Rome, the Greek World, and the East, Vol. 2 - Government, Society, and Culture in the Roman Empire

Epictetus and the Imperial Court 109

willhavebeenabouttwenty,justtheageonewouldexpect,whenhesatat
thefeetofEpictetus.
ThisthenisthesettinginwhichEpictetuswasspeaking,Nicopolisabout
the year 108. Even Stoics are human, and one cannot but note how often
Epictetus’mindturnedtoRomeandRomanlife,whichhehadleftsomefif-
teenyearsbefore.Hementionsdetailsoftopography,theAquaMarcia^31 or
thealtarofFebrisonthePalatine,^32 scenesfromthecircusorthetheatre—
aswhenamancoveredhisheadwhilethehorsehebackedwasrunningand
had to be revived with sponges when it won^33 —or from the Saturnalia.^34
Thenhereferstothefreeingofaslavebeforethepraetor(andpaymentof
theuicesima libertatis,thatis,the5percenttaxpaidonsettingaslavefree),^35
tomeetingaconsulinthestreet^36 ortoaman’srejoicingonbeingelected
tribune:

‘‘Hehasbeenhonouredwithatribunate,’’someonesays.Allwhomeet

himoffertheircongratulations;onemankisseshimontheeyes,an-

other on the neck, his slaves kiss his hands. He goes home; he finds

lampsbeinglighted.Heclimbsupthecapitolandofferssacrifice.^37

Thesceneheportraysofahostboringhisguestswithaccountsofhisheroic
deedsoncampaigninMoesia^38 mightreflectlifeinRome—butequallywell
anywhereintheEmpire.ButhealsomentionsexplicitlyhowRomanladies
ofeasyvirtuekeptcopiesofPlato’sRepublicbecauseheadvocatedthesharing
ofwives,^39 orrelatesanincidentwhenhewasincompanywiththeRoman
philosopher Italicus.^40 He also describes howa bold philosophercould ap-
proachamanofconsularrankandquestionhimaboutthecareof hissoul
untilthemanwouldbeprovokedtostrikehim—‘‘thiswasthepursuitItoo
wasveryfondofonceuponatime,beforeIfelltomypresentstate.’’^41
Atonepoint,talkingaboutadvertisingforpatientsbydoctorsinRome,he

31. 2,16,30–31.


32. 1,19,6.SeeK.Latte,Römische Religionsgeschichte(1960),52.


33. 1,11,27.Seealso1,29,37—gladiatorsownedbyCaesarbeggingtofight.


34. 1,25,8;29,31;4,1,58.
    35.2,1,26–27.Onthevicesima libertatis,seealso4,1,33.
    36.3,3,15and17.


35. 1,19,24.


36. 1,25,15.


37. Fr.15Schenkl.


38. 3, 8, 7. It is not quite impossible (but not particularly probable) that this was the
    poet,SiliusItalicus.SeeSchanz-HosiusII^4 (1935),526–27.


39. 2,12,17–25.