The Works of Philo Judaeus

XXII. See now the difference between him who turns to sin in the desert and him who sins in Egypt. For the one is bitten by serpents which cause death, that is to say by insatiable pleasures which inflict death ; but the other, he who meditates in the wilderness, is only bitten by pleasure and driven astray, but is not killed. And the one, indeed, is healed by temperance, which is the brazen serpent which was made by the wise Moses ; but the other is supplied by God with a most beautiful draught to drink, namely, wisdom, from the fountain which He himself has brought forth out of his own wisdom. Nor, indeed, does the pleasure which is in the form of a serpent, abstain from attacking that most sincere lover of God, Moses, for we read as follows ; "If, therefore, they will not obey me, nor listen to my voice — for they will say, God has not been seen by you — what shall 1 say to them ? And the Lord said unto Moses, What is that which is in thy hand ? And he said, A rod. And God said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses fled from it. And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch forth thy hand, and take hold of it by the tail. And having stretched forth his hand, he took hold of it by the tail, and it became a rod in his hand. And the Lord said unto him, That they may believe thee." How can any one believe God ? If he has learnt that all other things are changed, but that he alone is unchangeable. Therefore, God asks of the wise Moses what there is in the practical life of his soul ; for the hand is the symbol of action. And Exodus iv. 3. he answers, Instruction, which he calls a rod. On which account Jacob the supplanter of the passions, says, " For in my staff did I pass over this Jordan." But Jordan being interpreted means descent. And of the lower, and earthly, and perishable nature, vice and passion are component parts ; and the mind of the ascetic passes over them in the course of its education. For it is too low a notion to explain his saying literally ; as if it meant that he crossed the river, holding his staff in his hand.

XX. Let us now, therefore, proceeding in regular order, speak of the enemies of these persons, men who honour instruction and right reason, among whom are those who are attached to the virtue of one of their parents, being halfperfect companions ; these men are the most excellent guardians of the laws which the father, that is to say, right reason, established, and faithful stewards of the customs which education, their mother, instituted ; and they were instructed by right reason, their father, to honour the Father of the universe, and not to neglect the customs and laws established by education, their mother, and considered by all men to be founded in justice. When, therefore, Jacob, the practiser of virtue, and the man who entered into the lists of, and was a candidate for, the prizes of virtue, was inclined to give his ears in exchange for his eyes, and words for actions, and improvements for perfection, as the bounteous God was willing to give eyes to his mind, in order that he might for the future clearly see ON DRUNKENNESS. 469 what hitherto he had only comprehended by hearing (for the eyes are more trustworthy than the ears), the oracle sounded in his ears, " Thy name shall not be called Jacob ; but Israel shall thy name be, because thou hast prevailed with God and with men, with power." Jacob then is the name of learning and of improvement, that is to say of those powers which depend upon learning, and Israel is the name of perfection, for the name being interpreted means " the sight of God ; " and what can be more perfect among all the virtues than the sight of the only living God '? Accordingly he who hath seen this good thing is confessed to be good by both his parents, having attained to strength in God and power both before the Lord and before men. And it appears to me to be very well said in the book of Proverbs, " Men who see what is right before God and before men.' t Since it is by the aid of both these that men attain to the complete possesssion of good. For when you have been taught to observe the laws of your Father, J and not to disregard the injunctions of your mother, you will be able to say with confidence and pride, " For I also was born a son, subject to my father, and beloved before the face of my ': mother. "