KINGSHIP IOIemperor with disaster if they did not respect Jewish "rights." The po
litical theory of the documents was not discussed, but we can now rec
ognize that it is always the kingly ideal which, in one way or another, is
held up before the rulers when they are addressed directly, as when pre
sented in the allegory of Joseph. Roman sovereigns must respect Jewish
rights; but Philo knows no political concept other than that of true
kingship to offer them as their guide in office.
In discussing the prefect the ideal is brought out in the contrast be
tween Flaccus under Tiberius, when he quite fulfilled all human
dreams, and Flaccus under Gaius, when he illustrated the faults of the
tyrant and usurper. When Flaccus was first appointed prefect of Egypt
by Tiberius
he was astute and persistent, keen at grasping and executing what was de
sirable, skilled at speaking and at discovering what had not been spoken. So
in every way in a short time he came to be at home in Egyptian affairs, which
are complicated and variegated, difficult to master even for men who make
that their professional task from an early age.^75
Philo explains that Flaccus became so proficient in his work that the
clerks, to whom reference was usually made by governors for expert
and detailed information, became superfluous. Flaccus also took up the
regulation of the finances of the country. To do this is not in itself a
token of the "ruling soul" (tyvxh mzv°vKY), he says, but Flaccus went
on and gave evidence of the more brilliant and royal nature (Aaiirrpo-
ripa Kai PaoiAiKvj $uoi<), which was displayed first in the fact that he
carried himself personally with great distinction (oepvoTepoc); second,
he himself decided the more important suits, in connection with which
he humbled the overweening; third, he suppressed all suspicious and
riotous meetings. So did he fill the city and region with good order
(euvonia). In addition he was very discreet in his handling of the
army.^76 All of these aspects of rule have become thoroughly familiar in
the theoretical discussion of government. Philo was convinced that his
notions were not mere theory, but could be worked out in practice, and
that they would mean the suvojjia Qf the country if they were actually
applied. The state of Egypt under Flaccus' early rule was a case in point.
The horrors of Egypt when Flaccus ceased to fulfill this ideal need not
be described again.
- Flac, 2 f. 76. Ibid., 1 -5.