ON REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS

 I. (1) We find, then, that in the sacred oracles delivered by the prophet Moses, there are three separate characters for a portion of them relates to

 II. And, first of all, we must investigate the subject of honours, since that is both more profitable and more pleasant to hear of, taking our commenc

 III. (15) And after the victory of hope there is another contest in which repentance contends for the prize having, indeed, no share in that nature w

 IV. (22) Then, after these contests in which repentance is concerned, he proposes a third class of prizes, relating to justice, which every one who pr

 V. (28) And let us now perceive each of these things more accurately, without allowing ourselves to be led away by names, but investigating them in th

 VI. (36) And next to the man who has acquired self-taught virtue, and who has availed himself of the riches of nature, the third person who is made pe

 VII. But the fact that he does exist, though it is comprehensible from the mere name of existence, is nevertheless not understood by every one, or at

 VIII. (47) We have now described the greatest prize of all: but in addition to these prizes, the meditator on virtue receives another prize, not well-

 IX. (52) Having thus mentioned one man of each class, since I am anxious not to be prolix, I will proceed to what comes next in the order of discussio

 X. (57) We have now thus spoken at sufficient length concerning the rewards proposed for each individual man: but rewards are also offered to whole ho

 XI. (61) And every one of these three individuals has in the account which we have received of him a figurative meaning concealed below it, which we m

 XII. (67) Therefore those rewards which were thus long since assigned to the good, both publicly and privately, have now been described though somewha

 XIII. (74) These punishments, then, are those which were decided on to be inflicted on the first slayer of his brother. But others were also appointed

 XIV. (79) And there is a distinct evidence in confirmation of what I have now said recorded in the sacred scriptures because, in the first place, the

 XV. (85) But since there are also two classes of enemies--the one being men, who are so deliberately, out of covetousness the other being beasts, who

 XVI. (91) Thus, then, the most ancient war, both in point of time and in nature, will be put an end to, when all the wild beasts will be tamed and wil

 XVII. (98) These, then, are the first things which he says will happen to those who obey God, and who at all times and in all places observe his comma

 XVIII. (106) And at that time, says the law, you, by reason of the abundant fertility, shall do what you now suffer. For now, indeed, you pay no respe

 XIX. (111) This is what the lawgiver in one passage says, while declaring the will of God, that, thou shalt complete the number of thy days, prophes

 XX. (118) These, then, of which we have already spoken, are what are called external goods, victory over one's enemies, superiority in war, confirmati

 XXI. (127) The lawgiver of our nation denounces the first curse as the lightest of evils, namely, poverty and indigence, and a want of all necessary t

 XXII. (130) And there are other misfortunes also lying in wait for the men besides those which have been mentioned, all equally contributing to produc

 XXIII. (134) And such a complete scarcity of all necessary things will seize the people that, being wholly destitute of and indifferent to them, they

 XXIV. (137) Again. To free-born people slavery is a most intolerable evil, to avoid which wise men are willing even to die, resisting in a gallant spi

 XXV. (143) For these things are the rewards of impiety and lawless iniquity. And, in addition to these things, there are diseases of the body which se

 XXVI. (148) And if, after all these calamities, they are not chastened, but still proceed by crooked paths, and turn off from the straight roads which

 XXVII. (153) The cities being thus destroyed as if by fire, and the country being rendered desolate, the land will at last begin to obtain a respite,

 XXVIII. (162) I have now, then, without making any concealment of softening the truth in any degree, explained the curses and the punishments which it

 IX. (165) But when they have received this unexpected liberty, those who but a short time before were scattered about in Greece, and in the countries

XXVI. (148) And if, after all these calamities, they are not chastened, but still proceed by crooked paths, and turn off from the straight roads which lead to truth, then cowardice and fear shall be established in their souls, [Le 26:36.] and they shall flee when no one pursues, and shall be routed and destroyed by false reports, as does often happen. The lightest sound of leaves falling through the air shall cause as great an agony of fear and apprehension as the most formidable war waged by the most powerful of enemies ought to produce, so that children shall be indifferent to the fate of their parents, and parents to that of their children, and brothers to that of their brethren, looking upon it that if they go to their assistance they may themselves incur the danger of captivity, while their best chance of safety consists in escaping by themselves. (149) But the hopes of wicked men do never obtain their accomplishment, and those who hope to escape thus will be still more, or at all events not less, taken prisoners than those who were previously laid hold of. And even if some such persons do escape notice, they will still be exposed to insidious attacks from their natural enemies; and these are those most furious wild beasts who are well armed by the endowments of nature, and which God, simultaneously with the original creation of the universe, made for the purpose of striking terror into those men who were incapable of taking warning, and for executing implacable justice on those whose wickedness was incurable; (150) and those who behold their cities razed to the very foundations will hardly believe that they were ever inhabited, and they will turn the sudden misfortunes which befall men after brilliant instances of prosperity into a proverb, recording all the instances which are mentioned or passed over in History.[this contrast of present misery with former splendour is one of the circumstances mentioned by Thuycydides as enhancing the terrors of the disasters the Athenians met with in Sicily. 7.75.] (151) There shall also come upon them asthmas, and consumptions affecting the internal organs, producing heaviness and despondency, with great afflictions, and making all life unstable, and hanging, as one may say, from a halter. And fears incessantly succeeding one another will toss the mind up and down, agitating it night and day, so that in the morning they shall pray for the evening, and in the evening they shall pray for the morning, on account of the visible horrors which surround them when awake, and the detestable images which present themselves to them in their dreams when sleeping. (152) And the proselyte who has come over being lifted up on high by good fortune, will be a conspicuous object, being admired and pronounced happy in two most important particulars, in the first place because he has come over to God of his own accord, and also because he has received as a most appropriate reward a firm and sure habitation in heaven, such as one cannot describe. But the man of noble descent, who has adulterated the coinage of his noble birth, will be dragged down to the lowest depths, being hurled down to Tartarus and profound darkness, in order that all men who behold this example may be corrected by it, learning that God receives gladly virtue which grows out of hostility to him, utterly disregarding its original roots, but looking favourably on the whole trunk from its lowest foundation, because it has become useful and has changed its nature so as to become fruitful.