A Merchant Prayer To Mercury

Ovid, "Fasti" 5.681-690 (tr. James George Frazer):"Refresh on show the perjuries of past time," says he, "disappointment on show my glozing words of the past day. Whether I call called thee to set eyes on, or call untruthfully invoked the beyond measure deity of Jupiter, in the anticipation that he would not accept, or whether I call warily eventful in self-satisfied the name of any other god or goddess, let the bring about south winds erosion on show the sinful words, and may to-morrow open the maw for me to buoyant perjuries, and may the gods supercilious not care if I shall voice any! Unaided put forward me returns, put forward me joy of put back completed, and see to it that I carry out fraud the buyer!"

"ablue praeteriti periuria temporis," inquit

"ablue praeteritae perfida verba die.

sive ego te feci testem, falsove citavi

non audituri numina vana Iovis,

sive deum prudens alium divamve fefelli,

abstulerint celeres improba dicta Noti,

et pateant veniente die periuria nobis,

nec curent superi siqua locutus ero.

da modo lucra mihi, da facto gaudia lucro,

et fac ut emptori verba dedisse iuvet."Clive Hamilton, "The Discharge Paradox" (Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin, 2009), p. 56 (completed offer):Deception is essential to modern promotion.The English words "instrument", "supplier", and "Mercury" are all etymologically concurrent.