5.16
[1] Sed dum Zephyrī tranquillō spīritū sublīmātae domum redeunt, sīc sēcum altercant: “Quid, soror, dīcimus dē tam mōnstruōsō fatuae illīus mendāciō? [2] Tunc adolēscēns modo flōrentī lānūgine barbam īnstruēns, nunc aetāte mediā candentī cānitiē lūcidus. Quis ille quem temporis modicī spatium repentīnā senectā refōrmāvit? [3] Nīl aliud repperiēs, mī soror, quam vel mendāciō ista pessimam fēminam cōnfingere vel fōrmam marītī suī nescīre; quōrum utrum vērum est, opibus istīs quam prīmum exterminanda est. [4] Quodsī virī suī faciem ignōrat, deō profectō dēnūpsit et deum nōbīs praegnātiōne istā gerit. Certē sī dīvīnī puellī (quod absit) haec māter audierit, statim mē laqueō nexilī suspendam. [5] Ergō interim ad parentēs nostrōs redeāmus et exōrdiō sermōnis huius quam concolōrēs fallāciās adtexāmus.”
The sisters return home, suspecting Psȳchē is in fact married to a god.
Zephyrī…sublīmātae: see 5.5.7, where Psȳchē asks Zephyr to deliver her sisters safely from the cliff as he had done for her.
flōrentī lānūgine barbam īnstruēns: “making his beard ready with a blossoming down”; cf. 5.7.4 for Psȳchē’s earlier description of Cupid’s beard. (On lānūgō, see L&S for definition and Media for image. )
mī soror: note the masculine vocative form, consistent with the sisters’ sometimes masculine presentation; cf. 5.9.6. Apuleius seems to be the first in a tradition of later writers utilizing the masculine for feminine forms (Kenney ad loc.).
quōrum utrum vērum est: Here, the nominative neuter singular form of vērum is being used rather than the conjunction: “which one among them it truly is.”
māter audierit: “is to be called mother” (Kenney ad loc.)
quam concolōrēs: equivalent to quam + superlative: “as similar in color as possible.”
sublīmō, -āre: to lift
mōnstruōsus, -a, -um: strange, monstrous
fatuus, -a, -um: foolish
cōnfingō, -ere, cōnfīnxī, cōnfictum: See 5.8.4.
exterminō, -āre: to drive out, banish, exile, here + abl. of separation
dēnūbo, -ere, dēnūpsī, dēnūpsus: to marry off (to) (+ dat.)
laqueus, -ī m.: noose
nexilis, -e: tied up
concolor, -is: of the same color
adtexō, -ere, adtexuī, adtextus: to weave, fabricate
The lānūginēs (down, or fuzzy hairs) of a blueweed; Apuleius uses this term to describe Cupid’s pubescent stubble.