The
novitiates then inquired after Demosthenes, Diogenes, and Epicurus; and
were answered, "Demosthenes is not here, but with Plato; Diogenes, with
his scholars, resides under Helicon, because of his little attention to
worldly things, and his being engaged in heavenly contemplations;
Epicurus dwells in a border to the west, and has no intercourse with us;
because we distinguish between good and evil affections, and say, that
good affections are one with wisdom, and evil affections are contrary to
it." When they had ascended the hill Parnassus, some guards there
brought water in crystal cups from a fountain in the mount, and said,
"This is water from the fountain which, according to ancient fable, was
broken open by the hoof of the horse Pegasus, and was afterwards
consecrated to nine virgins: but by the winged horse Pegasus they meant
the understanding of truth, by which comes wisdom; by the hoofs of his
feet they understood experiences whereby comes natural intelligence; and
by the nine virgins they understood knowledges and sciences of every
kind. These things are now called fables; but they were correspondences,
agreeable to the primeval method of speaking.
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