But as he divided the things when entire, so also did he divide the particular divisions, some of which were animated and others inanimate; and of those which were inanimate he made a division into those which always remain in the same place, the bond of which is habit, and those which move, not indeed in the way of changing their place, but so as to grow, which indescribable nature has vivified. Again of these, those which are of wild materials are productive of wild fruits, which are the food of brute beasts; but others producing good fruit, the cultivation of which has called forth diligent superin- tendence and care, and these produce fruit for the tamest of all animals, namely, for man, that he may enjoy them. And not only did he divide the inanimate things, and those which had received a soul and vitality in one manner — for of these he defined one species as that of irrational, and one as that of rational animals — but he also again subdivided each of these things, dividing the irrational into the wild and the tame species, and the rational into the mortal and the immortal. Again, of the mortal he made two divisions, one of which he called men, and the other women; and, in the same manner, he divided the irrational animals into male and female.
And these things were also subjected to other necessary divisions, which made distinctions between them; winged animals being distinguished from terrestrial, terrestrial from aquatic creatures, and aquatic creatures, again, from both extremities. Thus God, having sharpened his own word, the divider of all things, divides the essence of the universe which is destitute of form, and destitute of all distinctive qualities, and the four elements of the world which were separated from ON WHO IS THE HEIR OF DIVINE THINGS. 121 this essence, and the plants and animals which were consoli- lated bj means of these elements.
XXVIII. But since Moses not only uses the expression, ' he divided," but says further, " he divided in the midst," it is lecessary to say a few words on the subject of equal divisions; or that which is divided skilfully just in the middle makes ;wo equal divisions. And no man could ever possibly divide my thing into two exactly equal parts; but it is inevitable that me of the divisions must fall a little short, or exceed a little, f not much, at all events by a small quantity, in every nstance, which indeed escapes the perception of our outward tenses which attend only to the larger and more tangible mrdens of nature and custom, but which are unable to com- n'clicnd atoms and indivisible things. But it is established >y the incorruptible word of truth that there is nothing equal n inequality.
God alone therefore seems to be exactly just, and to be the >nly being able to divide in the middle bodies and things, in uch a manner that none of the divisions shall be greater or ess than the other by the smallest and most indivisible )ortion, and he alone is able to attain to sublime and perfect equality.
If therefore there were but one idea of perfect equality, vhat has been said would be quite sufficient for the purpose. 3ut as there are many, we must not hesitate to add some :onsiderations which are suitable. For the word " equal " is lsed in one sense when speaking of numbers, as when we say hat two are equal to two, and three to three; and speak of >ther numbers in the same manner. But in another sense vhen speaking of magnitude, as equal in length or breadth, or iepth, which are all different proportions. For wrestler 'om pared with wrestler, or cubit with cubit are equal in nagnitude but different in power, as is the case also with neasures and weights. But the idea of equality is a neces- lary one, and so is that of equality in proportion, according o which a few things are looked upon as equal to many, and HBaU things are equal to larger ones. And their proportion- ite equality, cities are accustomed to use at suitable times, vhen they command every citizen to contribute an equal ;hare of his property, not equal in number, but in proportion o the value of his assessment, so that in some cases he who contributes a hundred drachms Avill appear to have brought an equal sum with him who contributes a talent.
XXLX. Those things being thus previously sketched out, see now how God, dividing things in the middle, has divided them into equal portions according to all the ideas of equality which occur in the creation of the universe. He has divided the heavy things so as to make them equal in number to the light ones, two to two; that is to say, so that the earth and the water, being things of weight, are equal in number to those which are by nature light, air and fire. Again, he has made one equal to one, the driest thing to the wettest thing, the earth to the water; and the coldest thing to the hottest thing, the air to the fire, So, in the same manner, he has divided light from darkness, and day from night, and summer from winter, and autumn from spring; and so on.
Again, he has divided things so as to make his divisions equal in point of magnitude; such as the parallel cycles in heaven, and those which belong to the equinoxes both of spring and autumn, and those which belong to the winter and summer solstice. And on the earth he has divided the zones" two being equal to one another, which being placed close to the poles are frozen with cold, and on this account are uninhabitable. And two he has placed on the borders between these two and the torrid zone, and these two they say are the abode of a happy temperature of the air, one of them lying towards the south and the other towards the north.
Now the divisions of time are equal in point of length, the longest day being equal to the longest night, and again the shortest day being equal to the shortest night, and the mean length of day to the mean length of night. And the equal magnitude of other days and nights appears to be indicated chiefly by the equinoxes. From the spring equinox to the summer solstice, day receives an addition to its length, and night, on the other hand, submits to a diminution; until the longest day and the shortest night are both completed. And then after the summer solstice the sun, turning back again the same road, neither more quickly nor more slowly than he advanced, but always preserving the same difference in the same manner, having a constantly equal arrangement, proceeds on till the autumnal equinox; and then, having made day and night both equal, it begins to increase the length of ON WHO IS THE HEIR OF DIVINE THINGS. 123 the night, diminishing the day until the time of the winter solstice. And when it has made the night the longest night, and the day the shortest day, then returning back again and adopting the same distances as before, he again comes to the spring equinox.
Thus the differences of time which appear to be unequal, do in reality possess a perfect equality in respect of magnitude, not indeed at the same seasons, but at different seasons of the year.
XXX. And a very similar effect is seen in the different parts of animals and especially of men. For hand is equal to hand, and foot to foot, and nearly all the other limbs of the body are equal to their corresponding members in magnitude, those on the left hand being equal to those on the right. And there are an exceeding number of things which are equal to one another in power, both among wet things and dry things, the judgment on which is seen in measures and scales, and things of that kind. And nearly all things are equal as respects proportion, even all the little and all the great things in the whole world. For those who have examined the questions of natural philosophy with some accuracy say that the four elements are all equal in propor- tionate equality. And it is by proportion that the whole world is compounded together, and united, and endowed with consistency so as to remain firm for ever, proportion having distributed equality to each of its parts. And they say also that the four elements which are in us, dryness, and moisture, and cold, and heat have all been mixed together and well adapted by proportionate equality, and in fact that our whole composi- tion is nothing but a mixture of the four powers combined together by an equality of proportion.
XXXI. But any one who examines all these things might add an interminable list of arguments and instances to this one present discussion. If he considered he would find the very smallest animals equal to the largest as to proportion; as for instance he would find the swallow equal to the eagle, the herring equal to the whale, and the ant equal to the elephant. For body and soul, and again pains and pleasures, and more- over affection for and dislike towards things, and all the other feelings which the nature of animals experience, are nearly all of them similar, being made equal by the rule of ] 2 I miLO JUDiEUS.
] 2 I miLO JUDiEUS.
proportion. Thus some men have felt confidence even to declare that the smallest of animals, man, is equal to the whole world, considering that each of them consists of a body and a rational soul, so that, using a figurative expression, they have called man a little world, and the world a large man. And in teaching this they are not very wide of the mark, but they know that the art of God according to which he created all things, admitting neither any extraordinary intensity nor any relaxation; but always remaining the same, made every single existing thing perfectly, according to its own excessive and consummate perfection, the Creator employing all numbers and all the ideas which tend to perfection.
XXXII. For, as Moses says, " He judged according to the little and according to the great,"* engendering and fashioning everything, and not taking anything away from the display of his art by reason of the obscurity of his materials, not adding anything because of their brilliancy; since all the artists who have any reputation wish to work up whatever materials they take in an admirable manner, whether they are costly or whether they are inexpensive. And before now, some persons, having even an extraordinary love of distinction, have even spent more skill in working up materials of little value, than they have devoted to those which are costly, wishing to make up for the deficiencies of the material by the additional display of their skill. But there is no material which has any value in the eyes of God, because he has given all materials an equal share of his skill. In reference to which it is said in the sacred scriptures, " God saw all that he had made, and, behold, it was very good."t But the things which receive an equal degree of praise, are by all means held in equal estima- tion by him who confers the praise; and what God praised was not the materials which he had worked up into creation, destitute of life and of melody, and easily dissolved, and moreover in their own intrinsic nature perishable, and out of all proportion and full of iniquity, but rather his own skilful work, completed according to one equal and well-proportioned power and knowledge always alike and identical. In reference to which all things were also accounted equal and similar by all the rules of proportion, according to the principles of art and knowledge.
ON WHO IS THE HEIR OF DIVINE THINGS. 125 XXXIII. And if there is any one in the world who is a praiser of equality, that man is Moses. In the first place composing hymns in its honour, and in every place, and calling it the especial property of justice, as in fact its very name to some degree shows, to divide* bodies and things into two equal parts; and in the second place blaming injustice, the worker of the most disgraceful inequality; and inequality has been the parent of two wars, foreign and civil war, as on the other hand equality is the parent of peace. And he also utters the most manifest panegyric on justice, and the most unde- niable reproach of injustice when he says, " You shall not commit injustice in any judgment, nor in measures, or weights, or balances: a just balance, and just weights, and a just heap, shall be yours."f And in Deuteronomy he says, " There shall not be a false weight in thy bag; thy weight shalt be true and just; there shall not be a little weight and a large one; that th v days may be multiplied upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, because every one who committeth injustice is an abomination to the Lord." \ Therefore God, who loveth justice, hates and abominates injustice, the beginning of sedition and of evils; and in one passage the lawgiver represents equality as the muse of justice beginning with the creation of the entire heaven. For he says, "And God made a separation between the light and between the darkness, and he called the light day, and the dark- ness he called night. "§ For it is equality which allotted night and day and light and darkness to existing things. It is equality also that divided the human race into man and woman, making two divisions, unequal in strength, but most perfectly equal for the purpose which nature had principally in view, the generation of a third human being like themselves. For, says Moses, " God made man; in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. || He no longer says "him," but " them" in the plural number, adapting the species to the genus, which have, as I have already said, been divided with perfect equality.
A XXIV. And he apportioned cold and heat, and summer * The Greek is <Jt\a rspvetv, as if cucaioavi'tj, "justice," were dcrhed from iiyct, " in two parts " + Leviticus xix. 35. $ Deuteronomy xxv. 13.
1*26 TlilLO JUDiEUS.
and spring, the different seasons of the year, divided by the Bame dividing Word. And the three days which p: before the creation of the sun, are equal in number to the three days of the first week which came after the creation of the sun, the number six being dissected equally in order to display the character of eternity and of time. For thus (i<>d allotted three days to eternity before the appearance of the sun, and those which came alter the sun he allotted to time; the sun being an imitation of eternity, and time and eternity being the two primary powers of the living < rod; the one his beneficent power, in accordance with which he made the world, and in respect of which he is called God; the other his chastening power, according to which he rules and governs what he has created, in respect of which he is further denomi- nated Lord, and these two he here states to be divided in the middle by him standing above them both. " For," says he, " I will speak to you from above the mercy-seat, in the midst, between the two cherubims;"* that he might show that the most ancient powers of the living God are equal; that is to say, his beneficent and his chastising power, being both divided by the same dividing Word.
XXXV. But what are the pillars of the ten generic laws which he calls tables? They are two; equal in number to the parts of the soul, the rational and irrational part, which must be instructed and corrected, being again divided by the Lawgiver; *' for the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraven on the tables. "f And, indeed, of the ten commandments engraved on these tables which are properly and especially laws, there is an equal division into two numbers of five; the first of which con- tains the principle of justice relating to God, and the second those relating to man.
Now of those principles of justice relating to God, the first law enunciated is one which opposes the polytheistic doctrine, and teaches us that the world is ruled over by one sole gover- nor. The second is one forbidding men to make gods of things which are not the causes of anything, by means of the treacherous arts of painters and sculptors, whom Moses banished from his own constitution which he proposed to establish, condemning them to everlasting banishment, in * Exodus xxv. 22. + Exodus xxxii. 16.
ON WHO IS THE HEIR OF DIVINE THINGS. J 27 order that the only true God might be honoured in truth and simplicity. The third law is one about the name of the Lord, not about that name which has not yet reached his creatures; for that name is unspeakable, but about the name which is constantly applied to him as displayed in his powers; for it is commanded that we shall not take his name in vain. The fourth commandment is concerning the seventh day, always virgin, and without any mother, in order that creation, taking that it may be always free from labour, may in this way come to a recollection of him who does everything without being seen.
The fifth commandment is about the honour due to parents. For this also is a sacred command; having reference not to men, but to him who is the cause of birth and existence to the universe, in accordance with whom it is that fathers and mothers appear to generate children; not generating them themselves, but only being the instruments of generation in his hands. And this command is placed, as it were, on the borders between the two tables of laws relating to God and those relating to man, and so it bounds the five which con- cern piety, and that five also which comprehend a prevention of injury to one's fellows. Since mortal parents are the boun- daries of the immortal powers, which, generating everything according to nature, have permitted this lowest and mortal race to imitate their own powers of generation, and so to propagate its own seed; for God is the beginning of all gene- ration, and the mortal species of mankind, being the lowest and least honoured of all, is the end.
The other table of five is the prohibition of adultery, of murder, of theft, of false witness, and of covetousness. These are generic rules, comprehending nearly all offences whatever, and to one of these rules each particular and special action is naturally referrible.
XXXVI. But you see also that the regularly occurring daily sacrifices are divided into equal portions; one portion being the sacrifice which the priests offer in their own behalf, consisting of the finest wheat-flour, and the other being that which they "iler on behalf of the whole nation; consisting of two lambs, which they are especially commanded to offer. * For the law commands them to offer one half of the sacrifices above- * Leviticus vi. '20.
128 PHILO JUDJ2T7S.
mentioned early in the morning, and the other half at the time of the evening twilight, in order that God may receive his proper tribute of thanks for the blessings which are showered upon all men during the night.
You see also that the loaves which are placed upon the sacred table are divided by the twelve into equal parts, so as to be distributed to each company of six in number, and are so placed as a memorial of the tribes which are of a corresponding number; one half of whom, virtue, that is Leah, received as her share, having become the mother of six leaders of tribes; and the other half fell to the lot of Rachel's children and those of the other women.
You see also that the twelve stones of an emerald upon the garment which reached down to the priests' feet are divided equally on the right and on the left side of the garment; on which, being divided into equal numbers of six, the names of the twelve patriarchs of the tribes were engraved, being divine characters engraved on pillars, memorials of divine natures. What more need I say? Has he not also, taking two mountains symbolically to mean two races, and having again divided them on principles of the equality of proportion, allotted one to those who bless, and the other to those who curse; appointing leaders of tribes over each in order to give admonitions to those who have need of them, and to show them that the curses are equal in number to the blessings, and nearly, if it may be lawful to say so, of equal value? For the praises of the good and the reproaches of the wicked are of equal service, since to avoid evil and to choose good are, among all persons of sound sense, looked upon as one and the same thin^.
XXXVII. A great impression is made upon me by the selection and division of the two goats which are brought as an offering for the purpose of atonement, and which are divided by an obscure and uncertain principle of division, namely, by lot. For of two principles, the one which is occupied about the affairs of divine virtue is consecrated and set apart to be offered to God; but that which devotes itself to the concerns of human unhappiness is appropriated to the banished creature, for the share which that has obtained the sacred scriptures call the scape-goat, since it is removed from its place, and pursued and driven away to a great distance from virtue.
ON WHO IS THE HEIR OF DIVINE THINGS. 129 And, as is the case with respect to good and unadulterated money, so also, as there are many things in nature, does not the invisible divider appear to you to divide them into equal portions, and to distribute the good money which has stood the test to the lover of instruction, and that which has not been properly coined, and which is bad, to the man who is ignorant? for, says Moses, " that which had no mark belonged to Laban, and that which was marked belonged to Jacob."* For the soul, being as some ancient writer has said, a waxen tablet, while it is hard and resisting, repels and refuses the impressions which are attempted to be stamped upon it; and remains of necessity undistinguished by any figure. But when it becomes tractable and yielding in a moderate degree, it then receives deep impressions, and having taken off the 3tamp given by the seal, it preserves accurately the appear- ances which are impressed upon it, so that they cannot be effaced XXXVIII. Moreover, the equal division of the sacrifices of blood is certainly calculated to excite our admiration: which iivision the chief priest Moses, having nature for his teacher, made; for, says the scripture, " He, taking the half of the blood, poured it into the bowls; and the other half he poured 3ut upon the altar, "j" In order to show that the sacred genus if wisdom is of a twofold nature, the one kind being divine, md the other human: and the divine kind is unmingled and unadulterated, on which account it sacrifices to the pure, and unalloyed, and only God existing in unity; but the human kind is of a mixed and alloyed nature, and therefore dissi- pates the unanimity and community of our, mixed, and com- bined, and compound race, and effects any thing rather than i proper harmony of either melodies or morals.
But the unmixed and unadulterated portion of the soul is the pure mind, which, being inspired by heaven from above, when it is preserved in a state free from all disease and from all mishap is very suitably all poured forth and resolved into the elements of a sacred libation, and so restored in a fitting maimer to God, who inspired it and preserved it free from any infliction of evil; but the mixed portion is entirely that of the outward senses, and for this part nature has made suitable * Genesis xxx. 42. t Exodus xxiv. 6.
VOL. II. K 130 philo jud^us.
craters. Now, the craters of the sense of seeing are the eyes, those of hearing are the ears, those of smelling are the nostrils, and so on with the appropriate receptacles for each of the senses. On these craters the sacred word pours a portion of blood, thinking it right that the irrational part of us should become endowed with soul and vitality, and should in some manner become rational; following the guidance of admonition, and purifying itself from the deceitful alluring powers of the objects of the outward sense which aim to overcome it.
Was it not in the same manner that the holy double-drachm was divided?* That we should purify the half of it, namely, a drachm, offering it as the ransom for our souls: which the only free, the only delivering God, when addressed in the voice of supplication, and sometimes even without any suppli- cation, by force delivers from the cruel and bitter despotism of the passions and iniquities; but the other portion we may leave to the race which is never free, but which is of a slavish disposition; of which class was the man who said, " I have loved my lord;"f that is to say, the mind which is the master in me; " and my wife," that is to say, the outward sense which is dear to him, and the housekeeper of his pas- sions; " and my children," that is to say, the evils which are the offspring of them; "I will not depart free." For it is quite inevitable that such a description of persons as this must obtain a lot which is no lot, and that the scapegoat bought with the double drachm, must be given to them, which is just the opposite of the drachm and of unity which is offered up to God. And it is the nature of unity not to be capable of either addi- tion or subtraction, inasmuch as it is the image of the only complete God; for all other things are intrinsically and by their own nature loose; and if there is any where any thing consolidated, that has been bound by the word of God, for this word is glue and a chain, filling all things with its essence. And the word, which connects together and fastens every thing, is peculiarly full itself of itself, having no need whatever of any thing beyond.
XXXIX. Very naturally therefore does Moses say, " He who is rich will not add anything, and he who is poor will not dimiuish anything of the half of the double drachm," J which is, * Exodus xxx. 13. + Exodus xxi. 5. £ Exodus xxx. 15.
ON WHO IS THE HEIR OF DIVINE THINGS. 131 is I have said before, a drachm, and a unit; to which every nember might quote that line of the poet: With thee I'll end, with thee I will begin.
For even an infinitely infinite number, being made of a con- inuation of other numbers, when dissolved must end in a unit: tnd again it must begin with a unit, being afterwards com- >ounded so as to make an illimitable multitude; on which iccount those who have made the investigation of such matters heir study, have not called the unit a number, but rather an dement, and the beginning of number.
Again this heavenly food of the soul which Moses calls nanna, the word of God divides in equal portions among all vho are to use it; taking care of equality in an extraordinary legree. And Moses bears witness to this where he says, " He vho had much had not too much, and he who had but little vas in no want;"* since they all used that wonderful and most lesirable measure of proportion. On which account it hap- tened to the Israelites to learn that each of them was collect- ng not more for the men who were related to him than for the easonings and manners which were akin to him. For as much s was sufficient for each man, that he was allotted in a irudent manner, so as neither to feel any want or any super- luitv.