Page:The Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter (1922), vol. 1.djvu/200

there’s the bee: in my opinion, they’re divine insects because they puke honey, though there are folks that claim that they bring it from Jupiter, and that’s the reason they sting, too, for wherever you find a sweet, you’ll find a bitter too.” He was just putting the philosophers out of business when lottery tickets were passed around in a cup. A slave boy assigned to that duty read aloud the names of the souvenirs: “Silver s—ham,” a ham was brought in with some silver vinegar cruets on top of it; “cervical’’—something soft for the neck—a piece of the cervix—neck—of a sheep was brought in; “serisapia”—after wit—“and contumelia”—insult—we were given must wafers and an apple—melon—and a phallus—contus—; “porri”—leeks—“and persica,” he picked up a whip and a knife; “passeres”—sparrows—“and a fly-trap,” the answer was raisins—uva passa—and Attic honey; ‘‘cenatoria”—a dinner toga—“and forensia”—business dress—he handed out a piece of meat—suggestive