And in the case of the tree of friendship, it is necessary to cut down and eradicate these things which shoot up by the side of it for the sake of preserving the more valuable plant. And the evil plants which spring up along-side are these: the tricky blandishments of courtesans towards their lovers, and the deceitfulness of parasites to those whom they flatter.
Section 105
For one may see those who make a traffic of their personal beauty, clinging to their lovers as if they were excessively fond of them; but they love not them but themselves, and they are eager only for their daily gains. And as for flatterers, sometimes they conceal unspeakable hatred towards those whom they flatter; but still, being slaves to gluttony and intemperance, they are on that account induced to pay court to those who can supply their immoderate appetites.
Section 106
But the tree of science and unadulterated friendship having rejected and discarded these things, will bear fruit of the greatest possible service to those who use it, namely, incorruptible good faith. For good-will is a desire that one’s neighbour should enjoy good things for his own sake. But courtesans and flatterers are anxious solely for their own advantage, which is the only motive why they should confer pleasure, the first on their lovers, and the latter on the objects of their flatteries. We must therefore cut down all trickeries and flatteries as evil plants growing up near the tree of friendship.
Section 107
The due attention to sacred rites, and good faith in the matter of sacrifices, are the most excellent of trees; but along-side of them an evil grows up, namely, superstition, which it is desirable to eradicate before it has time to blossom. For some persons have fancied the sacrificing of oxen to be piety, and they assign a portion of all that they steal or obtain by denials, or by cheating their creditors, or by plundering, to the altars. Impious wretches that they are, thinking that thus they are paying a price to buy themselves off from suffering punishment for their offences.
Section 108
But to such persons I would say, O ye men, the tribunal of God is not to be corrupted by bribes; so that those who have guilty minds will be rejected, even if they sacrifice a hundred oxen every day; and those who are innocent will be received, even if they never sacrifice at all. For God delights in altars on which no fire is burned, but which are frequented by virtues, and which do not blaze with great flame, such as those sacrifices do kindle which are offered by impious men, and which are no sacrifices at all, and which serve to remind one of the ignorances and wickedness of each of the sacrificers; for Moses has somewhere spoken of a sacrifice "reminding one of sin." Numbers v. 15.
Section 109
All such things therefore, being the causes of great injury, it is necessary to cut off and eradicate, in obedience to the oracle in which it is enjoined "to remove the uncleanness of the tree which has been planted, bearing eatable fruit." Leviticus xix. 23.
Section 110
But we, even after we have been instructed, make no progress in learning; but some persons, having a self-taught natural instinct, purify what is good from the evils which surround it, as Jacob did, he who was surnamed the practiser of virtue; for he "peeled the rods, leaving on the white bark, having stripped off all the green;" Genesis xxx. 37. in order that the dark and dusky vanity in the middle being taken away in every case, a white appearance might be displayed, which should be produced so as to be akin to it, not by diversified art but by nature;
Section 111
in reference to which it is also commanded in the law which was established in cases of leprosy, that "the man who was not infected with any variation of colour, but who was white all over from the head to the extremity of his feet, should be pure." Leviticus xiii. 12. In order that, according to the similitude of the body, those who have discarded the crafty, and unscrupulous, and ambiguous, and uncertain disposition of mind, may embrace the simple, uncoloured, unambiguous, plain complexion of truth;
Section 112
therefore, to say that the tree is purified, contains a principle, the assertion of which is founded surely in truth, but to make the same statement with respect to the fruit is saying what Numbers v. 15. Leviticus xix. 23. Genesis xxx. 37. Leviticus xiii. 12. is not equally clear or credible; for no cultivator of figs or grapes, or, in sort, of any fruit whatever, purifies them.
Section 113
And again Moses says, "Its fruit shall be impure for three days, it shall not be eaten;" Leviticus xix. 23. as if in fact it were customary for it to be purified for ever. We must, therefore, say that this is one of those expressions which have a concealed meaning, since the words themselves are not quite consistent with it; for the expression is an ambiguous one; for it bears one sense of this kind, the fruit shall remain for three years; and then there is a distinct injunction, "it shall not be eaten before it is purified." But there is also another meaning, "the fruit of the tree shall for three years be unpurified, and while in that state it shall not be eaten."
Section 114
According, then, to the former statement one may understand it in this manner: the three years being taken for time which is divided into three portions; for it is the nature of time to be divided into the past, the present, and the future; therefore the fruit of education will exist, and will endure, and will last unimpaired through all the divisions of time, a statement equivalent to—it will never receive any corruption, for the nature of good is imperishable. But the fruit which is not purified shall not be eaten; inasmuch as virtuous reasons, duly purified and rendered sound, nourish the soul, and give vigour to the mind; but the opposite kinds are not nutritious, but bring disease and destruction on the soul.
Section 115
According to the other meaning, as in the disputes of dialecticians, the word "undemonstrated" is used in a double sense, either of a proposition which it is hard to demonstrate by reason of its difficulty, or of one which is intrinsically so plain as to require no demonstration, and the truth of which is established not by the testimony of any one else, but by its own internal evidence. So also fruit may be understood as not being purified, either when it is so impure as to be difficult to purify, or when it requires no purification, but is bright, and clear, and pure of itself.
Section 116
Such now is the fruit of education; being for three years, that is to say for all time, divided as it is into three portions, most completely pure and brilliant, being overshadowed by no injurious thing, and having no need whatever of any Leviticus xix. 23. washings or purifications, or any thing else whatever which tends to cleansing.