:25:00
it was so fragile.
:25:02
And I fear that it will not survive the winter.
:25:07
CAESAR: Maximus...
:25:09
let us whisper now...
:25:12
together, you and I.
:25:15
You have a son.
:25:18
Tell me about your home.
:25:22
[Surreal instrumental music]
:25:25
My house is in the hills above Trujillo.
:25:30
A very simple place.
:25:32
Pink stones that warm in the sun.
:25:35
A kitchen garden
that smells of herbs in the day...
:25:39
jasmine in the evening.
:25:42
Through the gate is a giant poplar.
:25:45
Figs, apples, pears.
:25:48
The soil, Marcus, black.
Black like my wife's hair.
:25:52
Grapes on the south slopes,
olives on the north.
:25:54
Wild ponies play near my house.
They tease my son.
:25:57
He wants to be one of them.
:25:58
When was the last time you were home?
:26:00
Two years, 264 days and this morning.
:26:05
I envy you, Maximus. It's a good home.
:26:09
Worth fighting for.
:26:14
CAESAR: There is one more duty...
:26:16
that I ask of you before you go home.
:26:21
What would you have me do, Caesar?
:26:23
CAESAR: I want you to become
the protector of Rome after I die.
:26:28
I will empower you to one end alone...
:26:31
to give power back to the people of Rome...
:26:35
and end the corruption that has crippled it.
:26:38
[Surreal instrumental music continues]
:26:44
Will you accept this great honour
that I have offered you?
:26:48
With all my heart, no.
:26:53
Maximus...
:26:55
that is why it must be you.
:26:58
But surely a prefect, a senator...