XXII. (148) Now this man who was so great a benefactor to them for the space of three and forty years, during which he reigned over Egypt, they passed over in silence and neglect, never erecting any thing in their synagogues to do him honour; no image, no statue, no inscription. (149) And yet if ever there was a man to whom it was proper that new and unprecedented honours should be voted, it was certainly fitting that such should be decreed to him, not only because he was as it were the origin and fountain of the family of Augustus, not because he was the first, and greatest, and universal benefactor, having, instead of the multitude of governors who existed before, entrusted the common vessel of the state to himself as one pilot of admirable skill in the science of government to steer and govern; for the verse,
“The government of many is not Good,”{11}{hom. Il. 2:204.}
is very properly expressed, since a multitude of votes is the cause of every variety of evil; but also because the whole of the rest of the habitable world had decreed him honours equal to those of the Olympian gods. (150) And we have evidence of this in the temples, and porticoes, and sacred precincts, and groves, and colonnades which have been erected, so that all the cities put together, ancient and modern, which exhibit magnificent works, are surpassed, by the beauty and magnitude of the buildings erected in honour of Caesar, and especially by those raised in our city of Alexandria. (151) For there is no sacred precinct of such magnitude as that which is called the Grove of Augustus, and the temple erected in honour of the disembarkation of Caesar, which is raised to a great height, of great size, and of the most conspicuous beauty, opposite the best harbour; being such an one as is not to be seen in any other city, and full of offerings, in pictures, and statues; and decorated all around with silver and gold; being a very extensive space, ornamented in the most magnificent and sumptuous manner with porticoes, and libraries, and men’s chambers, and groves, and propylaea, and wide, open terraces, and court-yards in the open air, and with everything that could contribute to use or beauty; being a hope and beacon of safety to all who set sail, or who came into harbour.
XXIII. (152) Therefore, though they had such admirable pretexts for such conduct, and all the nations in every part of the world inclined to agree with them, they nevertheless neither made any innovations in their synagogues, but kept the law in every particular; and refused any marks of respect and veneration which might have been looked upon as due to Caesar. Perhaps some cautious and sensible person may ask: “Why were all these honours denied to him?” I will tell the reason, without suppressing any thing. (153) They were aware of the attention which he paid to every thing, and of the very exceeding care which he took that the national laws and customs prevailing in each nation should be confirmed and preserved, being equally anxious for the preservation of the rights of foreign nations in this respect, as for those of the Romans; and that he received his honours, not for the destruction of the laws existing in any people, filling himself with pride and arrogance, but in a spirit of proper conformity with the magnitude of so vast an empire, which is dignified and honoured by such marks of respect being paid to the emperor. (154) And there is most undeniable proof that he was never influenced or puffed up by the excessive honours paid to him, in the fact that he did not approve of any one’s addressing him as master or god, but if any one used such expressions he was angry; and we may see it too in his approbation of the Jews, who he well knew most religiously avoided all such language. (155) How then did he look upon the great division of Rome which is on the other side of the river Tiber, which he was well aware was occupied and inhabited by the Jews? And they were mostly Roman citizens, having been emancipated; for, having been brought as captives into Italy, they were manumitted by those who had bought them for slaves, without ever having been compelled to alter any of their hereditary or national observances. (156) Therefore, he knew that they had synagogues, and that they were in the habit of visiting them, and most especially on the sacred sabbath days, when they publicly cultivate their national philosophy. He knew also that they were in the habit of contributing sacred sums of money from their first fruits and sending them to Jerusalem by the hands of those who were to conduct the sacrifices. (157) But he never removed them from Rome, nor did he ever deprive them of their rights as Roman citizens, because he had a regard for Judaea, nor did he never meditate any new steps of innovation or rigour with respect to their synagogues, nor did he forbid their assembling for the interpretation of the law, nor did he make any opposition to their offerings of first fruits; but he behaved with such piety towards our countrymen, and with respect to all our customs, that he, I may almost say, with all his house, adorned our temple with many costly and magnificent offerings, commanding that continued sacrifices of whole burnt offerings should be offered up for ever and ever every day from his own revenues, as a first fruit of his own to the most high God, which sacrifices are performed to this very day, and will be performed for ever, as a proof and specimen of a truly imperial disposition. (158) Moreover, in the monthly divisions of the country, when the whole people receives money or corn in turn, he never allowed the Jews to fall short in their reception of this favour, but even if it happened that this distribution fell on the day of their sacred sabbath, on which day it is not lawful for them to receive any thing, or to give any thing, or in short to perform any of the ordinary duties of life, he charged the dispenser of these gifts, and gave him the most careful and special injunctions to make the distribution to the Jews on the day following, that they might not lose the effects of his common kindness.
Page 123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233
