03_Wilson_201_221_201_221 10/07/15 12:41 Pagina 213 213 MATTHEW, PHILO, AND MERCY FOR ANIMALS (MATT 12,9-14) 213 Konstan observes, with this statement Philo is assigning mercy “a place of privilege in relation to reason”, thereby elevating its status in his scheme of moral values 45. His motivation for doing so at this particular juncture in the Exposition may reflect the influence of Jewish traditions, as evidenced by T. Zeb. 5.1 (“show mercy to your neighbor and have compassion towards all, not only towards people but also irrational animals”) as well as an array of other texts that enjoin the humane treatment of animals 46. In any case, Spec. 2.96 and Hum. 141 and 144 make it plain that animals as well as people are to be included among the recipients of e;leoj, which should be extended (according to passages elsewhere in the Exposition) espe- cially to the needy (e.g., Spec. 1.308; 2.115) and to those who have experienced misfortune (e.g., Decal. 69; Spec. 2.138; 4.76). As noted previously, in developing these sorts of positions, it is apparent that Philo was not operating in an intellectual vacuum. On the contrary, it appears that he was deliberately participating in a broader conversation taking place among ancient moralists about the relationship between people and animals. That he would enter into such a conversation within the context of a discussion about filanqrwpi,a is worthy of attention, particularly when we take into account a text such as the following. For the sake of humanity (filanqrw,,pou) we should accustom (proeqiste,on) ourselves to mildness and kindness in our dealings with other creatures. I certainly would not sell an ox that had worked for me, just because it was old, much less an elderly man. (Plutarch, Cato 5.5) Like Philo, Plutarch draws a hierarchically organized analogy between the treatment of animals and the treatment of people. Also like Philo, he sees kindness to animals as a type of training in hu- 45 D. KONSTAN, “Philo’s De virtutibus in the Perspective of Classical Greek Philosophy”, SPhA 18 (2006) 67. 46 E.g., Prov 12,10; Sir 18,13; 2 En. 58.1-59.5; Ps.-Phoc. 84-85, 139-140, 188; PHILO, Hypoth. 7.7, 9; JOSEPHUS, C. Ap. 2.213-214; b. Shab. 128b. For the rabbinic concept of tza‘ar ba‘alei hayyim, see E.J. SCHOCHET, Animal Life in Jewish Traditions (New York 1984) 151-155. Concerning Lev 22,28 (which forbids the slaughter of an animal and its young together), the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan writes: “Just as I in heaven am merciful, so shall you be merciful on earth”.