without apology, that he may be allowed to be his own
accuser, and the accuser of the rest of the Egyptians.
However, he accuses us for sacrificing animals, and for
abstaining from swine's flesh, and laughs at us for the
circumcision of our privy members. Now as for our slaughter
of tame animals for sacrifices, it is common to us and to all
other men; but this Apion, by making it a crime to sacrifice
them, demonstrates himself to be an Egyptian; for had he
been either a Grecian or a Macedonian, [as he pretends to
be,] he had not shown any uneasiness at it; for those people
glory in sacrificing whole hecatombs to the gods, and make
use of those sacrifices for feasting; and yet is not the world
thereby rendered destitute of cattle, as Apion was afraid
would come to pass. Yet if all men had followed the manners
of the Egyptians, the world had certainly been made desolate
as to mankind, but had been filled full of the wildest sort of
brute beasts, which, because they suppose them to be gods,
they carefully nourish. However, if any one should ask Apion
which of the Egyptians he thinks to he the most wise and
most pious of them all, he would certainly acknowledge the
priests to be so; for the histories say that two things were
originally committed to their care by their kings' injunctions,
the worship of the gods, and the support of wisdom and
philosophy. Accordingly, these priests are all circumcised, and
abstain from swine's flesh; nor does any one of the other
Egyptians assist them in slaying those sacrifices they offer to
the gods. Apion was therefore quite blinded in his mind,
when, for the sake of the Egyptians, he contrived to reproach
us, and to accuse such others as not only make use of that
conduct of life which he so much abuses, but have also taught