Luck is a wonderful luxury. What could better prove that some are born under a star of good fortune than the career (and the large, comfortable home)… - Lindsey Davis

I had been right in the first place. Getting involved with politicians is complete stupidity.

"Do we think Locusta is still alive?"
"If so, she would have to be about two hundred."
"Sipping at the Fountain of Youth?"
"No, I think she was killed in the Year of the Four Emperors."
"Poison?"
"Natural causes—execution."
"Did she train up apprentices?"
"Yes, but the old crafts are dying. No one wants to be bothered. These days you can't find suppliers with the expertise, however big a bribe you offer."

The new "humour", if you can call it that, is pure malicious gossip. Instead of making a genuine point, it's now good enough to repeat any ribald story without a thought for whether it's even true.