3

I am confident of a similar outcome here. Aemilianus lied before in court, and, like all evil-doers, is likely to repeat his offense (1-3). Concern for my reputation (pudor) demands that, before I deal with the substance of the case, I refute all the negative things Aemilianus' lawyers said about me, and about philosophers in general (4-6). One could ignore these remarks as typical lawyerly invective, but I must briefly rebut them lest my silence be taken as agreement (7-9). Even people conscious of their own guilt become angry when spoken ill of. Decent people who have done nothing wrong are keenly indignant when falsely accused (10-11). Discussing these topics may seem out of place, but that is the fault of my accusers (12). 

[clausulated text]

(1)

quam … ēruptūram: order: frētus et tuā aequitāte et meā innocentiā, spērō hanc quidem vōcem  ēruptūram (esse) in hōc quoque iūdiciō.

quam quidem vōcem: "this same pronouncement," that Aemilianus is in the wrong.

ēruptūram: "will ring out" (Jones), or "will suddenly speak out" (Hunink), taking vocem as the voice of Lollius Urbicus, rather than "pronouncement."

quippe qui: "in as much as he," "since he." The joining of quippe with a connecting relative pronoun is common  (LS quippe 5).

sciēns: "knowingly."

innocentem: "an innocent man," i.e. Apuleius himself.

crīminātur: subject: Aemilianus.

eō sānē facilius, quod: "all the more easily, in fact, because."  eō = eā rē, "for this reason" (LS eo2 B.2.α), looking forward to quod, "because."

mentiēns ... convictus est: “he has been caught lying,” an unclassical construction (Hunink). With this verb the crime, error, etc., is commonly in the genitive or ablative.

apud praefectum urbī: "at the court of the Prefect of the City," the office held by Lollius Urbicus. The dative is normal with praeficio. Originally the praefectus urbi exercised criminal jurisdiction when he was delegated by the emperor, but later his jurisdictional power increased constantly . . . In the later Empire the praefectus urbi was the head of the administration and jurisdiction in both civil and criminal matters (Berger, praefectus).

amplissimā: "very important."

(2)

peccātum semel: "a mistake made once," accusative, object of cavet and integrat.

ut ... ita: "just as ... so."

sollicitius: "more punctiliously," "more scrupulously" (LS sollicitus II.E).

quī ingeniō malō est: "a man of evil character" (Jones), literally, "(he) who is of an evil character," abl. of description (AG 415).

dē cēterō: "thereafter," LS ceterus I.1.c.

quō ... eō: "the more ... the more," "both ... and," LS eo2 I.C.

(3)

obsolētior: "shabbier" (Jones).

incūriōsius: "more carelessly."

habētur: “is kept," LS habeo II.O.2.

(4)

pudōris meī: "my OWN sense of shame" (in contrast with Aemilianus' ragged, tattered pudor).

rem: "the case (itself)."

maledicta: Apuleius begins his defense by refuting the maledicta for which he is not charged before addressing the primary legal charges brought by his accusers. These maledicta are offered as evidence of Apuleius' bad character. Character evidence is evidence regarding someone's general personality traits or propensities, of a praiseworthy or blameworthy nature; evidence of a person's moral standing in a community .... Character evidence is usually, but not always, prohibited if offered to show that the person acted in conformity with that character (Black's Law Dictionary, 12th Ed., 2024). In American courts it is not customary for character evidence to be used as proof of a crime. 

read more

For an example, the misuse of character evidence was a major factor in the overturn of the conviction of Harvey Weinstein, the well-known and formerly successful movie and television producer convicted of criminal sexual assault, rape, and predatory assault in a New York state court. The state's highest court in a 4:3 vote reversed that conviction. The state trial court had ruled that if the defendant, who had no prior criminal record, testified in his defense that he could be cross examined about numerous allegations of misconduct (sexual and non-sexual acts) against his staff and others. The highest court held that it was highly prejudicial and deprived the defendant of a fair trial. "Thus, it is an abuse of judicial discretion to permit untested allegations of nothing more than bad behavior that destroys a defendant's character but sheds no light on their credibility as related to the criminal charges lodged against them." People v. Weinstein, 42 N.Y.3d 439, 471 (2024).

(5)

cuia: > cuius -a -um, an archaic word meaning "of whom, whose." Like many of Apuleius' rare and archaic words, cuius is seen most commonly in the early Latin comic writers Plautus and Terence.

magnitūdō: “grandeur.”

(6)

propter quod: "I do this because," explaining sustineo above, a not uncommon variant of propterea quod.

patrōnī Aemiliānī: "Aemilianus's lawyers." Patronus causae = advocatus. The term is applied to persons who exercise the profession of an advocate (advocatio), i.e., a legal adviser . . . The advocatus assisted his clients (clientes) with juristic advice before and during the trial, in both civil and criminal matters, and pleaded for them in court (Berger, patronus).

in mē propriē: "against me specifically," as opposed to the alia commūniter in philosophōs suēta.

effutiērunt: effutivērunt.

(7)

ūtiliter: "profitably," for financial gain.

blaterāta: pf. pass. participle neuter pl. > blatero -are, "babbling." But the word also refers to animal sounds, so "bleating" would also be appropriate. A colloquial word seen in pre- and post-classical Latin, but avoided by most classical writers. 

auctōrāmentō: "under contract," "for pay," a synonym for the preceding phrase ob mercedem.

dēpēnsa: "paid out" > dependo.

concessō quōdam mōre: "according to a certain accepted practice," LS concedo B.2.e.

id genus: “of this kind,” accusative of description.  (LS genus II.B.1.b). This phrase is common in Apuleius and his contemporaries, and is probably a revival of an old use. Varro has it frequently (B/O).

vīrus: acc. sing., object of locāre.

aliēnō dolōrī: dative of purpose AG 382, "to rent out the venom of their tongue for another's pain."

(8)

meā causā: "from my case," ablative of separation AG 401. 

paucīs: supply verbīs.

is: used in the first person with labōrō and admittam, “lest I, a person who am working tirelessly….”

admittam: "allow."

cuipiam: "to anyone at all," dat. sing. > quispiam.

contempsisse: "to have ignored (contemptuously)" > contemno.

(9)

Est: the subject is the phrase vel falsas vituperationes gravari,  "to feel even false accusations heavily is (characteristic) of a shame-feeling mind" (genitive of characteristic AG 343.c).

gravārī: deponent: "to regard as a burden."

cum male audiunt: supply: dicta de se, “when they hear slanders about themselves,” "hear evil report of themselves" (Jones), a common idiom.

impendiō: "greatly," LS impendium II.B.2.

(10) 

exinde ut: "from the moment that,"  LS exinde II.B.2. 

sibimet: an intensified version of sibi.

cōnsciī: "knowing something in oneself," LS conscius II.A.α.

(11)

bonus et innoxius quisque: "every good and innocent man," like the common phrase optimus quisque.

ad male audiendum: with imperītās: “unaccustomed to hearing evil report of themselves.”

multō tanta: "many times as severely," "much, much more," a phrase that occurs occasionally in Plautus.

ex animō: adverbial: "deeply," or "to the very marrow" (Jones).

labōrat: "is grieved that" + acc. + inf. (ea ... dici), a rare use of indirect statement with this verb.  See LS laboro I.B 2.  

vērē: as opposed to immeritō.  

(12)

Quod sī: "If then," drawing an inference from what precedes (LS quod VII).

illīs … vitiō: "as a fault on their part," contrast with mihi culpae, both examples of the double dative AG 382. 

mihi ... culpae: "as a point of blame for me."

vortī: archaism: vertī is the more common form, pass. infin. > vertō.

obiectāsse: obiectā(vi)sse.

darī: supply debet from above.

etiam haec: "even these (frivolous charges).”