Puteoli Summary

Encolpius is the narrator of the Satyricon and also a main character. He complains about the professors and all their empty rhetoric. The students become worthless people. Encolpius compares these students with those of Sophocles or Euripdes, who developed proper language skills in their students. Encolpius stresses that without adherence to the rules, the language faces death. But teachers are in a difficult spot. They have to be engaging and lure their students into the classroom. As Cicero said, "They will be the only ones in the schools" unless they (the teachers) win the approval of their students. So the professors make compromises. Encolpius also places blame on the parents of the students. They want their sons to be great orators so they rush them into their studies before they are ready. They become inferior adults who never recover from the bad behaviors...