displayed for all to see, and each person is their own judge. Since she speaks, do not condemn her without<hr>
hearing her.<hr>
<hr>
<hr>
                                         Lucretia to Collatinus<hr>
      Is it possible for me to see Collatinus without daring to call him my husband? Yes, reason<hr>
requires it and I approve. No, Collatinus, I am no longer your wife. I am a victim that the wrath<hr>
of the gods has chosen to endure the most terrible tyranny ever heard of.<hr>
I am no longer that Lucretia whose noble soul charmed you more than beauty. I am a<hr>
martyr that the crime of others has made guilty. But to allow me to confide in you<hr>
with a measure of tranquility, swear to me that you will avenge the insult I have suffered. Show me in<hr>
your eyes a desire for revenge. Show me the dagger that will erase the affront paid to me.<hr>
Ask me eagerly for the name of the aggressor. But can I say it? Today,<hr>
for my defense and punishment, I must be both my accuser, my witness,<hr>
my defender, and my judge.<hr>
      You will hear, Collatinus, that this Lucretia, who has always loved her honor more than<hr>
her life or yours, whose chastity has always been irreproachable, whose purity of the soul is<hr>
incorruptible, has suffered from the cowardice of an infamous man, a tyrant’s son who is a tyrant himself. Yes,<hr>
Collatinus, the cunning Sextus Tarquin whom you called your friend when you introduced him to me, this<hr>
traitor has forcibly overcome my modesty. Dishonoring his own glory, he has tarnished yours by<hr>
totally defiling mine. With an unprecedented cruelty, he reduced me to the most<hr>
pitiful state in which a woman of pure inspirations can find herself. I see<hr>
well, Collatinus, that my speech surprises you and that you find it hard to believe what I say, but it's<hr>
yet an undeniable truth. I am a witness and accomplice to this crime. Yes, Collatinus,<hr>
since I am still alive, I am not innocent. Yes, my father, your daughter is guilty<hr>
of valuing my life over my honor. Yes, Brutus, I deserve the hatred of all my loved ones.<hr>
Even if I had only fallen in love with the cruel tyrant who treated me disdainfully,<hr>
violating basic human rights and friendship, offending the Roman people and defying the<hr>
gods, this would already be enough reason to be hated by all. But is it possible that<hr>
I could have had such cowardly feelings? Could my fatal beauty have kindled a flame in<hr>
him that was to destroy me? And could his innocent eyes arouse such criminal desires? I am surprised that I did not tear out my own heart before this final<hr>
misfortune. It was then that I should have shown my courage and the love<hr>
I had for glory. I would have died innocent, my life would have been unblemished, and the gods<hr>
would certainly have watched over my reputation. But in the end, things don't happen<hr>
that way. I am miserable, unworthy of seeing the light, unworthy of being the daughter of Spurius Lucretius, unworthy of being Collatinus's wife, and unworthy of being a Roman. <hr>
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                                                    76<hr>