suburbs whither the leading citizens had come with certain mystic and
sacred symbols, he greeted them as if he intended to entertain them at a
banquet and then put them to death. After this he arrayed his whole
force in armor and marched into the city; he had sent previous notice to
all the people there to remain at home and had occupied all the streets
and in addition all the roofs in advance. And, to pass over the details
of the calamities that then befell the wretched city, he slaughtered so
many individuals that he dared not even speak about the number of them,
but wrote the senate that it was of no interest how many of them or who
had died, for they all deserved to suffer this fate. Of the property,
part was plundered and part destroyed.

[Sidenote:--23--] With the people perished also many foreigners, and
not a few who had accompanied Antoninus were destroyed for want of
identification. As the city was large and persons were being murdered
all over it by night and by day, it was impossible to distinguish
anybody, no matter how much one might wish it. They simply expired as
chance directed and their bodies were straightway cast into deep
trenches to keep the rest from being aware of the extent of the
disaster.--That was the fate of the natives. The foreigners were all
driven out except the merchants, and even they had all their wares
plundered. Also some shrines were despoiled. In the midst of most of
these atrocities Antoninus was present and looked on and personally took
a hand, but sometimes he issued orders to others from the temple of
Serapis. He lived in this god's precinct even during the nights and days
that witnessed the shedding of Egyptian blood. [And he sent word to the
senate that he was observing purity during the days when he was in
reality sacrificing there domestic beasts and human beings at the same
time to the god.] Yet why should I have spoken of this, when he actually
dared to devote to the god the sword with which he had killed his