Page:The Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter (1922), vol. 2.djvu/220

 Scene, Koritto’s sitting room.


 * (Metro has just come to call) Take a seat, Metro; (to the slave girl) Get up and get the lady a chair; I have to tell you to do everything; you’re such a fool you never do a thing of your own accord. You’re only a stone in the house, you’re not a bit like a slave except when you count up your daily allowance of bread: you count the crumbs when you do that, though, and whenever the tiniest bit happens to fall upon the floor, the very walls get tired of listening to your grumbling and boiling over with temper, as you do all day long—now, when we want to use that chair you’ve found time to dust it off and rub up the polish—you may thank the lady that I don’t give you a taste of my hand.


 * You have as hard a time as I do, Koritto, dear—day and night these low servants make me gnash my teeth and bark like a dog, just like they do you.—But I came to see you about—(to the slave girl) get out of here, get out of my sight, you trouble maker, you’re all ears and tongue and nothing else, all you do is to sit around—Koritto dear, now please don’t tell me a fib, who stitched that red dildo of yours?

Rh
 * Metro, where did you see that?