Apuleius and the Aristotelian De Mundo
The De Mundo is a fascinating part of Apuleius’ corpus, with much to contribute to our understanding of Mediterranean philosophy in the second century, of philosophical work in the Latin language, of Platonism, and of Apuleius himself. But, sidelined as a mere translation (of the pseudo-Aristotelian work usually known by the same name), it has never received sustained attention in its own right. A workshop held in 2021 brought together an international team of scholars who are the core of an ongoing project to study the text from a range of disciplinary perspectives.
A draft English translation of the De Mundo, accompanied by a new, uniform translation of the Aristotelian work on which it is based, is freely accessible here.
“Others quail at the magnitude of the subject: they think that the work this sort of thing requires is difficult and deep. Only philosophy does not doubt its own ability, or think itself unworthy.”
— Apuleius, De Mundo 285