59 Funeral for a Fly

You’ve undoubtedly heard that some people have funerals for their pets. Usually these funerals are for animals that have been true and loyal companions. Thus you might be surprised to hear that the brilliant Roman poet Virgil, who lived from 70 to 19 B.C., actually had a funeral for his pet fly.

When the second triumvirate came into power in Rome, in 43 B.C., the leaders—Augustus, Marc Antony, and Lepidus—enacted a law that transferred portions of land from the rich to the poorer war veterans. There were only a few exemptions, and among those parcels of land exempted from the decree was Virgil’s villa might be slated for confiscation as well.

Virgil, on hearing that his own villa might be slated for confiscation as well, devised a plan to save his property. He arranged a funeral and subsequent burial for a fly, pretending it was a much-loved pet. The burial took place as part of a lavish ceremony, amid much pomp and circumstance. The ceremony featured speeches by a number of prominent Romans, lamenting the loss of the fly. The cost of this elaborate affair, including the ceremony over Virgil’s house, in today’s currency soared to the tune of $150,000, in an effort to recover the land.

As a result of the ruse, after the ceremony Virgil’s house was considered a solemn place and was exempted from the provisions of the ordinance.

59 为一只苍蝇举办的葬礼

你无疑听说过有些人会为他们的宠物举办葬礼。通常这些葬礼是为那些忠诚的伙伴动物举办的。因此，你可能会惊讶地得知，生活在公元前70年至公元前19年的杰出罗马诗人维吉尔，竟然为他的宠物苍蝇举办了一场葬礼。

公元前43年，当第二次三头同盟在罗马掌权时，奥古斯都、马克·安东尼和雷必达这些领导人颁布了一项法律，将富人的部分土地转让给较贫穷的战争老兵。只有少数土地可以豁免，而维吉尔的别墅可能也在将被没收的土地之列。

维吉尔听说自己的别墅可能也会被没收后，想出了一个拯救自己财产的计划。他为一只苍蝇安排了葬礼和后续的安葬仪式，假装这是一只深受喜爱的宠物。这场安葬是一场盛大仪式的一部分，场面隆重而铺张。仪式上有许多著名罗马人的演讲，哀悼这只苍蝇的逝去。这场精心安排的活动的成本，包括在维吉尔宅邸举行的仪式，按今天的货币计算高达15万美元，目的是收回土地。

由于这个计谋，仪式结束后，维吉尔的宅邸被视为一个庄严的场所，得以豁免于该法令的条款。