'I...
'Tiberius Claudius
'Drusus Nero Germanicus...'
HE SIGHS
'..this-that-and-the-other...
'who was once - and not so long ago -
'better known to my friends and relatives as "Claudius the Idiot".
'Or "that fool Claudius".
'Or "Claudius the Stammerer".
'..am now about to write this strange history of my life.'
Are you there?
'Yes, you're there, I can feel it.
'I can feel your presence here.
'I knew you would come the moment I began to write.
'Yes...
'it was inevitable.
'It was prophesied by the Sibyl.'
'Spies. Spies everywhere.
'Spying on me. In my bed, at my prayers, on the street.'
Even in the lavatory, spies.
'I will cheat them.
'Every one.'
'It was prophesied by the Sibyl.
'I went to Cumae many years ago to consult her.
'She was most famous.
'Her prophecies had achieved worldwide renown,
'and she did not consent to see everyone.
'Unexpectedly, she consented to see me.
'I was terrified!
' "Oh, Sibyl," I said,
' "I've c-c-come to question you about Rome's fate and mine."
' "Hear me, Clau-Clau-Claudius,"
'she answered, mocking my stammer.
' "Apollo speaks to you through me.
' "Listen closely." '
What groans beneath the Punic curse
And strangles in the strings of purse
Before she mends, must sicken worse.
Ten years, fifty days and three,
Clau-Clau-Claudius shall given be
A gift that all desire but he.
But when he's dumb and no more here,
Nineteen hundred years or near,
Clau-Clau-Claudius shall speak clear.
'Yes, that's what it means.
'In nineteen hundred years from now, they'll hear me.'
Not before.
'No.'
A box. I need a box.
'Put it all in here. My story.
'My history of the family, yes, and the end of the Republic, yes.
'And when I've finished, I'll seal it up and bury it where no-one will find it.'
No, no-one.
'Not for nineteen hundred years or more,
'then it will turn up.
'Suddenly, people will read it. They'll know the truth.
' "My voice," as the Sibyl said,
as she prophesied for them.
'Not for these fools in Rome.
'But for them out there in remote posterity.'
Yes, for you.
Yes, it will all be in here, sealed.
You will find it.
I promise you.
'I, Claudius, am now about to begin
'this strange history of my life,
'of my family,
'of Livia, my grandmother, of Augustus Caesar,
'of Marcus Agrippa.
'Yes, and his hatred for Marcellus.'
Excellent! Excellent!
Thallus!
See they're well taken care of. They were splendid really.
Yes, Caesar. And see they're
properly fed. Don't give them the scraps and the leftovers.
They'll eat better even than the kitchen staff, Caesar.
Well, there's no need to go that far.
Better than us will be quite sufficient.
LAUGHTER
You know, Marcus, I like to eat sparingly.
There's too much gluttony in Rome, especially at festivals.
But this one day I think is very special.
I like to make an exception and...
I've got a surprise for you.
Two, as a matter of fact.
Thallus!
Yes, Caesar. Bring in the cake. But Caesar, it's for... I can't
wait! I want the family to see it.
Do you know what else I've got?
Aristarchus of Athens is in Rome.
Oh, Marcus. They say that he's the greatest orator of our time.
And I've asked him to prepare an oration to mark the seventh anniversary of the Battle of Actium.
Oh, no! What's the matter? Is it too
boring for you? We had one last year!
That was last year. And anyway, the speaker was very dull. This man, they say he's wonderful.
Seven years today, sank Antony and all his hopes in the harbour of Actium.
You see how the young mock the battle scars of their elders?
Battle scars! A lot of good men died in that battle.
And a lot of good men got scarred.
I don't think it's right to make light of it. Oh, he's just being
provocative. Not really.
I just think we exaggerate its significance, that's all.
Now, now, now, Marcellus, let's not argue. ..Marco.
No, no. Just a minute. Let's hear what the young genius has to say.
Well?
Look, here is the cake!
Do we get one each(?) Julia, for heaven's sake!
AUGUSTUS LAUGHS
Marcus, do you recognise it?
Yes. It's my ship. Yes, it's the one that you made your headquarters. She was a fine ship.
Ah, that must be you, Marcus - the candied cherry on the prow(!)
AUGUSTUS LAUGHS
Now Marcellus, please.
These things mean something to us. Don't you think we're taking ourselves too seriously tonight?
Not seriously enough, it seems to me.
Livia, isn't that a wonderful cake?
Wonderful(!) What you mean "Wonderful(!)" - don't you like it?
Why don't you bring in the Greek? If you keep him waiting much longer, he'll need a shave.
As a matter of fact, he's bearded.
Thallus, bring in the Greek. Leave the cake! Take the cake.
You know, Marcus, they say that he writes a sort of prose hymn.
What can that mean? It's a form that I've never heard of.
One of these new Greek inventions. They're always inventing something.
Why are they so clever?
If they're so clever, why are they a province of ours, instead of vice versa?
Ah, Aristarchus, welcome!
Hail, Caesar. I hope we haven't kept you waiting too long.
Come.
We're ready now.
Give us your piece.
Give me YOUR piece, Caesar, and I shall gladly give you mine!
Of course, I'm sorry. ..Thallus!
Caesar calls for silence.
What a voice!
Perhaps we should change places.
Only the Romans can afford ushers with a voice like that.
Did you have it trained?
I was an actor, sir. Oh. That explains it. Resting, are you?
No, sir, I've given it up.
Everyone's an actor in Rome. There just isn't enough work to go round.
And what there's goes to friends and relatives. It's the same everywhere.
The theatre isn't what it was.
No, and I'll tell you something else -
it never was what it was.
We'd be glad, Thallus, if
you'd discuss your personal problems
in your own time.
Today is a day to drink and dance.
Let us rival the priests of Bacchus with feats to deck the couches of the gods.
Seven summers pass,
the wild queen Cleopatra,
dreaming her dreams of ruin on your lovely empire,
sailed her hopes into the harbour of Actium.
And there, with noble Antony,
spat curses on the ships of Caesar
and cried, "Sink, Rome, and all her minions.
"Egypt's not for conquests."
But words do not kill.
And curses sink no ships.
Before the wind had changed or she could catch her scented breath,
mighty Agrippa...
'Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa -
'old friend and commander of the armies of Augustus,
'Emperor of Rome, a most remarkable man.
'But even more remarkable was Livia, his second wife.
'If Augustus ruled the world, Livia ruled Augustus.
'Octavia, Augustus' sister,
'mother of Marcellus.
'And next to him, Julia,
'his wife, Augustus' only daughter.
'Augustus was now clearly preferring Marcellus over Agrippa.
'And Agrippa knew it.'
..And Antony, once proud Antony,
fearing to be last, chased her up to the very gates of heaven!
Romans!
Remember them -
their fateful deaths grace your lives today
with living legend.
Your names and theirs in history
will be forever...
intertwined.
Wonderful.
What a gift you Greeks have!
Incidentally, the battle, you know, it wasn't like that.
No? No, not at all. Oh.
But you've described it poetically.
I understand that. It was poetic licence. I'm used to that.
As a matter of fact, I write a little poetry myself.
Could I show it to you some time? I should be honoured, Caesar.
It's nothing professional, mind, but it's not bad, though I say myself.
Ah, Thallus has found a place for you.
There, we'll talk some more later. Caesar.
Wasn't that beautiful?
Doesn't know much about naval battles!
Well, it wasn't that much of a battle, was it?
I beg your pardon?
Well, one wine-soaked lover and his Egyptian whore.
I could have put up a better show myself and I was only a child.
Now, now, now, Marcellus. Come, let's not fool ourselves, just because we fool the public.
You know a great deal about it, do you? Yes, I do. I've studied
that battle and I'm not impressed.
You talk about it as if it was a famous victory, when, in fact,
the result was a foregone conclusion. Look, why don't we all...? No! Just a minute.
I'm getting tired of being taught
the arts of war by kids who've only just learnt how to piss in a pot.
When you've actually done something, lad, instead of just studied it,
come back and talk to me again.
If you'll excuse me. Oh, Marcus, it's early. It seems late to me, too late.
Perhaps that's because I'm such an old man.
Thallus!
Oh, get rid of them.
Marcus! # Aye, aye, aye, aye... #
Marcus!
# ..Aye, aye, aye, aye
# I love you... #
'My grandmother, Livia.
'Her mind always turning, always scheming.
'And I, Claudius.
'You ask, where am I?
'I am not yet born.
'But will be, soon.
'But now I must continue with the story of the rivalry between Marcellus and Agrippa.'
GENTLE KNOCKING
Yes.
Yes. Caesar is asking for you, Lady.
Yes, I'll come soon. He says at once.
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa is with him.
You'd better come down.
And wait outside.
I don't understand you.
You want to leave Rome but you won't say why.
I told you why. You don't need me here any more.
Let me be the judge of that. I can be more use in the empire.
Appoint me Governor of Syria and I'll deal with that Parthian king. It's time someone dealt with him.
He wants to leave Rome.
Why, Marcus? I told him why. He doesn't need me in Rome any more.
That's not the reason! You're not being straight with me.
Not straight! Oh, no. Oh, no, don't say that to me.
If there's one man been straight with you, that man is Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa.
Is it Marcellus?
Marcellus?!
What's he got to do with it? I don't know.
I thought perhaps you objected to
my appointing him city magistrate.
It's got nothing to do with Marcellus.
Except of course, that he's such a
capable young man. He's just another reason why you don't need me here.
Look, Marcus, we're old friends.
We've shared a lot of campaigns together. If Marcellus has upset you... Lady, talk to him.
He thinks I resent Marcellus. I'm very fond of the boy. We all are.
If his friends get a little high-handed, well, I was young once too and had friends.
Yes, the greatest friend a man ever had.
Marcus. Admit it, why shouldn't I? I'm not a man to hide my feelings.
You know I feel the same.
Course I do. I'd have gone long ago if I hadn't thought that. Yes.
That's why I can say to you now that I've got nothing against Marcellus.
Nothing.
He's a very gifted young man.
If you've advanced him a little ahead of his years, well, that's only natural too.
I'm very relieved to hear it. I know there's been friction.
I mean, not between you and him, but between his followers and yours.
Followers?
Who has followers? He may have
followers, I don't know about that.
Such things don't even come within my notice. But me, I have followers?
Show me! Where are my followers?
Lady, do you see any?
Well, not followers, you know, but people, they like to make factions.
That can make bad feeling quicker than boiled asparagus. There's no bad feeling.
Well, you've put my mind at rest. If you feel you HAVE to leave Rome...
I don't feel I HAVE to leave, I just think that I could be
more use in the east.
Of course, if you feel you really need me in Rome...
No...I'm sure you're right. You usually are.
Your instincts are always very sound.
When will you leave?
In a few days.
Then we'll have all Rome at Ostia to see you off.
For the Senate and the People of Rome, eh?
For the Senate and the People of Rome!
Goodbye, old friend.
Goodbye.
Damn him! Who does he think he is?!
We know whom he thinks he is -
your successor! He's too old!
I need to groom a younger man.
We can't do without Marcus Agrippa.
Give him four or five months, then call him back. No.
Do it, my dear. Better to call him back when you DON'T need him than
have to humble yourself when you do.
No! I know what I'm doing.
My son is waiting outside to pay his respects and take his leave. Will you see him?
Yes, of course.
Ah, Tiberius. You're off to join
our troops in Germany. Yes, Caesar.
Yes. Well, I'm sure you'll do well for us. And remember that we need
good generals.
The empire won't hold together without.
Write to me, tell me all that's going on.
I like to have news from all sides - it helps me to make up my mind about things.
Yes.
And now I have things to do.
Yes, yes, many things.
Well, the best of luck go with you.
And all the muses.
I could have saved myself the trouble. Oh, you're so
keen to save yourself trouble.
Did that cost you so much, a hail and farewell? He doesn't like me.
Well, we can't all be lovable, though we can all try a little harder.
It's my nature, and I can't change it now. And wouldn't if you could, I suspect.
You've a mighty high opinion of yourself on the quiet, haven't you?
I wonder you didn't transfer your hopes to my brother. I might have done that long ago,
if he didn't share the same idiotic hopes your father had of the return of the Republic.
Besides, I took the auspices when you were born, and they were very favourable.
Not that old chicken story again.
You may sneer all you like, but I marked the zodiac on the floor
of the hen house, and a chicken came down and rested on your birth sign.
I took its egg and warmed it in my hands,
and it hatched a young cock chick,
and it already had a fine comb on its head.
You haven't much patience, have you?
You want everything at once.
20 years ago, Augustus ruled with Mark Antony.
But I could see that wouldn't last. I could see that soon, one man would be king.
So I divorced your father and married Augustus.
And waited.
Now, where would I be now if I'd wanted everyone at once, eh?
And by the same token, where would you be?
Well, where am I now, for all of your patience and your prophetic chickens?
You are my son and I'm Augustus' wife. That's where you are.
And in the long run, that's better than being anybody else - even Marcellus or Marcus Agrippa.
Now, you may kiss me and take your leave.
Remember my prophetic chickens and have patience, hmm?
Do well on the Rhine. Your brother is covering himself with glory in Illyricum.
We mustn't fall behind. Have I ever?
No.
When it comes to the less imaginative arts, you are certainly to be relied upon.
'And now my grandmother's mind turned more and more towards the removal of Marcellus.'
Good day, Mother.
Oh, you look a little piqued. Are you feeling well?
Lady. I slept badly last night.
There seems to be so much noise in the streets at night.
Can't you do something about it?
Well, the traffic must move some time.
Would you have it moving during the day and congest all the streets? There are too many people in Rome.
They keep on coming in and coming in from everywhere - Syria, Gaul, Germany...
But they're the lifeblood of the city, Julia. They make Rome what it is. Noisy, garish and uninhabitable!
I should be glad to get away. It'll be even worse when the Games begin. Look at that. Isn't it a beauty?
Off your tree? Of course.
You know, you should eat more pears, Livia, they're very good for the skin.
How can I eat them? You pick them all. Well, I can have more sent up from the country.
Marcellus, we must talk about these Games of yours.
Yes. Now, I want to do something new.
That sounds familiar. Well, if I'm to celebrate my appointment of city magistrate,
I want people to remember it.
And what earth-quaking innovations are we to see?
Giraffes? Riding elephants? I want to tent in all of the theatres and hang them with tapestries.
I want to turn the whole marketplace into a gigantic multi-coloured marquee.
Cover it. That's all?
No, I had an idea for a pitched battle between 50 Germans and 50 blacks from Morocco.
Yes. And who's going to pay for all of this?
I am, for part.
And so are you.
Yes, that's what I thought.
Come on. Would you consider 20 Germans against 20 black Moroccans?
He spoils him.
It would be hard not to.
He has such winning ways.
Oh, yes, he has winning ways all right.
People are always falling over themselves to do things for him.
I must go in. It's too hot.
Come, Antonia, I think you should lie down.
Coming, mother.
I gather that there was some opposition in the Senate
to Marcellus becoming a city magistrate. Oh, nothing to speak of. Some friends of Agrippa, that's all.
They're always ready to remind your father there are no kings in Rome.
I don't know why he bothers to put up with the farce of the Senate at all.
Well, your father observes the forms. It's very important.
Romans like to believe they govern themselves.
Oh, the older ones do, perhaps. But I don't think it matters to us.
You should hear Marcellus's friends talk.
He's very popular, isn't he?
Yes. With you, too? Why do you ask?
Well, there are no children yet.
There's no issue between you and Father.
And you've been married for 20 years.
True.
Still, I'm very happy with your father.
And I am with Marcellus.
Well, I'm very pleased to hear it. There's no substitute for a happy marriage, you know. No.
Mind you, they seem to be few and far between these days.
I always thought Tiberius was very lucky with his Vipsania.
Yes.
Yes, they're very much in love.
You know,
when I first married your father, you were a little girl and Tiberius was a little boy
and you used to play together. Do you remember?
Yes, I remember.
And then when you grew up, you seemed so fond of one another.
I once had hopes that...
Yes, I used to adore him.
How foolish one is when one is young.
I wish to await the arrival of Marcellus.
CROWD HUBBUB
FANFARE PLAYS
My dear, you're not going to read letters and petitions during the
performance.
I see no reason to sit here doing nothing while we wait for the Games to begin. Oh, it looks so bad.
Shh! These are urgent. Stop fussing.
My great uncle, Julius, used to do it and the crowd never liked Julius.
Oh...
Wait till you see what Marcellus has arranged.
He's got a rhinoceros. What's that?
It's an extraordinary beast.
It's got a horn on its nose.
So has Scipio's wife. He could have used her.
Ah, Marcellus. We've been waiting for you.
Julia, Octavia... Marcellus.
CROWD ROARS
I told you he was popular.
FANFARE PLAYS
Let the Games begin!
CROWD ROARS
Are you all right?
I have a headache. What a shame!
The Games are wonderful.
Can't you come back?
No. Marcellus is a huge success.
Yes.
Yes, I can see that.
Yes, well...
I'll go back to the Games.
You're not worried about me leaving, are you?
You'll have Marcellus - he can do all my work.
How long will you be gone?
About four to five months. I haven't been to the eastern provinces for years.
It's time I did.
Will you see Agrippa?
No, why should I? He never got any further than Lesbos.
He sent his deputy to govern Syria.
He's got a nerve!
I can manage without him now.
He can see that. Now let him stew!
I don't need him.
Are you sure you're all right?
Well, I'll...I'll get back to the Games.
DOOR SHUTS
CROWD ROARS
KNOCKING
Yes?
Are there any letters from the Emperor?
No, Lady. But one has arrived for my Lord Marcellus.
Ah, now, when you take that to him, ask him, would he be good enough to come and see me before dinner?
There are some names on this citizens' roll I want to discuss. He already has the letter.
It seems my Lord Marcellus is in bed and has been seeing no-one today. Oh!
What's the matter with him? A chill on the stomach, that's all.
It's a pity his wife and mother went away.
MARCELLUS SPITS
KNOCKING
Yes?
Lady Livia has called, Master. Ask her to come in.
I can't stay in bed all day - I've got too much to do.
Tsk-tsk! If you get up now, you'll be in bed all tomorrow, I promise you.
Wise, Musa. Wise!
Marcellus! It's nothing, Lady.
It's a summer chill that's got on the stomach.
I've worked through worse than this. Have you eaten?
He can't keep anything down - it's natural, perfectly natural.
Well, it's natural if the food doesn't agree with him.
I nursed Augustus all last summer, do you remember?
And he ate everything I prepared for him, everything.
I'll be well tomorrow.
These summer chills can be dangerous.
Augustus was nearly carried off by one.
I'm not so easily disposed of!
I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to you.
What can happen to me? I wouldn't think of it.
My mother and Julia...
Exactly. Your mother and Julia. And how, tell me, should I face
them if anything did happen?
Oh, there, there. There.
I shall move my room next to yours and I shall prepare all your food myself.
You'll see what dainty little things can be served up to tempt a weak appetite.
But it's a chill, nothing more. Musa assures me.
I wouldn't pay too much attention to Musa, if I were you.
He thinks he cured Augustus with his potions, but it was my nursing that
did it. And I shall nurse you.
Oh, Lady... No.
No arguments. But why go to all the trouble...? I insist.
It's very good of you.
No, no, my dear.
Goodness has nothing to do with it.
KNOCKING
It's Musa, Lady.
He's getting worse,
MUCH worse.
Yes.
I'll come soon.
We ought to inform his wife and his mother.
They should be here.
No, you exaggerate.
Things have to get worse before they get better.
But he keeps nothing down. Nothing!
It is worrying, isn't it?
He's bringing up green slime.
I've never seen anything like it.
Green, you say? Yes, yes.
Have you seen it before?
No.
No, I've never seen green before.
Well, perhaps it's a good sign.
Forgive me, Lady.
You're thinner.
But you look better. The life of the legions agrees with you.
Have I ever complained about the life of the legions?
Frankly, I'd as soon be in camp on the Rhine as here.
I had to call you back. Augustus is still in Greece touring the provinces.
And Marcellus...
How is he?
I think...he may die.
Has Augustus been told?
Yes, of course -
as soon as it began to look serious.
When did he fall ill? About a month ago.
Musa said it was just a chill on the stomach, but I could see it was more serious than that,
so I decided I'd nurse him myself.
Well, his wife and mother were away.
I've been at his side day and night.
I prepare all his food myself and I see that he eats it.
Frankly, I wouldn't have thought you'd care whether he lived or died.
Oh, I care very much whether he lives or dies.
Have Julia and his mother been told? Yes, of course. They're with him
now. They returned at once.
Julia is being hysterical of course, and his mother never stops praying.
Let's hope that her prayers are heard.
Yes, indeed.
And mine, too.
Tell me...
..what do you think of Julia?
Nothing. Why?
Nobody could accuse you of being devious.
She thinks very well of you.
What's that supposed to mean?
Nothing. She likes you, that's all. Always has.
Mother, I'm a happily married man.
Julia doesn't interest me. She wouldn't interest me if you hung her naked from the ceiling above my bed.
She might even do that if I asked her.
Aren't you forgetting something? She's still married to Marcellus,
and Marcellus is not dead yet.
When I start to forget things, you may light my funeral pyre
and put me on it, dead or alive.
Don't ask me to divorce Vipsania, because I won't do it!
Oh, what a lover we have here! Did you bring back a pocketful of poems from the Rhine?
You may scoff. Vipsania is the only thing in the world that means anything to me.
I always thought a boy's mother meant something.
Well, you do mean something.
But so does she.
So don't ask me to push her aside.
I may ask more than that before I've finished.
Anyway, where does all this get us?
There's not only Marcellus - there is Agrippa too, and Augustus prefers both of them to me.
< NO! NO!
WRETCHED WAILING
Ye gods!
What's that?
NO!
It sounds as though there is now only Agrippa.
He's dead! Julia!
He's dead!
Julia!
No!
He's...! Control yourself!
He's...!
That's no way for a Roman woman to behave.
But he's dead.
He gave a great cry and then he rolled over
and then he fell off the bed
and he's...he's dead!
Yes. Now, come along. Wait here. He's dead!
Tiberius, take care of Julia.
This is very grave - we must send to Augustus at once.
JULIA WEEPS
Tiberius!
I said take care of Julia!
Oh, no...!
I did everything I could.
Everything!
I did everything I could. Everything I did for Augustus, I did for him,
but it made no difference. He's dead?
You're sure he's dead?
My son is dead.
You can be sure.
Poor Augustus.
His heart will break.
It must have been food poisoning. What do you mean, food poisoning?
The summer's been so hot.
These things happen.
Yes, yes, of course. Well, there has been a lot of it about.
I thought it was a chill.
But I was wrong.
Wrong!
It must have been something he ate.
There ought to be an inquest, I suppose.
No, there's no need of that. We know what he died of.
Do we? Food poisoning!
Well, you said so yourself!
Yes.
I couldn't swear to it.
No.
But I could.
Tiberius, take Julia to her room and comfort her.
Stay with her a while.
I'll send word to your wife what keeps you.
My dear Augustus,
a most unfortunate...
and tragic thing has happened.
'Marcellus, your adopted son, has unaccountably died after a short illness.
'No-one is certain of the cause, except that an attack of food poisoning is suspected.
'I must say, that does seem to me the most likely explanation.'
SHOUTING
'Row erupted into fury.
'The suspicious death of Marcellus led to renewed demands
'for a return of the Republic - the last thing my grandmother wanted.'
They're rampaging through the streets, breaking the statues,
looting the shops.
All the city watchmen are out there dealing with them. They're no use!
Turn the guard out on them!
If we draw blood, I won't answer for the consequences.
Oh, you drooping lily! Do you want us all to be murdered in our beds?
Well, go and talk to them, then!
Are you mad? No!
And I'm not frightened of that rabble, either.
Out of my way!
SHOUTING
LIVIA: What do you want?
A republic?
The Republic was all humbug!
Do you want civil wars all over again?
Do you want famine in the streets? Do you want Gauls and Huns knocking on your doors?
You are all crying for the moon.
Go on back to your homes and...
Rabble! You call yourselves Romans!
You wait till my husband gets home!
I wish, just for once, you would behave like a normal woman!
To be a normal woman, you need normal men around you.
Oh!
We must get Agrippa back to Rome.
He's the only one who speaks their language, if you can call it that.
Whatever Augustus thinks!
Patch up this quarrel and get Agrippa back, at any price.
I'm gonna write to him at once.
Meanwhile, order the guards onto the streets!
Marcus!
Oh, it's been too long, too long. Not MY doing, Caesar.
I wouldn't have had it so. Oh, Marcus, what silly things get in the way of friendship.
How could we let them? How? You could have come to me sooner. You knew where I was.
Oh, how could I come? Everyone knew how it was between us!
I'd have come to you. One word, just one word, a hint, that's all.
Would I have stayed away if I had been sure of my welcome?
It's pride, stupid pride.
Did you have a good journey?
The sea was rough. But I didn't really notice it.
I was thinking of you and me, and how it was in the old days, when we were young together.
Let's not think of that, it's too painful to think of one's youth.
We've come a long way together since then. Not always together.
Marcus, there was never a time when you were out of my thoughts.
Forgive me, but it wasn't always obvious. Oh... No, no, be just with me.
There were times - oh, I can remember them - when that young man... And I'm sorry he's dead.
..when that young man went out of his way to insult me
with never a word of reproof from you. From my old friend, not a word!
Marcus, he was like a son to me.
Now, you have children, you know what it's like.
Oh, perhaps I WAS foolish, perhaps I DID indulge him.
But it seemed like high spirits,
that's all. A little horseplay.
Haven't we all been guilty of it?
Maybe.
Yes, I'm sorry he's dead.
I wouldn't have wished it. Though he was no friend to me.
Yes.
I need my old friend again.
Now Marcellus is gone, you need Agrippa.
No, no, no, you must believe me.
I'd already made up my mind to come and see you.
Would I pass Lesbos without calling in? It's unthinkable!
No.
No, Marcus.
I need you back in Rome.
I don't know.
I don't know if I'm up to it any more.
Things are bad there, so I hear.
Oh, nothing much - there's been a little trouble.
But that's not why I want you back. I want you back, Marcus,
because that's where you belong.
My old friends should be in Rome with me.
I need that strong right arm again.
What do you say?
It's yours!
Marcus!
But, er...
But...? Let's seal this bond tighter than it's ever been before.
How? What's closer than a family tie?
To be related by blood and marriage is a public declaration of what we mean to each other.
You're thinking of your children. No, no, no. They're all right. I'm thinking of myself.
You probably know that I don't get on with my wife.
No, I didn't know that. I don't. We haven't slept together for years.
Of course, I'm speaking a little soon, I know,
and one must observe the decencies, but...
Julia's a young woman, she'll get married again soon.
Why not to me?
To you?
Why not?
Don't tell me I'm not good enough for your family.
Why not?
It's a deal!
You'll be my son-in-law. Have you thought of that?
I've thought of nothing else since I got your letter!
Why?! Why did you agree to it?!
Because he wanted it! It was his price.
His price! Well, what could I say?
You could have said no.
No, I could not have said no. I saw no reason to say no.
I understood why he wanted it.
So could anyone! And what would you have done? I could have handled him.
How?
I would have reminded him that he's a man of no background
and that to assume to enter the Julian family shows the want of modesty.
And you would have lost him... I
would not have lost him. I know how to deal with Marcus Agrippa.
..as quick as boiled asparagus... That is the most foolish expression.
I wish you'd stop using it. It's my expression - I'll use it
whenever I like! Ah!
And why are you so opposed to this marriage?
I see no reason for you to be.
It gives him more than he deserves.
That's not the reason. There's some other reason. What is it?
There is no other reason!
Except...
except...
you might have consulted Julia first.
Are we now to ignore the wishes of our children and sell them on the
marketplace as if they were slaves?
Have you no feelings?
But she got her way in the end.
Nine years passed before Agrippa's services could be spared.
Then he died -
poisoned
by Livia.
Tiberius divorced his wife and married Julia.
TAPPING
Drusus, my father, Tiberius' beloved brother.
But then everybody loved my father.
Except Livia, his mother.
Wicked woman!
You're getting soft!
You wouldn't last a five-hour march if you were in the army now.
Throw it! Oh, come on - throw it!
Antonia throws harder than that.
Shut up.
Throw the ball.
Of course, if you lost some of that stomach of yours...
Now we'll see who's... Ah!
DRUSUS LAUGHS
Death or surrender? Oh, get off.
I never thought I'd see my brother in such a pitiful condition.
You spend ten years in Rome, see how YOU feel.
Hey...
What's this, huh? Sulks?
You're lucky.
You go back to the army tomorrow.
It's the only decent life for a Roman.
Marching, fighting, building forts.
Those were the best years of my life.
You made the army's life bloody hell.
I marched them hard and I drilled them hard. But I was fair.
I bet they say I was fair.
Do you know what they really say about you? What?
They say that your drills were bloodless battles,
and your battles were bloody drills.
Is that what they say?
Really? Yes.
You know, Drusus, that army I took across the Alps, they were men.
You've never had men like that. Hey, we won some victories ourselves, you know. You didn't win them all.
I know, I know.
But those two legions... The 12th and the 16th, I know.
You'll never see their like again. Nothing bothered them - the heat, the cold,
the marching... Oh, I cursed them and I flogged them, but I cursed
and flogged their officers too.
And if there weren't any tents for the men,
I slept out in the open with them.
Well, you'll have to take the field again.
He won't let me.
Who, Augustus?
He keeps me here as his work donkey.
He says he can't spare me.
I'm his chief errand boy.
I spend my time investigating the level of unemployment.
Or reorganising the city fire brigade.
Added to that,
there's that bitch Julia they made me marry.
Oh, he's just impossible.
Sometimes, he doesn't speak to me for days.
Well, he was always very broody,
according to Drusus, even as a child.
But Drusus says he could always make him laugh. Drusus...
Drusus only knows him as a brother - he ought to be married to him!
You know, Antonia, I'm very easy-going.
(SHARPLY:) Do you want that toe to drop off?!
There is a stiffness in the joint.
There wasn't before you started to work on it.
They daydream, you know. They'd stand there all day massaging the same toe if you'd let them.
She's probably in love.
Hope she has better luck than me! What was I talking about?
About Tiberius.
He never wanted to divorce Vipsania, that was the trouble.
That wispy stalk of a thing! I don't know what he saw in her.
There's nothing of her. She's as thin as a stick.
He used to spend half of every night in bed looking for her! Julia!
It's true! If the sheets got a bit crumpled in the night,
she disappeared until morning!
He was lucky if they found her when they'd made the bed.
She's not as thin as that! Well,
I don't know what you call thin.
But I saw old Valarius two days after he starved himself to death,
and he looked better than she looks now!
Well, I must say, I could never see the attraction.
After ten years of marriage, I would have thought he'd be quite glad to see the back of her.
That's the trouble. He was always too glad to see the back of her.
Julia, what on earth do you mean?
Well, he's very strange.
But you're much too sensitive a person for me to go into details.
Julia, he doesn't...?
I could put up with that!
I'm not like you, Antonia. I could probably think teach him a thing or two.
It's the coldness.
I can't get near him.
Even snow will melt on a warm day, but not him.
I had no idea. And he hates Gaius and Lucius. I mean,
how could anybody hate my boys? They're sweet, aren't they? They're very sweet.
I was once mad about him.
What fools we women are. I blame Augustus for it - he should
never have insisted on the marriage.
Don't blame my father, blame Livia. If anyone insisted, she did.
She tried the same thing ten years ago, when my first husband died,
but Agrippa got in before her.
I didn't know that.
No, well, you were too young.
That's all right. I've had enough.
When Marcellus died, she had everything planned.
She was very clever. She knew how I felt about Tiberius
and she was determined that he should marry,
but Agrippa had the same idea, and, at that time,
Augustus needed him more than he needed her son, so she had to wait.
And can she wait? Ye gods!
Time means nothing to her.
Poor Marcellus.
That must have been terrible for you.
Well, to tell you the truth...
Leave us. I'll call you.
Off you go.
Go!
(To tell you the truth, it's often crossed my mind that Livia might have had a hand in that.
(Julia! Well, I might be wrong.
(But he was a strong, healthy man and he never had a serious illness
until she got her hands on him.
(I often wonder about that woman.)
Antonia!
You're so innocent!
Not so innocent! Ask Drusus.
I might just do that one of these days, if I get him into the right
mood.
He's very attractive, your husband.
Why is it that when I come in here with you, I always cover myself up,
and if I come in here with anybody else, I don't bother?
Well, you should. I don't approve of all this nakedness.
Oh, Antonia!
Oh, I shall miss you when you leave tomorrow!
Not so hard!
The dirt's ingrained in the skin.
It goes deeper than that.
Oh, your gloom is magnificent.
Not so hard, all the same, or I'll get my men to do it.
I can't think why you won't let them do it anyway.
A man should keep himself clean, not have slaves do it.
How is he supposed to scrape his own back?
He gets his brother to do it. If he hasn't got a brother?
He gets his son. If he hasn't got a son? He gets his friend. And if has got a friend?
Then he should go and hang himself.
I've tried it. Better to have a slave scrape your back.
I shall miss you.
You don't have any dark thoughts.
Oh, nonsense. We all have them.
Not like me.
Come on, you're no worse than the rest of us.
I'll tell you something, Drusus.
Sometimes, I so hate myself
I can't bear the thought of me any more.
You don't know anything about darkness, do you?
Inside darkness?
Blackness? Oh, stop bragging. I could match you black for black.
Not you!
They say the tree of the Claudians produces two kinds of apples - the
sweet and the sour.
It was never more true than you and me. And what of our mother?
Which is she?
Livia? Mmm.
They say a snake bit her once...
and died.
Hey, hey, that's no longer funny.
I only cared for three people in my life.
One was our father. Yes, he was the noblest of us all. Yes.
The other was Vipsania.
Yes, I was sorry about that. Why, why did you divorce her?
Livia insisted on it, Julia wanted it.
Augustus insisted on it. Yes, all the same, you were so happy, you might have refused.
Do you think the monarchy will survive Augustus?
No, I don't.
Rome will be a republic again, I promise you that.
Then perhaps I did it all for nothing.
Is that why you did it?
Is that really...?
But there are Julia's sons - they come before you anyway!
My poor brother.
So ambitious.
Our mother makes me so.
Oh, God, I miss her so...
Vipsania.
What did they make me do?
Oh, Tiberius...
..what's done is done.
Yes.
Yes, it's done.
I must forget her.
Vipsania was the second
and she's gone.
You're the third.
Well, you know I feel the same way.
You know, you should have my nature and I yours. Why?
I'm the elder, I'm supposed to protect you.
Well, we'll protect each other.
I don't know what from.
There are many things you don't know.
If anything should happen to you... Ah, what could happen to me?
Well, you could be killed in battle.
Or you could fall sick and die. Yes.
And you could cut your throat shaving or choke on a plum stone.
Tiberius, none of us is guaranteed a time.
No.
You're my lifeline into the light.
6 again. Oh...
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Hmm. Now what will you do?
I'll put two legions in the port
and stop the corn supply.
Not bad.
Rome can't live without corn.
But you've got your back to the sea, and that's not good.
Still, that's your decision.
Lucius, your turn.
6! Oh, these dice have got nothing but sixes.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Belgica. Belgic's mine!
Hmm, go on, throw again.
2.
1, 2. I'll take Britain.
But you can't, you've only got three legions left.
LUCIUS TUTS
Julius did it. He didn't stay long though, did he?
KNOCKING
Oh, yes, what is it?
Caesar, your stepson, the noble Drusus Nero,
begs to take his leave of you.
Oh, yes, yes. ..You can come with me. Can't we finish the game first?
Later. We have a duty to perform, and duty comes before pleasure.
Now come and say goodbye to the man who commands
all our armies in Germany.
Well, come on, come on, come on.
And no sulks.
That's not the Roman way.
So you're leaving us.
Yes, Caesar. And glad to go, I dare say?
I go where I'm sent, Caesar. But, if you ask me, yes, I am glad to go.
Well, I don't blame you. When I was your age, I wanted to be with the army too.
Look, I've brought Gaius and Lucius to say goodbye. We've been playing Empire.
I've already lost Egypt and Syria.
May I ask Drusus a question?
Yes, go ahead. How many legions would you need to invade Britain?
Ah. Um...four.
Yes, and a great deal of auxiliary cavalry as well.
Couldn't you do it with three? They're very uncivilised.
It's not worth the risk. You see, on a fresh venture you must hit hard and quickly.
And if you have to send for reinforcements, it just gives the enemy breathing space.
I'LL do it one day.
Well...I doubt it's worth it.
There's nothing of value there. The people make very poor slaves.
Now say goodbye and wait for me upstairs. Goodbye, then.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
You should read Julius's commentaries on his campaign in Britain.
I've read it, twice. So have I. Goodbye.
And don't move the tokens while
I'm gone. I know where they are!
They're good boys.
We'll have need of them one day.
Come and...come and walk with me in the garden a moment.
Is Antonia travelling with you? Yes.
Will that be all right? I mean, in her condition? Oh, yes.
I didn't realise she was expecting again. Julia told me.
It's a bit close to the other. Yes.
Well, what can you do? Yes, true.
Anyway, we need more children, especially among the nobility.
People aren't getting married early enough.
Yes, I must do something about that.
Have you said goodbye to Livia? Well, she knows I'm here. She's with the Parthian ambassador.
Oh, yes, yes, yes. She works so hard for me.
Your mother is a very fine woman.
I'd have given up long ago if it weren't for her.
It is an immense burden to place on the shoulders of just one man.
Yes, it is, it is.
It's really too much.
Oh, I sometimes have a longing, you know, to be just a private citizen again.
But it's been 20 years now since Mark Antony died and I took it all on my own, and I blame him you know.
I mean, what a fool that man was. The whole of the eastern empire was his.
If he'd been a proper husband to my sister, things would have been very different.
Is it too late...? Yes?
Is it too late to lay down the burdens of office?
And let the Senate rule? Yes.
You're just like your father.
Always wanting the Republic.
He was my enemy too at one time.
I'll never be that.
No!
No...I didn't mean that.
Be like him - you couldn't do better.
I did him wrong once, you know.
Oh, yes, yes, yes.
I took your mother from him,
and that has weighed with me over the years.
Still, we're a family,
and we all work together for the greater good of Rome.
My brother...
Oh, yes, yes, yes, Tiberius.
Oh, he's a puzzle to me, like the Sphinx.
It's like having a large dog lying about the house all day, watching
everything and saying nothing.
He wants to leave Rome. Yes, I know. He never stops telling me, but I
need him here and that's a fact.
I mean, what would I do without
him until the boys grow up? Yes. Still, an unwilling horse...
Yes, yes. ..Is more trouble than walking on foot.
But we're not horses. We can't all do what we want.
And frankly, what DOES he want? He wants to sit on a rock all day -
Rhodes or Capri - and threw stones at the sea. Why I don't know.
No, no, no. We can't have it.
Ah, here's your mother.
So, you're off again? Yes, Mother.
You read the dispatches that came from Germany yesterday?
The Cherusci are giving trouble again. I'll give them trouble enough, don't worry.
Shall we ever civilise these Germans, Drusus? I doubt it!
Well, you know how I feel.
When we conquer a people, we must be temperate.
But when agreements have been broken, punishments must be severe.
What do the Parthians want?
They want a Roman god to worship.
They want to dedicate a temple to you.
No, I won't have it, I've said so before. We've abolished kings in Rome, Mother.
Would you now give us living gods? They won't be in Rome, Drusus, they'll be in Syria.
What harm is there in a temple built in your name, where primitive people may come and give offerings?
No, it makes me uneasy, Livia.
I feel in my heart, it's...
it's not right.
I mean, we may offend those gods that already look after us and
oversee our destiny. But... No!
You must tell them no.
Well, I must get back to the boys and finish the game.
Now, look after Antonia.
No accidents.
Who knows what great Roman she may be carrying.
Gods go with you.
I shall ask the boys to dine with us today.
They can listen to the discussion with the ambassadors. It'll be good for them.
Leave him alone.
Don't encourage him to step down from office. Oh, Mother!
Do you really want us to drift into a hereditary monarchy?
Become sinks of corruption like the Eastern potentates?
Rome will never be a republic again.
Well, we needn't quarrel about it.
Come, let me kiss you and say goodbye.
You know, you mustn't mind if you dislike me.
A mother can't love all her children.
You shouldn't have come here.
It's wrong. It's wrong.
Don't send me away, please, Vipsania.
Do you want to make trouble for me? No.
No. Then go away!
It's dangerous.
Open the shutter.
Let me look at you again.
Please, please go away!
Is it true?
Yes.
Yes, it's true.
Getting married again.
Yes.
I won't have it. I won't have it!
I'll kill you! You're mine!
You're my wife!
I am not your wife.
You divorced me.
Don't.
Please, you must leave me alone.
We mustn't see each other again.
Do you love him? Do you love her?
No. No, I hate her.
He's very kind to me.
Why must you marry again?
Because I must put an end to your following me,
to your coming to see me. Your mother's spies are everywhere.
I don't care about that.
You're married to Augustus' daughter. You can't treat her as if she were no-one.
Don't get married again.
I beg you.
I couldn't bear it.
And am I to spend the rest of my life alone?
You wouldn't be alone.
I promise you. Tiberius, it was not my doing.
I didn't divorce you - you'd divorced me!
I didn't want to.
They made me do it. They couldn't have made ME!
Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I didn't mean that.
It was hard for you, I know.
I know. Harder for you than it would have been for me.
I shouldn't have done it.
I should have killed myself first.
It's done now, there's no going back.
Let's die together.
Let's kill ourselves.
Let's go into our bathroom,
open our veins,
and when they find us,
our blood will be mingling and caressing in the water.
Oh, my baby, my baby, it's too late.
It's too late. Lost.
Lost. I go from darkness into darkness.
You'll come through it and so will I. But how will I come through it, Vipsania?
I'm afraid of what I'll become without you.
Why should you be afraid? Because of your sweetness.
Hush.
We had a deputation here six months ago from Palmyra.
And Augustus refused, I remember.
The thought of deification makes him...uneasy.
It might make us all uneasy.
We're not all worthy of it.
No, no, of course.
But his mind IS made up? Yes.
But so is mine.
I cannot allow his natural modesty to interfere with his political judgement.
I know that if the Senate were convinced that his deification
were politically useful,
he would not be displeased.
But he himself will exert no pressure and, of course, he will not be present at any of the debates.
Of course.
There'll be some opposition in the Senate,
but...I'll take the line that...
I'LL tell you what line to take.
You were seen, and in broad daylight.
You were seen going in and you were seen coming out. I won't have it!
And it's not the first time.
I went to congratulate her on her coming marriage.
Don't congratulate her. Leave her be. And you didn't go for that reason, not at all for that reason.
You will treat my daughter with respect. Respect, do you hear me?
I didn't ask for this marriage. You asked for it, and she asked for it.
But, by thunder, I won't have it made a mockery of.
He's been seeing his former wife, if you please, and it's not the first time.
My dear, I think you exaggerate. I exaggerate nothing! He met her
in the street the other day.
Oh, yes, you did - I heard about it.
I hear everything, everything. Nothing escapes me.
He didn't dare speak to her in public, but he followed her
all through the city like a moonstruck calf for everyone to see!
You'll not make a laughing stock of my family or, as quick as boiled
asparagus, I'll have you out,
out!
You listen to me.
Mark Antony was twice the man you are,
and when he spat on my sister, he learned a lesson that he didn't live long enough to profit from.
Do you understand me?
Julia and I don't get on. Damn you!
I don't want to hear about it. You'll get on,
whether you like it or not. And you'll leave that woman alone.
Well, let me go away, let me leave Rome.
What am I to do with him?!
Now, tell me, you're his mother. Now, speak to him. It's Agrippa all over again.
He doesn't mean it. He doesn't want to go.
Didn't you hear what he said?! He's unhappy.
He didn't mean it. Oh...!
It's not unnatural for a man
to see his former wife now and then.
They may have things to discuss.
After all, I saw his father several times after you and I were married. That was different.
Oh, not so very different. And you, if I recall, saw
Julia's mother from time to time.
Yes, but not in secret! Well, I don't remember being present.
Oh, you may not have been, but it was not in secret.
Well, how secret was this?
I knew about it.
YOU knew about it?!
Of course. He told me.
You never said anything to me.
Have you so little to occupy your time that I must keep you informed
of the comings and goings of everyone in the household?
You are always complaining you have too much to think about and not enough time to think about it in.
Perhaps you'd care to see the laundry lists in future(!)
All right, I was hasty.
But you understand
I felt I had cause.
Tiberius, listen,
I'm not blind.
I know that you and Julia aren't the most perfectly matched couple in the world, but what can you do?
These things happen. But we can't go cutting the knot every time we have a quarrel.
Especially us - we have to set an example.
Livia, back me on this. Of course.
We have duties and responsibilities
which far outweigh our private feelings. Exactly!
Now, Tiberius...
you'll play fair with me, eh? Don't sulk.
And if it's a matter of a little thing on the side here and there...
Now, I'm not encouraging, mind. Who's to know? Between you and me.
And forgetting that your mother's here for the moment, if that's ever possible...
Yes. Well, we can wink at it between men.
But, Vipsania...
I don't like it. Do you understand?
It's not right.
Now, you play fair with me and you'll see.
I can be generous too.
Good.
Ah...if there's one thing I hate, it's a family row.
I mean, what does it cost
to be kind to one another, to be sympathetic and understanding?
Yes? An imperial messenger has
arrived from Germany, Caesar.
Send him in.
A despatch from Drusus Nero for his noble brother.
Tiberius, let's hear what he says - it's news from Germany.
"My dear Tiberius, a period of enforced rest due to a slight head wound
"has given me much time to ponder and reflect on the state of our beloved Rome."
He's wounded. Not seriously, I hope. He says, "a slight wound".
"Such was the extent of the corruption and petty place-seeking that I found in..."
Go on.
The handwriting, it's...
Surely you can read more than that.
Yes... Erm...
Well, he goes on to say, er...
Well?
Obviously, sir, it's not worth reading.
I think my brother was perhaps not himself when he wrote it.
"..The corruption and petty place- seeking that I found in Rome,
"that I have come to the conclusion that it is the inevitable consequence
"of the continued exercise of supreme power by Augustus."
"Could we not persuade him, even compel him, to retire?
"I firmly believe he is ready to do this but for the stubbornness of our mother, Livia,
"who derives such satisfaction from the exercise of supreme power through him..."
There's more. Do you want to read it?
The letter's clearly treasonable.
No, no, no, no, no...
He feels strongly about it, I understand.
He's wrong.
But I understand it.
Then again...
perhaps he's right.
Perhaps I should retire.
I've said so often enough.
Well, will you allow him to insult ME in this fashion?!
He's your son, not mine!
His wound might have affected him.
He speaks of giddiness at the end.
Yes.
That's it.
He's a little bit deranged.
Those German forests, they can affect a man.
I'll call him back for a rest.
It'll be good to see him again.
Yes, I think you're right, we should have him back. And I'll send a doctor with a letter.
He's got a doctor. Huh! Army doctors! What do they know?
No, no, no, I'll send my own.
He'll know how to take care of him.
Easy... That's right.
Fetch the doctor. Which one? Ours, of course, and tell him to hurry.
Lift him onto the bed and be careful! Ah!
Or all the gods will make eunuchs of you. AH!
You blockheads!
Right! Get this away.
I'll have the lot of you crucified.
Ah! It's all right. It's all right.
All right, clear out.
Oh... It feels terrible.
It's a mess.
We'll get it cleaned.
Hurry up with that water!
What happened? My horse fell on me. I couldn't get out.
Crushed my leg against a jagged rock and then tore it to sheds
trying to get to its feet.
The doctor's coming.
What did the guardsmen mean? Which one?
One arrived from Rome today.
He's your mother's personal physician.
Well, that was kind of her. He'll have more to look at than just a head wound. Where is he?
We've found a room for him. He doesn't look too happy.
I think he's already missing the comforts of home.
This will probably hurt.
He brought a letter with him too... from Caesar... Well, where is it?
I have it here. I'll give it to you after. Give it to me now!
Rufus? >
What happened? The horse fell and crushed his leg.
Oh... No, no, I'm all right.
I've been invited - politely - back to Rome.
Why?
I'm not sure, but I think I can guess.
Ah! Argh! Get out of here!
Well, you'll not be moving far on that leg,
if I'd been a judge of wounds.
I don't understand.
A simple fall.
How could it happen? They can be bad, sometimes.
To bring himself close to death's door... Well, it's a good excuse
for not coming home.
Why do you say that? Because I've heard such reasons before.
Don't raise your voice to me.
What reason could he have? Who knows?
We know he has the whole of the western armies at his back.
Perhaps he'll come when it suits HIM.
I must go to my brother. He's 500 miles away!
If it's as serious as the letter says, he could be dead even now.
All the same, I must go to him.
I'll make a sacrifice and offer prayers.
Perhaps he won't be taken from us.
Take him our love.
Well, go, go on! Go! Go quickly!
The Senate today have voted to make me a god in Palmyra.
They'll put a little statue to me in the temple.
And people will bring offerings to me, asking me to bring rain
or cure their father's gout.
Tell me, Livia,
if I'm a god, even in Palmyra,
how do I cure gout?
What is it, my love?
What do you want?
(Fetch the children...)
Yes.
Yes, of course.
I'll bring them.
He wants me to fetch the children.
(Is he...? No.
(But it's near.)
What is it?
Gangrene.
Crept slowly up through him, nothing seemed to stop it.
Where's the staff surgeon?
He wasn't allowed near him.
HE took the case out of his hands.
Musa...
it was just a simple fall.
What happened to your skill?
I...I came too late.
His condition was too far gone.
I came too late.
(Get out!)
Drusus...
Drusus, look at me.
Drusus...
it's I, Tiberius.
You and your damn plum stones.
She read the letter.
I couldn't stop her.
DRUSUS GROANS
She was there when I got it.
I couldn't think it would have anything in it.
Rome...has her severe mother.
And Gaius,
Lucius...
a cruel stepmother.
Drusus...
Drusus...!
Drusus!
No...
BABY CRIES
You didn't wait.
Look, I've brought you little Claudius.
And you didn't wait.
'Shouldn't have died, and that's a fact.
'Somebody blundered,
'and that's a fact.'
KNOCKING
Come.
You meal is ready, Caesar. Yes?
HE CLEARS HIS THROAT
Will you have it now or shall I take it away?
CLAUDIUS SNIFFS
Very good. I think the cook's on form today for a change.
Try that.
There.
The garlic's a little overdone for MY taste.
You're always complaining about the g-g-garlic!
Look...
Look, a good swallow now.
Yes, I know this one. It's from the north, about five years old.
We had a very bad summer then.
The grapes had a little less sugar in them.
Oh, stop showing off! Well, fill it up!
Then you can go - I'm very busy.
Another history, Caesar? Yes.
Of the Etruscans again?
No, of my family.
Ah...
Did you ever read my history of the E-Etruscans?
No, I got it down from the library once, but I couldn't get into it.
Very well written, of course. Oh, very well written.
Is something the matter, Caesar?
The fact is, when you know that someone's trying to poison you,
nothing tastes...right. Absolu-u-utely, nothing.
Oh, come, Caesar. Who would poison you? You're beloved of everyone.
Oh, don't butter me up! You know
very well who would want to poison me. My wife, that's who!
And that slimy son of hers.
For all I know, you're in league with the pair of them.
In my opinion, Caesar, the only person likely to poison us here
is the cook!
I wish you'd let me get rid of him. He's a Greek.
And the only thing he ever thinks of doing is stuffing vine leaves.
Will you take it away? I'm not hungry!
May I ask how the current work is coming?
Well enough.
May I ask how far you've got?
The death of my father.
Ah, the noble Drusus.
A tragedy that one should lose one's father so young.
Yes!
Yes.
A tragedy for us all.
Yes, and for Rome.
'And especially for my uncle.
'He was never the same again.'
MELANCHOLY TUNE PLAYS
Well...sons of Agrippa,
the daylight's fled, and the stars are out.
It's time for decent people
to lock their doors
and go to sleep. Come.
Come up.
You can see me to my bed
and then go to your own.
No. Go. No, no...
Yes, we've eaten well and drunk well.
Too well, perhaps.
Ah...
poor Julia -
she can't take the wine as she used to.
And even dear Antonia nods a little.
What...what were you thinking tonight, my dear?
Ah, of poor Drusus. Yes, yes, yes...
I...I was thinking of him tonight too.
Rome...cannot afford such a loss.
I pray to the gods that these boys will be as noble and as virtuous as he was.
You mustn't dwell on it.
A year has gone by, and that's quite long enough for grief.
And more is not the Roman way, you know.
Musicians, play us out! Let us have music to take us to our sleep.
MUSIC PLAYS
A year?
Is that all it is?
One little year.
SNORING
Goodnight, Lady.
SNORING
Pretty sight, isn't she(?)
(I must get away from her.
(I must leave Rome.)
You'll stay.
You'll have patience, as I have.
Where has your patience got you?
You've lost him, Mother.
You've lost him...to those two boys.
If you leave Rome,
I'll wash my hands of you, once and for all,
and shed not a single tear.
That's not surprising.
I saw you shed none for my brother!
Have they all gone?!
Tiberius, I was having such a beautiful dream.
Tiberius...
..sleep with me tonight.
I'll be so...
Be nice to me,
Tiberius, just tonight.
Let me go, you fat, drunken cow!
Fat?!
If I'm fat, I'm fat where a woman should be fat, not skinny like a boy!
Go to bed, my dear, and I'll send you one up.
He's very pretty, I promise you - I've had him myself!
JULIA LAUGHS
He reminds me of your ex-wife.
Not a hair on his body and he's even skinnier behind!
They'll be no divorce done. I don't care what he is.
You married him, and that's the end of it. Look what your son did to my daughter.
What kind of a man is that, tell me?
I've never liked him, never!
He's your son, Livia, but I have to tell you I've never liked him!
I want a divorce!
No divorce! You've been married three times already. How many more marriages do you want?
It's not my fault! I was widowed twice!
How a woman can get herself widowed twice is beyond me! That's not fair!
It shows damned poor judgement, that's all I can say! I never asked to be married to Agrippa!
You asked to be married to this one and married you'll stay.
As for that husband of yours, he can clear out of Rome - I'm finished with him.
Tell him to pack his bags and go. I don't even want to see him.
I never want his name mentioned in this house again, ever!
How am I supposed to live, neither married nor divorced?
You'll live as befits a Roman matron, that's how you'll live. And heaven help you if you don't!
Oh!
Oh, I don't know.
Why can't they get on?
What do they want from life? I'm supposed to rule an empire and
I can't even rule my own family.
Thank god for these boys, that's all I can say. ..You'll help me, won't you?
What would we do without these boys, Livia, without Agrippa's sons? They're our one hope.
In three or four years' time, they'll be old enough to take
some of this burden off our backs.
Oh, they're promising all right.
Aren't you, my little beauties?
Very promising.
Still...
you've a long way to go, haven't you?
A long, long way.
We must take good care of them, Augustus.
And we shall, I promise you.
The very best of care.
Ah... That's how it should be. Stay like that a moment.
What a picture you make.
It expresses the true spirit of the Roman family.
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd - 2006
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