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his not even condescending to look at them, and by talkingof the most insignificant matters, as if they were actuallybefore him.
CHAP. XXXI.
WHEN the King saw him at a distance approaching,(for the court of the temple was spacious) he spoke to hisattendants in a way which, shewed he recognised the man.As soon as he drew nearer, he cried out with a loud voice,saying, this is Apollonius whom my brother Megabetessaw at Antioch, who was honored and esteemed by allthe good, and whom he described exactly such as he nowappears to me. As Apollonius advanced, the King spoketo him in Greek, and commanded him to join in the sacri-fice which he w'as then offering to the sun, of a whitehorse from the Nisean* plains, adorned as if preparedfor a solemn procession. To this Apollonius said, doyou, O King, sacrifice after your manner, but let me sacri-fice after mine. After he said this, he took the frankin-cense in his hand and uttered these words, O Sun! conductme to whatever part of the w’orld it may seem good to youand me; and grant me only to know the virtuous: but asto the wicked, I wish neither to know them, nor to beknown by them. With these words he threw the frank-incensef into the’ fire, observing at the same time the
* Msams Campus ,—a plain in Media, famous for its breed of horses.The chariot of Xerxes was drawn by them, and in all processions thesacred horses were Nissan. The Nisa;an pastures are spoken ofin Diodorus Siculus . White horses were sacrificed to the sun almostamong all nations, the Scythians , Greeks, and Romans. Livy, inspeaking of Camillus having triumphed in a chariot drawn by four•white horses, says, “ parumque id non civile modo, sed humanumetiam visum. Jovis Solisque equis aequiparari dictatorem in religionemetiam trahebant: triumpliusque ob cam unam maxime rein clariorquamgralior fuit.”
t Libanomanteia —divination by frankincense, which, if it caughtfire, and emitted a grateful odour, was esteemed a good omen; butif the fire did not catch it, or it produced a disagreeable smell, it wasa bad omen.