Job 33:29-30

Lo, all these things doth God work, Twice, yea thrice, with a man,
To bring back his soul from the pit, That he may be enlightened with the light o
f the living.
----------Philo
*
This study examines Philo of Alexandria s position on the doctrine of reincarnatio
n. The usual view among theologians since the 17th century was that he endorsed
the tenet. Since the 19th century, the issue has divided those scholars who have
taken a stance on the matter into two groups whose answers to the question are
mutually exclusive. What connects these groups, however, is that their views hav
e not been based on research dedicated specifically to this issue. This work fil
ls the gap.
Philo s references to the post-mortem fate of imperfect souls are very rare, which
necessitates taking into account all available indirect evidence, i.e., his ant
hropological, ethical and soteriological views more broadly. These views are in
this study found to be such that
in spite of the occasional expression where an
anti-reincarnational interpretation seems possible
they are well able to accommo
date the doctrine of reincarnation. Philo s dualistic view on the human being, his
wholly immaterial understanding of salvation as well as his reliance on Plato s v
iews and the use of the latter s reincarnational texts all testify to this.
Four passages are examined as direct evidence: Somn. 1.137 139, Cher. 114, QE 2.40
and fragment 7.3 in the collection of Harris. For each of them the conclusion i
s that Philo speaks of reincarnation, and does so with approval. Thus, the resul
ts of the examination of both the indirect and direct evidence coincide and lead
to the conclusion that Philo embraced reincarnation.
In the final part of the study, this conclusion is applied to a significantly la
rger number of Philonic texts in order to make observations about the ways in wh
ich Philo writes about reincarnation. Veiled references to the tenet are found t
o form an organic part of an extensive network of interrelated terms, concepts,
notions and images which he uses to characterize the journey of the soul back to
incorporeal, eternal existence with God through its own toil and God s grace.
--------THE CHERUBIM - XXXII. (113) Thus, therefore, putting all these things together,
God appropriated the dominion over them all to himself, but the use and enjoymen
t of themselves and of each other he allowed to those who are subject to him; fo
r we have the complete use of our own faculties and of everything which affects
us: I therefore, consisting of soul and body, and appearing to have a mind, and
reason, and outward sense, find that not one of all these things is my own prope
rty. (114) For where was my body before my birth? and where will it go when I am
departed? And what becomes of the differences of age of that being which at pre
sent appears to exist? Where is now the infant?--where the child?--where the boy
?--where the youth just arriving at the age of puberty?--where the young man?--w
here is he now whose beard is just budding, the vigorous and perfect man? Whence
came the soul, and whither will it go? and how long will it remain with us? and
what is its essence, or what may we speak of as such? Moreover, when did we acq
uire it? Was it before our birth?--But then we ourselves did not exist. Shall we
have it after our death?--But then we shall not exist, we who are now a combina
tion of distinctive qualities in combination with our bodies; but rather we shal
l then be hastening to a regeneration, becoming in combination with incorporeal
beings: (115) and now, when we are alive we are governed rather than governing,
and we are understood ourselves rather than understanding anything else; for our
soul understands us without being understood by us, and it imposes commands upo
n us which we are necessitated to obey, as servants are compelled to obey a mist

ress; and whenever it chooses to abandon us and to depart to the Ruler of all th
ings, it will depart, leaving our house destitute of life. And even if we attemp
t to compel it to remain, it will disappear; for its nature is composed of unsub
stantial parts, such as afford no handle to the body.
On Dreams
XXII. (1.133) Such then may be said, by way of preface, to the discussion of tha
t description of visions which are sent from God. But it is time now to turn to
the subject itself, and to investigate, with accuracy, every portion of it. The
scripture therefore says, "And he dreamed a dream. And behold a ladder was plant
ed firmly on the ground, the head of which reached to heaven, and the angels of
God were ascending and descending along It."{35}{#ge 28:12.} (1.134) By the ladd
er in this thing, which is called the world, is figuratively understood the air,
the foundation of which is the earth, and the head is the heaven; for the large
interior space, which being extended in every direction, reaches from the orb o
f the moon, which is described as the most remote of the order in heaven, but th
e nearest to us by those who contemplate sublime objects, down to the earth, whi
ch is the lowest of such bodies, is the air. (1.135) This air is the abode of in
corporeal souls, since it seemed good to the Creator of the universe to fill all
the parts of the world with living creatures. On this account he prepared the t
errestrial animals for the earth, the aquatic animals for the sea and for the ri
vers, and the stars for the heaven; for every one of these bodies is not merely
a living animal, but is also properly described as the very purest and most univ
ersal mind extending through the universe; so that there are living creatures in
that other section of the universe, the air. And if these things are not compre
hensible by the outward senses, what of that? For the soul is also invisible. (1
.136) And yet it is probable that the air should nourish living animals even mor
e than the land or the water. Why so? Because it is the air which has given vita
lity to those animals which live on the earth and in the water. For the Creator
of the universe formed the air so that it should be the habit of those bodies wh
ich are immovable, and the nature of those which are moved in an invisible manne
r, and the soul of such as are able to exert an impetus and visible sense of the
ir own. (1.137) Is it not then absurd that that element, by means of which the o
ther elements have been filled with vitality, should itself be destitute of livi
ng things? Therefore let no one deprive the most excellent nature of living crea
tures of the most excellent of those elements which surrounds the earth; that is
to say, of the air. For not only is it not alone deserted by all things besides
, but rather, like a populous city, it is full of imperishable and immortal citi
zens, souls equal in number to the stars. (1.138) Now of these souls some descen
d upon the earth with a view to be bound up in mortal bodies, those namely which
are most nearly connected with the earth, and which are lovers of the body. But
some soar upwards, being again distinguished according to the definitions and t
imes which have been appointed by nature. (1.139) Of these, those which are infl
uenced by a desire for mortal life, and which have been familiarised to it, agai
n return to it. But others, condemning the body of great folly and trifling, hav
e pronounced it a prison and a grave, and, flying from it as from a house of cor
rection or a tomb, have raised themselves aloft on light wings towards the aethe
r, and have devoted their whole lives to sublime speculations. (1.140) There are
others, again, the purest and most excellent of all, which have received greate
r and more divine intellects, never by any chance desiring any earthly thing wha
tever, but being as it were lieutenants of the Ruler of the universe, as though
they were the eyes and ears of the great king, beholding and listening to everyt
hing. (1.141) Now philosophers in general are wont to call these demons, but the
sacred scripture calls them angels, using a name more in accordance with nature
. For indeed they do report (diangellousi) the injunctions of the father to his
children, and the necessities of the children to the father. (1.142) And it is i
n reference to this employment of theirs that the holy scripture has represented
them as ascending and descending, not because God, who knows everything before

any other being, has any need of interpreters; but because it is the lot of us m
iserable mortals to use speech as a mediator and intercessor; because of our sta
nding in awe of and fearing the Ruler of the universe, and the all-powerful migh
t of his authority; (1.143) having received a notion of which he once entreated
one of those mediators, saying: "Do thou speak for us, and let not God speak to
us, lest we Die."{36}{#ex 20:19.} For not only are we unable to endure his chast
isements, but we cannot bear even his excessive and unmodified benefits, which h
e himself proffers us of his own accord, without employing the ministrations of
any other beings. (1.144) Very admirably therefore does Moses represent the air
under the figurative symbol of a ladder, as planted solidly in the earth and rea
ching up to heaven. For it comes to pass that the evaporations which are given f
orth by the earth becoming rarefied, are dissolved into air, so that the earth i
s the foundation and root of the air, and that the heaven is its head. (1.145) A
ccordingly it is said that the moon is not an unadulterated consolidation of pur
e aether, as each of the other stars is, but is rather a combination of the aeth
er-like and air-like essence. For the black spot which appears in it, which some
call a face, is nothing else but the air mingled with it, which is by nature bl
ack, and which extends as far as heaven.
------------Bahir, 195
195. Why is there a righteous person who has good, and [another] righteous perso
n who has evil?
This is because the [second] righteous person was wicked previously, and is now
being punished.
Is one then punished for his childhood deeds? Did not Rabbi Simon say that in th
e Tribunal on high, no punishment is meted out until one is twenty years or olde
r.
He said: I am not speaking of his present lifetime. I am speaking about what he
has already been, previously.
His colleagues said to him: How long will you conceal your words?
He replied: Go out and see. What is this like? A person planted a vineyard and h
oped to grow grapes, but instead, sour grapes grew. He saw that his planting and
harvest were not successful so he tore it out. He cleaned out the sour grape vi
nes and planted again. When he saw that his planting was not successful, he tore
it up and planted it again.
How many times?
He said to them: For a thousand generations. It is thus written (Psalm 105:8),
e word that He commanded for a thousand generations.

Th

It is in relation to this that they said, Lacking were 974 generations. The Bless
ed Holy One stood up and planted them in each generation.
Zohar
All souls are subject to transmigration; and men do not know the ways of the Hol
y One, blessed be He! They do not know that they are brought before the tribunal
both before they enter into this world and after they leave it; they are ignora
nt of the many transmigrations and secret probations which they have to undergo,
and of the number of souls and spirits which enter into this world and which do
not return to the palace of the Heavenly King. Men do not know how the souls re
volve like a stone which is thrown from a sling. But the time is at hand when th

ese mysteries will be disclosed. (Zohar, ii. 99b, quoted in Jewish Encyclopedia,
Transmigration of Souls )
Gershom Scholem
The Bahir does not know the idea of a migration into animal bodies or into any b
ut human forms of existence. The doctrine of the transmigration of souls appeare
d as an answer to the question of theodicy. (Origins of the Kabbalah, 188)
--------------------------------Josephus is well known to Christian apologists.
In his Antiquity of the Jews (Book i8, Chap. 1, No.2), Josephus states that ther
e were three sects of philosophy amongst the Jews: the Essenes, the Pharisees, a
nd the Sadducees. The doctrine of the Sadducees was that souls die with the bodi
es, but both the Essenes and the Pharisees, he affirms, believed in rebirth.

--------------Antiquities of the Jews - Book XVIII - CHAPTER 1, 3

Antiquities of the Jews - Book XVIII - CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF THIRTY-TWO YEA
RS.
FROM THE BANISHMENT OF ARCHELUS TO THE DEPARTURE FROM BABYLON. CHAPTER 1.
2. The Jews had for a great while had three sects of philosophy peculiar to them
selves; the sect of the Essens, and the sect of the Sadducees, and the third sor
t of opinions was that of those called Pharisees; of which sects, although I hav
e already spoken in the second book of the Jewish War, yet will I a little touch
upon them now.
3. Now, for the Pharisees, they live meanly, and despise delicacies in diet; and
they follow the conduct of reason; and what that prescribes to them as good for
them they do; and they think they ought earnestly to strive to observe reason's
dictates for practice. They also pay a respect to such as are in years; nor are
they so bold as to contradict them in any thing which they have introduced; and
when they determine that all things are done by fate, they do not take away the
freedom from men of acting as they think fit; since their notion is, that it ha
th pleased God to make a temperament, whereby what he wills is done, but so that
the will of man can act virtuously or viciously. They also believe that souls h
ave an immortal rigor in them, and that under the earth there will be rewards or
punishments, according as they have lived virtuously or viciously in this life;
and the latter are to be detained in an everlasting prison, but that the former
shall have power to revive and live again; on account of which doctrines they a
re able greatly to persuade the body of the people; and whatsoever they do about
Divine worship, prayers, and sacrifices, they perform them according to their d
irection; insomuch that the cities give great attestations to them on account of
their entire virtuous conduct, both in the actions of their lives and their dis
courses also.
------------------Flavius Josephus - The Wars Of The Jews Or The History Of The Destruction Of Jer
usalem

Book II - CHAPTER 8.
ARCHELAUS'S ETHNARCHY IS REDUCED INTO A [ROMAN] PROVINCE. THE SEDITION OF JUDAS
OF GALILEE. THE THREE SECTS.
1. AND now Archelaus's part of Judea was reduced into a province, and Coponius,
one of the equestrian order among the Romans, was sent as a procurator, having t
he power of [life and] death put into his hands by Caesar. Under his administrat
ion it was that a certain Galilean, whose name was Judas, prevailed with his cou
ntrymen to revolt, and said they were cowards if they would endure to pay a tax
to the Romans and would after God submit to mortal men as their lords. This man
was a teacher of a peculiar sect of his own, and was not at all like the rest of
those their leaders.
2. For there are three philosophical sects among the Jews. The followers of the
first of which are the Pharisees; of the second, the Sadducees; and the third se
ct, which pretends to a severer discipline, are called Essens. These last are Je
ws by birth, and seem to have a greater affection for one another than the other
sects have. These Essens reject pleasures as an evil, but esteem continence, an
d the conquest over our passions, to be virtue. They neglect wedlock, but choose
out other persons children, while they are pliable, and fit for learning, and e
steem them to be of their kindred, and form them according to their own manners.
They do not absolutely deny the fitness of marriage, and the succession of mank
ind thereby continued; but they guard against the lascivious behavior of women,
and are persuaded that none of them preserve their fidelity to one man.
3. These men are despisers of riches, and so very communicative as raises our ad
miration. Nor is there any one to be found among them who hath more than another
; for it is a law among them, that those who come to them must let what they hav
e be common to the whole order, - insomuch that among them all there is no appea
rance of poverty, or excess of riches, but every one's possessions are interming
led with every other's possessions; and so there is, as it were, one patrimony a
mong all the brethren. They think that oil is a defilement; and if any one of th
em be anointed without his own approbation, it is wiped off his body; for they t
hink to be sweaty is a good thing, as they do also to be clothed in white garmen
ts. They also have stewards appointed to take care of their common affairs, who
every one of them have no separate business for any, but what is for the uses of
them all.
4. They have no one certain city, but many of them dwell in every city; and if a
ny of their sect come from other places, what they have lies open for them, just
as if it were their own; and they go in to such as they never knew before, as i
f they had been ever so long acquainted with them. For which reason they carry n
othing at all with them when they travel into remote parts, though still they ta
ke their weapons with them, for fear of thieves. Accordingly, there is, in every
city where they live, one appointed particularly to take care of strangers, and
to provide garments and other necessaries for them. But the habit and managemen
t of their bodies is such as children use who are in fear of their masters. Nor
do they allow of the change of or of shoes till be first torn to pieces, or worn
out by time. Nor do they either buy or sell any thing to one another; but every
one of them gives what he hath to him that wanteth it, and receives from him ag
ain in lieu of it what may be convenient for himself; and although there be no r
equital made, they are fully allowed to take what they want of whomsoever they p
lease.
5. And as for their piety towards God, it is very extraordinary; for before sunrising they speak not a word about profane matters, but put up certain prayers w
hich they have received from their forefathers, as if they made a supplication f
or its rising. After this every one of them are sent away by their curators, to
exercise some of those arts wherein they are skilled, in which they labor with g

reat diligence till the fifth hour. After which they assemble themselves togethe
r again into one place; and when they have clothed themselves in white veils, th
ey then bathe their bodies in cold water. And after this purification is over, t
hey every one meet together in an apartment of their own, into which it is not p
ermitted to any of another sect to enter; while they go, after a pure manner, in
to the dining-room, as into a certain holy temple, and quietly set themselves do
wn; upon which the baker lays them loaves in order; the cook also brings a singl
e plate of one sort of food, and sets it before every one of them; but a priest
says grace before meat; and it is unlawful for any one to taste of the food befo
re grace be said. The same priest, when he hath dined, says grace again after me
at; and when they begin, and when they end, they praise God, as he that bestows
their food upon them; after which they lay aside their [white] garments, and bet
ake themselves to their labors again till the evening; then they return home to
supper, after the same manner; and if there be any strangers there, they sit dow
n with them. Nor is there ever any clamor or disturbance to pollute their house,
but they give every one leave to speak in their turn; which silence thus kept i
n their house appears to foreigners like some tremendous mystery; the cause of w
hich is that perpetual sobriety they exercise, and the same settled measure of m
eat and drink that is allotted them, and that such as is abundantly sufficient f
or them.
6. And truly, as for other things, they do nothing but according to the injuncti
ons of their curators; only these two things are done among them at everyone's o
wn free-will, which are to assist those that want it, and to show mercy; for the
y are permitted of their own accord to afford succor to such as deserve it, when
they stand in need of it, and to bestow food on those that are in distress; but
they cannot give any thing to their kindred without the curators. They dispense
their anger after a just manner, and restrain their passion. They are eminent f
or fidelity, and are the ministers of peace; whatsoever they say also is firmer
than an oath; but swearing is avoided by them, and they esteem it worse than per
jury (4) for they say that he who cannot be believed without [swearing by] God i
s already condemned. They also take great pains in studying the writings of the
ancients, and choose out of them what is most for the advantage of their soul an
d body; and they inquire after such roots and medicinal stones as may cure their
distempers.
7. But now if any one hath a mind to come over to their sect, he is not immediat
ely admitted, but he is prescribed the same method of living which they use for
a year, while he continues excluded'; and they give him also a small hatchet, an
d the fore-mentioned girdle, and the white garment. And when he hath given evide
nce, during that time, that he can observe their continence, he approaches neare
r to their way of living, and is made a partaker of the waters of purification;
yet is he not even now admitted to live with them; for after this demonstration
of his fortitude, his temper is tried two more years; and if he appear to be wor
thy, they then admit him into their society. And before he is allowed to touch t
heir common food, he is obliged to take tremendous oaths, that, in the first pla
ce, he will exercise piety towards God, and then that he will observe justice to
wards men, and that he will do no harm to any one, either of his own accord, or
by the command of others; that he will always hate the wicked, and be assistant
to the righteous; that he will ever show fidelity to all men, and especially to
those in authority, because no one obtains the government without God's assistan
ce; and that if he be in authority, he will at no time whatever abuse his author
ity, nor endeavor to outshine his subjects either in his garments, or any other
finery; that he will be perpetually a lover of truth, and propose to himself to
reprove those that tell lies; that he will keep his hands clear from theft, and
his soul from unlawful gains; and that he will neither conceal any thing from th
ose of his own sect, nor discover any of their doctrines to others, no, not thou
gh anyone should compel him so to do at the hazard of his life. Moreover, he swe
ars to communicate their doctrines to no one any otherwise than as he received t
hem himself; that he will abstain from robbery, and will equally preserve the bo

oks belonging to their sect, and the names of the angels (5) [or messengers]. Th
ese are the oaths by which they secure their proselytes to themselves.
8. But for those that are caught in any heinous sins, they cast them out of thei
r society; and he who is thus separated from them does often die after a miserab
le manner; for as he is bound by the oath he hath taken, and by the customs he h
ath been engaged in, he is not at liberty to partake of that food that he meets
with elsewhere, but is forced to eat grass, and to famish his body with hunger,
till he perish; for which reason they receive many of them again when they are a
t their last gasp, out of compassion to them, as thinking the miseries they have
endured till they came to the very brink of death to be a sufficient punishment
for the sins they had been guilty of.
9. But in the judgments they exercise they are most accurate and just, nor do th
ey pass sentence by the votes of a court that is fewer than a hundred. And as to
what is once determined by that number, it is unalterable. What they most of al
l honor, after God himself, is the name of their legislator [Moses], whom if any
one blaspheme he is punished capitally. They also think it a good thing to obey
their elders, and the major part. Accordingly, if ten of them be sitting togeth
er, no one of them will speak while the other nine are against it. They also avo
id spitting in the midst of them, or on the right side. Moreover, they are stric
ter than any other of the Jews in resting from their labors on the seventh day;
for they not only get their food ready the day before, that they may not be obli
ged to kindle a fire on that day, but they will not remove any vessel out of its
place, nor go to stool thereon. Nay, on other days they dig a small pit, a foot
deep, with a paddle (which kind of hatchet is given them when they are first ad
mitted among them); and covering themselves round with their garment, that they
may not affront the Divine rays of light, they ease themselves into that pit, af
ter which they put the earth that was dug out again into the pit; and even this
they do only in the more lonely places, which they choose out for this purpose;
and although this easement of the body be natural, yet it is a rule with them to
wash themselves after it, as if it were a defilement to them.
10. Now after the time of their preparatory trial is over, they are parted into
four classes; and so far are the juniors inferior to the seniors, that if the se
niors should be touched by the juniors, they must wash themselves, as if they ha
d intermixed themselves with the company of a foreigner. They are long-lived als
o, insomuch that many of them live above a hundred years, by means of the simpli
city of their diet; nay, as I think, by means of the regular course of life they
observe also. They contemn the miseries of life, and are above pain, by the gen
erosity of their mind. And as for death, if it will be for their glory, they est
eem it better than living always; and indeed our war with the Romans gave abunda
nt evidence what great souls they had in their trials, wherein, although they we
re tortured and distorted, burnt and torn to pieces, and went through all kinds
of instruments of torment, that they might be forced either to blaspheme their l
egislator, or to eat what was forbidden them, yet could they not be made to do e
ither of them, no, nor once to flatter their tormentors, or to shed a tear; but
they smiled in their very pains, and laughed those to scorn who inflicted the to
rments upon them, and resigned up their souls with great alacrity, as expecting
to receive them again.
11. For their doctrine is this: That bodies are corruptible, and that the matter
they are made of is not permanent; but that the souls are immortal, and continu
e for ever; and that they come out of the most subtile air, and are united to th
eir bodies as to prisons, into which they are drawn by a certain natural enticem
ent; but that when they are set free from the bonds of the flesh, they then, as
released from a long bondage, rejoice and mount upward. And this is like the opi
nions of the Greeks, that good souls have their habitations beyond the ocean, in
a region that is neither oppressed with storms of rain or snow, or with intense
heat, but that this place is such as is refreshed by the gentle breathing of a

west wind, that is perpetually blowing from the ocean; while they allot to bad s
ouls a dark and tempestuous den, full of never-ceasing punishments. And indeed t
he Greeks seem to me to have followed the same notion, when they allot the islan
ds of the blessed to their brave men, whom they call heroes and demi-gods; and t
o the souls of the wicked, the region of the ungodly, in Hades, where their fabl
es relate that certain persons, such as Sisyphus, and Tantalus, and Ixion, and T
ityus, are punished; which is built on this first supposition, that souls are im
mortal; and thence are those exhortations to virtue and dehortations from wicked
ness collected; whereby good men are bettered in the conduct of their life by th
e hope they have of reward after their death; and whereby the vehement inclinati
ons of bad men to vice are restrained, by the fear and expectation they are in,
that although they should lie concealed in this life, they should suffer immorta
l punishment after their death. These are the Divine doctrines of the Essens (6)
about the soul, which lay an unavoidable bait for such as have once had a taste
of their philosophy.
12. There are also those among them who undertake to foretell things to come, (7
) by reading the holy books, and using several sorts of purifications, and being
perpetually conversant in the discourses of the prophets; and it is but seldom
that they miss in their predictions.
13. Moreover, there is another order of Essens, (8) who agree with the rest as t
o their way of living, and customs, and laws, but differ from them in the point
of marriage, as thinking that by not marrying they cut off the principal part of
human life, which is the prospect of succession; nay, rather, that if all men s
hould be of the same opinion, the whole race of mankind would fail. However, the
y try their spouses for three years; and if they find that they have their natur
al purgations thrice, as trials that they are likely to be fruitful, they then a
ctually marry them. But they do not use to accompany with their wives when they
are with child, as a demonstration that they do not many out of regard to pleasu
re, but for the sake of posterity. Now the women go into the baths with some of
their garments on, as the men do with somewhat girded about them. And these are
the customs of this order of Essens.
14. But then as to the two other orders at first mentioned, the Pharisees are th
ose who are esteemed most skillful in the exact explication of their laws, and i
ntroduce the first sect. These ascribe all to fate [or providence], and to God,
and yet allow, that to act what is right, or the contrary, is principally in the
power of men, although fate does co-operate in every action. They say that all
souls are incorruptible, but that the souls of good men only are removed into ot
her bodies, - but that the souls of bad men are subject to eternal punishment. B
ut the Sadducees are those that compose the second order, and take away fate ent
irely, and suppose that God is not concerned in our doing or not doing what is e
vil; and they say, that to act what is good, or what is evil, is at men's own ch
oice, and that the one or the other belongs so to every one, that they may act a
s they please. They also take away the belief of the immortal duration of the so
ul, and the punishments and rewards in Hades. Moreover, the Pharisees are friend
ly to one another, and are for the exercise of concord, and regard for the publi
c; but the behavior of the Sadducees one towards another is in some degree wild,
and their conversation with those that are of their own party is as barbarous a
s if they were strangers to them. And this is what I had to say concerning the p
hilosophic sects among the Jews.
-----------The Wars Of The Jews Or The History Of The Destruction Of Jerusalem - Book III CHAPTER 8. No 5
The Wars Of The Jews Or The History Of The Destruction Of Jerusalem - Book III -

CHAPTER 8.HOW JOSEPHUS WAS DISCOVERED BY A WOMAN, AND WAS WILLING TO DELIVER HIM
SELF UP TO THE ROMANS; AND WHAT DISCOURSE HE HAD WITH HIS OWN MEN, WHEN THEY END
EAVORED TO HINDER HIM; AND WHAT HE SAID TO VESPASIAN, WHEN HE WAS BROUGHT TO HIM
; AND AFTER WHAT MANNER VESPASIAN USED HIM AFTERWARD.
5. Upon this Josephus was afraid of their attacking him, and yet thought he shou
ld be a betrayer of the commands of God, if he died before they were delivered.
So he began to talk like a philosopher to them in the distress he was then in, w
hen he said thus to them: "O my friends, why are we so earnest to kill ourselves
? and why do we set our soul and body, which are such dear companions, at such v
ariance? Can any one pretend that I am not the man I was formerly? Nay, the Roma
ns are sensible how that matter stands well enough. It is a brave thin to die in
war; but so that it be according to the law of war, by the hand of conquerors.
If, therefore, I avoid death from the sword of the Romans, I am truly worthy to
be killed by my own sword, and my own hand; but if they admit of mercy, and woul
d spare their enemy, how much more ought we to have mercy upon ourselves, and to
spare ourselves? For it is certainly a foolish thing to do that to ourselves wh
ich we quarrel with them for doing to us. I confess freely that it is a brave th
ing to die for liberty; but still so that it be in war, and done by those who ta
ke that liberty from us; but in the present case our enemies do neither meet us
in battle, nor do they kill us. Now he is equally a coward who will not die when
he is obliged to die, and he who will die when he is not obliged so to do. What
are we afraid of, when we will not go up to the Romans? Is it death? If so, wha
t we are afraid of, when we but suspect our enemies will inflict it on us, shall
we inflict it on ourselves for certain? But it may be said we must be slaves. A
nd are we then in a clear state of liberty at present? It may also be said that
it is a manly act for one to kill himself. No, certainly, but a most unmanly one
; as I should esteem that pilot to be an arrant coward, who, out of fear of a st
orm, should sink his ship of his own accord. Now self-murder is a crime most rem
ote from the common nature of all animals, and an instance of impiety against Go
d our Creator; nor indeed is there any animal that dies by its own contrivance,
or by its own means, for the desire of life is a law engraven in them all; on wh
ich account we deem those that openly take it away from us to be our enemies, an
d those that do it by treachery are punished for so doing. And do not you think
that God is very angry when a man does injury to what he hath bestowed on him? F
or from him it is that we have received our being, and we ought to leave it to h
is disposal to take that being away from us. The bodies of all men are indeed mo
rtal, and are created out of corruptible matter; but the soul is ever immortal,
and is a portion of the divinity that inhabits our bodies. Besides, if any one d
estroys or abuses a depositum he hath received from a mere man, he is esteemed a
wicked and perfidious person; but then if any one cast out of his body this Div
ine depositum, can we imagine that he who is thereby affronted does not know of
it? Moreover, our law justly ordains that slaves which run away from their maste
r shall be punished, though the masters they run away from may have been wicked
masters to them.
And shall we endeavor to run away from God, who is the best of all masters, and
not guilty of impeity? Do not you know that those who depart out of this life ac
cording to the law of nature, and pay that debt which was received from God, whe
n he that lent it us is pleased to require it back again, enjoy eternal fame; th
at their houses and their posterity are sure, that their souls are pure and obed
ient, and obtain a most holy place in heaven, from whence, in the revolutions of
ages, they are again sent into pure bodies; while the souls of those whose hand
s have acted madly against themselves are received by the darkest place in Hades
, and while God, who is their Father, punishes those that offend against either
of them in their posterity? for which reason God hates such doings, and the crim
e is punished by our most wise legislator.

Accordingly, our laws determine that the bodies of such as kill themselves shoul
d be exposed till the sun be set, without burial, although at the same time it b
e allowed by them to be lawful to bury our enemies [sooner]. The laws of other n
ations also enjoin such men's hands to be cut off when they are dead, which had
been made use of in destroying themselves when alive, while they reckoned that a
s the body is alien from the soul, so is the hand alien from the body. It is the
refore, my friends, a right thing to reason justly, and not add to the calamitie
s which men bring upon us impiety towards our Creator. If we have a mind to pres
erve ourselves, let us do it; for to be preserved by those our enemies, to whom
we have given so many demonstrations of our courage, is no way inglorious; but i
f we have a mind to die, it is good to die by the hand of those that have conque
red us. For nay part, I will not run over to our enemies' quarters, in order to
be a traitor to myself; for certainly I should then be much more foolish than th
ose that deserted to the enemy, since they did it in order to save themselves, a
nd I should do it for destruction, for my own destruction. However, I heartily w
ish the Romans may prove treacherous in this matter; for if, after their offer o
f their right hand for security, I be slain by them, I shall die cheerfully, and
carry away with me the sense of their perfidiousness, as a consolation greater
than victory itself."

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