a sweet and benign voice, gan say in this sort: Oh my friend Lucius, after the endurance of so many labours, and the escape of so many tempests of fortune, thou art at length come to the port and haven of rest and mercy: neither did thy noble lineage, thy dignity, thy doctrine, or anything prevail, but that thou hast endured so many servile pleasures, by a little folly of thy youthfulness, whereby thou hast had a sinister reward for thy unprosperous curiosity, but howsoever the blindness of Fortune tormented thee in diverse dangers: so it is, that now unawares to her, thou art come to this present felicity: let Fortune go, and fume with fury in another place, let her find some other matter to execute her cruelty, for Fortune hath no puissance against them which serve and honour our goddess. For what availed the thieves: the beasts savage: thy great servitude: the ill and dangerous waits: the long passages: the fear of death every day? Know thou, that now thou art safe, and under the protection of her, who by her clear light doth lighten the other gods: wherefore rejoice and take a convenable countenance to thy white habit, follow the pomp of this devout and honorable procession, to the end that such which be not devout to the goddess, may see and acknowledge their error. Behold Lucius, thou art delivered from so great miseries, by the providence of the goddess Isis, rejoice therefore and triumph of the victory of Fortune; to the end thou mayest live more safe and sure, make thyself one of this holy order, dedicate thy mind to the obsequy of our religion, and take upon thee a voluntary yoke of ministry: And when thou beginnest to serve and honour the goddess, then thou shalt feel the fruit of thy liberty: after that the great priest had prophesied in this manner, with often breathings, he made a conclusion of his words: then I went amongst the company of the rest and followed the procession: every one of the people knew me, and pointing at me with their fingers, said in this sort: Behold him who is this day transformed into a man by the puissance of the sovereign goddess, verily he is blessed and most blessed that hath merited so great grace from heaven, as by the innocence of his former life, and as it were by a new regeneration is reserved to the obsequy of the goddess. In the mean season by little and little we approached nigh unto the seacoast, even to that place where I lay the night before being an ass. Thereafter the images and relics were orderly disposed, the great priest compassed about with diverse pictures according to the fashion of the Egyptians, did dedicate and consecrate with certain prayers a fair ship made very cunningly, and purified the same with a torch, an egg, and sulphur; the sail was of white linen cloth, whereon was written certain letters, which testified the navigation to be prosperous, the mast was of a great length, made of a pine tree, round and very excellent with a shining top, the cabin was covered over with coverings of gold, and all the ship was made of citron tree very fair; then all the people as well religious as profane took a great number of fans, replenished with odours and pleasant smells and threw them into the sea mingled with milk, until the ship was filled up with large gifts and prosperous devotions, when as with a pleasant wind it launched out into the deep. But when they had lost the sight of the ship, every man carried again that he brought, and went toward the temple in like pomp and order as they came to the sea side. When we were come to the temple, the great priest and those which were deputed to carry the divine figures, but especially those which had long time been worshippers of the religion, went into the secret chamber of the goddess, where they put and placed the images according to their order. This done, one of the company which was a scribe or interpreter of letters, who in form of a preacher stood up in a chair before the place of the holy college, and began to read out of a book, and to interpret to the great prince, the senate, and to all the noble order of chivalry, and generally to all the Roman people, and to all such as be under the jurisdiction of Rome, these words following (Laois Aphesus) which signified the end of their divine service and that it was lawful for every man to depart, whereat all the people gave a great shout, and replenished with much joy, bare all kind of herbs and garlands of flowers home to their houses, kissing and embracing the steps where the goddess passed: howbeit I could not do as the rest, for my mind would not suffer me to depart one foot away, so attentive was I to behold the beauty of the goddess, with remembrance of the great misery I had endured.
XLVIII
How the parents and friends of Apuleius heard news that he was alive and in health.
In the mean season news was carried into my country (as swift as the flight of birds, or as the blast of winds) of the grace and benefit which I received of the goddess, and of my fortune worthy to be had in memory. Then my parents friends and servants of our house understanding that I was not dead, as they were falsely informed, came towards me with great diligence to see me, as a man raised from death to life: and I which never thought to see them again, was as joyful as they, accepting and taking in good part their honest gifts and oblations that they gave, to the intent I might buy such things as was necessary
Вы читаете The Golden Ass
