est, and was
not unacquainted with any thing whatsoever that was either said or
done in it. How impudent then must those deserve to be esteemed that
undertake to contradict me about the true state of those affairs!
who, although they pretend to have made use of both the emperors' own
memoirs, yet could not they he acquainted with our affairs who fought
against them.

11. This digression I have been obliged to make out of necessity, as
being desirous to expose the vanity of those that profess to write
histories; and I suppose I have sufficiently declared that this custom
of transmitting down the histories of ancient times hath been better
preserved by those nations which are called Barbarians, than by the
Greeks themselves. I am now willing, in the next place, to say a few
things to those that endeavor to prove that our constitution is but of
late time, for this reason, as they pretend, that the Greek writers have
said nothing about us; after which I shall produce testimonies for our
antiquity out of the writings of foreigners; I shall also demonstrate
that such as cast reproaches upon our nation do it very unjustly.

12. As for ourselves, therefore, we neither inhabit a maritime country,
nor do we delight in merchandise, nor in such a mixture with other men
as arises from it; but the cities we dwell in are remote from the sea,
and having a fruitful country for our habitation, we take pains in
cultivating that only. Our principal care of all is this, to educate our
children well; and we think it to be the most necessary business of
our whole life to observe the laws that have been given us, and to
keep those rules of piety that have been delivered down to us. Since,
therefore, besides what we have already taken notice of, we have had a
peculiar way of living of our own, there was no occasion offered us in
ancient ages for intermixing among the Greeks, as they had for mixing
among the Egyptians, by their intercourse of exporting and importing
their several goods; as they also mixed with the Phoenicians, who
lived by the sea-side, by means of their love of lucre in trade and
merchandise. Nor did our forefathers betake themselves, as did some
others, to robbery; nor did they, in order to gain more wealth, fall
into foreign wars, although our country contained many ten thousands of
men of courage sufficient for that purpose. For this reason it was that
the Phoenicians themselves came soon by trading and navigation to be
kn