The Satyricon of Petronius ArbiterPetronius Arbiter
General
The Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter
Petronius Arbiter
Rome -- Fiction; Satire, Latin -- Translations into English
And now Psyche put a flame-colour veil on the girl's head; the pathick
led before with a flamboe, and a long train of drunken women, fell a
shouting, and drest up the bride-chamber; Quartilla, all a-gog as the
rest, took hold of Gito and dragg'd him in with her: But truly the boy
made no resistance; nor seem'd the girl frighted at the name of
matrimony. When therefore they were lockt up, we sat without, before
the threshold of the chamber; and Quartilla having waggishly slit a
chink thro' the door, as wantonly laid an ape's eye to it; nor content
with that, pluck't me also to see that childs play, and when we were
not peeping, would turn her lips to me, and steal a kiss.
The jade's fulsomeness had so tir'd me that I began to devise which
was to get off. I told Ascyltos my mind, and he was well pleased with
it, for he was a willing to get rid of his torment, Psyche: Nor was it
hard to be done, if Gito had not been lockt up in the chamber; for we
were resolved to take him with us, and not leave him the mercy of a
bawdy-house. While we were contriving how to effect it, it so
happened that Pannychis fell out of bed, and drew Gito after her,
without any hurt, though the girl got a small knock in the fall, and
therewith made such a cry, that Quartilla, all in a fright, ran
headlong in, and gave us the opportunity of getting off, and taking
the boy with us; when without more ado, we flew to our inn, and
getting to bed, past the rest of the night without fear.
But going out the next day, whom should we meet but two of those
fellows that robb'd us of the mantle, which Ascyltos perceiving, he
briskly attack'd one of them, and having disarm'd and desperately
wounded him, came in to my relief; who was pressing upon the other,
but he behav'd himself so well, that he wounded us both, altho' but
slightly, and got off himself without so much as a scratch.
And now came the third day, that is the expectation of an
entertainment at Trimalchio's, where every one might speak what he
would: But having received some wounds, we thought flight might be of
more use to us than sitting still: We got to our inn therefore, as
fast as we could, and our wounds not being great, cured them as we lay
in bed, with wine and oyl.
But the rogue whom Ascyltos had hewn down, lay in the street, and we
were in fear of being discovered, while therefore we were pensively
considering which way to avoid the impending storm, a servant of
Agamemnon's interrupted our fears: "And do not ye know," said he,
"with whom we eat to-day? Trimalchio, a trim finical humorist has a
clock in his dining-room, and one on purpose to let him know how many
minutes of his life he had lost." We therefore drest our selves
carefully, and Gito willingly taking upon him the part of a servant,
as he had hither to done, we bade him put our things together, and
follow us to the bath.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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