lish and proud
men. However, nothing that I have said was unknown to those that were
real philosophers among the Greeks, nor were they unacquainted with
those frigid pretensions of allegories [which had been alleged for such
things]; on which account they justly despised them, but have still
agreed with us as to the true and becoming notions of God; whence it was
that Plato would not have political settlements admit to of any one of
the other poets, and dismisses even Homer himself, with a garland on his
head, and with ointment poured upon him, and this because he should not
destroy the right notions of God with his fables. Nay, Plato principally
imitated our legislator in this point, that he enjoined his citizens
to have he main regard to this precept, "That every one of them should
learn their laws accurately." He also ordained, that they should not
admit of foreigners intermixing with their own people at random; and
provided that the commonwealth should keep itself pure, and consist of
such only as persevered in their own laws. Apollonius Molo did no way
consider this, when he made it one branch of his accusation against us,
that we do not admit of such as have different notions about God, nor
will we have fellowship with those that choose to observe a way of
living different from ourselves, yet is not this method peculiar to us,
but common to all other men; not among the ordinary Grecians only, but
among such of those Grecians as are of the greatest reputation among
them. Moreover, the Lacedemonians continued in their way of expelling
foreigners, and would not indeed give leave to their own people to
travel abroad, as suspecting that those two things would introduce a
dissolution of their own laws: and perhaps there may be some reason to
blame the rigid severity of the Lacedemonians, for they bestowed the
privilege of their city on no foreigners, nor indeed would give leave
to them to stay among them; whereas we, though we do not think fit to
imitate other institutions, yet do we willingly admit of those that
desire to partake of ours, which, I think, I may reckon to be a plain
indication of our humanity, and at the same time of our magnanimity
also.

38. But I shall say no more of the Lacedemonians. As for the Athenians,
who glory in having made their city to be common to all men, what their
behavior was Apollonius did not know, while they punished those that
did but speak one word contrary to the laws about the go