midnight
But it came to pass , little by little , -LSB- 227 -RSB- being that the minds of men are restless , that they carried on their business alike by night as by day , and gave no part at all to repose . And Jupiter , when he perceived that even in the night-time they ceased not from trouble and disputation , and that even the courts of law remained open -LRB- it was the pride of Aurelius , as Fronto knew , to be assiduous in those courts till far into the night -RRB- resolved to appoint one of his brothers to be the overseer of the night and have authority over man 's rest . But Neptune pleaded in excuse the gravity of his constant charge of the seas , and Father Dis the difficulty of keeping in subjection the spirits below ; and Jupiter , having taken counsel with the other gods , perceived that the practice of nightly vigils was somewhat in favour . It was then , for the most part , that Juno gave birth to her children : Minerva , the mistress of all art and craft , loved the midnight lamp : Mars delighted in the darkness for his plots and sallies ; and the favour of Venus and Bacchus was with those who roused by night . Then it was that Jupiter formed the design of creating Sleep ; and he added him to the number of the gods , and gave him the charge over night and rest , putting into his hands the keys of human eyes . With his own hands he mingled the juices wherewith Sleep should soothe the hearts of mortals -- herb of Enjoyment and herb of Safety , gathered from a grove in Heaven ; and , from the meadows of -LSB- 228 -RSB- Acheron , the herb of Death ; expressing from it one single drop only , no bigger than a tear one might hide . ` With this juice , ' he said , ` pour slumber upon the eyelids of mortals .