"The Lapithæ to chariots add the state
Of bits and bridles; taught the steed to bound,
To turn the ring, and trace the mazy ground,
To stop, to fly, the rules of war to know,
To obey the rider, and to dare the foe."
LUPUS.—This constellation is situated south of Libra and east of the Centaur, and is so low down that it cannot be traced in our latitude. It contains twenty-four stars of a small magnitude.
This constellation, according to mythology, is Lycaon, King of Arcadia, who lived 3,600 years ago, and was changed into a wolf by Jupiter for sacrificing human victims at the altar of Pan.
LIBRA.—When the sun enters the sign Libra, the days and nights are of equal duration, and seem to observe an equilibrium like a balance. Libra contains fifty-one stars, and comes to the meridian the 22d of June. It may be known by its four principal stars forming a quadrilateral figure, lying north-east and south-west, and having its upper and lower indices nearly in a straight line running north and south. The two stars which form the south-west side of the square are situated about six degrees apart, and distinguish the southern scale. The two which form the north-east side are seven degrees apart, and mark the northern scale.