57

I think I have wiped away the allegations of the napkin and now can move on to the testimony given by Crassus. Crassus alleges that I and my friend (his lodger) Quintianus Appius did magic at night in his house. Crassus even claims to have seen feathers and smoke, although he was in Alexandria at the time. 

(1)

cuivīs vel inīquissimō: "even the most unfriendly listener" (Jones), dative of possession dependent upon animum.

animum explēsse: explēsse = explēvisse; "to have satisfied," as at Aeneid 2.586, animumque explēsse iuvābit ultrīcis flammae. 

quod ad sūdārium pertineat, omnem crīminis maculam dētersisse: "as to what concerns the napkin, I have wiped away every dirty stain of the accusation" (Costantini, 180, note 164).

bonō ... perīculō: "with small risk," "safely," OLD periculum 4.c.

ad testimōnium ... ā suspīciōnibus ... : construe both prepositional phrases with trānscēnsūrus (esse).

ista: "those charges," i.e., the ones about the napkin.

gravissimum: supply testimōnium, "the most weighty."

lēgērunt: subject is accusatorēs.

trānscēnsūrus: supply esse, infinitive parallel to explēsse and dēterissse: "to be ready to move along." The adverbial modifier bonō ... perīculō should be taken closely with this verb, i.e., "that it is safe for me to move along."

(2)

libellō: i.e., libellō accūsātōriō, a written accusation, addressed to the competent official, with the purpose of initiating a criminal trial against a person (Berger, libellus accusatorius).

legī: present passive infinitive, subject is testimōnium.

mē ... factitāsse: indirect statement relating the contents of Crassus's testimōnium.  Factitāsse = factitāvisse.

in eius domō: "in his (Crassus's) house," as opposed to somebody else's house; domī (locative) would mean "at home," as opposed to out in public. 

Appiō Quīntiānō amīcō meō: Quintianus was probably a member of the family of the Appii, with whom Apuleius entertained a friendly relationship; see below, ch. 72.2 (Costantini, 182).

mercēde dēversābātur: i.e., he was paying rent to lodge there.

Idque sē ... comperisse: indirect statement after ait: subject is sē (Junius Crassus), direct object is id (referring to the fact that these rites were going on). "And that he pieced this together."

in eō tempore: the superfluous preposition, though avoided by classical authors, is not uncommon in older and archaizing writers.

vel Alexandrēae fuerit: vel introduces what might seem to be an extreme or unlikely possibility (OLD vel 5): "he was even in Alexandria."

fūmō et ... plūmīs: "on (the evidence of) smoke and feathers," which he found on his return, as will be discussed more seriously in chapter 58, but which Apuleius will first proceed to humorously assume he spotted from Alexandria.

(3)

Scīlicet eum: "It is obvious that he ...," "oh, sure, he obviously ...," highly ironic, introduces the indirect statement: eum (Crassum) ... agnovisse.  

symposia obīret: "was making the rounds of the drinking parties," LS obeo II.B.4. The Greek term symposion is very rare in Latin, apart from its use as a book title. OLD cites only this passage and one inscription. The tone is presumably mocking.

Crassus iste: predicate nominative.

quī nōn invītus ... conrēpat: relative clause of characteristic, "a person who likes to slip into" (Jones). nōn invītus is litotes (understatement), and an adjective being used with adverbial force: "quite willingly." conrepo describes furtive movement, creeping or slinking.

dē diē: "in broad daylight," LS de I.B.2, of eating and drinking, disparagingly.

in illō caupōniō nīdōre: "in all that tavern-smoke." There is a similar passage of invective in Cicero's In Pisonem 13: in illo ganearum tuarum nidore atque fumo.

pinnās ... aucupātum, "having made sure to keep his eyes peeled for feathers." The verb aucupor literally refers to bird-hunting, and so is humorously appropriate for its direct object. The participle agrees with eum (Crassum).

dē penātibus suīs: by metonymy, "from his house." Construe with advectās.

fūmum domūs suae adgnōvisse patriō culmine longē exortum: "he recognized the smoke coming from his house" (Costantini, 192 note 93). A culmen (compare columen, "top") is the roof or gable of a house (LS columen II.B).

(4)

Quem: fūmum.

ultrā ... vōta et dēsīderia: "beyond the prayers and desires," "beyond the hopes and prayers." Odysseus when detained by Calypso longed to see “even the smoke rising from his land,” Od. 1.57–59, see also 5.156–58 (Jones).

est oculātus: "is endowed with eyes" = "is endowed with (keenness of) vision." Keen-sighted indeed, as Oea is about 1200 miles/1900 km from Alexandria.

captāvit: "strove to catch (sight of)."

in paucīs quibus āfuit mēnsibus: in paucīs mēnsibus quibus āfuit.

eundem fūmum: not the actual same smoke, but the same, in as much as it was terrā suā ēmergentem.

sine labōre: "without breaking a sweat."

(5)

nīdōrem domesticum: "odors from home" (Jones).

īdem: Crassus.

sagācitāte odōrandī: "in keenness of scent," OLD sagacitas 1.

Alexandrīnī caelī: "the region of Alexandria," OLD caelum 7.b.

oboleat: "presents an odor to" + dat., "can be smelled by."

(6)

omnis fūmī: "every (type of) smoke."

nōn imperītus: "hardly unacquainted with," + gen., litotes.

prō studiō bibendī: "in light of his enthusiasm for drinking."

cēnsētur: "is esteemed because of," + abl., LS censeo I.B.2.d.α.

facilius ad eum Alexandrīam vīnī aura quam fūmī pervenīret: aura vīnī facilius pervenīret ad eum Alexandrīam quam fūmī. aura = "aroma." vīnī is emphatic. pervenīret is impf. subj. contrary to fact. 

ad eum Alexandrīam: "to him, to Alexandria," = "to him in Alexandria." Alexandrīam is accusative of place to which, omission of the preposition being normal with the names of cities (AG 427.2).