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Aristomenes (The Wayfarer)
The Socrates who appears as a character in The Golden Ass is not the famous Socrates, but simply an old friend of the wayfarer Aristomenes who happens to have the same name as the philosopher. Socrates cheats on his family with an older innkeeper who is secretly the witch Meroe, and when he tries to leave, she curses him, turning him into a zombie-like living dead man. Socrates represents the dangers of both unfaithfulness and of messing with witchcraft, foreshadowing the role witchcraft will play in Lucius’s story.
Socrates Quotes in The Golden Ass
The The Golden Ass quotes below are all either spoken by Socrates or refer to Socrates. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Book 1
Quotes
First of all, I swear to you solemnly by this Sun above, a god who sees everything, that the story I’m telling is true—and I ought to know. To do away with any doubts you may still have, when you come to the nearest town, which is where these events took place—and they took place out in public—you’ll find them under general discussion.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Socrates Quotes in The Golden Ass
The The Golden Ass quotes below are all either spoken by Socrates or refer to Socrates. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Book 1
Quotes
First of all, I swear to you solemnly by this Sun above, a god who sees everything, that the story I’m telling is true—and I ought to know. To do away with any doubts you may still have, when you come to the nearest town, which is where these events took place—and they took place out in public—you’ll find them under general discussion.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
