Due concezioni del successo (Petr. <em>Sat.</em> 15.9, 18.6)

Abstract

The two Phalaecean hendecasyllables at Petr. 15.9, probably to be assigned to Encolpius as narrator, are the only unquestionably incomplete poem in what remains of the Satyrica. They state, but do not develop, a widespread topos: the scant value of anything which is acquired with no strife, patience, and toil.
The two elegiac couplets at 18.6 are uttered by Quartilla. She takes pride in her unhindered freedom (jocularly opposed to the self-proclaimed liberty of the Stoic sage). She wishes neither to suffer a slight to her dignity nor to give up her legal right. Only when full redress has been obtained is she willing to abstain from dealing the finishing blow to anyone who has offended her.