noon
Never had he so keenly lamented his lost vision as during the remainder of the drive , and when Daphne received him he described with passionate lamentation how terribly blindness embittered his life , and declared himself ready to submit to the severest suffering to regain his sight . She earnestly entreated him to apply to the great physician Erasistratus again , and Hermon willingly consented . He had promised to attend a banquet given that day by the wealthy ship-owner Archon . The feast lasted until early morning , but toward noon Hermon again appeared in his uncle 's house , and met Daphne full of joyous confidence , as if he were completely transformed . While at Archon 's table he had determined to place his cure in the hands of higher powers . This was the will of Fate ; for the guest whose cushion he shared was Silanus , the host 's son , and the first thing he learned from him was the news that he was going the next day , with several friends , to the oracle of Amon in the Libyan Desert , to ask it what should be done for his mother , who had been for several years an invalid whom no physician could help . He had heard from many quarters that the counsel of the god , who had greeted Alexander the Great as his son , was infallible .