He also spent much of his youth in Greece, Egypt, and the Near East, studying philosophy and poetry. The Golden Ass is written in a Greek storytelling style that was unpopular in literary circles at Rome. In contrast, his philosophical treatise, the God of Socrates , contains none of the light-hearted characteristics of The Golden Ass but conforms to the strict standards of good Roman literature. The Golden Ass is, on the whole, an wonderfully enjoyable book, a fascinating look into Roman morality, spirituality, and daily life. If your Latin is not quite up to it, there are many good translations, from the early-Elizabethan version of William Adlington to the modern versions of Jack Lindsey and Robert Graves.
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