58

(1)

hoc: "this" = Crassus seeing the feathers and smoke from Alexandria as depicted above. Subject of futūrum (esse) in an indirect statement dependent upon intellēxit.

et ipse: "even the man himself," i.e., Crassus.

futūrum: supply esse.

Nam: the explanatory force of the following sentence is that Crassus was only coherent enough to realize that nobody would believe he could see feathers and smoke from Alexandria because Aemilianus got to him before he started drinking for the day - at the second hour.

dīcitur: "he (Crassus) is said," not impersonal.

ante hōram diēī secundam: within the first hour after dawn.

vēndidisse: the implication is that Crassus was paid for his testimony, which would be a criminal offence.

(2)

Igitur: i.e., since he knew it was ridiculous to claim to have seen the smoke and feathers from Alexandria.

scrīpsit: in written testimony, introducing a series of indirect statements in 58.2: sē (Crassum) ... comperisse ... contendisse ... offendisse ... quaesisse ...; eum (servum) ... indicavisse.

haec: the smoke and feathers.

ad hunc modum: "in the following manner."

revēnerit: pf. subj. in implied indirect discourse.

rēctā: supply viā, "with a straight path," or, adverbially, "straight."

quā: abl. of separation, antecedent is domum.

migrārat: migrāverat, "had moved out of."

vestibulō: "atrium" rather than entryway. The cubiculum mentioned below would have been adjacent to it. (Constantini pp. 190-91)

offendisse: "that he had found" LS offendo I.B.

parietēs fūlīgine dēfōrmātōs: a second direct object of offendisse.

eum: servum.

sibi: Crassō.

indicāsse: indicāvisse.

(3)

Quam vērō subtīliter compositum et vērisimiliter commentum: compositum and commentum are accusatives of exclamation, modifying an understood Crassus. The exclamatory 'quam' modifies the (highly sarcastic) adverbs subtiliter and verismiliter. "How subtly having made this all up, indeed, and how convincingly having lied that" = "How subtly he made all this up and how convincingly he lied that," introducing the indirect statement mē ... factūrum fuisse.

compositum ... commentum: supply est ā Crassō. This introduces indirect statement mē ... fuisse, and later Quintianum istum ... hunc igitur Quintianum ... habuisse.

quid eius: "anything of this sort." Similar partitive genitives of neuter pronouns are found in Plautus, Livy, and Cicero's letters ; e.g. Plautus, Miles Gloriosus 1153 nihil ecferri poterit huius, and the legal formula quoted by Cicero, Letters to Atticus 3.23.7. E. H. L. N. R. (eius hac lege nihil rogatur) (Butler).

domī meae: locative.

factūrum fuisse: "would have done," the future active participle + fuisse regularly takes the place of a past contrary-to-fact apodosis in indirect statement.

(4)

Quīntiānum istum: we continue the indirect statement representing Crassus' testimony. Quintianus's verb is habuisse in 48.5 below, and hunc igitur Quīntiānum at the beginning of 48.5 reminds us that we're in that indirect statement after the two relative clauses that fill the remainder of 48.4.

istum: "whom you mention" (OLD iste 5) in antithesis with mihi. No negative nuance.

assistit: apparently Quintianus is present and supports Apuleius's defence. This is the first instance where the reader becomes aware that Apuleius had assistants at all (see also 99.1). In court they must have been visible from the start (Hunink).

quem: direct object of nomino.

prō: "in accordance with," as in the next instance.

honōris et laudis grātiā: "on account of his reputation and esteem."

(5)

hunc: pointing, since he is standing with Apuleius in court.

igitur: "as I was saying," functioning to resume the interrupted indirect statement introduced by Quīntiānum istum at 58.4: LS igitur II.D.

in cēnā: "in a course at dinner" LS cēna II.A. or just "for dinner."

quod aiunt: "as they allege."

puerum: "slave."

quī pinnās converreret et forās abiceret: relative clause of characteristic with the indefinite antecedent puerum nūllum.

(6)

tantam vim fuisse: continuing the indirect statement representing Crassus' testimony.

redderet: "rendered."

quoad habitāvit: "as long as he lived there," "for the duration of his stay."

passum: supply esse, "allowed (to remain)."

cubiculō: bedroom, which opened right off the atrium (vestibulo) mentioned above.

(7)

Nihil dīcis: 'you're talking nonsense," OLD nihil 9.

vērī simile: "plausible."

nōn in cubiculum: construe with perrēxit, not reversus.

reversus: "when he got home."

suō mōre: "out of a sheer force of habit," given Crassus' gluttonous tendencies.

rectā ad focum: "straight to the stove," where he would naturally see a lot of smoke stains and possibly some feathers.

(8)

Unde: "from what (evidence, clue).”

noctū potissimum: "specifically at night."

fūmigātōs: supply esse: "were exposed to smoke."

Vidēlicet: sarcastic.

eōque: "and in that respect," i.e., in respect to color.

(9)

autem: "furthermore."

migrāre: "to move out."

quasi plumbeae: even without being tidied up, normal feathers would presumably have blown away by then. Note the word play of plumae ... plumbeae.

mānsērunt: "sit there waiting for" + acc.

(10)

Nōn īnsimulet Crassus servum suum: "Crassus should not incriminate his slave" (Jones), since Crassus himself (ipse potius) made up the story. Jussive subjunctive with nōn rather than nē in a prohibition, which is classical (Verg. Aen. 12.78).

ipse: Crassus.

haec ... mentītus est: "has made these things up."

dum: "since" OLD dum 4.b.

nec in testimōniō dandō: "not even while giving testimony," LS neque II.B.1.

discēdere longius ā culīnā: "to get very far from the topic of the kitchen," OLD discedo 6.c., "to get his brain out of the kitchen any longer."