By Maggie Yuan
Author’s Note
The North-African author Apuleius is a fascinating figure for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is his supposed practice of black magic. Such details are brought to life in the Apologia, his legal defense against charges of magic brought forth by another man. Although being a wizard is itself an interesting claim to fame, what was truly at stake in the Apologia was the fortunes of his new wife, Pudentilla. Choosing to marry Pudentilla, an older widow, Apuleius is essentially accused of being a gold-digger and seducing the woman with love charms. The Apologia is not only an entertaining glimpse into the life of Apuleius, but it also illuminates many aspects of life in Roman imperial North Africa.
I translated Apologia 24 as part of my senior thesis, focusing on issues of race and ethnicity — what does it mean for an elite North African man living under the auspices of the Roman Empire to claim his homeland unabashedly? Phrases such as Seminumidam et Semigaetulam, genere mixto and in omnibus gentibus have been mined for a wealth of interpretations with no general consensus. The complexity inherent in his words, the back and forth between his pride and his shame, leaves the reader’s own head spinning. As I tackled these complexities in my translation, I attempted to answer questions of how to translate genus and gens, being very aware of the baggage inherent in using translations like “race” or “blood.” Even the term “ethnicity” is not as objective as many claim it to be. Regardless of the difficulty of the questions posed above, I rendered the Apologia 24 into English as best as I could in an attempt to provide an original interpretation of the passage.
Text
[24] De patria mea vero, quod eam sitam Numidiae et Gaetuliae in ipso confinio meis scriptis ostendistis, quibus memet professus sum cum Lolliano Avito c(larissimo) v(iro) praesente publice dissererem, “Seminumidam” et “Semigaetulum,” non video quid mihi sit in ea re pudendum, haud magis quam Cyro maiori, quod genere mixto fuit Semimedus ac Semipersa. Non enim ubi prognatus, sed ut moratus quisque sit spectandum, nec qua regione, sed qua ratione vitam vivere inierit, considerandum est. Holitori et cauponi merito est concessum holus et vinum ex nobilitate soli commendare, vinum Thasium, holus Phliasium; quippe illa terrae alumna multum ad meliorem saporem iuverit et regio fecunda et caelum pluvium et ventus clemens et sol apricus et solum sucidum. Enimvero animo hominis extrinsecus in hospitium corporis immigranti quid ex istis addi vel minui ad virtutem vel malitiam potest? Quando non in omnibus gentibus varia ingenia provenere, quamquam videantur quaedam stultitia vel sollertia insigniores? Apud socordissimos Scythas Anacharsis sapiens natus est, apud Athenienses catos Meletides fatuus. Nec hoc eo dixi, quo me patriae meae paeniteret, etsi adhuc Syphacis oppidum essemus. Quo tamen victo ad Masinissam regem munere populi Romani concessimus ac deinceps veteranorum militum novo conditu splendidissima colonia sumus, in qua colonia patrem habui loco principis duoviralem cunctis honoribus perfunctum, cuius ego locum in illa re publica, exinde ut participare curiam coepi, nequaquam degener pari, spero, honore et existimatione tueor. Cur ergo illa protuli? Ut mihi tu, Aemiliane, minus posthac suscenseas, potiusque ut veniam impertias, si per neglegentiam forte non elegi illud tuum Atticum Zarath ut in eo nascerer.
Translation
[24] Certainly in regards to my fatherland, because you all have shown from my writings that this site is on the very border of Numidia and Gaetulia, in which I declared, when I was speaking publicly in the presence of the highly distinguished Lollianus Avitus, that I myself am “half-Numidian” and “half-Gaetulian”: I do not see why there is anything for me to be ashamed about in this, at least no more than for Cyrus the Great, because he was half-Median and half-Persian, mixed in ethnicity. For it is not where each person was born, but where they plant their roots that must be regarded, not in which region, but in what manner he began to live life, that must be considered. It is allowed for a deserving vegetable-grower and innkeeper to recommend vegetables and wine from quality alone — a Thasian wine, a Phliasian vegetable; indeed, greatly beneficial in producing a better flavor for earth-nourished goods have been a fertile region and rainy sky and a gentle wind and a warm sun and moist soil. In contrast, what qualities of yours can be added or subtracted, in respect to virtue or ill-will, to the soul of a man migrating from the outside into the body as host? Among all peoples, where does a variety of natures not appear — although certain peoples seem to be more notorious for stupidity or cleverness? Among the very weak-minded Scythians, the wise Anacharsis was born, and among the wise Athenians, the stupid Meletides was born. And yet, I have not said this because I should apologize for my fatherland, even if we were still the town of Syphax. However, after being conquered, we were given to King Massinissa as a gift from the Roman people and right after that, on account of the reestablishment of our experienced militia, we became a most splendid colony. In this colony, I had a father who achieved the rank of duumvir with all honors in the place of the emperor, whose place I maintained in that republic, and after that I began to participate in court, by no means inferior to him, I hope, in honor and reputation. Why, then, have I publicly revealed these facts? So that you, Aemilianus, may be less incensed at me henceforth, and so that, preferably, you may pardon me, if through negligence I have accidentally not chosen that Attic Zarath of yours to be born in.
Maggie Yuan is a recent alumna of the University of Pennsylvania. She majored in classical studies and political science.
Photo Caption Credits: Late antique ceiling painting c. 330, possibly of Apuleius of Madauros. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apuleius#/media/File:Apuleuis.jpg.
