esteemed a religious person himself, and a mighty lover of
the Greeks, and might thereby have procured himself great
assistance from all men against that hatred the Jews bore to
him. But I leave this matter; for the proper way of confuting
fools is not to use bare words, but to appeal to the things
themselves that make against them. Now, then, all such as
ever saw the construction of our temple, of what nature it
was, know well enough how the purity of it was never to be
profaned; for it had four several courts (12) encompassed
with cloisters round about, every one of which had by our law
a peculiar degree of separation from the rest. Into the first
court every body was allowed to go, even foreigners, and
none but women, during their courses, were prohibited to
pass through it; all the Jews went into the second court, as
well as their wives, when they were free from all uncleanness;
into the third court went in the Jewish men, when they were
clean and purified; into the fourth went the priests, having on
their sacerdotal garments; but for the most sacred place,
none went in but the high priests, clothed in their peculiar
garments. Now there is so great caution used about these
offices of religion, that the priests are appointed to go into
the temple but at certain hours; for in the morning, at the
opening of the inner temple, those that are to officiate
receive the sacrifices, as they do again at noon, till the
doors
are shut. Lastly, it is not so much as lawful to carry any
vessel
into the holy house; nor is there any thing therein, but the
altar [of incense], the table [of shew-bread], the censer, and
the candlestick, which are all written in the law; for there is