95

What better advocate or witness to my character could I have than governor Lollianus Avitus? He is the greatest orator of this age, combining as he does all the stylistic excellences seen in the great orators of the past.

(1)

dēbuisse mē: indirect statement after nescius.

perōrāre: "make my summation."

Quem: interrogative looking forward to producam.

laudātōrem locuplētiōrem: "what more generous eulogist" (Jones). locuples = wealthy; (of orators) having a rich or ample style (OLD 5).

sānctiōrem: "scrupulous," upright," "blameless" (OLD sanctus 4).

(2)

Rōmānī nōminis ... virōs: "men of Roman name" = "Roman men."

sēdulō cognōvī: "I have eagerly become acquainted with."

aequē: "as much" as I do Lollianus Avitus.

sum ... admīrātus: "I have come to admire."

(3)

quantum mea opīniō fert: "as far as my opinion goes," "according to my opinion," see LS fero II.B.10.

alicuius ... laudis et speī: "of any excellence or promise," genitive of quality (AG 345).

(4)

quīn Avītus esse longē mālit: "who would not greatly prefer to be Avitus," LS quin II.A.

remōtā invidiā: "with (all) jealousy set aside," so as to allow an honest comparison.

sī ... sē ... velit cōnferre: "if he were willing to compare himself."

paene dīversae: describing omnēs fandī virtūtēs:  "(even those which are) almost contradictory to each other," as will be expounded below.

congruunt: "come together," "align."

(5)

struxerit: the verb is often used of composing literary works or arranging arguments. See OLD struo 3.

illa: ōrātiō.

undique suī: "on all sides of itself," "in every aspect of itself.”

absolūta: "completed," "perfected," LS absolvo II.E.

Catō: M. Porcius Cato (234-149 BC), one of the earliest Roman orators of repute (Hunink).

gravitātem requīrat: "would miss (any of his characteristic) gravitas (in the speech of Lollianus Avitus)," supply this verb and sense with each of the next seven pairs of orators and the respective qualities for which each one is known. Of these, the first and last pairs (gravitas / lenitas, parsimonia / opulentia) best illustrate the virtūtēs paene dīversae which Apuleius mentions in 95.4.

Laelius: Gaius Laelius (ca.190-125 BC), the friend of Scipio, who was already mentioned at 20.5. As a public speaker he earned no less praise than Scipio, and he was also known for his fancy for verba prisca (Hunink).

Gracchus: Gaius Sempronius Grachus was famous for the fire of his oratory (B/O). 

Caesar: Gaius lulius Caesar (100-44 BC), a man better known for his achievements in other fields than rhetoric. Nonetheless, antiquity praised him for his style of speaking too, especially his elegantia (Hunink).

Hortenius: Quintus Hortensius Hortalus (114-50 BC), an important rival of Cicero. He is the main exponent of the exuberant rhetoric style known as Asianism. 

distribūtiōnem: "the resolution of a statement or idea into several," LS distributio II.A.

Distributio is not a common term for a virtus dicendi: in Roman rhetoric it more often refers to a task of the speaker at another level than style, namely the "arrangement" of the speech. However, it seems clear what Apuleius means: Quintilian (Institutio oratoria 4.5.24) praises Hortensius for the care he took over his partitions (diligentia partiendi), counting headings on his fingers (divisionem in digitos deductam) (Hunink).

Calvus: Gaius Licinius Macer Calvus (82-47 BC), known for his strict, Atticist style in speaking (Hunink).

Sallustius: Gaius Sallustius Crispus (86-34 BC), the great Roman author, is praised for his brevitas in the well-known judgement of Quintilian 10.1.32 (Hunink).

Cicero: Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC), probably the most remarkable name here. It is inserted almost casually, as the last item in a list of examples. There is not so much as a hint that Apuleius would consider him as the model of oratory par excellence, as so many other authors do. In fact, we do not even know whether Apuleius has studied Cicero's speeches. The influence of Cicero on the style of the Apology has generally been overestimated (Hunink).

(6)

Prōrsus: "in short," "in sum," LS prorsus II.B.3 (used "after a series of particulars").

nē omnēs persequar: negative purpose clause, explaining why Apuleius has chosen to sum things up at this point: "so that I won't need to list every orator/quality in existence."

additum ... dētractum ... commūtātum: supply esse with each, "to have been added, to have been removed, to have been changed."

(7)

audiās, quae ... recognōscēs: "you are listening to (me go on about) the things you (already) know.”

Tua mē cōmitās, ut vel pauca dīcerem dē eō, invītāvit: Tua cōmitās mē invītāvit ut vel pauca dīcerem dē eō.

vel pauca: "a few things, at any rate," OLD vel 6.

(8)

usque adeō ... ut: "so far as to."

tuae benevolentiae indulgēbō: "take advantage of your goodwill (toward me)."

iam propemodum fessō: modifying mihi, "almost worn out now as I am."

prōrsus ad fīnem: "all the way through to (its) end."

eius: Avītī.

incipere: "to begin (to talk)."

quīn potius ... eās ... servem: "but that I can save them, instead" "when I can instead save them," the ēgregiae virtūtēs which Apuleius is dying to talk about.

integrīs vīribus: "for undiminished strength," i.e., when his energy has not already been depleted by giving a full speech.

temporī līberō: "for a free time," when they are not in the middle of a trial.