With one exception, the essays which form this book have appeared in various Classical periodicals. They do not claim to present a com- prehensive account of Petronius and his work, but are intended to illustrate by discussion some aspects of the work and its author that seem, to me at least, to be of interest. "Did Tacitus quote Petronius" appeared in L' A ntiquiM Classique XXXVII, 2, 1968, 641-643; "On Tacitus' Biography of Petronius" and "Petronius, Priapus and Priapeum LXVIII" in Classica et Mediae- valia XXVI 1-2, 1965, 233-245, and XXVII 1-2, 1966, 225-242 respectively; "Some Comments on Petronius' Portrayal of Character" will appear soon in Eranos; "Eating People is Right" appeared in Hermes 97 Bd., 3, 1969,381-384; "Some Themes of Concealment and Pretence in Petronius' Satyricon" in Latomus Tome XXVIII, I, 1969, 99-119; and" Petronius, A Portrait of the Artist" in Symbolae Osloenses XLV, 1970, U8-I28. I wish to thank the editors of these periodicals for their permission to reproduce the articles. Professor J. P. Sullivan was kind enough to let me see the proofs of his book: The Satyricon of Petronius, A Literary Study (London, 1968) before it was published. I acknowledge this with thanks. I wish to acknowledge permission from The Bodley Head to quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night, Bodley Head Scott Fitzgerald, VoL II p. 9I. I wish to thank Mrs. A. Brodie for typing the material, and Mrs. L. Andrew for her help with the proofs.