X. " And all the grass of the field," he proceeds, " before it sprang up." That is to say, before the particular things per- ceptible by the external senses sprang up, there existed the generic something perceptible by the external senses through the fore-knowledge of the Creator, which he again called " the universe." And very naturally he likened the things per- ceptible by the external senses to grass. For as grass is the food of irrational animals, so also that which is perceptible by the external senses is assigned to the irrational portion of the soul. For why, when he has previously mentioned " the green herb of the field," does he add also " and all the grass," as if grass were not green at all? But the truth is, that by the green herb of the field, he means that which is perceptible by the intellect only, the budding forth of the mind. But grass means that which is perceptible by the external senses, that being likewise the produce of the irrational part of the soul.
" For God did not rain upon the earth, and man did not exist to cultivate the earth," speaking in the strictest accor- dance with natural philosophy. For if God did not shed the perceptions of things subject to them, like rain upon the senses, in that case the mind too would not labour nor employ itself about sensation. For he himself would be unable to effect anything by himself, unless he were to pour forth, like rain or dew, colours upon the sight, and sounds upon the hearing, and flavour on the tastes, and on all the other senses, the things proper to produce the requisite effects. But when God begins to rain sensation on the things perceptible by the external senses, then also the mind is perceived to act like the cultivator of fertile soil. But the idea of sensation, which he, speaking figuratively, has called the earth, is in no need of nourishment. But the nourishment of the senses, are the particular objects perceptible by the external senses; and these objects are bodies. But an idea is a thing different from bodies.
Before, therefore, there existed any individual compound substances, God did not rain upon that idea of sensation to which ON THE ALLEGORIES OF THE SACRED LAWS. 59 he gave the name of the earth. And that means that he did not funiish it with any nourishment; for, indeed, it had altogether no need of any object perceptible by the external senses But when Moses says, " And man did not exist to cultivate the earth," that means that the idea of intellect did not labour upon the idea of the sensations. For my intellect and yours work up the sensations by means of things perceptible by the the external senses: but the idea of mind as must be the case while there is no individual body connected with it does not work upon the idea of sensation. For if it did so work, it would of course work by means of objects, perceptible by the external senses. But there is no such object in ideas.
XI. " But a fountain went up upon the earth, and watered all the face of the earth." He here calls the mind the foun- tain of the earth, and the sensations he calls the face of the earth, because there is the most suitable place in the whole body for them, with reference to their appropriate energies, a place that nature which foreknows everything, has assigned to them. And the mind waters the sensations like a fountain, sending appropriate streams over each.
See now how all the powers of a living animal depend upon one another like a chain. For as the mind, and sensations, and the object perceptible by the external sense are three different things, the middle term is sensation; and the mind, and the object perceptible by the external sense, are the two extremes. But the mind is unable to work; that is to say, to energize according to sensation, unless God rains upon and irrigates the object perceptible by the external senses, nor is there any advantage from the object perceptible to the ex- ternal sense when watered, unless the mind, like a fountain, extending itself as far as the sensation, puts it in motion when it is quiet, and leads it on to a comprehension of the subject. So that the mind, and the object perceptible by the external senses, are always endeavouring to reciprocate with one another, the one the being subject to the sensations as a kind of material would be, and the mind Stirling up the sensations to- wards the external object, as a workman would do, in order to create an appetite. For a living animal is superior to that which is not a living animal in two points, imagination and appetite. Accordingly, imagination consists in the approach of the external object striking the mind by means of the sensations. And appetite is the brother of imagination, according 60 PHILO JUIhEUS.
to the intensive power of the mind, which the mind keeps on the stretch, by means of the sensation, and so touches the sub- ject matter, and comes over to it, being eager to arrive at and comprehend it.
XII. " And God created man, taking a lump of clay from the earth, and breathed into his face the breath of life: and man became a living soul." The races of men are twofold; for one is the heavenly man, and the other the earthly man. Now the heavenly man, as being born in the image of God, has no participation in any corruptible or earth-like essence. But the earthly man is made of loose material, which he calls a lump of clay, On which account he says, not that the heavenly man was made, but that he was fashioned according to the image of God; but the earthly man he calls a thing made, and not begotten by the maker. And we must consider that the man who was formed of earth, means the mind which is to be infused into the body, but which has not yet been so infused. And this mind would be really earthly and corrup- tible, if it were not that God had breathed into it the spirit of genuine life; for then it " exists," and is no longer made into a soul; and its soul is not inactive, and incapable of proper formation, but a really intellectual and living one. " For man," says Moses, " became a living soul."
XIII. But some one may ask, why God thought an earth- born mind, which was wholly devoted to the body, worthy of divine inspiration, and yet did not treat the one made after his own idea and image in the same manner. In the second place he may ask, what is the meaning of the expression " breathed into." And thirdly, why he breathed into his face: fourthly also, why, since he knew the name of the Spirit when he says, " And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters,"* he now speaks of breath, and not of the Spirit. Now in reply to the first question wo must say this one thing; God being very munificent gives his good things to all men, even to those who are not perfect; inviting them to a partici- pation and rivalry in virtue, and at the same time displaying his abundant riches, and showing that it is sufficient for those also who will not be greatly benefited by it; and he also snows this in the most evident manner possible in other cases; fur when he rains on the sea, and when he raises up fountains * Genesis i. 2.
ON THE ALLEGORIES OF THE SACRED LAWS. 61 in desert places, and waters shallow and rough and unproduc- tive land, making the rivers to overflow with floods, what else is he doing but displaying the great abundance of his riches and of his goodness? This is the cause why he has created no soul in such a condition as to be wholly barren of good, even if the employment of that good be beyond the reach of some people. We must also give a second reason, which is this: Moses wished to represent all the actions of the Deity as just — therefore a man who had not had a real life breathed into him, but who was ignorant of virtue, when he was chas- tised for the sins which he had committed would say that he was punished unjustly, in that it was only through ignorance of what was good that he had erred respecting it; and that he was to blame who had not breathed any proper wisdom into him; and perhaps he will even say, that he has absolutely committed no offence whatever; since some people affirm that actions done involuntarily and in ignorance have not the nature of offences.
Now the expression " breathed into" is equivalent to " in- spired," or " gave life to" things inanimate: for let us take care that we are never filled with such absurdity as to think that God employs the organs of the mouth or nostrils for the purpose of breathing into anything; for God is not only de- void of peculiar qualities, but he is likewise not of the form of man, and the use of these words shows some more secret mys tery of nature; for there must be three things, that which breathes in, that which receives what is breathed in, and that which is breathed in. Now that which breathes in is God, that which receives what is breathed in is the mind, and that which is breathed in is the spirit. What then is collected from these three things? A union of the three takes place, through God extending the power, which proceeds from him- self through the spirit, which is the middle term, as far as I the subject* Why does he do this, except that we may thus derive a proper notion of him? Since how could the soul have perceived God if he had not inspired it, and touched it accord- ing to his power? For human intellect would not have dared to mount up to such a height as to lay claim to the nature of God, if God himself had not drawn it up to himself, as far as 62 PHILO JUD^US.
had not formed it according to those powers which can be comprehended.
And God breathed into man's face both physically and morally. Physically, when he placed the senses in the face: and this portion of the body above all others is vivified and inspired; and morally, in this manner, as the face is the dominant portion of the body, so also is the mind the domi- nant portion of the soul. It is into this alone that God breathes; but the other parts, the sensations, the power of speech, and the power of generation, he does not think worthy of his breath, for they are inferior in power. By what then were these subordinate parts inspired? beyond all question by the mind; for of the qualities which the mind has received from God, it gives a share to the irrational portion of the soul, so that the mind is vivified by God, and the irrational part of the soul by the mind; for the mind is as it were a god to the irrational part of the soul, for which reason Moses did not hesitate to call it " the god of Pharaoh."* For of all created things some are created by God, and through him: some not indeed by God, but yet through him: and the rest have their existence both by him and through him.
At all events Moses as he proceeds says, that God planted a paradise, and among the best things as made both by God and through God, is the mind. But the irrational part of the soul was made indeed by God but not through God, but through the reasoning power which bears rule and sovereignty in the soul; and Moses has used the word " breath," not "spirit," as there is a difference between the two words; for spirit is conceived of according to strength, and intensity, and power; but breath is a gentle and moderate kind of breeze and exhalation; therefore the mind, which was created in accordance with the image and idea of God, may be justly said to partake in his spirit, for its reasoning has strength: but that which is derived from matter is only a partaker in a thin and very light air, being as it were a sort of exhalation, such as arises from spices; for they, although they be preserved intact, and are not exposed to fire or fumigation, do never- theless emit a certain fragrance.
• Exodua viL 1.
ON THE ALLEGORIES OK THE SACRED LAWS. 63 XIV. "And God planted a paradise in Eden, in the east; and there he placed the man whom he had formed: " • for he called that divine and heavenly wisdom by many names; aud he made it manifest that it had many appellations; for he called it the beginning, and the image, and the sight of God. And now he exhibits the wisdom which is conversant about the things of the earth (as being an imitation of this archetypal wisdom), in the plantation of this Paradise. For let not such impiety ever occupy our thoughts as for us to suppose that God cultivates the land and plants paradises, since if we were to do so, we should be presently raising the question of why he does so: for it could not be that he might provide himself with pleasant places of recreation and pastime, or with amuse-, ment. Let not such fabulous nonsense ever enter our minds; for even the whole world would not be a worthy place or habi- tation for God, since he is a place to himself, and he himself is full of himself, and he himself is sufficient for himself, filling up and surrounding everything else which is deficient in any respect, or deserted, or empty; but he himself is sur- rounded by nothing else, as being himself one and the uuiverse.
God therefore sows and implants terrestrial virtue in the human race, being an imitation and representation of the heavenly virtue. For, pitying our race, and seeing that it is exposed to abundant and innumerable evils, he firmly planted terrestrial virtue as an assistant against and warder-off of the diseases of the soul; being, as I have said before, an imitation of the heavenly and archetypal wisdom which he calls by various names.
Now virtue is called a paradise metaphorically, and the ap- propriate place for the paradise is Eden; and this means luxury: and the most appropriate field for virtue is peace, aud ease, and joy: in which real luxury especially consists. Moreover, the plantation of this paradise is represented in the I east; for right reason never sets, and is never extinguished, but it is its nature to be always rising. And as I imagine, the rising sun fills the darkness of the air with light, so also does virtue when it has arisen in the soul, irradiate its mist and dissipate the dense darkness. " And there," says Moses. " he placed the man whom he had formed:" for God being good, and having formed our race for virtue, as his work which * Genesis ii. 8.
*4 PHTLO JUPJ5US.
*4 PHTLO JUPJ5US.
was most akin to himself, places the mind in virtue, evidently in order that it, like a good hushand, may cultivate and attend to nothing else except virtue.
XV. And some one may ask here, why, since it is a pious action to imitate the works of God, it is forbidden to me to plant a grove near the altar, and yet God plants a paradise? For Moses says, "You shall not plant a grove for yourself; you shall not make for yourself any tree which is near the altar of the Lord your God.''* What then are we to say? That it is right for God to plant and to build up the virtues in the soul. But the selfish and atheistical mind, thinking itself equal with God while it appears to be doing something, is found in reality to be rather suffering. And though God sows and plants good things in the soul, the mind which says, " I plant," is acting impiously. You shall not plant therefore where God is planting: but if, 0 mind, you fix plants in the soul, take care to plant only such trees as bear fruit, and not a grove; for in a grove there are trees of a character to bear cultivation, and also wild trees. But to plant vice, which is unproductive in the soul, along with cultivated and fertile virtue, is the act of a double-natured and confused leprosy. If, however, you bring into the same place things which ought not to be mingled together, you must separate and disjoin them from the pure and incorrupt nature which is accustomed to make blameless offerings to God; and this is his altar; for it is inconsistent with this to say that there is any such thing as a work of the soul, when all things are referred to God, and to mingle barren things with those which are productive; for this would be faulty: but they are blameless things which are offered to God. If therefore you transgress any one of these laws, O soul! you will be injuring yourself, not God. On this account God says, " You shall not plant for yourself:" for no one works for God, and especially what is evil does not. And again, Moses adds: "You shall not make for yourself." And in another place he says, " You shall not make gods of silver with me, and you shall not make gods of gold for yourselves." For he who conceives either that God has any distinctive quality, or that he is not one, or that he is not uncreated and imperishable, or that he i3 not unchange- able, injures himself and not God. " For you shall not make * Deuteronomy xvl 21.
ON THE ALLEGORIES OF THE SACRED LAWS. 65 that God is free from distinctive qualities, and imperishable and unchangeable; and he who does not conceive thus of him is filling his own soul with false and atheistical opinions. Do you not see that — even though God were to conduct us to virtue, and though when we had been thus conducted we were to plant no tree which was barren, but only such as produce fruit, he would still command us to purify its impurity, that is to say, the appearing to plant. For he here orders us to cut away vain opinions; and vain opinions are a thing impure by nature.
XVI. ''And the man whom he had formed," Moses says, "God placed in the Paradise,"* for the present only Who, then, is he in reference to whom he subsequently says that " The Lord God took the man whom he had formed, and placed him in the Paradise to cultivate it and to guard it."f Must not this man who was created according to the image and idea of God have been a different man from the other, so that two men must have been introduced into the Paradise together, the one a factitious man, and the other modelled after the image of God? Therefore, the man modelled after the idea of God, is perceived not only amid the planting of the virtues, but, besides this, he is their cultivator and guardian; that is to say, he is mindful of the things which he has heard and practised. But the man who is factitious, neither cultivates the virtues, nor guards them, but is only introduced into opinions by the abundant liberality of God, being on the point of immediately becoming an exile from virtue. Therefore, he calls that man whom he only places in Paradise, factitious; but him whom he appoints to be its culti- vator and guardian he calls not factitious, but "the man whom he had made." And him he takes, but the other he casts out.
nd him whom he takes he thinks worthy of three things, of hich goodness of nature especially consists: namely, expert- ess, perseverance, and memory. Now, expertness is his osition in Paradise; memory is the guarding and preservation f holy opinions; perseverance is the effecting of what is good, the performance of virtuous actions. But the factitious mind either remembers what is good, nor does it, but is only xpert, and nothing more; on which account, after it has been F 66 PHILO JUD.EUS.
placed in Paradise, in a short time afterwards it runs away, and is cast out.
XVII. " And God caused to rise out of the earth every tree which is pleasant to the sight and good for food, and the tree of life he raised in the middle of the Paradise, and also the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." He here gives a sketch of the trees of virtue which he plants in the soul. And these are the particular virtues, and the energies in accordance with them, and the good and successful actions, and the things which hy the philosophers are called fitting; these are the plants of the Paradise. Nevertheless, he describes the charac- teristics of these same trees, showing that that which is desira- ble to be beheld is likewise most excellent to be enjoyed. For of the arts some are theoretical and not practical, such as geometry and astronomy. Some, again, are practical and not theoretical, such as the art of the architect, of the smith, and all those which are called mechanical arts. But virtue is both theoretical and practical; for it takes in theory, since the road which leads to it is philosophy in three of its parts — the reasoning, and the moral, and the physical part. It also includes action; for virtue is art conversant about the whole of life; and in life all actions are exhibited. Still, although it takes in both theory and practice, nevertheless it is most excellent in each particular. For the theory of virtue is thoroughly excellent, and its practice and observation is a worthy object to contend for. On which account Moses says that the tree was pleasant to the sight, which is a symbol of theoretical excellence; and likewise good for food, which is a token of useful and practical good.
XVIII. But the tree of life is that most general virtue which some people call goodness; from which the particular virtues are derived, and of which they are composed. And it is on this account that it is placed in the centre of the Paradise; having the most comprehensive place of all, in order that, like a king, it may be guarded by the trees on each side of it. But some say that it is the heart that is meant by the tree of life; since that is the cause of life, and since that has its position in the middle of the body, as being, according to them, the dominant part of the body. But these men ought to be made aware that they are expounding a doctrine which has more reference to medical than to natural science. But we, as has been said ON THE ALLEGORIES OF THE SACRED LAWS. 67 before, affirm that by the tree of life is meant the most genera, virtue. And of this tree Moses expressly says, that it is placed in the middle of the paradise; bnt as to the other tree, that namely of the knowledge of good and evil, he has not specified whether it is within or outside of the Paradise; but after he has used the following expression, " and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil," he says no more, not mentioning where it is placed, in order that any one who is uninitiated in the principles of natural philosophy, may not be made to marvel at his know- ledge.
What then must we say? That this tree is both in the Paradise and also out of it. As to its essence, indeed, in it; but as to its power, out of it. How so? The dominant portion of us is capable of receiving everything, and resembles wax, which is capable of receiving every impression, whether good or bad. In reference to which fact, that supplanter Jacob makes a confession where he says, " all these things were made for me."* For the unspeakable formations and impressions of all the things in the universe, are all borne forward into, and comprehended by the soul, which is only one. When, there- fore that receives the impression of perfect virtue, it has become the tree of life; but when it has received the impression of vice, it has then become the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and vice and all evil have been banished from the divine company. Therefore the dominant power which has received it is in the Paradise according to its essence; for there is in it that characteristic of virtue, which is akin to the Paradise. But again, according to its power it is not in it, because the form of virtue is inconsistent with the divine operations; and what I here say, any one may understand in this manner. At this moment, the dominant part is in my body, according to its essence, but according to its power it is in Italy, or Sicily, rhen it applies its consideration to those countries, and in leaven when it is contemplating the heaven. On which principle it often happens that some persons who are in pro- ine places, according to their essence, are in the most sacred places, thinking of those things which relate to virtue. And *ain, others who are in the temples of the gods, are profane