Metamorphoses (the Golden Ass), Volume II: Books 7-11
In the "Metamorphoses" of ApuleiusThe Golden Ass,"
we have the only Latin novel which survives entire. It is truly
enchanting: a delightful romance combining realism and magic.
The hero, Lucius, eager to experience the sensations of a bird,
resorts to witchcraft but by an unfortunate pharmaceutical error
finds himself transformed into an ass. He knows he can revert to
his own body by eating rose-petals, but these prove singularly
elusive; and the bulk of the work describes his adventures as an
animal. He also retails many stories that he overheard, the most
charming being that of Cupid and Psyche (beginning, in true
fairy-tale fashion, '"Erant in quadam civitate rex et
regina"'). Some of the stories are as indecent as they are
witty, and two in the ninth book were deemed by Boccaccio worthy of
inclusion in the "Decameron." At last the goddess Isis
takes pity on Lucius. In a surprising denouement, he is restored to
human shape and, now spiritually regenerated, is initiated into her
mysteries. The author's baroque Latin style nicely matches his
fantastic narrative and is guaranteed to hold a reader's
attention from beginning to end.
The Loeb Classical Library edition of Apuleius is in two volumes.
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