§11.1Atticus exinde si cenat, lautus habetur, §11.2si Rutilus, demens, quid enim maiore cachinno §11.3excipitur vulgi quam pauper Apicius? omnis
From that, if Atticus dines, he is considered splendid; if Rutilus, mad; for who is received with a greater guffaw of the populace than a poor Apicius?
§11.4convictus, thermae, stationes, omne theatrum §11.5de Rutilo; nam dum valida ac iuvenalia membra §11.6sufficiunt galeae dumque ardent sanguine, fertur §11.7non cogente quidem sed nec prohibente tribuno, §11.8scripturas leges et regia verba lanistae.
Every gathering, the baths, the meeting places, every theater is about Rutilus; for while his strong and youthful limbs are sufficient for a helmet, and while they burn with blood, he is said— not indeed with the tribune forcing him, but neither with him forbidding— to write down the rules, laws, and kingly commands of the gladiator-trainer.
§11.9multos porro vides, quos saepe elusus ad ipsum §11.10creditor introitum solet expectare macelli, §11.11et quibus in solo vivendi causa palato est.
Furthermore, you see many whom the creditor, often eluded, is accustomed to wait for at the very entrance of the meat market, and for whom the sole reason for living is in their palate.
§11.12egregius cenat meliusque miserrimus horum §11.13et cito casurus iam perlucente ruina, §11.14interea gustus elementa per omnia quaerunt §11.15numquam animo pretiis opstantibus; interius si §11.16adtendas, magis illa iuvant quae pluris emuntur.
The most wretched of these, and one soon about to fall with ruin already shining through, dines more splendidly and better, meanwhile they seek delicacies through all the elements, with prices never standing in the way of their desire; if you look closer, those things please more which are bought for more.
§11.17ergo haut difficile est perituram arcessere summam §11.18lancibus oppositis vel matris imagine fracta, §11.19et quadringentis nummis condire gulosum §11.20fictile; sic veniunt ad miscellanea ludi.
Therefore it is not at all difficult to procure a sum destined to perish by pawning their silver dishes or breaking their mother's image, and to season a gluttonous clay dish with four hundred sesterces; thus they come to the mixed mess of the gladiator school.
§11.21refert ergo quis haec eadem paret; in Rutilo nam §11.22luxuria est, in Ventidio laudabile nomen §11.23sumit, et a censu famam trahit.
It matters therefore who prepares these same things; for in Rutilus it is luxury, but in Ventidius it assumes a laudable name and draws its reputation from his fortune.
Illum ego iure §11.24despiciam, qui scit quanto sublimior Atlans §11.25omnibus in Libya sit montibus, hic tamen idem §11.26ignoret quantum ferrata distet ab arca §11.27sacculus.
I would rightly despise that man who knows how much loftier Atlas is than all the mountains in Libya, yet this same man is ignorant of how much a little purse differs from an iron-bound chest.
e caelo descendit γνῶθι σεαυτόν §11.28figendum et memori tractandum pectore, sive §11.29coniugium quaeras vel sacri in parte senatus §11.30esse velis; neque enim loricam poscit Achillis §11.31Thersites, in qua se traducebat Vlixes; §11.32ancipitem seu tu magno discrimine causam §11.33protegere adfectas, te consule, dic tibi qui sis, §11.34orator vehemens an Curtius et Matho buccae.
From heaven descended 'know thyself,' to be fixed and pondered in a mindful breast, whether you seek marriage or wish to be in a part of the sacred senate; for Thersites does not demand the breastplate of Achilles, in which Ulysses displayed himself; or if you aspire to defend a doubtful case in a great crisis, consult yourself, tell yourself who you are, whether a vehement orator, or a Curtius and Matho, mere cheeks.
§11.35noscenda est mensura sui spectandaque rebus §11.36in summis minimisque, etiam cum piscis emetur, §11.37ne mullum cupias, cum sit tibi gobio tantum §11.38in loculis.
One's own measure must be known and regarded in the greatest and the least matters, even when a fish is being bought, lest you desire a mullet when you have only a gudgeon in your pockets.
quis enim te deficiente crumina §11.39et crescente gula manet exitus, aere paterno §11.40ac rebus mersis in ventrem faenoris atque §11.41argenti gravis et pecorum agrorumque capacem?
For what end awaits you as your purse fails and your appetite grows, with your paternal money and estate drowned in a belly capable of containing usury, heavy silver, herds, and lands?
From such masters, after everything, the ring departs last of all, and Pollio begs with a bare finger.
To luxury, premature ashes and a bitter funeral are not fearful, but old age is more to be feared than death.
§11.46Hi plerumque gradus: conducta pecunia Romae §11.47et coram dominis consumitur; inde ubi paulum §11.48nescio quid superest et pallet faenoris auctor, §11.49qui vertere solum, Baias et ad ostrea currunt, §11.50cedere namque foro iam non est deterius quam §11.51Esquilias a ferventi migrare Subura; §11.52ille dolor solus patriam fugientibus, illa §11.53maestitia est, caruisse anno circensibus uno: §11.54sanguinis in facie non haeret gutta, morantur §11.55pauci ridiculum et fugientem ex urbe pudorem.
These are generally the steps: money is borrowed in Rome and consumed before the eyes of the owners; then when a little something, I know not what, remains and the usurer grows pale, those who have fled the country run to Baiae and to the oysters, for to withdraw from the forum now is no worse than to migrate to the Esquiline from the boiling Subura; that is the sole pain for those fleeing their country, that is the sadness: to have lacked the circus games for a single year; not a drop of blood remains in their face, and few try to detain shame, now ridiculous and fleeing the city.
§11.56Experiere hodie numquid pulcherrima dictu, §11.57Persice, non praestem vitae tibi moribus et re, §11.58si laudem siliquas occultus ganeo, pultes §11.59coram aliis dictem puero, sed in aure placentas, §11.60nam cum sis conviva mihi promissus, habebis §11.61Euandrum, venies Tirynthius aut minor illo §11.62hospes, et ipse tamen contingens sanguine caelum, §11.63alter aquis, alter flammis ad sidera missus,
Today you shall experience, Persicus, whether I do not practice in my life, in my morals, and in reality, things that are beautiful to say; if I, a secret glutton, praise pulse, and order porridge from my slave before others, but whisper cakes in his ear, for since you are my promised guest, you shall have an Evander; you shall come as the Tirynthian or a guest humbler than he, yet himself also touching heaven by blood, the one sent to the stars by water, the other by flames.
§11.64fercula nunc audi nullis ornata macellis.
Now hear the dishes adorned by no meat markets.
§11.65de Tiburtino veniet pinguissimus agro §11.66haedulus et toto grege mollior, inscius herbae §11.67necdum ausus virgas humilis mordere salicti, §11.68qui plus lactis habet quam sanguinis; et montani
From my Tiburtine estate will come a very fat young kid, softer than the whole flock, ignorant of grass, nor yet having dared to bite the twigs of the low willow-shrub, which has more milk in it than blood; and mountain...