The Temples Closed, and the Nile in Flood

While the heretics were torn apart among themselves, the catholic church grew more and more, gaining many from among those of other beliefs because of the quarrels among them, and above all great numbers of pagans. The emperor had noticed that the practice of idolatry was greatly encouraged by the ease with which people could constantly go in and out of the temples. So he ordered the entrances of all the temples to be closed, and in the end he commanded that many of these buildings be demolished. When the pagans found themselves deprived of their own houses of prayer, they began to come to our churches. For they did not dare to offer sacrifices in the pagan way in secret, since it was dangerous: sacrifice carried the penalty of death and the confiscation of property. [a]

It is said that this year the river of Egypt did not overflow its banks at the proper season, and that the Egyptians angrily put this down to the ban on offering sacrifices to it according to the law of their fathers. The governor of the province, afraid that the general discontent would end in an uprising, sent a message to the emperor about it. But the emperor, far from thinking the passing fertility brought by the Nile more important than the faithfulness he owed to God and the interests of religion, replied as follows: “Let that river stop flowing, if it needs enchantments to keep its course regular, or if it delights in sacrifices, or if blood must be mingled with the waters that have their source in the paradise of God.” [b]

Soon afterward the Nile overflowed its banks with such force that the highest ground was under water. When it reached its farthest limit and had almost attained its fullest measure, the water went on pressing upward all the same, so that the Egyptians were thrown into the opposite fear. They dreaded that the city of Alexandria and part of Libya would be flooded. The pagans of Alexandria, annoyed at this unexpected turn, cried out mockingly in the public theaters that the river, like an old man or a fool, could not keep itself within bounds. Because of this, many of the Egyptians were led to give up the superstitions of their forefathers and embrace Christianity. I give these events as I have learned them.