other men to be circumcised, as says Herodotus; which makes
me think that Apion is hereby justly punished for his casting
such reproaches on the laws of his own country; for he was
circumcised himself of necessity, on account of an ulcer in his
privy member; and when he received no benefit by such
circumcision, but his member became putrid, he died in great
torment. Now men of good tempers ought to observe their
own laws concerning religion accurately, and to persevere
therein, but not presently to abuse the laws of other nations,
while this Apion deserted his own laws, and told lies about
ours. And this was the end of Apion's life, and this shall be
the conclusion of our discourse about him.

15. But now, since Apollonius Molo, and Lysimachus, and
some others, write treatises about our lawgiver Moses, and
about our laws, which are neither just nor true, and this
partly out of ignorance, but chiefly out of ill-will to us,
while
they calumniate Moses as an impostor and deceiver, and
pretend that our laws teach us wickedness, but nothing that is
virtuous, I have a mind to discourse briefly, according to my
ability, about our whole constitution of government, and
about the particular branches of it. For I suppose it will
thence become evident, that the laws we have given us are
disposed after the best manner for the advancement of piety,
for mutual communion with one another, for a general love
of mankind, as also for justice, and for sustaining labors with
fortitude, and for a contempt of death. And I beg of those
that shall peruse this writing of mine, to read it without
partiality; for it is not my purpose to write an encomium