CHAPTER 41. _And yet it is a greater crime_, &c. An allusion to the vegetarianism of the Pythagoreans and others. _Nicander_ of Colophon, an Alexandrian didactic poet. The [Greek: theriaka] survives, is over 1,000 lines long, and deals with the bites of wild beasts. _Plato._ The words are not actually found in Plato's extant works; Apuleius is probably slightly misquoting Timaeus 59_c_. CHAPTER 42. _Varro_ (Marcus Terentius), 116-28 B.C. The most learned and voluminous of Roman authors. _an image of Mercury._ Clearly the reference is to some such practice as that of 'screeing' in the ink-pool. Cp. Kinglake, Eothen, chap. 18. _Cato_ (the famous Marcus Cato, see chap. 17, note) was priest of Apollo and received offerings to the god. CHAPTER 43. _Plato._ Sympos. 202, where [Greek: daimones] are spoken of as powers 'which interpret and convey to the gods the prayers and sacrifices of men and to men the commands and rewards of gods.' Also cp. de deo Socratis, chap. 6. _fair and unblemished of body._ Beauty and virginity are insisted on in various passages in the magical papyri (see Abt op. cit., p. 185) as necessary in the boy through whom the god is to speak. Cp. also Benvenuto Cellini's Autobiography (Symond's Translation, p. 126, ed. 1901). _Pythagoras._ 'I think also it was said by the Pythagoreans respecting those who teach for the sake of reward, that they show themselves to be worse than statuaries or those artists who perform their work sitting. For these, when some one orders them to make a statue of Hermes, search for wood adapted to the reception of the proper form; but those pretend that they can readily produce the works of virtue from every nature.' Iamblichus, Life of Pythagoras, chap. 34 (Taylor's Translation). CHAPTER 44. _as might fairly be produced at a sacrifice_, &c. The divination is preceded by sacrifice just as in Benvenuto Cellini (loc. cit.) the sorcerer first burns incense. The head is touched as being the source from which the oracle is to proceed (_arx et regia_, chap. 50). The clean robe is necessary, to ritual purity and is mentioned more than once in the magic papyri. CHAPTER 45. _Gagates_ is, according to Pliny, N.H. xxxvi. 141, 2, a black smooth stone, resembling pumice. It is light and fragile and differs but little from wood. When powdered it emits a strong odour; when burned it smells sulphurous, and, wonderful to relate, it is kindled by water and extinguished by oil. CHAPTER 47. _Twelve Tables._ In this, the earliest Roman code, punishment was imposed on any person _qui fruges excantassit_, or _qui malum carmen incantassit_. Pliny, N.H. xxviii. 2. 17. _Quindecimvirs._ The _quindecimviri sacris faciundis_ were priests of Apollo and had charge of the Sibylline books. CHAPTER 49. _The Timaeus_, pp. 82-6. The _three powers that make up the soul_ are those mentioned in the Timaeus, 35 sqq., i.e. _Same_, _Other_, and _Essence_.