Apuleius Metamorphosis 3.4
Ethan Gallagher /
- Created on 2018-11-23 16:29:43
- Modified on 2018-11-27 02:15:30
- Aligned by Ethan Gallagher
Latin
English
Sic profatus accusator acerrimus immanem vocem repressit , ac me statim praeco , si quid ad ea responderi vellem , iubebat incipere . At ego nihil tunc tempori amplius quam flere poteram , non . tam Herculi truculentam accusationem intuens quam meam miseram conscientiam ; sed tamen oborta divinitus audacia sic ad illa : ‘Nec ipse ignoro , quam sit arduum , trinis civium corporibus expositis eum qui caedis arguatur , quamvis vera dicat et de facto confiteatur ultro , tamen tantae multitudini , quod sit innocens , persuadere . Sed si paulisper audientiam publica mihi tribuerit humanitas , facile vos edocebo me discrimen capitis non meo merito , sed rationabilis indignationis eventu fortuito tantam criminis invidiam frustra sustinere . ’
Thus
he
finished
his
speech
;
this
most
brutal
prosecutor
repressed
his
monstrous
voice
.
And immediately the herald was ordering me to begin , demanding whether there was anything I
wanted to respond to . But at that moment , I couldn’t do anything other than cry , considering—
by Hercules ! —not so much the ferocious charge against me , but rather my own miserable
conscience . However , confidence sent down from heaven sprang up in me , and I was able to
make this reply to the prosecutor’s words :
" I myself am not unaware how difficult it is to persuade a crowd such as yourself that a
man like me is innocent . After all , there are three bodies of citizens laid out against this man
who is accused of murder , even though he speaks the truth and acknowledges the deed
voluntarily . But if public courtesy would allot me a little of your attention , I will easily
convince you that it is by no fault of my own that I am now at risk of capital punishment .
Rather , it is by a coincidental result of my own reasonable anger that I now endure the great
hatred of this unfounded accusation .
And immediately the herald was ordering me to begin , demanding whether there was anything I
wanted to respond to . But at that moment , I couldn’t do anything other than cry , considering—
by Hercules ! —not so much the ferocious charge against me , but rather my own miserable
conscience . However , confidence sent down from heaven sprang up in me , and I was able to
make this reply to the prosecutor’s words :
" I myself am not unaware how difficult it is to persuade a crowd such as yourself that a
man like me is innocent . After all , there are three bodies of citizens laid out against this man
who is accused of murder , even though he speaks the truth and acknowledges the deed
voluntarily . But if public courtesy would allot me a little of your attention , I will easily
convince you that it is by no fault of my own that I am now at risk of capital punishment .
Rather , it is by a coincidental result of my own reasonable anger that I now endure the great
hatred of this unfounded accusation .