mperors, and to the people of Rome; we also offer
perpetual sacrifices for them; nor do we only offer them every day at
the common expenses of all the Jews, but although we offer no other such
sacrifices out of our common expenses, no, not for our own children, yet
do we this as a peculiar honor to the emperors, and to them alone, while
we do the same to no other person whomsoever. And let this suffice for
an answer in general to Apion, as to what he says with relation to the
Alexandrian Jews.

7. However, I cannot but admire those other authors who furnished this
man with such his materials; I mean Possidonius and Apollonius [the son
of] Molo, [8] who, while they accuse us for not worshipping the same
gods whom others worship, they think themselves not guilty of impiety
when they tell lies of us, and frame absurd and reproachful stories
about our temple; whereas it is a most shameful thing for freemen to
forge lies on any occasion, and much more so to forge them about our
temple, which was so famous over all the world, and was preserved so
sacred by us; for Apion hath the impudence to pretend that, "the Jews
placed an ass's head in their holy place;" and he affirms that this was
discovered when Antiochus Epiphanes spoiled our temple, and found that
ass's head there made of gold, and worth a great deal of money. To this
my first answer shall be this, that had there been any such thing among
us, an Egyptian ought by no means to have thrown it in our teeth, since
an ass is not a more contemptible animal than [9] and goats, and other
such creatures, which among them are gods. But besides this answer, I
say further, how comes it about that Apion does not understand this to
be no other than a palpable lie, and to be confuted by the thing itself
as utterly incredible? For we Jews are always governed by the same laws,
in which we constantly persevere; and although many misfortunes have
befallen our city, as the like have befallen others, and although Theos
[Epiphanes], and Pompey the Great, and Licinius Crassus, and last of
all Titus Caesar, have conquered us in war, and gotten possession of
our temple; yet have they none of them found any such thing there, nor
indeed any thing but what was agreeable to the strictest piety; although
what they found we are not at liberty to reveal to other nations. But
for Antiochus [Epiphanes], he had no just cause for that ravage in our
temple that he made; he only came to it when he wanted mo