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THE METAMORPHOSIS OF APULEIUS. 
 
Of this He-issue only 6oo copies have been 
 printed: £00 of which are on thick antique 
 paper, and lOO on a special Dutch hand-made 
 paper, each copy numbered. 
 
 September, i8gj. *^ •• ^ 1 
 
 BIRMINGHAM : 
 
 W. J. COSBV, UNIVERSAL PRESS, MOOR 3THEET. 
 
THE 
 
 METAMORPHOSIS, 
 
 GOLDEN ASS, 
 
 APULEIUS, 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL LATIN, 
 
 THOMAS TAYLOR. 
 
 " Platonici familiii nihil! novimus nisi festum, et Izcum. ct ^loleme, et 
 superum, et cxlesce. Quin altitudinis studio, ^ecta iata etiam czio ipso 
 sublimiora quxpiain vestigavit. et in extimo nrundi tergo degit.'' 
 
 Apul. a Pol. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 SOLD BY ROBERT TRIPHOOK, 23, OLD BOND STREET ; 
 AND THOMAS RODD, 17, UTTLE NEWPORT STREET. 
 
 1822. 
 
g^Rs:^^ 
 
 THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE 
 UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Apulieus, the celebrated author of the following 
 work, is undoubtedly the greatest of the ancient 
 Latin Platonists, a portion of whose writings have 
 been preserved to the present time ; and though, 
 in consequence of living at a period in which the 
 depths of the Platonic philosophy had not been 
 fathomed, and its mysteries luminously unfolded, 
 as they afterwards were by certain Coryphaean 
 Greeks,' he is not to be classed among the chief 
 of the disciples of Plato, yet he will always main- 
 tain a very distinguished rank among those who 
 have delivered to us the more accessible parts of 
 that philosophy with consummate eloquence, and 
 an inimitable splendour of diction. 
 
 Of his life,' scarcely anything more of import- 
 ance is known, than the particulars respecting him- 
 self which may be collected from his works, and 
 
 1 i.e. Greeks who philosophized in the hig^hest perfection; for 
 such men are called by Plato, in the Theaetetus, Coryphaean philo- 
 sophers. But the Greeks I allude to are, Plotinus, Porphyry, lamb- 
 lichus, Syrianus, Proclus, Oamascius, and Olympiodorus. 
 
 2 In this sketch of the life of .Apuleius, I have availed myself of 
 all the most interesting^ particulars collected by Bayle, in his excellent 
 Dictionary, 
 
VI. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 these are as follow : He lived in the second century, 
 about the time of Antoninus Pius, and was a naiive 
 of Madaura, a Roman colony in Africa, and hence, 
 in his Apology, he calls himself a semi-Gaetulijin 
 and a senii-Xumidian, because the place of his 
 birth was situated on the very confines of Numidia 
 and Gcetulia. His family was of considerable rank ; 
 for his father, whose name was Theseus, had exer- 
 cised at Madaura the office of duumvir, which 
 was the first dignity of a colony ; and his mother, 
 whose name was Salvia, was originally of Thes- 
 saly, and descended from the family of Plutarch. 
 He appears to have been well instructed in all 
 the liberal disciplines of the Greeks, to have been 
 graceful in his person, and to have abounded in 
 wit and learning. Hence, speaking of his literary 
 attainments, he says, in his Florida, "The first 
 cup of knowledge which we receive from our 
 preceptors removes entire ignorance ; the second 
 furnishes us with grammatical learning ; the third 
 arms us with the eloquence of the rhetorician. 
 Thus far many drink. But I drank of other cups 
 besides these at Athens : of poetry, the fabulous ; 
 of geometery, the limpid ; of music, the sweet ; of 
 dialectic, the rough and unpleasant ; and of uni- 
 versal philosophy, the never-satiating and nec- 
 tareous cup." 
 
 He studied firs: nt Carthage, then at Athens, 
 and afterwards at Rome, where he acquired the 
 
INTRODUCTION. Vll. 
 
 Latin tongue without any assistance, as he him- 
 self informs us at the beginning of his Metamor- 
 phosis. An ardent desire of becoming acquainted 
 with all the arcana of philosophy, and all the mys- 
 teries of religion, induced him to make several 
 voyages, and enter himself into several religious 
 fraternities. He spent nearly the whole of his 
 estate in travelling ; so that, having returned to 
 Rome, and being desirous of dedicating himself 
 to the service of Osiris, he wanted money to 
 defray the expenses of the ceremonies of his re- 
 ception. Hence he was under the necessity of 
 parting with his clothes to make up the requisite 
 sum. After this he procured the means of sub- 
 sistence by pleading ; and, through his eloquence 
 and skill, was not in want of causes, some of 
 which were of great importance. He restored 
 his fallen fortune, however, much more by a 
 lucky marriage than by forsenic harangues. A 
 widow, whose name was Pudentilla, neither 
 young nor fair, but who stood in need of a hus- 
 band, and had a good estate, thought Apuleius 
 adapted to her purpose. The accuser of Apuleius, 
 as we learn from the Apology, affirmed she was 
 sixty years of age ; but his design in asserting 
 this was to prove, that the passion she had con- 
 ceived for the accused was not natural, but the 
 effect of magic. Apuleius made it appear, that 
 she was not much above forty years of age, and 
 
Vlll. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 that if she had passed fourteen of those years in 
 a state of widowhood, it was not from any aver- 
 sion to matrimony, but from the opposition of her 
 father-in-law to it; and that at length celibacy had 
 so far impaired her health, that the physicians and 
 midwives were of opinion, that the best remedy 
 for the diseases which were the consequence of it 
 was wedlock. The argument employed by Apu- 
 leius on this occasion was, that a lady so advised, 
 and who had no time to lose, if she desired to 
 make the best use of her teeming years, wanted 
 not to be constrained by magic art to make choice 
 of a spouse. This rich widow Apuleius cheer- 
 fully married, at a country house near Oea, a 
 maritime town of Africa. This marriage involved 
 him in a troublesome lawsuit ; the relations of 
 this lady's two sons pretending that he had em- 
 ployed magic to possess himself of her money 
 and her heart. Hence they accused him of being 
 a wizard, before Claudius Maximus, the proconsul 
 of Africa. From this charge he defended himself 
 with great ability and vigour, as is evident from 
 the Apology, that is still extant, which he de- 
 livered before his judges. 
 
 He was also extremely laborious, and wrote 
 many books, some in verse, and others in prose ; 
 of which but a small part has escaped the ravages 
 of time. Hence, in his Apology, in answer to his 
 adversary, on the subject of eloquence, he says : 
 
INTRODUCTION. IX. 
 
 " As to eloquence, if ever I had any, it ought not 
 to appear to be either wonderful or odious, if, 
 having from my youth to this time strenuously 
 applied myself to the study of literature, spurning 
 all other pleasures, with greater labour, perhapSj 
 than was ever employed by any other man, by 
 day and by night, I have endeavoured to obtain 
 it, with the contempt and loss of my health." 
 He delighted in making public speeches, in which 
 he gained the applause of all his auditors. When 
 they heard him at Oea, the audience unanimously 
 exclaimed, that he ought to be honoured with the 
 freedom of the city.' The people of Carthage, on 
 hearing him harangue, erected a statue of him, 
 as a testimony of their esteem of his talents ; and 
 he was honoured in the same way by other cities.* 
 It is said by Sidonius Apoliinaris, that his wife 
 held the candle to him while he studied ;' " but 
 this," says Bayle, " must not, I think, be taken 
 literally, it is rather a figure of Gallic eloquence." 
 It has been above observed, that he wrote 
 many books. Indeed, it may be said, as Bayle 
 remarks, that he was an universal genius, as there 
 are but few subjects which he has not handled. 
 Hence, he translated the Phado of Plato, and the 
 Arithmetic of iSi icomachus. He wrote a treatise 
 
 3 See his Apology, p. 320. 4 See his Florida, p. 355. 
 
 5 " Legentibus meditantibus.ji:e candelas et candelabra tenue- 
 rum." Sidon. Apollin. Epist. X. 1 2. 
 
X. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 De Rebubhca, another De Numeris, and another 
 Dc Mnszca. His Table-Questions are quoted, and 
 also his Letters to Cerellia, his Proverbs, his Her- 
 magoras, and his Ludicra. This last work he 
 mentions himself: "They read," says he, " in my 
 Ludicra, a short epistle in verse, concerning a 
 powder for the teeth." 
 
 The works of Apuleius which have escaped 
 the ravages of time are, his Metamorphosis, or, 
 as it is generally called, The Golden Ass, in eleven 
 books; his Treatises of Natural and Moral Phil- 
 osophy : of the Categoric Syllogism ; and of 
 the God of Socrates. And besides this there 
 are extant, his Apolos^y, his Florida, and his 
 treatise De Mundo, which is nothing more than 
 a translation from the Greek of a treatise with the 
 same title which is generally ascribed to Aristotle.^ 
 The Latin translation also of the Asclepian Dia- 
 logue of Hermes Trismegistus, is attributed to 
 Apuleius ; and though it is entirely destitute of 
 that splendour of diction which so eminently dis- 
 tinguishes the writings of our author, yet it is not 
 improbable that it is one of his productions ; 
 since a translator, if he is faithful, will not only 
 give the matter, but the manner also, of his 
 original. 
 
 6 This treatise I have translatei in vol. ix. of my translation of 
 n.nsic:lo's '.vurlis. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XI. 
 
 Wit?i respect to the treatises translated in 
 these volumes, the Metamorphosis is the most 
 celebrated of all the works of Apuleius. A great 
 part of this fable may be said to be a paraphrase 
 of the Ass of Lucian, which was originally derived 
 trom a work of Lucius Patrensis, who wrote in 
 Greek, and was of Patrse, a city of Achaia. The 
 most important parts, however, of the Metamor- 
 phosis, viz. the fable of Cupid and Psyche, and 
 the eleventh book, in which Apuleius gives an 
 account of his being initiated in the mysteries 
 of Isis and Osiris, are not derived from any 
 sources with which we are at present acquainted.' 
 I call these the most important parts, because 
 in the former, as it appears to me, the very 
 ancient dogma of the pre-existence of the human 
 soul, its lapse from the intelligible world to the 
 earth, and its return from thence to its pristine 
 state of felicity, are most' accurately and beauti- 
 fully adumbrated.' This I have endeavoured to 
 prove in the notes which accompany the transla- 
 tion of this fable. And as to the eleventh book, 
 though the whole of the Metamorphosis is replete 
 
 7 Unless Apuleius borrowed the fable of Cupid and Psyche from 
 Arlstophantes Athenaeus, of whom Fulgentius, in book ii. of his 
 Mvihologicon, says: ".Arlstophantes Atheoaeus in libris qui Dyser- 
 estia nuncupantur, hanc fabulam enormi verbonim circuitu discere 
 cupientibus prodit. " No mention is made of this Arlstophantes 
 .\thcnxus by either Fabriciu.s or Bayle. 
 
 S Fiilcrentius interprets this fable differently, and in my opinion 
 VLTV jrij.iLtuisly. See his Mytholog. lib. ii. 
 
Xll. INTKOUUCTION. 
 
 with elegance and erudition, yet this book excels 
 all the rest, in consequence of containing many 
 important historical particulars, and many which 
 are derived from the arcana of Egyptian philos- 
 ophy and religion. What he says about his 
 initiation into the mysteries in particular, is un- 
 commonly interesting and novel. 
 
 Dr. Warburton formed an opinion of the design 
 of the Metamorphosis, which, in one part of it at 
 least, appears to me to be singularly ridiculous and 
 absurd ; viz., that the author's main purpose was 
 to commend Pagan religion as the only cure for all 
 vice whatsover' ; and to ridicule the Christian 
 religion. There may be some truth in the former 
 part of this assertion ; but it is wholly incredible, 
 that at a period when the Christian religion was 
 opevly derided and execrated by all the Heathens, 
 Apuleius should have written a work one part of 
 the intention of which was to ridicule laietitly that 
 which, without any concealment, and with the sanc- 
 tion of the existing government, was generally 
 despised. One passage indeed occurs in which he 
 speaks contemptiiously of the Christians ; but then 
 his meaning is so far from being latent, that it must 
 be obvious to every one. The passage I allude 
 to is the following in book the ninth, in which 
 Apuleius, speaking of the nefarious wife of a baker, 
 
 9 See the Divine Lcg'ation, vol. i., p. 359. 
 
INTKODUCTION. Xlll. 
 
 says to her : " Then despising and trampling on 
 the divine powers, instead of the true religion, 
 counterfeiting a nefarious opinion of God, whom 
 she asserted to be the only deity'° ; devising also 
 vain observances, and deceiving all men, and like- 
 wise her miserable husband, she enslaved her body 
 to morning draughts of pure wine, and to continual 
 adultery." In the tenth book also, he denominates 
 a most- execrable character cruciarius, which 
 according to Plautus signifies discipiUus cruets, a 
 disciple of the cross ; and perhaps in thus denomi- 
 nating this murderer, he intended to signify that 
 he was a Christian ; but there are no other parts 
 of this work in which there is a shadow of proba- 
 bility that Apuleius had the Christian religion in 
 view ; except it should be said that he alludes to 
 it, when in the eleventh book he calls the heathen 
 the most pure, magnificent, and eternal religion. 
 
 What then was the real design of Apuleius in 
 composing this work ? Shall we say, with 
 Macrobius, that Apuleius sometimes diverted him- 
 self with the tales of love", and that this is a kind 
 of fable which professes only to please the ear, and 
 which wisdom banishes from her temple to the 
 cradles of nurses ? This, however, is by no means 
 
 ro viz. She asserted that there was one supreme God, the maker 
 ol' the world ; but denied the existence of other Gods, who, according- 
 to the heathen theolog^j-. proceed from, and are eternally rooted in 
 >he first God. 
 
 1 1 \'id. Satumal. lib. i. cap. 2. 
 
XIV. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 consistent with that dignity and elevation of mind 
 which are essential to the character of a Platonic 
 philosopher. Is it not therefore most probable that 
 the intention of the author in this work was to 
 show that the man who g;ives himself to a volup - 
 t uous life, becomes aj ^p^'^'", ^"d thai- it ic nnly hy 
 becomin g virtuous and religious, that h e can jivest 
 himself of the brutal naturei_aiidjie_again-a-maa? 
 For this is the rose by eating which Apuleius was 
 restored to the human, and cast off the brutal form ; 
 and, like the moly of Hermes, preserved him in 
 future from the dire enchantments of Circe, the 
 Goddess of Sense". This, as it appears to me, is 
 the only design by which our author can be justified 
 in composing the pleasing tales with which this 
 work is replete. Indeed, unless this is admitted 
 to have been the design of Apuleius, he cannot in 
 certain passages be defended from the charge of 
 lewdness ; but on the supposition that these tales 
 were devised to show the folly and danger of 
 lasciviousness, and that the man who indulges in 
 it brutalizes his nature, the detail of those circum- 
 stances through which he became an ass, are not 
 to be considered in the light of a lascivious descrip- 
 tion, because they were not written with a 
 libidinous intention ; for every work is charac- 
 
 12 See my explanation of the Wanderings of Ulysses, in the notes 
 accompanying' the translation of Porphyry de .Antro Nympharum, in 
 my Proclus on Euclid. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XV. 
 
 terized by its ultimate design'^ Hence, what 
 lamblichus'" says respecting the consecration of 
 the phalli among the ancients in the spring, and 
 the obscene language which was then employed, 
 may be said in defence of these passages in the 
 Metamorphosis : viz., " The powers of the human 
 passions that are in us, when they are entirely 
 
 13 Not only -Apuleius, but Plato also, will be accused of obsctnity 
 by those who overlook the intention of the ancient philosophers in 
 some of their writings, and who measure the masculine vigour of the 
 minds of these heroes by the effeminacy of their own. Hence, one 
 Nicholson, in p. 44 of his Conference with a Deist, says, ''A man 
 finds in the Phsedrus of Plato, so much of the (puiv and (ptafitvoa-, 
 with such odd allusions to that execrable vice, that one had need of 
 very virtuous thoughts, and a very charitable mind, to allegorize all 
 the strange metaphors of that discourse into a chaste meaning." 
 -And Sydenham omitted to publish his translation of the speech of 
 .\lcibiades in the Banquet of Plato, because he conceived " some part 
 of it to be so grossly indecent that it might offend the virtuous and 
 encourage the vicious." In defence, therefore, of both these writings, 
 I shall only repeat what I have said in the Introductions of my trans- 
 lations of them, "that though there are frequent allusions in the 
 Phaedrus to that unnatural vice which was so fashionable among the 
 Greeks, yet the reader will find it severely censured in the course of 
 that dialogue by the divine philosopher. There can be no reason to 
 fear, therefore, that the ears of the modest will be shocked by such 
 allusions, since they are inserted with no other view than that they 
 may be exploded as they deserve." And with respect to the speech 
 of .4.1cibiades, it is one of the most essential parts of the Banquet, 
 because the intention of Plato in it was to exemplify in the character 
 of Socrates, as one who had been initiated in the mysteries of love, 
 that perfection of virtue which such an initiation is capable of effect- 
 ing. Hence, as it is demonstrated in the notes, the apparent indecency 
 in this speech is introduced conformably to the machinery of the 
 mysteries, with no other view than to purify the reader from every 
 thing indecent, and to liberate him. in short, from vulgar love, by 
 exciting the amatory eye of intellect to the vision of objects ineffably 
 beautiful and truly divine." 
 
 14 De Mysterii, Sect. i. cap. xi. See p. 53 and 54 of my transla- 
 tion of thai work. 
 
XVI. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 restrained, become more vehement ; but when they 
 are called forth into energy, gradually and com- 
 mensurately, they rejoice in being moderately 
 gratified, are satisfied ; and from hence, becoming 
 purified, they are rendered tractable, and are 
 vanquished without violence. On this account, 
 in comedy and tragedy, by surveying ihe passions 
 of others, we stop our own passions, cause them 
 to be more moderate, and are purified from them. 
 In sacred ceremonies, likewise, by certam spectacles 
 ana auditions of tliui^s base, we become hbeiated 
 from the injury which happens from the works 
 effected by them. Things of this kind, therefore, 
 are introduced for the sake of our soul, and of the 
 diminution of the evils which adhere to it through 
 generation, and of a solution and liberation from 
 its bonds. On this account, also, they are 
 very properly called by Heraclitus remedies, as 
 healing things of a dreadful nature, and saving 
 souls from the calamities with which the realms 
 of generation are replete." Notwithstanding, 
 however, there is no real lasciviousness in these 
 passages, yet as the generality ot readers in the 
 present age would, on the perusal of them, fancy 
 that there is, they are not published in the follow- 
 ing translation of this work. 
 
 In translating Apuleius, I have endeavoured 
 to be as faithful as possible, and to ;j've the manner 
 as well as the matter of the author ; since a trans- 
 
INTRODUCTION. XVll. 
 
 iation in which both these are not generally united, 
 must necessarily, as I have already observed, be 
 essentially defective. I have also availed myself 
 of the best editions of the works of Apuleius, and 
 among these, of the Delphin edition, which I think 
 is excellent on the whole, though the editor 
 frequently in his interpretation substitutes other 
 words for those of the original when this is not 
 necessary. There is an ancient translation into 
 English of the Metamorphosis by one Adlington, 
 the first editions of which were printed in 1566 
 and 1 57 1, and the last edition in 1639 ; and there 
 are other intermediate editions ; but as he every 
 where omits the most difficult, and the most 
 elegant passages, his work is rather a rude outline 
 or compendium than an accurate translation. 
 Bayle does not appear to have been acquainted 
 with this work of Adlington ; but of the French 
 versions he observes as follows : " I have never 
 met with any modern French translation of the 
 Golden Ass. If I am not mistaken, John Louveau 
 is the author of the first old translation. La Croix 
 du Maine mentions it, without setting down the 
 year in which it appeared. He only says that it 
 was printed at Lyons. It was reprinted at Paris 
 by Claudius Micard, in 1584. One I. de Monti- 
 yard published a translation of the same book, 
 with a commentary. One of the two editions 
 which I have seen, was according to the copy 
 
XV]11. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 printed at Paris, by Samuel Thiboust, 1623. The 
 preface is long, and contains a criticism on several 
 errors of John Louveau. 
 
 " I find that La Croix du Maine, and du 
 Verdier Vau-Privas, have mentioned a translation, 
 which may very well be older than that of John 
 Louveau. They say that George de la Bouthiere, 
 or de la Boutier, a native of Autun, rendered the 
 Metamorphosis or Golden Ass of Apuleius into 
 French. The one says, that this version was 
 printed at Lyons, by John de Tournes and 
 William Gazeau, in the year 1553; the other, 
 that it was printed by John de Tournes, in 15 16. 
 There is an error of the press in the last date ; 
 and it is evident, that to put the figures in their 
 right places, it ought to be 1556. Now, as the 
 same author has said, that the translation by 
 John Louveau was printed in the year 1558, 
 there is reason to suppose that it was later than 
 that of George de la Bouthiere. 
 
 " Since the first edition of this Dictionarv, 
 part of a translation of the Golden Ass has ap- 
 peared at Paris. The Journal de Scavans of the 
 9th of January, 1696, mentions it, ?iIons. the 
 Baron des Coutures published with notes, in 
 1698, his French version of the treatise Deo 
 Socratis."^' 
 
 15 I have not consulted any of these translations, because I have 
 no knowledge of the French tongue. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XIX. 
 
 I shall conclude with observing, that I trust 
 the readers of this work will candidly peruse it, 
 as one labour more, among many of no common 
 magnitude, of a man who has spent the far greater 
 part of his life in endeavouring to obtain himself 
 a knowledge of the philosophy of Plato, and to 
 elucidate and promulgate it for the benefit of 
 others ; who also, in accomplishing this, has had 
 to encounter the hiss of Envy, and the bite of 
 Detraction, the laugh of Folly, and the sneer of 
 Contempt, unmerited unkindness, and unfeeling 
 neglect, together with domestic ills of an over- 
 whelming nature, and of the rarest occurrence. 
 In short, the present translation is the work of 
 a man whose life has been most eventful and 
 singularly disastrous, a few splendid circumstances 
 excepted, which have illuminated and enlivened 
 the oppressive gloom of Adversity like "a sun- 
 beam in a winter's day," and which, whenever 
 he may deem it expedient to give the detail 
 of his literary career to the public, he will most 
 gladly and gratefully record. 
 
THE 
 
 METAMORPHOSIS OF APULEIUS 
 
 BOOK THE FIRST. 
 
 IN the following Milesian^ narration, I will insert various 
 fables, and charm your benevolent ears with an elegant 
 and pleasing murmur ; if you will not disdain to look into 
 this Egyptian papyrus, written with the delightful subtilty of a 
 Nilotic reed ; and containing an admirable account of men 
 changed into different forms, and, by certain vicissitudes, agaih 
 restored to themselves. But who I am, I shall briefly thus 
 unfold : 
 
 The Attic Hymettus', the Corinthian Isthmus, and the 
 Spartan Taenarus-', happy soils, and which, in more felicitous 
 books, were believed to be eternal, are the ancient originals of 
 my race. There, I mean in Athens, I learnt the first rudiments 
 of Grecian literature. Soon after, as a stranger, I came to- 
 Rome, and applied myself to the study of the Roman tongue, 
 which, with great labour, I attained to the knowledge of, with- 
 out the assistance of a preceptor. Behold, then, I solicit pardon, 
 if I should offend the reader by the rude utterance of a foreign 
 language. Indeed, this first attempt of mine to write in the 
 Latin tongue, corresponds to the desultory matter of which we 
 have undertaken to treat. We will begin, therefore, to narrate 
 a Grecian fable : reader, attend, and you will be delighted. 
 
 I went to Thessaly on business : for in that place the foun- 
 dations of our origin on the maternal side were laid by the 
 illustrious Plutarch, and afterwards by his nephew, Sextus*, the 
 
 X The Miiesi.ins were a people of Ionia, abounding in inerriinent and luxury. Hence 
 a Miiesian narration signifies a narration facetious and jocose. 
 
 3 A mountain of Atticat famous for marble and honey, and especially the latter. 
 
 3 Cape Metapan, a promontory of Peloponnesus. It divides the gulfof Messeniafrom 
 that of Laconia, now the gulf of Coron and Colochino, at the foot of the mountain of the 
 Mainots, the most southern part of the Morea. 
 
 4 This Sextus. who was the grandson of Plutarch, was also the preceptor of the em* 
 pcrur Antoninus Pius. 
 
 B 
 
2 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 philosopher, and thus became the source of renown to us. 
 AfiLT, therefore, I had passed over the lofty mountains, the 
 slippery valleys, the dewy turf, and the glebous plains, being 
 very weary with riding ; for I rode on a Thessalian white horse, 
 who was also very much fatigued: in order that I might shake 
 off my sedentary lassitude by the refreshment of walking, I 
 leaped from my horse, diligently wiped the sweat from his 
 forehead, stroked his ears, drew ihe reins over his head, and 
 walked him gently, so that the usual and natural aid afforded by 
 the discharge of urine might relieve the inconvenience of 
 weariness. And while he was delighted with his aml>ulatory 
 breakfast, and in a prone position passed over the meadows 
 with his mouth inclined towards his side, I joined myself to 
 two companions, who were riding a little before me. And 
 while I listened to their conversation, the one, laughing, said to 
 the other. Desist, and do not enter into any further detail 
 of such absurd and incredible fictions. On hearing this, as I 
 was thirsty after novelty, I said, Make me a partaker of your 
 narration ; not that I am inquisitive, but one who wishes to 
 know either all, or certainly most things ; and, by so doing, 
 the delightful pleasantness of tales will, at the same time, 
 smooth the asperity of the hill which we are ascending. 
 
 But he that laughed before at his companion, said, "That 
 false narration of yours is as true, as if some one should assert, 
 that by magical incantation rapid rivers might be made to run 
 back to their source, the sea be congealed, the winds blow 
 without spirit, the sun be stopped in his course, the moon drop 
 her foam, the stars be plucked from their spheres, the day be 
 taken away, and the night be held back." On hearing this, I 
 said. Do not you, who began the narration, repent of having 
 done so, or be weary of telling what remains to be told ! And 
 turning to the other ; But you, said I, whose ears are gross, and 
 whose mind is obstinate, refuse your assent to things which, 
 perhaps, are truly narrated. For, indeed, you are not aware, 
 that through depraved opinions those things are thought to be 
 false, which either appear novel to the hearing, or rare to the 
 sight, or arduous from being beyond the reach of thought; 
 but which, if you a little more accurately explored, you would 
 not only find to be evident, but would perceive may be easily 
 accomplished." 
 
 At length in the evening, while I was endeavouring, in the 
 company of certain voracious guests, lo bite a larger piece of a 
 cake consisting of barley flour and cheese, I was nearly choked, 
 through the softness of the glutinous food sticking in my jaws, 
 
 5 See n Vtiy ctirioMs account of the niasic of the ancients, from a rare Greek manu- 
 script at' P&ellu^, ill p. 220 of my traik>latiuu uf laiublicbus on the MfsUrieu 
 
GOLDEK ass, of APtJLEIUS. — B6OK 1. 3 
 
 and impeding the egress of my breath. Nevertheless, lately at 
 Athens, before the porch called Poicile,^ I beheld with both my 
 eyes a juggler, who swallowed a two-handed horseman's sword 
 that had a very sharp edge, and afterwards, for a small sum of 
 money, buried in his lowest viscera a hunting spear, and so as 
 to have that part of it downward which threatens destruction. 
 And lo ! the iron head of the spear having passed through the 
 groin, and being forced out again through the hinder part of 
 the head, an eflfeminately beautiful boy was seen dancing on 
 the other extremity of the spear. This boy, in dancing, turned 
 and twisted himself as if he had been without nerves and 
 bones, to the admiration of all that were present ; so that you 
 would have said it was the noble serpent, which adheres with 
 slippery embraces to the half-amputated branches of the knotted 
 staff of the medical god. 
 
 But I entreat you, said I to him who began the tale, 
 to continue it. I alone will give credit to your narration, and 
 will treat you with a dinner at the first inn at which we arrive. 
 This shall- be your reward. To which he replied, "I take in 
 good part what you promise, and will proceed with my narration. 
 But prior to this, I will swear to you by this sun, the all-seeing 
 God, that what I shall relate is true. Nor will you any longer 
 doubt that it is so, if you go to the next city, which is Hypata ;^ 
 for there the things which were openly transacted, are every- 
 where divulged. But that you may first know who I am, from 
 what race I am descended, and in quest of what gain I am now 
 going, hear. I am of j^gina, and am travelling through 
 Thessaly, .^tolia, and Bceotia, for tlie purpose of procuring 
 honey, cheese, and other articles of traffic of the like kind. 
 Having found, therefore, that in Hypata, which is the principal 
 city of all Thessaly, new cheese of an excellent flavour was to 
 be sold for a very reasonable price, I hastily betook myself to 
 that place, in order to buy the whole of it. As it often happens, 
 however, I came in an evil hour, and was frustrated of my 
 hopes of gain. For one Lupus, a great purveyor, had bought 
 all of it the day before. 
 
 " Being weary, therefore, though an inefficacious celerity, I 
 then went, the evening commencing, to the public baths. 
 When, lo ! I beheld my companion Socrates, sitting on the 
 ground, half covered with a torn and coarse mantle, and who 
 appeared to be almost another person, he was so deformed by 
 paleness and miserable leanness ; for he resembled one of 
 
 6 I.e. Various. This porch was adorned with various pictures, the works of 
 Polygnotus and Mycon. Among others, the Marathonian battle was to be seen painted 
 in this porch. 
 
 A city of Thessaly, situated near the river Sperchius. 
 
4 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 those who, being reduced to the extremify of distress, are 
 compelled to beg in the streets. Hence, though he had been 
 my guest, and was well known to me, yet I approached him 
 with a dubious mind. Alas ! my Socrates, I said, what is the 
 meaning of this ? What a figure ! What crime have you 
 committed? Great lamentation and weeping are made for you 
 at home. Tutors are given to your children by a decree of 
 the provincial magistrate. Your wife, having performed the 
 duties which are due to the dead, and being deformed by grief 
 and long-continued sorrow, so that she had almost lost her 
 sight through excessive weeping, has been compelled by her 
 parents to exhilarate herself by the joys of a new marriage. 
 But here you present yourself to the view the resemblance 
 of some wicked ghost, to our great disgrace. 
 
 "To this he replied, O Aristomenes, you are ignorant of 
 the slippery turnings and windings, the unstable incursions, 
 and the reciprocal vicissitudes of Fortune. And immediately 
 after he had thus spoken, he covered his face, which had been 
 for some time red through shame, with his ragged and coarse 
 mantle, so that the rest of his body, from his navel downward, 
 was rendered naked. But I, not enduring to behold such a 
 miserable spectacle of infelicity, extended my hand to him, 
 that I might help him to rise from the ground. He, however, 
 with his head covered as it was, said. Suffer, O suffer Fortune 
 still longer to enjoy the trophy which she has suspended. I 
 hare acted in such a way that this must follow. And at the 
 same tirne I put off one of my two old garments, and speedily 
 — clothed, shall I say, or covered him ? Immediately after, I 
 brought him to a bath, anointed, and wiped him, and labor- 
 iously rubbed off the enormous filth with which he was defiled. 
 Having also well attended to him, and being weary myself, 
 I supported him, who was fatigued, with great difficulty, and 
 brought him to my inn ; where I refreshed him with a bed, 
 satisfied him with food, mitigated his sorrows with wine, and 
 soothed him by fabulous narrations. And now our conversation 
 and jests tended to hilarity, and we were not only facetious, 
 but noisy; when he, painfully and profoundly sighing, and 
 striking his forehead with his indignant right hand, exclaimed 
 as follows. 
 
 " Miserable creature that I am ! said he : who, while I was 
 intent on gratifying myself with the sufficiently celebrated 
 spectacle of gladiators, have fallen into these calamities. For, 
 as you well know, when I went to Macedonia for the sake of 
 gain, and was there detained for the space of ten months ; on 
 my return from thence, enriched by merchandise, and a little 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULKTUS. — BOOK I. S 
 
 before I came to Larissa*, in order to see the above-mentioned 
 spectacle, I was attacked by a band of most desperate robbers, 
 in a certain devious and winding valley : from whom, however, 
 after having been plundered by them of all my property, I 
 at length escaped. And being through this reduced to extreme 
 distress, I betook myself to a certain woman that sold wine, 
 whose name was Meroe, and who, though old, was very 
 pleasant and agreeable: and to her I unfolded the causes 
 of my long peregrination, of my anxiety to return home, and of 
 my being plundered of my property on that day. 
 
 "And while I, miserable man, narrated such particulars as 
 I remembered, she, beginning to treat me very humanely, 
 supplied me with an agreeable and gratuitous supper, and 
 afterwards received me to her bed, through the instigation of 
 lust. At the same time also, that I, unhappy man, lay with 
 her, I contracted a lasting pestilence [viz. a most baneful love] 
 from only being once connected with her : and even gave her 
 those ragged garments which the humane robbers had left me 
 to cover my nakedness. I likewise presented her with the 
 little gain which I obtained by making the short garments of 
 soldiers while I was yet in a good condition of body ; and thus 
 at length this good wife, and ill fortune, reduced me to that 
 state in which you just now saw me. 
 
 "You indeed, said I, deserve to suffer the most severe 
 of ills, if yet there is any thing more extreme than that which is 
 last, who have preferred venereal pleasure, and a wrinkled 
 harlot, to your own house and children. But he, raising the 
 linger next to the thumb to his mouth, and being struck with 
 astonishment, Be silent, said he, be silent ; and looking round 
 to see whether he might speak with safety, Cease, said he, 
 to revile a divine woman, lest you injure yourself by an in- 
 temperate tongue. Why so ? said I. What kind of woman is 
 this powerful and royal tavern-keeper ? He replied. She is a 
 divine sorceress, and is able to draw down the heavens, to 
 elevate the earth, to restrain fountains, to dissolve mountains, 
 to place on high the shades of the dead, to thrust down the 
 gods, extinguish the stars, and illuminate Tartarus itself. 
 
 "I beseech you, said I, take away this tragic tapestry, 
 roll up the theatric curtain, and speak in familiar language. Do 
 you wish, said he, to hear one or two, or many of her deeds ? 
 For she is capable not only of making her fellow-citizens to 
 love her to their own destruction, but the Indians also, the 
 
 S A city of Thessaly, situated near the river Peneus, an'I the country of Achillei. 
 Hence he was called Larrissa;us. 
 
6 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 inhabitants of both the Ethiopias^, and even the Antichthonesi" 
 themselves, are only the leaves, as it were, of her art, and 
 trifling examples of her skill. 
 
 " Hear, however, what she accomplished in the presence ot 
 many spectators. She changed by one word only her lover into 
 a beaver, who had by force debauched another woman ; 
 because that beast, fearing lest it should be taken, frees itself 
 from the hunter that pursues it, by the abscission of its testicles; 
 in order that the same thing might happen to her lover, in 
 consequence of his having been connected with another female. 
 She likewise changed into a frog an innkeeper, who was her 
 neighbour, and of whom she was on that account envious; and 
 now that old man, swimming in a tub of his own wine, and 
 merged in the dregs of it, calls O!' i.is ancient guests with a 
 hoarse and courteously croaking voice. 
 
 " She likewise changed one of the advocates of the court, 
 because he had declaimed against her, into a ram ; and now 
 that ram pleads causes. The same sorceress also condemned 
 to perpetual pregnancy the wife of her lover, who was now 
 parturient, by closing her womb, and retarding the progress of 
 the infant, because she had reviled her somewhat severely. 
 And, according to the computation of all men, the belly of the 
 miserable woman has been distended for the space of eight 
 years, as if she was about to be delivered of an elephant. As 
 this [unfortunate] woman, however, and many others, had been 
 frequently injured by her arts, the public indignation was 
 excited against her ; and it was decreed, that on the following 
 day she should be severely punished, by being stoned to death. 
 But she frustrated this design by the power of her enchant- 
 ments. And as Medea, having obtained by entreaty from 
 Creon the space of one day, [prior to her departure] burnt the 
 whole of his palace, and also his daughter, together with the 
 old man, with coronal flames [or flames at the top of the 
 head]^'; thus, likewise, this sorceress, having performed certain 
 deadly imprecations in a ditch, as she herself lately told me, 
 enclosed all the inhabitants of the town in their own houses, by 
 
 9 i.e. The eastern and the western, sep;irated from each other by the river Nile, which 
 the ancients (as we are informed by Strabo, Cecgrafth. lib. ii.) considered as the 
 boundary of Asia and Africa. 
 
 \o So called, from inhabiting Tr\V ^vavTiav )(POl'a, i.e. earth contrary to that on 
 which we dwell. Hence they are either the .same with the Antipodes, or, at least, are 
 those who dwell in the inferior hemisphere which is contrary to ours. 
 
 II When Ja.son, having repudiated Medea, intended to have led away hiswife Glauca, 
 or, according to som: authors, Creusa, the daughter of Creon, king of Corinth, Medea 
 having obtained from Creon the space of one day, in order that she might prepare, as 
 she said, for her departure, burnt the palace, together with Creon and the bride. See 
 Seneca, in his Medea ; Oiodorus, Pliny, and Hyginus. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK I. 7 
 
 SO great a power of incantatiorjs, that, for the space of two 
 whole days, neither.the bars of the doors could be broken, nor 
 the gates be opened, nor the walls themselves be dug 
 through ; till, by mutual consent, the people unanimously 
 exclaimed, and swore in the most sacred manner, that they 
 would not offer any violence to her, and would afford her 
 salutary assistance, if any person should attempt to injure her. 
 Being, therefore, after this manner appeased, she liberated the 
 whole city. 
 
 "At midnight, however, she conveyed the author of this 
 conspiracy, with all his house, viz. with the walls, the ground, 
 and the foundation, closed as it was, into another city, distant 
 from thence a hundred miles, and situated on the summit of a 
 lofty mountain, in consequence of which it was deprived of 
 water. Because, likewise, the houses of the inhabitants were 
 built so near to each other, that they did not afford any room 
 to this new comer, she threw the house before the gate of the 
 city, and departed. You narrate, said I, stupendous things, my 
 Socrates, and such as are no less cruel than wonderful. And, 
 in the last place, you have excited in me no small solicitude, or 
 rather fear, (for you have thrown at me not a little sharp stone, 
 but a spear,) lest that old woman, employing in a similar 
 manner the assistance of some daemon, should know the whole 
 of our present conversation. Let us, therefore, quickly betake 
 ourselves to rest, and when we have lightened our lassitude by 
 the refreshment of sleep, fly from hence as far as we can before 
 the dawn of day. 
 
 " While I was yet persuading the good man Socrates thus 
 to act, he, being oppressed with unusual intoxication and 
 lassitude, snored loudly. But I, after I had closed the door, 
 secured it with bars, and placed my bed against the hinges of 
 it, betook myself to rest. And at first, indeed, I remained for 
 a short time awake through fear ; but afterwards I closed my 
 eyes a little about midnight. 
 
 "I was scarcely, however, asleep when the doors were 
 suddenly opened with a force too great to induce any one to 
 believe that this was effected by thieves ; and, besides this, the 
 doors were hurled to the ground, the hinges Ijeing entirely 
 broken and torn off. The bed, too, which was very short, 
 deprived of one foot, and rotten, was thrown down with great 
 violence ; and, falling so as to be reversed, covered and 
 concealed me, who was rolled in it, and shaken off the bedstead 
 to the ground. Then I perceived that certain affections of the 
 mind were naturally excited by contrary causes. For as tears 
 frequently proceed from joy ; thus, also, in that extreme fear, I 
 could not refrain from laughing, on perceiving myself, from 
 
3 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 being Aristomenes, made a tortoise. And, while prostrate on 
 the floor, and looking obliquely, I wait for the issue of this 
 affair, being protected by the situation of the bed, I saw two 
 women, of an advanced age, one of whom carried a lighted 
 lamp, but the other a sponge, and a drawn sword. With these 
 accoutrements they surrounded Socrates, who slept profoundly. 
 
 "Then she who carried the sword said. This O sister 
 Panthia, is my dearly beloved Endymion, my Ganymede, who, 
 both by day and by night, has made sport of my youth. This 
 is he, who, despising my love, not only defames me by 
 reproachful language, but also betakes himself to flight. But 
 I, indeed, am deserted by the craft of this Ulysses, and, like 
 another Calypso, am left to lament an eternal widowhood. 
 Extending, likewise, her right hand, and showing me to her 
 Panthia ; But this, said she, is his good counsellor Aristomenes, 
 who was the author of this his flight, and now, near to death, 
 lies prostrate on the ground with the bed upon him, and who 
 likewise sees all these transactions, and thinks that he shall not 
 be punished for the disgraceful things which he has said of me. I 
 will take care, however, that he shall repent, though late, or 
 rather presently, or even now, of his former defamation, and his 
 present curiosity. On hearing this, I, miserable man, felt all 
 my members in a cold sweat, and my bowels began to shake 
 with fear ; so that the bed also being agitated and restless, 
 leaped up and down on my back through my palpitation. 
 
 " But O sister, said the good Panthia, shall we first 
 dilacerate this man after the manner of the Bacchse^-, or, 
 binding his limbs, shall we amputate his genital parts ? To 
 this Meroe replied ; for I then perceived that her name accorded 
 in reality with the narrations of Sotrates : Rather let him live, 
 in order that he may cover with a little earth the body of this 
 miserable creature [Socrates.] And immediately after, having 
 moved the head of Socrates to the other side, she plunged the 
 whole of the sword into his body up to the hilt, through the 
 left part of the neck, and diligently received the emission of the 
 blood in a small vessel placed under it, so that no drop of it 
 might ever be perceived. These things I beheld with my own 
 eyes. The good Meroe, however, inserting her right hand 
 through the wound, as far as the most inward parts of the body, 
 and exploring them ; lest (as I think) she should at all deviate 
 from the rites pertaining to a victim ; drew out the heart of my 
 unhappy companion ; while he in the interim, his windpipe 
 bein:? cut by the force of the sword, emitted through the wound 
 a voice, or rather a stridulous uncertain sound, and, with the 
 
 12 i.e. As the Baccha: formerly dilaceratcd Panrheus and Orpheus. See Ovid. 
 Mclam. lib. iii. and xL 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS— BOOK I. 9 
 
 bubbles of blood, poured forth his soul. But Panthia stopped 
 the whole orifice of the wound with a sponge, and said, Beware, 
 O sponge, born in the sea, that you do not pass through a 
 river. Having thus said, and lifted my bed from the ground, 
 they entirely drenched me with the moisture of the most filthy 
 urine. 
 
 "Afterwards, they had scarcely passed over the threshold, 
 when the doors rose again entire to their pristine state, the 
 hinges settled in their receptacles ; the bars returned to the 
 sides of the doors ; and the bolts to their cavities in the posts. 
 But I, in the state in which I still was, prostrate on the ground, 
 dismayed, naked, cold, and drenched in urine, like an infant 
 that has recently emerged from the womb of its mother, and, 
 besides, this, half dead, or even surviving myself, and born 
 again after my death, or rather a candidate' for the cross, to 
 which I was now destined j said. What will become of me, when, 
 in the morning, this my companion shall be found with his 
 throat cut ? To whom shall I appear to say what is probable, 
 though I should speak the truth? For they will say, you 
 ought at least to have called for assistance, if you, though so 
 large a man, could not resist a woman. What ! was the throat 
 of a man cut before your eyes, and yet you were silent ? Why 
 were you not sla'n at the same time ? Why did outrageous 
 cruelty spare you, who witnessed the murder, and suffer you to 
 remain an indicator of the deed ? Because, therefore, you have 
 escaped death, now return to it. These things I frequently 
 revolved with myself, and the night verged towards day. 
 
 " It ap[ieared, therefore, to me to be liest, to leave the inn 
 piivately before daylight, and to pursue my way, though with 
 trembling steps. I take my bundle, put the key in the door, 
 and draw b.ick the bolts. But those good and faithful doors, 
 which had been spontaneously opened during the night, were 
 then scarcely, and with great labour, unfolded by the frequent 
 insertion of the key. And I then said, Soho, porter! where are 
 you ? Open the door of the inn, as I .wish to depart before the 
 break of day. But the porter, who 'was lying on the ground 
 behind the gate of the inn, and was even then half asleep, said, 
 What are you, who would begin your journey at this hour of 
 the night, ignorant that the roads are infested by robbers? 
 For, though you may wish to die, through the consciousness of 
 some crime which you have committed, yet we have not the 
 head of a gourd, that we shall die for you. Then said I, It is 
 nearly day ; and, besides, what can robbers take away from a 
 traveller who is extremely poor? Are you ignorant, O stupid 
 man, that he who is naked cannot be plundered even by ten 
 athletEe? To which the porter, weary, and half ashep, and 
 
10 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 turning himself on the other side, reph"ed, How do I know, 
 whether you have not killed your companion with whom you 
 came hitlier yesterday in the evening, and that now you commit 
 j'our safety to flight ? For I remember, at that time, [i.e. at 
 midnight] I saw Taitarus, which is at the extremity of the 
 universe, and in it the dog Cerberus ready to devour me. 
 
 " And I recollected, indeed, that the good Meroe did not 
 spare my throat through pity, but cruelly reserved me for the 
 cross. Returning, therefore, to my bedchamber, I deliberated 
 with myself about a speedy kind of death ; but since fortune 
 had supplied me with no other deadly weapon than my bed 
 alone, I said, Now, bed, most dear to my soul, who hast en- 
 dured with me so many sorrows, [this night] and who art con- 
 scious, and a witness of what has been transacted in the course 
 of it, and whom alone, when I am accused, I can adduce in 
 proof of my innocence, supply me, who am hastening to the 
 realms beneath, with a salutary instrument of death. Having 
 said this, I began to undo the rope with which the bed was 
 corded, and having tied one end of it to a small beam which 
 was under the window, and with the other made a sliding knot, 
 I stood upon the bed, elevated to destruction, and put my head 
 into the halter ; but while with one foot I kicked away the prop 
 by which I was supported, so that the rope, being strained 
 al)Out my throat, might, by the pressure of the weight, stop my 
 breath ; the rope, which was both rotten and old, suddenly 
 broke; and I, violently descending from on high, fell upon 
 Socrates, (for he lay near me) and, together with him, I was 
 rolled on the ground. 
 
 " And, lo ! at that very instant the porter rushed into the bed- 
 chamber, crying, with a loud voice. Where are you, that made 
 such haste at midnight, and now lie snoring, rolled in the bed- 
 clothes ? At these words, Socrates rose first, whether awakened 
 by my falling, or by the discordant vociferation of the porter, I 
 know not ; and said, It is not without reason that all these 
 hostlers are execrated. For this impertinently curious fellow, 
 by his unseasonable intrusion, with an intention, I have no 
 doubt, of stealing something, has roused me, though very weary, 
 from a profound sleep, by his outrageous noise. [On hearing 
 him say this,] I rose up, cheerful and glad ; and replete with 
 unhoped-for joy, I said. Behold, O most faithful porter, my 
 companion, my father, and my brother, who you, being intoxi- 
 cated, falsely accused me of having slain. And immediately 
 after I embraced Socrates, and kissed him for joy ; but he, 
 being filled with the scent of the most filthy liquor with which 
 those witches had infected me, vehemently spurned me from 
 him. Take yourself from hence, said he, for you stink like the 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS.t— BOOK I. II 
 
 bottom of a privy ; and he began mildly to inquire the cause of 
 this fetid smell. But I, miserable man, having immediately 
 devised an absurd tale, turned his attention to something else, 
 and, taking him by the right hand, said, Let us go, and enjoy 
 the pleasure of a morning walk. So I look my bundle, and 
 having paid the innkeeper for our night's lodging, we de- 
 parted. 
 
 " We had not proceeded far, before everything was refulgent 
 through the rising of the sun ; and I curiously and diligently 
 observed the neck of my companion, in that part in which I had 
 seen the sword plunged, and said to myself, foolish man, you 
 certainly have had a most absurd dream because you have been 
 overwhelmed with intoxication through wine. Behold, Socrates 
 is entire, sound, and safe. Where is the wound ? where the 
 sponge ? and, in the last place, where is the scar, so deep and 
 so recent ? Addressing myself also to him, I said, Skilful 
 physicians are justly of opinion that horrible and troublesome 
 dreams are the consequence of the body being distended with 
 food and wine ; for, because I drank too much wilie yesterday 
 evening, the rough night exhibited to me dire and truculent 
 images, so that 1 still fancy myself to be sprinkled and defiled 
 with human gore. To which he laughing replied, You are not 
 sprinkled with gore, but with urine ; nevertheless, my throat 
 appeared to me also, in my sleep, to be cut : for I felt a pain in 
 my neck, and thought that my heart was plucked out : and even 
 now my spirit fails me, my knees tremble, I stagger, and wish 
 for some food to refresh my spirits. Behold, said I, a breakfast 
 is ready prepared for you. And having said this, I took ih.': 
 scrip from my shoulders and placed it on the ground, and hastily 
 extended to him some cheese with bread. 1 also said. We will 
 sit down near that plane tree ; which having done, I also took 
 some bread and cheese from the same scrip. And beholding 
 him somewhat more intently, as he was greedily eating, I saw 
 him become of a pale yellow colour. At length also his natural 
 colour was so disturbed tl,at on imaging to myself, through fear, 
 those nocturnal furies, the piece of bread which I had first 
 taken, though it was very small, stuck in the middle of my 
 throat so that it could neither pass downward nor return up- 
 ward. For the frequency of our going together caused an ac- 
 cumulation of my fear ; for who would believe that one of 
 two companions could be slain, without the fault of the 
 other ? 
 
 " He, however, after he had devoured a sufficient quantity 
 of food, began to be impatiently thirsty, for he had greedily 
 eaten a great part of a most excellent cheese ; and not far from 
 the roots of the plane tree a gentle river sluggishly flowed, after 
 
12 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 the manner of a stagnant marsh, and which in its colour emu- 
 lated silver or glass. Lo ! said I, satiate yourself with the milk, 
 white liquor of this fountain. He rose, and, being covered with 
 his short cloke, inclined himself on his knees towards the more 
 equable part of the bank, attempting, with great avidity, to 
 drink the water. But he had scarcely touched the topmost dew 
 of it with the surface of his lips, when the wound of his throat 
 opened into a deep cavity, and the sponge suddenly rolled out 
 of it, accompanied by a small quantity of blood. Lastly, hir, 
 body, being without life, had nearly fallen into the river ; but I 
 laying hold of one of his feet, drew it with great difficulty and 
 labour to the upper part of the bank. And after I had lamented 
 my unfortunate comp-inion, as much as the time would permit, 
 I buried him in the sandy soil, which is eternally in the vicinity 
 of the river. I also, trembling, and exceedingly fearing for my- 
 self, fled through various and inaccessible deserts ; and, as if 
 guilty of homicide, having left my country and my home, and 
 embraced a voluntary exile, I now dwell in Etolia. having 
 there again entered into the connubial state. Thus far Aris- 
 tomenes. 
 
 That companion, however, of his, who from the first rejected 
 his narration with an obstinate incredulity, said, There is no- 
 thing more fabulous than this tale, and nothing more absurd 
 than this lie. .\nd, directing his discourse to me : But you, 
 said he, who are a man of a cultivated mind, as the form of your 
 body and your dress indicate, do you believe in this fable ? To 
 this I replied, I do not think there is anything which may not 
 be effected ; but all things happen to mortals according to the 
 decrees of Fate. P'or many things usually happen to me and to 
 you, and to all men, of an admirable nature, and almost in- 
 credible ; which, nevertheless, if narrated to an ignorant person, 
 would lose their credibility, But I, by Hercules, belie\e in 
 what Aristomenes has said, and give him the greatest thanks, 
 for having excited our attention by the pleasantness of a de- 
 lightful tale ; and enabled me to accomplish a rough and' long 
 journey without weariness and labour. With which kindness I 
 think that my horse also is much gratified, since I have been 
 carried without fatigue even to the gate of the city, not on his 
 back, but by my ears. And thus terminated our conversation 
 and our journey ; for both of my companions turned to the next 
 villages on the left hand. 
 
 But I entered into the first inn which I perceived, and 
 inquired of an old woman who kept a tavern, whether this was 
 tlie city Hypata ; and she gave me to understand, by a nod, 
 that it was. Do you know, I said, a certain person of the name 
 of Milo, who is one of the principal men of the city ? At this 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIOS. — SOOK I. I J 
 
 question she laughed, and said, Milo is deservedly considered 
 to he one of the first men who dwells out of the whole city, 
 and out of the pomcerium. Jesting apart, I said, tell me, 
 I beseech you, most excellent mother, what kind of man he is, 
 and where he lives ? Do you see, said she, those last windows 
 which outwardly look to the city, and that gate on the other 
 side, which fronts the next street ? There Milo dwells, who 
 abounds in money, and is very opulent ; but he is extremely 
 avaricious, and shamefully sordid. In short, he frequently 
 employs himself in usury on a very large scale, receiving for 
 this purpose pledges of gold and silver ; shut up in a little 
 house, and always dwelling on his tarnished money, with 
 a wife who partakes of his misery. Nor does he keep any one 
 besides in his house, except one female servant ; and is always, 
 when he walks abroad, habited like a mendicant. 
 
 To this I laughing replied, My Demeas has kindly and 
 providently consulted for me, who has recommended me, in 
 travelling to a foreign country, to such a man, with whom, 
 while I stay, I shall have no occasion to fear clouds of smoke, 
 or the smell of the kitchen. Having thus said, I proceeded a 
 little farther, came to the gate, and knocked at the doors, 
 which were strongly barred, at the same time calling to some 
 one to open them. At length, a certain girl came forth, 
 and said. Ho ! you who knock at our doors so violently, what 
 is the kind of pledge on which you want to borrow money ? 
 Are you alone ignorant that we admit of no pawn, except it is 
 either gold or silver ? Predict better things, I said, and rather 
 inform me, whether I shall find your master at home ? He is 
 indeed, she replied; but what is the cause of this question? 
 I have brought a letter, I said, written to him by the Corinthian 
 Demeas. Wait for me, she said, in this very place, while 
 I deliver your message to him. And immediately on saying 
 this, having again fastened the doors, she went into the house. 
 Returning from thence shortly after, and having opened the 
 doors, she said. My master requests you to come in. I 
 accordingly entered, and found him sitting on a very little bed, 
 and just then beginning his supper. His wife sat at his feet, 
 and before an empty table; which showing to me, she said, 
 Behold your entertainment. It is well, I said, and immediately 
 I delivered [to Milo] the epistle of Demeas, which having 
 hastily read, he said, I love my friend Demeas, who has 
 procured for me such an illustrious guest. And having said 
 this, he ordered his wife to depart, and desired me to sit in her 
 place. Taking hold of my garment likewise, and drawing me, 
 who was reluctant through modesty. Sit there, said he ; for 
 through fear of robbers, we dare not procure for ourselves any 
 
t4 tHB ItfETAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 seats, nor even as much furniture as is sufficient for domestic 
 purposes. I did what he ordered me to do. 
 
 He then said, I may rightly conjecture, from the excelknt 
 form of your body, and from ihis virgin modesty, that you are 
 sprung from an illustrious race. But my friend Demeas also 
 asserts ihf^ same thing in his letter. I beseech you, therefore, 
 not to despise the poverty of our little house For, behold 
 that little bedchamber contiguous to this room, and which is a 
 decent receptacle, will be for your use. Do not therefore 
 unwillingly take up your abode with us. For you will render 
 our house more ample by deigning to dwell in it : and will, 
 besides, procure for yourself no small renown, if, being content 
 with a little house, you emulate the virtues of Theseus, the 
 namesake of your father, who did not disdain the slender 
 and poor cottage of the old woman Hecale. Then, calling his 
 maid-servant, he said, Fotis, take the baggage of our guest, 
 and faithfully place it in that bedchamber, and at the same 
 time, bring quickly from the cellar oil to anoint him, a towel 
 to wipe him, and other things useful for the same purpose, and 
 conduct my guest to the neighbouring baths; for he is weary 
 through a journey sufficiently difficult and long. When I had 
 heard these things, considering with myself the mode of living 
 and the frugality of Milo, and wishing to conciliate myself to 
 him in a still greater degree, I said, I am not at all in want of 
 things of this kind, because I carry them with me in all 
 my peregrinations. And as to the baths, I can easily inquire 
 where they are. Do you, Fotis, take this money, and procure 
 for me hay and barley for my horse, who has so well conveyed 
 me hither : for this is ray principal concern. 
 
 When this was done, and my things were brought into that 
 bedchamber, I proceeded towards the baths, but first went to 
 the market in order to procure something for supper. There 
 I saw a great quantity of fish to be sold, and having asked 
 what v.-as the price of them, and. refused to give a hundred 
 pieces of money, at which the fishmonger valued them, I 
 bought them for twenty pence. Immediately on departing 
 from thence, Pytheas followed me, who had been a schoolfellow 
 of mme at Athens, who having at length recognised me, stopped 
 me in a friendly manner, and having embraced and gently 
 kisse-d me, said, O my Lucius, it is certainly a long time since 
 I have seen you, as we have not met before since we left our 
 master. But what is the cause of this your peregrination ? 
 You will know, I said, tomorrow. What, however, is the 
 meaning of this ? I rejoice that you have obtained your 
 wish. For I perceive the lictors and the fasces, and that your 
 dress is such as perfectly becomes a magistrate. To this he 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS.— BOOK 1. ig 
 
 replied, I am a prefect of the market and an edile, and if you 
 wish to buy any food,. I will take care that you shall have it at 
 a reasonable price. But I signified to him that I could not 
 avail myself of his kindness, because I had already provided 
 myself with a sufficient quantity of fish for supper. 
 
 But Pytheas beholding my basket, and shaking the fishes, 
 in order that they might be more easily seen, said. What did 
 you give for this refuse? I replied, 1 could scarcely obtain 
 them from the fishmonger for twenty pence. Which when he 
 had heard, taking hold of me by the right hand, he brought me 
 back again to the market, and said, From which of these men 
 did you buy this rubbish ? I pointed out to him a little old 
 man sitting in a corner, whom immediately rebuking in a most 
 severe tone of voice, in consequence of his authority as an 
 edile. Do you neither spare, said he, our friends, nor any 
 strangers, that you sell trifling fish for so great a price, and thus 
 have reduced this .city, which is the flower of all Thessaly, 
 to the form of a desert, and an inaccessible rock, through the 
 dearness of provisions ? But this conduct shall not remain 
 unpunished. For I will now make j'ou know how worthless 
 men ought to be restrained by an edile. And having thrown 
 my basket to the ground, he ordered one of his attendants to 
 stand on the fishes, and trample them under his feet. "With 
 whicli severity of discipline my Pytheas being satisfied, and 
 having persuaded me to depart, he said, I have sufficiently 
 punished, Lucius, this old man, by causing him to suffer so 
 gre.1t a disgrace. 
 
 ■Jhi.s being done, I betake myself to the baths, astonished 
 an.l j)erfectly confounded ; perceiving myself to be at one and 
 the same time deprived of my money and my supper, through 
 the officiou.sness of my school-fellow. Having likewise washed 
 myself, I returned to the house of Milo, and afterwards to my 
 bedchamber. And lo ! the maid-seivant Fotis said, Your host 
 invites you to .supper. But I, who already knew the parsimony 
 of Milo, gently excused myself by saying, that I thought 
 the fatigue of the journey was not to be removed by food, but 
 by slei-'p. Milo, however, on receiving this message, came 
 himself to nie, took hold of my hand, and kindly endeavoured 
 to lead me to suiiper. And while I delay and modestly resist, 
 he said, You shall not depart from hence till you follow me. 
 Accompnnying likewise what he said with an oath, he drew me, 
 who unwillingly complied with his pertinacity, to his bed. 
 And when I wa.s seated, he said. How is our friend Demeas ? 
 Are his affairs prosperous ? Tell me likewise all that you know 
 respecting his wife, children, and servants. He also more 
 accurately inquired of me the causes of my journey, which 
 
t6 THE Metamorphosis, etc 
 
 after I had carefully narrated, he then asked me most par- 
 ticularly concerning my country, and the leading men in it ; 
 and in the last place, he inquired about the prefect of it. 
 But perceiving that I was weary from the molestation of so 
 rough a journey, and also from the length of my narration, 
 that my words were cut short in the midst through sleep ; and 
 that lassitude occasioned me to speak indistinctly and to 
 stutter, he at length permitted me to go to rest. I escaped, 
 therefore, from the loquacious and hungry supper of the sordid 
 old man, burdened with sleep, and not with dainties, having 
 supped on tales alone. And returning to my bedchamber, 
 I delivered myself to the wished-tor rest 
 
THE 
 
 METAMORPHOSIS OF APULEIUS. 
 
 BOOK THE SECOND.. 
 
 Soon as, the night being dispersed, a new sun^ had made the 
 day, emerging at the same time- from sleep and my bed, being 
 likewise anxious and above measure desirous of knowing what 
 is rare and admirable, and recollecting that I was in the midst 
 of Thessaly, where the genuine incantations of the magical art 
 are reported to have originated by the unanimous consent of 
 tlie whole earth ; I diligently considered the several particulars 
 of that narration of my excellent companion Aristomenes, 
 which was occasioned by the proximity of this city Hypata to 
 Thessaly ; though I was otherwise in suspense from the desire 
 of seeing something wonderful, and my diligence in the investi- 
 gation of it. Nor was there anything in that city which, virhen 
 i belield, I could believe to be that which it really was. But I 
 was induced to think that everything was transmuted into 
 another form by magical incantation, so that the stones which 
 I met with were hardened into that shape from men ; the birds 
 which I heard singing had once been in the human form, but 
 were now invested with feathers, and that this was also the case 
 with the trees which were clothed with leaves, and surrounded 
 the pomoerium or precinct of the town ; and with the fountains 
 of water, which devolved their streams from the liquefied bodies 
 of men. I now likewise expected to find that the statues and 
 images would walk ; that the walls would speak ; that sheep 
 and that kind of cattle would prophesy ; and that an oracle 
 would suddenly be given from heaven itself and the orb of the 
 sun. Being thus astonished, or rather stupified with torment- 
 
 I f.(„ Tbe rising sun. 
 
1 8 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 ing desire, finding no beginning, or even trace of the objects of 
 my wish, I rapidly investigated every particular. Nevertheless, 
 while, like one intoxicated, I wander through the whole town 
 from one gate to another, I suddenly, and without knowing 
 where I was, came to the market in which delicate provisions 
 were sold. 
 
 There, as I was walking quickly, I overtook a certain woman 
 who was surrounded with a great number of servants. Her ear- 
 rings and her garments were adorned with gold, in the former 
 of which it was wreathed, and was woven in the latter, which 
 demonstrated her to be a woman of the first rank. By her side 
 there stood a very old man, who, as soon as he saw me, said, 
 This, by Hercules, is Lucius, and at the same time he kissed 
 me. Immediately after, he whispered in the ear of the woman 
 something which I did not hear. Will you not, said he, ap- 
 aproach and salute your parent ?^ I dare not, I replied, salute 
 a woman who is unknown to me. And immediately blushing, 
 I stood still with my head inclined to the other side. But she, 
 fixing her eyes upon me, said, Behold the generous offspring of 
 his most chaste mother Salvia ; and the other parts of his body, 
 also, admirably and exactly correspond to each other. For his 
 stature is graceful, his slenderness is succulent, his ruddiness is 
 moderate, his hair is yellow and without affectation, his eyes 
 are azure but quick, and the sight of them is sharp and vigor- 
 ous like that of an eagle ; in short, he is everywhere comely, 
 and his gait is decorous and artless. 
 
 She also added, I have nursed you, O Lucius, with these 
 my hands. And why should I not ? For I not only participated 
 with your mother of the same blood, but also of the same edu- 
 cation ; since we both originated from the lineage of Plutarch, 
 have both of us sucked the milk of the same nurse, and have 
 grown up together in the bonds of consanguinity ; and there is 
 no difference between us, except that which arises from dignity. 
 For the marriage of your mother was illustrious, but mine was 
 obscure. I am that Byrrhaena, whose name you may perhaps 
 recollect, because it was frequently celebrated among those by 
 whom you were educated. Betake yourself therefore confidently 
 to our place of abode, or rather to your own proper house. To 
 this I replied, my bashfulness having been dissipated by the 
 time in which she consumed in speaking, Far be it from me, O 
 mother, that I should desert my host Milo, without any just 
 cause of complaint. But I would sedulously take care to do 
 whatever can be done by me without violating the rites of hos- 
 pitality. And as often as I have occasion to come this way, I 
 will call upon you. , 
 
 fsrfmt ben is a term of love ^d reparation, but is not indicative oraUiaii«e. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK II. I9 
 
 While we were engaged in this friendly altercation, [con- 
 sisting of refusal on my part, and invitation on hers,] after we 
 had proceeded a little farther, we came to the house of Byr- 
 rhsena. The court-yard was most beautiful, which supported 
 statues of the goddess of Victory, raised on pillars, which were 
 quadripartite in the several angles : [i.e., were extended into 
 four parts.] The wings of the statues being stretched on each 
 side without any motion of the rolling sphere, and decorating 
 the unstable step of the dewy feet, made the images seem as if 
 they were not fixed, but were really flying. Behold, too, Parian 
 marble fashioned into a statue of Diana, was erected in the 
 middle of the whole place. This image was perfectly splendid ; 
 for the garment of the goddess appeared as if it was blown back 
 by the wind, and she seemed, as it were, to run and to oppose 
 those that were entering into the house. It was also venerable 
 on account of the majesty of the divinity which it represented. 
 Dogs stood on each side of the goddess, and these likewise were 
 fashioned of marble. The eyes of these seemed to threaten, 
 their ears were erect, their nostrils were open, and their mouths 
 ferocious ; and if any barking had been heard from the neigh- 
 bourhood, you would have thought it proceeded from the stony 
 throats of the dogs. That also in which the excellent statuary 
 had given the most consummate specimen of the carver's art 
 was this, that the dogs being erect, and with their breasts ad- 
 vanced, the hind feet stood still, but the fore feet seemed to run. 
 Behind the goddess a rock rose, after the manner of a cavern 
 covered with moss, grass, leaves, and sprigs ; in one place 
 vines, and in another shrubs, flourishing from the marble. 
 Within the rock the shadow of the goddess was resplendent 
 from the brightness of the marble. In the extreme margin of 
 the rock apples and grapes hung exquisitely elaborated, which 
 art, emulous of nature, represented similar to their exemplars 
 You would have thought that some of them might have been 
 gathered for food, when autumn, the giver of wine, had breathed 
 on them the colour of maturity. And if you beheld in a prone 
 position the fountains which, running under the feet of the god- 
 dess, vibrated in gentle waves, you would have thought that the 
 clusters of grapes which hung from the vine, among other things 
 in which they resembled reality, where also not destitute of 
 mobility. 
 
 In the midst also of the stony leaves was a carved Actseon, 
 looking behind him with prying eyes, and now invested with the 
 brutal form of a stag; and both in the marble and in the 
 fountain he was seen to be expecting the coming of Diana to 
 bathe. While attentively inspecting these works of art, I was 
 exceedingly delighted; All that you see, said Byrrhsena, is 
 
20 THE METAMORPHOSIS, 04 
 
 yours ; and immediately after, she ordered with a low voice all 
 the rest of her attendants to depart. And when all of tliem 
 were gone, By this goddess, she said, my dearest Lucius, how 
 exceedingly do I fear for you, and how much do I wish that you, 
 who are as it were my son, may be well advised ! Take care of 
 yourself, but especially beware of the evil arts and nefarious 
 blandisiimeats of that Pamphile, the wife of Milo, whom you 
 say is your host. She is one of the most renowned witches, and 
 is believed to be mistress of every necromatic incantation ; so 
 that by branches of trees and stones, and other frivolous things 
 of the like kind, when she has breathed on them with magic 
 words, she knows how to merge into the depths of Tartarus, and 
 into ancient chaos, all thif light of the starry world. For as 
 soon as she has beheld any youth of a beautiful form, she is 
 captivated by his elegance, and immediately turns upon him the 
 sight both of her eyes and of her mind. She employs blandish- 
 ments, she invades his spirit, she binds him with the eternal 
 fetters of profound love. Then despising those who are not 
 sufficiently obedient to her, and who rank among the vulgar, 
 she changes them in a moment of time into stones and cattle, 
 and any kind of beast ; but others she entirely destroys. I 
 tremble for you on account of these things, and entreat you to 
 beware of them. For she burns with an eternal love, and you, 
 through your youth and your beauty, are fitted for her purpose. , 
 This was what Byrrhasna, who was very solicitous for my 
 welfare, said to me. 
 
 But I, who was otherwise inquisitive, as soon as I heard the 
 name of the magic art, which I always wished to obtain the 
 knowledge of, was so far from dreading the blandishments of 
 Pamphile, that I voluntarily longed to become a proficient in 
 that science, even though at a great price, and to precipitate 
 myself entirely, with an accelerated leap, into the gulf of magic. 
 Kence, I hastily and insanely liberated myself from her hand, 
 as from a certain bond, and having speedily said farewell, I flew 
 to the house of Milo. And while, like one deprived of intellect, 
 I thus accelerate my pace, I said, Now, O Lucius, be vigilant 
 and attentive to yourself. For now you have the wished-for 
 opportunity [of learning magic], and you may satiate your mind 
 with admirable tales, which you have long desired to do. Away 
 then with puerile fears ; strenuously encounter with the thing 
 ilsclf more nearly; abstain from venereal connexion with your 
 hostess, and religiously reverence the conjugal bed of the 
 worthy Milo. Attack, however, with all your might the maid- 
 servant Fotis ; for her form is elegant, her manners are 
 ficetious, and her conver.-ntion delightful. Yesterday evening 
 likewise, when you went' to rest, she courteously brought you 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK 11. . 21 
 
 into the bed-cliamber, gently laid you in bed, very lovingly 
 covered you, and having kissed your head, showed l)y her 
 tountenance how unwillingly she left you ; and in the last place, 
 she frequently stood still, turning herself, and looking behind 
 her. Let us therefore, maka advances to Fotis, as a Mnq good, 
 felicitous, and fortunate, though it should not be salutary. 
 
 While I thus determined with myself, I came to the gate of 
 Milo ; yet I did not find either Milo or his wife at home, hut 
 only my dear Fotis, who was preparing for her master and 
 mistress a finely seasoned dish of minced meat, together with 
 some broth. And I conjectured indeed by my smell that she 
 was making very savoury food. She herself being neatly 
 dressed in a linen garment, and girded a little higher than 
 usual under her breasts, with a red and very splendid band, 
 stirred round with her beautiful hands that dish of minced 
 meat ; and as she frequently stirred it, the gradually vibrating 
 motion of her loins, and the gentle agitation of the flexible 
 spine of her back, produced a graceful undulation. 
 
 On perceiving this I was fixed in astonishment and stocd 
 wondering ; and at length I said to her, How beautiful and 
 pleasing, my Fotis, is the motion of your loins in stirring that 
 dish of meat ! what honeyed broth are you preparing ! Happy, 
 and more surely blessed he, who is permitted by you to dip his 
 finger in ic. Then she, who was otherwise a pleasant and 
 merrily loquacious girl, said. Depart, O miserable man, far from 
 me, depart from my fire, for if the flame of my love should 
 scorch you, though but in a moderate degree, you will be 
 profoundly burnt. Thus speaking, she looked at me and 
 laughed. I did not, however, depart from her, till I had 
 diligently explored the whole form of her body. But why do I 
 speak of other things pertaining to her ; since it has ever been 
 my only care, sedulously to survey, in the first place, the head 
 and the hair in public, and afterwards to enjoy them at home ? 
 In this decision I am confirmed, by considering that this part 
 of the body has a conspicuous position, and is the first thing 
 that presents itself to our sight ; and that the native splendour 
 of the hair effects the same thing in the head, as the delightful 
 colour of a beautiful garment in the other members of the body. 
 
 Lastly, most women, in order to exhibit their native 
 gracefulness and allurements, divest themselves of all their 
 garments, and long to show their naked beauty; being conscious 
 that they .shall please more by the rosy redness of their skin, 
 than by the golden splendour of their robes. But (though it is 
 a thing not lawful to speak of, and may there never be so dire 
 an example of such a thing) if you deprive a woman of the 
 most surpassing beauty of her hair, and strip her face of its 
 
i2 tHE kETAMORPHOSlg, OR 
 
 native elegance ; though she were sent from the heavens, 
 produced from the sea, and nourished in the waves ; though, I 
 say, she were Venus herself, surrounded by all the Graces, and 
 attended by the whole family of Loves, girded with her cestus, 
 fragrant with cinnamon, and dropping balsam as she moves; 
 yet if she were bald, she would not be able to please her own 
 Vulcan. 
 
 How beautiful is the hair, when it is of a pleasing colour, 
 shines with a glittering light, is vividly refulgent when opposite 
 to the rays of the sun, or is more mildly resplendent, and varies 
 its appearance in a different gracefulness ; at one time emitting 
 a brightness like that of gold, it sinks into a slender shade of the 
 colour of honey ; at another, with a blackness like that of a 
 crow, it emulates the azure flowers of the neck of doves; or now, 
 anointed with Arabian drops, [i.e. the tears of myrrh] separated 
 by the slender tooth of a sharp comb, and tied behind the 
 head, it presents itself to the eyes of the lover, — it then, like a 
 mirror, reflects a more pleasing image. How beautiful, when 
 being thick, it is agglomerated with prolific abundance on the 
 crown of the head, or extended in a long series flows down the 
 back ! Lastly, so great is the dignity of the hair of the head, 
 that though a woman should be adorned with gold, rich 
 garments, precious stones, and every other ornament, yet she 
 would not seem to be decorated, unless her hair was gracefully 
 divided. But in my Fotis, not studied, but neglected ornament, 
 added elegance to her person. For her copious hairs, gradually 
 falling pendulous on the hind part of her neck, and being 
 afterwards distributed through the neck, and leisurely reclining 
 on the flexuous border on the top of her garment, were, after 
 being a little conglomerated in the extremity, fastened by a knot 
 to the crown of her head. I could not, however, then, any 
 longer sustain the torment of such transcendent pleasure, but 
 immediately gave her a most luscious kiss, in that part where 
 the hair ascended to the summit of her head. 
 
 Then she turned herself towards me, and looking at me 
 obliquely, and with petulant eyes, So then, you novice, said 
 she, you have taken a sweet, and at the same time, a bitter 
 draught. Take care, lest from the excessive sweetness of the 
 honey, you do not procure for yourself the lasting bitterness of 
 gall. Why do you say so, my delight, I replied, since I am 
 prepared, being renovated, to be roasted by that fire, even for 
 one kiss? And having said this, and embraced her more 
 closely, I began to kiss her more ardently. And now she^ 
 cogerminating with me into an equality of love, exhaling from 
 her open mouth the odour of cinnamon, and ravishing me with 
 the nectareous touch of her tongue, I said to her, I shall 
 
GbLDliJl ASS, OF AiTULBlVS. — fiOOlt tl. <} 
 
 perish, or rather I am already a lost man, unless you win 
 he propitious. To which jho rephed, having again kissed me, 
 Be of good courage, for I am enslaved to you by tnutual 
 desire, nor shall our pleasure be deferred any longer; bat 
 as soon as it is night, I will give myself to your embraces. 
 
 It was scarcely, however, yet noon, when Byrrha;na sent to 
 me hospitable gifts, viz. a fat pig, five hens, and a cadus^ of wine 
 valuable for its age. Then I, having called Fotis, said, Bphold, 
 Bacchus, the exciter and armour-bearer of Venus, is come of 
 his own accord. For, the voyage of Venus alone requires such 
 provision as this ; viz. that through the whole of the wakeful 
 night, the lamp may abound with oil, and the cup with wine. 
 The rest of the day I passed in bathing, and afterwards in 
 supping; for, being invited by '.he good Milo, I sat at his 
 scanty table, as much as possible out of the view of his wife, in 
 consequence of recollecting the adirionitions of Byrrhaena; and, 
 tremblingly, cast my eyes upon her, af if I was beholding the 
 lake Avernus.* But as I continually looked at Fotis, who 
 waited on us, my mind was refreshed by the view. 
 
 As it was now evening, Pamphile, beholding the lamp, said. 
 It will rain ibundantly tomorrow. And Oii her husband asking 
 her how she knew that to be the case, she answered, That this 
 was predicted to her by the lamp.^ At this, Milo laughing, 
 said. We nourish in this lamp a great Sibyl, who sees from the 
 candlestick, as from a watchtower, all that is transacting in the 
 heavens ; and therefore, surveys even the sun itself. To this, 
 I subjoined, These are the first specimens of this kind of 
 prediction. Nor ought it to seem wonderful, that this flame, 
 though small, and the work of human hands, should, never- 
 theless, have a recollection of that greater and celestial fire, as 
 of its parent : and, through this, should divinely presage and 
 enunciate to us what the source of its existence is about to 
 effect in the summit of the heavens. For with us, at Corinth, a 
 certain Chaldean stranger now disturbs the whole city with 
 his admirable predictions, and divulges to the common people 
 the arcana of fate, for the sake of gain. Thus, for instance, he 
 would tell the day on which the nuptial knot would be tied ; 
 or the foundations of walls would be established so as to 
 
 3 The cadiu was a wins vessel capable of containing twelve gallons, aad was mad* ia 
 the shape of oar wine pipes. 
 
 4 Avernus was a lalce of Campania, near to Baiz, and was so called as if it was 
 aopvotf liesiitute ofbirds^ because, by its foul exhalations, it destroyed the birds that 
 flew over it. This lake was dedicated to Pluto, was thought to be the entrance to ihu 
 realms beneath, and is frequently, as in this place of Apuleius, assumed for (hose 
 realms. 
 
 5 Vid. Virgil. Georgic. lib. i. et Avien. in Arati-Frognostica. 
 
24 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OK 
 
 remain for ever; and what day would be auspicious to the 
 merchant ; or an anniversary to the traveller ; or adapted to 
 navigation. Lastly, to me enquiring of him what would be the 
 result of this my journey, he answered. That it would be 
 attended with many very admirable and different events. For, 
 he said. That at. one time 1 should obtain a sufficiently flourish- 
 ing renown, and.tha^at another, I should write a great history 
 and an incredil^e fabl.ej and compose books. 
 
 Milo, laughing- on. hearing this, said, Of what stature was 
 this Chaldean,',and' what was his name? I replied. He was 
 a tail man, and of, a -dark complexion, and his name was 
 Diophanes. " It is the same person, said Milo, and no other, . 
 who having similarly predicted many things to many in this 
 city, and gained through it no inconsiderable wealth, or rather 
 a great sum of moqey, unhappily experienced an inauspicious, 
 or, that I may speak more truly, a cruel fortune. For, on 
 a certain day, when, being surrounded with a great crowd, 
 he distributed destiny to all around him ; a merchant, whose 
 name was Cerdo, came to him, desiring to know what day 
 would be the fittest to take a journey. But, when Diophanes 
 had selected and pointed out to him the proper day, and Cerdo 
 having opened his purse, and taken out the money contained 
 in it, had counted a hundred pence, which he intended to give 
 him as the reward of his predictions, behold, a certain youth, 
 of a noble family, coming behind him, and taking hold of his 
 garment, embraced and kissed him most cordially. 
 
 " But Diophanes, having in his turn also kissed the youth, 
 and at the same time desired him to sit near him, was stupiHed, 
 as it were, by the unexpected sight of his friend; and forgetting 
 what had just then occurred, said to him. How long is it, my 
 much wished for friend, since you came into these parts ? To 
 this the other answered, I came about the beginning of the 
 evening. But do you also, brother, inform me in your turn, 
 how it happened that you sailed so quickly from the island 
 Euboea to this city, and have passed over both sea and land. 
 In answer to this, Diophanes, that excellent Chaldean, being 
 deprived of intellect, and not yet himself, said, May our 
 enemies, and all those who are hostile to us, meet with the like 
 cruel and Ulyssean peregrination. For the ship itself in which 
 we sailed, being injured by various storms, and having lost 
 both the mast and the rudder, could not be impelled to the 
 opposite shore, but was merged in the gulf; and we, having 
 lost all our property, were scarcely able to save ourselves. 
 Whatever we could scrape together, either from the pity of 
 strangers, or the benevolence of our friends, was all taken from 
 us by a band of robbers; and my brother, whose name was 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK II. Sj 
 
 Arisuatus, being the only one who resisted their violence, was 
 unhappily slain before my eyes. AVhile Diophanes was sorrow- 
 fully relating these particulars, the merchant Cerdo, taking up 
 the money which he had designed to pay for the prediction, 
 immediately ran away. Then, however, Diophanes, being at 
 length aroused Irom his stupor, perceived the injury which 
 he had sustained through his imprudence, especially when 
 he saw that ail of us who surrounded him burst into loud 
 laughter. 
 
 "But I wish, Lucius, that the Chaldean may have predicted 
 what is true to you alone among all of them, and that you may 
 be happy, and make a prosperous journey." , During this prolix 
 narration of Milo, I silently lamented, and was not a little 
 angry with myself, that having voluntarily introduced a series 
 of unseasonable tales, I had lost a good part of the niglit, and 
 the most delightful fruit of it. At length, therefore, I boldly 
 said to Milo, Let Diophanes bear his destiny, and again expose 
 to the perils both of land and sea the money which he may 
 obtain by his predictions. But suffer me, who am still weary 
 from the toil of yesterday, to betake myself quickly to rest. 
 Having said this, I rose up and went to my bedchamber : and 
 there I found a most elegant arrangement of delicacies For 
 the bed of the less male servants was laid on the floor, at a 
 considerable distance from ihe door : in order, I suppose, that 
 they might not be a witness of the nocturnal murmurs. A 
 small table stood by my bed, sufficiently laden with the rich 
 remains of the whole supper, and two cups already half full of 
 water, only waiting for the admixtion of wine. Near these, 
 also, was a stone bottle, the orifice of which gradually dilated, 
 and from which the wine could easily he drawn. 
 
 I was scarcely laid down, when, behold, my Fotis (her 
 mistress having now retired to rest), approached, scattering 
 roses upon the bed, some of which, also, she carried in her 
 swelling bosom. Having, likewise, closely kissed me, lied 
 a garland round my head, and strewed upon me flowers, 
 she seized a cup, and pouring warm water into it, extended it 
 to me that I might drink. But before I had drank the whole 
 she gently took it from me, and gradually diminishing :vith her 
 lips what was left, and at the same time fixing her eyes on me, 
 she sweetly sipped it. A second, and a third time, also, and 
 frequently, we pledged each other. 
 
 It happened on a certain day, that Byrrhiena earnestly 
 desired me to take a small supper with her ; and when I very 
 much excused myself, she said she would never forgive me if 
 I refused to come. I went therefore to Fotis to ask her advice, 
 considering her assent as an auspicious omen ; who, though she 
 
i6 THB I^ETAMORPHOSI^, Oft 
 
 was unwilling that I should depart from her the breadth of a 
 nail, yet she kindly granted me a little respite from our 
 amatory war. But take care, said she, that you return early 
 from supper; for a furious band of the most noble youth of 
 the city disturbs the public peace. Hence, you will every 
 where see men that have been murdered lying in the middle of 
 the streets ; nor can the aid afforded by the prefect of the 
 province, on account of its great distance, defend the city from 
 so great a calamity. But the splendour of your fortune may 
 create snares for you, and your being a foreigner may render 
 you contemptible. Do not disturb yourself, 1 said, my Fotis. 
 For I shall return early, not only because I prefer my own 
 pleasures to the banquets of others, but also in order that I may 
 remove your fear. Nevertheless, I shall not go unattended ; 
 for I shall carry with me the succour of my safety ; since 
 I shall have depending from my side, my accustomed sword. 
 Thus prepared, I betook myself to supper. 
 
 There I found many guests, and as she was a woman of 
 rank, they consisted of the flower of the city. The banquet 
 was sumptuous ; the beds were splendid with ivory, and 
 covered with cloth of gold ; the cups were ample, some- of 
 which were more precious than others, but all of them were 
 equally beautiful. This was of glass adorned with figures 
 exquisitely wrought ; there stood one of crystal perfectly pure. 
 Here was a cup of bright silver, and there of glittering gold ; 
 and in another place stood one of amber, admirably excavated, 
 so as to be fitted for a drinking vessel. In short, whatever 
 might be believed to be impossible to be effected, was there. 
 The servants who distributed the food, were numerous and 
 magnificently clothed ; and the delicacies were abundant. 
 Virgins, elegantly ministrant, attended ; and boys with curled 
 locks, and beautifully attired, frequently handed to the guests 
 old wine in gems fashioned into cups. And now, the lamps 
 being introduced, convivial conversation abounded, together 
 with frequent laughter, liberal jests, and pleasant gibes. Then 
 Byrrhaena thus addressed me : Do you find yourself comfort- 
 able in our country? For I know that we excel all other 
 cities in temples, and baths, and other public works. We 
 likewise abound with provisions. Certainly we have here 
 tranquil liberty ; and , the stranger who is intent on business, 
 may here find a multitude of men resembling those of Rome ; 
 but the unambitious stranger will here find rural quiet. Lastly, 
 the whole province comes to this place, for the sake of solitary 
 pleasure. To this I replied, What you say is true, nor have I 
 thought myself to be any where more free than I am here. 
 But I am very much afraid of the dark and inevitable retreats 
 
(JOLDEN ASS, Ot A^ULEIUS. — BOOK it. 2) 
 
 of the magic discipline. For it is said, that not even the 
 sepulchres of the dead are secure, liut that certain rehcs 
 and fragments of dead bodies are snatched from the burning 
 pyres, for the purpose of being subservient to the destruction 
 of the living. And old witches, at the very moment of the 
 preparation for a funeral, outstrip by the rapidity of their speed 
 the burial of strangers. In addition to what I thus said, 
 another person observed: Here, indeed, they do not even 
 spare any of the living. And one whom I know not, having 
 suffered something of this kind, was mutilated in his face, 
 which was everywhere deformed. 
 
 In the meantime unrestrained laughter diffused itself 
 through the whole banquet ; and the eyes of all the guests 
 were turned towards a certain person who sat in a corner 
 apart from the rest of the company. This man being confused 
 by the pervicaciousness of ail those who were looking at him, 
 and indignantly muttering to himself, was preparing to rise 
 [and go away.] But Byrrhsena said to him. Do not go, my 
 Telephron, but stop a little while, and, with your usual 
 urbanity, resume your narration from the beginning, that this 
 my son Lucius also may partake of the pleasure produced 
 by your facetious tale. To this, he said, You, indeed, madam, 
 always preserve an inviolable probity; but the insolence of 
 certain persons is not to be borne. Thus he, being moved 
 with indignation, The urgent entreaties, however, of Byrr- 
 hasna, who conjured him by her own life to give the narration, 
 forced him at length to comply. Telephron therefore, having 
 made a pile of the coverlets, leaning on his elbow, and raising 
 himself a little on the bed, extended his right hand and 
 composed the articulation of his fingers after the manner 
 of orators. Having likewise shut the two lowest fingers, he 
 expanded the rest in a prominent position, and gently smiling, 
 with his thumb stretched out, began as follows : 
 
 " While I was yet a pupil, I went to Miletus to see the 
 Olympic games, and as I wished also to visit these places 
 of this famous province, having travelled over all Thessaly I 
 came with ill omens to Larissa. And while roving through 
 every place, the money which I had brought with me for my 
 journey being very much diminished, I was exploring some 
 means of mitigating my poverty, I beheld in the middle of the 
 forum a certain tall old man. He stood on a stone, and 
 proclaimed with a loud voice : If any one wishes to be the 
 guardian of the dead body of one deceased, he shall be well 
 rewarded for the undertaking. Then I said to one that was 
 passing by, what is the meaning of this proclamation? Are 
 the dead in this place accustomed to run away ? He answered, 
 
38 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 Be silent : For you are very young, and perfectly a slrangur, 
 and you are also ignorant that you are in the middle of 
 Thessaly, where witches every where lacerate with their teeth 
 the faces of the dead, and such conduct is to them the solace 
 of the magic art. To this I replied, Teil me, I beseech you, 
 in what does this funeral guardianship consist ? In the first 
 place, said he, you must incessantly watch through the whole 
 night, with open and unwinking eyes, continually fixed on the 
 dead body ; nor must your sight ever be diverted Irom this 
 object, nor in the smallest degree turned from it. For these 
 worst of witches having transformed themselves into any 
 brutal body, creep in latently, so that they easily elude the 
 eyes both of Justice and the Sun. For they change themselves 
 into birds, and besides this, into dogs and rats, and even into 
 flies. Then, too, they oppress the guardians with sleep, by 
 employing dire enchantments. Nor can any sufficiently define 
 the magnitude of the frauds which they devise for the sake of 
 gratifying their libidinous appetite. Notwithstanding this, 
 however, not more than four or six pieces of gold coin are 
 offered as the reward of such a dangerous undertaking. And 
 in addition to this, which I had almost forgotten, if he who 
 watches does not the following morning restore the dead body 
 entire, he is compelled to repair the whole of whatever has been 
 bitten and taken from it, with discerptions from his own face. 
 
 "On hearing this, I invigorated my mind with a masculine 
 strength, and going directly to the cryer, I said. Cease to 
 proclaim any farther, a guardian is present ready prepared for 
 you ; tell me what the recompense will be. You wi:l receive, 
 said he, a thousand pieces of money. But be very careful, O 
 young man, to preserve the dead body of one of the principal 
 persons of this city from most iniquitous harpies. You narrate 
 to me, I said, absurdities and mere trifles. You behold in 
 me a man of iron, sleepless, and certainly more sharp-sighted 
 than Lynceus himself, or Argus, and one who is all eye. I had 
 scarcely finished, when he immediately brought me to a certain 
 house, the gates of which being closed, he introduced me 
 through a narrow back door, and pointed out to me a bed- 
 chamber, which was dark in consequence of the window 
 shutters being closed, and a woman clothed in a black garment 
 weeping; near whom the cryer standing, said. This man 
 confidently offers to watch the dead body of your husband for 
 the proposed reward. But she, removing to each side the hair 
 that hung down before her face, which even in sorrow was 
 beautiful, and beholding me, said. Endeavour, I beseech you, 
 to perform the office which you have undertaken vigilantly. 
 Lay aside all care, I said, and only proctire for me some 
 
GOLDEN ASS> -.OIT APUU'JUS. — BOOK II. 29 
 
 overplus adapted to the labour of my undertaking. To this 
 assenting, she hastily- arose, and brought me into another bed- 
 chamber. There she disclosed with her hand a dead body that 
 was covered with very white linen, in the presence of seven 
 witnesses who had been introduced into the room : and having 
 wept for a long time, and desired those that were present to 
 bear testimony, she diligently pointed out to them every 
 particular , a certain person at the same time describing in a 
 writing table the parts of the body, which he severally touched 
 for that purpose. Behold, said she, his nose is entire, his eyes 
 are in a sound condition, his ears are safe, his lips have not been 
 violated, and his chin is whole. You, worthy citizens, be 
 witnesses of this. And having said this, she sealed the tables 
 and departed. But I said to her, [Be so good] madam, as to 
 order that all things may be procured for me which are 
 necessary to this undertaking. What aie these ? said she. I 
 replied, A large lamp, sufficient oil {o supply it with, till it is 
 daylight ; warm water, with wine vessels and a cup, and a tray 
 furnished with the remains of the supper. Then she, shaking 
 her head, said. Begone, foolish man, who dost expect supper, 
 and the relics of feasting, in a house full of sorrow, and in which 
 for so many days no smoke has been seen. Do you think that 
 you have come hither to feast ? Rather assume, as adapted to 
 this place, sorrow and tears. And at the same time turning to 
 her maid-servant, she said, Myrrhina, immediately give him a 
 lamp and oil, and shutting me in the bedchamber, she departed. 
 
 "I, therefore, being thus left alone to the solace of the dead 
 body, having rubbed my eyes, and armed myself to vigilance, 
 soothed my mind by singing. AVhen lo, the twilight commenced, 
 the night advanced, still deeper and deeper night, and at length 
 midnight ; and my fear became greatly increased. But then a 
 weasel, suddenly creeping into the bedchamber, stood opposite 
 to me, and looked very sharply at me, so that the little animal 
 disturbed my mind by its great audacity. At length, l^owever, 
 I thus spoke to it : Depart, impure beast, and hide yourself with 
 little mice, that resemble you, before you experience our powerful 
 blows. AVhy do you not go away ? The animal fled, and • 
 immediately left the chamber. But directly after, a profound 
 sleep suddenly merged me into its unfathomable depths; so that 
 not even the Delphic god himseif could easily distinguish which 
 of us two that were prostrate, was more dead. I, thus 
 inanimate, and requiring another keeper, was nearly not there. 
 
 " Scarcely had the streperous song of the crested cohort* 
 proclaimed a truce to night, when I, being at length roused, 
 
 1^ The wriiers on rurd afTairs cull tlose birds that are nourished. at home in coops, 
 aves colwrtaltSt 
 
30 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 and terrified in the extreme, ran to the dead body, and taking 
 the lamp with me, and uncovering the face of the corpse, I 
 scrutinised every member, and found all was right. When lo ! 
 the miserable wife entered, weeping, with the witnesses of yes- 
 terday, being very solicitous for the event ; and, immediately 
 falling on the body, and kissing it frequently, and for a long 
 time she explored everything by the testimony of the lamp. 
 Then turnmg herself, she called Philodespotus^, the steward of 
 her house, and ordered him to pay me, without delay, the wages 
 of a good guardian. This being immediately presented to me, 
 We give you the greatest thanks, she said, O young man ; and, 
 by Hercules, for having so well accomplished this undertaking, 
 we shall afterwards rank you among the rest of our domestics. 
 To this, being delighted with the unexpected gain, and aston- 
 ished at the sight of the glittering pieces of gold, which I fre- 
 quently shook in my hand, I said. Indeed, madam, you may 
 consider me as one of your servants ; and, as often as you may 
 be in want of my assistance, confidently command it. I had 
 scarcely thus spoken, when the domestics, execrating the 
 nefarious omen of my words, took up arms of every kind and 
 pursued me. One began to strike me on the face with his fist, 
 another on the shoulders with his elbows ; by some I was 
 kicked, and by others my hair was plucked off and my garment 
 was lacerated. And thus, being mangled and torn in pieces by 
 reproaches and maledictions, like the proud youth Adonis, or 
 Orpheus, the son of the muse Calliope, I was thrust out of 
 doors. 
 
 " And while I recover myself in the next street, and too late 
 to call to mind my inauspicious and imprudent speech, and 
 confess that I deserved to suffer even more blows than I had 
 received, behold the dead body was now carried out, accom- 
 panied, for the last time, by lamentations and clamour ; and 
 was brought through the forum with all the pomp of a public 
 funeral, and according to the rites of his country, in conse- 
 quence of having been one of the principal men of the city. 
 To the side of the corpse came a certain old man, tearing his 
 native hair, and seizing the bier with both his hands, and with 
 a voice raised indeed, but interrupted with continual sighs, he 
 exclaimed. By your faith, O citizens, and by your public piety, 
 give assistance to your murdered fellow-citizen, and severely 
 revenge a most atrocious deed, on this abominable and wicked 
 woman ; for she, and no other, has destroyed by poison this 
 
 7 A name, composed of the two Greek words tftlXop and SanrOTtJp^ and signifying 
 one who williogly sabmits to the domination of another ; or, in the language of Horace 
 
 Mandpium domino. 
 
eOLDBN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK II. 3I 
 
 miserable young man, the son of my sister, in order that she 
 might gratify her adulterer, and invade his hereditary possessions. 
 After this manner the old. man loudly uttered querulous lamen- 
 tations, interrupted by sobs. In the meantime the common 
 people began to rage, and were impelled to a belief of the crime, 
 by the probability of its having been committed. They clamor- 
 ously call for fire ; they demand stones ; and they incite the boys 
 to the destruction of the woman : but she, loudly lamenting, and 
 adjuring all the divinities in the most sacred manner possible, 
 denied that she had perpetrated so great a crime. 
 
 " The old man therefore said. Let us refer the decision of 
 the truth to divine providence. Zachlas, the Egyptian, is present, 
 who ranks among the first of the prophets^, and who agreed with 
 me some time since, for a great reward, to recall for a little 
 while the soul of this dead man from the realms beneath, and 
 to reanimate this body. And having thus said, he brought into 
 the midst of the bystanders a certain young man, clothed in 
 linen garments,' who had on his feet shoes made from palm 
 leaves woven together, and whose head was entirely shaven. 
 The old man, likewise, having for a long time kissed his hands and 
 embraced his knees, said, priest, take pity on me, I beseech 
 you, by the celestial stars, by the Gods of the infernal regions, 
 by the natural elements, by the silence of night, the Coptic 
 enclosures, the Nilotic increments, the Memphitic arcana, and 
 the Fhariac [i.e. Egyptian] sistra. Give to this dead body a 
 short use of the sun, and infuse a small portion of light in eyes 
 buried in eternal night. We do not wish to resist fate, nor to 
 deny the earth a thing which is her own ; but we only request a 
 short space of life, as a solace of vengeance. 
 
 "The prophet being thus rendered propitious, took, a 
 certain herb, and laid it thrice on the mouth of the dead body, 
 and placed another on the breast of it. Then turning himself 
 to the east, and silently imploring the increments of the august 
 Sun, he raised the eager attention of those that were present, to 
 so great a miracle, by the form of such a venerable apparatus. 
 I mingled myself with the crowd, and standing on a certain more 
 elevated stone, which was behind the bier, I observed every 
 thing with inquisitive eyes. And now the breast of the corpse 
 began to swell with respiration ; the salubrious vein [i.e. the 
 artery] to have pulsation ; and the body to be filled with spirit. 
 
 8 Tbe Egyptians wer« consummately skilled in astrology and magic, and their priests 
 were prophets, and were believed to be divinely wi.<;e. Hence Pythagoras, Plato, and 
 the most famous of the Greek philosophers are said to have associated with them. 
 
 9 See book xL, where the linen garments ot the priests of Isis ar« more copiously 
 mentioned. Woollen garments were according to the doctrine of Orpheus and 
 Pythagoras, profane ; but those of linen were considered as most pure. Vid. Apul. Apoi. 
 
32 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 The corpse also arose, and thus spoke to the young man: Why, 
 I beseech you, do you bring me back to the ofBces of a 
 momentary life, after I have drank of the Letha:an cup, and 
 have swam over the Stygian marshes? Desist, I pray you, now 
 desist, and suffer me to remain in my rest. These words were 
 heard from the body. But the prophet, being a little more 
 excited, said. Why do you do not narrate every thing to this 
 crowd, and disclose the secrets of your death ? Do you not 
 think that the Furies can be called forth by my imprecations ? 
 And that your wearied limbs may be tormented ? To this [the 
 reanimated body] answered from the bier, and thus, with 
 a groan, addressed the people: I was destroyed by the nefarious 
 arts of a new wife, and being compelled to take an envenomed 
 potion, I delivered to an adulterer my yet tepid bed. Then the 
 egregious wife assumed confidence from the present circum- 
 stances, and resisting, with a sacrilegious mind, contends 
 against her confuting husband. The vulgar are inflamed, and 
 divided into contrary parties. These contend that the most 
 execrable woman should be immediately buried alive, with the 
 body of her husband. Others are of opinion, that no credit 
 should be given to the iying testimony of a dead body. The 
 subsequent speech, however, of the corpse, dissolved this 
 contest ; for, again profoundly groaning, it said, I will give you, 
 I will give you manifest documents of unviolated truth, and will 
 indicate to you what is known to no one else. 
 
 "Then, pointing to me with his finger: When this most 
 sagacious guardian, said he, of my body, diligently watched over 
 me, old enchantrcssess, ardenriy longing after the spoil of my 
 members, and on this account having frequently been in vain 
 changed into other forms, when they found they could not deceive 
 his sedulous attention ; having at length thrown over him the 
 dark mist of drowsiness, and buried him in profound sleep, they 
 did not cease to call me by my name, till my infirm joints and 
 cold members struggled, by sluggish endeavours, to obey the 
 mandates of the magic art. Then this man, who was alive 
 indeed, but dead only with sleep, because he had the same 
 denomination with myself, rose, ignorant of what had been 
 transacted, on hearing his name, and spontaneously walking like 
 an inanimate shadow, though the doors of the bedchamber were 
 carefully closed, suffered mutilation instead of me; his nose first, 
 and afterwards his ears, being amputated through a certain 
 chink. And, that other things might correspond with the fraud, 
 ilicy accurately adapted to him wax, fashioned in the shape of 
 his mutilated ears, and provided him with a waxen nose, 
 similar to his own. And now the miserable man stands here, 
 hnvng obtained the reward, not of his vigilance, but of his 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK II. 33 
 
 mutilation. On hearing this, I, being terrified, began to try my 
 fortune. 10 With my hand I take hold of my nose, it follows my 
 hand; I touch my ears, and they fall off. And while I am 
 pointed out by the direct fingers and oblique nods of those that 
 were present, while there was an ebullition' of laughter, I escape 
 between the feet of the surrounding crowd, wet with frigid 
 perspiration. Nor, being thus mutilated and exposed to 
 ridicule, could I return to my paternal abode ; but, with my 
 hair failing on each side of my face, I concealed the wounds of 
 my ears, and covered the disgrace of my nose with this linen 
 cloth closely applied to it " 
 
 As soon as Telephron had brought this narration to an end, 
 all the inebriated guests were again dissolved in laughter. 
 And while they ask permission to drink the health of their 
 friends, Byrrhsena thus addressed me : Tomorrow comes as a 
 day which it has been usual to celebrate from the eariiest 
 infancy of this city; on which day we alone, of all men, 
 propitiate the most sacred God of laughter," with hilarity and 
 mirth. Your presence will render him more pleasing to us; 
 and I wish you could devise anything, from your own proper 
 pleasantry, of a joyous nature, in honour of the God, in order 
 that we might, in a greater and more perfect degree, please so 
 great a divinity. . It is well, I said, and what you request shall 
 be done. And, by Hercules, I wish I could invent something 
 very festive, which might excite immoderate laughter. After 
 this, being myself distended with much wine, I immediately 
 rise, through the admonition of my servants, who informed me 
 that it was now night, and having hastily bid farewell to 
 Byrrhaena, I proceed homeward, with staggering steps. And 
 while we go through the first broad street, the torch to which 
 we trusted [as our guide] was extinguished by a sudden blast of ' 
 wind ; so that, being scarcely liberated from the darkness of 
 
 10 In the original, ientare /oriunam ; but the Belphin editor says, that instead of 
 /artuiuim, we should read, with Grnterus, forman. But, as I do not see any neceiuity 
 for this alteration, I have not adopted it in my version ; for tentare fortunam appears to 
 me to be a very natural expression on such an occasion as that on which it was used by 
 Telephron. 
 
 IX Pausanias mentions this solemnity, where he speaks of the Hypatensians. 
 Plutarch also, in his life of Cleomenes, mentions a temple which was dedicated to the 
 God of laughter ; and he likewise relates that a statue was erected to this divinity by 
 Lycurgus. Every providential energy of deity, about a sensible nature, was said, by 
 ancient theologists and philosophers, to be the sport of divinity. Hence the ancient 
 authors of fables call this peculiarity of the providence of the Gods, energising about 
 the world, toMghter. So that, as Froclus well observes (in Flat. Polit.), we must define 
 the laughter of the Gods to be their exuberant energy in the universe, and the cause 0/ 
 ilie gladness of ail mundane natures. And, as this energy is never-failing, the laughter 
 of the Gods is very properly said by Homer to be unextinguisked. The source, there- 
 fore, bf this exuberant energy and mundane gladness, is the God of laughter. 
 
34 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OK 
 
 unexpected night, it was with difficulty and wearineis that we 
 could reach our home, our toes frequently striking against the 
 stones. 
 
 But when we now drew nearer to our street, behold, three 
 men, of strong and vast bodies, rushed, with the greatest 
 violence, against our gate, and were not in the smallest degree 
 terrified by our presence, but frequently attacked it, with 
 a greater accumulation of force, so that to all of us, and 
 especially to me, they appeared to be robbers, and of the most 
 cruel description. Immediately therefore, I seized a sword, 
 liberated from my bosom, and which I carried with me, 
 concealed in my garments, for these purposes. Without delay 
 I threw myself into the midst of the robbers, and plunged my 
 sword profoundly into the body of each that presented himself 
 in the contest, till at length they expired before my feet, pierced 
 with many and deep wounds. And when I had thus fought, 
 Fotis being awakened by the tumult, and having opened the 
 gate, I entered into the house, breathing with difficulty, and 
 wet with perspiration. Immediately, also, I delivered myself 
 to bed and sleep, being as much fatigued with the slaughter of 
 the stubborn robbers, as if I had killed [the tricorporal^'J 
 Geryon. 
 
 19 The ilmpns of whom u oae of the twelve celebrated labours of HctvyUs 
 
THE 
 
 METAMORPHOSIS OF APULEIUS. 
 
 BOOK THE THIRD. 
 
 Now Aurora rode through the he.T.-ens, lashing;, with rosy 
 hand, her horses decked with ruddy tra;i[) ngs ; and night 
 restored me, snatciied from secure quiet, lu the day. But my 
 mind was in a fluctuating state from the recollection of the 
 deed which I had perpetrated in the evening. At length, 
 however, collecting my feet under me, joining together my 
 hands upon my knees, wiih my fingers twined in each other, 
 and thus sitting on my bed, I wept abundantly; now represent- 
 in^' to myself, in my imagination, the forum, the judicial 
 processes, the condemnation, and lastly, the executioner. Shall 
 I find, said I to myself, any judge so mild and so benevolent, 
 as to be able to pronounce me innocent, who am imbrued with 
 the blood of a triple homicide, and defiled with the gore of so 
 many citizens? This is the journey which the Chaldean 
 Diophanes pertinaciously proclaimed would be to me glorious. 
 Frequently revolving these things with myself, I deplored my 
 fortune. In the meantime, there was a violent knocking at 
 our doori, and a great tumult before our gate. And without 
 delay, a great irruption being made into the house, every part 
 of it was filled with magistrates and their attendants, and a 
 miscellaneous crowd. Immediately also, two of the lictors, 
 laying hold of me, by order of the magistrates, led me along 
 without any resistance on my part. And when we came into 
 the next street, immediately all the city pouring forth in a 
 great crowd, followed us in a wonderfully compact l)ody. And 
 though I walked sorrowfully with my head inclined to the 
 ground, or rather to the realms beneath, y>t by lookin;; 
 obliquely, I saw a thing altogether admirable. For anioi.g so 
 
36 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 many thousands of people that surrounded me, there was not 
 any one who was not ready to burst with laughter. 
 
 At length, having passed through all the streets, and after 
 the manner of those who, with lustral sacrifices, expiate, by 
 circumforaneous victims, the anger of the Gods,^ being led by 
 an angular circumduction into the forum, I was placed by the 
 tribunal And now the magistrates were seated in the lofty 
 pulpit, now the public crier proclaimed silence, when suddenly 
 all the assembly with one voice requested that a cause of so 
 much consequence might be tried in the theatre, on account of 
 the concourse of the people, which might be attended with 
 danger from its great multitude and compression. Immediately, 
 the people every where running tu the theatre, filled the seats 
 of it with a wonderful celerity. The entrances also, and the 
 whole of the building, were crowded. A great part of the 
 populace stood clinging to the pillars ; some were pendant 
 from the statues ; others were half conspicuous from the 
 windows and the beams of the building ; and all through an 
 ardent desire of seeing [what would be the issue of the affair], 
 paid no attention to their own safety. Then the public 
 ministers led me through the middle of the proscenium, like 
 some victim, and placed me in the midst of the orchestra. 
 
 A certain accuser, therefore, who was of an advanced age, 
 bemg again called by the loud bellowing of the cryer, rose up, 
 and having poured water into a certain vessel [i.e. a clepsydra], 
 which was slenderly perforated like a strainer, and through 
 which the water flowed by drops, for the purpose of limiting 
 the time of speaking, thus addressed the people : 
 
 "A transaction is now brought before you, O most holy 
 citizens, which is by no means of a trifling nature, but especially 
 regards the peace of the whole city, and which, by a weighty 
 example, will be profitable to others. Hence it will be most 
 proper, that all and each of you should endeavour, for the 
 public dignity, that this nefarious homicide may not go 
 unpunished, for having cruelly slain so many of the citizens. 
 Nor must you think that I have been induced by any private 
 grudge, to accuse him more bitterly, from a peculiar hatred. 
 For I am the prefect of the night-guard : nor do I believe that 
 my sedulous vigilance hitherto can be blamed by any one. I 
 will therefore faithfully narrate the transaction itself, and the 
 deeds that were perpetrated this night. When, about the third 
 watch^, I had gone round the whole city, observing every thing 
 
 1 In these iustral sacrifices^ the victim was led through the whole city, for the 
 purpose of expiating, by its death, imminent destruction or pestilence. 
 
 2 The night was divided by soldiers into four parts, each of which was called a 
 watch, and coosisted of three hours. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK III. 37 
 
 with exact diligence from door to door, I beheld this most 
 cruel young man every where committing homicide with his 
 drawn sword,; and three persons having been now ferociously 
 slain by him, were laid before his feet, still breathing, and their 
 bodies leaping in an abundance of gore And he, indeed, 
 being justly alarmed by the consciousness of so dire a deed, 
 immediately fled, and having escaped into a certain house, 
 through the protection of darkness, was there concealed during 
 the whole of the night. By the providence of the Gods, 
 however, which never suffers the guilty to go unpunished, I 
 took care, before he had clandestinely escaped, to bring him, 
 as soon as it was morning, before your venerable tribunal. 
 You have therefore before you an accused person, one who 
 is defiled with so many murders, one who is evidently guilty, 
 and one who is an arraigned stranger. Courageously, therefore, 
 pass sentence on a foreigner, for that crime, for the commission 
 of which you would severely punish one of your own citizens." 
 My most bitter accuser having thus spoken, stopt his loud 
 voice. 
 
 But immediately after, the cryer ordered me to begin to 
 speak, if I wished to make any reply to what had been said. I 
 however, at that time could do no more than weep ; not, by 
 Hercules, so much looking to my terrible accusation, as to my 
 miserable conscience. Nevertheless, assuming a divinely in- 
 spired boldness, I answered as follows : — " I am not ignorant 
 how difficult it is for one who is accused of the murder of 
 three cirizens, to persuade so great a multitude that he is 
 innocent, though he should speak the truth, and voluntarily 
 confess the fact. But if your humanity will allow me a public 
 audience for a short time, I can easily show you that I have 
 sustained the danger of my life, not for having deserved to lose 
 it, but through the fortuitous event of a reasonable indignation, 
 which lias unjustly caused me to be accused of so great a 
 crime. For as I was returning from supper, somewhat later 
 than usual, and besides this being intoxicated, which I will not 
 deny was truly my crime, I beheld before the gates of my 
 lodging (but I dwell with your worthy fellow-citizen Milo), 
 certain most cruel robbers, attempting to gain an entrance, and 
 to pluck the doors of the house from the hinges ; and having 
 with great violence torn off all the bars by which the doors 
 were fastened, they deliberated with themselves concerning the 
 destruction of the inhabitants. Lastly, one of them who was 
 more prompt with his hands and larger in his body, incited the 
 others by these words. Hark ye, my lads, let us attack those 
 within the house while they are asleep, with manly minds and 
 active strength. Let all doubt, and all sluggishness, be banished 
 
38 THli METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 from our breast. Let slaughter stalk with a drawn sword 
 through the whole house. Let him who lies asleep be slain ; 
 and him who endeavours to resist be knocked down. Thus we 
 shall depart from hence safe, if we leave no one in safety in 
 the house. I confess, O citizens, I thought it was the duty of 
 a good member of the community, (as though fearing exceed- 
 ingly both for myself and for my hosts, I was armed with a 
 sword which I carried with me on account of dangers of this 
 kind), that I should endeavour to put to flight and terrify these 
 most iniquitous robbers. But these perfectly barbarous and 
 atrocious men by no means betook themselves to flight ; and 
 though they saw that I was armed, yet they audaciously 
 resisted. The battle is arrayed. And at length the leader and 
 standard-bearer of the rest, having attacked me with great 
 force, immediately endeavoured to beat me down with a stone, 
 having seized me by the hair with both his hands, and caused 
 me to recline backward. But while he strove to obtain the 
 stone, I, with a sure hand, happily laid him prostrate. And 
 soon after, I slew another, who was adhering to and biting my 
 feet, with a blow levelled at the middle of his shoulder blade ; 
 and the third I pierced in the breast, as he was incautiously 
 running against me. Thus peace being vindicated, and the 
 house of my host, and the common safety, being protected, 
 I believed that I should not only be without punishment, but 
 also that I should be thought worthy of the public praise ; for 
 I have never been accused even of the smallest crime, but 
 have always been respected by my acquaintance, and have 
 always preferred innocence to every earthly good. Nor am I 
 able to discover why I now undergo this accusation of a just 
 revenge, which I was incited to take against the worst of 
 robbers, since no otie can prove either that prior to this affair 
 there was any private enmity between us, or that those robbers 
 were ever at all known by me. Or certainly some spoil should 
 be shown, through the desire of obtaining which it may be 
 believed that I perpetrated such an unlawful deed. 
 
 Having thus said, tears again bursting forth, and with my 
 hands suppliantly extended, I sorrowfully deprecated now these 
 and then those by the public pity, and by the love of those 
 dear pledges, their children. And when I thought that all 
 of them were now moved by humanity, and were sufficiently 
 affected by the commiseration o' my tears ; calling to witness 
 the eye of Justice and the Sun, and commending to the 
 providence of the Gods my present casualty, when I had raised 
 my eyes a little higher, I beheld all the people ready to burst 
 into loud laughter, and also my good host and father Milo 
 dissolving as well as the rest into excessive laughter. But 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APUr.KIUS. — BOOK III. 39 
 
 I then silently said to myself, Alas 1 where is faith, where is 
 conscience? 1 indeed am a homicidej and am capitally 
 convicted, for the safety of my host. He, however, not content 
 that he has not afforded me the solace of defence, laughs 
 at my destruction. 
 
 In the meantime a certain woman, arrayed in black, ran 
 through the middle of the theatre, weeping m d lamenting, and 
 carrying^ in her bosom an infant j and behind h r was another 
 old woman, in ragged and filthy garments, wnu also testified 
 her grief by similar lamentations. Both of them also shook 
 with their hands branches of olive, which were scattered about 
 the bier on which the dead bodies were laid, and beating their 
 breasts and mournfully weeping, evclaimed, "By the public 
 compassion, by the common law of hunianity, take pity on 
 these young men who are unworthily slain, and give to our 
 widowhood and solitude the solace of revenge. At least, afford 
 assistance to the miserable fortune of this infant, who is left 
 destitute in the first years of his life, and make a propitiatory 
 sacrifice to your laws and public discipline, with the blood 
 of this robber." 
 
 Afterwards, the magistrate who was the elder arose, and 
 thus addressed the people: "Concerning the crime, indeed, 
 which must be severely punished, he who committed it cannot 
 deny it One only care, however, remains for us, and which is 
 also of a secondary nature, that we should search after the 
 other persons who were the associates of the accused, in the 
 perpetration of so great a crime. For it is not probable, that 
 one man alone could have deprived of life three such robust 
 young men. The truth, therefore, must be extorted by tor- 
 ments. For the servant who attended the accused has privately 
 fled ; and the thing is brought to this issue, that he may by 
 torture be compelled to declare who were the partakers of his 
 wickedness, in order that the dread of so dire a faction may be 
 entirely removed." And, without any dela^*, fire, and the 
 wheel, after the manner of the Greeks, and afterwards every 
 kind of whips, were introduced. My sorrow was very much 
 increased, or rather was doubled, becaui^e I was* not permitted 
 to die entire. But that old woman who had disturbed every 
 thing by her weeping, said, " O best of citizens, before you fix 
 to the cross this destroyer of my unhappy sons, suffer the dead 
 bodies of the slain to be uncovered, that being more and more 
 incited to a just indignation, by an inspection of the form, 
 and, at the same time, of the age of the deceased, you may 
 treat him with a severity proportioned to the magnitude of the 
 crime." These worids were applauded; and immediately the 
 judge ordered me to uncover, with my hand, the dead bodies 
 
40 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 which were placed on the bed. The lictors, by the command 
 of the magistrates, instantly compelled me, in consequence of 
 my struggling, and for a long time resisting, the renovation 
 of the preceding crime, by a new exhibition. Lastly, therefore, 
 taking hold of my right hand, they extended it to my destruc- 
 tion on the dead bodies. At length, vanquished by necessity, 
 I yield ; and though unwilling, snatching off the pall, I disclosed 
 the bodies. But good Gods! what an appearance did the 
 thing assume ! what a prodigy ! what a sudden change of my 
 fortune ! For, as I was now in the possession of Proserpine, 
 and was considered as one of the family of Pluto, I suddenly 
 became stupefied with wonder, on finding things assume such 
 a contrary aspect. Nor could I, in appropriate words, explain 
 the form of this new spectacle. For those bodies of the 
 men that were slain were three inflated bladders, mangled in 
 different parts, and as far as I could remember of my vespertine 
 battle, they were cut in those places in which I appeared to 
 have wounded the robbers. Then the laughter which, through 
 the cunning of certain persons, had been for a short time 
 repressed, burst forth unrestrained among the people. Some 
 exceedingly rejoiced; others, by the compression of their hands, 
 mitigated the pain of their belly; and all of them leave the 
 theatre full of joy, and at the same time looking back on me. 
 
 But I, from the time that I laid hold of the pall, stood fixed 
 and cold like a stone, no otherwise than one of the other statues 
 or columns of the theatre. Nor did I emerge from the infernal 
 realms, till my host Milo came, and took me by the hand, and 
 with gentle force drew me with him, reluctant as I was, and 
 frequently sobbing and weeping. He, likewise, brought me to 
 his house through certain winding ways, having for this purpose 
 selected the most solitary streets, and by various conversation 
 consoled me, who was still sad, and even then trembling [through 
 my recent terror.] Nor could he by any means mitigate my 
 indignation of the injury I had sustained, and which stuck more 
 profoundly in my mind. But, lo ! the magistrates themselves, 
 with their insignia, immediately entering into our house, strove 
 to appease by addressing me as follows : We are not ignorant, 
 O Lucius, of your dignity, or your lineage ; for the nobility of 
 your illustrious family is extended through the whole of this 
 province.^ Nor have you, for the sake of contumely, suffered 
 that for which you so excessively grieve. Dismiss, therefore, 
 all the present sorrow from your breast, and expel this anguish 
 from your mind. For this jest, which we solemnly celebrate in 
 public every year, in honour of the most pleasant God of 
 
 3 i.i. Tbessaly, of which the city of Hypata was a part. For the mother of Apuleius 
 derived her origin in Thessaly, from Plutarch and his nephew Sextub the philosopher. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK III. 4 1 
 
 laughter, always flourishes with some new invention. The God 
 also every where propitiously and lovingly attends the author of 
 the invention, nor will he ever suffer you to be oppressed with 
 mental grief, but will perpetually exhilarate your countenance 
 with a serene gracefulness. All this city, likewise, will reward 
 you with the greatest honour, for the favour which you have 
 conferred on them. For it will denominate you its patron [by 
 a public decree,] and will ordain that a brazen statue of you 
 shall be erected. 
 
 To these words I answered, To you, indeed, O most splendid 
 and principal city of Thessaly, I shall be mindful that my 
 gratitude may be equivalent to such honours. But let me 
 persuade you to keep statues and images for those who are 
 more worthy and more excellent than I am. Having spoken 
 thus modestly, and for a little while smiling with a cheerful 
 countenance, and pretending as much as possible to be more 
 joyful, I courteously bade the departing magistrates farewell. 
 And behold a certain servant running into the house, said to 
 me. Your mother Byrrhaena requests you to take notice, that 
 the hour of the banquet is approaching, at which you promised 
 yesterday to be present. But I, trembling at these words, and 
 abhorring her. house even at a distance, said, Tell your mistress 
 that I would most willingly comply with her request, if I could 
 do so without violating my promise. For my host Milo, con- 
 juring me by the most powerful divinity, who presides over this 
 day, compelled me to promise that I would sup with him this 
 evening ; nor does he leave me, nor will he suffer me to depart 
 from him. On this account, I must defer supping with her to 
 another time. While I was yet thus speaking to the servant, 
 Milo, taking me firmly by the hand, brought me to the next 
 bath, having previously ordered that the bathing utensils should 
 be sent to us when we were there. But I, avoiding the eyes of 
 all men, and declining the laughter of those I met, and of 
 which I had been the artificer, walked covertly by his side. 
 Nor did I remember how I washed, or wiped myself, or how I 
 again returned home ; such was the shame that I felt, and so 
 much was I astounded on seeing myself poirited out by the 
 eyes, the nods, and tlie fingers of all men. Lastly, having 
 hastily taken a small supper with Milo, and excusing myself on 
 account of a great pain in my head, occasioned by my continual 
 weeping, and this excuse being readily granted, I betook myself 
 to rest. 
 
 Lying therefore sorrowful in my bed, I revolved in my mind 
 all that had happened to me, lill at length my Fotis, having put 
 her mistress to bed, came to me, very much unlike herself; for 
 she did not bring with her a joyful face, nor mirthful speech, 
 
4 2 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 but nnine with a sorrowful aspect and wrinkled forehead. 
 Lasily, iiaving spoke doubtfully and timidly, she said, I, of my 
 own accord, confess that I have been the cause to you of this 
 molestation; and immediately she drew a whip from her bosom, 
 and extending it to me, said, Revenge yourself, I beseech you, 
 on a perfi iious woman, or rather inflict on me some greater 
 punishment. Nevertheless, do not, I entreat you, believe that 
 I voluntarily occasioned you this anguish and sorrow. May the 
 Gods be more favourable to me, than that you should suffer, on 
 my account, the smallest anxiety ! And if anything adverse is 
 likely to befall you, may the whole of it be immediately washed 
 away with my blood ; but that which I was ordered to do, for 
 the sake of another thinsr, has, through my evil destiny, been 
 converted to your injury. Then I, being urged by my usual 
 curiosity, and longing to have the latent cause of this deed 
 unfolded, thus answered : That whip, the most iniquitous and 
 audacious of all things, which you have destined to scourge 
 yourself with, shall be destroyed, being broken in pieces by me, 
 before it shall touch your most soft and milk-white skin. But 
 tell me faithfully, i beseech you, what deed of yours the 
 malignity of fortune converted to my destruction ? For I swear 
 by your head, which is most dear to me, that I would not 
 believe any one who should assert that you have thought of any 
 thing baneful to me, nor would I give credit to it, though you 
 yourself should affirm it. Moreover, uncertain, or even adverse 
 events, cannot cause innoxious thoughts to become the subject 
 of blame. 
 
 When I had finished these words, I thirstily imbibed love 
 from the eyes of my Fotis, which were moist and tremulous, 
 faint with precipitate lust, and half open, through ardent and 
 absorbing kisses. So she, being refreshed with joy, said. Suffer, 
 I beseech you, in the first place, carefully to shut the door of 
 the bed-chamber, lest I should commit a great crime, through 
 the profane petulance of the words that may fall from me. 
 And, having thus said, she barred and firmly bolted the door, 
 and thus, returning to me, and embracing my neck with both 
 her hands, she said to me, in a low and very diminished tone of 
 voice, " I fear, and profoundly tremble, to disclose the hidden 
 affairs of this house, and to reveal the arcane secrets of my 
 mistress. But I anticipate better things of you and your 
 erudition, who, independently of the superior dignity of your 
 birth, and the sublimity of your genius, are initiated in many 
 sacred mysteries, and, consequently, know the sacred faith of 
 silence. Whatever, therefore, I shall commit to the penetralia 
 of this religious breast of yours, I beseech you to preserve 
 perpetually shut within its tecesses, and to remunerate the 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK III. 43 
 
 simplicity of my narration by the tenacity of your taciturnity ; 
 for the power of love, by which I am bound to you, ' ouipels 
 me to indicate those things to you, which, of all mortals, are 
 known to me alone. Now you shall know all the state of our 
 house; now you shall know the wonderful secrets of my mistress, 
 to which the souls of the dead are obedient, and the elements 
 are subservient, and by which the stars are disturbed, and the 
 divinities are compelled. N or does she ever employ the force 
 of this art in a greater degree, than when . she has lustfully 
 beheld a young man, of a graceful form, which is a thing that 
 happens to her frequently. 
 
 " Now, also, she vehemently loves a certain Boeotian youth, 
 who [is beautiful in the extreme, and [in order to allure him] 
 ardently employs all the power and machinations of her art. I 
 heard her yesterday, in the evening, I heard her, I say, with 
 these my own ears, threaten the sun with nebulous obscurity, 
 and perpetual darkness, if he did not more rapidly set, and 
 sooner give place to the night, so as to afford her an opportunity 
 of exercising the enchantments of magic. Yesterday she 
 accidently beheld this youth, sitting in a barber's shop, as she 
 was returning from the bath, and ordered me secretly to take 
 away his hairs, which then lay on the ground, and had been cut 
 off" by the scissors. These the barber found me diligently and 
 furtively collecting; and because we were in other respects 
 publicly infamous, through exercising the malefic discipline, he 
 took hold of, and severely reproved me. Wiil you not cease, O 
 most infamous woman ! [he said] to steal the hairs of beautiful 
 young men ? Unless, however, you desist from this wickedness, 
 I will take you, without delay, before the magistrates. And, 
 following his words by deeds, he explored with his hands, and 
 drew out, enraged, from between t.iy breasts, the hair which was 
 there concealed. Being grievously affected by this deed, and 
 considering with myself the manners of ray mistress, who is 
 accustomed to be excessively enraged, and to beat me most 
 cruelly, when she is disappointed in a thing of this kind, 
 I deliberated about making my escape, but on your account I 
 immediately rejected that design. When, therefore, I departed 
 from thence, sorrowful lest I should return with hands perfectly 
 empty, I beheld a certain person shearing, with a pair of 
 scissors, the skins of goats. And when I saw that these were 
 properly bound together, were inflated, and stood of their own 
 accord, I took a sufficient quantity of the hairs of them which 
 were scattered on the ground, and were yellow, and therefore 
 similar to those of the Boeotian youth : and these I delivered to 
 ray mistress, dissembling the truth. So, at the beginning of 
 the night, before you departed from supper, Pamphile, my 
 
44 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 mistress, being now beside herself, ascended into a gallery which 
 was covered with narrow pieces of wood instead of tiles. This 
 gallery, which she privately frequents, is situated in the higher 
 part of the house, has an aperture exposed to the winds, and a 
 prospect of the eastern and all the other climates of the world, 
 especially adapted to these arts. And in the first place she 
 adorned her deadly workshop with its usual apparatus, 
 viz. : with every kind of aromatics, with plates of metal 
 engraved with unknown characters, with nails taken from 
 shipwrecked vessels, and with the members of many lamented 
 bodies exposed to the open air, and also of those that had been 
 buried. Here were noses and fingers, there the nails by which 
 culprits had been fixed to the cross, and to which portions of 
 flesh adhered; and in another place the blood of those was 
 preserved that had been slain, and mangled skulls snatched 
 from the teeth of wild beasts. 
 
 " Then, having charmed the yet breathing fibres, she made 
 a libation with different liquors, at one time with fontal water, at 
 another with the milk of cows, and at another with mountain 
 honey. She likewise made a libation with mead. After this 
 she committed to the live coals to be burnt, with many 
 aromatics, those platted goat-hairs. And then, with the 
 unconquerable power of the magic discipHne, and the occult 
 force of the Gods, who were compelled by incantations, those 
 bodies, the hairs of which smoked with a crashing noise, were 
 immediately changed into a human form, and became sentient, 
 and heard and walked. Where also the scent of their spoils 
 attracted them, thither they came ; and, desiring to enter the 
 house in the place of the young Boeotian, they knock at the 
 gate. When, lo I you, being intoxicated, and deceived by the 
 darkness of the night, and bravely armed with a drawn sword, 
 like insane Ajax, yet not lacerating whole herds as he did, who 
 was hostile to live cattle ; but far more bold, you deprived of 
 life three inflated goat-skins, in order that your adversaries, 
 being laid prostrate, without any stain of blood, I might now 
 embrace you, not as a homicide, but as a slayer of bladders." 
 
 And thus, through the facetious narration of Fotis, merrily 
 jesting with each other, I said, Now, therefore, I may enumerate 
 this as the first glory which my fortitude has obtained, and 
 which is as it were one of the twelve labours of Hercules ; so 
 that my prowess in having slain three bladders may be 
 considered as co-equal to the destruction of the tricorporal 
 Geryon, or the three-headed Cerberus. In order, however, 
 that I may sincerely and willingly pardon you for the fault 
 which you involved ine in such great anguish of mind, 
 accomplish what I most ardently desire, and show me your 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK III. 45 
 
 mistress, when she attempts anything pertaining to this divine 
 [magic] discipline, so that, when she invokes the Gods, I may 
 at least see her changed into another form; for I am most 
 vehemently desirous of obtaining a nearer and more accurate 
 knowledge of magic, though you yourself do not appear to me 
 to be ignorant of, and unskilled in, things of this kind ; for I 
 know and perfectly experience in myself, that you are not 
 destitute of this knowledge, since you detain me, voluntarily 
 bound and subjected to you, like a slave (as I have always 
 despised matronal* embraces,) by those bright eyes of yours^ 
 and by your ruddy lips, splendid hair, open-mouthed kisses, 
 and fragrant breasts. Lastly, I neither am anxious to return 
 home, nor am I making any preparations for that purpose, nor 
 is there any thing which I prefer to this night. To this she 
 replied. How much do I wish, O Lucius, to effect that which 
 you desire ; but my mistress, on account of the envy and 
 malevolence of others, has always been accustomed to perform 
 such arcana alone, remote from the sight of every one. 
 I prefer, however, the gratification of your request to my own 
 safety, and I will willingly accomplish what you wish, exploring 
 for this purpose a fit opportunity. Do you only, as I at first 
 admonished you, faithfully preserve in silence a thing of such 
 great consequence. And now, sleep being infused into our 
 eyes, which were enfeebled with wakefulness, detained us in 
 bed till it was broad day. 
 
 Having passed a few nights voluptuously after this manner. 
 Fotis, on a certain day, ran to me, agitated and trembling 
 exceedingly, and informed me that her mistress, because she 
 had not hitherto made any proficiency in her amours, by other 
 arts, would, on the following night, assume winps, and be 
 changed into a bird , and would, thus transformed, fly to the 
 object of her love. I cautiously, therefore, prepared myself for 
 the survey of a thing of such importance. And now, towards 
 the beginning of the night, Fotis brought me, with doubtful 
 and silent steps, to that lofty chamber, and ordered me to look 
 through a certain chink of the door, that I might see what was 
 transacted. And, in the first place, indeed, Pamphile divested 
 herself of all her garments, and having opened a certain small 
 
 4 In the original, mairoHalium amplexuvmt which the Delphin editors interpret 
 C9mplexus nobiliutn /iaeminarum, and, by so doingi appear to me to have entirely 
 misuken the meaning of Apuleius ; for matrons are elderly ladies, and it was very 
 natural, in a young man like Apuleius, to despise the embraces of such as these, 
 conformably to the admonition of Horace : 
 
 Desine matronas seetarier, unde laboris 
 
 Plus liaurire nuli est, quam ex re decerpere fructus. 
 
 Satyr, lib. i. 
 
46 THE METAMORPHOSIS, Ok 
 
 chest, took from thence many boxes, from one of which the 
 covering being removed, she rubbed herself, for a long time, 
 with an ointment contained in it, from the extremities of her 
 j'eet to the crown of her head. When, also, with the lamp in 
 her hand, she had said much in a low voice, she shook her 
 limbs with a tremulous agitation; and from these, lightly 
 fluctuating, soft feathers extend themselves, and strong wings 
 burst forth, the nose is hardened and incurvated, the nails are 
 compressed and made crooked, and Pamphile becomes an owl. 
 Being th'.is changed, and emitting a querulous sound, she made 
 a trial of herself, and gradually leapt from the earth ; and soon 
 after, being raised on high, she flew out of doors, with all the 
 force of her wings. Thus she, indeed, was voluntarily changed, 
 by her own magic arts. But I, who was not enchanted by any 
 magic words, but only astounded at what was then transacted, 
 seemed to be anything else rather than Lucius. Thus, being 
 exterminated from intellect, and astonished, even to insanity, I 
 was dreaming, though awake; so that, for a long time rubbing 
 my eyes, I endeavoured to ascertain whether I was in a vigilant 
 state. At length, therefore, returning to an animadversion of 
 the present transactions, I took hold of the right hand of Fotis, 
 and, applying it to my eyes, I said. Suffer me, I beseech you, 
 to reap the great and singular fruit of your love, while the 
 occasion offers, and give me a little ointment from the same 
 box. This, my sweetest, I entreat you to grant, by those eyes 
 of mine, which are devoted to you, and thus, by conferring on 
 me a benefit which can never be remunerated, bind me to you 
 a perpetual slave ; and now cause it to pass that I may stand 
 near you, my Venus, a winged Cupid. 
 
 Would you, said she, my paramour, act fraudulently by me, 
 and compel me voluntarily to throw an axe at my legs ? Shall 
 I thus preserve my Lucius for the Thessalian virgins? Where 
 shall I seek for him when he is changed into a bird? When 
 shall I see him? May the celestial powers, I said, avert me 
 from that crime ; that I, who, borne on eagles' wings, should 
 be able to fly through all heaven, and be the sure messenger of 
 Jupiter, or the joyful bearer of thunder, should not, after I had 
 obtained this dignity of wings, frequently fly to my nest. I 
 swear to you, by that sweet little knot of your hair, with which 
 you have bound my spirit, that I prefer no other female to my 
 Fotis. This also occurs to my thoughts, that when once, 
 being rubbed with that ointment, I am changed into a bird of 
 that kind [i.e. into an owl], I ought to avoid all houses ; for 
 what a beautiful and agreeable lover will an owl be to matrons! 
 Do we not also see that these nocturnal birds, when they have 
 entered into any house, are solicitiously caught, and nailed to 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS.— BOOK III. 47 
 
 l!v 
 
 IS. 
 
 the doors, that, by. their torments, they may e.xpiate the calam 
 which they portend to the family by their iuas^uicious fl:g ,. 
 But, tell me, what I had almost forgot to inquire, what I mi:- 
 say or do, in order that I may return to this my :ur,n of Lucius 
 having divested myself of those wings? lie not solicitous, she 
 said, about this; for my mistress has shown to nic every thing 
 which can again change such form& into the human shape. 
 You must not, however, think that she did this through any 
 benevolence towards me, but in order that I mit;hc be able 
 to afford her a salutary remedy when she returns hr.me. i.astly, 
 consider with what small and frivolous herbs a thing ol' such 
 magnitude is effected; for a little of tHe herb dill, put into 
 fountain water, with the leaves of the laurel, is given as a 
 lotion, and also to drink. 
 
 Having frequently asserted this, she went into the bedchamber 
 
 with great trepidation, and took out a box from the chest, 
 
 which, I, having first embraced and kissed, and prayed that it 
 
 would favour me with prosperous flights, hastily divested myself 
 
 of all my garments, and having ardently put my hand into it, 
 
 and taken from thence a sufficient quantity of the ointment, I 
 
 rubbed with it the members of my body. And now, balancing 
 
 my arms with ■ alternate efforts, I longed to be changed into 
 
 a similar bird. No plumes, however, nor any wings germinated, 
 
 but my hairs became avidently thickened into bristles, my 
 
 tender skin was hardened into a hide, and the extremities of 
 
 my hands, all my fingers, having lost their number, coalesced 
 
 into several hoofs, and a long tail proceeded from the extremity 
 
 of my spine. My face was now enormous, my mouth was long, 
 
 and my lips immoderate and pendant. Thus, also, my ears 
 
 increase excessively, and were ciothed with rough hairs. And 
 
 while, destitute of all hope, I consider the whole of my body, I 
 
 see that I am not a bird, but an ass ; and, complaining of the 
 
 deed of Fotis, but, being deprived Ijoth of the human gesture 
 
 and voice, I silently expostulated with her (which was all I 
 
 could do), with my under-lip hanging down, and beheld her 
 
 sternly and obliquely, yet with humid eyes. 15ut she, as soon 
 
 as she beheld me thus changed, struck her forehead with her 
 
 indignant hands, and exclaimed, "Wretch that I am, I am 
 
 undone ! Trepidation, and at the same time festination, have 
 
 beguiled me, and the similitude of the boxes has deceived me. 
 
 It is well, however, that a remedy for this transformation may 
 
 be easily obtained ; for, by only chewing roses, you will put off 
 
 the form of an ass, and will immediately become again my 
 
 Lucius. And I wish I had prepared for this evening, according 
 
 to my custom, some garlands of roses ; for then you would not 
 
 have suffered the delay even of one night. But, as soon as it is 
 
48 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 morning, a remedy shall hastily be procured for you." After 
 this manner she lamented. But I, though I was a complete ass, 
 and, instead of Lucius, a labouring beast, yet retained human 
 sense. 
 
 Lastly, I deliberated much, and for a long time with myself, 
 whether I ought not to slay that most iniquitous and wicked 
 woman, by frequently kicking and biting her. But better 
 thoughts recalled me from the rash design ; lest, by punishing 
 Fotis with death, I should again extinguish for myself salutary 
 succour. Shaking, therefore, my dejected head, dissembling 
 my temporary injury, and submitting to my most severe 
 misfortune, I betake myself to that most excellent horse in the 
 stable, on which I rode, where also I found another ass 
 dwelling, who belonged to my late host Milo. And I thought 
 that this my horse, if there is in dumb animals any secret and 
 natural fidelity, would, being impelled by a certain knowledge 
 and pity, afford me a lodging, and the rites of hospitality. 
 But, by Jupiter Hospitalis, and the secret divinity of faith, that 
 excellent horse of mine, and the ass, moved their heads 
 towards each other, and immediately consented to my destruc- 
 tion; for, when they beheld me approaching to the manger, 
 with my ears fallen, they furiously attacked me, with hostile 
 heels, fearing for their food ; and I am driven far away from 
 that barley which, in the evening, I had placed, with my own 
 hands, before that most grateful servant. Being thus treated, 
 and expelled to a solitary place, I went to a corner of the 
 stable. And while I reflect with myself on the insolence of my 
 companions and meditate vengeance on my perfidious horse, 
 when, on the following day, I should become Lucius again by 
 the assistance of roses, I beheld a resemblance of the Goddess 
 Epona, placed in an excavation or niche, in the middle of a 
 pillar, which, also having a middle situation, supported the 
 beams of the stable. This image was carefully adorned with 
 garlands of roses, which had been recently gathered. At 
 length, therefore, recognising my salutary aid, I boldly rise, 
 precipitately borne along with hope, making all the exertion I 
 could, with my fore feet extended, and stretching out my neck, 
 and very much advancing my lips, I most strenuously 
 endeavoured to snatch the garlands. While, however, I was 
 endeavouring to accomplish this, my boy, to whose care my 
 horse had always been committed, suddenly beholding me, 
 indignantly arose and said, How long shall we endure this vile 
 ass, who, a little before, was hostile to the food of the 
 labouring beasts, and now attacks even the statues of the Gods? 
 But I will now cause this sacrilegious beast to be .both weak 
 and lame. And immediately searching for something with 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK III. 49 
 
 which he might strike me, he found a bundle of wood, acci- 
 dently lying there, and, selecting from thence a leafy staff, larger 
 than all the rest, he did not cease to beat me, unfortunate as I 
 was, till, being frightened by a loud knocking at the doors, and 
 a great tumult, and by the trembling voices of the neighbours, 
 exclaiming there were thieves, he betook himself to flight. 
 
 And without delay, a band of robbers having entered the 
 house by violence, seized on every thing, in it, and an armed 
 multitude surrounded all the parts of the house. The robbers 
 also, running everywhere, opposed themselves to those who flew 
 to give assistance. All of them being furnished with swords and 
 torches, illummate the night ; and the coruscations of swords 
 resembled the light emitted by the rising sun. Then attacking 
 a certain treasury, firmly closed with very strong bars, which was 
 placed in the middle of the house, and was filled with the wealth 
 of Milo, they broke it open with powerful axes. And from this, 
 when completely opened, they took away all the riches, and 
 divided them among themselves, having hastily tied the bundles 
 into which the portions of the booty were made. The multitude 
 of the bundles, however, surpassed the number of those that were 
 to carry them. Then, being brought to extreme poverty, through 
 too great an abundance of wealth, they led forth us two asses, 
 and my horse, from the stable, loaded us with the heaviest bur- 
 dens they could, and expelled us with the blows of staves from 
 the house which was now empty. Leaving also one of their 
 companions behind as a spy, who might inform them what in- 
 quiry was made about the robbery, they led us rapidly, and at 
 the same time frequently beating us, through the trackless paths 
 of the mountains. And now I, through the weight of things of 
 such magnitude, and through the difficulty of ascending to the 
 summit of the mountain, and the length of the way, was not in 
 any respect different from a dead body. «It occurred to me, 
 however, late indeed, but seriously, that I should fly to civil aid, 
 and liberate myself from so many miseries, by invoking the 
 venerable name of the emperor. 
 
 At length, it being now bright daylight, as we passed through 
 a certain populous village, which was much frequented on account 
 of fairs, I tried to invoke the august name of Caesar, in the 
 midst of a crowd of Greeks, but I could only utter the letter O ! 
 clearly and strongly, and was not able to enunciate the name of 
 Cassar. The robbers also, despising my dissonant clamour, and 
 striking in all parts my miserai)le hide, left it at length, [through 
 laceration], not even fit for the purpose of a sieve. But, at 
 length, Jupiter, whose providence extends to all things^ procured 
 
 5 In the original, " Sed tandem mihi inopinatam ^liattm Jupiter ille Iribuit." And 
 it is well observed by the Delphin editors, that Jupiter ille is an emphatic expression, 
 signifying that Jupiter who providenliaUy attends to all things, and retards the miser- 
 aiU. 
 
 R 
 
5© THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 for me unexpected safety. For while I passed by many small 
 farms, and large houses, I beheld a certain very pleasant little 
 garden, in which, besides other delectable plants, there were 
 virgin roses, wet with morning dew. Ardently desiring these, 
 and brisk and joyful with the hope of safety, I came nearer to 
 them. And while, with undulating lips, I long to eat them, a 
 far more salutary thought occurred to me, viz., that if I should 
 again become Lucius, being divested of the asinine form, I should 
 meet with certain destruction by the hands of the robbers, who 
 would either suspect me of being skilled in the magic art, or would 
 fear that I should betray them by my accusation. Atthat time, 
 therefore, I necessarily abstained from roses, and enduring my 
 present fortune, bit my bridle under the form of an ass. 
 
THE 
 
 METAMORPHOSIS OF APULEIUS. 
 
 BOOK THE FOURTH. 
 
 Nearly about mid-day, when the power of the sun causes 
 everything to be hot, we turned into a certain village, to some 
 old men who were known by, and familiar with, the robbers. 
 For their first salutation, their long conference, and their mutual 
 kisses, enabled me to perceive this, though I was an ass. For 
 they presented them with gifts from the things which were on 
 my back ; and by whispers, seemed to indicate that these gifts 
 were obtained by plunder. And now having lightened us of 
 all our burden, they sent us into the nearest meadow, that we 
 might there freely feed. Society in feeding, however, could not 
 detain me with the ass, or with my horse, because I was as yet 
 unaccustomed to eat hay. But as I was now perishing with 
 hunger, I boldly entered into a little garden which I saw behind 
 the stable, and filled my belly abundantly with potherbs, though 
 they were raw. Invoking likewise all the Gods, I inspected 
 every place, in order to see if by chance I could find in the 
 neighbouring gardens some rose trees resplendent with a fiery 
 redness. Kor the solitude of my situation now afforded me 
 good hope, that if, being removed from the public road, and 
 concealed by groves of trees, I should, by taking the remedy, 
 be raised on my feet, I then should, unseen by anyone, be again 
 transformed into the human shape, from the prone step of a 
 four-footed beast. 
 
 Whilst, therefore, I was fluctuating in that sea of thought, I 
 beheld, a little further, a valley shaded by a leafy grove ; among 
 the various plants and most pleasant verdure of which, the 
 bright colour of red roses shone forth to the view. And now in 
 my breast, which was not entirely brutal, I thought that the 
 
52 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 grove was sacred to Venus and the Graces ; in whose shady 
 recesses, the royal splendour of that genial flower [the rose] was 
 relucent. Then having invoked joyful and prosperous Event,i 
 I ran rapidly, so that, by Hercules, I myself thought that I was 
 not an ass, but that, through excessive velocity, I was changed 
 into a swift horse. That agility, however, and excellent 
 endeavour of mine, could not prevent the malignity of my fate. 
 For when I was now near to this place, I no longer saw those 
 fresh and delectable roses, wet with divine dew and nectar, 
 which felicitous brambles and blessed thorns produce ; nor did 
 I behold any valley, but only the margin of a river's bank, 
 environed with thickset trees. These trees had oblong leaves 
 like the laurel, and produced extended and reddish cups, after 
 the manner of a flower that has no scent ; which, nevertheless, 
 are fragrant, are called by the unlearned vulgar by a name not 
 at all rustic, laurel roses, and when eaten, are deadly to all cattle. 
 Being entangled with such adverse fates, and rejecting even 
 safety itself, I spontaneously longed to eat of those envenomed 
 roses. But while I slowly approach in order to pluck them, a 
 certain young man, who, as it appeared to me, was a gardener, 
 perceiving the great loss he had sustained, by my having 
 destroyed all his herbs, furiously ran to me with a great staff in 
 his hand, and taking hold of me, inflicted on me so many 
 blows, that I should have been in danger of losing my life, 
 unless I had at length prudently given assistance to myself. For 
 with my posterior parts elevated, I frequently kicked him with 
 my hind feet, and having severely punished him, and laid him 
 prostrate at the foot of the next mountain, I liberated myself by 
 flight. 
 
 Immediately, however, a certain woman, viz., the wife of the 
 gardener, as soon as she beheld him from an eminence, prostrate 
 and half dead, flew to him, with lamentation and howling, in 
 order that by her own commiseration she might be the occasion 
 of my present destruction. For all the rustics, being excited by 
 her lamentations, immediately called out their dogs, and every- 
 where incited them, that being driven by fury, they might rush 
 upon and tear me in pieces. I therefore, being without doubt 
 at that time near to death, when I saw that thfe dogs, who were 
 congregated and exasperated against me, were large and numer- 
 ous, and fit to fight with bears and lions, availing myself of the 
 counsel suggested by the existing circumstance, put an end to 
 
 1 Good Evfntf or the cause of prosperity in our undertakings, was adored by the 
 ancients as a God. According to Pliny (lib. xxxv., cap. 6), there was a statue of this 
 divinity, as also of Good Fortune, in the Capitol at Rome. This deity is one of the 
 twelve Dii Consentes, from the invocation of whom Varro begins his treatise on 
 Agriculture. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK iV. 53 
 
 my flight, and again, with rapid steps, returned to the stable from 
 whence I came. But the rustics having seized me, the dogs 
 being with difficulty restrained, and bound me with a very strong 
 thong of leather to the staple of a post, would, without doubt, 
 have scourged me to death ; if my belly, compressed by the pain 
 of the blows, filled with those raw herbs, and disordered with a 
 slippery flux, had not by ejecting dung, as through a tube, driven 
 away some by besprinkling them, and other by the fetid odour 
 which was emitted from my now broken shoulders. 
 
 And without delay, it being now nearly noon, the robbers 
 again led us from the stable heavily laden, and especially me, 
 whose burden was far greater than that of the rest. Now also, 
 when a good part of the journey was finished, I being exhausted 
 with the length of the way, oppressed with the weight of the 
 burden, and fatigued with the blows of the staves, and likewise 
 now being lame and staggering, from the worn-out condition of 
 my hoofs, as I was walking near a certain rivulet ,of gently 
 flowing and winding water, I thought, having happily found ^n 
 excellent opportunity, I would cunningly lie down with my legs 
 bent under me ; fully determined not to rise from thence, what- 
 ever blows might be inflicted upon me ; and being also prepared, 
 not only to be beaten, but to die pierced with a sword. For I 
 thought that being now perfectly exhausted and debile, I should 
 be dismissed on account of bodily infirmity : or, that the robbers 
 would certainly divide the burden which I carried on my back, 
 between the two other beasts, partly through impatience of delay, 
 and partly through a desire of accomplishing their destined 
 flight ; and that, instead of a deeper revenge, they would leave 
 me a prey to wolves and vultures. My evil destiny, however, 
 prevented the execution of so excellent a design. For the other 
 ass, having divined and preconceived my intention, suddenly 
 feigning lassitude, fell down with all that he carried, and lying 
 as if he was dead, did not endeavour to rise, either by the blows 
 of the staves, or by being pricked or raised in all parts by the 
 tail, the ears, and the legs ; till the robbers, being wearied with 
 posthumous^ hope, and having conferred with each other, 
 in order that their flight might not be retarded by attending so 
 long on a dead, or rather stony ass, they divided his burthen 
 between me and the horse, cut off his legs with a drawn sword, 
 and drawing him, still breathing, a little out of the public road, 
 threw him down a lofty precipice into a neighbouring valley. 
 Then I, considering with myself the destiny of my unhappy com- 
 panion, determined, laying aside guile and fraud, to prove rnyself 
 to my masters to be a worthy ass. For I heard them saying to 
 
 3 i.e. With hope the e£fect5 ot ' which are so slow, as not to be obtained till after death. 
 
54 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 each other, that we should soon stop, and that then the whole 
 of our journey would be finished, in consequence of having ar- 
 rived at the place of their abode. 
 
 At length, having passed over a little hill of easy ascent, we 
 arrived at the destined place, where all the bundles being untied, 
 and brought into their habitation, as I was now liberated from 
 my burden, I refreshed myself by rolling in the dust, instead of 
 making use of a bath. E h the thing, however, and the 
 occasion itself demand, that should here give a description of 
 the places and the cavern in which the robbers dwelt. For thus 
 I shall at the same time make trial of my own genius, and 
 enable the reader to perceive clearly, whether I was also an ass 
 in understanding and sense. There was a dreadful mountain 
 shaded by the trees of a forest, and lofty in the extreme. The 
 oblique windings of this, in the part in which it was surrounded 
 with the most rugged and therefore inaccessible rocks, were 
 environed with valleys full of very deep receptacles of water, 
 r.r.d everywhere thick set with thorns, which afforded a native 
 defence. The streams of a fountain falling from the summit of 
 a mountain, spread themselves in large bubbles, and rolling 
 through the declivities, poured forth water as bright as silver ; 
 and being now divided into many rivulets, and irrigating those 
 valleys with stagnant floods, they enclosed the whole like a calm 
 sea, or a sluggish river. Where the borders of the mountain 
 end, a lofty tower rose over the cavern, fortified by a sheepcot 
 consisting of strong hurdles, well adapted for the habitation of 
 sheep, and having its sides every way extended. Before the 
 door, small branches expanded themselves, so as to serve 
 instead of a wall ; and which you might certainly, on my 
 authority, denominate the court-yard of robbers. Nor was it 
 scarcely any thing else than a small cottage, covered in a 
 disorderly manner with reeds ; in which spies, selected by lot 
 from the band of robbers, as I afterwards found, watched by 
 night. Into this place, where they had with difficulty penetrated, 
 one after another, with their members compressed, [on account 
 of the narrowness of the entrance,] I and my companion being 
 secured by a strong bridle before the door, they thus spoke in 
 anger to a certain old woman, who was bent with the weight 
 of old age, and to whom alone the safety and protection of so 
 many young men appeared to be committed : " Do you who 
 are the last relics of the grave, the chief disgrace of life, and 
 the only thing loathed by hell, thus idly sitting at home, sport 
 with us ? nor afford any solace to these our labours so great and 
 so dangerous, by at least providing for us a supper, though late? 
 You, who are accustomed to do nothing else by day and by 
 night, than greedily ingurgitate wine in your insatiable stomach." 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK IV. 55 
 
 The old woman, trembling and fearful, on hearing them thus 
 speak, replied : " But, O young men, my most puissant and 
 faithful preservers, there is an abundance of pottage for you 
 well boiled, with a pleasant flavour. There is also a great 
 quantity of bread ; wine plentifully poured into well purified 
 bowls, and warm water prepared according to custom for your 
 hasty bath." When she had thus spoken, they immediately 
 undressed themselves, and being naked, refreshed by the heat 
 of a great fire, sprinkled with water, and anointed with oil, they 
 reclined before tables largely furnished with food. 
 
 They were however, scarcely seated, when behold a far 
 greater number of other young men entered, whom you would 
 immediately suppose to be similarly thieves : for they also 
 brought with them plunder, viz. gold and silver coin, vases, and 
 silken garments interwoven with golden threads. These being 
 refreshed by similar bathing, seated themselves on the beds of 
 their companion* ; and some of them, being selected by lot, 
 were ministrant to the rest. They eat and drink in a disorderly 
 manner, and pottage, and bread, and bowls of wine, were 
 heaped in abundance on the tables. They play clamorously, 
 they sing streperously, and they jest contumeliously, and in 
 every thing else resemble the Theban Lapithse, and the semi- 
 brutal Centaurs. Then one among them, who surpassed the 
 rest in strength, said, "We indeed bravely broke open the house 
 of Milo, of Hypata. And besides so great an abundance of 
 wealth, which we strenuously procured or ourselves, through 
 our fortitude, we departed to our camps with all our band in 
 .■•afety, and have returned home with an increase of eight feet,* 
 if this is to be at all considered as contributing to our gain. 
 But you, who have robbed in the Boeotian cities, have brought 
 back a debile number of your troop, having lost your most 
 brave leader Lamachus, whose life I should deservedly prefer to 
 all the spoil which you have brought home. His too great 
 fortitude, however, was his destruction. But the memory of so 
 great a man will be celebrated among that of illustrous kings, 
 and the leaders of armies. As to you, who are frugal robbers, 
 you exercise the scrutinizing art in small and servile thefts, 
 timidly creeping through baths, and the little houses of old 
 women." 
 
 To this, one of the latter band replied, "Are you alone 
 ignorant that larger houses are much more easily plundered ? 
 For though large houses contain a great number of servants, yet 
 each of these is more attentive to his own safety, than to the 
 
 3 Viz. Apuleius and his horse, these being the two quadrupeds which the robbers had 
 brought with them. 
 
56 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 wealth of his master. But men who lead a frugal and private 
 life more sharply defend and guard their fortune, if small, at the 
 hazard of their life : or, if ample, preserve it cautiously concealed. 
 And in the last place, the thing itself will verify what I have as- 
 serted. For we had scarcely arrived at Thebes, the city of 
 seven gates, when, while we diligently inquire after the wealth of 
 each of the citizens, (which is the primary study of this our art,) 
 a certain usurer named Chryseros, who was master of a great 
 sum of money, was not concealed from us, who, through the 
 fear of offices and public employments, pretended with great art 
 not to be opulent. Lastly, this man living alone, and remote 
 from others, contented with a small well-fortified cottage, but 
 beggarly in his apparel, and sordid in his expenditure, sat brood- 
 ing over his bags of gold. 
 
 " We agreed, therefore, first to break into his house, in order 
 that, despising the resistance of only one hand, [i.e., of the hand 
 of Chryseros,] we might, without any difficulty, quietly obtain all 
 his wealth. Without delay, therefore, as soon as it was night, 
 we waited before his gate, as it did not appear to us to be pru- 
 dent either to take it off the hinges, or remove it, or break it 
 open, lest the noise of the folding-doors should raise all the 
 neighbourhood to our destruction. Then that magnanimous 
 standard-bearer, our Lamachus, through confidence in his well- 
 tried valour, gradually introducing his hand into that part of the 
 gate which was perforated for the purpose of putting in the key, 
 endeavoured to draw back the bolt. But Chryseros, the most 
 iniquitous of all bipeds, having been for some time awake, and 
 perceiving what was transacted, gradually crept to the door with 
 a gentle step, and at the same time preserving a profound 
 silence, and suddenly, with a most powerful effort, fastened the 
 hand of our leader, with a great nail, to a plank of the door. 
 Leaving him also thus fixed by a deadly bond, he ascended to 
 the roof of the cottage, and from thence vociferating with a very 
 loud voice, beseeching his neighbours, and calling them by their 
 respective names, and admonishing them to regard their com- 
 mon safety, he exclaimed that his house was unexpectedly on 
 fire. Thus every one, being terrified by the proximity of the 
 impending danger, anxiously ran to procure assistance. 
 
 " Then we, being placed in the ambiguous peril either of 
 falling into the hands of those who were alarmed by the cries of 
 Chryseros, or of deserting our companion, devised, by his con- 
 sent, the occasion requiring it, a strenuous remedy. For we cut 
 off that part of the arm of our leader which joins the hand 
 fo the shoulder, by a blow inflicted through the middle ar- 
 ticulation ; and having left the arm there, we bound up his wound 
 with many rags, lest the drops of blood should betray our steps. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK IV. 57 
 
 and hastily took with us what remained of Lamachus. And 
 while, ignorant of the men and the place, we are urged by the 
 great tumult, and terrified into flight by the instant danger, he, 
 not being able either to follow us rapidly, or to remain where he 
 was securely, the magnanimous and transcendently brave man, 
 entreating us with many words and many prayers, exhorted us 
 by the right hand of Mars, and by the faith of our oath, to liber- 
 ate him, who was a good fellow-soldier, from both torment and 
 captivity^ For how is it possible that a bold robber can survive 
 his right hand, by which alone he is able to plunder and kill ! 
 He added, that he should be suflSciently happy to be willingly 
 slain by the hand ol one of his associates. And when he could 
 not persuade any one of us to commit a voluntary parricide*, he 
 drew his sword with the hand that remained, and having for a 
 long time kissed it, plunged it witli a most powerful stroke 
 through the middle of his breast. Then we, venerating the 
 vigour of our magnanimous leader, diligently wrapped his muti- 
 lated dead body in a linen garment, and committed it to the 
 sea to be concealed. And now our Lamachus lies buried in all 
 that element. And he, indeed, terminated his life in a manner 
 worthy of his virtues. 
 
 " Moreover, Alcimus could not withdraw himself from the 
 sinister nod of fortune, by his sagacious undertakings. For he 
 having broken open the little cottage of an old woman, while 
 she was asleep, when he had ascended into an upper bed-cham- 
 ber, and ought immediately to have slain her, by strangling her, 
 was willing first to throw to us every thing out of a loftier win- 
 dow, in order that we might take it away. And when he had 
 now strenuously thrown out all her goods, and was not willing 
 to spare even the bed of the sleeping old woman, having rolled 
 her out of it, he prepared, in like manner, to throw out the 
 counterpane which covered her. But the most iniquitous 
 woman, falling at his knees, deprecated him as follows : Why, 
 O my son, I beseech you, do you give the poor and lacerated 
 furniture of a miserable old woman to my opulent neighbours, 
 to whose houses this window extends ? Alcimus, being deceived 
 by the crafty cunning of these words, and believing that what 
 she said was true ; fearing lest what he had thrown out before, 
 and what he might throw out afterwards, should, through his 
 mistake, not fall into the hands of his associates, but into other 
 houses, thrust his body out of the window, in order that he might 
 sagaciously survey every thing, and particularly the contiguous 
 houses, of which the old woman had spoken. While, however, 
 he was attempting this, strenuously indeed, but without sufficient 
 
 4 This is said Kara\pr](mK(j)S, aiusivefy. 
 
58 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 caution, that most wicked old woman, while yet he was inclin- 
 ing downwards and pendulous, and perfectly astounded with the 
 survey, threw him out headlong, with an impulse which, though 
 feeble, was nevertheless sudden and unexpected. But he, falling 
 not only from a great height, but also on a prodigiously great 
 stone, which happened to lie near the house, separated and burst 
 the articulation of his ribs, and, vomiting rivers of blood, escaped 
 from life without being long tormented, having first narrated to 
 us what had been transacted. Him we also buried in a manner 
 similar to the funeral of our former leader, and gave him as a 
 good companion to Lamachus. 
 
 "Then, suffering the wound of a double loss, and rejecting 
 our Theban enterprise, we went to the next city, which is Platea. 
 There we found a certain man of great fame, whose name was 
 Demochares, about to exhibit the spectacle of gladiators. For 
 this man bemg of most noble birth, and excelling in wealth and 
 liberality, procured pleasures for the public with a splendour 
 worthy of his fortune. Where is the man whose genius is so 
 great or whose eloquence is so powerful, as to be able to explain, 
 in appropriate words, the several species of the manifold appa- 
 ratus ? Here were gladiators famous for the dexterity of their 
 hand; there hunters of well-tried celeiity ; and in another place, 
 criminals preparing for their banquets with insane tranquility, 
 food to fatten wild l)easts. There were stages consisting of 
 beams fixed in each other, towers formed from the junction of 
 planks, after the manner of a circumforaneous house, in which 
 were elegant pictures, and which were the beautiful receptacles 
 of the hunting which was to be exhibited [in the Circus.] And 
 besides this, who can enumerate the multitude and the different 
 kinds of wild beasts ? For, with the greatest diligence, he had 
 been careful to procure from abroad those noble sepulchres of 
 condemned heads.^ 
 
 " But, besides the other apparatus of so beautiful a spec- 
 tacle, he had procured in some way or other, with all the 
 wealth of his patrimony, a great number of very large bears. 
 For, besides those which he bad captured by hunting, and 
 besides those wfaicli he had bought for a great price, he also 
 solicitously nourished others with sumptuous care, which his 
 friends, contending with each other in kindness, had sent him 
 as gifts. This apparatus, however, of the public pleasure, so 
 illustrous and so splendid, could not escape the noxious eyes 
 of envy. For these bears, being wearied with their long 
 captivity, and at the same time macerated with the burning heat 
 
 5 i.e. Wild beasts, whose teeth would be the death, and bellies the sepulchres, of 
 those miserable condemned men. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK IV. 59 
 
 of summer, and being also morbid from long indolence, were 
 seized with a sudden pestilence, and reduced to a very incon- 
 siderable number. Hence, you might everywhere see lying in 
 the streets, ferine shipwrecks of half-animated bodies. Then 
 the ignoble vulgar, whom rude poverty compelled to seek for 
 sordid succour to their emaciated belly, and gratutious food, 
 began to run to the meat which was scattered every where. 
 
 " Finding this to be the case, I and this Babulus thought 
 of the following subtle stratagem. We brought to our lodping 
 a bear which surpassed the rest in fatness of body, as if we in- 
 tended to prepare it for food, and having perfectly stripped the 
 skin from the flesh, and carefully preserved all his nails, the 
 head of the beast being also left entire, so far as to the confine 
 of the neck ; we attenuate the whole hide by diligently scraping 
 it, and sprinkling it with ashes reduced to a fine powder, expose 
 it to the sun to be dried. And while it is purified by the heat 
 of that celestial fire, we, in the meantime, being powerfully 
 fattened with the muscular flesh of the bear, made those of the 
 troop that were present take the following oath : viz., that one 
 of our number who excelled the rest, not so much in strength of 
 body as in fortitude, and who especially should undertake this 
 voluntarily, should assume the form of a bear, being covered 
 with that skin, and that also, being brought into the house of 
 Demochares, he should afford to us an easy entrance through 
 the gate, in the opportune silence of the night. This crafty 
 transformation encouraged many of our most valiant associates 
 to engage in the undertaking ; and Thrasyleon, being elected by 
 the sufltrages of the band in preference to the rest, adventured 
 the peril of that doubtful machine [the hide of the bear.] And 
 now, with a serene countenance, he concealed himself in the 
 hide, which was now pliable and tractable through its softness. 
 Then we sewed up the extreme parts with a fine seam, and 
 covered the opening of it, though very narrow, with a multitude 
 of surrounding hairs. We also put the head of Thrasyleon into 
 the skin, near the throat, in which the neck of the beast had 
 been cut off. And having left small holes about the ru3strilsand 
 eyes, for the purpose of respiration, we enclosed pur most brave 
 associate, who was now entirely made a brute, in a cage which 
 we bought for a small sum of money, into which he hastily crept 
 with constant vigour of mind*. Thus, the first principles of the 
 fallacy being begun, we proceeded as follows to the rest : 
 
 6 In the original, guam consianti vigore /estinus irrtpsii ipse, which the Delpbine 
 editors erroneously interpret, in guam celerittr se ptnetravit alttcri impeiu. For 
 irrepsH cannot be explained by ptnetravit^ nor consianti vigore by iilacri impeiu. 
 These editors, however, are generally right in their interpretation ; but they sometimes 
 needlessly, and sometimes erroneously, substitute other words for those of Apuleius. 
 
6o THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 "Having obtained by inquiry the name of one Nicanor, who 
 derived his origin from a Tharcian race, and between whom 
 and Demochares there was the greatest friendship, we coimter- 
 feited a letter, in which that excellent friend was made to say, 
 that he had dedicated the first fruits of his hunting to 
 D^i-mochares, as an ornamental gift. And now, the evening 
 being far advanced, trusting to the assistance of darkness, we 
 presented to Demochares the cage in which Thrasyleon was 
 enclosed, together with that forged epistle. But he, admiring 
 the magnitude of the beast, and being delighted with the 
 opportune liberality of his friend, ordered that ten pieces of 
 golden coin should be immediately told out, from the little 
 coffers which he had with him, to us who had brought him so 
 acceptable a present. Then, as novelty is accustomed to excite 
 the minds of men to sudden spectacles, many ran together to 
 the brute, admiring its size, whose more curious inspection our 
 Thrasyleon restrained in a sufficiently crafty manner, by 
 advancing towards them in a threatening attitude ; and the 
 citizens, with one according voice, proclaimad Demochares 
 completely happy and blessed, who, after so great a destruction 
 of wild beasts, had been able to resist, in some way or other, 
 the attacks of ill fortune, by a new supply. He ordered, 
 therefore, that the beast should be immediately taken to his 
 newly-fallowed land ; and that he should be brought back from 
 thence [when it was requisite] with the greatest care. To this, 
 however, I subjoined. Be careful, sir, that you do not suffer this 
 animal, who is fatigued with the heat of the sun, and the length 
 of the way, to be mingled with a crowd of many wild beasts, 
 and which I hear are not well. But rather provide some place 
 of your house for him, which is open and exposed to the wind, 
 or rather, which borders on some lake, and is cool. 1 o you 
 not know that animals of this kind always couch in shady 
 groves and humid caves, and on pleasant hills, and near gelid 
 fountains ? Demochares, being alarmed by these admonitions, 
 and considering with himself how many wild beasts he had 
 already lost, assented, without hesitation, to what I said, and 
 readily permitted us to put the cage wherever we pleased. But 
 I said, we also are ready to watcii by night, in this very place, 
 before the cage, in order that we may more accurately 
 administer meat to the beast seasonably, and give him his 
 accustomed drink, as he is fatigued from the inconvenience of 
 the heat, and the trouble he has suffered [in being brought 
 hither]. To this Demochares answered, We are not in want of 
 your labour; for now nearly all my servants are, from long 
 custom, skilled in feeding bears. 
 
 "After this, having bade him farewell, we departed; and 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK IV. 6l 
 
 going out of the gate of the city, we beheld a certain 
 monument, raised at a considerable distance from the public 
 road, in a solitary and secret place. There we opened certain 
 cofiSns winch, through rottenness and age, were only half 
 covered, and which contained dead bodies, that were now 
 nothing but dust and ashes, as the receptacles of our future 
 spoil. And having, according to the rules of our art, observed 
 the time of night in which the moon does not shine, and 
 in which sleep powerfully invades and oppresses the hearts of 
 mortals with his first impetus, we stopped, with our band armed 
 with sworcis, before the doors themselves o' Democharcs, as if 
 we had come, according to agreement, to plunder his house. 
 Nor did Thrasyleon less accurately creep out of his cage, 
 availing iiimself of that time of the night which is adapted to 
 theft ; and immediately slew, with a sword, all the guards that 
 were sleeping near him, and, directly after the-porter himself. 
 Taking the key also, he opened the folding doors of the gate, 
 and to us, who promptly ran, and were received into the 
 interior parts of the house, he pointed out a treasury, where in 
 the evening, he had cunningly seen many silver vessels 
 deposited. This being immediately broken open, through the 
 force of our compact cohort, I ordered each of my associates to 
 take as much gold and silver as he could, quickly conceal it in 
 those habitations of the most faithful dead, and, returning with 
 speedy steps, reiterate his burdens. For I said, that I alone 
 would remain before the doors of the house, attentively 
 observing every thing that occurred, till they returned, as this 
 would contribute to our common good. For it appeared to me 
 that the form of a bear, running through the middle of the 
 house, was adapted to terrify any of the servants who might 
 happen to be awake. For who, however brave and intrepid he 
 might be, would not, on beholding the stupendous form of so 
 great a beast, especially in the night, immediately betake himself 
 to flight, and keep himself, terrified and trembling, in his bolted 
 chamber ? 
 
 "Sinister event, however, opposed all these plans, which were 
 prepared with salutary counsel. For, while we were anxiously 
 waiting for the return of our companions, a certain menial boy, 
 being disturbed (so the Gods ordained) by the noise, crept 
 gently forward, and seeing the bear running, without restraint, 
 through the whole house, he observed the greatest possible 
 silence, returned from whence he came, and told to every one, 
 as far as he was able, what he had seen in the house. And, 
 without delay, the whole house was filled with a numerous assem- 
 blage of servants. The darkness of the night was illuminated 
 with torches, lamps, wax and tallow candles, and other instru- 
 
6a THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 ments^ of noctnrnal light. Nor did anyone among so great a 
 multitude come without arms, but all of them being furnished 
 with clubs, spears, and drawn swords^ occupy and defend the 
 entrance of the house. They also excited those hunting dogs, 
 that have long ears and rough hairs, to repress the beast. Then 
 I, the crowd of servants still increasing, left the house with a 
 retrograde flight ; but, concealing myself behind the gate, I be- 
 held Thrasyleon wonderfully resisting the dogs. For, though he 
 was arrived at the last goal of life, yet, not being forgetful either 
 of himself, or of us, or his pristine fortitude, he struggled against 
 the gaping jaws themselves of Cerberus. Lastly, reclaiming with 
 spirit the scenic person which he had voluntarily assumed, at 
 one time flying, and at another resisting, with the various figures 
 and gestures of his body, he at length escaped from the house. 
 Yet, though he had gained his liberty abroad, he was not able 
 to procure his safety by flight ; for all the dogs of the next street, 
 who were sufficiently fierce, and sufficiently numerous, mingled 
 themselves in troops with those hunting dogs, which, at the same 
 time, came out of the house, and pursued him in a similar man- 
 ner. I then beheld a miserable and deadly spectacle, our 
 Thrasyleon surrounded and besieged by troops of dogs, cruelly 
 attacking and lacerating him with numerous bites. 
 
 " Lastly, not enduring to see him suffer sUch great pain, I 
 mingled myself with the surrounding crowd of people, and thus 
 dissuaded the instigators of the dogs, this being the only thing 
 in which I could give secret assistance to my excellent associate : 
 O great and extreme wickedness ! I said, we are destroying a 
 large and very precious beast. My artful address, however, to 
 the crowd, was of no advantage to the most unhappy youth. 
 For a certain tall and robust man, running out of the house, in- 
 stantly thrust a spear through the middle of the viscera of the 
 bear, and the like was also done by another person. And, be- 
 hold ! many, having shaken off fear, contended with each other, 
 in drawing near to, and piercing him with their swords. But 
 Thrasyleon, the illustrious ornament of our band, having, at 
 length, that spirit of his which was worthy of immortality van- 
 quished, but not his patience, did not violate the faith of his 
 oath, by any vociferation or howling. But, being now lacerated 
 by the bites of the dogs, cut in pieces by the sword, and imitating 
 with all his might the bellowing of a wild beast, enduring also, 
 with a generous vigour, his present calamity, reserved for him- 
 self glory, and rendered back his life to fate. Nevertheless, he 
 had struck that crowd with such great terror and fear, that till 
 the dawn, and even when it was broad day, no one dared to 
 touch the beast, even with his finger, though he was prostrate 
 on the ground. At length, however, a certain butcher, who was 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK IV. 63 
 
 a little bolder than the rest, having slowly and timidly cut open 
 the belly of the beast, stripped the magnificent robber of the 
 bear's hide, by which he had been concealed. Thus Thrasyleon 
 also perished for us, but has not perished so far as pertains to 
 renown We, therefore, having immediately collected those 
 bundles which the faithful dead had preserved for us, and 
 quitting, with rapid step, the boundaries of Plaiaea, frequently 
 considered with ourselves, that no fidelity was to be found in 
 life ; because Faith, hating our perfidy, had descended to the 
 region of departed spirits, and the dead. Thus, all of us being 
 fatigued with the weight of the bundles, and the roughness of 
 the way through which we travelled, and also having lost three 
 of our associates, we have brought these spoils which you 
 see." 
 
 After he had thus ended his speech, they poured out wine 
 from golden bowls, to the memory of their dead associates ; and 
 afterwards, having soothed the god Mars by certain hymns, they 
 slept for a short time. But that old woman distributed to us 
 fresh barley in abundance, and without measure ; so that my 
 horse, indeed, having obtained such great plenty, and enjoying 
 it alone, inight think that he was received at a pontifical ban- 
 quet. I, however, though at other times [while I was a man] I 
 had always eaten barley, gradually broken, diminished by a long 
 continued section, and boiled in broth ; having explored a cor- 
 ner, in which the remainder of the bread, belonging to the whole 
 band, had been heaped together, strenuously exercised my jaws, 
 which had been injured by long fasting, and now began to be 
 covered with the webs of spiders. 
 
 And, behold, when the night was far advanced, the robbers, 
 being roused from their sleep, removed their camp ; and, being 
 variously equipped, so that one part of them was armed with 
 swords, but another was transformed into nightly ghosts, they 
 left their abode with hasty steps. Nevertheless, not even im- 
 pending sleep could prevent me from eating incessantly and 
 greedily. And though before, when I was Lucius, I could de- 
 part from table, contented with one or two loaves, yet then in- 
 dulging my belly, which was so capacious, I had now nearly 
 eaten the third canister of bread. The bright light of day found 
 me intent on this employment. At length, however, being im- 
 pelled by asinine shame, but reluctantly departing from thence, 
 I assuaged my thirst in a neighbouring rivulet. 
 
 Not long after this, the robbers returned, very anxious and 
 solicitous, bringing with them no bundle whatever, nor even a 
 mean garment, but arrned alone with swords, they brought, with 
 all their hands, and with all the forces of their band, a virgin of 
 a beautiful form ; and, as the magnificence of her habit 
 
64 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 indicated, one of the first rank of that country. This virgin was, 
 by Hercules, an object of desire even to such an ass as I was ; 
 but she was brought in by them, lamenting and tearing her 
 hair, together with her garment. As soon as they had entered 
 into the cavern, they thus addressed her, in words intended to 
 mitigate her grief: "As you are in perfect security, both with 
 respect to your life and your modesty, give a truce to your 
 sorrow for a few days, for the sake of our gain, the necessity of 
 poverty compelling us to adopt this mode of life. But your 
 parents, though they are very avaricious, will, nevertheless, 
 without delay, give, out of the great wealth which they have 
 accumulated, a sum of money adequate to the redemption of 
 their daughter." By these, and similar babblings, the grief of 
 the virgin was by no means appeased : for she wept immodera- 
 tely, with her head placed between her knees. They, however, 
 called to the old woman within the cavern, and ordered her to 
 sit with the virgin, and console her as much as possible with 
 bland conversation ; and then they betook themselves to their 
 accustomed employment. But the virgin could not be recalled 
 from the tears which she had begun to shed, -by any words 
 which the old woman employed ; but, deploring more 
 profoundly her condition, the agitation which she suffered from 
 her continual sobbing made me also weep. And she thus 
 lamented : " Is it possible, that I, miserable creature ! can 
 either cease to weep, or consent to live, when deprived of such 
 a house, of so many attendants, of such dear little slaves, and of 
 such venerable parents ; since I am now become the prey of 
 unhappy rapine, am made a slave, servilely enclosed in this 
 stony prison, and prevented from the enjoyment of all those 
 delicacies in which I was born and nurtured, and am placed in 
 doubt of my life, and in fear of the torments of executioners, 
 being thus in the power of so many and such outrageous 
 robbers, and of a horrid band of gladiators?" The virgin 
 having thus lamented, and being debilitated with mental grief, 
 the tension of her throat, and fatigue of body, she dismissed 
 her marcid eyes to sleep. 
 
 She had scarcely, however, closed her eyes, when, shaking 
 off sleep, after the manner of those who are furiously agitated 
 by the Nymphs, she began to afflict herself much more 
 g^-ievously, and also to beat her breast with her cruel hands, and 
 to strike her beautiful face. Profoundly sighing also, she thus 
 replied to the old woman, who earnestly inquired what were the 
 causes of her new and restored sorrow : " Now, alas ! I am 
 utterly undone, now I have renounced salutiferous hope. A 
 halter, or a sword, or certainly a precipice, must doubtless be 
 embraced by me." On hearing this, the old woman became 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK IV. 65 
 
 somewhat more incensed, ordered her, with a severer countenance 
 to tell her the cause of her sorrow; or why, after having been 
 asleep, she thus suddenly renewed her immoderate lamentations. 
 " Do you design," said she, " to defraud my young men of the 
 great sum of money which they will obtain for your redemption? 
 But, if you persist any farther in indulging this immoderate 
 grief, despising those tears of which robbers make no account, 
 I will cause you to be burnt alive." The virgin being terrified 
 by these words, kissed the hand of the old woman, and said, 
 "Spare me, my parent, and, being mindful of human piety, 
 afford some little aid to my most afflictive condition. For I do 
 not think that commiseration is entirely extinguished in you, 
 who are venerably hoary through more extended age. In the 
 last place, therefore, survey the scene of my calamity. A 
 beautiful youth of the first rank among his fellow-citizens, whom 
 the whole city publicly elected for its son, and who, besides 
 this, was my cousin, surpassing me by three years only in age, 
 who was nourished and educated with me from infancy, 
 inseparably dwelt with me in the same house, and partook of the 
 same bedchamber and bed, was affianced to me by the mutual 
 affection of holy love, and who sometime since had been 
 destined by nuptial vow's to the marriage compact, and was 
 registered as wedded by the consent of our parents ; this youth 
 had immolated victims in the temples, and sacred edifices, 
 accompanied by a great multitude of relatives and neighbours. 
 The whole house was covered with laurel, was luminous with 
 torches, and resounded with the nuptial song. Then my 
 unhappy mother, supporting me in her bosom, gracefully 
 decorated me with nuptial ornaments, and frequently giving me 
 sweet kisses, extended with anxious wishes her future hope of 
 offspring. When, on a sudden, robbers armed like gladiators, 
 rushing in with great violence, raging as in war, and shining 
 with drawn and threatening swords, did not bring with them the 
 hand of slaughter or rapine, but immediately invaded our 
 bedchamber, in a condensed and conglobed band. And without 
 any reluctance, or even the smallest resistance on the part of 
 our servants, they tore me away, miserable creature, lifeless with 
 dire dread, from the bosom of my trembling mother. Thus our 
 nuptials were disturbed and dissolved, like those of Firithous 
 and the daughter of Athrax.'' 
 
 " But, behold ! now also my misfortune is renewed, or 
 rather is increased, by a most inauspicious dream. For I 
 seemed to myself to be violently expelled from my home, from 
 
 7 For an account of the nuptials of Firithous and Hippodamia, the daughter of 
 Athrax. and of the strife that arose in them between the Centaurs and the Lapithz, see 
 book xii. of Ovid's Metamorphoses. 
 
 F 
 
66 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 my bedchamber, and lastly, from the bed itself, and hurried 
 through inaccessible deserts, to call on the name of my most 
 unfortunate husband. He, however, as soon as he was 
 deprived of my embraces, even then being perfumed with 
 ointments, and adorned with wreaths of flowers, followed my 
 footsteps, while I fled with foreign feet.** And while he loudly 
 implored the assistance of the people, lamenting the rape of his 
 beautiful wife, one of the robbers, being moved with indignation 
 through his impwrtunate pursuit, slew the unhappy youth, my 
 husband, by striking him with a great stone which he found 
 lying before his feet. But I, being terrified by the atrocity of 
 the spectacle, am tremblingly roused from the deadly dream." 
 Then the old woman, receiving her lamentations with a sigh, 
 thus began: "Be of good courage, my mistress, and do not 
 terrify yourself with the vain fictions of dreams. For not to 
 mention that the images of diurnal sleep are said to be false, 
 nocturnal visions sometimes signify events contrary to what they 
 represent. Lastly, to weep, to be beat, and sometimes also to 
 be slain, in dreams, announce a lucrative and prosperous event ; 
 while, on the contrary, to laugh, to fill the belly with deliciou* 
 food, or to be dissolved in venereal pleasure, predict affliction 
 from sorrow, bodily disease, and other evils.' I, however, will 
 recall you from your grief, by pleasant narrations, and old 
 women's fables. 
 
 " In a certain city lived a king and queen, who had three 
 daughters of conspicuous beauty. Of these, the two elder, 
 though of the most agreeable form, were not thought too lovely 
 to be celebrated by the praises of mankind ; but the beauty of 
 the younger sister was so great and illustrious, that it could 
 neither be expressed, nor sufficiently praised by the poverty of 
 human speech. At length, a multitude of the citizens, and 
 abundance of strangers, whom the rumour of the exalted spec- 
 tacle had collected together, full of ardent zeal, stupid with ad- 
 miration of her inaccessible beauty, and moving their right hand 
 to their mouths, while their forefinger was placed on their erect 
 thumb, venerated her with religious adorations, as if she had 
 been the Goddess Venus herself. 
 
 " And now fame had pervaded the neighbouring cities and 
 contiguous regions, and had reported that the Goddess whom 
 
 8 i.e. With the eet of the robbers, who carried her away elevated from the ground. 
 
 9 Thus also Astrampsychus, in his his Oneirocriticon, says : 
 
 rcA-tuf X"^' vjri/oiKr Svtri^opoiKr £^£«r rpoTrova; 
 
 KA.a((i>v X"^' '"Tvoixr Tray)(aprj(r vavTotr vrrj. 
 .c. " If you laugh in your sleep, it indicates to you troublesome events ; but if you weep 
 in your sleep, it signifys that you will be perfectly joyful." 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK IV. 67 
 
 the azure profundity of the deep brought forth, and the dew of 
 the foamy billows nourished, now, everywhere exhibiting her 
 aivinity, was conversant with the midst of the people ; or cer- 
 tainly, that once more, from a new blossom of the celestial stars, 
 not the sea, but the earth, had produced another Venus, endued 
 with virgin-like flower. Thus opinion increased immensely every 
 day ; thus extended fame wandered over the neighbouring 
 islands, a great part of the continent, and a multitude of pro- 
 vinces. Now many mortals, by long journeys on the land, and 
 over the deep passages of the sea, came to behold the glorious 
 specimen of the age ; no one sailed to Paphos, no one to 
 Cnidus, nor even to Cythera, for the spectacle of the Goddess 
 Venus. The sacred concerns of the G-oddess were abandoned, 
 her temples were deformed, her ceremonies neglected, her 
 images uncrowned, and her desolate altars defiled with frigid 
 ashes, while a girl was supplicated in her stead, and the divinity 
 of so great a Goddess was appeased in a human countenance ; 
 and the name of the absent Venus was propitiated in the morn- 
 ing progressions, victims, and banquets of the virgin. And now 
 the people frequently assembling in the streets, and throwing 
 flowers entwined in garlands, or loosely scattering them, prayed 
 to her divinity. 
 
 " This immoderate translation of celestial honours to the 
 worship of a mortal virgin, inflamed the vehement mind of the 
 true Venus ; so that, impatient of indignation, and raging high 
 with her agitated head, she thus discoursed with herself : Behold 
 the ancient parent^" of the nature of things, lo, the first origin of 
 the elements ; behold the bountiful Venus of the whole universe, 
 the honour of whose majesty is divided with a mortal girl, and 
 whose name, raised to the heavens, is profaned by sordid terres- 
 trials. Indeed, by sharing in common the expiations which are 
 offered to divinity, I sustain an uncertain part of deputed vener- 
 ation, and a girl obnoxious to mortality bears about my celestial 
 image. It. is in vain that the shepherd [Paris], whose justice 
 and faith the mighty Jupiter approved, preferred me to such 
 great Goddesses^^ on account of my illustrious form. But she 
 
 10 See the Notes on Book XI. 
 
 1 1 The weil-kDown fable to which this alludes, is thus beautifully unfolded by the 
 Platonic Sallust, in his eolden treatise on the Gods and the World. ' ' In this fable, 
 which is of the mixed Kind, it is said, that Discord at a banquet of the gods threw 
 a golden apple, and that a dispute about it arising among the Goddesses, they were 
 sent by Jupiter to take the judgment of Paris, who, charmed with the beauty of 
 Venus, gave her the apple in preference lo the rest. But the banquet denotes the 
 super-mundane powers of the Gods ; and on this account they subsist in conjunction 
 uith each other. And the golden apple denotes the world, which, on account of its 
 composition from contrary natures, is not improperly said to be thrown by Discord, 
 or strife. Again, however, since different gifts are imparted to the world by different 
 Gods, they appear to contest with each other for the apple. And a soul living ac- 
 cording to sense (for this is Paris), not perceiving other powers in the universe, says, 
 that the beauty of Venus alone is the contended apple.' 
 
68 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 who thus rejoices, whosoever she be, shall not usurp my 
 honours ; for I will cause her to repent of her illicit beautj-. 
 And immediately she calls her son ; that winged and sufficiently 
 rash youth, who, with his depraved manners contemning public 
 discipline, armed with flames and arrows, running through other 
 men's houses by night, and corrupting the matrimony of all, 
 commits such mighty wickedness with impunity, and effects 
 nothing useful and good. 
 
 " Him, though haughty by genuine license, she stimulates by 
 her words : she brings him to the city, and openly shows him 
 Psyche, (for this was the name of the girl,) and having told him 
 the whole tale concerning the emulation of her beauty, groaning 
 and raging with indignation, " I beseech thee," says she, " by 
 the leagues of maternal love, by the sweet wounds of thy arrow, 
 by the mellifluous burnings of that flame, to afford thy parent 
 full revenge, through your reverence of me, and severely punish 
 that rebellious beauty. Above all, willingly effect this one thing, 
 that the virgin may be detained by the most ardent love of the 
 lowest of mankind, whom fortune has deprived of his .dignity, 
 patrimony, and safety ; and so infirm that he may not find his 
 equal in misery throughout the world." Having thus spoke, and 
 for a long time, and closely embraced her son with ardent kisses, 
 she sought the neighbouring margin of the refluent shore, and, 
 with rosy feet, trod on the topmost dew of the vibrating 
 waves. 
 
 " Behold, now the water of the profound sea was appeased 
 from its vertex, and the marine train which she just began to 
 wish, appeared without delay, as if she had previously com- 
 manded its attendance. The daughters of Nereus were 
 present, singing chorus ; and Portunus^-, rough with his cerulean 
 beard, and Salacia, heavy with her fishy bosom, small Palsemon, 
 the charioteer of a dolphin, the company of Tritons, everywhere 
 furrowing the sea; and while this softly blows his sounding 
 shell, that, with a silken covering, resists the unfriendly ardour 
 of the sun, another carries a mirror before the eyes of his mis- 
 tress, and others swim under the two-yoked car. Such was the 
 train which attended Venus, proceeding to the ocean. 
 
 " In the meantime, Psyche perceived no advantage to her- 
 self from her admirable beauty ; she was seen by all, and praised 
 by all ; yet no one, neither kings nor nobles, nor any one of the 
 common people, approached as a suitor for her possession in 
 marriage. They admired, indeed, her divine form, but they all 
 
 12 By Poitunus here, or Portumnus, who, by Ihe Greeks, was called Palaemon, 
 Neptune is denoted, as the Delphin editor well observes. For Palaemon, who is 
 properly Portunus, is shortly after mentioned as being present. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK IV. 69 
 
 admired it as an image artificially polished. Some time prior to 
 this, her two sisters,. whose moderate beauty had not been cele- 
 brated by mankind, having been married to suitor Icings, now 
 obtained happy nuptials ; but the virgin Psyche, sittingldesolate 
 at home, lamented her deserted solitude, sick in her body and 
 wounded in her soul ; and, though pleasing to all nations, she 
 hates her beauty in herself. But the most miserable father of 
 the most unfortunate daughter, suspecting the celestial hatred, 
 and fearing the wrath of the Gods, questioned the most ancient 
 oracle of the Milesian God^', and sought of so great a divinity, 
 by prayers and victims, nuptials and a husband for the sorrow- 
 ful virgin. Apollo, therefore, though a Grecian and Ionian, on 
 account of the builder of Milesia, gave the following oracle, in 
 Latin verse : 
 
 On some high mountain's craggy summit place 
 The virgin, deck'd for deadly nuptial rites ; 
 Nor hope a son-in-law of mortal race, 
 But a dire mischief, viperous and fierce ; 
 Who flies through sther, and with fire and sword 
 Tires and debilitates whate'er exists, 
 Terrific to the powers that reig^ on high. 
 E'en mighty Jove the wing'd destroyer dreads. 
 And streams and Stygian shades abhor the pest. 
 
 "The king, whose days, till then, had ben crowned with 
 felicity, on hearing this sacred oracle, returned slowly home, 
 oppressed with sorrow, and disclosed to his wife the mandates 
 of unpropitious fate. Many days were passed, on this occasion, 
 in grief, weeping, and lamentation. But the cruel injunctions 
 of the dire oracle now require to be accomplished. Now pre- 
 parations were made for the deadly nuptials of the most miser- 
 able virgin ; now the nuptial was changed into a funeral torch, 
 and the sound of the Zygian^* [or conjugal] pipe into the 
 querulous Lydian measure. The joyful hymeneal song closed 
 with mournful howling, and the wretched bride wiped away her 
 tears with her own nuptial veil. The whole city likewise 
 lamented the sad destiny of the royal house, and public 
 mourning was immediately proclaimed on the occasion. 
 
 "The necessity, however of complying with the celestial 
 mandates, importunately urged the miserable Psyche to her 
 destined punishment. The solemnities, therefore, of the mourn- 
 ful marriage being accomplished with extreme sorrow, the living 
 
 13 i.e. Of Apollo, who had a temple and oracle at Miletus, a city bordering on 
 Ionia and Caria. 
 
 14 In Greek, t^'yto^ avX.0^. Hence Juno, the guardian of the bonds of wedlock, 
 was called Zvyia, from (vyo$i which signifies a yoke. 
 
70 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 funeral takes place, followed by all the people, and the weeping 
 Psyche attends not her nuptials, but her obsequies, However, 
 while her sorrowful parents, who were overwhelmed with such a 
 mighty evil, endeavoured to delay the execution of the nefarious 
 sentence, she herself exhorted them to a compliance, in the 
 following words : " Why do you torture your unhappy old age 
 with long-continued weeping ? Why do you waste your spirits, 
 which, indeed, are more mine than yours, with such frequent 
 groans ? Why do you deform your countenances, which in my 
 sight are so venerable, with unavailing tears? Why do you 
 lacerate my eyes in your own ? Why do you thus tear your 
 hoary hairs ? Why thus beat your venerable breasts ? These 
 must be the rewards which you are to receive of my surpassing 
 beauty, the truth of which having suffered a deadly blow from 
 villanous envy, you, too late, perceive. Alas ! then should you 
 have wept and lamented, then bewailed me as one lost, when 
 the people and nations celebrated me with divine honours, and 
 when, with one voice, they called me a new Venus. I now 
 perceive, I now clearly see, that I perish through the name of 
 Venus alone. Lead me away, and place me on the rock to 
 which I am destined by the oracle; I am in haste to accomplish 
 these happy nuptials ; I am in haste to see this my noble 
 husband. Why do I delay? Why do I avoid his approach, 
 who is born for the destruction of the whole world ? " 
 
 The virgin, having thus spoke, was silent, and, with undaunted 
 steps, mingled herself with the splendid procession of the people 
 that followed her. They advance to the destined rock of a 
 lofty mountain, on the summit of which, having left the royal 
 maid alone, with the nuptial torches extinguished by their tears, 
 they returned home, with dejected heads and desponding 
 hearts. And her miserable parents, indeed, sinking under the 
 weight of such a mighty calamity, shut up the gates of their 
 palace, hid themselves in darkness, and abandoned themselves 
 to a perpetual night. But the mild gales of the gently-blowing 
 Zephyr gradually raised Pysche, as she stood, trembling and 
 weeping, on the summit of the rock, her garments through the 
 tranquil breath of the God, orbicularly expanding, and bearing 
 her through the hollows of a valley, at the bottom of the moun- 
 tain, softly reclined her on the bosom of a flowery turf. 
 
THE 
 
 METAMORPHOSIS OF APULEIUS. 
 
 BOOK THE FIFTH. 
 
 Psyche, therefore, agreeably reclining in the flowery valley, on 
 a hed of dewy grass, the mighty perturbation of her mind being 
 appeased, enjoyed delightful repose, And, being now sufficiently 
 refreshed with sleep, she rose with a more composed mind, and 
 saw a grove, thick planted with vast and lofty trees, and g. 
 fountain in the middle of the grove, gently falling with glassy 
 water. Near the- lapse of the fountain there was a royal hpuse, 
 which was not raised by human, but by divine hands and art. 
 You might know, from the very entrance of the palace, that 
 you beheld the splendid and pleasant residence of a God. For 
 the lofty ceilings, which were curiously arched with citron-wood 
 and ivory, were supported by golden pillars ; and all the walls 
 were ornamented, in every part, with silver carving, beasts of 
 various kinds presenting themselves to the view, in the vestibule 
 of the palace. Wonderful was the man, indeed, and endued 
 with prodigious skill ; or, rather, it was some demigod or God, 
 who fashioned the silver carving with such exquisite subtility of 
 art. 
 
 But the very pavement itself consisted of small shells, admir- 
 ably decorated with pictures of various kinds. Blessed, thrice 
 blessed, are those who tread on gems and bracelets 1 The other 
 parts, too, of this wide-extended and regularly disposed palace 
 were precious, beyond all price; and the walls being every where 
 strengthened with bars of gold, were so refulgent with their own 
 splendour that, even in the absence of the sun, they made for 
 the palace a day of its own, so bright were the bedchambers, 
 the porches, and the folding doors. The furniture, too, was 
 answerable to the majesty of this abode ; so that it might very 
 
72 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 properly be considered as a celestial palace, built by mighty 
 Jupiter, for his correspondence with mankind. 
 
 Psyche, invited by the delightful aspect of the place; ap- 
 proached to it, and assuming a little more confidence, entered 
 within the threshold of the place. Presently after, being 
 allured by the charms of the beautiful vision, everything she 
 surveyed filled her with admiration ; and, in the more elevated 
 part of the house, she beheld a magnificent repository, in which 
 immense riches were contained. Indeed, there is not anything 
 in this universe with which this place is not replete. But 
 amidst the admiration which such prodigious wealth excited, 
 this was particularly wonderful, that this treasury of the whole 
 world was not secured by any bars, or doors, or guards. 
 
 Here, while the eyes of Psyche were ravished with delight, 
 a voice, denudated of its body, thus addressed her : " And why, 
 my mistress," it said, " are you astonished at such vast riches ? 
 All these are yours. Betake yourself, therefore, to your bed- 
 chamber, and refresh your wearied limbs on the bed, and, when 
 you think proper, repair to the bath ; for we, whose voices you 
 now hear, are your servants, who will diligently administer to all 
 your commands ; and, while we wait on your person, prepare 
 royal banquets for your repast." 
 
 Psyche perceived the goodness of divine providence, and 
 complying with the admonitions of the incorporeal voices, first 
 refreshed herself with sleep, and afterwards with the bath. 
 Immediately, too, perceiving in an adjacent semicircular build- 
 ing, near an elevated seat, every apparatus requisite for supper, 
 she willingly reclined herself, considering this place as accom- 
 modated to her refreshment ; and, instantly, nectareous wines 
 and numerous dishes of various kinds of food were served in, 
 without any visible attendants, by the mere impulse of a certain 
 spirit ; Psyche, at the same time, perceiving no one, but alone 
 hearing certain words, and having voices alone for her servants. 
 After the table was furnished with this splendid banquet, a cer- 
 tain person entered, and sang, without being seen ; at the same 
 time an invisible musician played on the harp ; and, last of all, 
 her ears were ravished with a full chorus, from an invisible 
 band. 
 
 After these pleasures were finished, the evening now persuad- 
 ing to repose. Psyche retired to her bed; and, when the night 
 was far advanced, a certain gentle sound approached her ears. 
 Then, fearing for her virginity, on account of the profound 
 solitude of the place, she trembles, and is filled with horror, and 
 dreads that of which she is ignorant beyond any calamity. And 
 now her unknown husband approached, ascended the bed, 
 made her his wife, and hastily left her before the rising of the 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK V. 73 
 
 morning light. Immediately the attendant voices, who were 
 the ministers of the bedchamber, took care of everything neces- 
 sary on the occasion. This course was continued for a long 
 time ; the novelty, by its constant repetition — as it was natural 
 it should — became at last delightful; and the sound of the 
 uncertain voices was the solace of her solitude. 
 
 In the meantime, the parents of Psyche grew old in un- 
 wearied sorrow and lamentation ; and the report of her destiny 
 becoming more widely extended, her elder sisters came to know 
 all the particulars respecting it, and immediately, being over- 
 whelmed with sorrow, hastened to the presence of their afflicted 
 parents On that very night, the husband of Psyche thus 
 addressed her (for the hands and the ears were the only media 
 of their present communication) : " Most charming Psyche, 
 and dear wife, more cruel fortune now threatens thee with a 
 deadly danger, which, I think, ought to be guarded against 
 with the utmost attention. For now your sisters, who are 
 disturbed through the belief of your death, in consequence of 
 endeavouring to discover the place of your abode, will soon 
 arrive at the rock on which you were lately exposed. If you 
 should chance to hear any of their lamentations, neither make 
 them any reply nor even turn your eyes towards them ; for, by 
 doing otherwise, you will be the cause of the greatest grief to 
 me, and of extreme destruction to yourself."' 
 Psyehe assented, and promised that she would act agreeably 
 to her husband's desire. But as soon as he, together with the 
 night, were fled, the most miserable Psyche consumed the 
 whole day in tears and lamentations, exclaiming that she was 
 now entirely lost, since, securely confined in a blessed prison, 
 she was deprived of human conversation, and not permitted to 
 give salutary assistance to her sorrowing sisters, nor even so 
 much as to see them. Neither refreshing herself, therefore, 
 with the bath, nor with food, but weeping abundantly, she 
 retired to rest. But her husband coming more early than 
 usual, and embracing her weeping, thus expostulated with her : 
 " Is this, my Psyche, what you promised me ? What can I, 
 your husband, now expect from you ? What can I now hope 
 for, since, neither by day nor by night, nor even in the midst of 
 our conjugal embraces, you cease to be tormented with grief? 
 But come, act now as you please, and comply with the pernici- 
 ous desires of your soul. However, when you begin too late 
 to repent of your folly, call to mind my serious admonitions." 
 
 Psyche after this had recourse to prayers, and, while she 
 threatens that she shall die if her request is denied, extorts from 
 her husband permission to see her sisters, to assuage their grief 
 and enjoy their conversation. Thus he pardoned the entreaties 
 
74 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 of his new wife, and permitted her, besides, to present her 
 sisters with as much gold and as many jewels as she pleased ; 
 but he again and repeatedly admonished her, with the utmost 
 earnestness, not to be persuaded, by their pernicious advice, to 
 inquire concerning the form of her husband, nor by a sacrilegi- 
 ous curiosity hurl herself from such an exalted fortune, and by 
 this means deprive herself of his embraces. 
 
 She thanked her husband for his indulgence, and becoming 
 in consequence of it more joyful; "But," says she, "may I 
 suffer death a hundred times rather than be deprived of thy 
 most pleasing embraces ; for I love thee most vehemently, 
 thee, whoever thou art, even as I love my own soul, nor would 
 I compare thee to Cupid himself. But this also I beseech you, 
 grant to my prayers, that your servant Zephyr may convey my 
 sorrowful sisters in the same manner in which he brought me 
 hither." Then, pressing his lips with persuasive kisses, mur- 
 muring alluring words, and fondly folding him in her arms, she 
 thus addressed him, in soothing accents : " My dear husband, 
 sweet soul of thy Psyche, be not averse to my request." The 
 husband, vanquished by the power of Venus, reluctantly gave 
 his consent, and promised that all things should be accom- 
 plished according to her desire ; and afterwards, in consequence 
 of the approach of moriUing, vanished from the arms of his 
 wife. 
 
 But the sisters, having inquired the way, arrived in haste at 
 the lofty rock on which Psyche was left abandoned, and there 
 wept and beat their breasts till the rocks resounded with their 
 repeated lamentations. And now they called on their miserable 
 sister by her proper name, till the spreading sound of their 
 mournful voices, gliding down the declivities of the mountain, 
 reached the ears of Psyche, who, distracted and trembling, ran 
 out of her palace, and thus addressed them : " Why do you in 
 vain afflict yourself with miserable lamentations ? I, whom 
 you deplore, am now present ; cease, therefore, your com- 
 plaints, and at length dry up those tears which you have so 
 long shed for my loss, since you may now embrace her whom 
 you have so vehemently mourned." 
 
 Then, calling Zephyr, she acquaints him with her husband's 
 commands, who, entirely obedient to the mandate of Cupid, 
 brought them, borne on the most gentle gales, in safety to 
 Psyche. Now they embrace and are embraced, and mingle 
 their mutual caressess with frequent and hasty kisses ; and the 
 joy of finding her alive, after they considered her as dead, soon 
 put a period to their lamentations and tears. " But come," 
 said Psyche, " enter with me into my house, and recreate your 
 afflicted mind with your Psyche." Having thus spoken, she 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK V. 75 
 
 led them into her golden palace, brought their ears acquainted 
 with the populous- family of voices that were subservient to her 
 commands, and sumptuously refreshed thein in a most beauti- 
 ful bath, and with the delicacies of her immortal table. Biit 
 as soon as her sisters were satiated with this affluence of celes- 
 tial riches, they began to nourish envy profoundly in their 
 hearts ; and, at last, one of them, with a very particular and 
 curious importunity, inquired who was the master of these 
 celestial possessions ? And who, and what sort of a person, 
 her husband was ? 
 
 Psyche, however, by no means violated her husband's in- 
 junctions, or suffered them to depart from the secret recesses of 
 her bosom; but devising an answer adapted to the occasion, 
 told them that he was a beautiful youth, whose cheeks were yet 
 only shadowed with down, and that he was, for the most part, 
 occupied in rural employments, and in hunting on the moun- 
 tains. And lest, by any slip in the course of her conversation, 
 she should betray the secret advice, having loaded them with 
 rich presents of gold and jewels, she called Zephyr, and ordered 
 him to carry them to the lofty rock. This being immediately 
 accomplished, these admirable sisters, as they were returning 
 home, burning with the rancour of increasing envy, discoursed 
 much with each other, and at last one of them thus began : 
 " Do but take notice how blind, rruel, and unjust, fortune has 
 proved ! Were you, my sister, pleased to find that we, though 
 born of the same parents, should maintain such a different rank 
 in life ? We, who are elder, are delivered over to be servants 
 to husbands, in a foreign country, far exiled from our native 
 land and parents ; but this youngest sister, the offspring of 
 exhausted vigour, is raised to the enjoyment of this prodigious 
 affluence, and of a God for her husband, though she does not 
 know how to use, in a proper manner, such an abundance of 
 good. You saw, sister, what a prodigious quantity of bracelets 
 the house contained, what a number of shining garments,, what 
 bright gems, and what heaps of gold she treads upon in every 
 part of the palace. If to all this she possesses a husband so 
 beautiful as she asserts him to be, no one in the universe can 
 live a happier life than herself. Indeed, it may happen, through 
 long-continued association, and corrobated affection, that her 
 husband, who is a God, may at length make her a Goddess. 
 By Hercules, it must be so, for she already conducts herself in 
 a lofty manner; and the woman certainly breathes the Goddess, 
 who has voices for her servants, and commands even the winds 
 themselves. But I, miserable creature, am, in the first place, 
 tied to a husband more aged than my father ; and in the next 
 place, to one who is balder than a gourd, and shorter than 
 
76 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 a pigmy, and who secures every part of his house with bolts 
 and chains." 
 
 " But I," reph'ed the other sister, " am destined to endure a 
 husband, whose body is distorted with an articular disease ; 
 and though on this account he seldom rewards my pain with 
 conjugal embraces, yet I am forced to spend a great part of my 
 time in rubbing his distorted fingers, which are almost hardened 
 into stone, with foetid fomentations, defiling these delicate 
 hands with nasty rags and stinking poultices ; thus acting the 
 part of a surgeon more than that of a wife. You, indeed, my 
 sister, seem to bear all this with a patient or rather seivile soul, 
 (for I will speak what I think, without restraint), but, for my 
 own part, I can no longer endure that such a blessed destiny 
 should have fallen to one who does not deserve it. For only 
 recollect in what a proud and arrogant manner she behaved 
 towards us. By her boasting and immoderate ostentation, she 
 betrayed the haughtiness of her swelling mind; of her immense 
 riches gave us but a very trifling part ; and immediately after, 
 being weary of our company, ordered us to be turned out of 
 doors, and to be puffed and hissed away. But I am not a 
 woman, nor do I breathe, if I do not hurl her headlong from 
 such mighty possessions. And if our contumely affects you as 
 it ought, let us both join, in vigourous consultation, how we 
 may accomplish this design. In order to this, let us neither 
 acquaint our parents, nor any one else, with our intention, nor 
 inform them that we know any thing of her safety. It is 
 sufficient that we ourselves have seen what it repents us to 
 have seen, and let us not be the messengers of her happy 
 condition to our parents and the people; for those are not 
 pioperly blessed whose riches no one is acquainted with. She 
 shall know that we are not servants, but her elder sisters. And 
 now, indeed, let us depart to our husbands, and visit our own 
 poor habitations, for su>;h they are when compared with her 
 abode, and beine; furnished with more compressed thoughts, let 
 us return with greater firmness to the punishment of her pride." 
 
 The two wicked sisters consider this evil advice as good, 
 and concealing the precious gifts which they had received from 
 Psyche, dishevelling their hair, tearing their faces with dis- 
 sembled grief, and renewing fictitious tears, returned to their 
 parents. These, however, the wounds of whose sorrows they 
 had again opened by their narration, they hastily take their 
 leave of, big with the madness of envy, and return to their own 
 habitations, machinating nefarious guile, or rather parricide, 
 against their innocent sister. 
 
 In the meantime Psyche's unknown husband thus again 
 admonished her in his nocturnal discourses: "Do you perceive 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK V. 77 
 
 what a mighty danger fortune is preparing for you at a distance, 
 and which, unless y.ou are more firmly guarded against than you 
 have hitherto been, will soon assault you near at hand ? Those 
 perfidious she-wolves are, with mighty endeavours, forming base 
 stratagems against you, the sum of which is, that they may 
 persuade you to explore my ■ countenance, which, as I have 
 often told you, if you see once, you will see no more. If, 
 therefore, those worst of sorcerers come again, armed with 
 noxious minds, (and I know they will come), avoid all discourse 
 with them ; but if through genuine simplicity and tenderness 
 of disposition, you are not able to accomplish this, at least 
 be careful not to hear or answer any inquiries concerning your 
 husband. For now we shall have a family of our own, and thy 
 as yet infantine womb is pregnant with an offspring, which, if 
 you conceal my secrets in silence, will be divine, but if you 
 profane them, will be mortal." 
 
 Psyche rejoiced in the consoling thoughts of a divine 
 offspring, and was elated with the glory which would result 
 from her future pledge, and with the dignity of a maternal 
 name. She, therefore, anxiously numbered the increasing days 
 and departing months, and being ignorant in every thing relative 
 to conception, wondered how her wealthy womb could receive 
 such an abundant increase. 
 
 But now those pests and most cruel furies, her sisters, 
 breathing viperous virulence, and hastening their departure, 
 sailed wijh impious celerity. Then again the momentary 
 husband thus admonished his Psyche; "The last day, and the 
 most extreme misfortune, are now arrived. The malicious sex, 
 and hostile blood have taken arms, removed their camp, drawn 
 the army into battle array, and sounded the charge. Now, thy 
 nefarious sisters are aiming with a drawn sword at thy throat. 
 Alas ! most dear Psyche, what mighty calamities now press 
 upon us ? Take pity, both on yourse'f and me ; and by a 
 religious continence of tongue, deliver your house, your husband, 
 yourself, and our little one, from the misfortune of impending 
 ruin. Neither see, nor hear those wicked women, who, after 
 the deadly hatred whicli they have conceived against thee, and 
 having trampled on the ties of blood, deserve not to be called 
 sisters, when, like the Sirens, standing on the mountain, they 
 shall make the rocks resound with their deadlv voices." 
 
 Psyche, in words interrupted by sighs and tears, thus 
 replied : " You have for some time had convincing proofs of my 
 fidelity and taciturnity j and the strength of my mind shall be no 
 less approved by you in the present instance. Only order 
 Zephyr to repeat his former office, and at least grant me the 
 sight of my sisters, since I am not permitted to behold thy 
 
78 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 sacred image. By thy fragrant and every wny pendulous locks ! 
 By thy cheeks, tender, smooth, and like my own ! By thy 
 breast glowing with I know not what kind of heat ! By 
 my hopes of at least knowing thy face in this little one, I 
 beseech thee to comply with the pious prayers of thy suppliant, 
 indulge me in the desired embraces of my sisters, and recreate 
 with joy the soul of Psyche who is devoted to thy will ; for then 
 I shall no longer be anxious to explore thy countenance. Now 
 nothing can hinder me from thy embrace, not even the darkness 
 of night, for I hold thee, my life, in my arms''' 
 
 The husband being fascinated by these words, and by her 
 soft embraces, wiped away her tears with his fragrant locks, 
 assured her that her desires should be fulfilled, and immediately 
 anticipated the light of the emerging day. But the two 
 sisters who were confederates in mischief, without calling on 
 their parents, direct their course with precipitate velocity from 
 the ships to the rock, and not waitmg for the assistance of the 
 elevating wind, leap on high with licentious temerity. Zephyr, 
 however, not unmindful of the royal mandate, though unwilling 
 to execute it, restored them, reclining on the bosom of the 
 gently blowing gales, to the appointed place. Then, with feet 
 equally rapid, they enter the palace, concealing the foe under 
 the name of sister, embrace their prey, and veiling a treasury 
 of profoundly hidden fraud under a joyful countenance, thus 
 flattered her : " Psyche, not now so slender as you were before, 
 since you are now almost a mother, what mighty good do you 
 think you bear for us in your womb ? With what prodigious 
 joy will you exhilarate the whole of our house ! O how happy 
 shall we be through the nurture of the golden infant, who, if he 
 corresponds in beauty as he ought to do to his parents, will be 
 born a perfect Cupid." 
 
 Thus, by a dissembled affection, they gradually invade the 
 soul of their sister, who, as soon as they had refreshed them- 
 selves from the fatigue of their journey with warm baths, 
 regaled them on a couch in a most splendid manner with all the 
 dainties of a royal banquet. She ordered a harp to speak, and 
 some one immediately sang to its harmony ; flutes to be blown, 
 and they immediately sounded; a musical band to sing in 
 chorus, and it instantly sang; and, though invisible, ravished the 
 souls of the hearers with the most mellifluous notes. 
 
 But the malice of these wicked women was not softened by 
 the honeyed sweetness of the music ; but turning their discourse 
 to the destined fraudulent snares, they begin in a dissembling 
 manner to inquire what sort of a person she was married to, and 
 from what family he was descended. Then she, through her 
 great simplicity, having forgot the former account which she had 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK V. 7g 
 
 given of her husband, invented a new story respecting him. She 
 told them that her husband was of the next province ; that he 
 carried on a trade with abundance of money ; and that he was 
 now of a middle age, a grey hair being here and there scattered 
 on his head. And without prolonging the conversation any 
 further, she again committed them to the cliarge of the winds, 
 after she had loaded them with costly presents. But while they 
 return home, sublimely riding on the tranquil breath of Zephyr, 
 they thus discoursed with each other : " What can we say, 
 sister, of the monstrous lies of that foolish creature ? At one 
 time her husband is a young man, with the down just beginning 
 to spread over his chin, and at another time he is of a middle 
 age, shining with hoary hairs. Who can this be, that in a short 
 space of time experiences the alteration of a sudden old age ? 
 You may depend upon it, my sister, that this vile woman either 
 forged this lie to deceive us, or that she does not herself know 
 the form of her husband. But whichever of these is the case, 
 she must be deprived of these riches with the utmost expedition. 
 Indeed, if she is really ignorant of the form of her husband, she 
 must have married a God, and through this pregnancy of hers, 
 she will present us with a God. However, should she happen 
 to be the mother of a divine offspring, which heaven forbid ! I 
 should immediately hang myself. Let us, therefore, in the 
 meantime return to our parents, and by a well-coloured deceit, 
 prevent them from apprehending our designs.'" 
 
 ~ The sisters thus inflamed, having called on their parents in a 
 hasty manner, and passed through a night of interrupted sleep ; 
 fly as soon as it was morning to the rock, and by the usual 
 vehicle of the wind, descend rapidly down to Psyche, who, 
 with forced tears, they thus craftily addressed ; " Happy in 
 your own imagination, and blessed only in your ignorance of 
 evil, you sit here inattentive to your own danger. But we, who 
 watch over your affairs with a vigilant care, are miserably 
 tormented at your lost condition. For, by diligent search, we 
 have discovered, (nor can we conceal from you the cause of our 
 mutual grief, and your own misfortune), that a vast serpent who 
 glides along the plain in various volumes, whose neck is swollen 
 with noxious poison, and whose mouth widely gapes through 
 profound gluttony, secretly sleeps with you by night. Now call 
 to mind the Pythian oracle, which declared you were destined to 
 marry a fierce and terrible beast ; and many of the inhabitants 
 of this place, who haunt all round the country, have observed 
 him returning home from his prey in the evening, and gliding 
 through the shallows of the neighbouring river. These declare 
 that he will not long feast you with delicious delicacies, but that, as 
 soon as a fiill womb cliall have given maturity to your pregnancy, 
 
So THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 he will then devour you as a richer morsel. So that you have 
 only to consider whether you will comply with the desires of 
 your sisters, who are anxious for your dear preservation, and 
 avoiding death, live with us secure from danger, or be buried in 
 the bowels of a most cruel beast. But if you are wedded to the 
 vocal solitude of this country retreat, or to the filthy and 
 dangerous enjoyment of clandestine venery, and the embraces 
 of a poisoned serpent, we have at least acted like pious sisters 
 in thus admonishing you of your danger." 
 
 Then the miserable Psyche, as being full of simplicity, and 
 of a pliant disposition, is seized with terror at the dire relation, 
 and being thus quite beside herself, loses the remembrance of 
 all her husband's admonitions and her own promises, and hurls 
 herself headlong into the profound abyss of calamity. Trembling, 
 therefore, and pale, and with an almost lifeless voice, she thus 
 addressed them in broken words : " You, indeed, most dear 
 sisters, have acted as it was proper you should, with becoming 
 piety towards me ; and it appears to me that those who gave you 
 this information, did not invent a lie. For I have never yet 
 beheld my husband's face, nor do I know who or what he is ; 
 but only hearing him by night, I endure a husband of an 
 uncertain condition, and one that perpetually avoids the light of 
 day. I am, therefore, of your opinion, that he is some 
 monstrous beast, who always terrifies me from attempting to 
 behold him, and threatens some prodigious evil as the 
 consequence of curiosity respecting his countenance. Now, 
 therefore, if you are able to give any salutary assistance to your 
 sister, who is thus dangerously situated, defer it not for a 
 moment." 
 
 These wicked women, having thus found an avenue to their 
 pernicious design, by a full discovery of their sister's condition, 
 laying aside the concealments of covered artifice, invade the 
 trembling thoughts of the simple girl with the drawn sword of 
 deception. At length, therefore, one of them thus began : 
 " Since the ties of blood oblige us to have no fear of danger 
 before our eyes in the pursuit of your safety, we will discover to 
 you the only way which leads to your preservation, and which 
 has been the result of long-continued cogitation. Secretly 
 conceal a very sharp razor, which has been perfectly well set, in 
 that part of the bed on which you are accustomed to lie ; and 
 provide likewise an elegant lamp, full of oil, and shining with a 
 splendid light. Hide this light in some part of the enclosing 
 tapestry ; and having acted with the utmost secrecy in these 
 preparations, as soon as with furrowed steps he ascends the 
 accustomed bed, is stretched a t length, and held fast in the 
 fetters of his first and soundest sleep, then silently leaving the 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK V. 8 1 
 
 bed, and tripping along softly with naked feet.free theJampfrom 
 its dark concealment, take advantage of its light to. accompiisii 
 your illustrious undertaking, and with a bold, heart, elevated 
 right hand, and strenuous exertionj cut off the head of the 
 noxious serpent. Nor shall our assistance be wanting to you in 
 this affair; but we shall wait, with impatient anxiety, till, you 
 have procured your own safety by liis death ; and then bringing 
 away with you all your invisible attendants, we will join you, who 
 are a woman, in votive nuptials to a man." - . 
 
 With such pernicious discourse, having inflamed the bosom 
 of their now perfectly ardent sister, they left her, fearing ia.ihe 
 highest degree the very confines of such a mighty evil ; and by 
 the wonted impulse of the winged gale, being raised on the 
 rock, immediately hurl themselves from thence with rapid 
 flight, and, having ascended the ships, depart to their respective 
 habitations. .. . ,, , , 
 
 But Psyche being left alone, if she can be said to.be alone, 
 who is hurried along by pernicious Furies, is tossed with sorrow 
 like a raging sea ; and though her designs were fixed,, ahd^her 
 mind was obstinately bent to accomplish what she intended, 
 yet, now she was beginning to apply her hands to the iinpiqus 
 work, she staggers with uncertain determinations, and. is.. disr 
 tracted with the apprehension of her approaching^ calamities^ 
 She is now full of speed, then dilatory ; now bold, then fearful ; 
 now diffident, then angry , and what is; the most wonderful of 
 all, in the same body she loves the husband and hates the 
 beast. However, as soon as the evening drew on the night, 
 she prepares with precipitate haste the instruments of her 
 nefarious enterprise. , . , 
 
 The night came, the husband was present, and after the first 
 embrace he fell into a profound sleep. Then Psyche, who was 
 otherwise of an imbecile body and mind, yet, the cruelty of fate 
 assisting her, is now corroborated. Hence, taking out the 
 lamp, and snatching the razor, her boldness transformed her 
 sex. But as soon as by the light of the lamp the secrets of the 
 bed stood revealed, she saw the moSt mild and sweet of all wild 
 beasts, even the beautiful God Cupid himself, most beautifully 
 lying on the bed ; by whose aspect the lamp itself participated 
 of hilarity, and the razor repented itself of its sacrilegious 
 edge. 
 
 But Psyche, terrified at the amazingly beautiful countenance 
 of the God, impotent of mind, sinking through deadly paleness, 
 and trembling, fell on her knees, and could not tell where so 
 properly to hide the steel, as in her own bosom, which, indeed, 
 she would have done, had not the razor, afraid of a. crime so 
 prodigious, fled just then out of her rash hand. And now, as 
 
82 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 she kneels weary on the ground, by often beholding the beauty 
 of his divine countenance, she finds herself refreshed. She sees 
 the genial locks of his golden head, largely annointed with am- 
 brosia; the ringlets gracefully entangled, wandering over his 
 milky neck and purple cheeks, some pendulous before, and 
 some behind, by whose excessive radiance the very light of the 
 lamp shone with a wavering splendour. On the shoulders of 
 the volatile God, wings of a shining whiteness were seen ; and 
 though they were not in motion, yet the outward tender and 
 delicate down, tremulously rebounding, was unquietly wanton. 
 The rest of his body was smooth and elegant, and such as 
 Venus did not repent of bringing fortB. At the foot of the bed 
 lay his bow, his quiver, and his arrows, the propitious weapons 
 of the mighty God. 
 
 These while Psyche with an insatiable mind handles, and 
 explores with eager curiosity, and admires her husband's arms, 
 she draws out of the quiver one of the arrows, and with the tip 
 of her finger touching the point to try its sharpness, by the 
 bold pressure of her trembling hand she pierced the flesh so 
 deep, that some small drops of rosy blood spread themselves 
 with dewy sprinkling on her skin ; and thus ignorant Psyche 
 voluntarily fell in love with Love. Then, burning more and 
 more with the desire of Cupid, gazing on his face with insatiable 
 eyes, and multiplying petulant kisses, her only fear was lest he 
 should wake too soon. 
 
 But while, astonished through such a mighty good, her 
 wounded mind fluctuates, the lamp, whether through vile 
 perfidy or noxious envy, or whether it longed to touch, and as 
 it were kiss such a beautiful body, threw out a drop of boiling 
 oil from the summit of its light on the right shoulder of the 
 God. Strange, O bold and rash lamp, that thou should burn 
 the very God of all fire, though some lover first invented thee, 
 that he might for a longer time enjoy by night the object of his 
 desire. The God, thus burnt, leaped from the bed, and seeing 
 the evidence of forfeited fidelity, silently flew away from the 
 eyes and hands of his most unhappy wife. But Psyche imme- 
 diately, with both her hands, caught hold of his right leg as he 
 was mounting, being the miserable appendix of his sublime 
 flight through the cloudy regions, till at length, through weari- 
 ness, she fell to the ground. 
 
 Her lover God, however, not yet deserting her, as she lay on 
 the ground, flew to a neighbouring cypress tree, and, being 
 severely agitated, thus spoke to her from its lofty top : " Most 
 simple Psyche, I, unmindful of the commands of my mother 
 Venus, who ordered me to cause you to be enamoured of some 
 mean and miserable son of the vulgar, chose rather to fly to 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK V. 83 
 
 you as a lover myself. I know that I have acted in this respect 
 lightly, and I, who am so excellent an archer, have woundeJ 
 myself with my own arrow, and have made you my wife, that 
 I might, it seems, be considered by you as a beast, and that 
 you might cut off my head, which bears those very eyes by 
 which you are beloved. This was the danger of which I so 
 often warned you to beware ; this was the mischief I so 
 benevolently admonished you to consider. But those egregious 
 counsellors of yours shall speedily suffer from me the punish- 
 ment of such pernicious advice ; while you I shall only punish 
 by my flight." Thus spake Cupid, and with the conclusion of 
 his speech sprang with his pinions on high. 
 
 But Psyche lay prostrate on the ground, gazing on her soar- 
 ing husband as long as he remained in sight, and afflicting 
 herself with lamentations in the extreme. When, however, by 
 the rowing of his wings, distance had rendered him invisible, 
 she threw herself from the bank of the next river headlong into 
 its stream. But the gentle river, in honour of the God, who 
 used to burn the waters themselves, and fearing for himself, 
 immediately, on the back of an innoxious wave, delivered her 
 safe to the flowery bank. 
 
 It happened at that time, that the rural God Pan sat on 
 the margin of the river, embracing the Goddess Canna*, and 
 teaching her to sing in all manner of gentle strains. Near them 
 a wanton herd' of kids browsed on the grassy bank. The 
 shagged God, who was not ignorant of the misfortune of Psyche, 
 called her gently to him, and thus allured her in soothing lan- 
 guage : " Most elegant girl, I am indeed a rural person, and a 
 shepherd ; but through the benefit of an extended old age I 
 have acquired abundance of experience ; and if I rightly con- 
 jecture, since prudent men boast the power of divination, from 
 your stumbling and often reeling gait, from the extreme pale- 
 ness of your countenance, and your perpetual sighing and 
 sorrowful eyes, you labour under an excess of love. Listen, 
 therefore, to me ; attempt no more to drown yourself, or to put 
 an end to your existence by calling any other kind of death to 
 your assistance ; but cease to grieve, lay aside your sorrow, and 
 rather by prayers worship Cupid, the greatest jof the Gods, and 
 strive to please him by bland obsequiousness, as he is a delicate 
 and luxurious youth." 
 
 The pastoral God having thus spoken, Psyche made no 
 reply, but adoring the salutary divinity, departed from the 
 place. But before she had travelled far, with painful steps 
 pursuing an unknown path, she drew near to a city in which 
 
 » This alludes to the well-known fable of .Syrinx and P»ii. 
 
84 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 the husband of one of her sisters was king. This, as soon as she 
 understood, she desired that her arrival might be announced to 
 her sister. Psyche was accordingly introduced to her, and 
 when the embraces of mutual salutation were over, to her sister 
 inquiring the cause of her visit, she thus began: "You doubtless 
 remember the advice you gave me, I mean, that I should 
 destroy with a razor the beast that lay with me under the name 
 of a husband, before, through voracious gluttony, he destroyed 
 me : but as soon as, by the assistance of the conscious light, I 
 beheld his countenance, I saw a spectacle perfectly wonderful 
 and divine, the very son himself of the Goddess Venus, Cupid 
 himself I say, sunk in gentle sleep. And while struck with 
 astonishment at the sight of snch a mighty good, and disturbed 
 through too great an abundance of pleasure, I laboured under 
 the want of enjoyment, by a most dire misfortune, the boiling 
 oil bubbled to the summit of the lamp, and leaped on the 
 shoulder of the God. Being immediately awakened by the 
 pain, when he beheld me armed with the weapon and the 
 light, ' From whence, said he, proceeds this dire wickedness of 
 thine ? Immediately quit my bed, and depart from my sight. 
 I will now immediately join myself in marriage to your sister 
 (mentioning you expressly by name), and then he ordered 
 Zephyr to blow me beyond the boundaries of his habitation." 
 
 Psyche had scarcely ended her narration, when the sister, 
 agitated by the incentives of lust and baneful envy, having 
 deceived her husband by a preconcerted fiction respecting the 
 death of her parents, immediately set sail for the rock on which 
 Psyche had been exposed ; and though another wind then 
 blew, yet, elated with blind hope, she exclaimed, "Receive 
 me, Cupid, a wife worthy thy embraces; and thou, Zephyr, 
 receive thy mistress." Then leaping up as high as she was 
 able, she fell headlong from the mountain, unable even when 
 dead to arrive at the palace of Cupid. For her limbs were 
 torn in pieces by the rocks as she fell, and her bowels became, 
 as they deserved to be, food for birds and beasts of prey. Nor 
 was the vengeance which remained to be inflicted slow in its 
 approaches : for Pysche with wandering steps arrived at another 
 city, where her other sister reigned, who, deceived, and sinning 
 in the same manner, hastened to the rock, and died just in the 
 same way her sister had done before. 
 
 In the meantime, while Psyche wandered over various 
 realms, anxiously searching after Cupid, he, through the pain 
 of the wound from the lamp, lay groaning in the bedchamber 
 of his mother. Then that extremely white bird, the sea-gull, 
 who swims with his wings on the waves of the sea, hastily 
 merged himself in the profound bosom of the ocean. There, 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK V. 85 
 
 placing himself near Venus, as she was bathing and swimming, 
 he informed her that her son was severely burnt, that he was 
 groaning with the pain of the wound, and that his cure was 
 doubtful. That, besides this, the whole family of Venus was 
 every where reviled ; in the first place, Cupid, because he had 
 retired to a mountain, in order to have illicit connexion with a 
 girl; and, in the next place, said he, yourself, by thus with- 
 drawing to swim in the sea. Hence it is said, continued the 
 bird, that there is no longer any pleasure, elegance, and 
 festivity to be found, but that every thing is inelegant, rustic, 
 and horrid; that nuptial ties, social friendships, and love of 
 children are no more; but that in their place have succeeded 
 enormous filth, and the bitter loathing of sordid compacts. 
 Thus did this loquacious and impertinent bird defame the son 
 of Venus, by murmuring scandal in her ear. 
 
 But Venus, being enraged at the information, suddenly 
 exclaimed, in a firm tone of voice, " So, then, this hopeful son 
 of mine has got a mistress ! Come, tell me, thou who alone 
 dost serve me with affection, tell me the name of her who has 
 solicited the ingenuous and naked boy, and whether she is one 
 of the tribes of Nymphs, or of the number of the Goddesses, or 
 of the choir of the Muses, or belonging to my train of the 
 Graces?" The loquacious bird was not silent: "But my 
 mistress," said he, " I am not certain, though, if I well remem- 
 ber, he is said to have been vehemently in love with a girl, 
 whose name is Psyche." Then Venus, being indignant, ex- 
 claimed, "Does he then love her who is the rival of my beauty, 
 and who is emulous of my name ? And does he mean to make 
 me, who first brought him to the knowledge of her, act the 
 part of a bawd ? " 
 
 Thus complaining, she immediately emerged from the sea, 
 and hastened to her golden bedchamber, where she found her 
 son sick, as she had been told, and so vehemently raving 
 through the pain, that she heard him before she reached the 
 doors. " This is fine conduct, indeed 1 " said she, " and very 
 agreeable to our dignified birth, ^nd your temperance. In the 
 first place, that you should trample on the precepts of your 
 mistress and mother, and so far from tormenting my enemy 
 with sordid love, take her to your licentious and immature 
 embraces, on purpose that I might suffer the indignity of 
 having my enemy for my daughter-in-law. Doubtless thou dost 
 presume, thou trifler, corrupted and unbeloved boy, that I am 
 too old to have another son. Know, therefore, that I will beget 
 another son, much better than thou art; or rather, that you 
 may be more sensible of the disgrace, I will adopt one of my 
 little slaves, and on him will I bestow those wings and flames. 
 
86 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 that bow, and those arrows, and all my furniture, which I gave 
 you for purposes very different from those to which you employ 
 them : for you received no part of this apparatus from your 
 father's possessions. But thou hast been of a perverse dis- 
 position from thy very childhood, and hence it is that thou hast 
 so often struck thy elders, and even thy mother herself, even 
 me, thou parricide. Besides, you despise me as if I were a 
 widow; nor are you afraid of your valiant father-in-law, the 
 mighty warrior God, whom, to my torment, you have supplied 
 with many a virgin. I shall take care, however, to make you 
 repent of this frolicsome trick of yours, and render your nuptials 
 sharp and bitter. 
 
 "However, being thus derided, what shall I do? Where 
 shall I betake myself? How shall I punish that little deceiver? 
 Shall I solicit assistance of my enemy Sobriety, whom I have 
 so often offended through the luxury of this fraudulent boy ? 
 Must I have recourse to that rustic and filthy woman ? I abhor 
 the very thought ; yet the consolation of revenge is not to be 
 despised. I must therefore apply to her, and to her alone ; for 
 she will most severely chastise this trifler. She will rifle his 
 quiver, disarm his arrows, unbend his bow, extinguish his torch, 
 and punish his body with still sharper remedies. Then I shall 
 believe atonement has been made for the injury I have received, 
 when I have shaved off those locks, which, with these hands of 
 mine, I have so often bound with a golden bandage, and cut off 
 those pinions, which I have dyed in that nectareous fountain, 
 my bosom." 
 
 Having thus given vent to her passion, full of venereal bile, 
 she rushed impetuously out of doors. But Ceres and Juno 
 immediately attended her, and, perceiving her angry countenance, 
 asked her why she did so great an injury to the gracefulness 
 of her sparkling eyes, by such a sullen contraction of her 
 brows ? To whom Venus thus replied : " You are come very 
 opportunely to be the executioners of that violence which has 
 taken possession of my ardent breast. 1 beg, therefore, that 
 with the utmost care and diligence you will inquire after the 
 fugitive Psyche ; for the infamous report respecting my house, 
 and the conduct of my unworthy son, cannot be unknown to 
 you." 
 
 Then the two Goddesses, being ignorant of what had 
 happened, thus endeavoured to mitigate the raging anger of 
 Venus : " What offence has your son committed, that you so 
 violently oppose his pleasures, and are impatient to destroy her 
 whom he loves ? What crime, we beseech you, can he be 
 charged with in loving, without restraint, a beautiful virgin? 
 Can you be ignorant of his sex and youth? Or have you. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF A.PULEIUS. — BOOKV. 87 
 
 indeed, forgot how old he is? What, because he carries his 
 years elegantly, would you always consider him as a boy ? Is 
 it possible, that you, who are his mother, and besides this 
 a woman of understanding, can be determined always to pry 
 inquisitively into his sport, blame his luxury and amours, and 
 reprobate, in your beautiful son, your own arts and delights? 
 But what God or man will suffer you to disseminate every 
 where among the people amorous desires, when you restrain 
 the gallantry of your own house, and thus shut up the public 
 shop of female vices ? " The fear of his darts induced them to 
 pay this flattery to absent Cupid, in a gracious patronage of his 
 cause. But Venus, indignant .that her injuries were thus 
 ridiculously treated, with haughty mien and hasty step, passed 
 on to the ocean. 
 
THE 
 
 METAMORPHOSIS OF APULEIUS. 
 
 BOOK THE SIXTH. 
 
 In the meantime, Psyche was driven about from place to place, 
 variously wandering, and with restless mind inquiring after her 
 husband ; her desire of finding him increasing in proportion to 
 the difficulty of the search. For, though she had incurred his 
 anger, she hoped she should be able to appease him by suppliant 
 prayers, if she could not allure him by the tender blandishments 
 of a wife. Perceiving, therefore, a temple on the summit of a 
 lofty mountain, " How can I tell," said she, " but this may be 
 the residence of my lord ; " and immediately she directed her 
 hasty steps thither, incited by hope and desire, though spent 
 with unceasing toil And ■ now, having gained the highest 
 ridges of the mountain, she enters the temple, in which she saw 
 ears of corn, some of which lay in a heap, some were twisted 
 into garlands, and some were mingled with ears of barley. Here, 
 likewise, were sithes,tand all the instruments of harvest, but 
 scattered in a confused and careless manner, and thrown, as is 
 usually the case in the heat of summer, out of the weary hands 
 of the reapers. 
 
 Psyche, on seeing this confusion, curiously separated the 
 mingled heaps, and properly arranged them, when separated, 
 believing that she ought not to neglect the temples and 
 ceremonies of any divinity, but that she should implore the 
 benevolent pity of all the Gods. The bountiful Ceres, whose 
 temple this was, finds her thus anxiously and sedulously 
 employed, and addresses her, at a distance, as follow.^ : " Alas ! 
 miserable Psyche, Venus, full of fage and indignation, inquires 
 after thy footsteps with anxious search, dooms thee to the most 
 severe punishment, and importunately demands revenge, with 
 
GOr.DEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK VI. 89 
 
 all the powers of her divinity. Canst thou therefore now busy 
 thyself about my affairs, or think of any thing else but thy own 
 safety?" 
 
 Then Psyche, throwing herself at the feet of the Goddess, 
 watering them with abundant weeping, and sweeping the ground 
 with her dishevelled locks,.entreated pardon of her divinity with 
 numerous prayers. "I beseech thee, says she, "by thy fruit- 
 bearing right hand, by the joyful ceremonies of harvest, by the 
 occult sacred concerns of the cistae, by the winged car of thy 
 ministrant dragons, the furrows of the Sicilian soil, the rapacious 
 chariot, and the detaining earth, by the dark descending 
 ceremonies attending the marriage of Frosperine, and the 
 ascending rites which accompanied the luminous discovery of 
 thy daughter, and by other arcana which Eleusis, the Attic 
 sanctuary, conceals in profound silence,^ support the soul of 
 Psyche thy suppliant ! Suffer me to conceal myself in that heap 
 of corn, for a few days, till the raging anger of so great a Goddess 
 is mitigated by time ; or at least permit me to stay here till my 
 bodily powers, weakened by long-continued labour, become 
 invigorated by an interval of rest." 
 
 To this prayer Ceres thus replied : " I am moved by your 
 weeping supplications, and desire to assist you ; but I cannot 
 with propriety incur the displeasure of a kindred Goddess, to 
 whom I am united by an ancient league of friendship. Depart, 
 therefore, from this temple immediately, and take in good part 
 my not detaining arid making you a prisoner." 
 
 Psyche, being thus repulsed, contrary to her hopes, and 
 oppressed with a double sorrow, retired from the temple, and in 
 a dark grove of the valley, beneath the mountain, beheld a fane 
 of elegant structure, and, unwilling to omit any way, though 
 dubious, which might lead to better hope, and determined to 
 implore the pardon of every God, she suppliantly approached 
 the sacred doors. Here she perceived splendid gifts, and parts 
 of garments interwoven with golden letters, fixed to the branches 
 of the trees, and the pillars of the temple ; the letters signifying, 
 that these were votive offerings for benefits received, and 
 exhibiting the name of the Goddess to whom they were 
 dedicated. 
 
 Then Psyche, throwing herself on her knees, and embracing 
 the" altar, having first wiped away her tears, thus prayed : " O 
 sister and wife of the mighty Jupiter ! whether thou dost possess 
 the ancient temples of Samos, which glories in thy querulous 
 infancy, and in thy nurture ; or whether thou dost frequent the 
 blessed seats of the. happy Carthage, which adores thee as a 
 
 t Set mj Dissenation on tha Eltu.iiiiian and Bacchic Mysteries. 
 
90 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 virgin, riding through the heavens in a lion-yoked car ; or dost 
 preside over the illustrious walls of the Argives, near the banks 
 of Inachus, which celebrates thee now married to the Thunderer, 
 and Queen of the Gods ! ! thou whom all the east venerates 
 under the name of Zygia, and all the west denominates Lucina ! 
 be thou, Juno, the saviour in this my extreme misfortune, and 
 deliver me, weary with the toils of such long-continued labours, 
 from the fear of my present impending danger ; for I know that 
 thou art accustomed voluntarily to relieve the distresses of the 
 pregnant." 
 
 Juno immediately presented herself to Psyche supplicating, 
 in all the august dignity of her divinity, and said, " I would most 
 willingly have my daughter-in-law, Venus, yield to your prayers ; 
 but decency will not permit me to act contrary to the will of 
 Venus, whom I have always loved as my own daughter. Besides, 
 the law forbids me to receive into my protection, any fugitive 
 servant, without the consent of her mistress." 
 
 But Psyche, now terrified with this second shipwreck of her 
 fortune, and despairing of being able to recover her volatile 
 husband, having laid aside all hope of safety, thus consulted 
 with her own thoughts. " What other relief for my sorrows can 
 now be either attempted or procured since even Goddesses 
 cannot, though willing, afford me assistance ? To what place 
 shall I again direct my wandering steps, when entangled in such 
 inextricable nets ? Concealed in what habitations or darkness 
 can I escape the inevitable eyes of the mighty Venus ? Assume, 
 therefore, a masculine mind, my soul, bravely renounce all thy 
 vain little hopes, voluntarily surrender thyself into the hands of 
 thy mistress, and try, though late, to mitigate her rage by the 
 modesty of thy behaviour. Besides, thou mayest perhaps find 
 him in the house of his mother, whom thou hast so long sought 
 for in vain." Being thus prepared to enter on her dubious duty, 
 or rather certain destruction, she considered with herself how 
 she should begin her supplications to Venus. 
 
 Venus, however, refusing to employ earthly methods in her 
 inquiries after Psyche, returned to heaven. She orders the 
 chariot to be made ready, which Vulcan, having fabricated with 
 subtle skill, arched like the horned moon, and precious with a 
 waste of gold, had presented her before the consumnation of 
 her marriage. Four white doves, out of many that nestled 
 about the bedchamber of their mistress, joyfully turning about 
 their painted necks, assume the yoke, decorated with gems, 
 and, having taken up their mistress, gladly fly with her to 
 heaven. The chariot of the Goddess was attended by a flock 
 of sparrows, wantoning with loud chirpings, and by other birds 
 who sing sweetly; all of them announcing the approach of 
 Venus in the most mellifluous notes. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK VI. 9 1 
 
 The clouds give, way, the heavens unfold themselves to 
 their daughter, and the lofty sether receives the Goddess with 
 joy ; nor does the singing family of Venus fear opposing eagles, 
 or rapacious hawks. Then immediately she directed her steps 
 to the royal palace of Jupiter, and proudly demanded the 
 necessary assistance of the vocal God Mercury; nor did the 
 azure brow of Jupiter refuse assent. Then Venus, accompanied 
 by Mercury, joyfully descended from heaven, and, in her flight, 
 thus anxiously addressed him : " My Arcadian brother, you 
 well know that your sister, Venus, never did any thing without 
 the presence of Mercury, nor are you ignorant how lonjf I have 
 sought in vain for my lurking female slave. Hence nothing 
 remains to be done, but for you to proclaim her in a public 
 manner, and propose a reward to him that shall find her. Take 
 care, therefore, that my commands are speedily executed, and 
 clearly describe the marks by which she may be known, that no 
 one may plead ignorance for the crime of unlawfully concealing 
 her." At the sam.e time, she gave him a small volume, in which 
 the name of Psyche was written, and every other particular 
 respecting her, after which she immediately returned home. 
 Nor was Mercury negligent in the performance of her com- 
 mands ; for, running every where, through all nations, he cried 
 her in the following words : " If any one can seize in her 
 
 FLIGHT, OR discover WHERE A FUGITIVE KING'S DAUGHTER, A 
 
 servant of Venus, and of the name of Psyche, lies con- 
 cealed, LET him or her REPAIR TO MeRCURY, THE CRIER, AT 
 THE TEMPLE OF VeNUS MuRTIA,^ AND RECEIVE, AS A REWARD 
 OF THE DISCOVERY, SEVEN SWEET KISSES FROM VeNUS HERSELF, 
 AND ONE EXQUISITELY DELICIOUS TOUCH OF HER CHARMING 
 TONGUE." 
 
 Mercury having thus executed the proclamation of Venus, 
 the desire of such a mighty reward excited ardent endeavours 
 in all mortals to obtain it, and this circumstance took away 
 from Psyche all thoughts of any further delay. And now, 
 as she approached the gates of her mistress, she was met by 
 one of the servants of Venus, named Custom, who immediately 
 exclaimed, as loud as she was able, "At length, then, most 
 wicked slave, do you begin to know that you have a mistress ? 
 And do you likewise pretend to be ignorant of the great fatigue 
 we have endured in endeavouring to find you out ? But it is 
 well that you have fallen into my hands; for now you have 
 entered within the very gates of hell, to receive, without delay, 
 the punishment of such obstinate contumacy." 
 
 After she had thus reviled Psyche, she audaciously twisted 
 
 2 So c.-ilied from the myrtle tree, which is sacred to Venus. 
 
92 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 her hands in her hair, and dragged her along without resistance. 
 But Venus, as soon as she beheld her thus brought into her 
 presence, burst into a loud laugh, such as agitates those who 
 are transported with vehement rage; and, shaking her head, 
 " At length," says she, " have you thought proper to come and 
 pay your respects to your mother-in-law ? Or did you rather 
 come to see your sick husband, who is yet dangerously ill 
 through the wound which you gave him ? But, take courage, 
 for your reception will be such as a good mother-in-law ought 
 to give. Where then," said she, " are my servants Solicitude 
 and Sorrow ? " These immediately attending, in obedience to 
 the commands of their mistress, scourged and inflicted other 
 torments on the miserable Psyche, and afterwards brought her 
 again into the presence of Venus. 
 
 Then Venus, again laughing: "Behold," said she, "her 
 dwelling bdly moves my compassion, since it is through this 
 that she is to make me a happy grandmother. Happy, indeed, 
 am I, who,- in the very flower of my age, shall be called a 
 grandmother ! And the son of a vile slave shall be dignified 
 with the appellation of the grandson of Venus ! Though, 
 indeed, I foolishly call him my grandson; for marriages un- 
 equal, and, besides this, made in a village, without any 
 witnesses, and without the father's consent, can never be 
 deemed legitimate; so that thy offspring must be a bastard, 
 even if I should suffer thee to bring him into the light. 
 
 Having thus said, she flew upon her, rent her garments in 
 many places, tore her hair, beat her on the head, and severely 
 chastised her in various ways, Then taking wheat, barley, 
 millet, poppy-seed, vetches, lentils, and beans, and, mixing 
 them into one globular heap, she thus spoke to her: "You 
 seem to me a servant so' deformed, as to be incapable of 
 deserving your lover by any other means than the diligent 
 performance of menial employments. I will, therefore, myself 
 make trial of your abilities as a housewife. Take and separate 
 this mass of seeds, and having properly disposed the several 
 grains apart from each other, give me a proof of your expedition, 
 by finishing the task before evening." Thus spoke Venus, and 
 immediately after departed to a wedding supper. 
 
 But Psyche, astonished at the prodigious command, sat 
 silent and stupid, without moving a hand to the disordered and 
 inextricable mass. Then a little ant, a native of the fields, 
 vehemently commiserating such prodigious difficulty and labour, 
 and execrating the step-mother's cruelty towards the wife of the 
 mighty Grod Cupid, rapidly summoned together the populous 
 tribe of neighbourinc; ants, and thus addressed them: "Take 
 pity, ye active nurslings of the all-parent earth ! Take pity, and 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK VI. 93 
 
 with prompt celerity assist the wife of Love, a beautiful young 
 woman, who is now in a dangerous situation." 
 
 Immediately the six-footed people rushed forth to her 
 assistance in undulating tribes, and with the utmost diligence 
 separated the whole heap, grain by grain, and, having properly 
 sorted the confusedly mingled species, rapidly vanished from 
 her sight. 
 
 But Venus, on the commencement of night, returns from 
 the nuptial banquet, moist with wine, fragrant with rich oint- 
 ments, and having her body elegantly bound with shining roses. 
 And as soon as she saw the diligence which had been exerted 
 on the wonderful labour, " Most vile creature," said she, " this 
 is not the work of your hands, but of his whom, to your own 
 and his misfortune, you have pleased;" and, throwing her a 
 piece of household bread, she retired to rest. 
 
 In the meantime, Cupid was very closely confined to his 
 bedchamber, in the interior part of the house, partly lest he 
 should hinder his wound by petulant luxury, and partly lest he 
 should associate with his beloved. Thus the lovers, being 
 separated from each other under one roof, passed away, ex'- 
 hausted with grief, the cruel night. But as soon as Aurora had 
 ushered in the morning, Venus having called Psyche, thus 
 addressed her: "Do you perceive yonder grove which stretches 
 itself to a considerable distance along the margin of a river, 
 whose deepest whirlpools look down upon a neighbouring 
 fountain? There shining sheep of a golden colour wander 
 about, feeding without a shepherd. I think it fit that you 
 should bring me immediately a flock of that precious wool, 
 whatever may be the difificulty of procuring it." 
 
 Psyche willingly rose, not with any intention of executing this 
 command, but to procure rest from her misfortunes, hy hurling 
 herself headlong from the rock into the river. But when she 
 came to the brink, a reed, the sweet nurse of music,^ being 
 divinely inspired, thus prophetically spoke in soft and harmonious 
 murmurs : " Psyche ! exercised in mighty sorrows, neither 
 pollute my sacred waters by thy most miserable death, nor yet 
 venture to approach the formidable sheep on the opposite bank, 
 while, borrowing heat from the burning radiance of the sun, 
 they are transported with savage rage, and are the destruction of 
 mortals, either by their sharp horns, stony foreheads, or 
 venemous bites. But when the meridian sun has driven the 
 cattle to the shade, and the serene spirit of the flood lulled them 
 to rest, then you may hide yourself under yonder lofty plane tree, 
 which drinks of the same river with myself, and as soon as the 
 
 3 So called because the pipe of Pan was formed of reeds joined together. 
 
94 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 sheep have mitigated their fury, on shaking the leaves of a 
 neighbouring grove, you will find the woolly gold every where 
 sticking to the roots of the trees." Thus the simple and 
 humane reed taught the wretched Psyche how to accomplish 
 this enterprise with safety. 
 
 Psyche, therefore, observing all the directions, found her 
 obedience was not in vain, but returned to Venus with her 
 bosom full of the delicate golden ileece. Yet she was not able 
 to procure the approbation of her mistress by this her second 
 perilous labour. But Venus, smiling bitterly with severe 
 eyebrows, thus addressed her : " I am not ignorant that you are 
 not the peri'ormer of this task also ; but I will now try whether 
 you are endued with a courageous mind and singular prudence. 
 Do you see the summit of yonder lofty mountain, from which 
 the dusky waters of a black fountain fall, and which confined in 
 the channel of the neighbouring valley, irrigate the Stygian 
 marshes, and supply the hoarse streams of Cocytus ? Bring me 
 immediately in this little urn, liquid dew drawn from the most 
 inmost influx of the lofty fountain." Thus speaking she gave 
 her a vessel of polished crystal, and at the same time threatened 
 her more severely than before. 
 
 But Psyche, with- the utmost celerity, ascended to the very 
 summit of the mountain, presuming that there at least she 
 should find the period of her most miserable life. However, 
 when she arrived at the confines of the vertex, she saw the 
 deadly difficulty of the vast undertaking. For a rock enormously 
 lofty, and inaccessibly rugged, vomited from its middle the 
 horrid waters of the fountain, which, immediately falling 
 headlong in winding streams, rushed suddenly through a narrow 
 channel into the neighbouring valley. On the right and left 
 hand they creep through hollow rocks, over which fierce 
 dragons stretch out their long necks, and with unwinking 
 vigilance keep a perpetual watch. And now the vocal waters 
 shook themselves, and exclaimed as they rolled along, 
 " Depart ; what do you attempt ? Look and see what you do ; 
 take care, fly, or you will perish." 
 
 Psyche, therefore, petrified through the impossibility of 
 accomplishing the task, though she was present in body, was 
 absent in mind, and being perfectly buried under the huge bulk 
 of the inextricable danger, was even deprived of the benefit of 
 tears, the last solace of the wretched. But the sorrow of the 
 innocent soul is not concealed from the penetrating eyes of 
 Providence. For the rapacious eagle, that royal bird of 
 Jupiter, on a sudden flew to her with expanded wings, calling to 
 mind his ancient obhgations to Cupid, for enabling him to 
 elevate to heaven the Phrygian cup-bearer [Ganymedes] to 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK VI. 95 
 
 Jupiter ; and reverencing the divinity of Cupid, in the labours of 
 his wife, deserted the lofty paths of Jupiter, and bringing with 
 him seasonable assistance, thus addressed her : " Can you, in 
 other respects of an undesigning disposition and unexperienced 
 in attempts of this kind, ever hope to steal one drop of this 
 most holy and no less terrible fountain ? Have you not heard, 
 at least, that these Stygian waters are formidable even to 
 Jupiter himself, and that as you swear by the divinity of the 
 Gods, so they are accustomed to swear by the majesty of Styx?* 
 But give me that little urn." Immediately, therefore, taking it 
 in haste, and poising it on his moving wings, he sailed between 
 the cheeks of raging teeth, and the three-forked vibrating 
 tongues of the dragons, and steering his course to the right and 
 left, drew oif the rehictant waters, which previously admon- 
 ished him that he might depart in safety, because he pretended 
 that Venus herself wanted some of the water, and had ordered 
 him to procure it. And on this account his access to the 
 fountain was facilitated. 
 
 Psyche, therefore, joyfully receiving the full urn, returned 
 with the utmost celerity to Venus. Yet she was not able, even 
 by the accomplishment of this dangerous enterprise, to appease 
 the anger of the raging Goddess. For, threatening her with still 
 more severe endurance, she thus addressed her, a smile, the 
 harbinger of ruin, accompanying her words: "You appear to me 
 to be a profound and malevolent magician, or you never could 
 with so much dexterity have performed my commands : but 
 there is one task more, my dear, which you ought to perform. 
 Take this box (she immediately gave it to her), and direct your 
 course to the infernal regions and the deadly palace of Pluto. 
 Then presenting the box to Prosperine, say, Venus requests you 
 to send her a small portion of your beauty, at least as much as 
 may be suflScient for one short day ; for she has consumed all 
 the beauty she possessed, through the attention which she pays 
 to her diseased son. But return with the utmost expedition ; 
 for it is necessary that I should adorn myself with the beauty of 
 Prosperine, as I must go to the theatre of the Gods." 
 
 Psyche was now truly sensible, that she was arrived at the 
 extremity of her evil fortune; and clearly perceived that, all 
 further pretences being laid aside, she was impelled to 
 immediate destruction, since she was forced to direct her steps 
 to Tartarus and the shades below. Hence, without any farther 
 delay, she ascended a lofty tower, that she might from thence 
 
 4 Styx, considered according to its first subsistence, appears to me to be that cause by 
 which divine natures retain an immutable sameness of essence. The immutability, 
 therefore, of divine energy, is signified by the Gods swearing by Styx. 
 
g6 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 hurl herself headlong : for she considered that she should thus 
 descend by a straight road, and in a beautiful manner, to the 
 infernal regions. But she was no sooner arrived there, than the 
 tower suddenly addressed her in the following words : 
 
 "Why, O miserable creature, dost thou seek to destroy 
 thyself by falling headlong -from hence ? And why dost thou 
 rashly sink, under this thy last danger and endurance ? For as 
 soon as thy breatli shall be thus separated from thy body, thou 
 wilt indeed descend to profound Tartarus, but canst not by any 
 means return from thence. Listen, therefore, to me. Lacedsmon, 
 a noble city of Achaia, is not far from hence. Near this city, 
 concealed in devious places, seek Tenarus ; for there you will 
 find the cavity through which Pluto breathes, and the impassable 
 road presents itself through the yawning gates. As soon as you 
 have passed the threshold of this cavity, you proceed in a direct 
 path to the palace of Pluto. You ought not, however, to pass 
 through those shades with empty hands, but should take a sop 
 of barley bread, soaked in hydromel, in both your hands, and in 
 your mouth two pieces of money. And now, when you have 
 accomplished a good part of your deadly journey, you will meet 
 a lame ass laden with wood, with a driver as lame as himself, 
 who will ask you to reach him certain cords to fasten the burdea 
 which has fallen from the ass ; but be careful that you pass by 
 him in silence. Then, without any delay, proceed till you 
 arrive at the dead river, in which Charon, immediately deman- 
 ding his fee, in his patched boat ferries over the passengers to 
 the farthest shore. 
 
 "Avarice, therefore, lives among the dead. Nor does 
 Charon himself, nor the father Pluto, though so great a God, 
 do any thing gratuitously. The poor man, dying, ought to 
 prepare his viaticum ; and no one suffers him to expire without 
 having money at hand. To this squalid old man give one of the 
 pieces of money which you carry with you ; yet in such a 
 manner, that he may take with his own hand from your mouth. 
 While you are passing over the sluggish river, a certain dead old 
 man, floating on its surface, and raising his putrid hand, will 
 entreat you to take him into the boat. However, be careful 
 that you are not. influenced by any unlawful piety. Having 
 passed over the river, and proceeded to a little distance from 
 thence, certain old women, weaving a web, will request you to 
 lend them a helping hand ; but it is not lawful for you to touch 
 the web. For all these, and many other particulars, are snares 
 prepared for you by Venus, that you may drop one of the sops 
 out of your hands. But do not suppose that this would be a 
 trifling loss ; since the want of only one of these sops, would 
 prevent your return to light. For a huge dog, with three necks, 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULKIUS. — BOOK VI. qj 
 
 and heads sufficiently large, fierce and formidable, barking with 
 his thundering jaws, terrifies in vain the dead, whom he cannot 
 injure ; and always watching before the threshold and black 
 palace of Prosperine, guards the empty house of Pluto. Having 
 appeased this dog with one of your sops, you may easily pass by 
 him, and then you will immediately enter into the presence of 
 Prosperine herself, who will receive you in a very courteous and 
 benignant manner, desire you to repose yourself on a soft seat, 
 and persuade you to partake of a sumptuous banquet. But seat 
 yourself on the ground, and having asked for a piece of common 
 bread, eat it. Then telling your message, and receiving what you 
 came for, bribe the cruelty of the dog by the remaining sop. 
 Afterwards, having given to the avaricious ferryman the piece of 
 money which you have reserved, and passed his river, you will 
 return to the choir of the celestial stars. But, above all things, 
 I think you should particularly be cautious not to open or even 
 look on the box which you carry, or explore that concealed 
 treasury of divine beauty." In this manner the propitious 
 tower delivered its prophetic admonitions. 
 
 Psyche, therefore, without delay, proceeded to Tenarus, and 
 taking in a proper manner her pieces of money and her sops, ran 
 down the infernal avenue. Here, having passed by the lame ass 
 in silence, given the ferryman his fee, neglected the entreaties of 
 the floating corpse, despised the fraudulent prayers of the 
 spinsters, and lulled the rage of the horrid dog with a sop, she 
 penetrated the palace of Prosperine. Nor did she accept the 
 delicate seat, or delicious banquet; but humbly sat at the feet of 
 Prosperine, and being contented with a piece of common bread, 
 delivered her embassy from Venus. Immediately after- this, 
 she received the box, secretly filled and shut; and having barred 
 the barking of the dog by the fraud of the remaining sop, and 
 given the ferryman the other piece of money, she returned from 
 the infernal regions much more vigorous than before. Then 
 again enjoying and adoring the fair light of day, though she was 
 in haste to finish her errand, she was seized with a rash curiosity: 
 "Behold," said she, '"what a foolish bearer am I of divine 
 beauty, who do even not take the least portion of it, that I may 
 by this means appear pleasing in the eyes of my beautiful lover." 
 As she ended this soliloquy, she opened the box; but it 
 contained no beauty, nor indeed any thing but an infernal and 
 truly Stygian sleep, which being freed from its confinement, 
 immediately invades her, oppresses all her members with a 
 cloud of profound sleep, and detains her, fallen down in the 
 very place where she opened the box; so that she lay motionless, 
 and nothing else than a sleeping corpse. 
 
 But Cupid, being now recovered of his wound; and not 
 
98 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 enduring the long absence of his Psyche, glided through the 
 narrow windows of his bedchamber in which lie was confined, 
 and having his wings invigorated by repose, flew far more 
 swiftly than before; and dispelling the sleep from the prying fair, 
 and again concealing it in its ancient seat, the box, roused 
 Psyche with an innoxious touch of one of his arrows. " And 
 behold," said he, " miserable creature, thou wouldst again have 
 perished by a similar curiosity. Now, however, strenuously 
 perform the task imposed on thee by my mother, and I myself 
 will take care of the rest." Having thus spoke, the lover raised 
 himself on high with the rowing of his wings, and Psyche 
 immediately carried the present oi Prosperine to Venus. 
 
 In the meantime, Cupid, wasting away through excess of 
 love, and dreading the sudden severity of his mother, returns to 
 his armoury, and having with rapid wings penetrated the summit 
 of heaven, supplicates the mighty Jupiter, and defends his 
 cause. Then Jupiter, stroking the little cheeks of Cupid, and 
 kissing his hand, thus addressed him: "Though you, my son, 
 endued with the authority of a master, never pay me that 
 reverence which has been decreed me by the synod of the Gods, 
 but perpetually wound this breast of mine, by which the laws of 
 the elements and the revolutions of the stars are governed, and 
 frequently defile it with earthly intrigues, contrary to the laws, 
 the Julian edict,^ and public discipline, injuring my reputation 
 and fame by base adulteries, and sordidly changing my serene 
 countenance into serpents, fire, wild beasts, birds, and cattle ; 
 yet remembering my own moderation, and that you have been 
 nursed in these hands of mine, I will accomplish all that you 
 desire ; and at the same time you must be sensible that you 
 ought to guard against your rivals, and to recompense me for 
 this service, by presenting me with any girl of transcendent 
 beauty that may now happen to be upon the earth." 
 
 Having thus spoke, he ordered Mercury immediately to 
 summon all the Gods to attend ; and at the same time to pro- 
 claim, that, if any one of the celestials was absent, he should be 
 fined ten thousand pieces of money. Through, fear of this 
 therefore, the celestial theatre being immediately filled, lofty 
 Jupiter, sitting on his sublime throne, thus addressed the 
 assembly of Gods: "Ye conscript Gods, whose names are 
 registered in the white roll of the Muses, you are all well 
 acquainted with that youth whom I have reared with my own 
 hands, and the fiery impetus of whose first years I thought 
 would have been restrained by some bridle or other. It is 
 suflBcient that he is every day defamed in conversation, for the 
 
 S Alluding to the taw against adultery, instituted by Augustas Cicsar. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK VI. 99 
 
 adulteries and all manner of corruption of which he is the cause. 
 Every occasion of this is to be taken away, and his puerile 
 luxury ought to be bound in nuptial fetters. He has made choice 
 of a girl, and deprived her of her virginity. Let him, therefore, 
 hold her, let him possess her, and embracing Psyche, always 
 enjoy the object of his love." Then turning his face to Venus, 
 "Nor do you, my daughter," said he, "be sorrowful on this 
 occasion, nor fearful that your pedigree and rank will be dis- 
 graced by a mortal marriage; for I will now cause the nuptials 
 not to be unequal, but legitimate, and agreeable to the civil 
 law." Immediately after this, he ordered Mercury to bring 
 Psyche to heaven j and as soon as she was arrived, extending to 
 her a cup of ambrosia, "Take this," said he, "Psyche, and be 
 immortal; nor shall Cupid ever depart from thy embrace, but 
 these nuptials of yours shall be perpetual." 
 
 Then, without delay, the wedding supper was served in great 
 abundance. The husband, reclining at the upper end of the 
 table, embraced Psyche in his bosom ; and in this manner, 
 Jupiter was seated with Juno, and after them, the other Gods and 
 Godesses in their proper order. Then Jupiter was presented 
 with a bowl of nectar, which is the wine of the Gods, by 
 that rustic youth [Ganymedes], his cup-bearer ; but Bacchus sup- 
 plied the rest. Vulcan dressed the supper ; the Hours purpled 
 over everything with roses, and other fragrant flowers ; the 
 Graces scattered balsam ; the Muses sang melodiously ; Apollo 
 accompanied the lyre with his voice ; and Venus beautifully 
 danced with steps in unison with the delightful music. The 
 order, too, of the entertainment was, that the Muses should sing 
 the chorus, Satyrus play on the flute, and Paniscus* speak to the 
 pipe. Thus Psyche came lawfully into the hands of Cupid ; 
 and, at length, from a mature pregnancy, a daughter was born 
 to them, whom we denominate Pleasure. After this manner, 
 that delirious and intoxicated old woman related these particu- 
 lars to the captive virgin. 
 
 I, however, who stood not far from her, lamented, by Her- 
 cules, that I had not the means of committing to writing such a 
 beautiful fable. But behold, the robbers return laden, having 
 finished I know not what severe battle; Nevertheless, some of 
 them who were more prompt in mind, having left those that were 
 wounded at home, that they might be cured of their wounds, 
 were desirous of going, in order to bring away the other bundles 
 of plunder, which, as they said, they had concealed in a certain 
 cave. And having hastily devoured their dinner, they turned 
 me and my horse into the road, intending to load us with those 
 
 6 One of the Satyrs of the wood. 
 
lOO THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 bundles ; and striking us with staves, they led us, wearied with 
 the many acclivities and windings of the road, towards evening, 
 to a certain cavern, from whence they quickly brought us back, 
 not suffering us to refresh ourselves for the smallest portion of 
 time. They also hastened away with such great trepidation, 
 that, frequently striking me, and impelling me against a stone 
 which lay in the road, they caused me to fall down. In conse- 
 quence of this, they scarcely suffered me to rise, being again 
 struck with many blows, and severely hurt ih my right leg and 
 left hoof. On this occasion, one of them said :- How long shall 
 we feed in vain this ruptured ass, and who now also is lame ? 
 And another said : He came to our house with an ill omen, and 
 from that time we have not obtained any considerable gain, but 
 we have only suffered blows, and the loss of our bravest associ- 
 ates. Another again observed : Certainly, as soon as he has 
 brought home, though unwillingly, these burdens, I will imme- 
 diately hurl him headlong, that he may become most delectable 
 food for vultures. 
 
 While those mildest of men'' debate with each other about 
 my death, we had now reached our home ; for fear had made 
 wings of my hoofs. Then, having hastily removed our burdens, 
 and paying no attention to our safety, nor even thinking of my 
 death, but taking with them the associates whom they had be- 
 fore left at home wounded, they immediately entered into their 
 place of abode, in order to relate, as they said, the tediousness 
 produced by our tardity. Nevertheless, I was not a little tor- 
 mented by the contemplation of the death with which I was 
 threatened, and I said to myself : Why dost thou stand still, O 
 Lucius, or why do you now wait for the last calamity that can 
 befall you ? Death, and that of the most cruel kind, is decreed 
 for you by the robbers, nor is the accomplishment of the thing 
 attended with any great difficulty. Do you not perceive those 
 neighbouring precipices, and, in these, sharp and prominent 
 rugged rocks, which, penetrating into you wherever you may 
 fall, will cause a discerption of your members ? For that illus- 
 trious magic of yours has alone given to you the face and the 
 labours of an ass, but has surrounded you not with the thick 
 hide of that animal, but with the delicate skin of a horse-leech. 
 Why do you not, therefore, assume a masculine mind, and con- 
 sult your safety while you are permitted so to do ? An excellent 
 opportunity of flight will be afforded you during the absence of 
 the robbers. Are you afraid of the vigilance of a half-dead old 
 woman, whom you may bring to an end with one blow of your 
 lame foot ? iiut whither shall I fly, or who will receive me 
 
 7 It is scarcely necescary to obserre that thirls said ironically. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OP APULEIUS. — BOOK VI. lOI 
 
 under his roof? This cogitation, indeed, of mine is stupid, and 
 perfectly asinine j for what traveller would not gladly take away 
 with him a beast on which he might ride? [Notwithstanding, 
 however, this conference with myself,] I immediately, with a 
 strong effort, broke the thong by which I was tied, and hurried 
 away with the swiftness of a quadruped. 
 
 Yet I could not escape the sharp eyes of the crafty old 
 woman ; for, as soon as she saw me free, assuming a boldness 
 above her sex and age, she laid hold of the thong, and 
 endeavoured to lead me back again. I, however, being mind- 
 ful of the deadly purpose of the robbers, was not influenced by 
 any pity, but immediately threw her on the ground, by striking 
 her with the hoofs of my hind feet. But she, though prostrate 
 on the earth, nevertheless tenaciously held by the thong, so that 
 for a short time she followed, in consequence of being drawn by 
 me. She also immediately began, with clamorous bowlings, to 
 implore the assistance of a stronger hand. But she in vain en- 
 deavoured to procure help by her lamentations ; for there was 
 no one but the captive virgin alone, that could afford her aid, 
 who, being excited by the clamour, ran out of the cave, and saw, 
 by Hercules, a most remarkable spectacle, the old woman, 
 Dirce, hanging not from a bull, but from an ass^. But the vir- 
 gin, assuming a virile fortitude, dared to engage in a beautiful 
 enterprise. For, wresting the thong from the hands of the old 
 woman, she restrained my impetus with bland words, strenu- 
 ously got on my back, and again incited me to hasten away. 
 And I, impelled by the desire of a voluntary flight, and, at the 
 same time, by a wish to liberate the virgin, and also by the in- 
 citement of the blows with which she frequently admonished 
 me, beating the ground, in my quadruped course, with an eques- 
 trian celerity, I endeavoured, by braying, to answer the delicate 
 words of the virgin. Sometimes, also, turning my neck, and 
 pretending to scratch my back, I kissed the beautiful feet of the 
 virgin. 
 
 Then she, profoundly sighing, and looking to heaven with a 
 solicitous countenance, " O ye Gods," she said, " give at length 
 assistance to me in my extreme danger ; and thou, O more 
 cruel Fortune, now cease to be severe. You have been suffi- 
 ciently appeased by these my miserable torments. And you 
 [addressing herself to me], who are the defence of my liberty 
 and of my life, if you bring me home safe, and restore me to 
 
 8 Apuleius here alludes to the itory of Dirce, the wife of Lycus, king of Thebes, whom 
 he married after he had divorced Antiope. Zethus and Amphion tied her to the tail of 
 an nntamed bull, and dragged her about ; but the God« compassionately changed her 
 into a fooBUia. 
 
102 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 ray parents and my beautiful lover, what thanks shall I not give 
 you", what honours shall I not bestow upon you, and what food 
 shall I not afford you ? For, in the first place, I will adorn that 
 mane of yours, after it has been well combed, with my virgin 
 necklaces. And, after having curled the hairs that hang over 
 your forehead, I will gracefully separate them ; and will, with 
 all diligence, comb the hairs of your tail, which, through 
 negligence, are intricate and rough. Decorating also you, who 
 are my preserver, with many golden ornaments, which will 
 cause you to be resplendent like the celestial stats ; and, lead- 
 ing you in triumph, while the people joyfully follow, I will daily 
 fatten you, by bringing to you nuts, and milder food, in my 
 silken apron. 
 
 "But neither amidst that delicate food, profound leisure, 
 and the blessedness of the whole of your life, shall a glorious 
 dignity be wanting to you. For I will leave a perpetual 
 monument of n,y present fortune, and of divine providence; 
 and I will dedicate, in the vestibule of my house, an image of 
 my present flight, depicted in a tablet. This history, also, 
 though rude, shall be narrated in fables, and delivered to 
 posterity in the writings of the learned ; viz. the history of a 
 
 ROYAL VIRGIN FLYING FROM CAPTIVITY ON THE BACK OF AN 
 
 ASS. You shall likewise be numbered among the miracles of 
 antiquity. For, from the example of your true history, we shall 
 believe that Phryxus swam, sitting on a ram, that Arion piloted 
 a dolphin, and that Europa sat on a bull. And if Jupiter truly 
 lowed under the form of a bull, something also may be concealed 
 in my ass, viz. either a human countenance, or a resemblance 
 of the Gods." 
 
 While the virgin often repeats this, and mingles frequent 
 sighs with her vows, we came to a certain place where three 
 roads met; and then she, seizing me by the cord which was 
 tied about my head, greatly desired to lead me into the road on 
 the right hand, because that way would conduct her to her 
 parents. But I, who knew that the robbers had taken that 
 path, in order to bring away the remainder of their spoil,' 
 strenuously resisted, and thus silently, in my own mind, expos- 
 tulated with her: "What are you doing, unhappy virgin? 
 What do you attempt ? Why do you hasten to Hades ? And 
 what is it which you strive to effect with my feet ? For you will 
 not only be the cause of your own, but likewise of my, destruc- 
 tion." Thus, while we were contending to go in different 
 directions, and dispute concerning the lordship of the ground 
 and the division of the path, as if in a legal process about the 
 limits of land, the robbers, burdened with their plunder, per- 
 ceived us, and knowing us at a considerable distance, by the 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK VI. I03 ' 
 
 light of the moon, saluted us with a malignant laugh ; and one 
 of their number thus addressed us: "Whither, with hasty 
 steps, are you proceeding by moonlight, and do not fear the 
 shades and ghosts that are seen at a more advanced period of 
 the night ? Do you hasten, O most excellent virgin, to visit 
 your parents privately ? But we will afford a defence to your 
 solitude, and will point out to you a shorter way to your 
 friends." He had no sooner said this, than, extending his 
 hand, and seizing my reins, he turned me back again, and was 
 not sparing in beating me cruelly with the knotted staff which 
 he carried in his hand. Then I, unwillingly returning to prompt 
 destruction, recollected the pain of my hoof, and began, with 
 an inclining head, to walk lame. He, however, who turned me 
 back, said: "So then, do you again stumble and stagger? And 
 are your rotten feet able to fly away, but know not how to 
 walk ? A little before this, however, you surpassed the winged 
 celerity of Pegasus." 
 
 While this beneficent associate thus jested with me, at the 
 same time beating me with his staff, we had now arrived at the 
 outward enclosure of the robbers' abode. And, behold, we 
 found that old woman, with a rope tied about her neck, sus- 
 pended from a certain branch of a lofty cypress tree. But the 
 robbers, taking her from thence, immediately precipitated her, 
 bound with her own rope; and, having put the virgin in chains, • 
 they attack, with savage minds, the supper which the unhappy 
 old woman had prepared for them, with posthumous diligence. 
 And, while they devour every thing with greedy voracity, they 
 now began to deliberate with themselves about our punishment, 
 and their own revenge, and their opinions were various, as is 
 usually the case in a turbulent crowd. Hence, the first of them 
 that spoke, thought that the virgin should be burnt alive ; the 
 second persuaded them to expose her to wild beasts ; the third 
 was of opinion that she should be crucified ; and the fourth, 
 that she should be mangled by various torments. She was, 
 however, certainly condemned to die, by the suffrage of all 
 of them. 
 
 Then one of them, having appeased the tumult of all the 
 rest, thus began to speak, in mild language: "It does not 
 accord with the ordinancies of our association, nor with the 
 clemency of each of us, nor indeed with my moderation, to 
 suffer you to inflict punishment without measure, and which 
 exceeds the magnitude of the crime; nor that you should 
 employ for this purpose wild beasts, or the cross, or fire, or 
 torments, or invoke the hasty torments of a rapid death. 
 Listening, therefore, to my counsel, grant life to the virgin, but 
 that life which she deserves. Nor can you forget what you 
 
104 1^H£ METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 some time ago decreed respecting that ass, who was always 
 sluggish, indeed, but a prodigious eater, and who now and 
 through the deception of a fictitious debility, was the instrument 
 and servant ot the virgin's flight. It will be well, therefore, to 
 cut his throat tomorrow, and, having taken away all hi« in- 
 testines, to sew up the virgin naked in the middle of the belly 
 of the ass, whom she has preferred to us ; so that, her face 
 alone being outwardly appare^'.t, the ass may confine, in the 
 beastly embrace of his belly, the rest of her body. Then let 
 the ass, in which the virgin is thus sewn up, be exposed, on 
 some stony rock, to the heat of the burning sun. Thus both 
 of them will suffer every thing which you have rightly decreed. 
 For the ass will suffer death, which he has long ago deserved ; 
 but she will endure the bites of wild beasts, when her limbs 
 have been gnawed by worms ; the flagrancy of fire, when the 
 sun shall have burnt the belly of the ass with his excessive 
 heat; and the torment of the cross, when dogs and vultures 
 draw out her most inward viscera. But enumerate also the 
 rest of her infelicities and torments. In the first place, she will 
 remain alive in the belly of a dead beast ; in the next place, 
 her nostrils will be replete with a most fetid vapour ; and, in 
 the third place, she will waste away with the deadly hunger 
 of protracted fasting, and will not have her hands at liberty, by 
 which she might procure for herself death." After he had thus 
 spoken, the robbers go into his opinion, not with feet, but with 
 their whole soul. Which decree when I heard with my great 
 ears, what else could I do than lament that I should be a 
 corpse on the next day ? 
 
THE 
 
 METAMORPHOSIS OF APULEIUS. 
 
 BOOK THE SEVENTH. 
 
 As sopn as, the darkness being dispersed, the fair light of day 
 appeared, and every thing was illuminated by the splendid 
 chariot of the sun, a certain person, who was one of the number 
 of the robbers, approached; for it might be conjectured that 
 he was one of them by their mutual salutations. This man, 
 sitting at the entrance to the cavern, after he had recovered his 
 breath, and was able to speak, made the following narration to 
 his companions : 
 
 "With respect to what pertains to the heuse of Milo, of 
 Hypata, which we lately plundered, we may now, having 
 dissipated our solicitude, be secure. For after you, O most 
 brave men, had returned to our cave, all the property of Milo 
 having been taken away by you, I being mingled with the 
 crowd of the citizens, and resembling one who was grieved and 
 indignant at what had happened, observed what counsel would 
 be taken for an investigation of the robbery, and whether, atod 
 to what extent, they would inquire after the robbers : in order 
 that I might relate to you every particular, conformably to your 
 mandates. And one Lucius, whom I know not, was accused 
 by the according consent ot all the multitude, as the evident 
 author of the robbery, and this not with dubious arguments, 
 but with probable reasons. This Lucius, not long before, by 
 false commendatory letters, feigning himself to be a worthy 
 man, firmly conciliated himself with Milo, so that being hospit- 
 ably received by him, he was ranked among the number of his 
 intimate friends. And when he had remained there not a few 
 days, having insnared the n>ind of a maid servant of Milo with 
 
Io6 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 false love, he diligently explored the bolts and bars of the 
 house, and curiously surveyed those parts of it in which all the 
 patrimony was usually deposited. This, also, was considered as 
 no small indication of the crime which he had committed, that 
 he fled on the very same night at the time of the robbery, 
 and has not been heard of since. For an aid to his flight was 
 easily supplied him, by which, having more rapidly eluded his 
 pursuers, he might still farther and farther conceal himself from 
 their search ; as he had taken with him his own white horse, 
 on which he fled. Moreover, his servant was found in the 
 same house, who, being accused as accessary to the felony and 
 escape of his master, was, by order of the magistrates, com- 
 mitted to the common gaol, and on the following day, having 
 suffered many torments, and being tortured till he was almost 
 dead, confessed, after all, nothing of this kind. Nevertheless, 
 many persons were sent to the country of that Lucius in 
 search of him, in order that he might, undergo the punishment 
 of his crime." 
 
 As he was narrating these things, I deeply lamented, making 
 a comparison between my ancient fortune and my present 
 calamity, and that once happy Lucius and an unhappy ass. It 
 also occurred to me, that men of ancient wisdom did not 
 without reason feign and pronounce Fortune to be blind, and 
 entirely deprived of eyes; since she always bestows her riches 
 on the unworthy and worthless, nor ever judicially makes any 
 mortal the object of her regard: but indeed is principally 
 conversant with men from whom, if she could see, she ought to 
 fly far away. And, what is the most extreme of all ills, she 
 causes opinions that are different from, or rather contrary to 
 our life, to be circulated about us : so as to enable the bad 
 man to boast with the renown of the good man, and, on the 
 contrary, to cause the most innocent man to be punished after 
 the manner of noxious characters. 
 
 Lastly, I, whom she has most cruelly attacked, by changing 
 me into a beast, and a quadruped of the vilest condition, and 
 whose misfortune may deservedly seem worthy to be lamented 
 and commiserated, even by the most iniquitous person, am 
 accused of the crime of having robbed my most dear host; 
 a crime which may not only be called a robbery, but which 
 every one may more rightly denominate a parricide. Yet I 
 was not permitted to defend my cause, or at least by uttering 
 one word to deny it. However, lest I, being present, should 
 seem, through an evil conscience, to consent to so wicked a 
 crime, I only wished, being impelled by impatience, to say, 
 Nonjeci, I did not do that deed. And the former word, indeed. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK VII. IO7 
 
 non] I once and frequently roared out ; but the other word 
 feci] I could by no Aieans pronounce, but I remained uttering 
 the former word, and repeatedly vociferated non, non ; though 
 I vibrated my pendulous lips witii excessive rotundity. Why, 
 however, do I prolixly complain of the unpropitiousnesss of 
 Fortune; since she was not ashamed to make me a fellow- 
 servant and yokemate with my horse, who carried me and was 
 my servant ? 
 
 While I was fluctuating with these thoughts, a concern of a 
 more important nature engaged my attention, viz. the recollec- 
 tion that I was destined by the decree of the robbers to be a 
 victim to the manes of the virgin ; and frequently looking down 
 to my belly, I seemed to myself to have the unhappy virgin 
 enclosed in it. But he, who just before had narrated that false 
 accusation concerning me, having drawn out a thousand pieces 
 of golden coin, which lie had concealed sewn up in his garment, 
 and which he had taken, as he said, from different travellers, 
 nnd had conscientiously brought to the common treasury, 
 began also anxiously to inquire concerning the welfare of his 
 associates. Finding also that some, and indeed all the bravest 
 of them, had perished by various but strenuous deaths, he 
 persuaded them, to relinquish the exercise of their profession 
 for some time, and rather apply themselves to searching after 
 other associates, and to supplying the deficiency of their former 
 warlike band by the election of tyros from young men. " For 
 he said, those that were unwilling might be compelled by fear, 
 and the willing might be incited by reward ; and that not a 
 few, abandoning an abject and servile life, would rather wish to 
 unite themselves to an association which possessed an authority 
 similar to that of regal power. That, for his part, he had some 
 time since met with a certain man of a lofty stature, young, of 
 vast bodily dimensions, and of great strength ^ ; and that he 
 had at length persuaded him to apply to better purposes his 
 hands, which had become torpid through long idleness; and to 
 enjoy while he might the advantages of a prosperous condition 
 of body; nor extend his powerful hand in asking relief, but 
 rather exercise it in procuring gold." A]I the robbers that were 
 present, assented to what he said, and decreed to receive him 
 into their society, who now appeared to be a tried man, and 
 also to search after others who might supply the place of those 
 they had lost. 
 
 Then he, going out, and shortly after returning, brought 
 
 t In the original, manu strtnuum, which the Delphin editors very erroneously 
 iiiterprel. as il appears to me, pfompiiim manu ; for the robber who is here spoken of 
 was a highwayman, and not a pickpocktt. 
 
iq8 the metamorphosis, or 
 
 with him, as he had promised, a certain tall young man, with 
 whom I do not know that any who were present could be 
 compared. For, besides the great bulk of his body, he sur- 
 passed all the rest in height by the whole of his head, and the 
 down had only just begun to creep on his cheeks ; but he was 
 only half clothed, with dissimilar pieces of cloth, badly sewed 
 together, through the joinings of which his breast and belly, 
 with callous thickness, endeavoured to burst forth. Thus 
 entering, "All hail," said he, "ye, who are under the protection 
 of the most powerful God Mars, and who are now become 
 my faithful associates ; and willingly receive a man of mag- 
 nanimous vigour, who voluntarily joins himself to you, and who 
 more cheerfully receives wounds in his body than gold in his 
 hand, and who despises death, which others dread. Nor think 
 that I am a needy or abject man, nor judge of my virtues from 
 these rags. For I have been the leader of a most powerful 
 band, and have, in fact, plundered all Macedonia. I am that 
 famous robber Hsemus the Thracian, whose name whole pro- 
 vinces dread; and am the offspring of Thero, who was an 
 equally illustrious robber, nourished in human blood, educated 
 among bands of men of this description, and the heir and 
 imitator of paternal virtue. But I lost, in a short space of time, 
 all the pristine multitude cjf my brave associates, and all that 
 great wealth. For I attacked a factor of Caesar, as he was 
 passing by Oratum, who had been the leader of two hundred 
 men, but was afterwards deprived of his appointment through 
 the malignity of fortune. I will, however, relate in order the 
 whole affair, that you may clearly know it. 
 
 " There was a certain person illustrious and conspicuous by 
 the many offices which he held in the palace of Caesar, and who 
 was also well esteemed by Caesar himself. Cruel envy, through 
 the crafty accusation of certain persons, hurled him into exile. 
 But a certain woman named Plotina, who was his wife, and who 
 was a female of rare fidelity and singular chastity, having given 
 stability to the family of her husband by the birth of ten 
 children, spurned and despised the pleasures of city luxury, 
 became the companion . of her husband in his flight, and a 
 partaker of his misfortune. For this purpose, she cut off her 
 hair, changed her dress, so that she might appear like a man ; 
 and being begirt with zones full of necklaces of the greatest 
 value, and of golden coin, she intrepidly passed through the 
 bands and drawn swords of the soldiers that guarded her 
 husband, a partaker of all his dangers, sustaining an ever- 
 wakeful care for his safety, and enduring continual labours with 
 a musculiue mind. And now, having vanqushed the greater 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEJUS.— BOOK VI. IO9 
 
 part of the difficulties of the journey, and the dangers of the sea, 
 she went with her htlsband to Zacynthus, which their fatal 
 destiny had decreed to be their temporary habitation.. As soon, 
 however, as they had arrived on the shore of Actium, at which 
 place we were then roving about, in our return from Macedonia, 
 they went late at night to a certain cottage which was near the 
 shore and their ship, and there they slept, in order to avoid the 
 tossing of the sea. In this cottage we attacked and plundered 
 them of every thing. Yet we did not depart without great 
 danger. For as soon as the mistress of the house heard the 
 first noise of the gate, she ran into the bedchamber, and 
 disturbed all that were in the house by her tumultuous 
 clamours. She likewise called on her servants by name, and on 
 all her neighbours; but it so happened, through the general fear, 
 that we escaped with impunity, each concealing himself through 
 the terror produced on this occasion. 
 
 This most holy woman, however, (for the truth must be 
 spoken), who possessed a singular probity, and was beloved for 
 her virtues, immediately pouring forth her prayers to the majesty 
 of Casar, obtained both a speedy return for her husband, and a 
 •complete revenge of the assault. Lastly, Caesar was unwilling 
 that the band of the robber Hsemus should any longer exist, and 
 it was immediately destroyed. So much can even the wish do 
 of a great prince. At length, when, by a diligent search of the 
 emperor's army, all our band was destroyed, I scarcely saved 
 myself, and escaped from the jaws of hell, after the following 
 manner. Having" clothed myself in the florid vestment of a 
 woman, which abounded in flowing folds, and covering my head 
 with a small woven mitre, being likewise shod with those white 
 and thin shoes which are worn by women, and as it were 
 ingrafted and concealed in the other sex, I passed through the 
 midst of the troops of hostile soldiers, riding on an ass laden 
 with sheaves of barley. For they, believing me to be a woman, 
 the driver of an ass, granted me a free passage ; because at that 
 time my cheeks, being without a heard, were graceful with 
 puerile smoothness. Yet I have not degenerated from that 
 paternal glory, or from my fortitude, though I was somewhat 
 fearful, in consequence of being placed in the midst of military 
 swords. Being concealed, however, by the fallacy of a dress 
 foreign to my sex, and attacking by myself alone villas or 
 castles, I have procured for myself by plunder this small 
 viaticum. And immediately ripping open his rags, he poured 
 forth into the midst of them two thousand pieces of golden 
 coin. And behold, said he, I willingly offer to your band this 
 ■largess, or rather gift, and also myself to you, (if you do not 
 
no THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 reject ray offer), as a most faithful leader ; who, in a short space 
 of time, will make this your house to be golden, which is now 
 stony." The robbers, without delay, and without hesitation, 
 but with the suffrages of all of them, unanimously elect him 
 their leader. They also brought forth a more costly garment, 
 which he put on, throwing away his rich rags. And having 
 thus changed his attire, and embraced each of them, and being 
 also placed in the highest part of the bed, he was inaugurated by 
 a supper, and large bowls. 
 
 Then, by mutual conversation, the robber knew of the flight 
 of the virgin, of my carrying her, and of the monstrous death to 
 which each of us was destined. When, also, he had asked where 
 the virgin was, and being brought to her, saw her laden with 
 chains, he departed in derision, bending his brows and snuffing 
 up his nose, and said : " I am not indeed so stupid, or at least 
 so rash, as to oppose your decree ; but I should sustain within 
 myself the guilt of an evil conscience, if I should dissemble what 
 appears to me to be for your benefit. But, in the first place, 
 suffer me, who am solicitous for your sake, to speak boldly, 
 especially since, if this my decision displeases you, you may 
 again return to what you have decreed concerning the virgin 
 and the ass. For I think that those robbers who are truly wise 
 ought to prefer nothing to their own gain, nor even vengeance 
 itself, which is often detrimental both to themselves and others. 
 If, therefore, you destroy the virgin in the body of the ass, you 
 will exercise nothing else than your own indignation, without 
 any profit to yourselves. But I think that she should rather be 
 brought to some city, and there be sold; for a virgin of her age 
 may be sold for no small price. For I myself, some time ago, 
 knew certain bawds, one of whom might, as I think, give 
 a great sum of money for this virgin, and place her in a brothel, 
 suitable to her birth, so that she may not be exposed to a 
 similar flight. She will also have afforded you some revenge, 
 when she becomes in bondage at a brothel. I have sincerely 
 offered this counsel to you, as conducive to your advantage ; 
 but you are the masters of your own counsels." Thus this 
 advocate of the exchequer of the robbers, and the excellent 
 saviour of the virgin and the ass, pleaded our cause. 
 
 The rest of the robbers, however, tormenting my bowels, or 
 rather my miserable spirit, by protracting their decision in long 
 deliberation, at length willingly acceded to the opinion of the 
 new robber, and immediately freed the virgin from her bonds. 
 And she, indeed, as soon as she Leheld that young man, and 
 heard him mention a brothel and a bawd, began to be elated, 
 and to laugh most joyfully, so that the vituperation of all the 
 sex with good reason occurred to me, when I saw a virgin, who 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK V. Ill 
 
 pretended that she was enamoured of a young lover, and was 
 desirous of a chaste- marriage, was suddenly delighted with the 
 name of a vile and filthy brothel. And then, indeed,ithe whole 
 female sex, and the manners of women, depend on the judgment 
 of an ass. The young man, however, resuming his discourse, 
 said : " Why do we not go and supplicate Mars to be propitious 
 to us in selling the virgin, and searching for other associates ? 
 But, as tar as I see, we have not any beast for sacrifice, nor 
 snificient wine for drinking largely. Send with me, therefore, 
 ten of our associates, with whom I may go to the next castle, 
 and bring from thence for you sumptuous food. So he having 
 departed, attended by ten of the robbers, the rest prepared a 
 great fire, and raised an altar to the God Mars, from green turf. 
 Not long after, they returned, bringing with them bladders 
 full of wine, and driving before them a great number of cattle ; 
 from among which they sacrificed a large he-goat, old and 
 hairy, to Mars the Secutor^ and Associate. And immediately a 
 sumptuous supper was prepared. Then that stranger said: 
 "You ought not only to consider me as a strenuous leader 
 of your expeditions and rapine, but also of your pleasures." 
 And, accompanying his words by deeds, he diligently performed 
 every thing that was requisite, with wonderful facilityj he swept 
 the floor, made the beds smooth, dressed the meat, seasoned 
 the collops, and waited on them elegantly ; but he especially 
 plied each of them, and that frequently, with large bowls of 
 wine. Nevertheless, sometimes pretending to fetch what he 
 wanted, he frequently went to the virgin, and joyfully presented 
 her with fragments which he had secretly taken away, and cups 
 of wine, of which he had previously tasted. But she most 
 willingly received what he brought her, and sometimes, when 
 he wished to kiss her, recompensed his wish with prompt and 
 sweet kisses ; which tiling greatly displeased me. And I said 
 to myself : Alas ! O girl, virgin, are you forgetful of your 
 nuptials, and of your reciprocal love ? Do you also prefer this 
 foreign and cruel homicide to the young man your husband, 
 who is unknown to me, and to whom your parents have be- 
 trothed you? Nor does conscience stimulate you; but, trampling 
 on afiection, does it please you to act libidinously among spears 
 and swords ? What if the other robbers, likewise, should, by 
 some means or other, perceive what you are doing, would you 
 not again leturn to the ass, and again procure my destruction ? 
 You, in reality, sport and are delighted with the danger of 
 another person. 
 
 8 i.e. The gladiator, or sword-player.- 
 
II » THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 While I discussed these things with myself, with the greatest 
 indignation, falsely accusing the virgin, I knew, by certain 
 words used by them in their conversation, which were dubious, 
 but not obscure to an intelligent ass, that the young man was 
 not the famous robber Haemus, but Tlepolemus, the bridegroom 
 of the virgin. For, in the course of their conference, fearing 
 nothing from my being present, he said : " Be of good courage, 
 most dear Charites ; for you shall immediately have all these 
 your enemies in i:aptivity." And he, refraining from drinking 
 immoderately, did not cease to supply the robbers in a still 
 greater degree with wine, now unmingled with water, but made 
 tepid by a moderate heat, as they now began to be overwhelmed 
 with inebriation. And, by Hercules, I suspected that he had 
 mingled in their cups, a certain soporiferous drug. At length, 
 all of them, without the exception of even one, lay on the floor, 
 buried in wine; and all of them were every where in a fit 
 condition to be [easily] slain. 
 
 Then, without any difficulty, Tlepolemus, having strongly 
 bound them with ropes, and tied them together in such a way 
 as he thought proper, placed the virgin on my back, and 
 directed his steps to his own country; to which as soon as 
 we arrived, the whole city was poured forth at the wished-for 
 sight. Parents, kindred, retainers, bondmen, and servants, 
 joyfully ran out to meet us. You might see a procession of 
 every sex and of every age, and by Hercules, a new and 
 memorable spectacle, a virgin triumphantly riding on an ass. 
 In the last place, I also, being as joyful as I possibly could, in 
 order that I might not be at variance with the present circum- 
 stance, as if I was not oncerned in it, strenuously brayed, with 
 erect ears and blowing nostrils, or rather, I vociferated with a 
 thundering clamour. With respect to the virgm, her parents 
 received her into their bedchamber, and, in the handsomest 
 manner, administered to her comfort; but Tlepolemus immedi- 
 ately brought me back from whence we came, accompanied by 
 a great number of labouring beasts and of men. Nor did 
 I return unwillingly; for, being in other respects curious, I 
 then also wished to be a spectator of the captivity of the 
 robbers, whom we found, indeed, still more forcibly detained 
 by wine than by fetters. Having taken, therefore, and brought 
 out of the cave every thing that was m it, and we, and all the 
 rest, being burthened with gold and silver, Tlepolemus and his 
 attendants rolled some of the robbers, bound as they were, into 
 the neighbouring precipitous craggy places; but they left others 
 beheaded with their own swords. Triumphantly rejoicing in 
 such a revenge, we returned to the city. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK VI. 1 13 
 
 And those riches, indeed, were deposited in the public 
 treasury ; but the virgin, who had been recovered by Tlepole- 
 mus, was given to him according to law. After this had taken 
 place, that noble woman paid the greatest attention to me, 
 whom she called her saviour; and, on the very day of her 
 nuptials, ordered my manger to be completely filled with barley, 
 and as much hay to be given to me as would be sufficient for 
 a Bactrian camel. But what sufficiently dire execrations could 
 I imprecate on Fotis, who had transformed me not into a dog, 
 but an ass, when I saw all the dogs saturated and distended 
 with the relics of the most abundant supper, and with the food 
 which they had pillaged? After the first night, and the rudi- 
 ments of Venus, the bride did not cease to mention to her 
 parents and to her husband, that she owed me the greatest 
 thanks, till they promised that they would confer on me the 
 highest honours. At length, therefore, their most intimate 
 friends being convoked, they consulted after what manner I 
 might most worthily be rewarded. One was of opinion that I 
 should be shut up in the house, and there, leading an idle life, 
 be fattened with select barley, beans, and vetches, But the 
 opinion of another prevailed, who regarded my liberty, and 
 persuaded them rather to permit me to run in the plains and 
 meadows, wantonly sporting among a gregarious multitude of 
 horses, in order that I might procreate many mules, for the 
 masters of the mares, by my gallant congress. The keeper of 
 the horses therefore, being immediately called, I was delivered 
 to him, to be taken away, much having been previously said in 
 my favour. And, indeed, I ran, triumphantly rejoicing, as I 
 was now to have nothing more to do with baggages and other 
 burdens, and, having obtained my liberty, might find, at the 
 beginning of the spring, some roses in the grassy meadows. It 
 likewise frequently occurred to me, that, since such great 
 thanks were given to, and so many honours conferred on 
 me, though an ass, I should receive far greater benefits when I 
 had recovered the human form. 
 
 As soon, however, as the keeper of the horses had led me 
 a considerable distance from the city, I obtained there no 
 pleasure, nor, indeed, any liberty. For his wife, who was an 
 avaricious and iniquitous woman, immediately tied me to the 
 mill of a bakehouse, and, frequently striking me with a leafy 
 staff, prepared bread for herself and her family at the expense 
 of my hide. Nor was she content to weary me for the sake of 
 her own food only, but she also ground corn for her neighbours, 
 by my circuitous labours, and made them pay for what was 
 ground. Nor did she even afford unhappy me the food for 
 
114 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 such great labours, which had been appointed for me : for she 
 sold to the neighbouring husbandmen the barley which had 
 been bruised and ground in the same mill, by my circuitous 
 perambulations ; but to me, who had worked during the whole 
 of the day at that laborious machine, she only gave, towards 
 evening, bran, not purified and sifted, and rough through a 
 multitude of stones. Cruel fortune exposed me, tamed by such 
 miseries, to new torments : viz. that I should boast, as it is 
 said, both at home and abroad, of deeds bravely accomplished, 
 and full of glory. For that excellent equerry, complying, 
 though late, with the mandate of his master, for a short time, 
 permitted me Id associate with the herds of horses. 
 
 But I, being at length a free ass, leaping with joy, and 
 wantonly walking with gentle steps, chose out of the mares 
 those which I thought would be the fittest for my concubines. 
 Here, however, also, more joyful hope gave place to extreme 
 danger. For the horses, being satiated with food for the sake 
 of copulating with the mares, having been for a long time 
 fattened ; and, independently of this, being formidable, and 
 more powerful than any ass, fearing through me for themselves, 
 taking care to prevent a degenerate adultery, and not regarding 
 the laws of hospitable Jupiter, furiously pursued me, as their 
 rival, with the greatest hatred. This struck me with his 
 anterior hoofs, his ample breast being raised, and his head and 
 neck sublimely elevated; but that, turning his brawny back, 
 hurled against me his hind feet ; and another, threatening me 
 with malignant neighing, letting his ears fall, and showing his 
 teeth, which were white, and sharp as spears, bit me every where. 
 Similar to this is that which I have read in the history of the 
 king of Thrace', who exposed his unhappy guests to be lacerated 
 and devoured by his wild horses. For so sparing was that very 
 powerful tyrant of his barley, that he appeased the hunger of his 
 voracious horses by the consumption of human bodies. After 
 the same manner also, I, being dilacerated by the various in- 
 cursions of the horses, wished again for those circuitous 
 perambulations of the mill. 
 
 Fortune, however, who would not be satisfied with my 
 torments, soon after procured for me another calamity. For I 
 was destined to bring home wood from a mountain, and a boy, 
 who was perfectly depraved, was appointed to drive and 
 govern me. Nor did the arduous acclivity of the lofty mountain 
 alone fatigue me, nor did I alone wear away my hoofs by 
 running on sharp stones, but I was also frequently and severely 
 
 3 i.t. DIomed. Vid. Hjrgin. Fab. jo, et Ovid, in Ibin. t. 381. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK VI. I15 
 
 beaten with his staff, so that the pain produced by his blows 
 remained fixed in my most inward parts : and by continually 
 striking me on the right thigh, and always in the same place, he 
 occasioned, the skin being burst, a great ulcerous cavity, or 
 rather a trench, or even a window ; yet he did not cease to 
 strike the wound, which was defiled with gore. He likewise op- 
 pressed me with so great a weight of wood, that you might have 
 thought it was a burden prepared for an elephant, and not for 
 an ass. But he, as often as the load, preponderating, inclined 
 to the other side, instead of taking away some of the bundles of 
 wood from the heavier and preponderating side, and thus easing 
 me by somewhat lightening the pressure, or at least equalizing 
 the weight, on the contrary, by the addition of stones, remedied 
 the inequality of the weight. Nor yet, after so many miseries 
 which I had endured, was he contented with the immoderate 
 weight of my burden ; but when we passed over a river, which 
 happened to flow by the way, he being intent on keeping his 
 feet dry, would leap on my back, which occasioned a little over- 
 weight to so great a mass. And if by any accident I happened 
 to fall, through the pressure of the burden, and the slipperiness 
 of the summit of the bank from the clayey mud ; this most ex- 
 cellent ass-driver, instead of extending his hand as he ought to 
 have done, and pulling me up by the headstall, or lifting me up 
 by the tail, and removing a part of the weight, till at least I had 
 got up again ; instead of this, he gave me, though I was weary, 
 no assistance ; but striking me with a very thick stick, he left 
 me entirely depilous, beginning from my head, or rather my 
 ears, till the blows had excited me, in the place of a remedy. 
 
 The same boy also adopted the following pernicious conduct 
 towards me. He tied to my tail the sharpest thorns, which 
 possessed a venomous pungency, and were compacted into a 
 bundle by a flexible knot, in order that they might be to me a 
 pendulous torment ; so that, being agitated and impelled by my 
 walking, they might cruelly wound me by their deadly pricking. 
 Hence, I laboured under a two-fold evil. For when I withdrew 
 myself from him, and by running avoided his most cruel 
 attacks, I was hurt by the more vehement incursion of the 
 thorns : and if I stood still for a short time, in order to spare the 
 pain, I was compelled by blows to go on. Nor did that most 
 iniquitous boy seem to think of any thing else, than that he 
 might, by some means or other, destroy me. And that he some- 
 times threatened to accomplish, accompanying his threatening 
 with an oath. And indeed it was evident that his detestable 
 malace was stimulated to more baneful efforts ; for on a certain 
 day, when his excessive insolence had vanquished my patience, 
 
Il6 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 I lifted up my powerful heels against him. But then, with a 
 view to my destruction, he devised the following wicked strata- 
 gem. He brought me into the road heavily laden with a bundle 
 of coarse flax, hastily bound together the cords, and placed in 
 the middle of the burden a burning coal, which he had stolen 
 from the neighbouring village. And now the fire, being 
 nourished and becoming very hot through the slender excitation 
 of the flax, burst into flames, and the deadly burning heat in- 
 vaded me on all sides ; nor did it appear that there was any 
 refuge from this extreme destruction, or that any hopes of safety 
 remained. A burning also of this kind did not admit of delay, 
 nor afford time for better counsels. A more joyous nod of For- 
 tune, however, shone upon me in my cruel circumstances ; but 
 whether for the purpose of reserving me for future dangers, or 
 of liberating me from present and decreed death, I know not. 
 
 For by chance perceiving a neighbouring receptacle of 
 muddy water produced by the rain of the preceding day, I 
 threw myself wholly into it, with a precipitous impetus ; and the 
 flame being immediately extinguished, I departed from thence, 
 lightened of my burden, and liberated from destruction. But 
 that most iniquitous and audacious boy ascribed also to me this 
 his most wicked deed ; and affirmed to all the shepherds, that I, 
 as I was passing near the hearths of the neighbouring houses, 
 fell down with a staggering step, and voluntarily drew the fire 
 along with me. He likewise added, laughing at me. How long 
 shall we feed in vain this fire-begotten ass ? 
 
 A few days after this, however, he attacked me with fraudu- 
 lent machinations of a much worse description. For having sold 
 at the next cottage the wood which I carried, leading me along 
 unladen, proclaiming that he was unequal to the task of resist- 
 ing my iniquity, and refusing any longer the most miserable 
 office of driving me [to the mountain for wood], he fabricated 
 against me such complaints as the following : " Do you see that 
 sluggish, most slow, and immoderately asinine beast ? Besides 
 other mischief which he has already done, he now also torments 
 me by exposing me to new dangers. For whatever traveller he 
 happens to see, whether it be an old woman, or a female that is 
 now marri^eable, or a tender youth, he immediately attacks 
 them, his burden through the incursion being deranged, and 
 sometimes thrown from his back. This lover also longs after 
 men, and greatly desiring them when prostrate on the ground, 
 attempts illicit and unknown lusts, and beastly pleasures, and 
 invites a backward Venus to his nuptials. Pretending likewise 
 to kiss, he strikes and bites : which conduct occasions us no 
 small strife and quarrels, and may also be imputed to us as a 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK VII. 117 
 
 crime Now too, having espied a certain modest maiden, the 
 wood which he carried being thrown down and scattered, he 
 directed his furious impetus against her ; and this festive lover, 
 in the sight of all men, longed to get on the Voman who was 
 prostrate, in that very place, on the sordid ground. And had 
 it not been for the assistanc afforded by passengers, in conse- 
 quence of her lamentations and feminine demeanour, who 
 snatched and liberated her from the midst of his hoofs, the 
 miserable woman, trembling and torn, would have sustained a 
 most painful death, and would have left for us penal destruc- 
 tion." By mingling other words with such-like lies, which were 
 calculated to overpower more vehemently my modest silence, 
 he atrociously excited the minds of the shepherds to my utter 
 ruin. 
 
 At length one of them said : " Why, therefore, do we not 
 sacrifice this public husband, or rather this common adulterer, 
 by making him a victim, in a way worthy of these his 
 monstrous nuptials ? And do you, O boy," said he, " immedi- 
 ately cut oflF his head, and throw his entrails to our dogs; but 
 reserve all the rest of his flesh for the supper of the labourers ; 
 for, having indurated his skin by sprinkling ashes on it, we may 
 return it to our masters, and easily feign that he was slain by a 
 wolf." Without delay, the boy, who was my noxious accuser, 
 and who was also the joyful executor of the decree of the 
 shepherds, triumphing over my evils, and admonished by the 
 kick which I gave him, and which, by Hercules, it grieves me 
 to think, was ineflScacious, immediately sharpened his knife on 
 a wheelstone in order to slay me. A certain person, however, 
 from among the crowd of those rustics, said, " It would be 
 wicked to kill so fine an ass, and because he had been accused 
 of luxury and amatory lasciviousness, to be deprived of labour 
 and service so necessary ; when otherwise, by cutting off his tes- 
 ticles, he would not, by any means, be able to indulge in venery, 
 would liberate us from all fear of danger, and would, besides 
 this, become far more fat and corpulent. For I have known 
 many, not only sluggish asses, but likewise the most ferocious 
 horses, who, being oppressed by the excessive heat of lust, and 
 who, on that account, were fierce and raging, have afterwards, 
 by such an amputation of the testicles, been rendered mild, and 
 not unadapted to carry burdens, and have been capable of 
 performing other ministrant offices. Lastly, unless I give you 
 my opinion in vain, after a short interval of time has elapsed, 
 sufficient for me to go, as I had determined, to the next market, 
 I can bring from ,niy house iron instruments adapted to this 
 operation, and immediately return to you, and emasculate this 
 
Il8 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 ferocious and unamiable lover, and, by cutting oS his testicles, 
 render him milder than any lamb." 
 
 By such a decision, being snatched from the midst of the 
 hands of Pluto, but reserved for extreme punishment, I lamented 
 and wept as one who was about to perish wholly in the extreme 
 part of my body. Lastly, I sought to destroy myself by continual 
 fasting, or by throwing myself down a precipice ; by doing which 
 I should die indeed, but should die entire [and not mutilated]. 
 
 And while I delay in choosing the kind of death 1 was to 
 die, that boy, my destroyer, brought me again, in the morning, 
 to the accustomed road to the mountain ; and, having tied me 
 to the pendulous branch of a vast oak, he went a little way out 
 of the road, in order to cut down, with an axe, wood which he 
 might take away. When, behold, a deadly bear crept out of a 
 neighbouring cave, raismg his surpassingly great head ; which 
 as soon as I beheld, trembling and terrified at its sudden 
 appearance, I drew back the whole bulk of my body on my 
 hips, and with my head elevated, I burst the thong by which I 
 was held, and immediately betook myself to rapid flight. 
 Precipitately, likewise, scampering down declivities, not only 
 with my feet, but with my whole projected body, I ran into the 
 plains extended under the mountain, flying, with all my might, 
 from that savage bear, and from the boy, still more cruel than 
 the bear. Then a certain traveller, beholding me alone and 
 wandering, seized me, and hastily getting on my back, and 
 striking me with a staff' which he carried in his hand, led 
 me through a winding and unknown path. Nor did I 
 unwillingly betake myself to flight, escaping from the most 
 atrocious dismembering of my virility. Indeed, I was not very 
 much affected by the blows, because I was accustomed by my 
 destiny, to be beaten with sticks. But Fortune, spitefully 
 obstinate in tormenting me, outstripping, with a miserable 
 celerity, my opportune retreat, prepared for me new snares. 
 For the shepherds to whom I belonged, searching for a cow 
 which they had lost, and wandering for this purpose, through 
 different places, happened to meet with us, and immediately 
 seizing my bridle, which they knew, endeavoured to lead me 
 away. The traveller, however, that rode on me, resisting with 
 strenuous boldness, invoked as a witness the faith of men and 
 God. " And why," said he, " do you violently drag me along, 
 why do you invade me ? " To which they replied : " Do we 
 unjustly apprehend you, who surreptitiously lead away our ass ? 
 Why do you not rather tell us where you have concealed the 
 boy, who was the driver of the ass, and whom you have 
 doubtless slain ? " And, immediately throwing him on ths 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK VII. II9 
 
 ground, striking him with their fists, and bruising him with their 
 heels, he began to swear that he had seen no driver of the ass, 
 but merely made use of the ass as it was running, set at liberty 
 and alone, for the purpose of obtaining a reward for finding it, 
 but with the intention of restoring it to its master. " And O 
 that the ass," said he, " which I wish I had never seen, could 
 utter a human voice, and give testimony to my innocence. 
 Certainly you will repent of the whole of this injury which you 
 have done me." From this asservation, however, he derived no. 
 advantage ; for those turbulent shepherds brought him back, 
 bound by the neck, towards the forests of that mountain whence 
 the boy was accustomed to fetch his wood. Nor was he to be 
 found in any part of the country ; but his body only was seen, 
 dilacerated in fragments, and dispersed in many places ; which 
 I very well knew was done by the teeth of that [large] bear. 
 And, by Hercules, I should have said what I knew, if the 
 faculty of speaking had been afforded me. But I did that 
 which I could alone do, viz. I rejoiced silently in the venegeance, 
 though late, which had been inflicted. Having also at length 
 found the whole of the dead boy, the members of which were 
 dispersed, and having, with great difficulty, adapted them to each 
 other, they buried the body in the same place. But, accusing 
 my Bellerophon, as one who had undoubtedly led me away, and 
 as a cruel homicide, they brought him, in the meantime, bound, 
 into their cottages, in order, as they said, that he might, on the 
 following day, be taken before a magistrate, and be delivered to 
 punishment. 
 
 In the meantime, while the parents of the boy search for 
 him, with great lamentation and weeping, behold a rustic 
 approached, abiding by his promise, and requiring the accom- 
 plishment of my destined castration. And one of the rustics 
 said : '' Our present loss is not from the lasciviousness of this 
 ass ; but, indeed, it is our pleasure, not only to deprive this most 
 iniquitous ass to-morrow of his virility, but also of his head. 
 Nor will the assistance of those who were lately engaged 
 in searching for the members of the boy, be wanting to you in 
 this business." And thus it came to pass that my destruction 
 was deferred to another day. But I gave thanks to that worthy 
 boy, that at least, by his death, he had occasioned the delay of 
 one day to my discerption. Nevertheless, not even the smallest 
 portion of time was granted to my gratulation, or to my quiet. 
 For the mother of the boy, deploring the bitter* death of her 
 
 4 In the original, mortem acerbam^ which the Delphin editors interpret tucem 
 immaturam. But it does not ap^ar to me that there was any necessity for changing 
 the expression *a bitter death, into the expression 'an immature death.' _ 1 have 
 therefore translated the original literally, as 1 have likewise dene in all other instances 
 where this is possible and appropriate. 
 
t2b THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 son, burst into my stable, lamenting and weeping, attired 
 in a mourning vesture, and tearing, with both her hands, 
 her hairs sprinkled with ashes. Loudly bewailing also, 
 vociferating from the gate of her house, and vehemently 
 beating her breasts, she began to speak as follows: "And 
 now that careless ass, intent on the manger, is subservient 
 to his voracity, and, by perpetually eating, distends his insatiable 
 and profound belly ; nor does he pity my sorrow, or call to his 
 remembrance the detestable end of his dead master ; but, indeed, 
 he despises and scorns my old age and my infirmities, and be- 
 lieves that he shall not be punished for so great a wickedness. 
 Perhaps, however, he presumes that he is innocent ; for to hope 
 for security, contrary to the dictates of even a noxious conscience, 
 is in unison with the most iniquitous endeavours. For, O faith 
 of the Gods ! though the use of speech should be granted for a 
 time to thee, most wicked of quadrupeds, yet how is it possible 
 you could persuade even the most foolish person, that such an 
 atrocious deed was committed without your concurrence, since 
 you might have fought with your feet, and prevented, by biting, 
 the slaughter of the unhappy boy ? Or is it to be admitted, that 
 you could frequently attack him with your heels, and that you 
 could not defend him with a similar alacrity, when he was about 
 to die ? Certainly you ought to have immediately received him 
 on your back, and snatched him from the bloody hands of a 
 deadly robber. Lastly, you ought not to have fled alone, desert- 
 ing and shaking off your back him who was your fellow-servant, 
 your leader, your companion, and your shepherd. Are you ig- 
 norant that it is usual to punish those, also, who have refused to 
 give salutary aid to such as were perishing, because this their 
 refusal is contrary to good manners ? But, O homicide, you shall 
 no longer rejoice at my calamities ; for I will make you to know 
 that natural strength is present with miserable grief." And, 
 having thus said, she untied her girdle, and, having bound my 
 feet with it, apart from each other, she fastened them very firmly 
 with it, in order that nothing might prevent the execution of my 
 punishment. Then, taking a long pole, which served as a bar 
 to the doors of the stable, she did not cease to beat me with it, 
 till, becoming weary, and her strength being vanquished, the staff 
 ifell from her hands, which were overpowered by its weight. Then, 
 complaining of the too rapid weariness of her arms, she ran to 
 the fire, and taking from it a burning coal, she thrust it between 
 my thighs, till, employing the only defence which remained for 
 me, I defiled her face and eyes with liquid dung, emitted by a 
 compression of my fundament. Thus, by the blindness and 
 fetid smell which this produced, I escaped destruction ; for. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK VII. 1 41 
 
 Otherwise, an ass had perished, like another Meleager, by the 
 burning firebrand of the delirious Althea^. 
 
 S The latter part of this sentence, in the original, is, CaUrum titione deliremtii 
 AUhtae Meitager asinus interisset. On which the Delphin editor well observes, that 
 the word tnterisset, which all the copies constantly retain, sufficiently proves that these 
 words were written by some glossator, and not by Apuleius ; for, it they had been 
 written by Apuleius, we should have had interissem, aud not interisset ; as the series of 
 the narration requires the former, but not the latter word. The well<known fable of 
 Meleager, and his fatal firebrand, is copiously related by Ovid, in the 8th book of his 
 Metamorphoses. 
 
THE 
 
 METAMORPHOSIS OF APULEIUS. 
 
 BOOK THE EIGHTH. 
 
 At that time of the night in which the cocks crow, a certain 
 young man came from the next city, who appeared to me to he 
 one of the servants of that virgin Charite, who had endured 
 equal sorrows with myself among the robbers. He, sitting near 
 the fire, in the company of his fellow-servants, related, as follows, 
 the wonderful and execrable particulars of her death, and the 
 destruction of the whole of her house. " Ye equerries, shep- 
 herds, and cow-herds, we have lost the miserable Charite, and 
 by a most grievous casuality. Yet she did not depart to the 
 shades alone. But, that all of you may know the particulars, I 
 will narrate to you from the beginning what happened, and 
 which deserves to be committed to writing, in the form of a 
 history, by more learned men, on whom Fortune has conferred 
 the ability of writing with facility and elegance. 
 
 " There was a young man in the next city, whose name 
 was Thrasyllus, of noble birth, an illustrious knight, and, at the 
 same time, very rich ; but he was a man addicted to the luxury 
 of taverns, and to harlots, and potations by day. On this 
 account he iniquitously associated with the factious bands of 
 robbers, and his hands, also, had been occasionally dyed with 
 human blood. Such was the man, and such was the report 
 concerning him. But he, as soon as Charite was marriageable, 
 was among the number of her principal suitors, and most 
 ardently endeavoured to obtain her in wedlock. And, though 
 he surpassed, in nobility, all the rest of her lovers, and solicited 
 her parents with splendid gifts ; yet he was rejected by them, 
 on account of his morals, and suffered the disgrace of a 
 
THE METAMORPHOSIS, ETC. IJ3 
 
 repulse. When, therefore, [Charite] the daughter of my master, 
 came into the hands of [i. e. was maried to] the worthy 
 Tlepolemus, Thrasyllus, though disappointed in his hopes, yet 
 firmly cherishing his love, and mingling indignation with it, on 
 account of his rejected suit, sought for an opportunity of per- 
 petrating a bloody deed. At length, a seasonable occasion pre- 
 senting itself, he attempted the wickedness which had for a long 
 time, been the subiect of his thoughts. And, on the day in 
 which the virgin had been liberated, by the cunning and 
 fortitude of her spouse, from the deadly swords of the robbers, 
 he mingled himself with the crowd of those that congratulated 
 her, exulting, in a remarkable manner, and rejoicing in the 
 present safety and future offspring of the new married pair. 
 Hence, being received into our house, among the principal 
 guests, as the nobility of his race demanded, he falsely assumed 
 the person of a most faithful friend, concealing his wicked 
 design. 
 
 "And now, becoming more and more dear, by assiduous 
 narrations,, and frequent conversation, and sometimes also by 
 eating and drinking with them, he unconsciously precipitated 
 himself, by degrees, into a profound gulf of love. Nor is this 
 wonderful, since the flame of love, at first, indeed, being small, 
 delights with a tepid heat : but, afterwards becoming very 
 fierce, through the excitation of familiar conversation, at length 
 wholly burns a man with immoderate heat. Hence, Thrasyllus 
 for a long time deliberated with himself, how he might find an 
 opportune place for clandestine conference, since he perceived 
 that he was more and more excluded from the avenues to an 
 adulterous intercourse, by the multitude of observers, and that 
 the most firm bond of a new and increasing aflFection could not 
 be dissolved ; and, still further, that the ignorance of Charite 
 in the art of deceiving her husband, would be an obstacle 
 to her, even though she should be willing to gratify his passion. 
 Notwithstandihg Thrasyllus perceived all this, yet he was im- 
 pelled by a pernicious obstinancy to effect that which he could 
 not accomplish, as if he could. That, however, which was now 
 considered as difificult to be done, seemed easy to be effected, 
 when love was corroborated by time. Lastly, consider, but I 
 beseech you attentively consider, with what violence the impetus 
 of furious lust burst forth. On a «ertain day, Tlepolemus went 
 a hunting, together with Thrasyllus, for the purpose of searching 
 after wild beasts ; if, however, there is any savageness in goats : 
 for Charite would not suffer her husband to hunt beasts that 
 were armed with teeth or horns. And now, near a hill abounding 
 with leaves, and umbrageous with the thick covering of branches, 
 
1*4 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 the passage to the plains being enclosed with nets, through the 
 care of the husbandmen, the dogs, destined to the sagacious 
 investigation of savage animals, were sent out to attack the wild 
 beasts which happened to be there housed in their retreats; 
 and immediately, being mindful of their crafty art, they divide 
 among themselves, and surround all the avenues; and, first 
 softly murmuring, on a signal being suddenly given them, they 
 fill every place with loud and dissonant barkings. Nor did any 
 goat, or timid deer, nor a stag, which is milder than other 
 beasts, rise from thence ; but a large boar, and such as was 
 never before seen, rushed out, having brawny and fat thighs, 
 covered with a callous skin, a hide squalid with rough hair, 
 bristled with thorns rising from his spine, foaming at the mouth, 
 grinding his teeth with a crashing noise, emitting fire from his 
 eyes with a threatening aspect, and laying waste every thing 
 like thunder, by the savage impetus of his raging mouth And, 
 in the first place, indeed, he slew the most eager of the dogs, 
 who approached the nearest to him, lacerating them with his 
 tusks, which he extended in all directions. Afterwards, having 
 trampled on the nets, he ran through them, to whatever his 
 first impetus directed him. And all of us, indeed, being seized 
 with fear, as we had been accustomed to harmless hunting, and 
 were then also without arms, and without any means of defence, 
 latently concealed ourselves under the teguments of leaves, or 
 behind trees. 
 
 But Thrasyllus, having found a fit opportunity of acting 
 fraudulently, thus insidiously addressed Tlepolemus : ' Why 
 being confused by stupor, or by vain fear, like these abject 
 servants, or dejected by feminine terror, do we suffer so profit- 
 able a prey to escape our hands ? Why do we not leap on our 
 horses, and swiftly pursue this wild beast? Do you take a 
 hunting spear, and I will take a lance.' And, without the least 
 delay, they immediately leaped on their horses, following, with 
 the greatest ardour, the beast. But the boar, not forgetting his 
 genuine vigour, turned back, and burning with the fire of 
 ferocity, and grinding his teeth, considered dubiously on whom 
 he should first rush. Tlepolemus, however, first sent his spear 
 into the back of the beast. But Thrasyllus, sparing, indeed, the 
 boar, struck, with his lance, and cut off the hind legs of the 
 horse on which Tlepolemus rode. The horse, reclining to that 
 part from which the blood flowed, and being entirely laid on 
 his back, unwillingly threw his master to the ground. Nor was 
 it long before the furious boar attacked him, as he was lying on 
 the earth, and first lacerated his garments, but afterwards 
 Tlepolemus himself, frequently biting him, as he was rising 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK VIII. 125 
 
 from the ground. Nor did his good friend [Thrasyllus] repent 
 of his nefarious undertaking, nor could he be satiated, though 
 he perceived that satisfaction was made to his cruelty, by so 
 great a danger. But while he, being astounded, covered his 
 wounded legs, and miserably implored his assistance, Thrasyllus 
 drove his lance through his right thigh ; and this he did more 
 confidently, because he thought that the wounds which he had 
 made with his lance would resemble the scissures of teeth. 
 Nevertheless, he easily also transfixed the beast. The young 
 man being thus slain, all of us servants were called from our 
 retreats, and ran sorrowing, obedient to his call. But he, 
 though his wish was accomplished, and though he rejoiced in 
 the death of his enemy, yet in his countenance he concealed 
 his joy, assumed a severe aspect, and pretended to be grieved 
 Embracing also with avidity the body which he had made a 
 corpse, he craftily dissembled all the offices of mourners : but 
 tears alone were unwilling to be shed. Thus conforming 
 himself to the similitude of us who truly lamented, he fraudu- 
 lently attributed to the boar the crime of his own hand. 
 
 " Scarcely, however, had this wicked deed been transacted, 
 when rumour divulged it, directed its first course to the house 
 of Tlepolemus, and struck the ears of his unhappy wife. But 
 she, indeed, as soon as she received this information, the like to 
 which she had never heard, being deprived of reason, and 
 stimulated by madness, hurried through the populous streets 
 and solitary fields, and ran like one of the furious Bacchse, 
 pitifully bewailing the fate of her husband. A sorrowful multi- 
 tude of the citizens assemble on the occasion ; and those that 
 meet, follow her, mingling their grief with hers. The whole 
 city is likewise deserted, through the desire of seeing [the 
 melancholy event]. And behold Charite runs to the dead body 
 of her husband, and fainting, threw herself wholly upon it ; so 
 that she almost in that very place returned the life which she 
 had devoted to him. But being with difficulty raised by the 
 hands of her attendants, she unwillingly continued in existence. 
 The remains of Tlepolemus, however, were brought to the 
 funeral pyre, all the people attending the mournful procession. 
 In the meantime, Thrasyllus began to vociferate excessively, 
 and to beat his breast ; and now his joy increasing, he poured 
 forth tears, which he could not do in the beginning of his feigned 
 sorrow, and falsified truth itself liythe many appellations of friend- 
 ship which he used. For he sorrowfully called him his friend, his 
 equal, his companion, and lastly, his brother, at the same time 
 also adding his name. Sometimes, likewise, he prevented the 
 hands of Charite from striking her breasts, endeavoured to 
 
126 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 appease her sorrow, to restrain her lamentations, to blunt the 
 sharpness of her grief by alluring words, and to frame a web of 
 solace from various examples of the instability of Fortune. 
 Nevertheless, he did not forget, amidst all his pretended offices 
 of piety, his design of inveigling the woman, and nourished his 
 own odious love by nefarious blandishments, 
 
 " As soon, however, as the funeral rites were finished, the 
 woman immediately hastened to descend to her husband, and 
 tried all possible ways of effecting her purpose. She certainly 
 attempted that placid and tranquil method which requires no 
 hostile weapons, but resembles gentle sleep; for at length, 
 having concealed herself in profound darkness, she wasted away 
 together with the light, through a miserable abstinence from 
 food, and squalid negligence. But Thrasyllus through pertina- 
 cious importunity, partly by himself, and partly through the rest 
 of her friends and necessary familiars, and also through the 
 parents of Charite, persuaded her at length to refresh her 
 members with the bath and with food, as they were now almost 
 in a decayed condition from paleness and filth. She, however, 
 who in other respects revered her parents, unwillingly indeed, 
 but yielding to a religious necessity, performed, as she was 
 ordered, the offices of the living, not indeed with a joyful, but 
 with a little more serene countenance ; her mind, at the same 
 time, being profoundly distracted with sorrow and grief. She 
 likewise consumed whole days and nights in sorrowful desire ; 
 and worshipping with divine honours, and with assiduous 
 reverence, the image of her dead husband, which she had 
 formed so as to resemble the God Bacchus, she tormented 
 herself by that solace of her woe. But Thrasyllus being 
 precipitate and rash, before tears had satiated her grief, and the 
 fury of her disturbed mind was mitigated, and before sorrow had 
 vanished by the long duration of its vehemence, did not hesitate 
 to speak to her about wedlock, while she was yet lamenting her 
 husband, while she was yet lacerating her garments, and was 
 yet tearing her hair ; and thus imprudently disclosed the silent 
 secrets of his breast, and his ineffable fraud. Charite, however, 
 abhorred and detested his wicked suit, and she sunk down and 
 lost all sense, as if she had been struck by violent thunder, and 
 by the influence of some baneful star, or by the lightning of 
 Jupiter. But after a certain interval of time, gradually 
 recovering her spirits, she reiterated her wild clamours, and when 
 she saw the scene which the most iniquitous Thrasyllus had 
 prepared, she deferred the desire of the petitioner to the 
 examination of counsel. 
 
 " Then during the delay which this occasioned, the shade of 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK VIII. 117 
 
 the miserably slain Tlepolemus, lifting up his face defiled with 
 gore, and deformed by paleness, interrupted the chaste sleep of 
 his wife, by thus addressing her : ' My dear wife, by which ap- 
 pellation it is not lawful for you to be called by any other per- 
 son, if the memory of me still remains in your breast, or if the 
 calamity of my bitter death dissolves the compact of our love, 
 marry more felicitously some other person : only do not connect 
 yourself with the sacrilegious Thrasyllus, nor speak to, nor 
 nor recline at the same table, nor repose in the same bed with 
 him. Avoid the bloody right hand of my murderer, and do not 
 commence your nupitals from parricide. Those wounds, the 
 blood of which these tears of yours have washed away, are not 
 wholly the wounds inflicted by the teeth of the boar, but the 
 lance of the wicked Thrasyllus has separated me from thee." 
 He also added the rest, and disclosed the whole of the wicked 
 scene But she, as soon as, still sorrowing, she began to close 
 her eyes in sleep, impressing her face on the bed, moistened her 
 beautiful cheeks with flowing tears, even in her sleep, and being 
 excited by this vision, as by some war-like machine, from her 
 unquiet rest*, she renewed her sorrow, and for a long time loudly 
 lamented ; and tearing her under-garment, she beat her graceful 
 arms with her cruel hands. Nevertheless, not communicating 
 to any one her nocturnal visions, but entirely dissembling the 
 indication of the wicked deed, she determined with herself to 
 punish the most iniquitous murderer, and silently withdraw 
 herself from a miserable life. 
 
 "Again, then, behold the detestable suitor of improvident 
 pleasure was present, assailing ears that were closed to nuptial 
 petitions. But she mildly rejecting the request of Thrasyllus, 
 and dissembling her design with admirable cunning, replied as 
 follows, to him urging and suppliantly requesting her consent : 
 ' That beautiful face of your brother [i.e., of him whom you 
 called brother], and of my most dear husband, is yet familiarly 
 present to my eyes ; as yet the fragrant odour of his sweet body 
 runs through my nostrils ; as yet the beautiful Tlepolemus lives 
 in my breast. You will do well, therefore, if you grant to a most 
 miserable woman an interval of time necessary to legitimate 
 grief ; till the remaining space of the year is completed by the 
 residual months. And this is a thing indeed, which both regards 
 my modesty, and your salutary advantage ; lest, by acting other- 
 wise, we should happen to excite by immature nuptials the shade 
 of my husband, rendered severe through a just indignation, to 
 the destruction of your safety.' Thrasyllus, however, not being 
 
 6 In the original, inguittA juittl. 
 
IlS THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 recalled to pradence and moderation by this speech, nor being 
 at least renovated by the seasonable promise, did not cease 
 frequently to urge Charite with the base murmurs of his pesti- 
 ferous tongue ; till at length she, pretending that she was van- 
 quished, said, ' However, my Thrasyllus, it is necessary that you 
 should earnestly comply with this my request, that we may in 
 the inte rim be secretly and silently connected with each other ; 
 and that no one of the domestices may perceive it, till the 
 expiration of the remaining days of the year.' Thrasyllus 
 yielded to the promise of the fallacious woman, most willingly 
 consented to the proposal of a clandestine connexion, and 
 besides this, ardently wished for the obscurity of night, making 
 every thing else a secondary consideration to the desire of en 
 joying Charite. But Charite said to him, ' Be careful that you 
 come well disguised, and without any attendants, and at the be- 
 ginning of the night approach to my door, being satisfied with 
 signifying by one whistle that you are there, waiting for my 
 nurse, who shall watch for you at the bars of the gate, and 
 having opened it, shall receive you, and bring you to my bed- 
 chamber, without the testimony of any light.' The apparatus of 
 the deadly nuptials pleased Thrasyllus ; and not suspecting any 
 thing sinister, but being disturbed by expectation, he only com- 
 plained of the extent of the day, and the prolongation of the 
 night. When, however, the sun had given place to night, 
 Thrasyllus being disguised conformably to the mandate of 
 Charite, and deceived by the fraudulent vigilance of the nurse, 
 crept into the bedchamber with precipitate hope. Then the old 
 woman [the nurse of Charite], receiving him with blandishment, 
 by the command of her mistress, secretly bringing forth cups 
 and a vessel filled with wine mingled with a soporiferous poison, 
 and pretending that the delay of her mistress was owing to her 
 attendance on her father, who was ill, she easily buried him in 
 sleep, by the frequent cups of wine which she gave him, and 
 which he fearlessly drank. 
 
 " And now he being in a condition in which he was exposed 
 to all injuries, and lying supine, Charite being called entered, 
 and raging attacked him with a masculine mind and a dire 
 impetus, and stood over the homicide. ' Behold,' said she, ' the 
 faithful companion of my husband, behold the egregious hunter, 
 behold my dear spouse. This is that right hand which shed 
 my blood ; this is the breast which contrived fraudulent 
 stratagems to my destruction ; these are the eyes which I have 
 have unfortunately pleased, which, nevertheless, now after a 
 certain manner entering on future darkness, will antecede [by 
 sleeping] the impending punishment. Sleep securely, enjoy 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK VIII. 1 29 
 
 delightful dreams. I shall not attack you with a sword, nor 
 with any other weapon. Far be it from me, that I should wish 
 to equal you with my husband, by a similar kind of death. 
 Your eyes shall die, you being alive, nor shall you seem to be 
 any thing except in sleep. I will take care to make you feel 
 that the death of your enemy is more felicitous than your life. 
 Certainly you shall not see the light ; you shall be in want of 
 the hand of a guide ; you shall not embrace Charite ; you shall 
 not enjoy your [expected] nuptials ; nor shall you be recreated 
 with the repose of death, nor delighted with the pleasure of 
 life ; but you shall wonder between the infernal regions and the 
 sun, like some ambiguous image ; you shall for a long time 
 explore the hand which deprived you of sight ; and what is the 
 most miserable of all things in calamity, you shall be ignorant 
 of whom you ought to complain. I will pour out the blood of 
 your eyes as a sacrifice at the sepulchre of my Tlepolemus, and 
 I will send those eyes as a funeral offering to his sacred shade. 
 But why, by my delay, do you derive any gain from the 
 punishment which you deserve? And perhaps you now 
 imagine to yourself that you are enjoying my embraces, which 
 will be to you pestiferous. Leaving, therefore, the darkness of 
 sleep, awake to another penal obscurity. Lift up your face 
 deprived of eyes ; recognise my revenge ; understand your 
 misfortune ; and compute your miseries. It is thus that your 
 eyes are pleasing to a chaste woman, it is thus that nuptial 
 torches have illuminated your bedchamber. You will have the 
 Furies for your bridemaids, and blindness, and the perpetual 
 stimulus of an accusing conscience, for your companions.' 
 
 " Charite having thus prophesied, and taken from her head 
 a needle, by which she separated her hairs, she pierced with it 
 wholly the eyes of Thrasyllus, and leaving him entirely sightless, 
 while, the cause of his pain being unknown, he shakes of 
 ebriety together with sleep ; she, seizing a drawn sword which 
 Tlepolemus was accustomed to wear by his side, ran furiously 
 through the middle of the city, and longing to accomplish I 
 know not what wicked deed, directly went to the tomb of her 
 husband. But we and all the people, abandoning our houses, 
 anxiously pursued her, mutually exhorting each other to wrest 
 the sword from her insane hands. Charite, however, standing 
 near to the cofEn of Tlepolemus, and driving every one away 
 with her glittering sword, when she beheld the abundant tears 
 and various lamentations of all the crowd, said, ' Cease this 
 importunate weeping, and lay aside this grief which is foreign to 
 my fortitude. I have taken vengeance on the cruel destroyer of 
 my husband J I have punished the deadly robber of my nuptials; 
 
130 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 and it is now time that, with this sword, I should seek the 
 downward path to my Tlepolemus.' And having narrated in 
 order every thing which her husband had told her in a dream, 
 and by what craft she had attacked the deceived Thrasyllus, 
 having buried the sword under her right breast, she fell down ; 
 and rolling herself in her own blood, and in the last place 
 stammering words of an uncertain meaning, she breathed out 
 her virile soul. Then immediately the friends of the miserable 
 Charite, having washed her body, restored her to her husband, 
 as a perpetual wife, by burying her with him in the same 
 sepulchre. Thrasyllus, however, becoming acquainted with all 
 these particulars, and not being able to repay a death adapted 
 to the present tragical event, and also knowing that a sword was 
 not sufficient to expiat^ so great a wickedness, was voluntarily 
 brought to the same sepulchre. There too, frequently 
 exclaiming, ' O ye shades, hostile to me, behold your spontan- 
 eous victim is present ;' and, having diligently closed the doors 
 of the sepulchre upon himself, he determined, by fasting, to emit 
 his spirit, now condemned by his own decision.'" The servant 
 of Charite, profoundly sighing, and sometimes weeping, told all 
 these particulars to the rustics, who were very much affected by 
 his narration. Then they, fearing the novelty occasioned by 
 changing their master, and more deeply lamenting the calamity 
 of the house of their lord, prepared themselves for fight. 
 
 But the keeper of the horses, to whose care I had been 
 committed, with great commendation, brought out of the 
 cottage whatever was very valuable, and which he had kept 
 concealed in it, and having laden me, and the other labouring 
 beasts with it, he left his pristine habitation. We carried little 
 infants and women; we carried pullets, geese, kids, and whelps; 
 and, in the last place, whatever retarded our flight, by its 
 infirm step, that also walked with our feet [i.e. was carried by 
 us]. Nor did the weight of the burden, though it was enormous, 
 oppress me ; because I left, with a joyful flight, that detestable 
 amputator of my virility. When we had ascended to the 
 arduous summit of a woody mountain, and had from thence des- 
 cended into the plains beneath, the evening now darkening our 
 path, we came to a certain populous and opulent castle, the 
 inhabitants of which dissuaded us from a nocturnal, or even a 
 morning egression from thence. For they told us that numerous 
 wolves, large, burdened with a great mass of flesh, and raging 
 with excessive ferocity, were accustomed to prowl about every 
 where, and infest, by their rapine, the whole of that region. 
 They added, that they also now lay in wait, in those very roads, 
 and attacked, like robbers, those that passed through them ; 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK VIII. 13I 
 
 and, moreover, that, being rabid through insane hunger, they 
 assaulted the neighbouring villages, and that, in consequence of 
 this, the death which is alone adapted to the most inert cattle, 
 now impended over the heads of men. And, lastly, that the 
 half-eaten bodies of men lay in the very road through which we 
 must pass ; that every thing was white with bones denudated of 
 their flesh ; that, on this account, we also ought to proceed in 
 that road with the greatest caution, and to observe especially 
 that, in order to avoid the every-where latent snares, we should 
 pass through those dangerous places, in a troop not dispersed 
 into small parties, but compacted into one wedge, and this when 
 it is perfectly light, when the day is advanced, and the sun is 
 bright, and the impetus of dire beasts is repressed by the light. 
 But those most iniquitous fugitives, our leaders, despising the 
 salutary admonition, through the temerity of a blind festination, 
 and the fear of an uncertain pursuit, without waiting for the ap- 
 proaching light of day, forced us laden on our journey, nearly 
 about the third watch of the night [i.e., about midnight.] 
 
 Then I, not being ignorant of the before-mentioned danger, 
 was careful to defend my back from the attacks of those wild 
 beasts, by proceeding, as much as 1 was able, in the middle of 
 the troop, and concealing myself among the labouring beasts 
 which surrounded me. And now all the rustics wondered at my 
 surpassing in velocity the other horses. That swiftness, however, 
 was not an indication of my alacrity, but of my fear. At length 
 I thought with myself, that the celebrated Pegasus was more 
 swift through fear, and on this account was deservedly said to 
 be winged, while he leaped upward, and rebounded as far as to 
 the heavens, in consequence of dreading the bite of the ignivo- 
 mous Chimaera. For those shepherds, who led us, had armed 
 their hands as if they were going to fight. This man bore a 
 lance, that a hunting spear, another a dart, and another a staff. 
 And they also carried stones, with which, from the rough road, 
 they were largely supplied. Some likewise carried, in an elevated 
 position, very sharp hedge-stakes, but most of them terrified the 
 wild beasts by burning torches, and nothing but a trumpet was 
 wanting to make our troop an army prepared for battle. Though, 
 however, we in vain sustained that sufficiently empty fear, yet 
 we fell into far worse dangers ; for no wolves came against us, 
 either, perhaps, through being terrified at the compact multi- 
 tude of young men, or certainly by the excessive light of the 
 torches, or because they went elsewhere in search of prey ; and 
 not even at a great distance from us were any wolves to be seen. 
 But the rustics of the village, near which we happened to be 
 then passing, thinking that our troop was a band of robbers, 
 
I3i THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 and being sufficiently attentive to their own concerns, and 
 fearful in the extreme, excited against us, with their usual 
 clamours, and every kind of vociferation, furious and large 
 dogs, which were more cruel than any wolves and bears, and 
 which they had very diligently nourished, with a view to their 
 own safety. These dogs, besides their own genuine ferocity, 
 being exasperated by the tumult of their masters, rushed 
 against us, and pouring round us on all sides, leaped every 
 where upon us, and, without making any distinction, lacerated 
 at once both the labouring beasts and the men ; and, after 
 having for a long time assaulted us, they threw many of us to 
 the ground. You might have seen a spectacle, not, by Hercules, 
 so memorable as miserable ; viz., a great number of dogs, some 
 of which furiously seized on them that were flying, others 
 attacked those that were standing still, and others leaped on 
 those that were prostrate, and bit the whole of our troop as they 
 passed through it. 
 
 Behold, too, a greater evil followed our extreme danger. 
 For those rustics suddenly rolled upon us stones from the tops 
 of their houses, and from a neighbouring hill, so that we could 
 by no means judge, whether we should principally avoid the 
 dogs, who attacked us near at hand, or the stones, which were 
 thrown at us from afar; one of which, indeed, suddenly struck 
 the head of the woman who sat on my back. But she, being 
 moved by the pain produced by the blow, immediately weeping 
 and vociferating, implored the assistance of the shepherd, her 
 husband. He, however, invoking the faith of the Gods, and 
 wiping away the blood of his wife, exclaimed, in a louder voice, 
 "Why do you so savagely attack and oppress us, miserable 
 men, and laborious travellers ? Of what thefts are you afraid ? 
 What losses are you avenging? But you do not dwell in the 
 caves of wild beasts, or in the rocks of barbarians, that you 
 should rejoice in shedding human blood." Scarcely had he 
 thus said, when immediately the thick shower of stones ceased, 
 and the storm of the ferocious dogs was appeased on their 
 being recalled. At length one of those rustics said, from the 
 supimit of a cypress tree : " We do not act in this manner as if 
 we were robbers, through the desire of obtaining your spoils, 
 but w^e repel from ourselves the slaughter which we fear from 
 your hands. Now, therefore, you may depart secure, and in 
 tranquil peace. Thus he. We, however, proceeded on the 
 rest of our journey, being wounded in various parts of our 
 bodies, one with stones, another with the bites of dogs, and all 
 of us were violently hurt. 
 
 After we had travelled to some distance, we arrived at 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK VIII. 1 33 
 
 a certain grove, plaated with lofty trees, and delightfully, plea- 
 sant, with open grass-plats. Here our leaders thought fit 
 to rest a little, and refresh themselves with food, and also 
 diligently attend to the cure of their bodies, which were 
 wounded in various parts. " Reclining themselves, therefore, 
 everywhere on the ground, they first began to restore their 
 weary spirits, and afterwards they hastened to apply different 
 remedies to their wounds. This man repressed his tumours 
 with wet sponges ; but another bound his gaping wounds with 
 bandages. And after this manner each of them paid attention 
 to his own welfare. In the meantime, a certain old man was 
 seen, from the top of a hill, whom the goats that were feeding 
 about him evidently proclaimed to be a shepherd. Him one 
 of our company asked. Whether he had any milk to sell, either 
 liquid, or coagulated into new cheese ? But he, shaking his 
 head for a long time, said : " Do you now think of meat or 
 drink, or, in short, of any refreshment? Are you perfectly 
 ignorant of the place into which you are come ? " Having thus 
 said, he turned away, and departed far from us, driving along 
 his sheep. These word."!, however, and his flight, produced no 
 small fear in our shepherds. And while they, being terrified, 
 long to inquire into the nature of the place, and do not find 
 any one who can give them this information, another old man, 
 who was tall, indeed, but oppressed with age, wholly leaning on 
 a staff, and drawing along his wearied steps, approached us in 
 our journey, weeping abundantly. On perceiving us, also, he 
 embraced the knees of each of those young men, and thus 
 addressed them, the tears copiously falling as he spoke : " I 
 beseech you, by your Fortunes and your Genii, and so [by 
 granting my request] may you arrive at the space of my old 
 age, strong and joyful, assist a debile old man, and restore to 
 me, from the realms beneath, my little one, who is snatched 
 from me, at this advanced period of my life. For my nephew, 
 and the sweet companion of this my journey, while accidentally 
 endeavouring to catch a sparrow, that was singing in a little 
 hedge, fell into a ditch which was near him, and which was 
 concealed by the shrubs that covered it, and his life is now in 
 extreme danger. For I know by his weeping, and by the voice 
 of him, often calling on the bird, that he is still living ; but I 
 am unable to assist him, on account, as you may see, of 
 the infirm condition of my body. To you, however, it will be 
 easy, through the possession of youth and strength, to succour 
 a most miserable old man, and to preserve for me that boy, my 
 last successor, and my only offspring." All that heard him, 
 indeed, commiserated him, thus supplicating, and tearing his 
 
134 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 hoary hairs. But one, who was more courageous than the 
 rest, and also younger, and stronger in body, and who alone 
 had escaped unhurt by the preceding battle, promptly arose, 
 and inquiring in what place the boy fell, he, without delay, 
 followed the old man, who pointed out to him, with his finger, 
 a thicket of brambles, rough with thorns. And while we 
 [quadrupeds] were refreshed with food, but the men l)y the 
 attention they had paid to their wounds, every one taking his 
 bundle, we resumed our journey. And, in the first place, they 
 frequently and loudly called to the young man, by his own 
 proper name ; but afterwards, being alarmed by his long stay, 
 they sent one of their company to call him, who might search 
 for and admonish him that it was time to depart, and might 
 bring this their companion back with him. iJut he, having 
 staid for a short time, returned, and, trembling and pale, like 
 the wood of the box tree, related marvellous things of his 
 associate. For he said, That he saw an enormous dragon 
 lying upon and eating their companion, who was prostrate, and 
 which had now devoured the greatest part of his body ; and 
 that the miserable old man was not any where to be seen. 
 On hearing this, and comparing it with the words of the 
 shepherd [whom we had seen on the top of a hill], and who, 
 doubtless, by his threats, admonished our people of that 
 inhabitant of this region, and of no other, they fled most 
 rapidly from that most noxious place, and drove us along, 
 by frequently beating us with their staves. 
 
 At bngth, having, with great celerity, finished a long 
 journey, we came to a certain village, and there we rested 
 through the whole of the night. And I am desirous of nar- 
 rating an atrocious deed, of a very memorable nature, which I 
 there heard. A certain servant, to whom his master had 
 committed the whole protection of his family, and who was the 
 bailiff of that most ample village at which we stopped, though 
 he had a wife, who was a fellow-servant with him, pertaining to 
 the same master, yet burned with the desire of enjoying a 
 certain woman, who was free, and a foreigner ; through which 
 adulterous love, his wife, being stimulated by jealousy, burnt all 
 her husband's account books, and whatever was contained 
 concealed in his storehouse. Nor was she content with having 
 avenged the injury of her bed by this damage, but now, raging 
 against her own bowels, she made a halter for herself, and 
 bound with the same rope the little child which she had 
 not long before brought forth from the same husband, and 
 precipitated herself into a very deep well, drawing along with 
 her the appendant infant. The master, however, of this woman 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK VIII. 135 
 
 and of her husband, being very much concerned for her death, 
 seized the servant who had been the cause of his wife perpe- 
 trating SO dire a deed, and firmly bound him, naked, and 
 wholly bedaubed with honey, to a fig-tree, in the putrid stock 
 of which a multitude of ants had settled, and poured them- 
 selves forth from the earth, in different directions. These, 
 as soon as they perceived the sweet and honeyed odour of his 
 body, entirely adhered to it by small, indeed, but numerous 
 and continued bites, and so denudated his members by long 
 torment, from their eating his flesh and viscera, and thus 
 consuming the whole man, that at length his bones were 
 left bare and exceedingly white, and still remain fixed to the 
 deadly tree.'' 
 
 Abandoning also this detestable mansion, we again proceed 
 on our journey, leaving the rustics in the greatest sorrow. And 
 having travelled during the whole day, through level ground, 
 we at length arrived, weary, at a certain populous and noble 
 city. In this place those shepherds determined to dwell, and 
 there to fix their perpetual habitation, because the city appeared 
 to them to be a safe retreat from those who might search for 
 them, from a remote region ; and they were also invited to 
 settle there, by the blessed abundance of provisions with which 
 it was supplied. Lastly, having refreshed the bodies of us 
 quadrupeds, for three days, in order that we might appear to 
 be more saleable, we were brought to the market; and the 
 crier having proclaimed the price of each of us, with a loud 
 voice, the other horses and asses were bought by opulent 
 merchants. But I, being the only one that remained, was 
 passed over by most of the merchants with contempt. And 
 now, through the weariness arising from being handled by those 
 who computed my age from my teeth, I seized, with my teeth, 
 and shattered the filthy hand of a certain person, who frequent- 
 ly rubbed my gums with his putrid fingers ; which thing 
 deterred the by-standers from buying me, as being most 
 ferocious. Then the crier, when he had in vain spent his 
 breath, and made himself hoarse in proclaiming me, began to 
 compose riduculous jests on my fortune. "To what end," 
 said he, " do we in vain expose to sale this vile and old ass, 
 debile with worn-out hoofs, deformed in colour, ferocious in his 
 
 7 Adlington appears, by his translation of this part, to have found, in his copy of the 
 original, a line or two more than is to be met with in any edition that 1 have seen. For 
 immediately alter the words " fixed to the deadly tree," he adds, " This was declared 
 to us by the inhabitants of the village there, who greatly sorrowed for the death of this 
 servant." Unless, which I suspect to be the case, in more than one instance, it is 
 entirely his own unauthorized addition. 
 
136 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 Stupid sluggishness, and who is nothing else than a bolter 
 [or sieve, to separate meal from bran, through the numerous 
 and wide apertures of his hide?] Wherefore, let us give him 
 to some one, if there is any one who will not be grieved to lose 
 his hay." After this manner the crier excited the laughter of 
 those by whom I was surrounded. But that most cruel Fortune 
 of mine, which, though I had fled through so many regions, I 
 could not avoid, nor appease, by the evils which I had already 
 endured, again turned upon me her blind eyes, and brought a 
 buyer of me, found in a wonderful manner, and most adapted 
 to my severe calamities. Hear, therefore, what sort of a person 
 he was : an old catamite ; bald, indeed, but having long depend- 
 ing hair, curled and half grey ; one of those vile dregs of the 
 people, who compel the Syrian Goddess* to beg, carrying her 
 about through streets and towns, and playing on cymbals and 
 croiala, or rattles. 
 
 This' man, desiring exceedingly to buy me, asked the crier 
 from what country I came ? But he announced me to be a 
 Cappadocian, and sufficiently strong. Again he asked what 
 was my age ? But the crier jesting [as if he had been speaking 
 of a man], said, " That a certain mathematician [i.e. astrologer] 
 who had made a scheme of his nativity, had declared him to 
 be in his fifth year ; but that he himself knew this better from 
 his own profession. For though I know that I should incur 
 the penalty of the Cornelian law, if I should sell to you a 
 Roman citizen for a slave ; nevertheless, what should hinder 
 you from buying a good and profitable servant, who may assist 
 you both abroad and at home ? " That odious buyer, however, 
 did not cease to ask one question after another ; and in the 
 last place, anxiously inquired about my mildness. But the 
 crier to this replied, " You see, not an ass, but a castrated ram, , 
 quietly disposed to all employments ; not apt to bite or kick, 
 but such a one as would induce you to think that a mode&t 
 man dwelt in the hide of an ass. And this is a thing which it 
 is not difficult to ascertain. For you may easily make trial of 
 It, by thrusting your face between his thighs, as you will then 
 
 8 That the Syrian Goddess has a great agreement with Rhea and Cybele is evident, 
 both from the sacred rites and turreted head of that divinity, mentioned by the author 
 of the treatise De Dea Syria, in the works of Lucian. Hence, in ihe following book of 
 this work, she is called the sister of the mother of the Gods. But it must be observed, 
 that, according CO the Orphic or Grecian theology, there are many divinities who are 
 denominated mothers of the Gods. Thus, Night is so called, prior to, and Juno 
 posterior to, Rhea. For each superior energizes, prior to, in conjunction with, and 
 posterior to, each inferior deity. In short, every deity of a male characteristic is the 
 father, and every deity of a female characteristic is the mother, of the divinities posterior 
 to them. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK VIII. 137 
 
 see how very patient he will show himself to be." In this 
 ludicrous way the crier treated that helluo. 
 
 But he, understanding the jest, said, indignantly, " May 
 the all-powerful and all-parent Syrian Goddess, and may the 
 holy Sabazius [i.e. Bacchus], Bellona, and the Idsean mother 
 [Cybele], and also the sovereign Venus with her Adonis, cause 
 you, O delirious crier, to be blind, and to become a deaf 
 and dumb dead body, who, for some time past, have 'been 
 employing against me scurrilous jests. Do you think, O stupid 
 man, that I can commit a Goddess to a ferocious ass, which, 
 being disturbed, may suddenly throw off his back the divine 
 image, and compel me, miserable man, to run with dishevelled 
 hair, and search for some one who may raise my Goddess from 
 the ground, or repair the injury she may have sustained ? " On 
 hearing this, it suddenly occurred to me to leap as if I was 
 furiously insane, in order that he, perceiving me exasperated by 
 ferocity, might desist from buying me. But the buyer, who was 
 anxious to possess me, prevented this my intention by imme- 
 diately paying the sum of seventeen denarii, which my master 
 rejoicing readily received, though to my abhorrence ; and 
 directly delivered fne, tied with a cord of bulrushes, to Phile- 
 bus ; for this was the name of my new master. And he, taking 
 me as a new slave, brought me to his house, and immediately 
 exclaimed from the very threshold of it, "Lo, and behold, 
 girls, I have bought for you a beautiful servant, and have led 
 him hither." Those girls, however, were nothing more than a 
 company of wanton dancers, who, immediately exulting for joy, 
 raised dissonant clamours, with a broken, hoarse, and effemi- 
 nate voice ; thinking that some man-servant had been in reality 
 procured to wait on them. But when they saw it was not 
 a stag that succeeded in the place of a virgin,^ but that an ass 
 was substituted for a man, they, with turned up nose, reviled 
 their master in different ways ; and told him that he had not 
 brought a servant for them, but a husband for himself. They 
 added, " Mind that you do not keep this little ass solely for 
 your own enjoyment, but make us also sometimes a partaker of 
 the object of your regard." Thus mutually babbling, they 
 fastened me to the next manger. 
 
 There was a certain young man, very corpulent, and very 
 skilful in playing on the flute for contributions of money which 
 were made by those that heard him ; and who, abroad, prece- 
 ded those that carried about the Goddess, playing at the same 
 
 9 As was the case in the sacrifice of the Greeks at Aulis, in which Diana substituted a 
 stag for Ipbigenia. 
 
138 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 time on his flute ; but was a common catamite at home. This 
 young man, as soon as he saw me in the house, willingly placed 
 before me food in great abundance, and thus joyfully addressed 
 me: "At length, thou hast come as 'my substitute in the 
 endurance of miserable labour. And may you live long, and 
 please our masters, and prevent any further exertion of my 
 debilitated powers." On hearing this, I revolved my future 
 new miseries in my mind. But on the following day they went 
 out, clothed with garments of various colours, each of them 
 having a deformed appearance ; their faces being bedaubed 
 with dirty pigment, but their eyes elegantly painted, and having 
 small mitres on their heads, and wearing saffron-coloured linen, 
 and silken vestments. Some of them also had white tunics, 
 painted with purple, diffused through all the parts like small 
 lances, and girded underneath with a zone, and their shoes 
 were of a saffron colour. They likewise placed the Goddess, 
 covered with a silken veil, on my back, in order that I might 
 carry her ; and having their arms bare as far as to their 
 shoulders, and holding up very large swords and axes, they 
 proceeded leaping like those possessed with Bacchic fury, and 
 exciting insane dancing by the sound of the pjpe. 
 
 And when they had passed by not a few small cottages, 
 they came to a certain village, the owner of which was an 
 opulent man, and at their first entrance, vociferating with 
 dissonant clamours, they fanatically rush into it. Having 
 their heads likewise for a long time in an inclined position, 
 bending their necks, wantonly tossing their pendulous hair with 
 a circular motion, and sometimes biting their muscles, they, in 
 the last place, cut their arms with a two-edged sword which 
 they carried. In the meantime one of these was n.ore largely 
 seized with Bacchanalian fury, and fetching frequent and 
 profound sighs, as if he had been filled with the divine afflatus 
 of the Goddess, he pretended that he was seized with insanity ; 
 just as men are accustomed through the presence of the Gods, 
 not to become better than they were before [so far as pertains 
 to the body], but to be rendered debile or diseased. In the 
 last place, consider what reward he received through divine 
 providence. He began under a false pretence to blame and 
 accuse himself with a clamorous prediction, as if he had 
 perpetrated something contrary to the laws of sacred religion ; 
 and besides this, he also required that a just punishment for 
 his wicked deed might be immediately inflicted on him by his 
 own hands. Seizing, therefore, a whip, which it is usual for 
 those half men to carry with them, and which consists of twisted 
 woollen fillets, hanging down in long fringes, and is chequered 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK VIII. 139 
 
 with many pastern bones of sheep ; he gave himself with 
 it many lashes which were severe, on account of the. numerous 
 knots of the whip ; being fortified with a wonderful firmness 
 against the pain of the blows. You might perceive tiiat the 
 ground was moistened with the filthiness of the effeminate 
 blood which flowed from the cuts of the swords, and the lashes 
 of the whips. Which circumstance produced in me no small 
 solicitude, on my perceiving the blood copiously streaming from 
 so many wounds, lest the stomach of a foreign Goddess^" 
 should happen to desire asinine blood, just as the stomach of 
 some men wishes to have asinine milk. 
 
 When, however, being at length wearied, or at least satiated 
 with the laceration of himself, he gave a respite to his torments, 
 they received in their open bosoms brass and also silver coin, 
 which many offered them, contending with each other who 
 should give the most. Besides this, likewise, they received 
 from some a cask of wine, and milk, and cheese, and a quantity 
 of wheat and barley ; but others gave barley to [me], the bearer 
 of the Goddess. After this, they greedily collected every 
 thing, and enclosing what they had collected in sacks prepared 
 for this species of gain, they placed it on my back; so that 
 being oppressed with the weight of a twofold burden, I was at 
 one and the same time a walking barn and temple^^. Wander- 
 ing after this manner, they plundered all that region. Rut 
 being exhilarated by the abundance of more than usual gain, 
 they prepared a genial feast in a certain castle. For this purpose, 
 through the fraud of a fictitious divination, they earnestly 
 requested a very fat ram of a certain husbandman, in order that 
 they might satisfy, by sacrificing it, the hunger of the Syrian 
 Goddess ; and the supper being properly arranged, they betake 
 themselves to the bath. And after they had washed themselves, 
 they brought with them to the supper a certain very robust 
 rustic, who was well prepared for their purpose by the strength 
 of his sides ; and having tasted of a very few small herbs, those 
 most filthy catamites were excited before the table itself, to the 
 extreme wickedness of illicit lust, and every where spreading 
 themselves round the naked and supine young man, they im- 
 portune him with their execrable pruriency. 
 
 My eyes, however, not being able any longer to endure 
 such wickedness, I endeavoured to exclaim, O Quirites ! but O 
 
 10 i.e. ^Syrian Goddess, who was therefor:roreigntoGreece, where these transactions 
 are narrated. 
 
 11 Viz. He was a harn^ because he carried wheat and barley ; but a tempU, because 
 he carried the image sf the Goddess. 
 
140 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 alone proceeded [from my lips], destitute of the other syllables 
 and letters, clear indeed and strong, and adapted to the 
 pronunciation of an ass, but perfectly inopportune as to time. 
 For many young men from the next village, who had been 
 inquiring for an ass that had been stolen from them by night, 
 and who had explored all the stables with a vehement desire of 
 finding it, on hearing me bray within the house, thinking the 
 ass which they had lost was concealed in a secret part of that 
 dwelling, burst into it unexpectedly with hasty steps, in order 
 to seize openly their own property ; and clearly detected them 
 in the perpetration of their execrable filthiness. Now also 
 immediately calling the neighbours together on all sides, they 
 disclosed that most filthy scene ; and besides this, they, in the 
 way of ridicule, praised the most pure chastity of the priests. 
 They, however, being very much troubled on account of the 
 infamy, which easily spreading through the mouths of the 
 people, would deservedly render them odious and execrable to 
 all men, collected all their property, and secretly departed from 
 the castle about midnight. Having also accomplished a good 
 part of their journey, before the rising of the sun, when it was 
 now clear day, they catne into impervious deserts, and having 
 first conferred much with each other, they prepared themselves 
 to put me to death. Taking the Goddess, therefore, from my 
 back, and placing her on the ground, they stripped me of all 
 my harness, bound me to a certain oak, and lashing me with 
 that whip which was furnished with the pastern bones of sheep, 
 after the manner of a chain, they almost brought me to extreme 
 death. 
 
 There was likewise one who threatened to cut the nerves of 
 my hams with a cruel axe, because I had triumphed over his 
 pure modesty [through revealing by my braying his execrable 
 lust]. But the rest thought that my life should be spared, in 
 consequence of looking not to my safety, but to that of the 
 image which was lying on the ground. Again, therefore, driving 
 me along laden with bundles, by striking me with the flat part 
 of their swords, they came to a certain noble city. There, 
 a man of the first consequence, who was also religious, and in 
 a remarkable degree revered the gods, ran to meet us, being 
 excited by the tinkling of the cymbals, the sound of the drums, 
 and the sweet modulations of the Phrygian harmony. Receiving, 
 likewise, the Goddess in his hospitable dwelling which was 
 devoted to religious purposes, he placed all of us within the 
 enclosure of his most ample house ; and endeavoured to 
 propitiate the Goddess by the greatest veneration, and fat 
 victims. Here, too, I remember I was especially in danger of 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK VIII. 14I 
 
 losing my life. For a certain rustic sent as a gift to this 
 religious man, who. was his master, a very fat haunch of a large 
 stap, which was a part of his hunting. This being carelessly 
 suspended behind the kitchin door, at no very great height 
 from the floor, a certain dog, which was also of the hunting 
 kind, latently seized it, and rejoicing in his prey, rapidly fled 
 from the view of those to whose care the haunch was committed. 
 But the cook, when this loss was known, condemning his 
 owQ negligence, and having for a long time lamented with 
 inefficacious tears, and dreading the consequence, because his 
 master would in a short time want his supper, closely embraced 
 his infant son, and seizing a rope, attempted to hang himself. 
 The extreme misfortune, however, of the husband was not 
 concealed from his faithful wife ; but violently seizing with 
 both her hands the deadly rope, " Are you," said she, " so 
 terrified by the present evil, as to be out of your mind ? And 
 do you not perceive the fortuitous remedy, which the provi- 
 dence of the Gods administers to you ? For if you are at all 
 capable of reflecting in this extreme tempest of Fortune, listen 
 to me attentively. Lead that foreign ass into some remote 
 place, there slay him, and cut off his thigh in the form of the 
 haunch which you have lost, and set it before your master in 
 the place of the stag, diligently cooked and highly" seasoned 
 with minced meat." The most iniquitous knave was pleased 
 with the idea of saving his own life by my death, and having 
 very much praised the sagacity of his wife, he also sharpened 
 his knives, in order to efiect my destined slaughter. 
 
THE 
 
 METAMORPHOSIS OF APULEIUS. 
 
 BOOK THE NINTH. 
 
 After this manner that most iniquitous executioner armed his 
 impious hands against me. But I determined, in consequence 
 of counsel being precipitated by the presence of so great a 
 danger, without waiting the delay of long deliberation, to avoid 
 by flight the impending slaughter [of my body.] And, imme- 
 diately bursting the cord by which I was tied, I hurried along, 
 with all the force of my feet, skirmishing, by frequently employ- 
 ing my heels in defence of my safety. And, rapidly running 
 through the first porch, I violently entered, without delay, into 
 a dining room, in which the master of the house was at supper, 
 with the priests of the Goddess, feasting on the flesh of the 
 victims which he had immolated ; and, by thus rushing in, 
 I broke and overturned many of the dishes, and also the 
 tables, and other things of the like kind. By which foul 
 destruction, the master of the house being dismayed, he 
 delivered me to a certain servant, and ordered him to keep me 
 very diligently shut up, as importunate and wanton, in a place 
 where I might not again disturb, by a like petulance, the 
 tranquil banquet. 
 
 There, being craftily defended by my sagacious counsel, 
 and snatched from the midst of the hands of the executioner, 
 I rejoiced in the custody of my salutary prison. But, indeed, 
 it is not possible that any thing prosperous can happen to one 
 who is born a man without the concurrence of Fortune ; nor 
 can the fatal order of things, as established by Divine Provi- 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK IX. 143 
 
 dence,! be subverted or renewed by any prudent counsel or 
 sagacious remedy. Lastly, that crafty device itself, by which I 
 seemed to have found a momentary safety, produced for me 
 another great danger, or rather present death. For a certain 
 menial lad (as I afterwards heard the domestics tell each other, 
 in a low voice) burst into the dining room, with a countenance 
 agitated by terror, and announced to his master, that a mad 
 dog had, a little before, ran from the next street, with a wonder- 
 ful celerity, through the back door, and had attacked the 
 hunting dogs with a perfectly vehement fury ; and afterwards 
 had proceeded into the next stable, and rushed on the greater 
 part of the labouring beasts with a similar rage ; and, in the 
 last place, that he had not spared even the men themselves. 
 For he said, that Myrtilus, the muleteer, Hephsestion, the cook, 
 Hypatius, the chamberlain, Apollonius, the physician, and many 
 others of the family, while they endeavoured to avoid the dog, 
 were all of them lacerated by it, with various bites ; and that 
 some of the labouring beasts, which had been wounded by its 
 venomous bites, were now seized with a similar fury. This 
 narration immediately agitated the minds of all that heard it, 
 and, thinking that I also was infected with the same disease, 
 they took up arms of every description and pursued me, exhort- 
 ing each other to repel the common mischief; though, at the 
 same time, they, rather than I, laboured under the same disease 
 of raging madness. And, without doubt, they would have 
 torn me in pieces with those lances, hunting spears, and axes, 
 with which they were easily supplied by the servants, if I, 
 considering the storm which was likely to burst upon me 
 suddenly, had not immediately rushed into the bedchamber, 
 into which my masters had retired. Then, the doors being 
 closed and locked upon me, they surrounded the place, till I, 
 without any danger to their entrance, should be consumed, in 
 consequence of being possessed and devoured by the per- 
 vicacious fury of that deadly pestilence. In this situation, 
 having at length gained my liberty, and embracing the gift of 
 solitude, with which Fortune had presented me, I threw myself 
 
 I In the original, Divints Providcntioe faialis disposiiiOt which the Delphin editors 
 erroneously interpret, ordo immutabilis Ptoviditiiia Divina. For Providence, accord- 
 ing to the Platonic philosophy (and Apuleius was a Platonist) is superior to Fate ; and, 
 in consequence of this, whatever is produced by Fate is also produced by Providence, 
 but not -vice versa. Apuleius, therefore, rightly ascribes l\xjatal disposition of things 
 to Divine Providence, because this disposition or order proceeds primarily from Provi- 
 dence, but secondarily from Fate ; but the jatal is not the same with the immutahlt 
 order of things ; for the latter pertains to Providence alone, but the former to Providence 
 in conjunction with Fate. 
 
144 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 on the bed which was there laid, and enjoyed human sleep, 
 which, for some time before, I had not been able to obtain. 
 
 And now, it being clear day, I rose in good health, liberated 
 from lassitude through the soft bed on which I had slept. 
 Then I heard those who had passed a sleepless night in watch- 
 ing about my prison, thus disputing with each other, concerning 
 my destiny : " Shall we believe that this miserable ass will be 
 agitated with perpetual fury ? But, indeed, it is rather probable 
 that the poison has become extinct, the rage being quiescent" 
 Thus, difference of opinion led them at length to explore my 
 condition ; and, looking through a certain fissure, they saw me 
 standing at my ease, in a sane and sober state. And now, 
 having of their own accord opened the doors, they made trial 
 whether I was become mild, in a more ample manner. But 
 one of them, who was sent from heaven to be my saviour, 
 pointed out to the rest the following method of exploring my 
 sanity ; viz. that they should offer me a vessel full of water, 
 recently drawn, and that, if I drank of it intrepidly, and after 
 my accustomed manner, they might depend upon it that I was 
 sane, and liberated from all disease ; but that, on the contrary, 
 if I avoided the sight and contact of tha water, and was 
 terrified at the view of it, it would be evident that the noxious 
 fury still pertinaciously remained. For this, which is asserted 
 in ancient books, is also verified by experience. 
 
 This counsel being approved, they, still doubting the event, 
 immediately offered me a large vessel, full of transparent 
 water, drawn from a neighbouring fountain. But I, immediate- 
 ly proceeding to meet them, as I was very thirsty, drank, 
 indeed, those truly salutary waters, inclining myself, and 
 merging into the vessel the whole of my head. And now 
 I placidly suffered them to pat me with their hands, to stroke 
 my ears, and lead me by the halter, and to do whatever else 
 they pleased, in the way of making trial of my sanity ; till, 
 contrary to their insane presumption, I clearly proved my 
 mildness to all of them. After this manner, having escaped a 
 twofold danger, on the following day I was again led forth to 
 the journey, a circumforaneous mendicant, burdened with 
 divine spoils, accompanied by crotala and cymbals. And when 
 we had passed by not a few little cottages and castles, we came 
 to a certain village, built among the half-ruined vestiges of 
 a city which was once opulent, as the inhabitants relate. Here, 
 taking up our abode at the first inn that we found, we heard a 
 pleasant narration, about a poor man being cuckolded by his 
 wife, which I also wish the reader to know. 
 
 This man, labouring under great poverty, procured the 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK IX. 145 
 
 means of subsistence by the small wages which he received 
 from working as a carpenter. Nevertheless, he had a wife who 
 was also herself poor, but famous [or rather infamous] for 
 extreme lasciviousness. But, on a certain day, while he went 
 in the morning to the work which he had undertaken to perform, 
 an audacious adulterer immediately entered latently into his 
 house. And, while they fearlessly employ themselves in the 
 colluctations of Venus, the husband unexpectedly returned 
 home, ignorant of what was transacting, and, at that time, 
 suspecting no such thing. And now, praising the continence 
 of his wife, because he perceived that the doors were shut and 
 bolted, he knocked at the gate, announcing also, by whistling, 
 that he was present. Then the crafty woman, and who was 
 most sagacious in the perpetration of crimes of this kind, 
 having freed the man from her most strict embraces, dis- 
 semblingly concealed him under a tub, which was half-buried 
 in the earth, in a corner of the house, but was, nevertheless, 
 empty ; and, having opened the street door, she received her 
 husband, as he was entering, with severe language: "And do 
 you thus," said she, " come home to me, empty and idle, with 
 your hands in your bosom, nor apply yourself to your accus- 
 tomed work, in order that you may provide for our subsistence, 
 and procure something for us to eat ? But I, unhappy woman, 
 exercise my fingers, by night and by day, in spinning wool, 
 that, at least, a lamp may shine within our little abode. How 
 much more happy than I am is our neighbour Daphne, who, 
 filling herself early in the morning with wine and meat, wallows 
 with her adulterers 1 " 
 
 The husband being thus reproved, said, "What do you 
 mean ? For, though the master of our workshop, being atten- 
 tive to his forensic empbyment, has given us a holiday, 
 nevertheless, I have provided for our supper to-night. Do you 
 see that tub which, being superfluous, in vain occupies so 
 much space, and, in reality, affords nothing farther than an 
 impedirnent to our habitation ? This I have sold for five pence 
 to a certain person, who is here present, that, having paid the 
 price of it, he may take it, as his own property, with him. 
 Make yourself ready, therefore, and lend me a hand, for 
 a little while, that, having scraped it clean, it may be imme- 
 diately delivered to the buyer." The fallacious woman, 
 immediately bursting into an audacious laugh, said, "The 
 husband which I have married is certainly a great man, and a 
 strenuous negociator, who, while I, who am only a woman, 
 and confined at home, have already sold a thing for seven 
 pence, has sold it for a less sum." The husband, being joyful 
 
146 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 at the addition to the price of the tub, said, " Who is he, who 
 has bought it at so great a price?" To which she replied, 
 " He has long ago, O stupid nxin, descended into the tub, in 
 order that he might diligently explore its solidity." Nor was 
 the adulterer deficient in confirming what the woman said, but, 
 promptly rising from the tub, said, " Do you wish, mistress, to 
 know the truth ? This tub of yours is too old, and injured in 
 many places by gaping fissures." And turning himself dis- 
 semblingly to her husband, " But do you," said he, " my friend, 
 whoever you are, bring me immediately a lamp, that, having 
 scraped off the filth which is in the inside of the tub, I may be 
 able to know accurately whether it is fit for use, unless you 
 think that we obtain money in an improper manner." The 
 sagacious and egregious husband, without any delay, and not 
 suspecting any thing, having lit a lamp, said, " Depart, brother, 
 and keep yourself quiet, till I shall have brought this tub into 
 a fit condition for you to receive." And, having thus said, he 
 stripped himself, and taking the lamp with him, began to 
 scrape off the indurated fseces which adhered to the rotten tub. 
 She, however, putting her head into the tub, deluded her 
 husband with meretricious craft. She pointed out, with her 
 finger, this place and that, and another, and again another, 
 which required to be purified, till, both works being accom- 
 plished, the miserable carpenter was compelled, having received 
 seven pence, to carry the tub on his back to the house of 
 the adulterer. 
 
 Those most pious priests, having remained there for a few 
 days, and been fattened by the public munificence, and laden 
 with many rewards of their divination, devised for themselves a 
 new kind of gain. Having fabricated one oracle, adapted to 
 many cases, they deluded many, who consulted them about 
 various particulars. But the oracle was as follows : 
 
 Together yok'd the oxen, till the ground, 
 That stocks abundant may from thence arise. 
 
 Then if any, who wished to engage in matrimony, from the 
 admonition of the oracle, consulted them, they said. It 
 answered the very thing which they wished to know ; viz. that 
 they should be conjoined in wedlock, in order that they might 
 produce stocks of children. If any one who was about to buy 
 land, interrogated them, they said, That the oracle very properly 
 spoke of oxen, as also of the yoke, and of fields flourishing 
 with crops of corn. If some one, being solicitous about 
 travelling, consulted the divine oracle, they said. That the 
 mildest of all quadrupeds were to be now yoked together, and 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK IX. I47 
 
 prepared for the journey, and that gain was promised them, 
 through the germe of the glebe. And if some one, who 
 intended to engage in battle, or to pursue a band of robbers, 
 asked them whether the event of his undertaking would be 
 prosperous or not, they asserted, That victory was promised by 
 the prediction of the oracle ; which signified, that the necks of 
 the enemies should be brought under the yoke, and a most 
 abundant and fruitful spoil be obtained by rapine. And, after 
 this manner, by the fraudulent craft of divination, they collected 
 no inconsiderable sum of money. 
 
 Being, however, at length exhausted by perpetual interro- 
 gations, and by always giving the same answer, they again 
 began to travel through a road much worse than that which we 
 had passed through during the night. For it was interrupted 
 by profound ditclies and whirlpools, which were partly filled 
 with stagnant water, and in other places were slippery with 
 miry filth. Lastly, I was scarcely able to arrive, at length, 
 much fatigued, at level paths, my legs being bruised by 
 con:inual falls. And behold, on a sudden, a troop of armed 
 horsemen came upon us, from behind, and, having with diffi- 
 culty restrained the impetus of the running horses, they eagerly 
 flew upon Philcbus, and the rest of his associates, and tying 
 them by the neck, and calling them sacrilegious and impure, 
 they sometimes struck them with their fists, bound them fast 
 with manacles, and urged them to produce quickly the golden 
 bowl, and thus bring forth that pledge of their crime, which 
 they had privately stolen from the bed of the mother of the 
 Gods, under the pretext of solemn rites, which they should 
 secretly perform, and afterwards silently departed, at the dawn 
 of day, beyond the boundaries of the city, as if they could 
 escape the punishment of so great a crime. Nor was there 
 wanting one who, putting his hand on my back, and searching 
 in the very bosom of the Goddess, whom I carried, found the 
 golden bowl, and drew it out, in the sight of all that were 
 present. But those most impure men could not either be 
 convinced or terrified by the disclosure of a deed which was at 
 least so nefarious, but jesting, accompanied with a fictitious 
 laugh, they said, " Behold the unluckiness of an unworthy 
 circumstance I How many innocent men are in danger ! on 
 account of one bowl only, which the mother of the Gods 
 presented, as a hospitable gift, to her sister, the Syrian Goddess !" 
 They having stupidly uttered these and other trifles, of the 
 same kind, the rustics led them back, and immediately bound 
 and cast them into prison ; and the bowl, and the image of the 
 Goddess, which I carried, Leing restored and consecrated in 
 
148 THE METAJIORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 that part of the building where gifts were deposited, on the 
 following day they brought nie forth, and again, by the voice of 
 the crier, exposed me to be sold. But a certain baker, from 
 the next little town, bought me for seven pieces of money more 
 than Philebus had before given for me ; and he, having imme- 
 diately laden me with corn, which he had bought, led me 
 through a road, difficult, from the little sharp stones with which 
 it abounded, and encumbered with roots of every kind, to the 
 mill where he ground his corn. 
 
 There many labouring beasts turned mills in their different 
 circuits, by proceeding through various gyrations. Nor was it 
 by day alone, but also, being vigilant through the whole of the 
 night, they made flour by the light of a lamp, and the continual 
 rotation of the mills. But my new master afforded me the 
 best accommodation, lest I should be terrified at the rudiments 
 of my servitude. For he gave me a holiday the first day, and 
 abundantly furnished my manger with food. That beatitude, 
 however, of leisure and exuberant food, did not endure any 
 longer than a day. But, on the following morning, I was 
 bound to that mill which appeared to be the largest, and, 
 immediately, my eyes being covered [to prevent my being giddy 
 from the gyrations], I was impelled into the curved spaces of a 
 circular path, excavated like a canal, so that I might wander, 
 with a sure winding, in the orb of a circumfluent boundary, 
 with a reciprocal pace, treading my footsteps over again. 
 Nevertheless, not entirely forgetting my sagacity and prudence, 
 I did not show myself an apt tyro of his discipline. But, though 
 I had frequently seen machines similarly circumvolved, when I 
 lived among men, nevertheless, I stood still, feigning that I was 
 seized with a stupor, as one ignorant of, and unskilled in, that 
 kind of work. For I thought, indeed, that I should be 
 employed in some other easier work, as l)eing but little adapted, 
 and sufficiently useless for labour of that kind, or, at least, that 
 I should be fed in idleness. I exercised, however, in vain, a 
 pernicious sagacity. For many, furnished with staves, imme- 
 diately surrounded me. And, as I was even then without fear, 
 in consequence of my eyes being covered, on a sudden, a signal 
 was given, and, with repeated clamours, they heaped blows 
 upon me, and so disturbed me with the noise, that, laying aside 
 all my crafty designs, I immediately ran briskly, and strenuous- 
 ly thrust forward with my breast, and with great sagacity, the 
 rope by which, through my circuitous course, the mill was 
 turned. 
 
 By this sudden change of counsel I excited the laughter of 
 all the company. And now, the greatest part of the day being 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK IX. 1 49 
 
 passed over, they liberated me, that was otherwise much 
 fatigued, from the machine, taking off the rope by which I was 
 tied to the mill, and led me to the manger. But I, though 
 excessively fatigued, and very much in want of renovation of 
 strength, and almost perishing with hunger, nevertheless, being 
 impelled by my usual curiosity, and suffiriently anxious, I 
 observed, with a certain delight, the discipline of that disagree- 
 able workshop, neglecting the food which was placed before 
 me in great abundance. Good Gods ! what abject fellows were 
 the men that were there ! The whole of their skin was marked 
 with livid spots, and their scarred backs were rather shaded 
 than covered with torn garments, composed of shreds. Some 
 had only their private parts concealed by a small covering; 
 and all of them were so clothed, that their skin might be seen 
 through the intervals of the patches. Their foreheads were 
 marked with letters, their hair was half-shaved oif, and their 
 feet were bound with fetters. They were also deformed, through 
 paleness, and their eyelids were corroded with the smoky 
 darkness of black vapour ; and on this account they had bad 
 eyes. They were likewise filthily white through the flour of the 
 mill, like those pugilists, who fight sprinkled with fine dust. 
 But what, and after what manner, shall I speak of the labouring 
 beasts, my associates? What of those old mules and infirm 
 horses ? With their heads inclined downward about the man- 
 ger, they diminished the heaps of chaff. Their necks were 
 putrid with wounds; their nostrils, which laboured inbreathing, 
 were languid, and wide through the continual pulsation of 
 coughing ; their breasts were ulcerated through the constant 
 friction of the ropes by which they were tied ; their sides were 
 bared even to their bones, by perpetual castigation; their hoofs 
 were extended to an enormous size by manifold circumduction; 
 and the whole of their hide was rough with inveterate and 
 scabby leanness. Fearing that the same baneful misery with 
 which this family was affected, would happen to me, recollecting 
 also the fortune of the pristine Lucius, and perceiving myself 
 thrust down to the last goal of safety, I lamented my condition 
 with a dependent head. Nor was any solace of a painful life 
 any where present, except that I was recreated, through ray 
 innate curiosity, while, making no account of my presence, all 
 of them freely said and did before me whatever they pleased. 
 Nor was it without reason that the divine author of ancient 
 poetry among the Greeks [i.e. Homer], desiring to exhibit a 
 man of consummate prudence, sings [of Ulysses, in the Odyssey] 
 " that he acquired the greatest virtues through wandering over 
 many cities, and through the knowledge of different nations." 
 
150 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 For I confess that I owe great thanks to my asinine form, 
 because, concealing me by its covering, and exercising me 
 through various fortunes, it certainly rendered me, if not more 
 wise, yet knowing in many things. Lastly, I have determined 
 to narrate to you an excellent tale, which I have found to be 
 delightful in the extreme, and behold I begin as follows : 
 
 The baker who had made me his own for a sum of money, 
 and who was otherwise a good man and very moderate, sus- 
 tained the greatest punishment in the marriage bed and his 
 family, in consequence of being allotted a wife, who was the 
 worst and most wicked of women ; so that, by Hercules, I also 
 frequently lamented his condition in silence. For there was 
 no vice that was not present with that most iniquitous woman. 
 But there was entirely a conflux of all crimes in her mind, 
 as in some miry privy. She vvas inauspicious, cruel, addicted 
 to men and wine, pervicacious and pertinacious,^ greedy in 
 base rapine, profuse in filthy expenditure, inimical to fidelity, 
 and hostile to chastity. Then despising and trampling on the 
 divine powers, instead of the true religion, counterfeiting'' a 
 nefarious opinion of God, whom she asserted to be the only 
 deity [to the exclusion of other Gods who proceed from, and 
 are rooted in the first God,] devising also vain observances, 
 and deceiving all men, and likewise her miserable husband, she 
 enslaved her body to morning draughts of pure wine, and to 
 continual adultery. This woman, being thus ill disposed, 
 persecuted me with a wonderful hatred. For while she was 
 yet lying in bed before the break of day, she commanded with 
 a loud voice, that the ass which had been recently purchased, 
 should be tied to the mill; and as soon as she had left her 
 bedchamber, she ordered that many blows should be given to 
 me in her presence, she herself standing by those who beat me. 
 When also the other labouring beasts were liberated from their 
 toil at dinner-time, I was led to the manger, through her 
 mandate, much later than the rest : by which cruelty, she 
 greatly increased my native curiosity in observing her manners. 
 For I perceived a certain young man very frequently going into 
 her bedchamber, whose face also I very much desired to 
 
 3 In the original, scania, sceva, virieset, ehriosa^ ^ervicax, fertiiiax^ in which words 
 there is si remarkable paronomasia. 
 
 3 Thus Synesius in his treatise on Providence, which is an Egyptian narration, says 
 (See page 550 of my translation of Extracts from it), " But after no great length of time, 
 a certain depraved fragment of religion, and an adutUrtttien of divine worship, like that 
 of money as it were, prevailed, which the ancient law exterminated from cities, shutting 
 the doors again.st impiety, and expelling it to a great distance from the walls." The 
 learned reader will find the original of this passage in Synes. Op. p. 115. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK IX. 15I 
 
 behold, if the covering of my head would have afforded that 
 liberty to my eyes : for I was not in want of sagacity sufficient 
 to detect, in some way or other, the crimes of a most iniquitous 
 woman. 
 
 A certain old woman, however, who was a medium and a 
 messenger between her and her adulterer, was daily present with 
 her as an inseparable companion ; with whom first breakfasting, 
 and afterwards contending with her in drinking alternately pure 
 wine, she devised insidious machinations, by fraudulently cir- 
 cuitous means, to the destruction of her miserable husband. 
 But I though I was very much enraged at the error of Fotis, 
 who had made me an ass, while she wished to change me into 
 a bird, nevertheless, I was gratified in having this one solace of 
 my lamentable deformity, that, being furnished with very long 
 ears, I easily heard every thing, even though at a great distance. 
 At length, on a certain day, the following words of that timid 
 old woman came to my ears : " My mistress, consider with 
 yourself what you mean to do with that sluggish and false- 
 hearted friend, with whom you became familiar without my 
 advice, and who in a cowardly manner dreads the severe 
 countenance of your unpleasant and odious husband, and 
 through this slothfulness of his languid love, torments you by 
 deferring your willing embraces. How much superior to him is 
 Fhilesietserus, a young man beautiful, liberal, and strenuous, 
 and most steadfast in eluding the inefficacious vigilance of 
 husbands ! By Hercules, he alone is worthy to enjoy the 
 embraces of all mistresses of families ; he alone deserves to 
 wear a golden crown on his head, on account of this one thing 
 which he lately devised with wonderful cunning against a certain 
 niarried man who was jealous. Hear, therefore, and compare 
 together the different disposition of both these lovers." 
 
 " You know a certain person of the name of Barbarus, a 
 senator of our city, whom the vulgar call Scorpion, on account 
 of the asperity of his manners. This man very cautiously kept 
 close in his house a noble wife of surpassing beauty, defending 
 her with a wonderful guard." To this, that abandoned wife of 
 the baker replying, said, " Why should I not ? I know her very 
 well. You speak of Arete my school-fellow." "You know, 
 therefore," said the old woman, "the whole history of Phile- 
 sietaerus." " By no means," replied the baker's wife ; " but I 
 very much desire to know it, and beseech you, mother, to 
 narrate every particular to me in order." And without 
 delay, that old woman, who was an excessive talker, thus 
 began : " That Barbarus, when he was about to undertake a 
 necessary journey, and was desirous most carefully of preserving 
 
152 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 the chastity of his beloved wife, secretly admonished his servant 
 Myrmex, whom he knew to be in the highest degree faithful to 
 him, and committed to his fidelity the entire custody of his 
 mistress ; at the same time threatening him with imprisonment, 
 perpetual bonds, and lastly, a violent death and famine, if any 
 man even in passing by, did but touch her with his finger. 
 And this he confirmed through swearing by all the divine 
 powers. Leaving, therefore, Myrmex, who was struck with the 
 greatest terror, as a most vigilant and inseparable attendant on 
 his wife, he commenced his journey without any solicitude. 
 Then Myrmex, with a mind firmly resolved, and vehemently 
 anxious, would not suffer his mistress to go any where, and 
 keeping her at home occupied in spinning wool, was constantly 
 with her ; only suffering her, as a thing that was necessary, to 
 go to the bath in the evening, and then adhering and as it 
 were agglutinated to her, and holding with his hand the fringe 
 of her garment, he faithfully performed the office committed 
 to him, with wonderful sagacity. But the beauty of this noble 
 matron could not be concealed from the ardent vigilance of 
 Philesietaerus. And being captivated and inflamed by this 
 celebrated chastity, and extreme vigilance of her remarkable 
 tutelage, he prepared himself with all his might to vanquish the 
 tenacious discipline of that house. Being also certain of the 
 fragility of human fidelity, and that all difficulties are pervious 
 to money, and that it is usual tor even adamantine doors to be 
 broke open by gold ; having opportunely found Myrmex alone, 
 he unfolded to him his love, and suppliantly implored him -to 
 administer a remedy to his torment ; for he said, " That he had 
 determined and decreed to die in a short time, if he did not 
 very soon obtain the object of his wish." He also farther 
 observed to Myrmex, " That he ought not to fear any thing in 
 an affair which might easily be accomplished ; since he could 
 penetrate into the house in the evening unattended by any one, 
 covered and concealed by the fidelity of darkness, and in a 
 moment of time after, leave it." To these and similar per- 
 suasions, he added a powerful wedge, for the purpose of 
 cleaving the perfectly rigid tenacity of a servant. For, opening 
 his hand, he showed him glittering pieces of solid gold, which 
 was to Myrmex a .<.pectacle entirely new ; twenty of which, he 
 said, he had destined to the woman , but that he wilhngly 
 offered to him ten. Myrmex was horribly terrified at the 
 mention of a wickedness which he had never heard of before, 
 and immediately fled with closed ears. Nevertheless, the 
 flaming splendours of the gold could not depart from his eyes ; 
 but though he was far removed from Philesietaerus, and had 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS.— BOOK IX. 153 
 
 arrived with rapid steps at home, yet he seemed to himself still 
 to behold those beautiful splendours of the money, and already 
 possessed in his mind an opulent spoil. The miserable man, 
 also, was plucked and torn asunder into different opinions, with 
 a wonderful fluctuation of mind. There fidelity, here gain 
 urged him ; there torment dissuaded, here pleasure invited. 
 Nevertheless, at last, gold vanquished the fear of death. Nor 
 could his desire of the beautiful money be at least mitigated 
 by time ; but pestilent avarice invaded him also with solicitude 
 by night ; so that the threats of his master retained him at 
 home, yet gold called him abroad. Then having devoured 
 shame*, and removed delay, he immediately conveyed to the 
 ears of his mistress the message of Philesietaerus. Nor did the 
 woman revolt from her genuine levity, but immediately sold 
 her modesty for execrable metal. Thus Myrmex overflowing 
 with joy at the precipice of his fidelity, and wishing not only to 
 receive, but also to handle the money which he had seen to his 
 destruction, gladly told PhilesietEerus, that he had at length, 
 with great labour, accomplished what he desired, and immedi- 
 ately demanded the promised reward. And thus the hands 
 of Myrmex now held golden, which had never before touched 
 even copper money. 
 
 And now the night being advanced, he brought that 
 strenuous lover, unattended by any one, to the house, and in- 
 troduced him, with his head well covered, so as to conceal his 
 face, into the bedchamber of his mistress. Scarcely, however, 
 had they sacrificed to recent love with new embraces, scarcely 
 had the new and naked soldiers received the first stipends 
 in the warfare of Venus, when the husband, availing himself of 
 the opportnnity afforded by night, was suddenly present, contrary 
 to the expectation of every one. And now he knocks at the 
 gate of his own house, now he calls, and strikes the door with 
 a stone ; and becoming more and more suspicious by the 
 delay, he threatens to inflict dire punishments on Myrmex. 
 But he, being greatly agitated by the sudden evil, and brought 
 to a want of counsel through his miserable trepidation, said, as 
 the only thing which he could say, that the darkness of the 
 night prevented him from finding the key which he had 
 carefully concealed. In the meantime, Philesietaerus. on hearing 
 the clamour, having hastily put on his garment, but his feet 
 through trepidation being uncovered, ran out of the bedchamber. 
 
 4 In the original devoralt pudon, which the Delphin editors alter in their interpreta- 
 tion aonmi /irorsus vertcuiidid calcatd; but in my opinion, for the worse. For to 
 devour shanie is a metaphor much holder and more indicative of the total destruction of 
 it, than to trample on it. 
 
154 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 Then Myrmex, having at length put the key into the lock, 
 opened the gate, and received his master, loudly calling on the 
 faith of the Gods ; and while he hastily goes into the bed- 
 chamber, Myrmex let out Philesietserus, who hurried away 
 with a clandestine flight. But Myrmex, as soon as PhilesietEeru - 
 had left the house, considering himself as now secure, after he 
 had fastened the door, again composed himself to sleep. 
 Barbarus, however, on going out of the bedchamber at break 
 of day, saw under the bed, shoes unknown to him, which 
 Philesietsrus had on when he entered into the chamber ; and 
 suspecting from this circumstance what had l)een transacted, 
 but not divulging either to his wife or any of his domestics the 
 grief which he endured, he took the shoes, and privately 
 concealed them in his bosom, and only ordering that Myrmex 
 should be led bound by his fellow-servants towards the forum, 
 he rapidly went thither himself, silently groaning, conceiving 
 that he should certainly find who was the adulterer by the 
 indication of the shoes. But behold, while Barbarus proceeded 
 through the street enraged, with a turgid face, and contracted 
 eyebrows, and Myrmex behind him oppressed with chains, not 
 indeed detected in a manifest crime, but convicted by his own 
 most evil conscience, and exciting inefficacious pity by his 
 abundant tears and extreme lamentations ; while this took 
 place, Philesietserus opportunely passing that way, though he 
 was previously engaged in business of a different kind, yet 
 being moved, though not terrified by the sudden spectacle, and 
 recollecting the fault occasioned by his haste, he suspected 
 what was likely to follow. Immediately, therefore, having 
 sagaciously assumed his usual audacity, and dispersing the 
 ser\'anis [who led Myrmex along in chains], he rushed on 
 Myrmex with extreme clamour, and gently striking him with 
 his fist on the face. May this your master, said he, and all the 
 celestial Gods, whom you have invoked by rashly swearing, 
 destroy you as you deserve, O most iniquitous and perjured 
 man ! who yesterday stole my shoes from the bath. You 
 deserve, by Hercules you deserve to wear out those chains, and 
 besides this also to endure the darkness of a prison. Barbarus, 
 being deceived, or rather mocked by this opportune fallacy of 
 the vigorous young man, and unsuspectingly believing in what 
 he said, again returned home, and having called Myrmex and 
 showed him the shoes, voluntarily pardoned him, and persuaded 
 him to restore the shoes to the master from whom he had 
 stolen them." 
 
 Scarcely had the old woman finished her tale, when the 
 baker's wife thus resumed her discourse : " O how blessed is 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK IX. 155 
 
 that woman who enjoys the liberty of associating with so firm a 
 friend ! But I, miserable creature, have met with a lover who is 
 even frightened at the noise of the mill, and the concealed face 
 of that scabby ass." To this the old woman replied : " I will 
 even now cause that lover of yours to be with you promptly at 
 the appointed time, well persuaded and resolute." And having 
 likewise promised, that she would return in the evening, she 
 departed from the bedchamber. But that chaste wife immedi- 
 ately prepared a princely banquet. She defecates by percolation 
 the precious wine, tempers the new-made pottage with seasoning, 
 and furnishes the table with abundance of food. In short, the 
 coming ot the adulterer is expected like the advent [or 
 manifestation] of some God. For opportunely the husband 
 supped abroad at the house of a neighbouring fuller. Mid-day 
 therefore approaching, I being at length freed from my harness, 
 and permitted to refresh myself in quiet, I did not, by Hercule?, 
 su much rejoice in libeiatior. from labour, as that, my eyes being 
 uncovered, I should now be able to behold, without restraint, 
 all the arts of the wicked woman. The sun, indeed, having now 
 descended under the ocean, had illuminated the inferior parts 
 of the earth, when behold, the rash adulterer came, closely 
 following the iniquitous old woman ; he himself being very 
 young, and still conspicuous by the polished smoothness of his 
 chin, still being himself the delight of adulterers. The woman 
 having received him with many kisses, desired him to recline 
 himself for the supper she had prepared. But no sooner had 
 the young man touched with the extremity of his lips the cup 
 which was drank out of previous to eating, and just begun to 
 taste the food, than the husband came, returning much sooner than 
 they expected. Then the egregious wife, having earnestly prayed 
 for dire curses upon him, and wishing that he might break his 
 legs, hid the adulterer, trembling with pale fear, under the 
 wooden bin, which then happened to lie near her, in which a 
 confused heap of corn was usually purified. And, by her innate 
 craft, dissembling a deed so wicked, and assuming an intrepid 
 countenance, she inquired of her husband, Why he came home 
 so prematurely, relinquishing the supper ot his most intimate 
 companion? But he, with a mind perfectly afflicted, and 
 continually sighing,'said, "Not being able to bear the detestable 
 and extreme wickedness of an abandoned woman, I betook 
 myself to flight. Good Gods ! what a wife ! how faithful and 
 how temperate, and yet she defiled herself with a most filthy 
 crime ! I swear, by this holy Ceres, that I can even now 
 scarcely believe the testimony of my eyes, concerning such a 
 woman." The most audacious wife of the baker, being incited 
 
IS6 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 by these words of her husband, and desiring to know the affair, 
 did not cease to importune him to narrate the whole transac- 
 tion, from the beginning. Nor did she desist, till her husband 
 complied with her wish. And thus, being ignorant of the 
 misfortune of his own house, he related that of the family of 
 another. 
 
 "The wife of my associate, the fuller, who seemed to be a 
 woman of undefiled chastity, and who, being always renowned 
 [for her modesty], chastely ruled the house of her husband, was 
 inflamed with a secret love for a certain adulterer. And, as she 
 continually indulged in furtive embraces with that young man, 
 she was in the act of being connected with him at the very 
 moment of time, in which we, having bathed, went to supper. 
 Being, therefore, disturbed by our sudden presence, she hid 
 him in a wicker coop, which being plaited from willow twigs 
 into an erect heap, and smoked with the white fume of sulphur, 
 was used for the purpose of whitening the cloth that was placed 
 round it. And he being now safely concealed, as it seemed to 
 her, she fearlessly participated with us of the table. In the 
 meantime the young man being oppressed and obscured by the 
 odour of the sulphur, became faint through the interception of 
 his breath ; and that living mineral caused him to sneeze 
 frequently, as it is natural for it to do. But as soon as the 
 husband, who sat opposite to his wife, heard the sound of 
 sneezing behind his back, because he thought it proceeded 
 from his wife, he wished her well in the usual words," and this 
 he did when he again heard the sneezing, and also when it was 
 frequently repeated; till being moved by the excessive 
 repetition of it, he at length suspected what the thing was. 
 Immediately, therefore, pushing away the table at which he sat, 
 and removing the coop^ he drew forth a man, who was with 
 great pain restoring his frequent emissions of breath. And 
 being inflamed with indignation on account of the disgraceful 
 circumstance, calling for a sword, he longed to kill a man who 
 would have expired in a short time ; unless I, considering our 
 common danger, had, though with difficulty, prevented him 
 from his furious attack, by assuring him that his enemy would 
 shortly die through the powerful odour of the sulphur, without 
 
 5 \.f^,^ Jupiter save yon^ or, as we say in Englist], God hless yon. Hence, an ancient 
 poet, Ammianus, (in Lib. ii. Anttiologise), says : 
 
 Ouoe Aeyet Ztu croxrov, eav irrap-q' ov yap a\ovii 
 Trja- pivoa; irokv yap tt}<t a\orf(T aTre.\u. 
 
 i.e., '* Nor does tie SAy , JupiUr save uu, if lie sneezes, for neitller does tie tiear tils own 
 nose, in consequence of being very deaf." 
 
GOLDEN ASS, of APULEIUS. — BOOK XI. 1 57 
 
 any blame being attached to us. And he being rendered more 
 mild, not by my persuasion, but by the necessity of the thing 
 itself, brought him, who was now but half alive, into the next 
 street. Then I secretly admonished, and at length prevailed on 
 his wife, to withdraw herself for a short time from the shop, and 
 betake herself to a certain woman with whom she was familiar, 
 till the enraged mind of her husband should be appeased, who, 
 I did not doubt, was so exasperated, and so agitated with fury, 
 that he would certainly perpetrate something more deadly, both 
 on himself and his wife. And thus, being wearied with the 
 supper of my associate, I returned to my own house." While 
 the baker narrated these particulars, that shameless and 
 audacious woman had, long before the tale was finished, 
 expressed by execrations how much she detested the wife of the 
 fuller ; calling her perfidious, unchaste, and lastly, the great 
 disgrace of all her sex, who laying aside her own modesty, and 
 trampling on the league of the marriage bed, had defiled with 
 meritricious infamy the house of her husband : and now had 
 procured for herself the name of a prostitute, having lost the 
 dignity of a ma tried woman. She added, that such females 
 ought to be burnt alive. Nevertheless, through the joint admo- 
 nitions of her silent wound, and her own filthy con.science, in 
 order that she might sooner liberate her adulterer from the 
 torment of his covering, she frequently urged her husband to go 
 to bed as soon as possible. 
 
 He, however, mildly requested that the table might be 
 placed for him, as, his supper being intercepted at the house of 
 the fuller, he had fled from thence perfectly hungry. Then the 
 wife hastily set the table before him, though unwillingly, 
 because it was designed for another person. But my bowels 
 were profoundly lacerated, when I reflected on the preceding 
 wickedness and the present audacity of this most abandoned 
 woman ; and I sedulously deliberated with myself whether 
 I could by any means give assistance to my master, by detect- 
 ing and revealing the fraud [of his wife], and by throwing off" 
 the covering, expose to the view of every one him who was con- 
 cealed like a tortoise under the bin. At length divine provi- 
 dence regarded me, thus tormented with the disgrace of my 
 master. For the lame old man, to whose care our custody was 
 committed, led all us labouring beasts, collected into one body, 
 to the next lake for the sake of drinking, the time now requiring 
 that this should be done. And this circumstance administered 
 to me a most opportune occasion of revenge. For in passing 
 by, I observed the extremities of the fingers of the adulterer, 
 which were protuberant through the narrow openings of the 
 
158 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 hollow covering, and pressing these with my inflected and sharp 
 hoof, I bruised them so as to reduce them to the greatest 
 tenuity ; till, being excited by the intolerable pain, he sent forth 
 a sorrowful clamour, and pushing away and throwing down the 
 bin, he unfolded to the sight of all that were present the scenic 
 apparatus of the lecherous woman. Nevertheless, the baker, not 
 being greatly disturbed by the loss of his wife's modesty, thus 
 began to soothe, with a serene front and conciliated face, the 
 young man who was trembling with exanguious paleness : "You 
 need not fear, my son, that any thing of a sorrowful nature will 
 be inflicted on you by nie ; I am not a barbarian, nor endued 
 with a rustic deformity of manners ; nor will I kill you with the 
 deadly fume of sulphur, after the example of the truculent 
 fuller ; nor, indeed, will I bring such an elegant and beautiful 
 youth in danger of losing his life, through the severity of the law 
 concerning adultery ; but I will divide with my wife my pleasure 
 with you, and she shah be common both to you and me. For 
 I have always lived with my wife in such concord, that, accord- 
 ing to the dogma of the philosophers, the same things are pleasing 
 to both of us. But neither does equity suffer the wife to have 
 more authority than the husband." With such-like flattering 
 language having derided the young man, he led him reluctant to 
 a bed, and sending away his most chaste wife who followed him, 
 to another bed, he, lying alone with the youth, enjoyed the most 
 grateful avengement of corrupted nuptials. 
 
 But as soon as the lucid chariot of the Sun had made the 
 day, the baker, having called two of his most robust servants, 
 and striking with a ferula the buttocks of the youth, who was 
 lifted to a considerable height for the purpose, said to him : 
 " Do you, who are so soft and tender, and but a boy, defrauding 
 lovers, wantonly desire women in the flower of your age, and 
 commit adultery with such as are free, and connected by the 
 conjugal compact, and vindicate to yourself the unseasonable 
 name of an adulterer ? " Having reproached him in these and 
 many other words, and besides this, punished him abundantly 
 with blows, he turned him out of doors. He, however, being 
 the bravest of all adulterers, having obtained unhoped-for safety, 
 though his fair posteriors liad been burst by night, and for a 
 long time, sorrowfully fled. Nevertheless, the baker divorced 
 his wife, and immediately thrust her out of her own house. But 
 she, besides her genuine wickedness, being profoundly excited 
 and exasperated by the contumelious language of her husband, 
 though it was just, returned to her treasury of fraud, and the 
 accustomed arts of females, and with great care searched for a 
 certain crafty woman, who was believed to be capable of effecting 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK IX. 1 59 
 
 anything by incantations and sorcery, besought her with many 
 prayers, and burdened her with many gifts, requesting of her 
 one of two things, viz., that she would either again cause her to 
 be reconciled to her husband by appeasing him ; or. if that could 
 not be accomplished, that she would send some ghost, or some 
 dire demoniacal power, to take away his life by violent means. 
 Then that sorceress, who as capable of effecting divine works, 
 employed at first only the milder instruments of her wicked art, 
 and endeavoured to bend the mind of the husband that had 
 been vehemently offended, and impel it to love. But when the 
 event of the thing was different from what she expected, being 
 indignant with the Gods, and, besides the loss of the gain which 
 she would have obtained if she had succeeded, leing also stimu- 
 lated by the contempt [which she had sustained from the divine 
 powers], she now began to attack the life of the most miserable 
 husband, and to stimulate to his destruction the ghost of a cer- 
 tain woman, who had suffered a violent death. 
 
 Perhaps, however, O scrupulous reader, you, reprehending 
 my narration, will argue as follows : " But whence, O foolish ass, 
 could you know what was dor.e by women in secret, as you say 
 you did, when, at the same time, you were confined within the 
 boundaries of a bakehouse ? " Hear, therefore, how a curious 
 man, sustaining the form of an ass, knew all that was transacted 
 with a view to the destruction of my master, the baker. Nearly 
 about midday, a woman suddenly appeared in the bakehouse, 
 deformed with severe sorrow, as if she was guilty of some crime, 
 half clothed with a coarse mantle, having her feet naked, and 
 without shoes ; and being ill-favoured through leanness, there 
 was in her face a paleness like that of box. Her hair, likewise, 
 was half grey, torn, and filthy through the interspersion of ashes, 
 and hanging over her forehead, concealed the greatest part of 
 her face. This woman, thus deformed in her attire, gently 
 with her hand taking hold of the baker, led him into his bed- 
 chamber, as if she had something to say to him in secret, and 
 having shut the door, she staid there a long time. But when all 
 the corn was ground, which had been given to the servants of 
 the baker, and it became necessary to ask for more, the lesser 
 men-servants, standing near the bedchamber, called their master 
 by name, and asked for more corn to supply ihe mill. And as 
 no master answered them, though they frequently called him, 
 and with a loud voice, they now more forcibly knocked at the 
 door Because, likewise, it had been most carefully bolted, 
 suspecting something of greater consequence, and of a worse 
 nature than usual, with great effort, they at length either plucked 
 off or broke the hinges, and made an entrance for themselves. 
 
l6o THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 That woman, however, was no where to be found, but they saw 
 their master hanging from a certain beam to which he was tied, 
 and now lifeless. Freeing him, therefore, from the knot by which 
 his neck was fastened, they took him down from the beam, with 
 the greatest lamentations and weeping, and procured for his 
 corpse, the last ablution. Having, likewise, performed the 
 offices pertaining to the dead, they buried him, a great crowd 
 attending the funeral. On the following day, his daughter 
 came running from the next little town, in which she had lately 
 been married, sorrowful, shaking her pendulous hairs, and 
 sometimes beating her breasts wiih her hands. For she knew 
 all that happened, though no one had narrated to her the 
 misfortune of the house ; because the lamentable form of her 
 father had presented itself to her in sleep, having the neck still 
 tied with a cord, and unfolded to her all the wickedness of her 
 stepmother, the adultery, the enchantment, and how he had 
 descended to the realms beneath, being strangled by a nocturnal 
 ghost. And when she had tormented herself by long-continued 
 lamentations, at length being restrained by the concourse of her 
 friends and acquaintance, she gave a pause to her grief. And 
 now the funeral solemnities being in the usual manner com- 
 pleted at his sepulchre, on the ninth day, she brought forth the 
 servants, the furniture, and all the labouring beasts, to be sold 
 by auction Then the rash fortune of an uncertain sale dis- 
 persed in various ways the property of one house. 
 
 Lastly ; a certain poor gardener bought me for fifty pieces 
 of money, which he said was a great price ; but he purchased 
 me in order that he might procure food for himself by our 
 common labour. And the thing itself appears to me to require 
 that I should also explain the discipline of this my servitude. 
 In the morning, my master was accustomed to drive me to the 
 next city, laden with many herbs, and, after he parted with 
 them for a certain sum of money to those who sold them to 
 others, he thus returned to his garden, sitting on my back. 
 But while he was digging and watering, and performing other 
 rural works, in a bent position, I, in the meantime, being at 
 leisure, refreshed myself with placid quiet. Behold, however, 
 the year running back through tl.e number of days and months, 
 by orderly and established circulations of the stars, had des- 
 cended to the winterly frosts of Capricorn," after the pleasures 
 of the vintages of autumn ; but I was tormented by continual 
 cold, through the daily rains and the nightly dews, being 
 exposed to the open air, and shut up in an uncovered stable. 
 
 6 For, whan tb« sun enters into the sign Capricorn, winter commences. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK IX. l6l 
 
 For my master, on. account of his great poverty, could not 
 purchase, even for himself, and much less for me, some straw, 
 or a small covering; but he lived contented with the leafy 
 umbrage which his little cottage afforded. Besides this also, in 
 the morning I endured great labour, in walking with unshod 
 feet on excessively cold clay, and pieces of very sharp ice ; and 
 was not able to fill my belly with my accustomed food. For 
 both my master and myself had an equal and similar supper; 
 but it was very slender, since it consisted of old and unsavoury 
 lettuces, which having, through the great age of the seeds, grown 
 into an irregular height, like long brooms, had degenerated 
 into the bitter putridity of muddy juice. 
 
 On a certain night, the master of a family, of the next 
 village, being impeded by the darkness of a moonless night, 
 and wet through a heavy shower of rain, and in consequence of 
 this, prevented from pursuing his journey in the direct road, 
 turned out of the way, with his now wearied horse, to our 
 garden. And being as courteously received as the time would 
 permit, though not in a delicate, yet in a necessary succour of 
 rest,^ and desiring to remunerate his benignant host, he promised 
 that he would give him from his farm some com and oil, and, 
 besides this, two cadi of wine. But my master, without delay, 
 proceeded to the village of that master of a family, which was 
 distant from his garden sixty stadia,^ sitting on my naked back, 
 and bringing with him a little sack, and empty bladders. And 
 this journey being now finished, we came to the before-mentioned 
 farm, and there the benignant host immediately gave my master 
 to partake of a sumptuous dinner. While, too, they were exciting 
 each other alternately to drink, a perfectly stupendous prodigj^ 
 happened to take place. A hen, belonging to a coop in which 
 others were kept, running through the middle area, made a 
 noise with her native clangour, as if she wanted to lay an egg. 
 Her master, beholding her, said, "O good servant, and suffi- 
 ciently prolific, who, for a long time, hast nourished us with 
 the eggs which thou hast daily brought forth ! Now also, as I 
 see, you think about preparing for us a breakfast. And, ho ! 
 boy," said he, [speaking to one of his servants,] " let the basket 
 appointed for the hens when they are about to lay eggs, be 
 placed in the accustomed corner." While the boy was doing 
 what he was ordered to do, the hen, kicking away the bed 
 which had been made for her, as usual, in the basket, brought 
 forth before the very feet of her master, a premature offspring, 
 
 7. i.e. In a bed. 
 
 t. i.€. Seven miles and a half. 
 
1 63 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 which was portentous of something very dire. Fot she did not 
 bring forth an egg, such as we know a hen is accustomed to 
 do, but a chicken, perfectly furnished with feathers and claws, 
 and eyes and voice ; and which immediately began to follow 
 its mother. 
 
 In a similar manner also, another prodigy arose, far greater 
 than the former, and at which all men would be justly terrified. 
 For, under the very table which sustained the relics of the 
 dinner, the earth opening itself from the bottom, a most copious 
 fountain of blood burst forth; and many drops rebounding from 
 thence, sprinkled the table with gore. At that very moment 
 likewise, in which all that were present were fixed in astonish- 
 ment, admiring and tremuling at those divine portents, one of 
 the servants ran from the wine-cellar, announcing that all the 
 wine, which had long ago been deposited in it, boiled up in all 
 the vessels, with a fervent heat, and just as if a large fire had 
 been put under it. In the meantime also, weasels were seen, 
 out of the house, drawing into it a dead serpent ; a small green 
 frog leaped out of the mouth of a shepherd's dog ; and a ram, 
 rushing on the dog which stood near him, strangled him by one 
 bite. These prodigies, so many and so great, produced an 
 extreme stupor, with great fear, in the minds of the master of 
 that house, and of all his family ; so that they knew not what 
 should be done first or last, what would more, or what would 
 less appease the anger of the Gods, or how many, and what 
 kind of expiatory victims should be procured. 
 
 And while all of them were still torpid, through the ex- 
 pectation of some most horrible subject of fear, a certain little 
 servant came running, and announced to his master the great 
 and extreme destruction of his family; for he lived full of 
 glory, through having three sons, now adult, furnished with 
 learning, and endued with modesty. Between these young 
 men, and a certain poor man, the master of a small cottage, 
 there was an ancient familiarity. But a powerful, rich, and 
 young neighbour, and who badly used the renown of his 
 ancestors' race, possessed ample and fertile fields, contiguous to 
 that small cottage. And, as he was powerful in the number of 
 his dependents, and easily accomplished in the city whatever he 
 pleased, he behaved in a very hostile manner to a poor man, 
 who was his neighbour, by killing his sheep, taking away his 
 oxen, and trampling on his corn before it was ripe. When, 
 also, he had now entirely deprived him of the product of his 
 labour, he likewise desired to expel him from the possession of 
 his farm; and, exciting a frivolous controversy about the bound- 
 aries of the fields, he vindicated the whole of the land to 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK IX. 163 
 
 himself. Then that rustic, who was otherwise a simple, harmless 
 man, seeing himself plundered through the avarice of a rich 
 man, in order that he might at least retain enough of his 
 paternal land for a sepulchre, collected together, with great 
 trepidation, many friends, for the purpose of demonstrating to 
 them what were the boundaries of his land. Among others, 
 those three brothers were present, affording some small assist- 
 ance to the great misfortune of their friend. Nevertheless, the 
 insanely furious rich man, not being in the least terrified, or 
 even confused, by the presence of many citizens, not only was 
 unwilling to abstain from rapine, but also from intemperance of 
 language. For, when they mildly expostulated with him, and 
 endeavoured to mitigate his fierce manners by soothing words, 
 he, immediately swearing most sacredly by his own safety and 
 that of his friends, asserted, That he considered the presence of 
 so many mediators to be a thing of small consequence ; and 
 lastly, that he would order his servants to take that neighbour 
 of his by the ears, and expel him to a great distance from his 
 little cottage, and that this should be done immediately. When 
 he had thus said, the greatest indignation was excited in the 
 minds of all that heard him. Then one of the three brothers 
 answered, without delay, and a little more freely. That he in 
 vain, trusting to his riches, threatened, with tyrannic pride, 
 since the poor also are accustomed to be avenged of the 
 insolence of the rich, through the liberal aid afforded by the 
 laws. Such as oil is to flame, sulphur to burning, and a whip 
 to the Furies, such was the fuel of these words to this furious 
 man. And now, being insensate, even to extreme insanity, 
 and proclaiming, that he would send all of them, and their laws 
 too, to be hanged, he ordered the shepherds' dogs to be 
 liberated, and also the mastifis, that were fierce and cruel, and 
 accustomed to feed on the dead bodies that were thrown into 
 the fields ; and, besides this, were nourished by the bites with 
 which they everywhere lacerated the passing traveller ; and he 
 likewise commanded, that they should be urged to the destruc- 
 tion of the men that were present. But these, as soon as, by 
 the accustomed signal of the shepherds, they were excited and 
 inflamed, rushing on the men with furious rage, being at the 
 same time, horrible by their dissonant barking ; and, attacking, 
 they pluck their flesh, and lacerate them with various wounds. 
 Nor did they even spare them while they fled; but, being more 
 irritated by their flight, more eagerly pursued them. 
 
 Then, among the condensed slaughter of a trembling and 
 flying multitude, the youngest of the three brothers stumbled 
 against a stone, and, having bruised his fingers, was thrown on 
 
164 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 the ground, and furnished a nefarious feast to those cruel and 
 ferocious dogs. For, immediately, having found a prostrate 
 prey, they tore in pieces the miserable young man. And, as 
 soon as the rest of his brothers knew that he was dymg, by his 
 piercing cries, they ran, overwhelmed with sorrow, to give him 
 assistance, and, rolling their garments about their left hands, 
 they strive to defend their brother, and to drive off the dogs, by 
 throwing at them many stones. They could not, however, 
 either terrify or vanquish their ferocity. For the miserable 
 young man, being torn in pieces, immediately died, entreating, 
 with his last words, that they would revenge the death of their 
 youngest brother on that most filthy rich man. Then the two 
 remaining brothers, not, by Hercules, so much despairing of, 
 as voluntarily neglecting, their own safety, hastily attacked the 
 wealthy man, and hurled many stones at him, with great ardour, 
 and a furious impetus. But the bloody murderer, who, prior to 
 this, had been exercised in many similar abominable deeds, 
 throwing a lance, pierced one of the two brothers through the 
 middle of the breast. Yet the young man did not fall on the 
 ground, though he was slain and perfectly lifeless. For the 
 lance, which had penetrated through him, and the greater part 
 of which came out at his back, was, by the violence of the 
 impulse, fixed in the earth, and kept his body suspended by its 
 firmness and rigidity. But one of the servants also, who was 
 tall and robust, giving assistance to that homicide, sent from 
 alar a stone, with great force, at the right arm of the third 
 brother ; but the stone, passing through the extremities of his 
 fingers with a vain impetus, fell to the ground innoxious, 
 contrary to the opinion of all that were present. Nevertheless, 
 this milder event administered to the most sagacious young 
 man some hope of revenge. For, pretending that his hand was 
 debilitated by the blow, he thus addressed the most cruel 
 wealthy man : " Enjoy the destruction of the whole of our 
 family, feed your insatiable cruelty with the blood of three 
 brothers, and triumph gloriously over your prostrate citizens ; 
 only remember, that you will always have some neighbour, 
 though you may give a still greater and greater extent to the 
 boundaries of your lands. For this my right hand, which 
 would have entirely cut off your head, now being bruised, is 
 rendered incapable of effecting this, through the iniquity of 
 Fate." The furious thief, being exasperated by this speech, 
 seizing a sword, rushed on the most miserable young man, 
 intending to slay him with his own hand. He did not, however, 
 attack one who was weaker than himself. For the young man, 
 unexpectedly resisting, and far contrary to his opinion, seized 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK IX. 1 65 
 
 his right hand with a most strong embrace, and, brandishing 
 the sword with a great effort, expelled the impure soul of the 
 rich man, by many and frequent blows ; and that he might also 
 liberate himself from the hands of his domestics, who were 
 running [to the assistance of their master], he immediately cut 
 his throat with the sword which was yet sprinkled with the 
 blood of his enemy. These were the things which the [before- 
 mentioned] astonishing prodigies had foreshown ; and these 
 were the circumstances which were narrated to the most 
 miserable master. Nor could the old man, surrounded by so 
 many evils, utter any word, nor even silently weep ; but seizing 
 the knife with which he had then divided among his guests the 
 cheese and other parts of the dinner, he also sorely wounded 
 his own throat with many stabs, in imitation of his most un- 
 happy son, till, falling prone on the table, he washed away, with 
 a river of new blood, the stains of that portentous blood [which 
 suddenly burst forth from the earth]. The gardener commiser- 
 ating the fate of that house, which was' after this manner, 
 destroyed in the shortest space of time, and grievously deploring 
 the cruel events' which had taken place, and also paying for his 
 dinner with tears, and frequently striking together his empty 
 hands, he immediately got on my back, and returned through 
 the road by which we came. 
 
 His return, however, was not, at least, innoxious to him. 
 For a certain tall man, and who was a legionary soldier, as his 
 dress and appearance indicated, meeting us on the road, asked 
 the gardener, in proud and arrogant language. Whither he was 
 leading an empty ass? But my master, who was yet full of 
 grief, and, besides this, was ignorant of the Latin tongue, silently 
 passed by him. The soldier, therefore, being indignant at his 
 silence, as a mark of contempt, thrust him from my back, at 
 the same time striking him with the branch of a yine^", which 
 he held in his hand. Then the gardener suppliantly answered. 
 That he could not know what he said, through his ignorance of 
 the Latin language. The soldier, therefore, subjoining, in 
 Greek, said, " Whither do you lead this ass ? " The gardener 
 answered, That he was going to the next city. " But I," said 
 the soldier, " am in want of its assistance. For it is requisite 
 
 9 In the original, suisgue casus, instead of which I read, with Prioeus, smvos casus; 
 as it is more honourable to the gardener to represent him deploring the unhappy destiny 
 of his host, instead of grieving that, by his death, he should be deprived of the wine and 
 oil which he had hoped to lake away. 
 
 ID This shows that the soldier was a centurion ; for it was peculiar to centurions to 
 carry vines, with which they cha:itised soldiers that had committed any oflfence. Hence, 
 in Idtin, a vine is metonymically used by poets for the office of a centurion. 
 
l66 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 that it should carry, from the neighbouring little town, with 
 other labouring beasts, the baggage of our prefect." And, 
 immediately laying hold of the rope by which I was led, he 
 began to draw me along. But the gardener, wiping away the 
 blood which trickled from his head, through the wound of the 
 former blow, again entreated the soldier to act by him more 
 humanely and mildly ; and this he did, conjuring him by his 
 prosperous hopes. " For this ass," said he, " is sluggish, and, 
 besides this, frequently falls, through that detestable disease 
 [epilepsy] ; and it is with great difficulty that he usually carries 
 a few bundles of herbs from a neighbouring garden, and in 
 doing this he is fatigued, and his respiration is languid ; so far 
 is he from being adapted to carry larger burdens. After per- 
 ceiving, however, that the soldier could not be appeased by any 
 prayers, but was in a greater degree incited to his destruction, 
 and that, now having inverted the vine branch, he was preparing 
 to fracture his skull with a larger knot of the branch, he fled to 
 his last resource, and, feigning that he wished to embrace his 
 knees, in order to excite his compassion, he inclined and bent 
 himself, and, taking hold of both his feet, lifted him up, and 
 violently dashed him on the ground. Immediately afterwards, 
 likewise, he struck every part of his face, his hands, and his 
 sides, at one time with his fists, at another with his elbows ; and, 
 besides this, he bit him, and beat him with a stone taken up in 
 the road. Nor could the soldier either resist, or by any means 
 defend himself, after he was laid prostrate on the ground ; but 
 could only frequently threaten, that, if he rose again, he would 
 cut him in pieces with his sword. The gardener, being ad- 
 monished by these words, snatched the sword from him, and, 
 throwing it a great distance, again attacked him with severer 
 blows. But the soldier, being prostrate, and prevented by 
 wounds [from defending himself], as he could not find any other 
 means of safety, feigned that he was dead, which was the only 
 thing that remained for him to do. Then the gardener, taking 
 with him that sword, got on my back, and proceeded rapidly 
 in a direct line to the city ; and, not even thinking of at least 
 visiting his own garden, he betook himself to a certain person 
 with whom he was familiarly acquainted. And, having narrated 
 to this friend' every thing which had happened to him, he 
 implored his assistance in his present dangerous situation, and 
 requested that he would conceal him and his ass, for some time, 
 till he had escaped a capital indictment, by being latent lor two 
 or three days. But this acquaintance, not being forgetful of 
 ancient friendship, promptly received him, and having drawn 
 me (my legs being folded together), by means of a ladder, into 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK IX. 1 67 
 
 the highest room of the house, the gardener crept into a certain 
 chest that was in the cellar, and, covering himself over with the 
 lid of it, there lay concealed. 
 
 The soldier, however, as I afterwards learnt, being at length 
 roused, as if from excessive intoxication, nevertheless staggeriiSg 
 and feeble, from the pain of so many wounds, and scarcely able 
 to support himself by a staff, came into the city ; and, fearing 
 to mention to any one of the citizens any particulars of his 
 violence and inertness, but tacitly devouring the injury he had 
 sustained, when he met with some of his fellow-soldiers, he 
 then told them of his misfortune. But they were of opinion, 
 that he should conceal himself for some time in their military 
 dwelling ; for, besides his own proper disgrace, he feared also 
 the military Genius, ^^ who presides over the military oath, oh 
 account of the sword which he had lost. They, however, having 
 observed our footsteps, diligently applied themselves to the 
 discovery of us, and to their own revenge. Nor was a perfidious 
 neighbour wanting, who told them that we were there concealed. 
 Then his. fellow-servants went to the magistrates, and pretended 
 that they had lost on the road a very valuable silver vessel, 
 belonging to their prefect, and that a certain gardener had found 
 it, and- was unwilling to restore it, but was now concealed in 
 the house of a friend. Then the magistrates, becoming ac- 
 quainted with the loss, and the name of the prefect, came to 
 the gate of our dwelling, and, with a loud voice, announced to 
 our host that it would be better for him to deliver us up, who 
 were certainly concealed in his house, than to undergo-the 
 danger of losing his life. But he, not being in the least terrified, 
 and consulting the safety of him whom he had taken under 
 his protection, did not confess any thing concerning us, and 
 asserted, that he had not seen that gardener for some days. 
 On the contrary, the soldiers, swearing by the Genius of the 
 emperor, aiSrmed that he was concealed there, and not in any 
 other place. At length, however, the magistrates were deter- 
 mined, by investigation, to confute him in his obstinate denial. 
 Having, therefore, sent the lictors into the house, and the other 
 public ministers, they ordered them diligently to explore every 
 thing, in all the corners of the apartments. But, they, having 
 searched, declared that no man, nor even the ass itself, were to 
 be found in any part of the house. Then the altercation became 
 more vehement on both sides ; on the part of the soldiers, who 
 
 XX t.t. The Genius of the emperor, by whom the Roman soldiers solemnljr swore, that 
 they would never desert the buiiiness of war, nor refuse to die for the Roman republic, 
 and that they would strenuously perform every thing which the emperor commanded 
 them to do. 
 
l6S THE METAMORPHOSIS, ETC. 
 
 asserted that we were certainly there, and frequently implored 
 the assistance of Caesar ; and, on the part of the master of the 
 house, who denied the accusation, and continually called the 
 Gods to testify [the truth of what he said]. I, therefore, who 
 was, in other respects, an inquisitive ass, and endued with a 
 restless petulance, when I heard the contention and clamorous 
 murmur, was desirous, by looking through a certain window, 
 with my neck in an oblique position, to see what was the 
 meaning of that tumult ; and, while I was so doing, one of the 
 soldiers, having by chance turned his eyes to my shadow, called 
 all of them to be witnesses of it publicly. Lastly, a great 
 clamour was presently raised, and certain persons immediately 
 coming to me, by the assistance of ladders, laid their hands on 
 me, and drew me from the place of my concealment, as a 
 captive. And now, without any delay, more carefully exploring 
 every thing, and uncovering also the chest, they found the 
 miserable gardener, drew him out from thence, presented him 
 to the magistrates, and led him to a public prison, in order that 
 he might suffer capital punishment. Nor could they refrain 
 from jesting, accompanied with the greatest laughter, at my 
 looking out of the window. Whence, also, the proverb origin- 
 ated, which is very much used, concerning the inspection and 
 shadow of an ass.^^ 
 
 la This proverb, which Apuleius jocularly says originated from the above-mentioned 
 circumstance, is of much greater antiquity. Lucian has only €^ OVOV ^apa^vl^cbxr, 
 frtrnt ikt ciliquc vieiv 0/ an asg. There is also another Greek proverb, mentioned by 
 Menander, Plato, and many others, VK^p OVOV <T\ia(r, conctrning the shadow of an 
 msSt which is said of those who are anxious to know things futile, frivolous, and entirely 
 useless. These two proverbs Apuleius has mingled into one. 
 
THE 
 
 METAMORPHOSIS OF APULEIUS. 
 
 BOOK THE TENTH. 
 
 What my master the gardener did, on the following day, I 
 know not. But the soldier, who was most beautifully beaten, 
 on account of his extreme imbecility, loosened me, and brought 
 me away from that manger, without the prohibition of any one. 
 From his own tent also, as it appeared to me, he led me into 
 the public road, laden with his own bundles, and perfectly 
 adorned and equipped in a military manner. For he placed on 
 my back a glittering helmet, a shield far more splendid than the 
 rest of the armour, and also a lance, conspicuous for its very 
 long steel head, which he diligently disposed on the top of the 
 bundles, as it is usual to do in an army, not, then, indeed, for 
 the sake of discipline, but for the purpose of terrifying miserable 
 travellers. Having therefore, passed over the plains, which was 
 attended with no difficulty, we came to a certain little town ; 
 nor did we then betake ourselves to an inn, but to the house ot 
 a decurion. And, when the soldier had delivered me to the care 
 of a certain servant, he, without delay, solicitously procseded to 
 his own prefect, who had the command of a thousand soldiers. 
 I remember that a most wicked and detestable deed was 
 perpetrated in that town, a few days after our arrival. But I 
 will insert it in my book, that you also may read it. The master 
 of that house had a son, who was a young man of great literary 
 attainments, and, on that account, was consequently remarkable 
 for his piety and his modesty ;^ so that you also would wish to 
 
 I Literary Attainments, at the time of Apuleias, must have been very different from 
 what they are at present. For piety and modesty are not the conseqtuntial results of 
 great learning, acquired at modern public schools and universities. 
 
170 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 have him, or his like for a son. The mother of this young man 
 having been dead for many years, the father had married again; 
 and, from another wife, had begotten another son, who had 
 now just passed beyond the twelfth year of his age. But the 
 stepmother, who was powerful in the house of her husband, 
 rather from her beauty, than the worthiness of her manners, 
 regarded her son-in-law with wanton eyes, whether she was 
 naturally immodest, or was impelled by Fate to that extreme 
 wickedness. Now, therefore, excellent reader, know that you 
 will peruse a tragedy, and not a comedy, and that you will 
 ascend from the shoe to the buskin.^ As long, however, as the 
 amatory desire, which she nourished from the beginning, was 
 small, its force being yet imbecile, the woman, easily repressing 
 the slender flame, resisted it in silence. But when love, 
 immoderately raging, burnt the whole of her breast with an 
 insane fire, she was then vanquished by the fierce and tyran- 
 nical God ; and, feigning illness, she pretended that her disease 
 was not mental, but occasioned by the languid state of her 
 body. Now there is not any one who is ignorant, that all the 
 detriments which the health and the face sustain accurately 
 accord both with those that are ill, and those that are in love ; 
 such as, a deformed paleness, marcid eyes, weary legs, turbulent 
 sleep, and sighs, more vehement from the slowness of the 
 torment [by which they are produced]. You might believe 
 that she was only agitated by feverish vapours, if she had not 
 also wept. Alas ! unskilful physicians ! What do the pulsation 
 of the artery, immoderate heat, wearied respiration, and the 
 frequent and reciprocal changes and turnings of the side in- 
 dicate? Good Gods ! how easy is the comprehension of amatory 
 desire, by one who is learned, tliough he does not profess the 
 medical art, when he sees some one burning without bodily 
 heat.' 
 
 Being, therefore, more profoundly agitated by the impatience 
 of [venereal] fury*, she, at length, burst her long silence, and 
 
 a i.e. From comedy, or pleasant tales, to tragedy, or a sorrowful and dismal nanation; 
 the shoe being peculiar to comedy, but the buskin to tragedy. 
 
 3 i.«. Burning with a heat which does not originate from the body, but from the 
 mind. The Delphin editor, not perceiving this meaning of the wordsi observes, that 
 Apuleius seems to contradict himself, as he had, a little before, mentioned heat as one of 
 the indications of love, unless we suppose him to mean a violent heat, such as that of a 
 fever. But their note is as follows: "Videtur sibi ipsi advcrsari, mod6 enim calorem 
 annumeravit, amoris indiciis, quid caloris mtemperaniia ? Nisi dicere velimus in- 
 telligendum esse violento calore, et qualis in febre laborantibus deprehenditur." 
 
 4 In the original, ** Ergo igitur impatientia furoris altius agitata," which the Delphic 
 editor interprets by, " Igitur impotentia amoris vesani cxagitata profundius." But why 
 they substitute imfatmtiA for imfatientid, I know noL 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK X. 171 
 
 ordered her son to be called to her, which name she would have 
 willingly obliterated in him, in order that she might not, by using 
 it, be admonished of her shameless passion. Nor did the young 
 man make any delay in obeying the mandate of his diseased 
 parent ; but, having his forehead wrinkled with passion [for her 
 pretended illness], like that of an old man, he went into the bed- 
 chamber of the wife of his father and the mother of his brother, 
 paying that obedience to her which was, in a certain respect, her 
 due. But she, being for a long time fatigued by tormenting 
 silence, and hesitating, as in a shallow of doubt, rejecting every 
 word, which she, at first, conceived to be most adapted to the 
 present occasion, and even now fluctuating through shame, she 
 was dubious whence she should assume the exordium of her 
 speech. The young man, however, not then suspecting anything 
 sinister, with a dejected countenance, spontaneously asked her, 
 What were the causes of her present disease ? Then she, avail- 
 ing herself of the pernicious opportunity afforded by solitude, 
 burst out into audacity, and weeping abundantly, and hiding her 
 face with her garment, with a trembling voice thus briefly ad- 
 dressed him : " You yourself are the whole cause and origin of 
 this my disease, and you are also the remedy, and the only health 
 of my life. For those eyes of yours, having penetrated through 
 my eyes into the most inward recesses of my breast, have there 
 excited a most vehement fire. Take pity, therefore, on me, who 
 am perishing for your sake. Nor should your reverential regard 
 for your father at all deter you, since, by complying with my 
 wishes, you will preserve for him a wife, who must otherwise die. 
 For I justly love you, in consequence of recognising his image 
 in your face. You will be perfectly secure, on account of the 
 solitude of the place, and you will also have leisure sufficient for 
 the accomplishment of this necessary crime : for that which no 
 one knows has nearly no existence." 
 
 The young man being disturbed by the sudden evil, though 
 he immediately abhorred such an abominable deed, yet did not 
 think it fit to exasperate her by the unseasonable severity of a 
 denial, but to appease her by the procrastination of a crafty 
 promise. He promised, therefore, abundantly, and earnestly 
 persuaded her to keep up her spirits, restore her strength by 
 nutriment, and pay attention to her health, till a free space 
 of time should be granted to pleasure, by some journey of his 
 father ; and he immediately withdrew himself from the noxious 
 view of his stepmother. Conceiving likewise that this great 
 destruction with which his house was threatened required more 
 abundant counsel, he immediately related the affair to a certain 
 aged tutor of well-tried gravity and prudence. And, after long- 
 
172 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 continued deliberation, nothing seemed to be so salutary, as to 
 escape the tempest of raging Fortune by a rapid flight. But the 
 woman, being impatient even of the smallest delay, having de- 
 vised a certain occasion, immediately persuaded her husband, 
 with wonderful art, to take a journey, with all speed, to certain 
 little farms which were situated at a great distance. Which 
 being done, she, precipitately urged by the insanity of acceler- 
 ated hope, demands the accomplishment of the promised grati- 
 fication of her lust. The young man, however, avoids her 
 execrable sight, adducing at one time this thing, and at another 
 that, as the cause of his delay ; till she manifestly perceiving, 
 from the variety of his messages, that he refused to fulfil his 
 promise to her, transferred, with a lubricous mobility, her 
 nefarious love to a far more pernicious hatred. And immedi- 
 ately calling a most iniquitous servant, whom she bad brought 
 with her dowry to her husband, and who was prepared for the 
 perpetration of any wickedness, she communicated to him the 
 counsels of her perfidy ; nor did any thing seem to them to be 
 better, than to deprive the miserable young man of life. She 
 immediately, therefore, sent this villanous servant to buy the 
 most effective poison, and, having diligently diluted it with wine, 
 she prepared it for the destruction of her innocent son-in- 
 law. 
 
 And while the wicked servant and stepmother deliberate with 
 themselves about the fit time of giving him the poison, it hap- 
 pened that the junior youth, who was the proper son of this most 
 abandoned woman, returning home after the labour of his morn- 
 ing studies, and being thirsty after takinp his breakfast, found the 
 cup of wine, in which the enclosed poison was concealed, and 
 drank it up at one draught, being ignorant of the latent fraud 
 which it contained ; who, as soon as he had drank the death 
 which had been prepared for his brother, fell lifeless on the 
 ground. Immediately the tutor of the youth, being agitated by 
 his sudden death, called the mother and all the family, with a 
 howling clamour. And now, the case of the noxious potion 
 being known, each of those that were present ascribed to difier- 
 ent authors the nefarious deed. But that dire woman, and who 
 was a singular example of novercal malice, not being at all moved 
 by the bitter death of her son, nor by the consciousness of parri- 
 cide, nor by the misfortune of her house, nor the grief of her 
 husband, nor funereal sorrow, took a shorter method of 
 revenge, by the destruction of her family. She immediately, 
 therefore, sent a courier to inform her husband, on his journey, 
 of the calamity that had befallen his house. And on his 
 arrival, he having rapidly returned, she, assuming excessive 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK X. 1 73 
 
 audacity, pretended that her son was destroyed by poison, 
 administered to him by her son-in-law. And, in asserting this 
 indeed, she did not altogether speak falsely, because the boy 
 had preoccupied the death which was prepared for the young 
 man. But she feigned that the younger brother was destroyed 
 through the wickedness of her son-in-law, because he was un- 
 willing to give assistance' to the disgraceful lust by which her 
 son-in-law had endeavoured to commit adultery with her. Nor 
 was she contented with lies so enormous, but she also added, 
 that he threatened her with a sword, because she had detected 
 his wickedness. Then the unhappy man, being greatly afflicted 
 by the death of both his sons, is agitated like the waves of the 
 sea, with mighty tempests of sorrow. For he saw his younger 
 son buried before his face, and he knew that his other son 
 would certainly be condemned to death for incest and parri- 
 cide. Besides this, also, he was impelled to extreme hatred of 
 this son by the feigned lamentations of his too dearly beloved 
 wife. 
 
 Scarcely, therefore, were the funeral rites pertaining to the 
 interment of his son performed, when immediately the miserable 
 old man hastily proceeded from his pyre to the forum, irrigating 
 his face with tears yet recent, and tearing his hoary hairs, 
 defiled with ashes. And there, with all his passions at work, 
 he endeavours to procure the destruction of his remaining son, 
 both by tears and supplications, and, for this purpose also, 
 embracing the knees of the senators, being ignorant of the 
 fraud of the most abandoned woman, he exclaimed that his 
 son was incestuous, through his attempting to violate the 
 paternal bed, a parricide through the death of his brother, and 
 a matricide, because he had attempted to kill his stepmother. 
 Lastly, thus lamenting, he inflamed with so much commisera- 
 tion, and with such great indignation, the senate and the people, 
 that, laying aside the tediousness of a judicial process, and the 
 manifest proofs of accusation, and also the meditated labyrinths 
 of answer, they all cried out, that a public evil should be 
 punished publicly, and that [the author of] it should be 
 destroyed by being overwhelmed with stones. In the mean- 
 time, the magistrates, through the fear of peculiar danger, viz. 
 lest sedition should proceed from the small elements of indig- 
 nation, to the destruction of discipline and the city itself, began 
 partly to beseech the senators, and partly to restrain the people, 
 that sentence might be pronounced conformably to the civil 
 
 5 In the oriipnal, in all the editions of Apuleius. fuod ejus fraime Ubidini, fui-u 
 eomprimtn Untmvtrml, naiuisstt succumbtre. But, for tuccumieri, I read tmtcurrert. 
 
174 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 law, judgment being properly passed according to the custom 
 of their ancestors, and the allegations on both sides [equitably] 
 examined. They added, " That no one should be condemned 
 without a hearing, after the manner of Barbaric fierceness, or 
 tyrannic yiolence, since by so doing, they would leave, in this 
 time of profound peace, a dire example to posterity." 
 
 The salutary counsel pleased them ; and immediately the 
 crier was ordered to proclaim that the senators should assemble 
 together in the senate-house. But when these were seated in 
 their accustomed places, according to the order of their dignity, 
 the crier again calling, the first accuser came forward. Then, 
 in the last place, the defendant also being cited, was introduced. 
 And the crier, in conformity to the Attic law, and that of the 
 Areopagus, announced to the advocates, that they should plead 
 without preambles, and without endeavouring to excite com- 
 miseration. I knew that these things were thus transacted 
 from what was said by many in their conferences with each 
 other. But as I was not present at the trial, because I was tied 
 to the manger, I could not know what words the accuser 
 employed, nor by what arguments the defendant confuted him, 
 nor in short, what were the speeches and answers ; nor can I 
 narrate to you things of which I am ignorant ; but I shall only 
 commit to writing what I have found to be certainly true. 
 For as soon as the contention of the orators was finished, the 
 senators thought fit that the truth and credibility of the crimes 
 should be shown by certain proofs, and that a thing of such 
 great consequence should not be left to suspicions and conjec- 
 ture.* They, likewise, thought it requisite that the servant who 
 was said to be the only one that knew these things were thus 
 transacted, should, by all means, be brought forward. Nor was 
 that disciple of the cross'' in the least disturbed, either by the 
 doubtful event of so great a prosecution, or by the view of a 
 full court, or even by his own evil conscience, but began to 
 affirm and assert those things which he had himself devised, as 
 if they were true. For he said, " That the young man, being 
 indignant with the fastidiousness of his mother-in-law, had 
 called him ; that, in order to avenge the mjury, he had ordered 
 him to destroy her son ; that he had promised him a great 
 reward if he was silent ; that on his refusing to do what he 
 wished, he had threatened him with death ; that he had 
 delivered to him the poison diluted with his own hand, to be 
 
 6 In the original, nee suspicionihus tantan conjecturam perttiitti placuit; but for 
 conjecturam, I read eettjeciurisque, after tantofti, rem being understood. 
 
 7 In theoriginal, cruciarius, which, according to Plautus, signifies diseipulus erucis. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK X. 1 75 
 
 given to his brother; and that on his suspecting he had 
 neglected to give him the potion, and had reserved it for a 
 proof of the trime, he at length had extended it to the boy with 
 his own hand." When this villanous knave, with a feigned 
 trepidation, had uttered these egregious lies, which had very 
 much the appearance of truth, the inquiries and proofs were 
 finished. Nor was any one of the senators so favourable to the 
 young man, as not to pronounce, that he ought to be sewed up 
 in a leathern sack, as he was evidently found to be guilty of the 
 crime of which he was accused. 
 
 The opinions of all of them being concordant, according to a 
 custom perpetually observed, they were to have been committed 
 to writing [in tablets or shells], and put into an urn, after which 
 the die being cast, it was not lawful for any thing to be changed, 
 but the life of the accused person was in the hands of the execu- 
 tioner. Before this, however, could be done, a certain physician 
 belonging to the senate, of an advanced age, of transcendent 
 fidelity, and of great authority, covering with his hand the orifice 
 of the urn, lest any one should rashly put into it his shell, thus 
 addressed the court : " I rejoice that I have lived long, because, 
 even as far as to this period of my life, I have obtained your ap- 
 probation. Nor will I suffer a manifest homicide to be perpe- 
 trated, since this defendant is accused of false crimes ; nor you 
 who, being bound by an oath, act as judges, to commit perjury, 
 being induced to do so by the lying testimony of a servant. I 
 myself cannot bear to decide iniquitously, deceiving my own con- 
 science, and trampling on the reverence which is due to the Gods. 
 Learn, therefore, from me, the truth of the affair. This villanous 
 fellow, being solicitous to procure the most effective poison, which 
 he said was necessary for a certain sick person, who being vehe- 
 mently aiHicted by the long continuance of an incurable disease, 
 was anxious to withdraw himself from the torments of life ; this 
 fellow came to me some time ago, and offered me a hundred 
 golden solidi [i.e., a hundred shillings], for the purchase of the 
 poison. But I, perceiving the vain blabbering of that iniquitous 
 knave, and that he assic^ned unappropriate causes, and also being 
 certain that he was about to perpetrate something iniquitous, I 
 gave him indeed a potion, but providing for an investigation into 
 the affair which might be made at some future time, I did not 
 immediately accept the price which he offered me. But I said 
 to him, 'Lest by chance some one of these golden solidi which 
 you offer me, should be found to be bad, or adulterated, deposit 
 them in this bag, and impress it with your own seal, till they are 
 to-morrow examined in the presence of a banker.' Being 
 persuaded by what I said, he sealed the money, which,, 
 
176 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 immediately after he was brought here to give evidence, I 
 ordered one of my servants to take speedily from my shop, and 
 bring it to this place. And. behold, I will exhibit them to you 
 taken out of the bag. Let him see, and recognise his own seal. 
 For how can the son-in-law of the stepinother be accused 
 of having procured the poison which this servant bought?" 
 
 After this, a great trepidation seized the villain ; a deadly 
 paleness succeeded to his native colour ; and a cold sweat ran 
 through all his members. Then he began to move his feet with 
 uncertain alternations ; to scratch now this, now that part of bis 
 head; and to utter foolishly I know not what trifles, stammering 
 with a half-closed mouth; so that no one could justly think him 
 to be entirely innocent of the crime. His craft, however, being 
 again restored, he did not cease to deny the charge most firmly, 
 and to accuse the physician of a lie. But the physician, inde- 
 pendently of his being bound by oath to decide justly, when he 
 saw that his honour was openly lacerated, endeavoured, with an 
 increased effort, to confute that nefarious knave ; till the public 
 servants, by order of the magistrates, taking hold of the hands 
 of the most iniquitous servant, found the iron ring, and 
 compared it with the seal of the bag: which comparison 
 corroborated the preceding suspicion. Nor were the wheel and 
 the rack called equuleus wanting, prepared for the purpose of 
 tormenting him, after the manner of the Greeks. But he, being 
 strengthened by a wonderful audacity, did not succumb to any 
 blows, nor even to fire itself. Then the physician said, " I will 
 not suffer, by Hercules, I will not suffer, either that you should 
 punish that innocent young man unjustly, or that this fellow 
 should escape the punishment of his nefarious deed, our 
 judgment being frustrated. For I will give you evident proof 
 of the present affair. When this most abandoned man was 
 anxious to procure the deadly poison, but I did not think it 
 accorded with my art to administer to any one the causes of 
 death, having learnt that medicine was not sought after for the 
 destruction, but for the preservation of men ; fearing lest, if I 
 refused to give it to him, I should open for him a path to 
 wickedness by an unseasonable repulse, and that he would 
 accomplish the nefarious design he had begun, either by buying 
 a deadly potion from some other person, or lastly, by the swor(£ 
 or some different weapon ; fearing this, I gave him not poison, 
 but a preparation of that somniferous plant mandrake, famous 
 for the torpor which it occasions, and which produces a sleep 
 most similar to death. Nor is it wonderful that this most 
 desperate knave, being certain of suffering the extreme 
 punishment which must befal him conformably to the custom 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK X. 1 77 
 
 of our ancestors, should easily endure these torments, as things 
 of a lighter nature. But if the boy has really taken the potion 
 which w,is tempered by my hands, he still lives, is in a quiescent 
 state, and sleeps ; and immediately on the oppressive sleep 
 being dissipated, he will return to the lucid day. But if he has 
 truly perished, if he is truly overtaken by death, you may from 
 other sources investigate the causes of his destruction." 
 
 The old man having thus addressed the senators, they 
 assented to what he said ; and immediately proceeded with great 
 haste to that sepulchre, in which the body of the boy was 
 deposited. There was not any one of the senate, nor any one 
 among those of the first rank, that did not run thither, impelled 
 by curiosity. And behold, the father himself, having with his 
 own hands removed the lid of the cofBn, found his son rising 
 from death, the deadly sleep being just then dissipated ; and 
 having most closely embraced him, and not being able to 
 express in words his present joy, he led him forth to the people, 
 and the boy was brought into court, in the condition in which 
 he still was bound and wrapt in funeral garments. Now, 
 likewise, the naked truth was obvious to every one, the 
 wickedness being manifested of the most iniquitous servant, and 
 of the still more abandoned woman. And the stepmother, 
 indeed, was condemned to perpetual exile; but the servant 
 was hanged ; and by the consent of all, the golden solidi were 
 given to the good physician, as the reward of the opportune 
 sleep which he had procured. Thus the famous and fabulous* 
 fortune of that old man received a termination worthy the 
 providence of the Gods ; since in a slender moment, or rather 
 in the smallest point of time, he suddenly became the father of 
 two young men, after he had been in danger of losing both. 
 
 But I, at that time, was rolled about by such tempestuous 
 waves of Fate as the following ; That soldier who bought me 
 without anyone selling me, and who made me his own without 
 price, paying due obedience to the mandate of his tribune, 
 being about to carry letters to the great prince [i.e. to the 
 emperor], towards Rome, sold me for eleven pence to two 
 servants in the neighbourhood, who were brothers. The master 
 of these was a very opulent man. But one of them was a 
 confectioner, who made bread and eatables tempered with 
 honey; and the other was a cook, who, by the assistance of 
 heat, made minced meat seasoned with the sweetest juices of 
 bruised herbs and aromatics. These two, dwelling together. 
 
 8 i,e. As the Delphin editors well observe, it was a fortune so wonderrul, as scarcely 
 to be believed ; or it was tragical, and worthy to be exhibited in fables or tragedies. 
 
 M 
 
178 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 lived in common, and bought me for the purpose of carrying 
 those numerous vessels which were necessary to their masters 
 for various uses, when they travelled through many regions. I 
 was taken, therefore, as a third companion with those : not 
 having at any time [of my transformation], experienced a fortune 
 so benevolent. For, in the evening, after most sumptuous 
 suppers, and the most splendid apparatus of them, my masters 
 were accustomed to take into their own little room many frag- 
 ments ; one of them, the most ample remains of pigs, chicken, 
 fishes, and mince meat of every kind ; but the other bread, 
 pastry, spice cakes, tarts in the shape of hooks and lizards, and 
 many honied sweetmeats. When these two having fastened 
 the door of their chamber, went to the baths, for the sake of 
 refreshing themselves, I abundantly feasted myself on the 
 dainties which were offered to me through the favour of the 
 Gods. For I was not so stupid, and so truly an ass, as to eat 
 very hard and rough hay, neglecting that most delicious food. 
 And for a long time, indeed, the artifice of my theft succeeded 
 most beautifully, because, as yet, I stole timidly, and in a 
 sufficiently sparing manner, a few things out of so many, and 
 they did not suspect any fraud in an ass. But when, becoming 
 still more confident of concealment, I devoured the most 
 exquisite fragments, and, rejecting the more rancid, began to 
 eat the sweeter morsels; no small suspicion stimulated the 
 minds of the brothers. And though they did not then believe 
 any such thing of me, nevertheless, they diligently investigated 
 the author of their daily loss. At length, also, they accused 
 each other of that most disgraceful rapine. And now they 
 bestowed greater care, and a more vigilant observation, and 
 counted the fragments. 
 
 At length, being no longer restrained by bashfulness, one of 
 them thus addressed the other: "It is neither equitable, nor 
 courteous, that you should daily purloin the choicest parts, and 
 by selling them, latently increase your wealth, and yet contend 
 for an equal division of what remains. For in short, if our 
 partnership is displeasing to you, we may indeed remain brothers 
 so far as pertains to every thing else, and yet depart from this 
 bond of communion. For I see that complaint of the loss, 
 proceeding to infinity, nourishes very great discord between us." 
 To this the other replied, " I also, by Hercules, applaud your 
 perseverance, that after you have daily and secretly stolen 
 fragments, you have prevented the complaint, which I have for 
 a long time silently and sorrowfully retained, lest I should seem 
 to accuse my brother of sordid rapine. But it is well, that by 
 speaking to each other, we seek a remedy for our loss, lest our 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK X. 1 79 
 
 dissembled hatred increasing by silence, should excite in us 
 Eteoclerin contentions."' After these, and other similar re- 
 proaches arising from their mutual altercation, they both of 
 them swore that they had not committed any fraud, nor any 
 theft; nut agreed, that they ought by all possible means to 
 search after the thief, who was the cause of their common loss. 
 For they said, it was not possible that the ass, which alone was 
 present, could be delighted with such kind of food: and yet 
 the choicest portions of it were daily not to be found. They 
 added, that neither did flies so large as were the Harpies of 
 old, who took away by violence the food of Phineas, wing their 
 way mto their apartment. 
 
 In the meantime, I, being largely fed with dainty morsels, 
 and abundantly satisfied with human food, filled my body with 
 gross fat ; rendered my hide soft with succulent suet ; and 
 nourished my hairs with a liberal neatness. But that graceful- 
 ness of my body produced a great disgrace to my modesty. For 
 they being excited [to suspicion] by the unusual distention of my 
 hide, and perceiving that my hay remained daily untouched, they 
 now directed all their attention to me. And having as usual shut 
 the doors at the accustomed hour, as if they were going to the 
 baths, they beheld me through a certain small chink, intently 
 eating the fragments which were every where exposed. Now, 
 therefore, laying aside all concern of their loss, they burst into 
 a loud laugh, admiring the monstrous^" delicacies of an ass ; and 
 having called many of their fellow-servants, they pointed out to 
 them the voracity of a sluggish ass, a thing horrible to relate. 
 At length laughter so great and so unrestrained seized on all of 
 them, that it also reached the ears of the master, who was passing 
 that way. He, therefore, inquiring what good had occurred to 
 make his servants laugh so excessively, and having learnt \Yhat 
 the aflfair was, he, likewise, looking through the same chink, was 
 extremely delighted. And afterwards, he also breaking out into 
 laughter so unrestrained as to cause pain in his intestines, and 
 having opened the door of the chamber, came nearer to me, and 
 considered me more attentively. For I, beholding the counten- 
 ance of Fortune in a certain respect smiling more propitiously 
 upon me, continued eating tranquilly, not in the least disturbed ; 
 the joy of those that were present affording me confidence ; till 
 the master of the house being exhilarated by the novelty of the 
 spectacle, ordered me to be led to the supper room ; or rather 
 
 9 Alluding to the fatal strife between Kleocle; and liis brolhsr Piilynices. See book 
 xii. of the Thebais of Statius. 
 
 IP They were monstrous, because they were not llic natural food of an ass. 
 
I So THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 he brought me to it with his own hands ; and the table being 
 furnished, he directed every kind of solid food to be placed be- 
 fore me, and such delicacies as had not been touched. But I, 
 though I was well crammed, yet desiring to render myself more 
 acceptable, and more commendable to him, ate as if I had been 
 hungry of the food that was placed before me. For they, 
 prompted by curiosity, thinking of every thing which an ass 
 mostly abhors, offered it to me, for the purpose of exploring my 
 mildness ; such as flesh seasoned with the juice of the herb 
 masterwort, birds sprinkled over with pepper, and fish that had 
 been pickled. In the meantime, the banquet resounded with 
 excessive laughter. 
 
 At length, a certain buffoon who was present, said, " Give 
 some wine to this guest." To which the master assenting, 
 answered, " Knave, you have not spoken absurdly : for it is very 
 possible that our comrade will also willingly drink a cup of 
 mead." And he said, " Come hither, boy, wash well that golden 
 cup, fill it with mead, and offer it to my parasite ; and, at the 
 same time, admonish him that I have previously drank to 
 him." After this, a great expectation was excited among the 
 guests. Nevertheless, I, not being at all disturbed, drank, at 
 one draught, all that was contained in that most capacious cup, 
 leisurely, and in a sufficiently pleasant manner, incurvating the 
 extremity of my lip in the shape of a tongue. A clamour was 
 raised, through all of them, with one according voice, drinking 
 my health. Lastly ; the master being excessively joyful, and 
 having called the servants that bought me, ordered that four 
 times the sum which they had paid for me should he given to 
 them ; and he delivered me to a certain person who had been 
 his slave, but was now manumitted, to whom he was very much 
 attached, and who was very rich, and desired him to pay me 
 every requisite attention. This man nourished me in a sufficiently 
 humane and kind manner ; and, that he might render himself 
 more acceptable to his patron, most studiously furnished him 
 with delight through my pleasantry. And, in the first place, 
 indeed, he taught me to sit down at table, leaning on my elbow ; 
 afterwards, to wrestle, and to dance, my fore feet being elevated ; 
 and, which was especially admirable, to use signs instead of 
 words ; so that I could indicate what I wished by raising, and 
 what I did not wish by declining my head. He also taught me, 
 when I was thirsty, to look at the cup-bearer, and to ask for 
 drink by alternately closing my eyes. And to all these things I 
 was very readily obedient ; which, indeed, I should have done, 
 though no one had shown me how to do them. But I was fear- 
 ful, lest, if I should happen to perform them, after the manner 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK X. l8l 
 
 of men, without a master, most would think it portended sinister 
 events, and that I, as a monster and prodigy, should lose my 
 head, and be given for fat provender to vultures. 
 
 And now my fame was spread abroad publicly, by which I 
 rendered my master illusirious and famous, through my wonder- 
 ful arts. This, said the people, is the man who has an ass for 
 his guest and associate ; an ass that wrestles and dances, that 
 jests, and understands the language of men, and indicates what 
 it means by nods. It is now, however, requisite that I should 
 inform you, though I ought to have done it m the beginning, 
 who that 'rhyasus was, or whence he originated ; for this was 
 the name of my master. The country in which he was born 
 was Corinth, which city ranks as the chief of all the province of 
 Achaia. And, as he had gradually obtained all the honours 
 which his pedigree and dignity demanded, he had been ap- 
 pointed to the office of a quinquennial magistrate. In order, 
 therefore, that he might act conformably to the splendour of 
 that office, he had promised that he would exhibit, during the 
 space of three days, the spectacle of prize-fighting ; but he had 
 still more amply extended his munificence. Lastly, he had 
 then also come to Thessaly, through the desire of public glory, 
 in order to procure from thence the most noble wild beasts and 
 famous gladiators. And now, having bought and disposed of 
 every thing according to his wish, he was preparing to return 
 home. Despising, however, his own most splendid chariots, 
 and undervaluing his beautiful coaches and waggons, which 
 were being drawn along empty at the extremity of his train, 
 some of them being covered and others open ; neglecting also 
 the Thessalian horses and his other Gallic labouring beasts, by 
 which a generous offspring bears testimony to the precious 
 dignity of its origin; despising and neglecting all these, he rode 
 most lovingly on me, who was decorated with golden trappings, 
 dyed saddles, purple coverings, silver bridles, painted girths, 
 and very sonorous little bells, and sometimes he spoke to me 
 in the most courteous language. Among many other things 
 also which he said, he professed to be in the highest degree 
 delighted, that he possessed in me, at one and the same time, 
 a companion and a carrier. 
 
 But when, having finished our journey, partly by land and 
 partly by sea, we came to Corinth, a great crowd of the citizens 
 ran to meet us, not so much for the purpose of doing honour 
 to Thyasus, as from a desire of seeing me. For so great a 
 rumour had pervaded that city about me, that I was the source 
 of no small gain to my governor; who, when he perceived 
 many longing with great desire to see my sports, he shut the 
 
1 82 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 door, and introduced each of them separately, having first 
 received money from them, by which means he was accustomed 
 daily to collect no small sums. In that assembly there was a 
 certain matron, powerful and opulent, who, after the manner of 
 the rest, having purchased a sight of me, and from thenceforth 
 was delighted with my multiform pastimes, fell, at length, 
 gradually, through her continual admiration, into a wonderful 
 desire of enjoying me, and, not applying any remedy to her 
 insane lust, ardently waited for my embraces, like an asinine 
 Pasiphae. At length she prevailed on my keeper, for a great 
 sum of money, to let me lie with her for one night. But that 
 knave, in order that he might derive advantage from me, being 
 only satisfied with his own gain, assented. 
 
 And now, the laborious and wakeful night being finished, 
 the woman withdrew from my embraces, avoiding the conscious 
 testimony of the light, and making a contract with my keeper 
 for some future night, at the same price. Nor did he unwillingly 
 accede to her voluptuous desires, partly induced by the very 
 ample reward which he received from her, and partly through 
 the opportunity afforded him of preparing a new spectacle for 
 his lord ; to whom, without delay, he unfolded the whole scene 
 of our lust. But he, having magnificently rewarded his manu- 
 mitted servant, destined me to be shown in public. And, 
 because that egregious wife of mine could not be [publicly 
 connected with me], on account of her dignity, nor any other 
 could be found, [for the same purpose], a certain vile woman, 
 who had been sentenced by the prefect to be devoured by wild 
 beasts, was procured, for a great sum of money, to have con- 
 nexion with me in the enclosure of the theatre, in the sight of 
 all the spectators. Of this woman I have heard the following 
 history : she had a husband, [a young rnan,J whose father, 
 undertaking a journey, ordered his wife, who was the mother of 
 that same young man, and whom he left oppressed with the 
 burden of pregnancy, that if she brought forth an infant of the 
 inferior sex, she should immediately cause that of which she 
 was delivered to be slain. But she, during the absence of her 
 husband, having brought forth a girl, and, being moved by the 
 pious affection naturally inherent in a mother, revolted from 
 the mandate of her husband, and delivered it to be nourished 
 by one of her neighbours. Her husband also having now 
 returned, she told him that she had been delivered of a 
 daughter, and that she was destroyed. But as soon as the 
 flower of age required a nuptial day should be appointed for 
 the virgin, and as she could not give a dowry suitable to the 
 parentage of her daughter, unknown to her husband, she did 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK X. 183 
 
 that which she could alone do, viz. she unfolded the secret to 
 her son, which had hitherto been concealed in silence; for 
 she was very much afraid, lest he, erring through the im- 
 pulse of juvenile ardour, by some accident, should ignorantly 
 have connexion with his sister, who was also ignorant that 
 he was her broiher. But this young man, who was re- 
 markably pious, and who religiously obeyed the mandates 
 of his mother, and performed the duties due to his sister, 
 delivered the arcana of his house to the custody of venerable 
 Silence, exhiijiting only by his countenance a vulgar bene- 
 volence towards his sister. And he undertook, in such a way, 
 to perform the necessary duty of consanguinity, that he received 
 her into the protection of his own house, as if she had been 
 some desolate neighbouring virgin, and deprived of the guardian 
 care of her parents; and soon after he placed her with a certain 
 most dear associate of his, and most liberally bestowed on her 
 a dowry from his own property. But these things being well 
 disposed, and in the best manner, and with all sanctity, could 
 not escape the deadly nod of Fortune, by whose impulse a 
 cruel rivalship immediately directed its course to the house 
 of the young man. And this same wife of his, who was now 
 condemned to wild beasts for these very crimes, began first to 
 entertain a suspicion of the girl, as the rival of her bed, and 
 a harlot; in the next place to detest her; and in the third 
 place to contrive the most cruel snares for her destruction. 
 
 In the last place, she devised the following wicked stratagem: 
 having stolen the ring of her husband, she went into the country, 
 and from thence sent a servant, who was faithful indeed to her, 
 but perfectly hostile to Fidelity herself, and told him to inform 
 the girl that the young man was gone to her village, and desired 
 her to come to him ; and added, that she was to go alone, with 
 all possible celerity, and without any attendant. And, lest any 
 doubt should happen to arise in her mind about the propriety 
 of going, she delivered to him the ring which she had taken 
 from her husband, which, being shown, would give credibility to 
 his words. But she, complying with the mandate of her 
 brother (for she alone knew that he was her brother), and 
 having also inspected his seal, which was shown to her, 
 strenuously hastened to go unattended, as she was desired to do. 
 As soon, however, as, through the deception of extreme fraud, 
 she fell into the snares which were prepared for her, then that 
 egregious wife, being insanely excited by the stimulus of 
 libidinous fury, in the first place, indeed, having stript her 
 naked, whipt her even to the extremity of torment; and 
 afterwards, though she explained the thing as it really was, and 
 
184 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 also exclaimed, that she in vain boiled over with indignation, 
 through conceiving her to be a harlot, and frequently repeated 
 the name of her brother, she slew her by thrusting a burning 
 torch into her private parts, as if she had lied, and invented all 
 that she had told her. Then the brother and her husband, 
 being excited by the news of her cruel death, flew to her, and 
 having mourned the fate of the girl with various lamentations, 
 committed her to the grave. Nor could the young man endure 
 with equanimity such a miserable death of his sister, by her by 
 whom it was by no means equitable it should have been 
 occasioned ; but, being most profoundly grieved, and wholly 
 possessed by the noxious fury of the most vehement bile, he 
 began, from that time, to burn with a raging fever ; so that for 
 him also a remedy seemed to be necessary. But his wife, who 
 some time ago had lost the name, together with the fidelity, of 
 a wife, went to a certain physician, well known for his perfidy, 
 who, being famous for his victories in many contests, could 
 enumerate great trophies which his right hand had obtained, ^^ 
 and immediately promised hirn fifty sestertia,^^ in order that he 
 indeed might sell poison so efficacious as to destroy in a 
 moment, but that she might buy the death of her husband. 
 This being done, she and the physician pretended that the most 
 excellent potion which they had brought, and which the more 
 learned called sacred, was" necessary for mitigating pains of the 
 viscera, and carrying off the bile ; but, in its stead, they substi- 
 tuted a potion sacred to the health of Prosperine.^'' And now 
 the physician extended to the sick man, with his ovn hand, the 
 well-tempered cup, his own family and some of his friends and 
 kindred being present. But that audacious woman, in order 
 that she might destroy [the physician] the partner of her guilt, 
 and, at the same time, be enriched by the money which she had 
 promised, retaining the cup in the sight of all of them, said, "O 
 best of physicians, you shall not give this potion to my most 
 dear husband, till you have drank a good part of it yourself. For 
 how do I know whether a noxious poison may not be concealed 
 in it ? And this is a thing which should by no means offend 
 you, who are a man so prudent and learned, that I, as a religious 
 wife, being solicitous for the safety of my husband, perform a 
 necessary duty of piety." The physician, being suddenly 
 agitated by the desperate audacity of the cruel woman, and 
 
 1 1 The battles or contests of this worthless physician were the envenomed potions by 
 which he attaclced the lives of men, and his victories were their deaths. 
 
 12 i.e. Ten pound.s, eif;ht shillings, and four pence. 
 
 13 i.e. An envenomed potion, which causes men to become the property of Prosperine. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK X. 185 
 
 totally deprived of all counsel, and of every opportunity of 
 thinking, through the shortness of the time, drank largely of the 
 potion, before he had raised any suspicion of his evil conscience 
 by any trepidation or delay. And the young man, following his 
 example, took the cup and drank what wap offered to him. 
 
 The present business being thus transacted, the physician 
 prepared to return home with the greatest celerity, in order that 
 he might extinguish the deadly power of the poison which he 
 had taken, by a salutiferous potion. But the barbarous woman, 
 persisting in the same sacrilegious obstinacy as that which she 
 had adopted from the first, would not suffer him to depart from 
 her the breadth of a nail, till, as she said, the e.fect of the 
 medicine was evidently proved, in consequence of the potion 
 being distributed through the whole body. But being much, 
 and for a long time, wearied by his prayers and e.irnest 
 entreaties, she at length scarcely permitted him to depart. In 
 the meantime, his most inward parte attracted the occult 
 destruction which raged through all his viscera ; and, at last, he 
 with great difficulty came to his own house, very ill, and now 
 oppressed with a somnolent heaviness. Scarcely also being 
 able to rwrrate every particular, he ordered his wife to demand, 
 at least," the promised reward of a double death.i* And thus 
 that most illustrious physician, being destroyed by violence, 
 gave up the ghost. Nor did that young man live any longer 
 than the physician, but perished by a similar kind of death, 
 amidst the fictitious and false tears of his wife. And he, being 
 now buried, after a few days^° had intervened, during which 
 funeral rites are performed to the dead, the wife of the physician 
 came and demanded the money which was due for the double 
 death. But the woman, always like herself, overpowering the 
 real form of fidelity, and exhibiting only its image, mildly 
 answered her, and promised every thing liberally and abundantly 
 and agreed to pay the stipulated sura, without delay; only 
 adding, that she wished she would give her a little of that 
 potion, for the purpose of accomplishing the business she had 
 begun. This the wife of the physician, inveigled by the many 
 snares ofthe most wicked frauds, readily consented to do. And that 
 she might render herself more acceptable to the opulent woman, 
 hastily returned home, and immediately afterwards delivered to 
 her the whole box of poison. Having, therefore, now obtained 
 the grand instrument of wickedness, she extended far and wide 
 her sanguinary hands. 
 
 14 /.f. Ofthe liick man and the phyiician. 
 
 15 i.e. Nine days, on the last of which a sacrifice was performed aalled Novendiale. 
 
1 86 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 She had a little daughter by the husband whom she had 
 lately killed ; and she was very indignant that the laws would 
 necessarily give to this little one the inheritance of her father. 
 Greedily desiring also the patrimony of her daughter, she 
 waited only for an opportunity of destroying her. Being 
 certain, therefore, that mothers received the immature inherit- 
 ances of their deceased children, she showed herself to be such 
 a parent, as she had proved herself to be a wife. And preten- 
 ding to prepare a dinner, in consequence ota circumstance that 
 had occurred, she attacked, with the same poison, both the wife 
 of the physician and her own daughter. But that deadly venom 
 immediately consumed the tender viscera of the little girl. The 
 wife of the physician, however, while the tempest of the 
 detestable potion wandered through her lungs with its noxious 
 windings, fir.it suspecting what the thing was, and afterwards, 
 through the oppression of her breath, being now more certain 
 [that her suspicion was right], went to the house of ttie prefect 
 of the province, and, with a great clamour, imploring his 
 assistance, a tumult of the people also being excited, in 
 consequence of the disclosure she was about to make of such 
 barbarous wickedness, she occasioned both the house and the 
 ears of the prefect to be immediately opened. And now, 
 having accurately narrated all the atrocities of this most cruel 
 woman, from the beginning, being suddenly seized with a dark 
 vertigo of the mind, she compressed her lips, which were still 
 half open, and having for a long time produced a crashing noise 
 by the gnashing of her teeth, she fell lifeless at the feet of the 
 prefect. But he, though he was a man accustomed to things of 
 tliis kind, would not suffer the multiform wickedness of this 
 execrable sor>:eress to flag by a languid delay ; but immediately 
 ordered the chambermaids of the woman to be brought before 
 him, and, by the force of torments, extorted from them the 
 truth. He also sentenced her to a punishment which was 
 indeed less than she deserved, viz. that she should be cast to 
 wild beasts, l)ecause he could not find any other torment so 
 adapted to the enormity of her guilt. 
 
 With such a woman as this it was determined that I should 
 be publicly connected, as if I had been lawfully married to her. 
 And, being very much vexed, I waited with great anxiety for 
 the day of the spectacle; being frequently willing to destroy 
 myself with my own hand, rather than be defiled by coming 
 into contact with such an abandoned woman, or be defamed by 
 the disgrace of a public spectacle. But, as I was deprived of 
 human hands, and was also destitute of fingers, I could by no 
 means draw a sword with my round and imperfect hoof. How- 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK X. 187 
 
 ever, I consoled myself in my extreme misery, with a slender 
 hope; because, the spring now beginning to appear, would 
 paint every thing with florid buds, and would now clothe the 
 meadows with a purple splendour ; and roses would then burst 
 forth, exhaling the sweetest odours, which would restore me to 
 my former Lucius [i.e. to my pristine form]. Behold, the day 
 destined to the spectacle was present, and I was led into the 
 arena, the people following me with triumphant applause. 
 And while the beginning of the spectacle was dedicated to the 
 sportive dances of the players, I, in the meantime, being placed 
 before the gate, gladly fed on the very flourishing grass which 
 germinated in the entrance ; now and then, also, refreshing my 
 inquisitive eyes with the most agreeable prospect of the spec- 
 tacle, because the gate was open. For boys and virgins, 
 flourishing in florid youth, conspicuous for their beauty, in 
 splendid garments, acting as they walked, dancing the Greek 
 Pyrrhic dance, ^^ and disposed in ranks, performed graceful 
 circuits ; now turning round in an orb like a wheel, now 
 connected by their hands in an oblique order, and afterwards, 
 being disposed into the form of a wedge with a square aperture, 
 and then becoming separated into two troops. But, after the 
 clangour of the terminating trumpet had dissolved the manifold 
 circuits of the reciprocal movements, the hangings being re- 
 moved, and the curtains folded, a representation of [the fable 
 of] Paris was prepared, as follows : 
 
 There was a wooden mountain made in imitation of that 
 celebrated mountain, which Homer calls Ida. This was of 
 a lofty structure, was planted with grass plats and living trees, 
 and from its highest top emitted river water, from a fountain 
 flowing through the contrivance of the artist. A few goats 
 cropped the grass, and a certain young man, excellently clothed 
 with Barbaric^'' vestments dependent from his shoulders, and 
 having his head covered with a golden tiara, after the manner 
 of the Phrygian shepherd, Paris, pretended to be skilled in the 
 pastoral discipline. A beautiful boy also was present, naked, 
 except that a robe, adapted to a child, covered his left 
 shoulder. This boy was every way conspicuous for his yellow 
 hair, among which little golden wings, associated by a similar 
 
 16 The Pyrrhic dance was a dance of armed men, invented by one Pyrrhus, a Creten- 
 sian, according te Pliny ; or by Pyrrhus, the son of Achille.s, who, as Aristotle says, was 
 the first that danced the Prrybic dance at the funeral of Patroclus ; or, lastly, it was 
 invented by a certain Laccdasmonian, Pyrrichus, according to Aristoxenus, Strabo, and 
 Soliniis. 
 
 17 i.c. Piirygiau embroidered ve»lnients. For the Phrygians were the first thai 
 adorned their garments with embroidery. 
 
1 88 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 alliance, were prominent; and the caduceus and the wand 
 indicated that the boy was Mercury. He, running with a 
 dancing motion, and carrying in his right hand an apple gilt 
 with spangles, extended it to him who represented Paris, and 
 announced to him by signs the mandate of Jupiter. Imme- 
 diately after, elegantly receding, he departed from the view. 
 A girl succeeded, of a beautiful face, and resembling the 
 Goddess Juno : for her head was begirt with a white diadem, 
 and she also carried a sceptre. Another virgin entered, whom 
 you might believe to be Minerva, having her head covered 
 with a fiilgid helmet, and the helmet itself was covered with an 
 olive-coloured crown. She also lifted up a shield [i.e. the 
 jegisj, and shook a spear, and appeared to be such as she is 
 when she fights. After these, another female entered, of 
 surpassing beaut)', representing Venus by the decoration of 
 her divine colour, and such as Venus was when she was a 
 virgin, exhibiting perfect beauty in a body naked and un- 
 covered, except that her private parts were inumbrated by a 
 thin silken garment, the fringe of which the busy wind, in 
 a sufficiently amorous manner, now wantonly blew back, that, 
 being removed, the flower of her age might be manifest, and 
 now luxuriantly blew upon, that, by close adherence, the 
 pleasure which the members [i.e. the private parts] were formed 
 to give might be delineated. But the colour itself of the 
 Goddess was various to the view. For her body was white, 
 because she descended from heaven, and her silken garment 
 was azure, because she emerged from the sea. 
 
 And now the several virgins who represented Goddesses 
 were surrounded by their attendants : Juno indeed by Castor 
 and Pollux, whose heads were covered with round helmets, 
 conspicuous by the stars which glittered on their summits. 
 But those representatives of the twin brothers were young 
 actors. This virgin [Juno], proceeding with a tranquil and 
 unaffected gesticulation, conformably to the various modula- 
 tions of the wantonly-sounding flute, promised the shepherd, 
 by modest signs, that she would bestow on him the empire of 
 all Asia, if he adjuged to her the palm of beauty. But two 
 boys, who represented Terror and Fear, the armour-bearing 
 attendants of the warlike Goddess, dancing with drawn swords, 
 surrounded that virgin who, by the arms with which she was 
 adorned, represented Minerva. And a piper who was behind 
 her played a Dorian [i.e. a warlike] tune, and, mingling sharp 
 tinkling with flat sounds, excited the vigour of brisk dancing, 
 after the manner of a trumpet. This girl, by tossing her head, 
 looking with threatening eyes, and walking with a quick and 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULKIUS. — BOOK X. 189 
 
 intorted step, signified to P*is by her cheerful gesticulation, 
 that, if he gave to her the victory of beauty, he should become, 
 through her assistance, brave and illustrious by the trophies of 
 war. Then Venus stood gracefully, in the very middle of the 
 scene, sweetly smiling, accompanied by the great applause of 
 [ the spectators, and surrounded by a crowd of rejoicing boys. 
 You would say, that those smooth and fair boys were Cupids, 
 and real Cupids, who had just then descended fiom heaven, or 
 emerged from the sea. For they admirably resembled them, 
 by their small wings, their little arrows, and the rest of their 
 external habiliments. They also bore splendid torches before 
 their mistress, as if she had been going to some nuptial 
 banquet. Unmarried girls likewise, a graceful progeny, were 
 there assembled. Here the most pleasing Graces, there the 
 most beautiful Hours, who, rendering their Goddess propitious, 
 by throwing flowers made into garlands or loose, formed a most 
 elegant choir, and soothed the Goddess of pleasures with the 
 air of the spring. Now pipes with many perforations sweetly 
 send forth Lydian modulations ; and, while they delightfully 
 allure the minds of the spectators, Venus, in a far more 
 delectable manner, began placidly to move herself, and to 
 proceed with a gentle and slow step, the spine of her back 
 at the same time lightly undulating, and her head gradually 
 moving ; and thus she conformed her delicate gestures to the 
 soft sound of the pipes. At one time also she gently winked, 
 at another sharply threatened with her eyes, and sometimes 
 danced with them alone. 
 
 This girl, as soon as she came into the presence of the 
 judge [/. e. of the scenic Paris], seemed to promise by the motion 
 of her arms, that she would give to Paris, a wife of surpassing 
 beauty [«. e. Helen], and like herself, if he would prefer her to 
 the other Goddesses. Then the Phrygian young man delivered 
 with a willing mind to the girl the golden apple which he held 
 in his hands, as an indication that she had conquered. Why, 
 therefore, do you wonder, O most vile heads^', or rather 
 torensic cattle, or still more properly gowned vultures, if all 
 judges now sell their decisions for money ? For even in the 
 most remote periods of antiquity, favour could corrupt the 
 judgment which was agitated between Gods and men, and a 
 young man who was a rustic and a shepherd, being elected a 
 judge by the decision of the great Jupiter, sold the first judicial 
 decision for the lucre of lust, accompanied likewise by the 
 destruction of all his race. Thus also, by Hercules, another 
 
 j8 An apostrophe to lawyers and forensic orators, 
 
I go THF, METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 judgment posterior to this was given between the illustdous 
 leaders of the Greeks ; either when Palamedes, who excelled in 
 erudition and science was condemned by false accusations as 
 a traitor ; or when the mendicant Ulysses was preferred to the 
 mighty Ajax, who was pre-eminent in military prowess. And 
 of what kind was that judgment which was the decision of the 
 law-giving Athenians, who were a wise people, and the masters 
 of all science ? Was not that divinely prudent old man 
 [Socrates], whom the Delphic God preferred for his wisdom to 
 all mortals, circumvented by the fraud and envy of a most 
 iniquitous faction, as if he had been a corrupter of youth, 
 though he restrained them as with a bridle ; was not he des- 
 troyed by the noxious juice of a pestilent herb, leaving to his 
 fellow-citizens the stain of perpetual infamy ? Since, even now, 
 the most excellent philosophers choose his most holy sect be- 
 fore all others, and swear in his name, from the greatest and 
 most earnest desire of beatitude. 
 
 Lest, however, some one should blame this impetus of my 
 indignation, thus thinking with himself. Behold now, shall we 
 suffer an ass to philosophise to us ? I shall again return to the 
 narration from whence I digressed. After that judgment of 
 Paris was finished, Juno indeed, and Minerva, departed from 
 the theatre sad and enraged, and showed by their gestures the 
 indignation whicli they felt from being rejected ; but Venus, 
 full of joy and hilarity, exhibited her gladness by dancing with 
 all her choir. Then wine, mixed with crocus, burst forth on 
 high from the summit of the mountain, through a certain latent 
 tube, and flowing in scattered streams, sprinkled as it fell, with 
 an odoriferous shower, the goats that fed round it, till being 
 dyed into a better form, they changed their proper whiteness 
 into a saffron colour. And now, the whole theatre exhaling a 
 sweet odour, a gulf of the earth absorbed that wooden moun- 
 tain. When, behold, a certain soldier ran through the middle 
 of the street, in order to bring, to the people now demanding 
 it, that woman from the public prison, who, as I have said, was 
 condemned to wild beasts, on account of her multiform 
 wickedness, and destined to be my illustrious bride. What 
 was intended also to be our genial bed, could be most disrinctly 
 seen. For it was transparent, being made from the Indian 
 tortoise, was tumid with a plumous heap, and florid with a 
 silken coverlet. But I, besides the shame of being publicly 
 connected, and besides the contagion of a wicked and polluted 
 woman, was also in the highest degree tormented with the fear 
 of death, thus thinking with myself: that, in the venereal 
 embrace, while we were adhering to each other, whatever wild 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK X. I9I 
 
 beast should be sent in to the destruction of the woman, it 
 would not be so prudent and sagacious, or so tutored by art, 
 or so frugal and temperate, as to lacerate the woman who was 
 placed by ray side, and spare me, as one uncondemned and 
 innoxious. 
 
 Being therefore solicitous, not for my modesty, but for my 
 life, while liberty was granted to me of indulging my own thoughts, 
 my master being intent on aptly preparing the bed, and all his 
 servants being partly occupied in hunting, and partly attentive 
 to the voluptuous spectacle ; no one believing that so mild an 
 ass required to be so attentively guarded ; I gradually withdrew 
 myself by an occult flight. And when I arrived at the next gate, 
 I hurried away with most rapid steps. When also, with great 
 celerity, I had travelled over six thousand entire paces, I arrived 
 at Cenchreae ; which city, indeed, is said to be the most noble 
 colony of the Corinthians. But it is contiguous to the .^Egean 
 and Saronic sea, where also there is a port, which is a most safe 
 receptacle for ships, and is very populous. Avoiding, therefore, 
 the crowd, and choosing the solitary shore, near to the eructation 
 of the waves, there, stretched on a most soft bed of sand, I re- 
 freshed my weary body. For the chariot of the sun had declined 
 to the last boundary of day ; and sweet sleep overpowered me, 
 when I gave myself to the evening repose. 
 
THE 
 
 METAMORPHOSIS OF APULEIUS. 
 
 BOOK THE ELEVENTH. 
 
 Being awakened with a sudden terror about the first watch of 
 the night, I beheld the full orb of the moon shining with exces- 
 sive brightness, and just then emerging from the waves of the 
 sea. Availing myself, therefore, of the silent secrets of opaque 
 Night, as I was also well assured that the primary Goddess pos- 
 sessed a transcendent majesty,__at>d^thatJhjunan_afiaTr£_were en- 
 tirely "goverhea"ty heTprovidence.; and that not only cattle and 
 wild beasts, biitntewise thfngs inanimate, were invigorated by 
 the divine power of her light and of her deity ; that the bodies 
 likewise which are in the earth, in the heavens, and in the sea, 
 are at one time increased as she increases, and at another time, 
 conformably to her decrements, are diminished'^ ; being well 
 assured of this, I determined to implore the august image of the 
 Goddess then present, Fate being now satiated with my calami- 
 ties scTmahy^and so'great~an7d' administering folne the Tibpe of 
 safety, though late. 
 
 ^Having, therefore, immediately shaken off sluggish sleep, I 
 rose promptly and cheerfully, and directly applied myself to 
 purification, by washing with marine water; and havmg merged 
 my head seven times in the waves, because, according to the 
 divine^ Pythagoras, that number is especially adaptedToTeligious 
 
 ' That the moon po^esses this power was acknowledged by all antiquity, and is con- 
 firmed by daily experience. Hence, a certain Greek poet cited by Joan. B!)ptt>^t. Canio- 
 tins in his Commentary in Theophrast, Metaphys, says of the moon, 
 
 i.e., " Incieasing you increase, but diminishing you injure all things.'* 
 
THE METAMORPHOSIS, ETC. 1 93 
 
 purposes", I joyfully and readily thus supplicated with a weeping 
 countenance the transcendently powerful Goddess : " Queen of 
 heaven, whether thou art pure and nourishing Ceres, the original 
 parent of fruits, who, rejoicing for the discovery of thy daughter, 
 didst banish the savage nutriment of the ancient acorn, and ex- 
 hibiting a milder aliment, dost now dwell in the Eleusinian land ; 
 or whether thou art celestiarVehiisV wfiOjfh the'first origin of 
 things, didst associate the different sexes, through the interven- 
 tion of mutual love, and having propagated an eternal progeny 
 from the human race, art now worshipped in Pnphos which is 
 washed by the surrounding sea ; or whether thou art the sister 
 of Phoebus, who by relieving the pangs of parturient women by 
 lenient remedies, hast delivered into light such a numerous mul- 
 titude of men, and art now venerated in the illustrious temple of 
 Ephesus ; or whether thou art Proserpine, terrific by nocturnal 
 howiinjs, restraining with a triform face the assaults of spectres, 
 closing the recesses of the earth, wandering through various 
 groves, and propitiated by different modes of worship ; with that 
 female light of thine, illuminating every city, and with moist 
 fires nourishing the joyful seeds of plants, and through the revo- 
 lutions of the sun dispensing uncertain light : by whatever name, 
 by whatever rites, and under whatever form it is lawful to invoke 
 thee ; graciously succour me in this my extreme calamity, sup- 
 port my fallen fortune, and grant me rest and peace, after the 
 endurance of so many cruel misfortunes. Let there have been 
 enough of labours, let there have been enough of dangers. 
 Remove from me the dire form of a quadruped, restore me to 
 the sight of my kindred, restore me to my Lucius [«.« , to my- 
 self]. And if any offended deity oppresses me with inexorable 
 cruelty, may it at least be lawful for me to die, if it is not lawful 
 for me to live [in my proper shape]." 
 
 Havhig^after thisjnanner poured forth prayers, accompanied 
 by^ miserabie ]ament£tions, sleeg .'iuirroiih 
 pressed^ my maicTd niin3i jn jhe^ jame bed [i.e. on tlie soft 
 sand"]. And" scarcely had I dosed "ray "eyes, when behold,*[I 
 saw in a dream] a divjnefOTm emergmg from the middle of the 
 seoj^ and raising a countenance^' verierable even to the Gods 
 themselves. Afterwards, the whole of the most splendid image 
 seemed to stand-befare me, having gradually shaken off the sea. 
 But I will also endeavour to explain to you its admirable form, 
 if the poverty of human language will but afford me the power 
 of an appropriate narration ; or, if the divinity itself of the most 
 
 3 For an account of the power and properties of the number seven, according to the 
 Pythagoreans, see my Theoretic Arithmetic. 
 
194 ""^E METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 luminous form will supply me with a liberal abundance of fluent 
 diction. In the first place, then, her most copious and long 
 hairs, being gradually intorted, and promiscuously scattered on 
 her divine neck, were softly defluous. A multiform crown, 
 consisting of various flowers, bound the sublime summit of her 
 head. And in the middle of the crown, just on her forehead, 
 there was a smooth orb resembling a mirror, or rather a white 
 refulgent light, which indicated that she was the moon. Vipers 
 rising up after the manner of furrows;' "environed the crown on 
 the right hand and on the left, and CereafiaS" ears oF corn were 
 also extended from above. Her orarment was orfnany colours, 
 and woven from the finest flax, and was at one time lucid with 
 a white splendour, at another yellow from the flower of crocus, 
 and at another flaming with a rosy redness. But that which 
 most excessively dazzled my sight, was a very black robe, fulgid 
 with a dark splendour, and which, spreading round and passing 
 under her right side, and ascending to her left shoulder, there 
 rose protuberant like the centre of a shield, the dependant part 
 of the robe falling in many folds, and having small knots of 
 fringe, gracefully flowing in its extremities. Glittering stars 
 were dispersed through the embroidered border of the robe, 
 and through the whole of its surface : and the full moon, 
 shining in the middle of the stars, breathed forth flaming fires. 
 Nevertheless, a crown, wholly consisting of flowers and fruits of 
 every kind, adhered with indivisible connexion to the border of 
 that conspicuous robe, in all its undulating motions. 
 
 What she carried in her hands also consisted of things of a 
 very different nature. For l7er~rightTian37'i'i3eed, "bore a 
 brazen rattle, through the narrow lamina of which bent like 
 a belt, certain rods passing, produced a sharp triple sound, 
 through the vibrating motion of her arm. An oblong vessel, in 
 the shape of a boat, depended from her left hand, on the 
 handle of which, in that part in which it was conspicuous, 
 an asp raised its erect- head and largely swelling neck. And 
 shoes woven from the leaves of the victorious palm tree covered 
 her immortal feet. Such, and so great a Goddess, breathing 
 the fragrant odour of the shoots of Arabia the happy, deigr.ed 
 with a divine voice thus to address me : " Behold, Lucius, 
 I, moved by thy prayers, am present with thee; I, who am 
 Nature, the parent of things, the queen of all the elements, the 
 primordial progeny of ages, the supreme of Divinities, the 
 sovereign of the spirits of the dead, the first of the celestials, 
 and the uniform resemblance of Gods and Goddesses. I, who 
 rule by my nod the luminous summits of the heavens, the 
 salubrious breezes of the sea, and the deplorable silences of the 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK XI. 1 95 
 
 realms beneath : andjrfjose one dwnity _the wholeL orb.joljthe 
 earth venerates under a manifold fornvbydifferent^tes^jind a 
 variety, of^appellatlons. Hence the primogenial Phyrgians call 
 me Pessinunfica, the mother of the Gods; the Attic Aborigines, 
 Cecropian Minerva; the floating Cyprians, Paphian Venus; 
 the arrow-bearing Cretans, Diana Dictynha;' the three-tongued 
 Sicilians,* Stygian Proserpine ; and the Eleusinians, the ancient 
 Goddess Ceres. Some also call me Juno, others Bellona, 
 others Hecate, and others Rhamnusia. And those who are 
 illuminated by the incipient rays of that divinity the Sun, when 
 he rises, viz. the Ethiopians, the Arii, and the' Egyptians skilled 
 in ancient learning, worshipping me by ceremonies perfectly 
 appropriate, call me by my true name, queen Isis. Behold 
 then, I, commiserating thy calamities, am present; I am 
 present, favouring and propitious. Dismiss now tears and 
 lamentations, and expel sorrow. Now^hrough_niy providence, 
 the salutary day will shi_D,e-.-upon thee. Listen, therefore, 
 attentively to these my mandates. The religion which is 
 eternal has consecrated to me the day which will be bom from 
 this night ; on which day my priests offer to me the first fruits 
 of navigation, dedicating to me a new ship, when now the 
 winter tempests are mitigated, and the stormy waves of the 
 deep are appeased, and the sea itself has now become navig- 
 able. That, sacred ceremony you ought to expect, with a mind 
 neither solicitous nor profane. 
 
 " Fof'tfie priest, being admonished by me, shall bear a rosy 
 crown in his right hand, adhering to the rattle, in the very 
 procinct of the pomp. Without delay, therefore, cheerfully 
 follow the procession when the crowd is dispersed, confiding in 
 my benevolence. When also you approhch the priest, gently 
 pluck_the— roseSj^^as. Jf,_Xou intended to ki£s his hand, and 
 immediately,divest,yourseljf of jl7e^ide~j6EtKatlve^^^^ beasts, 
 and which for some time since has been to me detestable. Nor 
 should you fear any thing pertaining to my concerns as difficult. 
 For in this very same moment of time in which I come to you, 
 being there also present,' I order my priest in a dream to do 
 those things which are to be done hereafter. By my command, 
 the thick crowd of people shall afford jou room to'^asarthrough 
 them. ~ Nor, amidst'the joyful ceremonies and festive spectacles, 
 
 3 For the invention of Nets is ascribed to Diana, which in Greek are calUed OlKTWa, 
 dictyna. 
 
 4 For they first spolte in the Sicilian, afterwards in the Grtcian, and at last in the 
 Latin tongue. 
 
 5 For a divine nature is at one and the same time present everywhere. 
 
196 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 shall any_one^abhar„Ui.%t defamed. Jigjore which you bear ;, or 
 malignantly accuse you, by putting a sinister construction on the 
 suddeft-ehange- of your form. Only remember, and always 
 retain it deposited in the penetralia of your mind, that the 
 reinair)in^_course_Q|ljLQurJ[ijejm^^ me, even to 
 
 the boundaries of your last breath. Nor is it unjust that you 
 should owe your whole life to that Goddess, by whose assistance 
 you will return to the human form. But you will live happy, 
 you will livg~gt6r iou 5 , u nder my protection : and when, having 
 passed through the allotted space of your life, you descend to 
 ihe realms beneath, there also in the subterranean hemisphere, 
 you, dwelling in the Elysian fields,* shall frequently adore me 
 whom you now see, and shall there behold me shining amidst 
 the darkness of Acheron, reigning in the Stygian penetralia, and 
 being propitious to you. Moreover, if you shall be found to 
 deserve the protection of my divinity by sedulous obedience, 
 religious services, and inviolable chastity, you shall know that it 
 is possible for me alone to extend^jour life beyond the limits 
 appointedJg^jt by your fate." ~ 
 
 The v^neraHe~oracteflieiiig~thus--finished7-the--iiiiincible 
 Godd^s recedeiSTintoJiier.self. And, without delay, I, being 
 liberate3~froni~sleep, immediately arose, seized with fear and 
 joy, and in an excessive perspiration, and in the highest 
 degree admiring so manifest an appearance of the powerful 
 Goddess, having sprinkled myself with marine dew [i.e. with the 
 water of the sea], and intent on her great commands, I revolved 
 in my mind the order of her mandates. Shortly after, too, the 
 golden Sun arose, and put to flight the darkness of black Night. 
 When, behold, a crowd of people filled all the streets with a 
 religious and perfectly triumphant procession. All things 
 likewise, independent of my peculiar joy, seemed to me to exult 
 with such great hilarity, that I might have thought that cattle of 
 every kind, every house, and even the day itself, rejoiced with a 
 serene countenance ; for a bright and placid day suddenly 
 succeeded to the frost of the preceding day ; so that the tuneful 
 birds also sang sweetly, allured by the tepid heat of the spring. 
 
 6 "Oeograpbers ("says Olympiodonis in MSS. Scbol. in Gorgiam Platonis) assert, that 
 the islaods of the blessed are about the ocean, and that souls depart thither that have 
 lived well. This, however, is absurd, for souls would thus live a stormy life. What then 
 shall we say ? The solution is this : Philosophers assimilate the life of men to the sea, 
 because it is turbulent, prolific, bitter, and laborious. Uut as islands are raised above the 
 sea, they call that polity which transcends the present life, the islands of the blessed ; 
 and these are the same with the Elysian fields. On this account also, Hercules 
 accomplished his last labour in the Hesperian regions, signifying by this, that having 
 vanquished a dark and terrestrial life, he afterwards lived in day, that is, in truth and 
 light." 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK XI. 197 
 
 and with bland warbling soothed the mother of the stars, the 
 parent of ages, and the mistress of the whole world. The 
 very trees, likewise, both those which were prolific with fruit, 
 and those which were barren, and only afforded a shade, 
 being relaxed by the southern breezes, and delighted with 
 the germination of their leaves, produced through the gentle 
 motion of the branches, sweetly whistling sounds. And 
 the sea, the loud crashing noise of its storms being appeased, 
 and the turbid swelling of its waves having subsided, softly 
 washed the shore. But the heavens, the cloudy darkness being 
 dispersed, were bright with the clear and serene splendour of 
 their own proper light. Behold, then, the preludes of the great 
 pomp gradually proceeded, beautifully adorned, conformably to 
 the votive diligence of every one concerned in the procession. 
 This man being girded with a belt, represented a soldier ; that, 
 being clothed with a short cloak, and carrying cimeters and 
 javelins, was adorned like a hunter. Another, having golden 
 socks on his feet, being clothed with a silken garment and 
 precious female ornaments, and with false hair on his head, as- 
 sumed the appearance of a woman by his gliding step. But 
 another was remarkable by his boots, his shield, his helmet, and 
 his sword, and you would have thought that he came from the 
 school of the gladiators. Nor was there wanting one who repre- 
 sented a magistrate by the fasces and the purple vest ; nor one 
 who feigned himself to be a philo.sopher, by his cloak, his staff, 
 and his slippers, and his goatish beard ; ncr those who with dis- 
 similar reeds represented, the one a fowler with birdlime, and 
 the other a fisherman with his hook. I also saw a tame bear, 
 which was carried on a bench, in a matronal dress ; and an ape 
 with a woven hat on its head, and clothed with a Phrygian gar- 
 ment of a saffron colour, carrying in its hand a golden cup, and 
 representing the shepherd Ganymede ; and likewise an ass, to 
 which wings were agglutinated, and which walked near to a cer- 
 tain old man ; so that you would have said that the one was 
 Bellerophon, but the other Pegasus ; and, nevertheless, you 
 would have laughed at both. 
 
 During these ridiculous amusements of the people, who 
 wanderea'atSut .eyerywhereitthe^^ of. ihe saviour 
 
 Goddess-advanced. Women, splendid iii while garments, ex- 
 pressing their joy by various gestures, and adorned with vernal 
 crowns, scattered from their bosoms flowers on the ground, 
 through the path in which the sacred crowd walked. Others, 
 with mirrors placed behind their backs, showed to the Goddess 
 the obsequiousness of the crowd, as if it had come for the pur- 
 
198 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 pose of meeting her''. There were also others who, carrying 
 ivory combs, imitated the adornment and combing of royal hairs 
 by the motion of their arms, and the inflexion of their fingers. 
 And there were likewise others, who sprinkled the streets with 
 drops of genial balsam, and other .ointments. Besides this, 
 there was a great multitude of men and women, who propitiated 
 the Goddess, the offspring of the celestial stars, by lamps, 
 torches, wax-lights, and other kinds of artificial light. After- 
 wards, sweet symphonies resounded from the most delightful 
 modulations of pipes and flutes. A pleasant choir of the most 
 select youths, in splendid white garments, every way closed, 
 followed them, frequently singing an elegant song, which an in- 
 genious poet had composed through the favour of the Muses, 
 and which explained the meaning of the procession. Pipers 
 also, consecrated to the great Serapis, proceeded among those 
 musicians, whose songs were antecedent to the greater vows, and 
 sung the accustomed modulation pertaining to the God and his 
 temple ; the oblique pipe being extended to the right ear.* And 
 the^e were likewise precursors, who proclaimed that convenient 
 room would be given for the sacred procession to pass. After 
 this, there was an influx of a crowd of those who had been initiated 
 in the second rites of the Goddess, consisting of men and women 
 of every degree, and of every age, resplendent with the pure white- 
 ness of linen garments. The women had their anointed hair in- 
 folded in a pellucid covering; but the men had their hair 
 perfectly shaven, and the crown of their head was exceedingly 
 bright. These terrene stars also, of the great religion of the 
 Goddess, produced a sharp sound from the brazen, silver, and 
 likewise golden rattles, which they held in their hands. But 
 those principal men that presided over the sacred rites, and who 
 were clothed in a close-drawn garment of white linen, hanging 
 down to the extremities of their feet, carried the most illustrious 
 spoils' of the most powerful Gods. And~tsP-thesep-ttie' first 
 exETBTfeaTrtemp"ShtHing^witl» a clear light, not resembling those 
 lamps of ours which illuminate nocturnal banquets ; but it was 
 a golden boat-cup, which emitted a larger flame from an 
 aperture in the middle. The second was clothed in a similar 
 
 7 This took place as follows : women cariyinj; mirrors behind their back proceeded 
 first ; in which mirrors the whole pomp of those that followed was perceived, their faces, 
 by reflection, being turned towards the Goddess ; so that those who in reality walked 
 behind her, appeared, in those mirrors, to be coming to meet her. 
 
 8 vit. The pipe had a hole in the side and not at the top, to which the piper applied 
 his month. 
 
 9 i.e. The peculiar symbols of the Gods. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK XI. 1 99 
 
 manner, but carried in both his hands altars^^ \i.e. aids\ to 
 which the auxiliary providence of the supreme Goddess gave a 
 proper name. The third proceeded raising a palm tree, the 
 leaves of which were subtilely gilt, and also the Mercurial 
 caduceus. The fourth exhibited the symbol of Equity, viz. a 
 left hand, fashioned with the palm or inner part expanded ; 
 which seems to be more adapted to Equity than the right hand, 
 because ii is naturally sluggish, and is endued with no craft and 
 no subtility. The same person also carried a golden vessel, 
 which was round like the female breast, and from which he 
 poured forth milk. The fifth bore a golden corn-fan, full of 
 golden branches, and another carried an amphora. 
 
 In the next place, without de^ay, the images of the Gods 
 [carried by the priests of Isis] proceeded, not disdaining to walk 
 with the feet of men ; this terrifically raising a canine head; but 
 that being the messenger of the supernal Gods, and of those in 
 the realms beneath, with an erect face, partly black, and partly 
 of a golden colour, bearing in his left hand a caduceus, and 
 shaking in his right hand branches of the flourishing palm tree; 
 whose footsteps a cow, in an erect position, immediately 
 followed. This cow was the prolific resemblance ol the 
 all-parent Goddess, and was carried on the sh'oulders of one of 
 the blessed servants of this divinity, and who acted the part of 
 a mimic as he walked. Another carried a cista, or chest, 
 containing arcana, and perfectly concealing the mystic symbols 
 of a magnificent religion. And another bore in his happy 
 bosom the venerable effigies of the supreme divinity, which was 
 not similar to any cattle, or bird, or wild beast, nor even toman; 
 but being venerable for the subtilly by which it was invented, 
 and also for its novelty, was an ineffable indication of a more 
 sublime religion, and which was to be concealed in the greatest 
 silence. But this effigies was fashioned after the following 
 manner : there was a small urn, formed of splendid gold, most 
 artificially excavated, the bottom of which was very round, and 
 which was externally engraven with the admirable- images of the 
 Egvptians. The orifice of this urn, which was not much 
 elevated, was extended into a prominent rivulet.^' liut a 
 handle adhered to the side opposite to the orifice, and receded 
 from the urn by a specious dilatation. On this handle an asp 
 sat, raising its neck, which was scaly, wrinkled, and tumid, and 
 embraced it with one fold of its body. 
 
 10 These altart (aUarim) were symbols of the aid affonled by Isis ; and hence 
 Apuleius says, they were called auxUia. 
 
 1 1 i.e. The nasns or spout of the um, from which the liquor was poured. 
 
200 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 And, behold ! the benefits and the destiny which the most 
 powerful Goddess had promised to me approached, and the 
 priest was present, briii ging with him my salvation, and adorned 
 in a manner conformaDlenfo"wKatl1ie^^ivrmty had previously 
 announced. In his right hand he carried the rattle of the 
 Goddess, which was to me a crown ; and, by Hercules, a crown 
 by a necessary consquence ; because, through the providence of 
 the greatest Goddess, I vanquished the opposition of most cruel 
 Fortune, after having encountered so many labours and so many 
 dangers. Nevertheless, I did not run violently, though I was 
 agitated by a sudden joy, -fearing""legr'ttie^ranquil order of 
 religion should be disturbed by the hasty impetus of a 
 quadruped ; but I hesitatingly passed through the crowd with a 
 quiet and perfectly human step, and with a gradual obliquation 
 of my body, the people giving way to me through the interfer- 
 ence of the Goddess. But the priest, as I might veiy well 
 perceive, recollecting the nocturnal oracle, and admiring the 
 congruity of the office which he was commanded to perform, 
 immediately stood still, and spontaneously extending his right 
 hand, presented to my mouth a crown [of roses]. Then I, 
 trembling, and my heart leaping with continual palpitation, 
 devoured with great desire and a greedy mouth the shining 
 crown in .which delightful roses were interwoven. Nor didjhe 
 celestial j)jxu»ise_^eceivejmej for irnm 
 
 brutal figure left me. And, in the first place indeed, my squalid 
 hair fell off, and afterwards my thick skin became attenuated, 
 my broad belly became narrow, and the soles of my feet passed 
 into toes through my hoofs. My hands are no longer feet, but 
 are extended to their erect offices. My long neck is shortened; 
 my face and my head become round ; my enormous ears are 
 restored to their pristine parvitude; my stony teeth return to those 
 of a human size; and the tail, which before especially tormented 
 me, was no where to be foimd. The_peogle admire, and the 
 relig[ous venerate. jo evident an jndicatioa~oinES~po'«erraf the 
 supreme divinity, and th'e~niagnificence and facility of my 
 restiofatiorr, -which resembled the nocturnal images in dreams. 
 Extending likewise their hands to the heavens, they proclaimed 
 with a clear and unanimous voice, such an illustrious benefit of 
 the Goddess. 
 
 But I, being fixed in excessive astonishment, remained 
 silent, my mind not being capable of receiving a joy so sudden 
 and so great, and I was dubious what I should first and prin- 
 cipally say, whence I should assume the beginning of a new 
 voice, and more happily commence my speech, as my tongue 
 w;is now^ restored to.jrae,"inid in -what' magiTiBcenf "language 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK XI. iOI 
 
 I should return thanks to so great a Goddess. The_j)riest, 
 however, who through_Jhe divine admonition knew all my 
 calaraiiies~ftoiH-tbe.. beginnmg7 ffiougK Ife liimself also' was 
 astonished by that remarkable miracle, having first signified his 
 wish by a nod, ordered that a linen garment should be given to 
 me, for the purpose of covering my nakedness. For, as soon as 
 the ass had despoiled me of my abominable vesture,^' I well 
 fortified myself with a natural covering, as much as it was 
 possible for one who is naked to do, by closely compressing my 
 thighs, and carefully placing my hands over my private parts. 
 Then one of the religious cohort, having rapidly divested him- 
 self of his upper garment, most rapidly covered me with it; 
 which being done, the priest with a joyful countenance, and, 
 by Hercules, astonished at my now human aspect, thus ad- 
 dressed me : " O Lucius, you have at length arrived at the port 
 of quiet and the altar of Pity, having endured many and various 
 labours, and great tempests.ofjorttirie, and been tossed about 
 by nHgtrty-JBases of calamity. Nor did thenobility of your 
 race, nor your dignity, nor even the learning in which you 
 abound, at all benefit you; but falling into servile pleasures, 
 through the lubricity of flourishing youth, you have brought 
 back an_iiiaiispirir>iis .reward. jp£.^uj.unhappy curiosity.^The 
 blindness ofFortune, however, while she has tormented you by 
 the worst of dangers, has brought you, by_her provident 
 malignityr-tD-tbis-j:*ligioH9-beatitude.^' Let herjiOwgo; and 
 rage with the greatest fury, and let her search for some other 
 subject for her cruelty; for hostil e mi sfortune has no power 
 over thQseJffiiQse...S£r3U£e,tbejlC^iSS-ty„.Qf .pur Goddess vindicates 
 to itself. What advantage has iniquitous Fortune derived from 
 robbers, from wild beasts, from servitude, from the various 
 circuits of the roughest paths, and from the fear of death to 
 which you were daily exposed? You are now, therefore, 
 received into the protection of Fortune, but of the Fortune 
 that can see, and who also illuminates the other Gods with the 
 splendour of her light. -Assume now a more joyful counten- 
 ance, and more adapted to that white garment which you wear. 
 Attend the pomp of your saviour Goddess with triumphant 
 steps. Let the irreligious see, let them see and acknowledge their 
 
 12 In til*! originaJ, Nam me citm prinum nefando te^mine despoUavei-at asimiSt 
 wh ich the Delphin editor interprets by, Satin cnim alqut ixulm futi am turpi vilamint 
 tisina: forma ; but whether properly or not, let the reader judge. 
 
 13 In the original, fiaiiiuditiem, instead ot which I read, with some editions, 
 biatitudiium. 
 
202 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 error}* Behold Lucius, rejoicing in the providence of the 
 great Isis, and freed from his pristine miseries, triumphs in his 
 own fortune. Nevertheless, that you may be m^g_jafe and 
 better^ protected,, become one of this holy order, which you will 
 hereaffer~rejoice that you e"mi)Taced;''ar5a"now; dedicate yourself 
 to_the_jervice of our^religion, and voluntarily subject yourself to 
 the yoke of tBTs'ministry ; for when you have once entered into 
 the service of the Goddess, you will then in a greater degree 
 enjoy tfie'TruTf of "your liberty." The excellent priest having 
 thus prophesied, and breathing with difficulty,!^ was silent. 
 
 I afterwards, walking, mingled with the religious crowd, 
 accompanied the sacred pomp, being known and conspicuous 
 to the whole city, and distinguished by the fingers and nods of 
 the men. All the people spoke of me, and said, " The august 
 power of the omnipotent Goddess has restored this man to the 
 human form. Happy, by Hercules, and thrice blessed is he ! 
 who has deserved, by the innocence and probity of the former 
 part of his life, such an illustrious protection from heaven ; so 
 that, after a manner being dorn again, he is immediately 
 affianced to the ministry of sacred rites." While these things 
 were said, and during the tumult of the festive vows, proceeding 
 gradually, we now approached to the shore of the sea, and 
 came to that very place in which, on the preceeding day, I, 
 while I was yet an ass, had taken up my abode. The images 
 [which the priests of Isis carried] being there properly disposed, 
 the chief priest dedicated and consecrated to the Goddess a 
 ship,i* most artificially fabricated, on all sides variously adorned 
 with the admirable pictures [i.e. hieroglyphics] of the Egyptians, 
 and exquisitely purified with a burning torch, an egg, and 
 sulphur, at the same time pouring forth from his holy mouth 
 the most solemn prayers. The splendid sail of this blessed 
 ship had a vow inscribed in it in large letters. These letters 
 renewed the vow [which had been made on shore] for a 
 prosperous event of the new navigation. Now the mast of that 
 ship was raised, which was a round pine tree, tall and splendid, 
 and conspicuous by its remarkable top. The stern also of the 
 ship was decorated with a goose'^ with an intorted neck, and 
 
 14 i.e. The error which leads ihcm to think either that there are no Gods, or, if there 
 are, that they pay no attention to human affairs. 
 
 15 In consequence of being divinely inspired. 
 
 16 Isis is an Egyptian deity, and the Egyptians, as we are informed by Porphyry, in 
 his treatise Dtt Antro Nymph., represented their divinities raised on a sailing vessel. 
 See Martianus Capella, in lib. ii. ; De Nuptils, Philol., &c. 
 
 X? Because the go«se is sacred to Isis. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK XI. 803 
 
 was refulgent through being covered with golden spangles, and 
 the whole of the polished keel consisted of shining citron wood. 
 Then all the people, as well the religious as profane, emulously 
 heaped together corn-fans full of aromatics and things pertain- 
 ing to supplications, and poured into the sea a milky paste; 
 till the ship, being filled with copious gifts and auspicious 
 prayers, was freed from the ropes that held the anchor, and 
 was restored to the sea with a peculiar and serene wind. After, 
 likewise, it had proceeded so far that the view of it was 
 uncertain to us, ^ach of those who carried the sacred symbols 
 again took what he had brought, and began cheerfully to return 
 to the temple, in a decorous manner, and in the same order of 
 procession in which they came from it. 
 
 But when we arrived at the temple itself, the chief priest and 
 those who carried the divine images, and who, some time prior 
 to this, had been initiated in the venerable mysteries, being re- 
 ceived into the sanctuary of the Goddess, disposed in a proper 
 order the breathing resemblances. Then one of these, whom 
 all of them called a scribe, standing before the doors, the com- 
 pany of the Pastophori^^, which is the name of the members of 
 that sacred college, being cited as to an assembly, uttered from 
 a lofty chair auspicious wishes, from a book in which they were 
 written : For the Great Emperor, the Senatb, and the 
 Equestrian Order,|."and for all the Roman People ; and 
 likewise for the nautical ships, and for all those who are governed 
 under the empire of thisour hemisphere; and then he pronounced, 
 in the Greek tongue, and after the Grecian manner, Aaour aujtta-ur, 
 which signified that divine service was ended, and that it was 
 lawful for every man to depart, which words were followed by a 
 clamour of the people, signifying that all things would happen 
 felicitously to all of them. Afterwards, the people being full of 
 joy, carrying with them branches of olive, sweet herbs, and gar- 
 lands of flowers, and having kissed the footsteps of the Goddess, 
 departed to their own habitations. Nevertheless, my mind would 
 not suffer me to go even the breadth of a nail from that place ; 
 but, being attentive to the image of the Goddess, I recalled to 
 my memory my former misfortunes. 
 
 Swift Fame, however, had not in the meantime been idle, 
 but had ey£ryj?here jiairated.jtLipx??9yPiiyJ^^ adorable benefit 
 of thejrovident^qddess, and my memorableTorfune pi'.'-i n>y 
 restoration from the asinine toThTliaWianrdrm^. At length, 
 therefore, my domestics and servants, and those who were nearly 
 allied to' me by the bond of consanguinity, layingjiBideJhe 
 
 18 Tht fasifffkori wen the priests that eairied the shrines of the Gods. 
 
f04 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 sorrow which they had conceived from the false relation of tpy 
 death, and exhilarated by a sudden joy, hastened immediately 
 to see me, who had'Beeii divinely saved and brought back as it 
 were from the realms beneath, and presented me with various 
 gifts. With the unexpected view of these I, being delighted, 
 gave them thanks for their worthy gifts : for my domestics had 
 providently taken care to bring me what would be abundantly 
 sufficient for the expenses of my dress and my food. Having 
 therefore spoken to each of them, as it was my duty to do, and 
 narrated to them my pristine sorrows and my present joy, I 
 again betook myself to a survey of the Goddess, which was to 
 me most delightful, and procured for myself a temporary habita- 
 tion within the enclosure of the temple ; still applying myself to 
 the private services of the Goddess, being inseparable from the 
 society of the priests, and a constant adorer of the great Goddess. 
 Nor did I pass any night, or any sleep, without some vision and 
 admonition of this divinity; but she ordered me by frequent 
 mandates to be now initiated in her sacred niystefies^ to which 
 IhaiJjFeen somejjme ago destined, fitit I, thoil^rifwas what 
 I very much desired, was, nevertheless, restrained by religious 
 fear. For by diligent inquiry I knew that the service of religion 
 was difficult, that the abstinence which chastity required was 
 sufficiently arduous, and that life, which is subject to many 
 casualties, is to be defended by cautious circumspection. Fre- 
 quently revolving these things with myself, I deferred the being 
 initiated, I know not how, although hastening to the accom- 
 plishment of it, 
 
 On a certain night I appeared to myself to see in a dream 
 the chief priest offering to me his full lap ; and on my asking 
 him what that was, he answered me, That the contents of his 
 lap were sent to me from i hessaly ; for that a servant of mine, 
 whose name was Candidus, had arrived from the same province. 
 When I awoke, I revolved in my mind frequently, and for a 
 long time, what the vision portended, especially as I was certain 
 that I never had any servant who was called by that name. 
 Nevertheless, I believed that some gain was undoubtedly signi- 
 fied by the priest offering me the contents of his lap. Thus, 
 being anxious and attentive to that more abundant gain, I [im- 
 patiently] waited for the opening of the temple in the morning. 
 And while, the white veils [by which the image of the Goddess 
 was scTe?ffea"frain the view of the.prpfjme3, being_drawn aside 
 in 'drfferent-dtrectron:^"we implored the venerable face of the 
 Goddess, the priest going round the altars, which were disposed 
 in order, applied himself to divine works ; and, together with 
 the usual prayers, poured from a vessel water drawn from a 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK XI. 305 
 
 fountain which was in the penetralia of the temple. The sacred 
 rites, therefore, being now properly performed, the religious 
 loudly announced the first hour of the day by their morning 
 adorations. And, behold ! the servants suddenly came from 
 mx.country whom! had there left, after Fpds, by her "Base errors, 
 had fprced-m£JtQ_b-eJied_by a rope [i.e., to become an ass] ; for 
 my kindred had brought back with them my servants, and also 
 had recovered that horse of mine, which I recognised by the spot 
 on its back, after it had been sold to various persons. Hence, 
 I then especially admired the sagacity of my dream, that, besides 
 the congruity of the promised gain, it had restored to me my 
 horse, which was of a white colour, under the designation of the 
 servant Candidus. 
 
 After this, I, being still solicitous about the same thing, 
 assiduously applied myself to the worship of the Goddess, 
 perceiving that the hope which I had conceived of future good 
 was now confirmed by the present benefits. Nevertheless, my 
 desire of engaging in sacred oiBces increased daily more and 
 more. Hence I frequently went to the chief priest, and most 
 earnestly entreated him to initiate me in the arcane mysteries 
 of the sacred night.^^ But he, though otherwise a severe man, 
 and celebrated by his observance of that aiistemious religion, 
 deferring my request mildly and gently, and in the way in which 
 parents are accustomed to moderate the immature desires of 
 their children, allured my mind, though otherwise anxious, by 
 the solace of better hope. For he said. That the day in which 
 he wh^desired hejnight be mUiated was indicated by the will 
 of the Goddess, and^ that by her providence the priest was 
 chosen who ought to perform the sacred rites, and that by her 
 mandate also the expense necessary for the ceremonies was 
 ordained. All which circumstances, he thought, should induce 
 me to wait with obsequious patience, since we ought by all 
 means to avoid eagerness and obstinacy, as faults, and neither 
 be dilatory when called, nor precipitate when not called. He 
 added, that there was not any one of their number who was so 
 lost to a sense of propriety, or rather so destined to death, as to 
 rashly and sacrilegiously dare to engage in the service of the 
 Goddess, and thus contract a deadly guilt, unless she peculiarly 
 ordered him to do so ; for the gates of the realms beneath, and 
 the guardianship of life, are placed in the hands of the Goddess, 
 and the delivery of her mysteries is celebrated as a thing 
 resembling a voluntary death, and a precarious life, because she 
 
 19 f.«. Of the night sacred to the mystenes. 
 
ao6 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 is accustomed to choose-ibr this purpose men who, having 
 arrived at a^eat age, are now placed in the extreme boundary 
 of their life, but to whom, nevertheless, the great arcana of 
 religion may be safely committed, and who, through her 
 providence, being after a manner born again, are restored to the 
 race of a new life. It therefore was requisite that I should also 
 wait for the celestial marrdate, although by the clear and 
 maflifest'lavour of the Goddess, I had some time ago been 
 called and destined to her blessed service ; and that I should 
 now abstain^from profane and n£farious food, no less than other 
 worshippers of the divinity, in order that I might with greater 
 rectitude accede to the more secret arcana of the most pure 
 religion. 
 
 Thus spoke the priest, nor was my compliance broken by 
 impatience; but I attentively_per£onned daily the laborious 
 serzice_gertaining to the observance of sacred rites,' wfth mild 
 tranquility and-iatidable siience. Nor"3i3'the salutary benignity 
 of the powerful Goddess deceive me, nor torment me by the 
 delay of a length of time ; but she clearly admonished me by no 
 obscure mandates of obscure night \i.e. in a nocturnal dream], 
 that the day was now arrived that had been always the object 
 of my desire, and in which she would put me in possession of 
 my greatest wish. She also informed me what sum of money 
 would be requisite for my procuring^the jacred^ apparatus," and 
 at the-^same^iiiie^appBthted foi: me, as the minister of sacred 
 rites, that very Mithras himself, her own chief priest, who, she 
 said, was conjoined to me by a certain divine consent of the 
 stars. But I, by these and other benevolent precepts of the 
 supreme Goddess, being mentally refreshed, sleep having left 
 me, though it was not yet clear day, immediately proceeded to 
 the dwelling of the priest, and having found him then going out 
 of his bedchamber, I saluted him. And I had now determined 
 to request more firmly than ever that I might commence my 
 religious service, as a thing that was due to me. But he, as 
 soon as he saw me, bep'an, prior to me, thus to speak : " O my 
 Lucius, how happy and blessed are you, whom the august 
 divinity has so greatly honoured by her propitious will ! And 
 why,"' said he, " do you now stand idle, and make any delay ? 
 The day sought for by your continual wishes is now present to 
 you, in which you will be initiated in the most pious arcana of 
 sacred rites, by these my hands, through the divine mandates of 
 the multinominal Goddess." And the most humane old man, 
 taking hold of me by the hand, led me inimediately to the doors 
 of the most ample temple ; and having performed the office of 
 opening them, in the accustomed solemn way, and made the 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK XI. 307 
 
 mornine; sacrifice, he took from the most inward parts of the 
 adytum, certain books written in unknown characters [i.e. in 
 hieroglpyhics] ; partly compendiously suggesting the words of a 
 discourse by the figures of animals of every kind ; and partly 
 fortified against the inquisitive perusal of the profane, by knotted 
 accents, and which were bent after the manner of a wheel, and 
 folded in each other like the tendrils of a vine. From these 
 books he informed me what must necessarily be prepared by me 
 for the purpose of initiation. 
 
 Immediately, therefore, I strenuously procured the previous 
 requisites, and somewhat more abundantly than I was ordered 
 to do, partly through myself, and partly through my associates. 
 And when the time, as the priest said, required it, he led me to 
 the nearest bath, which was surrounded by a company of 
 religious men ; and when he had placed me in the accustomed 
 bath, he himself washed me, and sprinkled me with water in the 
 purest manner, after he had first implored the pardon of the 
 Gods. Again, also, he brought me back to the temple, and 
 there placed me before the footsteps of the Goddess, two parts 
 of the day having been now passed over; and having given 
 certain mandates in secret, which are too holy to be uttered, he 
 clearly ordered, before all that were present, that I should 
 abstain from luxurious food, during those ten continued days, 
 and that I should not eat the flesh of any animal, and should 
 refrain from wine. These precepts therefore, having been 
 properly observed by me, with a venerable continence, the day 
 had now arrived in which I was to appear before the image of 
 the Goddess Isis, in order to be initiated, and the sun descend- 
 ing led on the evening. Then, behold, there was a conflux of 
 the people on all sides, every one honouring me with various 
 gifts, according to the ancient custom of sacred rites. Then also 
 the priest, all the profane being removed, taking hold of me by 
 the hand, brought me to the penetralia of the temple, clothed 
 in a new linen garment. Perhaps, inquisitive reader, you will 
 very anxiously ask me what was then said and done ? I would 
 tell you, if it could be lawfully told ; you should know it, if it 
 was lawful for you to hear it. But both the ears and the tongue 
 are guilty of rash curiosity. Nevertheless, I will not keep you 
 in suspense with religious desire, nor torment you with long- 
 continued anxiety. Hear, therefore, but believe what is true. 
 / approached to the confines of death, and having trod on the 
 threshold of Prosperine, I returned from it, being carried through 
 all the elements. At midnight I saw the sun shining with a 
 splendid light ; and I manifestly drew near to the Gods beneath, 
 
2o8 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 and the Gods above, and proximately adored tkemP Behold, I 
 have nanrated to you things, of which, though heard, it is 
 nevertheless necessary that you should be ignorant. I will, 
 therefore, only relate that, which may be enunciated to the 
 understanding of the profane without a crime. 
 
 The morning arose, and the solemnities being performed, 
 I came forth consecrated in twelve sacerdotal garments, in a 
 dress indeed very religious, but of which I am not forbidden by 
 any law to speak, because it was seen by many who were then 
 present. For, by order of the priest, I ascended a wooden 
 throne, which was in the very middle of the sacred building 
 \i.e. of the temple], and was placed before the image of the 
 Goddess, and there I sat conspicuous, in a garment which was 
 indeed linen, but was elegantly painted. A precious cloak also 
 depended from my shoulders behind my back as far as to my 
 heels. Nevertheless, to whatever part of me you directed your 
 view, you might see that I was remarkable by the animals 
 which were painted round my vestment in various colours. 
 Here were Indian dragons, there Hyperborean griffins, which 
 the other hemisphere generates in the form of a winged animal. 
 Men devoted to the service of divinity call this cloak the 
 Olympic garment. But in my right hand I carried a burning 
 torch ; and my head was decorously encircled with a crown, 
 the shining leaves of the palm tree projecting from it like rays 
 of light. Thus being adorned like the sun, and placed so as to 
 resemble a statue, on a sudden, the veils being drawn aside, 
 I was exhibited to the eyes of the people. Afterwards, I 
 celebrated the most joyful day of my initiation, as my natal 
 day,-i by delightfully pleasant and facetious banquets. The 
 third day also was celebrated with the same ceremonies, and 
 was accompanied by a religious breakfast, and the legitimate 
 consummation of the initiation. And having staid for some 
 -days in that place, I enjoyed through the divine image \i e. the 
 image of the Goddess] an inexplicable pleasure; being indebted 
 to it for a benefit which can never be repaid. Nevertheless, 
 through the admonition of the Goddess, having suppliantly 
 given her thanks, though not such as she deserved, yet to the 
 
 so In my Dissertation on the Eleusinian and Bacchic Mysteries, to which 1 refer the 
 reader, I have shown that the developement of the principles from which the soul 
 descended, accompanied by a vision of those principles, formed a part of the sacred 
 mysteries ; that C7ro:r/cta, or inspection, consisted in beholding the Gods themselves 
 invested with a resplendent light ; and that this was symbolical of those transporting 
 visions, which the virtuous soul will constantly enjoy in a future state ; and of which it is 
 able to gain some ravishing glimpses, even while connected with the present body. 
 
 21 Because, through being initiated,' he had on that day commenced a new life, 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK XI. 209 
 
 best of my ability, I prepared myself very slowly to return 
 home. 
 
 Having, therefore, with diiBculty burst the bonds of my 
 most ardent desire [of remaining with the Goddess], I at length 
 prostrated myself before her, and having for a long time wiped 
 her footsteps with my face, the tears bursting forth, interrupting 
 also my speech with frequent sobs, and as it were devouring 
 my words, I thus addressed the Goddess : " Thou, O holy and 
 perpetual saviour of the human race, being always munificent 
 in cherishing mortals, dost employ the sweet affection of a 
 mother on the misfortunes of the miserable. Nor is there any 
 day or night, or even a slender moment of time, which passes 
 unattended by thy benevolent interpositions. Thou protectest 
 men both by sea and land, and dispersing the storms of life, 
 dost extend thy salutary right hand, by which thou drawest 
 back the inextricably twisted thread of the Fates, and dost 
 mitigate the tempests of inclement Fortune, and restrain the 
 noxious courses of the stars. The supernal Gods reverence 
 thee, and those in the realms beneath attentively observe thy 
 nod. Thou rollest the sphere of the universe round the steady 
 poles, dost illuminate the sun, govern the world, and tread on 
 the dark realms of Tartarus. The stars move responsive to thy 
 command, the Gods rejoice in thy divinity, the hours and 
 seasons return by thy appointment, and the elements reverence 
 thy decree. By thy nod blasts of wind blow, the clouds are 
 nourished, seeds germinate, and blossoms increase. Birds 
 swiftly passing through the tracts of the air, wiM beasts wander- 
 ing on the mountains, serpents concealed in the ground, and 
 the enormous monsters that swim in the sea, are terrified at 
 the majesty which invests thy divinity. But I, who in cele- 
 brating thy praises possess but weak abilities, and for offering 
 sacrifices but a slender patrimony, have by no means eloquence 
 sufficient to express all that I conceive of the dignity of thy 
 nature ; nor are a thousand mouths, and as many tongues, nor 
 the eternal series of unwearied speech, equal to the arduous 
 task. I will, therefore, be solicitous to perform that which a 
 religious though poor man may be able to effect. For I will 
 image to myself thy divine countenance, and most sacred deity, 
 and perpetually preserve it concealed in the most inward 
 recesses of my soul." After this manner, having implored the 
 supreme Goddess, I embraced the priest Mithras, whom I now 
 called my parent, and clinging to his neck, and giving him 
 many kisses, I begged him to pardon me, that I could not 
 renuraerate him in a manner adequate to such mighty benefits. 
 
 After, therefore, I had been for a long time engaged in 
 
2IO THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 giving him thanks, I at last departed, and proceeded directly to 
 my paternal abode, in order to revisit it after so long an 
 absence. Hence, when a few days had elapsed, I rapidly 
 collected together my viatica in bundles, through the admo- 
 nition of the powerful Goddess, and entering into a ship, I 
 directed my course towards Rome. Being likewise certain of 
 prosperous winds during my voyage, I quickly entered into 
 port, afterwards travelled with great rapidity in a chariot, '^ and 
 arrived at this hallowed city,^ on the day before the Ides of 
 December, in the evening. Nor afterwards was any concern of 
 such principal importance with me, as that of daily supplicating 
 the supreme divinity of Queen Isis ; who is there propitiated 
 with the greatest veneration under the name of Isis Campensis,-* 
 which appellation she is allotted from the situation of her 
 temple. Lastly, I was an assiduous worshipper of her divinity, 
 being a foreigner indeed in her temple, but a domestic of her 
 religion.25 And behold, when the great Sun having passed 
 through the sign-bearing circle [i.e. the aodiac], had completed 
 the year, the vigilant care of the beneficent Goddess again 
 interrupted my sleep, and again admonished me of initiation 
 and sacred rites. And I wondered what she was preparing for 
 me to do, and what future event she announced. For how is it 
 possible I should not ; since I appeared to myself to have been 
 already initiated ? 
 
 While, therefore, I partly discuss my religious scruple in my 
 own mind, and partly avail myself of the counsels of the priests, 
 a novel and perfectly admirable circumstance took place : for I 
 found that I was only initiated in the mysteries of the Goddess, 
 but not in those of the great God, and supreme Father of the 
 Gods, the invincible Osiris. For though the nature of their 
 divinity and religion is connected, or rather is transcendently 
 
 23 There are instances among the ancients of extraordinary celerity in travelling. 
 Alexander, to suppress the rebellioQ of the Arici, travelled with his army six hundred 
 stadia in two days, i.e. each day seventy-two miles. Julius Caesar used to travel 
 commonly one hundred Roman miles in a day, as we are informed by Suetonius. Curio, 
 according to Appian, travelled with Cxsar's letters three thousand three hundred stadia 
 in three days, i.e. three hundred and seventy-seven English miles. And Tiberius Nero, 
 as we are informed by Pliny, travelled with three chaises in one day and one night, a 
 journey of two hundred miles, to see his brother when he was sick. 
 
 23 i.e. Rome, which was considered to be the seat of the Gods, and the true name ot 
 which it was not lawful to enunciate even in the performance of sacred rites. 
 
 24 The temple of Isis was in the Campus Martins, whence she was called Campensis. 
 It is said by Porphyry, in his life of Plotinus, that the Egyptian priest who evocated the 
 peculiar daemon of Plotinus, could at that time find no other pure place in Rome adapted 
 to that purpose, than the temple of Isis. 
 
 25 Because he bad been initiated in the mysteries of Isis at Corinth. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK XI. 211 
 
 united,^ nevertheless, there is the greatest difference in the 
 initiations into their mysteries. Hence, it ought to be known 
 by me, that the great God required that I should be one of his 
 servants. Nor did the thing long remain ambiguous. For on 
 the following night, I saw in a dream one of the priests clothed 
 in linen garments, who carrying thyrsi and ivy, and certain 
 other things of which it is not lawful to speak, placed them 
 before my household Gods, and occupying my seat, announced 
 to me that I should prepare the banquets of a magnificent 
 religion. He also walked gently with a limping step, the ankle 
 bone of his left foot being a little bent, in order that he might 
 afford me some sign, by which I might know him. All the 
 darkness of ambiguity therefore was removed, after such a 
 manifest declaration of the will of the Gods. Hence, as soon 
 as I had performed the morning salutations of the Goddess, I 
 diligently inquired whether any one of the priests resembled 
 him whom I had seen in a dream. Nor was he wanting. For 
 I immediately beheld one of the Pastophori, exactly according 
 with the nocturnal image, not only by the indication of his 
 foot, but also by his stature and features; and who, as I 
 afterwards knew;, was called Asinius Marcellus, a name not 
 foreign to my transformation.'"' Without delay, therefore, I 
 went directly to him, who was not ignorant of what I intended 
 to say, because he had already been admonished by a similar 
 mandate, that he should initiate me in the mysteries of Osiris. 
 For on the preceeding night, while he was adapting crowns for 
 the statue of the great God, he seemed to himself to have 
 heard from that mouth of his by which he pronounces the 
 destiny of every thing, that he should send the Madaurensian 
 to him, who was very poor, and to whom his sacred mysteries 
 ought immediately to be administered. For the God said, 
 That by his providence, renown from religious studies was 
 prepared for the Madaurensian, and great gain for him [».?. for 
 Asinius Marcellus]. 
 
 After this manner, being affianced to sacred concerns, I was 
 retarded, contrary to my wishes, through the slenderness of my 
 means to pay the necessary expenses. For the money which I 
 had spent in my journey had consumed the small substance of 
 my patrimony ; and the presents which it was requisite I should 
 
 i6 In the original tinica, which corresponds to the Greek word (Viauxr, and 
 signifies eviMTiiiXT VTrtppokr], i.<. transcendency of union. 
 
 For hetween Asinus, an ass, into which he bad been changed, and Atiniut, there 
 a great rescnblance. 
 
212 THE METAMORPHOSIS, OR 
 
 make in Rome [in order to be initiated in the mysteries of 
 Osiris], exceeded those which I had before made in a Roman 
 province. Hard poverty, therefore, being greatly adverse to my 
 desire, I was tormented, being placed, according to the proverb, 
 between a sacrifice and a stone. Nor was I less urged by the 
 pressing mandate of the God. And now being frequently stimu- 
 lated, not without great perturbation, at last by command of the 
 divinity, having sold- my garment, though but small, I collected 
 a sum sufficient for the purpose. And this very thing I was 
 expressly ordered to do. For the God said to me, " Would you 
 at all spare your garments, in attempting to procure any thing 
 which might administer to your pleasure, and are you now, when 
 you are going to be initiated in such great mysteries, dubious 
 whether you shall commit yourself to poverty unattended with 
 repentance ?" All things, therefore, being abundantly prepared, 
 again being satisfied for ten days with inanimate food, and, be- 
 sides this, being also instructed in the nocturnal orgies of the 
 chief God Serapis, I now coniplied with the divine mandate, full 
 of that confidence which my knowledge of a kindred religion 
 produced. This circumstance afforded the greatest consolation 
 to my peregrination, and at the same time more largely supplied 
 me with the means of subsistence. For, the deity of Good 
 Event being favourable, I supported myself through the gain 
 which I acquired in the forum by pleading causes in the Latin 
 tongue. Behold, also, a short time after this, I was again excited 
 by the unexpected and perfectly wonderful mandates of the 
 Gods, and was compelled to undertake a third initiation"^. But 
 I, not lightly solicitous, and in a state of great suspense, fre- 
 quently exercised my thoughts in considering what the intention 
 could be of this new and unheard-of will of the Gods ; and what 
 could still remain to be added to an initiation already twice 
 repeated. For I said, " Both the priests-' have either wrongly 
 advised me, or less fully than they ought to have done." And, 
 by Hercules, I now also began to entertain a bad opinion of 
 their fidelity. While, however, I was thus fluctuating in a 
 stormy sea of thought, and agitated as if I had been insane, the 
 mild image of the God thus instructed me by a nocturnal vision. 
 " There is no reason," it said, " that you should be terrified by 
 the long series of religious rites, as if any thing had been pre- 
 viously omitted ; but you ought rather to be exceedingly joyful 
 
 38 This third initiation was into ttie mysteries of the Roman Isis, as the first was into 
 those of the Achaian Isis. 
 
 39 i.t. The priest Mithras, who had initiated him in the mysteries of Isis in Acbaia, 
 and Asinius Marcellus, who bad initiated bim in those of Serapis at Rome. 
 
GOLDEN ASS, OF APULEIUS. — BOOK XI. 213 
 
 on account of the honour which the Gods assidulously pay you, 
 and to exult that you will thrice obtain a thing which is scarcely 
 even once granted to others. And you may justly presume from 
 that number that you will always be blessed. Moreover, you 
 will find that this third initiation is very necessary for you, if 
 you now consider with yourself, that the garment of the Goddess 
 with which you were invested in the province, remains deposited 
 in the same temple, and that you cannot supplicate at Rome on 
 solemn days in a garment of this kind, or be rendered illustrious 
 by that blessed vestment, when you shall be commanded to put 
 it on. In order, therefore, that you may be happy, fortunate, 
 and healthful, again with a joyful mind be initiated in sacred 
 mysteries, by command of the great Gods [Osiris, Serapis, and 
 Isis]." 
 
 Thus far the persuasive majesty of the divine dream 
 announced to me what was requisite to be done. Nor did I 
 neglect the affair afterwards, nor defer it by supine procrastina- 
 tion ; but immediately relating what I had seen to my priest, I 
 lived chastely, and abstained from animal food, and having of 
 my own accord extended my abstinence beyond those ten days 
 prescribed by a perpetual law, I bought what was requisite for 
 my initiation, spending more largely from a pious intention than 
 with a view to what was wanted. Nor, by Hercules, did I at -all 
 repent of my labours and expenses. For by the liberal provi- 
 dence of the Gods, I was sufficiently enriched by forensic gain. 
 At length, after a very few days had elapsed, the God Osiris, 
 who is the chief of the great Gods, the highest of the greater, 
 the greatest of the highest, and the ruler of the greatest, not 
 being now transformed into some foreign person, but manifestly 
 deigning to speak to me in his own divine words, seemed to me 
 in a dream to declare, that I should now indubitably plead 
 causes in the forum with renown, and that I should not fear the 
 slanders of the malevolent, which the learning I had acquired 
 by laborious study would there excite. And in order that I 
 might minister to his sacred rites mingled with a crowd of other 
 religious men, he chose me to be one of his Pastophori, and also 
 placed me among the quinquennial Decurions. And lastly, my 
 hair leing again perfectly shaved, I joyfully performed the duties 
 of that most ancient college, and which was established about 
 the time of Sylla, not shading or covering my baldness, but 
 rendering it in all parts conspicuous. 
 
 THE END. 
 
BIRMINGHAM : 
 
 J. COSBY, UNIVERSAL PRESS, MOOR STREET.