[NOTE: There is a short list of bookmarks, or pointers, at the end of thefile for those who may wish to sample the author's ideas before making anentire meal of them. D. W. ]

 THE SATYRICON OF PETRONIUS ARBITER

 Complete and unexpurgated translation by W. C. Firebaugh, in which are incorporated the forgeries of Nodot and Marchena, and the readings introduced into the text by De Salas. 

BRACKET CODE: (Forgeries of Nodot) [Forgeries of Marchena] {Additions of De Salas} DW

VOLUME 4. --ENCOLPIUS, GITON AND EUMOLPUS ESCAPE BY SEA

CHAPTER THE NINETY-NINTH. 

"I have always and everywhere lived such a life that each passing day wasspent as though that light would never return; (that is, in tranquillity!Put aside those thoughts which worry you, if you wish to follow my lead. Ascyltos persecutes you here; get out of his way. I am about to startfor foreign parts, you may come with me. I have taken a berth on avessel which will probably weigh anchor this very night. I am well knownon board, and we shall be well received. )

 Leave then thy home and seek a foreign shore Brave youth; for thee thy destiny holds more: To no misfortune yield! The Danube far Shall know thy spirit, and the polar star, And placid Nile, and they who dwell in lands Where sunrise starts, or they where sunset ends! A new Ulysses treads on foreign sands. "

(To me, this advice seemed both sound and practical, because it wouldfree me from any annoyance by Ascyltos, and because it gave promise of ahappier life. I was overcome by the kindly sympathy of Eumolpus, and wasespecially sorry for the latest injury I had done him. I began to repentmy jealousy, which had been the cause of so many unpleasant happenings)and with many tears, I begged and pled with him to admit me into favor, as lovers cannot control their furious jealousy, and vowing, at the sametime, that I would not by word or deed give him cause for offense in thefuture. And he, like a learned and cultivated gentleman, ought to removeall irritation from his mind, and leave no trace of it behind. The snowsbelong upon the ground in wild and uncultivated regions, but where theearth has been beautified by the conquest of the plough, the light snowmelts away while you speak of it. And so it is with anger in the heart;in savage minds it lingers long, it glides quickly away from thecultured. "That you may experience the truth of what you say, " exclaimedEumolpus, "see! I end my anger with a kiss. May good luck go with us!Get your baggage together and follow me, or go on ahead, if you prefer. "While he was speaking, a knock sounded at the door, and a sailor with abristling beard stood upon the threshold. "You're hanging in the wind, Eumolpus, " said he, "as if you didn't know that son-of-a-bitch of askipper!" Without further delay we all got up. Eumolpus ordered hisservant, who had been asleep for some time, to bring his baggage out. Giton and I pack together whatever we have for the voyage and, afterpraying to the stars, we went aboard. 

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDREDTH. 

(We picked out a retired spot on the poop and Eumolpus dozed off, as itwas not yet daylight. Neither Giton nor myself could get a wink ofsleep, however. Anxiously I reflected that I had received Eumolpus as acomrade, a rival more formidable than Ascyltos, and that thought torturedme. But reason soon put my uneasiness to flight. ) "It is unfortunate, "(said I to myself, ) "that the lad has so taken our friend's fancy, butwhat of it? Is not nature's every masterpiece common to all? The sunshines upon all alike! The moon with her innumerable train of starslights even the wild beasts to their food. What can be more beautifulthan water?

"Yet it flows for common use. Shall love alone, then, be stolen, ratherthan be regarded as a prize to be won? No, indeed I desire no possessionunless the world envies me for possessing it. A solitary old man canscarcely become a serious rival; even should he wish to take advantage, he would lose it through lack of breath. " When, but without anyconfidence, I had arrived at these conclusions, and beguiled my uneasyspirit, I covered my head with my tunic and began to feign sleep, whenall of a sudden, as though Fortune were bent upon annihilating my peaceof mind, a voice upon the ship's deck gritted out something like this--"So he fooled me after all. "--As this voice, which was a man's, and wasonly too familiar, struck my ears, my heart fluttered. And then a woman, equally furious, spat out more spitefully still--"If only some god wouldput Giton into my hands, what a fine time I would give that runaway. "--Stunned by these unexpected words, we both turned pale as death. I wascompletely terrified, and, as though I were enveloped in some turbulentnightmare, was a long time finding my voice, but at last, with tremblinghands, I tugged at the hem of Eumolpus' clothing, just as he was sinkinginto slumber. "Father, " I quavered, "on your word of honor, can you tellme whose ship this is, and whom she has aboard?" Peeved at beingdisturbed, "So, " he snapped, "this was the reason you wished to have usquartered in the most inaccessible spot on deck, was it? So we could getno rest! What good will it do you when I've informed you that Lycas ofTarentum is master of this ship and that he carries Tryphaena as an exileto Tarentum?"

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIRST. 

I shivered, horror-struck, at this thunderbolt and, beating my throat, "Oh Destiny, " I wailed, "you've vanquished me completely, at last!" Asfor Giton, he fell in a faint upon my bosom and remained unconscious forquite a while, until a sweat finally relieved our tension, whereupon, hugging Eumolpus around the knees, "Take pity upon the perishing, " Ibesought him, "in the name of our common learning, aid us! Death himselfhangs over us, and he will come as a relief unless you help us!"Overwhelmed by this implication, Eumolpus swore by all the gods andgoddesses that he knew nothing of what had happened, nor had he had anyulterior purpose in mind, but that he had brought his companions uponthis voyage which he himself had long intended taking, with the mostupright intentions and in the best of good faith. "But, " demanded he, "what is this ambush? Who is this Hannibal who sails with us? Lycas ofTarentum is a most respectable citizen and the owner, not only of thisship, which he commands in person, but of landed estates as well ascommercial houses under the management of slaves. He carries a cargoconsigned to market. He is the Cyclops, the arch-pirate, to whom we oweour passage! And then, besides himself, there is Tryphaena, a mostcharming woman, travelling about here and there in search of pleasure. ""But, " objected Giton, "they are the very ones we are most anxious toavoid, " whereupon he explained to the astonished Eumolpus the reasons fortheir enmity and for the danger which threatened us. So muddled did hebecome, at what had been told him, that he lost the power of thinking, and requested each of us to offer his own opinion. "Just imagine, " saidhe, "that we are trapped in the Cyclops' cave: some way out must befound, unless we bring about a shipwreck, and free ourselves from alldangers!" "Bribe the pilot, if necessary, and persuade him to steer theship into some port, " volunteered Giton; "tell him your brother's nearlydead from seasickness: your woebegone face and streaming tears will lendcolor to your deception, and the pilot may be moved to mercy and grantyour prayer. " Eumolpus denied the practicability of this. "It is onlywith difficulty, " affirmed he, "that large ships are warped intolandlocked harbors, nor would it appear probable that my brother couldhave been taken so desperately in so short a time. And then, Lycas willbe sure to want to visit a sick passenger, as part of his duties! Youcan see for yourselves what a fine stroke it would be, bringing thecaptain to his own runaways! But, supposing that the ship could be putoff her course, supposing that Lycas did not hold sick-call, how could weleave the ship in such a manner as not to be stared at by all the rest?With muffled heads? With bare? If muffled, who would not want to lendthe sick man a hand? If bare, what would it mean if not proscribingourselves?"

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDRED AND SECOND. 

"Why would it not be better to take refuge in boldness, " I asked, "slidedown a rope into the ship's boat, cut the painter, and leave the rest toluck'? And furthermore, I would not involve Eumolpus in this adventure, for what is the good of getting an innocent man into troubles with whichhe has no concern? I shall be well content if chance helps us into theboat. " "Not a bad scheme, " Eumolpus agreed, "if it could only be carriedout: but who could help seeing you when you start? Especially the man atthe helm, who stands watch all night long and observes even the motionsof the stars. But it could be done in spite of that, when he dozed offfor a second, that is, if you chose some other part of the ship fromwhich to start: as it is, it must be the stern, you must even slip downthe rudder itself, for that is where the painter that holds the boat intow is made fast. And there is still something else, Encolpius. I amsurprised that it has not occurred to you that one sailor is on watch, lying in the boat, night and day. You couldn't get rid of that watchmanexcept by cutting his throat or throwing him overboard by force. Consultyour own courage as to whether that can be done or not. And as far as mycoming with you is concerned, I shirk no danger which holds out any hopesof success, but to throw away life without a reason, as if it were athing of no moment, is something which I do not believe that even youwould sanction--see what you think of this: I will wrap you up in twohide baggage covers, tie you up with thongs, and stow you among myclothing, as baggage, leaving the ends somewhat open, of course, so youcan breathe and get your food. Then I will raise a hue and cry because myslaves have thrown themselves into the sea, fearing worse punishment; andwhen the ship makes port, I will carry you out as baggage withoutexciting the slightest suspicion!" "Oh! So you would bundle us up likewe were solid, " I sneered; "our bellies wouldn't make trouble for us, ofcourse, and we'll never sneeze nor snore! And all because a similartrick turned out successfully before! Think the matter over! Being tiedup could be endured for one day, but suppose it might have to be forlonger? What if we should be becalmed? What if we were struck by astorm from the wrong quarter of the heavens? What could we do then?Even clothes will cut through at the wrinkles when they are tied up toolong, and paper in bundles will lose its shape. Do you imagine that we, who are young and unused to hardship, could endure the filthy rags andlashings necessary to such an operation, as statues do? No! That'ssettled! Some other road to safety must be found! I have thought up ascheme, see what you think of it! Eumolpus is a man of letters. He willhave ink about him, of course. With this remedy, then, let's change ourcomplexions, from hair to toe-nails! Then, in the guise of Ethiopianslaves, we shall be ready at hand to wait upon you, light-hearted ashaving escaped the torturer, and, with our altered complexions, we canimpose upon our enemies!" "Yes, indeed, " sneered Giton, "and be sureand circumcise us, too, so we will be taken for Jews, pierce our ears sowe will look like Arabs, chalk our faces so that Gaul will take us forher own sons; as if color alone could change one's figure! As if manyother details did not require consideration if a passable imposture is toresult! Even granting that the stained face can keep its color for sometime, suppose that not a drop of water should spot the skin, suppose thatthe garment did not stick to the ink, as it often does, where no gum isused, tell me! We can't make our lips so hideously thick, can we? Wecan't kink our hair with a curling-iron, can we? We can't harrow ourforeheads with scars, can we? We can't force our legs out into the formof a bow or walk with our ankle-bones on the ground, can we? Can we trimour beards after the foreign style? No! Artificial color dirties thebody without changing it. Listen to the plan which I have thought out inmy desperation; let's tie our garments around our heads and throwourselves into the deep!"

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDRED AND THIRD. 

"Gods and men forbid that you should make so base an ending of yourlives, " cried Eumolpus. "No! It will be better to do as I direct. Asyou may gather, from his razor, my servant is a barber: let him shaveyour heads and eyebrows, too, and quickly at that! I will follow afterhim, and I will mark my inscription so cleverly upon your foreheads thatyou will be mistaken for slaves who have been branded! The same letterswill serve both to quiet the suspicions of the curious and to conceal, under semblance of punishment, your real features!" We did not delay theexecution of this scheme but, sneaking stealthily to the ship's side, wesubmitted our heads and eyebrows to the barber, that he might shave themclean. Eumolpus covered our foreheads completely, with large lettersand, with a liberal hand, spread the universally known mark of thefugitive over the face of each of us. As luck would have it, one of thepassengers, who was terribly seasick, was hanging over the ship's sideeasing his stomach. He saw the barber busy at his unseasonable task bythe light of the moon and, cursing the omen which resembled the lastoffering of a crew before shipwreck, he threw himself into his bunk. Pretending not to hear his puking curses, we reverted to our melancholytrain of thought and, settling ourselves down in silence, we passed theremaining hours of the night in fitful slumber. (On the followingmorning Eumolpus entered Lycas' cabin as soon as he knew that Tryphaenawas out of bed and, after some conversation upon the happy voyage ofwhich the fine weather gave promise, Lycas turned to Tryphaena andremarked:)

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTH. 

"Priapus appeared to me in a dream and seemed to say--Know thatEncolpius, whom you seek, has, by me, been led aboard your ship!"Tryphaena trembled violently, "You would think we had slept together, "she cried, "for a bust of Neptune, which I saw in the gallery at Baiae, said to me, in my dream--You will find Giton aboard Lycas' ship!" "Fromwhich you can see that Epicurus was a man inspired, " remarked Eumolpus;"he passed sentence upon mocking phantasms of that kind in a very wittymanner. 

 Dreams that delude the mind with flitting shades By neither powers of air nor gods, are sent: Each makes his own! And when relaxed in sleep The members lie, the mind, without restraint Can flit, and re-enact by night, the deeds That occupied the day. The warrior fierce, Who cities shakes and towns destroys by fire Maneuvering armies sees, and javelins, And funerals of kings and bloody fields. 

 The cringing lawyer dreams of courts and trials, The miser hides his hoard, new treasures finds: The hunter's horn and hounds the forests wake, The shipwrecked sailor from his hulk is swept. Or, washed aboard, just misses perishing. Adultresses will bribe, and harlots write To lovers: dogs, in dreams their hare still course; And old wounds ache most poignantly in dreams!"

"Still, what's to prevent our searching the ship?" said Lycas, after hehad expiated Tryphaena's dream, "so that we will not be guilty ofneglecting the revelations of Providence?" "And who were the rascals whowere being shaved last night by the light of the moon?" chimed in Hesus, unexpectedly, for that was the name of the fellow who had caught us atour furtive transformation in the night. "A rotten thing to do, I swear!From what I hear, it's unlawful for any living man aboard ship to shedhair or nails, unless the wind has kicked up a heavy sea. "

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH. 

Lycas was greatly disturbed by this information, and flew into a rage. "So someone aboard my ship cut off his hair, did he?" he bawled, "and atdead of night, too! Bring the offenders aft on deck here, and steplively, so that I can tell whom to punish, from their heads, that theship may be freed from the curse!" "I ordered it done, " Eumolpus brokein, "and I didn't order it as an unlucky omen, either, seeing that I hadto be aboard the same vessel: I did it because the scoundrels had longmatted hair, I ordered the filth cleared off the wretches because I didnot wish to even seem to make a prison out of your ship: besides, I didnot want the seared scars of the letters to be hidden in the least, bythe interference of the hair; as they ought to be in plain sight, foreveryone to read, and at full length, too. In addition to their othermisdemeanors, they blew in my money on a street-walker whom they kept incommon; only last night I dragged them away from her, reeking with wineand perfumes, as they were, and they still stink of the remnants of mypatrimony!" Thereupon, forty stripes were ordered for each of us, thatthe tutelary genius of the ship might be propitiated. And they were notlong about it either. Eager to propitiate the tutelary genius with ourwretched blood, the savage sailors rushed upon us with their rope's ends. For my part, I endured three lashes with Spartan fortitude, but at thevery first blow, Giton set up such a howling that his all too familiarvoice reached the ears of Tryphaena; nor was she the only one who was ina flutter, for, attracted by this familiar voice, all the maids rushed towhere he was being flogged. Giton had already moderated the ardor of thesailors by his wonderful beauty, he appealed to his torturers withoututtering a word. "It's Giton! It's Giton!" the maids all screamed inunison. "Hold your hands, you brutes; help, Madame, it's Giton!"Tryphaena turned willing ears, she had recognized that voice herself, andflew to the boy. Lycas, who knew me as well as if he had heard my voice, now ran up; he glanced at neither face nor hands, but directed his eyestowards parts lower down; courteously he shook hands with them, "How doyou do, Encolpius, " he said. Let no one be surprised at Ulysses' nursediscovering, after twenty years, the scar that established his identity, since this man, so keenly observant, had, in spite of the most skillfuldisguise of every feature and the obliteration of every identifying markupon my body, so surely hit upon the sole means of identifying hisfugitive! Deceived by our appearance, Tryphaena wept bitterly, believing that the marks upon our foreheads were, in truth, the brandsof prisoners: she asked us gently, into what slave's prison we had fallenin our wanderings, and whose cruel hands had inflicted this punishment. Still, fugitives whose members had gotten them into trouble certainlydeserved some punishment. 

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTH. 

In a towering passion, Lycas leaped forward, "Oh you silly woman, " heshouted, "as if those scars were made by the letters on thebranding-iron! If only they had really blotched up their foreheads withthose inscriptions, it would be some satisfaction to us, at least; butas it is, we are being imposed upon by an actor's tricks, and hoaxed bya fake inscription!" Tryphaena was disposed to mercy, as all was notlost for her pleasures, but Lycas remembered the seduction of his wifeand the insults to which he had been subjected in the portico of thetemple of Hercules: "Tryphaena, " he gritted out, his face convulsed withsavage passion, "you are aware, I believe, that the immortal gods have ahand in human affairs: what did they do but lead these scoundrels aboardthis ship in ignorance of the owner and then warn each of us alike, by acoincidence of dreams, of what they had done? Can you then see how itwould be possible to let off those whom a god has, himself, delivered upto punishment? I am not a cruel man; what moves me is this: I am afraidI shall have to endure myself whatever I remit to them!" At thissuperstitious plea Tryphaena veered around; denying that she wouldplead for quarter, she was even anxious to help along the fulfillment ofthis retribution, so entirely just: she had herself suffered an insultno less poignant than had Lycas, for her chastity had been called inquestion before a crowd. 

 Primeval Fear created Gods on earth when from the sky The lightning-flashes rent with flame the ramparts of the world, And smitten Athos blazed! Then, Phoebus, sinking to the earth, His course complete, and waning Luna, offerings received. The changing seasons of the year the superstition spread Throughout the world; and Ignorance and Awe, the toiling boor, To Ceres, from his harvest, the first fruits compelled to yield And Bacchus with the fruitful vine to crown. Then Pales came Into her own, the shepherd's gains to share. Beneath the waves Of every sea swims Neptune. Pallas guards the shops, And those impelled by Avarice or Guilt, create new Gods!

(Lycas, as he perceived that Tryphaena was as eager as himself forrevenge, gave orders for our punishment to be renewed and made moredrastic, whereupon Eumolpus endeavored to appease him as follows, )

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTH. 

("Lycas, " said he, "these unfortunates upon whom you intend to wreak yourvengeance, implore your compassion and) have chosen me for this task. I believe that I am a man, by no means unknown, and they desire that, somehow, I will effect a reconciliation between them and their formerfriends. Surely you do not imagine that these young men fell into sucha snare by accident, when the very first thing that concerns everyprospective passenger is the name of the captain to whom he intrusts hissafety! Be reasonable, then; forego your revenge and permit free men toproceed to their destination without injury. When penitence manages tolead their fugitives back, harsh and implacable masters restrain theircruelty, and we are merciful to enemies who have surrendered. What couldyou ask, or wish for, more? These well-born and respectable young menbe suppliant before your eyes and, what ought to move you more stronglystill, were once bound to you by the ties of friendship. If they hadembezzled your money or repaid your faith in them with treachery, by Hercules, you have ample satisfaction from the punishment alreadyinflicted! Look! Can you read slavery on their foreheads, and see uponthe faces of free men the brand-marks of a punishment which wasself-inflicted!" Lycas broke in upon this plea for mercy, "Don't try toconfuse the issue, " he said, "let every detail have its proper attentionand first of all, why did they strip all the hair off their heads, if they came of their own free will? A man meditates deceit, notsatisfaction, when he changes his features! Then again, if they soughtreconciliation through a mediator, why did you do your best to concealthem while employed in their behalf? It is easily seen that thescoundrels fell into the toils by chance and that you are seeking somedevice by which you could sidestep the effects of our resentment. And becareful that you do not spoil your case by over-confidence when youattempt to sow prejudice among us by calling them well-born andrespectable! What should the injured parties do when the guilty run intotheir own punishment? And inasmuch as they were our friends, by that, they deserve more drastic punishment still, for whoever commits anassault upon a stranger, is termed a robber; but whoever assaults afriend, is little better than a parricide!" "I am well aware, " Eumolpusreplied, to rebut this damning harangue, "that nothing can look blackeragainst these poor young men than their cutting off their hair at night. On this evidence, they would seem to have come aboard by accident, notvoluntarily. Oh how I wish that the explanation could come to your earsjust as candidly as the thing itself happened! They wanted to relievetheir heads of that annoying and useless weight before they came aboard, but the unexpected springing up of the wind prevented the carrying out oftheir wishes, and they did not imagine that it mattered where they beganwhat they had decided to do, because they were unacquainted with eitherthe omens or the law of seafaring men. " "But why should they shavethemselves like suppliants?" demanded Lycas, "unless, of course, theyexpected to arouse more sympathy as bald-pates. What's the use ofseeking information through a third person, anyway? You scoundrel, whathave you to say for yourself? What salamander singed off your eyebrows?You poisoner, what god did you vow your hair to? Answer!"

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTH. 

I was stricken dumb, and trembled from fear of punishment, nor could Ifind anything to say, out of countenance as I was and hideous, for to thedisgrace of a shaven poll was added an equal baldness in the matter ofeyebrows; the case against me was only too plain, there was not a thingto be said or done! Finally, a damp sponge was passed over my tear-wetface, and thereupon, the smut dissolved and spread over my wholecountenance, blotting out every feature in a sooty cloud. Anger turnedinto loathing. Swearing that he would permit no one to humiliatewell-born young men contrary to right and law, Eumolpus checked thethreats of the savage persecutors by word and by deed. His hiredservant backed him up in his protest, as did first one and then anotherof the feeblest of the seasick passengers, whose participation servedrather to inflame the disagreement than to be of help to us. For myselfI asked no quarter, but I shook my fists in Tryphaena's face, and toldher in a loud voice that unless she stopped hurting Giton, I would useevery ounce of my strength against her, reprobate woman that she was, the only person aboard the ship who deserved a flogging. Lycas wasfuriously angry at my hardihood, nor was he less enraged at myabandoning my own cause, to take up that of another, in so wholehearteda manner. Inflamed as she was by this affront, Tryphaena was as furiousas he, so the whole ship's company was divided into two factions. Onour side, the hired barber armed himself with a razor and served out theothers to us; on their side, Tryphaena's retainers prepared to battlewith their bare fists, nor was the scolding of female warriors unheardin the battle-line. The pilot was neutral, but he declared that unlessthis madness, stirred up by the lechery of a couple of vagabonds, dieddown, he would let go the helm! The fury of the combatants continued torage none the less fiercely, nevertheless, they fighting for revenge, wefor life. Many fell on each side, though none were mortally wounded, and more, bleeding from wounds, retreated, as from a real battle, butthe fury of neither side abated. At last the gallant Giton turned themenacing razor against his own virile parts, and threatened to cut awaythe cause of so many misfortunes. This was too much for Tryphaena; sheprevented the perpetration of so horrid a crime by the out and outpromise of quarter. Time and time again, I lifted the barber's blade tomy throat, but I had no more intention of killing myself than had Gitonof doing what he threatened, but he acted out the tragic part morerealistically than I, as it was, because he knew that he held in hishand the same razor with which he had already cut his throat. The linesstill stood at the ready, and it was plain to be seen that this would beno everyday affair, when the pilot, with difficulty, prevailed uponTryphaena to undertake the office of herald, and propose a truce; so, when pledges of good faith had been given and received, in keeping withthe ancient precedent she snatched an olive-branch from the ship'sfigurehead and, holding it out, advanced boldly to parley. 

 "What fury, " she exclaims, "turns peace to war? What evil deed Was by these hands committed? Trojan hero there is none Absconding in this ship with bride of Atreus' cuckold seed Nor crazed Medea, stained by life's blood of her father's son! But passion scorned, becomes a power: alas! who courts his end By drawing sword amidst these waves? Why die before our time? Strive not with angry seas to vie and to their fury lend Your rage by piling waves upon its savage floods sublime !"

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDRED AND NINTH. 

The woman poured out this rhapsody in a loud excited voice, thebattle-line wavered for an instant, then all hands were recalled topeace and terminated the war. Eumolpus, our commander, took advantageof the psychological moment of their repentance and, after administeringa stinging rebuke to Lycas, signed a treaty of peace which was drawn upas follows: "It is hereby solemnly agreed on your part, Tryphaena, thatyou do forego complaint of any wrong done you by Giton; that you do notbring up anything that has taken place prior to this date, that you donot seek to revenge anything that has taken place prior to this date, that you do not take steps to follow it up in any other mannerwhatsoever; that you do not command the boy to perform anything to himrepugnant; that you do neither embrace nor kiss the said Giton; that youdo not enfold said Giton in the sexual embrace, except under immediateforfeiture of one hundred denarii. Item, it is hereby agreed on yourpart, Lycas, that you do refrain from annoying Encolpius with abusiveword or reproachful look; that you do not seek to ascertain where hesleep at night; or, if you do so seek, that you forfeit two hundreddenarii immediately for each and every such offense. " The treaty wassigned upon these terms, and we laid down our arms. It seemed well towipe out the past with kisses, after we had taken oath, for fear anyvestige of rancor should persist in our minds. Factious hatreds diedout amidst universal good-fellowship, and a banquet, served on the fieldof battle, crowned our reconciliation with joviality. The whole shipresounded with song and, as a sudden calm had caused her to loseheadway, one tried to harpoon the leaping fish, another hauled in thestruggling catch on baited hooks. Then some sea-birds alighted upon theyard-arms and a skillful fowler touched them with his jointed rods: theywere brought down to our hands, stuck fast to the limed segments. Thebreeze caught up the down, but the wing and tail feathers twistedspirally as they fell into the sea-foam. Lycas was already beginning tobe on good terms with me, and Tryphaena had just sprinkled Giton withthe last drops in her cup, when Eumolpus, who was himself almost drunk, was seized with the notion of satirizing bald pates and branded rascals, but when he had exhausted his chilly wit, he returned at last to hispoetry and recited this little elegy upon hair:

 "Gone are those locks that to thy beauty lent such lustrous charm And blighted are the locks of Spring by bitter Winter's sway; Thy naked temples now in baldness mourn their vanished form, And glistens now that poor bare crown, its hair all worn away Oh! Faithless inconsistency! The gods must first resume The charms that first they granted youth, that it might lovelier bloom! Poor wretch, but late thy locks did brighter glister Than those of great Apollo or his sister! Now, smoother is thy crown than polished grasses Or rounded mushrooms when a shower passes! In fear thou fliest the laughter-loving lasses. That thou may'st know that Death is on his way, Know that thy head is partly dead this day!"

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDRED AND TENTH. 

It is my opinion that he intended favoring us with more of the same kindof stuff, sillier than the last, but Tryphaena's maid led Giton awaybelow and fitted the lad out in her mistress' false curls; then producingsome eyebrows from a vanity box, she skillfully traced out the lines ofthe lost features and restored him to his proper comeliness. Recognizingthe real Giton, Tryphaena was moved to tears, and then for the first timeshe gave the boy a real love-kiss. I was overjoyed, now that the lad wasrestored to his own handsome self, but I hid my own face all the moreassiduously, realizing that I was disfigured by no ordinary hideousnesssince not even Lycas would bestow a word upon me. The maid rescued mefrom this misfortune finally, however, and calling me aside, she deckedme out with a head of hair which was none the less becoming; my faceshone more radiantly still, as a matter of fact, for my curls weregolden! But in a little while, Eumolpus, mouthpiece of the distressedand author of the present good understanding, fearing that the generalgood humor might flag for lack of amusement, began to indulge in sneersat the fickleness of women: how easily they fell in love; how readilythey forgot even their own sons! No woman could be so chaste but thatshe could be roused to madness by a chance passion! Nor had he need toquote from old tragedies, or to have recourse to names, notorious forcenturies; on the contrary, if we cared to hear it, he would relate anincident which had occurred within his own memory, whereupon, as we allturned our faces towards him and gave him our attention, he began asfollows:

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVENTH. 

"There was a certain married lady at Ephesus, once upon a time, so notedfor her chastity that she even drew women from the neighboring states tocome to gaze upon her! When she carried out her husband she was by nomeans content to comply with the conventional custom and follow thefuneral cortege with her hair down, beating her naked breast in sight ofthe onlookers! She followed the corpse, even into the tomb; and when thebody had been placed in the vault, in accordance with the Greek custom, she began to stand vigil over it, weeping day and night! Neither parentsnor relations could divert her from punishing herself in this manner andfrom bringing on death by starvation. The magistrates, the last resort, were rebuffed and went away, and the lady, mourned by all as an unusualexample, dragged through the fifth day without nourishment. A mostfaithful maid was in attendance upon the poor woman; she either wept incompany with the afflicted one or replenished the lamp which was placedin the vault, as the occasion required. Throughout the whole city therewas but one opinion, men of every calling agreed that here shone the onesolitary example of chastity and of love! In the meantime the governorof the province had ordered some robbers crucified near the little vaultin which the lady was bewailing her recent loss. On the following night, a soldier who was standing guard over the crosses for fear someone mightdrag down one of the bodies for burial, saw a light shining brightlyamong the tombs, and heard the sobs of someone grieving. A weaknesscommon to mankind made him curious to know who was there and what wasgoing on, so he descended into the tomb and, catching sight of a mostbeautiful woman, he stood still, afraid at first that it was someapparition or spirit from the infernal regions; but he finallycomprehended the true state of affairs as his eye took in the corpselying there, and as he noted the tears and the face lacerated by thefinger-nails, he understood that the lady was unable to endure the lossof the dear departed. He then brought his own scanty ration into thevault and exhorted the sobbing mourner not to persevere in useless grief, or rend her bosom with unavailing sobs; the same end awaited us all, thesame last resting place: and other platitudes by which anguished mindsare recalled to sanity. But oblivious to sympathy, she beat andlacerated her bosom more vehemently than before and, tearing out herhair, she strewed it upon the breast of the corpse. Notwithstandingthis, the soldier would not leave off, but persisted in exhorting theunfortunate lady to eat, until the maid, seduced by the smell of thewine, I suppose, was herself overcome and stretched out her hand toreceive the bounty of their host. Refreshed by food and drink, shethen began to attack the obstinacy of her mistress. 'What good will itdo you to die of hunger?' she asked, 'or to bury yourself alive'? Or tosurrender an uncondemned spirit before the fates demand it? 'Think youthe ashes or sepultured dead can feel aught of thy woe! Would you recallthe dead from the reluctant fates? Why not shake off this womanishweakness and enjoy the blessings of light while you can? The very corpselying there ought to convince you that your duty is to live!' Whenpressed to eat or to live, no one listens unwillingly, and the lady, thirsty after an abstinence of several days, finally permitted herobstinacy to be overcome; nor did she take her fill of nourishmentwith less avidity than had the maid who had surrendered first. "

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWELFTH. 

"But to make a long story short, you know the temptations that beset afull stomach: the soldier laid siege to her virtue with the selfsameblandishments by which he had persuaded her that she ought to live. Nor, to her modest eye, did the young man seem uncouth or wanting in address. The maid pled in his behalf and kept repeating:

 Why will you fight with a passion that to you is pleasure, Remembering not in whose lands you are taking your leisure?

"But why should I keep you longer in suspense? The lady observed thesame abstinence when it came to this part of her body, and the victorioussoldier won both of his objectives; so they lay together, not onlythat night, in which they pledged their vows, but also the next, and eventhe third, shutting the doors of the vault, of course, so that anyone, acquaintance or stranger, coming to the tomb, would be convinced thatthis most virtuous of wives had expired upon the body of her husband. Asfor the soldier, so delighted was he with the beauty of his mistress andthe secrecy of the intrigue, that he purchased all the delicacies his paypermitted and smuggled them into the vault as soon as darkness fell. Meanwhile, the parents of one of the crucified criminals, observing thelaxness of the watch, dragged the hanging corpse down at night andperformed the last rite. The soldier was hoodwinked while absent fromhis post of duty, and when on the following day he caught sight of one ofthe crosses without its corpse, he was in terror of punishment andexplained to the lady what had taken place: He would await no sentence ofcourt-martial, but would punish his neglect of duty with his own sword!Let her prepare a place for one about to die, let that fatal vault serveboth the lover and the husband! 'Not that, ' cried out the lady, no lessmerciful than chaste, 'the gods forbid that I should look at the sametime upon the corpses of the two men dearest to me; I would rather hangthe dead than slay the living!' So saying, she gave orders for the bodyof her husband to be lifted out of the coffin and fastened upon thevacant cross! The soldier availed himself of the expedient suggested bythis very ingenious lady and next day everyone wondered how a dead manhad found his way to the cross!"

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEENTH. 

The sailors received this tale with roars of laughter, and Tryphaenablushed not a little and laid her face amorously upon Giton's neck. ButLycas did not laugh; "If that governor had been a just man, " said he, shaking his head angrily, "he would have ordered the husband's body takendown and carried back into the vault, and crucified the woman. " No doubtthe memory of Hedyle haunted his mind, and the looting of his ship inthat wanton excursion. But the terms of the treaty permitted theharboring of no old grudges and the joy which filled our hearts left noroom for anger. Tryphaena was lying in Giton's lap by this time, covering his bosom with kisses one minute and rearranging the curls uponhis shaven head the next. Uneasy and chagrined at this new league, Itook neither food nor drink but looked askance at them both, with grimeyes. Every kiss was a wound to me, every artful blandishment which thewanton woman employed, and I could not make up my mind as to whether Iwas more angered at the boy for having supplanted me with my mistress, orat my mistress for debauching the boy: both were hateful to my sight, andmore galling than my late servitude. And to make the matter all the moreaggravating, Tryphaena would not even greet me as an acquaintance, whomshe had formerly received as a lover, while Giton did not think me worthyof a "Here's-to-you" in ordinary civility, nor even speak to me in thecourse of the common conversation; I suppose he was afraid of reopening atender scar at the moment when a return to her good graces had commencedto draw it together. Tears of vexation dropped upon my breast and thegroan I smothered in a sigh nearly wracked my soul. 

 The vulture tearing; at the liver's deep and vital parts, That wracks our breasts and rends our very heartstrings Is not that bird the charming poet sings with all his arts; 'T'is jealousy or hate that human hearts stings. 

(In spite of my ill-humor, Lycas saw how well my golden curls became meand, becoming enamoured anew, began winking his wanton eyes at me and)sought admission to my good graces upon a footing of pleasure, nor did heput on the arrogance of a master, but spoke as a friend asking a favor;(long and ardently he tried to gain his ends, but all in vain, till atlast, meeting with a decisive repulse, his passion turned to fury and hetried to carry the place by storm; but Tryphaena came in unexpectedly andcaught him in his wanton attempt, whereupon he was greatly upset andhastily adjusted his clothing and bolted out of the cabin. Tryphaena wasfired with lust at this sight, "What was Lycas up to?" she demanded. "What was he after in that ardent assault?" She compelled me to explain, burned still more hotly at what she heard, and, recalling memories of ourpast familiarities, she desired me to renew our old amour, but I was wornout with so much venery and slighted her advances. She was burning upwith desire by this time, and threw her arms around me in a frenziedembrace, hugging me so tightly that I uttered an involuntary cry of pain. One of her maids rushed in at this and, thinking that I was attempting toforce from her mistress the very favor which I had refused her, shesprang at us and tore us apart. Thoroughly enraged at the disappointmentof her lecherous passion, Tryphaena upbraided me violently, and with manythreats she hurried out to find Lycas for the purpose of exasperating himfurther against me and of joining forces with him to be revenged upon me. Now you must know that I had formerly held a very high place in thiswaiting-maid's esteem, while I was prosecuting my intrigue with hermistress, and for that reason she took it very hard when she surprised mewith Tryphaena, and sobbed very bitterly. I pressed her earnestly to tellme the reason for her sobs) {and after pretending to be reluctant shebroke out:} "You will think no more of her than of a common prostitute ifyou have a drop of decent blood in your veins! You will not resort tothat female catamite, if you are a man!" {This disturbed my mind but}what exercised me most was the fear that Eumolpus would find out whatwas going on and, being a very sarcastic individual, might revenge mysupposed injury in some poetic lampoon, (in which event his ardent zealwould without doubt expose me to ridicule, and I greatly dreaded that. But while I was debating with myself as to the best means of preventinghim from getting at the facts, who should suddenly come in but the manhimself; and he was not uninformed as to what had taken place, forTryphaena had related all the particulars to Giton and had tried toindemnify herself for my repulse, at the expense of my little friend. Eumolpus was furiously angry because of all this, and all the more so aslascivious advances were in open violation of the treaty which had beensigned. The minute the old fellow laid eyes upon me, he began bewailingmy lot and ordered me to tell him exactly what had happened. As he wasalready well informed, I told him frankly of Lycas' lecherous attempt andof Tryphaena's wanton assault. When he had heard all the facts, )Eumolpus swore roundly (that he would certainly avenge us, as the Godswere just and would not suffer so many villainies to go unpunished. )

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTEENTH. 

We were still discussing this and other matters when the sea grew rough, and clouds, gathering from every quarter, obscured with darkness thelight of day. The panic-stricken sailors ran to their stations and tookin sail before the squall was upon them, but the gale did not drive thewaves in any one direction and the helmsman lost his bearings and did notknow what course to steer. At one moment the wind would set towardsSicily, but the next, the North Wind, prevailing on the Italian coast, would drive the unlucky vessel hither and yon; and, what was moredangerous than all the rain-squalls, a pall of such black density blottedout the light that the helmsman could not even see as far forward as thebow. At last, as the savage fury of the sea grew more malignant, thetrembling Lycas stretched out his hands to me imploringly. "Save us fromdestruction, Encolpius, " he shouted; "restore that sacred robe and holyrattle to the ship! Be merciful, for heaven's sake, just as you used tobe!" He was still shouting when a windsquall swept him into the sea; theraging elements whirled him around and around in a terrible maelstrom andsucked him down. Tryphaena, on the other hand, was seized by herfaithful servants, placed in a skiff, along with the greater part of herbelongings, and saved from certain death. Embracing Giton, I wept aloud:"Did we deserve this from the gods, " I cried, "to be united only indeath? No! Malignant fortune grudges even that. Look! In an instantthe waves will capsize the ship! Think! In an instant the sea willsever this lover's embrace! If you ever loved Encolpius truly, kiss himwhile yet you may and snatch this last delight from impendingdissolution!" Even as I was speaking, Giton removed his garment and, creeping beneath my tunic, he stuck out his head to be kissed; then, fearing some more spiteful wave might separate us as we clung together, he passed his belt around us both. "If nothing else, " he cried, "the seawill at least bear us longer, joined together, and if, in pity, it castsus up upon the same shore, some passerby may pile some stones over us, out of common human kindness, or the last rites will be performed by thedrifting sand, in spite of the angry waves. " I submit to this last bondand, as though I were laid out upon my death-bed, await an end no longerdreaded. Meanwhile, accomplishing the decrees of the Fates, the stormstripped the ship of all that was left; no mast, no helm, not a rope noran oar remained on board her; she was only a derelict, heavy andwater-logged, drifting before the waves. Some fishermen hastily put offin their little boats to salvage their booty, but, seeing men alive andready to defend their property, they changed their predatory designs intooffers of help. 

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTEENTH. 

Just then, amid that clamor of voices we heard a peculiar noise, and frombeneath the captain's cabin there came a bellowing as of some wild beasttrying to get out. We then followed up the sound and discoveredEumolpus, sitting there scribbling verses upon an immense sheet ofparchment! Astounded that he could find time to write poetry at death'svery door, we hauled him out, in spite of his protests, and ordered himto return to his senses, but he flew into a rage at being interrupted;"Leave me alone until I finish this sentence, " he bawled; "the poemlabors to its birth. " Ordering Giton to come to close quarters and helpme drag the bellowing bard ashore, I laid hands upon the lunatic. Whenthis job had at last been completed, we came, wet and wretched, to afisherman's hut and refreshed ourselves somewhat with stores from thewreck, spoiled though they were by salt water, and passed a night thatwas almost interminable. As we were holding a council, next day, todetermine to what part of the country we had best proceed, I suddenlycaught sight of a human body, turning around in a gentle eddy andfloating towards the shore. Stricken with melancholy, I stood still andbegan to brood, with wet eyes, upon the treachery of the sea. "Andperhaps, " said I, "a wife, safe in some far-away country of the earth, awaits this man, or a son who little dreams of storms or wrecks; orperhaps he left behind a father, whom he kissed good-by at parting! Suchis the end of mortal's plans, such is the outcome of great ambitions!See how man rides the waves!" Until now, I had been sorrowing for a merestranger, but a wave turned the face, which had undergone no change, towards the shore, and I recognized Lycas; so evil-tempered and sounrelenting but a short time before, now cast up almost at my feet! Icould no longer restrain the tears, at this; I beat my breast again andyet again, with my hands. "Where is your evil temper now?" I cried. "Where is your unbridled passion? You be there, a prey to fish and wildbeasts, you who boasted but a little while ago of the strength of yourcommand. Now you have not a single plank left of your great ship! Goon, mortals; set your hearts upon the fulfillment of great ambitions: Goon, schemers, and in your wills control for a thousand years the disposalof the wealth you got by fraud! Only yesterday this man audited theaccounts of his family estate, yea, even reckoned the day he would arrivein his native land and settled it in his mind! Gods and goddesses, howfar he lies from his appointed destination! But the waves of the sea arenot alone in thus keeping faith with mortal men: The warrior's weaponsfail him; the citizen is buried beneath the ruins of his own penates, when engaged in paying his vows to the gods; another falls from hischariot and dashes out his ardent spirit; the glutton chokes at dinner;the niggard starves from abstinence. Give the dice a fair throw and youwill find shipwreck everywhere! Ah, but one overwhelmed by the wavesobtains no burial! As though it matters in what manner the body, once itis dead, is consumed: by fire, by flood, by time! Do what you will, these all achieve the same end. Ah, but the beasts will mangle the body!As though fire would deal with it any more gently; when we are angry withour slaves that is the punishment which we consider the most severe. What folly it is, then, to do everything we can to prevent the grave fromleaving any part of us behind {when the Fates will look out for us, evenagainst our wills. "} (After these reflections we made ready to pay thelast rites to the corpse, ) and Lycas was burned upon a funeral pyreraised by the hands of enemies, while Eumolpus, fixing his eyes upon thefar distance to gain inspiration, composed an epitaph for the dead man:

 HIS FATE WAS UNAVOIDABLE

 NO ROCK-HEWN TOMB NOR SCULPTURED MARBLE HIS, HIS NOBLE CORPSE FIVE FEET OF EARTH RECEIVED, HE RESTS IN PEACE BENEATH THIS HUMBLE MOUND. 

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTEENTH. 

We set out upon our intended journey, after this last office had beenwholeheartedly performed, and, in a little while, arrived, sweating, atthe top of a mountain, from which we made out, at no great distance, atown, perched upon the summit of a lofty eminence. Wanderers as we were, we had no idea what town it could be, until we learned from a caretakerthat it was Crotona, a very ancient city, and once the first in Italy. When we earnestly inquired, upon learning this, what men inhabited suchhistoric ground, and the nature of the business in which they wereprincipally engaged, now that their wealth had been dissipated by the oftrecurring wars, "My friends, " replied he, "if you are men of business, change your plans and seek out some other conservative road to alivelihood, but if you can play the part of men of great culture, alwaysready with a lie, you are on the straight road to riches: The study ofliterature is held in no estimation in that city, eloquence has no nichethere, economy and decent standards of morality come into no reward ofhonor there; you must know that every man whom you will meet in that citybelongs to one of two factions; they either 'take-in, ' or else they are'taken-in. ' No one brings up children in that city, for the reason thatno one who has heirs is invited to dinner or admitted to the games; suchan one is deprived of all enjoyments and must lurk with the rabble. Onthe other hand, those who have never married a wife, or those who have nonear relatives, attain to the very highest honors; in other words, theyare the only ones who are considered soldierly, or the bravest of thebrave, or even good. You will see a town which resembles the fields intime of pestilence, " he continued, "in which there is nothing butcarcasses to be torn at and carrion crows tearing at them. "

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTEENTH. 

Eumolpus, who had a deeper insight, turned this state of affairs over inhis mind and declared that he was not displeased with a prospect of thatkind. I thought the old fellow was joking in the care-free way of poets, until he complained, "If I could only put up a better front! I mean thatI wish my clothing was in better taste, that my jewelry was moreexpensive; all this would lend color to my deception: I would not carrythis scrip, by Hercules, I would not I would lead you all to greatriches!" For my part, I undertook to supply whatever my companion inrobbery had need of, provided he would be satisfied with the garment, andwith whatever spoils the villa of Lycurgus had yielded when we robbed it;as for money against present needs, the Mother of the Gods would see tothat, out of regard to her own good name! "Well, what's to prevent ourputting on an extravaganza?" demanded Eumolpus. "Make me the master ifthe business appeals to you. " No one ventured to condemn a scheme bywhich he could lose nothing, and so, that the lie would be kept safeamong us all, we swore a solemn oath, the words of which were dictated byEumolpus, to endure fire, chains, flogging, death by the sword, andwhatever else Eumolpus might demand of us, just like regular gladiators!After the oath had been taken, we paid our respects to our master withpretended servility, and were informed that Eumolpus had lost a son, ayoung man of great eloquence and promise, and that it was for this reasonthe poor old man had left his native land that he might not see thecompanions and clients of his son, nor even his tomb, which was the causeof his daily tears. To this misfortune a recent shipwreck had beenadded, in which he had lost upwards of two millions of sesterces; notthat he minded the loss but, destitute of a train of servants he couldnot keep up his proper dignity! Furthermore, he had, invested in Africa, thirty millions of sesterces in estates and bonds; such a horde of hisslaves was scattered over the fields of Numidia that he could have evensacked Carthage! We demanded that Eumolpus cough frequently, to furtherthis scheme, that he have trouble with his stomach and find fault withall the food when in company, that he keep talking of gold and silver andestates, the incomes from which were not what they should be, and of theeverlasting unproductiveness of the soil; that he cast up his accountsdaily, that he revise the terms of his will monthly, and, for fear anydetail should be lacking to make the farce complete, he was to use thewrong names whenever he wished to summon any of us, so that it would beplain to all that the master had in mind some who were not present. Wheneverything had been thus provided for, we offered a prayer to the gods"that the matter might turn out well and happily, " and took to the road. But Giton could not bear up under his unaccustomed load, and the hiredservant Corax, a shirker of work, often put down his own load and cursedour haste, swearing that he would either throw his packs away or run awaywith his load. "What do you take me for, a beast of burden?" hegrumbled, "or a scow for carrying stone? I hired out to do the work of aman, not that of a pack-horse, and I'm as free as you are, even if myfather did leave me poor!" Not satisfied with swearing, he lifted up hisleg from time to time and filled the road with an obscene noise and afilthy stench. Giton laughed at his impudence and imitated everyexplosion with his lips, {but Eumolpus relapsed into his usual vein, evenin spite of this. }

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTEENTH. 

"Young men, " said he, "many are they who have been seduced by poetry;for, the instant a man has composed a verse in feet, and has woven a moredelicate meaning into it by means of circumlocutions, he straightwayconcludes that he has scaled Helicon! Take those who are worn out by thedistressing detail of the legal profession, for example: they often seeksanctuary in the tranquillity of poetry, as a more sheltered haven, believing themselves able more easily to compose a poem than a rebuttalcharged with scintillating epigrams! But a more highly cultivated mindloves not this conceited affectation, nor can it either conceive or bringforth, unless it has been steeped in the vast flood of literature. Everyword that is what I would call 'low, ' ought to be avoided, and phrasesfar removed from plebeian usage should be chosen. Let 'Ye rabble routavaunt, ' be your rule. In addition, care should be exercised inpreventing the epigrams from standing out from the body of the speech;they should gleam with the brilliancy woven into the fabric. Homer is anexample, and the lyric poets, and our Roman Virgil, and the exquisitepropriety of Horace. Either the others did not discover the road thatleads to poetry, or, having seen, they feared to tread it. Whoeverattempts that mighty theme, the civil war, for instance, will sink underthe load unless he is saturated with literature. Events, past andpassing, ought not to be merely recorded in verse, the historian willdeal with them far better; by means of circumlocutions and theintervention of the immortals, the free spirit, wracked by the search forepigrams having a mythological illusion, should plunge headlong andappear as the prophecy of a mind inspired rather than the attested faithof scrupulous exactitude in speech. This hasty composition may pleaseyou, even though it has not yet received its final polishing:"

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDRED AND NINETEENTH. 

 "The conquering Roman now held the whole world in his sway, The ocean, the land; where the sun shone by day or the moon

 Gleamed by night: but unsated was he. And the seas

 Were roiled by the weight of his deep-laden keels; if a bay

 Lay hidden beyond, or a land which might yield yellow gold

 'Twas held as a foe. While the struggle for treasure went on

 The fates were preparing the horrors and scourges of war. 

 Amusements enjoyed by the vulgar no longer can charm

 Nor pleasures worn threadbare by use of the plebeian mob. 

 The bronzes of Corinth are praised by the soldier at sea;

 And glittering gems sought in earth, vie with purple of Tyre;

 Numidia curses her here, there, the exquisite silks

 Of China; Arabia's people have stripped their own fields. 

 Behold other woes and calamities outraging peace!

 Wild beasts, in the forest are hunted, for gold; and remote

 African hammon is covered by beaters, for fear

 Some beast that slays men with his teeth shall escape, for by that

 His value to men is enhanced! The vessels receive

 Strange ravening monsters; the tiger behind gilded bars

 And pacing his cage is transported to Rome, that his jaws

 May drip with the life blood of men to the plaudits of men

 Oh shame! To point out our impending destruction; the crime

 Of Persia enacted anew; in his puberty's bloom

 The man child is kidnapped; surrenders his powers to the knife, Is forced to the calling of Venus; delayed and hedged round

 The hurrying passage of life's finest years is held back

 And Nature seeks Nature but finds herself not. Everywhere

 These frail-limbed and mincing effeminates, flowing of locks, Bedecked with an infinite number of garments of silk

 Whose names ever change, the wantons and lechers to snare, Are eagerly welcomed! From African soil now behold

 The citron-wood tables; their well-burnished surface reflects

 Our Tyrian purples and slaves by the horde, and whose spots

 Resemble the gold that is cheaper than they and ensnare

 Extravagance. Sterile and ignobly prized is the wood

 But round it is gathered a company sodden with wine;

 And soldiers of fortune whose weapons have rusted, devour

 The spoils of the world. Art caters to appetite. Wrasse

 From Sicily brought to their table, alive in his own Sea water. 

 The oysters from Lucrine's shore torn, at the feast

 Are served to make famous the host; and the appetite, cloyed, To tempt by extravagance. Phasis has now been despoiled

 Of birds, its littoral silent, no sound there is heard

 Save only the wind as it rustles among the last leaves. 

 Corruption no less vile is seen in the campus of Mars, Our quirites are bribed; and for plunder and promise of gain

 Their votes they will alter. The people is venal; corrupt

 The Senate; support has its price! And the freedom and worth

 Of age is decayed, scattered largesse now governs their power;

 Corrupted by gold, even dignity lies in the dust. 

 Cato defeated and hooted by mobs, but the victor

 Is sadder, ashamed to have taken the rods from a Cato:

 In this lay the shame of the nation and character's downfall, 'Twas not the defeat of a man! No! The power and the glory

 Of Rome were brought low; represented in him was the honor

 Of sturdy Republican Rome. So, abandoned and wretched, The city has purchased dishonor: has purchased herself!

 Despoiled by herself, no avenger to wipe out the stigma

 Twin maelstroms of debt and of usury suck down the commons. 

 No home with clear title, no citizen free from a mortgage, But as some slow wasting disease all unheralded fastens

 Its hold on the vitals, destroying the vigor of manhood, So, fear of the evils impending, impels them to madness. 

 Despair turns to violence, luxury's ravages needs must

 Repaired be by bloodshed, for indigence safely can venture. 

 Can art or sane reason rouse wallowing Rome from the offal

 And break the voluptuous slumber in which she is sunken?

 Or must it be fury and war and the blood-lust of daggers?"

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTIETH. 

 "Three chieftains did fortune bring forth, whom the fury of battles

 Destroyed; and interred, each one under a mountain of weapons;

 The Parthian has Crassus, Pompeius the Great by the waters

 Of Egypt lies. Julius, ungrateful Rome stained with his life blood. 

 And earth has divided their ashes, unable to suffer

 The weight of so many tombs. These are the wages of glory!

 There lies between Naples and Great Puteoli, a chasm

 Deep cloven, and Cocytus churns there his current; the vapor

 In fury escapes from the gorge with that lethal spray laden. 

 No green in the aututun is there, no grass gladdens the meadow, The supple twigs never resound with the twittering singing

 Of birds in the Springtime. But chaos, volcanic black boulders

 Of pumice lie Happy within their drear setting of cypress. 

 Amidst these infernal surroundings the ruler of Hades

 Uplifted his head by the funeral flames silhouetted

 And sprinkled with white from the ashes of corpses; and challenged

 Winged Fortune in words such as these: 'Oh thou fickle controller

 Of things upon earth and in heaven, security's foeman, Oh Chance! Oh thou lover eternally faithful to change, and

 Possession's betrayer, dost own thyself crushed by the power

 Of Rome? Canst not raise up the tottering mass to its downfall

 Its strength the young manhood of Rome now despises, and staggers

 In bearing the booty heaped up by its efforts: behold how

 They lavish their spoils! Wealth run mad now brings down their destruction. 

 They build out of gold and their palaces reach to the heavens;

 The sea is expelled by their moles and their pastures are oceans;

 They war against Nature in changing the state of creation. 

 They threaten my kingdom! Earth yawns with their tunnels deep driven

 To furnish the stone for their madmen's foundations; already

 The mountains are hollowed and now but re-echoing caverns;

 While man quarries marble to serve his vainglorious purpose

 The spirits infernal confess that they hope to win Heaven!

 Arise, then, O Chance, change thy countenance peaceful to warlike

 And harry the Romans, consign to my kingdom the fallen. 

 Ah, long is it now since my lips were with blood cooled and moistened, Nor has my Tisiphone bathed her blood-lusting body

 Since Sulla's sword drank to repletion and earth's bristling harvest

 Grew ripe upon blood and thrust up to the light of the sunshine!'"

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIRST. 

 "He spake . .. And attempted to clasp the right hand of Fortuna, But ruptured the crust of the earth, deeply cloven, asunder. 

 Then from her capricious heart Fortune made answer: 'O father

 Whom Cocytus' deepest abysses obey, if to forecast

 The future I may, without fear, thy petition shall prosper;

 For no less consuming the anger that wars in this bosom, The flame no less poignant, that burns to my marrow All favors

 I gave to the bulwarks of Rome, now, I hate them. My

 Gifts I repent! The same God who built up their dominion

 Shall bring down destruction upon it. In burning their manhood

 My heart shall delight and its blood-lust shall slake with their slaughter. 

 Now Philippi's field I can see strewn with dead of two battles

 And Thessaly's funeral pyres and Iberia mourning. 

 Already the clangor of arms thrills my ears, and rings loudly:

 Thou, Lybian Nile, I can see now thy barriers groaning

 And Actium's gulf and Apollo's darts quailing the warriors!

 Then, open thy thirsty dominions and summon fresh spirits;

 For scarce will the ferryman's strength be sufficient to carry

 The souls of the dead in his skiff: 'tis a fleet that is needed!

 Thou, Pallid Tisiphone, slake with wide ruin, thy thirsting

 And tear ghastly wounds: mangled earth sinks to hell and the spirits. '"

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SECOND. 

 "But scarce had she finished, when trembled the clouds; and a gleaming

 Bright flash of Jove's lightning transfixed them with flame and was gone. 

 The Lord of the Shades blanched with fear, at this bolt of his brother's, Sank back, and drew closely together the gorge in Earth's bosom. 

 By auspices straightway the slaughter of men and the evils

 Impending are shown by the gods. Here, the Titan unsightly

 Blood red, veils his face with a twilight; on strife fratricidal

 Already he gazed, thou hadst thought! There, silvery Cynthia

 Obscuring her face at the full, denied light to the outrage. 

 The mountain crests riven by rock-slides roll thundering downward

 And wandering rivers, to rivulets shrunk, writhed no longer

 Familiar marges between. With the clangor of armor

 The heavens resound; from the stars wafts the thrill of a trumpet

 Sounding the call to arms. AEtna, now roused to eruption

 Unwonted, darts flashes of flame to the clouds. Flitting phantoms

 Appear midst the tombs and unburied bones, gibbering menace

 A comet, strange stars in its diadem, leads a procession

 And reddens the skies with its fire. Showers of blood fall from heaven

 These portents the Deity shortly fulfilled! For now Caesar

 Forsook vacillation and, spurred by the love of revenge, sheathed

 The Gallic sword; brandished the brand that proclaimed civil warfare. 

 There, high in the Alps, where the crags, by a Greek god once trodden, Slope down and permit of approach, is a spot ever sacred

 To Hercules' altar; the winter with frozen snow seals it

 And rears to the heavens a summit eternally hoary, As though the sky there had slipped down: no warmth from the sunbeams, No breath from the Springtime can soften the pile's wintry rigor

 Nor slacken the frost chains that bind; and its menacing shoulders

 The weight of the world could sustain. With victorious legions

 These crests Caesar trod and selected a camp. Gazing downwards

 On Italy's plains rolling far, from the top of the mountain, He lifted both hands to the heavens, his voice rose in prayer:

 'Omnipotent Jove, and thou, refuge of Saturn whose glory

 Was brightened by feats of my armies and crowned with my triumphs, Bear witness! Unwillingly summon I Mars to these armies, Unwillingly draw I the sword! But injustice compels me. 

 While enemy blood dyes the Rhine and the Alps are held firmly

 Repulsing a second assault of the Gauls on our city, She dubs me an outcast! And Victory makes me an exile!

 To triumphs three score, and defeats of the Germans, my treason

 I trace! How can they fear my glory or see in my battles

 A menace? But hirelings, and vile, to whom my Rome is but a

 Stepmother! Methinks that no craven this sword arm shall hamper

 And take not a stroke in repost. On to victory, comrades, While anger seethes hot. With the sword we will seek a decision

 The doom lowering down is a peril to all, and the treason. 

 My gratitude owe I to you, not alone have I conquered!

 Since punishment waits by our trophies and victory merits

 Disgrace, then let Chance cast the lots. Raise the standard of battle;

 Again take your swords. Well I know that my cause is accomplished

 Amidst such armed warriors I know that I cannot be beaten. '

 While yet the words echoed, from heaven the bird of Apollo

 Vouchsafed a good omen and beat with his pinions the ether. 

 From out of the left of a gloomy grove strange voices sounded

 And flame flashed thereafter! The sun gleamed with brighter refulgence

 Unwonted, his face in a halo of golden flame shining. "

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THIRD. 

 "By omens emboldened, to follow, the battle-flags, Caesar

 Commanded; and boldly led on down the perilous pathway. 

 The footing, firm-fettered by frost chains and ice, did not hinder

 At first, but lay silent, the kindly cold masking its grimness;

 But, after the squadrons of cavalry shattered the clouds, bound

 By ice, and the trembling steeds crushed in the mail of the rivers, Then, melted the snows! And soon torrents newborn, from the heights of

 The mountains rush down: but these also, as if by commandment

 Grow rigid, and, turn into ice, in their headlong rush downwards!

 Now, that which rushed madly a moment before, must be hacked through!

 But now, it was treacherous, baffling their steps and their footing

 Deceiving; and men, horses, arms, fall in heaps, in confusion. 

 And see! Now the clouds, by an icy gale smitten, their burden

 Discharge! Lo! the gusts of the whirlwind swirl fiercely about them;

 The sky in convulsions, with swollen hail buffets them sorely. 

 Already the clouds themselves rupture and smother their weapons, An avalanche icy roars down like a billow of ocean;

 Earth lay overwhelmed by the drifts of the snow and the planets

 Of heaven are blotted from sight; overwhelmed are the rivers

 That cling to their banks, but unconquered is Caesar! His javelin

 He leans on and scrunches with firm step a passage the bristling

 Grim ice fields across! As, spurred on by the lust, of adventure

 Amphitryon's offspring came striding the Caucasus slopes down;

 Or Jupiter's menacing mien as, from lofty Olympus

 He leaped, the doomed giants to crush and to scatter their weapons. 

 While Caesar in anger the swelling peaks treads down, winged rumor

 In terror flies forth and on beating wings seeks the high summit

 Of Palatine tall: every image she rocks with her message

 Announcing this thunderbolt Roman! Already, the ocean

 Is tossing his fleets! Now his cavalry, reeking with German

 Gore, pours from the Alps! Slaughter, bloodshed, and weapons

 The red panorama of war is unrolled to their vision!

 By terror their hearts are divided: two counsels perplex them!

 One chooses by land to seek flight: to another, the water

 Appeals, and the sea than his own land is safer! Another

 Will stand to his arms and advantage extort from Fate's mandate. 

 The depth of their fear marks the length of their flight! In confusion

 The people itself--shameful spectacle--driven by terror

 Is led to abandon the city. Rome glories in fleeing!

 The Quirites from battle blench! Cowed by the breath of a rumor

 Relinquished their firesides to mourning! One citizen, palsied

 With terror, his children embraces: another, his penates

 Conceals in his bosom; then, weeping, takes leave of his threshold

 And slaughters the distant invader--with curses! Their spouses

 Some clasp to their sorrow-wracked bosoms! Youths carry their fathers

 Bowed down with old age, uninured to the bearing of burdens. 

 They seize what they dread to lose most. Inexperience drags all

 Its chattels to camp and to battle: as, when powerful Auster

 Piles up the churned waters and tumbles them: never a yard-arm

 Nor rudder to answer the hand, here, one fashions a life-raft

 Of pine planks, another steers into some bay on a lee shore, Another will crack on and run from the gale and to Fortune

 Trust all! But why sorrow for trifles? The consuls, with Pompey

 The Great--he, the terror of Pontus, of savage Hydaspes

 Explorer, the reef that wrecked pirates, caused Jove to turn livid, When thrice was a triumph decreed him, whom Pontus' vexed water

 And pacified billows of Bosphorus worshipped! Disgraceful their

 Flight! Title and glory forsaking! Now Fortune capricious

 Looks down on the back of great Pompey retreating in terror!"

CHAPTER THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FOURTH. 

 "So great a misfortune disrupted the concord of heaven

 And gods swelled the rout in their panic! Behold through creation

 The gentle divinities flee from the ravening earth; in

 Their loathing they turn from humanity, doomed to destruction!

 And first of all, Peace, with her snowy white arms, hides her visage

 Defeated, her helmet beneath and, abandoning earth, flees

 To seek out the realm of implacable Dis, as a refuge

 Meek Faith her companion, and Justice with locks loosely flowing, And Concord, in tears, and her raiment in tatters, attend her. 

 The minions of Pluto pour forth from the portals of darkness

 That yawn: the serpent-haired Fury, Bellona the Savage, Megoera with firebrands, destruction, and treachery, livid

 Death's likeness! Among them is Frenzy, as, free, with her lashings

 Snapped short, she now raises her gory head, shielding her features

 Deep scarred by innumerous wounds 'neath her helmet blood-clotted. 

 Her left arm she guards with a battle-scarred shield scored by weapons, And numberless spear-heads protrude from its surface: her right hand

 A flaming torch brandishes, kindling a flame that will burn up

 The world! Now the gods are on earth and the skies note their absence;

 The planets disordered their orbits attempt! Into factions

 The heavens divide; first Dione espouses the cause of

 Her Caesar. Minerva next steps to her side and the great son

 Of Ares, his mighty spear brandishing! Phoebus espouses

 The cause of Great Pompey: his sister and Mercury also

 And Hercules like unto him in his travels and labors. 

 The trumpets call! Discord her Stygian head lifts to heaven

 Her tresses disheveled, her features with clotted blood covered, Tears pour from her bruised eyes, her iron fangs thick coated with rust, Her tongue distils poison, her features are haloed with serpents, Her hideous bosom is visible under her tatters, A torch with a blood red flame waves from her tremulous right hand. 

 Emerging from Cocytus dark and from Tartarus murky

 She strode to the crests of the Apennines noble, the prospect

 Of earth to survey, spread before her the world panorama

 Its shores and the armies that march on its surface: these words then

 Burst out of her bosom malignant: 'To arms, now, ye nations, While anger seethes hot, seize your arms, set the torch to the cities, Who skulks now is lost; neither woman nor child nor the aged

 Bowed down with their years shall find quarter: the whole world will tremble

 And rooftrees themselves shall crash down and take part in the struggle. 

 Marcellus, hold firm for the law! And thou, Curio, madden

 The rabble! Thou, Lentulus, strive not to check valiant Ares!

 Thou, Cesar divine, why delayest thou now thine invasion?

 Why smash not the gates, why not level the walls of the cities, Their treasures to pillage? Thou, Magnus, dost not know the secret

 Of holding the hills of Rome? Take thou the walls of Dyrrachium, Let Thessaly's harbors be dyed with the blood of the Romans!'

 On earth was obeyed every detail of Discord's commandment. "

When Eumolpus had, with great volubility, poured out this flood of words, we came at last to Crotona. Here we refreshed ourselves at a mean inn, but on the following day we went in search of more imposing lodgings andfell in with a crowd of legacy hunters who were very curious as to theclass of society to which we belonged and as to whence we had come. Thereupon, in accord with our mutual understanding, such ready answersdid we make as to who we might be or whence we had come that we gave themno cause for doubt. They immediately fell to wrangling in their desireto heap their own riches upon Eumolpus and every fortune-hunter solicitedhis favor with presents. 

ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

Desire no possession unless the world envies me for possessingEither 'take-in, ' or else they are 'taken-in'Platitudes by which anguished minds are recalled to sanityThey seize what they dread to lose most