‹‹‹ Vitr. 8.3.21 | Table of Contents | Vitr. 8.3.23 ›››
22There is also in the island of Chios, a fountain, of which those who imprudently drink become foolish; and thereover is inscribed an epigram to the following purport; that though the water of the fountain might be pleasant to the taste, yet he who drank of it would lose his senses. The lines are thus:
Sweet drops of cooling draught the spring supplies,
But whoso drinks, his reason petrifies.
22In the island of Zea is a spring of which those who thoughtlessly drink lose their understanding, and an epigram is cut there to the effect that a draught from the spring is delightful, but that he who drinks will become dull as a stone. These are the verses:
This stone sweet streams of cooling drink doth drip,
But stone his wits become who doth it sip.