Anatole France

“ Seeing only friends in those we vanquish, we leave to conquered peoples and ensure their customs and their laws. Is it not only since Pompey conquered it that Syria, formerly torn apart by a multitude of warring kings, has begun to taste peace and plenty? And even when Rome could sell its benefits for gold, has it plundered the treasures that the temples of barbarians overflow with? Has it looted that of the Great Mother Goddess in Galatia, or that of Jupiter in Cappadocia and Cilicia, or that of the God of the Jews in Jerusalem? ”

“ Don't think, Lamia, that I harbour feelings of rancour and senile rage against this people who got the better of all that was Roman and peaceable in me. But I can foresee all too well the drastic action that they will oblige us to take with them sooner or later. If we can't govern them, we'll have to destroy them. Do not doubt that, ever rebellious, hatching plots against us in their overheated souls, they will burst out one day with a fury next to which the wrath of the Numidians and the threat posed by the Parthians will be child's play. ”

“ You must admit that, without having risen as we have to contemplate divinity, the Jews still celebrate mysteries that are venerable in their antiquity."
Pontius Pilate shrugged his shoulders:
"They do not," he said, "have exact knowledge of the nature of the gods. They worship Jupiter, but without giving him a name or face. They do not even venerate him in the form of a stone as certain peoples do in Asia. They know nothing of Apollo, Neptune, Mars, Pluto or of any goddess. ”

“ And he twice hugged Aelius Lamia.
"It's certainly good to see you again," he said. "Alas, you remind me of the old days, when I was procurator of Judea in the province of Syria. I saw you for the first time thirty years ago. It was in Caesarea where you came to drag out the vexations of your exile. I was quite happy to mitigate them somewhat, and you, out of friendship, Lamia, followed me to that sad Jerusalem where the Jews filled me to the brim with bitterness and disgust. ”

“ Lamia vaunted the grace of the courtesans who went by on the beach, laden with gold and dragging behind them trains embroidered by barbarians. But the old procurator deplored an ostentatiousness that, for the sake of tawdry stones and spiders' webs woven by hand, made Roman coinage circulate among foreign peoples and even among enemies of the empire. ”

“ They fear us and despise us. Yet is not Rome the mother and the tutor of peoples who all, ike children, rest and smile at her venerable breast? Our eagles have carried peace and freedom to the limits of the known world. ”

“ I pleaded my case to Caius, his successor, who was naturally bright and was well acquainted with the affairs of Syria. But marvel with me at this, Lamia, at how my misfortune persisted till it brought about my downfall. Caius had kept close to him in Rome the Jew Agrippa, his companion, his childhood friend, whom he loved more than his life. Agrippa looked with favour on Vitellius because Vitellius was the enemy of Antipas, whom Agrippa hated most intensely. ”

“ Only the Jews hate us and defy us. We have to wrest the tribute from them, and they stubbornly refuse to do military service."
"The Jews," replied Lamia, "are very attached to their ancient customs. They suspected you, for no good reason, I agree, of wanting to abolish their law and to change their habits. Let me tell you, Pontius, that you did not always act in a way designed to dispel their unfortunate error. ”

“ They cannot imagine a peaceful argument, with a soul that's tranquil, about the numinous, which is veiled nevertheless and full of uncertainty. The nature of the immortal gods remains a mystery to us that we are unable to penetrate. I do however think it wise to believe in divine providence. But the Jews are devoid of philosophy and cannot tolerate a diversity of opinions. ”

“ They nurture in the shadow crazy hopes and madly conspire at our downfall. How can it be otherwise, given they await, if their prophets are to be believed, a prince of their bloodline who will rule the world? ”

“ I refused out of respect for the divinity of Caesar and the majesty of the Empire. Then the plebs, joining forces with the priests, raised their voices threateningly round the praetorium. I ordered the soldiers to form a phalanx in front of the Antonia Tower, and to go, armed with sticks, like lictors, to disperse that insolent crowd. ”

“ I've retired to Sicily where I own lands that I cultivate and sell the wheat. My eldest daughter, my very dear Pontia, now a widow, lives with me and keeps house for me. Thanks be to the gods, I have not lost the strength of my faculties or my memory. But old age does not come without a long procession of aches and pains. ”

“ I do believe however that they once adored Venus. For even today women offer doves as victims on the altar, and you know as I do that merchants with stalls under the temple's porticos sell pairs of these birds to be sacrificed. ”