46

Tannonius Pudens then said he would produce a number of other slaves I supposedly enchanted (1); let them be brought forward right away (2); why the delay, Tannonius? (3-6).

Tannonius Pudens was the advocātus (representative in court) of Sicinius Aemilianus and Sicinius Pudens. See 4.2.

(1)

Hīc: "at this point."

satis veterātōriē: "quite adroitly," "cunningly," modifying the main verb, ait.

quoque: "also," in addition to the other lies (fishes, mirrors, etc.).

frīgēre: "fell flat," "was coldly received."

vultū et murmure: ablative of means with videret, not explosum. He knows that the argument isn't landing because of the reactions of the crowd.

explōsum: supply esse, "was booed off stage," like a bad actor in the theater. See LS explodo I. Since Roman audiences clapped and hissed a bad performer, rather than booing, the verb literally means "to clap out."

vel: "perhaps," offering a suggestion (OLD vel 4).

ut ... morārētur: "to entertain," "to delight" (LS moror II.A.2) subjunctive in a purpose clause, logically after ait. Apuleius is speculating about why Tannonius said what he did.

quōrundam: "of certain people," who are present listening to the trial.

spē: "with expectation," "with anticipation," i.e., that they might eventually hear some convincing evidence to keep their suspīciōnēs about Apuleius alive.

puerōs: "slaves."

prōductūrum: indirect statement after ait: sē prōductūrum esse.

quī sint: "who were (he said)," subjunctive in implied indirect discourse.

aequē: "in the same way."

speciem: "line" of argument.

(2)

Quod: "this" argument, connecting relative.

dissimulāre: "ignore," "leave unnoticed."

ut omnia, ita hoc quoque: correlatives, "as (I have done) all (the other accusations), in the same way this (accusation) as well ...."

ultrō prōvocō: "I voluntarily challenge" (LS ultro II.C).

cōnfirmātōs: supply esse, "were encouraged." The identity of this group of slaves, who were supposedly offered their freedom if they testified falsely, is unclear. They might be slaves of Tannonius or, following the suggestion of Hunink ad loc., they might be Apuleius's own slaves, supposedly suborned to perjury by Apuleius himself, according to Tannonius. The latter view would explain why Apuleius is so confident below that Tannonius cannot in fact produce them as witnesses.

ut prōdūcant: "let them produce them!" For ut = fac ut, introducing a request or instruction, see OLD ut 43. B/O says ut = utinam.

(3)

pollicitū's: pollicitus es.

Cedo: "produce!" imperative mood.

quibus cōnfīditis: "on whom you are relying (to make your case)."

prōdūc: "reveal!"

nōminā: imperative, as suggested by the parallels cited by B/O: 43 nominate quis ille fuerit puer sanus; 45 ut nomines quinam testes huic piaculari sacro adfuerint.

Meā aquā: ablative object of ūtāre. Apuleius is graciously yielding some of the time on his water-clock to Tannonius Pudens to produce the (evidently nonexistent) witnesses. See 28.1.

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The clepsydra or water-clock was regularly employed in the law-courts. A number would be employed in the course of a speech, as the clepsydra employed for this purpose was apparently emptied in fifteen minutes. See Pliny, Letters 2.2.14. The amount of time allotted to orators varied at different times. The accused seems usually to have been allowed a third as much time again as the accuser: see Cicero, Brutus 324; De finibus 4.1.1; Pliny, Letters 4.1.1, 4.9.9, where the accuser has six hours and the accused nine. The clepsydra was stopped during the reading of evidence (B/O).

ad hoc: "for this purpose."

ūtāre: supply ut after licet, "it is allowed for you to use."

(4)

Quid ... quid ... quid ...: "why ...."

Quod sī: "but if."

hic: Tannonius Pudens.

quid didicerit: "what he learned," "his instructions." didicerit is an emendation for dixerit in the manuscripts.

Aemiliane: principal accuser of Apuleius (and uncle of Sicinius Pontianus and Sicinius Pudens), though not formally named as the accuser in the case.

cēde hūc: "come forward," probably equivalent to accēde hūc, a phrase common in Roman comedy.  One might even emend to accēde hūc, since cēde normally means "withdraw," not "come forward," and the phrase cēde hūc appears nowhere else in classical Latin.

quid advocātō tuō mandāverīs: "what you instructed your advocātus (to say)," as he has failed to do so.

advocātō: Tannonius Pudens.

(5)

Quid tacēs: "Why are you silent," a classic Ciceronian mode of attack.

Hocine: an emphatic version of hoc, introducing an indignant rhetorical question expecting the answer no: "Is this (what it is) to bring a charge?!"

crīmen dēferre: "to bring a charge" LS defero II.B.2.b.

lūdibriō habēre: "to mock," a common idiom.

mē: et mē. The asyndeton is indicative of anger.

(6)

Quod sī: "But if."

verbō prōlāpsus est: "made a verbal slip," "misspoke," archly sarcastic in tone.

XIIII servīs: the ones that Apuleius himself produced (see 45.1), as opposed to the indefinite number which Tannonius claimed to be able to call on. Abl. object of ūtere.

ad aliquid ūtere: "use for something," "make some use of." These slaves could testify that the fifteenth, the absent Thallus, supposedly bewitched by Apuleius, was in fact epileptic. See 44. But evidently Tannonius was not asking for them to be questioned (45.1 ad quaestiōnem nihil ūteris).