raleigh Up like a rising sun and down like a fallen angel. My comet career under Gloriana had its ups and downs, but the ups always returned. But this new king appears to only put his thumb down to everything allowing no one to rise. – My old friend Oxford, are you still alive?

Oxford I couldn’t keep out of visiting my old brother of destiny in his prison. How is the process going? Raleigh To hell. But at least I will not be executed. Oxford All the people are upset about the treatment you have received from a king who can’t stand the Elizabethans. I am just an old drunk, so I am exempt from being considered dangerous, but you, poor devil, are extremely dangerous since you are still vitally and youthfully alive. Raleigh Aren’t we of the same age? Oxford Just about, but I always considered you as the dashing youth in his prime. You went to America, you created our new land Virginia after our Queen, you went treasure hunting for Eldorado in the jungles of South America, found Guyana and acquired Trinidad, you did everything that I didn’t. Raleigh But you had your good years in Italy and also came to Spain, Cyprus, Turkey and Morocco. Oxford Yes, we both became Elizabethan legends. And now you are shackled here by a lousy king’s meanness and can’t move out of your enforced coffin, while I can only go home with a sigh, pull something old and mouldy about me, disappear and die. Raleigh We are not finished yet, Oxford. The theatre is still carrying on in spite of the king’s barren incompetence. Oxford It’s much thanks to Bacon, who secured the king’s insurance of safe conduct for unknown poets to continue working in peace and publish their indecent challenges on stage. That old Hamlet story is selling out for revealing the present king’s outrageous family scandal history, and the king can do nothing about it, since he has no wish to appear with a bad conscience on behalf of his corrupted mother. Raleigh Say nothing derogatory about Mary Stuart. Gloriana admired her and envied her. Oxford And she had reason to. They were each other’s contraries. Mary took all the liberties Gloriana never dared to indulge in, while the romantic Queen never could create any order in her country which Gloriana with her enlightenment so gloriously could achieve. Raleigh We all loved her. Oxford No, we all adored her and had reason to. Raleigh Even you in spite of the fart? Oxford You can see that I am still blushing. I do that every time the incident is mentioned. Raleigh Did it really happen as the legend says? Oxford I was young then and adored her more than anyone else. Not even Sir Philip Sidney could adore her like me. Edmund Spenser’s praising verse of her was completely without passion while I had all the passions. And then I was presented to her, as that unfortunate breaker escaped, like a lover taken by surprise and escaping by the back door in a din of revealing noise. It was terrible. I could have gone to earth

and did so indeed. When I left England for shame of the fart in her presence I actually thought it would be forever. Raleigh But you returned. After two years. Oxford I had hoped that she would have forgotten the outrageously painful incident, and then her first words for a greeting were: ”Welcome back, earl of Oxford. I can assure you that we have all forgotten all about that fart.” And everybody laughed almost to choking, but she laughed most of all. Then she was like a revelation of herself as a seventeen year old girl. I have never seen her so young and glad and fresh and lovely. Raleigh Was it you or Bacon who gave her the name Gloriana? Oxford It came naturally by itself, just like Cynthia. It doesn’t matter who invented it. She was Gloriana. Raleigh But here is Bacon. There seems to be some party here in the Tower today. Oxford Welcome, cousin Bacon. Bacon Oxford. I thought you were at home and dying. You shouldn’t be out at this hour. Oxford Evidently I am. You’ll do anything for the old Raleigh. Bacon We all have interests in America. Sir Walter, we will get you out of here eventually. England needs you for her interests in Virginia. Raleigh Try to convince the king about that. Oxford No one can convince the king about anything. He is a Scotsman and a hopeless case of petty meanness like all Scotsmen. Bacon But he is not disinterested in your possibilities in America. Raleigh. If you could find your Eldorado for him he would forgive you everything. Oxford But Raleigh is without guilt, like all imprisoned Elizabethans. Bacon Tell that to the king. His ear is not qualified enough to hear it and still less qualified to understand it. Oxford Yes, he would interpret it to the contrary and imprison even more Elizabethans. Bacon To the point, Raleigh! How is your work going? Raleigh Which one? Bacon Your world history. Raleigh I have just about got started. It’s cold here in the Tower, you know, the fingers get stiff, there is a constant draught from the windows and the walls, I get no exercise, and the eyes are tortured by the lack of sufficient light. Oxford A dog could not be treated worse. Raleigh Still I am optimistic. The plan is clear, and I think I have shamed all bigots already, all those narrow-minded puritans who branded and persecuted me as a free-thinker, although there never was a more literal interpreter of the Bible than I. The entire first part of my world history concerns only Moses and the Jews and God and his definite part in the whole thing. Oxford Then you will end up as the hero of the puritans, especially if the king will decapitate you in the end.

Raleigh But I need more books, Bacon. Bacon You will have them. The last thing they could deny you was your own books. Oxford When do you think we could get him out? Bacon Unfortunately it will be a matter of years. I must cultivate the king’s interest in another expedition to Guyana and Eldorado, the success of which would be Raleigh’s only possible exoneration. Raleigh And what about your concealed poets, Bacon? How are they faring? Bacon They all went down with you, Sir Walter. You were their highest hope. Marlowe has given up entirely and departed for the wilderness of the Catholics in Lancashire, where they say he is working on wild plays about mad kings in the darkest tragedies ever written for the theatre since the days of the Athenians. Oxford I heard that he resumed my old tragedy of Othello. Bacon That was his most crushing tragedy. Everyone enjoys wallowing in its erotic horror. But a decisively contributing factor to its success is that Marlowe lives with Derby, whose jealousy of his wife is notorious enough to provide him with infinite study material in practical reality. Oxford Wriothesley was supposed to have married my daughter, but Wriothesley turned her down. Derby got her instead maybe to his own greatest misfortune… But he did turn out a good son-in-law. Bacon Was it Derby who wrote the Hamlet tragedy for the king in Denmark? Oxford No, but he was over there acting in it. Derby had his experience from France with a court lady unhappily in love who drowned herself, I had my experiences of Burleigh, whom I had hoped to cut through when I noticed someone was listening through the tapestry, while it turned out to be just an ordinary servant. Kyd’s and Marlowe’s Spanish tragedy was constantly sold out and gave invaluable experience and impulses how to handle other ghosts on stage, and so on. We were all involved in ”Hamlet”. That one more than any other is our play about ourselves, about our suppressive overlordship, about the corruption of power and about the eternal damnation of an established regime. Raleigh Oxford is getting back into his melodrama. I almost recognize him from better days. Back to reality. When can I have my fleet? Bacon Only the king can procure it. It all depends on him. Raleigh Then it will take at least ten years. Bacon Or more, probably more. Prepare yourself for a long stay in limbo, Sir Walter, but sooner or later you will get out. And in the meantime you can write your world history. Oxford Good luck, both of you. My time is over. I leave the stage. Bacon Derby stays on. Oxford There are always successors. The theatre will never die. Raleigh Thanks for your visit, my friends. I think it’s time for me to start concentrating on my work. Oxford That Shakspere, who is he really?

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Raleigh Our trademark and pen name, a reliable man of honour who will never give us away as long as he gets paid. Oxford Is he watertight as a cover? Bacon Until the end of ages. Oxford Then I feel calm. Sir Walter, your destiny is in safe hands whatever happens. Raleigh In the hands of a simple rustic opportunist like William Shakespeare? Oxford No, we are all hiding behind his name. And we are both a considerable number and immortal. Raleigh Against the king we need more than just immortality. Bacon With Marlowe, Chapman and Jonson we can easily bypass the king. Then we also have Dekker, Beaumont and Fletcher as reserves. Oxford The king’s days are already numbered like those of his entire family with such explosive dramatic talents to reveal the corruption of power. Bacon Come along now, Oxford. Raleigh wants to get down to work. Oxford Happy the man who manages to work, for without work you are dead. Bacon Farewell, Sir Walter. I will be back. Raleigh Welcome back with more books and words of wisdom. (Oxford and Bacon leave.)

Scene 3. Another part of the Tower. Guard Sir Henry, you have a visitor. Southampton (rising) Lady or gentleman? Guard A gentleman in disguise. Southampton Disguised as a lady? Guard No, but undressed enough. Southampton You talk in riddles. Guard Life is a permanent riddle. Southampton You don’t have to inform me about that. Guard Thanks for informing me. James (entering) Is there anyone here who thinks he is more informed than me? Southampton His majesty the king! (kneels and uncovers his head) Guard I leave you two alone. James Yes, do so. (The guard leaves.) – Forget all that, Wriothesley. We are content with you and aim to release you. Southampton Your majesty, I am not stupid enough not to understand, that my freedom will have a price. James Of course. How could you guess? Do you think I would let a nobleman out of prison for nothing? – According to my information, you should know some things to Sir Francis Bacon’s disadvantage. Southampton You give me an advantage. That means I am able to negotiate.

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James You will not get out of here with less than giving us a catch on Bacon. Do you know something? Southampton Perhaps. James Some dirty business perhaps? Bribes? Boys? Entertained pages? Southampton Didn’t you force him to marry? James Yes, and that conceited snob had the audacity to dress in purple for his wedding. I can never forgive him that. No one must dress in purple in England except the King, and a violation of that law prescribes a capital punishment. But I can’t touch him. We have our agreements. Southampton Why did he dress in purple? Isn’t that a dress as good as any other? James Don’t you see, you effeminate dullwit? He always fancied himself as a possible bastard of that old hag who executed my mother and lived and died impotent, and that myth he has tried to spread around himself. In a ridiculous effort to give it publicity he dresses up in purple, to make him appear to be of royal blood. It’s unforgivable. Southampton Your majesty, Bacon tries his best to serve the country, and he is probably the most astute and sensible lawyer and politician of England, but he compromises with justice. He disposes of it when it suits him. James Isn’t that what all lawyers do? Southampton Yes, but Bacon has cultivated an image of himself of standing above such practices and attained a reputation of impeccability. James While he isn’t? Southampton I was myself a close witness of how he sacrificed Robert Devereux of Essex for his own career. Essex was in his way. James Which means he would gladly do something like that again. Southampton I could never forgive him the fall of Essex. I and Derby fought with Essex in Ireland and could testify that he did nothing wrong although everything went against him. If he had been allowed to continue he would have pacified Ireland for good, but the Queen recalled him at the advice of lord Burleigh and Bacon. The son Robert Cecil is completely corrupted by Spain, and Bacon had an interest in Essex’ downfall. James What is your angle? Southampton When the day comes to necessitate Bacon’s downfall I will be at your service with means enough to have him dishonoured for good. James Something like that was exactly what I wished for. So I can trust you, my earl of Southampton, implicitly? Southampton I shall serve your house as long as I live. Through you Queen Elizabeth has peacefully united England and Scotland, that union is worth maintaining and can only be maintained by your royal house. James (takes his hand) Henry Wriothesley, you are pardoned and free. Southampton Thank you, your majesty. James Guard, let this pardoned nobleman have free access to all the Tower may have to offer of what is good, so that he may resume his place in the world as a free man.

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Guard Yes, your majesty. (lets Southampton out of his cell.) James I’ve got him! He was imprisoned without a case, no court could have judged him for anything, we had to let him go, but then I got him anyway! Now I have both Wriothesley and Bacon in my hand, and the only problem remaining is Sir Walter Raleigh. Perhaps there is something to what Bacon says, that the only way to get rid of Raleigh is to send him back to South America. But if we give him that freedom, we must make sure that he never gets back. Hem!

Scene 4. Prince Henry It’s a shame to keep such a magnificent eagle shut up in a cage year after year! My father is acting wrong, and he knows it! And it’s more than an injustice, it is stupidity! Of what use is a bird in a cage? None at all, and it will only languish in misery. Why was it given wings if not to fly in freedom? And this is an eagle at that, and what an eagle! The greatest talent in the country with its greatest assets of knowledge and experience! It’s unacceptable. – Guard, let me in at once. Guard But your father has given me strict orders to forbid you to visit Sir Walter Raleigh. Henry It’s on my responsibility. I answer to my father. Let me in to the prisoner! Guard Yes, your highness. (Henry is allowed in Raleigh’s cell.) Raleigh (rising) Your highness, you shouldn’t be here. Henry Not the thickest prison walls of England could stop me! Raleigh But you risk both your own situation and mine. I have no wish to cause a division between you and your father. Henry Be calm, Sir Walter! I can handle him. He is just afraid and doesn’t understand that there is nothing for him to be afraid of. He thinks he is seeing ghosts in the middle of the day and imagines everyone to be his enemy while he has none. They all pity him and despise him for his stupidity. Raleigh Alas, Prince Henry, but could your defiance of his orders in any way make things better? Henry Yes, for I can plead with him, I if anyone have influence over him, and I could be your best advocate and champion. It’s only beneficial that I be seen with you here, for nothing is more potent in the world than a reputation, to which all must flinch and bend their knees. When he hears that I love you as much as he fears you, he must start reconsidering. We will get your fleet for you, Sir Walter, you can be sure! Raleigh What does Bacon say? Henry He is with us. He has quietly kept promoting the new Guyana expedition in all these years with his indomitable persistence, which never gives in and always prevails in the end. We have also won over Southampton and Buckingham to our side. All England demands a fleet for you. Raleigh That will be my swan song. Here I have been stuck for eight years with nothing else to do but to vegetate and philosophize, while Drake’s fleet has been let

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down to rot and rust and the Virginia colony neglected to perdition. But I still have my powers. I can still meet the Spaniards in battle and crush them one against a hundred, and I am still eager to explore and transcend new frontiers in poisonous jungles beyond the Orinoco. Eldorado is still there somewhere waiting for us, like an unaccomplished immaterialized dream, which man’s faculty couldn’t realize, being restricted by his self-destructive stupidity. You can’t guess what inexhaustible resources of new life your encouragement endows me with, Prince Henry! Only you could make me believe that these long years of restricted freedom still had some meaning and were worth while. Henry Just put your trust in us, Sir Walter! Soon England will be human again. Now I must leave, but I will always be back. (leaves) Raleigh Go with God, my dear boy, England’s hope and future! There is still hope for me and for Marlowe and other trampled and humiliated free-thinkers who were grinded down to dust in the soulless mills of power by mistake, just because they happened to get in between while the power cannot think. But as long as there is life, there is hope that humanity will not permanently go to blazes, but that there still might recur occasional flashes of light.

Scene 5. Marlowe I can’t wait any longer, Derby. My life has run out of me, I have written myself off and have nothing more to give the theatre. I languish like Raleigh in his prison. Derby But he hasn’t given up, and the king is getting constantly more positive to giving him a fleet and another chance. You could follow him to Virginia or Eldorado and there have a free life of your own without having to hide anymore. Marlowe Yes, I am tired of this hopeless hiding existence. I want to cast off the magic mantle of exile once and for all and no more having to appear in masked roles. This role that I have accepted to play of being dead has been efficient as a magic cloak making me invisible in it, but have I then no human right to ever be myself? May I not be human just because I am a poet? Must my outsidership imply my exclusion from that humanity which I all my life wallowed in cultivating? It’s not fair. I will play one more role, but that will be my last. Then I will cast off the magic cloak of the theatre and cease to pretend. Derby May I suggest a play in connection with Raleigh’s journey to distant islands in the Atlantic and with his saving angel and cherub, crown prince Henry as his closest part? Marlowe You inspire me. It will be a play about Raleigh and Henry, a comedy of Raleigh’s exoneration with prince Harry as his guide and aid, an angel but hedonistic as such, a spiritual being, an Ariel. Derby And what name will you give Raleigh? Marlowe May he flourish and at last gain his fortune. I will call him Prospero.

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Derby With such good presages there can only be a happy outcome of the adventure. Marlowe I hope so, lord Derby, I hope so indeed, for it will be our farewell performance.

Scene 6. Buckingham I am profoundly sorry and too much so for words, my lord. James We all are, Steenie. Of all disasters that could have struck our nation, this was heavier than any other thinkable. He was the most brilliant promise of a king that appeared on both these islands. Buckingham Could it have been an act of poisoning? James Who could have had any motive? Everybody loved him. It was God that nipped a flower while it was still only a bud, and he did it without cause or reason, for he if anyone was the darling of the gods. Buckingham It has been said, that whom the gods love dies young. James But he was too young, Steenie! He was only eighteen years! He certainly was mature enough already, but he was still just a youth! My son! My beloved son! The most beloved princely heir of all the world! Buckingham We are all shocked with the entire nation, but most shocked of all I still think is Sir Walter Raleigh. He learned to love Prince Harry as his own son. James He has sons of his own. He’ll manage. Buckingham Still I think it’s proper to respect Prince Harry’s last wishes. James Don’t you think I am aware of it? Who can refuse Raleigh his expedition and fleet now when his foremost sponsor has died for his altruism? He shall have his fleet. But it will take time. Buckingham He is waiting outside, my lord. James I am ready to face him. Show him in, Steenie. (Raleigh is admitted.) Raleigh (kneeling deep and bowing his head in respect with his bonnet removed) Your majesty, my deepest compassion in the grief of the entire nation and most of all yourself. James Yes, that’s all right, Sir Walter, rise, I know that you didn’t poison him, and you shall have your fleet. No one can refuse you anything now when the only greater hero of England than you has died with an intercession for your cause on his lips. Raleigh His loss is irreplaceable. If anyone was indispensable for our united kingdom and its future, it was he. James He loved you, Sir Walter, more than he loved me. Raleigh He was my best friend and sincerest disciple. Yes. We came close to each other.

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James He learned nothing except from you. I could have had you murdered out of sheer jealousy, but it is out of the question now when he is dead. God has punished me for my unobligingness by bereaving me of my best son. Raleigh He has punished all England and without cause. James Precisely my view. You shall have your fleet. Unfortunately it will take time to get it in order. You will remain in the Tower until then, for you are still sentenced to death for high treason by your complicity with Arabella Stuart, and my pardon is only for your life, not for your freedom of movement. But as soon as the fleet is ready I hope that you will go as far away with it as possible and never come back. Raleigh Not even with Eldorado? James If you find the land of gold, England is of course not rich enough to refuse it, and in that case you shall be rewarded even better than Columbus. But if you return empty-handed, Sir Walter, you had better not return at all. Raleigh I will not return empty-handed. James One more thing. No trouble with Spain. You do not have my permission to take any Spanish ship. We are now at peace with Spain and cannot afford to lose that peace. Raleigh I know that Spain is enriching your treasures by paying tribute. James And my son is marrying a Spanish princess. Raleigh That gives the Spaniards a motive for poisoning prince Henry. James No insinuations, Sir Walter! I can’t stand it! Don’t provoke me! I can recall everything I have said! Your cynical superiority drives me mad! Shut up or get lost in the Tower forever! Raleigh I shall be quiet, your majesty. Bacon (interceding) Sir Walter, the king suggests, that under no circumstances there must be any conflict between our and Spanish interests during your expedition. At the slightest sign of any conflict, the crown will cancel its protection of the enterprise, and you will be charged with piracy. Raleigh Understood, Sir Francis. I shall impress the order with all my captains. James We have Trinidad and Guyana. That’s enough. You must not inflict on Spanish interests in Maracaibo and Venezuela. Raleigh Your wish is my law. Your majesty. James That’s good. Leave now, before I get angry again. (Raleigh bows and leaves quickly enough.) The sooner he gets on his way, the better. Buckingham and Bacon, it’s on your responsibility that he gets his expedition and gets away, so that we are rid of him. If the enterprise fails, I will never forgive you. Buckingham Your majesty, it can’t fail. James To make completely sure of that we must inform the Spanish. Notify them of the size of the fleet and its armament, its plans and destination, its command and cargo, and look to it that also the governors of New Spain are notified. If Sir Walter still attacks the Spanish, which I have reasons to take for granted that he will, then it must be absolutely imperative that they finish him once and for all.

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Buckingham Do you intend to give the entire British fleet in the hands of the Spanish? James No, only Sir Walter Raleigh. If he makes the smallest mistake, he must not get away with it.

Act IV scene 1. On board of Raleigh’s ship. Raleigh My instructions are exact. There will be no fight with any Spaniard. The expedition depends on it. We will explore the Orinoco down beyond the borders of the unknown lands of the Eldorado without minding any Spaniards on the way, and we will return to England with Eldorado as a present for the King. That is the entire purpose of our journey. No captures, no fights, no conflicts. Captain Keymis And what if we are attacked? Raleigh If we are attacked by Spaniards we must only defend ourselves if that is our only chance to get away alive. Any questions? Another captain What about Virginia? Are we not going to the American colonies at all? Raleigh Only if we must, if we have no other choice and we have to find refuge somewhere. A third And Caribia? Are we to leave all Caribia in peace? Raleigh Only if we must. (The crew now recognizes their leader and cheer unanimously.)

Scene 2. Captain Keymis (in the galley) We are close to Eldorado now. I can feel it in the air. Wat But what is Eldorado more than gold? Keymis That’s what we don’t know, and that’s the wonder of it. Eldorado is perhaps the fountain of youth, which keeps us in healthy youthhood forever. Eldorado is everything we dreamed about and more than we ever can get. It’s the absolute ideal exactly on the location where the rainbow and the horizon meet and end. Wat And shall we then just give it over to King James and keep nothing for ourselves? Keymis That’s Captain Raleigh’s official plan, but he has other plans. He is free now. No explorer goes on a quest without liberty of choice and multiple alternatives. It wouldn’t surprise me if he were to make a dash at Mexico. (Sudden outbreak of fire outside with cannons and gunshots.) But what is this? Sailor (comes running down the stairs in panic) Captain! An ambush from ashore! Keymis Who is firing at us from there? We are way up the Orinoco in virgin lands here no white man has set his foot!

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Sailor 2 There is a fort on the beach! We have passed it! Keymis A Spanish fort? Sailor 2 It can’t be anything else. Keymis But there was no fort here last time we passed. Sailor 2 That was twenty years ago. This is new. It controls the river, and we are trapped. What shall we do? Keymis This is exactly a situation of the kind your father wanted to avoid at any cost, young Wat Raleigh. Now the Spaniards have attacked us and caught us in an ambush. We must shoot our way out or let our ships be sunk and get killed to the last man, for Spaniards never spare an Englishman. What shall we do, young Wat Raleigh? Wat We must storm the fort. Or else we are lost. Keymis Exactly. We have no other choice. Set the ships ashore in the lee, mates, and give order of attack against the fort! They have built it in virgin land where only Englishmen have sailed before, perhaps in the intention to bar all Englishmen from the Orinoco forever. We have no choice. Get cannons and muskets ready! Wat At last a real battle! (They go ahead in full array for the battle.)

Scene 3. Sir Walter’s camp. Raleigh Of all accidents that could have happened, this is the least foreseen and the most incurable. How could everything go so wrong? My son, my best son, my most beloved son! Everything is lost! After this I can’t live any more. – Yes, what is it? Sailor The captain is here. Raleigh Show him in. Keymis (entering, broken-hearted) My captain… Raleigh How dare you show yourself to me? Keymis Sir, it is more unbearable for me to show myself to you alive than for you to have to see me. But I had no choice. I was the only one who could give you a full report. Raleigh I know everything already. You were trapped in an ambush and were forced to answer the fire. Then you had to destroy the fort in order to at all get back alive. In the fighting my son was killed. What else? Keymis Sir, the worst of it remains. Raleigh (furious) Could anything be worse? The expedition failed and my son dead! What else? Keymis In the fort we found answers to our questions. Here are letters we found with the governor. (presents letters) Raleigh (eyes them, is terrified) What is this? Keymis Authentic documents, Sir.

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Raleigh Letters from Philip of Spain to the governor with copies of letters from England… So they built the fort only to thwart our expedition? Keymis Warned by the king of England, your principal. Raleigh And not only warned. Here is exact information of our armament, our equipment and crews, our cargo and a detailed description of the plan of our expedition… Betrayed to the king of Spain in advance by the king of England and Scotland! Keymis Sir, there is only one conclusion. Raleigh Our expedition was sent to its destruction in the intention that we would all die and none return. That’s why he was so mean with the equipment! That’s why he tied himself so hard to a detailed expedition plan in advance! But he hasn’t killed me. He only succeeded in taking the life of my best son, the most innocent member of our expedition! Keymis That’s all, Sir. I ask your leave to retire. Of course I accept the full responsibility for the disaster at San Tomé and the death of your son. Raleigh The responsibility is the king’s, but we must carry it for him. This is more and more like a Greek tragedy of destiny. Keymis Sir, with your leave... Raleigh Yes, my friend, leave. (Keymis leaves.) Not only my heart, but my mind is completely broken by this royal villain’s meanness and the disasters he has caused unawares by his stupidity. I can’t think clearly any longer. But I have no choice. I must home to England and take full responsibility for the total failure of the expedition. May the king cut off my head for his guilt in this, so that I may atone for my son’s death and be sacrificed as an innocent victim to the king’s idiocy. It can’t get worse. (a shot) What was that? Sailor (entering) Sir, captain Keymis has just shot himself. Raleigh To death? Sailor He couldn’t miss. Raleigh So the victims are amassed in a multiplication constantly doubled and which as yet only has started to reap their victims, while the reaper is utterly untouched in the indifference of his stupidity. Here we see the full glory of power in a nutshell: unconscious of its responsibility it is abused by the incompetent to a cruelty which he could never dream of. Thus is the crowned dog innocent of the bolting massacres of his power machinery among innocent victims, since he has no idea of what it is all about, since all he can do himself is to continue defending his position by in vain pitiable fury just go on barking.

Act V scene 1. James The most unheard of reports have reached us from Spanish Guyana. Despite our express command to leave every Spaniard in South America in peace, Raleigh has still without cause attacked San Tomé in Venezuela, barbarically burnt

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down the whole community and massacred all its people. Spain can only view this as the grossest possible war atrocity and even without a preceding declaration of war! All England is lying publicly scandalized at the feet of Spain. We must placate Spain. Buckingham Your majesty, I have received verified notifications that Sir Walter Raleigh is on his way home with scattered remnants of his expedition and is prepared to answer for his actions and give a satisfactory explanation to the failure of his expedition. James So he didn’t even find Eldorado and returns empty-handed? Southampton Your majesty, would you have preferred that he accepted serving with the French? James We shall hear him indeed if he comes home! Pray leave us, gentlemen! I wish to reason with Bacon about this. (The others leave.) Could Raleigh really be so stupid as to return here after having failed so utterly with his expedition, his last chance of grace? Bacon If he returns to our grace the risk is that he has nothing to hide or be ashamed of. James Impossible! He has compromised himself to the entire world! He is no more than a brutal and disgraceful pirate! Our connections with Spain can’t afford an acquittal of Raleigh. He must atone for his crimes. Fix it, Bacon! Your career depends on it! Bacon Is that a threat, your majesty? James Dare you oppose me? You will prosecute Raleigh and have him condemned! And if you wish to keep your position you will embed his prosecution and sentence in the law, so that we this time at last will get rid of him! Bacon No one can get at Raleigh, your majesty. You saw how the trial went last time. The prosecutor Cooke made a poor case, lost his face, and the entire people took sides with Raleigh against the throne, and that was the only reason why you did not dare to execute him. James This time it must be different! He got away only because his trial was public and he could defend himself to the entire world, which he did with a most unexpected and unwelcome vigour and bravura. Now it’s different. No open trial for Raleigh this time. Bacon But, Sire, such a trial against the most honoured of Elizabethans could hardly be conducted behind closed doors. It would only compromise the trial. Even the prosecutor Cooke advises against it. James Fix it, Francis! I charge you with the entire responsibility! Constitute a commission to investigate Raleigh’s case and have him condemned! It’s an order! Bacon Your majesty, I can’t do more than my duty. James Fulfill your cursed duty then and have the pirate prosecuted and sentenced! You have no other choice, my lord protector. (leaves) Bacon He means it. He wants to give me the highest responsibility and power in the country, so that only he remains of higher authority. His condition is the

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liquidation of Raleigh. This will bring King James no honour, but he doesn’t seem to realize that himself. Well, we shall see what we can do.

Scene 2. The Tower. Raleigh Imprisoned in my own destiny, like a mad whale swimming ashore, well aware that all he will find is death, but what is my choice? To escape to France and give validity to the rumour falsely spread that I am my own country’s traitor? No, anything but that, and rather death. No one adored my Queen like I did, no one more solidly gave her a firmer basis for a better sea empire than the Spanish and with greater enthusiasm; and this creation, a free country for the initiatives of men of action and freedom of conscience, I can’t betray and fail, even if a mean king of Scotland tries to do his best to trample it down in his own shit. But someone has come for a visit, Sir Francis Bacon, if I am not mistaken. Bacon Sir Walter, why did you return to England? Raleigh We have been through all this before, lord Bacon. I had no choice. I must stand up for my defense, since no one else would do it. Bacon But it was unwise, for you must have known the odds. With a lost fleet and failed expedition you must have known that you could expect no mercy from the king. Raleigh If it is his intention to sentence me to death by the supremacy of injustice, that’s his problem and he may take the consequences. I am only interested in preserving my honour. It must not die with me, if I am to be sacrificed in the king’s judicial murder. Bacon No one except the king wishes you dead. You can still right away and at any moment have safe conduct to Paris. Raleigh My friend, you come here as something of a tempter, like Mephistopheles to doctor Faustus with an offer that he can’t refuse, which nonetheless would only lead to the ultimate ruin. I don’t wish to be ungrateful, but I cannot defend my own and England’s honour anywhere but in England. If my king condemns me for my captainship I would rather sink with my ship than abandon it for another. Bacon You have no chance if the king insists on a private trial. Raleigh That would be on the king’s responsibility. Bacon Not even I could save you if you persist in refusing to save yourself out of the country. Raleigh Bacon, you are honest enough not to give me a promise that you anyway never would be able to keep. You have learned. When you gave me the fleet and safe conduct to Guyana you promised me that the death sentence fifteen years ago no longer was valid and that I could return safely to England no matter if the enterprise succeeded or not. When I come home I am brought back to my prison with the message that my old death sentence on parole now is reinforced.

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Bacon The express condition for the journey was that the Spanish colonies would not be disturbed. Raleigh Spain attacked us. We were not forbidden to defend ourselves. Bacon But Spain claims the opposite and has produced evidence that we were the attackers. Raleigh I had given captain Keymis express orders not to awake any sleeping Spaniard. He was forced to counter attack when Spain on British territory attacked him from behind. Bacon That story does not satisfy the king. There are no witnesses. Raleigh No, because captain Keymis shot himself, who was the only one who knew the truth. Bacon Which makes him the more suspect. Raleigh Sir Francis, my son died in the fight. No one wanted that, not even king James. Bacon Don’t be too sure. Perhaps the king wanted some revenge for the loss of his own best son. Raleigh Sir Francis, what insinuation is that? Bacon Just a loose thread without an end which we can never find, for no one can do anything about the king’s supremacy, not even justice or the law. You have no chance, Sir Walter, if you remain. That was actually the only thing I wanted to tell you. Raleigh I thank you for your warning but regret that you have engaged yourself in the corrupt regime of our king. Bacon As long as it is possible I shall keep some back door open to you. Marlowe could be saved. Also you can be saved. Raleigh Not without the sacrifice of my honor. I would rather preserve my honour. Even if I would survive, this life in this new world without honour would not suit me. I would rather die honourably with the old one. Bacon Be it as you wish. Raleigh No, the king’s wish, which you blindly obey and follow like this whole blinded corrupted nation. Only he can save his and England’s honour by not sacrificing me for their sins. Bacon Have you never realized that your pride and unbearable haughtiness is impossible in this world? Raleigh Sir Francis, in a world where honesty is impossible I don’t want to live. Bacon I have done all I could, and I will continue doing so in spite of the king’s and your own unreasonably obstinate will. Raleigh Do so, until you fall with your king and his house. Farewell. Bacon Farewell. (leaves) He is lost, blinded by his power binding him in bondage to a hopeless king’s narrow-mindedness and stupidity. I can’t do anything to save them. My death may be that of a hero and martyr, but their fates will end in the bleak terror of pathetic cowardice with no human dignity left. – Who is there?

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Derby A nightly visitor. Raleigh Bacon just left. You missed him with a minute. Derby That was intended. Raleigh William Stanley, you puzzle me. Derby That’s also intended. Raleigh Don’t say that you are also here to tell me that I must escape to the continent. Derby You must escape to the continent. Raleigh That’s all we wanted. Have then all my old friends turned against me? Doesn’t anyone grant me the preservation of my honour? Derby Walter, listen. We are getting more and more scarce. Soon the Elizabethans will be extinct. I don’t want to be left the last man standing. Raleigh I am afraid you have no choice. You are the toughest and most cautious of us all. You always kept backstage and refused to enter the stage. Bacon is also left. Derby Bacon is entirely at the king’s mercy. He has sold his soul to politics and doesn’t realize that the king, as soon as he doesn’t need his bacon any more, will exile him to the eternal limbo of disgrace. Raleigh Poor Bacon, the cleverest and most powerful but also the weakest of us all. But also Marlowe is left. Derby Marlowe has retired and turned to religious broodings. He will never surface again. Raleigh But he lives. Derby Only as a ghost. He leads an underground existence one storey further down than the Catholics. Raleigh Isn’t there anyone left then to carry the wonderful cause and glory of the Elizabethans into the future? Derby You are the last rock, Walter. A ship is ready to take you to France. No one wants you beheaded except the king. Raleigh Bacon said the same thing. Will, I don’t care what happens to me. Save me if you want. This world is of no matter to me. After my son’s death I have become like a dead fish myself just floating mainstream with the others. I am old now. If it pleases the king’s vanity to execute an old symbol, I can’t grudge him that pleasure. If you want to save an old broken man with only death for his future, I have no strength to stop you. But I don’t want to part from life or from England without a prayer, that only you could convey to our pride, our poet. Derby Let’s hear it. Raleigh He must give us justice, because only he can do it. Derby It looks bleak, for the future just keeps on darkening. Many clouds must be dispersed before the truth will be able to prevail. But I will convey your message, your last wish, your testament, if you wish. And he will do us all justice, even if it will take four hundred years. Raleigh Better late than never. Derby Exactly my own view.

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Raleigh Leave now, Will. Our time is out. Let’s hibernate and meet again on the other side of winter. Derby Farewell, Sir Walter Raleigh. You can trust my discretion. When winter comes, and it will come soon, all our secrets will be buried with us, but when spring comes, no one will be able to suppress their marvellous discovery. Not even if we remain buried alive for four hundred years, the secret will have lost nothing of its inner life, which only belongs to eternity. Part of that is also Oxford’s powerful pioneering as a theatre personality, Essex’ Hyperion saga, your indomitable spite against the miserable world order, Thomas Kyd’s martyrdom with the strange tale of the arrangement of Marlowe’s faked murder as a result, the sound of Shakespeare’s name as a symbol of eternity for the free word of the theatre, my brother Ferdinando’s contributions and perhaps even my own cautious maintenance of the steadfast continuity of the theatre. We all live in our silent truth, Sir Walter, forever. Raleigh That’s my only wish. Against that fulfillment even life itself becomes immaterial, at least for my part. Derby Live, Sir Walter, as long as possible, for that is our highest responsibility towards life. We receive it to maintain it, and it is our duty to handle it well. Raleigh Tell that to the king. Derby Alas, he is a greenhorn who doesn’t understand anything. We old souls can never expect to be comprehended by careless youth with no other sense of the power of life than that it can be wasted. Raleigh Perhaps someone will realize that some day. Derby Perhaps in four hundred years. Farewell. Raleigh Farewell, Sir William Stanley. (Derby leaves.)

Scene 3. James Let’s hear the conclusions of the committee. Bacon The investigation of the committee has led to the following results. Since the pronounced death sentence against Sir Walter Raleigh for high treason never has been recalled or executed it is still juridically valid. Sir Walter Raleigh cannot be prosecuted for anything else as long as this earlier sentence holds legal force. Subsequently the issue of the failed expedition and the attack against the Spaniards in San Tomé as a crime of insubordination has no bearing since the old sentence for high treason has a priority. James Stop babbling in your beard about dusty paragraphs of law and speak out clearly what you mean practically. Does this mean that we at last could execute the incorrigible pirate and hopeless rebel without obstacles? Bacon Yes, your majesty, according to the law. James So be it. Thanks , Sir Francis Bacon, for delivering the traitor’s head on a silver plate.

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Bacon With the reserved warning, your majesty, that you will have the opinion of the entire people against you if you carry out the sentence, since Sir Walter Raleigh is a man of the people. James The more important to have him liquidated. A man of the people is always dangerous to the established order, since no one knows what the people might be up to, and since a man of the people tends to lead the people to their own perdition. So we pronounce the death sentence. May nothing postpone its execution. (Bacon and the other members of the committee bow in silence and walk out.) One scoundrel less. Then there is only Bacon left. How shall we get rid of him? Southampton Your majesty, it’s among the chancellor’s privileges to accept gifts from grateful clients. This could easily be translated into bribery. James Is it that simple? Southampton It couldn’t be simpler, your majesty. James We’ll wait some years to establish the prosecution against him, so that his fall and disgrace will become total, so that nothing could save him any more after that. Southampton He brought about the fall of his benefactor the earl of Essex and was the decisive vote in the death sentence against Sir Walter Raleigh. It’s no more than right. James His punishment will be worse than those of his previous victims, for in contrast to them he will keep his life and be forced to live with his dishonour unto his natural death. Southampton It’s not more than right. James Get away now, Wriothesley. I have to confer with my friend Sir Lewis here. (Southampton bows and leaves.) So you know that there are plans for Raleigh’s escape to France? Sir Lewis Everything is clear. He only needs to give his consent, and everyone will stand up for him. James I want you to do something for me, my friend. You have the occasion to make your life’s fortune. Lewis Your majesty, it is well known and approved, that anyone will be bribed to anything, as long as the bribe is big enough. James Bang on, my friend. I ask you to be Raleigh and his friends helpful in his escape. Not until he has agreed to be taken to his ship we will strike and have him nailed not only for a definite high treason but also his friends. Lewis My price is high. James My friend, no price is high enough to have Raleigh sentenced and executed and dishonoured as well. Caught red-handed on a disgraceful flight from the country, he must lose all the respect he has left. Then even his reputation would no longer be any threat to me. Lewis Your majesty, I am at your service but must ask for a warrant. James You’ll have all the warrant in the world if we just get Raleigh with his hands in the pasty pot. Lewis You are not alone in having envied him all your life, your majesty. (bows and leaves)

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James He is my last terror. If he dies with his head carried high as a martyr for the lost cause of the Elizabethans I am lost. But if I get him at an attempt to leave the country, no one can any longer doubt his treacherous double play. Raleigh, it’s you or me, and I have no choice, and nothing must survive you, not even your honour.

Scene 4. Agent You are free, Sir Walter, but you must hurry. Raleigh I strongly doubt your word, my friend. Agent How is that? Raleigh My freedom is no longer mine to choose. I am just a fallen withered autumn leaf, ruthlessly tossed about by the winds of destiny, which only longs for a moment’s peace to lie down and die. You say that you give me my freedom to live, you give me this ship for an escape in exile for the rest of my life in France, the safe resort for every British subject that is cast out in the dark by his cruel mother England’s bitter hardness, violated beyond recognition by her stupid autocrats confused beyond reason by their power complex. William, I am afraid that I must decline this time. I want to die free and not as a sad pathetic prisoner in exile. Allow my king to have his high pleasure of chopping my head off. The self-destructive pleasure of his vanity will be something for me to laugh at, and this my homerically supreme laughter of scorn will follow him unto his death. May that fool have my head on his plate. My blood will then never be washed out of his regime. (enter suddenly guards) guard Sir Walter Raleigh? Raleigh Yes? Guard You are under arrest. Raleigh (hardly surprised) You don’t say? Guard For an attempt to escape from your legal sentence and punishment. Raleigh My king’s stupidity excels itself. What is his latest prank? Am I to be decapitated immediately and have a nameless grave in Deptford? Guard Don’t protest, Sir. Your conspiracy is betrayed, your friends have deceived you, and the one who offered you this opportunity was only after the king’s money. He has had his wages for having betrayed you. Raleigh I see. The usual procedure, the normal routine of power operation, where everyone bribes and betrays one another, and thus they all end up as prisoners of power and corrupt traitors. My friend, it will give me pleasure to get off the miserable merry-go-round. Guard Don’t thank me but the king. Raleigh Yes, we are all deeply indebted to the king’s justice. (exit with the guards)

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Scene 5. A library in Oxford. Burton My son, what more can I do for you? My library is at your service with all its treasures, since you more than anyone have showed the proper piety to its contents. All that is mine is yours. What more do you desire? Marlowe I am writing a book. Burton And you need my help? Marlowe I need your help to have it published. I would thank you by having it published in your name. Burton That is, I assume, your great work about the anatomy of melancholy? Marlowe My last and definite work. Burton And there is no way for you to publish it in your own name? Marlowe All too early I had to face the hard experience that I could only work as a writer under the names of others. I started working with Thomas Kyd, but he failed me and betrayed me to the inquisition. Then I had to disappear altogether, and to protect my fellow friends of free thinking I had to renounce my name for good to sustain the myth that I was dead. For many years my works could safely be presented without difficulty in the name of William Shakespeare, an honest theatre businessman from Stratford, who made good business by the arrangement. After his retirement I continued with John Webster, but with him and Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher I have bid the theatre adieu. In my old age I have returned to my childhood interest in religion. I was given my education with the intention to make of me a theologist, but instead I turned a rebel and started my career as Martin Marprelate. Burton Yes, you were the leading rebel, the most challenging of them all. The puritans made loud cheer of triumph and negative joy when the news came from Deptford that you had been killed, but few were those who believed in it. You were wiser than to start a tavern brawl. Marlowe The official truth was the only important one, so that I could go on working in peace without trouble with the authorities. But much has happened since then. My first patron Sir Walter Raleigh was executed by the king in a judicial murder after he had kept Sir Walter in prison for thirteen years. Now Sir Walter’s memory has become the war banner of the puritans against the royal power. Even Sir Francis Bacon has fallen, dishonoured forever, a victim to the same king but proved guilty of corruption, a worse death than actual death. Burton So you now wish to join the puritans and give them your full personal support by this remarkable religious work on the anatomy of melancholy? Marlowe Yes, but I need someone’s name. I can’t abandon my course to let Christopher Marlowe be dead for the best of all. Burton I never wrote anything sensible and have the most harmless reputation in England of a bookworm, scholar and cleric. You couldn’t have any safer name than mine. Marlowe That’s why I ask for it.

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Burton So the devil finally turned religious when he grew old. Why not. Faustus grew repentant at last. I like your idea. So you join hands with the puritans against royal power, an incurable rebel in spite of all. Your ways were always difficult, my son, but you always made them more so. Marlowe I guess it’s in my nature. As long as it carries me on I will not flinch at any difficulties. Burton The freedom of the word, of thought, of conscience, perhaps the puritans might lead us there, but the road there will be long and difficult. Marlowe The more important not to back down from it. Burton You have my imprimatur. Write, poet, in freedom and eternity. Marlowe I thank you. That was all I ever wished from life: to be able to work in peace, and that was the one thing life always tried to deny me. Burton Your work is the most difficult in the world since it only consists of concentration. Supreme concentration means life’s highest responsibility. Marlowe Thank you, my friend, for allowing me this responsibility with your help. Burton I regard it as an honour. All the gratitude is on my side with the pleasure of putting bees in the bonnets of scholars for centuries ahead and many generations. Marlowe That’s the sport of creating, for all lasting products of creative power means unsolvable mysteries. Burton Your hand, my friend. I am sure we shall get along. No one can work all alone, and you have once more found a right hand and right partner. (shakes Marlowe’s hand cordially) Now you can start working. (Burton leaves. Marlowe sets down to work.)

The End.

Verona, 6.11.2002, translated January 15th, 2019.

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The Dishonour Epilogue to Shakespeare

by Christian Lanciai (2014)

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Dramatis personae: Lord Francis Bacon Christopher Marlowe John Dee Mary Sidney Edward de Vere, earl of Oxford Robert Devereux, earl of Essex Henry Wriothesley, earl of Southampton Roger Manners, earl of Rutland Elizabeth Sidney William Stanley, earl of Derby Robert Cecil, Lord Burleigh Guard Sir Walter Raleigh King James I Ben Jonson Judges and lords of England The action takes place in England, 1593-1618.

The Dishonour Act I scene 1. Bacon But you must understand, my friend, that it will not do to go on like this. Marlowe What then have I made myself guilty of except honesty? Bacon You can’t be honest in politics. Then you make enemies, and that’s the last thing any honest man deserves. There is something called diplomacy which you must learn. Marlowe What is diplomacy except lies, excuses and covert cowardice? Bacon But it is necessary. You can’t just challenge the entire establishment with their moral grounds and biblical standard, as you have done, without reactions. Marlowe The more important then to stand up to what you are. Bacon No one likes being baited, and you have raised everyone’s irritation. Marlowe No, it wasn’t me. It was Baines who degraded himself to a base informer! Bacon And you did nothing to provoke him? Marlowe Very little. I never liked him, but I had to tolerate him. Then he could also have tolerated me.

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Bacon Your aggressive obstinacy has vexed him. If you hadn’t insisted on your demonstrative heresy he would not have been provoked to take measures. Marlowe Would I then hide my intentions after having presented them so openly at the theatre? Bacon The theatre is quite another thing. It can still be saved. But you can’t be saved. Marlowe What do you mean? Bacon You have demonstrated your heretical views on the Bible and depicted Jesus if not as a homosexual then at least as good an impostor as Moses. You have claimed that you have as good a right to coin money as the Queen of England. That’s something the Queen cannot accept. Marlowe If you are without money you have to do something about it. Bacon You must go underground. Let Marlowe disappear and never let him be seen again. That’s our only possibility to save him. Leave England for some time, and you could surely find yourself at home in Italy or Spain or with Henry IV until you are forgotten. But you can never return as Marlowe. Go on indeed writing your excellent plays, we can always find other names to conceal them under, but Marlowe can only survive if he is dead. We will all seal your secret with our silence. But you can never appear again except in disguise. Marlowe So you grant me full liberty to continue working as a poet in disguise. Bacon Yes, provided that you keep it. Marlowe I wouldn’t be a dramatist if I couldn’t sustain a dramatic part. Bacon Exactly. That’s what you must do. Go underground, and carry on from there the more actively but without identity in concealment. Marlowe Then at least I must be allowed to direct my exit myself, to give it credibility. Bacon The more credible, the better. Marlowe Walsingham’s friends will assist me. That will be my best intrigue. Then the puritans may go on scolding and abusing me to damnation and reveal themselves through their negative pleasure of scorn over a dramatist’s fearful demise. Bacon The last laugh is what counts. Marlowe That’s what I mean. We will fool them all, Sir Francis, and the whole world with them!

Scene 2. At home with John Dee in his study. Dee You are dead, but you live. That’s something to be grateful about. Marlowe But what kind if life is that in limbo? I am neither dead nor alive but left hanging in the air like some nonentity, but still utterly conscious and aware. Dee It’s your life’s chance. Being officially dead, no one can touch you any more. You’ll be rid of all your enemies and envious competitors at the theatre, Thomas Kyd’s pathetic whining and baseness, the puritan attacks and persecutions

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and such as Richard Baines with all the baseness in the world. You are free and have a firm ground to stand on by the English drama you already created. It’s mature, you have found and mastered its perfect form, and you are free to just go on expanding it without any restrictions. I almost envy you. I have to stay on as a celebrity as a target for the blind firing by the ignorant. Marlowe But I am all alone. It’s only special individuals like you who can be initiated in the complexity of my difficult fate. Dee But you have influential and powerful friends in Francis Bacon and Thomas Walsingham. Marlowe I don’t wish to be dependent on their grace nor expose them to unpleasantness by using their friendship. Dee So the best thing for you to do is to go away. Marlowe The farther the better, and the longer I stay away, the better. Dee And there you can in peace and quiet go on writing inspired plays. Marlowe But it is very frustrating not to be able to inform Anthony Munday, Thomas Nashe and other friends of what has happened. Dee Isn’t it enough with me, Francis Bacon and Walter Raleigh, the three leading Elizabethans? Marlowe I never want to risk Raleigh’s position by resuming our friendship. And you are old, John Dee. Dee Don’t you think I am aware of it? But it is actually an advantage. The young may slander and scorn the old for their conservative slowness and oldfashioned ideals, but that maturity beats everything else. My erudition may be mouldy, but it is superior to all the world by its detached wisdom, reducing all immature youths to dwarfs. We are more than anyone can realize by knowing more than anyone else can know. Scorn is ignorance, and to scorn wisdom and knowledge is idiocy. Let the world perish in its foolish simplicity and futile hunt for pleasures, which only is a self-destructive self-consumption for fools to perish by and disappear in, but we shall remain and prevail. The highest compliment I ever received was your own play Doctor Faustus. It will be presented and remain actual forever in showing how learning, the constant quest for knowing more, is superior and more right than God himself, who is wrong. Your Faustus is a martyr to the highest ideal, the quest and search for constantly higher forms of truth and beauty, overcoming the world order and God’s injustice by his martyrdom. Go on composing such tragedies. They will become immortal just by their heroes’ deaths in proving they were right, just as you did by staging your own death. Marlowe You are the most respected man in the kingdom. Dee And the greatest fool and clown, since I rather associate with spirits than with mundane men. Go thou and do likewise. People the theatre and your plays with ideal people, and you will find yourself overcoming and transcending the world. Marlowe Thank you, master John Dee.

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Act II scene 1. Wilton House. A dinner. Mary Sidney I bid you all welcome. We are here to carry on the play, which never must be finished. We are almost only poets here, and we have all one interest in common – the continuity of poetry, whatever happens. And we have found the right formula, which my brother left behind – total anonymity. Oxford That’s all right with me. It works. Essex As principal heir to Philip Sidney, and as having the incomparable honour of receiving his wife for my own, I feel chief responsible for the poets of the new generation, and bid welcome to my two best young friends, earl Henry Wriothesley of Southampton and Roger Manners, earl of Rutland. Southampton Rutland is much more a real poet than I, who is content enough with just going to the theatre. Mary What would the theatre be without its audience? And who is leading and tempting the audience there if not leading enthusiastic noblemen, like you both? Rutland My modesty forbids me to ever appear as a poet. Elizabeth And still you are perhaps the foremost poet of us all. Mary Let’s stick to the subject. We are a number of poets and dramatists, among which the earl of Oxford should be the leading front-rank figure, but we all have one collective name that we chose to use as our protective identity. Oxford Our man Shakespeare. Mary Yes, that’s the name of our play. Essex But can we trust him? Mary He is perfect as a neutral signature. He is a talented businessman whose only interest is to make money and will do anything to expand his private fortune, so that he will keep any deal that he is paid for. Essex And what are we paying him for? Mary To keep quiet about our use of his name as a trademark for our poetical activity. Oxford Let me remind you that we were compelled to this secrecy by the Marlowe crisis. Essex What happened to Marlowe? Mary He was too outspoken as a free-thinker. He made dangerous enemies by openly preaching atheism and denounce Moses and Jesus as deceivers. His boldness provoked a report to the Privy Council against him as an atheist, homosexual and coiner of money. Since he was employed in Walsingham’s secret intelligence directly under the Queen he had to be taken off the stage and removed. Southampton Who really arranged his faked death? Mary Don’t you know? He staged the whole performance himself, and the Queen assisted by contributing her own coroner with a documentation that can’t be called into question. Rutland So he is officially dead but can still carry on writing under our protective cover?

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Mary He has made Shakespeare famous. Essex For which Shakespeare is grateful in earning money from it. Mary We are all winners of it. Thereby my brother’s activity is carried on. He showed us the way, and we follow it by consistently observing the same anonymity. Essex May I crown our literary meeting by announcing a literary union? My beloved stepdaughter, Elizabeth Sidney, has accepted Roger here for her future husband. Mary (delighted) It is too wonderful to be true. Oxford You certainly never suffered any lack of suitors, Elizabeth. Why did you choose him? Elizabeth Because he is a poet. Essex All her other suitors were only earls. Rutland I am one of you and follow Sidney’s line and will rather remain an anonymous poet than become an earl. Mary Then I understand why you chose him, Elizabeth. Elizabeth I will never love anyone else. Oxford Do you love her, Roger? Rutland I could hardly love anyone else. It’s she or no one. Southampton You could not have made a better choice. Derby I recommend for a suitable wedding play to their festivity the comedy with which I crowned my own wedding, the enchanting fairy play ”A Midsummer Night’s Dream” about the wedding between Oberon and Titania. Oxford And a number of others. Rutland What is more becoming to a wedding than a nuptial play? Elizabeth And a Shakespeare play at that. Derby Exactly. Mary This was really a happy occasion. Essex Can we expect a continuous production of Shakespeare plays? Mary I really hope so, for as long as possible, preferably forever. Derby I think I can warrant that prospect. Marlowe is under my protection, as he earlier was under my brother’s. Mary Who was poisoned to death. We can’t afford any more losses like that, Stanley. Derby I mobilise all safety precautions to ensure diplomatic discretion. Oxford We trust you. Essex But can we trust Marlowe? Derby As long as he lives. He already died once, so he could hardly die any more. Southampton His disgrace was terrible. He could only abscond it by death. Mary And so he did with honour. Oxford He is also one of us. Rutland And retains perhaps the greatest experience of all of us. Essex From his journeys and missions abroad? Rutland Not only that, but most of all from his own death. Southampton He is the more alive for that. Derby And has become the more liberated as a poet. Nothing can stop him now.

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Essex As long as we protect him. Mary Exactly. I suggest a toast to the Shakespeare enterprise and its continued theatrical and poetical activity to never be discontinued. Oxford And to Philip Sidney’s! Southampton And to Roger’s and Elizabeth’s wedding! Rutland Cheers to us all! Mary And Shakespeare! (They all drink together to each other in a comprehensive toast.)

Scene 2. Bacon It worries me that you are so pledged to Essex. How dependent are you on him actually? Rutland We are all dependent on him. Bacon What do you mean by all? Rutland Me and Southampton and all our following. Aren’t you also? Bacon I served and helped him enthusiastically like all of us did, as did also the Queen until recently, but he has gone too far. He is turning against the crown and thinks he can bring all England with him. Rutland Is it true? Bacon It is regrettably true. She has withdrawn her graces alarmed by his actions, and I must unfortunately desert him. Rutland But he is the leading hero of England to almost the same degree as Philip Sidney! Bacon Unfortunately he has lost his way. His cause is doomed, and I might be obliged as the Queen’s prosecutor to take him to court. Rutland For what? Bacon High treason. Rutland It can’t be true! It would make everyone lose the ground under his feet! It would be a disaster to England and especially to the Queen and her entire epoch! Bacon You are like a son to me. I have done what I could to give you the best possible education, you are number one in erudition in our country, and I wish to protect you at any cost. Your only chance is to stand up as the Queen’s witness and reveal everything about Essex’ schemes. Bacon There is not much I know. Bacon But you know something. You were with him in Ireland. Rutland So was Derby and Southampton and many others. Bacon And you are all at risk if you continue to support him. Rutland But you can’t betray a friend! Bacon But if he has betrayed the nation and the Queen?

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Rutland We will never get through this scatheless without scars leaving us branded and crippled for life. Bacon Not if you detach yourself from him. Rutland Yes, by the dishonour of having to desert a friend. Bacon I am sorry. I have warned you. Do what you can to save yourself. (leaves) Rutland It’s unthinkable! The Queen’s absolute favourite! I can’t believe it! Could he really have lost his judgement? And heir to Philip Sidney and my beloved’s mother! That would be the absolute disaster! (is in complete despair)

Act III Scene 1. Westminster, the House of Lords. Bacon My honoured friend and lord Devereux, earl of Essex, you stand trial for high treason before nine judges and 25 noblemen of the highest rank. How do you answer the charge? Essex That you, lord Bacon, whom I have helped more than anyone else and who owes me all your success in your career, would stand as my prosecutor is more than I have deserved. Bacon That is no answer to the charge. How do you answer the accusation? Essex I never wanted any harm to come to the Queen. I only wanted to relieve her of her worst counsellors. Bacon And who were her worst counsellors? All her ministers or just someone or a few? Essex They know themselves who they are. Bacon So you will not mention any names? Essex No. Bacon The fact remains that her counsellors are her government, and since your aim was to relieve her of some or someone of her counsellors you rebelled against her government. Is that conclusion of your argument correct? Essex I assume full responsibility for my actions. Bacon Which consisted of arming 300 men to follow you to a meeting with the government. This could only be apprehended as a use of force against the government. Essex I wanted to guard and protect myself by support. Bacon What did you expect, when you so massively mobilised yourself for a meeting with the Queen? Did you intend to take hostage of her and the council? Essex I have been under arrest at home all since my return from Ireland after having been relieved of my command. Bacon You intruded on the Queen’s private chambers with muddy boots while she was still dressing for the morning. Was that a proper and practical way to regain her confidence after your defeat in Ireland with your consecutive degradation? Essex That’s why I had reason to expect the worst.

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Bacon Did you wish to take revenge for her having bereaved you of your wine import monopoly? Essex Certainly not, although the loss of that income ruined me. Bacon We fully understand that you did not wish to harm the Queen but have no understanding for your conspiracy against the government. May I ask my lord Henry Wriothesley, earl of Southampton, to take the witness stand. (He appears and takes the stand.) Southampton I have nothing to regret. I have served the earl of Essex all the way as my benefactor and best friend. Bacon Were you aware of his rebellious plans? Southampton Not until they went too far. Bacon Still you did not desert him even then. Southampton No. I never desert a friend. Bacon I was also his friend but refused to follow him when his plans turned against the government. Southampton I never had any interest in politics. Bacon No, you never had. Still you were not wise enough to refrain from following your friend down into a political abyss. May I ask the earl of Rutland to take the witness stand. (Rutland takes the stand.) You were also with the earl of Essex until the end. Rutland I did not know about his plans. Bacon Not even when he implemented them? Rutland I thought only the best of him. Bacon He was your idol, wasn’t he, like he was the idol of all England? Rutland Yes. Bacon So you were as uncritical and unaware as Southampton? Rutland Yes. Bacon You joined Essex’ Irish campaign against the Queen’s will. Rutland No, she allowed me to follow him but then recalled me. Bacon Did you obey her command? Rutland Yes, after the earl’s great victory at Cahin Fortress. Bacon His only victory. How was it with Southampton? Did he spite the Queen’s order and follow Essex? Rutland Essex made him commander of the cavalry, which angered the Queen, who cancelled the promotion. Bacon Still Southampton remained in the service of Essex? Rutland Yes. Bacon Was his loyalty absolute until the end? Rutland I can’t deny it. Southampton Only he who betrays a friend is a traitor! Rutland I haven’t betrayed you, Henry. Southampton No, only all the others did. Bacon (to the judges) Do we need to hear any more, my lords?

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One judge (rising) The treason by the earl of Essex against the state and government is unquestionable, since he doesn’t even deny it himself. The earls of Southampton and Rutland admit to their share in his rebellion. All three must therefore be sentenced to death by the sword together with five of his other closest men. Robert Cecil There have been some petitions though, with appeals for Southampton and Rutland, which have been granted by the Queen, since their youth and political unawareness speak for their innocence. Their death sentences have been commuted to life sentences. Southampton They could just as well have cut our heads off. We are lost anyway. Rutland No nobleman can survive his own dishonour. Bacon The sessions are concluded. Bring out the prisoners. Essex No one worshipped the Queen more than I! Bacon Why then did you rebel against her and call her an old hag? Essex Did she hear it? Bacon That’s what condemned you, Robert, in her eyes. Essex Alas, her favouring me became my destruction! Bacon No, Robert, you let yourself be blinded and seduced by the power her favours gave you and turned presumptuous, so that not even she finally could control you, and you yourself least of all. (The prisoners are taken out. Rutland is devastated.) Bacon (to a guard) Keep an eye on Rutland, so that he doesn’t do anything foolish. Guard He is only twenty-four. Bacon Exactly. We will surely get him out, and Southampton as well.

Scene 2. Belvoir Elizabeth Take it easy, Roger. You are at home now. Rutland How could I ever take it easy any more? I am a broken man, and have lost my best friend. Southampton is still behind bars. Elizabeth He will probably get out as well. Rutland And we are ruined. My penalty is to pay thirty thousand pounds to the state. Elizabeth Bacon has put in a good word for you to the new king. He will surely realize that you will never be able to pay. Rutland It doesn’t matter. I was never interested in money. It’s the same to me if we are ruined or not. Everything is insignificant to the fact that we are broken, not only me and Southampton but all the best of the nobility, all who believed in Essex and were enthusiastic about him, all who shared the enthusiasm for our age and our realm. Elizabeth There are reasons for that now when England and Scotland are united. Rutland We are still lost. We have lost our ideals. What does it help that the king now shows us grace, when instead he has imprisoned Sir Walter Raleigh?

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Elizabeth What has he done? Rutland Nothing. He was Queen Elizabeth’s greatest, most enduring and last favourite. He was probably too powerful, too proud and dashing and too Elizabethan to appeal to the taste of Robert Cecil and the new king. Elizabeth There is always someone getting into trouble. Rutland But why always the best? And why always so undeservedly? Christopher Marlowe was our first and greatest dramatist, and he was forced to drop off because of his outspokenness, which was not politically correct. Thomas Kyd was tortured to silence so that he lost his guts and died. The earl of Essex was too flamboyant and adored to be permitted to live. And now Raleigh. Elizabeth We still have our love to live for. Rutland Absolutely, but, my love, I can give you no children. I am impotent. I am too weak and suffer from bad health, especially after my turn in the Tower, the dishonour of which I will never get over, I can’t love you enough, and I will probably die prematurely, for I have given up already. Elizabeth My love will sustain you. Think of all our friends, your theatre, your colleagues in the fine arts and everything we have to live for. Rutland Yes, we are too well off and too fortunate. I was born in a greenhouse, which must fashion me into a fragile plant. And then I had you on top of it, the noblest flower of the country, daughter of our national saint and with the world’s most formidable aunt. Elizabeth You must not let her down. She is looking forward to your next play. Rutland From now on I can only write tragedies, crushing tragedies overwhelming with despair. Elizabeth They are outstanding as well. The point is that poetry does not die and that the show goes on at the theatre goes on. Rutland I will live for it as long as I live. Elizabeth And I will live only for you. Rutland I don’t deserve it. Elizabeth Yes, for you are a poet. Rutland And incorrigible as such. Elizabeth For that we are only grateful. The whole world is your stage. Rutland It became so since I travelled so desperately. I got to know the world too early and too well for my own good, which was my curse, branding me with the stain of too much knowledge about it. Elizabeth Don’t regret that our marriage never can be consummated. We have what’s better. Rutland What are you thinking of? Art? Elizabeth Poetry. Truth. Beauty. All what matters in life. Rutland Your love will add a few more years to my life. Or else I would have died in the Tower. Elizabeth You will never die. Rutland Neither will you in that case.

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Elizabeth We’ll see who dies first. If it’s you I will follow at once. Rutland Don’t do that. You must live. You must not waste yourself on me. Elizabeth I already did. Rutland You don’t know what you are doing. Elizabeth Yes, I know exactly what I am doing. Rutland Alas, we are too sensitive for this world. It must stifle us by its frustrating insufficiency and bothersome presence as just an intrusive annoying burden in our lives. Elizabeth Sooner or later we’ll be rid of it. Rutland The sooner, the better. Elizabeth You still have much to write. Rutland Yes, more vanity for the actors to make nothing of. Elizabeth Your art is more than just theatre. Rutland For Marlowe the theatre became more than the world, and therefore he had to leave it. Elizabeth He lives in you. Rutland It’s he who is living, not I, who am just the shadow of a fool. Elizabeth But you write beautiful poetry. Rutland I am sorry. I can’t help it. Elizabeth That’s the way you are. Just carry on and live forever. Rutland No thank you. Elizabeth We’ll see. Rutland Thank you for existing. Or else I would never survive. Elizabeth Neither would I without you. Rutland Come, my love. I can always give you one more kiss. Elizabeth I always dreamt of dying in a kiss. Rutland That would be something for the stage. Elizabeth You always get new ideas. Rutland No, I am only making use of old ones of others. Elizabeth But your versions always surpass the originals. Rutland That’s not intended. Elizabeth But that’s the result. Rutland Come, my love. Let me give you a kiss for eternal life instead of death. Elizabeth In that case I beg to indemnify you in the same way. (They recline together in a kiss.)

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Act IV scene 1. The Tower. Raleigh Very nice of you to come and visit me, old boy. Is there any reason? Bacon I have greetings to you from Oxford. He is dying. Raleigh Yes, he was good at drinking. Has he done anything else the last ten years? Bacon Not much. Raleigh I thought so. We were not always the best of friends, but if we didn’t heartily hate each other, we could actually heartily love each other. Bacon Yes, that was in the good old days, when the Queen made rivals of us all. Raleigh And she least of all could accept that anyone worshipped anyone else. All of us who dared to marry committed deadly sins in her eyes and had our careers bluntly put an end to. Is there anyone left now, if Oxford is finished? Bacon Only the two of us. Raleigh No one else? No regrowth? Bacon Not under the present king. He is protective but not inspiring. He only likes Shakespeare and the darkest tragedies. Raleigh So at least that activity is carried on. How about Southampton and Rutland? Bacon Both were dishonoured for life by the Essex debacle. Both married and fell out of grace with the Queen. You know. They had life sentences but were pardoned by king James and had their exorbitant penalties remitted. It could happen to you as well. Raleigh I don’t think so. The king hates me. Bacon Why? Raleigh Because there is no reason. I must have said something sometime, like when the Queen learned that Essex had called her an old hag. I am better than he, and he just can’t forgive me for it. He will never give up seeking my destruction until I am dead. Bacon I am trying to make him interested in sending you on another Eldorado expedition. Then he would both be rid of you, and you would be free. You could stay in America then, if you wanted. Raleigh He would only send me away if he could be certain that I would never come back. On the other hand, there is a future in America. Here it ended with Essex, when the Queen died and we became one with Scotland. The Stuarts will only cause problems with bad ends, like they always did in Scotland. Bacon James V managed all right. Raleigh The exception confirming the rule. Bacon Have patience, my friend. I will never give up before the last Elizabethan is free at large again. Raleigh He could not breathe in the climate of the Stuarts. That freedom will be his death. But on the other hand, it is better to be free and dead than buried alive. Bacon You were prosecuted without binding evidence and interned here without legal grounds.

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Raleigh The king is too powerful when he ignores the law and takes it for granted that he can do whatever he wants. If he didn’t, I would tolerate him. Bacon If you didn’t have that objection against him, he would tolerate you. Raleigh Locked positions, in other words. Bacon No deadlock is hopeless. Locked positions exist to be unlocked. Raleigh And you grow constantly more powerful. How can you bear it? Bacon I regard power as a means for constructiveness. Raleigh Sooner or later you will become corrupt, like everyone in any position of power, and then you are done for. Bacon We’ll see when that day comes. Until then, it’s just to carry on. Raleigh Good luck. Thanks for the visit. Bacon Till we meet again. Raleigh By the way, how is it with my devil’s disciple Marlowe? Bacon He has given up. He has accepted his non-existence in a world of shadows where his only breathing-space is to stick to the anonymous tradition from Philip Sidney and continue producing plays under a false name. Raleigh Shakespeare? Bacon The name they all use. Raleigh Only you stick to your own name. Bacon I am no poet. Raleigh All our misfortunes started with Marlowe. If he had been allowed to carry on, we could all have kept on our heads tall on our shoulders. Bacon He was too out-spoken. He challenged all society. Raleigh And by right. It could only improve with criticism and only deteriorate without. Bacon It’s still not wise to challenge it when you know it could reactively harm yourself. Raleigh He was not afraid of taking initiatives by risking his life. That’s the mark of us Elizabethans. Bacon If you lose everything in the bargain, your wings will then be clipped, and you have lost the power of initiative. Raleigh It’s still more important to be right and do right than to win. Bacon I hope I will never be obliged to prosecute you, like I had to prosecute Essex. Raleigh Essex was rash and had no realistic judgement. You had no choice. I don’t think you need to fear me. My wings are already clipped. Bacon For the moment. They could grow again. All you need is freedom. Raleigh Thanks, old boy. You are my only hope. Bacon And of the nation. Without me, it would be lost to corruption, arbitrary recklessness and injustice. Raleigh I hope you will make it. Bacon We shall see. (leaves)

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Scene 2. Westminster. James You must accept the case, Lord Protector. Bacon You must understand my reluctance. James You have no choice. If you don’t accept it, I must regard you as partial to the defendant. Bacon Consider then that he is an old man who was unlucky by a disaster that was not his fault in which he lost his son. James The man is an affront to my whole government. He had his chance and failed. He could even have stayed over there and found himself a new home in his own colony of Virginia, and yet he was foolish enough to return home. Bacon Wasn’t that if anything loyalty to the crown? James Rather the contrary. He violated my orders and knew that he could only expect a trial if he returned. Bacon There are many question marks about his expedition. James The man went against me and was a traitor from the start. All that was missing was the final evidence. That’s why he was put in prison for the time being. The choice is yours, Sir Francis. Either you prosecute him for me and may keep your position as second only to me in power, or you will be sorted out of the government. Bacon You actually coerce me. James Yes. We must get rid of him once and for all. He is inconvenient. Bacon Can we afford to lose more Elizabethans? After Rutland’s death and his widow Elizabeth’s suicide to follow him, Philip Sidney’s only child, Sir Walter Raleigh is almost the only one left from the great age. James Don’t mention her suicide. That’s a state secret. It even appears that it was Sir Walter who provided the poison. No one must ever know that the daughter of Philip Sidney, our national hero, took her own life. No social scandal could be worse than if it became publicly known. – And is my age then a lesser age? Bacon You give me no choice. James No, I don’t. Bacon Is it really worth while executing such an old man? James That’s the only thing missing from his career of failures, vanity and intolerable haughtiness. Bacon He gave you America, like Elizabeth gave you England. James That was my right by birth. We would have had America anyway. Don’t defend him, Sir Francis. Accuse him. Bacon Then I must have something to accuse him of. James That’s no problem. We have been building up his case for the prosecution during all his fifteen years in the Tower.

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Act V scene 1. Wilton House. Mary Sidney Tell me all about the end of Sir Walter Raleigh. Ben Jonson He was the last Elizabethan, and the king would not give in until he at last succeeded in having him executed, for which he made such an indefatigable effort ever since he took power as if it was the main purpose of his government. Mary There were rumours about Sir Walter’s administration of poisons. Jonson False rumours all of them. He was very knowledgeable in herbal medicines, he introduced both whisky from Ireland and tobacco from America, but he never caused anyone’s death by poison. He never had any motive. Prince Henry adored him and tried to plead with his father to set him free, and when he suddenly fell ill, Sir Walter wished to assist him with his medicinal expertise, but his medicines were stopped, and it is highly probable that prince Henry died for that reason, to the inconceivably fatal loss of England. Instead there were rumours that Sir Walter had poisoned him. But Sir Walter was a man of the people, and that’s why king James always nourished a mortal almost superstitious fear of him that also spilt fuel on his hatred. Mary Why did Sir Francis Bacon accept to prosecute him? Jonson I guess he had no choice. The king coerced him by extortion. He would never have accepted it voluntarily. I assume that the king threatened him with dismissal if he would not accept the case. Sir Francis is too powerful to afford losing anything. Mary In time he will probably also be annihilated like all the others who dared to be something. I wonder how he feels now when he has seen both Essex and Raleigh beheaded as a result of his prosecutions. Do you think Sir Walter had any part in the death of my niece? Jonson She wanted it herself, and nothing could have stopped her. If Sir Walter was of any assistance, it was from mercy to make her death as painless and agreeable as possible. It’s called euthanasia. Mary It’s a well kept secret. No one knows anything about it, except the closest ones in our own circle of poets. Jonson Is it all over now with Shakespeare for good? Mary Of course. He was thanked and roundly paid for his silence after Rutland’s death and disappeared to Stratford where he died four years later in all obscurity but with his great fortune as proof that money was the only success he was interested in and lived for. It only remains for us to finish our work. We are most grateful for your help. I will make sure that The First Folio will be a permanent success both literarily and economically. Only half of the plays were published during his lifetime and that in rather poor editions. My poem to the couple will end the enterprise. Jonson Who actually wrote the plays? Was it Roger or Elizabeth or both? Was it you or Marlowe or Oxford or Derby?

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Mary It doesn’t really matter. My brother established the procedure. He published nothing himself except anonymously. Sir Walter Raleigh followed his example implicitly. The plays and poems had already been published under the name of Shakespeare, and he was paid well for it. We might as well keep the name, which anyway doesn’t mean anything, since the man was just a puppet. Jonson Even the sonnets? Mary They are too personal for their originator’s name ever to be revealed. Jonson Of course we will all consistently respect and follow your discretion. Mary Thank you, Ben Jonson. Your help is invaluable.

Virhamn 13-16.6.2014, translated February 1st 2019.

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The Lost Duchess after John Webster’s “The White Devil” by Christian Lanciai (2008, translated 2019)

Dramatis personae : Lodovico Antonelli and Gasparo, his friends Duke Bracciano de Orsini his duchess Isabella, sister of Duke Francesco de’Medici of Florence Camillo Coromboni, married to Vittoria Corombona Flaminio, her brother, Orsini’s secretary Marcello, her second brother, in the service of the Medici Zanche, her chamber maid, moor Cornelia, mother of Vittoria, Flaminio and Marcello Cardinal Monticelso, later pope, Camillo’s relative Attourneys and judges The mistress at the home of convertites A servant with Francesco de’Medici Hortensio, a soldier Duke Giovanni, Orsini’s son with Isabella Knights, guards, soldiers and attendants The action takes place in Rome and Padua in the 1580s.

Vittoria Accoromboni, a historical person famous for her beauty, was only 28 when she was murdered together with her brother in 1585. Also the dukes Bracciano de Orsini, Francesco de’Medici and his sister Isabella with the pope Paul IV and Lodovico are historically correct except in timing, as the play has united several different chains of actions into one.

The Lost Duchess Act I scene 1. Lodovico Exiled! Antonelli Take it easy, Lodovico. It’s only for your own best. Your way of life here in Rome has after all almost ruined you twice over. Lodovico I was only obsessed with love. Is that a crime? Her beauty possessed me and brought out all my worst sides only to be overthrown and cast down to hell by that rake of a duke Orsini, who no one intends to take action against, although he has more stealthy murders on his conscience than I.

Antonelli Your misfortune is not that you love the same woman but that she is already married. Lodovico With a fool of an impotent imbecile who can’t love her, a humbug, a wooden clout, a zero with a minus! Gasparo There, don’t work yourself up, Lodovico. We only wish to cure you of your illness, which is a hopelessly impossible syndrome of love. Lodovico Don’t remind me! I’ll withdraw and resign to hell! She could obtain my pardon directly with just a single little kiss on Orsini’s dirt-impregnated sticky chin of bushes, but she will stick to her chaste husband of a fool! Antonelli Yes, isn’t it terrible? Let it work out with time, Lodovico, and we will do everything to extract your pardon. Lodovico Thanks, my friends. I will have to content myself with that for the time being. Scene 2. Camillo’s palace, almost like a court. Orsini (entering and kissing Vittoria’s hand) My very best wishes to the noblest of all nobles. Vittoria And to my ducal friend my heartiest welcome greetings. I hope you shall feel at home here in Rome. Orsini How could I feel otherwise in the city you live in? Vittoria Thank you, your grace. (leaves with Camillo) Orsini Flaminio! Flaminio Yes, your grace? Orisini Completely lost in your own ponderings? Have you forgotten that you are my only hope? Have you forgotten our sacred mission, the holiest of all, that we must never give up? Flaminio Of course not, your grace. You know very well that no one can support your cause more than I do. Orsini But it is getting worse every day! I will soon not be able to bear it any longer! Flaminio Stay calm. I have arranged so that you can meet her. Orsini At last a beginning, at last an opening in the storm clouds! Is there any hope then at last? Flaminio Haven’t you noticed how she encourages you? Are not her stealthy looks all too eloquent? Don’t be fooled! A woman’s coyness is just a mask for concealing her wildly raving desires. Never trust a woman’s word, for they only hide the constantly hysterical inner reality of the most overwrought dreams and fantasies. But just because their sensitivity is so highly developed, they are too sharp for us, and they control us with a higher sense of manipulative art than any power could profess. They filter us as mosquitoes but only wish for elephants. Orsini And her jealous husband? Flaminio He is worthless. He is good for nothing, knows nothing, suspects nothing, sees nothing, wants nothing and does nothing. It was just a political marriage of convenience like all the others. They never slept with each other without something coming in between. Why do you think I would be interested in having my sister fall for someone better? Because she deserves someone better! No one can love

her more than her brother, no love can be higher than between brothers and sisters when it is sincere and pure, and anyone would have made her a better husband than the one she got. That’s how it is. That’s why I would do anything to help you on your truant way. Orsini But what if she lets me down? What if she doesn’t come to our appointed meeting? Flaminio I could persuade her to anything. Her maid is on our side. Don’t worry, your grace. Her heart is booked for yours. But mind you, here is that intolerable fool again. Camillo (enters again) Flaminio Hello there, brother! Where are you going? To your wife’s bed? Camillo Oh no, I will never reach that far, and you know it. No, I am going on some political errands to the north, so I will be away for some time. Flaminio But surely you must have slept together? You are legally married in church, you know. Camillo Yes, but to speak the truth, I don’t even remember when we last slept together. Flaminio How can you forget such a thing? Did you never take her virginity? Camillo We never got that close. There always came something between. Flaminio The ideal marriage! The wife totally chaste! And the husband completely without desire! What man could be better for a wife? Camillo Yes, we are very happy. Flaminio But are you absolutely certain of her virtue, being such a beauty as she is, being so popular in society, so that all men bring her their compliments, dare you leave her alone and go away? Camillo Alas, what shall I do! Flaminio Lock her up! Camillo Splendid. Flaminio Keep her away from all festivity and splendour. Camillo That will be easy. Flaminio Don’t even let her go to church, but keep her on a leash, so that no one else could couple her. Camillo Yes, her honour deserves it. Flaminio Not until then could you be absolutely certain of never being made a cuckold. No, I am just joking. Here is some better advice. Give her absolutely free reins and all the freedom in the world. Women are more chaste and more gloriously chaste when they are allowed at large without restrictions. But lo, she comes. (re-enter Vittoria) What possible cause for jealousy could you have with such a trustworthy wedded wife? Who could write sonnets to such eyes or compare her white smooth front with the snowclad slopes of the mountain Ida with its consummately intact beauty, or compare her hair with the bluishly black wings of the raven? Who could accept a challenge against such incomparability? Take it easy, Camillo. Everything will be arranged, and she as always will behave according to the best propriety. I will be certain to one day get both of you in bed with each other. Camillo Thanks, Flaminio.

Flaminio Sister, (the duke is waiting for you in the banqueting hall,) your husband is not quite balanced. Vittoria I haven’t done anything to displease him. Have I disappointed him? Flaminio Hasn’t he always disappointed you with his perpetual unfaithfulness? What do you think he is up to during his constant excursions? Visiting monasteries? Vittoria He has his political assignments which he always gives precedence to me. Flaminio Orsini is always willing to give you precedence to his political assignments. Vittoria Doesn’t my husband suspect anything? Flaminio He has gone away. I have convinced him of your perfect manners, and he thinks as highly of you as I. He trusts you as much as me. Vittoria Let’s see what this dashing duke Orsini is like and what he wants. Is he here? Flaminio At your service, sister. Vittoria Perhaps he could entertain me better than my husband, who just locks me up, forbids me to go to parties and even from going to church. He would prefer keeping me on a leash. Orsini Orsini is not so dull. Vittoria I can believe it. No one could be duller. (Flaminio opens a secret door, and Zanche enters with Orsini.) Flaminio Bravo, Zanche! You know what to do! (Zanche spreads out pretty carpets which she adorns with two cushions.) Orsini Now I wish time could halt forever, to give us all the opportunity we need to fill this interview, but alas, unfortunately and more often than not enjoyment and pleasure usually consume their own lifetime. (Cornelia watches them secretly without being seen). Let your heart be as open as my own, and I promise you that we shall get along fine and not find anything to regret. Vittoria Your grace, I can wish you naught else but all the best. (Orsini embraces her passionately.) Cornelia (unseen) It is as I feared. My own son encourages and stages my daughter’s adultery. This will bring about the downfall of our whole family. Vittoria Let me entertain you with a parable, or more precisely a dream, which I had the other night. Perhaps you can interpret it. – I wandered lonely around midnight in a cemetery. There I sat in sadness leaned against a tree, when your duchess and my husband entered, she with a mattock and he with a spade. Without seeing me they started quarrelling and accusing me of intending to cut down the very beautiful tree, which I was lost in dreams under, to instead plant and cultivate thorns. For that reason they had arrived to bury me there alive. My husband started instantly digging a grave, and your consort, the noble duchess, helped him with her mattock, wreaked about skulls and other parts of skeletons in a kind of fury, and he was just as furious. And I sat still, invisible and so dejected, that I couldn’t even give thought to a single prayer. Orsini That was a nightmare. Forget it at once. Vittoria But then to my surprise and salvation there was suddenly a whirlwind, which violently tore off a branch from my very tree, which fell down and killed them both, so that they disappeared in the very grave they had been digging.

Flaminio Thus my sister dreams and unconsciously plants in her lover a plan to kill both her husband and his wife. Ingenious! Orsini My beloved, that dream I call an obvious revelation. Here in my heart you have the one who will always protect you against a jealous husband, against an evilly plotting duchess, against all supremacy and law and every kind of threat, for I shall raise you far above the law and carefully make sure that no one will be safe against all the evils of the world except you, insured like a bulwark by my protection, your only true friend, your lover and provider for the future as the father of your children. Cornelia (steps forth) Thus speaks a traitor against his home, family and honour, a seducer with only deceitful words of emptiness, a corrupter who only thinks of himself! Flaminio And where did you pop up from, dear mother? Zanche, leave the stage at once! (Zanche leaves.) Cornelia What are you doing here, your grace? Never before has there been poison poured into my impeccable daughter’s soul and heart by a base and insidious villain! Flaminio Mother, for your own good, get back to where you came from! Vittoria Mother, I beg you to first listen to me. Cornelia Have I then only brought up snakes by my womb to my own perdition? Your children will only reward you with worries; anguish, sorrows and problems is their only gratitude for the dolour with which their parents brought them life, which they crying painfully will do their utmost to keep alive until they wasted are sent down into their graves before their time by the self-made self-destructive disasters of their children! Orsini Who let that scarecrow in? Vittoria I beg of you, your grace… Cornelia What have you done to your duchess, your grace? Is she still alive? Perhaps she wouldn’t be, if she hadn’t in these very days arrived here in Rome. Flaminio In Rome! Vittoria The duchess! Orsini She will never then know what’s good for her. Cornelia The recklessness of princes is like the unreliable caprices of clocks, ignoring completely if everything goes wrong if only they can keep going. Flaminio Are you finished? Cornelia Alas, my poor son-in-law! Vittoria Mother, I must protest. My virtue and honour absolves me, since I have never fallen. Cornelia I am just saying, that if you ever disgrace us, yourself and your mother’s bed, then be your life as short and comfortless as the dry tears shed by great men at the obsequies of their victims! Orsini You are mad, poor hag. Cornelia Your treason against us, your grace, will but give you the shortest breath of life, envied by all and more pitied than anyone else after your consort’s death. Your kiss on my daughter is the seal on the curse of your own blood! Vittoria Woe betide me! I am lost! (hurries out) Flaminio You went too far, your grace. Shall I bring her back in?

Orsini No, this is too much. I had better go to bed. My nerves are in rebellion. Send me to doctor Giulio. Relentless woman! For no reason at all you have let in the storm in our lives! If anything evil will come of this, yours is the entire blame! (storms out) Flaminio Your nightly visit, mother, was not very convenient. You who represent honour are raising roaring dishonour from the abyss. And now the duke will have to travel home alone without an escort. My pay is small in his service, but that’s all I have, since I hardly will get any inheritance. Cornelia Is poverty then an excuse for base and insidious action and intrigue? Flaminio Our father was a man of honour who left an inheritance and a fortune intact when he passed away, but we had nothing thereof. In Padua, where I was brought up and went to the university, I had to manage chiefly by mending my professor’s socks. Shall I then all my life be directed only to your mercy and the barren honour of your non-existent tasteless mother’s milk? No, I was never ashamed of anything and never will be, inspired enough by my own life’s natural dynamics immune to all fear and all things evil by the lusty invigorating wine of life itself. Cornelia If only I never had given birth to you! Flaminio Yes, I would rather have been born by some more earthly and cheap courtesan in Rome. Nature endows courtesans with a most bizarre quality by not giving birth to many children while these children instead have the more numerous fathers: they never need to worry about their livelihood. Complain to the cardinal. He knows how to wrong his children but gives his mares good stallions. Cornelia Your shamelessness knows no bounds! (leaves) Flaminio That the duchess has arrived here is most unwelcome news. Now the hill to ascend will get higher, and our way there must wind in its serpentines with greater velocity. But whatever may come, we shall get through, and it’s just for us to go on. (exit)

Act II scene 1. Francesco de’Medici’s palace in Rome. Francesco, Cardinal Monticelso, Marcello (brother of Flaminio och Vittoria), and the duchess Isabella de Orsini. Francesco Have you not seen your husband since you came here? Isabella No, certainly not. Francesco He is then incorrigible. If I was the lord of Camillo’s house I would not hesitate to burn it down, if only to burn all the squealing tomcats rambling around there hoping for an opportunity of fornication. Marcello My lord, the duke is here. Francesco Hide, Isabella! He doesn’t deserve to see you yet. Isabella Speak kindly with him, dear brother. Don’t make things worse. I accept all the blame, and if there is any cure against the malady of his infidelity, let me be the administrator thereof in love to at last calm him down. Francesco We shall chastise him well enough. Get out, sister! (Isabella retires.) (enter Orsini with Flaminio)

(cordially) Welcome, dear brother-in-law! What can we do for you, whether in Florence or Rome? Monticelso Before you introduce whatever you have to discuss, let me piously come between to anticipate and prevent any possible outbreak of passion. Orsini Your eminence, please, we will be as quiet as in church. Monticelso My best duke and friend, I must earnestly ask you to consider. Is it worth throwing away your spire, honour and responsibility to society for a vain urge that never can be satisfied? The drunkard will sober up at times and get dry, and when your indulgences once have passed, you will find yourself in the same vacuum of only remorse and dried out consumption. Is it worth it? I ask you to consider, that when nobility indulgently commits self-willed shipwreck, their honour, titles and fame will disappear without a trace with their bogged down and forgotten names. Orsini Tell me when you are finished. Monticelso As your friend I don’t wish to flatter you but only to tell you the truth. Orsini (to Francesco) And you, my friend, will perhaps better understand the falcon’s urge for freedom and the necessity of roaming wildly and flying as hard and high as possible? And what is the falcon’s hunt if he may not freely chase his prey? Francesco There are birds of prey that should fly more for the sun but which prefer to glutton in easier preys to catch. These lazy birds are called vultures. Do you know Vittoria Corombona? Orsini I can’t deny it. Francesco She has a noble husband who lacks means and fortune, and still he has kept her impeccable. Orsini So what? My good cardinal, will you as her confessor maintain that you don’t know what’s driving her? Francesco You try to make her a slut. Orsini Your venom doesn’t affect me. If she really were my mistress, no arsenal or bomb attacks of your poison batteries would touch her anyway. Francesco Let’s not make war. You have a wife, and she is my own sister. I wish death had taken her before you took her and another! Orsini Do you wish your sister dead? Francesco Because of you and your treatment of her. I am afraid that she herself wishes for the same thing. Orsini You don’t know what you are talking about. Francesco I know it better than you. I know, that lust is double-edged, like a lovely seductive goddess of revenge, carrying her weapon behind her back, and striking when you least expect it and believe yourself most blessed and safe in the blind intoxication of your lust. Monticelso Brothers, sons, friends, now you are at it anyway and in full array for quarrel. Mind you that your abyssal fireworks don’t transcend into thunder and lightning. Orsini I am not impressed by his fizzling bangers. Francesco I have cannons. Just you wait. Orsini They will only stifle you with powder in your eyes and smoke in your nose. Francesco Just you wait until you explode, for I can aim with care.

Orsini Shoot then. Let’s make an appointment. Any time and anywhere. I will gladly also expedite your seconds. Monticelso Gentlemen, don’t be childish! Not one more word, except in milder tones! Francesco I don’t object. Orsini And do you think that you will triumph for baiting a lion? Monticelso Gentlemen! Orsini I am void, my cardinal, I can control myself. Francesco We seek the duke for conference, but he is not at home. We appear in person, but he does not receive us, for he is busy. But one day we will come to terms, I promise you that. Monticelso I ask you instead to devote yourself to vital matters. You do have interests in common also, you know. Lodovico, for example, has taken his exile for an excuse for piracy and has joined the pirates that you both are threatened by and fight. Francesco You are right. Let’s forget what we have against each other to instead concentrate on our common security. Marcello, call on Camillo. (Marcello leaves.) Orsini You are right, my friend and brother. (enter Isabella) Francesco Here is your duchess. Speak kindly with her. We will leave you two together, for you haven’t seen each other for very long. Come, gentlefolk, let’s retreat in respect of marriage. Orsini By your manoeuvres you have presented a surprising situation like by magic. (All leave except Orsini and Isabella.) Are you well, my wife? Isabella And more than well, to see yourself so well. Orsini I wondered what whirlwind gave you such haste to Rome. Isabella Affection. What else? Orsini Affection? What suddenly gave it wings for such acceleration? Isabella Maybe some feeling of guilt. Orsini Guilt? For what? Isabella You sleep better if you cleanse yourself at times by tearing yourself away and setting out to maybe unload your mind to some confessor. Orsini Can’t you do that at home? Isabella My husband, we haven’t seen each other for two months. Orsini And why then must we see each other all of a sudden? Isabella I was just interested in finding out if I still was married. Orsini You were, until you arrived. Now when you are here, I will take the occasion to separate from you. I will not sleep with you any more. Isabella Hard words! What did I do to displease you? Orsini Nothing, if it weren’t for your coming here. Isabella I was hoping to be welcomed by the man I loved, the man I always offered my lips, and the man I willingly offered my virginity. Orsini You talk too much. Obsequiousness had no effect on me. On the contrary, I find it revolting. Isabella Is all that you can give me only tears then, for all that I gave you? Orsini The tears are your own. I have nothing to do with them.

Isabella But you cause them! Orsini Shut up! Lock yourself up in your room, if you can’t offer anything better! (re-enter Francesco and Monticelso) Francesco Tears? What is this, sister? Isabella Nothing, my brother. Francesco (to Orsini) What’s wrong, my brother? She if anyone deserves a better welcome. Orsini Welcome? What welcome has she offered me? Bitterness and jealousy and tears! Francesco Collect yourself, my sister, and control yourself! You must know that men never can stand women crying to their faces, and least of all their married men. Isabella My brother, it’s over. I will not trouble him any more. I am hereby separated from him, and I shall never sleep with him any more. Francesco What reasons do you have for this? Orsini She is jealous because of Vittoria Corombona. Isabella If only I was a man, I would joyfully tear out the eyes of that witch and scorpion, cut off the lips, ears and nose of that whore and pull out every tooth from the mouth of that strumpet and keep them as memories and trophies of my revenge! Compared to my sufferings, all hell is just rose water. Francesco Now you are being foolish, my sister, and have fallen to the paranoia of your derailed imagination. You are not sane, if you thus have allowed yourself to become obsessed with such destructive thoughts. Take it easy, for God’s sake! This grossly calumniated Vittoria has never done the least harm to any human being. Why then would you harm her? Orsini She is just obsessed with her own sickly fantasies. Isabella I will leave you in peace and go from here to Padua. Perhaps I shall never see you again, not anyone of you. Orsini Let her have her way, so maybe she will calm down with time. Francesco Perhaps she will repent. Soon she will come kneeling to our cardinal again and begging him of forgiveness or her all too hastily sworn statement. Isabella Cruelty, do your best, and break my heart into so bitter pain, that it never will be able to speak again! (retires) (enter Marcello with Camillo) Francesco Splendid! Then we can at least go to war with the pirates! Did you get the commissions? Marcello Here they all are. Francesco Excellent! Let’s have a conference then. (All leave except Orsini and Flaminio.) Orsini Well, my friend, what do you suggest? Flaminio They will send him to Naples, but I can make it for him to Candia. (Enter doctor Giulio.) And here is another, who knows everything. Orsini Doctor Giulio, upon my honour! Can you do anything about our situation and help us out of our dilemma? Giulio There are no diseases that I cannot cure. Orsini That’s what I mean. If you are so sure of the cure, you must be equally sure of the opposite. I have a mission for you, an urgent and commendable errand in Padua.

Giulio I see. She is your illness, and you need to be cured. Orsini You couldn’t make a more exact diagnosis. Then we have Camillo, my dear secretary. What medicine do you have for him? Flaminio He could happen to some accident by his own doing in his careless ways. Such things happen every night in Rome, where everything is possible. Orsini So we can trust you, doctor? Giulio My cures never failed. Orsini And Flaminio, I trust your art. Perform it well, but without exaggerations, – just natural and efficient. Flaminio I would never do anything unnatural. Orsini Then it’s settled. (leaves with them both, his arms around them.)

Scene 2. Monticelso My dear nephew, here is a letter for you, anonymous, I am afraid. Camillo What does it say? Monticelso Perhaps you can guess the contents. Camillo I am used to such things. It’s like an illness, and for each new dose of medicine, the temperature will rise. Monticelso Shall I read it? Camillo Please. It can’t be worse than the previous ones. Monticelso (reads) ”Your horns are now so many, that you have none left of your own.” Camillo He suggests, that I have been deceived so much, that I have no manhood left. Monticelso You take it lightly. Camillo You get used to it. Monticelso And still you consider her honest, honourable and impeccable? Camillo More so than ever. She keeps all randy monsters at bay. She can manage. Monticelso So you are not worried about her even though you go away to war? Camillo I beg you, Cardinal, please keep her under watch, give her the protection of a guardian angel, and the mere pious consideration of her from my side and yours will keep her above all temptation. Monticelso And you have no children? Camillo Never had. Monticelso Then you are happy in spite of all. Francesco If she had children without impediment by providence, all nature, time and manhood would regret it. Monticelso Marcello is your commissioner. Turn the war to your advantage, and you will come home a hero to a wife welcoming you with pride. Camillo Yes, we’ll see about that. Now I want to do the town and get drunk. Francesco Go, Marcello, with your commissioner and keep him out of the gutter. Marcello It’s an honour for me to do battle by his side. Camillo Be especially on your guard during the nights, when the dangers are the most furtive and insidious. Monticelso We shall be well on our guard, my son.

Camillo Wouldn’t it be wise to sell everything she owned, now that I am to be a soldier, and to detach myself from her for good? Monticelso What would you then have to come back home to? Live to come home, and your high morals will bring you through all the battles. Camillo You make it sound so easy. Come, Marcello! Hold me under my arms, for now we shall get drunk! (out with Marcello) Francesco What will happen now when he is away? Will the duke Orsini now concentrate all his batteries on the conquest of the war widow? Monticelso Be certain of that. Now he has his great chance to hasten to his selfpromoted ruin. I happened to hear, by the way, that the pirate Lodovico now is in Padua. Francesco Is it true? Monticelso It certainly is. I had a letter from him and concerning him with supplications of his pressed pardon. He also appealed with your sister. Francesco We don’t need his exile. It was enough to mark and demonstrate a symbolic exile policy. It’s more important for us to see Orsini make haste to his perdition. Monticelso What does she say? Is she buying his music or making resistance? Francesco That’s the question. If he succeeds in pulling her down in his sick obsession, we can’t do more than hope that they both get stuck and rot together.

Scene 3. In prison Marcello Alas, brother, tell me you were innocent of the crime! Flaminio It was no crime, I have told you a thousand times, only an accident. Marcello But you were with him! And you made me get away before it happened! Flaminio So you have nothing to fear. They can’t touch you even for having conspired. Marcello Have you conspired? Flaminio Only for the sake of our dearest sister. As you know, I never loved anyone but her, like you perhaps also did, and therefore my highest wish has always been to protect her, primarily against her husband, who now is dead, but also against the randy herd of strange clowns and idiots who were driven mad by her beauty to insatiable wild ideas. Marcello Like your employer? Flaminio Orsini loves her but has never touched her. That has been the case with most of them. Marcello So you can swear on that you didn’t cause Camillo’s death by order of Orsini? Flaminio I did explain it to you. We were both drunk. He then insisted on playing at leapfrog to prove that he was absolutely sober although he was more drunk and full than a bursting egg. He jumped, got across but failed to land properly, broke his neck and was dead instantly. It passed in a second. I could do nothing. He was stone dead when I reached him presently. Drunkenness has that effect, that it inspires to far greater audacity of enterprise than you would ever dare to embark on in sobriety.

Marcello I just wish I could believe you. Flaminio It was an accident, and we are both unaccountable. I am afraid that we have a greater reason for concern for our sister. Marcello Why? Flaminio I have heard, that the duke suddenly lost his beloved consort, the fair duchess Isabella, who appears to have been poisoned. Marcello But she had gone to Padua! Flaminio Yes, that’s where she died. Marcello How could our sister be suspected of a crime in Padua, when she is in Rome? Flaminio She is suspected of intrigues, to like a witch have manipulated the duke to take the life of both Camillo and his duchess. Marcello But that is absurd! Flaminio Of course it is, but only we are aware of it. Heading an approaching trial for witchcraft is the cardinal himself.

Scene 4. Francesco There is no evidence. Monticelso Is that required? We have two mysterious deaths at the same time, which both could have been murder, and the duke alone had obvious motives for both, even if he is cleared with both alibi and proven innocence. But we know for sure that the duchess was poisoned. Francesco How? Monticelso In the most insidious possible way. She owned a portrait of the duke which she cherished with all the warmth she couldn’t feel for her promiscuous husband. Every evening she kissed the portrait in honest affection, like as wishing it goodnight, but the last night her lips were burning afterwards, and her last wish was that no one should touch the portrait. That’s why they believe it was poisoned. Francesco Suspicion built on belief? Monticelso I am convinced that was the case. Francesco But Camillo died by accident. There could be no question of poison there. Monticelso Was it then really an accident? Francesco He was drunk when he insisted on playing at leapfrog. Monticelso And no witnesses? Only the inscrutable Flaminio in the vicinity, Flaminio, our duke’s secretary and only implicitly trusted man? Francesco I admit it appears a bit murky, but you can’t build a trial on only circumstantial evidence. Monticelso The duke is at large. There is no one you can suspect of having rubbed in poison on the duchess picture. Also you can’t prosecute Flaminio for Camillo having had his neck broken, which was the only cause of death. But the motives are with the duke, and he had only one motive: Vittoria. Francesco Is she then to be blamed for the duke’s desire? Monticelso She is the only cause. It doesn’t have to be a murder trial. It’s enough with just a regular investigation.

Francesco Like an inquisition? Monticelso Two heinous crimes have been committed, and the cause is obvious. No one can be tried for both, but you can reach the cause. Is it then not our duty to do what we can, when there is a risk that two obvious murderers are allowed to slip away? Francesco It’s on your responsibility, cardinal. Our aim was to get at a clever duke’s depravity and weakness to bring about his fall. We have utterly failed in that. Instead the aim is directed to impeach an innocent widow. Monticelso I doubt her innocence. Only the duchess, who blamed herself, was completely innocent of her husband’s lapse. Francesco You will do as you wish. But I fear nothing good will come out of this. Monticelso The tangle can’t get any worse or more evil. All we can do is to stop it from getting worse. Francesco Can we? Monticelso It is our duty to do everything we can to try.

Act III scene 1. The trial. Enter Francesco with Monticelso and 6 judges, Vittoria, Flaminio and Marcello as the accused, an attorney, guards and the public. Orsini wants to join. Monticelso Your grace, this is no place for you. His Holiness has set up this trial only for our private investigation. Orsini I beg you, cardinal, – it will suit you perfectly. (slips some fine clothing to him) Monticelso (calling) A chair for his grace! Orsini Your kindness is too obliging – like a Dutchwoman in church I should have brought my own chair. Monticelso As you please, your grace. (keeps the present) Your excellencies, please proceed with the sessions of today. Attorney Domine judex, converte oculos in bane pestem, mulierum corruptissimum. Vittoria What does he mean? Francesco It’s a lawyer speaking against you. Vittoria Let him then speak intelligibly. Or else I will not answer. Francesco But why? You understand Latin. Vittoria I do, but the public present who came here to hear this case are at least half of them not educated in the language. Monticelso Proceed with the trial. Vittoria Begging your pardon, but I must insist that it be not obscured by an alien language of chancellery. All people here have the right to hear and understand what is going on. Francesco Your eminence, I sustain, that she is not asking too much. I beg of you to change into the common language of us all. Monticelso My God! My good Madame, it will not make your case any better but only more notorious. Attorney It’s your funeral! Vittoria I am here for your target and will let you know indeed when you strike me.

Attorney Honourable notaries, judges and your eminence, let me then direct your attention to this completely corrupted and manipulative woman, who with such black art has succeeded in carrying through such an extensive manoeuvre of blatant crimes with such cleverness, that it was all calculated to be swept under the carpet and forgotten as unintelligible mysteries in unsurpassed insidiousness. Vittoria What is this? Attourney Keep your mouth shut. Such unheard of sins methodically practised here must be exposed. Vittoria My lords, this attorney has swallowed placards of meaningless inane proclamations, which like word diarrhoeas of a politician don’t mean anything. He doesn’t know what he is talking about and has nothing substantial. If he first babbled Latin it’s now balderdash. Francesco Your honour, we who understand you applaud your rhetorical eloquence, but we all beg you to be more explicit. Monticelso Let me then be more explicit and paint your actions in black and white more clearly than the false blush on your cheeks. Vittoria You are mistaken. The blood you raise in me is as noble as your own mother’s. Monticelso I shall spare you, until our evidence makes clear the extent of your promiscuity. Let me direct your attention, gentlemen, to observe the remarkable degree of the advanced slyness of this woman. Vittoria Your eminence, it is hardly proper for you to act in public as a prosecutor. Monticelso Are you then instructing me? Vittoria What else can I do, since you need instruction? Monticelso You speak as befits your lost human nature. You behold, gentlemen, this outwardly so spotless nature, which like a forbidden fruit from Sodom and Gomorrah radiates fresh appetizingness, but which by a closer touch shall disintegrate in dust and dirt like a beautiful cover around nought but sin and shame and evil without limits. Vittoria O holy mercy! You are all too seldom seen dressed up in rich attire! Monticelso Perhaps when she all night long partied and received carriages outside in long rows of eagerly courting and voluptuous cavaliers, like a queen of her court, was still sacred as a publicly well known harlot? Vittoria What is a harlot? Monticelso Shall I explain to you what a harlot is, as if you did not know? Well, you have asked for it! Harlots are like sweets that make the teeth rot; they are like perfumes, which turn to poison in the nose; they are a seductive and stealthy alchemy, which by false illusions tempt to the wasting of lives; they are like shipwrecks but in beautiful weather. They are like the Russian winter, pure and white and sparkling but killing in horrific relentless cold, as if spring did not exist but it must remain eternally deep frozen, they are like the inexhaustible fuel consuming every soul in hell, they are the same toll of bells that first call you to your wedding and then to your funeral. The rich whores and courtesans are only maintained by blackmail and live like parasites and intestinal worms by the afflicted victim’s sickly appetite, which constantly must swallow more to satiate the growth of

the parasites. What is a harlot? She is like a well forged bill of money which only brings perdition to everyone that touches it. Vittoria You appear to have acquired a considerable insight in a practice demanding factual experience for its knowledge which I unfortunately lack. Monticelso Shameless woman, collect all poisons from every lizard, worm and toad, and they shall then all be found in your stock! A judge Can she then be condemned for her way of life? Another The cardinal is aggressively exaggerating. Monticelso You know all too well what promiscuity means. On adultery follows murder. Francesco Your poor husband has been found dead. Vittoria Oh, blessed he then, who has no more debts to regulate! Monticelso He wanted to play at leapfrog and leaped straight into death. What wonder to have made such an unfortunate fall of only two meters to break his neck! And watch this creature, who was his wife! She does not appear dressed in mourning like a widow but instead fully equipped with spite and scorn, insults, impertinence and outrageous offence! Could you liken her comportment with any sincerity of grief? Vittoria If I had known about his death I would indeed have adjusted myself and marked my sorrow more than well. Now it happens that in certain countries you dress all in white to mark your sorrow, so my dress was not entirely wrong. Monticelso You are then too clever in masking and marking. Vittoria And you, who withhold the news of his death just to the more easily be able to shock and target me in my embarrassment, to try to wound me and humiliate me the deeper for the pleasure of publicly stamping me with dishonour, do you then call my defence for my integrity and soul just indecent impertinence, facing an inhuman cardinal arrayed in purple splendour and for his impeccable cruelty dressed up in the false holiness of hypocrisy? Let me then appeal from this unchristian justice to a more human court with barbarians and savages! Monticelso Observe, gentlemen, how she deliberately scandalizes our court proceedings! Vittoria I humbly bend my neck down to the ground for you, gentlemen, as a wronged woman accused of who knows what if not only for being a woman, and have I then as a human being no right to defend myself? If you want to get at me at any price, then cut off my neck and have it done with, and we can then part as friends, for your way of dragging me to court just to undo me, I canâ€™t despise enough for its base cowardice and even less accept. Judge 2 She is brave. Monticelso Such clever cheating and forged jewels could make you doubt the true ones. Vittoria You deceive yourself, your eminence, for you are banging your heads of glass against my diamond integrity, which will undo the false stratagem of the evil and sick intentions of your masquerade. If you wish to frighten us with devils, threats and mischief, turn to children who are easier to scare out of their minds by the musty superstition of your covert cruelty! You spit against the wind with your

loose accusations of murder and promiscuity and seem not to have learned that it will all come back on yourself. Monticelso I ask you, lady Vittoria, to only answer me on one question. Who was lodged with you on the night when your husband was killed? Orsini (rising) That question demands an answer from me, for I was the one. Monticelso Your business? Orsini I was with her to comfort her and offer help, since her husband was in deep debt to you. Monticelso So he was. Orsini And it was feared that you for that very reason would take action against her. Monticelso And who made you her informant and economic authority? Orsini My charitableness, compassion and mercy, that should emanate from every generous and noble heart to orphans and widows. Monticelso And your lust? Orsini The greatest cowards among dogs bark the loudest. Do you hear me? The sword you are sharpening with the cruelty of your accomplished meanness I will myself bury deep in your bowels! You try to establish your sick fantasies as a reality and in its disclosure drag down an impeccable woman in the filthy stinking bog of your paranoia! You are all lies. That’s all you are capable of, and you try to establish your lies by the false ostentatious disguise of your mendacious position. I can’t stand the fanatically sick masquerade of this abominable inquisition! (rises to leave) A servant Your grace, your mantle. (wants to return the fine clothing) Orsini It was for the cardinal as a compensation for his giving me a place here. I don’t accept given gifts in return. If he doesn’t want to use it himself, let him give it to his mule. (leaves) Monticelso Your defendant has left. Vittoria So that the wolves better can gorge on their prey. Francesco Your eminence, there is without doubt reasons for suspicions of murder, but there is a complete absence of evidence as to who did it and why. I can’t believe that she possesses a soul so black that she alone would have planned, instigated and run the whole thing. If she has, it must with time carry bitter fruits for herself to harvest, but let then time punish her rather than that we do wrong in believing more in our prejudices, following them and judging from them with perhaps unfair exaggerations for a questionable result, which then with time might risk to fall back upon ourselves. Let’s stick to the point and only decide whether she committed adultery or not. Vittoria I see clearly enough the poison you conceal under the sugar pill cover. Monticelso Now when the duke has left us, I can safely present a few letters by the duke with shameless propositions of a common bath with a banquet following just to enhance the lust. Vittoria You may have obtained his letters expressing an unquestionable desire, but there is no answer from me. Is that my crime, that I answered his letters with coldness? Monticelso Coldness, in the middle of summer, in its hottest days?

Vittoria So your intention is to judge me and condemn me for the duke having offered me his love. It’s like judging and condemning a crystal clear beautiful river for a confused man having drowned himself in it. Monticelso He is drowned indeed, the way in which he lost his way in love. Vittoria I ask you to sum up all my palpable wrongs, and you will find, that all I made myself guilty of was a preference for good food and beautiful clothes, good company and happy festivities. You can’t incriminate me for anything else. You might as well cultivate a sport of shooting flies with pistols. Monticelso Only the devil himself could be as cunning as she is disguised in this white purity in such a masterful display of superficial deceit. Francesco Who gave you the letter? Vittoria I am not obliged to tell you. Monticelso Your duke gave you on the twelfth of August a thousand gold ducates. Vittoria That was to release your cousin from prison. They were needed for your family, and I paid. Monticelso I rather believe it was a wage for his lust. Vittoria Who believes it except you? Who claims it except you? Whatever you allege, it can’t touch me, since it has nothing to do with me. Monticelso It was my cousin Camillo’s misfortune to be married to you. We thought the best of you, since you were of a good family related with the Vitellis, but it was an expensive match. He bought you for twelve thousand ducats and had no dowry, and you proved strangely expensive for being so light of virtue. You arrived here with an established reputation as a notorious courtesan, and you have only confirmed it. Vittoria You are just repeating the same tune over and over again, the same emptiness, getting nowhere and have not produced a trace of evidence to support any of the gross and absurd far-fetched accusations with which you attempted to massacre my integrity. You have nothing to show except empty vicious exaggerations, produced only as an attempt at a base defamation of character. Monticelso Brothers of the accused, Marcello and Flaminio, we have no case against you, so you are free to go, but we must ask you to keep yourselves available for further questioning in our investigation. Francesco I always had good faith in my Marcello, and I vouch for him. Flaminio My lord the duke of Orsini vouches for me. Monticelso Concerning you yourself, Vittoria Corombona, your public behaviour in this issue must cost you all sympathy and compassion. By your promiscuity you have so corrupted your life and reputation that you could never be restored to purity except by being locked up in a convent. That will be your judgement. You will be sentenced to the prison for converts. Vittoria Prison for converts? What is that? Monticelso An asylum for penitent prostitutes. Vittoria Is that then the final solution for the consumed and unwanted wives of Roman nobles? Francesco Please have patience. Vittoria First I must have revenge. – Your own salvation is then already booked and paid and insured, since you dare to act as you do?

Monticelso I have heard enough! Remove the infamous woman! Vittoria This is worse than a ravishment. Monticelso How so? Vittoria You have raped justice herself and forced her to your pleasure. Monticelso You are mad and talk rubbish. Vittoria I deplore you, for you will fade out and stifle in the overwhelming corruption and rot of your own sins. Monticelso She is possessed. Vittoria I can’t punish you for everything, as you have punished me for nothing, but my words will grow the deeper into you to never leave you in peace. What was that place in which you sentenced me to be locked up? Monticelso An asylum for converts. Vittoria I will transform it into a more holy, virtuous and decent place than the richest and most sumptuous of papal palaces, and there I shall plant and spread peace which never more will be found in your heart. Diamonds give the greatest warmth, shine the brightest, and become hardest and most invaluable in the depths of the coldest and deepest darkness. (She is brought out by guards. The court is dismissed.) Orsini (reappearing) Now we can be friends again, Francesco. Give me your hand for our friendship in the grave, a suitable place for atonement and cure against all hatred. Francesco What on earth do you mean? Orsini I will not chase more blood from that white cheek which you just made to bleed to death. Farewell, my friend. (leaves) Francesco These words are too remarkable to bode anything good. Even less I can understand what he really means. Flaminio (aside) I understand it too well. He has received the details of the death of his duchess and will now go on from there but bides his time and hides the direction of his thoughts well. Instead of pretending any grief for the death of his duchess, I shall exaggerate and dramatize despair over my sister’s fate, and it will cancel all further questions. The tongue of treason has a bolting pace of insidiousness in me. I shall openly talk with anyone but not listen to anyone and to all appearances behave like an idiot at least politically.

Scene 2. Monticelso My friend, don’t cry yourself to death. She is dead. Francesco They are both dead. Monticelso But your wife died naturally. Your sister’s case is worse, who was murdered. Francesco It was never established how. You sent Corombona innocent to a penitentiary for a murder she never could have committed. Monticelso You know the chain of circumstantial evidence. She was the spider in the plot, led the blind Orsini to the precipice of the criminal conspiracy, who leased his killers, professional villains who by cunning never fear to get caught, like

Corombona’s brother and pimp, who self-evidently took the life of my cousin Camillo so cleverly that it neither was noticed, traced or left any witnesses, while the duke’s wife’s, your sister’s death is even more suspicious but without doubt well planned. Will you not seek revenge? Francesco Don’t wake up such demons of paranoid thoughts to a hopelessly painful life in me. The vendetta is the most vicious of circles which relentlessly and constantly will end up hitting everyone who took part in it. It kills all and for no good. I don’t want any part in the most morbid of all forms of madness. Monticelso Let it sink in. Surely you must understand that the duke alone was behind both the death of my cousin and Isabella. The problem is that no justice can reach him. All we could do was to place Corombona out of his reach. Francesco Leave me alone! I don’t want to listen to your speculations! Monticelso The pope has passed away and left a conclusive pardon of that villain and pirate Lodovico, who has a pension here in Padua from Isabella. He could be a perfect instrument for your interests. Francesco Alas, you only worsen my despair and worries! Go to your cardinals and your deceased pope! You should all now be commonly interested in intriguing and manipulating, since you all have interests in the papal stool! Monticelso I shall leave you in peace. (leaves) Francesco (alone, thoughtful, sits down to write a letter) Corombona! My Vittoria! Loved by all, attained by no one and not even your husband, who died for his faithfulness to you, who had a thousand other lovers, of which no one could even make you totter! And how could I then as a fresh widower fail to see my chance? Your beauty is your only truthful testimony; such a beauty cannot hide or harbour any guilt. (rings a bell when he has finished writing. Enter a servant.) Deliver this letter personally to the asylum of converts, more specifically to Vittoria Corombona or the mistress of that institution. Hurry! Servant Yes. (goes off) Francesco My love is now posted. Whatever it may lead to is without any significance, if only it may live. And it will give me the most perfect reason for reaching a settlement with the duke of Orsini, my rival and sister’s murderer!

Act IV scene 1. The asylum for converts. Mistress If it became known that the duke is in contact with her it would provide me with a problem. Flirts and furtive messages is not routine in this place. You see, this establishment is supposed to be descent in contrast to most other places. Flaminio Don’t worry. All that people care about today is the recently deceased pope. Nothing else is of interest to anyone, and for the rest, the lady you are guarding is forgotten by all her other wooers just because she is now more captive than captivating. (enter Francesco’s servant) Servant There is Flaminio himself in conversation with the mistress. – It is you I am looking for, mistress. I carry a letter to be delivered to Vittoria Corombona.

Mistress That shall be, my young friend. Here I am always made to run with messages, and I do it decently and efficiently. Servant With all the discretion and secrecy demanded by the cause. You shall know me, for there will be more. Thanks for your silence and understanding. (leaves) Flaminio A letter? From whom? Mistress The sender is anonymous. They always are. They only want to be read, never heard or seen. Flaminio For my sister? Mistress Yes. Most letters here are anonymous and for her. Flaminio Then I will take it to her. Mistress You are her brother and not even anonymous. Then I can trust you. (leaves) Flaminio How is this? Someone else writing letters to her than my duke? And stealthily with underground secrecy? This smells of fresh intrigue. (hesitating as to what to do with the letter) Orsini (enters) What do you have there, Flaminio? Flaminio Look for yourself! Orsini A letter! For her! And from whom? Flaminio At least not from you. Orsini I can see that, you fool! That’s why it’s interesting. Who is it from? Flaminio From anyone. How could I guess what bird is in the pie before the pie has been cut up? Orsini Then I will open it, even if it might contain her own heart. (tears it from him and opens it eagerly) Who is the signature? Florence! Who is Florence? Flaminio As I said, it could be anyone. Orsini Read it to me! You are her brother and responsible for whatever might happen to her. Flaminio With your authority and permission then, your grace, and by your express command: (reads) ”My love, let me convert your tears to triumphs, I, who obviously is the only one still standing when all your other persecutors and parasites have let you down. I shall work night and day to have your unjust, scandalous and regrettable exile and confinement changed into your freedom to accompany me to a better life in Florence, where my love’s concern shall grant every wish from your side even if they were as many as the silver hairs on my head.” (interrupts) So he is old, rather harmless and debile, probably. (continues) ”But what does age matter when love is concerned, which only can be rejuvenated by its mere existence, since it is the most divine thing of all, and gods never age, neither do princes.” He is an atheist. This will not do. There are too many of that sort. Let’s tear the letter asunder. Orsini This drives me mad. We don’t know who he is, but she is in contact with him no less than with me! This is not acceptable! What sort of a man is he? Flaminio The same sort as you: immersed and drowning in love. You are not alone about your love even in this asylum for the rehabilitation of love. Orsini I thought my tortures of love were over and that I at last here could manage her alone, and still all the randy brothel customers keep pursuing her even in here! Is she then what she is branded to be? A man consumer of unheard of

proportions? Do I then have to murder her just to have peace in my grave with her without her other wooers and pimps? Take me to her immediately, you your sister’s only pimp! Flaminio You are irate and not in a presentable condition. Calm down. Not even you may hurt her. Orsini Do you then dare to risk making my temper worse? Flaminio As my lord you were always about as gentle as Polypheme towards Ulysses, with the generous privilege that he would be the last one to be eaten alive. You would then gladly dig up my grave just to feed your parrots with its grass. That would be like music to you. Orsini Don’t be silly now. She is mine and belongs to no one else, and no one else may write letters to her. Flaminio He has already done so. Orsini She has not received it. Flaminio Will she not receive it? Orsini Not without our knowledge who the villain is. Flaminio We are all villains to her. Orsini But I am the first one! Get in!

Scene 2. Vittoria’s chamber. Orsini (enters with Flaminio, less willingly) What is this my lady? Can you read? (shows her the letter demonstratively) Vittoria Why this wrath? Here you break in by force although it’s almost like a nunnery. Orsini Have I not the right? Am I not the one who loves you? Haven’t I loved you enough and done everything for you? Who is then this extra lover? Vittoria My lord, I don’t understand… Orsini Show me the other letters! Vittoria What other letters? Orsini You must have thousands! Where is your archive? How many lovers are you communicating with in secret besides me? Can then not even a convert menagerie for old hags and burnt out whores keep out your wooers and pimps and all your debauchery? Vittoria My lord, you go way over the top in the fury of the hasty conclusions of your prejudice. As the signature of a kind letter wishing me well stands a simple ’Florence’. It could only be the duke of Florence himself, Francesco Medici. He has never written to me before, spoken any word of kindness to me and never made advances. He only surprises me. Orsini A new intrigue! And behind my back! So even he has fallen to your beauty, this beauty that has seduced all Rome by its attraction and placed you in the middle stage of the theatre of scandals! I can’t bear it! How many wooers and lovers and victims will you have? Flaminio Take it easy, your grace.

Orsini Alas, for my duchess, whom I sacrificed for you! How I miss her now! She at least was faithful to me! But your beauty led me astray, I was captured by your spell and allowed myself to be bewitched by the charm of your magic to enter the ruthlessness and senselessness of a criminal course only to finally have it proved, that the very beauty, that you fall for and love beyond reason, is the last thing you can trust! Vittoria And who are you to put the blame of the death of your duchess on me, because you evidently took your wife’s life out of mad desire of another’s wife? Am I responsible for that? The death of your duchess is only on the account of your conscience. I didn’t know about it, and if I even had had the slightest inkling about that you planned such a cruelty, I would from the start have excluded you from my acquaintance. You can’t blame me for the twisted exaggerations of your life driving you into a monster. The seed was in you, so you were a monster even before. I have no part in that. Get out of my life! I bitterly regret that I ever even got into contact with you! Flaminio He only meant well but only did wrong. Vittoria How can you accuse me for your sins and your misfortune? What have you caused more than my dishonour and tragedy? You have defiled my house and scared all my friends away from there, and what place did you give me instead? Do you call this asylum a decent palace for me to receive you in? Are you satisfied with having me contained here? For no one else brought me here but your infamous intrigues. Maybe I was not the first one. Boast then about how many victims you consumed by transforming them to locked up so called penitent and repentant whores, lost, rejected, consumed, exiled and scrapped to this abyssal bottom of society! I have been crying all nights and days here, but I will never more shed any tear for you. I would rather break entirely and immediately find my last desperate refuge in my grave! (throws herself on her bed) Orsini (touched) My love! Don’t cry any more! Why are you crying? How can I assist you and help you? Vittoria I am only crying daggers into my heart. I have torn you out. Go! Flaminio He is repentant, my sister. Spare him for his folly and mistakes, for he is only a child. Vittoria Are you my brother, you pimp? Who gave him to me but you? Because you are my brother you are then a worse scoundrel than he. Orsini Pardon my jealousy, Vittoria, which ran away with me. Vittoria And beyond all control and reach. What do you ask of me? To be your strumpet for real? To be seriously stained and marked as a whore by all Rome? Will you then take everything away from me, as if you didn’t do it already? Flaminio Sister, I am entirely for you and on your side. – Your grace, you have only caused her harm. Don’t make it worse by insisting. She is only a sensitive woman, and you will never anyway be able to inflict on her virtue. – My sister, I will always, as I always did, defend you and protect you. – Do you really think, my duke of Bracciano, that that duke of Florence could give her any love? Orsini Shall then these eyes, that for so long enjoyed your sight, now be put out just because they loved you? Flaminio Give her your tenderness, your grace. That will always work with women.

Orsini Forget my jealousy and love, but please keep my friendship, my love. Here is my hand. Vittoria Get out! Orsini What the duke of Florence promised and suggested I shall fulfil. We will get you out of this place to a higher elevation than you ever dared to dream about. Let me conclude this promise with a holy kiss as an unbreakable seal. (kisses her) Flaminio And now is the right moment, while pope is fresh as a corpse and the holy vanity of the whole world only thinks of taking over his pretentious hypocrisy. Rome is at a loss, and everyone is only watching the conclave. Let’s smuggle her out dressed as a page to safety in Padua. Orsini We must also have your brother Marcello with us, who has served the Medici, and your aged mother. Then we can start a new life, especially for our Vittoria, my love, who should prepare to become a duchess. Vittoria You brought me here. Get me out of here, and then we’ll see what tomorrow brings. Take nothing for granted. I am not yours, for you can never have my soul, which is the last thing I have left to live for. Orsini That’s reasonable, and I buy it. Now let’s get going in taking you out, so that our future may begin.

Scene 3. The Vatican. Francesco I trust you keep careful watch of the conclave? Lodovico Everything is under strictest control. Nothing can be smuggled in or out, the only thing that goes in is food for the cardinals, which is carefully examined: It is not only tested by eating, but it is searched, in case it would occur that messages were smuggled in the food. Francesco If I know the vibes of the conclave right, there will be a papal election without problems. Lodovico There is no one obvious, though. Francesco No, there was never anyone obvious ever. Still I think I know the general inclination. A cardinal (opens a window announcing:) Habemus papam! Lorenzo di Monticelso electus est in sedem apostolicam, et elegit sibi nomen Paulum Quartum. Lodovico Monticelso! Francesco I felt it. Servant (enters) Your grace, Vittoria… Francesco Well, what about Vittoria? Servant She has escaped from the asylum of the converts. Francesco You don’t say? And she escaped just like that? Wasn’t she carefully locked up and guarded? Who helped her? Servant The duke Orsini. Francesco Ha! You don’t say! Lodovico You don’t seem very much surprised.

Francesco It was unavoidable. (to the servant) Let the mistress of that establishment immediately be arrested for neglect. She loses her position and will be locked up as a ward herself. (the servant leaves) (aside) How splendidly all my plans work out! The right candidate is elected pope, Monticelso is in my hands, and my letter to the slut Corombona was efficient – the duke Orsini walked into the trap, that idiot, taking my letter for an instruction manual, which was my intention. Now he will blindly follow the road direction to perdition and marry, and if his reputation wasn’t ruined already, with a fallen woman, a condemned whore, so humiliated with her disgrace stamped on her front so as to be practically branded. It couldn’t be better. (enter Monticelso) Congratulations to your election, your holiness. Monticelso It was due to your preparations. The cardinals were already persuaded and not only by money. But I heard something about a coup taking place at the same time. Vittoria Corombona appears to have been abducted. Francesco And it must be obvious by whom. Monticelso Orsini of course. His stupidity never ceases to surprise me, since he so consistently excels his own mistakes. Francesco You are the pope now. So it should be convenient to take appropriate measures? Monticelso Absolutely. It’s about time that the duke is excommunicated with his victim, the strumpet Corombona, and with them their families and households, of course. You don’t enter sacred penitentiaries for former prostitutes to abduct converts just like that. Francesco That’s what I mean. Monticelso The excommunication will be implemented immediately. (exit) Lodovico Pardon me, your grace, but it surprises me a little that you are so vehemently engaged in this. Francesco The duchess Isabella was my sister. Her son is with his father. Is it then surprising that I am engaged, if I also know that my sister was poisoned? Lodovico Hardly. Francesco Join us or go against us, but choose the right side. Remember, that the pope always wins. Lodovico You don’t have to persuade me. I loved my duchess Isabella, who in Padua arranged my exile to be recalled. I saw her die, I know myself how she was poisoned, and I swore revenge. Francesco Excellent. Then we know where we stand and can safely rely on you. All I want is really to have my nephew back alive. Whoever dies or changes side or is sacrificed in that process does not concern me at all. (leaves) Lodovico The old pope recalled my exile. May I therefore gratefully serve the papal seat even if the new pope is a corrupt villain.

Act V scene 1. The palace of the duke Orsini. Flaminio So my fortune is made. My sister is ensured as consort of the duke I serve, thereby she has retrieved her good reputation and social standing and also wealth and a home. Our mother couldn’t be more gratified, and in view of the happy end, everyone will gladly forget all the crooked ways that led us here. Mind you, here comes the duke himself with his illustrious duchess. Orsini My dearest friend, my ambition for you is to remedy all your pains for nothing. I wanted nothing of the outrageous inquisition intrigues of Medici and Monticelso, they organised them alone just to get at you and failed completely with all their wicked schemes. You are now instead elevated as my duchess, and I hope indeed our worst ordeals thereby will be over. Vittoria I hope so too, but you never can be sure. Monticelso is now pope and has excommunicated us, and I fear that the Florentine duke is still on his side. Orsini At worst there will be a war between us, but I am used to more serious crises. – My Flaminio and brother-in-law, what kind of Hungarians have entered my service? They seem a bit exotic for my taste. Flaminio I don’t know more about them than that they distinguished themselves as knights of St. John and fought the Turks with bravery and success at Lepanto, Malta, Rhodes, Cyprus and Ragusa. They have been Capuchins but preferred to instead spite the enemies of Christianity with the sword. Orsini One of them is a moor. What is he doing here? Flaminio He is the most experienced of them all and has joined your service in the belief that he could be useful in your approaching conflict with Florence. Orsini Let me see him. Flaminio Here he is in person. His name is Mulinassar. Mulinassar At your service, your grace. Orsini It is not common that moors enter the service of Christian lords, who most of all fight moors, but when a moor is sincerely serious in serving us, he is more often than not better than any Christian officer. Mulinassar It is my ambition to be of that very kind of service. Orsini You are welcome together with these Hungarian Maltese knights of St. John. Come, Flaminio. Your sister must be celebrated with banquets every day. (exeunt all except Mulinassar) Mulinassar So far I have succeeded well with my fake performance, this double role play, which only appears more convincing to the audience and the thoughtless multitude the more deceptive it is. Well, it’s just to carry on. Here are my brave companions. (enter Carlo and Pedro) There you are, my Hungarians. So far no one suspected anything. Carlo (Lodovico in disguise) What is your strategy, your grace? Mulinassar (Francesco in disguise) First of all to gather knowledge and information of the duke Orsini’s plans. Perhaps we don’t have to go to war, but if it becomes necessary it must be brief and efficient. Flaminio, Orsini’s secretary, is in love with Zanche, the duke’s chamber maid, whom I have secured as my personal spy. That way we can learn about everything.

Lodovico Zanche, the moor? Francesco She does not suspect that I myself am no moor. What is then more natural than that she, a moorish slave, confides in another intrepid moor? The secrets of Vittoria, the duke, Flaminio and the entire court is like an open book to her. Gasparo (Pedro in disguise) Then that duke may hardly live very long. Francesco We shall see. One step at a time. Play your parts well and convincing as Hungarians and knights of St. John, and we will get at that duke at last with his entire menagerie. Here is Flaminio again, that pimp. He must also perish. Leave me until further, and then we shall see what we can do to our cause. (Lodovico and Gasparo leave.) One word, signor Flaminio. Flaminio What do you want from me, moor? Francesco Just a small piece of news, that perhaps the duke should be told for a warning. Flaminio Let’s hear it. Francesco Zanche, the duke’s chamber maid, is a moor like me, so we are almost like brother and sister. She has told me strange stories. Francesco How else would the duke of Florence know that you hired knights of St. John as your spies and special mercenaries? Flaminio How do you, a moor, know that he knows? Francesco Look for yourself. Here is a letter by the duke of Florence to your brother, which his friend Zanche managed to trace in his pocket when he was sleeping with her one night. (produces a letter) Flaminio (reads) This is infamous! ”My good helper Marcello, thanks for the information that the duke has employed knights of St. John, which is in direct conflict with the papal decree of the duke’s excommunication, wherefore I will immediately notify the pope.” This is too infamous! My brother a traitor to his own, to his sister! He has no right to live! What rich bribery has then Medici oiled him with to turn him a traitor to his family and benefactor? Francesco I just thought your duke should be notified. Flaminio Thanks, my noble moor. I can forgive him everything but having taken Zanche before me! Your fidelity and loyalty will be highly recommended. Go! I will take care of it myself! Francesco (aside) The poison is planted, and in the dynamic administration of a Flaminio, its effects should be at least explosive. (leaves) Flaminio My brother! Traitor even to Vittoria! After all we have gone through! These papal and Florentine bribes could then even corrupt the noblest of hearts, as if their corruption of the entire world wasn’t enough! My brother, you are doomed, and a process like this is so painful that it must be cut as short as possible not to grow worse and infect the entire family of the duke, my sister’s heart and our poor mother’s breast, already more than enough tortured almost to death! (leaves)

Scene 2. Orsini My whole court is poisoned. We have spies here, and we don’t know from where they come or who they are. The paranoia is spreading, and all suspect each other. Vittoria It is always like that in wartime. No one is normal, and everyone forgets to be human. Orsini Marcello, you who served the duke of Florence, have you any idea of what is going on? Marcello Unfortunately I know nothing, your grace. I wish I knew. Even my brother has looked at me askance. Orsini It’s only because you are courting the same woman, that Zanche, the moor, who everyone is charmed by while no one knows what she really is up to. Vittoria She always served me implicitly. I could always trust her more than well. Orsini She and the moor Mulinassar have sometimes been seen whispering with each other, as if they had secrets together. (enter Flaminio) Marcello I am sure she is as innocent as I. Flaminio (can’t control himself) You are then all too sure, brother, of all kinds of things and especially of getting away! (pierces him) Vittoria No! Cornelia My son! My fallen, terrible, disgraceful, incorrigible, hopeless son! What have you done! Marcello My brother, I forgive you, for you didn’t know what you were doing. Orsini What is this? Why? Flaminio He knows it all too well. Marcello What do I know, brother, except that I always loved you? Flaminio He has betrayed us all to that duke of Medici he never ceased to take bribes from! I have evidence! Our enemy knows everything about us and our allies! I have a letter from the duke to this lousy spy who didn’t hesitate to betray his entire family! (shows the open letter) Marcello (dying) I never received that letter. Flaminio No, for Zanche stole it from you as a payment for your taking her virginity! Orsini Is it true? Vittoria I know my brothers. Marcello was always innocent and often innocently punished, and Flaminio was always impulsive and went too far. Flaminio I am sorry, my brother, but this treason has almost destroyed us to the last man. I only wished to spare you by making your process as short as possible. Marcello I forgive you. (dies in Flaminio’s arms) Cornelia But I don’t. A fratricide, Flaminio, is always unforgivable as a fratricide, and I fear all this to be even a terrible misunderstanding. Orsini That spies are around and treason taking place is sure, but it’s not certain that it has been stopped. (feels his throat) Vittoria What is it? Orsini I can’t breathe. My throat is burning. Water, quickly! Flaminio He is poisoned! Doctor! Quick, at once!

Vittoria Here, my friend, drink water. (gives him water to drink. He immediately coughs it up. Enter doctor, examines quickly.) Flaminio What is it? Doctor Poisoning. Flaminio Mortal? Doctor I am afraid so. Flaminio Treason! No one leaves the palace! Orsini I am dying, Flaminio. I feel it. It’s my own fault. Forgive me, my dearest Vittoria. I only wanted to love you and never do you the least harm. Vittoria But who has poisoned you? Orsini I don’t know. Not you, not Flaminio, and least of all Marcello. That’s all I know for sure. Flaminio We are in a bad state when we don’t know who is betraying and poisoning us. Orsini I am sorry, my love. We men are villains all, murderers, damned egoists, ruthless reckless emperors and wretched tyrants, while you alone, my love, was pure and white and free from every possible shadow of human baseness. (dies) Vittoria Not again! To be widow once again, after my second husband has been murdered like the first, is more than I can bear, since my first widowhood already was the end of me. (cries over Orsini, whom she embraces) Zanche He murdered his first wife for your sake, my lady. Vittoria What does it matter? How does it help? How do you know? What do you know? Zanche He paid a doctor to smear a picture which his duchess kissed every evening since it was of him. Now he has been poisoned himself, as he didn’t just poison his first wife. Vittoria Still it was murder and no revenge! Flaminio That is not quite certain. There were several who swore to avenge the duchess Isabella, the exiled Lodovico for one. Vittoria He is not here. Flaminio How can you be so sure? Here are hundreds of soldiers, mercenaries, strangers and adventurers, and all are masked in the false and absurd armours of the cursed war. Couldn’t then one of them be Lodovico, who never was reported to have left Padua? Vittoria You make me uncertain. Flaminio So we all are more than ever, for death is breathing down our necks.

Scene 3. Lodovico I beg of you, your grace, let’s abandon our ridiculous conceited adventure and masquerade and return to order and be honest and normal. The duke is dead, so we have no issue with him any more, and his death was shameful and has cost Marcello his life and his mother her already faltering mind. Francesco My nephew remains and will now inherit his father’s titles, and his stepmother still entices me to wish to see how this drama will continue.

Lodovico Forget Vittoria Corombona, your grace. No one can reach her. Two men married her and had both of them to pay for it with their lives, and I think none of them ever reached any satisfaction. I have done my part and had my revenge for the duchess Isabella. That is enough for me. Francesco I will remain with my men. You do as you please, but if you will no longer take any part, then leave this stage and its remaining issues with us. (leaves) Lodovico He is still forging evil schemes and remains possessed by Corombona. Nothing good could come out of this play with death. I had better warn someone with a sense of responsibility before worse things happen. (leaves) Hortensio Those two are working on intrigues, as they keep stealing around whispering in stealth and secrecy. They had better be more closely observed in these days of an increasing epidemic of murders. I will turn to the young duke Giovanni. (leaves)

Scene 4. Marcello’s vigil Cornelia Murdered by the hand of a brother! And still I can’t condemn him, for he was no less a son of mine than Marcello, the youngest and most honest, pious, noble and sincere. Vittoria Mother, don’t grieve yourself to death. You have two children left, and one of them is me, your own daughter. Cornelia You demand the impossible of me, for if one child dies, the others will soon follow, especially if this was a victim to a subversive court intrigue. Zanche Vittoria is right. Crying is always a waste, for no one will thank you for your tears, and you can’t even have them back – only more sorrows, for that flood of tears will only grow the more it cries and will never end but as an inundation, in which you drown yourself in misery. Flaminio What kind of a mourning camp is this of only deplorable wailings from cats? Vittoria Spare us, Flaminio. We are grieving. Flaminio Our treason? It is a fact. The duke is dead, poisoned, and we don’t know who did it, and the murderer is still at large. The moor Mulinassar has disappeared without a trace, and it is feared that he has changed sides to Florence. We are closed up in the prison of our own unknown tragedy, like the fly which can’t understand from where the spider’s web suddenly appeared in which he is caught, and we have only more murders to expect, as our lives have been betrayed for nothing by unknown insidious envy. I therefore suggest the following. (produces two pistols) My duke left me nothing for my long faithful service. Are you prepared and willing as his widow, sister, to give me at least some share of my just wages? Vittoria Your only reward can but be that of Cain, for this crime alone obscures all your controversial services. You never did anything good, Flaminio. Flaminio What about your marriage with your duke, that finally made you a duchess with great riches?

Vittoria I would rather still be married with my poor Camillo than that he was murdered for the sake of a randy self-indulgent hopelessly undisciplined and reckless duke. Flaminio That fool! That goat! That idiot! That if anything you should be grateful to me for, that you got out of his life’s straitjacket and nothingness. Vittoria So it was you who took the life of my husband? Flaminio He was drunk and had a bad fall when he insisted on playing at leapfrog. To break his neck when he was lying there like a trampled worm on the floor was a pure act of mercy. Vittoria I knew it! First my husband, and then our brother! Who is next? Flaminio I suggest all three of us, for we have nothing to live for. You had no children, the new duke your stepson has nothing to offer us, I am excluded from his court as no longer required, he even intends to send you to some convent where you may not even bring Zanche with you, and I would gladly follow the duke, the only one who to some degree gave me some life. Vittoria As a procurer, conspirer and pimp for your sister. We never had the like of such a scabrous career in our family. Flaminio It made you a duchess. Vittoria At the cost of a brother and two husbands. There is nothing in the world that can excuse or make it worth while to murder innocence. Flaminio I can’t defend myself, for what is done is done. Marcello was a traitor… Vittoria His death indicates the contrary, as he was not allowed to speak for his defence. Do you in your customary reckless impulsiveness intend to shoot us and then yourself? Flaminio You were the only ones I loved. (gives over his pistols) Shoot me first, and then do what you like with your lives, if you wish to live. I have nothing to live for. You have condemned me, sister, as a fratricide, and your judgement is fair, whatever Marcello was up to. I also nourished some love for Zanche, but she betrayed me and gave my secrets to the moor who has now escaped to Florence, possibly an agent to Medici and the leader of the conspiracy. Lodovico (has entered) Wrong. He was himself the duke of Florence. Flaminio Entered by stealth in disguise? That was bold! Was it he himself who poisoned our duke? Lodovico No, it was I. Flaminio By what right? Who are you, Hungarian agent and false knight of St. John? Lodovico (casts off his disguise. Gasparo, who has followed him in, does the same.) The avenger of my duchess Isabella, with every right! Flaminio Prince Lodovico! And Gasparo! So that was the plot! Both smuggled in as agents of Medici, who without doubt have continued to deliver instructions! Close all doors! The traitors are here! By the authority of the duchess, you are now under arrest! Lodovico We don’t give in. For me there was only one duchess, and in her place I find only a mob of cheats, upstarts and gender opportunists! Get at them! They are only parasites!

(Vittoria takes one of his brother’s guns and tries to shoot, which comes to nothing. Gasparo cuts her with his sword, and Lodovico kills Flaminio with his.) Flaminio (dying) Idiots! They weren’t loaded! Forgive me, sister, that I subjected you to one last trial. I was curious to find out if you really would be capable of giving your brother the death and execution he deserved. Now you don’t have to. Vittoria In all my life you knew me so little! I would never have been able to aim any weapon against any brother I had left, if even he was the worst. Flaminio All my concern was to protect you and further you. Vittoria It’s over now. Better luck next time. (dies) (Soldiers break in led by Giovanni and Hortensio.) Hortensio Treason! I knew it! Here they are! Giovanni What is this? The duchess butchered! And Flaminio! Flaminio I die for those I loved and served until they did not want me any more. (dies) Giovanni Arrest these murderers at once! But it is prince Lodovico, the right hand of the duke of Florence! Lodovico Your grace, I plead guilty of the unfortunate consummation of my revenge. No one was more innocent than Vittoria Corombona, who has been killed here by mistake, since we had no idea that their pistols were unloaded. Giovanni You appear to have much to tell. Zanche What he can’t tell I may fill in, for I alone was Vittoria Corombona’s friend of intimacy and was present from the beginning. Giovanni Everything has gone too far. A web of passionate intrigue has twisted all minds to end up in a most unnecessary tragedy and disaster. Take care of the bodies, and bring down the prisoners! Lodovico As a servant of the duke of Medici, your own uncle, I ask for the privilege of a relative. Giovanni You have nothing to expect except a just punishment as the murderer of two members of my family. Vittoria Corombona was my stepmother and perhaps more sacred and virtuous than my mother, perhaps too virtuous and too beautiful for her own good. My lady, (observes Cornelia, who has sunk down devastated,) what has happened here can never be repaired, but I promise you this, that you will never again be exposed to new trials. Cornelia I have lost three children, and they were not even given time to have children of their own. What can you do about that, and what is there for me to do but to die? Giovanni Take care of her, and take care of the bodies. One funeral became three, but never will obsequies in Padua have been performed with greater dignity and honour. (takes care of Cornelia. The bodies and the arrested are taken care of. Curtain.)

Tingmosgang, 24.8.2008, translation completed January 22nd 2019.

The Duchess of Amalfi after “John Webster” by Christian Lanciai (2008, revised 2019)

Dramatis personae: Duchess of Amalfi Duke Fernando, her brother The Cardinal, her second brother Antonio di Bologna, her accountant Cariola, her chamber maid Daniele di Bussola, groom in the service of the duchess and her brothers Delio, Antonio’s friend Count Malatesta of Ancona Giulia Castrucchio, the Cardinal’s mistress guards 1

The madmen: doctor lawyer priest astrologer philosopher four hangmen physician an echo Antonioâ€™s servant The action is in Italy during the Renaissance Copyright C. Lanciai 2008

Act I scene 1 Cardinal Our sister must not remarry. Fernando I couldnâ€™t agree more. Cardinal But she lives dangerously, indulges in wasteful banquets and encourages wooers, as if she was looking for someone. Fernando We must put her under some kind of guard, so that we keep her strictly controlled. If she married again and had a child, it would be something of the worst that could happen to us. She is the eldest and therefore the duchess of Amalfi, and only if she dies without issue could we inherit her. Cardinal I am with you all the way. Fernando Can I trust that? Cardinal Without conditions or reservations. She has everything, and we have nothing. Fernando We were lucky to see the husband pass away without issue. Cardinal We succeeded in sending him on before it went too far. Fernando We must avoid that risk in the future. Cardinal By utmost necessity. Fernando (gives his hand) So you are along? Cardinal Whatever you do, I will not interfere. I give you free hands with all means, and I have cardinal authority, which you might need. Fernando Thank you, my brother. (embraces him) Then we shall surely manage to keep her strictly confined to our family interests. Cardinal She is not even interested in entering a new marriage, so I am sure it will be easy.

Scene 2. Antonio Madame, you called on me. Duchess Like always in my most sensitive affairs. You are the only person I can trust. Antonio In business? Duchess As my accountant. You have made yourself indispensable. Antonio It has always been my pleasure and privilege to serve you. Duchess That is why I today have an especially sensitive task for you. I intend to write my will. Antonio Madame, you have no heirs and no relatives but your two powerful brothers. Duchess That’s exactly the problem. Antonio Why? Duchess They already have everything but want more. I would rather that all the responsibility I have in life would be more fairly shared by my death. Antonio Are there reasons then to speculate in your death? Duchess My friend, there are reasons to assume, that my former husband was murdered in order exclude any possibility for him to give me children. Antonio My God! Do you have evidence? Duchess His death at so young an age was not natural. Only my brothers had motives. I am just adding two and two. You also should, who are a mathematician. I am only thinking logically, watching my brothers’ characters, observing that all they live for is power and money, their mortal worry that their sister’s heritage would bypass them, my husband’s sudden and mysterious death, most probably by poison, before he could give me any children, which he was on the course of making, and the telling glances of dark intentions which my brother Fernando and my peacock cardinal of a minor brother are giving me. Yes, my friend, I have reason to fear for my life but will not die until I have a son whom I could give my life. Antonio Do you then intend to remarry? Duchess My friend, what do you think of marriage? Antonio It’s either a blessing or a curse but often both, a double-edged sword of capriciousness with your life at risk, the most dangerous of ventures, where not only your life but even your soul could be lost. Duchess You are right. I agree with you entirely. We are of the same mind. Well then, what do you think of love? Antonio The most precious and beautiful thing there is, if it works. If it doesn’t work, it will more often than not lead to the greatest tragedies. Duchess Do you think love would be worth waging, even if it would lead to the greatest tragedy? Antonio If love works it can only triumph over all tragedies. Duchess Then you are the man I thought. Antonio My duchess, with respect and pardon, but what is your point?

Duchess I asked you here to help me with my definite will, and I wish to give over everything to the son I wish to have with you. Antonio (blushing) My duchess… Duchess Your eyes start shining. That’s a good sign. See here, take my ring, and it will calm the fever of your eyes. Antonio I am only touched. But your brothers would never accept it. Duchess And do they have to know? What do we need more than God’s blessing as our only witness? And if we like good Catholics invoke his name and good will to seal our marriage, how could even God say no? Antonio My duchess, I am overwhelmed. Duchess It will pass. Let it sink in, and accept it. You have my ring. Let me now put it on the right finger. Thus we are married, and as a sign thereof you will always carry it. Antonio Madame, I always loved you, but I could never guess and never had a thought of that it could result in intimacy. Duchess It’s just natural. We have known each other long and had time long enough to cultivate an impeccable friendship. Let’s stick to that and continue building on it for our foundation. The marriage thing is just a natural consequence. Antonio Madame, I thank you with all my heart. Duchess No, I thank you. But be careful about discretion. While the brothers have no idea that I have entered a new engagement and more sacred marriage than the one that was murdered, which was political while ours now is natural and consistent of only love under threat, we will be safe with nothing to threaten or perturb us. Antonio But what if there will be a child? Duchess My friend, then we are at home having reached our aim, and the future is secured. (enter Cariola) Antonia (upset) Ha! Duchess Be not afraid. It is Cariola, my personal maid. She knows everything and backs me on everything. She will be our extra wedding witness. Let’s kneel and pray. (takes Antonio to a small private altar) I hereby accept you, Antonio, for my wedded husband to love you until death us do part. So shall we be as one for good and for worse, in progress and adversity, as God is our witness. Antonio I accept and reciprocate. None but you, my duchess. Duchess Forget my title. You didn’t marry my title. The title and the established social standing of power is only in the way for true love. That’s the sole reason why we elevated leaders and statues must propose ourselves, for no one else would dare to threaten us with love. Antonio I am yours, my lady, and take the oath of your promise as sacredly serious. Duchess Then we can unite to remain united forever. Come, my friend. Cariola, put out those two lights on my altar. They now enter darkness to shine the more

brightly in there, with the greater strength, sincerity and permanence. (leads the way out with Antonio) Cariola As long as she was a widow her brothers would not threaten her, but I know her and understand her, if even her step from security to adventure now only could be regarded as the utmost dangerous folly. The warmer only will my feeling of compassion grow with her.

Scene 3. Cardinal Are you sure? Fernando You can never be sure. She sure is ill and swollen, she feels regularly ill and throws up but has a raving appetite. Cardinal But she couldn’t be pregnant, could she? Fernando Impossible. That’s for sure. She has no close friends, lives in exemplary plainness as she always did, is careful about the strictness of her holy privacy, handles her business perfectly with the help of her faithful accountant and leaves no room for any extravagance. Cardinal Still she has secrets that we don’t know. One of them is her illness. Fernando Can we have it investigated? Cardinal We will send a spy on her. I know one infallible test. He will bring her fresh apricots. If she eats them all it is serious, and then we can no longer exclude the possibility that she has become pregnant. Fernando With whom? Cardinal With anyone. We’ll deal with that later, if it becomes necessary. Fernando What kind of spy are you thinking of? Cardinal His name is Bussola, the reliable agent who can take on any task and any mask and who always gets away completely neutral, for he only thinks of himself. Fernando Then we have to bide our time in wait for his report on our sister’s appetite for apricots.

Act II scene 1. Duchess Doesn’t it bother you, Antonio, that I am getting so fat? Antonio How could it bother me, when I know so well the cause of it, and when all my concern is just your comfort? And even if your waist is swelling, your face is the same, if not even the more sparkling. Bussola You actually look like Leonardo’s familiar portrait of Monna Lisa Gherardini, the consummate and absolute harmony. Duchess My friend, I hope indeed your flattery does not conceal secret ambitions. You should know that it nowadays has no effect on us princes any more. Antonio Bussola is known for his neutrality. He wishes nothing for his own.

Bussola On the other hand I wish to share the little I can. Allow me, duchess, to present to you the very first fruits of this year’s apricot harvest, a few selected samples. I selected the most delicate ones just to please you. Duchess You are too kind. Dare I, Antonio, taste such exquisite temptations? Antonio I vouch for him. Duchess (accepts the apricots) Thank you, my friend. (tastes one) They are irresistible. You really selected them with care. (tastes several) Antonio Take care, duchess, not to eat them all at once. Duchess How could I resist them? (eats) They just arouse my appetite, and I can’t quench it. You must prepare a palankin for me, Bussola, such as the Florentine duchess used to be carried around in. Bussola That was while she was pregnant. Duchess Yes, I suppose that’s how it was. Cariola You shouldn’t eat more plums now, Madame. Duchess They are not plums, silly Cariola, but apricots. They are not as dangerous. Cariola Don’t be too sure. Fruits are always fruits. Bussola (aside) She can’t stop. If this is not evidence yet, it’s still an obvious indication. Duchess Bussola, I thank for this gift. Did you know perhaps that our own gardener failed this year with our apricots? Bussola No, duchess. No one told me about that. Antonio How are you, duchess? Duchess (feeling her stomach) Perhaps I had one too many. Cariola That’s what I warned you about. The only dangerous thing to eat is too much, especially in summer. Duchess I couldn’t stop my appetite. Show me to my rooms. All I need is rest, I think. Bussola Let me help you. It was my fault. Duchess Not at all. They were just too good. (Cariola and Bussola helps the duchess out.) Antonio O, my good Delio, we are lost! If it now comes out that she is pregnant and maybe has a sudden childbirth, it cannot be concealed! Delio Don’t worry, Antonio. If it would happen we have made arrangements in secret for a midwife. But I think it will pass. She felt ill before, and it’s natural during pregnancy. Antonio I don’t know how to handle this development. I have never been in this situation before, you know. Delio Just don’t make any fuss about it, and for the sake of our duchess, mind the discretion! Antonio Yes, that’s the most important. Nothing must harm or threaten her. Cariola (returns) I am afraid it is serious. We had better ensure security. Antonio Is she in pain? Cariola Outrageously.

Antonio In other words, emergency. Guards! (enter guards) Let no one enter and no one out from the duchess’ residence. The situation is critical, and she is in great pains. Guard I understand. Antonio Spread the word, Delio, that our duchess has been attacked and has been visited and robbed by bandits. That will always have effect. Delio I will tell it to some reliable gossips and efficient clacks. (leaves) Bussola (returns) What is happening? Antonio Were you not with the duchess? Bussola She had so acute pains that I was promptly dismissed by her duenna. Antonio That’s luck for you. She appears to have been visited by infamous bandits. No one is let out from the citadel for that reason, and no one may visit her. Bussola I sincerely hope no bandit poisoned my apricots. Antonio Could anyone have done it? Bussola Nowadays it happens that even cardinals poison their bibles which they give their most dangerous confessants to kiss, so that they die instantly. Antonio What kind of tall tales is that? Bussola I wish they were only tall tales. Antonio Go. You have our permission to leave the citadel. I can vouch for that you had nothing to do with this crisis. Bussola Thank you. (leaves. Aside:) I would fain have stayed to learn some more. (out) Cariola (returns) Antonio Well? Cariola I waited until that Bussola was gone. I think he was there mainly to snoop. Antonio He is gone now and harmless. How is it with our lady? Cariola I was sent by her with the message that you have become a father. She is out of danger as is your firstborn son. Antonio You make me blessed. Cariola Don’t thank me. It was all thanks to you. Antonio Then I thank the duchess. Cariola Do so. She is expecting you. Antonio Does anyone know? Cariola No one. Antonio Then it shall be kept as the greatest state secret of Calabria, all for the life and honour, welfare, happiness and progress of our duchess. Cariola We are alone with her secret. Antonio And the midwife? Cariola She will stay quiet. (They go out.)

Scene 2. The Cardinal’s palace in Rome. Cardinal My dear brother, you went so far just to see me. What is the matter? How is our sister? Fernando Bussola has been in touch with a devastating report. Cardinal Well? Fernando He has found the astrologer who cast a horoscope for a child born earlier this year, a boy, in the ducal palace by the duchess herself. Cardinal (shocked) Then we are in a bad state. Fernando Do you understand what it means? It’s a declaration of war against us! It’s a mortal blow against our future and our position, which she delivers with the utmost shamelessness and impertinence! Cardinal And no one knows who the father is? Fernando No. Cardinal Then she is a whore, and what’s more, an unacceptable cancer on our family that must be removed by operation. Fernando First we must learn who the father is, so that we can eliminate him as well. Who knows if she hasn’t already written a will leaving everything to him? And would he not in that case muster all means to guard his son and apply all measures for his defence and security? Cardinal You are right. Until we know who the father is we can do nothing. Is Bussola alerted? Fernando Paid both by us and in salaried service of our sister. Cardinal Is he reliable as a double spy? Fernando He is concerned about both incomes. Cardinal Then he is our man, and he will surely find out the father sooner or later. Is there still no suspect? Fernando The man closest to her is her accountant Antonio, who served the family implicitly all these years since our father died, an impeccable man of honour who is above all suspicion. He could never importune on the duchess. Cardinal So it might very well still be just an ordinary servant or groom without rank. The lower his rank, the better for us, the easier it will be to have her compromised, and we should start working on that at once. Soon the whole church will be informed that the duchess of Amalfi is a whore who is sucking a bastard. Fernando Will that help us reach the father? Cardinal Sooner or later, you can be certain he will be found out.

Act III scene 1. Antonio Welcome back to Calabria my best friend! Did you arrive together with duke Fernando? Delio I followed him faithfully as I always did, as faithful to him as to your duchess and yourself. Antonio What is your diagnosis on the duke’s and the Cardinal’s intrigues? What do they know, and what do they not know? Delio They know nothing but guess too much. The Cardinal, for it could be no one else, has spread the rumour by the church that the duchess is a whore who has born several children in sin. Antonio I know. That rumour has also gained foothold among the people of Calabria. Everyone is whispering about it, but no one knows anything certain. As always, uncertainty is the surest ground of unfounded rumours. Delio Is it true? Has she born several children? Antonio Three so far, but we have managed to keep it secret with some success. Wet-nurses take care of the children until they are old enough to be entrusted to godparents. No one suffers from such discretion, and no one suspects or notices anything. Delio And the oldest boy? Antonio We can’t do without him. We make sure to have care of him regularly, so that he may learn who he is. Delio Here is the duke with the duchess and that fellow Bussola, who no one knows if he serves more the duchess or the duke. Antonio Like you he is in the service of both, and there is nothing wrong with that as long as he behaves. I would not trust that slim opportunist though, as I always trusted you. Delio A trust which I will never betray. Antonio For which I am not the only one grateful. Fernando (to the duchess) I am tired and on my way to bed. My sister, I have procured a husband for you. It’s the only way to stop all malicious rumours. Duchess And who is your choice? Fernando Count Malatesta, the lord of Ancona. Duchess That tyrant! He is nothing but empty gestures, arrogance and boastful nonsense. Everyone sees him through. If I am to remarry it must be for the honour and not dishonour of the family. Fernando That’s exactly why I wish to see you married again, for that’s the only way. None of us believe those rumours that have no ground. It will be easy to dismiss them if you’ll only celebrate another wedding. Duchess I will consider Malatesta, if there is no one else. Fernando You can still save yourself and our family honour, and I still trust your good judgement.

Duchess You can safely continue with that until I remarry. – There I see two of my most trusted advisors. Let me consult you, Antonio and Delio. (exit with those) Fernando She is as guilty as a pregnant abbess and a heated sow but is a perfect master of self control in concealing it. She is rotten to the core while her self control is supremely sovereign. My spy, why haven’t you found out yet who is impregnating her? Bussola She has three bastards. That’s all we know. Fernando How many will there be, if she is allowed to go on? How many drones shall anonymously swarm around a queen who generously generates beehives of irritating insects? This must have an end. It can’t go on like this. What about that key I asked you to provide? Bussola (showing a key) It’s this one. The original has unnoticeably been restored to the pocket of Cariola, and this is a perfect duplicate. Fernando Then we may at last get somewhere. Bussola But go carefully. If she suspects that anyone else than the required ones could see or hear what goes on between her sheets, she could always wring herself out of it. Fernando Do you take me for a fool? She shall not suspect anything, not even after I have left her bedroom with the harvest of knowledge of her private life completed, which I need for going on to a safer course of action.

Scene 2. The duchess’ bedchamber Duchess So you advise me against marrying that villain Malatesta? Antonio Could you even consider it seriously? Is he not the worst of all the fools and tyrants of Italy? Duchess I am afraid my brother suggested him only to force me to reject his offer to use as reason and excuse for escalating their measures against me, as if their foul play at cowardly spreading false rumours was not enough. Cariola It’s the cardinal who is behind it. He wars against you by covert means cowardly behind the curtains, while the duke just longs for a reason to start an open conflict with you. Duchess How can two brothers be so mean against a sister? Cariola It’s simple. They have no heart. Duchess Lucky me then for having two hearts, if not three, to replace the stones which they replaced their hearts with. Antonio What three hearts are you suggesting? Duchess My own, yours and Cariola’s. Yours is in my good care, and I will never let it go, and I always had Cariola’s as the sister I should have had instead of two avaricious brothers. Cariola I always loved you, Madame, but only Antonio has the right to claim your love.

Duchess Has he? He cannot spend the night here with me tonight. Antonio And why? Duchess I don’t sleep well. If you sleep by my side, you will not sleep. Cariola I often slept here by her side and can confirm that she is not easy to sleep with. Antonio And you, Cariola, why did you never marry? Cariola Men only make trouble and even more if you marry them. You should keep the opposite sex at a distance, since it is not to be trusted: there are always sickly intentions and destructive frictions. You can only make friends and be able to trust them within your own sex. Duchess You don’t know what it is to love. You can only love a friend of the opposite sex, for that’s the only way to feel and reach perfection. Sticking to one sex only is one-sided and dull in its limitation, and you can only be completed and fulfilled by the other sex. Antonio Yes, I agree. Duchess That does not mean that marriage is a blessing. I think the ideal would be just a friendly agreement on a spiritual level, where you can have one another as lovers and trust each other but entirely without bonds, oaths and obligations, for love must never become a burden. Antonio Yes, I agree. Duchess You always just agree. Could you never produce some protests, invectives and refreshing opposition? Antonio But my love, you are always right. Duchess I dare have my doubts about that, and we shall not know until the future has crowned our life’s experiment with success or defeat. I spare you tonight, Antonio. Don’t stay here with me. Antonio My love, only you have the right to rule over your bed. Duchess You allow me to decide. That’s why our love is so harmonic, fortunate and ideal. Don’t fail me, Antonio, whatever happens. Antonio Never. Come, Cariola. Let’s give your mistress a chance to sleep, for she won’t get it either in your company or mine. Cariola We leave, my lady. Sleep well. Duchess I will try. (Antonio leaves with Cariola.) No, it will be another sleepless night, like every night without my lover, but I can’t have him here when the duke my brother walks around haunting in unblessedness under constant scheming of how he and the Cardinal should best get rid of me. If then Antonio would be discovered in my bed, life would have no chance of survival, least of all Antonio and his children. For my part it doesn’t matter what my brothers’ conspiracies may lead to – if I can live nobly I can die even nobler. Fernando (ascending from darkness with a dagger, which he offers her) Die then, at once! Duchess My brother!

Fernando What’s noble about whoring with a servant? You have stained your family so that it can never again be pure except by your death! You cover your crimes with what you call nobility only to avoid confronting them! You have lied to yourself, so that you no longer can distinguish between good and evil! Duchess If you accuse me, you must hear my defence. Fernando For your indefensible bastards? For your whoredom and promiscuity? For your dishonouring your family and your self-humiliation? Duchess Brother, I am married. Fernando That’s the last thing you are. If you are married, why hasn’t it become known and proclaimed and published in church? You are neither married in church nor by law, so you are no more than what people call you: a fallen woman, whore, strumpet, simple slut, prostitute, harlot, courtesan without honour and a cheap tart! I never want to see you any more. Duchess At least talk with my husband. Fernando I don’t want to see him, know him, never hear his name and never learn it! For me he is as dead as you! Duchess He is an honourable man related at some distance with princes, perhaps even far nobler and of more ancient blood than we. At least he behaves better as a man of honour. Fernando That word in your mouth is the supreme blasphemy! Do you know what honour is? It is to keep absolutely spotfree. We know all about you, and the people know it even better. You have clandestinely given birth to three bastards with your pimp of a parasite, and you claim to still have any honour left? If you ever had any honour, it has fallen the deeper to its contrary. To us you are as if you never had existed, removed, rejected and thrown away like a stinking deadly cancer on our family that never should have been given any life at all! (leaves, banging the door behind) Duchess Alas, we are betrayed! Antonio (returning with Cariola) Has he left? Duchess You heard? Antonio Every word. Duchess Now he knows who you are. You must get away. Antonio Who has betrayed us? (aims his pistol at Cariola) Is it you? Cariola That’s the last thing I would do, and my lady knows it. Duchess Put down your gun. She is more innocent than we. Antonio (sees Fernando’s dagger) What is that dagger doing here? Duchess He gave it to me for my own use. Antonio He urged you to commit suicide? Duchess Not directly but indirectly. Antonio Then you are also in great danger. (Someone is banging at some door outside.) More threats and dangers? Who is it now? Duchess There is one mine after another exploding under my feet. Cariola It’s Bussola.

Antonio I’ll run off. Duchess Hide in here. (covers him behind a curtain) I know what we shall do. (signs to Cariola to let Bussola in) – What do you want here with me at this late hour? Bussola Only report, that your brother the duke suddenly has left for Rome with great speed. Duchess In the middle of the night? Bussola All he said for an explanation was, that you were done for. Duchess I know. Antonio, our accountant, has made a mess of our economy so that we are almost ruined. Bussola So the duke rode off to get help from the cardinal? Duchess Obviously. Bussola (aside) You can’t fool me. – Where is then Antonio? Has he escaped? Duchess We must find him. Get the guards. Bussola Certainly, duchess. (leaves. Antonio immediately steps forth again.) Duchess You must go to Ancona. I have a secret house there that you could use for the time being. I will join you later and send you jewels and everything I could get hold of. Wait for me there. Unfortunately I must criminalise you in order to protect you, and for our protection I shall bury ourselves in white lies. – Hear, they come. (Bussola returns with guards.) Antonio Hear me then at least, your highness! Duchess I have heard enough! We must confiscate everything you own, and your service will never more be needed. Antonio It is fair. All I own including my life belongs to you. Duchess The only thing I can give you is the sack. Antonio And the only thing I still can do to please you is to leave from here at once. (leaves) Duchess What do you think about him? What does the people think of that man, Bussola? Bussola A man of honour until now, a wise but difficult minister, who until now kept the purse-strings tight, known for his hostility to women, since he never even reacted to a flirt, and one who understood well to fill his own coffins. Duchess This was my husband, with whom I have had three children, Bussola. Bussola (pretends surprise) Is it true? Duchess I never lie. Therefore I must now ask you to help me deliver my money and jewels to our place in Ancona. I will follow you later as soon as I can. Bussola In that case I would suggest that you go for a pilgrimage to the sanctuary of Loreto just a few miles from Ancona. In that way you could leave with your dignity intact without giving an impression of escape or running away. Duchess Your advice is good, and I will follow it. We will start preparing at once. Cariola, let’s not wait. Time is all too precious. (leaves with Cariola) Bussola (alone) It’s sometimes painful to have to act as an informer. I don’t wish the duchess any harm, but still I must now report her plans to those brothers who

angrily are working for her destruction, for which I will be richly rewarded. Thus the whole world goes around just by the bribes and intrigues of villains. (leaves)

Scene 3. Rome. Cardinal Antonio, the accountant? Fernando An ordinary upstart and scoundrel, as we thought, has only made his career by his submissiveness, talent for fawning flattery and lack of a mind of his own, a lackey, whom she found a suitable means for her perversion, an instrument that never would complain, criticize or have any objection, the perfect breeding bull, as placid as castrated, the ideal sexual puppet. Cardinal Three children, you say? Fernando No less. Cardinal They will be difficult to dispose of. Fernando Is there any choice? Shall we allow them to multiply? Will she be allowed to fornicate with any willing man from Reggio di Calabria to Domodossola? Cardinal We must put a stop to her but with careful calculation and caution. Fernando The worst thing is that she has got away. Cardinal She is no longer at home? Fernando She sent away her adulterer as soon as I had spoken my mind to her, and only a few days later she was gone herself on a pilgrimage, according to official sources. Cardinal And she took her children with her? Fernando All three of them. Cardinal So they escaped us, and she is free. Fernando And she took everything with her – jewels, money, clothes, documents, nothing was left behind. Cardinal If thus she has abandoned all, you have every right to confiscate whatever is left, that is the entire duchy. Fernando Yes, she has no right to ever get it back. A servant Bussola is here. Fernando Well, at last! He is our only hope. Welcome, Bussola! Cardinal Do you know where the duchess has gone? Bussola To Loreto, a sanctuary outside Ancona, a well renowned pilgrimage resort especially for repentant atoners seeking protection. Fernando As if she was capable of the least repentance! Cardinal That makes it easy for us. We’ll persuade Malatesta to exile her as an outlaw. That way she will lose all property and be forced out on the roads as a beggar gipsy without any means for her support. Fernando Is it that simple? Cardinal It’s only a first step in the right direction. In the end we’ll get her framed, so that she will never again be rid of us.

Fernando Cardinal

I only wish to be rid of her. We’ll reach there in good time, when we have achieved some results.

Scene 4. Loreto. The duchess with Antonio, the children and Cariola, as humble pilgrims. Duchess Here we can find safety for the time being from all mundane injustice. This is a sacred location. No spoilers and warriors and misers will come here to trample on and ruin the lives of innocents. Antonio Still I fear some hidden menace. I would never have trusted your Bussola. Those loads of fortunes that you entrusted him with did never reach here, you know. Duchess They appear to have been confiscated by order of the cardinal. Antonio You asked me to go to Ancona. Why did Bussola then want you to Loreto? Duchess It’s human and natural to trust a friend consistently as long as he doesn’t betray you. He suggested Loreto maybe because of its holy status and safe distance. He hasn’t failed me yet. Antonio No, not openly and directly, but behold the procession that now is approaching. Duchess The cardinal! Antonio It doesn’t look any better. What does he want here? Cardinal (pompous in all his glory) For the sake of duty I hereby lay down my cross, cardinal’s hat, clothing, ring and chain to instead solemnly dress in what the war bids to heavily burden myself with, helmet and weapon, sword and armour, blood and death instead of the life insurance of eternity in my holy office, in the name of his holiness the pope, against the emperor for the king of France. (lays down the cardinal regalia and puts on a helmet symbolically.) Antonio He intends to follow the pope to war! Is he here by chance, or was Bussola aware of his arrival here? Cardinal I see among the pilgrims here even my own sister the duchess of Amalfi. Then I can take the opportunity to deliver the edict of count Malatesta of Ancona concerning the case of my sister the escaped duchess. She may not remain in Ancona with her bastards and her pimp but must immediately leave Malatesta’s territory. She is therefore banished with all her family, and all her property has been confiscated. That’s all. Let the procession continue in due order and solemnity. (The procession goes on.) Antonio Banished! Bereft of everything! Exiled wherever you go! How far will the poison of your brothers’ heartlessness extend their destruction? Duchess There is an end to everything. But this is probably just a beginning, and I fear that my minor brother has worse messages to bring. Beloved Antonio, you must escape.

Antonio And you? Duchess I’ll manage. I can handle them. But take my oldest son, our princely heir with you. The two smaller ones are too young, they can’t even talk yet, but your first son is old enough to travel with you. Antonio When shall we meet again? Duchess If not in this life, in the next one. And at least in eternity. Antonio (embraces her emphatically) My love, I refuse to depart from you. Duchess It’s only physically. Our souls are one and will remain so forever. Keep me in your thoughts, as I will always keep you in mine and more than anyone else. Antonio My beloved! (embraces her again) Duchess We don’t have much time. I can feel the cold breath of the phantoms of persecution down my neck. Hurry! Antonio If we may not meet again, take care of the sweet children and protect them against the tigers. Duchess Let me look at you one last time. Those words felt like coming from a dying father. Antonio One last kiss. Duchess So cold was never the hermit’s kiss on any dead man’s skull. Antonio Beloved, farewell. (embraces her one last time, takes the oldest boy, and leaves.) Duchess Now all the laurels of joy and glory that I carried in my days are withered into a crown of thorns, the pangs of pains of which shall never leave me in peace any more. Cariola Listen! There is an armed force coming against us. Duchess They are expected and welcome. If the end must come, I pray it will come quickly. (Enter Bussola with soldiers.) I presume I am the one you are looking for. Bussola Duchess, you must no more associate with your husband. Duchess You missed him. He has already left me. You can no longer separate us. Bussola I have a letter for you from your brother the duke. Duchess What does he want? Bussola Peace, reconciliation and atonement. Duchess It doesn’t sound like him. Bussola Then read for yourself! (delivers the letter) Duchess (reads) ”Send me Antonio, we desperately need his head for the business of our state.” He will have his head, not for what it contains or thinks. He can’t fool me. ”Don’t let it bother him that he owes us much. I would rather own his heart than his money.” I would think so indeed. He wishes nothing more than to cut out his heart. Bussola I can assure you, that he only wishes to put things in order, get you back home and the stability of your country restored with you reconciled with your people and your brothers as the heart of Calabria, celebrated for her beauty, wisdom, goodness and family loyalty. Duchess Have you then not come to arrest me?

Bussola No, only to escort you back to Calabria to your court and your lovely home at Amalfi. Duchess And if I refuse? Bussola You can’t refuse. Your brothers’ sole concern is your security and welfare. Duchess That’s what Caron says to those he ferries across to the realm from where no one returns, just to make the journey easier. Bussola They have the greatest compassion with you. Duchess Like to a fatted turkey which is not fat enough yet to be slaughtered. Bussola Are those your children? Duchess Yes. Bussola I can only see two of them. Duchess That’s right. Bussola How old are they? Can they talk? Duchess No, but their first words in your captivity will most likely be oaths and well grounded curses against supremacy. Bussola Are you teaching them such stuff, or is it from your base husband that you convey such baseness? Duchess Don’t call him base. He was an honest and just man of straightforward simplicity who earned himself everything he got by his own effort and got nothing for free. Such merits I value much higher than what I and my brothers inherited by titles and fortune. Bussola Well, I will try to respect him. Duchess That’s all I ask for my own part. I am at your service and will follow you whether to prison or to death, I don’t care which, as long as my children may live. Bussola Follow us, my duchess. (escorts her out. She and Cariola never let go of the children.)

Act IV scene 1. The duchess’ apartment. Fernando How does my sister endure her imprisonment? Bussola Nobly, as she always was and still is. She is sad like as if she since long had got used to her prison and appears rather to welcome an end to her suffering than have anything against it. Her dignity in suffering gives majesty to her tragedy and adversity, and her beauty is more apparent in her tears than it used to be in her smiles. She is so quiet and lets not a sound of what she suffers out but bears it with harmony and often smiles to herself in clear serenity. Fernando She seems to have fortified her arrogance and haughtiness by her newly acquired melancholy. Bussola No, it’s not arrogance and haughtiness. It is her pride and inborn integrity that has been strengthened by her suffering, which she masks under supreme self control.

Fernando She is just playacting as always. May she be damned. When I just think of all the evil she has done to us and get furiously upset, I just wish to batter her to death and have done with it. Just convey my message to her. I cannot even stay here in her apartment without getting infected by her morbid vibrations. It’s unendurable just to know that she is still alive. I am finished here. I am off. (leaves) Bussola He is losing his foothold and denies his guilt to himself and blames it on her, blind to all the beams in his own eye. But she is coming. Duchess (enter) Bussola, what is your business here? Bussola Just to wish you all the best. Duchess No doubt you are bringing some bad news again. And why then do you always cover your poisonous attacks in disguises of gold and honey? Bussola It’s hardly poison I bring this time. Your brother Fernando wants to visit you, but since he has sworn never to see you again he will come in night time and only speak to you in the dark. Duchess His stolidity is consistent. He will not break his word when he has given it to devilry. Bussola He only means well. Duchess Like always. Bussola He wants to kiss your hand and be reconciled but asks you not to light any torch or light. Duchess It is dark already. We could put out all lights. Just let him come. Bussola He is ready. (The duchess and Cariola put out all lights. When it is dark enough, Fernando enters.) Fernando Where are you, sister? Duchess I am here. Fernando Your darkness becomes you. Duchess I want to ask your forgiveness. Fernando I will gladly grant it. Where are your babies? Duchess What do you want with them? Fernando I just wonder where those brats are. Duchess They are not babies or brats but my children. Fernando Of course they are your children although they are just bastards, and although the law distinguishes between legitimate and illegitimate children, they still have the right to be called human beings. Duchess Have you only come to insult my children to their mother’s face? That’s an outrage to their mother and worth many punishments in hell. Fernando If only you always would have lived like this in the dark, since all the evil you gave us came from staying too much in the glare of the strong light of your power and glory. But I have only come to make peace with you. Here is my hand. If you want forgiveness, you may kiss it. Duchess I would do it gladly to atone for all and do what I can to restore peace and harmony.

Fernando Mark the ring on its finger, which you once made a present of love. I ask you to keep the ring and save its message and meaning, the hand as well as the ring, and we will soon also be able to offer the heart that belongs to them. When you desire your friend, just send them to the one that owned them, and you will see how much he can help you. Duchess Your hand is very cold. I fear you are not well after your journey. It is unnaturally cold – and it is loose! O horror! Fernando (to Bussola) Give her enough light. (leaves) Duchess What an infernal cruelty to thus in cold calculation play me such a practical joke! What does he mean? (A curtain is withdrawn, revealing Antonio’s and the children’s bodies as dead, Antonio without one hand.) Bussola He means, that you are now quite alone without husband and children, and that you from now on hardly needs to grieve any more for what you anyway never will have in life any more. Duchess This is too much. Are they then all murdered, all four of them? Bussola They are at least dead to you. Duchess Then I have only one wish left in life, to die myself. Bussola You must live. Duchess That’s worse than to die. The cruellest torture that the souls are exposed to in hell is that they have to go on living without ever being able to die. Of course, I could starve myself to death. Bussola Then you would only be fed by force. Consider, my duchess, suicide is the worst exit of all, for it implies all doors and all possibilities to be shut, and there are always possibilities even in the most hopeless of lives, and always new doors only made to be opened. My lady, I implore you to survive, and I shall be of your assistance. Duchess To me life is only a mortal curse, so that now even death appears as a more joyful alternative. Bussola My lady, be brave. You have passed through many ordeals and only grown more noble and beautiful in the light of your adversity. Don’t interrupt the development of life by vain self-destruction, but allow it to continue growing and striving in your care as long as it still is natural and able to breathe. Anything else would be an unnatural sacrilege. Duchess Even if the whole world goes to perdition I will not, unless it drags me along with it. Let them kill me if they like. That’s the only thing left for them to do. I will survive them anyway. (leaves) Bussola No assignment given to me was ever more difficult. I sincerely hope the duke will not go any further. They have already gone too far. Here he is. Fernando My action had all the effect I could wish. She is shocked and devastated. Vincenzio Laureola performed his task in a masterly way, and the wax figures were as convincing as if they had been real corpses. Bussola Why are you doing this?

Fernando To drive her to despair. Bussola Is it really worth it? Be sensible, your grace, and don’t allow this cruelty to run away with you and get the better of you and your senses. Fernando I am not the one who is losing my senses. My intention is to make her do it. This is only the primary step. I will succeed, just you wait! Next I will fetch a company of madmen from the hospital, who shall freely improvise from their repertoire from the drains of the madhouse just to entertain her, so that she will find some kind of communion here in her captivity. It will only do her good. Bussola I don’t wish to be part of this. Fernando I order you to. You must. Bussola From now on I will do all I can to comfort her. Fernando You may if you can. I give you free hands. You’ll never be able to quench the passion fire of my revenge for all her crimes behind our backs, her secret selfindulgences just to stain our family and lead it to destruction, her abominable intrigues and damned orgies of criminal possession just to seduce and ruin and bring her family to perdition. Well, I release you from your commission as her prison guard. I will send you to Milan instead, where Antonio now has found some kind of a refuge. You don’t have to feel obliged any more to keep the duchess alive. You are dismissed from her. Go! Wait for further orders! (Bussola leaves.) I can no longer trust that worm. It’s time for me to take the case of the duchess in my own hands.

Scene 2. The same. (The duchess and Cariola somewhat recovered, sitting by their embroideries, are disturbed by hardly human noises.) Duchess What kind of nightmare wailings is that, Cariola? Are we hearing nightmares in broad daylight though we are awake? Cariola It’s the bedlamites coming together, summoned by your brother the duke just to harass us with even worse tortures. Such a tyranny I don’t think was ever practised before against two harmless and defenceless women. Duchess We must be grateful. At least I am. Only noise and madness could save my senses, since this silence and the horrible thoughts of confinement it inspires would only definitely drive me mad by depression, despair and regret. Cariola I suspect your brother’s actual intention to be just that, to drive you out of your mind. If he then instead favours it by his lunatics he has grossly miscalculated, and you might end up a winner. Duchess That will be on him. He can afford it, but I have nothing to lose and therefore can’t lose anything. If I then instead happen to win, it will not matter, and I don’t care. Continue encouraging me, Cariola. Read to me some dark morbid and hopeless tragedy. Cariola That would increase your melancholy.

Duchess Not at all. To listen to a worse tragedy than that of real life could only alleviate our reality. Worst of all is to be forced to confinement in oneself. Cariola I am sure we will still get out somehow. Duchess No cagebird in the world would believe that who even in his highest optimism could do anything else than fall quiet. Cariola Listen! Someone is coming. Duchess It’s only one of those servants who only turn up to deliver bad news. Servant (turning up) I am only here to inform you, that the duke your brother intends some evening’s entertainment for you. Duchess Alas, we love his intrigues, for they constantly excel themselves in their great mirth and excellent sense of humour. Cariola I think we already heard the prelude to the new play. Duchess What actors are playing in the new show? Servant A mad lawyer, a secularised priest who only preaches atheism, an astrologer who knows exactly when doomsday should have occurred and believes in shifting time and disorder in the dimensions, and several others. All are qualified as certified. Duchess They can’t be madder than the world, and the world is hopelessly disqualified and uncertified. (The bedlamites start appearing.) Servant I leave you alone with your visitors. (sneaks out) Doctor Noble ladies, I have had many patients, and they all died, since I poisoned them to death. They were dying anyway and tormented to death by life and had nothing else to do, so I just helped them on and shortened their misery. Was it wrong? I boasted my philosophy and was only proud of my incisions, but my jealous short-sighted colleagues could not accept the reason and success of my sensible procedure, so they got me certified into the hospital, where I don’t have to work any more. Now I was sent to comfort you. And I can promise you, that no maniac I ever comforted did ever get well. Lawyer Don’t listen to him. He is all gaga as the imbecile certified idiot he is. He brags about the patients he has murdered, more than a hundred, but what is that to all the murderers I got pardoned and released and all the innocents I got sentenced? I was employed in my day by all the highest nobles and potentates of Naples just to let them get away without punishment. I have had more villains released than any mad emperor ever got innocents to the scaffold, quartered, castrated and hanged. Popes absolve any murderers, but I have absolved popes. Duchess Why are you then not in the service of my brothers the duke and the Cardinal? Lawyer Because I was too clever. Only to sabotage them I made the settlement that they would inherit nothing from their father while instead you, their extravagant self-indulgent sister, would inherit everything. Duchess And that’s why you were hospitalized? Lawyer Yes. Isn’t it unfair?

Priest Don’t brag about your injustice. Everything is unfair, for God has ordained it that way, that everything in the world must be wrong, to punish all people, who are hopelessly self-destructive, mad, jealous, incompetent, distracted, disorderly, promiscuous and morally bankrupt… Duchess Is man then no longer the image of God? Priest It’s impossible that God could be so perverse and fallible, so idiotic and corrupt, so sexually stuck and fixed in his unlimited lewdness and promiscuity that man would be some image of him. Therefore I must hold it proved beyond any reasonable doubt that God could not exist and never has existed. Duchess Who wrote the Bible then? Priest Cheats and charlatans, impostors, madmen and idiots like myself. Duchess And you are supposed to be a priest? Priest And more saintly and holy as such than every priest in the whole world, for I am the only one who is right. Astrologer Don’t be so damned haughty, you miserable failure of a nonsensical preacher. The only one in the world who is God is I. Duchess How do you know? Astrologer Because I am the one who commands the stars to decide the destinies of men. Only I understand to interpret the stars and their relationships and aspects correctly, and therefore I am the only one who could be the only true God. Philosopher What about me then, who in a previous life was Jesus Christ? Astrologer Go and hang yourself. You have nothing to say. Philosopher I did hang myself once, and that was enough. Astrologer You are unhanged, if you claim that the resurrection was of any matter. Philosopher As if I ever was dead! I am constantly reincarnated and get constantly executed again by the ungrateful and ignorant humanity! This time I was buried alive and incarcerated in a hospital, but I am used to get buried alive. I was already then as Jesus Christ, but I triumphed as always by reincarnation and resurrection. Astrologer You are just babbling. Priest Tell me now exactly how it is. Mary couldn’t certainly have any children unless she was impregnated by her Joseph, who must have known what he did, as he had made children before? Philosopher Are you suggesting that my mother was a whore? Priest Yes, if your father wasn’t Joseph. Astrologer Who was it then? Priest If it was Joseph she was no innocent virgin. Or else she was a whore. Astrologer She was a whore anyway if it was Joseph, since they were not married. Priest Joseph was an old widower, and Mary was a teenager. I call that lewd. Philosopher You don’t know what you are talking about. Astrologer That’s precisely what we do. It’s you who are demented, deluded and perverse. Philosopher I am just stating facts.

Astrologer That’s what we are trying to say. Joseph was a lewd and dirty old man who took the teenager Mary without her being aware of what was happening until it was far too late. All the gospels tried to do was to smooth it over, beautify it and explain it away dressed up in attractive myths. Priest It was far more serious and worse in the case of Mary Magdalene, whom Jesus screwed, if you are to read and believe Thomas the apostle. Duchess Poor creatures, you are just prattling on. Do you have nothing else to do even in your hospital than just to debase everything by slander and gossip, spreading false rumours and humiliating speculations? Is there not even in your asylum the faintest hope of anything better, some light and something different from the self-destructiveness of humanity? Priest That’s what I mean. There just isn’t. Duchess Then I welcome you to a far more hopeless hell than yours in the hospital, namely my own as prisoner in this castle. Doctor But you are a duchess and sovereign as such and respected all across the country and Italy and elevated beyond all suspicion of any fallibility. Duchess I thank you. My brothers claim the opposite. Lawyer Then they are mad, but I always said they were, since that’s what they always have been. Philosopher That’s why they stick so strictly to their own absolute authority by their titles and positions. Priest They are also saintly, as they confess their sins as regularly as they commit them, go to church and communion, confess and repent for a refreshment to then go back out to war to start new fresh and even crueller intrigues. Philosopher That’s how the world goes around. That’s why we happy few who know all about it are locked up for life and buried alive. Duchess I ask you, gentlemen, to convey to the duke my sincere thanks for such an enlightening entertainment. You are all better brothers to me than the real ones, and I can regard you as no less than my dearest colleagues. Lawyer (bows) What an honour, sister. Doctor We are all deeply honoured. Priest We almost feel promoted and elevated to your court. Duchess That’s precisely what you are. You are my court since I have no other. Astrologer (to the others) We could hardly make a better performance. Philosopher Let’s be grateful for the appreciation we received and retire in dignity. Duchess You have done well. Thank you, gentlemen. Your universal wisdom spites the world, surpasses and places it in a correct perspective as that prison of restricted futility it is. Astrologer It’s our pleasure that you understand us. Philosopher We have a sister. Priest And some sister! Nobler than the entire world! Doctor Only villains stick to the mundane world and adhere to its follies in addicted dependence. I regret that I no longer may freely cure it of deadly patients.

Lawyer It will die anyway in time, for no one can defend it. The only one who could was I, who is sitting here locked up and branded as chronically mentally ill. Priest Just call on us next time you need us. We are gladly at your service as preachers. Duchess I never had a more sober preacher at court, but I fear my brother won’t let you out again when he is enlightened about the success you made with me. Philosopher We shall maintain your court with you or without you to your honour. Duchess Thank you. Now I will be able to sleep well for the first time in ages. (The bedlamites retire respectfully.) Cariola I fear there is one last guest. Duchess Who is it? Bussola (disguised and masked) I am your gravedigger. Duchess How do you know? You have no corpse as yet to bury. Bussola I just come to prepare you, for your hangmen are on their way. Duchess You can’t prepare me, for I am more than well prepared long since. I am so prepared, that I am looking forward to death as a better life than the life I was forced to lead here. Bussola I just wanted to inform you and try to alleviate the transition. Duchess Are you equally courteous to your bodies? Do you handle them with care? Bussola With the greatest respect, so that they will not be disturbed in their rest. No one wants corpses raised again as haunting nightmares and evil furies of conscience. Duchess I am afraid I can’t answer for what I will do after my death. Bussola That is your business. I suggest a temporary postponement. When you are safely on the other side and see how things are there and what possibilities might turn up, you can start acting and are free to act at large. Duchess I am looking forward to that day. Something tells me, that even if my brother murders me, my love will triumph over him. By premeditatedly and methodically preparing my death, the Cardinal will only dig his own grave. Gravediggers like you are more healthy, for you dig your graves to give others peace therein, but my brothers dig their own graves to fall therein themselves never to have peace again. Bussola I think there is something to it. Are you ready? Duchess Always ready for whatever. Cariola My lady, everything is but a charade, an infernal masque just to scare you out of your wits. Duchess They failed in everything and especially in scaring me out of my mind. So they have nothing else to do but to murder me. (Four masked hangmen bring in a coffin with a bell and a rope.) Cariola They do go about it with a sense of proper ceremony. Duchess Everything is carefully thought out by my brother, who most certainly is standing hidden behind the curtain, gloating on the spectacle. He can’t get more

morbid than he was from the beginning, but still he always succeeded in excelling his own morbidity. – What is my sentence, gravedigger? How will they murder me? Bussola By strangling by rope. Duchess That’s milder at least than to die stifling in cough, excretions, catarrh and consumption, for it will be so much quicker. Cariola They mustn’t do it! It’s only a cruel hoax! Duchess Cariola, go to my children and take care of them. I can manage these wild uninvited night guests alone. Obey me. Bussola Do as your mistress says. It’s best for you and the children. Duchess Obey me. Cariola If they as much as touch a hair on your head, I will avenge you far crueller than any man could for the rest of my life and beyond the limits of death! (leaves) Duchess You heard. She will not be easy to handle whether before or after death. Bussola You are lucky both, your highness, to have such a quick exit from this existence. You were born with titles, influence and power, and that was your curse, since you opposed its impact. There is no political establishment exerting its power, except on the condition of an equally established corruption of evil, foul play, treason, murder and what not, that does not live exclusively on sacrificing other peoples’ lives. You detached yourself from that establishment to instead join hands with all its victims, innocence and fairness, love, humanity, sincerity and honour. You are blessed in the courage of having made that choice and die a martyr to your honour, for which you should be happy and relieved. Hangman Do you mind, Madame? (puts the rope round her neck) Duchess As long as you don’t fumble, it doesn’t hurt, and you do it quickly, I really have nothing against it. (Bussola makes a sign, and the hangmen strangles her quickly.) Bussola (removes his mask) So it is done. I hope the duke is satisfied now, but I doubt he will ever be satisfied. Fernando (in) Is she really dead? Bussola Your grace, check for yourself. She could hardly be more dead. Fernando (to the hangmen) Quick! The children! All must be killed! The maid also! (exit hangmen) Then bring them in here, so that I can see that they are all dead! Bussola Will you also desecrate their bodies? Fernando I just want to make sure that all is accomplished. Bussola Christ said when he died, that it was accomplished, but that’s when it all began. Fernando Quiet! Bussola I can’t keep quiet. Here comes your life’s work, the harvest of all your life’s effort, three more bodies, a virgin and two small children. (The hangmen place the bodies beside the duchess.) Fernando It was necessary. It was a murder of honour. Bussola (to a hangman) What did the maid say when she died?

Hangman She didn’t want to die. She was not prepared. She fought with teeth and nails so there will be scars for some years. She argued that she hadn’t been to confession for three years and that she was pregnant. Fernando Lies. She tried to get away. Bussola And what had the children done, your grace? What did their threat against you consist of, when they couldn’t even talk? Fernando Shut up! They were children of the she-wolf and wolves like she. Bussola No, they were human beings and not wolves, and innocent as such at that. Look at the delicate corpses of these little children. Only yesterday they prattled and cheered warmly and cordially at anything. What joy could it bring you to put an end to childish joy and innocence by slaughter and cruelty? Can you watch them without nauseating disgust and anguish and not have any feeling of remorse at all? Fernando At least shut the eyes of the poor things. They died all too young. Bussola No, your sister died before her time all too aged, because of the sufferings from your persecution of her. Fernando Let me once more see her face. Alas, couldn’t you have stopped this, who still was present at the deed? What a man of honour you would have been if you had smuggled her out to some sanctuary! If you had only interfered between her innocence and my revenge of blinded wrath! I asked you to commit the murder of my best friend my sister, and you did it! Bussola Don’t accuse me. I advised you against it from the start, but you never wanted to listen in your blind brotherly jealousy. I did all I could to mediate between you, and only reluctantly carried through whatever orders you gave me in your persecution tactics against her, in efforts to turn them to her advantage, strengthen her, comfort her and give her hope. I had nothing to do with your hired assassins. They were all your own. Still I have fulfilled everything you asked me to do, and do I not finally deserve some kind of a salary? Fernando Of course you deserve a reward. Bussola I still had nothing so far for my long and faithful service. Fernando You will certainly have what you have earned with a vengeance. As a reward for everything you did I forgive you the murders of my sister, her maid and two children. Bussola But I didn’t do it! Fernando Everything you did led up to it. And therefore I must now ask you: With what right and authority have you done what you have done? Bussola With yours. Fernando I never gave you any authority to reach this result. No court has decided it, there has been no sentence, and the church can only rightly condemn it. You are lost, Bussola, you have placed your own head under the axe and can be taken to a criminal court with only a death sentence for a possible outcome. Bussola You are perverting all justice. And if the story comes out, how will you get away with it yourself?

Fernando I had nothing to do with it, and you know it: She was murdered by unknown masked assassins during the night, and a careful investigation will only find that a number of murders have been committed and that you alone were present. No matter what tales you will try to fabricate, nothing will help. Bussola Why, after all I have done for you, do you so ungratefully treat me so badly? I always implored you not to have to torment her any more, you always tempted me to take another step, each time it was promised to be the last one, but there never was a last one until now, when everything is too late and nothing can be redressed. Fernando You are lost. Get away and hide somewhere in the world, where neither we nor justice can reach you any more. Bussola Do you banish me now? Fernando If you don’t wish to be prosecuted and destroyed. Bussola You have seduced me with beguiling hopes of riches to participation in the most heinous crimes ever committed here in Amalfi, and what’s worse, they were preceded by an endlessly long and cruel torture which, because it was mental, was far more inhuman than any bodily torture could be. Fernando Enough! You just keep babbling, and I will hear no more, for you only bore me. Get the hell out of here at last and never let me see you again! (Bussola leaves without further comments.) He will probably go to Milan to confer with Antonio, who still has a whore’s brat to plague us with. I will have to have him shadowed and contact my brother the Cardinal to at last have this painful business out of this world with our sister’s last child.

Act V scene 1. Milan. Antonio Is there nothing I can do to placate the brothers? Delio I have tried everything. I pleaded with the marquess of Pescara myself, who by his bills has acquired some of the property that belonged to you until you were banished and all your lands were confiscated, but I was denied without explanation, while the Cardinal’s mistress, Giulia Castrucchio, only had to deliver a letter from the Cardinal to instantly have all that property as a gift. Antonio The Cardinal is now here in Milan. Delio And I just heard that his brother is here to visit him. He appears not to be quite well. Antonio What ails him? Delio Sleeplessness and depressions, obsessions and hallucinations, illusory voices and a number of other psychic problems, which affect his intestines and stomach problems negatively. Antonio It sounds like perfect hypochondria. Delio It’s a fact that he is not quite himself.

Antonio I will visit the Cardinal. Perhaps I can convince him that I am not as dangerous as they think. If he hears me alive perhaps he might realise that every hostile action against me was unnecessary and stupid. Delio Take no risks. The Cardinal is like velvet on the outside but has nothing but poisonous thorns under the skin. Antonio I know. I know him. That’s why I am not afraid.

Scene 2. The Cardinal’s apartment in Milan. Cardinal I am grateful for your visit, Bussola, but you must wait. My brother is also here, and there are some problems about him. Bussola Is he ill? Cardinal You will see yourself. I expect him any moment. Bussola I would rather not see him. Cardinal Perhaps it’s better. Does your errand to me touch your dealings with him? Bussola No. Cardinal Then I ask you to wait outside in the meantime. (shows Bussola to a waiting-room.) (Enter Fernando with a doctor and Malatesta.) Fernando Why may I not be alone? Why must everyone now persecute me? Malatesta But why do you love your loneliness? You didn’t use to, and only your own thoughts could be dangerous to you if you are alone with them. Fernando Who is persecuting me? Doctor You are not persecuted at all, your grace. Fernando I constantly feel my shadow following me in my heels. Malatesta But that is only your shadow! Fernando You who are so knowledgeable, doctor, cure me from it, so that I can have peace. Doctor Your shadow is no illness. We all have our own shadows to drag along, it’s quite natural, and they weigh nothing, but you don’t seem to understand their natural nature. Fernando I can understand anything and much more than you, mister bright boy of a quack. I dismissed you long ago. Doctor The Cardinal your brother found it safest that I kept you under observation, in case anything should happen. Fernando And what could happen, except that my persecutors could get at me? Doctor Who are your persecutors? Fernando That is what I don’t know! They just keep persecuting me! I can’t see them, but I feel them and know that they are always straight behind me lurking on me. Malatesta (to the Cardinal) He is queer and will remain so since he refuses to accept and realize that that is what he is. Cardinal It will pass. It might be just a temporary depression.

Fernando What I have done I have done, but I admit nothing. What are you doing here? I didn’t come to meet you, damned flatterers and slaves and lackeys, but my brother the Cardinal. Cardinal It’s me. Tell me, don’t you recognize me? Fernando Are you the Cardinal? Cardinal Yes. Fernando What Cardinal? Cardinal Your brother. Fernando You are lying. He didn’t look that way. Cardinal We all gradually change our looks while we age. You haven’t seen me for half a year. Fernando You only play the Cardinal to get me trapped. Cardinal In what sort of a trap? Fernando How could I know? You are just going to persecute me like everyone else. Cardinal Take good care of him, doctor. Give him much rest and the calmest harmonious environment, and then he will get better and get rid of his depression. Malatesta In Amalfi he had the calmest environment in the world of perfect harmony and beauty in his castle and garden, but he just could not bear it there any more. Doctor (to the duke) Come, my friend. You shall see it will be all right with time. (exit with the duke) Malatesta Have you any idea how such a brilliantly gifted prince could get stuck in so dark blind alleys of self-restriction and frightening morbidity? Cardinal I suppose it is age setting in too fast too early, or he has been visited by some phantom or revelation from the other side, perhaps by some unfathomable nightmare. How could I know? It could be just anything, but it will pass. Malatesta Let’s hope so. (leaves) Cardinal And then there was that Bussola. He must not know that I know everything about the death of his duchess. (lets him in from the waiting-room) What can I do for you, Bussola? Bussola I heard through the door and understood my duke’s predicament. Cardinal I expect it to be soon well known and public. Still I ask you to contain what you know. Bussola I never had any problem with discretion. Cardinal How is the duchess? Her grief has been hard on her, but I can assure you that we do everything we can to take care of her and give her comfort. Of course it was a shock to her to be deceived by her most faithful servant, the treasurer Antonio, for so much of her money – he appears to have embezzled all her money, her entire fortune and inheritance. But why do you look so upset? I know. You served the duke so faithfully for so long. Of course you are concerned about his present condition of mental instability, deteriorating into debility. Nothing could shock as much as a change of personality, but he could become normal again. Bussola (aside) What does he mean? Doesn’t he know anything? Or is he acting? Why, in that case?

Giulia (enters) My lord, will you have dinner? (discovers Bussola, aside:) Does he know that I am the Cardinal’s mistress? I would rather have him than the old dry Cardinal. Cardinal Later. Now I am busy. Please go. (She departs.) His nemesis, Antonio di Bologna, the secretary who commenced the ruin of our duchess and seduced her so that her destruction became inevitable, is now here in Milan. That’s why your visit is very opportune. Find him and kill him, for as long as he is alive she cannot remarry, and we have a splendid match prepared for her. Execute the mission, and you can be sure of a higher favour and promotion. Bussola How can I find him? Cardinal He has a good friend called Delio. You know him. Just find them. Ask people and go to mass in the cathedral and the churches, and they will certainly turn up or be well known there. Bussola There is no one I would more gladly meet with than Antonio. Cardinal Good! Find that villain, and you will find your fortune and happiness. Now I must go to my housekeeper for my dinner. (leaves) Bussola He is just like his brother – all they both can think of is murder. How could he be ignorant of the duchess’ death? It must be pure dissimulation for evil purposes. Let me also dissimulate then and pretend to play the game, which only is about how they prepare their own destruction and desperately try to drag down as many as possible with them. And the poor gentleman Antonio! I will find you to warn you and get you to safety, perhaps to become your best instrument for all that retaliation needed to have us reconciled with life. Even the weakest of all arms is strong enough to handle justice when its sword demands a striking action. All power, force and energy is basically and exclusively moral, and those two brothers pathetically competing in bolting away in the madness of criminality are utterly morally bankrupt.

Scene 3. Outside. Delio Up there you see the Cardinal’s window. This fortification was built on the ruins of an old church, and on the other side of the river there is a wall, a remnant of what once was a monastery, which has resulted in, that here you have the best echo I have ever heard, a hollow, solemn and spooky echo, which so distinctly and vividly repeats whatever you speak if it only is a whisper, that every letter is more than clear enough and amplified, like in the Ear of Dionysios. Antonio I always loved old living ruins, where history never dies but goes on living a life of mystery in other dimensions, which so beneficially remind us of how futile, vain and absurd we are in our pitiable triviality. Without doubt there are many graves here with stories too many and too tragic to be told – all the best of humanity lies buried alive. Echo Humanity lies buried alive. Delio You hear. Now you have been detected by your double your echo.

Antonio As if it wailed when it was awakened and gave an extra even more ghostly meaning to its grave accent, as if here even death itself was speaking. Echo Here even death itself is speaking. Delio You can hear for yourself. It is phenomenal, and you could easily manipulate it into anything, to joyful singing, to senseless laughter and horrid hysteria, to frightening effects or to a song of death languishing in endless tears. Echo A song of death languishing in endless tears. Antonio It’s almost as if she lent her own voice to bottomless depths of sorrow. Echo My voice to bottomless depths of sorrow. Delio It’s too spooky. Let’s leave this place. I fear some calamity. Don’t go to the Cardinal. Echo Go to the Cardinal. Antonio She urges me to the opposite. Mark well how the echo doesn’t repeat exactly what we express but adds some spice to the contents of a somewhat varied meaning, as if it actually was she herself who advised me like my oracle. Echo Your oracle. Delio That’s what frightens me. It doesn’t usually work like that. Consider the matter carefully, give yourself time, Antonio, and don’t do anything rash. Time is the highest wisdom and better than all wisdom in efficiency when it comes to the cure of sorrows. Wait, I beg you, Antonio, and put safety first. Echo Put safety first. Antonio Necessity forces me to go on. What is my love doing now? She probably sleeps with her beloved darlings in a happy mother’s sleep of smiling serenity with them both closest to her heart. Shall I ever see her again? Yes, we shall meet again soon. Echo Yes, we shall meet again soon. Antonio I feel it so distinctly, that my return to her leads me to the Cardinal. This destiny I cannot escape. Echo This destiny you cannot escape. Antonio You hear. Delio That echo is something dead, a physical matter without any life, a simple phenomenon of acoustics. You must not take it so dead serious. Echo Take it dead serious. Antonio Should I then not hear what I am hearing? It’s her own voice but whispering and veiled but the more obvious and clear! It is as if she was showing me the way! I must follow it! Echo You must follow it. Antonio I have nothing to lose, Delio. They have already taken everything away from me. All I have left is my life. I can no longer live here as a half disabled human being. I will wage everything and win everything or lose it all. That’s the only thing left for me to do. Echo The only thing left for you to do.

Delio I shall support you in everything. Your oldest son should be by your side. Perhaps the encounter with his own nephew could tune the Cardinal to some trace of humanity and wholesome charity. Echo Charity. Antonio You hear. We are on the right course. Be it as you say. She calls on her oldest son, and I will present him to the Cardinal. Thus nothing can go wrong, and our diplomacy will prevail over all evil of power in this world. Come! Echo Come! Come! Come! (Exit Antonio with his arm around Delio.)

Scene 4. Back at the Cardinal’s. (Bussola is on his way out as Giulia enters.) Giulia (enters with a pistol) My lord, I wish to speak with you. Bussola What is the meaning? Giulia You know that I am the Cardinal’s mistress. Bussola I also know that you are Castrucchio’s wife. Where is your husband? Giulia He has gone to Naples where he is busy about taking over Antonio de Bologna’s residential palace. (raises her pistol against him) Bussola I have not poked into your business. Why then do you aim a gun at me? Giulia Simply to force you to confess. Bussola What? What have I done? Giulia You have bewitched me to fall in love with you. I was raped by the Cardinal and have been forced to be his slave under threats of violence and murder, but no woman wants him, the old dried out and plastered mummy. He only inspires disgust. Bussola Perhaps I can help you, if you can help me. Giulia How could I help you? Bussola You could find out how the Cardinal is involved in the death of the duchess and her children. Giulia I already know all about it. He has confessed it to me. He commanded his brother to take the lives of the innocents by sanction of the church and absolution in advance since it was a murder of honour. Bussola I knew it! So it’s the Cardinal who is responsible for the brother and his mental illness. Giulia But I swore never to tell anyone. Bussola But I knew it already. Giulia Still I have now told you about it. If now the Cardinal discovers that I told you he will take my life. Bussola Escape then before it is too late. Giulia Where could I go? To my corrupt husband, their slave lackey as all the others, he who least of all loved me, since our marriage was just a political

arrangement by our parents? I hardly ever saw him. He only thinks of his indulgences and his money. And that Cardinal then. For his eminence, love is just force and violence, and he always enjoyed it. Bussola I will help you. Giulia And if I escape, he will immediately know that I have talked, and then I will have all the bloodhounds of the Vatican running after me. Bussola What do you want me to do? Giulia Love me – for real. Bussola Here and now? Giulia Why not? Bussola Here in the Cardinal’s own house? Giulia He will not notice anything. He is tired after his dinner, and I put some powder into it. Bussola If only you had put the poison that he deserves! Giulia Maybe I did. I have often thought about it. Bussola Come away from here with me. This is no place for you. Giulia Then take me to some place where the Cardinal never more can find me. (They intend to leave and draw the curtain, where the Cardinal meets them.) Cardinal I knew that you wouldn’t even have time to wink before you had talked. But, my heart, I forgive you. Just kiss the Bible here, and all your sins will be forgiven. Giulia I ask your forgiveness, your eminence, but even you should know, that not even bishops and cardinals and not even archbishops can trust a woman. Cardinal Yes, I know that. Now kiss the Bible, dear child, and all is forgiven. Giulia (kisses the book) No penalty and no punishment? Cardinal It will come later. You already had it. It was the kiss of death you gave my holiest bible but in reverse, for it was poisoned. You are dead within a few minutes. Let it comfort you that you found death by a kiss and that you don’t have to talk any more. Giulia I don’t know what I did, and even less I know what’s happening to me and where I am going. I disappear into the mists. The only wrong I did, which I know, is that I was taken and loved to death by the Cardinal. (drops down) Cardinal And for you, signor Bussola, who now knows everything, it will be wisest to continue obeying my orders. You were present when this woman died and was her accomplice. You can’t get away. First of all we must get rid of the body somewhere. Bussola I had nothing to do with her death. Cardinal But you were her lover, and she almost died in your arms. Try to explain that to a court. There! Don’t stand there like a dummy. You served the duke before and know our routines. One more corpse is nothing to fuss about and will hardly even be missed by that husband who never did but betray her. That’s why I pitied her and took care of her, and all the thanks I had for that was treason. Is it then so strange that she is dead?

Fernando (in the background) Leave me then at last in peace, you shadows of twisted corpses that only carve in me to torment me! Cardinal My brother is unblessed again and walks around in his sleep crying for woe and madness in his sick mind. We can’t do anything serious in the meantime. We’ll have to wait until we have put him to bed and got him quiet by drugs. One patient at a time. We have to dispose of the body later. First we must take care of my brother. Stay here and keep watch. (leaves. Aside:) He dies, as soon as he has settled with Antonio. Bussola (alone) So I seem more and more like some corpse transport in the service of these brothers. Well, it should come to an end by and by when the corpses have filled their quota and are cold, stiff and buried enough. It’s just to take one at a time, bury them and let the rest wait. Fernando (closer) The most quiet way to die is by strangling, for it gives the strangled or hanged man no possibility to answer by any sound. Bussola My mad duke, who so often talked about murder by charity, and who has claimed that it is an act of charity to murder people who suffer, is now lost in his madness with not even his own soul left in his control and wholly unaware of his own outrageous suffering. It’s pathetic and grotesque. He can’t see me here in the dark. Wouldn’t it then be a charitable deed to at last give him the justice of death, which he so long has deserved? Fernando Silent shadows, cover for me my false brother’s guardian, who only wishes me evil, wants to shut me up and fulfil the darkness in my soul to make it total. If only someone would close the eyes of those poor stiff kids! Bussola It will be difficult to strike straight in the dark, but if I only get his figure in sight within reach it will be just a matter of striking home. It’s the only right thing to do. Antonio (stealing in, to himself) I found the right place. This is the Cardinal’s apartment, and he seems to be at home, for someone is wandering impetuously about talking to himself, like in his sleep. Could it be the Cardinal himself? Can I then wake him up without risk? Fernando I regret nothing, for I did nothing that I am aware of, for I have forgotten all I did, so I have nothing to confess. All I fear is to be confined under strict hospital care, for then there will be no way out of the darkness any more. (Antonio carefully approaches the duke and comes close into view of Bussola, who mistakes him for the duke.) Bussola Ha! Get lost in darkness at once, you sick and miserable villain! (strikes and pierces Antonio) Antonio No! I beg you, hear my prayer first! Alas, too late! Bussola (realises his mistake at once) Who are you, my poor man? Antonio Who are you yourself, who murders me in blindness, poor devil? Fernando People are murdering each other around here. Is it my guards who have missed me? Just spare me from viewing any more corpses, for everything I see in the light makes me mad.

Antonio Am I not at the Cardinal’s? Is he the one who has gone mad? Bussola (cries) Bring in some light, for heaven’s sake! Fernando No, anything but not that! (escapes) Antonio’s servant (enters with light) I guided my master here, but he asked me to wait outside, so that he could see the Cardinal. What has happened? Bussola (discovers the bleeding Antonio) Antonio! No! Of all possible grotesque mistakes! (falls down embracing him) The last man in the world I wished any harm! Antonio Bussola! What are you doing here? Is it you who have murdered me? Bussola I thought I struck the duke, but he got away! Antonio Was it the duke who has gone mad? I took him for the Cardinal who lives here, whom I was hoping to reach some reconciliation with. Bussola A reconciliation with the Cardinal is as impossible as it is for the duke to ever get well. The more gravely afflicted with illness is the Cardinal though, who hasn’t even got a conscience. Antonio And who is then the dead woman whom I see as something of another sister here in death’s company? Bussola The Cardinal’s mistress as yet another of his victims. Antonio Isn’t it lady Castrucchio? Bussola Yes, it is indeed. Antonio Tell me more before I die. You seem to know everything, but my time is short. How are my beloved at home, my children and their mother? Bussola Break, my heart! This is too unbearable! Antonio Well, what is it? Just whisper a word that they are alive and well, and you can still save my life. Bussola They have been murdered. Antonio (surprised) All three? Bussola All three. Antonio Then I have nothing more to do in life. Just as well then, and perhaps a blessing by fortune, that you took my life. It was just an accident and nothing to forgive, regret or worry about. And then it was really my beloved who called on me by her echo now in the night. Everything is explained, and I can die at peace in spite of all. What is all our life’s great effort of ambitions and strains but a chase for soap bubbles blown in the air only to burst and disappear? What are all the pleasures, enjoyments, moments of happiness and so called fulfilments in our life more than just short pauses in the constancy of eternal sufferings? – Just two wishes, and I may die. Bussola Tell me quickly. They are granted. Antonio Greetings to my friend Delio, and let my son take over after me. (dies) Bussola Burst, my heart, for this tragedy, which I was fooled into by my own vanity and folly, has long since derailed into an immeasurable disaster constantly growing worse, while those who started the misery, two jealous egoists, lost control from the start. But I must live if not for anything else, to fulfil Antonio’s last wish. Boy, you loved your master?

Servant Yes. I followed him here for his reconciliation with the Cardinal. Bussola Yes, I know all that already. Nothing came of it. Carry him up to Giulia’s room. I will carry Giulia herself, and so they will keep company on their last journey, dispatched by the Cardinal and his sick brother, but these two are the last victims they will get away with, for Caron’s boat is already filled to the point of sinking by the cargo of their vice. Even Caron himself says enough to any further tragedies, and now it is time at last for the brothers to pay for the tickets of all those they sent away. Cardinal (enters) My brother evades me. I can’t hear him complain any more, but they said he had walked in here. Bussola? And Antonio? Did you at last succeed in murdering him? Bussola Your eminence, you are just on time. No, your eminence, I am not the one who has taken Antonio’s life. It’s the duke and you, who constantly insists on adding murder to murder to the mad intrigues of your desperate greed. It’s over now. Cardinal For your part, yes. Bussola No, for your part. As a man you are finished, denounced by your emperor and dishonoured and perhaps ruined by all that you wasted your life, career and money on that has backfired. Your brother himself preached murder by charity, and you are so spiritually and morally bankrupt that you deserve nothing better. Cardinal You are finished here and are not needed any more. Your services are no longer required. All you did for us deserves no extra salary, since the deeds of your own hands, like all these murders, are salary enough as a reward. Bussola You don’t seem to understand. You will get no further. The devastations, persecutions and crimes of your course end at this point. Fernando (enters) My brother, are you in trouble? Cardinal Yes, Fernando. I am threatened. Kill him. Fernando Whom shall I kill? Who is the persecuted, and who is the persecutor? Cardinal Antonio is dead, and Bussola has killed him and is angry with me for that and intends to kill me if no one kills him. Fernando No, my brother, you are the persecutor, and I am tired of being persecuted by you, your guards and doctor who only harass me. Cardinal You are ill. I wish you well. Fernando If you wish me and all people so well, how come then that you all your life only caused them harm? Cardinal You are mad. Fernando No, my brother, for the first time in my life I am now sane, and this is the soundest thing I ever did. (pierces the Cardinal) Bussola I am beginning to think, your grace, that there is hope for you. Fernando One murder of honour too much. Nothing is worse than a fratricide, but this was necessary. Kill me now, Bussola, and reconcile me with life. Bussola Kill you, my employer? Fernando Or else I must be the one who kills you. Bussola You give me no alternative.

Fernando And that’s the intention. I have forfeited all my rights of any life and can only atone for it by death, which automatically liberates the soul from all guilt of crimes it committed by the body. Give me death, Bussola, and give me free, for this life was no life but only a burial of myself alive. Bussola I warn you. It will hurt. Fernando All that hurts will pass, but all that’s good will remain. Bussola One last murder then, and one last murder of honour, to end all murders of honour. (pierces him) Servant (returns) My lord, Delio is here with Antonio’s son. Bussola That was about time. Still all is not too late, even if it is too late to save a few innocent lives. Delio (enters with the son with his hand on his shoulder) I heard about the disaster and know everything. Let’s now forget it, for all these bodies and these brothers’ criminal intrigues is no more than frost and snow melting to nothing as soon as the sun shows up, which always reappears to shine even after the darkest night of storms. The names of these two brothers will be forgotten, since they leave nothing behind, while Antonio’s son will inherit everything after his mother. Thus our life continues as if nothing had happened, and our duties, Bussola, to in some extent neutralise and outweigh all the evil that has happened, is to with the same fidelity with which we loved Antonio now serve his son, the new duke of Aragon and Amalfi. Bussola We can hardly do more than just the best of it. Delio That’s what I mean. (also takes Bussola round his shoulder, and they leave all three, Delio in between with his hands secured around the others’ shoulders.)

The End

Leh 30.8.2008, revised 30.1.2019.

Comment The play varies only slightly from ”John Webster’s” ”The Duchess of Malfi” with only a few abbreviations, revisions and developments of certain scenes and characters to primarily concentrate on the subject, which actually is the modern concept of ’murder of honour’ to analyse this and try to understand how it can occur by delving into the strange motivation of a kind of greedy jealousy that can degenerate so seriously and totally to find extremely irrational expressions in a total lack of detachment. The origin of the play is actual conflicts between 1508 and 1513 within the Aragona family. The duchess’ name, which never is mentioned in the play, was Giovanna d’Aragona, daughter of Arrigo d’Aragona, marquess of Gerace in Calabria, who was illegitimate son of king Ferdinand I of Naples. Her first husband was Alfonso Piccolomini, duke of Amalfi. Her brothers were Cardinal Luigi d’Aragona and marquess Carlo d’Aragona of Gerace. Her second husband, married secretly, was Antonio Beccadelli di Bologna, murdered 1513. When the duchess was brought back to Amalfi by her brothers with her children, they were never heard of again, and the story of their murders is only an unverified legend. Of course, the uncertainty of what really happened inspired the legend, which was told in different versions during the 16th century, for example by Cinthio and William Painter in ”The Palace of Pleasure” 1567, where also the stories of Romeo and Juliet and Othello are found. Thus ”John Webster” has used exactly the same sources as ”Shakespeare” but, also like ”Shakespeare”, fashioned them in his own architecture.

Appius and Virginia tragedy in five acts after John Webster by Christian Lanciai (2008)

Dramatis personae (in order of appearance): Minutius lictors Oppius Appius Two cousins Marcus Clodius Numitorius Icilius Virginia Virginius, her father soldiers Valerius Horatius Virginia’s nurse Virginia’s fool servants a lawyer a tribune The action is in Rome and its provinces 451-449 B.C.

Appius and Virginia Act I scene 1 Minutius Lictor Oppius Lictor

Is Appius present, so that we could tell him what the senate has decided? He is here, Minutius, and will be present any moment. Did you mention to him that our issue is about the senate’s resolution? I did, and here he is. (enter Appius with two cousins and Marcus Clodius) Appius Gentlemen, what is your message? Minutius The senate greets you, Appius, with the message that you have been elected decemvir. Appius Be it far from such a humble man as I to aspire to such a title and responsibility, which demands the highest rank and noblest blood in Rome. To take the helm of our realm a man must have thorough insight in our time, its fluctuations and politics, and I would therefore beg of you to choose another. I am not worthy. Oppius You must realize, that what the senate has decided is not negotiable. You can’t refuse for even private reasons. You have only two alternatives: to either accept the responsibility of this honour or to leave Rome immediately in dishonoured banishment. We give you but a moment to think it over. Let’s leave him alone to collect his wits. Lictors, dismiss! (leaves with Minutius and the lictors.) Cousin 1 You can’t refuse such an honourable distinction. Cousin 2 Consider, how you in such a position could further your family and tribe! We can’t accept a possible refusal. That would be idiocy. How would your family react? Appius Banished! Wait here a moment, cousins. – Marcus! Clodius Yes. Appius What do you think of these turnings? Clodius I must protest like your cousins. I was almost afraid the senate would accept your stupid decline. Your whole family expects you not to let them down. Appius They dare to threaten me and state conditions! Accept or leave Rome! It’s an ultimatum! Laugh then, my good Marcus Clodius. Don’t you think I strove and worked and hoped for this very thing? All politics are just for show like on the theatre. Pretend, and you will succeed. ”Observe his humility,” they say, ”how free he is from ambition, he is afraid to pride himself,” how could they but offer me the highest responsibility then? Don’t you think I have been lying sleepless for this moment, don’t you think I have been shitting blood for nervousness, how do you think I could have had anything but worries for this day? If they had ignored me, my melancholy for the rest of my life would have been incurable. Clodius I think the senators are returning. Minutius Appius, your answer?

Appius To obey, gentlemen, and to carefully consider are two very different things. Nature teaches you to obey, but you only learn to rule by long experience. There never was authority or ruler without long dark shadows. Who is extolled and elevated must reckon with the persecution by envy as long as he remains in his exposed position. I have seriously hesitated between the tests and trials of a responsibility of state and the extreme loneliness and hollow desolation of a banishment, and I have made my choice. (to the cousins) My friends, I regret that my destiny will now be exile by duty and for the best of our state. Here we depart, and we can no longer be close as friends. Therefore I bid you farewell. Cousin 1 You refuse? Appius I must embark on a course of the unknown full of perils and of fear of wasting my time in sweat in the loneliness of the dark nightâ€™s contemplations, separated from family and friends and banished from myself, for I take on this burden of responsibility. Minutius Noble Appius, may the gods guide you. Lictors, crown him with the mantle of office. (They do so.) Cousin 2 You almost frightened us to death. Appius I did not pull your legs, though, for everything I said was true indeed. The office I now assume denies me social life, company and pleasures to instead give me grey hairs, worries without end and endless problems and fatiguing journeys in the slow demanding toilsome vehicle of brain gymnastics, wherein I, to rightly mind my duty and effect impartial justice in infallible incorruptibility, can no more think of family, cousins, relations and my friends. From now on I must only know you by your virtues or crimes, which I then as a judge must assess and punish. Therefore I bid you farewell. Here ends our private concerns. Cousin 1 Who could have imagined? He is like transformed into another character. I am disappointed. So could anyone who just reaches a position become intolerably proud and arrogant. Appius (ignoring the cousins) Now for our duties. Minutius, our campaign against Algidon is at stake, as now the army must camp for winter. They lack food and fuel. We must immediately adjust the situation and make the men think of other things than mutiny and rebellion. Minutius We will immediately handle the matter. Victuals are on their way. Appius Farewell, Minutius. Good luck. See to it that this victory will be carried through like all the others. Minutius I am sure weâ€™ll make it in spite of all. (They depart.)

Scene 2.The house of Virginius. Numitorius Welcome, dear Icilius! Feel completely at ease and at home here, for your attention to my niece and your honest feelings are answered by hers. There is no man in all Rome who is more worthy of courting her than you. Icilius You make me better than I am, but I take it as a challenge and will try to live up to your expectations. Here is my temple (takes Virginia’s hand) whose hand I receive to worship in humility and tenderness to try to be what she deserves. Virginia Now you are flattering me. Don’t put me on any pedestal, and make no ideal glittering idol picture of me, for when the wedding is over and I put off my bridal attire, I will only be myself and nothing more than what is under it. Icilius Thus the ladies always transcend and outwit those gentlemen who dare to challenge them in compliments. (enter a servant somewhat upset whispering something in Icilius’ ear) Numitorius What is it? What is happening? Icilius Your brother Virginius has suddenly returned from his campaign in miserable sweat and dirty, disguised and escaped from some crisis in the army, followed by a crowd who want to know more, both hailing his return and fearing its consequences. There is a rumour of some mutiny. Virginia Then I retire, for this means strictly business for men only. (excuses herself) Numitorius Right, my girl. (She leaves.) What else? Icilius His horse was bloody from his spurs and foaming, wearied out from stress, as if it were to break down any moment, and he immediately hastened to the senate without even greeting friends or neighbours or coming home for any rest. Numitorius There is a crisis then. May the gods protect us. Let’s hurry ourselves to the senate to know how close the danger is that possibly could threaten us. (They leave.) Scene 3. Appius and Clodius. Appius Leave me alone. Clodius What is it? I have never seen you like this before. Appius I am in conflict with myself and have a problem. Clodius Lucky then for you that I exist to keep your secrets. Appius Can I trust you? Clodius Of course. Appius So hear my confession. I am in love. Clodius Ha-ha-ha! (laughs) Appius Do you take it so lightly? My heart is failing me, I am in a state of disintegration, the ground is lost under my feet, and I am burning, consumed in soul and body! And you just laugh.

Clodius No, I am only smiling and sharing your dilemma, that you feel that you are just a mortal being with quite natural limitations, and that you childishly torture yourself for that, like an immature enamoured youngster, who doesn’t see yourself that there is no impediment. Who could resist you in all your glory and your established position? You are unassailable! It’s just for you to serve yourself! Let me go between, if you are ashamed of what you feel. Give me money and mandate to buy her, and she couldn’t refuse. It couldn’t be more simple. Appius It’s not just anyone. It’s the virtuous Virginia. Clodius Virginia, the daughter of Virginius? Appius Yes. Clodius He is busy about the war abroad. It will be an easy match. Do like this. Withold the army’s salaries until further, so Virginius will lose his authority and weapons, while the soldiers instead will turn theirs against him. The daughter is compelled to seek comfort with just anyone, and who would be more helpful and available than you? Thus the father will also be on your side. Or else you could easily lay siege to the virgin tower and conquer it by your authority and power. Appius Then I give you the licence and commission to start immediately. You have full authority. (enter Valerius) Valerius Decemvirus Appius, the senate requires your presence immediately. Old Virginius demands express measures to save the army. Appius Coming at once. Clodius, get going. (follows Valerius)

Scene 4. The senate. Oppius We summoned you for the urgent issue of the army crisis at Algidon. Appius Let us settle it at once. Let us hear Virginius speak for the army. Oppius Sing out, Virginius! Virginius What are you doing, gentlemen of the senate, withholding the army’s salaries and not sending supplies of victuals for your army to live on? For three months we have fought without payment, our equipment is in rags and shambles, and we will soon have no weapons left. What do you mean? Are we to fight like beggars, and will Rome have a beggar army? For what do we have our decemvirs? I beg you for the sake of Rome not to let its bravest army starve to extinction! You still have food and means enough in here! Appius Am I to answer the soldier, senators? Oppius Speak for us and for Rome. Appius We are not here to be commanded. We command. The army is wholly dependent on us, and we decide for it what to do, and we dissolve it when no longer needed. You will have your means and victuals in good time, but until then you must be patient and blindly obey orders and fight with the means and force you still

have left. Rome has always a surplus of force but must consider the economy to survive at all. Virginius But we are starving! A starving army cannot fight! Aren’t you the highest office of command in Rome? Where could we complain if not here? Where could we get help and support if not from you? I must warn you – if you don’t relieve the army it could get worse with mutinies and infections, anarchy and dissolution, and then you will only have an army left of deserters. It doesn’t work. You must do something. Appius We will, but not because you ask for it, but because we want to. Virginius I wish you could see our camp, Appius, so that you could convert the mutineers to better thinking. Is it your intention to turn us to dogs and refuse us bones? Is it your intention to leave the country without defence? Let then foreign fanatics and barbarians invade it as they wish and take over it, and let them chase you senators through the streets of Rome running a bloody gauntlet that will colour the streets red in stinking sauce, and you will see for yourselves what a battlefield is, and how Rome will be turned into one in ruins without an army! Then the enemies will take over the treasury instead. Is that what you wish to achieve by refusing us our salary? Your policy will then turn into a self-consuming illness that only can be cured by the liquidation of Rome. Appius Your speech is too strong. Virginius Do you understand what I am saying? Appius Yes, we do. Virginius And still you refuse to help us? Appius No. Virginius When will we be relieved? Appius As soon as possible. Virginius When is that? Appius Soon. Virginius Soon! When so many of the bravest already have been sacrificed in vain! When? Soon, as soon as the entire army has been dissolved in disorder and perished! Appius That’s enough, Virginius. Oppius You have to respect the authority of the decemvirs, Virginius, and be patient. Relief will be sent to you as soon as possible. Appius The case is closed! The senate is adjourned! (All break up.) Virginius Will I have no more sensible answer? Appius Go home, Virginius. (All leave except Virginius.) Virginius And such pompous pot bellies you are supposed to obey and serve! We defend their country and build up their power, while they just idle and get sloppy having no idea of reality! Must I then use my own means to prevent the best army of Rome to be dissolved? Alas, thus the best men get the worst salary, while the fruits of their self-sacrifice are lost in the pockets of the worst. (enter Numitorius, Icilius, Valerius and Virginia.)

Numitorius There you are! Why don’t you come home? Your daughter is waiting for you to dinner, and your home is made in order! Virginius Alas, I must quarrel with the senate first. They don’t understand what they are doing and in what peril they put Rome. It’s like speaking to hollow echoing walls of stone. Virginia (kneeling to her father) Welcome home, father. You are the only true rock and foundation to us all, to the army and to Rome, like to your home. Virginius Rise, my child. My brother, she is my only fortune. I hear, Icilius, that you are on your way to become a son to me. I am happy that she chose you, since your ability always was evident. Everything commends you and most of all my daughter’s eyes for you. Icilius My father to be, we came just to press on our contract to be settled. Virgilius Then I call on you all present here as witnesses. I hereby give up my exclusive fatherly right to my daughter but not my fatherly love. That I will never give up, since it was born with her to constantly grow as long as I live. Numitorius Icilius, she is yours. Be our witnesses, gentlemen, to this indissoluble engagement. Valerius I almost wish I was equally fortunate, but there is only one Virginia for Rome. Virginia I am my father’s daughter, and he remains my highest law and will. Numitorius Brother, this demands a party. Let me give it in my house, so that we could enjoy ourselves this night. Virginius I am sorry, brother, but I must leave you. My horse is impatiently waiting for me. I must return to the army. They are waiting urgently for the senate’s answer. Numitorius Tonight? Virginius I am used to moonlight riding, my horse finds its way and never stumbles. I cannot stay. There is a mood of mutiny growing in the army, and I must calm it down fast. The least delay could be fatal. Valerius But you just arrived! Virginius And stayed too long. Rome demands it. Or else it could have to pay dearly for saving on its defence. Farewell, my friends and dearest. I must away at once. (departs) Numitorius I don’t understand the senate. It’s obvious that the army must be supported. Or else we have no army and no Rome. Valerius There must be a short cut somewhere. Icilius Let’s celebrate our engagement anyway, Virginia, and even more when he returns. Virginia We shall celebrate it as long as we live.

Act II scene 1. Virginia Why are you more alone when you are engaged to a stable company and that company is gone, than when you are alone as virgin, free and at leisure? I need company as my loving company has taken leave, more than if I had been alone. Maid Marcus Clodius is here asking for an audience. Virginia Marcus Clodius? What does he want? Maid I think he comes as a messenger. Virginia Show him in. It might be from Icilius. Clodius (enters) Don’t let me disturb, but I come with only honest intentions. Virginia So I would think, if you carry a message from the one I think you do. Clodius I bring presents and promises from one who only wishes you well. Virginia I thank you for the presents. What new promises does he bring? Clodius He suffers and can’t sleep for his passion for you that keeps persecuting him. He can’t stop thinking of you and asks for your mercy and forgiveness for that he can not stop loving you. Virginia He has not expressed such a sensual passion before. We are not married yet, and he should not strain himself beyond decency until we are properly married. Clodius Alas, he can’t wait for that day! Couldn’t I give him some glimpse of hope? Virginia Is he not aware that we are already linked together by destiny? I really hope we speak of one and the same person. You come from my Icilius, I trust? Clodius Such a simple ordinary man? Oh no, higher up! The one who has asked me to convey his feelings for you is at the top and could give you all Rome and intends to do it. Your beauty could the same of all Rome if he is allowed to offer Rome at your feet. You could thereby command all the world by the armies of Rome and so import a higher happiness to our Rome and the world than what your friendship with Icilius ever could lead to. Virginia Whose procurer are you? Clodius He is himself too modest and sensitive in his sincerity of love to dare expose it personally, but I assure you that Appius has only honourable intentions. Virginia Then I was mistaken. I apologise. Keep your presents. Tell him who sent you, that my betrothed has far more honourable intentions than his highest authority, who only suffers from most temporary sensual desires and problems of self deceit, which he should be able to cure most simply by sticking to his duties in the affairs of Rome, that is war and politics. I have nothing to do with him, while I am already one with the one I do know, my betrothed Icilius. We have already found our roots in each other, which we intend to cultivate and grow forever. That is all. Goodbye, my good Marcus Clodius. (leaves) Cladius That was an awkward end of the wooing-quest. There is no one else for me to offer Appius, and the demonstratively obvious refusal of this one I couldn’t present to him either. We will have to try other more diplomatic and clever courses of action. (leaves)

Scene 2. The army camp. Soldier 1 Any news of Virginius? Is he coming back? Soldier 2 No news. Soldier 1 Shall we then endure to be starved by an arrogant government which treats us as if we didn’t exist? Soldier 3 Soldiers, brothers, let’s use our swords while we still have strength to use them! Soldier 1 It almost comes natural. We have not much else to do. Minutius (enter) Are you of Virginius’ regiment? All Yes. Soldier 1 That’s us all right. Minutius Why are you roaming around without order? Is there no one to command you any longer? Your loose conference without control almost smells of mutiny. Soldier 1 Soldiers, shall I state our justified complaint? All Do so, loud and clear! Soldier 1 I beg then to report… Minutius Hold your complaints. I am not here to listen to them. Soldier 1 Sir, you are obliged to now that you are here and can see for yourself our miserable situation without wages and support. I warn you, if you try to abscond and desert us, your life will not be worth much. Minutius Well then, let’s hear your worst as leader of the discontent. Soldier 1 I am neither general nor officer but share the ordeals of all the common men, who have to sleep in the cold every night, freezing without blankets, fight with rusty and buckled weapons, tottering and faltering, as the only food we get is watery soup, watery porridge that has been warmed up again several times and other mash like that, usually second hand food that has already been used, almost chewed already and often already vomited once. How could we keep the enemy at bay under such circumstances? We can hardly stand on our legs! Minutius Are you threatening with laying down your weapons? Or are you threatening with mutiny? All Hear him, Sir, to the end! Minutius I understand what he says, but now you must listen to me! Soldier 1 Our mother Rome has become like a mean stepmother to us, who starves us and still demands that we defend her without food in our bodies! Minutius Virginius has appeared and spoken to us for you with great emphasis to ease your burdens. Soldier 1 We haven’t noticed that they have become lighter. All Nothing has happened! Soldier 1 You kept him with you to keep him from returning to us! Perhaps you have pensioned him, since he is old enough, and he has maybe accepted it and washed his hands!

Minutius You mistrust your ablest general! All The best! And you won’t let him join us! Soldier 1 Shall I tell you how it is? You save expenses for war machines, swords armours and horses to fatten yourselves, while we have to sacrifice our lives to your greed! All That’s how it is! You don’t know what you are doing! Minutius On my honour, my friends, I expect Virginius to turn up any moment. Soldier 1 If ever he returns without bringing anything, we will lynch him just to show you how you treat your army. And then we’ll take care of those who let him down and gave him orders. And then we’ll take care of all Rome and leave it to the crows and vultures, so that you will have a battlefield of your own, just to make you understand what it is all about, with plenty of graveyards attached to it, well prepared for all of you. Minutius Look, he is coming! Virginius is here! (enter Virginius with Valerius) Virginius, you are not safe here. Take care. The soldiers are not only in the mood for mutiny but for some lynching. They appear more dangerous than ordinary enemies. Virginius But they are my troops! Minutius But they are desperate. You had better ride back at once. Virginius Sir, I never escaped from any battle as long as I have been a military, and even less I will do so if my own troops turn in mutiny against me. Where is my lieutenant? Valerius Here, general. Virginius Give the order of attention. Valerius What do you mean? Virginius I will not tolerate insubordination, neither from you nor from any soldiers. Give the order of attention at once. Valerius Attention, soldiers! (They obey reluctantly and slowly, sick and tired.) Virginius Are you in for a mutiny? Soldier 3 Not me. Virginius Have you lost your guts, traitor? Soldier 4 The gods forbid, general! Virginius Or do you blame your stomach? Is it the gall? Perhaps you are seasick? Vomit then, bastards, and have it done with! Soldier 5 My general, I would rather die at your feet. Virginius You are not cowards, are you, lazybones? You can still fight, can’t you? You haven’t lost your spirit, have you? You know how to use your weapons? You are no scared rabbits or girls, are you? You know what you live for? You still see the warrior’s lot as a manly, honest and great sport? Soldier 1 They have nothing against you, general. Virginius How quiet they turned now, when someone shook them up into some life, teaching them manners and some lesson! I know that well enough, that anyone could fight and die for Rome without food or equipment or limbs, if he feels like it

and has any moral power left spurning him. Everything is possible. You can accomplish anything, soldiers! All Yes! Virginius Give orders of attention ready with spear! Valerius Attention ready with spear! (All obey at once.) Virginius (to Minutius) Watch them, my good senator, they are no mutineers. These are the servants and backbone of Rome, obedient soldiers, honest simple men, who only asked for something to live for and fight for, which is their profession. Rome and your government appear to have withheld the most important thing, the cause, the leadership, the morale! Now they have shown that they still will do as soldiers. Down with your weapons! At ease! Now you can fight, when I stand here thrashing you, miserable clouts and pirates, gangsters and loafers, incorrigible delinquents, who only will be of any good when there is someone to command you! Minutius Virginius, it is a remarkable transformation you have accomplished in the army like by some sort of magic. Virginius The most important part remains. Well, can you fight, soldiers? When will you march? Will you be ready for battle tonight? Soldier 1 My general, we will gladly starve and fall before giving up or fail you, our general. Minutius I can’t see any reason why you should not be able to continue leading your troops and keep your command. Virginius What remains is the concrete part. I have obtained from the senate of Rome confirmed grants of food, supplies, weapons and armour enough for a year, and the decemvir Appius has himself vouched for this deal. When I finally had them stirred, they were suddenly most incredibly efficient in their speed, like a soldier wakened up by a bucket of ice-cold water. All (cheering) Virginius And also an extra bonus to each and every one, but no one knows as yet when it can be paid. (All continue cheering.) Minutius And for yourself? What did they promise you? Virginius I am not the one to ask anything for myself. But I was finally well treated, at last I was shown some respect, and many senators offered me their seat. And one thing I can assure you, soldiers: You can’t guess, when you have wandered up to your necks in the blood of others and your own, how well received you will then be in Rome as worshipped and adorable heroes! (All cheer again.) Minutius Then it’s all settled and well. May thus the provisions I brought with me now be shared equally between the regiments. Virginius So be it. Let then all return in peace and quiet to their tents to sleep well and for a change clean up their quarters, get washed and the whole camp brushed up in good order, as befits the most respectable army of Rome!

Scene 3. The house of Appius. Clodius Petitioners all day! And what poor fools and idiots! They can’t see, that every petition is doomed from the start whatever it contains and is hardly even read. That’s how it is with everything written: the more painstakingly and diligently it is written, the less it is read, and the more certain it is to end up in the trash. Well now, here is another petition too much. Icilius I am looking for his highness Appius. Clodius (to himself) Icilius! Virginia’s betrothed! Icilius You don’t seem to have heard me. I am looking for his grace lord Appius. Clodius He is busy at work at his desk. Icilius It can’t be helped. I must see him. Clodius Wait a moment. I’ll see if he can spare a moment. (aside) Icilius! I just hope she hasn’t told him. (leaves) Icilius (alone) Waiting! All legal business is only about waiting, and most cases have to wait forever for any justice. Clodius (returns) May all other petitioners scatter and go home. Decemvir Appius will handle your issue privately before all others, as a compliment to you, Icilius. Icilius Special case treatment? Clodius Positively. Icilius Thankfully and hopefully. Clodius Here is the man. (enter Appius) Appius You won’t be needed, Marcus Clodius. It’s enough with Icilius and me. Well, Icilius, your business? Icilius May I speak freely? Appius The ears of a judge should be able to hear anything. Icilius And it’s certain we will not be disturbed? Appius We can’t be more secure from any disturbance. Clodius! Clodius (returns) What is the pleasure of decemvir Appius? Appius A chair for our client. Then you can go. Sit, Icilius. We usually don’t humour our clients with such consideration, but we make an exception for you. Well, my good Icilius? Icilius I plead for mercy for our army and Virginius’ contingent. Appius How has public welfare become a concern of yours? Icilius By the fact that Virginius nowadays is my father-in-law. He has sacrificed everything for the army. Without the support from the state he has paid it out of his own pocket, entertained it, furnished its most vital needs and done everything for Rome by his own private means, so that he is almost ruined and even has consumed the dowry of his daughter Virginia. Appius The answer to the complex of your presented problems is as follows, Icilius. We have nothing to do with the army. It’s the department of finances that regulates its expenses, while we are just the jurisdiction of the state. We can advise

and advocate but not command or give orders. But it surprises me, that such a talented and promising young man like you would ally yourself with such a family, which is like tying yourself to a rotting falling tree, which by its fall would drag you down with it and consume all your powers and resources for having supported its rottenness. Take my advice and leave the decaying house, which might crush you in its fall, and ally yourself instead to mine, which ground pillars of marble are made to stand fast and remain. Forget that beggar daughter Virginia, whose dowry I could replace three and ten times, if you join my league. I could further you, if you obey me. What are you smiling at, Icilius? Icilius My lord, do you think that you with the frugal means of the state could promise me a three times doubled dowry when you refused the army its copper coins? I will not believe you until you have given Virginius what you have promised, and when that balance has been regulated, I could start believing you of anything good. Appius So you decline my proposition and my advice for your advancement? Icilius I must do so in Virginia’s name. Appius Why in Virginia’s? Icilius Don’t you think I have seen you through, Appius? Do you think I am stupid? You dare to buy me with some loose promises just to cheat me of my salary and my gold, as you cheated the whole army of its pay, I don’t know why, maybe because of Virginius, who stands in your way. For this his soldiers are starving, and even all Rome is trembling at possible consequences. Your right hand does not seem to know what your left hand is doing. Appius Are you accusing me of foul play? Icilius Not only foul play but even playing dirty. Your letters to Virginia are in my hands, and every gift you sent her have been taken care of by me. But don’t worry. I will not scandalize you. I just wish to make you aware of your own irregularities. Appius You see how patiently I endure your allegations. Icilius And I seek no revenge. Appius Do you have anything more to say? Icilius Don’t expect any concessions from my side. I will never share Virginia’s love with anyone. Appius You don’t need to. Icilius No, I will not. Appius I believe you and take you on your word. Icilius She is mine, and I will protect her against any imaginable hell on earth including all possible intrigues from insidious abusers of power. Appius Are you finished? Icilius I have spoken my mind. Appius Will you allow me to speak in between? Icilius Please go ahead. Appius You have jumped to conclusions and are risking going too fast ahead. If I wished you well and offered you my support, could you condemn me for it?

Concerning Virginia, I am far beyond her and have no intention to go between you, if that is what you thought. Concerning the letters and presents you mentioned, I deny them. If anyone in my name has had the audacity to court your Virginia, am I then to be charged with it? Icilius, at least I give you my hand, if you will accept it. I overlook your rashness and forget it. Let’s be friends from now on, and don’t think the worse of me because I wanted to be your friend. Concerning your intercession for Virginius, come back in a few days, and perhaps the situation has been resolved. Icilius So you deny everything and regard my stipulations as exaggerations by a young man in love at risk of bolting? And you leave the door open as if nothing had happened. Well, maybe I went too far. I apologise for eventual oversteps. Appius Promptly accepted, Icilius. Icilius But don’t forget Virginius and his difficult plight. Appius We shall see what we can do. That I trust was all for the moment, Icilius. Welcome back next time. If you see my secretary on your way out, send him in. (Icilius leaves.) Go to your death, you are lost and condemned. Be more careful, Appius, and don’t act high-handedly. Control your blood and lust, and they shall be rewarded in the end. Don’t be afraid to be a murderer, but murder quietly, and let the weapons be as immediately efficient as completely invisible. (enter Clodius) Clodius How was it? Who won? Appius Are you scorning me? Clodius You are dark in your face like a storm. Appius He dares to compromise, will not give in one inch, is as fanatically mad about her as I and swears to rather kill than lose her. What do you do about a dog that pees on you? Clodius Can Icilius present such challenges? Appius Am I not the law? Have I not the right to implement what I find proper, have I not deserved any compensation for sacrificing myself for Rome? But he dares to place himself in my way, halt me and say: Enough, but no further, like a highway robber, stopping vital transports! Clodius Let him be disposed of. Appius Don’t be careless. Clodius He is not the one keeping up Rome, but we are. If he then obstructs us, then he must get out of the way. Appius Remember, that we are at the centre of public attention. We can’t apply public justice and legal means to achieve our rights in this business. Our position compels us to our warmest smiles when our deepest hatred is cutting our hearts, and to seem to sleep well when the nightmares of worry and anguish paralyse us in sharp panic in the most horrific darkness in the hours of the wolf. He suspects nothing, so let him wander along in complacent insurance of safety. When we then strike at the right moment, let it be a brief and efficient stroke in absolute safety. Clodius Are you still in love with Virginia?

Appius What a question! Am I still alive? Clodius So she is yours. Virginius is till in the camp? Appius Of course. Clodius While he is away we could claim that Virginia is not legitimate, that she is a bastard and the daughter of a lewd woman, who was a slave under me, for which we could easily construct and produce evidence, sources, testimonies and whatever is legally required. Then we could prosecute her and have her legally declared illegitimate. Then she will be your concubine and no one’s bride any longer. Appius What do we do then with the trouble-maker Icilius? Clodius If he makes trouble it’s just to take him in. He should be easy to provoke to any rashness. I heard every word he said by the keyhole. His most obvious stupidity is his sureness of not being stupid. With him out of the way and her condemned, you will be immune to any scandalization and even stand above the law as decemvir. The thing is to act quickly. Virginia must be taken by surprise so that she is given no time for rearrangement to mobilize any kind of substantial defence. If she is taken aback at once, she could be brought to trial without her even understanding what it is all about. Then she will be defenceless. Appius I think you might have found the right formula for proper proceedings. Then I leave it to you to carry them through.

Act III scene 1. Numitorius’ place. Numitorius May we have some light, so that our gentlemen could see each other in the darkness? Take your seats, gentlemen, please. I warrant that we will be undisturbed and that nothing should interrupt our conference. (enter Virginia) What is it? Virginia I thought I should be present since it is all about me. Is it all right, uncle? Numitorius Of course. Welcome, dearest Virginia. Hopefully it’s nothing serious, but it might be well for you to be present anyway. Offer her a chair. Icilius, we are now in perfect safety. Present your case. Icilius It is sensitive, since Appius has evil intentions against me personally, but it touches all of us. Numitorius And it is not just paranoia of love? Consider well who you are accusing! He is our highest judge and should not be able to do anything wrong. He is practically above all suspicion since he has been entrusted with the highest office of the state as decemvir, and we never had anyone more qualified. Valerius Icilius, you are close to me as of kin, and your safety is as important to me as my own. But you are still young and impulsive. If you want to make enemies, I beg you to choose someone else than the worst enemy you could have in Rome, that is the representative of the highest justice, power and authority. Numitorius What danger do you fear? Has he threatened you? If not, are you aware of what danger you place yourself in by accusing and threatening him?

Icilius I am too well aware of that, but his greatness and formal impeccability can not restrain me from accusing him and demand the exposure of truth. By his invidiousness he has cast a veil of lies all over Rome. He is a cheat and a deceiver who strains and tries and stretches his contacts to see how far he can go in deceiving all Rome. Numitius You go too far with accusations without a cause. I cannot listen to this. You shame us all and sully my home by trying to compromise the highest responsibility of Rome in its most qualified man. (wants to rise and break up) Icilius Stay for a moment, uncle, and hear me to the end at least. You suggest that I make of this impeccable man a monster and want to drag him down into the mud as the well disguised devil he is, but it is worse than that. This highest commissioner of Rome and her most elevated authority is no more than a man, in whom power has gone to his head and transformed him into a possessed monster of perversity and a ruthless sexual psychopath. Numitorius Fie, my brother’s son-in-law! Icilius He can’t control himself and lacks all detachment to his own whims. Daily and hourly he pursues my beloved with generous promises and endless efforts at persuasion to leave me and defect to him, while he tries to drown her in the most sumptuous presents to overwhelm the virgin he is so possessed by, as if he needed her virginity at any price to become a man and get her subjected. Several (worried, among each other) Could this be possible? Icilius Possible? Ask herself about it, if I have not spoken the truth! Numitorius What do you say, Virginia? Mark well of whom we are speaking, the only man in Rome on whom all Rome and everyone is dependent! Virginia Icilius is not exaggerating. I am tired of this constant burden of the powerful man’s aggressive attention with love letters and presents without end. I have kept absolutely frigid and hoped that he would calm down, but it has only grown worse. I first kept his painful courting to myself, but when it only accelerated I felt obliged to tell Icilius all about it. Icilius Which is why I visited him myself. Valerius You went to Appius yourself? Icilius To the terrible authority and the appalling highest judge of Rome. Horatius What did you tell him? Numitorius How did you dare to face him? Icilius I went there in the formal business to plead even more for Virginius and his difficult plight, but when he got enough interested and made everyone else leave the room, so that we could meet each other face to face between four eyes, I let him hear what I really had on my mind. He didn’t want to listen, but I forced his highness to hear it all. Numitorius What was his answer? Make sure over there that the door is secured! No one else must hear anything of this! Speak lower, my son. What did he say? Icilius He said he was innocent, denied it all and absolved himself from all responsibility.

Horatius And still it was he? Icilius I presented to him the clearest evidence in the very letters to Virginia from himself. Numitorius Of course he must deny it all from his position. Valerius And what was the result? How did you separate? Icilius As friends. He was completely reasonable and just wished to have it all blotted out and forgotten. He gave a promise to refrain from Virginia rather halfheartedly and far from convincing, so I have strong reasons to suspect some angry scheming behind the perfect outward face. And before I had reached home, someone had been at it again with new promises and offers of love, anonymously, but it could have been from no one else. I am one of the very few who know him, since no one else has seen him through. Valerius What was his offer? Icilius That he would support Virginia, warrant his protection and give her advice in her loneliness and worry during her fatherâ€™s constant absence. This alarmed me even more, and that is why I summoned this conference. I am simply worried about my Virginia. With such power and superior slyness he could work out anything to make it look legal. Valerius What do you suggest? Icilius That Virginia is placed in security at least until her father is brought back in safety. I wish to hide her away from the bloodhound lictors of Appius. Let her live in secret with some relative. I am only thinking of her security. Uncle Numitorius, as her uncle and closest relative in the absence of Virginius, I think you could find the best solution. Numitorius The greatest danger we could put ourselves in would be to openly challenge the great man. We must not let it show that he is under suspicion, and no one else must know what we know. The least leak of our knowledge would immediately put my niece at risk, for if we fall nothing can save her. Therefore, let us not do anything but just carry on as usual, pretending not to know anything, until general Virginius is safely returned home to us. Valerius I hope you didnâ€™t talk about this with anyone else, my friend? Icilius Not one word with anyone. I let the pain stay in my own heart with only my own exclusive rights of self torture. Valerius I hope you will continue like that, even if it will not be easy. Numitorius I think we can end our conference. Thanks for your upsetting account, Icilius, and that you in spite of all was communicative in this obvious crisis. Still nothing has happened, and hopefully nothing will, but at least we are now prepared. If we have any enemy, he will have to strike first, and then we will shock him by being fully prepared. Therefore our best defence is silence. Icilius Thank you for listening to me. I will now ask permission to escort Virginia home. Good night to you all, and thank you for the conference. Numitorius In all its awkward painfulness, it was necessary. Thanks for daring to take the initiative, and forgive our slow reaction.

Valerius Now we know where we stand and will be armed when the crisis comes, if it comes. At least we will not be taken by surprise. Horatius Until we meet again, friends and cousins. (They all break up. Icilius piously escorts Virginia.)

Scene 2. The market. Clodius Lictors, wait for me here and look for Virginia and her company, that usually pass by here every day. Give me the signal, as soon as she is seen. (leaves) Lictor 1 The supreme justice seems strangely fixed on that Virginia, which is a case without a cause. Lictor 2 It smells of plots at a long distance. Lictor 3 But what could we do but obey? That’s what lictors are for. Lictor 2 I think I see them. Let them pass in peace, so that the good Marcus Clodius could act as he pleases in his own good order. Lictor 1 He has an all too obtruding eye to that girl. (They leave, as Virginia enters with a nurse and fool.) Fool How is it really to be in love, lady Virginia? Virginia That is none of your business. It only concerns my own private feelings. Fool Aren’t you afraid that they will pass? Virginia I am only afraid that they could end by something happening to my friend. Feelings of love are there to stay. Or else they would not be real. Fool And how do you know they are real? Nurse Don’t ask such stupid questions, you fool. Don’t press her like that. People could think you had a dirty mind. Fool Who hasn’t? Check that character over there. Nurse Who is it? Virginia Marcus Clodius, secretary to Appius and his procurer. He is always following me. I am not afraid of him but can hardly stand his sight for his abomination. Nurse A dirty old man, on my honour. Fool Don’t judge by appearances, ladies. You don’t know him. Virginia I know him enough to wish I didn’t. Clodius (to the lictors) Here they are now. Stay close. – Isn’t it the lovely maid Virginia herself? Virginia Who else would I be? Clodius It pleases you to joke. But we know each other. I have had constant urgent business to your house. Virginia As if I didn’t know. I would rather you hadn’t, and now it smells like one importunity too many. What do you want? Clodius I must ask you to follow me. Virginia What do you mean? Why?

Clodius In the name of the law, which the lictors affirm. You had better come with me, since there is a case against you, since you are not the person you claim to be. Fool You are mistaken, Sir. This is no ordinary street wench for anyone to pick up. This is the virgin Virginia, daughter of general Virginius. Clodius As if I didn’t know. The father is no problem. It’s the mother that has to be investigated. Virginia And if I refuse? Clodius You can’t refuse. The law is on my side. You had better come with me voluntarily. It’s best for you. Nurse Lay off your hands, you dirty old pimp! Is there no frith for women any more in Rome? You only want to debase her! Clodius It cannot be done. She can’t be of baser birth than she already is. I have evidence that she is the daughter of a slave that belonged to me! Virginia My lord, you are out of your mind if you think you can profess such old women’s tales. Don’t you think I knew my own mother? Don’t you think my mother knew her own daughter? Don’t you think I am my mother’s daughter? (to the fool) Fool, don’t fight these incompetent idiots. Any quarrel with them is in vain, for you can’t even argue with them. Go and fetch my uncle instead and Icilius, and tell them what I am subjected to. (The fool runs out.) Clodius Are you coming willingly or not? Nurse Where do you intend to drag her then? To install her in your whorehouse behind bars? Clodius I am no pimp! Virginia No, for you are too slow of mind and are only good for nothing. You can’t even see your own absurdity! Clodius Shut up and respect the law! Bow to authority and fear the whip! Virginia Aren’t you a servant of Appius? Clodius I am your master and can prove it to the senate! Virginia No, you are only the instrument of your master’s uncontrolled selfish lust, which I will prove to the senate when necessary. Clodius Your idle talk will not help you. The law must be enforced! According to the law, you are my property as a slave! (enter Icilius and Numitorius) Numitorius What is going on here? Icilius What has she done, since you surround her with armed policemen? Lictor 1 Get back! A liberation attempt! Icilius Here we are all free, so there is no one to liberate. Take it easy, gentlemen, and don’t work yourselves up for nothing to some hysteria. This virgin has neither committed nor is even capable of committing any crime. What is the problem? Virginia Icilius, this is crazy! This crank has got the idea that I am the illegitimate daughter of his slave and that I therefore belong to him as his property! Numitorius This is sick.

Clodius Unfortunately it is all correct, and I have the right of her according to the law. Icilius Leave her in peace, you scoundrels, or you will have a more furious justice hunting you than the written law! (enter Appius) Appius What is going on here? Clodius My lord, we are not here to quarrel but only to follow the law. But this young gentleman wants to fight and obstruct the course of justice! The lictors are here to avert liberation attempts. Appius You exaggerate your passion for justice. Here are only civilised men and no risk of attempts at liberation. My lord and best friend Icilius, it gives me pleasure to see you. If you have anything to report against the course of justice, file your petitions. Icilius Justice! This is only about undue interference! This man abuses the law to senseless aggression to serve his own purpose! Appius Bring your petitions tomorrow. I will give you all the time you need for your issue. Icilius The prey will not give in, and you haven’t caught it yet. Let us have this thing sorted out here and now. Appius Bring some chairs for all of us. Let us calmly discuss this matter. You too, Marcus Clodius. Sit down. Clodius (wants to protest) My honoured lord and your grace… Appius Be quiet and shut up! Haven’t I asked you to leave my closest friends in peace? Do you have to bother me by encroaching on their privacy? Clodius I have a just cause to bring to the senate! Appius He is mad. – Neither we nor the senate will listen to you, Marcus Clodius. Clodius Do you refuse to listen to my legal claim? Resign then, and let someone else do better justice! Appius We shall listen to you tomorrow. Clodius Rather refuse my case at once than torture me by postponement! Icilius Let us listen to him to once and for all and immediately take part of and cut short the unreasonable claims of his absurd fantasies. Clodius The deception is entirely on their side! Appius Keep quiet then at last! Or do you wish to be sent to prison for disturbing the peace? Do you spite the authority of order? Clodius Not at all, but I have powerful enemies against me, who want to refuse me the right to be heard! This lady is rightfully my slave-girl, although she claims to be of true blood of a good family. It will not do. It does not stick. My purse is too thin to be able to buy justice by lawyers, why I must plead my cause alone. Appius Let me then warn you about what you might expect if your claims prove to be false. This virgin is of noble blood and has obtained the highest possible education by the best possible father, a veteran general famous for his long faithful

service to Rome and the republic. You want to make her a base-born slave. Consider. If it is proved that you have faked the documents endorsing your claims, your fallacious case will become a precedent for the whole world and the future to denounce with abomination, for in that case it will be obvious to everyone that you had foul and evil intentions against her. Clodius I have the documents here. Judge for yourself their legal legitimacy. (hands over the documents) Appius (to the nurse) Are you Virginia’s nurse? Nurse Almost since she was born, I always had trouble with her and have it still. Icilius (to the nurse) Please go and get Horatius. We shall need his help. (the nurse leaves.) Appius (to Icilius) There are some remarkable bothersome details here. Look for yourself, my friend. If this can be proved, Virginius could consider himself deeply dishonoured. Icilius An infernal slyness shines through this more than obvious falsification. Appius Come here, Icilius and Virginia. Negotiate with this base creature. It’s better to negotiate than to risk her freedom. Icilius She is impeccability and incorruptibility personified! She is not negotiable! Appius You choose yourselves. I only give advice. Do you know him, Virginia? Virginia Yes. He is your lackey. Appius That is true, but do you know his character? He is a lousy swindler who has made his way by cheating all the way, but he is insidious and dangerous. Numitorius He isn’t exactly an ornament to your house. Appius That is true, but we who employ such servants are like the cuckold who is the last to know how his wife has deceived him. Thus the elevated and noble are easily compromised by the crimes committed by their parasites. Clodius That is a calumny! I have my right to demand! Appius Shut up, you croaking toad! All your singing is desperately out of tune! Didn’t I discover you yesterday forging my signature? Clodius Yes, unfortunately. Appius For love letters to this virgin? Clodius I have apologised and explained my way of action. Appius (to Virginia) Did you receive the letter? Virginia Not only that one, but I can show a pack of such letters. Appius Then we can resolve all misunderstandings here and now. Give her the explanation, Marcus Clodius. (enter Horatius) Clodius My lord, there was no other way for me to reach her. Appius So you haven’t informed the lady of your business until now? Clodius I have on different occasions tried to establish her freedom in vain. Virginia Not even in my worst nightmares have I ever experienced the like of infernal intrigues to have me ensnared and prosecuted for nothing! Appius So you wrote love letters to her in my name, just to get into touch with her to help her?

Clodius And gifts. Appius What is your aim? Clodius A quick settlement at court. Appius That’s fair. You will have as short time as possible to manufacture new forgeries and intrigues against innocent virgins. Behold this chamelion, gentlemen. He changes colour into new ones every day, like someone changing clothes for each new day. Numitorius My lord, I pray, that although the adjustment of this matter demands a speedy settlement, in the name of justice Virginius should still be present. Appius It is not necessary. Who is in the father’s place for the innocent if not her judge? We will not trouble the old man with such a superfluous journey. Virginia Your pardon, my lord, but such an important trial that is to decide my origin and lineage cannot take place without my father’s presence. We must demand a postponement until he arrives. Appius I must protest. You are only risking your own cause by postponement. Let’s think it over until tomorrow. I shall not be able to sleep until I have had your honour exonerated. Icilius It’s a long way form his military camp to Rome. We must demand at least four days’ adjournment. Appius Until then the scandal will reach the entire city, while the issue could be settled in an hour. Let it be tomorrow. Until then I ask you to relax and take it easy, and it will all be arranged for the best. Clodius My lord, you risk the case by postponing it until tomorrow. Tonight they could smuggle her out of Rome, then we are foiled, and I can never have my demands gratified. Appius You demand bail for her safety? Clodius That’s a fair demand. Appius Well then, Icilius will vouch for her. Clodius He is partial and could whisk her away. Let also the uncle vouch for her. Appius Well then, your request is granted. To be on the safe side and ensure the legal procedure, I assume guardianship of her. There could be no more secure and safe guardian for her anywhere. She will be safest in my house. Icilius Never in my life! Appius What do you have against it? Icilius You alone with my betrothed? It will not do, my lord! Appius I spoke from my heart and thought only of her security. Icilius She is a virgin and must stand under her becoming husband’s protection and never anyone else’s! Is that clear? Appius Don’t misinterpret me. My secretary, secure bail for the lady being brought to court. And as servant in my house you can take your lousy salary and go home. Your transgressions in my name cannot be tolerated. Lictors, put him under arrest, so that he will be certain to attend the trial which will condemn him once for all for all his deceptions. Or can you give me bail?

Clodius I have no means. Appius Lictors, he is all yours. Take care of him. A judge’s heart must never totter or waver in any direction but must always keep the course straight on in the middle towards absolute impartiality and objectivity, which is the imperative command of justice. See you at the trial, ladies and gentlemen. (leaves) Numitorius O great Appius, if only your heart would be as sovereign as your words, how fortunate it would be for Rome! Icilius Hurry to Virginius’ camp, Horatius, you heard it all, let him hear it, and see that he is in time for the trial. That is vital for all of us. Horatius I am off at once. (out) Icilius All this is without doubt just manoeuvres of intrigue. Virginia Alas, in storms it’s vital to take in all sails to a maximum, like in crises it’s vital not to trust anyone except the closest of kin. If Appius claims to be our friend and to help us, it would only put me on my guard to trust him even less. Icilius I see a shipwreck approaching under his helm with him as the pilot, but his most glaring mistake is that he doesn’t realize, that by steering so obstinately into the destruction of the coastal surge, he must perish himself more surely than all the others. He wishes to ruin us to get at you and sees the shipwreck as the only possibility, but we observe his mistake and can therefore keep our course ourselves, straighten our backs and keep our heads on our shoulders and manage. My love, like any crisis, even this one will blow over. (embraces her and walks out with her.)

Scene 3. At Appius’ Appius (to a servant) Here, take this message to Minutius, and make sure he gets it personally, and hurry, for all that it’s worth! It’s important that you get through before any other messenger. Run! Servant I am on my way. (out)(Clodius appears) Appius Ah, my good Clodius! Clodius My sincerest compliment to your divine cleverness! You have poisoned them with sweets, and they have swallowed them all and whole without thinking! But what did you send to Minutius? Appius An order to keep Virginius prisoner until further for suspicions of treason. It could be of vital importance that he does not appear at the court proceedings. Clodius But how can you motivate it? Appius Any slightest matter is enough. If only he is out of the way we can go on sailing safely on our own course of action. Clodius Not even Mercury could have guided the enterprise better. Appius I am sorry if I was hard on you today, but it was just normal court jargon. Clodius Of course. A servant of the law must be able to take on anything.

Appius And the law above the written law says, that an evil can only be cured by a greater evil, like a poison bite by a worm only can be cured by stronger poisons. When it comes to high aspirations, the soul has a thousand eyes beyond the seeing ones, and necessity and crisis compels man to think higher and better. If now everything would break up and the pyramid structure of my happiness would cruelly collapse, may I then go down in history as someone who with his might crushed what he himself was crushed by. Clodius Now you speak in riddles. Appius Leave then, if you can’t understand them. (Clodius leaves.) And have I then reached the summit of my power to be eternally honoured by history, and would I then be denied normal human happiness, when it’s still there so close within reach? Would I then deny my own humanity, to sacrifice myself for the perfection of the state? As a man I had a fall in falling in love, and there would have been nothing wrong with that, if I didn’t carry the highest responsibility of Rome, which had already married me and raped me by its duties. I fell into the trap of my own career and greatness, and perhaps I found love as a possibility to be freed of it as an alternative. But the challenge was still to combine happiness with the career. Does fate have to make it impossible, or could I succeed? The reward is irresistibly within reach, the most virtuous, enchanting and clever maid of Rome, and I just can’t resist her. So I have no other choice than to risk my life waging it all. It’s the supreme hazard: all or nothing, if I don’t win it all I will lose it all, but the odds are so far obviously more to my advantage than against me, so it’s just to go on and refuse to make a halt of hesitation or fear, like when you attack at war. The alternative is not to expand any more, but to stagnate in dullness and stand disillusioned with a wasted and boring life. Scene 4. Icilius How could we manage this? Virginia is taken under custody as bail by Appius according to law and may no more live at home. What kind of laws are those that trample the rights of the weak to make the stronger right by injustice? Numitorius Don’t rebel yet, Icilius. There is still hope. The trial is tomorrow, and I have sent an urgent message to Virginius to hurry. Valerius What does the fool say, our planted spy? Fares the girl well in the doubtful care of Appius? Fool She is more than isolated, she is placed in a virgin cage without an exit, as if Appius was as afraid that her suitor would importune on her, as he is that Appius would do so. Numitorius He plays according to law, and our only hope is that his stakes are too high. Valerius What do you mean? Numitorius He is piling up pyramids of complications and does not notice himself that the building is as vulnerable as a house of cards.

Icilius If he treats her well, and we could release her from the absurd claims of that grotesque monster Clodius, all would be well, and the crisis would be over without that great Appius having any more chance to touch her. Numitorius The fact is that Clodius has documents supporting his claims. Icilius Forgeries! Damned forgeries! Numitorius But they still are documents for the court to consider. The problem is that he by evil intent made a case for the court of it at all. Then the law must have its course. And that is why it is so important for Virginius to reach home in time, for only he could refute Clodius. Icilius And what about Appius? Isn’t Appius our foremost enemy? Numitorius In his office of decemvir and judge, he is completely out of reach. Nothing could be proved against him. If he courted Virginia, he has cleverly transferred the burden of his guilt on Clodius, who willingly carries the full dishonour of it. If Appius is responsible for this whole infernal intrigue, he has from the beginning made sure that his hands are clean and that he can’t be reached by the law in any way ever. Icilius I fear that is the case. Numitorius That’s what I fear as well. Valerius Let’s just hope then that Virginius will appear! All Amen.

Act IV scene 1. The tribunal. Virginia appears dressed as a slave. Enter Numitorius with Icilius, Valerius and Horatius. Valerius They say Virginius has arrived. Numitorius All hope is not lost yet. If anyone can crack this nut, he is the one. Icilius He appears to have absconded an order for his arrest. Minutius didn’t have time to catch him up. Numitorius No one ever caught up with him. Icilius Here he is now. Virginius (appearing dressed as a slave) Thanks for your support, my friends. It is obvious that you have stuck to me for what I am and not for my position or status, for everything I had has foundered, and the brief fleeting hysterically self-consuming May-fly dance of life consists of only constantly shifting changes and surprises, humiliations and abominations, wrong decisions to what’s worse and futile corruptions of what we once were. What emptiness does not the extolled name of Appius expose! What an abyss of twisted aberration, self-deceit and corruption! Whose life is not forfeited here in Rome, if he is allowed to rule and command! And with all his authority and power he is now intent on breaking and shattering a poor defenceless girl and her life, a virgin, sentenced by false laws to be a slave!

Numitorius O Virginius, why do you appear as a slave? You are our only witness, and in this court of justice it is not proper for you and your position as general to thus humiliate and belittle yourself! Virginius You are quite right, but this outfit suits this case perfectly, for if they succeed in turning her into a slave by law, I will myself willingly renounce all my freedom. Icilius You are our only hope, Virginius. With the sharp experience of your old eyes you could easily see through the intriguers and their stinking motives. Put them straight against the wall and be as straight as they are crooked in their twistedness, and nothing will remain of them when you are finished with them. Virginius Thank you, my dear son-in-law, for your backing and encouragement. I could never fear an enemy like these bleak black faceless hoods of doom with lifeless stone faces of dismal formalists to indifferently decide on the life and death of others and without hesitation ruin them by coldly destroying their lives by reason of some far-fetched absurd and misinterpreted manipulated paragraph. Virginia My father, you gave me my life and freedom once and have the right to retract them. Only you actually have that right. I give you permission to rather sacrifice it to the gods than to the unleashed arbitrary sensual vulgarity of that man of power and ambition. A slave is happier who is allowed to live in thralldom all his life without fearing to become the object of the hunt for sensual pleasure and the ambitious insatiable power greed for more control, and is neither aware of the demand of honour and dignity in life and death. ĂŒcilius We have neither jurisdictional aid, power enough nor resources of force to be able to reform the corruption of the juridical system, and could probably not stop the passions of avarice and greed from jealously dragging us down in their hell of envy. Appius will spare no means to get you, since he is possessed by the dark abyssal fire of Hades to have you deflowered by any means. Itâ€™s an illness we cannot cure. Virginius If no one else can, the gods could interfere though and quench it by the tears of compassion, which like another universal flood could overwhelm the world to drown all humanity in its corruption and wickedness, so that even the volcano of Teneriffa would be quenched and drenched and melted in the tears of the oceans. Have the wars then not made this battered head whiten enough in tears and despair, outrage and desperate berserk fury, but must destiny continue hammering and torturing it winter after winter? Icilius Here are now the jurors of the tribunal and those responsible for the trial. (enter Appius, Oppius, Clodius and senators, lictors and a lawyer taking their seats) Appius He is not here, is he? If only we could do without the old general, we could make the process short. Numitorius My brother, greet the judge with reverences as is proper. Virginius (bowing deep to Appius) Greetings, your honour, judge and chairman of the court. He who does not own much must always fear authority, but that authority is feared and cursed for not fearing anyone and will thereby perish in its lonesomeness

of haughty loathed pride, while the poor and simple always will remain to go on bearing with the world. Appius What? Has Viginius arrived? Virginius I am here and ready, as you see, your honour, to defend my family’s and daughter’s right and honour unto death, as befits a father. Appius And where is your daughter? Numitorius She is also here, your honour, and dressed as her father appropriately to the case. Appius (to Virginius) This clothing ill befits yourself and the court. Virginia On the contrary, it couldn’t be more fitting, considering the nature of the case. Appius Who is your attorney? Virginius We have none, my lord. The truth needs no lawyer, and the lie, presented by you, will only receive bribed applause for your empty rhetoric. I desire no lawyer, and he who desires and needs many, I can only pity. Lawyer Allow me to present myself. As a lawyer I represent the noble Marcus Clodius for his cause, but since you lack a lawyer, I will also speak for you and defend you. It is my duty as a lawyer to carefully investigate both sides of the matter and also consider the prosecuted part for the sake of justice. Virginius What do you mean? My lord, if you represent Marcus Clodius we don’t need you, since our case is bad enough as it is. We are not only dragged to court by the cleverest jurist of Rome, who only did it to hurt us, but on top of that he has a lawyer. Appius Virginius, I assure you that this trial will be absolutely impartial and neutral. It is my duty as a judge to see to it that there will be no injustice. Virginius Then our lives are in your hands, and we have no other choice than to trust you for our right. Lawyer Then I ask to present the intricate issue, so that everything will stand clear. Are the defendants familiar with the accusations? Virginius Only vaguely. We have no details. Lawyer Then I will ask to present everything clearly and easily understandable, so that no one may have any doubts about how the matter stands. It’s a matter of conflict. One part claims, that the virgin is his daughter. Marcus Clodius, the other part, claims her as his slave, daughter of a previous slave woman in his service and his serf. Is it all clear? Appius That’s enough. All we need is the evidence. Clodius All documents are here in perfect order. Lawyer By which fact we have the law on our side. Everything is clear from the evidence. General Virginius was married for fifteen years without issue. The prosecuted virgin’s mother then saw how all the general’s property by all probability would go to his brother Numitorius at his death. I ask you to listen. This is important. Believe me, Numitorius, I am wholly on your side. When Virginius then was at war, his wife sent him a message that she was pregnant. Observe now the

stratagem of a clever mother. She takes care of a profligate slave girl big with a fresh pregnancy and pretends to be pregnant herself with a cushion under the clothing of the belly. All notice this and exclaim: At last the general will have an heir! The clever mother buys the child of the erotic slave, who is only glad to be rid of it, and presents it as her own. Nurse You don’t know what you are talking about, you villain! You know nothing! You are just lying! It’s all balderdash, fairy tales and nonsense! I know better and exactly how it happened, since I was there! Appius Silence in court! Or else you will be sent out! – Do you have documents to support this strange exchange? Lawyer Of course. The slave was no more stupid than that she took a receipt for the payment. Here it is. Appius What was the amount? Lawyer A thousand drachmas. Appius And where is the slave? Lawyer She is dead long since. Appius Then she can’t testify, which makes the story less credible. Lawyer But on her deathbed she arranged a deposition with testimonies that the transaction actually took place, and that she was the true mother of Virginius’ only child and daughter. We have managed to locate this interesting document. With these two authentic, absolutely undeniable and clear documents, the case should be clear. Virginia is the daughter of one of Marcus Clodius’ slave women. Virginius Do you dare to bereave me of my right to my only daughter and question my own fatherhood? Lawyer No one knows who the father is, and neither is it of any importance. Virginius This is outrageous human baseness! Appius Virginius may not speak until he is given permission. One question: If your claim is actually founded on facts, why have you waited for fourteen years in making it? Lawyer I will gladly give a good explanation to that. Icilius I bet that they have prepared and practised this dialogue. It is obviously not natural but constructed. Virginius Let them speak. Lawyer Marcus Clodius wished to keep the matter quiet during all these years and only divulged the secret to one person: the virgin’s mother, who urged him to silence and gave him money for it. Appius Is there evidence for this? Lawyer Allow me to present this third document, which mentions and confirms that deposition. Now it explicitly says in the law, that if a slave escapes from a master and stays let us say twenty years at another location and makes a fortune to become established, the master still has the right to claim that slave. She is still his slave. Appius That is correct.

Virginius How can the representatives of justice and a lawful court even deign to give a serious thought to such a dunghill of absurd constructions and cruel lies? Appius Can you prove them wrong? Can anyone prove them wrong? Virginius If they can’t be proved false by other constructed documents of lies, they still are just lies of infamous slander. Virginia Then at least hear my old nurse. Appius Is she your only witness? Virginius Yes. Appius How is it possible that such a famous and well established woman’s childbirth has only one witness to be able to say anything about it? Virginius Unfortunately all others are dead. Appius I don’t think so. They would rather from respect and consideration of your late wife have preferred to keep the matter secret. Old nurse, fear the law! If you bring any more lies, there is the whip behind you! Nurse I fear no whips, but you threaten me only because you are afraid of the truth. Appius You have no say in the matter. Lictors, command her to silence. Virginius Is this justice, that you force the only witness we have to silence? Appius Study the documents carefully. Doesn’t it say clearly, that this was a trick to make a slave your heir? Virginius Not only are you violating me by denying my fatherhood, thereby also violating and humiliating my life’s only child, but you also desecrate a deceased and inviolable woman’s reputation, my life’s only wife and love, whom you by your lawperverting methods try to deprive her and our only child of love! Appius I regret that you thus remain faithful to a shameless and calculating female, who so obviously deceived you and only deserves to be mercifully forgotten. Lawyer Remember, how many soldiers there have been who made children by the way just about with anyone, who never even got a name. Those things happen all the time. Why would your child be any exception? Appius The case is practically clear. We have the deceased woman slave’s testimony in a preserved receipt. Lawyer Absolutely unquestionable as evidence. Appius And we have Marcus Clodius’ testimony. Lawyer A gentleman of impeccable reputation. Appius Then we have his document of the wife’s bribes for his silence. Lawyer Another unquestionable document. Appius Could there be any doubt at all? Lawyer Add thereto the remarkable fact, that the virgin only a few days ago still walked about in jewels and the most expensive outfit. And how do we see her now? Where has she hidden her jewels? To whom has she smuggled away whatever she could? I demand an instant and just verdict at once! Virginius How they juggle well together. Numitorius Who can not fake writings and signatures of deceased persons?

Virginius And, if he is rich, pay dearly to have a work of forgery done most professionally? Icilius The good Clodius has been to Appius’ school and been brought up by him. Only that! Numitorius How is it possible that my wife, the closest connected with the said event, who herself was present at the birth, never said a word of any anomaly? Virgilius And if it actually happened in such roundabout ways, why didn’t he make the heir a boy? Lawyer I shall meticulously answer every question with relevant evidence. Appius That is not necessary. Here are documents and testimonies enough. Do you think, poor amateurs of law, that the law was written in snow since you so easily can make it melt away by just blowing on it? Virginius No, we are not that hot. Virginia I warn you, great infallible Appius, that your lust, which alone is behind all this, will sting you in your own heart like the scorpion, when he himself takes his life from sheer excitement of being what he is. Appius Don’t turn the matter into a scandal. The issue has been settled. Icilius It has not. We have letters from you personally, my lord, foaming and filled with sensual lust and exorbitantly blunt naked desire of Virginia, written and sent by you in person with Marcus Clodius as your go-between. Appius This has nothing to do with the matter of law. Are you insidiously trying to compromise me, the highest justice of Rome, with cheap forgeries and lies? Icilius I have them here. We have them all with us. They should be noted as written testimonies of the same importance as your false papers if not higher, for they are authentic and fresh and reveal your partial motives. Appius I already said, that the case is settled and closed! Lictors, quiet him and take care of him and drive him out! Icilius (is overpowered) What did you say, mister attorney? That it was your legal duty to as carefully view our side of the matter as your client’s? And still we are not even allowed to present more authentic evidence than yours! Appius Resistance against the law and contempt of the highest court of justice! That means imprisonment! (hammers) Virginius My valiant son-in-law, if you are thrown to prison for this, I swear to take on shackles myself at your side! — Appius, we forgive you everything that you have done and are doing, but the gods will never forgive you. Appius You dare to threaten me. Virginius No, I am just stating facts and observe what counts beyond the injustice of this world. In spite of my humble origin and position I am honest, and I have ancestry eight hundred years back of righteous forefathers, but you are only known for the role you are playing since eight months back. Appius You rave in your wounded pride, and we forbear the demented antiquity of your grey hairs. You can go out and rage against the gods, if it pleases you.

Virginius That is not necessary. I am on good terms with them, but you are on good terms with the crocodiles. Appius His talk is irrelevant to the protocol. All that remains is the verdict. Virginius If that is all that remains, and all that we presented in fresh and valid documents and testimonies in our defence is to be ignored, I only ask to take leave of my true and beloved daughter, before she is taken away to the jackals. Appius Then perhaps we might hear a confession. He wants to show his colours. Let him do so. Virginius (embracing Virginia) My beloved, farewell. I haven’t cried before, but from now on I will never cease to cry over you. I am a general and hardened warrior, who has only grown harder with the years, but I do remain no more than human and as a consequence of the prolonged absence for many years from my beloved family with the more golden a heart. I apologise and beg you of forgiveness that I have not been able to save you from this pinch. But you know that I am and remain your father whatever strange machinations may be invented by means of law, and you remain my daughter and my only unique child of love, by which your mother always was blessed, peace and honour on her memory! Appius That’s enough! Irrelevant sentimentality in court is declined! Virginius Virginia, our sorrows were born when we were born, but there are no sorrows without an end, and that’s the comfort of eternity. Appius We must pronounce a verdict! Virginius No verdict is needed, you sovereign Appius. I willingly forsake her to justice, since you so eloquently and methodically by law have decided that she is not my daughter. Appius Well, then we need not trouble ourselves. The accused has confessed. That makes the course of law easier to fulfil. Let then Marcus Clodius take care of her. (hammers) Virginius Hereby I leave my daughter to the justice you demand, (produces suddenly a knife and immediately cuts her throat,) but a higher justice is demanded by the gods. Look now, proud Appius, what you have accomplished by your reckless desire! She is now liberated from the demented pressure of your passion! If your lust isn’t cured by this, then take her blood and intestines and handle them as you please! (All express their shock and horror, crying out loud.) Appius (shaken and shocked, stammering) Arrest the murderer! Virginius Have I then resisted a thousand battles and armies without being defeated, and shall I then succumb to a handful of imbecile hangmen’s lackeys? Damn me, but I’d rather go to hell! (escapes and avails himself of the total confusion to get away.) Appius (bawling) Arrest that murderer! He has befouled the law, justice and court by committing an outrageous crime in the very court! This cannot be accepted! (The confusion grows to a turmoil, Appius bawls in vain, Virginius gets away, everyone is in everyone’s way, and only Icilius tenderly devotes himself to Virginia’s body.)

Icilius He did right, if even it was in maddest desperation, but according to the ruling order of justice, that was the only possibility for an appeal. (lifts her and carries her out without minding the blood. Appius stares after him devastated.)

Scene 2. The camp. Minutius (reads a letter) I can’t understand this. How has Virginius fallen out of grace? Is he getting old, or has he done something? Who am I to question the authority? Here you are only to obey orders and hope for the best. So I must divest Virginius of his command and keep him under arrest for suspicion of treason. Well, it’s easy enough to keep him out of command, so let us hear him then and learn some more. – My good man, I appoint you tribune to replace Virginius, who has some problem with the senate. All of you who marched under Virginius, this is now your tribune, until we learn what has happened. Officer My general, I will do my best as tribune in Virginius’ place to live up to his high example, but I hope together with all of us that he will soon be back as our general. Minutius So I hope indeed as well. (Enter a soldier upset.) Well, here might be some news. What’s up, my friend? Soldier Virginius has arrived but in a critical condition as if he was mad, all bloody with a knife in his hand which he refuses to let go of, harrowed, in one

moment crying and quarrelling in the next, as if he was on the point of a nervous breakdown. Minutius Then something must have happened. Soldier That’s what it looks like. But that is not all. There are crowds running after him, loose people, followers who hail him and lictors and law officials crying: Catch him! Arrest him! Minutius Then there is some conflict going on. Soldier That’s how it seems. Minutius I just hope he didn’t do anything stupid. Soldier It seems rather to have been something drastic. Minutius Yes, that’s how it seems. I must warn my men. It’s best to be prepared. – Men! Virginius is on his way alone but with both followers and soldiers at his heels! Take care of him when he arrives, and ensure the safety of his person! Not a hair must be touched on his head. First of all we must have clarity in the situation. Form a ring around the camp, and let no one enter except Virginius! Tribune Yes, Sir. Order! Execute! (All make ready.) He comes home to his family. That’s how it feels like. There is no affection greater than in the hearts of soldiers for a general who cares about them, and that love Virginius has earned more than anyone else. By that the wounded will manage and survive even death. Virginius (enters, all bloody, with the knife ready to cut up himself with) If I have one single faithful friend and brother left among Virginius’ men, I beg him to step forth and finish me off before I do it myself! What, no friend? No one willing to help me? Cut me up, release the soul from my body and let me out of the despair of this life! No one yet? Could there not be someone in this crowd of professional murderers who could be my enemy and would gladly see me dead, or some compassionate friend who could liberate me and cure my situation by the swift efficient operation of death? Will no one rise? Am I then so loved? Minutius! There you are! If there is any man in the encampment who is good at punishing offences, send him to me and let him give me the reward of my crime, and I will die content by a worthy hand! Minutius What do you mean, Virginius? What have you done? You come home to your camp all bloody with the wildest looks and your hair all messed up in disarray as if you were haunted or arrived directly from some holocaust! Viriginius Alas, send me someone then, whom I could command to justly kill me off! If no one wishes to or refuses to obey orders, I will have to do it myself! (raises his knife) Minutius Virginius, you are no longer in command. By order of the senate you have been deprived of your command, which even has ordered your arrest on grounds unknown. You have possibly been touched by some treason. Virginius Then I bow to you and thank you and give up my freedom and my life to you. May you treat me arbitrarily according to your pleasure.

Minutius But what has happened? What’s the meaning of this blood on your arms? You look as if you had butchered somebody. And why are you persecuted by all Rome, with weapons to catch you on one side, while others greet and hail and want to fight for you? In brief, you appear somewhat controversial. Virginius Your guess is correct. I have butchered my daughter. Minutius Virginia? Virginius Condemn me and execute me! I am guilty! I did it all by myself! With premeditation and perfectly sound of mind! Nothing can forgive me! My wife is long since dead, and now I also killed my only child. Execute me, and do it at once! I deserve nothing else! Minutius But why for goodness’ sake? Virginius Isn’t it enough that I did it? Do you require all the gory details? Let the whole world know! Virginius has murdered his only daughter and his only child! Here is the evidence! Here is the murder weapon! Do you need more evidence? Isn’t the case as clear as daylight? Could I be more guilty? I plead guilty! Let me only die, the sooner the better! Minutius But why? I still wait for an explanation. Virginius Why do you kill your child? Because you love her more than anything else, to save her from a fate worse than death, and she asked for it herself, she gave me permission, she expressly begged me to take her life if we would lose her! Minutius Lose her? To whom or to what? Virignius Alas, let me just dry some red tears! I have cried blood almost all day. I know, that all soldiers cry blood now and then, and they should, because it is healthy, or else they are no real soldiers, and I will now cry the red tears of blood for the rest of my life, until I have cried out my eyes into dissolvement and left the black holes of them empty from despair! Minutius Don’t wander off in your mind any more now, but tell me what has happened. Virginius They wanted to force her into slavery under Marcus Clodius. They wanted to force her into serfdom under Appius as his concubine because he desired her, and they wrung the law to legalise the bridal theft from Icilius, her only right husband. They sent lictors on to her to place her into custody and isolate her until they could seize her legally. They wanted to take her away from us. We protested, and it went to court with Appius for a judge. They paid the best lawyer in the world, and we were left without. Thus he manoeuvred and manipulated us out of all justice and raped it to be able to rape her. Then she told me: Rather take my life, father, than leave me to them. I obeyed her when all hope of justice was gone. I butchered thousands in battle, but they were all enemies of Rome. For the first time I feel like a murderer, and the one I murdered is my own daughter! There can be no pardon. I committed the worst crime that could be committed! Punish me! Court martial me! Soldier 1 It’s that villain Appius, who denied us salary and supplies. Soldier 2 Virginius is without guilt. It is Appius who caused this virgin murder.

Virginius But Appius was in charge of justice and only followed the letter of the law! He did nothing! But I made myself the murderer of my own daughter! Soldier 1 No, the intrigues of Appius led to the murder. Soldier 2 It was your hand but Appius’ responsibility that caused the murder. Minutius If all this is true, Virginius, which is confirmed by the crowds that followed you crying your name in triumph, then you are as much to pity in your innocence in a crime that demands a just retribution. Virginius Noble Minutius, you have a daughter and a wife, like most of you have. This could have happened to you. Who knows among you all who might in this moment have his wife raped or his daughter reduced to a slave by the authority of the lictors manipulated by the lusty greed of avaricious bullies? Don’t think anyone of them could be safe at home or anywhere in Rome, for that is where my daughter was! Tribune This concerns us all. Soldier 1 Appius must be deposed and hanged. Soldier 2 Who is our general if not Virginius? Whom can we trust except him? Give him back his command! All Virginius our general! Virginius our general! Minutius It’s not more than right. Virginius, I give over my own command to you. Your full rank is yours again and with a vengeance. You have been so wronged, that no one except he who himself lost his only child could understand and know how to punish the offence. Virginius is now general in my place! All Hurray! It’s fair! He is our man! Hurray! (etc.) Virginius I am an old man and long since ready for my grave, and now as Virginia my daughter no longer is my daughter I am completely dead as man, for whom nothing remains but one thing. The same hand that separated Virginia from life must also separate the murderer. It’s not more than right. (wants to kill himself) Soldier 1 (stopping him) No, general, no foolery and no self pity any more! Are you not a soldier? Have you forgotten how you chastised us and kept us from rebellion, when the senate of Rome with Appius starved us to incompetence? We can survive all the worst and even death when put to the test! Prove yourself a soldier and not a weakling! Minutius Don’t abandon your command so cowardly, Virginius. Try not to run away from the battle that now is at hand which might be your last, but only you can lead us through it. Virginius My wife is gone, and my daughter lives among the vestals of Elysium, and I long to get there. Is that not reasonable, human and natural? But you force me to the only destiny that now is even worse than death, which is to be compelled to stay on and live with my own unendurability. Well, those of you who still have wives that haven’t been taken away from you or daughters who haven’t been confined in whorehouses as slaves in the serfdom of prostitution, I shall be your partner in the defence of every intact virginity and the remaining integrity of your

families. I have nothing any more to lose for myself, so I might as well give my life to you. All Hurray! Soldier 1 Virginius was predestined to save Rome for us! Virginius I accept the burden of responsibility in the hope of being able to save you and others from my inhuman trials. I still have my pride left, that I have had a daughter, the most virtuous and outstanding virgin of Rome, whose absolutely pure blood was shed for all of us and for you, for Rome to survive with the honour and her virtue in remembrance forever! May she always live in sanctity in our minds and for Rome as an eternally protective virginity! All Hurray! (They carry out Virginius on their shields in triumph cheering.)

Act V scene 1. Forum. Icilius, Valerius, Horatius, Numitorius from one side, Virginius and Minutius from the other with soldiers. Icilius Halt! Minutius What is your want? Icilius Talk with Virginius. Minutius He will not be let through between two armies without a hostage as bail. Numitorius That’s reasonable. Neither do we leave out our general without a warrant. Who do you suggest for a hostage? Mínutius Myself. Numitorius That’s fair. I gladly offer myself as hostage. (Both come forth and embrace each other.) Minutius Well met, Icilius. Icilius How is the old man? Minutius Well under the circumstances, but he is beaten. Numitorius All Rome is in rebellion for his sake. Minutius No wonder. How is it with the ruling party? Numitorius They are in hiding. Appius isolates himself, his lawyer writes orations to change sides, and Marcus Clodius is terror-struck. Minutius And the senate? Numitorius It is all for us. Icilius My father-in-law, I believe the worst is over now. Virginius You can tell that to someone else. The worst is never over. Give me a drink. Icilius (to Minutius) He has a fever! Minutius He is overstrained and washed up but stands on his legs. He is on the brink of losing his mind and control but hasn’t lost them. Virginius Give me some wine, so that I can be with you and talk with you. Numitorius (pours him a glass) Alas, your hand is shaking. Let me help you, so that you don’t spill it out on yourself.

Virginius I am all just a spilled out waste, and I will not be rid of it until the worms have eaten me up. What more have I to live for than to get drunk and fatten this sad carcass as food for the worms? Numitorius Don’t give up, brother. We stand at the beginning of a new and better Rome. Virginius I thank you. Of course it could only get better. It could hardly get any worse. Icilius It hurts me to see you in such a sad state, my father-in-law. Virginius Don’t call me father-in-law any more. Your wife my daughter was never more than a virgin, and it was I, not you, who shed her virgin blood. Icilius Which I cannot forgive you. How could you commit such violence against the one you loved so unfathomably more than I? Virginius That I wonder myself every day and hour. I can’t understand that I could, but my soldier’s hand is trained enough to never have hesitated to take any life professionally and efficiently and as painlessly as possible. We soldiers are the butchers of the battlefields and learn the art to work swiftly and smoothly to avoid unnecessary extra suffering. I had no choice. She asked for it. The one you love you owe obedience. I had no right to deny her freedom at such a prayer. And consider the alternative: as a prostitute sex slave without rights under Marcus Clodius for a pimp and Appius as a possessed consumer. Icilius It’s the worst tragedy in Roman history. Virginius But unfortunately a necessity. Haven’t we as Roman noblemen sworn to rather die with honour than live as slaves? If we don’t follow the oath of honour we have no Rome. Icilius And what is done is done. We cannot have it undone. Let’s then join our two armies together and give Rome a new and better order without any possibility for the abuse of power by too much licence and authority to its governors. Virginius You think right, my son. We have a free Rome ahead of us to manoeuvre and steer straight on open seas of freedom on a steadfast course by right and honourable ethics, and this is now our responsibility. Icilius So let us go to the senate and embark on this constructive labour. I think, father, that you could survive this crisis with your honour. Virginius I don’t think so. My quota of ethics in life is wasted. I have laid a deadly hand on a child of my own. If even the whole world and future would acquit me, I cannot do so. Icilius Just don’t pity yourself, for you are not worth it. We must work now, father. Let’s be industrious and cut down the rotten trees, so that the forest can grow and expand. That’s what Rome deserves now after the evil crisis of this difficult trauma. (takes care of Virginius and leads him out. All others follow.)

Scene 2. All gathered in the senate, Virginius presiding as judge. Virginius We have reached a remarkable trial with turbulent preludes that has turned Rome and the city upside down, but we have an impeccable example to try to live up to: Appius, my predecessor, who seriously strove after objectivity at any price, impartiality and absolute unbiassedness. He fell to a human factor with a human catastrophe as a consequence, for which we now have to try him together with the chief responsible Marcus Clodius as the acting part. The great Appius is fallen, but his ideal example lives on. So let us by all means strive to follow it. Bring in the two prisoners. (Appius and Clodius are brought under escorting guards.) A new strange trial with completely changed roles with the difference, that this time we are entirely without any lawyer. The defendant in the last case is now your prosecutor, and we all know too well the nature of the case, since we all were involved in its hair-raising details. The only accusation against you is that you are responsible for what happened. How do you plead? Appius Virginius, no one can more regret what happened than I except you. It was a disaster that no one could foresee, and no one can more clearly see the full width of my responsibility as the one who blindly drove the matter to that desperate shipwreck which followed. I have the greatest sympathy and respect for how you reacted by enforced necessity, and I regret that you couldnâ€™t have acted otherwise. You acted like a true Roman and paid dearly for my fatal mistake, but immediately paid the full sum of all you had. I accept the full responsibility and the just sentence, which could be death. I ask for nothing less. I was the supreme judge of Rome and abused this position, for which I must take all the consequences. My crime is unforgivable, and my fault cannot be defended even on any human grounds. I accept my full responsibility. Virginius Marcus Clodius? Clodius I have nothing to say, since our Appius already has accepted the full responsibility. Virginius You have nothing to say for your defence? Clodius You have all the facts, as you said, since we were all part of the unexpected tragedy. Virginius Then the only thing left is to pronounce the sentence. After discussions, we the governors, Minutius, Numitius and I and a few more, reached the conclusion that the hardest hit should be judge in this case. It is Icilius, who was the one who lost his wife without having had any part in her death. Icilius, come forth. What do you propose for their sentence? Icilius I suggest for them a choice. As the supreme judge the noble Appius himself proclaimed, there is no other sentence possible than death. The question is how it is to be delivered. I want to give them the possibility to pass it with honour.

Give them each one his sword. If they want to leave their lives with honour, they may do so by their own hands. Appius (at once) It is fair. Give me the sword. (He receives a sword.) I thank you for giving me this possibility to depart from my life, my Rome and my office with honour. You can see for yourselves – for me there is neither hesitation nor fear. (intends to immediately cut himself to the heart, when Virginius interferes.) Virginius Hold it! Such a noble heart must be given a possibility for afterthought to us more conscientiously sensitive judges. I am myself inclined to a pardon. He has demonstrated strength of conscience and with remarkable civil and high moral courage assumed the whole responsibility. How do the rest of you view the matter? Icilius Hold! We can’t accept any compromise with justice! How did he himself manage the issue of the degradation of the virgin to a slave? He didn’t even allow our witness to speak! No compromise! (storms out) Virginius Icilius has spoken. What about the rest of you? Numitorius I think Icilius left to mobilize some witness in the case. Minutius Let us then wait for what he brings. Horatius Forsooth, this case imports constantly new surprises. Appius I beg of you, gentlemen judges, don’t keep us burning. Give us death, allow us to give it ourselves, but don’t leave us pending. I maintain that death is the only thing we deserve. Icilius (returns with four carriers of Virginia’s bier with her untouched corpse) Appius is right! Can you behold the body of this virgin, the sacrifice to an abominable injustice and intrigue against her virtue and honour, life and future, and not grant those responsible the death they have deserved? Minutius Alas, I was not here but can see the whole tragedy. No, we cannot forgive this. Virginius I was guilty of the murder, while Appius was not. Clodius No, Appius alone was guilty! He was the one who led me on! I acted only by his directions, as I always did! He had me constantly under his foot! Icilius Don’t get soft, Virginius. A general and judge must not be soft. Numitorius The burden of responsibility is overwhelming for Appius. Appius I have already assumed full responsibility for the virgin’s death, no matter how little it was intended. So let there finally be an end on it! My crime was that I loved the lovely maid too much and was blinded by love to make use of improper means to reach my goal by using my position. But as the perfectly constant virgin she was, she resisted all means of power that were used against her, for the faith she kept for the only one who owned her heart. You are right, Icilius, and have been right all the way, and I respect you for it and willingly accept your most correct punishment. (drives resolutely the sword through his breast and heart and dies instantly.) Virginius Thus was his case resolved. He chose admirably his honour to live without honour. May he be honoured for it. The other remains. Marcus Clodius, how do you plead now? Are you still putting all the blame on him?

Clodius I can only plead for mercy. I refer to the fact that I only obeyed orders. All orders came from Appius. He accepted the responsibility. I therefore renounce all responsibility. Icilius But you contrived and carried through the prosecution and the whole infamous fake intrigue with forgeries and humiliations! If Appius ordered you, you could have refused, if you had any conscience! Minutius How does Marcus Clodius answer to that? Clodius I plead for mercy. Is all this blood, two dead lovers, not enough as victims of your bloodthirst? I can’t commit suicide since it is against nature. You have to cut my throat yourselves if you insist. Icilius Yes, we insist! Take him out, hand him over to the hangman, and let him hang as any low criminal and hopeless villain! I hold him alone responsible for my Virginia’s death! I acquit the late Appius! Both he and Virginius have sincerely accepted the responsibility for the virgin’s death, but Marcus Clodius, who alone effected the prosecution and trial, tries to escape his responsibility! Get him out! Hang him at once! Numitorius It is fair. Minutius He cannot be pardoned. Virginius The judges are unanimous. Marcus Clodius is hereby sentenced to death by hanging. Execute the sentence. (the guards bring out Clodius, who protests violently, makes resistance, fights, and so on.) (when he is gone) Then there is only one thing left for us to do. To avoid any form of abuse of power in Rome in future there is the proposition, that the ten decemvirs and their offices be abolished. Can we agree on this matter? Minutius To the fullest. Numitius It is necessary as a consequence. Icilius Thus Rome will get back her freedom. Virginius Then it is settled. (hammers) Let us then at last dedicate ourselves to our sorrow in burying our dead. Let Appius and Virginia have an honourable and proud funeral in common, for in spite of all it can not be denied, that he loved my daughter. This weakness led to his fall, but he took the consequences and died for her. Like me, he could not live without her. You and me, Icilius, are condemned to a heavier lot, to have to live on. I leave it to you, for I have not many days left. I only wish to grieve to death for that I by my daughter’s death have been cruelly deprived of my life by destiny, since she was my only fortune and all I had left to live for. But perhaps there was some possibility for me to act differently than I did? Perhaps Appius could have answered that question. Now he can’t any longer. I therefore ask to resign. (lays down the hammer) Minutius We all suffered more than enough for this. Let us now in sorrow follow this ill-matched couple, that ultimately were joined in the end, to the headquarters of sorrow and their last resting-place, which may forever remain a sanctuary to Rome, for the example of Appius’ superior competence as an ideally striving and objective

judge who only went humanly wrong, and for Virginia, the foremost of virgins and beside Lucretia the most admirable of Rome’s ladies. Icilius It is enough. Let our funeral march and solemnity begin. (Virginia and Appius are carried out on two biers beside each other, and all follow the procession of sorrow.)

The End.

Naini Tal, 10.11.2008. translated 13.2.2019.

Comment The main problem with ”Appius and Virginia” is the impossibility to have it dated. This is more often than not the problem with most plays that evidently had co-author(s) but more so with this one than with any other. Traditionally, the coauthor was Thomas Heywood, (who according to himself co-authored more than 200 plays), but the dominant part is without doubt the same voice that wrote ”The White Devil” and ”The Duchess of Malfi”. Most critics agree that it must have been written either in the beginning of ’John Webster’s’ playwright activity (before 1608) or at the very end (after 1625), which fact accurately illustrates the dating problem. The details about the starvation army and its arguments, however, rather definitely fixes it to after the historical crisis with an army in Holland in OctoberNovember 1624 under Count Mansfeld. They were sent off to Flushing without proper supplies and eventually left in Gertruidenburg to starve. The realistic rendering of the starving army in ”Appius” and their rising taste for mutiny corresponds exactly with the war scenes of the failed war drama in Holland. The drama serves as a very complementary tale to that of ”The Rape of Lucrece” produced 30 years earlier. In fact, it’s a very appropriate finale to the whole Shakespearean era of great tragedies with the Roman ones constituting perhaps the most particular chapter of them all, dealing with justice and politics on a universal level, which ”Appius and Virginia” also does although in a more resigned, compressed and Spartan form than any of the earlier ones. Since it so obviously has more than one hand in it, I here leave the authorship question open without comment. Objection: ”Armies at the time were commonly left to starve – even successful ones. England had loads of starving sailors after their defeat of the Armada in 1588.” (PC)

Yes, but the rendering of the mutinous starving army in act II is so realistic, the commander actually having some difficulty in appeasing the troops, which he does in an admirable way, very much reminding of Antony’s reversal of the political situation in ”Julius Caesar” by the funeral speech, which it must have been influenced by, while the realism of the mutinous troops (not any sailors) hardly could have been made so strong, (it’s actually perhaps the most dynamic scene in the play,) without fresh experience of it in reality. The only parallel to the 1624 disaster was Essex’ failure in Ireland. The difficulty in dating this play makes speculations about this point inevitable. There are however some ’marlovian’ traits to be found even here. The ’banishment’ signature occurs but in the reverse – Appius makes fun of it in act I (scene 1, 38-70,) but it’s still a definite variation of the almost main Shakespearean theme. And here is a typical ’marlovian’ twist: ”This of my fate in after times be spoken, I’ll break that with my weight on which I am broken.” (the last lines of act III scene 3.) ”Appius and Virginia” was first published in 1576 by a certain ”R.B.” (Richard Barnfield?) That play, however, is very inferior to the second version printed for the first time not until 1654, almost 80 years after the first version. Let’s in this context bring in the Bacons for a quick experimental investigation. The probable production of ”Appius and Virginia” coincides with Bacon’s final years and, like so many Shakespeare plays and ”The White Devil”, deals heavily with jurisdiction, which was Bacon’s main field of experience. He was the first Shakespeare alternative candidate brought forth 200 years ago, when the first doubts rose about Will, and is still the strongest candidate supported by massive literature and followings. He if anyone would have been greatly concerned with the failed Dutch war and stranded army at Getruidenburg, as every British political crisis during his age was of the deepest concern for him, since he always had a hand in them all. His poor efforts at religious verse, his pathetic failure of a marriage and his leaving himself vulnerable to the envious intrigues of Buckingham and other ambitious scoundrels in the lewd corruption circles of King James present some quite imposing question marks actually outdoing Marlowe’s in blatancy, since Bacon was the second most powerful and influential man in England after the King. Baconians generally claim at least the productions of Marlowe and Shakespeare for Bacon. In view of the fact of Ben Jonson’s close standing with him during the final editing of the Shakespeare works, it can’t be eliminated that Bacon had a hand in it. His concern about ”concealed poets” communicated to the King, however, was probably not a concern for himself in view of his supremely high position. The homosexual Anthony Bacon was Marlowe’s colleague and friend in France during the Walsingham years, and since Francis took over the intelligence of Anthony, it’s most credible that he also carried on the collaboration with Marlowe. Francis Bacon and

Marlowe both present some curious common traits: both were sexually unfathomable, there are sexual mysteries about them, both were rumoured to associate with boys, neither had any children, Bacon would have done better unmarried like his brother, and we all know what the Puritans thought about Marlowe. One plausible theory states that both were undecisively bisexual. We shall never know the whole truth, but the inter-connections between Anthony Bacon, Marlowe, Francis Bacon, Jonson and Shakespeare speak very much for that Marlowe and Francis Bacon understood each other and collaborated more than well.

The Bride’s Tragedy tragedy in five acts, after Francis Beaumont & John Fletcher

by Christian Lanciai (2008)

Dramatis personae: King of Rhodes Lysippus, his brother Amyntor, and Melantius, his first knights Diphylus, Melantius’ brother Evadne, their sister, married to Amyntor Aspasia Calianax, her father Cleon, and Straton, courtiers Dula, Evadne’s maid Chorus of maids

The action is Rhodes in Hellenistic Antiquity

The Bride’s Tragedy Act I scene 1 Diphylus But can we accept it? Lysippus What else can we do? Is there any choice? Diphylus But it’s an unjust indecency. Lysippus What can we do? Diphylus If we just let it be, such manners could find even worse expressions with time. Lysippus Let’s hope it was just for this once, so that we’ll have no more trouble. Diphylus But poor Aspasia… Cleon But look who’s coming! At last! Lysippus Melantius! Welcome home from the war! The whole nation welcomes you by my person! Kings are like gods here on earth, he just wished you back home, and here you are! Diphylus My brother! Welcome! Whoever dares not to be happy about your safe return will be my enemy forever! Melantius Thank you, Lysippus, and thanks to you, Diphylus, but you are indebted to me. I summoned you to fight by my side in Parthia, but you never showed up. That was not a good show. Diphylus Brother, my excuse was the king’s own wish, which you, Lysippus, can testify. Lysippus It’s true, Melantius. He was not allowed to go until the festivities connected with the great wedding here were done with. Diphylus Have you heard about it? Melantius It’s the only reason why I came back to Rhodes. Is it over already? Diphylus Yes. Amyntor is now married, and it was fulfilled this very morning. Melantius That gives me pleasure, for he is my friend and impeccable as such, and there is no one I wish more luck than him. I only regret that I didn’t make it in time for his wedding. Diphylus But at least you came, and that is the main thing. (enter Aspasia) Melantius Hell, princess and happy bride! May the sacred liaison you have entered today remain as long and unassailable as the toughest and hardest olive tree of Rhodes! And I wish you the best of luck in bringing forth as many new healthy and stalwart Amyntors as your husband! Aspasia The last thing I deserve in my fate is sarcastic scorn, for I was never proud and presumptuous while it was still favourable. (leaves in despair) Melantius Whatever was the matter with her? Lysippus A platitude. It wasn’t she who was married. Melantius But wasn’t Amyntor supposed to marry her? Diphylus Yes, from the beginning, and that was written all the way, but your speedy return made me believe that you had heard about the change of program.

Melantius But he is married. Who is then the bride? Lysippus One who always blinded everyone with her beauty and who by her superiority dumbfounded and made many suitors lose more than just their faces, Evadne herself, your so virtuous sister. Melantius May they still be happy. But how is this possible? It was a solid engagement since several years, and suddenly in the last moment the bride is changed for another. What is the meaning? Lysippus It was my brother the King who went between and ordered it most of all to honour you, and the entire wedding with all its dinners, receptions, arrangements and sumptuous solemnities are all on account of the King. Melantius That is royal, I might say. But it pains me that I didn’t know better when I met the fair Aspasia. How cruel she must have felt my words! And her father always kept a grudge against me. Now he will most likely realize it with a vengeance. But she must understand that I couldn’t intentionally be so cruel. Is he still on good terms with our King? Lysipppus Yes, but this lady always keeps her looks to the ground, which she wets with constant tears. She often goes out into the woods alone to contemplate in distant arbours and unknown glades which she find suitable for burying grounds of thwarted lovers, where she plucks flowers to spread over herself in melancholy. She never partakes in any parties or social gatherings without recounting some sad and tragic story involving death, so that soon one after the other will drop off, leaving her alone remaining. She can’t appear socially without affecting everyone with pain. Melantius She also has another brother though, who is under my command with as softly female sensitivity as she and with a spirit making him much older than he is. Cleon Here he is now, gentlemen – the bridegroom! (enter Amyntor) Melantius (embracing him) My affection for you is boundless, Amyntor, and it is for me the greatest pleasure to see to you again. You are my friend, but my words are not enough to express the full width of my affection. Amyntor That says it all, and I am over-joyed that you are back again unharmed. Melantius Nonetheless I cry for joy to find you unchanged. Amyntor There is much for me to conceal, for example, that my wedding feast mostly brought me only tears. Melantius Not only you, I understand, but also the jilted one, who mostly seems to walk about in suicidal thoughts. Amyntor I was always faithful to her, there was no one else, but the King himself forbade it and gave me instead your sister with great generosity and paid for everything himself with greater pomp and glory than anyone of us had wished for nor was worthy of. There is nothing wrong with her, you know that yourself, she surpasses anyone in beauty, and I have nothing against her, but still I must regret it and keep Aspasia the more burning in my heart. Melantius A strange story.

Lysippus Gentlemen, it’s time to return to the festivities. Melantius, there is a banquet waiting for you with the bride and bridegroom and the King by his command. Amyntor Let’s return to order, Melantius. Let’s keep each other carefully informed. There could be something else behind strange castling manoeuvres than anyone innocent could suspect. (All break up.)

Scene 2. Calianax What are you doing here, you arch knave? Melantius The same as you, Calianax, invited by order of the King to this play staged to the glory of the wedding. Calianax It’s my life’s greatest humiliation to be obliged to be present here and forced to meet all those traitors who took part in the rejection of my daughter. You have almost taken her life. Melantius I am innocent. I didn’t even know about it. I deeply regret that I congratulated her before getting to know about it. Calianax But it is your sister who has been married to him! Melantius I still must insist on my innocence. It’s not my fault that she is my sister, and it’s not my fault that she was married to him. Calianax But he is your best friend! And the King invited you here! And he has arranged special festivities just for your sake, because you are the brother of the bride! You have to admit that it stinks! Melantius The problem is that we don’t know what is stinking. I haven’t been able to identify the smell so far. Calianax But it stinks, and that’s enough! Melantius You have a right to be furious, Calianax. Calianax You almost killed her! Melantius ’Almost’ doesn’t count as long as she lives, and she is quite intact. Calianax But she is crying out her tears and herself to death! Melantius Isn’t that what all women do sooner or later? They say, that without money you can’t give the bride a bed, but who manages without women will do both without quarrels and tears and clinging slaves. Calianax Yes, you are fortunate to have slipped out of all problems with womanhood. Melantius I still don’t understand the complication. Didn’t Aspasia and Amyntor truly love each other? Why then did the King interfere? Calianax They loved each other tenderly and sincerely and still do. Why else do you think Aspasia is crying herself to death? And Amyntor doesn’t look very happy either. Ask your sister. She should know more than we. She is even more guilty than you. Melantius Here is the bridegroom himself. You should be even more cross with him.

Calianax Aren’t you? Melantius I would be, if he didn’t look so innocent. Calianax Hey, traitor! Everyone is angry with your for the sake of your damned marriage. Amyntor Even you, my Melantius? Melantius I just can’t understand it, Amyntor, and the mystery of it has raised a momentary wall between us. Amyntor I don’t understand it either. Calianax Don’t pretend innocence, you damned seducer! Amyntor I am innocent, and you know it, Calianax, my only true father-in-law, for I still love your daughter and would rather have remained true to her, although your sister is more beautiful, Melantius. Calianax To hell and Styx with both of you, you arrant and distracted knaves! You don’t even see what you yourselves are causing! Melantius Keep me out of it. Calianax Do you deny your own sister and the way in which she has turned the head of this villain and used the king to have her will? Melantius Are you accusing my sister? Calianax Who else would I accuse? Isn’t she perhaps the wrong and wronging bride? Amyntor Honestly speaking, she hasn’t appeared very willing to this business. Calianax Why then didn’t you say no at the altar, you heart-breaker? How do you think it feels for a bride in love to see her husband married to another on her wedding day? Amyntor Control your wrath for god’s sake, Calianax. Don’t make things worse. Here is the King with all his retinue and both my ladies. She has heard about the argument and has come here only for that reason. King There you are, whipper-snappers! Your taunts are heard all over Rhodes! What are you actually arguing about? Melantius No one actually knows really. King I know that you have taken this hard, Calianax, and with good reason, but then look at your daughter. She has been exalted to Evadne’s closest chamber-maid and friend, so she isn’t really as forsaken as you make it seem by dramatizing the adversity. Please stop arguing now. I want to see you shake hands with Amyntor. Calianax I refuse. King You can’t do that, Calianax. I am fond of you, you are trusted, I promoted you to the highest office of your life, and I hold no friends dearer than the two of you, Amyntor and Melantius. So set aside all irrelevant feelings, so that we can start enjoying the play. I will not let it begin until you have shaken hands. (Both Amyntor and Melantius offer one hand to Calianax while they let the other shake the other’s.) Evadne I promise you that you make peace in a good cause and that you will not regret it. King The bride herself has spoken. Well, what about it, Calianax? Calianax (somewhat ashamed, to Aspasia) Will you excuse me, Aspasia?

Aspasia What are we women for if not to allow and forbear with everything? King Thus speaks a true woman. Please make peace now. Calianax Very well, but the matter is not settled! (accepts the friends’ hands.) King That’s more like it! Melantius (turning to Evadne) My sister, you saw with my eyes when you accepted my best friend. I wish you all happiness with him. Evadne O my dear brother, your return and presence is to me a much greater joy than this day has been. King (claps his hands) Let the play begin! (All take their seats.) Act II scene 1. Evadne’s bridal chamber with Evadne and Aspasia. Dula My lady, do you wish to be undressed naked for the war of the night? For the battles you have to fight are moments of the naked truth. Evadne Your mirth is rather screwed up for being another’s than my own. Dula I would be even merrier if I was in your place. Evadne With what right? Dula If I were to go to bed with him with your advantages, I would be far better than myself. Evadne You already are, since you appear to be drunk, to say the least. Is she drunk, Aspasia? Dula Is there any more efficient intoxication than love? Its effect is to loosen all restrictions, so that nothing any longer can impede the personal power of expression. Evadne Yes, you are drunk, and far more so than I. Dula You just have to relax and lie still and let him do the rest. Evadne You are mad, Dula. Dula It’s his task to get you going. Then the cooperation will result automatically. Evadne You seem experienced enough. Dula Only since I was fourteen. I know all the tricks. If you need any instructions, help or advice, just ask me. Evadne I think you are too well practised to suit me. Dula I am just rallying you, so that you may rightly rouse your master. Evadne Would you take my place in bed? Dula Take over the ablest most dashing and handsome gentleman on Rhodes on his very wedding night? Why not, if you insist. Evadne Aspasia, she is out of her mind. You take her place instead. Dula Would you then prefer depression, plaintiveness, tears and one to pity for your replacement on the wedding night? Evadne Why not? Dula, I wish you could inspire some of your mirth in my Aspasia. She is too fixed on her mishap, which none of us is to blame for. You are too merry, and she is too sad. Why can’t you make it more even between you and smoothe out the difference?

Dula Her love is too serious since she made the mistake of taking love too seriously from the beginning. That’s why it went wrong. I escaped being married, but I never lacked lovers. Aspasia I find it hard to find my joy in temporal connections with their fleeting superficiality, but instead I can find peace and satisfaction in serious altar service with solemn devotion to higher things than mortal matters. Evadne Let’s hear it, Aspasia. Tell us how you feel. Aspasia This wedding night should have been mine, and your hands should have served me with graceful preparations for the highest night solemnity of life, like I now serve you. Pardon me, dearest Evadne, that I lack the rank and beauty and talent that is yours. My destiny is that the King or now your husband found it suitable to bypass me for your higher merits, and I can understand that Amyntor eventually preferred you. Maybe he found me worthless in comparison, but until my destiny shifted he was the most loyal and ideal of lovers, whose every word was honey in my soul, which I could only take dead serious. Perhaps it was wrong, as Dula says. I accepted it and don’t complain any more. If he has been false, then may heaven forgive him. And if I now prefer my virtue and loneliness, forgive me, but I have taken no virtue from you, and all the virtue you have given is in good custody with me. Evadne You transcend to a shy detachment in the virtue of virginity from having almost been a fulfilled bride. I cannot blame you, since you carry this complete and drastic change with heroic serenity. How did it go, that beautiful sad old song? Aspasia Lay no garlands on my grave, gilded by the silver tears of dew, but cover me in willow branches as an explanation of my truth that I lived true and died in faith, while the only false one was my lover. Lie gently on my buried body, earth to cover me eternally, for my heart cannot bear more pressure than what it received from life’s cruel love which was too painful and too much. Evadne A sad dirge suitable indeed for my wedding night but hardly for anyone else’s. Sing now something merrier, my hearty Dula. Dula Never could I have a lover for much longer than an hour, since I always have to fly the higher, further on to find new love again; for it must never stop or rest and never lose its wings to fall to earth.

Evadne That was better. There was some truth in it. Now I can manage the rest by myself. Please leave me. Aspasia My lady, good night. May all the joys of love that every maid is dreaming of come to your share. May there never be quarrels, cries and conflicts between you, but if they should occur all the same, then come to me, and I will teach you how to mourn and to keep your sorrow persistently alive. I beg you not to love him less or with less sincerity than I have done, but beware of displeasing him, which is what I must have done. This is probably the last time you will see me, but I ask you to visit me again when I am dead to contribute a tear to my coffin. And let it be carried by virgins dressed in white who may sing the truth about the virgin’s faithfulness, sincerity and truth and about the eternal brutality and treachery of men. Evadne We all agree with you with no reduction of our affection for you, Aspasia. Dula (to Evadne) It’s time for you to receive your bridegroom. Evadne Let him enter. I will retire in the meantime. (retires) Dula Here he comes. Amyntor (enters) Where is she? Dula You will find her in the darkness of intimacy. Amyntor That’s correct. No other senses should be mixed up with love and its feelings. Aspasia Be happy with your wife, Amyntor. May all the harm you did to me be erased by my death. I will trouble you no more but only ask for a farewell kiss, which you can’t refuse me. When it’s time for my burial you shall come to see how virgins bewail a true virgin. I thank you for all the love you gave me, and I will keep it, although it ultimately was refused, as the only one, for I will never try to find it with another. Hereby I leave you, divine bridegroom, the best of men, with my prayers that they may always protect you and keep watch over you, while the altar service of my life from now on only will be to continue grieving to death. Amyntor You give me for a farewell a disguised damnation. Aspasia No, only truth and blessings. We both wished each other well, and that is how it must go on forever. (lays her fingers on his lips as a farewell kiss and hurries out.) Dula Your wife is expecting you, Sir. Amyntor So let her wait. Let me first pull myself together for a little while. (exit Dula) I have been unjust to her, and everything feels wrong. Instead of a natural wedding joy, I only feel the tears of pain and remorse coming up, as if they wished to drown me as punishment for what I have done. But this is by the order of the King. Should I have protested and refused? Something tells me not to enter. But my guilt is not as heavy as the sensitivity of my conscience has grown. I have broken an engagement and my word and a lifetime vow because the King has forced me to. What can I do about it? Coward carcass, for what are you shaking and trembling so helplessly? This is the opposite of war, just enjoyment and ecstasy, and still it feels as a graver danger than the most fearsome battle. (enter Evadne dressed seductively to a maximum)

And then all doubts and second thoughts vanish immediately the moment she appears in blinding beauty and intoxicating grace. – I beg you, my sweet, don’t stay up dressed that lightly. You could catch a cold. I ask you to immediately return to your bed. Did you come out here to bring me to your bed? Evadne No. Amyntor What do you mean? Evadne I am not feeling well. Amyntor The greater reason to return to bed, where I shall warm you and so care for you that no illness ever more will dare to approach your vicinity. Evadne I can’t sleep. Amyntor We don’t need to sleep. We can lie still and just enjoy each other by our eyes in tenderness. Evadne I will not go to bed. Amyntor Still I ask you to. Evadne I will not do it for all the world. Amyntor Why, my love? Evadne Because I have sworn not to do it. Amyntor What is this? Some caprice or whim or new idea? Evadne Yes, Amyntor, I have sworn not to go to bed with you. That’s the simple truth. Amyntor And to whom have you sworn this? Only to yourself, or to somebody else? Evadne What does it matter? If I gave you his name, it would not make things any better. Amyntor So there is another one? Evadne No, another one knew me. I was not willing myself. Amyntor Then tell me his name, and I will avenge you and give you correction. Evadne You will if you love me all the way. Then you don’t care about your future, honour, life, career, your happiness or anything else, but you will fulfil the prayer of the one you love, and she asks you to murder him. Amyntor Tell me the whole truth. Evadne You must not care about who he is. You will just kill him, if you love me. Amyntor I must know more. Why did you give yourself to him? And how could anyone force you against your will? There is something here that doesn’t make sense. Evadne Is then my obvious hatred not enough? Isn’t that too obvious? Only swear to me to kill him, whoever he is. The rest will be easy, since my wrath and hatred will be naturally transferred on you. Amyntor Whoever could I suspect? I must know more. Evadne Don’t you believe me? Amyntor How could I believe what I don’t know? Evadne You doubt a fallen woman and will not give her right just because she is fallen.

Amyntor Listen, dearest Evadne. Here you ask me to murder a completely unknown fellow man in blindness, yes, you demand this of me without even letting me know who he is. Have I no right to some kind of investigation? If I murder him, may I then afterwards know who he was? How could I murder anyone without knowing whom I am supposed to murder? Evadne Can’t you guess? Amyntor So it’s someone I know? Evadne Yes. Amyntor That makes it even worse. Don’t trifle now, Evadne. We are married. We are not here to conspire or to stage a murder. We celebrated a wedding only to love. Evadne I can’t love you, Amyntor. Amyntor Then why did you marry me? Evadne You know very well the only reason why we were married. Amyntor The King wished to honour me with someone better than Aspasia. Were you not in on it? Were you not willing? Evadne No, I was not willing, although you were my brother’s best friend and the best man here on Rhodes, for it didn’t come naturally. The King rules, and we must obey him. Amyntor If you had protested, I would probably also have done so. Evadne I was not in a position to protest, and neither were you. Amyntor Stop fiddling about now! Let’s at least make love! Don’t allow our wedding night to become a complete failure! Evadne I don’t want to lie with you, not on this night nor any other night. Amyntor You are joking. Evadne Do I look as if I was joking? Amyntor You marry me and then afterwards demand to preserve your virginity. Is that reasonable? Evadne Do you take me for a virgin at my age? Amyntor So it went that far with that other one. Evadne Do you now understand why I want you to kill him? Perhaps then that I could love you and build something up again. As long as the poison lingers in my soul, love is more dead than alive to me. Amyntor You mean to say that he bound you by oath not to go to bed with anyone else? Evadne Yes. Amyntor And then, why didn’t he marry you himself? Evadne Because it was not possible. Amyntor This is constantly getting worse. Has there ever been celebrated a wedding night like this? At least we must never let this come out. If you don’t want sex with me, so let us at least adopt a child, so that we will seem normal! Or else the risk will be that I might force myself upon you. I feel like forcing you to retract that oath to the other one, since our oath by the altar is stronger and must be more valid

than any other, mustn’t it? Have I no right to take you, as your husband? Can any law have a higher authority than love? Evadne Only the King’s. Amyntor I still think you are just playing games with me and want to provoke me, and you sure have succeeded! Do you then have a company of warriors at your command for the defence of the maid’s virtue and innocence, purely by virginal obstinacy, against all natural soundness? Evadne That’s not it, Amyntor. I would gladly have had you, but another stronger than you have taken me and sealed me by oath for his own use. Can’t you guess who it is? There is only one man on Rhodes in a higher position than yourself. Amyntor My goodness! Do you mean the King himself? Evadne Who else? Amyntor It’s not possible! Anyone, but not he. Evadne Don’t you understand the intrigue? Why he had to see me married to someone else who was irreproachable in loyalty and nobility? Amyntor But the King is sacred, he is the state, he stands for the entire order of society, no one can lift his hand against him. His word is the law. Evadne Do you now see the dilemma? Amyntor And what can we do? I could never murder him. He is the supreme impeccability. So we are sentenced for his crime. I was selected to conceal it, and I will then act as the father of his child. Is that how he figured it out? Evadne I don’t know how he thinks. We are only to obey his orders. Amyntor So we have then nothing else to do but to keep up appearances in the foul play in which he has placed us as puppets in his hands. I will leave you in peace tonight, Evadne, and I am glad in spite of all that I learned about this before having touched you. Let’s keep it up. What is done is done and cannot be undone. The King took you for his mistress, and for some compensation he married you to a man he could trust without bothering about what they would think themselves about it. We don’t know where this could lead us. May we then play safely and keep up our image. I will lie calm in the second floor today, so that you will be left alone, and tomorrow we shall cheerfully warble to the world like after a consummate wedding night. Evadne I am glad that you understand the situation. Amyntor We must both play in the hands of the King’s intrigues. He must not suspect that we one day might claim revenge for his having played the dirtiest of all tricks in gross violation of the sanctity of marriage. His crime is worse than if he had seduced you after we were married. Evadne Let’s go to rest now, Amyntor. We are tired after this upsetting marriage, a farce that wasn’t very funny. Let’s abide our time with patience. That’s about all we can do. Amyntor Yes, for the moment. (They kiss on their cheeks and leave separately.)

Scene 2. Aspasia with the maids. Aspasia Look, maids, am I fortunate who lost my husband before I was married? Chorus Absolutely, o virtuous Aspasia, you got away cheaply and rid of all marriage problems before they had even started. Aspasia Can you live then with love exchanged into cold frigidity and your heart petrified into a closed up clod and burden of suppressed sorrows? Chorus Grieve not, sweet Aspasia, for the men are only good for violence, betrayal and cruel brutality. We women are not cold or cruel by nature, but we get metamorphosed, altered and corrupted by the men into the wrecks we usually become. Aspasia And you, easy-going fleeting Dula, can you really find any meaning in just blindly getting consumed by supercilious vulgar pleasures in the consumption of a May-fly by herself? Dula You have your life, Aspasia, and I have mine. Let us as women live with mutual respect for what we both are, you established as a virgin and a paragon of virtue, in which capacity you certainly can do a great amount of good, like other virgins such as Artemis and Athena, but I am also in a service for some good with Aphrodite, developing and furthering all men I can and making them to some degree more soft and human. Love is after all a better service than the war. Apasia So you don’t envy me? Dula As little as you envy me yourself. Aspasia But still I loved and lost my love by shock just in the moment I would have received the best man in the world ensured for my possession in my bosom for all time. I can’t stop loving him, but when he is taken by another, my love changes into the most unendurable and everlasting pain. My sisters, comfort me. Chorus That’s how they are, the men, cruel in their stupidity, incorrigible in their egoism of blindly breaking others’ hearts, which more often than not leads to horrendous ruin and disaster and eternal grief for mainly their own part. Remember Jason and Medea and the consequences of that faithlessness – two children murdered and a horrible revenge on a whole family and bitterness enough for an eternal afterworld to shudder by. Remember Agamemnon’s faithlessness – what was his wages for the Trojan war apart from dire consequences of his intimacy with Cassandra? Faithlessness will never pay but must end even worse for the perpetrator than for his victim. Aspasia No, I wish no harm to Amyntor. On the contrary, I ever wished him only well. He is not the one I urge you to punish. I am the one I urge you to comfort. Chorus A broken heart can not be comforted, only avenged. Aspasia No, that is not how I want it. Chorus Maybe Amyntor is innocent. We heard that he was commanded to his marriage by the King. Therefore he could not say no, and neither could Evadne.

Perhaps the blame is to be found in the manipulations of secret intrigues by someone else. Aspasia You might be right. Chorus All wrongs could be corrected, and all wrongs should be corrected. Aspasia I will look into it how it all came actually about. Evadne must know all the details, and I am very close to her. Chorus Investigate, consider, analyse carefully, and then take your stand. Let us know the result, and we shall help you by any means. Aspasia Thank you, sisters. I must content myself with that until further. I really hope the results could confirm and acquit Amyntor as innocent. Chorus We share that hope with you, Aspasia. Now examine carefully the matter. Calianax What are you standing here miaowing for, you silly sluts? Go home and make yourselves useful, so that you don’t have to prostitute yourselves for nothing! Dula Is that all what we women are good for, old Calianax, to prostitute ourselves? Calianax My daughter now has the chance to prove herself to be of better use, now as she was scrapped by the best man in the country, as she thought before she was married, but for the rest, women extremely seldom turn out anything else than old whores. Get lost! Let my daughter grieve in peace! Dress in black from top to toe, Aspasia, and your widow’s grief will be more effective. All you need to do for the rest of your life is to grieve, since I will make sure that you never more will associate with any base and vulgar men! Dula Poor comfort for a wounded heart does the sharp bitterness of age provide. She needs a new man, Calianax. Calianax She almost had one too much already! Go to your new men, you strumpet, and leave my daughter in peace from them and such as you! She already learned the hard way to do without them. Dula (to Aspasia) Come, Aspasia. He is only ridiculing us. Aspasia He is sore because he understands the matter as little as anyone else, but when I know enough it will be a weapon in his hands. He means well after all. (The women disperse, Dula leaves with Aspasia.) Calianax Strumpets! Widows grieved to ghosts! Wailing hags and complaining cry-babies! Broken hearts and nymphomaniacs with sickly sex fixation only leading to hell! Tears and quarrels and lamentations! That’s all what women are about! (snorts, angry and embittered)

Act III scene 1. Cleon Diphylus Straton Cleon Straton

Your sister hasn’t risen yet. Leave them alone. No doubt, their night has probably been toilsome. But hardly tiresome. The question is if he succeeded. With what?

Cleon Don’t be so daft. What does a man do with his wife on his wedding night? Straton Takes a drink? Cleon Takes her virginity, of course! Straton But they surely take other liberties as well. Cleon Shall we bet? Straton About what? Cleon Has he taken her virginity or not? Diphylus It’s a matter of the odds. Straton I don’t think he will get it as long as he lives. Diphylus Why do you think so? Straton Both of them are too noble and fine to do anything vulgar. She would never agree to it, and he would never condescend to it. Cleon It’s about time to call them out. I bet on the contrary. I don’t think Amyntor could resist any lady, least of all someone like Evadne, and especially not if he is married to her. Straton I am on! I think you are mistaken. Diphylus They have all the time in the world. Why would they hurry about it? Amyntor (enters) Hallo there! My brother-in-law! Nowadays my brother! I am not ready yet, and your sister has hardly got out of bed. Diphylus You look as if you lost your eyes tonight. I bet you hardly slept. Amyntor Actually, I haven’t. Diphylus Then you have done well. Amyntor We are hoping for a boy. When he gets twelve he will command the fleets of Rhodes. Diphylus You are not in such a hurry. You also should sleep in between, you know. Amyntor Very true. – But she slept as soundly as a log as if she never could be more satisfied. Diphylus That would indicate that you’ve lost, Straton. Amyntor Lost what? Diplylus He thought you would never succeed in taking her virginity. Cleon thought you would take it at once. Cleaon You did as well as was proper, I trust, Amyntor? Amyntor You don’t speak openly about such things. It’s too vulgar and totally private. We do our duty, and that is all. You may judge for yourselves from Evadne’s reactions. Straton Then I have lost. Amyntor (aside) You would really have lost, if destiny hadn’t interfered. Cleon You really deserve her. Amyntor I am not so sure. I think I got more than I deserved. Melantius (enters) There you are, Amyntor! To me a brother is too alien an expression of our close friendship, which has brought us closer together than brothers.

Amyntor You ever was a friend, brother-in-law you are now and closer as a friend than ever. Enough! An embrace is unavoidable! (They embrace.) Melantius How do you find my sister? Has she satisfied you properly enough? Amyntor More properly than enough. We hardly knew each other before. Now we know too much about each other. Cleon That’s quite a normal result of the wedding night. Straton Let us at least see the brave bride the day after! She couldn’t be less beautiful than yesterday, could she? Amyntor She could be irritable though, over-sensitive and somewhat touchy, so try to weigh your words to her with some consideration. Diphylus We are delicacy itself. Melantius Call on her, Amyntor! Amyntor (calling) Evadne! Come out, my love! Your brothers wish to congratulate you! Evadne (from inside) For what? Cleon Yes, you won the bet, the highest prize! Evadne You are just pulling my legs. Amyntor No, they wish to congratulate you and me for what we have done. (enter Evadne) Melantius Good morning, sister! Anyone who knows whom you married has no need to congratulate you. He knows that you won the highest prize. Diphylus O sister, did you really dispose of your innocence? Evadne Could there be any doubt about it? I knew that you would tease me. Straton No, we only wish to know the truth. Evadne If the truth is to be divulged – if I were to marry again and go through what I have already been through, I think I would decline. Amyntor (aside) Me too. Diphylus Sister, Dula says she heard your sobs and cries two rooms away from you. Evadne Nonsense! Amyntor He is just pulling your legs. They are all happy here today for our sake. Evadne I would be happier if the speculations weren’t so wild about what we have done. Amyntor We have nothing to be ashamed of. Evadne No, only the loose talk of others. Cleon Here comes the King himself! Straton And his brother! Evadne That was the only thing missing. King Good morning, everybody! Amyntor, you are a most fortunate fellow! And you, my lady, are now changed into another’s. Tell me how your wedding night has pleased you. Evadne Not at all, I am afraid. Amyntor She went too tired too soon and then could only sleep and is still not refreshed at all.

Lysippus Let her rest some more, and it will go better. King Amyntor, were you really a virgin and faithful to your intended wife until you married? Amyntor (honestly) Yes, my lord. King How does it feel then to have reached full maturity? Amyntor You must know that yourself, who has made the experience. King You mean, that you consummated the marriage at once? Amyntor Why not? King So you would gladly accept if I once more got the idea to give you a wife? Amyntor Never. King Was then my choice for you a bad one? Hasn’t she satisfied you enough? Aren’t you content? Would like to do without her? Amyntor On the contrary, my King, I am so content with her that I will never want anyone else. I am satisfied with having her as my first and last. And if she for any reason would pass away before me, I would never want another. One marriage is enough for my part. King (aside) This is too good. It has gone too well. I don’t like it. – May I speak alone with Amyntor and Evadne. (All the others leave.) I wish to speak more privately with you about what will come next, to protect your happiness and welfare. Amyntor (aside) Will he then reveal that he is lying with Evadne himself? If so, may heaven then keep me from charging in righteous ire! King Will you excuse me, Amyntor, if I have a private conversation with your Evadne? You will not grow jealous? Amyntor Thank you, I will gladly go away. You may speak freely with her in perfect peace. King (privately with Evadne) How do you like your husband? Evadne As I should. I accepted him at your command, and he is good enough for me. King Have you then forgotten my word to you? Evadne I obeyed you. Was that not enough then? King Don’t be silly. The intention was that your fornication would be given legitimacy by his marriage to you if there would be children, not that you would love him more than me. Evadne I have not promised you any fidelity, and even less could I have kept any when you gave me away. King Nonsense! You swore me your fidelity! I demanded obeisance and loyalty of you, and you agreed on it! You were never to give yourself to any other man than me! Evadne Then I can put you at ease. He has not taken me. King Yet here you stand boasting to the world about your night of love! Evadne He is only lying to keep up appearances.

King Such a valiant and rakish and adventurous man? And do you think I could believe it? You only resort to shuffling to get away! Evadne My promise was only to never love anyone of lower rank and quality than you. If one day you will be deposed, I would gladly marry your successor. I love ambition and its power, that’s what attracted me to you, nothing else, and if anyone shows higher proof of that than you, he will be mine with the same right as you. You raised Amyntor yourself to a status next to you, and you yourself married me to him. He hasn’t stained me, though, as you have done with the right of might and power. King You are only lying to get away. You allowed Amyntor to lie with you on your wedding night. The whole city knows it well by now. Evadne And who spread rumours if not liars? King You mean to say that he lies? The news is accepted by everyone as fact. How can you then claim that what everyone knows from Amyntor’s own mouth is not true? Evadne On the contrary, I swore to never let him know me. King I know the man all too well. He would never in such a situation retreat and deny his right and lust to such a beauty as you. Nature herself proves that you lie. He would never accept such an utterly humiliating depravation as to be denied the bridal bed as a man. He is after all a man, is he not? Evadne No, more than that, he is a gentleman and diplomat and can control himself, the highest of all human meritorious qualities. King And you even defend him. That makes matters even worse. You are in love with him and would rather have him than me. That is obvious and is written in self-luminous star text in the night for the whole universe to understand as selfevident. So be then my enemy from now on. No reconciliation is possible. Evadne Then listen yourself to what Amyntor has to tell about it! Amyntor! Amyntor Yes, my love? Evadne How could you spread the rumour that we consummated our wedding night? Amyntor I didn’t. People drew their own conclusions. Evadne But you did nothing to stop them? Amyntor What could I have done? People believe only what they want to believe. Evadne But it has resulted in a division between the King and me and separated us as lovers! Amyntor O gods! Evadne Swear now to the King that you never lay with me! Amyntor My only offence is the breach of promise to Aspasia, which I regret that was committed by the King’s order. This misdeed has not yet been atoned for. I will not waste more words on this lascivious woman, whom you made my wife against my will only for the sake of her lewdness with you, of which I had no idea, but you, my lord and sovereign, has made yourself a tyrant! And you accuse me and us of the consequences of your arbitrary tyranny!

Evadne Well, my lord and King, you see yourself that the rumour is false. Amyntor You who yourself are infallible should know how now and then you are forced to take the law arbitrarily into your own hands. What punishment is just for a man who before a wedding besmirched the bridegroom’s bedchamber and corrupted with debauchery his marriage so that it never could become normal? Is not death the sentence for such a crime? King Don’t pull your sword. You know that I fear no subject, and it will only be the worse for you if you give free vent to your ire. Amyntor Who am I to rise against the King, who my father and my forefathers with their tribes and families always served as the symbol of our country, its welfare and wealth and happiness as the leading harbour of the world? Your holiness and impeccability as the highest authority of the country keeps me from lifting my sword against you, which I would rather direct to my own heart for my love of my country. But why me? There must have been at least a hundred candidates who would rather have married Evadne than myself, who already was engaged to the one I truly loved? Evadne The others were no good. The King thought only the best would suit me. He couldn’t marry me to a fool. Amyntor This is constantly getting worse. Surely there were more than I in the country who were better than most. King I needed someone I could trust. I knew for certain that you if anyone was reliability itself. Evadne’s honour was at stake and my own. Amyntor I have had enough of this honour, which only serves to mask and hide your dishonour! What is it you really want from me? King That we may continue meeting and in the shadow of your marriage go on loving as before. Amyntor So I should serve you as your private pimp? King You have no choice. You are married to her by law. Do you wish to ruin her and your own name? No, never, you are too noble for that. Just cooperate, and you will keep us all out of harm’s way and remain yourself as free a man as I. There is nothing to worry about. Sleep well, and let Evadne sleep well with me, when I need her. I am grateful that you didn’t lie with her. Thereby you saved us all from the start and our faces, which we can continue showing and bearing with honour. (leaves) Evadne There you see the consequences of your talk. You shouldn’t have boasted so. Amyntor (sighs) They all believed the natural. I didn’t even have to help them to it. Who wishes voluntarily to cause and spread scandals, when they touch yourself most of all? Woe, that a marriage with its false mirth and the superficial glory of its effects and affectations could drive an unsuspicious and blue-eyed bridegroom to such difficult abysses of extreme despair! I am now condemned to the fate of all my life having to bear the burden of being forced to bow and serve my personal selfhumiliation and partake in the cruellest hypocrisy of all: a miscarried marriage.

Evadne We all love our lives, and that is all we have. I only wanted to keep mine. Amyntor I love you still anyway, but tell me, could any marriage have become more unhappy? Evadne We’ll see. It isn’t over yet. Amyntor What? Evadne Neither life, our marriage or this cruel game that made us victims to its whims. Amyntor Could anything good come of it? Evadne We’ll see.

Scene 2. Calianax Cursed idiot, let me fight you! Melantius I am not the proper person to fight old men. What ails you? Calianax Just pull your sword! I can still fight! Melantius I do not doubt it, but you could hardly win. Age instead turns by its wisdom every defeat to victory, but you seem rather to prefer to do the contrary. Calianax You and your damned sister have by that unhanged Amyntor driven innocent Aspasia almost to death! Melantius I admit that it’s a matter of concern, and we regret it, but the worst of all is that none of the three of us is guilty. We simply can’t understand the matter. Amyntor is as depressed as Aspasia, and even the fair and gay Evadne seems to have fallen very far from her former radiant felicitous self. Calianax You just fake your innocence as hypocrites all three of you! To whom shall I then appeal for some exoneration of my grieved and forlorn daughter? Melantius I would gladly help you in whatever way I can. Let me just investigate the matter. Calianax But there is no one who knows anything! All keep quiet! No one wishes to reveal his secrets! All have everything to hide! Melantius Not me. Calianax I’ll believe that when you can prove it by revealing the truth! (leaves in anger) Melantius I must speak out with Amyntor about this. What luck! There he is! Amyntor! Amyntor What is it, my best friend? Melantius Here you wander brooding, burdened by as heavy deadly worries as Aspasia herself! It will not do. Amyntor What do you want me then to do? Melantius Open at last your heart and your soul. What else are friends for? Amyntor My matrimony is locked, and I have lost the key from the beginning. Melantius Something grieves you most atrociously. Amyntor I cannot speak about it.

Melantius Then I am no more your friend but only an acquaintance. Amyntor How can you say that, Melantius, we who have been closest friends all our lives? Melantius I can’t accept that you withhold secrets from me, least of all when they burden and worry you. Amyntor Forbear with me, Melantius, for if you knew about it, you would only regret your curiosity. Melantius Let’s take one step at a time. First tell me what’s it all about. Then we shall see what it could imply. Amyntor I can’t take it on my responsibility to initiate you in what touches us all, our nation, its order and future. Melantius (pulls his sword) Pull your sword then, and let us fight about it! I will not be satisfied with less. Amyntor, I must insist! Amyntor It’s your funeral then. Before we married, our King made Evadne his mistress. She was taken before the wedding, ordered by the King himself to cover up and beautify the situation, by promptly giving Evadne a husband and thus get away himself, at the same time keeping Evadne for his mistress under cover of my legal marriage. Melantius You are lying! Amyntor Didn’t I tell you that you would react negatively? Melantius You are lying! It can’t be true! Amyntor You asked for it yourself. Melantius (pulls his sword again) My most trusted friend, how could you dishonour our sister like that with such lies after having married her? Amyntor If you don’t believe me, ask her yourself. If you still don’t believe me, kill me. I will not defend myself. You asked me to give you the reason for my utter despair. I gave it to you. Now you are contaminated by it. Be aware, though, that the hardest hit is none of us but Aspasia, who should have been my bride. Melantius Whose case has driven old Calianax mad. (calms down) It pains me, Amyntor, that this should strike you straight into your heart and soul as an unpardonable violation and mortal insult of your manhood. Amyntor Don’t ask me about the sorrows of matrimony. After I was trapped I have only met with despair in every wedded husband I have met, suppressed and buried deeply and alive for the sake of peace at home. I now understand them all too well. If all the secret truths of marriages were let out, there would be no more marriages, at least no tenable ones. Melantius Yet I see a way out of this. In spite of all I am glad that I got this out of you. Everything fits – the King’s strange exchange of your wedding partner, your unfathomable and unreleased secret suffering, the exaggerated gaiety between you and our Evadne, and the secrets and mysteries which she herself has locked up herself with from fear that anything would show. This demands action, and I know precisely how to proceed.

Amyntor Can the problems be solved without bloodshed and without putting our city at risk? Melantius That’s the very question. Go in peace, Amyntor. Leave the rest to your friend and my brothers. Amyntor Alas, Melantius, I fear that your friendship is the last thing I have left. Melantius You can rely on it, though. (They embrace.) Go home now, brother, sleep and rest. That is what you need. Amyntor Thank you, my friend. Perhaps it is time to at last sleep on it. (leaves tired out) Melantius The old man Calianax has keys to the castle. He will be our key figure. Diphylus! The very man I need! Diphylus (stops) What’s on, Melantius? Melantius Everything possible, and you must help us. Diphylus I just come from the court. The King is laughing with our sister, and they almost laughed us all out. Melantius They must cry, Diphylus. Diphylus And why? Melantius It will appear to you by and by. Just join my project, which is necessary for the welfare of Rhodes. Diphylus Is there same coup of state or palace revolution going on? Melantius Ask no questions. Just trust me. A gross injustice has been committed against us, which forces us to take measures. Diphylus Perhaps then it’s best not to ask any questions. Melantius You will know everything in time. Diphylus You seem determined and at the same time in control, as if you knew exactly what to do. Well then, I will trust you. Melantius Collect weapons, mobilize all fighting men you can, but time is short. What we must do must be done at once. Diphylus I love quick action whatever the matter is. Brother, I have already got started. (disappears) Melantius I hope our cause is just, but my blood can’t tell me otherwise, and I believe in the blood. To take revenge and perish yourself is meaningless, to escape is impossible, but if we could take control of the castle we could control the situation. Calianax! You must help us take revenge for your daughter’s sufferings! Calianax So that’s how it sounds now? What is it now you will try to trick me into? Melantius We need the fort. Can you give us the keys? Calianax That would be high treason. Melantius It already is. I am forced to take the life of our King, who has done your daughter and yourself so much wrong. Calianax Get out, traitor! Melantius I tell you how it is! If you don’t cooperate, I must use force. You did wish to fight, didn’t you? (pulls his sword) Calianax Wait a moment! What did the King do to my daughter?

Melantius Nothing, but forced her husband to marry his violated mistress! Calianax Heavens! So all the wrong was with the King? Melantius Yes! Will you now give me the keys? Calianax Not only the keys, but the whole arsenal! For now there is no more time to think, complain, brood and grieve, but to act! Melantius Exactly, old man! It’s all for your daughter! Calianax I will fetch the keys. (leaves) Melantius Two violated ladies demand revenge without having asked for it, why it becomes the more urgent. We will take it with a vengeance! It will be a refreshing and thorough revolution as a revenge for our seduced sister and a discarded bride! Intermission. Act IV scene 1. Evadne’s salon. Melantius (enters) Greetings, sister! Evadne To you as well, my brother. Melantius You are as lovely as you always have been and even lovelier. Evadne I thank you, my brother. Melantius Is it the joys of marriage that so have enhanced your striking beauty? Evadne Perhaps rather the conditions and agreements of my marriage and their results. Melantius Tell me, may I speak with you in private? Evadne Maidens, leave! (All maids and servants leave.) What is on your mind, brother? We have seen too little of each other since you came home. Now at last we have a golden opportunity to speak. Melantius Let me first lock the door. (locks the door) Evadne Is it that serious? Melantius More serious than you think. Evadne I thought you would bring me some amusement. Melantius That’s the last thing I came here for. Evadne It pleases you to play games with me, and you frighten me. Just don’t make me sad, for then you must go. Melantius How could I possibly make you sad in the least? Evadne By flattery, praise and cringing to me and not being true, like all others in my vicinity that only stick to hypocrisy and pretences. Melantius Unfortunately I must make you sad just by being true. Evadne That sounds better. Come to the point. Melantius Sister, your special beauty is of such kind, that you with your spirituality and intelligent talents also with ease could cause an inflammation of an entire realm. Evadne Nonsense!

Melantius That’s exactly what has happened. My friend Amyntor is not happily married. He married into a cuckold and wasn’t appraised of it until afterwards. You must tell me his name. Evadne Whose name? Melantius Your lover’s, to whom you belonged before Amyntor and still do. Evadne You come with brutal insinuations. Go away. You know where the door is. Melantius I really hope you didn’t have more than one. Evadne Your offensive is implacably obstinate. From where do you get your tall tales? Melantius Everyone knows about it. Everyone speaks about it. The court is laughing at it. No one cares although everybody knows, since Amyntor carries his cross with bravery. Evadne What has he been suggesting to you? Melantius Nothing. I know it by myself. I can add, sister. I have seen what I have seen, and you can’t lie to me, as little as you know that I never lied to you. (takes a firm hold of her arm) Who is he? Evadne You are worse than Amyntor. Let me go! You are hurting me! Melantius Not until you have told me who has brought you into his power and made you a strumpet and the worst whore here in Rhodes! Evadne Brother! I beseech you! Spare me! Melantius You didn’t spare our family. You didn’t spare Amyntor. You didn’t even spare yourself. You have debased yourself and become a victim, and I must know to whom! Evadne My brother, that’s the only thing saving you, that you are after all my brother. Melantius But as detached as your brother as you are yourself from your honour and virtue! Sister! If you don’t tell me his name, you abuse yourself! Evadne If you deign to resort to violence, you have come to the wrong place. Go to my soldiers. You may use violence and command, but you will get nothing out of any lady by violence. Melantius There is no one here to defend you, and no one hears you if you cry out for help. I will not give in. What a glorious whore you have turned yourself into! What a perfect bait for a mighty pimp! Who was it that forced you to marriage with that poor perfectly honest and noble innocent Amyntor as the ideal reliable chaperon for his debauchery? You married him only to shield your affair from insight, didn’t you? Evadne No! It was just my only salvation! Melantius From the dishonour you already had won and branded yourself forever with? Confess! Who has poisoned you, consumed your virginity and purity, ravished you, dishonoured you, altered your virtue into dirt and disgust and instead of your heart planted a cancer in your soul? Evadne My brother, you go too fa!

Melantius I don’t give in! All Greeks in Asia that warred against cursed Persians know, that it is always possible to go even further! Speak, before this sword will take the same course as your cursed lover! I only demand that you confess who he is! And when you at last have divulged it, I wouldn’t anyway be able to give you what you deserve. (lowers his sword) Evadne You don’t want to kill me? Melantius Is it too much of me to demand fair and pure justice? You have no reason to protect him. No, you couldn’t have the least thinkable reason. Evadne You can control yourself. That pleases me. There is nothing I can respect more in men than self control. The King lacks that capacity. Melantius That’s all I wanted: that you yourself stood up to who he was. (sheathes his sword) I knew all the time who he was. Amyntor gave me the name, but I had to force it out of him, like I had to use force to get it out of you. Evadne I have trespassed against you, my family, and most of all against Amyntor. I know it, I have always been painfully aware of it. I ask of you your brotherly forgiveness. I didn’t want it like that, but no subject can resist the temptations of power. Melantius Has it been going on for long? Evadne For too long. Melantius And it still goes on? Regularly or only daily? Evadne I would rather die with the secret than continue living with it if it was made public. Melantius I am here, Evadne, to provide a solution to your problem. Evadne There can be no solution, as long as the King lives. Melantius Exactly. You must kill him. Evadne The gods forbid! Melantius No, even the gods demand it! Could you not hate him? Could you not condemn him? Even if you can’t, it is your duty to kill him. Only you can do it. You have his heart, his intimacy and his confidence. He would never fear you and never bring his weapons into your bed. He is at your mercy, sister, in your bed. Evadne You impose the hardest thinkable penitence on me. How could I do it? Do you have any suggestions? Melantius You know best yourself how you could do it, perhaps with the cushion, so that he is suffocated. That would be the most painless method. You have completely free hands. Evadne You command me to my life’s most difficult task. Melantius I know you can do it. You know you must do it. Evadne It’s not for women to take any life. You men have the force and the lack of conscience that is needed in the most critical moments. But we women are too soft and sensitive, more suited to tenderly care for little vulnerable babies than to brutally take the lives of others. Melantius You have no choice. You must do it. Consider the alternative: to in humiliating shame continue living with your royal tyrant and your husband as his

pimp and cuckold. Could you endure such a life? That is what I have to refuse you and us. Which is the lesser of the two evils you have to choose between? Evadne To kill him. Melantius Can I trust you to do it? Evadne Yes. But not one word more about this business. Let our pact now be a state secret of supreme confidential classification until the matter is closed. Melantius As you wish. (embraces her) My sister, you can’t imagine how it tortures me to have to expose you to this distress. Life must have its course, and now and then death is required as an operation for the existence of life. Nature must have its right. I think you understand me. Evadne Not even Amyntor must know anything about our pact. Melantius He is too good and honest to be able to do anything against the King. Only you as a woman could in this situation do justice and are also motivated enough. Evadne Quiet, he comes! You must leave! You haven’t been here! He must not suspect anything of our conference! Melantius I am off. (leaves at once) Evadne (alone) How lost I was in the labyrinth of love! I didn’t want any harm to anyone but only good to all and thought that I by compromises could serve and please everyone. But love seems to always demand endless complications, why there is so much violence committed in the name of love. Now I am obliged to apply operations of violence myself against the sick results of only the mindlessness and carelessness of love. Amyntor (enters, observes that she has had a crisis) How are things with you? Evadne (immediately falling on her knees to him) You are my only lord and master. Believe me and forgive me! I have outrageously used you and allowed you to be humiliated and abused. Everything is my fault, but I believe I could get better. Amyntor I have brought no allegations against you. We are the slaves of destiny. I accepted it as a man with patience in the assurance that it will pass. Don’t cry, my dearest, and don’t kneel to me. We are stranded on the same lonely cliff beset by storms, you and I, on the same level. Evadne I will not rise until you have forgiven me. Amyntor What is there to forgive? That my marriage like a cataclysm has annihilated everything I believed in? That I suddenly could not find a single faithful wife or husband in the world? That all virtue was only an illusion, that faith existed only to be cheated and betrayed, and that every form of love life was no more than a moral hell of pain, anguish and despair? No, Evadne, everything I went through was not our fault. You were completely innocent. Destiny just played a terrible trick on us. We were unlucky, and most unlucky of all was the desperately crying Aspasia. It is her you have to ask for forgiveness, if it is at all possible. Evadne Is she dead? Amyntor No, far from it, but her father is driven mad by the strain of her misfortune. He wants to fight at any price with whomever and imagines that he has suddenly become young again.

Evadne I will not rise until you have forgiven me. I know: there are a number I have to ask for forgiveness. You are the first one. When you have given it, I will go to the next one, not before. Amyntor Then I give it. Now I see you as you used to be before a lousy king caught sight of you and got the idea to shamelessly take advantage of your position. Give me your hand and rise. Now I recognize you, and now I can give you my honour and respect. Evadne (rising) Keep your distance though until I have remedied this ugly controversy to the fullest. I know, I have a penitence to make, and I have had instructions. Let’s not see each other again until I have fulfilled the cleansing operation to the fullest. Amyntor As you wish. I love you. Evadne And you are now the only one I ever loved. (kisses two fingers and lays them on his brow) Let this be our farewell kiss until further. Amyntor Then I will look forward to the sequel. Evadne Don’t expect too much. (leaves abruptly and hurries away.) Amyntor What will she do? Visit some temple for some purification? Ask Aspasia and her brother of forgiveness? We shall see. The only certain thing is that there must be some continuation of this spectacle.

Scene 2. The court. King Repeat that again. Calianax It’s absolutely true, my lord. I heard it with my own ears. He has gone completely mad. King Or else you have yourself. By the way, that’s what you’ve been since long. Calianax Would I lie after forty years of service to the royal house? King You should know after forty years of service to the royal house, that that’s where you learn how to lie, or had you forgotten? Have you fallen for your own lies, like everyone else? Calianax I swear that I am not lying. King And would then my best warrior together with Amyntor, my most trusted servant, suddenly want to stage a coup, take over the castle, murder me and think they could get away with it? Calianax That’s what he told me. King You must have heard wrong or got it wrong. Calianax That’s what I thought first as well. King There you see! Calianax No, I heard! King You heard it in your mind. Calianax No, I heard it in my ears. King No witnesses?

Calianax Yes, I. King Only one? That’s not enough and doesn’t count. You must have daydreamed or hallucinated. It’s not unusual when you are gaga. Calianax I am not gaga! King Why then don’t you do anything else than just demonstrate your gaga? Calianax It is not gaga! I am reporting conspiracies! King And what are all conspiracy theories if not taken from thin air which then gaga idiots make much noise about boasting it around in their demonstration of gaga? Calianax At least I ask you to investigate the matter before it is too late! King Very well. I will try the good Melantius and his family with the good Amyntor, all my best and closest friends. Summon them, Straton! I need them! I need better company than this fool, who just tries to make himself ridiculous by making me take conspiracy theories seriously! Straton I have asked them to come. King Still the wedding party isn’t over, and I owe Evadne and her faithful husband a wedding dinner or two plus some banquets, for that I promised them, and I still remain deeply in debt to both of them. Calianax You spoil those youths. You paid for the entire wedding and all its festivities for an entire week! King Are you jealous that your daughter didn’t get them? Calianax She is only crying. She couldn’t have celebrated anyway. King What’s the matter with her? Did it touch her so deeply? Calianax Deeper than a bottomless well. She is a black hole of only sorrows. She was probably the one who turned Melantius’ head and taunted him to revenge as Amyntor was lost anyway. King Hem! Straton Your friends, my lord and King. (enter Melantius, Diphylus, Amyntor, Evadne, Lysippus and others.) King (rises with cup in his hand) Welcome, my friends! Now we shall make merry! Sit here next to me, Melantius, and you, Amyntor, on my other side. Evadne, with the splendour of your beauty you have the honour of bestowing light and festive mood to the entire party. Evadne I have nothing against serving as receptor of your homages, my lord. King That’s why I never tire of bestowing them. Fill the cups with wine! This is the definite party to the glory of Evadne and Amyntor! May they live long and happily ever after in their blessed marriage! Amyntor (to Evadne) He is drunk. Evadne (back) He always is. Melantius (to Diphylus) Do you think Calianax has tattled to the King? Diphylus (back) He has probably told all sorts of things that the King couldn’t believe in. King (in a splendid humour) Cheers, my friends, to Amyntor and Evadne! All (raising their cups) To Amyntor and Evadne!

(All drink, some with second thoughts.) King (sits down) Replenish the chalices! Calianax (imitating) Replenish the chalices! King You already had too much, old man. Calianax As if you hadn’t yourself. King I can never have enough. Calianax So why do you pick holes in me? King Because you befuddle my thoughts by your own muddled suspicions. I don’t want to believe anything bad about anyone. I don’t want your paranoia. Calianax Are you accusing me of being mentally unsound? King No, only old enough to be unsound, which is bad and serious enough. But we shall see. If it is as I think, that you only suffer from delusions, I will take care of your keys to the fort, and you will henceforth remain at home under constant surveillance. Calianax Are you locking me up with my mad daughter? King No, she will have to lock you up. Evadne (to Amyntor) The King is in a good humour tonight. That worries me. Amyntor (back) Why? Evadne He always gets screwed up to higher gaiety when he is preparing some mischief. Amyntor Could he do anything worse than what he has already done? Evadne Just you wait! King Melantius, you look sad. Melantius Unfortunately I have no amusement to present. King Do you then have something of the opposite? It suddenly strikes me how easy it would be for anyone of you on an occasion like this to mix poison in my chalice. Amyntor (protests at once) We don’t mix any poisons here! Melantius Why would anyone wish to do something like that? King Ask the old man Calianax. He has been doing it all day. He has got the idea that you all are conspiring against me. Where did he get such an idea? From his lovesick daughter? Hardly. She if anyone would gladly conspire herself and alone if she could. From you, Melantius? Do you know something? Melantius I know nothing more than yourself, my lord. King What about you, Amyntor? Do you still hold any grudge against me, or have I restituted you enough? The gods know, that I did try. Amyntor I find it difficult to believe that anyone would have had reason to conspire against you, except, as you admit yourself, poor little Aspasia. King And why isn’t she here? She also belongs to the family! Straton She didn’t want to come. Calianax She wanted to stay at home and cry instead. King And you, Evadne, could you have any objection against me? I gave you the best man I knew on all Rhodes. He hasn’t complained about receiving the highest beauty and female talent on all Rhodes. Could you have conspired?

Evadne I haven’t even started yet. King Ha-ha-ha! An ambiguous reply, so typical of a superior woman! Evadne Women don’t conspire. Only cowards conspire. Women manipulate or act. At best they manipulate so cleverly that they don’t have to act. At worst they must act when men don’t. Melantius Cowardly men conspire, and brave women act. It would be better for brave men to act and women to concentrate on manipulating them to act right. Is that what you mean, sister? Evadne Something in that way. Amyntor It would be best if all men tried to act right, so that women didn’t have to manipulate them. Then we would also need no conspiracies. Diphylus Of course. Amyntor is right as always. Amyntor For all that women really are good for is love, which is their only right element, the only one where they are wholly to their advantage. Evadne Thanks for that word, Amyntor. King And would such a good company conspire? Go to blazes, you old fogey, whining wreck of a pathetic fool, and go to bed with your demented daughter, to perhaps make her a little happier. All she needs is any man! Ha-ha-ha! Melantius (to Calianax) How about the keys, Calianax? Calianax (to the King) Here he goes setting on me again! King With what? Is he squeezing your testicles to test your potency? Ha-ha-ha! Calianax I don’t know who is the maddest around here, he, who refuses to believe me, or you, who wants to depose him. Melantius How much have you told him? Calianax Everything. Melantius No wonder then that he doesn’t believe you. Calianax Do you mean that you are all pulling my legs? Melantius Just give me the keys, and I promise you that you will never be locked up at home. Calianax At least you don’t threaten me. I have the keys here. (shuffles them under the table to Melantius) Melantius Many thanks. Regard it as your life insurance now being secured with your entire old age. Calianax Just keep me out of it whatever you do, and I am satisfied. Melantius I promise you that all will be satisfied. Calianax Even the King? Melantius He most of all. (to Evadne) Do your utmost to please the King next time. Evadne I will indeed. King In brief, Melantius, to be honest, our old faithful servant Calianax here has claimed, that you asked him about the keys to the fortress and that you intend to kill me. What do you think about that? Melantius I say nothing, for I know nothing about the old man’s condition and do not wish to speculate in his mental condition.

King And what do you say to that, you old mad Calianax, poisoned by your deranged daughter? Calianax I don’t wish to be locked up, neither at home nor anywhere else. I just say, that during my forty years as commandant of the fort, no enemy force has ever taken it or even reached it. Melantius No one had any reason to, for there was nothing but cobwebs and dust and other trash like that collected by you during your forty years. Calianax The fort controls the entire harbour, though. Who has the fort controls Rhodes. King You controlled Rhodes well in all your days, good Calianax, but shouldn’t you occasionally have cleaned it up? Of course no one will even try to enter if there is only dirt and crap and cobwebs! Such a fort is too easily accessible to offer any attraction, but fortunately also for forty years no other power has competed with us as the dominating sea power. It’s time, Calianax, for you to be pensioned, so that we could clean up your fort now after your forty years of collecting dust. No, it’s time for me to go home to bed. Remain seated, my good friends, and carry on drinking and poculating as long as you still think it’s funny! It is all my pleasure! (breaks up. Most guests break up with him.) Lysippus He has been drinking and partying heavily and non stop practically the whole day, as if he was plagued by unpleasant forebodings. I had better bring him home. Straton Take well care of him. He is the only king we have. Amyntor I will go home in advance, Evadne. Evadne I will soon follow. I hope you are asleep when I arrive. Amyntor I probably will. Come, my dear old would-be father-in-law, let’s tenderly support each other like two old fallen and disappointed, disgraced and redundant veterans. Calianax I thank you, my lost son-in-law. We have too much in common. (They leave together.) Melantius Do your best, sister, if he desires you. Evadne He certainly will, as drunk as he is. Diphylus I will follow and see if the King needs anything. (leaves) Evadne Then I go home to my virgin cage to wait for my only regular customer. Melantius If he fails to appear, and there will be no service, just go ahead and sleep well. Evadne You can bet on it. (leaves) Melantius It should be done this very night when he is at his greatest pleasure in the blissfulness of his drunkenness. All is well prepared, and we have the arsenal in our hands. All that is needed is for the King to call on his concubine. Diphylus (returning eagerly) It has happened. Melantius What has happened? Diphylus The King has called for her.

Melantius Bravo! At last! Now the time has come for the hour to strike the moment of truth! Diphylus But Amyntor is out of his mind, upset by fury. Melantius Why? Diphylus In his inebriated state the King sent him the order by word to refrain from his wife to him for the night. Melantius The King doesn’t care about etiquette and ignores all good manners. Diphylus Here is the poor horned Amyntor now. He is so angry that you can almost see his horns in his front. You’ll have to manage him. The risk is he will wake up all Rhodes. (escapes when Amyntorin a fury crashes the door) Amyntor The royal villain must die! Melantius Don’t ruin our plans now by losing your self-control, Amyntor! Amyntor It has gone too far! He sent me word to send my wife to him for a night of love and immediately after our final wedding banquet! Melantius He paid for it all and probably thought that he also had paid for your wife. Amyntor I can’t stand this any more! What have you planned? Melantius Everything. We just wait for the signal. The arsenal, the fleet and the castle are in our control, and we have all the troops in our hands. Amyntor Let me then give the signal. Let me go and murder him at once. Melantius No, Amyntor, that would ruin everything! You would only wake up the guards, and you would immediately be killed or imprisoned to be executed. We need you. You must not sacrifice yourself in vain. Amyntor I can’t endure having him alive in the same world as I! One of us must die! Melantius And it must not be you, and it must not be your hand taking revenge on him. You are the purest of all of us, keep clean outside, and let us handle more efficient and smoother weapons. Only one must die and no one else. Amyntor Who will do it then? You? No, let’s do it together and at once! Melantius Pull yourself together, man! Let not passion run amuck with you and leave all sense behind beyond control! The last thing politics needs is impetuosity! Make your plans first, think it over and prepare, and then to action! That’s the only way to ensure optimal results. Amyntor Bind me then and fence me in! Or else my righteous fury will get more than the better of me! Melantius I understand you. But you are too honest, Amyntor. Even if you tried you would never be able to kill the king of your country. Amyntor Your words disarm me. Your realism is too convincing and overwhelming. The sword falls out of my hand and without battle. I give in. You have won. But I will not be patient forever! You must let it happen! If not, I will take the law into my own hands and personally kill the king, even if I must die myself in the bargain! Melantius Just give us this night. Tomorrow you may act freely at large.

Amyntor That’s fair. I will endure one more night of cuckold torture, but that’s the end of it! Your hand on it! (Melantius takes his hand.) This is an oath of friendship more firm and solid than any sacred oath! Melantius I am aware of it, and therefore I agree to swear on it. Amyntor I take your word for serious, and you are my friend and more than ever if you also stick to it. Melantius I wouldn’t swear it otherwise. Amyntor Your ice cold assuredness is almost frightening. There is no evil foul play at hand, I trust? Melantius We know nothing as yet about the eventual consequences of this night. Amyntor You are ambiguous like a woman and know more than I. Very well, you are Evadne’s brother, and I must adapt myself, like unto her so also to you. Melantius That’s the wisest thing you can do. Good night, my best friend. Amyntor Good night, my brother, (embraces him) if you can sleep. Melantius Even a sleepless night could turn out a good night. Amyntor We shall see. Myself I know of no other nights any more than the endless tribulations of sleeplessness. (leaves) Melantius It must be tonight. If it fails, woe betide us all!

Act V scene 1. The King’s bedchamber. Enter Evadne in the antichamber. Evadne Is the King asleep? Straton I am sorry. Yes, he is asleep already. Evadne He has called for me. Straton I tried to keep him awake, but it was impossible. He was too drunk. But I am sure he will want you when he wakes up. Evadne Yes, I think so too. Straton Some good advice: he has been drinking plenty, so let him sleep off the worst of it. Or else he might easily turn nasty. Evadne I know him well. Give me the key to the room, and let no one come near to it. That’s always his desire when he is drunk – as alone with me as possible in as complete security as possible. Straton Of course. I wish I was in his place. I may not wish you any good rest. Evadne Nonsense! Straton That’s all I can do, but when the King wakes up he will be sure to do some more… Evadne Spare me your fantasies. Good night, good Sir. Straton And may it be a long night for you. (retires) Evadne (enters the King’s bedchamber, locks the door behind. The King is snoring lustfully.) He sleeps. That’s good, and it will hardly be easy to wake him up. Shall I now cut the process short and immediately pass him over from this world to the next?

No, that would be too simple. I still loved him, he has been good to me, and he has the right of his defence before I send him on, if I will go through with it. (takes carefully his hands, one at a time, and bind them with black leather stripes to the bed behind and above his head.) Still he can sleep and as soundly as any pig. It would almost be a pity to wake him up. Shouldn’t I just spare him and strike at once and make it as painless as possible for all of us? No, I must speak with him. I am also to blame in the loss of my integrity and honour, and I want to hear if he has anything to say at all for his defence in his treatment of me and his best friends and the sacrificed Aspasia. (wakes him up) My lord and king! Wake up! (He doesn’t wake up.) Stop snoring! I am here! King (dead sleepy) What is this? Have I awakened in a dream? What have you prepared for? Do you wish to vary the games with more advanced exercises? Evadne For one time’s sake I wished to have us more on the same level. King I thank you. I could never stand the boredom of constantly having to be superior. And what is your next step? Will you mount me and ride me until I give up and break down like a horse? Evadne My friend, you are already down to earth. King I am looking forward to your new games. You were always so inventive. Therefore I always preferred you to anyone else. Evadne Is sex all you can think of? King What else is there to think of in the company of ladies? Evadne Their welfare. Consideration of their families. Tact and courtesy and delicacy to avoid hurting them. King I didn’t hurt you, did I? You had all you wanted, and I gave you the best man in Rhodes as a generous compensation for what possible harm you could have felt for the loss of your virginity. You never cried in my company or quarrelled, you were only gay and entertaining. What is it now? Evadne I am not thinking of myself but of Aspasia. King And what does she have to complain of? She could keep her virginity and has nothing to regret. She was granted to keep her integrity intact in peace. Evadne She loved her Amyntor, and he was truly in love with her. For them there was no one else but each other. Amyntor is now an angry deceived cuckold lured into that trap before he was married and without even being informed about it. King And that is why I have compensated him. Didn’t he have the most beautiful and glorious woman in Rhodes for his own wife? Has he filed any complaint against her? No. Didn’t I pay for your sumptuous wedding with banquets without end? What more do you want? Tell me, and I will give you everything you might wish. Evadne All we wish is our own life, my virginity back and Aspasia her husband. King Ha-ha-ha! You must know, that nothing ever can be turned back in history? Don’t be foolish now, be wise and realistic, take me out of your snare, and let’s make love for real. Evadne Have you no conscience?

King For Amyntor? He should be content. For the cry-baby Aspasia? She should learn to accept life as it is and make the best of it. I am sorry, my loveliest Evadne, but that is all we can do. That’s what I did myself when I fell hopelessly in love with you. Was it wrong? Do you wish to punish me for it? Evadne I must. My brothers demand it. King Melantius. So there was something all the same behind the old man’s gaga about conspiracies. How far has it gone? Evadne So far that as the law of history says it can’t be turned back any more. King So you are serious. No, I can’t believe it. You are pulling my legs. No woman can ever be taken seriously, and you are but a woman, made for caresses and love, softness and pleasures and grace and goodness without measures. Women are too tender to ever be able to use force even against their most beastly lovers. Evadne But you are the King, and that makes a difference. Instead of living up to your responsibility you have abused it by abusing your friends and subjects and played foul with them instead of serving them. King So you have taken on yourself to act as my judge? Evadne And executor. King Is love then not a human factor and alleviating circumstance? Have I not loved you, and do I not still love you? You just turn me on. Come and ride me and laugh and be happy and run me down, and let’s go on until dawn and longer still, until we stifle, pass out and are overwrought by the pleasures of our lust! You still have some lust left in your body, haven’t you? You were never frigid and calculating, like other women. Evadne I am sorry, my King, but you have too loyal subjects and too loyal friends. None of them, especially not Amyntor and Melantius, could direct any weapon against your crown for the sake of their love and duty to their country. But you actually took everything away from me by the liquidation of my virginhood and condemned me without right to a failed, false, faked and unhappy marriage, since Amyntor was already sacredly betrothed to another. Still my revenge is not for myself but only for the innocent Aspasia. (raises her dagger) King Could then the power of a virgin be so fatally superior to the power of this world, that it could in your hand place a deadly weapon to commit a royal murder? Evadne My innocence is done for, but hers is almighty, and I am a woman like herself and as her sister obliged to punish you now when I am in a position to do so. King I can’t fathom it. So a love offence is then worse and more fatal than any political mistake? Evadne Exactly! (thrusts the dagger directly into his heart. The King only reacts with a few spasms and is dead.) Only a few drops of blood. I must have made a perfect hit at the heart. Alas, what have I done? He was still my lover! But it is over and done with. As he said, the law of history is that it can never move backwards, only forwards. It’s just to continue right ahead. Lets’ get quickly out of here. My brothers are waiting for the

signal. (puts herself in order, liberates and covers the naked king and retires into the antichamber, where Straton sits asleep.) Straton, wake up! (Straton awakes dead sleepy.) The King has had his share, he is content and asleep. When he wakes up, tell him I have gone home. Straton I will do so. I hope he was satisfied. I hope that also of course for your own part. Evadne More than satisfied. Now I can start living. (leaves) Straton There couldn’t be a better mistress for a King! (goes to sleep again) (after a while) Cleon (entering suddenly) Are you sitting here shamefully asleep, you lazybones! Straton (disturbed) What else should I do? Cleon Where is the King? Straton Quiet! He sleeps! He is not to be disturbed! He has screwed his head off and been drinking all night! If we disturb him now he will only turn nasty and difficult. Cleon We have no choice. There is a rebellion broke loose. The castle is taken by Melantius and his friends who are crying the King is dead! What do you know about it? Straton Melantius was rather mad already earlier in the evening, if we are to believe the old demented Calianax. Cleon Idiot! It is he who has given over the castle to the wild young ones! Wake up the King immediately! Straton I can’t understand it. (They go to the door, Cleon breaks in, pulls the blanket from the King and finds a dead naked man with a dagger in his breast.) Cleon Dead! Straton It’s not possible! No one has been here except Evadne! Cleon And you. Are you part of the conspiracy? Straton How can you believe such a thing! I have only been sleeping! Cleon And you heard no cries for help? No death rattles or strange sounds? Straton Nothing of the sort, only passionate conversation. They were very agitated, and he must have been extremely well turned on. I tried to listen at the keyhole, but I couldn’t make sense of the heated discussion. The King preached interminably, and he was very drunk. So I went to sleep instead and let them have their fun by themselves. After a few hours Evadne came out and ordered me not to disturb him. She asked me to tell him that she had gone home. Cleon So he was still alive when she left. And you were sleeping and did not notice that someone else came stealing by, went in and killed him! Straton It’s absolutely impossible. No one else could have been let in. The guard had orders to only let one person pass, and that was Evadne. Cleon And if anyone of the lifeguards was a traitor and hired as a murderer? Straton Impossible. I don’t sleep so heavily, that I wouldn’t have been awakened by a soldier in armour clamping around. You can’t move quietly with the armour of a guard with weapons. They will rattle, and you will squeak.

Cleon Then it could only be she who has given the signal for a rebellion after having murdered him! But why? How could anyone wish to conspire against our King? Straton I can’t understand it either. It makes no sense. Lysippus (appearing suddenly) The whole city is in uproar crying for revenge for the King’s abuse of his power. Where is he? Cleon Dead. Lysippus And who was the night watch? Straton Only me, for it has only been Evadne visiting him by his own order. Lysippus Has she killed him then? Straton Look for yourself. Lysippus O slaughtered king, is that the wages for your merry life and your felicitous indulgences? There are rumours that he ravished every virgin on our island. Straton It is Evadne’s brothers who have taken revenge for the violation of their sister and her marriage to the wrong man. Lysippus This is a mess all right. He loved a lady once too much and got too much of it into the bargain. Well, I am now king and assume power as his brother by legal right. Melantius (outside) Ohoy! Cleon It is Melantius. Lysippus (goes to the antichamber and calls from the terrace) Melantius! Diphylus! What is the matter? What do you want? Melantius Justice has been done! We have had our revenge for the ruin of our sister’s honour! That’s all we wanted. We hold the castle, and we have taken control of the entire fleet and army! Lysippus According to the law I am now your King! You can’t defy the law! If you do, there will be civil war and anarchy! Diphylus We have no desire to defy the law. All we wanted was justice for our sister and Aspasia, and they got it. Lysippus So it was for Aspasia old Calianax gave over the fort? Amyntor There was no wedding, so he gave us his castle for a bridal gift instead. Lysippus Then tell me what you want. Melantius Only one thing: a royal pardon for your brother’s death in blank for all of us to attach our names to. Only Evadne did it, but she was the most innocent of all of us as his victim, while we all wish to share the blame. Lysippus The pardon is granted forthwith. Nothing else? Melantius Being pardoned we unanimously acclaim you as king. We don’t wish to disturb the law and order of the country more than it already was by the murdered tyrant’s violations. Lysippus Pardon him, for he is dead. Amyntor We have pardoned him. Nothing bad can ever be said about the dead, since death atones for everything. Let’s now sign our pardon. Lysippus Cleon? Have you drafted it?

Cleon It’s a provisional document, but it will have to do. (hands over the document) Lysippus (reads) ”Hereby all the undersigned are absolved from the murder of the former King of Rhodes.” Is that all right? Diphylus It will do. Throw it down to us. Lysippus Will it be signed by the whole country? Are all citizens of Rhodes happy about the King’s death and wish to have part in it? Melantius Let whoever wants to share the responsibility for his death. After all, he didn’t take any responsibility himself. Diphylus First write our sister and yourself, Melantius. Melantius You write next and turn it over to Amyntor, the most wronged of all. Calianax I also want to sign for the sake of my daughter. Melantius You may. – Do you as the one and only acknowledged king of Rhodes grant legal immunity to all who sign this document? Lysippus I do. Melantius Good. Then we lay down our weapons and return to you the castle, so that each and everyone calmly can go home to his own without fear of any further repercussions. Lysippus You have nothing to fear, since I know that you are honest men. As you were faithful to my reckless brother, I only ask you to be equally faithful to me, for the sake of your country and our law and order. Amyntor We all swear loyalty to you without further. Lysippus Then everyone is satisfied. There is no daylight yet in sight, and dark is the night. Go in peace, and let your coup be just a parenthesis, a quick and efficient surgical operation without further consequences than that his scandals may now be over and forgiven. Calianax But my daughter is still crying! They are not forgotten! Lysippus May nothing of the ever continuously written book of the annals of man’s history ever be forgotten or ignored, for every human experience is useful, especially the tragic ones. Melantius We are leaving. Thank you for the superb flexibility of your diplomacy of compromise and that you understand the meaning of justice. Your brother’s only wrong was that he didn’t. But to be a King, you must have that qualification. Lysippus I agree and will try to be a better king. Diphylus We thank you for it. Melantius Our night manoeuvre is completed and fulfilled. Let now normality take over. Amyntor I think we managed to minimise the bloodshed. Melantius Evadne used her weapon for only once in her life, and she directed it with a finer precision than any professional warrior could. She really accomplished her right, and hers is the highest honour. (The rebels leave.) Cleon What shall we do with the body?

Lysippus State funeral. Royal ceremonies. Everything that pertains to royal obsequies. He was after all a King and as such true in every way except in bed, which only therefore became his bane. (They retire.)

Scene 2. At Aspasia’s. Aspasia What matters all the meaningless hysteria and noise of revolutions? Any kind of overthrow will only lead to catastrophic tragedies, misfortunes and traumatic misery for the surviving victims as a thankless harvest. There is never crueller a plough than the one that just runs blindly over everything that happens to stand in the way with only future prospects and results in sight without the slightest mindfulness, consideration and regard for what is driven over, and thus innocence is victimised and butchered just by thoughtlessness, but that is how man is. (There is a knock.) Who visits anyone like me, notorious for being drowned in sorrows? (opens) Evadne! (lets her in immediately) Evadne It is done, Aspasia. I have avenged you. Aspasia What have you done? What do you mean? Evadne I have killed the king. Aspasia I heard people crying about such a rumour, but you must not trust them until they prove true. So it is true? People also cry about a revolution. Is it you then that have started it? But why? Evadne Did I not do right? Has woman no right to react when male brutality goes too far? Aspasia Why then do you come to me? Evadne To return the man you lent me without willing. Aspasia But you are married. Evadne Yes, that was the King’s last mistake. Aspasia Did you murder him for that? Evadne He dug his grave himself. He went too far and didn’t watch his step. Aspasia But you can’t give me a man whom you have married. Evadne Can’t I? Can you stop me? Aspasia I can’t accept him since he belongs to you. A marriage is sacred no matter how it is committed. Such a bond cannot be solved except by force, since religion sanctified it and the law confirmed it. There is no natural divorce, and no divorce can even be defended. I am sorry, dearest Evadne. You have turned a murderess in vain. Evadne Am I then not aware of it? I never thought I could go through with it, but when the crucial moment came, it suddenly turned strangely easy, while the only difficulty afterwards turned out to be to live with it. A murder is unpardonable and forever unforgivable, especially if you are a woman. Aspasia And how will you atone for it? Evadne Like this! (has a new dagger, which she strikes straight into her bosom.)

Aspasia No! (tries to stop her but too late, taken by surprise.) You must not do that! Suicide is the most condemnable violence of all! Evadne No, in this case it condones me. I had time enough to fall in love with Amyntor, Aspasia, but for that very reason I could never look him in the eyes again, since I know that he is yours and always was and will remain so. Now I finally can give him back to you. Look at it this way, that I willingly die for him and you. Now you are avenged. Don’t cry for me, but you are free to honour my life’s last commitment as the ultimate self-sacrifice for love and for your right of it, which truly you deserved, while I have only sacrificed my vanity in a woman’s simple duty of restoring order. (dies) Aspasia (kneeling by her side) Noble sister, this is more than just too much. We will honour you as virgin more than any king was ever honoured. We will never cease to bring you honours for this unprecedented supreme nobility. I will gather every virgin here on Rhodes to honour and adorn your funeral. Alas, you cannot hear me! You finally became much more than just a sister to me, and now when you’re gone I realize that I have not lost any rival but my best and dearest friend. (kisses her tenderly on her front) Pass out in darkness, waning sun, for night will now envelop life in veils of sorrow, thus removing all hysteric joy around the King’s death, turning it to serious moderating sadness of some lasting and imperishable beauty.

Scene 3. Evadne’s funeral. Aspasia and the maids. Aspasia Cover her with flowers, so that she may sleep accompanied by sweetest perfumes, dreaming in eternity of her own glory and heroic deeds, far nobler and more self-effacing than what all Hellenic heroes ever could accomplish! Chorus Let’s all adorn her obsequies with songs without an end, the beauty of which never more will be forgotten. Aspasia I invoke thee, Evadne, for I know you are still here and permanent in your existence. You would never have committed your last crime against your own life to atone for it, as if it needed atonement, if you hadn’t known that death is not an end but no more than an open door to our eternity, which always is there to be opened and to liberate us from a sorry burdensome existence to give us the possibility for just another fresh beginning; and you probably can hear us now and always for as long as we can still remember you and will continue honouring your memory. Chorus Evadne is now the goddess and the patron saint of Rhodes, who liberated Rhodes from a most irresponsible and arbitrary tyrant, and assumed herself all the responsibility and punishment by taking on herself the consequences of her matchless heroism, which never more can be forgotten. Melantius (enter with attendants) What funeral procession is this?

Cleon It’s Evadne’s funeral. Every virgin here on Rhodes has been asked to partake to celebrate her with all the beauty of songs and adornment that can be mobilized by women. Diphylus Are we men not allowed to join? Cleon Only as followers, spectators and escorts, but the ceremonies and the rituals are reserved for the virgins of Rhodes. Melantius Still we are her brothers. Amyntor And I am still her husband. Cleon I am sorry. You have to turn your issue to Aspasia. Amyntor Aspasia, my own beloved, thus she has sacrificed herself to us and alone taken on the responsibility and consequences for the murder of our king. We are free now and can start all over again from the beginning to make it right this time. Aspasia How could you after what has happened any more make demands on me and think of love? Rhodes is buried in national sorrow, and you imagine it could be ignored and brushed aside as if Evadne’s sacrifice never had taken place! Show then some decency and respect for the one who actually was your wife! Amyntor You know very well that the grotesque marriage was all wrong and a mistake which could have no legal or human justification. Religion had nothing to do with it. Aspasia Still she loved you. Lysippus Aspasia, don’t keep on nourishing the pain of your sorrow, and don’t cultivate your fixed attachment to the dead! There is no life in sorrow, death, loss, melancholy and memories except pain. Let the dead remain dead, and it’s more important to take care of those that still are living. Melantius You made a great example of yourself in elevating our sister to a martyr for love and a saint to our country, but give some thought to your own life as well. Your lover has never left you in his heart, and he is here now waiting for you. You can’t refuse him out of sheer egoistic prudence. Aspasia How could I accept any man of another’s when she herself took her life for her love of that man? Amyntor Listen to me, Aspasia. We respected each other and never came by each other. Even during her wedding night she swore never to lie with me ever, and I had to accept it. The only one who came by her was the King, who was too careless to marry her. That’s why he gave her to me for her husband, to keep her out of damages. That king’s love for Evadne was a shameful error, he used his position to force her to what she was unwilling to, it was not a natural loving engagement but a one-sided tyranny, and thus my false marriage with her became equally unnatural. I saved myself for you, and even my consort Evadne did all she could to save me for you. Calianax (when no one says anything) So what are we waiting for? Let this funeral and this celebration of this super virgin be carried through with all the necessary ceremonies, but let’s then at last celebrate some real wedding! Amyntor What do you say, Aspasia? Do you still want me?

Aspasia My dearest love, I thought you would never come to me. You were lost to me, and I had given up. But since the events now have led to some most unexpected outcomes, who am I to be able to turn down the one I love? Amyntor My dearest beloved! (They embrace at last.) Many Hurray! Lysippus Allow me as royal heir of an irresponsible brother to pay for the wedding! Melantius I will be your best man, if I may. Diphylus We shall mobilize the entire revolutionary guard for your celebration with plays and festivities! Calianax Donâ€™t forget me! Remember, I made the revolution possible by giving over the keys of the fort to you wild savages! And only I have the right to give away my daughter as a bride! Amyntor Then I may at last accept you as my father-in-law. Calianax I thought it would all reach some proper end by and by, but dear me how love sometimes can cause the most awful complications! Amyntor Itâ€™s worth it after all. Aspasia I hope so. Chorus So dry your tears now, Aspasia, and dress yourself up instead in the joyous mirth and more durable light of comedy, for humanity will always need light and harmony more than its contrary. Aspasia I give you right, my intimate sisters, and let therefore our funeral train to the honour of Evadne no more be accompanied by sorrowful tears and painful wailings but rather a light mood of solemnity, since she more than anyone now and forever is a sister to us ever to be proud of. Melantius Amen. Lysippus She if anyone should have been our Queen. Cleon The King was not enough. Lysippus And therefore she is now the more our Queen. Let the funeral procession turn into a triumph for Rhodes and to something of an eternal celebration of true love! Melantius Our King has now spoken. (In a lighter mood of solemnity, the funeral procession passes on, Amyntor with his arm around Aspasia.)

Kausani, 6.11.2008. translated 2.3.2019.

The Royal Cousins Dramatic comedy in three acts after Geoffrey Chaucer by Christian Lanciai (2009)

Dramatis personae: King Theseus of Athens Queen Hippolyta Emilia, her sister Peirithous Four grieving mothers Artides Palamon Creon A prison guard his daughter servants The action is in ancient Athens and Thebes.

Act I scene 1. Athens. Theseus Tell me now, my dear Peirithous, how we could make Thebes unite with us in a union as a paragon example of a united state for all Hellas? Peirithous There certainly are many in Thebes who would gladly join Athens in a twin state, especially among the more educated and knowledgeable, but the problem is Creon. Theseus The old villain. Peirithous He holds Thebes in an iron grip and refuses to let go. The state is weakened after the traumatic civil war between the sons of Oidipus, which saw a bitter end to all involved. Theseus The city can never recover after such a tragedy. Thatâ€™s why it would need Athens for a supporting backbone. Peirithous Very true. But Creon must first be overthrown. Theseus Is it true that Polyneikes and his friends are still allowed to lie naked and unburied in the battlefield outside the walls? 1

Peirithous It’s a symptom of Creon’s critical illness. He fears a rebellion although everyone is dead. Oidipus’ last child Antigone was not even allowed to bury her own brother. Theseus I know. A tremendous scandal. Hippolyta (enters) There is a strange gathering outside asking for an audience with the king of Athens. Theseus What kind of people are they? Hippolyta Grieving mothers and widows dressed in black. Theseus Asking for protection? What is their predicament? Hippolyta They are from Thebes. Theseus Show them in immediately. Here, Peirithous, is perhaps the answer to our prayers. (Hippolyta let in a group of mothers dressed in black.) 1 We ask for mercy, great king Theseus. 2 There is no mercy for us in our own country, which is why we have to wander abroad 3 with our painful prayers of appeals for mercy 4 for the bodies of our sons and fathers left unburied! Theseus (shaken) Do I understand it right, that you are the mothers of the fallen by Thebes who are still allowed to lie unburied? 1 Polyneikes had as great a right of the crown as Eteocles! 2 Capaneus and the others fought with the same right and valour as the defendants of Thebes! 3 The civil war and its disasters were only the fault of Eteocles! 4 We who are here present are just a small number of all those uncountable mothers whose sons were as desecrated and abused as Hector’s body! Theseus You move me to tears. But why did not Creon let you care for and bury the bodies of your sons? 1 Because he suffers from paranoia! 2 He wants to leave the bodies unburied as a warning to all who wish to overthrow him. 3 Only the more everyone wants to overthrow him. 4 He sees a potential enemy in every citizen of Thebes who was not of Eteocles’ party. Theseus And what do you wish me to do about it? 1 Destroy Thebes! 2 Overthrow Creon! 3 Deliver us from his tyranny! 4 Liberate Thebes from its only enemy! Theseus I will carefully consider your appeal, but I think I can already now promise you, that no childless mother in Thebes shall be refused the burial of her son’s body. 1 That’s all we ask for. 2

2 Pardon our rude importunity, but we had no other choice. 3 We couldn’t accept this outrageous injustice. 4 We only demand our motherly right from a higher authority, when Creon unreasonably refused it. Theseus Your appealing prayers have been accepted, and my Queen Hippolyta here is herself a witness. Such a comprehensive desecration cannot be allowed to pass unpunished, can it, Peirithous? Peirithous I am of the same mind. It is naturally obvious. Theseus We shall not rest until Creon is overthrown. Could that satisfy you for the moment? 1 Our gratitude is without end. 2 The sons we have left would gladly join up with you. 3 We could send a secret message to all concerned. 4 No one will regret it, but everyone will rejoice when Creon is gone. Theseus Be calm, my ladies. We refuse to wait and hesitate.

Scene 2. Thebes. Artides Why are we stuck in this blind alley. Palamon? We should go out and about in the world to make ourselves useful. Palamon The crisis isn’t over yet, Artides. Artides The war is over, all enemies are fallen or executed, all Thebes is stifling from the stench of corpses, and still Creon fears new upheavals! Palamon It’s that Antigone business that has disturbed his mind. Artides And are we then to suffer for it? If only Polyneikes had prevailed! Then at least we would have got rid of Creon! Palamon But now we will not be rid of Creon as long as he remains in office, and he is likely to remain as long as he insists on letting the stench of corpses dominate the whole country of Thebes. Artides I would gladly give up everything I own and my position just to get away from here. Palamon Perhaps you won’t have to. I heard rumours that a mission of wronged women with unburied sons have appealed to Athens for help. Artides And what did Athens answer? Palamon What do you think? Could the reasonable prayers of mothers of unburied heroic sons be ignored and silenced anywhere but to the ears of Creon? Artides You are right. Creon (enter suddenly) My friends, it is confirmed. We have another war to expect, and I will need your help. Palamon Will you then never have enough of war, uncle Creon? Creon It’s not my fault. Athens is the aggressor. What else can I do than defend our freedom? Your motherland needs you. You must stand by her. No one can be 3

exempted from the final crisis. Report immediately in the barracks for further orders. (leaves) Artides That’s it, and here we go again. Palamon Our country needs us, and we can’t say no. Artides Do you think Creon stands any chance? Palamon Against Theseus? Never! The question is whether we will survive Creon’s last war ourselves. Artides That’s what we must fight for. Palamon For Creon’s last war? Artides No, for surviving it and Creon. Palamon Agreed, my best cousin! (They grasp each other’s hands along the elbows, both with the other’s hand closest to him.)

Scene 3. Peirithous Congratulations to a successful campaign, Theseus! Everyone is principally grateful. Theseus Still it surprises me that Creon could muster such a strong resistance. Peirithous Like all tyrants he was well organized. Theseus And he had good officers, who fought bravely for the lost cause of their country. Peirithous Here are the widows again to gratefully bring you their homage. Widow 1 Be praised, liberator of Thebes! 2 Now at last the country will have peace, when her mothers finally may bury their sons! 3 King Theseus, your action for the cause of the women will never be forgotten. 4 You have made yourself the redeemer of the wronged innocent victims that were refused the human rights of law. Theseus Yes, yes, that’s all very good, now go ahead and bury your sons, so that you’ll be free from the stench of corpses all over the country. – Those two generals, who put up the bravest fights, were Creon’s relatives, were they not? Peirithous Yes, they are related with the royal house. Theseus What were their names again? Peirithous Artides and Palamon. Theseus Yes, exactly. What shall we do with them? Peirithous It’s entirely up to you to decide. Theseus I am afraid that we can’t let them go. Peirithous Yes, since they are now the only heirs to Oidipus and Creon. Theseus We must keep them in custody in Athens until further. Then we’ll see. Perhaps they are smart enough to escape to go abroad and create completely different lives for themselves elsewhere. Peirithous That would be the best for all. 4

Theseus You may remain in Thebes to take care of the city. It will need some reconstruction and rehabilitation after all those terrible scandals. Peirithous Indeed. You said it. Theseus Can I trust you? Peirithous Of course. Theseus So be it. Palamon and Artides will be my own prisoners in Athens until further.

Scene 4. A garden outside the castle in Athens. Emilia So Thebes is crushed forever. Hippolyta That’s overstating it, my sister. Theseus has only performed a necessary operation. Creon was a villain who applied himself to unlimited desecration of the fallen in battle, which none of his citizens could tolerate at length. Finally they came here complaining and asked for a necessary intervention. Emilia Was Thebes allowed to keep her independence? Hippolyta To some degree, yes. Emilia But I have heard that Theseus brought the last heirs of the Cadmean royal family here in captivity. Hippolyta That’s correct. They are imprisoned together here in the castle. Emilia For how long? Hippolyta You’ll have to ask Theseus about that. He probably doesn’t know himself. Thebes as a state is completely devastated by the civil wars and its misuse of power, so that an entirely new administration must be appointed, and it could take some time until Thebes could be back to normal operation again. Emilia Is then the order not directly restored by Creon’s death? Hippolyta It’s not that simple. All political processes take longer time than what is good for anyone, for they are usually completed too late. That’s the way of the world as the men run it. Emilia Thank heavens for not being a man. That sex seems to exist only to constantly go too deep into the water and commit disastrous mistakes. Hippolyta But we need the men. Emilia Do we? Didn’t you manage better as a free Queen of the Amazons? Hippolyta You can never forgive me that I surrendered to Theseus. Emilia It’s human for a woman to fall for a man, and I know how dashing and irresistible Theseus was in his glory of youth, but I can never understand that you gave up your freedom. Hippolyta All relationships consist of compromises. Emilia But you should never have to compromise away yourself. Then you have lost and given up. Hippolyta I am better off as Queen of Athens than out there in the wilderness. Emilia But there you were your own. 5

Hippolyta One day you will also find just the right man for you. Emilia Never in my life. I would rather die. Hippolyta You are more beautiful than I. How then do you think you at length could put up a longer resistance than I? Emilia Perhaps because Theseus is already taken. The only other men I have met have been ninnies and sheep you could lead by the nose. If I ever get a man, he should at least have a will of his own, an independent mind, character and passion. Hippolyta Still you tolerate Theseus. Emilia I have to. He is my brother-in-law. Hippolyta I would never have given in to a man if it wasn’t obviously the best man in the world. Emilia That’s what I mean. Then I would rather be without. (The scene is moved to the other side, where Artides and Palamon dwell in comfortable imprisonment.) Artides Everything we did was wrong, Palamon. How shall we get out of this misfortune? Palamon We have actually done nothing wrong but fought for our right. All we have to do is to wait with patience, and we shall probably be released by Theseus by and by. Artides But I can’t stand it! My soul is languishing! I see my entire life as only a gross catastrophic failure, and if I have to stay here much longer I will hang myself in a sheet! Palamon You must take it easy, Artides. Discipline yourself. Meditate. Philosophise. Use your time for studies and knowledge. We are royally treated after all and get whatever we ask for. Artides But my life is running away from me! Palamon You are not alone. Artides Without you I would have hanged myself long ago. Palamon Perhaps it’s the meaning of destiny, that we should learn humility and patience. So far we were only spoiled knaves, who grabbed whatever we wanted without scruples by right of our royal descent. Perhaps the contrary will be wholesome. And think of the old parable, that if you only wait patiently long enough, you will one day see your enemy’s body come floating down the river. Artides I can’t wait. I get more desperate every day. We can’t control our own lives any more, and that is unacceptable! Palamon Of course. But what is this? Artides What is it? Palamon That’s what I wonder. Artides What do you see? Palamon Something that immediately gives me something to live for. Artides Share it with me. Are you having a fit or something? Palamon That’s the least you could say. I hope it will last forever.

Artides You have been caught in the world of dreams. Come back! I need someone to talk with! Palamon I am here but exalted to reality. I never thought such dreams could exist. Suddenly I have something both to live and to die for. Artides Explain yourself then! Palamon A wondrously beautiful lady has revealed herself down in the garden. Artides Who could it be if not the Queen or one of her maids? Palamon No, this is someone else. She is more beautiful than the Queen. Artides (following Palamon’s view from the aperture) Yes, I can see. No, it’s not the Queen, but it could be some relation of hers. Palamon Then she is royal. Artides I must get out of here to give her my love! Palamon I saw her first. Artides But I love her. Palamon I did so long before you set eyes on her. Artides You only dreamed and philosophized. Palamon No, I found the meaning of my life. Artides That’s what I mean. You only dreamed and philosophised. Palamon But I saw her first. You can’t deny that. Artides She just has to be mine. Not all nature could stop me. Palamon Cousin, you have sworn me foster-brotherhood for life. Then we can’t be rivals. Artides That’s what we already are. Palamon Over my dead body! Artides Mine also! Palamon (collecting himself) Brother, this is ridiculous. We are imprisoned as political prisoners maybe for life, and we almost start fighting over a woman out there at liberty whom we don’t even know. Artides You are right. This must be remedied. Palamon How? (Some sudden rattling in the door, and Peirithous show up with a guard.) Peirithous Prince Artides? I have succeeded in procuring your release. You may return to Thebes. Palamon And what about me? Peirithous Palamon, I pleaded for both of you indeed, but the negotiations were rough. I could only have one of you released but on the strict condition, that if he ever showed himself within the borders of Attica, he would be subject to execution. Artides Hard luck. Peirithous There is hope also for you, Palamon, but only in good time. I know you have a better patience than your impulsive cousin, why it was appropriate to have him released first. Palamon We have been sitting here long enough. How much longer? Peirithous No one knows. 7

Artides Still I believe you will be happier than me, Palamon, for you may go on living in her vicinity. I might myself never get the opportunity to see her again. Palamon Hard luck. Artides For both of us. Peirithous You are expected in Thebes, Artides. Someone must take charge of the administration. Artides I will be there. We’ll see each other, brother. None of us will ever give up, and we now have an aim in common but with different obstacles in the way. Let’s see who reaches her first. Palamon The challenge of our lives! Our life’s meaning, worth living and dying for! Peirithous What are you talking about? Artides We have a sweetheart in common. The problem is that she is in Athens. Peirithous I understand. A bet. Artides Something in that way. Palamon Farewell, Artides! See you out there in liberty! Artides Definitely! (leaves with Peirithous. The door is locked.) Palamon (hurries to the aperture) She is still there! My love! Yes, I will gladly endure imprisonment for life, if only my singular comfort will be to daily be able to rest my eyes on your beauty! Hippolyta (joins her) I just heard that one of the royal prisoners have been returned to Thebes. Emilia And the other? Hippolyta Remains. Peirithous managed to obtain the release of only one of them on hard conditions, that he must never again show himself in Attica. Emilia A strange condition. You could then suspect, that his intention is to keep the two royal cousins separated for good. Hippolyta Who can understand the reasonings of men? (They leave together.) Palamon Sweetest maid! That you would appear to me in the darkest moment of my life, just before I was separated from my brother! Your beauty and your sweetest grace provide the extreme contrast to our bottomless despair and misfortune! And how would we then not both fall for you and forever? (retreats into the cell, falling down on his bed) Girl (through the aperture of the door) Tsst, Sir! Palamon (believes he heard wrong) Who is it? Girl It’s me, the guard’s daughter. Palamon Then it was real! (rising) What do you want, little friend? Girl Do you wish to escape? Palamon If? Can you doubt it? Girl But we must be careful. It’s not safe yet, but be patient. Palamon You are risking your life by helping me to escape. Girl I know. It’s because I love you. Haven’t you noticed? Palamon (embarrassed) No. 8

Girl Well, now you know. Just wait for the right moment. (disappears) Palamon Another redeeming female figure in my life, who promises me more than gold and green forests as means for me to reach my love! What a fairy tale I have ended up in! And it’s only getting better! Just you wait, Artides! The race has only started! (lies down with more confidence and more comfortable on the bed with his hands under his head.)

Act II scene 1. Theseus You raise my curiosity about the new groom. He seems too good to be true. Peirithous Yes, he is a miracle man indeed, and he knows his business, although his courtesy gives the impression of the contrary to what he is. Theseus Grooms are usually blunt in their speech and foul-mouthed, and more often than not insult their superiors in unnecessary exaggerated honesty. Hippolyta Not this one. He is the contrary, I assure you. He is all amiability. Theseus That’s what makes me wonder. Who is he? I hope we haven’t got a god in the stables. Emilia He is absolutely normal as a mortal being, I can assure you, but he is really unusually gentle and submissive for a groom. Peirithous Try him yourself, Theseus. Even you will be pleased by him. Theseus Very well. Fetch him here. (A servant is sent out.) How did you find the miracle man? Peirithous He turned up all by himself and applied for any service. Your constantly added horses need constantly new grooms. Theseus And he is not some planted spy from Thebes with secret orders to assassinate me? Peirithous (laughs) Now you sound exactly like Creon. Creon is dead. Let him be dead. Hippolyta Here he is. Artides (in simple disguise) You called for my presence. Theseus I just wanted to have a look at you. Where do you come from? Artides The Peloponnese, Sparta. Theseus That’s why you are such a knowledgeable horseman. You have worked with horses all your life. Artides Yes. Theseus In whose service? Artides The king of Sparta. Theseus Of course. That’s why you are so familiar with royal ways. We just wished to express our appreciation. Artides Thank you, king Theseus. Theseus Is there anything you want? Artides Only to continue serving you and your court. 9

Theseus No problem. Nothing else? Artides No. Theseus Then you can go. (enter a prison guard) What are you doing here, you hangman’s groom? Guard Pardon me, good lord Theseus, but I had better come to you directly to tell you that a prisoner has escaped. Theseus (severely) Aren’t prisoners escaping all the time from your so poorly guarded prison? Guard Yes. Theseus And naturally you were not sober when it happened. Guard That’s not the worst of it. I am afraid it was my own daughter who let him out. Theseus Isn’t she the one who always falls in love with your misfortunate prisoners and are conned by them to let them out? Guard Yes, but this was not just any prisoner. Theseus Who was it then? Guard It was the royal prisoner from Thebes himself, the noble Palamon. Theseus That’s a pity. He and your daughter could have saved themselves the trouble, for I would have released him anyway one of these days. Well, be it as it is. Guard your daughter better in the future, and don’t let her flirt with your prisoners. Guard Alas, I can never guard her behind my back. Theseus Because you are always drinking, poor man. Well, go back to your work. Guard I thought it best that you should know it directly, lord Theseus. Theseus So now I know it. No harm is done. Go back, poor man, to your wanton daughter and your bottle. Guard Thank you, my lord. (bows humbly and leaves) Hippolyta You had kept him locked up far too long anyway. Theseus Thank you, I know. Emilia Prisoners only make extra burdens of trouble, especially if they are political. Theseus I agree. Peirithous He will probably escape back to Thebes. I’ll go there and see if there will be any consequences. Theseus Do so, Peirithous. I will come along with you, by the way. I could need some change and stretch of legs. Hippolyta Come, Emilia. Let the men mind their own political mistakes. (All leave except Artides.) Artides Palamon at large! What does it mean? Nothing! All that means anything is that I may continue basking in the sun of Emilia’s splendour. As long as I just may enjoy that faint hope, so long my happiness is consummate even as a simple groom, I ask for no more, for nothing more means anything. Now for the forest to bind garlands for my love!

Scene 2. In the forest. Palamon Where shall I escape? Out in nature, out to freedom, out to love, it doesn’t matter where, for my love embraces all the world! I am at home everywhere, even in the most desolate wilderness, for my love comprises everyone without reservations… But hold it! There seems to be another fool of a colleague out here in the wayward forest. (reaches a glade, where Artides is fooling around an altar) Artides You are my only divinity, my love, and soon you will be mine! Receive my sacrifice in the shape of all the flowers of the forest in unlimited multitude! (drowns the altar with flowers) Palamon It’s my own cousin! Dressed up as a lackey! What is he up to? Artides No one suspects anything! Imagine that I fooled the entire court! I have daily been able to stay closer to my beloved than the poor Palamon in jail! I can love her in liberty and almost touch the fringe of her dress, while that poor devil is locked up and hardly even able to catch glimpses of her except by that narrow aperture behind bars! But now he is also at large, so I had better make haste before I am discovered! Palamon He has disguised himself and joined the service of the King, that scoundrel! But she can never belong to anyone but me! (steps forth) Do you hear that, you villain and arch traitor! She is mine! I saw her first! Artides Palamon! Of course you had to come by and disturb me! How on earth did you find your way here? Palamon I just escaped from prison. Artides Yes, I heard about that, but why did you have to find your way here to my secret most sacred blooming altar! Palamon Some god must have guided me here. I have no better explanation. Artides Put the blame on Pan! You disturb my altar service! Palamon That’s my intention! Artides Do you want a fight? Palamon If I want! Artides Shall we settle at once? Palamon Why not! I’ll be glad to! Artides May the best man win! (pulls his sword) Palamon Exactly! And may the worst man lose! That’s you! Artides Come to the point! Palamon Come on, you slowfox! Artides How could you ever think you could have her, you jailbird? Palamon And you were too late from the start! She was mine before you had even seen her! Artides But I love her the most! That beats you! Palamon Prove it! My right of way is proved! Artides You can’t prove that I don’t love her the most! 11

Palamon That has nothing to do with it! Artides It has indeed! Palamon No! Artides Yes! Palamon No! Artides Yes! Palamon We could go on like this for years. Artides You started it! Palamon No, I saw her first! Artides That’s what I am saying! You started it! Palamon Not the quarrel! You started the row! Artides I love her! Palamon She doesn’t love you! Artides How do you know? Palamon Because I am the one who loves her! Artides How childish you are! Palamon What about you then, you naïve moron! Artides You are the only moron here! (They go on abusing each other interminably without getting anywhere. Theseus and Peirithous happen to pass by.) Theseus Hold it, Peirithous! What is this? Peirithous Two rivals trying to settle things. Theseus But not just any rivals. Peirithous By heaven! It’s Artides! In my groom’s outfit! Theseus He has pulled us by the nose! And the other is no one less than the escaped Palamon! Peirithous Both have forfeited their lives! Theseus Shall we let them murder each other? Peirithous Never! That would not be fair! Theseus Exactly! (steps forth) Gentlemen, you seem to have an argument about a woman. Palamon (doesn’t recognize him at first) And what business is that of yours? Artides Idiot! Can’t you see it’s king Theseus! Palamon My goodness! Peirithous You have both been caught in flagrantia on Attic soil. Do you understand what that means? Palamon We don’t have to kill each other, Artides. They will do it for us. Theseus Take it easy now! Who is the lady you are fighting about? Palamon (to Artides) Do we dare to reveal it? Artides We can’t get away with it, cousin. – It’s your own Queen’s own cousin, the outstandingly excellent Emilia. Theseus Emilia! Peirithous (tries some severity) What insolence! 12

Theseus Wait a moment, Peirithous! They are actually both worthy of her, since they are both of royal family. Peirithous You are right. I had forgotten about that. Palamon The problem is that we are two. Theseus And you are too obviously set on reaching a settlement. Well, gentlemen, let’s make the best of it and in a royal way. You are both welcome to Athens to fight honestly and honourably about it, and the winner will have my sister-in-law. Will that do as a special offer? Palamon We thank you for such a royal honour. Artides But what does it mean practically? A deadly duel? With an audience? Theseus We can’t do without an audience on such a royal occasion, since Emilia actually is the most courted and desired virgin in Hellas, and you are the two hottest royal subjects in Hellas, which makes it the more important that your settlement is staged the more royally with honour. Peirithous (cautiously) What is on your mind? Theseus The simplest possible solution. Emilia will have to choose. (All are astounded.) Don’t you think she herself should have a word on the matter? It is after all only about her. Palamon (stoically) Fair enough! Aristides We accept the royal arbitration. Peirithous One problem: What happens if Emilia can’t make up her mind? Theseus We will have to ask her to begin with. That problem is not actual yet. – You have exactly equal chances, gentlemen. None of you has known her intimately, and none of you have been able to court her. She doesn’t know anyone of you except by hearsay and name – she knows that you fought for Thebes and were captured, and she was actually the one who first of all called for your release. She knows who you are, but she doesn’t know you. Palamon She knows Artides, who falsely acted as her groom! Theseus She never knew who he was, and he consistently kept a proper distance, didn’t you? Artides Yes. I never dared even to touch her, for if I had been caught, my life would have been forfeited. Theseus So he risked his life just to be close to her, and you, Palamon, risked your life by your daring escape. Now you have both been caught, and according to the law, both your lives are forfeited. So, obey my will, or die! Artides We have to, Palamon. Palamon We have no choice. Theseus Very well, gentlemen. Come with us then as our guests of honour in the capacity of princely suitors to my beautiful sister-in-law. In this case, the highest law and sentence is the woman’s. Palamon We subordinate ourselves to it. Artides Wholeheartedly. 13

Theseus Very well. So at last there is an end to your ridiculous quarrel. Now we are in for some serious business. (Exeunt all four, back towards Athens.)

Act III scene 1. Emilia by the altar of Artemis. She is dressed in white with her long blonde hair let loose. Emilia O virgin goddess of freedom and proudest purity, I invoke thee as a virgin in distress, whom authority and autocracy wants to force into marriage, but I am neither willing nor able to decline, for the two men I have to choose between are the foremost of our country, irresistible royal princes both of them and paragons of beauty and general ability – none of them have the slightest fault to present but only deserts. Therefore I turn unto you three leading virgin goddesses, Artemis, Athena and Hestia, invoking you to help me manage this hopeless situation. I never wanted to marry, I never asked for any suitor, and still they have always beset me in hundreds, maybe just because of my sexual disinterest. I have nothing against love, but I could never favour only one man with it. I therefore renounce all you more promiscuous goddesses, like Aphrodite, Hera and even the motherly Demeter, since I can only view sex as a humiliation and debasement and a restricting trap as an enemy to my freedom and independent love for all and everyone. Let me remain virgin, goddesses, and free and independent as such, but let me not make my family and my suitors disappointed. – So, now I am ready to face the court and the demanding family.

Scene 2. Peirithous Who do you think she will choose? Honestly speaking, I myself would not have been able. Hippolyta You don’t have to, Peirithous, since you are a man. Theseus She faces an impossible choice. Both are equally royal, both are equally handsome, and both are equally potent. Hippolyta What happens if she refuses to choose anyone of them? If she chooses one, she discards the other, which I don’t think she will be able to do. Theseus She must choose someone, or we must send both away into permanent banishment. Peirithous Here she comes. Hippolyta Well, my sister, have you reached a decision? Emilia I would like to discuss the matter. Peirithous It starts well. Theseus I just said, that your only choice is either one of them, or both have to be exiled permanently. 14

Emilia Who can say no to a lover? Who can say no to love? Not even the most dried out of old maids would not thaw and melt by just the slightest glimpse of love. And here you have faced me with an impossible choice, and I haven’t even been allowed to get to know either of them. What manner of a procedure is that? You are the worst possible procurers, who want to force on me an obligatory love relationship without even giving me permission to identify the candidates! Theseus It’s their fault. They are so importuning, that they would have finished each other off if we hadn’t interfered, which would have made your choice easier. Now the case is as it is, and I can only regret the inconvenience of the situation. Emilia Can none of them be made to abstain from love? That would make it easier for me. They are cousins, they love each other, and they have lived all their life as foster brothers. Theseus If one of them would sacrifice himself for the other, which one would you then choose? Emilia Naturally the self-sacrificing part, for he would love the most. Theseus Good, let’s try them! Let them enter! Let the noble royal heirs to Thebes, Artides and Palamon, be brought in! (The servants are activated.) Peirithous (cautiously) And if both insist on sacrificing himself for the other? Theseus That problem is not actual yet. Hippolyta Here they are. Artides It pleased you to call on our presence. Palamon We are ready to face our final judgement. Artides We promise to obey Emilia. Palamon The loveliest and worthiest of all virgins. Theseus (to Emilia) To make it easier for you, Emilia, I ask your permission to let me speak for you. Correct me if I am wrong. My dear candidates, Emilia has refused to choose any one of you, since you are both equally worthy and she therefore impossibly could decline one for the other. This means, that we must exile you both permanently from Attica with a sentence of death if the exile is violated. If anyone of you would willingly give up your candidature, the problem could be solved. Artides How? Which one would she choose in that case? Palamon Artides, I give her up for you. I would rather love you both than lose any of you. In that case I could in some way still keep the love of both of you. Artides You say so only because you think she in that case will choose you. In that case I also give her up. Palamon I did it first! Artides I give her up just as much as you! Palamon You are unfair as usual! Artides You started! Palamon My resolution was honest! Artides So was mine but even more!

Theseus Separate them! This will not do! My friends, if you will go on like this, I see no other choice than to send you both in permanent exile! Emilia It won’t be necessary, brother-in-law. Palamon is right. I have understood, that he was the first of the cousins to fall in love with me, and when he now also was the first to willingly resign from me, I could see on his eyes that his love was honest. I choose him. Hippolyta and Peirithous Hurray! Emilia But on one condition. I don’t want Palamon and Artides to become enemies for my sake, and I don’t want any of them to ever have any reason to fear or antagonise the other. Therefore I propose the following. I will marry Palamon, but also Artides shall have access to my bed now and then, but only when I wish for it myself. Could you accept that condition, Palamon? Theseus (to Hippolyta) Your sister never ceases to surprise me. No one was a more obnoxiously determined virgin than she, and now she would directly be the bride of several. Peirithous What says the law of bigamy? Emilia Love is above the law. Palamon is due to answer. I have made my condition. The word is now with him. Palamon (falling on his knees) You make me happier than I deserve and far more than I ever could wish. Your generous suggestion is received with unreserved gratitude. I welcome my cousin into my marriage, on the condition presented by Emilia, since I then may keep him close to me as my only beloved cousin. Emilia Then the word is yours, Artides. Artides (also falling on his knees) Such a beatitude I could never have dared to dream about. I embrace you both, Palamon and Emilia, since your wise verdict actually implies a possibility for all three of us to love and remain loved by each other. (Rises, as does also Palamon, who embraces Emilia, inviting Artides to join, and so they all three embrace each other.) Peirithous (to Theseus) But who will then be the father of eventual children? Theseus That problem is not actual yet, Peirithous, and so far actually all unsolvable problems have been able to be solved. Hippolyta This pleases me enormously, and I ask to be the one to arrange the wedding festivities. No bloodshed and no exile has been necessary, Emilia has avoided the agony of having to turn anyone down, and the cousins are reconciled. Could it be better? You handled this most awfully well, Emilia! (embraces her) Emilia Thank you, sister, but it was only an improvisation. An hour ago I prayed to the virgin goddesses Hestia, Artemis and Athena for me to remain a virgin at any price. Hippolyta Not even that possibility is excluded. You are the bride, and you decide! Theseus Let us now celebrate this overwhelming and surprising reconciliation with a proper and considerable banquet! What about it? All Hurray! Theseus Excellent! Let’s immediately start the party! 16

(Exeunt all, Emilia between Palamon and Artides with her arms in theirs, and Hippolyta between Theseus and Peirithous with her arms in theirs. Those servants who are present applaud.)

The End.

(Dharamsala 24.10.2009, translated 6.3.2019)