Lusus iste:

The Metamorphoses of Apuleius is a sophisticated literary creation, complex and often perplexing. It continues to elicit widely varying critical comment about both its substance and its style. The prologue to Metamorphoses ends with an exhortation and a promise Lector intende; laetaberis (pay attention, reader; you'll be glad). This monograph, Lusus iste: Apuleius' Metamorphoses, continues the critical game in which Apuleuis invites us to be co-players. It presents further observations of a reader who finds delight in the verbal entertainment, lusus, which Apuleius provides, not simply in the story he tells but also in its complex design and verbal texture.