396 PEOSE HALIETJTIOS. 



charitably presume, of the favourite's mode of rearing 

 mursensej had accepted an invitation to a tripatiaa en- 

 tertainment at his house, where he was of course hand- 

 somely entertained; the fish went off swimmingly, so 

 did the rest of the dinner, not so the dessert; for, as 

 choice wines were handed round to the company, an un- 

 fortunate slave ('unus ex servis'), iu trepidation at hav- 

 ing to pour out for so august a guest, made an unlucky 

 sUp, and broke a decanter (fregit crystaUinimi) . Misfor- 

 tunes of this sort, in so weU conducted an establishment 

 as that of Vedius PolUo, were not allowed to come sin- 

 gle : the law of retaliation there for breakage was sum- 

 mary and severe ; and over the door of the servants' haU, 

 ' for fools to learn, and wise men to take heed' (ut in- 

 docti discant et ament meminisse periti),was written up 

 in uncial characters, 



Whoever breaks the glass or dishes, 

 That man becomes the food of fishes. 



The culprit therefore knew his doomj but feeling 

 naturally enough a strong disinclination to such a ma-, 

 numission even from such a master, he summoned cou- 

 rage, before the safeguard of the emperor's presence was 

 withdrawn, to rush into the banquet-room, and pros- 

 trate on the ground to acknowledge the delinquency of 

 the decanter, and to supphcate Augustus, that he would 

 'be graciously pleased to condescend' to commute the 

 sentence for some less terrible and tormenting mode of 

 departure out of life than the one proposed. He ' did 

 not care to die, but thought it hard for a man, even 

 though a slave, to be made esca piscium, the live bait of 

 fish.' Csesar, applying to ethics a principle well under- 

 stood in medicine— remove the cause and the effects will 

 cease — acted humanely and discreetly on this extraordi- 

 nary occasion : after first setting the supplicant free, he 

 caused the obnoxious fish-ponds to be filled up, and all his 



