Nigrinus

Friend Extraordinary! But I am not quite clear of your meaning yet.

Lucian Why, I went off to Rome to see an oculist—my eyes had been getting worse—

Friend Yes, I know about that. I have been hoping that you would light on a good man.

Lucian Well, I got up early one morning with the intention of paying a long-deferred visit to Nigrinus, the Platonic philosopher. On reaching his house, I knocked, and was duly announced and admitted to his presence. I found him with a book in his hand, surrounded by various statues of the ancient philosophers. Before him lay a tablet, with geometrical figures described on it, and a globe of reeds, designed apparently to represent the universe.