[Sidenote:  A.D. 200 (a.u. 953)] [Sidenote:—­13—­] Having prosecuted the siege for twenty days he next came to Palestine and sacrificed to the spirit of Pompey:  and into [upper] Egypt [he sailed along the Nile and viewed the whole country, with some small exceptions.  For instance, he was unable to pass the frontier of Ethiopia on account of pestilence.] And he made a search of everything, including what was very carefully hidden, for he was the sort of man to leave nothing, human or divine, uninvestigated.  Following this tendency he drew from practically all their hiding places all the books that he could find containing anything secret, and he closed the monument of Alexander, to the end that no one should either behold his body any more or read what was written in these books.

This was what he did.  For myself, there is no need that I should write in general about Egypt, but what I know about the Nile through verifying statements from many sources I am bound to mention.  It clearly rises in Mount Atlas.  This lies in Macennitis, close to the Western ocean itself, and towers far above all mountains, wherefore the poets have called it “Pillar of the Sky.”  No one ever ascended its summits nor saw its topmost peaks.  Hence it is always covered with snow, which in summer time sends down great quantities of water.  The whole country about its base is in general marshy, but at this season becomes even more so, with the result that it swells the size of the Nile at harvest time.  This is the river’s source, as is evidenced by the crocodiles and other beasts that are born alike on both sides of it.  Let no one be surprised that we have made pronouncements unknown to the ancient Greeks.  The Macennitae live near lower Mauretania and many of the people who go on campaigns there also visit Atlas.  It is thus that the matter stands.

[Sidenote:—­14—­] Plautianus, who enjoyed the special favor of Severus and had the authority of prefect, besides possessing the fullest and greatest influence on earth, had put to death many men of renown and his own peers [Lacuna] [After killing Aemilius Saturninus he took away all the most important prerogatives belonging to the minor officers of the Pretorians, his subordinates, in order that none of them might be so elated by his position of eminence as to lie in wait for the captaincy of the body-guards.  Already it was his wish to be not simply the only but a perpetual prefect.] He wanted everything, asked everything from everybody, and got everything.  He left no province and no city unplundered, but sacked and gathered everything from all sides.  All sent a great deal more to him than they did to Severus.  Finally he sent centurions and stole tiger-striped horses sacred [Footnote:  Supplying [Greek:  therous] (Reiske’s conjecture).] to the Sun God from the island in the Red Sea.  This mere statement, I think, must instantly make plain all his officiousness and greediness.  Yet, on second thought, I will add one thing more.