The Satyricon

Encolpius and Ascyltus go to the market together; there is no mention of how they resolved the violent quarrel at the end of the last chapter. They mention having brought along a stolen cloak in hopes of selling it (this seems to refer to an earlier incident in the lost portion of the text, where readers would have learned about when and how Encolpius and Ascyltus stole the cloak). A peasant comes over to look at the cloak and the two men recognize him. The peasant has a shirt that formerly belonged to them, and it contains golden coins which they had hidden by sewing them into the hem of the shirt.

Encolpius and Ascyltus discuss how best to get the shirt back but end up in a dispute when the peasant and his wife claim that the cloak was stolen from them. When the local authorities intervene and try to make the dispute in to a court case, Encolpius and Ascyltus reclaim the shirt, since it appears to be dirty, torn, and worthless. They end up very pleased to be reunited with their hidden money, and sarcastically mock the townspeople by reflecting that “we began to laugh at the sharp conduct of the dealers and our vexatious accusers alike, because by being so terribly clever they had restored our money to us” (11).