So; an inch or so to the left. That's better. [To LUCIA] And now, my dear, about this blood upon my hands. Surely you have confused me with some one else. I am never violent.
LUCIA
It was by your decree that they died—burned alive, torn to pieces by wild beasts, butchered by gladiators—five hundred souls.
HELIOGABALUS
Oh-h, you mean those—what do you call them?—Christians! Well, surely you are not complaining of that. All that is a mere matter of administrative routine. They practise magic; they claim to be able to heal the sick, even to raise the dead. The law is the law.
LUCIA
It is their faith that gives life; it is their faith that heals. And that faith [touching her heart] is here.
HELIOGABALUS
[To the clerk] I'll have to trouble you about the lights again. Bring that big lamp nearer to the prisoner. The rest of you stand back.
[The clerk so places the light that LUCIA'S face is in the full glare of it. HELIOGABALUS views her with obvious and prolonged admiration]