"scrying"
in some of its many forms was by no means" rare in the Greek and Roman
periods. The essential ' requisite for the exercise of this species of
divination is a polished surface of some sort upon which the scryer
shall gaze intently ; for this purpose mirrors, globules of lead or
quicksilver, polished steel, the surface of water, and even pools of
ink, have been employed and have been found to > insure quite as satisfactory results as the crystal ball. The points of light reflected from the polished surface (points de repère) serve
to attract the attention of the gazer and to fix the eye until,
gradually, the optic nerve becomes so.fatigued that it finally ceases
to transmit to the sen-sorium the impression made from without and
begins to respond to the reflex action proceeding· from the brain of
the gazer. In this way the impression received from within is
apparently projected and seems to come from, without. It is easy to
understand that the results must vary according to the idiosyncrasy of
the various scryers ; for everything depends upon the sensitiveness of
the optic nerve. In many cases the effect of prolonged gazing upon the
brilliant surface will simply produce a loss of sight, the optic nerve
will be temporarily paralyzed and will as little respond to stimulation
from within as from without; in other cases, however, the nerve will be
only deadened as regards external impressions, while retaining
sufficient activity to react against a stimulus
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