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The Golden Ass

Apuleius · Translated by William Adlington, 1566

Apuleius

The Golden Ass

Translated by William Adlington, 1566

What this is

The only Latin novel to survive whole: Lucius, too curious about witchcraft, is turned into an ass and passed from owner to owner until the goddess Isis restores him. Inside it is the tale of Cupid and Psyche.

How it is set

One leaf per book, with the sections numbered inside it as Long numbers them. A section of Marcus is often three lines, and a page holding three lines is not a page.

What is not here

Notes. These books have the text and nothing else at present — no map, no lives, no commentary. The Gospel of St Luke shows what an annotated book looks like on this shelf, and these will follow it. An empty heading is better than invented filler.

The 10 books

  1. I As I fortuned to take my voyage into Thessaly, about certaine affaires which I had to doe (for… 7 sections
  2. II As soone as night was past, and the day began to spring, I fortuned to awake, and rose out of… 4 sections
  3. III When morning was come, and that I was awaked from sleep, my heart burned sore with remembrance… 6 sections
  4. IV When noone was come, that the broyling heate of the sunne had most power, we turned into a… 5 sections
  5. VI By and by the theeves came home laden with treasure, and many of them which were of strongest… 1 sections
  6. VII A soone as night was past, and the cleare Chariot of the Sunne had spred his bright beames on… 8 sections
  7. VIII About midnight came a young man, which seemed to be one of the family of the good woman… 5 sections
  8. IX In this manner the traiterous Cooke prepared himselfe to slay me: and when he was ready with… 7 sections
  9. X The next day how my master the Gardener sped, I knew not, but the gentle souldier, who was well… 3 sections
  10. XI When midnight came that I had slept my first sleepe, I awaked with suddaine feare, and saw the… 2 sections
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Text: Apuleius, The Golden Ass — William Adlington’s translation, 1566, public domain, from Project Gutenberg ebook 1666, set unaltered in its Elizabethan spelling. Adlington’s summary heads each chapter. This printing has no heading for the fifth book: the tale of Cupid and Psyche runs on from the fourth.