Satire IV Summary

Juvenal condemns Crispinus as a monster without a single redeeming virtue because he is a sacrilegious seducer who has intercourse with a virgin priestess, causing her to be buried alive for punishment. He also buys a red mullet which cost sixty gold pieces; he did not buy it in order to bribe a legacy from a childless man nor for his expensive mistress but for himself. The cheapskate, Apius, would never dream of such a thing of extravagance. The seashore swarms with narks and informers, and everything in the sea belongs to the crown. A fisherman brings a large fish to the king and completes the gift with inflated flattery. Unfortunately, the king's servants cannot find a plat large enough to hold the fish, so the king summons the Privy Council to advise him.

Pegasus arrives, followed by Crispus; there is...