Read Online The Roman by Mika Waltari - Free Book Online Page B

not to dare come and watch the riding practices as the other mothers did, for she was afraid of Valeria Messalina�s envy. Warned by the fate of her sister, she avoided appearing in public as much as possible. But Lucius Domitius did not need his mother�s protection. He won the admiration of the crowd unaided with his boyish conduct. He controlled his body well, moved beautifully and his eyes were bold. The bigger boys did not seem to envy him, but subjected themselves quite willingly to his command during the exercises. I leaned against the worn polished fence and watched the riding longingly. But my free existence soon came to an end. My lather found a dismal tutor of rhetoric who sarcastically corrected every single word I spoke and apparently deliberately made me read aloud from nothing but dull books on self-control, humility and manly deeds. My father seemed to have an infallible gift for appointing tutors who drove me out of my mind. While the house was being repaired, Barbus and I had a room on the upper floor which was impregnated with the smell of incense and had magical symbols on the walls. I did not take much notice of them, for I thought they had been there since the time of Manilius the astronomer. But I began to sleep badly because of them and have dreams, so that I woke to the sound of my own screams, or Barbus had to wake me up as I whimpered in a nightmare. My tutor also soon tired of the noise and the sound of hammers, and began to take me to the lecture rooms at the baths. I found his thin limbs and round yellow stomach repugnant, and even more so when, in the middle of his sarcasms, he began to stroke my arms and talk about how in Antioch I must have made acquaintance with Greek love. He wanted me to move into his room with him on the top story of a wretched house in Subura while our house was being repaired. One had to climb a ladder to get there and he would then be able to instruct me undisturbed and familiarize me with a life of wisdom. Barbus noticed his intentions and gave him a serious warning. When he did not heed it, Barbus finally gave him a beating. Ibis frightened him so much, he no longer even dared go to my father for his salary. On our part, we dared not tell my father the real reason why he had vanished from our sight. My father
    57
    presumed that I, by being so stubborn, had displeased an eminent scholar. We quarreled and I said, �Let me have a horse instead, so that I can get to know some other boys in Rome and have the company of others like myself and learn their customs.� �A horse was your downfall in Antioch,� remarked my father. �Emperor Claudius has proclaimed a sensible new edict in which an old or otherwise decrepit senator or knight in the procession can lead his horse by the bridle without mounting. One has to carry out, in name only, the military service the office demands.� �But at least give me enough money,� I said quickly, �so that I can make friends among actors, musicians and circus people. If I mix with them, I can get to know the effeminate Roman boys who avoid military service.� But my father did not like this either. �Aunt Laelia has already warned me and says that a youngster like you shouldn�t be without company of your own age for too long,� he admitted. �While seeing to my affairs, I have met a certain ship owner and grain dealer. Now, after the famine, Emperor Claudius is having a new harbor built and will pay compensation for grain ships which founder. On the advice of Marcius the fisherman, I have bought shares in these ships, for one no longer runs such a risk, and some people have already made a fortune by just re-equipping old ships. But the habits of these newcomers are such that I have no desire for you to mix with them.� I had a feeling that my father did not himself know what he wanted. �Have you come to Rome to get rich?� I asked him. My father was annoyed. �You know perfectly well,� he said violently, �that I