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| | The Sayricon of Petronius: Introduction |
 | | Teuffel in his masterly "History of Roman Literature" is brief, but to the point, in what he says of the Satyricon: "To Nero's time belongs also the character-novel of Petronius Arbiter, no doubt the same Petronius whom Nero (A.D. 66) compelled to kill himself. |
 | | Originally a large work in at least 20 books, with accounts of various adventures supposed to have taken place during a journey, it now consists of a heap of fragments, the most considerable of which is the Cena Trimalchionis, being the description of a feast given by a rich and uneducated upstart. |
 | | Though steeped in obscenity, this novel is not only highly important for the history of manners and language, especially the plebeian speech, but it is also a work of art in its way, full of spirit, fine insight into human nature, wit of a high order and genial humor. |
| www.sacred-texts.com /cla/petro/satyr/sat01.htm (4607 words) |
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