[91] (1) Vidē quaesō, Maxime, quem tumultum suscitārint, quoniam ego paucōs magōrum nōminātim percēnsuī. Quid faciam tam rudibus, tam barbarīs? (2) Doceam rūrsum haec et multō plūra alia nōmina in bybliothēcīs pūblicīs apud clārissimōs scrīptōrēs mē lēgisse? An disputem longē aliud esse nōtitiam nōminum, aliud artis eiusdem commūniōnem, nec dēbēre doctrīnae īnstrūmentum et ērudītiōnis memoriam prō cōnfessiōne crīminis habērī? (3) An, quod multō praestābilius est, tuā doctrīnā, Claudī Maxime, tuāque perfectā ērudītiōne frētus contemnam stultīs et impolītīs ad haec respondēre? (4) Ita potius faciam; quid illī exīstiment, naucī nōn putābō. Quod īnstituī pergam disputāre: nūllam mihi causam fuisse Pudentillam venēficiīs ad nūptiās prōlectandī. (5) Fōrmam mulieris et aetātem ipsī ultrō improbāvērunt idque mihi vitiō dedērunt, tālem uxōrem causā avāritiae concupīsse atque adeō prīmō dōtem in congressū grandem et ūberem rapuisse.

(6) Ad haec, Maxime, longā ōrātiōne fatīgāre tē nōn est cōnsilium. Nihil verbīs opus est, cum multō disertius ipsae tabulae loquantur, in quibus omnia—contrā quam istī ex suā rapācitāte dē mē quoque coniectāvērunt—facta impraesentiārum et prōvīsa in posterum dēprehendis: (7) iam prīmum mulieris locuplētissimae modicam dōtem neque eam datam, sed tantum modo <prōmissam>; (8) praeter haec eā condiciōne factam coniūnctiōnem, nūllīs ex mē susceptīs līberīs sī vītā dēmigrāsset, utī dōs omnis apud fīliōs eius Pontiānum et Pudentem manēret, sīn vērō ūnō ūnāve superstite diem suum obīsset, utī tum dīvidua pars dōtis posteriōrī fīliō, reliqua priōribus cēderet.

    Reading out the names of famous sorcerers has created a stir among my accusers, ignorant as they are that such names are found in reputable books in public libraries. Rather than respond to their foolishness I will point out that I had no financial motive to bewitch Pudentilla. Though she is rich, I received little in the dowry agreement, according to which the vast majority of her property goes to her children on her demise.

    (1)

    suscitārint: suscitāverint, subject is Apuleius' accusers.

    nōminātim: "by name."

    (2)

    Doceam: "should I explain," introducing the indirect statement mē lēgisse.

    rūrsum: "yet again," LS rursus II.B.

    haec: nōmina.

    in bybliothēcīs publicīs: Apuleius can hardly refer to magical treatises, which would assuredly not have been kept in the public libraries. Such works were publicly banned in the third century B.C.; see Livy 25.1.12. He must refer to learned works such as Pliny's Natural History, which contains much information on the subject (B/O).

    apud: "in the works of."

    disputem: "should I argue," introducing the indirect statements:

    notitiam nominum ... esse

    communionem ... (esse)

    nec instrumentum et memoriam ... debere

    longē aliud esse: "is a far different thing." Aliud is correlative with a second aliud just below

    artis eiusdem: "of the same skill," i.e., of magic.

    commūniōnem: "a share of," "participation in" + gen.

    īnstrūmentum: "the (mental) equipment," OLD instrumentum 3.a.

    memoriam: "the power of remembering," "recall" (Jones), OLD memoria 1.

    prō cōnfessiōne ... habērī: “to be considered equivalent to a confession.”

    (3)

    quod: "a thing which."

    frētus: "relying upon" + abl.

    contemnam: deliberative subjunctive, "should I not bother to," "scorn to," + infin.

    ad haec: "on these points."

    (4)

    potius: "rather" than calling them out on their ignorance.

    quid illī exīstiment: take the full clause as the direct object of putābō and that on which the genitive naucī depends.

    naucī: genitive of cost or value, "(the value) of a trifle."

    Quod: "that which."

    disputāre: "to argue," complementary to both īnstituī and pergam.

    nūllam ... causam fuisse: indirect statement relating the substance of Apuleius' chosen argument.

    Pudentillam: direct object of the genitive gerund prōlectandī.

    venēficiīs: "sorcery," "use of the magical arts" (OLD veneficium 1).

    (5)

    ipsī ultrō: "(my accusers) themselves, unprompted." It would be suboptimal for Apuleius to call his wife ugly and old, but he can certainly take the opportunity of reminding his accusers that they didn't seem to think she was much of a catch. Of course, Apuleius is being disingenuous, here, since the accusers have said his motive was Pudentilla's money, not her beauty.

    improbāvērunt: "have disparaged."

    id: direct object of dedērunt, setting up the indirect statement (me) ... concupisse ... rapuisse, "the fact that I...".

    mihi vitiō dedērunt: "have attributed to me as a fault," "have marked up as a point against me," LS do II.K. Dative of purpose AG 382.

    causā avāritiae: "for greed's sake."

    adeō prīmō ... in congressū: "as early as upon our first meeting."

    (6)

    Ad haec: "on these points."

    nōn est cōnsilium: supply mihi,  "it is not my intention."

    Nihil: adverbial, "in no respect" = nōn.

    multō: ablative of degree of difference, construe with disertius.

    ipsae tabulae: the tabulae nuptiales, which presumably held all the details of the dowry agreement and other arrangements.

    quibus: antecedent is tabulae.

    omnia ... facta impraesentiārum et prōvīsa in posterum: "everything settled for the present and arranged for the future" (Jones).

    contrā quam: "contrary to."

    Post-Augustan. In classical Latin contra atque or ac was used, quam is used with contra by Seneca, the elder Pliny, and Gellius (B/O).

    ex suā rapācitāte: Apuleius supposes his accusers are projecting their own greed-motivated behaviors onto him; that Rufinus married his daughter to Pontianus in order to get his hands on Pudentilla's fortune, and so obviously he assumes Apuleius has married Pudentilla for the same reason.

    dē mē quoque: "about me, too (in addition to them)."

    dēprehendis: "you (can) read," "you (will) find."

    (7)

    iam prīmum: "first of all."

    modicam dōtem: supply esse in an indirect statement representing the contents of the tabulae nuptiales which the court is now considering, "that the dowry was a moderate one."

    eam: dōtem.

    neque ... datam: supply esse, "and that it had not (yet) been given," countering the argument that Apuleius took the dowry the first time he met Pudentilla.

    tantum modo: "only," sometimes written as one word, tantummodo, OLD tantum 9.

    <prōmissam>: "promised (in the marriage contract)." 

    A word for something less than 'given' must obviously be supplied. Many solutions have been brought forward; e.g. commodatam, creditam, or sed <dictam> tantummodo (Hunink).

    (8)

    praeter haec: "on top of these (facts).”

    eā condiciōne: "with the following stipulation," setting up two clauses:

    utī dōs omnis ... manēret

    utī ... pars dōtis ... cēderet

    factam coniūnctiōnem: supply esse, continuing the indirect statement that represents the contents of the tabulae nuptiales.

    coniūnctiōnem: "connection," i.e. marriage, OLD coniunctio 3.c; alternatively, a special legal meaning may be at play. In Roman law a coniunctio was an institution of several heirs for the same estate or of several legatees for the same thing in common. The estate (or legacy) became common property of the coheredes (or collegatarii) (Berger, Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law, p. 407). This is how the offspring of Pudentilla, whether of her first husband or of both Apuleius and her first husband, will inherit.

    nūllīs ex mē susceptīs līberīs: ablative absolute. 

    This was apparently considered as a real possibility, although Pudentilla was already in her forties. In ancient medicine a woman was thought to be fertile until she was between forty and fifty (Hunink).

    sī vītā dēmigrā(vi)sset: "If she departs from life" = "if she dies."

    ūnō ūnāve superstite: ablative absolute, "with one son or daughter surviving her," specifically one fathered by Apuleius.

    diem suum obīsset: "she meets her (final) day," = "she dies."

    tum: "in that case."

    dīvidua pars: "a share," either a third, since there would be then three children to divide the dowry between, or, as B/O take is, "half."

    posteriōrī fīliō: "to the more recent child," the one fathered by Apuleius.

    priōribus: supply fīliīs.

    quaesō quaesere: to beg

    Māximus –ī m.: Maximus

    tumultus tumultūs m.: confusion, hubbub, uproar

    suscitō suscitāre suscitāvī suscitātus: to stir up

    magus magī m.: magic user

    nōminātim: by name

    percēnseō –cēnsēre –cēnsuī: to review, recite, list, go through

    rudis -e: uneducated, crude

    (2)

    bybliothēca –ae f.: library

    scrīptor –ōris m.: writer, author

    disputō disputāre disputāvī disputātus: to argue, make a case that

    nōtitia –ae or nōtitiēs –eī f.: knowledge, familiarity

    commūniō -ōnis f.: mutual participation, acquaintance

    doctrīna –ae f.: teaching, doctrine, learning

    instrūmentum –ī n.: equipment, the fact of being equipped

    ēruditiō –ōnis f.: instruction, learning

    cōnfessiō –ōnis f.: a confession

    praestābilis –e: excellent

    (3)

    Claudius Maximus –ī m.: cognomen of Claudius Maximus, judge in the case

    (6)

    perfectus -a -um: complete, perfect, infallible, excellent

    frētus –a –um: relying on (+ ABL.)

    stultus –a –um: foolish

    impolītus –a –um: unpolished, rough

    naucum –ī n.: a trifle

    (4)

    disputō disputāre disputāvī disputātus: to argue

    Pudentilla –ae f.: Pudentilla (name)

    venēficium –iī n.: the use of magic, sorcery

    nuptiae –ārum f. pl.: marriage

    prōlectō –āre: to allure, entice forth

    ultrō: voluntarily, unprompted

    (5)

    improbō improbāre improbāvī improbātus: to criticize, disparage

    avāritia avāritiae f.: greed

    concupīscō concupiscīre concupīvī concupītus: to desire, long for

    dōs dōtis f.: dowry

    congressus –ūs m.: meeting

    grandis grandis grande: large

    ūber ūberis: (adj.) rich, bountiful

    Māximus –ī m.: cognomen of Claudius Maximus, judge in the case

    (6)

    fatīgō fatīgāre fatīgāvī fatīgātus: to tire, wear out

    disertus -a -um: well-spoken, fluent, eloquent

    tabula tabulae f.: writing tablet, document

    rapācitās –ātis f.: greed

    coniectō –āre: to infer

    impraesentiārum: (adv.) at present

    prōvideō prōvidēre prōvīdī prōvīsus: to foresee

    dēprehendō dēprehendere dēprehendī dēprehensus: to understand; read

    (7)

    locuplēs –ētis: rich

    modicus modica modicum: moderate, modest, temperate

    dōs dōtis f.: dowry

    coniūnctiō –ōnis f.: a (marital) union; legal agreement to split up property

    (8)

    condiciō condiciōnis f.: agreement; limiting condition

    coniunctio coniunctiōnis f.: bond, association; marriage, betrothal

    suscipio suscipere suscēpī susceptum: take up, receive; bear (children)

    dēmigrō dēmigrāre dēmigrāvī dēmigrātus: to depart, pass away

    dōs dōtis f.: dowry

    Pontiānus –ī m.: Pontianus, son of Pudentilla, deceased at the time of the trial

    Pudēns –entis m.: Pudens, son of Pudentilla

    sīn: but if

    superstes –itis: surviving, remaining alive after death

    obeō obīre obiī/obīvī obitum: to go to meet; diem obīre = to die

    dīviduus –a –um: divided

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