Emperor Claudius: “Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud…hatch out”

Roman Emperor Claudius is speaking to his advisors. It’s finally dawned on him that the degeneracy and corruption of the empire is such that only total catastrophe, only a thorough cleaning of the slate, only the downfall of the empire might restore virtue and life. Hence, knowing that evil always destroys itself in the end, he prescribes “letting all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out,” thereby hastening the coming of the clean slate.

From the great 1976 miniseries I, Claudius
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074006/

https://www.amazon.com/Claudius-35th-Anniversary-Sian-Phillips/dp/B006JY3OHW/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3RZ86OY5XJAUP&keywords=i%2C+claudius&qid=1658509454&s=movies-tv&sprefix=I%2C+claudius%2Cmovies-tv%2C150&sr=1-2

Based on the book by Robert Graves
https://www.amazon.com/Claudius-Autobiography-Tiberius-Murdered-International/dp/067972477X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=HC4DIWS2OM7C&keywords=Robert+graves+claudius&qid=1658508863&s=books&sprefix=robert+graves+claudius%2Cstripbooks%2C232&sr=1-1