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especially that of the Maurusians, who are also near to Europe towards the west, being separated from it only by the so-called, according to the locals, fretum or strait. In the end, the victors will suffer plague, so that even destruction in war becomes preferable to them, and from it there will be drought and famine, and especially for Egypt, so that life is considered wretched by those who are left; for a grievous disease will fall upon the young, and the Nile will turn back, and there will be a pestilential lack of rain. If it should look towards the west, as far as the Pillars of Heracles there will be war and destruction of armies and famine and death of cattle. If it should incline towards Boötes, relentless cold as far as the Euxine and unusual winters will prevail, and enemies will overrun the land. and at first the natives will be diminished, but later, with a force running together, not only will the enemies be defeated, but also their leaders will be captives in chains; then from there the victorious army will advance to the south, and will take possession of the cities there, and will be in praise; and the divine powers themselves will abandon the enemies, so that by circumstance they are added to the victors. Such are the things signified, when the horseman appears moderately pale; but when it is uniformly very pale, it does not threaten foreign war, but it indicates civil wars, threatening disasters no less than those from outsiders, and not only this but also reduction. but one must pay special attention to that, as appearing for a time, as was said p. 32, 13, upon the galaxy; for such a star will neither appear towards the east for more than seven days, nor signify long-lasting evils, but for a short period, opportune ones. 13t This star is referred to Hermes, but it produces effects no less than the former, but more treacherous. For when it looks towards the east, the potentates of the Persians and Ethiopians will destroy their own kings by poison; and the same thing in Phoenicia will be committed by some of the populace against those in authority. and there will be untrue rumors, terrifying people everywhere. If it should rise towards the south, it brings likewise deadly treacheries for the Egyptians and the other Libyan nations, and the Egyptians will have a change of their evils, but the Libyans will be consumed by civil wars. And when it looks towards the west, it threatens similar things to the potentates there, so that from suspicion they are carried into open war against one another. And when it looks towards the north, it indicates an intermingling of the northern and Libyan nations, so that the daughter of a Libyan ruler is given in marriage to a northern tyrant, and the daughter plots against her father and betrays him, being overcome by an impious love for her husband. 14t A Lampadias comet, so named from its shape, is also of Hermes; and when it looks to the east, it portends a misty air and from it harm to the vine; for from the mist are born worms, called ipes. And the harm is general, but it will happen especially to those around upper Armenia, Euphratesia and Phoenicia and Taurocilicia. and not only in the day, but also in the night the mist will become so thick that even lit torches are extinguished. and on the fruits will grow the so-called darnel and a certain putrefying and harmful moisture for the harvests; and diversions of rivers and outbursts of more violent rains and strikes of thunderbolts will occur, and nonetheless drought prevails, so that even the ever-flowing rivers are dried up. If towards the south, the state of the air will be still drier and more pestilential, with the Nile being somewhat dried up, so that all things are filled with reptiles. If towards the north, the drought will be overcome by the cold of the region, but fire will fall unexpectedly on the forests and the mountains, so that not even those in

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διαφερόντως τὴν Μαυρουσίων, οἳ καὶ προσεχεῖς εἰσὶ τῇ πρὸς δυσμὰς Εὐρώπῃ, μόνῳ τῷ λεγομένῳ κατὰ τοὺς ἐπιχωρίους φρέτῳ οἱονεὶ πορθμῷ ἀπ' αὐτῆς διεστῶτες. Πέρας δὲ λοιμώξουσιν οἱ νικήσαντες, ὡς αἱρετὴν αὐτοῖς γενέσθαι καὶ τὴν ἐν πολέμῳ ἀπώλειαν, αὐχμὸς δὲ ἐξ αὐτοῦ καὶ λιμὸς ἔσται καὶ διαφερόντως τῇ Αἰγύπτῳ, ὡς ἐλεεινὴν τὴν ζωὴν τοῖς περιλειφθεῖσι νομισθῆναι· νόσος γὰρ βαρεῖα ἐπιπεσεῖται τῇ νέᾳ ἡλικίᾳ, καὶ ὁ Νεῖλος ἀποστραφήσεται, καὶ ἀνομβρία λοιμώδης ἔσται. Εἰ δὲ ἐπὶ δύσιν ἀπίδοι, ἕως τῶν Ἡρακλέους στηλῶν πόλεμος καὶ ἀπώλεια ἔσται τῶν στρατευμάτων καὶ λιμὸς καὶ πτώσεις τῶν βοσκημάτων. Εἰ δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν Βοώτην νεύοι, κρύος ἀπηνὲς ἄχρι Εὐξείνου καὶ χειμῶνες ἀήθεις ἐπισχεθήσονται, καὶ πολέμιοι καταδραμοῦνται τὴν χώραν. καὶ τὴν μὲν ἀρχὴν ἐλαττωθήσονται οἱ ἐγχώριοι, δυνάμεως δ' ὕστερον συντρεχούσης οὐ μόνον ἡττηθήσονται οἱ πολέμιοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ αἰχμάλωτοι οἱ ἡγεμόνες αὐτῶν ἐν δεσμοῖς ἔσονται· εἶτα ἐκεῖθεν ἐπὶ μεσημβρίαν μετελεύσεται ὁ νικήσας στρατός, καὶ τῶν ἐκεῖ ἀνθέξεται πόλεων, καὶ ἐν ἐπαίνοις ἔσται· καὶ αὐτὰ δὲ τὰ θεῖα καταλείψουσι τοὺς πολεμίους, ὥστε ἐκ περιστάσεως προστεθῆναι τοῖς νικηταῖς. Τοσαῦτα τὰ σημαινόμενα, ὅταν ὠχρὸς φαίνηται ὁ ἱππεὺς μετρίως· ὅταν δὲ καθ' ὁμαλοῦ ὠχρότατος, ἐξωτικὸν μὲν οὐκ ἀπειλεῖ, ἐμφυλίους δὲ φράζει πολέμους, οὐκ ἐλάττους τῶν πρὸς τοὺς ἔξωθεν ἀπειλῶν τὰς συμφοράς, καὶ οὐ τοῦτο μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐλάττωσιν. ἐκείνῳ δὲ μάλιστα προσεκτέον, ὡς ἐπὶ χρόνον φαινόμενος, ὡς εἴρηται ̣p. 32, 13 ̣, ἐπὶ τὸν γαλαξίαν οὐδὲ γὰρ πρὸς ἀνατολὰς ὑπὲρ τὰς ἑπτὰ φανήσεται ἡμέρας ὁ τοιοῦτος ἀστήρ, χρόνια τὰ κακά, πρὸς βραχὺν δὲ καιρόν, ἐπίκαιρα σημαίνει. 13t Οὗτος ὁ ἀστὴρ ἀναφέρεται μὲν Ἑρμῇ, οὐχ ἥττονας δὲ τοῦ προτέρου, δολιωτέρας μέντοι τὰς ἐνεργείας ποιεῖ. ὅταν μὲν γὰρ ἐπὶ τὴν ἀνατολὴν βλέπῃ, οἱ δυνατοὶ Περσῶν καὶ Αἰθιόπων τοὺς ἑαυτῶν βασιλεῖς φαρμάκῳ διαφθεροῦσι· τὸ αὐτὸ δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ Φοινίκης πρός τινων τοῦ πλήθους κατὰ τῶν ἐν τέλει ἁμαρτηθήσεται. φῆμαι δὲ ἔσονται οὐκ ἀληθεῖς, ἐκδειματοῦσαι τοὺς ἁπανταχοῦ. εἰ δὲ ἐπὶ μεσημβρίας ἀνίσχοι, Αἰγυπτίοις καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις Λιβυκοῖς ἔθνεσι δόλους ὡσαύτως θανατηφόρους ἐπιφέρει, καὶ Αἰγύπτιοι μὲν ἕξουσι μεταβολὴν τῶν κακῶν, Λίβυες δὲ ἐμφυλίοις πολέμοις δαπανηθήσονται. ὅτε δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν δύσιν ὁρᾷ, τοῖς ἐκεῖσε δυνατοῖς τὰ ὅμοια ἀπειλεῖ, ὡς ἐξ ὑπονοίας κατ' ἀλλήλων ἐξενεχθῆναι εἰς φανερὸν πόλεμον. ὅτε δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν ἄρκτον ὁρᾷ, ἐπιμιξίαν δηλοῖ τῶν ἀρκτῴων καὶ Λιβυκῶν ἐθνῶν, ὥστε θυγατέρα Λίβυος δυνάστου δοθῆναι πρὸς γάμον ἀρκτῴῳ τυράννῳ, καὶ ἐπιβουλεῦσαι τῷ πατρὶ τὴν παῖδα καὶ προδοῦναι αὐτόν, ἔρωτι ἀσεβεῖ περὶ τὸν ἄνδρα κρατουμένην. 14t Λαμπαδίας κομήτης, οὕτω προσαγορευόμενος ἐκ τοῦ σχήματος, ἔστι μὲν Ἑρμοῦ καὶ αὐτός· ὅταν δὲ ἐπὶ ἀνατολὰς ἴδῃ, ἀχλυώδη τὸν ἀέρα καὶ ἐξ αὐτοῦ βλάβην τῇ ἀμπέλῳ μαντεύεται· ἐκ γὰρ τῆς ἀχλύος τίκτονται σκώληκες, οἱ λεγόμενοι ἶπες. καὶ ἡ βλάβη μὲν καθολική, μάλιστα δὲ τοῖς περὶ τὴν ἄνω Ἀρμενίαν, Εὐφρατησίαν τε καὶ Φοινίκην καὶ Ταυροκιλικίαν γενήσεται. καὶ οὐ μόνον ἐν ἡμέρᾳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν νυκτὶ οὕτως ἡ ἀχλὺς πυκνωθήσεται ὡς καὶ λαμπάδας ἀνημμένας ἀποσβέννυσθαι. τοῖς δὲ καρποῖς ἐμφυήσεται ἡ λεγομένη αἶρα καὶ ὑγρασία τις σηπτικὴ καὶ βλαπτικὴ τοῖς ἀμητοῖς· ἐκτροπαί τε ποταμῶν καὶ ὄμβρων ῥήξεις βιαιοτέρων καὶ κεραυνῶν βολαὶ ἔσονται, καὶ οὐδὲν ἧττον ὁ αὐχμὸς ἐπιτελεῖ, ὡς καὶ τοὺς ἀεννάους τῶν ποταμῶν ἀναφρυγῆναι. εἰ δὲ ἐπὶ νότον, ἔτι μᾶλλον ξηρότερον ἔσται καὶ λοιμωδέστερον τὸ τοῦ ἀέρος κα τάστημα, τοῦ Νείλου ὑποξηρανθέντος, ὥστε ἑρπετῶν πάντα πληρωθῆναι. εἰ δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν ἄρκτον, ὁ μὲν αὐχμὸς τῷ ψυχρῷ τοῦ κέντρου ἡττηθήσεται, πῦρ δὲ ταῖς ὕλαις ἀδοκήτως καὶ τοῖς ὄρεσιν ἐμπεσεῖται, ὡς μηδὲ τοὺς ἐν