3.
Tertius Valerius did not have another paralytic stroke despite the fervent wishes of his relatives who had long suffered the taunts of the man they considered simple-minded. Even as a youth he had been so untalented in comparison to both his intelligent brothers that he had been called simply Tertius, the third son, while in the Senate he was known as Brutus, the imbecile.
But he was not untalented. His gifts were merely of another kind than those of his politically astute brothers who performed glorious deeds for Rome and rose to be first among the first. Every man, even an apparently simple one, has his own talent which is peculiar to him and which is perhaps never recognized by those around him if he has no opportunity to reveal it. Others are given the opportunity only once. Such, among the Romans, was the one-eyed Horatius who, although only a stupid, brawny man, remained alone on the Etruscan shore to defend the Roman bridgehead until the others behind him had time to destroy the bridge. Bullheaded stupidity was his talent, even though Lars Porsenna did conquer the city despite his stand.
Such lands and wealth as Tertius Valerius possessed could not have been accumulated by a stupid man. Nor was it ambition, in my opinion, that drove him to yield his sons to the lictors but rather an excessive sense of responsibility as a Roman and a desire to emulate his admired brothers. The Etruscans who were descended from patrician families strove to be even more Roman than the Romans themselves, attempting by their actions to dispel the understandable skepticism of the plebeians. One would have thought that those of Etruscan origin would have desired the return of Etruscan kings to Rome, but they did not. They preferred to rule the city and the people as patricians, senators and state officials.
Because of Arsinoe's nearness and my simple care, Tertius Valerius quickly recovered from his paralytic stroke and was deeply grateful to us both. When he had emerged from his twilight condition he no longer imagined Arsinoe to be his deceased wife, although he remembered well that he had done so. He believed merely that his wife's spirit had fleetingly transferred herself to Arsinoe's body so that she might care for him tenderly. He declared himself fortunate to have been able to beg her forgiveness for having disregarded her pleas and sacrificed their sons.
When he was again able to move about, I had a skilled massager manipulate his face carefully so that his eyelid no longer drooped as badly as before. Saliva still trickled from his twisted lip, but Arsinoe wiped his beard like a devoted daughter with a warm linen towel that she kept nearby. She also began to supervise the household, patiently advising the old slaves and servants, so that the old man received better food than formerly. Likewise the rooms were swept every day, the dust was wiped from the Penates and the dishes were kept clean. I hardly recognized her, for she had never before seemed domestic.
As I expressed amazement she said, "How little you know me, Turms. Haven't I always declared that as a woman I ask for no more than security and four walls and a few servants to command? Now that I have them, thanks to this grateful old man, I can ask for nothing more."
But I was not pleased when, upon my approaching her in bed, she submitted meekly to my caresses with her thoughts obviously elsewhere. In a way I should have been content, for when she was restless she created mere disorder, but when it had happened several times I complained bitterly.
"Oh, Turms, doesn't anything that I do please you?" she exclaimed. "After all, I do show you that I still love you. Forgive me if I can no longer participate wholeheartedly, but your blindness and my own body have already caused me sufficient grief. My terrible life in the Siccanian forest made me realize that any other condition would be more desirable. After all, it was my mad passion for you that plunged me to the…
