this Assurance that this very Day shall be to us the Day that all the Days of our Life we will hold Great and Memorable and shall be solemnized every Year with Feasting in perpetual Memory of your Visit as also of our Victory which we obtained this day against Antigonus at Sea wherefore it is our Will that this very Day you solace your selves in Feasting with us Forthwith he required the Princes should be invited Amongst whom he did me the Honour to make me to be seated Moreover he caused to be exposed to view all the rich Furniture wherewith the Pallace Royal was upon great Festivals used to be decked Likewise he commanded they should fit up Lodgings near to the Castle in the most splendid Manner they could And in like manner the King ordered that the Feasts should be set out in the most Sumptuous and Magnificent Fashion that was possible And then the King enjoyned Nicanor his chief Physitian to bid Dorothea Controuler of the House as from the Will and Pleasure of his Majesty that he should and that with all Diligence deliver out all things necessary for every one of the Doctors as well for their Accommodation as for the Furniture of their Lodgings and that without fail as from the Ordinance and Command of the King which was forthwith accomplished with great dispatch by many Hands Conformable to the usage of great Cities when they prepare to make great Feasts and publick Banquetting whenas there are selected Officers that are appointed to furnish every one according to his Post and Station Such were the Appointments of the King who was not wanting to assist in Person and his People to speak Truth were such as spared for no Labour or Pains to execute his Orders for with all Alacrity and Cheerfulness they provided whatever was necessary and requisite putting in execution what the King required with glad and chearful Hearts Thus was the Kings Will exactly and freely comply'd with in this and all other Regards whatever For Dorothea was very Franck and Bountiful and very Industrious in his Charge and Employment which was principally to have a due regard to the accommodating these great and venerable Men not employing what had been formerly Allotted to such Uses but fresh and valuable Stuffs sparing nothing that was in his Power He assigned every one of them his Couch of Ease besides his Bed with fair Carpets as the King had commanded Moreover the King required the half of them should be placed and seated at the Table so as that they might front his Person and the other half distributed on each side his Chair of Stateâ— Omitting nothing which any way might do them Honour or contribute to their utmost Content and Satisfaction After the Seats of the Table were duly fixed and proportioned for each the Kings command to Dorothea was that all those who came from Iudea should have Victuals distributed and such as they Affect after the Usage of their Country and Appointment of their Law Nevertheless that they should want for no Plenty or Variety as also for performing their Oblations Vows and Sacrifices according to the Custom of their Nation After all these Ceremonies the King besought one of them named Eleazar the most Aged of all those that came with us to make his Orisons Who as he was very Venerable being then risen from his Seatâ— began in this manner The Prayer of Eleazar God Almighty fill thee O King with all Goodness and give Grace to thy Wife and to thy Children and that thy plenty may be Permanent without Alteration or Change all the course of thy Life and theirs Hardly had he ended this Prayer but there followed a Noise and Acclamation of Joy with a pleasant Murmur and Applause that lasted a pretty while All things being thus disposed and prepared for Jollity all the Company betook themselves to make good Chear and those who waited on the Table repaired readily to their several Posts which the Controuler had given them in Charge Amongst those who served at the Table were the Children of the King and all the most considerable Peers and Lords The Answers of the Jewish Elders to the Questions propounded by King Ptolomeus Philadelphus WHen the time came and a fit Opportunity offered for Discourse the King by certain Pauses began to ask them one by one in order several Questions as they were marshall'd at his Table according to Seniority To him therefore that was set uppermost he made this Question First Question How he should conserve his Kingdom entire and safe to the end The Resolution AFter the Doctor had a little studied he answered You shall great King dispose the Estate of your Kingdom well and wisely if in all and by all you propose to your self the Example of the Benignity and Indulgence of God for your Imitation using Patience and Gentleness raising to Honour those that are Worthy and bringing down the haughty and ambitious proud Spirits to Repentance and a true Sense of themselves by giving them due Example of Humanity Affability and fairness of Access To the other Second Question How he might bring all things justly to a fair Issue The Resolution IF in all things answered he great King you have your Eyes open and Thoughts fixt upon your Actions watching over your self in all things you will do nothing that will not be well done and if you consider that a true Sense of our selves and right Reason is no other than the Gift of God of whom we always ought to have the Fear before our Eyes and present to all our Operations for that is the means never to go astray To the other Third Question How he should have Friends agreeable to him The Resolution IF they know Great King that you have no Thoughts but what are employed upon that which is just and profitable and conducing to the publick Good and that you are excited to it by considering how God supplies the Wants of Mankind providing Sustenance for the Necessities of the Body and for the Necessities of Life bodily Health and other Gifts and Abilities Fourth Question How he should acquire and conserve a solid Reputation in expediting of Affairs in doing Publick Iustice and punishing Offenders The Resolution IF you carry your self as Reason and Equity requires indifferent to every ones Right and if you proceed not against Malefactors according to your uncontroulable Power or with Partiality You may get Knowledge in this Point if you bear in Mind the Providence and wise Disposal of God who granteth the Requests and Petitions of those are worthy and to the Malefactors and Vicious he shews them that he denies nothing but what is hurtful and which appears such by their own Experience or by the Admonitions and Terrors of Dreams also he punisheth not the Sins of Men neither in proportion to their great Demerits nor to his Almighty Power but rather courts their Amendment sweetly winning them by mild and gentle Methods To the
second of that Name Surnamed Philadelphus King of Aegypt of Phaenicia and of Cypres Son of the first Ptolomeus Son of Lagus began his Reign in the 271 year before the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. This Ptolomeus Philadelphus was endoctrined in the Science of good Letters by Strabo the Peripatetick in which he became so excellent that he was esteemed one of the most accomplish'd Princes of his Time but that which was in him the most admirable was the Bounty Debonarity Sweetness and Gentleness of his Spirit accommodated with the Manners and Complexions of all worthy and deserving Persons By this means he entred so far and before in the Grace of all the World that every one in his thought wish'd he were King And his Father knowing his right of Succession was to be so and rejoycing in his hopes of him made him to be crowned King and devested himself of all Authority without reserving any Power Right or Preheminence to himself only a Superintendency over the Guard of the King his Son glorifying to be Father of such a King For the admiration he had of his high Vertues kindled and gave occasion between them both of a most kind contention in mutual Offices the Son yielding to the Father and the Father to the Son in all and by all through instinct of Devotion and Piety so they gave lively touches one to the other in all reduceable fitting Offices which was cause that the People conceived a great Fidelity and Amity towards them so as it seemed even the Divine Providence prepared this Noble Spirit to introduce that great good amongst Humanes as to make them participants of the Laws and Divine Illuminations wherewith God had favoured the People of the Iews above all the Nations of the World And it seemeth that even then his Almightiness made a preparative for the Vocation of the Ethnicks and Gentiles by Communication so of his holy Law whereof Ptolomy was the ordained Minister to call the Seventy Interpreters into Aegypt to translate into the Greek Language which then was the most used and vulgar through the whole Universe So as I am amazed at some fanatical Spirits that hinder us from the Knowledge of God in not giving his Word in the Language of the People wheresoever as is appertaining to every one in Regard of Salvation I would ask those men what Language spake those Dames of Rome Paula Eustochina Melania Susanna Fabiola Demetria Furia Flavia Blesilla and others For the institution of whom Saint Hierom translated many Books of Holy Scriptures out of strange Tongues into Latin which was the natural Language of the said Ladies I would also know who was more Wise or better inspired then St. Hierom Further it seems they either are or would seem to be ignorant of the Institution of the Emperour Iustinian who ordained that those who sung in the Temples that they should sing high and so intelligible that all the People might understand them But to return to Ptolomy He undertook to erect a Library in the Capital City of his Realm Alexandria the Charge whereof he gave to Demetrius Phalerius a Prince and an Athenian Philosopher who erected it so sumptuously that there was not the like in all the World and it lasted until the first War of the Romans against the Alexandrians This King had to Wife Arsinoe to whom he caused a Statue to be raised in height four Cubits of one entire Stone call'd a Topaz the which had been given to Bernice the Mother of Ptolomy by a Prince named Philemon 2. Of Aristeus the Author of this History ARISTEVS the near Kinsman and Friend of King Ptolomeus Philadelphus is named by St. Hierom Ptolomei Hyperaspistes the Shield of the King or he that defends the King with his Shield or Bearer of the Shield Royal which seems to me that he held some such place about the King his Master as we call at this Day the Great Esquire of the Kings Body he was the Principal Sollicitor for the Liberty of the Iews that then were held Slaves throughout all the Dominions of Ptolomy for he made the first request for them and obtained it And for this cause he was sent Ambassadour with Andrea Prince of the Guards belonging to the King unto Hierusalem to deal with the High-Priest Eleazar who sent to the King Ptolomeus six Doctors of every Tribe to go on with the Translation and Version of the Holy Books of Moses He writ diligently his Voyage where he shews openly how and by what course those seventy two Interpreters behaved themselves in the said Books Some have been of Opinion that they Translated all the Bible but it is more likely to many that they Translated but the five Books that is Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers and Deuteronomy which they call the Pentateuck which is the Law of Moses for Aristeus speaks but of the Law of Moses and it is not likely that they touched the Books Historical nor the Prophets for if it had been so Aristeus would not have been silent thereof Moreover that which they Translated was finished in the space of seventy two dayes which is about two Months and a half and that 's a Time too small and therefore impossible to Translate all the Old Testament Nevertheless I am not ignorant that there was a turning of other Books of the Bible that go by the name of the seventy two Interpreters But I am perswaded that they were not then done in Egypt unless that after they were returned to Hierusalem they Translated the rest of the Holy Books although both in that and other Opinions I submit me to the deliberation of the Church from which I will not stray But however this Translation was manifestly Miraculous which is sufficiently shewed by that our Lord Jesus Christ and his Apostles in Allegations of the Law use the Version of these seventy two Interpreters I have spoken these few Words of Aristeus to the end the Reader shall not think that this is that Aristeus Proconensis that could be invisible when he listed making folks believe that he could dye and rise again when he would of whom speaks Suidas Herodotus Pliny and Plutarch in the Life of Romulus 3. Of Eleazer the High-Priest of the Jews ELeazar of whom Aristeus makes mention was brother of Simon surnamed the Just He after the decease of his Brother Simon in the year of the reign of Ptolomy first of that Name 35. was made chief of the Synagogue of the Iews by reason that Onias Son of Simon his Brother was uncapable of succeeding in his Father's Place as being under age This Eleazar therefore received the Honour that in his Time the Holy Translation of the Law was made by the seventy two Doctors that he seâ—t to Ptolomeus second of that Name King of Egypt as Aristeus hath left by Writing 4. Of Demetrius Phalerius DEmetrius Phalerius was an Athenian Orator and Philosopher as Cicero notes in the
first Book of his Offices calling him a subtil and sharp Disputant and in the rest an Orator little vehement He had been Disciple of Theophrastus he was a man of such Knowledge and excellent Carriage that foreign Kings had him in Admiration and drew him to their Service even Cassander King of Macedon And for this Reputation the Athenians gave him the Principality of the City and Common-weal in which he was Ten years in great Prosperity But some of the Citizens having conceived Malice against him chased and threw him out of his Estate and then he was honourably received of King Ptolomy of whom we speak where he was Master of the Library Royal the Athenians having formerly raised to him 360 Statues of Marble in despight cast them to the Earth and judged him to death as a Traytor of which Demetrius being advertised said The Athenians have thrown down my Statues but they cannot over-turn my Vertue for which they first erected those Statues He was wont to say that Eloquence was as necessary in a Common-weal as a Sword in the Wars He dyed by the biting of an Aspick and was buried in the Region of Busina near to Diospolis The History of Aristeus Ambassadour of King Ptolomaeus Philadelphus treating of his Voyage unto Jerusalem and the first Translation of the Holy Bible by the Seventy two Elders Written in Greek 1900 years since Aristeus to his Brother Philocrates WEll knowing your Natural and good inclination Philocrates to have always had in great esteem the knowledge of all things and that you have been desirous and even greedy to understand the occurrences and passages of good Exploits I have deliberated to frame to you in Writing a matter not only excellent in it self but well deserving to be known which unto us is hapned being sent of late to Eleazar H. Priest of the Iews But because these things shall be more easie to you I shall first declare the Causes for which we were sent and then I shall come to the Progress of the Matter so as I shall shape my Discourse to Your understanding and that the most truly I possibly can as well â—or the dignity of the Subject as to delight your Mind desirous of all good Knowledges assuring my self that man hath in him nothing more excellent and laudable than incessantly to desire Learning either by means of Histories or by the Objects of things themselves or by the course and Experience of Affairs For the Spirâ—t of Man though Rude and unâ—urnished is greatly adorned and embellished when from the beginning it delighteth to Taste and Relish those most nourishing fair worthy and excellent things that may conduct him by an infallible course to follow Piety and right Reason We therefore searching with great curiosity into the Knowledge of Divine things could not arrive at them as not understanding the Divine Law without being interpreted and rendred into our familiar tongue for which cause we undertook to go Ambassadour to one only Person who amongst his fellow Citizens and others for frankness and great worth was in the most esteem and who only did great Honour and Profit to the Citizens he conversed with but also to all other Iews of what other place or whence soever Being then well inâ—ormed that they had the Divine Law written in Hebrew Characters in skins of Parchment we were joyful to accept this charge given us by the King as also for that the Colonies of the Captive Iews here desired the same above all things of the world who had been hither led by the Kings Father that had reduced into his Obedience the City of Ierusalem and all the Countrey adjacent But since we are faln to make mention of that matter it will not be impertinent to give you light into the whole Discourse that thereby you may take your measures better knowing well that it will be more advisable carefully to inform you how to address your self to the service of God Reverently than to travel in the search of Humane Laws or Actions be they never so just Which Inclination you have sufficiently manifested since from an Isle so far remote you are come to this Country to see those things that may serve to the cultivating of your Mind without Regard to any place whatsoever I have therefore here reduced to Writing First what hath seemed to me worthy of Memory touching the Nation of the Iews as I have in some measure understood from the Learned and Wise Priests of Egypt to the end that by this means I might aid and encrease by some means Your knowledge For we ought to have in Remembrance what good we have received from othes and particularly to shew all gratitude to those who relate to us And principally You who have knowledge of Vertue deriving from your Brother not only Resemblance Proximity of Blood and Lineage but those those Principles that excite you with the same impetuosity of Courage to attain the Honour Glory and Beauty of Vertue assuring my self that neither the admiration of Gold or Riches nor the appearance of any things more precious conduce to any thing but vain-glory neither will they yield you any such fruit as we may gather from Knowledge Education and consideration of good Discipline For the rest to the end it may not seem that we make shew of ostentation in being prolix in this Preface we will return to our purpose from whence we have wandered Demetrius Phalerius Master of the Kings Library after the best care he could giving order to purchase Books from all Parts of the World And employing for that purpose great numbers of Persons as Factors dispersed in many places who had in charge to buy and transcribe them they so doing and that with Diligence the design of the King was accomplished and executed at least in the best manner that was possible For the King asking him in our Presence how many thousand Volumes he had collected for his Library he answered for the present he had no more than two hundred thousand and he hoped e're long to have to the number of 500000. But Sir said he I have understood that the Laws of the Iews deserve to be Copied and Translated and to have place in your Library And what hinders it answered the King that they be not have you not all things to serve you convenient for that purpose Demetrius Answered that it was necessary that those Laws should be Translated and Interpreted because the Iews had in use a Character peculiar to their Language far different from the Aegyptians adjusting and accommodating their Letters to the Tone of the Voice and that they were much deceived who held they spake the Syrian Tongue for their manner of Speech was far distant To which the King replied that he would write to the High Priest of the Iews to the end that all might be obtained which was requisite to bring this matter to an issue as Demetrius required Then it came to
my mind that a fair opportunity presented for the freedom of all the Iews which his Father Ptolomaeus Lagus had led Captive from Iudea into Egypt For whose enlargement he had often entreated Sosibius the Tarentine and Andrea Captain of the Guard to the Kings Body For these two Commanding in the Army had reduced to obedience all that were in Syria and Phenicia filling all those Regions with fear and terrour and then were the Iews some of them led Prioners others disposed in manner of Colonies in such numbers as there were brought into Aegypt to the number of 100000 men of whom were chosen well near 30000 effective who were established as the Guard of the Province True it is before that time many had been sent with the Persians and other Companies that were commanded against the K. of Aethiopia under the leading of Psammiticke but those that were there were not of so great number as those which were led away only by Ptolomeus Lagus For as we have said he train'd to Arms all those whom Age or Ability shew'd to be proper and all the rest of the People as well Children as Old men and Women he made use of for Colonies determining with himself that if at any time his men of War grew insolent because none could surpass them in course or necessity of War he had means to check their presumption by such as might be drawn from these Colonies Now then seeking an occasion to bring about the Liberty of these poor men as I have formerly said and having found my opportunity I opened my desire to the King proposing after this manner The Proposition of Aristeus to King Ptolomeus Philadelphus for the delivery of the Jews IT is nothing strange my Gracious Lord and Soveraign if many times it happen that those very Affairs which we manage thwart and run counter to our Proceedings for all the Nations of the Iews have one and the same Law which we desire to be ours not only Copied but also Translated into the Greek Tongue How then expect you to succeed in this Affair when the greatest part of them are here in your Kingdom kept Prisoners unless it may please Your August and Generous Spirit to request their Holy Books after you have restored to free Liberty those who live here in great calamity and pressure having before all things Regard to that God who makes your Kingdom flourish and hath crowned You with great prosperity which is the same God that hath given them that Sacred Law which we desire to have For they worship that God who hath Made and Created all things and is the very same whose wonderful Works all Mankind see and admire though some not so clearly as others for Sir We and others Call him Iupiter and not without reason for it hath so seemed good to our Ancestors because by him are Procreated and live all Creatures the same also they esteem the Directer and and Governour of the Universe And although he holds all Mortals in Subjection nevertheless he neither frustrates nor disappoints the Prayers and Vows of those who illuminated with Spiritual Light implore his aid We then ought humbly to desiâ—e that he would incline our hearts to such good resolutions as to do good and that freely to every one and especially to deliver and free those that indure Slavery and Bondage for that since Mankind is the Work and Creation of God who hath power to turn the heart and bend it which way it pleaseth him We many times after different Methods desire it would please him to lead us to a Perfection of Goodness as the principal Ruler of all Hearts and Spirits By this acknowledgment I conceive great hopes to consummate this Affair principally because I know God to be favourable to those that pray for things Reasonable and Equitable For when men set themselves wholly to seek and accomplish what hath a tendency to Justice and Perfection of Goodness God the Lord of all things conducts and addresseth their Actions and Affections to blessed happy Effects and Ends. The King then as something gained with a contented Countenance said to Andrea How many are there of the Iews detained Captive He answered in few words more than 100000 It is a small Request then said the King Aristeus requires of us Sosibius and some others then there present answered It is a thing Sir worthy Your Grandeur and Generosity to make an agreeable Present to God by their Deliverance in testification of your Thanks and Acknowledgement and since the Governour of Heaven and Earth hath raised you to a greater Height than all your Predecessors it is but just that you make thus a greater more solemn Expression of your Thanks The King then disposed to Banquetting and pastimes in a full Feast and Assembly of his Nobles commanded that the Iews should be all search'd out and that every man of them should be redeemed for the summ of 20 Drachms by pole and to confirm the same that his Edicts should be issued and that herein all the dispatch and readiness should be expressed that was possible And so it seemed that God accomplished and brought to pass our desires for he pleased to put it into the heart of the King to set at Liberty not only those that by the Army of the King his Father were led Captive into Aegypt but also all others that before or since had been carried Prisoners into Aegypt by what means soever the summ then of those that were freed amounted to 400 Talents Moreover I hold it not beside my purpose to send you the Copy and Tenour of the Edict whereby you may understand the greatness of the Attempt and the frankness and gracious Inclinations of the King who hath been moved by the Goodness of God for the Salvation of Many The Edict of King Ptolomeus Philadelphus for the delivery of the Jews WE Will and Command all those that took up Arms under our deceased Father through the Countrey of Syria and Phaenicia entring the Land of Iudea and there taking the Iews and leading them Prisoners having imposed them their Tasks and Employments in Town and Country that they shall deliver and restore them to full Liberty Moreover we Will that all the Iews that either before or since have been taken and led away in what fashion or manner soever shall be delivered frank and free for the ransome we have set that is to say twenty drachms for every head which summ the men of War shall receive from the Fond of the Staple and Stores of Victualsâ— and the rest shall be received from the Allowance of the Kings Table or be Reserved For we are duely informed that those Iews were appointed and led away Prisoners against the Will of our deceased Father and against right Reason And that by the boldness and insolence of the Men of War they were carried into Aegypt and their Countrey wasted and laid desolate when it was sufficient to have the
our Lives is imployed only to the Knowledge of Vertue and Divine Power to the end we fall not into Sin nor be polluted by the conversation of such People in any manner whatever He hath also defended and armed us on all sides with Purity and Honesty not only in our Meat and Drink but also in what we handle touch see and hear for he hath reduced and brought all things before our natural Reason for as all things have their Being from one Power so with a most profound Judgment hath he appointed which we are to use and from which we are to abstain I will alledge you one or two for Example to the end that if you take heed to the Words and plain Speech you cannot think that Moses hath taken such Pains to ordain his Laws because of Rats Weasels and such like things For it is necessary you understand that he hath very well and wisely ordered all things to the Honesty of Living having regard to Purity and Cleanliness and to the correction and amendment of Manners And as for Birds and flying Fowls he hath permitted us to eat ordinarily of such as are tame and are different from others in Neatness and Cleanliness and that live upon Grain and Seeds such as are Pidgeons Turtles Peacocks Partridge Geese and the like And such as he hath forbidden us to eat they are wild ravenous living upon Flesh and Carrion of proud Natures inclined to Rapine and Prey and such as by force set upon others and seek not their living but to the damage hurt and injury of the other Poultry who are gentle and tame but those fierce ones not only seize upon those of their own Kind but also upon Lambs Kidds and even upon Men yet living or half dead Our Law-maker therefore noting this by way of Similitude and by a borrowed way of Translation taken from the Nature of such Fowls hath pronounc'd them unclean and infectious as being willing to reduce and bring all things to the consideration of Purity and Cleanliness of the Soul to the end that every one being admonished by ordinary and domestick Examples may understand how it behoveth to use Equity and Justiceâ— and that it is not granted to Man bâ— he never so strong powerful proudâ— bold and audacious soever to ravisâ— by force that of another nor to dâ— injury to any Person but that it iâ— convenient he should order the coursâ— of his Life in imitation of the Fowâ— I have spoken of who live by Grainâ— leading a tame and tractable Lifeâ— And that it is not lawful to vex anâ— trouble any Person of our own Kindâ— nor ravage his Goods by force as dâ— those Beasts he hath prohibited us tâ— eat and not to use Violence in anâ— case which is figured by the Naturâ— of Beasts not wholly void of Senseâ— You understand then the Reason whâ— he hath forbidden us the Use of thâ— said things that is to say because oâ— the Inclination and Nature of everâ— Beast You may therefore now well conâ—ceive how our Law-giver Moses hatâ— been careful in all things to correâ—â— our Manners and establish them bâ— the things to which we are accustomed and therefore to regard the Nature of brute Beasts for where he hath Licensed us eating the Flesh of four-footed Beasts who have two and the Hoofs cloven the Import is that we ought to direct our Operations to Justice and Bounty By this cloven Hoof figuring to us the Distribution of Rewards and Punishments For which cause we are cleft and divided from other Nations to the end we be not polluted with Sin by their Conversation and Company For many People of the Gentiles are sullied with Impiety by mixture of one with another and not only suffer the Provinces and Cities to be spotted infected and dishonoured with Sins against Nature but are fouly stain'd with the unclean blood of Child-bearing Women having no shame or regret to commit Incest with their own Daughters from which things we are wholly Alienated Moreover where he hath noted to us the sign of this Forking he hath also advised us to be recollected by the same Figure in the same Animals for he hath added further that they should be such as chew the Cud By which he manifestly admonisheth us to have this Rumination in Memory and in the Course of our Life for what signifieth the chewing of the Cud but that we ought still to have in our Minds a continual revolving of our Lives and Actions and so by a frequent Meditation the Duties to which we are obliged and what we owe to all Even as the Life of the Body is ever in our Thoughts so as our Spirit is nourished in bringing to mind her Employments And for this cause he saith in the Scripture Have GOD still in thy Memory and Thought who hath done for thee such great and wonderful things If this thou truly considerest thou shalt find it great and admirable indeed For first thou shalt behold the Architecture of the Body the Distribution and Transfusion of the Elements the Connexion and Ligatures of the Members a thing truly worthy of Admiration But it will be more admirable If thou hast regard to the Sense which is given to every Member if thou weighest the Actions of the Understanding if thou considerest the invisible Movements and how in each of them there shines a Vigour and Vivacity of Spirit from whence have proceeded the Inventions of Arts almost innumerable Wherefore not without cause Moses commanded us to have in constant Consideration that all Things have been established and made Examples by the Divine Power and Providence for so hath he finished and counterpoised every Thing agreeing with its time and place recalling always to Mind the consideration of GOD the Lord Ruler and Creator of the whole Universe And if we will begin with what concerns Eating and Drinking hath he not well and prudently commanded that we should give Praises and Thanks to GOD when we sit at Table In which he hath not permitted us to Devise or Discourse of any thing in the World that should make us forget or efface in our Memories the Power and Providence of GOD. Wherefore he hath appointed that we engrave upon the Doors and Portals of our Houses such Inscriptions as should excite us to Thanksgiving still to refresh our Memories with the Thoughts of God and his Goodness to us by a most evident sign that all our Endeavours ought always to be to mind us of Sincerity and Equity and that each Thought ought always to represent GOD before our Eyes Also he hath appointed that not only when we Sit at Table but when we Rise we should praise the Works of God not only in Word but also with a grave and composed Countenance reducing to Mind the perpetual Motion of the Heavens and that this alternative and successive Nature is Divine and incomprehensible to Man Thus to you is expounded the Reason of the forking of the
What thing is most advantageous for the Health of the Soul The Resolution THat is Prudence which nonâ— can procure or obtain unleâ— God disposes his Understanding tâ— receive it To the other Seven and twentieth Question How may one sufficiently yield dâ— thanks to their Father and Mâ—â—ther The Resolution IF you give them no cause of Griâ—â— in the World though there scarce any to be found who can 〈◊〉 govern themselves excepting Goâ— Father of all Light do illuminaâ—â—◠〈◊〉 Understanding to every Actio◠〈…〉 To the otherâ— Eight and twentieth Question How he might be made covetous to hear many things The Resolution IF you consider Great King how advantageous and profitable â—t is to know every thing Created â—or by that means proportioning and â—djusting what you have understood â—o the quality of the times present â—ou will have the choice of what â—ill be most agreeable and conveniâ—nt for you in which you ought â—â—wayes to pray unto â—od that he â—ill be your Succourer for from â—im proceeds all accomplishment of â—ood Works To the other Nine and twentieth Question â—hat he should do not to violate the Laws The Resolution â—F you were perswaded that God hath inspired those who have established the Laws for the Directiâ—on and Government of the Lives oâ— us Mortals you will well follow thâ— the other Thirtieth Question What Advantage may accrue to onâ— from Parentage The Resolution GReat King if we weigh thâ— Accidents which happen to 〈◊〉 we shall find when our Parents 〈◊〉 into Adversity we share with theâ— therein and are mutually oppressâ— and grieved with the greatness â— their Sorrow And if there arrive 〈◊〉 so any Prosperity and happy Fortuâ—â— to them we are glad and find thâ— Content and Satisfaction in whâ—â—â— we solace our selves And in truth our Parents are so well advised tâ—â— they can intermingle their Afâ—aâ— amiâ—ably together and that all thiâ— between them be so well knit toâ—ther by the ties of an inviolaâ—â— Friendship there is no place left any desire of a Life more happy nor is the same capable of any addition save only of Continuance which you are to beg of God To the other One and thirtieth Qâ—estion How he might be free from all Fear The Resolution IF your Conscience be clear of all sense of past Guilt setting God alwayes present before your Eyes for â—he Guide and Conduct of all your Counsels to a good and happy issue To the other Two and thirtieth Question How he should be readily assisted with Recollection and a due Presence of Mind at all Times The Resolution IF you seriously reflect how to the Vicissitudes of Humane Life all the World is exposed setting often before your Eyes the admirable Revolutions that God hath sent Hoâ— some are raised to Riches and Honouâ— others pressed with Calamities anâ— fallen into extream Disgrace Tâ— the other Three and thirtieth Question What Course he ought to take and puâ—â—sue to avoid being immersed in Senâ—suality and Idleness The Resolution THis to you Great King whâ— have the Rule of a great Kingâ—dom and a multiplicity of Affairs tâ— manage is feasible For in the diâ—â—charge of so weighty an Employmeâ—â— it is impossible you should have anâ— Leisure to fix your Imagination uâ—â—on any thing but your Affairs sinâ—â— they will take up all your Timâ— It is convenient therefore that yoâ— be alwayes intent upon your Chargâ— and that you pray to God to give â—ou Grace to omit nothing of what concerns your Employment To the other Four and thirtieth Question By what Signes he may know those who would impose upon him The Resolution IF you consider with your self what Freedom every one useth in your â—ehalf whether he hath ever used the â—ame and so continueth the same faâ—â—ion still to court you out of choice â—r whether he gives you Counsel â—nly out of course and that his Conâ—ersation and manner of Life be the â—â—me as before And whether he hath â—orgot nothing of what the Duty and â—ffection which he owes you doth â—equire Briefly if his Affections and â—ther Fashions of Proceeding are vaâ—â—ed God instruct your Understandâ—ng to fore-see the Effect Then the King commended them all calling every one by his name whereat all the Assistants rejoycedâ— The next day when the King espied his fit Opportunity in the Feast he began to Question the rest as follows Five and thirtieth Question What is the greatest Neglect in the World The Resolution IT is to take no account of ouâ— Children and not to take due care for their Education to train them up in Vertue and to form in them good Manners and Behaviour For in our common Devotions we intreat God not only for our selves but also that it would please him to address our Children to all Goodness and to impart Wisdom and Science to them which proceeds also from the Grace of God To the other Six and thirtieth Question How he should come to be a Lover of his Countrey The Resolution IF you perswade your self that it is a happy thing to live and dye at home and that Travels bring nothing but Folly to the Poor and Dishonour to the Rich since most men are of Opinion that Travellers have been banish'd their Countrey for some Miscarriage Debt or Trespass But you great King will easily obtain what you demand in doing well as you do to all the World for God will give you a happy issue in all your just Affairs and Actions To the other Seven and thirtieth Question What Course one ought to take to live agreeably with his Wife The Resolution ALthough some kind of Women are nice and troublesom and through their being Opiniators grow perverse Being also frail by reason of the weakness of the Sex and subject to commit some Faults yet nevertheless it behoveth us to comply with them and to use them for our Advantage not striving with them nor contradicting them with a froward Spirit for it is necessary to address our Life to a certain Butt or End as the Governours and Pilots of Ships do in observing Land-marks which Steps are all conducted by the Order and Providence of our great God To the other Eight and thirtieth Question What Course he should take not to be deceived The Resolution IF you act in every occasion according to Reason you will not suffer your self to be lead away by the Insinuations of Detractors but as you are indowed with a discerning Spirit you will put a difference betwixt the Deeds and Sayings of every one By which means you will be out of danger of being circumvented accomplishing your desires in every Design which you shall lay with assured Judgment nevertheless you must imagin that the skill of ordering every Affair the carrying it on and the event of it is the Work of the Divine Power To the other Nine and Thirtieth Question What he should do to avoid being Cholerick The Resolution IF you consider Great King that He on whom the Lives of many
is not easily to be discerned and in the same it is needful to have Observation a long time for those who are near to a King aspire to make themselves rich and spare no means to get by his Favour great Profit and are naturally Traytors But God conduct Great King your Councel that they may sufficiently shew you who are those that perfectly love you To the other Three and fiftieth Question What is that which conserveth a Kingdom The Resolution THat is that the King take diligent care and give order that those who are in Office and have charge commit no undue things to the prejudice of the People The which you know very well how to perform for as it seemeth God hath given you a Spirit very excellent To the other Four and fiftieth Question By what means he might keep Grace and Honour The Resolution BY Vertue For she is the accomplishment of all great Works and trips up the Feet of Vice as you have long experimented by your excellent Bounty towards all Persons Which in you is a sign of the Gift of God To the other Five and fiftieth Question How in Time of War he might keep himself still in Tranquillity of Spirit The Resolution IF you propose in your Mind to give order that your Lieutenants and Captains commit nothing that is Evil but that they contend by Vertue one with another for the proof of their Vertue and further that they have in you a perfect Confidence that you will have their Domestick Affairs in a singular Respect if it happen that they lose their Lives for and in your Service By this means you shall have no Occasion to be troubled disposing all prudently by Divine Clemency which will inspire you to understand all that is good King Ptolomy receiving this Answer with great expressions of Joy with a chearful Countenance entreated them all to drink shewing extream Content and Satisfaction The seventh Day the Feast was prepared more great and more sumptuous than it had hitherto been because that many Ambassadours from Cities were arrived there Then all being set in their Order the King finding occasion to devise asked the first of those that had not yet spoken their Advise in this same manner Six and fiftieth Question How he might be resolved throughly by Reason and by Arguments The Resolution IF you weigh well the Propositions which you shall hold and the Persons which speak and the Subject whereof they treat and â—hat you often inform your self and that in divers manners and by long intervals of time of the estate of the above said Affairs For the Bounty of the Spirit is an extraordinary Gift of God by which one may easily know and discern all thingsâ— To the other Seven and fiftieth Question Wherefore is it that many cannot approach unto Vertue The Resolution BEcause Nature hath Created alâ— Humane Creatures subject to incontinence and prompt to Voluptuousness from whence Injusticâ— and Iniquity is ingendred and Avaâ—riciousness does greatly abound Buâ— the estate of Vertue whose Nature is fixed on things sublime casts away all those whom Voluptuousness doth cause to be alienated from her Foâ— she commends before all things thaâ— Justice and Magnanimity shall be observed the which God gives and is therefore the principal Author To the other Eight and fiftieth Question What is that which Kings ought to follow above all things The Resolution THat is the Laws To the end that they ruling the lives of â—ubjects by just and equitable Acts as we have heard you do Great â—ing you shall gain by this means â—â—mortal Memory if you follow the â—recepts and Commands of the most â—igh To the other Nine and Fiftieth Question Who are those that one ought to elect for Offices and Magistracies The Resolution THEY are those that are averse to all things unjust and â—â—at are imitators of your Actions and that being drawn with the sweetness of Vertue pursue incessantly after good Works that they may attain to Glory and Honour to which certainly O Worthy King still following Vertue you will aâ—â—tain For God is he that crowneâ— with Honour and Glory glorioâ—â— Justice To the other The Sixtieth Question What Persons ought one to choose for Captains The Resolution THose that do most exceed Justice and Magnanimity aâ—â— yet have more respect to the Livesâ— Men than to a bloody Victory Fâ—â— God is he from whom all Mortâ—â— receive infinite Goodness the whiâ—â— you shall excellently imitate if yâ—â— persist in doing good to your Suâ—â—jects To the other The One and Sixtieth Question Who is the Man worthy of Admiration The Resolution THat is he who doth highly abound in Glory and Greatness is opulent in Riches and sublime in Puissance yet nevertheless yields himself affable and kind just and equitable to every one as we have heard Great King you do and the same shall make you admired by every one For it is God that hath engraven this Sollicitude in your Heart To the other The Two and Sixtieth Question What behoveth him to exercise himself in when he is at leisure that he may not thereby be drowned in Sloth The Resolution IT is necessary with all imaginable care and diligence to consider the Discourse which offer concerning the form and manner of living which every one ought constantly to have before his Eyes Likewise to bear always in mind to whaâ— end Property and Vertue were alâ— things ordained Because in the saiâ— Discourse there is much good anâ— honest pastime conjoined to the inâ—crease of Knowledge For amongst little and vile things one finds maâ—ny times something that may pleasâ— him to choose and take for the reâ—â— Great King it seems well to uâ—â— God hath in a great measure so faâ—voured you that you will still bâ— electing all vertuous behaviour anâ— kindness by the great honour yoâ— bear to the study of Wisdom Tâ— the other The Three and Sixtieth Question In what things ought Kings most to employ their time The Resolution IN the knowledge of Histories and in reading Books which treat of Affairs that most often present themselves to him in which it is needful thatâ— he imploy much time It behoâ—eth moreover that he enquire for those Writings that teach to conserve Kingdoms and to correct the manners of men which to accomplish with such diligence as you do God will give prosperity to your Designs in which he will grant you â—n excellent Glory far above other Kings To the other The Four and Sixtieth Question What Persons ought one to invite to Banquets The Resolution ONe ought to call those which are desirous to learn and those who often think how the Affairs of a Kingdom ought to pass and that know how to recount the Lives of Princes for there is nothing more pleasant nor more delectable then such Company For they are those that are well instituted and instructed in the Beauty of Knowledge and have God in high Reverence The which thing it seems you do accomplish well
Great King as one may perceive in that God hath been pleased to send you Prosperity and Happiness in all your Affairs To the other The five and Sixtieth Question Which is most profitable for the People either to choose over them a King from a private Person or to obey a King that was Son to a King The Resolution THE most profitable to the People is that which is most agreeable with Nature For although that some Kings Sons be sometimes Oppressors of the People yet those which from private Persons come to be exalted to such Sublimity and Greatness because they have experienced Poverty and endured Calamities and laborious Travels of private Persons they are more cruel then bloody Tyrants and Rule their Subjects by force and intolerable Violence Wherefore the Ordinance received and accustomed and the common fashion of doing is much more sure and far better for Government that it come from the King by Succession from Father to Son as it is with you Worthy and Great King for your Greatness and Excellency consisteth not so much in Honours Glory and great Domination as in Clemency and Benignity The which by a Gift from God draweth and attracteth the Hearts of all Persons to love you The King accepted this Answer with Praise and turn'd himself towards the last saying The six and sixtieth Question What is most profitable to a Kingdom The Resolution THat is to hold and maintain thâ— People in Peace and to givâ— order that Suits and Process of Laâ— should be immediately and withouâ— delay adjudged definitively for such things are executed when the Prince hateth the wicked and sheweth Faâ—vour and Kindness to good and hoâ—nest Men and such as be vertuous and that he esteems it a great thinâ— to have saved the Life of one of hiâ— Subjects as we have been informed you do Great King that abhorâ— all Murderers disposing and temâ—pering all by Justice In which yoâ— adorn to Eternity the Greatness oâ— your Deeds God having inspireâ— you with a Soul free from all foulâ—ness of Vice and illustrated the same with most excellent Vertue AFter these Answers there arose a great Noise of Congratulations and Applauses with an excessive joyful Acclamation and the whole Hall was full of joyful Shouts The King then commanding silence and taking his Cup invited them all to drink then addressing his Spâ—ech to the said Doctors pronounced these Words in the presence of all the Assembly I repute this day my Masters to be to me most happy by your Presences for your Answers have â—rought to me most great Profit and Instruction for the Government of my self and my Kingdom Thus all being ended he ordained â—hat to every one of the Doctors â—hould be delivered three Talents of Silver and by and by gave to every one of them a Page to wait upon â—hem at their Table So with great contentment to every one the Feast was ended with great Praise of the Kings Liberality who above all shew'd a Countenance of receiving the greatest Satisfaction and most joyful content I Have been hitherto Philocrates thus prolix in the recital of the Business which I have done for the great esteem I have had of such men and of their Wisdom marvelling at the readiness of their Answers being so pertinent to that which was proposed to them upon the sudden shewing such Elegance in their Speech as if these Questions had been long time in premeditation and that he who proposed them had thought of them long before he demanded them and yet their Answers to him were found so agreeable as if they had long before consulted together about them Wherefore it is no wonder that they seem admirable not to me only but to the Phylosophers also and to all them that were present assuring you that such things are more hard to believe than one would imagine in which I will not wonder if the Faith of the Readers be vanquished For my part what occasion have I to add Dreams or Falsities seeing that all which I have Written is to be found in the Registers of the King where it is held the greatest of Crimes to find any untruth in the least thing of the World I assure you then that this Recitation is most true containing the Discourse of all the things as they have passed in verity without mixture of any Errour for to this end that I might best know the truth I have used this Diligence to search publick Registers where we may see recited the Banquets and Feasts together with the Interrogations also of the King and the Answers which were given him and all even Word for Word from whence I have borrowed what I have here Written For you know it hath been the custom to Register and Inroul all that hath been done and said every day from the time that the King began to give Audience unto the time He went to Bed without omitting any thing that he did or was said to his Majesty A course truly very profitable and well instituted For by that means the registred Acts of the precedent day being read if any thing were omitted in what the King had said or done there might be Opportunity of amendment Therefore after I had diligently searched the Day Book of the King I have collected the same for you here by Writing as afore-said Well knowing the extraordinary great desire you have to understand all remarkable Occurrences The means used by the 72 Doctors in their Interpreting or Translating the Law THree dayes after these Feasts and Disputes were ended Demetrius conducted all these Doctors towards the Sea into an Isle and entring upon a Bank passed a Bridg which led towards the North where the place designed for this Assembly was and where they should hold their Conference for their Interpretation of the Law It was a House of Pleasant Scituation and most magnificent upon the Banks of the Sea very stately and curiously decked and trimmed where above all Conveniencies there was great silence for the tranquility of the Spirit and repose of the Understanding Moreover there was all things necessary for Life carefully provided and prepared with great convenience and ease In this place Demetrius entreated them they would dispose themselves to the Iâ—terpretation of the Law in which they began to proceed disputing and conferring together of every thing untill they came all to one general accord and consent to resolve in a true sence advisedly The which done they set down in Writing that which was by them so composed and reduced into good order the most learnedly and the most eloquently that they could by the Advice and Counsell of all they put it apart that the same might afterwards be put into the Hands of Demetrius Their Colloquies and Conferences lasted from the Morning untill nine of the Clock and so rising from these Disputes they went to take Recreation and Air for their Health after all things were sumptuously administred unto them For Dorothea who had the same