szálinger
Republic
(a play)
Set in the year 75 B.C., on the island of Pharmacussa
Except for scene one, in 82 B.C.
English translation: Dániel Danyi
PLAYERS
GAIUS Roman patrician, senator, age 25
HARISTEAS Greek pirate captain, Roman citizen, age 55
CIRRUS Persian, Friend and freedman of Gaius, age 33
ARIANES Greek pirate officer, age 40
ARIADNE wife of Arianes, Greek, mother, age 34
MIRÓ Hispanian pirate, cook, age 33
DARA Persian pirate, age 30
MARCUS Roman pirate, guard, age 34
SOPHIA daughter of Haristeas, teenager, age 17
DELEA deaf handmaiden, presumed Persian, age 24
NANNY Sicilian matron, nanny to Sophia and all, age 60
PROPRAETOR Officer from Asia Minor, shifty mug, age 50
SERVILIA Roman patrician, widow of M. I. Brutus Sr, age 41
BRUTUS son of M. I. Brutus Sr, a few months old
Scene six
MARCUS, GAIUS and CIRRUS
MARCUS
Come on, move along. There we go. Stop here.
CIRRUS
Leave off the jostling.
MARCUS
Why, aren't you a slave?
GAIUS
Do you need broken legs on you, my boy?
MARCUS
Alright, there's no call talking like…
GAIUS
Except
If you insult him, you insult me too.
MARCUS
The boss will soon be here.
GAIUS
Bring on the boss.
That's wonderful. The real, the actual boss?
MARCUS
Commander in chief of the Maltan base.
GAIUS
We're not in Malta though.
MARCUS
Correct. The isle
Of Pharmacussa. There's a difference, this
Is where we always stay when dealing with
The Delians. This island is our home.
GAIUS
And here we're waiting for first-in-command
Of this stronghold.
MARCUS
Oh no, commander-in-chief
Of everything from here to Sicily.
GAIUS
Oh really?
MARCUS
Everything offshore.
GAIUS
Not east
Of Malta though.
MARCUS
Not here. Persians control
These parts.
GAIUS
I see, and our commander's from…
MARCUS
He's Greek. Name's Haristeas. Served in Rome,
A righteous man. I was just twentywhen
He came to rule this place.
GAIUS
How did that go?
MARCUS
It's not like I know every last detail.
GAIUS
So Persians rule the East, outnumbering
Your lot by a far cry.
MARCUS
I wouldn't know.
We're forty here.
GAIUS
Seemed more to me, why's that?
MARCUS
Kiddo, your nerves are shot from traveling.
There's forty of us here just at this time,
But usually there's more. Except for now,
All of our ships are grazing on the sea.
GAIUS
The ships are grazing.
MARCUS
A figure of speech.
GAIUS
They aren't much of a herd.
MARCUS
Not much to you,
Seventy ships? How many do you count
As much?
GAIUS
The Roman fleet would be significant.
MARCUS
I come from Rome myself! Tarantum town.
GAIUS
I see you have no fear of the Republic.
MARCUS
I'm not a fan. I had no future there.
What crop we grew, they took it all away.
GAIUS
That is not done according to the law.
MARCUS
And yet nothing was left, they took away
All that we had.
CIRRUS
A decent life is what
You left behind, my boy.
GAIUS
And what's your name?
MARCUS
Marcus.
GAIUS
You say you like it better here.
MARCUS
It's safer.
GAIUS
Here you mean, among the pirates.
MARCUS
That's what we are.
GAIUS
Safer and better, too.
You live better here than in the Republic.
MARCUS
We're a republic too.
GAIUS
You are, how come?
MARCUS
We have no king, I mean.
GAIUS
That qualifies
As a republic?
MARCUS
What else?
GAIUS
An improved
Republic, then.
MARCUS
That's right. At least abuse
Is all predictable and in the open.
In Rome it's sneaky and kept under wraps.
A politician comes and says he needs
Some of this and that for whatnot,
Then takes it.
GAIUS
Technically, he has no right
To take, therefore it's given willingly.
MARCUS
At least we have it straight that might is right,
And those who take would do so rightfully.
It's simple. I'll just have to dig up more.
GAIUS
Back there in Tarantum, you weren't so keen.
MARCUS
They treated me differently there. They took
Away my stuff, then said it never happened.
Here might is right, I understand the rule.
GAIUS
And are you rich?
MARCUS
Not rich, but not poor either.
The boss is a great mind, at least I think.
He read up on it, and he figured out
The way we live. We have a happy life.
GAIUS
You're happy, from what your boss figured out.
MARCUS
It works.
GAIUS
It does?
MARCUS
It does.
GAIUS
Now won't you give
Me something more appropriate to wear?
MARCUS
Of course I won't, that's really not my job..
GAIUS (to Cirrus)
He's dumber than I thought... Hey pirate, you…
Can I call you that? What else should I know
About your boss, you pirate?
MARCUS
I can't tell
You anything.
GAIUS
Except that he's the boss.
A thinker. And he figured out a way.
MARCUS
I never said that.
CIRRUS
Yes you did.
GAIUS
You did.
MARCUS
We call him boss, it wasn't his idea.
GAIUS
Not an official title that he claimed.
MARCUS
Oh Gods…
CIRRUS
What, no reply?
MARCUS
I'm not supposed
To even talk to hostages at all.
GAIUS
We've had a pleasant chat, considering.
MARCUS
I'm buttoning up.
HARISTEAS (from offstage)
Aha, so there you are.
GAIUS
And you're that warrior of Marius.
HARISTEAS
How do you know?
GAIUS
I don't, I had a hunch.
HARISTEAS
Who told you?
GAIUS
It was in the air.
HARISTEAS
You told him? (to Marcus)
MARCUS
I've never heard the name of Marius,
How could I tell him such a thing?
GAIUS
Trailing an awkward past?(to Haristeas)
HARISTEAS
What would you fetch?
GAIUS
You know, I was just thinking the same thing,
If I gave you a sum, you'd either half
It, or demand umpteen times more.
HARISTEAS
You introduce yourself, I'll name a price.
GAIUS
Gaius Julius Caesar is the name,
I'm of the Julius-clan. My mother's called
Julia, and our family traces back
To Venus, not to overstate the case.
HARISTEAS
Indeed. Where are you bound to? Out of Rome,
Or back toward it?
GAIUS
No, I'm heading east.
HARISTEAS
Explain.
GAIUS
To be an orator's apprentice.
HARISTEAS
A golden boy, old money in the family,
With long-term plans, prodigious ambitions.
It might not kill you to get out of Rome,
Am I not right?
GAIUS
Whatever do you mean?
HARISTEAS
Why insurrection, Marcus Lepidus.
GAIUS
Are pirate captains all so well-informed?
HARISTEAS
You must have stepped on someone's foot, kiddo.
CIRRUS
Great captain, please, let's talk about money.
If you could just agree, some of the troop
And I could start off right away. Provided
A sum is named to bid for.
HARISTEAS
And this is?
GAIUS
My freedman, Cirrus.
HARISTEAS
Cirrus, isn't that
A Persian name? Was he a slave of yours?
GAIUS
He was.
HARISTEAS
You freed him.
GAIUS
That I did.
HARISTEAS
On good
Behavior? Or was it for his... obedience?
CIRRUS
But please…!
HARISTEAS
You got a problem, my libertus?
GAIUS
Lay off, Haristeas, his family
And household are under my custody.
HARISTEAS
All of his household, huh? How did you grant
Him full citizen's rights? That would be near
Impossible.
GAIUS
You need to pull some strings
Before it's done.
HARISTEAS
You're telling me? You know,
I'm a full Roman citizen myself.
GAIUS
A liberated slave, probably.
HARISTEAS
Yes,
How did you know?
GAIUS
Judging by your Greek name,
You must have been a slave, and singled out
For swordsmanship, or possibly for favors
Of love to some man powerful enough
To grant you freedom.
HARISTEAS
I'm impressed, by both
Your observations, and your insolence.
GAIUS
So you're libertus turned full citizen.
HARISTEAS
That was my lot.
GAIUS
Alright. So what's my worth?
HARISTEAS
So-let's-get-down-to-business, is that it?
Go fetch Arianes. (to Marcus, exit Marcus)
Let me just clarify our good intentions.
I'd say we are making a shift away
From mass production to high quality.
We don't cast out a dragnet to the ocean,
Or hunt down human cargo, we believe
In bringing a new age to pirating:
High-quality goods, and fair ransom sums,
Humane treatment. I've no doubt history
Will prove us right..
CIRRUS
We're all for progress, too.
HARISTEAS
Here's my accountant, Treasurer, deputy,
You name it. He's entirely competent
In all matters concerning Mare Nostrum,
And such a talent. Surely even Rome
Would welcome him, indeed…
ARIANES (enter)
You called.
HARISTEAS
I did.
Give us your estimate for this young man.
ARIANES
I checked his file. The boy's a patrician.
He's young, and keeps referring to someone
Named Marius, supposedly they are
In some way or another family.
GAIUS
Not family, but husband to my aunt.
HARISTEAS
That's family!
GAIUS
Is that worth extra gold?
I see, in that case yes, we're family.
Sevenfold consul, absolutely peerless,
That's worth something?
ARIANES
It may weigh quite a bit.
Your price is going up.
GAIUS
I hope as much,
It goes without saying. Who would have guessed?
ARIANES
Clever. And insolent. And likeable.
HARISTEAS
A dangerous combination.
ARIANES
So it is.
The kid's got charm. Knows how to play the crowd.
Family background, solid history,
And top-ranking political connections…
HARISTEAS
If not quite current ones…
ARIANES
Things change, you know. (keeps listing)
Eager to learn, sharp azs a razor, too,
Substantially embedded, one might say
A glorious past looks to a brighter future,
As far as his abilities project.
HARISTEAS
A future, and a past, so where's the catch?
GAIUS
The present still demands to know a price.
HARISTEAS
Arianes?
ARIANES
It comes to... ten Talenta.
CIRRUS
Are you mad?!
HARISTEAS
Ten Talenta?
ARIANES
That's the price.
The algorythm says so, it's a ten.
HARISTEAS
Extraordinary.
CIRRUS
Are you playing games?
Can't you just come up with a decent number
That we could come to an agreement on,
That we might go ahead and scrape together,
And count it out before you on the table,
And then get the hell out of here, why not?
ARIANES
The thing is we're not kidding, not a bit.
CIRRUS
Am I to understand we're staying here,
Is that the deal?
GAIUS
No, wait. Let's see what happens.
But Haristeas, that's a mighty sum.
HARISTEAS
Would you go higher?
GAIUS
Sulla usually
Has two talenta blood money for each
Of his worst enemies. The stress is on
The word "each", and I hope you understand
That two talenta are a fortune. Now
But ten!
HARISTEAS
That's what you're worth to us. Who knows,
If you should stay, within a year or two
You'd make a better leader than any of us,
Including me. Your talent's wortha price,
For your Republic, they pay, we'll restore you…
Ten's cheap, let's make it twenty full talenta!
CIRRUS
You bastard.
GAIUS
Do you mock me, citizen
Of Rome? Let's raise the stake, and make it fifty!
For ratty twenty, I won't bother leaving
Pharmacussa at all.
HARISTEAS
What?
GAIUS
I've asked around.
There's forty of you armed, plus the unarmed
Year-rounders here, and that's more or less it.
Business is in the West, because the East
Is ruled by the big dogs, the Persians. And
You have in total forty boats, at most.
HARISTEAS (to Marcus)
You have been blabbing.
MARCUS
No, I swear I told
Him seventy ships.
GAIUS
But then I double-checked,
And second-guessed his fleet of seventy.
HARISTEAS
Okay, you're worth that fifty gold talenta.
CIRRUS
No Gaius, don't.
GAIUS
If they should value me
So high at home, I'll make it worth their while.
CIRRUS
What was the point of this?
GAIUS
Why, not a thing.
We made a show of true Roman grandeur,
We did.
CIRRUS
But why…
GAIUS
Forget but why. There is
A price to this, you'll see.
HARISTEAS
Your servants' life
Is yours entirely free of charge, of course.
CIRRUS
You honor me.
HARISTEAS
Look Gaius, don't you think
Your freedman might have too much attitude?
Okay he's smart, and Persian, even so,
Is he supposed to shoot his mouth off just
Because you freed him?
GAIUS
Cirrus, I believe
He has a point.
CIRRUS (to Haristeas)
Humble apologies.
GAIUS (slapping Cirrus)
You talk as my freed slave, right, so you don't
Apologize to a pirate! You might
Apologize to me, for shaming me
Before a pirate.
CIRRUS
Absolutely right.
I beg your pardon, Gaius, honestly.
GAIUS
We're grateful for your generosity,
Good Haristeas. Cirrus, you will have
To raise those fifty gold talenta.
Now Haristeas, may we have a word
In private with my freedman, if you please?
HARISTEAS
Go right ahead. (Haristeas, Arianes turn to exit)
GAIUS
Oh wait, there's one thing more.
HARISTEAS
You have my ear.
GAIUS
Our family traditions
Oblige me to account for all offenses
Met here, and offer in retaliation
To you and all your household, crucifixion.
HARISTEAS
To all of us?
GAIUS
I'm sure you understand.
It had to be declared before my freedman,
Who'll pass it on to Rome. When vengeance comes,
It shall affect every contact you have,
Your lovers, friends, accomplices, the guards,
Your children, if any... Do you have children?
HARISTEAS
I have a daughter.
GAIUS
And her name is...
HARISTEAS
Sophia.
GAIUS
May she live long and prosper.
HARISTEAS
Thank you.
GAIUS
So,
It's crucifixion. No hard feelings?
HARISTEAS
Nope.
I know the score.
GAIUS
A mere formality.
HARISTEAS
Of course, of course. Am I to go?
GAIUS
Yes please.
(exit Haristeas, Arianes)
Now listen, dear friend Cirrus, this may be
The last I ask of you…
CIRRUS
Not on your life!
GAIUS
Ease up, we'll play it out. You go and hit
Them for a neat hundred talenta now.
CIRRUS
But Gaius!
GAIUS
Nicomedes is the man,
In Bithynia. He'll grant your every wish.
CIRRUS
When word gets out that he supported us,
The rumors will be on the loose again…
GAIUS
I'll laugh it off. That certain Romans call me
Queen of Bithynia is just absurd.
I'll take it as a compliment.
CIRRUS
It stings.
GAIUS
It does. Let's drop it.
CIRRUS
Find a different sponsor?
GAIUS
Don't be a putz, who else? Ask Nicomedes
To pay one hundred. Then Servilius
For fifty more. Last year I saved his life.
He can't afford it. But he'll offer you
A ship with fifty fighting men. You shall
Accept two ships, one hundred warriors,
Be sure you reproduce this word for word:
"I'll take exactly twice as much", rehearse it,
To let him know I sent you there myself.
CIRRUS
It will be done as you command.
GAIUS
Come here,
Give me a hug.
CIRRUS
Gaius. take care out here.
GAIUS
I'll be alright. Come back in forty days
To find me. I'll keep my ear to the ground.
CIRRUS
Where do we hide the ships?
GAIUS
Out in the open.
CIRRUS
But won't they see?
GAIUS
I'll have their trust by then.
But go now.
CIRRUS
May the Gods watch over you.