The Garden of Cyrus

Venus, and caused that inextinguishable laughter in Heaven; since the gods themselves could not see it This refers to the invisible bronze net made by Vulcan to catch Venus and Mars; original: "discern it", we shall not pry into it. Although why Vulcan bound them, Neptune released them, and Apollo should be the first to discover them, might provide no ordinary mythology original: "no vulgar mythologie"; meaning a story that is not common or simple. Heralds have not ignored this pattern or the imitation of it, as they symbolically decorate their shields original: "scutcheons" with mascles diamond-shaped heraldic figures with a hole in the center, fusils narrow, elongated diamond shapes and saltirs X-shaped crosses, and while they arrange the patterns of ermine and varied coats of arms in this quincuncial an arrangement of five points like the dots on a die method.

THE same is not forgotten by lapidaries gem cutters, while they cut their gems into pyramid shapes or by equal-sided triangles. Perspective drawings, in their base, horizon, and lines of distance, cannot avoid these diamond-shaped intersections original: "rhomboidal decussations". Sculptors, in their deepest shadows, draw their double hatching original: "double hatches" according to this order. And even the indigenous people of the Americas original: "Americans" naturally use it in their neat and curious woven fabrics, which is also observed in the elegant craftsmanship of Europe. But this is no law for the web of the neat net-making original: "retiary" spider, which seems to weave without cross-threading, and by the joining of straight lines creates a continuous surface; this is beyond the common art of weaving, and may still frustrate original: "nettle" Minerva, the goddess of that craft original: "mysterie". And he who shall hatch the little seeds—found either in small webs or white round eggs carried under the bellies of some spiders—and watch how, at their first birth in boxes, they will immediately fill the space with their webs, may observe the early and untaught finger of nature, and how they are naturally provided with a sufficient supply original: "stock" for such weaving.

THE rural charm against dodder a parasitic plant, tetter a skin disease, and strangling weeds was designed after this order, where they placed a chalked tile at the four corners and one in the middle of their fields; which, though ridiculous in its intent, was logical in its design, and a good way to spread the "magic" through all parts of the area.

SOMEWHAT after this manner they arranged the little stones in the old game of Pentalithismus original: Pentalithismus; a Greek game similar to jacks or knucklebones played with five stones, or tossing up five stones to catch them on the back of the hand. And with some resemblance to this, the suitors original: proci; the 108 suitors of Penelope in the Odyssey, or wasteful lovers, arranged their pieces when they played the game of Penelope. For, being one hundred and eight men in total, they set fifty-four stones on either side, and one in the middle which they called Penelope; the person who hit it was the master of the game.

IN chess boards and game tables we still find pyramids and squares. I wish we had their true and ancient