Wherefore without any further delay, she went up to an high tower to throw herself down headlong (thinking that it was the next and readiest way to hell) but the tower (as inspired) spake unto her saying, Oh poor miser, why goest thou about to slay thyself? Why dost thou rashly yield unto thy last peril and danger? know thou that if thy spirit be once separated from thy body, thou shalt surely go to hell, but never to return again, wherefore hearken to me; Lacedemon a city in Greece is not far hence: go thou thither and inquire for the hill Tenarus, whereas thou shalt find a hold leading to hell, even to the palace of Pluto, but take heed thou go not with empty hands to that place of darkness: but carry two sops sodden in the flour of barley and honey in thy hands, and two halfpence in thy mouth. And when thou hast passed a good part of that way, thou shalt see a lame ass carrying of wood, and a lame fellow driving him, who will desire thee to give him up the sticks that fall down, but pass thou on and do nothing; by and by thou shalt come unto a river of hell, whereas Charon is ferryman, who will first have his fare paid him, before he will carry the souls over the river in his boat, whereby you may see that avarice reigneth amongst the dead, neither Charon nor Pluto will do anything for nought: for if it be a poor man that would pass over and lacketh money, he shall be compelled to die in his journey before they will show him any relief, wherefore deliver to carrion Charon one of the halfpence (which thou bearest for thy passage) and let him receive it out of thy mouth. And it shall come to pass as thou sittest in the boat thou shalt see an old man swimming on the top of the river, holding up his deadly hands, and desiring thee to receive him into the bark, but have no regard to his piteous cry; when thou art passed over the flood, thou shalt espy old women spinning, who will desire thee to help them, but beware thou do not consent unto them in any case, for these and like baits and traps will Venus set to make thee let fall one of thy sops, and think not that the keeping of thy sops is a light matter, for if thou lose one of them thou shalt be assured never to return again to this world. Then shalt thou see a great and marvelous dog, with three heads, barking continually at the souls of such as enter in, but he can do them no other harm, he lieth day and night before the gate of Proserpina, and keepeth the house of Pluto with great diligence, to whom if thou cast one of thy sops, thou mayest have access to Proserpina without all danger: she will make thee good cheer, and entertain thee with delicate meat and drink, but sit thou upon the ground, and desire brown bread, and then declare thy message unto her, and when thou hast received such beauty as she giveth, in thy return appease the rage of the dog with thy other sop, and give thy other half penny to covetous Charon, and come the same way again into the world as thou wentest: but above all things have a regard that thou look not in the box, neither be not too curious about the treasure of the divine beauty. In this manner the tower spake unto Psyche, and advertised her what she should do: and immediately she took two halfpence, two sops, and all things necessary, and went to the mountain Tenarus to go towards hell. After that Psyche had passed by the lame ass, paid her half penny for passage, neglected the old man in the river, denied to help the woman spinning, and filled the ravenous month of the dog with a sop, she came to the chamber of Proserpina. There Psyche would not sit in any royal seat, nor eat any delicate meats, but kneeled at the feet of Proserpina, only contented with coarse bread, declared her message, and after she had received a mystical secret in a box, she departed, and stopped the mouth of the dog with the other sop, and paid the boatman the other half penny. When Psyche was returned from hell, to the light of the world, she was ravished with great desire, saying, Am not I a fool, that knowing that I carry here the divine beauty, will not take a little thereof to garnish my face, to please my love withal? And by and by she opened the box where she could perceive no beauty nor anything else, save only an infernal and deadly sleep, which immediately invaded all her members as soon as the box was uncovered, in such sort that she fell down upon the ground, and lay there as a sleeping corpse.
But Cupid being now healed of his wound and malady, not able to endure the absence of Psyche, got him secretly out at a window of the chamber where he was enclosed, and (receiving his wings,) took his flight towards his loving wife, whom when he had found, he wiped away the sleep from her face, and put it again into the box, and awaked her with the tip of one of his arrows, saying: Oh wretched caitiff, behold thou wert well-nigh perished again, with the overmuch curiosity: well, go thou, and do thy message to my mother, and in the mean season, I will provide for all things accordingly: wherewithal he took his flight into the air, and Psyche brought her present to Venus.
Cupid being more and more in love with Psyche, and fearing the displeasure of his mother, did pierce into the heavens, and arrived before Jupiter to declare his
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