62

Capitolina's son, under formal questioning, has vouched for the truth of my account of the making of the statuette. It clearly has nothing to do with magic, and was commissioned and made in public with the full knowledge of many people. I was out of town at the time, and gave no special instructions as to the material.

(1)

ut dīcō: "just as I have said them." Apuleius is not saying that Maximus has heard the things that he has said, but that he heard them during Saturninus's original testimony and that the testimony matches with Apuleius's recap of same.

audīstī: audīvistī, addressing Maximus.

quī praesēns est: Capitolina is not present in court, most likely because this seems to have been considered inappropriate for a respectable woman. She is represented by her son, whom the speaker praises but does not mention by name. This son appears to have been questioned by the judge too (Hunink).

scīscitante tē: "with you questioning (him)," "during your questioning."

eadem: "the same things," i.e., as Saturninus had said.

dētulisse: "brought to," a variation on attulisse (61.7).

(2)

Etiam illud nōn negātur: "the following is also not being denied," introducing the indirect statement Pontianum ... recēpisse, ... dedisse. 

illud: "the following," clarified by the following infinitives, OLD ille 13.

dōnō: "as a gift," dat. of purpose.

(3)

quid omnīnō: "what at all," "what in the world."

dēlitēscat: subjunctive in a relative clause of characteristic with the undefined antecedent quid omnīnō.

Immō: "actually."

manifēstī mendāciī: "of outright mendacity," genitive of the charge after revincat.

revincat: subjunctive in a relative clause of characteristic with the undefined antecedent quid omnīnō.

(4)

Occultē: emphatic, and in antithesis with all the words indicating openness to come, propalam etc.

fabricātum esse: supply sigillum or something indefinite like aliquid to be the subject of this indirect statement dependent upon dīxistis, as well as to be the antecedent of quod ... quod ... quod ... quod throughout 62.4. Apuleius gives four facts about the statue meant to rebut the claim of secrecy.

fierī cūrāvit: "took care that it be made," "commissioned."

quod: "a thing which."

probē ... cognitus: "honorably known" = "known to be honorable," almost periphrasis for comprobātus in 61.5, or simply = "bene," "well-known."

inter suōs: as in 61.5, "among his fellow craftsmen."

prōpalam: "out in the open," though inside his shop. Not as much a contradiction in terms as it might be today.

mūnere suō: "with her gift," i.e., the ebony box.

adiūvit: "aided (in being made)."

quod et futūrum et factum ... sciērunt: "which they knew both would be made and had been made," "which they heard about both before its creation and after," i.e., anyone who came to Apuleius's house heard all about it from him both before and after it was made.

multī cum servōrum tum amīcōrum: "a large number of both slaves and friends."

(5)

tōtō oppidō et quidem oppidō: "all over town and, indeed, with a great deal of effort. A pun on oppidum = "town" and the archaic adverb oppido "utterly," two words which are often regarded as etymologically related. The pun can hardly be called functional here, but Apuleius is fond of wordplay even for its own sake, and the audience is likely to have appreciated it (Hunink).

quaesītum: supply esse, in indirect statement after commentīrī, with the subject lignum.

nōn piguit vōs commentīrī: "Did it not disgust you to tell the lie," "you shamelessly asserted" (Jones), introducing the indirect statement lignum ā mē ... quaesītum (esse).

quem: antecedent is mē, subject of āfuisse in an indirect statement after scītis: "by me, who you know was away."

quem: antecedent is mē, subject of iussisse in an indirect statement after probātum est: "by me, who, it is proven, ordered."

fierī: understand sigillum as subject in an accusative + infinitive construction after iussisse: "ordered the statuette to be made."