C — Circoncision

When Herodotus recounts what the barbarians among whom he traveled told him, he recounts nonsense, as most of our travelers do. Nor does he demand belief when he speaks of the adventure of Gyges and Candaules, of Arion carried on a dolphin, of the oracle consulted to discover what Croesus was doing, which answered that he was then cooking a tortoise in a covered pot; of Darius’ horse, which, by neighing before all the others, proclaimed its master king; and of a hundred other fables fit to amuse children and to be compiled by rhetoricians. But when he speaks of what he has seen, of the customs of peoples he has examined, of their antiquities he has consulted, then he speaks to men.

“It appears,” he says in the book of Euterpe, “that the inhabitants of Colchis are originally from Egypt. I judge this for myself rather than from hearsay; for I found that in Colchis they remembered the ancient Egyptians much better than people in Egypt remembered the ancient customs of Colchis.

“These inhabitants of the shores of the Euxine claimed to be a colony established by Sesostris. For my part, I inferred it not only because they are dark-skinned and have curly hair, but because the peoples of Colchis, Egypt, and Ethiopia are the only ones on earth who have practiced circumcision from time immemorial. The Phoenicians and the people of Palestine admit that they took circumcision from the Egyptians. The Syrians now living on the banks of the Thermodon and the Parthenius, and their neighbors the Macrones, admit that they conformed to this Egyptian custom only recently. This is the principal sign by which they are recognized as Egyptian in origin.

“As for Ethiopia and Egypt, since this ceremony is very ancient in both nations, I cannot say which received circumcision from the other. It is nevertheless likely that the Ethiopians took it from the Egyptians; whereas the Phoenicians, on the contrary, have abolished the practice of circumcising newborn children since they have had more dealings with the Greeks.”

It is evident from this passage of Herodotus that several peoples took circumcision from Egypt; but no nation has ever claimed to have received circumcision from the Jews. To whom, then, can the origin of this custom be attributed: to the nation from which five or six others confess they received it, or to another nation, far less powerful, less commercial, less warlike, hidden in a corner of Arabia Petraea, which never communicated the slightest of its customs to any people?

The Jews say that they were once received into Egypt out of charity. Is it not very likely that the little people imitated a practice of the great people, and that the Jews took some customs from their masters?

Clement of Alexandria reports that Pythagoras, traveling among the Egyptians, was obliged to be circumcised to gain admission to their mysteries. Circumcision was therefore absolutely necessary to join the ranks of Egypt’s priests. These priests existed when Joseph arrived in Egypt; its government was very ancient, and Egypt’s antique ceremonies were observed with the most scrupulous exactness.

The Jews admit that they remained in Egypt for two hundred and five years. They say that they did not undergo circumcision during that time. It is therefore clear that during those two hundred and five years the Egyptians did not receive circumcision from the Jews. Would they have taken it from them after the Jews had stolen all the vessels lent to them and fled into the desert with their booty, according to their own testimony? Will a master adopt the principal mark of the religion of his thieving, fugitive slave? That is not human nature.

The book of Joshua says that the Jews were circumcised in the desert: “I have delivered you from what was your disgrace among the Egyptians.” Now, what could this disgrace have been for people situated between the peoples of Phoenicia, the Arabs, and the Egyptians, except what made them contemptible to these three nations? How was this disgrace removed? By removing a little of their foreskin. Is that not the natural sense of the passage?

Genesis says that Abraham had been circumcised earlier; but Abraham traveled to Egypt, which had long been a flourishing kingdom governed by a powerful king. Nothing prevents circumcision from having been in use for a long time in that ancient kingdom before the Jewish nation was formed. Moreover, Abraham’s circumcision had no sequel: his descendants were not circumcised until Joshua’s time.

Now before Joshua, by their own admission, the Israelites took many customs from the Egyptians. They imitated them in several sacrifices and ceremonies: in the fasts observed on the eve of the festivals of Isis, in ablutions, in the custom of shaving the priests’ heads. Incense, the candelabrum, the sacrifice of the red heifer, purification with hyssop, abstinence from pork, horror of foreigners’ cooking utensils: everything attests that the little Hebrew people, despite its aversion to the great Egyptian nation, had retained countless practices of its former masters. That goat Azazel, sent into the desert laden with the people’s sins, was a visible imitation of an Egyptian practice. The rabbis even agree that the word Azazel is not Hebrew. Nothing therefore prevents the Hebrews from having imitated the Egyptians in circumcision, as their Arab neighbors did.

There is nothing extraordinary in God’s having sanctified circumcision, no less ancient among the Africans than baptism was among the Asians, which he also sanctified. It has already been observed that he is free to attach his graces to whatever signs he deigns to choose.

For the rest, ever since the Jewish people was circumcised under Joshua, it has preserved this practice down to our own day. The Arabs too have always remained faithful to it. But the Egyptians, who in the earliest times circumcised boys and girls, eventually ceased performing the operation on girls, and finally restricted it to priests, astrologers, and prophets. Clement of Alexandria and Origen tell us this. Indeed, we do not find that the Ptolemies ever underwent circumcision.

The Latin authors, who treat the Jews with such profound contempt that they derisively call them Curtus Apella, Credat Judæus Apella, Curti Judæi, do not apply these epithets to the Egyptians. All the people of Egypt are circumcised today, but for another reason: because Mohammedanism adopted the ancient circumcision of Arabia.

It is this Arab circumcision that passed to the Ethiopians, where boys and girls are still circumcised.

One must admit that this ceremony of circumcision seems very strange at first; but it should be remembered that from time immemorial the priests of the East consecrated themselves to their divinities by particular marks. An ivy leaf was engraved with a punch on the priests of Bacchus. Lucian tells us that devotees of the goddess Isis imprinted characters on their wrists and necks. The priests of Cybele made themselves eunuchs.

It seems highly likely that the Egyptians, who revered the instrument of generation and carried its image in pomp in their processions, conceived the idea of offering Isis and Osiris, through whom everything on earth was engendered, a small portion of the member by which these gods had willed that the human race should perpetuate itself. Ancient Eastern customs are so prodigiously different from ours that nothing should seem extraordinary to anyone who has read a little. A Parisian is astonished to be told that the Hottentots have one testicle cut off their male children. The Hottentots may be astonished that Parisians keep two.

When Herodotus repeats what the barbarians he visited told him, he repeats nonsense. Most of our travelers do the same. He doesn’t expect us to believe his story of Gyges and Candaules. Or of Arion riding a dolphin. Or of the oracle asked what Croesus was doing. It answered that he was cooking a tortoise in a covered pot. Or of Darius’ horse, which neighed first and declared its master king. There are a hundred other fables, fit to amuse children and be collected by teachers of rhetoric. But then he speaks of things he saw himself. He describes peoples’ customs he studied and ancient records he consulted. Now he’s speaking to adults.

“It seems,” he says in the book of Euterpe, “that the people of Colchis came originally from Egypt. That’s my own judgment, not so much something I’ve heard. I found that people in Colchis remembered the ancient Egyptians much better than people in Egypt remembered the ancient customs of Colchis.

“These people on the shores of the Euxine Sea claimed their colony was founded by Sesostris. I suspected the same, and not just because they’re dark-skinned with curly hair. The peoples of Colchis, Egypt, and Ethiopia are the only ones on earth who’ve always practiced circumcision. The Phoenicians and people of Palestine admit they took it from the Egyptians. Syrians now live along the Thermodon and the Parthenius, with the Macrones as neighbors. Both the Syrians and the Macrones admit they adopted this Egyptian custom only recently. That’s the main reason they’re recognized as Egyptian in origin.

“Both Ethiopia and Egypt have practiced this ceremony for a very long time. I can’t say which took circumcision from the other. Still, the Ethiopians probably took it from the Egyptians. The Phoenicians, by contrast, stopped circumcising newborn children once they had more dealings with the Greeks.”

This passage in Herodotus clearly shows that several peoples took circumcision from Egypt. But no nation has ever claimed to have taken it from the Jews. So which nation did this custom come from? The one that five or six others admit they took it from? Or another nation, hidden in a corner of Arabia Petraea? It’s much less powerful, less active in trade, less warlike. It’s never passed even its smallest custom on to any other people.

The Jews say Egypt once took them in out of charity. Didn’t the small nation very likely copy a custom of the great nation? Didn’t the Jews take some customs from their masters?

Clement of Alexandria reports that Pythagoras had to be circumcised while visiting the Egyptians. He couldn’t take part in their mysteries otherwise. So you absolutely had to be circumcised to join Egypt’s priests. Those priests existed when Joseph arrived in Egypt. The government was very old. People followed Egypt’s ancient ceremonies with the greatest care for every detail.

The Jews admit they stayed in Egypt for 205 years. They say they weren’t circumcised during that time. Clearly, then, the Egyptians didn’t get circumcision from the Jews during those 205 years. Would they have taken it from them afterward? By their own account, the Jews stole all the vessels they’d borrowed. They fled into the desert with their loot. Will a master adopt his thieving, runaway slave’s main religious mark? That isn’t human nature.

The book of Joshua says that the Jews were circumcised in the desert. “I have freed you from what brought you disgrace among the Egyptians.” These people lived between the Phoenicians, the Arabs, and the Egyptians. What could their disgrace have been? Surely it was whatever made them contemptible to those three nations. How was this disgrace removed? By removing a little foreskin. Isn’t that the natural meaning of this passage?

Genesis says Abraham had been circumcised earlier. But Abraham traveled in Egypt. It had long been a thriving kingdom with a powerful king. This very old kingdom could have practiced circumcision long before the Jewish nation existed. Nothing rules that out. Besides, Abraham’s circumcision didn’t lead to a continuing practice. His descendants weren’t circumcised until Joshua’s time.

Before Joshua, the Israelites admit they took many customs from the Egyptians. They copied several sacrifices and ceremonies. They fasted on the eves of Isis’ festivals, washed themselves ritually, and shaved priests’ heads. They used incense and the candelabrum. They sacrificed the red cow and purified themselves with hyssop. They avoided pork and recoiled from foreigners’ cooking utensils. All this shows how many customs the small Hebrew nation kept from its former masters. It kept countless customs despite its dislike of the great Egyptian nation. They sent the goat Azazel into the desert carrying the people’s sins. That plainly copied an Egyptian practice. Even the rabbis agree that Azazel isn’t a Hebrew word. So nothing rules out the Hebrews copying Egyptian circumcision, as their Arab neighbors did.

God made baptism holy, a practice long established among the Asians. There’s nothing extraordinary in his also making circumcision holy. The Africans had practiced it for at least as long. As we’ve already noted, he’s free to attach his graces to the signs he sees fit to choose.

In any case, ever since the Jewish people were circumcised under Joshua, they’ve kept the practice to this day. The Arabs have always kept it too. But the Egyptians first circumcised both boys and girls. In time they stopped operating on girls. Finally, they limited circumcision to priests, astrologers, and prophets. Clement of Alexandria and Origen tell us this. Indeed, there’s no sign the Ptolemies were ever circumcised.

Latin writers treat the Jews with deep contempt. They mock them with “clipped Apella,” “let Apella the Jew believe it,” “clipped Jews.” They don’t apply these terms to the Egyptians. Today all the people of Egypt are circumcised, but for a different reason: Mohammedanism adopted Arabia’s ancient circumcision.

This Arab circumcision spread to the Ethiopians. They still circumcise both boys and girls.

We have to admit that circumcision seems a very strange ceremony at first. But priests in the East have always dedicated themselves to their gods with special marks. People engraved an ivy leaf on Bacchus’ priests with a pointed tool. Lucian says worshipers of Isis stamped marks on their wrists and necks. Cybele’s priests castrated themselves.

The Egyptians revered the organ of reproduction. They carried its image in grand processions. They very likely thought of offering a small piece to Isis and Osiris. Everything on earth was born through those gods. The gods had chosen this organ to keep the human race going. Ancient Eastern customs are incredibly different from ours. Anyone who’s read a little shouldn’t find anything extraordinary. A Parisian is amazed to hear the Hottentots have one testicle cut off their boys. Perhaps the Hottentots are amazed that Parisians keep two.