﻿THE AGE OF PETROXIUS ARBITER. 31 



the fact, that he formed his opmiou after a perusal of the first edition, that of Frombot- 

 tus of Padua, which was carelessly and injudiciously prepared, and, without the consent 

 and aid of Statilius, published, long before the manuscript itself, being sent to Rome, 

 enabled scholars to form an opinion based upon a better knowledge of the facts in 

 the case. But while I think it just to say this much in defence of "SVagcnseil, I am 

 far from extendmg the same indulgence to the rest of his attack, which betrays a very 

 superficial knowledge of the language, literature, antiquities, and history of the Ro- 

 mans. 



The next champion who entered the lists to prove the spuriousness of the fragment, 

 a month only after the appearance of Wagenseil's dissertation, and indeed in compli- 

 ance with his request, was Hadrian Valesius (Adrien de Yalois). Hadrian Valesius 

 was historiographer to the king of France, and, as far as social position and literary 

 fame were concerned, the superior of Wagenseil.* He bases his opinion that the 

 fragment is a fraud, both on the use of certain words wliich he considers barbarous and 

 inelegant, and on grammatical uTegularities. So far he agrees with Wagenseil; but 

 on one point he differs widely from him, and censures him with considerable severity 

 and superciliousness. This point is his adopting the hypothesis that Petronius Arbiter 

 and the Petronius of Tacitus are one and the same person, and the character of Tri- 

 malchio a satii-e on Xero. He exposes very ably the improbability of the latter sup- 

 position, by pointing out the marked and important differences between Nero and 

 Trimalchio ; the noble bu-th of Xero, and the ser\Tle origin of Trimalchio ; the noble 

 descent of the wives of Xero, and the humble condition of Fortunata, the ^ife of Tri- 

 malchio ; the advanced age of Trimalchio, and the youth of Xero, who died before he 

 completed his thu-ty-second year. After enumerating the principal topics of the work 

 to show more clearly that there was in them not the most distant reference to Xero, 

 he concludes with these words : " Qui non videt ista singida ac universa nihil ad Caji 

 Petronii [of Tacitus] libelkmi nihil ad Xeronis flagitia noctesque pertinere sed meram 

 esse nudamque ac simplicem Aitiorum et desidiae humanae reprehensionem sale et mor- 

 daci aceto conditam : is plane nee in Uteris nee in \illa alia re quidquam -videt aut judi- 

 cat." Hadrian Valesius agrees so far with his brother, Henry Valesius, as to place 

 Petronius long after Xero, but differs from hun in this : that, while Henry puts Petro- 

 nius as late as the Emperor Gallienus, Hadrian considers him a contemporary of the 

 Antonines, on the ground that there were no mdications in Petronius of the corruption 



* " Hadriani Valesii, Histor. Regii, De cena Trimalcionis, nuper sub Petronii nomine vulgata, Disscrtatio, 

 et de aetate patriaque Petronii ac ejus operis inscriptione," in Pet. Burmann's second edition of Petronius, 

 Amsterd. 1743, Vol. II. p. 350. 



