My Virtual Reading Room

Lucien....
[He points to a picture, a huge engraving hanging in a large black frame and yellowed from exposure through the open window.] Take the wife of Poetus, for instance. This old summer house has been very useful to our family. 
When my wife left me, I used to come and hide myself away here many a time. And one day, when I'd been staring blindly at the wall, I discovered this engraving, hanging lopsided in the middle of a panel. 

The glass is dirty, so you can't see it very well. It's the wife of Poetus, a Roman condemned to death by Nero.  She has just snatched the sword from the centurion's hand and, as Poetus hesitates, she stabs herself first, then hands the sword to her husband with a smile, saying, "Non dolet."

Jeannette. What does it mean--Non dolet?

Lucien. It means "It doesn't hurt." First Empire style, you know. She's no beauty, of course, maybe a little rotund for aesthetes such as ourselves, but all the same...[He sighs, half wistfully, half mockingly.]
Lucky Poetus!

(From Jean Anouilh's "Romeo and Jeannette")