NOTES OF VARIOUS SCHOLARS

THE WORKS OF APULEIUS.

APOLOGIA Defense.

Argument. Many individuals were accused and prosecuted for magical arts in Rome, even during the early times of the Republic. The Decemviral laws The earliest code of Roman law, dating to the 5th century BCE. declare that this crime once proliferated in Italy and within the city itself; these laws punished with death those who performed "evils," that is, magical incantations, or those who bewitched another's crops. We read in Livy of a public and most noble trial regarding this crime between Albinus and Furnius. Furthermore, the most noble and ancient magicians in Italy are enumerated, such as Picus and Faunus, among several others; and with them, King Numa. However, as the Empire opened up more widely, just as all other praiseworthy arts and doctrines arrived in the city, so too did vices, malefices, superstitions, and foreign rites. From then on, under the rule of the Emperors, there is very frequent mention of Chaldeans, Magicians, and (for they veiled their crimes under this most honorable name) Mathematicians In antiquity, the term mathematici often served as a euphemism for astrologers or diviners.. Nor were the remedies