Philo of Alexandria

I. And Cain said to Abel his brother, " Let us go to the field. And it came to pass, that while they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him."' What Cain proposes to do is this : having by invitation led Abel on to a dispute, to convince him by main force, using plausible and probable sophisms ; for the field to which he invites him to come, we may call a symbol of rivalry and contention, forming our conjectures of things that are uncertain from our perception of those which are manifest. For we see that most contests, both in peace and in war, take place in the open fields. In peace, therefore, all those who practise gymnastic contests, seek for level race-courses and plain fields : and, in a war, it is not usual to have battles, of either infantry or cavalry, on hills ; for many more disasters arise from the" unfavourable character of the ground, than from anything that the enemies do to one another.