125 Σφόδρα τοίνυν τῆς πολλῆς συνέσεως καὶ ἐπὶ τῷ μέλλοντι ῥηθήσεσθαι θαυμάζειν ἄξιόν ἐστιν Ἀπίωνα· τεκμήριον γὰρ εἶναί φησιν τοῦ μήτε νόμοις ἡμᾶς χρῆσθαι δικαίοις μήτε τὸν θεὸν εὐσεβεῖν ὡς προσῆκεν, δουλεύειν δὲ μᾶλλον ἔθνεσιν [ καὶ] ἄλλοτε ἄλλοις καὶ τὸ κεχρῆσθαι συμφοραῖς τισι περὶ τὴν πόλιν, αὐτοὶ δῆλον ὅτι πόλεως ἡγεμονικωτάτης Ῥωμαίοις ἐκ τῶν ἄνωθεν ἄρχειν, ἀλλὰ μὴ

126 δουλεύειν συνειθισμένων· καίτοι τούτων ἄν τις ἀπόσχοιτο τοιαύτης μεγαλοψυχίας. τῶν μὲν γὰρ ἄλλων οὐκ ἔστιν ὅστις ἀνθρώπων οὐχ ἱκανῶς καθ᾽ αὑτοῦ φαίη τοῦτον ὑπ᾽ Ἀπίωνος λελέχθαι

127 τὸν λόγον· ὀλίγοις μὲν γὰρ ὑπῆρξεν ἐφ᾽ ἡγεμονίας διακαιροπτίας γενέσθαι, καὶ τούτους αἱ μεταβολαὶ πάλιν ἄλλοις δουλεύειν ὑπέζευξαν,

128 τὸ πλεῖστον δὲ φῦλον ἄλλων ὑπακήκοεν πολλάκις. Αἰγύπτιοι δ᾽ ἄρα μόνοι διὰ τὸ καταφυγεῖν, ὥς φασιν, εἰς τὴν χώραν αὐτῶν τοὺς θεοὺς καὶ σωθῆναι μεταβάλλοντας εἰς μορφὰς θηρίων ἐξαίρετον γέρας εὕροντο τὸ μηδενὶ δουλεῦσαι τῶν τῆς Ἀσίας ἢ τῆς Εὐρώπης κρατησάντων, οἱ μίαν ἡμέραν ἐκ τοῦ παντὸς αἰῶνος ἐλευθερίας

129 οὐ τυχόντες ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ παρὰ τῶν οἰκοδεσποτῶν. ὅντινα μὲν γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἐχρήσαντο Πέρσαι τρόπον οὐχ ἅπαξ μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλάκις πορθοῦντες τὰς πόλεις ἱερὰ κατασκάπτοντες τοὺς παρ᾽ αὐτοῖς

130 νομιζομένους θεοὺς κατασφάζοντες, οὐκ ἂν ὀνειδίσαιμι· μιμεῖσθαι γὰρ οὐ προσῆκεν τὴν Ἀπίωνος ἀπαιδευσίαν, ὃς οὔτε τὰς Ἀθηναίων τύχας οὔτε τὰς Λακεδαιμονίων ἐνενόησεν, ὧν τοὺς μὲν ἀνδρειοτάτους

131 εἶναι, τοὺς δὲ εὐσεβεστάτους τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἅπαντες λέγουσιν. ἐῶ βασιλέας τοὺς ἐπ᾽ εὐσεβείᾳ διαβοηθέντας [ ὧν ἕνα Κροῖσον], οἵαις ἐχρήσαντο συμφοραῖς βίου· ἐῶ τὴν καταπρησθεῖσαν Ἀθηναίων ἀκρόπολιν, τὸν ἐν Ἐφέσῳ ναόν, τὸν ἐν Δελφοῖς, ἄλλους μυρίους, καὶ οὐδεὶς ὠνείδισεν ταῦτα τοῖς παθοῦσιν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς δράσασιν.

132 καινὸς δὲ κατήγορος ἡμῶν Ἀπίων ηὑρέθη τῶν ἰδίων αὐτοῦ περὶ τὴν Αἴγυπτον κακῶν ἐκλαθόμενος, ἀλλὰ Σέσωστρις αὐτὸν ὁ μυθευόμενος Αἰγύπτου βασιλεὺς ἐτύφλωσεν· ἡμεῖς δὲ τοὺς ἡμετέρους οὐκ ἂν εἴποιμεν βασιλέας Δαυίδην καὶ Σολομῶνα πολλὰ χειρωσαμένους ἔθνη.

133 τούτους μὲν οὖν παραλίπωμεν· τὰ δὲ γνώριμα πᾶσιν Ἀπίων ἠγνόηκεν, ὅτι Περσῶν καὶ μετ᾽ ἐκείνους ἡγουμένων τῆς Ἀσίας Μακεδόνων Αἰγύπτιοι μὲν ἐδούλευον ἀνδραπόδων οὐδὲν διαφέροντες,

134 ἡμεῖς δὲ ὄντες ἐλεύθεροι προσέτι καὶ τῶν πέριξ πόλεων ἤρχομεν ἔτη σχεδὸν εἴκοσί που καὶ ρ μέχρι Μάγνου Πομπηίου, καὶ πάντων ἐκπολεμηθέντων πρὸς Ῥωμαίων τῶν πανταχοῦ βασιλέων μόνοι διὰ πίστιν οἱ παρ᾽ ἡμῖν σύμμαχοι καὶ φίλοι διεφυλάχθησαν.

125One should also be particularly amazed⁴⁵³ at the great intelligence⁴⁵⁴ in what Apion goes on to say. For he says that it is proof of the fact that we do not employ just laws or worship God as we should⁴⁵⁵ that [we do not govern,]⁴⁵⁶ but are subservient to other nations, one after another, and that we have experienced some misfortunes affecting our city⁴⁵⁷ – while they, obviously, have become accustomed from the very beginning to ruling over the most dominant city rather than serving the Romans!⁴⁵⁸

126Yet even one of them would refrain from such boasting.⁴⁵⁹ And of the rest of humanity, there is no one who would not say that this argument of Apion turns equally⁴⁶⁰ against himself.⁴⁶¹

127It has fallen to few to gain sovereignty over a period of time,⁴⁶² and changes have again brought even these under the yoke to serve others;⁴⁶³ most peoples have been subject to others on many occasions.⁴⁶⁴

128So it is only the Egyptians (because the Gods, so they say, fled to their country for refuge and were saved by changing into the form of animals)⁴⁶⁵ who have the special privilege of not having been subservient to any of those who conquered Asia or Europe⁴⁶⁶ – these who throughout all time have not gained a single day of freedom, not even at the hands of their indigenous masters.⁴⁶⁷

129The way in which the Persians treated them, who not only once but on many occasions sacked their cities, razed their temples to the ground and slaughtered what they consider to be “Gods”⁴⁶⁸ – I would not blame them for that.⁴⁶⁹

130For one should not imitate Apion’s ignorance:⁴⁷⁰ he has not considered the misfortunes of the Athenians or the Lacedaemonians,⁴⁷¹ the latter universally said to be the most courageous of the Greeks,⁴⁷² the former the most pious.⁴⁷³

131I pass over the kings who were famed for their piety,⁴⁷⁴ and the misfortunes they experienced in their lives;⁴⁷⁵ I pass over the burnt Athenian acropolis,⁴⁷⁶ the temple in Ephesus,⁴⁷⁷ that in Delphi,⁴⁷⁸ thousands of others.⁴⁷⁹ No one has blamed these things on the victims, but on the perpetrators.⁴⁸⁰

132Our novel accuser, Apion, turns out to have forgotten his own woes affecting Egypt;⁴⁸¹ Sesostris, the mythical king of Egypt, has blinded him!⁴⁸² On our side, could we not speak of our kings David and Solomon who mastered many nations?⁴⁸³

133Let us pass over them⁴⁸⁴ – although Apion was ignorant of the universally known fact that the Egyptians were subservient to the Persians, and to the Macedonians who ruled Asia after them, with a status no different from slaves,⁴⁸⁵

134while we, being free,⁴⁸⁶ used to rule in addition over the surrounding cities for about 120 years up till the time of Pompey the Great;⁴⁸⁷ and when all the monarchs, on all sides, were hostile to the Romans,⁴⁸⁸ ours alone, because of their loyalty, were maintained as allies and friends.⁴⁸⁹