Petronius: Selections from the Satyricon

I agree that this is a good text for high schoolers and would recommend other texts for higher levels. I have had good success with it, and would use it again.

I include that quote as evidence against the case that Lawall has skipped ALL the naughty bits in his selections from the Satyricon. I think he's done an admirable job of leaving in enough lewdness to hint at what readers would find if they were to read all of the novel, while at the same time acknowledging the real constraints of designing a text acceptable for use in high schools. If you want to read the real smutty stuff, there are plenty of other sources for the complete Latin text of Petronius...
If, however, you want a text that's perfectly user-friendly for a third-year or higher Latin class (I've also used it with a fourth-year class: the notes and facing vocab make it possible for them to virtually sight-read the thing, and lay the groundwork for working on some of the skipped sections as handouts), this is great. Sometimes I feel he translates TOO much in the notes, but that's fine too: since a lot of his 'translations' are matters open to interpretation, they too provide a springboard for further discussion and arguing for alternate interpretations. His occasional mistakes -- or charming little quirks like his fussiness over the gender of the dog in the above quote -- fall in the same category: for a competent teacher they provide toeholds for climbing to other levels than just what Lawall presents. An excellent classroom text, and perfectly safe for reading at home by anybody capable of not accepting absolutely everything the editor tells us.

For those students who are learning Latin, and want to begin working on real texts, this book is perfect. By using the simpler sections of Petronius, and incorporating grammatical help for each section, this book allows the Latin student to work through the text with only a moderate level of difficulty. Though this work should not be used to replace an instructional text on the Latin language for those who are in the first phases of instruction, this text is appropriate for any second year student.

Don't get me wrong. It's great to have a text of Petronius for study, especially at a level where young, impressionable students may read it. But look out: all of the really juicy bits were excised under Uncle Gilbert's sharp eye. The raciest anything gets is some innuendo in the Matrona Ephesi. All the good parts are gone, but so are the boring bits of the Cena Trimalchionis and a lot of incidental linking material. You get a nice, tame, classroom-ready version of a trashy Roman novel. Gil Lawall's edition is as mistake-ridden as all of his best work (Ecce Romani, &c.), but the fun of Petronius shines through. Suitable at third-year level and above, with facing notes and generous but not comprehensive glossary.