“I only say in the worst extremity....”
“That would indeed be the worst! Do you already know of any mischief? Do you know, that a spy has already betrayed us?”
“No, my dear Cinna, I know nothing; I was only considering possibilities.”
“But that possibility is exactly what is not to be borne! I feel now, twice as strongly as before, that our only safety is in action.”
“But can you act?” asked Cocceius. “Is Norbanus our ally? Are the legions under your command? If so, act, and at once, Cinna! Stand up on the platform in the Forum, and proclaim that Domitian is deposed.”
“You are very right,” snarled Cinna. “Right as usual! but what is to happen if the possibility becomes a fact? When flight has dispersed us to all the four winds...?”
“Then, my friend, the essential point is to agree on a spot, where we may all quietly meet again. Let that spot be Rodumna,[334] the native town of Afranius. It is in every respect favorable—at only a short distance from Lugdunensis, and yet so small as to be out of the turmoil of the world. There will we meet, rouse the legions to our support, and march upon Rome!”
“Good, good!” cried Cornelius Cinna.
“Rodumna!” echoed the rest.
Nerva rose.