A beggar

Outside the grand doors of the neo-classical building that houses the Museo Nazionale Romano, I saw a beggar. He was not standing or even squatting, but kneeling and, as if before an idol, or a Persian King of Kings, bowed over so that his forehead touched the ground and his hands stretched out before him. I did not feel pity, or even sympathy. I felt humiliated to see another human being like that, and it was revulsion that made me hurry on.