"The traveller with empty pockets will sing in the thief 's face"
About this Quote
Poverty, Juvenal suggests, can function as a kind of armor: the traveler with nothing to steal is freed from the small humiliations of fear. The line is brisk, almost taunting. It turns the usual power dynamic inside out by implying that the thief's leverage depends on your possessions, not on his strength. When the pockets are empty, menace becomes theater, and the threatened person can afford defiance.
That punch works because it’s not really about travel or crime; it’s about dependency. In a society like imperial Rome, where status was worn as visibly as clothing and money bought safety, patronage, and dignity, having something to lose meant being perpetually negotiable. Juvenal’s speaker flirts with a hard, cynical consolation prize: if you can’t be rich, at least you can be unbribable. The “sing” is doing heavy lifting here. It’s not just courage, it’s performance - the poor man doesn’t merely resist, he mocks, as if the thief’s whole enterprise is a bad joke.
The subtext is darker than a simple celebration of simplicity. Juvenal is a satirist of Roman corruption and anxiety; he’s cataloging how insecurity scales with property. The rich traveler can’t enjoy his journey because every encounter is a potential extraction. The poor traveler is “safe” in the same way the disposable are safe: no one bothers. The line lands like a bitter laugh at a civilization where wealth buys protection and also paints a target on your back.
That punch works because it’s not really about travel or crime; it’s about dependency. In a society like imperial Rome, where status was worn as visibly as clothing and money bought safety, patronage, and dignity, having something to lose meant being perpetually negotiable. Juvenal’s speaker flirts with a hard, cynical consolation prize: if you can’t be rich, at least you can be unbribable. The “sing” is doing heavy lifting here. It’s not just courage, it’s performance - the poor man doesn’t merely resist, he mocks, as if the thief’s whole enterprise is a bad joke.
The subtext is darker than a simple celebration of simplicity. Juvenal is a satirist of Roman corruption and anxiety; he’s cataloging how insecurity scales with property. The rich traveler can’t enjoy his journey because every encounter is a potential extraction. The poor traveler is “safe” in the same way the disposable are safe: no one bothers. The line lands like a bitter laugh at a civilization where wealth buys protection and also paints a target on your back.
Quote Details
| Topic | Latin Phrases |
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