"'Behold what took place in regard to the judgments, tortures, and rewards. After each one of those souls had spent seven days in the meadow they left on the eighth, and arrived, after a march of four days, at a designated spot, wherefrom was seen a light crossing the heaven and the earth, as straight as a column, and similar to the rainbow, but brighter and purer. They reached this light in one day's march. There they saw that the extremities of the heaven meet at the middle of this light, which united them fast, and which embraced all the circumference of the heaven, in nearly the same manner as the beams which girdle the sides of galleys, and which bear their frame. At the extremities the spindle of Necessity hung, and determined the revolutions of the celestial spheres.'" Here Her describes the spindle. This description we omit, for it does not relate to our subject. Her continues:-- "'Near the spindle, and at equal distances, sat on thrones the three Parques, daughters of Necessity, Lachesis, Clotho, and Atropos, dressed in white, and their heads crowned with a bandelet. They united their chant to that of the Sirenes; Lachesis sung the past, Clotho the present, and Atropos the future. Clotho, now and then, touched the spindle with her right hand, and made it revolve externally. Atropos, with her left hand, impressed motion to each one of the interior whirls, and Lachesis, with both hands, touched now the spindle, and then the interior whirls. When the souls arrived they appeared before Lachesis. First a Hierophant assigned a rank to each one; then taking from the lap of Lachesis the fates and the various conditions of human life, he mounted on a high stand, and spake thus:-- "'This is what the virgin Lachesis, daughter of Necessity, says: Voyaging souls you are to commence another career, and return into a mortal body. The genius will not choose for you: each one of you shall choose hers. The first one that fate will designate shall choose first, and her choice shall be irrevocable. Virtue has no master; she clings to him who honors her, and flies from him who despises her. The error of the choice shall fall on you. God is innocent.