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Vincent
Hunink review of: SANDY
(Gerald) The Greek World of Apuleius. Apuleius & the Second Sophistic,
(Supplements to Mnemosyne, 174), Leiden, New York, Köln: Brill, 1997. Pp. 276;
ISBN 90 04 10821 1 text
published in: The Journal of Hellenic Studies, 120, 2000, 164-5. In
the last few decades the phenomenon of the Second Sophistic has raised much
interest and even gained some sympathy among scholars. Studies by e.g. Bowie,
Bowersock, Anderson, and Trapp have cast new light upon the extant Greek texts
of authors such as Dio Chrysostom, Lucian, or Maximus of Tyre. Meanwhile, the
Latin counterpart of this Greek movement has largely remained in the shadow of
the impressive, and often bulky, Greek models. This is to be regretted, since
2nd century Latin literature has some very interesting texts to offer. This
is particularly true of most of the works by Apuleius of Madauros. His novel Metamorphoses
(inspired by Greek models) has indeed become the object of an ever increasing
number of studies by Latinists. By contrast, his rhetorical works are much less
well known, and it is in these works, notably the Apology, the Florida
and De Deo Socratis, that Apuleius stands out as a proper `Latin
sophist.' A recent volume in the Handbuch der lateinischen
Literaturwissenschaft by K. Sallmann (München 1997)*** does have a chapter
on Latin Second Sophistic, but given the nature of the book, the analysis
remains fairly general. The
monograph by Gerald Sandy (S.) on Apuleius' relations with the Second Sophistic
is, therefore, more than welcome. S. gives a detailed account of the life and
educational background of Apuleius, and his rhetorical and philosophical works,
constantly referring to Greek models and sources. In doing so, he convincingly
gives Apuleius his well deserved place among Greek writers of the Second
Sophistic. The
first chapter analyses Apuleius' education as a Latin sophist, with much
attention to his religious background, his bilinguism, and his numerous travels
and studies abroad, particularly in Athens. The next chapter sketches the
general background of literature and learning in the Second century, with its
emphasis on Greek and its `cult of the past'. Tendencies we may discern in
Apuleius' Apology and Florida are rightly linked to the general
Greek cultural mainstream, such as the almost obsessive interest in the right
words and authorized language and the fascination for books and libraries, the
use of handbooks and miscellanies, and the insertion of moralizing anecdotes and
scientific details. The
third and fourth chapters focus on sophistic discourse. First some texts by
Favorinus of Arles and Maximus of Tyre are presented (of the latter's On
exile a substantial part is given in translation), which are immediately
compared with Apuleius' speeches, e.g. in their didactic orientation and their
use of commonplace. The fourth chapter presents a detailed account of both the Apology
and the Florida. The section on the Apology does not cover fresh
ground, but the other parts have many good ideas to offer. The collection is
rightly taken seriously as important examples of Latin epideictic oratory, of
which so little is extant. Some relevant topics here are didacticism, narrative,
squabbles among sophists, and word-pictures. Next
comes a section on Apuleius as philosophus sophisticus Latinus. This
title may seem to many unlikely or exaggerated, but Apuleius, who considered
himself above all a philosophus Platonicus, has written some works which
really justify it. His De Deo Socratis (a Latin speech on demonology) is
a perfect example of popularized philosophy of a Platonic nature, with the
famous speaker acting as the mediator, bringing Greek wisdom to his audience. (I
am happy to note that S. defends the authenticity and place of the so called
`false' prefaces of the speech, which center on improvisation.) The other works,
De Platone, Peri Hermeneias, and De mundo, mostly reworked
versions of Greek models, are given due attention as well. A relatively short
sixth chapter on the Metamorphoses closes the book. (One can hardly write
a book on Apuleius and not examine the novel.) Here too, Apuleius appears
a fullblooded sophist, adapting and reworking Greek models, in this case fusing
`Platonic farce and Plautine tragedy' (255). In
some 250 pages, S. manages to give a rich and varied portrait of Apuleius and
his often neglected or disdained rhetorical and philosophical works. If the man
from Madauros had written exclusively in Greek and his works were extant, he
would no doubt have been included in the ranks of famous Second Sophists long
ago. As it is, S.' book provides a welcome correction to the general image. The
approach of S. has the benefit of putting Apuleius and his works in a wider
perspective, but perhaps inevitably the argument occasionally suffers some loss
of strength and coherence: no text is simply analysed as such and as a whole,
but constantly connected or compared to various other sources. But on the whole,
S. manages to retain a sound balance between telling everything about many texts
and limiting the focus on a single text. The use of secundary literature,
meanwhile, is not quite satisfactory; many important articles on Apuleius'
oeuvre (e.g. by Ferrari on Apuleius' idiom in the Flor. or by Sallmann on
the literary qualities of the Apol.) are simply missing or only
occasionally mentioned, whereas S.'s own work is given rather much room (no less
than ten items in the bibliography). On
a minor, but rather annoying note, I have to complain about the inaccuracy of
the editors: the reader is provided with an index in which all numbers have
somehow changed, probably due to the editing process. Checking references
thereby becomes an unduly tiresome and irritating task. In books that are as
expensive as the Mnemosyne supplements such a shortcoming is a shame. In
conclusion, Apuleian scholars and Latinists may be grateful to S. for his
important study on this Latin writer of the Second Sophistic. Students of later
Greek literature may well add to these thanks, for they have been given access
to what may seem an unexpected, additional source for their analyses of the
Second Sophistic. latest changes
here: 30-07-2012 16:01
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