The Sun.
London, England, 1852-02-27 00:00:00

THE SUN,

LITERATURE.
THE METAMORPHOSE'S OF APULEIUS.
A Romance of the Second Century. Translated
by Sir George Bead. Longman and Co.
Already the student of letters had reason to be
grateful to Sir George Head for his translation from
the Italian of Cardinal Paccsi's "Autobiography.."
His present contribution to our imported literature
will, if possible, be still more peculiarly acceptable.
The " distinguished 'foreigner" to whom Sir George
acts in the present instance in the capacity of drago-
man, is this time, however, no denizen of the nine-
teenth century, much less one among the eminent
ecclesiastics of Christendom. As the title-page, or
rather as the mere title•of the work indicates, it is the
volume of the " Golden Ave," peneed by Apuleius of
Madaura ,as far back as thet' seemed century
when, standing as it were almost equi-distant
between the modern epech 'and the days- of.
antiquity, the Pagan- scholar watched—him-
self not altogether unmoved—the contentione
then raging among the opposing Yanks of'the be-
lievers in classic mytbolo,ey and the -believers- he:
Christian Revelation. A Nutnidian bYliiith; and
Roman by adoption, Apuleius acquainted hittself-at
an early age with the various phases of life during
his generation, by travels extending over .a great part
of Asia, over Italy, and over Greece. His marriage
at: Oea, a town situated near Tripoli„ and passed-
through by him when on his way to Alexandria, is,
of- all, the most interesting among the chequered in-
cidents in his career—the most-interesting, at least,
of those vicissitudes which have been happily preserved
to our remembrance... It was -in consequence of his
union with the rich widow Tudentille, that he was
compelled by her relations to stand his trial on the
of witchcraft, a trial. which actually 'tnok
place at Sabrata, in the presence of Claudius Maximui
the. proconsul. How the - accused vanquished his:
calumniators upon that occasion, what. adroitness 'he
displayed in his defence, and what signal approval lie
wrested from his -auditors, are fects already familiar
to those-acquitinted with his'" Apology.' A con-
siderable portion, however, even of our educated•
classes, may not be so well acquaitited-vvith the vs
rious and marvellous occurrences recounted' in his'
more celebrated "Metamorphoses"—being deterred
from the perusal of a volume in' all other respects
fascinating, by the crudeness , and the-disagreeable
imperfections of - its Latinity. Many are doubtless
aware of the leading events in the life of Apuleius,
who are, for the reason mentioned, altogether ig-
norant of the real charms of his literary master-
piece. In rendering the " Golden Ass " into
our vernacular, Sir George Head has • effected for
old Apuleius what was originally effected in a similar
manner for old Rabelais by Urquhart, His transla-
tion reads throughout clearly and unmistakably as, a
translation—many of the gentences having a construe.:
tion as purely Latinized as any in the prose writings
of Milton—but it is scarcely a jot the less admirable
on that account, evidencing, as that very circumstance
does, its careful and scrupulous atcurecy. As a ver-
sion from one tongue into another, the volume before,
us is remarkable for its faithfulness : and the story,
or " romance," as it is not unhappily termed by the
translator, suffers nothing from its transformittioo
from the incorrect original into a fluent and at times'
eloqUent example of our own language. Than the
" Golden Ase,' or, as Sir George prefers to,call it
-.
simply, "The Metamorphoses," there is no more preci
ous curiosity preserve,: to us from the waxen tablets
and scrolls of papyrus, upon which were first indited
the intellectual treasures ot antiquity.. Allowing
fora little anachronism, it is precisely the work
which, having been unheard of by moderns until
then, it would have been appropriate to have dis-
covered in the subterranean city of Pompeii, or',of
Herculaneum, to have found a copy of it lying, I
for example, upon one of the .tables in,the house of
Salina. It-admits us into_ secrets elsewhere. impene-
treble. It unfolda before us the whole routine. of thee
daily life ot the pagan 'multitude, during-the second
century of Christianity. Through ie3 pope we are
enabled to follow the Roman of that age, within those
dorcieetic limits preaided over by the fares and
penafes, as well
in as into the sanctuaries of that mystic-
worshipwhich he proffered his homage to
One or other among ehe principal divinities of the
Pantheon. We stand by him on the hearth,,we walk
with him through the forum, we follow him.into
the fields, we accompany him even in the holiest pre-.
cincts of the most sacred temples of his,religion.
Everywhere the doors are flung open byhand
of the R.omancist as we track his steps in the mean-
dering course of his narrative. And what a narrative
it is ! abounding from first to last with the marvel-
lous, replete with poetry, both of thought and of ex_
pression, and coloured with the most gorgeous dyes
of fiction,' dyes unsurpassed in brilliancy even by the
variegated splendour of the "Arabian Nights' -En-
tertairn:nents. ' Occasionally, indeed, there is per-
ceptible in the " Golden Ass" a kindred richness of
imagination to that revealed in that oriental encyclo-
paedia of fiction—as, in truth, is actually remarked
by the present translator of Apuleius, when in the
fifth episode we find mention made of the talking
water, calling to mind the babbling fountains and
warbling leaves* mentioned, if we remember rightly,
in the tale of one of the One-Eyed Calendars. It is
also observed with some show of reason by Sir George
Head, that in the narrative of the soporific vapour re-
enclosed by Cupid in the box of Proserpine, Chamisso
may have obtained his first notion of the devil rolling up
and carryit* away the shedone of poor, Peter Schle--
mil, Further on is the- story) inflect, towards the-
close of it, it is observed in a footnote, that,Le Sage,.
in his " Gil Bias," has been greatly indebted to the
Metamorphoses," as may be recognised in a glance
at the record of the cave of robbers, -of the captive
damsel, and of Dame Leonarda, While we are al-
luding to these singular and interesting coincidences,
'we may briefly refer to that description, at'page 358,
of the piper " sounding a warlike D iric melody upon
en instrument, which, mingling a heavy buzzing
sound with the sharp blast of a trumpet," is here
supposed to have indicated " the origin of the bag-
pipe." .Tbose who may still be unacquainted with
the fascination. of this wondrous fiction of Apuleius,
will find, on -nn examination of the present volume,
that Sir George Head has afforded them reason to
be thankful for one of the must bewitching books
that pagan wizard ever penned for the delectation
of Christian as well as infidel reader. Following
in it the fortunes of Lucius, it is impossible not to
become very speedily interested in his welfare and
his misfortunes, even prior to his memorable transfor-
mation into An Ass, namely from hiS departure from
Corinth to his interview with the two travellers,
to his arrival at Hypata, to his admission into Miens
house, to his acquaintance with his mother's friend
Berrimns, to his flirtations with the servant maid
Fotis, and so on through the incident, at first terrible,
but at last ludicrous, of his arrest, and trial for the
murder of three citizens, up .to the fetal moment
when he watched the witch Pamphile change herself
into an owl, and thereupon • endeavoured himself to
emulate:her transformation. By Fotis's mistake in the
selection of the magic ointment, however, Lucius
becomes metamorphosed into e. donkey, and thenceforth
come all those sufferings end vicissitudes which only
terminate with his- restoration to his original shape by
eating some roses during the procession of Isis,,shortly
after which he is initiated into the mystic rites 'of.
that goddess and of the divinity Osiris. e Those who,
have. never themselves glanced through the pages of
this celebrated volume can heve no adequatthe expe coaceteo.
tion of the abounding fancy of which it is
nent. The ingenuity of the plots, the alternation of
the sources of excitement, the diversity of the charac-
dlitiee by
charac-
ters introduced, the surprises that are constantly
startling the reader into attention and kindling a new
curiosity as to the denouement—are all of them qua-
and perpetually
swhich the work is peculiarly and plentifully
out for the
ever
rauittiivnguished. -From the commencement of the nar-
e to its conclusion, you hurry on with an eager
ment. His sufferings increasing anxiety, solicitous through-
out of the unlucky wight Lucius,
who seems
miseries with
with the gardener, with doomed to calamity and disappoint'
:ler with the robbers, his escapes his
weehlous impostors, with the baker,-
itsif-leziftinegic.irlitatsiaztni,sme
the
of thethe soldier, with the cook and
warmest
stages in his career as a
confectioner—e
donkey, enlists our
sympathies in his behalf
the beneficence of
until the momeet when, titir
lgisr ne is relieved from the torments
additional consequent
r a6cll.
dons to a story
his metamorphoseisn.
must not omit to enumerate the vani„Yus attractive, we
which the main: history, that of Lucius, is with
inte
• episodes as.the " Tale of A'.
epersed—sdch ristomatrea
" that
the CommercialTraveller,__ of. " Diophaiie:
the Chaldean," that of:, c'Telephron the gtudent,",
that of "The Robber,,. together with those of the
" Rural Tyrant," of the " Wicked S'epniother," of,
the e Woman Condernue-d to be thrown to Wild
Beasts," of the "Singular Punishment of a Crimi-
nal," of the " Death of Charity acd Tlepolemus".__
and
and, best of all, that exquisite story of " Cupid
Psyche," which is the must beautitullegend preserved
to us anywhere of that lovely old mythology. Perhaps
the most unsatisf4ctory portion of the whole of the
work under review, is that descriptive ot Lucius'
initiation into the
Pagan mysteries--the account of
those secret rites being little more than a jumble of
ambiguous insinuations. •the " Meta-
By presenting
morphoses of Apuleius to
us to an English public in the
I
guise of an e_egant and literal • Sir George
translation,
Head has conferred a benefit upon the reading pope`'
lotion, a benefit for which every classic student will
be eager to proffer his acknowledgments.

ANALYSIS AN/) CRITICAL INTERPRE7.
TATION OF THE HEBREW TEXT OF..
THE BOOK OF GENESES, By the Rev.
William Paul, A. 31.
While engaged in the study of the Hebrew lan-
guage some ye!irs ago, it occurred to the writer of
this volume that a very useful work might be corn-
posed to assist the learner, having the Hebrew text of
Genesis for its basis. Under this impression he COM'.

LONDON;'

. .
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC. ,By the Author of
" Sketches of Cantabs.". Earle.
-The reader is informed in the preface of this book
that it is'am light woik." It conoerns America, and
will probably -furnish very useful information to those
desirous of extending their acquaintance in the new
world. The styleis free and easy ;it describes the
socidl vystOrns;•the mode of carrying on transactions,
and the domestic habits a the Americans.

A DISCOURSE CHURCH GOVERN-
MENT. By the Most Reverend John Potter,
Archbishop of Canlerbisry. 'Revised and Cor.
rected by the Rev. John L. Crosthwaite.' W. Tegg
and Co.
Tills *is the -eighth- editiOn of the work in question ;
it was originally published in 1707. The'fact of its
remaihing in elistotwe for upwards
.of :a century,
speaks of itself for its value
.end merit. The inten
tion of the authOr was. to establish, the
,knowledge of
the principle upon 'which the Church of. England,
ever since the. Reformation, has maintained her
rights, and the just prerogative of the civil magistrate.
The following are the subjects treated of:--The
naY
We and constitution of the Cbristiah Church ; the
foundation and' government of the Church whilst
Christ lived on earth; .thegovernMent of the Church
in the time of the Apostles ; from tbeir time till the
time of Constantine the Great; and lastly, the-powers
which betong.to the Church. Inits present form the
book appeara with ittereased, attractions, as it has been
illustrated with additional notes and authorities.
The students oftheology must be interested in such a
publication, and will doubtless deiive great assistance
from its learnedltreatiiei. : -

HITSuTROIR.YvoOit
:VT.THI.EandEr. 11111.21yEFN. CT.llSchClEossNei
Translated by D. Davidson. Chapman and Halt..
..We here ult-ct with au extensive plan of history.
16 period extends from 1799 till 1815.. The sub-
jects included are'the countries of Europe during that
eventful time. • All the plans. of Napoleon are related,
his campaigns dwelt upon, and the unprecedented
effects they produced-
,upon all the kin_gdoms of the
beincontinent" -tatefullY particularised. The work
ioncle.ro,r4igstthatLjy..hytbaerGee-isrmgarnes,
tiptairsti:olitt;subcohi'vnto
forbe
his filli*Aind.' _Oa the other .side, the admirers of
N4P4o.'n-Will doubtless-be disappointed that the great-
Emperor is so often slightingly spoken of. However,
to ootain a correct opinion of history both sides should
be perused, without
-permitting- the mind to be biassed
by any peculiar or 'national- prejudiBek, which must
inevitably present themselves in details so near our
own days. In attentively studying the work before
us much valuable information will be gained by those
who have hitherto only read over the summary of the
chief events,: instead of gradually watching their de-
velopment and tracing them to their finality, noting
down their influence and estimating their advantages.
As a most useful and interesting chronicle of impor-
tant epochs, theie Volumes will be duly appreciated.

PRINC-E,SS'S THEATRE.
Flexmor9's beu efitlast; evening wag. a genuine
u Put of the, being completely
ocruPrpeied' by revery
tile rising of the ettrtain. That extraor-
dinary and entrancing drama Thi,Cor.sican. Brothers
pr educed the same unprecedented -sensation on the
audience as itdid on Thesday nigh oe. panto-
mime, which kas now passed, ifs jubilee night, went
off with peculiar. -freshneat and spirit. Miss
Le_clereq and tormWoh:, who claimed most admirably,
And indeed all concerned, seemed determined to put
forward their'utthoilt powers in honour of the star of
the evening. "A"very pretty little intermediate
ballet, entitled The Gipsy, arranged by Flexmore,
gave occasion for ;Madilet Auriol's ext-cation of the
Cracovienne and a spirited pas de deux with the
bOefoictire. !Both dances were encored with flatter-
ifllorgmwearrmwtabs. singularly appmpriate
yadlle. Auriol's Polish costume in the
and becoming:,
arid her performance iu both was characterised by a
felicitous combination of activity -And refinement.
Flxmore's reception was what a seven years' estab-
lishediavourite at_this theatre might expect from its
frequenters. .As _our first pantomimist he is 016'
newly- deserving of public patronage, and it was
certainty -dispensed to him last ' evening in the
heartiest and most ample manner. By not over-
crowding the bill of fare, as is but too often injudi-
ciously done on; benefit. nights, the performances were
over at hal4past eleven