In the other passage, which occurs in the philosophical book “On the Migration of Abraham,"[167] he sets forth the reason of the authority of the law with more argument, and controverts those who would allegorize away the ordinances.

“To whom, then, God has granted both to be and to seem good, he is truly happy and truly renowned.  And we must have a great care for reputation, as a matter of great importance and of much value, for our social and bodily life. [By reputation Philo means reputation of being loyal Jews.  He is addressing here an esoteric circle who, if they were lax, would bring philosophy into disrepute.] And almost all can secure it, who are well content not to disturb established customs, but diligently preserve the constitution of their nation.  But there are some who, looking upon the written laws as symbols of intellectual things, lay great stress on these, but neglect the former.  Such men I would blame for their shallowness of mind [Greek:  euchereia].  For they ought to give good heed to both—­to the accurate investigation of the unseen meaning, but also to the blameless observance of the visible letter.  But now, as if they were living by themselves in a desert, and were souls without bodies, and knew nothing of city or village or house or intercourse with men, they despise all that seems valuable to the many, and search for bare and naked truth as it is in itself.  Such people the sacred Scripture teaches to give good heed to a good reputation, and to abolish none of those customs which greater and more inspired men than we instituted in the past.  For, because the seventh day teaches us symbolically concerning the power of the uncreated God, and the inactivity of the creature, we must not therefore abolish its ordinances, so as to light a fire, or till the ground, or bear a burden, or prosecute a lawsuit, or demand the restoration of a deposit, or exact the repayment of a loan, or do any other thing, which on week-days is allowed.  Because the festivals are symbols of spiritual joy and of our gratitude to God, we must not therefore give up the fixed assemblies at the proper seasons of the year.  Nor, because circumcision symbolizes the excision of all lusts and passions, and the destruction of the impious opinion according to which the mind imagines that it is itself capable of production, must we therefore abolish the law of fleshly circumcision.  We should have to neglect the service of the temple, and a thousand other things, if we were to restrict ourselves only to the allegorical or symbolic sense.  That sense resembles the soul, the other sense the body.  Just as we must be careful of the body, as the house of the soul, so must we give heed to the letter of the written laws.  For only when these are faithfully observed, will the inner meaning, of which they are the symbols, become more clearly realized, and, at the same time, the blame and accusation of the multitude will be avoided."[168]