New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-08-14
STUDIES IN AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
BY CHARLES +. CONGDON.
LUCIUs APULEIUS.

casting about Tor some specimen of classical auto
biography, 1t has become apparent to me that the
autobisgraphic book is of comparatively modern
r7Bwth; and i have been puzzled to hit upon some
~y3reek or Roman volume of the kind, account of
which would not bore my readers. We happen to
have little piece by Lucius Apueius. viz. his
= Discourse on Magic,n which is essentially egots-
teal and let's us pretty freely into the secrets of
his private life and personal adventures and his
story Is really entertaining, with the human in
forest which always pertains to adventure told by
the adventurer perhaps some readers will not find
it dull especially it can be also illustrated by
facts in another work of his. the amusing
q Florida" Some account of this fine gentleman
for though philosopher, he was an elegant crea-
ture, will not perhaps be out of place. He lived IN
the second century under the Antonines He was
native of Madura Roman colony in Africa He
spoke and wrote Greek and Latin indifferently as
cosmopolitan might now write and speak English
and German; he studied at Carthage at Athens
and afterward in Rome In the Florida" he has
. passage which gives his notions of education:
"The first cup of Knowledge which we drink at the
hands of our preceptors, removes entire ignorance;
the second infuses grammatical learning; he third
arms us with the eloquence of the rhetorican.
Thus far many drink. But drank of still more
cups at Athens, the fabulous of poetry the limpid
of geometry the sweet of music. the unpleasant of
logic indeed the never satating and truly necta-
reous cup of universal philosophy" He had thirst
for religious knowledge and tells that before go
ing tc Rome he had been initiated into the Mysteries
of ISIS of which he desired to see the bottomn In
the acquisition of knowledge and the indulgence of
travelling he flung his money about so lavishly
that at Rome he was Obliged to pawn his clothes to
got enough to pay the expen SEES of his initia-
ton into the Mysteries of Osiris After this he
gained his livelihood by plea ding law causes; and
drifting back to Africa he encountered his fate
he married rich widow. Then his troubles began.
He was u brave young man, and Pudentilla was
sixty years old. Such things had happened before,
and will probably continue to happen long as
there youth with more beauty and brains than
money. and widows with more money than beauty.
The children of Pudentilla, may be sure did not
relish these nuptals They charged him with
winning the old lady and her shekels through the
aid of magic and, indicted for this offence he was
brought before Claudius Maximus, Pro-Consul OF
Africa 1t was then that he recited the Apology.
The first thing in this speech which amuses us is
the extreme candor of Apuleius. He declares that
he was not very handsome, but dwells not only
upon his own wit, but the neatness of his dress
Even philosophers" he said, "aIe allowed to be
oil liberal aspect; Pythagoras, who styled himself
the first of philosophers the handsomest man
OF his time" He pleads not guilty to accusation
of curling his hair thus. my very hair. which
am falsely accused of curling and dressing by way
OF ornament, is, as you see far from being beauti-
full and delicate the contrary il is perplexed and
entanged. like bundle of focks or tow and SO
knotty through long neglect of combng, md even
of disentang Cling never to be reduced 10 order"
Again, he was charged, and rather a singular accu-
satiOn it with taking special of his teeth"
observed" he said that men could scarce forbear
laughing, when an orator angrily accused me of
keeping my mouth clean, and pronounced the word
tooth-powder with as much Indignation ever
was pronounced the word poison. But surely it is
not beneath philosopher to study cleanliness and
to let no part of his body to be of an I'LL SAVIOR /;
especially the mouth, the of which is most fire.
Quent and conspicuous whether man kisses an
other, cOnverses, speaks in public or says his
prayers in a temple. For speech is previous to
every action of man, and excellent poet
says, proceeds from the wall of The teeth" But the
most wonderful charge against Apuleius that
he had looking glass and consulted it too often in
dressing himself 1t is curious evidence of the
moral notions of the time, that the accused denied
the looking glass Juvena, in his invective against
the Emperor Otto, reckoncd his looking glass as one
OF the principal parts of his equipage of war.
A lookng-glass must load tn imperial car,
The most inpor tant carriage Of the war.
Apuleius called upon his accusers to prove though
he might have looking glass, that he ever looked
into it-a droll prObandi indeed and he also
cites the case of Demosthenes, who always got up
his speeches before mirror. In short the plea was
that he did not looking glass, and that il as
dentifrice but he denies the mirror. " Is it not
SAID" he pleaded" of the philosopher Socrates that
he even advised his pupils to view themselves fire.
quently in a looking glass, so that he among them
who was smitten with his own good looks might be
the more scrupulously careful not to disgrace the
beauty OF his person by bad manners while on the
other hand he who thought himself not so highly
gifted in appearance, might carefully use his best
endeavors to screen his ugness by his virtues
In the Florida" he says: confess, indeed that
am not expert in the handicraft arts that buy
my garments at the clothiers; these shoes at the
shoemakers that ring and hold gems
and gold of no more account than lead and pebbles
that buy scraper, flask and other bath utensils
at the shops Tins the philosopher prattes about
himself and his personal ways. lie appears to have
regarded them of the highest Importance. Be-
fore begin" he says in of his oratons noble
men OF Africa, to thank you for the statue which
you did me the honor to propose during my presence
here, and which you kindly decrced to erect to me
during my absence, | wish first to acquant you
with the reason why have not been by this
assembly for good many days, having bctaken
myself TO the Persian waters pleasant to healthy
bathers ard so curative to the sck.n
But we have In the most impolite way, neglected
the widow Pudenta. So long as she was satisfied
with her philosophical husband, her sons had no
right to complain, would they have said a word
if it had ROT been Tor her money: as the Baroness
Burdett-Coutts might have married Mr. Bartlett
without word of dsapprobation from anybody il
she had only been poor instead of being the richest
old maid in Europe. Pudenta, we are told was
sought in marriage by men of the highest rank one
of the had indeed, for of his own, So
lcited Apucius to marry his mother; but aftcrward
changed his MUD. He offered to prove by his mar.
rage contract that he had desired nothing of