The Satyricon

“These are nothing but verbal gob-stoppers coated in honey, every word and every deed sprinkled with poppy-seed and sesame.”

At the start of the novel, Encolpius complains about how current trends in education are harmful to Roman youths. He compares the melodramatic examples used in the teaching of rhetoric to sweet and decadent treats. This analogy foreshadows the indulgent and excessive foods that will be consumed at Trimalchio’s banquet, and thematically connects several different criticisms being made about Roman society.

“So what is the moral? It is the parents who deserve censure for refusing to allow stern discipline to ensure the progress of their children.”

Agamemnon agrees with Encolpius’s complaints about education, but he cleverly turns the argument around to shift blame from teachers to parents. This quotation shows Agamemnon’s skill in rhetoric and argumentation and highlights one of the features that will become part of the social critiques presented in the text. Individuals never want to take responsibility for the social problems that they may be contributing to, and instead they shift the blame to others.

“In fact my impression was that the whole town had been downing aphrodisiacs.”

When Ascyltus and Encolpius meet at the brothel, Encolpius comments on how lascivious people in the town are. This foreshadows Encolpius’s hypocrisy, given his later actions. The comment reflects the theme of gluttony and excess, as well as artificiality, since Encolpius does not even believe that the townspeople come by their lust naturally.