A Surfeit of Lampreys

Hereupon the slave fell on his knees before Augustus and supplicated him, and Augustus at first tried to persuade Pollio not to commit so monstrous a deed. Then, when Pollio paid no heed to him the emperor said, “Bring all the rest of the drinking vessels which are of like sort or any others of value that you possess, in order that I may use them,” and when they were brought, he ordered them to be broken. When Pollio saw this, he was vexed, of course; but since he was no longer angry over the one goblet, considering the great number of the others that were ruined, and, on the other hand, could not punish his servant for what Augustus also had done, he held his peace, though much against his will. This is the sort of person Pollio was, who died at this time.

From ‘Roman History’ Book VI (of IX) by Cassius Dio (?155-?235), translated (1955) by Earnest Carey.
Précis
Augustus remonstrated with Vedius Pollio for inflicting such a cruel punishment on a servant for a mere broken goblet; but finding his host unmoved, he chose another approach. After calling for all Vedius’s prize tableware to be brought in, the Emperor began smashing it himself, piece by piece, and continued doing so until Vedius relented.
Questions for Critics

1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?

2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?

3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?

Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.

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