have a surfeit of blood,' said the aedile's mother.
'It is my secutor who should fear for the mob, for if they are not satisfied, it is his life the mob will demand. The mob loves you, Lucius Aurelius Eugenianus,' said the lanista.
'Assuming my blade at his chest and his back on the sand,' I said.
'You are Lucius Aurelius Eugenianus,' said the mother with real amazement in her voice. 'This is a sapling.' 'I am past thirty years,' I said.
'You have my oath on my life that he will provide a performance and a performance only, ’ said the lanista.
'I give you my Roman word,' said the aedile, looking to his mother. 'And I give it before this lanista and this secutor that should in the heat of the arena any damage come to your person, they shall not live to reap rewards from such a victory. Thus, my word is given.'
'There will be elephants ?' I said.
'A score in combat. And lions,' said the aedile.
'Everyone has lions,' I said. 'Romans have seen so many lions they are as common as street dogs.'
'Lions with women,' said the mother, grinning.
'It won't work,' I said.
"That is our problem,' said the mother.
'It becomes my problem when a mob wants more blood. And while I believe your Roman word, and the lanista believes your Roman word, it is another thing for this secutor to give his life freely for that Roman word.'
'It is not his life to give or to save,' said the lanista, who should have known better. But looking at the sand, I knew I did not need his assurance, and I was right.
'I guess there have been many pairs here this day,' I said.
'No,' said the lanista. 'The secutor has been alone.'
It was all but done. I did not trust my life to a Roman word, of course, but rather to what I saw: deep heel marks in the sand. The lanista need not have added that the secutor had worked only against wooden and fabric dummies. I knew that, just as surely as I knew the secutor had one set of strokes to show me and another he killed with.
Many lanistae, seeking to save expense, work their gladiators against dummies too much. The gladiators develop unnecessarily heavy thrusts this way because it is more satisfying to drive a spear or sword deep into lifeless objects.
It also makes them look more powerful to untrained eyes. But when they do this, they must plant their driving foot deeply into the sand. And while practising, this is barely noticed. In the arena, it begs death because they announce their blows as though praetorian horns led the way. First the foot, and then the thrust. It is only a small moment, but to a seasoned gladiator it is a gift of the man's life. A far greater guarantee than a Roman word. The secutor was all right for me.
I looked to Demosthenes lest he have any final word on the value of the property. He had stayed quiet behind me all this time.
'Plus three million sesterces,' he added. 'We must buy ships to import carpenters, tanners, ironsmiths, potters, and armourers. There are none here. I don't know how these latifundia managed without them, but we need them. They will cost.'
Caught in their own chicanery, the patricians stammered their way through denials, through accusations, through everything, saying that the skilled slaves they had sold had brought in only a fifth at most of what Demosthenes had estimated they would cost.
I did not wish to go against Demosthenes, so I feigned concern. Domitian had requested the family to provide me, so they too had a goad behind them for this match. Also, if the games were successful, and with me they should have been, the aedile would become a Roman praetor, who while governing a land would make back three times what he invested in the games. A praetor could tax the eyes out of a beetle.
The family agreed to make a payment of two million after they had obtained the praetorship. Demosthenes advised me loudly against it.
'Dominus,' he said, 'we will need the skilled slaves immediately.'
The mother sighed. 'It is a shame to Rome when a gladiator can extort a
'It is my secutor who should fear for the mob, for if they are not satisfied, it is his life the mob will demand. The mob loves you, Lucius Aurelius Eugenianus,' said the lanista.
'Assuming my blade at his chest and his back on the sand,' I said.
'You are Lucius Aurelius Eugenianus,' said the mother with real amazement in her voice. 'This is a sapling.' 'I am past thirty years,' I said.
'You have my oath on my life that he will provide a performance and a performance only, ’ said the lanista.
'I give you my Roman word,' said the aedile, looking to his mother. 'And I give it before this lanista and this secutor that should in the heat of the arena any damage come to your person, they shall not live to reap rewards from such a victory. Thus, my word is given.'
'There will be elephants ?' I said.
'A score in combat. And lions,' said the aedile.
'Everyone has lions,' I said. 'Romans have seen so many lions they are as common as street dogs.'
'Lions with women,' said the mother, grinning.
'It won't work,' I said.
"That is our problem,' said the mother.
'It becomes my problem when a mob wants more blood. And while I believe your Roman word, and the lanista believes your Roman word, it is another thing for this secutor to give his life freely for that Roman word.'
'It is not his life to give or to save,' said the lanista, who should have known better. But looking at the sand, I knew I did not need his assurance, and I was right.
'I guess there have been many pairs here this day,' I said.
'No,' said the lanista. 'The secutor has been alone.'
It was all but done. I did not trust my life to a Roman word, of course, but rather to what I saw: deep heel marks in the sand. The lanista need not have added that the secutor had worked only against wooden and fabric dummies. I knew that, just as surely as I knew the secutor had one set of strokes to show me and another he killed with.
Many lanistae, seeking to save expense, work their gladiators against dummies too much. The gladiators develop unnecessarily heavy thrusts this way because it is more satisfying to drive a spear or sword deep into lifeless objects.
It also makes them look more powerful to untrained eyes. But when they do this, they must plant their driving foot deeply into the sand. And while practising, this is barely noticed. In the arena, it begs death because they announce their blows as though praetorian horns led the way. First the foot, and then the thrust. It is only a small moment, but to a seasoned gladiator it is a gift of the man's life. A far greater guarantee than a Roman word. The secutor was all right for me.
I looked to Demosthenes lest he have any final word on the value of the property. He had stayed quiet behind me all this time.
'Plus three million sesterces,' he added. 'We must buy ships to import carpenters, tanners, ironsmiths, potters, and armourers. There are none here. I don't know how these latifundia managed without them, but we need them. They will cost.'
Caught in their own chicanery, the patricians stammered their way through denials, through accusations, through everything, saying that the skilled slaves they had sold had brought in only a fifth at most of what Demosthenes had estimated they would cost.
I did not wish to go against Demosthenes, so I feigned concern. Domitian had requested the family to provide me, so they too had a goad behind them for this match. Also, if the games were successful, and with me they should have been, the aedile would become a Roman praetor, who while governing a land would make back three times what he invested in the games. A praetor could tax the eyes out of a beetle.
The family agreed to make a payment of two million after they had obtained the praetorship. Demosthenes advised me loudly against it.
'Dominus,' he said, 'we will need the skilled slaves immediately.'
The mother sighed. 'It is a shame to Rome when a gladiator can extort a
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