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第13章

against apion-第13章

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 purge his temples of impure and impious men; by expelling them out of those temples into desert places; but as to the scabby and leprous people; he must drown them; and purge his temples; the sun having an indignation at these men being suffered to live; and by this means the land will bring forth its fruits。 Upon Bocchoris's having received these oracles; he called for their priests; and the attendants upon their altars; and ordered them to make a collection of the impure people; and to deliver them to the soldiers; to carry them away into the desert; but to take the leprous people; and wrap them in sheets of lead; and let them down into the sea。 Hereupon the scabby and leprous people were drowned; and the rest were gotten together; and sent into desert places; in order to be exposed to destruction。 In this case they assembled themselves together; and took counsel what they should do; and determined that; as the night was coming on; they should kindle fires and lamps; and keep watch; that they also should fast the next night; and propitiate the gods; in order to obtain deliverance from them。 That on the next day there was one Moses; who advised them that they should venture upon a journey; and go along one road till they should come to places fit for habitation: that he charged them to have no kind regards for any man; nor give good counsel to any; but always to advise them for the worst; and to overturn all those temples and altars of the gods they should meet with: that the rest commended what he had said with one consent; and did what they had resolved on; and so traveled over the desert。 But that the difficulties of the journey being over; they came to a country inhabited; and that there they abused the men; and plundered and burnt their temples; and then came into that land which is called Judea; and there they built a city; and dwelt therein; and that their city was named Hierosyla; from this their robbing of the temples; but that still; upon the success they had afterwards; they in time changed its denomination; that it might not be a reproach to them; and called the city Hierosolyma; and themselves Hierosolymites。〃

35。 Now this man did not discover and mention the same king with the others; but feigned a newer name; and passing by the dream and the Egyptian prophet; he brings him to 'Jupiter' Hammon; in order to gain oracles about the scabby and leprous people; for he says that the multitude of Jews were gathered together at the temples。 Now it is uncertain whether he ascribes this name to these lepers; or to those that were subject to such diseases among the Jews only; for he describes them as a people of the Jews。 What people does he mean? foreigners; or those of that country? Why then' dost thou call them Jews; if they were Egyptians? But if they were foreigners; why dost thou not tell us whence they came? And how could it be that; after the king had drowned many of them in the sea; and ejected the rest into desert places; there should be still so great a multitude remaining? Or after what manner did they pass over the desert; and get the land which we now dwell in; and build our city; and that temple which hath been so famous among all mankind? And besides; he ought to have spoken more about our legislator than by giving us his bare name; and to have informed us of what nation he was; and what parents he was derived from; and to have assigned the reasons why he undertook to make such laws concerning the gods; and concerning matters of injustice with regard to men during that journey。 For in case the people were by birth Egyptians; they would not on the sudden have so easily changed the customs of their country; and in case they had been foreigners; they had for certain some laws or other which had been kept by them from long custom。 It is true; that with regard to those who had ejected them; they might have sworn never to bear good…will to them; and might have had a plausible reason for so doing。 But if these men resolved to wage an implacable war against all men; in case they had acted as wickedly as he relates of them; and this while they wanted the assistance of all men; this demonstrates a kind of mad conduct indeed; but not of the men themselves; but very greatly so of him that tells such lies about them。 He hath also impudence enough to say that a name; implying 〃Robbers of the temples;〃 (26) was given to their city; and that this name was afterward changed。 The reason of which is plain; that the former name brought reproach and hatred upon them in the times of their posterity; while; it seems; those that built the city thought they did honor to the city by giving it such a name。 So we see that this fine fellow had such an unbounded inclination to reproach us; that he did not understand that robbery of temples is not expressed By the same word and name among the Jews as it is among the Greeks。 But why should a man say any more to a person who tells such impudent lies? However; since this book is arisen to a competent length; I will make another beginning; and endeavor to add what still remains to perfect my design in the following book。

APION BOOK 1 FOOTNOTES

(1) This first book has a wrong title。 It is not written against Apion; as is the first part of the second book; but against those Greeks in general who would not believe Josephus's former accounts of the very ancient state of the Jewish nation; in his 20 books of Antiquities; and particularly against Agatharelddes; Manetho; Cheremon; and Lysimachus。 it is one of the most learned; excellent; and useful books of all antiquity; and upon Jerome's perusal of this and the following book; he declares that it seems to him a miraculous thing 〃how one that was a Hebrew; who had been from his infancy instructed in sacred learning; should be able to pronounce such a number of testimonies out of profane authors; as if he had read over all the Grecian libraries;〃 Epist。 8。 ad Magnum; and the learned Jew; Manasseh…Ben…Israel; esteemed these two books so excellent; as to translate them into the Hebrew; this we learn from his own catalogue of his works; which I have seen。 As to the time and place when and where these two books were written; the learned have not hitherto been able to determine them any further than that they were written some time after his Antiquities; or some time after A。D。 93; which indeed is too obvious at their entrance to be overlooked by even a careless peruser; they being directly intended against those that would not believe what he had advanced in those books con…the great of the Jewish nation As to the place; they all imagine that these two books were written where the former were; I mean at Rome; and I confess that I myself believed both those determinations; till I came to finish my notes upon these books; when I met with plain indications that they were written not at Rome; but in Judea; and this after the third of Trajan; or A。D。 100。

(2) Take Dr。 Hudson's note here; which as it justly contradicts the common opinion that Josephus either died under Domitian; or at least wrote nothing later than his days; so does it perfectly agree to my own determination; from Justus of Tiberias; that he wrote or finished his own Life after the third of Trajan; or A。D。 100。 To which Noldius also agrees; de Herod; No。 383 'Epaphroditus'。 〃Since Florius Josephus;〃 says Dr。 Hudson; 〃wrote 'or finished' his books of Antiquities on the thirteenth of Domitian; 'A。D。 93;' and after that wrote the Memoirs of his own Life; as an appendix to the books of Antiquities; and at last his two books against Apion; and yet dedicated all those writings to Epaphroditus; he can hardly be that Epaphroditus who was formerly secretary to Nero; and was slain on the fourteenth 'or fifteenth' of Domitian; after he had been for a good while in banishment; but another Epaphroditas; a freed…man; and procurator of Trajan; as says Grotius on Luke 1:3。

(3) The preservation of Homer's Poems by memory; and not by his own writing them down; and that thence they were styled Rhapsodies; as sung by him; like ballads; by parts; and not composed and connected together in complete works; are opinions well known from the ancient commentators; though such supposal seems to myself; as well a

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