Book 1
25
The clothing of the rich is malleable glass Lucian’s glass clothing (ὑαλίνη) is a punning parody on wooden clothing (ξυλίνη), i.e. cotton (Herod. 7, 65). and that of the poor, spun bronze; for that region is rich in bronze, which they work like wool by wetting it with water. I am reluctant to tell you what sort of eyes they have, for fear that you may think me lying on account of the incredibility of the story, but I will tell you, notwithstanding. The eyes that they have are removable, and whenever they wish they take them out and put them away until they want to see: then they put them in and look. Many, on losing their own, borrow other people’s to see with, and the rich folk keep a quantity stored up. Compare the story of the Graeae. For ears they have plane-leaves, except only the acorn-men, who have wocden ones. In the royal purlieus I saw another marvel.
26
A large looking-glass is fixed above a well, which is not very deep. If a man goes down into the well, he hears everything that is said among us on earth, and if he looks into the looking-glass he sees every city and every country just as if he were standing over it. When I tried it I saw my family and my whole native land, but I cannot go further and say for certain whether they also saw me. Anyone who does not believe ‘this is so will find, if ever he gets there himself, that I am telling the truth.
