244 LETTERS ON NATURAL MAGIC. 



LETTER X. 



Mechanical inventions of the ancients few in number 

 Ancient and modern feats of strength Feats of Ecke- 

 berg particularly described General explanation of them 

 Real feats of strength performed by Thomas Topham 

 Remarkable power of lifting heavy persons when the 

 lungs are inflated Belzoni's feat of sustaining pyramids 

 of men Deception of walking along the ceiling in an 

 inverted position Pneumatic apparatus in the foot of 

 the house-fly for enabling it to walk in opposition to 

 gravity Description of the analogous apparatus employed 

 by the gecko lizard for the same purpose Apparatus used 

 by the Echineis remora, or sucking-fish. 



THE mechanical knowledge of the ancients was 

 principally theoretical, and though they seem to 

 have constructed some minor pieces of mecha- 

 nism which were sufficient to delude the ignorant, 

 yet there is no reason for believing that they had 

 executed any machinery that was capable of ex- 

 citing much surprise, either by its ingenuity or 

 its magnitude. The properties of the mechanical 

 powers, however, seem to have been successfully 

 employed in performing feats of strength which 

 were beyond the reach even of strong men, and 

 which could not fail to excite the greatest wonder 

 when exhibited by persons of ordinary size. 



Firmus, a native of Seleucia, who was executed 

 by the Emperor Aurelian for espousing the cause 

 of Zenobia, was celebrated for his feats of strength. 

 In his account of the life of Firmus, who lived in 



