sure, which his association with the chief butlers, and chief bakers, and chief cooks has stamped upon him. There is, also visible the seed of vain opinion, on which he mounts as on a chariot by reason of his levity, being puffed up, and elated, and raising himself to a height to the destruction of equality.
III. Now the character of Joseph is sketched out by the foregoing outlines. But each of his dreams must be investi- gated with accuracy; and first of all we must examine the one about the sheaves. " I thought," says he, " that we were all binding sheaves." The expression, " I thought," is clearly that of a person who is not certain, but who is hesitating and supposing with some amount of indistinctness, not of one who sees positively and clearly; for it is very natural for persona just awakening out of a deep sleep, and still dozing as it were, to say, " I thought;" but not so for people who are thoroughly awake, and who can see distinctly. And the practiser of virtue, Jacob, does not say, " I thought," but his language is, " Behold, a ladder firmly set, the head of which reached up to heaven."* And again he says, when " the sheep conceived I saw them with my eyes in my sleep, and behold the he-goats and the rams leapt upon the ewes and upon the she-goats, white, and variegated, and ring-straked, and speckled." f For it happens of necessity that the sleeping conceptions also of those who think what is honourable eligible for its own sake are more distinct and more pure, just as their waking actions are also more deserving of approbation.
IV. But when I hear Joseph relating his dream I marvel at his having fancied that he was binding up the sheaves, and not reaping the corn; for the one is the task of the lower classes and of servants, but the other is the occupation of the employers, and of men more skilled in agriculture. For to be able to distinguish what is necessary from what is mischievous, and what is nutritious from what is not so, and what is genuine from what is spurious, and useful fruit from a worth- less root, not only in reference to those things which the land bears, but also in those which the intellect bears, is the work of most perfect virtue. Accordingly the holy scripture repre- sents those who see, that is the sons of Israel, as reaping, a id what is a most extraordinary thing, as reaping not barley oi * Genesis xxviii. 12. f Genesis xxxi. 10.
ON DREAMS BEING SENT FROM GOD. 349 wheat, but the harvest itself; accordingly the language of Moses is, " When you reap your harvest, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your harvest."* For he means here that the virtuous man is not merely the judge of things which differ from one another, and that he does not only distinguish the things from which some produce is derived from the produce itself; bat that he is able also to distinguish while reaping the harvest, to remove this opinion of his ability to distinguish, and to eradicate a man's own opinion of himself; because he is firmly persuaded, and believes Moses when he affirms that "judgment belongs to God alone," f with whom are the comparisons and distinctions between all things; to whom it is well for a man to confess that he is inferior, a con- fession more glorious than the most renowned victory.
Now the reaping a harvest is like cutting a second time what has been cut already; which when some persons fond of novelty applied themselves to they found a circumcision of circumcision, and a purification of purification;| that is to say, they found that the purification of the soul wras itself purified, attributing the power of making bright to God, and never fancying that they themselves were competent, without the assistance of the divine wisdom, to wash and cleanse a life which is full of stains.
Akin to this is the double cave, which is a symbol of the twofold and excellent recollections (the one existing in refer- ence to the creature, and the other to the Creator), in which the virtuous man is bred up, contemplating the things which are in the world, and being also fond of inquiring about the father who made them; and it is owing to these twofold recollections, in my opinion, that the double symphony in music, that of the double diapason, was invented. For it was necessary that the work and the creator should be made happy in two most perfect melodies, and not both in the same one. For since the excellencies which were to be celebrated by them differed from one another, it followed of necessity that the melodies and symphonies should likewise differ from one another. The combined symphony being assigned to the world, which is a compound creation, composed of many liifferent parts; and the disjoined melody being appropriated 350 PHILO JUD^US.
to him who, as to his essence, is separated from every creature, namely, to God.
Moreover, the interpreter of the sacred will again enunciates an opinion friendly to virtue, saying that it is not proper " to thoroughly reap every corner of the harvest field;" remember- ing the original proposition, according to which he agreed that " the tribute belonged to the Lord,"* to whom the authority and the conformation of these things also belong; but he who is uninitiated in reaping boasts, so far as to say, ** I thought that I was with the others binding up the sheaves which I had reaped, "f And he does not consider that this is the occupation of servants and of unskilful hands, as I have said a little while ago. But this word sheaves is an allegori- cal expression by which affairs are really meant, such as each man takes in hand for the support of his house, in which he hopes to live and dwell for ever.
V. There are, therefore, an infinite number of differences between sheaves, that is to say, between such affairs as support a house. There are also a countless host of differences between those who gather and take up the sheaves in their hand, so that it is impossible to mention or even to imagine them all. Still it is not out of place to describe a few of them by way of example, which he too mentioned, when he was recounting his dream. For he says to his brethren, " I thought that we were binding up sheaves." Now, of brethren he has ten, who are sons of the same father as himself, and one who is by the same mother; and the name of each individual among them is an emblem of some most necessary thing. Reuben is an emblem of natural acuteness, for he is called " the son who sees," being in so far as he is a son not perfect, but in so far as he is endowed with the faculty of sight and sees acutely, he is naturally well qualiefid. Simeon is an emblem of learning, for his name being interpreted means, " listening. " Levi is a symbol of virtuous energies and actions, and of holy ministrations. Judas is an emblem of songs and hymns addressed to God. Issachar, of wages which are given for good works; but perhaps the works themselves are their own perfect reward. Zabulon is a symbol of light, since his name means the departure of night; and when the night departs and leaves us, then of necessity light * Numbers xxxi. 28. t Genesis xsxvii. 7.
ON DREAMS BEING SENT FROM GOD. 351 arises. Dan is a symbol of the distinction between, and division of, different things. Gad is an emblem of the i invasion of pirates, and of a counter attack made upon them. . Aoser is a symbol of natural wealth, for his name being inter- preted, signifies "a calling blessed," since wealth is accounted [&. blessed possession. Napthali is a symbol of peace, for all ; things are opened and extended by peace, as on the other (hand they are closed by war; and his name being interpreted (means, " widening," or " that which is opened." Benjamin is ian emblem of young and old time; for being interpreted his name means " the son of days," and both young time and old time are measured by days and nights.
Accordingly, every one of them takes up in his hand what belongs to himself; and having taken it up, binds all the parts together; the man well endowed by nature taking up the parts of dexterity, and perseverance, and memory, of which good natural endowments consist; the man who has iearnt well takes up the parts of listening, tranquillity, and ittention; the man willing to endeavour takes up courage find a happy confidence which does not shrink from danger; j:he man inclined to gratitude takes up praises, panegyrics, rymns, and blessings, both in speaking and in singing; the nan who is eager for w7ages takes up unhesitating industry, nost enduring gratitude, and care, armed with a promptitude vliich is not to be despised; he who pursues light rather than larkness takes up wakefulness and acuteness of sight; the nun who is an admirer of the division of and distinction >etween things takes up well-sharpened reasons so as not to >e deceived by things similar to one another as if they were dentical, impartiality so as not to be led away by favour, and ncorruptibility; he who, in something of a piratical fashion, aysambuscades against those who counterplot against him, takes ip deceit, cajolery, trickery, sophistry, pretence, and hypocrisy, vhich being in their own nature blamable, are nevertheless •raised when employed against an enemy; he who studies to •e rich in the riches of nature takes up temperance and fru- [ality; he who loves peace takes up obedience to law, a good epuiation, freedom from pride, and equality.
VI. It is of these things, then, that the sheaves of his rethren by the same father are composed and bound up; but 352 PHILO JUD.EUS.
the sheaf of his uterine brother is composed of days and of time, which are the causes of nothing, as if they were the causes of all things. But the dreamer and interpreter of dreams himself, for he united both characters, makes a sheaf of empty opinion as of the greatest and most brilliant of pos- sessions and the most useful to life. For which reason it is originally by his dreams, which are things dear to night, that he is made known to the king of the bodily country, and not by any performance of conspicuous actions, which require day for their exhibition. After that, he is appointed overseer or governor of all Egypt, and is honoured with the second rank in the kingdom, and made inferior in honour only to the king. All which things are in the eye of wisdom, if that were the judge, more inglorious and more ridiculous than even defeat and dishonour. After that he puts on a golden necklace, a most illustrious halter, the circlet and wrheel of interminable necessity, not the consequence and regular order of things in life, nor the connection of th eaffairs of nature as Thamar was; for her ornament was not a necklace, but an armlet. More- over, he assumes a ring, a royal gift which is no gift, a pledge devoid of good faith, the very contrary gift to that which was given to the same Thamar by Judah the son of the seeing king, Israel; for God gives to the soul a seal, a very beautiful gift, to show that he has invested with shape the essence of all tilings which was previously devoid of shape, and has stamped with a particular character that which previously had no character, and has endowed with form that which had pre- viously no distinctive form, and having perfected the entire world, he has impressed upon it an image and appearance, namely, his own word.
But Joseph also mounts the second chariot, being puffed up with elation of mind and vain arrogance. And he is regulator of the provisions, laying up and preserving the treasures for the body, and providing it with food from all quarters: and this is a very formidable fortification against the soul. More- over, his deliberate choice of life, and the life which he ad- mires, is testified to in no slight degree by his name; for Joseph, being interpreted, means "addition;" and vain opinion is always adding what is spurious to what is genuine, and what is the property of others to what is one's own, and what is ON DREAMS BEING SENT FROM GOD. 353 false to what is true, and what is superfluous to what is ade- quate, and luxury to what is sufficient to support existence, and pride to life.
VII. Consider now what it is which I am here desirous to prove. We are nourished by meat and drink, even though the meat be the most ordinary corn, and the drink plain water from the stream. Moreover, besides this, vain opinion has added to it an infinite number of varieties of cakes, and cheese-cakes, and sweetmeats, and costly and various mixtures of an indescribable multitude of wines, for the enjoyment of pleasure rather than for a participation in necessary food properly prepared. Again, the necessary seasonings for eating, are leeks,* and vegetables, and many fruits of trees, and cheese, and other things of that sort; and if you wish to include carnivorous men, we must, besides, add fish and meat to these items.
Would it not, then, have been sufficient to broil these things upon the coals, or to roast them at the fire, and then eat them at once, after the fashion of those true heroes of old time? But the epicure is eager not only for such things as these, but he takes vain opinion for his ally, and excites the gluttonous pas- sions which are within him, and seeks out and hunts all about for confectioners and pastrycooks of high reputation in their art. And they, bringing forward the different baits for his miserable stomach, which have been invented after long con- sideration, and preparing all kinds of peculiar flavours, and arranging them in due order, tickle, and allure, and subdue the tongue.
Then, immediately they circumvent that foundation of the outward senses, the taste, by means of which the banquet- hunter in a very short time is rendered a slave instead of a free man. For who is there who does not know that clothes were originally made as a defence against the injuries which might arise to the body from cold and heat? as the poets say somewhere: — " Taming the wind in the winter."
Who, therefore, thinks of costly purple garments? Who cares about transparent and thin summer robes *? Who wishes for a garment delicate as a spider's web? Who is eager to have em- * Numbers xi. 4. VOL. II. A A 354 PHILO JUDJEUS.
broidered for him apparel flowered over with dyes and brocaded figures, by those who are skilful in sewing and weaving cunning embroidery, and are superior in. their handiwork to the imi- tative skill of the painter? Who, I say? Who, but vain opinion?
VIII. And, indeed, it is for these same reasons that we had need of houses, requiring them also for protection against the at- tacks of wild beasts, or of men more savage in their nature than even wild beasts. Why is it, then, that we adorn the pave- ments and floors with costly stones? And why do we travel over Asia, and Africa, and all Europe, and the islands, search- ing for pillars and capitals, and architraves, and selecting them with reference to their superior beauty? And why are we anxious for, and why do we vie with one another in specimens of Doric, and Ionic, and Corinthian sculpture, and in all the refinements which luxurious men have devised in addition to the existing customs, adorning the capitals of their pillars? And why do we furnish our chambers for men and for women with golden ornaments? Is it not all from our being influ- enced by vain opinion? And yet, for sound sleep, the mere ground was sufficient (since, even to the present day, the ac- counts tell us that the gymnosophists, among the Indians, sleep on the ground in accordance with their ancient customs); and if it were not, at all events a couch made of carefully chosen stones or plain pieces of wood, would be a sufficient bed; but now the poles of our ladders are ornamented with ivory feet, and workmen inlay our beds with' costly mother-of- pearl and variegated tortoise-shell, at great expense of labour, and money, and time: and some beds are even made of solid silver or solid gold, and inlaid with precious stones, with all kinds of flowery work, and embossed golden ornaments strewed about them, as if for mere display and magnificence, and not for daily use. The contriver of all which is again the same vain opinion.
Again: why need we seek for more in the way of ointment than the juice pressed out of the fruit of the olive? For that softens the limbs, and relieves the labour of the body, and produces a good condition of the flesh; and if anything has got relaxed or flabby, it binds it again, and makes it firm and solid, and it fills us with vigour and strength of muscle, no leso than any other unguent. But the pleasant unguents of ON DREAMS BEING SENT FROM GOD. 355 vain opinion, are set up in opposition to those that are merely useful, on which the perfumers work, and to which vast regions contribute, such as Syria, Babylon, the Indians, and the Scythians; in which nations the origins of all perfumes are found.
IX. Again, with respect to drinking; what more could man really have need of than the cup of nature wrought with the perfection of art? Now such a cup our own hands supply, which, if any one brings together and forms into a hollow, applying them closely to his mouth, while another pours in the liquid to be drank, he gets not only a remedy for his thirst, but also a most indescribable pleasure. Still, if one were absolutely in need of something else, would not the ivy cup of the agricultural labourer be sufficient? and why should it be requisite to have recourse to the arts of other eminent artists? And what can be the use of providing a countless multitude of gold and silver goblets, if it be not for the gratification of 'boastful and vain-glorious arrogance, and of vain opinion i raising itself to an undue height?
Again, when men wear crowns, they are not content with fragrant garlands of laurel, or ivy, or violets, or lilies, or roses, or of any tree whatever, or of any flower, neglecting all the gifts of God, which he bestows upon us at the various seasons of the year, but they put golden crowns on their heads, vvhich are a very grievous weight, wearing them in the middle )f the crowded market-place without any shame. And what ",an we think of such men, but that they are slaves of vain >pinion, in spite of their asserting themselves not only to be ree, but even to be rulers over many other persons? The lay would fail me if I were to go through all the varieties of mman life; and yet, why need I dwell on the subject with rolixity? For who is there who has not heard, or who has ot seen, such men as these? Who is there who does not ssociate with, and who is not familiar with them? So that he sacred scripture has very appropriately named "addition " le enemy of simplicity and the companion of pride; for as jperfluous shoots do grow on trees, which are a great injury ) the genuine useful branches, and which the cultivators ^stroy and cut out from a prudent foreknowledge of what is ecessary: so likewise the life of falsehood and arrogance 'ten grows up by the side of the true life devoid of pride, of A A 2 P>5G FHILO JUD^DS.
which, to this day, no cultivator has been found who has been able to cut away the injurious superfluous growth by the rooos.
Therefore the practisers of wisdom, knowing this in the first instance by the outward sense, and secondly, pursuing it by the mind, ciy out loudly and say, " A. wicked beast has seized and devoured Joseph."* But does not that most ferocious beast, the various pride which springs up in the life of men living in irregularity and confusion, whose chief workmen are covetousness and unscrupulous cunning, devour every one who comes within his reach? Therefore grief will be added to them, even while they are alive, as though they were dead, since they have a life worthy of lamentation and mourning, since Jacob mourns for Joseph, even while he is alive.
But Moses will not allow the sacred reasonings about Xa- dab to be bewailed; t for they have not been carried off by a savage beast, but have been taken up by unextinguishable violence and imperishable light; because, having discarded all fear and hesitation, they had duly consecrated the fervent and fiery zeal, consuming the flesh, and very easily and vehe- mently excited towards piety, which is unconnected with creation, but is akin to God, not going up to the altar by the regular steps, for that was forbidden by law, but proceeding rapidly onwards with a favourable gale, and being conducted up even to the threshold of heaven, becoming dissolved into ethereal beams like a whole burnt-offering.
X. Therefore, 0 thou soul, that art obedient to thy teacher! thou must cut off thine hand and thy power when it begins to take hold of the parts of generation; that is to say, of things created, or of human pursuits; for very often ...to cut off the hand which has laid hold of the privy parts," J in the first place, because it has gladly received the pleasure which it ought rather to hate; and, secondly, because it has thought that the faculty of propagating seed was in our own power, and also, because it has attributed to the creature the power which belongs to the Creator. Dost thou not see that the earthly mass, Adam, when it lays its hand upon the two trees, dies, because it has preferred the number two to the unit, and because it has admired the creature in preference tc the Creator? But do thou go forth beyond the reach of the * Genesis xxxvii. 33. t Leviticus x. 6. £ Deut. xxv. 12.
ON DREAMS BEING SENT FROM GOD. 357 smoke and the tempest, and flee from the ridiculous pursuits of mortal life as a fearful whirlpool, and do not, as the proverb has it, touch them even with the tip of thy finger.
And when thou hast girded thyself up for the sacred minis- trations, having made broad thy whole hand and thy whole power, then take a firm hold of the speculations of instruction and wisdom; for the command is of this kind, " If a soul brings a gift or a sacrifice, the gift shall be of fine wheaten flour."* After that the lawgiver adds: " And when he has taken a full handful of the fine wheaten flour, with the oil, and with all the frankincense, he places the memorial on the altar of sacri- fice." Is not this a very beautiful and appropriate expression of Moses, to call that soul incorporeal which is about to offer sacrifice, but not to call the double mass which cousists of mor- tality and immortality by any such name? For that which, vows the vow — that which is full of gratitude — that which offers such sacrifices as are truly without spot, is one thing only, namely, the soul.
What then is the offering of the incorporeal soul? What is he fine wheaten flour, a symbol of the mind purified by the suggestions of instruction, which is able to render the friend '. of education free from all disease, and life free from all 1 reproach? From which the priest taking a handful with his 1 whole hand, that is to say, with the whole grasp of his mind, is commanded to offer up the whole soul itself, full of the most unalloyed and pure doctrines, as the most excellent of sacrifices, fat and in good condition, rejoicing in divine light, and redolent of the exhalations which are given forth by justice, and by the other virtues, so as always to enjoy a most fragrant, and delicious, and happy life; for the oil and the frankincense, of which the priest takes a handful with the white wheat, contain a figurative assertion of this.- XI. It is on this account that Moses set apart an especial festival for the sheaf; however, not for every sheaf, but for that which came from the sacred land. " For when," says he, :< you come into the land which I give unto you, and when you reap its harvest, you shall bring sheaves as a first fruit of jyour harvest to the priest."f And the meaning of this injunc- ' ion is, when, 0 mind, you come into the country of virtue, * Leviticus ii. 1. t Leviticus xxiii. 10.
358 PHILO JUDiEUS.
which it is fitting should be offered up to God alone, being a land good for pasture, a land of rich soil, a land which beareth fruit, and when you reap the fruit (either that afforded by the land spontaneously or that which thou hast sown), which has been brought to perfection by the God who gives perfec- tion; carry it not home to thy house; that is to say, do not store it up, and do not attribute to thyself the cause of the crop which has arisen to thee, before thou hast offered the first fruits to the Cause of all wealth, and to him who persuaded thee to study the operations which confer riches. And it is enjoined that you shall offer the " first fruits of your own har- vest; " not of the harvest of the land, in order that we may reap and gather in the harvest for ourselves; dedicating to God all good and nutritious, and beneficial fruits.