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The Metamorphosis, Or, Golden Ass of Apuleius
The Metamorphosis Or Golden Ass of Apuleius Author:Apuleius Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE METAMORPHOSIS OF APULEIUS. BOOK THE THIRD. Now Aurora rode through the heavens, lashing, with rosy hand, her horses decked with ruddy trapp ngs; and... more » night restored me, snatched from secure quiet, to the day. But my mind was in a fluctuating state from the recollection of the deed which I had perpetrated in the evening. At length, however, collecting my feet under me, joining together my hands upon my knees, with my fingers twined in each other, and thus sitting on my bed, I wept abundantly; now representing to myself, in my imagination, the forum, the judicial processes, the condemnation, and lastly, the executioner. Shall I find, said I to myself, any judge so mild and so benevolent, as to be able to pronounce me innocent, who am imbrued with the blood of a triple homicide, and defiled with the gore of so many citizens? This is the journey which the Chaldean Diophanes pertinaciously proclaimed would be to me glorious. Frequently revolving these things with myself, I deplored my fortune. In the meantime, there was a violent knocking at our doors, and a great tumult before our gate. And without delay, a great irruption being made into the house, every part of it was filled with magistrates and their attendants, and a miscellaneous crowd. Immediately also, two of the lictors, laying hold of me, by order of the magistrates, led me along without any resistance on my part. And when we came into the next street, immediately all the city pouring forth in a great crowd, followed us in a wonderfully compact body. And though I walked sorrowfully with my head inclined to the ground, or rather to the realms beneath, yet by looking obliquely, I saw a thing altogether admirable. For among so many thousands of people that surrounded me, there was not any one who was not ready to ...« less