Chapter III. Letter of Demetrius Phalereus to Ptolemy, King of Egypt

‘”To THE GREAT KING FROM DEMETRIUS.

‘”IN accordance with thy command, O king, that the books which were wanting to the completion of the library might be collected, and that the parts which had been damaged might be properly restored, I have very carefully given my attention to these matters, and now present my report to thee.

‘”There are wanting the books of the Law of the Jews, together with some few others. For they are expressed in Hebrew characters and language, and are rather carelessly written, and not as they are in the original, according to the report of those who know best, since they have not had the benefit of the king’s providence.

‘”But it is right that thou shouldest possess these also thoroughly corrected, because this legislation, being divine, is very full of wisdom and sincerity. For which reason both prose-writers and poets and the multitude of historians have avoided the mention of the aforesaid books, and of the men who ordered their life according to them, because, as Hecataeus of Abdera says, the mode of thought therein is of a pure and venerable character.

‘”If therefore it seems good, O king, there shall be a letter written to the High Priest in Jerusalem, to send elderly men who have lived the most honourable lives, and are experienced in matters of their own Law, six from each tribe, in order that we may test the agreement by a large number, and after receiving the exact interpretation, may give it a distinguished place, in a manner worthy both of the circumstances and of thy purpose. Good fortune be ever thine.”

‘And when this report had been presented, the king commanded a letter to be written to Eleazar on this subject, informing him also of the release of the captives which had taken place. He also gave for the manufacture of bowls and cups, and a table, and flagons, fifty talents weight of gold, and seventy talents weight of silver, and a large quantity of precious stones.

‘And he commanded the treasurers to give to the artists the choice of whatever they should prefer, and of current coin as much as a hundred talents for sacrifices and other things. Concerning the workmanship, we will give you information, as soon as we have gone through the copies of the letters. The king’s letter was in the following form:’