initial commit of ebook 2849HEADmain

2 files changed, 4296 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/old/agaap10.txt b/old/agaap10.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..69559cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/agaap10.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,4296 @@
+The Project Gutenberg Etext of Against Apion, by Flavius Josephus
+#4 in our series by Flavius Josephus translated by William Whiston
+
+Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check
+the copyright laws for your country before posting these files!!
+
+Please take a look at the important information in this header.
+We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an
+electronic path open for the next readers.  Do not remove this.
+
+*It must legally be the first thing seen when opening the book.*
+In fact, our legal advisors said we can't even change margins.
+
+**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts**
+
+**Etexts Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971**
+
+*These Etexts Prepared By Hundreds of Volunteers and Donations*
+
+Information on contacting Project Gutenberg to get Etexts, and
+further information is included below.  We need your donations.
+
+
+Title: Against Apion
+
+Author: Flavius Josephus
+
+Translator:  William Whiston
+
+October, 2001  [Etext #2849]
+
+The Project Gutenberg Etext of Against Apion, by Flavius Josephus
+*******This file should be named agaap10.txt or agaap10.zip******
+
+Corrected EDITIONS of our etexts get a new NUMBER, agaap11.txt
+VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, agaap10a.txt
+
+
+Prepared by David Reed haradda@aol.com or davidr@inconnect.com
+
+Project Gutenberg Etexts are usually created from multiple editions,
+all of which are in the Public Domain in the United States, unless a
+copyright notice is included.  Therefore, we usually do NOT keep any
+of these books in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+We are now trying to release all our books one month in advance
+of the official release dates, leaving time for better editing.
+
+Please note:  neither this list nor its contents are final till
+midnight of the last day of the month of any such announcement.
+The official release date of all Project Gutenberg Etexts is at
+Midnight, Central Time, of the last day of the stated month.  A
+preliminary version may often be posted for suggestion, comment
+and editing by those who wish to do so.  To be sure you have an
+up to date first edition [xxxxx10x.xxx] please check file sizes
+in the first week of the next month.  Since our ftp program has
+a bug in it that scrambles the date [tried to fix and failed] a
+look at the file size will have to do, but we will try to see a
+new copy has at least one byte more or less.
+
+
+Information about Project Gutenberg (one page)
+
+We produce about two million dollars for each hour we work.  The
+time it takes us, a rather conservative estimate, is fifty hours
+to get any etext selected, entered, proofread, edited, copyright
+searched and analyzed, the copyright letters written, etc.  This
+projected audience is one hundred million readers.  If our value
+per text is nominally estimated at one dollar then we produce $2
+million dollars per hour this year as we release thirty-six text
+files per month, or 432 more Etexts in 1999 for a total of 2000+
+If these reach just 10% of the computerized population, then the
+total should reach over 200 billion Etexts given away this year.
+
+The Goal of Project Gutenberg is to Give Away One Trillion Etext
+Files by December 31, 2001.  [10,000 x 100,000,000 = 1 Trillion]
+This is ten thousand titles each to one hundred million readers,
+which is only ~5% of the present number of computer users.
+
+At our revised rates of production, we will reach only one-third
+of that goal by the end of 2001, or about 3,333 Etexts unless we
+manage to get some real funding; currently our funding is mostly
+from Michael Hart's salary at Carnegie-Mellon University, and an
+assortment of sporadic gifts; this salary is only good for a few
+more years, so we are looking for something to replace it, as we
+don't want Project Gutenberg to be so dependent on one person.
+
+We need your donations more than ever!
+
+
+All donations should be made to "Project Gutenberg/CMU": and are
+tax deductible to the extent allowable by law.  (CMU = Carnegie-
+Mellon University).
+
+For these and other matters, please mail to:
+
+Project Gutenberg
+P. O. Box  2782
+Champaign, IL 61825
+
+When all other email fails. . .try our Executive Director:
+Michael S. Hart <hart@pobox.com>
+hart@pobox.com forwards to hart@prairienet.org and archive.org
+if your mail bounces from archive.org, I will still see it, if
+it bounces from prairienet.org, better resend later on. . . .
+
+We would prefer to send you this information by email.
+
+******
+
+To access Project Gutenberg etexts, use any Web browser
+to view http://promo.net/pg.  This site lists Etexts by
+author and by title, and includes information about how
+to get involved with Project Gutenberg.  You could also
+download our past Newsletters, or subscribe here.  This
+is one of our major sites, please email hart@pobox.com,
+for a more complete list of our various sites.
+
+To go directly to the etext collections, use FTP or any
+Web browser to visit a Project Gutenberg mirror (mirror
+sites are available on 7 continents; mirrors are listed
+at http://promo.net/pg).
+
+Mac users, do NOT point and click, typing works better.
+
+Example FTP session:
+
+ftp metalab.unc.edu
+login: anonymous
+password: your@login
+cd pub/docs/books/gutenberg
+cd etext90 through etext99 or etext00 through etext01, etc.
+dir [to see files]
+get or mget [to get files. . .set bin for zip files]
+GET GUTINDEX.??  [to get a year's listing of books, e.g., GUTINDEX.99]
+GET GUTINDEX.ALL [to get a listing of ALL books]
+
+***
+
+**Information prepared by the Project Gutenberg legal advisor**
+
+(Three Pages)
+
+
+***START**THE SMALL PRINT!**FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS**START***
+Why is this "Small Print!" statement here?  You know: lawyers.
+They tell us you might sue us if there is something wrong with
+your copy of this etext, even if you got it for free from
+someone other than us, and even if what's wrong is not our
+fault.  So, among other things, this "Small Print!" statement
+disclaims most of our liability to you.  It also tells you how
+you can distribute copies of this etext if you want to.
+
+*BEFORE!* YOU USE OR READ THIS ETEXT
+By using or reading any part of this PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm
+etext, you indicate that you understand, agree to and accept
+this "Small Print!" statement.  If you do not, you can receive
+a refund of the money (if any) you paid for this etext by
+sending a request within 30 days of receiving it to the person
+you got it from.  If you received this etext on a physical
+medium (such as a disk), you must return it with your request.
+
+ABOUT PROJECT GUTENBERG-TM ETEXTS
+This PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm etext, like most PROJECT GUTENBERG-
+tm etexts, is a "public domain" work distributed by Professor
+Michael S. Hart through the Project Gutenberg Association at
+Carnegie-Mellon University (the "Project").  Among other
+things, this means that no one owns a United States copyright
+on or for this work, so the Project (and you!) can copy and
+distribute it in the United States without permission and
+without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules, set forth
+below, apply if you wish to copy and distribute this etext
+under the Project's "PROJECT GUTENBERG" trademark.
+
+To create these etexts, the Project expends considerable
+efforts to identify, transcribe and proofread public domain
+works.  Despite these efforts, the Project's etexts and any
+medium they may be on may contain "Defects".  Among other
+things, Defects may take the form of incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
+intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged
+disk or other etext medium, a computer virus, or computer
+codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment.
+
+LIMITED WARRANTY; DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES
+But for the "Right of Replacement or Refund" described below,
+[1] the Project (and any other party you may receive this
+etext from as a PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm etext) disclaims all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including
+legal fees, and [2] YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE OR
+UNDER STRICT LIABILITY, OR FOR BREACH OF WARRANTY OR CONTRACT,
+INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE
+OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE
+POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
+
+If you discover a Defect in this etext within 90 days of
+receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any)
+you paid for it by sending an explanatory note within that
+time to the person you received it from.  If you received it
+on a physical medium, you must return it with your note, and
+such person may choose to alternatively give you a replacement
+copy.  If you received it electronically, such person may
+choose to alternatively give you a second opportunity to
+receive it electronically.
+
+THIS ETEXT IS OTHERWISE PROVIDED TO YOU "AS-IS".  NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE MADE TO YOU AS
+TO THE ETEXT OR ANY MEDIUM IT MAY BE ON, INCLUDING BUT NOT
+LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A
+PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
+
+Some states do not allow disclaimers of implied warranties or
+the exclusion or limitation of consequential damages, so the
+above disclaimers and exclusions may not apply to you, and you
+may have other legal rights.
+
+INDEMNITY
+You will indemnify and hold the Project, its directors,
+officers, members and agents harmless from all liability, cost
+and expense, including legal fees, that arise directly or
+indirectly from any of the following that you do or cause:
+[1] distribution of this etext, [2] alteration, modification,
+or addition to the etext, or [3] any Defect.
+
+DISTRIBUTION UNDER "PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm"
+You may distribute copies of this etext electronically, or by
+disk, book or any other medium if you either delete this
+"Small Print!" and all other references to Project Gutenberg,
+or:
+
+[1]  Only give exact copies of it.  Among other things, this
+     requires that you do not remove, alter or modify the
+     etext or this "small print!" statement.  You may however,
+     if you wish, distribute this etext in machine readable
+     binary, compressed, mark-up, or proprietary form,
+     including any form resulting from conversion by word pro-
+     cessing or hypertext software, but only so long as
+     *EITHER*:
+
+     [*]  The etext, when displayed, is clearly readable, and
+          does *not* contain characters other than those
+          intended by the author of the work, although tilde
+          (~), asterisk (*) and underline (_) characters may
+          be used to convey punctuation intended by the
+          author, and additional characters may be used to
+          indicate hypertext links; OR
+
+     [*]  The etext may be readily converted by the reader at
+          no expense into plain ASCII, EBCDIC or equivalent
+          form by the program that displays the etext (as is
+          the case, for instance, with most word processors);
+          OR
+
+     [*]  You provide, or agree to also provide on request at
+          no additional cost, fee or expense, a copy of the
+          etext in its original plain ASCII form (or in EBCDIC
+          or other equivalent proprietary form).
+
+[2]  Honor the etext refund and replacement provisions of this
+     "Small Print!" statement.
+
+[3]  Pay a trademark license fee to the Project of 20% of the
+     net profits you derive calculated using the method you
+     already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  If you
+     don't derive profits, no royalty is due.  Royalties are
+     payable to "Project Gutenberg Association/Carnegie-Mellon
+     University" within the 60 days following each
+     date you prepare (or were legally required to prepare)
+     your annual (or equivalent periodic) tax return.
+
+WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO?
+The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time,
+scanning machines, OCR software, public domain etexts, royalty
+free copyright licenses, and every other sort of contribution
+you can think of.  Money should be paid to "Project Gutenberg
+Association / Carnegie-Mellon University".
+
+We are planning on making some changes in our donation structure
+in 2000, so you might want to email me, hart@pobox.com beforehand.
+
+
+
+
+*END THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END*
+
+
+
+
+
+Prepared by David Reed haradda@aol.com or davidr@inconnect.com
+
+
+
+
+
+Against Apion.(1)
+
+by Flavius Josephus
+
+
+
+
+Translated by William Whiston
+
+
+
+
+BOOK 1.
+
+1. I Suppose that by my books of the Antiquity of the Jews, most
+excellent Epaphroditus, (2) have made it evident to those who
+peruse them, that our Jewish nation is of very great antiquity,
+and had a distinct subsistence of its own originally; as also, I
+have therein declared how we came to inhabit this country wherein
+we now live. Those Antiquities contain the history of five
+thousand years, and are taken out of our sacred books, but are
+translated by me into the Greek tongue. However, since I observe
+a considerable number of people giving ear to the reproaches that
+are laid against us by those who bear ill-will to us, and will
+not believe what I have written concerning the antiquity of our
+nation, while they take it for a plain sign that our nation is of
+a late date, because they are not so much as vouchsafed a bare
+mention by the most famous historiographers among the Grecians. I
+therefore have thought myself under an obligation to write
+somewhat briefly about these subjects, in order to convict those
+that reproach us of spite and voluntary falsehood, and to correct
+the ignorance of others, and withal to instruct all those who are
+desirous of knowing the truth of what great antiquity we really
+are. As for the witnesses whom I shall produce for the proof of
+what I say, they shall be such as are esteemed to be of the
+greatest reputation for truth, and the most skillful in the
+knowledge of all antiquity by the Greeks themselves. I will also
+show, that those who have written so reproachfully and falsely
+about us are to be convicted by what they have written themselves
+to the contrary. I shall also endeavor to give an account of the
+reasons why it hath so happened, that there have not been a great
+number of Greeks who have made mention of our nation in their
+histories. I will, however, bring those Grecians to light who
+have not omitted such our history, for the sake of those that
+either do not know them, or pretend not to know them already.
+
+2. And now, in the first place, I cannot but greatly wonder at
+those men, who suppose that we must attend to none but Grecians,
+when we are inquiring about the most ancient facts, and must
+inform ourselves of their truth from them only, while we must not
+believe ourselves nor other men; for I am convinced that the very
+reverse is the truth of the case. I mean this, - if we will not
+be led by vain opinions, but will make inquiry after truth from
+facts themselves; for they will find that almost all which
+concerns the Greeks happened not long ago; nay, one may say, is
+of yesterday only. I speak of the building of their cities, the
+inventions of their arts, and the description of their laws; and
+as for their care about the writing down of their histories, it
+is very near the last thing they set about. However, they
+acknowledge themselves so far, that they were the Egyptians, the
+Chaldeans, and the Phoenicians (for I will not now reckon
+ourselves among them) that have preserved the memorials of the
+most ancient and most lasting traditions of mankind; for almost
+all these nations inhabit such countries as are least subject to
+destruction from the world about them; and these also have taken
+especial care to have nothing omitted of what was [remarkably]
+done among them; but their history was esteemed sacred, and put
+into public tables, as written by men of the greatest wisdom they
+had among them. But as for the place where the Grecians inhabit,
+ten thousand destructions have overtaken it, and blotted out the
+memory of former actions; so that they were ever beginning a new
+way of living, and supposed that every one of them was the origin
+of their new state. It was also late, and with difficulty, that
+they came to know the letters they now use; for those who would
+advance their use of these letters to the greatest antiquity
+pretend that they learned them from the Phoenicians and from
+Cadmus; yet is nobody able to demonstrate that they have any
+writing preserved from that time, neither in their temples, nor
+in any other public monuments. This appears, because the time
+when those lived who went to the Trojan war, so many years
+afterward, is in great doubt, and great inquiry is made, whether
+the Greeks used their letters at that time; and the most
+prevailing opinion, and that nearest the truth, is, that their
+present way of using those letters was unknown at that time.
+However, there is not any writing which the Greeks agree to he
+genuine among them ancienter than Homer's Poems, who must plainly
+he confessed later than the siege of Troy; nay, the report goes,
+that even he did not leave his poems in writing, but that their
+memory was preserved in songs, and they were put together
+afterward, and that this is the reason of such a number of
+variations as are found in them. (3) As for those who set
+themselves about writing their histories, I mean such as Cadmus
+of Miletus, and Acusilaus of Argos, and any others that may be
+mentioned as succeeding Acusilaus, they lived but a little while
+before the Persian expedition into Greece. But then for those
+that first introduced philosophy, and the consideration of things
+celestial and divine among them, such as Pherceydes the Syrian,
+and Pythagoras, and Thales, all with one consent agree, that they
+learned what they knew of the Egyptians and Chaldeans, and wrote
+but little And these are the things which are supposed to be the
+oldest of all among the Greeks; and they have much ado to believe
+that the writings ascribed to those men are genuine.
+
+3. How can it then be other than an absurd thing, for the Greeks
+to be so proud, and to vaunt themselves to be the only people
+that are acquainted with antiquity, and that have delivered the
+true accounts of those early times after an accurate manner? Nay,
+who is there that cannot easily gather from the Greek writers
+themselves, that they knew but little on any good foundation when
+they set to write, but rather wrote their histories from their
+own conjectures? Accordingly, they confute one another in their
+own books to purpose, and are not ashamed. to give us the most
+contradictory accounts of the same things; and I should spend my
+time to little purpose, if I should pretend to teach the Greeks
+that which they know better than I already, what a great
+disagreement there is between Hellanicus and Acusilaus about
+their genealogies; in how many eases Acusilaus corrects Hesiod:
+or after what manner Ephorus demonstrates Hellanicus to have told
+lies in the greatest part of his history; as does Timeus in like
+manner as to Ephorus, and the succeeding writers do to Timeus,
+and all the later writers do to Herodotus (3) nor could Timeus
+agree with Antiochus and Philistius, or with Callias, about the
+Sicilian History, no more than do the several writers of the
+Athide follow one another about the Athenian affairs; nor do the
+historians the like, that wrote the Argolics, about the affairs
+of the Argives. And now what need I say any more about particular
+cities and smaller places, while in the most approved writers of
+the expedition of the Persians, and of the actions which were
+therein performed, there are so great differences? Nay,
+Thucydides himself is accused of some as writing what is false,
+although he seems to have given us the exactest history of the
+affairs of his own time. (4)
+
+4. As for the occasions of so great disagreement of theirs, there
+may be assigned many that are very probable, if any have a mind
+to make an inquiry about them; but I ascribe these contradictions
+chiefly to two causes, which I will now mention, and still think
+what I shall mention in the first place to be the principal of
+all. For if we remember that in the beginning the Greeks had
+taken no care to have public records of their several
+transactions preserved, this must for certain have afforded those
+that would afterward write about those ancient transactions the
+opportunity of making mistakes, and the power of making lies
+also; for this original recording of such ancient transactions
+hath not only been neglected by the other states of Greece, but
+even among the Athenians themselves also, who pretend to be
+Aborigines, and to have applied themselves to learning, there are
+no such records extant; nay, they say themselves that the laws of
+Draco concerning murders, which are now extant in writing, are
+the most ancient of their public records; which Draco yet lived
+but a little before the tyrant Pisistratus. (5) For as to the
+Arcadians, who make such boasts of their antiquity, what need I
+speak of them in particular, since it was still later before they
+got their letters, and learned them, and that with difficulty
+also. (6)
+
+5. There must therefore naturally arise great differences among
+writers, when they had no original records to lay for their
+foundation, which might at once inform those who had an
+inclination to learn, and contradict those that would tell lies.
+However, we are to suppose a second occasion besides the former
+of these contradictions; it is this: That those who were the most
+zealous to write history were not solicitous for the discovery of
+truth, although it was very easy for them always to make such a
+profession; but their business was to demonstrate that they could
+write well, and make an impression upon mankind thereby; and in
+what manner of writing they thought they were able to exceed
+others, to that did they apply themselves, Some of them betook
+themselves to the writing of fabulous narrations; some of them
+endeavored to please the cities or the kings, by writing in their
+commendation; others of them fell to finding faults with
+transactions, or with the writers of such transactions, and
+thought to make a great figure by so doing. And indeed these do
+what is of all things the most contrary to true history; for it
+is the great character of true history that all concerned therein
+both speak and write the same things; while these men, by writing
+differently about the same things, think they shall be believed
+to write with the greatest regard to truth. We therefore [who are
+Jews] must yield to the Grecian writers as to language and
+eloquence of composition; but then we shall give them no such
+preference as to the verity of ancient history, and least of all
+as to that part which concerns the affairs of our own several
+countries.
+
+6. As to the care of writing down the records from the earliest
+antiquity among the Egyptians and Babylonians; that the priests
+were intrusted therewith, and employed a philosophical concern
+about it; that they were the Chaldean priests that did so among
+the Babylonians; and that the Phoenicians, who were mingled among
+the Greeks, did especially make use of their letters, both for
+the common affairs of life, and for the delivering down the
+history of common transactions, I think I may omit any proof,
+because all men allow it so to be. But now as to our forefathers,
+that they took no less care about writing such records, (for I
+will not say they took greater care than the others I spoke of,)
+and that they committed that matter to their high priests and to
+their prophets, and that these records have been written all
+along down to our own times with the utmost accuracy; nay, if it
+be not too bold for me to say it, our history will be so written
+hereafter; - I shall endeavor briefly to inform you.
+
+7. For our forefathers did not only appoint the best of these
+priests, and those that attended upon the Divine worship, for
+that design from the beginning, but made provision that the stock
+of the priests should continue unmixed and pure; for he who is
+partaker of the priesthood must propagate of a wife of the same
+nation, without having any regard to money, or any other
+dignities; but he is to make a scrutiny, and take his wife's
+genealogy from the ancient tables, and procure many witnesses to
+it. (7) And this is our practice not only in Judea, but
+wheresoever any body of men of our nation do live; and even there
+an exact catalogue of our priests' marriages is kept; I mean at
+Egypt and at Babylon, or in any other place of the rest of the
+habitable earth, whithersoever our priests are scattered; for
+they send to Jerusalem the ancient names of their parents in
+writing, as well as those of their remoter ancestors, and signify
+who are the witnesses also. But if any war falls out, such as
+have fallen out a great many of them already, when Antiochus
+Epiphanes made an invasion upon our country, as also when Pompey
+the Great and Quintilius Varus did so also, and principally in
+the wars that have happened in our own times, those priests that
+survive them compose new tables of genealogy out of the old
+records, and examine the circumstances of the women that remain;
+for still they do not admit of those that have been captives, as
+suspecting that they had conversation with some foreigners. But
+what is the strongest argument of our exact management in this
+matter is what I am now going to say, that we have the names of
+our high priests from father to son set down in our records for
+the interval of two thousand years; and if any of these have been
+transgressors of these rules, they are prohibited to present
+themselves at the altar, or to be partakers of any other of our
+purifications; and this is justly, or rather necessarily done,
+because every one is not permitted of his own accord to be a
+writer, nor is there any disagreement in what is written; they
+being only prophets that have written the original and earliest
+accounts of things as they learned them of God himself by
+inspiration; and others have written what hath happened in their
+own times, and that in a very distinct manner also.
+
+8. For we have not an innumerable multitude of books among us,
+disagreeing from and contradicting one another, [as the Greeks
+have,] but only twenty-two books, (8) which contain the records
+of all the past times; which are justly believed to be divine;
+and of them five belong to Moses, which contain his laws and the
+traditions of the origin of mankind till his death. This interval
+of time was little short of three thousand years; but as to the
+time from the death of Moses till the reign of Artaxerxes king of
+Persia, who reigned after Xerxes, the prophets, who were after
+Moses, wrote down what was done in their times in thirteen books.
+The remaining four books contain hymns to God, and precepts for
+the conduct of human life. It is true, our history hath been
+written since Artaxerxes very particularly, but hath not been
+esteemed of the like authority with the former by our
+forefathers, because there hath not been an exact succession of
+prophets since that time; and how firmly we have given credit to
+these books of our own nation is evident by what we do; for
+during so many ages as have already passed, no one has been so
+bold as either to add any thing to them, to take any thing from
+them, or to make any change in them; but it is become natural to
+all Jews immediately, and from their very birth, to esteem these
+books to contain Divine doctrines, and to persist in them, and,
+if occasion be willingly to die for them. For it is no new thing
+for our captives, many of them in number, and frequently in time,
+to be seen to endure racks and deaths of all kinds upon the
+theatres, that they may not be obliged to say one word against
+our laws and the records that contain them; whereas there are
+none at all among the Greeks who would undergo the least harm on
+that account, no, nor in case all the writings that are among
+them were to be destroyed; for they take them to be such
+discourses as are framed agreeably to the inclinations of those
+that write them; and they have justly the same opinion of the
+ancient writers, since they see some of the present generation
+bold enough to write about such affairs, wherein they were not
+present, nor had concern enough to inform themselves about them
+from those that knew them; examples of which may be had in this
+late war of ours, where some persons have written histories, and
+published them, without having been in the places concerned, or
+having been near them when the actions were done; but these men
+put a few things together by hearsay, and insolently abuse the
+world, and call these writings by the name of Histories.
+
+9. As for myself, I have composed a true history of that whole
+war, and of all the particulars that occurred therein, as having
+been concerned in all its transactions; for I acted as general of
+those among us that are named Galileans, as long as it was
+possible for us to make any opposition. I was then seized on by
+the Romans, and became a captive. Vespasian also and Titus had me
+kept under a guard, and forced me to attend them continually. At
+the first I was put into bonds, but was set at liberty afterward,
+and sent to accompany Titus when he came from Alexandria to the
+siege of Jerusalem; during which time there was nothing done
+which escaped my knowledge; for what happened in the Roman camp I
+saw, and wrote down carefully; and what informations the
+deserters brought [out of the city], I was the only man that
+understood them. Afterward I got leisure at Rome; and when all my
+materials were prepared for that work, I made use of some persons
+to assist me in learning the Greek tongue, and by these means I
+composed the history of those transactions. And I was so well
+assured of the truth of what I related, that I first of all
+appealed to those that had the supreme command in that war,
+Vespasian and Titus, as witnesses for me, for to them I presented
+those books first of all, and after them to many of the Romans
+who had been in the war. I also sold them to many of our own men
+who understood the Greek philosophy; among whom were Julius
+Archelaus, Herod [king of Chalcis], a person of great gravity,
+and king Agrippa himself, a person that deserved the greatest
+admiration. Now all these men bore their testimony to me, that I
+had the strictest regard to truth; who yet would not have
+dissembled the matter, nor been silent, if I, out of ignorance,
+or out of favor to any side, either had given false colors to
+actions, or omitted any of them.
+
+10. There have been indeed some bad men, who have attempted to
+calumniate my history, and took it to be a kind of scholastic
+performance for the exercise of young men. A strange sort of
+accusation and calumny this! since every one that undertakes to
+deliver the history of actions truly ought to know them
+accurately himself in the first place, as either having been
+concerned in them himself, or been informed of them by such as
+knew them. Now both these methods of knowledge I may very
+properly pretend to in the composition of both my works; for, as
+I said, I have translated the Antiquities out of our sacred
+books; which I easily could do, since I was a priest by my birth,
+and have studied that philosophy which is contained in those
+writings: and for the History of the War, I wrote it as having
+been an actor myself in many of its transactions, an eye-witness
+in the greatest part of the rest, and was not unacquainted with
+any thing whatsoever that was either said or done in it. How
+impudent then must those deserve to be esteemed that undertake to
+contradict me about the true state of those affairs! who,
+although they pretend to have made use of both the emperors' own
+memoirs, yet could not they he acquainted with our affairs who
+fought against them.
+
+11. This digression I have been obliged to make out of necessity,
+as being desirous to expose the vanity of those that profess to
+write histories; and I suppose I have sufficiently declared that
+this custom of transmitting down the histories of ancient times
+hath been better preserved by those nations which are called
+Barbarians, than by the Greeks themselves. I am now willing, in
+the next place, to say a few things to those that endeavor to
+prove that our constitution is but of late time, for this reason,
+as they pretend, that the Greek writers have said nothing about
+us; after which I shall produce testimonies for our antiquity out
+of the writings of foreigners; I shall also demonstrate that such
+as cast reproaches upon our nation do it very unjustly.
+
+12. As for ourselves, therefore, we neither inhabit a maritime
+country, nor do we delight in merchandise, nor in such a mixture
+with other men as arises from it; but the cities we dwell in are
+remote from the sea, and having a fruitful country for our
+habitation, we take pains in cultivating that only. Our principal
+care of all is this, to educate our children well; and we think
+it to be the most necessary business of our whole life to observe
+the laws that have been given us, and to keep those rules of
+piety that have been delivered down to us. Since, therefore,
+besides what we have already taken notice of, we have had a
+peculiar way of living of our own, there was no occasion offered
+us in ancient ages for intermixing among the Greeks, as they had
+for mixing among the Egyptians, by their intercourse of exporting
+and importing their several goods; as they also mixed with the
+Phoenicians, who lived by the sea-side, by means of their love of
+lucre in trade and merchandise. Nor did our forefathers betake
+themselves, as did some others, to robbery; nor did they, in
+order to gain more wealth, fall into foreign wars, although our
+country contained many ten thousands of men of courage sufficient
+for that purpose. For this reason it was that the Phoenicians
+themselves came soon by trading and navigation to be known to the
+Grecians, and by their means the Egyptians became known to the
+Grecians also, as did all those people whence the Phoenicians in
+long voyages over the seas carried wares to the Grecians. The
+Medes also and the Persians, when they were lords of Asia, became
+well known to them; and this was especially true of the Persians,
+who led their armies as far as the other continent [Europe]. The
+Thracians were also known to them by the nearness of their
+countries, and the Scythians by the means of those that sailed to
+Pontus; for it was so in general that all maritime nations, and
+those that inhabited near the eastern or western seas, became
+most known to those that were desirous to be writers; but such as
+had their habitations further from the sea were for the most part
+unknown to them which things appear to have happened as to Europe
+also, where the city of Rome, that hath this long time been
+possessed of so much power, and hath performed such great actions
+in war, is yet never mentioned by Herodotus, nor by Thucydides,
+nor by any one of their contemporaries; and it was very late, and
+with great difficulty, that the Romans became known to the
+Greeks. Nay, those that were reckoned the most exact historians
+(and Ephorus for one) were so very ignorant of the Gauls and the
+Spaniards, that he supposed the Spaniards, who inhabit so great a
+part of the western regions of the earth, to be no more than one
+city. Those historians also have ventured to describe such
+customs as were made use of by them, which they never had either
+done or said; and the reason why these writers did not know the
+truth of their affairs was this, that they had not any commerce
+together; but the reason why they wrote such falsities was this,
+that they had a mind to appear to know things which others had
+not known. How can it then be any wonder, if our nation was no
+more known to many of the Greeks, nor had given them any occasion
+to mention them in their writings, while they were so remote from
+the sea, and had a conduct of life so peculiar to themselves?
+
+13. Let us now put the case, therefore, that we made use of this
+argument concerning the Grecians, in order to prove that their
+nation was not ancient, because nothing is said of them in our
+records: would not they laugh at us all, and probably give the
+same reasons for our silence that I have now alleged, and would
+produce their neighbor nations as witnesses to their own
+antiquity? Now the very same thing will I endeavor to do; for I
+will bring the Egyptians and the Phoenicians as my principal
+witnesses, because nobody can complain Of their testimony as
+false, on account that they are known to have borne the greatest
+ill-will towards us; I mean this as to the Egyptians in general
+all of them, while of the Phoenicians it is known the Tyrians
+have been most of all in the same ill disposition towards us: yet
+do I confess that I cannot say the same of the Chaldeans, since
+our first leaders and ancestors were derived from them; and they
+do make mention of us Jews in their records, on account of the
+kindred there is between us. Now when I shall have made my
+assertions good, so far as concerns the others, I will
+demonstrate that some of the Greek writers have made mention of
+us Jews also, that those who envy us may not have even this
+pretense for contradicting what I have said about our nation.
+
+14. I shall begin with the writings of the Egyptians; not indeed
+of those that have written in the Egyptian language, which it is
+impossible for me to do. But Manetho was a man who was by birth
+an Egyptian, yet had he made himself master of the Greek
+learning, as is very evident; for he wrote the history of his own
+country in the Greek tongue, by translating it, as he saith
+himself, out of their sacred records; he also finds great fault
+with Herodotus for his ignorance and false relations of Egyptian
+affairs. Now this Manetho, in the second book of his Egyptian
+History, writes concerning us in the following manner. I will set
+down his very words, as if I were to bring the very man himself
+into a court for a witness: "There was a king of ours whose name
+was Timaus. Under him it came to pass, I know not how, that God
+was averse to us, and there came, after a surprising manner, men
+of ignoble birth out of the eastern parts, and had boldness
+enough to make an expedition into our country, and with ease
+subdued it by force, yet without our hazarding a battle with
+them. So when they had gotten those that governed us under their
+power, they afterwards burnt down our cities, and demolished the
+temples of the gods, and used all the inhabitants after a most
+barbarous manner; nay, some they slew, and led their children and
+their wives into slavery. At length they made one of themselves
+king, whose name was Salatis; he also lived at Memphis, and made
+both the upper and lower regions pay tribute, and left garrisons
+in places that were the most proper for them. He chiefly aimed to
+secure the eastern parts, as fore-seeing that the Assyrians, who
+had then the greatest power, would be desirous of that kingdom,
+and invade them; and as he found in the Saite Nomos, [Sethroite,]
+a city very proper for this purpose, and which lay upon the
+Bubastic channel, but with regard to a certain theologic notion
+was called Avaris, this he rebuilt, and made very strong by the
+walls he built about it, and by a most numerous garrison of two
+hundred and forty thousand armed men whom he put into it to keep
+it. Thither Salatis came in summer time, partly to gather his
+corn, and pay his soldiers their wages, and partly to exercise
+his armed men, and thereby to terrify foreigners. When this man
+had reigned thirteen years, after him reigned another, whose name
+was Beon, for forty-four years; after him reigned another, called
+Apachnas, thirty-six years and seven months; after him Apophis
+reigned sixty-one years, and then Janins fifty years and one
+month; after all these reigned Assis forty-nine years and two
+months. And these six were the first rulers among them, who were
+all along making war with the Egyptians, and were very desirous
+gradually to destroy them to the very roots. This whole nation
+was styled Hycsos, that is, Shepherd-kings: for the first
+syllable Hyc, according to the sacred dialect, denotes a king, as
+is Sos a shepherd; but this according to the ordinary dialect;
+and of these is compounded Hycsos: but some say that these people
+were Arabians." Now in another copy it is said that this word
+does not denote Kings, but, on the contrary, denotes Captive
+Shepherds, and this on account of the particle Hyc; for that Hyc,
+with the aspiration, in the Egyptian tongue again denotes
+Shepherds, and that expressly also; and this to me seems the more
+probable opinion, and more agreeable to ancient history. [But
+Manetho goes on]: "These people, whom we have before named kings,
+and called shepherds also, and their descendants," as he says,
+"kept possession of Egypt five hundred and eleven years." After
+these, he says, "That the kings of Thebais and the other parts of
+Egypt made an insurrection against the shepherds, and that there
+a terrible and long war was made between them." He says further,
+"That under a king, whose name was Alisphragmuthosis, the
+shepherds were subdued by him, and were indeed driven out of
+other parts of Egypt, but were shut up in a place that contained
+ten thousand acres; this place was named Avaris." Manetho says,
+"That the shepherds built a wall round all this place, which was
+a large and a strong wall, and this in order to keep all their
+possessions and their prey within a place of strength, but that
+Thummosis the son of Alisphragmuthosis made an attempt to take
+them by force and by siege, with four hundred and eighty thousand
+men to lie rotund about them, but that, upon his despair of
+taking the place by that siege, they came to a composition with
+them, that they should leave Egypt, and go, without any harm to
+be done to them, whithersoever they would; and that, after this
+composition was made, they went away with their whole families
+and effects, not fewer in number than two hundred and forty
+thousand, and took their journey from Egypt, through the
+wilderness, for Syria; but that as they were in fear of the
+Assyrians, who had then the dominion over Asia, they built a city
+in that country which is now called Judea, and that large enough
+to contain this great number of men, and called it Jerusalem. (9)
+Now Manetho, in another book of his, says, "That this nation,
+thus called Shepherds, were also called Captives, in their sacred
+books." And this account of his is the truth; for feeding of
+sheep was the employment of our forefathers in the most ancient
+ages (10) and as they led such a wandering life in feeding sheep,
+they were called Shepherds. Nor was it without reason that they
+were called Captives by the Egyptians, since one of our
+ancestors, Joseph, told the king of Egypt that he was a captive,
+and afterward sent for his brethren into Egypt by the king's
+permission. But as for these matters, I shall make a more exact
+inquiry about them elsewhere. (11)
+
+15. But now I shall produce the Egyptians as witnesses to the
+antiquity of our nation. I shall therefore here bring in Manetho
+again, and what he writes as to the order of the times in this
+case; and thus he speaks: "When this people or shepherds were
+gone out of Egypt to Jerusalem, Tethtoosis the king of Egypt, who
+drove them out, reigned afterward twenty-five years and four
+months, and then died; after him his son Chebron took the kingdom
+for thirteen years; after whom came Amenophis, for twenty years
+and seven months; then came his sister Amesses, for twenty-one
+years and nine months; after her came Mephres, for twelve years
+and nine months; after him was Mephramuthosis, for twenty-five
+years and ten months; after him was Thmosis, for nine years and
+eight months; after him came Amenophis, for thirty years and ten
+months; after him came Orus, for thirty-six years and five
+months; then came his daughter Acenchres, for twelve years and
+one month; then was her brother Rathotis, for nine years; then
+was Acencheres, for twelve years and five months; then came
+another Acencheres, for twelve years and three months; after him
+Armais, for four years and one month; after him was Ramesses, for
+one year and four months; after him came Armesses Miammoun, for
+sixty-six years and two months; after him Amenophis, for nineteen
+years and six months; after him came Sethosis, and Ramesses, who
+had an army of horse, and a naval force. This king appointed his
+brother, Armais,, to be his deputy over Egypt." [In another copy
+it stood thus: After him came Sethosis, and Ramesses, two
+brethren, the former of whom had a naval force, and in a hostile
+manner destroyed those that met him upon the sea; but as he slew
+Ramesses in no long time afterward, so he appointed another of
+his brethren to be his deputy over Egypt.] He also gave him all
+the other authority of a king, but with these only injunctions,
+that he should not wear the diadem, nor be injurious to the
+queen, the mother of his children, and that he should not meddle
+with the other concubines of the king; while he made an
+expedition against Cyprus, and Phoenicia, and besides against the
+Assyrians and the Medes. He then subdued them all, some by his
+arms, some without fighting, and some by the terror of his great
+army; and being puffed up by the great successes he had had, he
+went on still the more boldly, and overthrew the cities and
+countries that lay in the eastern parts. But after some
+considerable time, Armais, who was left in Egypt, did all those
+very things, by way of opposition, which his brother had forbid
+him to do, without fear; for he used violence to the queen, and
+continued to make use of the rest of the concubines, without
+sparing any of them; nay, at the persuasion of his friends he put
+on the diadem, and set up to oppose his brother. But then he who
+was set over the priests of Egypt wrote letters to Sethosis, and
+informed him of all that had happened, and how his brother had
+set up to oppose him: he therefore returned back to Pelusium
+immediately, and recovered his kingdom again. The country also
+was called from his name Egypt; for Manetho says, that Sethosis
+was himself called Egyptus, as was his brother Armais called
+Danaus."
+
+16. This is Manetho's account. And evident it is from the number
+of years by him set down belonging to this interval, if they be
+summed up together, that these shepherds, as they are here
+called, who were no other than our forefathers, were delivered
+out of Egypt, and came thence, and inhabited this country, three
+hundred and ninety-three years before Danaus came to Argos;
+although the Argives look upon him (12) as their most ancient
+king Manetho, therefore, hears this testimony to two points of
+the greatest consequence to our purpose, and those from the
+Egyptian records themselves. In the first place, that we came out
+of another country into Egypt; and that withal our deliverance
+out of it was so ancient in time as to have preceded the siege of
+Troy almost a thousand years; but then, as to those things which
+Manetbo adds, not from the Egyptian records, but, as he confesses
+himself, from some stories of an uncertain original, I will
+disprove them hereafter particularly, and shall demonstrate that
+they are no better than incredible fables.
+
+17. I will now, therefore, pass from these records, and come to
+those that belong to the Phoenicians, and concern our nation, and
+shall produce attestations to what I have said out of them. There
+are then records among the Tyrians that take in the history of
+many years, and these are public writings, and are kept with
+great exactness, and include accounts of the facts done among
+them, and such as concern their transactions with other nations
+also, those I mean which were worth remembering. Therein it was
+recorded that the temple was built by king Solomon at Jerusalem,
+one hundred forty-three years and eight months before the Tyrians
+built Carthage; and in their annals the building of our temple is
+related; for Hirom, the king of Tyre, was the friend of Solomon
+our king, and had such friendship transmitted down to him from
+his forefathers. He thereupon was ambitious to contribute to the
+splendor of this edifice of Solomon, and made him a present of
+one hundred and twenty talents of gold. He also cut down the most
+excellent timber out of that mountain which is called Libanus,
+and sent it to him for adorning its roof. Solomon also not only
+made him many other presents, by way of requital, but gave him a
+country in Galilee also, that was called Chabulon. (13) But there
+was another passion, a philosophic inclination of theirs, which
+cemented the friendship that was betwixt them; for they sent
+mutual problems to one another, with a desire to have them
+unriddled by each other; wherein Solomon was superior to Hirom,
+as he was wiser than he in other respects: and many of the
+epistles that passed between them are still preserved among the
+Tyrians. Now, that this may not depend on my bare word, I will
+produce for a witness Dius, one that is believed to have written
+the Phoenician History after an accurate manner. This Dius,
+therefore, writes thus, in his Histories of the Phoenicians:
+"Upon the death of Abibalus, his son Hirom took the kingdom. This
+king raised banks at the eastern parts of the city, and enlarged
+it; he also joined the temple of Jupiter Olympius, which stood
+before in an island by itself, to the city, by raising a causeway
+between them, and adorned that temple with donations of gold. He
+moreover went up to Libanus, and had timber cut down for the
+building of temples. They say further, that Solomon, when he was
+king of Jerusalem, sent problems to Hirom to be solved, and
+desired he would send others back for him to solve, and that he
+who could not solve the problems proposed to him should pay money
+to him that solved them. And when Hirom had agreed to the
+proposals, but was not able to solve the problems, he was obliged
+to pay a great deal of money, as a penalty for the same. As also
+they relate, that oneœAbdemon, a man of Tyre, did solve the
+problems, and propose others which Solomon could not solve, upon
+which he was obliged to repay a great deal of money to Hirom."
+These things are attested to by Dius, and confirm what we have
+said upon the same subjects before.
+
+18. And now I shall add Menander the Ephesian, as an additional
+witness. This Menander wrote the Acts that were done both by the
+Greeks and Barbarians, under every one of the Tyrian kings, and
+had taken much pains to learn their history out of their own
+records. Now when he was writing about those kings that had
+reigned at Tyre, he came to Hirom, and says thus: "Upon the death
+of Abibalus, his son Hirom took the kingdom; he lived fifty-three
+years, and reigned thirty-four. He raised a bank on that called
+the Broad Place, and dedicated that golden pillar which is in
+Jupiter's temple; he also went and cut down timber from the
+mountain called Libanus, and got timber Of cedar for the roofs of
+the temples. He also pulled down the old temples, and built new
+ones; besides this, he consecrated the temples of Hercules and of
+Astarte. He first built Hercules's temple in the month Peritus,
+and that of Astarte when he made his expedition against the
+Tityans, who would not pay him their tribute; and when he had
+subdued them to himself, he returned home. Under this king there
+was a younger son of Abdemon, who mastered the problems which
+Solomon king of Jerusalem had recommended to be solved." Now the
+time from this king to the building of Carthage is thus
+calculated: "Upon the death of Hirom, Baleazarus his son took the
+kingdom; he lived forty-three years, and reigned seven years:
+after him succeeded his son Abdastartus; he lived twenty-nine
+years, and reigned nine years. Now four sons of his nurse plotted
+against him and slew him, the eldest of whom reigned twelve
+years: after them came Astartus, the son of Deleastartus; he
+lived fifty-four years, and reigned twelve years: after him came
+his brother Aserymus; he lived fifty-four years, and reigned nine
+years: he was slain by his brother Pheles, who took the kingdom
+and reigned but eight months, though he lived fifty years: he was
+slain by Ithobalus, the priest of Astarte, who reigned thirty-two
+years, and lived sixty-eight years: he was succeeded by his son
+Badezorus, who lived forty-five years, and reigned six years: he
+was succeeded by Matgenus his son; he lived thirty-two years, and
+reigned nine years: Pygmalion succeeded him; he lived fifty-six
+years, and reigned forty-seven years. Now in the seventh year of
+his reign, his sister fled away from him, and built the city
+Carthage in Libya." So the whole time from the reign of Hirom,
+till the building of Carthage, amounts to the sum of one hundred
+fifty-five years and eight months. Since then the temple was
+built at Jerusalem in the twelfth year of the reign of Hirom,
+there were from the building of the temple, until the building of
+Carthage, one hundred forty-three years and eight months.
+Wherefore, what occasion is there for alleging any more
+testimonies out of the Phoenician histories [on the behalf of our
+nation], since what I have said is so thoroughly confirmed
+already? and to be sure our ancestors came into this country long
+before the building of the temple; for it was not till we had
+gotten possession of the whole land by war that we built our
+temple. And this is the point that I have clearly proved out of
+our sacred writings in my Antiquities.
+
+19. I will now relate what hath been written concerning us in the
+Chaldean histories, which records have a great agreement with our
+books in oilier things also. Berosus shall be witness to what I
+say: he was by birth a Chaldean, well known by the learned, on
+account of his publication of the Chaldean books of astronomy and
+philosophy among the Greeks. This Berosus, therefore, following
+the most ancient records of that nation, gives us a history of
+the deluge of waters that then happened, and of the destruction
+of mankind thereby, and agrees with Moses's narration thereof. He
+also gives us an account of that ark wherein Noah, the origin of
+our race, was preserved, when it was brought to the highest part
+of the Armenian mountains; after which he gives us a catalogue of
+the posterity of Noah, and adds the years of their chronology,
+and at length comes down to Nabolassar, who was king of Babylon,
+and of the Chaldeans. And when he was relating the acts of this
+king, he describes to us how he sent his son Nabuchodonosor
+against Egypt, and against our land, with a great army, upon his
+being informed that they had revolted from him; and how, by that
+means, he subdued them all, and set our temple that was at
+Jerusalem on fire; nay, and removed our people entirely out of
+their own country, and transferred them to Babylon; when it so
+happened that our city was desolate during the interval of
+seventy years, until the days of Cyrus king of Persia. He then
+says, "That this Babylonian king conquered Egypt, and Syria, and
+Phoenicia, and Arabia, and exceeded in his exploits all that had
+reigned before him in Babylon and Chaldea." A little after which
+Berosus subjoins what follows in his History of Ancient Times. I
+will set down Berosus's own accounts, which are these: "When
+Nabolassar, father of Nabuchodonosor, heard that the governor
+whom he had set over Egypt, and over the parts of Celesyria and
+Phoenicia, had revolted from him, he was not able to bear it any
+longer; but committing certain parts of his army to his son
+Nabuchodonosor, who was then but young, he sent him against the
+rebel: Nabuchodonosor joined battle with him, and conquered him,
+and reduced the country under his dominion again. Now it so fell
+out that his father Nabolassar fell into a distemper at this
+time, and died in the city of Babylon, after he had reigned
+twenty-nine years. But as he understood, in a little time, that
+his father Nabolassar was dead, he set the affairs of Egypt and
+the other countries in order, and committed the captives he had
+taken from the Jews, and Phoenicians, and Syrians, and of the
+nations belonging to Egypt, to some of his friends, that they
+might conduct that part of the forces that had on heavy armor,
+with the rest of his baggage, to Babylonia; while he went in
+haste, having but a few with him, over the desert to Babylon;
+whither, when he was come, he found the public affairs had been
+managed by the Chaldeans, and that the principal person among
+them had preserved the kingdom for him. Accordingly, he now
+entirely obtained all his father's dominions. He then came, and
+ordered the captives to be placed as colonies in the most proper
+places of Babylonia; but for himself, he adorned the temple of
+Belus, and the other temples, after an elegant manner, out of the
+spoils he had taken in this war. He also rebuilt the old city,
+and added another to it on the outside, and so far restored
+Babylon, that none who should besiege it afterwards might have it
+in their power to divert the river, so as to facilitate an
+entrance into it; and this he did by building three walls about
+the inner city, and three about the outer. Some of these walls he
+built of burnt brick and bitumen, and some of brick only. So when
+he had thus fortified the city with walls, after an excellent
+manner, and had adorned the gates magnificently, he added a new
+palace to that which his father had dwelt in, and this close by
+it also, and that more eminent in its height, and in its great
+splendor. It would perhaps require too long a narration, if any
+one were to describe it. However, as prodigiously large and as
+magnificent as it was, it was finished in fifteen days. Now in
+this palace he erected very high walks, supported by stone
+pillars, and by planting what was called a pensile paradise, and
+replenishing it with all sorts of trees, he rendered the prospect
+an exact resemblance of a mountainous country. This he did to
+please his queen, because she had been brought up in Media, and
+was fond of a mountainous situation."
+
+20. This is what Berosus relates concerning the forementioned
+king, as he relates many other things about him also in the third
+book of his Chaldean History; wherein he complains of the Grecian
+writers for supposing, without any foundation, that Babylon was
+built by Semiramis, (14) queen of Assyria, and for her false
+pretense to those wonderful edifices thereto buildings at
+Babylon, do no way contradict those ancient and relating, as if
+they were her own workmanship; as indeed in these affairs the
+Chaldean History cannot but be the most credible. Moreover, we
+meet with a confirmation of what Berosus says in the archives of
+the Phoenicians, concerning this king Nabuchodonosor, that he
+conquered all Syria and Phoenicia; in which case Philostratus
+agrees with the others in that history which he composed, where
+he mentions the siege of Tyre; as does Megasthenes also, in the
+fourth book of his Indian History, wherein he pretends to prove
+that the forementioned king of the Babylonians was superior to
+Hercules in strength and the greatness of his exploits; for he
+says that he conquered a great part of Libya, and conquered
+Iberia also. Now as to what I have said before about the temple
+at Jerusalem, that it was fought against by the Babylonians, and
+burnt by them, but was opened again when Cyrus had taken the
+kingdom of Asia, shall now be demonstrated from what Berosus adds
+further upon that head; for thus he says in his third book:
+"Nabuchodonosor, after he had begun to build the forementioned
+wall, fell sick, and departed this life, when he had reigned
+forty-three years; whereupon his son Evilmerodach obtained the
+kingdom. He governed public affairs after an illegal and impure
+manner, and had a plot laid against him by Neriglissoor, his
+sister's husband, and was slain by him when he had reigned but
+two years. After he was slain, Neriglissoor, the person who
+plotted against him, succeeded him in the kingdom, and reigned
+four years; his son Laborosoarchod obtained the kingdom, though
+he was but a child, and kept it nine mouths; but by reason of the
+very ill temper and ill practices he exhibited to the world, a
+plot was laid against him also by his friends, and he was
+tormented to death. After his death, the conspirators got
+together, and by common consent put the crown upon the head of
+Nabonnedus, a man of Babylon, and one who belonged to that
+insurrection. In his reign it was that the walls of the city of
+Babylon were curiously built with burnt brick and bitumen; but
+when he was come to the seventeenth year of his reign, Cyrus came
+out of Persia with a great army; and having already conquered all
+the rest of Asia, he came hastily to Babylonia. When Nabonnedus
+perceived he was coming to attack him, he met him with his
+forces, and joining battle with him was beaten, and fled away
+with a few of his troops with him, and was shut up within the
+city Borsippus. Hereupon Cyrus took Babylon, and gave order that
+the outer walls of the city should be demolished, because the
+city had proved very troublesome to him, and cost him a great
+deal of pains to take it. He then marched away to Borsippus, to
+besiege Nabonnedus; but as Nabonnedus did not sustain the siege,
+but delivered himself into his hands, he was at first kindly used
+by Cyrus, who gave him Carmania, as a place for him to inhabit
+in, but sent him out of Babylonia. Accordingly Nabonnedus spent
+the rest of his time in that country, and there died."
+
+21. These accounts agree with the true histories in our books;
+for in them it is written that Nebuchadnezzar, in the eighteenth
+year of his reign, laid our temple desolate, and so it lay in
+that state of obscurity for fifty years; but that in the second
+year of the reign of Cyrus its foundations were laid, and it was
+finished again in the second year of Darius. I will now add the
+records of the Phoenicians; for it will not be superfluous to
+give the reader demonstrations more than enough on this occasion.
+In them we have this enumeration of the times of their several
+kings: "Nabuchodonosor besieged Tyre for thirteen years in the
+days of Ithobal, their king; after him reigned Baal, ten years;
+after him were judges appointed, who judged the people:
+Ecnibalus, the son of Baslacus, two months; Chelbes, the son of
+Abdeus, ten months; Abbar, the high priest, three months;
+Mitgonus and Gerastratus, the sons of Abdelemus, were judges six
+years; after whom Balatorus reigned one year; after his death
+they sent and fetched Merbalus from Babylon, who reigned four
+years; after his death they sent for his brother Hirom, who
+reigned twenty years. Under his reign Cyrus became king of
+Persia." So that the whole interval is fifty-four years besides
+three months; for in the seventh year of the reign of
+Nebuchadnezzar he began to besiege Tyre, and Cyrus the Persian
+took the kingdom in the fourteenth year of Hirom. So that the
+records of the Chaldeans and Tyrians agree with our writings
+about this temple; and the testimonies here produced are an
+indisputable and undeniable attestation to the antiquity of our
+nation. And I suppose that what I have already said may be
+sufficient to such as are not very contentious.
+
+22. But now it is proper to satisfy the inquiry of those that
+disbelieve the records of barbarians, and think none but Greeks
+to be worthy of credit, and to produce many of these very Greeks
+who were acquainted with our nation, and to set before them such
+as upon occasion have made mention of us in their own writings.
+Pythagoras, therefore, of Samos, lived in very ancient times, and
+was esteemed a person superior to all philosophers in wisdom and
+piety towards God. Now it is plain that he did not only know our
+doctrines, but was in very great measure a follower and admirer
+of them. There is not indeed extant any writing that is owned for
+his (15) but many there are who have written his history, of whom
+Hermippus is the most celebrated, who was a person very
+inquisitive into all sorts of history. Now this Hermippus, in his
+first book concerning Pythagoras, speaks thus: "That Pythagoras,
+upon the death of one of his associates, whose name was
+Calliphon, a Crotonlate by birth, affirmed that this man's soul
+conversed with him both night and day, and enjoined him not to
+pass over a place where an ass had fallen down; as also not to
+drink of such waters as caused thirst again; and to abstain from
+all sorts of reproaches." After which he adds thus: "This he did
+and said in imitation of the doctrines of the Jews and Thracians,
+which he transferred into his own philosophy." For it is very
+truly affirmed of this Pythagoras, that he took a great many of
+the laws of the Jews into his own philosophy. Nor was our nation
+unknown of old to several of the Grecian cities, and indeed was
+thought worthy of imitation by some of them. This is declared by
+Theophrastus, in his writings concerning laws; for he says that
+"the laws of the Tyrians forbid men to swear foreign oaths."
+Among which he enumerates some others, and particularly that
+called Corban: which oath can only be found among the Jews, and
+declares what a man may call "A thing devoted to God." Nor indeed
+was Herodotus of Halicarnassus unacquainted with our nation, but
+mentions it after a way of his own, when he saith thus, in the
+second book concerning the Colchians. His words are these: "The
+only people who were circumcised in their privy members
+originally, were the Colchians, the Egyptians, and the
+Ethiopians; but the Phoenicians and those Syrians that are in
+Palestine confess that they learned it from the Egyptians. And
+for those Syrians who live about the rivers Thermodon and
+Parthenius, and their neighbors the Macrones, they say they have
+lately learned it from the Colchians; for these are the only
+people that are circumcised among mankind, and appear to have
+done the very same thing with the Egyptians. But as for the
+Egyptians and Ethiopians themselves, I am not able to say which
+of them received it from the other." This therefore is what
+Herodotus says, that "the Syrians that are in Palestine are
+circumcised." But there are no inhabitants of Palestine that are
+circumcised excepting the Jews; and therefore it must be his
+knowledge of them that enabled him to speak so much concerning
+them. Cherilus also, a still ancienter writer, and a poet, (16)
+makes mention of our nation, and informs us that it came to the
+assistance of king Xerxes, in his expedition against Greece. For
+in his enumeration of all those nations, he last of all inserts
+ours among the rest, when he says," At the last there passed over
+a people, wonderful to be beheld; for they spake the Phoenician
+tongue with their mouths; they dwelt in the Solymean mountains,
+near a broad lake: their heads were sooty; they had round rasures
+on them; their heads and faces were like nasty horse-heads also,
+that had been hardened in the smoke." I think, therefore, that it
+is evident to every body that Cherilus means us, because the
+Solymean mountains are in our country, wherein we inhabit, as is
+also the lake called Asphaltitis; for this is a broader and
+larger lake than any other that is in Syria: and thus does
+Cherilus make mention of us. But now that not only the lowest
+sort of the Grecians, but those that are had in the greatest
+admiration for their philosophic improvements among them, did not
+only know the Jews, but when they lighted upon any of them,
+admired them also, it is easy for any one to know. For Clearchus,
+who was the scholar of Aristotle, and inferior to no one of the
+Peripatetics whomsoever, in his first book concerning sleep, says
+that "Aristotle his master related what follows of a Jew," and
+sets down Aristotle's own discourse with him. The account is
+this, as written down by him: "Now, for a great part of what this
+Jew said, it would be too long to recite it; but what includes in
+it both wonder and philosophy it may not be amiss to discourse
+of. Now, that I may be plain with thee, Hyperochides, I shall
+herein seem to thee to relate wonders, and what will resemble
+dreams themselves. Hereupon Hyperochides answered modestly, and
+said, For that very reason it is that all of us are very desirous
+of hearing what thou art going to say. Then replied Aristotle,
+For this cause it will be the best way to imitate that rule of
+the Rhetoricians, which requires us first to give an account of
+the man, and of what nation he was, that so we may not contradict
+our master's directions. Then said Hyperochides, Go on, if it so
+pleases thee. This man then, [answered Aristotle,] was by birth a
+Jew, and came from Celesyria; these Jews are derived from the
+Indian philosophers; they are named by the Indians Calami, and by
+the Syrians Judaei, and took their name from the country they
+inhabit, which is called Judea; but for the name of their city,
+it is a very awkward one, for they call it Jerusalem. Now this
+man, when he was hospitably treated by a great many, came down
+from the upper country to the places near the sea, and became a
+Grecian, not only in his language, but in his soul also; insomuch
+that when we ourselves happened to be in Asia about the same
+places whither he came, he conversed with us, and with other
+philosophical persons, and made a trial of our skill in
+philosophy; and as he had lived with many learned men, he
+communicated to us more information than he received from us."
+This is Aristotle's account of the matter, as given us by
+Clearchus; which Aristotle discoursed also particularly of the
+great and wonderful fortitude of this Jew in his diet, and
+continent way of living, as those that please may learn more
+about him from Clearchus's book itself; for I avoid setting down
+any more than is sufficient for my purpose. Now Clearchus said
+this by way of digression, for his main design was of another
+nature. But for Hecateus of Abdera, who was both a philosopher,
+and one very useful ill an active life, he was contemporary with
+king Alexander in his youth, and afterward was with Ptolemy, the
+son of Lagus; he did not write about the Jewish affairs by the by
+only, but composed an entire book concerning the Jews themselves;
+out of which book I am willing to run over a few things, of which
+I have been treating by way of epitome. And, in the first place,
+I will demonstrate the time when this Hecateus lived; for he
+mentions the fight that was between Ptolemy and Demetrius about
+Gaza, which was fought in the eleventh year after the death of
+Alexander, and in the hundred and seventeenth olympiad, as Castor
+says in his history. For when he had set down this olympiad, he
+says further, that "in this olympiad Ptolemy, the son of Lagus,
+beat in battle Demetrius, the son of Antigonus, who was named
+Poliorcetes, at Gaza." Now, it is agreed by all, that Alexander
+died in the hundred and fourteenth olympiad; it is therefore
+evident that our nation flourished in his time, and in the time
+of Alexander. Again, Hecateus says to the same purpose, as
+follows: "Ptolemy got possession of the places in Syria after
+that battle at Gaza; and many, when they heard of Ptolemy's
+moderation and humanity, went along with him to Egypt, and were
+willing to assist him in his affairs; one of whom (Hecateus says)
+was Hezekiah (17) the high priest of the Jews; a man of about
+sixty-six years of age, and in great dignity among his own
+people. He was a very sensible man, and could speak very
+movingly, and was very skillful in the management of affairs, if
+any other man ever were so; although, as he says, all the priests
+of the Jews took tithes of the products of the earth, and managed
+public affairs, and were in number not above fifteen hundred at
+the most." Hecateus mentions this Hezekiah a second time, and
+says, that "as he was possessed of so great a dignity, and was
+become familiar with us, so did he take certain of those that
+were with him, and explained to them all the circumstances of
+their people; for he had all their habitations and polity down in
+writing." Moreover, Hecateus declares again, "what regard we have
+for our laws, and that we resolve to endure any thing rather than
+transgress them, because we think it right for us to do so."
+Whereupon he adds, that "although they are in a bad reputation
+among their neighbors, and among all those that come to them, and
+have been often treated injuriously by the kings and governors of
+Persia, yet can they not be dissuaded from acting what they think
+best; but that when they are stripped on this account, and have
+torments inflicted upon them, and they are brought to the most
+terrible kinds of death, they meet them after an extraordinary
+manner, beyond all other people, and will not renounce the
+religion of their forefathers." Hecateus also produces
+demonstrations not a few of this their resolute tenaciousness of
+their laws, when he speaks thus: "Alexander was once at Babylon,
+and had an intention to rebuild the temple of Belus that was
+fallen to decay, and in order thereto, he commanded all his
+soldiers in general to bring earth thither. But the Jews, and
+they only, would not comply with that command; nay, they
+underwent stripes and great losses of what they had on this
+account, till the king forgave them, and permitted them to live
+in quiet." He adds further, that "when the Macedonians came to
+them into that country, and demolished the [old] temples and the
+altars, they assisted them in demolishing them all (18) but [for
+not assisting them in rebuilding them] they either underwent
+losses, or sometimes obtained forgiveness." He adds further, that
+"these men deserve to be admired on that account." He also speaks
+of the mighty populousness of our nation, and says that "the
+Persians formerly carried away many ten thousands of our people
+to Babylon, as also that not a few ten thousands were removed
+after Alexander's death into Egypt and Phoenicia, by reason of
+the sedition that was arisen in Syria." The same person takes
+notice in his history, how large the country is which we inhabit,
+as well as of its excellent character, and says, that "the land
+in which the Jews inhabit contains three millions of arourae,
+(19) and is generally of a most excellent and most fruitful soil;
+nor is Judea of lesser dimensions." The same man describe our
+city Jerusalem also itself as of a most excellent structure, and
+very large, and inhabited from the most ancient times. He also
+discourses of the multitude of men in it, and of the construction
+of our temple, after the following manner: "There are many strong
+places and villages (says he) in the country of Judea; but one
+strong city there is, about fifty furlongs in circumference,
+which is inhabited by a hundred and twenty thousand men, or
+thereabouts; they call it Jerusalem. There is about the middle of
+the city a wall of stone, whose length is five hundred feet, and
+the breadth a hundred cubits, with double cloisters; wherein
+there is a square altar, not made of hewn stone, but composed of
+white stones gathered together, having each side twenty cubits
+long, and its altitude ten cubits. Hard by it is a large edifice,
+wherein there is an altar and a candlestick, both of gold, and in
+weight two talents: upon these there is a light that is never
+extinguished, either by night or by day. There is no image, nor
+any thing, nor any donations therein; nothing at all is there
+planted, neither grove, nor any thing of that sort. The priests
+abide therein both nights and days, performing certain
+purifications, and drinking not the least drop of wine while they
+are in the temple." Moreover, he attests that we Jews went as
+auxiliaries along with king Alexander, and after him with his
+successors. I will add further what he says he learned when he
+was himself with the same army, concerning the actions of a man
+that was a Jew. His words are these: "As I was myself going to
+the Red Sea, there followed us a man, whose name was Mosollam; he
+was one of the Jewish horsemen who conducted us; he was a person
+of great courage, of a strong body, and by all allowed to be the
+most skillful archer that was either among the Greeks or
+barbarians. Now this man, as people were in great numbers passing
+along the road, and a certain augur was observing an augury by a
+bird, and requiring them all to stand still, inquired what they
+staid for. Hereupon the augur showed him the bird from whence he
+took his augury, and told him that if the bird staid where he
+was, they ought all to stand still; but that if he got up, and
+flew onward, they must go forward; but that if he flew backward,
+they must retire again. Mosollam made no reply, but drew his bow,
+and shot at the bird, and hit him, and killed him; and as the
+augur and some others were very angry, and wished imprecations
+upon him, he answered them thus: Why are you so mad as to take
+this most unhappy bird into your hands? for how can this bird
+give us any true information concerning our march, who could not
+foresee how to save himself? for had he been able to foreknow
+what was future, he would not have come to this place, but would
+have been afraid lest Mosollam the Jew should shoot at him, and
+kill him." But of Hecateus's testimonies we have said enough; for
+as to such as desire to know more of them, they may easily obtain
+them from his book itself. However, I shall not think it too much
+for me to name Agatharchides, as having made mention of us Jews,
+though in way of derision at our simplicity, as he supposes it to
+be; for when he was discoursing of the affairs of Stratonice,
+"how she came out of Macedonia into Syria, and left her husband
+Demetrius, while yet Seleueus would not marry her as she
+expected, but during the time of his raising an army at Babylon,
+stirred up a sedition about Antioch; and how, after that, the
+king came back, and upon his taking of Antioch, she fled to
+Seleucia, and had it in her power to sail away immediately yet
+did she comply with a dream which forbade her so to do, and so
+was caught and put to death." When Agatharehides had premised
+this story, and had jested upon Stratonice for her superstition,
+he gives a like example of what was reported concerning us, and
+writes thus: "There are a people called Jews, and dwell in a city
+the strongest of all other cities, which the inhabitants call
+Jerusalem, and are accustomed to rest on every seventh day (20)
+on which times they make no use of their arms, nor meddle with
+husbandry, nor take care of any affairs of life, but spread out
+their hands in their holy places, and pray till the evening. Now
+it came to pass, that when Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, came into
+this city with his army, that these men, in observing this mad
+custom of theirs, instead of guarding the city, suffered their
+country to submit itself to a bitter lord; and their law was
+openly proved to have commanded a foolish practice. (21) This
+accident taught all other men but the Jews to disregard such
+dreams as these were, and not to follow the like idle suggestions
+delivered as a law, when, in such uncertainty of human
+reasonings, they are at a loss what they should do." Now this our
+procedure seems a ridiculous thing to Agatharehides, but will
+appear to such as consider it without prejudice a great thing,
+and what deserved a great many encomiums; I mean, when certain
+men constantly prefer the observation of their laws, and their
+religion towards God, before the preservation of themselves and
+their country.
+
+23. Now that some writers have omitted to mention our nation, not
+because they knew nothing of us, but because they envied us, or
+for some other unjustifiable reasons, I think I can demonstrate
+by particular instances; for Hieronymus, who wrote the History of
+[Alexander's Successors, lived at the same time with Hecateus,
+and was a friend of king Antigonus, and president of Syria. Now
+it is plain that Hecateus wrote an entire book concerning us,
+while Hieronymus never mentions us in his history, although he
+was bred up very near to the places where we live. Thus different
+from one another are the inclinations of men; while the one
+thought we deserved to be carefully remembered, as some
+ill-disposed passion blinded the other's mind so entirely, that
+he could not discern the truth. And now certainly the foregoing
+records of the Egyptians, and Chaldeans, and Phoenicians,
+together with so many of the Greek writers, will be sufficient
+for the demonstration of our antiquity. Moreover, besides those
+forementioned, Theophilus, and Theodotus, and Mnaseas, and
+Aristophanes, and Hermogenes, Euhemerus also, and Conon, and
+Zopyrion, and perhaps many others, (for I have not lighted upon
+all the Greek books,) have made distinct mention of us. It is
+true, many of the men before mentioned have made great mistakes
+about the true accounts of our nation in the earliest times,
+because they had not perused our sacred books; yet have they all
+of them afforded their testimony to our antiquity, concerning
+which I am now treating. However, Demetrius Phalereus, and the
+elder Philo, with Eupolemus, have not greatly missed the truth
+about our affairs; whose lesser mistakes ought therefore to be
+forgiven them; for it was not in their power to understand our
+writings with the utmost accuracy.
+
+24. One particular there is still remaining behind of what I at
+first proposed to speak to, and that is, to demonstrate that
+those calumnies and reproaches which some have thrown upon our
+nation, are lies, and to make use of those writers' own
+testimonies against themselves; and that in general this
+self-contradiction hath happened to many other authors by reason
+of their ill-will to some people, I conclude, is not unknown to
+such as have read histories with sufficient care;for some of them
+have endeavored to disgrace the nobility of certain nations, and
+of some of the most glorious cities, and have cast reproaches
+upon certain forms of government. Thus hath Theopompus abused the
+city of Athens, Polycrates that of Lacedemon, as hath he hat
+wrote the Tripoliticus (for he is not Theopompus, as is supposed
+bys ome) done by the city of Thebes. Timeils also hath greatly
+abused the foregoing people and others also; and this
+ill-treatment they use chiefly when they have a contest with men
+of the greatest reputation; some out of envy and malice, and
+others as supposing that by this foolish talking of theirs they
+may be thought worthy of being remembered themselves; and indeed
+they do by no means fail of their hopes, with regard to the
+foolish part of mankind, but men of sober judgment still condemn
+them of great malignity.
+
+25. Now the Egyptians were the first that cast reproaches upon
+us; in order to please which nation, some others undertook to
+pervert the truth, while they would neither own that our
+forefathers came into Egypt from another country, as the fact
+was, nor give a true account of our departure thence. And indeed
+the Egyptians took many occasions to hate us and envy us: in the
+first place, because our ancestors had had the dominion over
+their country? and when they were delivered from them, and gone
+to their own country again, they lived there in prosperity. In
+the next place, the difference of our religion from theirs hath
+occasioned great enmity between us, while our way of Divine
+worship did as much exceed that which their laws appointed, as
+does the nature of God exceed that of brute beasts; for so far
+they all agree through the whole country, to esteem such animals
+as gods, although they differ one from another in the peculiar
+worship they severally pay to them. And certainly men they are
+entirely of vain and foolish minds, who have thus accustomed
+themselves from the beginning to have such bad notions concerning
+their gods, and could not think of imitating that decent form of
+Divine worship which we made use of, though, when they saw our
+institutions approved of by many others, they could not but envy
+us on that account; for some of them have proceeded to that
+degree of folly and meanness in their conduct, as not to scruple
+to contradict their own ancient records, nay, to contradict
+themselves also in their writings, and yet were so blinded by
+their passions as not to discern it.
+
+26. And now I will turn my discourse to one of their principal
+writers, whom I have a little before made use of as a witness to
+our antiquity; I mean Manetho. (22) He promised to interpret the
+Egyptian history out of their sacred writings, and premised this:
+that "our people had come into Egypt, many ten thousands in
+number, and subdued its inhabitants;" and when he had further
+confessed that "we went out of that country afterward, and
+settled in that country which is now called Judea, and there
+built Jerusalem and its temple." Now thus far he followed his
+ancient records; but after this he permits himself, in order to
+appear to have written what rumors and reports passed abroad
+about the Jews, and introduces incredible narrations, as if he
+would have the Egyptian multitude, that had the leprosy and other
+distempers, to have been mixed with us, as he says they were, and
+that they were condemned to fly out of Egypt together; for he
+mentions Amenophis, a fictitious king's name, though on that
+account he durst not set down the number of years of his reign,
+which yet he had accurately done as to the other kings he
+mentions; he then ascribes certain fabulous stories to this king,
+as having in a manner forgotten how he had already related that
+the departure of the shepherds for Jerusalem had been five
+hundred and eighteen years before; for Tethmosis was king when
+they went away. Now, from his days, the reigns of the
+intermediate kings, according to Manethe, amounted to three
+hundred and ninety-three years, as he says himself, till the two
+brothers Sethos and Hermeus; the one of whom, Sethos, was called
+by that other name of Egyptus, and the other, Hermeus, by that of
+Danaus. He also says that Sethos east the other out of Egypt, and
+reigned fifty-nine years, as did his eldest son Rhampses reign
+after him sixty-six years. When Manethe therefore had
+acknowledged that our forefathers were gone out of Egypt so many
+years ago, he introduces his fictitious king Amenophis, and says
+thus: "This king was desirous to become a spectator of the gods,
+as had Orus, one of his predecessors in that kingdom, desired the
+same before him; he also communicated that his desire to his
+namesake Amenophis, who was the son of Papis, and one that seemed
+to partake of a divine nature, both as to wisdom and the
+knowledge of futurities." Manethe adds, "how this namesake of his
+told him that he might see the gods, if he would clear the whole
+country of the lepers and of the other impure people; that the
+king was pleased with this injunction, and got together all that
+had any defect in their bodies out of Egypt; and that their
+number was eighty thousand; whom he sent to those quarries which
+are on the east side of the Nile, that they might work in them,
+and might be separated from the rest of the Egyptians." He says
+further, that "there were some of the learned priests that were
+polluted with the leprosy; but that still this Amenophis, the
+wise man and the prophet, was afraid that the gods would be angry
+at him and at the king, if there should appear to have been
+violence offered them; who also added this further, [out of his
+sagacity about futurities,] that certain people would come to the
+assistance of these polluted wretches, and would conquer Egypt,
+and keep it in their possession thirteen years; that, however, he
+durst not tell the king of these things, but that he left a
+writing behind him about all those matters, and then slew
+himself, which made the king disconsolate." After which he writes
+thus verbatim: "After those that were sent to work in the
+quarries had continued in that miserable state for a long while,
+the king was desired that he would set apart the city Avaris,
+which was then left desolate of the shepherds, for their
+habitation and protection; which desire he granted them. Now this
+city, according to the ancient theology, was Typho's city. But
+when these men were gotten into it, and found the place fit for a
+revolt, they appointed themselves a ruler out of the priests of
+Hellopolis, whose name was Osarsiph, and they took their oaths
+that they would be obedient to him in all things. He then, in the
+first place, made this law for them, That they should neither
+worship the Egyptian gods, nor should abstain from any one of
+those sacred animals which they have in the highest esteem, but
+kill and destroy them all; that they should join themselves to
+nobody but to those that were of this confederacy. When he had
+made such laws as these, and many more such as were mainly
+opposite to the customs of the Egyptians, (23) he gave order that
+they should use the multitude of the hands they had in building
+walls about their City, and make themselves ready for a war with
+king Amenophis, while he did himself take into his friendship the
+other priests, and those that were polluted with them, and sent
+ambassadors to those shepherds who had been driven out of the
+land by Tefilmosis to the city called Jerusalem; whereby he
+informed them of his own affairs, and of the state of those
+others that had been treated after such an ignominious manner,
+and desired that they would come with one consent to his
+assistance in this war against Egypt. He also promised that he
+would, in the first place, bring them back to their ancient city
+and country Avaris, and provide a plentiful maintenance for their
+multitude; that he would protect them and fight for them as
+occasion should require, and would easily reduce the country
+under their dominion. These shepherds were all very glad of this
+message, and came away with alacrity all together, being in
+number two hundred thousand men; and in a little time they came
+to Avaris. And now Amenophis the king of Egypt, upon his being
+informed of their invasion, was in great confusion, as calling to
+mind what Amenophis, the son of Papis, had foretold him; and, in
+the first place, he assembled the multitude of the Egyptians, and
+took counsel with their leaders, and sent for their sacred
+animals to him, especially for those that were principally
+worshipped in their temples, and gave a particular charge to the
+priests distinctly, that they should hide the images of their
+gods with the utmost care he also sent his son Sethos, who was
+also named Ramesses, from his father Rhampses, being but five
+years old, to a friend of his. He then passed on with the rest of
+the Egyptians, being three hundred thousand of the most warlike
+of them, against the enemy, who met them. Yet did he not join
+battle with them; but thinking that would be to fight against the
+gods, he returned back and came to Memphis, where he took Apis
+and the other sacred animals which he had sent for to him, and
+presently marched into Ethiopia, together with his whole army and
+multitude of Egyptians; for the king of Ethiopia was under an
+obligation to him, on which account he received him, and took
+care of all the multitude that was with him, while the country
+supplied all that was necessary for the food of the men. He also
+allotted cities and villages for this exile, that was to be from
+its beginning during those fatally determined thirteen years.
+Moreover, he pitched a camp for his Ethiopian army, as a guard to
+king Amenophis, upon the borders of Egypt. And this was the state
+of things in Ethiopia. But for the people of Jerusalem, when they
+came down together with the polluted Egyptians, they treated the
+men in such a barbarous manner, that those who saw how they
+subdued the forementioned country, and the horrid wickedness they
+were guilty of, thought it a most dreadful thing; for they did
+not only set the cities and villages on fire but were not
+satisfied till they had been guilty of sacrilege, and destroyed
+the images of the gods, and used them in roasting those sacred
+animals that used to be worshipped, and forced the priests and
+prophets to be the executioners and murderers of those animals,
+and then ejected them naked out of the country. It was also
+reported that the priest, who ordained their polity and their
+laws, was by birth of Hellopolls, and his name Osarsiph, from
+Osyris, who was the god of Hellopolls; but that when he was gone
+over to these people, his name was changed, and he was called
+Moses."
+
+27. This is what the Egyptians relate about the Jews, with much
+more, which I omit for the sake of brevity. But still Manetho
+goes on, that "after this, Amenophis returned back from Ethiopia
+with a great army, as did his son Ahampses with another army
+also, and that both of them joined battle with the shepherds and
+the polluted people, and beat them, and slew a great many of
+them, and pursued them to the bounds of Syria." These and the
+like accounts are written by Manetho. But I will demonstrate that
+he trifles, and tells arrant lies, after I have made a
+distinction which will relate to what I am going to say about
+him; for this Manetho had granted and confessed that this nation
+was not originally Egyptian, but that they had come from another
+country, and subdued Egypt, and then went away again out of it.
+But that. those Egyptians who were thus diseased in their bodies
+were not mingled with us afterward, and that Moses who brought
+the people out was not one of that company, but lived many
+generations earlier, I shall endeavor to demonstrate from
+Manetho's own accounts themselves.
+
+28. Now, for the first occasion of this fiction, Manetho supposes
+what is no better than a ridiculous thing; for he says that" king
+Amenophis desired to see the gods." What gods, I pray, did he
+desire to see? If he meant the gods whom their laws ordained to
+be worshipped, the ox, the goat, the crocodile, and the baboon,
+he saw them already; but for the heavenly gods, how could he see
+them, and what should occasion this his desire? To be sure? it
+was because another king before him had already seen them. He had
+then been informed what sort of gods they were, and after what
+manner they had been seen, insomuch that he did not stand in need
+of any new artifice for obtaining this sight. However, the
+prophet by whose means the king thought to compass his design was
+a wise man. If so, how came he not to know that such his desire
+was impossible to be accomplished? for the event did not succeed.
+And what pretense could there be to suppose that the gods would
+not be seen by reason of the people's maims in their bodies, or
+leprosy? for the gods are not angry at the imperfection of
+bodies, but at wicked practices; and as to eighty thousand
+lepers, and those in an ill state also, how is it possible to
+have them gathered together in one day? nay, how came the king
+not to comply with the prophet? for his injunction was, that
+those that were maimed should be expelled out of Egypt, while the
+king only sent them to work in the quarries, as if he were rather
+in want of laborers, than intended to purge his country. He says
+further, that" this prophet slew himself, as foreseeing the anger
+of the gods, and those events which were to come upon Egypt
+afterward; and that he left this prediction for the king in
+writing." Besides, how came it to pass that this prophet did not
+foreknow his own death at the first? nay, how came he not to
+contradict the king in his desire to see the gods immediately?
+how came that unreasonable dread upon him of judgments that were
+not to happen in his lifetime? or what worse thing could he
+suffer, out of the fear of which he made haste to kill himself?
+But now let us see the silliest thing of all: - The king,
+although he had been informed of these things, and terrified with
+the fear of what was to come, yet did not he even then eject
+these maimed people out of his country, when it had been foretold
+him that he was to clear Egypt of them; but, as Manetho says, "he
+then, upon their request, gave them that city to inhabit, which
+had formerly belonged to the shepherds, and was called Avaris;
+whither when they were gone in crowds," he says, "they chose one
+that had formerly been priest of Hellopolls; and that this priest
+first ordained that they should neither worship the gods, nor
+abstain from those animals that were worshipped by the Egyptians,
+but should kill and eat them all, and should associate with
+nobody but those that had conspired with them; and that he bound
+the multitude by oaths to be sure to continue in those laws; and
+that when he had built a wall about Avaris, he made war against
+the king." Manetho adds also, that "this priest sent to Jerusalem
+to invite that people to come to his assistance, and promised to
+give them Avaris; for that it had belonged to the forefathers of
+those that were coming from Jerusalem, and that when they were
+come, they made a war immediately against the king, and got
+possession of all Egypt." He says also that "the Egyptians came
+with an army of two hundred thousand men, and that Amenophis, the
+king of Egypt, not thinking that he ought to fight against the
+gods, ran away presently into Ethiopia, and committed Apis and
+certain other of their sacred animals to the priests, and
+commanded them to take care of preserving them." He says further,
+that" the people of Jerusalem came accordingly upon the
+Egyptians, and overthrew their cities, and burnt their temples,
+and slew their horsemen, and, in short, abstained from no sort of
+wickedness nor barbarity; and for that priest who settled their
+polity and their laws," he says," he was by birth of Hellopolis,
+and his name was Osarsiph, from Osyris the god of Hellopolis, but
+that he changed his name, and called himself Moses." He then says
+that "on the thirteenth year afterward, Amenophis, according to
+the fatal time of the duration of his misfortunes, came upon them
+out of Ethiopia with a great army, and joining battle with the
+shepherds and with the polluted people, overcame them in battle,
+and slew a great many of them, and pursued them as far as the
+bounds of Syria."
+
+29. Now Manetho does not reflect upon the improbability of his
+lie; for the leprous people, and the multitude that was with
+them, although they might formerly have been angry at the king,
+and at those that had treated them so coarsely, and this
+according to the prediction of the prophet; yet certainly, when
+they were come out of the mines, and had received of the king a
+city, and a country, they would have grown milder towards him.
+However, had they ever so much hated him in particular, they
+might have laid a private plot against himself, but would hardly
+have made war against all the Egyptians; I mean this on the
+account of the great kindred they who were so numerous must have
+had among them. Nay still, if they had resolved to fight with the
+men, they would not have had impudence enough to fight with their
+gods; nor would they have ordained laws quite contrary to those
+of their own country, and to those in which they had been bred up
+themselves. Yet are we beholden to Manethe, that he does not lay
+the principal charge of this horrid transgression upon those that
+came from Jerusalem, but says that the Egyptians themselves were
+the most guilty, and that they were their priests that contrived
+these things, and made the multitude take their oaths for doing
+so. But still how absurd is it to suppose that none of these
+people's own relations or friends should be prevailed with to
+revolt, nor to undergo the hazards of war with them, while these
+polluted people were forced to send to Jerusalem, and bring their
+auxiliaries from thence! What friendship, I pray, or what
+relation was there formerly between them that required this
+assistance? On the contrary, these people were enemies, and
+greatly differed from them in their customs. He says, indeed,
+that they complied immediately, upon their praising them that
+they should conquer Egypt; as if they did not themselves very
+well know that country out of which they had been driven by
+force. Now had these men been in want, or lived miserably,
+perhaps they might have undertaken so hazardous an enterprise;
+but as they dwelt in a happy city, and had a large country, and
+one better than Egypt itself, how came it about that, for the
+sake of those that had of old been their enemies, of those that
+were maimed in their bodies, and of those whom none of their own
+relations would endure, they should run such hazards in assisting
+them? For they could not foresee that the king would run away
+from them: on the contrary, he saith himself that "Amenophis's
+son had three hundred thousand men with him, and met them at
+Pelusium." Now, to be sure, those that came could not be ignorant
+of this; but for the king's repentance and flight, how could they
+possibly guess at it? He then says, that "those who came from
+Jerusalem, and made this invasion, got the granaries of Egypt
+into their possession, and perpetrated many of the most horrid
+actions there." And thence he reproaches them, as though he had
+not himself introduced them as enemies, or as though he might
+accuse such as were invited from another place for so doing, when
+the natural Egyptians themselves had done the same things before
+their coming, and had taken oaths so to do. However, "Amenophis,
+some time afterward, came upon them, and conquered them in
+battle, and slew his enemies, and drove them before him as far as
+Syria." As if Egypt were so easily taken by people that came from
+any place whatsoever, and as if those that had conquered it by
+war, when they were informed that Amenophis was alive, did
+neither fortify the avenues out of Ethiopia into it, although
+they had great advantages for doing it, nor did get their other
+forces ready for their defense! but that he followed them over
+the sandy desert, and slew them as far as Syria; while yet it is
+rot an easy thing for an army to pass over that country, even
+without fighting.
+
+30. Our nation, therefore, according to Manetho, was not derived
+from Egypt, nor were any of the Egyptians mingled with us. For it
+is to be supposed that many of the leprous and distempered people
+were dead in the mines, since they had been there a long time,
+and in so ill a condition; many others must be dead in the
+battles that happened afterward, and more still in the last
+battle and flight after it.
+
+31. It now remains that I debate with Manetho about Moses. Now
+the Egyptians acknowledge him to have been a wonderful and a
+divine person; nay, they would willingly lay claim to him
+themselves, though after a most abusive and incredible manner,
+and pretend that he was of Heliopolis, and one of the priests of
+that place, and was ejected out of it among the rest, on account
+of his leprosy; although it had been demonstrated out of their
+records that he lived five hundred and eighteen years earlier,
+and then brought our forefathers out of Egypt into the country
+that is now inhabited by us. But now that he was not subject in
+his body to any such calamity, is evident from what he himself
+tells us; for he forbade those that had the leprosy either to
+continue in a city, or to inhabit in a village, but commanded
+that they should go about by themselves with their clothes rent;
+and declares that such as either touch them, or live under the
+same roof with them, should be esteemed unclean; nay, more, if
+any one of their disease be healed, and he recover his natural
+constitution again, he appointed them certain purifications, and
+washings with spring water, and the shaving off all their hair,
+and enjoins that they shall offer many sacrifices, and those of
+several kinds, and then at length to be admitted into the holy
+city; although it were to be expected that, on the contrary, if
+he had been under the same calamity, he should have taken care of
+such persons beforehand, and have had them treated after a kinder
+manner, as affected with a concern for those that were to be
+under the like misfortunes with himself. Nor ;was it only those
+leprous people for whose sake he made these laws, but also for
+such as should be maimed in the smallest part of their body, who
+yet are not permitted by him to officiate as priests; nay,
+although any priest, already initiated, should have such a
+calamity fall upon him afterward, he ordered him to be deprived
+of his honor of officiating. How can it then be supposed that
+Moses should ordain such laws against himself, to his own
+reproach and damage who so ordained them? Nor indeed is that
+other notion of Manetho at all probable, wherein he relates the
+change of his name, and says that "he was formerly called
+Osarsiph;" and this a name no way agreeable to the other, while
+his true name was Mosses, and signifies a person who is preserved
+out of the water, for the Egyptians call water Moil. I think,
+therefore, I have made it sufficiently evident that Manetho,
+while he followed his ancient records, did not much mistake the
+truth of the history; but that when he had recourse to fabulous
+stories, without any certain author, he either forged them
+himself, without any probability, or else gave credit to some men
+who spake so out of their ill-will to us.
+
+32. And now I have done with Manetho, I will inquire into what
+Cheremon says. For he also, when he pretended to write the
+Egyptian history, sets down the same name for this king that
+Manetho did, Amenophis, as also of his son Ramesses, and then
+goes on thus: "The goddess Isis appeared to Amenophis in his
+sleep, and blamed him that her temple had been demolished in the
+war. But that Phritiphantes, the sacred scribe, said to him, that
+in case he would purge Egypt of the men that had pollutions upon
+them, he should be no longer troubled. with such frightful
+apparitions. That Amenophis accordingly chose out two hundred and
+fifty thousand of those that were thus diseased, and cast them
+out of the country: that Moses and Joseph were scribes, and
+Joseph was a sacred scribe; that their names were Egyptian
+originally; that of Moses had been Tisithen, and that of Joseph,
+Peteseph: that these two came to Pelusium, and lighted upon three
+hundred and eighty thousand that had been left there by
+Amenophis, he not being willing to carry them into Egypt; that
+these scribes made a league of friendship with them, and made
+with them an expedition against Egypt: that Amenophis could not
+sustain their attacks, but fled into Ethiopia, and left his wife
+with child behind him, who lay concealed in certain caverns, and
+there brought forth a son, whose name was Messene, and who, when
+he was grown up to man's estate, pursued the Jews into Syria,
+being about two hundred thousand, and then received his father
+Amenophis out of Ethiopia."
+
+33. This is the account Cheremon gives us. Now I take it for
+granted that what I have said already hath plainly proved the
+falsity of both these narrations; for had there been any real
+truth at the bottom, it was impossible they should so greatly
+disagree about the particulars. But for those that invent lies,
+what they write will easily give us very different accounts,
+while they forge what they please out of their own heads. Now
+Manetho says that the king's desire of seeing the gods was the
+origin of the ejection of the polluted people; but Cheremon
+feigns that it was a dream of his own, sent upon him by Isis,
+that was the occasion of it. Manetho says that the person who
+foreshowed this purgation of Egypt to the king was Amenophis; but
+this man says it was Phritiphantes. As to the numbers of the
+multitude that were expelled, they agree exceedingly well (24)
+the former reckoning them eighty thousand, and the latter about
+two hundred and fifty thousand! Now, for Manetho, he describes
+those polluted persons as sent first to work in the quarries, and
+says that the city Avaris was given them for their habitation. As
+also he relates that it was not till after they had made war with
+the rest of the Egyptians, that they invited the people of
+Jerusalem to come to their assistance; while Cheremon says only
+that they were gone out of Egypt, and lighted upon three hundred
+and eighty thousand men about Pelusium, who had been left there
+by Amenophis, and so they invaded Egypt with them again; that
+thereupon Amenophis fled into Ethiopia. But then this Cheremon
+commits a most ridiculous blunder in not informing us who this
+army of so many ten thousands were, or whence they came; whether
+they were native Egyptians, or whether they came from a foreign
+country. Nor indeed has this man, who forged a dream from Isis
+about the leprous people, assigned the reason why the king would
+not bring them into Egypt. Moreover, Cheremon sets down Joseph as
+driven away at the same time with Moses, who yet died four
+generations (25) before Moses, which four generations make almost
+one hundred and seventy years. Besides all this, Ramesses, the
+son of Amenophis, by Manetho's account, was a young man, and
+assisted his father in his war, and left the country at the same
+time with him, and fled into Ethiopia. But Cheremon makes him to
+have been born in a certain cave, after his father was dead, and
+that he then overcame the Jews in battle, and drove them into
+Syria, being in number about two hundred thousand. O the levity
+of the man! for he had neither told us who these three hundred
+and eighty thousand were, nor how the four hundred and thirty
+thousand perished; whether they fell in war, or went over to
+Ramesses. And, what is the strangest of all, it is not possible
+to learn out of him who they were whom he calls Jews, or to which
+of these two parties he applies that denomination, whether to the
+two hundred and fifty thousand leprous people, or to the three
+hundred and eighty thousand that were about Pelusium. But perhaps
+it will be looked upon as a silly thing in me to make any larger
+confutation of such writers as sufficiently confute themselves;
+for had they been only confuted by other men, it had been more
+tolerable.
+
+34. I shall now add to these accounts about Manethoand Cheremon
+somewhat about Lysimachus, who hath taken the same topic of
+falsehood with those forementioned, but hath gone far beyond them
+in the incredible nature of his forgeries; which plainly
+demonstrates that he contrived them out of his virulent hatred of
+our nation. His words are these: "The people of the Jews being
+leprous and scabby, and subject to certain other kinds of
+distempers, in the days of Bocchoris, king of Egypt, they fled to
+the temples, and got their food there by begging: and as the
+numbers were very great that were fallen under these diseases,
+there arose a scarcity in Egypt. Hereupon Bocehoris, the king of
+Egypt, sent some to consult the oracle of [Jupiter] Hammon about
+his scarcity. The god's answer was this, that he must purge his
+temples of impure and impious men, by expelling them out of those
+temples into desert places; but as to the scabby and leprous
+people, he must drown them, and purge his temples, the sun having
+an indignation at these men being suffered to live; and by this
+means the land will bring forth its fruits. Upon Bocchoris's
+having received these oracles, he called for their priests, and
+the attendants upon their altars, and ordered them to make a
+collection of the impure people, and to deliver them to the
+soldiers, to carry them away into the desert; but to take the
+leprous people, and wrap them in sheets of lead, and let them
+down into the sea. Hereupon the scabby and leprous people were
+drowned, and the rest were gotten together, and sent into desert
+places, in order to be exposed to destruction. In this case they
+assembled themselves together, and took counsel what they should
+do, and determined that, as the night was coming on, they should
+kindle fires and lamps, and keep watch; that they also should
+fast the next night, and propitiate the gods, in order to obtain
+deliverance from them. That on the next day there was one Moses,
+who advised them that they should venture upon a journey, and go
+along one road till they should come to places fit for
+habitation: that he charged them to have no kind regards for any
+man, nor give good counsel to any, but always to advise them for
+the worst; and to overturn all those temples and altars of the
+gods they should meet with: that the rest commended what he had
+said with one consent, and did what they had resolved on, and so
+traveled over the desert. But that the difficulties of the
+journey being over, they came to a country inhabited, and that
+there they abused the men, and plundered and burnt their temples;
+and then came into that land which is called Judea, and there
+they built a city, and dwelt therein, and that their city was
+named Hierosyla, from this their robbing of the temples; but that
+still, upon the success they had afterwards, they in time changed
+its denomination, that it might not be a reproach to them, and
+called the city Hierosolyma, and themselves Hierosolymites."
+
+35. Now this man did not discover and mention the same king with
+the others, but feigned a newer name, and passing by the dream
+and the Egyptian prophet, he brings him to [Jupiter] Hammon, in
+order to gain oracles about the scabby and leprous people; for he
+says that the multitude of Jews were gathered together at the
+temples. Now it is uncertain whether he ascribes this name to
+these lepers, or to those that were subject to such diseases
+among the Jews only; for he describes them as a people of the
+Jews. What people does he mean? foreigners, or those of that
+country? Why then' dost thou call them Jews, if they were
+Egyptians? But if they were foreigners, why dost thou not tell us
+whence they came? And how could it be that, after the king had
+drowned many of them in the sea, and ejected the rest into desert
+places, there should be still so great a multitude remaining? Or
+after what manner did they pass over the desert, and get the land
+which we now dwell in, and build our city, and that temple which
+hath been so famous among all mankind? And besides, he ought to
+have spoken more about our legislator than by giving us his bare
+name; and to have informed us of what nation he was, and what
+parents he was derived from; and to have assigned the reasons why
+he undertook to make such laws concerning the gods, and
+concerning matters of injustice with regard to men during that
+journey. For in case the people were by birth Egyptians, they
+would not on the sudden have so easily changed the customs of
+their country; and in case they had been foreigners, they had for
+certain some laws or other which had been kept by them from long
+custom. It is true, that with regard to those who had ejected
+them, they might have sworn never to bear good-will to them, and
+might have had a plausible reason for so doing. But if these men
+resolved to wage an implacable war against all men, in case they
+had acted as wickedly as he relates of them, and this while they
+wanted the assistance of all men, this demonstrates a kind of mad
+conduct indeed; but not of the men themselves, but very greatly
+so of him that tells such lies about them. He hath also impudence
+enough to say that a name, implying "Robbers of the temples,"
+(26) was given to their city, and that this name was afterward
+changed. The reason of which is plain, that the former name
+brought reproach and hatred upon them in the times of their
+posterity, while, it seems, those that built the city thought
+they did honor to the city by giving it such a name. So we see
+that this fine fellow had such an unbounded inclination to
+reproach us, that he did not understand that robbery of temples
+is not expressed By the same word and name among the Jews as it
+is among the Greeks. But why should a man say any more to a
+person who tells such impudent lies? However, since this book is
+arisen to a competent length, I will make another beginning, and
+endeavor to add what still remains to perfect my design in the
+following book.
+
+APION BOOK 1 FOOTNOTES
+
+(1) This first book has a wrong title. It is not written against
+Apion, as is the first part of the second book, but against those
+Greeks in general who would not believe Josephus's former
+accounts of the very ancient state of the Jewish nation, in his
+20 books of Antiquities; and particularly against Agatharelddes,
+Manetho, Cheremon, and Lysimachus. it is one of the most learned,
+excellent, and useful books of all antiquity; and upon Jerome's
+perusal of this and the following book, he declares that it seems
+to him a miraculous thing "how one that was a Hebrew, who had
+been from his infancy instructed in sacred learning, should be
+able to pronounce such a number of testimonies out of profane
+authors, as if he had read over all the Grecian libraries,"
+Epist. 8. ad Magnum; and the learned Jew, Manasseh-Ben-Israel,
+esteemed these two books so excellent, as to translate them into
+the Hebrew; this we learn from his own catalogue of his works,
+which I have seen. As to the time and place when and where these
+two books were written, the learned have not hitherto been able
+to determine them any further than that they were written some
+time after his Antiquities, or some time after A.D. 93; which
+indeed is too obvious at their entrance to be overlooked by even
+a careless peruser, they being directly intended against those
+that would not believe what he had advanced in those books
+con-the great of the Jewish nation As to the place, they all
+imagine that these two books were written where the former were,
+I mean at Rome; and I confess that I myself believed both those
+determinations, till I came to finish my notes upon these books,
+when I met with plain indications that they were written not at
+Rome, but in Judea, and this after the third of Trajan, or A.D.
+100.
+
+(2) Take Dr. Hudson's note here, which as it justly contradicts
+the common opinion that Josephus either died under Domitian, or
+at least wrote nothing later than his days, so does it perfectly
+agree to my own determination, from Justus of Tiberias, that he
+wrote or finished his own Life after the third of Trajan, or A.D.
+100. To which Noldius also agrees, de Herod, No. 383
+[Epaphroditus]. "Since Florius Josephus," says Dr. Hudson, "wrote
+[or finished] his books of Antiquities on the thirteenth of
+Domitian, [A.D. 93,] and after that wrote the Memoirs of his own
+Life, as an appendix to the books of Antiquities, and at last his
+two books against Apion, and yet dedicated all those writings to
+Epaphroditus; he can hardly be that Epaphroditus who was formerly
+secretary to Nero, and was slain on the fourteenth [or fifteenth]
+of Domitian, after he had been for a good while in banishment;
+but another Epaphroditas, a freed-man, and procurator of Trajan,
+as says Grotius on Luke 1:3.
+
+(3) The preservation of Homer's Poems by memory, and not by his
+own writing them down, and that thence they were styled
+Rhapsodies, as sung by him, like ballads, by parts, and not
+composed and connected together in complete works, are opinions
+well known from the ancient commentators; though such supposal
+seems to myself, as well as to Fabricius Biblioth. Grace. I. p.
+269, and to others, highly improbable. Nor does Josephus say
+there were no ancienter writings among the Greeks than Homer's
+Poems, but that they did not fully own any ancienter writings
+pretending to such antiquity, which is trite.
+
+(4) It well deserves to be considered, that Josephus here says
+how all the following Greek historians looked on Herodotus as a
+fabulous author; and presently, sect. 14, how Manetho, the most
+authentic writer of the Egyptian history, greatly complains of
+his mistakes in the Egyptian affairs; as also that Strabo, B. XI.
+p. 507, the most accurate geographer and historian, esteemed him
+such; that Xenophon, the much more accurate historian in the
+affairs of Cyrus, implies that Herodotus's account of that great
+man is almost entirely romantic. See the notes on Antiq. B. XI.
+ch. 2. sect. 1, and Hutchinson's Prolegomena to his edition of
+Xenophon's, that we have already seen in the note on Antiq. B.
+VIII. ch. 10. sect. 3, how very little Herodotus knew about the
+Jewish affairs and country, and that he greatly affected what we
+call the marvelous, as Monsieur Rollin has lately and justly
+determined; whence we are not always to depend on the authority
+of Herodotus, where it is unsupported by other evidence, but
+ought to compare the other evidence with his, and if it
+preponderate, to prefer it before his. I do not mean by this that
+Herodotus willfully related what he believed to be false, (as
+Cteeias seems to have done,) but that he often wanted evidence,
+and sometimes preferred what was marvelous to what was best
+attested as really true.
+
+(5)About the days of Cyrus and Daniel.
+
+(6) It is here well worth our observation, what the reasons are
+that such ancient authors as Herodotus, Josephus, and others have
+been read to so little purpose by many learned critics; viz. that
+their main aim has not been chronology or history, but philology,
+to know words, and not things, they not much entering oftentimes
+into the real contents of their authors, and judging which were
+the most accurate discoverers of truth, and most to be depended
+on in the several histories, but rather inquiring who wrote the
+finest style, and had the greatest elegance in their expressions;
+which are things of small consequence in comparison of the other.
+Thus you will sometimes find great debates among the learned,
+whether Herodotus or Thucydides were the finest historian in the
+Ionic and Attic ways of writing; which signify little as to the
+real value of each of their histories; while it would be of much
+more moment to let the reader know, that as the consequence of
+Herodotus's history, which begins so much earlier, and reaches so
+much wider, than that of Thucydides, is therefore vastly greater;
+so is the most part of Thucydides, which belongs to his own
+times, and fell under his own observation, much the most certain.
+
+(7) Of this accuracy of the Jews before and in our Savior's time,
+in carefully preserving their genealogies all along, particularly
+those of the priests, see Josephus's Life, sect. 1. This
+accuracy. seems to have ended at the destruction of Jerusalem by
+Titus, or, however, at that by Adrian.
+
+(8) Which were these twenty-two sacred books of the. Old
+Testament, see the Supplement to the Essay of the Old Testament,
+p. 25-29, viz. those we call canonical, all excepting the
+Canticles; but still with this further exception, that the book
+of apocryphal Esdras be taken into that number instead of our
+canonical Ezra, which seems to be no more than a later epitome of
+the other; which two books of Canticles and Ezra it no way
+appears that our Josephus ever saw.
+
+(9) Here we have an account of the first building of the city of
+Jerusalem, according to Manetho, when the Phoenician shepherds
+were expelled out of Egypt about thirty-seven years before
+Abraham came out of Harsh.
+
+(10) Genesis 46;32, 34; 47:3, 4.
+
+(11) In our copies of the book of Genesis and of Joseph, this
+Joseph never calls himself "a captive," when he was with the king
+of Egypt, though he does call himself "a servant," "a slave," or
+"captive," many times in the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs,
+under Joseph, sect. 1, 11, 13-16.
+
+(12) Of this Egyptian chronology of Manetho, as mistaken by
+Josephus, and of these Phoenician shepherds, as falsely supposed
+by him, and others after him, to have been the Israelites in
+Egypt, see Essay on the Old Testament, Appendix, p. 182-188. And
+note here, that when Josephus tells us that the Greeks or Argives
+looked on this Danaus as "a most ancient," or "the most ancient,"
+king of Argos, he need not be supposed to mean, in the strictest
+sense, that they had no one king so ancient as he; for it is
+certain that they owned nine kings before him, and Inachus at the
+head of them. See Authentic Records, Part II. p. 983, as Josephus
+could not but know very well; but that he was esteemed as very
+ancient by them, and that they knew they had been first of all
+denominated "Danai" from this very ancient king Danaus. Nor does
+this superlative degree always imply the "most ancient" of all
+without exception, but is sometimes to be rendered "very ancient"
+only, as is the case in the like superlative degrees of other
+words also.
+
+(13) Authentic Records, Part II. p. 983, as Josephus could not
+but know very well; but that he was esteemed as very ancient by
+them, and that they knew they had been first of all denominated
+"Danai" from this very ancient king Danaus. Nor does this
+superlative degree always imply the "most ancient" of all without
+exception, but is sometimes to be rendered "very ancient" only,
+as is the case in the like superlative degrees of other words
+also.
+
+(14) This number in Josephus, that Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the
+temple in the eighteenth year of his reign, is a mistake in the
+nicety of chronology; for it was in the nineteenth. The true
+number here for the year of Darius, in which the second temple
+was finished, whether the second with our present copies, or the
+sixth with that of Syncellus, or the tenth with that of Eusebius,
+is very uncertain; so we had best follow Josephus's own account
+elsewhere, Antiq. ;B. XI. ch. 3. sect. 4, which shows us that
+according to his copy of the Old Testament, after the second of
+Cyrus, that work was interrupted till the second of Darius, when
+in seven years it was finished in the ninth of Darius.
+
+(15) This is a thing well known by the learned, that we are not
+secure that we have any genuine writings of Pythagoras; those
+Golden Verses, which are his best remains, being generally
+supposed to have been written not by himself, but by some of his
+scholars only, in agreement with what Josephus here affirms of
+him.
+
+(16) Whether these verses of Cherilus, the heathen poet, in the
+days of Xerxes, belong to the Solymi in Pisidia, that were near a
+small lake, or to the Jews that dwelt on the Solymean or
+Jerusalem mountains, near the great and broad lake Asphaltitis,
+that were a strange people, and spake the Phoenician tongue, is
+not agreed on by the learned. If is yet certain that Josephus
+here, and Eusebius, Prep. IX. 9. p. 412, took them to be Jews;
+and I confess I cannot but very much incline to the same opinion.
+The other Solymi were not a strange people, but heathen
+idolaters, like the other parts of Xerxes's army; and that these
+spake the Phoenician tongue is next to impossible, as the Jews
+certainly did; nor is there the least evidence for it elsewhere.
+Nor was the lake adjoining to the mountains of the Solvmi at all
+large or broad, in comparison of the Jewish lake Asphaltitis; nor
+indeed were these so considerable a people as the Jews, nor so
+likely to be desired by Xerxes for his army as the Jews, to whom
+he was always very favorable. As for the rest of Cherilus's
+description, that "their heads were sooty; that they had round
+rasures on their heads; that their heads and faces were like
+nasty horse-heads, which had been hardened in the smoke;" these
+awkward characters probably fitted the Solymi of Pisidi no better
+than they did the Jews in Judea. And indeed this reproachful
+language, here given these people, is to me a strong indication
+that they were the poor despicable Jews, and not the Pisidian
+Solymi celebrated in Homer, whom Cherilus here describes; nor are
+we to expect that either Cherilus or Hecateus, or any other pagan
+writers cited by Josephus and Eusebius, made no mistakes in the
+Jewish history. If by comparing their testimonies with the more
+authentic records of that nation we find them for the main to
+confirm the same, as we almost always do, we ought to be
+satisfied, and not expect that they ever had an exact knowledge
+of all the circumstances of the Jewish affairs, which indeed it
+was almost always impossible for them to have. See sect. 23.
+
+(17) This Hezekiah, who is here called a high priest, is not
+named in Josephus's catalogue; the real high priest at that time
+being rather Onias, as Archbishop Usher supposes. However,
+Josephus often uses the word high priests in the plural number,
+as living many at the same time. See the note on Antiq. B. XX.
+ch. 8. sect. 8.
+
+(18) So I read the text with Havercamp, though the place be
+difficult.
+
+(19) This number of arourae or Egyptian acres, 3,000,000, each
+aroura containing a square of 100 Egyptian cubits, (being about
+three quarters of an English acre, and just twice the area of the
+court of the Jewish tabernacle,) as contained in the country of
+Judea, will be about one third of the entire number of arourae in
+the whole land of Judea, supposing it 160 measured miles long and
+70 such miles broad; which estimation, for the fruitful parts of
+it, as perhaps here in Hecateus, is not therefore very wide from
+the truth. The fifty furlongs in compass for the city Jerusalem
+presently are not very wide from the truth also, as Josephus
+himself describes it, who, Of the War, B. V. ch. 4. sect. 3.
+makes its wall thirty-three furlongs, besides the suburbs and
+gardens; nay, he says, B. V. ch. 12. sect. 2, that Titus's wall
+about it at some small distance, after the gardens and suburbs
+were destroyed, was not less than thirty-nine furlongs. Nor
+perhaps were its constant inhabitants, in the days of Hecateus,
+many more than these 120,000, because room was always to be left
+for vastly greater numbers which came up at the three great
+festivals; to say nothing of the probable increase in their
+number between the days of Hecateus and Josephus, which was at
+least three hundred years. But see a more authentic account of
+some of these measures in my Description of the Jewish Temples.
+However, we are not to expect that such heathens as Cherilus or
+Hecateus, or the rest that are cited by Josephus and Eusebius,
+could avoid making many mistakes in the Jewish history, while yet
+they strongly confirm the same history in the general, and are
+most valuable attestations to those more authentic accounts we
+have in the Scriptures and Josephus concerning them.
+
+(20) A glorious testimony this of the observation of the sabbath
+by the Jews. See Antiq. B. XVI. ch. 2. sect. 4, and ch. 6. sect.
+2; the Life, sect. 54; and War, B. IV. ch. 9. sect. 12.
+
+(21) Not their law, but the superstitious interpretation of their
+leaders which neither the Maccabees nor our blessed Savior did
+ever approve of.
+
+(22) In reading this and the remaining sections of this book, and
+some parts of the next, one may easily perceive that our usually
+cool and candid author, Josephus, was too highly offended with
+the impudent calumnies of Manethe, and the other bitter enemies
+of the Jews, with whom he had now to deal, and was thereby
+betrayed into a greater heat and passion than ordinary, and that
+by consequence he does not hear reason with his usual fairness
+and impartiality; he seems to depart sometimes from the brevity
+and sincerity of a faithful historian, which is his grand
+character, and indulges the prolixity and colors of a pleader and
+a disputant: accordingly, I confess, I always read these sections
+with less pleasure than I do the rest of his writings, though I
+fully believe the reproaches cast on the Jews, which he here
+endeavors to confute and expose, were wholly groundless and
+unreasonable.
+
+(23) This is a very valuable testimony of Manetho, that the laws
+of Osarsiph, or Moses, were not made in compliance with, but in
+opposition to, the customs of the Egyptians. See the note on
+Antiq. B. III. ch. 8. sect. 9.
+
+(24) By way of irony, I suppose.
+
+(25) Here we see that Josephus esteemed a generation between
+Joseph and Moses to be about forty-two or forty-three years;
+which, if taken between the earlier children, well agrees with
+the duration of human life in those ages. See Antheat. Rec. Part
+II. pages 966, 1019, 1020.
+
+(26) That is the meaning of Hierosyla in Greek, not in Hebrew.
+
+BOOK II.
+                       
+  1. In the former book, most honored Epaphroditus, I have
+  demonstrated our antiquity, and confirmed the truth of what
+  I have said, from the writings of the Phoenicians, and
+  Chaldeans, and Egyptians. I have, moreover, produced many
+  of the Grecian writers as witnesses thereto. I have also made
+  a refutation of Manetho and Cheremon, and of certain others
+  of our enemies. I shall now (1) therefore begin a confutation
+  of the remaining authors who have written any thing against
+  us; although I confess I have had a doubt upon me about
+  Apion (2) the grammarian, whether I ought to take the
+  trouble of confuting him or not; for some of his writings
+  contain much the same accusations which the others have laid
+  against us, some things that he hath added are very frigid and
+  contemptible, and for the greatest part of what he says, it is
+  very scurrilous, and, to speak no more than the plain truth, it
+  shows him to be a very unlearned person, and what he lays
+  together looks like the work of a man of very bad morals,
+  and of one no better in his whole life than a mountebank.
+  Yet, because there are a great many men so very foolish, that
+  they are rather caught by such orations than by what is
+  written with care, and take pleasure in reproaching other
+  men, and cannot abide to hear them commended, I thought
+  it to be necessary not to let this man go off without
+  examination, who had written such an accusation against us,
+  as if he would bring us to make an answer in open court. For
+  I also have observed, that many men are very much delighted
+  when they see a man who first began to reproach another, to
+  be himself exposed to contempt on account of the vices he
+  hath himself been guilty of. However, it is not a very easy
+  thing to go over this man's discourse, nor to know plainly
+  what he means; yet does he seem, amidst a great confusion
+  and disorder in his falsehoods, to produce, in the first place,
+  such things as resemble what we have examined already, and
+  relate to the departure of our forefathers out of Egypt; and,
+  in the second place, he accuses those Jews that are
+  inhabitants of Alexandria; as, in the third place, he mixes
+  with those things such accusations as concern the sacred
+  purifications, with the other legal rites used in the temple.
+  
+  2. Now although I cannot but think that I have already
+  demonstrated, and that abundantly more than was necessary,
+  that our fathers were not originally Egyptians, nor were
+  thence expelled, either on account of bodily diseases, or any
+  other calamities of that sort; yet will I briefly take notice
+of
+  what Apion adds upon that subject; for in his third book,
+  which relates to the affairs of Egypt, he speaks thus: "I have
+  heard of the ancient men of Egypt, that Moses was of
+  Heliopolis, and that he thought himself obliged to follow the
+  customs of his forefathers, and offered his prayers in the
+  open air, towards the city walls; but that he reduced them all
+  to be directed towards sun-rising, which was agreeable to the
+  situation of Heliopolis; that he also set up pillars instead of
+  gnomons, (3) under which was represented a cavity like that
+  of a boat, and the shadow that fell from their tops fell down
+  upon that cavity, that it might go round about the like course
+  as the sun itself goes round in the other." This is that
+  wonderful relation which we have given us by this
+  grammarian. But that it is a false one is so plain, that it
+  stands in need of few words to prove it, but is manifest from
+  the works of Moses; for when he erected the first tabernacle
+  to God, he did himself neither give order for any such kind
+  of representation to be made at it, nor ordain that those that
+  came after him should make such a one. Moreover, when in
+  a future age Solomon built his temple in Jerusalem, he
+  avoided all such needless decorations as Apion hath here
+  devised. He says further, how he had "heard of the ancient
+  men, that Moses was of Hellopolis." To be sure that was,
+  because being a younger man himself, he believed those that
+  by their elder age were acquainted and conversed with him.
+  Now this grammarian, as he was, could not certainly tell
+  which was the poet Homer's country, no more than he could
+  which was the country of Pythagoras, who lived comparatively
+  but a little while ago; yet does he thus easily determine the
+  age of Moses, who preceded them such a vast number of
+  years, as depending on his ancient men's relation, which
+  shows how notorious a liar he was. But then as to this
+  chronological determination of the time when he says he
+  brought the leprous people, the blind, and the lame out of
+  Egypt, see how well this most accurate grammarian of ours
+  agrees with those that have written before him! Manetho says
+  that the Jews departed out of Egypt, in the reign of
+  Tethmosis, three hundred ninety-three years before Danaus
+  fled to Argos; Lysimaehus says it was under king Bocchoris,
+  that is, one thousand seven hundred years ago; Molo and
+  some others determined it as every one pleased: but this
+  Apion of ours, as deserving to be believed before them, hath
+  determined it exactly to have been in the seventh olympiad,
+  and the first year of that olympiad; the very same year in
+  which he says that Carthage was built by the Phoenicians.
+  The reason why he added this building of Carthage was, to
+  be sure, in order, as he thought, to strengthen his assertion
+  by so evident a character of chronology. But he was not
+  aware that this character confutes his assertion; for if we may
+  give credit to the Phoenician records as to the time of the
+  first coming of their colony to Carthage, they relate that
+  Hirom their king was above a hundred and fifty years earlier
+  than the building of Carthage; concerning whom I have
+  formerly produced testimonials out of those Phoenician
+  records, as also that this Hirom was a friend of Solomon
+  when he was building the temple of Jerusalem, and gave him
+  great assistance in his building that temple; while still
+  Solomon himself built that temple six hundred and twelve
+  years after the Jews came out of Egypt. As for the number of
+  those that were expelled out of Egypt, he hath contrived to
+  have the very same number with Lysimaehus, and says they
+  were a hundred and ten thousand. He then assigns a certain
+  wonderful and plausible occasion for the name of Sabbath;
+  for he says that "when the Jews had traveled a six days'
+  journey, they had buboes in their groins; and that on this
+  account it was that they rested on the seventh day, as having
+  got safely to that country which is now called Judea; that then
+  they preserved the language of the Egyptians, and called that
+  day the Sabbath, for that malady of buboes on their groin
+  was named Sabbatosis by the Egyptians." And would not a
+  man now laugh at this fellow's trifling, or rather hate his
+  impudence in writing thus? We must, it seems, fake it for
+  granted that all these hundred and ten thousand men must
+  have these buboes. But, for certain, if those men had been
+  blind and lame, and had all sorts of distempers upon them, as
+  Apion says they had, they could not have gone one single
+  day's journey; but if they had been all able to travel over a
+  large desert, and, besides that, to fight and conquer those
+  that opposed them, they had not all of them had buboes on
+  their groins after the sixth day was over; for no such
+  distemper comes naturally and of necessity upon those that
+  travel; but still, when there are many ten thousands in a camp
+  together, they constantly march a settled space [in a day].
+  Nor is it at all probable that such a thing should happen by
+  chance; this would be prodigiously absurd to be supposed.
+  However, our admirable author Apion hath before told us
+  that "they came to Judea in six days' time;" and again, that
+  "Moses went up to a mountain that lay between Egypt and
+  Arabia, which was called Sinai, and was concealed there forty
+  days, and that when he came down from thence he gave laws
+  to the Jews." But, then, how was it possible for them to tarry
+  forty days in a desert place where there was no water, and at
+  the same time to pass all over the country between that and
+  Judea in the six days? And as for this grammatical translation
+  of the word Sabbath, it either contains an instance of his
+  great impudence or gross ignorance; for the words Sabbo and
+  Sabbath are widely different from one another; for the word
+  Sabbath in the Jewish language denotes rest from all sorts of
+  work; but the word Sabbo, as he affirms, denotes among the
+  Egyptians the malady of a bubo in the groin.
+  
+  3. This is that novel account which the Egyptian Apion gives
+  us concerning the Jews' departure out of Egypt, and is no
+  better than a contrivance of his own. But why should we
+  wonder at the lies he tells about our forefathers, when he
+  affirms them to be of Egyptian original, when he lies also
+  about himself? for although he was born at Oasis in Egypt,
+  he pretends to be, as a man may say, the top man of all the
+  Egyptians; yet does he forswear his real country and
+  progenitors, and by falsely pretending to be born at
+  Alexandria, cannot deny the (4) pravity of his family; for you
+  see how justly he calls those Egyptians whom he hates, and
+  endeavors to reproach; for had he not deemed Egyptians to
+  be a name of great reproach, he would not have avoided the
+  name of an Egyptian himself; as we know that those who
+  brag of their own countries value themselves upon the
+  denomination they acquire thereby, and reprove such as
+  unjustly lay claim thereto. As for the Egyptians' claim to be
+  of our kindred, they do it on one of the following accounts; I
+  mean, either as they value themselves upon it, and pretend to
+  bear that relation to us; or else as they would draw us in to
+  be partakers of their own infamy. But this fine fellow Apion
+  seems to broach this reproachful appellation against us, [that
+  we were originally Egyptians,] in order to bestow it on the
+  Alexandrians, as a reward for the privilege they had given
+  him of being a fellow citizen with them: he also is apprized of
+  the ill-will the Alexandrians bear to those Jews who are their
+  fellow citizens, and so proposes to himself to reproach them,
+  although he must thereby include all the other Egyptians
+  also; while in both cases he is no better than an impudent
+  liar.
+  
+  4. But let us now see what those heavy and wicked crimes are
+  which Apion charges upon the Alexandrian Jews. "They came
+  (says he) out of Syria, and inhabited near the tempestuous
+  sea, and were in the neighborhood of the dashing of the
+  waves." Now if the place of habitation includes any thing that
+  is reproached, this man reproaches not his own real country,
+  [Egypt,] but what he pretends to be his own country,
+  Alexandria; for all are agreed in this, that the part of that
+city
+  which is near the sea is the best part of all for habitation.
+  Now if the Jews gained that part of the city by force, and
+  have kept it hitherto without impeachment, this is a mark of
+  their valor; but in reality it was Alexander himself that gave
+  them that place for their habitation, when they obtained
+  equal privileges there with the Macedonians. Nor call I devise
+  what Apion would have said, had their habitation been at
+  Necropolis? and not been fixed hard by the royal palace [as it
+  is]; nor had their nation had the denomination of
+  Macedonians given them till this very day [as they have]. Had
+  this man now read the epistles of king Alexander, or those of
+  Ptolemy the son of Lagus, or met with the writings of the
+  succeeding kings, or that pillar which is still standing at
+  Alexandria, and contains the privileges which the great
+  [Julius] Caesar bestowed upon the Jews; had this man, I say,
+  known these records, and yet hath the impudence to write in
+  contradiction to them, he hath shown himself to be a wicked
+  man; but if he knew nothing of these records, he hath shown
+  himself to be a man very ignorant: nay, when lie appears to
+  wonder how Jews could be called Alexandrians, this is
+  another like instance of his ignorance; for all such as are
+  called out to be colonies, although they be ever so far remote
+  from one another in their original, receive their names from
+  those that bring them to their new habitations. And what
+  occasion is there to speak of others, when those of us Jews
+  that dwell at Antioch are named Antiochians, because
+  Seleucns the founder of that city gave them the privileges
+  belonging thereto? After the like manner do those Jews that
+  inhabit Ephesus, and the other cities of Ionia, enjoy the same
+  name with those that were originally born there, by the grant
+  of the succeeding princes; nay, the kindness and humanity of
+  the Romans hath been so great, that it hath granted leave to
+  almost all others to take the same name of Romans upon
+  them; I mean not particular men only, but entire and large
+  nations themselves also; for those anciently named Iberi, and
+  Tyrrheni, and Sabini, are now called Romani. And if Apion
+  reject this way of obtaining the privilege of a citizen of
+  Alexandria, let him abstain from calling himself an
+  Alexandrian hereafter; for otherwise, how can he who was
+  born in the very heart of Egypt be an Alexandrian, if this way
+  of accepting such a privilege, of which he would have us
+  deprived, be once abrogated? although indeed these Romans,
+  who are now the lords of the habitable earth, have forbidden
+  the Egyptians to have the privileges of any city whatsoever;
+  while this fine fellow, who is willing to partake of such a
+  privilege himself as he is forbidden to make use of, endeavors
+  by calumnies to deprive those of it that have justly received
+  it; for Alexander did not therefore get some of our nation to
+  Alexandria, because he wanted inhabitants for this his city, on
+  whose building he had bestowed so much pains; but this was
+  given to our people as a reward, because he had, upon a
+  careful trial, found them all to have been men of virtue and
+  fidelity to him; for, as Hecateus says concerning us,
+  "Alexander honored our nation to such a degree, that, for the
+  equity and the fidelity which the Jews exhibited to him, he
+  permitted them to hold the country of Samaria free from
+  tribute. Of the same mind also was Ptolemy the son of Lagus,
+  as to those Jews who dwelt at Alexandria." For he intrusted
+  the fortresses of Egypt into their hands, as believing they
+  would keep them faithfully and valiantly for him; and when
+  he was desirous to secure the government of Cyrene, and the
+  other cities of Libya, to himself, he sent a party of Jews to
+  inhabit in them. And for his successor Ptolemy, who was
+  called Philadelphus, he did not only set all those of our
+  nation free who were captives under him, but did frequently
+  give money [for their ransom]; and, what was his greatest
+  work of all, he had a great desire of knowing our laws, and of
+  obtaining the books of our sacred Scriptures; accordingly, he
+  desired that such men might be sent him as might interpret
+  our law to him; and, in order to have them well compiled, he
+  committed that care to no ordinary persons, but ordained
+  that Demetrius Phalereus, and Andreas, and Aristeas; the
+  first, Demetrius, the most learned person of his age, and the
+  others, such as were intrusted with the guard of his body;
+  should take care of this matter: nor would he certainly have
+  been so desirous of learning our law, and the philosophy of
+  our nation, had he despised the men that made use of it, or
+  had he not indeed had them in great admiration.
+  
+  5. Now this Apion was unacquainted with almost all the kings
+  of those Macedonians whom he pretends to have been his
+  progenitors, who were yet very well affected towards us; for
+  the third of those Ptolemies, who was called Euergetes, when
+  he had gotten possession of all Syria by force, did not offer
+  his thank-offerings to the Egyptian gods for his victory, but
+  came to Jerusalem, and according to our own laws offered
+  many sacrifices to God, and dedicated to him such gifts as
+  were suitable to such a victory: and as for Ptolemy
+  Philometer and his wife Cleopatra, they committed their
+  whole kingdom to the Jews, when Onias and Dositheus, both
+  Jews, whose names are laughed at by Apion, were the
+  generals of their whole army. But certainly, instead of
+  reproaching them, he ought to admire their actions, and
+  return them thanks for saving Alexandria, whose citizen he
+  pretends to be; for when these Alexandrians were making war
+  with Cleopatra the queen, and were in danger of being
+  utterly ruined, these Jews brought them to terms of
+  agreement, and freed them from the miseries of a civil war.
+  "But then (says Apion) Onias brought a small army afterward
+  upon the city at the time when Thorruns the Roman
+  ambassador was there present." Yes, do I venture to say, and
+  that he did rightly and very justly in so doing; for that
+  Ptolemy who was called Physco, upon the death of his
+  brother Philometer, came from Cyrene, and would have
+  ejected Cleopatra as well as her sons out of their kingdom,
+  that he might obtain it for himself unjustly. (5) For this
+cause
+  then it was that Onias undertook a war against him on
+  Cleopatra's account; nor would he desert that trust the royal
+  family had reposed in him in their distress. Accordingly, God
+  gave a remarkable attestation to his righteous procedure; for
+  when Ptolemy Physco (6) had the presumption to fight
+  against Onias's army, and had caught all the Jews that were
+  in the city [Alexandria], with their children and wives, and
+  exposed them naked and in bonds to his elephants, that they
+  might be trodden upon and destroyed, and when he had
+  made those elephants drunk for that purpose, the event
+  proved contrary to his preparations; for these elephants left
+  the Jews who were exposed to them, and fell violently upon
+  Physco's friends, and slew a great number of them; nay, after
+  this Ptolemy saw a terrible ghost, which prohibited his hurting
+  those men; his very concubine, whom he loved so well, (some
+  call her Ithaca, and others Irene,) making supplication to
+  him, that he would not perpetrate so great a wickedness. So
+  he complied with her request, and repented of what he either
+  had already done, or was about to do; whence it is well
+  known that the Alexandrian Jews do with good reason
+  celebrate this day, on the account that they had thereon been
+  vouchsafed such an evident deliverance from God. However,
+  Apion, the common calumniator of men, hath the
+  presumption to accuse the Jews for making this war against
+  Physco, when he ought to have commended them for the
+  same. This man also makes mention of Cleopatra, the last
+  queen of Alexandria, and abuses us, because she was
+  ungrateful to us; whereas he ought to have reproved her, who
+  indulged herself in all kinds of injustice and wicked
+practices,
+  both with regard to her nearest relations and husbands who
+  had loved her, and, indeed, in general with regard to all the
+  Romans, and those emperors that were her benefactors; who
+  also had her sister Arsinoe slain in a temple, when she had
+  done her no harm: moreover, she had her brother slain by
+  private treachery, and she destroyed the gods of her country
+  and the sepulchers of her progenitors; and while she had
+  received her kingdom from the first Caesar, she had the
+  impudence to rebel against his son: (7) and successor; nay,
+  she corrupted Antony with her love-tricks, and rendered him
+  an enemy to his country, and made him treacherous to his
+  friends, and [by his means] despoiled some of their royal
+  authority, and forced others in her madness to act wickedly.
+  But what need I enlarge upon this head any further, when
+  she left Antony in his fight at sea, though he were her
+  husband, and the father of their common children, and
+  compelled him to resign up his government, with the army,
+  and to follow her [into Egypt]? nay, when last of all Caesar
+  had taken Alexandria, she came to that pitch of cruelty, that
+  she declared she had some hope of preserving her affairs still,
+  in case she could kill the Jews, though it were with her own
+  hand; to such a degree of barbarity and perfidiousness had
+  she arrived. And doth any one think that we cannot boast
+  ourselves of any thing, if, as Apion says, this queen did not
+at
+  a time of famine distribute wheat among us? However, she at
+  length met with the punishment she deserved. As for us Jews,
+  we appeal to the great Caesar what assistance we brought
+  him, and what fidelity we showed to him against the
+  Egyptians; as also to the senate and its decrees, and the
+  epistles of Augustus Caesar, whereby our merits [to the
+  Romans] are justified. Apion ought to have looked upon
+  those epistles, and in particular to have examined the
+  testimonies given on our behalf, under Alexander and all the
+  Ptolemies, and the decrees of the senate and of the greatest
+  Roman emperors. And if Germanicus was not able to make a
+  distribution of corn to all the inhabitants of Alexandria, that
+  only shows what a barren time it was, and how great a want
+  there was then of corn, but tends nothing to the accusation of
+  the Jews; for what all the emperors have thought of the
+  Alexandrian Jews is well known, for this distribution of wheat
+  was no otherwise omitted with regard to the Jews, than it was
+  with regard to the other inhabitants of Alexandria. But they
+  still were desirous to preserve what the kings had formerly
+  intrusted to their care, I mean the custody of the river; nor
+  did those kings think them unworthy of having the entire
+  custody thereof, upon all occasions.
+  
+  6. But besides this, Apion objects to us thus: "If the Jews
+  (says he) be citizens of Alexandria, why do they not worship
+  the same gods with the Alexandrians?" To which I give this
+  answer: Since you are yourselves Egyptians, why do you fight
+  it out one against another, and have implacable wars about
+  your religion? At this rate we must not call you all Egyptians,
+  nor indeed in general men, because you breed up with great
+  care beasts of a nature quite contrary to that of men,
+  although the nature of all men seems to be one and the
+  same. Now if there be such differences in opinion among you
+  Egyptians, why are you surprised that those who came to
+  Alexandria from another country, and had original laws of
+  their own before, should persevere in the observance of those
+  laws? But still he charges us with being the authors of
+  sedition; which accusation, if it be a just one, why is it not
+  laid against us all, since we are known to be all of one mind.
+  Moreover, those that search into such matters will soon
+  discover that the authors of sedition have been such citizens
+  of Alexandria as Apion is; for while they were the Grecians
+  and Macedonians who were ill possession of this city, there
+  was no sedition raised against us, and we were permitted to
+  observe our ancient solemnities; but when the number of the
+  Egyptians therein came to be considerable, the times grew
+  confused, and then these seditions brake out still more and
+  more, while our people continued uncorrupted. These
+  Egyptians, therefore, were the authors of these troubles, who
+  having not the constancy of Macedonians, nor the prudence
+  of Grecians, indulged all of them the evil manners of the
+  Egyptians, and continued their ancient hatred against us; for
+  what is here so presumptuously charged upon us, is owing to
+  the differences that are amongst themselves; while many of
+  them have not obtained the privileges of citizens in proper
+  times, but style those who are well known to have had that
+  privilege extended to them all no other than foreigners: for it
+  does not appear that any of the kings have ever formerly
+  bestowed those privileges of citizens upon Egyptians, no more
+  than have the emperors done it more lately; while it was
+  Alexander who introduced us into this city at first, the kings
+  augmented our privileges therein, and the Romans have been
+  pleased to preserve them always inviolable. Moreover, Apion
+  would lay a blot upon us, because we do not erect images for
+  our emperors; as if those emperors did not know this before,
+  or stood in need of Apion as their defender; whereas he
+  ought rather to have admired the magnanimity and modesty
+  of the Romans, whereby they do not compel those that are
+  subject to them to transgress the laws of their countries, but
+  are willing to receive the honors due to them after such a
+  manner as those who are to pay them esteem consistent with
+  piety and with their own laws; for they do not thank people
+  for conferring honors upon them, When they are compelled
+  by violence so to do. Accordingly, since the Grecians and
+  some other nations think it a right thing to make images, nay,
+  when they have painted the pictures of their parents, and
+  wives, and children, they exult for joy; and some there are
+  who take pictures for themselves of such persons as were no
+  way related to them; nay, some take the pictures of such
+  servants as they were fond of; what wonder is it then if such
+  as these appear willing to pay the same respect to their
+  princes and lords? But then our legislator hath forbidden us
+  to make images, not by way of denunciation beforehand, that
+  the Roman authority was not to be honored, but as despising
+  a thing that was neither necessary nor useful for either God
+  or man; and he forbade them, as we shall prove hereafter, to
+  make these images for any part of the animal creation, and
+  much less for God himself, who is no part of such animal
+  creation. Yet hath our legislator no where forbidden us to
+  pay honors to worthy men, provided they be of another kind,
+  and inferior to those we pay to God; with which honors we
+  willingly testify our respect to our emperors, and to the
+  people of Rome; we also offer perpetual sacrifices for them;
+  nor do we only offer them every day at the common expenses
+  of all the Jews, but although we offer no other such sacrifices
+  out of our common expenses, no, not for our own children,
+  yet do we this as a peculiar honor to the emperors, and to
+  them alone, while we do the same to no other person
+  whomsoever. And let this suffice for an answer in general to
+  Apion, as to what he says with relation to the Alexandrian
+  Jews.
+  
+  7. However, I cannot but admire those other authors who
+  furnished this man with such his materials; I mean
+  Possidonius and Apollonius [the son of] Molo, (8) who, while
+  they accuse us for not worshipping the same gods whom
+  others worship, they think themselves not guilty of impiety
+  when they tell lies of us, and frame absurd and reproachful
+  stories about our temple; whereas it is a most shameful thing
+  for freemen to forge lies on any occasion, and much more so
+  to forge them about our temple, which was so famous over
+  all the world, and was preserved so sacred by us; for Apion
+  hath the impudence to pretend that" the Jews placed an ass's
+  head in their holy place;" and he affirms that this was
+  discovered when Antiochus Epiphanes spoiled our temple,
+  and found that ass's head there made of gold, and worth a
+  great deal of money. To this my first answer shall be this,
+  that had there been any such thing among us, an Egyptian
+  ought by no means to have thrown it in our teeth, since an
+  ass is not a more contemptible animal than   (9) and goats,
+  and other such creatures, which among them are gods. But
+  besides this answer, I say further, how comes it about that
+  Apion does not understand this to be no other than a
+  palpable lie, and to be confuted by the thing itself as utterly
+  incredible? For we Jews are always governed by the same
+  laws, in which we constantly persevere; and although many
+  misfortunes have befallen our city, as the like have befallen
+  others, and although Theos [Epiphanes], and Pompey the
+  Great, and Licinius Crassus, and last of all Titus Caesar, have
+  conquered us in war, and gotten possession of our temple;
+  yet have they none of them found any such thing there, nor
+  indeed any thing but what was agreeable to the strictest piety;
+  although what they found we are not at liberty to reveal to
+  other nations. But for Antiochus [Epiphanes], he had no just
+  cause for that ravage in our temple that he made; he only
+  came to it when he wanted money, without declaring himself
+  our enemy, and attacked us while we were his associates and
+  his friends; nor did he find any thing there that was
+  ridiculous. This is attested by many worthy writers; Polybius
+  of Megalopolis, Strabo of Cappadocia, Nicolaus of Damascus,
+  Timagenes, Castor the chronotoger, and Apollodorus; (10)
+  who all say that it was out of Antiochus's want of money that
+  he broke his league with the Jews, and despoiled their temple
+  when it was full of gold and silver. Apion ought to have had
+  a regard to these facts, unless he had himself had either an
+  ass's heart or a dog's impudence; of such a dog I mean as
+  they worship; for he had no other external reason for the lies
+  he tells of us. As for us Jews, we ascribe no honor or power
+  to asses, as do the Egyptians to crocodiles and asps, when
+  they esteem such as are seized upon by the former, or bitten
+  by the latter, to be happy persons, and persons worthy of
+  God. Asses are the same with us which they are with other
+  wise men, viz. creatures that bear the burdens that we lay
+  upon them; but if they come to our thrashing-floors and eat
+  our corn, or do not perform what we impose upon them, we
+  beat them with a great many stripes, because it is their
+  business to minister to us in our husbandry affairs. But this
+  Apion of ours was either perfectly unskillful in the
+  composition of such fallacious discourses, or however, when
+  he begun [somewhat better], he was not able to persevere in
+  what he had undertaken, since he hath no manner of success
+  in those reproaches he casts upon us.
+  
+  8. He adds another Grecian fable, in order to reproach us. In
+  reply to which, it would be enough to say, that they who
+  presume to speak about Divine worship ought not to be
+  ignorant of this plain truth, that it is a degree of less
+impurity
+  to pass through temples, than to forge wicked calumnies of
+  its priests. Now such men as he are more zealous to justify a
+  sacrilegious king, than to write what is just and what is true
+  about us, and about our temple; for when they are desirous
+  of gratifying Antiochus, and of concealing that perfidiousness
+  and sacrilege which he was guilty of, with regard to our
+  nation, when he wanted money, they endeavor to disgrace us,
+  and tell lies even relating to futurities. Apion becomes other
+  men's prophet upon this occasion, and says that "Antiochus
+  found in our temple a bed, and a man lying upon it, with a
+  small table before him, full of dainties, from the [fishes of
+  the] sea, and the fowls of the dry land; that this man was
+  amazed at these dainties thus set before him; that he
+  immediately adored the king, upon his coming in, as hoping
+  that he would afford him all possible assistance; that he fell
+  down upon his knees, and stretched out to him his right
+  hand, and begged to be released; and that when the king bid
+  him sit down, and tell him who he was, and why he dwelt
+  there, and what was the meaning of those various sorts of
+  food that were set before him the man made a lamentable
+  complaint, and with sighs, and tears in his eyes, gave him this
+  account of the distress he was in; and said that he was a
+  Greek and that as he went over this province, in order to get
+  his living, he was seized upon by foreigners, on a sudden, and
+  brought to this temple, and shut up therein, and was seen by
+  nobody, but was fattened by these curious provisions thus set
+  before him; and that truly at the first such unexpected
+  advantages seemed to him matter of great joy; that after a
+  while, they brought a suspicion him, and at length
+  astonishment, what their meaning should be; that at last he
+  inquired of the servants that came to him and was by them
+  informed that it was in order to the fulfilling a law of the
+  Jews, which they must not tell him, that he was thus fed; and
+  that they did the same at a set time every year: that they used
+  to catch a Greek foreigner, and fat him thus up every year,
+  and then lead him to a certain wood, and kill him, and
+  sacrifice with their accustomed solemnities, and taste of his
+  entrails, and take an oath upon this sacrificing a Greek, that
+  they would ever be at enmity with the Greeks; and that then
+  they threw the remaining parts of the miserable wretch into a
+  certain pit." Apion adds further, that" the man said there
+  were but a few days to come ere he was to be slain, and
+  implored of Antiochus that, out of the reverence he bore to
+  the Grecian gods, he would disappoint the snares the Jews
+  laid for his blood, and would deliver him from the miseries
+  with which he was encompassed." Now this is such a most
+  tragical fable as is full of nothing but cruelty and impudence;
+  yet does it not excuse Antiochus of his sacrilegious attempt,
+  as those who write it in his vindication are willing to
+suppose;
+  for he could not presume beforehand that he should meet
+  with any such thing in coming to the temple, but must have
+  found it unexpectedly. He was therefore still an impious
+  person, that was given to unlawful pleasures, and had no
+  regard to God in his actions. But [as for Apion], he hath
+  done whatever his extravagant love of lying hath dictated to
+  him, as it is most easy to discover by a consideration of his
+  writings; for the difference of our laws is known not to regard
+  the Grecians only, but they are principally opposite to the
+  Egyptians, and to some other nations also for while it so falls
+  out that men of all countries come sometimes and sojourn
+  among us, how comes it about that we take an oath, and
+  conspire only against the Grecians, and that by the effusion
+  of their blood also? Or how is it possible that all the Jews
+  should get together to these sacrifices, and the entrails of
+one
+  man should be sufficient for so many thousands to taste of
+  them, as Apion pretends? Or why did not the king carry this
+  man, whosoever he was, and whatsoever was his name,
+  (which is not set down in Apion's book,) with great pomp
+  back into his own country? when he might thereby have been
+  esteemed a religious person himself, and a mighty lover of
+  the Greeks, and might thereby have procured himself great
+  assistance from all men against that hatred the Jews bore to
+  him. But I leave this matter; for the proper way of confuting
+  fools is not to use bare words, but to appeal to the things
+  themselves that make against them. Now, then, all such as
+  ever saw the construction of our temple, of what nature it
+  was, know well enough how the purity of it was never to be
+  profaned; for it had four several courts (12) encompassed
+  with cloisters round about, every one of which had by our law
+  a peculiar degree of separation from the rest. Into the first
+  court every body was allowed to go, even foreigners, and
+  none but women, during their courses, were prohibited to
+  pass through it; all the Jews went into the second court, as
+  well as their wives, when they were free from all uncleanness;
+  into the third court went in the Jewish men, when they were
+  clean and purified; into the fourth went the priests, having on
+  their sacerdotal garments; but for the most sacred place,
+  none went in but the high priests, clothed in their peculiar
+  garments. Now there is so great caution used about these
+  offices of religion, that the priests are appointed to go into
+  the temple but at certain hours; for in the morning, at the
+  opening of the inner temple, those that are to officiate
+  receive the sacrifices, as they do again at noon, till the
+doors
+  are shut. Lastly, it is not so much as lawful to carry any
+vessel
+  into the holy house; nor is there any thing therein, but the
+  altar [of incense], the table [of shew-bread], the censer, and
+  the candlestick, which are all written in the law; for there is
+  nothing further there, nor are there any mysteries performed
+  that may not be spoken of; nor is there any feasting within
+  the place. For what I have now said is publicly known, and
+  supported by the testimony of the whole people, and their
+  operations are very manifest; for although there be four
+  courses of the priests, and every one of them have above five
+  thousand men in them, yet do they officiate on certain days
+  only; and when those days are over, other priests succeed in
+  the performance of their sacrifices, and assemble together at
+  mid-day, and receive the keys of the temple, and the vessels
+  by tale, without any thing relating to food or drink being
+  carried into the temple; nay, we are not allowed to offer such
+  things at the altar, excepting what is prepared for the
+  sacrifices.
+  
+  9. What then can we say of Apion, but that he examined
+  nothing that concerned these things, while still he uttered
+  incredible words about them? but it is a great shame for a
+  grammarian not to be able to write true history. Now if he
+  knew the purity of our temple, he hath entirely omitted to
+  take notice of it; but he forges a story about the seizing of a
+  Grecian, about ineffable food, and the most delicious
+  preparation of dainties; and pretends that strangers could go
+  into a place whereinto the noblest men among the Jews are
+  not allowed to enter, unless they be priests. This, therefore,
+is
+  the utmost degree of impiety, and a voluntary lie, in order to
+  the delusion of those who will not examine into the truth of
+  matters; whereas such unspeakable mischiefs as are above
+  related have been occasioned by such calumnies that are
+  raised upon us.
+  
+  10. Nay, this miracle or piety derides us further, and adds the
+  following pretended facts to his former fable; for be says that
+  this man related how, "while the Jews were once in a long
+  war with the Idumeans, there came a man out of one of the
+  cities of the Idumeans, who there had worshipped Apollo.
+  This man, whose name is said to have been Zabidus, came to
+  the Jews, and promised that he would deliver Apollo, the god
+  of Dora, into their hands, and that he would come to our
+  temple, if they would all come up with him, and bring the
+  whole multitude of the Jews with them; that Zabidus made
+  him a certain wooden instrument, and put it round about
+  him, and set three rows of lamps therein, and walked after
+  such a manner, that he appeared to those that stood a great
+  way off him to be a kind of star, walking upon the earth; that
+  the Jews were terribly affrighted at so surprising an
+  appearance, and stood very quiet at a distance; and that
+  Zabidus, while they continued so very quiet, went into the
+  holy house, and carried off that golden head of an ass, (for so
+  facetiously does he write,) and then went his way back again
+  to Dora in great haste." And say you so, sir! as I may reply;
+  then does Apion load the ass, that is, himself, and lays on
+  him a burden of fooleries and lies; for he writes of places
+  that have no being, and not knowing the cities he speaks of,
+  he changes their situation; for Idumea borders upon our
+  country, and is near to Gaza, in which there is no such city as
+  Dora; although there be, it is true, a city named Dora in
+  Phoenicia, near Mount Carmel, but it is four days' journey
+  from Idumea. (12) Now, then, why does this man accuse us,
+  because we have not gods in common with other nations, if
+  our fathers were so easily prevailed upon to have Apollo
+  come to them, and thought they saw him walking upon the
+  earth, and the stars with him? for certainly those who have so
+  many festivals, wherein they light lamps, must yet, at this
+  rate, have never seen a candlestick! But still it seems that
+  while Zabidus took his journey over the country, where were
+  so many ten thousands of people, nobody met him. He also,
+  it seems, even in a time of war, found the walls of Jerusalem
+  destitute of guards. I omit the rest. Now the doors of the holy
+  house were seventy (13) cubits high, and twenty cubits broad;
+  they were all plated over with gold, and almost of solid gold
+  itself, and there were no fewer than twenty (14) men required
+  to shut them every day; nor was it lawful ever to leave them
+  open, though it seems this lamp-bearer of ours opened them
+  easily, or thought he opened them, as he thought he had the
+  ass's head in his hand. Whether, therefore, he returned it to
+  us again, or whether Apion took it, and brought it into the
+  temple again, that Antiochus might find it, and afford a
+  handle for a second fable of Apion's, is uncertain.
+  
+  11. Apion also tells a false story, when he mentions an oath
+  of ours, as if we "swore by God, the Maker of the heaven,
+  and earth, and sea, to bear no good will to any foreigner, and
+  particularly to none of the Greeks." Now this liar ought to
+  have said directly that" we would bear no good-will to any
+  foreigner, and particularly to none of the Egyptians." For
+  then his story about the oath would have squared with the
+  rest of his original forgeries, in case our forefathers had
+been
+  driven away by their kinsmen, the Egyptians, not on account
+  of any wickedness they had been guilty of, but on account of
+  the calamities they were under; for as to the Grecians, we
+  were rather remote from them in place, than different from
+  them in our institutions, insomuch that we have no enmity
+  with them, nor any jealousy of them. On the contrary, it hath
+  so happened that many of them have come over to our laws,
+  and some of them have continued in their observation,
+  although others of them had not courage enough to
+  persevere, and so departed from them again; nor did any
+  body ever hear this oath sworn by us: Apion, it seems, was
+  the only person that heard it, for he indeed was the first
+  composer of it.
+  
+  12. However, Apion deserves to be admired for his great
+  prudence, as to what I am going to say, which is this," That
+  there is a plain mark among us, that we neither have just
+  laws, nor worship God as we ought to do, because we are not
+  governors, but are rather in subjection to Gentiles, sometimes
+  to one nation, and sometimes to another; and that our city
+  hath been liable to several calamities, while their city
+  [Alexandria] hath been of old time an imperial city, and not
+  used to be in subjection to the Romans." But now this man
+  had better leave off this bragging, for every body but himself
+  would think that Apion said what he hath said against
+  himself; for there are very few nations that have had the
+  good fortune to continue many generations in the
+  principality, but still the mutations in human affairs have put
+  them into subjection under others; and most nations have
+  been often subdued, and brought into subjection by others.
+  Now for the Egyptians, perhaps they are the only nation that
+  have had this extraordinary privilege, to have never served
+  any of those monarchs who subdued Asia and Europe, and
+  this on account, as they pretend, that the gods fled into their
+  country, and saved themselves by being changed into the
+  shapes of wild beasts! Whereas these Egyptians (15) are the
+  very people that appear to have never, in all the past ages,
+  had one day of freedom, no, not so much as from their own
+  lords. For I will not reproach them with relating the manner
+  how the Persians used them, and this not once only, but
+  many times, when they laid their cities waste, demolished
+  their temples, and cut the throats of those animals whom
+  they esteemed to be gods; for it is not reasonable to imitate
+  the clownish ignorance of Apion, who hath no regard to the
+  misfortunes of the Athenians, or of the Lacedemonians, the
+  latter of whom were styled by all men the most courageous,
+  and the former the most religious of the Grecians. I say
+  nothing of such kings as have been famous for piety,
+  particularly of one of them, whose name was Cresus, nor
+  what calamities he met with in his life; I say nothing of the
+  citadel of Athens, of the temple at Ephesus, of that at
+  Delphi, nor of ten thousand others which have been burnt
+  down, while nobody cast reproaches on those that were the
+  sufferers, but on those that were the actors therein. But now
+  we have met with Apion, an accuser of our nation, though
+  one that still forgets the miseries of his own people, the
+  Egptians; but it is that Sesostris who was once so celebrated a
+  king of Egypt that hath blinded him. Now we will not brag of
+  our kings, David and Solomon, though they conquered many
+  nations; accordingly we will let them alone. However, Apion
+  is ignorant of what every body knows, that the Egyptians
+  were servants to the Persians, and afterwards to the
+  Macedonians, when they were lords of Asia, and were no
+  better than slaves, while we have enjoyed liberty formerly;
+  nay, more than that, have had the dominion of the cities that
+  lie round about us, and this nearly for a hundred and twenty
+  years together, until Pompeius Magnus. And when all the
+  kings every where were conquered by the Romans, our
+  ancestors were the only people who continued to be
+  esteemed their confederates and friends, on account of their
+  fidelity to them.(16)
+  
+  13. "But," says Apion, "we Jews have not had any wonderful
+  men amongst us, not any inventors of arts, nor any eminent
+  for wisdom." He then enumerates Socrates, and Zeno, and
+  Cleanthes, and some others of the same sort; and, after all,
+  he adds himself to them, which is the most wonderful thing
+  of all that he says, and pronounces Alexandria to be happy,
+  because it hath such a citizen as he is in it; for he was the
+  fittest man to be a witness to his own deserts, although he
+  hath appeared to all others no better than a wicked
+  mountebank, of a corrupt life and ill discourses; on which
+  account one may justly pity Alexandria, if it should value
+  itself upon such a citizen as he is. But as to our own men, we
+  have had those who have been as deserving of commendation
+  as any other whosoever, and such as have perused our
+  Antiquities cannot be ignorant of them.
+  
+  14. As to the other things which he sets down as
+  blameworthy, it may perhaps be the best way to let them pass
+  without apology, that he may be allowed to be his own
+  accuser, and the accuser of the rest of the Egyptians.
+  However, he accuses us for sacrificing animals, and for
+  abstaining from swine's flesh, and laughs at us for the
+  circumcision of our privy members. Now as for our slaughter
+  of tame animals for sacrifices, it is common to us and to all
+  other men; but this Apion, by making it a crime to sacrifice
+  them, demonstrates himself to be an Egyptian; for had he
+  been either a Grecian or a Macedonian, [as he pretends to
+  be,] he had not shown any uneasiness at it; for those people
+  glory in sacrificing whole hecatombs to the gods, and make
+  use of those sacrifices for feasting; and yet is not the world
+  thereby rendered destitute of cattle, as Apion was afraid
+  would come to pass. Yet if all men had followed the manners
+  of the Egyptians, the world had certainly been made desolate
+  as to mankind, but had been filled full of the wildest sort of
+  brute beasts, which, because they suppose them to be gods,
+  they carefully nourish. However, if any one should ask Apion
+  which of the Egyptians he thinks to he the most wise and
+  most pious of them all, he would certainly acknowledge the
+  priests to be so; for the histories say that two things were
+  originally committed to their care by their kings' injunctions,
+  the worship of the gods, and the support of wisdom and
+  philosophy. Accordingly, these priests are all circumcised, and
+  abstain from swine's flesh; nor does any one of the other
+  Egyptians assist them in slaying those sacrifices they offer to
+  the gods. Apion was therefore quite blinded in his mind,
+  when, for the sake of the Egyptians, he contrived to reproach
+  us, and to accuse such others as not only make use of that
+  conduct of life which he so much abuses, but have also taught
+  other men to be circumcised, as says Herodotus; which makes
+  me think that Apion is hereby justly punished for his casting
+  such reproaches on the laws of his own country; for he was
+  circumcised himself of necessity, on account of an ulcer in his
+  privy member; and when he received no benefit by such
+  circumcision, but his member became putrid, he died in great
+  torment. Now men of good tempers ought to observe their
+  own laws concerning religion accurately, and to persevere
+  therein, but not presently to abuse the laws of other nations,
+  while this Apion deserted his own laws, and told lies about
+  ours. And this was the end of Apion's life, and this shall be
+  the conclusion of our discourse about him.
+  
+  15. But now, since Apollonius Molo, and Lysimachus, and
+  some others, write treatises about our lawgiver Moses, and
+  about our laws, which are neither just nor true, and this
+  partly out of ignorance, but chiefly out of ill-will to us,
+while
+  they calumniate Moses as an impostor and deceiver, and
+  pretend that our laws teach us wickedness, but nothing that is
+  virtuous, I have a mind to discourse briefly, according to my
+  ability, about our whole constitution of government, and
+  about the particular branches of it. For I suppose it will
+  thence become evident, that the laws we have given us are
+  disposed after the best manner for the advancement of piety,
+  for mutual communion with one another, for a general love
+  of mankind, as also for justice, and for sustaining labors with
+  fortitude, and for a contempt of death. And I beg of those
+  that shall peruse this writing of mine, to read it without
+  partiality; for it is not my purpose to write an encomium
+  upon ourselves, but I shall esteem this as a most just apology
+  for us, and taken from those our laws, according to which we
+  lead our lives, against the many and the lying objections that
+  have been made against us. Moreover, since this Apollonius
+  does not do like Apion, and lay a continued accusation
+  against us, but does it only by starts, and up and clown his
+  discourse, while he sometimes reproaches us as atheists, and
+  man-haters, and sometimes hits us in the teeth with our want
+  of courage, and yet sometimes, on the contrary, accuses us of
+  too great boldness and madness in our conduct; nay, he says
+  that we are the weakest of all the barbarians, and that this is
+  the reason why we are the only people who have made no
+  improvements in human life; now I think I shall have then
+  sufficiently disproved all these his allegations, when it shall
+  appear that our laws enjoin the very reverse of what he says,
+  and that we very carefully observe those laws ourselves. And
+  if I he compelled to make mention of the laws of other
+  nations, that are contrary to ours, those ought deservedly to
+  thank themselves for it, who have pretended to depreciate
+  our laws in comparison of their own; nor will there, I think,
+  be any room after that for them to pretend either that we
+  have no such laws ourselves, an epitome of which I will
+  present to the reader, or that we do not, above all men,
+  continue in the observation of them.
+  
+  16. To begin then a good way backward, I would advance
+  this, in the first place, that those who have been admirers of
+  good order, and of living under common laws, and who began
+  to introduce them, may well have this testimony that they are
+  better than other men, both for moderation and such virtue
+  as is agreeable to nature. Indeed their endeavor was to have
+  every thing they ordained believed to be very ancient, that
+  they might not be thought to imitate others, but might appear
+  to have delivered a regular way of living to others after them.
+  Since then this is the case, the excellency of a legislator is
+  seen in providing for the people's living after the best
+  manner, and in prevailing with those that are to use the laws
+  he ordains for them, to have a good opinion of them, and in
+  obliging the multitude to persevere in them, and to make no
+  changes in them, neither in prosperity nor adversity. Now I
+  venture to say, that our legislator is the most ancient of all
+  the legislators whom we have ally where heard of; for as for
+  the Lycurguses, and Solons, and Zaleucus Locrensis, and all
+  those legislators who are so admired by the Greeks, they
+  seem to be of yesterday, if compared with our legislator,
+  insomuch as the very name of a law was not so much as
+  known in old times among the Grecians. Homer is a witness
+  to the truth of this observation, who never uses that term in
+  all his poems; for indeed there was then no such thing among
+  them, but the multitude was governed by wise maxims, and
+  by the injunctions of their king. It was also a long time that
+  they continued in the use of these unwritten customs,
+  although they were always changing them upon several
+  occasions. But for our legislator, who was of so much greater
+  antiquity than the rest, (as even those that speak against us
+  upon all occasions do always confess,) he exhibited himself to
+  the people as their best governor and counselor, and included
+  in his legislation the entire conduct of their lives, and
+  prevailed with them to receive it, and brought it so to pass,
+  that those that were made acquainted with his laws did most
+  carefully observe them.
+  
+  17. But let us consider his first and greatest work; for when
+it
+  was resolved on by our forefathers to leave Egypt, and return
+  to their own country, this Moses took the many tell
+  thousands that were of the people, and saved them out of
+  many desperate distresses, and brought them home in safety.
+  And certainly it was here necessary to travel over a country
+  without water, and full of sand, to overcome their enemies,
+  and, during these battles, to preserve their children, and
+their
+  wives, and their prey; on all which occasions he became an
+  excellent general of an army, and a most prudent counselor,
+  and one that took the truest care of them all; he also so
+  brought it about, that the whole multitude depended upon
+  him. And while he had them always obedient to what he
+  enjoined, he made no manner of use of his authority for his
+  own private advantage, which is the usual time when
+  governors gain great powers to themselves, and pave the way
+  for tyranny, and accustom the multitude to live very
+  dissolutely; whereas, when our legislator was in so great
+  authority, he, on the contrary, thought he ought to have
+  regard to piety, and to show his great good-will to the people;
+  and by this means he thought he might show the great degree
+  of virtue that was in him, and might procure the most lasting
+  security to those who had made him their governor. When he
+  had therefore come to such a good resolution, and had
+  performed such wonderful exploits, we had just reason to
+  look upon ourselves as having him for a divine governor and
+  counselor. And when he had first persuaded himself (17) that
+  his actions and designs were agreeable to God's will, he
+  thought it his duty to impress, above all things, that notion
+  upon the multitude; for those who have once believed that
+  God is the inspector of their lives, will not permit themselves
+  in any sin. And this is the character of our legislator: he was
+  no impostor, no deceiver, as his revilers say, though unjustly,
+  but such a one as they brag Minos (18) to have been among
+  the Greeks, and other legislators after him; for some of them
+  suppose that they had their laws from Jupiter, while Minos
+  said that the revelation of his laws was to be referred to
+  Apollo, and his oracle at Delphi, whether they really thought
+  they were so derived, or supposed, however, that they could
+  persuade the people easily that so it was. But which of these
+  it was who made the best laws, and which had the greatest
+  reason to believe that God was their author, it will be easy,
+  upon comparing those laws themselves together, to
+  determine; for it is time that we come to that point. (19)
+  Now there are innumerable differences in the particular
+  customs and laws that are among all mankind, which a man
+  may briefly reduce under the following heads: Some
+  legislators have permitted their governments to be under
+  monarchies, others put them under oligarchies, and others
+  under a republican form; but our legislator had no regard to
+  any of these forms, but he ordained our government to be
+  what, by a strained expression, may be termed a Theocracy,
+  (20) by ascribing the authority and the power to God, and by
+  persuading all the people to have a regard to him, as the
+  author of all the good things that were enjoyed either in
+  common by all mankind, or by each one in particular, and of
+  all that they themselves obtained by praying to him in their
+  greatest difficulties. He informed them that it was impossible
+  to escape God's observation, even in any of our outward
+  actions, or in any of our inward thoughts. Moreover, he
+  represented God as unbegotten, (21) and immutable, through
+  all eternity, superior to all mortal conceptions in
+pulchritude;
+  and, though known to us by his power, yet unknown to us as
+  to his essence. I do not now explain how these notions of
+  God are the sentiments of the wisest among the Grecians,
+  and how they were taught them upon the principles that he
+  afforded them. However, they testify, with great assurance,
+  that these notions are just, and agreeable to the nature of
+  God, and to his majesty; for Pythagoras, and Anaxagoras, and
+  Plato, and the Stoic philosophers that succeeded them, and
+  almost all the rest, are of the same sentiments, and had the
+  same notions of the nature of God; yet durst not these men
+  disclose those true notions to more than a few, because the
+  body of the people were prejudiced with other opinions
+  beforehand. But our legislator, who made his actions agree 
+  to his laws, did not only prevail with those that were his
+  contemporaries to agree with these his notions, but so firmly
+  imprinted this faith in God upon all their posterity, that it
+  never could be removed. The reason why the constitution of
+  this legislation was ever better directed to the utility of all
+  than other legislations were, is this, that Moses did not make
+  religion a part of virtue, but he saw and he ordained other
+  virtues to be parts of religion; I mean justice, and fortitude,
+  and temperance, and a universal agreement of the members
+  of the community with one another; for all our actions and
+  studies, and all our words, [in Moses's settlement,] have a
+  reference to piety towards God; for he hath left none of
+  these in suspense, or undetermined. For there are two ways
+  of coining at any sort of learning and a moral conduct of life;
+  the one is by instruction in words, the other by practical
+  exercises. Now other lawgivers have separated these two ways
+  in their opinions, and choosing one of those ways of
+  instruction, or that which best pleased every one of them,
+  neglected the other. Thus did the Lacedemonians and the
+  Cretians teach by practical exercises, but not by words; while
+  the Athenians, and almost all the other Grecians, made laws
+  about what was to be done, or left undone, but had no regard
+  to the exercising them thereto in practice.
+  
+  18. But for our legislator, he very carefully joined these two
+  methods of instruction together; for he neither left these
+  practical exercises to go on without verbal instruction, nor
+did
+  he permit the hearing of the law to proceed without the
+  exercises for practice; but beginning immediately from the
+  earliest infancy, and the appointment of every one's diet, he
+  left nothing of the very smallest consequence to be done at
+  the pleasure and disposal of the person himself. Accordingly,
+  he made a fixed rule of law what sorts of food they should
+  abstain from, and what sorts they should make use of; as also,
+  what communion they should have with others what great
+  diligence they should use in their occupations, and what times
+  of rest should be interposed, that, by living under that law as
+  under a father and a master, we might be guilty of no sin,
+  neither voluntary nor out of ignorance; for he did not suffer
+  the guilt of ignorance to go on without punishment, but
+  demonstrated the law to be the best and the most necessary
+  instruction of all others, permitting the people to leave off
+  their other employments, and to assemble together for the
+  hearing of the law, and learning it exactly, and this not once
+  or twice, or oftener, but every week; which thing all the other
+  legislators seem to have neglected.
+  
+  19. And indeed the greatest part of mankind are so far from
+  living according to their own laws, that they hardly know
+  them; but when they have sinned, they learn from others that
+  they have transgressed the law. Those also who are in the
+  highest and principal posts of the government, confess they
+  are not acquainted with those laws, and are obliged to take
+  such persons for their assessors in public administrations as
+  profess to have skill in those laws; but for our people, if any
+  body do but ask any one of them about our laws, he will
+  more readily tell them all than he will tell his own name, and
+  this in consequence of our having learned them immediately
+  as soon as ever we became sensible of any thing, and of our
+  having them as it were engraven on our souls. Our
+  transgressors of them are but few, and it is impossible, when
+  any do offend, to escape punishment.
+  
+  20. And this very thing it is that principally creates such a
+  wonderful agreement of minds amongst us all; for this entire
+  agreement of ours in all our notions concerning God, and our
+  having no difference in our course of life and manners,
+  procures among us the most excellent concord of these our
+  manners that is any where among mankind; for no other
+  people but the Jews have avoided all discourses about God
+  that any way contradict one another, which yet are frequent
+  among other nations; and this is true not only among
+  ordinary persons, according as every one is affected, but some
+  of the philosophers have been insolent enough to indulge
+  such contradictions, while some of them have undertaken to
+  use such words as entirely take away the nature of God, as
+  others of them have taken away his providence over mankind.
+  Nor can any one perceive amongst us any difference in the
+  conduct of our lives, but all our works are common to us all.
+  We have one sort of discourse concerning God, which is
+  conformable to our law, and affirms that he sees all things; as
+  also we have but one way of speaking concerning the conduct
+  of our lives, that all other things ought to have piety for
+their
+  end; and this any body may hear from our women, and
+  servants themselves.
+  
+  21. And, indeed, hence hath arisen that accusation which
+  some make against us, that we have not produced men that
+  have been the inventors of new operations, or of new ways of
+  speaking; for others think it a fine thing to persevere in
+  nothing that has been delivered down from their forefathers,
+  and these testify it to be an instance of the sharpest wisdom
+  when these men venture to transgress those traditions;
+  whereas we, on the contrary, suppose it to be our only
+  wisdom and virtue to admit no actions nor supposals that are
+  contrary to our original laws; which procedure of ours is a
+  just and sure sign that our law is admirably constituted; for
+  such laws as are not thus well made are convicted upon trial
+  to want amendment.
+  
+  22. But while we are ourselves persuaded that our law was
+  made agreeably to the will of God, it would be impious for us
+  not to observe the same; for what is there in it that any body
+  would change? and what can be invented that is better? or
+  what can we take out of other people's laws that will exceed
+  it? Perhaps some would have the entire settlement of our
+  government altered. And where shall we find a better or
+  more righteous constitution than ours, while this makes us
+  esteem God to be the Governor of the universe, and permits
+  the priests in general to be the administrators of the
+principal
+  affairs, and withal intrusts the government over the other
+  priests to the chief high priest himself? which priests our
+  legislator, at their first appointment, did not advance to that
+  dignity for their riches, or any abundance of other
+  possessions, or any plenty they had as the gifts of fortune;
+but
+  he intrusted the principal management of Divine worship to
+  those that exceeded others in an ability to persuade men, and
+  in prudence of conduct. These men had the main care of the
+  law and of the other parts of the people's conduct committed
+  to them; for they were the priests who were ordained to be
+  the inspectors of all, and the judges in doubtful cases, and
+the
+  punishers of those that were condemned to suffer
+  punishment.
+  
+  23. What form of government then can be more holy than
+  this? what more worthy kind of worship can be paid to God
+  than we pay, where the entire body of the people are
+  prepared for religion, where an extraordinary degree of care
+  is required in the priests, and where the whole polity is so
+  ordered as if it were a certain religious solemnity? For what
+  things foreigners, when they solemnize such festivals, are not
+  able to observe for a few days' time, and call them Mysteries
+  and Sacred Ceremonies, we observe with great pleasure and
+  an unshaken resolution during our whole lives. What are the
+  things then that we are commanded or forbidden? They are
+  simple, and easily known. The first command is concerning
+  God, and affirms that God contains all things, and is a Being
+  every way perfect and happy, self-sufficient, and supplying all
+  other beings; the beginning, the middle, and the end of all
+  things. He is manifest in his works and benefits, and more
+  conspicuous than any other being whatsoever; but as to his
+  form and magnitude, he is most obscure. All materials, let
+  them be ever so costly, are unworthy to compose an image
+  for him, and all arts are unartful to express the notion we
+  ought to have of him. We can neither see nor think of any
+  thing like him, nor is it agreeable to piety to form a
+  resemblance of him. We see his works, the light, the heaven,
+  the earth, the sun and the moon, the waters, the generations
+  of animals, the productions of fruits. These things hath God
+  made, not with hands, nor with labor, nor as wanting the
+  assistance of any to cooperate with him; but as his will
+  resolved they should be made and be good also, they were
+  made and became good immediately. All men ought to follow
+  this Being, and to worship him in the exercise of virtue; for
+  this way of worship of God is the most holy of all others.
+  
+  24. There ought also to be but one temple for one God; for
+  likeness is the constant foundation of agreement. This temple
+  ought to be common to all men, because he is the common
+  God of all men. High priests are to be continually about his
+  worship, over whom he that is the first by his birth is to be
+  their ruler perpetually. His business must be to offer
+  sacrifices to God, together with those priests that are joined
+  with him, to see that the laws be observed, to determine
+  controversies, and to punish those that are convicted of
+  injustice; while he that does not submit to him shall be
+  subject to the same punishment, as if he had been guilty of
+  impiety towards God himself. When we offer sacrifices to
+  him, we do it not in order to surfeit ourselves, or to be
+  drunken; for such excesses are against the will of God, and
+  would be an occasion of injuries and of luxury; but by
+  keeping ourselves sober, orderly, and ready for our other
+  occupations, and being more temperate than others. And for
+  our duty at the sacrifices (22) themselves, we ought, in the
+  first place, to pray for the common welfare of all, and after
+  that for our own; for we are made for fellowship one with
+  another, and he who prefers the common good before what is
+  peculiar to himself is above all acceptable to God. And let
+  our prayers and supplications be made humbly to God, not
+  [so much] that he would give us what is good, (for he hath
+  already given that of his own accord, and hath proposed the
+  same publicly to all,) as that we may duly receive it, and
+  when we have received it, may preserve it. Now the law has
+  appointed several purifications at our sacrifices, whereby we
+  are cleansed after a funeral, after what sometimes happens to
+  us in bed, and after accompanying with our wives, and upon
+  many other occasions, which it would be too long now to set
+  down. And this is our doctrine concerning God and his
+  worship, and is the same that the law appoints for our
+  practice.
+  
+  25. But, then, what are our laws about marriage? That law
+  owns no other mixture of sexes but that which nature hath
+  appointed, of a man with his wife, and that this be used only
+  for the procreation of children. But it abhors the mixture of a
+  male with a male; and if any one do that, death is its
+  punishment. It commands us also, when we marry, not to
+  have regard to portion, nor to take a woman by violence, nor
+  to persuade her deceitfully and knavishly; but to demand her
+  in marriage of him who hath power to dispose of her, and is
+  fit to give her away by the nearness of his kindred; for, says
+  the Scripture, "A woman is inferior to her husband in all
+  things." (23) Let her, therefore, be obedient to him; not so
+  that he should abuse her, but that she may acknowledge her
+  duty to her husband; for God hath given the authority to the
+  husband. A husband, therefore, is to lie only with his wife
+  whom he hath married; but to have to do with another man's
+  wife is a wicked thing, which, if any one ventures upon, death
+  is inevitably his punishment: no more can he avoid the same
+  who forces a virgin betrothed to another man, or entices
+  another man's wife. The law, moreover, enjoins us to bring
+  up all our offspring, and forbids women to cause abortion of
+  what is begotten, or to destroy it afterward; and if any woman
+  appears to have so done, she will be a murderer of her child,
+  by destroying a living creature, and diminishing human kind;
+  if any one, therefore, proceeds to such fornication or murder,
+  he cannot be clean. Moreover, the law enjoins, that after the
+  man and wife have lain together in a regular way, they shall
+  bathe themselves; for there is a defilement contracted
+  thereby, both in soul and body, as if they had gone into
+  another country; for indeed the soul, by being united to the
+  body, is subject to miseries, and is not freed therefrom again
+  but by death; on which account the law requires this
+  purification to be entirely performed.
+  
+  26. Nay, indeed, the law does not permit us to make festivals
+  at the births of our children, and thereby afford occasion of
+  drinking to excess; but it ordains that the very beginning of
+  our education should be immediately directed to sobriety. It
+  also commands us to bring those children up in learning, and
+  to exercise them in the laws, and make them acquainted with
+  the acts of their predecessors, in order to their imitation of
+  them, and that they might be nourished up in the laws from
+  their infancy, and might neither transgress them, nor have
+  any pretense for their ignorance of them.
+  
+  27. Our law hath also taken care of the decent burial of the
+  dead, but without any extravagant expenses for their funerals,
+  and without the erection of any illustrious monuments for
+  them; but hath ordered that their nearest relations should
+  perform their obsequies; and hath showed it to be regular,
+  that all who pass by when any one is buried should
+  accompany the funeral, and join in the lamentation. It also
+  ordains that the house and its inhabitants should be purified
+  after the funeral is over, that every one may thence learn to
+  keep at a great distance from the thoughts of being pure, if
+  he hath been once guilty of murder.
+  
+  28. The law ordains also, that parents should be honored
+  immediately after God himself, and delivers that son who
+  does not requite them for the benefits he hath received from
+  them, but is deficient on any such occasion, to be stoned. It
+  also says that the young men should pay due respect to every
+  elder, since God is the eldest of all beings. It does not give
+  leave to conceal any thing from our friends, because that is
+  not true friendship which will not commit all things to their
+  fidelity: it also forbids the revelation of secrets, even
+though
+  an enmity arise between them. If any judge takes bribes, his
+  punishment is death: he that overlooks one that offers him a
+  petition, and this when he is able to relieve him, he is a
+guilty
+  person. What is not by any one intrusted to another ought
+  not to be required back again. No one is to touch another's
+  goods. He that lends money must not demand usury for its
+  loan. These, and many more of the like sort, are the rules
+  that unite us in the bands of society one with another.
+  
+  29. It will be also worth our while to see what equity our
+  legislator would have us exercise in our intercourse with
+  strangers; for it will thence appear that he made the best
+  provision he possibly could, both that we should not dissolve
+  our own constitution, nor show any envious mind towards
+  those that would cultivate a friendship with us. Accordingly,
+  our legislator admits all those that have a mind to observe
+  our laws so to do; and this after a friendly manner, as
+  esteeming that a true union which not only extends to our
+  own stock, but to those that would live after the same
+  manner with us; yet does he not allow those that come to us
+  by accident only to be admitted into communion with us.
+  
+  30. However, there are other things which our legislator
+  ordained for us beforehand, which of necessity we ought to
+  do in common to all men; as to afford fire, and water, and
+  food to such as want it; to show them the roads; not to let
+  any one lie unburied. He also would have us treat those that
+  are esteemed our enemies with moderation; for he doth not
+  allow us to set their country on fire, nor permit us to cut
+  down those trees that bear fruit; nay, further, he forbids us
+to
+  spoil those that have been slain in war. He hath also provided
+  for such as are taken captive, that they may not be injured,
+  and especially that the women may not be abused. Indeed he
+  hath taught us gentleness and humanity so effectually, that he
+  hath not despised the care of brute beasts, by permitting no
+  other than a regular use of them, and forbidding any other;
+  and if any of them come to our houses, like supplicants, we
+  are forbidden to slay them; nor may we kill the dams,
+  together with their young ones; but we are obliged, even in
+  an enemy's country, to spare and not kill those creatures that
+  labor for mankind. Thus hath our lawgiver contrived to teach
+  us an equitable conduct every way, by using us to such laws
+  as instruct us therein; while at the same time he hath
+  ordained that such as break these laws should be punished,
+  without the allowance of any excuse whatsoever.
+  
+  31. Now the greatest part of offenses with us are capital; as
+if
+  any one be guilty of adultery; if any one force a virgin; if
+any
+  one be so impudent as to attempt sodomy with a male; or if,
+  upon another's making an attempt upon him, he submits to
+  be so used. There is also a law for slaves of the like nature,
+  that can never be avoided. Moreover, if any one cheats
+  another in measures or weights, or makes a knavish bargain
+  and sale, in order to cheat another; if any one steals what
+  belongs to another, and takes what he never deposited; all
+  these have punishments allotted them; not such as are met
+  with among other nations, but more severe ones. And as for
+  attempts of unjust behavior towards parents, or for impiety
+  against God, though they be not actually accomplished, the
+  offenders are destroyed immediately. However, the reward
+  for such as live exactly according to the laws is not silver or
+  gold; it is not a garland of olive branches or of small age,
+nor
+  any such public sign of commendation; but every good man
+  hath his own conscience bearing witness to himself, and by
+  virtue of our legislator's prophetic spirit, and of the firm
+  security God himself affords such a one, he believes that God
+  hath made this grant to those that observe these laws, even
+  though they be obliged readily to die for them, that they shall
+  come into being again, and at a certain revolution of things
+  shall receive a better life than they had enjoyed before. Nor
+  would I venture to write thus at this time, were it not well
+  known to all by our actions that many of our people have
+  many a time bravely resolved to endure any sufferings, rather
+  than speak one word against our law.
+  
+  32. Nay, indeed, in case it had so fallen out, that our nation
+  had not been so thoroughly known among all men as they
+  are, and our voluntary submission to our laws had not been
+  so open and manifest as it is, but that somebody had
+  pretended to have written these laws himself, and had read
+  them to the Greeks, or had pretended that he had met with
+  men out of the limits of the known world, that had such
+  reverent notions of God, and had continued a long time in
+  the firm observance of such laws as ours, I cannot but
+  suppose that all men would admire them on a reflection upon
+  the frequent changes they had therein been themselves
+  subject to; and this while those that have attempted to write
+  somewhat of the same kind for politic government, and for
+  laws, are accused as composing monstrous things, and are
+  said to have undertaken an impossible task upon them. And
+  here I will say nothing of those other philosophers who have
+  undertaken any thing of this nature in their writings. But
+  even Plato himself, who is so admired by the Greeks on
+  account of that gravity in his manners, and force in his words,
+  and that ability he had to persuade men beyond all other
+  philosophers, is little better than laughed at and exposed to
+  ridicule on that account, by those that pretend to sagacity in
+  political affairs; although he that shall diligently peruse his
+  writings will find his precepts to be somewhat gentle, and
+  pretty near to the customs of the generality of mankind. Nay,
+  Plato himself confesseth that it is not safe to publish the
+true
+  notion concerning God among the ignorant multitude. Yet do
+  some men look upon Plato's discourses as no better than
+  certain idle words set off with great artifice. However, they
+  admire Lycurgus as the principal lawgiver, and all men
+  celebrate Sparta for having continued in the firm observance
+  of his laws for a very long time. So far then we have gained,
+  that it is to be confessed a mark of virtue to submit to laws.
+  (24) But then let such as admire this in the Lacedemonians
+  compare that duration of theirs with more than two thousand
+  years which our political government hath continued; and let
+  them further consider, that though the Lacedemonians did
+  seem to observe their laws exactly while they enjoyed their
+  liberty, yet that when they underwent a change of their
+  fortune, they forgot almost all those laws; while we, having
+  been under ten thousand changes in our fortune by the
+  changes that happened among the kings of Asia, have never
+  betrayed our laws under the most pressing distresses we have
+  been in; nor have we neglected them either out of sloth or
+  for a livelihood. (25) if any one will consider it, the
+  difficulties and labors laid upon us have been greater than
+  what appears to have been borne by the Lacedemonian
+  fortitude, while they neither ploughed their land, nor
+  exercised any trades, but lived in their own city, free from
+all
+  such pains-taking, in the enjoyment of plenty, and using such
+  exercises as might improve their bodies, while they made use
+  of other men as their servants for all the necessaries of life,
+  and had their food prepared for them by the others; and
+  these good and humane actions they do for no other purpose
+  but this, that by their actions and their sufferings they may
+be
+  able to conquer all those against whom they make war. I
+  need not add this, that they have not been fully able to
+  observe their laws; for not only a few single persons, but
+  multitudes of them, have in heaps neglected those laws, and
+  have delivered themselves, together with their arms, into the
+  hands of their enemies.
+  
+  33. Now as for ourselves, I venture to say that no one can tell
+  of so many; nay, not of more than one or two that have
+  betrayed our laws, no, not out of fear of death itself; I do
+not
+  mean such an easy death as happens in battles, but that
+  which comes with bodily torments, and seems to be the
+  severest kind of death of all others. Now I think those that
+  have conquered us have put us to such deaths, not out of
+  their hatred to us when they had subdued us, but rather out
+  of their desire of seeing a surprising sight, which is this,
+  whether there be such men in the world who believe that no
+  evil is to them so great as to be compelled to do or to speak
+  any thing contrary to their own laws. Nor ought men to
+  wonder at us, if we are more courageous in dying for our
+  laws than all other men are; for other men do not easily
+  submit to the easier things in which we are instituted; I mean
+  working with our hands, and eating but little, and being
+  contented to eat and drink, not at random, or at every one's
+  pleasure, or being under inviolable rules in lying with our
+  wives, in magnificent furniture, and again in the observation
+  of our times of rest; while those that can use their swords in
+  war, and can put their enemies to flight when they attack
+  them, cannot bear to submit to such laws about their way of
+  living: whereas our being accustomed willingly to submit to
+  laws in these instances, renders us fit to show our fortitude
+  upon other occasions also.
+  
+  34. Yet do the Lysimachi and the Molones, and some other
+  writers, (unskillful sophists as they are, and the deceivers of
+  young men,) reproach us as the vilest of all mankind. Now I
+  have no mind to make an inquiry into the laws of other
+  nations; for the custom of our country is to keep our own
+  laws, but not to bring accusations against the laws of others.
+  And indeed our legislator hath expressly forbidden us to
+  laugh at and revile those that are esteemed gods by other
+  people? on account of the very name of God ascribed to
+  them. But since our antagonists think to run us down upon
+  the comparison of their religion and ours, it is not possible
+to
+  keep silence here, especially while what I shall say to confute
+  these men will not be now first said, but hath been already
+  said by many, and these of the highest reputation also; for
+  who is there among those that have been admired among the
+  Greeks for wisdom, who hath not greatly blamed both the
+  most famous poets, and most celebrated legislators, for
+  spreading such notions originally among the body of the
+  people concerning the gods? such as these, that they may be
+  allowed to be as numerous as they have a mind to have them;
+  that they are begotten one by another, and that after all the
+  kinds of generation you can imagine. They also distinguish
+  them in their places and ways of living as they would
+  distinguish several sorts of animals; as some to be under the
+  earth; as some to be in the sea; and the ancientest of them
+  all to be bound in hell; and for those to whom they have
+  allotted heaven, they have set over them one, who in title is
+  their father, but in his actions a tyrant and a lord; whence it
+  came to pass that his wife, and brother, and daughter (which
+  daughter he brought forth from his own head) made a
+  conspiracy against him to seize upon him and confine hint, as
+  he had himself seized upon and confined his own father
+  before.
+  
+  35. And justly have the wisest men thought these notions
+  deserved severe rebukes; they also laugh at them for
+  determining that we ought to believe some of the gods to be
+  beardless and young, and others of them to be old, and to
+  have beards accordingly; that some are set to trades; that one
+  god is a smith, and another goddess is a weaver; that one god
+  is a warrior, and fights with men; that some of them are
+  harpers, or delight in archery; and besides, that mutual
+  seditions arise among them, and that they quarrel about men,
+  and this so far, that they not only lay hands upon one
+  another, but that they are wounded by men, and lament, and
+  take on for such their afflictions. But what is the grossest of
+  all in point of lasciviousness, are those unbounded lusts
+  ascribed to almost all of them, and their amours; which how
+  can it be other than a most absurd supposal, especially when
+  it reaches to the male gods, and to the female goddesses
+  also? Moreover, the chief of all their gods, and their first
+  father himself, overlooks those goddesses whom he hath
+  deluded and begotten with child, and suffers them to be kept
+  in prison, or drowned in the sea. He is also so bound up by
+  fate, that he cannot save his own offspring, nor can he bear
+  their deaths without shedding of tears. These are fine things
+  indeed! as are the rest that follow. Adulteries truly are so
+  impudently looked on in heaven by the gods, that some of
+  them have confessed they envied those that were found in the
+  very act. And why should they not do so, when the eldest of
+  them, who is their king also, hath not been able to restrain
+  himself in the violence of his lust, from lying with his wife,
+so
+  long as they might get into their bedchamber? Now some of
+  the gods are servants to men, and will sometimes be builders
+  for a reward, and sometimes will be shepherds; while others
+  of them, like malefactors, are bound in a prison of brass. And
+  what sober person is there who would not be provoked at
+  such stories, and rebuke those that forged them, and
+  condemn the great silliness of those that admit them for
+  true? Nay, others there are that have advanced a certain
+  timorousness and fear, as also madness and fraud, and any
+  other of the vilest passions, into the nature and form of gods,
+  and have persuaded whole cities to offer sacrifices to the
+  better sort of them; on which account they have been
+  absolutely forced to esteem some gods as the givers of good
+  things, and to call others of them averters of evil. They also
+  endeavor to move them, as they would the vilest of men, by
+  gifts and presents, as looking for nothing else than to receive
+  some great mischief from them, unless they pay them such
+  wages.
+  
+  36. Wherefore it deserves our inquiry what should be the
+  occasion of this unjust management, and of these scandals
+  about the Deity. And truly I suppose it to be derived from
+  the imperfect knowledge the heathen legislators had at first
+  of the true nature of God; nor did they explain to the people
+  even so far as they did comprehend of it: nor did they
+  compose the other parts of their political settlements
+  according to it, but omitted it as a thing of very little
+  consequence, and gave leave both to the poets to introduce
+  what gods they pleased, and those subject to all sorts of
+  passions, and to the orators to procure political decrees from
+  the people for the admission of such foreign gods as they
+  thought proper. The painters also, and statuaries of Greece,
+  had herein great power, as each of them could contrive a
+  shape [proper for a god]; the one to be formed out of clay,
+  and the other by making a bare picture of such a one. But
+  those workmen that were principally admired, had the use of
+  ivory and of gold as the constant materials for their new
+  statues [whereby it comes to pass that some temples are quite
+  deserted, while others are in great esteem, and adorned with
+  all the rites of all kinds of purification]. Besides this, the
+first
+  gods, who have long flourished in the honors done them, are
+  now grown old [while those that flourished after them are
+  come in their room as a second rank, that I may speak the
+  most honorably of them I can]: nay, certain other gods there
+  are who are newly introduced, and newly worshipped [as we,
+  by way of digression, have said already, and yet have left
+their
+  places of worship desolate]; and for their temples, some of
+  them are already left desolate, and others are built anew,
+  according to the pleasure of men; whereas they ought to have
+  their opinion about God, and that worship which is due to
+  him, always and immutably the same.
+  
+  37. But now, this Apollonius Molo was one of these foolish
+  and proud men. However, nothing that I have said was
+  unknown to those that were real philosophers among the
+  Greeks, nor were they unacquainted with those frigid
+  pretensions of allegories [which had been alleged for such
+  things]; on which account they justly despised them, but have
+  still agreed with us as to the true and becoming notions of
+  God; whence it was that Plato would not have political
+  settlements admit to of any one of the other poets, and
+  dismisses even Homer himself, with a garland on his head,
+  and with ointment poured upon him, and this because he
+  should not destroy the right notions of God with his fables.
+  Nay, Plato principally imitated our legislator in this point,
+  that he enjoined his citizens to have he main regard to this
+  precept, "That every one of them should learn their laws
+  accurately." He also ordained, that they should not admit of
+  foreigners intermixing with their own people at random; and
+  provided that the commonwealth should keep itself pure, and
+  consist of such only as persevered in their own laws.
+  Apollonius Molo did no way consider this, when he made it
+  one branch of his accusation against us, that we do not admit
+  of such as have different notions about God, nor will we have
+  fellowship with those that choose to observe a way of living
+  different from ourselves, yet is not this method peculiar to
+us,
+  but common to all other men; not among the ordinary
+  Grecians only, but among such of those Grecians as are of
+  the greatest reputation among them. Moreover, the
+  Lacedemonians continued in their way of expelling foreigners,
+  and would not indeed give leave to their own people to travel
+  abroad, as suspecting that those two things would introduce a
+  dissolution of their own laws: and perhaps there may be some
+  reason to blame the rigid severity of the Lacedemonians, for
+  they bestowed the privilege of their city on no foreigners, nor
+  indeed would give leave to them to stay among them;
+  whereas we, though we do not think fit to imitate other
+  institutions, yet do we willingly admit of those that desire to
+  partake of ours, which, I think, I may reckon to be a plain
+  indication of our humanity, and at the same time of our
+  magnanimity also.
+  
+  38. But I shall say no more of the Lacedemonians. As for the
+  Athenians, who glory in having made their city to be common
+  to all men, what their behavior was Apollonius did not know,
+  while they punished those that did but speak one word
+  contrary to the laws about the gods, without any mercy; for
+  on what other account was it that Socrates was put to death
+  by them? For certainly he neither betrayed their city to its
+  enemies, nor was he guilty of any sacrilege with regard to any
+  of their temples; but it was on this account, that he swore
+  certain new oaths (26) and that he affirmed either in earnest,
+  or, as some say, only in jest, that a certain demon used to
+  make signs to him [what he should not do]. For these reasons
+  he was condemned to drink poison, and kill himself. His
+  accuser also complained that he corrupted the young men, by
+  inducing them to despise the political settlement and laws of
+  their city: and thus was Socrates, the citizen of Athens,
+  punished. There was also Anaxagoras, who, although he was
+  of Clazomente, was within a few suffrages of being
+  condemned to die, because he said the sun, which the
+  Athenians thought to be a god, was a ball of fire. They also
+  made this public proclamation," That they would give a talent
+  to any one who would kill Diagoras of Melos," because it was
+  reported of him that he laughed at their mysteries.
+  Protagoras also, who was thought to have written somewhat
+  that was not owned for truth by the Athenians about the
+  gods, had been seized upon, and put to death, if he had not
+  fled away immediately. Nor need we at all wonder that they
+  thus treated such considerable men, when they did not spare
+  even women also; for they very lately slew a certain priestess,
+  because she was accused by somebody that she initiated
+  people into the worship of strange gods, it having been
+  forbidden so to do by one of their laws; and a capital
+  punishment had been decreed to such as introduced a strange
+  god; it being manifest, that they who make use of such a law
+  do not believe those of other nations to be really gods,
+  otherwise they had not envied themselves the advantage of
+  more gods than they already had. And this was the happy
+  administration of the affairs of the Athenians! Now as to the
+  Scythians, they take a pleasure in killing men, and differ but
+  little from brute beasts; yet do they think it reasonable to
+  have their institutions observed. They also slew Anacharsis, a
+  person greatly admired for his wisdom among the Greeks,
+  when he returned to them, because he appeared to come
+  fraught with Grecian customs. One may also find many to
+  have been punished among the Persians, on the very same
+  account. And to be sure Apollonius was greatly pleased with
+  the laws of the Persians, and was an admirer of them,
+  because the Greeks enjoyed the advantage of their courage,
+  and had the very same opinion about the gods which they
+  had. This last was exemplified in the temples which they
+  burnt, and their courage in coming, and almost entirely
+  enslaving the Grecians. However, Apollonius has imitated all
+  the Persian institutions, and that by his offering violence to
+  other men's wives, and gelding his own sons. Now, with us, it
+  is a capital crime, if any one does thus abuse even a brute
+  beast; and as for us, neither hath the fear of our governors,
+  nor a desire of following what other nations have in so great
+  esteem, been able to withdraw us from our own laws; nor
+  have we exerted our courage in raising up wars to increase
+  our wealth, but only for the observation of our laws; and
+  when we with patience bear other losses, yet when any
+  persons would compel us to break our laws, then it is that we
+  choose to go to war, though it be beyond our ability to
+  pursue it, and bear the greatest calamities to the last with
+  much fortitude. And, indeed, what reason can there be why
+  we should desire to imitate the laws of other nations, while
+  we see they are not observed by their own legislators (27)
+  And why do not the Lacedemonians think of abolishing that
+  form of their government which suffers them not to associate
+  with any others, as well as their contempt of matrimony? And
+  why do not the Eleans and Thebans abolish that unnatural
+  and impudent lust, which makes them lie with males? For
+  they will not show a sufficient sign of their repentance of
+  what they of old thought to be very excellent, and very
+  advantageous in their practices, unless they entirely avoid all
+  such actions for the time to come: nay, such things are
+  inserted into the body of their laws, and had once such a
+  power among the Greeks, that they ascribed these
+  sodomitical practices to the gods themselves, as a part of
+  their good character; and indeed it was according to the same
+  manner that the gods married their own sisters. This the
+  Greeks contrived as an apology for their own absurd and
+  unnatural pleasures.
+  
+  39. I omit to speak concerning punishments, and how many
+  ways of escaping them the greatest part of the legislators
+  have afforded malefactors, by ordaining that, for adulteries,
+  fines in money should be allowed, and for corrupting (28)
+  [virgins] they need only marry them as also what excuses they
+  may have in denying the facts, if any one attempts to inquire
+  into them; for amongst most other nations it is a studied art
+  how men may transgress their laws; but no such thing is
+  permitted amongst us; for though we be deprived of our
+  wealth, of our cities, or of the other advantages we have, our
+  law continues immortal; nor can any Jew go so far from his
+  own country, nor be so aftrighted at the severest lord, as not
+  to be more aftrighted at the law than at him. If, therefore,
+  this be the disposition we are under, with regard to the
+  excellency of our laws, let our enemies make us this
+  concession, that our laws are most excellent; and if still they
+  imagine, that though we so firmly adhere to them, yet are
+  they bad laws notwithstanding, what penalties then do they
+  deserve to undergo who do not observe their own laws, which
+  they esteem so far superior to them? Whereas, therefore,
+  length of time is esteemed to be the truest touchstone in all
+  cases, I would make that a testimonial of the excellency of
+  our laws, and of that belief thereby delivered to us
+  concerning God. For as there hath been a very long time for
+  this comparison, if any one will but compare its duration with
+  the duration of the laws made by other legislators, he will
+  find our legislator to have been the ancientest of them all.
+  
+  40. We have already demonstrated that our laws have been
+  such as have always inspired admiration and imitation into all
+  other men; nay, the earliest Grecian philosophers, though in
+  appearance they observed the laws of their own countries, yet
+  did they, in their actions, and their philosophic doctrines,
+  follow our legislator, and instructed men to live sparingly,
+and
+  to have friendly communication one with another. Nay,
+  further, the multitude of mankind itself have had a great
+  inclination of a long time to follow our religious observances;
+  for there is not any city of the Grecians, nor any of the
+  barbarians, nor any nation whatsoever, whither our custom of
+  resting on the seventh day hath not come, and by which our
+  fasts and lighting up lamps, and many of our prohibitions as
+  to our food, are not observed; they also endeavor to imitate
+  our mutual concord with one another, and the charitable
+  distribution of our goods, and our diligence in our trades, and
+  our fortitude in undergoing the distresses we are in, on
+  account of our laws; and, what is here matter of the greatest
+  admiration, our law hath no bait of pleasure to allure men to
+  it, but it prevails by its own force; and as God himself
+  pervades all the world, so hath our law passed through all the
+  world also. So that if any one will but reflect on his own
+  country, and his own family, he will have reason to give credit
+  to what I say. It is therefore but just, either to condemn all
+  mankind of indulging a wicked disposition, when they have
+  been so desirous of imitating laws that are to them foreign
+  and evil in themselves, rather than following laws of their
+  own that are of a better character, or else our accusers must
+  leave off their spite against us. Nor are we guilty of any
+  envious behavior towards them, when we honor our own
+  legislator, and believe what he, by his prophetic authority,
+  hath taught us concerning God. For though we should not be
+  able ourselves to understand the excellency of our own laws,
+  yet would the great multitude of those that desire to imitate
+  them, justify us, in greatly valuing ourselves upon them.
+  
+  41. But as for the [distinct] political laws by which we are
+  governed, I have delivered them accurately in my books of
+  Antiquities; and have only mentioned them now, so far as
+  was necessary to my present purpose, without proposing to
+  myself either to blame the laws of other nations, or to make
+  an encomium upon our own; but in order to convict those
+  that have written about us unjustly, and in an impudent
+  affectation of disguising the truth. And now I think I have
+  sufficiently completed what I proposed in writing these books.
+  For whereas our accusers have pretended that our nation are
+  a people of very late original, I have demonstrated that they
+  are exceeding ancient; for I have produced as witnesses
+  thereto many ancient writers, who have made mention of us
+  in their books, while they had said that no such writer had so
+  done. Moreover, they had said that we were sprung from the
+  Egyptians, while I have proved that we came from another
+  country into Egypt: while they had told lies of us, as if we
+  were expelled thence on account of diseases on our bodies, it
+  has appeared, on the contrary, that we returned to our
+  country by our own choice, and with sound and strong bodies.
+  Those accusers reproached our legislator as a vile fellow;
+  whereas God in old time bare witness to his virtuous conduct;
+  and since that testimony of God, time itself hath been
+  discovered to have borne witness to the same thing.
+  
+  42. As to the laws themselves, more words are unnecessary,
+  for they are visible in their own nature, and appear to teach
+  not impiety, but the truest piety in the world. They do not
+  make men hate one another, but encourage people to
+  communicate what they have to one another freely; they are
+  enemies to injustice, they take care of righteousness, they
+  banish idleness and expensive living, and instruct men to be
+  content with what they have, and to be laborious in their
+  calling; they forbid men to make war from a desire of getting
+  more, but make men courageous in defending the laws; they
+  are inexorable in punishing malefactors; they admit no
+  sophistry of words, but are always established by actions
+  themselves, which actions we ever propose as surer
+  demonstrations than what is contained in writing only: on
+  which account I am so bold as to say that we are become the
+  teachers of other men, in the greatest number of things, and
+  those of the most excellent nature only; for what is more
+  excellent than inviolable piety? what is more just than
+  submission to laws? and what is more advantageous than
+  mutual love and concord? and this so far that we are to be
+  neither divided by calamities, nor to become injurious and
+  seditious in prosperity; but to contemn death when we are in
+  war, and in peace to apply ourselves to our mechanical
+  occupations, or to our tillage of the ground; while we in all
+  things and all ways are satisfied that God is the inspector and
+  governor of our actions. If these precepts had either been
+  written at first, or more exactly kept by any others before us,
+  we should have owed them thanks as disciples owe to their
+  masters; but if it be visible that we have made use of them
+  more than any other men, and if we have demonstrated that
+  the original invention of them is our own, let the Apions, and
+  the Molons, with all the rest of those that delight in lies and
+  reproaches, stand confuted; but let this and the foregoing
+  book be dedicated to thee, Epaphroditus, who art so great a
+  lover of truth, and by thy means to those that have been in
+  like manner desirous to be acquainted with the affairs of our
+  nation.
+  
+
+APION BOOK 2 FOOTNOTES
+
+(1) The former part of this second book is written against the
+calumnies of Apion, and then, more briefly, against the like
+calumnies of Apollonius Molo. But after that, Josephus leaves off
+any more particular reply to those adversaries of the Jews, and
+gives us a large and excellent description and vindication of
+that theocracy which was settled for the Jewish nation by Moses,
+their great legislator.
+
+(2) Called by Tiberius Cymbalum Mundi, The drum of the world.
+
+(3) This seems to have been the first dial that had been made in
+Egypt, and was a little before the time that Ahaz made his
+[first] dial in Judea, and about anno 755, in the first year of
+the seventh olympiad, as we shall see presently. See 2 Kings
+20:11; Isaiah 38:8.
+
+(4) The burial-place for dead bodies, as I suppose.
+
+(5) Here begins a great defect in the Greek copy; but the old
+Latin version fully supplies that defect.
+
+(6) What error is here generally believed to have been committed
+by our Josephus in ascribing a deliverance of the Jews to the
+reign of Ptolemy Physco, the seventh of those Ptolemus, which has
+been universally supposed to have happened under Ptolemy
+Philopater, the fourth of them, is no better than a gross error
+of the moderns, and not of Josephus, as I have fully proved in
+the Authentic. Rec. Part I. p. 200-201, whither I refer the
+inquisitive reader.
+
+(7) Sister's son, and adopted son.
+
+(8) Called more properly Molo, or Apollonius Molo, as hereafter;
+for Apollonins, the son of Molo, was another person, as Strabo
+informs us, lib. xiv.
+
+(9) Furones in the Latin, which what animal it denotes does not
+now appear.
+
+(10) It is great pity that these six pagan authors, here
+mentioned to have described the famous profanation of the Jewish
+temple by Antiochus Epiphanes, should be all lost; I mean so far
+of their writings as contained that description; though it is
+plain Josephus perused them all as extant in his time.
+
+(11) It is remarkable that Josephus here, and, I think, no where
+else, reckons up four distinct courts of the temple; that of the
+Gentiles, that of the women of Israel, that of the men of Israel,
+and that of the priests; as also that the court of the women
+admitted of the men, (I suppose only of the husbands of those
+wives that were therein,) while the court of the men did not
+admit any women into it at all.
+
+(12) Judea, in the Greek, by a gross mistake of the transcribers.
+
+(13) Seven in the Greek, by a like gross mistake of the
+transcribers. See of the War, B. V. ch. 5. sect. 4.
+
+(14) Two hundred in the Greek, contrary to the twenty in the War,
+B. VII. ch, 5. sect. 3.
+
+(15) This notorious disgrace belonging peculiarly to the people
+of Egypt, ever since the times of the old prophets of the Jews,
+noted both sect. 4 already, and here, may be confirmed by the
+testimony of Isidorus, an Egyptian of Pelusium, Epist. lib. i.
+Ep. 489. And this is a remarkable completion of the ancient
+prediction of God by Ezekiel 29:14, 15, that the Egyptians should
+be a base kingdom, the basest of the kingdoms," and that "it
+should not exalt itself any more above the nations."
+
+(16) The truth of which still further appears by the present
+observation of Josephus, that these Egyptians had never, in all
+the past ages since Sesostris, had one day of liberty, no, not so
+much as to have been free from despotic power under any of the
+monarchies to that day. And all this bas been found equally true
+in the latter ages, under the Romans, Saracens, Mamelukes, and
+Turks, from the days of Josephus till the present ago also.
+
+(17) This language, that Moses, "persuaded himself" that what he
+did was according to God's will, can mean no more, by Josephus's
+own constant notions elsewhere, than that he was "firmly
+persuaded," that he had "fully satisfied himself" that so it was,
+viz. by the many revelations he had received from God, and the
+numerous miracles God had enabled him to work, as he both in
+these very two books against Apion, and in his Antiquities, most
+clearly and frequently assures us. This is further evident from
+several passages lower, where he affirms that Moses was no
+impostor nor deceiver, and where he assures that Moses's
+constitution of government was no other than a theocracy; and
+where he says they are to hope for deliverance out of their
+distresses by prayer to God, and that withal it was owing in part
+to this prophetic spirit of Moses that the Jews expected a
+resurrection from the dead. See almost as strange a use of the
+like words, "to persuade God," Antiq. B. VI. ch. 5. sect. 6.
+
+(18) That is, Moses really was, what the heathen legislators
+pretended to be, under a Divine direction; nor does it yet appear
+that these pretensions to a supernatural conduct, either in these
+legislators or oracles, were mere delusions of men without any
+demoniacal impressions, nor that Josephus took them so to be; as
+the ancientest and contemporary authors did still believe them to
+be supernatural.
+
+(19) This whole very large passage is corrected by Dr. Hudson
+from Eusebius's citation of it, Prep. Evangel. viii. 8, which is
+here not a little different from the present MSS. of Josephus.
+
+(20) This expression itself, that "Moses ordained the Jewish
+government to be a theocracy," may be illustrated by that
+parallel expression in the Antiquities, B. III. ch. 8. sect. 9,
+that "Moses left it to God to be present at his sacrifices when
+he pleased; and when he pleased, to be absent." Both ways of
+speaking sound harsh in the ears of Jews and Christians, as do
+several others which Josephus uses to the heathens; but still
+they were not very improper in him, when he all along thought fit
+to accommodate himself, both in his Antiquities, and in these his
+books against Apion, all written for the use of the Greeks and
+Romans, to their notions and language, and this as far as ever
+truth would give him leave. Though it be very observable withal,
+that he never uses such expressions in his books of the War,
+written originally for the Jews beyond Euphrates, and in their
+language, in all these cases. However, Josephus directly supposes
+the Jewish settlement, under Moses, to be a Divine settlement,
+and indeed no other than a real theocracy.
+
+(21) These excellent accounts of the Divine attributes, and that
+God is not to be at all known in his essence, as also some other
+clear expressions about the resurrection of the dead, and the
+state of departed souls, etc., in this late work of Josephus,
+look more like the exalted notions of the Essens, or rather
+Ebionite Christians, than those of a mere Jew or Pharisee. The
+following large accounts also of the laws of Moses, seem to me to
+show a regard to the higher interpretations and improvements of
+Moses's laws, derived from Jesus Christ, than to the bare letter
+of them in the Old Testament, whence alone Josephus took them
+when he wrote his Antiquities; nor, as I think, can some of these
+laws, though generally excellent in their kind, be properly now
+found either in the copies of the Jewish Pentateuch, or in Philo,
+or in Josephus himself, before he became a Nazarene or Ebionite
+Christian; nor even all of them among the laws of catholic
+Christianity themselves. I desire, therefore, the learned reader
+to consider, whether some of these improvements or
+interpretations might not be peculiar to the Essens among the
+Jews, or rather to the Nazarenes or Ebionites among the
+Christians, though we have indeed but imperfect accounts of those
+Nazarenes or Ebionite Christians transmitted down to us at this
+day.
+
+(22) We may here observe how known a thing it was among the Jews
+and heathens, in this and many other instances, that sacrifices
+were still accompanied with prayers; whence most probably came
+those phrases of "the sacrifice of prayer, the sacrifice of
+praise, the sacrifice of thanksgiving." However, those ancient
+forms used at sacrifices are now generally lost, to the no small
+damage of true religion. It is here also exceeding remarkable,
+that although the temple at Jerusalem was built as the only place
+where the whole nation of the Jews were to offer their
+sacrifices, yet is there no mention of the "sacrifices"
+themselves, but of "prayers" only, in Solomon's long and famous
+form of devotion at its dedication, 1 Kings 8.; 2 Chronicles 6.
+See also many passages cited in the Apostolical Constitutions,
+VII. 37, and Of the War, above, B. VII. ch. 5. sect. 6.
+
+(23) This text is no where in our present copies of the Old
+Testament.
+
+(24) It may not be amiss to set down here a very remarkable
+testimony of the great philosopher Cicero, as to the preference
+of "laws to philosophy: - I will," says he, "boldly declare my
+opinion, though the whole world be offended at it. I prefer this
+little book of the Twelve Tables alone to all the volumes of the
+philosophers. I find it to be not only of more weight,' but also
+much more useful." - Oratore.
+
+(25) we have observed our times of rest, and sorts of food
+allowed us [during our distresses].
+
+(26) See what those novel oaths were in Dr. Hudson's note, viz.
+to swear by an oak, by a goat, and by a dog, as also by a gander,
+as say Philostratus and others. This swearing strange oaths was
+also forbidden by the Tyrians, B. I. sect. 22, as Spanheim here
+notes.
+
+(27) Why Josephus here should blame some heathen legislators,
+when they allowed so easy a composition for simple fornication,
+as an obligation to marry the virgin that was corrupted, is hard
+to say, seeing he had himself truly informed us that it was a law
+of the Jews, Antiq. B. IV. ch. 8. sect. 23, as it is the law of
+Christianity also: see Horeb Covenant, p. 61. I am almost ready
+to suspect that, for, we should here read, and that corrupting
+wedlock, or other men's wives, is the crime for which these
+heathens wickedly allowed this composition in money.
+
+(28) Or "for corrupting other men's wives the same allowance."
+
+
+
+
+
+End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of Against Apion, by Flavius Josephus
+
diff --git a/old/agaap10.zip b/old/agaap10.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1586f4d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/old/agaap10.zip