IN Antium, meanwhile, Petronius gained new victories almost daily over courtiers
vying with him for the favor of Caesar. The influence of Tigellinus had fallen
completely. In Rome, when there was occasion to set aside men who seemed
dangerous, to plunder their property or to settle political cases, to give spectacles
astounding by their luxury and bad taste, or finally to satisty the monstrous whims
ot Caesar, Tigellinus, as adroit, as he was ready for anything, became
indispensable. But in Antium, among palaces reflected in the azure of the sea,
Caesar led a Hellenic existence. From morning till evening Nero and his
attendants read verses, discoursed on their structure and finish, were delighted
with happy turns of expression, were occupied with music, the theatre, -- in a
word, exclusively with that which Grecian genius had invented, and with which it
had beautified life. Under these conditions Petronius, incomparably more rehaed
than Tigellinus and the other courtiers, -- witty, eloquent, full of subtile feelings
and tastes, obtained pre-eminence of necessity. Caesar sought his society, took
his opinion, asked for advice when he composed, and showed a more lively
friendship than at any other time whatever. It seemed to courtiers that his
influence had won a supreme triumph at last, that friendship between him and
Caesar had entered on a period of certainty which would last for years. Even
those who had shown dislike previously to the exquisite Epicurean, began now to
crowd around him and vie for his favor. More than one was even sincerely glad in
his soul that preponderance had come to a man who knew really what to think of
a given person, who received with a sceptical smile the flattery of his enemies of
yesterday, but who, either through indolence or culture, was not vengeful, and
did not use his power to the detriment or destruction of others. There were
moments when he might have destroyed even Tigellinus, but he preferred to
ridicule him, and expose his vulgarity and want of refinement. In Rome the
Senate drew breath, for no death sentence had been issued for a month and a
half. It is true that in Antium and the city people told wonders of the refinement
which the profligacy of Caesar and his favorite had reached, but every one
preferred a refined Caesar to one brutalized in the hands of Tigellinus. Tigellinus
himself lost his head, and hesitated whether or not to yield as conquered, for
Caesar had said repeatedly that in all Rome and in his court there were only two
spirits capable of understanding each other, two real Hellenes, -- he and
Petronius.
The amazing dexterity of Petronius confinned people in the conviction that his
influence would outlive every other. They dId not see how Caesar could dispense
with him, -- with whom could he converse touching poetry, music, and
comparative excellence; in whose eyes could he look to learn whether his
creation was indeed perfect? Petronius, with his habitual indifference, seemed to
attach no importance to his position. As usual, he was remiss, slothful, sceptical,
and witty. He produced on people frequently the impression of a man who made
light of them, of himself, of Caesar, of the whole world. At moments he ventured
to criticise Caesar to his face, and when others judged that he was going too far,
