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[42]
Now since their fish have been sufficiently laid in the open, take up something that's just as stupid, but far more hollow
and wickedly conceived. They knew that the fish ploy was a waste and would come to nothing, and, moreover, that its
novelty made it absurd (for who has heard it said that fish are typically scaled and boned for black magic?), and that instead
something else would have to be invented, concerning matters far more widely known and already credible.
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[42]
Nunc quoniam pisces horum satis patuerunt, accipe aliud pari quidem stultitia, sed multo tanta uanius et nequius
excogitatum. scierunt et ipsi argumentum piscarium futile et nihil futurum, praeterea nouitatem eius ridiculam, (quis enim
fando audiuit ad magica maleficia disquamari et exdorsari piscis solere?), potius aliquid de rebus peruulgatioribus etiam
creditis fingendum esse.
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So in accordance with the dictates of common opinion and rumor, they said that some boy, after he had been bewitched by
a spell and any eyewitnesses were far away, in a hidden location, in the company of a small altar, a lamp, and a few
sympathetic witnesses, after he had been subject to a charm, collapsed, and subsequently came to, no longer aware of
himself. And those men, at least, did not dare to proceed further with the lie. So that the fiction might be complete, this also
ought to have been added, namely that the same boy had foretold many things in his prediction.
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igitur ad praescriptum opinionis et famae confinxere puerum quempiam carmine cantatum remotis
arbitris, secreto loco, arula et lucerna et paucis consciis testibus, ubi incantatus sit, corruisse, postea nesciente[m] sui
excitatum. nec ultra isti quidem progredi mendacio ausi; enim fabula ut impleretur, addendum etiam illud fuit, puerum
eundem multa praesagio praedixisse.
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Certainly we receive the benefit of divinations and predictions from incantations: common opinion and the authority of
learned men both confirm this sort of miracle involving boys. I remember that while I was reading about other things of the
same sort in the works of the philosopher Varro, an excellently educated and learned man, I read this: in Tralles a boy
gazing at an image of Mercury in water sang what the future would be in one-hundred sixty verses to people asking with
magic inquiry about the outcome of the Mithridatic War.
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quippe hoc emolumentum canticis accipimus, praesagium et diuinationem, nec modo
uulgi opinione, uerum etiam doctorum uirorum auctoritate hoc miraculum de pueris confirmatur. memini me apud Varronem
philosophum, uirum accuratissime doctum atque eruditum, cum alia eiusdem modi, tum hoc etiam legere: Trallibus de euentu
Mithridatici belli magica percontatione consultantibus puerum in aqua simulacrum Mercuri contemplantem quae futura erant
CLX uersibus cecinisse.
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Likewise, I read that Fabius, when he had lost five hundred denarii, came to consult Nigidius. Boys stirred up by his spell
indicated where the purse with some of the coins had been buried and where the rest had been distributed. The philosopher
M. Cato even had one of these denarii which he admitted that he had received from a servant in the treasury of Apollo.
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itemque Fabium, cum quingentos denarium perdidisset, ad Nigidium consultum uenisse; ab eo
pueros carmine instinctos indicauisse, ubi locorum defossa esset crumina cum parti eorum, ceteri ut forent distributi; unum
etiam denarium ex eo numero habere M. Catonem philosophum; quem se a pedisequo in stipe Apollinis accepisse Cato
confessus est.
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[43] I read these and other things in many books about magic and boys, but I'm not sure what I think about them, whether
I would say or deny that they can happen. I do, however, believe Plato: certain divine beings, intermediary in character and
position, have been placed between the gods and human beings, and they guide the divinations and miracles of magicians. I
also believe that the human mind, especially a childish and simple one, can be put to sleep either by the enjoyment of a song
or by the allurement of a pleasant scent, and that it can be driven into forgetting its present surroundings. For a short time
the mind can be called away from the memory of the body and return to its own nature, which is, of course, eternal and
divine. Then, as if in some kind of sleep, it can predict the future.
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[43]
Haec et alia apud plerosque de magiis et pueris lego equidem, sed dubius sententiae sum, dicamne fieri posse an negem,
quamquam Platoni credam inter deos atque homines natura et loco medias quasdam diuorum potestates intersitas, easque
diuinationes cunctas et magorum miracula gubernare; quin et illud mecum reputo posse animum humanum, praesertim
puerilem et simplicem, seu carminum auocamento siue odorum delenimento soporari et ad obliuionem praesentium externari
et paulisper remota corporis memoria redigi ac redire ad naturam suam, quae est immortalis scilicet et diuina, atque ita uelut
quodam sopore futura rerum praesagare.
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To be sure, for things to be this way , if we are to have any faith in them, the prophetic boy selected, so I hear, must be one
beautiful and healthy in body, clever in mind, and fluent in speech so that the divine power may be appropriately lodged in
him, as in a good temple. In any case, if this power is admitted into the boy's body, his mind, when it is awakened, quickly
recollects its own innate gift of prophesy, and takes it up again easily, without being damaged or sluggish with forgetfulness.
For, as Pythagoras used to say, not every piece of wood is fit to be carved into an image of Mercury.
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uerum enimuero, ut ista sese habent, si qua fides hisce rebus impertienda est,
debet ille nescio qui puer prouidus, quantum ego audio, et corpore decorus atque integer deligi et animo sollers et ore
facundus, ut in eo aut diuina potestas quasi bonis aedibus digne diuersetur, si tamen ea pueri corpore includitur, an ipse
animus expergitus cito ad diuinationem suam redigatur, quae ei prompte insita et nulla obliuione saucia et hebes facile
resumatur. non enim ex omni ligno, ut Pythagoras dicebat, debet Mercurius exculpi.
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If this is so, name that healthy, unharmed, clever, and graceful boy whom I would've considered worthy to initiate with my
spell.
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quod si ita est, nominate, quis ille fuerit
puer sanus, incolumis, ingeniosus, decorus, quem ego carmine dignatus sim initiare.
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"*******."
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"*******."
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Thallus, whom you have named, needs a doctor more than a magician. For epilepsy has made him so pitiful that three or
four times a day he falls without any incantations and convulsions leave all of his limbs powerless. His face is ulcerous, his
forehead and the back of his head bruised, his eyes dull, his nostrils gaping and his feet unsteady. The best magician ever is
the man in whose presence Thallus has remained standing for a long time, since he's inclined to fall backward because of
this sleep-like illness.
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ceterum Thallus, quem nominastis,
medico potius quam mago indiget; est enim miser morbo comitiali ita confectus, ut ter an quater die saepe numero sine ullis
cantaminibus corruat omniaque membra conflictationibus debilitet, facie ulcerosus, fronte et occipitio conquassatus, oculis
hebes, naribus hiulcus, pedibus caducus. maximus omnium magus est, quo praesente Thallus diu steterit: ita plerumque
morbo ceu somno uergens inclinatur.
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[44] Nevertheless, you said that he'd been overcome by my spells because once, by chance, he fell in my presence. Most
of his fellow slaves whom you have summoned are here. All can say why they spit on Thallus, why no one dares to eat from
his bowl, or drink from his cup. Why do I go on about the slaves? You yourselves see this. Say that Thallus didn't used to
collapse from the illness before I came to Oea, that he didn't used to be seen by doctors very often. Let his fellow slaves
who are in your service deny this. I will admit that I am guilty of everything if he hasn't been sent away into the country for a
long time, to a remote farm away from the company of all people so that he should not pollute the household. They can't
deny that this has been done. Because of that, we couldn't present him today.
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[44]
eum tamen uos carminibus meis subuersum dixistis, quod forte me coram semel
decidit. conserui eius plerique adsunt, quos ex[h]iberi denuntiastis. possunt dicere omnes, quid in Thallo despuant, cur nemo
audeat cum eo ex eodem catino cenare, eodem poculo bibere. et quid ego de seruis? uos ipsi uidetis; negate Thallum multo
prius, quam ego Oeam uenirem, corruere eo morbo solitum, medicis saepe numero ostensum, negent hoc conserui eius qui
sunt in ministerio uestro; omnium rerum conuictum me fatebor, nisi rus a % de omnium diu ablegatus est in longinquos
agros, ne familiam contaminaret: quod ita factum nec ab illis negari potest. eo nec potuit hodie a nobis exhiberi.
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For just as every one of these accusations has been ill-considered and hasty, the day before yesterday Aemilianus
announced to us that we must present fifteen slaves before you. The 14 who were in town are present. Only Thallus, as I
said, since he is an exile almost as far away as the one-hundredth mile stone, this Thallus alone is absent, but we've sent
someone to fetch him here swiftly. Maximus, ask the 14 slaves whom we present where the boy Thallus is and how healthy
he is, ask the slaves of my accusers. They will not deny that the boy is really foul, with an infectious and sickly body, frail,
coarse, and a country bumpkin. You have picked out a truly pretty boy whom someone would invite to a sacrifice, whose
head someone would touch, around whom someone would wrap a pure cloak, and from whom someone would hope for
an oracle. By Hercules, I wish he were here! I would have granted him to you, Aemilianus, and I would hold him for you to
question him. Then surely, in the middle of the interrogation, right here before the tribunal he would have turned his savage
eyes against you, foaming at the mouth he would have covered your face with spit, gnarled his hands, shaken his head, and
finally he would have fallen into your lap.
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nam ut
omnis ista accusatio temeraria et repentina fuit, nudius tertius nobis Aemilianus denuntiauit, ut seruos numero quindecim
apud te exhiberemus. adsunt XIIII, qui in oppido erant. Thallus solus, ut dixi, quod ferme ad centesimum lapidem longe exul
est, is Thallus solus abest, sed misimus qui eum curriculo aduehat. interroga, Maxime, XIIII seruos quos exhibemus, Thallus
puer ubi sit et quam salue agat, interroga seruos accusatorum meorum. non negabunt turpissimum puerum, corpore putri et
morbido, caducum, barbarum, rusticanum. bellum uero puerum elegistis, quem quis sacrificio adhibeat, cuius caput
contingat, quem puro pallio amiciat, a quo responsum speret. uelle[m] hercle adesset: tibi eum, Aemiliane, permisissem, et
tenerem, si tu interrogares; iam in media quaestione hic ibidem pro tribunali oculos trucis in te inuertisset, faciem tuam
spumabundus conspuisset, manus contraxisset, caput succussisset, postremo in sinu tuo corruisset.
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[45] I am presenting the 14 slaves whom you have claimed for trial. Why won't you use them for the interrogation? You
inquire after one boy, an epileptic at that, whom you know as well as I do to have been absent for some time now. What
else will make this false accusation plainer? 14 slaves are present by your request, and you ignore them. One little slave is
absent, and you accuse him. After all this, what do you want? Imagine that Thallus is here. Do you wish to prove that he fell
because I was present? I admit on my own that he fell. Do you say that it was caused by a spell? The boy doesn't know. I
don't challenge that this happened, for you won't dare say that the boy isn't an epileptic. So why would his falling be
attributed to a spell rather than an illness? Couldn't it have also turned out that he just happened to have an attack while I
was present, which often has happened at other times when many were present?
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[45]
XIIII seruos quos postulasti exhibeo. cur illis ad quaestionem nihil uteris? unum puerum atque eum caducum requiris, quem
olim abesse pariter mecum scis. quae alia est euidentior calumnia? XIIII serui petitu tuo adsunt, eos dissimulas; unus
puerulus abest, eum insimulas. postremo quid uis? puta Thallum adesse: uis probare eum praesente me concidisse? ultro
confiteor. carmine id factum dicis? hoc puer nescit, ego non factum reuinco; nam caducum esse puerum nec tu audebis
negare. cur ergo carmini potius quam morbo attribuatur eius ruina? an euenire non potuit, ut forte praesente me idem
pateretur, quod saepe alias multis praesentibus?
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What if I did think it a great thing to knock over an epileptic? Why would I need a spell when a kindled jet stone, as I read
in the works of the natural scientists, excellently and easily acts as a test for this illness? By its odor, even common in the
slave markets, you can test the mental and physical health of the available slaves. Even the wheel spun by the potter, by its
own whirling around, easily carries away a man of the same strength. In this manner, the rotation enfeebles the wounded
mind, and a potter can overcome epileptics much more effectively than a magician can.
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quod si magnum putarem caducum deicere, quid opus carmine fuit, cum
incensus gagates lapis, ut apud physicos lego, pulchre et facile hunc morbum exploret, cuius odore etiam in uenaliciis uulgo
sanitatem aut morbum uenalium experiantur? etiam orbis a figulo circumactus non difficile eiusdem ualetudinis hominem
uertigine sui corripit, ita spectaculum rotationis eius animum saucium debilitat; ac multo plus ad caducos[e] consternendos
figulus ualet quam magus.
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You without reason have demanded that I present slaves. I demanded, not without reason, that you name which witnesses
were present for this expiatory sacrifice when I gave a push to Thallus while he was falling. You name one little boy in all,
that Sicinius Pudens, in whose name you accuse me, for he says that he was there. Even if his youth doesn't detract from his
ability to fulfill an oath, nevertheless the accusation might threaten his credibility. It would've been easier, Aemilianus, and
much more serious if you'd said that you yourself had been present and that you'd gone mad from the sacred rite rather
than handing off all the work to boys as if it were a show. A boy fell, a boy saw; now did some boy even sing an
incantation?
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tu frustra postulasti, ut seruos exhiberem: ego non de nihilo postulo ut nomines, quinam testes huic
piaculari sacro adfuerint, cum ego ruentem Thallum impellerem. unum omnino nominas puerulum illum Sicinium Pudentem,
cuius me nomine accusas; is enim adfuisse se dicit; cuius pueritia etsi nihil ad re[li]gionem refragaretur, tamen accusatio
fidem deroget. facilius fuit, Aemiliane, ac multo grauius, tete ut ipsum diceres interfuisse et ex eo sacro coepisse dementire
potius quam totum negotium quasi ludicrum pueris donares. puer cecidit, puer uidit: num etiam puer aliqui incantauit?
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[46] When Tannonius Pudens saw (from the faces and mutterings of the crowd) that this lie also fell flat and had been
nearly rejected already, he said slyly that he would bring forward other boys who were equally bewitched by me. He did
this to delay some people's suspicions with expectation. And in this way he moved on to another part of his argument.
Although I could ignore this, nevertheless, as I've challenged everything else, I'll challenge this, too, of my own free will. For
I'm eager for the boys to be introduced-- I hear they've been encouraged to lie by the hope of freedom. But I say no more.
They should come forward.
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[46]
Hic satis ueteratorie Tannonius Pudens, cum hoc quoque mendacium frigere ac prope iam omnium uultu et murmure
explosum uideret, ut uel suspiciones quorundam spe moraretur, ait pueros alios producturum, qui sint aeque a me incantati,
atque ita ad aliam speciem argumenti transgressus est. quod quamquam dissimulare potui, tamen ut omnia, ita hoc quoque
ultro prouoco. cupio enim produci eos pueros, quos spe libertatis audio confirmatos ad mentiendum. sed nihil amplius dico:
ut producant.
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So I require and I demand, Tannonius Pudens, that you keep your promise. Bring me those boys on whom you rely.
Introduce them, name who they are. You may use my time for this purpose. Speak, Tannonius. Why are you silent? Why
do you delay? Why do you gaze about? What if this man doesn't know what to say, or what if he has "forgotten" their
names? But give it up, Aemilianus, say what you entrusted to your lawyer, present the boys. Why have you gone pale?
Why are you silent? Is this what it means to accuse? Is this what it means to report such a crime? Or is this what it means
to make a mockery of such a man as Maximus Claudius and to attack me furiously with a false accusation? What if your
lawyer erred in his speech and you have no boys to introduce? At least use the 14 slaves whom I've presented for
something. [47] Or else why did you ask that such a household appear in court?
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postulo igitur et flagito, Tannoni Pudens, ut expleas quod pollicitus. cedo pueros istos, quibus confiditis:
produc, nomina qui sint. mea aqua licet ad hoc utare. dic, inquam, Tannoni. quid taces, quid cunctaris, quid respectas?
quod si hic nescit quid [di]dicerit aut nomina oblitus est, at tu, Aemiliane, cede huc, dic quid aduocato tuo mandaueris,
exhibe pueros. quid expalluisti? quid taces? hocine accusare est, hocine tantum crimen deferre an Claudium Maximum,
tantum uirum, ludibrio habere, me calumnia insectari? quod si forte patronus tuus uerbo prolapsus est et nullos pueros habes
quos producas, saltem XIIII seruis quos ex[h]ibui ad aliquid utere. aut cur sisti postulabas tantam familiam?
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To accuse me of magic you summoned 15 slaves as witnesses. How many slaves would you demand to accuse me of
violence? So 15 slaves know something about it--and it's a secret? Or is it not a secret but something magical? You must
admit one of these things. Either it wasn't illegal, in which case I wouldn't fear so many witnesses, or if it was illegal, then so
many witnesses shouldn't have known about it. This so-called magic, as far as I know, is a thing entrusted to the law,
forbidden from ancient times by the 12 Tables because of the unbelievable lurings of crops. So, magic is as secret as it is
shocking and terrifying. Generally it's active at night, hidden by darkness, removed from witnesses, and murmured by spells.
Few free men are devoted to it, let alone few slaves. And you imagine that 15 slaves were present? Was it a wedding? Or
some other crowded ceremony? Or a seasonable banquet? 15 slaves took part in a magic al rite, as if they were made
quindecemviri for offering sacrifices. But anyway, would I have invited such a number of people to this affair if it was too
many for privacy? 15 free men are a community, 15 slaves a household, and 15 prisoners a penitentiary. Or was a crowd
needed to help hold down the lustral victims? But you have named no victims except hens. Were they there to count the
grains of incense or knock over Thallus?
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magiae
accusans de XV seruis denuntiasti: quid, si de ui accusares, quot tandem seruos postulares? sciunt ergo aliquid XV serui et
occultum est. an occultum non est et magicum est? alterum horum fatearis necesse est, aut inlicitum non fuisse in quo tot
conscios non timuerim, aut si inlicitum fuit, scire tot conscios non debuisse. magia ista, quantum ego audio, res est legibus
delegata, iam inde antiquitus XII tabulis propter incredundas frugum inlecebras interdicta, igitur et occulta non minus quam
tetra et horribilis, plerumque noctibus uigilata et tenebris abstrusa et arbitris solitaria et carminibus murmurata, cui non modo
seruorum, uerum etiam liberorum pauci adhibentur: et tu quindecim seruos uis interfuisse? nubtiaene illae fuerunt an aliud
celebratum officium an conuiuium tempestiuum? XV serui sacrum magicum participant quasi XV uiri sacris faciundis creati?
cui tamen rei tot numero adhibuissem, si conscientiae nimis multi sunt? XV liberi homines populus est, totidem serui familia,
totidem uincti ergastulum. an adiutorio multitudo eorum necessaria fuit, qui diutine hostias lustralis tenerent? at nullas hostias
nisi gallinas nominastis. an ut grana turis numerarent, an ut Thallum prosternerent?
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[48] You've even said that a free woman with the same condition as Thallus was brought to my house. You've said that I
promised to cure her but that I bewitched her too and she collapsed. As I see it, you've come to accuse a wrestling coach,
not a magician. So you say that everyone who comes near me has fallen. But Themison, the doctor who brought the
woman to my house to be examined, said under your questioning, Maximus, that she experienced nothing except that I
asked her if her ears were ringing, and which ear rang more. After she answered that there was a disturbance in her right
ear she left right away. Here, Maximus, although for the present I diligently abstain from praising you so that I don't seem to
flatter you for the sake of this case, nevertheless, I can't help but praise your investigative shrewdness. For a short while
ago, when they were considering these things and they were saying that I bewitched the woman and the doctor who was
present denied it, you very wisely asked what the benefit of casting the spell was for me.
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[48]
Mulierem etiam liberam perductam ad me domum dixistis eiusdem Thalli ualetudinis, quam ego pollicitus sim curaturum,
eam quoque a me incantatam corruisse. ut uideo, uos palaestritam, non magum accusatum uenistis: ita omnis qui me
accessere dicitis cecidisse. negauit tamen quaerente te, Maxime, Themison medicus, a quo mulier ad inspiciendum perducta
est, quicquam ultra passam nisi quaesisse me, ecquid illi aures obtinnirent et utra earum magis; ubi responderit dexteram sibi
aurem nimis inquietam, confestim discessisse. hic ego, Maxime, quanquam sedulo inpraesentiarum a laudibus tuis tempero,
necubi tibi ob causam istam uidear blanditus, tamen sollertiam tuam in percontando nequeo quin laudem. dudum enim, cum
haec agitarentur et illi incantatam mulierem dicerent, medicus qui adfuerat abnueret, quaesisti tu nimis quam prudenter, quod
mihi emolumentum fuerit incantandi.
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They answered, "The woman fell."
"What next? Is she dead?" you asked.
They said that she was not.
"What are you saying, then? What profit would there be for Apuleius if she had fallen?"
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responderunt: 'ut mulier rueret'. 'quid deinde? mortua est?' inquis. negarunt. 'quid ergo
dicitis? quod Apulei commodum, si ruisset?'
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So it was great that you persisted in asking a third time, since you know that reasons for all deeds must be considered more
carefully, that facts are often granted while causes are lacking, and that for this reason lawyers of litigants are called
causidici-- because they explain the causes of every event. It's easy to deny something -- you don't even need a lawyer.
It's much more laborious and difficult to show whether something was done rightly or wrongly. So it's useless to ask
whether something happened if it had no evil reason motivating it. So with a good judge the defendant is freed from anxiety
over the investigation if he had no motive for doing wrong.
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ita enim pulchre ac perseueranter tertio quaesisti, ut qui scires omnium
factorum rationes diligentius examinandas ac saepius causas quaeri, facta concedi, eoque etiam patronos litigatorum
causidicos nominari, quod cur quaeque facta sint expediant. ceterum negare factum facilis res est et nullo patrono indiget:
recte factum uel perperam docere, id uero multo arduum et difficile est. frustra igitur an factum sit anquiritur, quod nullam
malam causam habuit ut fieret. ita facti reus apud bonum iudicem scrupulo quaestionis liberatur, si nulla fuit ei ratio peccandi.
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They haven't proven that I bewitched the woman or caused her to faint, and I don't deny that I examined her at the doctor's
request. Let me tell you, Maximus, why I asked about the ringing in her ears. It wasn't so much to clear myself in a case
which you have already judged to be unrelated to guilt or crime, as it was not to keep silent about something worthy of your
ears and suitable for your erudition. So I'll speak as briefly as I can, since I'm only reminding you, not teaching you.
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nunc quoniam neque incantatam neque prostratam mulierem probauerunt et ego non nego petitu medici a me
inspectam, dicam tibi, Maxime, cur illud de aurium tinnitu quaesierim, non tam purgandi mei gratia in ea re, quam tu iam
praeiudicasti neque culpae neque crimini confinem, quam ut ne quid dignum auribus tuis et doctrinae tuae congruens
reticuerim. dicam igitur quam breuissime potuero; etenim admonendus es mihi, non docendus.
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[49] In his famous Timaeus the philosopher Plato builds an entire world, with a kind of divine eloquence. Then, after he so
skillfully explains each of the three powers of our minds and provides thorough information about why our various body
parts were constructed so by divine providence, he counts up three causes of all diseases. The first cause is found in the
basic elements of the body, when the various qualities of moisture, cold, and their opposites are not in balance with one
another. This happens when any one of them has exceeded its limit or migrated from its proper position. The second cause
of diseases lies in the corruption of substances which, though already condensed from the basic elements have still
combined with one type, such as blood, flesh, bone, and marrow, along with mixtures formed from these substances. Third,
concretions of different kinds of bile, murky gas, and thick humors, are the most potent sources of sickness.
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[49]
Plato philosophus in illo praeclarissimo Timaeo caelesti quadam facundia uniuersum mundum molitus, [is] igitur postquam
de nostri quoque animi trinis potestatibus sollertissime disseruit et, cur quaeque membra nobis diuina prouidentia fabricata
sint, aptissime docuit, causam morborum omnium trifariam percenset. primam causam primordiis corporis adtribuit, si ipsae
elementorum qualitates, uuida et frigida et h[i]is duae aduorsae, non congruant; id adeo euenit, cum quaepiam earum modo
excessit aut loco demigrauit. sequens causa morborum inest in eorum uitio, quae iam concreta ex simplicibus elementis una
tamen specie coaluerunt, ut est sanguinis species et uisceris et ossi et medullae, porro illa quae ex hisce singularibus mixta
sunt. tertio in corpore concrementa uarii fellis et turbidi spiritus et pinguis humoris nouissima aegritudinum incitamenta sunt.
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[50] This last is the principal ingredient in epilepsy, about which I began to speak, when flesh liquefies into a thick and
foaming humor from a harmful heat and with a gas born similarly from the heat of compressed air, a whitish and swollen pus
flows. To be sure, if this pus oozes out of the body, it diffuses in a way that is more embarrassing than harmful, because it
marks the outer skin of the breast with psoriasis and leaves spots of every kind. But, the person who suffers in this manner
never afterwards is afflicted with epilepsy. In this way a very serious disease of the soul is compensated for with a slight
blemish of the body.
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[50]
quorum e numero praecipuast materia morbi comitialis, de quo dicere exorsus sum, cum caro in humorem crassum et
spumidum inimico igni conliquescit et spiritu indidem parto ex candore compressi aeris albida et tumida tabes fluit. ea
namque tabes si foras corporis prospirauit, maiore dedecore quam noxa diffunditur; pectoris enim primorem cutim uitiligine
insignit et omnimodis maculationibus conuariat. sed cui hoc usu uenerit, numquam postea comitiali morbo adtemptatur; ita
aegritudinem animi grauissimam leui turpitudine corporis compensat.
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On the other hand, if this destructive irritation is kept inside, mixes with black bile, and rages through all the vessels, then it
makes its way to the top of the head and the dreadful fluid seeps into the brain. Right then and there it disables the royal
part of the soul, the royal power of reason, which resides in the peak of the human body as in a citadel and palace. It does
this by inundating and interrupting the divine paths and channels of knowledge. It accomplishes this less ruinously during
sleep, when it strangles victims full of food and drink with the early warning gasp of epilepsy. But if the infection grows to
the point that it spreads to the head even of patients who are awake, then they suddenly grow numb, with their minds
clouded over, and when the body is near death and breathing stops, they fall. We rightly call this not only the "greater," or
"epileptic," but also the "divine" disease, as the Greeks say I(ERA\N NO/SON sacred disease obviously because
the disease does violence to the rational (by far the most sacred) part of the soul.
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enimuero si perniciosa illa dulcedo intus cohibita et bili
atrae sociata uenis omnibus furens peruasit, dein ad summum caput uiam molita dirum fluxum cerebro immiscuit, ilico
regalem partem animi debilitat, quae ratione pollens uerticem hominis uelut arcem et regiam insedit. eius quippe diuinas uias
et sapientis meatus obruit et obturbat; quod facit minore pernicie per soporem, cum potu et cibo plenos comitialis morbi
praenuntia strangulatione modice angit. sed si usque adeo aucta est, ut etiam uigilantium capiti offundatur, tum uero
repentino mentis nubilo obtorpescunt et moribundo corpore, cessante animo cadunt. eum nostri non modo maiorem et
comitialem, uerum etiam diuinum morbum, ita ut Graeci $I(ERA\N NO/SON&, uere nuncuparunt, uidelicet quod animi
partem rationalem, quae longe sanctissimast, eam uiolet.
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[51] Now you know, Maximus, Plato's explanation as fully as I can present it in the time available. I believe that this is the
cause of the "divine sickness," when this plague overflows into the head, so obviously it is relevant for me to ask whether
that woman's head ached, her neck swelled, temples pounded, and ears rang. What's more, the fact that she admitted to
frequent ringing in her right ear was itself a sign that the disease had become deep-seated. This is because the right side of
the body is stronger and consequently offers less hope of recovery once it succumbs to the disease.
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[51]
Agnoscis, Maxime, rationem Platonis quantum potui pro tempore perspicue explicatam; cui ego fidem arbitratus causam
diuini morbi esse, cum illa pestis in caput redu[n]dauit, haudquaquam uideor de nihilo percontatus, an esset mulieri illi caput
graue, ceruix torpens, tempora pulsata, aures sonorae. [et] ceterum, quod dexterae auris crebriores tinnitus fatebatur,
signum erat morbi penitus adacti; nam dextera corporis ualidiora sunt eoque minus spei ad sanitatem relinquunt, cum et ipsa
aegritudini succumbunt.
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On this point, Aristotle has written in his Problems that it's more difficult to cure those whose right sides are afflicted with
the disease. It would take a long time to recount the thoughts of Theophrastus about the same disease, for he also has an
excellent book about seizures. In addition, in another book which he wrote about animals keeping a grudge, he says that
sufferers have a cure in the sloughs of newts, which they discard at regular intervals, like other serpents, when they get old.
But unless you snatch it away quickly, they turn and devour it on the spot out of malicious foresight or natural appetite. I've
recounted these discussions of famous philosophers and at the same time carefully named their writings but have refused to
touch on any by doctors or poets, so that these men will stop being surprised that philosophers know, just from their own
teachings, the causes and cures of diseases.
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Aristoteles adeo in problematis scriptum reliquit, quibuscumque caducis a dextero morbus occipiat,
eorum esse difficiliorem medelam. longum est, si uelim Theophrasti quoque sententiam de eodem morbo recensere; est
enim etiam eius egregius liber de caducis. quibus tamen in alio libro, quem de inuidentibus animalibus conscribsit, remedio
esse ait exuuias stelionum, quas uelut senium more ceterorum serpentium temporibus statutis exuant; sed nisi confestim
eripias, malignone praesagio an naturali adpetentia ilico conuertuntur et deuorant. haec idcirco commemoraui, nobilium
philosophorum disputata simul et libros sedulo nominaui nec ullum ex medicis aut poetis uolui attingere, ut isti desinant
mirari, si philosophi suapte doctrina causas morborum et remedia nouerunt.
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So then, since the sick woman was brought to me for examination in hopes of treatment, and what's more, since it can be
concluded both from the acknowledgment of the doctor who brought her to me and from my own argument, that this was a
proper thing to do, my opponents must do one of two things. They must prove that the curing of disease is the task of the
magician and troublemaker, or, if they don't dare say that, let them admit in regard to a collapsing boy and woman that they
have brought empty and entirely collapsing false charges.
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igitur cum ad inspiciendum mulier aegra
curationis gratia ad me perducta sit atque hoc et medici confessione qui adduxit ad [me et] mea ratiocinatione recte factum
esse conueniat, aut constituant magi et malefici hominis esse morbis mederi, aut si hoc dicere non audent, fateantur se in
puero et muliere caducis uanas et prorsus caducas calumnias intendisse.
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[52] Because if you want the truth, Aemilianus, you who have fallen down with so many trumped-up charges are collapsing even more. You see, it is no more serious to slip up with your body than in your heart, to fall down off you
r feet than out of your mind,
to be spit on in the bedroom than be loathed before this most splendid gathering. Now, perhaps you think that you are healthy because you are not confined at home. But you follow your insanity wherever
it leads you!
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[52]
Immo enim si uerum uelis, Aemiliane, tu potius caducus qui iam tot calumniis cecidisti. neque enim grauius est corpore quam
corde collabi, pede potius quam mente corruere, in cubiculo despui quam in isto splendidissimo coetu detestari. at tu
fortasse te putas sanum, quod non domi contineris, sed insaniam tuam, quoquo te duxerit, sequeris.
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Instead, please compare your madness with the madness of Thallus: you'll find there's not much difference except that
Thallus rages at himself while you rage at others.
Thallus spins his eyes, you put a spin on the truth.
Thallus squeezes his hands and you squeeze your supporters.
Thallus bangs his head against the pavement, you do it against the tribunal.
Finally, whatever he does, he does out of sickness. He sins in ignorance.
But you, you wretch, deliberately and knowingly violate decency, such a strong disease propels you. You switch a lie for
the truth. You allege as a crime something that didn't happen, and a man whom you plainly know to be innocent, you
nevertheless accuse of injuring you.
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atqui contende, si uis,
furorem tuum cum Thalli furore: inuenies non permultum interesse, nisi quod Thallus sibi, tu etiam aliis furis. ceterum Thallus
oculos torquet, tu ueritatem, Thallus manus contrahit, tu patronos, Thallus pauimentis inliditur, tu tribunalibus; postremo ille
quidquid agit in aegritudine facit, ignorans peccat: at tu, miser, prudens et sciens delinquis, tanta uis morbi te instigat; falsum
pro uero insimulas, infectum pro facto criminaris, quem innocentem liquido scis, tamen accusas ut nocentem.
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