51

According to Plato's theory, I asked a woman about the ringing in her ears. I determined her illness was more advanced because it affected her right ear. Aristotle and Theophrastus have written about this same illness. It isn't right for philosophers who seek cures to be charged. 

(1)

Agnōscis: "recognize the truth of" + acc., OLD agnosco 5.

ratiōnem Platōnis: "Plato's reasoning."

quantum potuī ... perspicuē: "as clearly as I was able."

prō tempore: "in proportion to (my available) time," "in the given time constraints."

(2)

cui ... fidem arbitrātūs: "having put my faith in him (Plato)," "believing him (Plato) when he says that...," LS arbitror II A.

causam ... esse, cum: "the cause is when," "the inciting event happens when," LS cum2 I.A.1.e.α.

videor: supply mihi, "I seem to myself," "in my opinion."

dē nihilō: "out of nowhere," "for no reason."

percontātus: supply esse, "to have asked."

mulierī illī: dative of possession; the woman was brought to Apuleius to be examined for possible epilepsy, see chapter 48.1.

caput grave: "headache," or else "a heavy head," as in hard to hold up, given the torpor of her neck.  The phrase is used in medical writers.

pulsāta: "throbbing."

(3)

Cēterum: "as to the rest," "furthermore."

quod ... fatēbātur: "(the fact) that she was saying," the subject of signum erat.

crēbriōrēs tinnītūs: supply esse in the indirect statement depending upon fatēbātur.

penitus adāctī: "far advanced."

dextera corporis: "the right-hand parts of the body."

eōque: "and for this reason."

ad sānitātem: "for (a return to) health."

cum ... succumbunt: cum + indicative to show a general rule.

et ipsa: "they, too," "even they," i.e., the right-hand parts, which are stronger, in addition to their weaker left-hand counterparts.

(4)

adeō: "likewise," OLD adeo2 6.

Problēmatīs: Problēmatibus. Problems, the third-longest work in the Aristotelian corpus, contains thirty-eight books covering more than 900 problems about living things, meteorology, ethical and intellectual virtues, parts of the human body, and other topics. Although Problems is an accretion of multiple authorship over several centuries, it offers a fascinating technical view of Peripatetic method and thought.

scrīptum relīquit: "left written" = "wrote," introduces an indirect statement medēlam esse difficiliōrem.

occipiat: subjunctive in a relative clause of characteristic.

eōrum: cadūcōrum.

(5)

Longum est: "it would take too long."

eōdem morbō: epilepsy.

recēnsēre: "to go over."

(6)

Quibus: "for these (epileptic people)," the dative of reference in a double dative construction with remediō esse (on which see note below). 

dē invidentibus animālibus: the exact meaning of this book title is unclear.  

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LS has invidens cited (hapax) as an adjective: "unseeing" or "without vision." Hunink takes it as the participle from invideo and translates it as "jealous." Butler gives the title of this work in Greek: περὶ ζῴων ὅσα λέγεται φθονεῖν ("On Animals Which Are Said to Envy") and notes that "the passage in question about newts is preserved in Phot. Bibl. 278," περὶ τῶν μεταβαλλόντων τὰς χροάς ("Concerning Animals Which Shed Their Skins"). Loeb translates it as malevolent ("In a different work, though, one he wrote about malevolent animals..."); φθονέω in Greek can have both senses, like invideo in Latin, of envying someone or bearing them ill-will due to said envy.

conscrīpsit: "he (Theophrastus) wrote up."

remediō esse: esse + dative of purpose in a double dative construction (with quibus, above, see note): "acts as a remedy."

stēliōnum: probably geckos.

quās: the exuviās.

velut senium: "as if (it were casting off) its old age (and becoming young again)."

cēterōrum serpentium: here "other reptiles" rather than just snakes.

temporibus statūtīs: "at set intervals."

(7)

cōnfestim: "right away," the moment the skins are shed.

ēripiās: supply exuviās as a direct object.

malignōne praesāgiō an nātūrālī adpetentiā īlicō convertuntur et dēvorant: "malicious presentiment or natural appetite makes them promptly turn and devour it" (Jones). The direct object of dēvorant should also be understood to be exuviās. Geckos shed their skins monthly and eat their shed skins.

-ne ... an: "whether ... or." A mostly pre-classical use of the suffix -ne. See LS ne2 b.

īlicō: "on the spot," "immediately."

(8)

haec ... disputāta: "these things, having been discussed," "these discussions."

idcircō: "for this reason," looking forward to the purpose clause ut ... dēsinant.

ex medicīs aut poētīs: as opposed to pure works of philosophy.

attingere: "refer to."

istī: Aemilianus and the other accusers.

suāpte doctrīnā: "in their (own strictly defined) sphere of knowledge."

nōvērunt: "have come to know" through research > nosco.

(9)

cum: "since," with two subjunctives: (1) mulier .. perducta sit; (2) atque ... conveniat.

hoc: i.e., the act of examining the woman, the subject of (rectē) factum esse in an indirect statement depending on conveniat: "that this was done correctly," "that this was the correct procedure" (Jones).

et ... ac ...: "both ... and ...," correlating the two ablatives of source, cōnfessiōne and ratiōcinātiōne.

medicī cōnfessiōne: "according to the testimony of the doctor."

(10)

aut cōnstituant ... aut ... fateantur: jussive subjunctives, the subject should be understood as Apuleius's accusers.

magī et maleficī hominis esse: "that it is characteristic of a magus and of an evil man," + subject infinitive (medērī).

in puerō et muliere cadūcīs: "in (the accusations related to) the boy and the woman (both) prone to falling (with epilepsy)."

caducās: "(of words, hopes, etc.) unavailing, vain illusory, false" (OLD caducus 9), with the pun on "prone to fall, epileptic" (OLD 1.b) highlighted by prōrsus.

intendisse: "hurled."