XLIX. And he also displays, in a further degree, the mo- deration of the passions of the man who is advancing towards perfection, by the fact that the perfect man discards all the pleasures of the belly without being prompted by any command to do so, but that he who is only advancing onwards towards perfection only does so in consequence of being commanded. For, in the case of the wise man, we find the following expres- sion used: — " He washes his belly and his feet with water,"J without any command, in accordance with his own unbidden inclination. But, in the case of the priests, he spoke thus: " But their bowels and their feet," not they have washed, but " they do wash;' § speaking with very cautious exactness, for the perfect man must be moved in his own- inclination towards the energies in accordance with virtue. But he who is only practising virtue must be instigated by reason, which points out to him what he ought to do, and it is an honourable thing to obey the injunctions of reason.
But we ought not to be ignorant that Moses repudiates the whole of the belly, that is to say, the filling and indulging the belly, and almost renounces all the other passions likewise; the lawgiver giving a lively representation of the whole from one part, starting from a universal example, and discussing, poten- tially at least, the other points as to which he was silent.
L. The filling of the belly is a most enduring and universal thing; and, as it were, a kind of foundation of the other L 146 PHILO JUDiEUS.
passions. At all events, there is not one of them which can find any existence if it is not supported by the belly, on which nature has made everything to depend. On this account, when the goods of the soul had previously been born of Leah, and had ended in Judah,* that is to saj, m confession, God being about to create also the improvements of the body, prepared Bilhah, the hand-maid of Rachel, to bear children on behalf of and before her mistress. And the name Bilhah, being inter- preted, means deglutition. For he knew that not one of the corporeal faculties can exist without imbibing moisture and without the belly; but the belly is predominant over and the ruler of the whole body, and the preserver of this corporeal mass in a state of existence.
And observe the subtle way in which all this is expressed; for you will not find a single word used superfluously. Moses indeed " takes away the breast," but as for the belly he does not take that away, but he washes it.f Why so? Because the perfectly wise man is able to repudiate and to eradicate all the angry passions, making them rise up and abandon anger; but he is unable to cut out and discard the belly, for nature is compelled to use the necessary meats and drinks, even if a man, being content with the scantiest possible supply of ne- cessaries should despise it, and purpose to himself to abjure eating. Let him therefore wash and purify it from all super- fluous and unclean preparations; for to be able to do even this is a very sufficient gift from God to the lover of virtue.
LI. On this account Moses says, with respect to the soul which is suspected of having committed adultery, J that, if having abandoned right reason, which is man living according to the law, it shall be found to have gone over to passion, which pollutes the soul, " it shall become swollen in the belly," which means it shall have all the pleasures and appe tites of the belly unsatisfied and insatiable, and it shall never cease to be greedy through ignorance, but pleasures in bound- less number shall flow into it, and thus its passions shall be interminable. Now I know many people who have fallen into error in respect of the appetites of the belly, that while still devoting themselves to their gratifications, they have again rushed with eagerness to wine and other luxuries; for the ap- * Genesis xxix. 35. f Leviticus viii. 29— ix H.
J Numbers v. 27.
ON THE ALLEGORIES OF THE SACRED LAWS. 147 petites of the intemperate soul bear no analogy to the mass of the body. But some men, like vessels made to hold a certain measure, desire nothing extravagant, but discard everything that is superfluous; but appetite on the other hand is never satisfied, but remains always in want and thirsty. In refer- ence to which the expression, that " the thigh shall fall away," is added in immediate connexion with the denunciation that " her belly shall swell;" for then right reason, which has the seeds and originating principles of good, falls from the soul.
" If therefore," says Moses, " she has not been corrupted, then she shall be pure, and free from all infliction from ge- neration to generation;" that is to say, if she has not been polluted by passion, but has kept herself pure in respect of her legitimate husband, sound reason, her proper guide, she shall have a productive and fertile soul, bearing the offspring of prudence and justice and all virtue.
LII. Is it then possible for us, who are bound up in our bodies, to avoid complying with the necessities of the body? And if it is possible, how is it possible? But consider, the priest recommends him who is led away by his bodily neces- sities to indulge in nothing beyond what is strictly necessary. In the first place, says he, " Let there be a place for thee outside of the camp;"* meaning by the camp virtue, in which the soul is encamped and fortified; for prudence and a free indulgence in the necessities of the body cannot abide in the same place. After that he says, " And you shall go out there." Why so? Because the soul, which is abiding in com- panionship with prudence and dwelling in the house of wis- dom, cannot indulge in any of the delights of the body, for it is at that time nourished on a diviner food in the sciences, in consequence of which it neglects the flesh, for when it has gone forth beyond the sacred thresholds of virtue, then it turns to the material substances, which disarrange and op- press the soul. How then am I to deal with them? " It shall be a peg," says Moses, " upon thy girdle, and thou shalt dig with it;"* that is to say, reason shall be close to you in the case of the passion, which digs out and equips and clothes it properly; for he desires that we should be girded up in respect of the passions, and not to have them about us in a loose and dissolute state. On which account, at the time of * Deuteronomy xxiii. 12.
148 PHILO JUD^EUS.
the passage through them, which is called the passover, he enjoins us all " to have our loins girded,"* that is to say, to have our appetites under restraint. Let the peg, therefore, that is to say reason, follow the passion, preventing it from becoming dissolute; for in this way we shall be able to con- tent ourselves with only so much as is necessary, and to abstain from what is superfluous.
LIII. And in this way when we are at entertainments, and when we are about to come to the enjoyment and use of luxuries that have been prepared for us, let us approach them taking reason with us as a defensive armour, and let us not fill ourselves with food beyond all moderation like cormorants, nor let us satiate ourselves with immoderate draughts of strong wine, and so give way to intoxication which compels men to act like fools. For reason will bridle and curb the violence and impetuosity of such a passion. I myself, at all events, know that it has done so with regard to many of the passions, for when I have gone to entertainments where no respect was paid to discipline, and to sumptuous banquets, whenever I went without taking Reason with me as a guide, I became a slave to the luxuries that lay before me, being under the guid- ance of masters who could not be tamed, with sights and sounds of temptation, and all other such things also as work pleasure iu a man by the agency of his senses of smell and taste. But when I approach such scenes in the company of reason, I then become a master instead of a slave: and with-. out being subdued myself win a glorious victory of self-denial and temperance; opposing and contending against all the appetites which subdue the intemperate. " Thou shalt be armed," Moses therefore says, " with the peg."f That is to say, you, by the aid of reason, shall lay bare the nature which each of the separate passions has, eating, and drinking, and indulging in the pleasures of the belly, and you shall distinguish between them, that when you have so distinguished you may know the truth. For then you shall know that there is no good iu any of these things, but only what is necessary and useful. "And bringing it over, you shall cover what is inde- corous,''J speaking very appropriately. For come to me, O my soul, bring reason to everything by which all unseemliness of * Exodus xii. 11. t Deuteronomy xxiii. 12.
J Deuteronomy xxiii. 14.
ON THE ALLEGORIES OF THE SACRED LAWS. 149 flesh and of passion is concealed, and overshadowed and hidden. For all the things which are not in combination with reason are! disgraceful, just as those which are doue in union with reason are seemly. Therefore the man who is devoted to pleasure goes on his belly, but the perfect man washes his whole belly, and he who is only advancing towards perfection washes the things in his belly. But he who is now beginning to be instructed proceeds out of doors when he is intent upon curbing the passions of the belly by bringing reason to work upon the necessities of the belly, and reason is called symboli- cally a peg.
LTV. Moses therefore does well when he adds, " Thou shalt go upon thy breast and upon thy belly."* For pleasure is not one of the things which is tranquil and steady, but is rather a thing which is in constant motion and full of confusion, for as flame is excited by being moved, so passion when it is put in motion in the soul, being in some respects like a flame, does not suffer it to rest. On which account he does not agree with those who pronounce pleasure a stable feeling, for tranquillity is connected with stones and trees, and all kinds of inanimate things, but is quite inconsistent with pleasure; for it is fond of tickling and convulsive agitation, and with regard to some of its indulgences it has not need of tranquillity but of an intense and violent unseemliness of commotion.
LV. But the expression, " And dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life," is also used with great propriety. For the pleasures which are derived from the food of the body are all earthly. And may we not 53asonably speak thus? There are two several parts of which we consist, the soul and the body; now the body is made of earth, but the soul consists of air, being a fragment of the Divinity, for " God breathed into man's face the breath of life, and man became a living soul."f It is therefore quite consistent with reason to say that the body which was fashioned out of the earth has nourish ment which the earth gives forth akin to the matter of which it is composed; but the soul, inasmuch as it is a portion of the ethereal nature, is supported by nourishment which is ethereal and divine, for it it is nourished on knowledge, and not on meat or drink, which the body requires.
LVI. But that the food of the soul is not earthly but hea * Genesis iii. 14. t Genesis ii. 7.
venly the Holy Scriptures will testify in many passages, " Behold I will rain upon you bread from heaven, and the people shall come forth, and shall collect from day to day, when I will try them, whether they will walk according to my law or not."* You see that the soul is nourished not on earthly and corruptible food, but on the reasons which God rains down out of his sublime and pure nature, which he calls heaven. "Let the people indeed go forth and the whole system of the soul likewise, and let it collect science and begin knowledge, not in large quantities but from day to day." For, in the first place, in that way it will not exhaust all at once the abundant riches of the grace of God: but it will over- flow like a torrent with their superfluity. Secondly, it will happen that when they have taken such good things as are sufficient for them and duly measured, they will think God the dispenser of the rest. But he who endeavours to collect everything at once is only acquiring for himself despair with great sorrow.t for he becomes full of despair if he expects that God will only rain good things upon him at the present moment, and that he will not do so hereafter. And he becomes inclined to infidelity if he does not believe that the graces of God will be both at present and in all time abund- antly poured upon those who are worthy of them. And he is foolish, moreover, if he thinks that he shall be a competent guardian of what he has collected contrary to God's will. For a very slight inclination is sufficient to make the mind, which in its boastfulness attributes safety and stability to itself, an impotent and unsure keeper of those things of which it fancied itself a safe guardian.
LVII. Collect therefore, 0 my soul, what is sufficient and proper, and in such a quantity as shall neither exceed by being more than is sufficient, nor fall short by being less than what is requisite: that so, using just measures you may not be led into the commission of injustice.
For while meditating on the migration from the passions and sacrificing the passover you ought to take the advance towards perfection, that is to say the sheep, in a moderate spirit. " For each person of you," says Moses, " shall take a sheep, * Exodus xvi. 4.
f It seems that for dviciQ, sorrow, we ought rather to read (fawfiogi infidelity, as it is diricTog which is afterwards joined with dvoiXirtg.
ON THE ALLEGORIES OF THE SACRED LAWS. 151 such as shall be sufficient for him according to the number of his house. '* And in the case of the manna therefore, and of every gift which God gives to the race of mankind, the principle being guided by numbering and by measure, and of not taking what is more than is necessary for us, is good; for the opposite conduct is covetousness. Let therefore one soul collect what is sufficient for it from day to day,* that it may show that it is not itself which is the guardian of good things, but the bounteous giver, God.
LVIII. And this appears to me to be the reason why the sentence which I have ci ted above was uttered. Day is an emblem of light, and the light of the soul is instruction. Many persons therefore have provided for themselves the lights that can exist in the soul against night and darkness, but not against day-time and light; such lights for instance, as are derived from rudimental instruction, and those branches of education which are called encyclical, and philosophy itself, which is sought after for the sake both of the pleasure which is derived from it, and also of the influence which it gives among rulers. But the good man seeks the day for the sake of the day, and the light for the light's sake; and he labours to acquire what is good for the sake of the good itself, and not of anything else, on which account Moses adds, " In order that I may tempt them and see whether they will walk according to my law or not," f for the divine law enjoins us to honour virtue for its own sake. Accordingly, right reason tests those who practise virtue as one might test a coin, to see whether they have contracted any stain, referring the good things of the soul to any of the external things; or whether they decide upon it as good money, preserving it in the intellect alone. These men are nourished not on earthly things, but on heavenly knowledge.
L1X. And Moses shows this in other passages also, when he says, " And in the morning the dew lay round about the hosts; and when the dew that lay in the morning was gone up, behold! upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, small as coriander seed,} and white like the hoar- frost upon the earth. And when they saw it, they said one tc another, what is this? for they knew not what it was, and 4 PHILO JUDJEUS.
Moses said to them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat, this is the thing which the Lord hath com- manded you."* You see now what kind of thing the food of the Lord is, it is the continued word of the Lord, like dew, surrounding the whole soul in a circle, and allowing no portion of it to be without its share of itself. And this word is not apparent in every place, but wherever there is a vacant space, void of passions and vice; and it is subtle both to understand and to be understood, and it is exceedingly transparent and clear to be distinguished, and it is like coriander seed. And agricul- turists say that the seed of the coriander is capable of being cut up and divided into innumerable pieces, and if sown in each separate piece and fragment, it shoots up just as much as the whole seed could do. Such also is the word of God, being profitable both in its entirety and also in every part, even if it be ever so small.
May it not be also likened to the pupil of the eye? For as that, being the smallest portion of the eye, does nevertheless behold the entire orbs of existing things and the boundless sea, and the vastness of the air, and the whole immeasurable space of heayen, which the sun, whether rising in the east or setting in the west, can bound; so also is the word of God, very sharp- sighted, so as to be capable of beholding every thing, and by which all things that are worth seeing can be beheld, in reference to which fact it is white. For what can be more brilliant or visible at a greater distance than the divine word, by participation in which all other things can repel mists and darkness, being eager to share in the light of the soul?
LX. There is a certain peculiarity which is attached to this word. For when it calls the soul to itself, it excites a congealing power in everything which is earthly, or corporeal, or under the influence of the external senses. On which account it is said to be " like the hoar-frost on the earth." f For when the man who beholds God, meditates a flight from the passions, "the waves are frozen,"' that is to say, the im- petuous rush, and the increase, and the haughty pride of the waves are arrested, in order that he who might behold the living God might then pass over the passion. J Therefore the • Exodus xvi. 13. + Exodua vi. 16. £ Exodus xvi. 15, ON THE ALLEGORIES OF THE SACRED LAWS. 153 souls inquire of one another, those, that is, that have clearly felt the influence of the word, but which are not able to say what it is. For very often, wheu sensible of a sweet taste, we are nevertheless ignorant of the flavour which has caused it, and when we smell sweet scents, we still do not know what they are. And in the same manner also the soul very often, when it is delighted, is yet unable to explain what it is that has delighted it; but it is taught by the hierophant and prophet Moses, who tells it, "This is the bread, the food which God has given for the soul,"* explaining that God has brought it, his own word and his own reason; for this bread which he has given us to eat is this word of his.
LXI. He says also in Deuteronomy, " And he has humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and led thee with manna, which thou knowest not, neither did thy fathers know, that he might make thee know that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word which proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live."f Now this ill-treating and humbling of them is a sign of his being propitiated by them, for he is propitiated as to the souls of us who are wicked on the tenth day. For when he strips us of all our pleasant things, we appear to ourselves to be ill-treated, that is in truth to have God propitious to us.
And God also causes us hunger, not that which proceeds from virtue, but that which is engendered by passion and vice. And the proof of this is, that he nourishes us with his own word, which is the most universal of all things, for manna being interpreted, means "what?" and "what" is the most universal of all things; for the word of God is over all the world, and isthe_most ancientTand the most universal of all the things that are created. This word our fathers knew not; I speak" not of those who are so in truth, but of those who are grey with age, who say, "Let us give them a guide, and let us turn back" J unto passion, that is to say, to Egypt. Therefore, let God enjoin the soul, saying to it that, "Man shall not live by bread alone," speaking in a figure, "but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God," that is to say, he shall be nourished by the whole word of God, and by every portion of it. For the mouth is the symbol of the language, and a word is a portion of it. Accordingly tha • Exodus xvi. 15. t Deuteronomy viii. 3. t Numbers xiv. 1.
154 PHILO JUCEUS.
soul cf the more perfect man is nourished by the whole word; hut we must be contented if we are nourished by a portion of it.
LXII. But these men pray to be nourished by the word ot God: but Jacob, raising his head above the word, says that he is nourished by God himself, and his words are as follows: " The God in whom my father Abraham and Isaac were well- pleased; the God who has nourished me from my youth upwards to this day; the angel who has delivered me from all my evils, bless these children."* This now being a symbol of a perfect disposition, thinks God himself his nourisher, and not the word: and he speaks of the angel, which is the word, as the physician of his evils, in this speaking most naturally. For the good things which he has previously mentioned are pleasing to him, inasmuch as the living and true God has given them to him face to face, but the secondary good things have been given to him by the angels and by the word of God. On this account I think it is that God gives men pure good health, which is not preceded by any disease in the body, by himself alone, but that health which is an escape from disease he gives through the medium of skill and medical science, attributing it to science, and to him who can apply it skilfully, though in truth, it is God himself who heals both by these means, and without these means. And the same is the case with regard to the soul, the good things, namely food, he gives to men by his power alone; but those which contain in them a deliverance from evil, he gives by means of his angels and his word.
LXIII. And he uttered this prayer, blaming Joseph the statesman and governor, because he had ventured to say, " I will feed them in that land,"f for, " hasten ye," said Joseph, " and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus says Joseph," and so on, and presently he adds, " Come down unto me, and do not tarry, come with all thou hast, and I will feed thee in that land; for still the famine lasts for five years." Jacob, therefore, speaks as he does reproving and at the same time instructing this imaginary wise man, and he says to him, " 0 my friend, know thou that the food of the soul is knowledge, which it h not the word which is intelligible by the external senses that can bestow, but God only who has nourished me * Genesis xlviii. 15. ♦ Genesis xlv. 11.
ON THE ALLBOORIES OF THE SACRED LAWS. 155 from youth, and from my earliest age till the time of perfect manhood, he shall fill me with it. Joseph therefore was treated in the same way with his mother Rachel, for she also thought that the creature had some power; on which account she used the expression, " Give me children,'' but the supplanter, adhering to his proper character, says to her, M You have used a great error; for I am not in the peace of God, who alone is able to open the womb of the soul,* and to implant virtues in it, and to cause it to be pregnant, and to bring forth what is good. Consider also the history of thy sis- ter Leah, and you will find that she did not receive seed or fertility from any creature — but from God himself."