The science of acoustics furnished the ancient sorcerers with some
of their most complete deceptions. The imitation of thunder in
their subterranean temples did not fail to indicate the presence of
a supernatural agent. The golden virgins, whose ravishing voices
resounded through the temple of Delphos; the stone from the river
Pactolus, where trumpet notes scared the robber from the treasure which
it guarded; the speaking head, which uttered its oracular responses at
Lesbos; and the vocal statue of Memnon, which began at the break of day
to accost the rising sun, were all deceptions derived from science, and
from a diligent observation of the phenomena of nature.