ON ANIMALS FIT FOR SACRIFICE. 227 holiness are accounted of a character nearly akin to the good actions of others; for as a deep and fertile soil, even if it at times jaelds a bad crop, still bears more and better fruit than one which is naturally unproductive, so in the same manner it happens that the barrenness of virtuous and God-fearing men is more full of excellence than the best actions which ordinary people perform by chance; for these men cannot intentionally endure to do anything blameable.
Having given these commandments about every description of sacrifice in its turn, namely, about the burnt offering, and the sacrifice for preservation, and the sin-offering, he adds another kind of offering common to all the three, in order to show that they are friendly and connected with one another; and this combination of them all is called the great vow; and why it received this appellation we must now proceed to say.
When any persons offer first fruits from any portion of their possessions, wheat, or barley, or oil, or wine, or the best of their fruits, or the first-born males of their flocks and herds, they do so actually dedicating those first fruits which proceed from what is clean, but paying a price as the value of what is unclean; and when they have no longer any materials left in which they can display their piety, they then consecrate and offer up themselves, displaying an unspeakable holiness, and a most superabundant excess of a God-loving disposition, on which account such a dedication is fitly called the great vow; for every man is his own greatest and most valuable possession, and this even he now gives up and abandons.
And when a man has vowed this vow the law gives him the following command; first of all, to touch no unmixed wine, nor any wine that is made of the grape, nor to drink any other strong drink whatever, to the destruction of his reason, considering that during this period his reason also is dedicated to God; for all which could tend to drunkenness is forbidden to those of the priests who are employed in the sacred ministrations, they being commanded to quench their thirst with water; in the second place they are commanded not to show their heads, giving thus a visible sign to all who see them that they are not debasing the pure coinage of their vow; thirdly, they are commanded to keep their body pure and undefiled, so as not even to approach their parents if they are dead, nor their * Numbers vi. 2. Q 2 228 PHILO JUDJEUS.
brothers; piety overcoming the natural good will and affection towards their relations and dearest friends, and it is both honourable and expedient that piety should at all times prevail.
XIV. But when the appointed time for their being released* from this vow has arrived, the law then commands the man who has dedicated himself to bring three animals to procure his release from his vow, a male lamb, and a female lamb, and a ram; the one for a burnt offering, the second for a sin-offer- ing, and the ram as a sacrifice for preservation; for in some sense the man who has made such a vow resembles all these things. He resembles the sacrifice of the entire burnt offering, because he is dedicating to his preserver not only a portion of the first fruits of other things, but also of his own self. And he resembles the sin-offering, inasmuch as he is a man; for there is no one born, however perfect he may be, who can wholly avoid the commission of sin. He resembles also the offering for preservation, inasmuch as he has recorded that God the saviour is the cause of his preservation, and does not ascribe it to any physician or to any power of his; for those who have been born themselves, and who are liable to infirmity, are not competent to bestow health even on themselves.
Medicine does not benefit all persons, nor does it always benefit the same persons; but there are times even when it does them great injury, since its power depends on different things, both on the thing itself and also on those persons who use it. And a great impression is made on me by the fact that of three animals offered up in these different sacrifices, there is no one of a different species from the others, but they are every one of the same kind, a ram, and a male lamb, and a female lamb; for God wishes, as I said a little while ago, by this commandment to point out that the three kinds of sacrifice are nearly connected with and akin to one another; because, both the man who repents is saved, and the man who is saved from the diseases of the soul repents, and because both of them hasten with eagerness to attain to an entire and perfect disposition, of which the sacrifice of the whole burnt- offering is a symbol.
But since the man has begun to offer himself as his first fruits, and since it is not lawful for the sacred altar to be pol- luted with human blood, but yet it was by all means necessary * Numbers vi. 14.
ON THOSE WHO OFFER SACRIFICE. 229 that a portion should be consecrated, he has taken care to take a portion, which, being taken, should cause neither pain nor defilement; for he has cut off* the hair of the head, the superfluities of the natural body, as if they were the super- fluous branches of a tree, and he has committed them to the fire on which the meat of the sacrifice offered for preservation will be suitably prepared,t in order that some portion of the man who has made the vow, which it is not lawful to place upon the altar, may still at all events be combiued with the sacrifice, burning the fuel of the sacred flame.
XV. These sacred fires are common to all the rest of the people. But it was fitting that the priests also should offer up something on the altar as first fruits, not thinking that the services and sacred ministrations to which they have been ap- pointed have secured them an exemption from such duties. And the first fruits suitable for the priests to offer do not come from anything containing blood, but from the purest portion of human food; for the fine wheaten flour is their continual offering; a tenth part of a sacred measure every day; one half of which is offered up in the morning, and one half in the evening, having been soaked in oil, so that no portion of it can be left for food; for the command of God is, that all the sacrifices of the priests shall be wholly burnt, and that no portion of them shall be allotted for £ood.
Having now, then, to the best of our ability, discussed the matters relating to the sacrifices, we will proceed in due order to speak concerning those who offer them.
A TREATISE ON THOSE WHO OFFER SACRIFICE- I. The law chooses that a person who brings a sacrifice shall be pure, both in body and soul;— pure in soul from all passions, and diseases, and vices, which can be displayed either in word or deed; and pure in body from all such things as a body is usually defiled by. And it has appointed a burning purification for both these things; for the soul, by means of * Numbers vi. 18. t Leviticus vi. 13.
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the animals which are duly fit for sacrifices; and for the body, by ablutions and sprinklings; concerning which we will speak presently; for it is fit to assign the pre-eminence in honour in every point to the superior and dominant part of the quali- ties existing in us, namely, to the soul. What, then, is the mode of purifying the soul?
" Look," says the law, " take care that the victim which thou bringest to the altar is perfect, wholly without partici- pation in any kind of blemish, selected from many on account of its excellence, by the uncorrupted judgments of the priests, and by their most acute sight, and by their continual practice derived from being exercised in the examination of faultless victims. For if you do not see this with your eyes more than with your reason, you will not wash off all the imperfections and stains which you have imprinted on your whole life, partly in consequence of unexpected events, and partly by deliberate purpose; for you will find that this exceeding accuracy of in- vestigation into the animals, figuratively signifies the ameliora- . tion of your own disposition and conduct; for the law was not established for the sake of irrational animals, but for that of those who have intellect and reason." So that the real object taken care of is not the condition of the victims sacrificed in order that they may have no blemish, but that of the sacri- ficers that they may not be defiled by any unlawful passion.
The body then, as I have already said, he purifies with ab- lutions and besprinklings, and does not allow a person after he has once washed and sprinkled himself, at once to enter within the sacred precincts, but bids him wait outside for seven days, and to be besprinkled twice, on the third day and on the seventh day; and after this it commands him to wash himself once more, and then it admits him to enter the sacred pre- cincts and to share in the sacred ministrations.
II. "We must consider what great prudence and philosophical wisdom is displayed in this law; for nearly all other persons are besprinkled with pure water, generally in the sea, some in rivers, and others again in vessels of water which they draw from fountains. But Moses, having previously prepared ashes which had been left from the sacred fire (and in what manner shall be explained hereafter), appointed that it should be right to take some of them and to put them in a vessel, and then to pour water upon them, and then, dipping some branches of ON THOSE WHO OFFER SACRIFICE. 231 hyssop in the mixture of ashes and water, to sprinkle it over those who were to be purified. And the cause of this proceed- ing may very probably be said to be this: — The lawgiver's intention is that those who approach the service of the living God should first of all know themselves and their own essence. For how can the man who does not know himself ever comprehend the supreme and all- excelling power of God? Therefore, our bodily essence is earth and water, of which he reminds us by this purification, conceiving that this result — namely, to know one's self, and to know also of whatone is composed, of what utterly valueless substances mere ashes and water are — is of itself the most beneficial purifica- tion. For when a man is aware of this he will at once reject all vain and treacherous conceit, and, discarding haughtiness and pride, he will seek to become pleasing to God, and to conciliate the merciful power of that Being who hates arro- gance.
For it is. said somewhere with great beauty, u He that exhibits over proud words or actions offends not men alone but God also, the maker of equality and of every thing else that is most excellent." Theiefore, to us who are amazed and excited by this sprinkling the very elements themselves, earth and water, may almost be said to utter distinct words, and to say plainly, we are the essence of your bodies; nature having mixed us together, divine art has fashioned us into the figure of a man. Being made of us when you were born, you will again be dissolved into us when you come to die; for it is not the nature of any thing to be destroyed so as to become non- existent; but the end brings it back to those elements from which its beginnings come.
III. But now it is necessary to fulfil our promise and to explain the peculiar propriety involved in this use of ashes. For they are not merely the ashes of wood which has been consumed by fire, but also of an animal particularly suited for this kind of purification. For the law orders* that a red heifer, which has never been brought under the yoke, shall be sacrificed outside of the city, and that the high priest, taking some of the blood, shall seven times sprinkle with it all the things in front of the temple, and then shall burn the whole animal, with its hide and flesh, and with the belly full of all * Numbers xix. 1.
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the entrails. And when the flame begins to pour down, then it commands that these three things shall be thrown into the middle of it, a stick of cedar, a stick of hyssop, and a bunch of saffron; and then, when the fire is wholly extinguished, it commands that some man who is clean shall collect the ashes, and shall again place them outside of the city in some open place.
And what figurative meanings he conceals under these orders as symbols, we have accurately explained in another treatise, in which we have discussed the allegories.
It is necessary, therefore, for those who are about to go into the temple to partake of the sacrifice, to be cleansed as to their bodies and as to their souls before their bodies. For the soul is the mistress and the queen, and is superior in every thing, as having received a more divine nature. And the things which cleanse the mind are wisdom and the doctrines of wisdom, which lead it to the contemplation of the world and the things in it; and the sacred chorus of the rest of the virtues, and honourable and very praiseworthy actions in accordance with the virtues. Let the man, therefore, who is adorned with these qualities go forth in cheerful confidence to the temple which most nearly belongs to him, the most excellent of all abodes to offer him- self as a sacrifice. But let him in whom covetousness and a desire of unjust things dwell and display themselves, cover his head and be silent, checking his shameless folly and his exces- sive impudence, in those matters in which caution is profitable; for the temple of the truly living God may not be approached by unholy sacrifices.
I should say to such a man: My good man, God is not pleased even though a man bring hecatombs to his altar; for he possesses all things as his own, and stands in need of nothing. But he delights in minds which love God, and in men who practise holiness, from whom he gladly receives cakes and barley, and the very cheapest things, as if they were the most valuable in preference to such as are most costly. And even if they bring nothing else, still when they bring themselves, the most perfect completeness of virtue and excel- lence, they are offering the most excellent of all sacrifices, honouring God, their Benefactor and Saviour, with hymns and thanksgivings; the former uttered by the organs of the voice, and the latter without the agency of tongue or mouth, the worshippers making their exclamations and invocations with ON THOSE WHO OFFER SACRIFICE. 233 their soul alone, and only appreciable by the intellect, and there is but one ear, namely, that of the Deity which hears them. For the hearing of men does not extend so far as to be sensible of them.
IV. And that this statement is true, and not mine but that of nature, is testified to a certain degree by the evident nature of the thing itself, which affords a manifest proof which none can deny who do not cleave to credulity out of a contentious disposition. It is testified also by the law which commands two altars to be prepared, differing both as to the materials of which they are made, as to the places in which they are erected, and as to the purposes to which they are applied; for one is made of stones, carefully selected so to fit one another, and unhewn, and it is erected in the open air, near the steps of the temple, and it is for the purpose of sacrificing victims which contain blood in them. And the other is made of gold, and is erected in the inner part of the temple, within the first veil, and may not be seen by any other human being except those of the priests who keep themselves pure, and it is for the purpose of offering incense upon; from which it is plain that God looks upon even the smallest offering of frankincense by a holy man as more valuable than ten thousand beasts which may be sacrificed by one who is not thoroughly virtuous. For in proportion, I imagine, as gold is more valuable than stones, and as the things within the inner temple are more holy than those without, in the same proportion is the grati- tude displayed by offerings of incense superior to that dis- played by the sacrifice of victims full of blood, on which account the altar of incense is honoured not only in the costli- ness of its materials, and in the manner of its erection, -and in its situation, but also in the fact that it ministers every day before any thing else to the thanksgivings to be paid to God. For the law does not permit the priest to offer the sacrifice of the whole burnt offering outside before he has offered incense within at the earliest dawn * And this command is a symbol of nothing else but of the fact that in the eyes of God it is not the number of things sacrificed that is accounted valuable, but the purity of the rational spirit of the sacrificer. Unless, indeed, one can suppose that a judge who is anxious to pronounce a holy judg- * Exodus xxx. 8.
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inent will never receive gifts from any of those whose conduct comes before his tribunal, or that, if he does receive such presents, he will be liable to an accusation of corruption; and that a good man will not receive gifts from a wicked person, not even though he may be poor and the other rich, and he himself perhaps in actual want of what he would so receive; and yet that God can be corrupted by bribes, who is most all- sufficient for himself and who has no need of any thing created; who, being himself the first and most perfect good thing, the everlasting fountain of wisdom, and justice, and of every virtue, rejects the gifts of the wicked. And is not the man who would offer such gifts the most shameless of all men, if he offers a portion of the things which he has acquired by doing injury, or by rapine, or by false denial, or by robbery, to God as if he were a partner in his wickedness? 0 most miserable of all men!
I should say to such a man, " You must be expecting one of two things. Either that you will be able to pass undetected, or that you will be discovered. Therefore, if you expect to be able to pass undetected, you are ignorant of the power of God, by which he at the same time sees everything and hears everything. And if you think that you will be discovered, you are most audacious in (when you ought rather to endeavour to conceal the wicked actions which you have committed) bring- ing forward to light specimens of all your iniquitous deeds, and giving yourself airs, and dividing the fruits of them with God, bringing him unholy first fruits. And have you not considered this, that the law does not admit of lawlessness, nor does the light of the sun admit of darkness; but God is the archetypal model of all laws, and the sun, which can be appreciated only by the intellect, is the archetypal model of that which is visible to the senses, bringing forth from its invisible fountains visible light to afford to him who sees."
V. Moreover, there are other commandments relating to the altar. The law says, " A fire shall be kept burning on the altar which shall never be extinguished, but shall be kept burn- ing for ever."* I think with great reason and propriety; for, since the graces of God are everlasting, and unceasing, and uninterrupted, which we now enjoy day and night, and since the symbol of gratitude is the sacred flame, it is fitting that it * Leviticus vi. 9.
ON THOSE WHO OFFER SACRIFICE. 235 should be kindled, and that it should remain unextinguished for ever. And, perhaps, the lawgiver designed by this com- mand to connect the old with the new sacrifices, and to unite the two by the duration and presence of the same fire by which all such sacrifices are consecrated, in order to demonstrate the fact that all perfect sacrifices consisted in thanksgiving, although, according to the diversity of the occasions on which they are offered, more victims are offered at one time and fewer at another. But some are verbal symbols of things appreciable only by the intellect, and the mystical meaning which is con- cealed beneath them must be investigated by those who are eager for truth in accordance with the rules of allegory.
The altar of God is the grateful soul of the wise man, being compounded of perfect numbers undivided and indivisible; for no part of virtue is useless. On this soul the sacred fire is continually kept burning, preserved with care and unextinguish- able. But the light of the mind is wisdom; as, on the con- trary, the darkness of the soul is folly. For what the light discernible by the outward senses is to the eyes, that is know- ledge to reason with a view to the contemplation of incorporeal things discernible only by the intellect, the light of which is continually shining and never extinguished.
VI. After this the law says, " On every offering you shall add salt."* By which injunction, as I have said before, he figuratively implies a duration for ever; for salt is calculated to preserve bodies, being placed in the second rank as inferior only to the soul; for as the soul is the cause of bodies not being destroyed, so likewise is salt, which keeps them together in the greatest degree, and to some extent makes them immortal. On which account the law calls the altar 8v(ria<rrrioiov, giving it a peculiar name of especial honour, from its preserving (diarrig'su) the sacrifices (rag dvtoag) in a proper manner, and this too though the flesh is consumed by fire; so as to afford the most evident proof possible that God looks not upon the victims as forming the real sacrifice, but on the mind and willingness of him who offers them, that so the durability and firmness of the altar may be ensured by virtue.
Moreover, it also ordains that every sacrifice shall be offered up without any leaven or honey, not thinking it fit that either of these things should be brought to the altar The honey, * Leviticus ii. 13.
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perhaps, because the bee which collects it is not a clean animal, inasmuch as it derives its birth, as the story goes, from the putrefaction and corruption of dead oxen,* just as wasps spring from the bodies of horses. Or else this may be forbidden as a figurative declaration that all superfluous pleasure is unholy, making, indeed, the things which are eaten sweet to the taste, but inflicting bitter pains difficult to be cured at a subsequent period, by which the soul must of necessity be agitated and thrown into confusion, not being able to settle on any sure resting place.
And leaven is forbidden on account of the rising which it causes; this prohibition again having a figurative meaning, inti- mating that no one who comes to the altar ought at all to allow himself to be elated, being puffed up by insolence; but that such persons may keep their eyes fixed on the greatness of God, * This refers to the same idea so beautifully expressed by Virgil, Georgic iv. 548.
Haud mora; continuo matris prsecepta facessit. Ad delubra venit, monstratas excitat aras; Quatuor eximios praestanti corpore tauros Ducit, et intacta totidem cervice juvencas. Post, ubi nona suos Aurora induxerat ortus, Inferias Orphei mittit, lucumque revisit. Hie vero subitum ac dictu mirabile monstrum Adspiciunt, liquefacta bourn per viscera toto Stridere apes utero, et ruptis effervere" costis Immensasque trahi nubes; jamque arbore summa Confluere, et lentis uvam demittere ramis.
Or as it is translated by Dryden, ""His mother's precepts he performs with care; The temple visits and adores with prayer; Four altars raises; from his herd he culls, For slaughter, four the fairest of his bulls; Four heifers from his female store he took, All fair and all unknowing of the yoke, Nine mornings thence with sacrifice and prayers, The powers atoned, he to the grove repairs. Behold a prodigy! for from within The broken bowels and the bloated skin, A buzzing noise of bees his ears alarcns: Straight issue through the sides assembling swarms, Dark as a cloud they make a wheeling flight, Then on a neighbouring tree, descending light: Like a large cluster of black grapes they show, And make a large dependance from the bough."
ON THOSE WHO OFFER SACRIFICE. 237 and so obtain a proper conception of the weakness of all created beings, even if they be very prosperous; and that so cherishing correct notions they may correct the arrogant loftiness of their minds, and discard all treacherous self-conceit.
But if the Creator and maker of the universe, who has no need of anything which he has created, not looking at the exceed- ing greatness of his own power and at his own authority, but at your weakness, gives you a share of his own merciful power, supplying the deficiencies with which you are overwhelmed, how do you think it fitting that you should behave towards men who are akin to you by nature, and who are springing from the same elements with yourself, when you have brought nothing into the world, not even yourself? For, my fine fellow, you came naked into the world, and you shall leave it again naked, having received the interval between your birth and death as a loan from God; during which what ought you to do rather than take care to live in communion and harmony with your fellow creatures, studying equality, and humanity, and virtue, repudiating unequal, and unjust, and irreconcilable unsociable wickedness, which makes that animal which is by nature the most gentle of all, namely, man, a cruel and un- tractable monster?
VII. Again, the law commands that candles shall be kept burning from evening until morning* on the sacred candle- sticks within the veil, on many accounts. One of which is that the holy places may be kept illuminated without any in- terruption after the cessation of the light of day, being always kept free from any participation in darkness, just as the stars themselves are, for they too, when the sun sets, exhibit their own light, never forsaking the place which was originally ap- pointed for them in the world. Secondly, in order that by night, also, a rite akin to and closely resembling the sacrifices by day may be performed so as to give pleasure to God, and that no time or occasion fit for offering thanksgiving may ever be left out, which is a duty most suitable and natural for night; for it is not improper to call the blaze of the most sacred light in the innermost shrine itself a sacrifice.
The third, which is a reason of the very greatest importance, is this. Since we are not only well treated while we are awake, but also when we are asleep, inasmuch as the mighty God gives * Leviticus xxiv. 2.
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sleep as a great assistance to the human race, for the benefit of both their bodies and souls, of their bodies as being by it re- lieved of the labours of the day, and of their souls as being lightened by it of all their cares, and being restored to them- selves after all the disorder and confusion caused by the out- ward senses, and as being then enabled to retire within and commune with themselves, the law has very properly thought fit to make a distinction of the actions of thanksgiving, so that sacrifices may be made on behalf of those who are awake by means of the victims which are offered, and on behalf of those who are asleep, and of those who are benefited by sleep, by the lighting of the sacred candles.
VIII. These, then, and other commandments like them, are those which are established for the purpose of promoting piety, by express injunctions and prohibitions. But those which are in accordance with philosophical suggestions and recommenda- tions must be explained in this manner; for the lawgiver, in effect, says, " God, 0 mind of man! demands nothing of you which is either oppressive, or uncertain, or difficult, but only such things as are very simple and easy. And these are, to love him as your benefactor; and if you fail to do so, at all events, to fear him as your Governor and Lord, and to enter zealously upon all the paths which may please him, and to serve him in no careless or superficial manner, but with one's whole soul thoroughly filled as it ought to be with God-loving sentiments, and to cleave to his commandments, and to honour justice, by all which means the world itself continues constantly in the same nature without ever changing, and all other things which are contained in the world have a tendency towards improvement, such as the sun and the moon, and the whole multitude of the rest of the stars, and the entire heaven.