ion from theirs hath occasioned
great enmity between us, while our way of Divine worship did as much
exceed that which their laws appointed, as does the nature of God
exceed that of brute beasts; for so far they all agree through the whole
country, to esteem such animals as gods, although they differ one
from another in the peculiar worship they severally pay to them. And
certainly men they are entirely of vain and foolish minds, who have
thus accustomed themselves from the beginning to have such bad notions
concerning their gods, and could not think of imitating that decent
form of Divine worship which we made use of, though, when they saw our
institutions approved of by many others, they could not but envy us on
that account; for some of them have proceeded to that degree of folly
and meanness in their conduct, as not to scruple to contradict their own
ancient records, nay, to contradict themselves also in their writings,
and yet were so blinded by their passions as not to discern it.

26. And now I will turn my discourse to one of their principal writers,
whom I have a little before made use of as a witness to our antiquity; I
mean Manetho. [22] He promised to interpret the Egyptian history out of
their sacred writings, and premised this: that "our people had come into
Egypt, many ten thousands in number, and subdued its inhabitants;"
and when he had further confessed that "we went out of that country
afterward, and settled in that country which is now called Judea, and
there built Jerusalem and its temple." Now thus far he followed his
ancient records; but after this he permits himself, in order to appear
to have written what rumors and reports passed abroad about the Jews,
and introduces incredible narrations, as if he would have the Egyptian
multitude, that had the leprosy and other distempers, to have been mixed
with us, as he says they were, and that they were condemned to fly out
of Egypt together; for he mentions Amenophis, a fictitious king's name,
though on that account he durst not set down the number of years of
his reign, which yet he had accurately done as to the other kings he
mentions; he then ascribes certain fabulous stories to this king,
as having in a manner forgotten how he had already related that the
departure of the shepherds for Jerusalem had been five hundred and
eighteen years before; for Tethmosis was king when they went away.
Now, from his days, the reigns of the intermediate kings, accordi