The Golden Ass

Well the semester is coming to an end, which is why I've been too busy to post. Though I still have a lot to do (one project to complete, and two finals to study for) I figure I can make a short post.

I finally finished The Golden Ass, and turned in the required paper on it. For a book that was written around 150 A.D., I liked it quite a bit. It has a lot of sex in it. I wonder if that is due in part to a lack of any Christian morality at the time?

Also, this passage is priceless. Here, instead of being turned into an owl as he wanted, Lucius finds himself transforming into the ass.


"I then flapped my arms up and down, imitating the movements of a bird. But no down and no sign of feathers appeared. Instead, the hair on my body became coarse bristles, and my tender skin was hardening into hide. There were no longer five fingers at the extremity of my hands, for each was compressed into one hoof. From the base of my spine protruded an enormous tail. My face became misshapen, my mouth widened, my nostrils flared open, my lips became pendulous, and my ears huge and bristly. The sole consolation I could see in this wretched transformation was the swelling of my penis...."

Hee, hee. Some things never change.