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by Federico
Fellini
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"Satyricon," by Petronius wrote: |
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Trimalchio broke in upon this
entertaining gossip, for the course had been removed and the
guests, happy with wine, had started a general conversation: lying
back upon his couch, "You ought to make this wine go down
pleasantly," he said, "the fish must have something to swim in.
But I say, you didn't think I'd be satisfied with any such dinner
as you saw on the top of that tray? 'Is Ulysses no better known?'
Well, well, we shouldn't forget our culture, even at dinner. May
the bones of my patron rest in peace, he wanted me to become a man
among men. No one can show me anything new, and that little tray
has proved it. This heaven where the gods live, turns into as many
different signs, and sometimes into the Ram: therefore, whoever is
born under that sign will own many flocks and much wool, a hard
head, a shameless brow, and a sharp horn. A great many
school-teachers and rambunctious butters-in are born under that
sign." We applauded the wonderful penetration of our astrologer
and he ran on, "Then the whole heaven turns into a bull-calf and
the kickers and herdsmen and those who see to it that their own
bellies are full, come into the world. Teams of horses and oxen
are born under the Twins, and well-hung wenchers and those who
bedung both sides of the wall. I was born under the Crab and
therefore stand on many legs and own much property on land and
sea, for the crab is as much at home on one as he is in the other.
For that reason, I put nothing on that sign for fear of weighing
down my own destiny. Bulldozers and gluttons are born under the
Lion, and women and fugitives and chain-gangs are born under the
Virgin. Butchers and perfumers are born under the Balance, and all
who think that it is their business to straighten things out.
Poisoners and assassins are born under the Scorpion. Cross-eyed
people who look at the vegetables and sneak away with the bacon,
are born under the Archer. Horny-handed sons of toil are born
under Capricorn. Bartenders and pumpkin-heads are born under the
Water-Carrier. Caterers and rhetoricians are born under the
Fishes: and so the world turns round, just like a mill, and
something bad always comes to the top, and men are either being
born or else they're dying. As to the sod and the honeycomb in the
middle, for I never do anything without a reason, Mother Earth is
in the centre, round as an egg, and all that is good is found in
her, just like it is in a honeycomb." |
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"Satyricon," by Federico Fellini wrote: |
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[Trimalchio] You must try the
wine -- do it honor. Fish have to swim, but thanks to the gods, I
don't have to buy anything. All of these delicious things come
from my own property, whatever that is! They say somewhere between
Terracina and Taranto. I must cross over to Sicily because I want
to take a trip to Africa. Whether on foot, on horseback, or on the
sea, I never want to leave my own property, like "the
ever-wandering Ulysses." Do you like my quotation? The classics
fit in, even at the dinner table. This is the first beard I shaved
off. I was fully grown at 14. And these are my household gods,
protectors of our properties. Great Business, Great Satisfaction,
and Great Profit. May it please the gods. |
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