The metamorphosis, or golden ass, and philosophical works, of Apuleius [A. on the God of Socrates; A. on the habitude of the doctrines of Plato] / Translated from the original Latin, by Thomas Taylor.

  • Apuleius
Date:
1822
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The metamorphosis, or golden ass, and philosophical works, of Apuleius [A. on the God of Socrates; A. on the habitude of the doctrines of Plato] / Translated from the original Latin, by Thomas Taylor. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    the realms beneath, and to reanimate this body. And having thus said, he brought into the midst of the by- standers a certain young man, clothed in linen gar- ments1, 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, O 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 Mempliitic arcana, and the Phariac [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 wTas 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. The corpse also arose, and thus spoke to the young man: Why, I beseech you, do you bring me back to the offices of a momentary life, after I have drank of the Lethcean cup, and have swam over the Stygian marshes ? Desist, I pray you, now desist, and suffer me to remain in * See book xi., where the linen garments of the priests of Isis are 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. Apol.
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