Axial Commons
Hebrew / Jewish
Not the men only, the very walls and floor seemed to sound forth; all things preferring dissolution rather than to see the place defiled.
Now was it that the high priest Simon bowed his knees over against the holy place, and spread out his hands in reverent form, and uttered the following supplication:
O Lord, Lord, King of the heavens, and Ruler of the whole creation, Holy among the holy, sole Governor, Almighty, give ear to us who are oppressed by a wicked and profane one, who exulteth in his confidence and strength.
It is thou, the Creator of all, the Lord of the universe, who art a righteous Governor, and judgest all who act with pride and insolence.
It was thou who didst destroy the former workers of unrighteousness, among whom were the giants, who trusted in their strength and hardihood, by covering them with a measureless flood.
It was thou who didst make the Sodomites, those workers of exceeding iniquity, men notorious for their vices, an example to after generations, when thou didst consume them with fire and brimstone.
Thou didst make known thy power when thou causedst the bold Pharaoh, the enslaver of thy people, to pass through the ordeal of many and diverse inflictions.
And thou rolledst the depths of the sea over him, when he made pursuit with chariots, and with a multitude of followers, and gavest a safe passage to those who put their trust in thee, the Lord of the whole creation.
These saw and felt the works of thine hands, and praised thee the Almighty.
Thou, O King, when thou createdst the illimitable and measureless earth, didst choose out this city: thou didst make this place sacred to thy name, albeit thou needest nothing: thou didst glorify it with thy illustrious presence, after constructing it to the glory of thy great and honourable name.
And thou didst promise, out of love to the house of Israel, that should we fall away from thee, and become afflicted, and then come to this house and pray, thou wouldest hear our prayer.
Verily thou art faithful and true.
And whereas thou didst often aid our fathers when hard pressed, and in low estate, and deliveredst them out of great dangers,
see now, holy King, how through our many and great sins we are borne down, and made subject to our enemies, and are become weak and powerless.
We being in this low condition, this bold and profane man seeks to dishonour this thy holy place, consecrated out of the earth to the name of thy Majesty.
Thy dwelling-place, the heaven of heavens, is indeed unapproachable to men.
But since it seemed good to thee to exhibit thy glory among thy people Israel, thou didst sanctify this place.
Punish us not by means of the uncleanness of their men, nor chastise us by means of their profanity; lest the lawless ones should boast in their rage, and exult in exuberant pride of speech, and say,
We have trampled upon the holy house, as idolatrous houses are trampled upon.
Blot out our iniquities, and do away with our errors, and shew forth thy compassion in this hour.
Let thy mercies quickly go before us. Grant us peace, that the cast down and broken hearted may praise thee with their mouth.
At that time God, who seeth all things, who is beyond all Holy among the holy, heard that prayer, so suitable; and scourged the man greatly uplifted with scorn and insolence.
Shaking him to and fro as a reed is shaken with the wind, he cast him upon the pavement, powerless, with limbs paralyzed; by a righteous judgment deprived of the faculty of speech.
His friends and body-guards, beholding the swift recompense which had suddenly overtaken him, struck with exceeding terror, and fearing that he would die, speedily removed him.
When in course of time he had come to himself, this severe check caused no repentance within him, but he departed with bitter threatenings.
He proceeded to Egypt, grew worse in wickedness through his beforementioned companions in wine, who were lost to all goodness;
and not satisfied with countless acts of impiety, his audacity so increased that he raised evil reports there, and many of his friends, watching his purpose attentively, joined in furthering his will.
His purpose was to inflict a public stigma upon our race; wherefore he erected a pillar at the tower-porch, and caused the following inscription to be engraven upon it:
That entrance to their own temple was to be refused to all those who would not sacrifice; that all the Jews were to be registered among the common people; that those who resisted were to be forcibly seized and put to death;
that those who were thus registered, were to be marked on their persons by the ivy-leaf symbol of Dionysus, and to be set apart with these limited rights.
To do away with the appearance of hating them all, he had it written underneath, that if any of them should elect to enter the community of those initiated in the rites, these should have equal rights with the Alexandrians.
Some of those who were over the city, therefore, abhorring any approach to the city of piety, unhesitatingly gave in to the king, and expected to derive some great honour from a future connection with him.
A nobler spirit, however, prompted the majority to cling to their religious observances, and by paying money that they might live unmolested, these sought to escape the registration:
cheerfully looking forward to future aid, they abhorred their own apostates, considering them to be national foes, and debarring them from the common usages of social intercourse.
On discovering this, so incensed was the wicked king, that he no longer confined his rage to the [Jews] in Alexandria. Laying his hand more heavily upon those who lived in the country, he gave orders that they should be quickly collected into one place, and most cruelly deprived of their lives.
While this was going on, an invidious rumour was uttered abroad by men who had banded together to injure the Jewish race. The purport of their charge was, that the Jews kept them away from the ordinances of the law.
Now, while the Jews always maintained a feeling of unswerving loyalty towards the kings,
yet, as they worshipped God, and observed his law, they made certain distinctions, and avoided certain things. Hence some persons held them in odium;
although, as they adorned their conversation with works of righteousness, they had established themselves in the good opinion of the world.
What all the rest of mankind said, was, however, made of no account by the foreigners;
who said much of the exclusiveness of the Jews with regard to their worship and meats; they alleged that they were men unsociable, hostile to the king's interests, refusing to associate with him or his troops. By this way of speaking, they brought much odium upon them.
Nor was this unexpected uproar and sudden conflux of people unobserved by the Greeks who lived in the city, concerning men who had never harmed them: yet to aid them was not in their power, since all was oppression around; but they encouraged the Jews by sympathizing with them in their troubles, and expected a favourable turn of affairs:
He who knoweth all things, will not, [said they], disregard so great a people.
Some of the neighbours, friends, and fellow dealers of the Jews, even called them secretly to an interview, pledged them their assistance, and promised to do their very utmost for them.
Now the king, elated with his prosperous fortune, and not regarding the superior power of God, but thinking to persevere in his present purpose, wrote the following letter to the prejudice of the Jews.
King Ptolemy Philopater, to the commanders and soldiers in Egypt, and in all places, health and happiness!
I am right well; and so, too, are my affairs.
Since our Asiatic campaign, the particulars of which ye know, and which by the aid of the gods, not lightly given, and by our own vigour, has been brought to a successful issue according to our expectation,
we resolved, not with strength of spear, but with gentleness and much humanity, as it were to nurse the inhabitants of Cœle-Syria and Phœnicia, and to be their willing benefactors.
So, having bestowed considerable sums of money upon the temples of the several cities, we proceeded even as far as Jerusalem; and went up to honour the temple of these wretched beings who never cease from their folly.
To outward appearance they received us willingly; but belied that appearance by their deeds. When we were eager to enter their temple, and to honour it with the most beautiful and exquisite gifts,
they were so carried away by their old arrogance, as to forbid us the entrance; while we, out of our forbearance toward all men, refrained from exercising our power upon them.
And thus, exhibiting their enmity against us, they alone among the nations lift up their heads against kings and benefactors, as men unwilling to submit to any thing reasonable.
We then, having endeavoured to make allowance for the madness of these persons, and on our victorious return treating all people in Egypt courteously, acted in a manner which was befitting.
Accordingly, bearing no ill-will against their kinsmen [at Jerusalem], but rather remembering our connection with them, and the numerous matters with sincere heart from a remote period entrusted to them, we wished to venture a total alteration of their state, by bestowing upon them the rights of citizens of Alexandria, and to admit them to the everlasting rites of our solemnities.
All this, however, they have taken in a very different spirit. With their innate malignity, they have spurned the fair offer; and constantly inclining to evil,
have rejected the inestimable rights. Not only so, but by using speech, and by refraining from speech, they abhor the few among them who are heartily disposed towards us; ever deeming that their ignoble course of procedure will force us to do away with our reform.
Having then, received certain proofs that these [Jews] bear us every sort of ill-will, we must look forward to the possibility of some sudden tumult among ourselves, when these impious men may turn traitors and barbarous enemies.
As soon, therefore, as the contents of this letter become known to you, in that same hour we order those [Jews] who dwell among you, with wives and children, to be sent to us, vilified and abused, in chains of iron, to undergo a death, cruel and ignominious, suitable to men disaffected.
For by the punishment of them in one body we perceive that we have found the only means of establishing our affairs for the future on a firm and satisfactory basis.
Whoever shall shield a Jew, whether it be old man, child, or suckling, shall with his whole house be tortured to death.
Whoever shall inform against the [Jews], besides receiving the property of the person charged, shall be presented with two thousand drachmæ from the royal treasury, shall be made free, and shall be crowned.
Whatever place shall shelter a Jew, shall, when he is hunted forth, be put under the ban of fire, and be for ever rendered useless to every living being for all time to come.
Such was the purport of the king's letter.
Wherever this decree was received, the people kept up a revelry of joy and shouting; as if their long-pent-up, hardened hatred, were now to shew itself openly.
The Jews suffered great throes of sorrow, and wept much; while their hearts, all things around being lamentable, were set on fire as they bewailed the sudden destruction which was decreed against them.
What home, or city, or place at all inhabited, or what streets were there, which their condition did not fill with wailing and lamentation?
They were sent out unanimously by the generals in the several cities, with such stern and pitiless feeling, that the exceptional nature of the infliction moved even some of their enemies. These, influenced by sentiments of common humanity, and reflecting upon the uncertain issue of life, shed tears at this their miserable expulsion.
A multitude of aged hoary-haired men, were driven along with halting bending feet, urged onward by the impulse of a violent, shameless force to quick speed.
Girls who had entered the bridal chamber quite lately, to enjoy the partnership of marriage, exchanged pleasure for misery; and with dust scattered upon their myrrh-anointed heads, were hurried along unveiled, and, in the midst of outlandish insults, set up with one accord a lamentable cry in lieu of the marriage hymn.
Bound, and exposed to public gaze, they were hurried violently on board ship.
The husbands of these, in the prime of their youthful vigour, instead of crowns wore halters round their necks; instead of feasting and youthful jollity, spent the rest of their nuptial days in wailings, and saw only the grave at hand.
They were dragged along by unyielding chains, like wild beasts: of these, some had their necks thrust into the benches of the rowers; while the feet of others were enclosed in hard fetters.
The planks of the deck above them barred out the light, and shut out the day on every side, so that they might be treated like traitors during the whole voyage.
They were conveyed accordingly in this vessel, and at the end of it arrived at Schedia. The king had ordered them to be cast into the vast hippodrome, which was built in front of the city. This place was well adapted by its situation to expose them to the gaze of all comers into the city, and of those who went from the city into the country. Thus they could hold no communication with his forces; nay, were deemed unworthy of any civilized accommodation.
When this was done, the king, hearing that their brethren in the city often went out and lamented the melancholy distress of these victims,
was full of rage, and commanded that they should be carefully subjected to the same (and not one whit milder) treatment.
The whole nation was now to be registered. Every individual was to be specified by name; not for that hard servitude of labour which we have a little before mentioned, but that he might expose them to the before-mentioned tortures; and finally, in the short space of a day, might extirpate them by his cruelties.
The registering of these men was carried on cruelly, zealously, assiduously, from the rising of the sun to its going down, and was not brought to an end in forty days.
The king was filled with great and constant joy, and celebrated banquets before the temple idols. His erring heart, far from the truth, and his profane mouth, gave glory to idols, deaf and incapable of speaking or aiding, and uttered unworthy speech against the Greatest God.
At the end of the above-mentioned interval of time, the registrars brought word to the king that the multitude of the Jews was too great for registration,
inasmuch as there were many still left in the land, of whom some were in inhabited houses, and others were scattered about in various places; so that all the commanders in Egypt were insufficient for the work.
The king threatened them, and charged them with taking bribes, in order to contrive the escape of the [Jews]: but was clearly convinced of the truth of what had been said.
They said, and proved, that paper and pens had failed them for the carrying out of their purpose.
Now this was the active interference of the unconquerable Providence which assisted the Jews from heaven.
Then he called Hermon, who had charge of the elephants. Full of rage, altogether fixed in his furious design,
he commanded him, with a quantity of unmixed wine and handfuls of incense [infused] to drug the elephants early on the following day. These five hundred elephants were, when infuriated by the copious draughts of frankincense, to be led up to the execution of death upon the Jews.
The king, after issuing these orders, went to his feasting, and gathered together all those of his friends and of the army who hated the Jews the most.
The master of the elephants, Hermon, fulfilled his commission punctually.
The underlings appointed for the purpose went out about eventide and bound the hands of the miserable victims, and took other precautions for their security at night, thinking that the whole race would perish together.
The heathen believed the Jews to be destitute of all protection; for chains fettered them about.
They invoked the Almighty Lord, and ceaselessly besought with tears their merciful God and Father, Ruler of all, Lord of every power,
to overthrow the evil purpose which was gone out against them, and to deliver them by extraordinary manifestation from that death which was in store for them.
Their litany so earnest went up to heaven.
Then Hermon, who had filled his merciless elephants with copious draughts of mingled wine and frankincense, came early to the palace to certify the king thereof.
He, however, who has sent his good creature sleep from all time, by night or by day thus gratifying whom he wills, diffused a portion thereof [now] upon the king.
By this sweet and profound influence of the Lord he was held fast, and thus his unjust purpose was quite frustrated, and his unflinching resolve greatly falsified.
But the Jews, having escaped the hour which had been fixed, praised their holy God, and again prayed him who is easily reconciled to display the power of his powerful hand to the overweening Gentiles.
The middle of the tenth hour had well nigh arrived, when the master-bidder, seeing the guests who were bidden collected, came and shook the king.
He gained his attention with difficulty, and hinting that the mealtime was getting past, talked the matter over with him.