“Mayhap the time is now ripe for thee and thy sons to seize the altars of the gods and cry unto the people for protection. Truly, thou art now more free, for thou receivest again thy friends. Nothing, O Agrippina, hinders thee now from seizing bolder and higher associations. Come, be brave! With thy sons call upon the legions! The power thou seekest is now within thy grasp! No one will hinder thee! The Senate, the Roman people, the legions, ay, Sejanus and the Praetorians will all espouse thy cause! Say but the word and thou shalt rule!”
“Ah! O Sejanus, these are treasonable words! The honors of which thou speakest are not to be seized by violence. Nay, when the gods see—”
“The gods help not those who supinely wait,” interrupted Sejanus. “Nay, O daughter of the outraged Julia, nay, O mother of princes of celestial blood, nay, thou, granddaughter of the Divine Augustus, what is now required is action. Let Sejanus honor thee! Let the true friend of the Julian family—the man whom thou seemest to reject as unworthy of thy confidence—let him be the first to throw himself at the feet of the mother of an emperor! Hesitate no longer, but give me thy orders!”
These words of Sejanus were spoken in such an earnest tone that Agrippina was at first deceived. Gradually these treasonable utterances awakened in her a sense of fear. She began to divine a sinister motive in this seeming friendliness of her old enemy.
“What if thy words should be heard by others, O Sejanus?” she whispered in alarm.
“Why should I care for informers, if I am trusted by thee and thy sons? I have seen Nero but yesterday. I have spoken with Drusus. Messengers await my command to carry orders to the legions. Everything, O noble and worthy Agrippina, is ready and awaits thy consent!”
“O Sejanus, thy words ring with the sound of sincerity, but no violence shall be done by me. If the people wish what thou sayest they do, let them inform me through the mouths of my friends. I charge thee, speak no more on this subject and excite not the ambition of my sons! Nay, O Sejanus, the robes of loyalty are not always worn by those who speak the loudest. If thou hast nothing better to offer than treasonable words, thou art dismissed.”
The next report that was forwarded to the emperor contained the treasonable words of Sejanus as having come from the lips of Agrippina. Nero and Drusus were charged with sharing their mother’s traitorous purposes. The fate of Agrippina and her sons awaited the final judgment of the tyrant at Capri. Orders for their punishment were immediately forwarded to Rome. The mother was banished to the island of Pandataria, Nero was sent to the island of Ponza, and Drusus was thrust into the dungeons on the Palatine Hill.
While the people of Rome were suffering under the tyranny of their violent ruler, Psyche still remained in solitary confinement. Months had passed, and the seasons with their varying colors had painted the beautiful Campagna; but the young dancing-maiden had lost all idea of time. Day after day, through the weary months, she had seen no one but her deaf and dumb jailer. She had heard no voice but her own. However, she lived in continual dread of another visit from Sejanus. She would pace up and down her little cell; she would gaze for hours upon the wide Campagna; she would sometimes sing an Homeric hymn; but the monotony of her life weighed upon her like a heavy burden.