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
Catalogue details

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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    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 reani- mated 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 circumstances, and resisting, with a sacrilegious mind, contends against her confuting hus- band. 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 lying testimony of a dead body. The subsecpient 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 un- violated 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 enchantresses, ardently 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 drowsi- ness, 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
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