Steven Saylor - Catilina's riddle

'With some help from Aratus.'

'Amazing! You're already known for cleverness; let no man say you lack ambition as well. I thought all the engineers were busy building catapults and siege towers for the legions, or else constructing bridges and aqueducts for the Senate. You have quite a talent. Who taught you?'

'Books and common sense. Having eyes and ears also helps. But not enough, I'm afraid. The mill doesn't work.'

'Ah, but it will. There's only one thing stopping it.' '"What do you mean?'

'Look here, at this shaft. It's exactly wrong.'

'What do you mean?' I found myself irritated at his self-assurance, but at the same time I had a glimmering that he knew what he was talking about.

'It should originate there,' he said, pointing, 'and be precisely perpendicular to its present arrangement.'

'But that would mean moving everything else around, changing the structure completely,' I said, hardly believing the solution could be so easy.

'Not at all. The two gears will meet side by side rather than at right angles. As it's now arranged, the mechanism must tear itself apart within a revolution. But with that single change—'

'By Hercules!' I tried not to look a fool, agape at how simple it was. He was absolutely right, without a doubt. 'Why could I not see what was before me?'

Catilina shrugged and laid his hand on my shoulder. His hair was windswept like Tongilius's, and his face was ruddy from riding. He looked half his age, happy and sure of himself, not at all like a skulking conspirator. 'You created the mill from scratch, and your head is cluttered with all the multitude of choices that went into its design; amid so many others, the single small detail that keeps it from working is invisible to you. I, on the other hand, came upon the design in its elegant entirety, and to me the one thing wrong with its perfection is glaringly obvious. You see, Gordianus, sometimes a fresh perspective can be of immeasurable help to a man. You're not the only one who needs that from time to time.' His voice lent a certain gravity to these final words, and he gave me a significant look as he gave my shoulder a squeeze before releasing it.

I contemplated the gears, trying to convince myself to accept the simplicity of Catilina's solution. Was his deduction as unremarkable and logical as his unassuming explanation made it sound, or was he a genius? How could he see in a moment an answer that had been perplexing me for months? I was at the same time irritated, impressed, elated, and still dubious.

'You've been riding,' I said absently. 'Surely not all the way from Rome this morning?’

'No, from up north,' said Tongilius. Catilina had been conferring with his general Manlius and the Sullan veterans up in Faesulae, I thought.

'Your invitation to me still stands, doesn't it?' interjected Catilina with a smile. 'Marcus Caelius led me to dunk so.'

I took a quick breath and pretended to examine the gears again so that there would be an excuse for the hollowness in my voice. 'Yes. Of course.'

'Ah, good. You'd be surprised, or perhaps not, at how many of my friends and colleagues suddenly have no room for me under their roofs after my latest disaster at the polls. But then other friends appear, to make up the balance.'

Catilina and Tonguius retired to the house to rest and change their clothes. I was too excited at the prospect of finally completing the mill to join them. Instead of building the new wall at the stable, I set the hired labourers to work realigning the gears. We worked into the night. Bethesda sent Diana to call me to dinner, but I told her to send down some bread and cheese instead.

Eventually the new arrangement of gears was set in place. In the absence of a rushing stream, slaves pushed the paddle wheel. Within the mill the mechanism shuddered and began to turn. The shafts revolved; the teeth fitted and meshed; the grinding wheel turned for one revolution, and another, and another, without mishap.

Small adjustments would be necessary, the housing would have to be completed, and actual use would no doubt suggest improvements, but for all practical purposes the mill was a success.

This moment filled me with a greater sense of achievement than I could have anticipated. Aratus wore such a smile as I had never seen on his face before. Even Meto dropped his sullen frown and seemed to share in my excitement. Catilina should have been with me. I looked towards the house, at the darkened windows, and wondered again at the simplicity of his genius.

XXX

Though the day had been long and hot, the night was pleasant. I was covered with dust, sweat, and grime. It was late, but in the flush of my excitement, sleep seemed far away. While I spent a few final moments doting on the water mill, I sent word to the household slaves to prepare a hot bath. Given the shortage of water, this was a considerable extravagance — for many days we had all made do with sponges and strigils to clean ourselves. But I deserved a reward, I told myself

Meto declared himself too exhausted to share the bath with me; instead he sponged himself from a bowl of water and went straight to bed. As I opened the door to the baths, a wave of warm steam flowed over my naked body, swallowing me. The lamp burned very low. I could hardly see the tub, but located it by following the sound of its gentle gurgling. I climbed over the edge and lowered myself gingerly into the hot water, hissing as it nipped at my scrotum I slowly settled into the pool until the water came to my neck. I let out a long breath and felt my muscles turn to mist.

As I stretched out my legs, I touched another limb beneath the water. I gave a start, but only a small one. I was not really surprised to find that Catilina was already in the water.

We sat at opposite sides of the tub, facing each other. Our calves touched, but I didn't bother to draw away. I was too tired to move, I told myself. Through the veils of mist I saw Catilina smiling. He held up a cup of wine and took a sip.

'You don't mind my being here, I hope? In your bath, I mean.'

'I should be a poor host to deny any guest that pleasure.' Besides,

I thought, Catilina deserved to share in this small gift to myself, since without him I should have had nothing to celebrate or to keep me up so late.

'I heard the slaves pass the order to stoke the furnace and I couldn't resist. I've been riding horseback so much lately that my buttocks have turned to stone.' He groaned and flexed beneath the water. The motion caused his leg to rub against mine.

'Where is Tongilius?'

'Already abed and sleeping like a baby. Your mill — it works, now?' he said.

'Yes. Glorious! You should have been there.'

"The triumph was yours, Gordianus, not mine. You must be very proud of your accomplishment.'

'It was sweet when we set the wheels in motion and the thing began to move, like a creature coming to life. I would have sent for you, but I thought you must already be asleep.'

'No fear of that. Lately I've given up sleep altogether. No time for it.'

'You're managing to stay busy, then?' I said, then realized the implication — that a man who has just lost a bid for power usually has time to spare.

'Busier than I've ever been in my life. Quite as busy as if I had won the election, I imagine. I doubt there's another man in the Republic who has as hectic a schedule as I do.'

'Oh, I can think of one,' I said.

"The consul. Yes, but Cicero can afford to close his eyes occasionally. He has so many surrogate eyes — and ears — all over Rome to keep watch for him while he slumbers.'

For a long moment I scrutinized Catilina's face through the mist, and decided there was no ulterior meaning in this reference to Cicero's spies. It was doubdess a subject much on Catilina's mind, no matter in whose company he found himself. The circle of those he could trust was growing smaller and smaller.