"Scipio also known as the African" "Written and produced by:" "Directed by" "Come here you idiot." "Who do I look like?" " Minerva!" " She has the eyes of an owl." "Cornelia, what are you doing with your father's helmet?" "Watch out, your mother is nervous today." "Licia!" "Even the servant won't answer now!" "It's true that you're a child, but you're also her uncle!" "Inside!" " And take off that helmet!" " No, not the helmet!" "Hurry, you too!" "Cornelia, I'll smack you, you know!" "What a temper you have, Scipio!" "You're worse than your father!" "Of course!" "Because I, Publius Cornelius Scipio also known as Africanus, have a bad temper, it's natural!" "It is said that I'm offended at once, and that no one can ask me for anything." "Conscript fathers, what have you asked of Scipio?" "Not least, you have asked what became of certain coins... that were lost on the road from Syria to Rome." "The Senate have had the courage to ask Scipio!" "No, really only I had that courage." "Marcus Porcius Cato, censor of jokes..." "Scipio is responsible for the facts, not the numbers." "Let's talk about facts, what I did for the Republic?" "Nothing?" "Then analyze the facts of the past." "Take the Punic Wars." "Why did you lose the first?" "Because I wasn't there!" "Take for example the second, Lake Trasimeno, the Trebia, Cannae..." "I was there, but we lost because you still didn't give me command!" "But I was in command, Quintus Fabius Maximus." " You delayed." " No I didn't delay..." " I saved the country." " You saved nothing!" "Consul Marcellus, Rome was saved only when I was in command." "One morning suddenly there was terror, Hannibal was at the gates..." "Don't go through the whole Punic War!" " Do you want me to tell?" " No, we've already done it!" "No." "We want to ask, not only you but also your brother," "Lucius Cornelius Scipio..." "Also known as the Asian, please." "Alright." "Both of you, joint commanders of the Roman army in Syria, we would like to ask where are the 500 talents, that King Antiochus has advanced on Rome to pay tribute, and that never made it to Rome." "Scipios..." "Don't you know?" " Don't you know?" " Of what?" "Of the 500..." "The 500 talents of the king of Syria!" "Never seen them." "Fathers of the senate!" "You all know that Cato is the defender of the ancient customs." "But he exaggerates, sees evil everywhere." "Remember when the legionaries returned from Greece?" "They left dirty, with beards like a billy goat." "They returned victorious, and all Rome watched them." "They were handsome, clean and had the smoothest jaws." "And why?" "Because they had learnt from the civilized Greeks to use a razor." "Cato stood up and shouted:" ""They are all gay!"" "I insist that whoever shaves isn't a real man." "Here Cato!" "The intemperate censor insinuates that Scipio is a thief!" "No!" "I insinuate nothing, senators." "I accuse." " You accuse me?" " You?" "I don't accuse you." "I accuse the fact that we're missing 500 talents." "How?" "I am the greatest general in history!" "Everyone saw Hannibal crazy and alone in the desert." " I am not a thief!" " Stop, Romans!" "Have respect for those with white hair." "I'm Aulus Gellius, eldest of the Senate." "When you were still both in the arse end of beyond, and I was a lad," "I remember the Senator Appius Claudius the Blind." "He was always there, where now sits Lucius Quintius." " Shameless." " Thank you, dear." "Every time he spoke, if even on the sewage that was stinking out Rome," "Appius Claudius said this:" "Remember that you must destroy Carthage." "Scipio didn't destroy it, but he defeated it." "If Appius Claudius was here, he would not allow us to call Scipio a thief." "So we should always honour Scipio, victor of Carthage!" " Glory to Scipio!" " Glory to Scipio!" "Of course, we honour him too!" "I just want to point out that I did not call him a thief." "If it was said at all." "With the permission of this noble Senate let's look at the accounts." "Have you brought the books of the expedition costs as I told you?" "Do we want to show him?" "Let us have a look." "Perhaps these missing 500 talents have got mixed up with the other costs." "We'll look at them together." "Scipio looks at a peace treaty, or a declaration of war, not at any old ledger." "Senators, Romans, countrymen, Scipio salutes you and leaves." "Wait!" " Where are you going?" " If my brother goes..." "Of course, but he's the African, you are only the Asian." "Show us the accounts." "Very good." "The populace is on your side." "Just say the word, and we can bring down the Senate." "Hail!" "Good evening." "The legions are always ready, just give us the order." "Good!" "Otherwise there'll be a civil war." "Scipio!" "Bring out your passion." "Admire this." "You, kind Roman." "Hail Rome and hail to thee, Jupiter." "Most excellent and almighty, Jupiter Capitoline." "At the oak of my ancient shepherd ancestors, I invoke you, oh God." "If it's the privilege of heroes to talk with the Gods come forth Jupiter, and let us speak." "Jupiter, come forth and tell me what to do!" "I only know what you must do!" "Here, what about a sacrifice." "Disembowel a goat, let the diviners interpret the guts and who knows." "That's how I rule." "Sit yourself down." "Wolf, be careful!" "That way you could fall!" "I'm exhausted, Scipio." "Mercury steals, Venus is a whore, and Mars will not disarm." "What should I do?" "You just make me laugh!" "What do you think?" "Even God can weep." "So we're in trouble!" "What is the difference between us?" "I am eternal, and you are not." "At some point, you'll die." "Me?" "I'm not enjoying this everlasting farce." "Happy, Scipio!" "Life is beautiful because it ends." "A fine philosophy!" "What philosophy would it be, if it can't change the course of the winds?" "I'm not a proper God, I can't do anything!" "Even I am subjected." "I am subjected to fate." " How it stinks!" " Who?" "The she-wolf, now she is old." "500 years ago, the foundation." "How ugly, the future of the Republic." "If the poor beast had only known, she would have eaten the twins, rather than breastfed them." " We were talking and you leave..." " Every time you start complaining." "It's better to console myself alone." "The comfort of a God isn't enough for you." " Don't complain later!" " Me?" "Man, so hard to please!" "Hail, Scipio." "It was this morning!" "Emilia!" "Emilia, what is it?" "Leaving?" "No, I'm staying to be ashamed with all the family!" "I'm going to Liternus, I'll take the child to the country." " Cornelia, kiss your father and then we'll go." " I wouldn't ever!" " Not me!" " Hurry, it's late." "What have I done?" "You leave, you think up a war." "Save at least the names of the survivors." "Why are you always hanging around her?" "Go on, clear off!" " Emilia, what is it?" " My father died at Cannae." " But I was there at Cannae." " There's no doubt about it." " Then why doesn't Scipio know." " How should I know." "But..." "Everyone's gone crazy." "Today is a really bad day!" "Cornelia, come to Daddy." " Darling, what's wrong with Mummy?" " I don't know." " Did you make her angry?" " No." " Who's there?" " A Roman!" "It's me." "Hello, Cornelia." "Damn, I got the third degree." "Every time I said a figure, Cato burst out laughing." " Damn him!" " Cornelia, come on we're going!" " Go to Mummy." " Good evening!" "Who is it?" "Oh, that one now!" "What's annoyed her?" " When will I see you again?" " I don't know." " Be patient, Scipio." " It's the last." "I could by horse, come and see you on Sunday by horse." "So you don't understand!" " I want a divorce." " Why?" " I'm very sorry." " What's the reason?" "We'll find one." "We'll say that when you were in Africa, you had sex with Queen Sofonisba." "The wife of my best friend?" "It's been ten years now!" "We'll say that you couldn't forget it." "A fire suddenly broke out." "I have never seen these 500 talents." "You must believe me!" "Who cares what I believe?" "Rome must believe." " Licia, put them in the carriage." " You're even taking Grandma and Grandpa" "Look at these two, moon gazing!" "Come on, in the carriage!" "Not inviting people to dinner and then going away, it's not proper." "I've never invited him to dinner!" "What a family!" "Licia, look after the house." "Give him his food." "I'm going away, better not say any more." "Cornelia!" "Otherwise we'll never leave." "Alright, go on, the lot of you!" "When the ship sinks, the rats are the first to abandon it!" "I don't need anything." "Let's divorce, who cares?" "I want to be alone against it all, against the odds, against fate..." "Damn you, you're animals!" "I heard you from upstairs!" "Beans!" "It's true that you're slaves." "But when you were captured on the battlefield, you were warriors!" "That was a long time ago, Sir!" "Aren't you ashamed?" "A Scipio who gobbles with the slaves!" "I don't give a damn, I'm hungry." "All Rome is watching us, Cato ridicules us in front of everyone." "And you're eating beans?" "With celery." "With celery!" "The worse for him!" "Ah, yes..." "Scipio doesn't sleep." "Who doesn't sleep thinks and he who thinks, breaks his balls." "Exactly, my son, why not go to sleep?" "Yes, sleep." "Sleep..." "You're right..." "But you don't sleep, Mother." " But I'm old." "And who is old, waits." "Only when there, behind the roofs, it will be light..." "When the chariot of Phaeton announces the day then the old will sleep, because we've passed another night." "And for another day, we've not died." "Yes, whistle." "It's chewed another page!" "Eaten another oration!" "One day, you damn cat, why I'll..." "Cato, it's aging you, all this thinking about the Republic." "Of course..." "You want to compare Scipio with these four thieves who are governing?" "Scipio is great... but the Republic must be made of little people." "Come here." "The tragedy begins when the little people... are tired of feeling good and go looking a great man." "No, the tragedy is that everyone is talking on his own, and no one responds." "Come here." " What were you saying?" " Why not marry, find a good girl." "Get out of it, cat." "Think of the Republic!" "Sorry if I insist, I've not yet figured out what we are accused of." "Of having spent too much, or of not having saved?" "But d'you know how much he's able to eat, a legionnaire?" "Of course he eats so much!" "But a bit of thrift, damn it." "It says here 50 drachmas a head, we must economise!" " We saved on the dead." " He's right." "The decisive battle cost the King of Syria 50,000 men." "Not to mention the vessels." "And what did Rome lose?" "Only 300 infantry and 24 horsemen." " A punch-up would kill more." " These savings count." "You know, the soldier at war only thinks of eating." "He eats and dies." "And faced with the spectre of death, you begrudge him his food?" "But, but you continue to eat... well after the spectre of death has long gone." "But meanwhile the Roman peace extends over all Syria." "This is important." "The legionnaires eat, and civilization advances." "Don't you think too important?" "And remember who you are." "What civilization, Roman?" "To build a house that's not a slum, you need help from the Greeks, but first you had to beat them." "The portraits, the murals, the figures in marble and bronze, the dead grandparents, half length, as made by the Etruscans, by dint of blows." "When we need to write a couple of lines on the country's history, you have to take hostage another Greek, Polybius." "Because in Rome, it's all one can do to sign one's name." "It's said we have Plautus who writes comedies." "But what does he write?" "Plautus copies." "He copies the comedies of the Greeks, and says that it's his own work." "Young men, I'll give you bad news." "All your civilization, your culture, is nothing but the spoils of war." "Down." "And talking about booty, the 500 talents that no one has found." " Where are they?" " Again?" "I don't know!" "It's not impossible to not know!" "You could make another war with 500 talents!" "Why aren't they written down?" "Who's updated these books?" "I had to make war, I was the effective commander." " And your brother?" " He's living on past glories." "He rides a horse only to encourage the legionnaires." "Then went to sleep whilst I was fighting." "He could have updated the books, instead of strutting around!" "What was I doing?" "And you blame me too?" "Bravo, bravo." "It's an endless stream, think of yourself!" "Hold this." "Give me the books." "Have you broken the books?" "You've broken my balls, now we're even." "It doesn't matter." "We'll do without." "They were only the accounts of the servant." "But whoever stole the money of the Republic must be punished." "I don't ask for my own sake, the people ask." "Don't be annoyed, Arcesilaus denies any value to vulgar opinion." "If something is worthy of aspiration of the sage, it might only be science." "But, science is unattainable." "Man has been precluded from the knowledge of things." "Hence the dilemma." "A science that transcends us, or an opinion inferior to us." "The sage rejects both terms of this alternative." "Since absence and faith are for him quite wrong." "Restraining absence isn't human... and without adhesion, action is impossible." "You see how scepticism excludes any conduct with life?" "I see, I see." "But I don't understand anything." "Massinissa!" "I heard they are treating you as a thief, and I came right away." " Shall we fight against Rome?" " Rome is not Cato." "Massinissa is the Tributary King of Numidia, Mauritania" " Old companion of glory." " Here we go again!" "It's a bit of a shambles because Emilia has taken the children to the country." "But they're all friends." "Give a drink to Massinissa." "You'll see, Massinissa." "Don't worry, Scipio is always safe." "Scipio is finished." "These are your friends?" "I know them, they were also my friends." "This is Marcus Valerius?" "No, Marcus Valerius died at Zama." "And is this Curius Sestilius?" "No, Scipio!" "He couldn't hold a glass, a knife cut off his hand." "And these?" "Who are these women?" "Are these the women in Africa who bandaged our wounds... and we made love to them gently so as not to hurt them?" "These are whores, Scipio!" "The ultimate truth of things is unattainable from the comprehensive representation." " What did he say?" " He's a Greek philosopher." " What do you care?" " I don't like this philosopher." "And who is this, so much like you?" "My brother, Lucius Cornelius Scipio." " Also known as the Asian, please." " I do not like this Asia." "What a pity!" " Where did you get him?" " Relax." "You don't like anything, but we're here with friends, drink a little." "For example, what is tomorrow?" "Can some of these gentlemen tell me what day it is tomorrow?" " You see?" " I know, it's the 8th of October." "Bravo, drunkard!" "On the calendar." " But what day in history?" " What?" "The anniversary of the Battle of Zama, wake up!" "The greatest battle in history that we won together." "And why did we win?" "Did we win to watch these four slobs get drunk?" "The 8th of October, the battle of Zama!" "You're right, Massinissa." "You're right, but really..." "Get out of this honoured house!" " He's mad, don't listen." " Get out, parasites!" "Bootlickers!" "I make war, while you stuff your faces!" "Get out, out!" "Lucius, stop." "Outside, you too!" "You must leave this city." "You've 24 hours to leave Rome." " And the reason?" " I don't understand you when you talk." "Or perhaps, in the free Roman Republic there are things which can't be said?" "In Rome you can say anything." "Anything that you can understand." "That which cannot be understood, shouldn't be said, it's not proper!" " Clear off!" " That's better." "Sabinus, Andronicus!" "We'll see if Scipio is finished!" "A joke's a joke, alright, but if I get angry, I'll kill them!" "So it's true!" "You're always eating!" " But it's dinner, Master." " Any excuse is a good one." "On your knees!" "Rome has invented something, that makes us the most civilized of all the civilized peoples, but without this thing, invented by us, we'd return to being beasts." "The law." "Now I give back to you the supreme good." "What supreme good?" "Freedom." "Kiss here." "You are free." "How is it better?" "Of course, now they'll eat beans." "You've rejuvenated me." "Tomorrow I'll present the accounts to Cato." "Don't go too far!" "Scipio is here!" "Scipio is here!" "How handsome he is!" "Scipio, you're the most gallant of all." "He's handsome!" "Hail!" "Here's the madman." "What is this farce?" "What do you want?" "I want only to ask you a question, and also to you conscript fathers." "The same question, that Massinissa asked me yesterday, and that surprised even me." "Today, what day is it?" " He asked you this question?" " Yes." "And to ask this stupid question, he came all the way from Africa?" "Don't digress, what day is it?" "If it'll make you happy, the 8th of October." "Of course, on the calendar, but in history, what?" " What history?" " You've forgotten your history!" "Take care..." "The people who forget about history, sooner or later will forget about us!" "Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Zama!" "Of Zama." "Fucking hell." "How could I forget?" " These anniversaries..." " I forget even those of my wife." "I'm going senile, but you're only a boy." " What's the battle of Zama?" " Never mind, clear off." "The battle of Zama..." "You, conscript fathers... on the fateful day which commemorates this battle, you're doing your books, like shopkeepers." "It's not worthy of you." "Senators, on your feet!" "Let's all go to the Capitol to greet Rome." "We're not at the inn!" "No one is leaving here, without the permission of the Senate." "Let's continue with the accounts." "I've brought a few horsemen from Numidia." "Listen to me, this is a day of celebration." "Let's all go to the Capitol to greet Rome." "Yes, let's go with Scipio!" "Cato, it's only a small greeting." " Who is it?" " Someone who thinks like you." " Scribonius, sit down." " We're just two, but better than nothing." " When did you arrive?" " When the madman asked what day it was." " I knew right away." " Have you spoken to the king of Syria?" "No." "I found the sea calm, and landed at Ostia two hours ago." "What?" "Let him enjoy this day, Scipio." "Tomorrow he'll weep." "At the end of this triumphal day, accept this modest sign of the respect and love of the Roman people." "Scipio, immortalized in tufa, which indicates the destiny of glory, to future generations." " Scipio, let us return to slavery." " We are no longer used." " It's true." " Send us home." "You have the instinct of slaves, take the statue home!" " You're not worth a fig." " Gagliardo, we're slaves again!" "Hurry before you change your mind." "Freedom, is an empty word!" "Bean eaters!" "Massinissa, would you allow me a ride?" " Where's he going with the cavalry?" " Where d'you want him to go?" "Dreams, dreams!" " What have you done?" " Who?" "He's a man abandoned and alone." "Do you know Emilia?" "Which wife did you mix with?" "I remained his friend, despite Sofonisba, my wife." " So it was true!" " What are you saying?" "Rumors of the legionnaires!" "At the bivouac, they're worse than washerwomen." "I became an ally of Rome... only because I hated Syphax, king of Mauritania who was an ally of Carthage and husband of Sophonisba." "Scipio and I fought Syphax." "That same night of the battle I took Sofonisba, who had fled, and embraced her on the ground covered with corpses." "What a night!" " Worse than a hyena!" " Yet she was the spoils of war." "And Scipio said: send her to Rome as a slave." "I understand." "When Scipio decrees a thing, you can't change his mind." "That was the law of Rome, he could not do anything for me." "I understood the tragedy of Scipio, and for this I killed Sofonisba." "Even Scipio knew my tragedy." "And how." "And to console me, he gave me the kingdom of Mauritania." "I understand your tragedy, but that of Sofonisba?" "All prefer death to slavery." "Even in Africa it is always raining." "I don't understand anything anymore, it's all back to front." " I hurt my back." "I'm in agony." " Going horse riding at your age!" "When the weather changes, this scar, I'll have a headache." " What are you looking for?" " The pot, I'm always up at night." "With me it's the guts." "I've always a furry mouth, I don't understand." "If Emilia had had a little more confidence." "How happy you'd be today!" "Gallant, like me." "My only comfort is to have killed my wife." "In time, she would have become like all the others." "At our age, what's the point of women to men?" "Yes, but..." "It all goes well!" "The truth is..." "That we're good only among men, among friends." " I think you're right." " About what?" " I'm finished." " No, I only said it..." "I seem to be a descendant of myself." "Maybe I survived myself." "Sorry to disturb you." "Orders of Cato the Censor." "The law forbids the worship of images of famous men." "No man is greater than the others, to the point of meriting a pedestal." "So says Cato." "I'll give you some personal advice, come to the Senate tomorrow." "There's something happening again." "Some of you will think that this legalism, is my stubbornness as an administrator." "No!" "No, the criterion isn't venal, but on principal." "You need to realise if a citizen of the Republic has placed personal profit before the common good." " What's happening now?" " I don't know, let's listen." "May I?" "Since we don't know where they've ended up, these 500 talents, let's go back to the beginning, when for the first time, they left the pocket of the King of Syria." "And so I ask you..." "Scipios, which one of you two has collected it from the person of King Antiochus?" "We are not collectors, we are warriors." " We are warriors." " So that..." "The Scipio brothers have never seen that money." "And so I assure you, Publius Cornelius Scipio, also called the African." "And I support him, Lucius Cornelius Scipio, also called the Asian." "Thanks." "In my case, if you have any doubt, have Antiochus come to Rome." "He can deny it, if he has the courage." "As luck would have it, and thanks to favorable sea, just arrived from Syria, Gaius Scribonius." "He has spoken personally with King Antiochus, on the matter of the 500 talents." "Romans, Senators, conscript fathers." "Here for you Gaius Scribonius, tax collector to the Roman Republic." "What are you doing?" "We're not at the circus!" "Scribonius, the King of Syria has payed you the installment of the tribute?" "I paid the Treasury." " You talked about the 500 talents?" " We talked about it." "Damn, how ugly!" "Tell us." "It is not easy to collect money on behalf of the Roman Republic the taxes are not..." "Condense..." " What does this have..." " Of course." "Tax collectors have always been the promoters of history." "The King of Syria sends this tablet to the senators of the Roman people." "And with this I'll consign the heads of the Scipios... to history." "Consign what?" "Tell us, what is this tablet?" "A certified copy of the receipt for the collection of 500 talents." "In letters and numbers, followed by the signature of he who received it, etcetera, etcetera." "But what etcetera, etcetera." "Read the signature!" "Aulus Gellius... if I read it, you'll have a heart attack!" "Maybe it's better not to read it." "The signature!" "No, better not!" "The signature, read the signature!" "As always, subservient, I bow to the will of the Senate." "Here it is." "Signed..." "Scipio..." "A." "What?" "What A.?" " A." " A?" "A." "Yes but..." "Who is Scipio A.?" "The African!" "The Asian!" "A moment!" "Let's not rush." "Why just the Asian?" "He had duties to be in charge of, always in camp with the soldiers." "It's a hasty conclusion." " Perhaps "A." doesn't mean Asian." " Of course not." "Look out." "He's already divided the Senate." "He wants to set us against each other." "No, I just want to find out, which of you two is Scipio..." "A." "It's not me, because I'm a megalomaniac, and always sign in long form:" "Publius Cornelius Scipio also known as the African." "And even that seems rather short." " And me, I always add, in brackets, Asian so as not to be confused with the African which I'm not." "Close brackets." " It's apocryphal, let me see." " Yes, so you can tear that as well!" "Very well, then neither of you is Scipio A." "Then I ask..." "Who is?" "Is there any other eminent Scipio in Rome?" "Of course, there are many!" "There..." " Who are they?" " There is no other Scipio." "But there are two, buried in Spain, my father and my uncle, died in battle." "So you're trying some pathos now." "So, this is the one who wants to consign our heads to history!" "Did you ask the king of Syria who was this Scipio A.?" " Who was it?" " He's right." "What did the King say?" "The king didn't know." "The sum was sent by a courier who brought back the receipt." " He never went to investigate." " It's true!" "He felt like crying for the money, but he put the receipt in his box and got drunk." " Have you tried the courier in court?" " Yes, I found him." " What did he say?" " Nothing, not even a word." " Did you ask him?" " It was useless." " Why?" " He was dead." "There, they die like flies." "The colonies..." "We're not getting anywhere." "Not at all." "Earlier the Scipios said, they have never really seen the 500 talents." "But with this receipt we know, that at least one of the two has seen them." "Now which of the two, the Asian or the African, is no longer a matter that concerns the Senate or the people, but only the consciences of the Scipios." "The sitting is adjourned." "Do you really believe this story?" "And you, noble Curius?" " Will you leave me all alone?" " Not I." "Massinissa!" "What have you done?" "You didn't want to break the law for Sofonisba, and now you've broken it for 500 talents!" "Me?" "Who is Scipio A.?" " Another Cato!" " What are you saying?" "Beware, because if it's you," "I'll kill you with my own hands." "What a day!" "Remember when we were kids?" "Of course I remember, but so what?" "We were so important to Mum, especially you." "Of course you were the smaller and also a little ugly." " Ugly?" " Growing up, you have improved." "Right." " But at heart you remain the same." " Which is?" "Answer me, before father Tiber." " The 500 talents, did you take them or not?" " But of course not!" "Lucius, tell the truth to your brother." "We're here alone." "You always had this vice as a child." "Did you take it?" " Are you crazy?" " Good, good." " Do you remember poor Papa?" " More of these commemorations!" " Scipio the Spaniard!" " Spaniard!" "He was a real man." " When he said yes, it was yes." " Yes." "And when he said no, it was no!" "No." " From whom did you take it?" " I'll really be the son of a servant!" " You were more handsome, more intelligent." " Me?" "Exactly you." "The apple of your father's eye." "And you of your poor mother's." "Bravo, bravo." "Temper, temper!" "Come back!" "Come here, where are you going?" "Gently!" "You're hurting." "Don't squeeze!" " Who is Scipio A.?" " It's me!" " Are you lying?" " It's the truth." " You?" " Now you know." "We can stop." "And I've spent it all, there's nothing left." "It's gone." "But how?" "A Scipio, a public figure!" " Even the cleanest dog gets the mange." " Wait." "Tomorrow, present yourself to Cato, say:" "Scipio A., that's me." "I won't say that ever." "Don't move, or I'll knock your block off!" " Here." " What do I do?" " Be a Roman." "These gestures are nice, but I don't understand them." " How can you survive the disgrace." " I can survive anything!" "I'm going for a walk." "Profit from my absence." "When I return, I want to see your corpse." "What ails you, Scipio?" "My brother is dying." " This morning he was fine." " Well, now he's not." "I'm sorry, for your troubles." " Scipio!" " What d'you want?" "For one who's sick he runs real fast." "That brother of yours." " Where?" " There." "Son of a bitch!" " You should be dead!" " When the time comes." "There's no rush!" " I'll denounce you!" " What have I done?" "What do you want?" "Clear off!" "The poor Republic, governed by fools." "Cato!" "Cato!" " Cato!" " Who is it?" "What do you want?" " Come down, I have to talk to you." " Quiet, Mother's sleeping." " Be patient." "It's urgent." " Alright, but at this time of night?" " Come down and I'll tell you." " I'm coming." "I woke you, Ma?" " Why are there all these cats?" " Don't worry, Mum." " I'm going down to talk with Scipio." " Why don't you find a good girl." "Don't worry Mum, I've taken the woolen mantle." "The sun will not rise ever." " Halt, who goes there?" " Good evening!" " What is it?" " I'm sorry, were you sleeping?" "Sleeping?" "I never sleep, tell me." "Come." "I wanted to tell you, who is Scipio A." "I must tell you, I can't help it." "This, from you, I was expecting." "Who is it?" "It's my brother." " This I didn't expect from you." " Why not?" "You are both under indictment." "You come here in the middle of the night to say that?" " What is this?" " What?" " I don't know, but it's not right!" "I expected you to tell me it was you." " And that would have been fine?" " Sure!" "You come, and tell me it's someone else, that's not nice." "Abandoned by my wife, by my dearest friends, betrayed by my brother, now I should accuse myself?" "By the way, has your divorce come though yet?" "Are you trying to slow things up?" "Listen, I'm making a revelation!" "No, you're acting the spy." "A spy?" "Listen, you've told me nothing." "I've dreamed it." " Don't you believe me?" " Scipio, let me give you some advice." "Don't put one against the other." "Brothers." "It doesn't become you." "It's not Roman." "Hey!" "Why are you sleeping?" "You should watch over me!" "If someone jumps over you and kills me..." "I don't say it for me, but for you." "If I die, goodbye Republic!" "Wake up!" " Cato, listen!" " Again?" " Listen." "I've solved everything." "We'll grab Lucius and make him repeat to you that he's the thief." " Let's do it tomorrow." " No, we must do it now, come on!" " It's damp!" " If we wait till tomorrow, he'll get away." "Don't run!" " Bravo, Cato." " Why?" "They really were missing, the 500 talents." "He stole them." "That thief, punish him without mercy!" "There is no place for thieves!" "These are not men, they're dwarves!" "You must always punish the dwarves!" " Scipio." " What is it?" "It just had to happen to me, this punishment, this infamous fate?" "What do I care?" "Who are the historical nemesis?" "The god of vengeance?" " I don't want to punish it?" " Who?" " That ugly bunch." " Ah, the dwarves." "Let's go to your brother." " Halt!" "Who goes there?" " Roman citizens." "Identify yourself." " Now you know me?" " Always on your side." " Always ready to kill Cato." " Yes, but maybe another time." "In fact come with us, you never know." "What are they doing?" "By day they fight, and by night, out together." "Politics is dirty!" "Patrol!" "Wait here." "Lucius!" "Lucius, come out!" "With my own hands, I'll strangle you." " Has he returned home?" " Yes, but then he left like the wind." "Like the wind." "Where has he gone?" "Where has my brother gone?" " He's gone to Liternus, to your wife." " To my wife?" "To do what?" "They all go to the country, dear Scipio." "Well, some people can sure spend." "Nice house." " The Asian is rich!" " Was rich!" " Get my horse!" " Where are you going?" "To grab him and bring him back to Rome." "Gather the Senate!" "I'll bring back my brother, even if it's on a stretcher!" "In front of all I will say:" ""Scipio A. is him!"" "Alright, or will I always be a spy?" "Tomorrow the Senate will know, that Scipio shows no preference, not even for his brother!" "That's all we need!" " Where could I write something?" " Over here." "You, call me a centurion." "If I don't stop him, this one, rather than than becoming weaker, he'll grow." "Accusing his brother in public, these days..." "He'll become like Brutus, who slew his sons, for love of his country." " Did you call me?" " Come here, don't play the fool." "By the way, you want to kill me." "Go ahead, there's no one here." "You believed us?" "Some things are said to oblige." "Yes?" "We have legions just about everywhere." " Who's at Liternus?" " The third legion." "Commanded by Sempronius Gracchus, faithful to the Republic." "I can imagine!" "I'll give you a message for him." "It must be delivered right now." "Message from Cato for Sempronius Gracchus." "My mouth, your mouth..." "Which is best?" "Mamma, Uncle Lucius's here!" "Peace is over." "Here." "You never greet me!" " What do you want?" "Why are you here?" " I like to come and see you." " You're a nice friendly family!" " Then don't come here!" " You know what your husband's like." " What?" "Touchy." "I came to find you because I thought you might like it." " That's what you think!" " Two or three days." " Till things calm down." " Why should they calm down?" "It's nothing." "Just that matter of the 500 talents." "So they've found out which of you two stole them?" " We Scipios might all have faults..." " Not might have, have!" " Yes, but not me." " Two days only." "I'm not having you here for ever, two days food and that's it!" "Thanks, I don't know what to say." "And get your fingers out of that dish!" "Ugh, it's too sour." "What a way to overtake!" "He's coming!" "Go!" "Message from Cato for Sempronius Gracchus." "Message from Cato for Sempronius Gracchus." "Message for you from Cato." "It must be bad news." "Rather than this, I'd prefer another war." "To Scipio's villa!" "That's how it is, being a Roman soldier?" "It's a dog's life!" " Shall we get engaged?" " You're stubborn!" "No!" "Why not?" " Firstly because you're my uncle." " So what?" "I can't get engaged to my uncle." " It's Cornelia, the daughter of Scipio." " Cute!" "Child, is your daddy at home?" "There's no one." " Why are you blushing?" " You're crazy?" " You like him because he has a horse?" " No, because he's not a child, he's handsome, and isn't my uncle!" " What do they want?" " I don't know." "In the name of the Senate and the Roman people," "Here your fate is fulfilled, Scipio." "But not yours." "That of your daughter." "Cornelia will marry Sempronius Gracchus, and will become highly virtuous." "Unfortunately, she will be widowed young, and men will contend for her in vain." "She will live with the memories of that fool Sempronius, and think only of her sons, who will be Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus." "Now these names don't tell you anything." "But the world will remember for ever the brothers Gracchi, tribunes to the masses, and friends of the people." "And for this friendship, they will both be killed like dogs." "And the name of Scipio?" "It will continue..." "Continue, thanks to that ugly mug." "Him there." "Thanks to him being at your house, he won't take Cornelia, but the name of Scipio." "No one will remember your father, Scipio the Spaniard... your grandfather, Scipio Barbadus, or that poor thing of a brother," "Scipio the Asian." "To the world there's only be two Scipios:" "You, the African, and him." "Publius Cornelius Scipio, also called Emilianus." "You have defeated Carthage, he razed it to the ground." "My balls!" "You thought the world ended with you?" "The world never ends." "Man after man, day after day, to get where?" "No one knows." "Yes but, Sempronius Gracchus, what has he come for?" "I'm giving you a vision of universal life, and you lose the particulars?" " But I must act!" "Act?" "If life has the slightest interest for man, it's only because you never know what is going to happen." "You want to ruin the ending?" "You're right." "Then I go to meet my fate." "Right." "Scipio!" "Life is made up of ugly moments, but don't worry." "It can always bring something worse." "But you also bring bad luck?" "Lucius Cornelius Scipio!" " That madman's here!" " You son of a bitch!" "Rome was founded by a fratricide and may end up with a fratricide!" "Come here, you bastard!" "Climbing the wall like a rat?" "You must go to Rome!" " I'll take you on a stretcher!" " Shut up!" "Sempronius has come to tell you!" "You can't go to Rome, imbecile!" " Shut up, fool!" " Who is it?" "Order of Cato." "It orders the Scipios to stay at the Liternus villa awaiting the decision, of the Senate, regarding, the 500 talents of the King of Syria, forthcoming from the latest sitting." " What does it mean?" " I'm in the country, who knows?" "You should be in charge of the soldiers, but they're jailors of the Scipios." "It disgusts me, but what can we do?" "Do you promise to stay here?" "Yes, it is better to promise to stay here." "What are we going to do in Rome?" "A Republic of busybodies." "I'm going now." "Compliments to your daughter, she's really pretty." "Yes, you tell her too!" "Come on." "What you looking at?" "Why do you dislike me so?" "I've done nothing to you!" "You're only a child, yet I should kill you." "What did I say?" "I really hate you, damn you!" "What are you doing?" "Thinking." "I have been for an hour." "I'm exhausted." "Of course." "You don't know how to." "At least when you made war, you went away, and we all stayed here." " What are you thinking of?" " Of Cato." " I can't manage to... to understand." " What can't you understand?" "So many things." "If I had the time, I'd think of us both." "If we divorce, it's not only on account of the 500 talents." "You think it's easy being Scipio's wife?" "I'd have thought so." "What's so difficult?" "Haven't things always gone well?" "Yes, at first..." "At first I hated you." "Hate is enough to stay together." "But then that dies." "And without that there's nothing." " You hated me?" " With all my soul, my Scipio." " I don't understand." " You can't understand." "Love is made of little things, even misery." "Maybe it's made for little people, but you're too great, too much." "How can one love you?" "Scipio, you're annoying." "But I thought that..." "If only I had been betrayed with Sofonisba..." "But the great Scipio is in love with a wife!" " In fact I've always been true." " Don't say it as if it were a merit!" "I was hoping that the rumors were true, but Scipio is faithful." "Yet this intimidation continues." "Fidelity." " I am faithful too!" " Well?" " You're incorruptible." " There you're wrong." " Cato says I'm a thief." " If only you were!" "Scipio doesn't steal from the Republic, but sits eating his heart out." "Stay there and play the wounded king." "So annoying with his wounded dignity." "So, if I was a thief or a traitor..." "You'd be the same Scipio, but with some weakness, you'd be human." " And I could fall in love with you." " Then take my brother." "He's a Scipio like me, but also a thief." "Because he stole the 500 talents!" " Well?" " What well?" " What do you care?" " This morning I had to denounce..." "But Cato keeps me here!" "That's what I don't understand!" " Does Cato know the truth?" " Certainly, I told him." "How you moan!" "Do you think that Cato would let you accuse your own brother in the Senate?" "He wanted to know what happened to the 500 talents." "He created this business hoping it was you." "But now d'you think they'll let you play "the noble Scipio" again?" " You don't realise, but you annoy them." " Even him?" "Him, me, everyone!" " But when Hannibal rose up..." " Hannibal is no more!" "Rome is at peace, we want to live quietly." "You're not serving your county, your wife, nor your people, you're not serving anyone." "I'm sorry, but someone had to tell you." "I'm sorry." "No..." "Why?" "It's so." "You really believe, that I'm an enemy of Scipio?" "If the African had made the fine gesture, saying:" "Scipio A., that's me..." "Or better, had brought the Asian here, in front of everyone, even on a stretcher, and said:" "Scipio A. is my brother..." "Don't you think I would have been happy for him." "Of course I would!" "Because I would have seen, that the ancient Republican virtue is still alive." "But since Scipio, and this is a given fact, has run away, it seems that we can have no pretences." "Today, and this goes for anyone, even for the great Scipio, you are a man of modern times." "Now, and it's useless to deny it, is a time for little people." " The time for dwarves." " I disagree." "I don't give a damn." "I can't agree with these Moors." "Come on, tell me where is Scipio!" "Where is he?" "Cato, all day you've led us around Rome." "Can't we go home to bed?" "See for yourself, Romans." "When Scipio ran away, in Rome there are no more great men." "The giants, if they ever existed, belong to the past." "Don't bring me into it, what are you doing?" "We are here to judge Scipio?" "Well, to judge a small man, even Cato becomes small, and adapts to the times." "Is he going to shave?" "What's going on?" "He's mistaking the Senate for the bog." "If there's no more former dignity, then Cato deprives, take this, deprives himself voluntarily, of the last remnant." "Because only so, without beard, losing all rigour, becoming accommodative can he even ask for clemency." "Because conscript fathers, what do you think?" "I'm asking for clemency, for Scipio." "Noble Cato, here is a Roman." " And here's another!" " Scipio!" " Hail!" " Always on your side!" "Here I am, alone before Rome." "And the Asian?" "I haven't brought him, who is the Asian?" "The one that counts, is always and only," "Publius Cornelius Scipio, also called the African!" "Me!" "And you know better than me." " That which perhaps you don't know..." " Wait.." "Scipio, wait." " What is it, I'm speaking?" " Speak. what don't we know?" "That Scipio is always answerable to the facts." "Let's now go back in time." "Once more." "We're starting again." "No, this time we're finishing." "But, before we go back to the fields of Spain," "Scipio conquered Cartagena." "Hasdrubal escapes, and we plant the fierce eagle at Cadige." "All Spain is a Roman province!" "To tell it takes few words, to do it took five years." "What did Scipio do between one battle and another?" "Did he stand, in the pose of a hero?" "No, fathers." "The time has come to say how it happened." "Scipio, in all this time, has eaten and drunk, behind the backs of the Spaniards and the Roman people." "He has raped, cheated, swindled, he has stolen everything." "So that the Spaniards now call him "la langosta", or, in the language you know, "the locust"." "What do you want?" "Who are you?" "I did well, I was far sighted." "Because the Senate, the Roman people," "I gifted you a province, and you in exchange gave me what?" "A golden crown, a very small one!" "What did Scipio bring as spoils of war to the Roman people?" "Leftovers!" "The leftovers of everything that I took!" "It's beautiful, Spain, and wherever I went I built a villa." "I have more villas in Spain, than there are horses at Colonus!" "You make me laugh, Cato, with these 500 talents!" "In Spain, every night there was a party." "And in Africa it was even worse!" "I stole everything, I did everything!" "Whores and concubines!" "Women who gave birth at five months." "Men who fell to the ground, exhausted, through dint of having sex!" "And all this at the expense of the public treasury!" " And what did I send to Rome?" " Leftovers." "Yes sir, the leftovers." "You who wanted to kill me, if I had stolen the 500 talents." "It's good that you know it:" "Even Sofonisba was a leftover." "A personal leftover of Scipio." "What are you so angry about?" "If you had really loved her, you would have both died together." "You killed her, and took the Kingdom of Mauritania!" "It takes courage to claim that Scipio is innocent!" "Leave him, he won't move now." "You see, he doesn't move?" "But who moves here?" "Which of you can rise up and say:" "I am cleaner than Scipio?" "Come on." "One of you." "Damn it, no one at all!" "So it's true, even the cleanest dog gets the mange." "What did you think?" "This is not the ideal Republic of Plato, but the muddy city of Romulus." "You too could have risen up, noble Cato." "And if I had?" "Would you still want to know, who is Scipio A.?" " I've always known." " It couldn't be my brother." "Asia?" "No!" "Who is Asia?" "The only important one is always Africa." "You said it." "You've said too much." "You should calm down." "Just be like the others, better, never, but worse, it's useless." "Equal, Scipio." "They judged you incorruptible, but I always said:" "Listen, Scipio is a man like all the others, with some defects..." "and some weaknesses." "Well?" "Conscript fathers, what do you want to do?" "Have you the courage to make Scipio weep?" "Bravo!" "A fine gratitude for one..." "Poor kitty, what have they done to you?" " I'm cheered, I'm much cheered up!" " It's you dug up all this mess!" "Yes, but it's you who have to judge." " Give us time!" " With what he has stolen!" " Damn it!" " We'll have to think about it!" "But hurry, otherwise Scipio will begin to cry." "Understand?" "Even he weeps." "Come on, Massinissa!" "You were cuckolded, so what." "It's all history now?" "What will history say of you, Roman citizens," "That you were so ungrateful to bring tears to the eye of Scipio?" "For goodness sake, let's not make him cry!" "We punish Scipio only because he is a man among men." "Or a Roman among Romans?" "We make a man cry, who above all has defeated Carthage?" "No, Senators." "No, conscript fathers." "I join with Cato in asking for clemency for Scipio." " Clemency for Scipio!" " Bravo." "It's clear to all, both those present, and those to come, that this is a magnanimous act by the Senate and the Roman people," " and therefore let us repeat together..." " Clemency for Scipio!" "Clemency for Scipio!" "Enough!" "Just don't cry." "I'll cry all the same." "If Scipio cries..." "Cato, don't laugh." "What do you care?" "As long as the Republic lives." "What do you care?" "What do you care?" "What can I say to Emilia on your part?" "Tell her:" "Thank you, because she opened my eyes." "But because of this, I can see her no more." " Have I greeted you all?" " Not Licia." "Licia?" "I don't know her." "Don't eat so much that your breath stinks too." "What I told you, it wasn't easy." "Alright, never mind." "You're right." "Even the cleanest has the mange." "Massinissa..." "I'm not like that." "All I said to the Senate, it wasn't true." " Even about Sofonisba, it wasn't true." " But then why?" "Because..." " Where will you you go?" " I don't know." "If only I had a villa in Spain." "But even the houses in Rome and Liternus are occupied by my wife!" " Can you give me a lift?" " Where to?" " Wherever you want." " Jump up." "Live in peace, Massinissa, nothing happened!" "Ungrateful country, you won't have my bones." "Quiet, she-wolf." "Don't cry."