308:193,000[' ]| 308:193,000[' ]| 308:193,001[A ]| 308:193,002[A ]| In all the lands that stretch from Gades to the 308:193,003[A ]| Ganges and the Morn, there are but few who can 308:193,004[A ]| distinguish true blessings from their opposites, putting 308:193,005[A ]| aside the mists of error. For when does Reason 308:193,006[A ]| direct our desires or our fears? What project do we 308:193,007[A ]| form so auspiciously that we do not repent us of our 308:193,008[A ]| effort and of the granted wish? Whole households 308:193,009[A ]| have been destroyed by the compliant Gods in 308:193,010[A ]| answer to the masters' prayers; in camp and city 308:193,011[A ]| alike we ask for things that will be our ruin. Many a 308:193,012[A ]| man has met death from the rushing flood of his own 308:193,013[A ]| eloquence; others from the strength and wondrous 308:193,014[A ]| thews in which they have trusted. More still have 308:193,015[A ]| been ruined by money too carefully amassed, and by 308:193,016[A ]| fortunes that surpass all patrimonies by as much as the 308:193,017[A ]| British whale exceeds the dolphin. It was for this 308:193,018[A ]| that in the dire days Nero ordered Longinus and 308:193,019[A ]| the great gardens of the over-wealthy Seneca to be 308:193,020[A ]| put under siege; for this was it that the noble Palace 308:193,021[A ]| of the Laterani was beset by an entire cohort; it is 308:193,022[A ]| but seldom that soldiers find their way into a garret! 308:195,001[A ]| Though you carry but few plain silver vessels with you 308:195,002[A ]| in a night journey, you will be afraid of the sword and 308:195,003[A ]| cudgel of a freebooter, you will tremble at the shadow 308:195,004[A ]| of a reed shaking in the moonlight; but the empty-handed 308:195,005[A ]| traveller will whistle in the robber's face. 308:195,006[A ]| The foremost of all petitions ~~ the one best 308:195,007[A ]| known to every temple ~~ is for riches and their increase, 308:195,008[A ]| that our money-chest may be the biggest in 308:195,009[A ]| all the Forum. But you will drink no aconite out of 308:195,010[A ]| an earthenware cup; you may dread it when a 308:195,011[A ]| jewelled cup is offered you, or when Setine wine 308:195,012[A ]| sparkles in a golden bowl. Then will you not commend 308:195,013[A ]| the two wise men, one of whom would laugh while 308:195,014[A ]| the opposite sage would weep every time he set a 308:195,015[A ]| foot outside the door? To condemn by a cutting laugh 308:195,016[A ]| comes readily to us all; the wonder is how the other 308:195,017[A ]| sage's eyes were supplied with all that water. The 308:195,018[A ]| sides of Democritus shook with unceasing laughter, 308:195,019[A ]| although in the cities of his day there were no purple-bordered 308:195,020[A ]| or purple-striped robes, no fasces, no palanquins, 308:195,021[A ]| no tribunals. What if he had seen the Praetor 308:195,022[A ]| uplifted in his lofty car amid the dust of the Circus, 308:195,023[A ]| attired in the tunic of Jupiter, hitching an embroidered 308:195,024[A ]| Tyrian toga on to his shoulders, and carrying 308:195,025[A ]| A crown so big that no neck could bear the weight 308:195,026[A ]| of it? For a public slave is sweating under the burden; 308:195,027[A ]| and that the Consul may not fancy himself overmuch, 308:195,028[A ]| the slave rides in the same chariot with his 308:195,029[A ]| master. Add to all this the bird that is perched 308:195,030[A ]| on his ivory staff; on this side the horn-blowers, on 308:195,031[A ]| that the duteous clients preceding him in long array, 308:195,032[A ]| with white-robed Roman citizens, whose friendship 308:197,001[A ]| has been gained by the dinner-dole snugly buried in 308:197,002[A ]| their purses, marching at his bridle-rein. Even then 308:197,003[A ]| the philosopher found food for laughter at every 308:197,004[A ]| meeting with is kind: his wisdom shows us that men 308:197,005[A ]| of high distinction and destined to set great examples 308:197,006[A ]| may be born in a dullard air, and in the land of mutton-heads. 308:197,007[A ]| He laughed at the troubles, ay, and at the 308:197,008[A ]| pleasures, of the crowd, sometimes too at their tears, 308:197,009[A ]| while for himself he would bid frowning fortune go 308:197,010[A ]| hang, and point at her the finger of derision. 308:197,011[A ]| Thus it is that the things for which we pray, 308:197,012[A ]| and for which it is right and proper to load the 308:197,013[A ]| knees of the Gods with wax, are either profitless or 308:197,014[A ]| pernicious! Some men are hurled headlong by over-great 308:197,015[A ]| power and the envy to which it exposes them; 308:197,016[A ]| they are wrecked by the long and illustrious roll of 308:197,017[A ]| their honours: down come their statues, obedient to 308:197,018[A ]| the rope; the axe hews in pieces their chariot wheels 308:197,019[A ]| and the legs of the unoffending nags. And now 308:197,020[A ]| the flames are hissing, and amid the roar of furnace 308:197,021[A ]| and of bellows, the head of the mighty Sejanus, 308:197,022[A ]| the darling of the mob, is burning and crackling, 308:197,023[A ]| and from that face, which was but lately second 308:197,024[A ]| in the entire world, are being fashioned pipkins, 308:197,025[A ]| basins, frying-pans, and slop-pails! Up with the 308:197,026[A ]| laurel-wreaths over your doors! Lead forth a grand 308:197,027[A ]| chalked bull to the Capitol! Sejanus is being dragged 308:197,028[A ]| along by a hook, as a show and joy to all! "What 308:197,029[A ]| a lip the fellow had! What a face!" ~~ "Believe me, 308:197,030[A ]| I never liked the man!" ~~ "But on what charge was 308:199,001[A ]| he condemned? Who informed against him? What 308:199,002[A ]| was the evidence, who the witnesses, who made good 308:199,003[A ]| the case?" ~~ "Nothing of the sort; a great and 308:199,004[A ]| wordy letter came from Capri." ~~ "Good, I ask no 308:199,005[A ]| more." 308:199,006[A ]| And what does the mob of Remus say? It 308:199,007[A ]| follows fortune, as it always does, and rails against 308:199,008[A ]| the condemned. That same rabble, if Nortia had 308:199,009[A ]| smiled upon the Etruscans, if the aged Emperor had 308:199,010[A ]| been struck down unawares, would in that very hour 308:199,011[A ]| have conferred upon Sejanus the title of Augustus. 308:199,012[A ]| Now that no one buys our votes, the public has long 308:199,013[A ]| since cast off its cares; the people that once bestowed 308:199,014[A ]| commands, consulships, legions, and all else, 308:199,015[A ]| now meddles no more and longs eagerly for just two 308:199,016[A ]| things ~~ Bread and Games! 308:199,017[A ]| "I hear that many are to perish." "No doubt 308:199,018[A ]| of it; there is a big furnace ready." ~~ "My friend 308:199,019[A ]| Brutidius looked a trifle pale when I met him at 308:199,020[A ]| the Altar of Mars. I tremble lest the defeated 308:199,021[A ]| Ajaz should take vengeance for having been so ill-defended." 308:199,022[A ]| ~~ "Let us rush headlong and trample 308:199,023[A ]| on Caesar's enemy, while he lies upon the bank!" ~~ 308:199,024[A ]| "Ay, and let our slaves see that none bear witness 308:199,025[A ]| against us, and drag their trembling master into 308:199,026[A ]| court with a halter round his neck." 308:199,027[A ]| Such was the talk of the moment about Sejanus; 308:199,028[A ]| such were the mutterings of the crowd. And would 308:199,029[A ]| you like to be courted like Sejanus? To be as rich 308:201,001[A ]| as he was? To bestow on one man the ivory chairs 308:201,002[A ]| of office, appoint another to the command of armies, 308:201,003[A ]| and be counted guardian of a Prince seated on the 308:201,004[A ]| narrow ledge of Capri with his herd of Chaldaean 308:201,005[A ]| astrologers? You would like, no doubt, to have the 308:201,006[A ]| pikes, cohorts, and illustrious cavalry at your call, 308:201,007[A ]| and to possess a camp of your own? Why should you 308:201,008[A ]| not? Even those who don't want to kill anybody 308:201,009[A ]| would like to have the power to do it. But what grandeur, 308:201,010[A ]| what high fortune, are worth the having if the 308:201,011[A ]| joy is overbalanced by the calamities they bring with 308:201,012[A ]| them? Would you rather choose to wear the bordered 308:201,013[A ]| robe of the man now being dragged along the streets, 308:201,014[A ]| or to be a magnate at Fidenae or Gabii, adjudicating 308:201,015[A ]| upon weights, or smashing vessels of short measure, 308:201,016[A ]| as a thread-bare Aedile at deserted Ulubrae? You 308:201,017[A ]| admit, then, that Sejanus did not know what things 308:201,018[A ]| were to be desired; for in coveting excessive honours, 308:201,019[A ]| and seeking excessive wealth, he was but building 308:201,020[A ]| up the many stories of a lofty tower whence the fall 308:201,021[A ]| would be the greater, and the crash of headlong 308:201,022[A ]| ruin more terrific. What was it that overthrew the 308:201,023[A ]| Crassi, and the Pompeii, and him who brought the 308:201,024[A ]| conquered Quirites under his lash? What but lust 308:201,025[A ]| for the highest place pursued by every kind of 308:201,026[A ]| means? What but ambitious prayers granted by unkindly 308:201,027[A ]| Gods? Few indeed are the kings who go down 308:201,028[A ]| to Ceres' son-in-law save by sword and slaughter ~~ 308:201,029[A ]| few the tyrants that perish by a bloodless death. 308:201,030[A ]| Every schoolboy who worships Minerva with a 308:201,031[A ]| modest penny fee, attended by a slave to guard his 308:201,032[A ]| little satchel, prays through all his holidays for eloquence, 308:203,001[A ]| for the fame of a Cicero or a Demosthenes. 308:203,002[A ]| Yet it was eloquence that brought both orators to 308:203,003[A ]| their death; each perished by the copious and overflowing 308:203,004[A ]| torrent of his own genius. It was his genius 308:203,005[A ]| that cut off the hand, and severed the neck, of 308:203,006[A ]| Cicero; never yet did petty pleader stain the rostra 308:203,007[A ]| with his blood! 308:203,008[A ]| "O happy Fate for the Roman State 308:203,009[A ]| Was the date of my great Consulate!" 308:203,010[A ]| Had Cicero always spoken thus, he might have 308:203,011[A ]| laughed at the swords of Antony. I prefer verses 308:203,012[A ]| meet only for contempt to thee, O famous and 308:203,013[A ]| divine Philippic, that comest out second on the roll! 308:203,014[A ]| Terrible, too, was the death of him whom Athens 308:203,015[A ]| loved to hear sweeping along and holding in check 308:203,016[A ]| the crowded theatre. Unfriendly were the Gods, 308:203,017[A ]| and evil the star, under whom was born the man 308:203,018[A ]| whom his father, blear-eyed with the soot of glowing 308:203,019[A ]| ore, sent away from the coal, the pincers and 308:203,020[A ]| the sword-fashioning anvil of grimy Vulcan, to study 308:203,021[A ]| the art of the rhetorician. 308:203,022[A ]| The spoils of war and trophies fastened upon 308:203,023[A ]| stumps ~~ a breast-plate, a cheek-strap hanging from 308:203,024[A ]| a broken helmet, a yoke shorn of its pole, the flagstaff 308:203,025[A ]| of a captured galley, or a captive sorrowing 308:203,026[A ]| on a triumphal arch ~~ such things are deemed glories 308:203,027[A ]| too great for man; these are the prizes for which 308:203,028[A ]| every General strives, be he Greek, Roman, or barbarian; 308:203,029[A ]| it is for these that he endures toil and peril: 308:203,030[A ]| so much greater is the thirst for glory than for virtue! 308:203,031[A ]| For who would embrace virtue herself if you stripped 308:205,001[A ]| her of her rewards? Yet full oft has a land been 308:205,002[A ]| destroyed by the vainglory of a few, by the lust for 308:205,003[A ]| honour and for a title that shall cling to the stones 308:205,004[A ]| that guard their ashes ~~ stones which may be rent 308:205,005[A ]| asunder by the rude strength of the barren fig-tree, 308:205,006[A ]| seeing that even sepulchres have their doom assigned 308:205,007[A ]| to them! 308:205,008[A ]| Put Hannibal into the scales; how many pounds' 308:205,009[A ]| weight will you find in that greatest of commanders? 308:205,010[A ]| This is the man for whom Africa was all too small ~~ 308:205,011[A ]| a land beaten by the Moorish sea and stretching to 308:205,012[A ]| the steaming Nile, and then, again, to the tribes of 308:205,013[A ]| Aethiopia and a new race of elephants! Spain is 308:205,014[A ]| added to his dominions: he overleaps the Pyrenees; 308:205,015[A ]| Nature throws in his way Alps and snow: he splits 308:205,016[A ]| the rocks asunder, and breaks up the mountain-side 308:205,017[A ]| with vinegar! And now Italy is in his grasp, but 308:205,018[A ]| still on he presses: "Nought is accomplished," he 308:205,019[A ]| cried, "until my Punic host breaks down the city 308:205,020[A ]| gates, and I plant my standard in the midst of the 308:205,021[A ]| Subura!" O what a sight was that! What a picture 308:205,022[A ]| it would make, the one-eyed General riding on a 308:205,023[A ]| Gaetulian beast! What was then his end? Alas 308:205,024[A ]| for glory! A conquered man, he flees headlong into 308:205,025[A ]| exile, and there he sits, a mighty and marvellous 308:205,026[A ]| suppliant, in the King's antechamber, until it please 308:205,027[A ]| his Bithynian Majesty to awake! No sword, no 308:205,028[A ]| stone, no javelin shall end the life which once 308:205,029[A ]| wrought havoc throughout the world: no, but that 308:205,030[A ]| which shall avenge Cannae and all those seas of 308:205,031[A ]| blood ~~ a ring. On! On! thou madman, and race over 308:205,032[A ]| the wintry Alps, that thou mayest be the delight of 308:205,033[A ]| schoolboys and supply declaimers with a theme! 308:207,001[A ]| One globe is all too little for the youth of 308:207,002[A ]| Pella; he chafes uneasily within the narrow limits 308:207,003[A ]| of the world, as though he were cooped up within 308:207,004[A ]| the rocks of Gyara or the diminutive Seriphos; but 308:207,005[A ]| yet when once he shall have entered the city fortified 308:207,006[A ]| by the potter's art, a sarcophagus will suffice 308:207,007[A ]| him! Death alone proclaims how small are our poor 308:207,008[A ]| human bodies! We have heard how ships once 308:207,009[A ]| sailed through Mount Athos, and all the lying tales 308:207,010[A ]| of Grecian history; how the sea was paved by those 308:207,011[A ]| self-same ships, and gave solid support to chariot-wheels; 308:207,012[A ]| how deep rivers failed, and whole streams 308:207,013[A ]| were drunk dry when the Persian breakfasted, with 308:207,014[A ]| all the fables of which Sostratus sings with reeking 308:207,015[A ]| pinions. But in what plight did that king return 308:207,016[A ]| when he left Salamis? he that had been wont to inflict 308:207,017[A ]| barbaric stripes upon the winds Corus and Eurus ~~ 308:207,018[A ]| never treated thus in their Aeolian prison-house ~~ he 308:207,019[A ]| who had bound the Earth-shaker himself with chains, 308:207,020[A ]| deeming it clemency, forsooth, not to think him 308:207,021[A ]| worthy of a branding also: what god, indeed, would 308:207,022[A ]| be willing to serve such a master? ~~ in what plight did 308:207,023[A ]| he return? Why, in a single ship; on blood-stained 308:207,024[A ]| waves, the prow slowly forcing her way through 308:207,025[A ]| waters thick with corpses! Such was the penalty 308:207,026[A ]| exacted for that long-desired glory! 308:207,027[A ]| "Give me length of days, give me nay years, 308:207,028[A ]| O Jupiter!" Such is your one and only prayer, in 308:207,029[A ]| days of strength or of sickness; yet how great, how 308:207,030[A ]| unceasing, are the miseries of long old age! Look 308:207,031[A ]| first at the misshapen and ungainly face, so unlike its 308:207,032[A ]| former self; see the unsightly hide that serves for 308:209,001[A ]| skin; see the pendulous cheeks and the wrinkles like 308:209,002[A ]| those which a matron baboon carves upon her aged 308:209,003[A ]| jaws where Thabraca spreads he shaded glades. 308:209,004[A ]| The young men differ in various ways: this man is 308:209,005[A ]| handsomer than that, and he than another; one is 308:209,006[A ]| far stronger than another: but all old men look alike. 308:209,007[A ]| Their voices are as shaky as their limbs, their heads 308:209,008[A ]| without hair, their noses drivelling as in childhood. 308:209,009[A ]| Their bread, poor wretches, has to be munched by 308:209,010[A ]| toothless gums; so offensive do they become to their 308:209,011[A ]| wives, their children and themselves, that even the 308:209,012[A ]| legacy-hunter, Cossus, turns from them in disgust. 308:209,013[A ]| Their sluggish palate takes joy in wine or food no 308:209,014[A ]| longer, and all pleasures of the flesh have been long 308:209,015[A ]| forgotten. ~~ 308:209,016[A ]| And now consider the loss of another sense: 308:209,017[A ]| what joy has the old man in song, however famous 308:209,018[A ]| be the singer? what joy in the harping of Seleucus 308:209,019[A ]| himself, or of those who shine resplendent in gold-embroidered 308:209,020[A ]| overcoats? What matters it in what part 308:209,021[A ]| of the great theatre he sits when he can scarce hear 308:209,022[A ]| the horns and trumpets when they all blow together? 308:209,023[A ]| The slave who announces a visitor, or tells the time of 308:209,024[A ]| day, must needs shout if he is to be heard. 308:209,025[A ]| Besides all this, the little blood in his now chilly 308:209,026[A ]| frame is never warm except with fever; diseases of 308:209,027[A ]| every kind dance round him in a troop; if you ask 308:209,028[A ]| of me their names, I could more readily tell you the 308:209,029[A ]| number of Oppia's paramours, how many patients 308:209,030[A ]| Themison killed in one autumn, how many partners 308:211,001[A ]| were defrauded by Basilus, or wards by Hirrus, or 308:211,002[A ]| pupils are corrupted by Hamillus, how many lovers 308:211,003[A ]| tall Maura wears out in one day; I could sooner run 308:211,004[A ]| over the number of villas now belonging to the barber 308:211,005[A ]| under whose razor my stiff youthful beard used to 308:211,006[A ]| grate. One suffers in the shoulder, another in the 308:211,007[A ]| loins, a third in the hip; another has lost both eyes, 308:211,008[A ]| and envies those who have one; another takes food 308:211,009[A ]| into his pallid lips from someone elses's fingers, while 308:211,010[A ]| he whose jaw used to fly open at the sight of his 308:211,011[A ]| dinner, now only gapes like the young of a swallow 308:211,012[A ]| whose fasting mother flies to him with well-laden 308:211,013[A ]| beak. But worse than any loss in body is the failing 308:211,014[A ]| mind which forgets the names of slaves, and cannot 308:211,015[A ]| recognise the face of the old friend who dined with 308:211,016[A ]| him last night, nor those of the children whom he has 308:211,017[A ]| begotten and brought up. Yes, by a cruel will 308:211,018[A ]| he cuts off his own flesh and blood and leaves all his 308:211,019[A ]| estate to Phiale ~~ so potent was the breath of that 308:211,020[A ]| alluring mouth which had plied its trade for so many 308:211,021[A ]| years in her narrow archway. 308:211,022[A ]| And though the powers of his mind be strong 308:211,023[A ]| as ever, yet must he carry forth his sons to burial; 308:211,024[A ]| he must behold the funeral pyres of his beloved wife 308:211,025[A ]| and his brothers, and urns filled with the ashes of his 308:211,026[A ]| sisters. Such are the penalties of the long liver: he 308:211,027[A ]| sees calamity after calamity befall his house, he lives 308:211,028[A ]| in a world of sorrow, he grows old amid continual 308:211,029[A ]| lamentation and in the garb of woe. If we have any 308:211,030[A ]| belief in mighty Homer, the King of Pylos was 308:211,031[A ]| an example of long life second only to the crow; 308:211,032[A ]| happy forsooth in this that he had put off death for 308:211,033[A ]| so many generations, and had so often quaffed the 308:211,034[A ]| new-made wine, counting now his years upon his 308:213,001[A ]| right hand. But mark for a moment, I beg, how 308:213,002[A ]| he bewails the decrees of fate and his too-long thread 308:213,003[A ]| of life, when he beholds the beard of his brave 308:213,004[A ]| Antilochus in the flames, and asks of every friend 308:213,005[A ]| around him why he has lived so long, what crime 308:213,006[A ]| he has committed to deserve such length of days. 308:213,007[A ]| Thus did Peleus also mourn when he lost Achilles; 308:213,008[A ]| and so that other father who had to bewail the sea-going 308:213,009[A ]| Ithacan. Had Priam perished at some other 308:213,010[A ]| time, before Paris began to build his audacious ships, 308:213,011[A ]| he would have gone down to the shade of Assaracus 308:213,012[A ]| when Troy was still standing, and with regal pomp; 308:213,013[A ]| his body would have been borne on the shoulders of 308:213,014[A ]| Hector and his brother too amid the tears of Ilion's 308:213,015[A ]| daughters, and the rending of Polyxena's garments: 308:213,016[A ]| Cassandra would have led the cries of woe. 308:213,017[A ]| What boon did length of days bring to him? He 308:213,018[A ]| saw everything in ruins, and Asia perishing by fire 308:213,019[A ]| and the sword. Laying aside his tiara, and arming 308:213,020[A ]| himself, he fell, a trembling soldier, before the altar 308:213,021[A ]| of Almighty Jupiter, like an aged ox discarded by the 308:213,022[A ]| thankless plough who offers his poor lean neck to his 308:213,023[A ]| master's knife. Priam's death was at least that of 308:213,024[A ]| a human being; but his wife lived on to open her 308:213,025[A ]| mouth with the savage barking of a dog. 308:213,026[A ]| I hasten to our own countrymen, passing by 308:213,027[A ]| the King of Pontus and Croesus, who was bidden 308:213,028[A ]| by the wise and eloquent Solon to look to the last 308:213,029[A ]| lap of a long life. It was this that brought Marius 308:213,030[A ]| to exile and to prison, it took him to the swamps 308:213,031[A ]| of Minturnae and made him beg his bread in the 308:215,001[A ]| Carthage that was a conquered city. What could 308:215,002[A ]| Nature, what could Rome ever in all the world have 308:215,003[A ]| produced more glorious than him, if after parading his 308:215,004[A ]| troops of captives with all the pomp of war he had 308:215,005[A ]| breathed forth his soul in glory as he was about to step 308:215,006[A ]| down from his Teutonic car? Kindly Campania gave 308:215,007[A ]| to Pompey a fever, which he might have prayed for as 308:215,008[A ]| a boon; but the public prayers of all those cities 308:215,009[A ]| gained the day; so his own fortune and that of Rome 308:215,010[A ]| preserved him to be vanquished and to lose his head. 308:215,011[A ]| No such cruel thing befell Lentulus; Cethegus 308:215,012[A ]| escaped such punishment and fell whole; and Catiline's 308:215,013[A ]| corpse lay unviolated. 308:215,014[A ]| When the loving mother passes that temple of 308:215,015[A ]| Venus, she prays in whispered breath for her boys ~~ 308:215,016[A ]| more loudly, and entering into the most trifling 308:215,017[A ]| particulars, for her daughters ~~ that they may have 308:215,018[A ]| beauty. "And why should I not?" she asks; "did 308:215,019[A ]| not Latona rejoice in Diana's beauty?" Yes: but 308:215,020[A ]| Lucretia forbids us to pray for a face like her own; 308:215,021[A ]| and Verginia would gladly take Rutila's hump and 308:215,022[A ]| give her own to Rutila. A handsome son keeps his 308:215,023[A ]| parents in constant fear and misery; so rarely do 308:215,024[A ]| modesty and good looks go together. For though 308:215,025[A ]| his home be rough and simple, and have taught him 308:215,026[A ]| ways as pure as those of the ancient Sabines, and 308:215,027[A ]| though Nature besides with kindly hand have 308:215,028[A ]| lavishly gifted him with a pure mind and a cheek 308:215,029[A ]| mantling with modest blood ~~ and what better thing 308:215,030[A ]| can Nature, more careful, more potent than any 308:215,031[A ]| guardian, bestow upon a youth? ~~ he will not be 308:215,032[A ]| allowed to become a man. The lavish wickedness of 308:215,033[A ]| some seducer will tempt the boy's own parents: such 308:217,001[A ]| trust can be placed in money! No misshapen youth 308:217,002[A ]| was ever unsexed by cruel tyrant in his castle; never 308:217,003[A ]| did Nero have a bandy-legged or scrofulous favourite, 308:217,004[A ]| or one that was hump-backed or pot-bellied! 308:217,005[A ]| Go to now, you that revel in your son's beauty; 308:217,006[A ]| think of the deadly perils that lie before him. He 308:217,007[A ]| will become a promiscuous gallant, and have to fear 308:217,008[A ]| all the vengeance due to outraged husbands; no 308:217,009[A ]| luckier than Mars, he will not fail to fall into the net. 308:217,010[A ]| And sometimes the husband's wrath exacts greater 308:217,011[A ]| penalties than any law allows; one lover is slain 308:217,012[A ]| by the sword, another bleeds under the cutting lash; 308:217,013[A ]| some adulterers undergo the punishment of the mullet. 308:217,014[A ]| Your dear Endymion will become the gallant of 308:217,015[A ]| Some matron whom he loves; but before long, when 308:217,016[A ]| Servilia has taken him into her pay, he will serve one 308:217,017[A ]| also whom he loves not, and will strip her of all her 308:217,018[A ]| ornaments; for what can any woman, be she an Oppia 308:217,019[A ]| or a Catulla, deny to the man who serves her passion? 308:217,020[A ]| It is on her passion that a bad woman's whole nature 308:217,021[A ]| centres. "But how does beauty hurt the chaste?" 308:217,022[A ]| you ask. Well, what availed Hippolytus or Bellerophon 308:217,023[A ]| their firm resolve? The Cretan lady flared 308:217,024[A ]| up as though repelled with scorn; no less furious 308:217,025[A ]| was Sthenoboea. Both dames lashed themselves into 308:217,026[A ]| fury; for never is woman so savage as when her 308:217,027[A ]| hatred is goaded on by shame. 308:217,028[A ]| And now tell me what counsel you think should 308:217,029[A ]| be given to him whom Caesar's wife is minded to 308:217,030[A ]| wed. Best and fairest of a patrician house, the unhappy 308:219,001[A ]| youth is dragged to destruction by Messalina's 308:219,002[A ]| eyes. She has long been seated; her bridal veil is 308:219,003[A ]| ready; the Tyrian nuptial couch is being spread 308:219,004[A ]| openly in the gardens; a dowry of one million sesterces 308:219,005[A ]| will be given after the ancient fashion, the 308:219,006[A ]| soothsayer and witnesses will be there. And you 308:219,007[A ]| thought these things were secret, did you, known 308:219,008[A ]| only to a few? But the lady will not wed save with 308:219,009[A ]| all the due forms. Say what is your resolve: if you 308:219,010[A ]| say nay to her, you will have to perish before the 308:219,011[A ]| lighting of the lamps; if you perpetrate the crime, 308:219,012[A ]| you will have a brief respite until the affair, known 308:219,013[A ]| already to the city and the people, shall come to the 308:219,014[A ]| Prince's ears; he will be the last to know of the 308:219,015[A ]| dishonour of his house. Meanwhile, if you value a 308:219,016[A ]| few days of life so highly, obey your orders: whatever 308:219,017[A ]| you may deem the easier and better way, 308:219,018[A ]| that fair white neck of yours will have to be offered 308:219,019[A ]| to the sword. 308:219,020[A ]| Is there nothing then for which men shall 308:219,021[A ]| pray? If you ask my counsel, you will leave it to 308:219,022[A ]| the gods themselves to provide what is good for us, 308:219,023[A ]| and what will be serviceable for our state; for, in 308:219,024[A ]| place of what is pleasing, they will give us what 308:219,025[A ]| is best. Man is dearer to them than he is to 308:219,026[A ]| himself. Impelled by strong and blind desire in our 308:219,027[A ]| hearts, we ask for wife and offspring; but the gods 308:219,028[A ]| know of what sort the sons, of what sort the wife, will 308:219,029[A ]| be. Still, that you may have something to pray for, 308:219,030[A ]| and be able to offer to the shrines entrails and presaging 308:219,031[A ]| sausages from a white porker, you should 308:219,032[A ]| pray for a sound mind in a sound body; ask for a 308:219,033[A ]| stout heart that has no fear of death, and deems length 308:219,034[A ]| of days the least of Nature's gifts; that can endure 308:221,001[A ]| any kind of toil; that knows neither wrath nor desire, 308:221,002[A ]| and thinks that the woes and hard labours of Hercules 308:221,003[A ]| are better than the loves and the banquets and the 308:221,004[A ]| downy cushions of Sardanapalus. What I commend 308:221,005[A ]| to you, you can give to yourself; for it is assuredly 308:221,006[A ]| through virtue that lies the one and only path to a 308:221,007[A ]| life of peace. Thou wouldst have no divinity, O 308:221,008[A ]| Fortune, if we had but wisdom; it is we that make 308:221,009[A ]| a goddess of thee, and place thee in the skies.