The Quarrels in Egypt Continue

He gladly occupied himself with things like these. But the effects of that envious spirit which so troubled the peace of the churches of God in Alexandria, together with the schism in the Thebaid and Egypt, went on causing him no small distress of mind. For in fact, in every city bishops were locked in stubborn conflict with bishops, and people were rising against people, crashing violently into one another almost like the Clashing Rocks of the old tales. Some were even carried so far beyond the bounds of reason that they behaved recklessly and outrageously, and even insulted the statues of the emperor. This state of things did little to rouse his anger; rather, it grieved his spirit, for he deeply lamented the folly that these deranged men were showing. [a]