[22]
Honest Heaven ordained that all things which can
end our wretched complaints should be ready to hand. Common green herbs and the
berries that grow on rough brambles allay the gnawing hunger of the belly. A fool is
he who goes thirsty with a river close by, and shivers in the east wind while a
blazing fire roars on the warm hearth. The law sits armed by the threshold of a
wanton bride; the girl who lies on a lawful bed knows no fear. The wealth of nature
gives us enough for our fill: that which unbridled vanity teaches us to pursue has
no end to it.
Petronius Arbiter. Petronius. Michael Heseltine. London. William Heinemann. 1913.
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