Petronius: Satires and the Book of Priapeia

Tacitus, Annals XVI 17: in the year of Christ 66 "In the same sweep, Annaeus Mela, Cerialis Anicius, Rufius Crispinus, and Petronius fell." Then in chapter 18: "A few things must be repeated above regarding C. Petronius. For he spent his days in sleep, and his nights in the duties and pleasures of life; and just as industry brings fame to others, sloth brought it to him. He was regarded not as a debauchee or a spendthrift, like most who squander their wealth, but as one of sophisticated luxury. His words and actions, the more unrestrained they were and the more they displayed a certain negligence of self, were received all the more favorably as a sign of simplicity. Nevertheless, as proconsul of Bithynia and soon after as consul, he showed himself to be capable and equal to his duties. Then, having returned to his vices or to the imitation of vices, he was admitted among the few intimate friends of Nero, the arbiter elegantiae judge of elegance, for whom nothing seemed pleasant and refined in its abundance unless Petronius had approved of it. Hence arose the jealousy of Tigellinus, as if against a rival and one more knowledgeable in the arts of pleasure. Therefore, he attacked the cruelty of the prince, to which all other passions yielded, accusing Petronius of friendship with Scaevinus, bribing a slave to provide evidence, removing the opportunity for defense, and having the greater part of his household cast into chains. By chance, Caesar had traveled to Campania in those days, and Petronius, having reached as far as Cumae, was held there. He did not endure the delays of fear or hope for long. Yet he did not rush to end his life, but having opened his veins as he pleased, he bound them again and opened them once more, talking to his friends, not about serious matters or things by which he might seek the glory of constancy. He listened to them speak, not of the immortality of the soul or the doctrines of philosophers, but of light poetry and easy verses. He rewarded some of his slaves with gifts and punished others with lashes. He dined and indulged in sleep, so that his death, though compelled, might resemble a natural one. He did not even flatter Nero, Tigellinus, or any other powerful person in his codicils, as most dying men do, but he wrote out the shameful deeds of the prince, naming his male and female favorites and the novelty of each of his debaucheries, and having sealed them, he sent them..."