Metamorphoses the golden ass, volume ii apuleius, j. A detailed introduction covers the prescribed text to be read in english, placing the work in its roman literary context. Apuleius, the golden ass based upon a translation by william adlington 1566 i have updated the spelling and idiom of the text, and have added chapter numbers. Characterisation in apuleius metamorphoses pierides studies in greek and latin. Apuleius, metamorphoses the golden ass, volume i loeb. One major focus has been on the way in which these tales relate to an overall interpretation of the novel. To which are added, a metrical version of cupid and psyche, and mrs. This remarkable phenomenon is presented, on the first level, as. The novel opens as lucius arrives in thessaly where he immediately. Roman cultural authority in attic nights, leiden, brill 2009. Quanto me felicior daphne vicina, quae mero et prandio matutino saucia cum. I wasnt particularly happy with the ending, in fact i skimmed and skipped around at that point. Lucius apuleius, platonic philosopher, rhetorician, and author remembered for the golden ass, a prose narrative that proved influential long after his death.
In the metamorphoses of apuleius, also known as the golden ass, we have the only latin novel which survives entire. A new complete downloadable english translation of the roman novel. An unusually diverse and original piece of prose, it is by turns funny, dramatic, touching, erotic, and exciting. Metamorphoses, books iviii loeb classical library, no. Next section books 1011 summary and analysis previous section books 67 summary and analysis buy study guide. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Stephen nimis offers an intelligent and readable introduction to apuleius world and to the literary tradition which underlies apuleius metamorphoses. This page contains details about the fiction book the golden ass metamorphoses. Lucius apuleius roman philosopher and scholar britannica. The bulk of the novel recounts his adventures as an animal, but lucius also recounts many stories he overhears, including that of cupid and psyche. The golden ass study guide contains a biography of apuleius.
At ego misera pernox et perdia 11 lanificio nervos meos contorqueo, ut intra cellulam nostram saltem lucerna luceat. Apuleius metamorphoses, our only complete latin novel, tells the story of lucius, a young man turned into a donkey. Hide browse bar your current position in the text is marked in blue. The golden ass books 1011 summary and analysis gradesaver. A seriocomic interpretation of apuleius, metamorphoses 11. Nancy shumate in her book crisis and conversion in apuleius metamorphoses 1996 deals primarily with texts written after often well after the time of apuleius. The transformations of lucius apuleius, and the rites of isis.
The more successful ones were highly paid, achieved fame well beyond their native cities, and attracted large numbers of followers. The bulk of the reader consists of 75 passages enough for a semesters worth of readings, each denoted by the book number from apuleius metamorphoses and then a letter since each passage. The prologue establishes an audience and a speaker, who defines himself by location. The metamorphoses of apuleius, which augustine of hippo referred to as the golden ass asinus aureus, is the only ancient roman novel in latin to survive in its entirety the protagonist of the novel is called lucius.
Ancient mystery religions the book of isis, metamorphoses. This book is the 751st greatest fiction book of all time as determined by. This is the first volume dedicated to the topic of characterisation in apuleius metamorphoses, the latin novel from the second century ce. His vocabulary and notes offer even a high school latin student the ability to read apuleius in the original without hesitation or apprehension. The name must already have been current in augustines day and, rightly or wrongly, attributed to apuleius despite metamorphoses in the manuscripts. He published a commentary on apuleius metamorphoses book i 2007 and a monograph on gellius brill 2009.
Apuleius madaurensis metamorphoses, book iv, 127 1977, boumas boekhius in latin libraries near you. See especially the discussion of the sun seen at midnight on page 303. He studied platonism in athens, travelled to italy. Each of the 11 books are selfcontained chapters of about 20 pages with a spoilery summary of whats to come at the beginning, so it was easy to dip in and out. Introduction foreword, book one and apuleius metamorphoses, by stephen nimis latin text based on r. The contributions to this volume on the isis book reassess current interpretations, highlight aspects of text, language, and style, and develop new lines of approach regarding the interpretation of. Together with ulrike egelhaafgaiser, he edited aspects of apuleius golden ass. This new monograph on apuleius isis book not only brings together the striking diversity of opinions that continues to enliven the discussion about book eleven. Metamorphoses the golden ass, volume ii, books 711 loeb classical library no 453 by apuleius abebooks. Madaurus was the same colonia where augustine of hippo later received part of his early education, and, though located well away from the romanized coast, is today the site of some pristine roman ruins.
Summary of the metamorphoses the spectacles of apuleius. Religion and narrative in the metamorphoses of apuleius. The apologia and florida of apuleius of madaura oxford. Like the golden rule or golden mean, this donkey was very special. A commentary beitrage zur klassischen philologie 54, meisenheim am glan 1975. Apuleius metamorphoses or the golden ass, a masterpiece of latin literature from the second century ad, still captivates modern readers with its combination of asininity and mysticism. Project muse an interpretation of apuleius metamorphoses. Full text of apuleius the golden ass penguin classics. Characterisation in apuleius metamorphoses cambridge scholars. In the novel, a young man named lucius tells how he accidentally turns into a donkey and then describes how he. The metamorphoses the golden ass of apuleius born c. With an international team of apuleian scholars, he prepares a new commentary on the isis book. Lucius stands trial for killing the men, whom he later discovers to have been goatskin wine sacks a trick of magic done accidentally by photis while she. This new monograph on apuleius isis book not only brings together the striking diversity of opinions that continues to enliven the discussion about book eleven, but also sets new trends in reading the narrative in its literary, religious, archaeological and cultural context.
An annotated edition of book 1 of apuleius novel metamorphoses, this text is suitable for a students first unadapted author, or in combination with other readings at the intermediate level. The nexus of adulterytales in book 9 of apuleius metamorphoses has been the subject of considerable scholarly investigation. The metamorphoses of apuleius, which augustine of hippo referred to as the golden ass asinus aureus, is the only ancient roman novel in latin to survive in its entirety. Thus, for all of apuleius s remarkable ingenuity, he was very much influenced by other writers of his day and sought to allude to them many times throughout the text.
At the end of the novel, he is revealed to be from madaurus, the hometown of apuleius himself. In crisis and conversion in apuleius metamorphoses nancy shumate takes a new and profitable approach. The golden ass, being the metamorphoses of lucius apuleius. Lucius wakes up, afraid, but becomes aware of the goddess and the role she plays in his life. What they fail to mention is that the versions with the full text are merely reprints of the original latinwhich you can find for free all over the internet, and they provide zero assistance for deciphering the text. In metamorphoses, apuleius tells the story of lucius, a young man who leaves home, driven by a burning curiosity about the magic and witches he has heard are present at the margins of the empire. This is the endorsed publication from ocr and bloomsbury for the latin alevel group 2 prescription of apuleius metamorphoses v, giving full latin text, commentary and vocabulary for sections 1124. It was undoubtedly because augustine was so well known in medieval europe that the golden ass prevailed.
Apuleius metamorphoses and jewishchristian literature. An interpretation of apuleius metamorphoses ben edwin perry when macrobius 1 expresses surprise that apuleius, the professed student of plato, should have stooped to the writing of fiction, he voices thereby not only the ancient reaction toward such a performance on the part of a selfrespecting rhetor, but likewise that of the modern. He was a numidian who lived under the roman empire and was from madauros now mdaourouch, algeria. This edition of book i explores key themes, and explains literary allusions as read more. The metamorphosis, also known as the golden ass, is one of the very few novels of the ancient world that survived to our days. The golden ass, prose narrative of the 2nd century ce by lucius apuleius, who called it metamorphoses. Metamorphoses the golden ass, volume ii, books 711 loeb classical library.
Metamorphoses the golden ass, vol 2, books 711 by apuleius. An online book about this author is available, as is a wikipedia article apuleius. Augustine referred to as the golden ass asinus aureusis the only ancient roman novel in latin to survive in its entirety. Feb 22, 2006 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of metamorphoses and what it means. Helm teubner, 2nd edition, 19 samepage vocabulary and. The hero, lucius, eager to experience the sensations of a bird, resorts to. Read the golden ass metamorphoses by apuleius available from rakuten kobo. Apuleius was born in madauros, a colonia in numidia on the north african coast bordering gaetulia, and he described himself as halfnumidian halfgaetulian. This book presents a thorough reexamination of apuleius platonic philosophy, encompassing both his philosophical and literary works.
Apuleius sicine vacuus et otiosus insinuatis manibus ambulabis mihi, nec obito consueto labore vitae nostrae prospicies et aliquid cibatui parabis. His curiosity about magic gets him changed into a donkey. An annotated edition of book 1 of apuleius novel, metamorphoses, this text is suitable for a students first unadapted author, or in combination with other readings at the intermediate undergraduate level. Lucius wants the sensations of a bird, but by pharmaceutical accident becomes an ass. This new monograph on apuleius isis book not only brings together the striking diversity of opinions that continues to enliven the discussion. Enter a perseus citation to go to another section or work. However, as the novel is partly allegorical, luciuss journey as an ass teaches him valuable lessons and brings him to religious enlightenment. The adulterytales of apuleius, metamorphoses book 9. In the metamorphoses of apuleiusthe golden ass, we have the only latin novel which survives entire. Initiations and mysteries in apuleius metamorphoses. The golden asseby lucius apuleius africanustranslated bywilliam adlingtonthe metamorphoses of apuleius which st.
Full text of apuleius the golden ass penguin classics see other formats. The golden ass books 89 summary and analysis gradesaver. Aspects of apuleius golden ass volume iii 2012 leiden. In all probability apuleius used material from a lost metamorphoses by lucius of patrae, which is cited by some as the source for an extant greek work on a similar theme, the brief lucius, or the ass attributed to the greek rhetorician lucian. A great tool to introduce this fascinating work to students who otherwise would have little or no experience of silver latin. Book 1 exhibits the spontaneity and ebullience of apuleius latin as well as his ability to engage the reader with a lively story. Seelinger westminster college in the course of apuleius metamorphoses, lucius undergoes several physical and spiritual transformations. The golden ass or, the metamorphoses holds a unique place in world literature as the only complete latin novel to survive from antiquity. Please note that, in spite of my updating, this is still an old translation. Apuleius metamorphoses or golden ass written in a highly ornate and archaizing latin probably in the 160s or so, apuleius prose novel, the metamorphoses known to saint augustine as the golden ass, tells the story of lucius, a romannamed greek youth of means and prominent family. Through a variety of approaches, including religious studies ancient mystery cult, textual criticism, literary. Top american libraries canadian libraries universal library community texts project gutenberg biodiversity heritage library childrens library. Full search options are on the right side and top of the page.
The subject has not been ignored in recent scholarship on individual characters in the work, but the lack of an earlier general overview of the topic reflects the general history of scholarship on the metamorphoses. Psyche, pleasantly reclining in that grassy place on a bed of dewwet grass, free of her mental perturbation, fell peacefully asleep, and when she was sufficiently refreshed by slumber, rose, feeling calm. The goal of this paper is to discuss the concept of initiation ritual in relation to apuleius. In book 11 of apuleius novel metamorphoses the protagonist, lucius, transformed into an ass due to misusage of witchcraft encounters isis through a dream while sleeping at a remote beach in central greece. Ruebel has created a most useful edition of metamorphoses book i. The book of isis is one of the many classical testimonies for the concept of a supreme, universal, pantheist female deity, worshipped and revered even by the other gods.
The golden ass study guide contains a biography of apuleius, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. He was a poet, philosopher, and rhetorician from whom numerous works survive some of doubtful authenticity. Initiations and mysteries in apuleius metamorphoses sarolta a. The work, called metamorphoses by its author, narrates the adventures of a young man changed by magic into an ass. At the most basic level, he changes from a man to an ass and back to a man. The apology latin and english, with commentary, trans. Occasionally i have added to the translation where adlington has omitted certain passages.