The Works of Philo Judaeus, Vol. 3

impious devices. He ordered that of all children born, only the females should be raised (since a woman, by nature's weakness, is disinclined and unfitted for war), and that all male children should be destroyed, so the population of their cities would not increase. For a power consisting of many men is a fortress difficult to take and destroy.

As the infant Moses was born with a more beautiful and noble form than usual, his parents resolved to disregard the tyrant's proclamation as much as they could. They say that for three months, they kept him at home, feeding him on milk without the knowledge of the public. But as is common in monarchies, some people—always eager to bring new reports to the king—discovered what was kept hidden. Fearing that in seeking the safety of one, many would be destroyed, his parents exposed their child on the banks of the river with many tears. They departed groaning and lamenting, pitying themselves for the necessity forced upon them, calling themselves the killers of their child, and commiserating with the infant for the destruction they had hoped to avert.

In their miserable misfortune, they accused themselves of having brought a heavier affliction upon themselves than necessary.

“Why,” they said, “did we not expose him at the moment of his birth?” For people generally do not view one who has not lived long enough to partake of food as a human being at all. “But we, in our superfluous affection, have nourished him these three months, causing ourselves more abundant grief and inflicting a heavier punishment on him, so that he, having attained a capacity for feeling pleasure and pain, should finally perish in the perception of the most grievous evils.”

IV. So they departed, ignorant of the future and overwhelmed with misery. But the sister of the exposed infant, being still a maiden, out of intense sisterly affection, stood a little way off to watch what would happen. All the events that concerned him appear to me to have taken place in accordance with the providence of God, who watched over the infant. The king of the country had an only daughter whom he loved tenderly. They say that although she had been married a long time, she had never had children; therefore, she was very desirous of offspring, especially a male who could succeed to the noble inheritance of her father's prosperity and imperial authority, which was in danger of being lost since the king had no other grandsons.

The similarity of this passage to Sir William Jones' Ode is very remarkable: