As for ourselves, therefore, we neither inhabit a maritime country,
nor do we delight in merchandise, nor in such a mixture with other men
as arises from it; but the cities we dwell in are remote from the sea,
and having a fruitful country for our habitation, we take pains in cultivating
that only. Our principal care of all is this, to educate our children well;
and we think it to be the most necessary business of our whole life to
observe the laws that have been given us, and to keep those rules of piety
that have been delivered down to us. Since, therefore, besides what we
have already taken notice of, we have had a peculiar way of living of our
own, there was no occasion offered us in ancient ages for intermixing among
the Greeks, as they had for mixing among the Egyptians, by their intercourse
of exporting and importing their several goods; as they also mixed with
the Phoenicians, who lived by the sea-side, by means of their love of lucre
in trade and merchandise. Nor did our forefathers betake themselves, as
did some others, to robbery; nor did they, in order to gain more wealth,
fall into foreign wars, although our country contained many ten thousands
of men of courage sufficient for that purpose. For this reason it was that
the Phoenicians themselves came soon by trading and navigation to be known
to the Grecians, and by their means the Egyptians became known to the Grecians
also, as did all those people whence the Phoenicians in long voyages over
the seas carried wares to the Grecians. The Medes also and the Persians,
when they were lords of Asia, became well known to them; and this was especially
true of the Persians, who led their armies as far as the other continent
[Europe]. The Thracians were also known to them by the nearness of their
countries, and the Scythians by the means of those that sailed to Pontus;
for it was so in general that all maritime nations, and those that inhabited
near the eastern or western seas, became most known to those that were
desirous to be writers; but such as had their habitations further from
the sea were for the most part unknown to them which things appear to have
happened as to Europe also, where the city of Rome, that hath this long
time been possessed of so much power, and hath performed such great actions
in war, is yet never mentioned by Herodotus, nor by Thucydides, nor by
any one of their contemporaries; and it was very late, and with great difficulty,
that the Romans became known to the Greeks. Nay, those that were reckoned
the most exact historians (and Ephorus for one) were so very ignorant of
the Gauls and the Spaniards, that he supposed the Spaniards, who inhabit
so great a part of the western regions of the earth, to be no more than
one city. Those historians also have ventured to describe such customs
as were made use of by them, which they never had either done or said;
and the reason why these writers did not know the truth of their affairs
was this, that they had not any commerce together; but the reason why they
wrote such falsities was this, that they had a mind to appear to know things
which others had not known. How can it then be any wonder, if our nation
was no more known to many of the Greeks, nor had given them any occasion
to mention them in their writings, while they were so remote from the sea,
and had a conduct of life so peculiar to themselves?
Let us now put the case, therefore, that we made use of this argument
concerning the Grecians, in order to prove that their nation was not ancient,
because nothing is said of them in our records: would not they laugh at
us all, and probably give the same reasons for our silence that I have
now alleged, and would produce their neighbor nations as witnesses to their
own antiquity? Now the very same thing will I endeavor to do; for I will
bring the Egyptians and the Phoenicians as my principal witnesses, because
nobody can complain Of their testimony as false, on account that they are
known to have borne the greatest ill-will towards us; I mean this as to
the Egyptians in general all of them, while of the Phoenicians it is known
the Tyrians have been most of all in the same ill disposition towards us:
yet do I confess that I cannot say the same of the Chaldeans, since our
first leaders and ancestors were derived from them; and they do make mention
of us Jews in their records, on account of the kindred there is between
us. Now when I shall have made my assertions good, so far as concerns the
others, I will demonstrate that some of the Greek writers have made mention
of us Jews also, that those who envy us may not have even this pretense
for contradicting what I have said about our nation.
I shall begin with the writings of the Egyptians; not indeed of
those that have written in the Egyptian language, which it is impossible
for me to do. But Manetho was a man who was by birth an Egyptian, yet had
he made himself master of the Greek learning, as is very evident; for he
wrote the history of his own country in the Greek tongue, by translating
it, as he saith himself, out of their sacred records; he also finds great
fault with Herodotus for his ignorance and false relations of Egyptian
affairs. Now this Manetho, in the second book of his Egyptian History,
writes concerning us in the following manner. I will set down his very
words, as if I were to bring the very man himself into a court for a witness:
"There was a king of ours whose name was Timaus. Under him it came
to pass, I know not how, that God was averse to us, and there came, after
a surprising manner, men of ignoble birth out of the eastern parts, and
had boldness enough to make an expedition into our country, and with ease
subdued it by force, yet without our hazarding a battle with them. So when
they had gotten those that governed us under their power, they afterwards
burnt down our cities, and demolished the temples of the gods, and used
all the inhabitants after a most barbarous manner; nay, some they slew,
and led their children and their wives into slavery. At length they made
one of themselves king, whose name was Salatis; he also lived at Memphis,
and made both the upper and lower regions pay tribute, and left garrisons
in places that were the most proper for them. He chiefly aimed to secure
the eastern parts, as fore-seeing that the Assyrians, who had then the
greatest power, would be desirous of that kingdom, and invade them; and
as he found in the Saite Nomos, [Sethroite,] a city very proper for this
purpose, and which lay upon the Bubastic channel, but with regard to a
certain theologic notion was called Avaris, this he rebuilt, and
made very strong by the walls he built about it, and by a most numerous
garrison of two hundred and forty thousand armed men whom he put into it
to keep it. Thither Salatis came in summer time, partly to gather his corn,
and pay his soldiers their wages, and partly to exercise his armed men,
and thereby to terrify foreigners. When this man had reigned thirteen years,
after him reigned another, whose name was Beon, for forty-four years; after
him reigned another, called Apachnas, thirty-six years and seven months;
after him Apophis reigned sixty-one years, and then Janins fifty years
and one month; after all these reigned Assis forty-nine years and two months.
And these six were the first rulers among them, who were all along making
war with the Egyptians, and were very desirous gradually to destroy them
to the very roots. This whole nation was styled HYCSOS, that is, Shepherd-kings:
for the first syllable HYC, according to the sacred dialect, denotes a
king, as is SOS a shepherd; but this according to the ordinary
dialect; and of these is compounded HYCSOS: but some say that these people
were Arabians." Now in another copy it is said that this word does
not denote Kings, but, on the contrary, denotes Captive Shepherds,
and this on account of the particle HYC; for that HYC, with the aspiration,
in the Egyptian tongue again denotes Shepherds, and that expressly also;
and this to me seems the more probable opinion, and more agreeable to ancient
history. [But Manetho goes on]: "These people, whom we have before
named kings, and called shepherds also, and their descendants," as
he says, "kept possession of Egypt five hundred and eleven years."
After these, he says, "That the kings of Thebais and the other parts
of Egypt made an insurrection against the shepherds, and that there a terrible
and long war was made between them." He says further, "That under
a king, whose name was Alisphragmuthosis, the shepherds were subdued by
him, and were indeed driven out of other parts of Egypt, but were shut
up in a place that contained ten thousand acres; this place was named Avaris."
Manetho says, "That the shepherds built a wall round all this place,
which was a large and a strong wall, and this in order to keep all their
possessions and their prey within a place of strength, but that Thummosis
the son of Alisphragmuthosis made an attempt to take them by force and
by siege, with four hundred and eighty thousand men to lie rotund about
them, but that, upon his despair of taking the place by that siege, they
came to a composition with them, that they should leave Egypt, and go,
without any harm to be done to them, whithersoever they would; and that,
after this composition was made, they went away with their whole families
and effects, not fewer in number than two hundred and forty thousand, and
took their journey from Egypt, through the wilderness, for Syria; but that
as they were in fear of the Assyrians, who had then the dominion over Asia,
they built a city in that country which is now called Judea, and that large
enough to contain this great number of men, and called it Jerusalem. note
Now Manetho, in another book of his, says, "That this nation, thus
called Shepherds, were also called Captives, in their sacred books."
And this account of his is the truth; for feeding of sheep was the employment
of our forefathers in the most ancient ages note
and as they led such a wandering life in feeding sheep, they were called
Shepherds. Nor was it without reason that they were called Captives by
the Egyptians, since one of our ancestors, Joseph, told the king of Egypt
that he was a captive, and afterward sent for his brethren into Egypt by
the king's permission. But as for these matters, I shall make a more exact
inquiry about them elsewhere. note
