read the epiftles of king Alexander, or thofe of Ptolemy the fon of Lagus, or met with the writings of the fucceeding kings, or that pillar which is ftill ftanding at Alexandria, and contains the privileges which the great [Julius] Cæfar bestowed upon the Jews; had this man, I fay, known thefe records, and yet bath the impudence to write in contradiction to them, he hath fhewn himself to be a wicked man: But if he knew nothing of these records, he hath fhewn himself to be a man very ignorant: Nay, when he appears to wonder how Jews could be called Alexandrians, this is another like inftance of his ignorance: For all fuch as are called out to be colonies, although they be ever lo far remote from one another in their original, receive their names from thofe that bring them to their new habitations. And what occafion is there to fpeak of others, when those of us Jews that dwell at Antioch are named Antiochians, becaufe Seleucus the founder of that city gave them. the privileges belonging thereto ? After the like manner do thole Jews that inhabit Ephefus and the other cities of Ionia enjoy the fame name with those that were originally born there, by the grant of the fucceeding princes: Nay, the kindnefs and humanity of the Romans hath been fo great, that it hath granted leave to almost all others to take the fame name of Romans upon them; I mean not particular men only, but entire and large nations themselves alfo; for those anciently named Iberi. and Tyrcheni, and Sabini, are now called Romani. And it Apion reject this way of obtaining the privilege of a citizen of Alexandria, let him abftain from calling himfelf an Alexandrian hereafter; for otherwife, how can he who was born in the very heart of Egypt be an Alexandrian, if this way of accepting fuch a privilege of what he would have us deprived, be once abrogated? although indeed thefe Romans, who are now the lords of the habitable earth, have forbidden the Egyptians to have the privileges of any city whatfoever; while this fine fellow, who is willing to partake of fuch a privilege himfelt as he is forbidden to make ufe of, endeavours by caJumnies to deprive those of it that have justly received it: For Alexander did not therefore get fome of our nation to Alexandria, because he wanted inhabitants for this his city, on whole building he had bestowed fo much pains; but this was given to our people as a reward, because he had, upon a careful trial, found them all to have been men of virtue and fidelity to him: For, as Hecateus fays concerning us, "Alexander honoured our nation to fuch a degree, that, for the equity and the fidelity which the Jews had exhibited to him, he permitted them to hold the country of Samaria free from tribute. Of the fame mind alfo was Ptolemy the fon of Lagus, as to thofe Jews who dwelt at Alexandria.' For he entrusted the fortreffes of Egypt into their hands, as believing they would keep them faithfully and valiantly for him; and when he was delirous to fecure the government of Cyrene, and the other cities of Li bya to himself, he fent a party of Jews to inhabit them. And for his fucceffor Ptolemy, who was called Philadelphus, he did not only let all thofe of our nation free, who were captives under him, but did frequently* give money [for their ranfom]; and, what was the greatest work of all he had a great defire of knowing our laws, and of obtaining the books of our facred fcriptures; accordingly he defired that fuch men might be fent him as might interpret our law to him: And in order to have them well compiled, he committed that care to no ordinary perfons, but ordained that Demetrius Phalereus, and Andreas, and Arifteas, the firft Demetrius, the most learned perlon of his age, and the others fuch as were entrusted with the guard of his body, fhould take the care of this matter: Nor would he certainly have been fo defirous of learning our law aud the philofophy of our nation, had he defpifed the men that made use of it, or had he not indeed had them in great admiration. 5. Now this Apion was unacquainted with almost all the kings of thofe Macedonians whom he pretends to have been his progenitors; who were yet very well affected towards us: For the third of thofe Ptolemies, who was called Euergetes, when he had gotten poffeffion of all Syria by force, did not offer his thank-offerings to the Egyptian gods for his victory, but came to Jerufalem, and, according to our own laws, of fered many facrifices to God, and dedicated to him fuch gifts as were fuitable to fuch a victory: And as for Ptolemy Phi lometer and his wife Cleopatra, they committed their whole kingdom to the Jews, when Onias and Dofitheus, both Jews, whofe names are laughed at by Apion, were the generals of their whole army. But certainly, inflead of reproaching them, he ought to admire their actions, and return them thanks for faving Alexandria, whofe citizen he pretends to be: For when thefe Alexandriars were making war with Cleopatra the queen, and were in danger of being utterly ruined, thefe Jews brought them to terms of agreement, and freed them from the miler. ies of a civil war." But then (fays Apion) Onias brought a fmall army afterward upon the city at the time when Thermus the Roman ambaffador was there prefent." Yes, do I venture to fay, and that he did rightly and very juftly in fo doing; for that Ptolemy who was called Phyfco, upon the death of his brother Philometor, came from Cyrene, and would have ejec ted Cleopatra as well as her fons out of their kingdom, that he might obtain it for himself unjustly. For this cause then it was that Onias undertook a war against him on Cleopatra's • For Todλauss, or frequently, I would here read toħħά, a great deal of money, for we indeed read both in Arifteas and Jofephus, that this Ptolemy Philadelphus once gave a very great fum of money to redeem above 100,000 Jewith captives, but not of any fums of money which he disbursed on their account at other times, that I know of. + Here begins a great defect in the Greek copy; but the old Latin verfion fully fupplies that defect. account; nor would he defert that trust the royal family had repofed in him in their diftrefs. Accordingly God gave a remarkable atteftation to his righteous procedure; for when Ptolemy Phyfco* had the prefumption to fight against Onias's army, and had caught all the Jews that were in the city [Alexandria] with their children and wives, and expofed them naked and in bonds to his elephants, that they might be trodden upon and destroyed, and when he had made thofe elephants drunk for that purpofe, the event proved contrary to his preparations; for thefe elephants left the Jews who were expofed to them, and fell violently upon Phyfco's friends, and flew a great number of them: Nay, after this Ptolemy faw a terri ble ghoft, which prohibited his hurting thofe men; his very concubine whom he loved fo well, fome call her Ithaca, and others Irene, making fupplication to him, that he would not perpetrate lo great wickednefs. So he complied with her requeft, and repented of what he either had already done, or was about to do: Whence it is well known that the Alexandrian Jews do with good reason celebrate this day, on the account that they had thereon been vouchfated fuch an evident deliverance from God. However, Apion, the common ca Jumniator of men, hath the prefumption to accufe the Jews for making this war against Phyfco, when he ought to have commended them for the fame. This man alío makes mention of Cleopatra the last queen of Alexandria, and abufes us, becaule he was ungrateful to us; whereas he ought to have reproved her, who indulged herfelt in all kinds of injuftice and wicked practices, both with regard to her nearest relations and hufbands who had loved her, and indeed in general with regard to all the Romans, and those emperors that were her benefactors; who also had her fifter Arfinoe flain in a temple, when she had done her no harm; moreover, she had her brother flain by private treachery, and the destroyed the gods of her country and the fepulchres of her progenitors; and while the had received her kingdom from the first Cæfar, fhe had the impu dence to rebel against his font and fucceffor: Nay, the corrupted Antony with her love tricks, and rendered him an enemy to his country, and made him treacherous to his friends, and [by his means defpoiled fome of their royal authority, and forced others in her madness to act wickedly. But what need I enlarge upon this head any farther, when the left Antony in his fight at iea, though he were her husband, and the father of their common children, and compelled him to refign up his What error is here generally believed to have been committed by our Jofephus in afcribing a deliverance of the Jews to the reign of Ptolemy Phyfco, the seventh of thofe Ptolemies, which has been univerfally lupposed to have happened under Ptolemy Philopator, the fourth of them, is no better than a grois error of the moderns, and not of Jofephus, as I have fully proved in the Authent. Rec. Part I. p. 200-204. whither I refer the inquifitive reader. + Sifter's son, and adopted son, government, with the army, and to follow her into Egypt]: Nay, when laft of all Cæfar had taken Alexandria, fhe came to that pitch of cruelty, that the declared the had fome hope of preferving her affairs ftill, in cafe fhe could kill the Jews,though it were with her own hand; to fuch a degree of barbarity and perfidioufnefs had the arrived. And doth any one think that we cannot boaft ourselves of any thing, if, as Apion fays, this queen did not at a time of famine diftribute wheat among us? However, fhe at length met with the punishment the deferved. As for us Jews, we appeal to the great Cæfar what affiftance we brought him, and what fidelity we fhewed to him against the Egyptians; as alfo to the fenate and its decrees, and to the epiftles of Aguftus Cæfar, whereby our merits (to the Romans are juftified. Apion ought to have looked upon those epiftles, and in particular to have examined the teftimonies given on our behalf, under Alexander and all the Ptolemies, and the decrees of the fenate, and of the greatest Roman emperors. And it Germanicus was not able to make a diftribution of corn to all the inhabitants of Alexandria, that only fhews what a barren time it was, and how great a want there was then of corn but tends nothing to the accufation of the Jews; for what all the emperors have thought of the Alexandrian Jews, is welt known, for this diftribution of wheat was no otherwise omitted with regard to the Jews, than it was with regard to the other inhabitants of Alexandria. But they fill were defirous to preferve what the kings had formerly intrufted to their care, I mean the cuflody of the river: Nor did thofe kings think them unworthy of having the entire cuftody thereof upon all occa fions. 6. But befides this, Apion objects to us thus: "If the Jews (lays he) be citizens of Alexandria, why do they not worship the fame gods with the Alexandrians ?" To which I give this anfwer: Since you are yourfelves Egyptians, why do you fight it out one against another, and have implacable wars about religion? At this rate we must not call you all Egyp tians, nor indeed in general men, because you breed up with great care beafts of a nature quite contrary to that of men, although the nature of all men feems to be one and the fame. Now, if there be fuch differences in opinion among you Egyptians, why are you furprited that thofe who came to Alexandria from another country and had original laws of their own before, thould perfevere in the obfervance of thofe laws? But ftill he charges us with being the authors of fedition: Which accufation, if it be a juft one, why is it not laid gainft us all, fince we are known to be all of one mind. Moreover, thofe that fearch into fuch matters will foon discover that the authors of fedition have been fuch citizens of Alexandria as Apion is; for while they were the Grecians and Macedonians who were in poffeffion of this city, there was no fedition raifed against us, and we were permitted to obferve our ancient folemnities; but when the number of the Egyptians therein came to be confiderable, the times grew confufed, and then these feditions brake out ftill more and more, while our people continued uncorrupted. Thefe Egyptians, therefore, were the authors of these troubles, who having not the conftancy of Macedonians, nor the prudence of Grecians, indulged all of them the evil manners of the Egyptians, and continued their ancient hatred against us; for what is here fo prefumptuously charged upon us, is owing to the differences that are amongst themselves; while many of them have not obtained the privileges of citizens in proper times, but ftyle those who are well known to have had that privilege extended to them all, no other than foreigners: For it does not appear that any of the kings have ever formerly bestowed those privileges of citizens upon Egyptians, no more than have the emperors done it more lately; while it was Alexander who introduced us into this city at first, the kings augmented our privileges therein, and the Romans have been pleased to preserve them always inviolable. Moreover, Apion would lay a blot upon us, because we do not erect images for our emperors; as it those emperors did not know this before, or stood in need of Apion as their defender; whereas he thought rather to have admired the magnanimity and modefty of the Romans, whereby they do not compel thofe that are fubject to them to tranfgrefs the laws of their countries, but are willing to receive the honours due to them after fuch a manner as thofe who are to pay them efteem confiftent with piety, and with their own laws; for they do not thank people for conferring honours upon them, when they are compelled by violence fo to do. Accordingly, fince the Grecians and fome other nations think it a right thing to make images, nay, when they have painted the pictures of their parents, and wives, and children, they exult for joy; and fome there are who take pictures for themfelves of fuch perfons as were no way related to them; nay, fome take the pictures of fuch fervants as they were fond of. What wonder is it then if fuch as these appear willing to pay the fame refpe&t to their princes and lords? But then, our Legiflator hath forbidden us to make images, not by way of denunciation beforehand, that the Roman authority was not to be honoured, but as defpifing a thing that was neither neceffary nor useful for either God or man; and he forbade them, as we fhall prove hereafter, to make thefe images for any part of the animal creation, and much lefs for God himself, who is no part of fuch animal creation. Yet hath our legiflator no where forbidden us to pay honours to worthy men, provided they be of another kind, and interior to those we pay to God; with which honours we willingly teftify our relpect to our emperors, and to the people of Rome; We alfo offer facrifices for them; nor do we only offer them every day at the common expences of all the Jews, but although we offer no o |