XXVIII. Accordingly, we being in a great strait and in most difficult circumstances, we, though we had availed ourselves of every expedient which we could possibly think of in order to propitiate and conciliate Helicon, could find no means of doing so and no access to him, since no one dared either to accost or to approach him, by reason of his exceeding insolence and cruelty with which he behaved to every one; and also because we were not aware, whether there was any especial reason for his alienation from the Jewish nation; since he was also exciting and exasperating his master against our people, and, accordingly, we left off labouring at this point, and turned our attention to what was of greater importance.
For it appeared good to present to Caius a memorial, containing a summary of what we had suffered, and of the way in which we considered that we deserved to be treated; and this memorial was nearly an abridgment of a longer petition which we had sent to him a short time before, by the hand of king Agrippa; for he, by chance, was staying for a short time in the city, while on his way into Syria to take possession of the kingdom which had been given to him; but we, without being aware of it, were deceiving ourselves, for before also we had done the same, when we originally began to set sail, thinking that as we were going before a judge we should meet with justice; but he was in reality an irreconcilable enemy to us, attracting us, as far as appearance went, with favourable looks and cheerful address; for, receiving us favourably at first, in the plains on the banks of the Tiber (for he happened to be walking about in his mother's garden), he conversed with us formally, and waved his right hand to us in a protecting manner, giving us significant tokens of his good will, and having sent to us the secretary, whose duty it was to attend to the embassies that arrived, Obulus by name, he said, “I myself will listen to what you have to say at the first favourable opportunity."
So that all those who stood around congratulated us as if we had already carried our point, and so did all those of our own people, who are influenced by superficial appearances. But I myself, who was accounted to be possessed of superior prudence, both on account of my age and my education, and general information, was less sanguine in respect of the matters at which the others were so greatly delighted. " For why," said I, after pondering the matter deeply in my own heart, " why, when there have been such numbers of ambassadors, who have come, one may almost say, from every corner of the globe, did he say on that occasion that he would hear what we had to say, and no one else? What could have been his meaning? for he was not ignorant that we were Jews, who would have been quite content at not being treated worse than the others; but to expect to be looked upon as worthy to receive especial privileges and precedence, by a master who was of a different nation and a young man and an absolute monarch, would have seemed like insanity. But it would seem that he was showing civility to the whole district of the Alexandrians, to which he was thus giving a privilege, when promising to give his decision speedily; unless, indeed, disregarding the character of a fair and impartial hearer, he was intending to be a fellow suitor with our adversaries and an enemy of ours, instead of behaving like a judge."
Embassy to Caius (Gaius) — C. D. Yonge (1855)
Philo — Embassy to Caius (Gaius) — Section 28
Embassy to Caius (Gaius) — C. D. Yonge (1855)