The Apologia and Florida of Apuleius of Madaura

ApuleiusProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 4.0
Word count
357K words
Chapters
36

Tags

English Originals Classical Literature Western ThoughtMoral DilemmaAcademic StudyIntellectual CommentaryTraditional Aesthetics

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Apologia and Florida of Apuleius of Madaura by ApuleiusAuthor: Apuleius,Language: English, Class: PA: Language and Literatures: Classical Languages and Literature, Release Date: Aug 13, 2008

Editor's review

This Project Gutenberg edition presents two important works by Apuleius: the Apologia and the Florida. The Apologia is the author's courtroom defense against a charge of witchcraft, combining rhetorical skill with autobiographical detail; it is a valuable text for understanding second-century Roman rhetorical education and the situation of provincial intellectuals. The Florida is a collection of speech excerpts compiled by later editors, displaying the versatility and richness of his style. Read together, they can be cross-referenced with his Metamorphoses (The Golden Ass), helping readers grasp this North African writer's thought and expression. This is an English translation, a public-domain ebook in the Classical Languages and Literature category; the main barriers to reading lie in historical background and rhetorical terminology. It is suitable as supplementary reading for the study of classical rhetoric, the cultural history of the Roman Empire, and Apuleius, and as further reading for those interested in Latin literature, rather than as a first choice for beginners.

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Reading tips

  1. Read the Apologia first, treating it as a real courtroom speech, and note how the author organizes evidence and appeals to emotion.
  2. Before reading, briefly familiarize yourself with second-century Roman provinces, witchcraft accusations, and rhetorical education; this will significantly reduce the difficulty.
  3. The excerpts in the Florida can be read slowly in separate sittings, focusing on their diction and structure; do not insist on a continuous narrative.
  4. Compare with relevant chapters of The Golden Ass to observe the stylistic differences in the same author's fictional and self-defensive writing.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36

FAQ

What kind of works are the Apologia and the Florida respectively? The Apologia is Apuleius's courtroom defense when accused of practicing witchcraft, combining rhetorical display with personal self-defense; the Florida is a collection of speech and stylistic excerpts compiled by later editors, not a complete set of finished speeches. The two differ in genre, and reading them together gives a fuller view of the author's rhetoric.
Can I read this book without any Latin? Yes. This is an English translation and requires no Latin, though some English reading ability is needed. The real difficulty lies in background knowledge such as Roman court procedure, concepts of witchcraft, and rhetorical terminology; reading alongside an introduction or annotated edition is recommended.
Is this book suitable as an introduction to Apuleius? Not ideal. General readers are better advised to start with The Golden Ass to experience its narrative appeal, then return to the Apologia to understand the author's real circumstances and rhetorical skill. The Florida is fragmentary and better suited to readers who already have some familiarity.

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About the author

Apuleius Author

Apuleius was a writer who composed in Latin during the Roman era. Public information about him is limited, and details of his life remain disputed. Three of his works are included here: The Golden Asse, Amor ja Psyke, and The Apologia and Florida of Apuleius of Madaura. The Golden Asse follows a protagonist transformed into a donkey, whose absurd travels frame a series of inserted tales; humorous and highly imaginative in style, it is a major representative of the Roman novel. Amor ja Psyke is the celebrated mythological episode within it. The Apologia and Florida reveal his role as a rhetorician, consisting of speeches and declamatory pieces. His works blend myth, satire, and rhetorical skill, and have exerted a lasting influence on later European literature.