Anchises, however, though warned by her not to speak of their intimacy,
boasted of it one day at a feast, and was struck by thunder as a punishment
for his disobedience. The power of Venus over the heart, was supported and
assisted by a celebrated girdle, called _zone_ by the Greeks, and _cestus_
by the Latins. This mysterious girdle which gave beauty, grace, and
elegance when worn even by the most deformed, was irresistible when around
beauty: it excited love, and kindled even extinguished flames. Juno herself
was indebted to this powerful ornament in gaining the favours of Jupiter;
and Venus, though possessed of every charm, no sooner put on her cestus,
than Vulcan, unable to resist the influence of love, forgot all the
intrigues and infidelities of his wife, and fabricated arms even for her
illegitimate children.
"In this was every art and every charm,
To win the wisest, and the coldest warm,
Kind love, the gentle vow, the gay desire,
The kind deceit, the still reviving fire,
Persuasive speech, and more persuasive sighs,
Silence that spoke and eloquence of eyes."