In that house where all--beginning with the masters and ending with the poultry in the hen-house--are virtuous, that maiden grew up as virtuous, alas! as Graecina herself, and so beautiful that even Poppaea, if near her, would seem like an autumn fig near an apple of the Hesperides." "And what ?" "And I repeat to thee that from the moment when I saw how the sun-rays at that fountain passed through her body, I fell in love to distraction." "She is as transparent as a lamprey eel, then, or a youthful sardine ?" "Jest not, Petronius; but if the freedom with which I speak of my desire misleads thee, know this,--that bright garments frequently cover deep wounds.

I must tell thee, too, that, while returning from Asia, I slept one night in the temple of Mopsus to have a prophetic dream.

Well, Mopsus appeared in a dream to me, and declared that, through love, a great change in my life would take place." "Pliny declares, as I hear, that he does not believe in the gods, but he believes in dreams; and perhaps he is right.

My jests do not prevent me from thinking at times that in truth there is only one deity, eternal, creative, all-powerful, Venus Genetrix.

She brings souls together; she unites bodies and things.