impious
masters of Egypt; and the extraordinary delay of the inundation seemed
to announce the displeasure of the river-god. But this delay was soon
compensated by the rapid swell of the waters. They suddenly rose to
such an unusual height, as to comfort the discontented party with the
pleasing expectation of a deluge; till the peaceful river again subsided
to the well-known and fertilizing level of sixteen cubits, or about
thirty English feet.

The temples of the Roman empire were deserted, or destroyed; but the
ingenious superstition of the Pagans still attempted to elude the laws
of Theodosius, by which all sacrifices had been severely prohibited. The
inhabitants of the country, whose conduct was less opposed to the eye of
malicious curiosity, disguised their _religious_, under the appearance
of _convivial_, meetings. On the days of solemn festivals, they
assembled in great numbers under the spreading shade of some consecrated
trees; sheep and oxen were slaughtered and roasted; and this rural
entertainment was sanctified by the use of incense, and by the hymns
which were sung in honor of the gods. But it was alleged, that, as no
part of the animal was made a burnt-offering, as no altar was provided
to receive the blood, and as the previous oblation of salt cakes, and
the concluding ceremony of libations, were carefully omitted, these
festal meetings did not involve the guests in the guilt, or penalty, of
an illegal sacrifice. Whatever might be the truth of the facts, or the
merit of the distinction, these vain pretences were swept away by
the last edict of Theodosius, which inflicted a deadly wound on the
superstition of the Pagans. This prohibitory law is expressed in the
most absolute and comprehensive terms. "It is our will and pleasure,"
says the emperor, "that none of our subjects, whether magistrates or
private citizens, however exalted or however humble may be their rank
and condition, shall presume, in any city or in any place, to worship
an inanimate idol, by the sacrifice of a guiltless victim." The act
of sacrificing, and the practice of divination by the entrails of the
victim, are declared (without any regard to the object of the inquiry)
a crime of high treason against the state, which can be expiated only
by the death of the guilty. The rites of Pagan superstition, which might
seem less bloody and atrocious, are abolished, as highly injurious to
the truth and honor of religion; luminaries, garlands, fr