He also commanded that those boys who were not yet circumcised should be
circumcised now; and he drove those away that were appointed to hinder
such their circumcision.
But when he had ruled one year and was fallen into a distemper, he
called for his sons and set them round about him, and said: "O my sons,
I am going the way of all the earth; and I recommend to you my
resolution and beseech you not to be negligent in keeping it, but to be
mindful of the desires of him who begat you and brought you up, and to
preserve the customs of your country, and to recover your ancient form
of government which is in danger of being overturned, and not to be
carried away with those that either by their own inclination or out of
necessity betray it, but to become such sons as are worthy of me; to be
above all force and necessity, and so to dispose your souls as to be
ready when it shall be necessary to die for your laws, as sensible of
this, by just reasoning, that if God see that you are so disposed he
will not overlook you, but will have a great value for your virtue, and
will restore to you again what you have lost and will return to you that
freedom in which you shall live quietly and enjoy your own customs.
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