Now what amount of accusation he brought against those who had dedicated this chariot on this very account is notorious to every one; for what did it signify if it was a new One and belonging to a woman? Or what if it was an old one and belonging to a man? And what, in short, if it was wholly dedicated to the name of some one else? Was it not natural that those who were offering up a chariot of this sort on behalf of the emperor should be full of cautious fear, lest some one might lay an information against them before our emperor, who took such especial care that every thing which at all affected or related to himself should be done in the most dignified manner possible?
But these men expected to be most extravagantly praised, and to receive greater and more conspicuous advantages as rewards for their conduct, in thus dedicating the synagogues to Caius as new pieces of consecrated ground, not because of the honour which was done to him by this proceeding, but because in this way they exhausted every possible means VOL. IV. K 130 PH1L0 JUDiEUS.
u« „a;™.irino- our nation. And one may find l^JSlS S* of thU having beeh the C"por in the first place, one may derive them from about ten kC or more who reigned in order, one after another, for thref hundred years, and who never once had any.mages or stages of the,„Llves erected in our synagogues, though tl ere were many of their relations and kinsmen whom tihey^ considered and registered as, and spoke of as gods. And what womd they not have done in the case ot those whom thev looked upon as men? a people who look upon dogs and wolves, and lions, and crocodiles and numerous other beast, both terrestrial and aquatic and numerous b.rds as S and erect in their honour altars, and temples, and shrines, and consecrated precincts, throughout the whole of Eg£PXI. Perhaps some people who would not have opened their mouths then will say/™: " They were ' a— -d to nav respect to the good deeds done by their govern- ors Prayther Van to their governors themselves, because the emnerors are greater than the Ptolemies both in teir dign ties and in their fortunes, and are justly entitled to receive higher honours. Then, 0 ye most fool.sh ot aU TankLlUhat I may not be compelled to utter.any thin" disrespectful or blasphemous why did you. never tmnk Tiberius, who was emperor before Cains, who indeed wa the cause that Caius ever became emperor jho himself enioved the supreme power by land and sea for three and Sv years, and who never allowed any seed of war to smoulder or to raise its head, either in Greece or m the e rito y of the barbarians, and who bestowed peace and the blessing** of peace up to the end of his life with a rich and most bounteous hand and mind upon the wholeemmre and the whole world; why, I say, did you not consider hiua worthy of similar honour? Was he interior in birth? No; he ^ vas of the most noble blood by both parents. Was he uuenor in his education? Who, of all the men who flourished in his time, was either more prudent or more eloquent r Ur in his age? What king or emperor ever lived fa > more prosperous old age than he? Moreover, he, even while he was still a young man, was called the old man as a mark ol ON THE VIRTUES AND OFFICE OF AMBASSADORS. 181 respect because of his exceeding wisdom. This man, though he was so wise, and so good, and so great, was passed over and disregarded by you.
Again, why did you not pay similar honour to him who exceeded the common race of human nature in every virtue, who, by reason of the greatness of his absolute power and his own excellence, was the first man to be called Augustus, not receiving the title after another by a succession of blood as a part of his inheritance, but who was himself the origin of his successors, having that title and honour? He who first became emperor, when all the affairs of the state were in disorder and confusion; for the islands were in a state of war against the continents, and the continents were con- tending with the islands for the pre-eminence in honour, each having for their leaders and champions the most powerful and eminent of the Romans who were in office. And then again, great sections of Asia were contending against Europe, and Europe agaiust Asia, for the chief power and dominion;* the European and Asiatic nations rising np from the extremities of the earth, and waging terrible wars against one another over all the earth, and over every sea, with enormous armaments, so that very nearly the whole race of mankind would have been destroyed by mutual slaughter and made utterly to disappear, if it had not been • He alludes here to the war between Caesar and Pompey. Pompey had been governor of Syria, and Virgil speaks of him as relying on hfs eastern forces.
Illae autem, paribus quas fulgere cernis in armis, Concordes animae nunc, et dum nocte premuntur Heu! quantum inter se bellum, si lumina vitae Attigerint, quantas acies stragemque ciebunt! Aggeribus socer Alpinis atque arce Monoeci Descendens; gener adversis instructus Eo'is. — iEn. vi. 832. Or as it is translated by Bryden — " The pair you see in equal armour shine, Now, friends below, in close embraces join; But when they leave the shady realms of night, And clothed in bodies breathe your upper light, With mortal hate each other shall pursue, "What wars, what wounds, what slaughter shall ensue. From Alpine heights the father first descends, His daughter's husband in the plain attends, His daughter's husband arms his eastern friends " K 2 132 PHILO JUD-EUS.
for one man and leader, Augustus, by whose means they were brought to a better state, and therefore we may justly call him the averter of evil.
This is Csesar, who calmed the storms which were raging in every direction, who healed the common diseases which were afflicting both Greeks and barbarians, who descended from the south and from the east, and ran on and penetrated as far as the north and the west, in such a way as to fill all the neighbouring districts and waters with unexpected miseries° This is he who did not only loosen but utterly abolish the bonds in which the whole of the habitable world was previously bound and weighed down. This is he who destroyed both the evident and the unseen wars which arose from the attacks of robbers. This is he who rendered the sea free from the vessels of pirates, and filled it with merchantmen* This is he who gave freedom to every city, who brought disorder into order, who civilized and made obedient and harmonious, nations which before his time were unsociable, hostile, and brutal. This is he who increased Greece by many Greeces, and who Greecised the regions of the barbarians in their most important divisions: the guardian of peace, the distributor to every man of what was suited to him, the man who proffered to all the citizens favours with the most ungrudging liberality, who never once in his whole life concealed or reserved for himself any thing that was good or excellent.
XXII. Now this man who was so great a benefactor to them for the space of three and forty years, during which he reigned over Egypt, they passed over in silence and neglect, never erecting any thing in their synagogues to do him honour; no image, no statue, no inscription.
And yet if ever there was a man to whom it was proper that new and unprecedented honours should be voted, it was certainly fitting that such should be decreed to him, not only because he was as it were the origin and fountain of the family of Augustus, not because he was the first^ and greatest, and universal benefactor, having, instead of the multitude of governors who existed before, entrusted the common vessel of the state to himself as one pilot of * He is attributing an honour to Augustus which does not belong to hi in. It was Pompey who cleared the sea of pirates.
ON THE VIRTUES AND OFFICE OF AMBASSADORS '133 admirable skill in the science of governments to steer and govern; for the verse, " The government of many is not good," * is very properly expressed, since a multitude of votes is the cause of every variety of evil; but also because the whole of the rest of the habitable world had decreed him honours equal to those of the Olympian gods. And we have evidence of this in the temples, and porticoes, and sacred precincts, and groves, and colonnades which have been erected, so that all the cities put together, ancient and modern, which exhibit magnificent works, are surpassed, by the beauty and magni- tude of the buildings erected in honour of Caesar, and especially by those raised in our city of Alexandria.
For there is no sacred precinct of such magnitude as that which is called the Grove of Augustus, and the temple erected in honour of the disembarkation of Caesar, which is raised to a great height, of great size, and of the most conspicuous beauty, opposite the best harbour; being such an one as is not to be seen in any other city, and full of offerings, in pictures, and statues; and decorated all around with silver and gold; being a very extensive space, orna- mented in the most magnificent and sumptuous manner with porticoes, and libraries, and men's chambers, and groves, and propylaea, and wide, open terraces, and court-yards in the open air, and with everything that could contribute to use or beauty; being a hope and beacon of safety to all who set sail, or who came into harbour.
XXIII. Therefore, though they had such admirable pre- texts for such conduct, and all the nations in every part of the world inclined to agree with them, they nevertheless neither made any innovations in their synagogues, but kept the law in every particular; and refused any marks of respect and veneration which might have been looked upon as due to Caesar. Perhaps some cautious and sensible person may ask: " Why were all these honours denied to him?" I will tell the reason, without suppressing any thing.
They were aware of the attention which he paid to every thing, and of the very exceeding care which he took that the • Horn. II. ii. 204.
]$4 PHTLO JTJDjEUS.
national laws and customs prevailing in each nation should be confirmed and preserved, being equally anxious for the preservation of the rights of foreign nations in this respect, as for those of the Eomans; and that he received his honours, not for the destruction of the laws existing in any people, filling himself with pride and arrogance, but in a spirit of proper conformity with the magnitude of so vast an empire, which is dignified and honoured by such marks of respect being paid to the emperor.
And there is most undeniable proof that he was never influenced or puffed up by the excessive honours paid to him, in the fact that he did not approve of any one's addressing him as master or god, but if any one used such expressions he was angry, and we may see it too in his approbation of the Jews, who he well knew most reli- giously avoided all such language.
How then did he look upon the great division of Eome which is on the other side of the river Tiber, which he was well aware was occupied and inhabited by the Jews? And they were mostly Roman citizens, having been emancipated; for, having been brought as captives into Italy, they were manumitted by those who had bought them for slaves, with- out ever having been compelled to alter any of their hereditary or national observances. Therefore, he knew that they had synagogues, and that they were in the habit of visiting them, and most especially on the sacred sabbath days, when they publicly cultivate their national philosophy. He knew also that they were in the habit of contributing sacred sums of money from their first fruits and sending them to Jerusalem by the hands of those who were to conduct the sacrifices. But he never removed them from Rome, nor did he ever deprive them of their rights as Roman citizens, because he had a regard for Judsea, nor did he ever meditate any new steps of innovation or rigour with respect to their synagogues, nor did he forbid their assembling for the interpretation of the law, nor did he make any opposition to their offerings of first fruits; but he behaved with such piety towards our countrymen, and with respect to all our customs, that he, I may almost say, with all his house, adorned our temple with many costly and magnificent offerings, commanding that continued sacrifices ON THE VIRTUES AND OFFICE OF AMBASSADORS. 135 of whole burnt offerings should be offered up for ever and ever every day from his own revenues, as a first fruit of his own to the most high G-od, which sacrifices are performed to this very day, and will be performed for ever, as a proof and specimen of a truly imperial disposition.
Moreover, in the monthly divisions of the country, when the whole people receives money or corn in turn, he never allowed the Jews to fall short in their reception of this favour, but even if it happened that this distribution fell on the day of their sacred sabbath, on which day it is not lawful for them to receive any thing, or to give any thing, or in short to perform any of the ordinary duties of life, he charged the dispenser of these gifts, and gave him the most careful and special injunctions to make the distribution to the Jews on the day following, that they might not lose the effects of his common kindness.
XXIV. Therefore, all people in every country, even if they were not naturally well inclined towards the Jewish nation, took great care not to violate or attack any of the Jewish customs or laws. And in the reign of Tiberius things went on in the same manner, although at that time things in Italy were thrown into a great deal of confusion when Sejanus was preparing to make his attempt against our nation; for he knew immediately after his death that the accusations which had been brought against the Jews who were dwelling in Home were false calumnies, inventions of Sejanus, who was desirous to destroy our nation, which he knew alone, or above all others, was likely to oppose his unholy counsels and actions in defence of the emperor, who was in great danger of being attacked, in violation of all treaties and of all honesty.
And he sent commands to all the governors of provinces in every country to comfort those of our nation in their respective cities, as the punishment intended to be inflicted was not meant to be inflicted upon all, but only on the guilty; and they were but few. And he ordered them to change none of the existing customs, but to look upon them as pledges, since the men were peaceful in their dispositions and natural characters, and their laws trained them and disposed them to quiet and stability.
XXV. But Caius puffed himself up with pride, not only 136 PHILO JUDjEUS.
saying, but actually thinking that he was a god. And then he found no people, whether among the Greeks or among the barbarians, more suitable than the Alexandrians to confirm him in his immoderate and unnatural ambition; for they are in an extraordinary degree inclined to flattery, and trick, and hypocrisy, being thoroughly furnished with all kinds of cajoling words, and prone to confuse every thing with their unbridled and licentious talk. And the name of God is held in so little veneration among them, that they have given it to ibises, and to the poisonous asps which are found in their country, and to many other savage beasts which exist in it. So that they, very naturally, giving in to all kinds of addresses and invocations to him, addressed him as God, deceiving men of shallow comprehension, who were wholly inexperienced in the impiety prevailing in Egypt, though they are detected by those who are ac- quainted with their excessive folly, or, I should rather say, with their preposterous impiety.
Of which, Cains, having no experience, imagined that he was really believed by the Alexandrians to be God, since they, without any disguise, openly and plainly used all the appellations without any limitation, with which they were accustomed to invoke the other gods. In the next place, he believed that the innovations which they made with respect to their synagogues, were all made with a pure conscience, and from a sincere honour and respect for him, partly being influenced by the ephemerides in the way of memorial, which some persons sent him from Alexandria; for these things were what he very much delighted to read, to such a degree that the writings of all other authors, whether in prose or in poetry, were looked upon by him as absolutely odious in comparison with the delight which these documents afforded him, and partly by the language of some of his domestics, who were continually jesting with him and ridiculing all serious things.
X X VI. The greater portion of these men were Egyptians, wicked, worthless men, who had imprinted the venom and evil disposition of their native asps and crocodiles on their own souls, and gave a faithful representation of them there. And the leader of the whole Egyptian troops, like the cory- phaeus of a chorus, was a man of the name of Helicon, an ON THE VIRTUES AND OFFICE OF AMBASSADORS. 137 accursed and infamous slave, who had been introduced into the imperial household to its ruin; for he had acquired a slight smattering of the encyclical sciences, by imitation of and rivalry with his former master, who gave him to Tiberius Csesar. And at that time he had no especial privilege, since Tiberius had a perfect hatred of all youthful sallies of wit for the mere purposes of amusement, as he, from almost his earliest youth, was of a solemn and austere disposition.
But when Tiberius was dead, and Caius succeeded to the empire, he then, following a new master, who invited him to every description of relaxation and luxury, such as could delight every one of his outward senses, said to himself: " Bise up, 0 Helicon! now is your opportunity. You have now an auditor, and a spectator, who is of all men in the world the best calculated to receive the exhibition of your talents favourably. You are a man of very attractive natural talents. You are able to joke graceful, and to say witty, things beyond any one else. You are skilful in all kinds of amusements, and trifling, and fashionable sports. And you are equally accomplished in those branches of encyclical education which are not so ordinarily met with. Moreover, you have a readiness of speech and repartee which is far from unpleasing. If therefore you mingle with your jestings any little stimulus which is in the least un- welcome or painful, so as to excite not only laughter but any feelings of bitterness, on the part of one who is always ready to suspect evil, you will be deliberately alienating from yourself a master who is very well inclined by nature to listen to any accusations which are brought before him in a joking manner; for his ears, as you well know, are always open, and are constantly on the watch to listen to all those who are in the habit of interweaving accusations of others with their sycophancy. And do not seek for any more abundant causes; for you have a sufficient foundation with respect to the customs of the Jews and the national laws of that people, in which you yourself were bred up, and in which you have been instructed from your very earliest childhood, not by one man only, but by that most chattering and vexatious portion of the city of Alexandria. So now, make an exhibition of your learning."
XXVII. By these preposterous and accursed arguments 138 PHILO JUDjEUS.
he excited his own expectations, and trained himself, and inflamed his own wishes; and then he attended upon and courted Caius, day and night, never leaving him for a moment, but being with him at all times and on all occa- sions, and employing every moment when he was by himself, or when he was resting, to pour forth accusations against our nation, like a most infamous man as he was, exciting pleasure in the mind of the emperor by ridiculing the Jews and their laws and customs, that thus his calumnies might wound us the more effectually; for he never openly con- fessed himself to be our accuser, nor could he in fact make such a confession; but he went by all kinds of crooked paths, and practised every sort of manoeuvre, and thus was a more dangerous and formidable enemy than even those men who openly recorded their hatred of and hostility towards us.
They say also that some of the ambassadors of the Alex- andrians, being completely aware of this, had secretly hired him by considerable bribes, and not only by money but by hopes of future honours, which they led him to expect he might attain to at no distant period, when Caius should come to Alexandria. And he, being continually declaiming of that time in which, while his master was present, and in conjunction with him, he should be almost supreme in his power over a large portion of the world (for it was notorious enough that by his assiduous courting of Caius, he would be able to acquire power over the most illustrious portion of the citizens, and over all those who are held in especial honour by the most magnificent and glorious city,* promised every thing).
We, therefore, being for a long time unsuspicious of this natural enemy, who was plotting against us from his con- cealment, took precautions only against our external foes; but when we perceived that he too was to be guarded against, we searched into the matter carefully, considering every expedient to see if we could, by any means, propitiate and conciliate the man who was thus aiming and shooting at us, by every means and from every place, with great ac- curacy of aim and power of injuring us; for he was in the habit of playing at ball with him, and of exercising himself * There seems some corruption in the text here.
ON THE VIRTUES AND OFFICE OF AMBASSADORS. 139 in gymnastic sports with him, and of bathing with him, and breakfasting with him, and he was with Caius when he was wont to go to rest, filling the part of chamberlain and chief body-guard to him, an office which was not entrusted to any one else, so that he alone had all kinds of favourable oppor- tunities for being listened to at leisure by the emperor, when he was removed from any external tumults and dis- tractions, and able quietly to hear what he principally desired.
And he mingled numbers of satirical and quizzing observ- ations with his more formal and serious accusations, in order to excite pleasure in his hearers by that means, and to do us the greatest possible amount of injury; for the quizzing arid ridiculing appeared, as he used it, to be the principal object at which he aimed, though it was in reality only his indirect one; and the accusations which he launched against us appeared to be mere casual observations, dropped acci- dentally, though in reality they were his primary and sole object, while he was trying every expedient possible, and so, like sailors who have a fair wind blowing on their stern, he was borne onwards with a full sail before a favourable gale, heaping upon us and stringing together one accusation after another, while the mind of his nearer was fashioned in a more solid and retentive mould, so that the recollection ot the accusations was not easily eradicated.
XXVIII. Accordingly, we being in a great strait and in most difficult circumstances, we, though we had availed ourselves of every expedient which we could possibly think of in order to propitiate and conciliate Helicon, could find no means of doing so and no access to him, since no one dared either to accost or to approach him, by reason of his exceeding insolence and cruelty with which he behaved to every one; and also because we were not aware, whether there was any especial reason for his alienation from the Jewish nation; since he was also exciting and exasperating his master against our people, and, accordingly, we left oft labouring at this point, and turned our attention to what was of greater importance.
For it appeared good to present to Caius a memorial, con- taining a summary of what we had suffered, and of the way in which we considered that we deserved to be treated; and 140 PHILO JUD^EUS.
140 PHILO JUD^EUS.
this memorial was nearly an abridgment of a longer petition which we had sent to him a short time before, by the hand of king Agrippa; for be, by chance, was staying for a short time in the city, while on his way into Syria to take pos- session of the kingdom which had been given to him; but we, without being aware of it, were deceiving ourselves, for before also we had done the same, when we originally began to set sail, thinking that as we were going before a judge we should meet with justice; but he was in reality an irreconcilable enemy to us, attracting us, as far as appear- ance went, with favourable looks and cheerful address; for, receiving us favourably at first, in the plains on the banks of the Tiber (for he happened to be walking about in his mother's garden), he conversed with us formally, and waved his right hand to us in a protecting manner, giving us sig- nificant tokens of his good will, and having sent to us the secretary, whose duty it was to attend to the embassies that arrived, Obulus by name, he said, "1 myself will listen to what you have to say at the first favourable opportunity."