Letter 45: As the proverb says, "You told me my own dream" [the equivalent of "Queen Anne is dead" — telling someone what they...

To Ecdicius, Prefect of Egypt. As the proverb says, "You told me my own dream" [the equivalent of "Queen Anne is dead" — telling someone what they already know]. I suspect I am about to tell you your own waking vision. The Nile, I am told, has risen to its full flood and inundated all of Egypt. If you want the numbers: it reached fifteen cubits by September 20th. Theophilus, the military prefect, reports this. So if you did not know, hear it from me — and let it gladden your heart.

To Ecdicius, Prefect of Egypt3 [362, October. From Antioch] As the proverb says, "You told me my own dream." 4 And I fancy that I am relating to you your own waking vision. The Nile, they tell me, had risen in full flood, cubits high, and has inundated the whole of Egypt. If you want to hear the figures, it had risen fifteen cubits 5 on the twentieth of September. Theophilus, the military prefect, informs me of this. So, if you did not know it, hear it from me, and let it rejoice your heart. 3 For Ecdicius see p. 155. 4 Cf. "Queen Anne is dead." Ecdicius presumably knew what Julian tells him. 5 Pliny, Natural History 5. 9, says that a rise of 15 cubits gives Egypt security, 16 is luxury; Ammianus 22. 15 says that cultivators fear a rise of more than 16 cubits. The Egyptian cubit was about 22 inches.

[Πρός: Ἐκδικίῳ ἐπάρχῳ Αἰγύπτου] Ἡ μὲν παροιμία φησίν "ἐμοὶ διηγοῦ σὺ τοὐμὸν ὄναρ," ἐγὼ δ’ ἔοικα σοὶ τὸ σὸν ὕπαρ ἀφηγεῖσθαι. πολύς, φασίν, ὁ Νεῖλος ἀρθεὶς μετέωρος τοῖς πήχεσιν ἐπλήρωσε πᾶσαν τὴν Αἴγυπτον· εἰ δὲ καὶ τὸν ἀριθμὸν ἀκοῦσαι ποθεῖς, εἰς τὴν εἰκάδα τοῦ Σεπτεμβρίου τρὶς πέντε. μηνύει δὲ ταῦτα Θεόφιλος ὁ στρατοπεδάρχης. εἰ τοίνυν ἠγνόησας αὐτό, παρ’ ἡμῶν ἀκούων εὐφραίνου.