The Works of Philo (complete)

And then, if he turns aside his eyes from those trees which admit of cultivation, and beholds in their turn poplars, and cedars, and pines, and ashes, and the lofty oaks, and the dense and unceasing masses of all the other wild trees which overshadow the most numerous and the greatest of the mountains, and the greater part of the border country wherever there is any deep soil, he will then know that the vigour of the earth, which is always young, is unremitting, unsubdued, and unwearied. So that since it is in no degree deprived of any portion of its former strength, if it had ever done so before, it would be bringing forth men now also, for two most forcible reasons, one in order that it might not quit the classification belonging to it, especially in the sowing and production of that most excellent of all the creatures which dwell upon the earth, the ruler of all, man, and secondly for the sake of giving assistance to women, who after they have conceived are for about ten months weighed down with the most severe pains, and when they are about to bring forth do very often die in the very pains of labour.

Is it not then altogether a terrible piece of stupidity to imagine that the earth contains any womb calculated for the production of men ? for the womb is the place which vivifies the animal, being as some one has called it the w-orkshop of nature, in which it fashions nothing but animals ; but it is not a portion of the earth, but of a female animal, carefully fashioned so as to be adapted for the production of living creatures, since otherwise it would be necessary for us to attribute breasts to the earth as to a woman, when it produces men and they are born, so that when first born they may have appropriate food.

But there is no river nor fountain in the whole habitable world which is said ever to have produced milk instead of water ; and in addition to this, as it is necessary that a child just born must be fed on milk, so also must he avail himself of the protection of clothing on account of the injury which ensues from cold or heat to children while they are being reared, on which account nurses and mothers, to whom the care of infants when just born is of necessity committed, wrap them up in swaddling clothes ; but if they were produced out of the earth, how would it be possible that, being left completely naked, they would not be at once destroyed either by the coldness of the air on the one hand, or the burning heat of the sun on the other ? for when great cold or great heat gets the mastery, it produces diseases and corruptions.

But after the inventors of fables once began to neglect the truth they then ventured to add to their monstrous stories the fiction that those men who sprung from seed were born also in complete armour ; for what smith, or what new Vulcan, was there under the earth so skilful as in a moment to prepare so many suits of armour? and what experience had creatures just born to enable them to use their weapons? for man is a very peaceful animal, nature having given to him reason as his especial honour, by means of which he charms and tames the savage passions. It would have been much better instead of arms to give him a herald's wand, a symbol of agreement and peace suitable to a reasonable nature, in order that he might so proclaim peace instead of war to all men everywhere.

We have now then discussed at sufficient length the nonsense in opposition to truth which is uttered by those who build up falsehood and fables. But we must be well assured that men have from all eternity sprung from other men in constant succession, the man implanting the seed in the woman as in a field, and the woman receiving the seed so as to preserve it, and nature by her unseen operations fashioning everything, and each separate part of the body and of the suul, and giving to the whole race of mankind that which each individual separately is unable to receive, namely, the principle of immortality ; for though the individual members are continually perishing, yet the race remains undying as a truly divine work. But if man, who is but a small portion of the universe, is eternal, then certainly the world itself must have been uncreated so as to be imperishable.

But Critolaus, in arguing in support of his opinion, brought forward an argument of this kind, — " That which is the cause to man of his being in health is itself free from disease, and, in like manner, the cause of his keeping awake must itself be sleepless ; and if this is the case, that which is the cause of his existing for ever must itself also be everlasting." Now the cause of man's existing for ever is the world, since it is so to all other things whatever ; therefore the world also is immortal. Nevertheless, this point also is worthy of one consideration : that everything which is born must by all means at the beginning be imperfect, but as time advances he must increase till he arrives at complete perfection, so that if the world was born it was at one time (that I may use the expressions appropriate to the ages of men) a mere infant, and subsequently increasing in periods of years and lapse of time, it at last and with great difficulty arrived at perfection, for of necessity the period at which that which of all things has the longest existence must be late.

But if any one fancies that the world has ever really been subjected to such changes as these, it is time that he should learn that he has been under the influence of incurable madness, for it is plain that if that is the case not only will its bodily appearance be increased, but its mind also will receive growth, since they who attribute liability to perish to it couceive it to be a rational creature. Therefore, just like a man, it will be devoid of reason at the commencement of its existence, but endowed with reason at the age when it is in its prime, which it is impious not only to say, but even to think, for how can we imagine the most perfect visible circumference which surrounds us, and which contains within itself so many individual inhabitants, is not always perfect both in soul and body, being exempt from all those evils in which everything which has been born and which is perishable is implicated '?

And in addition to this he says, that there are three causes of death to living animals, besides the external causes which may affect them, namely, disease, old age, and -want, by no one of which is the world liable to be attacked or subdued, for that it is composed of entire elements, since there is no part of them which is left out or which remains at liberty, so that any violence can be offered to it, and it also is superior to those powers from which diseases arise ; and they yielding keep the world free from all disease, and free from old age, and in a state of the most perfect self-sufficiency as to all its requirements, and without need of anything, since there is nothing wanting to it which can possibly contribute to its durability, and wholly exempt from all successions and alternations of fulness and emptiness, which animals being subject to by reason of their unregulated insatiability, bring upon themselves death instead of life, or, to speak more accurately, a life which is more pitiable than any destruction.

Moreover, if we saw that there was no such thing as any eternal nature to be seen, those who assert the liability of the world to destruction would not appear to be so guilty of disparaging the world without any excuse, since they would have no example whatever of anything being everlasting ; but since fate, according to the doctrine of those who have investigated the principles of natural philosophy most accurately, is a thing without any beginning and without any end, connecting all the causes of everything, as to leave no break and no interruption, why may we not in like manner also affirm of the nature of the world that it subsists for a great length of time, being, as it were, an arrangement of what is otherwise in no order, a harmony of what is otherwise wholly destitute of such harmony, an agreement of what is otherwise without agreement, a union of things previously separated, a condition of stocks and stones, a nature of things growing from seed and of trees, a life of all animals, the mind and reason of men, and the most perfect virtue of virtuous men ?

But if the nature of the world is uncreated and indestructible, then it is plain that the world is held together and powerfully preserved by an everlasting indissoluble chain.

But some of those who used to hold a different opinion, being overpowered by truth, have changed their doctrine ; for beauty has a power which is very attractive, and the truth is beyond all things beautiful, as falsehood on the contrary is enormously Si PHILO JUDiECrS. ugly ; therefore Boethus, and Posidonius, and Pansetius, men of great learning in the Stoic doctrines, as if seized with a sudden inspiration, abandoning all the stories about conflagrations and regeneration, have come over to the more divine doctrine of the incorruptibility of the world ; and it is said also that Diogenes, when he was very young, agreed entirely with those authors Since, therefore, the arrangement of the world is such as I have endeavoured to describe it, so that there is no part whatever left out, so as for any force to be applied, it has now been proved that the world will not be destroyed by any external thing, because in fact nothing whatever external has been left at all ; nor will it be destroyed by anything in itself on account of the proof which has already been considered and stated, according to which that which was obnoxious to the power of one of those causes was also naturally susceptible of the influence of the other.

XL And there are testimonies also in the Timseus to the fact of the world being exempt from disease and not liable to destruction, such as these : " Accordingly, of the four elements the constitution of the world receives each in all its integrity ; for he who compounded it made it to consist of the whole of fire, and the whole of water, and the whole of air, and the whole of earth, not leaving any portion or any power of any one of them outside, from the following intentions : — in the first place, in order that the whole might be as far as possible a perfect animal made up of perfect parts. And besides ail these things, he ordained that it should be one, inasmuch as there is nothing left out of which another similar world could be composed. Moreover, he willed tbat it should be exempt from old age, and free from all disease, considering that those things which in the body are hot or cold, or which have mighty powers, if standing all around and falling upon it unseasonably, would be likely to dissolve it, and, by introducing diseases and old age, cause it to decay and perish.

For this cause, and because of this reason, God made the whole universe to consist of entire and perfect elements, and exempt from old age and free from disease." Let this be taken as a testimony delivered by Plato to the imperishable nature of the world. Its uncreated character follows from the truth of natural philosophy ; for dissolution must of necessity attend everything which is born, and incorruptibility must inevitably belong to everything which is unborn ; since the poet who wrote the following iambic verse, " All that is born must surely die," * appears to have spoken very correctly when he asserted this connection of destructibility with birth. The argument may be stated in a diffei'ent way as follows.

All compound things which are destroyed are dissolved into the elements of which they were compounded ; accordingly, dissolution is nothing else but a return of everything to its original constituent parts ; just as, on the contrary, composition is that which eompek the things combined to come together in a manner contrary to their nature ; and indeed, this appears to be the most exact truth ; for men are composed of the four elements which together make up the whole of the universe, the heaven, the earth, the air, and fire, borrowing a few parts of each in a manner at first sight hardly consistent with nature. But the things which are thus combined together are necessarily deprived of a motion in accordance with nature ; for instance, warmth is deprived of its upward motion, and coldness of its downward tendency, the earthy and somewhat weighty substance being lightened and assuming the higher place, which the most earth-like of our own parts, the head, has obtained in us.

But of all bonds, that is the worst which is forged by violence, and which, being violent, is also shortlived ; for it is speedily broken by those who are bound in it, since they become restive from their desire for a motion in accordance with nature, to which they hasten ; for as the tragic poet says,f — "And for things sprung from earth, they must Return unto their parent dust, While those from heavenly seed which rise Are borne uplifted to the skies. Nought that has once existed dies, Though often what has been combined Before, we separated find, Invested with another form." And this law and ordinance is established with reference to f A fragment from the Chrysippus of Euripides. D a everything which is destroyed, that wherever composite things are existing in combination they are thrown into disorder instead of into the order in accordance with nature, which they previously enjoyed, and they are removed to situations opposite to those in which they were previously placed, so that they seem in a manner to be sojourners ; and when they are dissolved again, then they return to the appropriate parts allotted to them by nature.

But since the world has no participation in that irregularity which exists in the things which I have just been mentioning, let us stop awhile and consider this point. If the world were liable to corruption and destruction, it follows of necessity that all its parts would at present be arranged in a position not in accordance with nature : but it is impious even to imagine such a thing as this ; for all the parts of the world have received the most excellent position possible, and an arrangement of the purest symmetry and harmony ; so that each individual part, being content with its place as a native country to it, does not seek any change for the better. On this account it is that the most central position of all has been assigned to the earth, to which all things belonging to it adhere, and to which they descend again even if you throw them into the air : and this is a proof that their place is in accordance with nature ; for wherever anything is borne without any violence, and where it then remains firm and stationary, that is clearly its natural place.

And then, in the second place, water was poured over the earth, and air and fire have gone from the central to the upper part, air having received for its portion the region which is on the borders between air and fire, and fire having received the highest place of all : on which account, if you light a torch and press it down towards the ground, nevertheless the flame will still turn in a contrary direction, and lightening itself in accordance with the natural motion of fire, will rise upwards : if, then, motion contrary to nature is the cause of corruptibility and destruction in the case of other animals, but if in the case of the world every one of its parts is arranged in complete accordance with nature, having had appropriate positions allotted to each of them, then surely the world must most justly be pronounced incorruptible and imperishable. Moreover this point is manifest to every one, that every nature is desirous to keep and preserve, and if it were possible to make immortal, everything of which it is the nature ; the nature of trees, for instance, desires to preserve trees, and the nature of animals desires to preserve each individual animal.

But particular nature is of necessity unable to conduct what it belongs to to eternity ; for want, or heat, or cold, or innumerable other ordinary circumstances, when they affect particular things, shake them and dissolve the bond which previously held them together, and at last break them to pieces ; but if nothing resembling any of these things were lying in wait outside, then in that case nature itself, as far as it is possible, would preserve everything both great and small free from old age. It follows therefore of necessity, that the nature of the world must desire the durability of the universe ; for it is not worse than particular natures, so that it should run away and desert its proper duties, and attempt to produce disease instead of health, and corruption and destruction instead of complete safety, since, * " High over all she lifts her heauteous face, And towers above her nymphs with heavenly grace, Fair as they all appear." But if this be true, then the world cannot be capable of destruction. Why so ?

Because the nature which holds it together is itself invincible by reason of its exceeding strength and power, by which it gets the mastery over every thing else which might be likely to injure it ; wherefore Plato has well said :f — " For nothing ever departed from it, nor did anything ever come to it from any quarter ; for that was not possible ; for there was nothing in existence which could come ; for since it supplies itself with nutriment out of its own consumption, it also does everything and suffers everything in itself and by itself, and is compounded with the most consummate art. For he who created it thought that it would be better if wholly self-sufficient, than if in continual need of accessories from other quarters."

However, this argument also is a most demonstrative one, on which I know that vast numbers of philosophers Latona among her nymphs, t Timaeus, p. 33. c8 PHILO JTJMHJS. pride themselves as one most accurately worked out, and altogether irresistible ; for they inquire what reason there is for God's destroying the world. For if he destroys it at all he must do so either with the intention of never making a world again, or with the object of creating a second fresh one ; now the former idea is inconsistent with the character of God ; for it is proper to change disorder into order, and not order into disorder ; in the second place, it is so because it would give rise to repentance, which is an affliction and a disease of the soul. For he ought either never to have created a world at all, or else, if he judged that it was a fitting employment for him, he ought to have been pleased with it after it was made.

But the second reason deserves no superficial examination ; for if he were intending to make another world instead of that which exists at present, then of necessity this second world that would be made, in that case, would be either worse than, or similar to, or better than the first ; everyone of which ideas is inadmissible ; for if the new world is to be worse than the former, then the maker must be also worse : but all the works of God are without blemish, beyond all reproach and wholly faultless, inasmuch as they are wrought with the most consummate skill and knowledge ; for as the proverb says ; — " For e'en a woman's wisdom's not so coarse As to despise the good and choose the worse." But it is consistent with the character of, and becoming to God to give form to what is shapeless, and to invest what is most ugly with admirable beauty.

Again, if the new world is to be exactly like the old one, then the maker is only wasting his labour, and differs in no respect from infant children who, very often while playing on the sea shore raise up little mounds of sand, and then pull them down again with their hands and destroy them ; for it would have been much better than making another world exactly like the former, neither to take anything from, nor to add anything to, nor to change either for the better or for the worse, what existed originally, but to let it remain just as it was. If, on the other hand, he is about to make a world better than the former one, then the maker too must be better than the maker of the former world, so that when he made the former world he was inferior both in his skill and in his intellect, which it is impious even to imagine, for God is at all times equal and similar to himself, being neither capable of any relaxation which can make him worse, nor of any extension which can make him better.

Men, indeed, do admit of such inequalities in either direction, being naturally liable to alter either for the better or for the worse, and continually admitting of increase, and advance, and improvement, and everything contrary to these states ; and besides this, the works of us who are but mortal men may very appropriately be perishable, but the works of the immortal must in all consistency and reason be likewise imperishable, for it is natural that what is made should resemble the nature of the maker.

And, indeed, this I imagine is evident to every one, that if the earth were to be destroyed, then all land animals of every kind must also perish with it ; and if the water were destroyed, all aquatic animals must perish ; and in like manner if the air and fire were to be destroyed, all the animals which traverse the air or which are born in the fire must come to an end at the same time. Therefore, on the same principle, if the heaven is destroyed, the sun and moon will also be destroyed, and all the other planets likewise will be destroyed, and all the fixed stars, and all that host of gods visible to the outward senses which was formerly considered so happy ; and to imagine this is nothing else than to fancy the gods themselves in a process of destruction, for this is equivalent to considering men immortal.

And yet in a comparison between different objects devoid of honour, if you were to consider the matter, you would find it more consistent with probability to look on men as immortal than to believe that the gods are perishable, since it might happen through the grace of God, for it is not improbable that a mortal might receive immortality, but it is impossible for gods to lose their immortality even if the sophistries of mankind should run on to ever such a degree of wicked insanity. And, moreover, those persons who allege conflagrations and regenerations of the world, think and confess that the stars are gods, which nevertheless they are not ashamed to destroy as far as their arguments go ; for they are bound to prove them to be either red hot pieces of iron, as some do affirm, who argue about the whole of the heaven as if it were a pvisou, talking utter nonsense, or else to look upon thein as divine and godlike natures, and then to attribute to them that immortality which belongs to gods.

But as it is, they have wandered so far from true doctrine, that without being aware of it they have attributed corruptibility and perishableness to providence (and that is the soul of the world) by the inconsistent principles which they advocate. Therefore Chrysippus, the most celebrated philosopber of that sect, in his treatise about Increase, utters some such prodigious assertions as these, and after he has prefaced his doctrines with the assertion that it is impossible for two makers of a species to exist in the same substance, he proceeds, " Let it be granted for the sake of argument and speculation that there is one person entire and sound, and another wanting one foot from his birth, and that the sound man is called Dion and the cripple Theon, and afterwards that Dion also loses one of his feet, then if the question were asked which had been spoiled, it would be more natural to say this of Theon ;" but this is the assertion of one who delights in paradox rather than in truth, for how could it be said that he who had suffered no mutilation whatever, namely Theon, was taken off, and that Dion, who had lost a foot, was not injured ?

Very appropriately, he will reply, for Dion, who had had his foot cut off, falls back upon the original imperfection of Theon, and there cannot be two specific differences in the same subject, therefore it follows of necessity that Dion must remain, and that Theon must he taken off. " So are we slain by arrows winged With our own feathers," * as the tragic poet says. For any one, copying the form of this argument and adapting it to the entire world, may prove in the clearest manner that providence itself is liable to corruption.

Consider the matter thus : let the world be the subject of our argument, as Dion was just now, for it is perfect, and let the soul of the world take the place of Theon, who was original of the stanza in Waller's Ode to a Lady Singing — "That eagle's fate and mine are one, Who on the shaft that made him die, Espied a feather of his own, Wherewith he wont to soar so high." imperfect, since a part is less than the whole ; and as the foot was cut off from Dion, so also let everything which resembles a body be cut off from the world ; therefore it is necessary to say that the world has not been destroyed though its body has been taken away, just as Dion was not destroyed by having his foot cut off, but the soul of the world it is that has perished, like Theon, who suffered no artificial mutilation, for the world also receded to a lesser substance when all of it that resembled a body was taken away. And the soul was destroyed because there could not be two specific differences affecting the same subject. But it is impiety to say that providence perishes, and since it is imperishable it follows of necessity that the world also must be imperishable.

However, time also affords a very great argument in favour of the eternity of the world, for if time is uncreated, then it follows of necessity that the world also must be uncreated. Why so ? Because, as the great Plato says, it is days, and nights, and months, and the periods of years which have shown time, and it is surely impossible that time can exist without the motion of the sun, and the rotary progress of the whole heaven. So that it has been defined very felicitously by those who are in the habit of giving definitions of things, that time is the interval of the motion of the world, and since this is a sound definition, then the world must be co-eval with time and also the cause of its existence. And it is the most absurd of all ideas to fancy that there ever was a time when the world did not exist, for its nature is without any beginning and without any end, since these very expressions, " there was," " when,"

" formerly," all indicate time ; and keeping to this view, then, according to the theory of the conflagration* he at a late period of his life entertained doubts and withheld any positive opinion ; for it does not belong to youth, but to old age, to see clearly things of solemn importance which it is desirable to understand, and especially as to matters which it is not the outer sense, which is irrational and deceitfid, that determines, but the pure and unalloyed intellect.

But Boethus adduces the most convincing arguments, which we shall proceed to mention immediately ; for if, says he, the world was created and is liable to destruction, then something will be made out of nothing, which appears to be most absurd even to the Stoics. Why so ? Because it is not possible to discover any cause of destruction either within or without, which will destroy the world. For on the outside there is nothing except perhaps a vacuum, inasmuch as all the elements in their integrity are collected and contained within it, and within there is no imperfection so great as to be the cause of dissolution to so great a thing.

Again, if it is destroyed without any cause, then it is plain that from something which has no existence will arise the engendering of destruction, which is an idea quite inadmissible by reason ; and, indeed, they say that there are altogether three generic manners of corruption, one which arises from division, another which proceeds from a destruction of the distinctive quality which holds the thing together, and the third from confusion ; therefore the things which consist of a union of separate members, such as flocks of goats, herds of oxen, choruses, armies ; or, again, bodies which are compounded of limbs joined together, are dissolved by disjunction and separation. But wax, when stamped with a new impression, or softened before being remodelled so as to present a new and different appearance, is corrupted by a destruction of he distinctive quality which previously held it together. Other things are corrupted by confusion, as the medicine which the physicians call tetrapharmacon, for the powers of the drugs brought together and combined were destroyed in such a manner as to produce one perfect medicine of especial virtue. By which, then, of these modes of corruption is it becoming to say that the world is destroyed ? By that which is caused by separation ?

No, for it is not compounded of separate members so that its different parts can be dispersed, nor of portions joined together so that they can be dissolved ; nor is it united together in a similar manner to our own bodies, for they have the seeds of decay in themselves, and they are subject to influence of a great variety of things by which they are at times injured ; but the power of the world is invincible, since by its great superiority to other things it has dominion over everything. Is it then destroyed by a complete destruction of its distinctive qualities ? This again is impossible, for there remains, as the adversaries affirm, a quality of arrangement which by t the process of conflagration is only diminished to a lesser substance ... Is it destroyed then by confusion ? Away with such an idea, for in that case it would be necessary to confess that the corruption of a body can be reduced to a state of nonexistence. Why so? Because if each of the particular elements were destroyed separately, it would be possible for it to become changed into auother ; but if they are altogether destroyed at one and the same moment by confusion, then it would be necessary to imagine what is absolutely impossible.

Again, besides these arguments, if all things, say they, were destroyed by fire, then what will God have to do during all that time, except absolutely nothing? And is it not reasonable to say so ? For at present, he overlooks and presides over everything, and regulates everything like a genuine father, and if one is to say the truth, he guides and directs everything, sitting as it were by the side of the sun, and moon, and the other planets, and fixed stars, and also by the air, and the other parts of the world, and he co-operates with them in everything which can conduce to the durability of the universe and to its blameless management, in accordance with right reason.

But if everything is destroyed, then he will have an existence which will be rendered absolutely miserable, by inactivity and irremediable want of employment ; than which what idea can be more absurd ? I hesitate to add, what it would be impious to say, that death will ensue to God if absolute inactivity falls to his lot ; for if you take away the perpetual motion of the soul, then you will beyond all question also destroy the soul itself. And the soul of the world, in the opinion of those who maintain the opposite doctrine, is God.

Is it not however worth while to examine this question, in what mantier there can be a regeneration of all those things which have been destroyed by fire, and resolved into fire ? for when their substance has been wholly destroyed by the fire, it follows of necessity that the fire itself must also be extinguished as no longer having any nourishment. Therefore, as long as it remained the seminal principle of arrangement was likewise preserved, but when it is destroyed that principle is destroyed with it. But it would be impious, and an impiety of double dye, not only to attribute destruction to the world, but also to take away the possibility of its regeneration ; as if God delighted in disorder, and irregularity, and all kinds of evil things. But we must examine this question more accurately, in the following manner. There are three species in fire ; the coal, and the flame, and the light. Now coal is the fire in its earthy substance, which, like a sort of spiritual habit, couches and lies hid in a sort of cavern, pervading it all to its very extremities. And the flame is that part which, being raised on high, is lifted up from its fuel.

And the light is that which is emitted from the flame, so as to co-operate with the eyes, in order to enable them to comprehend what is seen. And the flame occupies the middle position between the coal and the light ; for when it is extinguished it ends in coal, and when it is kindled it excites the light, which, being deprived of its burning power, blazes. If therefore, we affirm that the world is dissolved by conflagration, it would not be coal, because, in that case there will be a great deal of the earthy substance left behind, in which also fire must necessarily be contained. But we must agree, that none of the other bodies subsist any longer, but that earth, and water, and air, are all dissolved into unmixed fire. Nor, again, would it become flame ; for that can only exist in connexion with nourishment ; and, if nothing is left behind, being deprived of all nourishment it will immediately be extinguished.

It follows from all this, that it cannot become light either ; for light by itself has no substance at all, but flows from the things before mentioned, coal and flame, not in a great degree from the coal, but very much from the flame ; for it is diffused over a very great space indeed. But if, as has been already proved, those things had no existence from the conflagration of all things, then there could not be any light either. For the abundant, and vast, and extensive brilliancy of mid-day, when the sun proceeds under the earth, is at once caused to disappear by night, especially if it be a moonless night. Therefore the world is not destroyed by fire, but is indestructible. And if it should be destroyed by tire, there could not be another created.

On which account some of the Stoics also, being gifted with a more acute discernment, and perceiving that they would infallibly be convicted, thought it well to be beforehand in preparing assistance as it were for a defunct proposition. But what they prepared was of no use ; for, since fire is the cause of all motion, and since motion is the beginning of generation, for it is impossible that anything whatever should be generated without motion, they said that before the new world began to be formed, when it was beginning to be fashioned, the whole fire would not be extinguished in that conflagration ; that they affirmed that some would still remain, but yet only a small portion. For they were exceedingly cautious, lest if it should be wholly extinguished, the consequence would be that everything would remain motionless and devoid of ornament, inasmuch as the cause of motion would no longer be in any existence. But all these ideas are the invention of quibblers, who employ all their artifices in opposition to the truth. Why so ?

Because it is impossible, as has been proved already, that the world, after it has been destroyed by conflagration, should become similar to coal, inasmuch as there is a vast quantity of earthy substance left in which the fire must of necessity lie in ambush. And perhaps too the conflagration could not prevail in every quarter, if the heaviest and most invincible of the elements, namely the earth, still remains, without being dissolved ; but it must of necessity change, either into flame or into light : into flame, as Cleanthes thought ; into light, as Chrysippus conceived. But if it becomes flame, then, when it approaches extinction, it will be extinguished all at once, and not partially or gradually. For the nutriment exists along with it ; on which account, while there is a great deal of it, it increases and is diffused ; but when it is stunted it becomes less. And any one might conjecture the truth of what takes place from what he sees happen among us.

A lamp, when any one pours oil upon it, gives forth a most brilliant flame ; but when any one ceases to supply it with that nutriment, and leaves only a small portion in the lamp, then the lamp is at once extinguished, and does not give out the smallest portion of flame. If again this is not the case, but if the world becomes light, then again it changes altogether. Why so ? Because it has no substance or character of its own, but is generated from flame, and when this is wholly and completely extinguished in all its parts, it follows of necessity that the light also must be extinguished, and that not partially, but altogether. For what flame is to nourishment, that also is light to flame. As therefore the flame is extinguished concurrently with the want of nourishment, so also is the light simultaneously with the flame, so that it is actually impossible for the world to be capable of regeneration, if there is no seminal principle lurking and kindled within it, but if all things are expended and destroyed, some by fire, and some by want. From all which arguments it is plain that the world is for ever uncreated aud imperishable.

Nevertheless, as Chrysippus says, some suppose that fire resolves all the arrangement of the universe when the elements are separated into itself, so that it becomes the seed of the world which is about to be made ; and suppose in consequence that, of all the ideas which he and his sect have entertained on the subject, none are falsified. Granting, in the first place, that generation proceeds from seed, and that all dissolution is a resolving back into seed ; in the second place, because it is argued by natural philosophers that the world is a rational nature, inasmuch as it is not only possessed of life, but is also endowed with intellect, and moreover even with wisdom ; by these arguments he establishes the contrary proposition to that which he intends, namely, that it will never be destroyed. But the proofs are ready at hand to those who do not fear to join in the investigation. Therefore the world resembles either a plant or an animal. But whether it is a plant or whether it is an animal, still, if it be destroyed by conflagration, it will never be itself its own seed.

And the circumstances which take place among ourselves bear witness that nothing, whether greater or less, when destroyed, has ever been separated in such a manner as to engender seed. Do you not see how many materials of plants susceptible of cultivation there are, and how many kinds of wild plants too are diffused over every portion of the earth ? Every one of these trees, as long as the trunk is in good health, together with its fruit, produces also a seed to propagate its species ; but becoming destroyed after a lapse of time, and being wholly withered, roots and all, it never becomes resolved into a ripened seed. And so too in the same manner the different, kinds of animals, which it is not easy even to enumerate by reason of their multitude, as long as they survive and flourish vigorously, produce a seed, which is calculated to propagate their species ; but when they are dead there is no longer any seed.

For it would be absurd for a man when he is alive to employ only the eighth part of his soul, which is called the generative power, for the propagation of a being like himself, but after he is dead to exert the whole of himself for the same purpose ; for death can never be more energetic or efficacious than life. And besides, there is no single existing thing which is brought to perfection by seed alone without its appropriate nourishment, For seed resembles the beginning, and the beginning by itself does not make perfect ; for beware of imagining that the ear of corn blossoms and ripens solely from the seed, which is cast by the husbandman on the ploughed field ; for in truth, dryness and moisture, the twofold moisture which is derived from the earth, co-operate in the greatest degree towards its growth. And so the creature which is fashioned in the womb is not permitted by nature to be brought to life and perfection by the seed alone, but also by the nourishment shed upon it from without, which the woman who has conceived supplies. "Why then do I say this?

Because in the case of such a conflagration as that of which I have been speaking, the seed alone will be left, there being no nutriment remaining, since everything which was to have supplied nutriment will have been resolved into fire ; so that the world, which would be to be formed, according to the principle of regeneration, will have a lame and imperfect form and character, since that which is chiefly required to co-operate towards its perfection, on which, as on a staff, the seminal origin ought to, and naturally does, lean, is destroyed ; but this would be absurd, as is shown, and made manifest from the clearest evidence.

Again, all those things which derive their origin from seed are of a greater magnitude than the seed which gives them their existence, and are seen to fill a more extended space ; for very often trees, whose tops reach to heaven itself, shoot up out of a very small grain of seed ; and the fattest and tallest animals grow from a very small quantity of moisture, which is laid as their foundation ; but there happens that which was mentioned a little while ago, that these, at the time nearest to their birth are very little, but that subsequently they keep on increasing in size till they arrive at complete perfection. But in the case of the universe the exact contrary will take place, for here the seed will both be greater and will also fill a larger space ; and the ultimate perfection at which the thing formed arrives will be smaller, and will appear in a smaller space ; and the world, originally derived from a seed, will not progress from a very small thing towards increase, but, on the other hand, will be diminished from a greater magnitude to a smaller ; and it is easy to see the truth of what is here said.

Every body, when it is resolved into fire, is dissolved, and melted, and diffused ; and when the flame which is in it is extinguished, it is then contracted and shrunk up to nothing ; but there is no need of arguments to prove a thing which is so clear, as if it were obscure ; and, indeed, the world, if consumed by fire, will become greater, inasmuch as all its essence will then be dissolved into the thinnest air; and it appears to me that the Stoics have foreseen this, and on that account have, in their arguments, assumed that a vacuum of infinite extent will be left abandoned on the outside of the world; that so, since it is fated to be subjected to a certain diffusion of boundless extent, it may not be in want of a place which may be capable of receiving that diffusion.

When therefore it has been extended and increased to such a degree, as to be very nearly equal to the infinite extent of the vacuum by the boundless and illimitable extension of its own diffusion, it then, according to them, is itself the principle of seed to itself; but when, according to a perfect regeneration of the parts, its entire substance* being contracted in the extinction of the fire into dense air ; but when the air again is contracted, and when it settles down into water, then again the water is still further condensed, so as to be changed into earth, which is the best of all the elements. But all these arguments are beyond the ordinary ideas of those who are able to consider and argue upon the consequences of these things.

However, besides what has been here said, any onemay use this argument also in corroboration of his opinion, which will certainly convince all those who are not determined to be obstinate beyond all bounds ; of those things which in pairs are exactly contrary to one another it is impossible that one thing should be, and that the other should not be ; for since there is white it follows as a matter of absolute necessity that there must also be black, and since there is a great there must likewise be a little ; since there is an odd there must inevitably be an even ; since there is a sweet there must be a bitter ; since there is day there must be night ; and so on in an infinite number of similar cases ; but if a conflagraThere seems a line or two lost here. tion should take place, then something would ensue which is impossible ; for then, of things in a pair, the one will happen and the other will not.

Come, now, let us consider the matter thus : if everything is resolved into fire, there is then something light, and rare, and warm ; for all these are the especial properties of fire ; but there can be nothing heavy, or cold, or thick, which are the opposites of the qualities which I have just enumerated. How then can any one more completely overturn the idea of the universal disorder which would be involved in such a conflagration than by showing that those things which by a law of nature must exist together, are by this process separated from their natural conjunction? And the separation has extended to such a degree, that those who maintain this doctrine attribute eternal durability to the one and deny any existence at all to the other.

Again, there is this assertion made by some of those who diligently employ themselves in investigating truth which appears to me to be a sufficiently felicitous one ; if the world is destroyed it will either be destroyed by some other efficient cause, or by God ; now there is certainly nothing else whatever from which it can receive its destruction, for there is nothing whatever which it does not surround and contain ; but that which is surrounded and confined within something else is manifestly inferior in power to that which surrounds and confines it, by which it is therefore mastered ; on the other hand, to say that it is destroyed by God is the most impious of all possible assertions ; for God is the cause not of disorder, and irregularity, and destruction, but of order, and beautiful regularity, and life, and of every good thing, as is confessed by all those whose opinions are based on truth.

But a person may very likely wonder at those who talk about conflagrations and regenerations, not only on account of the arguments which I have just been adducing, by which they are convicted of maintaining erroneous opinions, but also above all other reasons for this one ; for since there are four elements of which the world consists, namely, earth, water, air, and fire, why is it that they are to separate fire from all the others, and to affirm that all the others are dissolved into that one ? For some one may say, if it is necessary that they should all be resolved into one, why should they not be resolved into air, or water, or earth ? For these elements also contain powers of great magnitude ; but yet no one has ever said that the world was to pass away iuto air, or into water, or into earth ; so that it would be equally natural to deny that it is resolved into fire.

Moreover, it would have become them, perceiving the beautiful equality which exists in the world, to fear and to feel too great awe to venture to condemn so divine a thing to death : for there is a most admirable system of compensation existing in the four elements which arrange and dispense their vicissitudes by the rules of equality, and the definitions of justice ; for as the seasons of the year, in their proper alternations of revolutions, go through their regular cycle, completing their periodical changes without any cessation ; in the same manner suppose that the elements of the world in the course of their continual interchanges with one another (though it is a most paradoxical assertion), when they appear to be perishing are in reality being made immortal, passing over the same course again and again, so as to have their existence infinitely protracted.

Therefore the steep road begins with the earth ; for when it is wasted away it endures a change to water, and the water when it has evaporated is changed into air, and the air when rarefied is changed into fire ; but the downward road descends from the head, when the fire in consequence of the conflagration which ensues settles down into air, and again when the air being closely pressed settles down into water, and when the water by its copious effusion is condensed so as to be changed into earth. Heraclitus therefore spoke very correctly when he said that, " Water was the death of the soul, and earth the death of water."

For thinking that the breath was the soul, he indicates, by this figurative and enigmatical expression, that the end of air is the production of water, and again that the end of water is the production of earth ; and when he speaks of death he does not mean utter destruction, but a change into some other element ; that equalised proportion of the elements which is attempered by itself being thus preserved eternal and uninjured, as is not only probable but absolutely inevitable ; since what is unequal is essentially unjust, and injustice is the offspring of wickedness, and wickedness is banished from the abode of immortality. But the world is of a divine magnitude, and has been shown to be the abode of those gods which are visible to the outward senses ; and to affirm that this world is destroyed is the part of those who do not see the connection of nature and the united consequence and coherence of things.

But some of those persons who have fancied that the world is everlasting, inventing a variety of new arguments, employ also such a system of reasoning as this to establish their point : they affirm that there are four principal manners in which corruption is brought about, addition, taking away, transposition, and alteration ; accordingly, the number two is by the addition of the unit corrupted so as to become the number three, and no longer remains the number two ; and the number four by the taking away of the unit is corrupted so as to become the number three ; again, by transposition the letter Z becomes the letter H when the parallel lines which were previously horizontal £ are placed perpendicularly II, and when the line which did before pass upwards I, so as to connect the two is now made horizontal, and still extended between them so as to join them. And by alteration the word oivog, wine, becomes oigog, vinegar. But of the manner of corruption thus mentioned there is not one which is in the least degree whatever applicable to the world, since otherwise what could we say? Could we affirm that anything is added to the world so as to cause its destruction ?

But there is nothing whatever outside of the world which is not a portion of it as the whole, for everything is surrounded, and contained, and mastered by it. Again, can we say that anything is taken from the world so as to have that effect? In the first place that which would be taken away would again be a world of smaller dimensions than the existing one, and in the second place it is impossible that any body could be separated from the composite fabric of the whole world so as to be completely dispersed. Again, are we to say that the constituent parts of the world are transposed ? But at all events they remain in their original positions without any change of place, for never at any time shall the whole earth be raised up above the water, nor the water above the air, nor the air above the fire.

But those things which are by nature heavy, namely the earth and the water, will have the middle place, the earth supporting everything like a solid E 2 foundation, and the water being above it ; and the air and the fire, which are by nature light, will have the higher position, but not equally, for the air is the vehicle of the fire ; and that which is carried by anything is of necessity above that which carries it. Once more : we must not imagine that the world is destroyed by alteration, for the change of any elements is equipollent, and that which is equipollent is the cause of unvarying steadiness, and of untroubled durability, inasmuch as it neither seeks any advantage itself, and is not subject to the inroads of other things which seek advantages at its expense ; so that this retribution and compensation of these powers is equalized by the rules of proportion, being the produce of health and endless preservation, by all which considerations the world is demonstrated to be eternal.

Theophrastus, moreover, says that those men who attribute a beginning and destructibility to the world are deceived by four particulars of the greatest importance, the inequalities of the earth, the retreat of the sea, the dissolution of each of the parts of the universe, and the destruction of different terrestrial animals in their kinds ; and he proceeds to establish the first point thus : if the earth had never had any beginning of its creation, then there would have been no portion of it rising above the rest so as to be conspicuous, but all the mountains would have been level, and all the pieces of rising ground would have been even with the plain. For as there are such vast showers falling from heaven throughout all ages, it would be natural that of any places which were originally raised on high some would be broken down and washed away by torrents, and others would subside of their own accord and so become lowered, and that every place everywhere would be smoothed ; but now, as things are, the constant inequalities which exist, and the vast heights of many mountains, reaching up even to the sky, are so many proofs that the earth is not eternal.

For otherwise, as I have said before, all the earth would long since have been rendered level from one extremity to the other by the vast rains which would have falleu from the eternal commencement of time ; for it is the character of the nature of water, and especially of such as descends in a heavy fall from lofty places, to push some things away by force, and to cut out and hollow other places by its continual dropping, and in this manner to operate on the hard, rugged, stony ground not less than men digging. And again, the sea, as they affirm, is already somewhat diminished, and for proof of this fact we can appeal to the most celebrated islands, Rhodes and Delos, for these were in ancient times invisible, being overwhelmed by and sunk under the sea, but by lapse of time, as the sea gradually diminished, they by slow degrees rose above it and came into sight, as the histories which are written concerning them record. And they used to call Delos Anaphe, confirming the account here given by both names, since when it appeared above the waters * it became evident,f having been formerly invisible and unseen.

And in addition to these arguments they adduce the facts that many great and deep bays and gulfs of vast seas have been dried up, and have become land, and have so turned out no insignificant addition to the adjacent country when sown and planted, and on that soil there is still left plenty of proof of such spots having formerly been sea, in the pebbles, and shells, and other things which are commonly washed up on the sea-shore being found in them ; on which account Pindar says respecting Delos — " Hail, island raised by God, Chosen abode Of fair Latona's son with golden hair. Hail, ocean's youngest child, The last immoveable domain That o'er his bosom smiled. Upraised from beneath the billowy main Mortals may call you Delos, but the choir That dwells upon Olympus' height, Their chosen bards inspire To praise thee as earth's brightest, holiest light." % For Pindar has here called Delos the daughter of the ocean, intending by this enigmatical expression to convey the idea which I have mentioned.

But if the sea is gradually being diminished then the earth also will be diminished ; and in long revolutions of years every one of the elements will be entirely consumed and destroyed ; and the whole air will be t At/Xr], from which A/j\og is derived. J This ia part of an ode now lost. I consumed, being diminished by little and little ; and all things will be absorbed and dissolved into the one substance of fire.

And for the purpose of establishing the third alternative of this question they use the following argument : beyond all question that thing is destroyed all the parts of which are liable to destruction ; but all the parts of the world are liable to destruction, therefore the world also is liable to destruction. But we must now proceed to consider the question which we postponed till the present time. What sort of a part of the earth is that, that we may begin from this, whether it is greater or less, that is not dissolved by time ? Do not the very hardest and strongest stones become hard and decayed through the weakness of their conformation (and this conformation is a sort of course of a highly strained spirit, a bond not indissoluble, but only very difficult to unloose), in consequence of which they are broken up and made fluid, so that they are dissolved first of all into a thin dust, and afterwards are wholly wasted away and destroyed ? Again, if the water were never agitated by the winds, but were left immoveable for ever, would it not from inaction and tranquillity become dead ? at all events it is changed by such stagnation, and becomes very foetid and foul-smelling, like an animal deprived of life.

And so also the corruptions of the air are plain to everyone, for it is the nature of the atmosphere to become sick and to decay, and, as one may say, in a manner to die ; since what else is it which a man, who is not aiming at selecting plausible language, but only at truth, would call a plague except a death of the atmosphere, which diffuses its own disease and suffering to the destruction of everything which is endowed with life ? And why need I speak at great length concerning fire ? for if it is deprived of nourishment it is immediately extinguished, becoming, as the poets say, tame by its own natural qualities, on which account it depends upon, and is raised up by the duration of the fuel which is supplied and kindled, but when that is expended the fire also disappears. And they say that tbe dragous in India are exposed to the same' kind of fate, for that they crawl upon the greatest of all beasts, namely elephants, and creep over their backs and the whole of their bellies, and then, if they can find a vein, they divide that and drink the blood, sucking it insatiably, with a strong breath and a vigorous noise.

Meantime the elephants, though greatlydrained, and though becoming gradually exhausted, hold out for some time, leaping about in their perplexity, and lashing their sides with their trunks in the hope of being able to shake off the dragons. After a time, as the vital principle is continually becoming more and more exhausted, they are no longer able to leap about, but stand trembling and quivering, and after a little more time their legs become too weak to support them, and they are thrown down and die for want of blood.

And when they are fallen down those animals which were the causes of their death die with them in the following manner : since the dragons have no longer any nourishment, they attempt to loosen the bonds with which they twined themselves round the elephants, wishing now to get released from them, but they are pressed down by the weight of the elephants and crushed, and much more so when tbe animal has become a lifeless, hard, and stone-like substance ; for though they wriggle about and try every expedient in order to effect their release from the power of the animal which weighs them down, and by which they are entangled, though they have long practised themselves in every variety of wile, amid all kinds of difficulties and distresses, they at last become too weak to resist, like men who have been starved to death, or who have been caught by a wall which has suddenly fallen down upon them, and not being able even to lift up their heads they die of suffocation. If then, each of the separate parts of the world awaits utter destruction, it is plain that the world which is compounded of these can not be itself exempt from destruction. We must now consider with accuracy the fourth and remaining argument.

Thus they argue : if the world were eternal then the animals also would be eternal, and much more the human race, in proportion as that is more excellent than the other animals ; but, on the contrary, those who take delight in investigating the mysteries of nature consider that man has only been created in the late ages of the world ; for it is likely, or I should rather say it is inevitably true, that the arts co-exist with man, so as to be exactly co-eval with him, not only because methodical proceedings are appropriate to a rational nature, but also "because it is not possible to live without them ; let us therefore examine the dates of each of these, disregarding the fables invented by the tragedians about the gods : but if man is not eternal then neither is any other animal, so that then neither are the places which receive them, the earth, or the water, or the air ; from all which considerations it is plain that this world is liable to destruction.

But it is necessary to encounter such quibbling arguments as these, lest some persons of too little experience should yield to and be led away by them ; and we must begin our refutation of them from the same point from which the Sophists begin their deceit. They say, " There could no longer be any inequalities existing on the earth, if the world were eternal." Why not, my most excellent friends ? For other persons will come up and say that the natures of trees are in no respect different from mountains; but just as they at certain seasons lose their leaves, and again at certain seasons recover their verdure again ; (on which account there is admirable truth in those lines of the poet : — "

Like leaves on trees the race of man is found, Now green in youth, now withering on the ground ; Another race the following spring supplies ; They fall successive and successive rise." * And so in like manner some portions of the mountains are broken off, and others grow in their stead : but after a long lapse of time the additional growth becomes conspicuous because the trees having a more rapid nature, display their increase with great rapidity ; but mountains have a slower character, on which account it happens that the additions which take place in their case are not perceptible by the outward senses except after a long time.

And these men appear to be ignorant of the manner in which they are produced, since if they had not been, perhaps they would have been silent out of shame ; but still there is no reason why we should not teach them ; but there is nothing new in what is now said, neither are they our words but the ancient sayings of wise men, by whom nothing which was necessary for knowledge has been left uninvestigated ; when the fiery principle which is contained beneath, in the earth, is thrust upwards by the natural power of fire, it proceeds to its own appropriate place ; and if it meets with any respite or relaxation, though ever so slight, it draws up with it a large portion of the earthy substance, as much as it can ; and when it has emerged from the earth it proceeds more slowly ; but the earthy substance being compelled to follow it for a long time, being at last raised to an immense height, is contracted at the top, and at last comes to end on a sharp point imitatiDg the general appearance of the flame of fire ; for there arises then a most violent contention between two things which are natural adversaries, the lightest and the heaviest of things, each of them pressing onwards to reach its own place, and each striving against the violent efforts of the other ; accordingly the fire, which is drawing up the earth with it, is compelled to sink down by its descending power ; and the earth naturally inclining to the lowest point is nevertheless to a certain degree made light, and lifted up by the upward tendencies of fire, and so is raised on high, and being at last overpowered by the more influential power which lightens it is thrust upwards towards the natural seat of fire, and established on high.

Why then need we wonder if the mountains are not entirely washed away by the impetuosity of the rains, when so great a power, which keeps them together, and by which they are raised up, is very firmly and steadfastly connected with them ? For if they were released from the bond which holds them together, it would be natural for them to be entirely dissolved and to be dispersed by the water ; but since they are bound together by this power of fire, they resist the impetuosity of the rains more surely.

These things, then, may be said by us with respect to the argument that, the inequalities of the surface of the earth are no proof of the world having been created and being liable to destruction ; but with respect to that argument which was endeavoured to be established by the diminution of the sea, we may reasonably adduce this statement in opposition to it : " Do not look only at the islands which have risen up out of the sea, nor at any portions of land which, having been formerly buried by the waters, have in subsequent times become dry land ; for obstinate contention is very unfavourable to the consideration of natural philosophy, which considers the search after truth to be the chief object of rational desire ; but look lather at the contrary effects : consider how many districts on the main-land, not only such as were near the coast, but even such as were completely in-land, have been swallowed up by the waters ; and consider how great a portion of land has become sea and is now sailed over by innumerable ships."

Are you ignorant of the celebrated account which is given of that most sacred Sicilian strait, which in old times joined Sicily to the continent of Italy?* and where vast seas on each side being excited by violent storms met together, coming from opposite directions, the land between them was overwhelmed and broken away ; from which circumstance the city built in the neighbourhood was called Bhegium,f and the result was quite different from what any one would have expected ; for the seas which had formerly been separated now flowed together and were united in one expanse ; and the land which had previously united was now separated into two portions by the strait which intersected it, in consequence of which Sicily, which had previously formed a part of the mainland, was now compelled to be an island. And it is said that many other cities also have disappeared, having been swallowed up by the sea which overwhelmed them ; since they speak of three in Peloponnesus — " Mgira, and fair Bura's walls, And Helica's lofty halls, And many a once renowned town, With wreck and seaweed overgrown,"

Haee loca vi quondam, et vasta convulsa ruina Tantum sevi longinqua valet mutare vetustas, Dissiluisse ferunt, quum protenus utraque tellus Una foret : venit medio vi pontus, et uudis Hesperium Siculo latus abscidit, arvaque et urbes Litore diductas angusto intermit aestu. — ^En. iii. 419. Or, as it is translated by Dryden, " The Italian shore And fair Sicilia's coast were one before An earthquake caused the flaw ; the roaring tides The passage broke that land from land divides, And where the lands retired the rushing ocean rides Distinguished by the straits on either hand Now rising cities in long order stand, And fruitful fields ; so much can time invade The mouldering work that beauteous nature made." ■+ 'Prj-yioj', from pqyvvfii, "to break." as having been formerly prosperous, but now overwhelmed by the violent influx of the sea. And the island of Atalantes which was greater than Africa and Asia, as Plato says in the Timseus, in one day and night was overwhelmed beneath the sea in consequence of an extraordinary earthquake and inundation and suddenly disappeared, becoming sea, not indeed navigable, but full of gulfs and eddies.

Therefore that imaginary and fictitious diminution of the sea has no connection with the destruction or durability of the world ; for in fact it appears „to recede indeed from some parts, but to rise higher in others ; and it would have been proper rather not to look at only one of these results but at both together, and so to form one's opinion, since in all the disputed questions which arise in human life, a wise and honest judge will not deliver his opinion before he has heard the arguments of the advocates on both sides. XVII.

And as for the third argument, it is convicted by itself, as being derived only from an unsound system of questioning proceeding from the assertions originally made; for in truth it does not necessarily follow that a thing, all the parts of which are liable to corruption, is likewise perishable itself ; but this is only inevitably true of that thing of which all the parts are perishable when taken collectively and together in the same place and at the same time, since in the case of a person who has the tip of his finger cut off, he is not disabled from living, but if he had the whole collection of all his parts and limbs cut off at once, he would die immediately. Therefore in the same manner, if all the elements of the world together were all to disappear at one and the same moment, then it would be necessary to admit that the world was liable to corruption and destruction; but if each of these elements separately only changes its nature so as to assimilate to that of its nature, it is then rendered immortal rather than destroyed, according to the philosophical statement of the tragic poet — "

Nought that has once existed dies, Though often what has been combined Before, we separated find, Invested with another form." For it is the greatest folly imaginable to estimate the antiquity of the human race from the state of art ; for if any one were to follow the absurdity of such a system of reasoning as this, he will prove the world to be very young indeed, and to have been made scarcely a thousand years, since all those men whom we have heard of traditionally as the discoverers in different branches of science do not go back to a greater number of years than that which I have mentioned. But if we must speak of the arts as co-eval with the race of mankind, then we must speak, drawing our arguments from natural history, and not inconsiderately or carelessly. And what is this history ? The destruction of the things on the earth, not all together, but of the greatest number of them, is attributed to two principal causes, the indescribable violence and power of fire and water. And they say that each of these elements attacks them in its turn, after very long periods of revolving years.

When, therefore, a conflagration seizes upon things, a stream of ethereal fire being poured down from above is frequently diffused over them, overrunning many districts of the habitable world ; and when a deluge draws down the whole of the rainy nature of water, the regular rivers and torrents overflowing, and not only that, but even far exceeding the ordinary measure of a common flood, and breaking down their banks with their violence, or else overleaping them, and rising to an enormous height, from which they swell and are diffused over all the adjacent champaign country, and the land is in the first instance divided into huge lakes, as the water is continually settling down into the more hollow parts, and afterwards flows still higher, and inundates the isthmuses which separate the lakes, till at last everything presents the appearance of one vast sea from the union of so many waters.

And then it happens that, through the violence of these powers contending against one another in turn, the inhabitants of the places exposed to it are destroyed ; those who dwell on the mountains and higher ground, and in ill-watered districts, being destroyed by fire, as not having a sufficiency of water, which is the natural weapon with which to repel fire, and those, on the other hand, being destroyed by water who live on the banks of rivers or lakes, or on the shores of the sea, for evils like to attack those who are nearest first, or indeed solely. Accordingly, when the greater part of mankind is destroyed in the manners above mentioned, besides an infinity of other ways of less power and importance, it follows of necessity that the arts also must fail, for it cannot be possible to discuss science by itself without some one to reduce it to method and practice.

But when those common pestilences relax their fury, and when the human race begins again to recover vigour and to flourish, descending from those who have not been previously destroyed by the evils which pressed upon them, then the arts also begin again to exist, not indeed as they were at first, but in thinner numbers from the diminution of the numbers of those who practise them. I have now then set forth to the best of my ability what I have been able to learn or to understand concerning the indestructibility of the world, and in the subsequent treatises I shall proceed to show what may be said against each of the arguments here stated.

Flaccus Avillius succeeded Sejanus in his hatred of and hostile designs against the Jewish nation. He was not, indeed, able to injure the whole people by open and direct means as he had been, inasmuch as he bad less power for such a purpose, but he inflicted the most intolerable evils on all who came within his reach. Moreover, though in appearance he only attacked a portion of the nation, in point of fact he directed his aims against all whom he could find anywhere, proceeding more by art than by force ; for those men who, though of tyrannical natures and dispositions, have not strength enough to accomplish their designs openly, seek to compass them by manoeuvres. This Flaccus being chosen by Tiberius Caesar as one of his intimate companions, after the death of Severus, who had been lieutenant-governor in Egypt, was appointed viceroy of Alexandria and the country round about, being a man who at the beginning, as far as appearance went, had given innumerable instances of his excellence, for he was a man of prudence and diligence, and great acuteness of perception, very energetic in executing what he had determined on, very eloquent as a speaker, and skilful too at discerning what was suppressed as well as at understanding what was said.

Accordingly in a short time he became perfectly acquainted with the affairs of Egypt, and they are of a very various and diversified character, so that they are not easily comprehended even by those who from their earliest infancy have made them their study. The scribes were a superfluous body when he had made such advances towards the knowledge of all things, whether important or trivial, by his extended experience, that he not only surpassed them, but from his great accuracy was qualified instead of a pupil to become the instructor of those who had hitherto been the teachers of all other persons. However, all those things in which he displayed an admirable system and great wisdom concerning the accounts and the general arrangement of the revenues of the land, though they were serious matters and of the last importance, were nevertheless not such as gave any proofs of a soul fit for the task of governing ; but those things which exhibited a more brilliant and royal disposition he also displayed with great freedom.

For instance, he bore himself with considerable dignity, and pride and pomp are advantageous things for a ruler; and he decided all suits of importance in conjunction with the magistrates, he pulled down the overproud, he forbade promiscuous mobs of men from all quarters to assemble together, and prohibited all associations and meetings which were continually feasting together under pretence of sacrifices, making a drunken mockery of public business, treating with great vigour and severity all who resisted his commands. Then when he had filled the whole city and country with his wise legislation, he proceeded in turn to regulate the military affairs of the land, issuing commands, arranging matters, training the troops of every kind, infantry, cavalry, and lightarmed, teaching the commanders not to deprive the soldiers of their pay, and so drive them to acts of piracy and rapine, and teaching each individual soldier not to proceed to any actions unauthorised by his military service, remembering that he was appointed with the especial object of preserving peace.

Perhaps some one may say here : " Do you then, my good man, you who have determined to accuse this man, bring no accusation whatever against him, but on the contrary, weave long panegyrics in his honour ? Arc you not doting and mad ?" " I am not mad, my friend, nor am I a downright fool, so as to be unable to see the consequences or connexion of things. I praise Flaccus, not because it is right to praise an enemy, but in order to make his wickedness more conspicuous ; for pardon is given to a man who does wrong from ignorance of what is right; but he who does wrong knowingly has no excuse, being already condemned by the tribunal of his own conscience."

For having received a government which was intended to last six years, for the first five years, while Tiberius Caesar was alive, he both preserved peace and also governed the country generally with such vigour and energy that he was superior to all the governors who had gone before him. But in the last year, after Tiberius was dead, and when Caius had succeeded him as emperor, he began to relax in and to be indifferent about everything, whether it was that he was overwhelmed with most heavy grief because of Tiberius (for it was evident to everyone that he grieved exceedingly as if for a near relation, both by his continued depression of spirits and his incessant weeping, pouring forth tears without end as if from an inexhaustible fountain), or whether it was because he was disaffected to his successor, because he preferred devoting himself to the party of the real rather tban to that of the adopted children, or whether it was because he had been one of those who had joined in the conspiracy against the mother of Caius, having joined against her at the time when the accusations were brought against her, on account of which she was put to death, and having escaped through fear of the consequence of proceeding against bim.

However, for a time he still paid some attention to the affairs of the state, not wholly abandoning the administration of his government; but when he heard that the grandson of Tiberius and his partner in the government had been put to death at the command of Caius, he was smitten with intolerable anguish, and threw himself on the ground, and lay there speechless, being utterly deprived of his senses, for indeed his mind had long since been enervated by grief.

For as long as that child lived he did not despair of some sparks still remaining of his own safety, but now that he was dead, he considered that all his own hopes had likewise died with him, even if a slight breeze of assistance might still be left, such as his friendship with Macro, who had unbounded influence with Caius in his authority; and who, as it is said, had very greatly contributed to his obtaining the supreme power, and in a still higher degree to his personal safety, since Tiberius had frequently thought of putting Caius out of the way, as a wicked man and one who was in no respects calculated by nature for the exercise of authority, being influenced also partly by his apprehensions for his grandson ; for he feared lest, when he himself was dead, his death too would be added to the funerals of his family. But Macro had constantly bade him discard these apprehensions from his mind, and had praised Caius, as a man of a simple, and honest, and sociable character ; and as one who was very much attached to his cousin, so that he would willingly yield the supreme authority to him alone, and the first rank in everything.

And Tiberius, being deceived by all these representations, without being aware of what he was doing, left behind him a most irreconcileable enemy, to himself, and his grandson, and his whole family, and to Macro, who was his chief adviser and comforter, and to all mankind ; for when Macro saw that Caius was forsaking the way of virtue and yielding to his unbridled passions, following them wherever they led him and against whatever objects they led him, he admonished and reproved him, looking upon him as the same Caius who, while Tiberius was alive, was mild-tempered and docile ; but to his misery he suffered most terrible punishment for his exceeding goodwill, being put to death with his wife, and children, and all his family, as a grievous and troublesome object to his new sovereign. For whenever he saw him at a distance coming towards him, he used to speak in this manner to those who were with him : " Let us not smile ; let us look sad : here comes the censor and monitor ; the all-wise man, he who is beginning now to be the schoolmaster of a full-grown man, and of an emperor, after time itself has separated him from and discarded the tutors of his earliest infancy."

When, therefore, Flaccus learnt that he too was put to death, he utterly abandoned all other hope for the future, and was no longer able to apply himself to public affairs as he had done before, being enervated and wholly broken down in spirit. But when a magistrate begins to despair of his power of exerting authority, it follows inevitably, that his subjects must quickly become disobedient, especially those who are naturally, at every trivial or common occurrence, inclined to show insubordination, and, among people of such a disposition, the Egyptian nation is pre-eminent, being constantly in the habit of exciting great seditions from very small sparks.

And being placed in a situation of great and perplexing difficulty he began to rage, and simultaneously, with the change of his disposition for the worse, he also altered every tinner which had existed before, beginning with his nearest friends and his most habitual customs ; for he began to suspect and to drive from him those who were well affected to him, and who were most sincerely his friends, and he reconciled himself to those who were originally his declared enemies, and he used them as advisers under all circumstances ; but they, for they persisted in their ill-will, being reconciled with him only in words and in appearance, but in their actions and in their hearts they bore him incurable enmity, and though only pretending a genuine friendship towards him, like actors in a theatre, they drew him over wholly to their side ; and so the governor became a subject, and the subjects became the governor, advancing the most unprofitable opinions, and immediately confirming and insisting upon them ; for they became executors of all the plans which they had devised, treating him like a mute person on the stage, as one who was only, by way of making up the show, inscribed with the title of authority, being themselves a lot of Dionysiuses, demagogues, and of Lampos, a pack of cavillers and word-splitters ; and of Isidoruses, sowers of sedition, busy-bodies, devisers of evil, troublers of the state ; for this is the name which has, at last, been given to them.

All these men, having devised a most grievous design against the Jews, proceeded to put it in execution, and coming privately to Flaccus said to him, " All your hope from the child of Tiberius Nero has now perished, and that which was your second best prospect, your companion Macro, is gone too, and you have no chance of favour with the emperor, therefore we must find another advocate, by whom Caius may be made propitious to us, and that advocate is the city of Alexandria, which all the family of Augustus has honoured from the very beginning, and our present master above all the rest ; and it will be a sufficient mediator in our behalf, if it can obtain one vol. iv r boon from you, and you cannot confer a greater benefit upon it than by abandoning and denouncing all the Jews."

Now though upon this he ought to have rejected and driven away the speakers as workers of revolution and common enemies, he agrees on the contrary to what they say, and at first he made his designs against the Jews less evident, only abstaining from listening to causes brought before his tribunal with impartiality and equity, and inclining more to one side than to the other, and not allowing to both sides an equal freedom of speech ; but whenever any Jew came before him he showed his aversion to him, and departed from his habitual affability in their case ; but afterwards he exhibited his hostility to them in a more conspicuous manner.

Moreover, some occurrences of the following description increased that folly and insolence of his which was derived from instruction rather than from nature. Caius Csesar gave Agrippa, the grandson of Herod the king, the third part of his paternal inheritance as a sovereignty, which Philip the tetrarch, who was his uncle on his father's side, had previously enjoyed. And when he was about to set out to take possession of his kingdom, Caius advised him to avoid the voyage from Brundusium to Syria, which was a long and troublesome one, and rather to take the shorter one by Alexandria, and to wait for the periodical winds ; for he said that the merchant vessels which set forth from that harbour were fast sailers, and that the pilots were most experienced men, who guided their ships like skilful coachmen guide their horses, keeping them straight in the proper course. And he took his advice, looking upon him both as his master and also as a giver of good counsel.

Accordingly, going down to Dica;archia, and seeing some Alexandrian vessels in the harbour, looking all ready and fit to put to sea, he embarked with his followers, and had a fair voyage, and so a few days afterwards he arrived at his journey's end, unforeseen and unexpected, having commanded the captains of his vessels (for he came in sight of Pharos about twilight in the evening) to furl their sails, and to keep a short distance out of sight in the open sea, until it became late in the evening and dark, and then at night he entered the port, that when he disembarked he might find all the citizens buried in sleep, and so, without any one seeing him, he might arrive at the house of the man who was to be his entertainer. With so much modesty then did this man arrive, wishing if it were possible to enter without being perceived by any one in the city. For he had not come to see Alexandria, since he had sojourned in it before, when he was preparing to take his voyage to Rome to see Tiberius, but he desired at this time to take the quickest road, so as to arrive at his destination with the smallest possible delay.

But the men of Alexandria being ready to burst with envy and ill-will (for the Egyptian disposition is by nature a most jealous and envious one and inclined to look on the good fortune of others as adversity to itself), and being at the same time filled with an ancient and what I may in a manner call an innate enmity towards the Jews, were indignant at any one's becoming a king of the Jews, no less than if each individual among them had been deprived of an ancestral kingdom of his own inheritance. And then again his friends and companions came and stirred up the miserable Flaccus, inviting, and exciting, and stimulating him to feel the same envy with themselves ; saying, " The arrival of this man to take upon him his government is equivalent to a deposition of yourself. He is invested with a greater dignity of honour and glory than you. He attracts all eyes towards himself when they see the array of sentinels and body-guards around him adorned with silvered and gilded arms. For ought he to have come into the presence of another governor, when it was in his power to have sailed over the sea, and so to have arrived in safety at his own government?

For, indeed, if Caius did advise or rather command him to do so, he ought rather with earnest solicitations to have deprecated any visit to this country, in order that the real governor of it might not be brought into disrepute and appear to have his authority lessened by being apparently disregarded." When he heard this he was more indignant than before, and in public indeed he pretended to be his companion and his friend, because of his fear of the man who directed his course, but secretly he bore him much ill-will, and told every one how he hated him, and abused him behind his back, and insulted him indirectly, since he did not dare to do so openly ; for he encouraged the idle and lazy mob of the city (and the mob of Alexandria is one accustomed to great license of speech, and F 2 one which delights above measure in calumny and evil-speaking), to abuse the king, either beginning to revile him in his own person, or else exhorting and exciting others to do so by the agency of persons who were accustomed to serve him in business of this kind.

And they, having had the cue given them, spent all their days reviling the king in the publicschools, and stringing together all sorts of gibes to turn him into ridicule. And at times they employed poets who compose farces, and managers of puppet shows, displaying their natural aptitude for every kind of disgraceful employment, though they were very slow at learning anything that was creditable, but very acute, and quick, and ready at learning anything of an opposite nature. For why did he not show his indignation, why did he not commit them to prison, why did he not chastise them for their insolent and disloyal evil speaking? And even if he had not been a king but only one of the household of Caesar, ought he not to have had some privileges and especial honours? The fact is that all these circumstances are an undeniable evidence that Flaccus was a participator in all this abuse ; for he who might have punished it with the most extreme severity, and entirely checked it, and who yet took no steps to restrain it, was clearly convicted of having permitted and encouraged it ; but whenever an ungoverned multitude begins a course of evil doing it never desists, but proceeds from one wickedness to another, continually doing some monstrous thing.

There was a certain madman named Carabbas, afflicted not with a wild, savage, and dangerous madness (for that comes on in fits without being expected either by the patient or by bystanders), but with an intermittent and more gentle kind ; this man spent all his days and nights naked in the roads, minding neither cold nor heat, the sport of idle children and wanton youths ; and they, driving the poor wretch as far as the public gymnasium, and setting him up there on high that he might be seen by everybody, flattened out a leaf of papyrus and put it on his head instead of a diadem, and clothed the rest of his body with a common door mat instead of a cloak, and instead of a sceptre they put in his hand a small stick of the native papyrus which they found lying by the wayside and gave to him ; and when, like actors in theatrical spectacles, he had received all the insignia of royal authority, and had been dressed and adorned like a king, the young men bearing sticks on their shoulders stood on each side of him instead of spearbearers, in imitation of the body-guards of the king, and then others came up, some as if to salute him, and others making as though they wished to plead their causes before him, and others pretending to wish to consult with him about the affairs of the state.

Then from the multitude of those who were standing around there arose a wonderful shout of men calling out Maris ; and this is the name by which it is said that they call the kings among the Syrians ; for they knew that Agrippa was by birth a Syrian, and also that he was possessed of a great district of Syria of which he was the sovereign ; when Flaccus heard, or rather when he saw this, he would have done right if he had apprehended the maniac and put him in prison, that he might not give to those who reviled him any opportunity or excuse for insulting their superiors, and if he had chastised those who dressed him up for having dared both openly and disguisedly, both with words and actions, to insult a king and a friend of Caesar, and one who had been honoured by the Roman senate with imperial authority ; but he not only did not punish them, but he did not think fit even to check them, but gave complete license and impunity to all those who designed ill, and who were disposed to show their enmity and spite to the king, pretending not to see what he did see, and not to hear what he did hear.

And when the multitude perceived this, I do not mean the ordinary and well-regulated population of the city, but the mob which, out of its restlessness and love of an unquiet and disorderly life, was always filling every place with tumult and confusion, and who, because of their habitual idleness and laziness, were full of treachery and revolutionary plans, they, flocking to the theatre the first thing in the morning, having already purchased Flaccus for a miserable price, which he with his mad desire for glory and with his slavish disposition, condescended to take to the injury not only of himself, but also of the safety of the commonwealth, all cried out, as if at a signal given, to erect images in the synagogues, proposing a most novel and unprecedented violation of the law. And though they knew this (for they are very shrewd in their wickedness), they adopted a deep design, putting forth the name of Caesar as a screen, to 'whom it would be impiety to attribute the deeds of the guilty ; what then did the governor of the country do ?