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Aren't you embarrassed to have made these empty, self-contradictory charges in the presence of Claudius Maximus (1-4)? I will now turn to the actual charge of black magic (5-7). I ask Aemilianus what a magus is (8). According to Plato, magus is simply a Persian word for priest (9-11). 

(1)

Nōnne vōs puditum est: "Didn't it cause you shame," i.e., "were you not ashamed to," followed by a series of infinitives, obiectāre ... prōmere ... reprehendere, "to toss around ... express ... find fault."

audiente: "hearing the case."

adsevērātē: "earnestly," modifying audiente, or else, "insistently," modifying obiectāre.

inter sē repugnantia: "fighting back amongst themselves," "mutually contradictory."

utrāque: "on both grounds" (Jones).

(2)

At: a sign of indignation or amazement (LS at I.B.3.b). "Oh, what, you haven't made contradictory accusations, you say?"

accūsāstis: accūsāvistis.

Pēram et baculum: supply nōn accūsāvistis with this and the following phrases. On the significance of the pēra and baculum, see section 22.

ob austeritātem: an emendation for auctoritatem in the MSS.

carmina et speculum: another two direct objects of supplied accūsāstis. Apuleius's erotic poems are the topics of sections 9-12, his alleged mirror-ownership and mirror-use of sections 13-16.

ūnum servum ... trēs lībertōs: see section 17.

ut dēparcī: "as if (it were an act characteristic) of a real miser." Construe ut profūsī below in the same way.

ēloquentiam Graecam: "(my) eloquence (as) Greek."

patriam barbaram: see section 24.

(3)

Quīn igitur: "then why don't you ...?," a favorite Apuleian phrase for expressing impatience. The exasperated tone continues in the repetition of quīn in the following sentence.

vōs cōgitātis: prolepsis; vōs is the subject of an indirect statement dependent on cōgitātis: "reflect on the fact that you all ..."

apud: "in the court of," "in front of."

(4)

aufertis: "stop," "desist from" + acc., LS aufero II.B.

ostenditis: "prove."

quod īnsimulāvistis: "what you have alleged."

inconcessa: "banned."

rēbus: "in (respect to) facts."

(5) 

ad invidiam meī accēnsum: "kindled in order to produce hatred toward me," modifying quod (crīmen). The metaphor of fire continues with deflagravit, "burned out," and in the following sentence.

frūstrātā expectātiōne omnium: "disappointing everyone's expectations" (Jones).

anīlēs fābulās: "old wives' tales," which carries associations not merely of foolishness and nonsense, but also of superstition. The introductory nescio quas further disparages these fabulae and enables the speaker to distance himself from them (Hunink).

dēflagrāvit: the subject is Aemilianus, whom Apuleius had in the last section been addressing directly. Apuleius, as will be confirmed in the following section, is now speaking to Maximus.

(6)

stipulā exortam: "(just) having flared up in some stubble," before it dies down. For the agricultural practice of burning stubble (not hay, as sometimes translated), see Vergil, Georgics 1.84-93, 3.99-100, with the commentaries of Thomas and Mynors; the practice has lasted into modern times (Jones).

clārō crepitū, largō fulgōre, cito incrēmentō: ablatives of description of this flamma in its initial stages.

crepitu: "crackle." 

incremento: "growth," "increase."

māteriā levī: ablative of cause, "because its fuel is slight."

cadūcō incendiō: a fourth ablative of description, contrasting with the first three: "with a fire apt to die down."

nūllīs reliquiīs: ablative absolute, construe closely with cadūcō: "with nothing left behind (once it has died down)."  

(7)

em tibi: "well here you are," a common demonstrative phrase in Plautus, perhaps colloquial. Tibi is ethical dative, AG 380.

verbīs: "with (mere) words."

argūmentīs dēfecta: "having failed in actual proofs."

nūllīs ... reliquiīs calumniae permānsūra: "fated to leave no trace of its slanders" (Jones).  The word order strongly highlights nullīs by sepating it from the rest of its phrase (hyperbaton).

(8)

Quae: accūsātiō.

Aemiliānō: "as far as Aemilianus is concerned," ethical dative.

omnis ... dēstināta: "entirely fixed upon," OLD destino 1. omnis is made emphatic by its position.

in istō ūnō: "upon this one point."

mihi libet quaerere: "I should like to ask," mocking in tone.

ab ērudītissimīs eius advocātīs: more mockery.

quid sit magus: "what a magus is." 

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As Apuleius had distinguished two sorts of love (12.1), so he will make a sharp distinction between two kinds of magic, a "good" and a "bad" kind, which in this form cannot be found in earlier texts. Good magic is linked to the noble pursuits of wisdom, education of kings, eastern religion, and philosophy, whereas bad magic actually represents what is commonly understood as magic. Thus, it seems, Apuleius is deliberately introducing the first element into his discussion, with a clear purpose: strongly identifying with the first, good form, he can distance himself from the dangerous second kind and so escape from the charge without having to dismiss everything the accusers have said. Given the atmosphere surrounding his person and activities, it must have been impossible for him to deny any connection with magic in whatever sense of the word. In the Metamorphoses the distinction of the two sorts of magic is important too (Hunink).

(9)

quod: "(a thing) which."

apud plūrimōs: "in very many (authors)."

lēgō: "have read," present as stative perfect.

Persarum linguā: Apuleius is referring to the ancient Persian priests called magi. These priests were well-known in Latin literature. See, for example, Cicero, De Divinatione 1.46 (Hunink). 

nostrā: supply linguā.

sacerdōs: supply est.

quod tandem est crīmen: "then what (kind of) charge is (it)," + subject infinitives esse, nōsse, scīre, callēre.

nōsse atque scīre atque callēre: sets of three near-synonyms is a common element in Roman prayers and religious language.

callēre lēgēs: "to be familiar with the rules."

caerimōniārum ... sacrōrum ... religiōnum: "religious rites, observances, and practices" of all kinds. Apuleius is not making specific distinctions between these words.

fās: “that which is ordained by divine law," OLD fas 2.

(10)

interpretātur: "interprets (it to be)," "understands" by the term.

cum commemorat: understand magīam as direct object.

quibusnam disciplīnīs: "with what kind of teachings." -nam imparts emphasis, "what precise skills?"

rēgnō adulēscentem: "growing up for the kingship," dative of purpose.

verba ipsa: "the very words," indicating a direct quote, not a paraphrase.

dīvīnī vīrī: Platōnis.

recognōsce: "recall to mind."

(11)

Plato, Alcibiades 121e-122a: “When he is twice seven years, the boy is entrusted to people called "royal tutors." These are four Persians of mature age who have been selected as the best: the wisest, the justest, and the most self-controlled, and the bravest. The first of them instructs him in the worship of their gods, the Magian lore of Zoroaster, son of Horomazes, and also in what a king should know.” Trans. D.S. Hutchinson in John Cooper, ed., Plato: Complete Works (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1997), p. 579. It is not generally agreed among scholars whether Plato is in fact the author of this work.