Philo of Alexandria · 1582 of 1726

Appendix 2 · From the Questions in Genesis.

Those men act absurdly who judge of the whole from a part, instead of, on the contrary, forming their estimate of a part from their knowledge of the whole; for this is the more proper way to form one's opinion of anything, whether it be a body or a doctrine; therefore the divine code of laws is, in a manner, a united creature, which one must regard in all its parts and members at once with all one's eyes, and one must contemplate the meaning and sense of the whole scripture with accuracy and clearness, not disturbing its harmony nor dissevering its unity; for the parts will have a very different appearance and character if they are once deprived of their union.