Legatio Ad Gaium

Philo Judaeus

The works of Philo Judaeus, the contemporary of Josephus, volume 4. Yonge, C. D., translator. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1855.

We, therefore, being for a long time unsuspicious of this natural enemy, who was plotting against us from his concealment, took precautions only against our external foes; but when we perceived that he too was to be guarded against, we searched into the matter carefully, considering every expedient to see if we could, by any means, propitiate and conciliate the man who was thus aiming and shooting at us, by every means and from every place, with great accuracy of aim and power of injuring us;

for he was in the habit of playing at ball with him, and of exercising himself [*](There seems some corruption in the text here. )

v.4.p.139
in gymnastic sports with him, and of bathing with him, and breakfasting with him, and he was with Caius when he was wont to go to rest, filling the part of chamberlain and chief body-guard to him, an office which was not entrusted to any one else, so that he alone had all kinds of favourable opportunities for being listened to at leisure by the emperor, when he was removed from any external tumults and distractions, and able quietly to hear what he principally desired.

And he mingled numbers of satirical and quizzing observations with his more formal and serious accusations, in order to excite pleasure in his hearers by that means, and to do us the greatest possible amount of injury; for the quizzing and ridiculing appeared, as he used it, to be the principal object at which he aimed, though it was in reality only his indirect one; and the accusations which he launched against us appeared to be mere casual observations, dropped accidentally, though in reality they were his primary and sole object, while he was trying every expedient possible,

and so, like sailors who have a fair wind blowing on their stern, he was borne onwards with a full sail before a favourable gale, heaping upon us and stringing together one accusation after another, while the mind of his hearer was fashioned in a more solid and retentive mould, so that the recollection of the accusations was not easily eradicated.