The Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter [Hardcover]

Petronius Arbiter (Author), Oscar Wilde (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1992

Short excerpt: I received these wounds while fighting for the public liberty; I lost this eye in your defense: give me a guide who will lead me to my children, my limbs are hamstrung and will not hold me up.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 258 pages
• Publisher: Dorset Press (June 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0880299932
• ISBN-13: 978-0880299930
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,683,214 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Burnaby's 1694 Translation, November 18, 2010

By 

Jeffrey Van Wagoner (Gilbert, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter (Kindle Edition)

This is the original English translation done by William Burnaby not long after the original Latin manuscripts were found in 1663. The translator was only 21 at the time. It is written in the style and spelling of the time, so is not totally accessible to a modern audience. Since this is a somewhat racy work, I also found that the sections that were considered pornographic were left in the original Latin. As you read through this work, you will come upon entire sentences, paragraphs, or even pages that are in Latin. Since I don't read Latin, I wasn't able to understand these sections; but since the pornographic parts don't interest me, I wasn't too offended. This is an interesting method of 17th century censorship. If you want the whole thing in English, you will need to read translations from the 1960's or newer.

There were many racy parts left in, but the translator did his best to make them acceptable. Given the strong homosexual theme, it was still considered very controversial.

It should also be noted that the original Latin is very fragmentary, and this as well as other translations have been filled with interpolations by others. I understand that the original manuscript left to itself would be too incomplete to make for a coherent story.

To me this work is interesting from a historical perspective; it shows that bawdy humor has always existed and probably always will. The supposed author, Petronius, lived during the time of Nero and was the ultimate party animal. He was an intimate friend of Nero. This book reflects that lifestyle and shows the decadence of the age.

This is not a book I am interested in reading again, even in a more modern translation, but now I can say that I have read it. There are no morals taught or great insights into the human soul; it is just a raunchy tale. If you do want to read this book, I would recommend a more modern translation.