44

Thallus's fellow slaves can confirm that they shunned him as an epileptic (1-2), and you yourselves have seen him fall in a fit many times (3); he has been sent far away to a rural property to avoid infecting the household (4), and that is why he is not present here (5-6); such a boy is obviously unfit for use in magical rituals (7-9).

(1)

eum tamen: emphatic, "But it was he whom ...."

subversum: supply esse.

mē cōram: "in my presence."

(2)

exhibērī dēnūntiāstis: "you sent official notice to be presented (in court)."

quid in Thallō dēspuant: "for what reason they spit upon Thallus." Spitting was a common apotropaic gesture in antiquity. In the case of meeting an epileptic, it was aimed at escaping contagion. See Pliny, Natural History 28.35 despuimus comitiales morbos, hoc est contagia regerimus, or the well-known passage in Plautus, Captivi 547-58 (Hunink).

(3)

quid ego: supply dico, "why am I (wasting my time) talking."

Negāte: a challenge, "(Go on and) deny (if you can)."

multō prius quam: "long before."

eō morbō: ablative of cause, referring to Thallus's epilepsy.

solitum: supply esse, "was (already) accustomed."

saepe numerō: "oftentimes."

ostēnsum: supply et ... esse. It is unclear whether Apuleius was bringing Thallus to doctors for medical care or for scientific study.

(4)

quī sunt in ministeriō vestrō: "who are at your service," OLD ministerium 1. This does not mean that they belong to the accusers, whose slaves are not mentioned before 44.7, but only that they stand at their disposal for questioning (Hunink).

Omnium rērum convictum mē: supply esse, indirect statement after fatēbor: "that I have been refuted on all counts."  A hyperbolic bluff, meant to affirm that he knows his statement is true.

rūs: "in(to) the countryside," accusative of place to which.

adeō iam diū: "for such a long time now." The text is very uncertain, see B/O.

ablēgātus est: "has been sent away," "got rid of."

in longinquōs agrōs: to the farthest off of his properties.

Quod ita factum: supply sit, substantive clause as subject of potest. "The fact that this has been done in this way" = "the fact that this is what happened."

nec: = ne ... quidem (LS neque II.B.1), emphasizing illīs.

illīs: "my accusers" (Jones).

(5)

Eō: "for this reason."

potuit: subject is Thallus.

exhibērī: "to be presented."

ut: "just as" + indic.

nūdius tertius: "now the third day since," i.e., two days ago.

nōbīs ... dēnūntiāvit: "sent us official notice," introducing the indirect command ut ... exhibērēmus.

numerō quīndecim: "fifteen in number."

apud tē: "in your court," Maximus.

(6)

in oppidō: at Oea, as opposed to the countryside. The fourteen slaves possibly formed the familia urbana of Pudentilla's house in town (Hunink).

fermē ad centēsimum lapidem: "almost at the hundredth stone," i.e., the milestones marking the distance on the road, so, "almost a hundred miles away" from Sabratha, where the trial took place. No doubt a rounded or exaggerated number.

is Thallus: "the Thallus in question."

quī eum ... advehat: relative clause of purpose, "(someone) who can bring him here,"  "(someone) to bring him here."

curriculō: either "in a carriage" (Jones and TLL curriculum 1.a), or else "in haste," "on the double" (LS curriculum I.A.β).

(7)

quam salvē agat: "how well he's doing" (i.e., not well at all).

Nōn negābunt: subject is servī.

turpissimum puerum: supply Thallum esse.

corpore putrī et morbidō: ablative of description.

cadūcum: "prone to falling down," possibly a euphemism for "epileptic," as it will be used in following chapters.

barbarum: perhaps indicative of a speech impediment.

(8)

vērō: "unquestionably," "without a doubt," ironic.

quem quis ... adhibeat: relative clause of characteristic ("the sort which someone might bring") as in the following clauses, cuius ... contingat, quem ... amiciat, a quo ... speret.

caput contingat: touching the head to transmit the magical power (Hunink).  

pūrō palliō: an unstained linen cloak is specified as necessary in magical rituals in several magical papyri. See Abt 1908, 189-190.

respōnsum: "an oracular response."

(9)

vellem hercle adesset: the omission of ut after vellem is normal (LS volo I.D). See Cicero, Philippics 1.16.3, vellem adesset M. Antonius.

Iam: "by this point."

hīc ibīdem: "in this very place."

spūmābundus: "foaming at the mouth."

manūs contrāxisset: "he would have clenched his fists."