their opinion about God, and that worship which is due to
him, always and immutably the same.

37. But now, this Apollonius Molo was one of these foolish
and proud men. However, nothing that I have said was
unknown to those that were real philosophers among the
Greeks, nor were they unacquainted with those frigid
pretensions of allegories [which had been alleged for such
things]; on which account they justly despised them, but have
still agreed with us as to the true and becoming notions of
God; whence it was that Plato would not have political
settlements admit to of any one of the other poets, and
dismisses even Homer himself, with a garland on his head,
and with ointment poured upon him, and this because he
should not destroy the right notions of God with his fables.
Nay, Plato principally imitated our legislator in this point,
that he enjoined his citizens to have he main regard to this
precept, "That every one of them should learn their laws
accurately." He also ordained, that they should not admit of
foreigners intermixing with their own people at random; and
provided that the commonwealth should keep itself pure, and
consist of such only as persevered in their own laws.
Apollonius Molo did no way consider this, when he made it
one branch of his accusation against us, that we do not admit
of such as have different notions about God, nor will we have
fellowship with those that choose to observe a way of living
different from ourselves, yet is not this method peculiar to
us,
but common to all other men; not among the ordinary
Grecians only, but among such of those Grecians as are of