The Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter - Adventures of Encolpius and His Companions

The first volume of The Satyricon, by Petronius, featuring the narrator Encolpius and Giton.

More of This Feature • Satyricon Introduction • The Satyricon of Petronius - The Dinner of Trimalcho • The Satyricon of Petronius - Further Adventures of Encolpius and His Companions • The Satyricon of Petronius - Encolpius, Giton and Eumolpus Escape By Sea • The Satyricon of Petronius - Affairs at Crotona • The Satyricon of Petronius - Editor's Notes

Related Resources • Menippean Satire and Petronius Satyricon

Elsewhere on the Web • Steve Nimis on Menippean Satire

The Satyricon

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

Volume 1. -- Adventures of Encolpius and His Companions

Chapter the Fourteenth.

Not so Ascyltos, who was afraid of the law, and demurred, "Who knows us here? Who will place any credence in anything we say? It seems to me that it would be better to buy, ours though it is, and we know it, and recover the treasure at small cost, rather than to engage in a doubtful lawsuit."

Of what avail are any laws, where money rules alone,
Where Poverty can never win its cases?
Detractors of the times, who bear the Cynic's scrip, are known
To often sell the truth, and keep their faces!
So Justice is at public auction bought,
The knight gives judgement as Gold says he ought.

But, with the exception of a two-as piece with which we had intended purchasing peas and lupines, there was nothing to hand; so, for fear our loot should escape us in the interim, we resolved to appraise the mantle at less, and, through a small sacrifice, secure a greater profit. Accordingly, we spread it out, and the young woman of the covered head, who was standing by the peasant's side, narrowly inspected the markings, seized the hem with both hands, and screamed "Thieves!" at the top of her voice. We were greatly disconcerted at this and, for fear that inactivity on our part should seem to lend color to her charges, we laid hold of the dirty ragged tunic, in our turn, and shouted with equal spite, that this was our property which they had in their possession; but our cases were by no means on an equality, and the hucksters who had crowded around us at the uproar, laughed at our spiteful claim, and very naturally, too, since one side laid claim to a very valuable mantle, while the other demanded a rag which was not worth a good patch.

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The Satyricon by Petronius