In Egypt. Once, as they say, the Chaldaeans[1] glorified their own god, which is the fire,[2] and they carried him round, so as to compare him with the gods of all the provinces and the winner to be considered god by everyone. The [statues of the] gods of the other provinces were made of copper or silver or wood or stone or some other similar substance, and such a substance was easily destroyed by the fire, and so the fire won everywhere perforce. When the priest of Canopus heard that, he thought out something crafty. In parts of Egypt it is customary to build earthen pots which have small continuous holes, in order to distil turbid water through these holes and render it pure. The priest of Canopus took one of these pots, stuffed the holes with wax, painted it with various colours, filled it with water and set it up as a god, and then he cut the head of an old statue, which was supposed to depict a helmsman of Menelaus,[3] and he carefully placed it atop, fitting it on the statue. Afterwards the Chaldaeans came, the fire was lit, and the wax, with which the holes were shut, dissolved. As the pot was full of water, which came out through the holes, the fire was extinguished. So, due to the craftiness of the priest, Canopus emerged as the winner against the Chaldaeans and since then he was honoured as a god.
He who is 100 stades away from Canopus[4] and he who is one [stade away] are equally not in Canopus; so too a greater or lesser moral mistake is equally not in the domain of right action.[5] Look in the [entry] 'failure' [amplakema] for something clearer.[6]