33 Τίνα τοίνυν ἐστὶ τὰ δεινὰ καὶ σχέτλια τῶν ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ κατοικούντων Ἰουδαίων, ἃ κατηγόρηκεν αὐτῶν, ἴδωμεν. “ἐλθόντες, φησίν, ἀπὸ Συρίας ᾤκησαν πρὸς ἀλίμενον θάλασσαν γειτνιάσαντες

34 ταῖς τῶν κυμάτων ἐκβολαῖς”. οὐκοῦν τόπος εἰ λοιδορίαν ἔχει, τὴν οὐ πατρίδα μὲν λεγομένην δὲ αὐτοῦ λοιδορεῖ τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν· ἐκείνης γὰρ καὶ τὸ παράλιόν ἐστι μέρος, ὡς πάντες ὁμολογοῦσιν,

35 εἰς κατοίκησιν τὸ κάλλιστον. Ἰουδαῖοι δ᾽ εἰ μὲν βιασάμενοι κατέσχον, ὡς μηδ᾽ ὕστερον ἐκπεσεῖν, ἀνδρείας τεκμήριόν ἐστιν αὐτοῖς· εἰς κατοίκησιν δὲ αὐτοῖς ἔδωκεν τόπον Ἀλέξανδρος καὶ ἴσης παρὰ τοῖς Μακεδόσι τιμῆς ἐπέτυχον.

36 οὐκ οἶδα δέ, τί ποτ᾽ ἂν ἔλεγεν Ἀπίων, εἰ πρὸς τῇ νεκροπόλει κατῴκουν καὶ μὴ πρὸς τοῖς βασιλικοῖς ἦσαν ἱδρυμένοι, καὶ μέχρι νῦν αὐτῶν ἡ φυλὴ τὴν προσηγορίαν εἶχεν Μακεδόνες.

37 εἰ μὲν οὖν ἀναγνοὺς τὰς ἐπιστολὰς Ἀλεξάνδρου τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ τὰς Πτολεμαίου τοῦ Λάγου καὶ τῶν μετ᾽ ἐκεῖνον τῆς Αἰγύπτου βασιλέων ἐντυχὼν τοῖς γράμμασι καὶ τὴν στήλην τὴν ἑστῶσαν ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ καὶ τὰ δικαιώματα περιέχουσαν, ἃ Καῖσαρ ὁ μέγας τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ἔδωκεν, εἰ μὲν οὖν ταῦτα, φημί, γιγνώσκων τἀναντία γράφειν ἐτόλμα, πονηρὸς ἦν, εἰ δὲ μηδὲν ἠπίστατο τούτων, ἀπαίδευτος.

38 τὸ δὲ δὴ θαυμάζειν, πῶς Ἰουδαῖοι ὄντες Ἀλεξανδρεῖς ἐκλήθησαν, τῆς ὁμοίας ἀπαιδευσίας· πάντες γὰρ οἱ εἰς ἀποικίαν τινὰ κατακληθέντες, κἂν πλεῖστον ἀλλήλων τοῖς γένεσι διαφέρωσιν, ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκιστῶν τὴν προσηγορίαν λαμβάνουσιν.

39 καὶ τί δεῖ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων λέγειν; αὐτῶν γὰρ ἡμῶν οἱ τὴν Ἀντιόχειαν κατοικοῦντες Ἀντιοχεῖς ὀνομάζονται· τὴν γὰρ πολιτείαν αὐτοῖς ἔδωκεν ὁ κτίστης Σέλευκος. ὁμοίως οἱ ἐν Ἐφέσῳ καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἄλλην Ἰωνίαν τοῖς αὐθιγενέσι πολίταις ὁμωνυμοῦσιν τοῦτο παρασχόντων αὐτοῖς τῶν διαδόχων.

40 ἡ δὲ Ῥωμαίων φιλανθρωπία πᾶσιν οὐ μικροῦ δεῖν τῆς αὐτῶν προσηγορίας μεταδέδωκεν οὐ μόνον ἀνδράσιν ἀλλὰ καὶ μεγάλοις ἔθνεσιν ὅλοις; Ἴβηρες γοῦν οἱ πάλαι

41 καὶ Τυρρηνοὶ καὶ Σαβῖνοι Ῥωμαῖοι καλοῦνται. εἰ δὲ τοῦτον ἀφαιρεῖται τὸν τρόπον τῆς πολιτείας Ἀπίων, παυσάσθω λέγων αὑτὸν Ἀλεξανδρέα· γεννηθεὶς γάρ, ὡς προεῖπον, ἐν τῷ βαθυτάτῳ τῆς Αἰγύπτου πῶς ἂν Ἀλεξανδρεὺς εἴη τῆς κατὰ δόσιν πολιτείας, ὡς αὐτὸς ἐφ᾽ ἡμῶν ἠξίωκεν, ἀναιρουμένης; καίτοι μόνοις Αἰγυπτίοις οἱ κύριοι νῦν Ῥωμαῖοι τῆς οἰκουμένης μεταλαμβάνειν ἡστινοσοῦν πολιτείας ἀπειρήκασιν.

42 ὁ δ᾽ οὕτως ἐστὶ γενναῖος, ὡς μετέχειν ἀξιῶν αὐτὸς ὧν τυχεῖν ἐκωλύετο συκοφαντεῖν ἐπεχείρησε τοὺς δικαίως λαβόντας· οὐ γὰρ ἀπορίᾳ γε τῶν οἰκησόντων τὴν μετὰ σπουδῆς ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ πόλιν κτιζομένην Ἀλέξανδρος τῶν ἡμετέρων τινὰς ἐκεῖ συνήθροισεν, ἀλλὰ πάντας δοκιμάζων ἐπιμελῶς ἀρετῆς καὶ

43 πίστεως τοῦτο τοῖς ἡμετέροις τὸ γέρας ἔδωκεν. ἐτίμα γὰρ ἡμῶν τὸ ἔθνος, ὡς καί φησιν Ἑκαταῖος περὶ ἡμῶν, ὅτι διὰ τὴν ἐπιείκειαν καὶ πίστιν, ἣν αὐτῷ παρέσχον Ἰουδαῖοι, τὴν Σαμαρεῖτιν χώραν προσέθηκεν ἔχειν αὐτοῖς ἀφορολόγητον.

44 ὅμοια δὲ Ἀλεξάνδρῳ καὶ Πτολεμαῖος ὁ Λάγου περὶ τῶν ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ κατοικούντων ἐφρόνησεν· καὶ γὰρ τὰ κατὰ τὴν Αἴγυπτον αὐτοῖς ἐνεχείρισε φρούρια πιστῶς ἅμα καὶ γενναίως φυλάξειν ὑπολαμβάνων, καὶ Κυρήνης ἐγκρατῶς ἄρχειν βουλόμενος καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν ἐν τῇ Λιβύῃ πόλεων

45 εἰς αὐτὰς μέρος Ἰουδαίων ἔπεμψε κατοικῆσον. ὁ δὲ μετ᾽ αὐτὸν Πτολεμαῖος ὁ Φιλάδελφος ἐπικληθεὶς οὐ μόνον εἴ τινες ἦσαν αἰχμάλωτοι παρ᾽ αὐτῷ τῶν ἡμετέρων πάντας ἀπέδωκεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ χρήματα πολλάκις ἐδωρήσατο καὶ τὸ μέγιστον ἐπιθυμητὴς ἐγένετο τοῦ γνῶναι τοὺς ἡμετέρους νόμους καὶ ταῖς τῶν ἱερῶν γραφῶν βίβλοις ἐντυχεῖν.

46 ἔπεμψε γοῦν ἀξιῶν ἄνδρας ἀποσταλῆναι τοὺς ἑρμηνεύσοντας αὐτῷ τὸν νόμον καὶ τοῦ γραφῆναι ταῦτα καλῶς τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν ἐπέταξεν οὐ τοῖς τυχοῦσιν, ἀλλὰ Δημήτριον τὸν Φαληρέα καὶ Ἀνδρέαν καὶ Ἀριστέα, τὸν μὲν παιδείᾳ τῶν καθ᾽

47 ἑαυτὸν διαφέροντα Δημήτριον, τοὺς δὲ τὴν τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ φυλακὴν ἐγκεχειρισμένους, ἐπὶ τῆς ἐπιμελείας ταύτης ἔταξεν, οὐκ ἂν δήπου τοὺς νόμους καὶ τὴν πάτριον ἡμῶν φιλοσοφίαν ἐπιθυμήσας ἐκμαθεῖν, εἰ τῶν χρωμένων αὐτοῖς ἀνδρῶν κατεφρόνει καὶ μὴ λίαν ἐθαύμαζεν.

33Let us examine, then, the terrible and shocking things¹⁰⁸ of which Apion has accused the Judeans who live in Alexandria.¹⁰⁹ When they came from Syria, he says,¹¹⁰ they took up residence on a harborless shore, neighbors to the flotsam thrown up by the waves.¹¹¹

34Well, if the location is a matter of insult, he is insulting – not his own home city, but the one he professes to be such – Alexandria:¹¹² for the sea-bord is a part of that city and is, as all acknowledge, the finest residential quarter!¹¹³

35And if the Judeans gained possession of this spot by use of force, so as later not to be ejected, that is testimony to their courage.¹¹⁴ Alexander gave them a place for their residence¹¹⁵ and they obtained privileges equal to those of the Macedonians¹¹⁶

36(I don’t know what Apion would have said if they had taken up residence near the necropolis and were not established near the royal palace!),¹¹⁷ and to the present day their tribe has had the title “the Macedonians.”¹¹⁸

37If Apion had read the letters of Alexander the king,¹¹⁹ and of Ptolemy, son of Lagus;¹²⁰ if he had read the documents of his successors as kings of Egypt¹²¹ and the monument that stands in Alexandria and records the rights that Caesar the Great gave to the Judeans¹²² – if, I say, he knew all these things but had the effrontery to contradict them, he was malicious; if he knew none of them, he was an ignoramus.¹²³

38To be amazed how those who are Judeans were called “Alexandrians”¹²⁴ is a symptom of similar ignorance.¹²⁵ For all who are invited to join a colony, even if they are from widely different peoples, take their name from its founders.¹²⁶

39What need is there to cite instances from other peoples? Our own people who reside in Antioch are called “Antiochenes”; for the founder, Seleucus, gave them citizenship.¹²⁷ Similarly, those in Ephesus and throughout the rest of Ionia have the same name as the native citizens, that having been afforded to them by the Successors.¹²⁸

40Has not the benevolence of the Romans¹²⁹ ensured that their name has been shared with practically everyone, not only with individuals but with sizeable nations as a whole?¹³⁰ Thus, those who were once Iberians,¹³¹ Tyrrhenians,¹³² and Sabines¹³³ are called “Romans.”

41And if Apion discounts this type of citizenship, let him cease to call himself an “Alexandrian.”¹³⁴ For he was born, as I said above, in the deepest depths of Egypt;¹³⁵ so how could he be an “Alexandrian” if he discounts the grant of citizenship, as he sees fit to do in our case?¹³⁶ In fact it is only to Egyptians that the Romans, who are now rulers of the world,¹³⁷ have refused to grant any form of citizenship.¹³⁸

42But Apion is so noble¹³⁹ that, considering himself worthy of acquiring privileges from which he was debarred,¹⁴⁰ he attempted to bring false charges against those who justly received them.¹⁴¹ For it was not for lack of people to inhabit the city, which he was founding with such care, that Alexander assembled some of our people there;¹⁴² rather, having carefully scrutinized all, he accorded this privilege to our people as a reward for their virtue and loyalty.¹⁴³

43For he held our nation in honor, as Hecataeus also says concerning us:¹⁴⁴ because of the kindness and loyalty that the Judeans showed to him,¹⁴⁵ he added the Samaritan territory to theirs, free of tribute.¹⁴⁶

44And Ptolemy, son of Lagus, had opinions about the Judean residents in Alexandria similar to those of Alexander.¹⁴⁷ For he entrusted¹⁴⁸ to them the fortresses throughout Egypt, reckoning that they would guard them loyally and nobly;¹⁴⁹ and when he wanted to establish firm control over Cyrene and the other cities in Libya, he dispatched a segment of the Judeans to settle there.¹⁵⁰

45His successor Ptolemy, surnamed Philadelphus,¹⁵¹ not only set free all of our people who happened to be prisoners of war in his realm,¹⁵² but also often donated money,¹⁵³ and – this is the greatest thing – was enthusiastic to get to know our laws and to read the books of our holy writings.¹⁵⁴

46Thus he sent requesting that men be dispatched who would translate the law for him,¹⁵⁵ and the commission that these things be well written he assigned to no ordinary figures, but to Demetrius of Phalerum, together with Andreas and Aristaeus¹⁵⁶ – Demetrius being was the most learned man of his time,¹⁵⁷

47the latter two his chosen bodyguards¹⁵⁸ – these were the people to whom he assigned this commission. He would hardly have been eager to learn about the laws and our ancestral philosophy¹⁵⁹ if he had despised the people who employed them and had not rather greatly admired them.¹⁶⁰