| [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. |
[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. |
| 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. |
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. |
| 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. |
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. |
| 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. |
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. |
| [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.
|
[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. |
| 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. |
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. |
| If this is so, name that healthy, unharmed, clever, and
graceful boy whom I would've considered worthy to initiate with my spell.
|
quod si ita est, nominate, quis ille fuerit puer sanus, incolumis,
ingeniosus, decorus, quem ego carmine dignatus sim initiare. |
| "*******." |
"*******." |
| 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. |
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. |
| [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.
|
[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.
|
| 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. |
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. |
| [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? |
[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? |
| 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. |
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. |
| 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? |
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? |
| [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. |
[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. |
| 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? |
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? |
| 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? |
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?
|
| [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. |
[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. |
| 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?" |
responderunt: 'ut mulier rueret'. 'quid deinde? mortua est?' inquis.
negarunt. 'quid ergo dicitis? quod Apulei commodum, si ruisset?' |
| 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. |
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. |
| 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. |
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. |
| [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. |
[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. |
| [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. |
[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. |
| 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. |
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. |
| [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.
|
[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. |
| 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. |
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.
|
| 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. |
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. |
| [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! |
[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. |
| 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.
|
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. |