84

Pudentilla's letter ends with a clear statement that she has not been bewitched. What more evidence is required? Thanks to Maximus's expeditious action, the prosecution had no time to tamper with this document. Even so, it is shameful thing that Rufinus has publicized what was in Pudentilla's private correspondence.

Ad litterās Pudentillae prōvocā(vi)stis: "you cited Pudentilla's letter as your proof," "you appealed to Pudentilla's letter," LS provoco II.E.

litterīs vincō: "with (this) letter I win my case." 

tū: the clerk of the court.

fīnierit: fīnīverit.

obcantāta, vēcors, āmēns, amāns: all epithets applied ironically.

(2)

ἐγὼ οὔτε μεμάγευμαι οὔτ᾿ ἐρῶ. Τὴν εἱμαρμένην ἐκφ: "I have neither been enchanted, nor am I in love. Fate ..."

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The third and last quotation from the letter, apparently from its concluding sentences. The end, however, is a locus vix sanandus (an unsolvable textual problem) as B/0 say. In F, it breaks off on Τὴν εἱμαρμένην εκφ. Numerous attempts at restoring the text have been undertaken. However, none of them is really satisfying. Given the following lines (84.3), it must have been something like ἐκφ<φύγειν τίς ἅν δύνοιτο> (Helm), for which cf. e. g. Plato, Gorgιas 512 e, or ἐκφ<ύγειν οὐκ ἔξεστιν> (Helm, addenda p. 123). For the abrupt ending of the Greek quotation several explanations are possible. Of course, it may have been caused by a scribal error. But it can also be due to a deliberate choice of the speaker, or even closely reflect Pudentilla's language in the letter. The second and third options have some support in the following question etiamne amplius?, which reads like "and so forth." See Helm's German rendering das Schicksal aber usw. (Hunink)

Etiamne amplius: "Isn’t that enough?" (Jones). Apuleius is echoing Rufinus's "mic drop" moment from 82.6, and also playing on the fact that this is actually the end of the letter.

Reclāmat vōbīs: "cries out against you," "contradicts you," "refutes you."

quōdam praecōniō: "with a kind of public proclamation."

(3)

Nūbendī ... seu ratiōnem seu necessitātem: "either her reason for wanting to get married or the necessity she felt of getting married."

adscrībit: subject is Pudentilla.

ā quō: antecedent is fātō.

multum: (adv.) construe with remōta est, "is far distanced" = "is very different."

omnīnō sublāta: "is entirely excluded" (OLD tollo 14.d), in the logical sense that a worldview in which fate rules everything leaves no room for magic.

Quae: modifies vīs: "what power?"

reī cuiusque: "of each and every event," dependent upon fātum.

torrēns: substantive, "a rushing river."

(4)

hāc sententiā suā: "by this statement of hers."

mē magum: supply esse in indirect statement after negāvit.

sed: "but (also)."

omnīnō esse magīam: "that magic exists at all," emphatic.

(5)

Bene, quod: "It's good that," "It is a lucky thing that" (Jones).

ex mōre: "in accordance with his custom."

festīnātiō iūdiciī: "the hastening of the trial," by Maximus, to whom Apuleius attributes the trial's speed in 84.6 below.

vōs ... antevertit, nē ... novārētis: "cut you off, so that you could not alter ..." "prevented you from altering."

nē quid: nē aliquid.

ex ōtiō: "at your leisure." 

(6)

Tuum hoc, Maxime, tuaeque prōvidentiae beneficium est: order: hoc beneficium est tuum, Maxime, tuaeque prōvidentiae.

quod ... praecipitāstī et ... subnerviāstī: a substantive clause describing hoc ... beneficium: "that you hastened ... and undercut."

ā prīncipiō intellēctās calumniās: "the things that you understood from the beginning to be false accusations."

corrōborārentur: subject is the calumniae.

tempore: i.e., in the otium which Maximus did not allow them to have.

nūllā impertītā morā: "with no delay granted" = "by not granting any delay."

(7)

Finge: "suppose that" + indirect statement, matrem ... confessam (esse)  (> cōnfiteor).

utī adsolet: "as is usual."

The verb is used impersonally; see the examples in OLD  assoleo 1.b. As B/0 rightly explain, it does not refer to a habit of Pudentilla's of writing letters about love, but it makes the general statement that such letters are generally secret (Hunink).

vērum: "morally right," "honest" or "proper," OLD vērus 9-10 (Hunink).

hoc nōn dīcō pium, sed saltem hūmānum: Apuleius is specifying in what way he intends the word vērum to be interpreted. "Was this right? I'm not even talking about whether this was the dutiful thing for a son to do, but was it even the basically humane thing to do?"

provulgārī eās litterās et ... publicārī: an infinitive clause describing hoc: "that her letter be passed around and made public."

potissimum: "especially."

fīlī praecōniō: "by the proclamation of her son."

(8)

Sed sumne ego īnscius, quī postulō ut aliēnum pudōrem cōnservēs quī tuum perdiderīs?: "But am I naïve to expect you to protect someone else’s reputation after ruining your own?"

īnscius: the word is sometimes emended to inscītus, "ignorant." But as Hunink points out, the manuscript's īnscius (literally "ignorant, unexperienced") can easily be stretched to mean "naive."

quī postulō: "I who ask," "when I ask," "since I ask."

aliēnum pudōrem: "someone else's reputation" (Jones). The word suggests chastity, modesty, and dignity, all very positive qualities, unlike Eng. "shame," except in an antiquated sense, e.g., "have you no shame?"

quī: antecedent is the second-person subject of cōnservēs, "you who."

tuum: supply pudōrem, "your (own sense of propriety)."

perdiderīs: for a detailed account of Rufinus's descent into indecency, see chapters 74-75.