ANALYTICAL INTRODUCTION TO BOOK III
(a) Man hiding from God (1–27).
Contrasted with Moses (12–14),
who is open before God, and shuns Distraction (“Pharaoh”).
Contrasted with Jacob (15–23),
who flies from Material Temptation (“Laban”), to heights of Virtue and Witness (“Gilead”).
Contrasted with Abraham (24–27),
who, loyal to God, refuses the offer of the World (King of Sodom).
(b) Man taking refuge in Self (28–47).
Exod. 22:1 f. Rejection of God, that comes to nothing, far less heinous than thorough-going Self-exaltation (32–35).
The Call is addressed to Mind, for Mind is capable of instruction. (Sense-perception receives no special call.)
The Question, “Where art thou?” capable of being taken in other ways.
The Answer of Mind comes to this, “There where fear is, and hiding from Thee, and nakedness of virtue” (49–55).
The words “gavest with me” imply the freedom of Sense-perception, which apprehends simultaneously with Mind, and gives it occasions of apprehending (“She gave it me”) (56–58).
The Answer of Sense-perception is pertinent, though she says “I ate,” when asked about Adam’s eating, for Mind concurs at once with Sense-perception.
And she rightly says “beguiled,” for, while Sense-perception gives without any guile, Pleasure falsifies the object (59–64).
God cursing the serpent (viz. Pleasure), without giving him an opportunity to defend himself, is paralleled with God slaying Er (Gen. 38:7), without bringing an open charge against him. Slain Er is the Body, a corpse from the first, and the soul knows itself best to be a corpse-bearer when perfected (65 ff.).
How the God of Goodness came to create Er and the Serpent, we are not told. We are told that creation is due to the goodness of God (75 ff.).
And the Book of the Law affords many examples of wide divergence in original endowments. Noah “finds grace in the sight of the Lord,” and Melchizedeck is made His “Priest” and “King of peace,” no previous merit being mentioned in either case (79 ff.). (Philo stops to contrast M. with the Moabites and Ammonites, who failed to bring forth bread and water, Deut. 23:3 f.) Abram was created good, and led to a better city. Isaac, who is compared with Hope, was richly endowed before birth. The lots of Jacob and Esau were told when they were unborn (82). Ephraim and Manasseh have names denoting, the one Memory and its Fruitfulness, the other escape only from Forgetfulness (94). Bezalel called to a position, which he is not said to have earned, bears a name meaning “In the shadow of God” and is taught by Moses, while Moses is taught by God. In view of all this we must pray and ponder God’s goodness (95–103).
Its Ground, 107–110.
Its Fitness, 111–114.
Its Content, 115–199.
Content of the Curse—115–159. Posture and Motion.
(a) On the Breast (115–137).
The Breast the seat of high spirit—the Urim and Thummim there point to Aaron’s control of high spirit which Moses wholly exscinds (Lev. 8:29).
(b) On the Belly.
(α) Appropriate to Pleasure whose lover goes “on” or “after” the belly and the four passions (138 f.).
(β) The perfect man contrasted with the man of gradual improvement in their dealing with self-indulgence (140–144).
(γ) The belly the basis of all passions (145–150).
Note.—Breast cut out, while the belly is washed, for it is indispensable (147).
(δ) Bodily necessity compels us to go forth from the house of wisdom—girded with Reason—putting out of sight all that is unreasonable (151–158).
161–181. Food.
The earthy body feeds on earth.—
Contrast of the “Bread out of Heaven,” “the day’s portion for the day,” like dew—prolific as coriander-seed—like hoar-frost, called “What is it?” (Deut. 8:3).
Contrast “The God who feedeth me,” said by Jacob, with “I will nourish thee,” by Joseph—true son of Rachel (“Give me children”).
Enmity (182–199).
The Combatants (185–187).
Their Warfare (188).
Jacob grips the heel of Esau, the man who says “Mine,” a word for God only to use (189–199).
(α) Grief the lot of Sense-perception (200).
Contrast God confirming good to Abraham by an oath (201–203).
Discussion of oath taken by God (204–208).
Groaning—good and bad (211 continued from 200).
(β) Subjection to her husband (220 ff.).
Potiphar’s wife contrasted with Joseph and
Phinehas. Sarah. Hagar (224 ff.).
Due to Serpent. Thorns. Grass. Return to Earth.