Apologia (A Discourse on Magic)

is a novel in eleven books. It is on this remarkable work that Apuleius’ chief claim to fame must be based. The episode of Cupid and Psyche alone would have sufficed to make it famous. But from beginning to end there is not a dull page. The adventures of Lucius, whether in human or asinine shape, present the most infinite variety, and the fantastic, highly coloured, and poetical style serves to accentuate the romance. This is not the place to discuss the many problems presented by the work as a whole. It is sufficient here to say that, like most of Apuleius’ writings, it is not original as far as the main theme is concerned. The story is unquestionably derived either from the lost Metamorphoses of Lucius of Patras, or from the extant Λούκιος ἢ ὄνος Lucius or the Ass falsely attributed to Lucian. It has been much disputed which of these two works was Apuleius’ original. In the opinion of the present writer, both the Metamorphoses of Apuleius and the Λούκιος Lucius of the pseudo-Lucian are derived from the lost work of Lucius of Patras. But a detailed discussion of this complicated problem would be out of place here and must be deferred to a later occasion. The question of the date of the novel does to some extent concern us here. Did it precede or follow the Apologia? It has been held that it is the earlier work of the two. There are no definite arguments to be urged in support of this view. The two chief considerations which have given rise to this view are derived (a) from the style, (b) from the subject-matter. The freshness and exuberance of the style and narrative certainly suggest the work of a young man; but he would be a bold man who should assert that they were beyond the