Budge_Ethiopic_Alexander

BY ABU-SHAKER. 39
"his spear, and his sword, and his arrow shall be
"blunted, and the mark of his blow shall not be
"found upon him. And the fourth amulet shall
"preserve thine army from fornication and from
"the lust for women, for fornication among the
"soldiers bringeth [them] to ruin and defeat by
"the enemy."
And Aristotle also made for Alexander a chest, Figures of
and he placed therein figures which were made to t'es to wl^.
represent his enemies, and they had leaden swords,
which were curved backwards in their hands,
[p. 230] and which they held downwards, and
bows the strings of which had been cut; and he
placed them in the box with their faces turned
downwards, and he nailed them down with iron
peers and fastened the box with an iron chain.
And he gave Alexander orders to pray the
petitions which he had taught him, and to keep
his hand upon the box and to let no one
lay hold upon it except such as was with him.
And he said to Alexander, "Know, O king, that
"I myself can see [thy] star in the ascendant, and
"that thou shak reign over all nations, and shalt
"conquer kings, and shak heap up riches: go forth
"in the blessing of God Almighty, and may He
"make straight thy way by His help, and may
"He gather together thine enemies into thy hands."
The writer of this chronicle saith:—Now Aristode
did not go forth with Alexander, but Philemon,
the sage, one of his ambassadors, went with him Alexander's
to perform for him all these matters which wefe'^^^n'!''''"'