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"Heroes, or the establishment of their Laws." Here, we see, the Historian expressly declares that MoSES in his writings employed no degree of fiction, so common in the practice of other ancient Lawgivers.

And how truly divine he supposed the Law, appears from his observing, in the same place, that, while the Jews religiously observed its Precepts, all things went well and prosperously; but that, whenever they transgressed, then nothing but disasters followed. And lest any one should pretend, he meant no more than that national happiness was the natural consequence of adhering to the Laws of their Country; or that those Laws, being founded on Just and Right, God (whose general Providence it is agreed he acknowledged) would reward the virtuous observers, whatever were the original of such Laws; lest, I say, this should be pretended, he adds, that these disasters followed whenever they transgressed the Law, though in pursuit of things just and good. His words are these: Upon the whole, what the Reader of this History may chiefly learn from it is this: That "those who obsequiously study the Will of God, "and reverence his well established Laws, pass their "lives in incredible prosperity; Happiness, the re"ward from God, ever attending their obedience. "But in proportion to their neglect of these Laws,

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* Ηδη τοίνυν τὰς ἐλευξομένες τοῖς βιβλίοις παρακαλῶ τῶν γνώμην Θεῷ προσανέχειν, καὶ δοκιμάζειν τὴν ἡμέτερον Νομοθέτην, εἰ τήν τε φύσιν αὐτῷ ἀξίως καλινόησε, καὶ τῇ δυνάμει πρεπέσας ἀεὶ τὰς πράξεις ἀνέθηκε, στάσης καθαρὶν τὸν περὶ αὐτῷ φυλάξας λόγον τῆς παρ ̓ ἄλλοις αἰσχέμοντα μυθολογίας· καίτοιΓε, ὅσον ἐπὶ μήκει χρόνο και παλαιότης, πολλὴν ἔχων ἄδειαν ψευδῶν πλασμάτων. γέγονεν γὰρ πρὸ ἐτῶν δισχιλίων,—ἐφ' ὅσαν πλῆθος αἰῶνος ἐδ ̓ αὐτῶν οἱ ποιηταὶ τὰς γενέσεις τῶν Θεῶν, μήτιγε τὰς τῶν ἀνθρώπων πράξεις, ἢ τὰς νόμες ἀνενε[κεῖν ἐτόλμησαν. Vol. i. pp. 3, 4.

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easy things become unsurmountable, and all their undertakings, how justly soever directed, end in "incurable calamities *." In which words, I take it for granted, he had the case of Saul particularly in his view. Again, so full was his persuasion of the Divinity of the Law, that he extols the Jews for suffering Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, to take their City by storm on the seventh day, rather than violate the Sabbatic rest. Agatharchides (says he) thinks this scruple worthy of contempt and laughter. But those who weigh it without prejudice, will see something truly great, and deserving of the highest commendations, in thus always preferring their Piety towards God, and adherence to his Law, before their own safety, or even the freedom of their Country †.

These passages, we see, have all the marks of a very zealous Believer. And what makes the greatest difficulty of all, is, that the very places in which the Historian uses such offensive latitude of expression, are those where he employs his utmost endeavours to shew the real Divinity of his Religion; of which these Miracles are produced as evidence; an evidence he studiously seeks, and seems to dwell upon witn pleasure.

This varying aspect, therefore, so indiferently assumed, creates all the embarras. But would men

• Τὸ (ύνολον δὲ μάλισά τις ἂν ἐκ ταύτης μάθοι τῆς ἱσορίας, ἐθελήσας αὐτὴν διελθεῖν, ὅτι μὲν τοῖς Θεᾶ γνώμη κατακολυθέσι, καὶ τὰ καλως νομοθελεθένλα μὴ τολμῶσι παραβαίνειν, πάλα κατορθῆται πέρα πίσεως, και γέρας εὐδαιμονίας πρόκειται παρὰ Θεῷ καθ ̓ ὅσον δ ̓ ἂν ἀπορῶσι τῆς τέτων ἀκριβῶς ἐπιμελείας, άπορα μὲν γίνεται τὰ πόριμα, τρέπεται δ' εἰς συμφορὰς ἀνηκέτως, ὅ, τι αοτ ̓ ἂν, ὡς ἀγαθὸν δρᾶν σπεδάσωσιν. Vol. i. pp. 3, 4

† Τέτο μὲν ̓Αγαθαρχίδη καταγέλων ἄξιον δοκεῖν τοῖς δὲ μὴ μετὰ δυσμενείας ἐξελάζεσι φαίνεται μέγα καὶ πολλῶν ἄξιον ἐγκωμίων, εἰ καὶ (πληρίας και πατρίδα ἄνθρωποί τινες νόμων φυλακὴν καὶ τὴν πρὸς Θεὸρ αὐσέβειαν ἀεὶ προτιμῶσιν. Vol. ii. p. 458.

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only do in this case what they ought to do in all, when they pass their judgment on an ancient writing, that is, consider the End, and Time, and Genius of the Writer, together with the Character of those to whom the work is addressed; they would find Josephus to be indeed a steady Follower of the Law, and a firm Believer of its miraculous establishment; and, at the same time, discover the easy solution of all those untoward appearances which have brought his Religion into question.

The case, with our Historian, stood thus: His Country was now in great distress; its Constitution overturned, and his Brethren in apparent danger of utter Extirpation; calamities arising as much from the ill will which the Heathens had entertained of their Religion for its unsociable nature, as for their own turbulent and rebellious Carriage. This ill-will had been much increased by their superior Aversion to Christianity, considered by them as a Sect of Judaism; which had carried its insociability as far, and its pretensions much farther: so far as to insist on the necessity of all Men's submitting to its dominion, and renouncing their own Country Religions as the Impostures of Politicians, or the Inventions of evil Demons. This put the Heathen world into a flame, and produced those mad and wicked Persecutions that attended the first Propagation of the Christian Faith. Such was the unfriendly state of things, when Josephus undertook an Apology for his Nation, in the HISTORY OF ITS ANTIQUITIES. Now as their conquerors' aversion to them, arose from the supposition that their Religion required the belief and obedience of all Mankind (for they had, as we observed, confounded Judaism with Christianity), to wipe off See note [I] at the end of this Book, † See Book I.

this invidious imputation, we must conclude, would be ever in the Author's thoughts. So that when the course of his History leads him to speak of the effects of GOD's extraordinary Providence in his conduct of this People, he sometimes adds to his relation of a miraculous adventure, but in this every Man may believe as he pleases. A declaration merely to this effect: "The "Jewish Religion was given by GOD for the use of "his chosen People, therefore the Gentiles might "believe as they pleased. The Jews did not pretend

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they should leave their own Country Religion to "embrace theirs *: That in this they were different "from the Christian Sect, which required all Mankind to follow the Faith of a crucified Saviour under pain "of total destruction †. But that yet they were not

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so unhospitable, but that they received with open arms "all who were willing to worship one God the Creator "of the Universe t." Thus we see how it came to pass (which was the main difficulty), that the places where he gives such a latitude of Belief, are those very places where he most labours to prove the Divinity of his Religion.

But this solution clears up all difficulties, and shews the Historian's great consistency, as well as artful address, throughout the whole work. Josephus professes the most awful regard to the sacred Volumes; and yet, at the same time, takes such liberties of going from their authority, that it provoked the honest resentment of a late excellent Writer § to the following asperities: "Nec levis sit suspicio illum Hebraice

See note [K] at the end of this Book.

+ See note [L] at the end of this Book. † - καὶ τύτο μόνον εἶναι κοινὸν, εἰ βέλονται, πρὸς αὐτὸς καὶ πᾶσιν ἀνθρωποις, ἀφικνυμένοις εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν σέβειν τὸν Θεόν. Vol. i. p. 556. § Bishop Hare.

VOL. V.

K

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"non seivisse, cum multis indiciis linguæ ejus impe"ritiam prodat. Quivis certe, cui vel mica salis est, "sentiat illum Historias Sacras pro arbitrio interpo

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lasse, demendo, addendo, immutando, ut Antiqui"tates suas ad Lectoruin Græcorum & Romanorum "palatum accommodaret." But this license, though surely to be condemned, was however something more legitimate and sober than is generally supposed; his deviation from Scripture being in those places only, where an exact adherence to it would have increased that general aversion to his Nation, whose effects were at that time so much to be dreaded, either as exposing the perverse nature of the People, or the unsociable genius of their Religion. To give an instance or two of each:

1. The murmuring of the Israelites, for bread and flesh in the Wilderness, is represented in Scripturé, and justly*, as an act of horrid ingratitude towards God. Yet Josephus makes Moses own they had reason for their complaints †. And in the execrable behaviour of the Men of Gibeah to the Levite and his wife, though Scripture expressly says they attempted a more unnatural crime than adultery, yet the Historian passes this over in silence, and makes all the personal outrage attempted, as well as committed, to be offered to the woman. The reader will now easily account for what Mr. Whiston could not, his Author's omission of the story of the golden Calf §. For this was so amazing a perversity, at that juncture, that it must have made the very Pagans themselves ashamed of their Jewish brethren in idolatry.

Exod. xvi.

† παθεῖν δ ̓ ἐκ ἀλόγως αὐτὸς διὰ τὴν ἀνάγκην τἔτο νομίσας, Antiq. Jud. 1. iii. c. 1. §5.

Ant. Jud. 1. v. c. 2. § 8.

See note [M] at the end of this Book.

2. Again,

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