The Curiosity of Human Nature in Apuleius’s Metamorphosis

Because of the nature of Apuleius’s Metamorphosis, one is bound to consider human nature within the context of the book. Metamorphosis is absolutely teeming with scenes in which humans are depicted as being immoral and predominantly selfish. This is not the way in which the reader would necessarily like to think of themselves as a human and therefore it is bound to attract their attention. It is for this reason that I would explore the prospect of human nature within the metamorphosis. I will also consider the prospect of divine salvation in Metamorphosis, seeing as divine salvation seems to be the one thing in the novel that allows humans to escape from the immoral trap, we find ourselves in in Metamorphosis.

                                                                                                                                                                                   

Metamorphosis clearly depicts humanity as a creature which is on the path to self-destruction. We can see this seeing as most of the immoral act’s human engage in Metamorphosis end in disaster. The novel is full of examples of characters that engage in various kinds of immoral behaviour which leads to disastrous situations. Humans tend to engage in the kinds of behaviours that lead to disastrous results. Nearly all the immoral acts in Metamorphosis have disastrous results. Disastrous results which could have been avoided if those immoral acts were never undertook. If we for instance, consider the bandits stories that was told by the bandits. The bandits tell several stories of their operations in nearby towns. None of their operations really end well. In each of the stories one of the bandits ends up dead. One might imagine that the bandits would learn from these stories and learn that a life of banditry could lead to disastrous end. Later the whole group of bandits is slaughtered because they have abducted a noblewoman. Of course, they would not have died if they had not abducted her. It is because of their misdeeds that Charite’s fiancé ended up killing them. If they never participated in a life of banditry this would never have happened. It is clear, that the bandits have not learned from the numerous stories of banditry gone wrong. Seeing that they did not seem to realise that such things could happen to them as well. We can for instance also see this in the numerous affairs we see towards the end of the novel. These affairs sometimes even ended in death. Thus, indicating that any kind of immoral behaviour could have disastrous consequences. We can therefore not only conclude that immoral behaviour in Metamorphosis generally has unwanted results, but that humans tend to gravitate to immoral behaviour.

                                                                                                                                                                                   

When looking at human nature in the golden ass, one should at least, to some extent, consider what the role is curiosity plays in Metamorphosis. After all it is Lucius’s curiosity that caused him all his misery. Metamorphosis seems to highlight curiosity as something that is potentially harmful. Lucius received numerous warnings (both direct and indirect) of the dangers in dealing with magic. We for example have the story of Socrates that was told to Lucius by a passing traveller. This story clearly highlights magic as a dangerous thing as well as gives an example of the strange and horrible things that could happen if one has dealings with magic. It would seem that these warnings only served to further his curiosity. We can see that Lucius gravitates to the concept of magic in much the same way that the robbers seem to gravitate to their immoral behaviour later in the novel. Lucius gravitates to magic despite numerous warnings. There are similarities between his own inability to resist the temptation of magic and the robber’s inability to resist the temptation of their own immoral behaviours. The robbers have received numerous warnings that a life of robbery could have disastrous consequences in the form of the stories told by some of the robbers of operations that have gone wrong. And yet the robbers do not see these stories as a warning that they too might meet the same fate as their comrades. This once again shows us that humans tend to gravitate to things that are harmful to them. But they also do so despite warnings that these things could potentially be harmful.

                                                                                                                                                                                   

Lucius even stated that he believed the story: indicating that he believed that the story was true:

My opinion is that nothing is imposable and that we mortals get whatever the fates have decided for us. You, I, everybody, we all meet with many amazing and unprecedented experiences, which aren’t believed when they’re told to somebody who lacks first-hand knowledge of them. But I do, assure you, believe our friend here, and I’m grateful to him for diverting us with such a charming and delightful story. (Apuleius.Metamorphosis 1.20)

This is a foreshadowing of what is going to happen to Lucius later. We can especially see this when he talks about the “amazing and unexpected experiences” (Apuleius.Metamorphosis 1.20) that one might have as well as mentioning that these experiences might not be believed when recounted later. In addition to this Lucius also calls the strangers story a “charming and delightful story” (Apuleius.Metamorphosis 1.20). Although one might find the story enjoyable, it most certainly is not a “charming” (Apuleius.Metamorphosis 1.20) story. It recounts an extremely horrible event. This indicates that Lucius does not comprehend the dangers in dealing with magic. Because Lucius at this point clearly is quite interested and unafraid of magic one might expect that he would have an encounter with magic at some point in the novel. We might also expect that it would end badly like in the stranger’s story.

                                                                                                                                                                                   

Lucius’s actions before he became an ass could not be particularly admirable. Having an affair with your host’s servant for instance was something that was frowned upon at the time Apuleius wrote his novel. The Lucius we see at the beginning of the novel therefore is portrayed as an immoral character (even if he is much less immoral than some of the characters we see in this novel). Lucius therefore does not have any protection against magic seeing as he does not have any feeling of a moral obligation to stay away from it:

“Curiosity is thus clearly marked as the force which impels Lucius to explore magic and to make himself into an ass.” (Carl C. Schlam, 2019)

But it is through his immorality that he had obtained the opportunity to have dealings with magic. It is through his affair with Photis that he gets the opportunity to observe a magic ritual which ultimately gave him the opportunity to perform magic himself and to be turned into an ass. It is not only Lucius’s fascination with magic, but also his affair with Photis (therefor also his immortality) that led to his misfortune. It was his fascination with magic that led to him mistakenly turning himself into an ass, but it was Photis that provided him with the means to do so. If Lucius had higher moral standards the whole incident might have been avoided. It is a combination of Lucius’s curiosity and his immorality that leads to his misfortune. In the context of the novel we can therefore see that there are certain things humans are not meant to be curious about (such as magic for instance) seeing as terrible things could happen if those secrets are uncovered.

                                                                                                                                                                                   

But curiosity in the novel does not always lead to misfortune. At the end of the novel we once more see Lucius being curious. Here he is curious about what goes on at Isis’s mysteries. In this case his curiosity does not lead to any misfortune. It even seems to bring a sense of happiness to Lucius. The difference here is what Lucius is curious about. In this case Lucius is curious about Isis’s mysteries. The knowledge obtained in the mysteries clearly is a good kind of knowledge which could lead to positive results whereas the knowledge obtained from the witches at the start of the novel clearly is quite the opposite. This knowledge is negative and could lead to disastrous results. Despite that these two different kinds of magic being portrayed in these two entirely different ways, we can see that Isis clearly is portrayed as possessing some kind of magic. She for instance, like Photis, knows how to turn Lucius back into a human. The difference between these two kinds of magic is both their motivation and who partakes in them:

The witches practice magic to satisfy carnal desire or to avenge its frustration, whereas Isis… has created and governs all things by her providence.” (Carl C. Schlam, 2019)

The witches partake in magic to satisfy cardinal pleasures. Milos wife for instance uses her magic in order to engage in numerous affairs. Isis mysteries, on the other hand, are much nobler. Based on what Lucius described Isis must have told Lucius something along the lines of the secret inner workings of the universe. We can also see that Isis’s magic is not bad by looking at the results of it. After joining the cult of Isis Lucius manages to find happiness, which contrasts to the witch’s magic which only brought him only misery. We can therefore say that it is not magic itself that is bad, but rather who performs it:

“Magic in the opening books of the Metamorphoses is thus characterized as an attempt to control the powers which properly belong to the goddess, and Lucius' pursuit of magic can be seen as an unholy curiosity.” (Carl C. Schlam, 2019)

Magic can therefore only be viewed as good if it was sanctioned by the gods.

                                                                                                                                                                                   

Isis forces Lucius to be patient when Lucius wants to be initiated into the mysteries. It is clear that Isis first makes sure that Lucius is ready to receive the knowledge obtained in the mysteries before she bestows it upon him. This is quite unlike the magic that Lucius used to turn himself into an ass. In this case Lucius simply jumps at the opportunity to, when he is clearly not ready for it and it has devastating results. In order to be part of the cult of Isis Lucius must abstain from any kind of immoral behaviour. Each period before Lucius is initiated into the mysteries, he even must forgo eating meat for a period. By forcing Lucius to abstain from immorality Isis potentially is showing Lucius that it is in fact more pleasurable to take pleasure in the simpler things than it is in taking pleasure in immoral things.

                                                                                                                                                                                   

It would seem that mortals in Metamorphosis are quite incapable of finding salvation on their own. They are dependent on Isis to show them the path to salvation. The rules that apply to magic could also be applying to other human activities. It would seem that things generally turn out badly when decisions are made by humans themselves. Mortals therefore rely on Isis to tell them how they should live. The way in which the followers of Isis is portrayed in the novel contrasts completely with the way humans are depicted in the rest of the book. The followers of Isis are very kind to Lucius, unlike the rest of the characters in the book who treated Lucius harshly. Even before Lucius was turned into an ass he was treaded unkindly at times. We can for instance see this in the mock trial that was held. We do see Lucius being treated kindly at times. We can for instance see this when Milo leads Lucius home using paths that are not generally used in order to spare him further embarrassment, but Milo only does this after he himself has laughed at Lucius’s plight. We can therefore say that it is not only Lucius who has managed to find the path of ratchetness through the worship of Isis. Isis seems to have an extremely positive effect on the behaviour of humans. Metamorphosis depicts Isis as a goddess that is not only all powerful, but also seems to be interested in the wellbeing of mortals. We for instance see this in the way in which she communicates with Lucius. She clearly has an intimate relationship with Lucius. She communicates with him personally.

                                                                                                                                                                                   

Metamorphosis depicts humans as being naturally immoral beings. Humans are drawn to things that could potentially do us harm. Despite our nature Metamorphosis still proposes a path to salvation and escape from human nature itself. The answer to humanities plight is the cult of Isis. In Metamorphosis it is only through the guidance of Isis that mortals can escape their own immorality and self-destructive nature.

Bibliography

Carl C. Schlam, C.C. “The Curiosity of the Golden Ass” The Classical Journal, The Classical Association of the Middle West and South, Inc 64 (2019), 120-125

copyright reserved © Baloyi 2024