A Treatise on Fugitives.

 I. (1) And Sarah afflicted her, and she fled from before her face. And the angel of the Lord found her sitting by a fountain of water in the wilderne

 II. (7) Therefore the account which follows will show these characteristics more accurately. But we must return to the heads of the question which we

 III. (14) But seeing that he is dumb with respect to learning and to all desirable and legitimate authority, he very naturally thinks of flight. For h

 IV. (23) Hatred then, was the cause of the flight which I have been here describing but fear was the cause of the one which I am about to mention. Fo

 V. (28) If therefore, you wish to convict a wicked man, who is also possessed of great wealth, do not disdain an abundance of money for the unhappy m

 VI. (33) And here therefore truth may not unreasonably blame those who, without any examination, abandon the business and means of regulating a civil

 VII. (39) Behold, says she, Esau thy brother threatens thee. But is it not natural for that disposition, hard as oak and obstinate through ignoran

 VIII. (44) On which account we read, He will depart to Laban, not to him as the Syrian, but as the brother of his mother that is to say, he will go

 IX. (48) And his father also gives him similar precepts, adding a few trifling injunctions for he says, Rise up and flee into Mesopotamia, to the ho

 X. (53) But Moses has spoken more accurately about flights when he was establishing the law with respect to homicides, in which he goes through every

 XI. (56) Moreover, she confirmed this opinion of hers by the sacred scriptures, one of which ran in this form: You who cleave unto the Lord your God

 XII. (62) But it was by all means necessary that different regions should be assigned to different things, the heaven to good things, the earth to wha

 XIII. (65) And the expression, not intentionally, but if God deliver him into his hand, is used with exceeding propriety with reference to those who

 XIV. (71) On which account, after Moses had already put in God's mouth this expression, Let us make man, as if speaking to several persons, as if he

 XV. (77) Having now said thus much in a philosophical spirit with respect to involuntary offences, he proceeds to legislate concerning the man who ris

 XVI. (83) Therefore, having further commanded the unholy man who is a speaker of evil against divine things to be removed from the most holy places an

 XVII. (87) And it is worth while to examine with all the accuracy possible into some necessary points relating to this place. They are four in number.

 XVIII. (94) These then are the reasons on account of which they who have committed unintentional homicide fly only to those cities which belong to the

 XIX. (100) These, then, are the six cities which Moses calls cities of refuge, five of which have had their figures set forth in the sacred scriptures

 XX. (106) The fourth and last of the points which we proposed to discuss, is the appointing as a period for the return of the fugitives the death of t

 XXI. (113) This high priest, as Moses says, shall not enter into any soul that is dead. But the death of the soul is a life according to wickedness

 XXII. (119) Having now, therefore, said what was proper on the subject of fugitives, we will proceed with what follows in the regular order of the con

 XXIII. (124) And the leader of this company is the king of the region of the body. For, says Moses, Pharaoh turned himself about and went into his

 XXIV. (132) I very greatly wonder at those persons also, I mean at him who is fond of asking questions about what is in the middle between two extreme

 XXV. (137) Those also who have inquired what it is that nourishes the soul, for as Moses says, They knew not what it was, learnt at last and found t

 XXVI. (143) Having now spoken at sufficient length on this point also, let us proceed in regular order to consider the third head of our subject, in w

 XXVII. (149) Nor does he, who is sent forth to search for that virtue which is invincible and embittered against the ridiculous pursuits of men, by na

 XXVIII. (157) Also the person who loves virtue seeks a goat by reason of his sins, but does not find one for, already, as the sacred scripture tells

 XXIX. (161) On one occasion Moses was urged on, by a desire of learning, to investigate the causes through which the most necessary of things in the w

 XXX. (166) Having now said thus much concerning the third head of our subject, we will proceed to the fourth and last of the propositions we proposed

 XXXI. (170) There is also a third definition of what is taught a man by himself, namely that which of its own accord rises upwards. For it is said in

 XXXII. (177) Having now said thus much on the subject of discovery, we will proceed in due order to what comes next in the context. Moses proceeds, T

 XXXIII. (183) There are also many various fountains of instruction, by means of which most nutritious reasonings have sprung up like the trunks of pal

 XXXIV. (188) Such then are the fountains of intermediate instruction. Let us now consider the fountain of folly, concerning which the lawgiver speaks

 XXXV. (194) These are the fountains of errors. We must now examine that of prudence. To this one it is that perseverance, that is to say, Rebecca, des

 XXXVI. (197) We must now speak also concerning that highest and most excellent of fountains which the Father of the universe spake of by the mouths of

 XXXVII. (202) We have now then said as much as the time will permit us to say on the subject of the fountains, and it is with great accuracy and propr

 XXXVIII. (207) Therefore the convicter of the soul approving of her in respect of her obedience says, Return unto thy mistress for the government of

XXVII. (149) Nor does he, who is sent forth to search for that virtue which is invincible and embittered against the ridiculous pursuits of men, by name Tamar, find her. And this failure of his is strictly in accordance with nature; for we read in the scripture, "And Judah sent a kid in the hands of his shepherd, the Adullamite, to receive back his pledge from the woman, and he found her not: and he asked the men of the place, Where is the harlot who was in Aenan by the wayside? and they said, There is no harlot in this place. And he returned back to Judah, and said unto him, I have not found her, and the men of the place say that there is no harlot there. And Judah said, Let her keep the things, only let me not be made a laughing-stock, I because I have sent the kid, and you because you have not found Her."[Ge 38:20.] Oh, the admirable trial! oh, the temptation becoming sacred things! (150) Who gave the pledge? Why the mind, forsooth, which was eager to purchase the most excellent possession, piety towards God, by three pledges or symbols, namely a ring, and an armlet, and a staff, signifying confidence and sure faith; the connection and union of reason with life, and of life with reason; and upright and unchanging instruction on which it is profitable to rely. (151) Therefore he examines the question as to whether he had properly given this pledge. What, then, is the examination? To throw down some bait having an attractive power, such as glory, or riches, or bodily health, or something similar, and to see to which it will incline, like the balance in a scale; for if there is any inclination to any one of these things the pledge is not sure. Therefore he sent a kid in order to recover back his pledge from the woman, not because he had determined by all means to recover it, but only in the case of her being unworthy to retain it. (152) And when will this be? when she willingly exchanges what is of importance for what is indifferent, preferring spurious to genuine good. Now the genuine good things are faith, the connection and union of words with deeds, and the rule of right instruction, as on the other hand the evils are, faithlessness, a want of such connection between words and deeds, and ignorance. And spurious goods are those which depend upon appetite devoid of reason; (153) for "when he sought her he did not find her;" for what is good is hard to be found, or, one may even say, is utterly impossible to be found in a confused life. And if one inquires whether the soul, which is a harlot, is in every place of virtue, one will be distinctly told that it is not, and that it has not been previously; for a common, unchaste, and wanton, and utterly shameless woman, selling the flower of her beauty at a low price, and making her external parts both bright with purifications and washings, but leaving her inward parts unclean and vile, and being like pictures painted with colours about the face because of the absence of all natural beauty; she who pursues that promiscuous evil called the vice of having many husbands, as if it were a good, coveting polygamy, and laying herself open for infinite variety, and being mocked and insulted at the same time by ten thousand bodies and things, "is not there." (154) He, then, who sent the messenger to inquire, hearing this, having removed envy to a distance from himself, and being gentle in his nature, rejoices in no moderate degree, and says, "Perhaps, then, according to my prayer, she is truly a virtuous mind, a citizen wife, excelling in modesty, and chastity, and all other virtues, cleaving to one husband alone, being content with the administration of one household, and rejoicing in the authority of one husband; and if she is such an one, let her keep what I have given her--the instruction and the connection of reason with life and of life with reason, and, what is the most necessary of all things, surety and faith. (155) But let us not be laughed at as appearing to have given gifts which were not merited, while we think that we gave what is most suitable to the soul; for I, indeed, did what was proper for a man to do who wished to make experiment of and to test her disposition, throwing out a bait and sending a messenger; but he has showed me that her nature is not easily caught. (156) And it is not clear to me why it is not easily caught; for I have seen ten thousand persons of the extremely wicked class doing the same things as those who are extremely good, but not with the same purpose, since the one class has truth and the other only hypocrisy, and it is very hard to distinguish the one from the other, for very often reality is overpowered by appearance.