Petronius, leader of fashion;

PETRONIUS

LEADER OF FASHION

PETRONIUS

LEADER OF FASHION

TRANSLATION AND NOTES

BY

J. M. MITCHELL, O. B. E., M. C.

LONDON

GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS LTD.

BROADWAY HOUSE, 68—74 CARTER LANE, E.G.

1922

Printed in Holland Vy G. J. Thieme, Nimeguen.

CONTENTS

Section Introduction. Page

I. Origin of this Translation ... XI

II. The Title XVII

III. The Author XVIII

IV. The Book : Its Nature and Con-
tents XXIV

V. Structure and Characterization . XXXV

VI. Style XXXVII

VII. The Translation XXXIX

VIII. The Morals of the Book . . . XLV

IX. Nero and Trimalchio XLVII

X. The Notes XLVIII

XL The Text XLIX

XII. Select Bibliography L

PART I

Chapter

I. The Decay of Oratory 1

II. The Growth of Artificiality .... 2

III. Agamemnon's Defence of the Rheto-
ricians 3

IV. No Royal Road to Eloquence ... 4
V. The Poet's Road to Greatness. . . 5

VI. I lose my \Vay 6

VII. And fall into a Trap 6

VIII. I escape with Ascyltus 7

IX. The Treachery of Ascyltus .... 8

X. The Quarrel 9

2039963

CONTENTS

Chapter i Page

XI. Ascyltus avenges his Dismissal. . 10

XII. The Encounter in the Market-place 21

XIII. We behold our lost Tunic ... 22

XIV. \Ve decide to recover our Treasure

at a Sacrifice 23

XV. We see that everybody likes his

own things best 24

XVI. We are visited by a Lady . . 27

XVII. Arrival of Quartilla 28

XVIII. How the great Lady was calmed 29
XIX. She demands her Cure by Force

of Arms .... 30

XX. How the Cure was wrought . 31
XXI. Our Punishment and the ensuing

Banquet 32

XXII. W^e doze and are attacked by Bur-
glars . 33

XXIII. The Fun grows fast and furious. 35

XXIV. Ascyltus and Gito in Trouble . . 35
XXV. A Wedding is arranged .... 36

XXVI. The Ceremony 37

PART II

XXVI. (cont.) Trimalchio's Banquet ... 39
XXVII. Trimalchio plays Ball. .... 40
XXVIII. Trimalchio goes in Procession from

the Bath 41

XXIX. The Glories of the Entrance Hall 42
XXX. We enter the Banqueting-Hall. . 43
XXXI. W^e are served with the Hors

d'oeuvres 45

XXXII. Trimalchio joins his Guests ... 46

XXXIII. Trimalchio plays Draughts ... 47

XXXIV. Trimalchio makes Light of a
Breakage 48

VI

CONTENTS

Chapter Page

XXXV. The Epicure's Zodiac 50

XXXVI. What the Zodiac Symbols con-
cealed 51

XXXVII. I am introduced to Trimalchio's

Wife .52

XXXVIII. The rich Man and the bankrupt

Undertaker 53

XXXIX. Trimalchio expounds the Zodiac

Signs 55

XL. When the Boar was opened the

Birds began to sing 56

XLI. The Cap of Freedom 58

XLII. The Bore gets going ... .59
XLIII. A long Life and a merry One. 60

XLIV. The 'Hungry Forties' 61

XLV. Echion is an Optimist 63

XLVI. He is an Advocate of Education. 65
XLVII. Trimalchio is dyspeptic .... 67
XLVIII. Trimalchio is pleased to be face-
tious 69

XLIX. How we were taken in by the

Chef 70

L. The Origin of "Corinthian Ware" 72

LI. Caesar's WVy with Inventors 73

LII. Trimalchio's Plate: He dances 73

LI II. An Interval for Business . . 75

LIV. Trimalchio is Hurt 76

LV. We pose as Critics of Poetry:

Trimalchio recites . . . .77
LVI. Trimalchio compares the Profes-
sions 79

LVI I. Ascyltus gets into hot Water . 80
LVIII. Gito in Trouble, too .... 82
LIX. Peace being restored, we have

a Recital from Homer .... 84

VII

CONTENTS

More astonishing Devices

Page

. 86

Chapter

LX.

LXI. Niceros is induced to tell a Story. 87
LXII. Niceros meets a Werwolf . 88
LXIII. The dead Child and the Witch 90
LXIV. Niceros and Trimalchio provide

amusement: so do the Dogs . 91
LXV. Habinnas arrives, having been

kept at a Funeral 93

LXVI. A Banquet to remember ... 93
LXVII. An Exhibition of domestic Bliss 96
LXVIII. During Dessert, a Slave of Ha-
binnas obliges 98

LXIX. Our sufferings become more

dreadful still 99

LXX. The Slaves become prominent. 101
LXXI. Trimalchio provides for his Ob-
sequies . . 103

LXXII. We fail to avoid a Bath. . . 105

LXXI 1 1. The Bath gives us new Strength. 106

LXXIV. The Cock crows and is cooked . 108

LXXV. Trimalchio's Autobiography . .110

LXXVI. How Trimalchio went in for

shipping Ill

LXX VI I. Trimalchio modestly describes

his Mansion 113

LXX VII I. Trimalchio rehearses his lying-
in-state 114

PART III: THE SEQUEL.

LXXIX. We reach Home with difficulty 116
LXXX. My Quarrel with Ascyltus . 118
LXXXI. I brood over my wrongs . . .119
LXXXII. I burn for Vengeance and am

foiled 120

LXXXIII. I visit a Picture-Gallery ... 122

VIII

CONTENTS

Chapter

LXXXIV. We bewail the hard Fate of

Scholarship 124

LXXXV. The Tragedy of a Bank-clerk

in Asia 125

LXXXVI. The Story of my Courtship. 126
LXXXVII. The tragic Denouement ... 127
LXXXVIII. Eumolpus on the greed of gain 128
LXXXIX. The old Man relates the Siege

of Troy 130

XC. I pledge Eumolpus to keep to

Prose 132

XCI. I re-capture Gito and escape 133
XCII. The Poet has not forgotten his

Dinner 135

XCIII. Food from afar ... 136
XCIV. The beautiful Nature of Gito 137
XCV. Eumolpus thrown into the Street 139
XCVI. But he meets a Client Hi
XCVII. Ascyltus reappears and de-
mands his Slave 142

XCVIII. Gito is discovered 143

XCIX. We go a-sailing 145

C. Out of the Frying- Pan into

the Fire 147

CI. W^e are in Despair 148

CII. Counsels of Despair .... 150

CIII. W^e are disguised as Slaves 153

CIV. W^e are the victims of Dreams 154

C V. W^e are discovered and forgiven 1 56

CVI. Tryphaena abets Lichas in his

Cruelty 158

CVI I. Eumolpus is counsel for the

Defence 159

CVIII. The Battle and the Terms of

Peace 161

IX

CONTENTS

Chapter Page

CIX. A Treaty is arranged. ... 164

CX. We don Wigs 166

CXI. The Story of the Matron of

Ephesus . . 167

CXII. How the Lady Fell in Love. 170
CXIII. We are surfeited with Friend-
liness 171

CXIV. We are tossed by a Storm . 174
CXV. The Poet in distress .... 176
CXVI. We approach Croton. . . .179
CXVII. W^e prepare for our visit to

the City of Legacy -hunters 180
CXVIII. Eumolpus discourses on the

Poet's afflatus 183

CXIX-CXXIV. The Tyranny of Rome . 184

CXXV. I begin to dread discovery . 193

CXXVI. The Maid and the Mistress . 194

CXXVII. Circe makes Love to me . . 196

CXXVIII. But tragedy follows .... 198

CXXIX. An exchange of Letters ... 200

CXXX. I make humble Apology. . . 201

CXXXI. I sally forth in high hope. 202

CXXXII. But the Tragedy is repeated 205

CXXXIII. I dismiss the Circe episode . 207

CXXXIV. The Priestess sets to work 208

CXXXV. Oenothea's Sorcery. ... 210

CXXXVI. My Battle with the sacred

Geese 212

CXXXVII. The Gravity of killing a Goose 214
CXXXVIII. The Cure is too violent. . . 216

CXXXIX. Chrysis returns 218

CXL. The Episode of Philomela . . 221
CXLI. The end of the Story— and of

Eumolpus 224

NOTES 227

X

INTRODUCTION

I. ORIGIN OF THIS TRANSLATION

BEFORE the War I had the good fortune to
be teaching Latin and Greek in a College of one
of the Universities which do not attract students
from schools where the Classics are held in
honour. Apart from a small number of honours
students, it would be fair to say that the bulk
of those who attended the classical lectures took
Latin or Greek simply as one of the possible
subjects for a pass degree, i. e. as a necessary
evil, or at most as an aid to an honours course
in one of the modern languages.

Some teachers might not agree with me that this
was a case of good fortune. So far as I was con-
cerned, however, the experience gave me entirely
new conceptions (a) of the value and the attrac-
tiveness of classical culture, and (b) of the relative
importance of various kinds of university work.
Practically all the students who came to my
classes had a very poor grounding in the subject
and such knowledge as they had was the result
of painful efforts at memorising. Few, if any,
had any conception of the facts that the Greeks
and the Romans were the first great nations of
civilised Europe and that no one can adequately
grasp the manifold problems of modern life unless

PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

he has at least a general knowledge of the ancient
world. They had begun their education in that
particular stratum of educated Britain in which
a knowledge of Greece and Rome is regarded
as "unpractical". Wliat was the good — except
for examination purposes — of learning a few Latin
words and grammatical usages which they would
forget the moment they had taken their pass
degrees and would satirize for the rest of their
lives ?

The University-man of the Oxford or Cam-
bridge type is accustomed, with more or less
sincerity, to bewail the modern " democratic"
contempt for the humanities, but does he realize
that, outside the Universities and a few schools,
the teaching of classics is quite justifiably attacked,
since it is in many cases limited to a pitiful
soulless modicum of grammar, and rarely includes
any attempt to interest the student in the Ancient
\Vorld as a storehouse of ideas, experiments and
social discoveries?

It very soon became clear to me — and it was
a lesson of importance. — that my students must
be taught quite differently from those who in
Oxford and Cambridge are aiming at pure
scholarship. The difference is not simply one of
degree : it is a difference of kind. All the Latin
and Greek, on the purely linguistic side, that
my students could hope in the time at their
disposal to assimilate and use, was just so much
as would lead to a better understanding of their
own language, i. e. to an appreciation of the
reasons which underlie the many English words
and terminations which were incorporated and
adapted by our learned and accurate -minded

XII

INTRODUCTION

forefathers out of their knowledge of Norman-
French or Latin or Greek.

No one who studies the evil effects of the
careless misuse of words can fail to realise in
this connexion the importance of a properly
designed training in Latin and Greek, since
practically all terms which signify elaborate or
complex ideas are of classical origin. The man
who prides himself on sticking to " plain Anglo-
Saxon " must also confine himself to a very limited
range of ideas — a limitation which, to do him
justice, he appears to accept with equanimity.
In this connexion I often found myself wishing
that the great classical savants of Oxford and
Cambridge would deny themselves the glory of
" research " and give themselves to a wider
audience. Had they done this, the classics as
part of an Englishman's education would not
have sunk in popular esteem, and our hope of
possessing an educated democracy would not
have fallen so low. So far from encouraging
University men to " research ", no prospective
teacher (so far as the classics are concerned)
should be allowed to research until he has been
tested by serving the community as a teacher.
The students who came to my classes had
clearly been taught by men and women who
neither knew nor cared anything for the Ancient
World.

The inferiority of their elementary grammar
had its counterpart in the fact that they had
never conceived Latin and Greek as the languages
of "live" men to whom we owe in large measure
our civilisation, our political and philosophical
ideas, our conceptions of art, the beginnings of

XIII

PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

physical science. They were growing up into
men and women such as we see in prominent
positions everywhere who are blind to the fact
that problems of labour, population, international
relations, land-tenure, taxation, rich and poor,
husband and wife, are not peculiar to our day,
but were confronted by men of ability two
thousand years ago. No wonder the Latin
exercise appeared dull and unprofitable!

Clearly the aim of a teacher with students in
this position must be different from that of a
coach in Moderations or a Tripos lecturer. It
was a surprising and most encouraging experience
to see how such students brightened up, when
they began to picture the Gracchi in something
like the role of an advanced statesman or econo-
mist of to-day, to compare the imperial aspi-
rations of Rome with the colonial expansion of
Britain, to try to imagine how the ordinary
householder in Ancient Italy really felt, when a
Caesar dined with him in the course of a journey,
to discover that Cicero's brother quarrelled with
his wife. The difficulty, however, which always
confronted the teacher as the work progressed
was that so many of the Latin and Greek books
which they had to prepare were utterly unsuit-
able as an illustration of \vhat he wanted to
teach. There are very few parts of the Aeneu)
which really interest an intelligent young student
whose Latin is defective and whose chief real
interest is some branch of social science. The
Georgia) are sheer boredom and Cicero's speeches
do not ring true. The Roman who took to
writing was singularly self-conscious and pedantic.
It was only when we read some of Cicero's

XIV

INTRODUCTION

Letters or parts of Sallust's Catiline that interest
really became keen, continuously.

A further difficulty that proved even more
serious was the style of the notes in most of the
editions we had to use. I realised for the first
time how conventional in scope and wording
most notes are, and how limited and even stereo-
typed is the vocabulary of translations. Philo-
logical and grammatical problems are unin-
spiring to the great bulk of those who study the
classics in the newer universities, and it has
always to be remembered that our philistine
critic is right in saying that painfully acquired
knowledge of such problems is gratefully for-
gotten when students cease to be in Alatu pupillari.

All this is no discovery. Kvery ordinary
teacher knows the facts, even though he or she
ma3^ despair of doing anything to change them.
I quote my experience in order to show how I
came to attempt a translation of Petronius, and
to explain in some degree the eccentric method
which I have employed. As I have said, the
book was begun before the \Var : it was not a
scholarly production that I had in mind, but
rather a presentation of a "human" book in a
style that would be intelligible, not to the highly
qualified scholar, but to those who normally
regard classics as drudgery and ancient literature
as a storehouse of grammatical conundrums.

After more than five years in the army, I
returned to civil life with an infinitely increased
respect for the British rank and file and a strong
desire to render more widely accessible, in a
form that would not present insuperable technical
difficulties, that knowledge of the ancient world

XV

PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

which, as I thought, had proved so great an
asset to hundreds of Oxford and Cambridge
men who had to learn soldiering during the \Var.
I think it would be fair to say that no kind of
training produced a higher average of versatility
in the citizen army than the old classical cur-
riculum of the public school and the university.
This fact— if it is a fact — •! have not seen
explicitly stated ; but it is a very important one,
a warning of the greatest significance to those
who would " reform " the older universities in
the supposed interests of utilitarianism. A know-
ledge of the ancient world, properly presented,
is of incalculable value to a citizen of a modern
democracy. Why limit it to the few who can
take it in its academic form ? It was this belief
that led me, after demobilisation, to take up my
Petronius MS. again and finish it, both as an
essay in translation and non-academic annotation,
and as a study of peculiar interest to modern
students of social science. Those who know the
original and are inclined to smile at this claim
will find my elaboration of this thesis in the
sequel. The whole work is offered with extreme
diffidence: five years of foreign service were a
serious interruption: such as it is, it may at
least claim to be a genuine attempt to show
that the ancient world even through the medium
of an ancient author (represented with reasonable
accuracy) can be absolutely intelligible to, and
full of interest for, the non-classical reader of
modern days. The extreme coarseness of parts
of the original is the greatest misfortune : I trust
the method which I have employed to avoid
this side of the work or to keep it in the back-

XVI

INTRODUCTION

ground, may commend itself in the main, though
I confess that it is not -wholly satisfactory.

II. THE TITLE

THE work is called the " Satyricon (or Satirae)
of Petronius", and is generally attributed to
Gaius * Petronius, the " leader of fashion " at
the court of the Emperor Nero, who reigned
over the Roman Empire from 54 to 66 A. I).,
nearly nineteen centuries ago. " Satyricon " is
a word of Greek adjectival form (used as a noun)
and means "that which is miscellaneous", from
datyra, a medley, originally a dish full of different
kinds of fruit. It is exactly our English term
"Miscellany", and is not to be confused in
meaning with the related term " Satiric " in the
modern sense of "railing" or "biting humour".
The root idea is " well-filled " as applied to one
who has eaten abundantly, and it is (see Lewis
and Short's Latin Dictionary) connected with tatid
("enough") which we have in "satisfy". The
Greek termination -icon suggests a deliberate con-
nexion in the author's mind with the Greek noun
jaturoj, " an ape ", applied in legend to half-human,
half ape-like woodland beings with goats' feet,
who were pictured as the incarnation of animal
self-indulgence. Presuming that this latter word
is of entirely separate origin, it is nevertheless
hardly possible that the author of the " Miscel-
lany" was not conscious of the double meaning —
which would be appropriate enough to some parts
of the work.

0 Plutarch calls him Titus Petronius : the point is not
important. The MSS. give "Petronius" simply.

XVII

PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

III. THE AUTHOR

IN spite of the great fame of the Satyricon, it
is not certain who the author was, but no one
who reads the account which Tacitus, the his-
torian, gives (AnnaU, XVI, 18 — 19) of a certain
Gaius Petronius will be in any doubt that the
man so described was just the kind of man who
by temperament and circumstances was qualified
and likely to produce a work of the kind. This
Petronius was one of many distinguished Romans
who were forced to commit suicide by Nero.
Nero could not bear to have about him men
whom he suspected of being or feeling themselves
superior to himself. Tacitus mentions his fate
with those of three others, and proceeds to
single him out for a special character- sketch of
a kind which is, I believe, unique in Latin liter-
ature. It is a most curious and significant
thing that Tacitus, having catalogued these four
victims, should be sufficiently interested in one
—Gaius Petronius — 'to recur to him and to
devote a long passage to a searching analysis
of his life and character. Tacitus is not prone
to dissect with minute care the characters of
any but soldiers, politicians and the like, and
the solemn (rather wooden) pessimism which
characterizes his writings renders this searching
analysis the more surprising in the case of a
social butterfly.

" As to Gaius Petronius ", he says, " a brief
retrospect is appropriate. To him the day was
the time for sleep, the night for duty and the
pleasures of life. Fame came to others through
toil, to him from indolence ; yet he was accounted

XVIII

INTRODUCTION

no glutton or profligate, like the average wastrel,
but an artist in luxury. His sayings and doings,
in proportion to their lack of restraint and a
certain scorn of consequences, were the more
readily accepted as proof of innocence. °

" Yet ", says Tacitus, turning to his public
career, " as governor of Bithynia, and later as
chief magistrate, he displayed energy and all-
round ability. Subsequently, relapsing into evil
ways or aping the vices of others, he was
enrolled among Nero's boon companions, as the
" Arbiter of Elegance", his judgment being the
sole criterion of style and taste.

" Hence the jealousy of Tigellinus, as against
a rival and more cultured expert in pleasure.
Nero's other vices came second to his brutality,
and to this Tigellinus appealed charging Petro-
nius with friendship with Scaevinus -j* ; he suborned
a slave to give evidence and robbed him of evi-
dence in his defence by throwing his household
into gaol. At that time Nero chanced to have
gone to Campania, and Petronius, having gone
as far as Cumae, was arrested there. He would
not linger on between hope and fear. Even so,
however, he declined to die in a hurry. He
first opened his veins and then, at leisure, bound
them up,— opened them again and discoursed
with his friends — , and even so not in a serious
manner or in such terms as to gain glory as a

0 Or " simplicity "~- the sort of spontaneous "joy of
life" in which it seems absurd to see any vicious
propensity.

•}• Who was accused of plotting against the Empire
and executed by Nero.

XIX

PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

hero. He would hear no platitudes about immor-
tality or maxims of philosophy, but only cheerful
songs and light verse. Some slaves he rewarded:
others he had flogged. He began dinner and
took a nap, so that his compulsory death might
seem to have been accidental. He did not follow
the custom of forced suicides by flattering Nero
or Tigellinus or any other great favorite by
the terms of his will; but he catalogued the
Emperor's vices under the names of his favor-
ites denouncing all the new debaucheries, and
he sent the document signed to Nero; he broke
his signet ring lest it might be used to get others
into trouble".

This vivid picture of the debonair death of
this strange product of Roman decadence is
surely unique in Latin literature. It is so far
in advance in its general tone of any similar
story in ancient or medieval literature that it
has seized upon the imagination of many modern
writers, and many will remember its reproduction
in the pages of " Quo Vadis ". Evidently Taci-
tus— with all his stern contempt for the degra-
dation of Roman Society in the century that
followed the end of the great epoch of the Re-
public— saw in Petronius something which set
him apart from the ruck of those who, through
choice or by compulsion, surrendered themselves
to the ugly philanderings of the Imperial entou-
rage. He turns aside from the grim recital of
Rome's political and social degeneration to ponder
on this singular picture of the strange Roman
who could live in the limelight of Neronian ex-
cesses without losing his self-control, who joined
in the Imperial pomp, but never lost his inde-

XX

INTRODUCTION

pendence, and -who died luxuriously and at lei-
sure, -without a tremor, in the fading fragrance
of a sybarite's banquet, amid flowers and music.
The remarkable touch, to a Roman mind, is that
in his last moments he scorned to pave the way
for a posthumous reputation by the conventional
method of artificial philosophizing. He died as
he had lived. — cool, self-contained, and serenely
contemptuous of the pompous vanities of the
emperor he despised. He is the only Roman,
being neither philosopher, statesman nor soldier,
upon whom any serious Roman writer troubled
to write an epitaph.

Obviously he was a prominent man in his day.
The question is whether he is really the author
of the Satyricon. Tacitus gives no hint and there
is absolutely no direct evidence. The fact that
Tacitus says nothing of the book is no proof.
He often mentions prominent writers without
any reference to their works, and generally
speaking biography was not in classical days a
finished art. On the other hand, it is beyond
question that the book as we have it fits better
into the atmosphere of the Neronian period than
into any other period of Roman society. The
language is that of the period, and the refer-
ences to literature, art, society and administra-
tion all consort admirably with what we know
from other sources of the strange life, lived by
those who had gradually accustomed themselves
to the domination of the Emperors and forgotten
the old traditions of Republican society.

One is, therefore, strongly tempted by a sense
of fitness to identify the author -with the singular
personage whose death Tacitus so vividly de-

XXI

PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

scribed, and it is so far a satisfactory identi-
fication that nothing in the book itself — in its
contents or in its style — renders the identification
improbable. A recent critic has said " in the
writer of the book before us we recognise the
easy power, the incisive and subtle irony, the
artistic epicureanism of the connoisseur, and that
originality and real scepticism, which alone could
induce a man to meet his end in such a singular
and unconventional manner".

In the absence of contradictory evidence I
therefore accept the identification of the author
of the " Satire" with the active intelligent young
man who having held important colonial office—
for Bithynia was a serious command — and the
highest office under the Emperor in Rome, had
seen the futility of aiming at great achievements
under the Imperial system and, without yielding
up his independence of mind, decided to amuse
himself by lording it over the Emperor's artistic
and literary amusements, waiting for the inevi-
table catastrophe. His real life was annihilated
by the system ; no alternative offered except
that of the spectator — amused, tolerant, cynical.

There are a few references in the book as it
has descended to us which indicate that the
author must have been interested in, and had
considerable direct knowledge of, the East. \Ve
have in one chapter (LXIII) a description of
a Cappadocian slave such as an Asiatic governor
must often have seen. In another chapter (CII)
we find an exact account of the Ethiopians with
their bow-legs and ankles bending outwards to
the ground, their fuzzy hair and mutilated faces.
In this connexion it is curious that we know of

XXII

INTRODUCTION

a certain Petronius who was governor of Egypt
about 22 B. C., in which year he led a punitive
expedition against the Ethiopian queen Candace
and took a number of her chief towns. This
Petronius was a friend of Herod, and sent corn
to Judea during a period of acute food shortage.
If, therefore, this Petronius brought home slaves
from Ethiopia, it would be natural that a son
or grandson of his would be accurately impress-
ed by their physical peculiarities. And a son
or grandson of his might well have been both
the victim of Nero whom Tacitus describes and
the author of the Satyricon. It is curious that
in the same passage as that in which the Ethio-
pians are described the author also refers to
the practice of circumcision among the Jews and
the wearing of ear-rings by the Arabs.

As I have said there is no proof, but, where
one has to decide a point like this, one is very
strongly tempted to identify the author of this
remarkable work with a brilliant personality
who so greatly attracted the interest of the
greatest historian of the period as to be honoured
with a special and absolutely unique biography.

A further confirmation is the literary criticisms
which abound. In the first five chapters we
find a very appropriate and at the same time
highly modern satire (but see VI Style, below)
upon orators and teachers of rhetoric -who have
abandoned the simple vigour of the typically
Roman eloquence in favour of the artificial
ornate style which in the later years of the
Republic came from Asia Minor. Such a criti-
cism is natural in a writer who belongs to the
first century after the fall of the Republic, when

XXIII

PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

the ascetic tradition of statesmen like the younger
Cato was still green in men's memory. Those
men of old families who were not dazzled or
frightened by the pomp of the new Empire
naturally scorned the artificiality of rhetoricians
who, not daring to tell the truth, relied on
empty embellishment and un-Roman glitter. Still
more to the point is the mockery which we
find of an epic poet who almost certainly must
be Lucan, the poet laureate of Nero's court,
author of the PbarMlia, who no doubt was
acclaimed by the emperor's friends as the super-
Virgil. On this question I shall say more later
on: it is sufficient here to include the point as
one among the many uncontradicted indications
which point to Nero's Petronius as the author
of the Satyr icon.

IV. THE BOOK: ITS NATURE AND
CONTENTS

THE book itself has come down to us through
a precarious tradition, full of vicissitudes. \Vhat
we have appears to be a fragment containing
parts of the 15th and 16th books of the original.
This MS. was found in 1663 at a place called
Trau * in Dalmatia by a certain Pierre Petit,
bound up together with the poems of three other
writers— Catullus, Tibullus and Propertius. The
scholar Petit published his text in Paris in 1664.
Much excitement and controversy have arisen
at various subsequent dates as a result of in-

0 S. Gaselee, Codex Tragurieruu (1915). Prior to this
discovery only fragments were known.

XXIV

INTRODUCTION

genious forgeries by scholars who pretended to
have found further MSS. But all these turned
out to be faulty in execution, and qualified critics
gradually forced the forgers to confess. There
is an amusing story about a scholar who heard
that in the vaults of an Italian cathedral there
had been found the " whole remains of Petro-
nius " : he journeyed thither in hot haste and
was introduced into the vault, only to find that
the " remains " were not the literary remains of
the novelist, but the mortal remains of an obscure
saint of the same name. Prior to Petit's dis-
covery in Dalmatia, only fragments had been
extant, though some of the stories in the book
had been current in medieval literature for cen-
turies before, and there is evidence that there
was in England about the 13th century a MS.
of some kind. It is not appropriate to discuss
the matter here; I have said enough to show
how precarious has been the survival of the
book, and how difficult it is to be sure on the
one hand who the author was, and on the
other hand to what extent we have the actual
wording of the book as it was originally com-
posed. It appears, however, that the Trau MS.
(known as Codex TragurieiuiJ) was at least 300
years old when it was discovered — a fact which
would seem to place it- beyond the risk of
having been a forgery.

An interesting question which has not, in my
opinion, been treated with proper care by the
critics is as to whether the book is the sarcastic
document which the Petronius described by
Tacitus sent to Nero in his last moments. Since
what we possess is only about one eighth of

XXV

PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

the original, the wiseacre has said — underlining
the obvious — that in the hours at his disposal
after he knew his time had come he could not
have written so bulky a satire. But this absurd
implication is unnecessary. \Vhen Petronius
gave up the administrative career, we are told
he became Nero's expert in luxury — " aping the
vices of those around him". \Vhat more natural
for a cynic of his type than to amuse his leisure
for several years by compiling a mocking account
of Nero's extravagances, by way of a quaint
revenge on the tyrannical reprobate ? Petronius
knew what his ultimate fate was likely to be,
and he may quite naturally have prepared his
great skit long in advance and had it quite ready
for the occasion. I hope (and see no difficulty
in believing) that this is what really happened.
The fragments as we possess them consist of
a collection of episodes and more-or-less con-
nected stories, mingled with essays in literary
criticism and fragments of poetry, ranging from
couplets and short lyrics to quite lengthy poems —
one of 395 lines in the heroic style of Virgil or
Lucan. The whole story, as we have it, revolves
round three young men, each called by a Latinised
Greek name: — Encolpius, the narrator of the
story, his friend Ascyltus, and their attendant
Gito. They combine the profession of strolling
scholars with the casual occupation of burglary
and petty theft, and, being chronically out of
funds, are continually on the look-out for hos-
pitality. Their adventures fall into three main
sections, occupying the 141 chapters of the book
as we have it. The first section, consisting of
26 chapters, narrates how they enter upon a

XXVI

INTRODUCTION

discussion on literature and oratory in the school
of one Agamemnon. They bewail the decay of
the written and spoken style of the day, tracing
the fatal influence of the Asiatic or Oriental
style which has spoiled the pure dignity and
sobriety of the earlier Roman manner by the
introduction of highly-coloured rhetorical orna-
ment and conventional themes. It is remarkable
that, with suitable variations, the words of
Petronius might well be found in the columns
of " The Times Literary Supplement " or " The
Athenaeum ".

The next five chapters deal with an unsavoury
quarrel between the friends. The MS. here is
very imperfect, but it is clear that a reconciliation
takes place and the two young adventurers go
into the country to see if they can line their
pockets. It appears that they steal, and then
manage to lose, some money, which they have
sewn into the lining of an old threadbare jacket :
on the other hand they have acquired somehow
a handsome great-coat. They re-appear at a
country fair and meet the very people from
whom they stole the great-coat, and find them
offering for sale the identical old jacket which
they had lost with the money. Ascyltus fur-
tively fingers the jacket and discovers that the
money is there. First they consider the wisdom
of suing the other people for the jacket and
recovering their property legally, but Ascyltus —
no doubt wisely — has no confidence in the law-
courts. Ultimately, after an amusing colloquy
in which the by-standers terrify both parties
by saying that they will take over both the
disputed garments as security for the attendance

XXVII

PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

of the two parties in court next day, the op-
ponents of our friends, in disgust, agree to an
exchange, and all is well.

There follows a remarkable episode in which
the partners happen to intrude upon a ceremony
sacred to women. It is an extraordinarily inter-
esting episode, since it mimics a very famous
act of sacrilege by a prominent politician a hun-
dred years before. Publius Clodius — a sort of
Junker of the period — being enamoured of Cae-
sar's wife, invaded in woman's attire a similar
ceremony held in Caesar's house, when he was
the chief priest of Rome. This sacrilege became
a caude celebre which those who wish may study
in Cicero's letters.

Then comes the second and by far the most
famous section of the novel — the Banquet of
Trimalchio — which occupies chapters XXVI —
LXXVIII. Trimalchio is an enormously wealthy
freedman who is portrayed as typical of the
class which came into being as a result of the
system under which trade was forbidden to the
Roman of good birth and position. He is vulgar
and ostentatious, exceedingly acute in matters
of business, fond of parading his absurdly inac-
curate knowledge of literature and history, su-
perstitious and yet with a respect for knowledge,
quarrelsome in his cups, and yet on occasion kind
to his slaves. He belongs to a type which, with
proper allowances, one may compare with certain
South African and American millionaires of the
less attractive kinds, who reckon greatness by
possessions and happiness in terms of cash. The
enfranchised slave or freedman was in Roman
society the counterpart, economically speaking,

INTRODUCTION

of the working man of to-day. Just as the true
Roman did not trade, so there was little free
labour. The parallel, therefore, in Rome of
the modern " nouveau riche " was the wealthy
freedman.

The signs of Trimalchio's wealth — his name
itself is probably a hybrid word (Latinised
Semitic) meaning " Thrice-blessed " — are numerous
and entertaining. " He has a clock in his dining-
hall with a trumpeter complete, so that he can
tell at any moment how much older he's get-
ting " : he plays ball, and has special slaves to
supply him with a fresh ball whenever one is
dropped, and another upon whose head he dries
his hands when he washes after the game. From
the game to the house he goes in a scarlet dres-
sing-gown, carried in a litter with a flute-player
to lend distinction to the procession. His porter
is kept busy shelling peas, but he shells them
into a silver basin, and a speckled magpie wel-
comes the guests in the doorway from a cage
of gold.

Trimalchio is too great a man to sit down at
first with his guests who therefore ate the hors
d'oeuvres without him. — olives, dormice, sausages,
Damascus plums, pomegranates. Later he ar-
rived, saying " It is with reluctance that I have
appeared so early in the banquet, but I feared
my absence might diminish your enjoyment " : he
proceeded none the less to finish a game of
draughts (using gold and silver coins for pieces).

The narrative is far too long and full of detail
for any real description to be given here. But
attention must be drawn to the guests, all of
whom are worth study. As the dinner progresses,

XXIX

PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

each one is called upon for a story, and these
are some of the most interesting things in the
book. Seleucus tells of a very abstemious man,
a teetotaller and ascetic who died of starvation
and the bad advice of his doctors — "Doctors",
he says, "are useless, except to ease your mind".
But he had a splendid funeral, though the widow
did rather economise in tears. "After all", he
says, "women as a sex are regular kites".

Then Ganymede bewails the fearful cost of
living, in terms which might be repeated before
a profiteering tribunal.

Another guest tells how he is educating his
son first in the classics and then in law: he is
to be by preference a barber or an auctioneer —
or failing these high callings, a lawyer. " Edu-
cation means wealth: expert knowledge is a
permanent asset."

Trimalchio then tells the famous story of the
inventor who made unbreakable glass and was
executed by Tiberius, lest he should communicate
the secret and bring down the value of gold.
A little later Niceros, another guest, tells the
most interesting bit of folk-lore which occurs
anywhere in ancient literature — the very first
example of the werwolf story which is so wide-
spread in medieval Europe. Trimalchio counters
this story by an almost equally amazing yarn
of witches who stole an infant child from its
cradle and substituted a straw doll — this being
the earliest known example of the belief in
changeling babies which survived so long even
in Scotland.

Soon after the company is joined by a mill-
ionaire stone-mason and his wife who have been

XXX

INTRODUCTION

detained at a funeral, and who enter somewhat
mellow, as is not uncommon in Lancashire after
a funeral-wake. Except for some bad ham, they
have had a really jolly funeral. At this point
Trimalchio's wife enters : the description is ex-
traordinarily skilful and vivid, which by itself
should place Petronius among the great artists
in his class. The detail is admirably done.

An extraordinary scene in which Trimalchio
has his will read, describes his monument, and
actually rehearses the lying-in-state, swathed in
his cerecloth, concludes the long episode. A
bath follows, and they are about to sit down
to supper, when the crowing of a ,cock alarms
Trimalchio, and in the confusion Encolpius, As-
cyltus and Gito escape — and we are not sur-
prised to hear that they are exhausted- — 'mentally,
physically, and gastronomically.

The third section of this strange medley finds
Encolpius alone after a quarrel with Ascyltus.
He falls in with the most picturesque character
in the book — Eumolpus, a minor poet. If Tri-
malchio is a hit at Nero in his physical gluttony
and social snobbishness, Eumolpus is a skit on
his attempts at composing poetry. Encolpius
has gone to visit a picture-gallery — the first
description in the world of a picture-gallery is
given — and there he meets the poet.

Encolpius and Eumolpus exchange vivid rem-
iniscences and then revert to a discussion on
the decay of art, not unlike the argument of
Chapters I-IV. It is greed of gain, says Eumol-
pus, which has caused the degeneration of Art.

The poet then recites a poem of considerable
length telling in admirable verse the story of

XXXI

PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

the capture of Troy. It follows closely the
narrative -which we find in Virgil's Acneid,
Book II — the story of the \Vooden Horse. This
is one of the two long verse-passages in the
book, the other being that which describes in
395 lines the beginnings of the Civil \Var which
destroyed the Republic and left the House of
Caesar lords in Rome.

The great literary problem of the " Satyricon ",
to my mind, is the spirit in which Petronius
wrote this poem " The Capture of Troy " and
the other great poem "The Civil \Var". The
curious thing is that both are technically excel-
lent in style, conception and matter: yet both
are put into the mouth of Eumolpus, the down-
at-heels minor poet who is a mere adventurer
of an amusing, but far from admirable type. At
the conclusion of his recitation he is stoned by
other visitors in the picture-gallery; Encolpius
begs him not to drop into verse again; later on
in a shipwreck he is pictured in a most comic
scene as being in travail with his other poem
under a gangway and being dragged bellowing
into safety.

Many have said that both poems are parodies
on poems composed by Nero himself or his
court-poet Lucan; to this the critics rightly
reply that neither poem is in the least bit like
a parody. Are we then to imagine that Petro-
nius meant them to be taken as serious com-
positions? If so, why does he put them into
the mouth of an absurd character like Eumolpus?
On the other hand, it is Eumolpus, who talks
so well about Art both in the passage we have
quoted and later on in the narrative. It is a

XXXII

INTRODUCTION

great puzzle, and must be left an open question.
My impression is that it amused Petronius to
write poetry just as it amused him to describe
Trimalchio's dinner and to reproduce the literary
criticism which was in vogue at the Imperial
court. If the whole book is a skit on Nero
and his circle, I can well imagine a cynic like
Petronius delighting to annoy Nero and the
laureate Lucan by putting into Eumolpus's mouth
poetry quite as good as any that either could
produce. I quite agree that the poems are not
parodies, but very little knowledge of human
nature is needed to imagine the irritation of the
Emperor and his court at the thought that their
old Expert in Art thought so little of their
literary ' effusions that he casually threw off
better work himself and attributed it to a comic
character like Eumolpus. At all events this ex-
planation covers all the ground and it fits in
with one's conception of Petronius as a master
of delicate irony. It conveys the horrible taunt
that only his high position had saved the mighty
Emperor and his laureate from the fate of
Eumolpus, at whom visitors to the gallery flung
stones as he finished his declamation. Even
Encolpius has his fling at Eumolpus. " \Vhat
do you take", he says, "for that disease of
yours ? I am not surprised that the public gives
you a stony reception. In future I shall keep
my pocket full of stones, and directly I see
your eye in a fine frenzy rolling I will let some
blood and cool your brain." ^Vhether this be
the correct interpretation of these curious poems,
the fact remains that they are admirable in
technique and in execution and a real contribution

XXXIII

PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

to the poetry of the early Imperial period (see
Butler, PoAt-Auguttan Poetry, 1909, Ch. V).

The next episode sees the two friends Encolpius
and Gito united again and on a ship with Eu-
molpus. An exceedingly amusing event follows.
They find to their horror that the owner of the
ship is an old enemy of theirs from whom they
had stolen a number of artistic treasures includ-
ing some sacred Egyptian relics. They think
over a number of devices for escaping detection,
but all are discarded. Ultimately they get their
heads shaved by Eumolpus' servant and try to
pose as criminals undergoing condign punishment.
But their enemies dream of their presence on
board, and one of the passengers who had been
sea-sick and seen them being shaved at night
gives them away. It was a superstition in Rome
that it was unlucky to cut nails or hair on a
voyage, except as an offering to the gods when
in imminent peril of a shipwreck. So enquiry
is set on foot and the friends are ordered to be
flogged for bringing ill-luck. The flogging results
in their recognition and a terrible quarrel arises
which would have ended perhaps in further pu-
nishment, but for a terrible storm. The shaving
of the heads of the adventurers is made the
occasion of a rather neat little poem on baldness.

Just prior to the storm, Eumolpus narrates
to the ship's company the famous story of the
" Matron of Ephesus ". — one of the tales famous
throughout the Middle Ages.

After the shipwreck the four men decide to
make for the city of Crotona, and, hearing that
in this city the great occupation is legacy-hunting,
they decide that Eumolpus shall pose as a weal-

XXXIV

INTRODUCTION

thy man with the others as his servants. In
this way they gain great temporary popularity
which involves them in a number of discredit-
able love affairs, until they are ultimately dis-
covered and disgraced — which ends the book as
we have it.

V. STRUCTURE AND CHARACT-
ERIZATION

IT remains very briefly to summarise a few of
the leading aspects of this remarkable book,
which those who have read Caesar and Cicero,
and even Horace and Juvenal, will have no
difficulty in admitting to be unique in Latin
Literature.

Structurally the book, as we have it, is very
loose indeed. Though the narrative is in a sense
continuous there is no plot in the modern sense.
The unity is always being broken by stories,
discussions, odd bits of verse, and the episodes
lead up to no central theme or conclusion. Nor
is there any sign of a principle, such as one
finds in the works of ordinary satirists who are
seeking to point a moral. The only supernatural
beings or influences to which the author points
are Luck, Chance, and the deity which stands
very loosely for the conception of Sex-lust. The
extraordinary fact about the character-drawing —
which is singularly vivid — is its unique objectivity.
The author displays — except in matters of art
and literature — no personal opinions whatever.
In this he is like Dickens except that he is
distinctively non-moral. He is simply an observer
of life as he sees it, and he has a quite wonderful

XXXV

PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

power of picturing a man's personality with two
or three vivid strokes. His irony is as free from
bitterness as his pictures of sensualism are free
from moral indignation. To say that he liked
vice is as false as to say that he condemns it.
It is to be borne in mind that the period
which he describes was one of complete scepti-
cism in matters of ethics, philosophy and religion.
The old Roman respect for the Gods of their
fathers, for that " Gravity " and " Piety " which
Cato and Virgil had eulogised, had given way
to the decadent Greek spirit of indifference :
Christianity had not yet obtained any hold, and
there was absolutely no standard by which the
ordinary man could, or cared to, judge in matters
moral. No doubt there were, as there always
are, quiet, sober-living people who were still
true to the older traditions, but in a slave-
owning state the middle-class, so-called, is small
and powerless, when great wealth comes from
successful warfare and successful trade. For all
practical purposes the middle-class of the small
towns consisted of enfranchised slaves, of whom
Trimalchio is taken as a type. Rich though
they were, and often powerful in the Imperial
suite, they were not taken seriously by the
genuine free-born Roman who was a class apart,
naturally superior, and on a different plane of
intellectual and moral development. It is the
freedman class, consisting largely of enfran-
chised Greek and Asiatic slaves whose habits
and peculiarities provide the material for Petro-
nius' ironical descriptions. To wax indignant
over their moral degradation or to deplore their
lack of refinement would have seemed absurd

XXXVI

INTRODUCTION

to a man like Petronius whose highest thoughts
•would naturally consist of regrets for the old
standards of the free Roman. You can imagine
him speaking in the spirit of the aristocrats who
went to the guillotine in the French Revolution,
and saying " Coarse ? Naturally, my dear fellow,
but you can't expect anything else: look at them:
they were all slaves to begin with: they have
had no chance : why blame them ? Be amused,
if you like, but not angry: they mean well."

VI. STYLE

THE remarkable thing about the "Satyricon"
is its admirable style. \Vhen Petronius makes
his common characters speak, we get a splendid
idea of the lingo or vernacular of the half-
educated Roman, but his own style is the most
perfect example of literary Latin of the Silver
Age. But more than this, he is a real master
of expression for all time, and we owe to him
one of the most famous phrases in all literary
criticism. Describing Horace, he speaks of his
curioda JelicilcM, a phrase which it is extraordi-
narily hard to reproduce in English except by
a paraphrase (see Chapter CXVIII and note).
The outstanding characteristics of the language
are sureness of touch and wealth of vocabulary.
I imagine that Petronius wrote very fast and
was rarely stopped by having to search for the
exact term to express his ideas. It is not the
ease of mere fluency, such as one recognises in
the expert journalist; it is not the mere accuracy
of the expert writing on a familiar subject. It
is the ample vocabulary of the versatile man

XXXVII

PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

of affairs, conscious of power and scorning to
write for effect. An acute observer with a
retentive memory, he reproduced ideas exactly
and without effort; his grasp of detail is reflected
in perfection of phrase. It was as easy to him
to be accurate in a pen-picture of Trimalchio's
wife as to put into vivid language the complex
conception of the epic poet's true function. He
is equally familiar with the technique of the
picture-gallery, the lore of the anthropologist,
the lingo of the amateur economist, the argot of
the thief.

There were doubtless among Nero's friends
many capable critics ; there were also of neces-
sity many whose literary efforts were no better
than the lip-service of the sycophant. The
latter were no doubt, in the long run the more
successful. This is no doubt -why Petronius
(like Mr. G. B. Shaw, though without his egoism)
frequently puts into the mouths of people like
Eumolpus quite sound maxims with which he
himself must have agreed. It is, therefore, in
my opinion beside the point to enquire how far
in these passages he represents his own opinions.
He has the great faculty of complete self-control,
and would, I venture to think, have been greatly
entertained by the fact that his modern editors
trouble to ask how much is serious propaganda.
" Do you suppose ", he might have said, " that
I should expound my serious views in a book
like this, for the benefit of a circle like
Nero's? Why, they all talk like that!" No
doubt the criticisms in Chapters I — V, LXXXIV
and CXVIII are such as he himself would
have taken as the text for a serious essay : but

XXXVIII

INTRODUCTION

in their context they are, I fancy, just a
whimsical picture of the ideas which were tossed
about in the Emperor's lounge.

VII. THE TRANSLATION

IT is very easy in translating a passage from
a foreign language to give a verbally correct
rendering which entirely misrepresents the at-
mosphere and meaning of the original. No man
can be certain even in speaking to a friend in
his own language, that he conveys exactly the
meaning which he has in his own mind. A
curious example of this is that since the \Var
one can talk fairly safely to any man about
battalions, a barrage, the R. A. M. C., whereas
you may easily be misunderstood even by an
ex-soldier, if you talk about a brigade or a corps
or the C. G. S., except to somebody who knew
something about staff work. Before the W^ar
practically nobody would have really understood
the one set of terms or the other. Therefore
in translating a foreign book on warfare you
can now (as compared with in pre-war days),
according to the readers for whom you are
discoursing, use certain (but not all) technical
modern terms with a fair probability of conveying
the ideas you wish to convey, and, if you want
to convey the right impression, you mutt do so.
You must call things by the names your readers
use, and vocabulary is relative not only to a
period but to groups of people in the same period.
Now the ordinary translator of classical books
has, I fancy, limited himself to a small fixed
vocabulary, rather specialised and a little prim.

XXXIX

PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

I do not by this mean to express regret that he
keeps close to the original — that is an essential,
of course. I mean rather that he shuns the use
of quite reputable terms which are in common
use among adult educated people of his day and
fails to realise that terminology changes with re-
markable rapidity from one generation to another.
Language proper does not, of course, change so
fast as slang, but none the less it changes, and
the grown-up cultured society of one decade not
only has new terms, but also uses old terms in
slightly different senses. Ideas on the other
hand are wonderfully permanent, and after all,
in translation, the purpose is to convey as nearly
as possible to an audience of one's own race
and period the ideas which the original author
sought to convey to his own audience, — i. e. to
the particular public which he sought to address.
Archaism, except for the purposes of ritual
language and professional technology, is a bar
to intelligibility.

It is natural that these changes of idiom — I
mean even the quite defensible legitimate changes
— should come last to the teacher. In the first
place he has studied language and has consciously
formed a style of his own; he is less susceptible
to, and justifiably more suspicious of, the whims
of fashion. If he lives largely among pupils he
is naturally and properly on his guard against
that which savours of indiscipline in phrase and
idiom. Hence it follows, for many reasons,
that translations prepared by scholars tend to
follow an idiom and to use a vocabulary which
differ from those used by adult contemporaries ;
in consequence they are often repellent if not

XL

INTRODUCTION

actually misleading. These and similar consider-
ations make Petronius an extraordinarily interest-
ing problem to the non-academic translator.
Petronius, intensely cynical about the society of
the new empire — its habits, its art, its literature —
might well have relapsed into the pessimistic
cynicism of Tacitus or poured out his contempt
in moral indignation or conventional satire — in
either case using the appropriate terminology.
Instead, he adopted the attitude which one finds
frequently in the disillusioned club-man, and he
used the language which was appropriate to that
attitude, and intelligible to those for whom he
wrote. Possessing a complete mastery of the
classic idiom in which Cicero and Virgil wrote,
it amused him to exhibit equal facility in the
current argot, in the plebeian vernacular, in the
fashionable Graeco- Latin of contemporary society.
This medley of style I have sought to represent,
confident in the internal evidence which is apparent
everywhere that Petronius selects his idiom
deliberately in every episode. This is obvious
in the case of Trimalchio and his fellow-freedmen.
Eumolpus is sometimes trivial, but occasionally
(see chapters LXXXVIII and CXVIII) he
speaks in the language of a capable critic, sincere
and observant. In chapter XVII the pompous
language of Quartilla is an admirable prelude
to the preposterous episode which follows. In
all this I have been guided partly by the belief —
which I have tried to justify above (p. XVI)—
that Petronius was throughout the book mocking
Nero and his court and that it was his full
intention, if anything untoward should happen
to himself, that his readers should be those who

XLI

PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

lived the life he had lived himself, spoke the
same language, and were familiar -with the same
types.

I have, therefore, tried to picture the literary
ancestor of a cultured, highly educated man of
the trwentieth century in London seeking to
describe a gross middle-class provincial profiteer,
a third-rate poet, a mediocre " Raffles " as paro-
died by a cinematograph film, and characters
like these. The English which such an author
would use must bear to the idiom of Matthew
Arnold the same kind of relation which the
Latin of Petronius bore to that of Cicero. I
have not sought indiscriminately to represent
the Latin words by the exact meanings found
in the dictionary, which gives mainly the words
by which the scholar interprets the original
vocabulary of an orthodox author. I have
tried rather to use the equivalents which the
intelligent cynic in the club would use to convey
the same ideas to an audience analogous to that
for which Petronius may be presumed to have
written. I have in general avoided material
anachronisms, but I have had no hesitation in
making use of verbal anachronisms, to avoid
which would be to abandon the hope of producing
any real translation.

There is one further point of importance. Just
as it is important to get the right atmosphere
by selecting words and idioms which are appro-
priate to the context and to the audience, so it
is vital to avoid lengthy paraphrases where the
original uses single words. There is a tendency
to admire Latin and even French on the alleged
ground that they are terse and simple, and to

XLU

INTRODUCTION

bewail the alleged cumbrousness of English. In
this comparison I do not concur: in my view
English is, in the hands of a competent English-
man, the most elastic of all languages, and where
in practice we find translators resorting to para-
phrases, the reason is that they are either not
ready writers or too idle to think a passage
into the real English equivalent. I was delighted,
for instance, to see in a recent issue of " The
Times Literary Supplement" a criticism of a
new translation of a Latin author which regretted
the representation of a short and pithy Latin
phrase by some fifteen English words. The last
ounce of meaning must, by hypothesis, be ex-
tracted, but my belief is that the English language
can always achieve this, if the translator is at
pains to think out the idea in English. Thus
if the Latin was elliptical, the English must be
elliptical too; what the author expected the
Roman to understand, the translator can fairly
expect the Englishman to appreciate, providing
the general context is well done, If the original
was only a hint, why should the translation be
laboriously explicit ? \Vhen Tacitus says " capax
imperii nisi imperasset", why should we solemnly
fill in the principal verb? Such ellipses are as
common, as intelligible and as effective in English
as in Latin, and the translator must not be
afraid of them. To reproduce the hint, the ellipse,
the subtle innuendo, is as much part of the trans-
lator's duty as it is to make no mistake in the
meaning of words. Of course if one is translating
for school purposes, a different standard is clearly
required. But there one is essentially para-
phrasing for educational purposes—not really

XLUI

PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

translating, since the original was not written
for children. That is why Lamb's Tales from
Shakespeare are given to children, and the original
to grown-up people : yet Lamb's Tales are not
Shakespeare 1 Petronius would make a far better
Latin translation of Anthony Hope's " Dolly
Dialogues" than one could expect from Cicero,
Tacitus, or even Juvenal. Petronius was, I think,
the most sophisticated of all the Romans who
wrote ; the translator who seeks to simplify him
is a literary prig.

A brief reference must be made to the trans-
lation of the verse passages. I do not hope
that anyone will approve of these versions. But
this is my case. If the work you are translating
is all poetry, serious or satiric, you can fairly
decide whether you will be content with prose
or attempt the immensely more difficult medium
of verse. But, when you are faced by a fantastic
novel with verse interludes, I submit that it is
no translation at all to give the whole thing in
prose. It seems to me imperative to risk the
reader's contempt by representing the changing
forms of the original.

A further point is that one must assume
Petronius to have had a definite idea in com-
posing at least the two longer poems. — "The
Capture of Troy" (LXXXIX) and the "Civil
War" (CXIX). My view being that these
were in no sense parodies, but just playful
" tours de force " designed to show Nero and
his friends that he (Petronius) could turn off
quite skilful poems and yet thought so little of
them as to assign them to the seedy poetaster
Eumolpus, I have tried to reproduce this idea

XLJV

INTRODUCTION

in English blank verse. The translation will
be found fairly close, and I have deliberately
imitated brevity and obscurity, in the belief that
they were part of the fun. In the case of the
longer poem, the actual lines and half-lines almost
conform to the original.

As regards the short poems I have allowed
greater freedom, occasionally using rhyme, and
adopting whatever metre seemed to go best with
the original. In dealing with the precise metres
I have tried to keep to orthodox verse ; in other
cases freer metres will be found (see poems in
chapters V, LXXXIII, CXXVIII). I claim
no more for them than that which (in my view)
Petronius would have claimed for the originals,
namely that they are cheerful (in intention at
all events) and irresponsible; they are also more
or less true to the originals. If anyone laughs
with (or at) them, it is enough.

VIII. THE MORALS OF THE BOOK

IT is a great misfortune that the Satyricon with
its wealth of interest, should contain so much
that is alien to modern taste. One passage has
been omitted altogether, and a number of other
passages have, as in Mr. Heseltine's version in
the Loeb Series, been left in the original Latin.
In many other cases, where the sense allowed,
the translation represents the original in a mo-
dified form. Such devices, unsatisfactory though
they are, cannot reasonably be avoided, and it
is hoped that the result will be excused on the
score of public decency.

One need not be led into the extreme view

XLV

PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

that the Rome of Nero contained no decent
people, but it is at the same time beyond doubt
that the standard of morality was low, and that,
in the absence of any general code of conduct,
the general sense of propriety had fallen below
that of the old Republic. The realisation of
how low society can fall when the moral code
under which it became strong and great is re-
laxed under the influence of widespread wealth
is a warning of real solemnity to thinking people.
Discipline— which being properly understood is
that social confidence which comes from mutual
reliance in times of stress — appears to be self-
destructive in that the very achievement of its
object removes the necessity for its existence,
and — still more strange — it is always among
those who impose and demand discipline that
we find the protagonists in its dissolution.

After the Armistice a certain Corps Com-
mander issued a Routine Order that all game-
shooting was forbidden, since the civil authorities
wanted a close season for game : yet he himself
spent in game-shooting the afternoon of the
very day on which the order reached the district
where my unit was billeted. Wlien external
pressure ceases, discipline tends to relax, and
by the reign of Nero, Rome's wars were all
on distant frontiers.

Hence the inroads upon Roman morality of
the degraded vices of the East. The unseemly
mystic rites which are introduced in the Quar-
tilla episode were of oriental origin. So was
the vice of sexual inversion which is mentioned
in the case of Encolpius, Ascyltus, and Gito,
and is condemned so vigorously in the poem

XLVI

INTRODUCTION

"The Civil War" (chapters CXIX, 11. 19 and
foil.). Petronius had no illusions about these
matters: he may have thought that it was too
late to protest with hope of success, but there
is no doubt as to his attitude towards them.
The whole of the opening lines of the poem are
conclusive on these points as showing the fatal
effects upon Roman society of these imported
novelties in vice.

One very subtle point which Petronius makes
twice in the book is that to a person who is
prone to one vice another vice is disgusting.
Thus Tryphaena in Chapter CXI 1 1 is horrified
by the story of the widow of Ephesus, and in
chapter XXV Gito is actually described as a
very modest youth (see chapter CXI 1 1, note I).
This is a very characteristic example of Petronius'
insight into human character, which deserves
comparison with passages in Mandeville's " Fable
of the Bees". Petronius pictures a society in
which all knew the fatal results of indulgence,
and, yet having no guiding star to steer by and
no stimulus to urge a better course, were satisfied
to go with the stream. The author of " The
Glass of Fashion" could hardly put the case
more conclusively, though he is at greater pains
to point his morals.

IX. NERO AND TRIMALCHIO

IT has become a convention to deny that Pe-
tronius, in his picture of Trimalchio, is satirizing
Nero. From this convention I find myself com-
pelled to dissent. I would not argue that Tri-
malchio is simply invented to portray Nero, but

XLVII

PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

I cannot conceive that some of the hits at Nero
are accidental. One episode mudL have been
introduced deliberately — the fall of the gymnast's
boy (chapters LIII — LIV), i. e. if we assume that
Suetonius correctly describes the fall of an
acrobat playing the part of Icarus whose blood
splashed upon Nero. Such a dramatic episode
cannot have been forgotten and must have been
in the mind of Petronius, when he described the
fall of the acrobat's boy. Equally convincing
to my mind is the continual reference to Tri-
malchio's love of verse-making and his excursions
into mythology and literature generally. Nero's
love of finery and ostentatious display cannot
have been out of the mind of Trimalchio's
creator who, by hypothesis, was perpetually
being consulted as the " Arbiter of Elegance "
by the Emperor and his satellites. At all
events it is inconceivable that Nero and his
friends would not have " put the cap on ", con-
vinced, as the Mr. Squeers fraternity were in
the case of Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby, but with
far more direct justification since Petronius was
in any case their daily critic, that they were
being pilloried. To my mind, if the author of
the Salyricon was identical with Nero's Arbiter,
it is unthinkable that he could have sketched
Trimalchio without thinking of Nero; there are
probably hits which we do not recognise at
many of his boon companions in the persons of
Habinnas and the others.

X. THE NOTES

THE purpose of the Notes is to enable non-
classical readers to picture the various scenes

XL VIII

INTRODUCTION

and to give them some idea as to how far the
habits and actions described are known to be
characteristic oftheage. In a school text-book the
notes presuppose access to classical dictionaries;
the notes in this book are intended to save the
reader as far as possible from having to consult
such works. Hence I have given fairly full
accounts of the Roman house, the baths, clothing,
meals, games, furniture; of state and municipal
officials, slavery, religion ; of historical and legen-
dary figures (even the better-known). I hope
these notes may help the ordinary reader to
follow the descriptions without difficulty. \Vhere
references are given to learned works they are
chiefly to recent accessible publications, especially
the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Xlth Edition, which
contains the only really authoritative and com-
prehensive survey that is in any sense up-to-date.

XI. THE TEXT

IT was originally intended to print the text
opposite the translation, but this idea was aban-
doned. The Loeb edition has done this, as also
(for the banquet of Trimalchio) the editions of
Michael J. Ryan (1905) and Lowe (1905). I
have, of course, used Biicheler's text mainly, and
if anyone has the curiosity to check the trans-
lation he will have no difficulty in seeing where
and why I have departed from it. References
to Latin words and variant readings in the Notes,
few as they are, should, perhaps, for this reason
have been avoided ; on the other hand they may
be convenient and not without interest to those
who know the original. Terms noted for their

XLIX

PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

historical interest are, of course, necessarily
mentioned.

In order to maintain continuity where the
manuscripts are defective, I have ventured to
incorporate a number of the interpolations which
are given in De Guerle's edition. They are
marked by square brackets. I make no attempt
to justify them, except that they make the con-
nexions a little easier. The lengthy passage in
Chapter XI, for example, makes the story of
the sea voyage in the third section of the book
a little more interesting, — and it is an ingenious
piece of "faking".

XII. SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

I. The Text. Students generally will use Biiche-
ler's text (Berlin 1862, 4th ed. 1904); they should
consult specially the Codex TragurieiUM (1915)
of S. Gaselee. The English translations of
M. Heseltine (Loeb edition, complete, 1913,
reprinted 1916 and 1919); M. }. Ryan (Trl-
malchidt Banquet only, 1905); W\ D. Lowe
(Trinialchio'j Banquet only, 1905) all contain the
Latin text as well as the English translation.
Editions prior to the discovery of the Trau MS.
may be disregarded (see list in Heseltine's
edition, Introduction, p. XIX). Those who read
German should study E. Friedlander's edition
of Trimalchid 6 Banquet (1906). For the poem
The Civil IFar, the authority is a monograph
(with introduction, text, translation and notes)
by Florence T. Baldwin (New York, 1911).

The scholar who cares about the history of
the MSS. and is curious about the possibility

INTRODUCTION

that John of Salisbury (to whose Policraticut
reference is made in the Notes referring to the
story of the Matron of Ephesus) had access to
a MS., should turn to Professor A. C. Clark's
article in the Clajtical Review (1908, September),
p. 178. See further, in this connexion, Sabbadini
m Rivuta diFilologia (1920, Jan.), C. C. J.Webb's
edition of the PolicraticuA, II, p. 496, Gaselee's
Codex (as above), Evan T. Sage in Classical
Philology (Chicago, 1916, Jan.), p. 11. In a work
of this kind it -would be out of place to go into
the problems involved.

II. Translation*). In addition to those of Lowe,
Ryan and Miss Baldwin (above), there is a
translation by W. K. Kelly (Bohn) and a French
version by de Guerle (in Garnier's Bibliotheque).
Of old-fashioned translations the most interesting
is one printed in 1708 and reprinted for private
circulation in 1898 (limited to 400 numbered
copies).

III. Critical. The following works should be
consulted :• —

(I) Article -Petronius" in Ency. Brit., Xlth
Ed., originally written by Dr. AV. Y. Sellar for
the IXth edition, revised by Prof.\V. C. Summers.

(II) S. Dill, Roman Society from Nero to JHarcud
AureliuA (1903), pp. 120—137.

(III) B. Henderson, Life and Principals of the
Emperor Nero (1905), pp. 291—4.

(IV) H. E. Butler, Poot-Auguttan Poetry (1909),
chap. V.

(V) Tyrrell, Latin Poetry (1895).

(VI) Collignon, Etude our Petrone (Paris, 1892).
All works on Petronius are mentioned in

S. Gaselee's Bibliography of Petronius (London,

LI

PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

1910). Among recent discussions the most in-
teresting are Evan T. Sage, Atticism in Petroniut
(in Transactions of the American Philological
Association, vol. XLVI, 1915); R. B. Steele,
Literary Adaptations and Referenced in PetroniuA
(in Cl^icaL Journal, Chicago, Feb. 1920); C. W.
Mendell, Petroniut and the Greek Romance (in
Claddical Philology, Chicago, April 1917): and
especially Lord Ernie, Latin Prate Fiction (in
The Edinburgh Review, Jan. 1920).

LI I

SURELY this is exactly the kind of madness
that obsesses our professional tub-thumpers? (1)
They hold forth like this : " Behold the wounds
I suffered for the freedom of the people; this
eye I lost in your behalf: give me a guide to
lead me to my offspring, for I am hamstrung (2),
and my limbs support me not!"

Even these tags we could endure, if they paved
the way for coming orators. But, as it is, the
net result of all these high-flown themes and the
empty thunder of their platitudes is that, when
the pupils make their debut in the Courts, they
feel themselves translated into a foreign world.
In my opinion, the reason why such brainless
young cubs are turned out by our colleges is
that they never come into touch with the facts
of every-day life. Their normal diet is pirates
with clanking chains stalking along the shore—
tyrants drawing up decrees commanding sons to
strike off their fathers' heads — oracular replies
in time of plague bidding the people sacrifice
three (or more) virgins — sticky rhetorical lolly-
pops! (3); and their every word and gesture is,
so to speak, smeared with poppy-juice and oil
of sesame.

2 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

CHAPTER II
THE GROWTH OF ARTIFICIALITY

FELLOWS who feed on a diet of this sort
have no more chance of learning sense than a
kitchen-maid has of keeping clean. W^ith all due
respect, permit me to observe that you rhetori-
cians were the very first to drag eloquence in
the dust. For by aid of flimsy, trifling devices
you found you could raise a sort of laugh, and
you ended in reducing true oratory to a nerve-
less, shattered wreck. Young orators were not
machine-made in the old days when Sophocles
and Euripides (1) quarried out the words their
themes demanded. Professor Dryasdust (2) had
not yet destroyed the soul of wit when Pindar
and the nine lyric bards (3) were too modest to
essay the strains that Homer sang. Nay, let
me not call only poets to my aid; full well I
know that neither Plato nor Demosthenes (4) was
trained by rules like these. Lofty, and may I
say " pure", eloquence is not florid or bombastic :
it soars aloft in its own natural grace. In these
latter days this same inflated, extravagant word-
spinning of yours has made its way from Asia (5)
to Athens, and, as though under some pestilent
star, it has breathed upon the souls of our aspiring
young men, and eloquence, its purity once con-
taminated, is paralysed and holds its peace.
In a word, who since that day has reached the
heights of Thucydides? W^ho those of Hyper-
eides (6) ? Nay, not even a single poem of a
healthy complexion has seen the light; all, as

DEFENCE OF THE RHETORICIANS 3

though fed on the same poor diet, have failed to
reach the hoary years of honoured age. Painting,
too, has had no other fate since blasphemous
Egyptians compiled a text-book to this noble art.

CHAPTER III

AGAMEMNON'S DEFENCE Of THE
RHETORICIANS

AGAMEMNON (1) would not allow me to hold
forth longer in the porch than he had toiled in
the school. " Young man ", said he, " your views
are not those of the man-in-the-street, and. — what
is even less common — you have a feeling for good-
taste. Therefore I will not try to impose on you
with the tricks of the trade. The fact is that
the professors provide this stupid jargon because
they find that in a madhouse they too must be
mad. For, unless what they say tickles the juve-
nile palate, as Cicero (2) says, they will be left
alone in the schools without a pupil. Just like
the conventional toady who cadges dinners from
rich men (3), their prime consideration is to find
out what their audience really wants to hear;
their one chance of earning their bread is to charm
the ears of the public. \Vhy, the professor of
elocution is in the same position as a fisherman :
if he doesn't bait his hook with the particular
dainty which he knows will make the little fishes
bite, he will hang about on the rock without any
hope of sport.

4 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

CHAPTER IV
NO ROYAL ROAD TO ELOQUENCE

\VHAT, then, is the trouble ? Jt is the parents
who deserve all the blame : they won't have their
sons properly disciplined. For, in the first place,
they sacrifice their all, aye and all they hope to
have, to ambition. Secondly, in their haste to
reach their goal, they direct their half-digested
aspirations towards the law-courts, and, in the
firm conviction that the mantle of the orator is
the most effective garb of all, they dress up their
sons in it as soon as they are barely weaned.
If only they were content to let them climb the
ladder rung by rung! Then young students would
enrich their minds by solid reading, would learn
discretion by the maxims of the wise, would carve
out their technique with a keen-edged tool; they
would listen long before attempting to copy, and
would be convinced that nothing which satisfies
the young is truly great. Then only would true
eloquence enjoy her royal state. But now-a-days
boys waste their time at school ; in their youth
they are a laughing-stock in the Courts, and,
what is most shocking of all, the errors learned
at school we refuse to admit when we grow old.
But I don't wish you to think I undervalue the
unpretentious poems which Lucilius used to impro-
vise (1); I myself will give you my opinions in metre.

THE POET'S ROAD TO GREATNESS 5

CHAPTER V
THE POET'S ROAD TO GREATNESS

HE that would scale the sterner heights of Art,

And bend his mind to higher things, must first
By self-denial's law make clean his heart,

Nor for the swaggering palace-grandeur thirst.
Let him not, servile, cadge the great man's fare,

Nor, friend of wastrels, quench the spirit's glow
With wine, nor greet the jestings of the player

With hired applause from out the deadheads' (1) row.

But whether he's nursed 'neath the fortress grim of the

armed Tritonian maid (2),
Or a Spartan settlement (3) nurtured him, or the home

where the Sirens (4) played ;
His boyhood's years he must give to song, and quaff

the Maeonian (5) spring
With a generous heart; he must hurry along, just giving

his steeds their fling,
With Socrates' pupils, and unafraid he must learn from

Demosthenes
To wield the orator's giant blade ; and— when he has

learned all these—
Then let the poets of Roman race throng round, and,

their old Greek dress
But lately abandoned (6), in native grace, lend him their

own loveliness.
Let the page have done with the dusty Court, let Fortune

go her own way ;
Let the theme be banquets and fields hard fought, told

bravely in warrior lay ;
Let Cicero's thunders try thy soul; be these thy

strengthening.
So in full stream high thoughts shall swell from the

true Pierian (7) spring.

6 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

CHAPTER VI
I LOSE MY WAY

I AVAS paying the closest attention to this effu-
sion, and so I failed to observe that Ascyltus
had slipped away. Moreover, as I was stalking
about the gardens with my head swimming after
this torrent of words, a great mob of students
swarmed into the porch (1), apparently coming
from an extempore address by some person or
other who had taken up Agamemnon's discourse (2).
So, while the young sparks were tearing his axioms
to shreds and making hay of his literary style, I
took the chance, made myself scarce, and proceeded
hot-foot on the track of Ascyltus. But I never
noticed my direction : also I had no notion which
inn I was staying at. And so, go where I would,
I found myself back again, until at last, fagged
to death and wringing with sweat, I approached
an old girl who was selling common vegetables.

CHAPTER VII
AND FALL INTO A TRAP

SAYS I to her : " Please, mother, you can't tell
me where I live, I suppose?". She was immen-
sely tickled by my naive politeness, and replied :
"Of course, I can"; whereupon she rose from
her seat and proceeded to lead the way. I took
her for a witch, when lo and behold ! when we
had reached an out-of-the-way corner, the obliging
dame held up a patched old curtain and announced :

I ESCAPE WITH ASCYLTUS 7

"This is where you must be staying". I was
explaining that the place seemed strange to me,
when I caught sight of certain notices (1)
and a number of men and half-dressed females
strolling unostentatiously about. Slowly, in fact
when it was too late, I realized that I had been
trapped into a place of ill-fame. Uttering male-
dictions on the treachery of the old woman, I
pulled my cloak over my head and fled through
the place in the opposite direction. Lo and behold !
on the very threshold I ran right into Ascyltus
as fagged-out and half-dead as I was myself.
It looked as if he had been lured there by the
very same old hag.

CHAPTER VIII
I ESCAPE WITH ASCYLTUS

I GREETED him with a laugh, and inquired
what he was about in such a disreputable place.
He wiped away the perspiration with his hands
and groaned : " If only you knew the things which
have happened to me!". "W^ell", I rejoined,
" and what's the story?". " Wliile I was wander-
ing about ", he replied, gasping for breath, " all
over the town, vainly searching for my hotel,
a respectable-looking gentleman accosted me and
most courteously offered to guide me on my way.
Thereupon he dived through some pitch-dark
winding alleys, ushered me into this place here,
and made unseemly proposals to me in the most
barefaced way. The proprietress had already
extorted the fee for the room; I was fairly in
their clutches ; and, if I hadn't used my superior

8 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

strength, it would have gone hard with me."
(At this point the two fruiuk by forcible means
effect their egret* and resume the search for their
hostelry. [The text here is uncertain].)

CHAPTER IX
THE TREACHERY OF ASCYLTUS

AS though in a fog, I caught sight of Gito
standing on the edge of the broadway, and I
staggered up to where he stood.

(Later on the same evening)

AVhile I was inquiring as to whether my little
brother (1) had prepared us a meal, the boy col-
lapsed on the sofa, and wiped away his streaming
tears with his thumbs. I was distressed by my
little friend's piteous plight, and asked him what
had happened. Slowly and reluctantly, and only
after I had backed my requests with angry
threats, he confessed the trouble.

" That brother-in-arms, that comrade of yours",
he said, " a few minutes ago ran into my apart-
ment and began to assault me shamefully. \Vhen
I cried aloud for help, he drew his sword and
shouted: 'Very well then — if you are Lucre-
tia (2), you have found your Tarquin '."

Wlien I heard this, I shook my fist in As-
cyltus's face and cried : " WTiat have you to
say? You worse than harlot, you — whose very
breath is an offence!"

Ascyltus pretended to be shocked: then he
squared his fists with fresh courage and shout-
ed at the top of his voice : " Hold your peace,

THE QUARREL 9

you scurvy gladiator, you who got the sack even
from the arena (3). Hold your tongue, you mid-
night cut throat — you who, even in your palmiest
days, never found favour with a decent woman —
you who led me astray in a plantation (4) just
as you are ruining this child here in the inn (5)."

CHAPTER X
THE QUARREL

"YOU sneaked away", I retorted, "when I
was talking with the professor."

" Well, you stupid ass ", says he, " what was
I to do, when I was perishing of hunger? Do
you suppose I could stand listening to his theories,
a sort of rubbish-heap of broken glass (1) and
explanations of dreams (2) ? You have sunk a
good deal lower than I, upon my soul, when you
praise a poet to get a dinner for nothing!"

The result was that our vulgar quarrel dis-
solved in laughter, and we turned to other mat-
ters in a better temper.

Later on, my thoughts harked back to my
wrongs. " Ascyltus ", I said, " I realize that you
and I can't get on together. Very well, let us
divide up our baggage and each try to keep the
wolf from the door by his own earnings. You
are a scholar, and so am I. And, as I don't
want to interfere with your takings, I will take
up some different line. Otherwise we shall run
up against each other every day in a thousand
ways, and the whole town will ring with our
disputings."

10 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

Ascyltus raised no objection. "Right", says
he. " But since in our capacity as men of learn-
ing we are bidden to a banquet to-day, let
us not throw away the evening. To-morrow,
however — since we've made up our minds — I
will look out for a separate lodging and a
new pal."

"It's dull work waiting", I rejoined; " why
postpone our pleasures?"

It was my personal inclination which prompted
this sudden dissolution of partnership ; for days
I had been itching to rid myself of his trouble-
some attentions, for I wanted to have Gito all
to myself as of yore.

Ascyltus, furious at the insult, made no reply,
but went out with a bang. His headlong depar-
ture boded ill : I knew his ungovernable temper
and his equally ungovernable lust. So I went
out after him, to see what he was up to, and to
foil him if I could; but he gave me the slip and
I looked about a long time in vain.

CHAPTER XI
ASCYLTUS AVENGES HIS DISMISSAL

I PEERED about from one end of the town to
the other, and then I returned to my garret.
At last I had Gito all to myself. The Gods
themselves might have envied me, but in the
middle of it all Ascyltus cautiously approached,
forcibly broke the bolts, and found us larking
together. Thereupon he made the whole room
ring with his laughter and applause. He pulled

ASCYLTUS AVENGES HIS DISMISSAL 11

me over and stripped off the coverlet. " Aha,
my pious brother !" he cried, " now I know what
you were after, when you tried to get rid of
me." ' Nor did he confine himself to sarcastic
taunts; he unfastened the strap from his knap-
sack and proceeded to slash at me with a will (1),
gibing bitterly at me the while : " That's not the
way to go shares with a mate."

[The unexpectedness of the onslaught (2) pre-
vented my resenting his rudeness and his blows :
therefore I turned the matter into a jest, and
very \vise I was. Otherwise it would have
meant a regular set-to with my rival. My forced
merriment calmed the storm : Ascyltus joined in
my mirth.

" My dear Encolpius," quoth he, " you are so
absorbed in your fun that you forget we're on
our beam-ends ! There's nothing left but a handful
of coppers ! In the dog-days the city is dry ;
the country will pay better: let us visit our
friends."

Sheer necessity compelled me to assent and
to choke back my tale of bitterness. So we
piled the baggage on Gito's back, shook the dust
of the town from our feet, and made tracks for
the stately home of the knight Lycurgus. In
days gone by Ascyltus had been a dear friend
of his, and he welcomed us in style. A large
house-party was staying there, which caused

0 The reading is uncertain. The alleged compound
vejiticontubernium is rendered by Lewis and Short " bed-
companionship ", and would refer to the friendship of
Gito and Encolpius. The sense, however, seems to be
that Ascyltus realizes the reason for the dissolution of
partnership.

12 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

things to be quite gay. Among the ladies in the
house the belle was one Tryphaena. She had
come with a sea-captain called Lichas, who held
land near the coast. I can't say much for the
food Lycurgus gave us, but words fail to de-
scribe the entertainment which the place afforded.
I must tell you that the tender passion paired
us off from the beginning. The lovely Tryphaena
took my fancy, and she lent a ready ear to my
vows. But I had barely broken the ice when
Lichas, furious at being jilted, accused me of
embezzling (3). She was, in fact, an old flame
of his, and with a grim humour he demanded
compensation for surrendering the lease. In his
disappointment he called me to account. But I
was over head and ears in love with Tryphaena,
and wouldn't hear a word. This repulse made
him angrier than ever ; he dogged me about
everywhere, and even burst into my room at
night; but when I mocked his prayers, he had
recourse to violence. At this I shouted for help
so loudly that the household was roused, and
by the kind office of Lycurgus I escaped his
unwelcome attentions. Finally, when he saw
that Lycurgus' s house did not provide the op-
portunities he wanted, he tried to persuade me
to accept his own hospitality ; I declined the
invitation, whereupon he enlisted the support of
Tryphaena, who seconded the invitation the more
gladly, because she foresaw she would have a
freer hand there.

I followed the dictates of my heart, and
accepted. But Lycurgus, who had renewed his
old friendship with Ascyltus, would not let him
depart. \Ve therefore made a compromise, he

COMPLICATIONS 13

staying with Lycurgus while we went off with
Lichas ; moreover, we made a compact to share
and share alike in any booty that either of us
managed to pick up. The joy of Lichas when
his invitation was accepted was extraordinary;
he hastened our departure, bade adieu with
alacrity, and we found ourselves at his house
on the self-same day. On the journey Lichas
made his dispositions carefully so that he sat
next me, while Tryphaena sat with Gito. This
strategic move was due to his intimate know-
ledge of Tryphaena's flirtatious habits. Nor did
she disappoint him, for she promptly set Gito's
heart on fire, as I had no difficulty in perceiving.
Indeed, Lichas took the trouble to draw my
attention to the fact, and saw that I had no
doubt about it. Therefore I was the more ready
to treat him nicely, and he was delighted beyond
measure — being of course quite sure that my
lady's ill-treatment of me would kindle my disgust,
and that in my anger I should feel more kindly
disposed to him. This is what actually happened
at his house. Tryphsena was captivated by Gito ;
Gito was her devoted slave — two bitter pills
for me to swallow at once. Meanwhile Lichas,
eager to keep me happy, daily thought out new
entertainments for me, while liis amiable wife,
Doris, vied with him in providing fresh attrac-
tions. So ingenious were they that I promptly
banished Tryphaena from my affections. By a
meaning glance I signified my passion to Doris,
and the gentle coquetry of her eyes responded
so clearly that before a word had passed we
tacitly expressed the mutual beating of our hearts.
The jealousy of Lichas, which I had good cause

14 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

to know, kept us from speaking openly, while
affection told his wife her husband's attitude to me.

When we had our first chance of talking
together, she told me her suspicions; I made
no bones about it, and I described to her how
straitly I had put him aside. But observe a
woman's guile ! " \Ve must walk warily ", said
she; and in pursuance of her plan I made one
concession and gained the other.

Meanwhile poor Gito needed some relaxation,
and Tryphaena returned to me, but I snubbed
her, and this changed her ardour into hatred.
Thereupon she dogged my footsteps and disco-
vered my double-dyed disloyalty. The husband's
attitude to me she thought nothing of — it hadn't
hurt her; but my affaire with Doris she could
not endure, and she broke the news to Lichas,
who in his jealousy forgot his passion and started
out for revenge. Doris, however, received a
hint from one of Tryphaena's maids to dodge
the storm, and our clandestine joys were sus-
pended.

\Vhen I heard the story, I cursed Tryphaena
for her treachery and Lichas for his base
ingratitude, and laid my plans for moving on.
Luck was on my side, for on the day before
a vessel consecrated to I sis (4), with a cargo
of offerings, had run onto some neighbouring
reefs. I therefore took counsel with Gito, who
was nothing loth, because Tryphaena had first
fooled him to the top of her bent and now
appeared to be jilting him.

Early next morning, therefore, we made our
way to the beach, and boarded the ship the
more easily because we were known to the

OUR ESCAPE 15

watch, who were servants of Lichas. Unfor-
tunately, they were so keen on doing us honour
that they were always in attendance and we
had no chance of plunder. So I left Gito with
them, slipped away at a convenient movement,
and crept into the stern where the statue of
Isis was placed.

I relieved her of her costly robe and her
silver ^L)trutn (5), helped myself to some other
offerings from the captain's cabin, and swarmed
down a rope without being seen by anyone but
Gito; he also gave the guards the slip and
secretly followed me. \Vhen I met him, I
showed him the spoil, and we decided to make
the best of our way to Ascyltus; but it took
us till next day to reach Lycurgus's mansion.
Then I presented myself to Ascyltus, and gave
him a brief account of my pilferings and the
ludicrous affaire* of which we had been the
victims. He strongly advised me to propitiate
Lycurgus without delay, and to assure him that
nothing but the recent behaviour of Lichas
would have induced us to leave his house so
hastily without saying good-bye. Wlien Lycur-
gus heard the story, he pledged himself that he
would always stand by us against our foes.

Our escape passed unnoticed till Tryphaena
and Doris awoke and got up. For every day
Gito and I had been wont, with the utmost
gallantry, to assist at their morning toilet. So
when we failed to appear in the usual way
Lichas despatched a search-party, to try the
shore first of all. He was informed that we
had gone aboard, but there was no word about
the missing objects. The theft was not yet dis-

16 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

covered, because the ship had her stern away
from the shore, and the captain had not yet
returned to the ship. The fact of our departure
was at last admitted, and Lichas, vastly an-
noyed, vented his wrath on Doris, whom he as-
serted to be the cause of our departure. I won't
inflict upon you the story of the bad language
and the thrashing he administered: I draw a
veil over them one and all; it is enough to tell
you that Tryphaena, the centre of the whole
storm, urged Lichas to search for the truants
at the house of Lycurgus, which was their most
probable refuge, and she begged to be allowed
to go with him, so as to give us a good dress-
ing down for our wickedness. Next day they set
off and arrived at the castle. \Ve were not at
home, because Lycurgus had taken us to a fes-
tival of Hercules which was being observed in
a village not far away. WTien they heard this,
they hurried off headlong to meet us, and we
all met in the temple porch. \Vhen we caught
sight of them, we were struck all of a heap.
Lichas poured out bitter complaints in Lycur-
gus's ear; but Lycurgus received him with the
coldest of frowns and an incredulous stare, and
I was emboldened thereby to pitch a strong tale
about his own villainy, first in the house of Ly-
curgus and then at his own home. Tryphaena
put in her oar, but she also had the worst of
it because I told the whole story to the company
which had assembled at the sound of our alter-
cation, and by way of corroboration I pointed
to Gito and myself, and showed what a trying
experience we had gone through.

The jeers of the mob left our enemies dumb-

OUR ESCAPE 17

founded, and they left the field with vengeance
in their hearts. They saw beyond question that
Lycurgus had been prejudiced in our favour, and
resolved to wait for him at home and open his
eyes. The performances ended too late for us
to reach home that night; so Lycurgus took us
to a place half way on the road, and next
morning left us still fast asleep, and made for
the castle (6) to begin his day's work. There he
found Lichas and Tryphaena in wait for him;
they used all their wiles upon him to induce him
to hand us over. Lycurgus, a brute by nature
and a monster of perfidy, pondered how he should
entrap us, and begged Lichas to send for help,
\vhile he had us put under lock and key at his
lodge. He went off to the lodge, and when we
arrived gave us a welcome quite as warm as
that of Lichas; with his hand on his heart he
upbraided us for our dishonest attack on Lichas,
and ordered us— • with the exception of Ascyltus 1 —
to be confined in our sleeping apartment. Even
Ascyltus he refused to hear in our defence. Then
he carried off Ascyltus to the castle, and handed
us over to a guard till his return. On the way
Ascyltus vainly sought to soften his heart : in
vain he implored, in vain he cajoled, in vain he
wept. Then it occurred to him that he might
effect our escape. At all events he was so
hipped by the obstinacy of Lycurgus that he
would have nothing to do with him, and thus it
was all the easier for him to carry out his design.
\Vhen the household was enjoying its first sleep,
Ascyltus shouldered our belongings, and, creeping
out through a hole in the wall which he had noted
beforehand, he reached the villa before daybreak.

2

18 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

Entering without opposition, he made his way to
our room which our gaolers had carefully locked.
But it was an easy matter to effect an entrance :
the bolt was a wooden one, and an iron crowbar
easily prized it open. The falling of the lock
awoke us, for in spite of our hard luck we were
snoring away. The gaolers were worn out with
their night's vigil, and we alone were roused by
the crash. Ascyltus entered, and in ten words
described his labours on our behalf. \Ve saw
the game in a trice. \Vhile slipping into my
clothes I conceived the idea of killing the guards
and rifling the villa, and I broached it to As-
cyltus. The latter part of the plan took his fancy*
but he felt that our escape would be imperilled
by bloodshed. Knowing every nook of the house,
he led us to the store-room and unbarred the
doors with his own hand. \Ve picked out all
the most valuable objects, and, as it was not yet
dawn, we slipped away, avoided main thorough-
fares, and kept on the move till we felt we were
out of danger.

Then Ascyltus recovered his breath, and enlarg-
ed on the satisfaction it had given him to plunder
the house of the skinflint Lycurgus. He had
good reason to curse his stinginess; he wanted
all his fun for nothing; the food was poor, the
wine scarce ; in fact, he was such a miser, that,
though he was rolling in wealth, he refused even
the necessaries of life.

Ascyltus proposed to enter Naples the same day.
But I objected. " It's folly", I said, "to betake
ourselves to the very spot where, in all likelihood,
they will look for us first. Let's keep away, and
take a short tour: we're all right for money".

NEW ADVENTURES 19

This scheme was adopted, and we proceeded
to a village which offered all the charms of unli-
mited chances of plunder, where quite a number
of our good friends were spending their holidays.
\Ve had scarcely gone half-way when a thunder-
shower came down in bucketfuls and drove us
helter skelter to the nearest village. \Ve entered
the inn, where we noticed that many others had
taken shelter. The place was so crowded that
we were unobserved : thus we had a better chance
of spying round for plunder, and Ascyltus, with-
out anybody noticing, picked up a small bag
in which he found gold pieces galore. This early
stroke of luck put us in the highest spirits, but
we were terrified lest search should be made,
and so we secretly slipped out by a backdoor (7).
There we came upon a groom harnessing his horses
who, happening to have forgotten something, went
to look for it in the house and left the horses.
In his ajbsence I loosened the harness and pulled
off a magnificent riding-coat that was attached
to the saddle (8) : then we stole away past some
outhouses into the adjoining wood. Feeling a
good deal safer in the depths of the wood, we
had a long discussion about finding a cache for
the gold, lest we should be convicted of the theft
or robbed in our turn. Finally we decided to
sew it into the lining of a threadbare tunic, \vhich
I thereupon threw over my shoulders. Ascyltus
was entrusted with the riding-coat, and we decided
to make for the city by devious routes. But on
the point of emerging from our hiding place we
caught these ominous words : " They can't escape;
they entered the copse. WV11 separate so as
to catch them the more easily."

20 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

We were terror-stricken at the words. As-
cyltus and Gito made a bolt for the city through
the brushwood, while I retraced my steps with
such headlong speed that my precious tunic slip-
ped from my shoulders unperceived, and it was
not till I was too worn out to put one foot
before the other that I sank down in the shade
of a tree, and then for the first time noticed
my loss.

Grief gave me new strength and I rose to my
feet to search for the lost treasure. For hours
I ran hither and thither in vain, until at last,
fagged to death and sick at heart, I pushed my
way into a glade where the trees were thicker
than elsewhere : there I tarried for four hours
until the awful loneliness got on my nerves and
I looked about for a way out. As I was emerg-
ing I caught sight of a yokel. I had need of
all my courage, and it did not fail me. I went
up to him boldly and asked him the way to the
town, grumbling over my weary wanderings in
the forest. Taking compassion on my pitiful
plight, for I was as pale as a ghost and covered
with mud, he asked me whether I had seen anyone
in the wood. "Not a soul", said I. Then he
escorted me with all politeness to the high-road.
There we met his two companions, who reported
that they had scoured every track through the
wood and found nothing but a cloak which they
produced. I hadn't the face to claim it, as you
may well imagine, though I knew its value well
enough. Then I fell to bewailing my loss with
more bitterness than ever, though I concealed it
from the bumpkins; and owing to my growing
weariness I walked more slowly than usual.

AN UNLUCKY MEETING 21

Naturally it was pretty late when I reached the
town. AVhen I limped into the inn I found As-
cyltus more dead than alive, sprawling on a low
pallet; I threw myself on another couch, too
tired to utter a single word. He was dismayed
at not seeing the cloak which he had left in my
charge, and peremptorily demanded it from me.
In a state of collapse I signified what had hap-
pened by a look; then as my strength gradually
returned, I related the tragedy, Ascyltus thought
I was playing with him, and, though he had proof
enough in the piteous tears that poured down
my cheeks, he was frankly unconvinced and felt
sure that I was trying to swindle him. Gito,
looking on, was as wretched as I was, and the
boy's misery redoubled my despair. But I was
tortured still more by the fact that justice was
on our tracks : this I explained to Ascyltus, but
he -was buoyed up by his own successful escape,
and made light of it. Besides he was dead cer-
tain we were out of danger : " Nobody knows
us", said he; "nobody can identify us".

All the same we decided to feign sickness, so
that we could stay in the bedroom a bit longer.
However, our cash ran short before we had
thought of moving : necessity knows no law, and
we were forced to sell our ill-gotten gains.]

CHAPTER XII

THE ENCOUNTER IN THE
MARKET-PLACE

THE dusk was coming on when we approached
the market. We saw any quantity of goods

for sale, but of no great value — in fact, the sort
of commodity which turns up -with doubtful cre-
dentials and sells best in an uncertain light. \Ve
had brought with us our stolen riding-coat, and
we proceeded to take this convenient opportunity
of unwrapping it, just the outside edge and no
more in a quiet corner, in the hope that its
elaborate texture would attract a purchaser. In
a few minutes a certain yokel, whom I knew
only too well, approached me with a woman at
his side, and began to inspect it with some
attention. Ascyltus returned the compliment by
staring fixedly at the shoulders of our rustic
customer. Then suddenly he gasped and held
his tongue. I, too, got a shock when I looked
at the fellow, for I felt sure he was the man
who had found the cloak (1) in the depths of
the wood; beyond question he was the very
man! But Ascyltus, not trusting his eyes and
anxious to do nothing rash, before presenting
himself as a purchaser, went close to him, drew
back a fold from his shoulders and fingered it
carefully.

AMAZING luck 1 The silly yokel had not even
felt the lining, arid with supreme indifference was
offering it for sale like any ordinary beggar's
pickings. Having satisfied himself that the money
was intact and that the vendor was a fellow of

!

WE BEHOLD OUR LOST TUNIC 23

no account, Ascyltus took me a step aside from
the throng : " Do you know, partner", says he,
" that the lost swag which I was complaining
about has turned up again? There is the cloak,
as far as I can see with all the gold untouched.
\Vhat's the plan? How shall we prove owner-
ship?"

I was delighted beyond measure, not so much
because I saw the plunder again, as because a
lucky chance had freed me of a shameful suspi-
cion. "No underhand tricks 1" said I. " \Ve
must proceed in a strictly legal way. If he won't
disgorge his ill-gotten gains to the rightful owner,
we must take him into Court."

CHAPTER XIV

WE DECIDE TO RECOVER OUR
TREASURE AT A SACRIFICE

ASCYLTUS, however, had no love for the law.
" W^ho knows us here?" he queried. " Wlio's
going to believe our story? I propose we buy
it, although it's our own property and we can
identify it. It's far wiser to get the treasure
back at a small loss than to run risk of an action."

What good are laws • when money reigns alone,
\Vhere poverty can never hold her own?
Diogenes (1), who vaunts his beggar's scrip,

Will often sell1 his conscience for a tip.

The Courts are nothing but an auction sale
Where those who bribe the learned judge prevail.

24 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

With the exception, however, of a solitary
copper which we had brought with us to buy
chickpeas and lupine, we hadn't a cent on us.
And so, being afraid of losing our plunder in the
meanwhile, we decided to reduce the price of the
riding-coat and make a small sacrifice for the
bigger profit. No sooner had we therefore un-
rolled the garment than the veiled woman, who
accompanied the yokel and had examined the
cloth with considerable care, seized it by the
border with both hands, and shouted at the top
of her voice: "I've caught the robbers!" As a
counter stroke we, in terror lest we should seem
to be in a hole, laid hands on the dirty battered
cloak and with equal indignation shouted that
they had stolen our property. But the case was
not on all fours, and the mob (2) who were
attracted by the uproar very naturally laughed
our claim to scorn, for the obvious reason that,
while our opponents were claiming a valuable
piece of stuff, we were fighting for a garment
that was too far gone for patching. Finally,
Ascyltus managed to stop their merriment, and
when he got a hearing, he addressed them.

CHAPTER XV

WE SEE THAT EVERYBODY LIKES
HIS OWN THINGS BEST

" LET them return our tunic, and we'll hand
over their riding-coat."

The countryman and the lady were content

EVERYBODY LIKES HIS OWN 25

with the exchange, but the bystanders *, them-
selves a crew of nightbirds and eager to finger
the plunder, insisted that both articles should
be lodged in their keeping and that on the
morrow the judge should hear the dispute.
They argued that it was not merely a case of
doubtful ownership, but a much more serious
question, namely that suspicion clearly suggested
stealing by both parties. It was agreed that
a receiver (1) be appointed, and one of the
dealers, a fellow with a bald head and a bul-
bous brow, who was wont to act as a sort of
solicitor, had laid hands upon the riding-coat,
undertaking to produce it next day. But it
didn't take much brains to see that their sole
object was to lay hands on it, and keep it
hidden— the thieves ! — in the sure belief that we
shouldn't risk the charge of theft by putting
in an appearance.

This suited us down to the ground. And so
the upshot of the trouble was a relief to both
parties. For the farmer-fellow in his rage at
our insisting on the production of the ragged
old tunic flung it in Ascyltus' face, threw up

* Advocali iampaene nocturni. Lewis and Short " sum-
moned almost in the night-time (i. e. very early)" : but
who were they ? who summoned them ? and why refer
to the time of day? AVe have been told it was dusk.
Is it not possible that advocatl signifies the bystanders
who had constituted themselves arbiters of the dispute,
and were themselves a pack of thieves? Nocturni (cf.
"nightbirds") suggests this. Iampaene is obscure in any
case. Biicheler prefers to read poenae, i. e. the officers
who kept the peace of the market after nightfall. Pos-
sibly <] ut Jain should be read for lam.

26 PETROIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

his complaint against us, and demanded that
we should deposit the great-coat — which was the
real bone of contention. And so we recovered
our booty, as we thought, and made a bolt for
our lodging. There behind locked doors we
roared with laughter over the smartness display-
ed by brokers and plaintiffs alike in-as-much-
as with immense cunning they had merely hand-
ed us back our money.

That which I seek must not be lightly gained,
And victory bores, when once it is attained.

We had cut the stitches and were pulling
out the gold pieces when we heard somebody
inquiring from mine host what manner of men
they were who had just entered the inn. \Ve
were, horrified, and when the visitor had gone,
I went down to see what was the matter, and
found it was a magistrate's clerk (2), whose
duty it was to enter the names of strangers in
the local records; he had seen two visitors
enter the hotel whose names were not yet entered
on his lists and had therefore called to inquire
about their birth-place and their business. Boni-
face stated these facts in such a casual way as to
rouse my suspicions that we were not out of
the wood. To avoid arrest we decided to slip
out and not to return till night; so we departed,
leaving the preparations for sjupper in Gito's
hands. Our intention being to avoid the main
thoroughfares, we kept to the deserted parts
of the town, and towards dark iii a deserted
street we chanced upon two cloaked ladies,
very seemly to look upon; these ladies we
followed slowly till they came to a chapel

WE ARE VISITED BY A LADY 27

which they entered. A curious hum, as of voices
emerging from the depths of a cavern, fell upon
our ears. Curiosity led us to enter the chapel,
and there we saw a company of women, in
Bacchanalian garb, each carrying a phallic emblem
in her right hand. More we were not allowed
to see : as soon as they saw us they raised a
great cry which made the very dome vibrate.
They tried to lay hands on us, but we fled
headlong to our inn.

CHAPTER XVI
WE ARE VISITED BY A LADY

WE had barely done justice to the supper which
Gito's kindness had made ready when the door
echoed to a pretty peremptory knock. Pale to
the lips, we cried out "Who's there?" "Open
and see", said the voice.

The words were hardly out of our mouths
\vhen the bolts slipped back and fell away
automatically: the door swung suddenly open
and made way for the visitor. Behold a lady
with veiled head, the very one, to wit, whom
we had met with the country yokel a few hours
before.

" I suppose", she said, " you thought you had
scored off me? I am Quartilla's lady's-maid: it
was her sacrifice that you just disturbed at the
entrance of the grotto. Behold! she is on her
way in person to this hostelry, and she begs
she may be allowed to discourse with you.
Pray be not alarmed : she does not blame you

28 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

for your mistake, nor does she demand redress.
Nay, on the contrary, she wonders what god
has sent such gallant gentlemen into her precincts."

CHAPTER XVII
ARRIVAL OF QUARTILLA

\VE were still speechless, uttering no word,
polite or otherwise, when the lady herself entered
with a single maid in attendance. She seated
herself on my couch and wept for some time;
not even this performance drew any comment
from us : we stood stock still watching her
admirable pose of misery. At last the storm
of ostentatious tears subsided (1); she unveiled
her haughty countenance, and wrung her hands
till the very joints cracked.

" Ah monstrous wickedness 1", she cried (2) ;
" where learned ye a villainy that shall surpass
the wildest fiction? My heart bleeds for ye,
upon my soul (3) ; for never man has seen the
forbidden thing and lived. My realm, I assure
ye, is full of guardian deities: there ye may
likelier see a god than a mortal. Think not
that I am come hither for vengeance; your
youth moves me more than my own wrongs.
For ye wist not, meseems, when you sinned the
mortal sin. For myself I was troubled in my
soul this night; I shivered with so deadly a
chill that I dread an attack of tertian ague.
And so I sought a medicine in my sleep, and I
was bidden to seek ye out, and tell ye my
poignant suffering, and so to ease my pain.
But 'tis not for my own relief that I chiefly

HOW THE LADY WAS CALMED 29

seek; a greater sorrow eats away my heart-
strings and brings me near to death. 'Tis lest,
forsooth, in your youthful wildness ye tell abroad
the things ye saw in the sanctuary of Priapus (4),
and show forth to the vulgar the counsels of
the gods. Therefore do I kneel and stretch out
to ye my upturned hands ; and I beg and beseech
ye not to hold up our midnight rites to scorn
and mockery, nor publicly degrade the secrets
of the ages which scarcely a thousand human
beings know (5)."

CHAPTER XVIII
HOW THE GREAT LADY WAS CALMED

W^HEN this prayer was ended, her tears poured
forth anew, her body was rent with bitter sob-
bing; she bowed her head and breast upon my
couch. Distressed at once by pity and appre-
hension, I bade her be of good cheer and have
no fear on either score.

" Neither of us ", I said, " will tell your prac-
tices abroad, and, if the god prescribe some
other cure to stay your fever, we will risk our
lives to supplement the wisdom of providence ."

This assurance made the lady more cheerful;
she covered me with kisses, and, her tears turning
to laughter, she gently * stroked my flowing curls.

"I make a truce with you", she said; "I

* Various readings are proposed. Lenta manu, softly or
gently, seems preferable. Dentata. (literally "toothed")
conceivably suggests the English " combed my locks" (i. e.
using her hand as a comb). Another suggestion is tentata.

30 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

withdraw my charges : had you refused the medi-
cine which I seek, my servants were in readiness
to avenge my wrongs and outraged majesty on
the morrow.

'Tis shameful to be scorned : to tyrannize
Is brutal: this I love— to go my way;

Scorned, you will mend the quarrel, if you're wise :
The man who kills not, he doth win the day!

Thereupon she clapped her hands and sud-
denly broke into such a shout of laughter that
we trembled in our shoes. Likewise the two
maids, the one who arrived first and the one
who had attended her mistress.

CHAPTER XIX

SHE DEMANDS HER CURE BY
FORCE OF ARMS

THE whole place rang with their stagey laughter,
we in the meanwhile being at a loss to explain
this sudden change of front, staring now at one
another, now at the ladies.

Then quoth Quartilla : " I have given orders,
therefore, that this day no living soul be admitted
to the inn. I must go through the cure of my
tertian ague with you undisturbed".

At this speech of Quartilla's Ascyltus for the
moment was flabbergasted ; I froze with a more
than Arctic (1) chill, and hadn't a word to say.
But when I calculated the odds, my fears were
nipped in the bud. Three frail little women on
one side : on the other we three, not giants
perhaps, but at all events of the stronger sex:

what would they do ? Besides, we were behind
our own entrenchments : nay more, I had already
disposed our forces so that, if it came to a
battle, we should fight square, I with Quartilla,
Ascyltus with the lady's maid, Gito with the
young girl.

As I pondered, Quartilla charged down upon
me and demanded her medicine; being foiled in
her attack she retired storming with rage, but
a moment later returned ordering some unknown
persons to lay hands on us and convey us to
her lordly palace. Then, I assure you, our
courage oozed away in our horror, and the
shadow of certain death fell dark upon us.

CHAPTER XX
HOW THE CURE WAS WROUGHT

"I PRAY thee, great lady", I cried, "let our
punishment what'er it be, be swift : our crime is
not so black that we deserve to die on the rack !"

The young maid, whose name was Psyche,
answered me by stretching a rug along the floor (1)
and chafing my body which was icy-cold as if I had
died a thousand deaths. Ascyltus had his cloak
wrapped round his head, having learned to his
cost how dangerous it was to pry into other
people's secrets. Then the waiting-maid produced
two laces (2) from her dress and proceeded to
bind me hand and foot.

Thus tied up, I remarked : " Your mistress
won't get what she wants from us by methods
of this kind!" "Very likely not", returned she.
" But I have other charms at hand, of a more

32 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

potent kind"; and without further warning she
produced a goblet filled with a kind of tonic and
with much playful chaff and badinage she induced
me to drink up pretty nearly all the contents.
In-as-much as Ascyltus had lately snubbed her,
she poured the last drops of the mixture over
his back before he noticed it. Ascyltus hearing
our talk come to an end, cried out : " Look here,
don't I deserve a drink?"

A laugh from me gave her away. She clapped
her hand ; " Oh yes, I did offer it, my young
friend: but (turning to me) you drank the last
drops yourself!" (3) "Am I to understand",
asked Quartilla, " that Encolpius swallowed the
whole draught ?"

She sook with the prettiest laughter imaginable.
Even Gito ended by joining in our merriment;
at all events after the maiden flung her arms
round his neck and gave him a shower of kisses,
which he accepted with a good grace.

CHAPTER XXI

OUR PUNISHMENT AND THE
ENSUING BANQUET

WE yearned to cry for help in our sorry plight,
but there was no one at hand to save us. On
the one hand Psyche pricked my cheeks with a
hairpin (1) the moment I tried to call on my
countrymen for aid; on the other side the young
girl stifled poor Ascyltus with a sponge (2) soaked
in the love-potion. To wind up with, there
dashed upon us a loathsome varlet, in a rough
frieze coat (3) of myrtle-brown tucked up to his

WE ARE ATTACKED BY BURGLARS 33

waist, who subjected us to the grossest indignities.

At last Quartilla, who carried a rod of office
made of whalebone and had her skirt pinned up
to her knees (-(), signalled that our sorrows were
at an end. We both swore a dreadful oath
that our awful secret should perish with us.
Then there entered a number of gymnasium-atten-
dants (5), who anointed us with the regulation oil
and rubbed us down.

This treatment dispelled our fatigue. We put
on our wedding garments again and were con-
ducted into a neighbouring chamber, where we
found three couches richly dight and all the other
paraphernalia of luxury in gorgeous display.
W^e were bidden to take our places, and, after
a delicious appetiser to begin with, we were
literally drowned in real old Falernian (6). The
courses came and went, and we began to
grow drowsy. Wliereupon Quartilla protested:
" Wliat", she cried, "have you the face to think
of sleep when you know you ought to be cele-
brating the Priapus vigil!"

CHAPTER XXII

WE DOZE AND ARE ATTACKED
BY BURGLARS

POOR Ascyltus was by now so worn out with
his many hardships that he was dozing off. The
young lady whom he had so basely snubbed
then took her revenge by rubbing his face all
over with burnt cork (1) and smearing his lips
and neck with charred sticks (2), he blissfully
unconscious the while. I, too, was in a state

34 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

of collapse after all my woes and had already
indulged in a preliminary snooze. In fact, the
whole household indoors and out was in a like
case : some were lolling here and there at the
feet of the banqueters, others were propped up
against the walls, a few lay higgledy-piggledy
in the very doorway, cheek by jowl. Even the
lamps were running short of oil and burned with
a flickering guttering light.

About this time two scoundrelly Syrians (3)
slipped into the dining-hall to collar a bottle of
wine; in their greed they went for each other
all among the plate and smashed the bottle
between them. The table was knocked over,
silver and all, and a goblet was knocked down
by accident and fell from a fair height right
onto the head of the maid, who was lying like
a log on the divan. She shrieked in pain, and
her cry betrayed the thieves and woke some of
the muddled revellers. The would-be thieves,
seeing that they were caught, promptly sank
down together beside a couch to avert suspicion,
and set up a snore as though they had been
slumbering for hours.

The chief butler (4) was likewise disturbed
from his nap. He poured oil into the dying
lamps and the slaves rubbed their eyes awhile
and resumed their duties. Thereupon there en-
tered a girl who played the cymbals (5), and
the clash of metal drove sleep away.

FUN GROWS FAST AND FURIOUS 35

CHAPTER XXIII
THE FUN GROWS FAST AND FURIOUS

ENTERS a low comedian, the last word in stale
vulgarity (1), quite in keeping -with our sur-
roundings. This artist clapped his hands in time
\vith his whining dirge, and this was the style
of his effusion :

Hither, hither, gather round,

Fellow-scoundrels all.
Foot it briskly, lightly bound,
Fair of form, on the ground!

Veterans and youngsters, all

Cunning-fingered, leap and fall,
All ye who know the Delian wound (2).

The catch ended, he gave me a gruesome
salute. Then he leapt upon my couch and with
all his might strove to drag me out in spite of
my struggles. He sat on my chest and vainly
wrestled with me. Streams of hair-oil (3) poured
down his brow and the powder (4) ran in ridges
on his cheeks till his face resembled a stucco
wall in a thunder- shower.

CHAPTER XXIV
ASCYLTUS AND GITO IN TROUBLE

" QUAESO ", inquam, " domina, certe embasi-
coetan (1 ) iusseras dari." Complosit ilia tenerius

36 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

manus et " O " inquit " hominem acutum atque
urbanitatis vernaculae fontem. Quid? tu non
intellexeras cinaedum embasicoetan vocari?"
Deinde ut contubernali meo melius succederet,
"Per fidem" inquam " vestram, Ascyltos in hoc
triclinio solus ferias (2) agit ? " " Ita " inquit
Quartilla " et Ascylto embasicoetas detur." Ab
hac voce equum cinacdus mutavit transituque ad
comitem meum facto clunibus eum basiisque
distrivil. Stabat inter haec Giton et risu dis-
solvebat ilia sua. Itaque conspicata eum Quar-
tilla, cuius esset puer, diligentissima sciscitatione
quaesivit. Cum ego fratrem meum esse dixissem,
" Quare ergo " inquit " me non basiavit ? " Vo-
catumque ad se in osculum applicuit. Mox manum
etiam demisit in sinum et pertrectato vasculo tarn
rudi " Haec " inquit " belle eras in promulside
libidinis nostrae militabit : hodie enim post asellum
diaria non sumo."

CHAPTER XXV
A WEDDING IS ARRANGED

CUM haec diceret, ad aurem eius Psyche ridens
accessit, et cum dixisset nescio quid, " Ita, ita "
inquit Quartilla " bene admonuisti. Cur non,
quia bellissima occasio est, devirginatur Pan-
nychis nostra? " Continuoque producta est puella
satis bella et quae non plus quam septem annos
habere videbatur, [et] ea ipsa quae primum cum
Quartilla in cellam venerat nostram. Plauden-
tibus ergo universis et postulantibus nuptias

THE CEREMONY 37

[fecerunt] obstupui ego et nee Gitona, verecun-
dissimum puerum, sufficere huic petulantiae affir-
mavi, nee puellam eius aetatis esse, ut muliebris
patientiae legem posset accipere. " Ita" inquit
Quartilla " minor est ista quam ego fui, cum
primum virum passa sum ? lunonem meam iratam
habeam, si unquam me meminerim virginem fuisse.
Nam et infans cum paribus inclinata sum, et
subinde procedentibus annis maioribus me pueris
applicui, donee ad hanc aetatem perveni. Hinc
etiam puto proverbium natum illud, ut dicatur
posse taurum tollere, qui vitulum sustulerit."
Igitur ne maiorem iniuriam in secreto frater
acciperet, consurrexi ad officium nuptiale.

CHAPTER XXVI
THE CEREMONY

I AM Psyche puellae caput involverat flammeo (1),
iam embasicoetas praeferebat facem, iam ebriae
mulieres longum agmen plaudentes fecerant tha-
lamumque incesta exornaverant veste, cum Quar-
tilla quoque iocantium libidine (2) accensa et
ipsa surrexit correptumque Gitona in cubiculum
traxit.

Sine dubio non repugnaverat puer, ac ne puella
quidem tristis expaverat nuptiarum nomen.
Itaque cum inclusi iacerent, consedimus ante
limen thalami, et in primis Quartilla per rimam
improbe diductam applicuerat oculum curiosum
lusumque puerilem libidinosa speculabatur dili-
gentia. Me quoque ad idem spectaculum lenta

38 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

manu traxit, et quia considerantium cohaeserant
vultus, quicquid a spectaculo vacabat, commo-
vebat obiter labra et me tanquam furtivis sub-
inde osculis verberabat .

PART II

CHAPTER XXVI (cent.)
TRIMALCHIO'S BANQUET

IT was now the third day (3) — the one on which
we were booked for the free (4) dinner. But we
were so bruised and battered by our numerous
misfortunes that we were far more disposed to
cut and run than to stay where we were. So
we were sadly speculating as to the best device
for dodging the threatening storm (5) when one (6)
of Agamemnon's slaves broke in on our appre-
hensions.

" WTiat ? ", says he; " don't you know at whose
house it is to day? \Vhy the millionaire Tri-
malchio's I There's a clock (7) in his dining-
room (8) with a trumpeter complete so that he
can know at any moment how much older he's
getting."

\Ve promptly forgot all our woes, dressed
ourselves with scrupulous care, and bade Gito,
who had all the while made no objection to acting
as our slave, to follow us to the baths (9).

40 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

CHAPTER XXVII
TRIMALCHIO PLAYS BALL

IN the meantime we, being ready dressed, began
to lounge — or perhaps I should rather say, fool
about — and mingle \vith groups of bystanders,
when suddenly our eyes fell upon a bald-headed
old fellow garbed in a reddish shirt playing ball (1)
with a bevy of long-haired boys. It was not so
much the boys that attracted our attention—
though they were well worth looking at — but
the old gentleman himself, taking exercise with
his slippers (2) on, and throwing green balls
about: the quaint thing was that, when once a
ball was missed, he wouldn't stop to pick it up,
but was always supplied with a new one by a
slave who carried a bagful. Some other unusual
features we noticed as well: he had two eunuchs
stationed at different points of the ring of catchers,
one holding a silver vessel, and the other keeping
count of the balls, i. e. not of those which were
caught and thrown from hand to hand, but of those
which were missed.

AVhile we were marvelling at these elaborate
arrangements, Menelaus ran up and informed us
that this was the gentleman, we were to dine
with (3): "In point of fact", says he: "This
is the preliminary canter."

The words were scarcely out of his lips when
Trimalchio signified by snapping his fingers that
the game was over. He then called for some
water to wash his hands, and dried his fingers —
he had scarcely troubled to moisten them — in the
locks of one of the slaves.

TRIMALCHIO FROM THE BATH

CHAPTER XXVIII

TRIMALCHIO GOES IN PROCESSION
FROM THE BATH

IT would take too long to tell you everything
in detail. In brief, then, picture us in the
baths (1). After a moment or two in the hot
room we came out into the cooling chamber.
Trimalchio was already anointed with perfume,
and was being rubbed down, not with common
jack-towels, but with bathsheets of the softest
wool. Meanwhile three ointment-quacks (2) were
drinking Falernian (3) close to him ; each was
struggling to get the most wine, and the best
part of it was spilled, whereupon Trimalchio
remarked that they had drunk his health (4).
Then he was wrapped up in a scarlet-coloured
dressing-gown (5) and lifted into a litter (6), four
flunkeys with decorations on their breasts pre-
ceding him, as well as a sort of bathchair (7)
in which rode a favourite slave, a blear-eyed
fellow (8) — past his best and uglier even than
my lord Trimalchio himself. As the procession
moved off, a flute-player with miniature pipes
approached and discoursed music in his private
ear all the way, for all the world as though
he were imparting some dark secret.

"We fell in behind, by this time in a state of
bewilderment, and along with Agamemnon arrived
at the portal. On one of the pillars we found
a placard with the legend:

42 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

ANY SLAVE

LEAVING THE MANSION
WITHOUT HIS LORD'S PERMISSION

WILL RECEIVE
ONE HUNDRED LASHES.

In the doorway stood a janitor (9) in green
livery with a girdle of cherry-colour, shelling
peas in a silver basin. Above the door hung
a golden cage from which a speckled magpie
greeted the guests.

CHAPTER XXIX

W^HILE I was gazing round at all this splen-
dour, I nearly fell on the back of my neck (2)
and broke my legs. For there on the left hand
as we went in, close to the porter's lodge, was
a gigantic dog on a chain, painted on the •wall,
and over him in big capitals the words BE\VARE
OF THE DOG ! Of course my companions
were convulsed with laughter, but I pulled myself
together at once and went on with my exami-
nation of the other frescoes (3). One panel
represented a slavemarket, price-marks and all;
another Trimalchio himself wearing his hair long,
with a wand of Mercury in his hands, being led
into Rome by Minerva ; a £hird showed how
Trimalchio had learned to add up accounts and
afterwards had graduated as a bailiff. To each
of these scenes the cunning artist had attached

GLORIES OF THE ENTRANCE HALL 43

a full description. Towards the end of the hall
I saw Mercury conducting him by the chin like
a teacher of swimming, and escorting him to an
elevated judgment throne : there at his side stood
the Goddess of Fortune with her great Horn
of Plenty, and the Three Fates spinning the
golden threads of Destiny. I observed too in
the hall a band of runners at exercise with their
trainer, and in one corner there stood a large
cabinet where in a small shrine were silver images
of the household god, a statue of Venus in marble,
and a golden casket of considerable size, which
they told me had the honour of containing my
lord's first beard (4). I began thereupon to
question the major-domo about the pictures in
the middle. He told me briefly that they were
scenes from the Iliac) and the Och/Mey and a
picture of the gladiatorial show given by Laenas (5).

CHAPTER XXX
WE ENTER THE BANQUETING-HALL(l)

BUT we were not given time to satisfy our
curiosity. \Ve were already at the threshold of
the dining-hall, at the entrance of which sat the
steward busy with his ledgers. I was astonished
beyond measure to see fastened to the doorposts
of the hall the rods and axes (2) arranged at one
end in such a way as to represent the brazen
bows of a ship with the following inscription:

PRESENTED TO CAIUS POMPEIUS TRIMALCHIO

PRIEST OF AUGUSTUS
BY HIS STEWARD CINNAMUS.

44 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

Beneath this same dedication there was a lamp
with twin lights hanging from the ceiling, and
there were two placards, one on either doorpost,
of which one, if I remember rightly, bore the
following legend :

On the 30th and 31st of December
our Gaius goes out to dinner (3).

The other placard was a calendar showing
the phases of the moon and the seven planets,
with the lucky and unlucky days distinguished
by coloured studs.

\Ve had fully examined all these objects of
interest, and were on the point of entering the
banqueting-hall when a slave, told off for this
special duty, cried out " Right foot (4) first,
gentlemen". I can assure you we all hesitated
for a moment, fearing lest one of us should cross
the threshold with the wrong foot. But just as
we had like a squad of soldiers stepped off with
the right foot, a slave, who had been stripped
to receive a flogging, threw himself at our feet
and implored us to beg him off. He told us
that he had got into trouble for a very small
delinquency, namely that in the baths the ste-
ward's clothes, worth barely a couple of shillings,
had been stolen from him (5). So we drew back
our right feet and appealed to the steward, who
was counting out gold in the hall, to forego the
beating. He looked up with extreme dignity.

" I don't mind the loss of the clothes", he
assured us ; " it is the carelessness of this ras-
cally slave. The garments he has allowed some
thief to steal were my dinner-suit, a birthday
present from a client of mine : they were genuine

THE HORS D'OEUVRES 45

Tyrian cloth, but they had been to the laundry
once (6). Well, it is a mere trifle ! I leave him
to you, gentlemen."

CHAPTER XXXI

WE ARE SERVED WITH THE HORS
D'OEUVRES

OVERPOWERED by his lofty concession, we
proceeded into the banqueting hall, and were
there met by the identical slave for whom we
had interceded. To our amazement he showered
kisses upon us in gratitude for our kindness.

" You will not be long in discovering," he
hinted, " who it was you befriended. The master's
private cellar (1) is the slave's thank-offering."

At last we were allowed to take our places.
Alexandrian slaves poured iced water on our
hands ; others attended to our feet (2), paring
the nails with remarkable skill. Even during this
delicate operation they were not silent, but they
sang as they worked. I was curious to discover
whether the whole staff was able to sing; so I
asked for a drink. My behest was obeyed on
the spot by a boy singing in a shrill treble.
Whatever you asked for was brought to a vocal
accompaniment. In fact it was more like a comic
opera than a respectable citizen's dinner-party.

However, in due course the hord 2 'oeuared were
served, and very excellent they were. All were
now reclining in their places, with the exception
of Trimalchio, for whom, being an up-to-date
host, a special place was reserved (3). The dinner-
service included a miniature ass of Corinthian

46 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

bronze (4) laden with a double pannier containing
olives, white on one tray and black on the other.
The ass also carried two dishes (5) engraved on
the rims with Trimalchio's name and the weight
of the silver. There were also small iron frames
shaped like bridges, upon which were served
dormice (6) garnished with honey and poppy-seed.
A gridiron of silver carried sausages steaming
hot, and below were black plums from Damascus
and sliced pomegranates from Carthage (7).

CHAPTER XXXII
TRIMALCHIO JOINS HIS GUESTS

were revelling in these delicacies when, be-
hold I Trimalchio himself was borne into the hall
with musical honours, and reposing upon tiny(l)
cushions ! The spectacle drew a laugh from the
surprised guests — and not unnaturally. His close-
cropped head stuck out from a cloak of bright
scarlet; his neck was well wrapped up, and he
had donned a linen cloth with a broad stripe
and tassels dangling here and there. On the
little finger of his left hand he wore a heavy
gilt ring, but on the last joint of the next finger
he had furthermore a smaller ring, which appeared
to me to be of solid gold but as a matter of fact
was picked out with brilliants made of steel.
Also, to show that these did not exhaust his
jewel-case, he had his right arm bare, encircled
with an armlet of gold and an ivory circlet clasped
by a gleaming metal plate.

TRIMALCHIO PLAYS DRAUGHTS 47

CHAPTER XXXIII

TRIMALCHIO PLAYS DRAUGHTS

WHILE HIS GUESTS EAT

CURIOUS EGGS.

THEN having made full use of a silver tooth-pick,
he addressed the assembly.

"My friends", quoth he, "it is with reluctance
that I have appeared so early in the banquet,
but I feared that my absense might diminish
your enjoyment. I have, therefore, put my own
inclinations on one side, but you will, I doubt
not, permit me to bring my game to a conclusion?"

Behind him came a slave carrying a board of
terebinth- wood with crystal men (1), and I
observed in particular one characteristic extra-
vagance, namely that instead of black and white
counters he used gold and silver coins. Meantime,
while he was swearing over his game like a
trooper (2), and we were still engaged on the hord
(foeuvred, there appeared a tray with a basket
on it. In the basket was a wooden hen with
her wings spread round her in the attitude
indicative of laying an egg.

Two slaves immediately approached the tray,
and, amid a crash from the orchestra, proceeded
to search the straw, dig out pea-hen's eggs, (3)
and distribute them to the guests. Trimalchio
turned his gaze upon this little drama.

"My good friends", quoth he, "I have caused
yonder hen to sit upon a pea-hen's eggs. I hope
to goodness they are not yet on the point of
hatching; let us risk it, however, and discover,
whether they are still reasonably fresh".

AS PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

\Ve took our spoons (4), which, by the way,
weighed a good half-pound each — and broke the
eggs, which were composed of a rich paste. For
my own part I was on the point of throwing
away my share, for it seemed to me that my
egg already contained a chicken. But thereupon
a guest who knew the ropes whispered to me :
"^V^hat; there must be some rare dainty inside."
So I pursued my investigations among the shells,
and finally found a plump little fig-pecker (5)
hidden away in yolk seasoned with pepper.

CHAPTER XXXIV

TRIMALCHIO MAKES LIGHT OF A

BREAKAGE AND MORALIZES ON

HUMAN FRAILTY

AT this point Trimalchio at last finished his game.
He had all the previous dishes set before him,
and in a loud voice proclaimed that if any gentle-
man wished to have a second glass of mead he
was at liberty to call for it. Then suddenly, at
a loud crash from the orchestra, the waiters, — their
voices still raised in song. — • whisked away the
hon (foeuvred. But in the confusion one of the
side-dishes chanced to be dropped, and a slave
rescued it from the floor: Trimalchio saw the
episode, had the boy's ears boxed, and bade him
throw the dish down again. A litter-slave (1)
appeared with a broom and swept up the silver
dish along with its scattered contents. Enter next
two long-haired Ethiopians carrying small skins —
like those which are used when they sprinkle the
sand in the amphitheatre — and poured wine over

TRIMALCHIO MORALIZES 49

our hands ; for not a soul was offered anything
so common as water (2).

Someone complimented our host on his super-
excellent good taste. " Fair play ", he returned,
" is the War God's motto (3). That's why I
ordered that each guest should have his own table.
These frowsy slaves make the air so thick un-
less there's plenty of room for them to pass."

As he spoke, there appeared carefully sealed
glass winejars (4) the necks of which were labelled

FALERNIAN

CONSUL OPIMIUS

ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD.

As we read the inscriptions, Trimalchio clapped
his hands and remarked " Alas, alas 1, wine out-
lives poor miserable man! Let us then swim
in it (5), for wine is life. I give you the real
Opimian. It's a finer brand than I provided
yesterday, for all that the company was a more
distinguished lot than you."

Of course we drank our fill, and, as we were
loudly applauding his splendid hospitality, a slave
produced a silver skeleton with its joints and
backbone so ingeniously constructed that it moved
every way. He played with this toy on the table,
making it assume the various attitudes which the
mechanism allowed. Then he moralized:

Man's life is mean and miserably poor,
For when he goes below, he is no whit

More than this doll : so, while you live be sure
You get your full enjoyment out of it (6).

50 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

CHAPTER XXXV
THE EPICURE'S ZODIAC

OUR plaudits having died away, the second
course was served. It was not as gorgeous as
we expected, but so extraordinary that it at-
tracted every eye. It was a big round tray
with the signs of the Zodiac arranged round the
edge, and over each sign the master-artist (1)
had placed a dainty appropriate to the subject (2).
Over Aries, the Ram, were butter-beans; over
Taurus, the Bull, a Porterhouse steak ; over the
Twins, two kidneys and a pair of sweetbreads ;
over the Crab (Trimalchio's sign) (3), a festal
garland ; over Leo the Lion, a fig from his native
Africa (4) ; over Virgo, the udder of a yearling
sow ; over Libra, the Scales, a balance with tarts
in one pan and cheese-cakes in the other; over
Scorpio, a salt-water fish; over Sagittarius, the
Archer, a hare; over Capricorn, the Horned
Goat, a lobster, claws and all; over Aquarius
the Rainbringer, a goose ; over the Fishes, a pair
of mullets. The centre-piece was a little heap
of grassy turf bearing a'honey-comb. Bread was
handed round in a miniature silver oven (5), to
keep it hot, by an Egyptian boy, and even this
fellow favoured us with a music-hall catch in
an excruciating voice.

A SUBTLE PUN 51

CHAPTER XXXVI

WHAT THE ZODIAC SYMBOLS
CONCEALED

OUR spirits fell as we set to work on this
third-rate fare, but Trimalchio said : " I suggest
that we fall to, this being the beginning of the
banquet proper." (1) As he spoke the orchestra
struck a chord, and four slaves leaped forward
with measured steps and removed the upper part
of the big tray, disclosing below, i. e. on a lower
layer previously concealed from view, fat poultry,
sows' udders, and a hare with its legs 'trussed'
to resemble the famous winged horse Pegasus (2).
\Ve also observed at the corners of the dish
small Marsyas-shaped (3) vessels from which a
sharp sauce (4) poured out over the fish, which
were swimming in a mimic strait (5). ^W^e cor-
dially echoed the applause started by the ser-
vants, and wreathed in smiles leaned towards
the savoury viands. Trimalchio was equally
delighted by the cunning of his chef ; " Carve
away ", quoth he, and forthwith the carver was
at his post. Keeping time with the music, he
cut up the dainty, for all the world like a chario-
teer racing to a barrel-organ (6) accompaniment.
I noticed that Trimalchio still kept on softly
repeating : " Carve, Carve !", and, divining that
some jest lurked beneath the repetition, I vent-
ured to ask my neighbour on the left (7) what
it meant. (He had several times been a witness
of these jeux t^e^prit.) " You see that man carving
the food, don't you ? Well, he goes by the name

52 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

of * Carve ' (8). Thus whenever my lord cries
' Carve ', he gives him his name and his orders ".

CHAPTER XXXVII

I AM INTRODUCED
TO TRIMALCHIO'S WIFE

\VHEN I could eat no more, I turned again
to my neighbour with the object of picking up
all I could, and probing his store of yarns. I
inquired who the lady was who was bustling
all round the hall.

" That is Trimalchio's lady", says he. " For-
tunata is her name, and she measures her fortune
by the cartload". "And before?", I asked,
" what was she before ?"

"\Vith all respect to your feelings, she was
the sort of person from whose hand you wouldn't
have taken a piece of bread. Now — I can't tell"
you the why and the wherefore — she has soared
among the gods (1) and is Trimalchio's guide,
philosopher, and friend (2). In a word, if she
told him that it was pitch-dark at midday (3),
he would believe her. He himself has no idea
of his possessions : he is a regular mine of wealth;
but his lynx-eyed spouse keeps track of every-
thing, even when you least expect it. She is a
canny dame, sober-sided and saving (4), with the
tongue of a shrew and the domestic virtues of
a magpie (5). If she likes you, she likes you ;
if she doesn't, she doesn't. Trimalchio owns
estates too wide for a kite (6) to fly over them,
and a bank-account like a bottomless ocean (7).
The silver plate in his doorkeeper's cupboard

THE RICH MAN 53

exceeds what any other man possesses all told.
His retinue of slaves ! Great Scot (8), I don't
suppose ten per cent of them know him by sight 1
I assure you, any one of these half-baked wretches
he could squeeze through the eye of a needle (9).

CHAPTER XXXVIII

THE RICH MAN AND THE
BANKRUPT UNDERTAKER

"AND don't you suppose he buys anything
from shops! He produces all he wants himself.
Do you want wool, citrons, pepper, milk 'fresh
from the hen' ? (1) You can find it. For example,
some time ago he found his flocks were produc-
ing a poor quality of wool; well, he bought
special rams from Tarentum (2) to improve the
breed. He wanted real Attic honey from his
hives; so he had a consignment of bees from
Athens, and obtained a better quality by cross-
breeding with the natives. And, look here !
Not three days ago he sent an order to India
for some mushroom seed. Every single mule in
his stables was foaled from a wild-ass (3).
Look at these cushions : everyone stuffed with
flock of purple or scarlet dye (4). He is the
last word in luxury.

But don't imagine that his brother freedmen
are mean fellows compared with him. They all
ooze money (5). You see the fellow sitting last
on the bottom divan (6); to-day he's worth a
cool eight-hundred-thousand (7). He began in
the gutter and earned his living by carrying
timber on his back. There is a yarn — I can't

54 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

answer for it, but I've heard it — that he bonneted
the familiar spirit of a hidden treasure, and so
put his hand on the cash (8). I don't grudge
anyone the favours of providence. He still
smarts from the slap which ended his servile
career (9), but he looks after Number One. So
the other day he put up a board on his door
with a notice:

GAIUS POMPEIUS DIOGENES

HAVING TAKEN A MANSION

THIS ATTIC IS TO LET FROM JULY 1st.

\Vhat do you think of the man sprawling in
the freedman's seat? (10). He was a rich man
once. Poor chap, you can't blame him. He had
a six-figure fortune once, but he played the fool.
I don't think he can call his very hair his own,
and, by Jove, it was sheer bad luck! He is a
thoroughly good fellow, but these confounded
freedmen collared all he had. I tell you this: /
once the pot stops boiling, or the ship gets a/J
bad list, your friends clear out. Fancy a res-
pectable tradesman reduced to such a wretched
plight! He was an undertaker (11), and kept a
table fit for a king ; boars roasted whole, elaborate
pastry, game; he kept a staff of chef 6 and
pastry-cooks. More wine was thrown away in
his house than the ordinary man has in his whole
cellar. Now he is merely the shadow (12) of a ,
man. \Vhen the wolf was at the door, and he
feared his duns suspected him of going bankrupt,
he gave notice of an auction:

GAIUS JULIUS PROCULUS:
SALE OF SURPLUS STOCK."

TRIMALCHIO EXPOUNDS 55

CHAPTER XXXIX

TRIMALCHIO EXPOUNDS THE
ZODIAC SIGNS

AT this point Trimalchio put a stop to our genial
talk, for the course had by this time been removed,
and the guests, full of good cheer, were devoting
themselves to the wine and general conversation.
So leaning upon his elbow, he remarked : " You
really must sparkle in honour (1) of this wine.
Fishes must swim (2). Tell me, do you suppose
I was satisfied with the meal which you saw in
the hollow of the tray ? ' Is that all you know of
Ulysses ' ? (3) Come, come ! \Ve must shed the
light of knowledge (4) on our banquet. My
worthy patron — rest his soul! — took pains to
make me fit for any society. There's nothing
you can teach me : witness the learning repre-
sented in yonder dish. You observe the sky,
divided into twelve symbols, one for each of the
gods who inhabit it. Take the Ram for example.
Anyone born under this sign has many herds,
abundance of wool, a will of iron, a brazen fore-
head, a cute brain; most of your professors are
born under it, and rampagious fellows too 1 " (5)
Applause greeted our ingenious astronomer,
who took up his tale again. " Then the vault
of heaven turns into a Bullock. Under this sign
are born pugnacious (6) fellows, cow-herds, and
men who find their own grazing. Under Gemini,
the Twins, we get two-wheelers (7), oxen, leather-
bags, and men who serve both God and mam-
mon (8). Under the Crab I was born. Hence

56 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

I have many feet to stand on, and I own property
by land and sea; for the crab squares it with
both elements. That was why I put no viand
over that sign, for fear of upsetting my horo-
scope (9). Under Leo the Lion, are born men
who devour their fellows and boss them (10).
The Maiden presides over the birth of girls,
cowards, and criminals; Libra over that of trades-
men generally, such as butchers and chemists;
Scorpio over poisoners and garotters ; the Archer
over people who squint, who look earnestly at
the cabbage and pocket the ham ; Capricorn, the
Horned Goat, over horny-headed sons of toil(ll);
Aquarius over innkeepers and people with water
on the brain (12). The Fishes over speechmon-
gers (13). So the globe turns round like a mill-
wheel, always bringing trouble of some kind, so
that men are always being born or dying. But
as for the heap of turf you see in the centre
with the honey-comb on the top, this too has a
meaning like the rest. It represents Mother
Earth, rounded like an egg, the heart of the
universe, containing within it all manner of good
things, like the honey-comb."

CHAPTER XL

WHEN THE BOAR WAS OPENED
THE BIRDS BEGAN TO SING

"BRILLIANT!" we all cried with applause,
and with uplifted hands we vowed that Hip-
parchus (1) and Aratus (2) could not hold a
candle to our host.

Thereupon attendants appeared and laid co-

WHEN THE BOAR WAS OPENED 57

verings on the front of the couches embroidered
with scenes showing nets and spears and all the
paraphernalia of the chase. We were still won-
dering what new mystery to expect, when out-
side the hall a loud din arose, and, behold,
Spartan dogs (3) began to leap hither and thither
even around the very table. Behind them ap-
peared a charger on which lay a wild boar of
the very largest proportions with a freedman's
cap (4) on its head ; from its tusks hung two
woven baskets of palm-leaves, one full of Syrian,
the other of Theban, dates. Round the boar
were small pastry pigs as though sucking, to
show that the beast was a broodsow. These
latter were mementoes (5) for the guests to take
away. The duty of dismembering the boar was
assigned not to our old friend Carve, who had
dealt with the fowls, but to a huge fellow with
a long beard, wearing leggings (6) and a closely
knit hunting-cape (7); with a stout hunting-knife
he struck a shrewd blow on the boar's flank,
whereupon a covey of thrushes (8) flew out —
only to be caught on the spot by fowlers (9)
standing ready with reeds smeared with lime as
they fluttered round the hall. Trimalchio bade
each one receive a bird for himself, and added
" Now let's see what delicate acorns our porker
has been devouring from the woods." Boys at
once approached the baskets which hung from
the tusks and handed each guest his share of
the two kinds of dates.

58 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

CHAPTER XLI

THE CAP OF FREEDOM:
TRIMALCHIO FREES A SLAVE

MEANWHILE I was in a brown-study, buried
in my thoughts, and pondering as to the meaning
of the cap of liberty (1) on the boar's head.
After I had indulged in all sorts of absurd
conjectures, I took my courage in both hands
and asked my omniscient friend to expound the
riddle. Says he : " Even your servant could tell
you that; it's no mystery, but as clear as day-
light! This boar escaped yesterday's banquet
and was jet free by the guests : thus he re-
appears to-day in the role of a -freed man." Con-
found my stupidity! I vowed to ask no further
questions, lest people should think I had never
dined at a decent house before.

W^e were still talking when a comely youth,
wearing a garland of vine-leaves and ivy, in the
role of Bacchus posing now as Bromius, now as
Lyaeus, now as the Evian god (2), went the
round handing grapes from a basket, and singing
one of Trimalchio's lyrics (3) in a piercing treble.
Trimalchio turned at the sound. " Bacchus", he
said, " I set you free !" The boy snatched the
cap from the boar's head and donned it himself.
Thereupon Trimalchio chimed in with another
epigram : " Now you won't deny that the god
of Freedom is my father." \Ve applauded the
pun, and warmly saluted the boy as he passed
round.

After this course Trimalchio left the room.

THE BORE GETS GOING 59

In his highness's absence conversation began
to flow more freely. Dama, therefore, took the
lead, by calling for full-sized tankards : " The
day's gone in a flash", says he; "it's nightfall
before you know where you are. So the best
thing to do is to go slap from dinner to bed.
And nice cold weather we've been having tool
The bath hardly took the chill off me. Hot
drinks are after all the finest overcoat. I've
had a skinful myself — feel a bit screwed: wine's
gone to my head."

CHAPTER XLH
THE BORE GETS GOING

SELEUCUS carried on the conversation.

,,For my part", said he, " I don't bathe every
day. A bath acts like a fuller(l); water opens
the pores, and one's strength oozes away day
by day. But when I've put down a tankard of
mead, I don't care a tinker's curse for the cold.
Anyhow I couldn't have had a bath to-day; I've
been to a funeral (2). Old Chrysanthus has
given up the ghost: good fellow he was, too.
It seems only yesterday he asked me to his
place : I can hear his voice still. Alas, alas !
WVre nothing but peripatetic windbags. WVre
of less account than flies, which after all have
tome good qualities; we are mere bubbles. And
to think that he was so abstemious, tool For
five days not a drop of water or a morsel of
food passed his lips. All the same he's with
the majority now. It was the doctors who let
him down. Or at least not they, but his bad

60 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

luck : a doctor's no use except to ease your mind.
However, he had a really swell funeral (3) — his
bier resplendent with gorgeous coverings. The
mourners — the manumissions in his will were fairly
numerous (4)— were beyond reproach, even though
his widow did rather economize her tears. \Vhat
if he had not left her so comfortably off, I
wonder? After all, women as a sex are regular
kites (5). It's no good doing them a kindness ; '
you might as well throw it down a well. A
worn-out passion is like an ulcer."

CHAPTER XLIII
A LONG LIFE AND A MERRY ONE

WE began to feel bored, and Phileros broke in.
" Let us think of the living. Your friend has
had his deserts. He lived and died in the odour
of respectability. W^hat has he to complain of ? /.
He started with a copper, and he made his pile. *
He didn't mind picking a farthing out of a
dunghill with his teeth. And so his hoard in-
creased bit by bit like a honey-comb. I wager
he left a round hundred-thousand, and every
bit in hard cash. One thing, however, I will
say frankly, for I've tasted dog's tongue (1) :
he was a truculent devil, too free with his
tongue, pugnacity personified, not an ordinary
human being. Now his brother wcu a good sort —
loyal to his friends, open-handed, a lavish host.
At the outset he struck a bad patch (2), but the
first harvest put him on velvet (3) ; for he sold
his wine at his own figure. And the thing that
really kept him afloat (4) was that he dropped

A LONG LIFE AND A MERRY ONE 61

in for a legacy out of which he netted more
than his proper share. Thereupon the silly
chump (5) who is dead lost his temper with his
brother and handed over the money to some
nobody or other (6).

If you want to exclude your kith and kin,
You've got a long way to go.

He made confidants of his slaves, and they
ruined him. Believe everyone and you'll never
get on, especially in business. However, he did
pretty well out of it all his life, and it's a sound
motto : " Better get the legacy, than be the
rightful heir". Fortune was a mother to him:
if he touched lead it turned to gold (7). But, of
course, it's all plain sailing when the course is
clear (8). And how long do you suppose he
lasted ? Seventy years odd ! and he was as
hard as nails, bore his years lightly, and hadn't
a grey hair (9). I had known him for ages and
ages. And up to the last he was an old rake :
all fish came alike to his net. He had catholic
tastes, and I don't blame him either. It's all
over with him now."

CHAPTER XLIV

THE 'HUNGRY FORTIES' AND THE
LAMENT OF GANYMEDE

W^ITH this Phileros gave way and Ganymede
chimed in : " You fellows are talking of things
which don't matter a scrap in heaven or earth,
and no one seems to care about the ruinous rise
in corn. I take my oath I couldn't find a bite

62 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

of bread to-day. And look how the drought
continues 1 WVve been on short commons for
a whole year now. Devil take the commis-
sioners (1); they're hand in glove with the
bakers. " You help me, and I'll help you" ;
the unhappy public is between the upper and
the nether millstone, while your lordly gluttons
have one long beanfeast (2). Ah, for a week
of those sturdy warriors whom I found here
when I first arrived from Asia ! That was real
life 1 Those money-grubbing magistrates used to
get a gruelling (3) as bad as if Jupiter himself
had been annoyed with them. I recollect Safinius.
He lived by the old arch (4), when I was a boy,
and a peppery fellow (5) he was. The very
pavement smoked when he walked. But he was
as straight as a die, and never went back on a
pal. You could play " Up Jenkins ! " with him
in the dark without a qualm (6). In the House
he laid out opponents right and left: there was
no finesse about him. — he hit straight from the
shoulder. \Vhen he argued a case in the Courts
his voice resounded like a trumpet. He never
mopped his brow, or hemmed and hawed. I
think he had Asiatic blood (7) in his veins.
How genially he returned a greeting! He knew
us all by name, and addressed us like comrades.
And so in those days corn was dirt cheap : for
a penny you could buy a loaf bigger than you
and a pall could eat ; now they run smaller than
bulls' eyes (8). Alas, alas ! It gets worse every
day; this place is growing downwards like a
cow's tail. But why do we put up with a
third-rate minister (9) who thinks more of a
penny in his own pocket than our very existence ?

THE 'HUNGRY FORTIES' 63

So he chuckles gleefully at home, and nets more
in a single day than another has in his whole
fortune. I could tell you here and now of a
single deal in which he made 1000 guineas. If
we had the courage of a mouse, he would soon
cease to feather his nest. Now-a-days the public
is a lion indoors, but a fox in the open. This
is my trouble : I have already eaten up my
wardrobe, and if famine prices are maintained
"my little wooden hut" must go. Wliat will
become of the wretched place forsaken by God
and man? I bet my bottom dollar that this is
the hand of Providence. Not a soul says his
prayers; nobody fasts; nobody cares a jot for
Jove. \Ve con our ledgers with our eyes glued
to the figures. In bygone days matrons in
their go-to-meeting mantles would climb up the
hill barefoot, with dishevelled hair and a pure
heart, and offer prayers for rain. Forthwith
it used to rain cats and dogs — it was then or
never! And they all struggled home soaked to
the skin (10). Now-a-days we are all atheists,
and naturally the gods keep their feet in cotton-
wool. Our fields are barren and — "

CHAPTER XLV
ECHION IS AN OPTIMIST

" BLESS my soul", interrupted Echion, the
shoddy-magnate (1) ; " don't whine like that. ' It's
down to day and up to morrow ', as the yokel said
when he lost his piebald pig. It's just the swing
of the pendulum, and the world wags just the
same. I take my oath, the old country is all

64 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

right — and only man is vile! There's a slump in
our markets, but so there is abroad. WVve no
business to be down-hearted; the sun's the same
distance away everywhere! If you emigrated,
you'ld be yarning dolefully about the pork-
chops walking about in the streets at home.
And, my dear chap, we are within three days
of a really scrumptious festival. It won't be a
common or garden sham-fight with slaves, I
assure you ; the bulk will be freedmen (2). Our
friend Titus is a generous soul and knows his
way about. He gets what he pays for. I know,
because he's a great friend of mine; he's no
muddler ! \Ve shall hear the clash of real steel —
no quarter given; the blood will flow red in the
arena, for all to see. And he can afford to pay,
too. His father, dead now, poor fellow, left
him thirty million. So 400,000 won't sink the
ship, and he will get no end of kudos out of
it (3). He's set up a stable (4) already; a female
driver (5); and he's taken on Glyco's steward,
who was caught red-handed with his master's
wife. There will be a nice disturbance between
injured husbands and cooing doves. But Glyco,
a pitiful creature, handed his steward over to
fight the wild beasts — which was merely giving
himself away. You wouldn't blame the slave :
he had no chance. It was that common hussy
who deserved to be thrown to the bulls. How-
ever, if a man daren't whack his donkey, he
always takes it out of the harness. Glyco was
an ass to expect a silk purse from a sow's ear.
Hermogenes could cut the claws of a hawk in
full flight; snakes don't give birth to harmless
ropes. Glyco, poor Glyco, fouled his own nest,

ECHION IS AN OPTIMIST 66

and he will bear the stigma as long as he lives ;
nothing but death will wipe it out. However,
he made his bed and must lie upon it.

But I can catch a whiff of the spread Mam-
maea (6) is preparing for us ; with eighteen pence
each for me and mine (7). If he runs to this,
he'll cut out Norbanus (8) altogether; and I give
you my word he will win easily in a canter.
And, after all, what do we owe to Norbanus?
He showed us a set of twopence-ha'penny gladi-
ators, already so broken down that they would
have collapsed if you had whistled to them.
I've seen a better lot fighting wild beasts before
now. As for the horsemen he showed by candle-
light (9), well, you would take them for scraggy
old roosters. One was a lumbering old pack-
horse, another went lame, a third was an animated
corpse with his hocks cut. There was only
one— a solitary Thracian (10)— with an ounce of
devil, and he fought like a mere machine. In
short, they all were whipped afterwards; the
whole crowd loudly demanded " Give them a
hiding for showing the \vhite feather." "W^ll,
anyhow", said he, " I have given you a good
show." " Yes ", said I, " and I am giving you a
clap. Reckon it up : you've received more than
you gave. WVre all square, my friend".

CHAPTER XLVI
HE IS AN ADVOCATE OF EDUCATION

" HULLO, Agamemnon! I can hear you saying
' Confound that bore.' And all because you,
who are a professional talker, refuse to open

6

66 . PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

your mouth. You are a cut above us; that's
why you laugh at our humble talk. \Ve know
that much book-learning has made you mad.
W^ell, well, perhaps I can induce you some day
to visit my country-house, and see my humble
abode. "We'll just take pot-luck. — a fowl for
example, and some eggs. W^e shall have a good
time, even if the wretched weather this year has
turned everything upside down. There'll be
enough to eat.

And my young hopeful is already treading in
your footsteps. He can divide by four already ;
if he's spared, you will find him your devoted
attendant. If he has a moment to spare, he
glues his eyes to his book. He's a bright lad
with his head screwed on the right way, though
a perfect terror for pet birds (1). I slaughtered
three goldfinches of his the other day and told
him it was the cat. But he consoled himself
with other pets, and now he has taken up
painting. Moreover, he has begun to dip into
Greek, and is pretty useful at his Latin, though
his tutor is easy-going and casual in his methods :
he comes asking for books, but he has no real
love for work. And the other tutor (2) I have—
well, he's not a very learned person, but he's
conscientious, a fellow who imparts more than
he knows himself. * And so in the holidays he
comes home and is satisfied with whatever you
give him. I've bought the boy some law-books (3),
because I want him to get a smattering of legal
knowledge for home consumption. It means

* Possibly another son is meant. The Latin bears
either interpretation.

TRIMALCHIO IS DYSPEPTIC 67

money, too. He has wasted enough time on
the classics. If he kicks against the pricks, I've
made up my mind to put him into a trade — as
a barber, an auctioneer, or at the worst a
lawyer (4) — which he can stick to as long as he
lives. So every day I hold forth to my first-
born : ' Believe me, my son, all you learn means
money in your pocket. Look at Lawyer Phil-
eros (5) ; if he had not had training, to-day he'ld
be starving. It seems only yesterday he was a
wandering street hawker; to-day he can look
Norbanus straight in the face. Education means
wealth, and expert knowledge is a permanent
stand-by'."

CHAPTER XLVII
TRIMALCHIO IS DYSPEPTIC

\VE were exchanging yarns of the kind, when
Trimalchio returned. He bathed his forehead and
anointed his hands and after a pause remarked :
" You will excuse me, friends ; just lately I have
been off-colour (1), and the doctors are puzzled.
However, a concoction of pomegranate, resin,
and vinegar has relieved the trouble. I hope
my digestion will begin to behave itself again.
Every now and again I rumble like a bull. So
if anybody has business elsewhere; we shall
certainly give him leave. None of us is made
of iron, and self-restraint in this respect is the
worst form of torture — in fact, this is the one
thing in which even Jove must give us a free-
hand. You smile, Fortunata; yet you of all
people should know better. I may claim to be

68 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

the ideal host, and herein I am on the side of
the doctors. If necessity should arise, you will
find all ready without — water, etc., etc. Take
my word for it, wine goes to the head and
creates trouble in the whole body. I know lots
of cases of men who have died from it through
being too polite to own the truth."

\Ve were lost in gratitude at this proof of his
thoughtfulness and hospitality — and forthwith
concealed our amusement by diligent attention
to our glasses!

^^e were still in blissful ignorance of the fact
that we were only now in the thick of the fray,
and that, as they say, we had still more 'rivers
to cross ' (2). For when, to the accompaniment
of the band, they had cleared the tables, three
white pigs were hauled into the room, adorned
with muzzles and bells. The master of the
ceremonies (3) first introduced them to us, being
respectively two, three, and six years old. I
was under the impression that we were in for
an acrobat show (4), and that the pigs, as we
are accustomed to see at street-corners, would
perform tricks. But Trimalchio upset my cal-
culations altogether by asking. " \Vhich of these
will you have added to the menu on the spot?
At any country inn, they will serve up a turkey
or a hash a la Pentheus (5) and similar tit-bits ;
but my cooks are quite accustomed to serving
calves boiled whole."

Thereupon he sent for the cook, and, without
waiting for us to choose, bade him kill the six-
year-old porker. Then he raised his voice and
addressed the cook : " \Vhat section (6) do you
belong to?", says he.

TRIMALCHIO IS PLEASED 69

The chef replied that he belonged to " Number
Forty".

"Are you a new acquisition", replied Tri-
malchio, "or are you a home-grown product?"

"Neither", replied the cook, "I was part of
Pansa's legacy to you."

"Is that so", says Trimalchio, "well, get a
move on! If you don't hustle I'll have you
degraded to the rank of messenger-boy" (7).

The cook, duly reminded of his lordship's
magnificence, carried the pig off to the kitchen.

CHAPTER XLVIII

TRIMALCHIO IS PLEASED TO BE
FACETIOUS

THIS done, Trimalchio turned to us with a
genial smile. " If you don't care for this wine,
I will change the brand : the proof of the wine
is in the drinking. By the goodness of Provi-
dence I don't buy my wine. Mention any special
bouquet you like ; it grows in a country estate
of mine — which I confess I have not yet seen.
They tell me it adjoins my acres at Terracina
and Tarentum(l). My pre'sent aim is to join
Sicily on to my estates, so that, if it occurs to
me to go to Africa, I need not cut adrift from
my own territories.

However, tell us, Agamemnon, what was your
subject in the schools to-day ? I admit I am no
lawyer, but I have picked up enough for my
private purposes. And don't imagine that learn-
ing is a bore to me : I have two libraries (2) —
one Greek, one Latin. Let us hear then, and

70 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

you love me, the theme of your oration."

Says Agamemnon : " A rich man and a poor
man were at issue."

Trimalchio at once broke in : " \Vhat do you
mean by a poor man? "(3)

"A fair hit, your worship", replied Agamem-
non, who thereupon entered on some explanation
which I need not repeat. Wlien he had finished,
Trimalchio cornered him with a dilemma : "If
these are facts, there is nothing to decide : if
not, there's no case."

This epigram, along with several more, we
received with enthusiastic applause.

Then said Trimalchio : " My excellent Aga-
memnon, I'm sure you haven't forgotten the
Twelve Labours of Hercules, and the yarn
about Ulysses, how the Cyclops (4) squeezed
out his thumb with a wedge? In my childhood
I read all about it in Homer. W^th my very
own eyes I saw the Sibyl suspended in a glass
case at Cumae (5), and when the boys said :
' Sibyl, what is the matter ? ' she would always
reply : ' I yearn to die ' (6) ".

CHAPTER XLIX

HOW WE WERE TAKEN IN
BY THE CHEF

HE was still gassing away when a tray con-
taining a big boar was put on the table. We
began to express our amazement at this lightning
cookery and to swear that the time had not
been enough for cooking a common fowl, with
the greater emphasis because the animal seemed

HOW WE WERE TAKEN IN 71

to us bigger than the pig we had seen a few-
minutes before. Trimalchio gazed at it more and
more closely.

" W^hat is this ? " he roared. " This pig has
not had its entrails removed. I wager it hasn't.
Summon the cook here at once."

The cook came up in dismay and confessed
he had forgotten all about it.

"Wliat — forgotten?" cried Trimalchio. "You
might imagine he had merely forgotten the pepper
and the forcemeat. Strip the rascal."

The cook was stripped on the spot and stood,
a picture of misery, between the two floggers.
Everybody, however, began to pray for mercy.
" It's a common oversight ", they urged ; " please
let him off; if he does it again, none of us will
intercede for him."

I personally felt very bitter against him. I
could not restrain myself, and I leaned towards
Agamemnon and whispered : " This slave must
be a thorough villain; how could anyone forget
to gut a pig? I should have refused to pardon
him, even if he had failed to clean out a salmon."

But Trimalchio took a different view. His
sternness melted into amusement, and he said:
" "Well, well ; since your memory is so bad,
disembowel the animal before our eyes."

The cook resumed his shirt, took up his knife,
and with a trembling hand slit open the porker's
belly right and left. Suddenly, as the gashes
widened with the pressure, there poured out a
pile of all sorts of sausages (1).

72 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

CHAPTER L
THE ORIGIN OF " CORINTHIAN " WARE

AT this ingenious contrivance the waiters gave
a cheer crying in chorus: "Bravo, master!"
The cook, moreover, was rewarded with a drink
and a silver crown, and further presented with
a goblet on a Corinthian brass tray. Seeing that
Agamemnon was looking intently at this goblet,
Trimalchio remarked : " I have a monopoly in
genuine Corinthian ware."

I supposed that with his usual conceit he was
going to claim that all his vessels were imported
from Corinth. But this time Trimalchio scored.

" Perhaps ", he said, " you want to know why
I have a corner in Corinthian plate ? — the fact
is that the dealer I buy from is called 'Corinth'.
I ask you what can fairly be called ' Corinthian '
unless you get it from ' Corinth ' ? Don't you
suppose either that I'm no scholar. I know right
well where the Corinthian ware first came from.
Wlien Troy was taken, that cunning scoundrel
and prince of thieves, Hannibal, piled all the
images of brass, gold, and silver into one great
funeral pyre, and set fire to it (1). The product
of that promiscuous conflagration was a bronze
amalgam. This solid mass the smiths laid hold
of, and out of it made cups and plates and
statuettes. That's the meaning of ' Corinthian-
made', consisting of neither metal wholly, but
of both combined together. You will forgive my
saying so ; I prefer to drink out of glass vessels —
at all events they don't taste the wine. If they

CAESAR'S WAY WITH INVENTORS 73

weren't so fragile, I would sooner have them
than golden ones; as it is they have no value."

*•

CHAPTER LI
CAESAR'S WAY WITH INVENTORS

" THERE was once a craftsman who made a glass
cup that no one could break (1). He gained
audience of Caesar along with his offering, and,
pretending to hand it to Caesar, he let it fall
on the marble floor. Caesar literally gasped
with amazement. But the proud inventor picked
up the goblet, which was merely dented like a
vessel of bronze : then he took a hammer from
his coat-pocket, and with the gentlest of taps
easily got rid of the dinge. He naturally ex-
pected to be taken for Jupiter himself, especially
when Caesar asked him : " I suppose no one else
knows how to produce glass like this ? "

Now for the sequel. The man said : " No, not
a soul". Then said Caesar: "Off with his
head— if this device came into general use, gold
would be worth no more than potter's clay."

CHAPTER LII

TRIMALCHIO'S PLATE. HE DANCES,

HEARS THE BAILIFF'S REPORT, AND

GIVES HIS VIEWS ON THE STAGE

FOR my part, I am a connoisseur in silver.
I possess a round hundred three-gallon beakers.
The decorations are mythological. They show
Cassandra (1) killing her sons, and the murdered

74 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

boys lie on the ground just as though they were
still alive. Then I have a thousand cups which
Mummius (2) left as a legacy to my late master :
they show Daedalus shutting up Niobe in the
Trojan horse (3). Some of my plate represents
the conflicts of Hermeros and Petraites (4) — and
all are solid and heavy. I assure you, I wouldn't
sell my expert knowledge for untold wealth."

In the midst of his harangue, a boy dropped
a tankard. Trimalchio turned towards him and
remarked : " Go and hang yourself, good-for-
nothing idiot that you are." The slave with
trembling lips entreated mercy. " AVell ", said
Trimalchio, " why plead with me, as though I
were the hangman? I told you to do yourself
the favour of not being such a fool." There-
upon we all joined in, and finally induced him to
let the boy off.

Thus let off, the boy danced round the table,
shouting: " Pour out the water, pour in the wine."
\Ve all received the jest (5) in a proper spirit,
especially Agamemnon, who was an artist in
securing dinner invitations. Trimalchio, however,
was so exalted by our eulogy that he plied the
bottle with increased geniality, and, being by
this time three sheets in the wind, remarked:
" No one has yet invited my Fortunata to give
us a dance. I tell you, her high-kick is the last
thing in dancing (6)".

Thereupon he himself threw his arm above his
head and favoured us with a turn in the style of
the actor Syrus (7), while the whole establishment
shouted in concert: " Medea, Super-Medea". (8)
He would soon have been out in the middle of
the room, had not Fortunata whispered in his

AN INTERVAL FOR BUSINESS 75

ear presumably that it wasn't quite dignified for
a man like him to descend to such frivolities.
He was in fact the queerest mixture, one moment
giving way to her, the next letting himself go in
his own natural manner.

CHAPTER LIII
AN INTERVAL FOR BUSINESS

IN point of fact, what really put a stop to his wild
performance was the appearance of the steward
of the estate. This official proceeded to write
figures as though they were the Town Council
Minutes :

July 26th : Trimalchio's Cumaean estate. Thirty
boys and forty girls born. 500,000 bushels of
wheat transferred from the threshing depart-
ment to the barns; 500 oxen harnessed.

Item : the slave Mithradates crucified for reviling
our lord Gaius.

Item : ten million of surplus profits deposited in
the strong room awaiting investment.

Item: a fire broke out in Pompey's gardens (1),
starting from the house of Nasta the bailiff.

"Wliat?", broke in Trimalchio. " WTien did
I buy Pompey's Gardens?"

" A year ago ", replied the stewards. " That's
why they haven't yet appeared in the accounts."

Trimalchio \vent white with wrath : " If any
estate is purchased on my behalf and I am not
told of it within six months, remember that I
won't have it entered on my books at all."

Then followed the precepts of the Civil Service

76 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

departments and the wills of some foresters which
contained a flattering codicil disinheriting Trimal-
chio. Then a list of the bailiffs ; then the divorce
of a freed-woman, wife of a watchman, on the
ground of adultery with a bath-man; the exile
of a hall-porter to Baiae; proceedings against
a steward; and lastly the decision between some
grooms of the bedchamber (2).

However, at last the acrobats (3) appeared.
An absurd knock-about held up a ladder on end,
and caused his boy to climb up the rungs to the
top, and there to give us a dance and a song.
Then he made him leap through blazing hoops,
and pick up a big jug in his teeth. No one except
Trimalchio was at all impressed by this turn :
he complained that the world thought far too
little of such skill; he himself found nothing in
the world so entertaining as a knock-about show,
or a tune on the cornet. All other stage-play,
he said, was sheer waste of time.

" I bought a troupe of comedians once myself,
but I wouldn't let them do anything but the real
old farces of Atella (4), and ordered the conductor
to stick to the old Latin lyrics."

CHAPTER LIV

TRIMALCHIO IS HURT, BUT BECOMES
MORE MAGNIFICENT THAN EVER

AVHILE our good host was going full-steam
ahead, the acrobat's boy slipped and fell right
onto him (1). The slaves shouted with horror,
and the guests joined in, not in anxiety for the
wretched tumbler. — they would have been quite

TRIMALCHIO IS HURT 77

pleased to see his neck broken! — but because
it would have been too tragic for the banquet
to end prematurely in mourning for a compa-
rative stranger. Trimalchio, poor wretch, groan-
ed and groaned, and leaned over his arm as
though it were seriously damaged. The doc-
tors (2) raced to the spot, Fortunata arriving
among the first, with her hair dishevelled, car-
rying her wine-cup (3) and shrieking that she
was a poor, lorn, luckless widow.

All this time the youth who had been guilty
of the fall had been prostrating himself at our
feet imploring forgiveness. I had an uncomfor-
table suspicion that his prayers for mercy were
the preliminary to some ingenious score at our
expense, for I had not yet forgotten the episode
of the cook who had overlooked the gutting of
the pig. And so I gave myself up to a cautious
investigation of the dining-hall, on the alert for
some ingenious device appearing through the
walls, especially when I noticed a slave being
flogged for bandaging his master's damaged arm
with white wool instead of purple (4). I was
not so far wrong in my suspicions, because,
instead of a sentence of punishment, we had a
proclamation from Trimalchio conferring freedom
on the lad, so that no one could say that his
serene highness had been wounded by a slave I

CHAPTER LV

WE POSE AS CRITICS OF POETRY;
TRIMALCHIO RECITES

AVE all applauded this decision, and began to
babble vaguely about the ups and downs of human

78 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

life. Thereupon Trimalchio remarked1: " An epi-
sode like this calls for a fitting epigram", and,
forthwith calling for his notebook, he dashed off
the following, almost extempore :

The things that you never expect to obtain,

A side-wind blows to your door :
On the knees of the gods are our joy and our pain ;

So, boy,— fill my tankard once more!

This brilliant effort turned our talk to poetry,
and for some moments we gave the palm to the
Thracian Mopsus. Finally Trimalchio intervened :
" Tell me, Professor, how would you compare
Cicero and Publilius? I think Cicero was the
more eloquent, Publilius the more refined (1).
Tell me anything finer than this: —

In luxury melts away the might of Mars !
To please thy palate peacocks are consigned
From Babylon, gorgeous in their plumage gay—
The fatted peacocks (2) from their lazy pen.
For thee the guinea-fowl (3) is doomed to die,
For thee the capon (4) too ; for thee the stork (5),
The perfect type of motherhood, a guest
Beloved by all, the slender-footed one,
With castanet-like wings, that shuns the frost,
Whose homeward flight is harbinger of spring-
She builds her last nest in thy greedy pot.
Why dost thou seek the pearl from India's sea?
Forsooth that thy disloyal spouse may flaunt
Her sea-born glories in a stranger's eyes?
Aye, and the emerald green, rare glassy gem,
Why dost thou love it? And the Punic stone (6)
That flashes ruby flame, what is't to thee ?
Save that thou revel in its purity!
Is it becoming that thy lady show
Her graces boldly in diaphanous gauze?

TRIMALCHIO COMPARES 79

CHAPTER LVI

TRIMALCHIO COMPARES THE

PROFESSIONS, AND HANDS ROUND

MEMENTOS

" AFTER literature", he proceeded, " what craft
would you regard as most difficult? In my
opinion, medicine and banking — and for these
reasons. A doctor must know all about our
mean and paltry insides, and detect the approach
of fever, though I do detest them most heartily
for always cutting me down to a diet of duck !
A banker must be able to spot a bad coin.
Among dumb animals the hardest used are sheep
and oxen. To oxen we are indebted for the
bread we munch; to sheep for the wool which
makes our gorgeous robes. It really is too bad
to turn a lamb into chops and its fleece into
underclothes (1). Bees seem to me only a little
lower than the angels : they exude honey, you
see, though the saying is they import it from
heaven; and the only reason they sting is that
where you find the sweet there is the bitter
also" (2).

Trimalchio was thus at work poaching on the
philosopher's preserves, when attendants came
round with a tray, distributing little tickets (3)
to us, and the slave whose special duty it was
read aloud the prizes signified by the various
tickets. The first he read out said ' Guilty
silver ' (4), and the holder won a piece of silver-
side surmounted by a vinegar-cruet. The second
was ' Neckwear '-prize, a piece of the collar; the

80 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

third said ' Old-man's- wit and bluster '-prize, a
stale loaf soaked in new wine and a stick with
an apple on it; a fourth 'Leeks and Spanish
Onions '-prize, a whip and a poniard; a fifth
' Sparrows and a Fly-trap '-prize, a raisin and a
pot of honey ; ' Dinner-jackets and wigs '-prize,
a chop and a notebook; 'A water-course and
a footrule '-prize, a hare and a slipper; ' A lamprey
and a letter '-prize, a lamb the prey of a wolf
and a handful of 'peas'.*

Our laughter was prolonged : there were dozens
of similar jests which I don't remember now.

CHAPTER LVII
ASCYLTUS GETS INTO HOT WATER

ASCYLTUS, however, lost to all sense of pro-
priety, held up his hands in derision of the
whole business and roared till the tears ran
down his cheeks. Finally one of Trimalchio's
fellow- freedmen — the man whose place was next
above mine — lost his temper and cried out :
" Wliat are you roaring at, you mutton-headed (1)
fool? I suppose my lord's entertainment is not
up to your level? No doubt you are a bigger
swell than he is, and accustomed to more high-
class dinners. May the genius of this house be
good to me! If I had been next to him, Fid

* \Vhere the above phrases are not literal translations,
they are introduced with the apology that, since exact
translations of puns are rarely possible, one must at least
avoid the essential error of offering a translation which
overlooks altogether the fact that the original was a play
on words.

ASCYLTUS GETS INTO HOT WATER 81

have stopped his baa-baa'ing in a brace of shakes.
A pretty-looking peach he is to be mocking
other men, a prowling night-bird from nowhere,
not fit to kick. If I once make the magic circle
round him (2), he won't know where to turn.
Great heavens, I don't often get into a passion,
but even a worm (3) will turn. Look at him
laughing — what has he to laugh at? \Vas he
born with a silver spoon in his mouth (4) ? A
Roman knight (5), are you ? \Vell, my father
was a king. Wliy did I become a slave then ? (6)
Wliy, because I wanted to be a slave: I pre-
ferred the prospect of being a citizen of Rome
rather than a king with taxes to pay. And
now, I hope, my manner of life has earned
everyone's respect. I am a man among men;
I wear no badge of servitude; I owe no man
a penny piece; I've never had a writ served
on me; in the market place no man says to me
" Pay up". I've bought a parcel of land, and
some bits of plate; I've a household of twenty
and a watchdog: I bought my old lady's free-
dom so that no one else could lay a finger on
her (7) ; I paid a thousand for my own free-
dom (8) ; I was elected a Commissioner for the
Worship of Augustus (9) without an entrance-
fee; I hope when I die I shall go to heaven
without a blush.

But you are such a hustling fellow that you
have no time to look about you. You can see
the mote in your neighbour's eye, but not the
beam in your own (10). No one calls us f reed-
men fools but you. Look at your master— a
man older in years than you; he's satisfied
with us. But you, you infant-in-arms, you

6

82 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

daren't say bo to a goose — you china dog!
Nay, you're worse than that, you're a mere
rain-sodden strap, softer if you like, but none
the better for that. \Vorth more than I am,
are you? W^ell, dine twice a day then; have
two suppers. I think more of my good name
than of my bank account. In a nutshell, has
anyone sent me in his bill twice? Forty years
long I was in bondage ; yet no one knew wheth-
er I was bond or free. I came to this place
as a little chap with long curls ; the local hall (11)
was not built then. ' I did my very best to
please my master; a real gentleman he was too,
and no mistake about it! You aren't fit to lick
his boots (12). It's true I found people in the
household who put snags in my way, but —
thanks to the Good Angel of the house — I kept
my head above water. It's a victory worth
talking about! To be born free is no harder
than rolling off a log (13). \Vell, what are you
gaping at there, like a goat with an acre of
cfcver in front of him?(H)"

CHAPTER LVIII
GITO IN TROUBLE, TOO

AT this point, Gito, who was waiting on me,
could restrain himself no longer, but burst into
ribald laughter. The moment Ascyltus's opponent
perceived his merriment, he turned the vials of
his wrath upon the boy. " You are on the
cackle, too, are you ", says he, " you shock-
headed turnip? Is it December; are these the
Saturnalian revels ? (1) WTien did you pay the

GITO IN TROUBLE, TOO 83

price of freedom ? (2) What's his game, the
young gallows-bird, only fit for crows to peck?
Bad cess to you, you and your master too, who
lets you do what you like. I'ld sooner starve
than be impolite to my host; but for that I'ld
soon teach you a lesson. W^e are all up to
sample here except yonder idiot who let you
run riot. It's a sound motto 'like master, like
slave '. I can hardly hold myself in. Naturally
I am cool as a cucumber, but when I once get
going, I don't care a straw for my own mother.
All right! I'll catch you in the road some day,
you young vermin — you mangel- wurzel, you!
There's no up or down for me till I rub your
master's nose with a prickly nettle— and by the
powers I shan't let you off either, though you
shriek down the very sky itself. I'll take it out
of you with your long corkscrew curls and your
tin-pot master. You'll catch it all right; I'm
very much mistaken if you don't stop that giggling,
though you have a golden beard like a god.
The devil fly away with you, and the man who
first brought you out (3).

I'm no mathematician, and I'm not a scholar
or any school-room nonsense like that, but I'm
a dab hand at a mortgage and at working out
percentages and tables of all sorts (4). I tell
you what! I'll make you a small bet: go ahead,
I put down my stakes. Now you'll find out
that your father wasted his money, though you
are such a swell at rhetoric. Listen! 'Something
we all possess. Long I come, broad I come;
riddle-me-riddle-me-ree (5) '. Well, I'll tell you;
'tis that which leaps out yet stays in its place;
which grows and gets smaller. You run, you

84 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

stand stock-still, you scurry about like a mouse
in a bucket. So you'll either keep a still tongue
in your head or leave off annoying a better man
than you who ignores your very existence — at
least unless you think I'm impressed with your
boxwood rings — stolen from your lady-love! Gods
of the counting-house defend us (6). Come with
me to the money-lenders and raise a loan; you'll
soon see how they all trust my iron ring. Bah !
A pretty sight a wolf that's been out in the
rain! May I never make my pile and die so
famous that people will swear by my bones if
I don't condemn you to death (7) and dog you
to the very gallows. And he cuts a pretty figure
too, yon fellow who gave you your lessons — a
muddler, not a master. JFe were taught very
differently. Our master used to say : ' Everything
in order? Straight home then! No loafing: don't
be rude to gentlemen.' Add up all the philosophy
shops; they don't amount to a row of beans.
For myself — here I am, gentlemen — a self-made
man! Thank Heaven for it."

CHAPTER LIX

PEACE BEING RESTORED, WE HAVE
A RECITAL FROM HOMER

ASCYLTUS began to answer this outburst, but
Trimalchio, in high good humour at his friend's
tirade, said : " Come, come ! No rows, if you
please! It's better to keep the peace; and do
you, Hermeros, let the boy down lightly. His
blood is hot with youth : you should know better.
In a slanging match the vanquished comes out

PEACE BEING RESTORED 85

best. Besides you were once a cockerel your-
self — cock-a-doodle-doo!. — and had no more sense
than he. So let's be sensible and get going
again; let's watch the 'Scenes from Homer'.

Forthwith the reciters (1) appear, clashing
spear on shield. Trimalchio squatted on his
cushion, and, while the Homerists in the usual
bombastic way declaimed the original Greek, he
solemnly intoned a Latin version. After a time
he proclaimed silence and asked us whether we
recognized the scene.

"Diomede and Ganymede", he explained,
" were two brothers (2), and they had a sister
named Helen. Agamemnon carried her off and
offered a hind to Diana in her place. So here
Homer is narrating the struggle between the
Trojans and the Parentines. Agamemnon, you
must know, was the victor and gave his daughter
Iphigenia in marriage to Achilles. This drove
Ajax out of his mind, and the sequel he'll show
you in a jiffy."

As Trimalchio concluded his explanation, the
actors yelled in concert, and the slaves made a
lane to admit the arrival, on a charger weighing
two hundred pounds, of a calf, boiled whole, and
\vearing a helmet (3). Behind followed Ajax,
slashing at the calf, with his drawn sword, as
though he were raving mad. After an orgy of
cutting and thrusting, he collected the pieces and
handed round the dismembered calf among the
astonished guests on the point of his sword.

86 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

CHAPTER LX

MORE ASTONISHING DEVICES.

TRIMALCHIO INTRODUCES HIS

PATRON SAINTS

\VE had scarcely time to marvel at these
ingenious lourd de force, for on a sudden the
panels in the ceiling (1) began to groan and
the whole salon was a-quiver. I leapt to my
feet in alarm, fearing that some acrobat was
coming down through the roof. No whit less
amazed, the other guests gazed with staring
eyes to see what strange portent might be
falling from the clouds. Lo and behold ! the
ceiling swings open, and down comes a huge
round ring — obviously the hoop of a big cask.
All round it were suspended (2) golden crowns
and alabaster bowls of ointment. \Vhile we
\vere being invited to accept these as souvenirs,
I glanced at the table, and there all ready was
set out a tray containing a variety of pastries
and in the middle a pie-crust Priapus (3) holding
in his capacious lap all sorts of apples and
grapes in the conventional manner. "With
renewed eagerness we stretched out our hands
towards this piece de reliance (4), and suddenly
a fresh series of tricks restored the general
gaiety; for every cake and every apple, at the
very lightest touch, emitted a cloud of yellow
dust, and a tickling sensation irritated the palate.
\Ve were quite sure that the solemn appearance
of the dish betokened some ritual significance (5) ;
so we rose to our feet in a body and cried :

MORE ASTONISHING DEVICES 87

" Augustus, the Father of his People ! God bless
him !" Directly this ordinance had been observed,
some of the guests none the less laid hands on
the fruits, and we ourselves wrapped them up
in our napkins, especially I myself, for I thought
I should not be able to give Gito too generous
a share.

\Ve were thus hard at work when three
boys, clad in snowy tunics, girt up to the knees,
entered the hall. Two of them placed the
Household Gods (6) on the table, amulets and
all ; the third carried round a goblet of wine,
chanting " May the Gods be kind 1" He said
the gods in question were called respectively
Toil, Luck, and Profit. There was also an
image of Trimalchio himself — and a speaking
likeness it was — and, as all the others were
saluting it, we felt compelled in common decency
to offer the same tribute.

CHAPTER LXI

NICEROS IS INDUCED TO TELL
A STORY

AVHEN we all had wished each other a sound
mind in a sound body, Trimalchio looked round
at Niceros. " You used", he said, " to be much
better company; now-a-days you are somehow
silent and glum. Prithee, and you love me, recount
to us one of your yarns." Niceros was delighted
by his friendly cordiality.

" May I never make another penny," he cried,
"if I am not fit to burst with joy at seeing
you so hearty! Well, away with melancholy,

88 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

though I fear I shall get laughed at by your
learned friends yonder. Well, it's their trouble ;
I'll tell my yarn all the same : I shan't be a
penny the worse. It's better to be laughed at
than scorned." Thus spoke the hero (1), and
began the following tale :

" \Vhen I was still in bondage, we were living
in a narrow street ; it was where Ga villa lives
now. There, as Providence ordained, I fell in
love with the wife of Terentius, landlord of the
inn. You all know her — Melissa, the buxom
little beauty from Tarentum. I take my oath
there was nothing wrong; it was really her
sweet nature that took my fancy. If I asked
her a favour, she never refused; if she earned
a penny, she gave me a half-penny. If I pos-
sessed anything, I put it into her care, and she
never swindled me. Well, one day my lady's
lord and master met his end on the farm.
Thereupon I risked my neck (2) to get out and
visit her by hook or by crook; as you know,
real friends are proved in adversity."

CHAPTER LXII

NICEROS ON HIS ERRAND OF MERCY
MEETS A WERWOLF

" BY good luck the boss had gone on some
trifling business to Capua. I seized the oppor-
tunity to induce a guest of ours to take a stroll
with me as far as the fifth milestone. A soldier
he was, and as brave as Old Nick (1). It was
about cock-crow that we took the road, and the
- moon was as bright as the sun at noon.

NICEROS MEETS A WERWOLF 89

came to the place where the tombs (2) are ; my
man begins to stroll among the headstones; I
sit down humming a tune and counting the graves.
Chancing to look round at my pall, I saw him
stripping himself and throwing all his garments
along the path. My heart rose in my mouth (3).
I stood stock-still like a corpse. He went on to
make the magic ring (4) round his clothes, and
on a sudden he was changed into a wolf (5).
Don't you think I'm joking: I wouldn't tell a
lie about it for the wealth of a Croesus. Well,
to go on with the story! No sooner had he
become a wolf than he began to howl and made
off to the woods. At first I didn't know where
I stood. Then I moved forward to pick up his
clothes: they were turned into stone! Talk of
dying of fright! No one was ever nearer it than I.
Nevertheless, I drew my blade and played havoc
with shadows all the way till I came to the
lady's abode. I entered white as a ghost. I
was in a fainting condition; sweat was pouring
all over me ; my eyes were staring. I took ages
to come round. My sweet Melissa was filled
with amazement at finding me abroad so late,
and she said:

' If you had arrived a minute ago, you would
have been some use to us, for a wolf rushed
into the yard, set about the sheep, and turned
the whole place into a shambles. However,
though he got away safely, he didn't have all
the laugh on his side; one of the slaves let him
have a spear right through his neck.'

The moment I heard this story, my eyes opened
as wide as could be. As soon as it was dawn,
I made for my lord's house like a whipped

90 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

publican (6), and when I got to the place where
the clothes had been changed into stone there
was nothing to see but blood-stains. At last I
reached home, to find my soldier friend lying in
his bed, bleeding like a stuck pig, and the physician
mending his neck. Then I realized that the fellow
was a werwolf, and afterwards I couldn't have
tasted food in his company, not if you had killed
me for it. You gentlemen must form your own
opinions about it; for my own part, if I'm drawing
the long bow, may the gods of this house take
vengeance on me!"

CHAPTER LXIII
THE DEAD CHILD AND THE WITCH

were all transfixed with amazement. " I
believe your story all right", said Trimalchio.
" Look at how my hair's standing on end, for
I know Niceros wouldn't make fools of us : he's
a straight fellow and anything but a gas-bag.
Now it's my turn to make your flesh creep with
a donkey on the tiles (1). Years ago when I
•wore my hair in long curls — 'oh, yes, I was reared
in the lap of luxury (2). — my master's favourite
slave died; by Jove he was a jewel too, an
Admirable Crichton, a boy in a thousand. His
mother, poor little woman, was bemoaning his
death, and most of us were in the depth of
grief, when suddenly we heard the screeching
of witches (3) ; it sounded like a hound chasing
a hare. At that time we had a Cappadocian
in the house, a great hulking fellow, who didn't
know what fear was : he could stop the rush of

THE DEAD CHILD AND THE WITCH 91

a mad bull. This fellow boldly drew his sword,
darted out of doors, with his left hand cunning-
ly wrapped up, and ran a woman right through
the middle — just here, you see, and may my touch
do me no harm ! (4) AVe heard a groan, but — I
won't deceive you. — we never set eyes on the
woman. But our burly friend rushed back and
flung himself on a couch, and his whole body was
black and blue, as though he had been beaten
with rods, because, as you can guess, he had
been touched by the Evil Hand (5). \Ve locked
the door and gloomily resumed our melancholy
duties, but when the mother embraced her child's
body, she touched it and found it was only a
little bundle of straw. It had no heart, no
' innards ', no nothing ! Obviously the ghouls had
snatched the body away and put in its place a
doll made of straw (6). I put it to you — you
can't get away from it — there exist women of
uncanny wisdom (7), who prowl by night, and
upset everything. Anyhow our long-legged varlet
never afterwards recovered his proper complexion,
but in point of fact several days later he went
off his head and died."

CHAPTER LXIV

NICEROS AND TRIMALCHIO PROVIDE
AMUSEMENT; SO DO THE DOGS

AMAZEMENT and incredulity struggle for the
mastery. We press our lips to the table (1),
and entreat the Ladies of the Night to stay
indoors while we go home from dinner. By
this time, I confess, the lamps seemed to be

92 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

burning double, and the whole dining-hall looked
strange and altered. At this moment Trimalchio
spoke to Plocamus.

"Look here, Plocamus", says he, "no story
from you ? You don't add to the gaiety of nations?
And yet you used to be a genial soul, loving
good yarns and trolling catches (2). Dear, dear!
The glory is departed ! (3) "

" Now-a-days ", replied Plocamus, "my four-
in-hands (4) are gone for ever, since the day I
got the gout. In the old days, when I was a
gay young dog, I sang till I nearly died for my
lungs. Talk of dancing! Talk of recitations!
The badinage of the barber's lounge ! (5) I chal-
lenge you to name my equal, unless perhaps it
were the Master, Apelles" (6). \Vhereupon he
put his fingers to his lips, and emitted a ghastly
whistle (7), which he afterwards averred to be
a La Grecque.

Trimalchio, not to be outdone, gave us an
imitation of a cornet. Then he turned to his
favourite attendant, whom he called Croesus (8).
This boy, a blear-eyed fellow with teeth as black
as coal, was at the moment wrapping up in a
green rug (9) a black pug-dog (10), a disgustingly
fat beast; he placed half a loaf on the couch
and was trying to cram it down the throat of the
creature, which was on the verge of being sick.
This put Trimalchio in mind of a neglected duty,
and he sent for his 'Tearer' (11), 'protector of
hearth and home'. Forthwith there was led in
a hound of gigantic size at the end of a chain;
a kick from the janitor warned him to lie down,
and he planted himself in front of the table.
Then Trimalchio threw him a bit of white bread,

NICEROS PROVIDES AMUSEMENT 93

remarking " No one in the household is more
devoted to me." The slave, annoyed by this
high praise of Scylax, put his own dog on the
floor and urged her to pick a quarrel with the
other. Scylax, as is the nature of his kind, filled
the apartment with his appalling bark, and almost
tore Croesus's 'Little Jewel' in pieces. Nor was
the dog-fight the end of the trouble : a lampstand
collapsed over the table, smashed all the glass
vessels, and covered some of the guests with
drops of boiling oil. Trimalchio, determined to
show that the damage done did not worry him,
saluted the boy and bade him climb on his back.
In a moment the lad was riding pick-a-back,
while he slapped his charger with the flat of
his hand, crying out amid shrieks of laughter:
" Booby, booby, how many fingers do I hold
up? "(12)

This for a while kept Trimalchio quiet. He
bade them mix a huge jorum of wine and dis-
tribute it among the slaves who were in atten-
dance at our feet, with the proviso that " if
any of 'em won't take his drink, pour it on his
head (13). There's a time for work, and a time
for play."

CHAPTER LXV

HABINNAS ARRIVES, HAVING BEEN
KEPT AT A FUNERAL

FOLLOWING upon this outburst of geniality
came more delicacies, the mere thought of which,
believe me, makes me ill. Every man of us
received a whole capon instead of a thrush and

94 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

duck's eggs en chapeau (1). Trimalchio did his
utmost to make us swallow them, assuring us
they were ' filleted ' chickens 1

W^e were in the thick of it when a flunkey (2)
knocked at the door and there entered a guest
in the glory of snow-white robes, with a mob
of friends, to join our revels. I was quite taken
aback by his distinguished appearance, and I
thought he was a metropolitan magistrate (3).
And so I tried to stand in his honour and slid
my slipperless feet to the floor. Agamemnon
laughed aloud at my excitement. " Sit tight",
he said, " you idiot. This is only Habinnas, of
the Augustal college and — stone-chipper 1 Said
to be a past-master in grave-stones."

Relieved by this remark, I leaned back again,
and gazed with huge respect upon the entry of
Habinnas. He, however, was already three
sheets in the wind, and was holding on to his*
good lady's shoulders : he wore several garlands
on his head and scent was pouring over his
forehead into his eyes (4). He planted himself
in the place of honour (5) and forthwith ordered
wine and hot water. Trimalchio was charmed
with his genial humour and himself called for
an extra large goblet, and asked him how the
world had been treating him.

" AVell", replied he, " all we wanted was your
noble self; I was here with you in spirit. And,
by Jove, the thing was well donel Scissa was
giving a nine-day mourning for an unfortunate
slave of hers whom she had freed, \vhen he was
already dead. And, methinks, she'll have to
pay up a pretty penny in duty on the trans-
action : 'tis said the slave was worth 50,000 (6)!

A BANQUET TO REMEMBER 95

Everything went off well, though we du) have
to waste half our wine in libations over the
wretched corpse."

CHAPTER LXVI
A BANQUET TO REMEMBER

" BUT tell us", said Trimalchio, " \vhat was the
bill of fare?"

"All right", he replied, "I'll tell you if I
can: my memory is so brilliant that I often
forget my own name. However, to begin with,
we had roast pork crowned with a wine-cup (1);
this was set off by cheese-cakes and forcemeat (2)
done to a nicety; then of course beetroot and
pure whole-meal bread (3), which I prefer to
white bread as being more feeding and better
for my liver. The next course was cold pastries,
with a hot sauce made of first-rate Spanish
wine and honey. So, of course, I sampled the
pastry, and the honey. Jovel I didn't waste
a drop. Among the side-dishes were beans,
lupins, and nuts galore; there was one apple
a-piece, but I sneaked two all the same— here
they are, tied up in my napkin — because, if I
appeared at home without something for that
young hopeful of mine, there would be trouble.
And my wife puts me in mind of a thing I'd
forgotten. On the sideboard there was a joint
of bear's-meat; Scintilla was rash enough to
taste it, and was almost turned inside out. I
on the other hand managed about a pound of
it, for it tasted like wild-boar. For I said to
myself : " If bears devour us poor men, all the

96 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

more should we devour bears!" To wind up
with, we had a soft cheese soaked in wine, a
snail a-piece, portions of tripe, liver croquettes,
eggs en petit chapeau., mustard, radishes, and
forcemeat rissoles. Not a word, Palamedes (4) !
Then savouries were handed round in a big
bowl, of which some were vulgar enough to take
three handfuls. For me, I allowed the gammon
to go scot-free."

CHAPTER LXVII
AN EXHIBITION OF DOMESTIC BLISS

" BUT tell me, Gaius, I beg of you, why is
Fortunata not dining with you ?"

" That shows how little you know her", replied
Trimalchio ; " till the plate is all safely put away,
and the scraps distributed to the slaves, she
wouldn't touch even a drop of water."

" All right," said Habinnas ; " unless she takes
her place, I for one am off" ; and he was begin-
ning to rise, only Trimalchio gave a sign and
all the slaves called out her name half-a-dozen
times. Thereupon she made her appearance with
her skirts tied up by a yellow sash, so that
you could see her red petticoat and her spiral
anklets (1) and her gold-embroidered white slip-
pers. She wiped her fingers with her napkin,
which she carried round her neck, bestowed
herself on the couch where Habinnas' wife,
Scintilla, was reclining, saluted that lady, who
received her with applause, and said : " W'hat
a treat to see you, my dear!"

Subsequently they got on so well that she

EXHIBITION OF DOMESTIC BLISS 97

unfastened her bracelets from her podgy arms
and showed them to the admiring Scintilla.
To wind up with she unclasped her anklets and
took off her hair-net (2) of gold, which she said
was pure gold. Trimalchio noticed this, and
ordered all her jewelry to be handed to him.

" Just look", he said, " at these feminine
shackles; that's the way we poor fools are
robbed. They must weigh six-and-a-half pounds,
all told. I myself, I admit, am wearing an
armlet weighing a good ten pounds, made up
of my one-tenth per cents to Mercury (3)."

Last of all, he proved his statement by calling
for a balance and handing it round so that we
could test the weight.

Scintilla was just as bad: she unfastened from
her neck a little golden locket which she called
her 'Luck'. Next she produced a pair of ear-
rings (4), which in return she handed to For-
tunata to look at, remarking : " My husband is
such a generous man, no one has a finer pair."

"What?", cried Habinnas, "It's drained me
dry to get you those wretched glass kickshaws.
I tell you, if I had a daughter, I'ld amputate
her ears. If there were no women, everything
would be dirt-cheap. Now-a-days it's a case
of hot water for other people and cold drinks
for ourselves."

At this, the good ladies, slightly muddlep,
burst out laughing together and exchanged kisses,
one holding forth on her virtues as a house-
wife, the other magnifying the gallantries and
the indifference of her husband. Amid their
embraces, Habinnas unobserved got up, caught
Fortunata by the heels and threw her along

7

98 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

the sofa. Little cries of horror escaped her as
her ankles emerged from her skirt. Then she
threw herself into Scintilla's bosom, and hid her
blushes in her napkin.

CHAPTER LXVIII

DURING DESSERT, A SLAVE OF
HABINNAS OBLIGES

AT this point we had a breather; then Trimal-
chio gave the signal for the second part of the
banquet (1) to begin. The whole staff set to
work, carrying off the tables we had used; and
then appeared with new ones. They sprinkled
the room with fine sand, coloured \vith saffron (2),
cochineal, and — a thing that was entirely new
to me — powdered mica. Thereupon Trimalchio,
" For my part", says he, " I was fully satisfied
with the menu so far as it has gone; but I see
you have a second lot; if there are any tit-bits
left bring them along."

Thereupon an Alexandrian-bred slave, who was
in charge of the warm drinks, began to give
some imitations of a nightingale, which perfor-
mance Trimalchio from time to time interrupted
with cries of " Try another!" Behold thereafter
a new turn. All of a sudden a page-boy sitting
at the feet of Habinnas — 1 believe on a signal
from his master — in a piercing voice struck up
the old strain 'And while he spake Aeneas cleft
the main ' (3). In all my life I never heard a
more distressing sound. For, being a mere alien,
his quantities were all mixed up, and he sand-
wiched in scraps from ancient farces of Atellane

A SLAVE OF HABINNAS OBLIGES 99

days, with the result that for the first time in
my life even Virgil got on my nerves. All the
same, when at last he halted, Habinnas gave
him a clap and cried:

" He never had an hour's training; I gave him
his education by letting him have tickets for
the travelling companies. You can't beat him,
whether he does the common donkey-driver or
the fourth-rate actor. He's a damned smart
fellow : cobbler, cook, confectioner— a most ver-
satile servant. But he's two bad faults, which
if he hadn't, he'ld fill the bill every time : he's
been circumcised and he snores. I admit that
he squints as well, but that doesn't matter: so
does Venus (4). He's so wide-awake, that you
never catch him napping. He cost me three
hundred.

CHAPTER LXIX

OUR SUFFERINGS BECOME MORE
DREADFUL STILL

SCINTILLA interposed in his talk ; " Upon my
soul", says she, " you don't mention all his strong
points. He leads you astray; well, I will see
he gets branded for it (1)". Trimalchio laughed.
Says he, " I know the man from Cappadocia 1
He feathers his own nest. And i'faith I don't
blame him; for there's no one to pay for bid
funeral. But as for you, Scintilla, no jealousy
please I Believe me, I know you, all you women,
like a book. Bless my soul, I used to make up
to the missus, until even the boss got wind of
it; and so he sent me off to his estate in the

.

100 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

country (2). But not a word, my tongue ; I'll
give you some food instead."

The rascal of a slave, as though he had received
the highest praise, produced an earthenware lamp
from his tunic, and for over half-an-hour kept up
an imitation of a cornet-player, while Habinnas,
with his hand on his lower lip, hummed in concert.
Finally he planted himself in the middle of the
room and gave us two turns, first as a flute-player,
with clattering reeds, and then as a mule-driver
in full rig with a whip and great-coat. At the
conclusion Habinnas called him, patted him on
the back, and handed him a tankard. " Massa ",
he said, "you're coming along; you've earned a
new pair of hobnailers (3)."

Our miseries might have gone on till now if
the savouries (4) hadn't arrived, consisting of
thrushes made of dough full of raisins and chest-
nuts. Behind them came quinces (5) bristling with
thorns to look like hedgehogs. Even these we
might have endured, if he hadn't produced a
disgusting dish so loathsome that we would have
died of hunger rather than eat it. \Vhen it was
set before us, it looked like a plump goose
garnished with fish and various sorts of game.
Then quoth Trimalchio : " My good friends, every
single thing you see here is made of one and the
same ingredient (6)." Being a man of brains, I
promptly spotted what it was, and, glancing round
at Agamemnon, I said : " I shall be astonished if
the whole dish isn't made of garbage — anyhow of
mud. At the feast of the Saturnalia in Rome
I saw a representation of the same kind of
banquet."

THE SLAVES BECOME PROMINENT 101

CHAPTER LXX

THE SLAVES BECOME PROMINENT
AND JOIN THE BANQUETERS

I HADN'T quite finished my aside, when Trimal-
chio said : " May I wax great — in purse not in
paunch — if my chef didn't make all these dainties
out of hog's flesh. He's a treasure among cooks.
Say the word, and he will make a fish out of
a sow's udder, a pigeon out of the fat, a turtle-
dove from a gammon, a fowl from a leg. That's
why I with my ready wit gave him the ingenious
nickname Daedalus (1); and because he's such
a sharp fellow I brought him from Rome some
carvers of best German steel (2) " ; which there-
upon had to be produced at once. He eyed
them with admiration, and even gave us permis-
sion to try their edge on our chins!

All of a sudden two slaves burst in, having
apparently quarrelled \vhile drawing water at
the cistern; at all events they still had water-
jugs hanging round their necks. W^hile Trimal-
chio was arbitrating (3) between the disputing
parties, neither paid the least attention to his
summing-up, but they smashed each other's water-
jugs with their sticks.

\Ve stared at the brawlers, aghast at this
drunken insolence, when behold we saw that
oysters and mussels were pouring out of their
big jugs; a young slave gathered them up, and
handed them round on a tray. These luxuries
stirred the cunning cook to emulation : he produced
snails in a silver chafing-dish, and as he served

102 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

them he lifted up his hoarse voice in a quavering
chant.

I blush to relate the sequel; it was simply
unheard-of extravagance. Long-haired boys ap-
peared, and, having first decorated our knees and
ankles with wreathes, proceeded to anoint the
feet of the guests with oil from a silver ewer (4).
Finally they poured the last of the oil into the
decanters and the lamps !

By that time Fortunata was all agog to dance (5) ;
already Scintilla felt more like clapping her hands
than conversation. Thereupon Trimalchio turned
to the slaves, and cried out : " Ho there, Philar-
gyrus, and you too, Cario— though you do sport
the wrong colours (6) — -I pray you take your place
at the board, and invite your good lady Menophila
too." You can guess the restl \Ve were pretty
well crowded out of our couches by the servants
swarming over the whole dining-hall. Believe
me, I actually saw the cook ensconced above
me—the fellow who had made the goose out of
a gammon of bacon — simply redolent of pickled
onions and strong condiment. \Vhat made things
worse was that he was not satisfied with reclining
among us ; the moment he arrived, he gave us an
imitation of the tragedian Ephesus (7) ; next he
challenged Trimalchio to take a bet against the
green for the coming race-meeting (8).

TRIMALCHIO was now on his mettle. " My
good friends ", quoth he, " even a slave is a

TRIMALCHIO'S TOMB 103

human being; luck has been against them, but
they drank the very same milk as we did(l).
Anyhow, if nothing happens to me, they'll soon
drink in the company of free men. In a word,
I am making them all free in my will (2).
Moreover, I'm leaving Philargyrus here his own
farm, to say nothing of his spouse; Cario gets
a block of flats (3) with his 5 per cent manul
mission fee (4) and a bed with mattress and al-
complete (5). Fortunata is my principal heir (6),
and I charge all my friends with her welfare.
The reason why I'm telling you all this now is
that I want all my people to love me from now
onwards as though I were dead."

The whole household broke out into a paean
of gratitude to his lordship for his generosity,
whereupon he became very solemn, ordered a
copy of the document to be fetched, and read
it aloud from beginning to end, amid the mournful
howls of the household.

Then he turned to Habinnas, and said : " \Vhat
say you, dear boy ? You're building my monu-
ment exactly as I told you ? (7) I beg and implore
you to have the pup carved at the feet of my
statue — and don't forget the wreaths and the scent-
bottles, and put in all the battles of Petraites (8),
so that by your good office I may live on after
I'm dead. And one moment! See that the whole
measures 100 feet along the road, and 200 back
into the field (9). For I must have fruit-trees of
all sorts to shade my ashes — yes, and plenty of
vines. It's a silly idea to have a gorgeous house
just while you're alive, and to take no trouble
about your last long home. That's why I want
written up right across it (10): —

104 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

THIS MONUMENT

DOES NOT FALL TO

MY HEIR.

Moreover, I shall make a point of providing in
my will against insult being offered to my remains.
I shall appoint one of my freedmen to keep an
eye "on my tomb and prevent the common herd
from defiling it. You are to carve on the monu-
ment, also, ships (11) in full sail, and put me in
effigy seated on the bench (12), in my robe of
office with my five gold rings, paying out largess
to the commons from a sack; because, if you
remember, I gave them a big dinner, and eighteen-
pence (13) a-piece all round. If you can manage
it, show the banqueting-hall as well, and the
people, too, having the time of their lives. On
my right put the effigy of my beloved Fortunata
holding a pigeon in her hand and leading her
pet dog on a string: yes, and my little friend
here as well, and large beakers of wine, corked
and sealed to prevent the wine being spilled.
Please carve also a broken urn, and a boy
weeping over it. As a centre-piece carve a
clock (1-4), so that anybody who wishes to see
what time it is will have to read my name,
willy nilly. As to the legend on the tomb, con-
sider this draft and say whether you think it
meets the case (15):

HERE LIES
GAIUS POMPEIUS TRIMALCHIO

MAECENATIANUS
Elected to the Augustal College
in his absence. He might have
held every civil post (16) in Rome;

WE FAIL TO AVOID A BATH 105

but he refused. A worthy citizen,
brave and true. A self-made man,
he died worth 30,000,000 sterling (17).
Yet he had no college training.

Farewell to him—and thee.

CHAPTER LXXII
WE FAIL TO AVOID A BATH

AS he reached the end, tears rained down his
cheeks. In tears too was Fortunata; in tears
Habinnas ; last of all, the household to a man —
as though they were standing by his bier, filled
the air with their cries of grief. Nay, even I
myself was on the point of tears, when Trimalchio
cried : " Upon my soul, since we know we shall
die, why shouldn't we live while we can (1) ?
I want to see you enjoying yourselves. So let
us have a plunge in the bath (2). Upon my
honour, you won't regret it ; it's as hot as a
furnace."

" Hear, hear I" rejoined Habinnas. " Turning
one day into two, that's just what I enjoy;"
and, without putting on his shoes (3), he rose
and began to follow Trimalchio, who cheered
him heartily.

I turned to Ascyltus. " What think you ?"
I inquired. " For my part, if I set eyes on a
bath, I shall faint away on the spot."

" We'll fall in with them," he replied, " and
while they go off to the bath, let us get away
in the crowd."

The idea appealed to both of us. Gito led
us through the gallery until we came to the

106 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

door; there the chained-up watch-dog greeted
us with such a savage barking that Ascyltus
fell neck-and-crop into the fountain (4). Not a
whit less startled — remember I had been ter-
rified even by the painting of a dog (5) — and I
was far from sober — I too was pulled into the
self-same whirlpool in trying to help my struggling
friend to shore. However, the steward came
to the rescue ; by his lucky arrival the dog was
pacified, and we were dragged shivering to terra
Jirma. As a matter of fact, Gito had already
saved himself from the brute by his ready wit,
for he flung to the barking monster all that he
had received from us at dinner; the animal was
distracted by the sight of food, and had mod-
erated his fury.

But when, shivering and soaked to the skin,
we urged the porter to open the door for us,
he replied : " You are quite mistaken if you sup-
pose you can go out the way you came in.
No guest is ever allowed to go out by the same
door ; they enter by one and depart by another."

CHAPTER LXXIII

THE BATH GIVES US NEW STRENGTH,
AND WE BEGIN AGAIN

W^HAT were we to do, poor devils, shut up
as we were in that novel sort of labyrinth (1),
especially as the idea of a bath had now grown
large in our minds ? And so of our own accord
we asked him to guide us to the bath. There
we threw off our clothes — which Gito proceeded
to dry by the door — and entered the bath, which

BATH GIVES US NEW STRENGTH 107

was a narrow one, rather like an ordinary
water-tank. And there was Trimalchio, standing
erect. Nor even here were we allowed to
escape his boorish bragging ; for he vowed it
the acme of enjoyment to have one's own private
bath; he told us, too, that that room had once
been a bake-house. At last, however, he grew
weary and sat down; then, stimulated by the
acoustic properties of the bathroom, he opened
wide his drunken old lips and — according to
those who made out what he was saying —
began to make havoc of a song by Menecrates (2).
Some of the guests started dancing with linked
hands round the edge of the plunge, bawling
out a riotous popular song at the top of their
voices. Others with their hands fastened behind
their backs were struggling to pick up rings from
the floor with their lips ; yet others in a kneeling
posture were trying to bend backwards and touch
the tips of their toes. We left them to their silly
games, and entered the bath which was in pre-
paration for Trimalchio.

So we threw off the effects of our potations,
and were escorted into a second banqueting-
chamber where Fortunata had provided a spread
of her own. I noticed above our heads lamps
and bronze figurings of fishermen ; I saw tables
of solid silver and china cups inlaid with gold,
and wine pouring through a straining-bag before
our very eyes.

Then said Trimalchio : " To-day, my friends,
a slave of mine is having his first shave (3) ;
he's as honest as the day (I touch wood !) (4),
and uses up the last crust. Let us give him a
toast in 'no heelers', and keep it up till morning."

108 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

CHAPTER LXXIV

THE COCK CROWS AND IS COOKED.

TRIMALCHIO SPEAKS HIS MIND

TO FORTUNATA

HE was just saying this, when a cock crowed (1).
Trimalchio was quite taken aback; he ordered
a libation of wine under the table, and even had
the lamp sprinkled. Nay more, he actually
transferred his ring to his right hand with the
remark : " It's not for nothing that yonder
trumpeter has given the signal; it means either
a house on fire, or else some neighbour giving
up the ghost. Save us all ! Anybody who brings
me that devil's prophet shall have a little
wreath (2)."

No sooner said than done ; the cock was
produced from close at hand, and Trimalchio
ordered it to be killed and cooked in a saucepan.
Thereupon that prince among cooks — the one
who just before had created birds and fishes
out of pork. — 'Cut it up and placed it in the pot.
And Daedalus drew off the hot liquid (3), while
Fortunata ground the pepper in a wooden mill.

\Ve sampled the dainty, and then Trimalchio
turned round to the assembled staff and cried
out: "\Vhat! you haven't had dinner yet ? Off
you go, and let a new lot come on duty."

Behold then another squad of attendants : the
departing slaves cried : " Farewell, O Gaius" ;
the incoming detachment cried : " O Gaius, hail,
hail!"

At this point our merry-making received its

THE COCK CROWS AND IS COOKED 109

first bad check. A rather good-looking slave
was among the new arrivals, and Trimalchio's
welcome was at once protracted and affectionate.
Thereupon Fortunata, asserting her rights as a
wife, proceeded to give Trimalchio a piece of
her tongue, calling him all sorts of bad names
for letting himself go before company. She
wound up her tirade by calling him a cur (4).

Trimalchio lost his temper at this stormy
abuse, and threw his wine-glass in Fortunata' s
face. She screamed as though her eye had been
cut out, and covered her face with trembling
hands. Scintilla, too, was terrified, and threw
her cloak around her poor shuddering friend.
An obliging slave, too, applied a cold jug to
her cheek, and over this Fortunata proceeded
to lean with tears and groans. Thereupon
Trimalchio retorted : " Wliat' s the matter ?
Forgotten her chorus-girl days (5), has she ?
/ picked her out of that sink of iniquity and
made a lady of her. But now she puts on side,
like the frog in the fable: she's riding for a fall (6).
She's a wooden dummy, not a woman. This child,
now, first saw the light in a low-down shanty:
he doesn't go dreaming of marble halls ! Devil
take me, if I don't teach that preaching virago (7)
to know her place.

" And to think that I, worthless fool that I was,
might have taken a cool million to my bosom.
You know I'm not bragging, Sir. Agatha, coif-
feur (8) to my lady next door, button-holed me
one day and said: 'My dear boy, you mustn't
let your race die out!'

" But — well I had the feelings of a gentleman !
No philandering for me ! So I lamed myself of

110 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

my own free will (9). All right, my lady: I'll
teach you to dig me out with your claws (10).
Meanwhile, I'll show you what you've done for
yourself. Habinnas, I won't have you put her
statue on my tomb: no curtain-lectures for me
in the next world (11). Why, to show I can
hit her back, I won't even have her kiss me
when I'm dead."

CHAPTER LXXV
TRIMALCHIO'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY

WHEN the storm had subsided, Habinnas began
to soothe his rage. Says he: " W^e all go wrong
sometimes, Trimalchio : we're only human beings,
not angels (1)".

Scintilla — in floods of tears — chimed in chorus,
calling him by his Christian name, and, adjuring
him by all his gods, implored him to cool down.

Trimalchio at last melted into tears : " Habin-
nas ", he said, " as you hope to retire on your
earnings — if I've gone too far, spit in my face.
I admit I kissed this worthy slave, but it was
his canny mind, not his pretty face, that tempted
me: the boy knows his arithmetic; reads at sight;
he's earned his freedom out of his food-allow-
ance^); he's bought his own easy-chair (3) and
two tankards. Doesn't he deserve to stand well
in my eyes ? But Fortunata says ' No.' Is that
your notion, Madame Staggerfoot (4) ? Save your
breath to cool your porridge ; I warn you — you
kite ; don't you get my monkey up, my precious
one, else you'll get a piece of my mind. You
know me: once I've made up my mind, I stick
like a door-nail.

TRIMALCHIO'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY 111

" But to return to the living. I beg you, ray
good friends, make yourselves quite at home.
I used to be not a bit better than you are, but
I was good stuff, and so I 'arrived'. Brains
make the man; all the rest is waste. 'Buy
wisely, sell wisely' — that's my motto; each man
has his own line. I'm simply bursting with
prosperity. "What, cry-baby (5), still weeping,
are you? I'll give you something to cry for in
a minute. But, as I was going to say, it was
my own thrift that made me the rich man I am.
\Vhen I came from Asia, I was about the height
of yonder candle-stick : in fact, I used to measure
myself by it every morning, and rub in the grease
to make my chin sprout the sooner. For four-
teen long years I was the apple of my master's
eye; you can't go wrong in obeying the master (6).
Not but what I played up to my lady, too.
But you know the story: mum's the word; I'm
the last man to brag."

CHAPTER LXXVI

HOW TRIMALCHIO WENT IN FOR
SHIPPING ON A BIG SCALE

"WELL, well! As heaven would have it, I
became the boss, and behold, my master couldn't
call his soul his own. He put me down as joint
heir with Caesar (1), and I came in for a sum
that gave me a senator's wealth (2). But no
one ever has enough; I went mad on finance.
To make a long story short, I built five vessels,
shipped a cargo of wine — then worth its weight
in gold — and despatched them to Rome. You
might think I had planned the whole thing : every

112 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

single ship went to the bottom — that's solemn
fact, no rotting; on a single day Neptune swal-
lowed a cool 300 thousand. "Was I down-
hearted (3) do you suppose ? I give you my
word, I laughed at my losses, as though they
were a mere flea-bite. I built a new fleet,
bigger, stronger, and laid down under happier
omens; no one could say I had no pluck. I tell
you, a big vessel means big strength. I loaded
up a second time with wine, bacon, garden stuff,
perfumery, and slaves (4).

" At this point Fortunata behaved like a brick (5) :
she sold off all her jewels and fine clothes, and
handed me over a hundred in gold ! This was the
yeast that started the pie-crust rising. Profits
are quick when the gods are kind. In a single
voyage I netted a round million. Without a
moment's delay I bought in all my old master's
former estates. Next I build a mansion, and
go in for cattle-dealing. \Vhatever I touched
multiplied like a honeycomb. \Vhen at last I
was rich enough to buy up the whole country-
side, no more speculation for me! (6) I retired
from business, and took to lending money to
freedmen (7). In point of fact I was sick of
business altogether — if it hadn't been for a certain
fortune-teller (8) who happened to come to our
town, a queer little Greek, called Serapa, who
was hand-in-glove with Providence. He even
told me things I had clean forgotten: he was
on to every detail like a needle; my 'innards'
were an open book to him. AVhy he could all
but tell what I had had for dinner yesterday!
You'ld have thought he had been my companion
from the cradle."

TRIMALCHIO'S MANSION 113

CHAPTER LXXVII

TRIMALCHIO MODESTLY DESCRIBES
HIS MANSION

" TELL me, Habinnas — I think you were there,
weren't you ? You remember him saying : ' You
took your wife from the gutter. You've no luck
with your friends. No one ever gives you a
fair return for your trouble. You are a big
landholder. You are nursing a serpent next your
heart.' Furthermore — 1 haven't dared to tell
you this yet — I'm to live another thirty years,
four months, and two days (1), and what's more
I'm to come in for a legacy. All this my prophet
tells me. If I'm lucky enough to join my estates
to Apulia, I shall not have lived in vain.

" Meantime.under the patronage of Mercury (2),
I built this humble abode. You all know it
used to be a mere hut ; now it's like a cathedral!
Four dining-halls it has ; twenty bedrooms, two
separate marble porches ; a whole suite (3) on
the first floor : an apartment where I sleep
myself ; the boudoir of this rattlesnake here ; a
superb porter's lodge ; why, there's room for a
dozen house-parties I To put it in three words,
when Scaurus was in the neighbourhood, he
refused to put up anywhere else, and, mind you,
his dad's got a shanty down by the shore (4).

" There are hundreds of other things which
I'll show you in half-a-minute. Make no mistake;
a penny earned is a pennyworth of credit ; doll-
ars make the man. Take yours truly, for
instance — once a frog, to-day a prince ! While

8

114 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

we're at it, Stichus, get out the shroud I'm going
to be buried in ; yes, and bring the ointment as
well, and just a taste of that vintage which
they're to wash me down with when I'm gone."

CHAPTER LXXVIII

TRIMALCHIO REHEARSES HIS
LYING-IN-STATE

STICHUS put his best foot foremost, and
brought into the dining-room both the white
shroud and his official robe (1) : Trimalchio made
us feel it and see if it wasn't first-class wool.
Then with a half smile : " Take care, Stichus ",
he said, " take care those garments aren't eaten
by moths or mice; if they are, I'll roast you
alive. I mean to go the grave in style, so that
the whole place will call blessings on my head."

He then uncorked the phial of ointment (2)
and smeared every one of us, saying : " I trust
I shall like it as much dead as I do alive."

Then behold ! he had the wine poured into a
great big bowl and cried : " Now, let's pretend
you are guests at my funeral feast!"

The whole business was getting absolutely
sickening. Trimalchio, who was by now as drunk
as an owl, actually called into the hall a fresh
entertainment. — a troupe of cornet-players. He
propped himself on a pile of cushions, stretched
himself full length along the couch, and said :
"There; suppose I'm dead; say pretty things
about me."

The cornets struck up a funeral march; one
performer specially — the slave of the undertaker,

TRIMALCHIO'S LYING-IN-STATE 116

who -was the most respectable man among us— •
produced such a blast that he woke the whole
neighbourhood, and the police (3) on duty in the
district concluded that Trimalchio's house was
on fire, suddenly burst open the door, and armed
with pails of water and axes began to make a
row on their own account. "We were thankful
to seize the opportunity, took leave of Aga-
memnon, and bolted out like hares, just as though
the house was really on fire.

PART III: THE SEQUEL

CHAPTER LXXIX

had no torch to light our wandering foot-
steps, and, as it was now midnight and as silent
as the grave, we had no hope of meeting anyone
with a light. On the top of this we were far
from sober, and our ignorance of the way was
likely to interfere considerably with our progress.
In fact, we had already trapsed about for nearly
an hour among rough flints and broken pottery (1),
which jutted out and cut our feet to pieces, when
our troubles were ended by Gito's foresight.
For the sensible boy, the day before, being afraid
of missing his way even in broad daylight, had
chalked all the pillars and columns. These marks
were visible in spite of the inky darkness, and
their gleaming whiteness showed the way in our
distress.

Our troubles were, however, by no means
ended when we reached the inn. The old landlady
had spent such a rowdy evening among her visit-
ors that she would have slept on, even if the
house had taken fire. Indeed, we might well
have spent the night on the doorstep, but for
the arrival of Trimalchio's courier (2) — no end
of a swell, too, with his train of ten carriages.

WE REACHED HOME 117

He knocked vigorously for a minute or two, but
then broke in the door, and let us in along
with him. I was no sooner in my room than
Gito simply fell into bed, and after the sumptu-
ous repast I had enjoyed I was just in the mood
for a snug repose.

Ah night of nights, ye gods and goddesses ;
Ah cosy couch ! in warm embrace we clung,
Inbreathing with our mutual gallantries
Each other's soul. Then fled those cares that wrung
Our mortal breast: till I

With joy was like to die.

But I was counting my chickens before they
were hatched. Nam cum solutus mero remi-
sissem ebrias manus, Ascyltos, omnis iniuriae
inventor, subduxit mihi nocte puerum et in lec-
tum transtulit suum, volutatusque liberius cum
fratre non suo, sive non sentiente iniuriam sive
dissimulante, indormivit alienis amplexibus oblitus
iuris humani. Itaque ego ut experrectus per-
trectavi gaudio despoliatum torum ... Si qua
est amantibus fides, ego dubitavi, an utrumque
traicerem gladio somnumque morti iungerem.
Tutius dein secutus consilium Gitona quidem
verberibus excitavi, Ascylton autem truci intuens
vultu " quoniam" inquam " fidem scelere violasti
et communem amicitiam, res tuas ocius tolle et
alium locum, quern polluas, quaere."

118 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

CHAPTER LXXX

MY QUARREL WITH ASCYLTUS AND
MY CRUEL DISAPPOINTMENT

HE accepted the situation. But after -we had
made a scrupulously fair division of the spoil,
he said : " Come, let's divide up the boy now ! "
I supposed this was a parting jest. But he
actually drew his murderous sword, saying: " You
aren't going to enjoy this asset all by yourself.
Though you do treat me like dirt, I swear I'll
have my share, even if I hack it away by this
sword." I promptly squared up to him, wrapped
my cloak round my arm, and prepared for battle.
The miserable boy plunged into the midst of this
pitiful insanity ; he covered our knees with kisses,
and piteously implored us not to revive the
fratricidal tragedy of Thebes (1) in our third-
rate inn, not to stain an honorable friendship
in one another's blood.

" If a crime must be committed ", he wailed,
" behold my naked throat. Unite your prowess
here; here thrust your blades! 't Is mine to die:
I broke the vows of friendship."

His prayers were too much for us : we sheathed
our swords. Ascyltus made the first move : " I
have a plan to end this quarrel ", said he. " The
boy shall go with whom he will; anyhow, he
ought to be free to choose his own brother."

I was convinced that our long friendship had
made us like father and son ; so I hadn't a qualm.
Nay, I snatched at the proposal with the greatest
avidity, and left the verdict to the judge. He

I BROOD OVER MY WRONGS 119

never even hesitated or appeared to think it
over, but the words were no sooner uttered than
he got up and put his money on Ascyltus! I
was simply thunder-struck ! I dropped my sword
and collapsed right off on the couch; indeed I
would have made an end of myself in my misery,
but I grudged my rival his triumph. Ascyltus
swaggered out triumphantly with his prize, leaving
his old comrade — but yesterday the apple of his
eye, the partner in his joys and sorrows — helpless
and alone, a stranger in a strange land:

Friendship, so staunch, so long as friendship pays !

Upon the board the knight moves crookedly (2) ;
\Vhile Fortune smiles, how steadfastly you gaze!

She frowns? You cast one cruel glance and flee.
The troupe performs the mime : lo, there's the sire,

And there the son, and there the millionaire.
The farce is done : the heroes now retire,

The make-up goes : the sordid truth's laid bare.

CHAPTER LXXXI
I BROOD OVER MY WRONGS

HOWEVER, I did not hug my grief for long.
I feared lest, to add to my other misfortunes,
the old dominie, Menelaus (1), should catch me
alone in the inn. So I got my bits of luggage
together, and in a state of deep depression
procured a lodging in an out-of-the-way spot
near the beach. There for three days I lay
perdu ; loneliness entered into my soul ; despised
and forlorn, I beat my breast and made myself
sick with melancholy. In the midst of my deep-
drawn groans, I cried aloud again and again :

120 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

" Could not the earth open and swallow me up ?
Or the sea that loves to slay the innocent?
Have I dodged the hangman (2) and cheated
the arena and murdered my host only to find
myself after all these crimes merely a beggar
and an outcast, lying all alone in a doss-house
in a wretched Greek town ? \Vho thrust this
loneliness upon me ? A young scoundrel, soaked
in every vice — deserving of transportation (3) on
his own admission ; owing freedom and status
alike to his evil ways ; an infamous hireling
from his childhood ; a lewd, perverted, un-
conscionable, little cad. And his partner in
crime ! an immoral little beast from the time he
was put into trousers ; led into perverted courses
by his own mother, when he was still in the
slave-barrack (4) ; a treacherous, disloyal, little
wretch, false to his earliest friend, ready — the
villain ! — at the first chance to sell himself and
run after a new protector like a street-walker.
And at this very minute they are thick as
thieves, probably convulsed with merriment at
the thought of my loneliness. But they shall
pay for it ! Either I am a slave, and no man,
or I will bury my injuries in their guilty blood!"

CHAPTER LXXXII

I BURN FOR VENGEANCE AND AM
FOILED!

W^ITH these words I gird on my sword, and,
lest my bodily weakness should impair my fighting
vigour, I replenish my strength -with an extra-
big dinner. Soon afterwards I dash into the

I BURN FOR VENGEANCE 121

street, and tear through all the colonnades like
a madman, ^^ith staring eyes and looking like
a dervish, I dash about with my mind teeming
with murder and sudden death, and every minute
put my hand to my sword-hilt, which I had
specially consecrated, when suddenly a common
soldier caught sight of me — he looked more like a
pickpocket or a burglar : the fellow accosted me.

"Comrade", said he, " what's your regiment?
\Vhat company?"

I lied roundly about company and regiment,
which he retorted: "Well, I'm blest! In your
battalion do the privates stroll about in the
shoes (1) of his holiness the High-Priest?"

My face and my obvious nervousness gave
me away, and he ordered me to lay down my
arms and avoid trouble. There was I destitute,
with my vengeance nipped in the bud. Slowly
I slunk back to my lodging, and there as my
courage dwindled away I began to give thanks
to the truculent footpad 1

He cannot drink, poor Tantalus (2), though in the stream

he stands ;
Though torn -with hunger, hanging fruits elude his eager

hands.

Such is the fate of millionaires who all the world possess
And yet with tongues all parched and dry consume

their— 'emptiness.

Put not your trust in man's proposals: fate
has her measuring-rod.

122 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

CHAPTER LXXXIII
I VISIT A PICTURE-GALLERY

AS the hours sped I had much ado to repress
my yearning for revenge, and I tossed restlessly
throughout the midnight hours. In the grey of
dawn, I sallied forth, in the hope of dispelling
my misery and dulling the smart of my wrongs.
I roamed about the colonnades, till I came to
a most wonderful gallery, with all kinds of pic-
tures. I saw, for example, some specimens of
Zeuxis (1), the glories of which time had not yet
dimmed ; and with a kind of awe I fingered some
of the early work of Protogenes, which was none
the less a good second to Nature herself. Then,
when I passed on to an Apelles, whom the Greeks
call the ' Single-colour Painter ', I transferred my
adoration to him. The figures were finished off
with such marvellous detail, fashioned to the very
life, that you could scarcely believe they were
not alive. On the left was an eagle soaring
in the sky bearing on his pinions the boy of
Ida (2) : on the right the fair Hylas (3) repelling
the too-forward nymph of the spring; there too
was Apollo (-4) cursing his murderous hands the
while he decked his unstrung lyre with the flower
new-sprung from Hyacinthus' blood.

There, as I thought, alone before the portraits
of those storied lovers, I cried aloud : " Yes,
even the Gods know the pangs of love. Jove
in his heaven found no one worthy of his love ;
he came to search for it on earth, but left no

I VISIT A PICTURE-GALLERY 123

man the poorer by his searching. The nymph
that stole Hylas away had quenched her passion
had she known that Hercules would come and
prove his claim. Apollo called back the boy's
soul in the form of a flower. In every myth
the gods pursue their happiness and are not
crossed by rivalry. But I took to my arms as
friend one who puts Lycurgus (5) to shame for
cruelty."

But lo 1 while I was pleading my cause to the
winds, there entered the gallery a white-haired
old man (6) : his countenance was troubled, and
he seemed the kind of man who could unfold
a tale; but outwardly he was but uncouthly
clad, and one could tell that he bore the hall-
mark of the scholar- class, whom wealthy men
generally abhor.

" I am a poet and, as I trust, with some real
affialiw, if one may trust the laurels (7) — which,
alas, the favour of men bestows even on the
undeserving. '\Vhy then', you say, 'are you
so poorly clad?' 'Tis for this self-same reason
and none other; the love of the highest never
made man rich.

Trust thou the sea, they profits multiply;

Be -war thy choice, 'twill pay thee by and by,

Mean toadies drink and loll on rich brocade;

\Vho tempts a wife, by sin his fortune's made,

Genius alone in ragged cloak must freeze

And sue the slighted Muse, with useless pleas."0

0 It is not clear whether the old man is merely
bitter. Possibly his mockery is intended as a flippant
parody of the lament of Encolpius, in which case a version on

124 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

CHAPTER LXXXIV

WE BEWAIL THE HARD FATE OF
SCHOLARSHIP

" THAT'S the plain truth : if a man frowns on
all vice, and tries to tread the strait and narrow
way, at the outset he becomes unpopular by
his very eccentricity; for who can tolerate a
man who stands aloof? In the next place, men
•whose sole joy is the accumulation of wealth,
resent anything which the -world esteems more
honorable than their own ideal. And so they
are always railing, with all their might, at men
of letters, so that they, like other men, may
appear to be the slaves of money".

" Somehow or another", I rejoined with a
sigh, " brains and poverty are twin sisters."

" With good cause", quoth the sage, " you
deplore the fate of letters."

" That's not what I'm sighing about", I retorted.
" I've something much more tragic to grieve over!"

And thereupon. — 'So strong is man's propensity
to confide his private griefs to another's ears—
I poured forth my unhappy case, descanting
especially upon the disloyalty of Ascyltus; and

these lines would make a nearer approach to the original :

If you run a fleet of merchantmen, the cash

comes rolling in :

The warrior gets his pickings by the way ;
The man who wrongs a husband makes a fortune

by his sin ;

But ragged poets to the Muse may pray-
Vainly pray! —
For the public scofis at literature to-day.

THE TRAGEDY IN ASIA 125

amid my groans I cried : " Ah, would that the
enemy of my simple joys were but a child in
villainy : then he might yield to persuasion.
But by now he is a hardened rogue, and wilier
than the Scarlet "Woman herself."

The old man thought me a much ill-used fellow.
He proceeded to give me consolation, and, in
order to assuage my grief, he narrated to me a
tragedy from his own past affaires.

CHAPTER LXXXV

THE TRAGEDY OF A BANK-CLERK
IN ASIA

" IN Asiam cum a quaestore (1) essem stipendio
eductus, hospitium Pergami (2) accepi. Ubi cum
libenter habitarem non solum propter cultum
aedicularum, sed etiam propter hospitis formo-
sissimum filium, excogitavi rationem, qua non
essem patri familiae suspectus amator. Quoties-
cunque enim in convivio de usu formosorum
mentio facta est, tarn vehementer excandui, tarn
severa tristitia violari aures meas obsceno ser-
mone nolui, ut me mater praecipue tanquam
unum ex philosophis intueretur. lam ego coe-
peram ephebum in gymnasium deducere, ego
studia eius ordinare, ego docere ac praecipere,
ne quis praedator corporis admitteretur in do-
mum . . .

Forte cum in triclinio iaceremus, quia dies

126 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

sollemnis ludum artaverat pigritiamque recedendi
imposuerat hilaritas longior, fere circa mediam
noctem intellexi puerum vigilare. Itaque timi-
dissimo murmure votum f eci efc ' domina ' inquam
' Venus, si ego hunc puerum basiavero, ita ut
ille non sensiat, eras illi par columbarum donabo.'
Audito voluptatis pretio puer stertere coepit.
Itaque aggressus simulantem aliquot basiolis
invasi. Contentus hoc principio bene mane sur-
rexi electumque par columbarum attuli expectanti
ac me voto exsolvi.

CHAPTER LXXXVI
THE STORY OF MY COURTSHIP

PROXIMA nocte cum idem liceret, mutavi
optionem et ' si hunc ' inquam ' tractavero improba
manu, et ille non senserit, gallos gallinaceos (1)
pugnacissimos duos donabo patienti.' Ad hoc
votum ephebus ultro se admovit et, puto, vereri
coepit, ne ego obdormiscerem. Indulsi ergo sol-
licito, totoque corpore citra summam voluptatem
me ingurgitavi. Deinde ut dies venit, attuli
gaudenti quicquid promiseram. Ut tertia nox
licentiam dedit, consurrexi ... ad aurem male
dormientis 'dii' inquam 'immortales, si ego huic
dormienti abstulero coitum plenum et optabilem,
pro hac felicitate eras puero asturconem (2)
Macedonicum optimum donabo, cum hac tamen
exceptione, si ille non senserit.' Nunquam altiore
somno ephebus obdormivit. Itaque primum im-

THE TRAGIC DENOUEMENT 127

plevi lactentibus papillis manus, mox basio in-
haesi, deinde in unum omnia vota coniunxi.
Mane sedere in cubiculo coepit atque expectare
consuetudinem meam. Scis quanto facilius sit,
columbas gallosque gallinaceos emere quam astur-
conem, et praeter hoc etiam timebam, ne tarn
grande munus suspectam faceret humanitatem
meam. Ego aliquot horis spatiatus in hospitium
reverti nihilque aliud quam puerum basiavi. At
ille circumspiciens ut cervicem meam iunxit am-
plexu, 'rogo' inquit 'domine, ubi est asturco?" . . .

CHAPTER LXXXVII
THE TRAGIC DENOUEMENT

CUM ob hanc offensam praeclusissem mihi
aditum, quern feceram, iterum ad licentiam redii.
Interpositis cnim paucis diebus, cum similis
casus nos in eandem fortunam rettulisset, ut
intellexi stertere patrem, rogare coepi ephebum,
ut reverteretur in gratiam mecum, id est ut
pateretur satis fieri sibi, et cetera quae libido
distenta dictat. At ille plane iratus nihil aliud
dicebat nisi hoc : " aut dormi, aut ego iam dicam
patri." Nihil est tarn arduum, quod non im-
probitas extorqueat. Dum dicit : " patrem ex-
citabo," irrepsi tamen et male repugnanti gaudium
extorsi. At ille non indelectatus nequitia mea,
postquam diu questus est deceptum se et derisum
traductumque inter condiscipulos, quibus iac-

128 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

tasset censum meum, "videos tamen" inquit
" non ero tui similis. Si quid vis, fac iterum."
Ego vero deposita omni offensa cum puero in
gratiam redii ususque beneficio eius in somnum
delapsus sum. Sed non fuit contentus iteratione
ephebus plenae maturitatis et annis ad patien-
dum gestientibus. Itaque excitavit me sopitum
et "numquid vis?" inquit. Et non plane iam
molestum erat munus. Utcunque igitur inter
anhelitus sudoresque tritus, quod voluerat, ac-
cepit, rursusque in somnum decidi gaudio lassus.
Interposita minus hora pungere me manu coepit
et dicere: " quare non facimus?" turn ego
totiens excitatus plane vehementer excandui et
reddidi illi voces suas: 'aut dormi, aut ego iam
patri dicam '" . . .

CHAPTER LXXXVIII
EUMOLPUS ON THE GREED OF GAIN

quite cheered up by this story, and
proceeded to ask my learned friend about the
ages of the paintings and some points I could
not understand; I also wanted to know the reason
for the decay of art in our day, and why the
Fine Arts had gone by the board including
painting, which had absolutely gone out of
fashion.

To this he replied : " It is the greed of gain
that has caused the arts to become demodfa. In
the good old days, when men loved the unvar-

EUMOLPUS ON GREED OF GAIN 129

nished truth, legitimate art flourished and men
strove among themselves to prevent the coming
generation from losing anything valuable (1).
That was why Democritus (2) squeezed out the
juice of every plant, and spent his days in the
laboratory fearing that some virtue in stone or
shrub might be lost to humanity. Then take
Eudoxus (3) : he waited on the top of a lofty
mountain till his hair turned white, hoping to
discover the movements of the stars and the
celestial orbits ; Chrysippus (4), too, in his rage
for new discoveries, three times cleared his brain
with a strong dose of hellebore. Now turn to
the plastic art. Starvation carried off Lysip-
pus (5) while he was slaving at the outline of
a simple statue, and Myron (6), who could limn
the souls of man and beast in bronze, died without
an heir. But we are sodden with wine and
harlotry ; we are afraid to acknowledge the arts
that we find ready to our hands; we confine
ourselves to sneering at the works of the men
of old, to learning and teaching their immorality.
" \Vhere is philosophy ? (7) WTiere is astro-
nomy ? ^Vhere the narrow way of wisdom ?
\Vhen did any of us go up to the temple and
make a vow if haply he might have attained to
eloquence — if haply he might find the spring of
knowledge, ^^hy, men have no thought even for
a healthy mind or a healthy body (8), but, forth-
with, no sooner they reach the temple precincts
than one man promises a gift, if he has the luck
to bury his wealthy neighbour; another cries:
' Find me a treasure, and I will pay you a price ' ;
a third : 'I'll pay you well if I live to reach my>
six figures '. W^hy, parliament itself, our guide

.9

130 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

philosopher, and friend, is quite ready to vote
a thousand pounds (9) sterling in the service of
the Capitol, and, in case anyone should think it
lacking in greed for cash, it decorates even the
statue of Jove out of its private earnings (10).
" Don't you be astonished, then, if painting
has gone out of fashion, now that gods and men
alike conspire to glorify gold above any production
of those infatuated little Greeks, Apelles, and
Pheidias."(H)

CHAPTER LXXXIX

THE OLD MAN RELATES THE SIEGE
OF TROY(l)

" BUT I perceive that you are wrapped up in
that picture which portrays the Capture of Troy.
I will try to tell you the story in verse :

Ten summers now, 'mid changing hopes and fears,

The sad-eyed Trojans had been hard beset,

\Vhile Calchas vexed them sore with subtle guile.

At last the Delian (2) spoke ; on Ida's (3) crags

They plied the axe and shaped the fallen trees

Into the semblance of a towering horse.

Within there yawns a cavern large enough

To hold an army. Here they hide the flower

Of all their host— their angry hearts inflamed

With ten years' hope deferred— concealed within

The sacred off'ring. Ah, my countrymen !

We thought their fleet was beaten, that our land

Once more was free. Thus said the inscription carved

Upon the monster ; Sinon (4) thus declared,

That lying villain, mighty to destroy.

The gates flung wide, the people freed from war
Hasten to prayer, Their cheeks are wet with tears :

THE OLD MAN RELATES OF TROY 131

Joy after fear doth ever make men weep.
But tears were stayed by fear. Laocoon *,
High priest of Neptune, his grey locks unbound,
'Mid shouts from all the throng, poising his lance,
Assailed the monster's side : Fate made him weak ;
Back fell the shaft : suspicion died away.

Again, his strength renewed, he smote the sides
With double axe. The warriors hid within
Growl angrily, and with their murmuring
The monster snorts with terror not its own.
The would-be captors all but captured were,
Striving to end the war by horrid guile.

A second portent ! \Vhere high Tenedos (5)
Rose from the sea the waters foam and swell;
The wave recoils and surges, rent in twain ;
Even as the sound of oars, some silent night,
Is borne afar when vessels plough the main,
And as the oar is plied the waters groan.
We turn and gaze. Two serpents writhing lash
The rock-girt sea; their swelling breasts, upreared
Like towering galleys, churn the waves to foam.
Their tails splash loudly; their uplifted crests
Gleam like their blazing orbs; a lightning flash
Enflames the sea whose waters roar and hiss.

We froze with horror. There in priestly robes
And sacred fillets Laucobn's twin sons (6)
Stood by their sire. Lo, suddenly the snakes
With forked tongue enwrap them in their coils.
The unhappy boys grasp at their foes in vain,
Both helpless, both too weak for mutual aid;
Each for the other gave his life, and death
Took each one, fighting for his brother's sake.
And, lo! the sire filled up the tragic tale,
A vain protector ! Whetted now to kill,
The serpents drag the hero to the earth.
There falls the priest, amid his altars slain;

* Ladcodn; also written Laucoon (below).

132 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

He strikes the ground. And thus, her rites profaned,
Troy, doomed to perish, loses first her gods.

The full moon now shed forth her silver light,
The stars grew pale before her radiant beam,
And Priam's sons were sunk in sleep and wine.
The Greeks unloose the bars : the ambushed men
Leap forth; the warriors test their arms, as when
On some Thessalian slope a steed, set free,
Tosses his mane and gallops joyously;
They draw their blades, close up -with shield on shield ;
Then to the fight! One hacks defenceless men
Stupid with wine, whose sleep in death becomes
Eternal; others at the altars light
Their torches ; thus the sacred Trojan fire
They call in aid who lay the Trojans low."

CHAPTER XC

SOME of the people who were strolling about
in the galleries flung stones at Eumolpus as he
declaimed his lines. But he was quite accustomed
to having his talents greeted with this kind of
applause; he just covered his head and ran
outside the buildings. I was terrified, lest some
one might greet me as a bard. So I followed
the fugitive till I reached the sea-shore, and as
soon as we were out of range and could venture
to halt:

" Tell me," I asked, " what do you take for
that disease of yours? You spent something
less than a couple of hours in my company, and
you talked more often like a poet than a mere
man. I am not surprised that the public gives

I RE-CAPTURE GITO AND ESCAPE 133

you a stony reception. In future I shall have
my pocket full of stones, and directly I see
your eye in a fine frenzy rolling I will let some
blood and cool your brain."

He turned towards me.

" My dear young friend," he said, " this is not
the first occasion on which I have received a
baptism of fire (1). I assure you I never enter
the theatre with a view to an humble recitation,
but I get a reception of this outlandish kind.
However, as I don't want to quarrel with you
too, I will swear off the poetic diet for the
whole day."

" Well and good", said I. " You take the
pledge for this day only not to make a beast
of yourself, and we'll dine together."

Thereupon I gave the landlord instructions for
a nice little dinner, and we hied to the baths.

CHAPTER XCI
I RE-CAPTURE GITO AND ESCAPE

IN the baths I caught sight of Gito holding
towels and sponges (1) in his hand, leaning against
the wall, and looking upset and miserable. You
could see he was not happy in his duties. As
if to let me judge by his looks, he turned to me
with a woe-begone expression, and cried : " Have
pity on me, my friend! Away from the clash
of steel, I can speak freely. Save me from a
brutal scoundrel; I beg pardon for deciding
against you ; punish me as severely as you like.
I'm so wretched that it will be comfort enough
to have fallen by your hand (2) ".

134 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

I told him to stop crying for fear someone
should overhear our plans ; then I gave Eumolpus
the slip — for he was reciting a poem in the
baths — and dragged Gito out by a dark and
dirty passage and fled like the wind to my
lodging. I bolted the doors and flung my arms
round him and stroked his tear-stained face.
For a long time neither found his voice. For
the child's bosom still heaved with one sob after
another.

" Shame upon me", I cried ; " to think that I
still care for you, basely deserted as I was —
that, though the wound was deep, no scar re-
mains: what excuse have you for flying to a
stranger's arms ? Did I deserve such treachery ? "

As soon as he saw that I was not mortally
offended, he put on a bolder front (3).

" I did not submit the case to any other judge"
I proceeded. " However I make no complaint
now. All is forgotten, provided your penitence
is genuine."

I poured out all this between sobs and tears.
Thereupon he wiped his eyes \vith his mantle
and replied : " Tell me now, Encolpius ; I appeal
to your recollection of what occurred. Did I
desert you, or did 3pou land me in a mess? I
admit my wickedness, and I offer this excuse :
I saw two men armed to the teeth, and took
refuge with the stronger one (4)".

I threw my arms round his neck and kissed
the brow that held so much horse-sense. To
make him realise that I was quite friendly again
and that our friendship had truly risen afresh
from its ashes, I gave him a good hug.

THE POET AND HIS DINNER 135

CHAPTER XCII

THE POET HAS NOT FORGOTTEN
HIS DINNER

BY now it was pitch-dark and the woman had
dinner all ready, when Eumolpus knocked at
the door. I cried out : " How many are there
of you?"; and proceeded to take a furtive, but
very careful look through a crack in the door;
I feared Ascyltus might have come with him.
Then, seeing he was by himself, I let him in
at once. As soon as he had thrown himself on
the couch and saw before him Gito laying the
table, he nodded to me and said : " I admire
your Ganymede. Things must be all right to-day."

I was far from pleased by this significant
preamble; I feared my guest might prove a
second Ascyltus. Eumolpus went ahead; when
the child had handed him a drink, he said: "I
like you better than the \vhole bath put together."

Then he swigged off the wine at a draught,
swearing that he had never been in such a mouldy
condition. " \Vhile I was bathing", he went on,
" I nearly got a thrashing simply because I tried
to recite a bit of poetry to the fellows sitting
round the plunge, and after I had been driven
out of the bath, just as I was from the theatre,
I proceeded to search every nook and corner,
loudly calling : ' Encolpius, Encolpius.' Opposite
to me was a young fellow with nothing on,
having lost his clothes, who was calling loudly
for Gito, in a state of equal indignation. As
for me, the attendants mimicked my cries; but
a big crowd surrounded him with applause and

136 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

respectful sympathy. He presented such an
appearance of lusty manhood that his other
qualities were merely adjuncts to his physical
charms. The fine young giant! He could go on
day in, day out. Naturally they all rushed to
his aid; some aristocrat (1) from Rome, a regular
dog, they told me, threw his own cloak over
him as he rushed about and took him off to
his house, determined, I suppose, to have all
the fun to himself! As for me, I should never
have recovered even my own clothes from the
cloak-room attendant, if I hadn't produced some-
one who knew me (2). It's a far more paying
game to please the sensual than the sensible."

AVhile Eumolpus was holding forth in this wise,
my spirits went up and down; rejoicing of course
in my enemy's discomfiture, miserable at his good
luck. All the same I pretended I didn't understand
the story, and diverted our talk to the menu.

[I had barely finished my tale, when dinner
was brought in. The food was frankly vulgar,
but it was rich and nourishing. Eumolpus, who
was a full-blown professor of starvation, simply
wolfed his food. \Vhen he was well-lined, he
proceeded to usurp the moralist's chair, and to
pour out criticism of men who despise every-day
knowledge and value things only in proportion
to their rarity.]

CHAPTER XCIII
FOOD FROM AFAR

"WHAT we can have, we scorn: our taste is
dulled and perverted, and we hanker after the
forbidden fruit:

THE BEAUTIFUL NATURE OF GITO 137

The Colchian pheasant sought by Phasis' banks (1),
The Afric guinea-fowl (2), these please their taste,
Because they're hard to get. The white-plumed goose,
The wild-duck (3) gay of hue, with plumage fresh,
Their flavour's common! From the farthest shores
Bring them a tunny fish (4) and on the way
Run on a sand-bank, they'll be pleased the more!
Red mullets (5) cloy ! The mistress supersedes
The wife ; the cinnamon (6) expels the rose.
It's labelled 'From Ceylon'— it's all the rage!"

CHAPTER XCIV
THE BEAUTIFUL NATURE OF GITO

"SO much for your solemn pledge to keep off
poetry to-day ! ", I grumbled. " Great heavens
you might at least spare us: we never threw
stones at you! If any of the fellows who are
having a drink under this roof happens to sniff
the mere name of a poet, he'll raise the whole
neighbourhood, and we shall be buried in the
same avalanche. Be merciful, and keep your
mind on the picture-gallery or the baths."

Gito, who was the acme of good nature,
protested against this outbreak of mine. He
said I was quite wrong to pitch into a man who
was many years my senior— I was forgetting
my duty as a host, and by my rude manners
spoiling a dinner which I had planned in such
a friendly spirit. He said a good deal more in
a modest respectful tone which vastly became
his comely face.

Eumolpus was charmed. " Your mother's a
very lucky woman," quoth he, " to have a son
like you; go on and prosper. It's a rare thing

to find beauty and good-sense in combination.
I can tell you every word you said was well-
spent; you have gained an admirer. I will sing
your praises in my poetry. \Vhether you bid
me or not, I will be at your side to guide and
protect you (1). Encolpius needn't worry: his
affections lie elsewhere."

Eumolpus, like Ascyltus, had reason to bless
that soldier who robbed me of my sword!
Otherwise, the fury which had blazed out against
Ascyltus I would have wreaked on his own
head. This fact did not escape Gito. In con-
sequence he left the room on pretence of fetching
some water, and by wisely making himself scarce
gave me time to get cool. My anger slowly
abating, I said to Eumolpus : " Look here ! I
would rather have you even recite than talk of
dreams like these. I'm a hot-tempered man, and
you are a sensual beast. Call me a madman if
you like — well then, beware of the lunatic— in
other words, get out!"

Eumolpus was taken aback by this tirade.
He didn't wait for an explanation of my fury,
but bolted incontinently for the door, banged it
in my face, and to my complete astonishment
shut me up, seized the key, and rushed off in
search of Gito.

Locked in, I made up my mind to hang myself.
I had already tied my belt to the framework
of the bed, which I propped up on end against
the wall, and was putting my neck into the noose,
•when the bolts shot back and Eumolpus and
Gito entered the room and dragged me back to
life, as I was on the point of rounding the fatal
corner (2). Gito was particularly furious ; he

THE BEAUTIFUL NATURE OF GITO 139

gave me a push with both hands and flung me
across the bed.

" Encolpius ", he1 cried, "You are all wrong
if you think I'll have you die before I do. I
go first! I tried to find a sword when I was in
Ascyltus' lodging. If I hadn't found you again,
I was going to hurl myself to perdition. I'll
show you that people who want to die have a
quick road; see for yourself what you wanted
me to see!"

As he spoke he snatched a razor (3) from
Eumolpus' valet (4), thrust it once, twice, across
his throat, and collapsed at our feet. I cried
aloud in horror, flung myself to the ground with
him, and tried to end my life with the self-same
steel. But Gito didn't show the least sign of a
scratch, and I felt no pain whatever. For the
razor had no edge, being one of dummies which
are specially blunted for barbers' apprentices to
practise with. That was why the hired man
had not been horrified at the theft of the weapon,
and why Eumolpus had not prevented the sham
tragedy.

CHAPTER XCV

EUMOLPUS THROWN INTO
THE STREET

IN the midst of this display of affection, the
landlord entered with another course. He stared
at us rolling anyhow on the floor and said : " I
should like to know whether you are drunk, or
run-away slaves, or both. Who propped up the
bed against the wall? What's the meaning of

HO PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

this moonlight flitting? Upon my soul, you
wanted to get away without paying for the room,
and so you meant to slip out of the place after
dark. I'll make you pay for this. For I'll teach
you that this block of flats doesn't belong to a
poor widow, but to Marcus Mannicius."

" \Vhat ! " exclaimed Eumolpus, " do you dare
to threaten us?"

With that he gave the fellow a smart slap in
the face. Boniface replied by hurling at Eumol-
pus' head an earthenware jar that had earned
a rest after serving many a guest (1), cut open
the forehead of the shrieking poet, and bolted
out of the room. Eumolpus, furious at the insult,
seized an oak candlestick (2), pursued him as he
fled, and avenged his broken forehead with a
shower of blows. By this time the inn-servants
and a body of drunken visitors came swarming
up. Meanwhile I seized my chance of giving
Eumolpus the sack (3) — locked him out, and,
having got rid of the brawling fellow and his
monstrous pretensions, I was thankful, as you
may guess, to enjoy my own room and a night's rest.

Meanwhile, the kitchen-hands and the other
tenants were hurling Eumolpus into the street,
beating him unmercifully. One seized a spit,
smoking beef and all, and thrust it into his face ;
another snatched a fork from the meat-rack (4)
and assumed a posture of offence. An old har-
ridan, blear-eyed, garbed in a filthy linen apron
and perched on a pair of odd clogs (5), led the
attack; she hauled out a hound of colossal size
on the end of a chain, and set him on to Eumolpus.
But the poet with the aid of his candle-stick
hacked his path to safety.

A FRIEND OF EUMOLPUS Hi

\VE watched the whole episode through a chink
in the door, which had been caused a little
before when Eumolpus broke the handle, and I
revelled in the drubbing he got. But Gito, still
mindful of compassion, said we ought to open
the door and rush to his rescue. My anger
was still hot, and so I let out with my fist, and
hit the soft-hearted fool on the head with the
knuckles of my clenched fist. He burst out
crying, and flung himself on the bed, I glued
my eyes one after another to the chink in the
door and gloated over the ill-treatment of
Eumolpus as though I were eating my fill ; I
was full of joy that they were playing my
game (1) when Bargates, the overseer of the
tenement-house, disturbed at his supper, was
borne by two chairmen into the thick of the
fray ; for he was a martyr to gout. He de-
livered in a truculent rasping voice a long
harangue against drunkards and run-aways.
Then he caught sight of Eumolpus : " Hullo, my
prince of poets ! Is it you ? You blackguardly
slaves, be off with you, quick, and stop your
rioting ! Eumolpus, my lady-love has been riding
the high horse : write me a skit on her and
make her behave herself."

H2 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

CHAPTER XCVII

ASCYLTUS REAPPEARS
AND DEMANDS HIS SLAVE

\VHILE Eumolpus was having a private talk
with Bargates, there entered into the inn the
town-crier, followed by a policeman (1) and a
considerable company of onlookers ; brandishing
a torch that gave off more smoke than light,
he read out the following proclamation :

LOST

A Few Hours Ago, at the Turkish Baths,

A YOUNG SLAVE

Age: about sixteen years
DeAcrlpllon : curly-haired, goodlooking
Name: Gito

Reward: Anyone returning the said slave, or giving
information as to his whereabouts, will receive

TEN POUNDS REWARD!

Quite close to the crier Ascyltus was standing
dressed in a many-coloured robe and holding
out the reward in a silver scale by way of
guarantee. I commanded Gito to get under the
bed quick as lightning and thrust his feet and
hands through the lashings which held the mat-
tress to the frame, in fact exactly as Ulysses
in days gone by fastened himself to the Cyclops'
ram (2). Thus spread-eagled under the mat-
tress, he had a chance of escaping, when they
thrust in their hands to feel for him. Gito
obeyed with alacrity, and in a trice he thrust

ASCYLTUS REAPPEARS 143

his hands through the thongs and outdid Ulysses
at the tricks of his own trade. To leave no
loophole for suspicion, I threw all the coverings
on to the bed, and made a depression in it to
convey the idea of a single occupant of my
own size.

Meanwhile, Ascyltus along with the officer,
having tried every room, arrived at mine, and
his hopes naturally rose high when he found
how carefully the doors were fastened (3).
The crier's attendant thrust an axe into the
fastening and caused the bolts to give way. I flung
myself at Ascyltus' feet, and besought him by
the memory of our friendship and the trials we
had braved to-gether he should at least grant
me a sight of my friend (4). To give an ap-
pearance of truth to my words, I went further
and said : " I know, Ascyltus, that you have
come intending to take my life. W^hy else have
you brought these axes ? Well, glut your
hatred 1 Behold, I offer you my neck ; spill the
blood which you seek under pretence of a mere
search for a slave."

Ascyltus moderated his wrath, and asserted
that he was seeking nothing but his run-away
slave ; he had no desire for the death or even
the punishment of any man at all, least of all
of a man whom he had loved as a brother
since the fatal quarrel.

CHAPTER XCVIII
GITO IS DISCOVERED

BUT the policeman was by no means so easy-
going. He snatched a long broom from the land-

H4 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

lord, thrust it under the bed, and even prodded
every single cranny in the partition. Gito drew
away from the blows, and breathed with the
utmost caution even while the bristles whisked (1)
along his face.

Finally they departed.

Eumolpus, however, now that the broken door
afforded access to all and sundry, broke in a
state of great excitement.

" I have won the £ 10", he cried; " I'm going
to run after the crier, and inform him that Gito
is in your hands, and" give you away as you
richly deserve."

Finding him resolute, I threw myself at his
feet and implored him not to deal this final blow
at one who was as good as dead. " You might
well give way to your wrath", I added, " if you
could produce the truant. As it is, the child
got away in the crowd, and I haven't the
least idea where he has gone. I implore you,
Eumolpus, find the boy and then even hand him
over to Ascyltus, if you will."

I was on the point of making him believe the
story when poor Gito, who had held his breath
to the point of bursting, sneezed so loudly three
times running that he shook the bedstead. Eumol-
pus swung round at this disturbance and cried :
" How do you do, Gito ? " Thereupon he removed
the mattress and saw Ulyssus, who might have
won compassion even from a thirsty Cyclops.
He promptly confronted me, crying : " \Vell, you
scoundrel! So you have the face to lie to me
even when you're caught red -handed. \Vhy, if
it hadn't been that providence which orders
the affairs of men has shaken a confession out of

GITO IS DISCOVERED 145

yon trussed-up boy, I should have been swindled
into wandering round all the eating-houses in town."

Gito, however, displayed more tact than I.
First of all, he got some spider-webs, soaked
them in oil, and closed up the gaping wound on
Eumolpus' brow. Then he replaced his tattered
garment with his own cloak. The man's fury being
thus moderated, he saluted him affectionately as
a final salve, saying : " My father, my dearest
father, our lives are in your hands. You say
you care for Gito ; change your mind then, and
seek our safety. Would that I only were
swallowed up by the destroying flame and tossed
by the stormy waters ! For I alone am the centre
of this evil coil: myself the cause. My death
would satisfy our foes (2) ".

[Eumolpus was much impressed by the prayers
first of Encolpius and then of Gito, and moreover
he was not unmindful of Gito's pretty ways.

" Fools that you are ", he cried. " You are
very decent fellows and you might pass a tranquil
life; but you are always in trouble; and day
after day you walk quite gratuitously into a
fresh quandary."]

CHAPTER XCIX
WE GO A-SAILING

"FOR my own part", he pursued, "I have
always behaved, wherever I've been, as though
every day were my last and the sun would
never rise again.

[" In other words, I'm always calm. If you
want to be like me, dismiss all care from your

.10

146 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

minds. Ascyltus here is on your track : fly from
himi I am off on a foreign trip: come with me.
Perhaps by to-morrow night I shall be a passenger
on ship-board; there everybody knows me, and
we shall be welcomed with enthusiasm."

This suggestion struck me as sound and sensi-
ble; it promised relief from the persecution of
Ascyltus, and held out prospects of an easier
life. I was overcome by Eumolpus' good-nature,
and cursed myself for my roughness to him a
few hours before, and I began to lament my
jealous rage which had led to all the bother.]

I burst into tears, and begged and implored
him to shake hands : rivals in love couldn't help
outbursts of jealousy; I would do my best not
to cause him offence by word or by deed. If
only, like the high-bred, noble soul he was,
he would eradicate all soreness from his mind,
and leave no scar!

" In wild and barbarous lands ", I proceeded,
" the snows linger long, but when the soil is
tamed by the plough and cultivated (1), the hoar-
frost melts away while you say the word.
Likewise with passion in the human heart : with
the natural man it is ever at the door, but it
leaves the cultured soul untouched."

" To prove the truth of what you say ", re-
sponded Eumolpus, " behold, I give you the kiss
of peace. Now then, good luck be with us;
pack up your traps und follow me, or, if you
like it better, lead on."

The words were still on his lips when a knock
thundered on the door, and we beheld on the
threshold a sailor with a beard like a door-mat.

" Eumolpus ", he growled, " you're wasting

OUT OF THE FRYING-PAN H7

time. You must know we've run up the flag. (2)"
Forthwith we rose to our feet. Eumolpus bade
his servant, who had been indulging in a good
long nap, to hurry off with the baggage. With
Gito's aid, I put our things together for the
journey, cast a prayerful glance to the stars (3),
and went on board.

CHAPTER C

OUT OF THE FRYING-PAN INTO
THE FIRE

[\VE selected ,a quiet spot on the after-deck,
and, as it was not yet dawn, Eumolpus dozed
off. But Gito and I couldn't get a solitary wink
of sleep. I was consumed with anxiety, for had
I not welcomed to my arms this man Eumolpus,
a rival far more to be feared than Ascyltus? —
the thought made me absolutely wretched. But
common-sense dispelled my worries:]

" "Why resent the fact", I pondered, " that
the child pleases our host? Hang it, Nature's
noblest works are the common joy of all men.
The sun shines on us all. The moon with her
retinue of countless stars leads even the brutes
to the feeding-ground. W^hat can you mention
that is more beautiful than streams of water?
Yet they trickle down the public street. Is
affection the only thing that is to be a theft
and not a prize? Nay, verily, nothing is worth
having, save what other men envy. He is only
one, and a greybeard at that : I needn't worry.
He hasn't the breath to run his quarry to earth."

\Vith these thoughts I comforted myself and
trifled with my better judgment : this done, I

H8 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

wrapped my head in my cape and began to
feign sleep. But at the very instant, as though
Fate was upsetting my equanimity, a voice coming
across the after-deck set up a groaning : " And
am I then rejected?", it said. It was a man's
voice, a voice which I knew almost as well as
my own, and it made my heart beat fast! But
a little further off a woman in the same tone
of bitter indignation burst our angrily : " O that
some god would give me back my Gito: how
thankfully would I welcome him from banish-
ment !"

The shock of these unexpected voices turned
us both pale as death. I, especially, as though
in the grip of some horrid nightmare, slowly
recovered the use of my tongue and with trembling
fingers plucked the hem of Eumolpus' cloak, he
being now half asleep.

" Good heavens, my father", I whispered,
" tell me : whose in this ship ? \Vho are on
board?"

He was irritated at my disturbing him.

" W^as this what you meant", he growled,
" in choosing the quietest corner of the vessel's
after-deck (1), not to let us have a wink of
sleep? \Vhat in thunder does it matter, if I do
tell you that a man called Lichas of Tarentum
is the owner, and that he is carrying off Try-
phaena, into exile (2) in that town?"

CHAPTER CI
WE ARE IN DESPAIR

THIS thunderbolt left me stunned. I shivered
all over; I bared my neck and cried: "This

WE ARE IN DESPAIR 149

time, Fate, thou hast me at thy mercy ! " Even
Gito lay flat across my breast, struggling for
breath. After a time we broke out into a sweat
and recovered breath. I clasped Eumolpus by
the knees and cried : " Have pity, Eumolpus, or
we die! By our common happiness, lend now
your hand (1). Death is upon us, and save for
you, we greet it as a gift."

Poor Eumolpus, overwhelmed by this flood of
passion, swore by all the gods and goddesses
that he had no idea what was the matter. He
had no underhand object in suggesting the voyage,
but had induced us in all good faith and sincerity
to become fellow-travellers on a sea-trip which
he had planned long before.

" W^hat treachery have you found ? " he in-
quired. " \Vhat Hannibal (2) is sailing with us ?
Lichas of Tarentum is a pattern of honesty; he
is the owner not only of this ship, which he
sails himself, but also of half-a-dozen estates and
a complete business-staff (3) ; he's full up now
with cargo for a trading voyage. This is the
Cyclops (4), the pirate-chief (5), to whom you
owe your sail. Beside him there is only Try-
phaena, the most beautiful woman on earth, who
sails backwards and forwards for pleasure."

Gito broke in here : " These are the very people
we have been trying to avoid", he explained;
and he poured out to the startled Eumolpus the
whole story of the quarrel and the impending
danger.

Eumolpus was quite taken aback, and, having
nothing to suggest, implored either of us to give
his opinion. " I imagine ", he said, " that we have
blundered into the Cyclops' cave. Some escape

150 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

must be found — that is unless we sink the ship
and free ourselves from danger at one fell swoop."

" No, no ", said Gito, " you must induce the
helmsman to run the ship into harbour— of course,
you must make it worth his while — swearing that
your brother can't stand the sea and is on the
point of death. You will easily cover your ruse, if
you appear with a look of terror and tears running
down your cheeks, and then he will be quite
sympathetic and give you your way."

Eumolpus averred that this was out of the
question. " Big (6) ships like this one cannot
enter any but sheltered harbours; besides you
can't pretend that your brother has got so low
after a few hours' sail! A third point is that
no doubt Lichas, as a matter of decency, will
insist on visiting the patient. It would suit us
down to the ground, wouldn't it, to go out of
our way to fetch the captain to watch our
escape ! But even supposing you could have the
ship put out of her course in mid-ocean and also
prevent Lichas somehow from visiting the patients
in their bunks, how could we ever slip out of
the ship without being seen by the whole crew?
\Vould you cover up your heads or go bare-
headed (7) ? If veiled, everyone would want to
give the poor sufferers a hand; bare-headed,
well you would merely hand yourselves over to
justice."

" HERE'S a better plan", I rejoined. " We'll
take our lives in our hands, swarm down the

COUNSELS OF DESPAIR 151

stern-cable into the dinghy (1), cut the painter,
and put our trust in providence. I don't ask
Eumolpus to share the risk : there's no sense
in making an innocent man put his neck in
another man's noose. If we have the luck to
get clear down the rope, that's good enough
for me".

" Not a bad scheme", rejoined Eumolpus, " if
you could guarantee the first step. But some-
body's bound to see you as you go. The man
at the rudder will catch you, anyhow ; he's
awake all night and he mustn't miss even the
rising and setting of the stars. You might
conceivably elude his sleepless watch, supposing
you could slip away by another part of the
ship; as it is you are compelled to slide down
at the stern, past the very tiller, because it is
thereabouts that the painter runs which hauls
the skiff in tow. And what' s more, Encolpius,
I'm amazed at your forgetting that there's one
sailor continually on duty, day and night, lying
in the skiff; you couldn't get rid of him except
by cutting his throat or heaving him overboard
by force. Whether you could accomplish a
daring deed like this, ask yourselves ! Now as
regards my sharing the risk, I shun no risk
where there's the least hope of safety. Besides,
I don't suppose that even you are prepared to
risk your necks in a vain attempt as though
they were worth nothing."

" Now attend, and see whether you agree to
this. I will throw you into two leather bags —
here they are — tie you in with leather thongs,
and keep you as baggage among my personal
effects. I'll keep the mouths open just a little

152 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

to give you space for breathing and getting
food. Then at night I will raise a shout that
my two slaves, afraid of an extra severe punish-
ment, have thrown themselves into the sea.
Subsequently when we reach port, I will have
you carted off the ship, as baggage, and no
one will suspect."

" And so", I retorted, " you propose to tie us
up like a lot of gold pieces (2), as though we
were people whose insides never give them a
pain ?— as though we were fellows who never
need to sneeze or snore ? I admit this kind of
trick served me well on one occasion (3). But
suppose we manage to stand the confinement
for one day; what's going to happen if we are
becalmed, or meet a head wind ? What are
we going to do then ? Clothes that are wrap-
ped up too long get creased ; if you tie up
papers they get crumpled. We are both mere
boys, who have so far escaped hardship ; shall
we endure ropes and packing like a pair of
statues ? (4)

" No, we have yet to discover the way to
safety. Listen to my new idea ! Eumolpus,
being a literary gent, of course brought ink (5)
with him. Very well, with its assistance we'll
dye ourselves all over, from head to foot. Then
in the role of Ethiopian slaves we'll attend you
cheerfully without risk of the lash, and delude
our enemies with our false complexions."

Gito sneered : " W^hy not circumcise us as well,
so that they'll take us for Jews (6) ; pierce the
lobes of our ears, and we'll look like Arabs (6) ;
chalk our faces, and Gaul will greet us as her
offspring (6)? As though the mere colour would

COUNSELS OF DESPAIR 153

make a complete disguise! — as though a really
complete make-up didn't require all sorts of
corroborative detail ! Just imagine an ink-
blackened face keeping its colour for any length
of time! The least sprinkle of water would
cause a smear on our bodies ; our clothes would
get stuck with the ink; why it often congeals
even when there's no gum in it. Do you suggest
we can puff out our lips in a disgusting pout
like the Ethiopians ? (6) — frizz up our hair with
curling-tongues? (7) — plough up our foreheads
with scars (8) — make ourselves bow-legged ? —
cause our anklebones to touch the ground ? (9) —
adopt a heathenish style of beard? Artificial
colour doesn't change the body: it only makes
it dirty."

" I'll tell you the counsel of despair which
occurs to me. Let's wrap our cloaks round our
heads and take a header into the sea."

CHAPTER CIII
WE ARE DISGUISED AS SLAVES

" HEAVEN and earth forbid!" cried Eumolpus.
" You mustn't shuffle off in a cowardly way like
that! (1) You'd be far better to try this scheme of
mine. My valet, as you saw by his razor (2),
is a barber: let him, without delay, shave you
both clean — not only your heads, but even your
eyebrows (3). I'll follow it up by marking your
polls with the proper sign so that people will
think you've been branded as a punishment.
This stamp will have the double effect of choking
off awkward questions and concealing your faces
beneath the dark shadow of disgrace (4).

154 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

This trick was promptly put into practice.
\Ve crossed cautiously to the rails and sub-
mitted ourselves bare-headed, eyebrows and all,
to the barber's razor. Eumolpus then covered
the brows of both of us with great big letters,
and with an ungrudging hand traced the well-
know badge of the run-away all over our faces.

It chanced that one of the passengers was
leaning against the side, consigning his dinner to
the deep by the light of the moon, and was
horrified to discern our barber plying his trade
at this preposterous hour; he cursed the evil
omen, because it suggested the final offering of
ship-wrecked sailors, and tumbled into his bunk (5).
\Ve took no notice of the sick fool's imprecation,
resumed our melancholy job, retired to bed without
a sound, and spent the remaining hours of the
night in troubled slumber.

[Next day, directly Eumolpus heard that Try-
phaena was up and dressed, he entered Lichas'
cabin; there after a few remarks on the prosperous
voyage which was promised by the calmness of
the sky, Lichas turned to Tryphaena, and this
was what he said:—]

CHAPTER CIV
WE ARE THE VICTIMS OF DREAMS

"IN the dead of night I dreamed that Priapus
said to me : ' Regarding the man Encolpius whom
you want to lay hands on— I beg to inform you
that I have lured him on to your ship!'"

Tryphaena shuddered : " You might think we'd
shared the same cabin I For I dreamed that the

WE ARE THE VICTIMS OF DREAMS 155

Neptune which I saw in the Hall of the Four
Columns at Baiae (1) told me that I should
find Gito aboard Lichas' ship."

" That proves ", said Eumolpus, " that Epi-
curus (2) is a god among man : look how bril-
liantly he ridicules follies of this kind.

[Those dreams which trick the mind -with fleeting shades
Come not from sacred shrines nor gods on high.
Each makes them for himself. When slumber holds
Our limbs relaxed, the brain is free to roam,
Rehearsing what was done by day; the general then
\Vho sacks the city, gives poor towns to flame,
Sees swords and stricken fields and slaughtered kings
And battlefields a-wash with streaming blood.
The learned counsel dreams of briefs and courts,
The surging throng before the awful judge.
The miser hugs his wealth and digs up gold.
The huntsman scours the glade. The captain brings
His ship to port, or rides its upturned keel.
The mistress pens a note : the spouse runs wild.
The hound in dreams still tracks the hare to earth,
And sick men feel their wounds the whole night long.

Lichas was not diverted by this device.] He
first exorcised Tryphaena's dream, and then
remarked : " W^ell, there's nothing to prevent
our searching the ship; we daren't appear to
disregard the finger of providence."

The fellow who had caught us at our midnight
practices — a man called Hesus — suddenly cried
out : " I say, who were those men who last
night had themselves shaved by moonlight — and,
upon my soul, an evil trick it was too! For
they say that no living man has a right to cut
his nails or his hair on a ship; that is, unless
the wind is blowing a hurricane."

156 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

CHAPTER CV
WE ARE DISCOVERED AND FORGIVEN

LICHAS went white with anxiety at this news.
"\Vhatl", he bellowed; "you don't say that
somebody aboard this ship has had a crop, and
at midnight too ? Haul the villains aft at once,
so that I may know whose blood I must shed
to purify the vessel!"

" I am the culprit ", said Eumolpus. " Though
I was to cross the sea in the same vessel with
them I took no auspices ; but, as they had long
shaggy hair, not wanting to appear to turn the
ship into a common gaol, I just ordered the
villains to have their hair cropped (1). Also, I
wanted to make quite sure that the marks of
the letters should not be all concealed under the
shadow of their hair, but should be plain for
all to read. Among other sins, they spent my
savings in the house of one of their lady friends ;
only the night before I dragged them out soaked
in wine and perfume. I assure you they still
reek of the remains of my fortune."

Lichas was satisfied, but, with a view to
appeasing the ship's guardian angel, he decided
all the same to give us forty stripes a-piece.
This sentence was put into execution without
loss of time; the angry sailors rushed up to us
•with a cat-o'-nine-tails, and did their best to
soothe the deity with our humble blood. I
swallowed three doses like a true-blue Spartan (2).
But the first cut drew such a heart-rending yell
from Gito that his familiar accents echoed in

WE ARE DISCOVERED 157

Tryphaena's ear. Nor was her ladyship alone
startled. All her maids at the sound of the
well-known voice rushed pell-mell towards the
victim. But Gito's beautiful figure had already
disarmed the sailors, and had actually begun to
make its silent appeal against their brutality;
and then the maids cried out in chorus:

" Gito ! It's Gito ! Hold your cruel hands !
It's Gito, my Lady; help! help!"

Tryphaena listened; and then, convinced by
the evidence of her own ears, she swooped
upon the boy with a rush.

Lichas, who had good reason to know me,
ran forward as if he too had recognized a voice
he knew. He had no need to scan my features
or look at my hands; he just stared steadily at
my body, put his hand out, and said " Encolpius,
shake ! " And, after this, will anyone be surprised
that after twenty years' absence Ulysses' old
nurse knew him at once by a scar (3), when this
smart fellow, in spite of every line of form and
feature being transmogrified, went straight to
the run-away's one unmistakable feature.

Tryphaena wept copiously, quite taken in by
the marks of punishment — for she quite thought
that the branding on our foreheads was genuine ;
and proceeded sympathetically to inquire what
slave-prison had laid us by the heel, and who
had been heartless enough to lay such brutal
hands on us, although as run-aways, she admitted,
we had deserved some mark of disgrace for
quarrelling with her kindness to us.

158 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

CHAPTER CVI

TRYPH^ENA ABETS LICHAS IN
HIS CRUELTY

HER dullness made Lichas furious. He leapt
forward and said : " You stupid female ! As
though these letters were really branded into
their skin with proper scars. I wish they had
really had their foreheads disfigured with this
legend: we should at least have some dregs of
consolation. At it is, we have been swindled by
a cunning mummery and taken in by an inscription
in burnt cork." (1)

Tryphaena was determined to be merciful — she
had not lost all her pleasure in Gito ! — but Lichas
had not forgotten his wife's disloyalty and the
indignities which he had suffered in the Hercules
portico. His face was convulsed with indignation
and he cried : " You have realised, I suppose,
my dear Tryphaena, that the immortal gods take
care of human affairs. For they have lured these
villains aboard our boat unawares, and by a pair
of precisely similar dreams they warned us of
what they had done. So you see it is out of
the question to let off persons whom a god has
delivered over to punishment. For my own part,
I am not a brute, but I am afraid of suffering
the very penalty I ought to impose."

This superstitious argument brought Tryphaena
round, and she assured him that she had no
desire to interfere with the punishment; nay,
rather, she was prepared for a condign penalty.
She professed herself quite as much wronged

EUMOLPUS IS COUNSEL 159

as Lichas, inasmuch as her maiden modesty had
been dragged publicly through the mire.

As soon as Lichas saw that she saw eye-to-eye
with him and was in favour of punishing us, he
increased our sentence.

Eumolpus, seeing how things were going, set
to work to appease his wrath.

CHAPTER CVII

EUMOLPUS IS COUNSEL FOR THE
DEFENCE

[" THESE unhappy men", he began " whose
whole lives are to be sacrificed to your ven-
geance, implore your clemency, Lichas,] and
they have selected me, a man not altogether
unknown to fame, to plead for them, urging me
to restore the old ties of friendship. You can
scarcely suppose that these young fellows have
stumbled blindly into this snare : the very first
question a passenger asks is : ' W^ho is the man
into whose care I am trusting myself?' Very
well; your minds must find satisfaction in this
fact; you must relent. Permit two free and
independent citizens to proceed in peace to the
goal of their desire. Harsh and inexorable
masters check their cruel impulses, if so be the
run-aways repent and return home; when foes
surrender, we show mercy (1). AVhat else do
you seek ; what would you have ? There, before
your eyes, they lie imploring mercy— young
fellows of respectable family and blameless
character, and — what is still more important —
bound to you of old by the closest ties of

160 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

friendship. If, my dear sir, they had embezzled (2)
your money — if they had basely betrayed the
trust you reposed in them— even so you might
well have been content with the punishment you
see before you. Look, there on their brows you
see the badge of slavery; behold them, free
men though they are, with their faces branded
voluntarily with the emblem of the deserter!"

At this point Lichas interrupted his appeal
for mercy.

" Don't confuse the issue", he said. " Stick
close to the facts. And, to begin with, if they
came aboard deliberately, why have they cut
all the hair off their heads? The man who
disguises himself is out to deceive, not to make
reparation. In the second place, if their plan
was to win favour by means of your good offices,
why did you take every possible step to stow
your clients safely away? There's no manner
of doubt that the scoundrels did stumble into
a trap, and that you have devised a trick to
protect them from the fury of our wrath. As
to your attempt to put us in the wrong by
talking loud about 'good family', 'birth', and
' men of honour', be careful you don't spoil your
case by piling it on too thick. If a party has
been injured, what is he to do when the accused
runs his head into the noose? You tell me we
used to be friends; well, so much the more do
they deserve punishment. The man who wrongs
a stranger is called a thief: he who robs his
friends is only one degree better than a par-
ricide."

Eumolpus soon knocked the bottom out of
this partisan speech. " I observe", he argued,

EUMOLPUS FOR THE DEFENCE 161

" that the chief point against these unhappy
youths is the fact that they had their hair cut
at night. On this showing, it is claimed that
their coming aboard was accidental, not deliber-
ate. With your kind attention, I will frankly
set forth the plain, simple fact. They intended,
before they came aboard, to relieve their heads
of a tiresome, unnecessary weight. The wind,
however, sprang up earlier than they expected,
and they had to postpone the carrying out of
their plan. It never entered their heads that
it mattered when they executed their intention,
once having made up their minds : naturally they
knew nothing about an omen or sailormen's law."
" Yes", said Lichas, " but what was the point
of shaving themselves clean to sue for pardon?
Unless, perhaps, bald men (3) as a rule excite
compassion more readily. But anyhow what's
the idea of getting at the facts through an inter-
preter? Tell me that, you thief! What sala-
mander (4) has scorched away your eyebrows ?
To what deity have you vowed your hair?
Answer me that, you poison-monger!"

CHAPTER CVIII

THE BATTLE AND THE TERMS
OF PEACE

I HAD been struck dumb with the fear of
imminent torture, and I hadn't a word to say, the
case being so clear against us : I was hopelessly
upset with shame at my shorn head, my eyebrows
being as bald as my forehead, with the result that
any word or deed would have seemed indecent.

11

162 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

\Vorse still, however, when a damp sponge
had washed away the tear-stains, and the ink
spread over my face had blotted out every
feature with a sort of sooty pall — indignation
changed to open hostility (1). Eumolpus swore
he would not allow anyone against the law of
heaven and earth to defile free-born Romans,
and backed up his protest against their savage
threats with his fists. His intervention was
supported by his hired man and also by one or
two puny passengers, who acted rather as
sympathizers in the case than actual helpers.
I uttered no plea on my own behalf, but I shook
my fist in Tryphsena's face and shouted in loud
ringing tones that I would use my strength
against her, unless she let Gito go scot-free —
shameless baggage that she was, the only one
on the whole ship who deserved the lash.

This rash declaration inflamed Lichas' wrath
more and more; he was furious that I should
disregard my own troubles, and fight so hard
for another. Tryphsena was no less wild at my
insult. All on board split up into two opposing
factions. On our side the valet distributed his
tools between us, himself armed to the teeth;
on the other, Tryphaena's maids pulled up their
sleeves and showed their claws. Not even the
screaming maid-servants shunned the fray. The
pilot alone stayed at his post, though with threats
that he would leave his job, if the bedlam stirred
up by the rascally scum were not stopped. The
fury of the combatants was no whit cooled by
this threat; for they were fighting for revenge,
we for our very lives. There were many
casualties— not fatal! — on either side; several,

THE TERMS OF PEACE 163

streaming with blood, gave ground just as though
in battle, and yet not a soul slackened in fury.
Then Gito, like the hero he was, held a razor
close to his body and swore to do away with the
cause of all our troubles. Thereupon Tryphaena
interrupted this awful deed by an unmistakeable
sign of relenting. Several times I threatened
my throat with the barber's blade, but without
any more intention of committing suicide than
Gito had of carrying out his threat (2). His
pantomime was, however, much more realistic,
because he knew he had the same razor as that
with which he cut his throat before.

And so, as neither army would give way, it
became clear that the strife was to be no
common-place affair. The pilot, therefore, with
great difficulty, like a herald with a flag of
truce (3), prevailed upon Tryphaena to offer an
armistice. A truce being offered and accepted,
Tryphaena plucked an olive branch from the
guardian deity of the vessel (4), and, holding it
aloft, boldly advanced to a parley.

"\Vhat insanity is this", she cried, "that turns our

peace to war?

Wliat wickedness has brought about this fray?
No Trojan hero on this ship, as Paris did of yore,

The spouse of wronged Atrides bears away (5).
No mad Medea sails with us, who shed her brother's

blood (6),

Tis injured love that makes the battle rage!
W^ho calls this vengeance on my head amid the vasty flood ?

\Vhose wrath one murdered soul cannot assuage?
Ah, do not ye surpass the sea in cruelty, I pray,
Nor higher urge the waves that surge about our ship
this day!"

164 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

CHAPTER CIX
A TREATY IS ARRANGED

\VHEN the lady poured out this appeal in an
excited tone, the battle paused for a while; we
held our hands, and hostilities were suspended.
Our leader Eumolpus seized the moment of repen-
tance, and, after giving Lichas a regular dressing-
down, he sealed the articles of peace, the terms
being as follows : (1)

* Upon your solemn oath, you, Tryphaena, pro-
mise not to put in any further claim for damages
against Gito, and, whatsoever wrong he has com-
mitted prior to this day, you pledge yourself not
to take action or seek redress or in any other
way whatsoever take proceeding against him;
and you undertake not to exact from him, save
with his full consent, any demonstration of af-
fection, of whatsoever description, unless for each
such demonstration you shall have first paid down
to him in hard cash the sum of £ 3 sterling."

" Likewise, Lichas, upon your solemn oath, you
agree not to persecute Encolpius — by the use
either of improper language or of unseemly glance;
nor will you seek him out by night: for every
violation of this agreement you shall on each and
every such occasion forfeit the sum of £ 6 in
hard cash."

On these terms we shook hands and laid down
our arms, and, lest any lingering ill-feeling should
survive in our minds after the oath, we wiped
out past injuries with mutual kisses. Amid general
congratulations our hatred died down, and the

A TREATY IS ARRANGED 165

arrival of breakfast, which the battle had post-
poned, united us all on terms of boisterous
geniality. The whole ship rang with our cho-
ruses, and, as it happened that a sudden calm
had left us motionless, some of us triumphantly
caught fish with three-pronged spears (2), while
others lured the struggling prey with succulent
bait by hook and line.

Moreover, sea-birds perched on the yards, and
these a cunning fowler touched with plaited
rods (3); the birds became entangled in the withies
which were smeared with bird-lime, and were
so brought within our reach. The breeze tossed
the floating feathers, and the down swirled in
the eddies of the frothing foam.

By this time Lichas had begun to seek my good
graces again; already Tryphaena was sprinkling
Gito with the last drops from her wine-glass (4).
Eumolpus, himself quite mellow, tried to crack
cheap jokes about bald heads and branding-
irons, but finally, getting tired of these vapid
criticisms, he fell back on his favourite poetry
and recited the following (5) :

ODE TO A SHAVEN POLL

My solitary charm is gone<— my hair!

My locks the cruel winter's frost has nipped,
My brows robbed of their shade are sad and bare,

My head's a wide expanse all smooth and stripped.
Ah, treacherous nature ! all that makes life gay
Thou'rt first to give, and first to take away.

Poor little fellow, how pretty you were

With your sleek little locks of gold!
Apollo was never so passing fair,

And his sister was quite in the cold (6).

166 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

But now you're as smooth as a mushroom top (7)

Or a bell— and you hide your pate
From the ribald maidens who seek to stop

You, and jeer at your hairless state.
But poor little fellow, to ease your grief,

I can prove that you'll soon be dead :
For you know, if it gives you the smallest relief,

That you've lost a good part of your head!"

CHAPTER CX

WE DON WIGS: EUMOLPUS BEGINS
A STORY

HE was quite prepared to follow this up, I
expect, with even more fatuous rhymes, when
one of Tryphaena's maids led Gito down below,
and adorned the boy's head with an elaborate vine-
leaf transformation belonging to her mistress (1).
She even produced a pair of eyebrows from a
toilet-box, and, cunningly following the lines of
his lost beauty, she gave him a life-like make-up.
Tryphaena at once recognized the true Gito, and
bursting into tears for the first time gave the
boy a good hearty kiss. For my part, though
I -was delighted to see him restored to his old
beauty, I was constrained to keep my face
concealed, realizing that my disfigurement was
no trifling deformity, in-as-much as not even Lichas
would condescend to talk to me. But the very
same maid found a cure for my melancholy by
taking me aside and providing me with a no less
becoming coiffure; in point of fact, my charms
were rather enhanced, because mine was an
auburn wig.

Eumolpus, though his poetry was forbidden,

THE MATRON OF EPHESUS 167

in virtue of having been counsel for the defence
and the promoter of our present harmony, was
determined that the general cheerfulness should
not flag for want of a few stories; so he began
on a series of yarns at the expense of women's
frailty. He illustrated the ease with which they
fell in love, their capacity for forgetting even
their own sons, and averred that no woman is
moral enough to abstain from promiscuous liai-
sons. He assured us he was not going by old-
fashioned melodramas or the stock characters in
history; his own experience was ample proof,
and he offered to tell us all about it if we liked.
The whole company thereupon fixed their eyes
and ears upon him and this is how he began: —

CHAPTER CXI

THE STORY OF THE MATRON OF
EPHESUS (1)

" ONCE upon a time there lived at Ephesus a
certain matron whose virtue was so celebrated
that it even attracted ladies from the surrounding
districts who desired to gaze upon her. This
lady, having buried her husband, was not content
with accompanying the cortege in the ordinary
way with her hair dishevelled, or with beating
her naked breast in the sight of all men; she
actually followed the corpse into the mausoleum,
and, when the coffin had been deposited in a
vault according to the Greek custom, she pro-
ceeded to watch the body and weep over it
for whole days and nights (2). In fact, she was
wearing herself out and starving herself to death,

168 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

but neither parents nor relatives could prevail
on her to withdraw; last of all the magistrates
were snubbed and gave it up, and this astonishing
pearl among women, amid the lamentations of
every soul in Ephesus was already enduring
the fifth day of her fast. By her side sat a
faithful handmaiden shedding tear for tear with
her failing mistress, and renewing the light that
stood in the tomb as often as it showed signs
of going out. Throughout the city from end to
end the folk had but one subject of conversation ;
they all averred, high and low alike, that this
was the one shining example of wifely virtue
and affection in all their experience.

" This was the position when the provincial
governor gave orders that some free-booters
should be crucified quite near the little building
in which the matron was bewailing her dead.
So, on the next night the sentry, who was
guarding the crosses to prevent anyone from
carrying them off for burial, happening to notice
a light burning with unexpected brilliance amid
the tombs, and hearing the long-drawn sigh as
of one mourning, with a weakness common to
mankind, was full of curiosity as to who and
what it might be. So he climbed down into
the vault, and at the first shock was petrified
at the spectacle of a lovely woman, as though
he had seen a bogey or a vision of the under-
world. Afterwards, observing the corpse laidrout
and considering the lady's tears and the cheeks
which her nails had torn, he arrived at a clear
idea of the facts, namely that the lady's grief
for her loss "was too great to be borne. He
therefore fetched his supper into the sepulchre

THE MATRON OF EPHESUS 169

and proceeded to exhort the mourner not to
persevere in her useless grief, nor rend her heart
in twain with unavailing sobs. The same fate
awaited all men, he said, the very same last
home; and he dragged out all the conventional
consolations which are supposed to heal the
lacerated hearts of the bereaved. But the lady,
upset by the sympathy of a stranger, only rent
her bosom more fiercely, tore her hair and flung
it over the corpse of the dead. The soldier,
however, stuck to his point — and his consolations,
trying to tempt the good lady with dainty morsels,
until at last the maid, lured by the seductive
odour of the wine, first held out her own hand
in response to the soldier's courteous invitation.
" Revived by the liquid, she too began to
lay siege to her mistress's fortress with food,
crying: '^Vhat will it avail you, if you starve
yourself to death; if you bury yourself alive* — 'if,
before your hour has struck, you give up the
ghost before the judgment?

'Dost think the ashes, or the buried dead, can feel?' (3)

Ah, please come back to life ! Won't you give
up your wifely folly and, while you may, enjoy
the light of day? Surely the body of the dead
should bid you live!'

" No one turns a deaf ear when bidden to
eat or go on living (4). And so the lady, famished
with her few days' fasting, suffered her deter-
mination to be overborne, and refreshed herself
with the food no less greedily than the maid
who had given in first."

170 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

CHAPTER CXII
HOW THE LADY FELL IN LOVE

" BUT everybody knows the temptation that
comes to those who are well-lined. The very
same blandishments with which he had lured the
poor widow back to life he employed to win her
affection. The stalwart youth was not lacking
in comeliness in her modest eye, nor yet in
persuasiveness, and the maid pleaded his suit
and finally quoted

' Surely thou will not fight

Against thy heart? Nay, dost thou not perceive
In \vhose fair lands thou art?" (1)

" Wliy prolong the story ? Not even this
persuasion did the lady resist; the triumphant
warrior made her eat — and love ! So they spent
the night together, nor that night only when they
plighted their troth, but on the next night and
the next. Of course they kept the door of the
vault bolted and barred so that if any casual
person, stranger or friend, came near the sepul-
chre, he would assume that the loyal spouse had
fallen dead across her husband's body. The
soldier, charmed by the lady's beauty and his
delightful secret, purchased any little offering he
could afford, and carried it to the tomb as soon
as evening fell.

" The consequence was that the parents of one
of the crucified robbers, seeing that the vigilance
of the watch had been relaxed, took down the
body by night and performed the last rites over

HOW THE LADY FELL IN LOVE 171

it (2). Thus over-reached through his own dere-
liction from duty, the soldier, on seeing next day
that one corpse was missing, was terrified by
the prospect of punishment, and told the whole
story to the lady : he swore that he could not
wait to be sentenced, but would wreak punish-
ment on his folly with his own sword. And so
he begged her to prepare a place for his body
and allow the vault to be the final home of her
lover as well as of her husband. She, however,
was as soft-hearted as she was virtuous.

" ' Nay ', she cried, ' heaven forbid that at the
same time I should watch the bodies of the two
dearest men in the world ! Rather would I that
the dead should hang than send a living man to
his death/

" \Vith these words she bade him raise her
husband's corpse from its shell and place it on
the vacant cross. The soldier jumped at the
scheme propounded by the ingenious lady, and
next day everybody was asking how on earth
the dead man had climbed on to the cross."

CHAPTER CXIII

WE ARE SURFEITED WITH
FRIENDLINESS

THE sailors were convulsed by this story, while
Tryphaena blushed to the roots of her hair, and
hid her face affectionately on Gito's shoulder.
But Lichas was not amused ! He shook his head
angrily saying : " If the general had done his
duty, he would have had the husband's body
restored to the tomb, and the wife crucified." (1)

172 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

It was obvious that his thoughts had recurred
to Hedyle, the pillaged ship, and the shameless
escape (2). But the terms of the agreement for-
bade him to mention them, and, besides, the
general atmosphere of good-fellowship left no
room for ill-temper. Tryphsena, moreover, lolling
in Gito's arms, alternately covered his neck with
kisses and stroked his poor shaven brow.

I was too gloomy and annoyed by the renewal
of friendly relations to eat or drink : I glowered
at them both sideways with angry eyes. Every
kiss \vas a stab, and all the coaxing tricks which
the abandoned woman devised. I couldn't yet
decide whether I was more enraged with the
boy for stealing my sweetheart, or with her for
leading the boy astray. Both these thoughts were
torture to me, far harder to bear than the cap-
tivity we had escaped. The climax of my misery
was that Tryphaena, on the one hand, never
addressed me like a friend and a lover of days
gone by, while Gito neither deigned to vouchsafe
me a casual toast (3) nor paid me the bare
courtesy of exchanging a word. I suppose he
was afraid, in the first stages of reviving good-
feeling, of re-opening the old wound. And so
tears of misery overflowed my breast, and a sob,
which I hastily turned into a sigh, almost suffo-
cated me.

[Depressed though I was, my auburn wig evi-
dently enhanced my personal charms, for Lichas,
like Tryphaena, in a fresh access of affection,
began to make eyes at me, trying to lure me
into the old relation.]

And he didn't assume the r61e of a master to
a slave, but treated me just like an equal, and

WHEELS WITHIN WHEELS 173

kept up his vain attempts for quite a long time.
[At last, receiving an uncompromising " No ", he
swung round and lost his temper, trying to extort
consent by violence. At this stage Tryphaena
unexpectedly came right in and saw his disgraceful
behaviour. He was much upset, pulled himself
together, and bolted. Thereupon Tryphaena, stir-
red by her rising passions, cried out : " Wliat's
the meaning of Lichas' rough behaviour?"

I was forced to explain. She, becoming still
more amorous, and remembering our old intimacy,
urged me to resume our friendship. But I was
thoroughly fagged out, and spurned her coaxing.
But she was not to be denied. She leapt upon
me with a passionate embrace and held me so
tightly that I uttered a sudden cry. Thereupon
one of her maids rushed in and jumped to the
natural conclusion that I was trying to extort
the favour which I was really trying to avoid,
leapt upon us, and pulled us apart. Tryphaena,
savage at the way I had repulsed her lascivious
advanced, looked coldly upon me, and with renewed
threats dashed off to Lichas to inflame his wrath
against me, so that they could both wreak ven-
geance upon me.

You will recollect, however, that, in the days
when I was on friendly terms with her mistress,
I had been quite a hero to this maid, and so
she was immensely pained at catching me with
Tryphaena, and deep sobs rent her bosom, the
cause of which I earnestly inquired. The girl
hesitated and then burst out :] " If you have a
drop of decent blood in your veins, you "will
treat her as a bad woman ; if you're a real man
you won't touch the vile creature."

These words gave me the most acute uneasiness.

Wliat chiefly horrified me was the thought
that Eumolpus had possibly got wind of the
whole business, and that this satirist would
avenge my supposed wrongs in verse. [His
pungent wit would assuredly have made me look
ridiculous, and the very idea made me tremble.
As I was pondering over ways and means of
preventing it reaching Kumolpus' ears, behold
the very man approached me, evidently not
ignorant of what had happened; for Tryphaena
had retailed the whole story to Gito, and had
tried to get compensation for my callous repulse
at my young friend's expense. This made
Eumolpus white with rage, more especially
because her unseemly behaviour was an open
violation of the solemn covenant. \Vhen the old
fellow saw me bewailing my hard lot, he bade
me to tell him the story in detail. I thereupon,
seeing that he already knew a good deal, gave
him a frank account of Lichas' brutal assault
and Tryphaena's disgraceful proceedings. There-
upon Eumolpus swore a solemn, formal oath,
that he would set us right, and the gods were
too just to allow all these evil deeds to go
unpunished.]

CHAPTER CXIV
WE ARE TOSSED BY A STORM

EVEN while we were talking the matter over,
the sea grew rough; clouds gathered all over
the sky, and blotted out the day. The frightened
sailors rushed to their posts, and shortened sail

WE ARE TOSSED BY A STORM 175

before the storm. But the gale had driven the
waves in wild confusion, and the steersman was
wholly at a loss about our course (1). One
moment the wind was carrying us towards
Sicily; but most often the north wind from the
Italian shore laid hold of the hapless boat and
drove her hither and thither. Moreover, what
was more perilous than any tempest, the thick
darkness that had gathered in an instant had
left us groping in the gloom, so that the steersman
could not even see the length of the bows. And
so — astounding as it seems — the moment the storm
gathered (2), Lichas in a blind terror came to
me with outstretched hands, crying : " Save us,
Encolpius, in our peril; give back to the ship
the goddess's cloak which you stole, and her
sacred rattle. Have pity, I implore you; you
•were always a good fellow ! "

But, in the midst of his cry, the wind hurled
him into the sea; he was swallowed in the
swirling waves, and the storm tossed him hither
and thither and engulfed him. Forthwith the
faithful slaves laid hold on Tryphaena, bundled
her into the skiff with the bulk of her possessions,
and saved her from certain death. Thereupon
I flung myself on Gito's neck in floods of
tears.

"Is this", I cried, "what we have deserved
of the gods that they should unite us only in
our death? Nay, even this boon cruel fortune
withholds. See, in an instant the waves will
overturn the ship ! See, in a single moment the
angry sea will tear our loving embrace asunder !
If ever you cared for Encolpius, embrace me,
while you may; snatch this last joy from the

176 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

impending fates." As I spoke, Gito tore off his
tunic, crept under my cloak, and held up his
face for me to kiss; and, lest a more jealous
wave should tear us asunder, he slipped his
belt (3) round us both and tied us together.

" If it does nothing else ", he ended, " it will
force the sea to bear us together for a little
longer. Nay, if it has any pity, and has the
grace to fling us on the same shore, either some
passer-by in common humanity will give us
burial, or— a last chance*— though the waves rage
against us, the sand which knows nothing may
cover us up together."

I submit to this last constraint, and, like one
laid out on his death-bed, I await the end
which now has no terrors for me. And all
the time the tempest is obedient to the decrees
of fate; it carries by storm all that remains of
the ship : not a mast is left, the steering-gear
is gone; not a rope, not an oar remains; but
the ship like a hulk of clumsy untrimmed timber
wallows in the waves. Fishermen dart from
the shore, their little boats riding easily, bent
on salvage; but, seeing people aboard prepared
to defend their property, they change their
cruel purpose and come to the rescue.

CHAPTER CXV
THE POET IN DISTRESS

SUDDENLY we hear a curious growling, away
under the captain's cabin (1), as of a wild beast
struggling to get free. Thereupon we rushed
in the direction of the noise, and, behold, we

THE POET IN DISTRESS 177

find Eumolpus piling up verses on a huge piece
of parchment (2). Astounded that he had leisure
on the very threshold of death for composing
poetry, -we dragged him out protesting, and
urged him not to be a fool. But he went white
with rage at the interruption.

" Permit me to complete my theme", he shouted;
" the poem is struggling on the verge of com-
pletion!"

I laid hands on the lunatic, and bade Gito
lend a hand and help me drag the bellowing
poet to land. \Vhen we had achieved our pur-
pose with great labour, we crawled in a pitiful
condition to a fisherman's hut, and, having re-
freshed ourselves as best we could with some
food that was sodden in sea-water, we passed
the night in a condition of abject misery.

Next morning we were discussing our position,
and considering what direction (3) we had best
take, when suddenly I caught sight of a man's
body floating on a smooth breaker and drifting
to the beach. I halted with a sigh, and began
with swelling tears to ponder over the treachery
of the sea.

" Perchance", I remarked, " in some corner of
the earth a wife awaits this man, unconscious
of his fate ; perchance a son or father, knowing
nothing of the tempest. At all events he left
some person behind, to whom he gave a parting
kiss. Behold the vanity of mortal plans ; behold
the outcome of their vaulting hopes 1 Poor mortal,
look how he drifts about!"

Till then I was mourning a stranger's corpse.
But suddenly the wave rolled landwards a face
unmarked by the sea, and lo! I recognized

12

178 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

Lichas, a few hours ago so fierce and inexorable,
tossed up almost at my feet. Then indeed I
could restrain my tears no longer. Nay, I smote
my breast time and again with my hands, and
cried : " AVhere now is your angry heart ? \Vhere
now your untamed spirit? Verily, you are a
prey to fishes and wild beasts; but yesterday
you were boasting of your high authority ; to-day
you are a ship-wrecked sailor; and of your
lordly ship, not even one timber remains."

" Go then poor mortals 1 Fill your souls with
soaring plans. Go, in the pride of your prudence,
and lay out for a thousand years the wealth you
stole by trickery 1 Verily, this man only yesterday
counted up his wealth ; verily he even fixed the
very day when he would land at home again.
Ye gods and goddesses, how far from his goal
he lies 1 It is not only the seas that play these
tricks on men. One man is ruined in the pride
of his arms ; another while he is sacrificing to the
gods is buried in the ruins of his home ; another
is flung headlong from his coach and breathes
his last. Food chokes the greedy; moderation
the abstemious. Add up the sum exactly and
you find shipwreck everywhere.

But, you say, the man who is drowned at sea
is deprived of burial. As though it mattered one
whit what form of dissolution awaits the doomed
body, whether fire, or the sea, or slow decay!
Do what you will, all ways reach the same goal.

You tell me wild beasts will rend his limbs.
As though the fire would treat them more kindly :
nay we regard this very death as the most cruel
punishment of all when we are enraged with our
slaves. \Vhat folly it is, therefore, to take such

WE APPROACH CROTON 179

pains lest any part of us should lack burial, when
the Fates settle it all over our heads !" (4)

I finished my reflections, and then we performed
the last rites over the body; and thus Lichas
burned to ashes on a pyre built by the hands of
his foes, while Eumolpus, with his eyes searching
the distant horizon for inspiration, composed his
epitaph.

CHAPTER CXVI

WE APPROACH CROTON AND LEARN
THE SORT OF PLACE IT IS

THIS mournful task willingly accomplished, we
set forth on the route we had chosen, and in a
brief space we stood sweating on the top of a
hill, from which we descried not far away a town
perched high up on a cliff. Not knowing the
district, we had no idea what town it was, until
we learned from a rustic that it was Croton, a
city of high antiquity, at one time the chief city
in Italy. We hastened to inquire what kind of
men inhabited such a superb site, and what kind
of business they specially affected now that their
prosperity had been diminishedby so many wars.(l)
"Strangers", was the reply, "if you are just
honest tradespeople, abandon your present goal
and seek some other means to keep the wolf from
the door. But if you belong to the upper tenth
and don't mind telling lies all day long, you are
making a bee-line to wealth. For in yonder city
they have no love for literature ; eloquence is at
a discount; sobriety and righteousness win neither
praise nor profit. Any men you see in that town

180 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

you may be sure belong to one of two classes — •
legacy-leavers and legacy-hunters (2). In this city
no man brings up sons, because anyone "who has
heirs is refused admission to banquets and public
shows ; he is deprived of all advantages, and has
to herd with the lower classes. But those who
have never married and possess no near relatives,
these are the men who reach the top of the tree.
That is to say, they alone hold military office;
they alone are regarded as valiant or even honest.
You are in fact", he concluded, " approaching a
city which resembles a plague-stricken area in
which there is nothing but corpses which are
mauled and the carrion that mauls them."

CHAPTER CXVII

WE PREPARE FOR OUR VISIT TO THE
CITY OF LEGACY-HUNTERS

EUMOLPUS, being more a man of the world,
pondered over this strange social phenomenon,
and confessed that this system of getting rich(l)
did not displease him. I supposed the old gentle-
man was jesting with a poet's licence. But he
retorted : " Not at all. I only wish I had a more
elaborate stage (2), I mean a more respectable
costume, a more prosperous-looking kit that would
lend colour to the lie. By Jove 1 I wouldn't go
on with that wallet of yours : I would guide you
right away to a mine of gold. Nay, on my word
of honour, I promise anything that my partner
in crime might ask for. — always providing the
costume was pleasing — and any prize which
Lycurgus' estate had put into our burglarious

THE CITY OF CADGERS 181

•way. For I undertake that the great Mother
of the Gods (3), in her goodness, would reward
us with money for our needs. \Vell then", pro-
ceeded Eumolpus, " why do we -waste time ? Let
us learn our parts. I'll play the 'boss', if it
suits you."

Neither of us ventured to oppose a scheme
which demanded no payment from either of us.
Therefore, in order that the deception might be
carefully kept up by us all, we took the oath
of allegiance to Eumolpus (-4), swearing ' to be
burned, bound, beaten, and beheaded, or anything
else, at his pleasure '. In fact, we bound our-
selves with all solemnity to Eumolpus, body and
soul, just as real gladiators do to their owners.
After the ceremony of taking the oath, we saluted
our new master in our r6le of slaves, ^7e further-
more both got the story pat how Eumolpus had
recently lost his son, a young fellow of great
eloquence and promise; how the poor old man
had therefore left his native city, lest day by
day he should be reduced to tears by the sight
of his son's friends and dependents, and his tomb.
On the top of this tragedy had come the recent
shipwreck which had lost him more than a couple
of million* (5) : he was not disturbed by this loss,
except that, being deprived also of his retinue,
he could not maintain an appearance worthy
of his station. Besides he still had a matter of
thirty million (6) invested in African real estate
and bonds (7) ; in fact, he had representatives
scattered about his Numidian estates numerous
enough to occupy Carthage.

* Sesterces, of course. In English money over £ ISiOOO.

182 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

To play up to this character, we told Eumolpus
he must cough pretty often; he must have an
over-loose inside and always curse his food in
public ; he must talk gold and silver, his supposed
estates and the chronic barrenness of the soil;
he must sit daily at his ledgers, and every month
alter his testamentary dispositions. Finally, to
make sure of playing his part down to the most
trifling detail, whenever he tried to summon either
of us, he must mix up our names, so as to give
the impression that his lordship had in mind the
slaves who were not in evidence.

The plot thus carefully thought out, we put
up a prayer 'Success to us all!', and went on
our way. But Gito wasn't strong enough to
carry his unaccustomed burden, and the hired
valet Corax, an unwilling servitor, was con-
tinually putting his load on the ground cursing
the pace at which we went, and swearing that
he would either throw away the baggage or
desert with it.

" Do you take me ", he protested, " for a beast
of burden or a stone-barge? I signed on as a
man, not as a packhorse. I was born a gentle-
man, like yourselves, even though my dad did
leave me without a copper." And, not satisfied
with cursing us, he raised one foot and filled the
road with a coarse sound and a smell. Gito
was vastly amused by his insolence, and greeted
each new outburst -with a similar sound.

EUMOLPUS DISCOURSES 183

CHAPTER CXVIII

EUMOLPUS DISCOURSES ON THE
POET'S AFFLATUS

EUMOLPUS broke in on this duet. "My
young friends ", said he, " many a young fellow
is tripped up when he takes to poetry. As soon
as he has constructed a line that scans and has
wrapped up a sentimental idea in a cloud of
words, he imagines that he has climbed straight
into Mount Helicon (1). So when they are weary
of their forensic duties they regularly slip away
into the serener atmosphere of literature as
though to a harbour of refuge, under the im-
pression that a poem can be put together more
easily than an address to the court tricked out
•with sparkling, thrilling epigrams. The truly
noble soul, however, is above such vanity: he
does not attempt to create or give his thoughts
to the world until he has been baptized in the
mighty river of the Muses. AVe must shun all,
may I say, cheapness of phrasing, and adopt
language that is caviare to the general, that our
standard be

' I loathe the vulgar herd, and keep clear of it ' (2).

Above all, beware that our fancies be not exag-
gerated so as to overdo the subject-matter, but
shine with the colour that is woven in the texture.
\Vitness Homer and the lyric bards, our Roman
Virgil, and Horace with his subtle grace (3).
For the rest, either they did not see the road
that led to poetry, or when they saw it they

184 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

dared not tread it. Behold, a " Civil War" (4)
is a mighty theme, and whoso essays it, if he
be not ripe of scholarship, will faint under the
burden. For not in a poem can we describe the
deeds of men — the historians do this far better,
nay, through dark ways and the service of the
gods, through the tossing maelstrom of the imagin-
ation, must the free spirit be hurled, so that it
may seem rather the prophesy of a soul inspired
than the prosaic record of authenticated fact:
for proof, see if this effort please you — though
it lacks yet the finishing touch (5) :

CHAPTER CXIX

THE TYRANNY OF ROME
(Eumolpud recited hit Poem) (1)

THE -whole earth now the victor Roman held— •
\Vhere sea, -where land, -where either star (2) doth run-
Not yet content ! Her laden (3) ships o'ersailed
The fretted -wave; if hidden vale beyond,
5 If soil there were, had yellow gold to send,

'Twas hostile ; and while fate prepared grim -war
Rome hunted riches. Common joys pleased not
Nor well-worn pleasures staled by vulgar use.
Ephyrian bronze (4) the sea-borne (5) soldier prized ;

10 Earth-quarried sheen (6) out-rivalled purple dye.
Numidia sues (7) ; the Chinese sue for silk ;
Arabia's people plead their fields despoiled.

Lo ! death on death, and wounds of murdered peace 1
Gold buys the forest-lion ; Hammon's scoured (8)—

15 Far Afric's end— that no beast's fang be missed

Of killing- value (9) : dearth, brought home, kills men,
\Vhile tigers stalk their gilded cage on board,
Destined to drink men's blood 'mid cheers of men.

THE TYRANNY OF ROME 185

Ah, shame to tell, to publish, threatening (10) doom!

20 By Persian rite (11) in ill-starred ripening years
They seized on youths and cut their manhood out
For passion's service, and that growth's fair course,
Cut short, may hold in check the hurrying years —
Nature doth seek herself in vain. Thus all

25 Love vice. — the nerveless frame, the shuffling gait,
The flowing locks, the garb of fancy name-
All snares for men ! Lo, snatched from Afric lands,
Stands, aping in its markings cheaper gold,
The citrus board (12), reflecting troops of slaves

30 And dyes, sense-tickling—dead ignoble board,

Ringed by wine-sodden throngs : earth's every prize
The vagrant soldier, sword-dishonoured, craves.
Gourmand the palate (13)! In Sicilian brine
The wrasse (14) comes live to table; oysters too

35 Dug from the Lucrine shores (1 5) to grace the feast,
Stir hunger— at a price! Now Phasis* wave (16)
Is robbed of birds : on her mute shores alone
The lone breeze sighs to the deserted leaves.

Nor at the poll less vicious (17): citizens, bribed,

•40 For pay and jingling guineas sell their votes—
A hireling vote, a hireling parliament!
Favor means cash, the Elders (18) too had lost
The old free spirit: scattered gold meant power;
The Sovereign State (19), by gold corrupted, lay.

45 Cato goes out rejected, yet more sad

The victor, shamed to seize his rod of power (20),
For- this the people's shame, their honour's doom-
Not one man's beaten, but, in him, the might
And majesty of Rome. Thus Rome, brought low,

50 Herself was her own price— none left to save (21)!

Trapped by twin tides (22), the common herd as well
\Vas cankered by foul usury and debt.
No house secure, no person free from pledge,
But plague, as 'twere, born deep inside the bones,

55 Steals fierce within the limbs with grinding (23) pains.
Stricken, they arm ; the wealth greed lost, by blood

186 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

They would restore. The ruined plunger's safe (24).
Rome in this mire submerged and sunk in sleep
\Vhat arts by healing skill availed to wake
60 Save it were war and frenzy's lust of steel (25) ?

CHAPTER CXX
HOW THE GODS SENT CIVIL WAR (1)

THREE leaders Fate had borne. All three in blood
On various fields the Fatal Fury crushed.
Parthia holds Crassus, Pompey Libya's strand,
Julius poured forth his blood on thankless Rome ;

65 As though Earth could not bear so many tombs
She spread their ashes. Fame these honours pays.

There is a place deep down in quarried chasm
Between Parthenope and Dicarchis" lands
Damp with Cocytus* spray (2) : thence spreads a breath

70 Of fatal vapour pouring forth aloft.

Its soil's not rich in autumn (3) nor does grass
Grow in lush turf, nor tunefully in spring
Do thickets soft discourse with diverse voice.
But chaos and rough rocks of pumice black

75 Revel in gloomy cypress, piled around.

In this haunt Father Dis (4) doth raise his head,
'Mid flame of pyres and strewn -with hoar-grey ash.
And fickle Chance (5) he goads with taunts like these :
" Ah, mistress of things human and divine,

80 Chance, who wouldst have no power too free from care,
\Vho lovest change and leavest soon what's gained,
Dost feel Rome's heavy hand upon thee, that
No higher canst thou raise her to her fall?
Rome's lusty youth mocks her own strength : the wealth

85 She piled she scarce can hold: behold abroad
The lust of booty, greed gone ruin-mad,
In gold they build (6), star-high their houses rise,
The waves are barred by stones (7) ; sea's born on land ;
A rebel race, they change the scheme of things.

FORTUNE SEES A VISION 187

90 Lo, even my realm they seek ; the pierced earth gapes
In senseless heaps ; now hills are swallowed up
And caverns groan ; while marble finds vain use
The shades below confess they hope for light.
Rouse thee then, Chance, change thy soft smile to war,

95 Shake Rome and send my realms their mead of dead.
'Tis long since we have smeared our lips with blood,
Since my Tisiphone (8) washed her dry parched limbs—
Not since the Sullan sword (9) drank deep, and earth
Raised, shivering, to the sun, blood-fattened crops (10).

CHAPTER CXXI
FORTUNE SEES A VISION OF STRIFE

100 SO spake he, and he sought to clasp her hand
In his, but tore the earth with gaping crack (1).
Then Fortune, fickle-hearted, answered him :

" Sire, whom Cocytus' inmost depths obey. —
If only I may freely speak the truth—

105 Thy wish shall prosper; no less anger swells
Within this heart, no milder flame consumes
My marrow ; all I gave the Roman towers
I loathe; I hate my gifts. That very god
That built her might shall break it (2). Sweet to me

110 To burn men's flesh and glut their lust in blood.
I see Philippi twice (3) strewn o'er with dead,
Thessalian pyres, Iberia's slaughtered sons (-4).
Now crash of weapons thrills my quivering ears.
I see, O Libyan Nile (5), thy groaning gates,

115 The Actian bay (6), men cringe from Phoebus' sword.
Come, ope thy kingdom's thirsty realms, and call
New souls : thy ferryman's small boat shall scarce
Suffice to bring the shades of men across ;
Thou'lt need a fleet (7) : then, pale Tisiphone,

1 20 Gorge in vast slaughter, chew the gaping wounds :
To Stygian shades is haled the mangled world."

188 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

CHAPTER CXXII

THE HEAVENS RESPOND TO FORTUNE
CAESAR GOES TO WAR

SCARCE had she spoke when, rent -with lightning flash,
The cloud shook, and cut short the darting fire.
Sank back the Lord of Shades : in earth's embrace

125 Hidden, he shuns in dread his brother's bolts (1).
Forthwith the blood of men and gathering doom
Heaven's signs proclaimed. For lo ! with bloodstained face
Unsightly, Titan (2) veiled himself in gloom :
Thou'ldst think e'en then thou gazed on civil strife.

1 30 There too did Cynthia (3) her full orb put out

And hide her light from crime. The mountains, rent
With reeking summits, thundered; dying streams
Astray left their familiar banks (4) ; the sky
With clash of arms is mad : the quivering horn

135 Cries 'Havoc '(5) in the stars. Etna's devoured

By strange new flames and skyward shoots her bolts (6).
Lo, 'mid the tombs and bones that lack their pyres,
Shade-phantoms threaten with unholy screech.
A torch (7), girt with strange meteors, trails its flame ;

140 Jove falls in living rain of blood (8). In brief
These signs the god gave. Caesar, verily,
Brooked not delay, and driven by vengeance' lust
Let Gaul go hang (9), and plunged in Civil \Var.

On Alpine heights where, trod by Grecian god (10),
145 The rocks slope down and let themselves be scaled,
There stands a fane of Hercules : hard snow
In winter piles its white roof heaven-high.
Thou'ldst think high heaven fell there : the noon sun's rays
Melt it no whit, nor springtime's zephyr-breath.
150 In frozen mass bound fast and wintry ice,

Its beetling shoulders heaven's whole weight could bear. (11)
\Vhen Caesar trod this height, with eager troops,

CAESAR GOES TO WAR 189

And chose his camp, high on the towering crest,
Hesperia's plains (12) he scanned afar, and stretched

155 Both hands to heaven and prayed: "Ah, mighty Jove (13)
And thou, O Saturn's Land (14), proud of my sword,
Of old o'erweighted by my victories (15),
Witness that Mars compels me to this war,
My hands compelled!— By dastard blow constrained (16),

160 Exiled from Rome, while staining red the Rhine-
Barring the Alps while Gauls once more would scale
Our Capitol (17): my deeds make exile sure!
For Germans slain and sixty (18) triumphs won
I'm found a traitor. Yet my fame alarms—

165 \Vhom? who looks out for battles? Hireling gangs,
Bought loafers, stepsons of the Rome I love (19).
Methinks not scatheless with impunify
Shall cowards bind this hand. To victory
Surge on, my comrades. Plead the cause with steel,

170 One charge 'gainst all— o'er all of us the same
Death threatens. Thanks I owe you. Not alone
I conquered (20). Therefore, since death overhangs
Our trophies and our deeds have won disgrace,
Let Fortune judge the hazard (21). On to war

175 And try your hands. I swear my cause is won:
"Mid all your trusty swords I cannot fail."
His words rang forth : on high the Delphic bird (22)
Gave omens glad and flying beat the air.
Yea, from the left hand of the awful grove

180 Strange voices echoed loud with answering flame.
E'en Phoebus' self, his disc revealed, enhanced
His brilh'ance, girt his face in golden sheen.

CHAPTER CXXIII

BY signs encouraged, Caesar, ordering on
His standards, heads the daring enterprise.
185 At first the ice and earth in white frost bound
Resisted not, but gently quivering lay;
But -when the squadrons broke the close-packed drifts (1),

190 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

And frightened steeds trod through the rivers' crust.
The snow grew warm. Then streams from mountain tops

190 Poured new-born; but e'en these— «as at command —
Stood still, held fast amazed in frozen fall—
Now flowing free, now hard for axe to cut.
Treacherous before, yet more it mocked their steps,
Nor foothold offered; horse and foot alike

195 And arms lay heaped in helpless disarray.
Lo, too, the clouds by ice-wind buffeted
Were lightened of their load; the whirlwind gale
Failed not; with hail the tortured sky was thick.
The clouds themselves in torrents drowned their arms

200 And like a sea-wave poured the icy rain.

Vanquished wide earth in snow, vanquished the stars,

Vanquished the rivers frozen to their banks :

But not yet Caesar! Mighty spear to aid,

He crunched the rough ground -with unwavering stride

205 As leaping down the crag of Caucasus

Amphitryon's son (2) did, or grim-visaged Jove

When down the vast Olympian steeps he plunged (3)

And brought to naught the ill-fated Giants' arms.

Wliile Caesar's wrath lays low the hummocks rough (4),
210 Swift Rumour meantime plies her wings in dread
And seeks tall Palatine's exalted crests,
Smiting the temples with this Roman bolt (5) :
"Fleets scour the sea", it cried, "through all the Alps
Swarm squadrons reeking hot -with German blood (6)."
215 Arms, blood, destruction, fire — all shapes of war,
Flit in their eyes (7). So panic-stricken souls
Are torn in terror; 'twixt two means of flight.
By land one' chooses, one prefers the wave-
Safer than home the sea (8) ! One here and there
220 Would fain resist, confronting fate's decree.

Whose fear is great, flees fast. More swift themselves (9)

'Mid these alarms the people, tragic sight,

As panic bids, the empty city leave.

In flight Rome glories, and the Romans, quelled.

CAESAR GOES TO WAR 191

225 By voice of Rumour, flee their sorrowing hearths.
One holds in trembling arms his sons, one folds
His mantle round his gods and quits with grief
His home, and slays the distant foe— with oaths (10)!
Some strain their wives against their heaving breasts ;

230 Father drags grandsire (11); burdenless the boy

Drags what he fears for most. One feckless soul
His all bears \vith him— free spoil for the foe.
And as, when raging southern gales at sea
Toss high the waves, and tackle fails the crew

235 And rudder's useless, one will furl his sails,
One seeks safe harbour and a leeward shore,
One sails before the gale and trusts to luck—
But why blame small men (12) ? Lo ! with consuls twain—
Pompey, who found Hydaspes (13)— Pontus' scourge. —

2-40 The rock where pirates foundered— who three times

Triumphant made Jove quake— whom Pontus' storms (14)
And Bosporus' flood in cringing homage served—
Ah, shame ! the imperial name forgot, he flees,
So fickle Fate saw e'en Great Pompey's heels.

CHAPTER CXXIV

245 SUCH panic e'en the will of gods broke down ;

Heaven's terror counselled flight. Lo ! through the earth,
The kindly gods detesting earth's vain rage(l),
Depart and leave to doom the ranks of men.
Peace, in the van, beating her snowy arms,

250 Hides in her helm (2) her vanquished head, leaves Earth,
And seeks in flight the ruthless realm of Dis.
With her goes outraged Faith— with streaming locks
Justice, and Concord sad, her robe all torn.
But opposite where Erebus yawns wide

255 The troupe of Dis comes forth, Erinys foul,

Bellona grim, Megaera (3) armed with brands—
Slaughter and Treason, and Death's lurid shape.
And with them Madness, as with broken reins,
Tosses her blood-stained head, a gory helm

260 Upon her head slashed with a thousand wounds,

192 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

Her left hand clutches tight Mars' battered shield
Heavy with countless darts ; with blazing torch
Her right hand threatens earth with fiery doom.
Earth feels their godhead: the deserted stars

265 The burden miss (4) ; for all the realm of sky
Is rent in twain. And first Dione (5) aids
Her Caesar's prowess— comrades at her side
Pallas and Romulus shaking his huge spear.
Pompey, Apollo (6) with his sister aids,

270 Cyllene's son and Tiryns' like-famed lord.

Crash trumpets, Discord (7) with her tresses torn
Raises aloft her Stygian head, her face
Clotted with blood, tears in her bruised eyes :
Stood out her fangs encrusted red with rust;

275 Tongue dripping filth, cheeks crawling thick with snakes,
Her breast convulsed, her robe to ribbons torn,
A bloody torch she -waved in quivering hand.
Cocytus' shades and Tartarus she left
Striding the high tops of famed Apennine,

280 \Vhence she could see all lands and every shore,
And squadrons wheeling over all the earth.
And this the cry she flung from frenzied heart :

" Take arms, ye peoples, now with brains afire,
Take brands and fling them in the hearts of towns.

285 Wlio hides shall die; no woman shall go safe,
Nor boy, nor helpless age unchampioned ;
Though earth's self quake and shattered homes resist.
Marcellus, guard thy law! Stir, Curio,
The mob ! Check thou not, Lentulus, brave Mars (8).

290 \Vhy dost thou stay thine arms, thou Goddess-born (9) ?
\Vhy not break cities' gates, breach wide their walls
And loot their treasures? Canst not, Great One (10), save
Rome's towers? Go, seek ye Epidamnus' (11) walls,
And stain Thessalian seas with blood of men (12).

295 O'er earth 'twas done, whatever Discord bade (13).

Wlien Eumolpus had come to the end of this
amazing torrent (14) of words we at last made

I HAVE AN ADVENTURE 195

our entry into Croton. \Ve rested first in an
humble lodging, and, while searching on the
next day for a house of a more dignified charac-
ter, we fell in with a crowd of legacy-hunters,
who insisted on learning what manner of men
we were, and whence we came. Thereupon,
sticking close to the lesson we had taught one
another, and elaborating it with a flow of words,
we explained where we came from and who we
were — they obviously swallowing the whole story .
As soon as they had taken it, in they vied with
one another in focussing all their resources upon
Eumolpus. There is tremendous rivalry among
the cadgers to win the favour of Eumolpus with
presents.

CHAPTER CXXV

I BEGIN TO DREAD DISCOVERY,
AND HAVE AN ADVENTURE

THINGS went on like this in Croton for some
little time. Eumolpus lived on the fat of the land,
and would have so entirely forgotten his former
state as to brag to his friends that not a soul
in Croton would refuse him a favor. " If any
of you gets into trouble here ", he was fond of
saying, " I have friends at court who will see
you through all right."

For my own part, however, although every
day more and more I fattened (1) myself with
dainty fare to bursting point, and felt certain
Fortune had ceased to keep an eye on me, all
the same amid our luxurious surroundings there
recurred from time to time the thought of its origin.

" \Vhat would become of us ", quoth I, " if

13

194 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

one of these cadgers had the sense to send a
spy to Africa and found out our deception?
Suppose Eumolpus' hired varlet got bored with
his round of pleasure, gave the hint to his
pals, and was mean enough to expose the whole
plant (2) ? I guess we shall have to cut and run
over again; after all the trouble we have taken
to drive away poverty we shall wear the rags
again and beg our bread. Ye gods and goddesses,
the adventurer's life is not a happy one! He
is always expecting to get his deserts." (3)

[Thus pondering, one day I fell into a deep
depression. Hoping to cheer myself up with a
breath of fresh air, I had barely entered the
promenade when a rather comely slave-girl came
up to me, and greeted me as Polyaenus — the name
I bore in my new role ; she announced that her
mistress begged the favor of a talk with me.

"You are mistaken", I said nervously, "I'm
only a poor foreign slave, unworthy of so great
a privilege."]

CHAPTER CXXVI
THE MAID AND THE MISTRESS

"NO", she replied, "you are the man I was
told to bring. You know your own handsome
figure (1), and so you put on side and sell your
kisses (2) instead of granting them as a favor.
Look at your curls so beautifully combed, your
well-rouged cheeks (3), the coy glances of your
eyes 1 \Vhat about your affected mincing walk (4),
every step strictly according to the book? Ob-
viously you're out for business, and at your own
price too 1 Look at me : I'm no crystal-gazer nor

THE MAID AND THE MISTRESS 195

do I figure out the movements of the stars, but
I judge men's character by their eyes; as soon
as I see anybody strolling about, I can tell what
he's after. Therefore, I say, if you're selling
what I want, I have a buyer; if you're a cut
above that and don't take a fee, allow us to
incur an obligation. Just because you pose as
a slave and a nobody, you have stirred a pas-
sionate heart. Some women, you know, are
attracted by misery: they never feel a thrill
except when they see a slave or a bare-legged
page-boy (5) ; other women fall in love with
gladiators, or a muleteer smothered in dust, or
an actor tricked out in stage finery. My mistress
belongs to this class : she darts across the front
fourteen rows of the theatre (6) and among the
folks in the pit she picks up the objects of her
affection."

Her complimentary remarks filled me with
pleasure. " Tell me ", I said, " I suppose you
aren't the lady who has fallen in love with me ? "

The maid laughed heartily in mockery of
my cool impertinence. " No ", she cried, " don't
flatter yourself. I never yet allowed a slave to
kiss me. Heaven forbid that I should waste my
sweetness on a gallow's-bird. Such a thing may
suit grand ladies, who stroke the weals where
the whip fell; I may be only a servant, but I
never sit in the pit." (7)

My breath was taken away by love's perver-
sity : it seemed to me a strange anomaly that the
maid should have the fastidiousness of a mistress,
the mistress the simple taste of a maid.

This merry banter went on some time, and
at last I asked the maid to produce her mistress

196 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

in a neighbouring grove of planes. The girl agreed :
she drew her skirts about her ankles, and darted
into a bank of laurels which bordered on the
path. After a few moments' delay she escorted
her mistress from the shadow of the trees and led
her to my side. She was a lady of surpassing
charms, beyond all dreams. No words can set
forth her beauty ; whatever I say will limp behind
the truth. Her glorious curls fell like a cloud
over her shoulders in studied disorder ; her brow
was low (8), and above it the hair waved
smoothly back upon her head; her eyebrows
curved even to the contour of her cheeks, and
almost met again between the eyes; the eyes
gleamed brighter than stars when the moon has
set (9); her nose slightly retrouss^ (10); her lips
such as Praxiteles gave to Diana. Now her
chin, now her neck, now her hands, now the
whiteness of her feet set in a tiny ring of gold,
threw into the shade the gleam of Parian marble.
Then for the first time I forgot my Doris, the
dream of my earliest love.

\Vhy, Jove, hast them thine armour thrown away?

\Vhy dumb among the gods— a ' silent play ' ?

'Tis time that awful brow its horns had shed ;

'Tis time bird's plumes disguised that old grey head !

Here's Danae herself: touch her, be brave!

Now shall thy limbs flow warm with passion's wave. (11)

CHAPTER CXXVII
CIRCE MAKES LOVE TO ME

THE maiden was charmed, and laughed so
delightfully that her face shone like the full
moon coming from behind a cloud. Then with

CIRCE MAKES LOVE TO ME 197

fingers beating time to her words (1), "if you
won't be bored by a real lady ", she said, " who
has become a woman barely a twelvemonth (2),
allow me, young sir, to provide you -with a sister.
You have, of course, a brother (3) of your own :
in fact, I ventured to find this out ; but why not
adopt a sister as well? I come in on the same
terms. I only ask that you won't refuse my
kiss when the whim takes me." " Nay, nay ",
I rejoined, " by your lovely face I entreat you
be not too proud to admit an humble stranger as
one of your admirers. You will find me a strict
disciple if you let me kneel before you. And —
I shouldn't like you to think that I enter this
temple of love with empty hands — I present my
brother to you."

"WTiat!" she cried, "you give my your dear
brother, the very breath of your life, on whose
very lips you hang, whom you love as I love you ? "

As these words fell from her lips, so tuneful
the list of her voice, so soft the notes that
soothed the quivering air, that the breezes seemed
to whisper a Siren melody. (4)

I stood breathless, while the whole sky seemed
to glow with a strange limpid light. Then I
dared to ask the name of the goddess.

"So my maid", she replied, " did not tell you
that my name is Circe? (5) Not she, indeed,
that was daughter of the sun ; nor did my mother
at her will stay the universe in its orbit. And
yet, if Fate joins us two together, I shall have
something to thank heaven for. Nay, already
the god stirs strange thoughts in my soul. 'Tis
not for nothing that Circe yearns for Polyaenus ;
for between them that bear these names (6) a

198 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

great flame always burns. Take me, then, in
your arms, if you will. No eavesdropper need
you fear; your friend is far away."

So Circe spoke, and wound me in her arms
softer than swan's-down, and drew me down-
wards to the flowery lawn.

Such flowers as Mother Earth of yore

Poured forth on Ida's height,
WTien Jove had hardly -won her o'er

Her ardent troth to plight;
Red roses glow ; the violets blush ;

Soft rushes fringe the stream;
And smiling from the meadow lush

The snow-white lilies gleam.
Such radiant splendour clothed the ground

And summoned Venus nigh,
So that our stolen love was crowned

Beneath a cloudless sky.

There on the greensward we lay side by side,
kissing a thousand times, seeking love's guerdon.

"WHAT'S this?", she cried. "Does my kiss
offend you ? Do you find me starved and spirit-
less? Am I not sweet and fragrant to your
sense? No? W^ell, perchance you are nervous
about Gito?"

I was one mass of blushes, and a sort of
paralysis left me a crushed and helpless mass of
misery. " Have pity, O Queen ", I implored ; * do
not beat me black and blue. I am bewitched."

" Chrysis, tell me the truth. Am I uncomely ?
Am I untidy? Have I some natural deformity

BUT TRAGEDY FOLLOWS 199

which ruins my beauty? Do not deceive your
mistress. I am a failure, but how I know not."
Then she snatched a mirror (1) from the girl be-
fore she could reply, and scrutinized every expres-
sion which a lover's smile could evoke ; then she
shook the creases out of her skirts and darted
away into a neighbouring shrine of Venus. I
felt like a criminal or a man who had been
petrified by some horrible apparition, and began
to ask myself whether the fair lady had after
all been only a dream.

In the slumbers of the night, visions mock our

wand'ring sight.

And the quarried earth disgorges yellow gold
Then our naughty fingers play over piles of jewels gay
And rich treasure in our greedy hands we hold.
Then a chilly sweat breaks out and we quake in

mortal doubt

Lest our evil conscience give the game away;
But these joys that mock the brain very soon take

wings again,

And reality returns with dawn of day.
The soul for what it's lost doth yearn :
The vanished dream its sole concern.

[My extraordinary ill-fortune (2) seemed like a
regular nightmare, nay rather the magic of an
evil spirit; for some time I was in such a state
of collapse that I couldn't even stand up. At
length the cloud gradually lifted; my strength
slowly returned, and I went home. I pretended
to feel rather faint and threw myself on my
couch. A little later Gito heard I was seedy,
and came into my room in alarm. To relieve
his anxiety, I assured him that I had gone to
bed simply to have a rest. I babbled on at

200 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

random, but I said nothing about my bad luck,
because I was awfully afraid of making him
jealous. In order to prevent any suspicion, I
drew him to my side and tried to demonstrate
my affection for him; but though I panted and
perspired my efforts were futile. He jumped up
in wrath, cursing my impotent attempts and my
altered affections, and protesting he had for some
time observed that I was wasting my strength
and my affections elsewhere.

"Far from it", I cried. "My dear brother,
my love to you is as true as ever: the fact is
that my youthful passion is giving way to reason."]

" I quite understand ", he sneered ; " I am im-
mensely obliged to you for playing the role of
Socrates. (3) But I'll wager Alcibiades never
found him letting reason kill pleasure."

CHAPTER CXXIX
AN EXCHANGE OF LETTERS

I stuck to my point. " I have no consciousness
of being a man at all : no sensation even 1 I have
lost the strength which once made me an Achilles."
Gito realized that I was all unstrung, and, being
afraid that people would talk if he were found
alone with me, he rushed out of the room and
hurried away to an inner chamber of the house.
He had scarcely departed when Chrysis opened
the door, bringing me a note (1) from her mistress,
couched in the following terms:

" Circe to Polyaenus, greeting !

If I were a bad woman, I should be furious at
being let down. As it is, I am eternally grateful

AN EXCHANGE OF LETTERS 201

for your exhibition of feebleness— the anticipation of
pleasure lasted all the longer. But I do want to
know what became of you, and whether you managed
to crawl home by yourself; for doctors assure me
that men can't walk about when they are unstrung.
I warn you, my young friend, beware of the palsy.
I never saw a patient in such a dangerous state ;
in fact you're as good as dead already ! If the same
numbness has attacked your arms and legs you may
as well send for the undertaker's flute-players (2).
What is it to me ? Well, grossly insulted as I was,
I don't grudge physic to a broken man. If you
want to get well, consult Gito. Send him away for
a couple of nights, and you'll recover your vigour.
For my part I'm quite sure I shall not be so un-
inspiring to my next lover. My mirror doesn't lie,
nor my reputation either. Get well, if you can !"

WTien Chrysis saw that I read this sarcastic
effusion right through, she remarked : " It's nothing
out of the ordinary! Specially in a town like
this where women even play tricks with the moon.
You can easily make peace. Just write a polite
note to my mistress, and make a frank apology,
and salve her wounded pride. It's only fair to
admit that, since you insulted her, she has not
been herself at all."

I took the hint with alacrity and composed the
following reply.

CHAPTER CXXX
I MAKE HUMBLE APOLOGY

" Polyaenus to Circe, greeting !

I confess, dear lady, my many sins : I am only
a man, and a mere boy yet. Nevertheless, never

202 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

up to this very day have I committed the unpardon-
able sin. The accused pleads guilty : punish me as
you will, I deserve it all. I have played the traitor,
I am a murderer, I have robbed a temple (1); devise
a penalty to fit these crimes. Bid me to die— my
sword is ready. Or bid me be flogged, I run naked
to your whip. But bear one fact in mind ; the spirit
was willing but the flesh was -weak. I was ready
for the fray ; but I had no sword. \Vhat upset me,
I can't imagine. Possibly imagination outstripped
the laggard body : perchance, in the ardour of my
passion, I dried up the springs of pleasure. I haven't
a notion what actually occurred. You urge me to
beware of the palsy ! As though any stroke could
be more fatal than that which robbed me of your
proffered charms. But the sum of my plea is this :
give me a chance of repairing my fault ; I will make
full amends."

I sent off Chrysis with this pledge, and gave
myself up to getting my troublesome body into
condition. I refrained from having a bath and
only anointed myself in moderation; then I partook
of good strengthening food, consisting of onions
and the necks of snails without sauce, washed
down with a very little wine (2). Then before
going to sleep I took a gentle stroll to settle
things and went to bed by myself. I was so
determined to make my peace that I was afraid
of having Gito near me.

CHAPTER CXXXI
I SALLY FORTH IN HIGH HOPE

NEXT morning I got up thoroughly rested in
mind and body, and walked down to the same

I SALLY FORTH IN HIGH HOPE 203

grove, in spite of its ill-omened associations.
There I hung about waiting among the trees for
Chrysis to guide my steps. I lounged about for
a few minutes, and had just sat down where I
had sat the day before when she entered the
grove, dragging along with her a queer little old
woman. Having greeted me, she said : " Well,
your highness, have you learned manners yet ?"
Thereupon the old hag produced from her cloak
a skein of many-coloured threads, which she tied
round my neck. Then she spat on some dust,
dipped her middle finger into it, and in spite of
my protests made a mark on my forehead (1) :

While there's life, there's hope! Priapus,

Guardian of the glade,
Let not lovers' joy escape us,

Hear and lend thine aid (2).

This spell having been duly chanted, she bade
me spit thrice and throw into my breast three
times some pebbles which she had previously
bewitched and wrapped up in a purple kerchief.
Admotisque manibus temptare coepit inguinum
vives. Dicto citius nervi paruerunt imperio ma-
nusque aniculae ingenti motu repleverunt. At
ilia gaudio exsultans, " vides ", inquit, " Chrysis
mea, vides quod aliis leporem excitavi?"

The beldam handed me over to Chrysis, who
was delighted at recovering her mistress's lost
treasure. She escorted me with all speed to her
ladyship and introduced me into a delicious
retreat where nature seemed to have stored all
the beauties that could rejoice the eye.

204 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

A noble plane spread leafy shade

Against the summer glare,
And Daphne (3) too made cool the glade

W^ith berries in her hair,
And all around the trim pines swayed

Their high tops in the air;
A stream with vagrant ripples played

And splashed the pebbles there.

Place made for Love! The nightingale-—

A woodland -witness she— '
And Procne (4) from the city's pale,

Played on the grassy lea,
And there amid the violets frail

In tuneful revelry
They practiced in this peaceful vale.

Their -wonted minstrelsy.

Premebat ilia resoluta marmoreis cervicibus
aureum to rum myrtoque florenti quietum . . . ver-
berabat. Itaque ut me vidit, paululum erubuit,
hesternae scilicet iniuriae memor ; deinde ut
remotis omnibus secundum invitantem consedi,
ramum super oculos meos posuit, et quasi pariete
interiecto audacior facta "Quid est" inquit " pa-
ralytice ? ecquid hodie totus venisti ?" " Rogas "
inquam ego "potius quam temptas?" Totoque
corpore in amplexum eius immissus non prae-
cantatis usque ad satietatem osculis fruor . . .

BUT THE TRAGEDY IS REPEATED 205

CHAPTER CXXXII
BUT THE TRAGEDY IS REPEATED

I PS A corporis pulchritudine me ad se vocante
trahebat ad venerem. lam pluribus osculis col-
lisa labra crepitabant, iam implicitae manus
omne genus amoris invenerant, iam alligata mutuo
ambitu corpora animarum quoque mixturam fece-
rant . . .

(The JHS. breaks off here, but the jequet id obvioud.)
The lady at last was lashed to fury by this
flagrant affront, and all her thoughts turned to
vengeance. She summoned her chamber-slaves (1)
and bade them give me a thorough good hiding.
Then she decides that this severe punishment
was altogether too good for me; so she sends
for all her sewing-girls and the very scum of all
her household drudges, and bade them spit in
my face. I put my hands before my eyes, but
I uttered no prayer for mercy because I knew
what I had deserved, but, after I had been almost
blinded with blows and other indignities, I -was
thrown out of the gate. The witch Proselenus
is likewise ejected : Chrysis is soundly whipped,
while the whole household is plunged in gloom,
grumbling under their breaths and wondering who
had upset their mistress's cheerful temper. (2)
Thus we were all square, and my courage
revived. I did my best to cover up the signs
of my whipping, fearing that humiliation would
fill Eumolpus with mirth and Gito with misery.
The only device by which I could hope to hide
my disgrace was to feign illness. So I tucked

206 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

myself up in bed and concentrated the fire of
my wrath upon the source of all my troubles (3).

Having come to the end of my vulgar tirade,
I began to feel ashamed of myself: in fact I
was covered with blushes at the thought that I
had so far lost my selfrespect as to bandy words
with a part of the body which respectable people
decline even to recognize. For some time I wiped
my brow : then I concluded : " \Vell, anyhow,
what harm have I done if I have unburdened
my soul: my fury was quite natural. Don't we
swear at our digestions, our greedy appetites,
or our heads, if they're always giving us trouble ?
\Vhy, Ulysses himself joined issue with his heart.
Some of the greatest tragedians criticize their
eyes as if they had ears to hear. Gouty old
gentlemen curse their feet, rheumatic people abuse
their finger-joints ; short-sighted people their eyes;
when we have damaged our fingers we take it
out of our feet.

Why, Cato, with forehead so wrinkled, revile

The ingenuous work of to-day?
Its pure Roman style has a genial smile ;

What the world does, I candidly say!
Wliat man is ascetic, -who's celibate now?

W^ho to live like a monk would compel us?
The sage Epicurus bids learned men bow

Before love, for he calls it life's telos. (4)

There is nothing more dishonest than hypo-
critical advice : nothing more hypocritical than
sham morality.

I DISMISS THE CIRCE EPISODE 207

CHAPTER CXXXIII

I DISMISS THE CIRCE EPISODE
AND TURN TO GITO

\VITH this I concluded my peroration. Calling
to Gito, I said : " Now Gito, make a clean breast
of it. — 'mind, on your oath! That night Ascyltus
stole you away from me, did he show you violence
or go to sleep like a respectable fellow ? " The
boy covered his eyes, and in the set terms swore
that Ascyltus had refrained from doing him harm.
The relief of knowing this was too much for
my overwrought mind: I was all nerves, and I
scarcely knew what I was saying. I kept asking
myself : " WTiy rake up the past : all your miseries
will be repeated." Finally I did everything in
my power to get back my strength. I even
decided to put myself in the hands of providence ;
and so I left home with the intention of offering
supplication to Priapus ; come what might, I put
on a hopeful look, knelt down at the threshold
and offered up a prayer in the following lines :

Comrades of the Nymphs, and Bacchus (1) whom the

fair Dione gave
As the god of fertile woodlands, smile upon me now

and save.
Far-famed Lesbos does thee homage ; Thasos with

her rich domain;

And the Lydian adores thee in Hypaepa's holy fane. (2)
Hither, guardian of Bacchus, hither thou the chief

delight
Of the Dryad nymphs, come hither, while I tell

my mournful plight.
Not •with blood am I polluted, nor with sacrilegious hand

208 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

Have I robbed the sacred temples ; yet in abject

want I stand !
I'm not \vholly vile, Priapus ; contrite prayers my

bosom thrill;
He's the lesser sinner surely who has sinned against

his will!

Oh forgive my venial error: 'tis for mercy that I sue,
And when fortune smiles upon me I will pay thee

honour due.

I will sacrifice a he-goat, I will offer thee a ram,
And a sucking kid I'll slaughter, and a newly

weaned lamb.
In thy bowls new wine shall bubble and around

thy sacred shrine,
Thrice the tipsy choir shall circle honouring thy

power divine.

As I chanted my prayer with my eyes gazing
fixedly on my offering, there entered the chapel
the old beldam Proselenus, with dishevelled hair
and wearing a hideous black cloak. She laid her
hand upon my shoulder and led me outside the
forecourt.

CHAPTER CXXXIV
THE PRIESTESS SETS TO WORK

" \VHAT vampires " (1), she hissed, " have sucked
away thy strength? Hast thou trodden by night
on foul ordure or on a corpse in a place where
three roads meet ? Thou art cold even to Gito ;
thou art weak, feeble, helpless, even as a horse
on a steep hill; thou hast wasted thy toil and
the sweat of thy brow. Nor art thou content
with thine own ill-doing: thou hast roused the
gods to anger against me. But thou shalt pay
for it!"

THE PRIESTESS AT WORK 209

Thus speaking, she led me unresisting back
into the chamber of the high priest. Then she
flung me upon a couch, produced a cudgel from
behind the door and began to flog me. I dared
not protest, and, unless the cudgel had broken
at the first stroke and reduced the weight of
the blows, she might easily have broken my arms
or my skull. As it was, her violent onset made
me howl with pain ; tears coursed over my cheeks,
and I buried my head in the cushions with my
hand held up to ward off the blows. The old
witch also burst into tears, seated herself at the
other end of the bed, and gave herself up to a
sobbing lament that her life was so long and
weary. At last the priestess interrupted us :

" Wliat are you doing in this chamber of mine,
behaving as though it were a newly-occupied
vault? And on a feast-day as well, when even

mourners rejoice

"Alas, Oenothea", she returned, "pity the
poor youth you see before you. He was born
under an unlucky star ; he is a bankrupt in the
market of love. You have never set eyes on
such a miserable wretch; he's nothing but a bit
of sodden leather. To put it in a nutshell, what
do you think of a man who remains cold to the
charms of Circe?"

\Vhen Oenothea heard this, she sat down
between us, shook her head slowly and after a
while remarked : " I am the only person who
knows how to cure that disease of yours, and,
lest you should think I am speaking in riddles,
I invite the young gentleman to trust himself
to me. I wager I'll make him as sound as
a bell.

14

210 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

There is naught you can see but's obedient to me

In the -whole of the globe's great sphere.
If I will there is dearth o'er the fertile earth,

The grass goes yellow and sere.
If I will, there are crops, and the grim crag-tops

Will produce me a Nile complete.
The ocean waves are my prostrate slaves,

And the zephyrs hush at my feet.
Me rivers obey: I have only to say

' Stand fast ' and the snake is still.
Hyrcania's savagest tigresses

Bow down when they know my will.
To these trifles an end! I can make descend

By my chanting the moon to the ground;
And the sun hurry back on his usual track

With his furious steeds wheeled round.
The bull's rage fell at the virgin's spell,

So Circe her magic blends
'Gainst the warrior throng, and her witch-made song

Makes swine of Ulysses' friends.
As Proteus (2) escapes in his myriad shapes,

So I with my magic skill
Cause streams in their course to return to their source,

And rivers to climb uphill."

CHAPTER CXXXV
OENOTHEA'S SORCERY

I SHUDDERED in horror at this catalogue of
superhuman powers, and gazed at the old -woman
more intently than before. "Very well then",
exclaimed Oenothea, "you must obey me!"
Washing her hands with scrupulous care, Oeno-
thea leaned over the couch and kissed me once
and again. Then she set an old-fashioned table
in the midst of the altar and covered it with

OENOTHEA'S SORCERY 211

live coals; next she filled up the cracks of an
old broken bowl (1) with softened pitch. A peg
had come away as she took down the wooden
bowl; this she replaced in the wall, which was
black with smoke. Presently she donned a sort
of square apron, and put a large saucepan on the
hearth. Simultaneously from the hanging meat-
rack she took down with a hook a bag which
contained beans for the special purpose in hand
together with a particularly ancient fragment of
boar's head, all hacked and cut about. As she
loosened the strap, she poured out on to the table
a handful of the vegetable and bade me wash
it thoroughly. I obeyed her command, and with
scrupulous care I put on one side those that had
the dirtiest husks. This made her furious. She
angrily cursed me for a lazy vagabond, and set
to work shelling them with her teeth, spitting
out the husks on the ground where they lay like
dead flies.

I could not help being astonished at the poor
old lady's ingenuity, and the skill she displayed
in trivial details (2) :

No Indian ivory shone rich-set in gold,
Nor gleamed with marble parquetry the earth,
Hid by her own gifts. But a willow-frame
Held store of straw. Fresh earth lay evenly
Pressed simply by the humble roller's weight (3).
A gently dripping tank and from a beam (4)
Hung wicker plates, a jug with marks of wine.
The wall around was wattled thick with straw
And in chance daub she counted rustic nails. (5)
A slender thatch of green hung gracefully.
Besides a simple box (6) preserved her store,
Hung from the smoky roof. Sweet apples too

212 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

Hung clust'ring there 'mid scent-giving festoons,
And savory old and raisin bunches spread.
Like Attic (7) hostess long ago was she
Worthy of Hecale (8) whom for age-long fame (9)
The Muse let Battus' son (8) immortalise.

CHAPTER CXXXVI
MY BATTLE WITH THE SACRED GEESE

THE good dame bit off a morsel of the meat
and ate it. While she was putting the bone
back into the meat-rack on the end of a fork —
I wager it wasn't a day younger than she was! —
the rotten old stool on which she was standing
to increase her height gave way, and threw the
old dame with a crash on to the hearth. The
result was that she broke the spout of the kettle,
and put out the fire, which had just begun to
show signs of life. She singed her elbow with
the smouldering log and covered her face all over
with the scattered ashes. I rose in alarm, and,
unable to help laughing, picked her up, and im-
mediately, lest the solemn rite should be unduly
delayed, she ran off to a neighbour's to fetch
some fuel to start the fire again. I strolled to
the cottage-door, and without warning I was
attacked by three sacred geese, which, I sup-
pose, were in the habit of coming to the old
lady regularly at midday to be fed. I stood in
alarm while they circled round me quacking
hoarsely with a noise that suggested madness.
One tore my cloak; another loosened the lace
of my sandle and made off with it; the third,
which was the ringleader of their ferocious com-

MY BATTLE WITH THE GEESE 213

pany, made a determined attack on my calf with
its saw-like beak. I threw all scruples to the
\vinds, dragged off one of the table-legs, and
proceeded to batter the savage beast with might
and main. Not satisfied with a casual whack
or two, I made the goose answer with its life.(l)

Such the Stymphalian Kites (2) that Hercules
Skyward, methinks, by guile in terror drove ;
The Harpies (3) too whose venom did pollute
False Phineus' board. Their awful wings disturbed
The startled air; the heavenly palace quaked.

Meanwhile the two survivors had gobbled up
the beans which had been scattered and over-
turned all over the floor, and, finding themselves
bereaved, I suppose,of their captain, had waddled
back to the sacred precinct. Rejoicing at once
in my booty and in my vengeance, I threw the
dead goose behind the bed, and washed the wound
in my leg — which was a mere scratch — with
vinegar. Then, fearing that I should get into hot
water, I made up my mind to slip away quickly,
made myself respectable, and proceeded to walk
outside the cottage. But I hadn't crossed the
doorstep when I espied Oenothea returning with
a bucket full of live coals. So I retraced my
steps, threw off my tunic, and lolled in the
doorway as though I were getting tired of
awaiting her return.

She raked together some broken chips and
built up the fire upon them, putting a number
of logs on the top. Then she apologized for her
prolonged absence, explaining that her gossip had
declined to let her go until she had drained dry
the three orthodox toasts. (4) " AVhatever have

214 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

you been doing in my absence ? ", she proceeded.
" And where's the beans ? "

I felt that my achievements were well worthy
of praise, and so I gave her a detailed account
of the battle. Finally, to cut short her disappoint-
ment about the beans, I produced the goose as
a compensation for the loss. As soon as she
saw the goose, she set up such a shriek of despair
that you might have thought the geese were
attacking the cottage over again. And so, in
utter amazement and surprise at her extraordinary
behaviour, I inquired what had made her so wild,
and why she was apparently more upset on the
goose's account than on mine.

THEREUPON she wrung her hands together
and yelled : " You villain, you ; how dare you
open your mouth ? You have killed Priapus' pet
goose (1) < — • the one that all our matrons love
bestl Don't flatter yourself that it's a trifling
matter: if the magistrates hear of it, you will
hang 1 You have defiled my little cabin with blood,
my poor cabin which never had a stain on its
character before this day : thanks to you, anyone
who wants to do me an ill turn can drive me
from my sacred office."

" Don't weep ", I implored, " I will give you
an ostrich (2) instead of the goose."

To my complete amazement she sat on the
couch and went on bewailing the fate of the
goose. Shortly after, Proselenus came in upon

GRAVITY OF KILLING A GOOSE 215

us with sacrificial ingredients, (3) and inquired
what the matter was. Thereupon she likewise
fell to weeping and pitying me just as though
I had slain my own father, instead of a mere
goose belonging to nobody in particular.

I began to be bored and asked to be allowed
to wipe the stain off my hands by paying a fee.
" It isn't as though I had done you an injury ",
I argued. " I haven't committed manslaughter!
Look here ; I'll put down two gold pieces : that's
enough to buy gods and geese too."

Oenothea looked coldly at the coins. " I beg
your pardon, young man ", said she. " It is on
your behalf I am upset. My grief is the sign
of affection, not of ill-will. Very well then, we'll
do our best to keep it dark. You had better
pray the gods to overlook your wickedness."

" If you've lots and lots of cash, -when you sail you

can be rash ;

You can set the pace to Fortune as you choose.
And if Danae (4) you'ld wed you can do it on

your head,

For a loan to you Acrisius daren't refuse.
Be a poet, or a preacher, deafen every living creature.
Be a pleader, you'll beat Cato (5) at this trade.
If you choose to be a lawyer, you can be a real

top-sawyer,

Leaving Servius and Labeo in the shade (5).
You want a thing ? \Vell pray, and show your pile :
'Twill come! Your safe has Jove in durance vile!"

[She recited this satire as she bustled about
with the sacrificial dishes. All being ready,] she
put a cup of wine beneath my hands and, having
made me stretch out my fingers, she cleaned them
separately with leeks and parsley. Finally utter-

216 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

ing an invocation she plunged some filberts (6)
into the wine. The result of the enquiry depended
on whether they rose to the top or sank to the
bottom. I observed that some of the nuts being
empty and hollow without kernels of course
floated on the top, while those which were heavy
and full of fresh fruit drifted to the bottom.
[Then, turning towards the dead goose,] she made
a slit in its breast and pulled out its well-fattened
liver (7), from which she proceeded to tell my
fortune. Not yet satisfied, and to prevent any
trace of the crime remaining, she carved up the
bird, stuck the portions on spits and cooked a
noble repast, as she said, for the doomed victim.
In the meanwhile cups of unmixed wine (8) went
round and round, [while the two old ladies cheer-
fully consumed the goose which had caused all
the disturbance. \Vhen the last tit-bit had
vanished, Oenothea, who by this time was quite
merry, turned upon me and said : " Now the mystic
rites must begin, which will make you a man
again."]

CHAPTER CXXXVIII
THE CURE IS TOO VIOLENT

PROFERT Oenothea scorteum fascinum(l), quod
ut oleo et minuto pipere atque urticae trito circum-
dedit semine, paulatim coepit inserere ano meo . . .

Hoc crudelissima anus spargit subinde umore
femina mea . . .

Nasturcii (2) sucum cum habrotono miscet per-
fusisque inguinibus meis viridis urticae fascem
comprehendit omniaque infra umbilicum coepit
lenta manu caedere . . .

THE CURE IS TOO VIOLENT 217

[Stung all over by the nettles] I took to flight,
but the old hags in spite of their excitement,
which was due partly to wine and partly to
lust, followed in breathless pursuit, dogging my
steps, and, having followed me the length of
several streets, they started shrieking " Stop
thief 1" However, I showed them a clean pair
of heels, in spite of tearing my feet to bits in
my headlong course.

[Although I was absolutely worn out when at
last I staggered home, and fell into bed, I
couldn't get a \vink of sleep. I went over and
over all the miseries which had befallen me. I
came to the conclusion that I was the unluckiest
fellow alive, and cried out : " Cruel Fate, thou
art ever against me 1 \Vas it necessary to call
in the tortures of love to complete the tale of
my punishment? \Voe is mel Fate and Love
are in league to ruin me. Even cruel Love has
never spared me: whether I love or am loved,
I am kept on the rack. For behold, Chrysis,
who loves me to distraction, continues to perse-
cute me. The very coquette who, when she
courted me on her mistress's behalf, spurned and
despised me as a slave because I was dressed
in the garb of servitude— she, I say,] that Chrysis,
who then mocked at my low estate, insists on
pestering me now at the risk ot her neck ; [and
she vows she will never desert me, now that
she has once confessed the depth of her infatuation.
But Circe is my only lovel I laugh at all the
rest.] By my faith, what beauty can excel hers?
What charm had Ariadne (3) or Leda (4) to
compare with her? Wliere would Helen (5) be
beside her? Wliere Venus herself? Paris himself,

218 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

who judged between the goddesses, had he caught
sight of Circe with her love-lit eyes, would have
given up his Helen— aye, and have thrown in
the three goddesses (6). Ah, if only I might snatch
a kiss from her, and press her heavenly, nay
ambrosial, bosom perchance my spirit might revive
which now, I verily believe, is paralysed by magic.
Her cruelty has not cooled my ardour. She had
me flogged, but I've forgotten it. Expelled from
her house; it is nothing to me. Only may I
win her favor back!"

CHAPTER CXXXIX
CHRYSIS RETURNS

[THOUGHTS like this, mingled with the picture
of lovely Circe, as I tossed to and fro on my
uneasy couch, tortured my mind, as with the
very image of my passion. So hopeless had my
courting proved till now. Disappointment burned
within me, and at last my endurance gave way,
and I cursed my evil star for the poison that
infected me. At length I pulled myself together
and sought consolation among the heroes of old
•who in their day had known the implacable wrath
of heaven. Then I burst forth :]

" Not me alone doth Fate refuse to spare ;

Once Hercules driven o'er th' Inachian(l) shore

Felt heaven's weight ; of old Laomedon (2) bore
The greedy vengeance of a heavenly pair.
Juno plagued Pelias (3) ; blindly Telephus (4)

Drew blade; Ulysses dreaded Neptune's home;

Me too o'er land, o'er Nereus' (5) waste of foam,
Priapus harries, god of Lampsacus (6)."

CHRYSIS RETURNS 219

[Tortured by these reflections, I passed the
•whole night in great distress. Gito, who had
heard that I had come home to bed, entered my
room in the grey of dawn, and angrily accused
me of living a double life. He said that the
household was in a state of indignation at my
goings on; that I was hardly ever at my duties;
and that it was quite on the cards that my
behaviour would be the ruin of me. I gathered
from all this that he had been warned about
my doings, and that probably someone in the
house had inquired for me.]

I, therefore, proceeded to ask Gito whether
anyone had inquired for me.

" No one to-day " he said. " But yesterday an
awfully smart woman came to the door. She
talked with me for some time, and nearly bored
me to death with her far-fetched talk ; she wound
up by saying that you were a bad lot and would
be punished like a slave, if the injured party
persevered in his complaint."

[This put me in a worse fever than ever, and I
flung fresh taunts at fortune. In fact] I had not
finished my abuse when Chrysis interrupted me
by rushing in and embracing me.

"At last I have you, the man of my heart",
she cried. " You, my beloved ; you, my delight.
You will never quench the fire of my love, unless
you drown it in blood."

[I was much upset by the affectionate Chrysis,
and I tried all sorts of coaxing to make her
leave me in peace. I was afraid the echoes of
her passionate outburst would reach the ears of
Eumolpus, who as a result of his prosperity had
put on the arrogance of a master. So I sura-

220 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

moned all my ingenuity to calm Chrysis down.
I feigned an ardent love ; I whispered soothingly ;
in a word I piled it on so cunningly that she
believed I was badly hit. I explained what a
risk we both ran in case we were found together
in my room, telling her that Eumolpus always
punished the smallest offence. \Vhen she heard
all this, she ran out hastily, all the more quickly
because she saw Gito returning, having left my
room just before her arrival.

She had barely gone out when] one of the
newly acquired slaves suddenly ran up and
announced that the master was simply furious
with me because I had taken two days' French
leave : therefore I should be wise to get ready
some adequate excuse, because it was hardly
possible he could cool down his blazing anger
•without using the whip.

[At this alarming report I turned with a counte-
nance of abject misery and distress to Gito :
he was too sorry to make any comment on the
visit of Chrysis. He confined his remarks to
Eumolpus, and recommended that I should take
the whole business as a jest and refuse to be
serious. I took the hint, and went to him in
such a cheerful spirit that he welcomed me not
like a tyrant, but rather like a boon-companion.
He chaffed me about my prosperous affaircd de
cceur; extolled my handsome graceful figure as
being ideal in the eyes of a lady. Then he added :
" A little bird has told me that the belle of the
town is over head and ears in love with you.
As things go, that may well stand us in good
stead when the time comes. So stick to your
lover's role : I will play up to my character."]

THE EPISODE OF PHILOMELA 221

CHAPTER CXL

THE EPISODE OF PHILOMELA
AND HER CHILDREN

QUAE multas saepe hereditates officio aetatis
extorserat, turn anus et floris extincti, filium
filiamque ingerebat orbis senibus, et per hanc
successionem artem suam perse verabat extendere.
Ea ergo ad Eumolpum venifc et commendare
liberos suos eius prudentiae bonitatique . . . cre-
dere se et vota sua. Ilium esse solum in toto
orbe terrarum, qui praeceptis etiam salubribus
instruere iuvenes quotidie posset. Ad summam,
relinquere se pueros in domo Eumolpi, ut ilium
loquentem audirent . . . quae sola posset hereditas
iuvenibus dari. Nee aliter fecit ac dixerat, filiam-
que speciosissimam cum fratre ephebo in cubiculo
reliquit simulavitque se in templum ire ad vota
nuncupanda. Eumolpus, qui tarn frugi erat ut
illi etiam ego puer viderer, non distulit puellam
invitare ad pigiciaca1 sacra. Sed et podagricum
se esse lumborumque solutorum omnibus dixerat,
et si non servasset integram simulationem, peri-
clitabatur totam paene tragoediam evertere. Ita-
que ut constaret mendacio fides, puellam quidem
exoravit, ut sederet super commendatam boni-
tatem, Coraci autem imperavit, ut lectum, in quo
ipse iacebat, subiret positisque in pavimento
manibus dominum lumbis suis commoveret. Ille
lente parebat imperio puellaque artificium pari
motu remunerabat. Cum ergo res ad effectum
spectaret, clara Eumolpus voce exhortabatur
Coraca, ut spissaret officium. Sic inter mercen-

222 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

narium amicamque positus senex veluti oscilla-
tione ludebat. Hoc semel iterumque ingenti risu,
etiam suo, Eumolpus fecerat. Itaque ego quoque,
ne desidia consuetudinem perderem, dum frater
sororis suae automata per clostellum miratur,
access! temptaturus, an pateretur iniuriam. Nee
se reiciebat a blanditiis doctissimus puer, sed
me numen inimicum ibi quoque invenit . . .

" Dii maiores sunt, qui me restituerunt in inte-
grum. Mercurius enim, qui animas ducere et
reducere solet, suis beneficiis reddidit mihi, quod
manus irata praeciderat, ut scias me gratiosiorem
esse quam Protesilaum (1) aut quemquam alium
antiquorum." Haec locutus sustuli tunicam Eumol-
poque me totum approbavi. At ille prime exhor-
ruit, deinde ut plurimum crederet, utraque manu
deorum beneficia tractat . . .

[This amazing good fortune put us in the highest
spirits. W^e laughed heartily at Philomela's
canny ways and her children's professional skill,
both of which were doomed to disappointment
in our case; for it was only in the hope of a
bequest that she had given us access to her son
and daughter.

Events led me to dilate upon this unsavoury
method of swindling old men, and, seizing the
opportunity of discoursing about the state of our
fortunes, I warned Eumolpus that men who dig
a pit fall into it themselves.

" Everything we do", I asserted, " should be
in accordance with the dictates of reason.] So-
crates, whom gods and men acknowledge as the
wisest man that ever lived, used to boast, that
he had never even peeped into an inn, or risked
mixing in any miscellaneous mob. There is no

THE EPISODE OF PHILOMELA 223

safer rule than always to associate with sensible
people."

" All these things", I proceeded, " are very
true. No people fall into trouble more readily
than those who hanker after other people's
property. How would thieves and cut-purses
earn their bread unless they took among the
crowd their little money-boxes and their jingling
purses by way of bait ? Just as dumb animals
are caught in baited traps, so men would never
be swindled if they didn't nibble at tempting
morsels.

["That is why the good folk of Croton have
so far given us such a royal time.] But that ship
never arrived from Africa, as you promised,
with your household and your millions on board.
The trappers are already tired and have cut down
the bait. Unless I am much mistaken, our com-
mon prosperity is about to fall in ruins about
your unhappy ears."

CHAPTER CXLI

THE END OF THE STORY-AND
OF EUMOLPUS

" I HAVE thought out a scheme ", replied
Eumolpus, " which will keep the trappers on
tenterhooks."

With this, he produced a document from his
scrip, and read out his last bequests.

" All those who are beneficiaries under this
my will, save and except my freedmen, shall
receive their legacies on this condition only, that

224 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

they cut up my body into pieces, and consume
them in the presence of the whole city. Let
them not shrink unnecessarily from this provision :
among certain tribes we know that there is
preserved to this day the custom by which the
dead are devoured by their nearest of kin; so
much so that sick men are perpetually criticized
on the ground that they are making their flesh
uneatable. Therefore I urge my dear friends
not to shirk my last -wishes : as gladly as they
consign my soul to perdition, so gladly may they
consume my body."

Wlille he was reading out the preamble, several
of his more intimate friends entered the bed-
chamber, and, observing that he had his will in
his hand, begged him earnestly to let them hear
its contents. He nodded briefly and read it
through from first to last. But, when they realized
the eccentric proviso which made obligatory
the devouring of the remains, they were vastly
depressed. However, the rumours of Eumolpus'
fabulous wealth dazzled their eyes and minds,
and they were so nervous in his presence that
they dared not complain against this amazing
condition. In fact one of them, Gorgias by name,
announced his readiness to abide by it. To this
Eumolpus replied:

" I have no fear that your belly will revolt ; it
will do anything you like if, in return for one hour's
nausea, you guarantee an ample compensation in
luxuries to come. Just close your eyes, and pretend
it is not human entrails that you are putting away
but a big pile of dollars. Besides, I will think
out appetizing trimmings to take away the taste.
No meat goes well by itself: it requires a good

THE END OF THE STORY 225

cook to disguise its natural crudeness and make
it appetizing. If you want examples in support
of my idea, let me remind you of the Saguntines(l)
who, -when they were hard pressed by Hannibal,
ate human flesh, and they had no legacy in view 1
The men of Petelia (2) in the last stages of famine
did the same, and they had no idea of any reward
for eating up their comrades save that of avoiding
starvation. \Vhen Numantia was captured by
Scipio, they found mothers holding in their hands
the half-devoured remains of their own children. (3)
[In conclusion, since a loathing for human flesh
is merely the product of imagination, I'm sure
you'll overcome your reluctance whole-heartedly
in view of the huge bequests which I have made."

These gruesome suggestions Eumolpus threw
off with so much indifference that the "trappers"
henceforth began to doubt his promises. Forth-
with they kept a closer watch on everything we
said and did; their suspicions grew with each
discovery, and they came to the conclusion that
we were rogues and vagabonds. In consequence
all those who had shown us specially generous
hospitality decided to attack us and punish us
as we deserved.

Chrysis, however, being aware of the whole
plot, informed me of her fellow-townsmen's plan.
As soon as I heard of it, I was so terrified that,
there and then, I cleared out with Gito, leaving
Eumolpus to dree his own weird. A few days
later the news reached me that the Crotonians,
furious at the old villain's effrontery in living
day after day at the public expense, put him to
death according to the custom of Massilia.

In case you don't understand, I may tell you

15

226 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

that, whenever the people of Massilia were
threatened with shortage of food, one of the
poorest used to volunteer as a scapegoat. He
had first to be maintained for a whole year on
elegant fare at the public cost. At the end of
that time he was decorated with sacred boughs
and vestments, led round through the whole city
amid universal prayers that the evils of the whole
people might fall upon his head, and finally he
was hurled down from the top of a cliff.]

NOTES

(References are to the Chapters)

CHAPTER I

(1) The declafnator -was a professional teacher of
rhetoric, as distinguished from the orator (Quint. 10.2.21).
\Vith the fall of the Republic, the great period of Roman
oratory ended, and public speaking, -whether political or
forensic, is represented as having degenerated into turgid
rhetoric, consisting largely of eulogy of the emperors and
artificial themes of a conventional character. Agamemnon
is cited by Petronius as the modern type of rhetorician,
the name of the Greek legendary hero being chosen, no
doubt, to give point to the irony, much as Mr. G. B. Shaw
might satirize a modern local politician by calling him
"Mr. Pitt".

(2) It was a common practice to cut the knee-muscles
of prisoners of war to prevent their escaping.

(3) Literally "honeyed little balls of words". This
metaphorical use of globular is, I think unique in extant
Latin literature. The poppy is frequently pressed into
the service of literary metaphor by reason of its soothing
qualities, especially in connexion with sleep (cf. " Lethaeo
sufFusa papavera somno", Verg. Georg. I. 78). Here its
rich heavy quality is specially referred to. The Aetamum
is an oily Eastern plant. The two are connected in
Plaut. Poen. I. 2.113.

CHAPTER II

(1) Sophocles and Euripides were two of the three
great masters of Athenian tragedy in the 5th century
B. C. The first -was Aeschylus whom one would have

228 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

expected to find mentioned here in connexion with cre-
ative work, he being the prototype of serious tragic writers.

(2) Literally "the teacher in the study". Utnbraticiu,
an adjective formed from umbra (shade), is used for
anything which is done in the privacy of a man's house,
studious, contemplative; cf. Quint. 1.2.18 " solitaria et
velut umbratica vita"; Plin. Ep. 9.2.3 "litterae um-
braticae". Cicero (3e Or. 1.34.157, Or. 19.64) uses the
parallel term umbratilU of the rhetoric of the schools.
Generally speaking umbra (shade) is used in metaphor
for the unreal as opposed to the practical.

(3) I. e. they attempted a more modest style. The
Nine Lyric bards were presumably Alcaeus, Sappho,
Anacreon, Alcmaeon, Stesichorus, Arion, Ibycus, Simo-
nides, Bacchylides, Pindar, the great Theban lyric poet
(ca. 522— 442), is mentioned separately by Petronius.
The above-mentioned are the best known "nine", other
than Pindar. A convenient summary of their work will
be found in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Ed. XI, Vol. 12,
p. 510.

(4) Plato, the 4th century Athenian philosopher, the
first great Idealist, whose most famous -works are the
Republic and the Apology of Socrates. Demosthenes is
the Athenian statesman and orator who induced his
countrymen to fight against Philip of Macedon in the
last struggle for the ideal of Greek liberty.

(5) The Asiatic style of oratory was turgid and bom-
bastic. Cicero, who like most young Romans was sent
to Athens to complete his education, during one period
was infected by it, but it was generally held by the
Romans in contempt. A sojourn in Athens was to a
young Roman what a year in Paris was to a young
Englishman in (say) 1850. It was supposed to broaden
his mind, and give him elasticity.

(6) Thucydides, the chief exponent of Attic prose,
was the author of the first great critical history, the
Peloponne6ian JPar, in which he told the story of the
growth and collapse of the Athenian Empire. Among
the most striking features of his writings are the eloquent
speeches which he puts into the mouth of Pericles, in
which he sets forth the ideals of Athenian Imperialism.

NOTES 229

Hypereides, a famous 4th century Athenian counsel,
is frequently cited by Roman writers on rhetoric (cf.
Cic. de Or., 1.13.58 and 3.7.28; Or. 26, 90 and 31. 110;
Quint. 10.1.77).

CHAPTER III

(1) Agamemnon subsequently takes Encolpius and
Ascyltus as his pupils to Trimalchio's dinner-party (see
ch. XXVI a3 fin).

(2) See Cic. Pro Caelio. 17.41.

(3) The professional "diner-out" is a common subject
•with Roman playwrights and satirists. He is generally
called a " parasite " from the Greek word meaning " one
who dines at another's expense". So Plaut. Capt. 1.1.9
speaks of those who " like mice eat up other men's
food"; cf. Hor. Ep. II. 1.173, Juv. I. 139.

CHAPTER IV

(1) ScbediuA is a Greek adjective meaning "extem-
poraneous ". Scbedia (sc. ratu) is a raft (Dig. XIV. 1.1.6) ;
tcbeBium (sc. carmen) an improvised poem. Lucilius
(148—103 B. C.) \vas a Campanian from Suessa Aurunca,
father of Roman satire, who presumably had the repu-
tation of throwing off sarcastic epigrams in verse. He
wrote Satires in 30 books of which only fragments
survive. Horace who greatly admired him says he was
too rapid in composition—'" two hundred verses an hour
while the author stands on one foot" ; he refers to the
"muddy" stream of his lines.

CHAPTER V

(1) The plaiMoreA were men hired to provide applause
in the theatre, the equivalent of the French claqtieurt.
Cf. Hor. Ep. II. 2.130. The metre of the first 8 lines
is the ordinary iambic hexameter, but with the spondee
instead of the final iambus. The remainder of the poem
is in ordinary Virgilian hexameters. Hence the change
in the metre and style of the translation. The English
rhymed couplet may be allowed to represent the more
precise lyric part; the freer metre of the remainder, the
looser hexameter.

230 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

(2) I. c. at Athens. Athena, the patron goddess of
Athens, is called the " Tritonian " goddess from a lake
and river in North Africa near the Lesser Syrtis, where
she was born, according to the Graeco-Egyptian myth.

(3) The reference does not appear to be specific. The
Spartans (or Lacedemonians) were constitutionally averse
to settling abroad, and the reference may by simply to
Laconia itself. \Ve know, however, that one colony,
Tarentum, was founded by Spartans about the end of
the 8th century B. C., and the connexion with " the
shore where the Sirens played" (see next note) affords
ground for supposing that this may be the town in question.

(•4) The Sirens, in Greek myth., were birds with the
faces of women who by their sweet singing lured sailors
to destruction on the coast of Southern Italy. Virgil
(Aen. v. 864) speaks of the " Scopuli Sirenum ", rocky
islands off the S. \V. Campanian coastline, where the
helmsman Palinurus was lost. Odysseus stopped the ears
of his sailors with -wax, and tied himself to the rudder,
lest the Siren song should bring them to grief. The
modern use of the term for a peculiarly strident steam
whistle, to notify workmen that the time for toil has
arrived, is thus ironical. At all times imaginative sea-
folk have attributed wrecks to superhuman agency.

(5) Maeonia is an ancient name for Lydia in Western
Asia Minor. Homer was claimed as a native : hence
the adjective is equivalent to "Homeric" (cf. Horace,
Ode6 1.6.2). Ovid and Silius Italicus and even Virgil,
following the old tradition which assigned to Etruscan
civilization an Asiatic origin, use the epithet in connexion
with Etruria : cf. " Maeonius lacus " for Lake Trasimene
(Sil. 15.36).

(6) The early Latin poets imitated and even translated
Greek models. Poetry, except in a very elementary stage,
was not a form of expression natural to the Roman
genius. It is not very clear in what sense Petronius
regards Imperial poetry as free from Greek influence.
Virgil followed Homer and Theocritus. Lucan invented
no new form. For the whole question of later Roman
poetry, see H. E. Butler, Podt-Augiulan Poetry (1909).

(7) Pieria, a poetical name of Thessaly. Mt. Pierus

NOTES 231

was a home of the Muses: hence "Pierian" is a stock
epithet of poetry. Cf. the old term Gradu.6 ad Parn.a6du.tn,
a dictionary of so-called synonyms intended as a help to
composers of Latin verse : Parnassus, a mountain in
Phocis, was sacred to Apollo, father of the Muses :
similarly Mt. Helicon in Boeotia was sacred to the Muses.
Pimpla in Plena was a special haunt of the Muses :
hence the epithet Pimpleut.

CHAPTER VI

(1) Porch. The Roman poftidU (whence "porch",
" portico "), the Greek Stoa, was a kind of cloister,
covered in above, with columns on one side or both.
They were an obvious expedient in the architecture of
Southern countries to provide a refuge from the heat.
Such colonnades were a common adjunct to temples, and
became the regular places for conversation. This latter
function of the colonnade led to the provision of similar
buildings for purely secular purposes (e. g. the meetings
of professors and pupils) and were common in connexion
with both public and private buildings. At Rome a
good deal of business was carried on in them. The term
is specially famous as the title of the philosophic school
of Zeno whose pupils, known as the Stoics, used to
assemble in such a place. Hence the term " the philo-
sophy of the Porch", as distinct from the Academy
where Plato taught.

(2) A iuawria was a model speech given by the teacher
for the instruction of his pupils (from iuadere, urge, advise).

CHAPTER VII

(1) Titular (Eng. "title"), a general term for any
notice, placard, advertisement, legend or inscription in-
tended to give information : e. g. of slaves for sale. Here,
a notice giving the name and fee demanded by the
frequenters of the place.

CHAPTER IX

(1) The term "brother" is here used in a technical
sense for the perverted relationship between males, which

232 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

is so prominent a feature in the story of Encolpius (see
The Introduction).

(2) Lucretia, daughter of Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus
and wife of Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, committed
suicide after being dishonoured by Sextus Tarquinius,
son of Tarquinius Superbus, last of the Etruscan dynasty
•which ruled in Rome prior to the Republic. She thus
became the type of -womanly virtue : according to the
legend it was this tragedy which roused the Romans to
expel the tyrants circa 509 B. C. (see Ency. Brit., ed.
XI, s. v. Rome, section Ancient History).

(3) This is doubtless the general sense, but the text
is defective. To be a gladiator at all -was a disgrace :
to be expelled was a fortiori to be quite beyond the pale
(for the gladiatorial games generally, see ch. XLV, n. 2).

(4) A viridarlum (literally a " greenery ") was any green
pleasance with grass, shrubs or trees, an ornamental
garden, such as the Romans loved (cf. Cic. ad Att. 2.3.2).
They had a passion for landscape gardening, and revelled
in parterres and arbors, and even in shrubs tortured into
the semblance of animals : this branch of art was called
Toplarla (Cic. ad Frat. 3.1.2.5).

(5) The Roman name for a roadside inn (diverwittm
or devorAorlum) means by derivation a place to which
one " turns off" from one's road, i. e. to spend the night;
hence guests were devorwe*. The inn of Greece and
Rome never played an important part in social life, for
the reason that people of any consequence usually arranged
to put up at the houses of friends. A more general term
was caupona \vhich implied primarily the provision of
food, and hence -was generally used for a small eating-
house : a poplna -was a place for eating and drinking
solely. It appears that these hostelries -were the resorts
of thieves, murderers, drunkards, and prostitutes, and
that the landlords (caupo) as a class were deservedly
looked upon as scoundrels. A typical story is told by
Cicero (De Invent. 2.4.14).

CHAPTER X

(1) Glass, as Trimalchio reluctantly admits (ch. L ad
Jin.), -was cheap and common. Hence "broken glass"

NOTES 233

implies utterly useless rubbish. Pliny (Nat. HLit. 36 § 191)
tells a story of how glass was accidentally discovered
by seafarers who, in the absence of stones, propped up
their saucepans on lumps of nitre from their cargo : the
nitre amalgamated with the sand, and formed a sort of
vitreous compound. However this may be, the district
(Syria) to which the story is assigned was a great centre
for the ancient glass-trade. Glass was very common in
Rome (Lucretius mentions it first apparently), and Cicero
says it came from Egypt with paper and linen. Subse-
quently poets frequently refer to it as a common object,
and we know from Pliny that its manufacture was wide-
spread in Italy and the West. Alexander Severus taxed
the glass-makers along with manufacturers of other
common products, and we know that it was used for
windows, sham jewelry, intaglios and vessels of all sorts :
also as a covering for floors and walls.

(2) The interpretation of dreams was a regular part
of ancient magic lore (cf. Cic. Div. 1.20.39; 1.58.132).

CHAPTER XI

(1) Literally "in no perfunctory style". Perfunclorle
is a late Latin -word, implying the doing of some duty
merely to get it over. The word perfungor in classical
Latin simply implies the completion of a set task. It
frequently happens that English incorporates words at
the cost of pruning away their more dignified classical
meanings.

(2) From this point to the end of the chapter, the
story is an interpolation.

(3) Repetundae red, literally properly wrongly acquired
and therefore " recoverable " by the real owner. The
term was specially applied to the extortions of provincial
governors such as Gaius Verres. To the Roman, the
conquered province was nothing more than a source for
plunder : taxes were imposed, and these were farmed out
to financial corporations who -worked hand in hand with
the governor and his civil service. So flagrant -was the
abuse that in 149 B. C. the first standing law court
(quaeotlo de repetundit) was specially established by the
Lex Calpurnia.

234 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

(4) Isis, the Egyptian goddess. The worship of Isis
•was imported officially by the Romans about 80 B. C.
•when Sulla established a college of priests in her honour.
It -was accompanied by coarse ritual and the immoral
orgies which disfigured all the imported cults of Rome.
Her didtrum (Greek for " rattle") was a mystical instrument
of music apparently like a modern child's rattle -with
objects which clinked when it was shaken. The mysticism
and the indiscipline of the Isiac worship were a reaction
against the rigours of the old Roman religion, such as
seem to occur automatically when a nation has struggled
to greatness and is losing its ideals. The Roman consuls
several times destroyed the altars of the cult, but in vain.

(5) The -words ca<stellum and villa in this spurious
passage are not -worth pressing very closely. A catlelluin
is really a term in military construction (a fort or keep),
or in engineering (the distributing centre of a town's
water-supply). It is always used metaphorically for a
" strong tower" of defence. Here it is presumably Lichas'
chief residence, which may be supposed to have been
defensible. Villa is a small country house or lodge.

(6) Literally "through a false door": the phrase is
used metaphorically for " secretly" (cf. Cic. Verr. 2.2.20.50 ;
Red. in Sen. 6.H).

(7) Epbippium is a Latinized Greek word for the equi-
valent of the modern saddle. It -was a sort of cushion
on a frame and had no stirrups : a saddle cloth was
placed beneath it. For pallium which is here loosely
translated "riding-coat" see ch. XII, n. 1.

CHAPTER XII

(1) The words pallium and tunica cannot be satis-
factorily translated, as the garments are not now-a-days
in use. The Pallium was the outer garment, a plain
piece of cloth of rectangular shape, roughly square, made
of -woven wool, flax on cotton, dyed or plain. It was
slung over the left shoulder and gathered up with a
brooch on the right, the rest hanging loose. The tunica
•was a close-fitting undergarment. Hence Plautus in
Tnnummuj (5.2.30) says " tunica propior pallio". Servius
in a note on Verg. Aen. \. 648 speaks of a combination

NOTES 235

garment tunicopaUium. It was in later days a sign of
poverty to wear no tunica; on the other hand a long-
sleeved tunica (manicata) was a sign of effeminacy.
According to the -weather men and women wore two
or more tunics : Augustus is said to have worn four in
winter. (On Roman costume see H. Stuart Jones, s. v.
Costume, Ency. Brit. Xlth ed.)

CHAPTER XIV

(1) The Cynics, of whom the most famous was Diogenes,
affected to scorn comfort of all kinds, arguing that all
luxury was incompatible with the higher life.

(2) Or, with another reading (cocloneJ) " the brokers",
whom Gellius calls arilatoret (16.7.12). Perhaps "huck-
sters" is more accurate.

CHAPTER XV

(1) A Aequeiter was " a person in whose hands the
parties place the property in dispute" (Dig. 50.16.110);
derivatively any agent or go-between.

(2) Literally " a praetor's lictor", apparently an official
of a municipal praetor, concerned with the registration
of non-residents—an interesting sidelight on the organi-
zation of a Roman town, analogous to the excellent
system of D. O. R. A. The praetor was originally the
chief magistrate of the state, afterwards known as consul.
The praetors of classical times \vere civil officers second
in rank to the consuls. At first there was only one,
but as business increased two -were appointed— one, the
urban praetor, who dealt with questions between citizens ;
the other, the praetor peregrinut, who took cognisance of suits
in which aliens were involved. Either was competent to
command an army in the absence of the consuls, and
beside their judicial functions they were put in control
of provinces. The increase of the latter led to the
appointment of other praetors:— in 227 B.C. for Sicily
and Sardinia, in 197 for the newly conquered Spanish
provinces. Sulla increased the number to eight, while
Julius Caesar appointed as many as twelve and even
sixteen, the number being fixed by Augustus at twelve.
Ultimately the number rose to eighteen. A praetor in

236 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

Rome was allowed two lictors. As a symbol of the
magistrate's authority lictors carried fcucei, i. e. bundles
of rods. Strictly municipal "mayors" as we may call
them were called by other names, e. g. duumviri, but
(cf. ch. LX V) at Cumae the term praetor was adopted :
so at Capua (Cic. Agr. 2.34.93), and no doubt elsewhere.

CHAPTER XVII

(1) lam ambltloAUA detumuit imber. AmbltloAUA (whence
the English " ambitious ") is an interesting word. Ambitio,
the noun, means " a going round about " : hence " indirect ",
"not straightforward": thus it is applied technically to
canvassing for votes, and finally to corrupt practices and
self-seeking of any kind. Here the adjective denotes
that Quartilla's outburst of misery was deliberately cal-
culated to produce an effect. Detumuit Imber is a metaphor
from the bursting of a rain-cloud : another reading is
detonuit, of a cloud from which a thunder-clap bursts forth.

(2) The pompous style of Quartilla's remarks is, of
course, deliberate : it is intended to suggest still further
the great solemnity of the cult which Encolpius has
outraged. She aims at reducing him to a state of abject
terror.

(3) The Latin phrase (medius fidlui) is a conventional
form of asseveration. Fldlut is an epithet of Jupiter, who
as such is identified by Ovid (Feutt, VI. 213) with the
primitive Italian (Sabine) deity Sancus (see Ency. Brit.,
XI. Ed., s. v. Semo Sancus). It is short for " May the
God of Faithfulness preserve me! " Sancus had a temple
in Rome on the Quirinal : a gate in the neighbourhood
was called Porta Sanqualis.

(•4) Priapus was the deity of sexual indulgence. The
secret ritus with which he was "worshipped by women
are described by Juvenal in his sixth satire.

(5) The whole question of secret rites, known by the
generic (though comparatively late) name of " Mysteries"
(derived from an old Greek word for shutting the eyes),
is as interesting as it is difficult. From the earliest times
and most primitive cults to the most advanced religions
including organizations such as Freemasonry, mankind
has revelled in the invention and development of mystical

NOTES 237

rites and usages, limited to an initiated few. Such
practices are the expression of a universal tendency to
recognize the existence of natural forces which transcend
the limits of human reason. This anti-scientific tendency,
which belongs to practically all stages of intellectual
development and is far from uncommon even in the
ostensibly rational arena of the so-called exact sciences,
has a very practical significance, inasmuch as initiation
confers upon the fortunate neophyte a new status in the
social structure. The initiated are moreover bound together
by a tie which is universally regarded as a stronger
guarantee of fidelity than a sense of honour, though its
sanctity is supplemented in many cases by terrible threats
of punishment.

Among the more elevated of the ancient mysteries were
those celebrated at Eleusis by the people of Attica in
honour of Demeter, goddess of fertility (see Farnell, CultA
of the Gr. State*, III, 126—198). Others are the famous
Orphic Mysteries, the terrible orgies which came from
the East, the Bacchanalian festivals (for which the reader
may study Prof. Gilbert Murray's translation of Euripides'
play, the Baccbae). In Rome the most famous were those
of the " Good Goddess" (Bona Dea). Curiously enough,
mysteries were largely in the hands of women ; the
greatest excitement was caused in Rome when the profli-
gate Clodius (whom Petronius probably had in mind in
this story) intruded, in the guise of a woman, upon the
festival of the Bona Dea, which was being celebrated
by women in the house of Julius Caesar, then chief
pontiff (cf. Cic. ad Alt. I. 13. 3). No doubt this was
due to the fact that it was especially the phenomena of
sexual reproduction and sexual excess or perversion which
lent themselves to secret and mystical symbolism.

CHAPTER XIX.

(1) Literally "colder than a Gallic winter". As Gaul
was to Italy, so is the Arctic circle to the British Isles.

CHAPTER XX.

(1) Lodlcula is the diminutive of lodix a blanket.
Pavimcntum (Eng. "pavement") goes back to the period

238 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

of beaten mud floors (pavlre, beat) : afterwards applied
to floorings of any kind (marble, mosaic, etc.).

(2) Literally "border", "braid", "flounce". Lewis
and Short suggest " bandage " or " girth ", but " lace " may
pass as more intelligible. The indlta was (L. and S.)
"laid in separate plaits". A Roman lady wore a broad
band or fillet, a sort of streamer with large folds which
fell from the tunica (see ch. XII, n. 1) to the ankles.
Hence Ovid (Am. II. 600) uses nulla irutita where we
should say " no lady ". Later (ch. XCVII) Petronius
uses it of the lashings upon which a mattress rested.

(3) The reading is not certain, but the sense is fairly
clear. Possibly she said chaffingly : " I did put it near
you, young man; you don't say you have finished it all?"

CHAPTER XXI

(1) Literally "hair needle". Of the pins with which
Roman ladies completed their coiffure, there are examples
in the Social Antiquities Room of the British Museum.

(2) The Latin word here is penicillum, literally " a
little tail", a term used for a painter's brush (e.g. Cic.
ad Fam. IX. 22.2). Pliny uses it as a metaphorical term
for painting as a whole (35.9.36) ; Cicero for literary
style (ad Q. Fratr. II. 15.2); others as a roll of lint,
and an eye-salve.

(3) The Latin gaiuapa (gautape, gauaapuni) was a stout
cloth with the nap extra thick on one side. It was used
for removing crumbs etc. from the dinner-table (Hor.
Sat. II. 8.11) and as a cover for the valuable highly-
polished tables in which the Romans delighted (Mart.
XIV. 138). It was also used for warm-clothing (Mart.
XIV. 145 and 147) about the time of the two Pliny s,
and perhaps as early as the time of Augustus (Ovid
A. A. II. 300). No doubt it was to the Roman what
Scotch plaids or Donegal frieze are to the modern
Englishman.

(4) The term (duccinctiu) " girt-up ", is regularly applied
to soldiers ready for action. The opposite diMinctwi is
synonymous with unreadiness and inertia.

(5) The gymnasium or palaestra was an important Roman

NOTES 239

institution imported from Greece. It was a •wrestling
school -where young men took exercise and practised
under the guidance of a trainer. An important feature
of the exercise was the subsequent anointing -with oil
which prevented the athletes from taking cold.

(6) Falernian wine was, with the exception of the
wine of Setia which Augustus drank, the favourite drink
of Imperial Rome, the older Caecuban wine having
deteriorated in quality. It was grown in the district
lying between the Massic hills and the river Volturnus.
There were several brands or qualities which Pliny
distinguishes as tenue (light), dulce (sweet), audlerum (full),
and various parts of the Falernian area produced slightly
different vintages. It required to remain ten years in
cask, but in a second ten years it became indigestible.
The giuitatlo (appetiser) may have been analogous to
bori d'oeuvred or the Swedish preliminary dainties ; or it
may rather be the prototype of the cocktail.

CHAPTER XXII

(1) Fuligo (soot) is used also for a material which
darkened the eyebrows (Juv. II. 93) and for paint
(Aulus Gellius. I. 2.7) : evidently the equivalent of our
burnt cork, etc.

(2) The Latin word and the meaning are both doubtful.
The alternative words (AoplllonibuA, Aopionibiu, ropionibuS)
are not recognised by Lewis and Short.

(3) Syrian slaves. Syria was one of the chief sources
from which Rome obtained her slaves. Such slaves had
the reputation of being peculiarly dishonest.

(4) The tricliniarch (chief attendant on the LricLinium)
is mentioned only here and in Inter. OrelL 794, 2952.
He would answer to the butler or headwaiter of modern
times. See further on the triclinium (ch. XXX, n. 1).

(5) The Cymbals, a musical instrument of Oriental
origin, were much used in Greece and Rome as an
accompaniment to dancing, both in private life and in
connexion with religious and especially orgiastic rites.
They consisted of two hollow half-globes held in the
two hands (either by the outside or by a band stretched

240 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

across the inner section) and beaten together in time
•with a tune or dance. They were used mainly by
female performers, as -we see from extant artistic monu-
ments. For the various kinds see Daremberg-Saglio,
under Cymbalum.

CHAPTER XXIII

(1) The word ImuLitu (" without salt", i.e. " pointless",
" destitute of humour") is admirably adapted to describing
the pointless rubbish of the music-hall comedian. The
word Aal ("salt") is the regular term for wit; cf. tal
Altlcum "Athenian humour".

(2) This is a lyric in praise of the oriental custom
(imitated in the \Vest) of turning boys into eunuchs.
This custom is severely condemned in Eumolpus" epic
(ch. CXIX, line 19). It is clear that the degenerate
Romans of the Empire were only too ready to succumb
to the Oriental habit (see e. g. Juv. VI. 366). The
" Delian wound" refers to the reputation of Delos as
the home of sexual perversion of all kinds. The Delians
specialized in the rearing of chickens and capons, the
latter being of course young cocks which have been
castrated (root cap. cut; see Skeat, Etym. Diet.)

(3) The word is acacia, a Greek word for a tree and
also the oil thence derived. It is described by Dioscorides
(I. 133) as an astringent thorn producing a white gum
(perhaps gum-arabic).

(4) Creta was a sort of chalk or white clay (called
" Cretan1" after the island), which was put to many uses
in antiquity, e. g. for cleansing garments (e. g. creta
fuLLonia: cf. Plin. H. N. XVII. 46; Plaut. AuL. 4.9.6),
for marking a goal for a race, for making china, for
cosmetic purposes, for theatrical make-up as here (cf.
Hor. Epod. XII. 10 ; Mart. VI. 93.9) etc. In the last case
it had the defect of all dry cosmetics, being not im-
pervious to water.

CHAPTER XXIV

(1) EmbadlcoeloA a Greek word, is here used in a
double sense, for one who enters a couch already occupied
(the assailant of Encolpius) and for some kind of vessel.

NOTES 241

The point probably lies in the indecent shape of the
vessel, or may be understood in some such sense as the
above. The word occurs in Athenaeus 469 A. (XL 5) :
see Forcellini, s. v. ; Pauly-Wissowa (s. v.) translates
" sleeping-draft".

(2) Roman holidays (jeriae, connected etymologically
•with fettuA, our " feast day") were either fixed (dtativae),
settled for each new year (conceptivae), or specially ap-
pointed for a given purpose (imperalivae). Feriae is used
generally for leisure ; cf. the proverb " feriis caret neces-
sitas", " neccessity knows no holidays". Perhaps the
most famous of the second group -were the Feriae Latinae,
an ancient (pre-Roman) Latin festival which Tarquinius
Superbus adapted as a joint celebration of the Union
of Rome and the Latins of Alba. Magistrates used to
use their power to fix its date as a political weapon by
which inconvenient business might be postponed, inasmuch
as on festive days public and private business was
suspended. Thus in 56 B. C. C. Cornelius Lentulus
Marcellinus, as consul, foiled Clodius to Cicero's great
gratification (Ad Quint, frat, II. 6).

CHAPTER XXVI.

(1) The bridal- veil was of yellow (hence called flam-
meum, sc. velum, flame-coloured) as were also the bridal
shoes. It should be remembered that in primitive society
and especially in southern countries, where maturity is
reached earlier, marriage took place at a very tender age.
It is noticeable that Encolpius is represented as genuinely
shocked at Quartilla's proposal; such are the amazing
vagaries of the moral sense. A man who could describe
Gito as an extremely modest youth is a typical Petronian
paradox. According to English law the marriage of a
girl of twelve is valid; the code Napoleon, as amended
in 1907, insists that she must be fifteen. Having regard
to modern knowledge, English law is not entitled to be
greatly horrified at such a story as this. In India girls
of seven years old were considered marriageable (see
Arrian, Ind. IX) but it should be noticed that much of
•what has been taken for child-marriage is only betrothal,
•while consummation is not permitted till quite late in
youth (cf. Indian Census Report, 1901, 430—433).

16

242 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

(2) The wedding-songs (epltbalamia) of Rome were
not limited by present-day notions of good taste. The
same is true of many famous English poems on the same
subject, e. g. those of the poet Donne. Delicacy in this
connexion is relatively modern.

(3) It is not clear what "the third day" means, but
we may conveniently assume that it was the day next
but one after the trying experience at Quartilla's house.
In calculations of this kind the Romans counted in the
days from and to which the period extended. The friends
had had but one clear day to recover.

(4) In -what the "freedom" of the dinner consisted is
a matter of dispute. The Latin word liber has many
shades of meaning, technical and otherwise (see L. and S.).
Ambassadors at Rome were assigned Llberae aedet during
their stay (Livy XXX. 17), i. e. at no cost to themselves;
Plautus (Poen. I. 1.49) speaks of Liber locut, a place free
from intruders; Livy speaks of Liberutm faeniu>, unlimited
interest (XXXV. 7). It would be reasonable for Encolpius
to feel regret that his physical collapse rendered him
unfit for a banquet -which was likely to have any one
of these three excellent characteristics. The accepted
alternatives, however, are:— (I) a dinner at -which there
•would be no mag'iAter (president or chairman) to regulate
the guests' behaviour, (II) a dinner at which the slaves
•would be allowed to join the free guests (but how could
Encolpius foresee the slave invasion -which he criticises
so vigorously in ch. LXX?), (Ill) a dinner such as was
provided for gladiators -who were to fight in the arena
on the ensuing day, i. e. one at which the company -would
be select. The word " but" seems to show that Encolpius
would have been sorry to miss the dinner; hence its
" freeness is a pleasing feature, and is probably to be
explained as "unrestrained", without responsibility (cf.
Llbera legalio). Encolpius and Ascyltus were present on
the introduction of . Agamemnon, the professor of rhetoric
(chh. I— III).

(5) No doubt Encolpius had reason to expect that the
approaching orgy would be exhausting. Later he speaks
of "being only halfway up the hill of luxury" (ch. XLVII).

(6) The Latin emphatically says one tlave, instead of

NOTES 243

the more common one of the slaved, or a certain
Are we to suppose that Agamemnon had but one : slaves
were very common, and ten was in Horace's time a bare
minimum even for a poor man (Sat. I. 3.12). Unskilled
slaves cost about <£ 15— £ 20; skilled workmen anything
up to £ 60 ; slaves who could keep accounts and write,
or were physically attractive, cost <£ 1000 and upwards.

(7) The ancients measured time (the generic word
borologlum, French borloge, is Greek and means " hour-
calculator") either by the shadow of the sun cast by an
upright stick or pole, or by the graduated escape of water
from a vessel. These instruments were called respectively
(I) gnomon or poliu, and (II) cleptydra. (I) The Gnomon
was a pole placed in an exposed spot, and time was
measured by the path traced by the end of the shadow.
The poLuA comprised a vertical stick and a bowl in which
it stood, the sides being divided into hour-sections. (II) The
cteptydra (a Greek word of which ydra means water— cf.
hydro in English compounds—and clepA steal, alluding to
the trickling away of the water) was a vessel pierced
with holes such that the passage of time was marked by
the amount of water which escaped or was left. This
latter instrument was really a primitive stop-watch or
chronometer such as chess-players use, and was used in
courts of law to show how long an advocate had spoken
(his time being prescribed). If any interruption occurred
the vessel was plugged, as when a referee takes off time
for an accidental interruption of a football match. Its
defect as a clock proper -was that the Greeks divided
their days into twelve hours \vithout reference to the
varying seasons : hence it was correct only at the equinoxes,
apart from mechanical compensation, which was, however,
more or less skilfully supplied. Its counterbalancing ad-
vantage over the sun-dial was that it did not "stop"
•whenever the sun -was overclouded.

Publius Scipio Nasica introduced a public clepsydra
into Rome in 159 B. C., and others followed. The Roman
term Mlarlum, used first for a dial clock (end of 3rd
century B. C.) was afterwards applied to the cleptydra.
(Cf. Cic. N- D. II. 34.87 " solarium aut descriptum aut
ex aqua".) Among famous public borologia in Rome was
one erected by Augustus in the Campus Martius : it was

244 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

of the gnomon type, but in course of time it became
inaccurate (Pliny, N. H. XXXVI. 73). Many remains
of private borologia have been discovered (see the Classical
Dictionaries) and there are frequent references in literature
(Cic. ad Fam. XVI. 18.3; Digest 33.7.12.23). Portable
watches which were held in such a way that the sun
sent a small spot of light upon hour-lines, have also been
found. On the whole subject see Ardaillon's admirable
article in Dar.-Sag.

Slaves were kept by rich men to call out the hours
(Juvenal X. 216; Martial VIII. 67; Prop. IV. 4.63;
Suet. Dom. 16): thus Trimalchio has his bucinator, buclna
being a horn with spiral twists imitated from a shell
(concha), employed (e. g.) for sounding the watches in
the Roman camp (Class. Diet. s. v. ; K. Schlesinger in
Ency. Brit. s. v. Buccina; Daremberg-Saglio Diet. deA
Antiq.). The word is connected with bucca, the cheek
(inflated).

(8) For the Roman dining room see ch. XXX, n. 1.

(9) For the baths see ch. XXVIII, n. 1.

CHAPTER XXVII

(1) Exercise with balls was common in Greece and
Rome from remote antiquity, not only in the form of
actual games but as a means to physical health and
grace of motion. The balls were stuffed with hair and
bound together by pieces of cloth sewn lightly together,
and perhaps generally brightly coloured (cf. Ovid, JHetam.
X. 262 ; so here pragma, leek-green, one of the colours
worn by one of the teams of charioteers—see ch. LXIV,
nn. 4 and 9,— 'and a favourite of the emperors Gaius
and Nero). Five kinds of balls are mentioned ranging
from the air-blown bladder-like folli) down to quite small
tight pila. Apparently the ball was caught or struck
by the hand solely, no racquet being recorded till late
Byzantine times. Ball-games were played between either
sides or individuals, Trimalchio's being of the latter class.
An attendant acted as scorer and counted the dropped
balls against the players (see the Classical Dictionaries,
espec. Daremberg-Saglio s. v. pila).

(2) Slippers or sandals were by etiquette forbidden

NOTES 245

except in the house or at the baths. Trimalchio, being
at the baths, -was naturally wearing his. To wear slippers
was by the older school regarded as a sign of effeminacy
and a truckling to Greek fashion. So Cicero complains
that Verres and later Antony sinned in this respect
(J^err. II. 5.33; Phil. II. 30); the eccentric emperor Gaius
is blamed in Suet. CaL 52 (see also Aul. Cell. XIII. 21).
Guests used to bring joleae to put on at supper. A sort
of half-shoe, the crepida, was adopted by the Romans
from Greece along with the pallium (see ch. XII, n. 1)
in place of the old toga and the calcium (boot).

(3) The phrase strictly is "you are to place your
elbow " ; the Romans reclined on couches round the
dinner table, resting on their left sides, and leaving the
right arms free to deal -with the food. See further
below ch. XXX, n. 1.

CHAPTER XXVIII

(1) The Greeks and the Romans of the later Republic
and especially of the Empire revelled in baths. Public
baths (thermae) and private baths (balnea) were to be
found everywhere, and were fitted out with great elabor-
ation. The habit of bathing is mentioned by Homer
(cf. the story of Nausicaa and Odysseus, Od. VI. 58 6eq.t
210 deq.), and even in the ancient palace at Cnossus in
Crete remains of bathing apparatus are found. Examples
of pumps, piping, bronze taps, bricks for hot-air chambers,
strigils (scrapers) for removing oil and other impurities
are to be seen in the Room of Greek and Roman Life
in the British Museum ; remains of bath buildings are
to be found all over the area covered by the Roman
empire (e. g. at Bath). Those acquainted with the
arrangements of a modern Turkish bath will have no
difficulty in picturing the Roman bath, except that the
latter included in addition a gymnasium, perfumery stalls
and other accessories. Both hot air and water were
used, and swimming or plunge baths were provided.
As in modern establishments there was a hot room
(caldarium or sudatorium), a "tepid" room, and a cold
room. The oiling-down afterwards was a precaution
against catching cold after the pores of the skin had
been opened. Elaborate articles will be found in the

246 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

classical dictionaries, and in the Eticy. Brit. See further
in chh. LXXII, XCI. For the Pompeian baths see
Mau's Pompeii.

(2) These -were slaves who professed medical skill, a
kind of mcuAageurt, whose treatment consisted of friction
and anointing (Pliny, H. N. XXIX. 1.2).

(3) On Falernian wine see ch. XXI, n. 6.

(4) \Vhen healths were drunk, some of the wine was
poured under the table as a sort of offering to the gods
to invite their good offices in connexion with the toast.

(5) The word is gau.6a.pa (see ch. XXI, n. 3).

(6) The litter or palanquin came to Athens as after-
wards to Rome from the East. It was a luxurious mode
of conveyance in which the occupant reclined full length
as in a bed, and must be distinguished from the sedan-
chair which apparently did not reach Rome till the time
of Claudius. At first such luxuries were permitted only
to invalids and women, but they became more common
after Rome came into touch with the East through the
victories over Antiochus the Great in the early 2nd cen-
tury B. C. They were roofed in, and provided with
curtains or windows made of talc or mica (cf. Juv. III.
242, IV. 21). The litter was carried by slaves who
placed the poles on their shoulders : their number varied
from two to eight, and they were specially selected for
size, strength and appearance (Liburnian, Cappadocian
and Celtic slaves -were most common). Julius Caesar
legislated against the growth of the litter-habit, and by
Claudius the right to use a litter was given only to
special favourites. Later both private and public litters
became as common as the modern cab, and there was
a gild or union of hackney litter carriers. Trimalchio's
magnificence was further shown by his having liveried
couriers to precede him. The decorations (pbalerae) were
metal discs. Such decorations were used as trappings
for horses, elephants and other animals by the Ancients
generally, and also on helmets and breastplates. They
were made of various metals, and were sometimes adorned
with jewels and elaborate designs. They were given by
the Romans as military ornaments to both horse and
foot. Such ornaments, of which the Gorgon's head is

NOTES 247

a common type, are represented on graves of soldiers
and many examples have been found. Their use in
connexion with a rich man's slave-escort survives in the
uniforms of modern flunkeys (cf. Suet. Nero. XXX).
There is an interesting collection of modern pbalerae at
the Douglas Arms, Castle Douglas, in the Stewartry of
Kirkcudbrigh t.

(7) Literally "hand-cart", a Greek word meaning a
small wheeled car (? a sort of bath-chair) drawn by
slaves. The term does not occur elsewhere in classical
literature.

(8) The Croesus of Chapter LXIV.

(9) The hall-porter sat in a sort of lodge to welcome
guests and exclude unauthorized invaders. It is amusing
to notice that Trimalchio kept his Janitor busy in his spare
time preparing the vegetables. The magpie or the parrot
was a common sight over the threshold (Martial XIV. 76,
VII. 87.6 ; Persius. prol. 8). Sometimes a dog was kept
on a chain (the porter also was chained sometimes !) and
Trimalchio's painted dog is corroborated by a dog
represented in mosaic on the floor of a house at Pompeii.
Trimalchio also had a live dog (chh. LXIV, LXXII).
The painted dog may be compared with Homer's metal
dogs in Alcinous' palace (Od. VII. 91), and (?) by the
china-dogs of fearful appearance which glower from the
fan-lights of many Lancashire houses.

CHAPTER XXIX

(1) The Roman house. Naturally houses varied ac-
cording to a man's means, and at different ages. From
literary evidence and the remains (e. g. at Pompeii, Her-
culaneum, Rome) we obtain the following general details
of a rich man's house. The visitor leaving the street
came first to the Vestibule, a courtyard in which were
received the crowds of visitors (called " Clients ") who
daily waited upon the great man; it was sometimes
reached by steps from the street, and was decorated
with statues, trophies, fountains, trees, etc. Next came
the outturn (entry), a sort of porch such as is found in
modern churches and the great houses of a district like
Mayfair in London. Here were the doorkeeper, etc.

248 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

(cf. preceding note). The door proper was the Janua or
Fared. Probably behind this was some kind of passage
•which opened into the Atrium, the main court or quad-
rangle which -was the central feature of the building.
This court, which appears to be identical with the cavum
aedium ("well, or hollow, of the house") of Vitruvius,
the chief authority on Roman architecture, was roofed in
except for an opening in the centre through which rain-water
fell into a central cistern and so into a well underground.
It was originally the common room of the house where
were the family hearth, the Household Gods (Lares and
Penates), the money-chest or safe. Meals were taken
there, and the mistress and her servants did their work.
Later the atrium became only the official reception
chamber, and separate rooms were built round it and
above it on all sides including dining-rooms, bedrooms,
kitchens, and store-rooms. At all times the nuptial-couch
was kept there, symbolizing the family. Necessary ex-
pansion led to the introduction of a second courtyard,
called the perUlylium, which absorbed part of the original
garden ; it was open to the sky, and round it were built
other private rooms for sleeping and for meals. It was
supported by columns and was often decorated with
shrubs and trees.

Such was the Roman house in general. Among famous
remains are those of the Villa Ercolanese (see plan s. v.
Herculaneum in Ency. Brit. Xlth Ed.), of the Houses of
the Vettii, Pansa, the Faun at Pompeii, of the House
of Livia in Rome. The houses of Silchester, 10 miles
S. of Reading, the most complete Roman settlement ever
laid bare, are of a different type ; they are held to betray
Celtic origin modified but slightly by the Roman architect
(see Prof. Haverfield's article Britain in Ency. Brit.
IV. 588). On the Pompeian house see Mau's Pompeii,
Eng. trans. Kelsey, Part II, ch. XXXIII, containing
admirable illustrations.

(2) The Latin- word rather suggests the atmosphere
in which slang expressions like this flourish. \Vhen the
original Latin is clearly whimsical or pseudo-serious, it
is clearly necessary to represent this in the translation ;
the accepted jargon of the club or the mess is obviously
appropriate.

NOTES 249

(3) The pictures represent the career of Trimalchio.
He begins as a slave in the open market : then Minerva,
goddess of handicrafts, takes him in hand, and he carries
the wand of Mercury, the patron of trade ; he learns
to be a rich man's steward ; Mercury leads him to his
seat of honour as a Priest of the Augustal College, where
the goddess of Prosperity stands by his side. The Fates
spin golden threads symbolizing his good luck, not the
brown threads of disaster (so Seneca, in Apoc. A, describes
the Fates spinning golden threads for Nero). The house-
hold gods, who in Trimalchio's case would naturally include
Venus (ch. LXXV end), were, as in some Pompeian
houses, kept in a miniature shrine. (On Pompeian -wall-
painting see Mau's Pompeii, trans. Kelsey, ch. LIV, LV.)

(•4) In early days the Roman wore beards. Later
shaving became fashionable (after 300 B. C. when the
first barber came from Sicily) and this lasted till the
time of Hadrian (cf. the busts of the emperors in the
British Museum). The wearing of elaborately trimmed
beards was regarded by Cicero (cf. ad Alt. I. 14) as
effeminate. The cutting of the beard for the first time
was symbolical of manhood and was simultaneous generally
with the assumption of the adult costume (toga vlrilit)
(Suet. Calig. 10). Nero dedicated the harvest of his
first shave to Jupiter and kept it in a box of gold studded
with pearls (cf. also the young slave in ch. LXXIII).
This passage seems to corroborate the view that Trimalchio
is, at all events partially, intended as a caricature of
Nero (see the Introduction).

(5) Laenas was the name of a famous plebeian family
of the gens Popillius. They were distinguished for their
haughty and cruel character. There is no means of
discovering which is meant here, and it is immaterial.
There may be a sarcastic reference here to Trimalchio's
lack of artistic sense in juxtaposing a gladiatorial scene
•with scenes from the Homeric Epics.

CHAPTER XXX

(1) It will be convenient at this stage to give an idea
of the Roman dining-hall, denoted generally throughout
the novel as the triclinium., a word of Greek origin
signifying the arrangement of places on three sides of

250 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

a square, and adapted for the official banqueting hall
of a wealthy man. The Roman equivalent in the general
sense in cenaculum, from cena, dinner or supper. As
explained above (ch. XXVII, n. 3) each guest lay sideways
upon his left elbow and took his food up -with his right
hand. The guest on his right lay between his body and
legs and the table, with his head so far away as not to
come into contact with the active arm of the first. Thus
the second lay "below" the first, the third "below" the
second. Each side (couch, lectiu)) of the triclinium
contained three places. On the same system of de-
scription the middle couch was "lower" than the one on
its left, and "higher" than the one on its right. Hence
the nomenclature of couches and seats was as below:

e*>uti

firyyua

mwtanf

fttiuiuwf

7

s

9

6

J

•f

3

2
/

imtu

raA/e

<nn?>»iu

mttiKua

.•.-ru/j;

Jummut

The chief guests at this particular orgy may be'supposed
to have been arranged :— (1) Trimalchio, (2) Ascyltus,
(3) Hermeros, (4) Encolpius, (5) Agamemnon, (6) Habinnas,
(7) Scintilla and Fortunata, (8) Proculus, (9) Diogenes.
How the other guests were crowded in -we do not know.
There must have been room for more than the conven-
tional nine guests. The place of honour -was No. 6,
reserved for Habinnas (ch. LXV) in this case, the host
normally reclining at No. 7, next to his chief guest (cf.
Sallust in Servius on Vergil, Aen. I. 698; and Horace,
Sat. II. 8.20—23). Trimalchio, however, preferred No. 1.
The couches were covered with cloths and cushions.
The slaves brought the dishes to the free end of the
table, and there also the carver would stand -when on
duty. \Vhen the guest -was weary of eating he would
lean back from the table, and when all were so doing
additional . guests could make use of the couches.

NOTES 251

The table, which would be slightly lower than the
couches to enable guests to pick up their food and have
a good view of the viands, -was originally square, after-
wards sometimes round. Separate tables were also used
in addition to the main table (see ch. XXXV). They
were of many kinds,— metal, stone and wood : the very
wealthy had tables consisting of single blocks of valuable
wood (the African citrus is mentioned by Eumolpus in
his epic : maple was also a favourite), consisting of the
thick part of the tree trunk, the surface being highly
polished and showing the grain (cf. Juv. XI. 122; Mart.
II. 45; IX. 22; III. 31; Petr. LXXIII). Table-cloths
were not used till towards the end of the 1st Century
A. D., the tables being cleaned after each course with
wet sponges.

(2) These symbols of authority belonged to Trimalchio
as a member (Sevir) of the Augustal college, i. e. a board
of commissioners appointed in municipal towns to super-
intend the rites in honour of the deified Augustus.
Freedmen used to purchase election, and Trimalchio is
proud of having been chosen without paying a fee
(chh. LVII and LXXI). Each was allowed two lictors
(see ch. XVI, n. 2). The representation of the bows
of a ship suggested a triumphant admiral, to which
dignity Trimalchio had no apparent claim, and as he
had built his house they could not have been taken over as
fixtures like rowing trophies in many Oxford and Cam-
bridge rooms. Presumably they referred to his success-
ful merchant-ships. The steward at the door, quaintly
reminding one of the bureau-clerk at a modern restaurant,
would keep an eye on all who entered or left the room.

(3) There are indications that the episode of the dinner
takes place in January. The memorandum of a December
engagement was perhaps kept in sight to remind Tri-
malchio's guests that he was much in society, like the
rows of cards which are not unknown upon the mantle-
shelves of undergraduates in their first term. The calendar
was probably a normal adjunct to a rich man's house.
Trimalchio, as a superstitious man, believed in planetary
influence and lucky days. The studs or boxes were
round objects (the word buLla, whence our "bullet",
being originally a bubble of water), such as were used

252 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

in many symbolic connexions : a boy till he reached
official maturity wore such a small globe containing an
amulet. Colour-symbolism is universal (cf. Martial XII.
54.5; Pliny, H. N. VII. 40 .41. 131; the nlger lapu, the
stone of mourning in Rome, Paul, ex Fest., p. 177 Mull.).
Pliny, Ep. VI. 11.3 says "O happy day, worthy to be
marked "with the whitest of stones!". The advantage
of having the first move at chess is symbolised in the
fact that first player always takes the white men.

(4) The Romans regarded it as ill-omened to cross a
threshold or begin a journey -with the left foot first. The
Greeks regarded an omen on the right as favorable, and
the Latin word for "left" (itlnidter) has been adopted in
English for ill-omened. On the other hand the Romans
who looked to the south when taking omens regarded
the left (the rising-sun) as the lucky quarter (cf. Cic.
Di». II. 39.82).

(5) The stealing of clothes at the baths was a common
offence, although an official was provided to prevent such
pilfering. Ascyltus suffered in this way through the
defection of Gito (ch. XCII), while Eumolpus recovered
his by presenting his tally.

(6) Tyrian purple was the famous dye in antiquity.
It has been re-discovered but is not so splendid as the
ancients found it. Strictly, purple costumes were not
suitable for slaves : they were peculiar to the great (e. g. the
Imperial purple, "born in the purple": cf. Juv. I. 27,
•who blames the slave-born Crispinus for wearing Tyrian
cloaks). The magnificence of the steward who apes
Trimalchio is equally great -whether the above translation
is preferred, or the view that the garments had been
only once dipped in the precious dye. The twice-dyed
garment is the apex of splendour. The idea of a slave
having a client, when in the strict sense it was only
after he had been manumitted that he himself -would
attain to that relative dignity, suggests the old adage,
" Great fleas have little fleas, etc."

CHAPTER XXXI

(1) The fact that hosts did not always give their
guests -what they had themselves is shown by Juvenal,
Sat. V. 24 seq. and Plin. Ep. II. 6.

NOTES 253

(2) Guests removed their boots (calcei) on entering a
house to dine, and put on slippers (cf. ch. XXVII, n. 2),
•which in turn -were removed before reclining on the
dining-couch. " To ask for one's slippers" was the signal
of departure. Attention to the naked feet of guests was
a common courtesy in early days, based perhaps on
sound sanitary reasons.

(3) See ch. XXX, n. 1.

(4) Corinthian bronze, known as " liver-coloured", was
the most highly esteemed of all copper amalgams in
ancient times. It is alleged that it had a curious odour
(so Martial IX. 59.11), for which reason Trimalchio
prefers glass (ch. L). His jest on the name of his
bronze-worker Corinthus has reference, no doubt, to the
fact that Corinthian ware was largely imitated. Pliny,
who is the chief ancient authority on bronze-work, quotes
(XXXIV. 7) and rightly rejects the story that this parti-
cular alloy was accidentally invented when Mummius
destroyed part of Corinth by fire in 1 46 : the great day
of Corinthian bronze-ware was already over. Trimalchio's
version of this legend (ch. L) has at least the merit of
projecting it into the reasonable antiquity of the sack
of Troy.

(5) The Latin term (lanx) is a general one for largish
dishes, nearly flat, with a well in the centre, something
between a soup plate and a meat plate perhaps; as a
rule the term is confined to metal plates, generally silver
or gold (Pliny, H. N. XXXIII, 145; Hor. Sat. II. 4.40).
Trimalchio's anxiety that the guests should not fail to realize
his wealth is shown on several occasions (ch. LXVII).

(6) The dormouse was a favourite dainty, and in spite
of laws passed against its use as food, Epicurus actually
kept special "dormouseries" (gliraria) in which the animals
were reared. Acorn-bearing trees were provided to give
them nuts and they were specially fattened in jars
(Pliny H. N. VIII. 57.82.223; Mart. III. 58.36, XIII. 59).

(7) The so-called "Syrian" plums; from "Damascus"
comes the English " damson". " Pomegranate" is derived
directly from the Roman words meaning " Punic grain";
though the Romans obtained the fruit from Carthage,
the authorities hold that the fruit came originally from

254 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

Persia (see art. Pomegranate in Eiicy, Brit.). In the East
it was a common decoration for sacred buildings. The
two fruits (black and red) would suggest that the sausages
were being cooked on live coals on the gridiron. Itinerant
sausage-sellers with portable ovens were common in Rome
(Juv. X. 355; Martial I. 41.9).

CHAPTER XXXII

(1) Or "on cushions piled up like a fortification"
(Biicheler's text). Trimalchio is wearing his favourite
red colour, and his attire is at once effeminate and out
of keeping with his rank as a freedman. The " broad
stripe" on the tunica was limited to those of senatorial
rank and the Emperor's family : sons of Equites preparing
for an official career were also allowed to wear it, though
in Repubb'can times, equites themselves had been per-
mitted only a narrow stripe. On the other hand he did
not (as in the case of his proposed statue, ch. LXXI)
violate etiquette so far as to wear rings of red gold which
were the privilege of the equites, while his shaven head
was a mark of recent manumission. Possibly the broad
stripe was permitted to members and ex-members of the
Augustal priesthood; possibly Petronius simply desired
to make Trimalchio more ridiculous with a reference to
Nero (see Introduction). Tassels, originally the loose ends
of the cloth tied together, were \vorn by Julius Caesar
(Suet. JuL 45), but were usually confined to female
costume. His silver toothpick (below) is another mark
of extravagance.

CHAPTER XXXIII

(1) For the history of games analogous to chess and
draughts see the classical dictionaries. The fullest account
of ancient draughts is contained in a poem Panegyrical
in Puonem (11. 1 90 seqq.) addressed to the poet Calpurnius
Piso who lived under Claudius and Nero (H. E. Butler
Poit-Auguitan Poetry, 1909, pp. 157 — 9), and was a
recognised "master". Terebinth-wood was specially used
as veneer.

(2) Literally, " used all sorts of weaver's words ",
analogous to our ["Billingsgate". Another reading is
suggested, " swept off his opponent's men ".

NOTES 255

(3) Peafowl are said to have been introduced to Rome
by Quintus Hortensius. They and their eggs were a
great delicacy and large sums were paid for them (see
Mayor's note on Juv. I. 143; Cic. ad Fam. IX. 20; the
second poem in ch. LV below). In mediaeval banquets
the peacock was still a special dainty, and Knights used
to take solemn oaths "by the peacock".

(4) These spoons -were literally "shell-spoons", one
end being pointed to draw out shellfish and snails, the
other bowl-shaped for eating eggs (Martial XIV, 121 ;
Pliny H. N. XXVIII. 19). Examples were found at
Pompeii : examples of table equipment generally may be
seen in the Room of Greek and Roman Life at the
British Museum. See Arcbaeologla, 1892, vol. LIIL

(5) A small migratory bird of the warbler family, the
Italian beccafico ; it was a special delicacy, the only bird
eaten entire (Hardy on Juv. XIV. 9 ; cf. Martial XIII.
5 and 49) : so-called because it frequents vineyards.

CHAPTER XXXIV

(1) So the MS. But Trimalchio would hardly be so
economical as to use his litter-bearers for such humble
services. The critic Dousa suggests AupMcclicariiiA (Dig.
33.7.12.31) for lecticariu.6, i. e. the slave in charge of
the furniture, who would naturally attend to sweeping
the floor. It is Trimalchio's chief joy to show how
little he cares for such accidents ; even a silver dish
•which had once fallen among the crumbs was not fit
to be used again.

(2) As the Romans used their fingers a good deal in
eating, it was desirable to wash after each course, to
prevent the taste of the preceding dish from mixing with
the next. Cleansing with wine was another instance of
Trimalchio's magnificence. The amphitheatre was sprayed
•with saffron to keep the air pleasant : a similar device
has recently been revived in London theatres.

(3) This refers to the proverb " Mars is equal for
all" (cf. Livy X. 28; Cic. ad Fam. VI. 4.1).

(4) These wine-jars (amphorae) were large vessels
generally of earthenware, but often, as here, of glass

256 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

(examples have been found at Pompeii), used both for
decorative purposes and for storing wine, fruit, oil, honey
etc. The type is differentiated by the fact that it has
two vertical handles on opposite sides of the neck. The
storage amphorae were generally narrow and tall, tapering
to a point so that they would stand firmly in a socket
or a hole in the ground. A Pompeian wall-painting
shows two boys filling such vessels from a •wine-cart.
The opening was tightly corked and sealed either -with
gypsum or pitch. Glass jars were labelled according to
the age of the wine with little tickets tied round the
neck; on earthen-ware the year was painted. A good
deal of sediment collected and this was sometimes strained
off by holding a cloth over the mouth (cf. ch. LXXIII)— a
process which was supposed by connoisseurs to spoil the
flavour, but was welcomed by topers who desired to
keep sober enough to protract their potations as long
as possible.

Lucius Opimius held office in B. C. 121 (which would
make the wine at least 170 years old) and Falernian
(see ch. XXI, n. 6) did not keep well after its twentieth
year. Trimalchio had little regard for the truth, or his
friends' knowledge of wine, or else he had been swindled.
Conceivably " Opimian " was merely a conventional term
for. "Fine Old Tawny".

(5) The meaning is not clear. The Latin contains a
hybrid (tengomenad), half Latin, half Greek, and Mr. Ryan
suggests that it is intended as an uneducated man's
attempt to quote Greek, as though a parvenu tradesman
should say "II faut drinker", like the butcher who said
he never lost his silk hat, because he always had its
entraiU put in it. The word and the context seem to
imply something like "no-heelers!"

(6) Trimalchio's skeleton is a clever memento morl.
His view is that of the Kpicure— • " Live while you live,
the Epicure will say, and give to pleasure every fleeting
day", or of the Preacher in the Old Testament, "let
us eat, drink, and be merry, for to-morrow we die ".
One may compare the sword of Damocles. The Egyp-
tians at feasts (see Herodotus II. 78) had a wooden
figure carried round on a bier, while a servant recited
a motto such as one often sees in country churchyards.

NOTES 257

CHAPTER XXXV

(1) Wealthy Romans kept a special chef, who was
sometimes also the carver, to arrange dishes in the most
artistic way, and to devise dishes of striking appearance.
This zodiac dish was a tour de force which an American
hostess might well imitate. According to a New York
correspondent of the " Daily Telegraph", in August 1913,
a dance was given at " a garage with its shooting and
bowling galleries and rows of Aunt Sallys . . . \Vith
the ices the chef took in a huge cake with sixteen
lighted candles. It was cut, and from it sprung a tiger,
which crouched and then leaped towards the hostess,
•whose health was drunk \vith enthusiasm" {Pall jffall
Gazette version).

(2) The propriety of the various objects to the signs
of the Zodiac depends on puns and other similarities.
For the ingenious "butter-beans" in connexion with the
Ram, I am indebted to Mr. R. F. Cholmeley, Headmaster
of Owen's School, Islington. The others are sufficiently
literal to be attributed to Petronius alone.

(3) As Trimalchio explains (ch. XXXIX), the Crab
was in the ascendant at his nativity. He is a great
believer in celestial signs (cf. ch. XXXVI).

(4) Lions and figs were both obtained from Africa.
The Grand Marshall of the Kitchen is content here
with a very flimsy symbolization. Others suggest that
the sun enters the sign of Leo in summer when figs
are ripe.

(5) The oven was generally a vessel of earthenware
or iron (Trimalchio, of course, used silver) with holes
in it, used for baking bread, coals being placed all
round it. The word (clibanuS), of Greek origin, gives
rise to a term for men in mail-armour. Perhaps the
Greeks took the word from the Persian (see Smith's
Clao*. Diet. I. 384a).

CHAPTER XXXVI

(1) There is a doubt about the reading here. Biicheler
prefers this as the order or rule (liu) of the dinner, which
would dispose of the idea that the dinner was free from

17

258 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

all restraint (see ch. XXVI, n. 4). Others prefer the
reading which is translated in the text (//iv i. e. initlum,
cenae). It may be a marginal note, or a statement by
Trimalchio that the guests were not to think anything
of the bar A d'oeuvret.

(2) Pegasus, the mythical winged horse, offspring of
Poseidon, the sea-god and Medusa, the Gorgon with
snaky locks (described in Kingsley's Heroes). It sprang
from the blood of Medusa when Perseus smote off her
head. It rose to heaven and became the steed of Zeus
which carried his thunder. It is. also described as the
charger of the Dawn. The name is derived from the
Greek word for "spring" or "source", Pegasus having
been born near the mythical source of Ocean, regarded
by the Greeks as a river which flowed round the earth.
Bellerophon was allowed to ride Pegasus when he fought
against the Chimaera. \Vhether the above translation
is correct, or we should assume that wing-like objects
were added to the hare, is immaterial.

(3) Marsyas, a mythical being, either one of the
Satyrs, the coarse, sensual, •wine-loving attendants of
Dionysus (Bacchus), or else a peasant. He belongs to
the Graeco-Asiatic myths, and is described as a Phrygian.
The most interesting legend about him is his musical
contest with Apollo ; he played on a flute which Athena
had thrown away, and Apollo on the lyre. Apollo won
with difficulty, and afterwards tied Marsyas to a tree
and flayed him alive. He is specially connected with
the Asiatic nature-goddess Cybele, Silenus being a similar
creature connected with Dionysus. Marsyas figures are
very common and there was a statue in his honour in
the Roman Forum, which became the natural resort of
courtesans. He is the personification of the lower side
of the reproductive forces.

(A) The Romans were specially keen on sharp sauces.
This particular one was made of the blood and entrails
of fish and highly seasoned (see Seneca, Ep. 95).

(5) The word is euripiu, a term which came into general
use for an open canal or stream. Originally it was the
name of the strait between Euboea and Greece proper,
through which the tides flow backwards and forwards.

NOTES 259

Aristotle is said to have drowned himself in it, because
he could not explain the phenomenon. The term is used
for the watercourses which fed the Amphitheatre.

(6) Strictly a " water-organ ": invented by an Alexan-
drian named Ctesibius in the middle of the 3rd century
B. C. It was based on the ordinary pipe. A row of
these were set up and keys and sliders were used for
opening and shutting the valves. The air for operating
the instrument was applied by bellows under continuous
water-pressure. A coin of Nero in the British Museum
shows such an instrument. The most convenient modern
account will be found in K. Schlesinger's articles Organ
and HydrauloA in JEncy. Brit. Xlth Ed., which provides
illustrations and references.

(7) " The man above me ", J. e. Hermeros (see chh.
LVII, LIX), who was so angry with Ascyltus.

(8) Students will recall the jest in Martial I. 50 based
upon Iliad I. 465. Some of the characters in Dickens
similarly suggest their vocations by their names, e. g. Mr.
"Mould" the undertaker; the name " Sawbones " fora
surgeon is analogous.

CHAPTER XXXVII

(1) An imitation of a consul's statement that he was
•watching the heavens with a view to obtaining favorable
omens. Such an announcement involved the suspension
of all public business, and was, therefore, a convenient
device for postponing business unpalatable to one of the
consuls. In 59 Bibulus tried in this way to "obstruct"
the passage of his colleague Caesar's legislation. Cicero
(in his letter to Atticus II. 19.2) says he knows not
" the why and the wherefore " of Bibulus' action : naturally
Caesar overrode the obstacle.

(2) Literally " all-in-all"— a Greek phrase used by the
Romans much as we use the Latin " Vade mecum " and
"Factotum", or the French "en tout cas".

(3) Equivalent to the English " black is white " :
Cicero has the same idea in ad Alt, I. 1 1 " meridie non
lucere ", "the sun does not shine at midday".

(4) The Latin is alliterative, as is common in colloquial
phrases. Rhyme and assonance are popular for the same

260 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

reason (cf. "helter-skelter", "chock-a-block", "thick
and thin", "kith and kin").

(5) Literally " a magpie on the couch", i. e. a chatterer.
No doubt we have here the prototype of Mrs. Caudle
and her " Curtain-lectures "—that form of domestic nag-
ging -which, as someone coldly remarks, " consists in the
reiteration of unpleasant truths". The Latin pica is the
origin of the English " pie " and is probably onomato-
poetic : the syllable mag is short for Marguerite, cf.
Jackdaw, Jenny-wren.

(6) The kite to the Romans was the type not only
of voracity, but also of unlimited flying power : so Persius
(IV. 26) speaks of an estate too wide for a kite to fly
over it (cf. Juv. IX. 55).

(7) Literally "coins of coins", as we say "a month
of Sundays ". Friedlander refers to the Jewish expression
" God of Gods ", and Sophocles has phrases like " Evils
of Evils " (0. C. 1237). It is a natural form of superlative
(cf. "King of Kings", "a man among men", "one in
a thousand"). Students may compare Florus, IV. 12.13
and II. 6.35 (Friedlander).

(8) The Latin is simply the Greek (tafiai, a meaningless
exclamation equivalent to the English " Bah!", expressing
contempt for the world at large ; Mr. Podsnap's wave
of the arm is analogous.

(9) A proverb, literally "into the leaf of the ruta" ,
ruta being a bitter herb. Perhaps a better equivalent
would be " could knock into a cocked hat". Cf. Martial
XI. 31. For the size of Trimalchio's staff of slaves
(familia, divided into urbana, town house, and ruAlica,
country house) see the steward's report in ch. LIII.

CHAPTER XXXVIII

(1) Suggesting that the most unheard-of delicacy is a
commonplace in Trimalchio's establishment. Pliny speaks
of hen's milk as a great rarity (N. H. praef., 23), while
Strabo says that Samos could produce " even bird's
milk". The English "pigeon's milk " may be compared.

(2) Tarentum (S. E. Italy) was famous for its wool,
as also for its honey, its olives, its wine, its shell-fish

NOTES 261

and its horses. For the wool see Columella, VII. 2 sqq ;
Strabo VI. p. 284; Martial XIII. 125; Pliny XXIX. 2.9.
The honey of Hymettus in Attica was equally celebrated
(Hor. Od. II. 6). Mushrooms -were regarded as a special
dainty in Rome (Juv. XIV. 8; Mart. XIII. 48.1): it is
said Claudius was poisoned by mushrooms (Tac. Ann.
XII. 67, Furneaux's Ed.).

(3) The vigour of the wild-ass is attested by the use
of the Latin term onager for a horizontal one-armed
balh'sta or catapult (Smith's Clati. Diet. II. 856£). Pliny
(H. N. VIII. 44.69, 174) specially commends the offspring
of the mare and the wild-ass. Virgil (Georgia III. 409)
calls the onager "timid"; Martial (XIII. 100) calls it
" beautiful ".

(4) Trimalchio's vulgar love of rich colour and wasteful
extravagance is again satirized ; there could be no practical
or artistic value in using (for pillows or cushions) richly
coloured stuffing which would never be seen.

(5) The epithet means literally full of sap or juice ;
hence "vigorous", "strong". It is the opposite of
•weazened.

(6) See ch. XXX, n. 1.

(7) The Latin omits the actual word for the coin, just
as in English the context shows what unit of value is
to be understood. The Roman coin is the ietlerce, a
word originally meaning 2*/2 of anything, but especially
2*/2 denarii, for which the symbol was originally IIS
(two units and S = */a)» afterwards written HS. Sums
not exceeding 1000 sesterces -were expressed quite simply
as so many sesterces : large sums were based upon the
unit of 1000 sesterces, equivalent roughtly to £ 8.
400,000 sesterces was the minimum for a man of
equestrian rank.

(8) This refers to the belief that hidden treasure was
guarded by a bogey (Incubo, lit. "incubus", one who
lies upon something), who wore a cap (pilleud). Anyone
who could remove the cap compelled the spirit to show
him the treasure. The cap was tight-fitting and some-
times made of felt, worn by free-born citizens who,
having fallen into slavery, recovered their freedom (Servius
on Aeneld VIII. 564) ; soldiers off duty wore a similar

262 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

leather cap (cf. "forage cap"). The wearing of head-
gear other than helmets -was not common among the
upper classes of Greece, or of Rome till Imperial times :
the lower classes who were in the course of their ordinary
duties much exposed to sun and rain always wore some
sort of cap, and later on the use became general. Horace
speaks of a guest wearing his cap on the way to a
dinner (Ep. I. 13.15). For the cap cf. ch. XL (describing
the boar, which had "escaped" from the dinner on the
previous evening).

(9) A technical term; when a master gave a slave his
freedom he gave him a final blow or slap as part of the
ceremonial. The remark appears to suggest the rapidity
•with -which this freedman had made his fortune : or
perhaps the servile character of his mind.

(10) The freedman's seat was apparently in old days
a fixed place on one of the divans. As so many freedmen
•were present, the retention of the term is doubtless a
hit at the growth of the power enjoyed by freedmen
under Claudius and Nero : they would be frequent guests
at important banquets.

(11) A characteristic touch. To a Roman of any
social position, the trade of undertaking was anything
but "respectable" (Seneca, de Benefic. VI. 38). They
took their name from Libitina, goddess of tombs and
corpses generally, i. e. of the more unpleasant sides of
death. In her temple the paraphernalia of funerals could
be hired or bought, and registers were kept.

(12) The Latin word is "phantasy", i.e. appearance,
unreality. \Vhether it refers to the past magnificence
of Proculus and should be interpreted " more than man
(i. e. fairy prince, knight of romance)", or as above, is
not clear.

CHAPTER XXXIX

(1) The Latin says "you must make the wine sweet",
i. e. by pleasing conversation. " You must talk up to the
level of the wine".

(2) Apparently a proverb, implying it is as natural for
men to talk and drink as for fishes to swim.

(3) A quotation from Vergil, Aen. II. 44 : " you ought

NOTES 263

to know me better than to think so". In the original
it was a warning to the optimistic Trojans not to believe
in the apparent departure of the Greeks : Ulysses is the
incarnation of guile (cf. such phrases as " perfide Albion",
" Punica fides", etc., normally applied to any enemy
who displays brains).

(4) The latin term is phllologla which means generally
knowledge of literature, such as a cultured person pos-
sesses. The English "philology" provides an excellent
example of how one language takes over only the least
portion of the connotation of a borrowed •word.

(5) Literally " little male rams ". Practically no puns
can be reproduced in another language : the translator,
however, should not be satisfied with a literal translation.
So long as he reproduces the sort of pun that the original
contains, he may venture to invite lenient criticism.

(6) "Men who kick against the pricks".

(7) Chariots, which had two wheels.

(8) Or "trimmers", e.g. "Mr. Facing-Bothways ".

(9) The wreath (ch. XXXV) was purely a decoration.

(10) Exactly the English idea (cf. " devouring lions ",
"lord of the forest"): it is curious that in all ages the
lion should have imposed so successfully upon men.

(11) Strictly the idea is that people -who think hard
grow horns on their brows.

(12) Cucurbitae, literally large vessels that hold a great
deal of -water: big empty heads. Innkeepers perhaps
•watered the wine.

(13) The connexion between paid orators and the
Fishes is not obvious. For cooks, we should perhaps
prefer, with Mr. Ryan, "caterers", who -would specialise
in the best fish. The jest is even so rather frigid.

CHAPTER XL

(1) Hipparchus (ca. 160— 125 B. C.)of Nicaea'(Bithynia)
•wrote a commentary on the astronomical -works of Aratus
and Eudoxus.

(2) Aratus (ca. 270 B. C.), a Greek poet, who wrote
two works, on astronomy and on weather-forecasts.

264 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

They were accepted text books in Rome. Cicero trans-
lated the former.

(3) Spartan (Laconian) hounds were specially used for
hunting big game. Horace (Epodei VI. 5) and the Scholiast
on Vergil, Georgia, III. 405 both refer to them.

(4) See above ch. XXXVIII, n. 8.

(5) A Roman custom, apparently, though the mementoes
have a Greek name (dttoqptfprjTa, things to be taken away).
The classical example in literature is Martial's Epigranu.
Bk. XIV, containing 223 couplets, each to accompany a
present. The custom was specially observed at the
Saturnalia in December, and is the ancestor of the
modern system of Christmas presents and Christmas
trees. (See further ch. LX).

(6) Leggings became necessary for those who led an
active life as soon as the long toga gave way to the
pallium (ch. XII, n. 1). They were something like the
modern puttees ; though at first frowned upon as being
symptomatic of luxury, they gradually became general.
Exquisites wore white leggings which they kept white
with a sort of pipe-clay (Cic. ad Alt, II. 3). Such
protection was specially used by soldiers and hunters.

(7) The Latin word is interesting historically. Polymita
comes from a Greek word meaning " of many threads":
it was specially applied to damask (cf. Aesch., Suppl. 432),
a woven cloth of Oriental origin. The head-dress or
cape was a kind of exaggerated turban presumably.
Skeat very naturally suggests a connexion with mitre.

(8) Cf. " Sing a song of six-pence . . . Four and twenty
blackbirds baked in a pie." American love of novelty
has led to the repetition of such a device at a Vanderbilt
wedding, and Mrs. Harry Thaw replaced birds by young
girls. These examples together with that quoted in
ch. XXXV, n. 1, suggest a fruitful theme in the com-
parison of Roman and American millionaire humour.

(9) The Latin for "fowler" is literally "bird-catcher".
The Romans delighted in small birds as delicacies and
rich men kept special slaves to catch them, using all
the ordinary apparatus now in vogue. We know from
Horace (Sat. II. 3.227) that there was a regular trade in
such delicacies, carried on in the "Tuscan" Street in Rome.

NOTES 265

CHAPTER XLI

(1) For the explanation see ch. XXXVIII, n. 8.

(2) The Greek god of revelry, of wine, of the grape
and all associated ideas was Dionysus, whom the Romans
called Bacchus, and identified with the old Italian deity
Liber. The Greeks called him the " Bromian " from a
word signifying noisy revelry (alluding to the excited
orgies which characterized his -worship), the " Lyaean "
from a word signifying " he who sets us free from
restraint" (or "from the ill-efiects of his own gift",
Farnell, Cidb of the Greek State*, V. 120), the " Evian "
from the cry "evoi" with which his worshippers saluted
him. The pun \vorks in and out. The slave was called
Dionysus : hence to make him free (liber) is a pun on
the Latin name for the god (Liber). Again, to have
the god Liber as one's father implied free-birth : in setting
free a slave called after Dionysus, a sort of patron-saint
of Trimalchio, he was freeing his patron deity—a great
achievement. On the epithets see Farnell, Cult*) of the
Greek Stated (V. ch. 34) ; Sandys' edition of Euripides,
Baccbae.

(3) Those who do not regard Trimalchio as a type of
Nero will agree that Nero's tendency to write verse may
well be in Petronius' mind here.

CHAPTER XLII

(1) The "fuller" is the prototype of the laundress,
and the result of his ministrations was similar. There
being no soap till Pliny's time when soap came to Rome
from Gaul, the woollen clothes of the Romans naturally
suffered in the wash, it being necessary to card them at
the end of the process with a sort of comb to freshen
the nap after its immersion ; hence the reference to the
opening of the pores.

(2) Those who had attended a funeral used to go
through a formal purification (called tuffitio) : they were
sprinkled with water and had to step over a fire (so
Festus, p. 3 Miiller).

(3) Extravagance on funerals has always been common.
It is interesting to notice that both the XII Tables and

266 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

the legislation of Sulla contained provisions which limited
such expenditure.

(4) It was a common thing to free slaves by will
(cf. Trimalchio, ch. LXXI), and the bier was carried
by manumitted slaves wearing the freedman's cap.

(5) Trimalchio calls his wife a kite in ch. LXXV.
The extravagance of women, which, in all ages has
naturally (?) shocked men, was the subject of legislation.
The Oppian Law (215 B.C.) was an example: it was
passed when Rome was in a state of extreme distress
after the disaster at Cannae. See Dill, Roman Society
in the DayA of Nero.

CHAPTER XLIII

(1) Implying candour, the telling of unpleasant truths,
•with reference to the snarl of a dog. So " canine elo-
quence" (Appius in Sail. Hut., Frag. 2.37 Dietsch;
Quint. XII. 9.9); "canine words" (Ovid. Ib. 230). A
similar idea is shown in the Greek name " Cynic", which
originally means "dog-like", i.e. given to snarling.

(2) Literally "plucked an owl", a bird of ill-omen
(Horace, OdeA III. 27). Others call parra. a magpie.

(3) Literally " mended his ribs ". As in English the
Latin word " rib" is used both for a man's ribs and for
a ship's side (Pers. VI 31): the metaphor may come from
either use— probably the latter in reference to wine.
The merchant may, like Trimalchio, have brought his
wine by sea.

(4) Literally "raised his chin" as of one swimming:
cf. the English "keeping up one's pecker".

(5) Literally "block" (of wood); cf. Cic., In Pit, 9.19
(combined with truncuA). We have the equivalent in
" blockhead ". " Chump " likewise means a cut tree-trunk.

(6) Literally " son of earth ", one who could not say
who his parents were, a foundling : hence one who had
simply grown up like a vegetable ; cf. Tertullian, Apol,
v. Gent. X. A very common phrase for a nobody ; Cic.
ad Att. I. ISA speaks of his disinclination to entrust an
important letter to a casual courier— terrae filiuA. We

NOTES 267

are all ultimately " sons of earth " ; hence the following
proverb.

(7) Referring to the legend of Midas, King of Phrygia,
who turned into gold all that he touched, including the
sand of the river Pactolus. He was finally choked by
his food which likewise became gold (cf. Bassanio in
Merchant of Venice. " Thou gawdy gold, hard food for
Midas ").

(8) Literally when it's "all square"; implying even-
ness, absence of inequality : a phrase oddly enough revived
by golfers.

(9) Literally " black as a raven" : crows were originally
white but were turned black (Ovid, Aielam.., II. 541) for
treachery.

CHAPTER XLIV

(1) These were the aediles, who duties included the
supervision of the corn-supply. From the time of the
later Republic when free Romans abandoned agriculture
to the big landholders and drifted into the towns,
often as time-expired veterans, they used their voting
power to force concessions from magistrates. Having
no handicraft— slave labour early superseded free labour—
they had to be fed and so the provision of corn at a
nominal rate was an obvious political bribe. The state,
therefore, was saddled with poor-relief on a huge scale,
buying corn dear and selling it for almost nothing. Hence
it was essential that there should be no " corners ", and
the aediles had to see to this among other things. Naturally
there would be cases of corruption. Corn speculators
were called dardanaril (Dig. 47.11.6; 48.19.37; Plin.
H. N. XXX. 9). The city mob demanded " Bread and
Circus -shows ".

An interesting parallel to the above is afforded by a
Proclamation of 1618 dealing with the office of "Clerk
of the Market ". " Whereas the Clerk of Our Market . . .
ought to punish and reforme " (certain abuses) "...set
reasonable and indifferent Rates and Prises upon Victuals...
and whereas complaint hath been made of the great
negligence used in the execution of the said office . . .
because divers of these have been very careless and

268 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

. remisse and respecting only their own private gains..."
(Cunningham's Growth of English Industry II. 94—5). So
even magistrates used to buy up corn through " bodgers"
(agents) and, having saved their own supplies, keep up
the price and sell at the latest possible moment at an
enhanced rate (Holinshed, Elizabethan England, chapter "Of
Fairs and Markets"). lam indebted for the references
to Mr. T. Gregory of the London School of Economics.

(2) Literally Saturnalia, the December feast in which
the Romans honoured Saturn, the deity of the cornlands.
Apart from the unsuitability of date, the best translation
would be "harvest festival".

(3) The text is hopeless. There seems to be some
reference to Sicily which was one of the chief sources
of the Roman corn-supply ; but one can only guess what
the original idea was.

(4) Juvenal speaks of "old arches" near the Gate
called Capena in the eastern part of Rome, now Porta
S. Sebastiano. But Phileros does not necessarily refer
to Rome.

(5) Cf. the English slang phrase "hot stuff".

(6) The meaning is that he told the truth even when
it was too dark for his opponent to see whether he had
guessed right. The game is the modern Italian morra,
the equivalent of our " How many fingers do I hold up?".
" Up Jenkins " in the dark provides a similar opportunity
for honesty. Cicero has the same proverb in de Ofjiciii
III. 19.77. The game was used, like our tossing for
first innings, to decide who should be chosen for any
purpose. A vase-painting in Baumeister's Denkmaler, 997,
shows two women playing the game, which was both
Greek and Roman.

(7) For the Asiatic style of oratory see chh. I— IV.

(8) The translation, though literal, is rather deceptive.
It means, of course, small loaves such as have been found
in the excavations of Pompeian shops (Mau, Pompeii,
Eng. trans. Kelsey, 1908).

(9) Literally one "worth three Caunian figs", Caunus
being an old town in Caria, famous for its figs.

NOTES 269

(10) Another reading has "they all smiled like gods
(angels) though they were like mice" (cf. " drowned rats").

CHAPTER XLV

(1) One who deals in rags used for various purposes,
e. g. to prevent helmets and saddles from galling, to
protect earth works. Makers of patchwork for clothes
are called generally centonarii. A large rag was also
used a temporary door cf. ch. IV. On rag-dealers see
Marquardt, Privatleben II. 585.

(2) Gladiators were mainly slaves. \Ve know from
Juvenal that spendthrift youths of good family used to
sell themselves to the owners of gladiatorial schools.
The remains of stocks in such a building at Pompeii
show how degraded was the status of the gladiator.
The craving for sensation which led the Romans to watch
Christians eaten by lions in the amphitheatre and actually
to have a criminal crucified on the stage in the role of
the brigand Laureolus (Mart., de Sped., 7) explains the
attractiveness of a show in which freedmen fought instead
of trained (and no doubt mechanical) gladiators. WVmnded
gladiators were either killed in the open arena (as here)
or dragged off to a room called the tpoUarium. (For the
whole subject see Dill's Roman Society from Nero to
Marciti Aureiuit, pp. 234 sqq.).

(3) The names of many men who gave specially fine
shows are recorded.

(•4) Literally " has several carriage-horses (or cobs)".
Biicheler reading maniod for mannoj explains " men who
are boorish or stupid", i. e. attendants (?).

(5) That women should take part in the contests of
the amphitheatre was to the moralists the last word in
their degradation. Augustus had limited them to those
seats which were furthest from the arena, but Domitian
actually compelled both men and women to fight, and
under Nero many took part in the contests voluntarily.

(6) Mammaea is really a woman's name (cf. Alexander
Severus* mother). But it may have been a man's name
too, or it may be a feminine nickname for some well-
known sybarite {mamma means breast), just as Cicero {ad
Alt. I. 12) calls C. Antonius " Teucris" (the Trojan lady).

270 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

(7) Possibly a banquet to the Augustal board, -when
the guests were given this sum.

(8) For Norbanus see ch. XLVI.

(9) The meaning and the text are uncertain. Fried-
lander thinks the sense is:— "he killed horseman who
looked no bigger than those in the pictures on lamp shades".

(10) The Thracian gladiators were a special class who
used a short dagger-like weapon, and a small shield,
square or round.

CHAPTER XLVI

(1) The keeping of pet-birds was a great hobby with
the Romans. Catullus has a pretty elegy on the death
of his lady's sparrow (Cat. III. A); Fortunata's pet is
a dove (ch. LXXI). For pet dogs see chh. LXIV, LXXI.

(2) It is not quite clear whether Echion has two sons,
or two tutors for one son. Education was always begun
by private tutors, before boys were sent to school. In
order that Greek might be learned, a Greek slave-tutor
(paedagogut) was employed: Quintilian (/«<»£. Or. I. 1.12)
protests against children learning Greek before Latin,
and there is no doubt that the Romans had a ridiculous
zeal for everything Greek. It should be noted that girls
had the same education as boys. (See A. S. Wilkins,
Roman Education, 1905; also ch. XCIV. n. 1).

(3) Literally " red-letter books ". The title of a law
•was called its "rubric", because it was written in red
(ruber).

(•4) The order is instructive. Barber's shops were
regular resorts of gilded youth (Becker's Galiuj, Scene VI
and Excursus I, Scene VIII). Cicero specially despises the
"petty pleaders" (cauAidici) as compared with "orators"
proper (de Or. I. 46.202) : for these pleaders see Juvenal
VII. 106 foil. Petronius is here laughing indulgently at
freedmen who, unlike the " upper ten ", thought so much
about ways of earning a living.

(5) Probably not the Phileros of ch. XLIII, though
it seems odd that no reference should be made to the
presence of two guests with the same name.

NOTES 271

CHAPTER XLVII

(1) Petronius admirably satirizes the vulgarian who
describes his symptoms to his guests.

(2) Literally " only half way up the hill of luxury ".
So Ovid says " a thousand traps remain ; we are only
at the bottom of the hill".

(3) A nomenclator was a servant who accompanied an
important citizen (especially a candidate for office) in
his walks or when he was receiving guests, to tell him
the names of any persons whom he met, in order that
he might vouchsafe the proper courtesy (see especially
Hor. JSputleA I. 6.50). Similarly a grandee •would have
a special slave to announce each new dish (cf. the parasite
NomentanuJ in Hor. Sat. II. 8.25), the idea being that
dishes were so elaborately designed by an expert chef
that the most accomplished diner would not recognize
them all unaided (see Dar.-Sag. s. v.).

(4) The petauriitae were in origin acrobats who used
a transverse pole or frame (originally a bird's perch) to
jump from : sometimes they leapt through burning hoops
(cf. ch. LIII). But the term is of wide application,
including the possessors of trained pigs. The chief
classical reference is in Juv. XIV. 265 (see Mayor's
notes). Rope-dancers were specially popular {ju.nambu.lC).
(See Dar.-Sag., art. Petaurum).

(5) Pentheus, the orthodox King of Thebes, confronted
by the fact that all the Theban women had been con-
verted to the worship of Dionysus and had gone to
Mt. Cithaeron to celebrate his rites, went after them,
and climbed a tree to get a view of •what they were
actually doing. He was seized and torn limb from limb,
his mother in her madness taking him for a lion (see
Eurip. Baccbae).

(6) Another instance of Trimalchio's ostentation. So
numerous were his slaves (cf. LIII, LXXIV) that he had
them classified into groups or shifts called decurlae, the
official name of (I) the subdivisions of the ancient Curiae,
(II) the standing juries, (III) the trade gilde, (IV) the
civil service, etc. etc.

(7) The term is technical for runners or apparitors

272 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

who summoned people before the magistrates. They had
a special decuria, which Trimalchio jestingly refers to
here, suggesting that he too had a corps of special
messengers.

CHAPTER XLVIII

r^

(1) Trimalchio either is weak in geography, or is
boasting more than usual. Terracina is in Latium,
Tarentum in the extreme South of Italy.! His wine-
growing estate would thus be about 200 miles in length.
The addition of Sicily would be a natural ambition.

(2) The possession of a library was a sine qua non
to a respectable Roman, whether he used it or not, just
as everybody was assumed to know Greek. Seneca is
delightful at the expense of those -who revel in the backs
and titles of their books and make an ornament of their
shelves. Lucian wrote a special satire on the same habit
"To the Ignoramus who buys many Books ". It should
be remembered that the "book" was a roll (yolumen) of
parchment, and contained much less than a printed book.
For the private library discovered at Pompeii (see Mau,
Pompeii, trans. Kelsey, 2nd edn., 1902).

(3) Trimalchio poses as a judge and demands a definition.

(4) Hercules (Greek Heracles) was driven mad by his
chief foe Hera, and slew his children. For this he was
compelled to serve Eurystheus, king of Mycenae, who
imposed upon him the famous twelve " labours " (for a
list see Claw. Diet., Ency. Brit.). Trimalchio is not blest
with a good memory. Homer knows nothing of a definite
number of "labours", which is probably an Oriental
story based on the Babylonian story of Gilgilis the sun-
god, twelve being the number of the zodiacal signs.
But "Homer" may well stand for Greek mythology as
a whole. For the story of the Cyclops see Homer,
Odydtey.

(5) The Cumaean Sibyl was one of the ten women
prophets or witches of ancient legend. She wrote her
prophesies on leaves which she afterwards allowed the
wind to scatter unheeded. The fact that Trimalchio
says he saw the Sibyl " at Cumae ' ' is regarded as
sufficient evidence that the story of the dinner is not

NOTES 273

placed there : perhaps the phrase " at Cumae " is an
interpolation. The point of the story is that the Sibyl,
though immortal, withered and shrank until she could be
kept in a jar or bottle, and yearned for death : similarly
Tithonus withered away and became a grasshopper (see
James in ClaAA. Rev., 1892, p. 74). The idea is common
in Teutonic folk-tales which tell of many women who,
having obtained the gift of immortality, fade away and
yearn for death (see Frazer's Pautaniat, Vol. V, bk. X,
ch. 13, PP. 286, 288, 292).

(6) The answer and question are in Greek, and some
translators prefer to reproduce them in French. It seems
to me rather a violent measure in this case, though
admirable in dealing with the occasional Greek phrases
in Cicero's letters. The close juxtaposition of Cumae
makes French rather a shock.

CHAPTER XLIX

(1) All sorts of sausages were beloved by the Greek
and Roman epicure. Those specified here are botuli,
prepared with the blood still in the meat, and tomacula,
made of liver, brain etc. Juvenal (X. 355) speaks of
" sacred sausages made from a white pig" as an offering.
The best sausages came from Gaul, not as now-a-days
from Germany ! See Becker's Gallut, Excursus I, Scene IX.

CHAPTER L

(1) Cf. the legend about the accidental discovery of
glass (ch. X, n. 1). There was a similar legend that
bronze was discovered when Corinth -was destroyed in
146. Needless to say Hannibal was not the destroyer
of Corinth or Troy ; he did conquer Saguntum, however,
and the inhabitants sacrificed their possessions to prevent
his acquiring them. (See ch. XXXI, n. 4 on Corinthian
bronze.)

CHAPTER LI

(1) The story is told by Dion Cassius (I. 57.21).
The Caesar in question -was Tiberius with whose grim
quality of mind it is entirely compatible.

18

274 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

CHAPTER LII

(1) Obviously another error. Trimalchio confuses
the Trojan prophetess -with Medea who slew her sons
Mermerus and Pheres at Corinth -when she learned that
Jason -was intending to desert her in favor of the
daughter of the Theban King Creon.

(2) Mummius is a correction of the text due to
Biicheler: it involves Trimalchio in another historical
blunder, since Mummius who captured Corinth in 146 B. C.
could not have left a legacy to Maecenas who was born
more than 70 years later.

(3) Petronius here surpasses himself: the mythology
is hopelessly entangled and recalls the glorious confusion
of Barry Pain's Charles Marius in the Canadian Canoe.
He confuses the Trojan Horse with the Bull of Phalaris,
Niobe with Pasiphae perhaps, etc. Trimalchio was a
gold-mine to dealers in antiques.

(4) Two gladiators: cf. ch. LXXI. The Romans
looked upon famous gladiators with the admiration
aroused in some quarters by prominent actors, footballers
and aeronauts to-day, and frequent references are found
to their prowess in the form of graffiti on the walls of
Pompeii, etc.

(5) The point of the jest is not obvious. Probably
some words have dropped out, and "Pour out" etc.
belongs really to Trimalchio.

(6) The term refers to a specially unseemly dance
belonging to the coarser Greek comedy, and not permitted
in respectable circles off the stage. Cicero applies the
term to the trochaic metre because of its jerky rhythm.

(7) Presumably not Publilius Syrus the dramatist
discussed in ch. LV.

(8) Biicheler and Friedlander are not agreed as to
this. Biicheler sees a reference to Medea (cf. Theoc.
II. 1 6) : Friedlander regards it as a refrain from a
contemporary Greek farce.

CHAPTER LIII

(1) Or "the estate near Pompeii".

(2) All the terms in this statement are borrowed from

NOTES 275

municipal administration, and it must be admitted that
on the figures Trimalchio -was entitled to regard his
estate as equivalent to a township. As to the codicil,
Trimalchio was entitled to a portion of any property
left by a slave or freedman : to disinherit him was a
respectful recognition that he was above any such small
legacy.

(3) See ch. XLVII, n. 4.

(4) The Atellan farces (called after the old Oscan
town of Atella in Campania) were primitive Italian
comedies of a comparatively respectable kind. They
came to Rome towards the end of the 4th century B. C.
and were high in favor, as compared with the more
elevated Greek comedy for which Rome had no taste.
They were short farces with four stock characters, the
stupid old man or heavy father (Pappus) the wise man
(Dossennus), the clown (Bucco) and the fool (Maccus).
They survived to some extent under the Empire, especially,
no doubt, in the country towns (see Marx's article
Alellanae Fabulae, ad Jin., in Pauly-Wissowa, and histories
of Roman literature).

CHAPTER LIV

(1) This story again points to the view that Trimalchio
is partly a caricature of Nero: Suetonius (Nero 12) tells
us that at a pageant given by Nero a performer in the
role of Icarus fell with a crash at Nero's feet and
covered him -with his blood.

(2) Among the slaves in a rich man's staff (familia)
were included some with medical knowledge (medici,
physicians ; surgeons ; iatrallptae, massageurs). In early
Rome the healing art was largely a matter of traditional
remedies (Cato speaks of a "note-book" for general
treatment). In 219 B. C. a Greek named Archagathus
came to Rome and set up a shop. Other practitioners
followed and state physicians were appointed with large
salaries in the " wards " of Rome and elsewhere. But
it -was not a profession which respectable Romans could
follow ; freedmen made large sums by it, though rich
men had their own slaves (male and female) for the

276 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

purpose. See Marguardt, Privatleben, 772 sqq. ; Reinach's
article Medicut in Dar-Sag., 1904).

(3) \Vhether Fortunata \vas carrying her glass absent-
mindedly or with some definite purpose is not cle.ar.
Mr. Lowe dismisses the idea that it contained water
with which to bathe the injured arm, on the ground that
such a purpose would detract from the ridiculous ap-
pearance of the scene. Certainly we are not told of
any water at the banquet at all.

(4) Cf. the stuffing of the cushions in ch. XXXVIII.

CHAPTER LV

(1) The Latin word is one of the hardest in the
language, because its significance is ill-defined. It may
include morality, ordinary decency etc. etc. On the
translation of the verse passages see the Introduction.
Publilius (or Publius) Syrus was a writer of mimes and
proverbial sayings \ientenliae). Originally he -was a
Syrian slave (? of Antioch) \vho made himself famous
by defeating all opponents at the great games of 45 B. C.
(Macr. II. 7. 6—11). He also wrote 1000 lines of
pithy moral sayings which were used as a school text
book. \Vhether the lines here quoted are really his -work,
or an imitation, or a deliberate parody, cannot be decided,
but it is difficult to follow Friedlander in his view that
" it is incredible that an author like Petronius should
have inserted such a long extract from another writer
which does not in the least contribute to the characteristics
of his Trimalchio ". It is not in point of fact clear (I)
whether Petronius agrees with Trimalchio's estimate
(Simcox appears to think so, Hldt. Lat. Lit. II. 98) or
is laughing at it; (II) whether the poem is ascribed by
Trimalchio in error (cf. his mistakes in geography, history
and mythology), being really a well-known poem of the
time, perhaps by Nero. Tastes differ and we cannot base
any argument on what a modern critic thinks of the
quoted passage. Possibly Petronius was laughing at
Cicero, in some connexion which cannot be traced.

(2) See chh. XXXIII and XXXVI. The fattening
of birds for the table was common in antiquity as
now-a-days. The first Roman who went in for it on a

NOTES 277

large scale was M. Aufidius Lurco, author of the singular
bribery law which absolved a corrupt candidate if he
promised a bribe, but did not pay. He made a large
income from peacock-fattening (Pliny, H. N. X. 20).
Babylon became an unimportant city after the time of
Alexander the Great, and especially after the foundation
of Seleucia by Seleucus Nicator. It was, however,
associated with luxury, and was famous for its rich
embroidered cloths.

(3) Literally "the bird of Numidia " (see Columella,
de Re Riutlca VIII. 2), so called from the fact that it
came thence to Europe.

(4) See ch. XXIII, n. 2.

(5) On the stork as a delicacy see Hor. Sat. II. 2.49.
Porphyrion states that the practice of eating young storks
was introduced by a certain Rufus, and that the storks
had their revenge in his being defeated in a candidature
for the praetorship (\Vickham, ad. loc.).

(6) Pliny (H. N. XXXVII. 92) speaks of the Cartha-
ginian (Punic) carbuncle so-called from its likeness to a
blazing fire (cf. "carbon").

CHAPTER LVI

(1) Martial XIII. 87 has the same idea when he makes
the "purple-fish" (murex) protest against its double use
as a source of pigment and an edible.

(2) The universal idea that there can be no rose
without a thorn. The gods are too jealous to allow
complete happiness to any human being.

(3) The word (pittacid) means a page torn from a
note-book, a sort of label or voucher: the same word is
used for the labels on wine-bottles.

(4) The phrases denoting the prizes depend for their
point upon superficial similarities of sound and idea.
Translation in the strict sense is manifestly impossible.
The associations of ideas are deliberately weak in the
original, and the excuse for the phrases chosen to repro-
duce them is that any version is better than a literal
one which neither makes sense nor conveys the idea of
the egregious puns. As an example I venture to instance

278 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

the association of the hare with a "canal", where the
point is that the root can is also the root of canld, a
dog ; hence there is an equally gross pun in " water-
course". So the Latin word for " Lamprey" is muraena,
which Trimalchio represents by a mouse and a frog (muji,
rana) ; " lamb-prey " is an equally exalted form of wit,
though it is not a literal translation. Naturally the
"laughter was prolonged", and Petronius characteristi-
cally distinguishes the educated scoundrel Ascyltus who
laughs at Trimalchio from the ponderous freedman who
laughs with him.

CHAPTER LVII

(1) Literally "wether", i.e. stupid, thickhead: hence
"baa-baaing" or "bleating" below.

(2) Cf. the case of Popilius Laenas -who, being
sent to extort compliance from Antiochus the Great of
Syria and finding him inclined to dally with the matter,
described a circle round him in the sand, and forbade
him to cross it till he had answered. See ch. LXII, n. A,

(3) Literally "in soft flesh worms are born", meaning
that if you provide the conditions, you must expect
the result.

(4) Literally " did your father buy you with a piece
of plate?"

(5) Judging by Ascyltus' rings which he afterwards
mocks in ch. LVIII as being made of wood.

(6) By becoming a slave a foreigner could hope for
manumission and ultimately citizenship. Roman taxation
after the period of the great wars fell wholly on subject
peoples : this was one of the chief inducements to becoming
a citizen.

(7) There was no legal marriage between slaves, but
merely a sort of informal cohabitation : slaves paid a fee
for the privilege of this kind of semi-marriage.

(8) 1000 sesterces (less than £ 10) -was a small sum
to pay. Petronius is mocking Trimalchio as usual.

(9) These "commissioners" -were municipal officials
•whose duty it was to superintend the worship of Augustus.
Unlike the corresponding officials in Rome (toddle*

NOTES 279

they -were generally freedmen -who possessed
large sums of money and paid an entrance fee into the
municipal treasury . on election. They also gave games
in honour of the event, and formed a class midway
between the high municipal officials and the ordinary
man. Their monuments are found all over the Roman
world, and it is clear that many of them performed quite
useful services to their townships with a view to obtaining
their honours. Their liberality to trade gilds is specially
noticeable (Dill, Roman Society from Nero, pp. 216 sqq.).
As to their dignity see ch. XXX, LXV, LXXI.

(10) Literally " You see the small louse on your neigh-
bour; on yourself you don't see a sheep's tick". The
parallel of the mote and the beam with the vermin
respectively of human beings and sheep is sufficiently close.

(11) A regular term (basilica) for a town-hall where
local business was transacted and merchants met. Such
buildings were largely used as churches by Christians
in later times. Perhaps Hermeros refers to the local
town hall, or he may, more probably perhaps, be com-
plimenting Trimalchio's house.

(12) " His finger nail was worth more than your
whole body ".

(13) "than saying "Come over here"."

(14) i. e. an embarrat de ricbeMet, like the ass that
starves between two bundles of hay.

CHAPTER LVIH

(1) The winter-festival when slaves were allowed full
liberty to revel along with free men.

(2) The 5 per cent ad valorem manumission fee payable
to the public treasury upon a slave's manumission. This
due goes back to 357 B. C. and the proceeds -were a
sort of sinking fund against special emergencies.

(3) It is clear from the terms of the ensuing remarks
that Hermeros now turns to continue his attack on
Ascyltus, the original offender, who was no doubt on
the point of defending Gito.

(4) Literally " money, measures and weights ".

280 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

(5) The solution of this riddle is variously given.
Biicheler answers "The foot, the eye, and the hair";
Friedlander quotes a solution by E. Schwarz which
involves the art of weaving, the warp and the weft.
Neither is satisfactory. Possibly the point is obscure.
Riddles were a favourite amusement at Greek banquets :
Theodectes of Phaselis and Aristonymus were famous
for them. Prizes were given to the solvers and the
unsuccessful were compelled to drink in one breath a
fixed quantity of wine (cf. the Oxford "sconce"). Aulus
Gellius (XVIII. 2) represents Romans trying to solve
riddles, but the scene is. at Athens, and it would seem
that such trifling was not popular in Rome.

(6) Mercury was the god of thieves and tradesmen
(cf. ch. XXIX).

(7) Literally " turn my toga upside down " ; a Roman
magistrate did this, as British judges put on a black cap,
when sentencing a man to death.

CHAPTER LIX

(1) " Rhapsodists " (those who " sewed " or "strung"
poems together) were professional reciters of Homer and
other epics. Originally it was to such performers that
the poems owed their preservation. Juvenal also refers
to them (Sat. XL 179).

(2) Petronius here lets his imagination run riot and
Trimalchio makes every conceivable mistake. Castor and
Pollux, Helen's brothers, turn into Diomede and Gany-
mede—Paris into Agamemnon ; the rape of Helen is mixed
up with Agamemnon's proposed sacrifice of Iphigenia to
Artemis at Aulis; " Parentines " is hopeless unless, having
made Paris Agamemnon, he also makes Paris the Greek
leader, and christens the Greeks "Parentines" (copying
the sound from Tarentines) ; Achilles took to himself not
Iphigenia but Chryseis, while Ajax went mad -when
Odysseus won the arms of Achilles. It is excellent
fooling and leads up to another tour de force in the wild
attack made on the calf by the pseudo-Ajax, representing
the madness of Ajax.

(3) Cf. the roast pig which wore the cap of freedom.

NOTES 281

CHAPTER LX

(1) Ceilings were sometimes divided into several panels
sunk into the structure, and resembling lakes (whence
the name lacunar). Moveable panels are referred to by
Suetonius in his biography of Nero (ch. 31), by Seneca
in his epistles, and by Valerius Maximus.

(2) Golden wreaths instead of the ordinary garlands
of leaves or flowers worn by drinkers to keep the
brow cool.

(3) The god of reproduction, vegetation and sex.

(•4) The Latin is pompa, a word of Greek origin,
referring to that which is in the nature of a pageant or
elaborate spectacle. The term was originally applied to
a sacred embassy sent to consult an oracle. Such
embassies were very magnificent, and the word has
ultimately withered away till it connotes merely magni-
ficence and nothing else (Eng. "pomp").

(5) Saffron was regularly used in Roman ritual, like
the later incense. Cf. the "fragrant fires" of Ovid,
Fatli. I. 75.

(6) Every household in Rome had its patron deities.
Strictly they fell into two classes— the Lares and the
Penates. These are frequently confounded but they -were
separate in origin. The Lar was primarily the god of
the arable land which surrounded the homestead and
would stand at the boundary of the land : later it was
introduced into the house, and was no longer one, but
many. The Penates were primarily deities of the food-
store or cupboard. Both sets of deities -were produced
and worshipped on special occasions, a marriage or a
death, the assumption by a son of the toga virilit, etc.
The amulet was a ball-like object hung on a child's
neck to avert the evil eye and hung round the neck of
the household god when the boy became adult. (For
the niche or cupboard in which these deities were kept,
see ch. XXIX, n. 1).

CHAPTER LXI

(1) A regular tag, which occurs in Lucilius (in Nonius
158.9) and Vergil (At*. II. 790).

282 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

(2) Literally "I struggled by shield and greave ", i. e.
I did all in my power.

CHAPTER LXII

(1) Literally "as Orcus " (Hades).

(2) Tombs -were placed along the roads in the environs
of Roman towns. The most famous are those which line
the Appian Way near Rome. Subsequently Trimalchio
gives direction for the frontage of his own tomb. See
ch. LXXI, n. 9.

(3) The Latin idiom is curious, " in the nose ".

(4) See above ch. LVII, n. 2. The purpose was to
guard his clothes till his return : it had the effect of
turning them into stone ! To micturate in a circle round
anything put a kind of temporary tabu on it.

(5) The belief that human beings could be changed
into animals, and especially into wolves was universal
in early Europe. The Greek term IvxecvQ'Q&itot. gives the
general term "lycanthropy ", used by anthropologists;
the German has JFdbrwolf : French loup-garou. The great
classical example is that of Lycaon who was changed
into a wolf for offering Zeus a dish of human flesh to
see whether he was really a god. Herodotus (IV. 105)
says that the Sarmatian tribe of the Neuri used to change
periodically into wolves : Pliny (H. N. VIII. 22) quotes
from the Greek historian Euanthes the Arcadian tradition
about a person who swam across a lake, was changed
into a wolf for nine years, and was then restored to
human form, if he had killed no man, receiving back
the lost nine years. Pliny adds a comment on the
astonishing credulity of the Greeks. Virgil (EclogueA
VIII. 97) refers to the same belief. Wolf-superstition
is in fact almost universal : even Apollo had a wolf- form,
while the Romans had their Lupercalia, i. e. Wolf-festival.
Whether the whole idea is due to the harm caused by
packs of -wolves which hunted in early Europe or to
wolf-totem clans which wore skins as a uniform is not
clear. (See N. W. Thomas in Ency. Brit., Xlth ed.,
s. v. JFerwolf.)

(6) The true significance is lost : there seems no special

NOTES 283

reason -why a landlord's headlong flight should be par-
ticularized. The Latin implies either "robbed" or
"beaten" (Forcellini), but I fancy that it is some tech-
nical term misquoted by the narrator— perhaps a legal
term. It should be remembered that the keepers of inns
and eating-houses -were notoriously robbers and evil-
doers -who may -well have incurred violent reprisals
from their guests. ,

CHAPTER LXIII

(1) Evidently a common metaphor for that -which is
abnormal and alarming. Livy XXXVI. 37.2. narrates
a similar portent.

(2) Literally "a life such as was lived at Chios";
Chios, like Sybaris and Croton, was famous as a home
of excessive luxury.

(3) The term Atrigae is connected with the word for
owl, and owls were supposed to be vampires and to
suck children's blood.

(4) Referring to the belief that touching oneself on
the part where another person is described as being
wounded would transfer the damage to oneself— an in-
stance of sympathetic magic.

(5) Friedlander quotes an epitaph (Orelli, II. 486) on
a child referring to a "cruel hand" which caused its
death by magic art. Plautus, Amphitryon, II. 1 .58, speaks
of an evil hand.

(6) An instance of the widespread belief in changelings,
namely that fairies or other malevolent beings snatched
infants from their cradles and substituted unnatural
children, or dolls. In Christian countries bibles used to
be placed by the cradle's side until the child had been
baptised when it was believed to become immune. The
presence of iron was also supposed to be a protection.
The Portuguese had a belief that the seventh son was
peculiarly susceptible to this peril; in Cornwall the
" piskies " (fairies) were supposed to be fond of playing
this trick. But the belief is too common to need illus-
tration; this appears to be the earliest reference to it
in European literature. The Latin word here translated

284 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

"doll" (yavato) is said to be an onomatopoetic term for
an infant, and to be still in use in Sicily and Southern
Italy.

(7) The Latin word means " knowing-more-than-is-
right", equivalent to our "wise women". This is the
only passage in which it occurs in literature.

CHAPTER LXIV

(1) The equivalent of "touching wood", or "crossing
the fingers."

(2) Strictly the ordinary dialogue and the lyrics, as
in the modern comic opera.

(3) Literally either "the dried figs of Caria" or "the
rich sauces", meaning of course the richer delicacies of
life are all gone. You have sobered down ; as Tacitus
says of Agricola, " mitigavit ratio et aetas ".

(4) "My chariots", speaking metaphorically. The
Roman chariot-and-four (quadriga) was a highly decorated
car and was chiefly used by a general celebrating his
official " triumph " : it was often adopted as an emblem
of victory to adorn a triumphal arch or even a private
house (Juv. VIII. 3). Such vehicles were, however, also
used in the chariot races in the circus. Originally the
two-horsed car (biga) and the quadriga were used : later
drivers managed somehow to drive a team of six and
even more horses. Apparently the two middle ones were
harnessed to the yoke, the remainder being trace-horses.
The charioteers were generally slaves or men of low-
class : betting ran high and the sport was rendered
excessively dangerous by the necessity of negotiating
sharp turns at full speed. Both Gaius and Nero, how-
ever, tried their hands, and after their example gentleman-
drivers were not uncommon. An interesting monument
is that of Diocles who claimed to have beaten Scorpus,
who had won 2048 races, Musclosus winner of 3559,
and Epaphroditus winner of 1 467 ; he himself at the age
of 42 had won 4462.

(5) As in later days, the barber's shop was a regular
unofficial club-room where the wits would foregather
to talk.

NOTES 285

(6) Apelles was a famous tragic actor in the principate
of Gaius (Suet., Cat., XXXIII).

(7) Literally. But perhaps the word " whistled " is
metaphorical, referring to his squeaky voice.

(8) So-called after the Lydian King Croesus, the type
of wealth in all ages. Trimalchio has a slave called
Dionysus to show he is lord of revelry : to have a slave
called Croesus likewise indicates his unheard-of wealth,
as though a parvenu should call his butler Rothschild.
This is the favourite of ch. XXVIII.

(9) So important did the races in the circus become
that the companies {factionei) which in Imperial times
provided chariots horses and drivers had not only special
colours, but separate followings to one or other of which
all interested in the races gave their support. At first
there were two, the Red and the \Vhite; then the Blue
and the Green were added (cf. Juvenal, XL 196). The
extravagant Domitian created two more, the Purple and
the Gold. Incredible rivalry existed, and, especially
when the headquarters of Empire -were transferred to
Constantinople, wild riots used to occur regularly. Gibbon
tells of an occasion -when 30,000 persons were killed.
Trimalchio's colour is red, but his slaves do not all
follow his "fancy" (cf. chh. XXXVIII, LXX).

(10) The Romans -were fond of pet dogs (cf. ch. LXXI)
and the word is even applied to men and -women as a
term of endearment.

(11) The Latin name is Scylax, which is derived from
the Greek word for " tear" or " rend". Martial (I. 109.4)
tells of a petdog called IAAO., -which was more precious
than Indian gems (pearls) ; so Croesus's dog is called
Margarita, i. e. Pearl.

(12) Cf. the game of morra referred to in ch. XLIV, n. 6.
Apparently this -was a game played by children in which
each in turn -was blindfolded and tried to guess how
many fingers were held up.

(13) The temptation to compel all to share the potations
of the least abstemious is well-attested at all times. The
banqueting hall at Haddon in Derbyshire has an iron
collar affixed to one of the walls -which could be pad-

286 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

locked round the neck of any guest who sought to take
his pleasure soberly.

CHAPTER LXV

(1) Literally -wearing the tight-fitting cap worn by
freedmen, hunters and soldiers in undress uniform. Cf.
the boar in ch. XL.

(2) The lictor of the tevir Habinnas.

(3) Literally praetor, the magistrate -who was specially
concerned with the judicature in Rome. The title was
naturally imitated in the municipal towns, e. g. at Capua
(Cic., 3e leg. dgr. II. 3-4.93) where Cicero notes it as a
case of remarkable local conceit.

(4) Roman funerals began with solemn regret and
ended, like many an Irish wake, in revelry.

(5) The praetor's couch, i. e. the place of honour,
lowest in the middle divan (see ch. XXX, n. 1).

(6) For the 5 % tax on manumissions see ch. LVIII, n. 2.
She would have to pay some £ 20.

CHAPTER LXVI

(1) The meaning of this is very doubtful and perhaps
the reading is defective. On the ground that a glass of
wine used to be taken before each course it is suggested
(by Mr. Lowe) that cups of -wine were placed round
the dish. But it is surely unnatural to describe such an
arrangement as " encircled or crowned with a wine-cup".
It would rather seem that some vessel was placed on
the pig's muzzle, like the cup on the boar in a previous
chapter. Some prefer "encircled by sausages" (reading
botuLo).

(2) Strictly the entrails of fowls cooked (see references
in Forcellini).

(3) Evidently the controversy as to the best digestive
bread had already begun. Pliny (H. N., XXII. 25.68)
refers to the same point. The special feature is perhaps
the absence of alum which indirectly (though not as
generally supposed directly) whitens bread, and makes
it possible to use otherwise useless qualities of flour.

NOTES 287

See generally Pliny, H. N., XVIII. 11.27.105 and Athe-
naeus, Deip. III. 108/- 116*.

(4) If the reading is correct this is evidently a collo-
quial saying. The words translated " forcemeat rissoles"
also are doubtful, and there is apparently the idea of a
nasty unsavoury concoction. Hence the interjection may
be a sort of apology for mentioning it (see Forcellini,
s. v. concacalud). The legend of the Palamedes who
fought against Troy and was treacherously slain by his
enemies affords no obvious clue to the interjection.

CHAPTER LXVII

(1) Petronius is at his best here. The bustling house-
wife comes to her guests from presiding over the slaves
with her elaborate clothes carefully preserved against
harm, thus allowing all to see her ankles with the
complete absence of false modesty which indicates the
•woman -who has but recently emerged from "service".
It is in passages like these that Petronius rises high above
Juvenal and Martial, and takes his place beside keen
observers like Dickens. The picture and the talk that
follows are perfect in conception and detail.

All kinds of rings and bangles were beloved by the
ancients : Greek remains show that Gods, satyrs, men,
women alike wore such objects (originally perhaps as
amulets or prophylactics) on arms and legs. In Rome
it appears that anklets were -worn only by women and
chiefly by those of the lower classes : but Pliny says
that patrician ladies •wore anklets of gold (see art.
Per'uteliA in Dar.-Sag.). The white slippers were of
Greek origin, such footgear being worn in Athens and
Alexandria by priests and owners of gymnasiums. They
came to Rome with the paLlium and were worn by young
people (ch. LXXXII), as well as women and philosophers
(cf. ch. LXXXII ad fin. n. 1).

(2) Hairnets were worn by effeminate men according
to Varro and also by women. Juvenal (II. 96) speaks
of a person " filling the golden net •with great coils
of hair".

(3) Another characteristic piece of insight. Trimalchio
inveighs against the cost of keeping a wife in jewelry,

288 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

and then with quaint honesty admits to wearing a single
armlet weighing 3*/2 pounds more than his wife's total
paraphernalia. His mind is turned from criticizing
women by the chance of illustrating his own wealth
once more.

The " tenths-of-1 % due to Mercury" refer to the very
small share of profits which the grateful but economical
merchant paid to his patron saint. Friedlander is at
pains to defend Trimalchio from the charge of pilfering
his own contributions to make a bracelet. Surely
Petronius is whimsically describing his hero as doing
honour to his patron saint by actually -wearing his
humble thank-offering. As profits were reckoned by the
month, a "tithe" of 1000 would presuppose a large
monthly revenue, if it provided a ten-pound armlet.

(4) I. e. pearl ear-rings which jingled like castanets
(so Pliny, H. N. IX. 35.56.1 14).

CHAPTER LXVIII

(1) Literally the "second tables", i.e. the solid part
of the dinner was over and dessert -was to begin.

(2) As we have seen above, this device was used to
keep the air fresh in the theatre (ch. XXXIV, n. 2).

(3) The first line of Aeneld, V, opening up the appalling
vista of a recitation of nearly 900 lines ! For the Atellan
farces see above ch. LIII and n. 4.

(4) The theory that Venus squinted is mentioned in
Ovid, ArA Amal., II. 659. It refers to the sidelong,
suggestive glance for which the modern and bolder
equivalent is the so-called "glad" eye.

CHAPTER LXIX

(1) The brand (stigma) was a regular punishment for
slaves. It was a mark burned or tattooed into the flesh
as a sign of disgrace (cf. chh. CIII, C VII) : thus F
was a mark for a runaway. In the Vulgate version of
Galalian.6 VI. 17 it is the term applied to marks symbolic
of the sufferings of Christ, and the term " stigmatization "
is technically used of any marks or wounds which suggest
those made on Christ's body at His crucifixion. Through-

NOTES 289

out the middle ages it -was a common belief that such
marks appeared miraculously on the bodies of both men
and -women. (For the slave stigma see Pliny, H. N.,
XVIII. 3; Varr., R.R., I. 18: the practice was forbidden
by Constantine.)

(2) A rich man who had estates in the country would
relegate a disobedient slave from his town house to the
country as a punishment. In the big estates slaves worked
in chaingangs under the lash.

(3) These were a specially sturdy kind of footgear
equipped with nails : they were specially worn by soldiers.
Hence the diminutive (CaliguLd) was used by the German
legions as a pet name for the child Gaius (afterwards
the third emperor of Rome), son of Germanicus, who
was born in camp.

(4) Strictly that which comes "on the top" of the
dinner proper.

(5) Quinces were called Cydonian apples, Cydonia
being the ancient equivalent of Canea in Crete.

(6) We may suppose that this was merely a culinary
masterpiece not intended for actual consumption. Simi-
larly Martial (XL 31) records a meal with many dishes
composed of nothing but gourds. The cunning trans-
formations of vegetarian restaurants may well be compared.

CHAPTER LXX

(1) The allusion is to the famous legendary artificer
Daedalus, founder of handicrafts. He is variously de-
scribed as of a noble Athenian family and of Crete. He
is alleged to have been expelled from Athens for murdering
his sister's son who excelled him in skill, and to have
settled in Crete where he made the wooden cow for
Pasiphae and the labyrinth at Cnossus. He invented
wings for himself and Icarus, his son, and flew safely
(while Icarus was killed) to the Aegean. Later he was
in Sicily and Sardinia (where the nuragbi are attributed
to him). His name seems to stand for a hypothetical
early period in art and craft, and in general signifies
skill both artistic and mechanical.

(2) Noricum, an ancient district lying N. E. of Italy,

19

290 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

and always associated specially with iron and steel. It
•was one of the districts from which come the iron swords
with long grips, characteristic of the big-boned men of
the Iron Age who swept upon the Bronze Age men of
the Mediterranean basis. The great discoveries in the
Hallstatt cemetery are of prime importance for their
civilization. See the article HalUtatt in Ency. Bril.
Xlth ed. and authorities there quoted, also Arnu and
Armour, ibid.

(3) Observe the formal phrases : Trimalchio would
naturally pose as a judge and carry through the farce
with keen relish.

(4) The practice of cleansing the feet and the hands
of guests has already been noticed. WTiereas wine was
used for the hands in a previous chapter, we here find
oil used for the feet. Such anointing is mentioned in
the New Testament and in Oriental works generally.
It is very odd that Encolpius should be horrified at this
particular extravagance, just as his reference to Gito as
a shy boy surprises us in ch. XXV.

(5) Implying that the wine was going to the ladies'
heads. Cicero, in Pro rffurena, says that, as a rule,
nobody dances in public if he is sober.

(6) On these colours see above ch. LXIV, n. 9.
Notice that Trimalchio not only permits his slaves to
join him at dessert but allows them to belong to a
different faction and challenge him to a bet before all
his guests. We gather that Petronius used to accompany
Nero in visits to all sorts of orgies in Rome, and he is
no doubt recalling here some of the sights which had
amused him on such occasions.

(7) The tragedian Ephesus is not otherwise known to
us. He was probably a contemporary Greek actor.

(8) Cf. ch. LXIV, n. 9.

CHAPTER LXXI

(1) Trimalchio's half-patronising tone is an admirable
touch considering his own comparatively recent eman-
cipation. Petronius may well be laughing at Pecksniffian
theorists of the day who posed as anti-slavery advocates.

NOTES 291

Roman mothers were accustomed to employ wet-nurses
(nutriced) for their children who would therefore, in some
cases, have household slaves as foster-brothers.

(2) Cf. the case of Scissa above (ch. LXV). Slaves
might be freed either directly by will or indirectly by a
charge upon the heir, with or without special conditions.

(3) I. e. a block of tenement dwellings, technically
called "islands" by the Romans, such as naturally tend
to replace separate houses where a large population is
crowded in a limited area. Cicero, pro Gael. VII. 17,
says he understands that Clodius had such a building
for sale; Martial (IV. 37.4) speaks of the high rents
charged. There were far more "islands" in Rome than
private houses proper.

(4) Cf. ch. LVIII, n. 2.

(5) It is curious that the practice of treating a bed
as a normally indispensable possession should be so old.
In English law to-day a landlord may not distrain for
rent on a tenant's bed • and bedding. The bed has a
semi-symbolic importance, along with the hearth, as a
centre of the domestic circle. The later Romans indulged
in highly elaborate bedsteads of expensive materials (silver,
inlaid wood, etc.).

(6) Trimalchio had no children : hence Fortunata was
his natural heir.

(7) Trimalchio has evidently given plans for his
mausoleum to Habinnas the stone-mason, and is now
running through the details, primarily to impress his
guests. It is strange that some commentators should
have troubled to ask whether or not the work was
already in hand, and if so why. There have always
been those who felt anxious about their last resting
place, and the genial cynic Petronius may well be
laughing at this habit. Trimalchio always wished to be
sure that he was having his money's worth. There is
no need to translate "are you ready to build".

(8) Cf. above ch. LII on the gladiator Petraites.

(9) The tomb was to stand in a plot worthy of the
mighty dead. Twenty to thirty feet square was a normal
size. Horace (Sal. I. 8.12) speaks of an area 1000 ft.

292 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

long by 300 deep. The most famous sepulchral monu-
ment of antiquity is that of Mausolus at Halicarnassus
built by his wife Artemisia. The remains are in the
British Museum, and consist of a colossal chariot group.

(10) Perhaps rather "at the beginning of the will"
not on the monument.

(11) Referring to his career as a ship-owner, and in
general to his prosperity. A ship in full sail is a common
metaphor for unimpeded progress—cf. "plain sailing",
" my ship coming home ".

(12) His judicial honours also are to be commemorated.
Trimalchio is very proud of having been a " Justice of
the Peace".

(13) " Two denarii", the denariiu of the Imperial
period being roughly a franc (at par).

(14) Not, as some suggest, to show his wealth, but
to keep his memory green by causing passers-by to
acquire the habit of looking at the tomb regularly.

(15) A freedman usually bore as a cognomen the
adjective formed from his patron's name. Perhaps we
are to gather that Trimalchio was really a freedman of
the great Maecenas, statesman and patron of letters
under Augustus : at all events it is not impossible. But
the problem does not really matter: Trimalchio realises
the value of a good name and so combines Caesar and
Pompey with the equally famous Maecenas.

(16) Municipal servants were, like other professional
persons and artisans, organized in guilds (" decuries ")
with special functions. Trimalchio says he could have
served in any public department, but he was too busy
or too rich to trouble with such things.

(17) About a quarter of a million in English money.

CHAPTER LXXII

(1) "'Live while you live', the Epicure will say".
So Trimalchio in his extempore rhyme in ch. XXXIV (end).

(2) On Roman baths see ch. XXVIII, n. 1. The
gourmet found the bath useful in the course of a
protracted orgy (Juvenal speaks of such a man " carrying

NOTES 293

a half-digested peacock to the bath") as an aid to
digestion : a bath assisted in enabling a diner to throw
off the fumes of wine, and so to resume operations
with better hope of staying the full course (below,
ch. LXXIII).

(3) It will be remembered that, upon taking their places
on the couches, the guests removed their slippers.

(4) The Latin word strictly means "fish-pond" but
is used for an3r artificial reservoir. In this case it means
an ornamental miniature lake such as are common in
all periods of landscape gardening. Encolpius quaintly
exaggerates the peril.

(5) See ch. XXIX.

CHAPTER LXXIII

(1) The term "labyrinth" cannot be explained with
certainty. It has been taken as the corruption of an
Egyptian word for a building at the entrance of a reservoir:
as an adjective from a proper name Labaris (a monarch
whose real name is uncertain) : as an older form of the
word lavQa, a passage : as derived from an ancient word
for the double-headed axe (iccpQVs) which is the sacred
symbol of Zeus in Crete. The Palace of Cnossus would
then be, or contain, the Cretan "labyrinth" (Journ. Hell.
Stud., XXI, 109.268). It was applied to an underground
building like a mine. The most famous are the Egyptian
labyrinth in the Fayyum (Hdt. II. 148; Pliny, H. N.
XXXVI. 13.19), probably connected with the ancient
Egyptian kings ; the Cretan labyrinth attributed to
Daedalus ; the Samian ; the tomb at Clusium in Etruria
ascribed to Lars Porsenna. The modern term as applied
to a maze (like that at Hampton Court) is, of course,
derived directly from the ancient, retaining, however,
only the least important part of the old connotation.

(2) \Ve read in Suetonius' life of Nero (XXX) of an
artist of this name who sang to a cithara accompaniment,
and received high honours from Nero. It is almost a
convention that every rational person sings in his bath.

(3) On the ceremonial character of the first shave
see note on ch. XXIX.

294 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

(•4) The term in the Latin is a kind of adverb implying
a desire not to draw ill-luck upon oneself. Such super-
stitious devices are widespread, and remain common long
after all real belief in their efficacy has vanished. Thus
people cross themselves to scare the devil, throw salt
over their left shoulders, turn their chairs round three
times. Such devices come under the term "magic".

CHAPTER LXXIV

(1) The sudden crowing of a cock is often treated as
an omen. Petronius may have heard of the story of
Peter in the New Testament, but the idea is exemplified
in Cicero's speech against Piso (ch. XXVII). The changing
o£ the ring from one hand to the other is analogous to
the transference of coins at the sound of the cuckoo
(cf. also Pliny, H. N., XXVIII. 6.15.57). Petronius is,
as we have seen, a keen observer of such little super-
stitions, and in his gentle satire upon Trimalchio, he may
well be laughing at the oddities of well-known persons
of his day. Nero was a prey to superstitions of every
kind and sought the aid of Chaldaean astrologers at
every turn especially towards the end of his murderous
reign (see Dill, Roman Society from Nero, Index s. v.
" Superstition").

(2) Originally a little present made to a successful
athlete or actor; later a money prize or tip was sub-
stituted, the old name being retained. It is from this
word that the English " corollary" comes, i. e. a decorative
addition to a main argument.

(3) The Latin phrase is far from clear: strictly it
means " drew (or drank off) a very hot draught (or
drink)". The term polio ("potion") strictly^and ap-
parently always— means some kind of drink (e. g. a
love-potion, physic, a magic draught) : but why should
the cook, engaged in preparing a fowl, be described as
having or preparing a drink? The word translated
"boiling" may perhaps provide the key, inasmuch as
it is used for a "hot" sauce. Hence possibly Daedalus
was composing a highly spiced gravy or soup (I cannot
think that it means simply hot water for boiling the
fowl) : besides Fortunata is busy with pepper ! The hand-

NOTES 295

mill remains in the small wooden pepper-mills still in
use ; I have seen a number of examples in \vood and
f liver in the Army and Navy Stores Catalogue ! It is
perhaps the solitary case in which Trimalchio's house
is not in advance of the luxuries of a modern house-
hold. But the pepper-mill is in the thrifty housewife's
department.

(4) It is curious that, whereas the average man or
woman regards exaggerated respect for dogs as being a
very important sign of grace, it is a peculiarly gross
insult to call a person a dog or a cur or a puppy or a
hound. In the East where dogs perform the humble
office of scavengers such a feeling is natural, but why
is the resentment so general? \Ve may remember that
the " dog- throw " was the lowest throw at dice; that
the word "cynic" means dog-like (snarling, unfriendly) ;
that Shylock winds up his bitter harangue " another day
you called me 'dog'". On the other hand "a gay
dog" is something of a compliment; while "dog-like"
fidelity is to weak people an attractive quality in a wife
or a dependent.

(5) The Latin word is ambubaia, a word of Syrian
origin, applied to girls, mostly from Syria, who made a
profession of singing etc. Horace (Sat. I. 2.1) speaks
of guilds of such women and includes them in a fist of
degraded and vicious persons. It is curious that women
whose profession depends upon the vicious propensities
of men should aways be selected for special opprobrium by
moralists. The "sink of iniquity " was the slave-market.

(6) Literally "she does not spit into her bosom",
another magical method of averting ill-luck. In Theo-
critus (Idyll. VI. 39), Polyphemus, having extolled his
personal charms, spits three times into his breast. The
ancients believed that it was dangerous to become
prosperous and content, because the gods were sure to
take revenge in some way : the stock instance is that of
Polycrates, the monarch of Samos in the 6th century B. C.
The frog in the fable is an allusion to the nursery tale
about the frog -which swelled up till she burst (Hor.
Sat. II. 3.314. seqq.). Rich philanthropists are not
seldom found to have been influenced by the same prudent
superstition.

296 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

(7) Literally "that heavy-booted Cassandra". The
heavy-boot is the soldier's footgear; a -woman who made
or wore such a boot would be an unwomanly person
(hence " virago"). Cassandra was the Trojan prophetess
who gloomily foretold the fall of Troy (hence " preach-
ifying ").

(8) A slave who was specially kept by the rich lady,
or perhaps did a trade in cosmetics in a small shop on
the estate. There were shops in the front wall of some
Pompeian houses. Necessarily such slaves would be very
much in their mistresses' secrets. Oddly enough clan-
destine correspondence is often carried on through the
medium of barbers now-a-days.

(9) Literally "I ran an adze into my leg", i.e. lamed
myself for life, by being faithful to Fortunata.

(10) I. e. " \Vhen I'm dead, you will want me to live
again to give you a chance of inducing me to reinstate
you in my will".

(11) Literally "no law-suits for me". The nearest
relative used to kiss the dying person to catch his last
breath and prevent it from dispersing. Whether Fortunata
would have felt disgraced or wronged by the loss of
this privilege is doubtful, but the pompous tone of
Trimalchio is another touch of Petronian insight.

CHAPTER LXXV

(1) The affront which Trimalchio had put upon his
wife occurs to no one. The husband is Olympian : it
is Fortunata who has erred and must be pardoned.

(2) Slaves were allowed so much food per day, or a
sum of money instead.

(3) I. e. a chair -with a curved back for lounging.
(•4) The Latin word implies that Scintilla " propped

her feet", either because she wished to increase her
height (i. e. morally), or because she was at this time
unable to stand through the blow or the wine she had
imbibed. " Staggerfoot " would give the one idea : perhaps
" Straightlace " (cf. "Blue-stocking") the other.

(5) The Latin word means "snorer", and is taken
by the commentators as meaning lazy—one who snores

NOTES 297

all day long. But it seems evident that he is alluding
to the fact that Fortunata is still as we say "snuffling"
or sobbing intermittently.

(6) I. e. the slave is only the master's instrument.

CHAPTER LXXVI

(1) Augustus or Tiberius. It was a form of snobbery
to make the princeps (Emperor) one of one's heirs, as
suggesting patriotism and a sort of personal connexion.
It was a kind of voluntary legacy duty, perhaps intended
to induce the Emperor to allow the remaining dispen-
sations to hold good.

(2) Literally " the broad stripe income ". The senatorial
order, which was the highest in the state, had as its
distinguishing badge the broad purple stripe across the
toga : the second order, the Knights (the capitalist class),
•wore a narrow stripe. The indispensable prerequisite
for acquiring senatorial dignity -was the possession of
400,000 sesterces (£ 3,000 odd). The old senatorial
families had fallen on evil days, ruined by internal decay,
and the new forces to which the Empire gave scope.
Their members often became bankrupt and " new " men
were introduced by various emperors (see Dill, Roman
Society from Nero, ch. I).

(3) Or technically "did I go bankrupt?".

(4) I. e. produce which was specially characteristic
of the district of Campania in which Trimalchio must
be supposed to have lived. There -was a slave-market
at Puteoli (mod. Pozzuoli near Naples). Dr. Ashby
(Ency. Brit., Xlth ed., s. v. Campania) notices that the
loose black soil of Campania was easier to -work than
the Roman soil and gave three or four crops a year.
Spelt, wheat, and millet, fruit and vegetables are men-
tioned ; roses were used for perfume at Capua, where
the industry centred in a square called Seplasia, whence
the term Seplaiium, which Trimalchio here uses. Though
Campania was of all parts of Italy well provided with
fine roads, it is interesting to notice the evidence of a
highly profitable coasting trade with the Tiber. Both
Puteoli and Neapolis were important ports.

298 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

(5) * Did the pious thing" ; the Latin word from which
"pious" comes covers all the duties -which a child and
a wife owe to the paterfamilias, the citizen to the state,
man generally to the gods. " Dutiful" is a fairly near
equivalent, but modern ethics does not contemplate pre-
cisely the same virtue.

(6) Literally " hands off the paper". Trimalchio knew
when to stop.

(7) I. e. enabling other freedmen to capitalise their
ventures. All sorts of attempts were made to regulate
interest in Rome : it seems that at one time all usury
was illegal, but, probably from the time of Sulla, 12 per
cent per ann. became the recognised rate. In the case
of bottomry where the lender took the risk, larger sums
could be demanded while vessels were on the high seas.
Justinian limited it, however, to the usual 12 per cent.
The unhappy provincials were however shamelessly
sweated by the capitalists, aided often by the military
forces of the governor: thus Brutus, the Tyrannicide,
exacted 48 per cent from the people of Salamis in
Cyprus. The usurer was not, however, greatly respected
in Rome itself. (On banking and money-lending see
Warde Fowler, Social Life at Rome, pp. 80 sqq.)

(8) The Latin word is mathematical, strictly "pundit",
" knowledge-purveyor ". Rome was inundated with " wise
men " from the East, Chaldaean and Greek astrologers
etc. They were frequently expelled (e. g. as far back
as B. C. 139, and by Claudius, Vitellius, and Vespasian),
but never effectively. Augustus burned their books, but
many of the Emperors and leading Romans had private
soothsayers who were not only a social, but also a
political, danger. In Tacitus (AnnaUi, XVI. 14) we read
of a Greek mystery-monger (Pammenes) whose activities
were the ruin of Ostorius Scapula and Publius Anteius
(cf. Ib. II. 27.2). The astonishing fact is, that just as
modern physical scientists sometimes succumb to pseudo-
supernatural tricks which a Maskelyne can detect and
reproduce, so even the sanest of the Emperors and Tacitus
himself accepted some magicians as genuine. Mayor's
note on Juvenal XIV. 248, contains a list of authorities.
To judge by the examples of his divination, Serapa was

NOTES 299

the commonest of charlatans, and Petronius is of course
holding up the gullible to ridicule.

CHAPTER LXXVII

(1) A neat score at the expense of the slaves who
have been told to expect so much from his will.

(2) Mercury was the patron of commerce (ch. XXIX).

(3) Others read "a dining-room".

(•4) \Vith all this we may compare the heavy strain
imposed upon Cicero's hospitality when Caesar came to
stay with him (ad Alt. XIII. 52). Cicero's villa had
three dining-rooms which were taxed to the uttermost. The
snob Trimalchio by referring to Scaurus suggests that
his own social standing was high, since the Scauri
(who included the Aemilii, the Terentii, the Aurelii)
were among the highest in Rome.

CHAPTER LXXVIII

(1) Trimalchio was, of course, taking every ounce of
distinction which his position might allow him to enjoy.
Evidently the local dignitary, even if he were but a
freedman, faithfully copied all the display of a Roman
magistrate's obsequies.

(2) Spikenard, a kind of balsam, among the most
precious of those for which the East has always been
famous.

(3) The watch or police were an organized company
of the city-guards who performed the double duty of
keeping order and protecting the city against fire. They
were theoretically part of the regular army, but clearly
occupied a less dignified position. The city was divided
into wards (" regions"), and the organization of the police
divisions was due to Augustus (A. D. 6).

CHAPTER LXXIX

(1) It is not easy to explain the bad condition of
these streets. Town streets were under the charge of
public officials (ClaAi. Diet., Viae) and were as a rule
paved with large flat blocks. If the friends wandered

300 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

into side-streets they would find a less perfect surface
made up of flints and pebbles in a kind of clay or mud.
At Pompeii -we know that the roadway was interrupted
by sets of stepping stones to enable pedestrians to cross
in time of flood, but the conditions described here are
much worse.

(2) The tabellarius was a private messenger or courier.
No public delivery of letters, etc., was established in
Rome, and as we see from Cicero's Letters it was often
difficult to ensure safe delivery. Cicero tells us that
couriers frequently " lightened " their burdens by perusing
them (ad Alt. I. 13). The financial companies and
governors of provinces had their special messengers who
often carried private letters as well, especially abroad.
Trimalchio's courier, no doubt, required a train of ten
waggons owing to the enormous demands of his com-
missariat department.

CHAPTER LXXX

(1) Referring to the duel of the brothers Polyneices
and Eteocles, sons of the King of Thebes ; Polyneices
attacked Thebes and met his brother on the walls ; in
the ensuing duel both were slain. The grandiloquent
style of the -whole passage is worth noticing.

(2) Strictly " the counter plies its mobile task on the
board". I do not feel sure of the exact nuance of this
line. The word for "counter" (calculus), means (I) a
small pebble, (II) a draughtsman or counter, (III) a stone
used on a calculating board, (IV) a stone used in voting.
I have preferred to emphasize the idea of mobility or
change, and ventured to use the knight in chess by
reason of its zigzag motion. It may be noted that Cic.
Lael. (XVI. 58) has the phrase " to reckon up friendship
by counters ' ' (ad calculod) as in (III) above.

(3) The idea of the second verse is slightly different.
Friends are here compared -with actors who appear so
impressive on the stage and so commonplace when they
leave the stage-door. The Latin word translated " troupe "
is strictly "herd", a term used also for the followers of
a philosopher. The Roman mime was an indigenous
farcical drama, which sought to raise a laugh by the

NOTES 301

reproduction and burlesquing of stock characters. It was
highly popular under the Empire, and it -was actually a
common thing to satirize the Emperors themselves, though
punishment generally followed.

CHAPTER LXXXI

(1) Menelaus is the assistant partner, or servant, of
Agamemnon. There is some doubt as to his function at
the rhetoric school. Probably he was a sort of usher,
though some have argued that he was only a cloak-room
attendant.

(2) All this is, of course, a satire on melodrama, even
on tragedy. 1 once saw a whole theatre rise to cheer
an actor in the role of a tinman who cried in stentorian
tones " I may be a burgular, but I will never take a
'uman life". Here Encolpius recounts with evident pride
his career of villainy, and protests that his struggles have
deserved a better fate. On Encolpius' evil deeds see
ch. IX ; the loss of the bulk of the narrative prevents
one doing more than frankly to acquit Encolpius of any
exaggeration in his list of great deeds.

(3) Exile was in Republican times a punishment which
the Romans were very reluctant to inflict, in-as-much as
absolute loss of citizen rights and expulsion from the city
was equivalent almost to death. Ovid and Cicero alike
describe the deprivation as the most terrible of all
punishments. Under the Empire " deportation " and
"relegation" were common punishments for gross ill-
doing, and several ladies of the royal house were so
punished for moral depravity. Ascyltus had sold his
honour for hire and thus had gradually gained his freedom,
i. e. he had become "free" (liber). The term "free"
includes the man who is "free-born" (ingenuitf) and the
man who is made free ("freedman", libertlniu). The
children of a freedman were regarded as " free-born ".

(•4) The slave-barrack, or compound, was one of the
horrors of Roman slavery. It was usually an underground
building where the slaves were herded together when
not at work on the estate. Immorality of all kinds was
the natural result. See Columella I. 6.3 ; Pliny, H. N.,
XVIII. 21: Juv. XIV. 24, XI. 80, VIII. 180.

302 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

CHAPTER LXXXII

(1) The term (pbaecaaiuni) is a technical one for the
white shoes worn by Greek priests etc. Cf. Sen. Ben.
VII. 21.1. Juvenal (III. 218) speaks of certain deities
as wearing such footgear. They were worn by Fortunata
(ch. LXVII).

(2) Tantalus was the unfortunate Phrygian king who,
for failing to keep the counsels of the gods, was con-
demned to stand in running water beneath a hanging
fruit tree : the water was up to his lips but if he stooped
to drink the river sank proportionately : if he reached
for the fruit the branches swung upwards. He is the
type of the man who starves amid plenty. Hence the
English verb "tantalise", and the term "tantalus" for
a case in which spirits are kept in such a way that the
bottles are visible but inaccessible -without a key.

CHAPTER LXXXIII

(1) Zeuxis, a Greek painter (ca. 420—390 B. C.) who
seems to have settled at Ephesus. Many famous pictures
are attributed to him, and he is specially praised for his
attention to detail. The story is told that his picture of
a bunch of grapes was so natural that birds flew round
and tried to peck the fruit. With this realistic tendency
he is said to have combined the idealism of his
predecessors.

Protogenes, also a Greek painter (end of 4th cent. B. C.),
lived at Rhodes, and was by reason of his minute accuracy
in line and colour a rival of Apelles, -whose only criticism
•was that he lacked " charm ". There is a quaint story
that -when Demetrius Poliorcetes -was besieging Rhodes,
Protogenes went on painting though his garden was in
the centre of the enemy's lines : Demetrius is said to
have modified his siege-plans so as to avoid damaging
Protogenes' picture "lalysus". Several of his pictures
perished in Rome by fire, and he also decorated public
buildings in Athens. Apelles, the greatest probably, of
Greek painters, lived during the reigns of Philip and
Alexander -whose portraits he painted. Pliny says that
he used a special glaze -which caused his work to last.
Nothing survives which really enables us to judge of

NOTES 303

his style with any approach to accuracy, but he is specially
praised for accuracy of outline and simplicity of colouring.
The latter fact lends possibility to the reading " Single-
colour Painter". Another suggestion is "One-legged".
Neither has any known justification.

The picture gallery is called pinacotbeca, i. e. a repository
of pictures (strictly " tablets"). From an inscription we
know of a certain Flavius Apollonius who was curator
of picture galleries (Inscr. Fabr. 724, n. 445), and the
word is also used by Varro, Vitruvius and Pliny. The
Romans did not become admirers of painting till they
came into touch with the Greek world, and their own
early work is based on the Greek artists. From the
capture of Syracuse by Marcellus during the Second
Punic War, generals acquired the habit of bringing home
artistic treasurers (e. g. Flaminius, Aemilius Paullus,
Mummius) : public galleries were instituted, and Vitruvius
assumes that any \vealthy house -will have its own gallery,
which, he points out, should face northward. A few
ancient pictures are in the British Museum, while con-
venient accounts will be found in the JEncy. Brit. Xlth ed.,
s. v. Roman Art (H. Stuart Jones), Greek Art (Prof.
E. Gardner) ; Painting. Mau's Ponipeii (Eng. trans.)
contains an excellent illustrated account of paintings at
Pompeii.

(2) Ida was (I) a mountain in Crete where the infant
Zeus was hidden from the wrath of his father, and (II)
the mountain near Troy. The " Idaean " here refers to
Ganymede, the beautiful Trojan youth who (there are
many differing legends) was carried off by Zeus in the
form of an eagle, or by an eagle in the service of Zeus,
to become cup-bearer in Olympus.

(3) Hylas, another youth who attracted the admiration
of a god. He was the son of Theiodamus, King of the
Dryopes, whom Heracles slew, and was carried off by
Heracles when he joined the Argonauts. \Vhile drawing
water near Cios in Mysia he was drawn into a well by
a beautiful Naiad (water-nymph), nor could Heracles
discover what had become of him. The story is apparently
an ordinary aetiological myth, to explain the fact that at
harvest time the Cians roam their, hills crying aloud the
name of Hylas, who is probably, like Adonis and

304 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

Hyacinthus, the spirit of vegetation, and so is naturally
represented as passing away at the end of the summer.
The myth is told in later literature, but there are
references in Aeschylus (Pertae, 1054) and Aristophanes
(Plutut, 1127).

(4) Apollo fell in love with the young Spartan
Hyacinthus, but killed him accidentally with a quoit,
said to have been deflected by the jealousy of Zephyrus,
the \Vest \Vind. From his blood there grew the so-
called Hyacinth flower marked with the letters AI, AI
(Greek for "alas"), really a kind of iris or larkspur.
Hence " the sanguine flower inscribed with woe " (Milton).
The festival which this story is supposed to explain was
a Spartan summer festival in gratitude for vegetation,
and it may be that the immigrant Dorians incorporated
a pre-Laconian deity of the under-world with their own
Apollo, god of light and -warmth (Ency. Brit., IXth ed.r
s. v. Hyaclnthiu; cf. preceding note). The lyre is, of
course, Apollo's own instrument.

(5) Lycurgus, the more or less legendary law-giver
of Sparta, was famed for the rigour of his laws ; there
is no need to doubt that he existed, but there is the
strongest reason for refusing to credit him with the whole
of the Spartan constitution. This constitution was narrow,
and resisted all change in spite of changing circumstances :
its very vitality destroyed Sparta. His name is thus
quite properly used as synonymous with rigidity : Cicero,
in one of his amusing self-revelations, says that as regards
the case of Clodius" sacrilege he was " a very Lycurgus "
at the beginning, but "is getting less severe every day".
There is no special ground for calling Lycurgus positively
cruel, according to ancient standards.

(6) This is the first appearance of the minor poet
Eumolpus, who is the moving spirit of the remaining
portion of the story, and is perhaps the best piece of
characterization in the book.

(7) Crowns or wreaths of all kinds were used as
special marks of favor and in religious connexions.
Several kinds were given for distinguished military ser-
vices. The laurel-crown is the one specially assigned
to poets : hence the modern term poet laureate. Eumolpus

NOTES 305

sadly recognises that such crowns do not always go to
the most deserving in a degenerate age.

CHAPTER LXXXV.

(1) The Quaestor of a province was the financial officer
of the governor (consul or praetor). He acted as pay-
master to the forces, and head of the commissariat;
collected the revenues ; in the governor's absence acted
as his deputy. He had his own staff of clerks. Office
in the provinces meant a lucrative post, as the provincials
were treated simply as a source of wealth, and the
governor, playing into the hands of the tax-collectors
(mainly companies -which bought the right to collect and
raised what they could), was glad to make it worth a
young quaestor's while to be silent about irregularities.
Tacitus says that the Agricola, when quaestor in Asia,
had a splendid chance of becoming rich, because the
governor " would gladly have purchased mutual sup-
pression of guilt".

(2) Pergamum was one of the richest and most artistic
of all the cities of Asia Minor. A special school of
artists was associated with it, and it was a great centre
of trade. The kings were friendly to Rome, because
in the break-up of the Macedonian Empire they were
in danger of being squeezed between Macedonia and
the Seleucid Kings of Syria. Attalus bequeathed the
city to Rome in 133.

CHAPTER LXXXVI

(1) Cockfighting was an ancient oriental sport. As
regards Europe the story goes that Themistocles when
leading a force against the Persians saw two cocks
fighting, and encouraged his men by showing how fiercely
they fought : subsequently cockfighting was an annual
celebration of victory, and gradually became a popular
amusement. At Rome it -was long despised as a Greek
sport, but by the 1st cent. A. D. it had become so
popular that Columella speaks of men wasting all their
time at the cockpit.

(2) This hybrid needs explanation. The Latin O6lul*co
strictly means an Asturian (Spanish) steed, renowned for its

20

306 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

easy graceful motion (cf. Martial XIV. 199 ; Sil. III. 336) :
the term is widened to include any horse with similar
qualities. The English " barb" originally denotes an Arab
horse (being short for Barbary). Hence " Macedonian
barb" is something like "Macedonian-Spanish-steed".

CHAPTER LXXXVIII

(1) It should be noticed that Eumolpus is speaking
of the ancient world as a whole. Rome itself was very
slow to take up art at all, and though literature may
be said to have passed its zenith by the time of Nero
the arts generally were at least as prosperous as in
what Eumolpus, in the true spirit of the "minor" poets,
calls the "good old days".

(2) Democritus of Abdera, commonly known as the
" Laughing Philosopher", is said to have been born about
460 B. C. and to have lived rather more than 100 years.
He was a great traveller, with a passion for accurate
knowledge. He held -with Leucippus the famous Atomic
Theory of existence, which he was perhaps the first to
formulate, and is therefore to be regarded as one of the
pioneers of physical science. His voluminous works are
said to have included treatises on mathematics, astronomy,
medicine, natural science generally, mechanics : he is also
credited with inventing the arch. It is said that he
blinded himself to secure greater mental concentration,
and that he died in poverty.

(3) Eudoxus, the astronomer of Cnidus (ca. 366 B. C.),
whose fame is out of all proportion to the extant evidence
of his achievement. He is said to have studied and
written in Egypt under the tuition of the priests. His
work is known from the Pbaenomena of Aratus. There
are many stories illustrating the earnestness of his work,
but I do not find authority for the mountain story here
recorded. Strabo says that his observatory at Cnidus
was existing in his own day.

(4) Chrysippus (280—206 B. C.), a Stoic philosopher,
the third leader of the school, and spoken of as the most
important member of it. Hellebore was a plant (of
which the best species grew in the island of Anticyra)
much used by the ancients as a cure for epilepsy,

NOTES 307

paralysis, and mental or nervous complaints. Hence an
insane person was bidden to "take ship for Anticyra ".
Valerius Maximus (LIV. 2.8) says, curiously enough, that
Carneades, founder of the new Academy, but a pupil of
the Stoic Diogenes, used it frequently. It had a violent
purgative effect, and its virtues are said to have been
observed first by a goatherd who successiully used it to
restore to sanity the daughters of the Arcadian King
Proetus. Very full references are collected in Burton's
Anatomy of ^Melancholy.

(5) Lysippus, the famous -4th cent, statuary, who alone
was permitted to make a statue of Alexander the Great.
His principle was conformity to nature and he sought
to reproduce the human figure as he saw it rather than
in the heroic proportions which earlier sculptors had
loved to portray. As to his dying in poverty, we may
remember the story that he put away one piece of gold
for each commission paid for, and that at his death this
little hoard numbered 1500 coins. What Eumolpus
means is therefore not clear: why speak of a dingle
ttatue 1 Lysippus had a son of the same name : perhaps
be was the devoted artist.

(6) Myron, another Greek statuary (5th cent. B. C.),
of remarkable versatility. The "Discobolus" is his most
famous work: another is his " Cow " which Cicero refers
to p.s standing in the Athenian market place in his day, and
which was afterwards transferred to the Temple of Peace
in Rome. He had a son named Lycius, also an artist.
Eumolpus, therefore, either implies that Myron had
nothing to leave or else is wrong in his facts. Judging
by Trimalchio, Petronius is fond of making his characters
talk nonsense about well-known persons : possibly in the
1st century every cultured person was supposed to know
all about famous artists, and Nero may have had a
special display of recent acquisitions. The sciolist is
apparently Petronius' favourite butt.

(7) Strictly dialectic, a term restricted in modern ter-
minology to argument pure and simple, without special
reference to the pursuit of truth : the term has passed
through various stages, but is here used in a compli-
mentary sense as by Aristotle who applies it to the study

308 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

of the ultimate or universal principles which underlie all
particular sciences.

(8) Cf. the phrase " mens sana in corpore sano " (Juv.
X. 356).

(9) The -word "pound" comes from the adverbial use
of an ablative (modal) of an old -word poiiduA, weight,
which was used with numerals for sums of money or
measures of weight ; a fragment of the XII Tables speaks
of fetters "XV pondo", of 15 pounds weight.

(10) The word (peculium) is the regular term for the
savings which custom allowed slaves to put away with
a view to purchasing their freedom, or for the personal
property or paraphernalia of anyone who was under the
legal authority of the head of his house. It goes back
to the time when value was reckoned in heads of cattle,
and both "peculiar" and "pecuniary" are thence derived
along different lines. It is, therefore, a quaint term to
apply to the Senate. The temple of Jupiter on the
Capitoline Hill was the centre of Roman political and
religious activity. Both the Emperors and the Senate
worshipped in the Capitoline Temple prior to any great
enterprise : in the event of success splendid gifts were
dedicated to Jupiter— -chiefly, of course, of gold.

(11) For Apelles see above ch. LXXXIII, n. 1.
Pheidias was the great 5th century Athenian sculptor,
the friend of Pericles and architect of the Parthenon.
His great work was the famous statue of Zeus. He
represents the high-water mark of Greek Art.

CHAPTER LXXXIX

(1) On this and other poems see the Introduction. The
poem is a paraphrase (in iambic lines of six feet each)
of the first part of Virgil's Aeneld, Book II (11. 13—267).
Had I not regarded the poem as a mere tour de force,
i. e. as a skit upon contemporary poetasters, I should not
have ventured to attempt a metrical translation. I agree
with Prof. Butler that the poem is, all the same, not
technically a parody ; not, at all events, in the modern sense.

(2) I. e. Apollo, whose prophet was Calchas. He
was bitterly hostile to the Trojans, because Laomedon

NOTES 309

refused to pay him and Poseidon (Neptune) for building
the walls of the city.

(3) Ida, the hill near Troy.

(4) Petronius does not explain Sinon. In the Aeneld
Sinon allows himself to be captured and induces the Trojans
to bring the Horse within their walls.

(5) Tenedos, a small island off the Trojan coast.

(6) The group of statuary— often copied— recalls the
scene.

CHAPTER XC

(1) Literally "I have taken the auspices ", i. e. begun
upon an enterprise. It is difficult to say exactly what
whimsical meaning Eumolpus intended. Similarly the
epithet describing his reception is strictly " alien, from
abroad, extraordinary ". No doubt he refers to the
seriousness of his mission, which has to be begun with
the taking of auspices, and the fact that he is wel-
comed like a stranger.

CHAPTER XCI

(1) A strigil was really a far more Spartan instrument
than a sponge, though its function was analogous. It
was a curved metal scraper with a fairly sharp edge,
and, except for extreme cases must surely have been—-
to judge from extant specimens— unnecessarily drastic in
its action.

(2) Or (reading Aupplicium for Aolaciurn) : " I have been
punished enough, in losing your goodwill".

(3) There is probably a lacuna here.

(4) "And when there are two crowds?" " Shout with
the larger", said Mr. Pickwick.

CHAPTER XCII

(1) Strictly a Roman Knight, i. e. a member of the
second order of Roman society.

(2) I. e. a voucher, a person who made himself

310 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

responsible for Eumolpus. The danger of theft at the
baths has already been noticed (ch. XXX).

CHAPTER XCIII

(1) Phasis the name of a river and a town in the
district of Colchis, near the S. E. corner of the Euxine
Sea. The district was fertile and had considerable trade,
though it -was always taken as connoting extreme
remoteness. The word "pheasant " is derived from
Phasis, it being a legend that the Argonauts, when they
returned from Colchis with the Golden Fleece, introduced
the bird to Europe. See the New Eng. Diet, (which
quotes an adjective "phasianic" as used in the Pall
Mail in 1884) s. v. Pheasant; also Littre, s. v. FaiAan,
and Forcellini who quotes references. There is a plea-
sant note in Rogers' ed. of Aristoph. Birdt, introd.
pp. LII^LVIII.

(2) See Varro, R. R., III. 9.16. The bird is described
simply as the " African bird " here, and as the " Numidian
bird " in ch. LV.

(3) The wild-duck is the anat. Ovid refers to it in
Metam. XI. 773; and Cicero (N. D. II. 48.124) speaks
of its eggs as being hatched by ordinary hens. Varro,
R. R. III. 11 gives careful directions as to breeding.

(4) Strictly dcariu, said to be a kind of wrasse, but
the wrasse family has not preserved the term in its
ichthyological classification. It is a fish that loves warm
•water: hence I have used a more familiar dainty for
the translation.

(5) The mullet was a regular Roman dainty : rich men
even kept them in ponds and occasionally fed them with
disobedient slaves who were thrown in alive. Milo
wrote from Massilia that his exile was rendered pleasant
by the excellent mullets.

(6) Strictly the cinnamon, a plant with an aromatic
sweet-smelling bark. Plautus in the same passage uses
rose and cinnamon as terms of endearment, Moses in
Exodus XXX. 23 is bidden to use it, and the plant is
mentioned in Hdt. III. 111. It belongs to the order of
the laurels, and the herb came to Europe through the
Arabians from Ceylon.

NOTES 311

CHAPTER XCIV

(1) I.e. "I will be your paedagogm)" . In better-class
Greek families a slave was appointed as a sort of com-
panion and protector to a boy from the age of 6 years,
i. e. when he passed from the immediate care of his
mother and her servants. The appointment of a " pae-
dagogue " began in the later Republic when the study
of Greek was indispensable to the education of a Roman
of good family : he would generally be a Greek who
would perform the function of the modern French or
German governess by teaching Greek conversationally.
The care of the " paedagogue " ended -when the boy
assumed the toga virilid, the symbol of emerging from
boyhood into manhood. From the special function of
acting as an attendant to the boy to and from the gym-
nasium or school arises the modern word "page" which
is derived from paedagogut. See Wllkins, Roman Education.

(2) This is a metaphor from the chariot-race, the
critical point of which was the turning point (meta) where
the competitors had to swing round as rapidly and as
closely as possible into the straight (cf. Tattenham Corner).
The skilful driver here gained upon the less competent
who was fain to take a larger and safer curve, as in
fact happens when a clever cox steers through the " Gut"
at Oxford with the least possible use of the rudder.
It was at the turning point that accidents naturally
occurred.

(3) Shaving, as we have seen before (cf. Trimalchio's
first beard) was common in antiquity. The Greek word
for razor is used as early as Homer in the proverb " on
the razor's edge ", i. e. the critical moment. \Ve gather
from artistic and other remains (see specially a cut in
Dar.-Sag. s. v. Novacula showing the paraphernalia of a
barber carved on a sepulchral stone) that the implements
of the trade have not materially changed. An object
has been found in Etruria which Dar.-Sag. describes
as a razor ; it is in the form of a small elongated sickle,
precariously wielded, as it seems, by dint of inserting
the fingers through a hole in a short handle. The Latin
word novacula is connected (so Forcellini with probability)

312 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

the word novare ("to renew"), since that which is
shaved is in a sense "renewed".

(4) Strictly the term means " hired man ", i. e. a person
who voluntarily took service, not a slave. On this point
the same man (whose name is Corax, " Raven") insists
emphatically in ch. CXVIJ " I am as free as you, if my
father did leave me a beggar" (see also ch. CIII).
Cicero (de Off. I. 13) applauds the idea of treating slaves
as though they were hired men— i. e. make them work,
but treat them fairly— -and {pro CLuent. LIX 163) speaks
of Ennius, a hired man of Oppianicus. Seneca, Benef.
III. 22.1, says that Chrysippus preferred to regard a
slave as a permanent hired servant.

CHAPTER XCV

(1) The sense is perhaps not certain. Literally the
translation seems to be "a jar made free by (or for) the
potations of customers". Perhaps it is better to read
ebriud, drunken, referring to the innkeeper himself.

(2) The candlesticks which have been discovered, e. g.
at Pompeii and Herculaneum, are mostly of bronze : we
hear of still more valuable examples, but for ordinary
purposes they were made of wood (Cic. dd Prat. III. 7).
Candlesticks and lampstands either stood on the ground
like the modern standard lamp or were portable and
stood upon a table.

(3) The vindicta was strictly the ceremonial rod with
which a master touched his slave on giving him his
freedom. It is by analogy used for any act of dismissal
or self-protection.

(4) The carnarium was either a larder (or store-cup-
board) or in poorer houses simply a framework of •wood
from which joints hung till required. The fork was a
long implement such as butchers still use for unhooking
the meat and bringing it into reach (cf. chh. CXXXV
and CXXXVI).

(5) Literally wooden slippers or shoes.

CHAPTER XCVI

(1) A difficult phrase : "I was recommending (approving)
their advocacy". Cicero uses the word advocatio for the

NOTES 313

whole body of lawyers on one side: hence my version.
Apparently the phrase is taken from the courts. Another
reading omits the words " velut . . . reflebam " and reads
" commodabam " for " commendabam ", i.e. "I was giving
suitable support to the punishment of Eumolpus".

CHAPTER XCVII

(1) One of the public slaves to whom allusion has
been made elsewhere. They formed a kind of very inferior
municipal service. Heralds or criers (praeconet) were
likewise low-grade public servants— apparently freedmen
as a rule— who acted as the mouthpiece of magistrates,
imperial and municipal. The position was lucrative, no
doubt— especially as they also acted as auctioneers— but
it precluded subsequent election to municipal office (by
a Lex Julia, cf. Cic. ad Fam., VII. 18.2).

(2) Gito was, in other words, to place himself between
the bedding and the cross-straps upon which it rested.
For the reference to Odysseus (Ulysses) and the ram
see Homer, Odywey, IX. 426 sqq. : Odysseys and his
followers first blinded the Cyclops and then escaped
from the cavern by clinging each one to the belly of
one of his rams.

(3) Oppeadu.la.tu4 is a rare post-classical word derived
from oh and peMulu^ a bolt. Cf. App. Jf. I. p. 112.11 ;
Amm. 31.13.15, in both cases with ianua.

(4) I. e. pretending to assume that Gito was still with
Ascyltus.

CHAPTER XCVIII

(1) The Latin is barundo a reed of cane. The sense,
however, postulates a technical use which is provided
by Plautus, Stick., 2.2.23, where barundo is conjoined
with Acopa, a " besom" made of twigs. Scinipbet or ctnifej,
literally a stinging-insect (Gr. Gwlnsg or Kvlnsg) in the
ecclesiastical writers, is presumably used by analogy for
the bristle or twig of a similar implement.

Gito managed not to sneeze or wince. De Guerle's
French version prefers the literal translation punauei
(bed-bugs).

(2) The author's knowledge of contemporary colloqui-

314 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

alisms and his capacity to adapt his -words to the characters
forbid the supposition that this high-flown apostrophe
from the lips of a sixteen-year-old slave is an accidental
incongruity. Turgid utterances by burglars and stable-
boys are not unknown at the crises of modern melodramas.

CHAPTER XCIX

(1) Nitere to shine, be sleek, is analogous, when used
of scenery, to our " smiling" landscape. It implies artifice
and cultivation. Similarly the sophistication of culture
leads to the use of nitidiui for the smart man-about-town,
the "polished" product.

(2) Prfyudium is a doubtful reading (Biicheler). The
word is familiar in Plautus and Cicero for a shameful
(derived from pudor) action or person : but the connexion
with a signal equivalent to " all aboard ", or " flying
the Blue Peter", is obscure. L. and S. suggest it is
a vulgar form of propediem (prope diem) "quick march".
Properandum "we must hurry", is the reading of Tornaesius.
The sense is obvious.

(3) These stars were presumably the Dioscuri, Castor
and Pollux, the special patrons of seafarers (Hor., Od.,
I. 3.2; Hygin, Poet. Aitron., II. 22). They were the
sons of Leda and Tyndareus (or Zeus) and brothers of
Helen. They are specially renowned for their physical
prowess (Castor as a horseman, Pollux as a boxer) and
for their brotherly affection, and were ultimately re-warded
by being placed among the stars as Gemini, the Twins ;
Poseidon -was said to have given them power over wind
and -wave. Oddly enough they were specially honoured
at Sparta where their symbols accompanied the kings
in -war, though the Spartans were peculiarly averse
from overseas enterprise.

CHAPTER C

(1) Cotutralum papp'u is the raised planking which
made a sort of deck or bridge over the stern. Such a
deck implies, of course, a cabin below. Apparently the
two parries are to be pictured as rolled up in rugs at
opposite sides of this deck, unless perhaps Lichas and

NOTES 315

Tryphaena are below or in a deckhouse. The point is
fortunately not material.

(2) Tryphaena is represented as an exile— 'presumably
on account of her evil ways. It will be remembered
that several ladies of the imperial house were banished
to small islands for the same reason. It has been argued
that for exulctn (exile) we should read uxorem (wife),
assuming perhaps that the alleged wife Doris of (the
spurious) ch. XI has been divorced.

CHAPTER CI

(1) A curious instance of the great age of a common
metaphor. The Latin idiom is literally the English phrase
and the actual word is com.moda.re, parent of the English
" accommodation " in the sense of a loan.

(2) Hannibal's successful strategy against their generals
in the Second Punic \Var roused the baffled Romans to
A high pitch of moral indignation against his underhand
ways, and the term " Punic honour" became a synonym
for mean mendacity. We may compare " perfide Albion "
or better still our pious desire that the "knavish tricks"
of our enemies may be divinely "frustrated".

(3) The words used are familia, the general term for
a household including kinsman and slaves, and negotiant,
that which has to do with commerce, and especially
banking. It seems reasonable that this phrase means all
the personnel of a business-house. Lichas evidently did
a considerable carrying trade between Rome and Tarentum,
along the coast: he would require clerks, bookkeepers
and the like. This seems better than the view (e. g. of
De Guerle) that Lichas was carrying a cargo of slaves
(5. e. familia) to be sold in Tarentum.

(4) The Cyclops story has already been mentioned
(ch. XCVII, n. 2). Lichas is whimsically likened by
Eumolpus to the awe-inspiring man-eating giant, by way
of mocking the fears of Encolpius, the grounds for which
are as yet unknown to Eumolpus. It may be added here
that the Cyclops of literature is so-called (" Round-eyed" :
cf. the "Saucer-eyed" of the fairy tales) because he is
represented as having a large solitary eye in the centre
of his forehead. He and his kind are the colossal can-

316 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

nibat shepherds of early imagination, represented generally
as inhabiting Sicily: their passions are stirred by the
woodland nymphs and hence they came into conflict with
more human heroes (cf. the story of Acis, Polyphemus
and Galatea). They represent on the one hand the crude
force of nature (so the Hesiodic list, Brontes, Steropes,
Arges, i. e. thunder, lightning and "electric" fire); on
the other hand they are the primitive artificers. Hence
the use of the term " Cyclopean " for the most ancient
architecture of the Mediterranean area. The general
sense of the term thus points to the old belief that such
remains were the work of an early race powerful phy-
sically but at an early stage of intellectual development.
The term connotes architecturally the rough, unshaped
stones which retain their position by sheer weight without
aid of mortar or rivet. The Cyclopes work in the
subterranean forges of volcanic Sicily, and are, as it
were, first cousins of the Titans. (A very full article
in Dar.-Sag. by L. de Ronchaud contains all references
and gives illustrations.)

(5) The term is " archpirate " (Forcellini, capltano dicor-
jari), which occurs also in Cic. Off, II. 11. It is Greek in
origin; a " pirate" is literally one who " makes attempts ",
i. e. an adventurer, and especially by sea (though Shake-
speare speaks of " land-rats " as " pirates "). It is curious
that the word "pirate" (which even in Greek is late,
and apparently confined to Polybius, Strabo and Plutarch)
should have so limited its meaning. Piracy was at all
times a serious problem to the ancient navigator, and on
several occasions (e. g. by Pompey the Great in 67 B. C.)
attempts to root out the robbers were made on a large
scale. Though Pompey had ample powers and succeeded
not only in breaking up the piratical strongholds, but
also in settling the offenders in towns, we see that it
was an easy matter for Sextus Pompeius to take up
privateering during the early years of Augustus. Tacitus
(Agrlcola VII) refers to Otho's fleet acting in 69 A. D.
on a sort of roving semi-piratical commission against
Vitellius in the Gulf of Genoa, and actually seizing by
force some estates owned by Agricola's mother who lost
her life during the raid.

(6) The exact sense is doubtful: "curved" harbours

NOTES 317

is the strict translation, but whether the "curve" is to be
understood vertically (i. e. deep) or horizontally in the
sense of a narrow harbour as opposed to an open
roadstead, I do not feel sure. The point is sound in
either case : perhaps the text is corrupt.

(7) Romans of good position regarded as effeminate
the wearing of headgear other than helmets. Only those
who were ill would consent to go " covered", except
when hunting or under specially exposed conditions.
Cicero (de Sen. X ad fin.) says in compliment to Mas-
sinissa " nullo imbre, nullo frigore adduci ut capite operto
sit". Hence, presumably, the wearing of headgear (or
rather perhaps the wrapping of the cloak round the
head) by Encolpius and Gito would at once suggest
illness and invite sympathetic attention.

CHAPTER CII

(1) The Latin term Acapba is originally Greek (literally
"dug-out"); it meant originally a boat made of a
hollowed-out tree-trunk. Here it means a small boat
fastened by a cable to the stern of a sailing-ship, as in
Plautus, Rudeiu, prol. 75, where two ladies in terror leap
from a wrecked ship into a dinghy (so I. 2.74 " I see
two unhappy women sitting by themselves in a dinghy ").
In Hor. Od. III. 29.62, we read of the sensible merchant
who, being -wrecked, does not waste time bemoaning his
losses, but with the aid of his " two-oared skiff" (gig
or dinghy) makes for the shore. Cicero ad. Att. X. 10.5
has lintriculum ("little wherry") in the same sense. The
term is also used for a fishing boat {p'ucatoria) in Just.
II. 13.9.

(2) The Latin AoliduA (i. e. nummuA, coin) is the equi-
valent of aureuA, a gold coin worth about 25 denarii, i. e.
roughly an English sovereign. The same term was used
for Constan tine's chief coin.

(3) The reference is presumably to an episode in one
of the lost books. It has no obvious connexion with
any of the extant fragments.

(•4) Lewis and Short say that this refers to the im-
mobility and taciturnity of statues : it has probably a

318 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

more explicit reference to the methods adopted in trans-
porting large statues.

(5) The term atramentum is properly applied to any
black liquid (Cic., N. D., II. 50.127/80 describes the
substance, Sepia, exuded by the cuttle-fish, and used
as writing-ink). It is applied to fluid" used by painters,
of \vhich the chief ingredient -was soot. Apelles, we
read, washed his pictures with a pigment of this kind,
which not only toned the colours, but is said to have
made a more durable surface. The most common use
of the term is for writing-ink, composed of soot and
gum (ferrumeri) in the proportion of three to one. It
was viscous in quality, and though it lasted -well it could
be rubbed out with a sponge. Inkbottles of various
kinds have been found : Eumolpus, as a poet, who might
need to record an inspiration at any moment, presumably
carried one fastened to his girdle—a plan adopted by
Eastern scribes. The word "ink" comes from Lat.
encaujtum, the purple fluid used by the later Emperors :
the term is of Greek origin meaning "burned in", i. e.
encaustic. Prof. Flinders Petrie has discovered an ink-
written papyrus which he dates 2500 B. C.

(6) Gito very sensibly ridicules the idea that a Roman
or a Greek would be taken for an Ethiopian simply
because he blackened his body. Ethopian slaves would
be quite familiar to a Roman merchant; the black skin
is but one of many differences between the negro and
the European : the same is true of circumcision in the
case of Jews, the wearing of ear-rings in the case of
Arabs, the light complexion of the Gauls. Thus the
author of the jfloretum (? Virgil, who is said to have
translated it from a poem by his Greek teacher Parthenius)
describes an Ethiopian woman as " of African race, -whose
•whole appearance bears witness to her native land, -with
curly hair, thick-lipped, and dark of hue " ; he also refers
to their large feet. This passage is quite possibly in
Petronius's mind -when he makes Gito illustrate the
difficulty of the proposed disguise. It is at least a
coincidence that the Roman general who defeated Queen
Candace in 23 B. C. and pursued her troops as far as
Napata was a certain C. Petronius, perhaps the father
or the grandfather of the Petronius who wrote the Satyricon.

NOTES 319

Circumcision is not peculiar to the Jews, though it is,
of course, one of their most ancient practices, attributed
by Geneni XVII to the age of Abraham. In Joihua V,
it is represented as having been instituted by Joshua in
order to " roll away the reproach" of being uncircumcised
in the land of the Egyptians, who must therefore have
been circumcised. Herod. (II. 36) states that the practice
is Egyptian is origin : it is, however, very wide-spread,
•whether as a hygienic precaution or as a religious, and
especially pre-connubial, rite (see I. Abrahams, in Ency.
Brit. Xlth Ed. <). v. and authorities there quoted).

The practice of mutilating the lobe of the ear for the
purpose of suspending adornments or amulets of various
kinds is similarly wide-spread. Plautus, PaenuluA, V. 3,
refers to the "ringed ears" of the Carthaginians. In
Rome, however, the wearing of such decorations was
limited to women ; men who so adorned themselves were
criticized as aping an oriental practice (cf. Juvenal. I. 104,
" a man born near the Euphrates, as is shown by the
"soft windows", i. e. effeminate holes, "in my ears").
Among Roman -women, ear-rings of the most expensive
kind (especially of pearls) were worn (Seneca, de Ben.
VII. 9A) : it is amusing to read in Pliny that Antonia,
wife of Drusus, caused a pair to be attached to her
favorite lamprey. Many examples are to be seen in the
British Museum.

The light complexion of the inhabitants of Gaul was
very noticeable to the swarthy peoples of the Mediter-
ranean districts : it was even held that the name is derived
from the Greek gala, milk (" ignea mens Gallis, et lactea
corpora, nomen a candore datum ").

The inhabitants of modern Abyssinia, partly Hamitic,
partly Semitic, preserve the thick lip which is characteristic
of the negroid type.

(7) The calamtjtrum (-er) was a curling-iron or crisping-
pin (L. and S.). In an inscription (Inter. Mural. 991.2)
we read of freedwomen who made a business of curling
hair. The curling of hair among men was a mark of
effeminacy (Cic. Sal., VIII. 18; past R. in Sen. VI. 13).

(8) The habit of disfiguring the face with scars with
a view to producing a fierce truculent aspect is common
among low-grade fighting barbarians. The German student

320 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

often bears scars on the side of the forehead, generally
as a result of duels, but sometimes, it is said, self-inflicted.

(9) Almost all the negro peoples are characterized by
small calves and large ankle-bones and heels. They
have a rolling-gait and walk on the outside of the foot
so that the bones are pressed towards the ground. This
is one of the respects in which they are nearer to the
anthropoid apes.

CHAPTER CHI

(1) It is not a little curious that Petronius should
have put such a sentiment into the lips of a man like
Eumolpus. He may have been mocking the Stoics, to
whom suicide was not necessarily a sin. Cato's suicide
after- Utica is called by Horace "a noble death", and
very generally (e. g. by Seneca and Pliny) the question
was regarded as one for personal decision under parti-
cular circumstances. Hopeless and prolonged illness or
any conditions which finally prevented a man from the
exercise of his best capacity were to the moralists
adequate ground for suicide (Sen., Ep., LVIII. 36) :
mere headstrong self-murder was culpable. In a period
like that of Nero's later years even the philosopher might
well conclude that life was too degraded to be worth
continuance (cf. Marcus Aurelius, JHed., X. 8). To find
Eumolpus categorically condemning suicide as cowardly
is very striking. (For authorities on the subject and
instances see Mayor's, PLiny, III. p. 114; students should
also read Lucian's de Morte Peregrlnl wherein the author
tells the story of the self-immolation of one whom he
regarded as an impostor.)

(2) On the razor see ch. XCIV, n. 3.

(3) The shaving of the eyebrows -was a mark of
disgrace inflicted on a disobedient slave. So Cicero
(pro. Roac. Com. VII. 20) says that the head of Fannius
Chaerea, " smacks of evil-doing and cries aloud his
cunning" because the eyebrows as well as the head
are shaved.

(4) The brand (iwla, Aligma), like other forms of
permanent mutilation, has a long history as a device to
prevent an evil-doer from living down a " previous con-

NOTES 321

viction ". In Rome runaway slaves and those detected
in thieving were branded on the forehead with the
letter F (Greek 3>), i. e. fugitivut, fur. Such slaves were
technically known as notati, uucrtpti, litterati. The punish-
ment was made illegal by Constantine on Christian
grounds— which, however, did not hinder its resumption
in more enlightened days.

(5) This refers to the fact that sailors, when a wreck
seemed inevitable, used to make an offering to the sea-
gods of hair and beard (see Sommer in Pauly-Wissowa,
s. v. Haaropjer). Hence to shave on a ship unnecessarily
was to invite a storm gratuitously. Similar dedications
(an.atbem.ata) took place if a sailor was saved from a
storm (e. g. Juv. XII. 81).

CHAPTER CIV

(1) The reading is not certain, but Bvicheler's proposal
makes excellent sense. The "Neptune" would be a
statue or a painting. Baiae, 10 miles \V. of Naples
on the Gulf of Puteoli, was a famous resort of wealthy
nobles in the days of the later Republic. There are
many remains of villas and public buildings. A lady
of Tryphaena's type would naturally be quite familiar
with the luxurious life of the Roman Brighton.

(2) This reference to Epicurus is obscure : and the
ensuing poem is included by Biicheler as no. XXX of
the Fragments. I see no strong reason for not admitting
it here, as it does more or less fit in with the introductory
words. Considering the many cases in which Petronius
allows his characters to make mistakes, it is immaterial
whether the views expressed are in fact strictly Epicurean.
Epicurus was largely indebted for his philosophy to the
atomism of Democritus ; as a rationalist, who forbade
his pupils to search for mystical explanations of pheno-
mena where physical ones could be imagined, he naturally
regarded dreams as being physical in origin. Here
Eumolpus quotes a view which likewise denies to dreams
any transcendental significance. The dreams of Lichas
and Tryphaena merely represented their waking desires,
as evidenced by the conversation over-night.

21

322 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION
CHAPTER CV

(1) This passage presents difficulties. Biicheler reads
" nee in eodem futurus navigio" : others " necnon in . . .".
The difficulty of " necnon " is that it is equivalent to a
strong affirmative, and that, therefore, the following " sed"
(adversative) is obscure (though not impossible). Eumolpus
is trying to explain how he came to violate sailors' custom
by having his slaves shaved on board without the excuse
of a threatened wreck, and so to bring an evil omen
upon the passengers, including, of course, himself. He
says " I didn't want to make the ship look like a prison
by having about me two frowsy-headed slaves. \Vhy
then did I risk shaving them on board? Well, I did
risk it (i. e. took no auspices), although I -was to travel
in the same ship. It would have been very wrong on
my part to let them have their hair so long that you
others wouldn't have seen their marks of disgrace ". He
then tries to win sympathy by saying how he has been
swindled by the two slaves. I do not see now Mr.
Heseltine (Loeb edn.) justifies his translation " I was not
doing anything unlucky" (? mihi" to my disadvantage").
The Thedauriw Linguae Lalinac, vol. 2, col. 1546, 1. -42,
compares this use of auApiclum facere with that in Horace,
Ep. I. 1.86, "if excessive greed sets him on to it", both
being under the sub-heading for audpicium used without
special significance of good or bad. Apparently the
excuse was for all practical purposes accepted; but, on
the off chance that the ships' guardian angel might not
be satisfied and to appease the ignorant sailors, the
supposed slaves were to be flogged— a natural precaution
too trifling to be worth discussing between the captain
and Eumolpus.

(2) In Sparta, capacity to endure physical pain was
a prime virtue. The courage of boys entering upon
manhood was tested by a flogging so severe as sometimes
to cause death. Physical training was imposed upon
men and women alike, and every step was taken which
was thought likely to maintain the breed. Hence the
term " Spartan" for any system which excludes physical
comfort. For the same reason the Spartans proper
(Spartiates) were rigorously limited in choice of wives:
hence nobilita.6, privilege of breed.

NOTES 323

(3) Ulysses (Odysseus), according to Homer XIX. 473,
upon returning home to Ithaca from the Trojan war and
his -wanderings about the" Mediterranean, -was recognized
by his old nurse Euryclea -who was instructed by Penelope
to -wash the feet of the unknown guest (1. 357).

CHAPTER CVI

(1) A technical term in painting for shading in figures
prior to the final delineation (Forcellini, s. v. adumbro).
\Vhen a politician makes a preliminary statement of his
programme, the journalist thus says he is "adumbrating"
his policy.

CHAPTER CVII

(1) There have been found small metal discs which
used to be attached by a chain round a slave's neck :
they bear a legend which makes the slave state his
master's name and address and ask to be taken back
if he runs away. In the room of Greek and Roman
life at the British Museum there is a specimen -which
bears the legend.

(2) Intervertere is a technical legal term for the crime
of intercepting and appropriating on its "way a debt due
to another. Thus we find in Suet. VlieLL, " quorum
publica vectigalia interverterat", "whose payments he
had intercepted".

(3) In point of fact baldness waa regarded by the
Romans as a pitiful affliction. Julius Caesar's hair grew
very thin, and he did his utmost by combing it straight
forward to conceal the fact. The famous British Museum
bust shows this clearly. Suet. (Caet. 45) says that he
was extremely sensitive on the point. Among many
peoples (e. g. the Jews) a shaven poll was a conventional
symbol of profound grief.

(•4) The word jalamandra is said to be of Greek
origin. It is applied to a kind of lizard which, according
to Pliny, appears only in heavy rain, and is so cold
that, like ice, it extinguishes fire at a touch ; if it comes
into contact with the human body, all the hairs fall out
(so here). It poisons all the fruit of a tree -which it
climbs, and any persons who eat the fruit die of friglda

324 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

VIA as though poisoned by aconite (Pliny X. 67.86.188).
The -word exutdlt, literally "burnt out", implies that its
action is analogous to that of fire : it is quite commonly
used metaphorically (of grief, pain, etc.) and there is no
need to change to

CHAPTER CVIII

(1) The precise meaning is not clear. Perhaps it
means that the partisans of either side grew hotter
when Encolpius' face assumed a mottled and more
•wretched appearance.

(2) See ch. XCIV (last paragraph).

(3) The terms here used are those strictly appropriate
to warfare proper. The caducealor was the herald bearing
the symbol of peace, namely an olive branch, entwined
•with garlands, afterwards with serpents. The term is
really applied not to Roman heralds but to Greeks, the
•word caduceum being a Romanized form of the Greek

(A) The special deity to whom a vessel was dedicated
was represented by a figure or emblem. As the olive
branch was the symbol of Mercury, and Mercury was
the god of merchants (see ch. LXVII, n. 3), presumably
Lichas had a symbol of this deity as an ornament at
the bow or the stern of his vessel. Cf. above ch. CV.

(5) Referring to the story of the Trojan Paris who
robbed Menelaus of his -wife Helen and so brought
about the Trojan \Var. The idea that a ship was
rendered accursed in the sight of heaven by the presence
of a passenger stained by crime is common in antiquity
(cf. the story of Jonah).

(6) Medea, fleeing from Colchis -with Jason in the
Argo, is related to have slain her brother Absyrtus and
thrown him overboard so as to delay her pursuers.
Subsequently she slew her children by Jason when he
deserted her.

CHAPTER CIX

(1) Petronius, in a whimsical spirit, sets forth the
agreement in solemn legal phraseology, such as was used
in treaties between one state and another. The penalties

NOTES 325

or fines imposed (100 and 200 denarii) are high, and
are expressed in the spirit of the dean of a certain
college -who once put up a notice that members of the
college might ride a bicycle round the quadrangle on a
payment of (?) £ 3.

(2) The word is fiucuia (which is allied to furca, a
fork with a long handle) : it is applied to Neptune's
trident, and to the tridents of Nereus and the Tritons.
Perhaps primarily regarded as the goad with which
Neptune urged on his horses, it was naturally associated
with sea-gods in connexion with the spearing of fish.
There are many references in classical authors to the
sport of angling (e.g. in Greek, the 21st Idyll of Theo-
critus, Plutarch's story of the match between Antony
and Cleopatra, the treatise Halieutica by Oppian, ca.
1 69 A. D. ; in Latin, Ovid's fragmentary Halleuticon,
Martial's Epigram at) Pidcatorem, Pliny's Natural H'utory
Bk. IX, Ausonius's stfodella) : a convenient summary is
contained in Mr. Hugh Sheringham's art. Angling in the
Ency. Brit. Ed. XI. The use of hook and line is referred
to as early as Homer who, in OdyAAey XII. 251, uses
it as an illustration to explain how Scylla seized and
bore away the companions of Odysseus. I do not know
what sort of fish it would be possible to spear from
the deck of a seagoing cargo-boat, nor is there ap-
parently any other use of the term Jiucina in this exact
connexion.

(3) The catching of small birds (aucupium) was re-
cognized in Rome both as a sport and as a trade. All
sorts of snares were used, but the favourite device was
the one mentioned here. It seems (Martial IX. 55) that
the instrument was a reed so jointed that it could be
shortened and lengthened at will (" crescente arundine"):
the extreme portions were smeared with lime (" pinguis
et implicitas virga teneret aves "). Cf. ch. XL above,
where, as seems to have been most commonly the case,
the birds caught are thrushes : here of course they were
sea-birds. The vivid description of the feathers is an
excellent example of Petronius's admirable sense of detail.

(•4) This was evidently a definite mark of affection ;
as it is the obvious meaning of the Latin it need not be
otherwise understood. De Guerle takes from Gaius

326 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

Fortunatus the story of the lady sitting at table with
three lovers who gave a kiss to one, a garland to another,
and to the third the remainder of her own glass of wine
as signifying her preference for him. Ovid, Art Am.,
I. 575, recommends the lover to be the first to take and
drain the wine-cup put down by the object of his affec-
tions. After drinking a toast a guest would throw the
remainder of his wine under the table as a libation to
heaven to prevent ill-luck. This survives in the habit of
upturning a drinking vessel ostensibly to show that the
toast has been worthily honoured.

(5) Another of Petronius's admirable bits of light
verse. The first six lines in the original are very pro-
perly in elegiac verse : then -when the burlesque elegy
is over, he turns to a lyric metre as he leads up to the
epigram. The irritation implied in Encolpius's comment
that the poem is "inept" is life-like.

(6) Apollo and Diana are the favourite types of
lightness and beauty. Conceivably, since they represent
the sun and the moon, they were suggested to Petronius
by the picture of the bald round heads of Encolpius
and Gito.

(7) Strictly " the round garden-tuber which owes its
birth to water" (the wave). The tuber is a sort of
mushroom: tuber terrae, truffles (Juv. XIV. 7), or mole-
hill, a term of abuse.

CHAPTER CX

(1) An entertaining passage from De Guerle's Eloge
de Perruquet, is quoted by the author of the note in De
Guerle's PelroniuJ. The Latin word corymbion means
literally "shaped like ivy-leaves", apparently a technical
term for a particular kind of wig which covered the
whole head. Enquiry has failed to discover any similar
term in the technology of the modern perruquier: most
of the terms in use (of which there is a surprising
number) signify only supplementary adornment which in
Gito's case would hardly have rendered him less ridi-
culous. The term exists nowhere else in extant Latin or
Greek. References to wigs will be found in Becker's
Gallic, Excursus II, Scene 8. Ovid, Ard. Am. III. 165.

NOTES 327

has " Femina procedit densissima crinibud einplL), Proque
suis alios efficit acre suo ". The skill of Tiyphaena's
tire-woman need excite no surprise : every rich woman
had specially trained female-slaves for the purpose
(Marcian, Digest, XXXII. 1.65). It is noteworthy that,
according to Juvenal (VI. 120), the use of an auburn
wig, such as was provided for Encolpius, was apparently
the mark of a prostitute, for Messalina selects such a
•wig when she goes to a brothel : this touch further
characterises Tryphaena. For the use of artificial eye-
brows see Martial IX. 37.

CHAPTER CXI

(1) The story of the matron of Ephesus is the most
famous part of Petronius's writings. It -was translated
into French by a monk about 1200 A. D., and it has
been used as the basis of innumerable poems, dramas,
stories and plays. It is quite possibly founded on fact,
and may well have been in circulation all over the
ancient world. According to John of Salisbury, who
quotes the whole story in Policraticiu) iive de nugu curi-
alium, VIII. 11 (ed. C. C. J. Webb, 1909), Flavianus,
author of De Dogmatlbiu Pbllotopborum, vouches for its
truth, and adds that the lady was punished before the
assembled Ephesians for impiety, murder and adultery.
The story is extraordinarily well told, and one can well
understand the social popularity of a man who had so
great a gift as a raconteur.

(2) This is practically the only known use in Latin
of the Greek loan word bypogeum (i. e. subterranean
place). It is rather curious that Petronius should describe
as Greek the custom of placing the body within a vault.
Or is it the fact that the body was not burned before
sepulture that he represents as distinctively Greek ? Tombs
containing vaults are not rare in Italy (they are especially
common in Etruria), and no Roman needed to characterize
as Greek the practice of burying without cremation.
Certainly at some periods burning the body was common,
either to prevent subsequent violation at the hands of
enemies or for sanitary reasons, but it is worth remember-
ing that Sulla was the first of the Cornelii to be cremated.

328 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

Conceivably Petronius meant the words to go with the
other part of the sentence, and so to imply that Greek
•women did watch their husbands' corpses at all events
for a short time. But order of words, facts, and the
story are against this view.

(3) This line is taken from Virgil, Aeneid, IV. 34,
from the passage in which Anna is appealing to her
sister Dido.

(•4) A generalization which has of late led the Home
Office astray in dealing with a somewhat different problem.

CHAPTER CXII

(1) From Virgil, Aeneid, IV. 38 (see ch. CXI, n. 3).

(2) In ancient and medieval times a criminal was in
most countries forbidden proper burial. This was, of
course, regarded as a great addition to the actual punish-
ment. The most famous example of the horror with
which the ancients viewed the loss of burial is the way
in which Antigone, in Sophocles' play, gave up her own
life rather than allow her brother Polynices to lack burial.

CHAPTER CXIII

(1) The way in -which Eumolpus's story is received
is another remarkable example of Petronius's insight.
Lichas, a married man who allows himself every license,
is deeply pained by any breach of wifely decorum.
Tryphaena, whose moral character is of the lowest, feels
bound to be horrified at any lapse of a kind slightly
different from her own. A London constable informed
me recently that no one was more disgusted with the
law-breaking suffragists than Tryphaena's successors.

(2) Hedyle, apparently, is the wife of Lichas. Nodot's
spurious fragment apparently overlooked this name, as
he called Lichas's wife Doris (ch. XI). We have no
clue either to Hedyle or to the plunder of the ship.

(3) Tralatic'uiA is that which is handed down, customary.
Hence " formal ", that which does not imply any special
desire to please or honour.

NOTES 329

CHAPTER CXIV

(1) Cf. Ovid, TrUtiOf I. 2.31. The exact wording of
the next sentence is doubtful. The wind that bore the
ship towards Sicily must have been from the North
(perhaps N. E.), and it is just possible that a North
(North-\Vest) -wind would drive them towards the S.
Italian coast. Strictly, however, Aquilo is " north-one-
third-east " between teptenlrio and vulturniiA. As the ship
was undoubtedly somewhere off the Italian coast north
of Rhegium, we need not trouble as to the exact wording.

(2) The text is defective. Biicheler printed " postquam
manifesta convaluit " in his 1895 edition. The sense
perhaps is "after the wrath of the sea gathered" (" maris
ira infesta convaluit"). As regards " Hercules", Biicheler
says " latere pericuLL vocabulum puto ".

(3) Zona a Greek word for any encircling cord or belt
for which the Latin generic term is cingulum : hence by
analogy for the imaginary lines (" zones") which encircle
the earth. Such girdles -were obviously required to keep
in place the loose-fitting garments of Greeks and Romans.

CHAPTER CXV

(1) Diaela is the term used. Strictly it is a Greek
word meaning "manner of life" from which the English
word "diet" comes. It is used by Pliny especially for
any small apartment for sleeping or eating (see Forcel-
lini, d. v.). In Greek the same derived sense is found ;
cf. Arist. Nic. Etb. I. 6.3.

(2) JHembrana, strictly the skin which covers the limbs
(membra), hence the skin of animals cleaned and worked
into a glossy surface for writing or painting. It is often
called Pergamena, whence comes the English word " parch-
ment" through the French parcbemin. According to Pliny,
N. H., XIII. § 70, quoting the authority of Varro, it
is stated that this parchment was invented by King
Eumenes II (197—159 B. C.) of Pergamum when the
Egyptian King Ptolemy Epiphanes, jealous of libraries
other than his own, stopped the supply of material upon
•which -writing was possible, i. e. of papyrus. The story
(which occurs also in Jerome where the Pergamene king

330 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

is Attalus) is refuted by the fact that both the Persians
and the Jews used parchment (cf. Hdt. v. 58), though
Rawlinson (on Hdt.) agrees that parchment was not
" much used, even by the Greeks till the time of Eumenes".
Sir Edward Maunde Thompson's article (s. v.) in the
Ency. Brit., Xlth ed., should be consulted: he points
out that Egyptian parchment goes back more than 1000
years before Eumenes.

(3) The word regio, direction, is a good example of
the way in which an original root-meaning perseveres.
The root reg-, which appears in rex (a ruler, king),
regimen, a guiding line, regere the function of the English
"ruler", in both senses, etc., is like-wise in regio. \Vhen
Horace says in Ep. I. 1.59 "rex eris, si recte facies"
he is making the same point in a characteristic epigram.

(4) This apostrophe of Eumolpus is curiously modern.
He mocks at the most serious views of his time as regards
the importance of proper burial, and is in this respect,
I believe, unique in ancient literature. It represents the
scepticism sometimes bitter, sometimes merely careless,
of the club-man.

CHAPTER CXVI

(1) Croton or Crotona, originally an Achaean colony,
•was celebrated in early times as the home of the athlete
Milo and the philosopher Pythagoras. Once a powerful
place, it suffered a good deal from attacks by Sicilian
raiders and others. The Romans held it from 287 B. C.,
and after a brief revolt during the Punic Wars it was
made a colony of Rome in 194. It had a moderate
harbour— the only one on the coast of Italy from Tarentum
to Rhegium. It was a trading centre of some importance,
but has no other history.

(2) Literally " those who are hunted (for legacies :
i. e. rich childless persons) and those who do the hunting ".
This is a typically hard passage to translate. It is a
crisp epigrammatic phrase in the original, and a cumbrous
translation is no translation at all. Moreover, the same
•word must be repeated ("rich men and legacy-hunters "
would not do), and the word "legacy" must be used,

NOTES 331

or the Englishman would not understand the connexion
(hence "hunters and hunted" would be inadequate).

Roman satirists and moralists make a great figure of
the legacy-hunter. Horace gives a full picture of him
in Satire II. 5 ; Juvenal pillories him in V. 98, X. 202,
and IV. 18; Pliny mourns over him in Eputle II. 20.
He -was a stock joke for the cynic, but if one can judge
from the stories about faked -wills etc. the Romans appear
to have produced a numerous class of persons who had
slight respect for the sanctity of wills.

CHAPTER CXVII

(1) Reading divitatu>nL)f not (with Biicheler) divinationu,
\vhich seems altogether inappropriate.

(2) Eumolpus has seized upon the picture of Croton
as a place where wealth is -worshipped. " If only I
could look the part", he says, "I should soon make us
all rich". The sense of the last part of his remarks
would be clearer if we knew what Petronius really
wrote about the burglary at Lycurgus' house. But the
general sense and the plot which Eumolpus divised are
sufficiently obvious.

(3) The Great Mother of the Gods is the Asiatic
Earth-Mother, known to the Greeks as Cybele, whose
worship came to Rome with the conquest of the East.
Students will find the most convenient account of her
cult and its effect on Roman belief in the Ency. Brit.
Xlth Ed., s. v. Great Mother of the Gofo. As the
Earth-Mother, she was the giver of all material good
things.

(4) Petronius here uses the official phrase for taking
an oath of allegiance. It was the same phrase whether
applied to a soldier taking an oath to an Emperor, or
to a gladiator making his contract with his employer.

(5) I.e. of sesterces—about £15.000.

(6) I. e. about £ 225.000.

(7) These are both technical terms— fuiu)u6 farm,
iwmen, debt or bond. The origin of the latter term
(literally "name") was that documents recording or
admitting liability to pay naturally bore the nameA of the

332 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

debtors. So Juvenal (Sat. VII. 110) has " who comes
•with a big ledger in dubium nomen" i.e. to sue "for a
doubtful debt" (i.e. a debt which is not admitted).

CHAPTER CXVIII

(1) Helicon, the mountain in Boeotia sacred to Apollo
and the Muses. To the Greek imagination, as to the
Jews and most primitive nations, high ground, by reason
of its purer air and freedom from clouds, was naturally
associated with poetic thought. The necessity to climb
out of the ruck and the languor of valleys is meta-
phorically expressed in modern phrases like " high thinking",
"lofty ideas", "soaring fancies".

(2) A quotation from Horace Ode6 III. 1, a poem in
praise of the simple life. The phrase is in imitation of
the priestly warning that the uninitiated must keep away
from the sacred rites or mysteries : just as unconfirmed
members of a congregation depart when the Holy Com-
munion is celebrated.

(3) Curiota JelLcitaA Horatii. One of the most famous
phrases in Latin, and indeed in all, literary criticism.
Every scholar knows and appreciates its meaning, but
no one would claim to have found a perfect English
translation. CurioAa describes that which is the product
of care (careful, studied) : felicita.6 is reproduced in the
English phrase " felicity of expression ", which really
means the untaught knack of saying the right thing in
the right way. The two ideas are, therefore, essen-
tially antithetic. Unluckily " felicity " alone in English
means "good fortune" and is not limited to choice of
language, unless we add " of expression ", which entirely
spoils the succinctness of the original. The " unpreme-
ditated art" of Shelley's skylark is a similar epigram-
matic oxymoron (contradiction in terms) and perhaps
Petronius' reverse idea could best be reproduced by
"artistic simplicity". But the further trouble is that

JelicitaA implies both aptness and Lack of preparation—
the latter of which alone gives point to the antithetic
adjective curloia. I fear there is no compendious English
equivalent : but an imperfect attempt which shows respect
to the supreme succinctness of the original is preferable

NOTES 333

to the vile French paraphrase " si heureux dans le choix
de ses expressions".

(4) I. e. an epic with a Civil War for its theme.
Eumolpus goes on to say that such a poem cannot rely
on a mere catalogue of facts. These are the material
of the historian. The poet who deals with a national
epic must trace the inner divine meaning of the struggle
and see the issues, not in the atmosphere of the lawcourt
where statements are verified by evidence, but in their
larger importance as the expression of the fates of the
gods. The poet must be like the priestess of Delphi,
who, as in a trance, sees visions and dreams dreams.

A most difficult phrase is fabuloAum Aentenliarum tor-
mentutn. Tormentum is anything which twists and strains,
such as the rack, a catapult : exactly what form of torture
or trial Petronius means I do not know. The idea is
clearly " il faut souffrir pour etre belle " : the metaphor
may be that of the catapult (which suits the verb * to
be hurled ") or it may be that of a torturing machine
which by mauling the body sets the spirit free. That
which is "fabulous" is the realm of the imagination.

This exalted strain comes oddly after the concluding
sentences of Chapter CXVII.

(5) "The last hand" (literally), a characteristically
vivid phrase.

CHAPTER CXIX

(1) As regards this poem, see the Introduction. Students
who wish to pursue the subject and to study it in detail
will read " The Bellum Civile of Petronius " by Florence
Theodora Baldwin, Ph. D., published by the Columbia
University Press (New York, 1911),— -a most painstaking
and detailed study containing text, translation and elabo-
rate notes.

(2) " Either star" is the literal translation. Some say
"sun and moon", others "the rising sun and the setting
sun", others simply "East and West". It is quite
immaterial and it seems to me best to translate literally :
the point is an obvious parallel to the saying that the
sun is always shining on some part of the British Empire.

334 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

(3) Either with soldiers or with cargo. The metaphor
of a ship being pregnant suits either.

(4) The true reading is uncertain. " Ephyrian bronze "
is quite satisfactory, since it emphasizes the degradation
of the Roman soldier who prostitutes his once-honourable
calling to the greed of the sophisticated curio -stealer.
Ephyra is the oldest-known name of Corinth, the great
mercantile, industrial and colonizing city of the Greek
isthmus. Pottery and bronze-work were her great in-
dustries. As we noticed in Chap. L, Corinthian bronze
was greatly prized by connoisseurs in Rome. The Roman
merchant-classes were, even in the 2nd century, jealous
of Corinth's trade, and the destruction of this city, -with
that of Carthage, in 146 -was an interesting example of
the political influence of the trading interest. In that
year the Roman general Lucius Mummius looted the
whole city and conveyed vast treasures to Rome where,
however, with remarkable self-restraint he placed them
at the disposal of the public authority for the city's
glorification. Julius Caesar re-peopled the site, and the
city, thanks to its situation, recovered its former prosperity.

(5) An attempt to extract the meaning of in undid,
which is obscure and may be a wrong reading.

(6) The word is nitor, brightness. The fact that it
is drawn from the soil is against the possibility that it
signifies some bright dye which rivals odtriun, the Tyrian
shell-fish purple. It is reasonable to conclude that
Petronius meant gems.

(7) A difficult and uncertain line : the original either
does not say -what it was that the Romans took from
Numidia, or represents both the Numidians and the
Seres (Chinese) as claiming for nova vellera (silk)— -which
is possible.

The commentators seek to emend, but without striking
success : perhaps this was a passage to which Eumolpus
would have liked to put the " final polish " or " finishing
touch". The Numidian claim would naturally be not
for silk but for their marble which the Romans prized.
Nova vellera presumably refers to silk (cf. Virgil, Georgia,
II. 121, describing the fine silk which the Chinese were
thought to comb from leaves), which was beloved by

NOTES 335

the Romans of the Empire and was forbidden by the
emperor Tiberius as part of male attire (Tac. Ann., II. 33).
The use of the term "fleeces" (yellera) for -what -was
really the cocoon which the worm left on trees is quite
a natural analogy from wool.

As regards Arabia, the booty which the Romans
acquired was presumably perfumes and incense.

The obvious comment is that Petronius had no need
to particularize : every ordinary Roman would know
what were the products that Rome sought from Numidia
and Arabia. I think we should accept the "words and
translate them literally as they stand. They are a
cynic's catalogue, not a sale-list.

(8) Kgypt was one of the granaries of Rome, but
(says Eumolpus) the Roman merchants instead of bringing
cargoes of corn preferred to use the ships for supplying
wild-beasts for the arena. Hence they bring back famine
on the one hand instead of food, and wild beasts to
kill men in the arena. Hammon (or Ammon) was the
Greek name of the Egyptian god identified loosely with
Zeus (Jupiter) ; there was a famous shrine of his, called
after him, in the Libyan Oasis of Siwa to which Alexander
the Great made a pilgrimage. It is to the Romans the
ultima Thule of the Africa of their day,— hence the
natural haunt in which to seek the \vildest of beasts,
the lion or the tiger.

(9) Pretiota ad mortem, an artificial phrase— " of value
for deaths" (i.e. to kill people). The context seems to
prove that the "tooth" is not the elephant's tusk, since
the elephant, apparently, was not a good beast for the
arena. Lions or tigers or panthers appear to be meant,
though the elephant is not out of the question. Petronius
is not alone among the ancients in despising the arena
as an entertainment. Cicero says no man of taste can
enjoy such scenes, and Seneca is emphatic upon their
brutalizing influence. But many quite advanced emperors
and thinkers lacked courage to put them down (see
Dill's Roman Society in the latt Century of the W 'extern
Empire, p. 55).

(10) Literally, "fates about to perish", an easy
transference from the simple idea of " persons about to
perish by fate".

336 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

(11) The mutilation of boys that they might serve as
eunuchs was a common practice in the East,— Persia,
China, India— •, where many such persons rose, from being
merely the custodians of the •women's apartments, to
being the trusted advisers of their patrons. Herodotus
says that in Persia they were renowned for fidelity, and
several (e. g. Justinian's general Narses) became famous
in war and statecraft.

Mutilation for sexual purposes -was, even recently
practised to supply the harems of Islam, and,— 'lest
Europe should claim superiority to Asia. — •, it is to be
remembered that the boy singers in the papal choir up
to the time of Leo XIII were subjected to the same
process to preserve their soprano voices (E. B. Tylor,
in Ency. Brit. XI Ed. s. v. Eunuch).

(12) The citrus, a species of cypress, was much sought
after on the Atlas mountains, for the manufacture of
tables. The roots were cross-cut in such a way as to
display the markings, which were -wonderfully beautiful.
The Roman millionaire specialised in such tables. Pliny
(H. N. XIII, 91—99) refers to examples bought by
Cicero and Asinius Pollio for sums representing over
£ -4000 and £ 8000 respectively. The markings were
known as "tiger", "panther", and "peacock".

(13) With this passage the reader should compare the
similar ideas of Chap. XCIII.

(14) The Acarut, said to be a species of wrasse, was
a fish much valued by Roman epicures (though Martial,
XIII. 84, says it was good for the digestion but of
inferior flavour). Horace refers to it in Satire II. 2.22
in a passage which may well have been in Petronius
mind when he wrote these lines. See also Horace,
Epo3e<), II. 50, where it occurs in a list with Lucrine
oysters. Pliny says the icarut abounded in the Carpa-
thian Sea. It is interesting to note how old is the
practice of bringing fish alive in their native water so
that they can be served fresh (see Martial, XIII. 79,
on live mullets; and Seneca, Nat. Quaedt., III. 17, who
is greatly incensed at this luxury).

(15) The Lucrine Lake was near Baiae in Campania,
separated from the sea by a narrow strip of land where

NOTES 337

the rail-way now runs. Its oyster-beds were then, as
now, famous, having been founded, according to tradition
by a certain Sergius Orata about 100 B. C. Cicero
had a famous villa on the lake-shore and there were
many other similar residences. The Lucrine Lake and
Baiae are synonymous with luxury to all the Roman
moralists. Eumolpus points out that the very cost of
the oysters is a stimulus to the palate.

(16) Phasis, a stream (mod. Rion) which enters the
Euxine on the East in Colchis. From the adjective

phaAianuA, applied to a local bird, comes the English
word " pheasant", called p&OMOIUU colchlcuA (the Colchian
bird from Phasis) by the learned. The bird is alleged
to have been brought to Europe by the Argonauts, and
may have been brought to England by the Romans. I
am told that remains have undoubtedly been found in
the excavated ruins of Silchester. As early as 1059 one
" phasian bird" was the equivalent of two partridges.

(17) "At the poll" is a legitimate version of the
original, "in the Campus" (i.e. Martius), the scene of
Roman elections. Eumolpus " rubs it in " (as we say)
by calling the Romans by their old proud name, Quirited,
which I translate " citizens" as being, perhaps, the nearest
intelligible( equivalent to an English reader. It is the
most honourable name by which a Roman civil audience
could be addressed : hence the irony of associating with
it the adjective "bribed". " Jingling coin " recalls "The
jingling of the guinea helps the hurt that honour feels ".
The use of the word "vote" in the third line is an
attempt to render the Roman populiw which is here
deliberately used to signify the sovereign people, i. e.
those who had the privilege of voting. Lower down the
general mob of the inhabitants is separately criticized.

(18) I.e. the senators, decadent successors of the old
Patres Conscripti, the Fathers of Rome, to whom corrup-
tion was unthinkable. The old free spirit, Libera virtue, is
the traditional honour which truckled to no human power.

(19) Literally majettaA (majesty). This vague but rather
gorgeous term expressed sovereignty— the personified might
of Rome- — 'and in its corruption the whole people was
brought low. By a natural transference, majettaA came

22

338 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

to mean the crime of treason— a blow at the seat of power.
The reference to scattering -wealth as a means to office
refers to the various doles which statesman of all parties
were prone to give to the hungry people to secure their
votes. Kverybody in turn was accused of this vice, and
it is to be remembered that, whenever a legislator says
he is seeking to ameliorate the lot of the poor and thus
to relieve the state of the dangers which lurk in a
permanent pauper class, some of his opponents will stir
up opposition by calling his concessions "a dole" or
"largesse". This attitude was specially common in Rome
among those whole selfishness had specially contributed
to the economic rottenness of society.

(20) This Cato is Marcus Porcius Cato, the Younger,
the accepted personification in the last days of the
Republic of the old Roman conservatism, and in later
days exalted into a Latter-day Saint of the Republican
system and its austere virtues. He maintained, we are
told, the old simplicity of living, and in politics stood
out against the spread of democracy, and the growing
independence of the great military leaders— the last real
champion of senatorial rule. To judge from contem-
porary records he -was an honest believer in a regime
which nothing could have restored to power, if only
because of the decay of the class which represented it.
Politically he was apparently rather stupid. — a. little like
that Lord Brougham who, when the Reform Bill was
passed in the British Parliament in 1832, cut off his
pig-tail (he being probably the last to adhere to that
curious fashion) remarking " Ichabod, for the glory is
departed". Thus when Caesar finally attacked Rome,
he decided not to have his hair cut again— as a symbol
that he was mourning for Rome. Petronius refers to
his defeats for the praetorship (B. C. 55)— he was elected
in 54— and for the consulship (B.C. 51). The "rods"
were the consular fatced, the symbol of the highest office,

(21) Literally, "a prey without a protector" since
she was herself the robber and the spoil.

(22) \Vhat the two dangers are supposed to be is not
clear. It may be the collapse of the senate and the
degradation of the voters ; or luxury and avarice ; or

NOTES 339

the two causes stated in the next line, usury and the
load of debt. Or it may be merely a poetic "way of
picturing a hopeless situation, as that of a man cut off
on the shore by the tide running-in round a sand-bank—
a metaphor common in all languages.

(23) Literally, " barking", suggesting dogs tearing a
victim.

(24) A famous epigram : literally " ruined recklessness
is safe"— has nothing to lose. This was Catiline's atti-
tude when he plunged into conspiracy as the only hope
of restoring his ruined fortunes.

(25) The common metaphor of a shock or a surgical
operation to stir a comatose over-laden body.

CHAPTER CXX

(1) Petronius briefly shows how the Civil War is to
be traced back to the unconstitutional powers arrogated
to themselves in 59 B. C. by Pompey, Crassus and
Caesar, an opportunist coalition between three men of
diverse interests, not one of whom could as yet stand
alone against the government. This coalition is often
described as the First Triumvirate. Pompey, having
returned from his triumphs in the East, found himself
without a party and unable to understand why Rome
did not accept him as her champion. Crassus was a
millionaire financier, out of his depth in high politics but
able to buy what he liked. Caesar was eager for mili-
tary ascendancy and financially embarrassed; being far
the ablest, he could well afford to utilise the other two
for the moment.

Crassus in 53 B. C. was defeated and killed at Carrhae
in Parthia. His death broke up the Coalition, and the
unnatural alliance of Caesar and Pompey drifted through
veiled hostility into Civil \Var. Pompey escaped to
Egypt after Caesar beat him at the battle of Pharsalus
(48 B. C.) and was murdered on his arrival by a Roman
renegade who wanted Caesar's favour.

It is rather curious that Petronius should, in this brief
historical passage, speak of Rome's ingratitude to Caesar,
whose services were hardly greater than Pompey's.
Petronius had no obvious reason to gratify the Imperial

340 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

house by eulogising the leader who made their rule
possible. I fancy it is probably true that Caesar was
in a real sense a national hero and that even political
opponents reluctantly admired him if only for his brill-
iantly versatile genius and his dashing gallantry. It
may be hard on Pompey, but, whatever one's political
views of Caesar's career, the fact remains that nobody
would think of Rome as ungrateful to Pompey, while
Caesar's murder (in spite of Shakespeare's inept portrait-
ure) savours of parricide.

(2) Parthenope, the old Greek name for Naples :
Dicarchis (Dicaearchis) for Puteoli (now Pozzuoli). The
Greeks when they came to the neighbourhood of Cumae
founded various settlements including Palaeopolis (Old
City) and Parthenope (after a siren of that name " She
of the maiden-face"); afterwards new arrivals changed
Parthenope to Neapolis (New City : Naples) which with
Pozzuoli had permanent existence while the Old City
fell foul of Rome and disappeared.

The awful spot in question was between Vesuvius and
Lake Avernus. It is a favorite theme in Roman poetry.
The chasm is the one by which Aeneas entered the
lower world (Virgil, Aen., VI. 236. foil.). The area is
volcanic; hence the "breath" -which killed vegetation,
and was said . to prevent birds from flying over it
(Avernus is said to be derived from the Greek Aornuj,
" birdless "). It was surrounded by dense woods, and
was probably exceedingly gloomy. Augustus's admiral
Agrippa made Avernus a naval harbour by joining it
with the Lucrine Lake (chap. CXIX, n. 15) whence he
pierced a canal to the sea.

Cocytus, a legendary river of the underworld, derived
from the Greek word for "wailing".

(3) Literally " earth is not green in Autumn", a phrase
which has struck critics as absurd, since Autumn is not
the time for greenery. But Autumn is literally the period
of "increase", and the word used for "is green" can
equally well mean " is rich ", " is fruitful ". It is awkward,
but there is no necessity to suspect an error in the text.
(For virel, if a change is thought necessary, vtget " is
vigorous" might be read.)

(4) Dis, a contracted form of Dives ("the rich"), the

NOTES 341

Latin equivalent for the Greek Pluto, lord of the under-
world. His old name -was Hades and as such he was
god of death (in which capacity the Romans called him
Orcus), but his connexion with Persephone and the
Eleusinian Mysteries caused him to become associated
with the fruits of the earth and thus to appear as the
giver of wealth (whence his Greek name Pluto and the
Roman Dives or Dis). In this passage, though he has
the flattering name, his attributes (flame and cinders) and
his general attitude reflect the original Hades-Orcus.
The cautious sycophancy which gave the God they feared
most the most flattering title may be compared with
Anglo-Saxon politeness to " the Good Folk"— -the fairies
•who were given to stealing and other annoying tricks.
The most flagrantly cynical example, however, is that
the Greeks worshipped the Furies as Eumenides, " The
Benevolent ". Religion is prone to systematic " eye-wash ",
where orthodox supplications are profitless. It must have
startled the Gods occasionally.

(5) In this line, "Chance" represents Fortuna whom
Dis two lines below calls Fors. The two are the same
and indeed the goddess frequently bears both names
simultaneously'— Fors Fortuna. As such she had a temple
across the Tiber from Rome, built by the Etruscan king
Servius Tullius. She is Chance, not in the gambler's
sense, but the Goddess of Change, the ups and downs
of life.

The God of the underworld taunts her with the
audacity of Rome. Surely it is her turn to be brought
low? He points to the fact that the Romans are defying
nature by their lofty buildings (like the Tower of Babel !),
that they build piers to curb the sea, and channels to
admit the sea where nature left dry land. Then he
points to their quarries which have gone so deep into
the hills that the underworld is almost exposed and the
dead are beginning to defy him in the hope that their
prison will be opened up.

(6) Possibly a reference to Nero's "Golden House";
not necessarily, however, since, for example, Horace
(OdeA II. 18) says he does not irritate the gods by (among
other things) building in gold, and other earlier writers
allude to the same luxurious construction.

342 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

(7) Another commonly quoted outrage upon the Gods.
It may refer to the building of the harbours at Ostia,
the opening up of Lake Avernus and the Lucrine Lake
(above, note 2), or other similar works. It is curious
that so many writers should have pretended to fear that
the Gods would resent works of public utility like these ;
yet, we must remember, the orthodox in modern times
are prone to condemn innovations on the ground that
they are "tempting providence". Tacitus talks of Nero's
designers in the same strain (Ann. XV. 42).

(8) Tisiphone is the grimmest of the three sister-furies,
the others being Allecto and Megaera.

(9) The stock example to a Roman of ordinary human
bloodthirstiness was the reign of terror instituted by
Sulla when he finally beat the party originally led by
Alarms, and settled himself to the vain reconstruction
which ended with his brief dictatorship.

(10) " How that red rain hath made the harvest grow ".

CHAPTER CXXI

(1) The picture is ludicrous: Dis, apparently forgetting
that he is only, as it were, showing his head through
a trap-door, endeavours to move his arm and shake For-
tune's hand. In so doing—the realism is most honest!— 'he
did serious damage to his own "head-cover"! Fortune's
"light-hearted" reply is surely half-comic.

(2) This god was Mars, whose off-spring were Romulus
and Remus. The anthropomorphic idea of the god giving
and taking away, coupled with the admission that such
a principle is intelligible, is exemplified in the story that
Poseidon built the walls of Troy and in revenge for
not being paid the price pulled them down again.

(3) "Twice" refers to the battle of Pharsalus (48)
where Caesar beat Pompey and the battle of Philippi
(42) where Octavian beat Brutus and Cassius. They
are quite separate places, but being both in the province
of Macedonia and only 150 miles (or so) apart may
•well coalesce in poetry. It is a little curious that Virgil
(Georg. I. 490) has the same confusion. Thessaly, Mace-
donia and Thrace seem to have puzzled Roman poets,

NOTES 343

just as a, good Londoner is mildly sceptical when you
assure him that Nottingham and Northampton are different
places.

(4) Refers to the two Spanish (Iberian) campaigns
of Caesar— in 49 against Pompey's generals •who were
to have held the West for him, and in 45 when Pompey's
two sons made the last stand at Munda. Spanish tribes
and chieftains "were always involved in Rome's struggles
in that country.

(5) Libya here stands loosely for N. Africa. The
allusion is to Caesar's Egyptian campaign (47 B. C.)
and his final defeat of the Pompeians under Cato and
Juba at Utica (45 B. C.)— either or both.

(6) The battle of Actium which left Octavian (Augustus)
supreme in the Roman world took place in 31 B. C. off
the promontory of Actium in Ambracia (N.\V. Greece).
It so happened that Phoebus Apollo had a temple over-
looking the bay, and Augustus naturally honoured Apollo
as though he believed that the god had helped him.

(7) Fortuna says that the slaughter will be so heavy
that Charon's little ferry-boat which in normal times
is sufficient will be useless during Rome's civil war.
Petronius may have felt this was a poetic idea; but I
doubt if the creator of Trimalchio and the narrator of
the Tale of the Ephesian \Vidow was really so simple.
It would be less incredible in Virgil or Bunyan.

CHAPTER CXXII

(1) Refers to the thunder— the bolts of Jupiter.
Petronius here imitates closely the conventional records
of meteoric disturbances heralding human catastrophe.
Latin literature is too full of such catalogues to make
references necessary. Biblical parallels (" the sun shall
be turned into darkness and the moon into blood") exist,
and Shakespeare obediently follows in Jidiiu Coetar with
his unvarying reliance upon stereotyped effects.

(2) "Titan" is, of course, the sun. The Titans are
pictured as a body of semi-gods, the sons of Heaven
and Earth. The lists are variously given ; Hyperion is
one of them and he is specially identified with the sun,

344 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

or the sun's father. Sometimes he is Apollo's father;
Apollo's sister Diana (Artemis) is, among other things,
" Titania " (Titan-born).

(3) Cynthia is the moon, so-called from the fact that
she and Apollo were born on Mt. Cynthus in Delos.

(4) Commentators find a difficulty here. But surely
if a stream is forced out of its normal channel it must
break up into wandering trickles -which ultimately dry up.
The text vaga pcuAim (straying everywhere) seems to me
to be the most natural description of a stream which no
longer runs in its accustomed course.

(5) Literally " stirs Mars " (war). " Cry havoc and
let loose the dogs of war" immediately recurs to the
memory, as a close parallel.

(6) Etna's eruptions naturally played a great part in
Roman storm-imagery. Virgil has two well-known de-
scriptions, in Aen. III. 571 foil, and Georg. I. 471 foil.
In the former Etna " throws up balls of flame " and
" belches forth rocks and her vitals -wrenched loose" and
"shoots aloft molten rocks". Petronius (as often in
such cases) is less verbose. One critic calls this very
simple phrase " a daring expression". — 'Surely a misnomer.
To describe a volcano in action, it is modest.

(7) A meteor, comet, or shooting-star is a regular
feature in these displays.

(8) There is a word in the original here which I
cannot translate with confidence— -recent, -which means
"fresh", "new", "recent". Sol recent is perhaps a
near equivalent, "the new-risen sun"; or again recent
animus is used for a mind that is not tired,— active,
vigorous. In one of these I believe the explanation lies
and I see no reason for substituting rubent (red) simply
because it suits a rain of blood and Claudian has the
two words together (in Eutrop. I. 4). Perhaps in ordinary
conversation recent was a regular epithet of rain that
fell in a good heavy deluge after drought. The metaphor of
Jove (high heaven) " falling in rain " is, of course, common.

(9) Literally " threw away Gallic affairs"— as we say
colloquially, he "dropped" them, i.e. as too trivial for
the moment.

NOTES 345

(10) This refers to the so-called Graian Alps (Alpes
Graiae) which lie S. of Mt. Blanc between the Pennine
Alps and the Cottian Alps. The legends of Hercules
described him crossing the Alps on his return from the
killing of Geryon (at which time he founded Alesia and
Nemausus and became the father of the Gauls) and as
being the first to make the crossing (see Nepos, Hann.
III. 4). Since the adjective Grains is normally one of
the many ethnographic descriptions of the Greeks, the
story (which this passage copies) goes that it was from
the pioneer feat of the Greek Hercules that this sector
of the Alps became known as Graian, i. e. Greek. Silius
Italicus describes as " Herculean " the hills of the Maritime
Alps near the modern Monaco ; and the very name Monaco
is derived from jjfonoecuj (Greek for " him who dwells
alone"), an epithet of Hercules, who had a temple
there, originally founded by the Phoenicians and taken
over by the Greeks, slfotweci PortuJ or Herculi) Portud
was the Roman name. Experts destroy the myth by
assuring us that the name Graian is a Celtic name,
having nothing to do with the Greeks.

(11) Comparing Hercules' temple with Atlas.

(12) Hesperia ("the \Vestern Land"), i.e. Italy.

(13) The interested student will read Caesar's own
report of his speeches (e. g. the address at Ravenna,
Bell. Civ. I. 7; and the later speeches at Pharsalus,
Bell. Civ.r III. 85 and III. 90) and Lucan's versions I.
195 foil, and 299 foil. He insists that the quarrel is
not sought by him, and the mere fact that he was the
invader is no proof to the careful student that the war
was not really forced on him by the political jobbery
of Pompey and the discredited senate. Unquestionably
Pompey and many senators not only wished his ruin,
but were prepared to adopt any devious method of
bringing it about. But it is enough to allude to the
point and leave students to read the histories. H. Stuart
Jones' article Caesar in the Ency. Brit. Xlth Ed., is
probably the best introduction to the subject.

(14) The period of Saturn's legendary reign in Italy
is traditionally the ideal period of peace and plenty.
Rhetorically, therefore, a reluctant invader could not use

346 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

a more appropriate phrase to express the pathos of
subjecting it to the horrors of -war.

(15) Caesar refers, of course, to his ten years of
victory in Gaul, Britain and the Rhinelands. (The
pedantic student must notice that in this case triumphs
is used simply for victories, not for the official celebrations
of victory to -which the term is technically applies.)

(16) The " blow " was the decision of the Senate that
Caesar (whose term of command -was coming to an end)
must disband his troops before he could stand for the
consulship—for which he must stand in Rome in person.
This would have meant that he would in the interval be
alone among his foes in a private capacity, subject to
impeachment and of course to ordinary murder. It
was a case of " heads we win, tails you lose ", and it
is conceivable that Caesar was more annoyed by the
unsportsmanlike character of this absurdly obvious device
than by the Senate's political hostility. It was what
we call "hitting below the belt" (hence the propriety
of vulnud).

(17) Refers, of course, to the Gallic invasion of
390 B. C. when Rome was sacked. Strictly the Gauls
were not now attacking Rome, but the Gallic bogey had
never ceased to alarm the Romans. Caesar could rightly
claim that his brilliant wars against the Gauls had made
his enemies so jealous that there was no room for them
and him in Rome.

(18) The exact number need not be pressed. Doubtless
in Caesar's " \Var Diary" he could point to at least
eight or ten successful actions a year.

(19) Here Caesar refers to the hired gangs of ruffians
•whom politicians of the type of Clodius and Milo enlisted
to protect themselves and to harass opponents. Several
attempts had been made to suppress these false sons of
Rome who are here so admirably called merely her step-
sons. Caesar means that the old free independent
voters were not the persons who dreaded his coming.
One critic very oddly describes this remark as " inap-
propriate in the mouth of the democratic Caesar": is it
implied that a democrat must, as such, respect, or rely
on, bribed support?

NOTES 347

(20) It was Caesar's great charm as a leader that he
was not afraid or too self-centred to share the glory
with his officers and men. The sincerity of this attitude
is confirmed by the fact that he applauds the same
generosity in Marius (see Bell. Gall. I. 40. 5). During
the late war the technically defensible report, " I captured
1000 yards of trench this morning", often covered an
unofficial but most sincere egoism, which would have
amused Caesar.

(21) Most historians agree that at some critical point
in his advance he used a dicer's phrase " the die is cast".
Suetonius' version is very much on the lines of this
passage. " \Ve go where the omens of heaven and the
baseness oi foes call us. The die is cast". It may
well be historical, and in any case it is one of the
dramatic phrases of history.

(22) The Delphic bird was the raven, widely treated
as a bird of augury, and regarded, like the hawk and
the crow, as sacred to Apollo (Ovid. JHet. V. 329 and
II. 545; Stat. Tbeb. III. 506). Both the cries and the
flight of birds were ominous to the Romans ; its passage
from left to right boded success.

CHAPTER CXXIII

(1) The word which I translate "drifts" is nimbi,
literally "clouds". Nimbtu is a storm-cloud, and it is
known to have been used in a number of metaphorical
senses, none of which is suitable here (e. g. a god's
aureole, a mass of flowers). The presumption is that
here Petronius uses it of masses of billowy snow, such
as might tempt the horseman by a show of compactness,
when in reality they overhung crevasses or precipices
(e. g. snow-cornices). Obviously it must be the nearest
parallel to a cloud which one finds on a snow-clad height,
and " drifts " at all events makes sense. The troops
broke through this treacherous snow and ice where it
was thin (being protected); this liberated water, -which
however froze in its course. Such new ice would ob-
viously be rough and even more treacherous than old ice.

(2) Refers to the feat of Hercules (son of Amphitryon

348 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

and Alcmena) when he set free Prometheus from his
bondage in the Caucasus.

(3) Refers to the myth of the earth-born Giants'
hopeless attempt to attack Heaven, which was foiled by
the prowess of Jove.

(4) The story passes to the panic in Rome when
Caesar's advance was reported. The actual phrase is
ambiguous. If it refers to the passage immediately
preceding, tutnidae arced must be the lumpy obstacles
presented by the wintry mountains. If it assumes an
interval and refer to Caesar's first captures of the
Northern cities, tumidae arced would mean " proud cita-
dels". The former is more natural in the context; the
latter more normal in wording.

(5) A difficult line since omnia digna (unusually) would
appear to refer to the gods' statues or temples. Perhaps
it is possible to take it as referring to the standards of
the senatorial troops, and to translate " (Rumour) strikes
all the armies with this Roman thunderbolt" (the shock
of Caesar's invasion).

(6) Rumour naturally exaggerates. Caesar had practi-
cally no fleet and only nine legions, while Pompey had
all the fleets, ten legions in Italy and as many again in
other parts of the Empire. The fact that Caesar had
the boundless confidence of his troops, while nobody on
the Senatorial side was really trusted, does not detract
from the numerical inferiority of Caesar (see Mommsen's
H'utory oj Rome, Vol. 5).

(7) The Romans, of course, knowing how the Senate
had trifled with Caesar during two years of dishonest
diplomacy, dreaded a repetition of the Sullan terror.
It was only after Caesar showed a quite remarkable
forbearance that this feeling disappeared.

(8) The point here is that the Romans had never
really conquered a natural dislike of the sea.

(9) A critic calls this "a miserable line". It seems
to me to be admirably epigrammatic. You could tell
the degree of terror in each man's mind by the rate of
his flight, i. e. no one tried to put on a show of courage,
everybody made a display of his cowardice.

NOTES 549

(10) Compare Mr. Kipling's typically inelegant, though
similar, gibe at the embusques of the South African
War— " \Vhen you've finished killing Kriiger with your

inoulbj" ' .

(11) A rather difficult line, translatable only if the
•words grandaevoj paired are taken as accusative and
nominative respectively and trabunt is supplied from trabil
in the next line. If, as the critics say, the poet is here
thinking mainly of the story of how Aeneas tried to
save his -wife, his father and his little son from Troy,
these are precisely the dra.ma.tld perdonae he "would have
in mind. Men in their prime drag along the aged, while
the small boy drags simply the toys he is afraid to lose.
The above accounts for all the words of the text and makes
good sense. The remark of one critic— " certainly not
genuine. It breaks the thought... it is utterly flat",
etc.— strikes me as being hasty.

(12) The poet with dramatic ingenuity breaks off in
his catalogue of the ordinary citizen's panic, and piles
his scorn on Pompey— who loved to be called " The
Great", supported by the two consuls, the great officers
of state, abandoning the city and all it meant in -wealth
and prestige, before a blow had been struck. So ironic
is the picture that I risk the contemptuous idiom which
concludes the chapter— since \vithout it one would scarcely
do justice to the undignified exit of Pompey, as described.

(13) Hydaspes, where Alexander defeated the Indian
Porus, was far beyond anything which Pompey discovered ;
but it vaguely and yet justly points the sarcasm that
Pompey who had faced the unknown dangers of the Far
East should be so quick to flee. Pontus, of course, refers
to Pompey's victories over Mithradates VI of that country.
Prior to these exploits he had temporarily crushed (67 B.C.)
the pirates who infested the mediterranean. His three
triumphs were for victories in Spain, Pontus and Africa.

(14) Some hold that this Pontus should have a small
p, in which case it would be the ordinary word for the
sea generally. But surely a particular sea is necessary'
along with the specific mention of Bosporus, and Pontus
is quite normal for the Kuxine Sea.

350 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

CHAPTER CXXIV

(1) Compare " \Vhy do the nations rage, and the
people imagine a vain thing?".

(2) On the ground that " vizored helm ' ' is unsuitable
for Peace, some would substitute palia, cloak, for gale a,
helmet. I do not see that the conception of Peace pre-
cludes her wearing the ordinary equipment of a deity.
Peace, Faith, Justice, Concord, are vaguely defined per-
sonifications—almost but not quite abstractions.

(3) For Erinys, Bellona, Megaera see Chap. CXX,
n. 8. This passage is quite conventional : it suggests
the poem of Mr. Robert Montgomery which Macaulay
so fiercely assailed.

(4) A quaintly materialistic touch. The exchange of
deities leaves the earth overweighted and the stars unu-
sually light.

(5) Dione in Homer is mother of Aphrodite (Venus)
who, through her son Aeneas and her grandson lulus,
was the ancestress of the Julian house. Hence Virg.
Eel. IX. 47 calls Caesar " Dionaean ". Dione is often
identified with Venus. Romulus, founder of Rome, and
Minerva (Pallas), goddess of military technique, naturally
aid Caesar.

(6) \Vhy Apollo (Phoebus) and Diana, with Mercury
(born on Mt. Cyllene in Arcadia) and Hercules (born
at Tiryns) should help Pompey is not clear. I must
apologize for the curt phrase "Tiryns' like-famed lord":
it seems essential to imitate the brevity of the list of
Pompey's champions. Two lines exactly are allotted in
the original. Hercules is like Pompey in that he was
famed for clearing out pests (e. g. Cacus) -while Pompey
rooted out the pirates. The original is " like in all his
deeds", which is, perhaps, fairly represented by "like-
famed".

(7) This picture of Discord, though rather abundant,
is conventional in terms. In Virgil's parallel catalogue
of evil spirits she likewise appears last {Aen. VI. 280),
but there she is simply " mad with snaky locks intwined
in blood-stained fillets".

NOTES 351

(8) The three Romans here apostrophized -were pro-
minent in the struggle. Marcellus is the name of two
brothers Gaius and Marcus, both Pompeians. Gaius
was consul in 49 and was therefore among Caesar's
chief foes; Marcus was consul in 51 and actually passed
the law which put Caesar in the dilemma described in
note 16 to Chap. CXXII above. Hence he is told by
Discord to "keep safe his law". Lentulus was Lucius
Cornelius Lentulus Crus, the other consul in 49. Curio,
a profligate but able man, whom Cicero strove to keep
on the right side, was originally a keen Pompeian, but
Caesar saw in him a man of parts, paid his debts, and
found a capable and vigorous champion in Rome at the
time when to be a Caesarian was to court death. He
stayed in Rome till the last moment, checkmating Pompey
at each turn, and escaped to Caesar at Ravenna. It
is a little surprising to find him inserted between two
gibes at Caesar's fleeing enemies. I rather wonder
\vhether there was not another Curio (perhaps a brother)
who had adhered to the Pompeians.

(9) Strictly the term in the text means "deified", and
was therefore properly used of Caesar only when, after
his death, divine honours were paid to him. But we
need not quarrel with Petronius over this, since " Divus
Julius" so soon became a conventional phrase. He may
even have meant Discord to forecast deification.

(10) Pompey, of course.

(11) Epidamnus in Epirus across the Adriatic, the
asylum which Pompey sought when he was gaining
time to equip and organize his troops. Caesar, by the
mere fact of Pompey 's departure, inevitably became the
Je facto chief of the Roman State.

(12) For "of men" (bumano), the critics would read
Romano, i. e. "Roman blood". This appears to me to
be as gratuitous and unnecessary a change as those of
the persevering Germans who, because their minds don't
work exactly as did that of Petronius, condemn ipto
Jacto any line which they decide to be inferior. Caveat
Kultur.

(13) I cannot easily believe that any writer after
composing a poem of 295 lines which is, at all events,

352 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

up to a certain standard, could conceivably have -written
these words inadvertently. Apart from all collateral
evidence as to the purpose of the poem, the bathos of
this remark must be taken as deliberate— in which case
the \vhole poem mutt have been conceived in a humorous
spirit, even though it be neither in itself contemptible,
nor a parody of a particular poem by Nero, Lucan,
or other writer.

CHAPTER CXXV

(1) The word is technical for the kind of special
feeding -which, e. g., produces /;a/£ de foie grcu, or renders
certain game easier for the sportsman to approach and
kill in quantities deserving of paragraphs in the press.
It is the kind of generous feeding -which certain sports-
men give to chosen animals, not so much from ingrained
kindness of heart as from the ulterior desire of rendering
them more satisfactory for the chase.

(2) The choice of language in this sentence (which
pictures one thorough-paced villain speaking of a lesser
scoundrel with righteous contempt of his possible treachery)
is, to me, one of the many proofs that Petronius was
in a real sense an observer of life.

(3) This moral reflexion has its parallels in other Latin
philosophers. Seneca says " Conscience provides the
punishment for whosoever is expecting it ; whoever
deserves it, expects it". It is the usual truism, "Con-
science makes cowards of us all". Even among the
most irregular, the belief in the universality of causation
argues an ingrained sense of proportion— to which the
law is singularly blind. I believe that Sir Edward
Carson's astonishment at not being put into goal by
Mr. Asquith, almost paralysed his moral sense !

CHAPTER CXXVI

(1) The Latin is a characteristic term "your Venus",
the term being used for that -which excites the sensual
feeling.

(2) References to the trade of prostitution are common,
cf. Ovid, AmoreA X. 13, Propertius I. 2.

NOTES 353

(3) The use of paint for cosmetic purposes is thought
to have come to ancient Greece from the East. There
are many references in post-Homeric literature which
show that this aid to attractiveness was used both by
women and by men in Athens and other cities. The
Romans, we are told, being more permanently prosperous,
"bettered the instruction"; Ovid claims {An AmaL III.
206) to have written a special poem on it, though the
extant fragment of Jfedicamlna faciei is of doubtful
authenticity. The use of cosmetics by men is indicated
by Cicero in his speech against Piso (m Pli. XI. 25)
where he speaks of his opponent's cheeks as whitened
(or perhaps rouged).

(4) Compare the description in Eumolpus' poem, Chap.
CXIX, line 25, of the unnatural gait of the male paramour.

(5) The word is viator, a term applied to an orderly
or one who runs messages. It is technically applied to
the escort of the provincial governors of Republican days
and to the special attendants detailed to the personal
service of the Emperor from Augustus* time onward. In
the latter case they were an organised force, established
in companies. The sexual attractiveness of inadequate
clothing and per contra of uniformed servants is uncom-
fortably familiar to Highlanders abroad and to chauffeurs
and policeman at home.

(6) This refers to the custom which was introduced
by the Roscian Law of 67 B. C. to meet the growing
social prestige of the financial class known as the Equites.
Finance was forbidden to (and in early days despised
by) the Senatorial class who originally monopolized both
social and political preeminence. With the growing trade
of Rome the power of finance became great not only
economically compared with that of the Senatorial families
(who as landed gentry gradually became poor and heavily
indebted to money lenders), but also as an inevitable
result socially and politically. This fact was socially
recognised by their being allotted the fourteen rows in
the Theatre immediately behind the Senators, as it was
already recognized politically by their being given a
definite share in the administration of justice— in which
they were necessarily interested very closely. Hence to
go behind " the fourteen rows ' ' was to seek one's amu-

23

354 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

sement among the rank and file, even as though in an
English theatre an aristocratic lady were to seek her
friends in the pit or in the gallery.

(7) This is a curiously modern comment on society.
The maid is much more on her dignity than the mistress.
She "keeps herself to herself "! Mr. Weller's association
•with the elite of the servants' hall in Bath taught him
the same thing. To those who adorn high sociefy the
temptation to be " daring " or unconventional is naturally
greater than it is to those whose social status demands
unflagging assertion.

(8) To the Romans a great charm. Horace praises
Lycoris for this, and Martial tells how ladies wore
ribbons to create the same effect.

(9) Or perhaps, " stars that outshine the moon ".

(10) Literally " nostrils slightly curved ", the exact
meaning of which is uncertain.

(11) He pictures himself as a hardened lover -whose
senses 'are normally blaaet, even as Jove might be sup-
posed to be after his many adventures. The original is
light verse in three couplets. Rhyme seems the only
way to represent the atmosphere of the original, as well
as the actual form. There is, of course, no rhyming in
the original.

CHAPTER CXXVII

(1) The practice, characteristic of actors, of gesticu-
lating with the hands to emphasize and illustrate their
words. (The word rendered "beating time" is gubernare
the original meaning of which is " to steer" a boat.)
Suetonius says Tiberius used to wave his hands gently
when speaking. Quintilian tells us of the finger-play of
orators, and Tibullus has the phrase " after the fingers
had talked along with (i. e. accompanied) the voice ".

(2) Horace has the similar description, " puellae iam
virum expertae " (Ode<) III. 14).

(3) The usual euphemism for Gito.

(4) The song of the Sirens is from Homer's day the
synonym for music which lures one away from even the

NOTES 355

most solemn duty. The use of the term for the hooters
which call men to work in a factory is a curiously
ironical development.

(5) Circe, the most famous enchantress in literature,
who so charmed Odysseus (Ulysses) that he stayed a
whole year on his return from Troy in her island of
Aeaea. She is described by Homer (Od. X. 138) as
daughter of Helios (the Sun god), by some as daughter
of Hyperion, i. e. the Sun (as by Petronius), by others
as daughter of Hecate, goddess of the underworld. Ovid
(Jfet. XIV. 10 foil.) tells how she turned Scylla into stone.

(6) I do not know to what this refers. So far as I
have discovered, the persons who bear the name Poly-
aenus are all historical. There is no mythical person
who bears the name. Circe is, in Hesiod, the mother
by Odysseus of Latinus, the eponymous head of the
Latin race, who is also (see Hyginus, Fab, 127) the son
of Circe by Telemachus; but there is, I believe, no
Polyaenus among her recorded lovers.

CHAPTER CXXVIII

(1) Mirrors were used by Greeks, Romans, Etruscans.
They were usually small discs made of metal, generally
bronze, more rarely silver, though Pliny mentions glass-
mirrors made at Sidon. Pliny also tells us that the
best bronze (an alloy of copper and tin) was made at
Brundisium. Extant Roman mirrors are not of striking
artistic interest.

(2) The bracketed passage is an interpolation.

(3) This evidently indicates that there was a common
belief that Socrates' friendship for Alcibiades was above
reproach. Sexual perversion was comparatively common
in ancient society, and the friendship in question has
been so classed. It is interesting to note that this in-
direct testimony of Petronius is supported by Maximus
of Tyre, DUtertatioiu, XXV, XXVI, XXVII, and by
Plutarch who in his treatise, On Alexander'* Virtues,
explicitly asserts the innocence of the relationship.

23'

356 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

CHAPTER CXXIX

(1) The Latin -word codicilli, which has an interesting
development. Originally it meant a piece of split wood,
a billet. Thence it becomes a small note (originally of
course on wood). Finally it is applied to a short note
or addendum to a will. Hence our word "codicil".
It is a curious instance of a technical term coming into
existence by accident.

(2) This refers to the funeral custom by which the
body was escorted to the last rites by musicians — young
people by flute-players, older persons by the trumpet
and the horn. In ancient Rome the number of musicians
had to be restricted by law. One of the Twelve Tables
set the maximum at ten (Ovid. Fadtl VI. 561 foil., ed.
Hallam).

CHAPTER CXXX

(1) Polyaenus (Encolpius), in expressing his sense of
wrong-doing, magnifies it whimsically. There is a curious
similarity in the poet's appeal " To Anthea ".

(2) The Romans seem to have studied with care the
question of diet in this connexion. Pliny attempts a
scientific explanation of the virtues of onions, etc.,
especially Alegarian onions. But Ovid throws doubt
upon their efficacy (An Amat. II. 415 foil.). As regards
the moderate use of wine see Martial, Epig. I. 107 and
Ovid, Remedia Amor'u, V. 803.

CHAPTER CXXXI

(1) The middle finger to the Romans had an evil
association ; hence it is called in/ami^, impudicut (see
Persius, Sat. II. 5. 33, where a similar kind of witchcraft
is described).

Spitting as a form of magic or witchcraft is not
uncommon in primitive society. The Masai peoples
especially attach importance to its beneficent effects.
They spit upon a new-born child, they spit when meeting
or saying good-bye and when making a contract. The
custom of spitting thrice is quoted by Tibullus " Ter
cane, ter dictis despue carminibus ".

NOTES 357

(2) This incantation, printed by Biicheler as no. LXXXI
in his collection of Priapea, seems to fit in here as well
as any other invocation. The succeeding line of the
text assumes that such an invocation was uttered by
the witch. Priapus is, of course, the god of sexual
intercourse, his characteristics being essentially obscene.

(3) Daphne is the laurel. The story is that Daphne,
the daughter of the river-god Peneus, was turned into
a laurel.

(4) Procne (or Progne) is the swallow. The story is
that Procne, daughter of Pandion, king of Athens, was
turned into a swallow.

CHAPTER CXXXII

(1) QuaAiLlarlae, a word perhaps not found elsewhere
in extant literature. It means " spinning- wenches " from
quai'dlum, a small basket used for wool etc. Cicero
(Phil, III. 4.10) speaks of gold hanging among the wool-
baskets; compare Cato (de Re Riut. 133). The word
is the diminutive of quatuin, a wicker hamper, which is
fairly common.

(2) WTupping was the ordinary punishment for slaves.

(3) There follows here a tirade which is so entirely
foreign to modern ideas (as well as being devoid of
antiquarian interest) that it is omitted. The important
thing is that Petronius on resuming is quite clear on this
point.

(A) TcloA. This word is retained untranslated because
it stands so in the Latin. It is a Greek term, technical
in philosophy, to express the ultimate significance or
purpose of anything. It appears in the English word
" teleology ' ' which is the technical term for theological
theorizing about eternity, the end of man. In ordinary
Greek teloA simply means "end", "purpose". In the
first line of the poem, Cato is, as usual, taken as the
type of the old ascetic or puritan ; compare the reference
in Chap. CXIX (towards the end) where Cato is the
incarnation of the old Roman virtues. Petronius says
it is pure hypocrisy to pretend that these virtues are
any longer prevalent; society has changed and a new
era has begun.

358 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

CHAPTER CXXXIII

(1) Priapus is generally described as the offspring of
Dionysus and Aphrodite, whereas Dione is the mother
of Aphrodite. Whatever may have been Dione's con-
nexion -with him, he is represented as the god of repro-
duction and fertility generally. He is thus one of the
nature gods and may be compared with Adonis, Attis,
Dionysus (Bacchus) and Cybele. With the sophistication
of society, all such deities tend to become coarser.

(2) Hypaepa is the Graecized name of a small town
in Lydia— according to Lewis and Short the modern
Bereki. Lydia was one of the most prominent centres
of nature-worship ; phallic remains are plentiful and it
is clear that early society was distinctively primitive in
the Asiatic style.

CHAPTER CXXXIV

(1) Literally "screech-owls". According to ancient
belief these foul birds sucked away children's blood by
night.

(2) Proteus, one of the sea-deities in the service of
Neptune, herdsman of the sea-cows. He had the power
of changing himself at will into any form he liked, to
enable him to escape.

CHAPTER CXXXV

(1) Several rare words occur in this passage, which
is among the few accounts we possess of a really humble
household. Camella (dimin. of camera) is a bowl, and
cucurna is a cooking utensil (kettle or saucepan).

(2) I incline to think that scholars might with advan-
tage study the following poem with care. It is textually
imperfect and does not seem to be in keeping with the
previous account of the priestess. But it is simple and
attractive. I have tried to translate it literally, as all
the versions I have seen are frankly paraphrases.

(3) It is hard to say how far the description of the
mud-floor which begins in the second line is intended to

NOTES 359

go. The poet introduces the subject by saying it isn't
a marble floor (in which case the marble obtained from
the earth -would have been its own disguise). I think he
then says that the floor is covered with straw (" empty
Ceres") and that supplies of fresh earth (if pocula can
be applied to bucket-fuls or cup-fuls of soil) are rolled
flat by a cheap (i. e. light) roller.

But pocula means " cups as a rule, and rota (which
following the examples in Tac. Hut. IV. 25, Front. I.
5. 7., I translate "roller") means also "potter's wheel":
hence these lines may refer to cheap pottery simply
turned. But the close connexion with the second line
makes me prefer the former interpretation.

(4) This line and the next are very obscure : perhaps
they ought to come after the following two lines about
the walls.

(5) This seems certainly to describe walls of wattle
and daub with pegs stuck here and there in the clay
to mark the passage of time, feast days and the like.

(6) \Vhether caja (the only word which can go with
,*u,ipen,ia, hung, from the little beam) can mean "box",
I don't know. It cannot have its usual meaning of
"cottage", obviously.

(7) Literally "of Actaean land", a rather rare poetic
phrase for Attica from the Greek acte, a promontory.

(8) Hecale is a poor old woman who was hospitable
to Theseus. Her story was told in an epic (not extant
except in a fragment) by Callimachus, the Alexandrian
poet and scholar, native of Cyrene. Gyrene's founder
was Battus (so we are told). Hence any native of
Cyrene can be called Battiades, " a son of Battus " :
but it is said that the father of Callimachus himself
was called Battus.

(9) The text reads " to the speaking years ". If this
is genuine it is a very remarkable and distinctly un-
Latin extension of such phrases as " the talking pine-
tree " etc. I suspect Petronius was far more imaginative
than the average Roman writer.

360 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

CHAPTER CXXXVI

(1) The vivid gaiety of this description seems to me
to confirm the view that Petronius really stands alone
among Latin writers. Every Roman would naturally
think of the Sacred Geese of the Capitol who by their
quacking roused the garrison and saved it from the
surprise attack of the Gauls. Some might be annoyed
at the jest, but it is obviously without malice and it is
really humorous in a broad pantomime style.

Geese were sacred to Juno, the Goddess who presided
over every aspect of female life, especially child-birth,
and it is curious that Petronius makes Oenothea describe
the sacred geese as specially sacred to matrons (Chap.
CXXXVII) though she specially connects them there
with Priapus, the lower sex-deity.

It would be interesting to know whether there had
been a recent scandal in connexion with Juno's sacred
geese, e. g. whether Nero had treated them with dis-
respect. I incline to suspect this.

(2) These were carrion birds of great size which
infested Lake Stymphalus in Arcadia. The inhabitants
in despair begged Hercules to help them. On the advice
of Athena he frightened them away by banging on metal
vessels. Most of Hercules' feats were achieved by brute
force : here Petronius— perhaps half-consciously—reminds
us that he used brains.

(3) The story of Phineus and the Harpies or Harpyes
(the name comes from the Greek word meaning " snat-
chers") is variously told. The gist of it is as follows.
Phineus was King of Salmydessus in Thrace. His first
wife had two sons, who were later accused by his
second wife of treating her improperly. Phineus punished
them brutally (the methods are various given), and in
consequence the Harpies— foul carrion birds of gigantic
size— made a practice of swooping on his banquets and
fouling, or flying off with, the food. Two of the Ar-
gonauts (equipped -with wings) set upon them and got
rid of them in a great air-fight; but again the story is
differently told and the detail is immaterial.

(•4) Another example of the mystic symbolism of the

NOTES 361

number three. The witch in the Circe episode made
Polyaenus spit three times (Chap. CXXXI); the choir
of drunkards three times circles round the altar (Chap.
CXXXIII). As regards the three drinks we find corro-
boration in Ausonius {Id. II).

* Drink thrice, or three times thrice,
So runs the mystic Law ".

CHAPTER CXXXVII.

(1) See Chap. CXXXVI, note 1.

(2) Literally, "a bird-camel" from the Greek words
which make up the whole name. In Latin, only Pliny
and Petronius appear to use the word.

(3) The word here used generally means "the cost";
but here it is used of that which has to be employed
for any purpose, that which is used up in a process.

(4) The reference to Danae and Acrisius is peculiarly
happy in this connexion. Acrisius was a legendary king
of Argos. The oracle said that his daughter Danae
would have a son who would destroy him; so Danae
was shut up in a cellar (or a brazen tower) to prevent
her marrying. Acrisius is, therefore, an excellent example
of a difficult prospective father-in-law. The rest of
the legend is that Zeus descended to Danae in golden
rain, the result being Perseus who, of course, proved
the oracle true.

(5) The Cato family produced a number of orators
of moderate ability, the best known being Cato the
Censor and Cato of Utica. Servius is perhaps Servius
Pola, a great enemy of Cicero who calls him " a base
and violent fellow", but far more probably Servius
Sulpicius (d. about 43 B. C.), the contemporary and
friend of Cicero, and a famous jurist. Labeo may be
either his pupil Antistius Labeo, -who caused his slave
to kill him when the Republicans lost the day at
Pharsalus, or his more famous son of the same name,
who was eminent under Augustus, towards whom he
showed considerable independence. His latter Labeo
was a voluminous legal author, and is said to be referred
to 541 times in the great Digest. Horace (Sat. I. 3.82)

362 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

describes a Labeo as mad ; possibly this refers to this
Labeo because he refused promotion from Augustus.

(6) Literally "nuts of Abella". Abella (mod. Avella)
was a village in Campania, famous for nuts.

(7) This refers to the ordinary proceedings of Augurs
who, in order to test the omens, pulled out the entrails
of the offering and, according to the condition of the
organs, foretold failure or success. Her subsequent
treatment of the bird may well be a satire on the com-
fortable banquets -which the sacrificial animals provided
for the priestly mess.

(8) Among the Romans no reasonable drinker drank
neat wine : more than half water was the usual pro-
portion. (The text here and in Chapter CXXXVIII is
very imperfect.)

CHAPTER CXXXVIII

(1) Phallus, an object shaped like the male member,
whence the technical term " phallic worship ", the cult of
procreation.

(2) \Vatercress is nasturtium, said to come from two
words "nose" and "torture", that which "tickles the
nose" painfully. "Aromatic gum" is abrotonum (Sou-
thernwood) which Horace (Ep. II. 1.114) says should
not be given as a medicine to a patient and Lucretius
(IX. 921) describes as harmful (when burnt) to snakes.

(3) Ariadne is famous as the victim of Theseus' faith-
lessness. She fell in love with him when he went to
deal with the Minotaur in Crete and went away with
him to Naxos where she was deserted. There are also
stories of her being taken to wife by Dionysus. She
is one of the conventional beauties of Greek legend.

(4) Leda charmed Zeus who visited her in the form of
a swan. She laid two eggs ; from one were born Castor
and Helen, from the other Pollux and Clytemnestra.

(5) Helen was the beauty who was stolen from her
husband Menelaus by Paris, and to became the COAUA
belli between Troy and the Greeks.

(6) The famous judgment of Paris between Hera (Juno),
Athena and Aphrodite (Venus) is here quoted.

NOTES 363

CHAPTER CXXXIX

(1) Inachian means Argive, from Inachus, first king
of Argos. It is not clear to -which of the many occa-
sions when the gods punished Hercules this Argive
wandering refers.

(2) Laomedon, King of Troy, obtained the help of
Poseidon (Neptune) and Apollo to build the city -walls,
but refused to pay the promised reward : hence the fatal
anger of the two deities.

(3) Pelias, son of Poseidon, incurred the -wrath of
Hera (Juno) by killing at her altar the step-mother of
his mother Tyro. In his old age he -was, on Medea's
advice, cut to pieces by his daughters in the hope of
restoring his youth.

(4) I am not clear why Telephus is described as being
unwittingly involved in warfare. There are two main
episodes in his story -which suggest the hand of fate.
The son of Hercules and Auge, daughter of a king of
Tegea, he was brought up by a hind in ignorance of
his mother and ultimately (according to one story) married
her. She nearly murdered him and he nearly slew her,
•whereupon she appealed to Hercules -who saved her and
made the situation clear. The second episode was when
he opposed the Greeks when moving against Troy and
Dionysus caused him to trip over a vine-tendril so that
he was wounded by Achilles. He nearly died, but as
a result of a bargain -was cured by Achilles -with the
rust of the same sword. The former episode may per-
haps be the one to -which Petronius alludes.

It is -worthy of note, however, that certain critics alter
the order of the lines, so that Laomedon " unwitting
drew the sword", and Telephus was the victim of the
"heavenly pair". In this case Telephus may be taken
as having offended Athena, -whose priestess Auge was,
and Dionysus, -who caused him to trip.

(5) Nereus, a minor sea-god, son of Oceanus and Tethys,
Neptune the great god of the sea and water generally,
brother of Jupiter.

(6) The original says Priapus "the Hellespontine ",

564 PETRONIUS, LEADER OF FASHION

socalled since Lampsacus on the Hellespont was a seat
of the Priapus cult (so Virg. Geortj. IV. 111).

CHAPTER CXL

(1) Protesilaus, the first Greek to land at Troy, killed
by Hector. So great -was his wife's affection that she
persuaded heaven to restore him to her for three days,
but she died in his arms.

CHAPTER CXLI

(1) This refers to the capture in 219 B. C. of Sa-
guntum (the town which at the time marked the limit
of Rome's Spanish sphere as against the Carthaginians)
by Hannibal. The siege lasted eight months and lost
Hannibal invaluable time, at the beginning of the 2nd
Punic \Var.

(2) Petelia. It is not certain what town is really
referred to. Some prefer to read Perusia, because Oc-
tavian (Augustus) there besieged L. Antonius who
defended it to the last gasp, the inhabitants feeding
themselves on human flesh. Moreover in Ausonius (Ep.
XXII. 42) the people of Perusia and Saguntum are
likewise talked of as twin examples of starvation (cf.
Lucan I. -41).

(3) Numantia (Spain) was captured by Scipio in
133 B.C.

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