The Rape Of Lucrece
But no perfection is so absolute
That some inpurity doth not pollute.”
- William Shakespeare, The Rape of Lucrece
The sources ...
The History of Rome, by Livy (full name, Titus Livius), was one of Shakespeare's most important sources for The Rape of Lucrece . Livy (59 BC-AD 17) wrote about early Rome—from its legendary founding in 753 BC to the age of Caesar Augustus, down to about 9 BC. Livy's History—told in 142 volumes, of which thirty-five survive intact and others survive in fragments or in references to his History in works of other writers—is a masterpiece and required reading for all historians. However, Livy was a moralist who wrote history as a reformer. He was also a layman who had little experience in the day-to-day workings of government. When writing, he sometimes accepted undocumented accounts—accounts more properly categorized as legend than as history. Such is his account of the rape of a woman named Lucretia (the Lucrece of Shakespeare's poem). The account is taken as fact by some, fiction by others. Thus, Livy—a rich source of information about early Rome during the age of kings—was not always reliable.
http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/legacy/livy/lucretia.html
Fasti (Calendar) by the Roman poet Ovid (full name, Publius Ovidius Naso) was another important source of information. Shakespeare may have used an English translation of Fasti by Arthur Golding, although it is just as likely that he used an original Latin text. Of course, he may have paged through both texts while writing his poem. Ovid (43 B.C.-18 A.D.) is famous for his love poems, but Fasti was a twelve-volume account of the Roman calendar that listed special events and festivals on a given day. Book II of Fasti tells the story of the rape of Lucretia, or Lucrece, because of its importance as a significant turning point in Roman history. Used as evidence of the corruption of the reigning King of Rome (his son was the rapist), the incident led to the overthrow of the king and the establishment of the Roman republic.
http://www.theoi.com/Text/OvidFasti2.html
And Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Antiquitates Romanae tells us interesting facts in his book IV
D.H. 4.76.3
ἠκολούθουν δ᾿ αὐτοῖς οἱ θεράποντες ἐπὶ κλίνης μέλασιν ἀμφίοις ἐστρωμένης κομίζοντες ἀθεράπευτόν τε καὶ πεφυρμένην αἵματι τὴν νεκράν·
They were followed by their slaves, who carried upon a bier spread with black cloth the body of Lucretia, unprepared for burial and stained with blood;
https://www.loebclassics.com/view/dionysius_halicarnassus-roman_antiquities/1937/pb_LCL347.503.xml
D.H. 4.82.3
ἔπειτα σὺ μέν, ὦ Λουκρητία, γυναικείας τυχοῦσα φύσεως ἀνδρὸς εὐγενοῦς φρόνημα ἔσχες, ἡμεῖς δ᾿ ἄνδρες γενόμενοι γυναικῶν χείρους ἀρετῇ γενησόμεθα; καὶ σοὶ μέν, ὅτι μίαν ἐτυραννήθης νύκτα τὴν ἀμίαντον ἀφαιρεθεῖσα αἰδῶ μετὰ βίας, ἡδίων καὶ μακαριώτερος ἔδοξεν ὁ θάνατος εἶναι τοῦ βίου, ἡμῖν δ᾿ ἆρ᾿ οὐ παραστήσεται τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο ὑπολαβεῖν, ὧν Ταρκύνιος οὐ μίαν ἡμέραν, ἀλλὰ πέμπτον καὶ εἰκοστὸν ἔτος ἤδη τυραννῶν, πάσας ἀφῄρηται τὰς ἐν τῷ ζῆν ἡδονὰς2 ἐλευθερίαν 4ἀφελόμενος;
After this example, Lucretia, when you, who were given a woman’s nature, have shown the resolution of a brave man, shall we, who were born men, show ourselves inferior to women in courage? To you, because you had been deprived by force of your spotless chastity by submission to a tyrant during one night, death appeared sweeter and more blessed than life; and shall not the same feelings sway us, whom Tarquinius, by a tyranny, not of one day only, but of twenty-five years, has deprived of all the pleasures of life in depriving us of our liberty?
https://www.loebclassics.com/view/dionysius_halicarnassus-roman_antiquities/1937/pb_LCL347.515.xml
William Shakespeare, The Rape of Lucrece ...
At Ardea, where the Romans are fighting, two Roman leaders, Tarquin and Collatine, speak together one evening. Collatine describes his beautiful young wife, Lucrece, in such glowing terms that Tarquin’s passions are aroused. The next morning, Tarquin leaves the Roman host and journeys to Collatium, where the unsuspecting Lucrece welcomes him as one of her husband’s friends. As Tarquin tells her many tales of Collatine’s prowess on the battlefield, he looks admiringly at Lucrece and decides that she is the most beautiful woman in Rome.
In the night, while the others of the household are asleep, Tarquin lays restless. Caught between desire for Lucrece and dread of being discovered, to the consequent loss of his honor, he wanders aimlessly about his chamber. On one hand, there is his position as a military man who should not be the slave of his emotions; on the other hand is his overwhelming desire. He fears the dreadful consequences that might be the result of his lustful deed. His disgrace would never be forgotten. Perhaps his own face would show the mark of his crimes and the advertisement linger on even after death. He thinks for a moment that he might try to woo Lucrece but decides that such a course would be to no avail. She is already married and is not mistress of her own desires. Again he considers the possible consequences of his deed.
At last, emotion conquers reason. As Tarquin makes his way to Lucrece’s chamber, many petty annoyances deter him. The locks on the doors have to be forced; the threshold beneath the door grates under his footstep; the wind threatens to blow out his torch; he pricks his finger on a needle. Tarquin ignores these omens of disaster. In fact, he misconstrues them as forms of trial that only make his “prize” more worth winning.
When he reaches the chamber door, Tarquin begins to pray for success. Realizing, however, that heaven will not countenance his sin, he declares that Love and Fortune will henceforth be his gods. Entering the room, he gazes at Lucrece in sleep. When he reaches forward to touch her breast, she awakens with a cry of fear. He tells her that her beauty has captured his heart and that she must submit to his will....
t.b.c.
... Be sure that I'll read it 
!
