82

In the letter Pudentilla was criticizing Pontianus for changing his mind about me and calling me a mage. Rufinus showed the sentence that seems to say that I am a mage and that I bewitched Pudentilla to many people in the forum, carefully concealing the context. It seemed plausible to many and brought me much ill-will. There was no one there to defend me by demanding to see the whole letter.

(1)

Obiūrgātiō erat mātris: "It (the letter) was a mother's reproach."

quod ... dictitāret: "that he kept calling," this clause explains the substance of Pudentilla's obiūrgātiō.

tālem virum quālem: "such a man as" = "the same man who."

sibi: Pudentillae.

praedicāsset: "had praised," LS praedico I.B.2. Pontianus is the subject.

dē: "in accordance with," "because of."

(2)

sē habēbant: "were," LS habeo II.B.6.α.

Ἀπολέϊος ... σωφρονῶ: "Apuleius is a mage, and I have been enchanted by him and am in love. Come to me right away, while I am still in my right mind."

(3)

Haec ... occultābat: word order: Rufīnus vulgō ostendēbat haec ipsa verba quae Graecē interposuī, sōla excerpta et ab ōrdine suō sēiugāta, circumferēns (ea) quasi cōnfessiōnem mulieris, et ductāns per forum Pontiānum flentem, (et) praebēbat ipsās litterās mulieris legendās illātenus quā dīxī, (4) occultābat cētera scripta suprā et īnfrā.

Apuleius's order lays emphasis on the key points, the importance of the specific words at issue (haec ipsa verba) and Rufinus's suppression of the context (occultābat).

Haec ipsa verba: direct object of ostendēbat and circumferēns.

interposuī: "I have included."

sōla excerpta: modifies verba: "excerpted on their own.”

ab ōrdine suō: "from their (spot in the) arrangement," "from their context.”

circumferēns: "bandying them about" (Jones).

Pontiānum flentem: showing off wronged family members in a state of mourning was a common way for Roman orators to appeal to the sense of pity of their fellow citizens.

illātenus quā dīxī: "(only) up to the point where I finished reading."

legendās praebēbat: "was offering (them) up to be read."

(4)

cētera ... scripta: "the rest of the letter.” Scriptum -ī, n. = "something written" (LS scribo, at the end of the entry).

suprā et īnfrā: "above and below," i.e., before and after the selected quote.

Turpiōra esse: supply scripta occulta as an accusative neuter plural subject in an indirect statement depending on dictitābat: "that (the hidden words) were even worse."

Rufinus is excusing himself for not showing the context of the quote by pretending to be preserving his client's mother's dignity, thus allowing both that he appear to be a thoughtful and discreet person and for the public imagination to run wild with what else might be in the letter.

ut ostenderentur: substantive clause being used as a second element of comparison after quam: "than what was being displayed," or, perhaps, in a moral sense, with turpiōra: "than could be shown (with any sense of propriety).”

satis esse: continued indirect statement after dictitābat, "that it was enough," introducing its own indirect statement: cōnfessiōnem ... cognōscī, "that the confession be recognized."

(5) 

Quid quaeris? "What (more) do you want" (LS quaero II.B.5.b). This common expression sometimes includes ultrā or amplius to complete the meaning. See just below, Quid vultis amplius?

visum: "it seemed," supply est.

Quae: supply verba.

eadem: supply verba.

invidiam: "ill-will," indignation" (OLD invidia 1).

(6)

Turbābat: "was rabble-rousing.”

impūrus: "degenerate" (Jones), a common epithet of insult, with a strongly sexual ring (Hunink).

bacchābundus: "like one possessed" (Jones).  Compare the use of bacchātur with Rumor at Aeneid 4.666.

prōquirītābat: "kept protesting aloud to the people," a remarkable, probably archaic word (Hunink).

ipsa: Pudentilla.

quae sentit et patitur: understand as a direct object something along the lines of the ill-effects of Apuleius' sorcery.

(7)

quī ... ferret ac ... respondēret: subjunctives in a relative clause of characteristic, normal with an indefinite antecedent (nēmō). 

prō mē ferret: "take my side." Supply a word like opem.

Tōtam: this crucial word is stressed by the emphatic sōdēs (Hunink).

sōdēs: "if you please," "if you don't mind" = sī audēs, a common contraction. The tone is mock-polite.

cedo: "hand over."

sine ... īnspiciam: supply ut: "allow that I inspect" = "allow me to inspect."

perlegam: again supply ut after sine. Lack of a connective (asyndeton) indicates high emotion.

(8)

sōla prōlāta: "(when) brought forward on their own."

calumniae ... obnoxia: "liable to misrepresentation," or, more technically, "to the bringing of a false legal charge."

Cuiavīs: "of anyone you want," "of anyone at all" > cuius-a-um (the adjective formed from the genitive interrogative cuius) + -vīs, feminine singular nominative to agree with ōrātiō.

ex priōribus nexa sunt: "are connected (in a series) to earlier (words)," OLD necto 8. The use of the preposition ex is normal with this verb. See Cicero, De Natura Deorum 1.5.9 ut alia ex alia nexa et omnes inter se aptae conligataeque videantur.

defraudentur: "are deprived of," + abl. (prīncipiō).

ad lubīdinem: "at will," "arbitrarily."

simulātiōnis causā: "ironically," "for the sake of simulating (an attitude, point of view, etc.)," (OLD simulatio 2.a).

adsevērantis prōnūntiātiōne quam exprobrantis: "in a tone of assertion, rather than of reproach" of the apparent sentiments of the words.

(9)

id genus ea: "things of this sort."

quam meritō: "how deservedly!" "how rightly!"

tunc: at the point at which Rufinus was carrying the letter around for people to read.

Ipse ōrdō: "the context itself".

ostendat: "prove it" (Jones), jussive subj.