that of an ungrateful rebel, in the same way as he recollected the head of Magnentius had been exhibited. 5. When Julian heard this, he said, I have heard of this before, from the relation of several persons. But go thou home in security, being relieved of all fear by the mercy of the emperor, who, like a wise man, has resolved to diminish the number of his enemies, and is eager to increase that of his friends." 6. When he departed, having fully accomplished the sacrifices, letters were brought to him from the governor of Egypt, who informed him that after a long time he had succeeded in finding a bull Apis, which he had been seeking with great labour, a circumstance which, in the opinion. of the inhabitants of those regions, indicates prosperity, abundant crops, and several other kinds of good fortune. 7. On this subject it seems desirable to say a few words. Among the animals which have been consecrated by the reverence of the ancients, Mnevis and Apis are the most eminent. Mnevis, concerning whom there is nothing remarkable related, is consecrated to the sun, Apis to the moon. But the bull Apis is distinguished by several natural marks; and especially by a crescent-shaped figure, like that of a new moon, on his right side. After living his appointed time, he is drowned in the sacred fountain (for he is not allowed to live beyond the time fixed by the sacred authority of their mystical books: nor is a cow brought to him more than once a year, who also must be distinguished with particular marks); then another is sought amid great public mourning; and if one can be found distinguished by all the required marks, he is led to Memphis, a city of great renown, and especially celebrated for the patronage of the god Esculapius. 8. And after he has been led into the city by one hundred priests, and conducted into a chamber, he is looked upon as consecrated, and is said to point out by evident means the signs of future events. Some also of those who come to him he repels by unfavourable signs; as it is reported he formally rejected Cæsar Germanicus when he offered him food; thus portending what shortly happened. A.D. 82 THE AFFAIRS OF EGYPT. 307 XV. § 1. LET us then, since the occasion seems to require it, touch briefly on the affairs of Egypt, of which we have already made some mention in our account of the emperors Hadrian and Severus, where we related several things which we had seen.' 2. The Egyptian is the most ancient of all nations, except indeed that its superior antiquity is contested by the Scythians: their country is bounded on the south by the greater Syrtes, Cape Ras, and Cape Borion, the Garamantes, and other nations; on the east, by Elephantine, and Meroe, cities of the Ethiopians, the Catadupi, the Red Sea, and the Scenite Arabs, whom we now call Saracens. On the north it joins a vast track of land, where Asia and the Syrian provinces begin; on the west it is bounded by the Sea of Issus, which some call the Parthenian Sea. 3. We will also say a few words concerning that most useful of all rivers, the Nile, which Homer calls the Egyptus; and after that we will enumerate other things worthy of admiration in these regions. 4. The sources of the Nile, in my opinion, will be as unknown to posterity as they are now. But since poets, who relate fully, and geographers who differ from one another, give various accounts of this hidden matter, I will in a few words set forth such of their opinions as seem to me to border on the truth. 5. Some natural philosophers affirm that in the districts beneath the North Pole, when the severe winters bind up everything, the vast masses of snow congeal; and afterwards, melted by the warmth of the summer, they make the clouds heavy with liquid moisture, which, being driven to the south by the Etesian winds, and dissolved into rain 1 These books are lost. • We must remark here Ammianus's complete ignorance of compara tive geography and the bearings of the different countries of which he speaks. The Syrtes and Cape Ras are due west, not south of Egypt. The Ethiopians and Catadupi are on the north; while the Arabs, whom he places in the same line, are on the south-east. The Sea of Issus, on the Levant, which he places on the west, is on the north. by the heat of the sun, furnish abundant increase to the Nile. 6. Some, again, assert that the inundations of the river at fixed times are caused by the rains in Ethiopia, which fall in great abundance in that country during the hot season; but both these theories seem inconsistent with the truth-for rain never falls in Ethiopia, or at least only at rare intervals. 7. A more common opinion is, that during the continuance of the wind from the north, called the Precursor, and of the Etesian gales, which last forty-five days without interruption, they drive back the stream and check its speed, so that it becomes swollen with its waves thus dammed back; then, when the wind changes, the force of the breeze drives the waters to and fro, and the river growing rapidly greater, its perennial sources driving it forward, it rises as it advances, and covers everything, spreading over the level plains till it resembles the sea. 8. But King Juba, relying on the text of the Carthaginian books, affirms that the river rises in a mountain situated in Mauritania, which looks on the Atlantic Ocean, and he says, too, that this is proved by the fact that fishes, and herbs, and animals resembling those of the Nile are found in the marshes where the river rises. 9. But the Nile, passing through the districts of Ethiopia, and many different countries which give it their own names, swells its fertilizing stream till it comes to the cataracts. These are abrupt rocks, from which in its precipitous course it falls with such a crash, that the Ati, who used to live in that district, having lost their hearing from the incessant roar, were compelled to migrate to a more quiet region. 10. Then proceeding more gently, and receiving no accession of waters in Egypt, it falls into the sea through seven mouths, each of which is as serviceable as, and resembles, a separate river. And besides the several streams which are derived from its channel, and which fall with others like themselves, there are seven navigable with large waves; named by the ancients the Heracleotic, the Sebennitic, the Bolbitic, the Phatnitic, the Mendesian, the Tanitic, and the Pelusian mouths. 11. This river, rising as I have said, is driven on from A.D. 362.J THE ISLANDS OF THE NILE. 309 the marshes to the cataracts, and forms several islands; some of which are said to be of such extent that the stream is three days in passing them. 12. Among these are two of especial celebrity, Meroe and Delta. The latter derives its name from its triangular form like the Greek letter; but when the sun begins to pass through the sign of Cancer, the river keeps increasing till it passes into Libra; and then, after flowing at a great height for one hundred days, it falls again, and its waters being diminished it exhibits, in a state fit for riding on, fields which just before could only be passed over in boats. 13. If the inundation be too abundant it is mischievous, just as it is unproductive if it be too sparing; for if the flood be excessive, it keeps the ground wet too long, and so delays cultivation; while if it be deficient, it threatens the land with barrenness. No landowner wishes it to rise more than sixteen cubits. If the flood be moderate, then the seed sown in favourable ground sometimes returns seventy fold. The Nile, too, is the only river which does not cause a breeze. 14. Egypt also produces many animals both terrestrial and aquatic, and some which live both on the earth and in the water, and are therefore called amphibious. In the dry districts antelopes and buffaloes are found, and sphinxes, animals of an absurd-looking deformity, and other monsters which it is not worth while to enumerate. 15. Of the terrestrial animals, the crocodile is abundant in every part of the country. This is a most destructive quadruped, accustomed to both elements, having no tongue, and moving only the upper jaw, with teeth like a comb, which obstinately fasten into everything he can reach. He propagates his species by eggs like those of a goose. 16. And as he is armed with claws, if he had only thumbs his enormous strength would suffice to upset large vessels, for he is sometimes ten cubits long. At night he sleeps under water; in the day he feeds in the fields, trusting to the stoutness of his skin, which is so thick that missiles from military engines will scarcely pierce the mail of his back. 17. Savage as these monsters are at all other times, yet as if they had concluded an armistice, they are always quiet, laying aside all their ferocity, during the seven day of festival on which the priests at Mempnis celebrate the birthday of Apis. 18. Besides those which die accidentally, some are killed by wounds which they receive in their bellies from the dorsal fins of some fish resembling dolphins, which this river also produces. 19. Some also are killed by means of a little bird called the trochilus, which, while seeking for some picking of small food, and flying gently about the beast while asleep, tickles its cheeks till it comes to the neighbourhood of its throat. And when the hydrus, which is a kind of ich neumon, perceives this, it penetrates into its mouth, which the bird has caused to open, and descends into its stomach, where it devours its entrails, and then comes forth again. 20. But the crocodile, though a bold beast towards those who flee, is very timid when it finds a brave enemy. It has a most acute sight, and for the four months of winter is said to do without food. 21. The hippopotamus, also, is produced in this country; the most sagacious of all animals destitute of reason. He is like a horse, with cloven hoofs, and a short tail. Of his sagacity it will be sufficient to produce two instances. 22. The animal makes his lair among dense beds of reeds of great height, and while keeping quiet watches vigilantly for every opportunity of sallying out to feed on the crops. And when he has gorged himself, and is ready to return, he walks backwards, and makes many tracks, to prevent any enemies from following the straight road and so finding and easily killing him. 23. Again, when he feels lazy from having his stomach swollen by excessive eating, it rolls its thighs and legs on freshly-cut reeds, in order that the blood which is discharged through the wounds thus made may relieve his fat. And then he smears his wounded flesh with clay till the wounds get scarred over. 24. This monster was very rare till it was first exhibited to the Roman people in the ædileship of Scaurus, the father of that Scaurus whom Cicero defended, when he charged the Sardinians to cherish the same opinion as the rest of the world of the authority of that noble family. Since that time, at different periods, many specimens have |