Steven Saylor - Catilina's riddle

'I understand that you and Cicero go back a long time,' said Catilina. 'Fifteen or twenty years.'

'Seventeen. I met him in the last year of Sulla's dictatorship.' 'Oh, yes, Caelius reminded me. The trial of Sextus Roscius.' "Were you at the trial?'

'No, but of course one heard a great deal about it at the time. The talk was mostly about Cicero, but I do recall hearing your name mentioned in connection with the affair, after the fact. It turned out to be an important occasion, something of a landmark. I suppose one could say that you and Cicero made one another's reputation.'

'You give me far too much credit. You might as well honour Congrio's spoon for making the sauce.'

'Surely you're too modest, Gordianus.'

'I take neither credit nor blame for Cicero's achievements. Yes, I've worked for Cicero a number of times over the years, just as I've worked for Crassus and Hortensius and many others.'

'Then I'm no more correct when I say that Cicero made your reputation?'

"The trial of Sextus Roscius was a watershed for all concerned.' Catilina nodded. He put his cup to his lips and drained it, then held it up to be refilled. I looked about and realized there was no slave to serve us.

'Meto, go and fetch one of the girls from the kitchen,' I said.

'No need.' Catilina stood up and walked to the table where the clay bottle of wine had been left by Bethesda. I watched a Roman patrician fetch his own wine and felt a quiver of surprise, but Catilina returned to his couch and reclined as if completely unaware that he had done anything remarkable. 'Your own vintage?' he said.

'From the time of Lucius Claudius, who owned the farm before me. One of the better years, I think.'

'I thinkyou're right. The flavour is dark and rich, yet very smooth. It warms the throat and belly without being harsh. I think I shall have to beg a bottle from you before I leave.'

"Will you be staying long?'

'Only a day or two, with your indulgence.'

'I should think the consular election would require your presence in Rome.'

"The campaign is well in hand,' he said. 'But please, I've come here to escape from politics for a little while. Let's talk of something else.' Meto cleared his throat.

Tongilius laughed. 'I think the young man was promised a story.'

'Oh, yes, the tale of the Vestals,' said Catdlina.

"There's no need to talk of the matter if you'd rather not,' I said.

'What, and let others pollute the boy's mind with their own versions of the story? The only way to subvert the slanders of your enemies is to tell stories about yourself before others have the chance. What do you know of the tale already, Meto?'

'He knows nothing,' I said. 'I only happened to mention it to him in passing.'

'And yet he knows that I was accused of sleeping with a Vestal Virgin.'

'And that you were acquitted,' I said. ‘With your help, Gordianus.' 'To some degree.'

'Your father is a modest man,' Catilina said to Meto. 'Modesty is a fine Roman virtue, though I think it is more praised than practised.'

'Rather like virginity among the Vestals?' suggested Tongilius.

'Quiet, Tongilius. Gordianus is not a particularly religious man, if I remember correctly, but there is no call to be impious in his house. Nor is it necessary to besmirch the virtue of the Vestals in the telling of the tale, for all were innocent, even myself. Ah, Meto, it's been quite a while since I met anyone who didn't already know everything about the scandal of the Vestals, or thought he knew. This is a rare opportunity for me to give my own version of the story.'

'Just as you did before the court.'

'Hush, Tongilius! No, I won't repeat all that I said before the court, because there's no need to divulge every fact in order to tell the truth. The privacy and dignity of the Vestals should be honoured. I will tell only what needs to be told.'

He cleared his throat and finished his cup of wine. 'Very well. The incident occurred ten years ago, just before the outbreak of the Spartacan slave revolt. I happened to have struck up a passing friendship with a certain Vestal named Fabia, having seen her at chariot races and the theatre and at dinner parties.'

'I thought the Vestals had no contact with men,' said Meto.

'Not true, though since the scandal of which I speak their social lives and public appearances have been circumscribed to prevent the recurrence of an embarrassing episode. But back then the Vestals moved with relative freedom through the world, so long as they were chaperoned and comported themselves with dignity. They are vowed to chastity, not isolation.

'One night I received an urgent summons from Fabia, begging me to come to her in the House of the Vestals, saying her honour and her life were at stake. Well, how could I refuse?'

'But it's death to enter the House of the Vestals after dark,' said Meto.

'What better excuse to risk death than to answer the desperate summons of a beautiful young virgin? Did I mention before that Fabia was beautiful? Very beautiful — wasn't she, Gordianus?'

'I suppose. I don't recall.'

'Ha! Your father is as cagey as he is modest, Meto. I don't believe him. Having seen Fabia's face, he could never forget it. I never have. Tongilius, don't grimace! You have no call to be jealous. My relations with the girl were pure and blameless and above reproach. Ah, I see that Gordianus looks sceptical He was sceptical then, too, but his doubts did not prevent him from saving both Fabia and myself from a cruel fate. But I'm getting ahead of the story.

'In answer to the summons, I made my way to the House of the Vestals. The doors stood open, as they always do; it is the law, not wooden doors, that keeps men out at night. I had been to Fabia's room before, always chaperoned and in daylight, of course, so I had no trouble finding it. She was quite surprised to see me, for it turned out that she had not sent the message at all! It was a practical joke played on me by some dubious friend, I thought — until Fabia and I were startled out of our wits by a scream'

'A scream?' said Meto.

'From behind a curtain. The scream of a dying man, as it turned out. I pulled aside the curtain to discover him writhing on the floor, his throat cut, and beside him a bloody knife. The whole house was awakened. Before I could flee, the Virgo Maxima herself entered the room It was a thorny situation.'

Tongilius laughed aloud. 'Lucius, what a gift you have for understatement!'

Catilina arched an eyebrow. The gesture was typically patrician, but together with his chin-strap beard and unruly cuds, it gave his face the shrewd look of a satyr contemplating an unprotected sheep. 'The situation wasn't compromising — Fabia and I were both fully dressed — but there remained the fact that I was on forbidden ground, and of course the presence of a corpse in a holy place. Do you know the penalty for such crimes, Meto?' Meto vigorously shook his head.

'Really, Gordianus, you've neglected the boy's education. Do you not regale him with anecdotes of your past adventures, dwelling on all the juicy details? When a Vestal is convicted of an improper dalliance with a man, Meto, the man is put to death by public scourging. Painful and humiliating, but not the most terrible of fates — death is death, after all. But for the Vestal — oh, for her, the end is far more gruesome.'

I glanced at Meto, who gazed raptly at Catilina. Tongilius, who must have heard the tale many times already, found fresh amusement in Meto's wide-eyed fascination.

'Shall I tell you the punishment for a Vestal found guilty of impiety?' said Catilina.

Meto nodded.

'Really, Catilina,' I protested, 'the boy won't sleep a wink tonight.'

'Nonsense! A young man his age craves images of horror and depravity. A fifteen-year-old sleeps best when he's had his head freshly filled with atrocities.'