[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; ¹ although sometimes, when this matter is not properly regulated, it is wont to cause scarcity and famine.

[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, ² 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.

[3] For he was ridiculed as a Cercops, ³ as a dwarf, spreading his narrow shoulders and displaying a billy-goat’s beard, ⁴ taking mighty strides as if he were the brother of Otus and Ephialtes, whose height Homer describes as enormous. ⁵ He was also called by many a slaughterer ⁶ 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.

[4] Finally, on a previously appointed festal day, he ascended Mount Casius, ⁷ a wooded hill rising on high with a rounded contour, from which at the second cock-crow ⁸ 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.

[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 ⁹ advised) of his own accord and willingly strives to diminish the number of his enemies and increase that of his friends.

[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.

[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. ¹⁰ Mnevis ¹¹ is consecrated to the Sun, but about him there is nothing noteworthy to be said; Apis to the moon. ¹² Apis, then, is a bull distinguished by natural marks of various forms, ¹³ 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, ¹⁴ is plunged in the sacred fount ¹⁵ 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.

[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) ¹⁶ he turned away from Caesar Germanicus when he offered him food, and thus prophesied what soon after came to pass.