The merit of our modern realists lies in the fact that they have studied the things which surround us and our relations to them, and thus have they been able to make their creations conform to human experience.

The ancients gave little attention to this; the man, with them, was the important thing; the environment the unimportant.

There are, of course, exceptions; the interview between Ulysses and Nausiskaa is probably the most striking.

From the standpoint of environment, Petronius, in the greater portion of his work, is an ancient; but one exception there is, and it is as brilliant as it is important.

The entire episode, in which Trimalchio figures, offers an incredible abundance of details.