﻿48 THE AGE OF PETROXIUS ARBITER. 



An expression in tlie folloTring paragraph (c. 29. 8), " et pyxis aurea non pusilla, in 

 qua barbam ipsius conditam esse dicebant," furnishes De Salas with another oppor- 

 tunity of displapng his ingenuity. To prove that here is again an allusion to Xero, 

 he quotes Dio (Lib. LXI. p. 698) : Mera Be ravra erepov au elSo? €opTrj<s rjyayev (eTrexXTj^i; 

 Be 'lov^evaXta cocnrep riva veaviaKevfiara^ kcu CTeXeaOi} eiii ra yeveiai avrov • Koi yap rovTO 

 rare irpw-ov e^vparo • kcu rai ye rpi^ai €s cr(j)aipu)v tl ■^(pvaovv e/x/SaXtuv aveOrjKe rep Au toj 

 Kaimto\ivM. The preserving of the beard of a youth was a Roman custom, aud the 

 taking oflF of the first beard was the occasion of a domestic festival. There is, therefore, 

 nothing in the simple ciiTumstance of the preserving of the beard which points exclu- 

 sively or even pre-eminently to Nero. If he did it with more splendor and extrav- 

 agance, in this he imitated, as in his tuiTi he was imitated by, others who had the 

 means and inclination to do so. Augustus gave on such an occasion a great public 

 banquet (Dio Cassius, 4:8. 34). The act of Xero was, therefore, merely a modification 

 — and perhaps one not originating with Xero — of the general custom. It was usual 

 to consecrate the first beard to some deity, with more or less ceremony and state, 

 according to the taste, means, or station of the family. It is absurd, then, to find in 

 matters of common usage allusions to an individual case, unless there are clear, immis- 

 takable indications distinguishing that particular case. It seems to me evident that 

 Petronius, in his description of Trimalchio, intended to describe the extravagance and 

 folly of the upstarts of his time ; and to find, or imagine that there are to be found, in 

 this general description, allusions to individuals, is changing the point of view from 

 which these inimitable descriptions should be seen, and mistaking or misrepresenting 

 the aim of the author. 



This morbid eagerness for finding everywhere allusions to Xero seems to have led 

 De Salas into misapprehensions, not only of the evident meaning of our author, but 

 even of his language. Petronius relates (c. 30. 3) that a tablet was suspended at the 

 entrance of the supper-room, with this inscription : 



III . Et . Pridie . Kal . Jan . 

 G . Noster . Foras . Coenat . 



which De Salas seems to understand as meaning that Trimalchio on those days sups 

 in public, because it is related of Xero (Suet. Xero, 27, and Tac. Ann. 15. 37) that he 

 was fond of public banquets. The phrase "coenare foras" means, of course, "to sup 

 abroad," — that is, not at home, but at another person's house. 



C. 37. 1, Fortunata, the wife of Trimalchio, is introduced, and during the whole 

 entertainment plays no insignificant part. De Salas, swayed by his hj-pothesis that 

 Trimalchio represents Xero, is of course obliged to find the original of Fortunata. He 



