When all were assembled, this man arose from the pulpit and said,
"Give an answer now to this problem, and solve it if you can, WHAT IS
THE SOUL, AND WHAT IS ITS QUALITY?" On hearing this problem all were
amazed, and made a muttering noise; and some of the company on the
benches exclaimed, "What mortal man, from the age of Saturn to the
present time, has been able by any rational thought to see and ascertain
what the soul is, still less what is its quality? Is not this subject
above the sphere of all human understanding?" But it was replied from
the orchestra, "It is not above the understanding, but within it and in
its view; only let the problem be answered." Then the young men, who
were chosen on that day to ascend the desk, and give an answer to the
problem, arose. They were five in number, who had been examined by the
seniors, and found to excel in sagacity, and were then sitting on
couches at the sides of the desk. They afterwards ascended in the order
in which they were seated; and every one, when he ascended, put on a
silken tunic of an opaline color, and over it a robe of soft wool
interwoven with flowers, and on his head a cap, on the crown of which
was a bunch of roses encircled with small sapphires.
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