In the Mill with Slaves: Lucius Looks Back in Gratitude

At Apuleius "Metamorphoses 9.13.3-5" Lucius confesses that his experiences as an ass have profited him only as a literary artist, not as a philosopher, an admission borne out by his own narrative. This, it is suggested, reflects Apuleius' own retrospective assessment of a fruitless at...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Transactions of the American Philological Association (1974) 2003-04, Vol.133 (1), p.159-192
Main Author: Kenney, E. J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Apuleius (124-170)
Classical rhetoric
Curiosity
Greek language
Literary criticism
Metaphor
Narratives
Narrators
Philology
Philosophy
Platonism
Priests
Prologues
Religion
Self concept
Sophistry
Wisdom
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Summary:At Apuleius "Metamorphoses 9.13.3-5" Lucius confesses that his experiences as an ass have profited him only as a literary artist, not as a philosopher, an admission borne out by his own narrative. This, it is suggested, reflects Apuleius' own retrospective assessment of a fruitless attempt to reconcile Egyptian religion with Platonism. The Greek ass-story which he appropriated and embellished conveniently provided a fictional alter ego as narrator, a highly dramatic metaphor with Egyptian resonance for Apuleius' own experiences, and an opportunity for a bravura display of the rhetorical talents on which his reputation as at once Sophist and Platonic philosopher was based.
ISSN:0360-5949
1533-0699
2575-7180
1533-0699
2575-7199
DOI:10.1353/apa.2003.0007