with death."

"That is my arena," answered Petronius, carelessly; "and the feeling
that I am the best gladiator in it amuses me. See how it ended. My
influence has increased this evening. He will send me his verses in a
cylinder which--dost wish to lay a wager?--will be immensely rich and in
immensely bad taste. I shall command my physician to keep physic in
it. I did this for another reason,--because Tigellinus, seeing how such
things succeed, will wish surely to imitate me, and I imagine what will
happen. The moment he starts a witticism, it will be as if a bear of the
Pyrenees were rope-walking. I shall laugh like Democritus. If I wished
I could destroy Tigellinus perhaps, and become pretorian prefect in his
place, and have Ahenobarbus himself in my hands. But I am indolent; I
prefer my present life and even Caesar's verses to trouble."

"What dexterity to be able to turn even blame into flattery! But are
those verses really so bad? I am no judge in those matters."

"The verses are not worse than others. Lucan has more talent in one
finger, but in Bronzebeard too there is something. He has, above all, an
immense love for poetry and music. In two days we are to be with him to
hear the music of his hymn to Aphrodite, which he will finish to-day
or to-morrow. We shall be in a small circle,--only I, thou, Tullius
Senecio, and young Nerva. But as to what I said touching Nero's verses,
that I use them after feasting as Vitelius does flamingo feathers, is
not true. At times they are eloquent. Hecuba's words are touching.
She complains of the pangs of birth, and Nero was able to find happy
expressions,--for this reason, perhaps, that he gives birth to every
verse in torment. At times I am sorry for him. By Pollux, what a
marvellous mixture! The fifth stave was lacking in Caligula, but still
he never did such strange things."

"Who can foresee to what the madness of Ahenobarbus will go?" asked
Vinicius.

"No man whatever. Such things may happen yet that the hair will stand
on men's heads for whole centuries at thought of them. But it is that
precisely which interests me; and though I am bored more than once, like
Jupiter Ammon in the desert, I believe that under another Caesar I should
be bored a hundred times more. Paul, thy little Jew, is eloquent,--that
I accord to him; and if people like him proclaim that religion, our gods
must defend themselves seriously, lest in time they be led away captive.
It is true that if C