Works of Philo of Alexandria

Philo — Works Vol. I, Yonge — Section 44

26 PHILO JUDiEUS. XXIX. And any one who was inclined to dwell upon this subject might bring forward a great many other instances, to prove that there is no animal in the enjoyment of perfect liberty, and exempt from the dominion of man ; but what has been already said is sufficient by way of example. We ought, how- ever, not to be ignorant of this also, that it is no proof because man was the last created animal that he is the lowest in rank, and charioteers and pilots are witnesses of this ; for the charioteers sit behind their beasts of burden, and are placed at,their backs, and yet when they have the reins in their hands, they guide them wherever they choose, and at one time they urge them on to a swift pace, and at another time they hold them back, if they are going on at a speed greater than is desirable. And pilots again, sitting in the hindmost part of the ship, that is the stern are, as one may say, the most important of all the people in the ship, inasmuch as they have the safety of the ship and of all those who are in it, in their hands. And so the Creator has made man to be as it were a charioteer and pilot over all other animals, in order that he may hold the reins and direct the course of every thing upon earth, having the superintendence of all animals and plants, as a sort of viceroy of the principal and mighty King.