The Metamorphosis of Pamphile

Walpurgisnacht 2022. A mirror-story to Lucius’ metamorphosis.

“[Photis and I] spent a few nights in pleasure like this, until the day she ran to me, excited and trembling, to tell me that, because her mistress had not made any progress with her lovers by other means, she would turn herself into a bird at the first watch of the night and fly down to the object of her desire. I meanwhile was to get ready to observe such an event.

“After we had waited for the first watch of the night, Photis led me silent-footed to the upper bedchamber and suggested I look through the crack of the door to see what was happening.

“First, Pamphile completely undressed herself. Then, she opened a chest and took out a few small boxes. She removed the lid from one of them and poured out some perfume. She worked it for a while between her palms. Then she rubbed herself all over from the tips of her toes to the ends of her hair, and after whispering to her lamp a while in secret, her limbs began to tremble, quivering and shaking. As they began to swell, soft plumage and powerful wings burst out and took shape. Her nose hardened and curved, her toenails thickened into talons, and Pamphile became an owl. She let out screech, and after a few small attempts, she sprung from the ground and flew, her wings wide, out into sublime heights.”

Ad hunc modum transactis voluptarie paucis noctibus, quadam die percita Fotis ac satis trepida me accurrit indicatque dominam suam, quod nihil etiam tunc in suos amores ceteris artibus promoveret nocte proxima in avem sese plumaturam atque ad suum cupitum sic devolaturam; proin memet ad rei tantae speculam caute praepararem.

Iamque circa primam noctis vigiliam ad illud superius cubiculum suspenso et insono vestigio me perducit ipsa, perque rimam ostiorum quampiam iubet arbitrari quae sic gesta sunt.

Iam primum omnibus laciniis se devestit Pamphile et arcula quadam reclusa pyxides plusculas inde depromit, de quis unius operculo remoto atque indidem egesta unguedine diuque palmulis sui affricta ab imis unguibus sese totam adusque summos capillos perlinit, multumque cum lucerna secreto collocuta membra tremulo succussu quatit: quis leniter fluctuantibus promicant molles plumulae crescunt et fortes pinnulae, duratur nasus incurvus coguntur ungues adunci, fit bubo Pamphile. Sic edito stridore querulo, iam sui periclitabunda paulatini terra resultat, mox in altum sublimata forinsecus totis alis evolat.

Apuleius, Metamorphoses 3.21

A Prayer to Isis

Meditation for a friend who saw something else in me, who died last week.

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“Oh holy and eternal comfort of humankind, who ever nurtures mortals with your generosity, you apply a mother’s sweet affection to the misfortunes of the wretched. Not a day or night or even a little moment goes by indifferent to your blessing.

“You protect men on land and sea. Driving away life’s storms, you reach out with your saving hand and you unwind the threads of the Fates, even those that are inextricably twisted. You calm the tempests of Fortune and you restrain the hurtful course of the stars.

“The spirits above honour you, the ones below worship you. You turn the sphere of heaven, you give light to the sun, you govern the universe, and you keep Tartarus at bay. To you, the heavenly bodies reply, the seasons return, the divine power gives praise, and the elements give their devotion.

“At your command, the winds give breath, the clouds nourish, the seeds of the earth sprout forth, and their seedlings grow. At your greatness tremble the birds moving in the sky, the beasts wandering the hills, the serpents hiding in the den, and the monsters that swim in the deep.

“My nature, however, is too feeble to speak your praises, my inheritance too meager to offer you sacrifices. My voice does not have the power to say what I feel about your greatness—nor would a thousand mouths and as many tongues, or even an eternal flow of indefatigable speech.

“I will, therefore, take care to do the only thing a pious but poor person can do: I will hold your divine expression and your most holy will in the secret places of my heart, forever keeping them and remembering.”

‘Tu quidem, sancta et humani generis sospitatrix perpetua, semper fouendis mortalibus munifica, dulcem matris affectionem miserorum casibus tribuis. Nec dies nec quies ulla ac ne momentum quidem tenue tuis transcrrit beneficiis otiosum, quin mari terraque protegas homines et depulsis uitae procellis salutarem porrigas dexteram, qua fatorum etiam inextricabiliter contorta retractas licia, et Fortunae tempestates mitigas, et stellarum noxios meatus cohibes. Te superi colunt, obseruant inferi. Tu rotas orbem, luminas solem, regis mundum, calcas Tartarum. Tibi respondent sidera, redeunt tempora, gaudent numina, seruiunt elementa. Tuo nutu spirant flamina, nutriunt nubila, germinant semina, crescunt germina. Tuam maiestatem perhorrescunt aues caelo meantes, ferae montibus errantes, serpentes solo latentes, beluae ponto natantes. At ego referendis laudibus tuis exilis ingenio et adhibendis sacrificiis tenuis patrimonio; nec mihi uocis ubertas ad dicenda quae de ta maiestate sentio sufficit, nec ora mille linguaeque totidem uel indefessi sermonis aeterna series. Ergo quod solum potest, religiosus quidem sed pauper alioquin, efficere curabo: diuinos tuos uultus numenque sanctissimum intra pectoris mei secreta conditum perpetuo custodiens imaginabor.’

Apuleius, Metamorphoses XI 25

Spells for Walpurgisnacht: Apuleius and Plato on why we should learn magic

“Haven’t you heard—you who are hastily accusing it—that magic is an art approved of by the immortal gods, a profound knowledge of their care and worship, manifestly pious and wise in divine things, noble since the time of its authors, Zoroaster and Ahura Mazda, a celestial high-priestess, which is, in fact, among the first of the royal arts to be taught—and not just anyone among the Persians is allowed to be a magician, any more than anyone is allowed to reign. Plato, too, in a discussion about Zalmoxis, a Thracian and of the same skill as this man (sc. Zoroaster), once wrote: ‘magic spells are beautiful words.’ If this is true, why am I not allowed the beautiful words of Zalmoxis, or the ceremonies of Zoroaster?”

auditisne magiam, qui eam temere accusatis, artem esse dis immortalibus acceptam, colendi eos ac uenerandi pergnaram, piam scilicet et diuini scientem, iam inde a Zoroastre et Oromaze auctoribus suis nobilem, caelitum antistitam, quippe qui inter prima regalia docetur nec ulli temere inter Persas concessum est magum esse, haud magis quam regnare. idem Plato in alia sermocinatione de Zalmoxi quodam Thraci generis, sed eiusdem artis uiro ita scriptum reliquit: τὰς δὲ ἐπῳδὰς εἶναι τοὺς λόγους τοὺς καλούς. quod si ita est, cur mihi nosse non liceat uel Zalmoxi bona uerba uel Zoroastri sacerdotia?

Apuleius, Apologia 26.1

“This, Charmides, is what the nature of the magical spell is like. I learned it back when I was in the army from one of the Thracian doctors of Zalmoxis, who are even said to grant immortality. This Thracian fellow said that Greek doctors may know what they’re talking about when it comes to these things—the things I was discussing just now—, ‘but,’ he said, ‘our king Zalmoxis, who is also a god, says that, just as you shouldn’t try to cure the eye without curing the head, nor the head without the whole body, so you shouldn’t try to heal the body without the soul. And this is the reason the doctors in Greece miss so many diseases: because they neglect the whole that they ought to be concerned about, since if it is not in good shape, it is impossible for the part to be. For everything,’ he said, ‘that is good and bad for the body and for a human being as a whole starts from the soul and flows out from there, as from the head to the eyes, and so if head and the rest of the body are to be in good shape, first and foremost, you need to heal the soul. The soul is cured, my dear friend,’ he said, ‘by a kind of magic spell, and these magic spells are beautiful words. From such words temperance is engendered in the soul, and when it’s engendered and present, then health is easy to bring about, both in the head and in the rest of the body.’”

τοιοῦτον τοίνυν ἐστίν, ὦ Χαρμίδη, καὶ τὸ ταύτης τῆς ἐπῳδῆς. ἔμαθον δ᾽ αὐτὴν ἐγὼ ἐκεῖ ἐπὶ στρατιᾶς παρά τινος τῶν Θρᾳκῶν τῶν Ζαλμόξιδος ἰατρῶν, οἳ λέγονται καὶ ἀπαθανατίζειν. ἔλεγεν δὲ ὁ Θρᾲξ οὗτος ὅτι ταῦτα μὲν ἰατροὶ οἱ Ἕλληνες, ἃ νυνδὴ ἐγὼ ἔλεγον, καλῶς λέγοιεν: ἀλλὰ Ζάλμοξις, ἔφη, λέγει ὁ ἡμέτερος βασιλεύς, θεὸς ὤν, ὅτι ὥσπερ ὀφθαλμοὺς ἄνευ κεφαλῆς οὐ δεῖ ἐπιχειρεῖν ἰᾶσθαι οὐδὲ κεφαλὴν ἄνευ σώματος, οὕτως οὐδὲ σῶμα ἄνευ ψυχῆς, ἀλλὰ τοῦτο καὶ αἴτιον εἴη τοῦ διαφεύγειν τοὺς παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ἰατροὺς τὰ πολλὰ νοσήματα, ὅτι τοῦ ὅλου ἀμελοῖεν οὗ δέοι τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν ποιεῖσθαι, οὗ μὴ καλῶς ἔχοντος ἀδύνατον εἴη τὸ μέρος εὖ ἔχειν. πάντα γὰρ ἔφη ἐκ τῆς ψυχῆς ὡρμῆσθαι καὶ τὰ κακὰ καὶ τὰ ἀγαθὰ τῷ σώματι καὶ παντὶ τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ, καὶ ἐκεῖθεν ἐπιρρεῖν ὥσπερ ἐκ τῆς κεφαλῆς ἐπὶ τὰ ὄμματα: δεῖν οὖν ἐκεῖνο καὶ πρῶτον καὶ μάλιστα θεραπεύειν, εἰ μέλλει καὶ τὰ τῆς κεφαλῆς καὶ τὰ τοῦ ἄλλου σώματος καλῶς ἔχειν. θεραπεύεσθαι δὲ τὴν ψυχὴν ἔφη, ὦ μακάριε, ἐπῳδαῖς τισιν, τὰς δ᾽ ἐπῳδὰς ταύτας τοὺς λόγους εἶναι τοὺς καλούς: ἐκ δὲ τῶν τοιούτων λόγων ἐν ταῖς ψυχαῖς σωφροσύνην ἐγγίγνεσθαι, ἧς ἐγγενομένης καὶ παρούσης ῥᾴδιον ἤδη εἶναι τὴν ὑγίειαν καὶ τῇ κεφαλῇ καὶ τῷ ἄλλῳ σώματι πορίζειν.

Plato, Charmides, 156D-157B