g that way from a rising ground, lo! I saw a city, and on one side
of it two small hills; that which was nearer to the city being lower
than the other. "That city," said he, "is called Athens, the lower hill
Parnassus, and the higher Helicon. They are so called, because in the
city and around it dwell the wise men who formerly lived in Greece, as
Pythagoras, Socrates, Aristippus, Xenophon, with their disciples and
scholars." On my asking him concerning Plato and Aristotle, he said,
"They and their followers dwell in another region, because they taught
principles of rationality which relate to the understanding; whereas the
former taught morality which relates to the life." He further informed
me, that it was customary at times to depute from the city of Athens
some of the students to learn from the literati of the Christians, what
sentiments they entertain at this day respecting God, the creation of
the universe, the immortality of the soul, the relative state of men and
beasts, and other subjects of interior wisdom: and he added, that a
herald had that day announced an assembly, which was a token that the
emissaries had met with some strangers newly arrived from the earth, who
had communicated some curious information. We then saw several persons
going from the city and its suburbs, some having their heads decked with
wreaths of laurel, some holding palms in their hands, some with books
under their arms, and some with pens under the hair of the left temple.
We mixed with the company, and ascended the hill with them; and lo! on
the top was an octagonal palace, which they called the Palladium, into
which we entered; within there were eight hexangular recesses, in each
of which was a book-case and a table: at these recesses were seated the
laureled _sophi_, and in the Palladium itself there were seats cut out
of the rock, on which the rest were seated. A door on the left was then
opened, through which the two strangers newly arrived from the earth
were introduced; and after the compliments of salutation were paid, one
of the laureled _sophi_ asked them, "WHAT NEWS FROM THE EARTH?" They
replied, "This is news, that in forests there have been found men like
beasts, or beasts like men: from their face and body they were known to
have been born men, and to have been lost or left in the forests when
they were two or three years old; they were not able to give utterance
to any thought, nor could they learn to articulate the voice