I spoke ; the hoary sage this answer gave :
" May the great god of day thee ever save,
Avert all sorrow, guide thy way to wealth,
Banish all tears, maintain in perfect health,
For this thy love : I, too, as best I may,
Will in some sort thy kindliness repay,
And teach the means, shouldst thou an offering bear,
To force the gods to hearken to thy prayer.—
170 Take in thy pions hand the Crystal bright,
Transparent image of the Eternal Light. Pleased with its lustre, every
god shall hear Thy vows with favour and concede thy prayer. But how to
test the virtue of the stone, A certain way I will to thee make known :
Without fire's aid to raise the flame divine, This wondrous gem lay
thou on splintered pine : Forthwith, reflecting the bright orb of day,
Upon the wood it shoots a slender ray,
180 Caught by the unctuous fuel this shall raise
First
smoke, then sparks, and last a mighty blaze. Such we the fire of
ancient Vesta name, Loved by the immortals all, a holy flame ; No fire
terrestrial with such grateful funics, The fatted victim on their
hearths consumes. Yet though of fire the source, strange to be told,
Snatch from the flame the stone—'tis icy cold ! Girt round his loins
with this, the sufferer gains A sure relief from all nephritic pains.—
Another gem, to aid thee in thy vows
190
Of mighty force my mystic science shows: As teats of heifers with
strange milk replete, Or teeming breasts of youthful mothers sweet,
This potent stone, by sages old extolled, _ Resistless Adamant is rightly called ; For that it bends the powers who rule the sky, To view men's offerings with propitious eye. The title of Lethœan too
it bears, Making both gods and men forget their cares. With influence
bland, it soothes tho soul to rest, And rouses pleasant thoughts in the
human breast. But some the term of Adamant disclaim, And say that
Milkstone is the fitter name ;
