13.1. At that same time, on the twenty-second of October, the splendid temple of the Daphnaean Apollo, which that hot-tempered and cruel king Antiochus Epiphanes had built, and with it the statue of the god, a copy of that of the Olympian Zeus and of equal size, was reduced to ashes by a sudden fire.
13.1. Eodem tempore diem undecimum kalendarum Novembrium amplissimum Daphnaei Apollinis fanum, quod Epiphanes Antiochus rex ille condidit iracundus et saevus, et simulacrum in eo Olympiaci Iovis imitamentum, eiusque aequiperans magnitudinem, subita vi flammarum exustum est.
13.2. The unexpected destruction of this shrine by so terrible an accident inflamed the emperor with such anger, that he ordered stricter investigations than usual to be made, and the greater church at Antioch to be closed. For he suspected that the Christians had done the deed, aroused by jealousy and unwillingness to see the temple enclosed by a magnificent colonnade.
13.2. Quo tam atroci casu repente consumpto, ad id usque imperatorem ira provexit, ut quaestiones agitari iuberet, solito acriores, et maiorem ecclesiam Antiochiae claudi. Suspicabatur enim id Christianos egisse, stimulatos stimulates invidia, quod idem templum inviti videbant ambitioso circumdari peristylio.
13.3. It was said, however, though on very slight evidence, that the cause of the burning of the temple was this: the philosopher Asclepiades, whom I have mentioned in the history of Magnentius, when he had come to that suburb from abroad to visit Julian, placed before the lofty feet of the statue a little silver image of the Dea Caelestis, which he always carried with him wherever he went, and after lighting some wax tapers as usual, went away. From these tapers after midnight, when no one could be present to render aid, some flying sparks alighted on the woodwork, which was very old, and the fire, fed by the dry fuel, mounted and burned whatever it could reach, at however great a height it was.
13.3. Ferebatur autem licet rumore levissimo, hac ex causa conflagrasse delubrum, quod Asclepiades philosophus, cuius in actibus Magnenti meminimus, cum visendi gratia Iuliani peregre ad id suburbanum venisset, deae caelestis argenteum breve figmentum, quocumque ibat secum solitus ferre, ante pedes statuit simulacri sublimes, accensisque cereis ex usu cessit, unde medietate noctis emensa, cum nec adesse quisquam potuit nec iuvare, volitantes scintillae adhaesere materiis vetustissimis, ignisque aridis nutrimentis, omne quicquid contingi potuit (licet erecta discretum celsitudine) concremarunt.
13.4. In that year also, just as the winter season was at hand, there was such a fearful scarcity of water that some brooks dried up, as well as springs which had before over- flowed with plentiful jets of water; but later these were restored to their former condition.
13.4. Eo anno sidere etiam tum instante brumali, aquarum incessit inopia metuenda, ut et rivi cassescerent quidam, et fontes antehac aquarum copiosis pulsibus abundantes, sed in integrum postea restituti sunt.
13.5. Then, on the second of December, just before evening, the rest of Nicomedia was wholly destroyed by an earthquake, as well as a good part of Nicaea.
13.5. Et quartum nonas Decembres, vergente in vesperam die, reliqua Nicomedia collapsa est terrae motu, itidemque Nicaeae portio non mediocris.
14.1. Although these disasters filled the prince with sorrow and anxiety, yet he did not neglect the urgent duties that remained to be done before the longed- for time of battle arrived. All the same, amid such weighty and serious affairs, it did seem superfluous, that with no satisfactory reason for such a measure, but merely from a desire for popularity, he wished to lower the price of commodities; although sometimes, when this matter is not properly regulated, it is wont to cause scarcity and famine.
14.1. Quae tametsi maestitiam sollicito incuterent principi, residua tamen non contemnebat urgentia, dum pugnandi tempus ei veniret optatum. Inter praecipua tamen et seria illud agere superfluum videbatur, quod, nulla probabili ratione suscepta, popularitatis amore, vilitati studebat venalium rerum, quae non numquam secus quam convenit ordinata, inopiam gignere solet et famem.
14.2. And, although the senate at Antioch clearly pointed out that this could not be done at the time when he ordered it, he in no wise gave up his plan, since he resembled his brother Gallus, though without his cruelty. Therefore raging against them one by one as recalcitrant and stubborn, he composed an invective, which he entitled The Antiochian or Misopogon, in which he enumerated in a hostile spirit the faults of the city, including more than were justified. After this, finding that he was the object of many jests, he was forced at the time to disregard them, but was filled with suppressed wrath.
14.2. Et Antiochensi ordine id tunc tune fieri, cum ille iuberet, non posse, aperte monstrante, nusquam a proposito declinabat, Galli similis fratris licet incruentus. Quocirca in eos deinceps saeviens ut obtrectatores et contumaces volumen composuit invectivum, quod Antiochense vel Misopogonem appellavit, probra civitatis infensa mente dinumerans, addensque veritati complura: post quae multa in se facete dicta comperiens, coactus dissimulare pro tempore, ira sufflabatur interna.
14.3. For he was ridiculed as a Cercops, as a dwarf, spreading his narrow shoulders and displaying a billy-goat’s beard, taking mighty strides as if he were the brother of Otus and Ephialtes, whose height Homer describes as enormous. He was also called by many a slaughterer instead of high-priest, in jesting allusion to his many offerings; and in fact he was fittingly criticised because for the sake of display he improperly took pleasure in carrying the sacred emblems in place of the priests, and in being attended by a company of women. But although he was indignant for these and similar reasons, he held his peace, kept control of his feelings, and continued to celebrate the festivals.
14.3. Ridebatur enim ut Cercops, homo brevis humeros extentans angustos et barbam prae se ferens hircinam, grandiaque incedens tamquam Oti frater et Ephialtis, quorum proceritatem Homerus in immensum extollit, itidemque victimarius pro sacricola dicebatur ad crebritatem hostiarum alludentibus multis, et culpabatur hinc opportune, cum ostentationis gratia, vehens licenter pro sacerdotibus sacra, stipatusque mulierculis laetabatur. Et quamquam his paribusque de causis indignaretur, tacens tamen motumque in animi retinens potestate, sollemnia celebrabat.
14.4. Finally, on a previously appointed festal day, he ascended Mount Casius, a wooded hill rising on high with a rounded contour, from which at the second cock-crow the sun is first seen to rise And as he was offering sacrifice to Jove, he suddenly caught sight of a man lying flat upon the ground, and in suppliant words begging for life and pardon. And when Julian asked who he was, the man answered that he was the ex-governor Theodotus of Hierapolis; that when in company with other dignitaries he was escorting Constantius as he set out from his city, he shamefully flattered him, in the belief that he would unquestionably be victorious, begging him with feigned tears and wailing to send them the head of Julian, that ungrateful rebel, just as he remembered that the head of Magnentius had been paraded about.
14.4. Denique praestituto feriarum die Casium montem ascendit, nemorosum et tereti ambitu in sublime porrectum, unde secundis galliciniis videtur primo solis exortus. Cumque Iovi faceret rem divinam, repente conspexit quendam humi prostratum, supplici voce vitam precantem et veniam. Interrogantique ei, qui esset, responsum est praesidalem esse Theodotum Hierapolitanum, qui profectum a civitate sua Constantium inter honoratos deducens, adulando deformiter, tamquam futurum sine dubietate victorem, orabat, lacrimas fingens et gemitum, ut Iuliani ad eos mitteret caput, perduellis ingrati, specie illa, qua Magnenti circumlatum meminerat membrum.
14.5. Upon hearing this, the emperor answered: “I heard of this speech of yours long ago from the mouths of many; but go to your home carefree, relieved of all fear by the mercy of your prince, who (as the philosopher advised) of his own accord and willingly strives to diminish the number of his enemies and increase that of his friends.”
14.5. Quibus auditis, “Accepi” inquit, “olim hoc dictum” imperator “relatione multorum, sed abi securus ad lares exutus omni metu clementia principis, qui (ut prudens definivit) inimicorum minuere numerum augereque amicorum sponte sua contendit ac libens.”
14.6. When he left there after completing the sacred rites, a letter was presented to him from the governor of Egypt, reporting that after laborious search for a new Apis bull, they had finally, after a time, been able to find one, which (in the belief of the people of that region) is an indication of prosperity, fruitful crops, and various blessings.
14.6. Exinde sacrorum perfecto ritu digresso, offeruntur rectoris Aegypti scripta, Apim bovem operosa quaesitum industria, tandem post tempus inveniri potuisse firmantis, quod (ut earum regionum existimant incolae) faustum, et ubertatem frugum diversaque indicans bona.
14.7. About this matter it will be in place to give a brief explanation. Among the animals consecrated by ancient religious observance, the better known are Mnevis and Apis. Mnevis is consecrated to the Sun, but about him there is nothing noteworthy to be said; Apis to the moon. Apis, then, is a bull distinguished by natural marks of various forms, and most of all conspicuous for the image of a crescent moon on his right side. When this bull, after its destined span of life, is plunged in the sacred fount and dies (for it is not lawful for him to prolong his life beyond the time prescribed by the secret authority of the mystic books), there is slain with the same ceremony a cow, which has been found with special marks and presented to him. After his death another Apis is sought amid public mourning; and if it has been possible to find one, complete with all its marks, it is taken to Memphis, famed for the frequent presence of the god Aesculapius.
14.7. Super qua re pauca conveniet expediri. Inter animalia antiquis observationibus consecrata, Mnevis et Apis sunt notiora: Mnevis Soli sacratur, super quo nihil dicitur memorabile; sequens Lunae. Est enim Apis bos diversis genitalium notarum figuris expressus, maximeque omnium corniculantis lunae specie latere dextro insignis, qui cum post vivendi spatium praestitutum, sacro fonte immersus e vita abierit (nec enim ultra eum trahere licet aetatem, quam secreta librorum praescribit auctoritas mysticorum), necatur choragio pari, bos femina, quae ei inventa cum notis certis offertur, quo perempto alter cum publico quaeritur luctu, et si omnibus signis consummatus reperiri potuerit, ducitur Memphim, urbem praesentia frequenti numinis Aesculapii claram.
14.8. And when he has been led into the city by a hundred priests and conducted to his chamber, he begins to be an object of worship; and it is said that by manifest signs he gives indications of coming events; and some of those who approach him he evidently rejects by unfavourable signs, as once (so we read) he turned away from Caesar Germanicus when he offered him food, and thus prophesied what soon after came to pass.
14.8. Cumque initiante antistitum numero centum, inductus in thalamum esse coeperit sacer, coniecturis apertis, signa rerum futurarum dicitur demonstrare, et adeuntes quosdam indiciis averti videtur obliquis, ut offerentem cibum aliquando Germanicum Caesarem (sicut lectum est) aversatus portenderat paulo post eventura.
15.1. Accordingly, since the occasion seems to demand it, let us touch briefly on matters Egyptian, of which I discoursed at length in connection with the history of the emperors Hadrian and Severus, telling for the most part what I myself had seen.
15.1. Strictim itaque, quoniam tempus videtur hoc flagitare, res Aegyptiacae tangantur, quarum notitiam in actibus Hadriani et Severi principum digessimus late, visa pleraque narrantes.
15.2. The Egyptian nation is the most ancient of all, except that in antiquity it vies with the Scythians. It is bounded on the south by the Greater Syrtes, the promontories Phycus and Borion, by the Garamantes and various other nations. Where it looks directly east it extends to Elephantine and Meroë, cities of the Aethiopians, to the Catadupi and the Red Sea, and to the Scenitic Arabs, whom we now call the Sercacens. On the north it forms part of the boundless tract from which Asia and the provinces of Syria take their beginning. On the west its boundary is the Issiac Sea, which some have called the Parthenian.
15.2. Aegyptum gentem omnium vetustissimam, nisi quod super antiquitate certat cum Scythis, a meridiali latere Syrtes maiores et Phycus promuntorium et Borion et Garamantes nationesque varia claudunt; qua orientem e regione prospectat, Elephantinen et Meroen urbes Aethiopum, et Catadupos rubrumque pelagus, et Scenitas praetenditur Arabas, quos Sarracenos nunc appellamus; septentrioni supposita, terrarum situ cohaeret immenso, unde exordium Asia Syriarumque provinciae sumunt; a vespera Issiaco disiungitur mari, quod quidam nominavere Parthenium.
15.3. Now it will be in place to touch briefly on the most helpful of all rivers, the Nile, which Homer calls the Aegyptus, and then to describe other remarkable things to be found in those lands.
15.3. Pauca itaque super benivolo omnium flumine Nilo (quem Aegyptum Homerus appellat), praestringi conveniet, mox ostendendis aliis, quae sunt in his regionibus admiranda.
15.4. The origin of the sources of the Nile (so at least I am wont to think) will be unknown also to future ages, as it has been up to the present. But, since the poets’ tales and dissenting geographers give varying accounts of this unknown subject, I shall succinctly set forth such of their views as in my opinion approach the truth.
15.4. Origines fontium Nili, ut mihi quidem videri solet, sicut adhuc factum est, posterae quoque ignorabunt aetates. Verum quoniam fabulantes poetae variantesque geographi, in diversa latentem notitiam scindunt, opiniones eorum veritati confines, ut arbitror, expediam paucis.
15.5. Some natural philosophers affirm that in the tracts lying beneath the north, when the cold winters freeze everything, great masses of snow are congealed; that afterwards when these are melted by the heat of the blazing sun, they form clouds filled with flowing moisture, which are then driven towards the south by the Etesian winds, and when melted by the excessive warmth, are believed to cause the rich overflow of the Nile.
15.5. Affirmant aliqui physicorum, in subiectis septentrioni spatiis cum hiemes frigidae cuncta constringunt, magnitudines nivium congelare, easque postea vi flagrantis sideris resolutas, fluxis umoribus nubes efficere gravidas, quae in meridianam plagam Etesiis flantibus pulsae, expressaeque tepore nimio incrementa ubertim suggerere Nilo creduntur.
15.6. Others assert that it is by the Aethiopian rains, which are said to fall in abundance in those regions in the season of torrid heat, that its floods are raised at the appointed season of the year; but both these reasons seem to be out of harmony with the truth. For it is reported that in the land of the Aethiopians rains fall either not at all or at long intervals of time.
15.6. Ex Aethiopicis imbribus, qui abundanter in tractibus illis per aestus torridos cadere memorantur, exundationes eius erigi anni temporibus asserunt alii praestitutis: quod utrumque dissonare videtur a veritate. Imbres enim apud Aethiopas aut numquam aut per intervalla temporum longa cadere memorantur.
15.7. Another, more widespread opinion is, that when the Prodromoi blow and after them the Etesians for forty-five consecutive days, since they drive back the course of the river and check its speed, it swells with overflowing waves; and while the contrary wind blows against it, it increases more and more, since on the one side the force of the wind hurls it back and on the other the flow of its perennial springs forces it onward; and rising high it covers everything, and hiding the ground, over the low-lying plains it has the appearance of a sea.
15.7. Opinio est celebrior alia, quod spirantibus Prodromis, perque dies quadraginta et quinque, Etesiarum continuis flatibus repellentibus eius meatum, velocitate cohibita, superfusis fluctibus intumescit; et reluctante spiritu controverso adulescens in maius, hinc vi reverberante ventorum, inde urgente cursu venarum perennium, progrediens in sublime, contegit omnia, et humo suppressa, per supina camporum speciem exhibet maris.
15.8. But King Juba, relying upon the testimony of Punic books, thinks that the Nile rises in a mountain situated in Mauritania and looking down upon the ocean, and he says that this is proved by the fact that in those marshes are found fishes, plants, and animals like those of the Nile.
15.8. Rex autem Iuba, Punicorum confisus textu librorum, a monte quodam oriri eum exponit, qui situs in Mauritania despectat oceanum, hisque indiciis hoc proditum ait, quod pisces et herbae et beluae similes per eas paludes gignuntur.
15.9. But the river, flowing through the regions of Aethiopia, and going under various names, which many nations have given it in its course over the earth, swelling with its rich flood, comes to the cataracts, which are steep rocks, from which it plunges headlong rather than flows; for which reason the Ati, who formerly lived nearby, since their hearing was impaired by the continual roar, were forced to change their abode to a quieter spot.
15.9. Aethiopiae autem partes praetermeans Nilus nominum diversitate decussa, quae ei orbem peragranti nationes indidere complures, aestuans inundatione ditissima, ad cataractas (id est praeruptos scopulos ) venit, e quibus praecipitans, ruit potius quam fluit: unde Atos olim accolas usu aurium fragore assiduo deminuto, necessitas vertere solum ad quietiora coegit.
15.10. Flowing more gently from there, through seven mouths, each of which has the appearance of an uninterrupted river, and is equally usable, it empties into the sea without being increased by any tributaries in Egypt. And besides many streams which flow from the main channel and fall into others nearly as great, seven are full of surges and navigable, and to them the ancients gave the following names: the Heracleotic, Sebennytic, Bolbitic, Pathmitic, Mendesian, Tanitic, and Pelusiac.
15.10. Exinde lenius means, per ostia septem, quorum singula perpetuorum amnium usum et faciem praebent, nullis per Aegyptum aquis externis adiutus eiectatur. Et praeter amnis plurimos ex alveo derivatos auctore, cadentesque in suppares eis, septem navigabiles sunt et undosi, quibus subiecta vocabula veteres indiderunt: Heracleoticus, Sebennyticus, Bolbiticus, Pathmiticus, Mendesius, Taniticus et Pelusiacus.
15.11. Rising, then, in the quarter which has been mentioned, it passes from the marshes as far as the cataracts and forms many islands, some of which (it is said) extend over such wide-spread spaces that the stream hardly leaves each of them behind on the third day.
15.11. Oriens autem inde (ut dictum est) propellitur e paludibus ad usque cataractas, insulasque efficit plures, quarum aliquae ita porrectis spatiis dicuntur extentae, ut singulas aegre tertio die relinquat.
15.12. Of these two are famous, namely Meroë and Delta, the latter clearly so-called from the form of the triangular letter. But when the sun has begun to ride through the sign of the Crab, the river increases until it passes into the Balance; then, flowing at high water for a hundred days, the river becomes smaller, and as the weight of its waters decreases, it shows the plains that before were navigable for boats now suitable for riders on horseback.
15.12. Inter quas duae sunt clarae, Meroe et Delta, a triquetrae litterae forma hoc vocabulo signatius appellata. Cum autem sol per Cancri sidus coeperit vehi, augescens ad usque transitum eius in Libram, diebusque centum sublatius fluens, minuitur postea, et mitigatis ponderibus aquarum, navibus antea pervios equitabiles campos ostendit.
15.13. However, too great a rise of the Nile is as harmful to the crops as too small a one is unfruitful. For if it soaks the land for too long a time with an excess of water, it delays the cultivation of the fields; but if the rise is too small, it threatens a bad harvest. No landowner has ever wished for a higher rise than sixteen cubits. But if there is a more moderate rise, seeds sown on a place where the soil is very rich sometimes return an increase of nearly seventy-fold. And it is the only river that does not raise a breeze.
15.13. Abunde itaque luxurians ita est noxius, ut infructuosus, si venerit parcior: gurgitum enim nimietate umectans diutius terras culturas moratur agrorum, parvitate autem minatur steriles segetes. Eumque nemo aliquando extolli cubitis altius sedecim possessor optavit. Et si inciderit moderatius, aliquotiens iactae sementes in loco prae- pinguis cespitis cum augmento fere septuagesimo renascuntur: solusque fluminum auras nullas exspirat.
15.14. Egypt abounds also in many animals, some of which are terrestrial, some aquatic; and there are others which live both on land and in the water, and hence are called amphibious. And on the dry plains roebucks feed and antelopes and spinturnicia, laughable for their utter ugliness, and other monsters, which it is not worth while to enumerate.
15.14. Exuberat Aegyptus etiam pecudibus multis, inter quas terrestres sunt et aquatiles, aliaeque humi et in humoribus vivunt, unde ἀμφίβιοι nominantur. Et in aridis quidem capreoli vescuntur et bubali et spinturnicia omni deformitate ridicula, aliaque monstra quae enumerare non refert.
15.15. Now among aquatic animals crocodiles abound everywhere in that region, a destructive four-footed monster, a curse to the land, accustomed to both elements. It has no tongue, and moves only its upper jaw; its teeth are arranged like those of a comb, and whatever it meets it persistently attacks with destructive bites. It produces its young from eggs resembling those of geese.
15.15. Inter aquatiles autem bestias, crocodilus ubique per eos tractus abundat, exitiale quadrupes malum, assuetum elementis ambobus, lingua carens, maxillam superiorem commovens solum, ordine dentium pectinato, perniciosis morsibus quicquid contigerit pertinaciter petens, per ova edens fetus anserinis similia.
15.16. And, if besides the claws with which it is armed it also had thumbs, its strength would be great enough to overturn even ships; for it sometimes attains a length of eighteen cubits. At night it remains quiet in the water; in the daytime it suns itself on land, trusting to its hide, which is so strong that its mail-clad back can hardly be pierced by the bolts of artillery.
15.16. Utque armatus est unguibus, si haberet etiam pollices, ad evertendas quoque naves sufficeret viribus magnis: ad cubitorum enim longitudinem octodecim interdum extentus, noctibus quiescens per undas, diebus humi vaporatur confidentia cutis, quam ita validam gerit, ut eius terga cataphracta vix tormentorum ictibus perforentur.
15.17. Now, savage as these same beasts always are, during the seven festal days on which the priests at Memphis celebrate the birthday of the Nile, as if by a kind of military truce they lay aside all their fierceness and become mild.
15.17. Et saevientes semper eaedem ferae (quasi pacto foedere quodam castrensi), per septem caerimoniosos dies mitescunt, ab omni saevitia desciscentes, quibus sacerdotes Memphi natales celebrant Nili.
15.18. Besides those that lose their lives through accident, some are destroyed by creatures resembling dolphins, which are found in that same river and with sawlike dorsal fins tear the crocodiles’ soft bellies; and others die in the following manner.
15.18. Praeter eos autem, qui fortuita pereunt morte, alii dirumpuntur suffossis alvis mollibus serratis ferarum dorsualibus cristis, quas delphinis similes nutrit fluvius ante dictus, alii exitio intereunt tali.
15.19. The trochilus, a little bird, as it looks for bits of food, flutters and plays about the crocodile as it lies outstretched, and pleasantly tickling its cheeks, makes its way as far as its throat. Seeing this going on, a water rat, a kind of ichneumon, enters the opening of the crocodile’s mouth, to which the bird has shown the way, and after lacerating its belly and tearing its vitals to pieces, forces its way out.
15.19. Trochilus avicula brevis, dum escarum minutias captat, circa cubantem feram volitans blande, genasque eius irritatius titillando pervenit ad usque ipsam viciniam gutturis. Quod factum contuens enhydrus, ichneumonis genus, oris aditum penetrat alite praevia patefactum, et populato ventre, vitalibus dilancinatis erumpit.
15.20. Yet daring as this monster is towards those who run from it, when it sees that it has a daring opponent it is most timorous. It has sharper sight when on land, and during the four winter months it is said to take no food.
15.20. Audax tamen crocodilus monstrum fugacibus; ubi audacem senserit, timidissimum; et in terra acutius cernens, per quattuor menses hibernos, nullo vesci dicitur cibo.
15.21. Hippopotami also, or river-horses, are produced in those parts, animals sagacious beyond all unreasoning beasts, with cloven hooves like horses and short tails. Of their cunning it will suffice for the present to give two instances.
15.21. Hippopotami quoque generantur in illis partibus, ultra animalia cuncta ratione carentia sagacissimi, ad speciem equorum bifidos unquis habentes, caudasque breves, quorum sollertiae duo interim ostendere documenta sufficiet.
15.22. This monster makes its lair amid a thick growth of high and rough reeds and with watchful care looks about for a time of quiet; when free means are offered, it goes forth to feed upon the cornfields. And when it has finally begun to return, gorged with food, it walks backward and makes several paths, for fear that hunters, following the lines of one direct course, may find and stab it without difficulty.
15.22. Inter arundines celsas, ut squalentes nimia densitate, haec belua cubilibus positis, otium pervigili studio circumspectat, laxataque copia, ad segetes depascendas egreditur. Cumque iam coeperit redire distenta, aversis vestigiis distinguit tramites multos, ne unius plani itineris lineas insidiatores secuti, repertum sine difficultate confodiant.
15.23. Also, when by excessive greed it has made its belly bulge and grown sluggish, it rolls its thighs and legs on freshly cut reeds, in order that the blood flowing from its wounded feet may relieve its repletion; and it keeps the injured parts covered with mud until the raw places scab over.
15.23. Item cum aviditate nimia extuberato ventre pigrescit, super calamos recens exsectos femora convolvit et crura, ut pedibus vulneratis cruor egestus sagina distentum faciat levem: et partes saucias caeno oblinit quam diu in cicatrices conveniant plagae.
15.24. This monstrous and once rare kind of beast the Roman people first saw when Scaurus was aedile, the father of that Scaurus in whose defence Cicero spoke and bade the Sardinians also to conform with the authority of the whole world in their judgement of so noble a family; and for many ages after that more hippopotami were often brought to Rome. But now they can nowhere be found, since, as the inhabitants of those regions conjecture, they were forced from weariness of the multitude that hunted them to take refuge in the land of the Blemmyae.
15.24. Has monstruosas antehac raritates in beluis, in aedilitate Scauri vidit Romanus populus primitus, patris illius Scauri, quem defendens Tullius imperat Sardis, ut de familia nobili ipsi quoque cum orbis terrarum auctoritate sentirent, et per aetates exinde plures saepe huc ducti, nunc inveniri nusquam possunt, ut coniectantes regionum incolae dicunt, insectantis multitudinis taedio ad Blemmyas migrasse compulsi.
15.25. Among Egyptian birds, the variety of which is countless, the ibis is sacred, harmless, and beloved for the reason that by carrying the eggs of serpents to its nestlings for food it destroys and makes fewer those destructive pests.
15.25. Inter Aegyptias alites, quarum varietas nullo comprehendi numero potest, ibis sacra est et amabilis, et innocua ideo, quod nidulis suis ad cibum suggerens ova serpentum, efficit ut rarescant mortiferae pestes absumptae.
15.26. These same birds meet the winged armies of snakes which issue from the marshes of Arabia, producing deadly poisons, and before they leave their own lands vanquish them in battles in the air, and devour them. And it is said of those birds that they lay their eggs through their beaks.
15.26. Occurrunt eaedem volucres pinnatis agminibus anguium, qui ex Arabicis emergunt paludibus, venena maligna gignentes, mosque antequam finibus suis excedunt, proeliis superatos aeriis vorant, quas aves per rostra edere fetus accepimus.
15.27. Egypt also breeds innumerable serpents, surpassing all their destructive kind in fierceness: basilisks, amphisbaenae, scytalae, acontiae, dipsades, vipers, and many others, all of which are easily surpassed in size and beauty by the asp, which never of its own accord leaves the bed of the Nile.
15.27. Serpentes quoque Aegyptus alit innumeras, ultra omnem perniciem saevientes: basiliscos et amphisbaenas et scytalas, et acontias et dipsadas et viperas, aliasque complures, quas omnes magnitudine et decore aspis facile supereminens, numquam sponte sua fluenta egreditur Nili.
15.28. Many and great things there are in that land which it is worth while to see; of these it will be in place to describe a few. Everywhere temples of vast size have been erected. The Pyramids have been enrolled among the seven wonders of the world, and of their slow and difficult construction the historian Herodotus tells us. These are towers higher than any others which can be erected by human hands, extremely broad at the base and tapering to very pointed summits.
15.28. Multa in illis tractibus pretium est operae ac maxima cernere; e quibus pauca conveniet explicari. Templa ubique molibus magnis exstructa. Pyramides ad miracula septem provectae, quarum diuturnas surgendi difficultates scriptor Herodotus docet, ultra omnem altitudinem, quae humana manu confici potest, erectae sunt turres, ab imo latissimae in summitates acutissimas desinentes.
15.29. The figure pyramid has that name among geometers because it narrows into a cone after the manner of fire, which in our language is called πῦρ; for their size, as they mount to a vast height, gradually becomes slenderer, and also they cast no shadows at all, in accordance with a principle of mechanics.
15.29. Quae figura apud geometras ideo sic appellatur, quod ad ignis speciem (τοῦ πυρὸς, ut nos dicimus) extenuatur in conum. Quarum magnitudo quoniam in celsitudinem nimiam scandens, gracilescit graciliscit paulatim, umbras quoque mechanica ratione consumit.
15.30. There are also subterranean fissures and winding passages called syringes, which, it is said, those acquainted with the ancient rites, since they had fore-knowledge that a deluge was coming, and feared that the memory of the ceremonies might be destroyed, dug in the earth in many places with great labour; and on the walls of these caverns they carved many kinds of birds and beasts, and those countless forms of animals which they called hierographic writing.
15.30. Sunt et syringes subterranei quidam, et flexuosi secessus, quos (ut fertur) periti rituum vetustorum adventare diluvium praescii, metuentesque ne cerimoniarum oblitteraretur memoria, penitus operosis digestos fodinis per loca diversa struxerunt, et excisis parietibus volucrum ferarumque genera multa sculpserunt, et animalium species innumeras illas, quas hierographicas litteras appellarunt.
15.31. Then comes Syene, where at the solstice, to which the sun extends its summer course, its rays surround all upright bodies and do not allow their shadows to extend beyond the bodies themselves. At that time if one fixes a stake upright in the earth, or looks at a man or a tree standing anywhere, he will observe that the shadows are lost in the outer circumference of the figures. The same thing is said to happen at Meroë, a part of Aethiopia lying next to the equinoctial circle, where for ninety days the shadows fall on the side opposite to ours, for which reason those who dwell there are called Antiscii.
15.31. Dein Syene, in qua solstitii tempore, quo sol aestivum cursum extendit, recta omnia ambientes radii excedere ipsis corporibus umbras non sinunt. Inde si stipitem quisquam fixerit rectum, vel hominem aut arborem viderit stantem, circa lineamentorum ipsas extremitates contemplabitur umbras absumi, sicut apud Meroen, Aethiopiae partem aequinoctiali circulo proximam, dicitur evenire, ubi per nonaginta dies umbrae nostris in contrarium cadunt, unde Antiscios eius incolas vocant.
15.32. But since there are many such wonders, which extend beyond the plan of my little work, let me refer them to lofty minds, since I wish to tell a few things about the provinces.
15.32. Quae quoniam miracula multa sunt, opusculi nostri propositum excedentia, ad ingenia celsa reiciamus, pauca super provinciis narraturi.
16.1. In early times Egypt is said to have had three provinces: Egypt proper, Thebais, and Libya. To these later times have added two: Augustamnica being taken from Egypt, and Pentapolis from the dryer part of Libya.
16.1. Tres provincias Aegyptus fertur habuisse temporibus priscis, Aegyptum ipsam et Thebaida et Libyam, quibus duas adiecit posteritas, ab Aegypto Augustamnicam et Pentapolim a Libya sicciore disparatam.
16.2. Now Thebais has these among cities that are especially famous: Hermopolis, Coptos and Antinoü, which Hadrian founded in honour of his favourite Antinoiis; for hundred-gated Thebes everyone knows.
16.2. Igitur Thebais multas inter urbes clariores aliis Hermopolim habet, et Copton et Antinou, quam Hadrianus in honorem Antinoi ephebi condidit sui: hecatompylos enim Thebas nemo ignorat.
16.3. In Augustamnica is the famous city of Pelusium, which Peleus, the father of Achilles, is said to have founded, being bidden by order of the gods to purify himself in the lake which washes the walls of that city, when after the murder of his brother, Phocus by name, he was hounded by the dread forms of the furies; also Cassium, where is the tomb of Pompey the Great, and Ostracine, and Rhinocorura.
16.3. In Augustamnica Pelusium est oppidum nobile, quod Peleus Achillis pater dicitur condidisse, lustrari deorum monitu iussus in lacu, qui eiusdem civitatis alluit moenia, cum post interfectum fratrem nomine Phocum, horrendis furiarum imaginibus raptaretur, et Cassium, ubi Pompei sepulcrum est Magni, et Ostracine et Rhinocorura.
16.4. In Pentapolis-Libya is Cyrene, an ancient city, but deserted, founded by the Spartan Battus, and Ptolemais, and Arsinoe, also called Teuchira, and Darnis and Berenice, which two they call Hesperidae But in dry Libya are Paraetonion, Chaerecla, Neapolis, and a few small towns.
16.4. In Pentapoli Libya Cyrene est posita, urbs antiqua sed deserta, quam Spartanus condidit Battus, et Ptolemais et Arsinoe (eadem quae Teuchira) et Darnis et Berenice, quas Hesperidas appellant. In sicciore vero Libye Paraetonion et Chaerecla et Neapolis inter municipia pauca et brevia.
16.6. Egypt itself, which from the time when it was joined with the Roman empire has been governed by prefects in place of kings, is adorned by the great cities of Athribis, Oxyrynchus, Thumis, and Memphis, to say nothing of many lesser towns.
16.6. Aegyptus ipsa, quae iam inde uti Romano imperio iuncta est, regio iure regitur a praefectis, exceptis minoribus multis, Athribi et Oxyryncho et Thmui Thumi et Memphi maximis urbibus nitet.
16.7. But the crown of all cities is Alexandria, which is made famous by many splendid things, through the wisdom of its mighty founder and by the cleverness of the architect Dinocrates. The latter, when laying out its extensive and beautiful walls, for lack of lime, of which too little could at the time be found, sprinkled the whole line of its circuit with flour, which chanced to be a sign that later the city would abound with a plentiful store of food.
16.7. Alexandria enim vertex omnium est civitatum, quam multa nobilitant et magnifica, conditoris altissimi, et architecti sollertia Dinocratis, qui cum ampla moenia fundaret et pulchra, paenuria calcis ad momentum parum repertae, omnes ambitus lineales farina respersit, quod civitatem post haec alimentorum uberi copia circumfluere fortuito monstravit.
16.8. There healthful breezes blow, the air is calm and mild, and as the accumulated experience of many ages has shown, there is almost no day on which the dwellers in that city do not see a cloudless sun.
16.8. Inibi aurae salubriter spirant, et aer est tranquillus et clemens atque, ut periculum docuit, per varias collectum aetates, nullo paene die incolentes hanc civitatem solem serenum non vident.
16.9. Since this coast in former times, because of its treacherous and perilous approaches, involved seafarers in many dangers, Cleopatra devised a lofty tower in the harbour, which from its situation is called the Pharos and furnishes the means of showing lights to ships by night; whereas before that, as they came from the Parthenian or the Libyan sea past flat and low shores, seeing no landmarks of mountains or signs of hills, they were dashed upon the soft, tenacious sandbanks and wrecked.
16.9. Hoc litus cum fallacibus et insidiosis accessibus affligeret antehac navigantes discriminibus plurimis, excogitavit in portu Cleopatra turrim excelsam, quae Pharos a loco ipso cognominatur, praelucendi navibus nocturna suggerens ministeria, cum quondam ex Parthenio pelago venientes vel Libyco, per pandas oras et patulas, montium nullas speculas vel collium signa cernentes, harenarum illisae glutinosae mollitiae frangerentur.
16.10. This same queen built the Heptastadium, remarkable alike for its great size and for the incredible speed with which it was constructed, for a well-known and sufficient reason. The island of Pharos, where Proteus, as Homer relates in lofty language, lived with his herd of seals, lay a mile from the shore of the city, and was subject to tribute by the Rhodians.
16.10. Haec eadem regina heptastadium sicut vix credenda celeritate, ita magnitudine mira construxit, ob causam notam et necessariam. Insula Pharos, ubi Protea cum phocarum gregibus diversatum Homerus fabulatur inflatius, a civitatis litore mille passibus disparata, Rhodiorum erat obnoxia vectigali.
16.11. When they had come one day to collect this tax, which was excessive, the queen, who was ever skilled in deception, under pretence of a solemn festival, took the same tax-collectors with her to the suburbs, and gave orders that the work should be completed by unremitting toil. In seven days, by building dams in the sea near the shore, the same number of stadia were won for the land; then the queen rode to the spot in a carriage drawn by horses, and laughed at the Rhodians, since it was on islands and not on the mainland that they imposed a duty.
16.11. Quod cum hi die quodam nimium quantum petituri venissent, femina callida semper in fraudes, sollemnium specie feriarum eisdem publicanis secum ad suburbana perductis, opus iusserat inrequietis laboribus consummari, et septem diebus totidem stadia molibus iactis in mari solo propinquante, terrae sunt vindicata; equorumque cum vehiculo ingressa riserat Rhodios, insularum non continentis portorium flagitantes.
16.12. There are besides in the city temples pompous with lofty roofs, conspicuous among them the Serapeum, which, though feeble words merely belittle it, yet is so adorned with extensive columned halls, with almost breathing statues, and a great number of other works of art, that next to the Capitolium, with which revered Rome elevates herself to eternity, the whole world beholds nothing more magnificent.
16.12. His accedunt altis sufflata fastigiis templa, inter quae eminet Serapeum, quod licet minuatur exilitate verborum, atriis tamen columnatis amplissimus, et spirantibus signorum figmentis, et reliqua operum multitudine ita est exornatum, ut post Capitolium, quo se venerabilis Roma in aeternum attollit, nihil orbis terrarum ambitiosius cernat.
16.13. In this were invaluable libraries, and the unanimous testimony of ancient records declares that 700,000 books, brought together by the unremitting energy of the Ptolemaic kings, were burned in the Alexandrine war, when the city was sacked under the dictator Caesar.
16.13. In quo bybliothecae fuerunt inaestimabiles: et loquitur monumentorum veterum concinens fides, septingenta voluminum milia, Ptolomaeis regibus vigiliis intentis composita, bello Alexandrino, dum diripitur civitas, sub dictatore Caesare conflagrasse.
16.14. At a distance of twelve miles from Alexandria is Canopus, which, according to the statements of ancient writers, got its name from the burial there of Menelaiis’ steersman. The place is most delightful because of its beautiful pleasure-resorts, its soft air and healthful climate, so that anyone staying in that region believes that he is living outside of this world, as oftentimes he rears the winds that murmur a welcome with sunny breath.
16.14. Canopus inde duodecimo disiungitur lapide, quem (ut priscae memoriae tradunt), Menelai gubernator sepultus ibi cognominavit. Amoenus impendio locus, et diversoriis laetis exstructus, auris et salutari temperamento perflabilis, ita ut extra mundum nostrum morari se quisquam arbitretur, in illis tractibus agens, cum saepe aprico spiritu immurmurantes audierit ventos.
16.15. But Alexandria herself, not gradually (like other cities), but at her very origin, attained her wide extent; and for a long time she was greviously troubled by internal dissensions, until at last, many years later under the rule of Aurelian, the quarrels of the citizens turned into deadly strife; then her by Caesar has been greatly exaggerated. Strabo, who visited Alexandria twenty-three years later, found the Museum intact. The Bruchion library was destroyed A.D. 272; the Serapeum in A.D. 391. 400,000 volumes were destroyed in the Alexandrine war. See especially J. W. White, The Scholia on the Aves of Aristophanes, Introd. walls were destroyed and she lost the greater part of the district called Bruchion, which had long been the abode of distinguished men.
16.15. Sed Alexandria ipsa non sensim (ut aliae urbes), sed inter initia prima aucta per spatiosos ambitus internisque seditionibus diu aspere fatigata, ad ultimum multis post annis, Aureliano imperium agente, civilibus iurgiis ad certamina interneciva prolapsis, dirutisque moenibus, amisit regionum maximam partem, quae Bruchion appellabatur, diuturnum praestantium hominum domicilium.
16.16. From there came Aristarchus, eminent in thorny problems of grammatical lore, and Herodian, a most accurate investigator in science and Saccas Ammonius, the teacher of Plotinus, and numerous other writers in many famous branches of literature. Among these Didymus Chalcenterus was conspicuous for the abundance of his diversified knowledge, although in those six books in which he sometimes unsuccessfully criticises Cicero, imitating the scurrilous writers of Silli, he makes the same impression on learned ears as a puppy-dog barking from a distance with quavering voice around a lion roaring awfully.
16.16. Unde Aristarchus grammaticae rei dumis excellens, et Herodianus artium minutissimus sciscitator, et Saccas Ammonius Plotini magister, aliique plurimi scriptores multorum in litteris nobilium studiorum, inter quos Chalcenterus eminuit Didymus, multiplicis scientiae copia memorabilis, qui in illis sex libris, ubi non numquam imperfecte Tullium reprehendit, sillographos imitatus, scriptores maledicos, iudicio doctarum aurium incusatur, ut immania frementem leonem trepidulis vocibus canis catulus longius circumlatrans.
16.17. And although very many writers flourished in early times as well as these whom I have mentioned, nevertheless not even to-day is learning of various kinds silent in that same city; for the teachers of the arts show signs of life, and the geometrical measuring-rod brings to light whatever is concealed, the stream of music is not yet wholly dried up among them, harmony is not reduced to silence, the consideration of the motion of the universe and of the stars is still kept warm with some, few though they be, and there are others who are skilled in numbers; and a few besides are versed in the knowledge which reveals the course of the fates.
16.17. Et quamquam veteres cum his quorum memini floruere complures, tamen ne nunc nune quidem in eadem urbe doctrinae variae silent; nam et disciplinarum magistri quodam modo spirant, et nudatur ibi geometrico radio quicquid reconditum latet, nondumque apud eos penitus exaruit musica, nec harmonia conticuit, et recalet apud quosdam adhuc (licet raros ), consideratio mundani motus et siderum, doctique sunt alii numeros; pauci super his scientiam callent, quae fatorum vias ostendit.
16.18. Moreover, studies in the art of healing, whose help is often required in this life of ours, which is neither frugal nor sober, are so enriched from day to day, that although a physician’s work itself indicates it, yet in place of every testimony it is enough to commend his knowledge of the art, if he has said that he was trained at Alexandria.
16.18. Medicinae autem— cuius in hac vita nostra nec parca nec sobria, desiderantur adminicula crebra—ita studia augentur in dies ut (licet opus ipsum redoleat) pro omni tamen experimento sufficiat medico ad commendandam artis auctoritatem, Alexandriae si se dixerit eruditum.
16.19. But enough on this point. If one wishes to investigate with attentive mind the many publications on the knowledge of the divine, and the origin of divination, he will find that learning of this kind has been spread abroad from Egypt through the whole world, There, for the first time, long before other men, they discovered the cradles, so to speak, of the various religions, and now carefully guard the first beginnings of worship, stored up in secret writings.
16.19. Et haec quidem hactenus. Sed si intellegendi divini editionem multiplicem, et praesensionum originem mente vegeta quisquam volverit replicare, per mundum omnem inveniet mathemata huius modi ab Aegypto circumlata. Ibi primum homines longe ante alios ad varia religionum incunabula (ut dicitur) pervenerunt et initia prima sacrorum caute tuentur condita scriptis arcanis.
16.21. Trained in this wisdom, Pythagoras, secretly honouring the gods, made whatever he said or believed recognised authority, and often showed his golden thigh at Olympia, and let himself be seen from time to time talking with an eagle.
16.21. Hac institutus prudentia Pythagoras colens secretius deos, quicquid dixit aut voluit auctoritatem esse instituit ratam, et femur suum aureum apud Olympiam saepe monstrabat, et cum aquila colloquens subinde visebatur.
16.22. From here Anaxagoras foretold a rain of stones, and by handling mud from a well predicted an earthquake. Solon, too, aided by the opinions of the Egyptian priests, passed laws in accordance with the measure of justice, and thus gave also to Roman law its greatest support. On this source, Plato drew and after visiting Egypt, traversed higher regions, and rivalled Jupiter in lofty language, gloriously serving in the field of wisdom.
16.22. Hinc Anaxagoras lapides e caelo lapsuros et putealem limum contrectans, tremores futuros futures praedixerat terrae. Et Solon sententiis adiutus Aegypti sacerdotum sacredotum, latis iusto moderamine legibus, Romano quoque iuri maximum addidit firmamentum. Ex his fontibus per sublimia gradiens, sermonum amplitudine Iouis aemulus Platon, visa Aegypto militavit sapientia gloriosa.
16.23. Now the men of Egypt are, as a rule, somewhat swarthy and dark of complexion, and rather gloomy-looking, slender and hardy, excitable in all their movements, quarrelsome, and most persistent duns. Any one of them would blush if he did not, in consequence of refusing tribute, show many stripes on his body; and as yet it has been possible to find no torture cruel enough to compel a hardened robber of that region against his will to reveal his own name.
16.23. Homines autem Aegyptii plerique subfusculi sunt et atrati, magisque maestiores, gracilenti et aridi, ad singulos motus excandescentes, controversi et reposcones acerrimi. Erubescit apud eos siqui non infitiando tributa, plurimas in corpore vibices ostendat. Et nulla tormentorum vis inveniri adhuc potuit, quae obdurato illius tractus latroni invito elicere potuit, ut nomen proprium dicat.
16.24. Moreover, it is a well-known fact, as the ancient annals show, that all Egypt was formerly ruled by their ancestral kings; but after Antony and Cleopatra were vanquished in the sea-fight at Actium, the country fell into the power of Octavianus Augustus and received the name of a province. We acquired the dryer part of Libya by the last will of King Apion; we received Cyrene, with the remaining cities of Libya-Pentapolis, through the generosity of Ptolemy. After this long digression, I shall return to the order of my narrative.
16.24. Id autem notum est (ut annales veteres monstrant), quod Aegyptus omnis sub avitis erat antea regibus, sed superatis apud Actium bello navali Antonio et Cleopatra, provinciae nomen accepit, ab Octaviano Augusto possessa. Aridiorem Libyam supremo Apionos regis consecuti sumus arbitrio, Cyrenas cum residuis civitatibus Libyae Pentapoleos, Ptolomaei liberalitate suscepimus. Evectus longius ad ordinem remeabo coeptorum.