Act 8 Scene 5

Outside the deserted outpost. Enter Roman troops with the body of Hannibal on a wooden carrier. 

Alarum and Enter Scipio Africanus, Gaius Terentius Varro and Fabius Maximus and other troops. 

Gaius Terentius Varro: Behold Gentlemen! The reason of a thousand tears lies deceased in front of thee; made weak by time and ferocious Roman onslaught and thereafter relentless Roman quest! Though we couldst not catch him alive, but by Jove, we have his corpse and so we have truly avenged our fallen comrades who didst fall to his evil tactics.

Fabius Maximus: ‘Tis but sad that a general of his calibre had to meet such a shambolic end, he didst deserve full accolades for his achievements, but they were ‘gainst us, so I canst not confer him with any such honours! Although we all must truly admit that even in death he doth seem to be one step ahead of us!

Gaius Terentius Varro: ‘Twas his very nature to be deceitful, and aye, in that regard he was the master, forever the elusive fox, who wouldst thrive in the thicket to deal a deadly blow on his enemies by catching them unawares. Tried we to catch him so and yet he hath defied us!

Fabius Maximus: Aye, and he brought near disaster to us and now, as we speak, we take heavens as the witness, and pray that the dead sons of Rome may now, truly, rest in peace!

Scipio Africanus: Aye, ‘tis true that horror to us Romans he didst bring, with his strange and seemingly surreal touch and ingenious strategies; but aye, one fact which none of us can deny, that an abler or more gifted general, the world at this hour had never seen. ‘Twas a pity, even a cruel irony that he was not born to the Romans, for those that he sought to bitterly destroy hath risen from the ashes of his fire to be the phoenix! And those he sought to protect and uplift hath fallen into bitter oblivion! Well gentlemen such is life, which mayst raise thee to seventh heaven or drop thee deeper than the seventh hell! The treacherous Carthage didst not supply him help during the height of his conquests, which prevented him from marching on Rome! We were able to consolidate, and quickly turn things around. He was, and will forever remain in the hallowed halls of history as a high class general, inspite of being a butcher of Roman souls! ‘Tis true that once even I wanted to think of him as this barbarian beast who didst butcher the sons of Rome, to thus render an entire generation fatherless, but aye, as it turned out, that I didst learn much from his tactics, and in my mind he was, and always shallst remain my true tutor, and mentor, who didst artfully guide me to victory! So Gentlemen, how then should we respect my mentor, who was also my most hated foe? Being Romans, we must rise above petty thoughts of exacting dire revenge on the dead, and honour the greatest foe which made our Republic stronger than ever! Let us at once say that Hannibal is at our gates when any calamity doth strike, only to remind us how easily didst we “buy” ourselves out of that crisis! Then whenever our great Republic be threatened, let us remember that it was on the very brink of collapse, and how we, the Romans, took that as our “finest hour” and heroically fought off the foreign invader! Mothers wouldst sooth their unruly babes with the fear of Hannibal, to instill discipline from a very young age, which wouldst bode well for our Republic! Statues of him shallst be erected to remind us how we may easily overcome any foe, for we are favoured by the Gods! So Gentlemen, let us not tarry, and build a grand mausoleum to this fallen swordsman, general, and loyal son of Carthage, who fought us soulfully and solely for loyalty to what he believed in, and may we remember, that since the Republic is bigger than any of us, show the same loyalty and self-sacrifice as we did to overcome him!

Others: Amen! Let us proceed! All Hail Scipio! All Hail Hannibal!

[Exeunt with the body, Alarum and Flourish!!

Act 8 Scene 4

Libyssa, eastern shore of the sea of marmara, there a deserted military outpost.

In a room with sparse belongings, Enter Hannibal.

Hannibal: In this yeasty age, harrowed I am of being chased like a hare by the Roman hounds. I didst flee, wherever a semblance or a vestige of Roman hatred blossomed in a king’s court. I faced them all, the entire gamut of receptions ranging from apathy to warmth, ridicule to admiration, yet Rome prevailed! Thus as evening casts a forlorn pall yonder, and the ships to their docks return, so should men who have toiled hard to their loving homes. But I, the self-styled vagabond on a self-imposed exile, have nowhere to return. Hated by the oligarchs, chased by the Romans, I am but a shadow of my former self. Made frail with age, I possess not the passion or zeal to take on the Romans. As I see the birds take flight to their lovely homes, I too feel a longing to leave this world for I feel that slowly I am becoming a ghost or a shade! But hark! What noise is that?

A distant note of thunder, then gusts of wind followed my mist which engulfs the room.

Enter Ghosts of Hamilcar, Hasdrubal the Fair, Hasdrubal and Mago.

Ghost of Hamilcar: Nay son, not thee, but ‘tis me who is the apparition hither, along with thy dead brethren!

Ghost of Hasdrubal the Fair: ‘Tis been a long time since we’ve met, and grown yea have I see! Hurry now, the Romans are near.

Ghost of Hasdrubal: Brother, quick flee this place or join us!

Ghost of Mago: Now dear brother, now, do it, now!

Hannibal [startled]: Hark! Truly thou canst not be real, but are just the fragments o’th’tired mind of an old and wearied homesick traveller, which doth conjure images from his past to draw comfort. Yet methinks ye are come to find me to tell me of an impending danger! Speak!

Ghost of Hamilcar: Son, I am hither to warn thee of a Roman assault hither, as betrayed thou art. Soon make thy choice and drink to it!

Others: Come Brother, flee or use the Ring! Use the Ring! Use the Ring!

Ghost of Hamilcar: Time is short for we can no longer stay hither, soon surrounded thou shallst be! Choose now!

[Exeunt the Ghosts

Hannibal: What devilry was this? Did I hallucinate or were such visions palpable enough to warn me of danger? I hear noises without, truly the Romans are near, I see it [looking outside the window and spotting approaching figures] Well then ‘tis time to follow the advice and swallow the gall I had with me for some time now, yet, it had escaped my mind!

He opens his ring, which looks like a shining piece of stone to the untrained eye, and is but a container of vile, and pours the liquid into a chalice of water.

With this poison I shall end my struggle for it shallst relieve the Romans of the anxiety they have so long experienced, since they think it tries their patience too much to wait for an old man's death! Soon brothers and dearest father, thou shallst be joined by me! Romans failed thou have, Ha! ‘Tis hither that my tale shallst come to its end!

Drinks the poison and writhes in pain for a while, and then dies.

Alarum. Enter Roman troops.

1^st Soldier: Thither he is, hie, for we must take him ere he may die!

2^nd Soldier [approaches]: ‘Tis too late, for he is slain; from the poison from this ring, I doth gather! Go pronounce this news to the Captain!

[Exeunt a few soldiers

1^st Soldiers: Rest of you, help me carry him out!

[Exeunt Roman troops with Hannibal’s corpse

Act 8 Scene 3

Ten years after the previous scene, Hannibal's tent, somewhere in Asia Minor.

Enter Hannibal, who paces nervously up and down and then finally sits down.

Hannibal: The tent is warm and soothing, and it doth seem to me that this shallst be a safe refuge for now whilst providing me good comfort. I didst move swiftly whenever I smelt the slightest hint of danger, and thus far it has proved worth it. I knowest not which man, rattled by the ravages of time, is forced move about at first light, to and fro, like the prized king in chess to avoid capture! But hush, I shouldst not talk in a voice of fervent tone, for out there are Roman posts, sentinels of the dark, who at my slightest stir, will rise forth to take me prisoner!

Yet I lay hither to contemplate about my life sans Carthage. I didst visit Tyre, that land from whither our forefathers set sail to establish that great power at the mouth of Gibraltar. Aye, but safety mayst only be found on dry land which canst be controlled be controlled by the sea. I didst go to the Armenian Court, where the king Antiochus III didst welcome me with open arms, and bade me command his army. Thither I didst meet an old fool, who I recall, wouldst easily beat any other old fool in sheer size and scale of stupidity. Phormio, his name was who didst propose idiotic ideas of warfare, which were plainly rebuked by me. The king turned out to be far greater in stupidity when than I had imagined, and whilst I reported that a formation wouldst be enough for even the far exceeding greed of the Romans, he dismissed me to make his own flawed battle plans ‘gainst Rome! His loss was assured, which made me fly from his court!

Then I thought that this king was an exception, but as it turned out, almost all of them, were too indolent and addicts of sycophants. Soon they started to form alliances with Rome. Some however didst resist better- I recall myself thither. Countless wars, some worth of note, others mere minor skirmishes didst follow, and yet I wouldst never win a semblance of trust from them. Only did I have a glimmer of hope, ‘twas ‘gainst King Eumenes II of Pergamon, the ally of Rome. I didst manage to my steps, and now in this naval conflict, unlike the one whither Seleucid lost, I didst exercise my venomous vantage. Pots filled with the vilest adders I did throw to disarm all Eumene’s ships to give Prusias I of Bithynia a naval victory. But alas, that was not to stand for Prusias too proved to be the spineless wretch to bend his knees to Rome!

By a strange twist of heart, some say due to fear, he didst decide to give me up; but I am not the person to allow myself as a pray to Roman snares! So to Libyssa did I flee, to chart out a new course of action or take up a final stand. The proof of my existence hither shallst not chance, for I will carry what I wouldst need, and burn the rest sans tarry! Ahoy! The birds rise, and softly so must I; to live and fight another day. The horse awaits and methinks ‘tis time to make haste!

[Exit

Act 8 Scene 2

Rome, the Capitol. 

Emergency meeting of the Senate underway to discuss the state of affairs in Carthage and to extradite Hannibal. 

Enter Scipio Africanus, Gaius Terentius Varro, Fabius Maximus and two senior senators.

Gaius Terentius Varro: ‘Tis been three months or more and our main foe, hath trodden from one king’s court to another across the eastern lands. The Carthaginians claim he is in exile, that his escape is not their doing, and judging by their servile nature, methinks Hannibal didst impose this exile on himself.

1^st Senator: We must continue, with greater zeal to track down our greatest enemy, as he seeks refuge in the courts of our enemies, to plot ‘gainst us.

Scipio Africanus: Myself have posted scouts and there are reports which speak, that he didst journey to Tyre, that land of their forefathers, but presently, if he hasn’t fled, he keeps his state in the court of Antiochus III of Syria in the great city of Ephesus.

Fabius Maximus: If that be true, then, prithee, why doth I hear reports that he didst arm himself at the head of an army?

Gaius Terentius Varro: Thou heardst right, aye, for he keeps himself busy by plotting ‘gainst us whilst quietly slipping through our fingers like grains of sand from the Sahara! There are reports that he wouldst launch an assault on us using the king's army.

Scipio Africanus: To that gentlemen we shouldst note, that I have the fullest confidence in the report o’th’spy, who says that the king doth plan an attack on our shores, but Hannibal shallst be away in the king’s court pondering over the knights and pawns in morose foreboding.

2^nd Senator: Prithee if we know of an assault, shouldst we not make haste to defend our shores?

Scipio Africanus: Aye, good senator fret not, for at first light me and my troops shallst be there to greet them. Without Hannibal's effortless guile, they shallst fall like a pack of cards. Then I the victor shallst write a letter to the king whilst holding hostages and ask him to immediately extradite Hannibal in return for the hostages. Then let him flee for soon the net of diplomacy will take root to scoop up the perch. If this fails then I will redouble my efforts to ensnare him!

Fabius Maximus: Then let us part for the night, as at an end today’s discussion is!

Others: Let us all!

[Exeunt

Act 8 Scene 1

The Praetor’s office, late at night in Carthage.Enter Hannibal, who paces up and down nervously.

Hannibal: The still night beckons; and I must make this move, for Rome shallst never have me. Alas! People of Carthage, I have failed thee again, first as general and now as Praetor. Full well their trust I didst gain, but my greatest folly was to believe in the leadership of Carthage, which had rotten beyond use before my ascent of the Alps. The War was lost before metal tasted blood, and now I know why. Reforms galore I didst put forth, which made the people happy but the arrogant elders cried foul; no country’s fate shouldst ever be entrusted upon them!

 They doth care only to increase their land holdings; and doth bend to any degree like a creeper, and comply even with a mortal enemy. Happy they doth seem, conniving with Rome to, but alas, they realize not that Rome, with her powers enhanced, shall like a Kraken, with its myriad tentacles wrap and sink this ship. This I canst not allow, whilst I am still in office, but it doth seem scared them I have with Cannae. The ghosts of Cannae wouldst forever haunt them till beloved Carthage is done to dust, but not under my watch! Yet these greedy thugs conspire to have me killed, or worse still, have me delivered to Rome!

They rue the loss of their privileges, for ‘twas I who decreed the membership o’th’Council to be one year and that their office be subject to public election, with two whole years being the fullest term. This didst open up their moral decay, and they showed their decadent selves! Now like a hungry wolf pack in winter, they wouldst pounce on me, but methinks me is too clever for their silvered hands and heads, and I shallst flee in absolute silence, at an ungodly hour, before the wolf pack strikes! Hark! Who goes thither!

Enter a messenger

Messenger: Sire, ‘tis time, the horse awaits at the gates. As per thy orders the vessel to Tyre is at the docks, ready to sail at first tide. I suggest we hie, for conspirators and Roman troops are at large!

Hannibal: Hail Messenger! Thou hast done what a true and noble son of Carthage wouldst do! I shall take to sea, come away at once!

[Exeunt