Apuleius: Apology and Florida

st noble of 'philosophers', was the handsomest man of his day. Zeno Zeno of Velia (c. 490–430 BCE), a pre-Socratic philosopher famous for his logical paradoxes. also, the ancient philosopher of Velia, who was the first to discover that most ingenious device of re-futing hypotheses by the method of self-inconsistency Apuleius refers to the dialectic method of "reductio ad absurdum," where one proves a point by showing that its opposite leads to a contradiction., that same Zeno was—so Plato asserts—by far the most striking in appearance of all the men of his generation. It is further recorded of many other philosophers that they were comely of countenance and added fresh charm to their personal beauty by their beauty of character.

But such a defence is, as I have already said, far from me. Not only has nature given me but a commonplace appearance, but continued literary labour has swept away such charm as my person ever possessed, has reduced me to a lean habit of body, sucked away all the freshness of life, destroyed my complexion and impaired my vigour. As to my hair, which they with unblushing mendacity original: "mendacium" — habitual lying or deception. declare I have allowed to grow long as an enhancement to my personal attractions, you can judge of its elegance and beauty.

As you see, it is tangled, twisted and unkempt like a lump of tow Coarse, broken fibers of flax or hemp; Apuleius is comparing his hair to a messy bundle of rope-making material., shaggy and irregular in length, so knotted and matted that the tangle is past the art of man to unravel. This is due not to mere carelessness in the tiring The historical term for dressing, grooming, or arranging hair. of my hair, but to the fact that I never so much as comb or part it. I think this is a sufficient refutation of the accusations concerning my hair which they hurl against me as though it were a capital charge Apuleius is being sarcastic here; a "capital charge" (causa capitis) was a legal trial where the defendant's life or citizenship was at stake. He mocks his accusers for treating his messy hair as a death-penalty offense..

Chapter 5

As to my eloquence—if only eloquence were mine—it would be small matter either for wonder or