ON THE VIRTUES (DE VIRTUTIBUS)
INTRODUCTION TO DE VIRTUTIBUS
Courage or Manliness
True courage is knowledge, not the savage passions so often exhibited in war but the courage shown by persons who in spite of bodily infirmities exercise their minds for the benefit of others (1–4). There are many circumstances which call out this courage: poverty is combated by contentment with the simple wealth which nature supplies (5–7), though there is also the higher wealth of wisdom (8–9); obscurity or insignificance is not of any importance if we have the esteem of the wise (10–11), nor disability of the senses if we have the sight of the mind (12), nor disease if the soul is healthy (13–14). Courage is the quality which enables us to despise all these (15–17). How essential this virtue of courage or manliness is is suggested by the law when it even forbids a man to assume a woman’s dress (18–21).
Courage in peace time is inculcated everywhere in the law, but we must see what it says about courage in war (22). Observe that the cowardly are not to be enrolled in the army (23–26), nor yet those who would naturally be just entering on some new undertaking which would distract their interest (27–31). The warriors that Moses looks for are men of sound and active body and having the gallantry which prefers a glorious death to a life of dishonour (32–33). Such must have been the twelve thousand selected for the war with Midian, and Philo now tells the story of that war from its beginning: the seduction of many Israelites by means of the Midianite women (34–40) and the punishment which deterred the rest from following their example (41), and how the small army enlisted by Moses to avenge the sin of the seducers won a complete victory over vastly greater numbers without losing a man (42–44). This victory due to the support of God agrees with the promise given in Deuteronomy that obedience to the law will secure success in war (45–50).
Humanity
Humanity or kindness is the twin of piety, and the life and legislation of Moses is the best illustration it can have, but before going on to the latter we may mention incidents at the close of his career which were not noted in the two books which told the story of his life (51–52). Philo now proceeds to show how Moses knowing his end was near would not bequeath the succession to his family or even to his friend and lieutenant Joshua without consulting God (53–65), and how when the choice of Joshua had been divinely approved he charged him before the congregation (66–69), thereby showing how every ruler should train and encourage his successor (70–71), and then broke into the Great Song (72–75) followed by the Blessing of the Tribes (76–79). He now passes on to give some examples of the humanity of the Mosaic law (80–81). Loans are to be made to Israelites without exacting interest (82–87), wages are to be paid on the same day (88), the creditor is not to enter the debtor’s house to seize a pledge (89), the gleaning of the harvest of corn, grapes and olives is to be left to the poor (90–94), the first fruits of the crops and herds are to be set aside (95), a straying animal is to be kept and restored to its owner (96), the produce in the sabbatical year is to be free to the poor (97–98) and landed possessions are to be restored to the original owner in the year of Jubile (99–100). These are only specimens of the kindness to be shown to brother Israelites (101). Next we have the humanity to be shown, as inculcated throughout the law, to strangers who are assumed to be proselytes to the faith (102–104) and to the settlers who enter without this recommendation (105–108). Also to enemies there is the injunction not to make war without attempting reconciliation (109), and to treat women captives with respect (110–115) and in private life to extend the duty of protecting or restoring animals to enemies and thereby possibly ending a feud (116–118); all these show how the great purpose of the Mosaic Law is to increase peace and brotherhood (119–120).
So far the persons to whom this kindness is to be rendered are free men, but slaves also should have the same. A person reduced to that condition by poverty is to be liberated in the seventh year (121–123) and even those born in slavery are not to be rejected if they come as suppliants to another (124).
Kindness to animals is enjoined by the ordinance that the offspring is to be left with its mother for seven days, which coupled with Nature’s provision of milk for the new born creature should make the infanticides reflect on the wickedness of their conduct (125–133). The same lesson is given by the law that mother and offspring are not to be killed on the same day, an action against which all decent feeling revolts (134–136), and it is a corollary of this law that no animal should be killed while pregnant (137–138). On the same principle some legislators have forbidden pregnant women condemned to death to be executed till the child is born, and Moses by extending this mercifulness to animals implies that a fortiori consideration in every way is due to our fellow men. He thus convicts the libellers who accuse the Jews of misanthropy (139–141). A still more striking example of this mercifulness is the prohibition against seething the lamb in its mother’s milk (142–144), also the laws against muzzling the ox while treading out the corn (145) and against yoking animals of unequal strength together (146–147).
Finally there is kindness to plants, shown by prohibiting devastation of crops in general and even those of enemies in war (148–154), and careful nursing of the young plants till the fourth year, before which the fruit may not be picked (155–159). Plants, animals, men—from consideration of the lowest we rise to consideration for the highest (160).
All these injunctions are levelled against the vice of pride or arrogance (161–164) which Moses denounces when he bids us use all gifts “to make power,” that is to promote the same powers in others (165–170), and also tells us that God is “provoked by the presumptuousness” which thinks itself divine, ascribes to itself all virtues and gifts and denies them to all others (171–174).
Repentance
In this short sermon the value of repentance as the “second best” is insisted on, as shown primarily in those who are converted from idolatry and must be treated with all friendliness (175–179) and in general by passing from disobedience to obedience to the law which is not far off but in our “mouth, hand and heart” (180–184), and by “choosing” God, a choice which makes each single man his people (185–186).
Nobility
The first part of this treatise is a discussion of the theme that the truly well-born or noble is the wise man, and the truly ignoble or ill-born the fool, as shown by the fact that the possession of gifted and virtuous ancestors does not benefit us if we do not inherit those gifts or follow those virtues (187–197). This is illustrated from Genesis, first, by degenerate sons of good parents. Adam was nobly born yet begat Cain (198–200); Noah begat Ham (201–202), indeed Adam himself was the son of God but fell (203–205). These belong to mankind in general. In Jewish history we find that Abraham’s sons except Isaac were of little worth (206–207), and Esau was the son of Isaac (208–210). Secondly, by good children of bad or inferior parentage. Abraham’s parents were astrologers and idolaters; yet how wonderful was his life and personality (211–219); and so with women also. Tamar who came from a heathen family lived an honourable life (220–222), and the concubines of Jacob, though originally slave girls, were promoted to honour and their children ranked with those of lawful wives (223–225). In fact the only sound doctrine is that everyone is to be judged by his conduct and not by his descent (226–227).