204 PHILO JUD^EUS.
they may enjoy what has been consecrated by their masters ■who live irreproachably themselves; which is the most un- reasonable thing possible.
Thirdly, one ought to take this also into consideration, that shares of the first fruits will not be neglected merely because they are distributed to the servants, through their fear of their masters; for this is sufficient to stop their mouths, preventing the arrogance of such persons from showing itself.
XV. Having said thus much he proceeds next to put forth a law full of humanity. If, says he, the daughter of a priest, having married a man who is not a priest, becomes a widow by the death of her husband, or if she be left childless while he is still alive, let her return again to her father's house, to receive her share of the first fruits which she enjoyed when she was a virgin; * for in some degree and in effect she is now also a virgin, since she has neither husband nor children, and has no other refuge but her father; but if she has sons or daughters, then the mother must of necessity be classed with the children; and the sons and daughters, being ranked as of the family of their father, draw their mother also with them into his house.
A TREATISE ON THE QUESTION WHAT THE EEWARDS AND HONOURS ARE WHICH BELONG TO THE PRIESTS.
I. The law did not allot any share of the land to the priests, in order that they like others might derive revenues from the land, and so possess a sufficiency of necessary things; but admitting them to an excessive degree of honour, he said that God was their inheritance, having a reference to the things offered to God; for the sake of two objects, both that of doing them the highest honour, since they are thus made partners in those things which are offered up by pious men, out of gratitude to God; and also in order that they * Leviticus xxii. 12, ON THE REWARDS OF PRIESTS. 205 might have no husiness about which to trouble themselves except the offices of religion, as they would have had, if they were forced to take care of their inheritance.
And the following are the rewards and pre-eminent honours which he assigns to them; in the first place, that the neces- sary food for their support shall at all times be provided for them without any labour or toil of their own; for God commands those who are making bread, to take of all the fat and of all the dough, a loaf as first fruits for the use of the priests, making thus, by this legitimate instruction, a provision for those men who put aside these first fruits, proceeding in the way that leads to piety; for being accustomed at all times to offer first fruits of the necessary food, they will thus have an everlasting recollection of God, than which it is impossible to imagine a greater blessing; and it follows of necessity, that the first fruits offered by the most populous of nations must be very plentiful, so that even the very poorest of the priests, must, in respect of his abundance of all necessary food, appear to be very wealthy.
In the second place, he commands the nation also to give them the first fruits of their other possessions; a portion of wine out of each winepress; and of wheat and barley from each threshing floor.
And in like manner they were to have a share of oil from all the olive trees, and of eatable fruit from all the fruit trees, in order that they might not pass a squalid existence, having only barely enough of necessary food to support life, but that they might have sufficient for a certain degree of comfort and luxury, and so live cheerfully on abundant means, with all becoming ornament and refinement.
The third honour allotted to them is an assignment of all the first-born males, of all kinds of land animals which are born for the service and use of mankind; for these are the things which God commands to be given to the men conse- crated to the priesthood; the offspring of oxen, and sheep, and goats, namely calvos, and lambs, and kids, inasmuch as they both are and are considered clean, both for the purposes of eating and of sacrifice, but he orders that money shall be given as a ransom for the young of other animals, such as horses, and asses and camels, and similar beasts, without disparaging their real value; and the supplies thus afforded them are very 206 PHILO JUD^EUS.
great; for the people of this nation breed sheep, and cattle, and flocks of all kinds above all other peoples, separating them with great care into flocks of goats, and herds of oxen, and flocks of sheep, and a vast quantity of other troops of animals of all kinds.
Moreover the law, going beyond all these enactments in the their favour, commands the people to bring them the first fruits, not only of all their possessions of every description, but also of their own lives and bodies; for the children are separable portions of their parents as one may say; but if one must tell the plain truth, they are inseparable as being of kindred blood,*...and being bound to them by the allurements of united good will, and by the indissoluble bonds of nature.
But nevertheless, he consecrates also their own first-born male children after the fashion of other first fruits, as a sort of thanks-offering for fertility, and a number of children both existing and hoped for, and wishing at the same time that their marriages should be not only free from all blame, but even very deserving of praise, the first fruit arising from which is consecrated to God; and keeping this in their minds, both husbands and wives ought to cling to modesty, and to attend to their household concerns, and to cherish unanimity, agree- ing with one another, so that what is called a communion and partnership may be so in solid truth, not only in word, but likewise in deed.
And with reference to the dedication of the first-born male children, in order that the parents may not be separated from their children, nor the children from their parents, he values the first fruits of them himself at a fixed price in money, order- ing everyone both poor and rich to contribute an equal sum, not having any reference to the ability of the contributors, nor to the vigour or beauty of the children who were born; but con- sidering how much even a very poor man might be able to give; for since the birth of children happens equally to the most noble and to the most obscure persons of the race, he thought it just to enact that their contribution should also be equal, aiming, as I have already said, particularly to fix a sum which should be in the power of everyone to give.
* The above passage is quite unintelligible in the Greek, and b given up by Mangey as irremediably corrupt.
ON THE REWARDS OF PRIESTS. 207 II. After this he also appointed another source of revenue of no insignificant importance for the priests, bidding them to take the first fruits of every one of the revenues of the nation namely, the first fruits of the corn, and wine, and oil, and even of the produce of all the cattle, of the flocks of sheep, and herds of oxen, and flocks of goats, and of all other animals of all kinds; and how great an abundance of these animals there must be, any one may conjecture from the vast populousness of the nation; from all which circumstances it is plain that the law invests the priests with the dignity and honour that belongs to kings; since he commands contributions from every description of possession to be given to them as to rulers; and they are accordingly given to them in a manner quite contrary to that in which cities usually furnish them to their rulers; for cities usually furnish them under compulsion, and with great unwillingness and lamentation, looking upon the collectors of the taxes as common enemies and destroyers, and making all kinds of different excuses at different times, and neglecting all laws and ordinances, and with all this iumbling and evasion do they contribute the taxes and pay- ments which are levied on them.
But the men of this nation contribute their payments to the priests with joy and cheerfulness, anticipating the collectors, and cutting short the time allowed for making the contribu- tions, and thinking that they are themselves receiving rather than giving; and so with words of blessing and thankfulness, they all, both men and women, bring their offerings at each of the seasons of the year, with a spontaneous cheerfulness, and readiness, and zeal, beyond all description.
III. And these things are assigued to the priests from the possessions of each individual, but there are also often especial revenues set apart for them exceedingly suitable for the priests, which are derived from the sacrifices which are offered up; for it is commanded that two portions from two limbs of every victim shall be given to the priests, the arm from the limb on the right side, and the fat from the chest; for the one is a symbol of strength and manly vigour, and of every lawful action in giving, and taking, and acting: and the other is an emblem of human gentleness as far as the angry passions are concerned; for it is said that these passions have their abode in the chest, since nature has assigned them the breast for their home as the most suitable place; around which as 208 PHILO JUD^EUS.
around a garrison she has thrown, in order more effectually to secure them from being taken, a very strong fence which is called the chest, which she has made of many continuous and very strong bones, binding it firmly with nerves which cannot be broken.
But from the victims which are sacrificed away from the altar, in order to be eaten, it is commanded that three portions should be given to the priest, an arm, and a jaw-bone, and that which is called the paunch; the arm for the reason which has been mentioned a short time ago; the jaw-bone as a first fruit of that most important of all the members of the body, namely the head, and also of uttered speech, for the stream of speech could not flow out without the motion of these jaws; for chey being agitated* (and it is very likely from this, that they have derived their name), when they are struck by the tongue, all the organisation of the voice sounds simultaneously; and the paunch is a kind of excrescence of the belly.
And the belly is a kind of stable of that irrational animal the appetite, which, being irrigated by much wine-bibbing and gluttony, is continually washed with incessant provision of meat and drink, and like a swine is delighted while wallowing in the mire; in reference to which fact, a very suitable place indeed has been assigned to that intemperate and most unseemly beast, namely, the place to which all the superfluities are conveyed. And the opposite to desire is temperance, which one must endeavour, and labour, and take pains by every con- trivance imaginable to acquire, as the very greatest blessing and most perfect benefit both to an individual and to the state.
Appetite therefore, being a profane, and impure, and unholy thing, is driven beyond the territories of virtue, and is banished as it ought to be; but temperance, being a pure and unblemished virtue, neglecting everything which relates to eating and drinking, and boasting itself as superior to the pleasures of the belly, may be allowed to approach the sacred altars, bringing forward as it does the excrescence of the body, as a memorial that it may be reminded to despise all insa- tiability and gluttony, and all those things which excite the appetites to this pitch.
And beyond all these things he also orders that the priests * The Greek word here used is at lu>, and the word -used for jawbone is aiayojv. which Philo appears to think may be derived from oelui.
ON THE REWARDS OF PRIESTS. 209 who minister the offering of the sacrifices, shall receive the skins of the whole burnt offerings (and they amount to an unspeakable number, this being no slight gift, but one of the most exceeding value and importance), from which circum- stances it is plain, that although he has not given to the priesthood a portion of land as its inheritance, in the same manner that he has to others, he has yet assigned to them a more honourable and more untroubled share than any other tribe, granting them the first fruits of every description of sacrifice and offering. And to prevent anyone of those who give the offerings, from reproaching those who receive them, he commands that the first fruits should first of all be carried into the temple, and then orders that the priests shall take them out of the temple; for it was suitable to the nature of God, that those who had received kindness in all the circum- stances of life, should bring the first fruits as a thank-offering, and then that he, as a being who was in want of nothing, should with all dignity and honour bestow them on the servants and ministers who attend on the service of the temple; for to appear to receive these things not from men, but from the great Benefactor of all men, appears to be receiving a gift which has in it no alloy of sadness.
V. Since, then, these honours are put forth for them, if any of the priests are in any difficulty while living virtuously and irreproachably, they are at once accusers of us as disregarding the law, even though they may not utter a word. For if we were to obey the commands which we have received, and if we were to take care to give the first fruits as we are commanded, they would not only have abundance of all necessary things, but would also be filled with all kinds of supplies calculated for enabling them to live in refinement and luxury. And if ever at any subsequent time the tribe of the priests is found to be blessed with a great abundance of all the necessaries and luxuries of life, this will be a great proof of their common holi- ness, and of their accurate observance of the laws and ordi- nances in every particular.
But the neglect of some persons (for it is not safe to blame every one) is the cause of poverty to those who have been dedicated to God, and, if one must tell the truth, to the men themselves also. For to violate the law is injurious to those who offend, even though it may be an attractive course for a VOL. III. P 210 PHILO JUD.EUS.
short time; but to obey the ordinances of nature is most bene- ficial, even if at the time it may wear a painful appearance and may show no pleasant character.
VI. Having given all these supplies and revenues to the priests, he did not neglect those either who were in the second rank of the priesthood; and these are the keepers of the temple, of whom some are placed at the doors, at the very entrance of the temple, as door-keepers; and others are within, in the vestibule of the temple, in order that no one who ought not to do so might enter it, either deliberately or by accident. Others, again, stand all around, having had the times of their watches assigned to them by lot, so as to watch by turns night and day, some being day watchmen and others night watch- men. Others, again, had charge of the porticoes and of the courts in the open air, and carried out all the rubbish, taking care of the cleanliness of the temple, and the tenths were assigned as the wages of all these men; for these tenths are the share of the keepers of the temple.
At all events the law did not permit those who received them to make use of them, until they had again offered up as first fruits other tenths as if from their own private property, and before they had given these to the priests of the superior rank, for then it permitted them to enjoy them, but before that time it would not allow it.
Moreover, the law allotted to them forty-eight cities, and in every city, suburbs, extending two hundred cubits all round, for the pasture of their cattle, and for the other necessary pur- poses of which cities have need. But of these cities, six were set apart, some on the near side, and some on the further side of Jordan, three on each side, as cities of refuge for those who had committed unintentional murder. For as it was not consistent with holiness for one who had by any means whatever become the cause of death to any human being to come within the sacred precincts, using the temple as a place of refuge and as an asylum, Moses gave a sort of inferior sanctity to the cities above mentioned, allowing them to give great security, by reason of the privileges and honours conferred upon the inhabitants, who were to be justified in protecting their suppli- ants if any superior power endeavoured to bring force against them, not by warlike preparations, but by rank, and dignity, ON ANIMALS FIT FOR SACRIFICE. 211 and honour, which they had from the laws by reason of the venerable character of the priesthood.
But the fugitive, when he has once got within the borders of the city to which he has fled for refuge, must be kept close within it, because of the avengers waiting for him on the out- side, being the relations by blood of the man who has been slain, and who, out of regret for their kinsman, even if he has been slain by one who did not intend to do so, are still eager for the blood of him who slew him, their individual and private grief overpowering their accurate notions of what is right. And should he go forth from the city, let him know that he is going forth to undoubted destruction; for he will not escape the notice of any one of the slain man's relations, by whom he will at once be taken in nets and toils, and so he will perish. And the limit of his banishment shall be the life of the high priest; and when he is dead, he shall be pardoned and return to his own city.
Moses, having promulgated these and similar laws about the priests, proceeds to enact others concerning animals, as to what beasts are suitable for sacrifice.
A TEEATISE ON ANIMALS FIT FOR SACRIFICE, OR ON VICTIMS.
I. Of the creatures which are fit to be offered as sacrifices, some are land animals, and some are such as fly through the air. Passing over, therefore, the infinite varieties of birds, God chose only two classes out of them all, the turtledove and the pigeon; because the pigeon is by nature the most gentle of all those birds which are domesticated and gregarious, and the turtle-dove the most gentle of those which love solitude. Also, passing over the innumerable troops of land animals, whose very numbers it is not easy to ascertain, he selected these especially as the best — the oxen, and sheep, and goats; for these are the most gentle and the most manageable of all animals.
At all events, great herds of oxen, and numerous flocks of goats and sheep, are easily driven by any one, not merely by any man, but by any little child, when they go forth to pasture, and in the same way they are brought back to their folds in good order when the time comes. And of this gentleness, there are many other proofs, and the most evident are these: that they all feed on herbage, and that no one of them is carnivorous, and that they have neither crooked talons, nor any projecting tusks or teeth whatever; for the back parts of the upper jaw do not hold teeth, but all the incisor teeth are deficient in them: and, besides these facts, they are of all animals the most useful to man. Rams are the most useful for the neces- sary covering of the body; oxen, for ploughing the ground and preparing the arable land for seed, and for the growth of the crops that shall hereafter come to be threshed out, in order that men may partake of and enjoy food; and the hair and fleeces of goats, where one is woven, or the other sewn together, make movable tents for travellers, and especially for men engaged in military expeditions, whom their necessities constantly compel to abide outside of the city in the open air.
II. And the victims must be whole and entire, without any blemish on any part of their bodies, unmutilated, perfect in every part, and without spot or defect of any kind. At all events, so great is the caution used with respect not only to those who offer the sacrifices, but also to the victims which are offered, that the most eminent of the priests are carefully selected to examine whether they have any blemishes or not, and scrutinise them from head to foot, inspecting not only those parts which are easily visible, but all those which are more out of sight, such as the belly and the thighs, lest any slight imperfection should escape notice. And the accuracy and minuteness of the investigation is directed not so much on account of the victims themselves, as in order that those who offer them should be irreproachable; for God designed to teach the Jews by these figures, whenever they went up to the altars, when there to pray or to give thanks, never to bring with them any weakness or evil passion in their soul, but to endeavour to make it wholly and entirely bright and clean, without any blemish, so that God might not turn away with aversion from the sight of it.
ON ANIMALS FIT FOR SACRIFICE. 213 III. And since, of the sacrifices to be offered, some are on behalf of the whole nation, and indeed, if one should tell the real truth, in behalf of all mankind, while others are only in behalf of each individual who has chosen to offer them; we must speak first of all of those which are for the common wel- fare of the whole nation, and the regulations with respect to this kind of sacrifice are of a marvellous nature.
For some of them are offered up every day, and some on the days of the new moon, and at the festivals of the full moon; others on days of fasting; and others at three different occasions of festival. Accordingly, it is commanded that every day the priests should offer up two lambs, one at the dawn of day, and the other in the evening; each of them being a sacrifice of thanksgiving; the one for the kindnesses which have been bestowed during the day, and the other for the mercies which have been vouchsafed in the night, which God is incessantly and uninterruptedly pouring upon the race of men. And on the seventh day he doubles the number of victims to be offered, giving equal honour to equal things, in- asmuch as he looks upon the seventh day as equal in dignity to eternity, since he has recorded it as being the birth-day of the whole world. On which account he has thought fit to make the sacrifice to be offered on the seventh day, equal to the continuation of what is usually sacrificed in one day.
Moreover, the most fragrant of all incenses are offered up twice every day in the fire, being burnt within the veil, both when the sun rises and sets, before the morning and after the eveniug sacrifice, so that the sacrifices of blood display our gratitude for ourselves as being composed of blood, but the offerings of incense show our thankfulness for the dominant part within us, our rational spirit, which was fashioned after the archetypal model of the divine image. And loaves are placed on the seventh day on the sacred table, being equal in number to the months of the year, twelve loaves, arranged in two rows of six each, in accordance with the arrangement of the equi- noxes; for there are two equinoxes every year, the vernal and the autumnal, which are each reckoned by periods of six months.
At the vernal equinox all the seeds sown in the ground begin to ripen; about which time, also, the trees begin to put forth their fruit. And by the autumnal one the fruit of the trees 214 PHILO JUB^IUS.
214 PHILO JUB^IUS.
has arrived at a perfect ripeness; and at this period, again, is the beginning of seed time. Thus nature, going through a long course of time, showers gifts after gifts upon the race of man, the symbols of which are the two sixes of loaves thus placed on the table. And these loaves, also, do figuratively intimate that most useful of all virtues, temperance; which is attended by fru- gality, and economy, and moderation as so many bodyguards, on account of the pernicious attacks which intemperance and covetousness prepare to make upon it. For, to a lover of wisdom, a loaf is a sufficient nourishment, keeping the bodies free from disease, and the intellect sound, and healthy, and sober. But high seasonings, and cheesecakes, and sweetmeats, and all the other delicacies which the superfluous skill of con- fectioners and cooks concoct to cajole the illiterate, and unphi- losophical, and most slavish of all the outward senses, namely, taste, which is never influenced by any noble sight, or by any perceptible lesson, but only by desire to indulge the appetites of the miserable belly, constantly engenders incurable diseases both in the body and the mind.
And with the loaves there is also placed on the table frankin- cense and salt. The one as a symbol that there is no sweet- meat more fragrant and wholesome than economy and temper- ance, if wisdom is to be the judge; while salt is an emblem of the duration of all things (for salt preserves everything over which it is sprinkled), and also of sufficient seasoning.
I know that those men who devote themselves whollv to drinking parties and banquets, and who care only for costly entertainments, will make a mock at these things and turn them into ridicule, miserable slaves as they are of birds, and fishes, and meat, and all such nonsense as that, and not being able to taste of true freedom, not even in a dream. And all such men are to be disregarded and despised by those who seek to live in accordance with the will of God, in a manner pleas- ing to the true and living God; who, having learnt to despise the pleasures of the flesh, pursue the delights and luxuries of the mind, having exercised themselves in the contemplation of the objects of nature.
IV. After the lawgiver has given these commands with re- ference to these subjects, he begins to distinguish between the different kinds of sacrifices, and he divides the victims into three classes. The most important of which he makes a whole ON ANIMALS FIT FOB, SACRIFICE. 215 burnt offering; the next an offering for preservation; the last, a sin-offering. And then he adapts suitable ceremonies and rites to each, aiming, in no inadequate manner, at what is at the same time decorous and holy. And the distinction which he makes is one of great beauty and propriety, having a close con- nection and a sort of natural kindred with the things them selves; for if any one were to wish to examine minutely the causes for which it seemed good to the first men to betake themselves at the same time to sacrifices to show their grati- tude, and also to supplications, he will find two most especial reasons for this conduct. Firstly, that it conduces to the honour of God, which ought to be aimed at not for the sake of any other reason, but for itself alone, as being both honourable and necessary; and, secondly, for the benefits which have been poured upon the sacrifioers themselves, as has been said before. And the benefit they derive is also twofold, being both an admission to a share of good things and a deliverance from evils.
Therefore the law has assigned the whole burnt offering as a sacrifice adequate to that honour which is suited to God, and which belongs to God alone, enjoining that what is offered to the all-perfect and absolute God must be itself entire and per- fect, having no taint of mortal selfishness in it. But that sacrifice which is offered for the sake of men, since its appear- ance admits of distinction, the law has distinguished also, appointing it to be a sacrifice for the participation in blessings which mankind has enjoined, and calling it a thank-offering for their preservation. And for the deliverance from evils it has allotted the sacrifice called a sin-offering, so that these are very appropriately their sacrifices for these causes; the whole burnt-offering being sacrificed for God himself alone, who must be honoured for his own sake, and not for that of any other being or thing; and the others for our sake; the thank-offering for our preservation, for the safety and amelioration of human affairs; and the sin-offering for the cure of those offences which the soul has committed.