But a good bowman like Nigrinus first of all scans the target closely for fear that it may be either very soft or too hard for his arrow—for of course there are impenetrable targets. When he is clear on this point, he dips his arrow, not in venom like those of the Scythians nor in vegetable poison like those of the Curetes, but in a sweet, gently-working drug, and then shoots with skill. The arrow, driven by just the right amount of force, penetrates to ghe point of passing through, and then sticks fast and gives off a quantity of the drug, which naturally spreads and completely pervades the soul. That is why people laugh and cry as they listen, as I did— of course the drug was quietly circulating in my soul. I could not help quoting him the well-known line: Shoot thus, and bring, mayhap, a ray of hope!Iliad 8, 282. Not everyone who hears the Phrygian flute goes frantic, but only those who are possessed of ‘Rhea and are put in mind of their condition by the music. In, like manner, naturally, not all who listen to philosophers go away enraptured and wounded, but only those who previously had in their nature some secret bond of kinship with philosophy.