The Works of Philo Judaeus

LXVIII. But the words, " shall watch," intimate two things : in the first place it means as it were " shall keep," and " shall preserve." And, in the second place, it is equivalent to "shall watch for the purpose of destroying." Xow it is inevitable that the mind must be either bad or good. Now, if it be bad, it would be but a foolish guardian and dis- Exodus xvii. 11. + Numbers xziv. 20. £ Genesis iii 15. 158 penser of pleasure, for it rejoices in it. But the good man is an enemy to it, expecting that, when he once attacks it, he will be able utterly to destroy it. And, indeed, on the other hand, pleasure watches the footsteps of the foolish man, but endeavours to trip up and undermine the standing ground of the wise man, thinking that he is always meditating its destruction ; but that the fool is always considering the means by which its safety may be best secured. But, nevertheless, though pleasure appears to trip up and to deceive the good man, it will in reality be tripped up itself by that experienced wrestler, Jacob ; and that, too, not in the wrestling of the body, but in that struggle which the soul carries on against the dispositions which are antagonistic to it, and which attack it through the agency of the passions and vices ; and it will not let go the heel of its antagonist, passion, before it surrenders, and confesses that it has been twice tripped up and defeated, both in the matter of the birthright, and also in that of the blessing. For " rightly," says Esau, " is his name called Jacob, for now has he supplanted me for the second time ; the first time he took away my birthright, and now he has taken away my blessing." But the bad man thinks the things of the body the more important, while the good man assigns the preference to the things of the soul, which are in truth and reality the more important and the first, not, indeed, in point of time, but in power and dignity, as is a ruler in a city. But the mistress of the concrete being is the soul.

LXIX. Therefore the one who was superior in virtue received the first place, which, indeed, fell to him as his due. For he also obtained the blessing in connection with the perfection of prayer. But he is a vain and conceited pretender to wisdom who said, " He took away my blessing and also my birthright." For what he took, 0 foolish man, was not yours, but was rather the opposite to what was yours. For your deeds are thought worthy of slavery, but his are thought worthy of supremacy. And if you are content to become the slave of the wise man, you shall receive your share of reproof and of correction, and so you shall discard ignorance and folly which are the destruction of the soul. For thy father, when praying, says to you, " You shall serve your brother,"! but not now ; for G.nesis xxvii. 36. t Genesis xxvii. 40. he will not be able to endure your endeavouring to throw off the 3roke. But when you have loosed his yoke from off your neck, that is to say, when you have cast off the boastfulness and arrogance which you had, after you had yoked yourself to the chariot of the passions, under the guidance of the charioteer, Folly. Now, indeed, you are the slave of cruel and intolerable masters, who are within yourself, and who look upon it as a law never to set any one free ; but if you run away and escape from them, then the master who loves slaves will receive you in a good hope of freedom, and will not surrender you any more to your former companions, having learnt from Moses that necessary doctrine and lesson, " Not to give up a servant to his master who has escaped from his master unto him ; for he shall dwell with him in any place which shall please him."

XVII. Let us then, with reference to our gratitude to and honouring of the omnipotent God, be active and ready, deprecating all sluggishness and delay ; for those who are passing over from obedience to the passions to the contemplation of virtue, are enjoined to keep the passover with their loins girded up, being ready to do service, and binding up the burden of the flesh, or, as it is expressed, their shoes, " standing upright, and firmly on their feet, and having in their hands a staff, "f that is to say education, with the object of succeeding without any failure in all the affairs of life ; and lastly, " to eat the passover in haste." For, by the passover, is signified the crossing over of the created and perishable being to God : — and very appropriately ; for there is no single good thing which does not belong to God, and which is not divine. Seek it therefore, quickly, 0 my soul ! as did that practiser of contemplation, Jacob, who, when his father asked him, " Howfound you this so quickly, 0 my son?" J answered, with a doctrine concealed underneath his words, " The Lord God brought it before me." For he, being well skilled in many matters, knew that whatever creation bestows on the soul is Exodus xii. 34. f Exodus xii. 11. J Genesis xxvii. 20. confirmed by long time, as those men know who give to their pupils arts, and lessons in arts : for their case is not like that of men who pour water into a vessel, they are not in a moment able to fill their minds with the lessons which have been brought before them. But when the fountain of wisdom, that is to say, God, gives knowledge of the sciences to the race of mankind, he gives it to them without any limitation of time. But they, as being disciples of the only wise Being, and being competent by nature, quickly accomplish the discovery of the things which they seek to understand. XYIII. But the principal virtue of pupils is to endeavour to imitate their perfect master, as far as those who are imperfect can imitate a perfect man. But the master is more rapid than any time, which did not even co-operate with him when he was creating the universe, since it is plain that time itself was created at the same moment that the world was made. For God, while he spake the word, did at the same moment create ; nor did he allow anything to come between the word and the deed ; and if one may advance a doctiine which is pretty nearly true, His word is his deed. But among the race of mankind nothing is more easily moved than the word ; for by its rapidity and by the volubility of its nouns and verbs, it outstrips even the comprehension which hastens to overtake them. As, therefore, everlasting springs, which are poured down in rivers, have a course which never ceases, the stream as it comes on continually taking up the cessation of the waves which have preceded, so too the abundant flow of words, when they begin to be poured forth, keep pace with the most swiftly-moving of all the qualities which are in us, namely, the mind, which can itself outstrip even flying natures. As therefore the uncreated God outstrips all creation, so also does the word of the uncreated God outrun the word of creation, and is borne on with exceeding swiftness in the clouds. On which account God speaks freely, saying. " Now you shall see, because my word shall overtake you." As the divine word can outstrip and overtake everything, but if his word can thus outstrip everything, much more can he who utters it, as he testifies in another place, where he says, " Here am I, I stood here before you."f For he declares here that he stood before any created being : and lie who is here is also there, Numbers xi. 23. t Exodus xvi. 6. 222 and in other places, and every where, having filled every place in every direction, and having left nothing whatever destitute of himself: for he does not say, " Here I stand and there, but now also when I am present do I stand there also at the same moment ;" not being moved or changing his place so as to occupy one place and to quit another, but using one intense motion. Very properly therefore do his subject children, imitating the nature of their father, do all that is right without any delay, and with all diligence, their most excellent employment being the paying prompt and unremitting honour to God.

XXXI. There are also particular gifts which it is suitable both to God to give, and to men to receive. And these must be the virtues and the energies in accordance with them, at the discovery of which, being almost without any connexion with time, by reason of the surpassing rapidity of the giver which he is accustomed to exhibit in his gifts, every one is full of admiration, even those to whom nothing else in the world appears great. On which account also, the question is put, " How didst thou find it so quickly, O my son? "t the questioner marvelling at the promptness of the virtuous disposition; and he who has received the benefit answers felicitously, " Because the Lord God gave it to me." For the gifts and explanations of men are slow, but those of God are most rapid, outstripping the motion of even the most speedy time. Therefore those who by their strength and courage have become chiefs and leaders of the chorus which raises the song of triumph and of gratitude, are those who have been already mentioned ; but those who, by reason of having been put to flight, and of their weakness, are companions of the song of lamentation which is raised on occasion of defeat, are men whom one ought to look upon as cowards, rather than to pity ; like those who have a body labouring under some natural defect, to whom any ordinary occasion of sickness is a great hindrance to their cure. But some persons have succumbed contrary to their inclinations, not because the energies of their souls are more effeminate, but because they have been overwhelmed by the more vigorous strength of their adversaries ; and imitating those who are willing slaves, they have voluntarily cast themselves down before either masters, though they were freemen by birth ; on which account being unable to be sold they have, which is the most incredible of all things, bought masters for themselves and so become slaves, doing the very same thing with those who are insatiably eager for drunkenness with wine; for they This passage is certainly corrupt. Markland thinks that some words at least have been lost, f Genesis xxvii. 20. ON DRUNKENNESS. 479 also of their own free will and without any compulsion, drink unmixed wine, so that of their own accord they eradicate sobriety from their souls, and choose folly ; for, says the scripture, " I hear the voice of those who are beginning revelry and drunkenness;" that is to say, of men who are exhibiting a madness which is not involuntary, but who injure themselves with a voluntary and deliberate frenzy.