a father," said he, "for my sake, it is incumbent on me to
supply his place." [30] The emperor was received in a manner much more
agreeable to his wishes at Batnae, [30a] 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, [31] 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. [32] He informed Libanius of
his progress as far as Hierapolis, by an elegant epistle, [33] which
displays the facility of his genius, and his tender friendship for the
sophist of Antioch.

[Footnote 29: From Antioch to Litarbe, on the territory of Chalcis, the
road, over hills and through morasses, was extremely bad; and the loose
stones were cemented only with sand, (Julian. epist. xxvii.) It
is singular enough that the Romans should have neglected the great
communication between Antioch and the Euphrates. See Wesseling Itinerar.
p. 190 Bergier, Hist des Grands Chemins, tom. ii. p. 100]

[Footnote 30: Julian alludes to this incident, (epist. xxvii.,) which
is more distinctly related by Theodoret, (l. iii. c. 22.) The intolerant
spirit of the father is applauded by Tillemont, (Hist. des Empereurs,
tom. iv. p. 534.) and even by La Bleterie, (Vie de Julien, p. 413.)