52

Now I will confess the truth to you. I have not been in love with a woman nor with anyone else, my soul having been entirely consumed by other desires and by the search for true doctrines; and until now, having examined the many opinions of philosophers, I have inclined toward none of them except only that of the Jews, when a certain merchant of theirs, selling linen cloths, had come to stay here in Rome, and by some good fortune set before me in a rather simple way the monarchical doctrine. But when Appion heard the truth from me, he who unreasonably hates the Jews and neither knows nor wants to know what it is they believe, being rashly angered by my silence, immediately departed from Rome itself, and having met him now for the first time since then, I reasonably suspect his anger from that time. Nevertheless, in your presence I will ask him what he might have to say about the so-called gods, whose lives are mythologized as being full of all passions, and are deliberately sung in public for the imitation of the same, of whom, in addition to their human passions (as I said), even their tombs are shown in various places. My companions, having heard these things from me beforehand and desiring to learn what would follow, came with me as if to visit Appion. And indeed we found him already bathed at a ready table, for which reason we discussed precisely only a few things concerning the subject of the gods. But he (I think), understanding our intention, promised to have something to say about the gods on the following day and indicated to us the same place, that he would discourse there. And we, along with his promise, having expressed our thanks to him, each departed for home.

52

Νῦν σοι τὰ ἀληθῆ ὁμολογήσω. ἐγὼ γυναικὸς οὐκ ἠράσθην οὐδὲ ἄλλου τινός, πάνυ μου τῆς ψυχῆς δεδαπανημένης πρὸς ἄλλας ἐπιθυμίας καὶ πρὸς ἀληθῶν δογμάτων εὕρεσιν· καὶ μέχρι τοῦ νῦν πολλὰς γνώμας φιλο- σόφων διασκοπήσας πρὸς οὐδένα αὐτῶν ἔνευσα ἢ πρὸς τὸ Ἰουδαίων μόνον, ἐμπόρου τινὸς αὐτῶν ὀθόνας πιπράσκοντος ἐνταῦθα τῇ Ῥώμῃ ἐπιδεδημη- κότος καὶ ἔκ τινος συντυχίας ἀγαθῆς ἁπλούστερόν μοι τὸ μοναρχικὸν φρόνη- μα παραθεμένου. ἀκούσας δέ μου τῆς ἀληθείας ὁ Ἀππίων, ὁ ἀλόγως μισῶν τὸ Ἰουδαίων καὶ τί ποτέ ἐστιν αὐτῶν τὸ πιστὸν οὔτε εἰδὼς οὔτε εἰδέναι θέλων, ἀκρίτως ὀργισθεὶς τῇ σιωπῇ ἐξ αὐτῆς ἤδη τῆς Ῥώμης ἀπηλ- λάσσετο, καὶ ἔκτοτε νῦν πρῶτον αὐτῷ συντετυχηκὼς τὸν ἐξ ἐκείνου τοῦ χρό- νου θυμὸν ὑποπτεύω εἰκότως. πλὴν ἐφ' ὑμῶν αὐτοῦ πεύσομαι τί ἂν ἔχοι λέγειν περὶ τῶν λεγομένων θεῶν, ὧν οἱ βίοι παντοπαθεῖς εἶναι μυθολο- γούμενοι, πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ὁμοίου μίμησιν ἐπίτηδες °δονται δημοσίᾳ, ὧν πρὸς τοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις πάθεσιν (ὡς ἔφην) καὶ οἱ κατὰ τόπον δείκ- νυνται τάφοι. Ταῦτα οἱ ἑταῖροι προακούσαντες ἐμοῦ καὶ μαθεῖν τὰ ἑξῆς ποθοῦντες συνῆλθόν μοι ὡς ἐπισκεψόμενοι Ἀππίωνα. καὶ δὴ λελουμένον αὐτὸν ἤδη κατελαμβάνομεν ἐφ' ἑτοίμῳ τραπέζῃ, διόπερ ὀλίγα ἠκριβολογησάμεθα εἰς τὸν περὶ θεῶν λόγον. ὁ δέ (οἶμαι) συνεὶς ἡμῶν τὴν προαίρεσιν, εἰς τὴν ἐπιοῦσαν ἔχειν τι εἰπεῖν ὑπέσχετο περὶ θεῶν καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν προεδήλωσεν ἡμῖν τόπον ὡς ἐκεῖ διαλεξόμενος. ἡμεῖς δὲ σὺν τῇ ὑποσχέσει, χάριν ὁμολογή- σαντες αὐτῷ, οἴκαδε ἕκαστος ἀπεχωρήσαμεν.