ed in religious
thought. They never met one another but at set times, and were seldom
seen by strangers. Thus, leaving to others the pleasures, wealth, and
lesser prizes of this life, they received from them in return what most
men value higher, namely, honour, fame, and power.

The Romans, like the Greeks, feeling but little partiality in favour
of their own gods, were rarely guilty of intolerance against those of
others; and would hardly have checked the introduction of a new religion
unless it made its followers worse citizens. But in Rome, where
every act of its civil or military authorities was accompanied with a
religious rite, any slight towards the gods was a slight towards the
magistrate; many devout Romans had begun to keep holy the seventh day;
and Egypt was now so closely joined to Italy that the Roman senate made
a new law against the Egyptian and Jewish superstitions, and, in A.D.
19, banished to Sardinia four thousand men who were found guilty of
being Jews.

Egypt had lost with its liberties its gold coinage, and it was now
made to feel a further proof of being a conquered country in having its
silver much alloyed with copper. But Tiberius, in the tenth year of his
reign, altogether stopped the Alexandrian mint, as well as those of the
other cities which occasionally coined; and after this year we find no
more coins, but the few with the head and name of Augustus Caesar, which
seem hardly to have been meant for money, but to commemorate on some
peculiar occasions the emperor's adoption by his stepfather. The Nubian
gold mines were probably by this time wholly deserted; they had been so
far worked out as to be no longer profitable. For fifteen hundred years,
ever since Ethiopia was conquered by Thebes, wages and prices had been
higher in Egypt than in the neighbouring countries. But this was now no
longer the case. Egypt had been getting poorer during the reigns of the
latter Ptolemies; and by this time it is probable that both wages and
prices were higher in Rome.

It seems to have been usual to change the prefect of Egypt every few
years, and the prefect-elect was often sent to Alexandria to wait
till his predecessor's term of years had ended. Thus in this reign of
twenty-three years AEmilius Rectus was succeeded by Vetrasius Pollio;
and on his death Tiberius gave the government to his freedman Iberus.
During the last five years Egypt was under the able but stern government
of Flaccus Avillius, whose