Willie monologue (Act 1) — Touch and Go: A Play in Three Acts

Tiberius!--Oh, did he? (Laughs.) Thanks! Well, if Tiberius said it, there must be something in it, and he only just missed being in the Bible anyway. He was a day late, or they'd have had him in. "Oh, how eager these men are to be slaves!"--It's evident the Romans deserved all they got from Tiberius--and you'll deserve all you get, every bit of it. But don't you bother, you'll get it. You won't be at the mercy of Tiberius, you'll be at the mercy of something a jolly sight worse. Tiberius took the skin off a few Romans, apparently. But you'll have the soul taken out of you--every one of you. And I'd rather lose my skin than my soul, any day. But perhaps you wouldn't.