The first and second acts are laid in and near Rome, the third
act in Etruria.

* * * * *




FIRST ACT

[The Flaminian Way outside of Rome. Off the road a
wooded hillside. In the background loom the walls and
the heights of the city. It is evening.]

[CATILINE stands on the hill among the bushes, leaning
against a tree.]

CATILINE. I must! I must! A voice deep in my soul
Urges me on,--and I will heed its call.
Courage I have and strength for something better,
Something far nobler than this present life,--
A series of unbridled dissipations--!
No, no; they do not satisfy the yearning soul.

CATILINE. I rave and rave,--long only to forget.
'Tis past now,--all is past! Life has no aim.

CATILINE. [After a pause.]
And what became of all my youthful dreams?
Like flitting summer clouds they disappeared,