A balance, a pair of scales. The principal parts of this instrument were: 1. The beam. 2. The two scales, called in Latin lances. The beam was made without a tongue, being held by a ring or other appendage, fixed in the centre. The annexed woodcut represents Mercury and Apollo engaged in exploring the fates of Achilles and Memnon, by weighing the attendent genius of the one against that of the other. - Smith, 1873