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smiled also, for he was perfectly satisfied with his guest.

โ€œThat man can find the maiden,โ€ thought he. Meanwhile Vinicius wrinkled his joined brows, and said,โ€”โ€œWretch, in case thou deceive me for gain, I will give command to beat thee with clubs.โ€

โ€œI am a philosopher, lord, and a philosopher cannot be greedy of gain, especially of such as thou hast just offered magnanimously.โ€

โ€œOh, art thou a philosopher?โ€ inquired Petronius. โ€œEunice told me that thou art a physician and a soothsayer. Whence knowest thou Eunice?โ€

โ€œShe came to me for aid, for my fame struck her ears.โ€

โ€œWhat aid did she want?โ€

โ€œAid in love, lord. She wanted to be cured of unrequited love.โ€

โ€œDidst thou cure her?โ€

โ€œI did more, lord. I gave her an amulet which secures mutuality. In Paphos, on the island of Cyprus, is a temple, O lord, in which is preserved a zone of Venus. I gave her two threads from that zone, enclosed in an almond shell.โ€

โ€œAnd didst thou make her pay well for them?โ€

โ€œOne can never pay enough for mutuality, and I, who lack two fingers on my right hand, am collecting money to buy a slave copyist to write down my thoughts, and preserve my wisdom for mankind.โ€

โ€œOf what school art thou, divine sage?โ€

โ€œI am a Cynic, lord, because I wear a tattered mantle; I am a Stoic, because I bear poverty patiently; I am a Peripatetic, for, not owning a litter, I go on foot from one wine-shop to another, and on the way teach those who promise to pay for a pitcher of wine.โ€

โ€œAnd at the pitcher thou dost become a rhetor?โ€

โ€œHeraclitus declares that โ€˜all is fluid,โ€™ and canst thou deny, lord, that wine is fluid?โ€

โ€œAnd he declared that fire is a divinity; divinity, therefore, is blushing in thy nose.โ€

โ€œBut the divine Diogenes from Apollonia declared that air is the essence of things, and the warmer the air the more perfect the beings it makes, and from the warmest come the souls of sages. And since the autumns are cold, a genuine sage should warm his soul with wine; and wouldst thou hinder, O lord, a pitcher of even the stuff produced in Capua or Telesia from bearing heat to all the bones of a perishable human body?โ€

โ€œChilo Chilonides, where is thy birthplace?โ€

โ€œOn the Euxine Pontus. I come from Mesembria.โ€

โ€œOh, Chilo, thou art great!โ€

โ€œAnd unrecognized,โ€ said the sage, pensively.

But Vinicius was impatient again. In view of the hope which had gleamed before him, he wished Chilo to set out at once on his work; hence the whole conversation seemed to him simply a vain loss of time, and he was angry at Petronius.

โ€œWhen wilt thou begin the search?โ€ asked he, turning to the Greek.

โ€œI have begun it already,โ€ answered Chilo. โ€œAnd since I am here, and answering thy affable question, I am searching yet. Only have confidence, honored tribune, and know that if thou wert to lose the string of thy sandal I should find it, or him who picked it up on the street.โ€

โ€œHast thou been employed in similar services?โ€ asked Petronius.

The Greek raised his eyes. โ€œTo-day men esteem virtue and wisdom too low, for a philosopher not to be forced to seek other means of living.โ€

โ€œWhat are thy means?โ€

โ€œTo know everything, and to serve those with news who are in need of it.โ€

โ€œAnd who pay for it?โ€

โ€œAh, lord, I need to buy a copyist. Otherwise my wisdom will perish with me.โ€

โ€œIf thou hast not collected enough yet to buy a sound mantle, thy services cannot be very famous.โ€

โ€œModesty hinders me. But remember, lord, that to-day there are not such benefactors as were numerous formerly; and for whom it was as pleasant to cover service with gold as to swallow an oyster from Puteoli. No; my services are not small, but the gratitude of mankind is small. At times, when a valued slave escapes, who will find him, if not the only son of my father? When on the walls there are inscriptions against the divine Poppรฆa, who will indicate those who composed them? Who will discover at the book-stalls verses against Cรฆsar? Who will declare what is said in the houses of knights and senators? Who will carry letters which the writers will not intrust to slaves? Who will listen to news at the doors of barbers? For whom have wine-shops and bake-shops no secret? In whom do slaves trust? Who can see through every house, from the atrium to the garden? Who knows every street, every alley and hiding-place? Who knows what they say in the baths, in the Circus, in the markets, in the fencing-schools, in slave-dealersโ€™ sheds, and even in the arenas?โ€

โ€œBy the gods! enough, noble sage!โ€ cried Petronius; โ€œwe are drowning in thy services, thy virtue, thy wisdom, and thy eloquence. Enough! We wanted to know who thou art, and we know!โ€

But Vinicius was glad, for he thought that this man, like a hound, once put on the trail, would not stop till he had found out the hiding-place.

โ€œWell,โ€ said he, โ€œdost thou need indications?โ€

โ€œI need arms.โ€

โ€œOf what kind?โ€ asked Vinicius, with astonishment.

The Greek stretched out one hand; with the other he made the gesture of counting money.

โ€œSuch are the times, lord,โ€ said he, with a sigh.

โ€œThou wilt be the ass, then,โ€ said Petronius, โ€œto win the fortress with bags of gold?โ€

โ€œI am only a poor philosopher,โ€ answered Chilo, with humility; โ€œye have the gold.โ€

Vinicius tossed him a purse, which the Greek caught in the air, though two fingers were lacking on his right hand.

He raised his head then, and said: โ€œI know more than thou thinkest. I have not come empty-handed. I know that Aulus did not intercept the maiden, for I have spoken with his slaves. I know that she is not on the Palatine, for all are occupied with the infant Augusta; and perhaps I may even divine why ye prefer to search for the maiden with my help rather than that of the city guards and Cรฆsarโ€™s soldiers. I know that her escape was effected by a servant,โ€”a slave coming from the same country as she. He could not find assistance among slaves, for slaves all stand together, and would not act against thy slaves. Only a co-religionist would help him.โ€

โ€œDost hear, Vinicius?โ€ broke in Petronius. โ€œHave I not said the same, word for word, to thee?โ€

โ€œThat is an honor for me,โ€ said Chilo. โ€œThe maiden, lord,โ€

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