The Wise Words of Gaius Petronius Arbiter

It may be a peculiarly military thing, perhaps it strikes accord with armed forces personnel, but one particular quote is frequently found pinned to office walls:

“We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form into teams, we would be re-organised. I later was to learn in life that we tend to meet any new situation by re-organisation; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress, while producing confusion, inefficiency and demoralisation.”

Despite shades of Brexit, these words of wisdom are usually ascribed to “Gaius Petronius Arbiter”, who was either an ordinary soldier, a Centurion or a sailor, and variously dated to 210 BC, AD 60 or AD 66. The author is commonly assumed to be the historical figure, Gaius Petronius Arbiter (aka Titus Petronius Niger; AD 27 - AD 66), a courtier and adviser on “elegance and taste” to the Emperor Nero. Scholars speculate that it was this same Petronius who wrote the “Satyricon”, a satirical novel dated to the Neronian period, perhaps famous for the novo homo, or “new man”, Trimalchio and his infamous feast. Yet, despite his satirist credentials, there is no evidence for the Petronius origin of these wise words. Indeed, scholars can find no hint of the quote in manuscripts or printed sources earlier than a magazine article that first appeared in 1957. Bon appétit!