The. xi. bookes of the Golden asse conteininge the Metamorphosie of Lucius Apuleius, enterlaced with sondrie pleasaunt and delectable tales, with an excellent narration of the mariage of Cupide and Psiches, set out in the. iiii. v. and vj. bookes. Translated out of Latine into Englishe by VVilliam Adlington.

¶How Apuleius supped with Birrhena, and what a straunge tale Bellephoron tolde at the table.

Cap. 11.

IT fortuned on a daie that Birrhena desired me ear∣nestly to suppe with her, and she woulde in no wise take any excusation. Whereupon I went vnto Fo∣tis to aske counsell of her as of some diuine, who (al∣though she was vnwilling y^• I should departe one foote from her companie) yet at length she gaue me licence to be absent for a while, saying: beware that you ••acry not longe at supper there, for there is a rabblement of commō barrators and disturbers of the publique peace that roueth about in the streates, and murdreth al such as they may take, neither can lawe nor iustice redresse them in any case. And they will the sooner sette vpon you, by reason of your comelines and audacitie, in that you are not affeard at any time to walke in y^e stréetes. Then I answeared and saide, haue no care of me Fo∣tis, for I estéeme the pleasure whiche I haue with thée, aboue the deintie meates that I eate abroade, & there∣fore I will returne againe quickely. Neuerthelesse I minde not to come without companie, for I haue here my swoorde, whereby I hope to defende my selfe. And so in this sorte I went to supper, and beholde I founde at Birrhenas house a great companie of straungers,

and of the chiefe and principall of the Citie, the beddes (made of Citorne and Yuorie) were richly adornde and spredde with clothe of Golde, the cuppes were garni∣shed pretiously, and there was diuers other thinges of sondrie fashion, but of like estimation and price: here stoode a glasse gorgeously wrought, there stoode an o∣ther of Cristall finely painted, there stoode a cuppe of glitteringe Siluer, and here stoode a nother of shinyng Golde, and here was an other of Ambre artificially carued, and made with pretious stones: Finally there was all thinges that might be desired, the Seruiters waited orderly at the table in riche apparell, the pages arrayed in silke robes did fill great gemmes, & pearles made in forme of cuppes with excellent wine, then one brought in candelles and torches: and when we weare sette downe and placed in order, we began to talke, to laugh and be merie. And Birrhena spake vnto me, and saide: I pray you Cosin how like you our countrey? Verely I thinke there is no other Citie which hath the like Temples, Baynes, and other commodities as we haue here: Further we haue aboundance of household-stuffe, we haue pleasure, we haue ease, and when the Romaine marchantes doo arriue in this Citie, they are gentely and quietly entertained, and all that dwell within this prouince (when they purpose to solace and repose them selues) doo come to this Citie. Whereunto I answeared: Verely ({quod} I) you tell truthe, for I can finde no place in all the worlde, whiche I like better then this, but I greatly feare, the blinde and incuita∣ble trenches of Witchcrafte, for they say that the dead bodies ar digged out of their graues, & the bones of thē that are burned be stolen away, & the toes & fingers of such as are slaine, be cut of to afflicte and torment such

as li••e: And the olde Witches assone as they heare of the death of any person, doo foorthwith goe & vncouer the hearse, & spoile the corpse, to worke their enchaunt∣mentes: Then an other sittinge at the table spake and saide, in faith you say true, neither yet doo they spare or fauour the liuinge. For I know one not farre hense that was cruelly handled by them, who (being not con∣tented with cuttinge of his nose) did likewise cut of his eares, whereat all the companie laughed hartely, and looked vpon one that satte at y^e boordes ende, who being amased at their ga••inge, and somewhat angry withal, would haue rysen from the table, had not Birrhena spake vnto him & saide: I pray the fréende Telepheron sitte still, and accordinge to thy accustomed curtesie, declare vnto vs the losse of thy nose and eares, to the ende that my cosin Lucius may be delighted with the pleasauntnes of the tale: To whome he answeared, a dame you in the office of your bountie shall preuaile herein, but the insolencie of some is not to be suppor∣ted. This he spake very angerly, but Birrhena was earnest vpon him & assured him that he should haue no wronge at no mans hande, whereby he was enforced to declare the same: And so (lappinge vp the ende of the table cloth and carpette together) he leaned with his elbow thereon, and helde out the thrée forefingers of his right hande in manner of an Oratour, and saide: When I was a yonge man I wente vnto a certayne Citie called Milet,* 1.1 to sée the games and triūphes there called Olympia, and beinge desirous to come into this famous prouince, after that I had traueled ouer all Thessalie, I fortuned in an euell houre to come to the Citie Larissa, where (while I went vp and downe to ••••ewe the stréetes, to séeke some reliefe for my poore

estate, (for I had spent al my money) I espied a talle old man standing vpon a stone, in the middest of the mar∣kette place, cryinge with a loude voice, and sayinge: that if any mā would watche a dead corpse that night, he should be resonably rewarded for his paines: which when I harde, I said to one that passed by: what is here to doo, doo dead men vse to runne away in this coun∣trie. Then answeared he: holde your peace for you are but a babe and a straunger here, and not without cause you are ignorant how you are in Thessalie, where the women Witches doo bite of by morselles the fl••she of the faces of dead men, and thereby woorke their Sorce∣ries and enchauntmentes. Then ({quod} I) in good fellow∣shippe tell me the order of this custodie and how it is: Marry ({quod} he) first you must watche all the night, with your eies bent continuallie vpon the corpse, neuer loo∣kinge of nor mouinge aside: For these Witches doo turne them selues into sundry kinde of beastes, wher∣by they deceaue the eies of all men, sometimes they are transformed into birdes, sometimes into dogges, and myce, & somtimes into flies, moreouer they wil charme the keapers of the corpse a sleape, neither cā it be decla∣red what meanes and shiftes these wicked women doo vse to bring their purpose to passe: and the rewarde for such daungerous watchinge is no more then fower or fire shillinges: but herken further, which I had welny forgotten, if the keper of the dead bodie doo not render (on the morninge following) the corps whole & sounde as he receaued y^• same, he shalbe punished in this sorte. That is: if the corpse be diminished or spoyled in any parte of his face handes or toes, the same shalbe dimi∣nished and spoyled in the keper. Whiche when I harde I toke a good harte and went vnto the crier, and bidde

him ceasse, for I would take the matter in hande, and so I demaunded what I should haue: Marry ({quod} he) a thousand pence, but beware I say yonge man that you doo well defende the dead corps from the wicked Wit∣ches, for he was the sonne of one of the chiefest of the Citie: Tu••he (said I) you speake you can not tell what, beholde I am a man made all of yron, and haue neuer desire to sleape, and am more quicke of sight then Lynx or Argus. I had skarse spoken these woordes, when he toke me by the hande, and brought me to a certaine house, the gate whereof was closed faste, so that I went thorough the wicket, then he brought me into a chamber somewhat darke, and showed me a matron clothed in mourninge vesture and wepinge in lamen∣table wise: And he spake vnto her and saide: Beholde, here is one that will enterprise to watche the corpse of your husbande this night, whiche when she harde, she turned her bloubered face couered with her heare vnto me, saiyng: I pray you yonge mā take good héede, and sée well to your office: haue no care ({quod} I) so that you will giue me any thinge aboue that which is dewe to be giuen, wherewith she was contented: And then she rose and brought me into a chamber whereas the corpse lay couered with white shéetes, and she called seuen witnesses, before whome she showed the dead bodie, and euery parte and parcell thereof, and (with wéepinge eies) desired them all to testifie the matter, whiche done she saide these woordes of course as fol∣lowe: Beholde his nose is whole, his eies salue, his eares without scarre, his lippes vntoucht, & his chinne sounde: All whiche was written and noted in tables, & subscribed with the hādes of the witnesses to confirme the same: which done, I said vnto the matron: Madame

I pray you that I may haue all thinges here necessa∣rie: what is that? ({quod} she) marry saide I a great lampe replenished with oyle, pottes of wine, and water to delaye the same, and some other drinke and deintie dishe that was lefte at supper, then she shaked her head, and saide: Away foole as thou arte, thinkest thou to playe the glutton here, and to looke for deintie meates, where so longe time hath not bene séene any smoke at all? comest thou hither to eate, where we should wéepe and lament? and there withall she turned backe and commaunded her mayden Mirrhena to de∣liuer me a lampe with oyle, which when she had done, they closed the chamber doore and departed. Nowe when I was alone I rubbed mine eies, and armed my selfe to kéepe the corpse, and to the intent I would not sleape, I beganne to singe, and so I passed the time till it was midnight, when as beholde there crepte in a Weasell into the chamber, and she came against me & put me in very great feare, in so muche that I marue∣led greatly of the audacitie of so little a beaste. To whome I saide, gette thée hence thou whore, and hie thée to thy fellowes, least thou féele my fingers? why wilt not thou goe? Then incontinently she ranne a∣way, and when she was gonne, I fell on the grounde so faste a sléepe, that Apollo him selfe could not discerne whether of vs twoo was the dead corpse, for I lay pro∣strate, as one without lyfe, and néeded a keper like∣wise. At length the cockes beganne to crowe declaring that it was daye, wherewithall I waked and (beynge greatly affeard) ran vnto the dead bodie with the lāpe in my hande, and I viewed him roūde about: And im∣mediatly came in the Matron wéepinge with her wit∣nesses, & ranne vnto the corpse & eftsones kissinge him,

turned his body and found no parte diminished: Then she commaunded one Philodespotus her stewarde to pay me my wages foorthwith, which whē he had done, he saide: we thanke you gentle yonge man for your paines, and verely for your diligence herein, we will accompte you as one of the familie. Whereunto I (be∣inge ioyeous of my vnhoped gaine, and ratlinge my money in my hande) did answeare: I pray you ma∣dame estéeme me as one of your seruitours, and if you néede my seruice at any time I am at your commaūde∣ment. I had not fully declared these woordes, when as beholde all the seruauntes of the house were assembled with weapōs to driue me away, one buffeted me about the face, an other about the shoulders, some stroke me in the sides, some kicked me, and some tare my gar∣mentes, and so I was handled emongest them and dri∣uen from the house (as the proude yonge man Adonis who was torne by a Bore). And when I was come in∣to the next streate, I mused with my selfe and remem∣bred mine vnwise and vnaduised woordes which I had spoken, whereby I cōsidered that I had deserued much more punishmēt, and that I was woorthely beaten for my follie: And by and by the corpse came foorth, whiche (because it was the bodie of one of the chiefe of the Ci∣tie) was carried in funerall pompe rounde aboute the markette place, accordinge to the rite of the countrie there. And foorthwith stepped out an olde man weping and lamentinge and ranne vnto the biere and embra∣sed it, and with déepe sighes & sobbes cried out in this sorte: O maisters I pray you by the faith whiche you professe, and by the dutie whiche you owe vnto the weale publique, take pitie and mercie vpon this dead corps, who is miserablie murdred, and doo vengeaunce

on this wicked and cursed woman his wife, whiche hath committed this facte. For it is she and no other, that hath poysoned her husbande, my sisters sonne, to the intent to maintaine her whoredome and to get his heritage. In this sorte the olde man complained before the face of all the people. Then they (astonied at these sayinges and because the thing séemed to be true) cried out, burne her, burne her, and thei sought for stones to throwe at her, and willed the boies in the streate to doo the same: but she (wepinge in lamentable wise) did sweare by all the goddes that she was not culpable of this crime. No ({quod} the olde man)? Beholde here is one sente by the prouidence of God to trie out the matter, euen Zachlas an Egiptian, who is the most principall Prophecier in all this countrie, and who was hired of me for money to reduce the soule of this mā from Hell, and to reuiue his bodie for the triall hereof. And there∣withal he brought foorth a certaine yonge man clothed in linnen rayment, hauing on his féete a payre of pan∣toffles, and his crowne shauen, who kissed his handes and knées, saying: O Priest haue mercie, haue mercie, I pray thée by y^• celestiall Planetes, by the powers in∣fernall, by the vertue of the naturall Elementes, by the silences of the night, by the buildinges of swal∣lowes nigh vnto the towne of Copton, by the increase of the floode Nilus, by the secreate misteries of Mem∣phis, and by the instrumentes and trumpettes of the Isle Pharos, haue mercie I say, and call againe to life this dead bodie, and make that his eyes whiche be clo∣sed and shutte, may be opened & sée, howbeit we meane not to striue against the lawe of death, neither entend we to depriue the yearth of his right, but (to the ende this facte may he knowen) we craue but a small time

and space of life, whereat this Prophete was moued, and toke a certaine hearbe, & laide it thrée times vpon the mouth of the dead, and he toke an other, and laide it vpon his brest in like sorte: Thus when he had done, he turned him selfe int•• the East, and made certaine Oraisons vnto the Sunne, which caused all the people to maruell greatly, & to loke for this straunge miracle that should happen: Then I pressed in emongest them nigh vnto the biere, and gotte vpon a stone to sée this misterie, and beholde incontinently the dead bodie be∣gan to receaue spirite, his principall vaines did moue, his life came againe and he helde vp his head, & spake in this sorte. Why doo you call me backe againe to this transitorie life, that haue already tasted of the water of Leche, and likewise bene in the deadlie denne of Stir? leaue of I pray, leaue of, and lette me lie in quiet teste: when these woordes were vttered by the dead corpse, the Prophete drewe nighe vnto the biere, and saide: I charge thée to tell (before the face of all the peo∣ple here) y^• occasion of thy death, what doest thou thinke that I cannot by my comurations cal vp the dead? and by my puissance tormēt thy bodie? Then che corps mo∣ued vp his head againe, and made reuerence vnto the people, & said: Verely I was poisoned by the meanes of my wicked wife, & so thereby yelded my bedde vnto an adulterer. Whereat his wife taking present audacitie, & reprouing his sayings with a cursed minde, did denie it: the people were bēt against her sondry waies, some thought best y^• she should be buried aliue w^t her husbād, but some said y^• there ought no credite to be giuen vnto the dead bodie, which opinion was cleane taken away by the woordes that the corpse spake againe, & said: Be∣holde I will giue you some euident token, which neuer

yet any other man knew, wherby you shall perceaue y^• I declare the truth, & by and by he pointed towardes me that stoode on the stone, & saide: when this, the good gardian of my bodie watched me diligently in y^e night, & that the wicked Witches & enchanteresses came into the chamber to spoile me of my limmes, & to bryng such their purpose to passe, did trāsforme them selues into y^e shape of beastes: And when as thei could in no wise de∣ceaue or beguile his vigilant eies, they cast him into so dead & sounde a sleape that by their Wicthcrafte he sée∣med without spirite or life. After this thei called me by my name, & did neuer cease till as the colde members of my bodie began by litle & litle to reuiue: then he (being of more liuely soule, howbeit buried in sleape, in y^• he & I weare named by one name, and because he knew not that they called me) rose vp first, & as one without sence or persenerāce passed by the doore fast closed vnto a cer∣taine hole, whereas the Witches cut of first his nose, & then his eares, & so that was done to him, whiche was appointed to be done to me. And that such their subtil∣tie might not be perceaued, they made him a like payre of eares and nose of waxe, wherefore you may sée that the poore miser for lucre of a litle money, sustayned losse of his membres. Whiche when he had saide, I was greatly astonied, and (mindinge to proue whether his woordes were true or no) put my hande to my nose, & my nose fell of, and put my hande to mine eares, and mine eares fel of. Whereat al y^• people wondred great∣ly, and laughed me to skorne? but I (beinge stroken in a colde sweate) crept betwéene their legges for shame, & escaped away. So I disfigured returned home again, & couered the losse of mine eares, with my longe heare, and glewed this cloute to my face to hide my shame.

Assone as Telephoron had tolde his tale, they whiche satte at the table, (replenished with wine) laughed har∣telie. And while they drāke one to an other, Birrhena spake to me, and saide: From the first foūdation of this Citie, we haue had a custome to celebrate the festiuall day of the God Kisus, & to morrow is the feast, when as I pray you to be present to sette out the same more honorably, and I would with all my harte that you could finde or deuise somwhat of your selfe, that might be in honor of so great a God: to whome I answeared: Verely Cosin I will doo as you commaunde me, & right gladde would I be if I might inuent any laughinge or mery matter to please or satisfie Kisus withall:* 1.2 Then I rose from the table, and toke leaue of Birchena and departed, and when I came into the firste streate my torche went out, that with great paine I coulde skarse gette home, by reason it was so darke, and for feare of stomblinge. And when I was welny come vnto the doore, beholde I saw thrée men of great stature heuinge and liftinge at Milos gates to gette in. And when they sawe me, they weare nothing affeard, but assaide with more force to breake downe the doores, whereby they gaue me occasion and not without cause to thinke that thei weare stronge théeues. Wherupon I, by and by, drew out my swoorde which I carried for that pur∣pose vnder my cloke, and ranne in emongst them, and wounded them in such sorte that they fell downe dead before my face. Thus when I had slaine them all, I knocked, sweating and breathyng at the doore, till Fo∣tis lette me in. And then full weary with the slaugh∣ter of these théeues, like Hercules when he fought a∣gainst the King Gerion, I wente to my chamber and laide me downe to ••leape.

Notes

• * 1.1

  A pl••asant tale.
• * 1.2

  Kisus the God if sporte.