A soldier of Caesar’s army died in battle leaving a widow. The widow had four sons who were forced to grow up around the Roman camp while she plied her trade.
Fed up with their wild ways, she decided to knock some sense into them. “Each of you will go to the lupanar[1],” she said. “In this way, you’ll come back understanding something about life.”
After one year, when they had all returned, she gathered them round. “So,” she said to the first son, who had left in spring, “how was the wolf?”
“Mater,” he said, “she was frisky like a young pup. I had my work cut out catching up with her.”
The other sons laughed. The widow turned to the second son, who had left in summer:
“Tell me what aspect the wolf wore.”
“Mater,” he said, “she was ripe as fruit and sweet to taste.”
The others laughed again. The widow turned to the third son. “Tell me,” she said, “what was the wolf like?”
“Mater,” he said, “she was glorious. Like a statue. A Junoesque marvel.”
The widow turned to her fourth son who had left in winter.
“Mater,” he said, “the wolf was old and haggard. I had to help her into bed.”
The mood of the four sons changed.
“So,” said their mother, “you will have to learn to appreciate woman in all her seasons.”
Moved by her lesson, the four sons pledged to hold her in memory.
It was said they kept their word.
The widow lived to a ripe old age. When the four sons drowned in the battle of Actium, four of Cleopatra’s waiting ladies were sent to look after her. For a wolf also has more than one season.
*
“What in heavens is a lupanar? Only James would come up with something as obscure as that!”
“I think it’s a kind of Roman brothel.”
“Those naughty Romans again! Now I know where the Italians get it from.”
“Do you think those boys learnt anything useful? After all, they went off to die.”
“Well, at least they died happy, and their mummy got looked after.”
“Yes, it’s tragic for her to lose all her boys. I can’t imagine how that feels.”
“War is such a waste of good young men.”
“We haven’t really learnt very much since Roman times.”
[1]A Roman brothel; a prostitute was commonly known as a lupa, or she-wolf.