ch more agreeable to
his wishes at Batnae, * a small town pleasantly seated in a grove of
cypresses, about twenty miles from the city of Hierapolis. The solemn
rites of sacrifice were decently prepared by the inhabitants of Batnae,
who seemed attached to the worship of their tutelar deities, Apollo and
Jupiter; but the serious piety of Julian was offended by the tumult of
their applause; and he too clearly discerned, that the smoke which arose
from their altars was the incense of flattery, rather than of devotion.
The ancient and magnificent temple which had sanctified, for so many
ages, the city of Hierapolis, no longer subsisted; and the consecrated
wealth, which afforded a liberal maintenance to more than three hundred
priests, might hasten its downfall. Yet Julian enjoyed the satisfaction
of embracing a philosopher and a friend, whose religious firmness had
withstood the pressing and repeated solicitations of Constantius and
Gallus, as often as those princes lodged at his house, in their passage
through Hierapolis. In the hurry of military preparation, and the
careless confidence of a familiar correspondence, the zeal of Julian
appears to have been lively and uniform. He had now undertaken an
important and difficult war; and the anxiety of the event rendered him
still more attentive to observe and register the most trifling presages,
from which, according to the rules of divination, any knowledge of
futurity could be derived. He informed Libanius of his progress as far
as Hierapolis, by an elegant epistle, which displays the facility of his
genius, and his tender friendship for the sophist of Antioch.

Hierapolis, * situate almost on the banks of the Euphrates, had
been appointed for the general rendezvous of the Roman troops, who
immediately passed the great river on a bridge of boats, which was
previously constructed. If the inclinations of Julian had been similar
to those of his predecessor, he might have wasted the active and
important season of the year in the circus of Samosata or in the
churches of Edessa. But as the warlike emperor, instead of Constantius,
had chosen Alexander for his model, he advanced without delay to Carrhae,
a very ancient city of Mesopotamia, at the distance of fourscore miles
from Hierapolis. The temple of the Moon attracted the devotion
of Julian; but the halt of a few days was principally employed in
completing the immense preparations of the Persian war. The secret of
the expedition