[66]. We will here reproduce the curious passage of Jean Burchard, to whom we owe this story. It is taken from his Diarium, edited by Leibnitz, in 1696, p. 77:
“On the last Sunday in October the Duke of Valentinois had invited to supper in his chamber” (the chamber of Alexander VI), “in the Apostolical palace, fifty beautiful prostitutes, called courtesans, who, after supper danced with the valets and other persons present, first in their clothes, and then naked. After this the table, chandeliers were placed on the floor here and there, with lighted candles, and chestnuts were thrown about, which the courtesans collected moving on their hands and knees quite naked among the chandeliers, the Pope, the Duke and his sister Lucrezia being present and looking on. Finally presents were brought in: silk mantles, pairs of shoes, head-dresses, and other objects, to be given to those who had copulated with the greatest number of these courtesans: they were publicly enjoyed in the room there, the lookers-on acting as umpires, and awarding the prizes to the victors.”
[67]. Nola was a city in the territory of the Campanians. It is for this reason that the Campanian malady, mentioned by Horace (Sat. I., V., 62), has been connected with debauchery, but without sufficient reason.
[68]. Varro, is his Marcipor, according to Nonius: “He introduced afterwards into his gullet the virile verge: he offends the mouth of Volumnus.”
[69]. Martial, III., 75:
“You make it your work to corrupt pure lips for gold.”
And Again II., 28:
“Not even Vetustilla’s warm mouth give you more pleasure.”
[70]. “How accustomed he was to assault the heads of the most illustrious women, is plainly evidenced by the adventure of Mallonia, who, debauched by him, refused to submit to him again. He caused her to be accused by his informers, and kept asking her during her trial, whether she had anything to reproach herself with. Without waiting for the verdict, she ran home and transfixed herself with a poniard, upbraiding loudly the foul, hairy dotard for having wanted to abuse her mouth.” (Suetonius, Tiberius, ch. 45).
[71]. He was so glad to have won Transalpine Gaul that he could not help announcing some days after in the Senate, that he had reached the fulfillment of his wishes, in spite of the hatred and malice of his enemies, and that he defied them to their face. Somebody having said to him offensively that this could not so easily be done with a woman, he replied jokingly, that Semiramis had gained a kingdom, and the Amazons had occupied a great part of Asia (Suetonius, Caesar, ch. 22). Caesar employed the expression: “defying to the face” in the honest sense, while his adversary invested it with an obscene signification, in allusion to his infamous acts in Bithynia.