ut mentiar, nullius patrimonium tanti facio
The purpose of this exaggerated statement of Niceros is to convince his fellow diners that he could not possibly be lying.
patrimonium: A patrimonium is property, including possessions, estates and money, which belongs to the paterfamilias. By extension it also means inheritance. The point of using this noun here is to refer to a large quantity of wealth.
Petronius has already used this noun with a similar sense in section 44:
plus in die nummorum accipit, quam alter patrimonium habet
(he receives more money in a day than another man has in inherited property)
facio: The verb facio can have the sense of to regard/consider/treat something (as). [OLD 18b] When used in conjunction with the genitive case it can mean to esteem or value (at). [OLD 18c]
nullius tanti: Genitives of quality which denote indefinite value.
ut mentiar: A result clause, indicated by tanti.
In English one might say the similar sentiment of, “I wouldn’t lie for all the money in the world.”
Really nice post – very helpful.
patrimonium has an added nasty touch for the wealthy freeborn who might read these – the very thought of people like these claiming a patrimonium was absurd to them because as ex-slaves they could have no fathers… (Plus the Romans were obsessed with inheritances as a marker of external respect and social standing – and full of fear of so-called legacy hunters.