Seneca - College of Stoic Philosophers

THE CONSPIRACY OF PISO 163courage by his suffering, or to lose his own self-commandat the sight of hers, he begged her to move into anotherchamber. But even in his last moments his eloquencedid not fail ;he called his secretaries to his side, anddictated to them manj^ things which being pubhshedin his own words I deem it needless to reproduce.Nero, however, had no personal disHke to Paulina ;and, not wishing to add to his character for cruelty,he ordered her death to be stayed. So, at the biddingof the soldiers, the slaves and freedmen tied up herarms and stopped the flow of blood ;perhaps she wasunconscious. But with that alacrity to accept theworst version of a thing which marks the vulgar, somebelieved that so long as she thought Nero would beimplacable she clutched at the glory of sharing herhusband's death ;but that when the hope of a reprievepresented itself the attractions of lifeproved too strongfor her. She lived on for a few years more, worthilycherishing her husband's memory ; but the pallor ofher face and hmbs showed how much vitality had goneout of her.Meanwhile Seneca, in the agonies of a slow andlingering death, implored Statius Annaeus, his triedand trusted friend and physician, to produce a poisonwith which he had long provided himself, being thesame as that used for public executions at Athens. Thedraught was brought and administered, but to no purpose ;the limbs were too cold, the body too numb, to let thepoison act. At last, he was put into a warm bath ;and'as he sprinkled the slaves about him he added : This'libation is to Jupiter the Liberator ! He was thencarried into the hot vapour bath, and perished of suffocation.His body was burnt without any funeral ceremony,in accordance with instructions about his end whichhe had inserted in his will in the heyday of his wealthand power.