even a female slave. She must indeed live somewhere, therefore Vinicius
will hire her a dwelling, in which thou too mayest find shelter; she
must dress, hence Vinicius will pay for the dress; and must eat, hence
he will support her. Och! what a hard life! Where are the times in
which for an obolus a man could buy as much pork and beans as he could
hold in both hands, or a piece of goat's entrails as long as the arm of
a boy twelve years old, and filled with blood? But here is that villain
Sporus! In the wine-shop it will be easier to learn something."

Thus conversing, he entered the wine-shop and ordered a pitcher of
"dark" for himself. Seeing the sceptical look of the shopkeeper, he
took a gold coin from his purse, and, putting it on the table, said,--
"Sporus, I toiled to-day with Seneca from dawn till midday, and this is
what my friend gave me at parting."

The plump eyes of Sporus became plumper still at this sight, and the
wine was soon before Chilo. Moistening his fingers in it, he drew a
fish on the table, and said,--"Knowest what that means?"

"A fish? Well, a fish,--yes, that's a fish."

"Thou art dull; though thou dost add so much water to the wine that thou
mightst find a fish in it. This is a symbol which, in the language of
philosophers, means 'the smile of fortune.' If thou hadst divined it,
thou too mightst have made a fortune. Honor philosophy, I tell thee, or
I shall change my wineshop,--an act to which Petronius, my personal
friend, has been urging me this long time."