Metamorphoses 3.9

Poor Lucius. The magistrates aren't messing around when it comes to sentencing for murder. Other things, yes; sentencing, no.

The conclusion of the Rashamon story in Metamorphoses.

• This scene feels to me like something of a sick joke, which it surely was. I wonder if its purpose is, in part, to gain for us sympathy for the protagonist, who up until now has been a bit of a hothead. In this situation he got to be fierce and to show genuine remorse, but it all turning out to be a joke keeps the book from being a tragedy and allows it to remain a light, if a bit morbid, comedy.  
• Apuleius absolutely loves participles. Almost half of the verbs in this passage are in participle form, which can be handy to determine who is doing what, but makes translating the tenses trickier. It seems like the text skips back and forth between the perfect and the present tense - I wonder if there is a pattern. I'm sure there is. Sometime in the last 1800 years, someone else has noticed this.

Latin	Vocabulary	Translation
Nec mora, cum ritu Graeciensi ignis et rota, tum omne flagrorum genus inferuntur. Augetur oppido immo duplicatur mihi maestitia, quod integro saltim mori non licuerit.	rota Augetur duplicatur maestitia integro saltim	There were no delays, and fire and a wheel, according to the Grecian rite, and then also a kind of whip were brought out. Indeed my sorrow absolutely swelled  and  doubled, because it would not be permitted to me to die in one piece.
Sed anus illa quae fletibus cuncta turbaverat: "Prius," inquit "optimi cives, quam latronem istum miserorum pignorum meorum peremptorem cruci affigatis, permittite corpora necatorum revelari, ut et formae simul et aetatis contemplatione magis magisque ad iustam indignationem arrecti pro modo facinoris saeviatis."	fletibus affigatis arrecti	But the old woman who disturbed everything with her tears said, "Before, good citizens, you fasten that robber and killer of my miserable hostages, permit me to reveal the bodies of the dead, so that by a contemplations of both their form and age more and you may rage even more to a just indignation for the manner of the crime.
His dictis adplauditur et ilico me magistratus ipsum iubet corpora, quae lectulo fuerant posita, mea manu detegere.	adplauditur detegere lectulo	With these words spoken, there was applause and immediately the magistrate ordered myself to expose with my own hand the bodies, which were positioned on the bench.
Reluctantem me ac diu rennuentem praecedens facinus instaurare nova ostensione lictores iussu magistratuum quam instantissime compellunt, manum denique ipsam de regione lateris trudentes in exitium suum super ipsa cadavera porrigunt.	rennuentem praecedens trudentes porrigunt	For a while I was reluctant and refused to repeate the crime from before by a new display. The lictores compelled me, by the order of the magistrates, as vehemently as possible, and finally whapped my hand up from my side and stretched it out to its own destruction above the very corpses.
Evictus tandem necessitate succumbo, et ingratis licet abrepto pallio retexi corpora. Dii boni, quae facies rei? Quod monstrum? Quae fortunarum mearum repentina mutatio?.	retexi repentina	Finally, having been forced, I succumb by necessity, and although unwillingly, I uncovered the bodies by snatching the cover. Good heavens, what is this we see? What monsters? What sudden change of my fortunes?
Quamquam enim iam in peculio Proserpinae et Orci familia numeratus, subito in contrariam faciem obstupefactus haesi, nec possum novae illius imaginis rationem idoneis verbis expedire..	peculio haesi idoneis	For although now I was numbered among the personal property of Proserpina and Hades, I was astounded at the completely different appearance of things immediately, and I am not able to explain the reason for this new appearance of things with adequate words.
Nam cadavera illa iugulatorum hominum erant tres utres inflati variisque secti foraminibus et, ut vespertinum proelium meum recordabar, his locis hiantes quibus latrones illos vulneraveram.	utres foraminibus vespertinum proelium recordabar vulneraveram	For the bodies of the three men with their throats slit were three  inflated wine skins with various sliced open holes, and, as I recorded the battle from last night, in the locations where I opened those gaping robbers.