The Jewish war

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TT a

600100561J

NEMA TS LONTERS

THE

JEWISH WAR

FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS:

A NEW TRANSLATION,

BY THE LATE

REY. ROBERT TRAILL, D.D. MRA.

EDITED, WITH NOTES, BY ISAAC TAYLOR.

With Pirtorial Flastrations.

VOLUME 'THE SECOND.

LONDON :
HOULSTON AND STONEMAN, PATERNOSTER ROW.
DUBLIN: CURRY, JUN. & CO.
1861.

“2272, Ζ of.

LONDON :
R. CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD STREET TILL.

CONTENTS OF VOLUME II.

PAGE
PREFACE AND POSTSCRIPT ....... +... © © « eee i

THE JEWISH WAR.

Book III. . . . . . . νι ρὸν νιν νιν νι νιν ke ek 1
Book IV. 2... «νὸν ee ke ee ee ee kk kk 49
Book Vv. . . «νὸν te kk kk kk kk 109
Book VI. . . «ον νὸν νὸν ee kk ee νιν. 167
Book VII... ..... 2. ee ee ee kk kk kl 210

EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES—(continued.)

Supposed Remains of Herodium ....... 4.4.5 54044688 Ixv
Excavation; City Wall, North . . . . «©... + + © « « « «~~~ Ixix
Magdala. .... ΝΥΝ ΕΕΕΕΕΕΕΕΕΕΕ ΕΞ ΞΕ
The Plain of Gennesareth ns | o'o 11]
Hatin... ns ΕΣ
Scythopolis, (Bethshan) πα Νῦν
The Lake Phiala. . . . . . «© «© 2 «© © © © we eo νι νιν. CU
Beit Jenn 2. ww ww te ew tw wt lw lt lw lw ww we hw hw ᾿χχχὶν
Kulat Ibn’ Ma’an . ww ww ee we et ee ww we ww) ᾿Ιχχχν
Damascus Gate. . . . rns b> © <0 |
North-East Corner of the Haram rns > > © 4:31 |
Om Keis (Gadara) . . Ὁ 2. 1. 1 6 ee ee ee we ew «REA,

Julius Cesar... rrr > > 345 4
Saracenic ‘Tower on a Tributary of the J ordan re ΞΕ xe
Masada, Northern Face . ....... 26 +6 «© «© we © ee xci
Lower Pool, at Hebron. . . oe we ww ww ee ἐδια.

Hippicus, and Western Angle of the City Wall er ee eee <3
Haram, Principal Entrance (West Side) . . . . . 2. 6 2 © e ν΄ XCIV
Djebail; or Gebal . . . . 1. 2 1 ee ee et et ee νιν xcv

Iv CONTENTS OF VOL. IL.

Village of Siloam, and El Aksa .

Streets in Jerusalem

Zion .

The Golden Gate

The Mount of Olives, as seen from the Eastern Slope of Zion
Eastern Entrance of the Great Mosque at Hebron

View from the Mount of Olives .

The Pools of Solomon .

Vault bencath ΕἸ Aksa

Gava. .....

Pool of Bethesda. .

Tiberias and the Lake .

Tripoli and Castle .

The Jews’ Place of Wailing .

Conjectural View of the Viaduct as in ‘the time of Herod . .
Masada .

Pool of the Virgin

Stone at Baalbec .

Anathoth .....

Note relative to Maps of Galilee

Note relative to the Topography of the Ancient J erusalem
Notes relating to Josephus

Critical Notes on some Passages in the War .
Chronological Summary of the Seven Books of the War

On the predicted Destruction of the Jewish Polity, City, and Tempe .

Explanation of the Jewish Calendar
Genealogical Table of the Asmonzan, or Maccabsan Family .
Genealogical Table of Herod’s Family. . . . . . .

— a ....

INDEX,
LisT OF PLATES,

PAGE
xcvl
ibid.
xcvill
ibid.
xcix

PREFACE

TO THE SECOND VOLUME.

In resuming his task after so long an interval as three years, the
Editor feels himself called upon to state, briefly at least, the circum:
stances to which this unlooked-for delay is attributable.

The lamented death of the Translator, Dr. Tram, occurred at
the very moment when the Fourts Part of the Work, completing
the First Votume, was issuing from the press. Public sympathy
was at the time vividly excited by this event, connected as it was
with the national disasters and woes which have made that period
so memorable in the history of Ireland. Dr. Traill fell a victim
to the generous and extraordinary exertions made by him, during
that winter of horrors—1846-47, to alleviate the sufferings of his
parishioners and neighbours. Among the many instances of Chris-
tian heroism which marked that season of calamity, few were more
deserving of admiration than the one with which we have now to
do; and the Editor would think it a culpable omission were he not,
on this occasion, to dedicate a page to the memory of his deceased
friend.

Whatever might have been Dr. Traill’s intellectual endowments, cr
his accomplishments, it was his animation—his unwearied energy—
his vivid and effective sympathies— his devotedness in labours of
charity, and the zealous and affectionate discharge of his duties as

VOL. 11. B

vl PREFACE.

ἃ parish minister, that most distinguished him; and in the exercise
of these useful virtues it was that he had become known, and had
made himself the object of affection in his circle. It might have
been difficult for those who knew him only as the pastor, and as the
friend of the poor, and who witnessed his daily toils, as such, to
imagine or believe that, even after the timc when the spreading
distress of the district had rendered these duties in the last degree
arduous and oppressive, Dr. Traill still found time for carrying for-
ward his usual literary labours, which in fact were not remitted until
his last illness threatened his life. It was from that bed from
which he did not rise, that he wrote to his friend—‘“ Send me no
more proofs—I am upon a fever bed.” The habit of rising at the
earliest hour, and—during the winter, long before dawn, had given
him a command of time which enabled him to accomplish literary
tasks without trenching upon his duties as the minister of an
extensive parish.

Dr. Robert Traill, third son of the Rev. Anthony Traill, Arch-
deacon of Connor, and of: Agnes, daughter of William Watts Gayer,
LL.D., was born at Lisburn, county of Antrim, July 15, 1793. He
entered Trinity College, Dublin, in the autumn of the year 1814,
and joining the class of the then ending year, passed the examination
which immediately followed in a manner that excited the surprise of
the Examiners. He went through his college course with marked
credit, and at its conclusion spent a year or two in France and Italy.
Soon after his return to England, in 1820, he was ordained by the
Bishop of Gloucester, in whose diocese he held for some time a
curacy. He then revisited his native country, acted as curate in
several parishes, and attracted much attention by his vivid and
impressive style of preaching. In 1829, he married Anne, eldest
daughter of the late Sir Samuel Hayes, Bart.

Dr. Traill succeeded to the parish of Schull, county of Cork, in the
year 1830, wherc his last years-were spent in a eourse of unwearied
endeavours to promote the temporal comfort and the spiritual good of
his people. The parish of Schull, situated at the extreme south-
west point of Ireland, is extensive and populous, and it is one
of those districts which have become too well known as the scene

PREFACE. vil

of the most appalling sufférings. Dr. Traill had found the popu-
lation in a state of deplorable destitution when first he became
incumbent of the parish; nor had either his incessant efforts to
cherish better habits among the lower classes, nor the munificent
use he made of his private fortune, availed to bring them into a con-
dition in which they might, in a less disastrous manner, have met
the awful visitations of those years of famine. From the very first,
and with a clear-sighted dismay, he had looked forward to what he
knew must be the consequences of the approaching calamity; and
while many continued to think that the worst evils would be evaded,
his letters attest that he did not allow himself to entertain any such
delusive expectation ;—‘‘death by famine, and then by pestilence,
will sweep this country of a third of its people;”—such were his
forebodings—and to how awful an extent have they been realized!
Well he knew that the habitual and extreme destitution of hundreds
around him could have but one issue, if it should be aggravated
only a little by scarcity.

Dr. Traill’s own means, together with funds that were liberally
placed at his disposal by benevolent persons—“ known and un-
known,” throughout Ireland, and by many in England, enabled
him, during the months of that terrible winter, to keep alive hundreds
who otherwise must at an early time have perished. The cares,
the sorrows, and the toil, consequent upon these offices of charity,
affecting himself and the several members of his family, were exces-
sive; and in his hurried notes to his friends he speaks of himself’ as
worn out with grief and labour. At length, and especially after
the time when the more arduous duty of administering spiritual aid
to those who were dying of pestilence, took the pface of the com-
paratively easy task of feeding the hungry, the strain upon his mind
and feelings became greater than even so energetic a frame could
support. The minister of Christ, in passing from house to house—
from hovel to hovel—attempted and endured more than human
nature can sustain. A severe attack of dysentery was followed by
fever; and after lingering awhile—often sceming to rally, and always
in the calm possession of his facnIties—he expired, in the confident
assurance of that bright immortality which is warranted by the
evangelic doctrine he had long professed and procfaimed.

B2

Vill PREFACE

. Dr. Traill’s religious tastes, as well as his fondness for his Greek
studies, had early directed his attention to the writings of Josephus;
and it was soon after his entrance upon his duties as Rector of Schull,
that he first indulged the ambition of attempting to render accessible
to English readers the pages of a writer so pre-eminently important.
He had felt—as every reader of it must feel—that, in Whiston’s
version—cumbrous, abrupt, and repulsive as it is, the writings of the
Jewish Historian are scarcely accessible. It is probable indeed that
he did not at the first distinctly measure the greatness of the task he
had entered upon; nor perhaps did he duly estimate the difficulties
which he soon found must attach to it. <A gradually acquired per-
ception, however, of the vastness of his enterprise, animated his
courage, rather than depressed it; and when, in conversation with
literary friends, he discerned more clearly than at first, how much
would be required of him, as the Translator of Josephus, the enhanced
anxiety he felt did but stimulate his energies to meet the occasion.
His was a mind not easily turned from its purpose, and always
undismayed by the prospect of toil. At the same time the sense he
entertained of the high value of these writings, as related to sacred
history, carried him forward with an impulse which—to a mind like
his—no motives but such as took their rise in religious feeling could

give.

The union, in Dr. Traill’s character, of a self-determining energy,
with a genuine candour, and a ready deference to the opinion of
others, whose judgment he respected, was very remarkable; and
this modesty led him to submit his labours, in the most un
reserved manner, to the criticism of his friends, and of any whom he
thought qualified to aid him by their remarks. It was in consequence
of several such appeals to the opinion of others, that he recast his
version, again and again, and brought it, with the most laborious care,.
nearer, and still nearer to the original; while he kept in view always
its fluency in style, as English—adapted to the tastes of the mass of
readers.

It has already been announced, by advertisement, that Dr. Traill
had long ago completed the translation of the Jewish War, as well as
the Life of Josephus, and the two Books against Apion, and that he

PREFACE. ix

had made considerable progress also in translating the Antiquities.
It has moreover been stated that the manuscript had been confided,
for revision, to the care of a learned and experienced friend—
a member of Trinity College, Dublin—whose valuable services had

previously been engaged for correcting the sheets, as they passed
through the press.

So much progress having been made at the time of Dr. Traill’s
death, in effecting what was necessary for completing the work, it
had not been supposed that this sad event would long have retarded
the regular appearance of the Parts, completing the Jewish War.
Those however who know what is involved in the carrying forward
an extensive literary work—and especially if it be copiously illus-
trated with engravings, will find it easy to believe that difficulties,
not soon to be surmounted, might present themselves, and render
impracticable what was so much desired by those who stood respon-
sible to the public for the completion of the Work.

These difficulties have however at length given way; and at this
moment nothing forbids the Editor to announce the following Parts
as regularly forthcoming—monthly.

This interval of time has not been lost: on the contrary, much
has been done during its continuance to render the Work deserving
of the favour which it courts. The death of the Translator has indeed
unavoidably led to a modification of the plan of the Work; for
although he had made much progress in preparing the Antiquities,
and the two Books against Apion, for the press, the state of the
manuscript was not such as would have warranted an announcement
of the “entire Works of Josephus” as forthcoming. A fulfilment
of this first intention of the deceased Translator, would involve far
more than an Editor ought to pledge himself to undertake. Mean-
time it has seemed to him that the mode in which he could best set
himself right in the opinion of the purchasers of the First VoLuME
was, to concentrate his endeavours upon the task of rendering the
Jewish War complete in itself, and as acceptable as possible.

In the first place, and as being of primary importance, the whole .

x PREFACE.

of the Translation, now ia course of publication, has undergone a
renewed and laborious revision; for effecting which the Editor has been
fortunate in engaging the aid of gentlemen fully competent to the
task. The Translation, so far as comprised in the First Volume, had,
as we have said, been revised by Dr. Traill’s personal friends, and
finally by a learned member of Trinity College, Dublin, who read
and corrected the sheets as they passed through the press.

The earlier portion of the Text now given to the public, has been
carefully examined by a gentleman well known in the learned world
—Rev. W. Trollope, but who, in leaving England, was compelled
to relinquish the task he had undertaken. This labour has, however,
been continued by an accomplished member of the University of
Cambridge, who, besides collating the Translation with the Greek
Text, has charged himself with the task of reading the sheets as
they pass through the presa. In this department, therefore, the
Editor is warranted in believing that the three years during which
the publication of the Work has been suspended, will so have been
employed, as very. greatly to enhance its value, as a faithful and
learnedly. exact version of the Greek.

During this same interval, moreover, the Editor has kept in
view what was to devolye upon himself in adapting the Work to
the wishes of the general: neader, who, while requiring a trust-
worthy version of the original, would ask some incidental aid in the
perusal of this remarkable history.

Moreover, time has been afforded for completing the graphic
Illustrations of the Work, and for adding to the number at first
intended to accompany the Jewish War. In this respect the pur-
chasers of the First Volume will not find. themselves sparingly dealt
with in the Second.

The Seven Books of the Jewish War, while they constitute
a.history which is complete in itself, so are they by far the most
important, the most authentic, and the most entertaining of the
writings of Josephus. It is the “Jewish War” almost exclusively,
that can engage the attention of any reader who has not some special

PREFACE. . ΣῚ

purpose of erudition in view when he takes “Josephus” from his
shelves. It is this history of the overthrow and of the scattering of
the Jewish polity, worship, and nation, which renders Josephus a
witness whose evidence (when duly sifted) is of inestimable impor-
tance. In a word, it is the History of the Jewish War, as narrated
by Josephus, which, more than any other ancient book—not included
in the canon of Scripture—connects the long past with the present,

and both with the future.
I. T.

Sraxrorp Rivers, 1850..

THE JEWISH WAR.

BOOK III.

ARGUMENT OF THE THIRD BOOK.

1. Vespasian is sent by Nero against the Jews.—2. A great slaughter of the Jews near
Ascalon.—3. Description of Galilee, Samaria, and Judsea. — 4. Titus, with a large
army, arrives at Ptolemais.—5. An account of the Roman armics.—6. Vespasian
invades Galilec, and 7. takes Jotapata—8. What Josephus said when brought
before Vespasian, and in what manner he was treated by Vespasian.—9. The taking
of Joppa, and surrender of Tiberias.—10. The capture of Taricheea

BOOK ILL.

CHAPTER I.

1. WHEN Nero was informed of the disasters in Judma, though
seized with consternation and alarm—suppressed however as was
natural, he assumed, in public, a haughty and indignant air. Attri-
buting what had occurred rather to the negligence of his general,
than to the valour of the foe, he deemed it becoming in one who
sustained the weight of the empire to treat misfortunes with stately
contempt, and show himself possessed of a mind superior to every
reverse. His mental perturbation, notwithstanding, was betrayed by
his thoughtfulness.

2. Deliberating to whom he should confide the east, which was
already in commotion, and whose task it should be at once to chastise
the Jewish insurgents, and to impose a timely check on the surround-
ing nations, who were catching the contagion, Vespasian alone could
he find adequate to the emergency, or able to support the burden of
so vast an enterprise ;—a man who from youth to age had spent his
life in military service; who for the Romans had formerly pacified
the west, when disturbed by the Germans; and to whose arms they
owed the acquisition of Britain, hitherto unknown. This last was a
conquest, on account of which his father Claudius, without any toil
on his own part, had obtained a triumph.

3. Auguring favourably, therefore, from these facts, and seeing
his years steadied by experience, and that, together with his own
approved fidelity, his sons were a pledge, and their vigour a hand,
for the execution of their father’s sagacious counsels—God also,’
perhaps, providentially directing the whole—Nero sent him to assume
the command of the armies in Syria, paying him, in consequence of
the urgency of the occasion, many soothing and flattering compli-
ments, such as necessities of the kind demand. Immediately on his
appointment, Vespasian, who had been staying with Nero in Achaia,
despatched from thence his son Titus to Alexandria, to bring up the
fifth and tenth legions; while he himself, crossing the Hellespont,
proceeded by land to Syria, and there concentrated the Roman forces,
and a large body of auxiliaries from the neighbouring princes.

6 THE JEWISIL WAR. [BOOK 11].

CHAPTER II.

1. AFTER the defeat of Cestius, the Jews, elated with their un-
expected success, were unable to restrain their ardour; and,
fanned as it were by fortune, pushed hostilities still further.
Accordingly, collecting without delay their most effective troops,
they advanced upon Ascalon. This is an ancient city, five hun-
dred and twenty furlongs from Jerusalem, and ever regarded with
hatred by the Jews; and it seemed, therefore, a proper object for
their primary attack. The expedition was led by three men, dis-
tinguished alike for vigour and intelligence—Niger the Perzite,
Silas the Babylonian, and John the Essean. Ascalon, though
strongly fortified, was almost destitute of defence—a cohort of
infantry, and one squadron of cavalry, under the orders of Antonius,
constituting the garrison.

2. Impelled by rage, the Jews advanced with unusual celerity,
and, as if hurrying from some neighbouring spot, were forthwith at
their destination. Antonius, who was not unapprised of their
intended attack, had previously drawn out his horse, and—daunted
neither by the numbers, nor by the boldness, of his assailants—
received their first onset with firmness, and repulsed them as they
were pushing forward to the fortifications. They, unskilled in war,
were engaged against the skilful: infantry against cavalry: the disar-
rayed against serried ranks: men armed as chance enabled, against
soldiers completely equipped ; and thus led on by passion, rather than
reflection, and opposed to disciplined troops, who acted on the in-
stant at a signal from their commander, they afforded an easy victory.
For, once that their front ranks were thrown into confusion, they
were repelled by the cavalry ; and, falling upon those in their rear,
who were pressing on to the wall, they became each other’s antago-
nists; until all, giving way before the charges of the horse, were
scattered over the entire plain. This was wide, and thoroughly
adapted to the movements of cavalry:—a circumstance, which,
favourable to the Romans, oceasioned terrible havoc among the Jews.
Such as fled they: intercepted, and drove back; and, cutting through
the masses congregated by the flight, they slew them in crowds.
Others surrounding the fugitives, wherever they tuxned, and com
tinuing to ride round them, found them an easy mark for their
javelins, In their perplexity their very multitude seemed solitude

BOOK IIT. | THE JEWISH WAR. 7

to the Jews; while the Romans, owing to their success, though few
in respect of the battle, deemed their numbers more than sufficient.
And as the former, ashamed of sudden flight, and in hope of an
auspicious change, struggled long against their disasters; so were the
latter insensible of fatigue while fortune smiled. And thus the
contest was protracted until evening, when ten thousand Jews lay
dead upon the field: and among them two of their generals, John
and Silas. The remainder, for the most part wounded, took refuge
with Niger, their surviving commander, in a little town of Idumea,
called Sallis. In this engagement some few of the Romans, also,
were wounded.

3. Unbroken in spirit, however, by so dire a calamity, and rather
roused to daring by their discomfiture ; regardless too of their com-
rades, lifeless at their feet, the Jews were lured by former triumphs
to a second overthrow. Accordingly, without so much as allowing
their wounds time to heal, they collected the whole of their force,
and, with augmented rage, and in much greater numbers, returned
to the assault of Ascalon. But with the same inexperience, and
other disadvantages for war, the same fortune as before attended
them. Antonius having placed ambushes in the passes, they fell
unwittingly into his toils, and being surrounded by the cavalry before
they could form for battle, they were again defeated, and upwards of
eight thousand slain. The remnant fled, and with them Niger, who
performed many feats of valour in the retreat; and being closely
pressed by the enemy, they were driven into a strong tower of a
village called Bezedel.

Antonius and his party, that they might neither lose their time
before a place difficult of capture, nor permit the general, and he the
bravest of their foes, to escape with life, sct fire to the fort: and
while it was in flames, the Romans withdrew exulting, as if Niger
had met his fate. He, however, having leaped down from the tower,
saved himself in the most secret cavern of the fortress: and three
days after, when his friends with loud laments were searching for his
body in order to its interment, he spoke to them from below; and,
coming forth, filled the hearts of the Jews with unhoped-for joy, as
if preserved by the providence of God to lead them to future
conflicts.

4. Vespasian, meanwhile, breaking up with his troops from
Antioch—the capital of Syria, and which, without dispute, both
from its extent, and other advantages, ranks as the third city of
the Roman world, and where he had found king Agrippa with his
whole, force awaiting his arrival,.made a rapid march to Ptolemais.

Η THE JEWISH WAR, [spook πὶ

In this city he was met by the inhabitants of Sepphoris in
Galiler, such at least as were disposed for peace. Mindful of
their own safety, and the strength of the Romans, they had, prior
to the coming of Vespnsian, pledged their fidelity to Cestius Gallus,
and, under assurance of protection, admitted a garrison. Having on
thie ocension cordially welcomed the general, and cheerfully pro-
mined) thair asaiatance in his contest with their countrymen, he, at
their request, at once assigned them a guard of as many horse and
foot na he deemed sufficient for repelling the incursions of the Jews,
in the event of any movement on their part. For it appeared to him
thal the toad of Sepphoris would be attended with no small danger in
the nppronching struggle, ax it was the largest city of Galilee, built
Inn ituntion of peculiar strength, and calculated to be a bulwark to

thes οι province,

CHAPTER IIL.

§ ‘berenm are two Ciatilees, desiznated the Upper and the Lower,
which ote environod by Phaenicia and Syria. They are bounded
te the weet hy the confines of the territory of Ptolemais, and by
Corned, «oo metuntain belonging formerly to the Galilwans, but at
pertoarnet tee thee Vyrlane: near to which is Gaba, “ the city of horse-
“ἢ, tee fabled Cven ite being a scttlement for the horsemen dis-
“πε μη! beg king Herod, On the south, Samaria and Scythopolis, as
bop μη thee δ ef the Jordan, form their limits: towards the
pant, Wty ond Cadac, Gaulanitis, and the frontiers of Agrippa's
hieprten + while Tyee ond ite dependencies constitute their northern
[πον Peewee Caliles oxtonds in length from Tiberias to Zabu-
lett, “ἢ ἢ beowhieh, on the aca coast, is Ptolemais. In breadth it
μα νι να elllage called Naloth, lying in the Great Plain, to
{π΄ dcanenenedige from which is measured also the breadth of
(roe 1 ΜΠ} εν, at bee ae thes villages of Baca, which bounds the land

Dottie ἢ γεν. fee ἡ}, ἢ rans from Thella, a village in the

tatty ib thee αι, ee Masseth,
bod “καὶ Cbadthno, ace commdorable in extent, and encircled by

Danie allen nation, lave unttarmly resisted every hostile attempt.
bore Ctalthenon, todned ν΄ να Crom their infancy, and in every
Te alwaye ae littl: deficient ‘in courage, as

ar The te “απ fe ΜΠ. θα οἷν as it was, throughout,

({{{ tee TE αν μι. μεθ overy variety of tree, and

“SITOdOHLADS

BOOK II. | THE JEWISH WAR. 8

inviting by its productiveness even those who have the least inclination
for agriculture. It is all, accordingly, cultivated by the inhabitants,
no part of it lying idle. The towns, also, are numerous, and the
multitude of villages so crowded with men, owing to the fecundity
of the soil, that the smallest of them contains above fifteen thousand
inhabitants.

3. In fine, even though it be granted that Galilee is inferior to Perea
in extent, it must still be thought preferable in point of resources; for
it is tilled throughout, and every where productive: whereas Perea,
much larger indeed, is generally desert and rugged, and too wild for
the growth of delicate fruits. In some parts, however, the soil is
loamy and prolific, and trees of various kinds cover the plains;
but the olive-tree, the vine, and the palm-tree, are those princi-
pally cultivated. It is also sufficiently irrigated by mountain-
streams; and—should these in the dog-days fail—by ever-flowing
springs. In length, it extends from Macherus to Pella: in breadth,
from Philadelphia to the Jordan: its northern districts being bounded,
as we have already said, by Pella; and those on the west, by the
river. The land of Moab forms its southern fimit; while Arabia
and Silbonitis, with Philadelphia and Gerasa, constitute its eastern
boundary.

4. The district of Samaria lies between Judea and Galilee. Com-
mencing at a village by name Ginea, situate in the Great Plain, it
terminates at the territory of the Acrabatenes, In its natural cha-
racteristics it differs in no respect from Judza ; hills and plains being
interspersed through both: the soil, moreover, being arable, and
extremely fertile, richly wooded, and amply supplied with fruits,
both wild and cultivated. Though by no means copiously irrigated
by nature, both are refreshed by frequent rains. The running water
is every where extremely sweet ; and owing to an abundance of good
pasture, the cattle yield more milk than those in other districts.
And what affords the most unerring criterion of excellence and
fertility—both districts teem with men.

5. On the confines of these, and terminating Juda towards the
north, lies the village of Anuath Borceos. The southern portions of
Judea, if it be measured lengthways, end at a village adjoining the
frontiers of Arabia, to which the Jews, who reside there, give the
name of Jardan. “In breadth it reaches from the river Jordan to
Joppa. In its very centre lies the city of Jerusalem; for which
reason some, not inaptly, have styled that city “the navel” of the
country. Nor is Juda, withal, destitute of such amenities as the
sea affords; its maritime districts extending as far as Ptolemais. It

VOL. IL c

10 THE JEWISH WAR. [ΒΟΟΚ m1.

is divided into eleven allotments, whereof Jerusalem, as the seat of
royalty, is supreme, exalted over al] the adjacent region, as the
head over the body. The residue, subordinate in rank, are distri-
buted into districts. Gophna is second; next Acrabatta; then,
severally, in order, Thamna, and Lydda, and Ammaus, and Pella,
and Idumeza, and Engaddi, and Herodium, and Jericho. After these,
Jamnia and Joppa, preside over the parts around; and beyond these
are the territories of Gamalitis and Gaulanitis, Batanwa, and Tra-
chonitis, which also form portions of Agrippa’s dominions. Beginning
at Mount Lebanon, and the fountains of the Jordan, this latter
district extends in breadth to the Lake of Tiberias, and in length
from a village, called Arpha, as far as Julias. Its inhabitants are a
mixture of Jews and Syrians. Thus have we, with all possible
brevity, described Judsea, and the country circumjacent.

CHAPTER IV.

1. A DETACHMENT of a thousand horse, and six thousand foot,
under the command of Placidus the tribune, formed the force sent
by Vespasian to the relief of Sepphoris. The troops, after encamp-
ing on the Great Plain, were divided—the infantry being quartered
in the town for its protection, the cavalry continuing in their
intrenchments. This force, making frequent excursions from both
points, overran the surrounding country, and caused great annoy-
ance to the army of Josephus, which remained quiescent, by ravaging
the districts outside the walls of the several towns, and driving back
all who ventured out.

Josephus, however, assaulted the city, hoping to reduce the place;
which, previous to his secession from the Galilseans, he had fortified so
strongly, that its capture would have been a difficult achievement even
to the Romans. He was in consequence frustrated in his expecta-
tions; having found himself unable either to compel, or persuade,
the Sepphorites to surrender. Thus he provoked more active hostili-
ties against the country, and neither day nor night’ did the Romans,
in resentment at this attempt, cease to lay waste their plains, carrying
off the property in the district, killing invariably all capable of
bearing arms, and enslaving the more feeble. Hence was Galilee
filled from end to end with fire and carnage, nor was it granted

BOOK IIL. | THE JEWISH WAR. 11

immunity from any species of suffering or calamity: for there was
but one refuge for the distressed—the cities fortified by Josephus.

2. Now Titus, having passed over from Achaia to Alexandria more
quickly than was usual in the winter season, took command of the
force for which he had beer sent, and proceeding by forced marches,
soon arrived at Ptolemais. Here meeting his father—to the two
legions under his orders, the highly distinguished fifth and tenth, he
united that brought by himself—the fifteenth. These were followed by
eighteen cohorts. There came five, also, with one squadron of cavalry,
from Cesarea, and five other squadrons from Syria. Of the cohorts,
ten had each a thousand infantry: the remaining thirteen, six hun-
dred foot, and a hundred and twenty horse. <A considerable number
of auxiliaries, likewise, had been assembled, furnished by the kings,
Antiochus, Agrippa, and Sohemus, who severally contributed two
thousand foot-archers, and a thousand horse. Malchus, the Arabian,
sent a thousand cavalry, and five thousand infantry, most of whom
were bowmen: so that the entire army, horse and foot, including the
royal contingents, amounted to nearly sixty thousand men, exclusive
of servants, who were extremely numerous, but, on account of their
military training, ought not to be reckoned apart from the available
force; constantly engaged, as they were, in their masters’ exercises
during peace, and sharing danger with them in war; so that neither
in skill, nor prowess, were they second to any but them.

CHAPTER V.

1. Here one cannot but admire the foresight of the Romans in
providing themselves with servants, useful not only in the ordinary
offices of life, but also in war. And indeed, if we look into the
other branches of their military discipline, we shall have proof, that
they have acquired an empire so extensive by military conduct, not
received it as the gift of fortune. For it is not actual war which
gives them the first lesson in arms; nor at the call of necessity alone
do they move their hands, having ceased to use them in time of peace:
but, as if they had grown with their weapons, they have no truce with-
exercises, no waiting for occasions. These trainings differ in nothing
from the veritable efforts of combat; every soldier being kept in daily
practice, and acting with the energy of those really engaged in war.
Hence the perfect ease with which they sustain the conflict. For

c2

12 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book mI.

no confusion displaces them from their accustomed order: no panic
disturbs; no labour exhausts. It follows, therefore, asa certain result,
that they invariably conquer those not similarly trained: nor would
he err, who should style their exercises bloodless conflicts, and their
conflicts bloody exercises. Neither can they fall an easy prey to the
sudden attack of an enemy; for at whatever point they may invade a
hostile territory, they never engage in battle until they have fortified
their camp. This they construct not at random, or irregularly;
nor do all, or without order, take a share in the work: but should
the surface be unequal, it is levelled, and the camp is squared by
admeasurement; and then a body of artificers follows, with tools for
building.

2. The interior of the camp they set apart for tents, In its
exterior the circuit presents the aspect of a wall, furnished with
towers at equal distances; in the intervals between which are disposed
scorpions, catapults, stone-projectors, and every propelling engine, all
ready to hurl missiles.

Four gates are constructed, one in each side of the surrounding wall,
with level approaches, for the easy admission of beasts of burden, and
wide enough for a sally in case of emergency. The camp, inside, is
conveniently distributed into streets. In the middle are the tents of
the officers, and in the centre of these that of the commander-in-chief,
closely resembling a temple. Thus, as it were on a sudden, a city
appears to spring up, with its market-place, and a quarter for handi-
craft trades, and seats, also, for the centurions and divisional com-
manders, where they adjudicate whensoever differences occur. The
outer wall is raised, and all within completed quicker than thought,
owing to the number and skill of the workmen; and if occasion
demand, a trench is drawn round outside, in depth four cubits, and the
same in breadth.

3. Thus protected, they lodge in tents by companies, with quietness
and decorum. All their other business also is transacted with order
and precision. The duty of procuring wood, corn, and water, as
required, is imposed on the several companies in turn; nor is it
optional with each when he shall sup or dine; but all take their meals
together. Their times for sleeping, keeping watch, and rising, are
notified by trumpet: nor is any thing done without command.

At the first dawn the soldiery wait, severally, on their respective
centurions; and these on the tribunes, to salute them; with whom all
the superior officers visit the commander-in-chief, who gives them,
according to custom, the watchword, and other orders, to carry to
their subordinates. This also they do in action, conveying themselves

BOOK IIL | THE JEWISH WAR. 13

with promptitude, wherever required, and moving with unbroken
ranks, whether in the charge or retreat.

4. When they are to break up from their encampment, the trumpet
gives the signal, and all are on the alert. At the signal given they
strike their tents, and everything is got ready for their departure.
The trumpets again sound for packing their equipments, on which
they put their baggage with all haste upon the mules and other
beasts of burden, and stand ready to spring forward, as if from
a starting-post. They then set fire to their camp, as well because
they could with ease again construct it there, as lest it should at any
time prove useful to the enemy. A third time the trumpets, in like
manner, give the signal for departure, bastening those who from
any cause may be delaying, so that none be absent from the ranks.
The herald, standing on the right of the commander, then thrice de-
mands, in their native tongue, whether they are ready for war; to which
they as often answer, with loud and animated voice, “ Ready,” almost
anticipating the question; and, inspired with a kind of martial enthu-
siasm, they lift up their right hand simultaneously with the shout.

5. Then going forth, they proceed all silently and with order, each
keeping his own place in the array, as in battle. The infantry are
protected by breast-plates and helmets, and wear a sword on either
side ; that on the left is much the longer, the other, on the right, not
exceeding a span. The picked body of infantry, which attend the
general, bear a lance and shield; the remainder of the phalanx a
javelin and oblong buckler, a saw and a basket, a mattock and
a hatchet, a strap of leather, an edged hook, and a chain, with provi-
sions for three days; so that the foot-soldier differs but little from the
baggage mules.

The cavalry have a long sword on the right side, a long lance in
hand, and a shield, lying obliquely on the horse's flank. In a quiver
are carried three or more darts, with broad heads, not inferior in
size to spears. .They all wear helmets, moreover, and breastplates,
like the infantry. Those chosen to attend the general differ not in
a single weapon from the regular cavalry. The legion selected by
lot uniformly leads.

6. Thus the Romans march and repose, and such are their several
kinds of arms. In battle nothing is done unadvisedly, or preci-
pitately; but consideration invariably precedes every operation, and
actions follow the decision. Hence they very rarely err; and if they
stumble, the mistake is easily rectified.

They deem, moreover, that mischances resulting from previous con-
sultation are preferable to success, arising merely from the chance of

14 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK π|.

fortune; inasmuch as fortuitous advantage seduces into negligence :
whereas, should aught untoward befall, deliberation suggests a useful
caution against its recurrence. Besides, accidental successes are not
to be ascribed to him who obtains them; while if, contrary to ex-
pectation, disasters happen, it is a consolation that the subject had
been duly considered.

7. By their exercises in arms they invigorate not their bodies
alone, but their minds. Fear, also, is an element in their training.
For their regulations not only punish capitally the desertion of a
post, but even a slight remissness in duty. And their officers are
still more reverenced than their laws; inasmuch as, by rewards to the
deserving, they outweigh the imputation of cruelty towards those wha
are punished.

Their prompt obedience to their officers is such, that, while it is
ornamental in peace, in the field it moves, as one body, the whole
army: so simple is the construction of their ranks: so easily per-
formed are their evolutions: so quick their ears to orders, their
eyes to signs, and their hands to deeds. Hence they are uniformly
swift to execute orders, and very slow to sink under suffering : nor is
it on record that they have ever been daunted, while in array, whether
by numbers, stratagem, difficulty of position, or yet by fortune; for
they always rely more firmly upon endurance than upon fortune.

Where counsel, therefore, precedes action, and so efficient an
army seconds deliberation, what wonder, if, on the east—the Euphrates,
on the west—the ocean, on the south—the most fertile region of Libya,
and on the north—the Danube and the Rhine, be the limits of the
empire? For it may, with propriety, be said, that the possessions
are inferior to those who have acquired them.

8. These particulars I have detailed, not so much with the view of
extolling the Romans, as to console those whom they have vanquished,
and to deter the disaffected. And it may happen that those of my
polite readers, who are unacquainted with the subject, may derive
information from this account of the Roman military discipline. I
now return whence I have digressed.

CHAPTER VI.

1, VEsPASIAN, with his son Titus, was detained some time in
Ptolemais, organizing his forces. Placidus, while over-running

BOOK III. | THE JEWISH WAR. 15

Galilee, put to the sword vast numbers of his captives, the feebler
and dispirited portion of the population; but remarking that the
fighting men invariably fled to the cities fortified by Josephus,
he advanced against the strongest of them—Jotapata; expecting,
by a sudden assault, to carry it with little difficulty, and thus
acquire for himself a high reputation with those generals, while he
would at the same moment be furthering their future operations.
For he did not doubt but that the other towns—were this, the
strongest of them all, reduced—would be led, through fear, to sur-
render. |

In this hope, however, he was much deceived. For the people of
Jotapata, aware of his approach, lay in wait for him in front of the
town; and being in large force, prepared for battle, and eager to
engage, as for their endangered city, wives, and children, they fell
unexpectedly upon the Romans, and quickly routed them. Many of
the Romans were wounded, but seven only were killed, owmg to the
unbroken order of their retreat, and the superficial nature of their
wounds; since their bodies were in every part protected, and the
Jews threw their missiles from a distance, rather than venture into
close combat—the one party being ill defended, the other fully ac-
coutred. Of the Jews three fell, and a few were wounded. Placidus,
finding himself too weak for an attempt on the town, retreated.

2. Vespasian himself, however, intent on the invasion of Galilee,
withdrew from Ptolemais, disposing his army for the march according
to the Roman usage. The light-armed auxiliaries, and the archers, he
ordered in advance, to repel any sudden onset of the enemy, and to
explore those woods, which were suspected, and suited for ambuscade.
Next came the heavy-armed division of the Romans, foot and horse.
Following these were ten men, drafted from every hundred, carrying
their baggage, and the camp-measures: and in their rear the pioneers,
to remove the irregularities of the road, level what was rugged, and
cut down the obstructing woods, lest the troops should be harassed by
obstacles on the route. Behind these he arranged his own baggage,
with that of the officers under his command; and protected it by a
considerable corps of cavalry. He then appeared himself, attended
by a select body of infantry and cavalry, and by the spearmen. Next
advanced the cavalry belonging to the legion ; for to each legion were
attached a hundred and twenty horse. These were followed by the
mules, carrying the besieging engines, and the other machines: and
these again by the general officers, and the prefects of the cohorts,
with the tribunes, accompanied by a chosen body of troops.

Next were seen the ensigns surrounding the eagle, which is at the

16 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book m1.

head of every Roman legion—the eagle, at once the king of all
birds, and the bravest; hence it seems to them the symbol of
empire, and an omen of conquest over whomsoever they may attack.
These sacred emblems preceded the trumpeters, after whom came
up the phalanx formed in rank, six abreast, attended by a centu-
rion, who, according to custom, superintended the order of march.
The infantry were succeeded by the whole of the servants of the
respective legions, conducting the mules and other beasts of burden,
which carried the soldiers’ baggage. After the legions came the
crowd of sutlers, followed, for security, by a rearguard composed of
light and heavy armed infantry, and a considerable body of cavalry.

3. Proceeding with his army in this order, Vespasian reached the
frontiers of Galilee. Here he encamped; and curbing the troops,
who were eager for action, made a display of his force with a view to
strike terror into the enemy, and, ere the sword was drawn, give
them time for repentance. He withal prepared for the siege of the
strongholds. And, in truth, the appearance of the general awakened
regret for their revolt in many, and alarm in all. Accordingly, those
who were encamped with Josephus at a town called Garis, not far
from Sepphoris, on learning that: the war was approaching, and the
Romans on the point of attacking them, dispersed in flight, not only
before a blow was struck, but ere they had even seen their foes.

Josephus was left alone with a handful of men, and having per-
ceived that his force was by no means sufficient to await the onset
of his opponents—that the spirits of the Jews were sunk—and that
the greater part would gladly, if they thought they could place con-
fidence in them, enter into terms,—had already entertained fears for
the issue of the contest, and now deemed it prudent to remove as
far as possible from danger. Accordingly, with those who still
adhered to him, he fled to Tiberias.

CHAPTER VII.

1. Vespastan having arrived before the city of Gadara, carried it
on the first assault, having come upon it when it was destitute of an
effective force. On entering the town, he put to death without dis-
tinction all from youth upward: the Romans showing compassion to
none of adult age, as well from hatred to the nation, as in recollection
of the outrages committed against Cestius. The city itself he reduced

BUOK πὶ. THE JEWISH WAR. 17

to ashes, all the hamlets and small towns around sharing its fate.
Some of these had been totally deserted: the inhabitants of the others
he enslaved.

2. The arrival of Josephus in the city which he had selected for
safety, filled it with alarm; for the Tiberians felt assured, that, had
he not utterly despaired of the contest, he would not have fled. Nor,
in this respect, did they mistake his views. For he saw the downward
tendency of Jewish affairs, and knew that but one means of preserva-
tion remained—a total change of purpose. Yet, though personally he
expected pardon from the Romans, he would, notwithstanding, have
suffered a thousand deaths, rather than betray his country, and, by
dishonouring the command entrusted to him, live in prosperity among
those against whom he had been commissioned to take the field.
He determined therefore to write to the party in power at Jeru-
salem an accurate statement of the posture of affairs, so as that he
might neither, by exaggerating the strength of the enemy, be in the
sequel upbraided with timidity, nor, by underrating it, inspire them
with confidence, when perhaps inclined to repent: in order that,
should they choose to enter into terms, they might return him an
answer to that effect without delay; or, resolving on hostilities, send
him a force able to cope with the Romans. MHaving written to this
effect, he immediately forwarded his letter by a courier to Jerusalem.

3. Vespasian having heard that a large body of the enemy had fled
to Jotapata, and that it was, moreover, their strongest sally-port,
impatient to reduce it, despatched both horse and foot to level the
road, which, being mountainous and rocky, was difficult even for
infantry, but impracticable for cavalry. In four days the work was
completed, and a spacious high-way opened for the troops. On the
fifth, which was the twenty-first of the month Artemisius, Josephus
withdrew from Tiberias, and, making his way to Jotapata, revived the
drooping spirits of the Jews. The welcome tidings of this change of
position were communicated to Vespasian by a deserter, who urged
him to attack the town, as its capture would seal the fate of the whole
of Judza, could he with it secure Josephus.

This intelligence Vespasian caught at as in the highest degree
auspicious, regarding it as ordered by Providence, that the man,
reputed the most sagacious of his opponents, should enter a self-
selected prison. He, therefore, immediately detached Placidus with
a thousand horse, accompanied by Ebutius the decurion, an officer
distinguished alike for gallantry and prudence, with orders to invest
the town, lest Josephus should clandestinely effect his escape.

4. The next day Vespasian followed with his whole force; and,

18 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book UT.

marching until evening, arrived before Jotapata. Leading his army
to the north quarter, he encamped on an eminence seven furlongs
distant from the town, endeavouring to place himself as fully in view
of the enemy as possible, in order to strike them with terror; and
with such alarm were the Jews instantly seized, that no one ventured
beyond the walls.

The Romans, however, were disinclined to an immediate attack,
as they had marched during the entire day; but they encompassed the
city with a double file of infantry, forming, exterior to this, a third
line of cavalry, thus closing up every egress. This, as it cut off all
hope of escape, stimulated the Jews to deeds of intrepid daring ; for,
in war, nothing is a stronger incentive to valour than necessity.

5. An attack being made next day, the Jews, who remained on the
spot, and had encamped before the wall, at first gallantly faced the
Romans. But when Vespasian, having brought up against them the
archers, the slingers, and the whole host that fought with missiles,
gave orders to charge, while he himself, with the infantry, pushed up
the acclivity in that quarter where an impression might with little
difficulty be made upon the wall, Josephus, alarmed for the town,
dashed forward, and with him the whole Jewish force. Falling in
a compact body on the Romans, they drove them from the ramparts,
and performed many feats of prowess and intrepidity.

But not less than they inflicted, did they suffer in return. For,
in the same degree as despair of safety stimulated the Jews, did dread
of disgrace urge on the Romans. These were armed by skill and
strength: those were led on by wild impetuosity. Having fought
through the entire day, the combatants were parted by night. On the
side of the Romans many were wounded, and thirteen killed: of the
Jews seventeen fell, but the wounded amounted to six hundred.

6. On the day following, the Jews, sallying out, again attacked the
Romans, and fought with much greater vigour, having become more
eonfident from the unexpected success of their resistance on the
preceding day, yet finding the Romans withal more eager for the
combat; for they were inflamed to fury by shame, deeming it defeat
not instantly to conquer. Until the fifth day the assaults of the be-
siegers were unintermitted, while the sallies of the people of Jotapata,
and their attacks from the ramparts, were gallantly maintained :—the
Jews were undismayed at the strength of their foes; the Romans
undeterred by the difficulties they encountered.

7. Jotapata is almost one entire precipice. On the other sides it is
surrounded by ravines of such extreme depth, that, in looking down,
the sight fails before it can fathom them; while on the north alone it

BOOK 11. ] THE JEWISH WAR. 19

is accessible, whereon the city is built in a sinuous line, on the slope
of the mountain. This side, Josephus, when fortifying the city, had
encompassed with a wall, to prevent an enemy from occupying the
summit above it. Concealed by the mountains which encircled it, the
town, until you came upon it, was totally invisible. Such strength
had Jotapata.

8. Vespasian, contending not only with the nature of the place, but
with the daring valour of its defenders, resolved to prosecute the
siege with vigour: and, having assembled the officers under his com-
mand, he held a council touching the attack. It being determined to
raise ἃ mound on the accessible quarter of the wall, he sent out his
whole army to procure materials; and the surrounding mountains being
stripped, and timber with stones in vast quantities collected, some, as
a protection from the darts discharged from above, extended hurdles
over the works, and beneath them constructed the mounds, little if at
all impeded by the missiles from the ramparts; whilst others tore up
the neighbouring hillocks, and brought a constant supply of earth ;
and the troops being divided into three sections, no one was idle. The
Jews, meanwhile, cast down on their defences huge rocks from the
ramparts, and every species of missile ; and though they did not pene-
trate, the crash was so loud and terrific as to impede the workmen.

9. Vespasian, having disposed in a semicircle the projectile engines
—of which there were in all a hundred and sixty—gave orders to
aim at the men stationed on the wall. At the same time the catapults
vomited forth a whizzing storm of lances; and rocks of a talent weight
were thrown by the stone-projectors, with fire and dense showers of
arrows, which not only rendered the ramparts inaccessible to the be-
sieged, but as much of the interior, also, as came within their range:
for the host of Arabian archers, with all the javelin-throwers and
slingers, simultaneously with the machines, poured in their volleys.

The Jews, however, though checked in their defence from the ram-
parts, were not inactive; but sallying out in parties, as in predatory
warfare, they tore down the coverings of the workmen, and wounded
them when thus unprotected; and wherever these fell back, they:
threw down the mound, and set fire to the palisades and hurdles.
This continued until Vespasian, perceiving that the intervals between
the works were the occasion of this disaster, as the vacant spaces
afforded opening for attack, united the defences; and his forces,
at the same time, being formed into close line, these irruptions were
repressed.

10. The mound being now raised, and brought almost to a level
with the battlements, Josephus, thinking it deplorable if he could not

20 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book m1.

devise counter measures for the preservation of the town, assembled
the workmen, and directed them to increase the height of the wall.
On their asserting that it would be impossible to build, whilst they
were assailed with such showers of missiles, he invented a covering
for them of the following description. Having ordered piles to be
fixed, on these he stretched the raw hides of oxen, that they might
receive the stones from the engines, yielding withal to the stroke;
while the other missiles would glance off from them, and the fire be
checked by their moisture. These he placed before the builders,
who, thus screened, wrought in safety day and night at the wall,
until it attained an altitude of twenty cubits. They then erected on
it a number of towers, and defended the whole by a strong breast-
work. This greatly disheartened the Romans, who already fancied
themselves within the town; and they were struck with dismay at
the ingenuity of Josephus, and the intrepidity of the besieged.

11. Vespasian was exasperated as well by the subtlety of this
stratagem, as by the gallantry of the people of Jotapata. For, inspired
with fresh confidence by this bulwark, they sallied out upon the Romans,
and maintained, in bands, daily conflicts with them, employing every
artifice used by predatory bands, pillaging what came in their way,
and destroying the other works with fire. At length Vespasian,
restraining his troops from battle, determined to sit down before the
city, and starve it into a surrender; concluding that the besieged
would either be compelled by want of necessaries to sue for mercy,
or, obstinately holding out to the last, be consumed by famine.
He further expected to find them more easy to deal with in the con-
flict, should he, after remitting his attacks, again fall upon them,
when wasted by hunger. He therefore directed all the different
outlets to be guarded.

12. The besieged, meanwhile, had abundance of corn, and of
every other provision, except salt. There was, however, a scarcity
of water, as, having no fountain in the city, the inhabitants sup-
plied themselves with rain-water. Now it rains but lightly, if at
all, during the summer, and, as they were besieged at that season, they
were filled with dismay at the bare apprehension of thirst, and
became deeply dejected, as if water had already entirely failed. For
Josephus, seeing the city abound with other necessaries, and that
there was no want of courage to defend it :—wishing, besides, to
protract the siege beyond the expectation of the Romans—distributed
water by measure. But to have it thus dealt out they considered
more grievous than total want ; and the deprivation of liberty to drink
freely, only incited their craving: so that their spirits sank as if they

BOOK It. | THE JEWISH WAR. 21

had been already reduced to the last extremity of thirst. Nor had
their situation in this respect escaped the Romans. For, from
the opposite quarter they observed them over the wall, flocking
together to one spot, and there receiving the water by measure; and,
directing their javelin-projectors against that place, they slew many.

13. Vespasian, indeed, hoped that the reservoirs would ere long be
exhausted, and that they would be compelled to surrender the city.
But Josephus, with a view to crush this hope, ordered a number of the
people to steep their garments, and hang them out round the battle-
ments, so that the whole wall suddenly streamed. On this, dejection
and dismay seized the Romans, who beheld so much water thrown
away as in scorn by those whom they supposed not to have where-
withal to drink. Their general, accordingly, despairing of reducing
the city by want, again had recourse to force of arms. This the Jews
ardently desired: for, without hope alike for themselves and the
city, they preferred death in battle to famine and drought.

14. Josephus, however, in addition to this stratagem, devised yet
another for obtaining supplies. By the bed of a mountain-torrent,
which ran along the western side of the ravine, and which, from its
ruggedness and difficulty, had been neglected by the guards, he sent
messengers, with letters to such of the Jews outside as he wished,
and received from them, in return, abundance of every thing that
was deficient in the city. These messengers he directed, when
coming in, to creep, for the most part, past the sentries, and to cover
their backs with sheepskins ; in order, that, should they be observed
by night, they might present the appearance of dogs; but the
guards at length detected the artifice, and secured the outlet.

15. At this period, Josephus, sensible that the city could not long
hold out, and that his own safety would be endangered should he
remain, concerted measures for flight in conjunction with the leading
men. But perceiving his intention, the people poured around him,
entreating him not to disregard those whose sole dependence was on
him: for there was still a hope of safety for the town, as, should he
_ continue with them, every one would cheerfully maintain the struggle
for his sake; and should they be taken, his presence would be a
comfort. It became him, therefore, neither to fly from his foes, nor to
desert his friends; nor to spring as from a storm-tossed ship, which
he had entered in a calm :—for thus he would overwhelm the city, as
no one would dare longer to oppose the enemy, should he withdraw,
by whose means alone their-courage could be called forth.

16. Josephus, dissembling his anxiety for his own safety, replied,
that it was for their sakes he retired. For, while they were safe, his

22 THE JEWISH WAR. [poox m1:

presence could not much avail them; whereas, should they be cap-
tured, his ruin would be a needless addition; while, were he dis-
engaged from the siege, he might render them the most essential service
outside; since he would with all haste assemble the Galileeans from the
district, and, by hostilities in another quarter, draw off the Romans
from their walls. He could not see in what his remaining could be
useful to them, under present circumstances, except to stimulate the
Romans to press the siege, inasmuch as his capture was their chief
object; whereas, if informed that he had fled, they would naturally
relax their efforts against the town.

Unmoved, however, by these arguments, the multitude only clung
to him the more closely. Children, and old men, and women with
infants in their arms, fell down in tears before him, and embraced
and held his feet, imploring him with bitter lamentations to stay and
share their fortune: not from envy of his safety, as it appears to me,
but in hope of their own. For they thought that no misfortune
could befall them, if Josephus continued with them.

17, Should he accede withal, it would, he thought, be ascribed to
their solicitations: while, if he attempted to stir, a prison awaited him.
At the same time, compassion for their distress broke down utterly his
desire to leave them. He resolved, therefore, to remain; and, converting
the common despair of the city into a weapon, ‘‘ Now is the time,” he
cried, ‘to begin the struggle, when hope of safety there is none. It is
honourable to exchange life for glory in the performance of some
noble enterprise, which will be handed down to the memory of re-
mote generations.” Thus saying, he proceeded to action; and sallying
out with the most effective, he dispersed the sentries, and, pushing
forward to the Roman camp, tore in pieces the skins which sheltered
those on the mounds, and threw fire into the works. In like manner,
during the next, and following, and for many successive days and
nights, he carried on the contest indefatigably.

18. In consequence of the sufferings of the Romans from these
sallies—for they were ashamed at being worsted by the Jews, and
even when they repulsed them, they were impeded in the pursuit by
their heavy armour, while their opponents, effecting their purpose, ere —
the Romans could retaliate, escaped into the town — Vespasian
directed the troops to avoid their attacks, and not to engage with
men bent on death. ‘“ For nothing,” he said, ‘‘ imparts greater energy
than despair; and their vehemence will be extinguished, if de-
prived of its object, as fire without fuel. It becomes even the Ro-
mans to conquer with safety, since they war not from necessity, but
for acquisitions.” Henceforward he repelled the Jews chiefly by the

BOOK m1. | THE JEWISH WAR. 23

Arabian archers, the Syrian siingers, and the stone-throwers, Nor
were the many projectile engines at rest. The Jews, suffering
severely from these, gave way: but when once inside the play of
the far-ranging engines, they pressed furiously on the Romans, and
fought, prodigal of life and limb—one party in succession relieving
another, when it was exhausted.

19. Vespasian deeming himself—from the time thus consumed,
and from the sallies of the enemy—to be besieged in his turn, deter-
mined, as the mounds were now approaching the ramparts, to bring
up the Ram. This is an immense beam, resembling the mast of a
ship. It is armed at the extremity with a dense mass of iron, forged in
figure of a ram’s head, whence it derives its name. It is suspended
with ropes by the middle, like the rod of a balance, from another
beam, which is supported on both sides by strong uprights. Drawn
back by a number of men, and by their united strength again driven
forward, it batters the wall with the projecting iron. And there is
no tower so strong, or wall so thick, as, though it may resist its first
strokes, to withstand its continued play. To this expedient the
Roman general had recourse in his anxiety to carry thecity by storm,
inasmuch as the activity of the Jews had rendered the blockade
a hurtful measure.

The Romans now advancing their catapults, and other engines, in
order to reach those on the wall, who were endeavouring to arrest
their progress, commenced operations. The archers and slingers, in
like manner, drew up nearer; and the Jews, in consequence, daring
no longer to show themselves on the ramparts, another body of the
Romans brought up the Ram, protected above by a continuous line
of hurdles and skins, for security both to themselves and the engine.
At the first stroke the wall was shaken, when a fearful shriek was
raised by those inside, as if they were already captured.

20. Josephus, seeing the Romans constantly playing upon the
same spot, and that the wall was all but a ruin, devised a method
of averting for a little the force of the engine. He ordered sacks
filled with chaff to be let down before the place on which they
observed the ram uniformly impelled, that they might cause the head
to swerve, and, yielding to the stroke, neutralize its violence. This
occasioned the Romans serious delay; as, wherever they turned the
engine, those above attended with their sacks, which they submitted
to the strokes; so that the blow being repelled, the wall sustained
ho injury; until the Romans, having in turn recourse to long poles
with edged hooks at the extremities, cut away the sacks.

The Ram having thus regained its efficiency, and the wall, which

24 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book πὶ.

had been recently built, already giving way, Josephus and his com-
rades hastened to defend themselves with fire, as a last resource ;
and, snatching up whatever combustible matter was at hand, sallied
out from three different points, and set fire to the machines, hurdles,
and mounds of the besiegers. The Romans, thrown into consterna-
tion by this act of daring, made scarcely any effort at resistance,
being outstripped in the rescue by the rapidity of the flames; for the
materials being dry and inflammable, and intermixed, moreover, with
bitumen, pitch, and brimstone, the fire flew through them swifter than
thought, and what had cost the besiegers much labour was in one
hour consumed.

21. At this crisis a Jew presented himself, who is worthy of mention
and remembrance. He was the son of Samezas, and bore the name
of Eleazar; Saab in Galilee, being the place of his nativity. Lifting
up an enormous stone, he threw it from the wall upon the Ram with
such force, as to break off the head of the machine. He then leaped
down, and taking it up from the midst of the foe, with the utmost
fearlessness conveyed it to the wall: but being a mark, mean-
while, to the whole hostile army, and receiving their strokes in his
unprotected body, he was transfixed with five darts. Nothing moved
by these, he climbed the battlements, where he stood conspicuous to
all in his intrepid deed: then, writhing under his wounds, he fell
headlong with the Ram. Two brothers, Netiras and Philip, Galileeans
also, from the village of Ruma, distinguished themselves as the bravest
next to him. Dashing out on the men of the tenth legion, they attacked
them with such impetuous violence, that they broke through their
ranks, and put all to flight against whom they directed their efforts.

22. These were succeeded by Josephus and his party, who,
snatching up a quantity of ignited matter, set fire to the machines
and penthouses, together with the works of the fifth and tenth
legions, which had been repulsed; whereupon the other Romans, anti-
cipating their attack, buried the implements, and all combustible mate-
rials; and towards evening, having raised the Ram, they again brought
it to bear upon that quarter where the wall had been already shaken.
On this occasion one of the defenders of the town struck Vespasian with
a dart, near the sole of the foot, and wounded him slightly, the
distance having exhausted the missile. The incident, however, caused
the utmost confusion among the Romans. For those near him being
disturbed at the blood, a report spread through the army that Ves-
pasian was wounded. Multitudes, abandoning the siege in conster-
nation and terror, crowded round the general. Foremost of all was
Titus, deeply alarmed for his father; so that the soldiery were dis-

BOOK III. | THE JEWISH WAR. 25

tressed alike by their affection for the general, and by the anguish of
his son. With perfect ease, however, did the father repress the fears
of his son, and the tumult of the army. Rising above his sufferings,
he hastened to show himself to all who were alarmed on his account,
and thus roused them to more strenuous exertions against the Jews.
For each, as an avenger of the general, was eager to lead the way to
danger; and, with shouts of mutual encouragement, they rushed on
toward the wall.

23. But though numbers were beaten down, one on another, by the
catapults and stone-projectors, Josephus and his men still maintained
their post upon the battlements, and with fire, and sword, and stones,
assailed those who, sheltered by the hurdles, worked the Ram. But
they effected little or nothing, and fell without intermission, as they
stood in full view of those whom they could not themselves see. For,
conspicuous in the glare of their own fire, they formed as certain a
mark to the enemy as in the daytime; and as the machines were not
discernible in the distance, it was difficult to avoid their discharges. By
the force of the scorpions and catapults, channels were opened through
the dense files; while the stones, driven whizzing from the machine,
carried away the battlements, and broke off the corners of the towers.
And there was no body of troops so firm, as not to be overthrown to
the last rank by the violence and magnitude of the stones.

Of the power of the engine some idea may be formed from the
events of that night. For, one of those who stood near Josephus
upon the ramparts, being struck by a stone from it, his head was
torn off, and his skull flung to the distance of three furlongs; and
during the day a woman, in pregnancy, who had just come out of
doors, being struck on the abdomen, the foetus was hurled half a
furlong, so great was the force of the ballista.

Terrific, indeed, was the clatter of the machines, and the whiz of
the missiles. The dead bodies, too, sounded heavily one on another,
as they were thrown down from the ramparts; and dreadful were
the screams of the women from within, mingling in unison with the
wailings of the dying from without. The whole scene of conflict in
front of the city flowed with blood; and the wall became accessible
over the heaps of slain. The mountains, echoing around, made
the clamour more fearful; and nothing, on that night, was wanting
to strike the eye or the ear with terror. Many of those who
fought for Jotapata nobly fell: many, also, were wounded: and the
morning watch had already arrived, ere the wall, assailed without
intermission, at length yielded to the engines. The besieged, how-
ever, protecting their persons with their armour, threw up defences

VOL. II. D

26 THE JEWISH WAR. [ΒΟΟΚ m1.

opposite to the breach, before the scaling-planks were applied by the
Romans.

94, At daybreak, Vespasian, having allowed his troops a short
repose after the fatigues of the night, assembled them for the assault
of the town. With the view of dislodging his opponents from the
quarter where the breach had been effected, he ordered the bravest
of the cavalry to dismount, and stationed them three deep over
against the ruins, defended on all sides by their armour, and ready,
with couched lances, to mount the breach the moment the planks were
laid. In rear of these he marshalled the flower of the infantry. The
remainder of the horse he extended opposite to the wall, along the
whole mountain tract, to intercept any who might attempt to escape
on the fall of the town: while, behind these, he stationed an encircling
line of archers, with orders to have their arrows ready for a flight, the
slingers in like manner, and those at the engines: others he directed
to proceed with ladders, and apply them at the uninjured parts of the
wall, that some, in the effort to repel them, might relinquish the
defence of the breach, and the rest, overpowered by the storm of
missiles, yield a passage to the legions.

25. Josephus, however, penetrating his design, stationed the
fatigued and aged on the still remaining portion of the wall, as there
they would receive no injury; but at the breach he placed the most
athletic, and, in front of all, bodies of six men each, drawn by lot,
whose dangers he himself shared, to bear the brunt of the assault. He
further enjoined them to stop their ears at the shout of the legions, that
they might not be terrified; and to receive the showers of missiles on
bended knee, under cover of their shields, and then to fall back for a
little, until the archers should have emptied their quivers: but, once
the Romans had laid the planks, to dash forward upon them, and by
means of their own preparations to meet the enemy, and fight, each,
for the city, not as if it were to be saved, but to avenge it as if
already fallen. ‘‘ Place before your eyes,” said he, ‘‘the aged and
children about to be butchered, and your wives slaughtered by your
foes in a manner hitherto unheard of; and summoning, in anticipa-
tion, the rage you would feel at these coming calamities, let it loose
on those who are to inflict them.”

26. It was thus that Josephus disposed his two divisions. When
the helpless multitude in the town, women and children, beheld it
girt with a triple phalanx—for no change, preparatory to the action,
had been made in the former position of the troops—and the enemy
sword in hand at the breach, the hills above them also glittering with
arms, and the arrows of the Arabian archers on the string, they raised

BOOK II. | THE JEWISH WAR. 27

one last shriek of capture, not as if its evils still impended, but as if
they had already arrived. Josephus, however, shut up the women in
their houses, lest by their pitiable cries they should unman their hus-
bands’ energies, and with threats commanded them to be silent. He
then took the post allotted him in front of the breach, regardless
of those applying the ladders in other quarters, but in that spot
anxiously awaiting the storm of missiles.

27. The trumpeters of all the legions now sounded simultaneously,
the troops raised a terrific war-cry, and the missiles, poured from all
sides in concert, intercepted the light. Those with Josephus, re-
membering his injunctions, guarded their ears against the shout, and
their bodies against the discharges. When the planks were laid,
they rushed out along them, before those who applied them had set
foot on them. Encountering others, however, who were scaling the
walls, they displayed divers feats of strength and gallantry ; endea-
vouring, in these extreme calamities, to prove themselves not inferior
to those, who, not similarly endangered, valiantly opposed them:
nor could they be torn from the Romans, until one or other had
fallen.

But while they were becoming exhausted from unremitted exer-
tions, and had none to relieve them, on the part of the Romans fresh
troops succeeded to the fatigued, and when one was beaten down,
another instantly supplied his place. Mutually animating each other,
side linked to side, and protected overhead by their long shields,
they formed an impenetrable band, and with their whole phalanx, as
if it were one hody, thrusting back the Jews, they were already mount-
ing the ramparts.

28. Josephus in these difficulties taking for his counsellor Neces-
sity, so fertile in invention when stimulated by despair, ordered
boiling oil to be poured over those sheltered by the close-locked
shields. This being quickly prepared, and in large quantities, for
many were employed in the work, they poured it down upon the
Romans on all sides, hurling with it, also, their vessels glowing with
heat. This soon scattered their ranks; and the Romans, scalded,
tolled headlong from the ramparts in excruciating agony. For the
oil, insinuating itself readily under their armour, spread over the
whole body from head to foot, feeding, not less eagerly than flame,
upon their flesh: it being, from its nature, quickly heated, and slow
in cooling, owing to its unctuousness. And as they were cased in
their helmets and breastplates, there was no extrication from the
scalding fluid, and, leaping and writhing in anguish, they fell from
the scaling planks. Thus beaten back upon their own party, who

D2

28 THE JEWISH WAR. [BooK MI.

were pressing forward, they became an easy prey to those attacking
them in rear. ᾿

29. But, amidst these disasters, fortitude forsook not the Romans,
vor sagacity the Jews. The former, though they beheld their comrades
suffering such torture from the oil poured upon them, rushed im-
petuously on those who poured it, each upbraiding the man before him,
as impeding his exertions. .The Jews, however, by a second strata-
gem, checked their ascent, pouring boiled fenugreek upon the planks,
slipping on which the Romans were borne backwards: and those
retreating, as those advancing, were alike unable to remain erect.
Some were, accordingly, thrown on their backs on the scaling planks
by their comrades, and were trodden to death; while many fell down
upon the mound, and those who fell were dispatched by the Jews.
For, when the Romans were prostrated, the Jews, disengaged from
close combat, had leisure for their missiles. In the evening the
general drew off the troops, who had suffered severely in the assault ;
not a few having fallen, and more having been wounded. Of the
people of Jotapata six men were killed, and upwards of three hundred
carried off wounded. This conflict took place on the twentieth of the
month Desius.

30. When Vespasian would have consoled his troops under these
misfortunes, he found them breathing revenge, and asking for action,
rather than needing incitement. He therefore issued orders to raise the
mounds higher, and construct three towers, each fifty feet high, covered
on all sides with plates of iron, that from their weight they might be
firm, and at the same time proof against fire. These he placed upon
the mounds, furnishing them with javelin-throwers, and archers, and
the lighter kinds of projectile engines; and in addition to these with
the most able-bodied of the slingers, who, themselves screened from
observation by their elevated post and the breastworks of the towers,
discharged their weapons upon those on the ramparts whose position
they overlooked.

The Jews, finding they could neither avoid missiles coming from
above, nor defend themselves against an enemy unseen, and observing
that. the height of the towers could with difficulty be attained by a
dart thrown with the hand, and that the iron with which they were
cased rendered them inaccessible to fire, abandoned the wail, and
sallied out against those engaged in the assault of the breach. Thus
was the combat maintained by the besieged, many falling from day to
day, unable withal to retaliate in an equal degree on their foes; whose
approach they could only check at the risk of life.

31. At this period Vespasian dispatched Trajan, the commander of

BOOK 11. J THE JEWISH WAR. 29

the tenth legion, with a thousand horse and two thousand foot,
against a town in the vicinity of Jotapata, called Japha; which,
elated with the unexpected resistance of the people of that place, was
in revolt. Trajan imagined that the taking of the city would be a
work of difficulty ; for, in addition to its natural strength, it was
surrounded with a double rampart; but, seeing its inhabitants advanc-
ing towards him prepared for action, and giving them battle, after a
short struggle he put them to flight. He pursued them so closely, that
his troops broke into the first enclosure along with them ; and when
the fugitives rushed on to the second, their own townsmen, fearing
lest the enemy might enter with them, closed the gates against them.

God it was, doubtless, who brought the wretched Galilzeans into
the power of the Romans, delivering up the great mass of the towns-
people, excluded by the hands of their kindred, to the swords of
murderous foes. For, while pressing to the gates in crowds, and
earnestly calling on the sentinels by name, they were butchered in
the midst of their supplications. The first wall the enemy had shut
against them, the second their own friends; and thus enclosed, in one
dense mass, between the two, they fell, many mutually transfixed by
the swords of their comrades, many by their own, and multitudes by
those of the Romans, without even the courage to defend themselves,
For, besides the terror inspired by their enemies, the treachery of
friends broke down their spirits. In fine, they died, cursing, not the
Romans, but their own people, until of twelve thousand, for to that
number they amounted, not one survived.

Trajan, thinking that the town was emptied of fighting men, or
that, should a few be in it, fear would deter them from further
attempts, reserved the capture for the general. He accordingly for-
warded a message to Vespasian, requesting him to send his son Titus
to complete the victory. The Roman general, conjecturing that some
work still remained to be done, despatched his son with a force of five
hundred horse, and a thousand foot. Advancing rapidly to the city,
Titus drew up his army, and, stationing Trajan on the left wing, he
took the right himself, and led the assault. The soldiers applying
the ladders on all sides to the wall, the Galilzans, after a brief
opposition from above, abandoned the ramparts. Titus and his men
now dashed forward, and quickly occupied the town; but when he
attacked those who rallied within, a sharp engagement ensued ; for the
able-bodied fell upon the Romans in the streets, while the women
assailed them from the houses with whatever missile came in their
way: and during six hours the conflict was maintained. The fight-
ing men being at length consumed; the rest were massacred, some

30 TUE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK 111,

in the open air, some in the houses, young and old promiscuously.
Infants excepted, no male was left; and these, with the women, were
carried into slavery. Those slain throughout the town, and in the
previous action, amounted to fifteen thousand: the prisoners, to two
thousand one hundred and thirty. This disaster befel the Galilezans
on the twenty-fifth of the month Desius.

32. Nor did the Samaritans remain inexperienced in calamities.
Having collected on the mountain called Garizim, which they hold
sacred, they continued in that position; their assemblage, and the
determined spirit evinced, giving menace of war. They had indeed
been rendered no wiser by the misfortunes of their neighbours. Though
alarmed at the successes of the Romans, they did (not), with reasonable
fear, consider their own weakness, but were anxiously looking for
an occasion to revolt. Vespasian, therefore, deemed it advisable to
anticipate the movement, and at once cut off all attempts on their
part. For, although Samaria had throughout been at all times occu-
pied by garrisons, yet did the numbers now congregated, and their
array, afford cause for uneasiness. He accordingly dispatched to the
spot Cerealius, the prefect of the fifth legion, with six hundred horse,
and three thousand foot. Considering it unsafe to ascend the hill, and
join battle, the enemy being in great force above, he surrounded the
entire base of the mountain with his troops, and kept guard over them
during the whole of the day. As it happened—the Samaritans withal
being in want of water, intense heat prevailed, for it was the summer
season ; and as the multitude were unprovided with necessaries, several
expired that very day from thirst; while many, preferring slavery to
such a fate, deserted to the Romans. Cerealius, learning from them
that those who held their ground were broken down by their sufferings,
ascended the mountain, and having disposed his force so as to encircle
the enemy, he invited them to terms, and entreated them to preserve
their lives; assuring them of safety, should they lay down their arms.
Unable to prevail with them, however, he attacked and massacred
them to a man—to the number of eleven thousand six hundred. This
occurred on the twenty-seventh of the month Desius. With such
calamities were the Samaritans visited.

33. The people of Jotapata, meanwhile, holding out, and beyond
expectation bearing up under their miseries, on the forty-seventh day
the mounds of the Romans over-topped the wall. On the same day
an individual deserted to Vespasian, bringing intelligence that those
in the town were few and enfeebled; and that, wasted by continued
watching and incessant conflicts, they would be unable longer to resist
a vigorous assault, and might even be taken by stratagem, if the

BOOK 111, | THE JEWISH WAR. 31

attempt were made. For, about the last watch, when they expected
some respite from their sufferings, and when the morning slumber
usually steals over the weary, the sentinels, he stated, dropped asleep;
and he advised that at that hour the town should be attacked.

Vespasian, however, knowing the fidelity of the Jews towards one
another, and their contempt of suffering, viewed him with sus-
picion ; especially as, on a former occasion, a man of Jotapata, who
was taken prisoner, had withstood every pang of the torture, and
without betraying to his enemies, though tried by fire, a single secret
of the besieged, was crucified—laughing at death. Probabilities,
notwithstanding, attached credit to the traitor, and led to the belief
that perhaps he was speaking truth. Vespasian, expecting to sustain
no great injury from any artifice, ordered the man into custody, and
marshalled his army for the capture of the town.

84. At the hour indicated, they approached the ramparts in silence;
and Titus was the first to mount them, with ong of the tribunes—
Domitius Sabinus, leading on a few of the fifteenth legion. Having
slain the sentries, they entered the city without noise, followed by
one Sextus Cerealius a tribune, with Placidus, and the troops under
their orders. But, though the citadel was taken, and the enemy
moving to and fro in the heart of the town, and though day had
already broke, the vanquished were still unconscious of the capture ;
for the greater proportion of them, worn out with fatigue, had sunk
into a deep sleep, while a dense fog, which happened at the time to
envelope the city, obscured the vision of those who suddenly started
up, until the whole Roman army having poured in, they were roused
but to feel their miseries, and received in death the first evidence of
their capture.

The Romans, in remembrance of what they had suffered during
the siege, exercised towards none either fofbearance or compassion ;
but in one general massacre thrust the people headlong from the
citadel. And here the difficulties of the place deprived of defence
those still able to fight. Pressed together in the streets, and slipping
on the declivities, they were overwhelmed by the tide of war which
flowed down upon them. This drove to self-destruction many even
of Josephus’ chosen men. Perceiving that they could slay not even
one of the Romans, they anticipated the death that awaited them
from hostile hands, and, crowded together in the extreme quarter of
the city, fell by their own.

35. Such of the watch, however, as had fled on the first discovery
of the capture, ascended one of the northern towers, and for some
time defended themselves; but being surrounded by crowds of foes,

32 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book I.

they at last ceased their efforts, and cheerfully offered their necks to
their assailants. The Romans might have boasted that the siege was
bloodless in its termination, had not, after the capture of the town, a
solitary individual fallen,—a centurion, by name Antonius. He died
by treachery. One of those who had taken refuge in the caverns—and
they were many in number—having requested Antonius to extend
his right hand to him as a pledge of protection, aud to help him to
ascend, he unguardedly stretched it out; on which the other, seizing
the opportunity, struck him from below in the groin with a spear, and
killed him upon the spot.

36. On that day, therefore, the Romans slew all who showed them-
selves; and in the ensuing days, searched the hiding-places, making
havoc of such as had fled to vaults and caverns, and dealing death to
those of every age, except infants and women. Of these twelve
hundred prisoners were collected. Those who perished at the capture,
and in the previous conflicts, were computed at forty thousand.
Vespasian then ordered the town to be razed, and reduced all its
forts to ashes. Thus fell Jotapata, in the thirteenth year of the
reign of Nero, on the new moon of Panemus.

CHAPTER VIII.

1, THE Romans, in their search for Josephus, stimulated both by
their own resentment, and the earnest wish of the commander, as his
capture would go far to decide the war, examined the bodies of the
slain, and the secret recesses of the city. But, just as the town was
taken, he, availing himself of some providential aid, withdrew himself
from the midst of the enemy, and leaped into a deep pit, in the
side of which was a capacious cavern, invisible to those above. Here
he found forty persons of distinction concealed, provided with neces-
saries sufficient to support them for a considerable time.

During the day, therefore, he lay hid, the enemy occupying all the
posts, and, at night going up, he scrutinized every outlet of flight,
and reconnoitred the sentries; but as every spot was so closely
guarded on his account, that escape was impracticable, he again went
down into the cavern. For two days he thus eluded pursuit; but, on
the third, a womian of their party, being seized, gave information:
on which Vespasian with eager haste despatched two tribunes, Pau-

BOOK 111. ] THE JEWISH WAR. ᾿ 33

linus and Gallicanus, with orflers to offer Josephus protection, and to
exhort him to leave his retreat.

2. Repairing to the spot, they strongly urged their proposal upon
him, and pledged themselves for his safety. Their persuasions, how-
ever, were ineffectual; for he gathered his suspicions not from the
natural mildness of those who addressed him, but from the penalties it
was probable that so active a partizan must suffer. He feared, more-
over, that they were inviting him solely to punishment, until Ves-
pasian sent a third tribune, Nicanor, known to Josephus, and formerly
his associate.

He, on his arrival, enlarged upon the natural lenity of the Romans
towards those whom they had once subdued, assuring him that from
his valour he was rather an object of admiration than of hatred to the
officers; and that the general was anxious to win him over, not for
punishment—for this he had it in his power to inflict even should he
not come forth—but from a wish to save a brave man. He added,
that Vespasian, had he purposed to entrap him, would not have com-
missioned a friend, that he might clothe with the fairest colours a
transaction of the deepest infamy—perfidy with the mask of friend-
ship; nor would he himself have consented to come for the purpose
of deceiving a friend.

3. While Josephus was hesitating as to Nicanor’s persuasions, the
soldiery in their rage rushed forward to throw fire into the cavern ;
but the tribune, anxious to take the Jewish leader alive, restrained
them. While Nicanor was earnestly pressing his point, Josephus
heard the threats of the hostile crowd; and his nightly dreams,
wherein God had foreshown to him the approaching calamities of the
Jews, and what would befal the Roman sovereigns, occurred to him,
As an interpreter of dreams he had the art of collecting the meaning
of things delivered ambiguously by the Deity; nor was he unac-
quainted with the prophecies of the sacred books, being himself a
priest, and a descendant of priests. Being at that moment under a
divine influence, and suddenly recalling the fearful images of his
recent dreams, he addressed to God a secret prayer, and said: ‘‘ Since
it seems good to Thee, who didst found the Jewish nation, now to level
it with the dust, and transfer all its fortune to the Romans, and
since Thou hast chosen my spirit to foretel future events, I surrender
willingly to the Romans, and live: appealing to Thee, that I go over
to them, not as a traitor, but as Thy minister.”

4, Having spoken thus, he was about to deliver himself to Nica-
nor. But when the Jews, who had there taken refuge along with
him, understood that he was yielding to the solicitations of the

84 THE JEWISH WAR. [Boox m1.

Romans, they surrounded him in a body, crying out, “ Deeply may
our paternal laws groan! And well may God, who planted in the
Jewish breast a soul that despises death, hide his face in indignation!
Is life so dear to thee, Josephus, that thou canst endure to see the
light in slavery ἢ How soon hast thou forgotten thyself! How many
hast thou persuaded to die for liberty! False, then, indeed, has been
thy reputation for manliness, as well as for intelligence, if thou
canst hope for safety from those whom thou hast so strenuously
opposed, or consent to accept deliverance at their hands, even were
it certain! But, though the fortune of the Romans has poured over
thee some strange forgetfulness of thyself, we must take care of our
country’s glory. We will provide thee with right hand and sword.
If thou diest voluntarily, thou shalt die as general of the Jews: but
if involuntarily, as a traitor.” While they spoke, they offered their
swords, and threatened to slay him, if he gave himself up to the
Romans.

5. Josephus, fearing an outbreak, and conceiving that it would be
a betrayal of God’s commands, should he die before he delivered his
message, proceeded to reason with them philosophically respecting
the emergency: “ Why, my comrades, should we so thirst for our
own blood? Or why do we set at variance such fond companions as
soul and body? Who gays that ] am changed? But the Romans
know whether this is true. It is honourable, I admit, to die in war,
but only by the law of war, that is, by the act of the victors. Did I,
then, shun the Roman blades, worthy indeed should I be of my own
sword, and my own hand. But, if pity for an enemy enter their
breasts, how much more justly should pity for ourselves enter ours !
For it is the extreme of folly to do that to ourselves, to avoid which
we quarrel with others. It is seemly to die for freedom. I admit it—
but let it be in fair fight, and by the hands of those who would rob us
of it. But now they neither meet us in battle, nor slay us. He is
alike a dastard who wishes not to die when he ought, and wishes it
when he ought not. What is it, then, from dread of which we
decline surrendering to the Romans? Is it not death? And shall we,
then, determine to inflict upon ourselves what we fear, when appre-
hended from enemies ? But some one will urge the dread of servitude.
We are now, forsooth, perfectly free! Another will say that it is
noble to destroy oneself. Far from it—but most ignoble! Just as
I would deem that pilot most dastardly who, dreading a tempest,
voluntarily sinks his ship ere the storm sets in. But further:
suicide is alien to the common nature of all animals, and an impiety
against God, who created us. Nor, indeed, is there any living crea-

BOOK III. j THE JEWISH WAR. 35

ture that dies premeditatedly, or by its own act; for nature's law is
strong in all—the wish to live. For thie reason also those who
attempt overtly to deprive us of life, we account enemies; and those
who attempt it clandestinely, we punish.

‘Do you not think that God is indignant, when man treats his
gift with contempt? From Him we have received our existence ;—
and the period when we are no longer to exist, we refer to his will.
Our bodies, indeed, are mortal to all, and composed of corruptible
materials: but the soul, always immortal, and a portion of the Deity,
dwells in those bodies. Now, should any one destroy, or misapply,
what is deposited with him by man, he is esteemed wicked and faith-
less: and should any one cast out from his body what has been there
deposited by God, do we suppose that he will elude Him whom he
has wronged ?

‘¢ Our laws, moreover, have determined, and justly, that fugitive
slaves shall be chastised, even though they should have Jeft worthless
masters. And shall we, in fleeing from God, that best of masters,
not be deemed impious? Know you not, then, that they who
depart this life according to the law of nature, repaying the loan
received from God, when He who gave is pleased to require it, are
surrounded with eternal honour; that their houses and families are
secure ; that their souls remain unspotted, and propitious to prayer,
obtaining heaven’s most holy abode, from whence, in the revolution
of ages, they are again dismissed to inhabit pure bodies? Whilst the
souls of those whose hands have acted madly against themselves, a
region of darker Hades receives ; and God, their father, visits on the
offspring the impiety of their parents. Hence this deed is hateful to
God, and is punished by the wisest of lawgivers. ‘Thus it is ordained
among us, that those who destroy themselves shall be exposed un-
buried till sunset, although we think it right to inter even our enemies:
while, among other nations, they order the right hand of suicides to
be cut off, as having been armed against themselves; thinking that,
as the body was alien from the soul, so too was the hand from the
body.

“41 behoves us, therefore, comrades, to entertain just views, and
not, to human misfortunes, add impiety towards Him who created us.
If we are to be saved, then, let us be saved; for preservation is
not inglorious, received from those who, on so many occasions, have
had proof of our valour: if to die, death is honourable from a victo-
rious foe. I shall not pass over to the ranks of our opponents, in
order to become a traitor to myself. For I should thus be much
more foolish than those who desert to the enemy; as they do so for

86 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book πε.

safety, whilst I should do so for destruction—and that, too, of
myself. I pray, however, that this may prove a faithless stratagem
of the Romans; for if, after an assurance of protection, I perish by
their hands, I shall die cheerfully, carrying with me their perfidy and
falsehood—a consolation greater than victory.”

6. These, and many similar motives, did Josephus suggest to
divert them from suicide. But despair had stopped their ears, for
they had long devoted themselves to death; and in a paroxysm of
fury, they ran at him from all sides with drawn swords, upbraiding
him with cowardice, and manifesting a determination instantly to cut
him down. But, addressing one by name—towards another assuming
the aspect of command—taking a third by the hand—and softening
a fourth by entreaties—though distracted with conflicting passions,
he succeeded, in this emergency, in warding off the blades of all,
always turning, as a wild beast when hemmed in, to the one that
was assailing him. Some there were, also, whose arms were para-
lysed by reverence for the general in this his extreme distress, and
whose swords dropped from their grasp; while many, in the very act
of thrusting at him, unconsciously let fall their weapons.

7. But in this perplexity, his usual sagacity did not forsake
him; and trusting to his guardian God, he hazarded his safety,
and said: ‘‘ Come, since you are resolved to die, let us commit our
mutual slaughter to the lot, and let him, to whom it falls, die by
the sword of him who comes next to him; and the same fate will
thus pass through all. Nor let each be thrown on his own resolution.
For it would be unjust that any one, after the destruction of the
others, should repent, and be preserved.”

To a proposal so apparently fair they readily assented; and, having
thus far prevailed, he cast the lot. He to whom it fell bared his
throat to the next, not doubting but the general would soon share
his fate; for death, with Josephus, they deemed sweeter than life.
He, however—whether we ought to say by fortune, or by the provi-
dence of God—was left with one other; and, anxious neither to be
condemned by the lot himself, nor, should he remain the last, to stain
his hands with kindred blood, he persuaded him also, on a pledge
given, to remain alive. |

8. Josephus, having thus escaped in the war with the Romans, as
in that with his friends, was conducted to Vespasian by Nicanor.
The Romans crowded from all quarters to obtain a sight of him;
and as the multitude pressed together around the general, a scene of
varied disorder ensued: some exulting in his capture; some threat-
ening ; and others pushing forward to obtain a neurer view. Some,

BOOK I11.] THE JEWISH WAR. 37

from the distance, cried out to punish their enemy; while those
beside him were penetrated with a recollection of his exploits, and
pity for his reverse. Nor was there among the officers one, who,
however previously exasperated, did not then relent on beholding him.
. Owing to his own virtuous disposition, Titus, in particular, was
touched by the fortitude with which Josephus bore his misfortunés,
and felt compassion for a man thus situated in the prime of
life. Remembering, moreover, how recently he had been in battle,
and now seeing him a captive in the hands of foes, he was led
to reflect on the power of fortune, the quick alternations of war,
and the instability of human affairs. He disposed many, therefore,
at the time to adopt his views, and commiserate Josephus; and
proved, in the sequel, through his intercession with his father, the
chief cause of his preservation. Vespasian, however, ordered him
to be guarded with unremitting vigilance, purposing to send him
without delay to Nero.

9. On hearing this Josephus intimated that he wished to speak in
private to him; and Vespasian having removed all except his son
Titus, and two of his friends, Josephus addressed him in these words :
“You think, Vespasian, that you have possessed yourself merely of
a captive in Josephus; but I come to you as a messenger of greater
things. Had I not received a commission from God, I knew the law
of the Jews, and how it becomes a general to die. Do you send me
to Nero? Wherefore? Are there any remaining to succeed Nero,
previous to your own accession? You, Vespasian, are Caesar and
emperor—you, and this your son. Bind me, then, the more securely,
_and keep me for yourself. For you, Cesar, are master not only of
me, but of sea and land, and of the whole human race. And [
deserve the punishment of stricter ward, if I talk lightly, especially
in a matter pertaining to God.”

This declaration of Josephus, Vespasian was at first little inclined
to credit, supposing it an ingenious artifice to save his life. Gra-
dually, however, he was led to believe it, God already having raised
him to power, and by other signs foreshowing the sceptre. He had,
however, a farther proof of the veracity of Josephus; for one οἵ
those friends who were present at the private interview, having
expressed his ‘“‘ surprise that he should have been unable to predict
either the reduction of Jotapata, or his own captivity, if this were not
a weak attempt to avert the resentment excited against him,” Jose-
phus replied, that ‘he had likewise, to the people of Jotapata, fore-
told that the city would be captured on the forty-seventh day, and
himself taken alive by the Romans.”

38 THE JEWISH WAR. [BooK m1.

Vespasian, having privately inquired from the prisoners respecting
these statements, and found them true, began to credit those relating
to himself. He relaxed, however, neither the custody nor chains of
Josephus, though he presented him with raiment and other articles,
and continued to treat him with kindness and attention, Titus contri-
bating much to these respectful courtesies.

CHAPTER IX.

1. On the fourth of the month Panemus, Vespasian returned to
Ptolemais, whence he repaired to Ceesarea, on the sea coast, a city of
Judea, of great extent, and chiefly inhabited by Greeks. Here both
the army and its commander were received by the citizens with varied
acclamations, and demonstrations of joy, proceeding in some measure
from goodwill toward the Romans, but mainly from hatred of the
vanquished. Accordingly, assembling in crowds, they demanded with
loud vociferations the punishment of Josephus; but this petition, as
presented by an inconsiderate multitude, Vespasian silently rejected.
Finding the place adapted for the purpose, he directed two of the
legions to winter there; ordering the fifteenth to Scythopolis, that
he might not burden Cesarea with the entire army. The climate of
this city is as genial in winter, as it is insupportable from the extreme
heat in summer; for it lies in a plain, and on the sea coast.

2. Meanwhile, however, those who on the revolt had fallen off from
the enemy, or escaped from the demolished towns, and who formed
no small body, had assembled, and, as a rallying point for themselves,
rebuilt Joppa, which had been laid in ruins by Cestius ; and as they
were debarred from the country, now in occupation of the enemy, they
determined to have recourse to the sea. Having, accordingly, con-
structed a number of piratical vessels, they carried on their depre-
dations upon the line ef voyage from Syria, and Phoenicia, as far as
Egypt, and rendered the seas in that quarter entirely innavigable.
Vespasian, on being informed of this combination, detached a party
of horse and foot to Joppa, who, as it was unguarded, entered the
city by night. Its occupants, who had received intimation of the
incursion, fled in terror to their ships, and, declining all effort to
repel the Romans, passed the night beyond the reach of missiles.

3. Joppa is, by nature, harbourless; being terminated by a rugged

BOOK It. | THE JEWISH WAR. 39

shore, running in a direct line, except that it is slightly curved at the
extremities, which consist of vast precipices and crags, jutting into the
sea. Here also traces of Andromeda’s chains are still pointed out,
attesting the antiquity of the legend. The north wind, beating full in
upon the coast, and driving the waves high against the opposing
rocks, renders the roadstead more insecure than the watery waste.

Whilst the people of Joppa were here tossing about, they were
assailed, towards morning, by a furious blast, called by the mariners
who navigate those parts “" the Black Norther,” which dashed their
ships, some against each other, and some against the rocks; while
many in the face of the waves bearing out to sea, their crews dreading
the shore, which was rocky, and the enemy who occupied it, foun-
dered among the towering billows. There was neither means of flight,
nor yet safety if they remained; for they were driven from the sea by
the violence of the wind, and from the city by the Romans. Fearful
was the shriek when the vessels were dashed against one another, and
loud the crash when they broke up. Of the multitude, some perished,
overwhelmed by the waters, and many involved in the wreck of their
ships: whilst others, anticipating the sea, sought death from their
own swords, as a lighter alternative. The greater part of them, how-
ever, swept to the shore by the waves, were torn by the rugged cliffs,
insomuch that the sea was discoloured far and wide with blood, and
the coast covered with dead; those cast on shore being massacred by
the Romans, who were waiting to receive them. ‘The bodies thrown
up amounted to four thousand two hundred. The Romans, having
taken the town without opposition, razed it to the ground.

4. Thus was Joppa, within a brief interval, a second time captured
by the Romans. Vespasian, in order to prevent the pirates from
again harbouring there, formed an encampment on the citadel, and
left in it the cavalry, with a few infantry.. The latter were to remain
stationary, and guard the camp: the former to ravage the district
around, and destroy the villages and small towns in the vicinity of
Joppa. Accordingly, in obedience to their instructions, they overran
the country, daily pillaging it, and reducing it to an utter desert.

5. When the fate of Jotapata was told in Jerusalem, it was at first
generally disbelieved, as well from the magnitude of the calamity, as
because no eye-witness of the events was forthcoming ; for not a single
individual had survived to convey the tidings. But rumour, springing
naturally from sad events, had of herself announced the capture.
By degrees, the truth made its way through the adjoining parts,
and the fact was now regarded by all as too certain for doubt.
Nay, in addition to what actually took place, things were fabricated

40 7 THE JEWISH WAR. [Boox mr,

that never occurred. Thus it was stated that Josephus had fallen at
the capture, This filled Jerusalem with the deepest sorrow. In
every house, indeed, and among the kindred of those who had
perished, the deceased were severally bewailed; but the mourning for
the commander was general. « Some grieved for hosts, some for rela-
tives, some for friends, and some for brothers, but all for Josephus.
Thus during thirty days the lamentations had no cessation in the city;
and many minstrels were hired to lead the mournful strains.

6. But when the truth was disclosed by time, and the events as
they had occurred at Jotapata became known, the death of Jose-
phus was found to be a fiction; and when it was understood that
he was alive, and with the Romans, and honoured by the officers
beyond the fortune of a captive, they felt as much resentment to-
wards him living, as they had before of affection when they supposed
him dead. By some he was upbraided as a coward, by others as a
traitor, and the city was filled with indignation and imprecations
against him. They were exasperated, moreover, by their calamities,
and still further inflamed by their pernicious measures. Nay, defeat,
which suggests means of precaution to the wise, and leads them to
provide against similar misfortunes, goaded them on to new disasters:
so that the termination of one evil was invariably the commencement
of another. They accordingly attacked the Romans with renewed
energy, in them to avenge themselves on Josephus. Such were the
disorders that now prevailed in Jerusalem.

7. Vespasian, designing personally to examine the territories of
Agrippa, removed from Cesarea on the sea coast, to the city called
Cesarea-Philippi. For the king, at once from a wish to entertain the
general and the army in the best manner his private resources per-
mitted, and to allay through them the disorders of his kingdom, had
invited him into his dominions. Here he rested his troops for twenty
days, and enjoyed himself in festivities, presenting thank-offerings to
God for his success. But being informed that disaffection was showing
itself in Tiberias, and that Tarichea had already revolted—both were
partof Agrippa’s kingdom—and being resolved to subjugate the Jews
in all quarters, he thought that an expedition against them would be
well-timed, even for Agrippa’s advantage, if, in requital of his hospi-
tality, he should reduce those towns to reason for him. He therefore
sent his son Titus to Cesarea, to conduct the troops there stationed
to Scythopolis, the largest city of Decapolis, and neighbouring
to Tiberias; and thither he himself proceeded to await his son.
Advancing with three legions, he encamped thirty furlongs from
Tiberias, at a station called Sennabris, in view of the malecontents.

SVIuaaIL

BOOK IIL. | THE JEWISH WAR. 41

He then despatched Valerian, a decurion, at the head of fifty horse,
to propose peaceful measures to those in the town, and urge them to
confide in his assurances of protection. For he had heard that the
people were desirous of peace, but had been compelled by some
abettors of revolt to join the movement.

When Valerian, who was on horseback, approached the ramparts,
he alighted, directing his troop to do the same, lest it might be sup-
posed that they came to skirmish. But before the parties addressed
each other, the more influential of the insurgents, headed by the
leader of the brigand band, one Joshua, the son of Saphat, rushed
out upon him in arms. Thinking it hazardous to engage contrary
to the orders of the general, even were he assured of victory, while,
moreover, it were dangerous with a handful of men to mect a numer-
ous force, his own being unprepared, and his antagonists fully
equipped ; and disconcerted, besides, by the unexpected daring
of the Jews, Valerian fled on foot; five others, in like manner,
abandoning their horses. These Joshua and his comrades led off to
the town, exulting as if they had taken them in battle, and not by
stratagem.

8. Dreading the consequences of this affair; the elders of the
people, and the men of rank, repaired in haste to the Roman camp ; -
and, accompanied by the king, threw themselves as suppliants at the
feet of Vespasian, imploring him not to disregard their prayer, nor
impute to the whole city the madness of a few; but to spare the
people, who had always been friendly to the Romans, and to punish the
authors of the revolt, by whom they had till now been kept under
guard, long anxious as they were for his protection. To these
entreaties the general, though incensed against the entire city on
account of the capture of the horses, yielded ; for he saw that Agrippa
felt much uneasiness respecting it. The deputation having received
a pledge of protection for the people, Joshua and his party, thinking
it unsafe longer to continue at Tiberias, made off to Tarichza.

The next day Vespasian sent Trajan forward with some horsemen
to the ridge of the hill, with the view of testing the multitude,
whether all were disposed for peace. Having ascertained that they
coincided in sentiment with the petitioners, he led his army to the
city. The inhabitants threw open their gates to him, and met him
with acclamations, hailing him as their saviour and benefactor. The
troops being crushed owing to the narrowness of the cntrance,
Vespasian, ordering part of “he south wall to be thrown down,
widened the passage for them. In compliment to the king, however,
he charged them to abstain from rapine and outrage; and for his

VOL. II. E

42 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book 11.

sake also, as he pledged himself for the future fidelity of the inhabit-
ants, he spared the fortifications. And thus was rescued from
sedition a city which had been harassed with various ills,

CHAPTER X.

1. VESPASIAN, advancing from Tiberias, encamped between that
town and Taricheea, fortifying his post with the greater care, from a
suspicion that the war in that quarter would be protracted; as the
disaffected were flowing in one general conflux to Tarichea, confiding
in its strength, and in its position on the lake, which by the inhabit-
ants of the district is called Gennesareth. For that city, lying, like
Tiberias, at the foot of a mountain, had, on those sides not washed
by the lake, been strongly fortified by Josephus, though less securely
than Tiberias ; for the walls there had been built on the first out-
break of the insurrection, at a large expenditure of money and
labour ; whereas Tarichea had partaken merely of the residue of his
bounty. They had withal many ships in readiness on the lake as a
refuge in case of defeat on shore, and fitted up for a naval engage-
ment, should circumstances require.

While the Romans were throwing up their intrenchments, Joshua
and his comrades, alarmed neither by the number nor discipline of
the enemy, sallied out, and, having at the first onset dispersed the
workmen, levelled a little of the structure; when, seeing the troops
collecting, they fell back, before they had sustained any loss, upon
their own party. The Romans pursued, and drove them to their
ships. Sailing out, but so as still to keep the Romans within reach
of their missiles, they cast anchor; and, forming their fleet in close
line, like the ranks of an army, maintained a naval conflict with their
antagonists on shore. Vespasian, hearing that they had assembled
also in great numbers on the plain before the town, despatched
his son thither with six hundred picked cavalry.

2. Titus, finding that the enemy were in prodigious strength, sent
to inform his father that he required a reinforcement. Remarking,
however, that many of his men were eager to come to action even
before succour arrived, whilst some were secretly filled with alarm at
the multitude of the Jews—standing on a spot whence he might be
audible, he spoke as follows:

BOOK III. | THE JEWISH WAR. 43

“Men, Romans!—for it becomes me, in the opening of my
address, to remind you of your descent, that you may know who we
are, and with whom we are to contend. For to this hour nothing on
the habitable globe has escaped our hands; and yet the Jews—to
refer also to them—though discomfited, still maintain the contest.
And shameful were it, that, while they bear up in disaster, we should
faint in success. I rejoice to witness the alacrity which you manifest:
but I fear lest any of you should be inspired with secret alarm by the
multitude of our foes. Let such an one again reflect, who he is, and
against whom he is arrayed; and that the Jews, though undaunted,
and reckless of life, are nevertheless ill disciplined, and unskilled in
war, and may rather be styled a rabble than an army.

‘¢ But, why need I allude to our skill and discipline? We alone,
even in times of peace, are exercised in arms, that in the day of
battle we may not contrast our own numbers with those of our
opponents. What, indeed, avails our uninterrupted training, if we
must be marshalled, man for man, against an untrained foe? Con-
sider, too, that the contest lies between the armed and unarmed,
infantry and cavalry—those who have a leader, and those who have
none: and, as these advantages make you manifold more, so do their
disadvantages detract much from the number of our antagonists.
Again, it is not a multitude of men, however soldierlike they may
be, that ensures victory in the field: but fortitude, though only in a
few. For such, indeed, are easily marshalled, and brought up to
each other’s support; whilst unwieldy masses are more injured by
themselves than by the enemy. The Jews are led on by temerity
and self-confidence, affections of mere madness, and, though highly
efficient in success, extinguished by the slightest mischance: we,
by valour, by disciplined obedience, and by that fortitude, which,
while it flourishes in prosperity, fails not to the very last in adversity.

‘* But it is for a nobler prize than the Jews that you contend.
For, albeit that for freedom and country they incur the dangers of
war, what higher motive can stimulate us than glory, and the con-
sideration, that after achieving the empire of the world, it must not
appear that the Jews are able to resist us? Besides, we should
reflect, that we have no irreparable disaster to apprehend; for those
prepared to succour us are many, and at hand. Yet, we can snatch
the victory, and it behoves us to anticipate the succour on its way to
us from my father, that, unshared, the greater may be our triumph.

‘* And, if I err not, in this hour, my father is on his trial, and
myself, and you—whether he indeed is worthy of past successes, I of
being his son, and you of being my soldiers. For, to him, victory is

E2

44 THE JEWISH WAR, [Book mI.

familiar: and I could never bear to return to him, if I were defeated:
and will not you be ashamed if surpassed by your commander, when
he leads the way to danger? For in the path of danger be well assured
that I will lead, and throw myself first upon the enemy. Be not,
then, outdone by me, convinced that my efforts will be aided by an
assisting God: and know for certain that we shall be more successful
in a close engagement.”

3. During this harangue of Titus, the men were seized with a
supernatural ardour; and when Trajan, with four hundred horse,
arrived prior to the action, they took it to heart, as the victory, thus
shared, would be lessened to themselves. Vespasian had, likewise,
despatched Antonius Silo, with two thousand archers, whom he
directed to occupy the hill over against the town, and keep in check
those on the ramparts; and, according to his instructions, they pre-
vented any assistance being afforded from that quarter. Titus now,
spurring his horse, led the charge against the enemy: his men fol-
lowed with loud shouts, extending themselves across the plain, until
their line equalled that of their opponents, and thus materially aug-
menting their apparent strength.

The Jews, though dismayed at their furious onset and regular
array, for a short time withstood the attack; but, being galled by the
lances, and overthrown by the impetuous rush of the cavalry, they
were trampled down. Many being slaughtered on all sides, the re-
mainder dispersed, and fled, each with what haste he could, towards
the city. Titus, pursuing them hotly, cut up their rear, now break-
ing through their dense masses, and now pushing in advance of
them, he charged them in front: many he drove confusedly together,
and, dashing in upon them as they fell one over another, trod them
down: all he intercepted in their retreat to the ramparts, and turned
them back to the plain; until at length, by their numbers, they
forced their way through, and escaped in a body into the town.

4, But a fierce contention awaited them within. For the inhabit-
ants, as well for the sake of their property as of the city, having from
the first been indisposed to war, were more so at that moment from
their discomfiture; while the strangers, a numerous party, opposed
them violently. Thus, mutually enraged, clamour and tumult pre-
vailed; and they were on the point of appealing to arms. Titus,
who was not far from the wall, hearing the disturbance, called aloud:
‘* Now is the time. Why, then, fellow-soldiers, do we delay, when God
is delivering to us the Jews? Accept the victory. Hear you not
the uproar? Those who have escaped our hands are quarrelling
ainong themselves. The town is ours, if we But use despatch. To

BOOK 111. | THE JEWISH WAR. 45

promptitude, however, we must add exertion and resolution; for
nothing great is wont to be accomplished without danger. It behoves
us not only to anticipate the concord of our enemies, whom necessity
will speedily unite, but the assistance of our friends, that, besides
defeating so vast a multitude, we may, few though we be, unaided
capture the city.”

5. As he spoke he sprang upon his horse, and, galloping down to
the lake, rode through it, and was the first to enter the town, fol-
lowed by his men. Terror-struck at his daring, those on the ram-
parts waited neither to fight nor impede his progress. Abandoning
their post, Joshua and his associates dispersed through the country :
others ran down to the lake, and fell in with their antagonists on
the advance: some were killed climbing up into their ships: others,
endeavouring to reach them when under weigh. Great, too, was the
havoc in the city, as well of the strangers who had not succeeded in
escaping, and who now made resistance, as of the residents, who
offered none—for, in the hope of protection, and in the consciousness
of having given no countenance to the war, they refrained from arms
—until Titus, having punished the guilty, was touched with com-
passion for the inhabitants, and put an end to the slaughter. Those
who had taken refuge on the lake, seeing the city captured, withdrew
as far as possible from danger.

6. Titus having despatched a trooper with the gratifying intelli-
gence of this achievement to his father, Vespasian experienced, as
was natural, the most lively satisfaction, not less from the valour of
his son, than from the success of the enterprise: for the most serious
difficulties of the war seemed now to be removed. Repairing thither
immediately, he placed guards over the city, that none might clandes-
tinely withdraw from it, ordering them to put all such to the sword.
Going down next day to the lake, he gave directions for fitting out
rafts against the fugitives; and, as materials were abundant, and
workmen numerous, his commands were speedily executed.

7. The lake of Gennesareth, deriving its appellation from the
adjacent district, is forty furlongs in breadth, and a hundred and
forty in length. Its waters are at once sweet, and extremely plea-
sant to drink, as they flow in a clearer stream than the muddy
collections cf marshes: and they can be drawn free from impurities,
being throughout confined by abrupt and sandy shores. They are of
a medium temperature, milder than those of the river or the fountain,
vet uniformly colder than might be expected from the expanse of the
lake: not less so, indeed, than snow, when they are exposed to the
air, as it is customary with the peuple of the country to do with them

46 THE JEWISH WAR. [BooK 1Π,

during the summer nights. The kinds of fish found here differ from
those: elsewhere met with, both in flavour and species. This lake,
it may be added, is intersected by the Jordan.

Apparently, Panium is the source of the Jordan; but the water is,
in reality, conveyed thither unseen by a subterranean channel from
Phiala, as it is called, which lies not far from the high road, on the
right as you ascend to Trachonitis, at the distance of a hundred and
twenty furlongs from Cesarea. From its circumference, it is appro-
priately designated Phiala (bowl), being a lake of a circular form.
The water remains uniformly on a level with the margin, without
subsidence, or overflow.

That the Jordan hence derived its origin was formerly unknown,
until it was ascertained by Philip, tetrarch of Trachonitis; who,
having thrown chaff into Phiala, found it cast up at Panium, where
it was anciently supposed the river took its rise. ‘The natural beauty
of Panium was improved by royal munificence, the place having been
ornamented at the expense of Agrippa. Commencing from this
cavern, the visible stream of the Jordan divides the lagoons and
marshes of the lake Semechonitis; and, flowing an hundred and
twenty furlongs below the town of Julias, intersects Gennesareth:
then, traversing a vast desert, it empties itself into the lake
Asphaltitis.

8. Extending along the lake of Gennesareth, and bearing also its
name, lies a tract of country, admirable both for its natural proper-
ties, and its beauty. Such is the fertility of the soil, that it rejects
no plant, and accordingly all are here cultivated by the husbandman:
for so genial is the air, that it suits every variety. The walnut, which
delights, beyond other trees, in a wintry climate, grows here luxuri-
antly; together with the palm-tree, which is nourished by heat: and
near to these are figs and olives, to which a milder atmosphere has been
assigned. One might style this an ambitious effort of nature, doing
violence tq herself in bringing together plants of discordant habits, and
an amiable rivalry of the seasons, each as it were asserting her right to
the soil; for it not only possesses the extraordinary virtue of nourish-
ing fruits of opposite climes, but also maintains a continual supply of
them. Thus it produces those most royal of all, the grape and the
fig, during ten months, without intermission, while the other varie-
ties ripen the year round; for, besides being favoured by the genial
temperature of the air, it is irrigated by a highly fertilizing spring,
called Capharnaum by the people of the country. This some have
thought a vein of the Nile, from its producing a fish similar to the
coracin of the lake of Alexandria. The tract, extending along the

“W''ViHd SMV AHI

BOOK 111. | THE JEWISH WAR. 47

shores of the lake which bears its name, is thirty furlongs in length,
and twenty in breadth. And such are its natural peculiarities.

9. When the rafts were prepared, Vespasian, having embarked as
many of his troops as he deemed sufficient to cope with those on the
lake, pushed out. The fugitives, meanwhile, hard pressed, could
neither escape to land, where all were in arms against them, nor yet
maintain a naval conflict on equal terms; for their boats, being small,
and built for piracy, could avail little against the rafts; and the few,
who severally manned them, were afraid to close with the dense
ranks of the Romans. Sailing round the line of rafts, notwithstand-
ing, and occasionally approaching, they flung stones from a distance
at the Romans, or galled them in a nearer attack; but in both in-
stances they sustained greater injury themselves. For the stones,
falling on men cased in armour, did nothing more than produce a
pattering sound, the assailants meantime being within range of the
missiles of the Romans; and if they ventured closer, ere they could
effect aught, they suffered themselves, and were sunk with their
shallops. Of those who endeavoured to break through, some they
slew, reaching them with their lances; some again, leaping sword in
hand into their vessels; whilst others, as the rafts closed in, were
caught between them, and captured with their barques.

Those submerged, either a dart surprised when they rose, or a raft
fell in with; and did they, in their perplexity, attempt to climb up
to their foes, either their heads or hands were cut off by the Romans.
Thus great and various was the slaughter of them on all sides, until
the survivors, giving way, and their boats being surrounded, were
forced on shore. Many, however, who were shut out from the
strand, were speared in the water; and many who sprang from their
vessels, the Romans slew on land. Then might have been seen the
whole lake discoloured with blood, and choked with dead; for not
one escaped. Dreadful on the following days was the stench diffused
through the country, and shocking the spectacle presented. For the
shores were covered with wrecks, and with swollen carcases; while
the dead, scorched and putrifying, so infected the air, that not only
was this calamity a source of sorrow to the Jews, but hateful even to
those who caused it. Such was the issue of this naval engagement.
The killed, including those who had previously fallen in the city,
amounted to six thousand five hundred.

10. After the battle Vespasian took his seat on a tribunal in
Tarichsea, and having separated the strangers from the inhabitants—
the former, as it appeared, having commenced hostilities—consulted

with his generals whether their lives, also, should be spared. These

48 THE JEWISH WAR. ; [ΒΟΟΚ Ut.

officers stating that their liberation would be prejudicial, as they would
not remain quiet if let loose—for they were men deprived of homes,
capable of violence, and of maintaining war against any with whom
they might take refuge—Vespasian, when informed that they were
undeserving of his lenity, and that they would employ their freedom
against those who granted it, deliberated as to the mode of their
destruction. Were he to put them to death there, he suspected that
it might exasperate the inhabitants, who would not tolerate in their
city the slaughter of so many who had sued for mercy; and, after
protection pledged, he could not bear to lay hand on those who had
accepted it. His friends, however, overcame his scruples; alleging
that nothing done to Jews could be impious, and that expediency
should be preferred to propriety, when it was impossible to reconcile
their claims. Granting them, therefore, an. equivocal impunity, he
allowed them to go out by that way alone which led to Tiberias.
Readily believing what they wished, they pursued their journey
openly, and fearlessly, with their effects, along the permitted route ;
the Romans, in the meantime, occupying the whole road to the very
gates of Tiberias, lest any of them should turn aside, and shutting
them up in the town.

Vespasian arrived soon after, and placing them in a body in the
circus, ordered the old, and unserviceable, to the number of twelve
hundred, to be put to death. From the youth he selected six thou-
sand of the most robust, and sent them to Nero to be employed on
the Isthmus. The rest, amounting to thirty thousand four hundred,
he sold, with the exception of those presented to Agrippa. For, such
of them as were subjects of that prince, he allowed him to dispose of
at his discretion. These, likewise, the king sold. The remaining
multitude, Trachonites, and Gaulanites, with those from Hippos and
Gadara, were, the greater part of them, malecontents and fugitives,
to whom the infamy that attended them in peace made war desirable.
They were captured on the eighth of the month Gorpizus.

THE JEWISH WAR.

BOOK IV.

ARGUMENT OF THE FOURTH BOOK. φ

1. The siege and capture of Gamala—2. The surrender of the people of Gischala.—
8. Concerning John of Gischala, and the Zealots.—4. The Idumseans, invited by the
Zealots, arrive at Jerusalem.—5. The ferocity of the Idumszeans and of the Zealots; and
how the former returned home.—6. The slaughter of many in the city by the Zealots.
—7. The tyranny exercised by John: Vespasian takes Gadara.—8. Vespasian hastens
to finish the Jewish War. Description of Jericho, of the Great Plain, and of the
Asphaltic Lake.—9. Nero dies at the moment when Vespasian is making his pre-
parations for the siege of Jerusalem.—10. The soldiers, both in Judea and Egypt,
proclaim Vespasian Emperor.—1l1. Vitellius being defeated and slain, Vespasian
hastens to Rome.

BOOK IV.

CHAPTER I,

1. Tuose of the Galilzans, who, after the fall of Jotapata, had
revolted from the Romans, returned to their allegiance on the reduction
of Tarichza; and the Romans received the submission of all the gar-
risons and towns, with the exception of Gischala, and the force which
occupied Mount Tabor. With these was associated Gamala, a city
opposite to Tarichza, and lying on the Lake. This had been appor-
tioned to Agrippa, as had Sogane and Seleucia, both in Gaulanitis:
Sogane being part of that called Upper Gaulana, Gamala of the Lower.
Seleucia is situate on the Lake Semechonitis, a sheet of water thirty
furlongs in breadth, and sixty in length; and the marshes of which
extend to Daphne, a spot delightful in various respects, and abound-
ing moreover in springs, which, supplying what is called the little
Jordan below the temple of the Golden Calf, flow into the greater.

Agrippa, at the commencement of the revolt, had induced Sogane
and Seleucia to accept protection; but Gamala, confiding, even more
than Jotapata had done, in its natural defences, refused. A rugged
ridge, stretching from a high mountain, rises in a hump midway, and
elongates itself from the rise, declining as much before as behind, so
as to resemble a camel in form. Hence it derives its name, the
people of the country not being particular as to the exactness of the
designation. Both in flank and front it is cleft into inaccessible
ravines; but at the tail, it is somewhat easier of ascent; being there
joined to the mountains, from which, however, the inhabitants
severed it by a trench, and rendered the approach more difficult.
Against the precipitous face of the mountain, numerous houses had
been built, closely crowded one on another: and the city, apparently
suspended in the air, seemed to be falling upon itself by reason of
its perpendicular site. It inclines towards the mid-day sun; and the
hill, stretching upward with a southern aspect to a prodigious height,
served as a citadel to the town: while an impregnable cliff above it
extended downward into a ravine of vast depth. Within the ram-
parts was a fountain, at which the city terminated.

54 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK Iv.

2. Though the town possessed such strong natural defences,
Josephus, when fortifying it, had still farther secured it by mines and
trenches. But its inhabitants, though more emboldened by the
natural security of their position than had been the people of Jotapata,
were much inferior to them in the number of fighting men. Still
such confidence did they feel in their situation, that they would admit
no more. For the city, owing to its strength, which had enabled it
to hold out against the troops of Agrippa during a siege of seven
months, had been filled with fugitives.

-8. Vespasian, breaking up from Ammaus, where he had encamped
in front of Tiberias, advanced to Gamala The term Ammaus, in our
language, signifies warm water; the name being derived from a warm
spring which rises there, possessing sanative properties. The situation
of Gamala not permitting the Roman general to surround it with a
line of troops, he stationed sentries in those places which were acces-
sible, and occupied the mountain that overhung it. When.the legions,
according to custom, had fortified their camp on the heights, he com-
menced operations by throwing up mounds at the tail, and in that
quarter on the east, where at the highest spot above the city was a
tower, beside which the fifteenth legion had encamped. The fifth
legion was employed against the centre of the town, and the tenth in
filling up the trenches and ravines.

Meantime king Agrippa, who had approached the ramparts, and
was attempting to address those stationed there on the subject of a
capitulation, being struck with a stone on the right elbow by one of
the slingers, was immediately surrounded by his friends. The Romans
were now stimulated to press the siege both by resentment on
the king’s account, and apprehensions on their own: assured that
men who could thus inhumanly treat a fellow-countryman, while
advising them for their welfare, would be guilty of every cruelty
towards aliens and enemies.

4, The mounds having been quickly completed, as the hands were
many and accustomed to the work, the engines were brought up.
Chares and Joseph, the persons of highest authority in the town,
drew out their forces, though the men were exceedingly alarmed in
the persuasion that they could not long sustain the siege, as there was
already a deficiency of water and other necessaries. Nevertheless,
encouraging them, they led them to the ramparts; and for a short
time they kept at bay those who were bringing up the engines, but,
being wounded by the catapults and stone projectors, they fell back
into the town. The Romans now advanced the rams from three
different quarters, and shook the wall. Pouring in at the breach,

BOOK IV. } THE JEWISH WAR. 55

- amidst the deafening peal of trumpets, and the din of arms, the
soldiers with loud shouts encountered the defenders of the city.
These, however, having maintained their ground against the first
onset, arrested their farther advance, and gallantly repulsed the
Romans ; until, overpowered by force of numbers, they were obliged
to seek shelter in the higher parts of the town; where, falling in
turn upon their assailants, who were pressing upon them, they thrust
them down the declivities, and slaughtered them while embarrassed
by the confinedness and difficulties of the place.

The Romans, unable to repel those who rushed down on them
from above, or force their way through their own party who were
pushing forward, took refuge on the roofs of their enemies’ houses,
which abutted on the hill. These being filled with soldiers, and of
insufficient strength to sustain the weight, quickly gave way. One
in its fall carried many of those below along with it, and these again
those beneath them. This proved destructive to numbers of the
Romans; for not knowing whither to turn, though they saw the
houses sinking, they leaped upon the roofs.

Many were overwhelmed by the ruins; and many who escaped with
life were mutilated in different parts of their bodies; while multitudes
died of suffocation from the dust. The people of Gamala, viewing
this as a divine interposition, pressed forward, regardless of their
own loss, and forced their antagonists upon the roofs of the houses:
and those who lost their footing in the steep and narrow streets, they
slew as they fell, with missiles constantly aimed at them from above.
The ruins supplied them with stones in abundance, and their deceased
enemies with steel: for they wrested the swords from the slain, and
employed them against those still struggling in death. Many, too,
after falling from the houses, stabbed themselves, and expired. Nor
yet for those who gave way was retreat easy; as, owing to their igno-
rance of the ways, and the thickness of the dust, unable to recognise
one another, they slew their comrades, and fell around each other in
heaps.

5. Those who had with difficulty discovered the outlets retired
from the town. Vespasian, who invariably remained with those in
distress, was deeply affected at seeing the city falling in ruins on
his soldiers, and, forgetful of his own safety, had unconsciously
but gradually ascended to the highest quarter of the city. Here he
was left surrounded with dangers, and with only a handful of men;
for his son Titus was absent at the time, having been recently sent
into Syria to Mucianus. Thinking it, therefore, neither safe nor
honourable to fly, and mindful of his toils from early youth, and of

56 THE JEWISH WAR. [BooK iv

his character for valour, he, as if by a divine impulse, united in close
barrier the bodies and armour of those with him. He thus sustained
the tide of war that flowed down from above, and dismayed by the
numbers neither of men nor missiles, kept his ground, until the
enemy, struck with his supernatural intrepidity, relaxed in ardour.
Being now less warmly pressed, he retreated step by step, and without
showing his back, until he was outside the ramparts.

In this conflict multitudes of the Romans were slain; among
them Ebutius the decurion, a man, who not only in the engage-
ment in which he fell, but on every former occasion, had proved
himself bravest of the brave, and had inflicted many evils on
the Jews. A centurion named Gallus, being with ten soldiers sur-
rounded during the fray, concealed himself in a private house. He
and his party, who were Syrians, having overheard the inmates con-
versing at supper of the intentions of the town’s-people, as regarded
the Romans and themselves, he rose on them in the night, and,
slaughtering them al], escaped with his comrades to the camp.

6. As the troops were dejected at the thought of these disasters,
from having never before experienced so severe a calamity, and
were then more particularly ashamed at leaving the general alone in
danger, Vespasian, omitting all reference to himself, that he might
not-appear to begin with a complaint, consoled them with the obser-
vation, that ‘* those casualties, to which all are liable, it behoves us
to bear with fortitude, reflecting on the nature of war, which never
grants a bloodless victory, as Fortune hovers fluctuating around the
field. Myriads of the Jews,” he said, “have succumbed to our arms, and
we now pay to that deity a trifling compensation. Asit belongs to the
foolish to be greatly elated by success, so does it to the unmanly to
tremble in adversity. For, from one of these, to the other, the change
is rapid; and he is the best soldier, who is sober under misfortunes,
that with persevering cheerfulness he may repair his disasters. What
has now occurred, however, arose neither from our effeminacy, nor
from the valour of the Jews. Their advantage, as our disappointment,
originated in the natural difficulties of the place. In this case, blame
may justly attach to your inconsiderate ardour. For when your anta-
gonists had retired to the heights, you ought to have restrained your-
selves, and not have followed them to the dangers which awaited you
from above. Having mastered the lower town, you should gradually
have drawn those who had fled upwards into secure and steady combat:
whereas, in your vehement pursuit of victory, you neglected your own
safety. Want of circumspection in war, however, and headstrong im-
petuosity, belong not to Romans, who owe all their success to skill and

BOOK ιν. THE JEWISH WAR. 57

discipline: it is a barbaric error, and one by which the Jews are espe-
cially misled. It behoves us, therefore, to fall back upon our native
valour, and rather to be angry, than to despond, at this unworthy
mischance. Let every one from his own right hand seek his best
consolation. For thus shall you avenge the lost, and punish those
who slew them. And it shall be my care, as in this so in every
engagement, to be foremost against the foe, and the last to retire.”

7. With such language he re-animated his troops. The people of
Gamala, meanwhile, assumed a momentary confidence from this signal
and brilliant success. But when in the sequel they considered that
no hope of accommodation now remained, and reflected that escape
was impossible—for their supplies were already deficient—they were
exceedingly disquieted, and dejected in mind. Nevertheless, so far
as circumstances permitted, they did not neglect their safety. The
bravest guarded the breaches, and the rest, crowding round, defended
what still remained of the wall. But while the Romans were con-
structing their mounds, and again endeavouring to effect an entrance,
multitudes fled from the city down pathless ravines, where no watch
was kept, and through subterraneous passages. As many however
as, from fear of being taken, continued in the town, perished from
want; every spot around having been ransacked for provisions for
those capable of bearing arms.

8. Amidst such sufferings they still maintained the struggle. As
an appendage to the siege, Vespasian engaged in operations against
those who had occupied Tabor, a mountain lying midway between the
Great Plain and Scythopolis. The ascent is thirty furlongs, the place
being almost inaccessible on the north. The summit is a plain, of six-
and-twenty furlongs :—and the whole of it fortified. But, extensive
as was the wall, it had been raised in forty days by Josephus, who
was supplied with materials and water from below; the inhabitants
depending solely on rain. A vast multitude having here congregated,
Vespasian detached Placidus to the spot with six hundred horse.
Finding it impracticable to ascend the heights, he invited the assem-
blage to terms, holding out a hope of his protection and advocacy.
They descended accordingly, but witha counter design ; for Placidus
addressed them mildly, with a view to capture them in the plain:
whilst they came down, as if acquiescing in his proposal, that they
might. fall upon him when off his guard. The craft of Placidus, how-
ever, succeeded. For, the Jews having commenced the action, he
feigned flight, and having drawn his pursuers far into the plain, he
ordered his cavalry to wheel round, and thus routed them. Having
put great numbers to the sword, he intercepted the remainder, and

VOL. 11. F

58 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book Iv,

prevented their return. Those who abandoned Tabor, fled to
Jerusalem: the inhabitants, under promise of protection, and urged
by want of water, delivered up the mountain and themselves to
Placidus.

9. The more adventurous of the people of Gamala had fled secretly,
and the feeble perished by famine. The effective force, however,
maintained the siege until the twenty-second of the month Hyper-
beretzeus, when three soldiers of the fifteenth legion, about the
morning watch, stealing up, silently undermined a lofty tower opposite
to them; unperceived by the sentries stationed on it either in their
approach, for it was night, or after they had reached it. Their object
thus far accomplished, the soldiers, avoiding noise, having rolled away
five of the principal stones, sprang down; and the tower fell suddenly
with a tremendous crash, carrying the guards with it headlong. Those
who were on the watch at the other posts fled in perturbation. Many
who attempted to cut their way out, were killed by the Romans,
and among them Joseph, who was slain as he was making his escape
through the breach. Those in the city, terrified by the noise, ran in
every direction, in a state of the utmost consternation; as if the whole
of the enemy had fallen upon them. At this moment, Chares, who
was sick and confined to his bed, expired; terror contributing to the
fatal termination of his disorder. The Romans, warned by their
former disaster, did not enter the fortress until the twenty-third of the
month above mentioned.

10. Titus, who had by this time returned, indignant at the loss
which the Romans had sustained in his absence, selecting two hun-
dred horsemen, and a body of infantry, entered the city without noise.
The guards, perceiving him as he passed, flew with loud clamour to
arms. His entrance being quickly communicated to those within,
some, snatching up their children, and dragging their wives along, fled
to the citadel with bitter cries and lamentations; while those who
met with Titus, perished without intermission. They, who were pre-
vented from taking refuge on the summit of the hill, fell in their per-
plexity among the Roman sentries. Dreadful on all sides were the
groans of those mortally wounded, and the blood flowing down the
declivities, inundated the whole town.

To aid the operations against the party who had fled to the citadel,
Vespasian brought up his entire force. The summit, rocky, difficult
of access, rising to a vast height, and surrounded with precipices, was
everywhere crowded with people. Here the Jews cut down those
who were advancing, and with other weapons, and stones which they
rolled down, made great havoc; they themselves being so elevated,

BOOK Iv. | THE JEWISH WAR. 59

that a dart would scarcely reach them. To seal their destruction,
however, a storm miraculously arose, blowing full in their faces,
which, while it carried against them the darts of the Romans, turned
theirs aside, and drove them in an oblique direction. Nor could they,
owing to the violence of the wind, stand on the edge of the precipices,
having no secure footing; nor yet discern those who were approaching.
The Romans, accordingly, ascended, surrounded and slaughtered
them, some defending themselves, and others stretching out their
hands in supplication; for the recollection of those who fell in the
first attack inflamed their fury against all. Multitudes, hemmed
in on every side, despairing of escape, holding their children and
their wives in their embrace, plunged headlong into the ravine, which
had been excavated to a vast depth below the citadel. And thus it
occurred, that the rage of the Romans seemed milder than the frantic
violence of the vanquished towards themselves: the number slain by
the former being four thousand, while those, who cast themselves from
the heights, were found to exceed five. ‘Two females alone survived
the general carnage. They were nieces by the maternal side, of Philip,
son of Jacimus, a distinguished man, who had been commander-in-
chief under King Agrippa. They owed their preservation to their
having secreted themselves at the capture of the town; for such was
the fury of the Romans, that not even infants were spared; many of
them being snatched up on the instant, and slung from the citadel.
Thus was Gamala taken. On the twenty-fourth of the month
Gorpizus, the revolt commenced; and on the twenty-third of
Hyperberetzeus, the fortress fell.

CHAPTER II.

1. GiscHaLa, a small town of Galilee, now alone remained to be
reduced. The inhabitants, indeed, were disposed to peace; being
chiefly husbandmen, whose views had always been confined to their
crops: but there had crept in among them a numerous party of
brigands, by whom some even of the magistracy had been corrupted.
These had been drawn into the insurrection, and encouraged in it, by
John, the son of Levi, a man of intrigue, and capable of assuming any
character, inclined to indulge vast expectations, and singularly adept
in realizing his hopes. He was generally known to have his heart set
on wat, with a view to the attainment of supreme power. Under him

F 2

60 THE JEWISH WAR. [Boox Iv.

the malecontents of Gischala had ranged themselves, and through
their means it occurred that the townsmen, who hai already sent a
deputation to treat of a surrender,-were induced, in the attitude of
defiance, to await the approach of the Romans. Against these Ves-
pasian despatched Titus with a thousand horse, directing the tenth
legion to proceed to Scythopolis, while he himself returned with the
other two legions to Cesarea, to recruit them after their incessant
toil; thinking that the abundant supplies in those cities would invigo-
rate their bodies, and impart fresh alacrity for future conflicts. For
he saw that no little labour was in reserve for him, under the walls of
Jerusalem, as well because it was the royal city, and the capital of
the nation, as from its being the point of conflux for all who fied from
the seat of war. Its strength, natural and artificial, occasioned him
no ordinary solicitude, more particularly as he conjectured that the
high spirit and daring of its people would, even without the aid of
fortifications, render their reduction difficult. He accordingly trained
his soldiers, like wrestlers, for the combat.

2. Titus, on riding up to Gischala, ascertained that it might easily
be carried by assault. But, sensible that should it be taken by storm
the people would be consigned to general massacre by the troops—
he was himself satiated with slaughter—and moved with compassion
for the great body of the people, who would perish indiscriminately
with the guilty, he wished the place rather to be surrendered by capi-
tulation. Accordingly, when the ramparts were crowded with men,
most of whom were of the corrupted party, he remarked to them,
that “ he could not but wonder what they relied on, that, after every
other city had fallen, they should remain alone in arms against the
Romans; especially when they saw much stronger towns overthrown
at the first assault, and beheld in the secure enjoyment of their pos-
sessions, those who had trusted the proffered pledge of the Romans—
that right hand which, uninfluenced by any vindictive feeling for their
presumption, he now extended to them. The hope of liberty was
pardonable ; but perseverance in impossibilities inexcusable. Should
they decline this humane proposal, and the pledge of good faith, they
would experience his relentless arms, and would soon be made to
know that their ramparts would be mere pastime for the Roman
engines—those ramparts, reliance on which had placed them alone of
the Galilzans, in the light of arrogant captives.”

3. To this address, not only were none of the citizens permitted to
reply, but not even were they allowed to ascend the wall; for it had
been completely pre-occupied by the brigands: while guards had been
posted at the gates, to prevent the egress of those who wished to go

BOOK Iv. ] THE JEWISH WAR. 61

out on terms, or the admission of any of the cavalry into the town.
John replied that ‘‘ he was satisfied with these conditions, and would
either persuade or coerce the recusants. Titus must, however, grant
him that day, the seventh, in deference to the Jewish law, as on it
they were forbidden alike to use arms, or to treat of peace. Even
the Romans were not ignorant that the recurrence of the seventh day
brought them a cesggtion from all labour: and he who compelled to its
violation would be not less impious than those compelled. And to him
this delay could cause no injury; for, what could any one contem-
plate in a night beyond a mere escape; which he could guard against
by encamping around the city? To them, the gain would be great,
not to have transgressed their national usage: while to the individual
who granted an unexpected peace, it would be seemly to preserve
also their institutions to those thus saved.” By such language John
imposed on Titus, for his own personal safety was more the object of
his solicitude than the seventh day; and under the apprehension
that, should the town be taken, he would immediately be deserted,
he rested his hopes of life on darkness and flight. It was, however,
the work of God, who thus preserved John for the destruction of
Jerusalem, that Titus was not only prevailed upon by this pretext
of delay, but induced to encamp farther from the-city, at Cydoessa.
This is a strong inland village of the Tyrians, always at feud and
variance with the Galileans, as having, in its numerous population
and strength, resources for its quarrel with that nation.

4, At nightfall, John, seeing no Roman guard about the town, seized
the opportunity, and accompanied not only by what soldiers were
with him, but by many of the idler sort, attended by their fami-
lies, fled towards Jerusalem. Goaded by the dread of captivity,
and fear for his life, he managed to drag with him a crowd of
women and children to the distance of twenty furlongs; but there,
proceeding on his journey, he abandoned them; and dreadful were
their wailings when thus forsaken, for, the farther they were from
their friends, the nearer they fancied themselves to their foes.

Thinking that those who were about to make them prisoners
were already at hand, they were agitated with alarms; and looked
about at the sound of each other’s steps, as if their pursuers were
upon them. Many, too, strayed into pathless wastes, and in the strife
who should outstrip the other on the road, many were trodden to
death. Piteous was the fate of the women and children; a few of
whom summoned courage to call back their husbands and relations,
imploring them with bitter cries to wait for them. But John's exhor-
tations prevailed. ‘‘ Save yourselves,” he called aloud, ‘‘ and flee to

62 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK Iv.

some place of security, where we may avenge ourselves on the Ro-
mans, if they plunder those we leave behind.” Accordingly, as strength
or speed severally enabled them, the crowd of fugitives dispersed.

5. When day broke, Titus appeared before the wall to propose
terms. The people threw open the gates, and approaching him with
their children and wives, greeted him with acclamations as a bene-
factor, who had liberated their city from duress. They informed him,
at the same time, of John’s flight, entreating him to spare them, to
advance into the town, and punish the malecontents who remained.
Titus, however, deeming the supplications of the people of secondary
importance, despatched a squadron of cavalry in pursuit of John.
But the chase proved fruitless ; and he escaped in safety to Jerusalem.
Of those who accompanied him, however, they slew about six thousand,
and brought back, driving them before them, nearly three thousand
women and children. Titus was exceedingly chagrined at not having
visited John’s deceit with instant chastisement; but with prisoners in
abundance, and the slain, to solace his disappointed resentment, he
entered the city amidst universal acclaim; and having directed the
troops to throw down, agreeably to the law of capture, a little of the
wall, he repressed the disturbers of the public peace rather by threats
than punishments. For he feared that, should he endeavour to
discover those who merited chastisement, many from personal dislike,
or private differences, would accuse the innocent; and he thought it
better to leave the guilty in alarm and suspense, than to involve
any who did not deserve his resentment, in their destruction.
Such might, perhaps, learn wisdom from the dread of punishment,
and respect the pardon of past delinquencies: whereas death once
inflicted, was irremediable. He secured the town, however, by a
garrison, as well to check the insurgents, as to encourage the peace-
ably disposed. Thus, after occasioning the Romans countless toils,
was the whole of Galilee subdued.

CHAPTER III.

1. No sooner had John set foot within Jerusalem, than the whole
population poured forth, crowding in thousands round the several
fugitives, and eagerly inquiring what calamities had happened without.
But though their respiration, still short and heated, indicated how com-
pulsory had been their movements, they blustered under their disasters,

BOOK Iv. | THE JEWISH WAR. 63

stating that they had not fled from the Romans, but had come to
contend with them on safer ground. ‘‘ It would have been irrational
and useless,” said they, “recklessly to expose ourselves to danger for
Gischala, and such ill-fortified little towns. It behoves us rather to
husband our arms and energies for the capital, and combine in its
defence.”

When, however, they related the fall of Gischala, men generally
considered their so-styled honourable withdrawal from it, as no better
than a flight: and when the news arrived of the fate of the prisoners,
the utmost consternation seized the people, who thence gathered
assured presages of their own capture. John, meanwhile, who blushed
not for his desertion of his friends, going his rounds, inclined them
severally to warlike measures by exciting their hopes; setting forth
in false colours the weakness of the Romans; extolling their own
strength, and ridiculing the ignorance of the inexperienced: remark-
ing, that even should the Romans take wings, they would never
surmount the ramparts of Jerusalem. They had met with diffi-
culties enough among the villages of Galilee, and had shattered their
engines against the walls.

2, By these harangues a large body of the youth were seduced,
and incited to hostilities. But of the prudent and aged, there was
not one who did not mourn over the prospect of the future, as if the
hour of the city’s dissolution had already arrived. Such was the
confusion which now prevailed among the citizens; but prior to the
insurrection in Jerusalem, disturbances had broken out in the coun-
try. For Titus had already proceeded from Gischala to Cesarea,
and Vespasian from Czsarea to Jamnia and Azotus; and having
reduced those towns, and thrown garrisons into them, returned,
bringing a vast multitude who had surrendered under promise of
protection. Tumult and civil war now agitated every city; and
such as were allowed breathing time by the Romans, turned their
hands against one another. Between the advocates of war and the
friends of peace, arose a fierce contention. The spirit of animosity
was first kindled in families between which some ancient feud sub-
sisted ; but, in the sequel, those united by the dearest ties broke off
all mutual connexion, associating severally with persons of views
similar to their own, and already forming themselves into ad:
verse factions. Every where sedition reared its head: the dis-
affected, and those actuated by the love of arms, overpowered, by
youth and reckless courage, the aged and the prudent. At first
the country population addicted themselves separately to rapine ;
then, congregated in bands, they carried on their depredations

64 THE JEWISIL WAR. [Book Iv,

through the district; insomuch that, in cruelty and lawless vio-
lence towards their kindred, they differed in nothing from the
Romans; and capture by the latter seemed far less grievous to the
sufferers.

3. The garrisons of the towns, meanwhile, partly from reluctance
to expose themselves, and partly from hatred to the nation, afforded
little or no succour to the distressed; until the chiefs of the brigands,
satiated with the pillage of the country, collecting together from all
quarters, and forming a phalanx of wickedness, crept into Jerusalem
—a city without a governor, and, according to ancient usage, receiv-
ing without precaution all of Jewish blood; and the more so at that
epoch, from the prevailing belief that those who poured into it
came uniformly with kind intentions, as confederates. Yet these
in the sequel, irrespectively of the insurrection, overwhelmed the
city. For, being a useless and inert mass, they consumed those
supplies which might have long supported the fighting men; and,
besides the calamities of war, they superinduced the miseries of sedi-
tion and famine.

4, There were, moreover, other brigands from the country, who
entered the city, and, joining the still more flagitious party within the
walls, abstained from no species of enormity. For they measured
their daring, not merely by rapine and utter spoliation, but proceeded
even to murder, which they perpetrated, not under cover of night,
nor clandestinely, nor yet on ordinary persons, but openly and by
day, and beginning with the most distinguished individuals, Thus
their first victim was Antipas, a man of royal extraction, and the most
influential in the city: so much so, indeed, that the care of the public
treasury was confided to him. Him they seized, and detained in
custody; and after him, in succession, Levias, one of the nobles,
and Sophas, son of Raguel—both of regal lineage: treating in like
manner those of distinction throughout the district. Dreadful con-
sternation now seized upon the public mind; and as if the city were
already taken, personal preservation became the object of solicitude
to all. |

5. The irons, however, with which the captives were loaded, did
not satisfy the brigands; nor did they think it safe thus to detain
powerful men for any length of time; inasmuch as their families,
from their numerical strength, were capable of avenging their wrongs.
Nay, the people, stimulated by such lawless violence, might be moved
to rise against themselves. They therefore decreed that they should
be put to death, and commissioned one John, called, in their verna-
cular language, the son of Dorcas, the most prompt of their party

BOOK Iv. | THE JEWISH WAR. 65

in deeds of murder, to carry their resolution into effect. He, with
ten others, accordingly, repaired to the prison with drawn swords,
and dispatched those in custody. For an act of such atrocity, they
pretended a cogent excuse; alleging that these men had held con-
ferences with the Romans relative to a surrender of Jerusalem:
and they gave out that they had slain the betrayers of their common
liberty. In short, they gloried in their daring deeds, as though they
had been the benefactors and preservers of the city.

6. So abject and terrified had the people now become, and so
madly infatuated these brigands, that they assumed authority to
appoint to the high priesthood. Accordingly, having abrogated the
right of those families from which by succession the high priests had
been elected, they ordained to the office the ignoble and low born,
that they might have accomplices in their impious proceedings. For
they who without desert obtained the highest dignity, were under
the necessity of obeying those who conferred it. Moreover, by various
artifices and slanderous stories, they brought into collision persons
in authority, thus providing opportunity for themselves in the mutual
contentions of those who would have thrown obstacles in their way ;
until, satiated with the wrongs they had inflicted on men, they trans-
ferred their insults to the Deity, and entered the sanctuary with
polluted feet.

7. The multitude having now risen against them at the instance
of Ananus, the senior of the chief priests—a man of consummate wis-
dom, and one who would perhaps have saved tlie city, had he escaped
the hands of the conspirators,—these wretches converted the temple of
God into a fortress, to protect them against any outburst of popular
violence; and the holy place became their asylum, and the seat of
their tyranny. Τὸ these bitter evils they now superadded mockery,
still more afflictive than their acts. For, putting to the proof the
consternation of the people, and ascertaining their own power, they
attempted to appoint the high priests by lot, although, as we have
stated, the succession was hereditary. In apology for this insidious
attempt, they adduced ancient usage, alleging that formerly the high
priesthood had been thus determined: but, in truth, it was an
abrogation of a law of peculiar force, and an artifice for the attain-
ment of power, devised by men who sought to have the nomination
to official appointments entirely in their own hands,

8. Accordingly, sending for one of the pontifical courses, called
Eniachim, they submitted the high priesthood to the lot, which, as
fortune would have it, fell to an individual who furnished a singular
illustration of their wickedness. His name was Phannias. He was

66 THE JEWISH WAR, [BOOK IV.

the son of Samuel, of the village of Aphtha, a man not only not of the
number of the chief priests, but who—such a mere rustic was he—
scarcely knew what the high priesthood meant. Yet did they drag
him reluctant from the country, and setting him forth in a borrowed
character, as on the stage, they put the sacred vestments on him, and
instructed him how to act on the oceasion. This shocking impiety,
which to them was a subject of merriment and sport, drew tears from
the other priests, who beheld from a distance their law turned into
ridicule, and groaned over the subversion of the sacred honours.

9. Such a daring procedure the people could not brook, but, as if
for the overthrow of a despotism, were aroused one and all. For the
most eminent of them, Gorion the son of Joseph, and Symeon the
son of Gamaliel, by public addresses to the collective body, and in
private interviews with individuals, urged them now at length to
punish these destroyers of liberty, and to purge the sanctuary of its
blood-stained polluters. Joshua, the son of Gamala, likewise, and
Ananus, son of Ananus, men of highest repute among the chief
priests, loudly remonstrating with the people at their meetings on
their supineness, incited them against the Zealots; for so they styled
themselves, as if zealous in the cause of virtue, rather than pre-
eminent in the pursuit of vice in its most aggravated forms.

10. An assembly of the populace having been convened, and all
being indignant at the seizure of the sanctuary, at the rapines and
murders, but making as yet no attempt at resistance, from an appre-
hension, not ill-founded, of the difficulty of mastering the Zealots,
Ananus standing in the midst, and frequently looking at the Temple,
his eyes filled with tears, thus spoke :—

‘‘ Happy had it been for me to have died, ere I had seen the
house of God filled with such abominations, and the unapproachable
and holy places crowded with the feet of murderers. And yet,
clothed with the vestments of the high priesthood, and called by that
most honoured of venerated names, 1 live, and, too fond of life,
shrink from a death which would be the glory of my old age. Yet
alone though I be, and as it were isolated, I will resign my single
life for God. For why should I live amongst a people insensible to
their calamities, and in whom has perished the disposition to grapple
with present misfortunes? Thus, plundered, you submit: beaten,
you are silent: and over the murdered not one unstifled groan is
heard !

‘Oh, bitter tyranny! But why do I complain of the tyrants?
For have they not been fostered by you and your forbearance?
Have not you, overlooking their first assemblages, when they were

BOOK IV. | THE JEWISH WAR. 67

yet few, augmented their numbers by silence; and, by remaining
quiet while they were arming, turned their arms against yourselves ?
Albeit you should have repressed their first efforts, when they were
assailing your kindred with invectives; but your negligence incited
the wretches to rapine, for, when houses were pillaged, not a word
was breathed. Therefore their masters were forcibly carried off;
and, while they were being dragged through the midst of the city, no
arm was raised in their defence.

** They next tortured with chains those betrayed by you. I for-
bear to tell their number and characters; but they were unaccused,
and uncondemned. No one succoured them when thrown into irons:
it followed that we were to look on at their massacre. And we did
look on at this; while continually, as from a herd of cattle, the best
was led out for sacrifice, nor was there one that raised his voice, or
so much as moved a hand. Can you bear, then—can you bear to
see your sacred things trampled on? And though you have laid
down for these profane wretches steps for their arrogance to mount
by, do you not ill brook the eminence they have attained? For now
assuredly would they have proceeded to something greater, had they
had aught greater than the sanctuary to overthrow. The strongest
point in the city, however, has been seized; for henceforth must
the temple be spoken of only as a citadel or fortress.

‘** But while you are held by a despotism so fortified, and behold
your enemies above your heads, on what do you deliberate? or by
what arguments do you calm your minds? Is it that you await the
arrival of the Romans to succour our holy places? Are matters so
with the city? Have we reached such a point of misery, that even
enemies should pity us? Will you not arise, most enduring of men,
and turning round upon the lash, as the wild beast when smitten, take
vengeance on those that strike you? Will you not recall each to your
recollection your own personal calamities, and, placing before your
eyes all that you have suffered, whet your souls for revenge? Is, then,
utterly lost among you that most honourable of the passions, that
most closely interwoven with our nature, the desire of freedom? We
are become lovers of slavery, and of the hand that deals it, as if we
had inherited from our ancestors a spirit of submission. Yet many
and arduous were the contests they maintained for independence ;
nor did they so far bow to the sceptre either of the Egyptians or of
the Medes, as not to fulfil the requirements of their own laws. But
why need [ speak of our forefathers? We are now engaged in a war
against the Romans—I forbear to decide whether that war be profit-
able and expedient, or the contrary—but what is the pretext for it ?

68 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK IV.

Is it not freedom? Shall we, then, refuse obedience to the masters
of the habitable globe, and yet tolerate domestic tyrants? Truly,
though submission to a foreign power may be borne, when once
fortune has proved adverse, yet to yield to our own countrymen, and
they profligates, argues us to be ignoble and voluntary slaves.

‘‘ But, since I have mentioned the Romans, I will not conceal
from you what occurred to me while 1 was speaking, and turned
my thoughts to them. It is this: that although we should fall
beneath their arms—and far from us be the experience of that
word—we can be called to endure nothing more grievous than what
these men have already inflicted on us. Is it not worthy of tears to
behold the donatives of the Romans in our temple, and the plunder
of fellow-countrymen, who have despoiled and sacrificed our noble
metropolis, and to look on at the slaughter of our friends—enormities
from which even they would have abstained, had they been victorious?
May it not, I say, well call forth our tears, that Romans never over-
stepped the limits assigned to the profane, nor infringed any of our
sacred usages, regarding at a distance, and with trembling awe, the
enclosures of our sanctuary: while some, born in this very coun-
try, brought up under our institutions, and bearing the name of Jews,
walk unconcerned in the midst of the holy places, their hands stil]
warm with kindred blood ?

‘¢ Who, then, would dread a war from without, and foes who, in
comparison, are much more lenient to us than our own countrymen ?
And verily, if we adapt our language to the facts, Romans may per-
haps be found supporters of the laws, while their enemies are within
our walls, And I feel persuaded that there is not one among you
who did not come from home satisfied that these conspirators against
liberty deserve to die, and that it is impossible to devise a punish-
ment worthy of their misdeeds. And confident I am that, even
prior to my address, their conduct, the source of so much suffering,
had exasperated you against them.

‘* But, probably, the greater part of you are terror-struck at their
numbers, their daring spirit, and the further advantages which they
derive from their position. But as these arose from your supineness,
so will they be increased by your delay. For their ranks are gaining
daily accessions, as every villain deserts to his like; and having up to
the present hour met with no obstacle, their daring is the more
inflamed. And as to their position being above us, that they must
enjoy, and along with it, if we give them time, the benefit of prepa-
ration. But be assured, if we attack them, they will be lower than
we in point of conscience, and reflection will annihilate the advantage

BOOK IV. ] THE JEWISH WAR. 69

of a more elevated situation. Perhaps, too, the Deity, whom they
have treated with such contumely, will turn back their missiles
against themselves, and the impious will perish by their own weapons.
Let us only show ourselves to them, and they are unnerved. But,
although some danger attend, it were honourable to die before the
sacred gates, and to lay down life, if not in behalf of children and
wives, yet for God and the sanctuary. I will aid you both with my
counsel and my hand; and nothing on our part, which reflection can
suggest, shall be wanting for your safety ; nor shall you see me spare
this body.”

11. In this language Ananus incited the people against the Zealots;
not ignorant, at the same time, how difficult it would be to subdue
them, from their numbers, vigour, and intrepidity, but, above all,
from their consciousness of their crimes, as having no hope of ever
obtaining pardon for all they had perpetrated. But he preferred
submitting: to any suffering rather than remain passive while affairs
were in Such confusion. The multitude then cried out to be led
against’ those whom he denounced, each evincing the utmost prompti-
tude to stand forward in danger.

12. But while Ananus was mustering and arraying those fit for
service, the Zealots, hearing how he was employed—for there were
some present who acquainted them with everything that was going
forward among the people—rushed in a high state of excitement
from the temple, both in large and smaller bodies, and spared none
that fell in their way. Ananus hastily collected the populace, who,
though superior in numbers, were inferior to their opponents in
weapons, and from the total want of discipline. But the deficiencies
of either party ardour supplied. Those from the city were inspired
with a fury more powerful than arms; those from the temple by a
daring which no numbers could withstand: the former persuaded
that the city would be uninhabitable for them unless the brigands
were rooted out of it; the Zealots that, should they not conquer,
there was no punishment which they would not undergo.

Contending under the sway of their passions, they at first assailed
one another with stones in the city, and before the temple, and
maintained a distant combat with javelins; but when either side
gave way, the victors employed their swords. The slaughter on both
sides was great, and the wounded were many. When any of the
populace were injured, their relations carried them into the houses;
while the wounded Zealots retired to the temple, their blood dripping
on the sacred pavement; and it may be said, that no blood but theirs

stained the holy places. Thus far the brigands had always been

70 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK IV

successful in their sallies; but the populace becoming infuriated, and
gaining constant accessions, and upbraiding those that gave way,
while those who pressed on in the rear refused to open a passage for
the fugitives, they turned their whole force against their opponents ;
and the brigands, able no longer to withstand the shock, gradually
withdrew into the temple, Ananus and his party falling in along with
them. Filled with dismay at the loss of the outer court, they fled
into the inner, and instantly shut the gates. Ananus, thinking it
unseemly to assail the sacred doors, though galled by the missiles of -
his adversaries from above, and deeming it unlawful, even should he
prove victor, to introduce the multitude without previous purifica-
tion, selected by lot out of all six thousand armed men, whom he
stationed as sentinels at the colonnades, others relieving these, and
every one being obliged to attend the watch in his turn. Many of
the nobles, however, being allowed to retire by those in command,
hired some of the lower classes, and sent them to mount guard in
their stead.

13. The ruin of this entire party may be attributed to John, whose
flight from Gischala we have related. He was a man of consummate
craft, and, bearing in his bfeast an unbounded passion for arbitrary
power, had long been covertly plotting against the state. At this
juncture, pretending to side with the populace, he accompanied
Ananus by day when he went to consult with the leading men, and
by night when he visited the watch, betraying his secrets to the
Zealots; so that every plan brought forward by the people, even
before it had been well digested, was communicated by him to
their opponents. In order that he might escape suspicion, he
conducted himself with unbounded obsequiousness towards Ananus
and the heads of the popular party. But his assiduity had a contrary
effect; for his extravagant flatteries caused him the rather to be
suspected, while his unsought presence on every occasion afforded a
presumption that it was he who betrayed their secrets. For it was
evident that their enemies were cognisant of all their deliberations,
nor was any one more exposed to the suspicion of disclosure than
John.

It was no easy matter, however, to shake him off, so powerful had
he become by his villanies, and connected as he was with many not
undistinguished men, who met in council on the general weal. It
was therefore deemed advisable to bind him by oath to good faith.
Without any hesitation John swore that he would be true to the
people, betray neither counsel nor act to their adversaries, and assist
both by his personal exertions and advice in reducing their assailants.

BOOK IV. ] THE JEWISH WAR. 71

Relying on the oath, Ananus and his party now admitted him with-
out suspicion to their deliberations: nay, they even sent him to the
Zealots with proposals for an accommodation; for they were careful
to preserve the temple from being polluted by these men, or stained
with Jewish blood.

14. John, however, as if he had sworn fealty to the Zealots, rather
than against them, entered the temple, and, standing in the midst of
them, observed that he had often encountered danger on their behalf,
in order that they might be ignorant of none of the secret schemes
devised by Ananus and his faction to their prejudice; but that now
all were likely to be involved in the mast imminent peril, unless
some providential interposition should avert it, as Ananus, wearied
with delay, had prevailed on the people to send a deputation to Ves-
pasian, inviting him to come and take immediate possession of the
city. He had, moreover, as a device against them, appointed a puri-
fication service on the ensuing day, in order that his adherents might
obtain admission, either under the guise of religion, or by force af
arms, and attack them; and he did not see how they could, for any
length of time, hold the post, or sustain a conflict against so many
opponents.

He added, that it was through the providence of God that he had
been deputed to negotiate an adjustment of differences, as Ananus
had proffered them terms, that he might fall upon them when
unarmed. ‘It was incumbent on them, therefore, if they had any
regard for their lives, either to sue for mercy to their besiegers, or
provide some external succour, If they cherished hope of pardon in
the event of their being subdued, they must either have forgotten
their own daring deeds, or suppose that, as soon as the perpetrators
expressed contrition, the sufferers ought immediately to be reconciled
to them. But even the penitence of offenders is often hateful, while
the resentment of the injured is whetted by power. The friends and
kindred of the slain are always on the watch to retaliate, as are a
large mass of the people, who are incensed at the dissolution of their
laws and courts of justice. And even should there be any inclined to
compassion, they would be overpowered by an indignant majority.”

72 . TUE JEWISH WAK. [BooK Iv.

. CHAPTER IV.

1. TuHeseE representations he diversified, inspiring universal terror ;
and, though he did not venture openly to mention external aid, he
hinted at the Idumeeans. In order privately to exasperate the
leaders of the Zealots, he accused Ananus of cruelty, stating that he
had made them the objects of his especial threats. These were
Eleazar son of Simon, who was most confided in of the party for his
ability, both in devising suitable measures, and in carrying them into
execution; and Zacharias son of Phalek. Both were of sacerdotal
lineage. These individuals, on hearing the menaces directed against
themselves, in addition to those against the faction in general, and,
moreover, that Ananus and his associates, with a view to secure the
reins of power, had invited the Romans to their aid—for this, also,
John had falsely alleged—were deeply perplexed as to what steps
they should take in an emergency so pressing. The people were pre-
paring ere long to attack them; the suddenness of the scheme had cut
off all prospect of succour from without; and they might be in the
last extremity before their confederates could learn their situation.

It was resolved, however, that the Idumzans should be called in.
Accordingly a letter was written in few words, to the effect, that
‘‘Ananus had imposed upon the people, and wished to betray the
capital to the Romans; that, having in the cause of freedom engaged
in revolt, they were themselves now in custody in the temple; that
for a little time they could promise themselves safety; but that,
unless the Idumzeans brought them early relief, they would soon be
in the power of Ananus and their enemies, and the city in possession
of the Romans.” Instructions also were given to the messengers,
who were to confer orally with the Idumean chiefs. There were
selected for the errand two energetic men, of fluent and persuasive
eloquence on public affairs, and, what was still more to the purpose,
remarkably swift of foot. For they knew that the Idumezans would
at once comply, as a people turbulent and impatient of control, ever |
on the watch for commotion, and delighting in change; moved to
arms on the slightest flattery from those who invited them, and hurry-
ing to battle as to a feast. Speed was essential to the errand; and
nothing wanting in alacrity for this end, the messengers, each named
Ananias, soon presented themselves before the chiefs of Idumza.

2. Astonished by the despatches and statements of the couriers,
they ran through the nation, like madmen, proclaiming an expedition.

BOOK IV. | THE JEWISH WAR. 49

The multitude collected swifter than the command, all snatching up
their arms as if for the freedom of the capital; and twenty thousand
men advanced in military array to Jerusalem, under the orders of
four generals: John, and James, the son of Sosas; Simon, son of
Cathlas; and Phineas, son of Clusoth.

3. But though the egress of the messengers was concealed alike
from Ananus and the sentinels, not so was the approach of the Idu-
means. Informed of their march, Ananus directed the gates to be
shut and the walls manned. Utterly averse, however, to warlike
measures, he determined to try persuasion, before recourse were had
to arms. Accordingly Joshua, the chief priest next in seniority to
Ananus, ascending the tower opposite to the Idumzans, addressed
them as follows :—

“‘ Amidst the many and various tumults which have agitated the
city, in nothing have I so much wondered at the decrees of fortune,
as that even what is unexpected should favour the wicked. For you
have come to assist these most abandoned of men against us with such
alacrity as could not have been anticipated even had our metropolis
summoned you against the barbarians. Had I seen your ranks com-
posed of persons of the same stamp as those who invited you, I
should not have considered your enterprise irrational; for nothing so
cements the affections of men as congeniality of disposition. But as
to these, were we to examine them one by one, they would be found
deserving each of a thousand deaths. For they, the jest and off-
scouring of the whole country, after having squandered their private
means, and made trial of their madness on the neighbouring villages
and towns, have at length poured clandestinely into the Holy City:
brigands who through their unparalleled impiety have polluted this
hallowed ground, and who may now be seen recklessly drunk in the
sanctuary, and lavishing the spoils of the slain on their own insa-
tiable appetites.

‘“‘ But as to your forces, and their appointments, we see them such
as would have become them, had the capital, in public council, sum-
moned them to her aid against a foreign foe. And what can we then
style it but an insult of fortune, when we survey a whole nation
aiding these noted reprobates? Deeply perplexed I am as to what
could have inspired you with so sudden a resolve; for you would not,
without cogent reason, have put on your armour in behalf of bri-
gands, and against a kindred people. But, as we have heard of
Romans and treason—for some of you have just now raised a clamour
on this subject, and given out that you are come to rescue the
metropolis from thraldom—more have we wondered at the ingenuity

VOL. 11. G

74 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book Iv.

of this falsehood tlian at all the other daring conduct of these wretches :
for men by nature fond of liberty, and on that account ever alert to
contend with a foreign enemy, no otherwise could they exasperate
against us than by fabricating a charge of betraying our loved freedom.
But it becomes you to consider who they are that disseminate this
calumny, and at whom it is aimed, and to collect the truth, not from
menhdacious statements, but from public events. For what necessity
now binds us to sell ourselves to the Romans, when we need not
have revolted in the first instance; or, having once revolted, might
have returned without delay to our allegiance, ere yet all around had
been reduced to desolation? Whereas now, were we desirous to
effect a reconciliation, it would be no easy matter, when the conquest
of Galilee has swelled the pride of the Romans; and to court them,
now that they are at our very doors, would bring upon us a disgrace
more bitter than death. As regards myself, indeed, I would have
preferred peace to death; but having once declared war, and taken
the field, I would rather die with glory, than live in captivity.

‘Do they say, however, that we, the rulers of the people, have
privately communicated with the Romans; or that the people them-
selves so determined by public decree? If they accuse us, let them
name the friends whom we deputed, or the servants who negotiated
the treason. Has any one been discovered proceeding on the errand,
or seized in returning? Are they in possession of our letters? How
could we conceal such a transaction from so many of our fellow-
citizens with whom we are hdurly associating? And yet, forsooth,
to this small party, and they under guard, and unable to move from
the temple into the city, are known the things which are secretly
transacted in the country? They have now become sensible, doubt-
less, that they must suffer the punishment of their audacity; for so
long as they were free from apprehension, none of us was suspected
as a traitor.

“418 it, however, against the people that they prefer this charge ?
. Then must the people have publicly deliberated on the subject, and
no one would have been excluded from the assembly: in which case,
more speedily than any formal communication, rumour would have
hastened to you with the tidings. But what then? Must not ambas-
sadors, in such an event, have been sent to ratify the reconcilia-
tion? Let them tell us, who was designated to that office. But this
is clearly a pretext of men struggling against death, and anxious to
ward off impending punishment. For, if it had been fated that this
city should be betrayed, those who now accuse us would alone have
ventured upon the deed : inasmuch as treason is the only crime want-

BOOK IV. ] THE JEWISH WAR. 75

ing to fill up the measure of their guilt. And now, Idumeans, since
you are here in arms, it is your duty, and a most righteous one, to
succour the metropolis, and unite with us in cutting off these tyrants,
who have set at nought our tribunals, trampled on our laws, and
passed sentence with their swords. “Men of illustrious rank they have
dragged from the public market-place, throwing them disgracefully
into chains, without any accusation alleged against them ; and, regard-
ing neither their cries nor supplications, delivered them to death.
You are at liberty to enter the city, but not by right of war, and
witness the proofs of what we state :—houses laid desolate by their
rapine, widows and orphans of the murdered clothed in mourning,
and wailing and lamentation throughout the whole city; for there
is no one who has not tasted their unhallowed violence. To such an
extreme of insanity have they arrived, as not only to transfer their
brigand daring from the country and remote towns to the head and
face of the nation at large, but even from the city to the temple.
Accordingly, that is now converted into a rallying-point and retreat
for them, and has become the magazine of their preparations against
us. That place, revered by the world, and honoured from the ends
of the earth by aliens, to whom it is known only by report, is trampled
under foot by wild beasts, generated on the spot.

‘¢ And they exult in a state of things which has now become thus
desperate :—communities arrayed against communities, cities against
cities, and the nation itself marshalling an army against its own
bowels. Instead of aiding such a cause, surely it were most honour-
able and becoming in you to unite with us, as I have said, in destroy-
ing these monsters, and chastising them for their deceit in daring to
summon as allies those whom they should have feared as avengers.
Still, if you respect the invitation of such men, you have it in your
option to lay aside your arms, and, entering the city in the character
of relations, to assume an intermediate name between allies and
enemies, and constitute yourselves judges. Consider, too, what ad-
vantage will be theirs; tried by you for notorious and serious
offences, while they did not allow even the unimpeached to utter a
word in their defence. This benefit, however, let them enjoy from
your arrival.

“4 If, notwithstanding, you will neither share our indignation, nor
yet hecome umpires in the dispute, a third course is open to you,
namely, to leave both parties to themselves, and neither insult our
calamities, nor coalesce with these conspirators against the capital.
For, if you strongly suspect some of us of being in communication
with the Romans, it is in your power to watch the outlets; and,

G2

76 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK IV;

should any of the misdeeds imputed to us be discovered, you can
then come and protect the metropolis, and punish those convicted of
crime. Stationed as you are so close to the city, none of the enemy
can take you by surprise. If, however, nothing I have proposed
seem to you reasonable or moderate, do not marvel that our gates
remain closed, so long as you maintain a warlike attitude.” |

4. Such was Joshua’s address. The Idumzans, however, paid no
attention to it, but were the rather irritated at not obtaining instant
admission. The generals, too, were indignant at the suggestion that
they should lay down their arms; deeming it the act of a captive to
do so at the bidding of any one. Simon, son of Cathlas, one of their
leaders, having with much difficulty allayed the ferment among his
men, and standing within hearing of the chief priests, replied:— ᾿
- Tam no longer surprised that the champions of liberty are in
durance in the temple, since there are men who close our common
city against their own nation, and are preparing, withal, their gates
peradventure crowned with garlands, to admit the Romans; while
they confer with the Idumzans from their towers, and enjoin them
to throw away those weapons which they have taken up in defence.
of freedom. Refusing to entrust the protection of the capital to,
their kindred, they would yet appoint them umpires in their disputes ;,
and, whilst they accuse some of having put their fellow-citizens :to
death uncondemned, adjudge the whole nation to be treated with
ignominy. At least ye have a city, wont to be opened for religious.
worship even to foreigners, barricaded against your own people;
because, forsouth, we were hastening to the slaughter, and to war
against our own countrymen!—we who are hurrying to preserve
you in freedom, hapless beings as you are. Doubtless you have been
aggrieved in like manner by those whom you keep in ward; and
equally credible, I presume, is your catalogue of insinuations against
them. If so, how comes it that, detaining under guard as many of
those within the city as are interested for the public welfare, and
closing its gates against the collective body of a kmdred people, and
issuing such insulting mandates, you say that you are oppressed by
tyrants, and attach the stigma of despotism to those who are groaning
under your own tyranny? Who can tolerate this delusion in words,
which he perceives to be utterly at variance with the facts? Unless,
indeed, it be that even now the Idumezans, whom you debar from
their holy national rites, are rather excluding you from the metro-
polis? It were a more just ground of complaint against those block-
aded in the temple, that, while they had the courage to punish those
traitors whom you call men of eminence, and whom, as partakers in

BOOK Iv.]} THE JEWISH WAR. 77

their crimes, you pronounce free from imputation, they did not begin
with yourselves, and thus cut away in the outset the main promoters
of treason. If, however, they have evinced a greater degree of lenity
than the juncture demanded, let us Idumeeans stand by the house
of God, and, drawing our swords in behalf of our common country,
defend it alike from the assaults of enemies without, and from
the machinations of traitors within. Here before these walls will we
remain in arms, until the Romans, weary of attending to your propo-
sals, or a change of sentiments leads you to espouse the cause of
freedom.” :

_ 5. While this harangue was calling forth the acclamations of the
Idumzeans, Joshua withdrew in dejection, seeing them opposed to all
moderate measures, and the city visited with war from two quarters.
Nor were the minds of the Idumeans at rest; for, irritated at the
insult offered them, in their exclusion from the city, and perceiving
no aid at hand from the Zealot party, whom they supposed to be in
considerable strength, they became perplexed, and many repented
that they had come. But the shame of returning without having
accomplished their purpose so far predominated over their regrets,
that they maintained their position before the walls, where they
bivouacked in miserable plight: for during the night a terrific storm
arose; the winds blew with tempestuous violence, and the rain fell in
torrents: the lightnings flashed without intermission, accompanied
by fearful peals of thunder, and the quaking earth resounded with
mighty bellowings. The universe, convulsed to its very base, ap-
peared fraught with the destruction of mankind; and it was easy to
conjecture that these were portents of no trivial calamity.

6. Among the Idumzans, and those in the city, the same opinion
prevailed. The former were persuaded that God was angry at their
expedition, and that they would not escape his judgments for bear-
ing arms against the metropolis: while Ananus, and his party,
imagined that they had triumphed without a contest, and that God
was fighting in their defence. But they were mistaken in their
conjectures as to the future, and the sufferings which they prognos-
ticated against their enemies were destined to fall upon their friends.
For the Idumeans, drawing their bodies together, kept each other’
warm ; and, connecting their shields over their heads, suffered. no
material injury from the rain ; while the Zealots, more concerned for
their danger than for their own, met to consider what expedient
could be devised for their relief. The more ardent advised that
they should force the sentries, sword in hand; and, rushing boldly
into the midst of the city, open the gates to their allies: the guards,

78 THE JEWISH WAR. [woox rv.

thrown into disorder by their unexpected sally, would give way, and
the more readily, as the greater part were unarmed, and inexpe-
rienced in war; while it would be difficult to collect the citizens in
force, confined as they were to their houses by the storm. And even
should there be any danger, it became them to undergo every possible
suffering, rather than leave so vast a multitude to perish disgracefully
on their account.

Of these violent measures, however, the more judicious disap-
proved, seeing not only the full complement of men on guard around
them, but the walls of the city carefully watched, on account of the
Idumzans. They concluded, also, that Ananus would be everywhere
present, examining the posts at all hours. And this had, in fact,
been his practice on other nights; though on this the duty was
omitted, not from any supineness on his part, but by the overruling
appointment of Fate, that he himself might perish, and the whole of
the guards. As the night advanced, and the storm was reaching its
height, it lulled to sleep the sentinels in the colonnade; at the same
time suggesting to the Zealots the thought of taking the saws belong-
ing to the temple, and severing the bars of the gates. The violence
of the wind, and the successive peals of thunder, aided their purpose,
and prevented the noise from being heard.

7. Withdrawing secretly from the temple, they reached the walls,
and, employing their saws, opened the gate nearest to the _Idumeeans.
They, supposing themselves attacked by Ananus and his party, were
at first seized with alarm, and every man had his hand on his sword
for defence, but, quickly recognising their visitors, they entered with
them. Had they turned immediately upon the city, so ungovernable
was their rage, that nothing could have prevented the utter destruc-
tion of the people: but they hastened first to liberate the Zealots
from custody, at the earnest solicitation of those who had introduced
them. They besought them not to neglect those for whose sake
they had come, surrounded as they were with difficulties, nor involve
them in yet more serious danger. Were the guards mastered, it
would be easy to advance against the city; whereas, should they
make their first movement in that direction, they could not afterwards
overpower the sentries; for, at the first intimation, they would form
their ranks, and close the approaches.

BOOK τΥ,] THE JEWISH WAR. 79

CHAPTER V,

1. In compliance with these representations, the Idumszeans
marched up through the city to the temple, the Zealots, meantime,
awaiting their arrival in a state of anxious suspense. As they were
entermg, the latter, taking courage, advanced from the inner court of
the temple, and, mixing with the Idumzans, attacked the sentries.
Some of them who lay in front they killed in their sleep, till the whole
multitude, roused by the cries of those who were awake, snatched up
their arms in consternation, and hastened to the defence. So long
as they supposed themselves assailed only by the Zealots, they fought
with spirit, héping to overpower them by numbers, but, perceiving
others pouring in from without, they became aware of the irruption
of the Idumwans. The greater portion threw away at once their
courage and their arms, and abandoned themselves to lamentations.
A few of the younger, however, fencing themselves in, gallantly
received the Idumzans, and, for a considerable time, protected the
feebler multitude. These, by their cries, indicated their calamities
to those in the city, but no one ventured to their assistance, when it
was known that the Idumzans had fallen upon them; on the con-
trary, they loudly echoed back the cries and lamentations. A fright-
ful shrieking of women arose, and each individual of the guards
became alive to his own personal danger. The Zealots joined in
the battle-cry of the Idumzans, and the shouting on all sides was
rendered still more fearful by the howling of the storm.

The Idumeans gave no quarter. ‘Naturally of a most cruel and
sanguinary disposition, and, moreover, irritated by the tempest, they
directed their weapons against those who had shut them out, treating
alike both the suppliants and the resisting; and, in many instances,
piercing with their swords those who were reminding them of their
relationship, and imploring them to respect their common temple.
No room for flight remained, nor hope of safety ; but, crushed toge-
ther, they were cut down one upon another, and the greater part,
driven forward—for there was no spot to which they could retreat,
while their murderers were rushing upon them—precipitated them-
selves, in their perplexity, headlong into the city, consigning themselves
to a fate more miserable, as it seems to me, than that from which
they fled. The outer court of the temple was inundated with blood,
and the day dawned upon eight thousand five hundred dead.

80 THE JEWISH WAR. [ΒΟΟΚ Iv.

2. The rage of the _Idumzans being still unsatiated, they turned
to the city, pillaging every house, and killing all who fell in their
way; but, thinking their time wasted upon the rest of the multitude,
they searched for the chief. priests, the greater part joining in the
pursuit; and they were no sooner taken than slain. Standing over
their dead bodies, they reviled. Ananus for his benevolence to ‘the
people, and Joshua for his address from the ramparts; and to such an
excess of impiety did they proceed, that they cast them out unburied,
though the Jews are so attentive to the rites of sepulture, as to take
down even those who have undergone the sentence of crucifixion, and
inter them before sunset. I should not be wrong in saying, that with
the death of. Ananus began the capture of the city, and. that from
that very day on which the Jews beheld their high priest, and the
guardian of their safety, murdered in the midst of Jerusalem, its
bulwarks were laid low, and the Jewish state overthrown.

In every respect Ananus was a man much to be revered. In
integrity he was surpassed by none; and, though distinguished by
birth, station, and the honours which he had acquired, he delighted
in placing himself on a level with the humblest. Unbounded in his
love.of liberty, and an admirer of democracy, he ever preferred the
public weal to his private interests. To maintain peace was his
leading object ; persuaded that the Roman power was irresistible,
and foreseeing that in a war with them, unless matters should be
skilfully accommodated, the Jews would be involved in inevitable
ruin. In a word, had Ananus survived, such an accommodation would
have been effected; for he was powerful in his appeals, and successful
in gaining over the people to his views, and, if he had been spared to
control those who thwarted him, or carried on the war, the Jews,
under such a leader, would have greatly retarded the triumph of. the
Romans. With him, too, had been associated Joshua, who, though
comparatively inferior to him, was superior to the others. And I am
of opinion that God, having doomed the city, as polluted, to destruc-
tion, and wishing to purify the sanctuary with fire, cut off these their
defenders, who so affectionately loved them. Those who but lately
had been clothed with the sacred vestments, had presided over the
worship emblematic of the mundane system, and been regarded with
reverence by all who, from every quarter of the globe, visited the city,
were seen cast out naked, to become the food of dogs and beasts of
prey. Virtue herself, as I think, groaned over the fate of these men,
lamenting that she should have been so completely overcome by
wickedness. Such, however, was the end of Ananus and Joshua.

3. When these were dispatched, the Zealots and Idumeans

BOOK ‘1V.] THE JEWISH WAR. 81

attacked and butchered the people, as if they had been a herd of
unclean beasts. Those of the humbler classes they destroyed on the
spot where they.were taken; but those of noble birth, and the young,
were on their arrest fettered, and thrown into prison, their execution
being delayed in the hope that some of them would go over to their
party. Not one, however, listened to their proposals, all preferring
to die rather than array themselves with the wicked against their
country. But dreadful were the sufferings they endured on account
of this refusal. They were scourged and racked, and when their
bodies could no longer sustain these tortures, they were reluctantly
given over to the sword. Those apprehended by day were dispatched
at night, and their bodies thrown out to make room for fresh prisoners.
Such was the consternation of the people that no one dared openly to
weep for, or even to bury, a deceased relative ; but, shut up in their
houses, they wept in secret, and groaned with circumspection, lest
any of their enemies should overhear their lamentations. The
mourner forthwith equally suffered with the mourned. By night,
indeed, taking up a little dust.in their hands, they cast it on the
bodies, and some of the. more venturesome did so by day. Twelve
thousand youths,. of noble birth, were thus consigned to destruction.
4, The Zealots, now satiated with slaughter, even to loathing,
shamelessly set up mock tribunals, and courts of justice. Purposing
to kill Zacharias, son of Baruch, one of the most eminent of the
citizens, they summoned in due form seventy of ‘the leading men of
the people, in the character of judges, but destitute of their authority.
His extreme hatred of evil, and love of liberty, had excited their
peculiar aversion, and his possessions, moreover, being ample, they
hoped not only to enjoy the plunder of his property, but to get rid
of a powerful and dangerous adversary. They accordingly accused
him of a design to betray the state to the Romans, and of maintain-
ing a treasonable correspondence with Vespasian. In support of this
allegation no proof, either positive or presumptive, was adduced ; but
they declared that they were themselves fully persuaded of its truth,
and this they demanded to be received as establishing the fact.
Zacharias, however, conscious that no hope of safety was left him,
as they had treacherously summoned him to a prison, not to trial,
did not allow despair of life to deprive him of liberty of speech ; but,
rising from his seat, ridiculed the likelihood of the accusation, and
in few words refuted the charges brought against him. He then
addressed himself to his accusers, went over their various enormities
in order, and deeply lamented the confusion of public affairs.
The Zealots now became outrageous, with difficulty withheld their

82 THE JBWISH WAR. [Boox rv.

swords, though anxious to play out the farce of a tribunal to the
clese, and desirous, also, to test the judges, whether, disregarding
their own peril, they would be mindful of justice. The seventy,
preferring rather to die with the accused, than to bear the imputation
of being parties to his destruction, brought in a verdict of acquittal.
On hearing the sentence, a clamour arose among the Zealots, whe
were all indignant at the judges for not understanding that their
authority had been confided to them in mere mockery. Two of the
most daring of them, however, attacking Zacharias, slew him in the
midst of the temple, and, thus addressing him in derision as he fell—
“ You have now our verdict also, and a more effective acquittal”-—
forthwith threw him headlong from the temple into the ravine below.
They then aggailed the judges, and, striking them insultingly with the
backs of their swords, drove them from the court, sparing their lives
for this sole reagan that, being dispersed through the city, they might
proclaim to all the vassalage to which they were reduced.

5. The Idumeans, dissatisfied with these proceedings, now began
to regret their presence among them. An individual attached to the
Zealot, party came to them privately, and, convening them for the
purpose, painted out to them the lawless acts of those who had
invited them, and set forth in detail the injuries inflicted on the
eapital. ‘‘ They had armed, forsooth, as if the chief priests were
betraying the metropolis to the Romans; but they had discovered no
evidence of treason; whereas they who professed to be its defenders,
were themselves the daring perpetrators of deeds.of war and despotism.
It would have been well to prevent these occurrences in the outset,
but, since they had once associated with them in shedding the blood
of their countrymen, it was now at least’ incumbent on them to put
a stop to these atrocities, and no longer continue to strengthen the
hands of men who were subverting the national institutions. If any
had been offended at the gates being closed, and entrance denied to
them, those who excluded them had been punished. Ananus was
dead ; and in one night almost the whole of the populace had been
swept away.

*¢ That many of their own party now repented of the step they
had taken, it-was not difficult to discern; and they perceived how
unmeasured was the cruelty of those who had invited them, and
who showed no respect for their deliverers. They had dared to
commit the vilest atrocities under the very eyes of their confede-
rates; and their iniquities would be charged on the Idumeeans, so
long as they adopted no measures of prevention, nor withdrew from
the perpetrators. Since, then, the stery of the treason appeared to

«4,

BOOK 1Vv. | THE JEWISH WAR. 88

be a calumny, and no inroad of the Romans was expected, and as
a despotism not easily to be subverted was established in the city,
they ought to return home, and, by breaking off all connexion with
these bad men, offer some atonement for the injuries, into a partigi-
pation in which they had been entrapped.”

CHAPTER VI.

1, Inpucep by these arguments, the Idumeans returned home from
Jerusalem, having first liberated the citizens confined in the prisons,
in number about two thousand, who immediately fled from the city
to Simon, of whom we shall speak presently. On both factions, as it
happened, their departure had an unlooked-for effect. The people,
ignorant of their repentance, and supposing themselves relieved from
enemies, resumed a momentary confidence. The Zealots, on the
other hand, rather increased in audacity: not as being deserted by
allies, but freed from those who discountenanced and repressed their
lawless violence. They accordingly proceeded in their iniquitous
courses without delay or deliberation, and with the utmost rapidity
devised, and quicker than thought executed their projects. But they
thirsted chiefly for the blood of the brave and noble. The latter
they murdered from envy; the former through fear: for they sur-
mised that their own safety depended on leaving none of those in
authority alive. Hence they put to death, together with many othera,
Gorion, a person exalted both by station and birth, democratical in
his principles, and deeply imbued with a love of freedom, if
ever Jew was so. His boldness of speech, added to his other
excellences, was the chief cause of his ruin. Nor did Niger of
Persea escape their hands; a man particularly distinguished in the
conflicts with the Romans, He was dragged through the midat of
the city, frequently calling aloud, and exposing his sears. When
brought without the gates, despairing of life, he besought them for
the rites of sepulture: but, fiercely declaring that they would not
grant him the grave of which he was so desirous, they completed the
murder. He died, imprecating on their heads the vengeance of the
Romans, and famine and pestilence in addition to war, and moreover,
that the hands of each should be raised against the others. All these
curses on the wretches did God most justly ratify, inasmuch as they
were doomed ere long to feel in their dissensions the effects of each

δά THE JEWISH WAR: [BOOK Iv:

others’ frenzy. Niger’s removal relieved them from apprehensions
as to the dissolution of their power. There was, however, no class
of the people for whose destruction a pretext was not devised.
Those with whom any of them had formerly been at variance were
put to death: and against those who had given them no umbrage in
time of peace, charges suitable to the occasion were invented. The
man who held no intercourse,.with them was suspected of pride;
he who approached with freedom, of treating them with contempt ;
he who courted them, of treachery. The same punishment awaited
the most trivial, as well’ as the greatest allegations—death ; and
none escaped, but those whose safety lay in the utter meanness
of their birth or fortune.

2, The Roman generals, looking on the dissensions of their enemies
as a godsend, were anxious to march against Jerusalem, and urged
the point on Vespasian, who was now lord supreme; observing,
“ that Divine providence was their ally, in that their enemies were
turning one against the other. There might, however, be some
sudden change, and the Jews, either wearied with these intestine
broils, or repenting of their crimes, might quickly return to unani-
mity.” To these remarks Vespasian replied, that ‘they greatly
erred in their views of what ought to be done, and.were anxious to
make a theatrical, though dangerous, display of their prowess and
- their arms, ‘without due regard to their advantage and safety. For,
should they immediately attack the city, the effect would be to
reunite their opponents, and induce them to turn their forces in full
Strength against them: whereas, by waiting awhile, they would
have fewer to contend with, as many would be consumed in the
sedition. God was a better general than he, and was delivering up
the Jews to the Romans without any exertion on their part, and
granting the army a dangerless victory. While, therefore, their
adversaries were perishing by their own hands, and labouring under
that greatest of evils—sedition, they should rather remain quiet
spectators of their peril, than combat with men who courted death,
and were infuriated against each other.

** But should any one think that the glory of a victory obtained
without a contest loses its zest, let him know that success obtained
by quiet measures is preferable to the uncertainty of arms. For not
less illustrious should we deem those who have triumphed by self-
control and sagacity, than those who win distinction in ‘the field.
Moreover, while the enemy were diminishing their numbers, he would
fain recruit the strength of his army, and invigorate it after its conti-
nued toils. Neither was this the fitting moment for those who were

BOOK Iv.] THE JEWISH. WAR. 85

aspiring to the honours of a splendid victory : for the Jews were not
employed in preparing arms, erecting fortifications, or enlisting
auxiliaries, in which case delay would tell against those who permitted
it; but, exhausted by civil war and dissension, they were suffering:
greater miseries from day to day than their assailants could inflict,
upon those who fell into their hands, Influenced, then, by a regard
to their own safety, the Romans should allow them to proceed in the
work of self-destruction; or, if they looked to the glory of success,
they ought not to attack those who-were labouring under domestie
troubles. For it would be said, and with reason, that they owed
their triumph to the sedition, not to their arms.”

3. In these observations of Vespasian the officers concurred ; and
the policy of his views soon became apparent. Many deserted daily
to escape the Zealots, though flight was difficult ; for all the outlets
were guarded, and every one caught in them, on whatever pretext,
was instantly put to death, as though he were going over to.the
Romans. He, however, who bought exemption was permitted to go
free, and he only who gave nothing was a traitor. Hence it followed,
that, as the rich purchased escape, the poor alone were slaughtered.
Along all the roads the dead were piled in heaps; and many,.who had
been eager to desert, chose ultimately to perish within the walls: for
the hope of interment made death in their native city appear more
tolerable. To such an excess of cruelty did the Zealots at length
proceed, as to grant burial neither to those slain within the city, nor
on the roads; but, as if they had entered into a compact to dissolve,
together with the laws of their country, the rights of nature, and to
combine their injustice towards men with pollution of the Deity
himself, they left the dead putrefying in the sun.

To those who interred a relative, as well as to deserters, the punish.
ment was death; and he who gave burial to another stood instantly
in need of it himself. In a word, no virtuous emotion was so utterly
lost amidst these calamities, as pity. For what should have melted,
only exasperated these monsters; as from the living to the slain, and
from the dead to the living, their fury alternated. And so dreadful
was the terror that prevailed, that the survivor deemed them blessed
who had already perished, and were consequently at rest; while those
under torture in the prisons pronounced the unburied happy in
comparison with themselves. Every human ordinance was trampled
under foot ; every Divine injunction laughed at; and they scoffed at
the oracles of the prophets as the fables of mountebanks. And yet
did these in their predictions speak much of virtue and of vice, by
contravening which the Zealots brought down on their country. the

86 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK IV.

fulfilment of their prophetic denunciations. For there was an ancient
tradition among men that “then would the city be taken, and the
¢anctuary burned to the ground, by right of war, when a sedition
should burst forth, in which native hands should defile God’s hallowed
precincts.” These predictions the Zealots did not disbelieve; yet
did they lend themselves as instruments of their accomplishment.

CHAPTER VII.

1. Joun, already affecting supreme power, disdained to accept the
honours paid to his equals, and, gradually gathering round him a party
of the more abandoned, haughtily withdrew from the coalition.
Refusing obedience, on all occasions, to the resolves of his associates,
and imperiously asserting his own, he was evidently aspiring to
despotic rule. Some yielded to him through fear, others from affec-
tion; for he well knew how to employ deceit and artifice in conci-
liating regard; and not a few there were who thought it for their
safety, that the blame of their daring deeds should be ascribed to one
rather than to many. His energy both of body and mind, moreover,
attracted numerous adherents. A large section, however, of the
opposing faction, with whom envy predominated, deserted him, ill-
brooking subjection to their former equal: but the greater part were
influenced by dread of monarchical sway. For, once possessed of
supreme power, they could not hope easily to subvert his authority ;
and he would have a pretext against themselves in their opposition
to his advancement. Each therefore preferred enduring any suffering,
attendant on war, rather than, in a voluntary servitude, to perish as
slaves.

From these causes the sedition split into two factions; and John,
despite his adversaries, ruled with sovereign power. On either side
every post was strictly guarded ; though they seldom, if ever, appealed
to the sword. They assailed the populace, however, and vied with
each other in carrying off the larger booty. But, while the city was
thus agitated by the three greatest of evils, war, tyranny, and sedition,
in the eyes of the populace war was comparatively the mildest.
Accordingly, fleeing from their countrymen, they took refuge with
aliens, and solicited from Romans that safety which they despaired
of among their own kindred.

BOOK Iv.] THE JEWISH WAR. 87

2. But, to consummate its ruin, a fourth misforttne was now
inflicted upon the nation. Not far from Jerusalem was a fortress of
very great strength called Masada, erected by our ancient kings as
a repository for their wealth during the vicissitudes of war, and as
a place of safety for their persons. Of this the Sikars, as they were
called, had taken possession some time before; and had hitherto
confined themselves to marauding expeditions through the adjacent
districts, with the sole design of procuring supplies; for they were
restrained by fear from further pillage: but, when they heard that
the Roman army was lying inactive, and that in Jerusalem the Jews
were distracted by sedition and private tyranny, they essayed more
daring enterprises. Accordingly, at the feast of unleavened bread—
which the Jews celebrate in commemoration of their exodus from
Egyptian bondage, when allowed to depart for their paternal land—
they came down by night, undiscovered by any who might have
obstructed their progress, and attacked a small town called Engaddi.

Those of its inhabitants who might have offered resistance, were
dispersed and driven out of the town before they could seize their
arms and assemble; and those unable to fly, women and children,
amounting to upwards of seven hundred, were put to the sword.
They then rifled the houses, and, seizing upon the ripened crops,
carried them off to Masada. They moreover plundered all the
villages around the fortress, and laid waste the whole country; while
multitudes of dissolute characters flocked to them daily from every
quarter. The other districts of Judzea also now began to be thrown
into disorder by predatory bands, which had hitherto remained quiet.
As in the body, when the nobler parts are in a state of inflammation,
all the members participate in the disorder, so, from the sedition and
disturbance in the capital, the ill-disposed in the country fearlessly
availed themselves of the opportunity for rapine; and, after severally
destroying their native villages, each party retired into the desert.
Having assembled in considerable force—too few, indeed, for an
army, but too many for a mere band of freebooters—they bound.
themselves by oath, and separated into parties, assailing temples and
cities. It occasionally happened, however, that they were roughly
handled, when those whom they attacked were prepared, as in war,
to receive them; but they anticipated the necessity of defence by
decamping as robbers with their prey. There was, in fact, no part
of Judea that did not share in the ruin of the capital.

8. With these occurrences Vespasian was made acquainted by the
deserters. For, although the insurgents guarded every outlet, and
slew all that approached them, there were some, notwithstanding

88 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK Iv.

who eluded their vigilance, and, fleeing to the Romans, urged the
general to succour the city, and rescue the remnant of its inhabi-
tants: for, owing to their friendly disposition towards the Romans,
many had been slain, and the survivors were in peril. Vespasian,
who already pitied their calamities, broke up his encampment, appa-
rently with the design of investing Jerusalem, but, in reality, to
deliver it from siege. It was necessary previously to reduce what
remained in his way, that no external impediment might interfere
with his operations. |

Accordingly, he marched on Gadara, the capital of Persea, a place
of some strength, which he entered on the fourth of the month
Dystrus; for many of the residents were wealthy, and the leading
men, influenced by a desire of peace, and a regard for their property,
had, without the knowledge of the insurgents, sent a deputation to
him on the subject of a surrender. Of this procedure the opposite
party were ignorant, until they discovered it by the approach of
Vespasian. Despairing of being able to retain the city, from their
inferiority in point of numbers to their opponents within the walls,
and seeing the Romans at a short distance from the city, they deter-
mined upon flight, but not without shedding blood, and exacting
punishment from those who were the causes of the measure. With
this view, they seized Dolesus, who was not only the first in station
and family in the town, but was moreover looked upon as the origi-
nator of the deputation; and having put him to death, and through
excess of rage mangled his body, they fled from the city, The Roman
army being now at hand, the Gadarenes welcomed Vespasian with
acclamations, and received from him a pledge of protection, together
with a garrison of horse and foot, to secure them against the attacks of
the fugitives; for they had demolished their fortifications without in-
structions from the Romans, in order that their want of power to make
war, even if they wished, might be a guarantee for their love of peace.

4, Vespasian now detached Placidus, with five hundred horse, and
three thousand foot, against those who had fled from Gadara, while
he himself, with the remainder of his army, returned to Cesarea.
As goon as the fugitives discovered that they were closely pursued by
the cavalry, before they came to an engagement, they shut themselves
up in a village, called Bethennabrin. Here they found no small
number of young men, and, arming some with their own consent, and
some by force, they rushed at random upon the troops of Placidus.
The Romans fell back a little on the first onset, artfully designing to
entice them to a greater distance from the ramparts; and, having
drawn them toa suitable spot, they rode round them and shot at

“OHOLYSL UVAN YAMOAL

BOOK Iv.] THE JEWISH WAR. 89

them with darts. Those who fled the cavalry intercepted, while the
infantry made easy havoc of the entangied masses. After making
a mere show of resistance, the Jews were cut to pieces; for, attacking
the serried ranks of the Romans, walled in, as it were, by their
armour, they found no play for their missiles, nor could they by any
effort break the lines. ‘They were accordingly transfixed by the wea-
pons of their opponents, rushing like wild beasts upon the swords
directed at them. Thus they perished, some struck down face to face
with the enemy, others in disordered flight before the cavalry.

5. Placidus, careful to intercept their retreat to the village, kept his
horse in constant motion on that quarter ; then, turning upon them and
employing his missiles, he slew those who came near him with a steady
aim; while those at a greater distance were driven back by terror,
until the most courageous, forcibly cutting a way through their foes,
fled toward the ramparts. The sentries were in doubt what they
should do; for they could not endure to shut out the Gadarenes, on
account of their own townsmen; and if they admitted them, they
expected to share in their destruction. And such, indeed, was the
result; for as they were crushed together at the wall, the Roman
cavalry were within a little of entering with them; but, the guards
having succeeded in shutting the gates, Placidus attacked the town,
and, continuing the assault with vigour until evening, became master
of the ramparts, and of those within the village. The helpless were
slaughtered in multitudes, and, those who were more able having fled,
the troops rifled the houses, and reduced the village to ashes.

The fugitives, meanwhile, created great excitement through the
country, and by exaggerating their calamities, and stating that the
Roman army was advancing in full force, inspired terror on all sides.
Accordingly, the whole population fled to Jericho, where, from the
strength of its defences, and from its numerous inhabitants, they
cherished a last hope of safety. Placidus, relying upon his cavalry;
and encouraged by his former successes, pursued them as far as the
Jordan, putting all, as he overtook them, to the sword. Having
driven the whole multitude to the river, where they were stopped by
the stream, which, swollen by the rains, was no longer fordable, he
drew up his forces in line opposite to them. Necessity goaded them
to battle, as no room for flight was left: and extending themselves as
much as possible along the banks, they received the missiles and the
charges of the cavalry; whereby many were wounded and driven into
the current. Fifteen thousand fell by the hands of the enemy, while
the number of those who were reluctantly compelled to throw them-
selves into the Jordan was incalculable. About two thousand two

VOL, II. π

90 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK IV.

hundred were captured, together with an immense booty of asses and
sheep, camels and oxen.

6. Although inferior to none which the Jews had yet sustained,
this discomfiture was even greater in appearance than reality ; for not
only was the whole country through which their flight had lain strewed
with carnage, and the Jordan rendered impassable by reason of the
dead, but the lake Asphaltitis, also, was filled with bodies, of which
vast numbers had been carried down into it by the river. Placidus,
following up his good fortune, hastened to attack the smaller towns
and villages around; and making himself master of Abila, Julias,
Resimoth, and all as far as the lake Asphaltitis, he located in each a
convenient body of the deserters ; then, embarking his troops im light
vessels, he destroyed those who had taken refuge on the lake. And
thus tne whole of Perma, as far as Macherus, either surrendered, or
was reduced.

CHAPTER VIII.

1, MEANWHILE, tidings arrived of the disturbances which had broken
out in Gaul, and that Vindex, with the chiefs in that country, had
revolted from Nero, of which more detailed accounts have been clse-
where furnished. Vespasian, who already foresaw the civil dissensions
which threatened to break out, and the danger to the empire at large,
and was persuaded that, under these circumstances, it would relieve
the apprehensions of Italy, if affairs were once settled in the East, was
further stimulated by this intelligence to prosecute the war with
vigour. Accordingly, having employed himself, while the winter
lasted, in securing with garrisons the villages and smaller towns which
he had reduced, confiding the former to decurions, the latter to cen-
turions, and having, also, rebuilt many places which had been
destroyed, he moved in the beginning of spring, with the greater part
of his army, froia Cesarca to Antipatris. After two days spent
in establishing order in the town, on the third he advanced, wasting
all the places around with fire and sword. Having reduced the terri-
tory of Thamna, he marched on Lydda and Jamnia; and both of
them having been before subdued, he located in them a competent
number of residents out of those who had surrendered, and pursued
his route to Ammaus. Having scized on their approaches to the
metropolis, he fortified a camp, and leaving the fifth legion in the
town, moved forward with his remaining force to the territory of
Bethleptepha. Having devastated with fire this and the neighbouring

¥3 ONIMOO

IS@AI10 JO ΔΝ ΠΟΥ BHL NOYA MAA

BOOK Iv.] THE JEWISH WAR. 91

district, together with the parts of Idumza round about, he fortified
castles in convenient situations ; and having taken two villages in the
very heart of Idumsea—Betaris and Caphartoba, le put above ten
thousand of the inhabitants to the sword, and enslaved upwards of
a thousand; and then driving out the remainder, stationed there a
large division of his own troops, who overran and laid waste the whole
of the mountainous district. He then returned with the rest of his
army to Ammaus, and thence, through Samaria, and by Neapolis,
called Mabortha by the people of the country, he descended to Corea,
where he encamped on the second day of the month Desius. On the
day following, he reached Jericho, where he was joined by Trajan, one
of his generals, with the force he had brought from Persea, all beyond
the Jordan being now reduced.

2. Anticipating their arrival, the mass of the population had made
their escape from Jericho into the mountainous range which lies over
against Jerusalem, though a considerable number remained behind,
who were put to the sword. The Romans, in consequeuce, found the city
deserted. Jericho is seated in a plain, but hanging over it is a naked
and barren mountain of great length, extending northward to the
territory of Scythopolis, and towards the south as far as the region of
Sodom, and the extremities of the lake Asphaltitis. It is rugged
throughout, and by reason of its sterility uninhabitable. Opposite
to this, in the vicinity of the Jordan, runs a second chain of mountains,
which, beginning at Julias on the north, stretches parallel to the
former in a southern direction, as far as Somorrha, which borders
upon Petra in Arabia. In this ridge is also the Iron Mountain, as
it is called, which stretches to the region of Moab. The country
included within these two ranges of hills is called the Great Plain,
and reaches from the village of Ginnabrin to the lake Asphaltitis. Its
length is two hundred and thirty furlongs, and its breadth a hundred
and twenty. It is intersected by the Jordan, and embraces the lake
Asphaltitis, and that of Tiberias. These lakes differ in their nature ;
the former being salt and unfavourable to life, the latter sweet and
prolific. In the summer season this plain is burnt up, and through
the excessive drought the surrounding atmosphere becomes unwhole-
some ; for it is throughout destitute of water, if we except the Jordan ;
and hence, also, it happens that the palm-groves on the banks of that
river are more flourishing and productive than those at a distance.

8. In the immediate vicinity of Jericho, however, is a copious
spring of great virtue in irrigation. It bursts forth near the
ancient town, the first in the land of the Canaanites which yielded
to the arms of Joshua, the son of Nun, general of the Hebrews.

n2

92 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK Iv.

A tradition prevails, that this fountain originally blighted not only
the fruits of the earth and of trees, but the offspring of women also;
and that to everything without exception it was fraught with disease
and death, until it was healed and rendered most salubrious and
fertilizing by the prophet Elisha, disciple and successor of Elijah.
Having been the guest of the people of Jericho, and entertained by
them with extreme hospitality, he requited their kindness by confer-
ring a lasting favour on them and their country. Repairing to the
fountain, he threw into the current an earthen vessel filled with
salt, and then lifting up his hand aright to heaven, as he poured a
soothing libation into the spring, he prayed that the fountain might
soften its current, and open sweeter veins ; and that God would blend
with its waters more genial airs, granting the inhabitants withal an
abundance of fruits, and a succession of children, with a never-failing
supply. of water conducive to their production, so long as they
continued upright. By these supplications, offered up after the
performance of many ceremonies according to ritual, he changed the
properties of the spring, and the water, which had before been to
them a cause of barrenness and famine, became thenceforward a
source of fecundity and teeming profusion. Such in fact are its
powers of irrigation, that, if it but touch the earth, it is more salu-
brious than waters which remain to saturation. Wherefore also, while
the benefit derived from other fountains is small though they make
a more lavish use of them, the return from this small one is ample.
Indeed it irrigates a more extensive tract than all the rest, flowing
through a plain seventy furlongs in length and twenty in breadth,
carrying fertility to many a delightful garden, and watering various
species of palm, differing alike in flavour and in medicinal properties.
Of these the richer descriptions, when pressed, emit a profusion of
honey, scarcely inferior to the other, of which the district yields an
ample supply. Here is also found the balm of Gilead, the most
precious of all its productions; the cyprus likewise, and the myro-
balanus ; so that he would not err who should pronounce this a divine
spot, wherein grows an abundance of the rarest and choicest plants.
For as regards its other produce, there is scarcely a clime to be found
throughout the habitable globe comparable to this, so manifold are
the returns from the seed sown: a circumstance attributable, in my
opinion, to the warmth of the air, and to the fertilizing properties
of the water ; the one calling forth and expanding the shoots, while
the moisture roots the plant more firmly, and supplies the vitality
which it has in summer, when the surrounding country is so parched
up, as almost to prevent any one from going near it. The water if

BOOK Iv.] THE JEWISH WAR, 93

drawn before sunrise, and then exposed to the air, becomes extremely
cold, assuming a character the reverse of the surrounding atmosphere ;
but in winter, on the other hand, it is tepid, and most genial for
bathers. So mild moreover is the climate, that the inhabitants are
dressed in linen, when the other parts of Judzea are covered with
snow. It is distant from Jerusalem a hundred and fifty furlongs, and
from the Jordan sixty. The country from thence to Jerusalem is
desert and rocky; to the Jordan and the lake Asphaltitis, it is lower
indeed, but equally dreary and barren. Of Jericho, thus highly
favoured, sufficient has been said.

4, The natural peculiarities of the lake Asphaltitis also merit atten-
tion. Its waters, as I have stated, are bitter and unfavourable to life ;
but from their buoyancy they bear up even the heaviest substances
thrown into them; and it is difficult to dive to the bottom, even with
an effort. With a view to ascertain this fact, Vespasian, on visiting
the lake, ordered several persons who were unable to swim to be
plunged in to the bottom with their hands tied behind them ; and the
result was that all floated to the surface, as if impelled upwards by
the agency of air. There occurs in it also a remarkable change of
colour. Three times every day it alters its appearance, and throws
back a varied reflection according to the inclination of the solar rays.
It casts up, moreover, in many parts, black masses of bitumen, which
float on its surface, resembling, both in size and figure, headless bulls,
These the labourers of the lake approach, and catching hold of the
lumps, draw them into their boats. When these are filled, however,
it is by no means easy to divide the viscid matter, which from its
tenacity clings to the boat, until it is dissolved by those particular
animal secretions to which alone it yields. It is useful not only for
caulking ships, but also for healing the human frame; and it is
accordingly an ingredient in various medicines.

This lake is in length five hundred and eighty furlongs, measured
in a line which extends towards Zoar in Arabia, and in breadth
one hundred and fifty. Adjacent to it is the land of Sodom, in
ancient times a favoured district, renowned for its productions, and
the wealth of its cities; but now totally burnt up. It is said that,
owing to the impiety of its inhabitants, it was consumed by lightning ;
and accordingly vestiges of the divine fire, and some faint remains
of five cities, are still discernible. There may be seen, also, ashes
reproduced in the fruits, which from their appearance would be
supposed edible; but, on being plucked with the hand, they resolve
into smoke and dust. Such credibility does the tradition respecting
the land of Sodom derive from ocular evidence.

94 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK Iv.

CHAPTER ΙΣ.

1, Vrsrastan, with a view to invest Jerusalem on all sides, formed
encampments at Jericho and Adida, placing in each a garrison com-
posed of Romans and auxiliaries. He moreover detached Lucius
Annius to Gerasa, at the head of a squadron of horse and a large
body of infantry. Annius, having carried the city on the first assault,
put to the sword a thousand of the vouth, who had not effected their
escape, enslaved their families, and permitted his soldiers to plunder
their property. He then set fire to their habitations, and advanced
against the villages around. The vigorous fled: the more feeble
perished ; everything left behind was consigned to the flames; and
the war, having now embraced the whole of the mountainous and
champaign country, all egress from Jerusalem was prevented. For
those who wished to desert were clasely watched by the Zealots;
while thase who did not vet favour the Romans were kept in check
by the army, which hemmed in the city on all sides.

2. While Vespasian, who had now returned to Caesarea, was pre-
paring to march in full force against Jerusalem itself, tidings reached
him of the violent death of Nero, after a reign of thirteen years and
eight davs, To relate in what manner that prince wantonly abused
his authority, committing the administration to the most profligate
of men, Nymphidius and Tigellinus, the very refuse even of freed-
men; and how, in the conspiracy they formed against him, he was
abandoned by all his guanis; of his dight with four of his faithful
attendants to the suburhs, where he fell by his own hand ; and of the
punishment which ere long overtook those who had brought about
his destruction—is no part af MY present purpose. Nor yet is it my
tention to enter inte a detail of the war in Gaul, and its issue :
of the elevation of Galba to the throne, and his consequent return
to Rome from Spain: of the charge of meanness brought against him
by the military, and of the death treacherously dealt to him in the
midst of the Reman forum: of Otho's advancement to the imperial
dignity ; of his expedition against the generals of Vitellius, and his
overthrow : of the commations afterwands under Vitellius: of the
batde in the capitol; and of the des:ruction of Vitellius "and his
German legions by Antonius Primus and Mucianus, and the conse-
ea, Suppression of the civil war. Of-all these events I have

evhned giving a circumstantial account, as they are generally known,

BOOK IV. | THE JEWISH WAR. 95

and have been described by various Greek and Roman authors.
To keep up the connexion of events, however, and to avoid a chasm
in my narrative, I have summarily noticed each.

Vespasian, therefore, for the present deferred his expedition against
Jerusalem, waiting anxiously to see on whom the empire would
devolve upon the death of Nero; and afterwards, when he learned
that Galba was emperor, he would not advance until instructions
had been forwarded from him also on the subject of the war. He
despatched his son Titus, however, to salute him, and receive his
commands in reference to the Jews. For the same purpose, king
Agrippa likewise embarked with Titus; but while they were sailing
round in long galleys through Achaia, (for it was the winter season,)
Galba. met a violent death after a reign of seven months and as many
days; Otho succeeding to the throne, and assuming the reins of
government. Agrippa, nothing deterred by the change, resolved on
proceeding to Rome; while Titus, under a divine impulse, taking
ship from Greece for Syria, repaired with haste to join his father at
Cesarea. Being thus in suspense as to affairs at large, as well they
might be, when the Roman empire was in such a state of fluctuation,
they disregarded the invasion of Judea, deeming it unseasonable to
attack a foreign country, while filled with apprehensions for their own.

3. Meanwhile another war broke out against Jerusalem, occasioned
by one Simon, son of Gioras, a young man, a Gerasene by birth,
less artful than John, who was now in possession of the city, but his
superior in bodily strength and daring: qualities which had led
Ananus the high priest to eject him from the territory of Acrabatene,
which he once held. Thus expelled, he betook himself to the brigands
who had seized on Masada. At first, regarded by them with suspi-
cion, he was allowed, with the women who accompanied him, access

sonly to the lower part of the fortress; they themselves occupying
the upper. But subsequently, from congeniality of disposition, and
from his being apparently a person in whom they could confide, he
was permitted to accompany them in their marauding expeditions,
and joined them in laying waste the country around Masada. He
could not, however, prevail on them to attempt greater things ; for,
having become familiarized with the fortress, they were afraid to
venture far from their den, so to speak; while he, aiming at despotic
power, and cherishing lofty projects, on hearing of the death of
Ananus, withdrew to the mountainous district ; where, proclaiming
freedom to slaves, and rewards to the free, he gathered the miscreants
from all quarters around him.
4. Being now at the head of a strong force, he overran the villages

96 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK Iv.

which lay in the mountain-district; and, as he gained continual
accessions to his numbers, he was emboldened to descend into the
low-lands. Becoming at length formidable to the towns, many men
of rank, led away by his strength, and the free course of his successful
enterprises, were so infatuated as to join him: and it was no longer
an army of slaves only and brigands, but the loyal obedience, as to
a king, of a large body of the people. He now overran the Acra-
batene territory, and the country as far as the greater Idumea.
At a village called Nain, he threw up a wall, and used the place as
a fortress for his security ; and having found a great number of caves
ready prepared, and enlarged many others, in the valley called
Pharan, he employed them as repositories of treasures, and recep-
tacles of plunder. There also he laid up the corn obtained by rapine,
and the greater part of his troops took up their abode in them; and
it was evident that he was disciplining his force, and making his
preparations, for the purpose of attacking Jerusalem.

5. The Zealots, in consequence, alarmed at his design, and wishing
to anticipate one who was gathering strength to their prejudice, went
out with their main body under arms. Simon met them, and giving
them battle, slew great numbers, and chased the remainder into the
city. From a want of confidence in his troops, however, he was
deterred from assailing the walls; and he purposed first to reduce
Idumea, towards the confines of which he now directed his march, at
the head of twenty thousand armed men. The chiefs of the Idumzans,
with all despatch, assembled from the country their most effective
men, to the number of about twenty-five thousand, leaving the mass
of the population to protect their property against the inroads of the
Sikars of Masada, and met Simon at the frontiers.

Here he gave them battle ; and after maintaining the action during
the whole day, he left the field, neither conquering nor conquered.°
He then returned to Nain, and the Jdumezans disbanded to their
homes. Not long after, however, Simon returned with a larger force,
and again broke into their country, and encamping at a village called
Thecoa, despatched Elcazar, one of his associates, to the garrison of
Herodium, which was not far distant, to persuade them to deliver up
that fortress. The sentinels, ignorant of the object of his visit,
admitted him without hesitation; but the moment he uttered a word
about a surrender, they rushed on him with drawn swords, on which,
finding escape impracticable, he threw himself from the ramparts into
the ravine below, and was killed upon the spot. The Idumzans, now
much alarmed at Simon’s strength, deemed it advisable to reconnoitre
his army before they hazarded an engagement.

MOSQUE AT HEBRON

Boo MPMAN feos

BOOK τν.] THE JEWISH WAR. 97

G. For this purpose, James, one of the generals, readily proffered
his services, while, in his heart, he meditated treachery. He accord-
ingly left Alurus, the village in which the Idumean forces were at
the time congregated, and repaired to Simon. He entered into a com-
pact, first for the betrayal of his native place, on receiving, upon oath,
an assurance that he should always hold a post of honour; and he
then pledged himself to assist, likewise, in the subjugation of the
whole of Idumzxa. Being, in consequence, hospitably entertained by
Simon, and buoyed up with magnificent promises, he, on returning to
his own party, commenced by greatly exaggerating the numbers of
the enemy; and then, by courteous attention to the officers, and to
the soldiers in general, when assembled in groups, he instigated them
to receive Simon, and to surrender to him, without a struggle, the
entire management of affairs. While this was going forward, he sent
a message to Simon, inviting him to advance, and promising to dis-
perse the Idumszans—a promise which he fulfilled; for, on the
approach of the army, he was the first to spring upon his horse and
take to flight, followed by the dupes of his intrigues. The whole
multitude were seized with a panic, and, before a blow was struck,
deserted their ranks, and retired severally to their homes.

7. Simon, having thus, beyond expectation, penetrated into Idumza
without bloodshed, first of all, by a sudden attack, made himself mas-
ter of the city of Hebron, where he possessed himself of a vast booty,
exclusive of the large supplies of corn which he seized. If we are to
credit the inhabitants, Hebron is not only a town of greater antiquity
than any in that country, but even than Memphis in Egypt, its years
being computed at two thousand three hundred. They relate that
Abram, the progenitor of the Jews, here fixed his abode after his
departure from Mesopotamia, and that from hence his posterity went
down into Egypt. Their monuments are still shown in that town, of
the most beautiful marble, and of exquisite workmanship. At the
distance of six furlongs, is pointed out an immense turpentine-tree,
which, if tradition is to be believed, has continued there from the
creation until the present time.

Advancing from this point, Simon marched through the whole of
Idumeea, ravaging not only the towns and villages, but also laying
waste the entire country ; for, exclusive of his regular forces, he had
forty thousand followers, so that his supplies were insufficient for
such a multitude. Besides his wants, his cruelty, also, and his spleen
against the nation, led him to visit Idumza with the greater devasta-
tion. As the woods in the track of the locusts may be scen utterly
despoiled of their foliage, so in the rear of Simon’s army there

98 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK Ιν.

remained nothing but a desert. Some of the places they burned ;
others they rased to the ground; and every vegetable production
throughout the country totally disappeared, being either trampled
down or eaten ; and their march rendered the arable harder than the
barren ground. In a word, of all thus destroyed, not even a trace
was left of its ever having existed.

8. These occurrences stimulated the Zealots afresh ; and though
afraid to meet Simon in open warfare, they placed ambushes in the
passes, and captured his wife, with a numerous retinue of attendants ;
on which, as if Simon himself had been made prisoner, they returned
exulting to the city, in the full expectation that he would lay down
his arms without any more ado, and become a suppliant for his con-
sort. Her seizure, however, roused not his sensibility, but his indig-
nation ; and, advancing to the walls of Jerusalem, like a wild beast
wounded, and unable to avenge himself on his assailants, he vented
his fury on all he met with.

Accordingly, as many as ventured outside the gates for herbs or
fuel, unarmed and old, he seized, tortured, and put to death, scarcely
refraining, in the excess of his rage, from even gnawing their dead
bodies. Many of them, moreover, he sent into the city with their
hands cut off, with the design at once of striking terror into his foes,
and of exciting the people to rise against the authors of these suffer-
ings. He enjoined them, likewise, to say that Simon swore by God,
who presides over all, that, unless they restored his wife to him with-
out delay, he would break down the wall, and inflict similar punish-
ment on every soul within it, sparing neither young nor old, nor
distinguishing the guilty from the innocent. These menaccs so terri-
fied, not only the people, but even the Zealots, that they sent his
wife back to him; when, somewhat soothed, he paused in his carcer of
slaughter.

9. Not alone, however, in Judza did sedition and civil war prevail,
but also in Italy ; for Galba had been murdercd in the middle of the
Roman forum, and Otho, being proclaimed emperor, was engaged In
a war against Vitellius, who now aspired to the throne, having been
chosen by the legions in Germany. He gave battle at Bedriacum, in
[Cisalpine] Gaul, to Valens and Cecinna, the generals of Vitellius.
On the first day Otho had the advantage; on the second, the troops
of Vitellius. The slaughter being great, Otho, on hearing at Brixel-
lum of the defeat, put an end to his own existence, after having
administered the government three months and two days. His army
went over to the generals of Vitellius, who was now marching on
Rome in person, with his entire force.

ἽΝΟΒΗΞΗ ἂν “lood

BOOK Iv. ] THE JEWISH WAR, 99

Vespasian, meantime, having broken up from Cesarea on the fifth
of the month Desius, advanced against those places in Judeea which
had not yet submitted to his arms. Ascending into the mountainous
district, he subdued two provinces, called the Gophnitic, and the
Acrabatenic. He next made himself master of the small towns of
Bethela and Ephraim. Into these he threw garrisons, and then
advanced with his cavalry up to the walls of Jerusalem, destroying
many who fell in his way, and enslaving great numbers. Cerealius,
one of his generals, at the head of a detachment of horse and foot, laid
waste what was called the upper Idumza, and attacking Caphethra,
erroneously styled a town, he carried it on the first assault, aud burned.
it to the ground. He then turned his arms against another town, by
name Capharabin, and as it was defended by a wall of great strength,
he laid siege to it; but while he was anticipating a long delay before
it, the inhabitants suddenly opened their gates, and approaching him
᾿ς as suppliants, surrendered at discretion. Having reduced these, Cerea-
lius advanced on Hebron, another city and of great antiquity. It
lies, as I have said, in the mountain-district, not far from Jerusalem.
Having forced the approaches, he put to the sword all that he found
there, young and old, and consigned the place to the flames. The
various fortresses being now subdued, with the exception of Hero-
dium, Masada, and Machzrus, which were held by the brigands,
Jerusalem became henceforth the mark which the Romans had in
view.

10. Simon, having recovered his wife from the Zealots, turned
back on the relics of Idumza, and harassing the nation in all quarters,
compelled many to flee to Jerusalem. He pursued them to the city,
and again encircling the wall, whomsoever he took of the labourers
coming in in that direction, he put to death. Thus to the people
was Simon without more formidable than the Romans, and the
Zealots within more oppressive than either. Meanwhile, mischievous
devices and audacity brought destruction on the Galilean army.
They had raised John to power, and, requiting them by virtue of the
authority which he had acquired, he permitted them to follow their
several inclinations. Their avidity for plunder accordingly became
insatiable ; and the ransack of the dwellings of the opulent, the murder
of men, and the violation of women, they looked upon as sport. Their
spoils, the purchase of blood, they eagerly devoured, and from mere
satiety indulged without scruple in infamous lusts. They braided their
hair, attired themselves in female apparel, smeared themselves with
ointments, and painted their eycs to heighten their effect ; and not
only did they imitate the dress, but also the passions of women, and,

100 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK Iv.

in excess of lasciviousness, devised unlawful pleasures, rolling through
the city, as in a brothel, defiling it from end to end with impure deeds.
But, though they assumed the countenances of women, murder dyed
their hands. Approaching with affected delicacy of gait, they would
suddenly transform themselves into warriors, and, drawing their
swords from under their richly dyed cloaks, transfix whomsoever
they met. Those who were flying from John fell in with Simon, the
more sanguinary of the two; and he who had escaped the tyrant
inside the walls, was slain by the other before the gates. Thus, from
those who wished to desert to the Romans, was every avenue of flight
cut off.

11. The army now rose in insurrection against John. The Idumean
portion of it, detaching themselves from the rest, made an attack upon
the tyrant, as well from envy of his power, as from hatred of his
cruelty. An engagement taking place, they slew many of the Zealots,
and drove the remainder into the palace built by Grapte, a relative
of Izates, king of Adiabene. Rushing in along with them, the
Idumeeans chased them from thence into the temple, and proceeded to
the plunder of John’s treasures; he having fixed his residence in the
palace just mentioned, and there deposited the spoils of his tyranny.
In the meantime, the multitude of Zealots, dispersed throughout the
city, drew together to those who had retreated into the temple, and
John prepared to lead them against the people and the Idumzans.
The latter, who were the better soldiers, were not so much afraid
of their attack as of the effects of their desperation, lest, stealing
in from the temple by night, they should kill them, and burn
the city.

Assembling, therefore, with the chief priests, they deliberated on
the best mode of securing themselves against the attack. But God
turned their counsels into evil, and they devised for their safety
a remedy more grievous than destruction. Accordingly, to work the
overthrow of John, they determined to admit Simon, and, with
entreaties for his compliance, to introduce over themselves a second
tyrant. Their resolution was carried into effect; and the high
priest Matthias was deputed to implore Simon, whom they had so
much dreaded, to enter the city. In this request, those of Jerusalem
who had fled from the Zealots united, yearning after their homes and
property. Haughtily consenting to be their master, he made his
entry as one who was to rescue the city from the Zealots, greeted
with acclamations by the people as their saviour and guardian. But
as soon as he had entered with his force, his sole care was to secure .
his own authority : and he considered those who had invited him not

BOOK Iv. | THE JEWISH WAR. 101

less his enemies than the faction against whom his aid had been ~
solicited.

12. Thus did Simon, in the third year of the war, in the month
Xanthicus, become master of Jerusalem. John and the Zealots,
being now debarred all egress from the temple, and having lost what
they possessed in the city—for Simon, and his party, immediately
plundered their property—began to doubt as to their safety. Simon,
in conjunction with the people, soon after made an attack on the
temple ; the Zealots, meanwhile, posting themselves on the colon-
nades and battlements, and defending themselves against their
assailants. Many fell on the side of Simon, and many were borne
off wounded ; for the Zealots could throw their missiles easily from
higher ground, and with unerring aim. Besides the advantage they
had from their position, they also erected four very large towers, that
they might hurl their weapons from a greater elevation; one at the
north-east corner, a second above the Xystus, the third at another
corner, opposite the lower town, and the last was constructed over the
top of the Pastophoria. Here it was the custom for one of the priests
to take his stand and give notice, by sound of trumpet, in the after-
noon, of the approach, and again, at eventide, of the close, of every
seventh day, making known to the people when to rest, and when to
resume labour. On these towers they disposed scorpions and balistas,
with the archers and slingers. Thereupon Simon’s attacks on the
temple became more feeble, as the greater part of his men grew weary
of the work, though, from having the superiority in point of numbers,
he maintained his ground. The missiles from the engines, however,
taking a longer range, killed many of the combatants.

CHAPTER X.

1. Asout the very same time Rome, also, was visited with heavy
calamities. Vitellius had arrived from Germany with his troops,
dragging along with him a vast multitude besides. Not having room
enough in the quarters assigned to the troops, he made the whole of
Rome a camp, and filled every house with armed men. These, behold-
ing with unaccustomed eyes the riches of the Romans, and encom-
passed on every side with the glitter of gold and silver, with difficulty
restrained their cupidity, and withheld themselves from plunder, and

102 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK rv.

* from destroying all that opposed them. Such was the situation of
affairs in Italy.

_ 2. Vespasian, having reduced every spot in the vicinity of Jeru-
salem, returned to Ceesarea, where he heard of the disturbances in
Rome, and that Vitellius was emperor. This intelligence, though he
knew as well how to obey as how to command, moved his indignation,
and he disdained to own as master one who so madly raged against the
empire, as though it were without a protector; and so poignant was
his grief, that he was unable to bear up under the torture, and, while
his own country was being laid waste, find leisure for other wars. But,
in proportion as anger stimulated him to vindicate her cause, so did
the thought of the distance restrain him: for, before he could cross
into Italy, capricious fortune might in a thousand ways anticipate
him, especially as he must sail in the winter season ; and this reflec-
tion repressed his bursting resentment.

3. The generals and the soldiers assembling in parties, already
openly canvassed a revolution. ‘ The soldiers in Rome,” they indig-
nantly exclaimed, “ who lived in luxury, and could not bear to hear
even a rumour of war, elected whom they chose to the throne, and
created emperors in hope of lucre; whilst they themselves, who had
undergone so many toils, and were growing old beneath their helmets,
gave away their privilege to others, and that, too, when they had
among themselves one more worthy of the sceptre. What more just
return could they ever render him for the kindness he had shown then,
if they allowed this opportunity to escape? Vespasian’s claim to the
empire as far exceeded that of Vitellius, as they were superior to
those who had elevated him. For, surely, they had encountered
wars no less perilous than the legions of Germany: nor were they
inferior in arms to those who were conducting that tyrant from
thence. There would be no necessity for a contest; for neither
the senate, nor the Roman people, would endure the lasciviousness
of Vitellius, in preference to Vespasian’s chastity, nor choose a
most inhuman tyrant rather than a beneficent ruler—a childless
prince, rather than a father; since the best security for peace lies in
the natural advantages of princes. Were empire, then, due to the
experience of age, they had Vespasian; if to vigour of youth,
Titus: for they would thus reap the benefit of their respective ages.
Not only would they themselves impart present strength to the
object of their choice, as they could already muster three legions, and
the auxiliaries from the kings; but he would, moreover, be supported
by all in the east, and by those in Europe who were removed beyond
the fear of Vitellius, as well as by their allies in Italy, Vespasian’s

BOOK Iv.] THE JEWISH WAR. 103

brother, and his younger son—of whom the one would draw over
many young men of rank, while the other had actually been entrusted
with the protection of the city—no small advantage in an attempt on
the throne. In a word, should they themselves delay, the senate
_ would probably elect the very man whom the soldiers, the joint guar-
dians of the state, treated with neglect.”

4, Such was the language held by the military in their circles.
They next assembled together, and animating one another, pro-
claimed Vespasian emperor, and importuned him to save the endan-
gered empire. That general had long felt solicitude as to the
position of affairs, but yet had entertained no thoughts of mounting
the throne himself; for, though conscious that his achievements gave
him a legitimate claim, he preferred the security of private life to the
perils of an exalted station. But on his declining, the officers pressed
him with the greater urgency, and the soldiers, crowding round with
drawn swords, threatened him with death, if he refused to live with
honour. After forcibly urging upon their attention many consi-
derations which led him to refuse the empire, at length, unable to
dissuade them, he yielded to their call.

5. Mucianus and the other generals now urging him to act as
emperor, and the rest of the army demanding to be led against all
opponents, he first turned his mind to the affairs of Alexandria,
aware that Egypt was the most important quarter of the empire,
in consequence of its vast supply of corn. Were he master of this,
he hoped to drive Vitellius from the throne, even should he offer
resistance, as the populace of Rome would not submit to be starved.
He was besides desirous of drawing over the two legions, in Alex-*
andria; while he purposed at the same time to hold that country
as a defence against the dubious turns of fortune.

Egypt, difficult of access by land, is destitute of any safe harbour
on its coasts. It is protected on the west by the arid deserts of
Libya; on the south side, which separates it from Ethiopia, by
Syene, and the innavigable cataracts of the Nile: on the east it
spreads out to the Red Sea, as far as Coptus; while the land toward
Syria, and what is called the Egyptian Sea, which is totally devoid
of havens, form its northern barrier. Thus is Egypt secured on all
sides. Its length from Pelusium to Syene is two thousand furlongs ;
and the navigation from Plinthine to Pelusium three thousand six
hundred. The Nile is navigable up to the city called Elephantine,
beyond which the cataracts already mentioned prevent further
advance. The port of Alexandria is difficult of access to ships even in
time of peace (calms), the entrance being narrow, and bent from a direct

104 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK Iv,

course by rocks under water. It is defended on the left by artificial
piers. On the night in front lies the island called Pharos, upon
which has been erected a huge tower, emitting a light visible to
mariners making for the port at a distance of three hundred furlongs,
to warn them to anchor off the harbour during the night, owing to
the difficulty of the navigation.

Around this little island have been constructed by human labour
vast moles. The sea dashing against these, and breaking around the
opposing bulwarks, renders the passage rough, and the ingress
through the strait dangerous. The haven, however, is extremely
safe within, and is thirty furlongs in extent. To this are brought
whatever commodities the country may require for its own conve-
nience, and thence the superfluities of native produce are distributed
through every quarter of the world.

6. With good reason therefore was Vespasian anxious to obtain the
ascendancy there, for the stability of the empire at large. He
accordingly wrote immediately to Tiberius Alexander, who was then
administering affairs in Egypt and Alexandria, informing him of the
zeal of the army; and adding that, as he had been necessitated to
sustain the weight of the empire, he adopted him as his confederate
and coadjutor. Having read the letter in public, Alexander promptly
called on the legions and the people to take the oath of fidelity to
Vespasian ; a call with which they both gladly complied, knowing the
worth of the man from the character of his command in their neigh-
bourhood. Tiberius, having the concerns of the empire now entrusted
to his charge, made all the necessary preparations for the emperor's
arrival. Swifter than thought the rumour spread that he was emperor
in the east; and every city kept festival, and offered up thanksgivings
for the good news, and sacrifices for his welfare. The legions
in Mysia and Pannonia, exasperated but just before by the auda-
city of Vitellius, with the greater cheerfulness swore allegiance to
Vespasian.

Setting out from Cesarea, he proceeded to Berytus, where he was
waited upon by numerous embassies from Syria, as also from the
other provinces, bringing crowns and congratulatory addresses from
the several cities. At the same time arrived Mucianus also, president
of the province, announcing the good-will of the people, and that the
towns had severally taken the oath of fidelity.

7. Fortune everywhere seconding his wishes, and matters having
for the most part combined in his favour, Vespasian was now led to
think that he had not been advanced to the government without
Divine interposition; and that some just destiny was bringing round

TRIPOLI

BOOK IV. | THR JEWISH WAR. 105

to him the control of the empire. He recalled to mind various
prognostics—many having occurred to him in every quarter, fore-
showing the empire—and among them the expressions of Josephus,
who had ventured, even in the lifetime of Nero, to address him as
emperor. He was much concerned that the man should be still
& prisoner in his hands, and calling for Mucianus, together with his
other officers and friends, he first of all reminded them of his
gallantry, and how much trouble he had caused him at Jotapata.
He then recurred to his predictions, which, at the moment, he had
suspected to be the fabrications of fear; but which time and the event .
had proved to be divine. ‘“ It is disgraceful therefore,” he said,
‘that the man who foretold my elevation to the empire, and who
was a minister of the voice of God, should still be in the condition
of a captive, and endure a prisoner’s fate ;” and having called for
Josephus, he ordered him to be liberated. His officers, from this
requital of a foreigner, were led to form high expectations for
themselves.

Titus, who was present during this scene, remarked to his father,
‘that justice required, that, with the fetters, the reproach should
also be removed from Josephus: for if, instead of loosing, we cut his
chain, he will be as one who has never been bound at all.” This is
done in the case of those who have been unjustly thrown into irons.
Vespasian approving, one came forward and with an axe severed the
chain. Josephus, having received his freedom as a recompense for
what he had foretold, was now deemed deserving of credit as to
future events.

CHAPTER XI.

1. VEsPASIAN, having given answer to the embassies, and disposed
of the prefectures with due attention to the claims of justice, and the
merit of the several candidates, repaired to Antioch. Here deli-
berating as to what course he should pursue, he considered affairs
in Rome of greater importance than a march to Alexandria, which
he saw already firmly secured, whereas in the former all had been
thrown into confusion by Vitellius. He accordingly despatched
Mucianus into Italy, placing under his orders a large body of cavalry
and infantry. That officer, fearing a voyage, as the winter season
had now fairly set in, led his army by land through Cappadocia and
Phrygia. |

VOL. II. I

106 THE JEWISH WAR. [BooK rv.

2. In the meantime Antonius Primus, accompanied by the third
legion from Moesia, where he was at the time in command, was also
hastening to give battle to Vitellius; who sent Cecinna Alienus,
in whom he had great confidence on account of his victory over Otho,
with a strong force to oppose him. Ceecinna ddvanced by rapid
marches from Rome, and met Antonius near Cremona in [Cisalpine]
Gaul, a town upon the frontiers of Italy; but on observing the
numbers and discipline of the enemy, he was afraid to come to an
engagement, and considering a retreat dangerous, he formed the
design of going over to Antonius.

Accordingly assembling the centurions and tribunes under his com-
mand, he urged them to join his opponent, depreciating the resources
of Vitellius, and extolling the strength of Vespasian. ‘‘ With the
one,” he said, “ was the name alone, with the other the power, of
empire; and it were better for them to anticipate necessity, and do
a gracious act, and, as they must be defeated by arms, to avert
danger by sagacity. For Vespasian was able, without them, to
acquire what he had not yet obtained; while Vitellius, even with
their help, could not retain what he possessed.”

8. By these and many such arguments Cecinna prevailed with
them, and he, with all his army, deserted to Antonius. On that very
night, however, regret for the steps they had taken, and fear of him
who had sent them, should he prove victorious, seized the soldiers ;
and drawing their swords, they rushed forward to kill Czecinna, when
their purpose would have been effected, had not the tribunes thrown
themselves at their feet, and implored them to pause. They spared
his life therefore, but binding the traitor, prepared to send him to
Vitellius. Primus, hearing of this, instantly called up his men, and
led them in arms against the revolters; who, forming in order of
battle, offered a short resistance; but being soon routed, they fled
towards Cremona. Primus at the head of his cavalry, having cut off
their entrance into the town, surrounded and slaughtered the greater
part of them before the walls, and making his way in with the
remainder, he allowed his soldiers to pillage the place. On this
occasion many foreign merchants perished, and many of the inhabit-
ants, with the entire army of Vitellius, to the number of thirty
thousand two hundred. Of the troops from Meesia, Antonius lost
four thousand five hundred. Having liberated Cecinna, he sent him
to acquaint Vespasian with these events. On his arrival he was
courteously received by the emperor, who covered the disgrace of his
perfidy with unexpected honours.

4. In Rome, meanwhile, Sabinus, who had resumed courage on

BOOK IV. | THE JEWISIT WAR. 107

hearing of the approach of Antonius, assembled the cohorts of the
night-guard, and during the night seized the Capitol. Soon after
day-break he was joined by many men of distinction, as also by
Domitian, his brother’s son,on whom they greatly relied for the
success of their enterprise. Vitellius, less concerned about Primus,
was fired with rage against those who had revolted with Sabinus ;
and from his innate cruelty, thirsting for noble blood, he let loose
upon the Capitol that division of his army which had accompanied
him. Many a gallant exploit they performed, as did the party who
fought from that sacred edifice. But at length the troops from
Germany, who outnumbered their antagonists, made themselves
masters of the hill. Domitian, with many Romans of rank, provi-
dentially escaped ; the entire multitude besides were cut to pieces.
Sabinus was brought to Vitellius, and executed. The soldiers, mean-
while, having plundered the temple of its offerings, consigned it to
the flames. The day after, Antonius marched in at the head of his
army: the adherents of Vitellius met him, and giving battle at three
different points in the city, perished to a man.

Vitellius, drunk, and gorged to excess with the luxuries of the
table, as frequently happens with men in desperate circumstances,
‘issued from the palace; and being dragged through the crowd, and
treated with every possible indignity, was put to death in the heart
of Rome. He had administered the government eight months and
five days; and had it so happened that his life had been prolonged,
the empire, I am of opinion, would not have sufficed for his volup-
tuousness. Of the others who were slain, there were counted above
fifty thousand. These events took place on the third of the month
Apellzus.

The next day Mucianus, entering with his army, restrained the
troops of Antonius from further slaughter; for searching the houses,
they were still butchering great numbers both of the soldiers of
Vitellius, and of the populace, as if attached to his party, rage
allowing no leisure for exact discrimination. Mucianus then produced
Domitian, whom he recommended to the multitude as governor,
until the arrival of his father. The people, freed at length from
apprehension, with glad acclaim hailed Vespasian emperor, and
celebrated with a festival at once his establishment on the throne,
and the overthrow of Vitellius.

5. On reaching Alexandria, Vespasian was greeted with these
welcome tidings from Rome, and embassies of congratulation arrived
from every quarter of the world, now his own. And though that
city was inferior only to Rome in magnitude, it was found too

12

108° THE JEWISH WAR. [ΒΟΟΚ Iv.

confined for the multitudes who crowded into it. The whole empire
being now secured, and the Roman state saved beyond expectation,
Vespasian turned his thoughts to what remained of Judwa. He
himself, however, was anxious to set out for Rome as soon as the
winter was over, and without loss of time.settled affairs in Alexan-
dria: despatching meanwhile his son Titus, with a select force, to
reduce Jerusalem. :

Titus, accordingly, proceeding by land as far as Nicopolis, distant
twenty furlongs from Alexandria, there put his army on board Jong
galleys, and advanced up the river, along the Mendesian prefecture,
to the city of Thmuis. Here he disembarked, and pursuing his
route, passed the night at a small town, called Tanis. His second
station was Heracleopolis, and Pelusium his third. Here having
halted for two days to refresh his army, on the third he passed
through the mouths of Pelusium, and advancing one day’s march
through the desert, encamped at the temple of the Casian Jupiter,
and on the ensuing day at Ostracine. This post he found deatitute
of water, which the inhabitants convey for their use from other
places. He next rested at Rhinocorura, from whence he proceeded
to his fourth station, Raphia, at which city Syria commences. At
Gaza he formed his fifth encampment. He then advanced to Ascalon,’
whence he continued his march to Jamnia. Thence he proceeded
to Joppa, and from Joppa to Cesarea, having determined there to
concentrate his forces.

vVZzvo

THE JEWISH WAR.

BOOK V.

ARGUMENT OF THE FIFTH BOOK.

1. Concerning the Movers of Sedition in Jerusalem.—2. The advance of Titus towards
Jerusalem.- -3. The revival of the factions within the city.—4. A description of
Jerusalem.—5. A description of the Temple.—6. Concerning the Chiefs of the Fac-
tions—Simon and John ; Nicanor wounded by an arrow; Titus provoked to press
the siege.—7. After a great slaughter, the Romans take the first wall, and Titus makes
his assaults upon the second wall.—Concerning Longinus the Roman, and Castor
the Jew.—8. How the Romans twice got possession of the second wall.—9. Titus
anew presses forward the siege, and sends Josephus to talk with his countrymen,
persuading them to peace.—10. Multitudes of the Jews endeavour to desert to the
Romans—the sufferings of the besieged from famine—11. Many Jews crucified
before the walls.—Concerning Antiochus Epiphanes (a Macedonian officer).—12. Titus
determines to surround the city with a wall.—13, Great slaughter and sacrilege takes
place in Jerusalem.

BOOK V.

CHAPTER 1.

1. Titus, having crossed the desert which lies between Egypt and
Syria, in the manner above described, arrived at Ceesarea, where he
had determined to organize his forces previous to the campaign.
While he was still at Alexandria, assisting his father in establishing
the sovereignty which God had recently committed to them, it hap-
pened that the sedition in Jerusalem, having again come to a head, had
assumed a threefold shape, and that one party had turned to prey upon
itself; a disunion which, as occurring among miscreants, we might
call a blessing, and a work of retribution. The attempt of the
Zealots upon the people, which was the first step in the capture of
the city, has already been accurately described, both as to its origin,
and the extent of mischief to which it increased. And with regard
to this fresh outbreak, he would not err who should say that it was
a sedition engendered within sedition, and, at length, like a ravening
wild beast, for want of other food, preying upon its own flesh.

2. Eleazar, the son of Simon, the man who had originally with-
drawn the Zealots from among the people into the temple—under
pretence of being indignant at the atrocities daily perpetrated by
John, who continued, without intermission, his career of blood, but,
in reality, because he was unable to brook submission to a tyrant of
later standing than himself, and was anxious to grasp the supreme
power, and establish a tyranny in his.own person—seceded from the
rest, associating with him Judes, son of Chelkias, and Simon, son of
Ezron, men of influence, and Ezekias, son of Chobari, a man of some
distinction. Each of these was attended by a considerable body of
Zealots, and, with their aid, they seized on the inner court of the
temple, and ranged their arms over the sacred gates, in front of the
sanctuary. Having an ample supply of necessaries, they were thus
far inspired with confidence ; (for there was abundance of consecrated

114 THE JEWISH WAR. {Book ν.

articles for men who hesitated at no impiety) but apprehensive on
account of the paucity of their numbers, they laid up their weapons,
and confined themselves to the spot. But, whatever numerical
advantage John might possess over Eleazar, it was counterbalanced
by the inferiority of his situation. Having the enemy over his
head, his attacks were not made with impunity; while yet rage
would not allow him to remain at rest. Thus, though he suf-
fered more from Eleazar and his party than he inflicted, he would
not desist, and amidst continual sallies, and clouds of missiles
discharged on both sides, the temple was everywhere defiled with
blood.

8. Simon, son of Gioras, whom the people had applied to in their
difficultics in hope of relief, and had thus brought upon themselves
an oppressor, being master of the upper town, and great part of the
lower, now prosecuted his attacks upon John and his associates with
the greater vigour, as they were also assailed from above. When he
advanced to the charge he was below them, as they were with respect
to those above. In consequence, John, attacked on both sides, sus-
tained loss, as easily as he inflicted it. Whatever disadvantage he
suffered in being lower than Eleazar, was compensated by the supe-
riority of his position to that of Simon. The attacks from below,
accordingly, he repelled with ease by hand weapons, while those who
threw their missiles down from the temple he kept in check by his
engines.

Of scorpions, catapults, and balistas, he had an ample supply, and
with these he not only defended himself against his assailants, but
also killed many of the worshippers; for, though madly hurried on to
every impiety, they yet admitted those who wished to sacrifice, pre-
viously searching the native Jews with suspicious vigilance, but
receiving strangers with less apprehension. And yet these, though suc-
cesaful at the entrance in deprecating their cruelty, sometimes became
the casual victims of the sedition. For the darts from the engines,
carried over by their force to the very altar and sanctuary, would light
upon the priests and worshippers; and many who had hastened from
the ends of the earth to a spot so celebrated, and deemed holy by all
mankind, fell around it themselves, before their sacrifices, and sprin-
kled with their own blood that altar which was universally venerated
by Greeks and Barbarians. The dead bodies of natives and foreigners,
of priests and profane, lay huddled together, and the blood of all
kinds of carcases stood in pools in the courts of God.

What equal to this, O most wretched city! hast thou suffered from
the Romans, who entered to cleanse thee from thine intestine gollu-

BOOK V.] THE JEWISH WAR. | 115

tions? For thou wast no longer God’s place, nor couldst thou con-
tinue, after having become a sepulchre for the bodies of thine own
people, and made the temple a charnel-house of civil war! Yet it
may be that thy lot may be ameliorated, if only thou wilt propitiate
that God who laid thee desolate! But emotion must be restrained
by the law of history, as this is not the place for private expressions
of grief, but for the narration of events. I shall now relate, in order,
the occurrences of the sedition. -

4, The conspirators in the city being divided into three factions,
Eleazar and ‘his party, who were in possession of the sacred first-.
fruits, directed their drunken rage against John. He again, with his
associates, plundered the people, and wreaked his fury on Simon, who,
to the prejudice of his opponents in sedition, was furnished with sup-
plies by the city. John, whenever he found himself attacked by both.
parties, faced his men in opposite directions, on the one hand assail-
ing from the colonnades those who were coming up from the town,
and on the other repelling with his engines those who poured their
missiles from the temple ; but if at any time relieved from the enemy
who pressed on him from above—and inebriation and fatigue fre-
quently induced a cessation on their part—he would sally forth the
more fearlessly, and in greater force, against Simon and his adherents.
But invariably, however far into the city he drove the enemy before
him, throughout that whole extent he set fire to the store-houses,
which were filled with corn and provisions of every kind; and the
same again, on John’s retreat, Simon did, when pursuing him, as if
designedly serving the Romans by destroying what the city had pro-
vided against a siege, and severing the sinews of their own strength.
The result accordingly was, that all around the temple was burned
down, and the city became the alternate seat of solitude and battle ;
and that almost the whole of the corn, which might have sufficed the
besieged for many years, was consumed. They were, accordingly,
reduced by famine; which would hardly have been possible, had they
not previously prepared it for themselves.

' §. The city being now on all sides harassed by the conspirators
and the concourse of adventurers, the people between them, like some
huge carcass, were torn in pieces. Aged men and women, distracted
by intestine ills, were praying for the arrival of the Romans, and
anxiously looking forwards to the external war for delivery from
domestic miseries. Dreadful consternation and alarm had seized the
native inhabitants. There was no opportunity for planning a change
of measures, nor hope of accommodation or escape to those who
desired them. For there was a general system of surveillance carried

116 THE JEWISH WAR. [BooK v.

on; and the brigand chiefs, disagreeing in everything else, put to death
as common enemies all who were disposed for peace with the Romans,
or were suspected of an intention to desert, and concurred alone in
the slaughter of those who merited preservation.

Incessant was the clamour of the combatants, both by day and by
night; but more affecting were the ceaseless complaints of the
mourners. Their calamities afforded, indeed, uninterrupted cause
for lamentations, though terror repressed their shrieks; but while,
through fear, they suppressed their emotions, they were tortured with
stifled groans. No respect was any longer paid to the living by their
relations; no sepulture provided for the dead—the cause in either
case being personal despair. For those who took no part in the sedi-
tion had given up their interest in everything, as certainly doomed to
almost instantaneous destruction. The insurgents, meanwhile, main-
tained their contests, trampling on the dead, as they lay piled in
heaps, and, catching their desperate phrensy from the corpses at their
feet, were the more infuriated.

Ever devising some new means for mutual destruction, and without
mercy executing their resolves, they left untried no method of tor-
ment or cruelty. John even profanely used the sacred timber for the
construction of warlike engines; for the people, in conjunction with
the chief priests, having some time before determined to under-
prop the sanctuary, and raise it twenty cubits higher, king Agrippa
had, at vast labour and expense, brought down the materials for that
purpose from Mount Lebanon—beams admirable for their straightness
and size. But the war having interrupted the work, John, finding
them of sufficient length, cut them up, and constructed towers for his
defence against those who assailed him from the more elevated part of
the temple. These he advanced and placed behind the enclosure,
opposite the western chamber, where alone it was practicable, the
other parts being occupied by extensive flights of steps.

6. John, with the aid of the engines thus impiously constructed,
hoped to triumph over his opponents; but God rendered his labour
of no avail, having brought in the Romans before he could bring any
of his towers into play. For Titus, having drawn together part. of
his troops to himself, and sent orders to the others to meet him at
Jerusalem, broke up from Czsarea. There were the three legions
which, under the command of his father, had before ravaged Judea,
and the twelfth, that had formerly been defeated with Cestius, and
which, remarkable at all times for its valour, on this occasion, from a
recollection of what had befallen it, advanced with the greater alacrity
to revenge. Of these he directed the fifth to join him. by the route

BOOK ν.] TUE JEWISH WAR. 117

of Ammaus, and the tenth to go up by that of Jericho; while he
himself moved forward with the remainder, attended, beside these,
by the contingents from the allied sovereigns, all in increased force,
and by a considerable body of Syrian auxiliaries.

Detachments having been drafted by Vespasian from the four.
legions, and sent with Mucianus into Italy, their places were filled up
from among the troops that had come with Titus. For two thousand
men, selected from among the forces of Alexandria, and three thou-
sand of the guards from the Euphrates, accompanied him; and with
them, Tiberius Alexander, the most approved of his friends for attach-
ment and prudence, who had previously administered the affairs of
Egypt, and was now deemed worthy to have the command of the forces,
from his having been the first to welcome the new dynasty at its first,
rise; and from having attached himself with signal fidelity to its
fortunes while yet uncertain. Superior in age and experience, he
attended Titus, as his adviser in the exigencies of the war.

CHAPTER II.

1. As Titus advanced into the hostile territory, the royal forces,
and the body of auxiliaries, led the way; and after these the pioneers
and measurers of the camp. Next came the baggage of the generals;
and after the soldiers in charge of this, Titus himself, escorted by the
spearmen and the other picked troops; and behind him the legionary
horse. These were succeeded by the engines, and they again by the
tribunes at the head of a select corps, and by the commanders of the
cohorts. Next in course, and encircling the eagle, were the ensigns,
in front of which advanced the trumpeters. Then marched the
phalanx, in rank, six abreast, followed by the-servants of the several
legions, and these preceded by the baggage. Last of all came the
mercenaries, with the rear-guard to protect them. Leading on his
forces in orderly array, according to Roman usage, Titus marched
through Samaria to Gophna, which had been previously taken by his
father, and was then garrisoned. Here he rested for the night, and,
setting forward early in the morning, advanced a day’s march, and
encamped in the valley, which is called by the Jews, in their native
tongue, “‘ The Valley of Thorns,” adjacent to a village named Gabath-
Saul, which signifies ‘“‘ Saul’s Hill,” distant from Jerusalem about

118 THE JEWISH WAR. [Boox v.

thirty furlongs. From hence, accompanied by about six hundred
picked horsemen, he rode forward to reconnoitre the strength of the
city, and ascertain the disposition of the Jews, whether, on seeing
him, they would be terrified into a surrender previous to any actual
conflict ; for he was persuaded, as was the fact, that the people,
crushed down by the insurgents and brigands, desired peace, but
remained quiet merely from inability to resist.

2. While he continued to ride along the direct route which led to
the wall, no one appeared before the gates; but on his filing off from
the road towards the tower Psephinus, and taking an oblique direc-
tion with his squadron, the Jews suddenly rushed out in immense
numbers at a spot called “The Women’s Towers,” through the gate
opposite the monuments of Helena. They broke through his ranks,
and placing themselves in front of the troops who were still advancing
along the road, prevented them from joining their comrades, who had
filed off, and thus intercepted Titus with only a handful of men.
For him to move forward was impossible; as the entire space was
intersected by transverse walls and numerous fences, and separated
from the ramparts by dykes made for gardening purposes. To rejoin
his own men he saw was impracticable, from the vast interposing
body of the enemy; and the greater part of his squadron, uncon-
scious of their prince’s danger, and not doubting but that he also had
turned back along with them, were already in retreat. Sensible that
his safety wholly depended on his own personal efforts, he turned
his horse round, and, calling aloud to those about him to follow,
dashed into the midst of the enemy, with the view of cutting his way
through to his own party.

And here the reflection is forcibly suggested, that the vicissitudes
of war and the dangers of sovereigns are under the care of God: for
of the innumerable missiles aimed at Titus, without helmet as he
was or breustplate—for he had gone forward, as I have said, not to
fight, but to reconnoitre—none touched him; but, as if purposely
miasing their aim, all whizzed harmless by. Constantly repelling
with his sword the attacks of those who assailed him in flank, and
riding down multitudes who encountered him in front, he urged his
horse over his prostrate foes. The Jews shouted aloud at Cesar’s
intrepidity, and cheered each other on against him ; but wherever he
directed his course they fled, and made way for him in a mass.
Those who shared his danger kept close to him, though galled in rear
and flank. For one hope of safety alone remained to each, to open
a passage with Titus, and prevent him from being hemmed in. Of
two, however, less vigorous, one with his horse was surrounded and

|

BOOK V. | THE JEWISH WAR. 116

speared; the other, who had dismounted, was killed, and his charger
led off to the city: with the rest Titus escaped to the camp. By the
success of this their first attempt, the Jews were elated with unwar-
ranted expectations, and this momentary turn of fortune inspired
them with high confidence as to the future. )

3. Cesar, being joined during the night by the legion from
Ammaus, moved the next day from thence, and advanced to Scopus,
as it is called, the place from which the city first became visible, and
the stately pile of the sanctuary shone forth; whence it is that this
spot—a flat adjoining the northern quarter of the town—is appro-
priately called Scopus (the Prospect). When at the distance of seven
furlongs from the city, Titus ordered a camp to be formed for two
of the legions together ; the fifth he stationed three furlongs in rear
of them: thinking that, as they had been fatigued with their march
during the night, they required to be covered, that they might throw
up their entrenchments with less apprehension. Scarcely had they
commenced their operations, when the tenth legion arrived. It had
advanced through Jericho, where a party of soldiers had lain to
guard the pass formerly taken possession of by Vespasian. These
troops had received orders to encamp at the distance of six furlongs
from Jerusalem, at the Mount of Olives, so called, which lies over
against the city on the east, and is separated from it by a deep inter-
vening ravine, which bears the name of Kedron.

4. Whilst the factions within the walls were engaged in unceasing
conflicts, an external war, suddenly approaching with alarming
aspect, first checked their mutual dissensions; and the insurgents,
beholding with dismay the Romans forming three several encamp-
ments, began to cultivate a pernicious concord, demanding of each
other what they could be waiting for, or what could induce them
to tolerate the erection of three fortifications to smother them ?
While the war unhindered was assuming the aspect of a rival city,
they sat still within their ramparts, as if they were spectators of
good and useful works, their hands and weapons alike unemployed.
‘‘ We are courageous, then,” they exclaimed, “ only against ourselves ;
while the Romans, through our disunion, will make a bloodless
conquest of the city!” Assembling together, and encouraging one
another with language such as this, they suddenly seized their arms,
and sallied forth to attack the tenth legion; and, bursting through
the ravine with a deafening shout, fell upon the Romans while at
work upon their entrenchments. These were divided into parties for
the purpose of carrying on the work, and had for the most part laid
aside their arms; for they imagined that the Jews would never

120 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK v.

venture on a sally, and, even were they so inclined, that their energies
would be distracted by their dissensions. They were in consequence
taken by surprise, and thrown into disorder. Abandoning the works,
some instantly retreated, while many, who ran to arms, were slaugh-
tered before they could turn on their assailants.

Encouraged by the success of the first assault, reinforcements were
continually flowing in upon the Jews; and now that they found
fortune auspicious, they seemed to themselves, and to the enemy,
greatly to exceed their actual amount. Any disarray taking by
surprise men who are accustomed to organization, and skilled only
to fight in line and by word of command, is sure to throw them into
confusion. The Romans, accordingly, on this occasion, being taken
unawares, gave way to the attack; but, facing about when the Jews
came up with them, they checked their advance, retaliating severely
on them, when off their guard in the ardour of pursuit. But, as the
sallying party were gaining continual accessions, the disorder of the
Romans was proportionably increased, and they were at length driven
from their camp. And the entire legion, as it seemed, would then
have been endangered, had not Titus, hearing what had happened,
instantly hastened to its succour. Bitterly upbraiding their cowardice,
he rallied the fugitives, and falling upon the Jews in flank, with the
chosen band that accompanied him, he slew many, and wounded
more ; and, routing all, drove them headlong down the ravine. They
suffered severely on the declivity ; but when they had reached the
farther side, they whecled about, and drawing up opposite to the
Romans, with the brook between them, renewed the combat. The
battle raged in this way till noon, but when it began to decline
a little from mid-day, Titus, having stationed those who had come
with him to the relief of their comrades, with detachments from the
cohorts, to repress any further sallies, despatched the remainder of
the legion to the upper part of the Mount, to proceed with their
entrenchments.

5. This movement the Jews mistook for flight ; and, the watchman
whom they had placed on the battlements having shaken his garment,
a fresh crowd sprang forth with such impetuosity, that you might
compare their running to that of the most ferocious wild beasts.
None of their opponents could at all sustain their onset; but as if
struck from an engine, they broke up their ranks and turned and fled
to the Mount. Titus was left with a few followers in the midst of
the acclivity. The friends who stood their ground, indifferent to
personal danger through reverence for their general, earnestly
entreated him “to retire before the Jews, who courted death, and

NOIZ 40 3dO1IS FHL WONT

SHAITO 40 LNNOK

BOOK V.]_ THE JEWISH WAR. 121

not to endanger his life for those who ought to have remained in
front of him. He should consider the station to which fortune had
elevated him, and not occupy the position of a common soldier, lord
as he was both of the war and of the world; nor should he, on whom
all depended, expose himself to a risk so imminent.”

These entreaties Titus seemed not so much as to hear, but set
himself to withstand those who were running up the hill towards him.
Confronting them as they pressed forwards, he cut them down and
slew them, and falling upon the thickest of the mass, drove them
back down the declivity. Yet, though terrified both at his intrepidity
and his strength, instead of falling back upon the city, they fell off
from him on either side, and pursued those who were fleeing up the
hill ; on which, attacking them also in flank, he sought to check their
impetuosity. In the meantime, those who were fortifying the camp
on the higher ground, when they saw their comrades below in flight,
were again seized with such consternation and alarm, that the legion
was totally dispersed. ‘They fancied that the charge of the Jews was
irresistible, and that Titus himself was among the fugitives; for the
rest, they thought, would never have fled, while he maintained his
ground. As if surrounded with a panic dread, they scattered in
different directions; until a few, perceiving their General in the
thickest of the fight, and greatly alarmed on his account, with loud
shouts intimated his danger to the whole legion. Shame rallied
them, and upbraiding one another with something worse than flight,
in their desertion of Cesar, they employed their utmost energies
against the Jews, and, when once they had given way, thrust them
in a mass down the declivity into the hollow. The Jews contested
the ground as they retreated; but the Romans, having the advantage
of position, drove them in a body into the ravine. Titus, still
pressing on those who opposed him, ordered the legion back to
complete their fortifications. He himself, with the troops he had
before, maintained his ground, and kept the enemy in check; so
that, if it be incumbent on me, without adding aught through adula-
tion, or detracting through envy, to declare the truth, I must assert,
that Caesar personally twice rescued the whole legion when in danger,
and obtained for them an opportunity of fortifying their camp
unmolested.

VOL, If. K

122 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK Vv.

CHAPTER III.

1. ΤῊΣ war without—pausing for a while, the sedition revived again
within; and the feast of unleavened bread being at hand, on the
fourteenth day of the month Xanthicus, upon which the Jews are
supposed to have been for the first time liberated from Egyptian
servitude, Eleazar and his party opened the gates, and admitted such
of the people as were desirous of worshipping within the court.
John, making the festival a cloak for his perfidious designs, armed
with concealed weapons the less notorious of his adherents, of whom
the greater part were unpurified, and with much ado introduced
them by stealth, with the view of seizing upon the temple. Scarcely
had they entered, when, throwing aside their garments, they suddenly
appeared in full armour. The utmost disorder and tumult instantly
prevailed around the sanctuary, the people, who were unconnected
with the sedition, supposing that the attack was intended against all
indiscriminately—the Zealots, against themselves alone. The latter,
however, relinquishing the further defence of the gates, sprang down
from the battlements, and, before they came to close quarters, took
refuge in the vaults of the temple; while the people, crouching
before the altar, and huddling together round the sanctuary, were
trodden down amidst a random shower of blows from clubs and
swords. Many peaceable persons, through enmity and private hatred,
' were dispatched by their enemies as partisans of the adverse faction ;
and every one that had previously given umbrage to any of the con-
spirators, being now recognised, was led to execution, as a Zealot.
But while they exercised a thousand cruelties towards the innocent,
they granted a truce to the guilty, and allowed them a safe egress,
when they issued from the vaults. Having thus possessed themselves
of the mner court of the temple, with all the stores in it, they could
now bid defiance to Simon. The sedition, in consequence, which had
before been threefold, was thus reduced to two sections. |

2. Titus, intending to break up from Scopus and encamp
nearer to the city, stationed a body of picked men, horse and foot,
in such force as he deemed sufficient to check the sallies of the
enemy, and employed the main body of his army in levelling the
intervening ground as far as the walls. All the fences and hedges,
with which the inhabitants had enclosed their gardens and orchards,

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BOOK V. |] THE JEWISH WAR. 123

being accordingly swept away, and the fruit-trees in the whole of the
intermediate distance felled, the hollows and chasms of the place
were filled up, and the rocky eminences removed with iron imple-
ments; and thus the whole space from Scopus to the monuments
of Herod, adjacent to what is called ‘‘ the Serpents’ Pool,” was
reduced to a level.

8. About this time the Jews concerted the following stratagem
against the Romans. The more daring of the insurgents, issuing out
of the Women’s Towers, as they were called, as if expelled from the
city by the advocates of peace, and dreading an attack from the
Romans, pressed close together, cowering alongside of each other.
The others, stationed on the wall, and pretending to be citizens, cried
aloud, meanwhile, for peace, and claiming protection, invited the
Romans, promising to open the gates. Amvdst these vociferations,
they moreover assailed their own party with stones, as if to drive
them from the gates. The latter made feints of attempting to force
the entrances, and of petitioning those within ; ever and anon rushing
towards the Romans, and again retreating, as if in extreme agitation.

Among the soldiers their knavery did not fail to obtain credit.
Imagining they had one party in their hands, ready for punishment,
and hoping that the other would open the city to them, they were
on the point of proceeding to action. This unaccountable invitation,
however, was viewed by Titus with suspicion; for having but the
day before, through Josephus, invited them to terms, he had found
their demands exceeding all reason; and he therefore ordered the
soldiers then to remain in their position. Some of those at the
works, notwithstanding, who were stationed in front, had already
snatched up their arms, and run forwards towards the gates. They
who pretended to have been expelled from the city, at first retired
before them; but when the soldiers were between the towers of the
gate, the Jews, rushing out, surrounded them, and attacked them in
rear. Those on the wall poured down a shower of stones, and every
species of missile, so that many were killed, and great numbers
wounded; for it was by mo means easy to escape from the wall,
as they were pressed upon by those behind. Besides, shame for the
error of their leaders, and fear, induced them to persevere in their
fault. Accordingly, after maintaining a long contest with their spears,
and receiving many wounds from their opponents, but inflicting
not fewer in return, they eventually drove back the party who had
surrounded them. The Jews, however, as soon as they began to retire,
pursued them as far as the monuments of Helena, annoying them
with missiles,

K 2

124 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book v.

4, Hereupon the Jews, exulting immoderately in their good for-
tune, passed their jests on the Romans, who had been the dupes of
the artifice, and brandishing their shields, danced and shouted for joy.
The soldiers were received with a reprimand from their officers, and
with indignation on the part of Cesar.

“Τῇ Jews,” said he, ‘whom desperation alone directs, do every
thing with forethought and circumspection, carefully arranging their
stratagems and ambuscades :—fortune, moreover, favours their enter-
prises, because of their obedience, their kindly feelings towards one
another, and their fidelity ; while the Romans, to whom even fortune,
by reason of their discipline, and prompt submission to their officers,
has ever been a servant, now fail under an opposite line of conduct, and
are defeated through their own intemperate proceedings; and, what
redounds most of all to their disgrace, they fight without a leader,
when Ceesar is present. Deeply,” he said, ‘would the laws of military
service mourn, and equally so his father, when he hears of this dis-
comfiture—he who, grown old in wars, had never met with a similar
disaster—those laws, which always punish with death such as are
guilty of the slightest infringement of discipline, and yet which have
now seen an entire army abandon its post. But those who have been
thus presumptuous shall instantly know, that, among the Romans,
even to gain a victory without orders is attended with dishonour.”

Titus, having made these protestations to the officers, evinced a
determination to put the law in force against all. Accordingly, as
expecting the next moment to meet with the death they had deserved,
they became greatly dejected; but the legions, pouring round Titus,
petitioned him for their fellow-soldiers, imploring him to pardon, in
consideration of the obedicnce of the many, the rashness of a few;
and promising that they would atone for their present error by future
deserts.”

5. With these solicitations, and with the dictates of prudence,
Cesar complied; for he thought that though, in the case of individuals,
punishment should be actually inflicted, yet, when numbers were
implicated, it should end with reproof. He was therefore reconciled
to the soldiers; but he strictly admonished them to act for the time
to come with greater circumspection. He now deliberated how best
to revenge himself for this artifice of the Jews. In four days, the
interval between his post and the walls having been levelled, Titus,
anxious to forward in safety the baggage and the followers of the
army, ranged the flower of his troops opposite the wall on the northern
quarter of the city, and extending towards the west, the phalanx
being drawn up seven deep. The infantry were disposed in front,

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BOOK V. | THE JEWISH WAR. 125

and the cavalry in rear, each in three ranks; the archers, who formed
the seventh, being in the middle.

The sallies of the Jews being checked by such an array, the beasts
of burthen belonging to the three legions, with the camp-followers,
passed on in safety. Titus himself encamped about two furlongs
from the ramparts, at the corner opposite the tower called Psephinus,
where the circuit of the wall, in its advance along the north side,
bends with a western aspect. The other division of the army was
entrenched opposite to the tower named Hippicus, distant, in like
manner, two furlongs from the city. The tenth legion continued to
occupy its position on the Mount of Olives, as it is called.

CHAPTER IV.

1. JERUSALEM, fortified by three walls—except where it was
encompassed by its impassable ravines, for there it had but a single
rampart—was built, the one division fronting the other, on two hills,
separated by an intervening valley, at which the rows of houses ter-
minated. Of these hills, that on which the upper town was situated
is much the higher, and straighter in its length. Accordingly, on
account of its strength, it was styled the Fortress by king David, the
father of Solomon, by whom the temple was originally erected ; but
by us, the Upper Market-place. ‘The other, which bears the name
of Acra, and supports the lower town, is of a gibbous form. Opposite
to this was a third hill, naturally lower than Acra, and formerly
severed from it by another broad ravine. Afterwards, however, the
Asmoneans, during their reign, filled up the ravine, with the inten-
tion of uniting the city to the temple; and levelling the summit of
Acra, they reduced its elevation, so that the temple might be conspi-
cuous above other objects in this quarter also. The Valley of the
Cheese-makers, as it was designated, which divided, as we have said,
the hill of the upper town from that of the lower, extended as far as
Siloam, as we call it, a fountain whose waters are at once sweet and
copious. On the exterior, the two hills on which the city stood were
skirted by deep ravines, so precipitous on either side that the town
was nowhere accessible.

2. Of the three walls, the most ancient, as well from the ravines
which surrounded it, as from the hill above them on which it was
erected, was almost impregnable. But, besides the advantages of its

126 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book v.

situation, it was also strongly built; David and Solomon, as well as
their successors on the throne, having devoted much attention to the
work. Beginning on the north at the tower called Hippicus, and
extending to what was termed the Xystus, it then formed a junction
with the council-house, and terminated at the western colonnade of
the temple. On the other side, towards the west, beginning at the
same tower, it stretched through Bethso, as it was styled, to the gate
of the Essenes. It then turned, and advanced with a southern aspect
above the fountain of Siloam, whence it again inclined, facing the
east, towards Solomon's reservoir, and extending to a certain spot
designated Ophla, it joined the eastern colonnade of the temple.

The second had its beginning at the gate which they called Gennath,
belonging to the first wall. It reached to the Antonia, and encircled
only the northern quarter of the town. The tower Hippicus formed
the commencement of the third wall, which stretched from thence
towards the northern quarter, as far as the tower Psephinus, and then
passing opposite the monuments of Helena, Queen of Adiabene, and
mother of king Izates, and extending through the royal caverns, was
inflected at the corner tower near to the spot known by the appella-
tion of the Fuller’s Tomb; and, connecting itself with the old wall,
terminated at the valley called Kedron. This wall Agrippa had
thrown round the new-built town, which was quite unprotected; for
the city, overflowing with inhabitants, gradually crept beyond the
ramparts; and the people, incorporating with the city the quarter
north of the temple close to the hill, made a considerable advance,
insomuch that a fourth hill, which is called Bezetha, was also sur-
rounded with habitations. It lay over against the Antonia, from
which it was separated by a deep fosse, purposcly excavated to cut
off the communication between the foundations of the Antonia and
the hill, that they might be at once less easy of access, and more
elevated. Thus the depth of the trench materially increased the
altitude of the towers.

The quarter most recently built was called, in our language, Beze-
tha, which, if translated into the Greek tongue, would be Cenopolis
(Nevw-town). ‘Those who resided there requiring defence, the father
of the present sovereign, and of the same name, Agrippa, commenced
the wall we have mentioned. But, apprehending that Claudius
Ceesar might suspect from the magnitude of the structure that he
entertained some designs of innovation and insurrection, he desisted
when he had merely laid the foundations. For, indeed, had he com-
pleted that wall upon the scale on which it was begun, the city would
have been impregnable. It was constructed of stones twenty cubits

"SNOlddIil

BOOK V.] THE JEWISH WAR. 127

long and ten broad, fitted into each other in such a manner that they
could scarcely have been undermined with iron, or shaken by engines.
The wall itself was ten cubits in breadth; and it would probably
have attained a greater height than it did, had not the enterprising
spirit of its founder met with a check; but subsequently, though the
work was carried on with ardour by the Jews, it only rose to the
height of twenty cubits; while, crowning this, were battlements of
two cubits, upon parapets of three cubits in altitude, so that it
attained in its entire elevation twenty-five cubits.

3. On this wall were erected towers, twenty cubits in breadth, and
the same in height, square, and solid as the wall itself. In the join-
ing and beauty of the stones, they were nowise inferior to the temple.
Over the solid altitude of the towers, which was twenty cubits, were
sumptuous apartments; and above these, again, upper rooms, and
numerous cisterns therein to receive the rain-water, and to each room
wide staircases. Of such towers the third wall had ninety, disposed
at intervals of two hundred cubits. The middle wall was divided into
fourteen towers, and the ancient one into sixty. Of the city, the
entire circuit was thirty-three furlongs. But admirable as was the
third wall throughout, still more so was the tower Psephinus, which
rose up at the north-west angle, and opposite to which Titus encamped.
Being seventy cubits high, it afforded at sunrise a prospect of Arabia,
and of the limits of the Hebrew territories as far as the sea; it was
octagonal in form.

Over against this was the tower Hippicus, and near to it two others,
all erected by king Herod in the ancient wall, which, in magnitude,
beauty, and strength, exceeded all that the world could produce ; for,
with a taste naturally magnificent, and ambitious of decorating the
city, the king further sought, in the surpassing splendour of these
works, to gratify his private feelings, and dedicated them to the memory
of the three persons to whom he had been most tenderly attached,
and after whom he named the towers—his brother, his friend, and his
wife. The last mentioned, as we have above related, he had put to
death through wounded love; the two former he had lost in war,
fighting gallantly.

Hippicus, so called from his friend, was quadrangular, its length
and breadth being each twenty-five cubits, and to the height of thirty
cubits it was solid throughout. Above this solid part, which was con-
structed of stones formed into one compact mass, was a reservoir to
receive the rain, twenty cubits deep, over which was a house of two
stories, twenty-five cubits high, and divided into various apartments.
Above this were battlements of two cubits in height, mounted upon

128 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book v.

parapets of three; so that the entire altitude amounted to eighty
cubits.

The sccond tower, which he named Phasaélus, from his brother,
was of equal length and breadth, forty cubits each, and the same in
solid height. Over this, and embracing the whole of the structure,
was a gallery, ten cubits high, defended by breast-works and battle-
ments. Above this, and rising from its centre, was built another
tower, containing sumptuous apartments, and also a bath; so that
nothing was wanting to impart to this tower the aspect of a palace.
Its summit was more richly ornamented with battlements and parapets
than that just described, and its entire altitude was about ninety cubits.
In appearance it resembled the tower of Pharos, which serves as a
lighthouse to those sailing to Alexandria, though it was much greater
in circumference. At this date it was the seat of Simon’s tyranny.

The third tower, Mariamne—for such was the queen’s name—was
solid to the height of twenty cubits; its breadth, also, being twenty
cubits, and its length the same. Its upper apartments were more
sumptuous and elegant than those of the other towers, the king thinking
it more suitable that that named from a woman should be more highly
ornamented than those called after men, just as they were stronger
than the woman’s. Of this the entire elevation was fifty-five cubits.

4. But while such was the actual magnitude of these three towers,
their site added much to their apparent dimensions. For the ancient
wall in which they stood was itself built on a lofty hill; and higher
still rose up in front, to the height of thirty cubits, a kind of crest of
the hill; on this the towers rested, and thus acquired a much greater
altitude. Admirable, likewise, was the magnitude of the stones; for
these towers were not constructed of ordinary blocks, nor of stones
such as might be carried by men, but of white marble, cut; and the
length of each block was twenty cubits, its breadth ten, and its depth
five. So accurately were they joined one upon another, that each
tower seemed a single rock that jutted up naturally, and had subse-
quently been polished all round by the hands of the artificer into its
angular form; so totally imperceptible on all sides was the fitting of
the joints.

To these towers, which lay northward, was attached on the inner
side the royal residence, which exceeded all description. The mag-
nificence of the work, and the skill displayed in its construction, could
not be surpassed. It was completely enclosed within a wall thirty
cubits high, and ornamented towers were distributed around it at
equal distances, with spacious apartments, each capable of containing
couches for a hundred guests. In these the diversity of the stones

BOOK V. | THE JEWISH WAR. 129

was not to be expressed; for, whatever was rare in every country,
was there collected in abundance. Admirable, also, were their roofs,
both for the length of the beams, and for the splendour of their
decorations. The number of apartments, moreover, and the variety
of devices around them, were infinite; nor was any article of furni-
ture wanting in any of them, the greater proportion of it in each being
of silver and gold.

All around were many cloistered courts opening into one another,
and the columns in each different. Such parts of these as were open
to the air were everywhere clothed with verdure. There were besides,
various groves with long walks through them, lined by deep conduits ;
and in many places ponds studded with bronze figures, through which
the water was discharged; and around the streams were numerous
cots for tame doves. But, indeed, adequately to describe the palace
is impossible; and the recollection stings me to the heart, recalling
as it does the ravages of the brigand fires. For it was not the Romans
who consigned it to the flames, but this was done, as we have
before related, by the conspirators within the city at an early stage of
the revolt. The conflagration began at the Antonia, passed onward
to the palace, and consumed the roofs of the three towers.

CHAPTER V.

1. THE temple, as I have said, was seated on a strong hill. Origi-
nally the level space on its summit scarcely sufficed for the sanctuary,
and the altar, the ground about being abrupt and steep. But king
Solomon, who built the sanctuary, having completely walled up the
eastern side, a colonnade was built upon the embankment. On the
other sides, the sanctuary remained exposed. In process of time,
however, as the people were constantly adding to the embankment,
the hill became level and broader. They also threw down the
northern wall, and enclosed as much ground as the circuit of the
temple at large subsequently occupied. After having surrounded the
hill from the base with a triple wall, and accomplished a work which
surpassed all expectation—a work on which long ages were con-
sumed, and all their sacred treasures exhausted, though replenished
by the tributes offered to God from every region of the world—they
built the upper boundary walls, and the lower court of the temple.

The lowest part of the latter they built up from a depth of three

130 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK ν.

hundred cubits, and in some places more. The entire depth of the
foundations, however, was not discernible; for, with a view to level
the streets of the town, they filled up the ravines to a considerable
extent. There were stones used in the building which measured
forty cubits; for so ample was the supply of money, and such the
zeal of the people, that incredible success attended the undertaking ;
and that of which hope itself could not anticipate the accomplishment,
was by time and perseverance completed.

2 Nor was the superstructure unworthy of such foundations.
The colonnades, double throughout, were supported by pillars twenty-
five cubits in height, each a single block of marble of the purest
white. The ceilings were of panelled cedar. The natural magni-
ficence of the latter, their exquisite polish, and the accurate fitting of
the joints, presented a memorable spectacle, though unaided by any
extrinsic embellishments of painting or sculpture. The colonnades
were thirty cubi's broad, and their entire circuit, including the Anto-
nia, measured six furlongs. The open space was paved throughout,
and variegated with stones of every kind. As you advanced through
this to the second court of the temple, you came to a stone balustrade,
drawn all round, three cubits in height, and of exquisite workman-
ship. On this stood tablets at regular intervals, setting forth the law
of purification, some in Greek, others in Roman letters, that no
foreigner was permitted to enter within the holy place; for so the
second court of the temple was called. It was ascended from the
first by fourteen steps, was quadrangular at the top, and surrounded
by a distinct wall. The exterior altitude of this, though not less than
forty cubits, was concealed by the steps; the inner was twenty-five
cubits; for being constructed with steps against a rising ground,
a portion only of the inner side was visible, the remainder being
concealed by the hill.

Beyond the fourteen steps, the distance to the wall was ten cubits,
all level. Thence again other flights of five steps led up to the gates,
of which there were eight on the north and south sides, four to each,
and two necessarily on the east; for a place of worship, set apart for
the women, having been portioned off on that quarter by a wall,
a second gate became requisite. This was opened opposite to the
first. There were also, on the other side, one southern, and one
northern gate, through which they could pass into the women’s court ;
for women were not permitted to enter by the others, nor yet through
their own to pass beyond the wall of separation. This enclosure was,
however, free for purposes of worship both to women of our own
country, and to those of our people born in foreign lands, without

HARAM: PRINCIPAL ENTRANCE.

(WFST SIPF}

BOOK V. | THE JEWISH WAR. 131

distinction. The quarter towards the west had no gate; the wall on
that side being built without a break. The cloisters that extended
between the gates from the wall, and turned inward in front of the
treasury chambers, were supported by large and extremely beautiful
columns. These were single, and, except in size, in no respect.
inferior to those of the lower court.

3. Of the gates nine were overlaid throughout with gold and silver ;:
as were their side-posts and lintels; but one of them, that which was ex-
terior to the sanctuary, was of Corinthian brass, and greatly exceeding
in sumptuousness those plated with silver and gold. To each gateway:
were two doors, and each door was thirty cubits in height and fifteen
in breadth. Within the entrances, however, the gate-ways expanded.
on either side, and contained chambers thirty cubits in breadth and
the same in length, built in the form of towers, and exceeding forty
cubits in altitude; each supported by two pillars, twelve cubits in
circumference. Of all the other gates the dimensions were equal;
but that beyond the Corinthian, and which opened on the eastern side
from the women’s court, opposite-the gate of the sanctuary, was much
the larger; having an elevation of fifty cubits, with doors of forty,
and with decorations more costly, being overlaid with massive plates
of silver and gold. The nine gates were sheeted. in. this manner by
Alexander, the father of Tiberius.. Fifteen steps conducted from the
women’s partition to the larger gate; for they were shallower than
those five steps which led to the other gates. .

4, To the sanctuary itself, the holy temple, situated in the contre;
the ascent was by twelve steps. In front its height and breadth were
equal, a hundred cubits each. In rear it was forty cubits narrower ;
for in front a kind of shoulders extended on either side twenty cubits,
Its first gate, which was seventy cubits high, and twenty-five broad;
had no doors; for it represented the invisible and unobstructed
heaven. The entire face was covered with gold; and through it
᾿ appeared within, the whole of the first compartment, which was very
large; while every thing around the inner gate met the eye of the
spectator, resplendent with gold. The sanctuary within consisting of
two stories, the first compartment -alone lay exposed to view, rising
without a break.to an elevation of ninety cubits, its length being fifty,
and its breadth twenty. The gate-way through this was, as I have
stated, completely overlaid with gold, as was the whole wall around it.
It had above it, moreover, golden vines, from which hung down
clusters of grapes a man’s stature in length.

The sanctuary being divided beyond this into two stories, the inside
view was lower than the outside, and it had golden doors fifty-five

132 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK V.

cubits high, and sixteen wide. Before these was spread a veil of
equal length. It was of Babylonian tapestry, variegated with blue and
fine linen, with scarlet and purple, wrought with admirable skill.
Nor was the mixture of the materials without design; it served as a
symbol of the universe. For the scarlet seemed emblematical of fire,
the fine linen of the earth, the blue of the air, and the purple of the
sea: two of them being thus compared for their colour ; the fine
linen and the purple, on account of their origin ; as the earth produces
the one, and the sea the other. Embroidered on this tapestry was a
representation of the entire heaven, the signs of the Zodiac excepted.

5. Advancing within, the lower story of the sanctuary received
you. This was sixty cubits in height, and the same in length,
while its breadth was twenty cubits. These sixty cubits of length
were again divided. The first part, partitioned off at forty cubits,
contained within it three pieces of workmanship, most admirable
and universally celebrated; a candlestick, a table, and an altar of
incense, The seven lamps represented the planets, for so many
were the branches of the candlestick. The loaves on the table, twelve
in number, symbolized the circle of the Zodiac, and the year. The
altar of incense, by the thirteen fragrant spices, with which it was
replenished from the sea, and from lands inhabited and uninhabited,
signified that all things are of God, and for God.

The innermost recess of the temple measured twenty cubits, and
was separated in like manner from the outer by a veil. In this,
nothing whatever was deposited. Unapproachable, inviolable, and to
be seen by none, it was called the Holy of the Holy. Around the
sides of the lower part of the sanctuary were many houses of three
stories, communicating with one another. To these, on either side,
were entrances from the vestibule. The upper part of the building
had none of these chambers, inasmuch as it was narrower; but it rose
forty cubits higher, and was less sumptuous than the lower part.
Thus, including sixty cubits of the ground floor, we collect that the
entire altitude was a hundred cubits.

6. The exterior front of the edifice wanted nothing that could
strike either the mind or the eye. Overlaid throughout with massy
plates of gold, it reflected at sunrise so fiery a lustre, that those who
constrained themselves to look upon it were compelled to avert their
eyes, as from the solar rays. To strangers approaching, it seemed,
from a distance, like a mountain covered with snow; for in those parts
not overlaid with gold, the building was of the purest white. On its
summit were fixed sharp golden spikes, to prevent the birds from
settling, and polluting the roof. Of the stones of which it was con-

BOOK V. | THE JEWISH WAR. 133

structed, some were forty-five cubits in length, five in depth, and six
in breadth. In front of it stood the altar, fifteen cubits high, and
extending equally in length and breadth, fifty cubits each way. In
form, it was quadrangular, with corners projecting like horns. It
was ascended on the south by a gently sloping acclivity. In its con-
struction no iron was used, nor was it ever touched by iron. Sur-
rounding both the sanctuary and the altar was a neat barrier, about
a cubit high, of ornamental stone, which separated the people outside
from the priests. Those affected with impure runnings, or with
leprosy, were excluded from every quarter of the city. To women it
was closed at particular periods; nor even when purified were they
allowed to pass the limit we have mentioned above. Men, not
thoroughly purified, were prohibited the inner court; from which
the priests were equally excluded, if in any respect defiled.

7. Those who were of sacerdotal lineage, but were prevented from
ministering by some defect, were permitted to come within the parti-
tion, along with those who had no imperfection, and received the
portion which was their birth-right, but they wore the habit of private
individuals: for he alone that ministered was clothed with the sacred
vestments. The priests who were without blemish went up to the
altar and the sanctuary dressed in fine linen, carefully abstaining from
wine through a religious awe, lest they should be guilty of any trans-
gression in their ministrations. The high priest went up with them,
not at all times indeed, but on the seventh days, and new moons; and
on any national festival, or annual assemblage of all the people.
When ministering, he wore drawers which covered his thighs up to
the loins, and an under garment of linen, and over that a blue vest-
ment reaching to his feet, round and fringed. From the fringes were
suspended golden bells, alternated with pomegranates: the bells a
symbol of thunder, the pomegranates of lightning. The girdle which
attached the garment to the breast was formed of five cinctures,
embroidered and flowered with gold, purple, scarlet, fine linen, and
blue, with which, as we have stated, the veils of the sanctuary were
also interwoven.

He had an ephod, likewise, of the same mixed material, the gold
preponderating. Its figure was similar to that of an ordinary coreslet.
It was fastened by two golden clasps, resembling small shields, in
which were set two very large and beautiful sardonyxes, bearing
inscribed the names of those from whom the tribes of the nation were
denominated. On the fore part were attached to it twelve stones,
assorted in four rows of three each ; a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald;
a carbuncle, a jasper, and a sapphire; an agate, an amethyst, and a

134 (THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK v.

ligure; an onyx, a beryl, and a chrysolith; on each of which, again,
was written the name of one of the heads of the tribes. His head
was covered with a mitre of fine linen, wreathed with blue, round
which was another crown, of gold, whereon were embossed the sacred
letters, which are four vowels. This dress the high priest did not wear
on ordinary occasions, but used one of a plainer description, except
when he entered. the most holy place, into which he went alone once
in the year, on the day upon which it was a universal custom with us
to observe a fast to God. Of the city and temple, and of the usages
and laws peculiar to them, we shall speak more minutely at another
time ; for, in‘reference to these, much remains to be said.

8. The Antonia lay at the angle formed by two colonnades, the
western and the northern, of the first court of the temple. It was
built upon a rock fifty cubits high, and on every side precipitous. It
was a work of king Herod, in which he particularly evinced the natu-
ral greatness of his mind. For, first, the rock was covered from the
base upwards with smooth stone flags, as well for ornament, as that
any one who attempted to ascend or descend might slip off Next,
and in front of the edifice itself, there was a wall of three cubits; and
within this the entire space occupied by the Antonia rose to an alti-
tude of forty cubits. The interior resembled a palace in extent and
arrangement, being distributed into apartments of every description,
and for every use, with cloistered courts and baths, and spacious bar-
racks for the accommodation of troops; 80 that its various conveniences
gave it the semblance of a town, its magnificence that of a palace.

The genetal appearance of the whole was that of a tower, with other
towers at each of the four corners, three of which were fifty cubits
high, while that at the south-east angle rose to an elevation of seventy
cubits, so that from thence there was a complete view of the temple.
Where it adjoined the colonnades of the temple, it had passages lead-
ang down to both, through which the guards—for in the fortress there
always lay a Roman legion—descended and disposed themselves about
the colonnades, in arms, at the festivals, to watch the people, and
repress any insurrectionary movement. For the temple lay as a for-
tress over the city, and the. Antonia over the temple, the guards of
all the three bemg stationed in the Antonia; while the upper town
had its own fortress—Herod’s palace. The hill Bezetha was detached,
as I have mentioned, from the Antonia. It was the highest of the
three, and was joined on to part of the new town, forming northward
the only obstruction to the view of the temple. As I propose to give
hereafter a more minute description of the city and the walls, these
remarks shall for the present suffiee.

BOOK V. | THE JEWISH WAR. 135

CHAPTER VI.

1. THE whole number of fighting men and insurgents in the city
was as follows. Attached to Simon were ten thousand men, irrespec-
tive of the Idumzans. Over these were fifty officers, Simon himself
acting as commander-in-chief. The Idumzans who joined his ranks,
five thousand in number, had ten leaders, of whom James, the son of
Sosas, and Simon, the son of Cathlas, were reputed to be the fore-
most. John, who had seized on the temple, had under his orders six
thousand men-at-arms, commanded by twenty officers. The Zealots,
also, had now laid aside their differences and gone over to him, to the
number of two thousand four hundred, led by Eleazar, their former
general, and Simon, son of Ari, While these factions were at war
with one another, as we have already stated, the citizens were their
common prize ; and that section of the people which refused to sane
tion their unjust proceedings, were torn in pieces by both.

Simon occupied the upper town and the great wall, as far as the
Kedron, with as much of the old wall as, bending eastward from
Siloam, descended to the palace of Monobazus, king of Adiabene,
beyond the Euphrates. He held, likewise, the fountain and the Acra,
which was the lower town, with the interval as far as the palace of
Helena, the mother of Monobazus. John occupied the-temple, and
the parts about it to a considerable distance, with Ophla, and the
valley called Kedron. When they had reduced all that lay betweon
these to ashes, a place was cleared for their mutual conflicts. For not
even when the Romans had encamped under the walls, did the sedi-
tion pause within; but after a brief interval of returning soberness,
when they made their first sally, they soon relapsed, and again began
to quarrel and fight among themselves, doing all that the besiegers
could have desired.

Accordingly, they were exposed to no worse treatment from the
Romans than they inflicted on one another ; nor after the miseries they
occasioned, did the city suffer any novel calamity. Ere she fell, she
had experienced a yet more cruel disaster, and they ‘who overthrew
her, afforded her still greater relief. For I affirm that the sedition sub-
dued the city, and the Romans the sedition—ae sedition much stronger
than her walls. What was calamitous, may with propriety be ascribed
to her own people ; what was just, to the Romans. But let every one
form his opinion agreeably to the facts. |

136 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK v.

2. While affairs in the city were in this posture, Titus, with a
select detachment of horse, rode round the wall, in order to ascertain
against what quarter he should direct his attack. Utterly at a loss on
what side to assail them, there being no access at any point through
the ravines, while, on the other side, the first wall appeared too firm
for the engines, he determined to make the assault opposite to the
monument of John, the high priest; for at this point the outer bul-
wark was lower, and the second was not connected, the builders having
neglected to fortify those places where the new town was thinly inha-
bited; but there was easy access to the third wall, through which he
designed to capture the upper town, and through the Antonia, the
temple. But, in the mean time, while he was riding round, one of
his friends, by name Nicanor, who had approached too near with
Josephus, was wounded by an arrow in the left shoulder, when
attempting to address those on the ramparts, to whom he was not
unknown, upon the subject of peace.

Cesar thus made aware of their headstrong violence, since they
would not refrain even from those who went to them with a view to
their safety, was roused to the vigorous prosecution of the siege. He at
once gave the legions permission to lay waste the suburbs, and ordered
them to collect the timber together for the construction of mounds.
Distributing his army into three divisions for the works, he placed the
javelin-men and archers in the intervals between the mounds ; and in
front of these the scorpions, catapults, and stone-projectors, at once to
check the sallies of the enemy against the works, and curb those who
endeavoured to impede them from the ramparts. The trees being
felled, the suburbs were quickly stripped; but while the timber was
being collected for the mounds, and the whole army diligently engaged
in the operations, the Jews, on the other hand, were not inactive.
The people, familiarized to rapine and bloodshed, at this period
resumed their confidence; indulging the hope that they would be
allowed a respite, while their oppressors were occupied with an exter-
nal foe, and would be enabled to wreak their vengeance on the guilty,
should the Romans be victorious.

3. John, meanwhile, though his partisans were burning with impa-
tience to encounter the enemy outside, through fear of Simon,
remained quiet. Simon, however, as he lay nearer the scene of attack,
was not inactive. He disposed his engines upon the ramparts, as well
those which had formerly been taken from Cestius, as those which
had fallen into their hands when they mastered the garrison of the
Antonia. The possession of these, however, was of no avail to the
gencrality, owing to their unskilfulness: a few only who had been

BOOK V. | THE JEWISH WAR. 137

instructed by the deserters, could work them, though inefficiently.
But they assailed from the wall, with stones and arrows, those who
were raising the mounds; and rushing out in bodies, engaged them
in close combat. ‘The workmen were protected from the darts by
hurdles, stretched over palisades, while the engines defended them
against the sallies of the besieged. Admirable as were the engines
constructed by all the legions, those of the tenth were of peculiar excel-
lence. Their scorpions were of greater power, and their stone-projec-
tors larger; and with these they not only kept in check the sallying
parties, but those also on the ramparts. The stones that were thrown
were of the weight of a talent, and had a range of two furlongs and
more. The shock, not only to such as first met it, but even to those
beyond them, for a considerable distance, was irresistible. The Jews,
however, at the first could guard against the stone; for its approach
was intimated, not only to the ear by its whiz, but also, being white,
to the eye, by its brightness. Accordingly they had watchmen posted
on the towers, who gave warning when the engine was discharged,
and the stone projected, calling out in their native language, ‘‘ The
Son is coming ;” on which those towards whom it was directed would
separate, and lie down before it reached them. Thus it happened
that, owing to these precautions, the stone fell harmless. It then
occurred to the Romans to blacken it; when taking a more successful
aim, as it was no longer equally discernible in its approach, they
swept down many at a single discharge. But, though suffering
severely, the Jews did not allow the Romans to raise their mounds
undisturbed, but by every species of artifice and daring, night and
day, held them in check.

4. The works being completed, the engineers measured the distance
to the wall with lead and line, which they threw from the mounds—
for they could not accomplish it otherwise, as they were exposed to
missiles from above ;—and, finding that the battering-engines could
reach it, they brought them up; on which Titus, having disposed bis
artillery nearer, that the operations of the battering-rams might not be
impeded by those on the wall, ordered them to play. Suddenly, from
three different quarters, a tremendous noise echoed round the city; a
cry was raised by those within, and the factions themselves were seized
with like alarm. Seeing that they were exposed to a common danger,
both now turned their thoughts to a common defence. The adverse
parties, crying aloud to each other, that ‘‘ they were doing all they
could to serve the enemy; whereas it was essential, even though God
should not grant them permanent unanimity, for the present at least
to defer their mutual contentions, and unite in arms against the

VOL, IT. L

138 THE JEWISH WAR, [BOOK v.

Romans,” Simon proclaimed impunity to those who wished to pass
from the temple to the wall; and John, though distrusting him,
acquiesced. The two factions, therefore, burying in oblivion their
hatred and private differences, became one body; and, disposing
themselves around the ramparts, from thence threw showers of
torches against the machines, and assailed, without intermission, those
who impelled the storming engines. The more courageous, dashing
out in bands, tore to pieces the hurdles of the machines, and falling
on those employed at them, though they gained but little by skill,
generally had the advantage from intrepid daring.

Titus always came up in person to succour those who were hard
pressed, and disposing the horsemen and archers on either side of the
engines, repelled those who were bringing up fire, drove back others
who assailed them from the towers, and rendered the storming engines
effective. The wall, however, did not yield to the strokes, save that
the battering-ram of the fifteenth legion knocked down the corner of
atower. ‘The wall, notwithstanding, remained uninjured; for it was
not immediately invalved in the danger of the tower, which projected
considerably before it, and could not easily bring down with it any of
the main wall.

5. The Jews, having paused for a little in their sallies, and watch-
ing their opportunity when the Romans, who imagined that they had
retired through exhaustion and fear, were dispersed about the works
and through their encampments, poured forth with their whole force
through a gate scarcely discernible near the tower Hippicus, carrying
fire to burn the works, and bent on advancing up to the very entrench-
ments of the Romans. At their shouts, those near instantly fell
into order, while others from a distance ran up. The daring of the
Jews, however, anticipated the discipline of the Romans, and having
routed those whom they first encountered, they pressed hard on those
who were forming in body. A terrible conflict now ensued around
the engines, one party striving to set them on fire, the other to pre-
vent them. On both sides a confused clamour arose, and many in
the front ranks fell, The Jews by dint of desperate determination
were gaining the mastery, and the flames were already laying hold
upon the works; and the whole would in all probability have been
reduced to ashes, together with the machines, had not the main body
of the picked troops from Alexandria maintained their ground, acting
with a gallantry which exceeded their reputation (for they proved
their superiority on that occasion even to those of greater renown)
until Ceesar, at the head of the most able-bodied of his cavalry, dashed
upon the enemy. Twelve of the foremost he slew with his own hand;

BOOK V.] THE JEWISH WAR. 139

the remainder, alarmed at their fate, giving way, he followed, and
drove them all into the city, and rescued the works from the flames.
One of the Jews, happening to be taken prisoner in this engagement,
Titus commanded him to be crucified before the wall, in hope that the
rest, terrified at the spectacle, might be led to surrender. After the
retreat, John, the general of the Idumezans, while conversing in front
of the ramparts with a soldier of his acquaintance, was wounded in
the breast with an arrow by an Arabian, and instantly expired. His
death was to the Jews a source of the deepest regret, as it was of
sorrow to the insurgents ; for he was equally distinguished for ability
and resolution.

CHAPTER VII.

1. Own the ensuing night an unexpected commotion arose among
the Romans. Titus had given directions for the construction of three
towers fifty cubits high, to be placed upon the several mounds, in
order that he might from them repel those on the ramparts. One of
these fell of itself in the middle of the night. The crash was tre-
mendous, and the troops, seized with terror, and supposing that the
enemy were on the point of attacking them, all ran to arms. Dismay
and confusion spread through the legions. What had occurred none
could tell; and they were long left in painful suspense. But as no
enemy appeared, they began to fear one another, and each anxiously
demanded the pass-word from his neighbour, as if the Jews had been
actually in their camp. Thus they continued, like men beset by a
panic, until Titus, having learned what had happened, gave directions
to make it generally known. And thus, though with difficulty, was
the alarm allayed.

2. But, stoutly as the Jews held out against everything else, they
suffered severely from the towers ; whence they were shot at, as well
by the lighter engines, as by the javelin-men, archers, and slingers.
These they could not reach, owing to the height of their position ;
while to destroy the towers was impracticable, their weight making it
no easy matter to overturn them, and the iron with which they were
covered rendering it impossible to set them on fire. If, on the other
hand, they withdrew beyond the range of the missiles, they could no
longer impede the strokes of the battering-rams, which by their

L2

140 THE JEWISR WAR. [BOOK Vv.

unintermitted shocks were gradually taking effect. At length the wall
began to give way before Nico (the Congueror)—so the Jews them-
selves called the largest engine, from its beating down all before it ;—
they had long been completely worn out with passing their nights at a
distance from the city, engaged in fighting and watching; and now,
moreover, from an indolent spirit, and from the fatality which
attended all their plans, they thought it superfluous to guard the
wall, as two others would still remain: accordingly the greater part
of them slackened in their exertions and retired; and, the Romans
having mounted where Nico had effected a breach, they all abandoned
their posts, and retreated to the second wall; when those who had
scaled the ramparts opened the gates, and admitted the entire army.
The Romans having thus, on the fifteenth day, which was the
seventh of the month Artemisius, become masters of the first wall,
laid a great part of it in ruins, as they did the northern quarters of
the city, which Cestius had formerly demolished.

3. Titus now transferred his camp to a place within the wall,
styled the Camp of the Assyrians, occupying the entire interval as far
as the Kedron, but keeping at such a distance from the second ram-
part as to be out of range of the missiles, and immediately commenced
the attack. The Jews, dividing their forces, made a vigorous defence
from the wall; John and his party fighting from the Antonia, from
the north colonnade of the temple, and in front of the monuments of
king Alexander; while Simon’s band, intercepting the assault near
John’s monument, manned the intervening space as far as the gate
through which the water was introduced to the tower Hippicus.
Frequently rushing forth from the gates, they engaged hand to hand ;
and, when driven back to the wall, though defeated in close combat,
owing to their ignorance of the Roman tactics, they had the advan-
tage in their contests from the ramparts. Strength, combined with
skill, encouraged the Romans: a daring spirit, nourished by fear,
united with their natural fortitude under calamities, emboldened the
Jews. They still cherished a hope of safety, as the Romans did of
a speedy conquest. Fatigue was unfelt on either side; but attacks,
and conflicts from the ramparts, and uninterrupted sallies in bands,
wore out the day; nor was any species of warfare left untried.
Commencing with the dawn, night scarcely parted them. On both
sides night was a sleepless time, and still more oppressive than the
day; the one party in dread every moment lest the wall should be
taken, the other afraid that their antagonists would assail their camp.
Thus passing the night in arms, both were ready for battle at the
first break of day.

BOOK V. | THE JEWISH WAR. 141

Among the Jews the strife was, who should lead the way to danger,
and thus recommend himself to his officers. And such was the reve-
- rence and awe with which they regarded Simon in particular, and such
the deference paid him by every one of those under his orders, that
they were ready to a man, even to die by their own hand at his
command. The Romans, on the other hand, were incited to valour
by the habit of victory, and desuetude of defeat, by repeated cam-
paigns, by uninterrupted exercises, by the vastness of their empire, —
and, above all, by Titus, who was ever and everywhere present with
all. For, then to play the coward, when Cesar was with them and
fighting at their side, seemed dreadful; and he who fought bravely
had one to witness his valour who would also reward it. Nay, it was
an advantage even to be known to Cesar as a gallant soldier. On
this account many in their enthusiasm distinguished themselves
beyond their natural powers.

Thus about this time, when the Jews on one occasion had drawn
up in a strong compact body before the wall, and while the armies
on both sides were as yet engaged in distant combat, Longinus,
a cavalry soldier, rushed forward from the Roman lines, and dashed
into the midst of the Jewish phalanx. Their ranks were broken by
his charge, and two of the bravest fell beneath his arm. The one
he pierced in front as he advanced against him; the other, when
endeavouring to escape, he transfixed through the side with the spear
which he drew from the body of his comrade. He then retreated
in triumph to his own party out of the midst of his foes. So distin-
guished, accordingly, was the reputation he acquired for valour by
this exploit, that many were led to emulate his gallantry.

The Jews, regardless of suffering, studied only what injury they
could inflict; and death itself seemed light indeed to them, could
they but involve an enemy in their fall. But Ceesar regarded not less
the safety of his soldiers than the success of his arms; and pronounc-
ing inconsiderate impetuosity mere desperation, and that alone to be
valour which was coupled with forethought, and a care for the safety
of the actor, he ordered his troops to run no personal risk with a view
to show their bravery.

4, He now brought up the storming-engine against the central
tower of the northern wall, where one of the Jews, a crafty fellow,
by name Castor, lay in ambush with ten others of like character,
the rest having been driven off by the archers. For some time these
men remained quiet, crouched beneath the breastworks; but as the
tower began to totter, they rose up, when Castor, stretching out his
hands in an attitude of supplication, called on Cesar, and in piteous

142 THE JEWISH WAR. [ΒΟΟΚ Vv.

accents implored his clemency. Titus, in the simplicity of his heart,
believed him, and hoping that the Jews were at length beginning to
repent, stopped the playing of the ram, and forbade the archers
to shoot at the suppliants. He then directed Castor to acquaint
him with his wishes. The Jew replying that he desired to come down
under promise of protection, Titus answered that he was delighted
at his prudent resolve, but would be still more so, if all were similarly
inclined, and he was ready to give a pledge of protection to the whole
city. ’Five of the ten joined in the pretended supplication, the others
cried out, that they would never be the vassals of the Romans, so
long as it was permitted them to die free. And the dispute being
prolonged for a considerable time, the assault was thereby suspended.

Meanwhile Castor, sending to Simon, told him to deliberate at his
leisure on the measures which the emergency demanded, as he could
keep the Roman general in play for a considerable time. But while
forwarding this message, he was to all appearance urging the recusants
to accept the proffered pledge. They on the other hand, as if moved
with indignation, brandished their naked swords above the battle-
ments, and, striking their breast-plates, fell down as if slain. Titus
-and those about hin, filled with amazement at the fortitude of the
men, and being unable accurately to see from below what had taken
place, admired their courage, and compassionated their fate.

During this parley, Castor was wounded near the nose by an arrow.
Drawing it out immediately, and showing it to Titus, he complained
of unjust treatment. Ceesar sternly rebuked the archer, and directed
Josephus, who was standing beside him, to go forward and offer
Castor protection. But Josephus not only declined going himself,
assured that the suppliants had no good purpose, but also restrained
those of his friends who were anxious to execute the order. Eneas
however, one of the deserters, said that he would go; and Castor
calling out for some one to receive the money which he had brought
with him, A‘neas, opening the folds of his robe, ran towards him
with the greater eagerness. Castor, meanwhile, taking up a stone,
threw it at A‘neas, who dexterously avoided it; but it wounded
another soldier who had come up. Cesar, seeing through the trick,
became sensible that in war compassion is injurious, rigorous measures
affording less room for artifice; and, angry at this mockery, ordered
the engines to be worked with greater vigour. The tower giving way,
Castor and his associates set fire to it, and, leaping through the flame
into the vault underneath, again inspired the Romans, who concluded
that they had plunged into the fire, with an exalted idea of their
fortitude.

BOOK V.| THE JEWISH WAR. 143

CHAPTER VIII.

1. On the fifth day after the reduction of the first wall Cesar
stormed the second at this point; and as the Jews fled from it, he
entered with a thousand men, and the select band which he retained
about his person, at that part of the new town where were the wool-
marts, the braziers’ shops, and the clothes-market, and where the
streets led obliquely to the ramparts. Had he immediately either
broken down a larger portion of the wall, or, by right of war, on his
entrance, laid in ruins what he had made himself master of, no loss,
I conceive, would have attended his conquest. But, in the hope that
his reluctance to injure, though it was in his power to do so, would
shame the Jews, he did not widen the breach to facilitate a retreat;
supposing that those whom he treated with kindness would harbour
no designs against him.

On entering, therefore, he would not allow any of those who fell.
into his hands to be put to death, or their houses burned. - To the
insurgents, if they were willing to fight without damage to the people,
he offered permission to do so; while, at the same time, he promised
the people to restore their property. For he made it a leading object
to preserve the city for himself, and the temple for the ctty. The
people indeed had long been ready to listen to his representations ;
but to the warlike his humanity seemed weakness, and these over-
tures were regarded as proofs of his inability. to reduce the remainder
of the town. Threatening death to any of the populace who should
breathe a word about a surrender, and butchering all who even
casually spoke of peace, they attacked the Romans who had entered.
Some confronted them in the streets, some assailed them from the
houses ; while others, rushing forth without the wall through the
upper gates, so disconcerted the guards at the ramparts, that they
sprang down from the towers and retreated to their camp. Loud
cries arose from those within, who were surrounded by enemies on
all sides, and from those without, in alarm for their comrades who
had been left behind.

The Jews, constantly increasing in numbers, and possessing many
advantages in their knowledge of the streets, wounded many of the
enemy, and drove them before them by repeated charges; while the
Romans continued to resist mainly from sheer necessity, as they could
not escape in mass owing to the narrowness of the breach; and, had

144 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK v.

not Titus brought up fresh succours, all who had entered would pro-
bably have been cut down. Stationing his archers at the ends of the
streets, and taking post himself where the enemy were in greatest
force, he kept them at bay with missiles; Domitius Sabinus, who in
this engagement, as in others, showed himself a brave man, aiding his
exertions. Czesar held his ground, plying his arrows incessantly, and
checking the advance of the Jews, until the last of the soldiers had
retired.

2. Thus were the Romans, after gaining possession of the second
wall, driven out. The spirits of the war party in the city, elated by
this success, rose to the highest pitch; for they were persuaded that
the Romans would not again venture into the town, and that, if they
advanced to battle themselves, they would be invincible. For God was
blinding their minds because of their transgressions; and they neither
perceived how much greater was the force which the Romans still had
left than that which had been expelled, nor the famine that was
creeping upon them. For they still could feed upon the public
miseries, and drink the blood of the city. The good had long been
suffering from want, and many were already sinking under a scarcity
of necessaries ; but the destruction of the people the factions deemed
a relief to themselves. For they desired that those alone should be
preserved who were averse to peace, and wished for life only to
employ it against the Romans; and they rejoiced in the wasting
away of the opposite party, regarding them as a mere encumbrance.
Such were their feelings towards those within; while, having manned
the breach, and walled it up with their bodies, they checked the
Romans, who were again attempting an entrance.

For three days they kept the enemy at bay, maintaining a stout
defence ; but on the fourth, unable to withstand the intrepid assaults
of Titus, they were obliged to fall back in the same direction as
before. He, accordingly, once more became master of the wall, the
whole northern division of which he immediately threw down ; and,
having placed garrisons in the towers of the southern quarter, he
turned his thoughts to an attack on the third.

BOOK V. | THE JEWISH WAR. 145

CHAPTER IX,

1. Trrus now determined for a short time to suspend the ope-
rations, and afford the insurgents an interval for deliberation, if per-
chance the demolition of the second wall, or the dread of famine,
might induce them to surrender, as the fruits of rapine could not
long support them. The cessation he employed for his own purposes.
The stated day for distributing pay among the troops having arrived,
he directed the officers to draw out the force, and count out the
money to each man in view of the enemy. The men, as was the
custom, taking their arms from the cases in which they had hitherto
been covered, advanced in their accoutrements; the cavalry leading
their horses decked out in their trappings.

The space in front of the city gleamed far and wide with silver and
gold; and nothing could be more gratifying to the Romans, or more
terrifying to the enemy, than that spectacle. The whole of the
ancient wall and the northern quarter of the temple were crowded
with spectators, and the houses were to be seen filled with people on
the look-out; nor was there a spot in the city which was not covered
with multitudes. When they beheld the entire force thus assembled
in one place, and the beauty of their arms, and the admirable order
of the men, even the most daring were struck with fearful dismay.
And I cannot but persuade myself that at that sight the insurgents
would have changed their measures, had not the excessive calamities
which they had inflicted on the people led them to despair of pardon
from the Romans. But, as punishment and death impended if they
desisted, they thought it far better to die in battle. And fate pre-
vailed to destroy the innocent with the guilty, and the city with the
sedition.

2. In four days the several legions of the Romans had all received
their pay. On the fifth, as no pacific overtures had come from the
Jews, Titus formed the legions into two divisions, and commenced
raising embankments, both at the Antonia and at John’s monument.
At the latter point he designed to carry the upper town, and the
temple through the former; for, unless the temple was secured, the
city couid not be retained without danger. Accordingly he pro-
ceedéd to erect two mounds at each of these two places, one being
allotted to each legion. Those at work beside the monument the
Idumzans, and the troops of Simon, impeded by repeated sallies ;

146 THE JEWISH WAR. [Boox v.

while those before the Antonia were obstructed by John and his
associates, in conjunction with the Zealots.

Success attended their efforts, not only in hand-to-hand encounters,
where they fought from higher ground, but with their engines also,
which they had now learned to use, daily practice having gradually
fostered their skill. They had three hundred scorpions and forty
stone-projectors, by means of which they rendered the construction
of the mounds a matter of greater difficulty to the Romans. Titus,
feeling that he was as deeply interested in the preservation as in the
destruction of the city, omitted not, while he pressed the siege, to
urge more prudent counsels on the Jews. With his operations he
blended advice: and, sensible that an address is oftentimes more
effectual than arms, he not only exhorted them himself to consult
their safety by the surrender of the city, which was indeed already
taken, but also despatched Josephus to confer with them in their
native language :—thinking that possibly they might yield to the
remonstrances of a fellow-countryman.

8. Josephus, accordingly, making a circuit of the wall, and endea-

vouring to find some spot, beyond the range of missiles, where he
might still be within hearing, at great length entreated them “ to
spare themselves, and the people ;—to spare their country and their
temple ;—and not manifest towards them a greater apathy than was
exhibited by foreigners, The Romans,” he said, “ though not
participating in them, respected the sacred things of their enemies,
and had thus far withheld their hands from them; whilst those who
had been brought up in them and, should they be preserved, would
alone enjoy them, were bent on their destruction. Their firmest
walls they saw prostrate, and that alone remaining, which was weaker
than those which had fallen. They knew that the power of the Romans
was irresistible, and that to serve them was no novelty to the Jews.
If, indeed, to wage war for freedom were honourable, they should
have contended for it earlier; but when once they had succumbed, and
had for so long a period submitted, then to shake off the yoke, was the
part of men who morbidly courted death, not of lovers of liberty.
' To disdain humbler masters were perhaps admissible; but not
those who ruled the world. For what had escaped the Romans,
except perhaps some spot useless through heat or cold? Fortune had
everywhere passed over to them; and God, who carries the sceptre
of empire round from nation to nation, was now resting over Italy.
It was an established law, and of the greatest force among brutes, as
among men, to yield to the more powerful, and that the ascendancy
should belong to those who are preeminent in arms.

BOOK V. | THE JEWISH WAR. 147

‘‘ Accordingly, their ancestors, who were much superior in mind
and body, as well as in resources generally, had submitted to the
Romans ;—a thing they never would have endured, had they not
known that God was with them. As to themselves, what did they
confide in to induce them still to resist, when for the most part their
city was already taken, and when those within it, though their walls
remained, were suffering under a worse calamity than capture? For
it did not escape the Romans that there raged in the town a famine,
which was now consuming the people, but would soon consume those
who bore arms as well. For even should the Romans desist from the
siege and not attack the city sword in hand, a war beyond the strife of
arms pressed upon them within, every hour gathering strength, unless
indeed they could raise their weapons and fight against famine, and
were able, alone of men, to subdue even the claims of nature.”’

He added, moreover, that “‘ it would be well to alter their proceed-
ings ere their calamities became irremediable, and lean to salutary
counsels while opportunity remained. The Romans would bear no
grudge against them for what had occurred, if they did not persevere
in their contumacy; for they were naturally lenient in victory, and
to the gratification of their resentment would prefer measures of
utility—measures which were incompatible alike with depopulating
the city, and with reducing the country toa desert. It was for these
reasons that Ceesar, even at this late period, wished to grant them
protection. For should he take the city by storm, he would slaughter
them to a man, and especially as having rejected his offers when in
the lowest depths of calamity. That the third wall would be quickly
carried, those which had already fallen gave proof. But even were
that bulwark impregnable, the famine was fighting for the Romans
and against them.” )

4, Josephus, while thus persuading them, was by many derided
from the ramparts, by many loaded with execrations, and by some
assailed with missiles. Finding that these direct recommendations
were disregarded, he passed to the history of their nation. ‘* Miser-
able men!” he cried; “‘are you so unmindful of your own proper
allies, as to war against the Romans with mere weapons and human
hands? What other nation have we thus conquered? When does
God, who created, fail to avenge the Jews, if they be wronged?
Will you not look back and see what that place is from which you
issue forth to battle, and how mighty an Ally you have polluted?
Will you not recall to mind supernatural exploits of your fathers,
and remember what mighty enemies this holy place has in by-gone
times destroyed for us ?

148 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK v.

““ For my own part, I shudder when declaring the works of God to
such unworthy ears. But listen, nevertheless, that you may know
that you war not only against the Romans, but even against God.
Nechaos, who bore also the name of Pharaoh, at that time king of
Egypt, came down with a prodigious band and carried off queen
Sarah, the mother of our race. And what, then, did her husband
Abraham, our progenitor? Did he take vengeance on the ravisher
with the sword ?—and yet he had three hundred and eighteen prefects
under him, each at the head of a countless host. Or did he deem
them nothing, if unaided by God, and, uplifting pure hands towards
this place, which you have now polluted, enlist the unconquered
Supporter on his side? And was not our queen sent back the next
morning, uninjured, to her consort; while the Egyptian, revering the
place which you have stained with the blood of your countrymen, and
terrified by nocturnal visions, fled, making presents of silver and
gold to the Hebrews, beloved of God? Shall I pass in silence, or
allude to, the removal of our fathers into Egypt, who, lorded over,
and cowering under kings of alien birth for four hundred years, when
they might have vindicated their cause with their weapons and their
hands, yet committed themselves to God ?

‘¢ Who has not heard of Egypt overrun by every kind of creature,
and wasted with every disease ?—of the land yielding no fruit, the
Nile failing, the ten successive plagues?—of our fathers, because of
these things, sent forth under escort, without bloodshed and without
danger, God conducting them as the future guardians of his temple?
Did not Palestine, moreover, and the graven image Dagon, rue our
holy ark carried off by the Assyrians? Did not the whole nation of
those who had removed it rue the deed, ulcerated in their loins, and
their bowels borne down with their food, till, with the hands with
which they stole it, they brought it back, with sound of cymbals and
of timbrels, and with various expiations propitiating the sanctuary ?
God it was who in these matters was a leader to our fathers, because,
employing neither hand nor weapon, they committed the issue to
His decision. When Senacherib, king of the Assyrians, with all
Asia in his train, encamped around this city, fell he by human
hands? Were not those hands, resting from arms, lifted up in
prayer, and did not an angel of God, in one night, destroy that count-
less host? And when the Assyrian arose in the morning, did he not
find a hundred and eighty-five thousand dead, and with the remnant
flee from the Hebrews, who were neither armed, nor in pursuit ?

‘¢ You have heard, moreover, of the captivity in Babylon, and that
our people, after passing seventy years there in exile, did not shake

BOOK V.] THE JEWISH WAR. 149

off the yoke and recover their liberty, until Cyrus granted it in
gratitude to God. They were accordingly sent forth by him,
and re-established the temple-worship of their Ally. In fine, no
instance can be adduced of our ancestors having triumphed by arms,
or failed of success without them, when they committed their cause
to God. When they remained within their own borders, they con-
quered, as seemed good to their Judge; when they took the field,
they were invariably defeated. Thus, when the king of Babylon
laid siege to this city, Zedekiah, our sovereign, having, contrary to
the prophetic warnings of Jeremiah, given him battle, was taken
prisoner himself, and saw the city and the temple levelled with the
ground. Yet, how much more forbearing was that prince than your
rulers, and his subjects than you! For, though Jeremiah proclaimed
aloud that they were hateful to God for their transgressions against
him, and that they would be carried away captive if they did not
surrender the city, neither the king nor the people put him to death.
But you, to pass by what has occurred within the walls—for I should
be unable adequately to describe your enormities—heap execrations
on me, who exhort you to save yourselves, and assail me with missiles,
exasperated at being reminded of your misdeeds, and not brooking
even the mention of those things, the realities of which you daily
perpetrate.

‘‘ Again, when our ancestors went forth in arms against Antiochus,
surnamed Epiphanes, who was then sitting down before the city, and
who had been guilty of many indignities towards the Deity, they
were cut to pieces in the battle, and the city plundered by the enemy,
and the sanctuary left desolate three years and six months. But
why need I speak of other instances? Who enlisted the Romans
against our country? Was it not the impiety of its inhabitants?
And whence took our servitude its rise? Was it not in a sedition of
our ancestors, when the madness of Aristobulus and Hyrcanus, and
their mutual dissensions, brought Pompey upon the city, and God
subjected to the Romans those who were unworthy of liberty?
Accordingly, after a siege of three months they surrendered, though
they had not sinned against the laws and the sanctuary so grievously
as you, and though they possessed much greater resources for war.
And do we not know the fate of Antigonus, the son of Aristobulug
under whose reign God again vexed the people for their transgres-
sions by the capture of the city; and Herod, son of Antipater,
brought in Sosius, and Sosius the Roman army, by whom they were
shut up in siege during six months, until in retribution for their
sins they were captured, and the city plundered by the enemy ?

150 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book ν.

“Thus it appears, that arms have never been granted to our nation.
To war is to incur inevitable disaster. For, doubtless, it is the duty
of those who inhabit a holy place to commit all to the Divine disposal ,
and, when they seek to conciliate the Judge on high, then to look with
contempt on human aid. But as for you, what have you done that
has been blessed by the Lawgiver? Or what have you left undone
that has been cursed by Him? How much more impious are you than
those who were more speedily subdued! Secret sins you have not
disdained—thefts, I mean, and treacheries, and adulteries—while in
rapine and murders you vie with each other, and cut out for your-
selves new and strange paths of malignity. The temple is become a
receptacle for all, and by native hands has this divine place been
polluted, which even the Romans from afar revered, foregoing many
of their own customs in deference to our law. And do you after this
expect Him, thus impiously treated, to be your ally? Verily, ye are
righteous suppliants, and with unsullied hands do ye appeal to your
Defender! With such, I ween, our king besought aid against the
Assyrian, when in one night God laid low that mighty host! And,
doubtless, the deeds of the Romans are like those of the Assyrian,
that you may hope for like vengeance also! Did not he receive
money from your sovereign, on condition that he would spare the
city, and then come down, in violation of his oaths, to. burn the
sanctuary? Whereas the Romans do but ask the customary tribute,
which our fathers paid to theirs. Obtaining this, they neither destroy
the city, nor touch the holy things. They concede to you every thing
else—the freedom of your families, the security of your property, and
the preservation of the sacred laws. It is madness, then, to expect
that God should appear against the just, such as He did against the
unjust.

‘* But, further, He knows how to inflict immediate vengeance,
when necessary. Thus, He broke the Assyrians in pieces on the very
first night of theirencampment. So that, had He judged our genera-
tion also worthy of freedom, or the Romans of punishment, He would
at once, as He did to the Assyrians, have laid His hand upon them,
when Pompey interfered with our nation ;—when, after him, Sosius
came up;—when Vespasian was ravaging Galilee; and, lastly, now
when Titus was approaching Jerusalem. And yet Magnus and Sosius,
besides sustaining no injury, even carried the city by assault; while
Vespasian actually entered on the imperial dignity in consequence of
the war against you. For as for Titus, those very springs flow more
copiously for him, which had previously dried up for you. For prior
to his arrival, as you know, Siloam and all the fountains outside the

BOOK V. | THE JEWISH WAR. 151

city had failed, insomuch that water was sold by the amphora; while
now they are so abundant for your enemies, as to suffice not only for
themselves, and their cattle, but even for the gardens. This prodigy
you experienced on a former occasion at the capture of the city, when
the Babylonian before mentioned advanced with his army, and took
and burned both the city and the sanctuary: though, in my opinion,
the Jews of that age were not so deeply impious as you. I cannot,
therefore, but think that God has withdrawn from the holy places,
and taken His stand on the side of those against whom you are now
in arms.

‘* But shall a good man flee from the abode of wantonness, and abhor
its inmates? and do you persuade yourselves that God still remains
with you in your evil courses—that God who sees all secret things, and
hears what is buried in silence? Yet what is there buried in silence
among you, or what concealed? Nay; what is there that has not been
exposed to your very foes? For you make an ostentatious display of
your enormities, and daily contend who shall be the worst ; making an
exhibition of your iniquity as if it were virtue.

‘* But, nevertheless, a path of safety is yet left, if you will. The
Deity is easily pacified towards those who confess and repent. Oh!
iron-hearted men! throw away your weapons; take compassion upon
your country, already on the point of destruction! Turn, and behold
the beauty of that which you are betraying ;—what a city! what a
temple! the gifts of how many nations! Against these, who guides the
flames? Who wishes that these should be no more? And what more
worthy of being preserved than these? Obdurate beings, and more
Insensible than stones! Even if you look not on these objects with
the eyes of natural affection, yet at any rate pity your families, and
let each of you have before his eyes children, and wife, and parents,
ere long to be the victims of famine or of war.

“1 am aware, that 1 have a mother, a wife, a family not ignoble,
and an ancient and illustrious house, involved in the danger; and
I may perhaps be thought on their account to tender you this advice.
Put them to death; take my blood as the price of your own safety ;
I too am ready to die, if after my decease you will learn wisdom.”

152 THE JEWIBH WAR. [BOOK τ.

CHAPTER X.

1. TaovacH Josephus thus with tears loudly appealed to them,
the insurgents were neither moved to yield, nor deemed a change of
measures safe. The people, however, were stimulated to desertion ;
and selling, some their property, others the most valuable of their
treasures, for the smallest trifle, would swallow the gold pieces, that
they might nut be discovered by the brigands; and then, flying to
the Romans, on discharging their bowels, they had a supply for their
necessities ; for Titus gave the greater part of them free passage into
the country, whithersoever they would; and this the rather encou-
raged them to desertion, as they would be relieved from the evils
within, and yet not enslaved by the Romans. The parties of John
and Simon, however, guarded with greater diligence against the egress
of these, than against the ingress of the Romans: and whoever fur-
nished but a shadow of suspicion was instantly dispatched.

2 To the opulent, however, to remain in the city was equally
fatal; for, under pretext of desertion, men were put to death for the
sake of their property. The desperation of the insurgents kept pace
with the progress of the famine; and both of these dread evils were
daily more and more aggravated. For, as corn was nowhere exposed
for sale, they would rush in and ransack the houses, and then, if any
was discovered, they severely punished the owners as having denied
the possession of it; if none was found, they tortured them as having
the more carefully concealed it. The personal appearance of the
unhappy men was a criterion of having it or not. If they were still
vigorous, it was inferred that they had a supply; if emaciated, they
were at once allowed to pass; and it was thought irrational to kill
those who were soon to perish from hunger. Many privately ex-
changed all they were worth for a single measure of wheat, if they
were rich; of barley, if they were poor. Then, shutting themselves
up in the most retired recesses of their houses, some, from extremity
of hunger, would eat the grain unprepared; others would cook it
according as necessity and fear dictated. A table was nowhere
spread, but, snatching the dough half-baked from the fire, they tore
it in pieces.

3. Piteous was the way in which men lived, and deplorable the
spectacle; the strong taking more than their share, the weak com-

BOOK V.]} THE JEWISH WAR. 153.

plaining. Famine overpowers all affections of the mind; but of none
is it so subversive as of shame. What would at other times awaken
reverence is in time of famine treated with contempt. Thus, wives
would snatch the food from husbands, children from parents, and,
what was of all most pitiable, mothers from the very mouths of their
infants: and while these objects of their tenderest love were drooping
in their arms, they did not scruple to deprive them of the vital drops,
Nor, while eating such things, did they escape detection. Everywhere
the insurgents hovered even over the booty thus acquired. When
they observed a house shut up, this was an indication that the inmates
were taking food; and forthwith bursting open the doors, they rushed
in, and squeezing the morsels almost out of their very throats,
brought them up again. Old men were beaten, clutching their food,
and women were dragged about by the hair, concealing what they had
in their hands. Neither for the hoary head, nor for infancy, was
compassion shown ; but, lifting up children with the morsels to which
they clung, they dashed them to the ground. To those who had
anticipated their irruption, and had already swallowed their intended
spoil, they were still more cruel, as having been defrauded of their
right.

They devised dreadful modes of torture for the discovery of food ;
and treated their wretched victims with the utmost brutality. To
extort the acknowledgment of a single loaf of bread, or to make them
show where a single handful of barley-meal was secreted, they subjected
them to tortures, the very recital of which would make one shudder.
And yet these torturers were not themselves suffering from hunger :
their cruelty would have been less, had it had the plea of necessity.
They were but whetting their frenzy, and providing supplies
against a future day. They would go to meet those who had crept
out by night as far as the Roman guard, to gather wild plants and
herbs, and, at the moment when they fancied themselves out of
reach of the enemy, snatch from them what they had procured. And
ofttimes, though they implored them, invoking even the awful name
of God, to return a portion of what they had obtained at the peril
of their lives, the smallest morsel was refused them; and they had
reason to congratulate themselves, that, while robbed, they were not
. also killed.

4. Such were the sufferings inflicted on the humbler classes by the
satellites; but the distinguished and affluent were brought before the
tyrants. Of these, some were falsely accused of conspiracy, and
executed: others, as designing to betray the city to the Romans.
But the readiest method was, to suborn some informer to declare

VOL. Il. M

164 THE JEWISH WAR. [Boox v.

that they had resolved to desert. He who had been stripped by
Simon was turned over to John; and those who had been plundered.
by John fell into the hands of Simon. They pledged each other in
turn in the blood of the populace, and shared among them the
carcases of their wretched victims. On the subject of pre-eminence
they were at variance: in deeds of impiety they were agreed. For
he who allowed no one to participate in the spoils of others’ woes
was deemed selfishly wicked : and he who did not participate mourned
over his severance from the work of cruelty, as from some good.

&. But as it were impossible to relate their enormities in detail,
I shall briefly state, that no other city ever endured similar calamities,
and no generation ever existed more prolific in crime. For in the
end they even disdained the Hebrew race, that they might appear less
impious towards aliens. They confessed themselves to be, what they
were, slaves, and the very dregs of society, the spurious and polluted
spawn of the nation. They it was who overthrew the city, and com-
pelled the reluctant Romans to record a melancholy triumph, and all
but drew upon the temple the tardy flames. Nay, while from the
upper town they beheld it burning, they neither grieved nor wept,
though the Romans gave both these proofs of emotion. But of this
we shall speak hereafter in its place, when we come to describe the
circumstances.

CHAPTER XI.

1. Meantowe the mounds were advancing under the superintend-
ence of Titus, though the soldiers were severely galled from the
ramparts. He now sent a detachment of horse to lie in ambush for
those who went out through the ravines in quest of food. Among
them were some who bore arms, and who were no longer satisfied
with their plunder; but the greater part were of the poorer class,
who were deterred from deserting by fears for their families. For .
they could not hope to elude the vigilance of the factions, if they
attempted to escape with wives and children, nor could they endure
to leave them to the brigands, to be butchered on their account. In
these adventures, however, famine rendered them daring; and it
remained for them, after proceeding unobserved as far as the enemy’s

BOOK V. | THE JEWISH WAR. 155

lines, to be taken prisoners. When caught, they resisted from neces-
sity through dread of punishment; and after a conflict it seemed
unseasonable to sue for mercy. Scourged, therefore, and tortured in
every form, previous to death, they were crucified in front of the
ramparts. Titus indeed looked upon their sufferings with compas-
sion; five hundred each day, and occasionally more, being captured.
Still, to dismiss those taken in arms he deemed unsafe; while to
retain so many in custody he saw would be to place the guards them-
selves under ward. But what chiefly weighed with him was the hope
that the Jews might possibly surrender at the spectacle, lest otherwise
they should themselves be visited with similar punishment. The
soldiers, through resentment and hatred, nailed the prisoners, for
sport, one in one posture, and one in another; and so great was their
number, that there was not space for the crosses, nor were there
crosses for the bodies.

2. But so far were the insurgents from relenting at these sufferings,
that they seduced the multitude into the belief that they were inflicted
from the very opposite motive. For, dragging the relatives of the
deserters to the wall, with such of the populace as were anxious to
accept the proffered protection, they showed them what was endured
by those who sought refuge with the Romans ; stating that those who
had been seized were suppliants, not captives. This, until the truth
was known, detained in the city many who were eager to desert.
Some, notwithstanding, fled immediately, as to certain punishment,
esteeming death from their enemies a relief in comparison with
famine. Titus, moreover, gave orders to cut off the hands of many
of those who had been taken captive, that they might not be regarded
as deserters, and that their calamity might attach credit to their
story, and then sent them in to John and Simon, exhorting them,
‘‘ now at least to pause, and not compel him to lay the city in ruins ;
but by repentance in the last extremity to preserve their own lives,
and a city so distinguished, and a temple not to be profaned by
aliens.” At the same time he went the circuit of the mounds, urging
on the workmen, as purposing ere long to follow up his threats with
actions.

In reply to this message, they inveighed from the ramparts both
against Ceesar himself and against his father; crying aloud that they
despised death, having rightly preferred it to slavery ; that while they
breathed they would inflict every possible injury on the Romans ;
that men, who, as he said, were so soon to perish, need care little for
their country; and that the world was a more suitable temple for
God than theirs. But this would yet be preserved by Him who

156 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book v.

dwelt therein; and, having Him for their ally, they derided every
menace unsupported by actions; for the event was with God.” With
these retorts they intermixed loud invectives.

3. In the meantime Antiochus Epiphanes arrived with a consi-
derable reinforcement of heavy-armed men, and among them a body-
guard of Macedonians, so called, all of the same age, tall, just
emerged from puberty, accoutred, moreover, and disciplined after the
Macedonian fashion; from which circumstance in fact they derived
their appellation, most of them not possessing the right of birth.
Of all the monarchs who owned the Roman sway, the king of Com-
magene enjoyed the highest degree of prosperity, ere he tasted
reverse. Yet in advanced life he also furnished proof that none
should be pronounced happy before death. His son, who had arrived
while his father’s fortunes were at their zenith, expressed his surprise
that the Romans should be so dilatory in attacking the ramparts.
Endowed with a martial spirit, and by nature adventurous, he was
withal so athletic, that his daring was seldom unsuccessful. Titus re-
plying with a smile, “ There is a fair field for everybody,” Antiochus
rushed, without further preparation, at the head of his Macedonians,
.to the wall. Such was his own personal strength and skill, that he
could ward off the missiles of the Jews, while assailing them with his
arrows: but his young comrades in arms, with few exceptions, were all -
roughly handled. For, through respect for their engagement, they
maintained the contest with emulous ardour, and at length retired,
many of them wounded, and bearing in mind that even genuine
Macedonians, if they are to conquer, must have Alexander’s fortune.

4. Though the Romans commenced their mounds on the twelfth of
the month Artemisius, they were scarcely completed on the twenty-
ninth, after seventeen days of unremitted toil. For the four mounds
which were raised were of immense magnitude. One of those at the
Antonia was thrown up by the fifth legion, opposite to the middle of
the reservoir called Struthios ; and the other by the twelfth legion at
the distance of about twenty cubits. The tenth legion, which was
considerably apart from these, was occupied on the northern quarter,
and by the reservoir designated Amygdalon; and about thirty cubits
from thence the fifteenth legion, at the high-priest’s monument.

The engines were at length brought up. John had already under-
mined from within the space between the Antonia:and the mounds,
supporting the ground above the excavation with upright beams, so
as to leave the works of the Romans suspended. He now introduced
timber smeared with pitch and bitumen, and set the mass on fire; and,
the supports being consumed, the mine gave way in a mass, and the

BOOK V.] THE JEWISH WAR. 157

mounds fell in with a tremendous crash. At first dense volumes of
smoke arose, intermingled with the dust, the fire being smothered by
the ruins; but at length, the materials which repressed it being eaten
through, a vivid flame burst forth. The Romans were struck with
consternation at this sudden blow, and disheartened by the ingenuity
of the contrivance: and this, occurring when they already fancied
victory within their grasp, damped their hopes of ultimate success.
To attempt to arrest the flames seemed useless, when, even should
they be extinguished, the mounds were swallowed up.

5. Two days after, Simon and his party made an effort to destroy
the other mounds also; for the Romans had brought up their engines
in that quarter, and were already shaking the wall. One Tephtheeus
of Garsis, a city of Galilee, and Megassarus, one of Mariamne’s
state-attendants, snatching up torches, rushed out upon the engines,
accompanied by an Adiabenian, son of Nabatzus, called from his mis-
fortune Chagiras, which signifies lame. Than these men none more
daring, during that war, sallied from the town, or inspired deeper
terror; for, as if running out into the midst of friends, and not on a
hostile band, they neither feared, nor paused, nor turned aside; but,
dashing in through the midst of the foe, they. applied the torches to
the machines. Though assailed with missiles, and thrust at with
swords on every side, they moved not from the scene of danger, until
the fire had seized the engines. The flames now ascending, the
Romans ran in a mass from their encampments to the rescue; while
the Jews opposed them from the ramparts, and hand to hand, and
prodigal of their own lives, encountered those who were endeavouring
te extinguish the conflagration.

The Romans sought to drag the rams out of the fire, the hurdles
over them being in a blaze; while the Jews, heedless of the flames,
seized them in turn, and grasping the iron of the ram, red-hot as it
was, maintained their hold. From the machines the fire passed over
to the mounds, and forestalled those who were coming to the defence ;
on which the Romans, encircled by the flames, and despairing of the
preservation of the works, retired to their camp. The Jews, their
numbers continually augmenting, as those in the town crowded to
their aid, pressed on, and, flushed with success, dashed forward with
uncontrolled impetuosity: and, advancing to the very entrenchments,
engaged at length hand to hand with the sentries.

In front of a Roman camp is stationed a body of men under arms,
who are relieved in turn, and with regard to whom there is a severe
law, that he who quits his post under any pretext whatsoever dies.
These men, accordingly, preferring rather to fall with honour than

158 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK v.

suffer with infamy, stood firm. Ashamed at the critical position in
which their comrades were placed, many who had fled returned, and,
disposing the scorpions along the wall, checked the crowd of recruits
issuing from the town, who had made no provision either for safety or
defence ; for the Jews attacked hand to hand all they met with, and,
rushing bodily on the points of their weapons, heedless of their own
safety, struck at their antagonists. And success attended their efforts,
not more from their deeds, than their intrepidity; the Romans giving
way to daring, rather than from actual loss.

6. Titus now arrived from the Antonia, whither he had repaired to
look out for a site for other mounds, and severely reprimanded his
troops. ‘“ After making themselves masters of the enemy’s fortifica-
tions, they had allowed their own to be endangered, and were them-
selves in the predicament of a besieged force, having let loose the
Jews as from a prison against themselves.” He then with his picked
band made a circuit, and took the enemy in flank. The Jews, though
attacked in front as well, yet turned and resolutely faced him. The
hostile ranks became intermixed, and, blinded by the dust and
deafened by the clamour, neither side could any longer distinguish
friend from foe. The Jews, not so much by strength, as from despair
of safety, maintained the action: regard for glory, for their arms, and
for Cesar foremost in danger, nerved the Romans. So that I am per-
suaded, that, in the excess of their rage, they would at length have
swept away the entire Jewish host, had not the latter, anticipating
the turn of the engagement, retreated into the city. Their mounds,
however, having been demolished, the Romans were dejected, having
lost in one hour the fruit of their protracted toil; and many were led
to despair of carrying the town by the ordinary contrivances.

CHAPTER XII.

1. Titus now held a consultation with his officers. The more
ardent were of opinion that he should bring up his entire force, and
endeavour to carry the ramparts by storm ; for hitherto a section only
of his army had been engaged with the Jews, but were they to attack
them in mass, they would not be able to resist their onset, as they
would be overwhelmed by the missiles. Of the more cautious, some
were for reconstructing the mounds; whilst others advised, that,

BOOK V.] THE JEWISH WAR. 159

letting these alone, they should sit down, guarding merely against
the egress of the besieged, and the introduction of supplies; and
leaving the city to the famine, avoid any direct collision with the foe.
For there was no contending with men actuated by despair, whose
prayer it was, that they might fall by the sword, and to whom was
reserved, were that prayer unanswered, a more disastrous fate.

To Titus, however, it seemed unbefitting to remain totally inactive
with so large a force, while, to contend with men who would soon
destroy each other, appeared superfluous. He at the same time
pointed out the difficulty of throwing up mounds, from the want of
materials, and the still greater difficulty of guarding against the
sallies of the besieged. ‘‘'To encompass the city with his army, from
its great extent, and from obstacles of situation, would not be easy ;
besides that it would lay them open to the attacks of the enemy. They
might guard the open approaches, but the Jews, through necessity,
and knowledge of the localities, would discover hidden paths; and,
should provisions be clandestinely introduced, the siege would be still
further protracted. Delay, it was to be feared, would diminish the
glory of success: for though time could accomplish everything, yet
celerity was essential to renown. If, however, they wished to com-
bine expedition with safety, they must throw a wall of circumval-
lation round the whole city; for thus alone could all the outlets be.
obstructed ; and the Jews would then either surrender the city, in
utter despair of preservation, or, wasted by famine, yield an easy
triumph. As to other matters, he would not remain inactive, but
would be careful to re-construct the mounds, when those who might
oppose their progress had become enfeebled. If it seemed to any a
great and arduous undertaking, let him reflect, that it ill-beseemed
Romans to employ themselves in aught that was trivial; and that to
accomplish any thing great without labour was no easy thing for any
save God alone.”

2. Having with these arguments satisfied the minds of his officers,
he ordered them to distribute the troops to the work. The soldiers,
seized with preternatural enthusiasm, partitioned the circuit of the
wall, and not only the legions, but also the cohorts which composed
them, vied with one another. The private studied to please the
decurion, the decurion the centurion, and he the tribune; while the
emulation of the tribunes extended to the generals: Csesar himself
presiding over the rivalry of these; for he went round in person
frequently every day, and inspected the work. Commencing at the
camp of the Assyrians, where his own tent was pitched, he drew the
wall to the lower Ceenopolis, and thence through the Kedron to the

160 THE JEWISH WAR. [Boo v.

Mount of Olives. Then bending back towards the south, he encom-
passed the mount as far as the rock called Peristereon, and the
adjoining hill, which overhangs the ravine near Siloam. Thence
inclining towards the west, he went down into the valley of the
Fountain, beyond which he ascended by the monument of the high-
priest Ananus, and, taking in the mount where Pompey encamped,
turned to the north, proceeding as far as a hamlet, called “ the house
of Erebinths ;” passing which, he enclosed Herod’s monument, and
on the east once more united it to his own camp at the point whence
it commenced.

The wall was in length forty furlongs, wanting one. Attached to
it on the outside were thirteen forts, whose united circumferences
measured ten furlongs. The whole was built in three days; and thus
a work, which might well have occupied months, was completed with
a celerity that exceeds belief. Having enclosed the city with a wall,
and placed troops in the forts, he went round in person at the first
watch of the night, and made his observations ; the second he com-
mitted to Alexander ; while the third was allotted to the commanders
of the legions. The sentries took their rest by lot, and during the
entire night paced the intervals between the forts.

8. All egress being now intercepted, every hope of safety to the
Jews was utterly cut off; and famine, with distended jaws, was
devouring the people by houses and families. The roofs were
filled with women and babes in the last stage: the streets with old
men already dead. Children and youths, swollen up, huddled to-
gether like spectres in the market-places; and fell down wherever
the pangs of death seized them. To inter their relations, they who
were themselves affected had not strength; and those still in health
and vigour were deterred by the multitude of the dead, and by the
uncertainty that hung over themselves. For many expired while
burying others; and many repaired to the cemeteries ere the fatal
hour arrived.

Amidst these calamities there was neither lamentation, nor wailing:
famine overpowered the affections. With dry eyes and gaping
mouths, the slowly-dying gazed on those who had gone to their rest
before them. Profound silence reigned through the city, and a night
pregnant with death, and the brigands more dreadful still than these.
For bursting open the houses, as they would a sepulchre, they plun-
dered the dead, and dragging off the coverings from the bodies,
departed with laughter. They even tried the points of their swords
in the carcases, and, to prove the temper of the blades, would run
them through some of those who were stretched still breathing on the

BOOK V.] THE JEWISH WAR. 16]

ground; others, who implored them to lend them their hand and sword,
they abandoned disdainfully to the famine. They all expired with
their eyes intently fixed on the temple, averting them from the insur-
gents whom they left alive. These at first, finding the stench of the
bodies insupportable, ordered that they should be buried at the public
expense ; but afterwards, when unequal to the task, they threw them
from the walls into the ravines below.

4. Titus, as he went his rounds, beholding these filled with the
dead, and the thick matter that flowed from the carcases as they
rotted—groaned, and, lifting up his hands, called God to witness, that
this was not his doing. Such was the state of things in the city. The
Romans, meanwhile, were in the highest spirits, being no longer
harassed by the sallies of the insurgents—for despondency and famine
were at ‘length fastening upon them also—and having plentiful
supplies of corn and other necessaries from Syria and the neighbour-
ing provinces ; and often would the soldiers approach the walls, and,
displaying large stores of viands, aggravate by their superabundance
the hunger of the enemy.

The insurgents remaining unmoved by these sufferings, Titus, com-
miserating the remnant of the people, and anxious to rescue at least
the present survivors, again--commenced raising mounds; though
materials were now procured with difficulty. For, all the trees
around the city liaving been felled for the preceding works, the troops
- had to collect timber from a distance of ninety furlongs, and to raise
mounds much larger than the former, at four points opposite the Anto-
nia alone. Cesar still went the round of the legions, and accelerated
the operations, showing the brigands that they were in his power.
But in their breasts, alone, had regret for these miseries been
extinguished, and dissevering, as it were, their souls from their
bodies, they dealt with each, asif alien tothe other. Forneither did
the sufferings of the body tame their minds, nor the anguish of the
mind affect their bodies: but, like dogs, they worried the people even
after death, and crowded the prisons with the feeble.

CHAPTER XIII.

1. Not even Matthias, through whom he obtained possession of the
city, did Simon put to death untortured. This Matthias was the son
of Boethus, and connected with the chief priests, and he had been

VOL, II N

162 THE JEWISH WAR. {BOOK Vv.

eminently faithful to, and honoured by, the people. He, when the
multitude were suffering severely from the Zealots, to whose party
John had now attached himself, persuaded the citizens to receive Simon
as an auxiliary without entering into any stipulations, or anticipating
evil at his hands. But when once Simon had gained admittance,
and become master of the town, he deemed even the man who had
advocated his cause an enemy, equally with the rest, as having done
80 in mere simplicity. Accordingly, having now summoned Matthias
before him, he accused him of being a partisan of the Romans; and,
without allowing him to utter a word in his defence, condemned him
to death, with three of his sons; the fourth having previously fled to
Titus. Matthias, entreating that he might suffer before his children,
and requesting this favour in return for having opened the gates to
Simon, was denied his suit, and ordered to be slain the last. He was,
accordingly, butchered on the bodies of his sons, who had been
slaughtered before his eyes, after having been led out in view of the
Romans ; (for such were the injunctions which Simon gave to Ananus,
son of Bamadus, the most cruel of his satellites) tauntingly demand-
ing, whether they to whom he intended to desert would succour him.
The bodies he forbade to be interred. After these, a priest named
Ananias, son of Masambalus, a person of distinction, as also Aristeus,
the secretary of the council, born at Ammaus, with fifteen eminent
men from among the people, were executed. They also detained the
father of Josephus in prison, and issued a proclamation that none in.
the city should converse together, or congregate in one place, for
fear of treason; and all who made lamentation in collected bodies
were, without inquiry, put to death.

2. On witnessing these circumstances, Judes, the son of Judes, one
of Simon’s officers, and entrusted by him with the custody of a tower,
in some measure perhaps from compassion for those thus cruelly
destroyed, but chiefly to provide for his own safety, convened ten of
the most trusty of those under him, and said: ‘‘ How long shall we
tolerate these evils? Or what prospect of deliverance is there, while
we maintain allegiance to this wicked man? Is not the famine
already upon us? the Romans all but in the town? and Simon
unfaithful even to his benefactors? And have we not now reason to
apprehend punishment from him, while with the Romans there is
assured protection? Come then, let us surrender the ramparts, and
save ourselves and the city! Simon will be no very grievous sufferer,
should he, now that he has abandoned all hope of safety, be brought
the sooner to justice.”

The ten acquiescing in these views, early next morning he de-

BOOK V. | THE JEWISH WAR. 163

spatched the remainder of those under his orders in different directions,
that nothing which had passed at the meeting might transpire, and
about the third hour called to the Romans from the tower. Of
these, some treated him with contempt, others with doubt, while the
greater part declined interfering, from the persuasion that they would
ina little time take the city without danger. But, while Titus was
advancing up to the wall with a body of troops, Simon, who had re-
ceived timely intimation of what was going forward, arrived, and, pre-
occupying the tower with all haste, seized the men, and, having killed
them in sight of the Romans, and mutilated their bodies, threw them
over the ramparts.

3. In the mean time, Josephus, in going his rounds—for he was
unremitting in his exhortations—was struck on the head by a stone,
and instantly dropped insensible. On his fall, the Jews sallied out,
and he would soon have been dragged into the city, had not Ceesar
promptly sent a detachment to protect him. During the conflict
Josephus was removed, little conscious of what was passing. The in-
surgents, as if they had killed the man whom of all others they were
most anxious to destroy, shouted aloud with delight. This being
rumoured through the town, the residue of the people were seized
with dejection, believing that he, through whom they were en-
couraged to desert, had really perished. The mother of Josephus,
hearing in prison that her son was dead, remarked to the guards,
‘that ever since the siege of Jotapata, she had been led to expect
this; for even in his life-time she did not enjoy his society.” But
giving vent in secret to her grief, she observed to her female attend-
ants, “ that she had reaped this fruit of her maternity, to be denied
the burying of that son, by whom she expected that she would herself
have been interred.” Happily, however, this unfounded rumour
neither long distressed her, nor solaced the brigands. For Josephus
quickly recovered from the stroke, and coming forward, cried aloud,
‘that he should ere long have his revenge upon them for his wound.”
The people he again exhorted to accept the proffered protection.
On beholding him, these were filled with confidence, the insurgents
with dismay. .

4. Of the deserters, some, through necessity, leaped down at once
from the ramparts: whilst others, going out with stones as if to a
skirmish, then fled to the Romans. Here, however, a fate awaited
them, more melancholy than that which attended those within; and
in the abundance they enjoyed with the Romans they found a more
speedy end than in the famine which raged among themselves, They
arrived swollen from hunger, and as if labouring under dropsy ; and

N 2

164 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book v.

then, suddenly overloading their empty bodies, they burst asunder.
Some there were, however, who, aware of the danger, restrained their
appetites, and little by little administered nutriment to a stomach
unused to food.

But even those who were thus preserved were overtaken by another
calamity. One of the deserters under the care of the Syrians
was discovered collecting pieces of gold which he had swallowed;
for these, as we have said, the fugitives swallowed previous to
attempting their escape, as all were searched by the insurgents;
and gold was so abundant in the town that they could purchase for
twelve Attic pieces what before was valued at five-and-twenty. This
artifice being detected in one instance, the rumour circulated through
the camp, that the deserters came filled with gold; and the Arabians
and Syrians proceeded to cut open the suppliants, and search their
intestines; and than this calamity, in my opinion, nothing more
dreadful befel the Jews. In one night two thousand were ripped up.

5. Hearing of this outrage, Titus was on the point of surrounding
the delinquents with his horse, and spearing them, had not so many
been implicated: those who would have to be punished far exceeding
the sufferers in number. Convening the generals of the auxiliaries and
those of: the legions (for some of his own troops also were involved
in the charge) he addressed both parties in terms of indignation.
‘‘ Were any soldiers of his guilty of such an act for the sake of
uncertain lucre, and did they not blush for the honour of their own
weapons, made of silver and gold?” From the Arabians and Syrians
he demanded, ‘‘ Whether in a foreign war they first give unrestrained
licence to their passions, and then ascribe to the Romans their own
murderous cruelty and hatred of the Jews? For some of the very
legionaries,” he said, ‘‘ now participated in their infamy.” These he
accordingly threatened with death, should any be found daring to
repeat the crime; the legionaries he commanded to search for those
suspected, and bring them before him. But cupidity, as it appeared,
set every punishment at defiance. Indeed, the love of gain is a ruling
passion in men, and none is so headstrong as avarice. Yet these,
on ordinary occasions, observe some bounds, and are controlled by
fear. But God had condemned the whole nation, and was turning
to its destruction every avenue of safety. Thus what was prohibited
with threats by Cesar, was still covertly ventured on against the
deserters. And the barbarians advanced to meet the fugitives, before
they had been seen by the troops, and massacred them. ‘Then, look-
ing round, lest some of the Romans should espy them, they mpped
them up, and drew the polluted gain from their bowels. In a few

BOOK ν.] THE JEWISH WAR, 1635

only was it discovered; yet the bare hope of finding it caused the
wanton destruction of the greater part. This calamity led numbers
of the deserters to return. |

6. John, when the plunder from the people failed, had recourse to
sacrilege, and melted down many of the temple-offerings, and many
vessels necessary for the public ministrations, bowls, and dishes, and
tables; nor did he abstain from the wine-vases, which had been sent
by Augustus and his consort; for the Roman sovereigns ever revered
and ornamented the sacred edifice. But at this time a Jew tore
down even the donations of foreigners, remarking to his associates,
that it became them to use divine things in the cause of the Deity
without apprehension, and that those who fought for the temple
should be supported by it.

Accordingly, drawing the sacred wine and oil, which the priests
kept for pouring on the burnt-offerings, and which was deposited in
the inner temple, he distributed them to his adherents, who con-
sumed without horror more than a hin in anointing themselves and
drinking. And here I cannot refrain from expressing what my feel-
ings suggest. I am of opinion, that had the Romans deferred the
punishment of these wretches, either the earth would have opened
and swallowed up the city, or it would have been swept away by a
deluge, or have shared the thunderbolts of the land of Sodom. For
it produced a race far more ungodly than those who were thus
visited, For through the desperate madness of these men, the whole
nation was involved in their ruin.

7. But why need I enter into any partial detail of their calamities ?
when Manneus, the son of Lazarus, who at this period took refuge
with Titus, declared, that, from the fourteenth of the month
Xanthicus, the day on which the Romans encamped before the
walls, until the new moon of Panemus, there were carried through
that one gate which had been entrusted to him, a hundred and fifteen
thousand eight hundred and eighty corpses. This multitude was all
of the poorer class; nor had he undertaken the charge himself; but,
having been entrusted with the distribution of the public fund, he was
obliged to keep count. The remainder were buried by their relations.
The interment, however, consisted merely in bringing them forth,
and casting them out of the city.

After him, many of the higher ranks escaped; and they brought
word that full six hundred thousand of the humbler classes had been
thrown out through the gates. Of the others, it was impossible to
ascertain the number. They stated, moreover, that when they had
no longer strength to carry out the poor, they piled the carcases in

166 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK Vv.

the largest houses, and shut them up; and that a measure of wheat
had been sold for a talent; and that still later, when it was no
longer possible to gather herbs, the city being walled round, some
were reduced to such distress, that they searched the sewers and the
stale ordure of cattle, and ate the refuse; and what they would
formerly have turned from with disgust, then became food.

The recital of these facts awakened the compassion of the Romans ;
yet the insurgents, though eye-witnesses, relented not, but allowed
the same calamities to overtake themselves; blinded by the fate,
which, alike to them and to the city, was now at hand.

THE JEWISH WAR.

BOOK VI.

ARGUMENT OF THE SIXTH BOOK.

1 The sufferings of the Jews increase in severity——The Romans assail the Antonia.—
2. Titus gives orders for the demolition of the Antonia.—At his direction Josephus
again addresses the seditious.—3. Numbers of Romans are burned to death, through
a stratagem of the Jewsa.—An atrocious instance of the effect of famine.—4. The
mounds are completed, and the engines brought up, without effect.—Titus orders the
gates to be set on fire.—Tho whole Sanctuary is consumed.—65. The sufferings entailed
on the Jews by the conflagration of the Temple.—Some account of a false prophet.—
The portents which preceded the capture of Jerusalem. 6. The Romans bring their
engines within the Temple.—The address of Titus to the Jews on their supplication
for mercy.—Their reply, which arouses his indignation.—7. What befell the insurgents
in the sequel of their sufferings.—Titas obtains possession of the upper town.—
8. Csosar becomes master of the whole city.—9. The instructions given by Ceesar on
his entry.—The number of the slain and captured.—Of the Tyrants Simon and John.

—10. A brief summary of the history of Jerusalem.

BOOK VI.

CHAPTER I.

1. THE calamities of Jerusalem now became daily aggravated, the
ferocity of the insurgents being stimulated by their sufferings, and
the famine at length extending its ravages from the people to them-
selves. The multitude of carcases, moreover, that lay in heaps
throughout the city, presenting a horrible spectacle, and emitting a
pestilential stench, formed an impediment to the combatants in their
sallies. For they were compelled, like men inured to boundless
slaughter on the battle-field, to tread upon the bodies as they ad-
vanced; and as they passed over them, no shudder seized them, no
emotion of pity. Nor yet drew they any evil omen to themselves
from this insult to the departed. With hands defiled by the blood of
their countrymen, they rushed forth to encounter aliens; upbraiding
the Deity, as it seems to me, with tardiness in punishing them. For
the contest was not maintained in hope of victory: it was despair of
safety which now inspired them with boldness.

The Romans, meanwhile, though severely harassed in the collection
of timber, had completed the mounds in one-and-twenty days, having,
as we before stated, stripped the whole district around the city to the
distance of ninety furlongs. Melancholy indeed was the aspect of the
country; places formerly ornamented with trees and pleasure-grounds
now lying utterly desert, with all the timber felled. Nor could a
stranger, who had seen Judzea as she once was, and the enchanting
suburbs of her capital, and beheld her present desolation, have re-
frained from tears, or suppressed a sigh at the greatness of the change.
For the war had obliterated every trace of beauty; and had any one
acquainted with the spot in other days come suddenly upon it, he
could not have recognised it, but, though beside it, would still have
inquired for the city.

2. To the Romans, as to the Jews, the completion of the mounds
proved a source of apprehension. For the latter feared that, should

172 THE JEWISH WAR. [Boox τι.

they not succeed in burning them too, the town would be captured ;
the Romans, that they would never take it, should these mounds also
be destroyed. For there was a deficiency of materials, and the bodies
of the soldiers were already sinking beneath their toils, and their
minds under their repeated disasters. The calamities of the city,
morcover, were an occasion of greater discouragement to the Romans,
than to those within the walls; for they found its defenders no way
disheartened by such severe misfortunes, while their own hopes were
continually crushed, their mounds counteracted by the stratayems of
the enemy, their engines by the solidity of the ramparts, their close
combat by the daring of their antagonists. But above all, finding
tho Jows possessed of a fortitude of mind which yielded not to
vedition, famine, war, or calamities, however great, they deemed the
enorgy of the men irresistible, and their cheerfulness under dis-
aster invincible. For what would they not endure, did Fortune smile
upon them, who were animated to valour by her frowns? These
reflvetions, therefore, led the Romans to strengthen considerably
the guarda of the mounds.

ἃ. John and his party, who were posted at the Antonia, while
tadliy: proeautions for the future, in the event of the demolition of
the wall, alav assailed the works before the rams were brought up.
Thele eutorpriae, however, proved unsuccessful. Having advanced
with (uevhoa, they returned checked in their hopes, ere they reached
the wounds Bar first, there seemed to be no unanimity in their
wictla ον rushed out in detached parties, and at intervals,
Ἀναῤιανίνῳ ἵν avd in alarm, and in a word, not as Jews. For they were
Mew Wantig: alke itn all the peculiar characteristics of the nation,
Watts Upeduaaty, the simultaneous charge, and the safe retreat
even wlren Wattetes,

Atut whale thew own advance was thus unusually languid, they
ἀνθ Chee ooaree eae up in stranger array than ordinary, screening
he ϑνυλεννῖα cae all atdes with theie bodies and with their arms, so as to
guectiale the mtinaluetion αὐ tire fram any quarter whatever ; each
ἀάνν ty laid never τὰ quit his post with life. For, besides that all
νειν θα δα ἃ be cut att) should these works also be burned, the
ayslativna (ele tlie deepont abate, that artifice should invariably prove
ἀνὰ He ναί cloaperation to arts, numbers to science, Jews to
ἡλιυνλνάνιε

We μὴ etgguia at the same time, rendered them some
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VQSHHLIA 40 TOOd

BOOK VI. ] THE JEWISH WAR. 173

the missiles, some, terrified by the admirable order and firm array of
their antagonists, turned and fled, before they came to close quarters ;
others, not till wounded with their lances, At length, reproaching
each other with cowardice, they withdrew, their object unattained.
This attack was made on the new moon of the month Panemus.

On the retreat of the Jews, the Romans brought up the storming
towers, though assailed from the Antonia with stones, fire, iron, and
every species of missile with which necessity supplied the Jews. For,
though they relied with confidence on their ramparts, and held the
engines in contempt, they yet laboured to prevent the Romans from
bringing them up. The latter, on the other hand, conjecturing that
the anxiety of the Jews to protect the Antonia from assault arose
from the weakness of the walls, and hoping that its foundations were
insecure, redoubled their exertions. But it resisted every shock.
Still the Romans, though incessantly assailed, undeterred by the
dangers that menaced them from above, continued to give full effect
to their machines. As they were, however, at a disadvantage, and
were crushed by the stones, another party, locking their shields over
their bodies, set to work with hands and crow-bars to undermine the
foundations, and after persevering exertion dislodged four stones.
Night suspended the operations on either side; but during its lapse
the wall, shaken by the rams in that part where John, in his strata-
gem against the former mounds, had dug underneath it, fell suddenly
to the ground, the mine giving way. . |

4. By this occurrence the minds of both parties were affected in an
extraordi manner. .For the Jews, who might reasonably have
been disheartened by this unexpected catastrophe, and by their hav-
ing taken no precautionary measures against it, maintained their con-
fidence, as the Antonia still remained ; while, on the other hand, the
unhoped-for joy of the Romans at this event was speedily extin-
guished by the appearance of another wall, which John and his party
had built inside. The assault of this, however, seemed likely to be
attended with less difficulty than that of the former, as the ruins of
the outer wall facilitated the ascent to it. The wall itself, also,
appeared much weaker than that of the Antonia; and they therefore
flattered themselves, that, as it was a temporary structure, it would
be quickly destroyed. Still, none ventured to mount it; for manifest
destruction awaited those who should first make the attempt. -

5. Titus—being οὗ opinion that the ardour of those who are
engaged in war is most powerfully roused by hope and the language
of encouragement, and that exhortations and promises frequently
induce forgetfulness of danger, and sometimes even a contempt of

174 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book vI.

death—assembling his best troops around him, thus put them to
the proof.

“« Fellow-soldiers,” said he, “ an address inciting to enterprises not
in their own nature attended with danger is inglorious to those to
whom it is directed, while it assuredly argues pusillanimity in him
from whom it comes. Encouragement I deem necessary, only when
affairs wear an alarming aspect; since, when the contrary is the case,
it behoves every one to act of his own accord. I therefore myself lay
the fact before you, that to scale the wall is an arduous undertaking.
But that it is peculiarly becoming in those who are ambitious of fame
to contend with difficulties—that it is glorious to die with renown ;
and that those who lead the way in deeds of valour shall not be
unrewarded—lI will now proceed to show. In the first place then,
be that an incentive to you, which to some might possibly be a dis-
suasive—the patient endurance which the Jews exhibit, and their
fortitude in adversity. For shame it were, Romans as you are, and
soldiers of mine, who in peace are trained to war, and in war are
accustomed to conquer, that you should yield the palm, either in
strength or courage, to Jews; and this, when on the eve of victory,
and enjoying the co-operation of God. For our mischances orjginate
in the desperation of the Jews; while their sufferings are augmented
by your prowess and the assistance of the Deity. For intestine feuds,
famine, siege, the fall of their ramparts without a stroke from our
engines—what else can this be but the manifestation of God’s anger
against them, and of His aid extended to us? Therefore were it
unbecoming in us so to act as not only to be surpassed by an inferior,
but even to forego the Divine alliance. How, indeed, can it be other-
wise than disgraceful, that Jews—on whom, as they have learned to
be slaves, defeat can bring no great degree of shame—should yet, that
they may endure servitude no longer, regard death with contempt,
and frequently rush out into the midst of us, not from any hope of
victory, but for the bare display of courage; and yet that we, who
have subdued almost the whole of sea and land, and to whom not to
conquer is disgrace, without once exposing ourselves to danger against
our foes, should await the operations of famine and fortune against
them, sitting down idle with weapons such as these ;—and this when
we have it in our power, at a trifling hazard, to accomplish all? For
if we scale the Antonia, the city is our own. For even should there
be any further struggle with those within the city, which I do not
anticipate, your position over their heads, and the command of
the very air they breathe, would ensure a complete and speedy
triumph.

BOOK VI. | THE JEWISH WAR. 175

“Τὸ laud a death in war, and the immortality of those who fall
amidst the wild enthusiasm of battle, is not my present purpose; yet
to those who feel otherwise, the worst I would wish is death during
peace by disease, their souls and bodies condemned to one common
grave! For who of the brave knows not, that the souls released from
the flesh by the sword on the battle-field are welcomed by ether, the
purest of elements, and placed among the stars; and that they shine
among their own posterity, as good genii and propitious heroes? but
that those souls which pine away in bodies wasted by disease, how-
ever pure they may be from stains and defilements, a subterraneous
night obscures, and profound oblivion receives, while their life, their
bodies, and their memory, reach their close together? But if an
inevitable end has been decreed for men, and the sword administers
it more gently than any discase, how can it be otherwise than ignoble,
to deny to the public weal what we must yield to fate?

‘‘Thus far I have proceeded on the supposition, that they who
shall make the attempt must necessarily perish. Still, to the valiant
escape is possible, even from the most imminent dangers. For, in the
first place, it will be easy to mount the wall which has been thrown
down ; and in the next place, so much as has been built up, it will
not be difficult to overthrow. And do you arm yourselves in greater
numbers with boldness for the enterprise, and thus encourage and
assist each other; and your intrepidity will soon break the spirits of
your opponents. And.perhaps this exploit may be bloodless, if you
do but make the attempt. For, though they will in all probability
endeavour to hinder you in the ascent, yet if, unperceived, you once
force your way, it may be that they will no longer resist, though but
a handful of you should anticipate them. As for the man who leads
the assault, I should blush did I not make him worthy to be envied
for his rewards; and while he who survives shall command those who
are now his equals, the blessed meed of valour shall attend even them
that fall.”

6. On this address of Titus, the general body of the soldiers were
alarmed at the magnitude of the danger; but among those who served
in the cohorts was one named Sabinus, a Syrian by birth, who showed
himself pre-eminent in strength of body and in spirit, though any one
judging of him from his outward appearance would have pronounced
him unfit to be a soldier. His skin was black, his person withered
and emaciated; but in this attenuated frame, a frame little propor-
tioned to its native prowess, dwelt an heroic soul. It was he that
was the first to rise. ‘I cheerfully devote myself to you, Cesar,” he
exclaimed: ‘‘I am the first to scale the wall; and I pray that your

176 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK νι.

fortune may second my strength and resolution. But, if my attempt
be frustrated by higher powers, know that I have anticipated my fall,
but that for your sake I have deliberately preferred to die.” Having
thus spoken, and with his left hand stretching his shield over his
head, and with his right drawing his sword, just at the sixth hour of
the day, he proceeded towards the wall. There followed him eleven
others also, who alone were found to emulate his valour. But the
man, inspired by a preternatural ardour, kept far in advance of all.
The guards hurled their darts at them from the ramparts, pouring at
the same time showers of missiles from all quarters, and rolling down
vast stones, which swept away some out of the eleven. But Sabinus
facing the missiles, and almost overwhelmed by the darts, paused not
in his impetuous onset, until he had gained the summit, and routed
the enemy. For the Jews, dismayed at his strength and intrepidity of
spirit, and conceiving withal that more had ascended, betook them-
selves to flight.

Here, notwithstanding, one might censure Fortune as bearing a
grudge against feats of valour, and ever frustrating marvellous
achievements. Thus, at the very moment when Sabinus had attained
his object, he slipped, and, stumbling against a stone, fell headlong
over it with a loud crash. The Jews, turning and seeing him alone
and prostrate, assailed him on all sides. Rising on his knee, and
protecting himself with his shield, he defended himself for a while,
and wounded numbers of those who approached him. But his arm
was soon paralysed by his many wounds, and he was at length, ere yet
he had yielded life, buried under the missiles; a man, whose gallantry
merited a better fate, but whose fall was in character with his enter-
prise. Of his comrades, three were crushed by the stones, and slain,
after gaining the summit; the other eight were drawn down wounded,
and conveyed to the camp. These events took place on the third of
the month Panemus.

7. Two days after, twenty of the guards, who formed an outpost at
the mounds, assembled, and inviting the standard-bearer of the fifth
legion to join them, with two horsemen from the lines, and a trum-
peter, advanced at the ninth hour of the night, without noise,
through the ruins to the Antonia. The sentinels whom they first
fell in with, they killed in their sleep, and having gained possession
of the wall, ordered the trumpeter to sound. On this, the other
guards suddenly started to their feet and fled, before any one had
observed what number had ascended; for the panic, and the peal of
the trumpet, led them to suppose that the enemy had mounted in
great force. Cesar, on hearing the signal, immediately ordered the

BOOK VI. | THE JEWISH WAR. 177

troops to arms, and with the generals, and his detachment of picked
men, was the first to mount the ramparts. The Jews fled into the
temple; the Romans also making their way in through the mine
which John had excavated under their mounds.

The insurgents of both factions, as well those attached to John, as
those who followed Simon, drawing up in separate divisions, checked
their advance, performing prodigies of strength and valour; for they
deemed capture complete, should the Romans penetrate into the Holy
Place; while the latter looked on such an event as the commence-
rent of victory. A desperate conflict ensued around the approaches ;
the legionaries pressing in to possess themselves of the temple also,
the Jews thrusting them back to the Antonia. Missiles and spears
were alike useless to both parties. Drawing their swords, they
engaged hand to hand; and in the struggle it was impossible to
distinguish on which side the respective combatants were, the men,
owing to the narrowness of the place, being mixed with one another,
and interchanged ; and their battle cries, so loud was the din, striking
confusedly on the ear.

The slaughter on either side was great; and the contending ranks
trampling on the fallen, crushed their bodies and their armour. -
Whichever way rolled the fluctuating tide of war, were heard the
animating shouts of the victors, and the lamentations of the routed.
Place for flight or pursuit was none, the ranks swaying to and
fro, and shifting about irregularly in the confusion of the contest.
Necessity compelled those in front either to kill or be killed, there
being no retreat ; for those behind on both sides urged forward their
own party, and no intermediate space was left for the combatants. At
length, the fury of the Jews prevailing over the skill of the Romans,
the whole line gave way, after an engagement maintained from the
ninth hour of the night, until the seventh of the day. The Jews had
fought with all their forces combined, with the peril of capture as an
incentive to valour; the Romans had only a part of their force in the
action, the legions, on which they placed their main dependence, not
having yet come up. They were, accordingly, satisfied for the pre-
sent with the possession of the Antonia.

8. Julian, a centurion in the Bithynian army, a man not ignoble,
and distinguished above all whom I became acquainted with during that
war, in knowledge of the military art, in strength of body, and in
intrepidity of soul, observing the Romans now giving way, and offer-
ing but feeble resistance, sprang forward—he had been standing beside
Titus at the Antonia—and singly drove back the Jews, already
victorious, to the corner of the inner temple. The multitude fled in

VOL. II. ο

178 THE JEWISH WAR. [poox vi.

crowds before him, deeming neither his strength nor his courage
human. Dashing in every direction through the midst of their scat-
tered ranks, he slew all who came in his way, and nothing was
presented more admirable than that spectacle in the eyes of Cesar,
or more horrifying to his foes. But he also was pursued by fate,
which it is impossible for mortal man to escape. - His shoes being
thickly studded with pointed nails, as was customary with the soldiery,
he slipped while running on the pavement, and falling on his back,
his armour crashing loudly, he attracted the attention of the fugitives.
The Romans on the Antonia, alarmed for his safety, raised a loyd
shout ; but the Jews, surrounding him in crowds, assailed him on all
sides with spears and swords. Many of their thrusts he received on
his shield, making frequent attempts to rise, but as often thrown back
by the number of his assailants. Yet, even while prostrate, he
wounded many with his sword; for, protected as he was in every
vital part by his helmet and breast-plate, and contracting his neck,
he was not soon dispatched. At length, all his other members being
hacked, and none of his comrades venturing to his assistance, he
resigned himself to his fate. The fall of a soldier of such distin-
guished gallantry, killed, too, before the eyes of so many, deeply
affected Ceesar. Though anxious to succour him in person, he was
prevented by the nature of the place, while those who might have
aided him were withheld by terror. Julian, in consequence, after
struggling long with death, and permitting few of those who killed
him to escape unscathed, was with difficulty slain, leaving behind
him, not with the ‘Romans and Cesar only, but even among his
enemies, a reputation of the highest renown. The Jews, dragging off
the body, again repulsed the Romans, and shut them up in the
Antonia.

ΟΥ̓ the Jews, one Alexas, and Gyphthzus, signally distinguished
themselves in this engagement, in John’s army; as did, among Simon’s
adherents, Malachias, and Judas, son of Merton, with James, son of
Sosas, communder of the Idumzans; and of the Zealots, two brothers,
Simon and Judes, sons of Ari.

BOOK VI. | THE JEWISH WAR. 179

CHAPTER II.

1, Trrus now ordered his troaps to raze the foundations of the
Antonia, and prepare an easy ascent for his whole force. On the
seventeenth of Panemus—on which day he heard that the daily
sacrifice, as it was styled, had ceased to be offered to God from want
of men, and that the people were in consequence fearfully dis-
heartened—he put Josephus forward, and directed him to deliver to
John the same message as before ;—‘* That if he had a depraved love
for fighting, he was at liberty to advance from the walls with as many
as he wished, and carry on the war without involving the city and
the sanctuary in his own ruin; but that he ought no longer to pollute
the Holy Place, nor transgress against God; and that he had his
permission to perform the interrupted sacrifices, with the aid of such
Jews as he should select.”

Josephus, accordingly, standing where he might be heard, not only
by John, but by the multitude as well, declared to them in Hebrew
the commands of Cesar, and, moreover, at great length besought
them to “spare their country, to disperse those flames which were
already touching on the temple, and to restore to God the usual
expiations.” These words were received by the people in silence and
dejection; but the tyrant, after venting many invectives and impre-
cations against Josephus, finally added, that ‘“‘ he could never fear
capture, since it was God’s city.” Thereupon, Josephus cried aloud :—

“4 Marvellously pure, no doubt, hast thou preserved it for God!
and the Holy Place, too, remains unpolluted! Against Him whose
alliance thou hopest for thou hast committed no impiety! He still
receives His customary sacrifices! Should any one deprive thee of
thy daily food, most impious wretch, thou wouldst deem him an
enemy: dost thou, then, hope to have that God for thy confederate
in the war, whom thou hast defrauded of His eternal worship? And
dost thou impute your sins to the Romans, who, up to this very
moment, respect our laws, and strive to restore to God those sacrifices
which are by you interrupted? Who would not mourn, and com-
miserate the city, on so strange a revolution? since foreigners and
enemies rectify thy impiety, whilst thou, a Jew, nurtured in her laws,
dealest with them more rudely even than they ?

«Βαϊ, notwithstanding, John, it is never disgraceful, even at the
‘latest moment, to repent of misdeeds; a noble example— shouldst thou

a9

180 THE JEWISH WAR. [Βοοκ v1.

desire to save thy country, is set before thee in Jechoniah, king of the
Jews; who, when the Babylonian once led his army against the city
on his account, willingly withdrew, rather than it should be captured ;
submitting with his family to voluntary captivity, that these holy
places might not be delivered up to the foe, and that he might not
see the house of God in flames. For this is he celebrated in sacred
story among all the Jews, and history, flowing ever fresh through
each succeeding age, hands him down to posterity immortal. Here,
John, is a noble example, even were there danger in following it; but
I guarantee you even pardon from the Romans. Remember, more-
over, that I who exhort you am one of your own nation; that I who
hold out these promises am a Jew; and it behoves you to consider
who it is that counsels you, and of what race he comes. For never
may I live to become so debased a captive, as to disown my birth, or
to forget my fatherland.

‘¢ Again thou art indignant, and breakest forth in loud invectives
against me. I deserve it, I own—aye, and severer treatment still—
for offering an admonition in opposition to fate, and for endeavour-
ing to save those whose doom is pronounced by God. Who is igno-
rant of the writings of the ancient prophets, and of that prediction,
now on the eve of accomplishment, which threatens this wretched
city? For then did they foretell its capture, when one should com-
mence the slaughter of his own countrymen. And is not the city—
yea, and all the temple too—filled with your corpses? It is God,
then—God Himself,—who, by means of the Romans, is bringing upon
ita purifying fire, and is sweeping away a city fraught with such
pollutions.” , |

2. During this address, delivered with lamentations and tears,
Josephus’ voice was interrupted by sobs. Even the Romans pitied
his emotion, and wondered at the strength of his affection. But John
and his adherents were only the more exasperated against the Romans,
desiring to get Josephus also into their power. Still his arguments
moved many of the higher class. Some, indeed, there were who,
though assured that themselves and the city were alike doomed to
destruction, from dread of the guards of the insurgents continued in
the place, but others, watching an opportunity for effecting a safe
retreat, fled to the Romans. Among these were the chief priests,
Joseph and Jesus, and certain sons of chief priests. Of these, three
were the sons of Ishmael, who was beheaded in Cyrene; four of
Matthias; and one the son of another of that name, who had made his
escape after the death of his father, whom, with three of his sons,
Simon, son of Gioras, had executed, as has been -already related..-

a

BOOK V1. ] THE JEWISH WAR. 181

With the chief priests, many others also of the nobles went over to
the Romans.

Not only did Cesar receive them with kindness in all other
respects; but, aware that they would not pass their time without
annoyance amidst foreign customs, he sent them to Gophna, with
directions to remain there for the present; and promising, when at
leisure, as soon as he had done with the war, to restore to them their
respective possessions. They retired accordingly, with cheerful hearts
and perfect security, to the town assigned. As these persons were no
longer seen, the insurgents again circulated a report, that the deserters
were slaughtered by the Romans, evidently with the design of deter-
ring others by such apprehensions from attempting escape. The
artifice, as before, was attended with momentary success, fear
checking the spirit of desertion.

3. Subsequently, however, Titus, having recalled the men from
Gophna, ordered them to make a circuit of the wall with Josephus, in
order to'be seen by the people; whereupon great numbers fled to the
Romans. Grouping together, and standing in front of the Roman line,
with lamentations and tears, they implored the insurgents, “above all,
to admit the Romans to the whole of the city, and once more save
their fatherland ; but if this displeased them, to withdraw, at all events,
from the temple, and thus preserve for themselves the sanctuary: for
the Romans would not venture, unless under the most urgent neces-
sity, to set fire to the holy places.”

This language only induced a more determined opposition, and
shouting in return many imprecations on the deserters, they ranged
their scorpions, catapults, and stone-projectors, over the sacred gates:
so that the temple enclosure all around, from the vast heaps of dead,
resembled a crowded cemetery, and the sanctuary itself a citadel.
They rushed in arms into those hallowed and inviolable shrines, their
hands still reeking with the blood of their fellow-countrymen. To
such a pitch of iniquity did they proceed, that, with the same feelings
of indignation, with which the Jews might naturally have regarded
the Romans, had they been guilty of similar excesses towards them,
did the Romans now view the Jews, profaning their own sacred rites.
Of the soldiers, indeed, there was not one who did not regard the
temple with awe and adoration, and who did not pray that the
brigands might relent, before any irremediable calamity occurred.

4. Titus, deeply affected, again upbraided John and his associates.
‘‘ Was it not you,” said he, ‘‘ most abandoned men, that raised this
partition-wall before your sanctuary? Was it not you that disposed
the tablets upon it, inscribed in Greek and Roman characters,

182 THE JEWISH WAR. [poox vr.

proclaiming that none should pass that border? And did not we grant
you liberty to put to death any who should do so, even were he
a Roman? Why then, ye guilty ones, do ye now trample even dead
bodies underfoot within it? Why do you contaminate your sanctuary
with the blood of strangers, and of your fellow-countrymen? I call
the gods of my fathers to witness, and any Deity who once watched
over this place—for now I think it is cared for by none—I appeal to
my own arnty also, and to the Jews beside me, ay, and to you your-
selves, that it is not I that constrain you to defile those things. And
would you but change the scene of conflict, no Roman shall approach
or profane the holy places. Nay, I shall preserve the sanctuary for
you, even against your will.”

5. On Josephus reporting to them this address of Cesar, the
brigands and the tyrant, attributing his exhortations rather to
cowardice than to any friendly motive, received them with super-
cilious scorn. But Titus, when he saw that they felt neither com-
passion for themselves, nor regard for the sanctuary, once more
reluctantly proceeded to hostilities. His whole force it was impos-
sible to bring up against them, owing to the confined nature of the
ground: he therefore selected thirty of the best men out of each cen-
tury, appointing a tribune to every thousand. The command-in-chief
he confided to Cerealius, and gave orders to attack the guards about
the ninth hour of the night. He was also himself in arms, and ready
to go down with them, but was withheld by his friends on account of
the magnitude of the danger, and by the observations of the generals,
who represented that “ he would do more good by taking his station on
the Antonia, and directing the troops in the battle, than if he should
descend, and lead in the path of peril; for all would conduct them-
selves like brave warriors under the eye of Cesar.” In these sugges-
tions Titus acquiesced, declaring to the troops, that “for this sole
reason he remained, that he might judge of their gallantry, and that
none of the brave might be unrewarded, nor any of an opposite cha-
racter escape unchastised; but that he might be a spectator, and
witness of all, who had authority both to reward and to punish.” At
the hour above-mentioned he dismissed the soldiers on their enter-
prise; while he himself, proceeding from the Antonia to a point
whence he could see all below, anxiously watched the event.

6. The troops, however, did not find the guards asleep as they had
hoped; but, their antagonists springing up with a loud shout, they
were instantly engaged in a close struggle with them. At the cries
of the sentries their comrades ran out in a mass from the buildings.
The Romans sustained the shock of those who came first: they who

BOOK VIL. | THE JEWISH WAR. 183

advanced next fell upon their own party, and many dealt with their
comrades as enemies. For recognition by voice was prevented by
the confused din on both sides, and that by vision by the darkness of
the night; while, even had it been otherwise, some were so blinded
by rage, and others by fear, as to assail indiscriminately all who came
in their way.

To the Romans, however, who locked their shields, and charged in
compact bodies, this uncertainty was less prejudicial ; each, besides,
bore the watchword in recollection. But the Jews, constantly scat-
tered, and alike attacking and retreating at random, frequently
presented to one another the aspect of enemies; for each imagined,
in the darkness, that a retreating comrade was an advancing Roman,
and received him as such. More, accordingly, were wounded by their
own party than by the foe, until day having dawned, the battle became
thenceforward discernible to the eye ; and then, having drawn up apart
in close array on either side, they could use their missiles, and carry on
their resistance in good order. Neither gave way; neither relaxed their
efforts.) The Romans, as under the eye of Titus, vied with each other,
man by man, and rank by rank, each supposing that that very day
would be the commencement of his own promotion, if he did but acquit
himself gallantly in the contest. The Jews, on the other hand, were
directed in their daring deeds by fears for themselves, and for the
temple, and by the watchful presence of their chief, who, partly by
encouragement, partly by the lash and menaces, stimulated them
to exertion. ‘The contest was for the most part hand to hand, the
battle alternating in narrow space, and with rapidity, neither side
having room for flight or pursuit.

Ever, as the tide of battle fluctuated, a shout in unison therewith
burst from the Antonia. When successful, they called aloud to their
men to press boldly forward ; when retreating, to stand their ground.
It was as some theatric spectacle of war; for nothing throughout the
engagement escaped the view of Titus, or of those around him. At
length they parted, after an action, commenced at the ninth hour of
the night, and continued until after the fifth hour of the day, and in
which neither had compelled their adversaries permanently to retire
from the spot on which the encounter began, victory remaining
undecided in the doubtful combat. Of the Romans, many signalised
themselves ; of the Jews, the most distinguished were, of the party of
Simon, Judas, son of Merton, and Simon, son of Josias; of the
Idumzeans, James and Simon, the latter the son of Cathlas, the former
of Sosas; of John’s adherents, Gyphtheeus and Alexas; and of the
Zealots, Simon, son of Ari. .

184 THE JEWISH WAR. [woox vs.

᾿ ἤ. In the mean time, the remainder of the Roman force, having in
seven days overturned the foundation of the Antonia, had prepared
ἃ wide ascent as far as the temple. The legions now approached the
first wall, and commenced their mounds—one opposite the north-
west-angle of the inner temple, a second at the northern cham-
ber which was between the two gates, and of the remaining two, one
at the western colonnade of the outer court of the temple, the other
without, at the northern. The works, however, were carried forward
amid great fatigue and hardship, the timber being brought from the
distance of a hundred furlongs.

The troops, likewise, occasionally suffered severely by stratagems,
being themselves from assurance of superiority the more off their guard,
and finding the Jews, through despair of safety, the more daring. Some
of the cavalry, when they went out to collect wood or fodder, took
the bridles off their horses, and turned them loose to graze, while they
were foraging ; and these the Jews, sallying out in bands, carried off.
This happening continually, Ceesar, rightly conjecturing that these de-
predations arose rather from the negligence of his own men, than from
the courage of the Jews, determined by an act of more than ordinary
severity to turn the attention of the rest to the care of their horses ;
and having accordingly ordered one of the soldiers who had lost his
horse to be led to death, by that fearful example he preserved the
chargers of the others ; for they no longer allowed them to graze,
but when they proceeded in quest of necessaries, kept as close to
their horses as if they had formed a natural part of them. The
Romans, meanwhile, were carrying on the assault of the temple, and
the erection of the mounds.

8. The day after they had mounted the breach, many of the insur-
gents, whom rapine had already failed, and upon whom famine
pressed hard, assembled, and about the eleventh hour of the day
attacked the Roman posts at the Mount of Olives; thinking, in the
first place, to find them off their guard, and, in the next, to surprise
them while taking refreshment, and thus easily break through. The
Romans, however, observing their approach betimes, quickly hurried
to the spot from the adjacent forts, and checked their strenuous
efforts either to scale the barrier, or to throw it down. A hot engage-
ment ensued, and many gallant feats were performed on both sides ;
the Romans evincing military skill, combined with strength—the
Jews reckless impetuosity and unbridled fury. Shame led on the one
party, necessity the other. To let go their enemies, now enclosed as in
a net, seemed to the Romans most disgraceful ; while the Jews had but
one hope of safety—to force their way and break through the barrier.

BOOK VI.] THE JEWISH WAR. 185

The Jews being at length repulsed and driven down the ravine,
one Pedanius, who belonged to the cavalry of a cohort, dashing with
his horse on their flank, seized by the ankle one of the flying foe,
a youth of robust frame, and in full armour, and caught him up; so
much did he stoop from his horse, though in full career, and such
strength of arm and of body did he exhibit, joined with great eques-
trian skill. Carrying off his prisoner as he would some article of pro-
perty, he came with him to Cesar, who, having expressed his admi-
ration of the strength of the captor, and ordered the captive to
punishment for his attempt on the barrier, gave his attention to the
conflicts around the temple, and to the completion of the mounds.

9. In the mean time, the Jews, suffering severely from their
encounters, as the war was gradually, yet constantly, tending towards
its height, and creeping up to the sanctuary, cut off, as from a body
in a state of mortification, the limbs already infected, to arrest the
further progress of the disease. They set fire to that part of the
north-western colonnade connected with the Antonia, and subse-
quently broke off about twenty cubits, with their own hands com-
mencing the conflagration of the holy places. Two days after, on
the twenty-fourth of the month above-mentioned, the Romans set
fire to the adjoining colonnade; and the flames having advanced fifteen
cubits further, the Jews, in like manner, cut away the roof, not with-
drawing from the work at all, and destroying the whole communication
between themselves and the Antonia, although it was in their power to
stop those who applied the flames. When the fire caught, they looked
calmly on, measuring the extent of its depredations by the advantage
to themselves. Thus, around the temple the conflicts were increasing,
and uninterrupted were the attacks of sallying parties on each other.

10. During these occurrences, a Jew named Jonathes, a man of low
stature and despicable appearance, ignoble as well by birth as other-
wise, advancing by the monument of the high-priest John, and
addressing to the Romans much insulting language, challenged the
best of them to single combat. Of those in the adverse ranks, the
greater number regarded this display with contempt, but some pro-
bably with apprehension. Others again were influenced by the
consideration, by no means an unreasonable one, that they ought not
to enter the lists with one who courted death; since those
despair of safety are prodigal of their impetuosity, as of everything
else, and have no regard even for the Deity ; and that to hazard life
with men whom to conquer were no great exploit, while to be beaten
were equally dangerous and ignominious, would be an act, not of
courage, but of rashness.

186 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book νι.

No antagonist coming forward for a considerable time, and the Jew
bitterly taunting them with cowardice—for the fellow was a great
braggart, and held the Romans in supreme contempt—a trooper of
the name of Pudens, disgusted at his jeers and his presumption, and
probably too, thoughtlessly encouraged by observing his diminutive
stature, sprang forward, and was gaining on his foe in the encounter
in al] other respects, when he was betrayed by fortune. For, having
fallen, Jonathes ran in upon him, and dispatched him, and then,
trampling on the corpse, and brandishing his bloody sword, and with
his left hand waving his shield, he shouted aloud to the army, insult-
ing over his prostrate adversary, and gibing at the Romans who were
looking on; until one Priscus, a centurion, took aim and transfixed
him with an arrow, while thus leaping and insanely gesticulating ; on
which counter cries arose simultaneously from the Jews and Romans.
Jonathes, writhing with pain, fell on the body of his antagonist ; an
illustration of that speedy retribution which in war overtakes those
who have met with unaccountable success.

CHAPTER IIL.

1. THE insurgents in the temple were now without intermission
engaged in open and daily efforts to repel the soldiers upon the
mounds; and on the twenty-seventh of the above-named month they
concerted the following stratagem. Along the western colonnade,
they filled the space between the rafters and the ceiling underneath
with dry wood, bitumen, and pitch, and then, as if utterly worn out,
withdrew from the place. On this many rash spirits, hurried away
by impetuosity, pressed close upon those retiring, and, applying the
scaling ladders, hastily ascended to the gallery ; the more prudent,
suspecting this unaccountable retreat of the Jews, remained sta-
tionary.

The gallery, however, being filled with those who had hurried
up, the Jews thereupon set fire to the whole range from below.
The flames rising up suddenly on every side, those of the Romans
who were removed from the danger were seized with dreadful con-
sternation: while those involved in it were in a state of utter help-
lessness. Encircled by the flames, some precipitated themselves
backward into the city, some into the midst of the enemy. Many,

BOOK VI. | THE JEWISH WAR. 187

leaping down among their friends, in hope of saving themselves,
fractured their limbs: but most of them in their efforts to escape
were overtaken by the fire; and some with the sword anticipated
the flames. The fire, extending far and wide, instantly enveloped
even those who would have met death in some other form.

Cesar, though angry at those who were perishing for having
mounted the gallery without orders, beheld them notwithstanding
with compassion, impossible as it was to relieve them. This, how-
ever, was ἃ consolation to the sufferers, that they saw him for whom
they were yielding up their lives deeply grieving at their fate. For
in view of all he called aloud to them, and, springing forward, ex-
horted those around him to make every effort for their rescue. Thus
each, carrying with him the words and regret of Cesar, as splendid
obsequies, cheerfully expired. Some, indeed, retiring to the wall of
the gallery, which was broad, were preserved from the conflagratidn :
but, being surrounded by the Jews, all at length fell, after maintain-
ing, wounded as they were, a protracted resistance.

2. Towards the close of the struggle, one of them, a young man,
by name Longus, reflected a lustre on the whole tragedy, and, while
all that perished were severally deserving of mention, proved himself
pre-eminently the most valiant. The Jews, who admired him for his
courage, and were unable otherwise to destroy him, encouraged him
to come down to them under pledge of protection. His brother
Cornelius, on the other hand, besought him not to tarnish their
honour, or that of the Roman arms, Influenced by him, he raised
his sword in view of both armies, and stabbed himself.

Among those entangled in the flames, one Artorius was preserved
by a piece of craft. Calling with a loud voice to one Lucius, ἃ
fellow-soldier and tent-companion, “ I leave you,” said he, “ heir to
my property, if you come near and catch me.” Lucius prompfly
running up, Artorius threw himself on him, and was saved; while he
who received him, dashed by his weight against the pavement, was
killed upon the spot.

This disaster for the present occasioned dejection to the Romans;
but nevertheless it rendered them more circumspect for the future,
and was of service to them against the wily stratagems of the Jews,
in which it was mainly from their ignorance of the localities, and
from the character of the men, that they suffered. The gallery was
burned down as far as the tower, which Jolin, during his feuds with
Simon, had erected above the gate that led out beyond the Xystus.
The remainder, after the destruction of those who had ascended it,
was demolished by the Jews. The day following, the Romans also

188 THE JEWISH WAR. [BooK vi.

fred the whole of the northern colonnade as far as the eastern, the
ecting angle of which was built over the ravine called Kedron ;
nce also the depth at that point was terrific. Such was the state
of affairs in the temple.
at Incalculable was the multitude of those who perished by famine
city ; and beyond description the sufferings they endured. In
house, if anywhere there appeared but the shadow of food,

a ict ensued; those united by the tenderest ties fiercely contend-
ing, and snatching from one another the miserable supports of life.
Nor were even the dying allowed the credit of being in want: nay,
even those who were just expiring the brigands would search, lest
any, with food concealed under a fold of his garment, should feign
death. Gaping with hunger, as maddened dogs, they went staggering
to and fro and prowling about, assailing the doors like drunken men,
and in bewilderment rushing into the same house twice or thrice
in one hour. The cravings of nature led them to gnaw anything;
and what would be rejected by the very filthiest of the brute creation
they were fain to collect and eat. Even from their belts and shoes
they were at length unable to refrain, and they tore off and chewed
the very leather of their shields. To some, wisps of old hay served for
food ; for the fibres were gathered, and the smallest quantities sold
for four Attic pieces.

But why speak of the famine as despising restraint in the use of
things inanimate, when | am about to state an instance of it to which,
in the history of Greeks or Barbarians, no parallel is to be found; and
which is as horrible to relate, as it is incredible to hear? Gladly,
indeed, would I have omitted to mention the occurrence, lest I should
be thought by future generations to deal in the marvellous, had I not
innumerable witnesses among my contemporaries. I should, besides,
pay my country but a cold compliment, were I to suppress the narra-
tion of the woes which she actually suffered.

4, Beyond the Jordan, in the village of Bethezob, a term signify-
ing ‘the House of Hyssop,” resided a woman of the name of Mary,
daughter of Eleazar, and distinguished by family and fortune, who
having fled with the rest of the people to Jerusalem, was there de-
tained in siege. Of the property which she had packed up, and con-
veyed from Perza into the city, the tyrants had made prey: the
relics of her stores, with whatever food she contrived to get, the men
of the body-guard, daily rushing in, carried away. Deeply incensed
at this, the wretched woman frequently upbraided and cursed them,
and thus exasperated the plunderers against her. As no one either
from exasperation or compassion put her to death, weary of finding

BOOK VI. | THE JEWISH WAR. 189

food for others, and it being, indeed, now impossible from any quarter
to procure it, while famine darted through her bowels and marrow, and
rage fired her even more than hunger—prompted thus by the double
incentive of indignation and necessity, she proceeded to commit an
outrage on nature, and seizing her child—-still an infant at the breast
—‘* Wretched babe,” she cried, ‘‘ amidst war, famine, and sedition, to
what end should I preserve thee? With the Romans, even should we
live to fall into their hands, slavery awaits us: but famine is fore-
stalling servitude; and more terrible than both are the insurgents!
Come then, be food to me, to them an avenging fury, and to the
world a tale, such as alone is wanting to the calamities of the Jews.”

With these words she killed her son: then, having roasted the
body and eaten half of it, she covered up the remainder, and carefully
put it aside. Instantly the insurgents were upon her, and, scenting
the accursed savour, threatened her with immediate death, if she did
not produce what she had prepared; on which, remarking that she
had reserved an excellent portion for them also, she uncovered the
remains of her child. Seized with sudden horror and amazement of
mind, they stood motionless at the sight. ‘‘ This is my own child,”
she said, “and this my work. Lat, for I too have eaten. Be not
more delicate than a woman, more tender-hearted than a mother.
But, if you have any religious scruples, and turn away from my sacri-
fice, as I have already eaten half, let the remainder be left for me.”
On this they withdrew trembling—in this single instance cowards;
scarcely yielding even this food to the mother. The whole city was
instantly filled with this fearful deed, and each putting the occurrence
before his eyes, shuddered as if it were some strange crime perpe-
trated by himself. Pressed by famine, the sufferers longed for death,
and pronounced those happy who, before they had heard and seen
such evils, had bid adieu to life.

5. To the Romans also this dreadful occurrence was quickly com-
municated. Some of them disbelieved, some pitied, the greater part
were led to conceive a more vehement hatred of the nation. Ceesar
declared in the sight of God his innocence in this matter also, alleging
—that he, on his part, tendered the Jews peace and independence, and
an amnesty for all past offences; but that they, preferring as they did
faction to concord, war to peace, famine to profusion and abundance,
and having been the first to set fire with their own hands to that
temple, which we were seeking to preserve, were indeed worthy even
of such food as this. But he would bury the abomination of a
mother devouring her child under the very ruins of their country,
and would not leave on the face of the earth, for the sun to behold,

190 THE JEWISH WAR. [pooK νι.

ἃ city in which mothers were thus fed. Verily, such food was less
meet for mothers, than for fathers who, after calamities so great,
stil] continued in arms. While giving utterance to these sentiments,
he moreover had in mind the desperation of the men; assured that
they were past recovery, who had already endured all those miseries,
through apprehension of which it was to be expected they would
have relented.

CHAPTER IV.

1. Two of the legions having at length completed their mounds on
the eighth of the month Loiis, Titus ordered the battering-rams to
be brought up at the western wing of the inner temple. Previous
to the use of these, the most powerful of all the besieging-towers had
during six days incessantly battered the wall without effect; both
against this, and against the others, the magnitude and compactness
of the stones were proof, A part of the army endeavoured to under-
mine the foundations of the northern gate; and after great labour,
succeeded in rolling out the front stones. But the gate itself, sup-
ported by the inner stones, remained firm, until the Romans, giving
up in despair all attempts with engines and levers, applied scaling-
ladders to the galleries. The Jews were in no hurry to prevent them;
but when once they had mounted, attacked them with vigour. Some
they thrust back and hurled down headlong; others they encountered
andslew. Many, as they were stepping off the ladders, they cut down
with their swords, before they could cover themselves with their shields.
Several ladders, laden with armed men, they pushed aside from above
and dashed to the ground. The slaughter among themselves also was
by no means inconsiderable. But the Romans, having succeeded in
bringing up their ensigns, sustained the battle around them, deeming
their loss an indelible disgrace ; yet, eventually, the ensigns also fell
into the hands- of the Jews, who destroyed all who had mounted.
The remainder, intimidated by the fate of their comrades, retreated.
Of the Romans, there was not one who had not achieved something
before he fell; of the insurgents, those who had acquired renown in
former conflicts fought gallantly also in this; as did Eleazar, nephew
of the tyrant Simon. Titus, on seeing that his forbearance towards
a foreign temple was attended with injury and slaughter to his own
troops, ordered the gates to be set on fire.

‘OMM@TVVE '‘AMUVNO AHL NI ANOLS 1VEs0109

BOOK VI.] THE JEWISH WAR. 19]

2. In the meantime deserted to him Ananus of Ammaus, the most
sanguinary of Simon’s body-guard, and Archelaiis, son of Magadates ;
hoping for pardon because they withdrew from the Jews at a moment
of success. Titus, however, taxed them with villany in acting thus;
and, having heard besides of their cruelties to the Jews, he was
strongly inclined to put them both to death, observing, ‘‘ that they
had been forced by necessity, not led by inclination, to come to him,
and that those were undeserving of mercy, who hastened to leave
their native city when enveloped in the flame kindled through their
means.” His good faith, however, overcame his resentment, and he
allowed them to depart, though he did not put them on an equal
footing with the others.

Already had the soldiers applied the fire to the gates, and the
silver melting around, quickly admitted the flames to the wood-work,
whence they spread in a continuous volume, and seized on the gal-
leries. The Jews, seeing the fire encircling them, lost all energy alike
of mind and body; and such was their consternation, that no one
attempted either to ward off or extinguish the devouring element :—
they stood motionless spectators. Nevertheless, though disheartened
at what was already consuming, they did not learn wisdom in regard
to what was left; but, as if the very sanctuary were now in flames,
they whetted their resentment against the Romans. During that day
and the succeeding night the fire continued to rage; for they could
only apply it to the galleries in detached places, and not to the whole
range at once.

3. On the following morning, Titus, having directed a division of
his troops to extinguish the flames, and prepare a way to the gates
for the more easy ascent of the legions, convened the generals. Six
of the most distinguished were assembled; Tiberius Alexander, who
had the command of all the forces; Sextus Cerealius, Larcius Lepidus,
and Titus Phrygius, who led respectively the fifth, the tenth, and
the fifteenth legions; Fronto of Liternum, under whose orders were
the two legions from Alexandria, and Marcus Antonius Julianus,
procurator of Judszea: and, the procurators and tribunes being next
convened, he brought forward the subject of the sanctuary. Some
were inclined “ to enforce the right of war; for the Jews,” they said,
‘‘would never desist from projects of disaffection, while the tem-
ple remained as a point of concourse ‘to them from all quarters.”
Others advised that, “if the Jews should leave it, and no longer
occupy it as a military position, it should be spared ; but, should they
ascend it for warlike purposes, it should be burned, as it would
then be a fortress, and no longer a sanctuary: and thenceforward the

192 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book vI.

impiety would attach, not to the Romans, but to those who compelled ©
them to have recourse to such measures.”

Titus, however, declared, that ‘even should the Jews ascend it,
and from thence maintain the war, yet they ought not to wreak their
‘vengeance on things inanimate instead of men, or burn down so mag-
nificent a work ; for to the Romans would be the injury, even as it
would be an ornament to the empire, were it allowed to stand.”
Encouraged by these observations, Fronto, Alexander, and Cerealius
expressed their concurrence in his views. He then dissolved the
council, and, having directed the generals to allow the other troops
repose, that they might be the more vigorous in the action, he ordered
the picked men from the cohorts to open a way through the ruins,
and extinguish the fire.

4, Throughout that day, fatigue and consternation overpowered the
energies of the Jews; but on the following day, about the second
hour, with recruited strength, and renewed confidence, they sallied
forth through the eastern gate upon the guards of the outer court
of the temple. The Romans undauntedly received their charge, and,
forming a screen with their shields in front like a wall, they closed
up their ranks. It was evident, however, that they could not hold
together long, being overpowered by the number and fury of those
who sallied out. Czsesar, anticipating the turn of the engagement—
for he was looking on from the Antonia—proceeded to their assistance
with his picked body of cavalry.

The Jews did not withstand their charge; but, the foremost of them
having been cut down, the main body retreated. Yet whenever the
Romans retired, they rallied and returned to the attack, but again
fled on their wheeling round; until at length, about the fifth hour of
the day, the Jews were overpowered and shut up in the inner court
of the temple.

5. Titus now withdrew into the Antonia, determined on the fol-
lowing morning, about daybreak, to attack with his whole force and
invest the temple. That edifice God had, indeed, long since destined
to the flames; but now in revolving years had arrived the fated day,
the tenth of the month Loiis, the very day on which the former
temple had been burned by the king of Babylon. But it was from
the Jews themselves that those flames derived alike their commence-
ment and their cause. For Titus having retired, the insurgents, after
a short breathing time, again charged the Romans; when a conflict
ensued between the guards of the sanctuary and the troops who were
endeavouring to extinguish the conflagration in the inner court; and
these, having routed the Jews, penetrated even to the sanctuary.

BOOK νἹ.] THE JEWISH WAR. 193

At this moment a soldier, neither waiting for orders, nor awed by
so dread a deed, but hurried on by some supernatural impulse,
snatched a brand from the blazing timber, and, being lifted up by one
of his comrades, threw in the fire through a small golden door by
which was the entrance on the north side into the apartments around
the sanctuary. As the flame ascended, a cry, commensurate with the
calamity, was raised by the Jews, who flocked to the rescue, no
longer sparing life, nor husbanding their strength, now that that was
perishing, for the sake of which they had hitherto been so vigilant.

6. Titus was reposing in his tent after the action, when one rushed
In with the tidings. Starting up just as he was, he ran to the spot
to arrest the flames, followed by all the general officers, and these
accompanied by the astounded legion. Clamour there was, and
confusion, such as would naturally result from the disorderly move-
ment of so large a force. Cesar, both with voice and hand, signified
to the combatants to extinguish the fire; but they heard not his
shouts, pre-occupied as were their ears by louder clamour; nor
heeded they the waving of his hand, some distracted by the ardour of
battle, some byrage. The impetuosity of the legions, as they rushed
in, neither persuasion nor threats restrained. Fury guided all; and,
crushing together about the entrances, many were trampled down by
their comrades; whilst many, falling amongst the still hot and smoul-
dering ruins of the colonnade, were involved in the calamities of the
vanquished.

As they came near the sanctuary, pretending not even to hear
Cesar’s orders, they exhorted those before them to throw in the
torches, The insurgents were now bereft of all power to assist; on
every side was carnage and flight. The greater part of the slain con-
sisted of citizens, a feeble and unarmed people, each butchered where
he was caught. Around the altar heaps of dead were accumulating ;
down its steps flowed a stream of blood; and over them slided the
bodies of those who met their doom above.

7. Cesar, as he was utterly unable to repress the impetuosity of
the troops, who were wild with fanaticism, and the fire was gaining
the mastery, entered with his generals, and surveyed the holy place
of the sanctuary, and all that it contained—far exceeding its fame
among foreigners, and not inferior to its proud pre-eminence and
reputation among ourselves. As the flames had as yet nowhere pene-
trated to the interior, but were feeding on the apartments around the
temple, Titus, rightly conjecturing that it was still possible to preserve
the structure, hurried forth, and endeavoured, in person, to prevail
on the soldiers to extinguish the conflagration; at the same time

VOL. II, P

194 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK VI.

directing ‘Liberalius, a centurion of the spearmen retained about his
person, to chastise with staves, and thus restrain the refractory. But
even their respect for Cesar, and their fear of the centurion who was
endeavouring to stop them, were overpowered by rage, by hatred of
the Jews, and by the excitement of arms, more ungovernable still.
But the greater part were stimulated by the hope of plunder,
impressed as they were with the belief that all within was filled with
treasures, and actually seeing that everything about it was made of
gold. Though Czssar had rushed forth to restrain the soldiers,
one even of those who had entered with him frustrated his intention
by thrusting fire, amid the darkness, into the hinges of the gate;
whereupon the flame having suddenly burst forth from within, Caesar
and the generals withdrew, and no one hindered those on the outside
from applying their torches. Thus, then, was the sanctuary, in spite
of Ceesar, set on fire.

8. But deeply as one might mourn over a fabric, the most marvel-
lous of all which we have either seen or heard of, whether we con-
sider its architecture or its magnitude, the sumptuousness of its
details, or the glory of its holy places, yet may we derive the highest
consolation from the reflection that fate is inevitable, as to human
beings, so also as to works and places. And truly remarkable was the
exactness of the cycle observed by it; for it waited, as I have said,
until the very month, and the very day, on which the temple had been
previously burned by the Babylonians. From its first foundation by
king Solomon, until its present destruction, which took place in the
second year of the reign of Vespasian, we compute one thousand one
hundred and thirty years, seven months, and fifteen days; from its
restoration by Haggai in the second year of king Cyrus, until its
destruction under Vespasian, six hundred and thirty-nine years, and
forty-five days.

CHAPTER V.

1. WHILE the sanctuary was in flames, every thing that fell in their
way became a prey to rapine, and prodigious was the slaughter of those
found there. To no age was pity shown, tonorank respect; but chil-
dren and old men, secular persons and priests, were overwhelmed in
one common ruin. All ranks were enclosed in the embrace of war, and
hunted down—as well those who sued for mercy, as those who made

BOOK VI. ] THE JEWISH WAR. 195

defence. The flames, borne far and wide, united their roar with the
groans of the falling; and owing to the height of the hill, and the
magnitude of the burning pile, one would have supposed the entire
city in a blaze. Than the din of that moment nothing could be con-
ceived louder or more fearful. There was the exulting war-cry of
the Roman legions, as they moved in mass, the shrieks of the insur-
gents, encircled by fire and sword, and the wailing of the people over
their calamities, as deserted on the high ground, they turned in con-
sternation towards the enemy. ‘The multitude in the city blended
their cries with the cries of those upon the hill; and now, many
emaciated by famine, and whose lips had closed, when they beheld
the sanctuary in a blaze, again gathered strength for lamentations and
cries. The city beyond returned the echo, as did the mountains
around, deepening the uproar: yet were the sufferings still more fear-
ful than the confusion. You would indeed have thought that the
hill on which the sacred edifice stood was boiling up from its base,
being everywhere one mass of flame, and that the stream of blood
was ampler still than the fire, and the slaughtered more numerous
than the slaughterers. The ground was nowhere visible, so covered
was it with the dead; but the soldiers had to climb over heaps of
bodies in pursuit of the fugitives. At length, however, the brigand
crowd having forced back the Romans, opened a way with difficulty
into the outer court of the temple, and from thence into the town.
What remained of the populace took refuge upon the outer
colonnade.

Some of the priests at first tore up the spikes, with their leaden
sockets, from the sanctuary, and hurled them at the Romans; but
afterwards, finding all unavailing, and the dames already bursting
forth against them, they retired to the wall, which was eight cubits
in breadth, and there remained. Two men of distinction, however,
Meirus, son of Belgas, and Josephus, son of Dalseus, who, if so
inclined, might have saved their lives by going over to the Romans,
or have held out and taken their chance with the rest, plunged into
the fire, and perished in the flames of the temple.

2. The Romans, thinking it useless, now that the sanctuary was
burning, to spare the buildings around, set fire to them all, both the
remains of the colonnades and the gates, two of the latter excepted,
one on the east, and the other on the south. These also they subse-
quently razed to the foundations. They burned, likewise, the
treasure chambers, in which were immense sums of money, garments
innumerable, and other valuables; for this, in a word, was the
general repository of Jewish wealth, the houses of the opulent having

P2

196 THE JEWISH WAR. [BooK VI.

been there dismantled. The Romans next proceeded to the remaining
colonnade of the outer court of the temple, on which the women and
children of the populace had taken refuge, with a vast promiscuous
multitude, amounting to six thousand.

Before Ceesar had determined respecting them, or the officers had
given orders, the soldiers, hurried on by rage, set fire to the colonnade ;
whereupon some, throwing themselves out of the flames, thus lost their
lives, others perished amid them; so that, of so great a multitude,
not one escaped, Their destruction was caused by a false prophet,
who had on that day proclaimed to those remaining in the city, that
‘¢ God commanded them to go up to the temple, there to receive the
signs of their deliverance.” ‘There were at this period many prophets
suborned by the tyrants to delude the people, by bidding them wait
for help from God, in order that there might be less desertion, and
that those who were above fear and control might be encouraged by
hope. Under calamities man readily yields to persuasion ; but when
the deceiver pictures to him deliverance from pressing evils, then the
sufferer is wholly influenced by hope.

δ. Thus it was that the impostors and pretended messengers of
Heaven at that time beguiled the wretched people ; while the manifest
portents that foreshowed the approaching desolation they neither
heeded nor credited; but, as if confounded and bereft alike of eyes
and mind, they disregarded the immediate warnings of God. Thus
it was when a star resembling a sword stood over the city, and
a comet which continued for a year. Thus also it was, when, prior
to the revolt and the first movements of the war, at the time when
the people were assembling for the feast of unleavened bread, on the
eighth of the month Xanthicus, at the ninth hour of the night, so
vivid a light shone round the altar and the sanctuary that it seemed
to be bright day; and this lasted for half an hour. By the inex-
perienced this was deemed favourable, but by the sacred scribes it
was at once pronounced a prelude of that which afterwards happened.
At the same festival also, a cow having been led by some one to the
sacrifice, brought forth a lamb in the midst of the court of the temple.
Moreover, the eastern gate of the inner court—which was of brass
and extremely massive, and, when closed towards evening, could
scarcely be moved by twenty men, and which was fastened with bars
shod with iron, and secured by bolts sunk to a great depth ina
threshold which consisted of one stone throughout—was observed,
about the sixth hour of the night, to have opened of its own accord.
The guards of the temple ran and informed the captain, who having
repaired to the spot could scarcely succeed in shutting it. This again to

BOOK VI. | THE JEWISH WAR. 197

the unlearned seemed a most auspicious omen ; for God, they thought,
had unfolded to them the gate of blessings; but the learned considered
that the security of the temple was dissolving of its own accord, and
the gate opened for the advantage of the enemy; and explained it
among themselves as a sign of impending desolation.

Not many days after the festival, on the twenty-first of the month
Artemisius, there appeared a phenomenon so marvellous as to exceed
credibility. What I am about to relate would, I conceive, be deemed
a mere fable, had it not been related by eye-witnesses, and attended
by calamities commensurate with such portents. Before sunset were
seen around the whole country chariots poised in the air, and armed
battalions speeding through the clouds and investing the cities. And
at the feast which is called Pentecost, the priests having entered the
Inner court of the temple by night, as was their custom, for discharge
of their ministrations, their attention was drawn at ‘first, they said,
by a movement and a clanging noise, and after this by a voice as of
a multitude, “ We are departing hence.”

But a story more fearful still remains. Four years prior to the
war, while the city was enjoying the utmost peace and prosperity,
there came to the feast in which it is the custom for all to erect
tabernacles to God, one Jesus, son of Ananus, a rustic of humble
parentage, who, standing in the temple, suddenly began to call aloud,
“Α voice from the east, a voice from the west, a voice from the four
winds; a voice against Jerusalem and the sanctuary, a voice against
bridegrooms and brides, a voice against all the people.” Day and
night he traversed all the streets with this cry. Some citizens,
incensed at 80 ominous a voice, apprehended the man, and severely
scourged him. But without uttering a word in his own behalf, nor
anything privately to those who beat him, he continued his cry as
before. At length the rulers, supposing, and justly so, that the man
was under some supernatural impulse, conducted him to the presence
of the Roman procurator, where, though lacerated with scourges to
the very bone, he neither sued for mercy nor shed a tear: but
modulating his voice to a tone the most mournful that was possible,
repeated at every stroke, “" Woe! woe! unto Jerusalem.” Albinus
the procurator, demanding who he was? and whence? and why he
uttered these words ? he made no manner of reply, desisting not from
his lamentation over the city, until Albinus, concluding that he was
a maniac, set him at liberty.

Up to the breaking out of the war, he neither associated with any
of the citizens, nor was he seen to speak to any one; but, as if it were |
a prayer that he had been meditating upon, daily uttered his lament,

198 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK vr.

** Woe! woe! unto Jerusalem.” He neither cursed those who beat
him from day to day, nor gave his blessing to such as supplied him
with food: to all, the melancholy presage was his one reply. His
voice was loudest at the festivals; and, though for seven years and
five months he continued his wail, neither did his voice beeome
feeble nor did he grow weary, until, during the siege, after beholding
his presages verified, he ceased. For, as he was going his round on
the wall, crying with a piercing voice, “ Woe! woe! once more, to
the city, to the people, and to the temple ;” when at the last he had
added, “ Woe! woe! to myself aleo,” he was struck by a stone shot
from the ballista, and killed upon the spot: still uttering with his
dying lips the same portentous words.

4. If we reflect on these events, we shall find that God exercises
care over men, in every way foreshowing to their race the means of
safety : but that they perish through their own folly and self-incurred
evils. Thus the Jews, after the demolition of the Antonia, reduced
their temple to a square, though they had it recorded in their oracles,
that ‘the city and the sanctuary would be taken, when the temple
should become square.” But what chiefly incited them to the war
was an ambiguous prophecy, likewise found in their sacred writings,
that “about this period some one from their country should obtain
the empire of the world.” This they received as applying to them-
selves, and many eminent for wisdom were deceived in the interpreta-
tion of it. The oracle, however, in reality indicated the elevation of
Vespasian—he having been proclaimed emperor in Judszea. But it is
not possible for men to avoid their fate, even though they foresee it.
Some of these portents they interpreted according to their pleasure,
others they treated with contempt, until their folly was exposed by
the conquest of their country, and their own destruction.

CHAPTER VI.

1. THe insurgents having fled into the city, and the sanctuary.
itself, with all around it, being now enveloped in flames, the
Romans carried their ensigns into the temple, and placing them
opposite the eastern gate, there sacrificed to them, and with the most
joyful acclamations saluted Titus as Imperator. So glutted were the.
soldiers, one and all, with plunder, that throughout Syria the

a 2

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BOOK VI.] THE JEWISH WAR. 199

standard of gold was reduced to -half its former value. While the
priests held out on the walls of the sanctuary, a boy confessed to the
Roman guards that he was suffering from thirst, and besought them
to pledge themselves for his safety. Taking pity on his youth and
distress, they promised him protection ; on which he came down and
drank, and, having filled with water a vessel which he brought with
him, hurried back to his own party. The guards, being unable to
overtake him, and cursing his perfidy, he replied, “that he had
violated no agreement; for he had received the pledge of protection,
not for remaining with them, but merely for going down and pro-
curing water; both which he had done, and therefore considered
himself to have fulfilled the compact.” The Romans who had been
thus outwitted were astonished at this piece of cunning, particularly
in so young a boy. On the fifth day, the priests wasted by famine
came down, and, being conducted by the guards to Titus, besought
him to spare their lives; but he, remarking that “as to them the
fime for pardon had gone by, and that that had been destroyed, for
the sake of which he could alone with propriety have saved them,
while it was but fitting that the priests should perish with the
temple,” ordered them to execution.

2. The tyrants and their partisans, beaten on all sides in the war,
and so completely surrounded that escape was nowhere practicable,
invited Titus to a conference. Desiring, in the benevolence of his
disposition, at all events to save the city, and listening to the persua-
sions of his friends, who supposed that the brigands were at length
brought to reason, Titus took his stand on the western side of the
outer court of the temple; there being a gate in that quarter beyond
the Xystus, and a bridge which connected the upper town with the
temple, and which then intervened between the tyrants and Cesar,
The multitude on both sides stood by in crowds: the Jews around
John and Simon, buoyed up with hopes of pardon; the Romans be-
side Caesar, anxiously waiting to hear their demand. Titus having
charged the soldiers to repress their anger and withhold their
weapons, and making the interpreter stand by his side, which was a
symbol of conquest, proceeded to address them first.

‘“‘ Are you then at length, Sirs, sated with the misfortunes of your
country ;—you, who have neither bestowed a thought on our strength,
nor on your own weakness, but through inconsiderate haste and
madness have destroyed your people, your city, and your sanctuary,
and who yourselves are now justly about to perish ;—you, who, in
the first place, from the hour when Pompey reduced you by force of
arms, have never desisted from disaffection, and in the next, have

200 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book v1.

waged open war against the Romans? Was it that you confided in
your numbers ?—yet a mere fraction of the Roman soldiery has been a
match for you :—on the fidelity of your confederates? but what nation
beyond the limits of our empire would prefer Jews to Romans? You
relied on your strength of body, perhaps? And yet you are aware that
the Germans are our slaves :—on the firmness of your walls? But
what wall can present a greater obstacle than the ocean? And yet,
though by this environed, the Britons do homage to the Roman arms!
—on the determination of spirit and the subtlety of your leaders?
But then ye knew that even Carthaginians had bowed to our sway !

“Tt must then have been Roman humanity which incited you
against the Romans—against us, who, in the first place, allowed you
the use of this land, and placed over you kings of your own blood:
who, in the next place, observed the laws of your fathers and per-
mitted you to live as you were disposed, not only among yourselves,
but also in your dealings with others: who, above all, permitted you
to exact tribute for God, and to collect offerings, without admonish-
ing or hindering those who brought them; that so ye might become
our richer enemies, and might make preparations against us at our
own expense. And yet, while enjoying such privileges, you turned
your superabundance against those from whom it was derived, and
like untameable reptiles vented your poison against those who
caressed you.

“Ἐς it so, then: ye despised the indolence of Nero, and, like
fractures or convulsions, having hitherto malignantly kept quiet, when
a greater disorder occurred, ye evinced your true character, and
extended your desires to shameless and unbounded expectations.
My father came into the country, not to punish you for your conduct
to Cestius, but to admonish you. Had he come for the destruction
of the nation, his course would have been to lay the axe at the root,
and instantly lay waste this city; whereas he proceeded to ravage
Galilee and the neighbouring districts, thus affording you time for
repentance. But to you his humanity seemed weakness, and with
our clemency you fed your audacity. On the death of Nero, acting
the part of the most wicked of men, and encouraged by our intestine
troubles, when my father and I were at a distance from you in Egypt,
you abused your opportunities in preparing for hostilities. And you
were not ashamed to harass those, when elevated to the empire, whose
humanity as generals you had experienced. Accordingly, when the
empire had taken refuge with us, when all throughout it was tranquil,
and foreign nations were sending embassies of congratulation, again
the Jews took up arms. Thcre were embassies sent by you to those

BOOK VI. ] THE JEWISH WAR. 201

beyond the Euphrates for insurrectionary purposes; fortifications
building up anew; seditions and contentions of tyrants, and a civil
war ;—things alone worthy of men so wicked. I repaired to this city
with gloomy injunctions from my father, who had given them with
reluctance. When I heard that the people were disposed to peace,
I rejoiced. Ere hostilities commenced, I exhorted you to pause; for
along time after you began them, I spared you. I gave pledges of
protection to deserters: when they took refuge with me, I kept faith
with them. Many captives I compassionated; by the torture I re-
strained those who oppressed them. With reluctance I brought up
engines against your walls: my soldiers, thirsting for your blood,
I invariably held back; and after every victory, as if defeated myself,
I invited you to peace. When I approached the temple, I again
willingly forgot the laws of war, and besought you to spare your own
shrines, and preserve the sanctuary for yourselves, granting you free-
dom of egress and assurance of safety, or, if you wished, opportunity
to select some other field of battle. But you treated all with con-
tempt, and with your own hands fired the sanctuary.

‘* And is it after all this, most abominable of men, that you now
invite me to a conference? What have you to save that can be com-
pared with what is lost? Of what deliverance do you deem yourselves
deserving after the ruin of your temple? But even now you stand in
arms, and though in the last extremity, do not so much as assume the
guise of suppliants. Miserable men! on what do you depend? Is
not your people dead? your sanctuary swept away? your city In my
power? your lives in my hands? And yet do you deem it a glorious
proof of fortitude to struggle with death? I will, however, maintain
no contest with your desperation. Throw down your arms, deliver up
your persons, and I grant you life, as an indulgent master of a house-
hold, chastising. the incorrigible, and preserving the rest for myself.”

3. To this they replied, that they could not accept a pledge of
protection from him, as they had sworn never to do so; but they
solicited permission to pass through his line of circumvallation with
their wives and children, promising to retire into the desert, and leave
the town to him. Indignant that men in the position of prisoners
should proffer to him terms of conquerors, Titus directed that pro-
clamation be made to them, “‘ neither to desert nor hope for protection
any longer, as he would give quarter to none; but to fight with all
their might, and save themselves as they could. For the right of war
should thenceforth regulate all his measures.”

Orders were then issued to the troops to plunder and burn the city.
On that day, however, nothing was done ; but on the following, they

202 | THE JEWISH WAR. [βοοκ vz.

set fird to the residence of the magistrates, the Acra, the council-
chamber, and the place called Ophla, the flames spreading as far as
the palace of queen Helena, which was in the centre of the Acra.
The streets also were consumed, and the houses, which were crowded
with the bodies of those who had perished by famine.

4, On the same day, the sons and brothers of king Izates, with
many men of eminence among the people assembled there, entreated
Cessar to grant them a pledge of protection. Though highly incensed
at all who survived, Titus, with his accustomed humanity, received
them, and for the present detained them all in custody. The king’s
sons and relatives, however, he subsequently bound and conducted to
Rome, as hostages for the fidelity of their country.

CHAPTER VII.

1. Tue insurgents now rushed to the palace, in which, owing to its
strength, many had deposited their property; and, having dislodged
the Romans, they slew the whole mass of people who had there con-
gregated, to the number of eight thousand four hundred, and made
prey of their money. They moreover made prisoners of two Romans,
one a trooper, the other a foot-soldier. The latter they slaughtered
on the spot, and dragged round the whole city, as if wreaking ven-
geance in the person of one upon all the Romans. The trooper, who
said that he had something to suggest which would conduce to their
safety, was conducted to Simon: but, having nothing to state to him,
he was delivered up to Ardalas, one of the officers, to be executed.
The latter, having bound his hands behind his back, and fastened a
bandage over his eyes, led him forth opposite to the Romans, there to
be beheaded. But while the Jew was in the act of drawing his sword,
the trooper managed to escape to the Romans. This man, who had
thus effected his escape, Titus could not endure to put to death; but
deeming him unworthy to be a Roman soldier, who could allow him-
self to be taken alive, he stripped him of his arms, and dismissed him
from the legion; a punishment, to one accessible to shame, severer
even than death.

2. On the ensuing day, the Romans, having driven the brigands
from the lower town, burned all, as far as Siloam. They rejoiced in the

BOOK VI.] THE JEWISH WAR. 203

destruction of the city, although they obtained no plunder, the insur-
gents clearing everything away before they retired into the upper
town. For they felt no remorse for their misdeeds, but assumed
rather an air of conceit as though all was well. Thus when they
beheld the city in a blaze, they declared with joyous countenances,
that they cheerfully awaited their end; inasmuch as, the people
having been slaughtered, the temple burned, and the town being in
flames, they had left nothing for their foes.

Josephus, however, even in this extremity, ceased not to implore
them in behalf of the remains of the city. He insisted much on their
cruelty and impiety, and offered them much advice on the means of
securing their safety; but the only return they made him was deri-
sion. Since they could not think of surrendering, on account of their
oath, and were no longer capable, pent up as in an enclosure, of
maintaining the conflict with the Romans on equal terms, and their
hands were stimulated by familiarity with slaughter, they dispersed
themselves before the town, and lay in ambush among the ruins for
those who were inclined to desert. Many, who from the effects of
famine had not even strength enough for flight, were taken and mas-
sacred, and their bodies thrown to the dogs. Death under any form
seemed lighter than famine: so that, though now without hope of
commiseration, they fled nevertheless to the Romans, and, though the
insurgents continued to murder, voluntarily threw themselves in their
way. Nota spot in the city was uncovered; not a corner, but con-
tained some corpse, the victim of famine or sedition: all places were
filled with the dead bodies of such as had perished from one cause or
the other.

3. The last hope that buoyed up the tyrants and their brigand
bands, lay in the subterraneous excavations, in which, should they
take refuge, they expected that no search would be made for them;
and purposed, after the final overthrow of the city, when the Romans
should have withdrawn, to come forth, and seek safety in flight. But
this was after all a mere dream ; for they were unable to hide them-
selves from the observation either of God, or of the Romans. For
the time, however, confiding in these underground retreats, they were
more active in the work of conflagration than the Romans; and all
who fled from the flames into the caverns they slaughtered ruthlessly
and plundered. If ever they found any one with food, they would
snatch it from him and devour it, though defiled with blood. Now
at length they had war also one with another about their depredations;
and I cannot but think, that, had not their capture prevented them,
they would through excess of savageness have tasted the very dead.

204 Tk JEWISH WAR. [ BOOK V1.

CHAPTER VIII.

1. Cesar, as it was impracticable from the precipitous site of the
upper town to reduce it without mounds, on the twentieth of
the month Lous apportioned the works among his troops. To pro-
cure timber, however, was a difficult task, all the country around the
city to the distance of a hundred furlongs having been stripped bare,
as I have stated, for the former mounds. The works of the four
legions were raised on the western side of the city, opposite,to the
royal palace, while the auxiliaries and the rest of the force laboured
in the region of the Xystus, the bridge, and the tower which Simon,
during his contest with John, had built as a fortress for himself.

2. At this juncture the chiefs of the Idumzans met secretly to
consult about surrendering themselves; and, having sent a deputation
of five to Titus, they besought his protection. Cesar, in the hope
that, if the Idumzans, who formed their main dependence in the war,
were withdrawn, the tyrants also would surrender, after some hesita-
tion complied with their request, and sent the men back. But while
they were preparing to retire, Simon became aware of their intentions,
and ordered to instant execution the five who had repaired to Titus ;
but the generals, of whom the most distinguished was James the son
of Sosas, he apprehended and threw into prison. ‘The body of the
Idumeeans, deprived of their leaders, and in consequence at a loss
how to act, were henceforward narrowly watched by Simon, who
secured the walls with more vigilant guards.

But their efforts to prevent desertion were unavailing. For,
although very many were slain, the number of those who made their
escape was far greater. The Romans received all, Titus, from his
natural lenity, having disregarded his former orders, and the soldiers
themselves being sated with blood and, in the hope of gain, abstaining
from slaughter. For the citizens only were allowed to remain: the
others, with the women and children, were sold, each at an ex-
tremely low price, both from the glut of the market, and from the
dearth of purchasers. Though Titus, to induce them to bring out
their families as well, had directed by proclamation that none should
desert alone, yet even to those who did so he did not refuse his pro-
tection ; appointing, however, proper persons to separate from among
them any who might be deserving of punishment. The number of

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BOOK VI. | THE JEWISH WAR. 205

those sold was incalculable. Of the citizens were spared above forty
thousand, whom Cesar allowed to retire whither inclination led.

3. About this period, one of the priests also, named Jesus, son of ©
Thebuthi, having received a promise of protection, ratified by oath,
from Cesar, on condition of his delivering up certain of the sacred
treasures, came out and handed from the wall of the sanctuary two
candlesticks, similar to those deposited in the sanctuary, with tables
and bowls and cups, all of solid gold and extremely massive. He also
delivered up the veils and other vestments of the high-priests, with
the precious stones, and many other articles used in the sacred
ministrations. Moreover, the keeper of the temple-treasury, whose
name was Phineas, being taken, pointed out the tunics and girdles
wom by the priests, with much purple and scarlet, which were laid
up for the uses of the veil, and a profusion also of cinnamon and
cassia, and a quantity of other spices, which they mixed and offered
daily as incense to God. Many also of the other treasures were de-
livered up by him, with numerous sacred ornaments; in consideration
of which, though a prisoner of war, he was granted the pardon vouch-
safed to voluntary deserters.

4, On the seventh of the month Gorpizus, the mounds having been
at length, in eighteen days, completed, the Romans brought up their
machines: on which a section of the insurgents, who had abandoned
all hopes of the town, retired from the ramparts to the Acra; others
slunk down into the caverns; while a considerable number, taking
their stand at intervals, endeavoured to repel those who were bring-
ing up the besieging-towers. These also the Romans overpowered
by numbers and strength, but more particularly because, in good
spirits themselves, they had to deal with men already dispirited and
enfeebled.

A part of the wall having been battered down, and some of the
towers having yielded to the shocks of the rams, the defenders straight-
way took to flight, and even the tyrants were seized with a panic be-
yond what the occasion warranted. For before the enemy mounted the
breach, they were stupified, and wavering as to flight. Then might
be seen men formerly so proud, and who plumed themselves on their
deeds of impiety, abject and trembling: insomuch that, flagitious as
they were, their reverse was piteous. They were minded indeed to rush
forth against the enemies’ lines, m order to drive back the guards, cut
their way through, and escape. But when they could nowhere see their
once faithful adherents—for these had fled whithersoever the emer-
gency prompted—while some came running forwards, with the tidings
that the whole of the wall on the west was in ruins; some, that the

206 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK VI.

Romans had entered; some, that they were even now close at hand
and searching for them; and others, misled by terror, affirmed that
they actually saw the enemy on the towers ;—they fell upon their face,
bewailing their utter infatuation, and, as if their sinews had been
severed, were unable to fly.

Here we may clearly discern at once the power of God over the
unholy, and the fortune of the Romans. For the tyrants deprived
themselves of their security, and descended voluntarily from those
towers, against which no human efforts could have availed, and where
famine alone could have subdued them: while the Romans, after
having toiled so much before weaker walls, obtained through the
favour of fortune what never would have yielded to their engines.
For against the three towers, which we have before described, any
machine whatever would have been useless.

§. Having then abandoned these, or rather having been driven
down from them by God, they fled immediately into the ravine below
Siloam. Afterwards, when they had recovered a little from their
panic, they furiously assailed the barrier in that quarter. But, their
courage not being equal to the crisis—their energy being broken at
once by terror and misfortune—they were repulsed by the guards ;
and dispersing, crept into the caverns. The Romans being masters
of the ramparts, planted their ensigns on the towers, and with joy and
clapping of hands raised the song of triumph for their victory; having
found the close of the war much easicr than its commencement. So
much so, that when without bloodshed they had surmounted the last:
rampart, they could scarcely believe it, and, seeing no one to oppose
them, were unusually perplexed.

Pouring into the streets sword in hand, they massacred indiscrimi-
nately all who fell in their way, and burned the houses with all that
had taken shelter in them. In many instances in the course of their
depredations, when they entered in search of plunder, they discovered
whole families dead, and the apartments filled with the victims of
famine. Then, shuddering at the sight, they retired with empty
hands. Yet notwithstanding their pity for those who had thus
perished, they felt no like compassion for the living, but, running
every one through that fell in their way, they blocked up the streets
with the dead, and deluged the whole city with blood, so that in
numerous instances it extinguished the flames. Towards evening the
slaughter abated, but in the night the fire gained the mastery. The
eighth day of the month Gorpizus, as it dawned, beheld Jerusalem
in flames, a city which had suffered such calamities in the siege, that,
had she from her first foundation enjoyed a proportionate share of

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BOOK VI. ] THE JEWISH WAR. 207

blessings, she would have been thought singularly enviable; and
undeserving withal of so great misfortunes in every other respect,
save that she gave birth to such a race, as that by which she was
subverted.

CHAPTER IX.

1. Titus, on entering the city, was struck with wonder at its
strength, and especially at the towers which the tyrants had, through
infatuation, abandoned. Indeed, when he contemplated their solid
altitude, the magnitude of the several stones, and the accuracy of
their joinings, and saw how great was their breadth, how vast their
height, “‘ Surely,” he exclaimed, “ we fought with God on our side;
and God it was who brought the Jews down from these bul-
warks; for what could human hands or engines avail against these
towers?” .

Having addressed many similar observations on that occasioa to
his friends, he liberated all who had been imprisoned by the tyrants,
and left in the forts. And when, at a later period, he destroyed the
remainder of the city, and razed the walls, he allowed these towers to
stand as a memorial of the favour of fortune, by whose covoperation he
had become master of those strongholds, which could never have
been reduced by force of arms.

2. The soldiers at length growing weary of slaughter, though the
number of the survivors who were still to be seen was considerable,
Cesar issued orders to put to the sword thoge only who were found in
arms, and offered resistance, and to make prisoners of the rest. ‘The
troops, however, in addition to those to whom their instructions referred,
slew the old and feeble. Those who werg in the flower of their age
and fit for service were driven together into the temple, and shut up
in the court of the women. Cesar placed as guard over them one of
his freed-men, and commissioned his friend Fronto, to assign to each
the lot he had deserved. The whole of the insurgents and brigands,
who informed against each other, he ordered t> execution. Tha
tallest and most handsome of the youth, however, he selected and
reserved for his triumph.

Of the residue, those above the age of seventeen were sent in
chains to the works in Egypt; though Titus distributed very many of
them through the provinces, to be destroyed in the theatres in

208 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book νι.

gladiatorial contests, and by wild beasts. ‘Those under seventeen
years were sold. There perished from want, during the interval
occupied by Fronto in forming his decision, eleven thousand, partly
owing to the hatred of the guards, who denied them food, and partly
from their own refusal to accept it when offered. There was,
moreover, an insufficient supply of food for so vast a multitude.

8. The whole number of prisoners taken during the entire course
of the war was calculated at ninety-seven thousand ; while those who
perished in the siege, from its commencement till its close, amounted
to one million one hundred thousand. Of these the greater propor-
tion were of Jewish blood, though not natives of the place. Having
assembled from the whole country for the feast of unleavened bread,
they were suddenly hemmed in by the war; so that their confined
situation caused at first a pestilential mortality, and afterwards famine
also, still more rapid in its effects. That the city could contain so
many, is evident from the census taken under Cestius, who, wishing
to inform Nero, by whom the nation was regarded with contempt,
of the strength of the city, requested the chief priests to ascertain,
if at all possible, the amount of the population.

On the arrival of the feast called the Passover, at which they sacri-
fice from the ninth hour till the eleventh, and a kind of fraternity is
formed round each sacrifice, consisting of not less than ten men,
it being unlawful to feast alone, though as many as twenty frequently
assemble, the victims being counted were found to amount to two
hundred and fifty-six thousand five hundred: which, assuming ten
participants to each sacrifice, gives a total of two millions seven
hundred thousand, all pure and holy. For those afflicted with leprosy
or gonorrhoea, or women labouring under ailments, or persons other-
wise defiled, were not permitted to partake of this sacrifice; nor even
those aliens who had come for religious purposes.

4. This vast concourse is collected from without the city. But on
this occasion the whole nation had been shut up, as in a prison, by
fate; and the war encircled the city when it was crowded with men.
Accordingly those who perished exceeded in number all that have
been swept away by any visitation, human or divine. Of those who
did not conceal themselves, some the Romans slaughtered, some they
took prisoners; but in their search in the caverns, they tore up the
ground, and killed all they lighted on. Here also were found upwards
of two thousand dead, of whom some had fallen by their own, some
by one another’s hands, but the greater part by famine. A dreadful
stench from the bodies met those who entered, insomuch that many
instantly withdrew, though others were led on by avarice, trampling

BOOK VI. | THE JEWISH WAR. 209

upon the heaps of carcases ; for many articles of value were discovered
in these passages, and lucre sanctioned every expedient. Many also
were brought forth who had been detained in custody by the tyrants ;
for even in their extremity they desisted not from cruelty. God,
however, visited both with meet retribution; for John, worn away
with hunger in the caverns with his brethren, implored from the
Romans that protection which he had often rejected with disdain ;
and Simon, after long struggling with necessity, as we shall relate
in the sequel, surrendered, ‘and was reserved for execution at the
triumph, while John was condemned to perpetual imprisonment.
The Romans set fire to the extreme quarters of the city, and razed
the walls to their foundation.

CHAPTER X.

1. Tuus was Jerusalem captured in the second year of the reign
of Vespasian, on the eighth of the month Gorpiwus. Previously
taken on five different occasions, it was now for the second time laid
in ruins. Asocheeus, king of Egypt, and after him Antiochus, then
Pompey, and subsequently Sosius and Herod, though they reduced,
preserved it. Prior to their days, however, it had been conquered
and laid waste by the king of Babylon, one thousand four hundred
and sixty-eight years and six months from the date of its foundation.
It was originally erected by a prince of the Canaanites, called in the
vernacular tongue “ The Righteous King” (Melchizedek): for such
indeed, he was. Wherefore he was the first who officiated as the
priest of God, and being the first to build the temple, he gave the
city, till then styled Salem, the appellation of Jerusalem.

The Canaanitish inhabitants were expelled by David, the king of
the Jews who colonized it with his own people; and it was four
hundred and seventy-seven years and six months after his time when
it was razed to its foundations by the Babylonians. From the time
of David, who was its first Jewish sovereign, until its destruction by
Titus, one thousand one hundred and seventy-nine years intervened ;
and from its first founding till its final overthrow, two thousand one
hundred and seventy-seven. Neither its antiquity, nor its vast
wealth, nor its people spread over the whole habitable world, nor the
great glory of its religious service, could aught avail to avert its
ruin. Thus terminated the siege of Jerusalem.

VOL, 1]. Q

ARGUMENT OF THE SEVENTH BOOK.

1. The whole city is razed to the ground, excepting three towers.—Distribution of rewards
to the soldiers.—2. Titus exhibits various spectacles at Ceearea Philippi.—Capture
of the tyrant, Simon.—3. Titus celebrates the birth-days of his brother and his
father, on which occasions great numbers of the Jews are put to death.— Persecution
of the Jews at Antioch.—4. Vespasian’s reception at Rome.—Revolt of the Germans.
—Inroad of Sarmatians into Mosia—5. Concerning the river Sabbaticus; and how
the people of Antioch applied to Titus against the Jews without success.— Triumph
of Vespasian and Titus.—6. Description of Machwrus.—Capture of that fortress by
Lucilius Bassus.—7. What befel Antiochus, king of Commagene.—Concerning the
Alani.—8. Description of Masada; and how Silva conducted the siege of it.—Speech
of Eleazar to the garrison.—9. All in the fortress, save two women and five children,
fall by one enother's hands.—10. Dangers to the Jews of Alexandria from the Sikars
who fled thither.— Account of the temple of Onias—11. Proceedings of Jonathan,
a Sikar of Cyrene,

BOOK VII.

CHAPTER I.

1. Tue soldiery having now none either to slaughter or plunder,
everything on which their fury might vent itself being removed—
for they certainly would not have abstained from motives of forbear-
ance, so long as there was anything to be done—Cesar ordered the
whole of the city and the sanctuary to be razed to the foundations,
leaving the three loftiest towers, Phasaélus, Hippicus, and Mariamne,
and that portion of the wall which enclosed the town on the west :—
the latter as an encampment for those who should remain there in
garrison; the towers, to indicate to future times how splendid and
how strong a city had yielded to Roman valour. All the rest of the
wall that encompassed the city was so completely levelled with the
ground that there was no longer anything to lead-those who visited
the spot to believe that it had ever been inhabited. So fell Jerusalem,
a victim of revolutionary frenzy: a magnificent city, and celebrated
throughout the world.

2, Ceesar determined to leave there on guard the tenth legion, with
some troops of cavalry and cohorts of infantry; and all connected
with the war being now adjusted, he was anxious to express to the
army in general his approbation of their achievements, and to confer
suitable rewards on those who had most distinguished themselves.
Accordingly a spacious tribunal having been constructed for him in —
the centre of his former encampment, on this he took his stand with
the most distinguished of his officers, so as to be within hearing of the
whole army, and delivered an address, in which he assured them that
“he felt under great obligations to them for the good-will which
they had ever shown him ;” and commended them “ for the prompt
obedience, combined with personal courage, which they had exhibited
throughout the war in many imminent dangers; thus making those
very dangers a means of augmenting the power of their country, and
testifying to all that neither the numbers of the enemy, the strength

216 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book vrr.

of fortresscs, the extent of towns, nor the rash daring and savage
ferocity of antagonists, can ever baffle the valour of Romans,—even
though with some of their foes fortune may in many instances have
co-operated. To a glorious conclusion, therefore,” he continued,
‘had they brought the war, though of such unusual duration ; for
they could have expected no happier issue when they entered upon
it. But still more glorious than this, and reflecting greater lustre
upon them, was the fact that those whom they had themselves
appointed to be governors and rulers of the Roman empire, and sent
forward to the capital, were received with universal satisfaction, their
decisions submitted to, and those who nominated them regarded with
gratitude.

‘¢ Therefore,’ he continued, “ he could not but admire and love
them all, knowing that their alacrity had kept pace with their ability.
On those, however, who had more particularly signalized themselves
by superior energy, and not only shed a lustre on their own lives by
valiant exploits, but also rendered his army more illustrious by their
gallant achievements,” he declared that “he should forthwith confer
rewards and honours; and that no one who had been emulous to
exert himself more than others, should fail of due requital. For to
this he had given his utmost attention ; as he wished rather to honour
the virtues, than to punish the delinquencies, of his fellow-soldiers.”

3. He accordingly gave immediate directions to the proper officers
to read the list of those who had performed any splendid feat during
the war. Addressing them by name, he applauded them as they
came forward, exulting in their exploits as if they were his own.
He then placed golden crowns upon their heads, and presented them
with golden neck-chains, long golden lances, and silver ensigns, and
advanced them severally to a higher rank. He likewise distributed
among them, out of the spoils, silver, and gold, and vestments, and of
other booty, in profusion. All being rewarded, as he judged each to
have deserved, after wishing to his army collectively every happiness,
he descended amidst many acclamations, and proceeded to offer sacri-
fices of thanksgiving for his success. A vast number of oxen being
ranged beside the altars, he sacrificed them all, and distributed them
to the troops for a banquet.

Having himself also joined in festivities with his officers for three
days, he dismissed the remaining force whither it was convenient for
them to retire. To the tenth legion, however, he assigned the custody
of Jerusalem, not ordering them to their former quarters by the
Euphrates. Recollecting the conduct of the twelfth legion, which
under the command of Cestius had retreated before the Jews, he

BOOK VIL. | ‘THE JEWISH WAR. 217

banished them from Syria altogether—for they had before lain at
Raphaneezee—and sent them into the country called Melitene, situ-
ated upon the Euphrates, on the confines of Armenia and Cappadocia.
Two. of the legions, the fifth and fifteenth, he thought proper to -
retain with himself until his arrival in Egypt. Having gone down
with his army to Ceesarea on the sea-coast, he deposited in that city
the mass of his spoils, and directed the prisoners to be detained there |
in custody; for the winter-season prevented his sailing to Italy.

CHAPTER II.

1. At the time when Titus Cesar was sitting down to besiege
Jerusalem, VeSpasian, embarking in a merchant-vessel, crossed over
from Alexandria to Rhodes. From thence he sailed in triremes ;
and touching at all the towns in his course, and being everywhere
cordially received, he passed over from Ionia into Greece, and thence
from Corcyra to the Japygian promontory; whence he pursued his
journey by land.

Titus, breaking up from the maritime Cesarea, advanced to Ceesa-
rea Philippi, as it is called, where he remained for a considerable
time, exhibiting various shows. Many of the prisoners were here
destroyed, some being thrown to wild beasts, whilst others in large
bodies were compelled to encounter one another in combat. It was
here that Titus heard of the capture of Simon, son of Gioras, which
was effected in the following manner.

2. This Simon, during the siege of Jerusalem, had occupied the
upper town ; but when the Roman army had entered within the walls
and was laying the whole city waste, accompanied by the most faithful
of his friends, and some stone-cutters, with the iron tools required
by them in their trade, and with provisions sufficient for many days,
he let himself down with all his party into one of the secret caverns,
and advanced through it as far as the ancient excavation permitted.
Here being met by firm ground, they mined it, in hope of being able
to proceed further, and, emerging in a place of safety, thus effect
their escape. But the result of the operations proved the hope falla-
cious. The miners advanced slowly and with difficulty, and the
provisions, though husbanded, were on the point of failing.

218 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK VII.

Thereupon Simon, thinking that he might pass a cheat upon the
Romans by the effect of terror, dressed himself in white tunics, and,
buttoning a purple cloak over them, rose up out of the earth at the
very spot where the temple formerly stood. At first, indeed, the
beholders were scized with amazement, and stood fixed to the
spot; but afterwards approaching nearer, they demanded who he
was. This Simon refused to tell them, but directed them to call the
general; on which they ran quickly to Terentius Rufus, who had
been left in command of the army. He accordingly came: and, after
hearing from Simon the whole truth, he kept him in irons, and
acquainted Cesar with the particulars of his capture. Thus was
Simon, in retribution for his cruelty to bis fellow-citizens, over whom
he had exercised bitter tyranny, delivered by God into the hands of
his enemies, who most deeply hated him; not reduced under their
power by force, but having voluntarily exposed himself to punish-
ment ;—an acf for which he had himself barbarously slain many,
falsely accusing them of deserting to the Romans. For iniquity
escapes not the wrath of God, nor is justice feeble. She overtakes,
though late, those who have transgressed against her, and inflicts
upor the guilty a chastisement the more severe, because they flattered
themselves that they had escaped it, when not immediately punished.
This Simon learned when he fell into the enraged hands of the
Romans. His ascent out of the ground, however, led at that period
to the discovery in other caverns of a vast multitude of the other
Insurgents. On the return of Cesar to the maritime Cesarea, Simon
was brought to him in chains, and he ordered him to be kept for the
triumph which he was preparing to celebrate in Rome.

CHAPTER III.

1. Tiros, during his stay at Caesarea, solemnized with great splen-
dour his brother’s birth-day ; and in honour of him reserved for that
occasion much of the punishment of the Jewish captives. For the
number of those who were destroyed, in the contests with wild beasts,
by the flames, or in combats with each other, exceeded two thousand
five hundred. And yet to the Romans, though the prisoners perished
In ten thousand forms, all this seemed too light a chastisement.

BOOK VII. ] THE JEWISH WAR. 219

After this, Caesar removed to Berytus, a city of Phoenicia and a
Roman colony. Here he made a longer sojourn, displaying still
greater magnificence in the celebration of his father’s birth-day, both
in the sumptuousness of the shows, and as regards the general inge-
nuity shown in the other branches of expenditure. The multitude
of captives perished in the same manner as before.

2. It happened about this time that charges were preferred against
the Jews who remained in Antioch, and that they were in danger of
destruction; disturbances having been excited to their prejudice in
that city, in consequence not only of the calumnies now brought
forward against them, but also of some transactions which had taken
place not long previously. Of these it is necessary that I should
premise a few words in order that I may give an intelligible account
of the subsequent occurrences. |

3. The Jewish race, thickly interspersed among all the nations of
the earth, particularly abounded in Syria, being mixed up with the
people of that country by reason of its proximity to their own.
Antioch, however, was their favourite place of resort, owing partly
to the great extent of the town, but chiefly from their having been
allowed by those who succeeded Antiochus on the throne to reside
there undisturbed. For, though Antiochus surnamed Epiphanes sacked
Jerusalem and despoiled the sanctuary, yet those who reigned after
him restored to the Jews of Antioch all such offerings as were made
of brass, to be laid up in their synagogue, and placed the people
themselves, with respect to civil privileges, on an equal footing with
the Greeks. And, as subsequent monarchs acted towards them in
the same manner, their numbers greatly augmented, and their temple,
from its furniture, and the sumptuousness of its offerings, assumed an
air of magnificence. Very many of the Greeks, moreover, were from
time to time brought over to their religious services; and these were
also in some measure incorporated with them.

At the time when the war had been proclaimed, and Vespasian had
recently landed in Syria, and when hatred of the Jews was every-
where at its height, one Antiochus, a man of their own nation, and
very much respected on account of his father—who was chief magis-
trate of the Jews in Antioch—came forward in the theatre during an
assembly of the people, and laid information against his own father
and the other Jews; charging them with having formed a design to
burn to the ground, in one night, the whole of the city: and he
delivered up some foreign Jews, as accomplices in the plot. On
hearing this, the people, unable to repress their indignation,
demanded that those delivered up to them should be immediately

220 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book vit.

committed to the flames; and they were all forthwith burned to death
in the theatre. They then rushed upon the Jewish population, con-
ceiving that, by taking immediate vengeance on them, they should
save their city. Antiochus, meanwhile, inflamed their resentment
still further ; for thinking to furnish proof of his conversion and of his
hatred of the Jewish usages, by sacrificing according to the Greek
mode, he also suggested that the others should be compelled to do
the same, as the conspirators would thus at once be detected by their
unwillingness. The people of Antioch having employed this test, a
few submitted—the recusants were massacred.

Antiochus, having received a body of troops from the Roman
governor, lorded it with severity over his Jewish fellow-citizens, not
permitting them to repose on the seventh day, but compelling them
to do everything the same as on the others; and so rigidly did he exact
obedience, that not only at Antioch was the day of weekly rest abro-
gated, but, the evil beginning from thence, the example was for a
short time followed by the other cities also.

4. Such being the misfortunes which had at that period befallen
the Jews in Antioch, a second calamity overtook them, on the narra-
tive of which we were about to enter, when our attention was called
to these occurrences. For it happening that the market-square was
burned down, together with the houses of the magistrates, the record-
office, and the court-houses, and the flames having with difficulty
been prevented from spreading with destructive violence over the
whole city, Antiochus charged the Jews with the deed. The inhabit-
ants, even had they not been already incensed against them, might
most easily, amid the consternation which the accident had occasioned,
have been influenced by this calumny:—much more were they now
inclined, from the transactions already detailed, to believe the impu-
tation, and to imagine that they had all but seen them setting fire to
the town. Accordingly, like men actuated by frenzy, they all
rushed upon the accused with the most infuriated violence. Nor was
it without difficulty that one Cneus Collega, the lieutenant, succeeded
in restraining their fury, requesting permission to lay the matter be-
fore Cesar. For it so happened that Ceesennius Peetus, the president
of Syria, who had already been sent from Rome by Vespasian, had
not yet arrived. .

The affair having been carefully investigated by Collega, the truth
was discovered. Not one of the Jews criminated by Antiochus was
so much as implicated; the act being wholly attributable to some
miscreants loaded with debts, who fancied, could they burn the
market-place and the public records, that they would enjoy a release

BOOK VII. | THE JEWISH WAR. 221

from all demands. Thus the Jews, with these charges still hanging
over them, were anxiously awaiting the issue, harassed with painful
apprehensions.

CHAPTER IV.

1. MeEaNwuite, Titus Cesar, having’ received intelligence of the
enthusiastic manner in which all the cities throughout Italy had
greeted his father’s approach, and that Rome in particular had re-
ceived him with great cordiality and splendour, most happily relieved
from further solicitude on his account, gave loose to emotions of joy
and satisfaction. For even while still at a distance, the Italians
without exception testified their respect for Vespasian in a manner
as warm as if he were already come, deeming the expectation
of him his actual arrival, so ardent were their wishes, and so void of
all constraint was the affection they bare him. To the senate, who
remembered the calamities they had endured in the changes of their
princes, it was desirable once more to receive an emperor adorned
with the gravity of age, and with consummate skill in military affairs;
and whose exaltation they felt assured would tend only to the safety
of his subjects: while the people, exhausted as they had been by
intestine broils, still more ardently longed for his arrival; conceiving
that not till then would there be an assured termination of their
miseries, and confident that security and prosperity would then return.
More especially, however, did the soldiery look towards him; for they
knew best the magnitude of the wars which he had brought to a
successful close: and, having had proof of the inexperience and
cowardice of other princes, they longed for their own rescue from
such deep disgrace, and prayed that he, who could alone both ensure
their safety and add lustre to their arms, might be granted them.

With such universal esteem was he regarded, that those of higher
rank, impatient of expecting him, hastened to a great distance from
Rome to meet him. Nor, indeed, could any, even of the other
citizens, endure the delay of his arrival; they all poured forth in such
crowds—it seeming to all more expeditious and easy to go out than
to remain—that the very city then first beheld with satisfaction a
solitude within its walls. For those who went out exceeded those
who remained. But by the time that his approach was announced,
and while those who had advanced to meet him were expatiating on
the affability of his address to every one, the rest of the citizens, one

222 THE JEWISH WAR. [poo viz.

sad all, with wives and children, were already waiting at the road-
sides to receive him; and from those whom he passed in his progress,
their own delight at the spectacle, and the blandness of his counte-
nance, drew forth various expressions of applause, while they hailed
him as the benefactor and saviour, and alone worthy Emperor of
Rome.

The whole city was like a temple, filled as it was with garlands and
incense. Having reached the palace, though with difficulty, owing
to the crowds that pressed around him, he offered sacrifices of thanks-
giving to the household-gods for his arrival. The multitudes then
betook themselves to feasting, enjoying the festivities by tribes and
families and neighbourhoods, and with libations prayed to God, that
Vespasian might long sway the Roman sceptre himself, and that to
his sons, and their descendants in successive generations, the empire
might be preserved undisputed. The city of the Romans, after this
cordial reception of Vespasian, rapidly advanced to a high degree of

prosperity.

2. Previous to this period, while Vespasian was at Alexandria, and
Titus occupied with the siege of Jerusalem, a large portion of the
Germans were incited to revolt; and, as the neighbouring Gauls also
coincided in their views, this led them to entertain, in conjunction
with them, confident expectations of rescuing themselves from the
Roman yoke. The Germans themselves were induced to attempt this
insurrection and engage in the war, in the first place, by their natural
disposition, which is devoid of all prudential consideration, and prone
to rush into danger with never so little hope of success; next, by
hatred to their conquerors, as they know that the Romans are the
only people that have ever reduced their race to servitude. But what
most of all inspired them with confidence, was the present favourable
juncture. For, sceing the Roman empire involved in intestine
distra¢tions by the continual change of its masters, and having heard
that every quarter of the world, where their sway prevailed, was in a
state of suspense and fluctuation, they considered that a most
auspicious opportunity was now presented to themselves by the
disastrous and divided condition of the enemy.

Into this scheme they were led, and in these anticipations buoyed
up, by one Classicus, and Vitellius, leading men among them, who, it
was well known, had long meditated such an attempt, and who now,
emboldened by the juncture, openly declared their sentiments, and
were about to test the courage of the populace, who were heartily
inclined to the enterprise. A large section of the Germans had,
accordingly, already agreed to the revolt, and it seemed probable that

BOOK VII. ] THE JEWISH WAR. 223

the remainder would come into their views, when Vespasian, as if by
the guidance of Pravidence, despatched letters to Petilius Cerealius,
who had formerly commanded in Germany, conferring on him the con-
sular dignity, and directing him to set out to assume the command in
Britain. Setting out accordingly for the place of his destination, and
having received intelligence by the way of the revolt of the Germans,
he fell upon them, when they had already formed a junction of their
forces; and, having in a pitched battle made great havoc of them, he
checked their folly, and compelled them to be more prudent.

But, even had not Cerealius ventured without delay into that
quarter, they would ere long have been chastised. For no sooner
had tidings of their defection reached Rome, than Domitian Cesar,
informed of the occurrence, hesitated not, as another might have done
at his age—for he was still a mere stripling—to undertake an affair of
such magnitude. Endowed by nature with the heroism of his father,
and possessed of experience beyond his years, he instantly advanced
against the barbarians. Their hearts failing at the rumour of his
approach, they surrendered in terror, finding it to their advantage to
be again reduced under the same yoke, before any disaster befel
them. Domitian, having settled the affairs of Gaul on a proper foot-
ing, so as to prevent their being again at any subsequent period
casily thrown into disorder, retraced his steps to Rome, covered with
honour, and an object of universal regard, on account of achievements
surpassing his age, and which might have done honour to his father.

3. Simultaneous with the above-mentioned revolt of the Germans,
was a daring attempt of the Scythians against the Romans. Those of
the Scythians who are called Sarmatians, an extremely numerous
tribe, stealthily crossing the Ister into Moesia, fell upon the Romans
with great violence, the more difficult to be resisted as the attack was
altogether unexpected. Many of the Romans stationed in that
quarter they slew, and among them the consular legate, Fonteius
Agrippa, who had advanced to meet them, and who perished fighting
gallantly. They then overran the whole of the adjacent territory,
plundering and pillaging whatever came in their way.

Vespasian, hearing of what had taken place, and of the devastation
of Moesia, sent Rubrius Gallus to chastise the Sarmatians. Many of
them met their death in the conflicts which ensued, and the survivers
fled in terror to their own country. The general, having brought this
war to a conclusion, took measures also for future safety; for, by
occupying the country with more numerous and stronger garrisons, he
rendered the passage of the river totally impracticable to the barba-
rians. Thus speedily was the war in Meesia terminated.

224 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK VII.

CHAPTER V.

1. Titus Casar, as we have before stated, stayed some time at
Berytus. Breaking up from thence, in the various cities of Syria
through which he passed, he exhibited sumptuous shows, making the
Jewish captives serve to display their own ruin. During his journey
he beheld a river, the nature of which merits notice. It holds its
course between Arca, a town in Agrippa’s kingdom, and Raphanea ;
and possesses a remarkable peculiarity. When it flows, it is copious,
and far from tardy in its current. Then all at once its springs fail ; and
during the space of six days, it presents a dry channel to the view.
Again, as if no change had occurred, it gives out its waters on the
seventh day the same as before. And it has always been observed to
maintain this order accurately; whence it has been called the Sab-
batical river, being so named from the sacred seventh day of the Jews.

2. The people of Antioch, when they heard that Titus was at hand,
could not through joy endure to remain within their walls, but
hastened to meet him, advancing to the distance of more than thirty
furlongs; not men only, but also crowds of women and children,
pouring forth from the city. And when they saw him approaching,
ranging themselves on both sides of the road, they held out their
hands in congratulation, and, hailing him with all kinds of auspicious
prayers, returned with him. But, with all these acclamations, they
ceased not to importune him to drive the Jews from the town. Titus,
however, unmoved by these entreaties, listened in silence to what was
said. The Jews, meanwhile, uncertain as to his views aud intentions,
were kept in a state of deep and painful alarm. For Titus, without
delaying at Antioch, immediately pursued his route to Zeugma,
a town on the Euphrates; where he was waited on by an embassy
from Vologeses, king of the Parthians, and presented with a crown
of gold on his conquest of the Jews. Having accepted this, and
entertained the royal messengers at a banquet, he retraced his steps
from thence to Antioch.

The council and people of this city having earnestly entreated him
to visit their theatre, where the whole population had assembled to
receive him, he courteously complied. On their pressing him again
very urgently, and frequently importuning him, to expel the Jews
from the city, he appositely replied, saying; ‘‘ Nay, but their own
country, to which in such case they would have to be banished, is

Tih il

BOOK VII. | THE JEWISH WAR. 225

destroyed, and no place would any longer admit them.” Failing in
this request, they preferred a second, soliciting him to remove the
brazen tablets on which were inscribed the privileges of the Jews.
This Titus also refused, and, leaving to the Jews of Antioch
every thing they had previously enjoyed in that country, set out for
Egypt. ᾿

In the course of his journey he arrived at Jerusalem ; and, con-
trasting the mournful solitude he then surveyed with the former
splendour of the city, and calling to mind the magnitude of its’ build-
ings, now in ruins, and their beauty .in former days, he deplored its
destruction ; not exulting, as another would, that, great and goodly
as it was, it had fallen beneath his arms, but often execrating the
guilty authors of the revolt, who had drawn down this chastisement
upon the city ;—thus evincing how foreign it was from his wishes,
through the calamities of the sufferers to make a display of his own
valour. Of the vast wealth of the town no small portion still con-
tinued to be found among the ruins. Much of it was dug. up by
the Romans; but the greater part was brought to light through. the
information of the captives, that is to say, gold and silver, and other
articles of the greatest value, which the owners had stored under
ground against the doubtful fortunes of war. ᾿

3. Titus now proceeded on his intended journey to Egypt; ‘and,
crossing the desert with all possible expedition, reached Alexandria.
Having determined to sail for Italy, he directed the two legions
which had accompanied him to repair respectively to their former
stations; the fifth into Moesia, the fifteenth into Pannonia. The
leaders, Simon and John, with the other captives, seven hundred in
number, whom. he had selected as remarkable for their stature and
the beauty of their persons, he ordered to be conveyed immediately
into Italy, wishing to produce them at the triumph.

Titus, who had as favourable a voyage as he could have desired,
was received and welcomed at Rome in the same manner as his father
had been. But what reflected the highest honour on Titus, was the
circumstance of his father’s going out in person to meet and receive
him ; and the crowd of citizens were filled with transport at beholding
the three princes themselves, now together. Not many days had
elapsed when they determined that their successes should be cele-
brated by one common triumph, though the senate had decreed.
a separate one to cach. ‘The day having been previously notified on
which the pageant of their victories was to be celebrated, not an
individual of the countless multitude in the city remained at home.
All issued forth; and they occupied every spot, wherever it was

VOL. I. R

226 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK VIL

possible even merely to stand, leaving only the space necessary for
those who were to be the objects of attraction to pass onward.

4, Day had not yet dawned, when the whole of the military
marched out in companies and divisions, under their officers, and
drew up around the gates, not at the upper palace, but near the
temple of Isis; for there the emperors reposed that night. As
morning broke, Vespasian and Titus came forth, crowned with laurel
and clothed with ancestral purple robes, and proceeded to the Octavian
walks; for there the senate and the chief magistrates, with those
of equestrian rank, awaited their approach. A tribunal had been
erected in front of the colonnades. This they ascended, and seated
themselves on ivory chairs placed there for the purpose. Instantly
a shout of joyful acclaim burst from the troops, all bearing many
testimonies to their valour. The princes were unarmed, dressed in
silk, and crowned with laurel. Vespasian, having acknowledged their
acclamations, which they wished still to continue, made the signal for
silence. Deep and universal stillness prevailing, he rose, and, covering
with his cloak the greater part of his head, offered up the usual
prayers, Titus praying also in like manner. The prayers concluded,
Vespasian having addressed the assemblage in general in a short
speech, dismissed the soldiers to the customary repast provided for
them by the emperors. He then retired himself to the gate which,
in consequence of the triumphal processions always passing through it,
has received its appellation from them. Here they first took some
refreshment, and then, having clothed themsdlves in the triumphal
robes and sacrificed to the gods whose statues stood by the gate, they
commanded the pageant to move forward, driving through the
theatres, that the assembled crowds might have a better view.

5. It is impossible for language to convey any adequate idea of the
multitude of those spectacles, and their magnificence in every thing
that one can conceive, whether as regards works of art, diversity of
riches, or natural rarities. For, almost all the acquisitions that have
been made one after another by those who have ever at any time
enjoyed the favours of fortune—the various productions, admirable
and sumptuous, of different nations—all these the greatness of the
Roman empire exhibited on that day collected together. Silver and
gold and ivory in profusion, and wrought in multitudinons forms,
might be seen, not as if carried in procession, but flowing, so to speak,
like a river.

Here were tapestries borne along, some of the rarest purple, some
embroidered by Babylonian art into accurate representations of life :
transparent gems, moreover, some set in crowns of gold, others in

BOOK VII. | THE JEWISH WAR. 227

other fashions ; and of these so vast was the display, that we thence
learned how erroneously we had supposed any of them to be rare.
Borne in the procession, likewise, were images of their gods, remark-
able for size, and of singularly elaborate workmanship ; and of these
none, but what was of costly materials. Many species of animals,
also, were led along, all wearing appropriate decorations. In charge
of the several species was a multitude of men adorned with purple gar-
ments, and dresses interwoven with gold ; while those men who were
destined for the procession itself had about them choice and magni-
ficent ornaments which struck the eye with astonishment. In the
crowd of captives, moreover, none was to be seen unadorned: the
beautiful variety of their dresses concealing from view any unsightliness
arising from the wretched condition of their bodies. But nothing in
the pageant excited so much wonder and admiration as the structure
of the platforms. For such was their magnitude, as to cause alarm,
and make men distrust the firmness of their support; many of them
rising to three and four stories; and you were at once delighted and
astonished by the magnificence of the fabric. Many of them were
covered with tapestries interwoven with gold; while gold and ivory
ingeniously wrought were affixed round about them all. The war was
likewise exhibited in numerous representations, divided into different
sections, and affording an extremely vivid portraiture of its events.

Here was to be seen a happy country devastated; there entire
bodies of hostile armies slaughtered: some again in flight: others
led into captivity: walls of extraordinary magnitude laid in ruins by
engines: strong fortresses overpowered: the defences of populous
cities completely mastered, and an army pouring within the walls:
every spot deluged with blood; and the hands of those incapable of
resistance uplifted in supplication: fire cast into temples: houses over-
thrown, and their owners buried in the ruins; and, after wide-spread
desolation and woe, rivers flowing, not over a cultivated country, nor
supplying water to man and beast, but running through a land on
every side still wrapt in flames. For to endure such calamities had
the Jews given themselves up to the war. The art, moreover, and
exquisite workmanship of the designs, to those unacquainted with the
events, exhibited them as if actually occurring before their eyes.

On each of these platforms was placed the governor of one of the
captured cities, in the situation in which he was taken. A number of
ships also followed. The spoils in general were borne in confused
heaps ; but conspicuous above all were the vessels taken in the temple
of Jerusalem. A golden table, many talents in weight, and a candle-
stick, made in like manner of gold, but constructed in a different

RZ

228 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book vir.

fashion from what is in ordinary use among us. For in the centre,
affixed to a pedestal, rose a pillar, from which extended slender
branches, resembling in their arrangement the figure of a trident ;
and to the top of each of these was attached a brazen lamp. These
lamps were seven, indicating the honour paid to that number among
the Jews. After these was borne the law of the Jews—last of the
spoils. These were succeeded by a numerous party carrying images
of victory, all made of ivory and gold. Next came Vespasian in a
chariot, followed by Titus; Domitian riding beside them sumptuously
apparelled, and mounted on a charger deservedly admired.

6. The triumphal procession terminated at the temple of Jupiter
Capitolinus, on arriving at which it stopped; for it was an ancient
usage there to remain, until the death of the general of the enemy
was announced. ‘This was Simon, son of Gioras, who had been led in
the pageant among the captives. Bound round with a halter, and
scourged meanwhile by those who led him, he was dragged to that
place, overlooking the forum, where the Roman law required that
malefactors condemned to death should be executed. When the
tidings arrived that Simon was no more, and the assemblage had
responded with a shout of joy, they commenced the sacrifices; which
having been offered with the customary prayers, they returned to the
palace.

Some the emperors themselves entertained at a feast: all the rest
had handsome preparations made for banquets at home. For the
city of the Romans kept festival that day in celebration of the victory
obtained in the campaign against her enemies, of the termination of
her civil dissensions, and of the dawning of her hopes of prosperity.

7. The triumphs being concluded, and the empire of the Romans
settled on the most secure basis, Vespasian determined to erect a
temple to Peace. This he very speedily completed, and in a style
exceeding all human conception. For, besides having at his disposal
the extraordinary resources with which his wealth supplied him, he
also embellished the edifice with the works of painting and statuary
achieved in past times. For in that shrine were accumulated and
stored up all those objects, for the sight of which men had before
wandered over the whole world, anxiously desiring to see them, while
they lay in different countries. Here he laid up also the golden
vessels from the temple of the Jews, on which he prided himself,
Their law, however, and the purple veils of the sanctuary, he ordered
to be deposited and kept in the palace.

BOOK VII. | THE JEWISH WAR. 229

CHAPTER VI.

1. Lucitius Bassus, having been despatched to Judea as legate,
and having received the army from Cerealius Vitellianus, gained over
the fortress of Herodium, together with the troops in garrison there.
This done, he drew together the whole of the military—who formed
a considerable force, but were scattered about in detached parties—
and among them the tenth legion, and resolved on an expedition
against Macherus. This fortress it was absolutely necessary to
demolish, lest its strength should induce many to revolt. For its
natural defences were peculiarly calculated to inspire its occupants
with a high confidence of security, and to retard and alamn an
assailant. For the very site that is fortified is a rocky eminence,
which rises to so great a height, that on that account alone it would
be difficult to reduce it; while it is so contrived by the hand of
nature as to be quite inaccessible ; for it is trenched about on all sides
with ravines of depth immeasurable to the eye, which cannot easily
be crossed, and which it is utterly impracticable to mound up. For
the valley which intercepts it on the west extends sixty furlongs,
making the lake Asphaltitis its limit; and it is at a part on this side .
that Macherus itself attains its greatest elevation. The ravines,
again, on the north and south, though inferior in magnitude to that
just mentioned, are equally impracticable to an attacking army.
The ravine on the east is found to be not less than a hundred cubits
in depth, and is terminated by a mountain which lies over against
Macheerus.

2. Remarking these natural advantages of the spot, Alexander,
king of the Jews, first erected a fortress there, which was subsequently
demolished by Gabinius in his war with Aristobulus. But when
Herod was king, deeming it peculiarly deserving of attention, and of
the strongest fortification, more particularly from its proximity to
Arabia, with regard to which it was conveniently situated, and of
which it commanded a prospect, he enclosed in consequence a large
space of ground with ramparts and towers, and built there a city,
with an ascent leading up from it to the very summit of the hill. On
the top of this, moreover, and round the very brow of it, he raised
a wall, and at the angles erected towers a hundred and sixty cubits
high. In the centre of the inclosure he constructed a palace,

230 THE JEWISH WAR. [BOOK ντε.

magnificent both from the size and beauty of its apartments. He pre-
pared, moreover, a number of cisterns in the most convenient situa-
tions to receive the rain, and provide an abundant supply; as if vying
with nature, and seeking by artificial munitions to surpass the strength
and security with which she had invested it. For he still further
deposited there a large quantity of missiles and engines, and carefully
attended to the preparation of whatever might enable its inmates to
set at defiance the most protracted siege.

8. In the palace grew a plant of rue, of astonishing size, equalling
im height and thickness the largest fig-tree. There was a tradition
that it had continued from the times of Herod; and it would probably
have remained for a very long period, had it not been cut down by the
Jews who took possession of the place. In the ravine which encom-
passed the town on the north, there is a spot called Baaras, which
produces a root of the same name. In colour it resembles flame, and
towards evening emits a bright light. Those who approach and wish
to pluck it find it no easy matter to lay hands upon it, as it recedes
from the grasp, and is only rendered stationary by pouring upon it
some peculiar animal secretions. And even then to touch it is certain
death, unless the root itself is carried suspended from the hand. It is
also taken in another manner without danger, as follows. They dig
round it on all sides, so as to leave but a very small portion of the root
covered. They then tie a dog to it; and he, in his efforts to follow
.the person who bound him to it, easily draws it up; but the dog
instantly dies, as if delivered up in the stead of him who would have
removed the plant. For after this, no one need fear to handle it. It
is eagerly sought for, though the search is attended with such dan-
gers, on account of a single virtue. For what are called demons—that
is, the spirits of wicked men, which enter into the living, and destroy
them, unless aid be obtained—are quickly expelled by this root, if
merely applied to the diseased.

In this place, moreover, flow fountains of warm water, differing
much in taste from each other, some of them being bitter, others not
at all deficient in sweetness. Many springs of cold water also gush
out near each other, and these not confined to the lower situations ;
but, what is still more remarkable, at a short distance is seen a cave,
with a basin of no great depth, and overhung by a projecting rock.
Above this rock rise, as it were, two breasts, at a short interval from
each other, one of which yields extremely cold water, the other
extremely hot. These, when mixed, make a highly agreeable bath,
medicinal in its properties, but particularly useful in nervous affec-
tions. In this spot, also, are mines of sulphur and alum.

BOOK Vit.] THE JEWISH WAR. 231

4. Bassus, after reconnoitering the place at every point, deter-
mined to make his approaches by filling up the ravine towards the
east. He accordingly commenced his operations, labouring to com-
plete his mounds with all expedition, and by means of them to
lighten the toils of the siege. The Jews who were shut up within,
separating themselves from the strangers, whom they regarded as
merely a useless crowd, compelled them to remain in the lower part
of the town, and be the first to meet the dangers. They themselves,
meanwhile, seized and kept possession of the upper citadel, not less
on account of the strength of its defences, than with a view to their
own safety, conceiving that they could obtain pardon, should they
deliver up the fortress to the Romans. But they wished first to put
to the proof their hopes of escaping a blockade.

They, in consequence, made spirited sallies from day to day; and
engaging hand to hand with those who fell in their way, though many
lost their lives, they nevertheless slew great numbers of the Romans.
It was invariably, however, the opportunity seized upon, which
mainly decided the victory on either side; in favour of the Jews, if
they fell upon the Romans when more off their guard than usual ;—
of those on the mounds, if, anticipating their sallies, they received
them protected by their armour. But not on these conflicts was the
termination of the siege destined to depend. An accidental and
unexpected occurrence imposed on the Jews the necessity of surren-
dermg the fortress.

There was among the besieged a youth bold to enterprise, and
active to execute, by name Eleazar. He had -greatly distinguished
himself in the sallies, stimulating many to go out and impede the
progress of the mounds, and in the contlicts making much and fearful
havoc among the Romans; while, to those who ventured to sally forth
with him, he rendered the attack easy, and, himself the last to with-
draw, provided them with an unendangered retreat. Now, on one
occasion it so happened, that, after the conclusion of the engagement,
and when both parties had retired, he, as despising the enemy, and
not thinkimg that any of them would then resume the contest, remained
outside the gates, conversing with those upon the wall, his attention
being wholly engrossed by them. One Rufus, belonging to the
Roman camp, by birth an Egyptian, saw the opportunity, and, run-
ning suddenly upon him, when no one could have expected it, lifted
him up, armed as he was, while the spectators on the wall were stupi-
fied by astonishment, and succeeded in transferring him to the Roman
camp.

The general having ordered him to be stripped, and taken to a spot

232 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book vit.

most exposed to the view of those who were looking on from the city,
and there scourged, the Jews were deeply affected by his misfortune,
and the whole town bewailed him with lamentations exceeding what
the calamity of a single individual might call forth. Perceiving this,
Bassus proceeded to practise a stratagem against the enemy, which
he hoped would so heighten their distress, as to compel them to pur-
chase the safety of the man by a surrender of the fortress. And in
this hope he was not disappointed. He commanded a cross to be
erected, as if for the purpose of instantly suspending Eleazar. On
observing this, those who were in the fortress were seized with deeper
anguish, and bewailed him with piercing shrieks, crying out that it
was an insupportable calamity. Thereupon, Eleazar besought them
not to allow him to undergo, before their eyes, so pitiable a death ;
but to consult their own safety by yielding to the strength and for-
tune of the Romans, now that all were subdued.
. His appeals completely unmanned them, and as many within also
pleaded for him—for he was of a high and very numerous family—
they yielded to a compassion beyond their nature, and sent a depu-
tation without delay to the Romans to treat of a surrender of the
fortress, requiring that they might be allowed to withdraw in safety,
and take with them Eleazar. The Romans and their general having
acceded to these conditions, the multitude in the lower town, on
hearing of the separate compact which the Jews had made, determined
on their part to make off secretly during the night. But as soon as
the gates were thrown open, those who had come to terms with
Bassus, informed him of the fact ; whether grudging them their safety,
or through fear lest they should themselves be charged as accessories
to their flight. The most resolute of the fugitives succeeded in
cutting their way through, and escaped. Of those taken in the town,
the men, to the number of one thousand seven hundred, were slaugh-
tered: the women and children were enslaved. Bassus, thinking
himself bound to observe his agreement with those who surrendered
the fortress, allowed them to depart, and restored Eleazar. |

5. Having settled affairs in this quarter, Bassus proceeded with his
troops by forced marches to the forest of Jardes, as it is called, having
been informed that many of those who had formerly fled from Jeru-
salem and Macheerus, during the sieges of those places, had there
assembled. On reaching the spot, and finding the intelligence
correct, he commenced by surrounding the entire place with his
cavalry, to prevent the escape of any of the Jews who might attempt
to cut their way through; and directed the infantry to fell the trees,
among which the fugitives had taken shelter. The Jews were in

BOOK VII. | THE JEWISH WAR. 233

consequence reduced to the necessity of making some bold attempt,
in the hope that by a desperate effort they might possibly escape.
Accordingly, forming themselves into a mass, they rushed forward
with a shout, and fell upon the troops that hemmed them in. These
received them gallantly; and thus, utter despair animating the one
side, and emulation the other, the conflict was long maintained. The
issue, however, was not alike to the respective combatants; the
Romans having lost in all twelve, and a few wounded; while of the
Jews from that engagement not one escaped; all, to the number of
not less than three thousand, having perished. Among the slain was
their general, Judas, the son of Ari, of whom we have before spoken
as the leader of a company at the siege of Jerusalem, where he
effected his escape by withdrawing secretly into some of the subter-
raneous passages.

6. About the same time Cesar wrote to Bassus, and Liberius
Maximus, the procurator, directing them to sell the whole of the
Jewish territory ; for he did not colonize a single city there, reserving
the country as his private property. To eight hundred alone, who
were discharged from further service in the army, he assigned for
their habitation a place called Ammaus, distant sixty furlongs from
Jerusalem. On the Jews, wherever they might be, he imposed a
tribute of two drachms, to be paid by each man every year into the
Capitol, as they formerly paid into the temple at Jerusalem. Such
was at this date the posture of affairs in Judea.

CHAPTER VII.

1. WuiLe Vespasian was now holding for the fourth year the reins
of empire, Antiochus, king of Commagene, became involved in
severe calamities, with all his family. The occasion was as follows.
Ceesennius Petus, then appointed president of Syria, sent letters to
Cesar, but whether believing what he said, or from enmity to
Antiochus, was never fully ascertained, stating that ‘‘ Antiochus and
his son Epiphanes had determined to throw off their allegiance to the
Romans, having formed an alliance with the king of the Parthians;
and that he ought, therefore, to anticipate their movements, lest they
should be first in the field, and involve the whole Roman empire
in war.” ,

7 TRE JEWIH WAR. [moon vit.

Such intelligence, thus conveyed to him, Cesar was not the man to
overlook, more particularly as the proximity of these princes to one
emother rendered the matter deserving of greater attention. For
Samosata, the chief city of Commagene, lying on the Euphrates,
would afford the Parthians, were such a design in contemplation, an
easy passage and a secure retreat. Accordingly, Petus, gaining
eredit for his story, and receiving authority to do what he thought
expedient, made no delay; but, while Antiochus and his friends were
expecting nothing of the kind, suddenly mvaded Commagene; the
sixth legion, some colorts, and a few troops of cavalry, constituting
his force.

In this expedition he was also supported by two sovereign princes,
Avistobulus, who ruled in Chaleidice, as it is styled, and Sohemus,
king of Emesa, so called. Their inroad met with no opposition: for
throughout the eountry none wished to raise ἃ hand against them.
Asitiochus, on hearing these unexpected tidings, unable even to think
of a war with the Romans, determined to leave his entire kingdom
just in the state in which it was, and to withdraw privately with his
wife and children, hoping that he might thus evinee to the Romans
his innocence of the charge brought against him. And proceeding to
@ plain at the distance of a hundred and twenty furlongs from his
eapital, he there pitched his tents.

ἃ. Pestus despatched a body of troops to seize on Samosata: and
through them he retained possession of the town, while he hastened
with the remainder of his army to oppose Antiochus in person.
Embarrassing as was his situation, however, the king could not be
induced to take any hostile step against the Romans, but, lamenting
his misfortune, was content to submit to whatever it might be his lot
toendure. His sons, notwithstanding, being in the flower of their age,
skilled in war, and excelling in physical strength, could not easily
brook his fall without a struggle. Epiphanes and Callinicus, accord-
ingly, tried their strength. A fierce conflict ensued, which continued
during the whole day; the young princes giving proofs of distin-
guished valour; and, when night parted the combatants, they were
found to have sustained no loss. But, though such had been the
issue of the conflict, still Antiochus could not be induced to remain ;
accompanied by his wife and daughters he fled into Cilicia:—a step
which broke down the spirits of his troops. For, considering that he
had abandoned his kingdom in despair, they revolted, and went over
to the Romans; and despondency was visible in every countenance.

It became necessary, in consequence, for Epiphanes and his friends
to provide for their safety before they should be entirely deserted

BOOK Viz. | THE JEWISH WAR. 235

by their confederates. Ten horsemen were all that crossed the
Euphrates with him. Thence they proceeded without molestation to
Vologeses, king of Parthia; by whom they were not treated with
disdain, as fugitives, but with every mark of respect, as if still enjoy-
ing their ancient prosperity.

3. Antiochus, on coming to Tarsus of Cilicia, was taken into
custody by a centurion despatched for that purpose by Petus, who
sent his prisoner in irons to Rome. Vespasian, however, could not
endure to have the king thus brought to him, thinking it becoming
rather to respect ancient friendship, than, under pretext of the war,
to cherish implacable resentment. He therefore gave orders that his
chains should be struck off, while he was still upon the road, and
countermanding at the same time his journey to Rome, directed him
to remain for the present at Lacedemon. He gave him, moreover,
ample supplies of money, that he might not only enjoy affluence, but
live in royal state. On hearing of this, Epiphanes and his adherents—
who had hitherto felt the greatest apprehensions on his father's
account—were relieved from their serious and painful anxiety. They
had a hope, moreover, that Czesar, through the representations of
Vologeses, who had written to him on the subject, would be recon
ciled to them; for, however well off they might be, they could not
endure to live beyond the Roman empire. Cesar having humanely
granted them safe conduct, they repaired to Rome, where they were
soon joined by their father from Lacedemon; and there they
continued to reside, treated with all distinction.

4. The nation of the Alans—whom, I think, we have elsewhere
stated to be Scythians inhabiting the banks of the river Tanais, and
the lake Meotis—designing at this juncture to penetrate into Media
and the parts beyond it, for plunder, addressed themselves to the king
of the Hyrcanians, who was master of the pass which king Alexander
had closed with iron gates. Being granted ingress by him, they fell
in great numbers upon the Medes, who entertained no suspicions,
and pillaged a populous country, abounding in flocks and herds, no
one venturing to oppose them. For Pacorus, the sovereign of that
country, fled in terror to his fastnesses; and, having abandoned all
besides, with difficulty recovered from them his wife and concubines,
who had fallen into their hands, by a ransom of a hundred talents.
Prosecuting, therefore, the work of rapine unresisted and quite at
their leisure, they proceeded as far as the confines of Armenia, laying
every thing waste. Teridates, who reigned there, meeting them, and
giving them battle, was on the point of being made prisoner in the
engagement; a noose having been thrown over him by one at a

236 THE JEWISH WAR. [Boox vir.

distance, who would have dragged him away, had he not instantly cut
the cord with his sword and effected his escape. The invaders, only
rendered the more fierce by this opposition, desolated the country ;
and, carrying off a vast multitude of men, with much booty besides,
from both kingdoms, returned once more to their own homes.

CHAPTER VIII.

1. Bassus, who had died in Judsea, was succeeded in his govern-
ment by Flavius Silva; who, seeing the whole country reduced to
subjection, with the exception of one fortress which still stood out,
drew all his forces together from their quarters, and marched
against it. The fortress bore the name of Masada; and Eleagar, a
man of influence among the Sikars, who had seized on it, there held
command. He was a descendant of Judas, who, when Quirinus was
despatched as censor into Judea, prevailed on numbers of the Jews,
as we have before stated, not to enroll themselves. For it was at that -
juncture that the Sikars combined against those who were willing to
obey the Romans, treating them in every way as enemies, plundering
their property, driving off their cattle, and setting fire to their
habitations: for those, they said, who so ignobly threw away the
freedom which had cost the Jews so many struggles, and had acknow-
ledged their preference for the Roman yoke, in nowise differed from
aliens. This was, however, only a pretext, and was put forward by
them as a cloak for their cruelty and avarice ; a fact made evident by
their proceedings. For the people did join with them in the revolt,
and took part in the war against the Romans; yet, notwithstanding
this, their conduct towards them became more atrocious than ever.
And when, again, they were convicted of falsehood in this pretext,
they treated still worse those who, in self-justification, upbraided
them with their villany. For that period had, somehow, become so
prolific in iniquity of every description, amongst the Jews, that no
work of evil was left unperpetrated; nor, were any one to aim by his
ingenuity to devise it, could he discover any thing more strange: so
universal was the contagion, both in public and private, and such the
emulation to surpass each other in acts of impiety towards God, and
of injustice towards their neighbours; the powerful oppressing the

BOOK VII. ] THE JEWISH WAR. 237

multitude, and the multitude hastening to destroy the powerful.
These desired to tyrannize, those forcibly to seize and plunder the
goods of the opulent.

The Sikars set the first example of this flagitiousness and cruelty
to their kindred: they left no language unemployed that might insult,
no deed unessayed for the destruction of those against whom they
conspired. But, wicked as they were, John showed that even they
were more moderate than himself. For, not only did he put to death
all who suggested just and salutary measures, treating such of the
citizens especially as his worst enemies; but he also in his public
capacity filled his country with a thousand evils, such as might be
expected from a man who had already dared even to be impious
towards God. For he spread his table with unlawful meats, and dis-
carded the rule of purity sanctioned by our forefathers; so that it
can no longer excite surprise, that he who could act towards God
with impiety so insane, should not have observed towards men the
offices of gentleness and humanity.

And then, again, what evil did not Simon, son of Gioras, perpe-
trate? Or what outrage did he abstain from, towards the very free-
men who had invested him with arbitrary power? What ties of
friendship or of kindred rendered them not more ferocious in their
daily murders? For injury to strangers they regarded as ignoble
wickedness ; but deemed it a splendid piece of bravado to show cruelty
towards their nearest relations. Yet the frenzy of the Idumzans out-
vied even their desperate fury. For those most execrable monsters,
after having, in order to blot out every vestige of religious worship,
butchered the chief-priests, proceeded to uproot whatever remnant
there still was of our civil polity, and introduced into every depart-
ment the utmost licentiousness. In this excelled the horde of the
so-called Zealots, who, by their deeds, proved their appellation true.
For every deed of evil they zealously emulated, leaving nothing un-
rivalled which has been handed down by tradition as having been
formerly perpetrated ; though they applied this designation to them-
selves as if zealous in the cause of virtue; either, from their savage
nature, mocking those injured, or as deeming the greatest evils good.
Accordingly, they met, each, a merited end; God awarding due punish-
ment to them all. For all the inflictions that the nature of man is
capable of enduring fell on them, even to the latest moment of that life,
which they sustained in the agonies of complicated tortures to its close.
And yet it may be said that they suffered less than they perpetrated ;
for no punishment could reach the measure of their crimes. But
those who perished through their cruelty the present is not the proper

238 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book τίει.

season to deplore as they deserve. I shall, therefore, return to that
part of the narrative where I digressed.

2. Against Eleazar and the Sikars, who with-him held possession
of Masada, the Roman general advanced at the head of his forces ;
and, having quickly made himself master of the whole of the district,
he placed garrisons in the most eligible quarters. That none of the
besieged might find it easy to effect their escape, he threw up a wall
round the entire circuit of the fortress, and distributed his sentinels.
He encamped himself on a spot which he selected as most advan-
tageous for the operations, at that point where the rocks of the
fortress adjoined the neighbouring mountain; though, otherwise,
inconvenient for an adequate supply of necessaries. For, not only
had provisions to be conveyed from a distance, and with distressing
labour to the Jews to whom this duty was assigned; but water also
had to be brought to the camp, there being no fountain at hand.
These preparatory arrangements being completed, Silva entered on
the siege, which demanded much skill and severe exertion, owing to
the strength of the fortress, the nature of which I shall now describe.

8. A rock, not inconsiderable in circumference, and lofty through-
out its entire length, is encompassed on every side by ravines of such
vast depth that they are unfathomable by the eye; precipitous withal,
and inaccessible to the foot of every living creature, except in two
places, where the rock admits a not easy ascent. Of these passages,
the one leads from the lake Asphaltitis and fronts the sun-rising: the
other, by which the approach is less difficult, is from the west. The
former is called the snake, from its fancied resemblance to that rep-
tile in its narrowness and continual involutions. For its line is
broken at the projections of the precipices ; and, returning frequently
into itself, and gradually lengthening out again, it advances but
slowly. In going through it the feet must alternately be firmly fixed.
Destruction, withal, is imminent; for on either side yawn deep
chasms, so terrific as to appal the most undaunted spirit. When you
have by this ascended thirty furlongs, you reach the summit, which,
instead of contracting to a point, expands into a plain.

On this the high-priest Jonathan first erected a fortress, to which
he gave the name of Masada. Subsequently, the arrangement of the
place occupied the anxious attention of king Herod, who surrounded
the entire summit with a wall, seven furlongs in length, built of white
stone, and twelve cubits in height, by eight in breadth; on which
stood seven and thirty towers fifty cubits in altitude. From these were
communications with apartments constructed around the whole inte-

rior of the wall. For the king reserved the top of the hill for culti-

“vVaVSVN

τᾶς πῆρ ale τ" 3h yg eS, < Poa i ἘΚ
᾿

BOOK VII.] THE JEWISH WAR. 239

vation, the soil being rich, and softer than any plain; in order that,
should there be at any time scarcity of provision outside, those who
had committed their safety to the fortress might not suffer from it.
Moreover, he built a palace there, at the western ascent, under the
ramparts of the citadel, and inclining to the north. The wall of this
edifice was strong and of great height, with four towers of sixty cubits
at the angles. The fitting up of the apartments, galleries, and baths,
in the interior, was diversified and sumptuous: the buildings being
supported throughout by pillars, each formed of a single block; and
the walls and floors of the rooms being laid with variegated stones.
To each of the dwelling-places, both on the summit and around the
palace, as well as in front of the wall, he had cut in the rock a
number of capacious cisterns, as reservoirs of water; thus securing
a supply as ample as if derived from fountains. An excavated road,
imperceptible to those outside, led from the palace to the very top of
the hill. The open approaches, however, could not easily be used by
an attacking army ; for the eastern, as we have already observed, was
impracticable from its nature, while that on the west was barred, at
the narrowest part, by a huge tower, distant not less than a thousand
cubits from the summit, and which it was neither possible to pass,
nor easy to reduce. It had, moreover, been rendered difficult of
access even to those who traversed it without cause for alarm. Thus
had the fortress been defended against hostile attacks, both by nature
and art.

4, The provisions laid up within might excite still greater admira-
tion, both for their profusion and their durability. Much corn had
been stored there, amply sufficient to last for many years, together
with wine and oil in abundance. Pulse, also, in its different varieties,
and dates, had been accumulated. All these Eleazar, when treachery
made him and his Sikars masters of the fortress, found in perfect
preservation and nowise inferior to those recently laid in; though,
from the time of their being stored, to the capture by the Romans,
almost a century had elapsed. Nay, the Romans also found what
remained of the fruits undecayed. He would not err who should
attribute this durability to the atmosphere, which, from the height of
the citadel, was free from all terrene and impure admixture. There
were, likewise, discovered here vast quantities of arms of various
descriptions, which had been treasured up by the king, sufficient for
ten thousand men; unwrought iron, also, with brass and lead: prepa-
rations evidently designed for important occasions.

For it is said that Herod provided this fortress as a refuge for him-
self, suspecting a twofold danger; the one from the Jewish people,

240 THE JEWISH WAR. [Book VII.

lest, deposing him, they should restore the line of their ancient kings :
the greater and more serious from Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, who
made no secret of her intention, but frequently addressed herself to
Antony, urging him to destroy Herod, and praying him to confer on
her the throne of Judsea. And, far from Having any expectation of his
not gratifying her, one may rather feel surprise that Antony should
never have obeyed her commands, miserably enslaved as he was by
his passion for her, It was under the influence of such fears as these
that Herod fortified Masada, to leave it to the Romans for the con-
cluding work of their war with the Jews.

5. The Roman general, having now completed his barrier round
the entire exterior of the fortress, as we have already related, and
taken the strictest precautions lest any one should escape, commenced
the siege. One spot alone he found adapted for the reception of
mounds. In the rear of the tower which secured the pass leading
from the west to the palace and the summit of the hill, was a projec-
tion of rock, which formed there a platform of considerable breadth,
and withal remarkably prominent, but still three hundred cubits
below the elevation of Masada. It was called—The White Cliff.
Silva, having ascended and taken possession of this, ordered his troops
to bring earth for the mound. Working zealously and with many
hands, they raised a solid bank, to the height of two hundred cubits.
This being, however, still deemed of insufficient stability and extent
for sustaining the machines of escalade, there was built upon it, with
great stones fitted to each other, a raised work fifty cubits broad and
of equal altitude. The other machines were similarly constructed to
those originally invented by Vespasian, and subsequently by ‘Titus,
for carrying on their sieges : and beside these, a sixty-cubit tower was
also put together, completely cased with iron; whence the Romans,
discharging missiles from numerous scorpions and balistas, quickly
dislodged those who were fighting from the ramparts, and prevented
them from showing themselves.

At the same time, also, Silva, having constructed a large battering-
ram, directed it to play without intermission on the wall ; and having,
though with difficulty, effected a breach, he laid it in ruins. The
Sikars, however, before this could be done, had hastily thrown up
another wall inside, which, being soft and capable of breaking the
violence of the stroke, was not likely to meet with the same fate from
the engines. It was constructed as follows :—Large beams were laid
lengthways continuously, and fastened together at the extremities.
There were two parallel rows of these, distant from one another the
breadth of the wall, and the intermediate space was filled up with

BOOK VII. | THE JEWISH WAR. 241

earth. To prevent this from falling through, as the mound was
raised, they bound together, by other transverse beams, those that lay
lengthways. Thus the work appeared to the enemy like a building ;
but, when the strokes of the machines began to play, they were of
course weakened by it: and the materials, settling down by the con-
cussion, became more compact.

Perceiving this, Silva, thinking it easier to destroy the wall by fire,
ordered the soldiers to hurl on it a number of lighted torches. Being
made, for the most part, of wood, it soon caught the fire; which,
owing to its hollowness, penetrated quite through and burst forth in
a volume of flame. At the commencement of the conflagration, the.
north wind, which blew in therr faces, occasioned the Romans great
alarm: for, turning back the flame from above, it drove it directly
against them; insomuch that, as their engines seemed likely to be
burned, they had almost given up all for lost. But: the wind, as if
by Divine interposition, suddenly changing to the south, blew strong
in an opposite direction, and, carrying the flame, impelled it against
the wall, which throughout its entire depth was now in a blaze.
The Romans, having thus experienced the help of God, returned
rejoicing to their camp, with the determination of attacking the enemy
on the ensuing day; and they kept more vigilant watch during the
night, lest any of the besieged should secretly escape.

6. But neither did Eleazar himself meditate flight, nor had he any
intention of permitting others to do so. Seeing the wall consumed
by the flames, and able to devise no other means of safety, or occasion
for a display of valour, and setting before his eyes what the Romans,
should they prove victorious, would inflict on them, their children,
and their wives, he planned the death of all. And, judging this best
under present circumstances, he assembled the most resolute of his
comrades, and incited them to the deed by such words as these :—

** As we have of old determined, my brave comrades, neither to
serve the Romans, nor any other than God;—for He alone is the true
and just Lord of men—the time has now come which enjoins us to
verify by our actions this resolve. Herein then let us not disgrace
ourselves ; we who have hitherto refused to submit even to an unep-
dangered servitude, but who now, along with servitude, shall have to.
undergo intolerable punishment, if we shall fall alive into the hands
of the Romans.

‘¢ For we were the first of all to revolt, and we are the last in arms
against them. I think, moreover, that this hath been granted to us
as a favour by God, that we have it in our power to die honourably
and in freedom ;—a privilege which has not fallen to the lot of others,

VOL, IL. 8

242 THE JEWISH WAR. [BooK vir.

who have been defeated contrary to their expectations. Let another
day dawn, and assured capture awaits us; but there is still the unfet-
tered choice of a noble death with those dearest tous. For this our
enemies are unable to prevent, though fervently they pray to take us
alive :—while for us to conquer them in battle is no longer possible.

‘‘ Perhaps, indeed, we ought from the very first—when, having
chosen to assert our liberties, we suffered such severe treatment from
one another, and still worse from our foes—to have guessed the
purpose of God, and to have known that the Jewish nation, formerly
dear to Him, was doomed to perdition. For, had He continued
favourable, or only moderately incensed at us, He would not have
overlooked the destruction of so many men, nor have delivered His
most holy city to the flames, and to the desolating hands of enemies.

** But we hoped, forsooth, to survive alone of all the Jewish race,
preserving our freedom, as if we had been guiltless towards God, and
had participated in no crime ;—we who had even instructed others to
transgress. Observe, therefore, how He exposes the vanity of our
expectations, involving us in difficulties and distress which exceed all
that we could anticipate. The impregnable nature of the fortress has
not availed for our security; and, even though we have an ample
supply of provisions, and piles of arms, with abundance of every other
requisite, God Himself has most visibly wrested from us our hope of
safety. For not of its own accord did the fire that was driving against
our enemies return against the defences prepared by us. No; all this
is but the vengeance for the many injuries which we have, in madness,
ventured to commit against our fellow-countrymen; for which let us
not await punishment from our bitterest foes the Romans, but receive it
from God through ourselves. It will be milder than they would inflict.
For let our wives die undishonoured ; our children, ere they know
what slavery is; and, when once they are removed, let us confer a noble
favour on one another, preserving our freedom as a becoming shroud.

‘* But, first, let us destroy with fire our property and the fortress.
For I know well the Romans will be grieved to lose at once our
persons and our goods. Our provisions alone let us spare ; for these
will testify, when we are dead, that we were not subdued from
want; but that, as we had resolved from the beginning, we preferred
death to servitude.”

7. Thus spoke Eleazar; not, however, in accordance with the
sentiments of those present. Some there were, indeed, who were
eager to obey, and deeming death honourable, were all but filled with
delight; but others, of softer mould, were moved with compassion
for their wives and families; and especially when their own dissolu-

BOOK VII. | THE JEWISH WAR. 243

tion was thus set before them, the tears that flowed as they looked at
one another testified the disinclination of their minds. Seeing them
recoiling, and broken in spirit by the magnitude of his proposal,
Eleazar feared lest their invocations and tears should unman even
those who had listened to his appeal with fortitude. Accordingly,
he did not fail to follow up his exhortation. Rousing himself, and
inspired with strong determination, he essayed a more elevated strain,
descanting on the immortality of the soul. Bitterly complaining, and
looking steadfastly on those who were in tears, he resumed :—‘* Most
deeply was I deceived in thinking that I was aiding brave men in
their struggles for freedom—men determined to live with honour, or
to die. Ye were, it seems, no better than the common herd, either
in courage, or in fortitude; afraid even of the death which should
deliver you from the direst evils—and this, too, while it imports you
neither to delay, nor wait for an adviser. For of old, and from the
first dawn of reason, have the national laws and the divine precepts,
confirmed by the deeds and noble sentiments of our forefathers, con-
tinued to teach us, that life, not death, is a misfortune to men. For
it is death that gives liberty to the soul, and permits it to depart to
its proper and pure abode, where it will be free from every calamity.
But so long as it is imprisoned in a mortal body, and infected with
its miseries, it is, to speak most truly, dead; for association with
what is mortal befits not that which is divine. Be it, then, that the
soul, even while incarcerated in the body, is capable of much; for it
makes that frame its sensible instrument, invisibly moving it, and
leading it forth in its actions beyond the range of a mortal nature.
But it is not until, freed from that weight which hangs suspended
from it and drags it down to earth, the soul hath re-assumed its
proper sphere, that it enjoys a blessed energy, and a power every
way unrestricted, remaining, as God himself, imperceptible to
human eyes.

“For not even while in the body does it present itself to view.
It enters unperceived, and unseen again withdraws; its own nature
one and incorruptible, though a cause of change to the body. For
whatever the soul hath touched, lives and flourishes; whatever it has
removed from, withers and dies; so much of immortality is left to it.
Let sleep be to you a most convincing proof of what I say—sleep, in
which the soul, undistracted by the body, enjoys apart from it the
sweetest rest, and, conversant with God through its relationship to
Him, traverses the universe, and foretclls many events of futurity.

‘¢ Why should we fear death, loving, as we do, the repose of sleep?
and how can it be otherwise than foolish, while pursuing the liberty

82

244 THE JEWISH WAR. [Boox viz.

which depends upon our life, to grudge ourselves that which is
eternal? We ought, indeed, instructed by our native institutions,
to afford to others an example of readiness to die. But, nevertheless,
if we must support these views by a reference to foreigners, let us
look to those Indians who profess the discipline of philosophy. The
period of life, as a necessary ministration to nature, these good men
reluctantly endure. They hasten to disengage their souls from their
bodies ; and, when neither impelled nor harassed by any evil, through
desire of immortal life, they intimate to their acquaintances that they
are about to depart, and no attempt is made to prevent them; but all
count them happy, and every one gives them messages for his friends,
so certain and most real do they believe that intercourse to be which
souls maintain with each other.

‘‘ They then, after attending to these instructions, commit their
bodies to the fire, that thus their souls may be separated from their
mortal tenements in the utmost purity, and expire amidst laudatory
hymns. Their dearest friends escort them todeath, more readily than
other men do their fellow-citizens when entering on an unusually long
journey. For themselves, indeed, they weep, but them they pro-
nounce blessed, as now receiving the rank of immortality. Are we
not, then, ashamed of entertaining less elevated sentiments than
Indians, and of bringing, by our pusillanimity, a foul reproach on our
country’s laws, which are the subject of emulation to all mankind ?

‘* But, even had we from the first been educated in opposite prin-
ciples, and taught that to live is the supreme good, and that death is
a calamity, still the occasion is one that calls upon us to bear it with
cheerfulness, since we die by the will of God, and from necessity.
For of old, as it appears, God passed against the whole Jewish race
in common this decree—that we should depart from life, if we would
not use it aright. Do not ascribe the blame to yourselves, nor the
credit to the Romans, that this war with them has involved us all in
ruin; for these things have not happened through their might, but a
more powerful cause has interposed to give them the semblance of
victory ; for by what weapons of the Romans were the Jews of
Ceesarea slain? They had not so much as a thought of rebelling.
They were in the act of celebrating the seventh day, when the mul-
titude of the Cesareans, rushing on them, massacred them unresist-
ing, with their wives and children, without paying any regard even to
the Romans themselves, who regarded those alone as enemies who,
like us, had revolted.

‘‘ But it will be urged, that the Ceesareans had always cherished a
grudge against the Jews who were amongst them, and that they seized

BOOK VIL. | THE JEWISH WAR. 245

that opportunity to gratify their ancient spleen, What, then, shall
we say of the Jews of Scythopolis, who hesitated not to wage war on
us in behalf of the Greeks, though they declined uniting with us,
their kindred, to take vengeance on the Romans. Much, therefore,
did their good-will and fidelity towards the Scythopolitans profit
them, cruelly butchered as they were, they, and the whole of their
families. This was the requital they received for their alliance! for
what they prevented them from suffering at our hands, that they
endured, as if they lad themselves wished to inflict it.

‘It would be tedious to specify every single instance; for you
know that there is not a city throughout Syria which has not destroyed
the Jews who dwelt in it, though more hostile to us than‘ were the
Romans. ‘The Damascenes, for instance, without being able to
devise so much as a plausible pretext, filled their city with most
atrocious slaughter, butchering eighteen thousand Jews, with their
wives and families. And as to the multitudes who perished under
the torture in Egypt, we were informed that they exceeded some sixty
thousand. : |

‘But, perhaps, it was because they were in a foreign land, and
unable to offer any opposition to their enemies, that these perished
thus. Yet had not all those who in their own territory entered into
hostilities with the Romans resources sufficient to inspire them with
confident expectations of success? We had arms, with walls, and
fortresses well nigh impregnable, and a spirit undaunted by any
danger in the cause of freedom; and by these were we encouraged to
throw off the yoke. All these, notwithstanding, availed us but for a
brief season, and only served to buoy us up with hopes, while they
proved to be the source of greater misfortunes. For all have been
taken—all have fallen into the hands of our enemies! as if provided,
not for the security of those who prepared them, but for the more
glorious triumph of our foes! As to those who perished in battle,
we cannot but count them happy, for they died defending, not
betraying, liberty. But the multitudes who have been subjected to
the Romans, who would not pity? or who would not make haste to
die, ere yet he suffered the same fate with them ? Some have expired
upon the rack, some under the torture of fire and of scourges. Some,
half-devoured by wild beasts, have been preserved alive to furnish
them with a second repast, after affording derision and merriment to
their foes. But they are to be deemed most miserable who are still
living, and often pray for death, yet cannot obtain it.

‘¢ And where is now that great city, the metropolis of the whole
nation of Jews, protected by so many encircling walls, secured by so

246 THE JEWISH WAR. [poox vir.

many forts, and by the vastness of its towers, which could with
difficulty contain its munitions of war, and which was garrisoned by
so many myriads of defenders? ‘What has become of that city of
ours in which it was believed God himself was a dweller? Uprooted
from its foundations, it has been swept away! one memorial of it
alone remaining, the camp of its destroyers still planted upon its ruins !
Hapless old men are sitting among the ashes of the temple, and a few
women, who have been reserved by our enemies for the basest of
injuries,

‘‘ Who of us, then, casting these things in his mind, shall bear to
see the sun, even could he live unendangered? Who so much his
country’s foe, or who so unmanly, or so fond of life, as not to regret
that he lives even until now? Oh! would that we had all been dead,
ere yet we beheld that sacred city overthrown by hostile hands, or
our holy temple so profanely rooted up! But since we were beguiled
with the not ignoble hope, that we might possibly be able to avenge
her of her foes, and now that hope is vanished for ever, leaving us
solitary, and in distress, let us hasten to die honourably. Let us pity
ourselves, our children, and our wives, while it is still in our power to
obtain pity from ourselves. For we were born for death, as were
those who derive from us their being; and this even the fortunate
cannot escape. But insult, and servitude, and the seeing our wives
led to infamy with their children, are not evils by nature necessary to
man; but are drawn down, by their cowardice, who, when they have
it in their power to die, ere yet those evils arrive, refuse to do so.

““ Elated with courage, we threw off allegiance to the Romans, and
now finally, when invited to accept of safety, we have refused to listen
to the offer. Who then can do otherwise than expect their resent-
ment, should we fall alive into their hands? Wretched then will be
the young, whose vigorous frames can sustain many tortures:
wretched too will be the old, whose age is unable to bear calamities!
A man shall see his wife dragged away by violence, shal] hear the voice
of ‘his child, crying to a father whose hands are bound. But ours are
yet free and grasp the sword. While they are so, let them do us
honourable service. Let us die unenslaved by our foes! and, blest
with freedom, with our wives and children, depart together from life.
This our laws enjoin: this our wives and children implore from us.
The necessity for this God has imposed on us, while the Romans
would desire an opposite course, and are afraid lest any of us should
die before capture. Let us hasten, then, instead of their hoped
enjoyment from the possession of our persons, to leave them astonish-
ment at our death, and admiration of our fortitude.”

BOOK VIL. | THE JEWISH WAR. 247

CHAPTER IX.

1. ELEazar, while still anxious to encourage them, was cut short
by his auditors, who, filled with some uncontrollable fury, were all in
haste to do the deed. They went their way, like men possessed,
each ambitious to outstrip the other, and thinking that not to be
found among the last would be an evidence of their fortitude and
wise determination:—so ardent a desire had seized upon them. to
slaughter their wives, their children, and themselves. Nor were their
spirits damped, as might have been expected, when they came to the.
work: they adhered inflexibly to the resolution they had formed while
listening to Eleazar’s address ;—natural affection and a love of kindred
still alive in every breast, but the reflection that they had consulted
_best for those dearest to them prevailing over everything else. For,
while they clasped and fondly embraced their wives, and took their
children in their arms, clinging to them and weeping as they kissed
them for the last time, at that very moment, as if executing it with
strangers’ hands, they completed their design; deriving consolation,
under the necessity of killing them, from the consideration of the
evils they would endure, if they came into the power of their enemies.
And, in fine, no one was found to waver in so stern an undertaking;
all going through the work with their nearest relatives. Wretched
victims of necessity, to whom it seemed the lightest of evils with their
own hands to kill their wives and children!

Unable, therefore, longer to support the anguish they felt for what
they had done, and thinking that they wronged those whom they had
put to death, by surviving them even but for a moment, they quickly
heaped together all their effects, and set fire to them; and then,
having chosen by lot ten of their number to slay the rest, they laid
themselves down, each beside his fallen wife and children, and throw-
ing their arms around them, made ready their throats for those who
discharged the mournful office. These, having slaughtered all without
flinching, adopted the same plan of drawing lots with one another, that
he on whom it fell should, after killing the nine, destroy himself on
the bodies of his companions. Such confidence had all in themselves,
that neither in acting, nor in suffering, would one excel another. At
length, the nine underwent the slaughter; whereupon he who stood
single and last, having inspected the prostrate multitude, to see

248 THE JEWISH WAR. [ΒΟΟΚ ΥἹΙ.

whether haply in so wide a murder any were left still requiring his
hand, and having ascertained that all were dead, set fire to the palace;
and then driving his sword with one collected effort completely
through his body, fell down beside his family.

They died under the impression that nothing among them drawing
the breath of life remained in the power of the Romans. An elderly
woman, however, and another, related to Eleazar, in understanding
and education superior to most of her sex, together with five children,
escaped by concealing themselves in the subterraneous aqueducts,
while the rest were intent on slaughter. Nine hundred and sixty
persons, including women and children, perished on this occasion.
This catastrophe occurred on the fifteenth of the month Xanthicus.

2. The Romans, still expecting opposition, were under arms by
break of day; and, having with planks formed bridges from the
mounds to the fortress, advanced to the assault. But seeing none of
the enemy, and a dreadful solitude reigning on every side, fire within
and silence, they were at a loss to conjecture what had happened. At
length they shouted, as on the discharge of a missile, to call forth some .
of those within. The women, hearing the noise, emerged from their
retreat, and informed the Romans of what had taken place; one of
them distinctly narrating everything, both what was said and how the
deed was done. It was with difficulty, however, that they listened to
her, ‘disbelieving so extraordinary a story. Exerting themselves to ex-
tinguish the flames, they quickly opened a passage through them, and
reached the interior of the palace. Here lighting on a heap of slain,
instead of rejoicing as over enemies, they admired the nobleness of
their resolve, and the immovable contempt of death which had actu-
ated so many in executing it.

CHAPTER X.

1, THe capture being thus effected, the general, leaving a guard in
the fortress, departed himself with his army to Cesarea. Throughout
that country not an enemy remained, completely reduced as it now
was by a long-continued war—a war which had been felt by many
even in places far remote from Judza, and had been to them a source
of danger and disorder. Moreover, after these events, it so happened
that at Alexandria in Egypt many of the Jews lost their lives. For

BOOK VII. | THE JEWISH WAR. 249

some of the faction of the Sikars, who had succeeded in escaping
thither, not content with safety, again engaged in new projects, and
endeavoured to persuade many who had received them as guests to
assert their freedom, to look upon the Romans as nothing better
than themselves, and to regard God alone as their Lord. When
opposed in their designs by several Jews of respectability, they mur-
dered them:—the rest they continued to press with invitations to
revolt.

Seeing their frenzy, the leading men of the council of elders, think-
ing it no longer safe for them to overlook their proceedings, convened
a general assembly of the Jews, and there exposed the madness of the
Sikars, whom they proved to be the source of all their misfortunes.
‘‘ And now,” they said, ‘those men, inasmuch as they had not even
by their flight from Judea attained any sure hope of safety—for when
recognised by the Romans they would instantly be put to death—
were seeking to involve those who had no participation in their crimes
in the calamity which was due to themselves.” They, therefore,
exhorted the multitude to ward off the destruction with which they
were menaced by these men, and, by delivering them up, to make
their apology to the Romans.

Accordingly, perceiving the magnitude of the danger, the people
embraced the proposal, and, rushing furiously upon the Sikars, secured
them. Six hundred of them were taken on the spot; and those who
effected their escape into Egypt and the Egyptian Thebes, were ere
long arrested and brought back. On this occasion, such was their
firmness, and such their desperation, or strength of purpose, whichever
we may call it, that it could not but excite astonishment in every one.
For, under every bodily torture and suffering, devised for this one
object—to make them acknowledge Cesar as their lord, not one
complied, nor was shaken for a moment; but, submitting to the rack
and the flames, as if with bodies insensible, and with souls that almost
rejoiced in them, all, despite their sufferings, kept their resolve.
But what most struck the spectators was the deportment of the
children, not one of whom could be moved to call Cesar lord. So
completely did the force of endurance contro] the weakness of their
bodies.

2. Lupus, who then administered affairs in Alexandria, sent intel-
ligence of these commotions without delay to Ceesar; who, suspecting
the inextinguishable thirst of the Jews for innovation, and apprehen
sive that they might again collect together in great numbers, and
draw others away with them, ordered Lupus to destroy the temple
of Onias, so called, which was in the district of Egypt, of the same

VOL. II. T

250 THE JEWISH WAR. [poox νι.

name. It was built, and received its designation, under the following
circumstances, Onias, son of Simon, and one of the chief priests of
Jerusalem, fleeing from Antiochus, king of Syria, who was at war with
the Jews, came to Alexandria, Having been cordially welcomed by
Ptolemy, owing to the hatred which the latter bore to Antiochus,
he told him that, “ if he would accede to his proposal, he-would make
the Jewish nation his ally.” The king promising to do all in his
power, he requested permission to rear a temple in some part of
Egypt, and to worship God according to the usages of his country ;
‘* for the Jews,” he said, ““ would thus be rendered still more hostile
to Antiochus, who had laid waste their temple in Jerusalem; while
they would regard him with greater affection, and many would gather
round his standard for the sake of freedom of worship.”

8, Prevailed on by this statement, Ptolemy gave him a tract of
country, a hundred and eighty furlongs distant from Memphis. It
was called the prefecture of Heliopolis. Here Onias, having erected
a fortress, built with stones of large dimensions a temple sixty cubits
high, not like that in Jerusalem, but resembling a tower. The altar,
however, he constructed on the model of that at home, and ornamented
the temple similarly with offerings, except as regards the fashion of
the candlestick. For he made no stand at all; but suspended the
lamp by a golden chain, the lamp itself being fashioned of gold, and
throwing a blaze of light upon the place. The whole of the sacred
area was surrounded with a wall of baked brick, the doorways being
of stone. The king, moreover, granted him an extensive district as
a source of revenue, both that the priests might have abundance,
and that there might be a plentiful supply of necessaries for the
service of God.

Onias, however, did not act herein from sound motives. Still
harbouring resentment for his exile, his aim was rather to rival the
Jews in Jerusalem; and he hoped, by erecting this structure, to draw
the multitude away from them to it. There was, moreover, an ancient
prediction of about six hundred years’ standing, delivered by a prophet
named Esaias, who foretold the erection of this temple in Egypt by
a man of Jewish birth. Thus, then, it was that the temple was built.

4, Lupus, the governor of Alexandria, on receipt of Ceesar’s letter,
repaired to the temple, and, having carried away some of the offerings,
shut up the building. He soon after died, being succeeded in com-
mand by Paulinus, who utterly despoiled the edifice of its offerings,
threatening the priests with his severe displeasure, should they not
produce them all. He prohibited those who wished to worship from
approaching the sacred area; and, closing the gates, completely

BOOK VII. | THE JEWISH WAR. 251

debarred all entrance to it, so as to leave not even a vestige of divine
worship in the place. From the erection to the shutting up of this
temple, there elapsed three hundred and forty-three years.

CHAPTER XI.

1. THE desperation of the Sikars fastened, like a contagion, on the
cities around Cyrene also. Jonathan, a most abandoned man, a weaver
by trade, having taken refuge in that town, prevailed on not a few
of the indigent to give heed to him, and led them forth into the desert,
promising to show them signs and portents. The multitude, not
seeing through his artifices, gave credit to the imposition; but the
men of rank among the Jews of Cyrene sent to Catullus, governor of
the Libyan Pentapolis, information of his march into the wilderness,
and of his preparations. Catullus, having despatched a body of horse
and foot, obtained an easy victory over unarmed men. The greater
part perished in the encounter; a few were made prisoners, and con-
ducted to Catullus. Jonathan, the originator of the scheme, effected
his escape for the moment; but, an extensive and very diligent search
being made through the country, he was taken. On being broaght
before the governor, he devised a means of extricating himself from
punishment, while he afforded Catullus a pretext for acts of injustice ;
falsely accusing the most opulent of the Jews of having prompted him
in the matter.

2. These calumnies were readily listened to by Catullus, who, by
greatly exaggerating the affair, invested it with serious importance,
in order that he too might appear to have happily terminated a Jewish
war. But what was more grievous than this—he not only lent easy
credence, but, moreover, actually tutored the Sikars in false accusa-
tion. He, accordingly, directed Jonathan to name one Alexander,
a Jew, with whom having quarrelled some time before he was now at
open enmity, and to implicate in the allegations his wife Berenice.
These were his first victims. He next slew at one blow all the more
opulent of the Jews, to the number of three thousand; a step which
he thought he might safely venture on, as he added their property to
the revenues of the emperor.

3. But, lest any of the Jews elsewhere should expose his injustice,
he gave his falsehood a wider range, and prevailed on Jonathan, and

252 THE JEWISH WAE. [βοοκ vit.

some of those who had been apprehended along with him, to prefer
a charge of sedition against the most respectable of the Jews both in
Alexandria and Rome. Among those thus insidiously criminated
was Josephus, the writer of this history. The scheme, however, did
not succeed according to Catullus’ expectations. He repaired indeed
to Rome, taking with him Jonathan and his associates in chains,
thinking that the false allegations brought forward before him and at
his instance would put an end to all further inquiry. But Vespasian,
who had his suspicions on the subject, investigated the facts; and
having ascertained that the charge preferred against these men was
unjust, at the special instance of Titus he acquitted them of the accu-
sations, and inflicted on Jonathan the punishment he had deserved.
He was burnt alive, having been previously tortured.

4. On Catullus, for the present, owing to the lenity of the emperors,
no further censure was passed; but not long after he was attacked
by a complicated and incurable disease, and died miserably ; not only
tormented in body, but still more deeply disordered in mind. For
he was distracted with terrors, and incessantly cried out that he saw
the figures of those whom he had murdered standing beside him.
And unable to restrain himself, he would leap out of his bed, as if fire
and torture were being applied to him. His malady daily increasing,
his bowels ulcerated and fell out; and thus he expired, furnishing
evidence, than which none can be more striking, that God, in His
providence, visits the wicked with punishment.

5. Here we close our history ; which we promised to draw up with
all accuracy, for the information of those who wish to learn in what
manner the Romans conducted this war against the Jews. Of its
style, be it left to those who shall read it to judge: but, as regards
truth, I would not hesitate confidently to say, that, throughout the
entire narrative, this has been my single aim.

END OF THE JEWISH WAR.

HERODIUM, lxv

SUPPOSED REMAINS OF HERODIUM.
(Vox. 1. p. 144.)

THAT we may not appear to assume as certain what perhaps may not
yet have been put beyond question, these ruins of towers on the Frank
Mountain are, on the plate, designated as ‘“ supposed ” remains of the struc-
tures mentioned in the text, War, L 21,10. Nevertheless, that they are
really such, seems to be in the highest degree probable. In this instance, how-
ever, as in so many of a similar kind, we must await the result of those
explorations which are sure to be made, and perhaps at no remote time,
and which, if carried on at leisure, in security, and with sufficient means
at command, will determine many questions relating to the ancient Pales-
tine, and throw a new light upon its history. In the instance before us, a
little exploration of the foundations of the towers, and the carrying a trench
across the space enclosed by them, would, as we can scarcely doubt, bring
to light some unquestionable indications of Herod’s structures ; and thus,
while this one spot was identified, accumulative evidence would be obtained,
serving to determine some other and less unequivocal points of topography.
Meantime a service is rendered to archeological science, if those spots are
indicated, which are the most likely to reward the labours of future tra-
vellers in Palestine. The Frank Mountain is undoubtedly a site of this
kind.

What Josephus affirms concerning that Herodium which, of the two he
mentions, was nearest to Jerusalem, entirely consists, as well with the
position, as with the present appearance of the remains before us. He says
that two fortress-palaces were constructed by Herod, each with the inten-
tion, as it seems, of affording him—like Masada—a place of refuge in the
event of popular commotions, and of perpetuating his name ; and one of
them was to serve as his place of sepulture. And it was the one now in
question, probably, (not that towards Arabia,) which was to receive, and
which in fact did receive, his remains. This Herodium is said to have been
an artificial mound—xoAwydy ὄντα χειροποίητον, and so may have been
the actual apex, or truncated cone, of what is called the Frank Mountain.
This apex is stated to rise about 300 feet above the level of the broader
hill, of which it forms the central point, and which itself has an elevation of
300 of 400 feet above the level of the adjoining Wady. On what account
it might merit the epithet bestowed upon it—paocroedn, better than does
almost any even-surfaced rotund hill, does not appear; and it is probable

e

Ixvi HERODIUM.

that ample justice would be done to the phrase, here employed by Josephus,
and its whole import conveyed, if it were rendered with a less rigid regard
to its etymology. In translating this word somewhat more laxly, we
should be sustained by a passage in Polybius (V. 70), who, in speaking of
Itabyrium, says it is situated upon a round hill (Tabor), ἐπὶ λόφον μαστο-
ειδοῦς---ἰἶπ rotundo colle. The Frank Mountain, now assumed to be the
Herodium of Josephus, although not to be compared with Tabor, and not
rising to half its height, is yet such as that to it, and with nearly equal
propriety, may be applied the term which Josephus employs in describing
it, as Polybius does-in speaking of the other. The Frank Mountain, in fact,
is seen far and wide, and it attracts the eye from almost every eminence
of this district, south of Jerusalem.

‘‘ It is impossible,” says Mr. Tipping, “ for the eye to take a survey from
any of the heights round about Jerusalem, without at once singling out the
regularly conical volcanic-like Frank Mountain. You will, I think, dis-
cover it in several of my views. The circumjacent country is desolate and
devoid of trees ; presenting nothing but the interminable featureless hills
of Judea, looking like patchwork, from the intermixture of the smooth
limestone surface with scanty herbage. At the foot of the mountain, among
numerous vestiges of masonry and traces of terraces, I detected stones of
moderate dimensions, with the bevelled peculiarity, and a sprinkling of
Roman teasers ; and besides the reservoir alluded to by previous travel-
lers, there is a large massively built oblong erection, which I took to be the
same as that described by Pococke as a church. It appeared, however, to
me to bear more of a palatial, than of an ccclesiastical, stamp ; nevertheless,
my visit to the spot being limited in time, I could not pursue investigations
which might perhaps have warranted a satisfactory conclusion. The vault-
ing and masonry are solid and fine ; the stones large and well finished: I
should not hesitate to call it Roman. A few minutes’ sharp climbing among
long grass brought me to the summit, where I traced the remains of a wall
enclosing the depressed concave interior, with four equidistant circular
towers, of which the one at the north-east corner is the best preserved.
The two western ones are all but obliterated, as regards the masonry. On
the north-east side are the walls of an ancient passage-way, running from
the top to the bottom, which doubtless enclosed the highly-wrought flight of
steps mentioned by Josephus. I noticed in the north-east tower a cistern
or granary, which, though of smaller dimensions, is similar to those at
Masada: but, with the exception of these receptacles, the towers appear to
have been solidly filled up.” The engraving (vignette) shows the least
dilapidated of the towers, and the one at the south-cast corner, and also the
depression in the centre.

It will be understood, therefore, that the summit of this volcano-like hill
is occupied by the remains of four circular towers, and that these are sur-
rounded by a wall, skirting the edge of the summit: a deep depression
.marks the central space. The view given in the Plate is taken from this

HERODIUM. Ixvii

encircling wall, on its northern side, the direction of the eye being due
south, and toward the central hollow: the foremost object is the round
tower—mentioned by Mr. Tipping, toward the north-east; the ruin more
remote, being that of the south-east tower: beyond the range of this view,
and of course toward the right hand, and opposite to the towers here exhi-
bited, are the less entire remains of the north-west and south-west towers.

Mr. Wolcott—American missionary, who was Mr. Tipping’s companion
in this excursion (to Masada and the shores of the Dead Sea) thus describes
this spot :—

“On the following morning (March 17th) we proceeded to the Frank
Mountain ; passing on our way ’Ain Hamdeh and a scarcely perceptible
site, called Bedefelieh. Having reached the summit of the mountain and
examined its remains, we noticed an ancient passage-way, twelve feet wide,
running straight down the north-eastern side of the descent. The upper
part was a little depressed, and the lower raised ; and the rubbish remains
in the latter. The ground below, on the north of it, is raised by terraces,
built with stones like those on the summit. I had noted these points before
observing their exact coincidence with the account given by Josephus of the
fortress of Herodium ; though the steps of polished stones, in number two
hundred, which composed a straight ascent up, are of course swept away.
The ruins below are evidently Roman, and are more extensive than they
appear from the summit ; but the character of the buildings cannot be fully
determined. Two vaults of hewn stone remain ; and below a wall, three
hundred feet in length (in part perhaps a terrace) are the foundations of a
round tower. Among the ruins adjacent to the large reservoir, are bevelled
stones and the small tesserse of Mosaic work. The present name of the site
is Stobal.

‘© This burial-place of Herod was the last spot which we examined ; and
I cannot here take leave of Josephus, our travelling companion, without a
testimony of my confidence in him as an historian. On some points, espe-
cially in respect to dimensions and distances, he has given only estimates,
often imperfect and loose. But in the particulars in which I have had
occasion to compare and prove him, I have been impressed with his general
accuracy, and my surprise is, that, under the circumstances in which he
wrote, he should have produced so faithful a narrative.”—Bibliotheca Sacra,
No. 1. p. 69.

Let us now turn to Josephus.—We have already observed that the dis-
tance of the Frank Mountain from Jerusalem corresponds, as nearly as can
be expected, with that of the Herodium, as reported by our author—namely,
sixty stadia. The Frank Mountain, in a straight line, measures seven and
a half Roman miles, nearly equal to sixty Greek stadia, and rather less than
seven English miles. Moreover, if we assume this same radius, there occurs
no eminence around the Holy City which might at all compete with this, as
being probably the Herodium of Josephus. He calls this round eminence “ an
artificial ταουπᾶ,"---κολωνὸν ὄντα χειροποίητον, intending, as we suppose, &

e2

lxviii HERODIUM.

natural hill heightened, fashioned and fortified by art. This application of
the term is in fact of frequent occurrence : thus Polybius, speaking of a hill-
fort taken and levelled by Philip, describes it as fortified, as well by nature
as by art—oyupornre δὲ φυσικῇ καὶ χειροποιήτῳ---ἸΙΥ. 64, 9. It was the
Greek usage, as the same writer elsewhere assures us—VI. 42, 2—thus to
make available any natural advantages of a site which might spare labour ;
nor do the Romans seem to have neglected such incidental aids in their per-
manent military structures, although, in constructing their camps, they might
disregard whatever would interfere with the dimensions and proportions pre-
ecribed for such works. Having mentioned the various and costly structures
which crowned and surrounded this hill—yewAogor, and which alone met
the eye, either from a distance or from the summit, it might be spoken of as
being “entirely artificial ;” although, in fact, a natural elevation had formed
its rudiment. This circumstance, however, is not the point most material to
our present purpose. Josephus tells us that the “summit Herod embraced
with circular towers ; not informing us with how many. The remains of
four such towers, as we have said, now occupy the summit of the Frank
Mountain, and their position and distance from each other would seem to
indicate that there were, and could be, no more. ‘Outer walls,” also, are
mentioned, and the ruins of an encircling rampart are still apparent. The
traces of extensive ruins moreover around the hill, and these in Roman style,
and with a sprinkling of tesseree and bevelled stones, accord with the suppo-
sition now in question.

This supposition is further strengthened by the fact, mentioned both by
Mr. Tipping and Mr. Wolcott, that a passage-way, on the north (or north-
east) side, running from the top to the bottom, and twelve feet wide, indi-
cates the existence of an ascent, well comporting with our author’s account
of the flight of two hundred steps of ‘the whitest marble,” which made the
access to the palace easy.

The later history of this mound, and of these ruins, does not bear upon
our purpose ; and, indeed, their later history is mingled with unauthenti-
cated and improbable legends. It is enough that the existing remains,
through whatever mutations they may have passed during the middle ages,
exhibit indubitable marks of a Roman origin ; and that they perfectly con-
sist with our author’s description of Herod’s sumptuous structures at a
place “ sixty furlongs from Jerusalem.” Without therefore assuming as
certain, or as beyond all possibility of doubt, that which in truth is only in
the highest degree probable, short of absolute certainty, we would attach to
an instance of coincidence, such as this, precisely that degree of importance
which it deserves. Regarded simply in an archeological sense, the identifi-
cation of a site so remarkable, and the means thus afforded for tracing other
connected points of Jewish topography, is not an inconsiderable matter.
But we never lose sight of a further, and a more important, purpose—
ἃ purpose already frequently adverted to, and in behalf of which we must yet,
and frequently, claim the reader's attention. We mean the incidental, and

EXCAVATION ; CITY WALL NORTH. lxix

therefore the conclusive, corroboration derivable from these sources, of the
historic authority of the writings now before us. Our position is this—
that Josephus, when not influenced (as in particular instances undoubtedly
he was) by sinister motives, is to be regarded as a well-informed and
authentic writer ; and that the history he has left in our hands, when such
deductions as a rigid criticism may demand have been made from his state-
ments, affords us a firm ground—in relation, at least, to the events of his
own times. In making good this position, our course is not that of a
merely literary analysis of his text, and which, however skilfully con-
ducted, might still leave an ambiguous impression upon the reader’s
mind; but it is that of an inductive accumulation of what may well be
called palpable instances—proofs presented to the eye—tangible attesta-
tions which the soil of Palestine, through centuries of revolution, has faith-
fully conserved, and which it now renders up to be employed for illustrating
and authenticating whatever belongs to the most momentous era of the
history of man. Let it not be thought that we are labouring to sustain a
mighty fabric by the means of single and questionable instances. What we
are doing is to accumulate instances, which, when taken in their collective
force, must render our ultimate conclusion irresistible. Further and more
exact researches in Palestine, if they should remove some from our list
of confirmatory instances, will probably add to it a greater number,
which hitherto have escaped notice. In the present case it should be
added, that, in no other place where Josephus mentions Herodium does
he add any circumstance incompatible with the assumption we are now
making ; and in the instance of one of these allusions, what he incidentally
affirms, decisively confirms it :—Wakr, IV. 9, 5, where,.in mentioning an
incursion of Simon and his bands, who encamped at a place called Thecoa,
he adds, that he thence sent one of his officers to seduce, if he could, the
garrison of Herodium, which was near to it—érep ἦν πλησίον. Now the
position of Thecoa, at a distance less than three miles south-west of the
Frank Mountain, is placed beyond doubt, as well by various and conclusive
ancient testimonies, as by the perpetuation of the name in the modern
Tekia.

EXCAVATION ; CITY WALL, NORTH.

In bringing forward those of this series of Plates that belong to the Holy
City, such a selection of subjects has been made as would best serve to
exhibit the principal portions of two great mural circuits, namely—that of
the Temple enclosure, and that of the city walls. The former—the quad-
rangle of the Haram—will have been shown on each of its sides, and at
several points of view; the latter, also to such an extent, in several
of them, as to leave very few portions of it unrepresented. While

Ιχχ EXCAVATION; CITY WALL NORTH.

some of these views embrace, either one entire side of the city, or so
much of the wall as is visible from one spot, others—and the onc now
before us is of that kind—exhibit a very limited range, and therefore
admit of so much detail as to show the style of architecture, and to
indicate those intermixtures of earlier and later masonry which charac-
terise almost every structure in Jerusalem.

It is the northern wall—the bend inclosing the high ground of Bezetha,
and then running on from the Damascus gate toward the Latin Convent,
that has, in every age, sustained the shock of besieging armies ; for on this
side the approach to the walls is much less acclivitous than on any other ;
and, at the same time, the level ground, affording room for military evolu-
tions, is much more extensive in this direction than elsewhere. On this
side also a broad swell of land, north of the valley of Jehoshaphat, rises—at
Scopus, to a commanding height ; and it is, therefore, a position which
would always be chosen as the base of operations directed against the city.

The wall on this northern side—as appears in the Plate—is itself of
commanding altitude; and it runs, for the most part, upon a precipitous
ridge, which in several places, as at this point, has been rendered more so
artificially. A little further toward the east a wide fosse commences, and
runs on to the corner, which it turns. What purpose precisely the excava-
tion here represented was intended to subserve, or, indeed, to what age it
should be attributed, or by whom effected, does not appear; but it is one of
those spots to which it is well to direct the attention of travellers, inasmuch
as it offers itself to exploration, which might probably reveal—if nothing
more—the date of the foundations of the wall, and furnish perhaps con-
clusive evidence bearing on several questions that are still controverted.
To some of these questions it would be most unwarrantable to introduce
any allusion in a work such as this; but there are others which materially
affect the interpretation that should be put upon several passages in
our author’s history, especially his narrative of the siege. In relation to
such points, our course would be clear if Jerusalem, like any European
city, had long been, and were now (if we might so speak) in the hand of
the antiquarian—cpen at all points to diligent scrutiny. In that case it
might be well to adopt, at once, an opinion, and to sustain it by all avail-
able means. But a far more cautious, and therefore a less satisfactory,
course is dictated to us, and especially so at the present moment, in dealing
with the topography of Jerusalem. In this instance, an unlooked-for,
and, as it may scem, an improbable, turn of affairs, may enable Euro-
pean archxologisis to dispense with questionable argumentation, and to
appeal to such palpable evidences as must be exclusive of controversy. The
Holy City is the mine of sacred history, and it is a mine into which no
shaft has as yet been sunk. The surface only has been partially examined ;
and this, while it indicates the existence of a deep-seated treasure, is far
from having furnished a sufficient warrant fur any confident conclusions ;
except, tudecd, upon two or three points of an obvious kind. When

. MAGDALA. Ιχχὶ

Moslem fanaticism shall have vacated Palestine, Jewish archwology— Jewish
history, will require to be re-written, or extensively amended. There can+
not be a doubt that the foundations of the walls, gates, towers, palaces, and
Temple, might be traced, by means of well-directed and not very difficult
cuts, effected across the site; such, in fact, as will inevitably be made
whenever European improvements come to be applicd to the Holy City.

MAGDALA.

Tue scenery around the lake of Galilee, such as it appears in its simple
reality, and unaided by the licence of ambitious art, will have been placed
before the reader in a series of Plates exhibiting the shores of this water as
seen from the most characteristic points around its circuit: reference to a
map will make it easy to connect the whole, as furnishing an almost com-
plete panorama of the hills within which it is embosomed. The view from
the Theatre of Om Keis, already described (Vol. I. p. xxxv.) presents the
lake to as great advantage, perhaps, as any other spot; showing its extent,
obliquely, from south-east to north-west, and exhibiting the general aspect
of the western shore, and the bordering hills, of Galilee. The view of
Tarichea (Vol. I. p. 50) taken in a nearly opposite direction—that is to
say, looking toward Om Keis—shows the southern extremity of the lake,
and a portion of the castern ranges, beyond the Jordan, and its tributary, the
Yarmik. The shore line, northward from Tarichea, embracing the site and
neighbourhood of Tiberias, is seen in the view of the Hot Baths (Vol. I.
p. 41). A view of Tiberias, looking over the town, and across the lake, in a
direction toward the lofty ridge of Jebel Sheik, embraces the north, and
north-eastern shores and hills. The Plate, to which the reader’s attention is
in this instance invited, was taken from a jutting ridge, or offset from the
hills, running down to the margin of the water at about three miles’ dis-
tance north-west from Tiberias. The dilapidated village El Mejdel—
ἃ name believed to conserve within its consonants the ancient Magdala—
catches the light on the edge of the rising foreground, which slopes down to
the water’s edge. Beyond this village, a triangular plain of small dimensions
stretches itself out, at the foot of the hills, through the midst of which a
stream, fed during the rainy season from their eastern slopes, takes its
course. This little plat, scarcely measuring three miles in its extreme
length, and one and a half in breadth, is, on some good ground of proba-
bility, assumed to be the Gennesareth of the Gospel history; Capernaum
being situated at the northern extremity of the plain, and, in the view |
before us, just at the foot of the hills toward the right. A view of the
same plain from that spot, or near to it, Khan Minyeb, will next come to
be noticed.

lxxii MAGDALA.

The hills, which shut in this plain of Gennesareth, have an altitude and ἃ
variety of outline which render the scene more picturesque than most
around the lake. The lofty Safed—catching a gleam of light against the
dark sky, shows itself above the nearer range :—it is “the city set on a hill.”
Whether or not the allocation of ancient and evangelical names be quite
free from doubt, it is certain beyond all reasonable question, that this hill-
encircled plain was one of the spots most frequented by our Lord, during
the several seasons of his “abode in Galilee.” This plain is one of the
very few spots around the margin of the lake, whereupon “great multi-
tudes of people” could easily find space and room: it contained also several
villages where Christ and his personal followers might be entertained: and,
moreover, the abrupt eminences, the deep ravines, and the secluded nooks, —
which abound among the hills immediately adjacent, readily afforded those
opportunities for retirement from the crowd, of which, as the Evangelists
tell us, he failed not often to avail himself. The religious reader, then—
without accusing himself of too easily yielding to a romantic credulity —may
take the evangelic history in hand, and imagine himself to see the crowds
dispersing that had listened, on the margin of the lake, while “Jesus taught
them from a ship” close in shore, and while looking at these impending
heights, he may believe that they were those which offered the Saviour a place
of repose when he “ withdrew with his disciples to a mountain to pray.”

Of a very different complexion, indeed, are the transactions with which
the narrative of Josephus—earlier as well as later—connects these same
spots. No moral contrast can be more violent than that which meets us,
when, turning from the peace-breathing passages of the Gospel history, we
make a search, in the page of the Jewish historian, for the names of places
so familiar to our ears. It is however partially only, and incidentally, that
Josephus finds occasion to mention the places most noted in the Gospels ;
and, on the other hand, of the many cities, towns and villages named by
him, it is a very few only that occur also in the Gospels ; and unless a
various reading be adopted in one passage—LIFE, 24—Magdala is not
among the few. The Hebrew import of the word is—tower or castle,
and by implication, on the ground of circumstantial evidence, the tower of
Gamala, so frequently referred to in the Life, and elsewhere, has been taken
to intend ¢his tower, and this Magdala: that it was near to Tiberias seems
certain, if we admit the evidence of the Talmudists (as cited by Lightfoot,
Cent. LXXVI.); and if so, then this plain, and its bordering heights,
were the scene of several of the petty conflicts, and marauding assaults,
recorded by Josephus in his Life; and they witnessed also the more
terrific encounters of the Galilean insurgents with the Roman legions ;
or if our subject allowed so remote a digression, and we were to trace
the history of this same spot, and its vicinity, as far onward as to the
crusading age, we should find it signalized by some of the most deadly
of the conflicts that took place between the Moslem and Christian
hosts. It was among these very hills, and scarcely two miles from the

GENNESARE'1'H. lxxili

skirts of the plain of Gennesareth—that is to say, immediately on the
western face of the dark hill on the left, in this view, that the Sultan
Saladin, in one terrible day, scattered the Christian forces, and broke,
finally, the power of the European invaders in the East. The very same
spot, however, is brought within our proper range by our author’s narra-
tive of Herod’s exploits in vanquishing the brigands of Galilee.

Two views, presently to be adverted to, exhibit the precipitous fronts of
the rocks, at, or near, Hatin, the perpendicular surfaces of which are pierced
with almost innumerable excavations, and which were the retreats of the
robbers of that age, as well as of those of later times. But before these are
described, it will best conduce to a clear understanding of the topography of
ἃ region claiming so much regard, to pursue our course from Magdala, in a
direction north-east, along the shore of the lake, about three miles, and
until we reach a spot already mentioned, where the hills again approach the
margin of the water (the extreme right in the view of Magdala). From
that spot, and at a place called Khan Minyeh, we turn and look over the
plain we have just skirted, in a direction nearly south-west. The view thence
obtained is presented in the Plate—

THE PLAIN OF GENNESARETH.

THE lake appears, in this view, of course, on the left hand, and the horizon
is bounded by the hills toward its southern end—above Tiberias, and then by
those of Magdala. The peculiar appearance of the distant rocks immediately
overhanging the plain, toward the right, should be noticed: these are the
above-mentioned precipitous fronts of Ibn Ma’an, and Hatin, which, with their
honeycomb excavations, were the head-quarters of the ancient brigands.
The level ground which forms the mid-distance in this view is a rich flat,
well watered, and is susceptible in the highest degree of profitable culture.
The foreground presents the ruins of a viaduct, or bridge, as well as Khan,
and the scattered remains of an ancient town. ‘That this spot was in fact
the site of Capernaum, and that the plain is “the region of Gennesareth,”
is an inference resulting from a concurrence of circumstantial evidence—no
part of it absolutely conclusive, but the whole sufficient to justify an
assumption thus guardedly expressed.

The tract of country which Josephus, (War, III. 10, 8,) calls Gen-
nésar, and whence the lake received its appellation, although it is
not by him so clearly defined as to enable us to decide where, on the
shores of this sea, it should be looked for, could not have been on the
eastern side—if the Evangelic narrative is duly regarded ; nor is there on the
western side any other level space to which that description can be made to
apply. Moreover Rabbinical testimony supports the same conclusion. Our
author thus describes the plain, now in question; and the passaye it may be
well to cite in this instance, presenting as it does so striking a contrast
between the ancient luxuriance and the present desolation of a region, the

lxxiv GENNESARETH.

natural advantages of which—the deep rich soil—the abundant irrigation
and the: genial ‘climate, are all unchanged and ‘unspent, and are awaiting
the hand of man. “τε

“ Extending along the Lake of Gennesareth, and bearing also its name,
lies a tract of country, admirable both for its natural properties and its
beauty. Such is the fertility of the soil that it rejects no plant; and
accordingly all are here cultivated by the husbandman ; for so genial is the
air, that it suits every variety. The walnut, which delights beyond other
trees in a wintry ¢limate, grows here luxuriantly, where also is the palm-
tree, which is nourished by heat ; and near to these are figs and olives, to
which a milder atmosphere has been assigned. One might style this an
ambitious effort of nature, doing violence to herself, in bringing together
plants of discordant habits ; and an amiable rivalry of the seasons, each as it
were asserting her right to the soil; for it not only possesses the extra-
ordinary virtue of nourishing fruits of opposite climes, but also maintains a
continual supply of them. ‘Thus it produces those most royal of all—the
grape and the fig, during ten months without intermission ; while the other
varieties ripen the whole year through; for besides being favoured by
the genial temperature of the air, it is irrigated by a highly fertilizing
spring, called Capharnaum, by the people of the country. This some have
thought a vein of the Nile, from its producing a fish similar to the Coracin
of the lake of Alexandria. This tract, trending along the shores of the lake,
which bears its name, is thirty furlongs in length, and twenty in breadth.”

This measurement exceeds a little, but not much, the dimensions of the
plain before us, reckoning the Ievel space up to the very foot of the hills.
The luscious and “royal fruits” here mentioned are all gone; but they
might, no doubt, be made to reclaim their ancient home: the soil is rich and
deep, the supply of water unfailing, and the mean temperature certainly
not less than in former times. Beside a stream, breaking down from the
heights, at the spot just above the village seen in the view of Magdala, and
the waters of which are carried in many channels over the surface, there
are two fountains, the one in the western skirt of the plain, and the other at
its northern extremity, at Khan Minyeh, near to the point of view in the
other Plate. Which of these may claim to be the fountain, Capharnaum
of Josephus, seems to be questionable—probably it is the latter ; and if
so, the town, Capernaum, was undoubtedly not far distant.

“We took a path,” says Professor Robinson, “ along the inner side of
the plain at the foot of the western hills, in order to examine some ruins
said to exist in that direction. .... We soon struck an artificial water-
course, coming down from before us, in which was a considerable brook,
irrigating this part of the plain. This we followed up, and found it scatter-
ing its rills and diffusing verdure in all directions. At 10° 10’ we reached
a large and beautiful fountain, rising immediately at the foot of the westera
line of hills. At first we had taken it for the source of the brook which we
had followed up; but we now found that the latter is brought from the

GENNESARETH. lxxy

stream of Wady er-Ribiidizeh, further north; and is carried along the
hill-side above this fountain, to water the more southern parts of the plain.”
This round fountain, which the Professor does not thmk to be the one men-
tioned by Josephus, is, he says, “inclosed by a low circular wall of mason-
work, forming a reservoir nearly a hundred feet in diameter; the water is
perhaps two feet deep, beautifully limpid and sweet, bubbling up and flowing
out rapidly in a large stream, to water the plain below. Numerous small
fish were sporting in the basin ; which is so thickly surrounded by trees
and brushwood that a traveller would be apt to pass by without noticing it.
The Oleander (Diffeh) was growing here in great abundance, now in full
bloom ; and Niibk-trees were also very frequent. The waters of this foun-
tain irrigate the ground between it and the lake; but those from Wady
er-Ribiidizeh, being higher up, and still more copious, are carried over
the more northern and southern portions of the plain.” — Bib. Res. IIL. 284.

Burckhardt passed over this ground in a different direction. He places
the site of Capernaum at a point two miles further north—Tel Houm ; and
in proceeding southward says, “‘ We came to a ruined khan, near the bor-
ders of the Lake, called Mennye (Minyeh), a large and well constructed
building.” This building must have fallen much into decay since the time
of Burckhardt’s visit, 1812—an interval of thirty years. He continues—
‘“ Here begins a plain of about twenty minutes in breadth, to the north of
which the mountain stretches down close to the lake. That plain is covered
with the tree called Doum, or Thedar, which bears a small yellow fruit like
the Zaarour. It was now almost mid-day, and the sun intensely hot: we
therefore looked out for a shady spot, and reposed under a very large fig-
tree, at the foot of which a rivulet of sweet water gushes out from beneath
the rocks, and falls into the lake at a few hundred paces distant. The tree
has given its name to the spring, Ain-et-Tin; near it are several other
springs, which occasion a very luxuriant herbage along the borders of the
lake. The pastures of Mennye are proverbial for their richness among the
inhabitants of the neighbouring countries. High reeds grow along the
shore, but I found none of the aromatic reeds and rushes mentioned by
Strabo.”—Syria and the Holy Land, p. 319. |

Strabo, in the place referred to by Burckhardt, (XVI. p.755,) does not so
define what he says of the produce of this region as to afford a modern
traveller any sufficient guidance in looking for either the aromatic rush or
the balsam-tree.

The view of Hatin, page 129, is one of several illustrative of the scenery
of the lake on this, its north-western shore, and it represents, from a near
position, the precipitous gap which appears at a distance in the view of
Gennesareth. But this very remarkable spot, with its excavations—the

lxxvi SCYTHOPOLIS, ,

retreat of the brigands of Galilee—is still more fully exhibited in a view
of Ibn Ma’an, in connexion with which it will be noticed.

For a similar reason—that is to say, in order to abbreviate these descrip-
tions of the Plates by avoidance of repetitions, the view of Masada, page 126,
is for the present passed over; being, as it is, one of a set of Plates,
including a plan of the spot. These views will exhibit on all sides an object
remarkable on every account, natural and historical, and which has not
hitherto been brought before the public. At present, it is enough to say,
that this general view of Masada is from the lofty range, which shuts in the
Dead Sea on the western side ;—the direction of the eye being nearly due
east, the opposite range being the mountains of Moab, seen at the distance
of about twenty miles.

SCYTHOPOLIS.

Tis place {s very frequently mentioned by Josephus, and always in ἃ
manner indicating its importance; which is attested also by other ancient
writers. What we have to do therefore is, to identify the Scythopolis of
the Greek and Roman writers, first, with the ancient city mentioned in
the Hebrew Scriptures, to which the Greek name became attached, and
next, with the modern site which is now assumed for it. If there be ground
enough for this identification, many other points, geographical and historical,
collaterally or inferentially connected with this, may the more readily
be determined, and some important elucidation obtained, also, for passages
in the Biblical text, as well as in that of our author. The first of these
points is sufficiently ascertained, both in a direct and an indirect manner.
The Scythopolis of Josephus and other writers is clearly the Bethshan, or
Bethshean, of the Old Testament. The Septuagint translation, in rendering
Judges i. 27, says, “ Neither did Manasseh (the tribe) drive out the
inhabitants of Bethshean...rjv Βαιθσὰν---ἀὐὦ her towns”—and adds a
parenthesis—# tore Σκυθῶν wodcc—“ which is the city of the Scythians”—
i.e. Scythopolis. Josephus, in describing the allocation of the tribes, ANTIQ. V
1, 22, mentions “ Bethshan, which now is called Scythopolis ;” and VI. 14, 8
—‘ Bethsan, which now is called Scythopolis ;” and XII. 8, 5—“ the city
Bethsan, which by the Greeks is called Scythopolis ;” and again, XIII. 6, 1.
And so the series of Greek writers, down to Stephen of Byzantium, who
says that Scythopolis—formerly Nyssa, of Coelo-Syria, was called at the
first by the Barbarians—Basan. It does not seem necessary to cite these
testimonies in an instance where no doubt can be entertained ; but assuming
it as certain, and anticipating for a moment our proof that the truncated
hill represented in the Plate is the Scythopolis and the Bethshan of anti
quity, we turn to the Scripture narrative of the defeat and death of Saul,
1 Sam. xxxi. This fatal contiict of the Israelites with the Philistines had

BCYTHOPOLIS. )xxvil

probably commenced upon the Great Plain, the south-eastern extremity of
which is bisected by the low range of Mount Gilboa. Toward these hills
Saul had led off his routed people ; whither they were hotly pursued, and upon
which he, and his sons, and armour-bearer died, and his people “ fell down
slain,” and where the royal corpses were the next day found by the
Philistines :—‘“ they found Saul and his three sons fallen in Mount Gilboa.”
After mutilating the bodies, and dedicating the armour of Saul to their
goddess Ashtaroth, they “ fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.” This
place was not more than five or six miles from the battle field, or from
the foot of Gilboa, and it was the principal city of the district. But a
further reason for this choice, by an insulting foe, suggests itself when we
look at the remarkable eminence represented in the Plate. If indeed this
be the Bethshan and Scythopolis of antiquity, and if (as appears) the summit
was crowned by the lofty walls of an acropolis, then no place more fitted for
the triumphant exposure of the body of the vanquished king could be found.
Lowered from the parapet of this wall, it would be visible from afar—
a token to all of Israel’s discomfiture and subjugation! ‘Tell it not in
Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon !”

But there were loyal hearts at hand: Jabesh Gilead, as placed by geo-
graphers, is about seven miles east of Jordan, and directly opposite to
Bethshan. Its people, braving the danger of such an exploit, set out, and
travelling “all night,” (the distance may be fourteen miles, ) reached it pro-
bably before sun-rise, and, surprising the watch, effected their purpose; for
“‘ they took the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, from the wall of
Bethshan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.” Thus do the cir-
cumstances of the Biblical narrative consist, not merely with the relative
position of the places, but with the natural peculiarities of the spot.

The ancient name, Bethshan, is—for the purpose of identification, suffi-
ciently indicated in the modern name Beisan, especially when, as in this
instance, every thing concurs to sustain the same conclusion. Bethshan—
Scythopolis, was situated on the borders, or at the edge of the Great Plain,
I. Mac. v. 52; on the border of the possessions of Manasseh, toward the
north, ANTIQ. V. 1; and on the southern border of Galilee. In the Lire,
sect. 65, Josephus reminds his adversary, John of Tiberias, that his native
city was thirty stadia from Hippos, sixty from Gadara, and a hundred and
twenty from Scythopolis. Now although these measurements severally do
not seem exact, the deficiency of each is respectively equal, so as to consist
well with the proportionate dimensions of the triangle ;—the modern Beisan
being assumed as identical with the ancient Bethshan; and the series of
writers, from Epiphanius and Jerome, down to the historians of the Crusades,
exclude any doubt on this point. William of Tyre, (XXII. 16,) says that
Bersan—Beisan—Scythopolis, is situated between Mount Gilboa and the
Jordan, in a marshy plain; and the descriptions of modern travellers are all
to the same effect. Burckhardt says, (p. 343,) “‘ Bysan (Bethsan, Scythopolis)
is situated upon rising ground, on the west side of the Ghor, where the

Ixxviii SCY THOPOLIS.

chain of mountains bordering the valley declines considerably in height, and
presents merely elevated ground, quite open toward the west. At one hour
distant, to the south, the mountains begin again (¢. 6. the eastern extremity
of the Carmel range). The ancient town was watered by a river, now
called Morit Bysan, or the water of Bysan, which flows in different branches
towards the plains. The ruins of Scythopolis are of considerable extent, and
the town, built along the banks of the rivulet and in the valleys formed by
its several branches, must have been nearly three miles in circuit. The
only remains are large heaps of black hewn stones, many foundations of
houses, and the fragments of a few columns. I saw only a single shaft of a
column standing. In one of the valleys is a large mound of earth, which
appeared to me to be artificial; it was the site perhaps of a castle for the
defence of the town.” This “mound of earth” is probably the hill repre-
sented in the Plate.

Mr. Tipping thus describes his visit to this spot, 19th May, 1842 :—
“From Jenin, a large village—noted for the fantastic costume of the
women—girt in with productive gardens, rich with the palm and mul-
berry, I directed my course to Bethshean. Crossing the desolate range ot
Fakuash, (Gilboa,) the descent to Bisan I found tedious and rugged in the
extreme, so much 80, that the perpetual stumbling of my horse distracted
my attention from the extensive view which this range commands: on
the right, the great level of Esdraélon, and in front the entire Ghor, and
the ranges of Ajalon, east of Jordan. The basin of Scythopolis was before
us, with its remarkable Acropolis, rising in the centre. The silvery ribbon
of the rivulet Bisan, was discernible through the hot haze, which, at the
time, rendered so much the more monotonous and dismal this waste,
strewed with masses of black basalt. The landscape was blackened also
by several extinct fires—some were still raging at a distance. On approach-
ing the site of Bethshean we came to a bridge, which is, I suppose, the one
alluded to by Irby and Mangles; though the form of the arch is not Roman.
I encamped near a wretched khan, then occupied by peasants who had come
from the neighbouring villages to protect the ripe corn from the wild boars,
which abound in this region. The stream which this bridge bestrides is
milky in hue, and so warm as to induce me to believe that it 1s fed by a
thermal spring, of which ancient authors mention several as known and
frequented in this district. I also noticed on the bed of the stream certain
calcareous formations and deposits, which reminded me of the famous
petrified cascade of Hierapolis in Asia Minor. The bridge I have just
mentioned is signalized, in my recollection, by my having there encoun-
tered a party of Bedoueen, by whom I was stripped, plundered, and
threatened with death: fortunately an elder Bedoueen coming up, I was
rescued from the hands of these ruffians, and my dress and equipment
was restored to me. A similar peril, the previous day, and a sleepless
night—annoyed as I was by musquitoes, scorpions, and ants, gave me
a disgust at the whole region, and indisposed me to give so much: attention

SCY TIIOPOLIS. Ixxix

to the ruins around me as otherwise I might. A branch strikes off from
the stream already mentioned toward the west, and skirting the side of the
Acropolis, joins the main stream below. ‘Toward the south-east, there is a
large circular space, enclosed by a rising slope, where 1 found a well-
preserved theatre—the one referred to by Irby and Mangles. There is
also hereabouts a great quantity of black foundations, and heaps of stones.
The Acropolis, which I did not ascend, is a slope, covered with high ripe
grass :—-black patches showed that it had recently been burnt. I detected
a few lines of walls; but no trace of building or tower. The hill suggested
the idea of a volcanic cone. The rivulet, skirting the north side of the
hill, rushes down a deep chasm clothed with the richest and rankest vege-
tation; the precipitous sides of this ravine were ornamented with pendant
stalactites, which at once confirmed the supposition above mentioned, as to
the existence of a thermal spring. In following this stream I came to ar.
old bridge, with a high narrow arch : passing the bridge, and looking back,
the Acropolis presents itself in a very picturesque aspect, and owing to the
descent, it appeared to rise, detached on all sides, and presented itself in
a far more imposing manner than as seen from the other side: from thig
spot I took a drawing. On mounting the high ground round about
the Acropolis, I saw that the site consisted of a kind of basin, formed. by
the encircling streams, and enclosed by rocky slopes; the whole commanded
by the central hill. These slopes, especially in the vicinity of the theatre,
must have been covered with houses and buildings. To the north-east of
the Acropolis, on the high slope, are numerous excavated tombs, some of
them containing sarcophagi, but which are without ornament.”
_ Here, again, is a spot—at present rarely approached by European
travellers, from the unusual ferocity, and the marauding habits of the
Bedoueen that haunt it—where a leisurely survey of the surface, together
with judicious explorations beneath it, would undoubtedly reward cost and
labour. The site of Scythopolis would offer to the archzologist—we assume
this as in the highest degree probable—many relics of that long ecclesiasti-
cal period during which it was noted at once for its monastic establish-
ments, and its metropolitan church importance. There would next, in the
retrogressive order of the spade and pickaxe, be found the monuments of
that earlier ecclesiastical period, during which Christian structures were
slowly coming in the place of Roman works, civil and military : nor would
there, probably, be wanting coins and marbles belonging to the Asmonean
and Macedonian times. Nor should it be thought improbable, that,
wherever a remarkable natural site may clearly be identified with an
ancient Israelitish city, some relics of so remote an age may have been con-
served beneath and among the foundations of later structures. This sort
of probability attaching to places such as Hebron, Gaza, Shechem, and
Baalbec, belongs in full force also to Bethsliean.

In the view presented i in the Plate, the direction of the eye is south-west
by west. The heights of Gilboa bound the prospect to the right and left

lxxx THE LAKE PHIALA.

of the Acropolis. The ruins in front appear to be those of a Roman bridge.
A Saracenic bridge, in a less dilapidated state, bestrides the Tell Beisan,
westward of the hill The remains of a theatr. are discernible in the Plate
toward the right hand.

THE LAKE PHIALA.

Tue lake, or pool, represented in this Plate, is one of the most singular
natural objects in Palestine, and should invite the particular attention of
travellers. The circumstances under which Mr. Tipping discovered it were
such as to forbid his doing more than to take the sketch from which after-
wards a drawing was made. Among the objects specified as those which
would claim especial notice—should the opportunity present itself—one
was, to find among the rugged and difficult paths of the district embraced
by the curve of Jebel Heish—the Phiala of antiquity. Not one of
the spots hitherto marked in maps as the position of this pool could well
be accepted as the true one—if the account given of it, and of its relation
to other spots by Josephus, were to be regarded as correct; and if at the
same time the description of pools, seen or visited by some modern travellers,
were to be made to agree at once with the text of Josephus, and with the
maps of Palestine that are usually referred to. We shall first adduce Mr.
Tipping’s narrative of his discovery of this lake. He says :—

‘Qn leaving Banias Paneas (Cesarea Philippi) I went in quest of
Phiala ; and though I cannot hesitate to assume it as certain that the pool
represented in my drawing is the Phiala of Josephus, I will not attempt to
disguise the fact, that my researches in this neighbourhood were attended
with considerable perplexity. I will however narrate the circumstances of
this exploring excursion, and then every one may draw his own conclusion
from the facts so placed before him.

“‘ Dr. Robinson, in his excellent map of Palestine, places Phiala where he
supposes it to be (1. 6. where the text of Josephus would lead us to look for it);
a few miles further south he places also the name—Birket-er-Ram: but
it must be borne in mind that he did not visit this district; and that there-
fore the two names find their places on the authority, either of travellers, or
of geographers.

‘‘ A peasant, familiar with the country, having been procured as guide, I
asked him what lakes there were in this region, besides Tuburieh and Huleh,
He held up a finger in reply. ‘ What is that one then ?’—‘ The Birket-er-
Ram.’ ‘ But do you not know that there is a small round Birket to the north
of Birket-er-Ram, and nearer to the great mountain?’ ‘ Yes,’ said he,
‘ you are right ;—there is such a one—a very small one, in a valley in the
very mountain.’ To this, of course, I directed him to conduct me “We
took a north-easterly course, and soon began to ascend. Some hours

THE LAKE PHIALA, Ixxxi

climbing convinced me that we had reached an elevation at which it
would have been absurd to seek for Phiala ; but the panorama, embracing
& great part of Palestine, was so fine and varied as to balance the dis-
appointment of a fruitless toil. Meantime my guide was so confident
that we were approaching the Birket I wanted, that I followed—curious to
see the result. We came at last to a deep, regularly formed oval bowl,
the sloping sides of which were dotted with the stinted ilex, and there
were vestiges of snow. The bottom of this bowl consisted of a level of
rank green grass, soaking with water, and in the centre an oval pond,
which I took to be some 150 or 200 feet in length. This pool, I was
assured, is never dry. It manifestly receives the constant meltings of the
snow, not only from the sides and ridges of the bowl, but from the
impending mountain heights.

“Now, leaving out of the question the elevation of this spot (say 5,000
or 6,000 feet) it would be futile to attempt to compare the features and
relative position of this pool with the description of Phiala as given by
Josephus. (What this pool is you may see in the sketch I took of it on the
spot, and which is in your possession.) On our way down from this
lofty position, our guide began a sort of parley with my servant, expressing
his vexation that he could not please me.—I had asked for a round little
Birket, beside Birket-er-Ram—he had found the very thing, and that would
not do! We continued our descent, directing our course towards Mejdel,
a hamlet about half-way between the ridge of Jebel Heish and Banias,
and on the high road to Damascus, and where 1 intended to pitch my tent.
On approaching the edge of the declivity at the base of which this hamlet
is situated, the view given in the plate most unexpectedly presented itself :
a little lake, looking very much like a circular mirror, set in a frame of
gentle eminences, was before us! The reddish brown tint of these
encircling hills contrasted well with the unruffied surface of the blue waters
of this pool. ‘That is the lake I wanted,’ I exclaimed to my guide.
‘No ;’ said he, ‘that is Binket-er-Ram.’ You will recollect that, on the
authority of Dr. Robinson’s map, I had sought for a lake other than the
Birket-er- Ram, placed too far south to be the Phiala of Josephus.

“51 was then too much fatigued to attempt reaching the lake, which
seemed to be at the distance of two or three miles from my encampment,
and at the other extremity of a rich small plain, backed by the heights
and wooded ranges of Jebel Heish. I thought I detected something like a
gully, or a watercourse, between me and the lake. You will not fail to
notice several points of discrepancy between my account of this pool, and
those given by the few writers who believe themselves to have visited or
seen the Phiala of Josephus. Irby and Mangles speak of the sides of the
Bow] as regular and richly wooded ; now the sides of er-Ram did not seem
to me perfectly regular ; nor were they richly wooded—though this might
indeed be affirmed of the long dark range which skirts the landscape
beyond.

f

Ixxxil THRE LAKE PHIALA.

“‘ My guide (and in this respect his report was confirmed by that of others
whom I asked) declared positively that this er-Ram, and the pool in the
mountain (above mentioned) are the only sheets of water that are found in
the entire region. It seemed therefore to me quite clear that Dr. Robinson,
correctly judging of the position of the Phiala of Josephus, had placed it
in his map very nearly where I found this last named pool ; but that, not
having visited the district, and finding the Birket-er-Ram on other maps,
seven miles toward the south, he had inserted it there upon his own map.
I believe there is no expanse of water where that name occurs on maps ; but
that, as affirmed by the people of the country, the two I had just seen are
the only lakes any where about ; and that the lower of the two is the actual
Phiala of antiquity.”

The Caravans from Damascus to Jerusalem and Gaza take either a road
(or route, as it should be called) running south-west, and crossing the Jordan
about seven miles below its exit from the Lake of Galilee ; or one passing
north of the lake, and between it and the Lake Huleh. But there is also
a less frequented path, still more to the north, and which is, in part at least,
identical with an ancient road, of which the remains may be traced at
intervals. This road, probably, was the highway between Damascus and
Tyre. It makes its way through a ravine of the Jebel Heish range, at a
village named Beit Jenn; (as seen in the vignette) and thence runs on,
south-west by west, to Banias (Caesarea Philippi). On thés road Mr. Tipping
was advancing—in the opposite direction—from Banias towards Damascus,
as related above, when he went in quest of the Lake Phiala. After
ascending Jebel Heish to a too great elevation, he retraced his steps, and
in descending came in sight of what we may so well consider as the “ Bowl ”
of antiquity. [115 position was then north-west of the pool, and between it
and him, in the valley or ravine, whence figures are seen ascending (in the
plate), are found the remains of the ancient Damascus road.

Now all this consists well with that incidental notice of the spot which
Josephus affords us, IIT. 10,7, page 46. “ Apparently,” he says, “ Panium
is the source of the Jordan ; but the water is in reality conveyed thither by
a subterranean channel from Phiala, so called ; which lies not far from the
high road on the right, as you ascend to Trachonitis, at the distance of 120
furlongs from Czsarea (Philippi). From its circumference it is appro-
priately designated Phiala; (Bowl) being a lake in form of a wheel. Its
waters remain uniformly on a level with the margin, without subsidence or
overflow.”

This distance from the site of the ancient Ceesarea, measured upon the
road track, agrees with that, to the spot whence Mr. Tipping took his sketch ;
and the lake then before him, bearing south-east, would be at a short
distance from the ancient road, and on the right hand of the traveller
coming from Cmxsarea toward Trachonitis—i. 6. going toward Damascus.
We can scarcely expect in any instance a more cxact corroboration of an
incidentally mentioned point of ancient topography.

THE LAKE PHIALA. Ixxxili

It would be a useless, and probably a fruitless labour, and altogether
unsuited to our immediate object, to attempt to determine whether the pool
thus described and represented by Mr. Tipping, is the same that has been
visited and described by former travellers. Captains Irby and Mangles
speak of the one which they assume to be the Phiala of Josephus, and
which they found on their route westward from Damascus to Banias,
February 24, 1818. ‘“ The first part of the road lay through a fine plain,
watered by a pretty winding rivulet, with numerous tributary streams, and
many old ruined mills ; we then began to ascend over very rugged and
rocky ground, quite void of vegetation ; in some places there were traces
of an ancient paved way, probably the Roman road leading from Damascus
to Cesarea Philippi, as we ascended and had the highest part of Jebel
Sheikh (Anti-Lebanon) on our right.” This was of course on the
eastern ascent of Jebel Heish ; but if we may assume the Phiala of both
travellers to be the same, then it is important to notice the circumstance,
that the traces of a Roman road may be discerned on this line. Having
passed the ridge of Jebel Heish, and ascended some way upon the southern
side of the loftier range—Jebel Sheikh, and “passing a very small village
about one o'clock, we saw,” they say, “on our left ” (it would be on their left,
travelling westward) “close to us, a very picturesque lake, of little more
than a mile in circumference, apparently perfectly circular, and surrounded
by sloping hills, richly wooded. The singularity of this lake is, that it has
no apparent supply or discharge ; its waters appeared perfectly still, though
clear and limpid; a great many wild fowl were swimming in it.....
Josephus mentions this lake under the name of ‘ Phiala ’—a cup.”

The very different circumstances under which travellers see the same
objects—a different time of the year, different direction, and more or less of
leisure, may in this instance sufficiently account for the points of diversity
in comparing the above passages with Mr. Tipping’s narrative. As to
Burckhardt, it is evident in following him on his track, as given in his
“Description of a Journey from Damascus through the Mountains of
Arabia Petra, &c.,” that he was proceeding on the modern road which
crosses the Jordan at the bridge betwecn Lake Huleh and the Lake of
Galilee ; and therefore, at a distance ten miles south of the ancient road.
Speaking of a reservoir which he thereabouts met with, he says, “I take
this to be the Lake of Phiala, laid down in the maps of Syria, as there is no
other lake or pond in the neighbourhood,” p. 315. But if it were assumed
so to be, neither the description given of it, nor its position in relation to
Damascus and Banias, nor its distance from the latter, would agree with
the testimony of Josephus ; or, these particulars would consist with it only
in that loose and imperfect manner which has given occasion to so many
insinuations as to the value of our author's evidence. Thus, for instance,
if Burckhardt’s well-deserved reputation for sound judgment and accuracy
were considered as far more than enough to outweigh the “ambiguous
reports of Josephus,” a hostile modern critic would not hesitate, after

]xxxiv BEIT JENN.

noticing these discrepancies, to add, “ This description of Phiala, it must be
acknowledged, very poorly corresponds with that given by Josephus ; but
then it is only one among the many instances of exaggeration, or of
inaccuracy, with which his writings abound.” Not so, however; for a
pool—a “bowl,” precisely corresponding in its characteristics and in its
position with the Phiala of the Jewish historian, is now brought before us ;
and it should be regarded as a new proof, among very many, that he was
both well informed, and correct in his reports of (at least) the natural
features of the country with which he professes to have been familiarly
acquainted. In the heat and haste of a military narrative, he tells us, as
by accident, that, ‘on your right hand, at a little distance from the road,
as you travel from Cesarea toward Damascus, and 120 furlongs from the
former, there is a bowl-like pool, always full to the brim ;” and precisely
there such a pool is now found. So it is often that the unchanging per-
manence of the natural features of a country lends to written history a
portion of its own consistency and perpetuity. An ancient writer might,
perhaps, have erased from his tablet, as superfluous, a casual notice of a
physical peculiarity, attaching to the scene of the events he is narrating.
But he has not erased it, and that peculiarity still presents itself—the
modern traveller notes it; and it is the duty of the annotator upon an
ancient historian to do so too; and thus to gather up those fragments of
evidence which, from their independence aud undesignedness, best support
the reputation of his author.

BEIT JENN.

WE have just said that the traffic, ancient and modern, from Damascus
westward, to the several ports on the shores of the Mediterranean, south-
ward, has followed three principal routes, crossing in its course the Lebanon
range, and its offsets. Besides these there was one on the right hand,
toward the north-west, which passed through Heliopolis (Baalbec) to Tripoli.
One on the left hand, running by Safed, and through Galilee, reached the
coast at Ptolemais, (Akka ;) while a middle track, by Banias (Cxsarea
Philippi) led direct to Tyre and the neighbouring maritime towns. This
middle route, of which, as an ancient and artificially constructed road, traces
are still discoverable, followed the course of a ravine in crossing Jebel
Heish—the southern limb of Mount Hermon. This vignette exhibits the
entrance of this pass, seen as the traveller approaches it from Damascus,
and is looking in a north-westerly direction. Before him, and at the
distance of fifteen or twenty miles, is a summit of Jebel Sheikh—the loftiest
range of the Lebanon mountains. On either hand are seen the rugged sides
of the valley through which the road takes its course.

νυν ΝΕῚ

KULAT IBN’ MA’AN. ]xxxv

A winter torrent finds its way along this valley, and shows its presence
in the verdure of the poplars that skirt its banks. This spot appears
to have afforded a resting-place, as its name indicates, to the caravans of
ancient, as it does to those of modern times. An inconsiderable stone-built
village, occupying the site of one more ancient, stands at the base of the
hill, on the left hand. This hill exhibits those rich varieties of colour that
distinguish, and we may say, beautify, so many rugged mountain scenes in
Syria.

KULAT IBN’ MA’AN.

For understanding the position of the remarkable rocky escarpment
exhibited in this Plate, the reader is referred to those Plates in the First
Volume which belong to the same range of hills. In the view of Maapata,
the spot represented in this Plate is seen on the extreme left, at the distance
of two or three miles from the shore of the lake. In that of GENNESARETH,
it is again discernible among the rocky heights which border the plain on
the right hand. In the view of Hatin, which faces page 129, the same
heights are seen in a direction looking S.W., which in this of Ibn’ Ma’an
are shown in the contrary direction. In this Plate, a part of the lake,
toward its northern end, presents itself, together with the hills of the east
country. The summits of Jebel Heish are just visible toward the left,
rising above and beyond the nearer range. The level, seen on the nearer
side of the lake, is the Plain of Gennesareth, already referred to. The
narrow valley leading up from that plain toward the rocky foreground, is
the Wady el-Himam—high up in which are ruins, seemingly of remote
antiquity. The hill to the right, surmounted by the excavated precipitous
rock, is thickly covered with tall grass and bushes, concealing the scattered
blocks that have tumbled from the impending heights in the course of ages.
Architectural remains are found on the summit of this height ; but it is
the numerous, or we might say, the tnrumerable excavations wherewith
the whole of this escarpment is honey-combed, that render it peculiarly
remarkable. These excavations are the more to be noted, corresponding as
they do with several passages in the JEWIsH War, in the ANTIQUITIES,
and in the Lire or JOsEPHUS.

The calcareous hill shown in this Plate has a perpendicular face on two
of its sides; and upon these are apparent the mouths of many natural
caverns, reaching far into the body of the hill. Advantage has been taken,
in a remote age, of these openings and chambers, which have been enlarged,
and made to communicate one with another, by passages cut through the
rock. In places the natural openings have been walled up, in a substantial
manner, and other means have been used to render the place a commodious
retreat for several hundred persons, as well as a safe and almost impregnable

Ixxxvi DAMASCUS GATE.

fortress. Large reservoirs have also been formed in some of the caverns,
intended to hold the drainage from the superior surface of the hill.

A concurrence of evidence confirms the supposition that, in this instance,
we have before us the very spot that had been signalized, on often-repeated
occasions, by the constancy, and as often by the obduracy, and by the woes,
of the Jewish race, as well as by the ferocity of their oppressors, when, at a
later time—that of Herod—these strongholds sheltered and emboldened the
bands of marauders that held the two Galilees in subjection. It was here,
as we venture to suppose, that those events occurred which are mentioned
in the history of the Maccabees, and which are referred to or narrated by
Josephus.

In what manner the leaders of banditti at this time were used to avail
themselves of the facilities afforded them by the nature of the country may
be learned from our author’s account of the marauding chief, Simon of
Gerasa. Book IV. c. 9,§ 4. The same caverns—the work of nature
improved by art, have in turn given shelter to the worst, and to the best
men: in these “dens and caves of the earth” the robber and murderer has
hid himself and his spoil ; and hither have resorted many “of whom the
world was not worthy.”

DAMASCUS GATE.

Tue Plate, Vol. I. p. xlvii., shows the masonry of the city wall, where
the work of later ages has left it visible, or where the modern part has
crumbled away. The spot therein represented is found within the square
tower seen on the right hand in this view of the exterior wall. Over and
beyond this tower appear the domes of the church of the Holy Sepulchre ;
and further to the right is a tower of the citadel—Hippicus. The entire
front of the Damascus Gate and the adjoining wall is of the Saracenic age ;
unless at a point or two where the modern incrustation has peeled off, and
exposed the interior stones. But within, as is partially seen in the Plate
above referred to, large surfaces of the ancient masonry are exposed to
view, and these substructures have all the firmness, the regularity, and the
precision of jointing, which bespeak a high antiquity ; or which at least
must be held to exclude the supposition that this wall may have been an
after work, in which the scattered materials of a more ancient structure
have been employed anew. There are portions of the Haram wall which
plainly indicate that sort of confusion and want of fitness, which necessarily
attach to a work constructed upon the site, and with the materials of a ruin.
The later construction of the upper part is shown by the means employed
by the Saracen builders to give an appearance of uniformity to the entire
surface.

“ Before coming to the Gate οἵ Damascus,” (in the direction from

DAMASCUS GATE. )xxxvii

Hippicus,) ‘ we observed,” says Dr. Wilson, “what we had not seen
alluded to in any book of travels, that the wall for some extent above its
foundation bears, in the magnitude and peculiarity of its stones, the
evidence of great antiquity. The Saracens have made grooves in them, to
make them correspond symmetrically with their own workmanship above ;
and the traveller is apt to pass them by without notice. ‘They are decidedly
of the character, however, which I have mentioned ; and they are probably
remains of the second wall described by Josephus.”— Lands of the
Bible, 1. 421.

Now, as bearing upon a question of topography which, so far as the
testimony of Josephus is concerned, claims to be noticed in this work, the
reader’s attention should be directed to some facts that are presented by
a comparison of the two Plates here referred to—namely, that representing
the IntgRior WALL, and this of the Damascus Garr.

In the first place then, let the aspect of the Damascus Gate be noticed,
which is very nearly north-west: it stands at a right angle (nearly)
with a line drawn from the north-west corner of the Haram, midway
through the valley or depression which is followed by the Damascus road.
This would be the natural position of a principal outlet of a city, on the
supposition that the interior town spreads out to the right and to the left,
within the walls. The placing a gate at the extreme end, or at an acute
angle of a wall, is not to be looked for, unless it be in positions where
some peculiarity of the ground leaves no choice to the builder. As a
general rule, a city gate ranges along with the wall in which it is placed.
But even if, in this instance, a departure from the rule might have been
imagined, the supposition is excluded by the facts before us. The unques-
tionably ancient masonry, which is represented in the view of the INTERIOR
WALL, occurs in the projecting tower, seen on the right hand in this view
of the exterivr wall ; consequently, it indicates the direction of the wall
onward, from the Damascus Gate, toward the western projection of the
present city wall. That is to say, the Damascus Gate stands as a principal
entrance to a city, which usually (if not invariably) must occur midway in a
reach of wall ; and not at the point of an acute bend.

The second wall, concerning the direction of which so much controversy
has lately arisen, “took a sweep,” we are told by our author, from
Hippicus to the Damascus Gate. The question then is, whether this
bend was a sweep tnwards, or a sweep outwards. It might well seem
strange that the wall of a city so closely built, and so densely peopled, as
was the ancient Jerusalem, should, without any necessity of the site, be
made to bend far inward, instead of making an easy curve outward. It
might also seem strange that a writer describing his native city, and there-
fore thinking of its boundary lines as from within, should, in speaking of
the direction of a part of the walls say, it “makes a curve,” from this
point to that, when what he intends is, that it is deeply inflected toward
the interior of the city.

Ixxxvili OM KBIS.

But now, in place of any hypothesis, whether probable or improbable, we
find the ancient masonry of the wall running on from the Damascus Gate
continuously outward, as to the city, and sweeping onward, across the valley
toward Hippicus. This portion ef the ancient wall extends visibly about
300 fect from the Damascus Gate ; and might probably be laid bare by
exposing the foundations of the city wall further on in the same course.

NORTH-EAST CORNER OF THE HARAM.

THe Plate, Vol. Lp. xliii Watt near St. StePHEN’s Gate, shows
the eastern face of the Haram wall, at its extreme limit towards the north.
The vignette Plate now before us exhibits the northern face of the same
wall, along with the more modern walls which abut upon it. At this point
the ancient masonry, with its bevelled joints, rises to a greater height than
it does in other places ; for, at this corner, there may be counted eleven
tiers of stones above the general level of the ground. The direction of the
eye is here nearly due south ; and the arched gateway gives admission to
those sacred precincts which the feet of the “ faithful,” and none but theirs,
may tread.

OM KEIS.
(GADARA.)

Tue architectural remains embraced in this view demand some attention.
They mark, as it is believed, the site of Gadara, a place very frequently
mentioned by Josephus. ‘They occur at a spot bearing S.E. by E. from
the southern extremity of the Sea of Galilee, at the distance of about
six miles from its borders, and very near to q bend of the Yarmak—the
principal tributary of the Jordan —being a confluence, collecting the streams
that drain the East Country, or Bashan, far and wide.

In the Plate before us the direction of sight is nearly east, and the
view connects itself with that presented in the Plate, Vol. 1. p. xxxv.—
REMAINS OF A THEATRE, near the Lake of Galilee. In that plate the
aspect is nearly north, commanding the lake almost in its whole extent ;
and the ruins which there form the foreground, here take position in front
of the distant hill which shuts in the view. The reader must now be
referred to the note upon thut Plate, page xxxv. where a passage from the
Journal of Irby and Mangles distinctly describes the objects which are
presented in this. The “ street” there mentioned is here scen in front, and

JULIUS GASAR.

JULIUS CESAR. Ixxxix

on the face of its dislocated pavement it exhibits the tracks of wheels which,
eighteen centuries ago, rumbled through the crowded ways of a populous
city. On either side of this pavement the fallen columns show where stood
its temples, halls, and palaces. Similar remains of the architectural magni-
ficence of the place are scattered over the uneven surface around, far and
wide.

Josephus tells us, Book III. c. 7, that Vespasian not only abandoned the
inhabitants to an indiscriminate slaughter; but overthrew the city itself.
That it was however afterwards restored appears from the fact of its having
long held an important rank among the metropolitan cities of Syria, after
the establishment of Christianity. Some confusion, however, attaches to the
historical notices of this place, from the circumstance that there were one
or two other cities of Palestine of the same name.

JULIUS CAESAR.

Tue high fortunes of Cesar glanced only—once and again—upon the
destinies of Judea. Yet in his account of what occurred in these in-
stances, we find Josephus consistent with the known character and policy
of this great man.

Pompey had brought the Jewish prince, Aristobulus, and his children,
captives to Rome. Him, after the fall of Pompey, Cesar released, return-
ing him to his country, supported by two legions; but there he early
met his fate by poison, and thus for a time the expectations of Cesar in
Syria were disappointed. These reverses were however temporary ; and
in accepting the proffered friéndship of so valiant and skilful an enemy as
Antipater (father of Herod) Cesar, guided by an instinct never wanting in ©
men of his order, secured for himself the able and faithful services of one
who might otherwise, not improbably, have thwarted his purposes in the
East. The honours and appointments thus earned by the Jdumean leader
at the hand of Cesar, may well be regarded as the main means that enabled
this half Jewish prince to found the monarchy which, as subservient to
Rome, secured for the Jewish people, through a long course of years, a
degree of national importance which, on other conditions, they could not have
enjoyed. In this view, therefore, JuL1us C#saR may properly be thought
of as having laid the foundation-stone of the Jewish monarchy in the family
of Herod. Pompey had vanquished and spared Judea. Cwsar was the
author of its renovation.

Antipater, by Czesar’s favour, exercised authority as Procurator of
J udzea.

xcii LOWER FOOL, AT HEBRON.

This Lower Pool measures 188 feet on each side; its depth is about
50 feet, (Robinson says 21 feet 8 inches ;) and it contains a variable depth
of water, according to the time of year, inasmuch as its gatherings are
chiefly, if not wholly, from the winter drainage of the valley. The sub-
structure of this tank is of a kind indicating its high antiquity. The upper
portions of the lining-wall and coping have undergone frequent repairs
from age to age. Flights of steps, at two of the corners, lead down to the
water level.

This pool, although it is of much smaller dimensions, resembles very
nearly, in its construction and appearance, the Pools of Solomon, presently
to be described ; as it does also the Upper Pool of Gihon, (see the Plate,
Vol I. p. lvii.)

The Plate before us shows that portion of the town which occupies the
slope between the Great Mosque and the Pool. The houses, in this part,
are substantially built—flat roofed, and these roofs, for the most part,
sustain domes—a mode of building which is characteristic of Palestine,
if not peculiar to it. The valley, in the centre of which Hebron lies, is
richly fertile, and abounds also with ancient trees—ogks and olives ; and
the natural recommendations of the site are such as to accord well with
those associations that attach to it as the scene of the patriarchal history, and
again of that David. It was among these verdant hills, undoubtedly, that
the warrior-poet composed several of those sacred odes which have nurtured
the devotional affections of the “true worshippers” in every land, and from
age to age.

As to the identity of this pool there can scarcely be a doubt. Lord
Nugent says, “Its position is the only one which the pool of those times
(Scripture antiquity) could have occupied ; and its size, the form of its
construction, and the cement with which it is coated throughout, are in
accordance with the story of its great antiquity.”"—Lands, Classical and
Sacred, ch. vii.

Several references to the Pool occur in the course of the Old Testament
history. It is probable that to these pools, which, from their position, may
well have been the reservoirs of pleasure grounds, the Royal Preacher
refers when he narrates his own achievements—“ 1 made me great works ;
I builded me houses ; I planted me vineyards : I made me gardens and
orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruits : I made me pools
of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees.” Eccles. ii.
4—6.

A less pleasing but more distinct reference to this pool occurs in the
history of David, (2 Sam. iv. 12,) for it was by the side of it that he
hanged the assassins of Ishbosheth.

HIPPICUS: xeill

HIPPICUS. — HIPPICUS, NORTH SIDE, (A.)— WESTERN
ANGLE OF THE CITY WALL.

In explanation of these three Plates, a reference should first be made to
that given in Vol. I. p. lvii:—Upper Pool of Ginon, and west side
of Jerusalem,—which shows the position of the Citadel, and the Jaffa Gate
adjoining it. The square towers which rise above the wall, near to the
gate, are the same as those shown (as seen from the interior of the city
wall) in the Plate—WESTERN ANGLE of the City Wall. In this view the
spectator stands near to the extreme western projection of the wall, and the
eye traverses the extent of it to that point where it makes a turn eastward,
nearly at a right angle, enclosing the Armenian convent, the buildings and
gardens of which are seen toward the right. Between these buildings and
the Citadel, rise the roof and dome of el-Aksa. The structure of the city
wall, as here exhibited, should be noticed. It consists of an interior lower
wall, sustaining a pathway below the battlements of the outer crust of the
wall, and which, with interruptions here and there, may be pursued to
a great extent around the city.

In the Plate—Hipricvus, the direction of sight is from the interior
toward the Jaffa Gate; and the front of the tower on which the light
obliquely falls, is the same as that shown in shadow on the next Plate—
Hirricus (A). This last view was taken from the roof of an adjoining
house. The fosse, therefore, the low fronting wall of which appears in the
one Plate, is partially seen in tts length in the other.

“The north-eastern tower,” says Dr. Wilson, (the structure shown in
these plates) “which is called by Europeans the ‘Tower of David,’ and
which now bears the Turkish standard, is fitted to attract particular
attention. It is a quadrangular erection, exhibiting both modern and
ancient masonry. The antique portion, which is of course the lowest, is of
unequal height, but in some parts it rises from the fosse below (which is
partly filled up) to a height of about forty feet, forming apparently a solid
mass of building, to which no entrance has yet been discovered. The
stones of which it is constructed are bevelled at the edges ; and some of
them are from eight to twelve feet in length, and about four feet in
height."— Lands of the Bible, vol. i. p. 432.

The square tower thus presented in its different aspects, is one of those
structures to the lower part of which, unquestionably, a very remote date
may be attributed. A continuous historic testimony, reaching down from
the Biblical era to modern times, secures its identity, and should attract
toward it especial attention. At the first glance, that peculiar species of
masonry which has been noticed in the lower ranges of the Haram wall—
on all sides, and within and about the Damascus Gate, indicates an origin
far earlier than that which belongs to the superstructure, or to any of the

XC1V HARAM: PRINCIPAL ENTRANCE.

adjoining buildings. In proof and illustration of this, the reader is
requested to turn to those Plates of the First Volume which exhibit this
same order of masonry in the substructures, namely ;—ENTABLATURE and
WINDOW, p. xvi.; DousLE ARCHWAY, p. xxii.; ELEVATION of the WALL
and SPRINGSTONES, p. xxv.; Haram WALL, pp. xxxi, xxxii.; WaLi
near St. STEPHEN'S GATE, p. xiii. ; INTERIOR WALL, p. xlvii. The same
character of work, peculiar as it is, and without any parallel (it is believed)
beyond the limits of that country which once was subject to the Jewish
monarchs, will be shown in some other instances which present themselves
in the Holy City. It meets us again at Baalbec, at Djebail—the ancient
Byblus, and, in a signal manner, at Hebron, in the substructures, angles,
and buttresses of the Great Mosque.

Whoever has contemplated, and has carefully examined, the bevelled
masonry of these various structures, ig compelled to recognise it as the
distinctive mark of an architectural era; and moreover, as this order of
work meets us invariably under the same, or nearly the same, relative con-
ditions, the high antiquity which is asserted for it appears to be attested in
an incontrovertible manner. It is found always to constitute the /ower
portion of any wall of which it is a part; it combines, in most instances,
single stones of prodigious magnitude, with others of smaller dimensions,
skilfully intermingled, and yet all highly finished, and very exactly fitted,
the joints being perfectly true. And then these substructures are found to
sustain superstructures, the style of which indicates clearly enough the age
and people they belong to. On these variously chiselled “tables of stone,”
we read, in no very ambiguous symbols, the history of the country from
modern times, up to the remotest pcriods of the Hebrew monarchy.

Benjamin of Tudela mentions the ‘Tower of David,’ as it appearcd in
his time, that is to say, in the latter part of the twelfth century, in terms
according well with its present appearance. Those of his nation—about
two hundred in number, who were then resident in Jerusalem, dwelt, he
says, “in one corner of the city, under the Tower of David. About ten
yards of the base of this building are very ancient, having been constructed
by our ancestors ; the remaining part was added by the Mahometans, and
the city contains no building stronger than the Tower of David.”

With these, and with its present appearance, agrees what Josephus
affirms of Hippicus, as completed by Herod. Book V. c. 4, p. 127.

HARAM: PRINCIPAL ENTRANCE.

(WEST SIDE.)

THE great quadrangle of the Haram, which anciently had one or more
gates on cach side, is now accessible on the north and west sides only ;

DJLBAIL. xCV

for we should not mention, as a frequented entrance, that concealed gal-
lery beneath el-Aksa, which Mr. Tipping explored. The gate of the
southern wall has long been closed, except to clandestine feet. The
Golden Gate, also, has been sealed for centuries. The Plate already
described, Norta-East CoRNER OF THE Hana, shows an entrance under
an archway close to the eastern wall. There is another similar entrance at
the termination of a street or lane, ranning north-west by north, from the
northern wall, On the western side there are three (or four) entrances.
But the most remarkable, and the most avcessible of these, is the one
sitaated at the termination of a pringipal street which runs in a westerly
direction toward the Citadel. It is this entrance that is represented in the
Plate. The open wooden gate allows to “infidel” eyes a glimpse of the
interior ; and what is seen in this direction is a portion of the raised
platform on which the Mosque of Omar stands, with a colonnade on its
southern side. At this spot less of the ancient substructure of the Haram
wall is visible than at a few paces toward the right hand, where, at the
Jews’ place of waiting, these remains rise to a considerable height, and so
continue on to the southern corner. What meets the eye above and about
this entrance is chiefly Saracenic, with a mixture of Norman archi-
tecture, together with some Turkish botching. Here, as in so many places
in the Holy City, every age through the track of historic time has left its
record ; and if this heterogeneous mass could, at leisure, be laid open to the
light of day, there can be no doubt that the builders of the age of Solomon
might claim their part; those of the kings of Judah theirs ; followed by
those of the “Return,” and then of Herod’s time, and of Hadrian’s, and
of Justinian’s, and of those who since have followed as masters of the land. ὦ

DJEBAIL ; OR, GEBAL.

THE view of this, for the most part, modern castle, is introduced as
furnishing a remarkable instance of the occurrence of that cyclopean
masonry, with its bevelled joinings, which so often attracts attention in and
about Jerusalem. It here meets us at a remote point, on the coast, north-
ward ; but yet a few hours’ distance only from Baalbec, where also it so
much prevails. ‘These remains of a very remote age present themselves to
the eye at several points around this castle. Single stones measure sixteen
and eighteen feet in length, and they are wrought in the same careful
manner. The occurrence of this peculiar style here, that is to say in the
Phenician territory, again at Baalbec—and yet rarely, if at all, elsewhere
than at Jerusalem and at Hebron, comporte well with the supposition, which
the text of Scripture favours, that in all these instances it is attributable to
those Phoenician workmen whom Solomon engaged to assist in the con-
struction of the temple.

zcvi STREET IN JERUGALBM.

This place is one among the few that have retained their name, almost
unaltered, through the entire track of historic time. Djebail—Jebeil—
Gebal—',}—signifying a hill. By the Greeks the place was called Byblos.
Its inhabitants were celebrated as being well skilled in the mechanic arts.
Tyre availed herself of this noted ability in several species of work.
Ezekiel says, “The ancients of Gebal (οἱ πρεσβύτεροι Βιβλίων) and the
wise men thereof, were in thee, thy calkera,” &. The massive stones
of a mole are said to be perceptible, stretching out from the shore ; and
on the height are the remains of a spacious theatre. Strabo, xvi. p. 755,
mentions this place as situated on a height, not far from the sea. It was
signalised by the worship of Adonis, to whom a temple there was dedicated.

VILLAGE OF SILOAM, AND EL AKSA.

ΤῊΣ western declivity of the hill, called the “Mount of Offence,” is
occupied by the straggling village of Siloam, which overhangs the right
bank of the brook Kedron—a portion of which is seen in this Plate. On
the left is the wedge-shaped ridge, called Ophel, at the termination of which
is the Fountain and Pool of Siloam. In front, rises the rocky southern
aspect of the Temple plateau, with its wall, and within this the Mosque of
El] Aksa. This Plate shows the general position of that portion which is
exhibited in its details in the Plate, (Vol. I.) Haram Watt, South-East
Corner, and it shows moreover, as illustrative of the history of the siege,
how secure the city was on this, its southern side, from any modes of attack
known to ancient military art.

STREET IN JERUSALEM.—STREET IN JERUSALEM (4A).

Tne first of these Plates exhibits that mode of arching over the streets
which sheds so much gloom upon the thoroughfares of the Holy City. The
atreet here represented is one running parallel to the western wall of the
Haram, and at no great distance from it: the spectator is looking nearly
due north. The second Plate shows a street which runs at a right angle
with the one seen in the first; the direction of sight being west,
Both views are quite characteristic of the principal thoroughfares of the
city. The pavement, inartificially constructed with stones of all sizes and
shapes, and presenting frequent “ occasions of stumbling,” is, in many places,
almost covered by heaps of rubbish, and of the most offensive matters.

STREET IN JERUSALEM. ΧΟΥΣῚ

Moreover, as the stone chiefly employed in this paving is of a kind suscep-
tible of a high polish, which in course of time it receives from the tread
of man and of the camel, the chances of a dangerous fall are many,
Artificers, in various lines, and the vendors of small wares, occupy the
vacant spaces and corners; while midway in these narrow lanes, camels
squat to receive their load. Besides the archways, at so many points
bestriding these streets, overhanging balconies, and basket-work protrusions,
diminish the amount of daylight below, and so greatly obstruct the circula-
tion of air, as to give a damp and chilly feeling to many parts of the city.

In pacing the streets of Jerusalem an observant eye is almost at every
step attracted by the confusedly mingled remains of past times. Often do
the not-to-be-mistaken materials of the anctent Jerusalem, with their care-
fully worked surfaces and fine joinings, constitute portions of wall in the
street-fronts of the houses. In some instances such remains may have
constituted parts of an ancient structure, which is still in its original
position ; but more often they have evidently been placed where they are
by the hand of the Saracen, the Norman, or the Turk—each in his turn
availing himself as he could of the heaps, which, from the time of the
destruction of the city, have choked its level ways, and filled up its hollows.
Among these confusions of eighteen centuries, learned exploration will
one day take its leisurely course, and will do so not without fruit. The
streets of Jerusalem, resounding with the tools of the European antiquary,
shall utter the secrets of time, and the “ stones out of the wall,” when thus
questioned, shall answer to the challenge, and tell the story of many ages.

Within the city “you are ever ascending or descending. There are no
level streets, and little skill or labour has been employed to remove or
diminish the inequalities which nature or time has produced. Houses are
built upon mountains of rubbish, which are probably twenty, thirty, or fifty
feet above the natural level; and the streets are constructed with the
same disregard to convenience, with the difference that some slight attention
is paid to the possibility of carrying off surplus water ; they are without
exception narrow, seldom exceeding eight or ten feet in breadth. ‘The
houses often meet, and in some instances a building occupies both sides
of the street, which runs under a succession of arches, barely high enough
to permit an equestrian to pass under them. I found a good deal of
difficulty in riding under them upon a camel. A canopy of old mats, or
of planks, is suspended over the principal streets, when not arched. This
custom, no doubt, had its origin in the heat of the climate, which is very
intense in summer ; and it gives a gloomy aspect to all the most thronged
and lively parts of the city. These covered ways are often pervaded by
currents of air when a perfect calm prevails in other places; but the
artificial breeze seemed to me damp and fetid, and quite destitute of the
refreshing qualities which belong to ἃ more natural circulation.”—Olin’s
Travels, vol. ii. p. 132.

The drawings from which these Plates are engraved were made during

xevni THE GOLDEN GAT.

the winter months; and therefore they do not show the temporary
coverings to the streets above-mentioned, and which would of course be
removed when the heats of summer are passed.

“ The pavements of the streets,” says Dr. Olin, “are of the worst possible
description. They are formed of fragments of limestone, of unequal sise
and thickness, and arranged with no apparent regard to human comfort.
On each side, next to the shops, is a sort of raised way, one or two fest
high, formed of a row of rough stones, large or small indifferently. Beside
these two side-walks is a path, or rather gutter, also paved, but in a style
yet more detestable, for donkeys and horses, which have barely room to
pass each other. At this season the middle pavement is literally a filthy
gutter, partially filled with mire and water.”

ZION.

To put himself into the position whence the objects presented in this
Pilate could be seen, the reader is referred to the Outline Plate, Vol. L. p. xxv.
ELEVATION OF THE WALL AND Spring-stones. The Turk standing near the
corner of the Haram wall in that Plate, occupies nearly that position ; or he
should advance a few yards from the wall, and look up in the direction oppo-
site toit. There will then be before him a rugged and steep ascent, confusedly
covered with a luxuriant growth of the prickly pear and long grass, filling
the spaces in and among dilapidated walls and the foundations of buildings,
ancient and modern. The brow of the hill is occupied by the houses of
the Jews’ quarter, which spreads over the half of Zion, on the eastern side.
It is within this quarter that squalor and wretchedness hold their court.
An angle of the city wall, with its embrasures, is seen at the extreme left—
outside of which, and on the swell of land, the prediction has long been,
and is from year to year fulfilled, “ Zion shall be ploughed as a field.”

THE GOLDEN GATE.

Tis Plate exhibits one of the most remarkable objects in the course
of the Haram wall. This “Golden Gate,” which has long been built up,
occurs at about one-third of the whole distance, from the north-eastern to
the south-eastern corner of the great enclosure. It therefore fronts the steep
valley of the Kedron, and is nearly opposite that spot in the valley which
has been assumed as the Gethsemane of the Gospel history. It attracts the
eye when the city, on its eastern side, is seen from the ridge of the Mount
of Olives, near the Church of the Ascension.

THE MOUNT OF OLIVES. xcix

A level, or a nearly level, space of a few yards’ breadth, which intervenes
between the wall and the edge of the valley, is used as a Turkish burying
ground. Many modern tombs, together with the scattered remains of those less
recent, bestrew this space ; of these tombs two or three appear in the Plate.
The double arch, believed to be of Roman workmanship—perhaps of the
time of Hadrian—appears as if fixed, in a sort of patchwork manner, upon the
far more ancient masonry of the lower ranges of the wall; and these again
are surmounted by the Saracenic work which, on all its sides, completes the
wall of this quadrangle. The interior structures at this point, as they
have been examined and delineated by Mr. Catterwood, make it evident that
at this spot was placed one of the principal entrances to the Temple ; and
its heterogeneous architecture brings together (as in the subterranean vaults
already described) the work of successive eras—from that of the Jewish
monarchy, downward through the times of the Roman, the Saracenic,
the Norman, and the Turkish occupation of the Holy City and country.
The ‘ Golden Gate,” believed to be the ‘“ King’s Gate,” mentioned
1 Chron. ix. 18, led into that cloister which is called ‘“‘Solomon’s Porch ;”
and it may safely be regarded as the entrance through which our Lord
passed in and out of the Temple on the several occasions recorded by the
Evangelists.

THE MOUNT OF OLIVES.
(AS SEEN FROM THE EASTERN SLOPE OF ZION.)

In this instance the eye is directed toward the north-east. The two
eminences to which, in common, the name ““ Mount of Olives” is assigned,
fill the distance—the furthermost, overlooking the valley beyond the city,
northwards ; and the nearer, which directly overhangs the Temple, is
crowned by the Church of the Ascension. Immediately beneath, and in
front of these hills, as here seen, are—the southern end of the Haram wall ;
within it, the west front of the mosque El Aksa, and below these a portion
of the city wall. The buildings in shadow, on the left hand, belong fo this
wall, at the part where they enclose Zion, and not far from the Zion Gate,
and in the neighbourhood of the Armenian convent.

The reader’s understanding of the topography, at this spot, will be aided
by a reference to the Plate, Vol. I. p. xx., Ex Aksa and THE WALL, from
the Brow of Zion.

6 GREAT MOSQUE AT HEBRON.

EASTERN ENTRANCE OF THE GREAT MOSQUE AT
HEBRON.

Tus Mosque is one of the most remarkable antiquities in Palestine, and
especially so, as it connects itself, in the peculiar style of its masonry, with
those substructures at Jerusalem to which the reader's attention has already
been invited.

In this view the southern front of this spacious structure, in length more
than 200 feet, is seen in perspective, and abutting upon it are buildings—
some of Saracenic, and some of Norman origin. The ancient portion of
the Mosque is readily distinguished from all abutting upon, or near it : this
ancient work is the buttress projection and wall, showing the regular
masonry with its bevelled joinings. A similar buttress sustains each
corner of this quadrangular building, within which the mosque itself is
situated. The walls are of such strength and height as to render the
enclosure, in fact, a fortress ; and it has actually served this purpose in past
times. The unusual incivility, or it might be said fanaticism, of the
Moslem population of Hebron, has hitherto almost prevented any careful
examination even of the exterior of the building, and has of course barred
the entrance to. the interior against Franks and infidels. And yet, on
grounds of very probable reasoning, this interior, and the cavern or vaults
of the substructure, may be assumed to conserve indications, or even actual
remains, of the most remote eras. Within this quadrangle, not improbably,
is that “cave of Machpelah ” to which the bodies of Abraham, of Sarah, of
Isaac, and of Jacob, were consigned. Although the climate, the soil, and
other conditions of the spot, be far less favourable to the conservation of
embalmed bodies than are the sepulchral chambers of Egypt, yet is it
credible that, even here, the art of the embalmer may so far have triumphed
over time, as to have withheld from utter dissolution these remains of the
dead. Nor need it be thought wholly unlikely that what ought to be
regarded as immeasurably more valuable than the bones of the patriarchs —
namely, some inscriptions of that age, engraven with “an iron pen in the rock
for ever,” may here have held their integrity, and may still remain to yield
a testimony to the truth of sacred history, available for important purposes
in “these last days.”

It is at Hebron, as well as at Jerusalem, when Moslem ignorance and
iealousy shall have passed away from the land, that European diligence and
learning will almost certainly recover, for the benefit of the human family,
some substantial and incontestable corroborations of early Bible history.
The borders of the Nile have already yielded their treasures in this way.
Those of the Tigris and Euphrates are now doing the like; and the
caverns of Palestine will at last give up their so long hidden attestations to
the same purpose. Dr. Olin, in describing this mosque, says :—

VIEW FROM THE MOUNT OF OLIVES. οἱ

“I conjectured that the largest of the stones employed in constructing the
walls might be twenty feet in length, and that the quadrangle must be about
200 feet long, by half that breadth. The construction is exceedingly massive,
and has an ancient appearance. Square pillars, half imbedded in the ancient ᾿
wall, extend all around the building, sixteen on each side, and eight upon |
either end. They are surmounted by a sort of entablature, which runs all
around the edifice. The height of the wall has been increased, by an
addition ten or fifteen feet high, in the Saracenic style, with turrets at the
angles. The whole height may be fifty feet. We approached the main
entrance by a broad and noble flight of marble steps."—T'ravels tn Egypt, §c.
vol. ii, p. 78.

VIEW FROM 'THE MOUNT OF OLIVES.

THE spot whence this glimpse of the waters of the Dead Sea may be
caught, is at, or near to, the summit of the Mount of Olives—above the Church
of the Ascension, and parallel with the northern end of the Haram, and of
course, therefore, the view is taken in the contrary direction—eastward. The
mountains of Moab skirt the prospect, in this instance, as they do in the
view of ANATHOTH, in that of the Poois or SoLomon, and in that of
Masapa, Vol. I. p. 126. This range, nearly uniform in its contour and
elevation, bounds the prospect, eastward, from all the high grounds of southern
Palestine, through a distance of nearly 100 miles, north and south. The
building on the right hand is a ruined tomb (wely) similar to many with
which monkish traditions have connected Scripture names.

The summit of the Mount of Olives has been reckoned to be 2,397 feet
above the level of the Mediterranean. Again, the Dead Sea is now
declared to be depressed not Jess than 1,312 feet below that level. Con-
sequently, there is a difference of about 3,700 feet between this summit and
the surface of the sea. The eastern shores of the sea, as seen in this view,
are upwards of twenty miles in a direct line from the summit of Olivet, and
there intervenes the ridge of hills, running south from Jericho to the Dead
Sea, at the point where the wady of the Kedron finds its exit. That these
waters should, under these conditions, be visible at all from Olivet, is what
would not have seemed probable. That they are so is certain ; but whether
constantly may be a question ; as also, whether, when visible, this is not
an optical accident, attributable to the refractive power of an atmosphere
more dense, perhaps, than any other through which terrestrial objects are
any where seen.

This conjecture may seem to receive support from what is mentioned
by a recent traveller, Dr. Wilson, who, in describing the prospect from the
roof of the Greek convent at Bethlehem, says—-“‘ Of the deep basin of the

cil THE POOLS OF SOLOMON.

Dead Sea we had a good view ; and we even thought that we saw the
surface of the waters, till, on using our telescope, we found that we had
been labouring under an ocular illusion, arising from the exhalations, and
the consequent haziness of the atmosphere.”— Lands of the Bible,
vol. i. p. 895.

‘From the Valley of Jehoshaphat,” says Benjamin of Tudela, “the
traveller immediately ascends the Mount of Olives, as this walley only
intervenes between the city and the mount, from which the Dead Sea is
clearly seen.” It is not quite certain whether what follows comes in as
a parenthesis merely. ‘Two parasangs from the sea stands the salt pillar
into which Lot’s wife was metamorphosed, and although the sheep con-
tinually lick it, the pillar grows again, and retains its original state.” Then
he ssys—as if returning to the Mount of Olives—“ You have a prospect
upon the whole valley of the Dead Sea, and of the brook of Shittim, even as
far as Mount N’bo.”

THE POOLS OF SOLOMON.

Tuessz remarkable structures are found at el-Burak, a station on the
usual route from Hebron to Jerusalem, and at the distance of about six
miles from the Holy City. The direction of sight, in this view, is north-
east by east. The continuous line of the mountains of Moab, beyond the
Dead Sea, as it is here scen, are at a distance of about thirty miles. The
northern end of the sea intervenes, therefore, between these mountains and
the heights next below them, which are those that wall-in the sea on its
western shores; or rather, they are the inland swells which abruptly ter-
minate on these shores.

The little Bethlehem, on its hill top, justs shows itself on the left hand,
among these swells, bearing north-east from the point of sight ; on the
‘extreme right, the summit of the Frank Mountains, (Herodium, Vol. I.
p. 144,) is just discernible. A wide level occupies the mid-distance, on the
skirts of which, and tending upwards, are the three pools; and near to the
lowest of them a dilapidated fort or enclosure, which perhaps should be
called a caravanserai, affording shelter to cattle, to the wandering Bedouin,
or toa Turkish guard. These Pools, the lining of which indicates a high
antiquity, are of ample dimensions ; the lower and the larger pool measuring,
according to Dr. Robinson, 582 feet in length, by 207 in width, at one end,
and 148 at the other. ‘The depth is estimated at 50 feet. Lord Nugent's
measurements are (of the lower and largest pool) 589 feet by 169, and 47,
depth to the water’s edge. He thus describes the mode in which these tanks
receive and transmit their accumulations. ‘The water escapes by passages
which time has worn through the hill, and below the conduits intended for

“NOWOTOS {0 S100d ZHL

VAULT BENEATH EL AKSA. Cill

it, into the gush beneath. Above the highest of the three, the water is
supplied from a small chamber of masonry, a ‘sealed fountain,’ with a narrow
entrance that has the appearance of having been closed with a stone door. |
Into this building rush several streams, conducted from springs that rise
among the several surrounding hills, and flowing still in, probably, as much
abundance as when the conduits were first made."— Lunds, Class. and Sac.

Benjamin of Tudela, speaking of the country around Bethlehem, says,
that it “abounds with rivulets, wells, and springs of water.”

These artificial pools, thus receiving their supply of water from natural
springs, send it forward through stone channels. The intention of them, there-
fore, obviously is, to head up and reserve this natural supply, so as that, when
conveyed through its conduits to Jerusalem, it should be equable in quality,
as well as free from the sediment which the three pools in succession would
detain—for they range one above the other so as to subserve this purpose.
A well-laid canal carried this supply in a tortuous course to the reservoirs
of Jerusalem : it passed on the northern slope of the Hill of Evil Counsel,
into the Valley of Hinnom, to its exit in the Upper Pool of Gihan. See
Vol. I. p. lvii.

VAULT BENEATH EL AKSA.

“Ir has already been stated (Vol. I. p. xiv. and onward) that the sketches
made by Mr. Tipping of the vaults and passages beneath the Mosque, were
executed under circumstances of imminent peril, even of life ; or at least,
with the momentary expectation, that every stroke of his pencil would
be the last permitted to him on the spot. Nevertheless, in providing himself
as he did, with accurate measurements of the vaults, and of the principal
architectural elements which diversify them, he secured the means of
afterwards reducing his sketches to perspective consistency and truth
of outline. In the present instance, what might have been effected by such
a revision of the sketch taken on the spot, is shown in the Outline Plate
appended to the finished Plate. <A point of sight has been assumed in the
outline a few feet more advanced toward the window, than in the finished
Plate ; and also somewhat nearer to the side of the vault. The central
column, the proportions of witch are too slender (according to the measure-
ments, p. xxiv), not only shows a greater bulk, as proportioned to its height ;
but, by difference of position relatively to the eye, it hides the extremity of
the passage on the right hand.

To understand this view of the vault, the reader should turn to the
Plates, Vol. 1. which relate to the same; and first to the PLAN OF THE
VaULts, Ὁ. xxiv. The Plate now before us exhibits the objects seen from
the position marked by the arrow D, and which is opposite to that marked

cay VAULT BRNRATH EL AKSA.

by the arrow C, shown in the Pilate, p. lx. Vautrep Hat. beneath
ἘΠ Aksa; the same central column, seen on its opposite sides, occupying
nearly the centre of each Plate, and in this lest the position.of the spectator
in the former, is with his back to the low wall which intercepts the passage
on the right hand.

The objects seen in this present Plate (from—D,) are also shown in the
view of the VauLTep Passacsz, where they are in miniature, at the remote
extremity of the passage. We next turn to the upright subject—Emnrrance
To THE VAULT, which shows the objects as seen from A, in the Plan. The
light falling upon the central column is what is admitted from the latticed
window in the Plate beforeus. The Doustz Arcrwar, p. xxii. is exterior
to the Ewrraxcg, or rather, it supposes the spectator to have receded
a few feet from A, far enough to bring the external surface of the wall
within his view.

The attached Outline Plate shows some points that are important to be
noted, as characteristic of these vaults and passages, and which are less
clearly defined in the finished Plates. Midway between the pilasters, in the
right-hand wall, the stones of an outer and of an inner lining have fallen
from their places, thus bringing to light—deep seated, cyclopean masonry,
marked—a a, manifestly belonging to the most remote age. This is over-
laid by the coating—b Ὁ, whether it was placed where it is originally, or at
@ subsequent period. But then over this, is the thickness of masonry—c ¢,
which constitutes the now visible wall throughout the vaults. And yet
this later work exhibits also the labours of a still later era. In the lower
ranges, and in places, the bevelled joinings, characteristic of the Jewish
style of building, are still visible; but higher up, and throughout the
general surface, an inch or two of this surface has been chiselled away,
in order to give a little relief to the pilasters—d d dd.

Now these pilasters, very clearly, have a decorative meaning only, and
are, architecturally, part and parcel of the arches and groined work of the
roof. Then, again, the slender Corinthian columns, seen at the entrance,
claim a later date than even the arches of the roof.

To trace, then, the architectural history of these vaults and passages
retrogressively, we find, as the most recent portions of the whole, these
columns, which are ante-Saracenic, and which may have belonged to the
decorative restorations effected by Justinian. Next in order is the roof,
with its arches and groins, and which seems to be a Roman work, whether
of Hadrian’s or of Herod's time, and to which period belongs the chiselling
away of the more ancient masonry. Beyond this, is found that masonry
which itself is a crust upon an interior and anterior work ; and whether this
(b b and a a) is of one era, or of two, is not certain. On the whole, it seems
difficult, if indeed it be possible, to interpret these heterogeneous remains on
any intelligible supposition—or by means of any series of suppositions, which
does not allow to the tnterior structure an antiquity as remote as the history
of the Jewish people will admit, or which it may demand.

POOL OF BETHESDA, . ον

GAZA.

Gaza, one of the most populous and important towns of Palestine, is also
one of those concerning which no doubt can be entertained as to its history.
Throughout the lapse of ages, from the remotest eras of the Hebrew nation
onward to modern times, Gaza is the same. This place, at present con-
taining a variable population of about fifteen thousand souls, is situated on

low eminence, spreading its scattered buildings upon the plains around it.
The town stands under the shelter of a range of hills toward the east, which
run in an almost unbroken line, parallel to the coast, and at rather more
than an hour’s distance from it. This line of hills forms the background of
the view seen in the Plate.

The soil of the narrow track of land between the hills to the east, and
a line of sandy ridges toward the coast, is very fertile, and supplies, not the
town merely, but the caravans which pass this way, with every variety of
fruit, and in the highest perfection. An extensive olive grove fills the plain
northward from the city ; while gardens and palm-trees adorn and enrich its
suburbs. It offers however but few monuments of antiquity to gratify the
curiosity of the European traveller ; the remains of its former structures
meeting the eye only in some broken columns, lying about, or converted to
ignoble purposes in the construction of the modern buildings.

Two mosques show their minarets in the view, which, however, does not
embrace the more extensive quarter of the town. Everywhere the prickly
pear luxuriates, and effectively hedges in many of the gardens.

POOL OF BETHESDA :

So denominated by those who have taken upon themselves the task of
determining “the sacred sites” of the Holy City. The spacious excavation
here represented runs along the northern wall of the Haram enclosure, from
its eastern side, to a distance of about 360 feet. The spectator in this view
is standing just within that northern prolongation of the Haram wall which
extends from the corner of the quadrangle to St. Stephen’s Gate; he is,
therefore, looking in a direction nearly due west; or toward the Latin
Convent. In the view of the NortH-East Corner, the eye crosses the
ground whence this view was taken; and this connects itself also, as to
proximity, with the portion of the wall shown in that Plate. This foase
measures 130 feet in width; its depth, beneath the general level of the
surface, and if measured down to the average level of the bottom, irregularly
filled as it is with rubbish—the accumulation of ages, is about 75 feet.
h

evi TIBERIAS, AND THE LAKE.

There is a drainage of water at the bottom, surrounded with a growth of the
prickly pear, and with some garden produce. A lining of stone, covered
with plaster, on the walls, indicates that the cavity was in fact a reservoir ;
and not improbably it supplied the adjoining Fort Antonia. The wall on the
right hand shows in parts the ancient masonry found throughout in the
substructures of the Haram wall. The lofty archways, seen at the extremity,
are assumed by the monks to be two of the “ Five Porches” which belonged
to the “ Pool.”

This is one of those spots in the Holy City where an extensive and
leisurely exploration, carried on under the eye and control of English
scholars, might probably reward cost and labour. There is little risk in
advancing the conjecture that beneath the surface-rubbish, which has been
accumulating during centuries, and which, probably, has never been dis-
turbed, the massive materials that were dislodged by the Roman crow-bar,
after the taking of the City, still lie, waiting their time. Among these stones,
thrown from their places, would almost certainly be found arms, accoutre-
ments, and coins—Jewish and Roman, the bringing to light of which might
subserve purposes more important than that of gratifying antiquarian
curiosity.

TIBERIAS, AND THE LAKE.

Tue “ Sea of Galilee,” which by its sacred associations so much kindles
the enthusiasm of the Christian traveller, has too often—almost always, been
presented to the eye of those who do not travel, in a manner which a better
and more truthful feeling must condemn. This inland water is not
a Westmoreland lake; nor is it a Swiss, nor an Italian lake. In an
instance such as this, what we want is not picturesque effect; but the bare
truth of representation. The artist’s best skill is shown in forgetting his
skill—his skill in making up effects—and in giving us the actual forms and
aspect of the spot. To convey to the mind the drear and rugged features,
and the dead and sombre hues of this landscape, with the sof Alpine contour
of its boundary heights, should be his aim. The sublimity of this scene is
that which it derives from the evangelic record :—its beauty, in the eye of
the Christian traveller, is that with which his own profound emotions invest
it. The unadorned features of the Sea of Tiberias are, it is believed,
faithfully presented in the Plates—Vol. I. MagpaLa—Tue Hot Barus or
TiBERIAS—TARIOHZA—REMAINS OF A THEATRE, and in the Plate now
before us.

The point of view, in this instance, is from a spot about a mile distant
from the town, bearing nearly south from it, and the direction of the eye is
N. W. by N., that is to say, toward the snowy heights of Jebel esh Sheikh—

THE JEWS PLACE OF WAILING. ΟΥ̓

Mount Hermon—which here rise over the hills surrounding the lake, ἃ little
to the right of the centre of the view. This lofty range is seen at the direct
distance of nearly fifty miles. The dark sweep of hills to the right is the
eastern wall of this crater ; and which is much more rugged and barren than
the western side. Through the gorge, marked by the slope on which the
light falls, the Jordan enters the lake. Among the slopes to the left, are
the supposed sites of Magdala, and Capernaum ; and on the extreme left is
Safed. It is rather less than two-thirds of the length of the lake, or about
nine miles, that is seen in this view.

A solitary sail catches the eye upon this expanse, which, in the times of
the Gospel history, was crowded with fishing vessels, and sometimes ruffled
by the thousand oars of a Roman fleet.

The town of Tiberias, desolate as it had long been, now exhibits the
added desolations that were caused by the earthquake of 1832. Its wall,
however, still stands. It contains a synagogue, a Christian church, and
ἃ mosque, and affords such accommodation to the traveller as he may be
willing to accept, at the cost of nights of torture, to be endured within the
realm of the “ king of the fleas.”

TRIPOLI AND CASTLE.

TRIPOLI, touching near upon the northern border of the land given to the
Israelitish people, is one of those places on the Syrian coast which has held
its notoriety in history, continuously, from the earliest historic period,
down to modern times. Three cities, or boroughs—as its name indicates,
adjoined each other in ancient times ;—the three probably commanded by
the hill which is presented in this view, and the position of which would
give its occupants entire military sway over the surrounding towns and
country. Its maritime advantages (at least in the present state of the
coast) are not great ; but they are sufficient to render it a centre of some
foreign trade. The Castle and town stand back from the sea, about a mile.
The elevation, whence this view was taken, commands a reach of the coast
southward as far as to the headland of Beyroot ; and toward the left, the
ranges of Lebanon—a fair prospect always, and whencesoever seen.

THE JEWS’ PLACE OF WAILING.

By comparing several Plates given in the course of this work, and which
have already been described, the reader will understand what is the relative
position of the area, represented in this Plate, and where the Jew of modern

h2

evil THE JEWS PLACE OF WAILING.

times has been permitted to. buy, from year to year, a licence to moisten
with his tears the stones of the “ Beautiful House” of his ancestors.

The Piate first to be referred to for the purpose of this topographic
explication, is the outline—Ex Axsa, and the Watt from the Brow of
Zion, Vol. I. p. xx. ; in which the southern extremity of the Haram wall, on
ite western side, confronts the eye ; and in which the spring-stones are seen
in their general position. Low Turkish buildings abut upon the wall on
the left hand. These buildings are seen in front, and the same wall in
perspective in the finished Plate—Remaixs Or aw ARCH, springing from
the Haram wall (west): a front view of which is shown in the outline
Plate—ELEVATION OF THE WALL AND SPRIXG-STONES, p. xxv. The Jews’
“Place of Wailing,” is a narrow paved court, commencing a few paces on
from the rear of the Turkish buildings, just above mentioned, and three
times that distance south of the Prircrpat Ewtrancs, already shown.
The spire seen surmounting the wall in that Plate, here shows itself over
the angle of the wall, and in the direction of sight. In some recent
representations an attempt has been made, as is very usual, to invest this
spot with the “sublime” in pictorial effect. Let it be enough to show it
as tt is, invested with the true sublimity which attaches to it when regarded
in its simple historic significance.

It should be noticed, that the pavement of this area—the Place of Wailing
—is on a level many feet below that of the interior plateau of the Haram.
The first, second, and third ranges of stones, counting upwards, as seen in this
view, indicate the level to which they belong, as compared with the Plates,
Vol. I. which exhibit the southern extremity of this same western wall ;
and in the Outline it is seen that the Mosque, El Aksa, stands on higher
ground, considerably. This becomes evident in referring to the view
of the DousLe Arcu, p. xxii., showing the entrance to the vaults be-
neath the mosque ; this entrance being on a level with the Spring-Stones ;
and between the pavement of the outer vault, and the general surface of
the Haram courts, there intervene two flights of steps—one at the
entrance, as here seen, and one at the further extremity; as well as
the height of the vault, which is about thirty-five feet. A very careful
examination of the surface of the stones, and of the joinings, would be
necessary in order to determine, with any certainty, the level beneath
which the Cyclopean masonry may be regarded as having been unmoved
‘throughout all time,” and above which it may be thought that the original
materials have been replaced in later times. Such a line—higher and
lower at different places, would, on the spot now before us, be drawn through
the joint dividing the fourth from the fifth range of stones ; some portions of
this fifth range seeming to belong to the ancient masonry. On this suppo-
sition, which is confirmed, as we have seen, by examination of the eastern
and southern Haram walls, the overthrow and the upturning effected by the
Roman legions, at the command of Titus, reached down some way below
the visible level of the Temple buildings, and of its surrounding courts and

MASADA. ΟΙΧ

porches. It is true, therefore, that the wailing Jew, as he stands moistening
these stones with his tears, touches, with his trembling and clammy hand,
the very work of his remote ancestors :—the present general level of the
surface around the Haram brings the modern 'Jew exactly upon the
range which historically belongs to him; while it keeps him far beneath
that level which exhibits and attests the fulfilment of their Messiah’s
prediction.

CONJECTURAL VIEW OF THE VIADUCT, AS IN THE TIME
OF HEROD.

In a lengthened note, descriptive and explanatory (Vol. I. pp. xxv.—xxix.)
of the Plate representing THE REMAINS OF AN ARCH, the probable posi-
tion and use of the “ Bridge,” mentioned by Josephus, has been shown.
It has there also been stated, as probable in the highest degree which stops
short of direct demonstration, that the spring-stones exhibited in that Plate,
are the actual commencements of the first of these arches, which must have
given support to the viaduct. In offering to the reader's notice this
conjectural Plate, nothing more is intended than to show—on the suppo-
sition that the ancient bridge did bestride the Tyropeon at this spot—how
it would connect the courts of the Temple with the opposite slope of Zion.
In this instance no ambitious attempt has been made to embody such
conceptions as might easily be formed of the architecture of this bridge.
A general idea only of the aspect which it might present, as seen from the
turn of the valley, is aimed at. Beyond and above the viaduct, the heights
of Acra and Bezetha are dimly indicated. On the left hand, and in shadow,
as when the sun is declining, is the eastern declivity of Zion; and at the
point where the viaduct abuts upon this slope, would run the covered
colonnade and terrace, or Xystus, whence Agrippa harangued the Jews
during the siege, as they crowded the opposite colonnades and roofs of the
Temple. At present the deep valley which these arches span, is filled
with the materials of the Temple and city—consolidated in the lapse of
ages by the soil and rubbish that has been washed on to the surface, and
which has sunk into it from year to year. Here again is a spot where
explorations would most surely yield a rich product of Jewish and Roman
antiquities.

MASADA.

THREE views of this remarkable spot—a spot never before pictorially
represented, are now presented to the reader. We first turn to the Plate,
Vol. I. p. 126, Masapa, THE Deap Sea, AND THE Mountains oF Moas.

cx MASADA.

In this view the direction of sight is nearly ἀπ east, and the spectator
occupies ἃ crag of the lofty ridge, west of the Dead Sea, which, at this level,
branches off toward the desert. The traveller, therefore, has now reached
the rim of that vast crater, the depths of which—the awful bituminous
abyse—are concealed by the dense waters of this sea. Opposite to him are
the Mountains of Moab—a more southerly part of the range which is seen
from the summit of Olivet. Beneath this range, and spreading iteelf out
into the sea, far toward the western shore, is a remarkable peninsula of low
level, covered, for the most part, with a saline incrustation, as if with snow.
On thia, that is to say the western side of the sea, and at the distance of
about seven miles from the heights on which the spectator stands, the
precipitous Masada rises from near the margin of the sea. Between this
rock and the foreground, there stretches out, in hideous confusion, the
jagged ridges, the feet of which, following the general declivity, reach the sea.

The Plate next to be referred to is the one that appeared in the
Prospectus, and which is here brought into its place. The direction of
sight in this view is north-east by east. A portion therefore of the sea,
with the mountains beyond, is seen on the right hand; and on the left in
the extreme distance, the summits of the same range.

A wintry torrent—Wady Senein, finds its way through the ravine in
front of the hill, and between it and the precipices, among which the
spectator stands. A less considerable watercourse is seen on the left hand,
winding its way through the clefts of the rocks, and delivering its volume,
(during the rainy season) at a leap, to join itself with the larger stream
in the depth below.

Upon a somewhat level space to the left of the cleft, just mentioned, there
occur indications of military works, in a sort of gridiron figure. Indications
still more distinct are found in two other places ; one on the level near the
shore, and another on the opposite side of the hill, and at a spot just beyond
the escarped rocks, to the left, in this Plate. Both travellers in this
instance—Mr. Tipping and his companion Mr. Wolcott, thought them-
selves warranted in regarding these remains as marking the sites of the
encampments of the Roman legions under Flavius Silva. In exhibiting the
remarkable features of this hill, pains have been taken to show, -not merely
its picturesque aspect, but geologically its structure—the red limestone
resting upon the chalk. The front, represented in this Plate, is the most
precipitous of the three, if not the loftiest.

We now turn to the large Plate—Masapa: North Front. The
direction of sight is here south-east. The portion of the sea which appears
on the left hand, is the extreme recess or bay, formed by the promontory
already mentioned. The distant mountains, therefore, are those of Gebal.

Near to the sharp summit of the hill, as seen in this view, there are
traces of what may be regarded as the defences which the desperate
company under Eleazar either availed themselves of, or constructed, with
the hope of maintaining their position against the Roman legions.

MASADA. ΟΧῚ

In its bearing upon the History of THe JEwisH War, and upon the
credit due to Josephus, a very high importance must be allowed to attach
to the subject now before us ; nor should it be thought strange if a traveller,
whose errand in Palestine was to illustrate, by his pencil, the writings of the
Jewish historian, should congratulate himself, or should be warmly con-
gratulated by his friends, when he finds himself the first traveller in
modern times who, at leisure, has examined so signal a spot ; and the first,
certainly, to lay them pictorially before the world.

The charge of “exaggeration,” especially in what relates to magnitude, has
been more often made than substantiated, as the besetting sin of Josephus. He
has no doubt erred on this side, in some few instances ; but in others, where
the same imputation has been thrown upon him, that better acquaintance
with Palestine which modern researches have put within our reach, has
served to restore his credit as a well-informed and an exact reporter of topo-
graphic facts. We have a remarkable instance of this sort now before us.

The terrific catastrophe of the Jewish War—or its last awful suicidal
slaugliter—was transacted, as related by our author, upon the summit of a
rocky pile, situated on the western shore of the Asphaltic lake. This almost
inaccessible height had been rendered, as it was thought, impregnable by
Herod: who had not only fortified, but had furnished it also, at a vast cost,
as a last retreat for himself, should the turbulence of the Jewish people,
or rather his own ferocious treatment of them, drive him, like the hunted
tiger, to his lair. Josephus describes this steep with unusual particularity,
and it will be found that his description of it is well sustained by that to
which we now invite the reader’s attention.

The surrounding region is the most wildly rugged imaginable, and has at
all times been the home and haunt of the most ruthless of the Bedouin
tribes, who thence have sallied forth to wage war upon whoever was not
too strong for them. Dr. Robinson, as it ‘seems, was the first of modern
travellers to indicate, or conjecturally to identify, this eminence as the
“Masada ” of Josephus ; but he did not visit it. From his position at Ain
Jeddy, and at the distance of fourteen miles, he descried it with his glass:
inviting toward it the attention of future travellers. Bib. Res. vol.ii. p. 240.

It was this intimation that led Mr. Tipping to deviate from the ordinary
route of travellers visiting the Dead Sea ; and, m fact, tomake an excursion
from Jerusalem for the express purpose of ‘discovering, exploring, and
delineating this spot. In company with Mr. Wolcott, the American mis-
sionary, he set out, March 7th, 1842, and both employed themselves
diligently, during more than a week, in accomplishing the object of their
journey. Mr. Tipping’s account of this exploration will best bring the
scene before the mind of the reader ; he says :-—

«Αἱ 10.15 we reached the Wady Seyal, at the line between the last two
divisions, where it breaks down into a magnificent chasm. Ascending
its southern bank, we came in three-quarters of an hour to the brow of

a hill, from which we had our first view of Sebbeh, bearing east, still two

Cxil MASADA.

miles distant. Descending the steep declivity by a zigzag path, end
crossing slopes of a burnt aspect, we reached about noon the western base
of the Rock of Sebbeh, where we are now encamped. The declivity which -
we descended introduced us to scenery of which the pass of Ain Jedy will
give you a fuir idea. Rocky precipices of a rich reddish-brown colour
surrounded us ; and before us, across a scorched and desolate tract, were the
cliff of Sebbeh with its ruins ; the adjacent heights with rugged defiles
between, and the Dead Sea lying motionless in its bed beneath. The
aspect of the whole was that of a lonely and stern grandeur. The Rock
of Sebbeh is opposite to the peninsula, and is itself separated from the
water's edge by a shoal or sand-bank, two or three miles in width, from
north to south. This extends out, on the northern side of the cliff, which
projects beyond the mountain range. The mountains on the south are in
a line with it, and of the same height, and it is separated from them by the
deep and precipitous Wady Sinein. On the west, a smaller wady separates
it from more moderate hills, above which it rises. Its insulation is thus
complete. We encamped at the western base; and after resting a little
made the ascent from the same side, and accomplished it without difficulty,
using occasionally both bands and feet, and proceeding at the steepest point
on an embankment which remains. This is the only spot where the rock can
now be climbed ; the pass on the east, described by Josephus, seems to have
been swept away. The language of that historian respecting the loftiness of
the site is not very extravagant. It requires firm nerves to stand upon the
verge of its steepest sides, and look directly down. The depth at these points
cannot be less than a thousand feet, and we thought it more. The highest
points of the rock are on the north, and the south-west ; the ground sloping
in a gentle wady towards the south-east corner. The whole area we
estimated at three-quarters of a mile in length, from north to south, and
a third of a mile in breadth. There are no traces of vegetation, except in
the bottoms of some of the open cisterns. On approaching the rock from
the west, the ‘white promontory, as Josephus appropriately calle it, is
seen on this side near the northern end. This is the point where the siege
was pressed and carried; and here we ascended. Both before and after the
ascent we observed the ‘ wall built round about the entire top of the hill by
king Herod ;’ all the lower part of which remains. Its colour was the
same dark red as the rock, though it is said to have been ‘composed of
white stone ;’ but on breaking the stone, it appeared that it was naturally
whitish, and had been burnt brown by the sun. In the existing foundations
we could trace only the general outlines of the structures which Josephus
describes. The peculiar form of some, composed of long parallel rooms,
indicated that they had been store-houses or barracks, rather than private
dwellings. The architecture, both of the wall and of the buildings, was of
one kind, consisting of rough stones quarried probably on the summit, laid
loosely together, and the interstices filled in with small pieces of stone. It
had the appearance of cobbled work. We thought, at first, it could hardly

MASADA. Cxill

be the work of Herod ; but there can be no doubt that it is so. The stone
is of the most durable kind, and there are no traces of more ancient work ;
and these would be almost the only materials accessible in such a spot.
Near the head of the ascent is a modern ruin, consisting chiefly of a gate-
way of square hewn stones, with a pointed arch. We saw no other archi-
tecture which we thought to be of the same age. Near this is a small
building with a circular recess in the eastern wall of its principal room.
Forty or fifty feet below the northern summit are the foundations of
a round tower, to which we did not attempt to descend. Near by are
windows cut in the rock, with their sides whitened, probably belonging to
some large cistern now covered up. We found a cistern excavated in the
south-west corner of the rock, with similar windows in its southern end at
the top, and with a descent to a doorway in the top of its northern end,
from which a flight of steps descends into the cistern itself. It is nearly
fifty feet deep, a hundred long, and forty broad ; and its walls are still
covered with a white cement, which served us for an album. The other
cisterns that we saw were not large ; and some of them were still covered
over with small round arches. Fragments of pottery lay scattered on the
surface of the rock. But the relic which perhaps interested us the most,
was without the rock, on the ground below. Josephus says, that the
Roman general ‘built a wall quite around the entire fortress.’ As we
stood on the summit of the rock, we could trace every part of that wall,
earried along the low ground, and, wherever it met a precipice, commencing
again on the high summit above; thus making the entire circuit of the
place. Connected with it, at intervals, were the walls of the Roman camps,
built as described by Josephus in his chapter on the Roman armies and
camps. The principal camps were opposite the north-west and south-east
corners; the former being the spot where Josephus places that of the
Roman general. The outline of the works, as seen from the heights above,
is as complete as if they had been but recently abandoned. We afterwards
examined the wall in places ; and found it six feet broad, and built like the
walls above, but more rudely. It had of course crumbled, and was
probably never high. It brought the siege before us with an air of reality ;
and recalled to our minds, as we looked upon it, the awful immolation which
had taken place on the spot where we stood. It was also a stupendous
illustration of the Roman perseverance that subdued the world, which could
sit down so deliberately, in such a desert, and commence a siege with such
a work ; and, I may add, which could scale such a fortress. We found
among the rocks below a round stone, which had probably been hurled from
a catapult. We launched, by way of diversion, some of the large stones
from the original wall towards the Dead Sea; none of which reached the
Roman lines, half a mile or more distant ; though some of them stopped not
far short, making the most stupendous bounds. I was desirous of making
the circuit of the rock. The declivity which we had descended in reaching
it left us on an offset of the mountain, still several hundred feet above the

ΟΧῚΥ͂ MASADA.

sea. The Wady which runs on the west of the cliff, is on this elevation.
But at the extremities of the rock, the ground suddenly breaks down into
deep fissures, and soon reaches the lower level. I followed the above Wady
southwards ; and found that the cleft which forms the southern boundary of
the rock, was a perpendicular descent from it. The south-west corner of
the rock forms a kind of bastion, opposite to which the side of the Wady is
shelving. Descending here carefully, I reached the bottom, walled in on
three sides by rocky ramparts, their sombre craggy peaks frowning above,
while torn and disjointed masses from them strewed the bed of the valley.
I followed this chasm, descending steeply east by north, and in an hour
from leaving the tent had not reached the east side of the rock ; when I was
arrested by the shouts of our Arabs on the cliff behind me, calling and
beckoning to me to return. The reason I soon discovered in the appearance
of three wild Bedawin with clubs, whom they had noticed, who accosted me
with a demand for a bakhshish ; which however they showed no disposition
to enforce. This of course put an end to further observations in that
quarter—fortunately, perhaps, as in any event the circuit would have been
longer and more fatiguing than I had contemplated. It was one of the
most interesting circumstances connected with Sebbeh, that it commanded
a complete view of the Dead Sea, which lay beneath us in its length and
breadth. We spread the map before us ; and were struck with its general
accuracy. The peninsula appears to the eye as a flat sand-bank, in striking
contrast with the bold mountains which tower above it. Though furrowed
by the waters, it is still a plain. We remained at Sebbeh until March 15th;
our Arabs having been kept contented the last day by a feast upon a Beden,
shot on the top of the rock. Our own supplics were getting low. We had
been informed that there was water near; but could obtain it only from the
collections which the recent rains had left in the hollows of the rocks ; con-
firming the remark of Josephus, that water as well as food was brought
hither to the Roman army from a distance.”

This remarkable spot, therefore, as thus described and delineated, may now
with advantage be thought of as bearing out those statements and those de-
scriptions of Masada which we find in Tue Jewish War. Confidently it may
be affirmed that in few instances where topographical identity is in question,
have modern researches better sustained the testimony of an ancient writer
than they do in this instance. It is manifest that Josephus must personally,
and at leisure, have made himself acquainted with this spot :—he had visited
it—whether previously to the fall of his country, or afterwards ; and in this
case, 88 in others which have come before us, he proves himself to have
been conversant with the facts he has to do with—observant of details, and
quite as trustworthy in his reports of them as ancient writers generally are.

Josephus was not familiar, as modern travellers are, with the vastness
of Alpine scenery, and therefore he was not prepared to usec measured terms
in speaking of heights and depths, such as those of Palestine. Those who,
on their way to Palestine, sojourn in Switzerland, have already spent their

POOL OF THE VIRGIN. CXV

stock of wonder, and have quite exhausted their stores of hyperbolic phrases.
But Josephus, when he speaks of chasms on either hand that inspire terror in
the boldest minds, and of ‘‘ depths which the eye cannot measure,” speaks
as one does who has been conversant only with precipices of a thousand or
of twelve hundred feet ; nor is it equitable, when he does so, to accuse him
of indulging a habit of culpable exaggeration. Masada and its remains
must be allowed to corroborate, in a very remarkable manner, the averments
of the author of the “ Wars of the Jews.”

POOL OF THE VIRGIN.

Tas well, or pool, occurs upon the rocky slope of Ophel, at the distance
of about 300 yards from the south side of the Haram, and nearly
opposite the middle point of the wall. This excavation, and the structures
attaching to it, indicate a remote antiquity. What is presented in this plate
is the platform, or stone-paved stage, which is reached after descending
sixteen steps from the external entrance. The female figure, with her
pitcher, is seated on the edge of a flight of ten steps leading to the surface
of the water.

The remarkable fact has already been adverted to, Vol. L p. lvii., that
Jerusalem, situated as it is upon an elevated mountainous tract, almost
destitute of natural springs, has nevertheless, at all times, enjoyed an ample
and never-failing supply of water. The known sources of this supply have
also been named ; and the supposition has been advanced that, in accord-
ance with a traditionary belief, a copious natural spring rises deep within
the temple enclosure. Notwithstanding its improbability, this supposition
has acquired support from explorations made not long ago by Mr. Wolcott
on the one side of the Haram, and by him, Dr. Robinson, and Mr. Tipping
on the other.

The Kedron is a winter torrent only; the bed of the stream being entirely
dry except during, and for a short time after, the rainy season. It is not from
this source, therefore, that any perpetual supply can be obtained. There is
no doubt that deep-seated channels convey water from the Gihon Pools into
the reservoirs of the Haram, which also would receive the surface water of
that extensive area. A natural spring may further augment these gatherings,
which, as it seems, have at all times exceeded the use and waste—large as it
must have been, first of the Jewish, and since of the Mohammedan ceremo-
nial. This surplus finds its way through a tunnel, extending from the
Haram, in a direction parallel to the Kedron, but considerably above.the
level of its bed. It first emerges in the well or cistern, a view of which we
have now before us—the water in which, from whatever source it comes,
ebbs and flows, at irregular periods, twice or thrice in the twenty-four
hours. From this cistern, as it seems, the tunnel is continued along the

ΟΧΥΣ STONE AT BAALBEC—ANATHOTH.

sloping ridge of Ophel, and again comes to light in the Pool of Siloam,
whence again, probably, it goes on to the junction of the two valleys, where
it enters the well of Job. Although a difference of quality has been noted,
as distinguishing the water of the latter well from that of the two above it,
this may sufficiently be accounted for by the fact that this lowest reservoir
receives the drainage from the two valleys, in addition to that which over-
flows into it from those upper sources. This lower neighbourhood is beau-
tified by gardens of great luxuriance, the irrigation of which exhausts,
probably, the waters which*might otherwise fill a channel, in the valley
lower down.

STONE AT BAALBEC.

Tue huge mass which occupies the foreground in this Outline Plate, has
been examined and mentioned by most of those who have visited Baalbec.
In its dimensions it corresponds with several of the foundation stones of the
Temple of the Sun, being sixty-eight (or nine) feet in length, thirteen in
depth, and eighteen in breadth. The quarry where it lies is more than
a mile distant from the principal ruins ; and without doubt it was destined
to take its place among the substructures where its fellows are now found.
‘By what machinery,” asks Lord Nugent, “they were placed on this level,
by what machinery moved there, up an inclined plane of masonry which it
is supposed was built in front of the range for this operation, and afterwards
removed,—or how they were brought from the quarry, more than a mile
off, where a fourth, of the size of the largest of the three, still lies hewn
ready for removal ;—how the strain of such powers could be applied so
equally as to deal with such masses of a kind of coarse large-grained marble
without breaking them—these are mysteries which mechanical science may
perhaps arrive at the mode of solving, but all who cannot undertake very
high questions indeed of this sort must be content with wondering at.”—
Lands §'c. ch. ix.

ANATHOTI.

THE name Anata, belonging to a spot about five miles from Jerusalem,
on the northern route, has seemed to identify it with the Anathoth of Scrip-
ture—the birth-place of Jeremiah. The direction of sight in this view is
toward the east ; and the hills which, with so uniform an outline, skirt the
distance, are those which wall in the valley of the Jordan on its left bank,
a glimpse of which is obtained from the ridge whence this view was taken.
The buildings in the mid-distance exhibit traces of ancient masonry, of
a substantial kind. The Arab village clustered around these structures is
poor and mean.

NOTE RELATIVE TO MAPS OF ΘΑΙ ΕΒ. cxvii

NOTE RELATIVE TO MAPS OF GALILEE.

At an early period of his engagement in this work, the Editor gave
much attention to the preparation of a Map of Galilee, adapted to the Lirr
OF JOSEPHUS, and which should exhibit every particle of the knowledge
that may now be collected concerning the geographical position of the
places therein namcd, and their identity with spots on the modern map:
in fact, a small map, prepared with this intention, had actually been
engraved. It was however manifest that a map, faithfully confining
itself to what is known, and as faithfully putting on one side whatever
is matter only of surmise or conjecture, would make a very meagre
appearance. It is quite true that maps enough of Palestine are to be met
with, elaborately and learnedly prepared, and admirably executed, which are
crowded with names—ancient as well as modern. But let the question
be put—To how many of these names of ancient cities, towns, and villages,
has the position they severally occupy been assigned on any ground of
positive evidence whatever ? As an example, let us take the range of
country, about twenty miles wide, and fifty in length, north and south,
of which the Lake of Tiberias forms the central feature. It is just this
district, within which Josephus, as governor of Galilee, acted the part, the
details of which are given in his autobiography :—and which, in the
Apostolic age, and until after the destruction of the Jewish polity, was
densely peopled, and crowded with cities, towns, and villages.

Now it is a matter of course that the ancient names of the natural
features of the country— its mountains, its waters, rivers, and streams, should
be authentically known ; and they are known, with very few exceptions.
The features of the country—geologically—being liable to little if any
change, the map-maker finds no difficulty as to all such permanent objects,
while inserting the ancient, beneath their modern names. And then again,
in relation to a country so thoroughly known, and so copiously described by
ancient authors, as was Syria, little, if any ambiguity can attach to the task
of locating the district names, or in tracing the boundaries either of Roman
provinces, or of native governments. But it is quite otherwise as to the
names of cities and towns, and of particular spots, Josephus, in his
narrative of his government of Galilee, introduces about forty such names :
that is to say, places which must find a locality somewhere within the limits
above-mentioned, around the Lake of Tiberias. Of this forty, not more
than ten can be assigned to their spots on a modern map, on grounds of
evidence—conclusive, or such as might be accepted as sufficient. As to the
thirty—the incognita, a probable surmise might dispose of a few—perhaps
of five or six. The position of the remainder is absolutely unknown. It is
true, they all make their appearance in modern maps of the “ Palestina
Antiqua ;” but it may well be questioned if any useful purpose whatever

Cxvill NOTE RELATIVE TO MAPS OF GALILEE.
is subserved by such insertions ; or whether, on the contrary, they are not
of ill consequence in more ways than one. Maps thus prepared, ad lebitum,
lead the student of ancient history astray, and do him a gratuitous injury.
Let a single instance be taken, and it is one which well serves to bear up
the allegations now advanced. Every reader of the Wak naturally turns
to the map he may have at hand to find this—“ Jotapata "--- ἃ place so
much signalized by the courage and pertinacity of the Jews, under the
command of the historian, in defending it against all the besieging appa-
ratus of the Roman art of war, and against all the skill and valour of the
commander and his soldiers, Where was this Jotapata—a place marked
too by its natural features, one would think, beyond reach of doubt? In
the less recent maps of Palestine “Jotapata” duly appears whereabouts
it should come. In some ‘of the more recent maps an endeavour has been
made to approximate to the probable site, on some grounds of inferential
reasoning—but yet in obvious disregard of those physical indications which
should be determinative in an instance of this sort. A sounder discretion
has induced Dr. Robinson to exclude this name—important as it is—from
the map that accompanies his Biblical Researches, and he has taken the
same course as to many other names which copiously decorate ordinary
maps. Mr. Tipping, during his stay in the neighbourhood of the Galilean
lake, did not fail to make search for a spot which, it might have been
imagined, an adventurous and intelligent traveller would very probably
succeed in discovering. Nevertheless, all such endeavours proved fruitless.
And if neither the learned at home, nor intelligent travellers, have been
able to lay down so remarkable a spot on our maps—it is not wonderful
that, as to less remarkable places, the position hitherto assigned them is,
for the most part, unsustained by any species or shadow of evidence.
What satisfaction, then, can result from an endeavour to make up a map,
professedly intended to elucidate the statements of an ancient writer, when,
in fact, no means—or no authentic means are at present available for
advancing a single step beyond what every one has at hand in every atlas?
A time may come, and the Editor has not hesitated to express his confident
belief that it will come, and is not very remote, when Palestine, coming
under European control, and its ravines and caves having been cleared of
the lurking Bedoueen, shall be so explored, as that, by direct or indirect
evidence, the uncertainties referred to in this note shal—most of them—
be removed, and thus preparation made for constructing an authentic map
of the “ Palestina Antiqua.”

ee ee .
----. —

TOPOGRAPHY OF ANCIENT JERUSALEM. cx1x

NOTE RELATIVE TO THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ANCIENT
JERUSALEM.

DirricuLties of a kind differing somewhat from those just above
mentioned, attach to the task of constructing a plan of the Ancient Jerusalem -
—Jerusalem such as it was at the time of its overthrow by the Romans,

In this instance, as in the preceding, the Editor had made some progress
in effecting what seems a desirable accompaniment to the Jewish War—
namely a Plan of Ancient Jerusalem ; and a plate was in hand intended to
be attached to the present work.

Among those sites which have been rendered memorable by the events:
of a distant age, few, if indeed there be any, are more distinctly marked
out by the peculiarity of natural feature, than is that of Jerusalem ; and-
assuredly none have claims comparable to its own upon the regard and
curiosity of mankind. With the abundant and various aids now in our
hands for bringing under the eye the abruptly broken surface of the area
occupied by the modern city and its suburbs, and with the copious evidence
that is to be gathered—from the canonical books—the Rabbinical litera-
ture—the scattered notices found in the Greek and Roman writers, and
especially from those formal and particular descriptions of his native city:
which Josephus supplies—with these multifarious aids in hand it might-
be supposed, that to lay down upon a plan of modern Jerusalem a plan
of the ancient Jerusalem, could be a work of little or no difficulty, and that:
at least its principal artificial confines or conterminations could furnish no
matter for controversy.

And it is so to a certain extent: all ambiguity, surely, is excluded as to
the general position and boundaries of the ancient city—Ist, by the
winding course of the precipitous ravine through which the Kedron runs,
when it does run ;—2d, by the equally determinate track of the more gentle
valley, westward ;—3d, by the confluence of the drainage of both valleys
south of the city ;—4th, by the not-to-be-mistaken relation of the summit
of the Mount of Olives to what is assumed as the site of the temple and-
city. Then further—as to those extant structures which peremptorily
claim for themselves a high antiquity, they so occur, and they are of such
proportions, and have such characteristics, as consist entirely with the
inferences we draw from the natural features of the site, and with the testi-
monies and descriptions of ancient authors—Josephus especially. These
unquestionable remains are—lIst, the existing channels, conduits, and reser-
voirs, connected with the intermittent stream which runs parallel with
the course of the Kedron, on a higher level than its bottom ;—2d, the
Upper and Lower Pools, west of the city, with the aqueduc‘s attaching to
them ;—3d, the massive substructures of the Haram enclosure, which, on
three sides, if not on the fourth, are such as almost to exclude the possibility:

CXz TOPOGRAPHY OF ANCIENT JERUSALEM.

of our mistaking altogether the site of the ancient temple ;—4th, the sub-
structures of the Citadel, assumed to be the Hippicus of Herod’s time ;—
Sth, those at, and about, the Damascus Gate, which are as unambiguous
and determinative as any elsewhere occurring ;—6th, and finally, those
suburban monuments and sepulchral remains which, on sure grounds of
architectural analogy, are attributed to an ago not later than that of the
destruction of the city.

We thus seem to be fenced, on all sides, against material error in respect
of the space upon, and within which, the ancient city must have housed
ita dense population, and have given lodgement, once in every year, to the
congregated myriads of the Jewish race.

Thus far, all seems to be clear ; nevertheless, we have as yet ascertained
only the preliminaries necessary for laying down our plan of the ancient
Jerusalem. Within what compass the city generally must have stood, we
cannot doubt, but we have now to lay down the course of the walls with
which, successively, it was hedged in, and to plant the gates and towers,
and to give position to its most noted public buildings: our part is now
to “go round about Jerusalem—to mark well her bulwarks, and to consider
her palaces.” And this survey must so be made as shall give harmony and
consistency, as well to the formal statements of Josephus, as to his many
incidental allusions to gates, towers, palaces, and sepulchral monuments ;
and these consistencies must again consist with other extant descriptions
and statements, classical and rabbinical. Now, notwithstanding some few
points, undetermined, or ambiguous, in the topographical statements of
Josephus, it might not have been regarded as a hopeless task to construct
such a plan of the ancient city as should well, if not perfectly, satisfy all
requirements therewith connected, and should afford great aid to the reader
of Josephus, in following his narrative of the steps of the Roman legions
throughout the weeks of that fatal summer which saw the Holy City a heap
of ruins.

Nevertheless, such a task—so useful if achieved in a manner that could
be satisfactory to all readers of the JEwisH Wak, seems, at the present
moment, absolutely an impracticable undertaking : strange that it should be
so! But no one who is conversant with modern travels in Palestine, or
with recent controversies relating to Jerusalem, can need to be informed
whence this difficulty springs. The first step after the adjustment of the
preliminaries above mentioned, in constructing a plan of an ancient and
walled town, must be to lay down the walls. Every narrative of military
operations necessarily supposes, for a good understanding of it, a clear
apprehension of the track of the city bulwarks, and of the position of the
towers and gates attaching to them. This is especially indispensable when
a city was encircled, partially or entirely, by concentric lines of wall. The
narrative of a protracted siege is perplexing in an extreme degree if the
relative position of such lines of defence is unknown. But the ancient
Jerusalem was embraced or subdivided by three such lines of defence, and

TOPOGRAPHY OF ANCIENT JERUSALEM. CXX1

several of the structures referred to, again and again, in the narrative of the
siege, abutted upon one or another of these walls. What then was their
track ? and what the areas they severally enclosed? As to two or three of
the points of commencement, and two or three angular projections, there
seems to be little room for controversy. But beyond, or rather mithtn,
these fixed points, every thing is strenuously debated, even up to the
present moment.

An editor of the Jewish War wishing, in all sincerity, to afford the
reader the desirable aid of a “" Plan of Ancient Jerusalem,” must, therefore,
in attempting so to do, take position upon a battle-field ; and he must
prepare himself to defend, by all available means, every inch of that posi-
tion ; he must, in fact, make himself a party in an eager controversy, which
has enlisted, and which continues to enlist, feelings and prepossessions of no
ordinary depth and intensity. An editor so placed, if he advances, must,
by a sad necessity, either grievously assail the impassioned convictions
of one class of readers, or utterly shock the reason of another class. It does
not appear that, on this ground, at present, any middle course is open to
our choice. Josephus cannot be fully understood until a controversy,
springing out of the events of an obscure intermediate age, has reached
some conclusion.

Some conclusion! nor ought such a result to be thought of as impro-
bable. Once and again in the course of the Notes upon the Plates, the
Editor has expressed a belief that, in the almost inevitable progress of
European affairs, Palestine must come under the wing of one of the great
European states—that this land will reccive, ere long, a Christian and
civilized government—will have a police—will afford a secure and tranquil
liberty of travel and of residence—a liberty of wandering and of strolling
about, even as one does in the highlands of Scotland, or in the valleys of
Switzerland—that it will give leisurely opportunity to dig and to trench,
to upturn and to excavate. When such a time comes, or within a period
of five years after it has come, Palestine—a region not more extensive than
any three of our adjoining English counties— will have opened its long-hidden
secrets to antiquarian eyes:—its few square miles of soil, teeming with
historic materials, will have been, if not sifted, yet turned over, or pierced
here and there, and especially the lowest basements of the Holy City will
have been moved from their places, or sufficiently exposed to view.

Such a time will not pass without yielding evidence enough for construct-
ing an authentic Plan of Ancient Jerusalem; and may it not be well, until
then, to hold in suspense our opinion, whatever it may be, on matters which,
at present, cannot be conclusively determined ? Let the Turk retire, and
the Topographer may step forward.

In behalf of the Plan attached to this note, nothing is advanced beyond
this—namely, that it exhibits those natural features of the site of Jerusalem
—spoken of above—which seem to determine the position, and the general
limits of the ancient city. To these natural features of the spot are

2

Cxxil CHARACTER OF JOSEPHUS, AND

added—|st, the exterior walls of the Haram, assumed to be identical, or
nearly so, with those of the Temple enclosure; and which rest, as it is
believed, upon the same unmoved foundations ;—2d, the course of the
modern walls—cvincident, undoubtedly, to some extent, with the course
of the ancient walls ;—3d, those ancient tanks, the Upper and Lower
Pools of Gihon, the antiquity of which is not questioned ;—and 4th, the
CITADEL, or “Tower of David,” and which is believed to be identical
with the Hipricus of Herod’s time. This Plan therefore, far as it comes
short of what has often been attempted in regard to the topography of
Ancient Jerusalem, exhibits all that can safely be spoken of as unquestion-
able ; and such as it is it will affurd the reader some aid in following our
author's description of the city, and his narrative of the events of the siege.

NOTES ON PASSAGES ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE CHARACTER
OF JOSEPHUS, AND THE HISTORIC AUTHORITY OF HIS
WRITINGS.

In the introductory Essay on the “Personal character and credibility of
Josephus,” an endeavour has been made to place before the reader those
facts and considerations of a general kind, which, while they tend to warrant
the reliance that is placed upon his testimony, as on the whole that of a
trust-worthy historian, do not involve us in the difficulties which must
attach to any attempt to set him forth as personally entitled to much
respect or regard. These facts and considerations were drawn from a broad
view of the whole of his extant writings, rather than specially from the few
pages of his autobiography. But inasmuch as the idea we form of an author
—an historian especially, cannot but influence, at every turn, the opinion
we entertain of the value of his evidence, and the conclusions we draw from
his statements, it seems desirable, in this place, to give a more exact atten-
tion to certain passages in his own history, considered as illustrative of his
motives, principles, intentions; and of his position, as the historian of his
nation’s fortunes and fall. These passages, therefore, we now note, in the
order in which they occur.

VoL. 1. Pace 3l.

.... 17 trace my descent ....

It is evident that Josephus, although he might err in the method he
adopted for commending Judaism to the favour of the Gentile world, was as
far as possible from wishing, either to disown the peculiar institutions of his
nation, or to conceal the fact of his own Jewish origin. He introduces
himself to his gentile readers, as—a JeEw—and a Jewish Priest. If he

HISTORIC AUTHORITY OF HIS WRITINGS. CXxili

claimed nobility, it was that derived from a fullen sacerdotal order, and an
extinct royal line. Even the race with which he connected himself seemed
to be threatened with annihilation. This first paragraph of the Lire
supplies, therefore, a sufficient answer to the allegations of those who would
arraign Josephus, as writing in the character of the apostate, and as the
enemy of his country and nation.

Frequent instances occur in the compass of his writings which indicate
the vivid sense he had of the honours of Jewish nobility, as connected
with the priestly office: and it is especially to be observed that this class
was scattered, and apparently becoming extinct, at the time when this
Memoir was given to the world ; and that the Jew, as such, was then treated
with the utmost scorn. Josephus, we see, is careful to note the circum-
stances of his maternal pedigree. On this point the Jews, and the priests
particularly, were very sensitive. The extreme care with which the purity
of sacerdotal marriages was preserved 18 mentioned by him. (ANTIQUITIES,
ITT. xii. 2.) The priests were forbidden to contract marriage “ with women
of ambiguous reputation, or of servile condition ; or with those who had
been captives, taken in war; or with any who gained their subsistence as
victuallers, or who had, on any account whatever, been divorced.” It was
a proverbial commendation of a woman, among the Jews—as Lightfoot
reports—“ She is fit to be the wife of a priest |”

In the first book AGAINsT APION, our author insists, emphatically, upon
this very point, as corroborative of the authenticity of the Jewish records,
which, he says, had ever remained in the care and keeping of the sacerdotal
order—itself in the highest degree scrupulous as to the purity of its lineage.
Not only, he says, have the sacred documents been im the charge of, and
compiled by, the most eminent of the sacerdotal order, but every precaution
is taken to preserve the integrity of the priestly stock. A priest must take
to himself a wife of his own nation (tribe, in fact) ; and in making the choice,
he must be influenced by no sordid or ambitious considerations :—the woman
whom he selects must be able to establish her own pedigree, by the evidence
of many witnesses. Nor is this caution observed in Judma only, but
wherever the Hebrew race is scattered, as, for instance, in Egypt, Babylon,
and elsewhere. And in the case of marriages contracted at a distance from
the parent country, the schedules of ancestry are sent to Jerusalem, properly
attested. Or when war has given rise to confusion, or has occasioned the
loss of documents, as in the instances of the invasions of Antiochus Epi-
phanes, Pompey, and Varus, and again in the recent war, the surviving
priests have been careful to prepare, from existing documents and examina-
tions, new tables of the sacerdotal pedigrees. Any priest, adds our author,
convicted of an attempt to falsify these records, is for ever forbidden to
approach the altar, or to discharge other liturgical functions.

Yet what we have now particularly in view is the fact of our author’s
solicitude to vindicate his personal credit, on this peculiar ground. It is
quite manifest that, in introducing himself to the gentile world, he is very

$2

CXXI1V CHARACTER OF JOSEPHUS, AND

far from being ashamed of his origin: on the contrary, he asserts, with
some anxiety, the distinctions—such as they were, which thence attached
to him.

....tn the year that Caius Caesar ascended the throne... ..

aD. 87. Consequently Josephus was in his thirtieth year at the com-
mencement of the troubles which preceded the siege of Jerusalem. His
fifty-sixth year—about which period this Memoir was composed, corresponds
with the eleventh year of Domitian. Hyrcanus, the eldest son of Josephus,
by his first wife—from whom he soon afterwards separated, was born two
years posterior to the destruction of the city. After a short interval he
married a Jewess of Crete, a lady of noble family, as he states, and of noble
qualities also; who bore him the two sons mentioned in this place, and in
the concluding paragraph of the Memoir. In the same place (Sect. LX XV.)
he states the fact, that his first wife was one who had been captured at
Cossarea, and whom he married “at the command of Vespasian,” καὶ δὴ
κελεύσαντος αὑτοῦ. This circumstance, which has been adduced among the
charges brought against our author, demands some explanation ; and espe-
cially as it stands connected with his own acknowledgment, just above men-
tioned, that it was forbidden to the priests to form a matrimonial alliance
of this sort—namely, with a woman whose misfortune it was to have been,
even for a time, at the disposal of an enemy. The reason of such a prohi-
bition is obvious ; and as if to exclude a probable inculpation of his conduct
on this particular ground, he is careful to add the assurance, he had not
done so without a due regard to the spirit of the rule, the letter of which
he had violated—nyayouny τινὰ παρθένον.

A recent French writer, alluding to this fact, says,—“ Joséph . . . abjura
les coutumes nationales, ¢pousa une captive de Tarichée, mariage défendu
par la loi judaique.” But the regulations concerning the marriages of
priests, mentioned by Josephus, were of no higher authority than that of the
Rabbinical Traditions : therefore the marriage in question was not “ défendu
par la loi judaique.” Moreover, as we have said, Josephus takes care to affirm
that the ground of this prohibition was superseded in his case, by the fact
of the uncontaminated purity of this captive. Beside, the marriage itself
was not a spontaneous act :—it took place while Josephus himself might at
any moment have been delivered to the lictor, for execution; and he
declares that he had married at the command of him whose prisoner he was:
and further, as if to rid himself of imputations on this ground, he dissolved
the marriage immediately on his regnining his liberty ;—that 1s to say, as
early as he could do so.

This incident therefore is altogether in harmony with the idea which we
have formed of the personal character of Josephus. It is true he was not
the man to die, rather than to compromise in the least article, his Jewish
notions or convictions; or than to tarnish his bright sacerdotal honour. But

HISTORIC AUTHORITY OF HIS WRITINGS. CXXV

neither was he the man to forget or to renounce these obligations. Ilimself
a captive, he had married a captive ; but she was a virgin (and his affirma-
tion of this, whether true or not, carries our present argument) ; he married
at the command of the master of his life ;—but when free, he immediately
availed himself of the Jewish licence of divorce ; thus, as we must grant,
compromising the perpetual obligations of virtue, for the sake of those
which were conventional only. Nevertheless, the incident, if equitably
considered, does not justify the use that has been made of it by those who
have laboured to destroy the reputation of Josephus.

PAGE 32.
....« inscribed in the public records... .

The expression here employed by our author—“ as I have found it,” ηὗρον,
inscribed in the public records or tablets, may be regarded as silently con-
veying the intimation of a fact, the recollection of which would awaken, in
the bosom of every Jew, emotions of regret the most poignant. The
destruction of the temple itself would scarcely be recalled with more pain
than was excited by the thought, that the national “record office ”—the
ἀρχεῖον, containing at once the credentials of all the secular distinctions in
which a Jew could take pride, and the only certain means of establishing
the lineage of the expected Messiah, had not been rescued from the general
conflagration of the public buildings of Acra.—War, VI. vi. 3.

It might be true that the more opulent Jewish houses possessed authen-
ticated copies of the public registries ; and that, by these means, the patri-
cian families might, for a while, be able to assert their honours. Yet these
duplicates, besides that they were likely soon to be scattered and destroyed
amid the perils and ill chances of captivity and exile, would unavoidably
forfeit a portion of the credit to which they were really entitled, from the
facility with which forgeries might be effected, to supply the place of such
as had been lost. After atime, who could say whether such documents of
pedigree were genuine, or supposititious ? The genuine, therefore, would
avail the possessors little, liable as they were to be confounded with such as
had been fabricated.

Thus was this unhappy people—although preserved as a race, yet de-
stroyed as a nation, or social body. Themselves saved to wander, and to
weep ; while their polity, and their worship, and their honours, were all
annihilated !

By the demolition of the second temple, and by the cessation of the
sacrifices, and, not least, by this destruction of the national genealogies, the
hope of a Messiah to appear subsequently to this devastation of the Jewish
polity, was rendered utterly irrational. In the place of a hope which had
given him constancy during many seasons of cruel suffering, the Jew was
now driven forth from his land, clinging to an infatuation, which himself
dared not examine.

οχχνὶ CHARACTER OF JOSEPHUS, AND

.... Jerusalem, the most considerable of our cities. ....

This mode of introducing the name of the “ Holy City ”—of all cities the
most noted, may seem strange to the modern reader; and in fact it demands
some explanation ; but this requires that we should carry ourselves back
to our author’s times, and place ourselves in the position he occupied as
addressing the gentile world.

Apart from such a recollection of facts, a phrase like this suggests
unwarranted suspicions as to our author's actual relationship to his country.

Those conceptions of sacred awe and affection which have become asso-
ciated in our minds, as Christians, with the name—Jerusalem, render it
difficult for us to hear the metropolis of Palestine spoken of by classic
writers in terms of little respect, indicating that it was then regarded as one
of the obscure sites of ancient civilization. Yet as such, in fact, Jerusalem
was accounted by a large portion of the Roman World, eastern and western,
until the period when it had become the centre of Christian sentiment, and
the grand emporium of those superstitions which prevailed from the fourth
century, and onward.

Palestine, and its “ chief city "—this not being a maritime town—were
much less known or thought of among the surrounding nations, than might
have been imagined; and it is not without some surprise, or even disappoint-
ment, that, in looking into ancient authors, we find it either not mentioned
at all, or mentioned only in the most cursory manner. ‘Thus it is that, in
following the steps of Herodotus, as he enters upon the sacred territory, and
at a time concerning which our information is so scanty—the age of Malachi,
Nehemiah, and Ezra, we find him barely alluding to the city of Solomon,
and entirely silent as to the singular institutions of the people! Reporting
the victory gained over the Syrians by Pharaoh Necho, at Magdolum,
(Megiddo,) he states, that the Egyptian king, after this success, took
Cadytis (il Auds, the Holy)—a large city of Syria.—EuTeRrPE, 159. And
again— TALIA, 5—in speaking of the geography of the countries bordering
upon Egypt, bis allusion to Jerusalem is as brief as possible:—and yet it
is of a kind plainly indicating that he had personally visited it—*“‘ Cadytis,
a city of the Syrian Palestine, not much inferior in size, as it seems to me,
to Sardis.”

Strabo, where he defines Syria, (X VI.) does not even name Jerusalem ;
and he incidentally mentions the Jews, as one of the four races that occupied
the soil. A little further on, in the same book, as he descends the coast,
after speaking particularly of Tyre, Sidon, and Berytus, he mentions
Joppa, “whence, as they affirm, Jerusalem, the metropolis of the Jews,
may be descried.”

Polybius disappoints us in another manner, by stating—XVI. 39,—that
having more to say concerning Jerusalem, and the splendour—éem@avera, of

HISTORIC AUTHORITY OF HIS WRITINGS. CXXVii

its temple than he could then report, he reserves the description of it for a
season of leisure :----εἰς ἕτερον καιρὸν ὑπερθήσομεν τὴν διήγησιν.

Plutarch refers to the conquest of Judea by Pompey, without so much as
naming the capital of the country; and again, in the Life of M. Antonius,
he mentions the country, but not its ““ crown;” and the fortunes of the
people, but not their glory; and although very frequently alluding to Jewish
usages, he does so without seeming to attach to the subject any such im-
portance as we might suppose it to deserve.

Pliny the Elder, much more respectful, as he is, in his reference to
Jerusalem, nevertheless confines himself to the fewest words which, on such
a subject, could well be employed. Enumerating the ten toparchies into
which Judza was divided, he names, as the ninth, “Orinen, ( Ὀρεινὴν», the
hill country,) in qu& fuere Hierosolyma, longe clarissima urbium orientis,
non Judex modo.” V.15. If this were not saying too much—Damascus,
Antioch, Seleucia, considered, it seems to be-too little. ‘The only other
reference to the Holy City, in this writer, is a mere mention of the name.
(XXVIT. 5.)

Pomponius Mela specifies the noted cities of Palestine—Gaza, Ascalon,
Joppa, Tyre, Sidon, and others; but does not even name Jerusalem !

Now, trivial as may seem the mere circumstance of the mode in which
our author introduces the name of the Holy City to his readers, it is in fact
highly significant, as it stands related to the estimate we have formed both
of his grasp of mind, and of his purpose, as a writer. Josephus was well
aware of the place which the Jewish metropolis held in the esteem of the
world at large; and he mentions it, on the first occasion, in terms accordant
with the notions of those for whom he was writing. No Jew, thoroughly such
in feeling, would thus coldly have designated his “ Jerusalem—the joy of the
whole earth!” The temper and habit of mind which led Josephus in this
manner to adapt himself to the views of others—a temper the very reverse of
that which was so characteristic of his countrymen—is apparent in this minute
instance; and a recollection of it should be retained throughout the perusal
of his works, Equally free, in most instances, from exaggeration, and from
national prejudice, he is so without the too usual accompaniment of such
freedom—a disposition to disparage or to calumniate what is national or
peculiar. Respectfully, and in the calmest manner, he adverts to, and
describes, the usages of his people; but he does so as a man who had con-
versed largely with the world.

. about my fourteenth year ....

This passage is too significant, in relation to our immediate purpose, to be
hastily dismissed. One or two circumstances of the Jewish domestic
economy should, however, be premised. The male children, among this
people, usually remained in the care of their mothers, or nurses, until they
had completed their fifth year; when they came more directly under the

CXXViil CHARACTER OF JOSEPHUS, AND

paternal control, and commenced their training in the arts of life, acquiring
as well the elements of sacred learning in the school of a priest or levite.
About their thirteenth year, when they were called “ sons of the command-
ment,” te. amenable to law, they entered upon a higher degree, and ad-
dressed themselves to the study of the “six hundred and thirty-one
precepts,” collected out of the Mosaic canon. As they advanced toward
their fourteenth year, they were considered to be capable of choosing their
own tutors, as well as of disposing of property. The father, on this occa-
sion, convened his friends and relatives, declared to them the age and pro-
ficiency of his son, and offered a prayer, with thanksgiving, expressive of his
desire for his welfare, and of the pleasure he felt in being so far acquitted
of his responsibility as a parent. At fifteen, the Jewish youth were
permitted to dispute on questions in the Gamara—a traditionary exposition
of the Law:—they knew, however, very little of the prophets; and to this
ignorance are to be attributed the errors prevalent among the people rela-
tive to the Messiah. Our author’s averments, therefore, as to what may seem
his early proficiency, are by no means incompatible with Jewish notions
and practices. But what he further affirms is not so easily intelligible.
The circumstance mentioned in this section will of course remind us of the
incident in our Lord’s early life, recorded by St. Luke—ii. 46. The fact
that Jesus, at so tender an age, was found “sitting in the midst of the
doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions,” was altogether
accordant with the usages of the people among whom it occurred. Nothing,
in this case, appears extraordinary, but. that preternatural intelligence in the
child, which amazed the auditors. But what Josephus relates of himself can
be made to appear probable only by the aid of some peculiar considerations.
It was one thing for a youth, sitting at the feet of the rabbis, to astound
them by the intelligence of his questions and of his answers ;—it was quite
another for these doctors, including even the highest personages of the
state, to gather around a stripling, at his home, to learn wisdom from his
lips! The fact itself here affirmed, as well as our author’s affirmation of it,
demand some attention, especially as tending to throw light upon his per-
sonal character, which it is our immediate object to elucidate.

The writings of Josephus incontestably prove, as we have already ob-
served, his extraordinary capacity, and especially his power of acquiring and
of employing to advantage a various amount of erudition. The books against
Apion, considered as the work of a man whose early studies had embraced
little or nothing beyond the nugatory logomachies of rabbinical exposition,
indicate powers of mind of a high order. The author of them, it is evident,
could acquire with ease what was the most foreign to his habits of thought;
and could command, with equal ease, what he had thus acquired. This
faculty of appliance, which was not at all characteristic of the Jewish race,
displayed itself, we cannot doubt, in his early course; nor could it fail
to attract notice. His admitted superiority among his countrymen, he
more than once alludes to, and he affirms it, in the closing paragraph of the

HISTORIC AUTHORITY OF HIS WRITINGS. ΟΧΧΙΧ

‘¢ Antiquities,”.where he confidently asserts that he had accomplished his
task of laying the history of his people before the Grecian world, in a
manner which no one but himself, whether Jew or Gentile, could have
equalled. As to his countrymen, whatever might be their proficiency in
their own Law, they, as he says, held those in little esteem who became
versed in foreign languages; whereas he, from his youth, had addicted
himself to such acquirements, and had failed in nothing but in mastering
the nice pronunciation of the Greek language.

Of the early intelligence of such a man we may well be prepared to hear
what is extraordinary. And, on the other hand, the mental condition of
these “priests and doctors,” who are said, while he was yet a boy, to have
sought instruction at his lips, should also be duly considered. What then
were these ‘teachers of the Law,” at the time which is now in our view?
(that of the Christian council at Jerusalem.) By infallible lips these very
men had been denounced as “ blind leaders of the blind.” A nugatory,
sophistical, and frivolous mode of thinking was their characteristic. The
mingled perverseness and infatuation which comes, as a cloud, upon who-
ever forsakes the Divine Testimony, and prefers to it the “ vain traditions
and commandments of men,” had darkened their understandings :—there
was “no light in them.”—‘ Fools and blind,” were they, even before the
moment when their mad rejection of their King and Saviour had drawn
upon them a judicial perplexity of soul. Every year, as it elapsed, after the
ascension of Christ, rendered any consistent interpretation of prophecy more
and more difficult to those who had so fatally overlooked its true import.
Consequently, those shifts and evasive glosses to which desperate pride is
driven, became every day more and more absurd, and less and less defensible.
The mere adherence to these fallacies operated, by a reflected influence, to
stultify still further the mind of the rabbi. At the same moment, the bold,
simple-hearted, perspicuous, scriptural, and conclusive arguments of Christian
teachers, such as Paul, Barnabas, and Apollos, were echoing around the
walls of the temple. Often, at this very time, were these same priests and
doctors confounded, in the hearing of the people, and compelled, if not to
blush, yet to grind their teeth in vexation.

Such a state of things as this, the difficulties of which were constantly
becoming more urgent, could not fail to excite the rabbis to a renewed dili-
gence in searching for plausible evasions of the prophetic text. Ingenuity
was racked to find the means of turning aside the sword of the Spirit, as
wielded by the Christian teachers. It must not therefore be thought alto-
gether improbable that the extraordinary intelligence, and the various
acquirements of one like the young Josephus, whose range of thought was
so much wider than their own, should have been caught at, as a source
of new sophistries, or of unthought-of hypotheses.

Connecting, therefore, our author’s affirmation, so coolly advanced, with
the critical position of the Jewish doctors at this very moment, when the
Christian doctrine was rapidly spreading among the people, and when even

CXXX CHARACTER OF JOSEPHUS, AKD

“ @ great compeny of the priests were obedient to the faith,” we must regard
it as by-ne means-60 inexplicable, οἱ inadmissible, as at first sight it may
appear.

ον ον L-took him as my exemplar... ..

Again a reférence to the actual facts is demanded, in estimating the pro-
bability of our anthor’s narrative, and thence his own credibility. His
residence in the desert is not to be thought of as if it involved the
austerities that. were usual with the Christian anchorets of the fifth century.
The ancient solitary discipline, as practised in the climate of Syria, was
by no means formidable; and to a youth in good health, it could be little
more than an agreeable “rustication.”

The oriental and Syrian contemplatists did not found their mode of life
upon the principle of-expiatory torture ; nor did they inflict upon themselves
frightful sufferings, as proofs, or as the means of sanctity. What they sought
was merely an exemption from the cares and distractions of common life,
purchased by an abstinence from aome of its pleasures. They desired to be
at liberty to think and to muse—the long day through, and on the cheapest
terms. To secure this species of enjoyment, they repairéd to some solitude,
where what was indispensable to the support of animal life might be
obtained with little or no labour. They clad themselves, so far as clothed
at all—for their designation, gymnosophists, does not imply a superfluity of
dress—with the broad leaves of the plantain, stitched together; and they
subsisted upon wild dates, gourds, figs, locusts, and honey, as well as upon
some esculent roots. And among the chinks of the many-caverned rocks of
Syria and Petra, they readily found shelter, and cool recesses.

Nor must this eremitic life be confounded with the far more artificial
institution of the Essenes—a very ancient institution also—any more than
with the fanatical monkery of a later age. It was the simplest, and the
most picturesque idea of that style of human existence which removes itself
to the furthest possible distance from the active, the sensuous, and the
impassioned. Instead of the life of desire, of labour, and of care, it was the
life of emaciated intellectualism !

This Bannus indulged, we are told, in frequent ablutions; but on the
contrary, the Christian ascetics did not wash, and rejected with disdain the
very notion of cleanliness. Fasting, or professing to fast, three, four, or five
days, in every week, and engaged nightly in palpable combats with legions
of fiends, and beset daily .by crowds of admirers, these recluses—if such
we may call them, had as little leisure as they had inclination, for philo-
sophic meditation ; especially as the repetition of one, two, or even three
hundred prayers, was to be secured within the compass of the twenty-four
hours! To no such discipline as this, we may be sure, did our Josephus
subject himself; and we must give a softened rendering to the—o«Anpayw-
γήσας, and the πολλὰ xornGetc, Which he applies to bis noviciates. It is not

HISTORIC AUTHORITY OF HIS WRITINGS. ΟΧΧΧῚ

improbable that, during his recess in the wilderness, he prosecuted some of
those studies of which the fruits appear in his writings.

-+.. my twenty-sixth year ....

This would be a.p. 63, and therefore corresponds with the, time of the
expiration of St. Paul’s two years’ imprisonment at Rome. It was also the
year preceding that in which happened the conflagration of the city—an
event so fatal in its consequences to the Christians! The custom of sending
prisoners to Rome, to appear at Cesar’s tribunal, as in the case of Paul, was
ordinary ; and our author mentions several instances of the kind.

. +. using only figs and nuts....

It has been imagined that these Jewish priests were ascetics! Yet
nothing is more simple than the circumstance here mentioned ; and it is
similar altogether to that of the Jewish captives, recorded by Daniel. It was
no rule of abstinence that impelled those youths to entreat an exemption for
themselves from the despotism of the Babylonish chief cook. The dread
they felt of violating either the Mosaic prohibitions, or their acquired
repugnances concerning food, was their only motive. The conscientious
Jew avoided as food—/irst, the flesh of animals prohibited as unclean by
the law ;—secondly, the flesh even of clean animals that had not been
slaughtered in the Jewish manner, or so as to be as free as possible from
blood ;—thirdly, any articles of food cooked in a mode which might violate
the Mosaic precepts in their rigid acceptation ; and fourthly, all meats which,
according to polytheistic customs, might have been offered at the altar of an
idol: or even in the remotest manner associated with any such contamina-
tions. Thus, and in so many ways restricted, the Jew, when in a foreign
land, and apart from his compatriots ; and especially when he was a captive,
often found himself compelled to submit to severe privations. His only
resource was—when it remained to him, to betake himself to a vegetable
diet ; and in doing so, he selected those fruits.which require no culinary
preparation ; such, for instance, as figs and nuts. Hindoos and Mahometans
are now often seen to adopt a similar course, under similar circumstances.

The commendation intended to be assigned to these Jewish prisoners, is
therefore not that of asceticism ; but that of a scrupulous and self-denying
regard to their national observances. And herein we find another instance,
confirmatory of our position, that Josephus, far from renouncing, or from
seeming indifferent to the religious peculiarities of his nation, refers to them
always in the clearest and the boldest manner: manifestly he was not
ashamed of Judaism.

CXxxli CHARACTER OF JOSEPHUS, AND

Pagx 33.

- +. after an extremely perilous voyage... .

This incident, not at all extraordinary in itself, can hardly fail to remind
us of the circumstances of St. Paul’s voyage to Rome. Even the expressions
employed by the two writers offer some singular coincidences; but to sup-
pose, as some have done, that St. Paul and Josephus were passengers on
board the same vessel, is to venture much too far on the ground of mere
conjecture. According to the several chronologies of the two memoirs—the
“ Acts,” and the “ Life,” the voyage of Josephus occurred two years, at least,
later than that of the Apostle. And the points of agreement in the two
narratives are mingled with discordances which are not to be reconciled.

The priests, whom Felix had sent in chains to Rome, appear to have
remained there bound, as St. Paul had done, for a cunsiderable time. St. Paul
and his companions were put on board a ship of Alexandria. Josephus, and
those rescued from the waves with him, were taken up by a ship of Cyrene.
Both vessels encountered a tempest in the Adriatic :—the crews of both were
compelled to seek safety in swimming; and in both instances, the shores of
Italy were touched at the same point—Puteoli; which, indeed, was the
haven for the African and Egyptian traders. Both travellers, on their
landing, made acquaintance with some of their compatriots. ‘These circum-
stances are, however, all ordinary and natural—and are by no means such as
to justify the conjecture to which we have alluded. As to the Jews who
were met with at Putcoli, it appears from a passage of the War, II. vii. 1,
compared with the Antiquities, XVII. xii. 1, that several of that nation
had there established themselves ;—as they had in most places tu which
commerce attracted strangers. |

On my arrival... .

—that is to say, on his return from Rome. This journey to the metropolis
of the world, and the opportunities it must have afforded him for learning,
authentically, what were the disposable forces of the empire, would naturally
impress a cautious and politic mind like that of Josephus, with a vivid
conviction of the extreme folly of the revolt which his countrymen then
meditated. Moreover, he had actually witnessed the horrors of imperial
revenge, and he had stood and trembled in the presence of Nero! This
visit to Rome may be probably assumed as having been the circumstance
which determined his after course, as a public man. Thoroughly sincere
were his endeavours to turn his countrymen from their insane purpose. But
when he found this could not be done, rather than forfeit the influence
he had acquired, he temporized, and entered upon a devious path, where his
course could not be altogether consistent with any great principle of action.

HISTORIC AUTHORITY OF HIS WRITINGS. CXXXiil

.... the leaders of the brigand bund....

This, and similar opprobrious epithets, constantly applied by Josephus to
the leaders of revolt in this war, demand consideration, inasmuch as the
opinion we may form in this particular instance, of his historical integrity,
must regulate our estimate of the value of his testimony in other analogous
cases.

The term λῃστής does not well admit of any English rendering which might
carry a meaning of chivalrous bravery and honour. It must needs be translated
by the unseemly word—robber, or brigand! ‘True it is that, in the early
times of Grecian history, as Thucydides assures us—lI. 5, the phrase λῃστεία,
far from its being associated with ideas of disgrace, was gloried in by the
predatory chiefs who, on land and water, lived by their swords, at the cost
of their defenceless neighbours: but notions such as these can attach only
to the rudest condition of society, and they had become obsolete long before
the Greek language acquired its classic sense.

That the epithet was well merited by the men to whom, ordinarily,
Josephus applies it, there can be no room to doubt. We may nevertheless
regret that he did not take occasion, when employing it, to insist upon some
distinctions which a warm patriotic sentiment would have impelled him to
regard. Although it be certain that the foremost actors in this insurrec-
tionary war were, in fact, such as he states them to have been—men trained
to violence, subsisting upon rapine, and who had long released themselves
from all restraints of law and justice; yet such were not thousands of those
who freely took part in the revolt, and who shared, not only the miseries it
entailed, but also the arduous struggles by which it was protracted. The
“robbers and assassins”—the Sikars, whose ruthless crimes darken this
history, could not possibly have gained the ascendancy which they actually
acquired throughout the country, and in the city, had they not found the
mass of the people already maddened by the infliction of intolerable wrongs,
on the part of the Roman governors, and the military chiefs. Josephus
himself narrates these insufferable provocations with a proper distinctness ;
and we should have been fully content with him, as the historian of his
people’s overthrow, had he, with a mingled feeling of generous indignation,
and of keen sympathy toward his unhappy countrymen, arraigned more
boldly the Roman government, as the real mover of the rebellion ; and so
excused his nation, on the plea that there is a limit, in human nature, to the
power of endurance ; and that oppression, so extreme, ‘“‘ maketh even ἃ wise
man mad.” The History of the Jewish War should have been written with
a warmer Jewish feeling ; but in truth, had our author's bosom heaved
with emotions of this order, he himself would not have survived to
compose it.

The preceding Roman procurators had severely tried the patience of the
Jewish people, who, on many occasions, had shown all the forbearance that

CXXXIV CHARACTER OF JOSEPIIUS, AND

could have been expected from them. The licentious legions to which
Claudius had granted permission to stay in Palestine, contrary to the dictates
of his better judgment, had, by their exactions and their enormities, kept
alive irritation, even when the procurator himself might be regardful of
justice and mercy. But too often, he was himself the author—openly or
secretly—of the most flagitious acts. Such was Albinus, procurator—a.D. 62;
and still worse, the cruel and rapacious Gessius Florus, who succeeded him.

Under the administration of this monster, not only had the people been
wrought up to a pitch of frenzy by the outrages, of every kind, which he
perpetrated ; but that class of men—the Z'hugs of that age, who had already
become very numerous, and whose profession was rapine and murder, now
openly traversed the country, and might be spoken of, almost, as its real
masters. These men—the “robbers and assassins "---λῃσταὶ καὶ σικάριοι, of
our author’s vocabulary, fomenting every discontent, and rushing forward to
promote and to head every tumult, acquired, by their habits and by their
ferocity, a sort of military commission, which made them the leaders, on
all occasions when arms were resorted to. In narrating the events of a
revolt, thus promoted, it is not surprising that Josephus should mention
more frequently these lawless chiefs, than he does the unhappy people who
were their tools and victims. It is these brigands that occupy the foreground
of the picture ; nor is this circumstance, in itself, to be complained of, or
wondered at. What we must regret, is our author's want of that deep
national sentiment, and of those generous resentments, which would have
impelled him to give more prominence to the wrongs of his people than to
their faults ; and to have distinguished always, as he does sometimes, between
the robbers, and the outraged and exasperated multitude.

That our author should describe the insurrection as, mainly, the work of
the robbers and assassins, does not therefore disparage his veracity, or
detract from the credibility of his history ;—for such was unquestionably
the case. At the same time the coldness of his manner, when reporting this
fact, cannot but diminish our regard toward himself, as a man, and greatly
blemish his reputation as a patriot.

PaGE 34.

.... they compelled those of that nation....

The transactions here briefly referred to are related in the War, I. xviii.
more at large, and not discordantly in point of fact ; although, at a glance,
it may so appear. ΤΙ6--- πολλὰς μυριάδας, in its ordinary use, is a vague
expression, importing a large, or indefinite number; and it is often employed
by Greek writers when many fewer than sixteen thousand are intended,
which is the actual number of Jews stated by our author, in his History of
the War, to have been butchered by the people of Scythopolis. But we
must be content with a less satisfactory explanation of the passage imme-
diately following, in which Josephus states that one party of Jews had been

HISTORIC AUTHORITY OF HIS WRITINGS, CXXXV

compelled to bear arms against another,—“ in opposition to our law ;"-- ὅπερ
ἐστὶν ἡμῖν ἀθέμιτον---ἃ thing to us prohibited, or regarded as impiously
wicked. Doubtless the Mosaic institute was opposed, in its spirit and ten-
dency, to all intestine war ; nor had the prophets failed to protest against
the fratricidal practice, as, 1 Kings xii. 24. But in point of fact, so often
had Israel and Judah met in the clash of arms, and so often had tribe fought
with tribe, that civil war could not well be spoken of as a thing unheard of
among the Jews. This profession bears some resemblance to that flagrant
falsehood, uttered by this often-subjugated, and then—enthralled people,
when they declared that they “were never in bondage to any man!” In
various instances of this kind, Josephus will be found to affirm, in the
Jewish manner, more than he could well make good by an appeal to facts.

... the Jews were rather impelled by necessity, than led by inclination.

This passage, to which our author invites the particular regard of his
readers, we are bound to consider attentively. Now, whether or not the
fact be as he states it, that the Jews were hurried into the insurrectionary
war by a kind of necessity, and against their deliberate intentions, his asser-
tion that it was so, and the pains he takes to make it so appear, bring him
before us as the apologist of his people ; and it thus conclusively repels the
calumny which would arraign him as their enemy. He wishes the world
to believe, that a concurrence of untoward events had driven the Jewish
nation forward, contrary to their will, toward a desperate position, whence
there was no way of escape for them, but in rebellion. And it is particu-
larly to be noticed that, in assigning the causes of the troubles which ended
in the ruin of his country, he boldly and distinctly specifies, as we shall
see, the cruelties, and the intolerable oppressions of the Roman procurators.
It was the mal-administration of the men to whom the emperors had con-
fided the care of Juda, that, as Josephus affirms, had at once wrought the
people to frenzy, and had called into existence those namerous bands of
robbers who were the leaders of tumult, and the real movers of the war.

By the mere facts of the case therefore, whatever may be thought of
the validity of the apology he offers, Josephus stands acquitted of the charge
of flattering the Roman government, on the one hand, and of aggravating
the guilt of his nation on the other. He accuses them, indeed—or rather
a portion of them—of rashness, inconsideration, miscalculation of their
strength and resources ; and, at last, of an extreme infatuation ; but he
takes especial care to preclude, at the outset, the supposition that the Jewish —
people, as a body, or that their constituted national rulers, had deliberately
devised a revolt.

Here again then, we say, that deficient as Josephus may have been in
lofty sentiments, or in national enthusiasm, it is an extreme injustice to
speak of him as either the obsequious adulator of his masters, or as the
calumniator of his unhappy countrymen. If indeed he had found himself

CXXxVi CHARACTER OF JOGEPHUS, AND

compelled “to lie in every page, for his own defence,” he would doubtless
have gone the whole length of falsification, and have affirmed, what could
not, at the time when he wrote, have been disproved, that the Jewish War
had been planned in the palace of the high priest. This allegation would
best have served the double purpose imputed to him, first, of revenging
himself upon his nation, and then of enhancing the importance of the
conquest which the Roman arms had achieved. Instead of doing. so, he
throws all the blame upon an obscure, and a then-extinct class of the com-
munity ; and he represents the miseries which his people had suffered
as the consequence of untoward events, and of the wanton provocations by
which their patience had been exhausted.

Pace 35.
Justus the son of Pistus....

This Justus, the son of Pistus, was the rival of Josephus not merely as a
political chief, but also as a writer, and as the historian of the Jewish War.
We should listen, therefore, with caution to what our author may advance,
as to the conduct and merits of this individual. He comes before us
once and again in the course of the Memoir, and we here direct the
reader’s attention to the circumstance of this double rivalry. It will be
obeerved that Josephus allows his rival to have been skilled in Grecian
literature—rare accomplishment as it was, and one in which he especially
prided himself.

PacE 39.
'.... to destroy the palace which Herod the tetrarch had erected .. . ,

This sumptuous structure, as well as the amphitheatres and other buildings
in Judea, or Galilee, which were devoted to purposes of profane amusement,
or decorated with idolatrous symbols, had, although erected by their own
princes, been the objects of extreme uneasiness to the Jewish people ; and
in fact they had been the immediate occasions of frequent and sanguinary
tumults. The Jews—chiefs as well as people, had, at this period of their
history, become in the keenest manner sensitive to any infringement of the
Mosaic law, touching idolatrous practices, or image-like decorations. And
it was this feeling—commendable, surely, in itself—which, more than any
other, had rendered the Roman yoke, and the military occupation of their
country and city intolerable to them. To the same sentiment must be
attributed, mainly, that impatience which issued in the open rebellion of the
nation, and which ended in its dispersion.

But what we have now to do with, is the conduct of Josephus on this
occasion, acting, as he declares himself to have done, in compliance with the
instructions he had received from Jerusalem. Galilee, at the time now in
question, may be said to have been in the military occupation of the Jews:

HISTORIC AUTHORITY OF HIS WRITINGS, CXXXVIi

and Josephus was the chief of the irregular and tumultuary force which
held it. His colleagues, who had now saturated themselves with gold,
thought only of quietly returning to their homes; and they were retained
that they might give their mute sanction to his proceedings, which in
the end they ruinously thwarted. It had become, therefore, his duty, as a
matter of course, to give effect to the principle which, as we find, was now
uniformly acted upon by the Jewish people, and to which, with admirable
constancy, they had adhered on several memorable occasions—namely, to
resist always to the utmost the introduction of idolatrous symbols and
decorations, and to remove them whenever it was in their power so to do.

The country round the Lake of Tiberias, on its western side, was now
commanded by the Jewish chief; and therefore the tolerance of the “offence”
which Herod’s palace had occasioned, would have exposed himself and
his constituents to popular odium. Much greater perils had been boldly
encountered by the Jews at Jerusalem, in resisting similar violations of their
laws, than any that could be incurred in demolishing the palace of Herod at
Tiberias. It appears, however, that Josephus did not feel himself strong
enough to effect this object without leave obtained of the citizens ; who
might naturally grudge to see so noble a structure—the ornament of their
city, levelled with the ground. The public discussion of the point—the
destruction of the palace being resisted, as might have been expected, by
those who wished to maintain their allegiance to the Romans—gave time
to the leader of a predatory band to rush upon the spoil—to seize that more
precious portion of it—the gold, the silver, and the brass, which a con-
flagration would bring within their reach.

These spoils, which, had they been carefully removed, would probably have
amounted to a vast sum, Josephus, we may well believe, had not forgotten,
as a means either of making peace with the Romans, or of conciliating
Agrippa, or of carrying on the insurrectionary war, should it seem practi-
cable to do so. The endeavours he afterwards made to recover a portion
of the plunder, and to reserve it, under the care of the magistrates of
Tiberias, were consistent with these intentions. In these instances Josephus
appears to have pursued a course which, while it accorded with his position
as a Jewish chief, never deviated, so far as he could control it, from that
which should leave open to him a possible return to his duty toward Agrippa,
and toward Cesar. It was thus that, in endeavouring to prevent the seizure
of the public granaries by his rival, John, he professed his intention to reserve
these stores, as circumstances might dictate, “either for the Romans, or
for his own use;”—that is to say, his use as governor and general.

Paae 40.

".... no otl pure enough for their use... .

This circumstance demands explanation, as connected with the conduct of
Josephus, in which we cannot but observe a uniformity of motive, although
k

CXXXViil CUARACTER OF JOSEPHUS, AXD

he was continually thwarted by the impracticable temper of those with
whom he had to do. Oil—an article indispensable in the East, was not les
so among the Jews than among their neighbours. It formed an article of
diet ;—it was peculiarly necessary—or thought to be so, for lubricating and
cleansing the skin ; and mingled with wine, it was the principal means of
effecting the cure of wounds. It constituted, also, a part of the offerings of
the Jewish worship; and was moreover the symbolic element, employed in
conveying sacerdotal and civil dignities. In relation to this, therefore, as to
other articles of consumption, the Jews scrupulously confined themselves to
the use of such as had been prepared by themselves, and which had not
passed, commercially, through heathen hands. This caution was the more
necessary in regard to oil, which, entering as it did into so many idolatrous
offices, mirht be presumed, when purchased in the open market of a heathen
town, to have been already dedicated, in some manner, to the “ gods of the
heathen.” The scruple herein alleged was therefore one of which every
Jew admitted the propriety ; and the subject, as the artful demagogue, John,
well knew, would not fail to kindle popular resentment, if Josephus had
resisted the proposal of his rival. He yielded—lest he should have been
stoned by the people :—such was the precarious position of a military
chief of this passionate race! Pure Jewish oil, it appears, was ten times
as dear at Ceesarea as at Gischala. John might, therefore, abate much of
this exorbitant price, and, nevertheless, realize an enormous profit.

The tumultuary infliction of death by stoning, had become, even in the
case of persons neither tried nor convicted, a sort of Jewish usage—of which
several instances occur in the evangelic records.

.... put the towns tn a posture of defence.

The nature of the country throughout a great part of Galilee, and
especially at this period, and before its asperities had been reduced by
abrasion of the elements, and by war and artificial means, favoured the for-
tification of the towns, many of which occupied the summits of precipitous
hills. The many volcanic cones of this district, and the sharp termination
of the ranges of hills, rendered the construction of temporary fortifications
not very costly, where loose materials abounded, and where a dense popu-
lation might be set to work, at low wages.

Josephus too well understood the modes of assault practised by the
Romans, to suppose that any but the most singularly situated hill-forts, such
as Jutapata or Masada, could stay the course of the legions, or resist the
impulse of those engines that had levelled the firmest structures in the world.
Nevertheless these defences—these fortified towns, were important as points
of support fur a force like that which he commanded ;—they overawed
marauding chiefs ;—they discouraged the destructive custom of intestine
warfare—town upon town; and they might even enable whoever should
occupy them, to make terms, somewhat more favourably, with the Roman

HISTORIC AUTHORITY OF HIS WRITINGS. CXXX1X

general. We find Josephus availing himself of every opportunity to
construct, or to restore, such defences ; and he made his last stand, as a
Jewish chief, in the strongest of them—Jotapata. The same line of policy
led him, as he here states, to engage the predatory chiefs as mercenaries,
and to purchase exemption from their outrages by pay and commissions.
We should notice also the circumstance, that these—the Bedoueen of that
age, were restricted from assailing the Roman outposts as well as from
ravaging the country within which they roamed. What they needed
beyond their stipend, must be sought for in distant expeditions. This, in
fact, is the bandit’s’ standing rule—to rob always as far as possible from
his home.

To complete his plan for maintaining the peace of the country, Josephus
retained near him, in all his movements, the chief men of the towns ;—in
fact they were hostages, although colleagues in appearance. In a word, a
modern commander, under similar circumstances, would not pursue a course
differing much from that adopted by Josephus in this instance ; and on this
ground he is clearly entitled to high praise. As to the encomiums which he
proceeds to bestow upon himself, they are only in keeping with the style of
the times ; and in the religious turn which he gives to the subject of his
own blameless deportment, he writes altogether in the Jewish fashion ;
following what he might deem authoritative examples ; and unless we choose
to deny him every merit, we may well think him sincere in the appeal which
he thus makes to the Righteous Judge of human actions.

PaGE 4].
.... the hot baths of Tiberias ....

We take the occasion to direct the reader’s attention to a fact—so important
in relation to the general credibility of Josephus, that his incidental allusions
to the topography of Palestine, and to the natural features of the country,
are singularly exact and precise, and are such as may well supersede the
necessity of proving his writings to be the genuine productions of a man
who had trodden the country, in its length and breadth, again and again, and
whose recollection of the minute circumstances of events was perfect, even
_after the lapse of many years. Josephus may indeed often be detected in
errors, when reporting the events of a hurried hour, and when he might have
observed what was passing confusedly ; but he is not often at fault when he
reports permanent facts; or those facta, of which the native of a country
so limited in extent as Palestine, is likely to retain, even in exile, a vivid
remembrance. It is thus that, at Rome, and five-and-twenty years after the
termination of the War, he mentions, with the ease and certainty of familiar
knowledge, the relative position and distances of towns and villages, and
describes graphically, what he describes at all. ‘“Jostphe a deviné le secret
de Richardson, l’intérét par le detail ; il rend les scenes présentes et voisines.”
But it may be observed, that, although a writer, gifted with the talent for

k2

οχὶ CHARACTER OF JOSEPHUS, AND

doing so, and who has witnessed any one battle, may describe any other
battle with vivid truth, the same graphic exactness in the description of
places, and of natural scenes, as well as of local costumes, is to be attained
in no other way than by a long-continued acquaintance with those very
places. Our conclusion, then, is this—That the writings of Josephus,
inasmuch as they offer, on every page, the indications of a personal and
familiar knowledge of the local circumstances of the narrative, and exhibit,
moreover, proofs of the faculty of exact observation, as well as a retentive
and precise memory, establish, by these internal characteristics, their own
genuineness, and the author's intimate knowledge of his subject.

“81 66 genre de talent ”—that of exact and vivid description—“ était le
génic, on devrait placer Jostphe au-dessus d’Hérodote, au-dessus de Tacite,
au-dessus de Thucydide. Souvent il marque ses narrations d'un point
lumineux, plus vif au regard, il fait jaillir ses personnages et ses couleurs avec
un vigueur plus éblouissante ; on voit circuler dans ses tableaux une atmo-
sphére plus rare et plus diaphane que chez ces grands maitres.”

PacE 42.
... +L marched throughout the entire night... .

If the site assumed for the ancient Cana of Galilee be correct —Kana-el-
Jelil, the distance thence to Tiberias was barely ten miles; which, at the
rate of march for infantry in Palestine—rugged as is the surface, might
occupy, under the disadvantage of darkness, four, or perhaps five hours :—
i.e. from the midnight watch, to the morning watch.

The narrative of this transaction, compared with that given in the Second
Book of the War, has been adduced as an instance of our author’s historical
delinquencies ; but such a comparison will barely support any serious charge
against him. These discrepancies are of the kind ordinarily attaching
to original historical documents. When writers of a later age set them-
selves to compile history from various materials, they take care to secure
an apparent consistency, by keeping out of sight whatever has perplexed
themselves, and which would perplex the reader. On the contrary, one
who narrates from memory, or from ‘his own notes, transactions in which
he was a party, is hurried forward by the vividness of his recollections, and
leaves on his pages frequent instances of unintentional error.

PaGE 43.

ες Shuddering at the thought of commencing a civil war... .

If this be Josephus’s own declaration, and in his own favour, and there-
fore of little value, it is nevertheless in perfect accordance with that course
of conduct which the entire narrative shows him to have pursued. With
the overwhelming forees of the empire louring around them, the infatuated

HISTORIC AUTHORITY OF HIS WRITINGS. cxli

Jews fell one upon another, on every trivial provocation—town attacking
town, with mad ferocity. Josephus well understood that these intestine
disorders could have no other effect than that of saving the Romans the
cost of a conquest. The account which he gives of his conduct while com-
manding in Galilee, accords, at once, with this professed anxiety to prevent
civil war, and with that political intelligence of which his writings give
incontestable evidence.

PaGe 44.
About this time....

In the order of events, as well as in some minute particulars, there is a
discrepancy between the narrative, 88 here given, and that in the Second
Book of the War. It may be enough to say, that several events nearly
resembling each other, and occurring about the same time, appear to have
become entangled in our author’s memory, so that, in recording them after
an interval of twenty-five or thirty years, some single facts belonging to the
one have been assigned to the other event, and are interchangeably presented
in the War, and the Lire.

PaGE 46.
.... the wife of Ptolemy ....

—Ftolemy, the administrator of Agrippa’s kingdom. This transaction
deserves a moment's notice, as illustrating the conduct and character of
Josephus. The “Great Plain” here means—the plain of Esdraélon, or
Megiddo, which is an undulating tract of fertile country, bounded by the rug-
ged eminences of Galilee on the north and east, and by the hills of Samaria
on the south and west. The noble lady here mentioned was passing, probably,
from the country beyond the Jordan—that, is to say, Gaulonitis—toward
Ceesarea, on the coast, which was then occupied by a Roman force. The
bandits of Dabaritta, or Daberath, a village situated beneath the western
brow of Mount Tabor, dashing from their heights upon the faint-hearted
escort, had captured all but the persons, who were suffered to pursue their
journey. That these freebooters should have dared to enter a town, in
broad day, driving their spoil before them, and a town too which was then
the head-quarters of the Jewish general and governor of the province, indi-
cates plainly enough what the state of the country was at the time, and what
were the modes of proceeding then usual with persons in authority. Several
of the Roman procurators, and Florus especially, had more than connived
at outrages of this sort—exacting a half of the booty for themselves, as the
price of impunity!

It seems to have been supposed by these robbers, that Josephus would
grant them a similar licence, on similar, or perhaps better terms. This may
be inferred from the expression employed by him :—these young men, he

exh -CHARACTER OF JOSEPLUUS, AND

rays, took it ill that they had not received—potpay, their part, or, a3 it
might be rendered, “ their customary allotment,” of the plunder, which was
what they had expected, and upon which they had confidently reckoned, in
bringing the whole into the town. Now this circumstance, so undesignedly
mentioned, affords sufficient proof of the fact—a fact very necessary to be
remembered in the perusal of the War—that a system of licensed anarchy,
and of undisguised plunder, had, for some time, prevailed throughout the
country. But we well know that, wherever such a system does prevail, it
calls into existence a lawless militia, the chiefs of which become at length
the masters of the unarmed population. Now Josephus has been assailed
on this very ground—that he denominates as brigands and assassins “ the
brave men” whom, had he not been himself a renegade, he would have
lauded as heroes and patriots! But it is certain that, whatever might be the
patriotism of the mass of the Jewish people, the country at this time
swarmed with armed bands, practised in every enormity, who had ceased to
think of outrage and massacre as crimes, and who had even been taught by
the Roman authorities to levy supplies by these very means. The grievous
wrongs that had been inflicted upon the nation, and the many instances in
which men, driven from their homes, were reduced to desperation, would
every day swell these predatory bands. In a country so densely populated
as Palestine then was, they may have amounted to many thousands. These,
when the country came again to be occupied by the forces of Vespasian,
were compelled to retire within the walls of Jerusalem, or of other munitions.
In this fact, then, we have a key to the history of the siege, and of its
unparalleled horrors. But at Tarichaa the Jewish commander was strong
enough to deal with these freebooters as he thought proper. He therefore
attached their plunder, and dismissed themselves, despoiled of all, or of all
but the silver and gold which they had previously secreted. This booty he
reserved for its rightful owner; and, if the supposition be not invidious,
we may surmise that a motive of policy, as well as a dictate of integrity,
influenced him in so doing. Hix real intention, from whatever impulse it
originated, he did not avow, alleging, in its stead, a reason of a more
popular kind. 1118 professed wish, to restore the booty to Ptolemy, he
supports by an assertion which was barely true—that the Jews were for-
bidden to plunder an enemy! The usages of war among the Jews did not
differ materially from those of the surrounding nations ; and certainly their
law did not forbid the appropriation or destruction of the goods of a public
enemy. It is nevertheless true that many precepts of the Mosaic code
enjoined a regard to the rights and welfare of a personal, or private foe.

Pace 48.

. I determined to have recourse to a piece of hardihood.
The discrepancies which appear in comparing the narrative of these events
with that given in the War (II. xxi. 5), may be accounted for without much
difficulty, on the supposition of a confused recollection of circumstances

HISTORIC AUTHORITY OF HIS WRITINGS. exlii

which involved immediate peril of life. Josephus wrote—if not always with
scrupulous accuracy, yet, as is evident, in the unsolicitous style of a man
who confides in the truth of his main affirmations.

In relation to these differences, it is important to remark that, as the Lire
was composed subsequently to the Wag, it may be considered as containing
the author’s reconsidered and amended statement of events. Accordant
with this circumstance is the fact, that, for the most part, the particulars
affirmed in the Lire have less of the air of exaggeration than those presented
in the War.

Josephus, in this instance, acts in a manner which is oriental, as well as
characteristic of his personal dispositions, and of his tendency to resort to
stratagem: he descends from the heroic to the dramatic; nor hesitates to
save himself by the compromise of his dignity as a chief. He does this to
an extent which proves his command of the country to have been of the
most precarious kind :—the favour of an hour was all he could rely upon;
and even his body-guard had been seduced to leave their general to his fate!
Energy, however, as well as craft and address, belonged to Josephus; nor
did he scruple to adopt measures of extreme ferocity, when necessary for
his personal safety. In the Wak he affirms that he flogged several of the
insurgents, with cruel severity; in the Lirx he says it was one, selected
from the number, whom he treated in this manner, and who also suffered
the loss of a hand. Such barbarities have always been common in the East ;
nor does Josephus appear to think any apology called for on the occasion.
‘‘Such was the stratagem,” he coolly says, “by which I was preserved
from this second conspiracy !” °

Pace 49.
.... the frontiers of Hippos... .

—A lofty range of country on the eastern side of the Lake of Gennesareth.
These refugee chiefs, driven from the Jewish territory by the fanaticism or
jealousy of the people, were thus thrown upon the mercy of king Agrippa.
Of the forbearance of this prince other instances are on record, and he
appears to advantage on various occasions in the history of the Jewish
War. It may be well to bear in mind the circumstance, that this Agrippa,
with Bernice his sister, retired to Rome, after the destruction of Jerusalem,
where he spent the residue of his days ; and, as we may conclude, maintained
a friendly intercourse with Josephus. This circumstance deserves notice for
two reasons—first, that this intimacy, continued during some years, would
afford to our author the best opportunities for making himself acquainted
with facts and events of which otherwise he could scarcely have obtained
any information ; and secondly, it should be remembered as suggesting a
caution on all occasions where the king’s reputation, or that of Bernice, is
implicated.

cxliv CHARACTER OF JOSEPHUS, AND
The inhabitants of Tiberias... .

The two towns, Tiberias and Tarichsa, with the country adjoining, had
been added, by the favour of Nero, to the dominions of king Agrippa ; and
yet, inasmuch as they belonged to Galilee, of which the Jews were in
military occupation, their allegiance depended always upon the actual
presence of a force sufficient for their protection. Throughout this narra-
tive, we find the people of these towns holding an ambiguous course, and
alternating in their political relations—now, courting their sovereign,
Agrippa, and professing their desire to submit to the Romans; and again
yielding themselves to the control of Josephus: in a word, siding with the
strongest, for the time being. In this instance, at the moment when a
Roman force was reported to be advancing, Josephus, although actually
engaged in constructing fortifications at the request of the citizens, became
the object of their virulent invectives! That mode of dealing with these
fickle Tiberians which had suggested itself to Josephus, but which, from
a prudential motive, he hesitated to adopt, was—to let loose the armed
rabble and strangers of the one town upon the other, with licence to plunder.
Such was the state of this wretched country—indicated as it is by the whole
tenor of the narrative.

Page δ].

... Lcould not without impiety put one of my own countrymen to death ...

What can this mean ?—As much, perhaps, as the profession just before
so coolly made—that “ it was not lawful for the Jews to plunder an enemy.”
Josephus declares that he regarded it as an act—ovyx ὅσιον, “unholy,” or
such as should be condemned on some ground of religious principle. But no
precept of the Mosaic law interdicted the infliction of capital punishment
upon a leader of sedition, and one who had put in jeopardy the lives of many
of the people. In this, and similar instances, elsewhere occurring, is to be
traced the pernicious influence of those maxims of the Pharisaic policy which
inclined public men, of this party, toward a weak and dangerous lenity.
The Sadducees, on the contrary, rejecting, as they did altogether, the notion
of future punishments, thought themselves compelled, in mere consistency,
to visit every offence—and especially when a Jew was the culprit, with the
most severe present chastisement. They well felt that, if men’s minds were
to be relieved from all restraints of religious fear—from the dread of God's
judgment in a life to come, it would be impossible to preserve public order,
or to prevent the outburst of every lawless passion, unless by the means of
an inexorable severity in visiting every transgression on the spot, with
a Draco’s heavy hand ;—smiting to the life, and smiting at the moment!
Such a system, it is evident, if it be not utterly impracticable in any case,
could be carried out only by a government the most despotic, and which, by

HISTORIC AUTHORITY OF HIS WRITINGS. cxly

a natural reaction, in rendering a people ferocious, maultiplies crimes, until
judges are appalled, and the executioner sickens in his office ; and it becomes
necessary to convert armies into engines of civil slaughter. So it was in
France, during those terrible years in which “ No God,” and “no futurity,”
was the creed of the state. Thus it is that impiety becomes, in a political
sense, synonymous with sanguinary anarchy. On the other hand, it is
manifest that a government may afford to be mild, just in proportion to the
influence of religious motives among the people. But the Pharisees, whose
great fault was blindness to the relative importance of moral obligations,
were, while absurdly rigid in trifles, dangerously lax on those urgent occa-
sions when the well-being of the social system is at stake :—they would at
once exact a tithe of kitchen herbs—and let forth upon society, unpuntshed
—a Barabbas! We find, more than once or twice in this narrative of
Josephus’s public conduct, that, while scrupling to inflict well-merited capital
punishment upon the armed disturbers of the public peace, he was frequently
compelled to resort to means the most ferocious for maintaining his authority ;
such as flagellations, which the Law of Moses did forbid, and mutilations
horribly savage! These, however, were the modes and usages of the times
and people, and they are not fairly to be imputed to Josephus, as an
individual.

It is observed by Lightfoot (on John xviii. 31), that the absurd reluctance
of the Jewish authorities—when under Pharisaic control, to inflict capital
punishment upon any of “the people of God,” had produced its natural
effect, in filling the country with rapine and murder. To such an extent
did robbery and murder prevail, that the Sanhedrim no longer could—nor
did it dare, take any sort of cognisance of these disorders:—silent leges
inter scelera :—as to cases of uncertain homicide, there was no inquiry; and
upon known murders no judgment. The Talmudist says, “Cum viderent
quod adeo multiplicati erant homicids, ut non possent eos judicare, dixerunt
—Discedamus....” This frightful condition of the Jewish people is indi-
cated everywhere in the narrative of Josephus; and the recollection of
it serves as ἃ comment upon the narrative of the war. To designate these
troops of licensed murderers—as some recent writers have done—the
‘“‘ Jewish patriots,” who would have lived peaceably if Josephus had not
betrayed them, is surely to go to the utmost extent of chivalrous absurdity !

PaGE δῶ.

.... Simon was at this time at variance with me... .

Our author’s enemies have affirmed, that whoever opposed him, or was
his rival, is blackened by him as a monster of wickedness. Thus Basnage:
“ While Josephus invariably represents -himself as the most upright, incor-
ruptible, and patriotic of men, no colours are ‘too dark for the character of
his antagonist.” ‘Byt we have here an:instance to the contrary; and it is a

exlvi CUARACTER OF JOSEPHUS, AND

signal one. This Simon, son of Gamaliel—a man of rank and consequence,
Josephus acknowledges to have been his personal enemy, and the principal
party in the endeavours then making to remove him from his government;
nevertheless he is not merely—not vilified, but is mentioned in terms of
high encomium—at least as to his intellectual qualities.

.... were I removed from Galilee... -

History abounds with parallel instances—especially during seasons of
confusion—of this fear of the governor of a remote province, on the part of
his superiors. The case is similar to many that might be cited, and the fact
here acknowledged by Josephus, that a considerable party at Jerusalem
desired to remove him from his government, while yet it might be practicable
to do so, will not in itself warrant an inference to his disadvantage. At the
same time we are far from accepting his own account of the transaction, as if
it had been the report of an indifferent witness. There might be reason to
apprehend that so able and politica man, and one who was known to dis-
approve of the attempt to resist the power of Rome, might, when he had
firmly established his authority, in so rich and populous a province as
Galilee, and when he had organized an army, lead it up to the metropolis—
break the disorderly forces of the fuctions, and then win for himself a
Herod’s crown, as the reward of his services.

The supposition of such a design was by no means extravagant ; and
although there are no grounds for actually imputing it to Josephus, we
cannot profess to think it improbable that an intention of this kind was
harboured by him. The desire he manifested to compose the petty discords
of the Galilean towns—to prevent the waste of blood and treasure, thence
so often arising, and to recommend himself to king Agrippa and to
Bernice ; as well as his exertions to fortify the towns, would not con-
tradict such a surmise. But if a design like this had been executed—
Jerusalem would have been saved from overthrow ; and the people, however
rigorously dealt with, would probably have continued to occupy their soil.
Another course of events was, however, to have place, and therefore
Josephus, although not removed from his government by his rivals, was not
suffered so to consolidate his power there, as might enable him to march—
Cesar-like, upon the Metropolis. On the contrary, he could do nothing
more than maintain a precarious authority until the moment when his dis-
orderly band was crushed by the legions led by Vespasian and Titus.

PaGE 55.
Anxious for my own safety....

The phrase employed by Josephus—*xepi τῆς ἐμαντοῦ φροντίζοντος σωτηριας,
might admit even of ἃ more emphatic rendering, as if he had said—“ think-
ing of nothing but how to effect my escape from the impending danger.”

HISTORIC AUTHORITY OF HIS WRITINGS. exlvii

In truth, it would be doing our author a great injustice to accuse him of
having been at any time indifferent to his personal safety. From the whole
narrative we gather the opinion, that the first impulse of nature—self-
preservation, was with him a foremost rule of conduct. The tidings con-
veyed to him by his father had shown him the extent of the danger to
which he was now exposed, and he resolved to make his retreat good, while
it should be possible to do so. And yet the spontaneous frankness with
which he acknowledges this determination fairly entitles him to credit in
stating the circumstances which afterwards induced him to abide the peril,
and to maintain his position. It is to be remarked moreover, that, while
on the one hand, he confesses his personal alarms, he attributes the zeal of
the populace in urging his stay to no flattering motives of affection toward
himself ; but purely to their regard for their own security.

.... ὦ remarkable dream....

—Concerning either the reality, or the source of this dream, we shall
make no inquiry. It is not to be doubted, however, that a visitation and
an assurance so seasonable at this critical moment, when our author's fate
depended upon the opinion of the populace in his favour, was communicated
in the morning to those who would take care to repeat the auspicious tale
to others. Could the upright intentions of this heaven-protected chief be
questioned ! and how ought the endeavours then on foot for removing him
from the province to be resented! Moreover, inasmuch as he had been
suspected of harbouring the design to betray his country to the Romans—a
suspicion which, had it gained ground among the people, must have proved
fatal to him on the spot, this “‘remarkable dream,” or vision, furnished a
djrect, and, as it seemed, a supernatural contradiction of the slanderous
insinuation. Josephus betray his country to the Romans !—It is Heaven
that sends him forth to fight for it! Nothing could have been more
opportune than this vision of the night ! we may therefore excuse ourselves
from the task of sifting the evidence on which its reality rests.

Pace 70.
.... L would address a few words to Justus... .

This Justus of Tiberias, the literary rival, as well as the political anta-
ronist, and the bitter personal enemy of Josephus, is mentioned in the ninth
section of the Lirz, with an acknowledgment of his ability and accomplish-
ments, and a round assertion, moreover, of the turpitude of his dispositions,
the baseness of his conduct, and the falseness of that narrative of the Jewish
war which he had composed and published. To these heavy criminations—
the circumstances being considered, we ghall not attach implicit faith. The

exlviii CHARACTER OF JOSEPHUS, AND

History of the Jews, by this Justus, and his Annals, or Chronicle, although
they have not come down to modern times, were extant in the tenth century,
if not later. These writings must, soon after their appearance, have attracted
attention, inasmuch as the author is familiarly mentioned by writers of the
next age. Diogenes Laertius, about a century later, in his Life of Socrates,
reports an incident on the authority of this Jewish writer—“ as says Justus
of Tiberias, in his Stemma.” Φησὶν Ἰοῦστος ὁ Τιβερεεὺς ἐν τῷ Στέμματι.
The circumstance of this early reputation, and that he had been recognised
as holding a place in the circle of Grecian literature, may also be inferred
from the allusion made to him by Stephen of Byzantium, a writer of
the fifth century, who, under the word Tiberias, in his account of cities,
says,—‘ A city of Judwa, situated upon the lake of Gennesareth, and built
by Herod. Of this city Justus was a citizen, who wrote a history of the
Jewish war, in the time of Vespasian.” Whether the works of Justus had
been seen by Eusebius, who mentions him as a writer, is not certain. This
learned historian, in citing the closing paragraph of the ANTIQUITIES, and
as it seems, the passage now before us in the Lire, does but report the
judgment of Josephus upon his rival without giving himself the pains to
ascertain its correctness, which perhaps he had not the means of doing in
any authentic manner. Eccvxs. Hist. IIT. 10.

Jerome, in his catalogue of ecclesiastical writers, assigns a place to Justus
of Tiberias, of whom he says, “that he was of the province of Galilee, and
also took in hand (as Josephus had done) to write a history of Jewish affairs,
as well as to compile certain short commentaries—quosdam commentariolos—
τίνα ὑπομνήματα. But this writer Josephus accuses of falsification. It is,
however, certain that he wrote at the same time as Josephus.” Jerome had
probably seen these writings, although this is not to be certainly inferred
from his language. They were, however, extant in the ninth century, as
appears from the account given of them by the learned and judicious
Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople. The passage is as follows :-—

“T have read the Chronicle of Justus of Tiberias, the title of which
is—‘Toverov Tyzepeewc, ᾿Ιυνζξαίων βασιλέων, τῶν ἐν τοῖς στέμμασιν. He was
of the city of Tiberias in Galilee. Commencing his history with Moses,
he brings it down to the death of Agrippa, the seventh of the Herodian
dynasty, and the last of the Jewish kings, and who, receiving his kingdom
under Claudius, increased it under Nero, and still further under Vespasian.
He died in the third year of Trajan, and at this point the history termi-
nates. The mcthod of this writer is extremely concise, so that he passes
over many most important events. Himself a Jew, and labouring under the
prejudices common to his nation, he makes no mention whatever of the
advent of Christ, or of his history and miracles. He was the son of a Jew,
named Pistus ; and—if we are to believe Josephus, he was a man of unex-
ampled wickedness—the slave of avarice and sensuality. He took a part
opposed to Josephus, against whom he contrived many plots. But Josephus,
although many times he had his @nemy in his power, always let him go

HISTORIC AUTHORITY OF HIS WRITINGS. exlix

unharmed—with reproaches only. The history which he composed is said
to be a fabrication ; especially those parts which relate to the war between
the Jews and the Romans, and to the capture of Jerusalem.” Arr. XX XIII

We are not to interpret Photius in this instance, as undertaking to decide
upon the respective merits of the two rival Jewish historians. He simply
reports the judgment that had been passed upon the one of them by the
other; and in doing so, he intimates his own hesitation, in the significant
phrase—Ge φησιν ‘Ilwonxoc— 80 says Josephus !” It appears, however, from
this passage, that Justus survived to a late period, and might be actually
residing at Rome at the time when Josephus composed this Life of himself :—
the personal address, therefore, which he uses, and which sounds uncouthly,
if we suppose the object of it to have been dead at the time, may have had
a direct meaning—* I would address a few words to Justus”—and again—

‘“‘ How then, Justus—that I may address him as present.”

But the circumstance that his rival and personal enemy was then living—
and perhaps frequenting the literary circles at Rome, or making a figure in
those of Alexandria, may very properly be regarded as having constituted. a
check upon our author, in compiling his own history of the war; for he could
not doubt that any flagrant departure from truth would be eagerly caught at
‘by his adversary, and exhibited to his disadvantage. False as might be the
memoirs of Justus, Josephus must know that truth would be his own best
defence against the insinuations of such an opponent.

In the criminative address to his enemy, now before us, Josephus confi-
dently appeals to the published “ Commentaries” of the Emperor Vespasian,
as well as to other unimpeachable documents, which he would scarcely have
ventured to do, unless well assured of the correctness of his allegations.
Nor can we doubt that his narrative of the Jewish war, was, as he declares
it to have been, accredited and sanctioned by the principal persons who had
been therein immediately concerned. And if we may rely upon the genuine-

ness of the two notes from Agrippa, they must be regarded ns carrying great
weight, in relation to all that portion of the history of which this prince had
a personal—or a not very remote knowledge.

These two notes, as here cited by our author, claim some attention.
Agrippa is supposed to have died at Rome, a.p. 90; but Josephus speaks of
him as deceased at the time when he wrote: he also alleges the fact, which
Justus had professed, namely, that the history so tardily published by him,
had been composed twenty years; and allowing some time to have elapsed
between the destruction of Jerusalem, and the moment when Justus com-
menced his task, and again an interval between the death of Agrippa, and
the publication of this history, and yet another between the publication of
the history of Justus, and that of the Life .of Josephus, this last eveht must
be placed near the end of Donitian’s reign, and twenty-four, or twenty-five
years subsequent to the overthrow of the Jewish polity. The History of
the War had, however, been in the hands of the author’s friends some years
previously to this date, and at a time wiftn many therein concerned were

a CHARACTER OF JOSEPHUS, AND

still living. Whether they were persons able, or if able, willing, effectively
to contradict any misstatements of facts, is more than we can certainly affirm.
Agrippa, if these notes be genuine (and there is no positive ground for
questioning them) did not think his friend’s work open to any material
exceptions. The first of them indicates the fact—and it is important—that
several narratives of the Jewish war had already appeared, and which, in
the judgment of Agrippa, were all inferior in accuracy to that of Josephus.
This first note acknowledges a first portion—ri+ BiB\o1»—and asks that the
remaining portions, or books, might be sent to him—wéuwre δέ μοι καὶ rac
λοιτάς. The second note was probably written in acknowledgment, either
of the whole, or of a principal part of the subsequent history ; and in this,
Agrippa, while admitting the general competency of Josephus to the task he
had undertaken, intimates that there were yet many circumstances, πολλὰ,
with which he had not become fully acquainted, and which the king promises
to communicate in a private conference. Now this clause in the second
note furnishes an indirect attestation of the genuineness of the letter itself ;
for Josephus voluntarily produces a letter from a personage of high rank,
which, while it pronounces a general commendation upon the work, conveys
the less flattering intimation that there were still “many things,” relating to
the subjugation of Judsea, concerning which the author was uninformed.
This qualified approval, from a man so judicious, and so well informed—and
so well disposed toward the Jewish people, is certainly entitled to great
weight, as a warranty of the general veracity and accuracy of our author's
History of the War.

PaGE 77.
....» Vespasian... arrived in Tyre.

A new order of events now commences. Hitherto the Romans, content
to leave the infatuated Jewish people to weaken themselves by their destruc-
tive feuds—city against city, and the predatory bands against all —had merely
maintained their position, as masters of the coast, while king Agrippa, from
his territory beyond the Jordan,-watched the insurgent province— Galilee,
and stood ready to afford. aid to such of the towns as sought for it at his
hands. But this state of confusion, during which the majesty of the Roman
empire was insulted by the unpunished rebellion of a province so important,
was to have its limits ; and it had become the more necessary to bring the
insurrection to a speedy end, because the peace of the empire was then
threatened on several sides : nor could its sullen master conceal from those
around him the perplexities that distracted his bosom.

Our Josephus clearly understood what must be the result of the arrival of
Vespasian ; and that for himself, and his deluded countrymen, the only point
undetermined, was that of a less or a more cruel fate—death, or slavery!
The Roman general advanced, unresisted, into the heart of Galilee; and
Josephus, whatever might be the numbers that were nominally under his

--

HISTORIC AUTHORITY OF HIS WRITINGS. ch

command, knew that nothing remained for him but to shut himself up in the
only fortress of Galilee in which he might possibly withstand awhile the
impetus of the legions. Thither, therefore, he hurried; and for the events
of the following weeks we are referred to the History of the War. After
making this reference, he proceeds very summarily to report what concerns
himself alone, up to the period when this memoir was composed.

PaGeE 79.
ἐνὸν I made request to Titus on their behalf ....

The extent of the favours which Josephus might feel himself free to solicit
from the conqueror, in behalf of his countrymen, being limited—how largely .
soever he might ask for himself—it was only natural that he should employ
this parsimonious grace for the release of his relations and personal friends.
Probably it was not in his power to divert, or even to soften the revenge of
Titus; revenge not indeed unusual in similar instances of national resist-
ance, but which was indulged to the full when the unhappy Jews were to
expiate their heavy offences !

Another question, however, presents itself—Whether a man of deep and
generous feeling could have brought himself to accept personal favours from
the hand of the inexorable destroyer of his people and country? Josephus
might deem the pitiless sale of thousands of his countrymen into distant
lands, and the horrid deaths inflicted upon thousands of them at home, a
Visitation not heavier than the guilt in which they bad implicated themselves
merited! Be it so; and yet a man is always free to express his sympathy
with his guilty and suffering kindred, by modestly declining the honours
and the wealth that are proffered him by their gory executioner.

Although we must accept the unvouched-for word of Josephus as to the
fact, we can readily believe that he did and that he felt as much as he here
professes, and that he used his interest with Titus in behalf of his friends
as far as he thought it safe to attempt any such interposition; and we can
believe that any further intervention on his part would have been as un-
availing as he thought it perilous. But it remains certain, and by his own
account, that he did accept, and that he continued to enjoy, the favours of
the relentless men who had crushed and trampled in the dust the prostrate
Juda! All is, however, historically consistent in these incidents. Josephus
did not disown his people; on the contrary, as a learned and literary man,
and when the time came that he could do so in perfect security, he employed
himself in recommending their institutions to the favour of the polished
world: and as an historian, he adheres, in the main, to truth; but nature
had not bestowed upon him the nobler qualities of the soul, in any remark-
able degree ; nor does it appear that his sense of religion was of that vivid
kind which might supply the want of native generous sentiments. Josephus,
according to his own statement, became wealthy by successive grants of

eli CHARACTER OF JOSEPHUS, AND

land in Galilee and Judzxa ;—a property, we may say, which τουδὶ bear a
heavy rent-charge, payable out of the funds of his reputation, to the end of
time !

Pace 80.
οὐ ον my domestic history.

The events of this “domestic history” are not of worse complexion than
was characteristic of Jewish and Rabbinical manners at thia time ; but they
are not of better. By means of corrupt glosses, and of actual falsifications
of the text of Scripture, on the part of the blind and profligate Traditionists
who then ruled the national conscience, the marriage tie had become almost
- pugatory, and the inevitable consequence—an extreme corruption of manners,
had followed. The Jewish women boldly challenged to themselves the
privilege of ‘departing ” from their husbands ; while the mes, at the impulse
of every caprice, were accustomed to divorce their wives.

This “ domestic history” supplies, by implication, a sufficient contradic-
tion of the surmise entertained by some, that Josephus, although from
motives of policy he carefully concealed the fact, had become a convert to
Christianity ; for the very lowest rate of Christian profession would have
forbidden him this liberty of divorce ; or at least, it would have precluded
the open avowal of the fact in his memoir. He speaks of these things as if
altogether unconscious of wrong; and thus indicates very plainly the fact,
that his Pharisaic and Rabbinical notions had not in any degree been dis-
turbed by even a partial submission to a purer moral code.

.... Domitian and Domitia....

The motives of the favour shown to Josephus by Domitian and his
consort, as they cannot be known, ought not perhaps to be surmised. This
tyrant’s inexorable hatred of learned men and astrologers, and his rude
contempt of literature, would seem to have rendered our author’s credit at
court very precarious ; and yet, what is affirmed by Suetonius may justify
the conjecture, that fertile as he had ever been in catching at the means of
personal safety and advancement, he had found opportunity to get himself
usefully employed—instead of strangled—by the emperor.

Domitian, says Suetonius, “liberalia studia in initio imperii neglexit,
quanquam bibliothecas incendio absumptas” (the fire probably which is
mentioned by Dio Cassius, as happening in the preceding reign) “ impen-
sissime reparare curasset, exemplaribus undique petitis : missisque Alexan-
driam, qui describerent, emendarentque.” c. 23. On this ground we are free
to assume the probability, that Josephus, whose extensive learning—Grecian
and oriental, was well known at court, would find it easy to proffer to the
emperor his valuable services in collecting copies of standard works, and
in collating such as were brought from all parts to supply the place of those

HISTORIC AUTHORITY OF HIS WRITINGS. cli

that had been consumed. He does not indeed mention his having been
sent to Alexandria on this errand ; but it is highly probable that he might
be concerned in directing the mission, and in examining the works procured
thence. This supposition may, at the least, suffice for excluding one that
would be less favourable to his reputation. It is affirmed by Philostratus
(Life of Apollonius Tyanzus, 1. vii. c. 4), that, under Domitian’s ‘reign of
terror, philosophy was dismayed, and that the philosophers, “laying aside
their garb, fled, some to the remotest parts of Gaul, some to the deserts of
Libya, or of Scythia, while some (not our Josephus, we may hope) sought
safety in professing the profligate doctrines of the court !”

As to the unhappy Domitin—now repudiated, and anon—a heavier mis-
fortune—recalled to the rights and the humiliations of a wife—quasi
efflagitante populo, reduxit—it is easy to believe, that an accomplished man
like Josephus, gifted, moreover, with tact and suppleness, and who had early
learned, in the court of Poppsea, how to please and to amuse, would re-
commend himself by the same means to another personage occupying a
similar position, and equally unhappy as a wife.—elra δεηθέντος τοῦ δήμον
κατηλλάγη μὲν τῇ Δομιτίᾳ, ἐχρῆτο δ᾽ οὐδὲν ἧττον τῇ ᾿Ιουλίᾳ.--- Ὁ 10. Cassivs,
(or ZONARAS. )

.+. + Hpaphroditus....

Who was this friend and patron of Josephus? If this could be ascer-
tained, some light would be thrown upon the subject now particularly before
us—the personal character and credit of Josephus ; that is to say—if it be
true, that a man may be known by his associates. Josephus salutes his
friend 88 κράτιστε dvdpdv—best of men, a form of address which recalls that
employed by St. Luke, κράτιστε Θεόύφιλε ; but which in the dedication of the
Acts, the inspired writer reduces to the simple vocative—& Θεόφιλε. In
the exordium of the second book against Apion, this friend and patron 18
again addressed, and as his “most honoured” —or, “ very dear Epaphroditus”
-οτιμιωτατέ μοι 'Exagpodcre : and in the Preface to the Antiquities he is—not
addressed, but spoken of—in terms of the highest commendation. Our
author had, he says, resumed with spirit his arduous labours in compiling.
that work, “at the instigation of several persons, but chiefly of Epaphroditus
—a man eager in pursuit of every branch of learning, but especially of
history ;—he himself having been long concerned with affairs of state, and
having had personal experience of many changes ; under all exhibiting an
admirable energy of nature, and an immovable adherence to what is virtuous
and noble.” .

It has been affirmed by some of the editors of Josephus, that this, his
distinguished friend, was that Epaphroditus who is mentioned by Dio Cassius,
Tacitus, and Suetonius, as having been the freedman of Nero, and the
secretary of Domitian, and who was put to death by that tyrant in the year
preceding his own, on the allegation of his having assisted in effecting the
suicide of his master. But this assumed identity, although it seems

é

cliv CHARACTER OF JOGEPHUS, AND

otherwise probable, is not to be reconciled with the fact of his being addressed
as living, by Josephus, in the treatise against Apion ; and this, both at the
commencement of the second book, and in the closing sentence of it. Now
the ANTIQUITIES having been completed, as the author declares, in the
thirteenth year of the reign of Domitian, Α.Ὁ. 983—the War eighteen years
earlier—the Memoir of his Life some time subsequently, and the Books
against Apion, last, and, as it appears, after some considerable interval, we
should be carried forward to the early years of Trajan’s reign—that is to
say, three or four years after the death of that Epaphroditus who is
mentioned by the writers just referred to. That the freedman of Nero is the
Epaphroditus (and the Epaphras) mentioned and commended by St. Paul,
there seems some reason to believe ; and that the same was the master and
patron of Epictetus, the philosopher. A general resemblance of character
appears to connect these scattered notices of the person, as well as several
points of historical coincidence. Whether the chronological difficulty, above
mentioned, be absolutely insuperable, we shall not spend time in attempting
to decide. Yet if the identity of St. Paul’s friend, and of the patron‘of
Josephus might be assumed, the divinely-sanctioned reputation of this
person must be allowed to lend a good degree of credit to our author, and
to his writings ;—for it appears that this Epaphroditus allowed himself to be
thus addressed by the Jewish writer, in repeated instances, and during a
long course of years.

..«. close my narrative.

No certain information concerning our author’s last years is to be collected
from any extant sources. When his patrons of the Flavian family had
fullen, and when ‘a new king arose which knew not Joseph”—wNerva, and
then ‘Trajan, he probably found his position at Rome precarious, and unless
We suppose the grant of lands in Judea to have been rescinded, he would
naturally repair to his native country, where—still protected, as we may
believe, by the Roman authorities, he might the most securely end his days.
The manner in which he speaks of Domitian, and of Domitia, seems to
imply that both were deceased at the time when he wrote. ‘The same may
be inferred, with some certainty, from the passage in which he upbraids his
rival, Justus, who had withheld his history of the Jewish War, until all
those public persons were dead who might have convicted him of misrepre-
sentation ;—but Domitian, the son of Vespasian, and brother of Titus,
was one of these, and he was far more to be dreaded than was either his
father or brother. It may be concluded as certain, that a writer so thoroughly
Jewish as was Justus, and a professed hater of the Romans, would not ineur
the risk of publishing a history of the fall of his country, during the life of
the brother of its conqueror. Besides—Justus professed, when he published
his history, that it had already been written twenty years. Now we must
suppose two or three years to have elapsed after the devastation of Judza,
before this writer could have found the leisure to commence his history;

HISTORIC AUTHORITY OF HIS WRITINGS. οἷν

and two or three more, for the actual composition of it: we shall thus be
brought to the period in question—that of the extinction of the Flavian
family. A year or two more may well be supposed to have intervened before
Josephus could be prepared to publish his own Life :—again another interval
allowed for the books against Apion ; and thus we find Josephus living, and
in the full possession of his intellectual energy, at about the sixty-fourth
year of ‘his age, A.D. 102. Neither tradition nor conjecture enables us to
trace him to a later date.

It must have been immediately after his obtaining a tranquil establish-
ment at Rome, under the shelter of Vespasian’s favour, that Josephus
addressed himself to the task of composing the history of the more recent
misfortunes, and the overthrow of his country. This work, entitled, THE
JEwisH WAR, OR THE JEWISH ΗΙΒΊΟΝΥ CONCERNING THE CAPTURE |
(of Jerusalem), was completed, if not given to the world, during the
reign of Vespasian, and before the death of Agrippa; and therefore not
much later than a.p. 75; or five years after the conclusion of the war.
An earlier date can scarcely be assigned to it, considering the extent and
difficulty of the work, and the fact, moreover, that it had been written,
as he informs us, in Hebrew, or rather, the Syro-Chaldaic, which was then
spoken by his countrymen—whence it was translated into Greek, with
the aid of some persens better qualified than he then could be, to reach
the purity and propriety which the “Jewish War” actually exhibits. His
having received this kind of aid he candidly acknowledges in the latest of
his writings—the treatise against Apion; an extract from which will be
appropriate in this place. Having spoken of Jewish histories—canonical
and common, Josephus says :—

“As for myself, I have written a particular account of the (late) war,
strictly in accordance with the facts of which I had personal knowledge ;
for I commanded in Galilee against the Romans, whom we withstood as
long as it was possible. When taken prisoner by them I was compelled to
attend Vespasian and Titus ; at first in bonds; but afterwards being set at
large, I accompanied the latter when he advanced from Alexandria to carry
on the siege of Jerusalem. During the period of the siege nothing escaped
my observation ; and as to what occurred under my eye in the Roman
camp, I carefully noted it ; while it was I alone who understood the reports
made by deserters from the city. Afterwards, when enjoying leisure at
Rome, and having all my materials in readiness, I engaged the assistance of
persons competent in the Greck language, by whose aid I composed my
history. Confident of the truth and accuracy of what I had written, I did
not scruple to submit it, in the first instance, to those who had commanded
in the war—namely, Vespasian and Titus ; and to whom I appealed as my
witnesses. To these imperial persons, I say, the first copies of the work

12

elvi CHARACTER OF JOSEPHUS, AND

were presented, and afterwards to many of the Romans, who also had acted
apart in the war. Moreover, I disposed of many copies—éezxixpaccor—to
such of my countrymen as were conversant with Greek literature ; and
among these were Julius Archelaus, and the venerable Herod, and the
most admirable king Agrippa. All these bore testimony to my strict
regard to truth, and if through ignorance or partiality I had misrepre-
sented or omitted facts, they would neither have dissembled, nor have
repressed their opinion.”

We have already noticed the qualified approval of Agrippa, as reported
by Josephus himself, and it is certain that, when, after the lapse of years, he
passed over the same ground in the concluding portion of the Antiquities,
and in the Life of himself, he reduced many of his earlier statements of
facts within more modest limits, and tacitly corrected many errors. That
he did so, is surely to his credit, and it should be regarded as the indication,
at least, of an honest purpose.

Soon after the publication of the War, Josephus must have commenced
his more laborious work,—THe ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS, in which, as
he acknowledges, he advanced languidly, and therefore slowly, until urged
to quicken his pace by his friends, and especially by his patron, Epaphro-
ditus. This work was completed, as he tells us, in the thirteenth year of
Domitian (a.p. 93). He had then reached the fifty-sixth year of his age.
In concluding the ANTIQUITIES, the author professes his intention to
compile a memoir of his family, and of his own-life, as a proper appendix
to that work. In the Lirz which is now before the reader, this purpose is
accomplished. The two books against Apion and others, who had laboured
to derogate from the honours of his people, were the last written of his
extant works, and did not appear (as we have already stated) until some
time after the accession of Trajan. ‘The small treatise entitled, “A dis-
course concerning the Maccabees,” and which has passed under the name of
Josephus, is, on very sufficient grounds, adjudged to be spurious.

The writings of the Jewish historian have been very frequently mentioned
and cited by ancient writers, from the date, almost, of their appearance, and
onward in regular succession. Of these “ Testimonies,” as they are called,
the reader may expect some account. They are as ample and satisfactory
as most of those which attest the antiquity and genuinencss of the remains
of ancient literature. Suetonius—(Vespasian, c. 5), enumerates the many
omens and presages which had kindled the ambition of Vespasian, or had
served to prepare him for his high fortune. Among these, he mentions the
response he obtained from an oracle of Mount Carmel—Carmeli Dei. oracu-
lum—a pagan oracle unquestionably, (notwithstanding the endeavours of
the Carmelites to establish the contrary,) assuring him that the highest
thoughts which his ambition might entertain, should be realized. . “‘More-

HISTORIC AUTHORITY OF HIS WRITINGS. elvil

over,” adds the historian, “ Josephus, one of the captives of noble rank,
and who was then in bonds, confidently affirmed that he should speedily
be released by him (Vespasian) as emperor.” Suetonius was the con-
temporary of Josephus—surviving him a few years, and he might probably
have received this, and other facts connected with Jewish affairs, from our
author personally.

A few years later than Suetonius, Justin Martyr, the Christian philoso-
pher, composed his “ Exhortation to the Greeks,” in which he appeals to
the evidence of the two Jewish writers, Philo and Josephus, as well known
to those whom he addresses. The latter plainly indicates, says Justin, that
the institutions of his people were ancient, by the very title of his work,
which runs thus—“ Jewish Antiquities, by Flavius Josephus ;” and again
in the context—“ Philo and Josephus, the learned historians, who have
written of Jewish affairs ;” and a little further, ‘‘ Philo and Josephus, those
intelligent and approved writers, who have treated of these things.”

To Justin Martyr, succeeds, immediately, the learned Christian Father,
Irenzus, whose mode of citing Josephus seems to indicate that already his
works had become generally known. The passage is from a fragment, found
only in a MS. of the Imperial Library at Vienna. “ Josephus affirms that
Moses having been brought up in the palace (of Pharaoh) was chosen—
xEporoynOsic—general, against the Ethiopians, and having vanquished
them he married the daughter of the (Ethiopian) king, who for the love she
bore him, surrendered to him the state—ro\rv.” This citation is from the
AntiquiTiEs, II. c. x.

Theophilus, bishop of Antioch, and a man of extensive learning, addressed
his Three Books in defence of Christianity to the heathen Autolycus, about
A.D. 170 ; or less than eighty years after the death of Josephus. This
writer, having referred to the testimony of Manetho the Egyptian, and
Menander the Ephesian, adds—‘“ and Josephus, who composed a histofy of
the Jewish war with the Romans.”

The learned Clement of Alexandria flourished only a few years later than
the writer last named ; he cites Josephus, Strom. i., in the course of an
exposition of Daniel’s prophecy of the “seventy weeks,” in these terms:
“and Flavius Josephus, the Jew, who compiled the history of Jewish
affairs, collating the times, says that from Moses to David, &c.”

Tertullian, the contemporary of Clement, in his “ Apology,” addressed to
the heathen, briefly mentions our author ; but the terms in which he does
so are important, as showing the light in which he was viewed at so early
atime. Tertullian, after enumerating the writers—oriental and Grecian,
whose writings might be adduced in support of what he had affirmed, adds
—et qui istos aut probat, aut revincit, Judxus Josephus, antiquitatum
Judaicarum VERNACULUS VINDEX. Our Josephus was then accounted the
‘“‘home-born champion ” of the Jewish people, by a writer so well informed
os Tertullian.

Dio Cassius, who flourished in the early part of the third century,

elviii CHARACTER OF JOSEPHUS, ETC.

frequently cites Josephus. That portion of his work which is extant in the
abridgement of Xiphilinus, contains not merely many facts which probably
were derived from our author's pages, but a report of that first interview
with Vespasian, on which the fate of Josephus depended. Among the cir-
cumstances which had indicated the high fortune of the emperor, this was
one, says Dio, that “‘ Josephus, a Jew who had been taken prisoner by him,
and bound, smiled (when brought before him) and said—Now indeed you
bind me, but a year hence, you—then emperor, will release me.”

Minutius Felix, the accomplished Christian apologist, finds occasion, in
the course of his erudite confutation of heathenism, to appeal to the history
of the Jews, and enjoins his antagonist to peruse the writings of that people;
or, if he preferred the Roman writers (those who wrote for the Roman
public, whether employing the Latin or Greek language) passing more
ancient ; ‘“ examine the works of Flavius Josephus, or of Antonius
Julianus.”"—XXXITII.

Origen, by far the most erudite of the early Christian writers, often
quotes our author, and in two instances so quotes him as almost to exclude
the supposition of the genuineness of that celebrated passage (Antiq. X VIIL
iii. 3), in which the Saviour Christ is distinctly mentioned. These refe-
rences occur in the Treatise against Celsus, I. 6. xlvii, and in the Com-
mentary upon the Gospel of Matthew, X. c. xvii. Referring to St. James,
called the Just, Origen says, “ Such was his reputation among the people,
for νἱτίυο---δικαιοσύνῃ, that Flavius Josephus, who wrote of the Jewish
Antiquities in twenty books, wishing to assign a reason for the calamities of
his people and the destruction of the temple, affirms that their overthrow
was divinely inflicted as a punishment for their guilty bebaviour towards
James, the brother of Jesus, who is called—the Christ. Strange is it,”
adds Origen, “that this writer who would not admit our Jesus to be the
Christ, should nevertheless render such a testimony to the virtue of
James !” |

Porphyry, the adversary of the Christian faith, writing a few years later
than Origen, in his Treatise de Abstinentid, IV. § 11, refers very distinctly,
though briefly, to our author’s writings ; desigaating them in their order.
Speaking of the three Jewish secta, and particularly of the Essenes, this
writer says: “These, the third sect, followed a course of life which is
described by Josephus in several places of his writings; as for instance, in
the second book of his Jewish history (the War), which he embraces in
seven books: and in the eighteenth book of the Antiquities, which are com-
prised in twenty books ; and in the second of the two books addressed to
the Greeks ” (against Apion).

Thus it appears that at the close of the third century, and indeed at an
earlier period, the writings of Josephus—namely, the Jewis1 War, the
ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS, and the Two Books Acatnst APION, were well
known to the learned world, and were customarily cited as the most authentic
sources of infurmation, relating to Jewish affairs.

CRITICAL NOTES ON SOME PASSAGES IN THE JEWISH WAR. chix.

From this era, onward, the references to Josephus, especially by the
Christian writers—the Fathers, are very frequent, and many of them are
precise ; but it would be superfluous to adduce these later testimonies in
this place, inasmuch as the early quotations are those alone to which, in 8
literary sense, much importance attaches.

Nevertheless, it may be well to place before the reader the opinion
entertained of Josephus by Jerome, by a great deal the most learned
and competent of the Fathers. In one place—Eyist. ad Marcellum,
Jerome cites Josephus, designating him as—vernaculus scriptor Judzorum ;
in another—Epist. ad Eustochium, he calls him the “Grecian Livy.” In
the Catalogue of Ecclesiastical Writers, his works are enumerated :
“‘ Josephus, son of Matthias, a priest of Jerusalem, having been made
prisoner by Vespasian, was left with his son Titus ; and afterwards coming
to Rome, presented his Seven Books concerning the Jewish capture to
the two emperors—father and son, who consigned them to the public
library. Such was his reputation that a statue was erected to his honour.
He moreover composed twenty books of Antiquities, commencing from the
creation of the world, and continued to the fourteenth year of the reign of
Domitian, and two books, also archeological, against Apion, a grammarian
of Alexandria, who had been sent to Caligula, as ambassador on the part
of the Gentiles, and had written a book against Philo, derogatory to the
Jewish people.”

CRITICAL NOTES ON SOME PASSAGES IN THE JEWISIL
WAR.

Book IV. ch. viii. § 1, πυρὶ δὲ αὑτήν re κιτιλ. (7 in Cardwell.)—Tho
printed editions have a comma after ἀνελὼν, and join ra πέριξ τῆς ‘Ie. with
φρούρια; but it seems better, with the Latin version of Rufinus, to place
the comma after ᾿Ιδουμαίας, and translate as in the text. Some of the MSS.
have μὲν after φρούρια, and Rufinus has “ castella quidem ;”—a reading
which evidently requires the construction given above. The Idumza here
mentioned, called also the Greater Idumea (iv. 9. 4.), and which was one
of the toparchies into which Judea was divided (see iii. 3. 5.), embraced the
whole southern region as far north as Hebron (iv. 9. 7.), or even Thekoa
(iv. 9. 5.)

Ch. viii. ὃ 3. τῶν μὲν δαψιλέστερον x.r.d. (24 in Cardwell.)}—If the reading
of the MSS. τούτον δὲ τοῦ ὀλίγον [ἡ χορηγία] δαψελής, be correct, the trans-
lation in the text seems to be the only admissible one; τῶν μὲν being
opposed to τούτον δὲ, and having the same reference as τῶν μέχρι κόρον
χρονιζόντων ; and δαψιλέστερον χρωμένων being taken absolutely. But Ru-
finus appears to have had a different reading. ‘‘ Those lands which have

clx CRITICAL NOTES ON

a more abundant supply of it, derive but little benefit therefrom ; but those
which ase it more sparingly derive very great benefit.”

Ch. ix. §2. Nero was emperor from October 13, a.p. 54, to June 9,
A.D. 68, which gives 13 years and nearly 8 months. But the MSS. of
Josephus agree as in the text. Galba was murdered Jan. 15, a.p. 69.
Sailing “through Achaia” means across the isthmus of Corinth, by the
canal begun by Nero, or by transporting the vessels overland.

Ch. ix. ὃ 9. Otho’s death took place April 16, a.p. 69.

Ch. x. §4.—The temple of Onias must have been founded about 170 B.c.
It would therefore be in existence about 243 years, not 343, as here stated.

Ch. x. ὃ ὅ. ἧς κρατήσας, εἰ παρέλκοι x.r.X. (21 in Cardwell.) |The meaning
of rapeAcut is not very obvious. Perhaps it would be better to take it in
the sense suggested by Cardwell, (see his note on the passage,) only making
Vespasian, not Vitellius, the subject, and joining καὶ Big with καθαιρήσειν,
as is done by Rufinus. The meaning will then be :—‘“ He hoped, if he spun
out the war,” or, “by spinning out the war, to conquer Vitellius, even in
spite of all he could do.”

Ch. xi. § 4. Apellaus ὃ = Nov. 5, a.p. 69. The MSS. of Josephus
agree in giving this; but the true date of the death of Vitellius is Dec. 20
or 21. Norisius (de Anno et Epochis Syro-Macedonum) supposes Josephus
to have, in this instance, reckoned by the Tyrian Calendar, which was in use
in many cities of Syria, and in which Apell.3 = Dec. 20. But it seems
more likely to be a mistake either of Josephus or of the scribes.

Book V. ch. iv. ὃ 2, τὸ ὕψος πλεῖον μὲν urd. (21 in Cardwell. }—The
structure of the sentence (πλεῖον μὲν... αὖϑις δέ) shows that the mean-
ing is as given in the translation :—z.e. if Agrippa’s design had been
carried out, the wall would have attained a greater height—not than the ten
cubits of breadth just before mentioned—but than the twenty cubits of
height, which it subsequently attained. ‘The καίτοι (= καέπερ in Josephus,
when used with a participle) indicates the same, viz. that the height of
twenty cubits was nothing very great.

Ch. iv. §4. rere(yeoro μὲν ἅπασα «.r.X. (41, 42, in Cardwell.)—The trans-
lation here given, which agrees with the Latin version of Rufinus, is pro-
bably the true one. The Greek, as it stands, is scarcely intelligible; but
by transposing κύκλῳ κατ᾽ ἴσον διάστημα after διείληπτο, it would give the
meaning in the text.

Ch. vi. § 3. “ The son is coming.”—0O υἱὸς is the reading of all the MSS.
aul of Rufinus; and it is not easy to conceive how such a singular reading
should be found in all, if it were not the true one. Nor are the alterations
proposed at all satisfactory. ὁ ἰὸς would give “ the arrow,” not “ the stone.”
ὦ λίθος is without authority. Cardwell proposes οὗτος, “here it comes.”
Reland’s explanation is probably not far from the truth, viz. “ that the erv
Was px na, “the stone is coming;” but that some, deceived by the simi-

lurity of sound, took it to be yas, “the son is coming.” From such

SOME PASSAGES IN THE JEWISH WAR. clxi

a mistake as this, or from some other cause, the term “the son” might come
to be applied as a nickname.

Ch. vii. § 1. “ Were long in a state of anxious suspense.” —This transla-
tion agrees with the version of Rufinus. The Greek is ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἀποδυ-
ρόμενοι διεφέροντο. It would be better to take διεφέροντο, as in v. 2. 5. (ἄλλος
ἀλλαχῆ διεφέροντο). It might be translated :—“ For a long time they con-
tinued running up and down, bemoaning themselves.”

Ch. viii. ὃ 2. “As a mere burden.”—dozep βάρος appears to be the true
reading, and not ὥσπερ βάρβαρον. ‘The former is found in some MSS. and
was evidently read by Rufinus, who has “ velut onus quoddam.”

Book VI. ch. iv. ὃ 5. καθ᾽ ἣν καὶ τὸ πρότερον κιτιλ. (31 in Cardwell.)}—Com-
pare 2 Kings xxv. 8, 9; Jer. lii. 12, 13; in the first of which passages the
7th, in the second the 10th, day of the 5th month (ἢ. 6.ὄ Ab or Loiis) is men-
tioned as the day on which “came Nebuzar-adan, and burnt the house of the
Lord,” &c. Evidently he may have come on the 7th and set fire to the
temple’on the 10th.

Loiis 10, a.p. 70 = Aug. 5.

Ch. iv. §8. The numbers in this section give, for the date of the first
foundation of the temple B.c. 1C62-1; for the date of its rebuilding B.c. 570.
The true dates are B.c. 1011—1004, and B.c. 536; the latter being the
second year of Cyrus. Haggui, however, prophesied in the second year of
Darius. (Hagg. i. 1.)

Ch. v. §1. “The city beyond.”—This seems to be the meaning of
ἡ wepaia here; the term being used in its original sense, ¢. 6. not as a proper
name, but as descriptive of situation :— ‘that which lies on the other side
of anything,”—a river, a channel, or, as here, a valley,—the valley, that is,
of the cheese-makers. Or it might be applied to the country on the other
side of the brook Kedron; but can scarcely be understood of Perma, so
called, beyond the Jordan.

Ch. ix. ὃ 3. 10 x 256,500 gives, of course, 2,565,000, not 2,700,000 ;
but in which of the two numbers the error lies, it is impossible to determine.
The Greck MSS. and Rufinus all agree, except that one or two of the
former have 255,600 instead of 256,500.

Ch. x. ὃ 1. Gorpiseus 8 = Sept. 2, a.p. 70.

The figures in this section give the following dates :-—

B.c. 2103. First foundation of Jerusalem.

B.c. 1110. David king in Jerusalem.

B.c. 639. Jerusalem taken by Nebuchadnezzar.
The last date should correspond with 4773 years after David (μετ᾽ αὑτόν);
which it would do, if these years were reckoned from the beginning of
David’s reign, 74 years before he took Jerusalem. But the words of Jose-
phus seem to give the reign in that city as the starting-point of both the
calculations from the time of David; in which case there is a discrepancy
of seven years. The Bible chronology gives :—

elxil CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY.

B.c. 1048. David king in Jerusalem.

B.c. 588, Jerusalem taken by Nebuchadnezzar.
It will be seen that the date which Josephus here assigns to the reign of
David, is perfectly consistent with the date of the building of the temple
deduced from VI. iv. 8.

Book VII. ch. iii. ὃ 1.—Domitian’s birth-day was Oct. 24th ; Vespasian’s
November 17th.

Ch. iv. §1. “ Beheld with satisfaction.” λαβεῖν ... αἴσθησιν ἡδεῖαν.----
This reading, which corresponds to the “jucundam” of Rufinus, is adopted
from Hudson by Richter and Dindorf. The MSS. have ἰδέαν, which seems
scarcely intelligible.

Ch. v. § 1. Other accounts make the river flow during six days and rest
on the seventh; and various changes have been proposed, in order to bring
the text of Josephus into accordance with their statement. But all the
MSS., with the Latin version of Rufinus, agree as in the text; and such
being the case, it is hazardous to make any alteration.

Ch. vi. §6. Before the outbreak of the war, the Procurator had the
command of the forces as well as the civil government ; but during the war
the two offices appear to have been kept distinct. Marcus Antonius Julianus
is mentioned as Procurator during the siege of Jerusalem (VI. iv. 3.) When
Liberius Maximus succeeded him does not appear ; but he was evidently in
office a.p. 72. Terentius Kufus, Cerealius Vitellianus, Lucilius Bassus, and
Flavius Silva, are mentioned as successively commanders of the forces after
the capture of Jerusalem.

Ch. vii. 8 1. The fourth year of Vespasian began July, a.p. 72.

Ch. vill. § 7. τοῖς cé ἐπὶ τῆς οἰκείας «.7.A. (116 in Cardw.)—The MSS.
vary a good deal in this sentence. From the version of Rufinus it would
appear that he read τοῖς dé... ὠραμένοις ἅπασι τῶν ἐλπίδα νίκης ἐχυρὰς
παρασχεῖν δυναμένων ὑπῆρξε. ‘All those who engaged in the war in their
own country, had abundance of such resources as might lead them to hope
for certain victory.” All the Greek MSS., however, have οὐχ before
ὑπῆρξεν : in other respects they favour this reading as much as any other.
The text as given by Cardwell is barely intelligible. But see his note on
the passage.

CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY OF EVENTS, NARRATED IN
THE SEVEN BOOKS OF THE JEWISH WAR.

Boox I.

Ir was not so much the history of his nation, as the final catastrophe of
the Jewish polity, that Josephus proposed to himself as his subject in this

CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY. el xiit

work; and therefore the whole of the FIRST BOOK, as well as a portion of
the SECOND, are to be regarded as only a condensed summary of those events
and circumstances without a knowledge of which the last struggle of the
Jewish people with the Roman power could not be well understood, or was
not likely to be duly thought of by those for whom especially he wrote,
namely—the readers of Greek, throughout the Roman world.

This preliminary narrative is therefore a hastily composed sketch of the
events of only 234 years; nor is it free from frequent inaccuracies, such as
are wont to attach to a cursory glance at the wars, institutions, and revolu-
tions of a troubled period. Josephus at a later time, and when he enjoyed
more leisure, and after he had made himself better acquainted than at first
with his subject, compiled that history of the Jews which has come down to
us in the twenty books of the AnTiQuiTIEs. In this later, and more care-
fully composed work, the errors into which be had fallen in the preliminary
portion of the WARS oF THE JEWS, are—most of them—corrected, while
the narrative is given in a much more amplified form. This enlarged
history, a summary of which fills the first book of the Wazs ΟΕ THE JEWs,
occupies the last six books of the Antiquities. His first Book of the Wars
embraces a period of 164 years, preceding the Christian era. It opens with
the taking of Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes in the year B.o. 168.

Within this period of more than a century and a half, the Jewish people—
not as arace, but a3 a nation—hbad passed through many political revolutions.
Occupying, as it did, a narrow territory, which, from its position, and
even from its natural advantages, rendered it always the battle-field of the
rival monarchies of Egypt and Syria, this people, in temper far from pas-
sively subservient to foreign domination, was rendered by its religious pre-
rogatives, and by its vivid consciousness of them, a most impracticable
portion of any extended empire. On all these accounts, therefore, it had
encountered more than an ordinary share of national calamity. Even if
the Jewish people bad shown themselves the most abject and submissive of
the human race, they must still have borne the stress of the almost incessant
wars that raged between “the kings of the north and of the south.” But
they suffered doubly, or in a much larger ratio, as perhaps the most high-
spirited, if not turbulent people on the face of the earth; and again, their
national woes were deepened by their profession of a doctrine, and by their
adherence to a worship, which the polytheistic world could neither under-
stand, nor would endure.

At the moment when the history now before us opens its first page, the
Syrian portion of Alexander's disjointed empire was held by Antiochus IV.
surnamed Epiphanes; the Egyptian portion by Ptolemy VI. surnamed
Philometor, whom Josephus reports to have been then contending for the
possession of Syria. Antiochus, having been compelled, by the intervention
of Rome, to retire from Egypt, which he had invaded a fourth time,—
B.C. 168,—returned with his forces through Palestine, where he vented his
anger upon the Jewish people, and at the same time that he used, as a

elxiv CMRONOLOGICAL SUMNARY.

pretext against them, the pleasure they had seemed to take in his late
reverses, he sought to replenish his exhausted treasury by the spoils of the
temple at Jerusalem.

But the ferocious and fanatical temper of the Syrian king impelled him to
attempt, not merely the national subjugation of the Jewish people, but the
destruction or extirpation of their religious rites and belief, and the substi-
tution among them of the polytheism of Greece—its rites, its manners, and
its philosophy.

In the prosecution of this design he refrained from no atrocities. His
generals and officers, at his command, put in practice every refinement of
cruelty. Many of the people, in whose minds the doctrine of Moses, and
the rites of the Law, had already lost a firm hold, surrendered their wavering
convictions at the first brunt of persecution. But it was not so with others ;
and these were not a few—priests and people—who, with a noble and pious
constancy, maintained their profession, “not accepting deliverance,” but
choosing rather to die, tormented, than to apoatatise.

The religious constancy of the Jewish martyrs at length assumed a con-
sistent form, and gave rise to a religious, a political, and a military organi-
zation, out of which sprang—national independence, which, although it was
of brief continuance, lasted long enough to elevate the national mind, to
revive among the people a genuine religious feeling, and especially to bring
the belief peculiar to this race into a developed state, as a preparation for
that revelation of life and immortality which was soon to be proclaimed
among them.

The period of Jewish national independence may be considered as com-
mencing in the year before the Christian era, 167, and as continuing till the
tuking of the Holy City by Pompey in 63—thus lasting a full century
or more.

The Maccabean (Asmoncan) princes having drawn around them a
numerous band of their countrymen, the devoted adherents of the true faith
and worship, were able, within a year from the time of their revolt, to make
good, under the command of Judas, an effective resistance against the
Syrian king. He however, intensely irritated as he was, by this unlooked
for rebellion, formed the resolution to extirpate, or to expatriate the Jewish
race, and to supply its place by some other people. This purpose, however,
he was not permitted to accomplish— scarcely to attempt it ; for the signal
successes of Judas drove his generals fairly out of the Jewish territory, in
the course of two campaigns—n.c. 166 and 165. It was during this year
that Antiochus, having been defeated in his Persian expedition, and disap-
pointed in his cruel purposes as to the Jews, expired, it is said, in the frenzy
produced by the torments of a horrible disease, and of a troubled conscience.

In the autumn of the following year, the victorious chief possessed
himself of the Holy City (the citadel excepted) and purified the Temple and
its precincts, where during three years the abominations of polytheism had
been practised. He then restored, with glad acclaims, the worship of Jehovah.

CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY. clxv

The contentions that arose among the rival princes of the Syrian stock,
and then the wars renewed between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies, were
on the whole favourable to the struggles of the Jews in recovering their
independence. But while aiming to secure their national integrity by the
means of foreign intervention, a course was adopted which, in the lapse of
time, issued, as in so many similar instances, in the utter loss of it. The
Jews of this time courted an alliance with the Romans ;—an alliance of the
feeble with the strong, can mean nothing but first, protection, and then
subjugation. This treaty was concluded in the year B.c. 160, in which year
also Judas Maccabeus fell in battle, in a manner worthy of his reputation.
His brother and successor, Jonathan, found the means not merely of making
head against the oppressors of the Jewish nation, but even of dealing with
them on advantageous terms. This he did on several occasions when rival
princes were willing, at any price, to purchase the aid he was able to afford.
It was by means of the support he received from Alexander Balas, a pretender
to the Syrian throne, that Jonathan, in the autumn of the year 152, at the feast
of Tabernacles, presented himself in the Temple before his people in gorgeous
attire as high priest. ‘Thus commenced the series of Asmonean sacerdotal
princes. It was on occasion of the marriage of this Alexander with
Cleopatra, daughter of Ptolemy Philometor, at Ceesarea, where the Jewish
prince and priest appeared invested with the insignia of regal dignity, that
the (conditional) independence of the Jews, asa people, was publicly
recognised. This marriage was celebrated in the year B.c. 150.

Alexander Balas having been vanquished by his rival Demetrius Nicator,
five years later, Demetrius confirmed Jonathan in his dignities, and moreover
granted some further privileges to the Jewish people ; which were again
extended on the overthrow of Demetrius, by the son of Alexander. This
successful pretender, called Antiochus Theos, conferring military command
upon Simon, brother of Jonathan, gave a new stability to the infant state.
Jonathan, however, at length falling into the net prepared for him by
Trypho, minister of Antiochus, died by assassination, leaving Simon the
only survivor of this illustrious family, and the inheritor of the dignities
it had acquired: soon afterwards, finding opportunity by the aid of the
defeated Demetrius to avenge himself upon the murderer of his brother,
Simon obtained, as the price of the succour he furnished, a substantial, if
not a formal independence for his nation ; and from this moment a new era
in Jewish history takes its date, as “the first year of Simon, high priest
and prince of the Jews ”—B. c. 143.

During the next year the Syrian garrison, which hitherto had retained the
citadel at Jerusalem, was compelled to evacuate that stronghold, and thence-
forward the Holy City was in the undisturbed possession of the Jews.

At a solemn convocation of the elders of the people, held in the year 140,
Simon was formally installed in his dignity, as ecclesiastical and civil chief
of the realm, and to his hands were confided powers little less than absolute.

The foul treason of his son-in-law brought his reign and life to its close,

elxvi CHBONOLOGICAL SUMMARY.

while yet his administration continued to be firm and beneficial to his
people. This event, spreading dismay through the realm, occurred in
Β.ς. 135.

Juhn Hyreanus immediately succeeded to his father’s dignities. Once
more, however, the national independence was compromised under his
administration, by a disadvantageous treaty with the Syrian king, An-
tiochus Sidetes. ‘This partial subjugation lasted only a few years, and
in B.c. 130, the Jewish independence was firmly, and as it seemed, lastingly
restored.

Joun HyrRcancs, supreme in church and state, and sovereign of a high-
spirited and warlike people, gradually regained possession of those border
cities and territories which once were subject to the kings of Judah, and at
the eame time he compelled the domestic adversaries or rivals of the Jews
to submit tv hard conditions—the Samaritans especially were so treated.
He moreover revived the amicable connexion already established with the
Roman senate; and by the aid of this powerful—too powerful—ally, placed
himsclf still more completely than heretofore in a position of security toward
the Syrian monarchy. ‘This prince, moreover, set in a position of impla-
cable animosity against each other the two religious factions that then divided
the Jewish people—the Pharisaic and the Saddacean. This he did by
renouncing his alliance with the former, while he surrendered himself to
the counsels of the latter.

Aristobulus, his eldest son, after reigning one year with the title of
king, was succeeded—s.c. 105—by his brother, Alexander Jannseus, whose
reizn of twenty-six years was disturbed by perpetual wars and rebellions,
disastrous to the country. His widow, Alexandra, a woman of ability,
administered the state, by aid of the Pharisees, in a manner tending to
repair—in some measure—the mischiefs that had been occasioned by her
late iusband'’s turbulence and ambition. She died p.c. 69, and was suc-
eceded by her eldest son, Hyreanus 11., between whom and his warlike
brother Aristobulus a contention, fatal to the welfare of the Jewish peuple
at the time, and which involved at length the loss of their independence,
was terminated only by an event which claims to be noted as forming an era
in the history of this people ;—namely, the invitation given by these princes
to Pompey to arbitrate between them. It was in the year 63, n.c., that
the Roman general listened, at Damascus, to the pleadings of Hyrcanus and
Aristubulus. ‘The issue—postponed a brief space, but aggravated in its
consequences by the fruitl-ss resistance of Aristobulus—was the siege and
capture of the Ifuly City by the Romans, the slaughter of the people, an]
their losa, from that moment, of their national liberties. Hencefurward
Judva was in fact tributary to Rome, and its princes ethnarchs only, or
kings by permission. Nevertheless, the retention of the pontifical dignity
by Hyreanus carried forward for a while the native and As#fonean influence.

It is the period dating from the taking of Jerusalem by the Romans under
Pompey, u.c. 63, and ending in the destruction of the city under Titus—

ANTIOCHUS, XI.

POEM AS be

CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY. elxvii

an interval of nearly 140 years—that forms, properly and distinctively, the
subject of Josephus’ history in the seven books of the “ Wars of the Jews.”
What precedes this period is narrated as preliminary only.

The struggles of the vanquished princes of the Asmonean stock to regain
their power, seemed, through the course of several years, to conceal from
the eyes of the people the reality of the change that had affected them as
a nation. And, in fact, the delegation by the Romans of their absolute
power, as conquerors, to Antipater, the Idumean, which gave them still the
semblance of a native government, and entertained them with the shows of
a monarchy, operated further to blind them to the truth of their position—
giving a little colour to the falsehood of the boast, when they said, “ We
were never in bondage to any man.”

It was in the year 57, B.c. that the Roman general, Gabinius, effectively
shattered the Asmonean power, by dividing the country into five districts,
independent of each other—dependent only upon the representative of the
Roman power in Syria.

Crassus, who succeeded Gabinius as proconsul of Syria, carried away, as
Josephus tells us, those treasures from the temple vaults, from which
Pompey had magnanimously abstained. The fall of Pompey at Pharsalia,
in the year 48, introduced a new order of events in Judea, by giving more
unrestrained scope to the ambition of the crafty Idumean—Antipater, who
had for many years wielded to all intents, that power, which had nominally
belonged to the feeble puppet Hyrcanus. Antipater happily divined before-
hand to whom the sceptre of the world would fall, and he was rewarded for
his foresight by the procuratorship of Judea. Hyrcanus was confirmed
in the high-priesthood.

The following year brings into notice HERop, the son of Antipater, whose
personal history is, in fact, the history of Judsea, through the course of the
following half-century. An event of much significance in its bearing upon
the after course of Jewish affuirs marks the year, when Herod, already
advancing rapidly in his course, married Mariamne, the representative of
the Asmonean line. This politic alliance had some effect in reconciling the -
Jewish people to what was in fact a foreign domination, and which the
stricter portion of them hotly resented as such.

Herod’s return from Rome, B.c. 40, where he had “obtained for himself
a kingdom,” may be assumed as the leading event of the time. Thencefor-
ward HErop, king of Judea, by leave of whoever was for the time master
of Rome, is the personage who visibly controls the destinies of the nation:
henceforward, therefure, the summary of events, which had embraced years
in the compass of a page, becomes gradually more and more special, until
the historian approaches transactions which signalized months—weeks
—or days.

The year 39, B.c. was marked by the occurrence of another of those sieger,
of which so many have to be recorded in the history of the Holy City : in this
instance the assailant, Herod, found himself compelled to return discomfited

elxvill CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY.

from its walls. It was not until two years afterwards, that, with the aid of
the Roman legions, the city was taken, when a frightful carnage of the
people signalized the entrance of Herod into his capital. The decapitation,
by Antony, of Antigonus, son of Aristobulus, Herod's competitor for the
throne, brought to its close the line of the Asmonean princes, who, reckon-
ing from the death of Antiochus Epiphanes, had actually swayed, or had
claimed to sway, the sceptre of Judea a hundred and twenty-six years.
Hyrcanus, the aged representative of the sacerdotal stock, still survived,
but was at length made the victim of Herod’s jealousies in B.c. 30.

The violences and murders by means of which Herod sought to confirm
himself in his power, seemed likely to meet their due reward when, by the battle
of Actium, in 31, the fortunes of his patron, Mark Antony, were lost. He
however, on the very ground of his fidelity to his fallen master, recommended
himself to the favour of Augustus, and thus returned a second time to Pales-
tine, confirmed in his kingly dignity. This took place in the following year.

From the first, Herod had shown himself an unscrupulous and furious
tyrant: his fears, his jealousies, and his sanguinary taste, impelled him well-
nigh to exterminate his own family. The noble-minded and beautiful
Mariamne, to whom he was passionately attached, became nevertheless the
victim of one of these impulses, and four years later, in 25 B.c., the last
of the blood of the Asmonean race was poured forth upon the scaffold.

The murder of those around him who had caused, or who might cause
him inquietude, emboldened Herod to do open violence to the religious
notions and feelings of the Jewish people ; and thus to win more thoroughly
the favour of the Romans. With this view he instituted the games that
were clsewhere practised, building a theatre within the very walls of
Jerusalem, and an amphitheatre also in the environs of the city. The
discontent excited by these impolitic acts, and the frightful vengeance taken
by him in consequence upon the people, showed Herod that his personal
safety could be secured only by providing himself with impregnable retreats,
always held ready to recvive him, in the event of a general revolt : impelled
by this motive, he constructed, or restored, in the most magnificent manner,
several strongholds, which he garrisoned by mercenary troops, and kept
always provisioned, so as to sustain a lengthened siege. Such were Hippicus
and the other impregnable towers at Jerusalem ; Sebaste, on the site of
Samaria ; Caesarea, on the coast ; Herodium, scven miles south of Jeru-
salem ; and especially Masada, on the western shore of the Dead Sea.

Herod’s fears—a tyrant’s torment, thus far allayed, he sought occasions for
winning some popular favour. During the famine which afflicted Palestine
B.C. 22, he largely distributed corn, purchased munificently from his private
resources, among tle most destitute, and afterwards, and through a course
of years, he employed the vast wealth he had accumulated, in the erection of
buildings, many of which were gratifying to the national feeling. Such
especially was his enlargement and embellishment of the Temple. He built
for himself also a sumptuous palace in Jerusalem. About this time, also,

-

CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY. clxix

Herod’s imperial patron bestowed upon him the regions bordering upon his
proper kingdom, Judea—that is to say, Trachonitis, Batanea, and Auranitis.

The reconstruction of the Temple, which was commenced in 17 B.c.,
reached substantially its completion ten years afterwards.

The two sons of Herod by Mariamne, Alexander and Aristobulus, after
receiving their education at Rome, under the eye of Augustus, had been
received with affection by the Jewish peuple, who regarded them as repre-
sentatives of the Asmonean house. ‘This demonstration of popular favour
toward them, was, however, fatal to the young princes, as it awakened the
murderous jealousies of their cunning and unscrupulous half-brother,
Antipater, and of their aunt Salome, and then, through them, of their
ruthless father. The judicial murder of these young men was perpetrated
at Samaria, in the year B.c. 6.

Herod’s son, Antipater, whose machinations had thus been fatally success-
ful, became himself, and justly, the next object of suspicion ; and on proof
of his guilt he was condemned to death, and suffered five days only before
the death of Herod. (n.c. 4.)

Book II.

Archelaus, the late king’s son by Malthace, a Samaritan woman, suc-
ceeded by his father’s will to the kingdom of Juda, subject to the approval
of the emperor; and going to Rome to obtain this sanction, he returned
with the title of ethnarch, in the first year of the vulgar era, or fourth after
the birth of Christ. His maladministration procured his banishment by
Augustus to Vienne, in the year 7 A.p. And this event is to be noted as
marking the onward course of things, leading to the last struggle of the
Jewish people to recover their nationality. Judea now became a Roman
province, administered by a Roman governor or procurator, of whom the
first appointed was Coponius. ‘The enrolment of the people, for taxation,
carried forward by Cyrenius or Quirinus, now president of Syria, ‘may be
named as the origin of that blind but patriotic feeling of which the cata-
strophe of the war, half a century later, was the issue.

Tiberius succeeded Augustus Α. Ὁ. 14. The administration of the pro-
curators being on the whole prudent and moderate, years passed of compa-
rative tranquillity. But Pontius Pilatus being appointed to the office by
Tiberius, a.p. 25 (or 26), his cruelty and avarice very soon raised to a pitch
of fury the Jewish people, and gave opportunity to the Zealots to urge
forward that insurrectionary movement of which they were the promoters.
The outrages perpetrated by this governor, which seemed likely to excite
open rebellion, at length drew upon him the displeasure of his superiors,
and he was recalled in the fifth year after that which he signalized by the
part he took in the condemnation of Christ.

The accession of Caligula, a.p. 87, and the consequent promotion of

m

clxx CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY.

Agrippa, grandson of Herod, to the tetrarchies of Ituria and Abilene, with
title of king—a dominion to which Idumexa, Samaria, and Judsa were
subsequently added by Claudius, in 41—opens a new course of events, as
affecting the Jewish people, although it was of short continuance. His
munificence, his clemency, and his consideration for the religious feelings
of his subjects, balanced, in their minds, bis faulty leaning toward the
polytheistic usages of Rome, and of the Greek population. This reign,
which seemed to promise so well for the Jewish people, was terminated
by Agrippa’s untimely death, a.p. 44, as narrated in the Acés, xii. 23.

The death of their king was, in fact, to the Jews, the commencement of
their calamities. The young Agrippa could not be entrusted with a
government so difficult as was always thatof Judza. Palestine, therefore,
became once more a province, governed by a Roman procirator; and the
first appointed to this office, Cuspius Fadus, showed them too plainly what
sort of treatment they were henceforward to expect.

Ventidius Cumanus, who, in a.p. 47, succeeded Tiberius Alexander as
governor of Judmwa, aggravated the popular discontents by his cruelty and
rapacity. Felix came into the room of Cumanus in 50 ; he acted with much
vigour in trying to put down the masked assassins, or Sikars—the Thugs
of that agze—who had become the terror of the people, especially at Jeru-
salem. To him succeeded Porcius Festus, eight years later. During this
time, Herod Agrippa II., son of the late king, exercised his regal functions
in his kingdom to the north of Galilee. This is the “king Agrippa” of
whom we hear so often in the Jewish War.

Albinus succeeded Felix in a.p. 62, and hastened forward the fatal course
of events by his insatiable cupidity and ferocity. Under his rule the
country was filled with licensed bandits, who paid the governor a share of
the spoil in return for the impunity which they enjoyed. His atrocities,
intolerable as they were, were however surpassed by Gessius Florus, who
succeeded him in 64. Each of these changes entailed new miseries upon
this oppressed nation, as each governor strove, during his brief term of
power, to wring the utmost out of the wretched people. To the shameless
violences and enormous crimes of this last governor 18 to be attributed the
breaking out of the insurrection, as a national revolt.

We have now reached the time at which the events narrated by Josephus
properly belong to what is in a more special sense the “ JEwisu War,” or
the final conflict between the Romans and the Jews in arins.

April, The immediate incitement of actual revolt was the scandalous

αν. 66. behaviour of Florus toward the Jews, on occasion of a riot
at Caesarea, in which the Greek and Jewish population of that city had
fought each other in the streets. Soon followed—that is to say, within a
16th Artem; Mouth—a massacre of the Jewish people by the Roman soldiers
sius, or early at Jerusalem, under the eye of Florus. The fruitless inter-
in Blay. vention of Agrippa, and hia consequent retirement to his own
kingdom, left the unhappy city to its fate—too clearly indicated by the

CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY. elxxi

violence with which the factions sought and laboured to effect each other's
destruction: the more moderate party taking possession of the upper city ;
those in favour of war, headed by the Zealots, of the lower city and the
Temple, thus preparing to confirm the truth of that word, “ A city divided
against itself cannot stand.”

Hostilities between these two parties commenced from the time of their thus
dividing the space within the walls between them. Hitherto, this domestic
feud had been carried on in promiscuous conflicts occurring throughout the
city. In the first days of August occurred the festival, during which wood
for maintaining the fire of the altar was customarily offered, and brought into
the Temple. The Zealots holding the Temple and its precincts, repulsed
those who, as accustomed, were entering to make their offering. <A conflict
ensued, and the Zealots, pushing their advantage, got entire possession of the
upper city, where they burned the palace of Agrippa and Ber- ᾿
nice, and of Ananias. Two days afterwards, they took the for Jol
fort Antonia, massacring the garrison, which had capitulated.

They then besieged the Roman troops, and those of Agrippa, in the fortified
palace of Herod. The latter being allowed to depart, the Romans took
refuge in the three towers on the wall. Here they sur-

. er 6th Gorpizeus,
rendered upon the solemn promise of their lives; but no sooner “August,
had they laid down their arms, than they were butchered to a
man. This horrible treason involved them, beyond hope of compromise, with
the Romans. At the same time a massacre of the Jewish population by
the Greeks, at Cxsarea, Scythopolis, and other places, incited this outraged
people throughout Palestine to resist to the death the Roman tyranny.

-The Roman legions, led by Cestius Gallus, the President of Syria,
advanced toward Jerusalem, and encamped at the distance of two leagues
from it, during the time of the Feast of Tabernacles, Here he was defeated
with great loss by the Zealots, who returned to Jerusalem, Jaden with
spoils. This success had great influence in strengthening the vain hope of
shaking off altogether the Roman domination. Cestius, on 261}. Hyver
the advice of Agrippa, advanced again toward Jerusalem, and bereteeus, Oct,
encamped upon Scopus, whence he penetrated so far as to 4D. 66.
establish himself in the new city, within the third or outer wall.

The Jews now withdrew to the upper town and the temple, of which
Cestius would, in all probability, have become master in a few days; but,
influenced by some motive not easily explained, when the city might
have been carried by assault, the Roman general led off his forces, re-
treating with loss to his camp; and afterwards, in attempting
to reach his former position, he sustained a signal defeat, the
legions losing their baggage and engines of war, and great
numbers falling in the difficult ravines of Bethhoron.

It was at this moment, when men of all parties were compelled to choose
their side, that the Jewish Christians, in compliance with the injunctions of
Christ, abandoned their homes, and, under conduct of their bishop, found

m 2

Sth Dius, Oct.
A.D. 66.

elxxil CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY.

a place of refuge at Pella, beyond the Jordan. The Zealots, thus far trium-
phant, proceeded at once to restore the defences of the city, and to send
forth governors to the several districts within which they might still
hope to maintain their influence, and defend their authority. The appoint-
ment of Josephus to the command of the two Galilees took place at this
time. Throughout the following months, the Jews, with varying success,
held the enemy at bay, and carried forward their preparations for the
conflict that was approaching.

Boox III.

Nero, informed of the reverses which had dishonoured the Roman legions
in Pulestine, called to his aid the ablest of his generals—Vespasian, who
shortly arrived in Palestine, and there took the command of
all the Roman forces that could then be collected, for the pur-
pose of bringing this formidable insurrection to an end.

It was early in the year 67 a.p., that Vespasian, Joined by his son Titus,
and by the allied princes of the neighbouring states, advanced into the —
heart of the revolted country, at the head of sixty thousand troops.

_ Jotapata, defended by the Jews under the command of
Me to tts Josephus, was invested, and was taken by assault after a des-
nemus, May perate resistance of forty days.
an June, 4). Joppa having been taken and destroyed, Tarichsea was next

attacked, and its inhabitants slaughtered, or sold as slaves.

a.p. 66.

Boox IV.

The fourth book opens with the siege of the almost impregnable fortress
of Gamala, which occupied the Roman army another month; and the sub-
jugation of Galilee was completed, late in the autumn, by the taking of
Gischala. Meanwhile, within the walls of the devoted city faction raged
unabatedly, and by the admission of an Idumzan army, or band, the Zealots
were cnabled to crush, or to hold in subjection the moderate party, and
thus to persist in the course which was so soon to bring about the destruc-
tion of their city and nation.

Spring, Vespasian resumed his operations early in the following year,

A.D. 3. and leaving Jerusalem for the present to itself, not doubting
that the factions within it would ere long render it an easy conquest, he re-
duced the towns of Perea, and afterwards those bordering on the Dead Sea,
und those to the south and west of Jerusalem.

June 9, The death of Nero in this year, and the diversions thence

Ap. 63. yesulting to Vespasian, delayed until the next year all active
Invasures against the revolted province on the part of the Romans,

αν. 00. In the same manner also, passed the spring of the fullowing

ycar; but in June, Vespasian again put the army in movement.

CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY. elxxiii

In the next month he was proclaimed emperor by the legions then under his
command, and in consequence of the events which placed the empire at
his disposal, he left to his son Titus the task of reducing the refractory Jews
to obedience.

Boox V.

_ At this time the whole of Palestine had been reconquered, autumn of
excepting Jerusalem, and the three fortresses held by the Zealots, = 4.». 69.
namely, Macherus, Herodium, and Masada.

The rival partisans, Simon, son of Gioras, and John of Gischala, con-
tended for supreme power within the city, the latter having to contend also
with Eleazar, a chief who, with the Zealots, had lodged himself securely in
the interior of the temple, where he found abundant stores of provisions.

In the spring of the following year Titus, who had arrived , 5 70.
from Egypt at Cesarea, put the Roman legions in movement,
along with the troops of his allies. Forming his camp at the distance of about
four miles north of Jerusalem, he personally surveyed its defences, and in
doing so, narrowly escaped falling into the hands of the Jews. From his first
position he next advanced to that plateau upon which so many hostile armies,
in succession, have taken their stand. ‘The table-land called by Josephus—
Scopus, is about one mile from the northern wall of the city, which it
overlooks. At the same time the tenth legion encamped upon the Mount
of Olives.

Notwithstanding this investment of the city, thousands of the Jewish
population of Palestine had continued to pour into it, to celebrate the
approaching Passover ; and they might have come and gone, unlarmed by
the Romans; but multitudes became the victims of the fanatical Zealots,
now headed by John.

Titus now advanced his legions to a position nearer to the 121) Xanthi-
northern wall. He commanded in person the centre division, cus, April 13.
posted north-west of the city, and over against the tower Psephinus. The
other wing extended itself upon the rising ground, opposite the tower Hip-
picus. The city therefore was invested on three sides—its southern aspect
remaining free.

Having in due form summoned the city to surrender, Titus commenced
his operations, with the purpose of making his way through the third or
outer wall, which was of wide circuit, and of less substantial structure than
those within. During a fortnight the Roman legions sustained several losses
from the besieged, and were repeatedly foiled in their endeavours to bring
their engines to bear upon the wall; at length, however, Ν

: oe Artemisius,
a breach was effected, and the besiegers, driving the Jews δίῃ May.
within the second wall, possessed themselves of the quarter
lying due north from the temple.

Five days later they stormed the second wall, and pushed on through
the narrow streets of Acra—between the western wall of the temple, and

elxxiv CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY.

the extreme angle of the city wall, toward the west. From this advanced
position they were driven subsequently, yet recovered their ground four days
after. The Jews therefore, at this moment, retained possession of the upper
city—Zion—only, and of the temple, with the Antonia ; but within these
strongly fortified precincts they might very long have held out, had they
been united in purpose, and had they not madly consigned stores of provi-
sions to the flames.

Well aware now of the difficulty of his enterprise, Titus again attempted
12—29 Arte. ἴθ bring the Jews to terms of reason. These endeavours fail-

misiua, ing, the legions went to work, in their accustomed manner, to

May 11—28. raise mounds near the wall, on which to plant their engines.
Two of these works were directed against the Antonia, and two others on
the northern quarter ; but they were undermined by the besieged, or the
wood-work upon them burned.

This il] success of his endeavours to carry the city by storm now induced
Titus to resort to the means for vanquishing it by famine ;—to “shut it in
on every side.” The labour of surrounding Jerusalem with an effective wall
was completed by the legions in the incredibly short space of three days
This wall, lofty enough to subserve its temporary purpose, and nearly five
miles in circuit, and strengthened with thirteen towers, precluded the entrance
of any supplies or provisions, as well as the exit of the useless population.
The horrors of famine went on every day to greater extremes of suffering,
while reckless massacres gorged the streets with bodies.

Book VI.

«αἴ Panemus, [πὸ Romans, during this time, employed themselves ass:-
28th June. duously in reconstructing their works, and at length were
prepared to assail anew the tower Antonia. The outer wall
being overthrown by the ram, the besiegers found an inner defence, which
the besieged had constructed. This however, after repeated rebuffs, was
Sth Pancmua, forced by the Romans, and the Jews fled into the interior

“4 July. of the temple.

It was on the seventeenth of this same month that the daily sacrifices ceased
to be offered—ceased from that day to this! The next day a doubtful con-
flict was carried on in those avenues which the fall of the tower Antonia had
laid open. After the lapse of another seven days, the Romans, upon the site
of the ruins, had raised an embankment against the enclosure of the temple
itself. The burning of the porticocs toward the north and west, involving
a great loss of life on the side of the Romans, brought the besieged and the
besiegers still nearer to each other. It was at this time that those horrors
had place which the last extremity of hunger is wont to occasion.

8th Lote, Ladders were now planted acainst the exterior of the por-

3d August. ticoes; but the assailants being repulsed, the entire ranges of

DESTRUCTION OF THE JEWISH POLITY, ETC. elxxv

wooden structures were set fire to, and consumed. ‘Titus still hoped to
avert this fate from the temple itself ; but he failed in his endeavours, and
on the very anniversary of the destruction of Solomon’s tem- ὀ 10} Loits,
ple, that of Herod was enveloped in flames. SthAug.a.p.70,

The upper city still held out against Titus. The entire range of the
lower city—Bezetha, Acra, and the southern quarter, Ophel—all was given
up to pillage, slaughter, and fire, and preparations were made to force an
entrance.into Zion. _¢

After a few days’ delay, the battering machines were brought 2018 Lois,
to play upon the wall. This last refuge of the Jewish people oon Aug.

5 8 Gorpizeua,

was soon entered, and anew the work of destruction went on. 2d Sept.
Jerusalem was made a heap of smoking ruins—ruins entombing, or not
entombing, thousands upon thousands of the slain, or of those who bad died
of hunger.

Boox VII.

Three fortresses were still occupied by Jewish bands—namely, Ierodium,
_ Macherus, and Masada. ‘The first of these was readily taken by the
Roman general, Lucilius Bassus, and Macherus fell after some resistance.
Masada then became the scene of what might be called the final catastrophe
of the Jewish people. After the self-destruction of those who had there found
refuge, it was taken possession of by Flavius Silva, in April, a.p. 73.

THE PREDICTED DESTRUCTION OF THE JEWISH POLITY,
CITY, AND TEMPLE.

IRRESPECTIVELY of its bearing upon a momentous religious argument, the
narrative of the JEwisH Wa4R, as given by Josephus, would have held
& prominent place among the historical remains of antiquity. But, in fact,
it is this, its undesigned relationship to Christianity, connecting the over-
throw of the Jewish state with the promulgation of the Gospel, which has
come to be regarded as the main reason of the high importance that attaches
to the writings of the Jewish historian. Briefly stated, the case before us
is this:—The speedily approaching and irretrievable destruction of the
Jewish national existence—the slaughter and dispersion of the people—and
the capture, overthrow, and demolition of the city and temple (involving
the cessation of its divinely-appointed worship and services) were, on
several occasions, and in different modes of speech, foretold by Christ, in

elxxvi PREDICTED DESTRUCTION OF

the course both of his public ministry, and of his private conversations with
his disciples. The actual utterance of these predictions, at the time alleged,
is a fact necessarily included in the evidence which attests the genuineness
and authenticity of the Gospels; and the fact is here assumed as certain.

But have these predictions been indeed fulfilled ? If so, when, and under
what circumstances ? Is it true that a fair interpretation of the prophecy
stands sustained by the after-history of the Jewish people, country, and
city ? Such, in substance, are the questions which it is inevitable to put,
and which should receive a definite reply.

In preparing such an answer, it is natural, first, to look at the devastated
Palestine itself, and to those ruins which now cover, and which through
a course of ages have covered, the site of its ancient metropolis. We look
also to the actual condition, and to the known modern history of the Jewish
people, as well as to those records of their past history which themselves,
with no wish to corroborate the faith of Christians, have composed and
preserved. We turn, in the next place, to the existing architecture, and
the medallic memorials of the Roman occupation of Judea, at the times in
question ; and especially to those of them which symbolise the conquest of
the revolted province and the subjugation of the people.

The evidences, bearing upon this question, which next in order claim atten-
tion, are those passages in the contemporaneous Latin and Greek writers
—the historians especially—in which the Jewish revolt is mentioned, and
the events of the war, ending ia the overthrow of the nation, are narrated,
or are briefly alluded to.

These several sources of information, independent as they are one of the
other, furnish altogether an amount of proof far more than enough to
remove the possibility of doubt at least as to the outline of the facts.

jut for the filling up of this outline, and for our knowledge of those
lesser, yet significant circumstances which attended the catastrophe of the
Jewish people, and which enhance so much the argumentative value of the
history in its bearing upon the prediction—for this filling up, and for these
circumstances, we must be indebted to the pages of the national historian—
Josephus. Yet we enter upon an examination of this more ample evidence,
well secured, at the outset, against the inroads of warrantable scepticism
(as to the broad facts) by the coincidence of the various testimonies above
mentioned ; and we are thus left at ease to apply to the separate portions
of this more ample testimony, every approved method of critical and historical
scrutiny. We may well afford to make as large an allowance as can be asked
for, on the plea of the author’s supposed sinister intentions, of his alleged
habit of exaggeration, or of his want, in any case, of authentic information.

But now, before attempting in any such manner to sift this evidence,
that upon which it bears, namely—the Prepiction itself, or the several
predictions, in question, should be placed béfore us. Let us know precisely
what it is which Christ foretold as about to ‘come to pass,” affecting
the Jewish nation, its sacred city, and its temple. Moses and the prophets,

THE JEWISH POLITY, CITY, AND TEMPLE. elxxvil

in their several times, had predicted the miseries that should signalize the
history of this peculiar people—their captivity, dispersion, persecutions,
contempt, and the demolition of their city and temple: these, and such like
calamities, had saddened the message of prophet after prophet through
a course of ages; and each threatened woe had actually come on, 80 as that,
in the time of Christ, it did not seem as if those ancient predictions of
wrath needed any further accomplishment.

On the contrary, inasmuch as the Jewish people—at home, and through-
out the world—had now at length, utterly, zealously, and even with
vehemence, renounced and forsaken those polytheistic tendencies, and that
idolatrous apostasy, on account of which, and of which exclusively, the
prophetic denunciations had been issued—it might appear as if the dis-
pensation of wrath had, with the “offence,” passed away, no more to be
revived ; and as if a people now, so faithful to their trust, as God’s wit-
nesses among the nations, might confidently look forward to a futurity of
peace and welfare. The Jewish people of that age might, on one ground,
almost think themselves entitled, according to the terms of the covenant
made with their fathers, to an ample and continuous fruition of those
promises which brighten every page of their prophetic Scriptures, and
which alternate with each threatening of wrath.

Nevertheless, the language of threatening is again taken up by Him
who comes to announce and to establish a “better covenant” than that
of Moses; and these denunciations are no longer—like those of the ancient
prophets, mingled with bright forecastings of national restoration. Christ
predicts woe to the Jewish people, and woe without a return of hope.

This message of dismay is sometimes conveyed in symbolical terms ; and
sometimes with all the distinctness which the most literal style can secure.
A denunciation to be inflicted upon the nation within the compass of a few
years, must be understood as the purport of that passage, (LUKE xi. 50,)
in which our Lord declares that the generation then extant should bé
xeckoned with for the blood of the martyr-prophets of all past time ;
and that this should be, because those to whom he spake, and their contem-
poraries, should take upon themselves this guilt by putting to death the
servants of God that were about to be sent to them. ᾿

When set forth in apologue, the same consequence, as affecting the Jewish
nation of that age, was so plainly declared, that the Rabbis, in whose hearing
our Lord uttered some of these parables, were not blind to their meaning.
They well understood that “he spake of them.” So, in the parable of the
ten pounds. (LUKE xix.) The prince, rejected by his subjects, who declared
that ‘‘they would not have this man to reign over them,” are, when he has
reckoned severally with his servants, dragged into his presence and slaugh-
tered as his declared “enemies.” And it is to be noticed that, while this—
the “end” of those who should reject him as the Messiah, is yet vividly
present to his mind, the mere sight of the fated city, as he “came near” to
it, and saw its impending woes, as if then enacting before him, drew from

elxxvill PREDICTED DESTRUCTION OF

him the prophetic lamentation, which he uttered weeping—“ If thou hadst
known, even thou in this thy day!” The terms of the prediction are to be
particularly noted. Jerusalem was to be beset by “her enemies,” whe
should “fence her in,” and “ surround her” on all sidea, and level the city
with the ground, overthrowing its structures, stone by stone. It was thus
that, after pursuing to the death those who should be sent to her, Jerusalem
was to see her “ house left to her desolate.” Such should be the overthrow
of the city and temple. As to the rnatton—the Jewish people, rejecting
Christ as their Messiah, He, at his coming, should “ miserably destroy them.”
That is to say, they should perish under circumstances of aggravated and
unexampled suffering, Matt. xxi. 40,41. Our Lord was clearly understood
to mean nothing less than this, by those before whom, and against whom,
the parable of the vineyard was uttered: hearing it, they exclaimed, (Loxz
xx. 16,) “ Let it not be.” The chief priests and the Pharisees listening to
his parables “ perceived that be spake of them.”

No purpose which we have now in view, demands that the involuted pre-
dictions recorded by the three Evangelists concerning the destruction of the
temple, and the course of events “to the end,” should here be historically
considered or interpreted. What we have to do with, is a single prediction,
too explicit to be evaded, as if it might be susceptible of a merely metaphoric
interpretation. Jesus, with his disciples, going forth from the temple,
declared concerning the structures toward which—incidentally—they had
directed his attention, “that not a stone of them should be left upon
another.” This prediction, uttered at the moment, as if unpremedi-
tated, was presently afterwards made the text of a series of prophecies,
susceptible, perhaps, of a complex or reverberating interpretation, reaching
onward through all time; but from the general aspect of which, as related
to the specific prophecy concerning the demolition of the temple, we may
safely gather this intention—namely, to forewarn the disciples, and through
them their immediate successors, of that season of unprecedented calamity,
Which was soun to come upon the city and nation. Happy should the
childless be accounted in those days of wrath ;—and happy those who, at
that time rightly understanding these warnings, should abandon, at a
moment's notice, whatever they might possess, and make good a timely
escape from the devoted city.

The prediction now in question is but a more defined and emphatic
expression of that which, in various modes, during the course of his last
visit to Jerusalem—if not before—our Lord had uttered, foreshowing what
was then about to come to pass.

It may be well to bring before the eye, so fur as is practicable, the topo-
graphic circumstances that may be thought to have attached to the delivery
of this precise prediction. |

There is reason to believe that our Lord’s “ walking in the temple,” and
his “teaching in the temple,” took place, ordinarily, within and about the
cloister on the eastern side of the great quadrangle; that is to say, before

THE JEWISH POLITY, CITY, AND TEMPLE. elxxix

the eastern front of the temple itself. In leaving the sacred precincts,
therefore, his exit would be by the eastern gate, opening upon the deep
valley of Jehoshaphat ; the gate, probably (which has long been built up,)
called in modern times, the Golden Gate. That, on the occasion which
we have now in view, Christ, “with his disciples,” did actually leave the
temple by this Eastern Gate, would naturally be inferred from the fact of
his having ascended, forthwith, the opposite height, taking his repose
for a while, as he was accustomed to do, in the olive grove which tufted its
ridge.

Facts, or necessary inferences from facts, presently to be adverted to, lead
to the belief that the pavement of the courts of the temple above which the
pavement of the temple itself was raised many feet, were upon a level con-
siderably higher than that of the present plateau of the Haram. That is to
say, the interior open space—the pavement of the courts—would, if a level
had been carried from it outwards, have struck the outer wall at a height
above that where, on every side, this wall now shows, by its irregular
masonry, that it is a modern work ; that is to say, dating later than the time
of the demolition of the city by Titus. Now the disciple, or disciples, who
pointed cursorily to the buildings of the temple, and to the “ goodly stones
and gifts”—the columns of white marble entire, and of porphyry, and
their decorations of massive gold which adorned it—had in view, not those
colossal substructures on which the whole rested, and which, at that time,
did not—could not, meet the eye, but only those superstructures which gave
to this extraordinary pile of buildings its great elevation. “ See ye not,” said
our Lord, “ these things”—the things which in fact the eye fixed itself upon,
on every side—“ TI tell you the days are coming when not one stone of them
shall be left upon another.”

From his position upon Olivet, “over against the temple”—which in
height could not have been inferior to the ridge whereon now stands the
church of the Ascension—our Lord continued his prophetic discourse ;—his
eye, and the eye of those to whom he spoke, resting upon a vast structure
of unmatched solidity, magnificence, and costliness ; and he then went on to
predict a course of events as “at hand,” the issue of which should be such
an overturning of the city, and of its walls, and of its towers, and of its
temple, as should reduce the whole almost to an undistinguishable level of
ruins—the deep valleys choked on every side, and nothing rearing itself
aloft but the three towers westward, which were to tell to after times what
sort of city it was, against which the Roman arms had prevailed.

On the testimony even of profane writers, we must suppose Jerusalem to
have been, in the times of the Herods, architecturally one of the most remark-
able within the circuit of the Roman world :—none were more solidly built, or
were more likely to stand the wear of time, or even to outlast the ordinary
chances of war, of siege, and of conflagration. ‘That it should be levelled
piecemeal by the crow-bar, and that this demolition should be effected, not
by the reckless fury of a swarm of barbarians, but coolly and deliberately,

elxxx PREDICTED DESTRUCTION OF

by those who were masters of the world, and who especially prided them-
selves upon the magnificence of the cities and countries they had vanquished
—this was no probable event, which could be calculated upon as likely
to occur; unless, indeed, a period were to be claimed for its arrival. long
enough to include the revolutions of many centuries. And yet it did take
place, within the limits of a human life—even before that generation had
passed awny. “ Weep not for me—weep for yourselres, and for your chil-
dren,” said our Lord; for some of yourselres, and multitudes of your
children, shall survive to that time of woe.

Those passages from the Roman contemporary writers, which refer to, or
which affirm, the subjugation of Judma and the demolition of the city, have
been often cited, and—sustained as they are by the evidence of coins and
sculptures, they remove the principal facts of the Jewish war beyond the
range of all reasonable doubt or question. As to the evidence of Josephus,
to whom we must look for the details—the filling up of the outline of this
history—the reader has had it before him; and he may form his own estimate
of the degree of confidence that is due to it. The narration of the events of
the siege through the summer-months of the year, 70 4.D., may perhaps bear
retrenchment in certain particulars which seem to demand an allowance
to be made, either for the historian’s imperfect information, or for his
natural tendency (if such there were) toward over-statement; but after every
such retrenchment has been effected, the broad results remain untouched—
namely, that the Jewish people did offer a long-continued and resolute
resistance to the Roman forces ;—that, during the protracted siege which
ensued, the most appalling extremities of suffering were endured by those
who were enclosed within the walls ;—that, by famine, by intestine conflicts,
by conflagrations, and by the Roman sword, an unexampled loss of life tock
place ;—that thousands of the people afterwards perished in the Roman
amphitheatres, that many thousands were sold as slaves, and that the
legions, after possessing themselves of the city, were occupied during a
length of time in deliberately overthrowing its buildings—public and _pri-
vate ; and that they prosecuted this work of demolition as far as it could, in
the nature of things, have been carried, unless the Cyclopean matcrials of
these structures had been actually removed from the site, and had been
heaped up at a distance from it. This was not attempted, nor was it pos-
sible, and therefore the deep substructures of the city, or the lowest tiers and
courses of stones, buried, as they would be, beneath the mass of overthrown
materials, remained there untouched, and are now partially exposed to view.

And what do these extant remains indicate, in relation to those predic-
tions that have been fulfilled ; and in relation to. some that are yet to be
accomplished ?

In their bearing upon the former, and especially upon the specific predic-
tion which we have immediately in view, it will be well to make an
exploration of the modern Jerusalem, considered as THE SEPULCHRE of
the ancient Jerusalem, By the aid of the ample ond various testimonies

THE JEWISH POLITY, CITY, AND TEMPLE. ΟἸχχχὶ

of modern travellers, and by the help of the pictorial illustrations that are
attached to this work, we attempt such an exploration; and inquire how
far the existing buildings, and the confused materials that now cover
the site of the ancient Jerusalem, may be held to tell the story of its
history up to, and beyond, the commencement of the Christian era.

_ What is assumed at the outset of such an inquiry is no more than what
is, at present, allowed on all hands—namely, that the deep ravines, or the
natural valleys which, on three sides, hem in the modern Jerusalem, do
enclose the area of the ancient city. In other words, that the traditionary
topography of Jerusalem has not greatly erred in respect of the site, either
of the temple, or of Zion ; or as to the identity of the tower of David—the
Hippicus of Herod's time. It is necessarily assumed also, that the name—
‘the Mount of Olives,” has been truly assigned to that range of hills which
overlooks the great mosque’and the haram, from the east. .

The courses of the winter torrents, embracing the city, immoveably
define its boundaries on the east, west, and south. Coincident with the
natural features of this area, are certain architectural remains, so blended
with those natural features as to remove all ambiguity from our course of
inquiry. These blended remains—these archaic structures, which time has,
in ἃ manner, melted into a oneness with the rock whereon they rest, are, as
has been already stated, the following—Ist, the watercourse, artificially
formed, which conveys a stream from some unexplored source within the
Haram, along the flank of Ophel, first to the Fountain of the Virgin, and
thence onward to the Fountain. and Pool of Siloam. This conduit, in
which nature and art have wrought together, speaks of that course of many
centuries, during the lapse of which all things have undergone change—
except itself.

Again, 2dly, the two pools—the upper and the lower pools of Gihon,
together with the aqueducts that wind along the sides of the Valley of
Hinnom, and which encircle the southern mound of Zion, must be regarded
indisputably as remains of a remote age. With these may be classed, 3dly,
the spacious hollow, north of the Haram, called the Pool of Bethesda, and
also 4thly, that on the western side of the city, called the Pool of Hezekiah.

But in fact, this aqueous testimony in behalf of the alleged identity of the
modern and of the ancient Jerusalem, may be gathered at all places within
the circuit of the walls, where we choose to look for it—deep hidden among
the basements of the modern houses. Jerusalem has at all times enjoyed
exemption from the suffering of drought, when besieged. Every house,
almost, had its tank ; and as very many of these are still in use, they attest,
in various ways, the antiquity of their construction. Jerusalem might be
called a city of cisterns ; and if the site of the ancient city could on any
pretext be called in question, the laying bare these reservoirs, which honey-
comb the rock whereon it stands, must determine any such argument. Thus
it is that, if now the ear be laid to the surface of this excavated rock, in more
than a few places, the gurgling or the trickling of deep waters may be heard,

elxxxil PREDICTED DESTRUCTION OF

whispering concerning those thousands of years through the track of which
the “early and the latter rains,” granted from year to year by Heaven, have
been treasured and used by man.

From the space enclosed within the walls we next turn to the sides of the
rocky valleys that encircle it. These again utter their voice, although in aa-
other tone; for it is the voice of the sepulchre, and it attests the fact that these
limestone acclivities have received the mortal remains of very many gene-
rations. A closely built and densely peopled city, it is manifest, has, through
a long tract of time, sent forth its dead to find their place of rest around it
Myriads of sepulchres, indicating in various modes the ages to which they
severally belong, serve to show that we have not erred in assuming as
certain the continuity of this city, on thisspot. This circuit of sepulchres—
this belt of the dead—runs quite round the city, just ootside the cireuit of
waters, and it encloses a space measuring about a mile and a half. east and
west, by two miles or more, north and south, What means a band of
tombs, rising range above range, and forming an amphitheatre six miles or
more in circuit, if not that it bas long engirdled thousands of the living ?

We look next to the structures of all kinds which cover this thus enclosed
area. Jerusalem, and other modern cities that have held continuous possession
of an ancient site, show their history conspicuously in their structures, and
remains of structures—in the edifices that are entire, and in those that are
prostrate. This visible and palpable history, moreover, may be read, not
merely on the face of masonry that has held its place unmoved from the first,
but in the mafertal—the wrought material, lying about, or which has been
made available by the builders of later times. It is thus in every ancient
European city—take as examples some of our English towns, such as Chester,
York, Colchester, Exeter, Gloucester. We find in those places, the modern
English architecture—the Pointed—the Norman—the Saxon—the Roman,
and some of these edifices, in whole or in part, such as the builders of each
age made and left them: while others show the motley of a recent super-
structure, or a filling up, or a repair of an ancient substructure. But what is
often the most significant, is that which presents itself to the eye of the anti-
quary, when buildings, the architectural style of which leaves no doubt as
to the age to which they should be assigned, have been constructed with
materials that, from some well-understood peculiarity, show that they have
been borrowed from a far more ancient structure. In certain instances
of this kind, one frontage is seen to exhibit a quite modern superstruc-
ture, below or within which is a more remote work—itself modern, com-
pared with the materials of a still earlicr building, which are Wrought
into it: and lastly and lowermost, a basement, consisting of those materials,
occupying their original position, In such instances it is usual (as would
be reasonable to suppose) to find the basement exhibiting a perfect regu-
larity of position in the stones, as well as a relative congruity and an exact-
ness in the joinings. What has been reared by employing the disintegrated
inaterials of an ancient structure, is ordinarily less precise in its masonry ;

THE JEWISH POLITY, CITY, AND TEMPLE. elxxxiil

and presents a frequent intermixtute of incongruous masses, large and
small, and these not packed in the best manner. In a word, such edifices
bear the marks of that alternate niggardliness and profusion which is the
characteristic of waste, and of a barbaric indifference to symmetry.

Take as an example (already mentionéd in this work) the long-ago
dismantled and wave-worn mole, which marks the site of the ancient
Cesarea ; we there behold shafts of porphyry, and highly-wrought capitals,
protruding out their ends from between rude blocks of stone, and this
medley is seen to be resting upon a deep-laid foundation of Cyclopean
stones—stones which speak to us of Herod’s magnificence, and of that
boundless command of means which his despotic rule secured to him.

Now this sort of mixture, and this alternation of the ancient and the
modern—of the materials of a remote era, worked into the successive struc-
tures of later ages, presents itself on every side as we walk about the modern
- Jerusalem. We have before us, uppermost, the labours of the Turkish
builder, with his patchwork ; then those of the Frank—substantial and uni-
form ; then the Saracenic work, then the Greek ; then the Roman, from
Hadrian’s time up to the Augustan age, including Herod’s ; and beneath and
beyond these remains there is found a style of masonry, and a mode of
working materials, which is peculiar, and which, beyond question, claims an
antiquity far more remote than the times of the Noman supremacy in Syria.

Let the reader now turn to some of the plates attached to this and the
precedin’ volume.

We first take the two plates entitled—StreEts ΙΝ JERUSALEM, both of
which may be adduced as presenting samples of what meets the eye in all
parts of the city—namely, fronts and sides of buildings—private houses,
before which a lecturer upon the history of Palestine might well take
his stand, as if before a chart of chronology. There are the Turkish upper
works, and the balconies—the pots and the rubble, put together with all
imaginable recklessness of rule and proportion. Then the well-constructed
and decorated arches, both Crusading and Saracenic, and then the base-
ments, constructed, perhaps, about the same time, but consisting of materials
taken, as convenience dictated, from confusedly overthrown masses, belong-
ing toa remote age. That the stones individually, of which these walls
consist (in their lower ranges), were squared and wrought for a building of
an earlier time, is evident, not merely from their irregular position nom, one
with another, and the intermixture of smal] and large stones, but also from
the circuinstance that the edges of many of them are finely bevelled, as in
adaptation (as elsewhere appears) to a uniform and ornamental collocation ;
and we see moreover that the more recent builder, in order to give some
little appearance of care and cost to his work, has rudely chiselled a corre-
spondent bevelling upon the neighbouring stones, which had it not originally.
We see then before us, in these instances (and they are. very numerous)
masses of substantial building, self-dated as we may say, the lower portions
being manifestly not of later date than that of the Saracenic, or the Greek

clxxxiv PREDICTED DESTRUCTION OF

occupation of Palestine, and which lower portions were put together from
the overthrown remains of far more ancient buildings—edifices evidently
of great solidity and costliness.

‘That which is seen at so many points in the narrow streets of Jerusalem,
ofturs itself also to view in those vast Cyclopean structures which mark the
site of its public buildings.

We now therefore refer the reader to those plates that exhibit the exterior
walls of the Haram, at different points. (See Haram WALL, SOUTH-EAST
CORNER; SOUTH FRONT, EAST CORNER ; NORTH-EAST CORNER; and par-
ticularly that representing a portion of the WaLL near St. STEPHEN’S
Gate.) These portions of wall exhibit, in a very distinct manner, THREE
ARCHITECTURAL Eras; the latest being the reparation of the wall with
irregular materials, mostly of small size, and which is to be regarded as a
Turkish work. Beneath this, and pursuing a very irregular line, is a surface
of colossal masonry, in which stones of enormous dimensions are very irregu-
larly commingled with smaller, the interstices being filled up in a manner
that indicates a disregard of form and order. Many of the faces of stones
in this portion of the wall are bevelled, and the bevellings are adjusted with
some appearance of care, one to another. But yet here and there, mortice
tenons protrude themselves, while on other faces there are corresponding
cavities, showing clearly that the whole of these materials are adaptations of
the dislocated and disjointed stones of an overthrown but elaborately wrought
ancient building. In each of these plates something of this sort appears.
In that of the Soutn Front, EAST CORNER (upright plate) the irregular
packing of stones, larger and smaller, is seen, even quite low down in the
wall; in fact, the third upwards from the present level presents this me7s-
position of stones, in a striking manner, The stones of this corner may
be examined, stone by stone, in comparing the two faces of this same
corner, as seen in the upright plate, and in that of the eastern side of the
same. From this comparison it will appear that, although the stones are
placed alternately lengthways and endways, on each front, so as to impart
strength to the corner, showing what was manifestly the prancipal intention
of these later-age builders, yet, this purpose being secured, no such regard
was afterwards paid to the collocation of stones, as would serve to give uni-
furmity to the alternations of joinings.

It will be well distinctly to understand what is implied in the facts now
under our eye. We have before us a mass of masonry, the materials of
which, being of extraordinary and colossal magnitude, could not have been
quarried and transported unless by a community, or a prince, commanding
great resources, and this through a long period of national tranquillity.
Yet this 15. not all ;—for besides its enormous weight, which alone must have
rendered each stone in a high degree costly, each has been bevelled in the
most exact manner ; or rather has been squared down upon its four edges,
so as that, when duly ranged, the face of the wall would present a surface
claboratcly decorative, true, and symmetrical.

THE JEWISH POLITY, CITY, AND TEMPLE. elxxxy

But now, in any case when the materials of an edifice are prepared
according to a plan, and at great cost, the obvious mode of proceeding, and
which no builder could fail to adopt, would be, so to order the arrival of
these materials upon the site, as might enable him, without perplexity or
confusion, to locate each stone in the best possible manner :—that is to say,
so as should give the intended advantage to the mason’s preparatory labour.
_ What builder, having at his bidding the wealth of an empire, and actually
bestowing that wealth lavishly upon his materials, would afterwards so
forget all plan and symmetry as to huddle them one upon another without
law or reason? This would never be done—it never has been done.

We imagine however another order of things, and then the result,
necessarily, will be such as that with which we have now to do. Let it
only be supposed that a mass of buildings, the separate stones of which are
of enormous size, has, from whatever motive, been overthrown—stone
dislodged from stone—by the deliberate use of cranes and iron levers ; and
then, that these huge masses, thus loosened from their places, and tumbled
one upon another in utter confusion, strew and cover the ground on all
sides, and even glut the valleys or ravines adjacent. Now, while things are
in this state, let the builder of a later time, say—a century later, come up
with instructions to reconstruct, upon the existing foundations, these cyclo-
pean walls. In such a case, the builder says to his employer, “ With these
materials, and upon these foundations, I can well construct a fortress, but
not a palace.” All requisite strength and solidity might, under these
conditions, be answered for; but, as to any purposes of decoration, chance
must be mistress of the work.

If the requirement had been, not merely to rear anew the edifice, but to
restore its pristine beauty of surface—its regularity of collocation—its
architectural joinings, no method could have sufficed for thes purpose less
laborious or expensive than that of sorting out the whole mass of materials
upon a widely extended adjoining area. This mountain of ponderous stones,
lying in chaotic confusion, must have been carried out and set forth upon a
plain, and thence must have been returned to the builder’s hand. Even
under the most favourable circumstances a process such as this could scarcely
have been attempted. What mtght be done in such a case, is precisely
what appears actually to have been done in reconstructing the Haram Wall,
such as we now have it before us. Whatever affected the stability of the
structure was properly regarded ; the corner-stones were selected from the
surrounding heaps, and were carefully placed in alternate order. So far,
also, as might be practicable, the level line of each range of stones was
preserved ; but this could not always be done; and therefore in several
instances that are observable in all parts of the Haram exterior wall, where
a stone of the required dimensions was not procurable at the moment when
wanted, its place was supplied, sometimes by placing a large stone on its
edge, and sometimes by filling a gap with small stones, or mere fragments.

In a word, while contemplating these masses of masonry, little effort of

π

clxxxvi PREDICTED DESTRUCTION OF

the imagination is required to read the history of the structure, as written
in intelligible symbols upon the surface. Without doubt an edifice of the
most sumptuous kind bere once stood ; but it had been demolished, even
down to its very foundations ; its pride had been brought low, “even to the
ground.” Yet, at some later time, a builder availing himself, as best he
night, of the materials that were piled upon the site and all around it, and
glad to rest his intended work upon the rock-like foundations which the
demajisher had spared, rears anew this place of strength, although it
could no more be gloried in as a palace or temple.

The Jews’ Puace or WAILING is a narrow paved court, on the western
side of the Haram, and not far up from the south-west corner of the
quadrangle. The level of this court is very low, as related to the general
height of the wall; being little, if at all, above the level of the spring
STONES. Its position may be understood by reference to the view (outline
Plate) of Ev Axsa anp THE WALL.

The firmly-held traditionary belief of the Jewish nation—the mourners
for the desolations of the ‘‘ Beautiful House "—is, that the very stones which
are thus perpetually and with this patriotic constancy moistened with tears
—are, in their integrity, part and parcel of Solomon’s temple. Easily we
nay assent to this national belief, so far as to grant that the stones
individually are the “precious and living stones” of that glorious house.
and further than this, nothing forbids us to suppose that which the
appearance of the wall at this part renders probable, namely—that to eome
height upward from the range next the pavement, the structure is entire,
and has stood from the first undisturbed. There is more of regularity in
this particular portion of the wall than elsewhere ; and one is tempted to
admit the supposition that, while the pride of the Roman conqueror
impelled him to leave three towers standing, as evidences of what sort of
city it was agamst which the Roman valour and military science bad
prevailed, 80, by the Divine control, a portion of their “ House” should
be left in its integrity, a sad inheritance, intended to keep throbbing from
age to age the national heart of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, On the right hand—southward, this regularity soon disappears ;
on the left hand—northward, the surface, whatever it may be, is hidden by
modern structures,

Our next reference must be to the view of THe REMAINS OF AN ARCH;
and to the outline Plate, ELEVATION OF THE WALL AND SPRING-STONES,
which shows the same in front; and all that need be said in connexion with
our immediate argument, as illustrated by these remarkable remains, is this
—that, while these enormous masses of stone, holding as they do their
position in true geometric relation to the arch of which they are the
commencement, exhibit and imply, in the highest degree, that cost, and
leisure, and scientific purpose of which elsewhere we see the indications,
yet the marks of a hasty reconstruction of overthrown materials are con-
spicuous on both sides of the spring-stoncs, and on a level with them. It is

THE JEWISH POLITY, CITY, AND TEMPLE. elxxxvli

inferentially certain, that no builder possessing the means, and commanding
the mechanical forces necessary for constructing an arch of this magnitude,
would have surrounded it with fragmentary and rubbish-like work, such
as is now in juxtaposition with it. We may therefore, with confidence,
assume from the facts—irs?, that these spring-stones, resting on a regularly
constructed foundation, are what and where they have been from the period
of the quarrying of the stones ; but that the wall above, and on either hand,
had been overthrown, and has since been reconstructed from the confusedly
scattered materials.

The Plate—ENTABLATURE AND WINDOW—showing the built-up remains of
a beautiful Roman work, mid-way in the southern face of the Haram,
displays some degree of regularity of masonry, yet does not show such as
we find where materials of the same order have been undisturbed from the
first. It is here, not until we reach the lowest tier of stones, and which are
of great size, that they exhibit an entire regularity, along with a due regard
to the bevelling of the edges.

What we here mean will be best understood by turning to the outline
Plate—Dovusie ArcH-Way. This plate shows, on the right-hand side,
the objects seen in the Plate of the ENTABLATURE AND WINDOW, just referred
to. The visible, or exterior half of the ornamented arch, and the window,
are here seen in their relation to the left-hand arch, seen, and seen in part
only, when the dark subterranean passage has been entered. It appears
therefore that the large and regularly-placed stones of this part of the wall
are on a level with a subterraneous gallery, through which access was had
to the interior of the edifice. But on the left hand of this ENTRANCE TO THE
VauLts the masonry has the appearance of an undisturbed work. In fact,
an appearance presents itself here, and whenever we reach a foundatton
level—a level some way beneath the general exterior surface—which affords
striking confirmation of the belief as to all above this level—namely, that it
is a reconstruction of the materials of an edifice overthrown.

A glance now at the interior of the vaults, to the entrance of which we
have approached, will satisfy our present purpose. These dim chambers
are, of course—subterranean. Two flights of steps, and a long slope, inter-
vene between the pavement of the vaults and the pavement of the Court of
the Haram. What meets the eye in entering these passages and halls, is
manifestly of Roman workmanship, and not, therefore, of the most remote
antiquity. But this comparatively recent work—the columns, the groined
ceilings, and the pilasters, are nothing more than an appendage or supple-
ment to what is far more substantial, and which is of a more remote age.
Now this more ancient and interior work is distinguished by the same pecu
liar style which attaches to the foundation-stones of the exterior—namely
the bevelled edges, and a true position of the stones in alternate order, so as
to give the joinings a regular architectural character. It would seem as if
these vaults had been laid open at the time when the edifices above were
demolished, and that their re-ceiling was all a more recent work, and was

olxxxviil PREDICTED DESTRUCTION OF

one with the columns, the pilasters, and the coatings which are now
visible.

But the walls and vaults of the Haram are not our only sources of infor-
mation concerning the history of the existing remains of the ancient Jeru-
salem. The same conclusions are suggested, in all instances, where the
marks of a high antiquity are apparent.

In order to show this, our next reference must be to the Plate exhibiting
the INTERIOR OF THE WALL NEAR THE Damascus GaTE—and which has
already been described.

In this case two, three, and, on the left-hand side, four courses of stones,

and within the recess six, may be attributed, tn thetr present posttion, to
a remote antiquity. Everything above these courses is manifestly a recon-
struction of scattered materials.
. The lower part of the Tower or Davi, or Citadel, has always been
regarded as an undisturbed ancient work. So it was esteemed by the Jews
in the time of Benjamin of Tudela. That the stones are those of an ancient
tower need not be questioned; but it may be doubted whether this quad-
rangular structure, in its present form, is indeed the work of Jewish
builders in the times of the monarchy. The sloping foundations have
a different character, and might, with less hesitation, be spoken of as ancient,
both as to form and material

It is a circumstance highly significant in relation to our present purpose,
that, whereas the peculiar Jewish style of masonry—the finely chiselled (or,
as it is improperly called, the bevelled edge) stone, is nowhere found at
Jerusalem rising more than a course or two above the surface—except as
reconstructed, and where it occupies an irregular position—amray from the
Holy City it is found in all its pristine integrity and beauty, rearing itself
aloft to a great height ! Thus it appears in the buttresses and walls of the
quadrangle of the Great Mosque at Hebron. There, a collocation of these
wrought stones zn perfect alternation, as to their adjustment, strikes the eye.
Upon the one structure the word “overturn it,” has taken effect ; the other
has met no such destiny.

Supposing that we had nothing further in view than to authenticate, by
all available means, the narrative of the War, as given by Josephus, the
modern Jerusalem affords this attestation, and in a language not to be
misunderstood it gives evidence in his behalf. This evidence, the more
attentively it is regarded, so much the more distinctly does it confirm what
he says—both as to the magnificence of the city in his times, and as to
the extent to which the work of demolition was carried. This writer tells
us that the city, and its temple, had been constructed, at the first, in a
manner the most substantial and costly; and particularly, that stones
of enormous dimensions had been laid at the foundation of its principal
structures, and of the temple especially.

Now it is such stones, and these wrought in the most costly manner, that
offer themselves to view wherever we examine the existing architectural

THE JEWISH POLITY, CITY, AND TEMPLE. elxxxix

remains at a low level. The historian further tells us that, at a time not far
remote from his own, these original structures had been extended and
repaired in a manner the most sumptuous and admirable, and that this was
done by a monarch who, priding himself upon his architectural munificence,
and commanding ample means, employed them through a course of years in
the embellishment and enlargement of the temple. This further statement
is borne out by an examination of those deep-seated remains, in which the
Roman style of Herod’s time is commingled, in subterraneous passages, with
cyclopean masonry, manifestly belonging to a far more remote time. Thus
far the statements of Josephus are sustained by those palpable evidences
which the industry of modern explorers has brought to light.

But we may safely set a foot further onward in making our way over the
surface of these remains.—Josephus, in summing up his narrative of the
fall of his country, and of the overthrow of the Jewish metropolis, tells us
that the Roman legions, by Cesar’s command, overturned everything—city
and temple—saving only the western portion of the city wall, and three of
the principal towers ; and that in carrying forward this work of demolition,
Jerusalem, and its defences, were so “laid even” as that strangers, in
visiting the site, should scarcely discern any indications of its ever having
been inhabited.

In other words, and rejecting what may seem hyperbolic in the writer's
style, Josephus affirms that, with the exceptions specified, the vanquished
city—its walls, its temple, its palaces—were laid even with the ground.
This overturning of structures so massive, and so solidly put together, was
deliberately effected by the Roman legion encamped there in charge of the
place, and for whose protection the western wall was left standing.

Now here again that which the Jewish historian thus formally and
distinctly affirms—and in affirming which he is supported by the writers
of his time—is, in a very convincing manner, placed before our eyes
in the existing remains of the city and temple. Here are the materials—
—materials corresponding with the description he gives of the primeval
structure :—but these materials, wherever we meet them at all coming to,
or rising above the level of the surrounding surface, are not now found in
the position in which they would, at the first, have been placed. Stones of
enormous size are confusedly intermixed with fragments and with stones
of a middle size, and these often wrongly placed, as to their faces and
order.

It might have well satisfied the conditions of an argument such as that
which we have in hand, if the vast masses of the ancient city and temple
were now found choking the ravines and valleys around, in hideous confu-
sion. But it is not so; something more of historic evidence 18 presented
by these remains, such as we find them. The materials have been gathered
up, and have been replaced upon their original and undisturbed foundations.
This has been done in the only manner that was practicable tn such a case.
Yet, in doing it, decorations have been wrought into the re-edification which,

CXC PREDICTIONS FULFILLED.

by their architectural characteristics, indicate the ttme of the restoration,
88 well as show its purposes.

We pass forward a sixty years, and then find precisely that which the
phenomena demand—namely, a restoration of these structures, by a Roman
emperor, and under circumstances such as these phenomena suggest. Then,
further, the date, the antiquity, and the integrity of this re-edification is
vouched for by the architectural characteristics of the motley superstructure.
Here are before us the strata of seventeen centuries :—the leisurely deposits
of the successive military inundations that have swept over and rested upon
Palestine. We have, without risk of error, the series of formations—
Turkish, Crusading, Saracenic, Byzantine, Roman. Each of these masters
of the site has set his mark upon the Haram wall, and has consigned the
accumulating mass to the guardianship of his successor, safe and entire, to
yield its testimony in due time in confirmation of eternal Truth.

In retracing the steps of the argument which has here been pursued, we
find room, at several intermediate points, for a choice of suppositions, none of
which, however, can invalidate our conclusion. Thus, for instance, the super-
structures—one or other of them, may be assigned to earlier or later times,
as may seem to be required by an examination of their characteristics. Let
that which has been attributed to the age of Hadrian, and has been thought
to belong to the “‘ Alia Capitolina,” be assigned to the times of Justinian,
and be taken as part of the great works effected by him, as related by
Procopius :—or again, what has been attributed to Justinian—let it be
placed to the account of the Crusaders. Other similar interchanges we
might admit, and yet leave undisturbed the premises of our argument, and
the conclusion :—Provided always, that we do not break up the order of
time so, for instance, as to place Crusading remains lower down than
Byzantine, or Turkish works below the Norman.

These necessary cautions observed, we return to the unquestionable
indications of a series of constructions, and of reconstructions, dating back-
ward through many centuries, and indicative of the successive occupation of
the siTE by those whom history declares to have expelled each other in
turn, and showing that a vast and costly structure which, at the head of this
series, rested upon the site, has been overthrown, cither down to its very
lowest ranges, or at least down to those foundations which were far below
the eye, at the time of that overthrow.

The one supposition which might exclude our inference, and so destroy
our argument, is that one which we are forbidden to entertain by the
actual state of the Wall—namely, that, in its present confused condition,
it has remained untouched from the times of Herod the Great. Palpable
facts stand in the way of any such supposition, not to insist upon its con-
trariety to the entire testimony of written history. But if this may not be
thought, then the fulfilment of our Lord’s predictions is vouched for by
every thing ancient which now rests upon the site of the Holy City.

ΟΧΟΙ

THE following are the names of the Jewish Months, together with the
corresponding names—borrowed from the Macedonian Calendar—by which
they are designated in the Jewish War :—

Nisan or Abib XAanthicus = March and April.

Jar == Artemisius = April and May.

Sivan = Desius = May and June.

Thamuz = Panomus = June and July.

Ab = Lois = July and August.

Ellul == Gorpisus = August and September.
Tisri == Hyperbereteeus September and October.
Marchesvan = Dius = October and November.
Chasleu = Apelleus == November and December.
Tebcth = Audeneus == December and January.
Sebat = Poritius == January and February.
Adar == Dystrus == February and March.

The year being lunar, these months consisted of 29 and 30 days alternately ;
the first month being, as is commonly supposed, one of 30 days, the second
one of 29, and soon. This gives a year of 354 days, which is too short by
nearly 11} days. To make up this deficiency, a month of 30 days was inter-
calated every two or three years ; there being three such months in every
8 years (8 x 114 = 90). This month was inserted after Adar, or Dystrus,
and was called Ve-adar. The Paschal limits being March 18 and April 16,
both inclusive, the 15th of Xanthicus, which was the Feast-day of
Unleavened Bread, was always the day, between those limits, on which the
full moon fell.

The following is a list of the days (as thus determined) on which the
first of Xanthicus fell in the five years from the outbreak of the Jewish
War (b. ii. c. 15) to the destruction of Jerusalem, and will enable the
reader to reduce the dates, as given by Josephus, to the corresponding dates
according to our reckoning :—

A.U.C. 819 . . . . A.D. 66 . . . . March 15
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INDEX TO THE TWO VOLUMES.

ee ...-.-ς.ς....

Abita, a cityof Perea, vol.i. page 215; ii. 90.
Abram, tomb of, at Hebron, ii. 97. (Plate.)
Abaalom, a follower of Manahem, i. 236.
Acedasa, a village of Judaa, i. 92.
Achabare, a town of Upper Galilee, i. 58.
Achiabus, cousin-german of Herod the
Great, i. 180, 194.
Acme, a female servant of Julia the em-
press, i. 177, 180.

Aora, the part of Jerusalem north of Zion,
i. 91, 92; ii. 125; burnt, 202. (Plates.)
Acrabatena, one of the toparchies of Judea,

ii. 95, 96.
Acrabatta, a town of Judea, ii. 10.
Actium, battle of, i. 140.

Adiabene, a region of Assyria, i. 230, 244.

Adida, a town of Judea, ii. 94.

Adoreon, a town of Judea, i. 94, 108.

ebutius. See Ebutius.

milius Jucundus, a Roman commander,
i. 246.

Zineas, a citizen of Tarichea, i. 252.

ZEneas, a Jewish deserter, ii. 142.

Herrop Acaippa J. or Acrippa ΤῊΝ Great,
son of Aristobulus, and grandson of
Herod the Great, i. 25; 85; 164; is im-
prisoned by Tiberius, but released and
appointed tetrarch by Caligula, 207; his
services on the accession of Claudius,
210; his death, 211; clxx. [compare
Acts xii.J]; wall built by him at Jeru-
salem, ii. 126.

Herop Acrippa II. s0n of Herod Agrip-
pa I. ν , i. 25; 72; his letters to

osephus, 73; 77; made king, 212, 214;
221; 224; his speech to the Jews on
the power of the Romans, 225-232; is
insulted by the Jews, 282; 234; 240; 242;
244; ii. 7; 54; goes to Rome, 95; cxliii.
exlix. [Compare Acts xxv. and ἀν]

Agrippa, Marcus Vipsanius, the friend of
Auguatus, i. 142.

Agrippa, Fonteius. See Fonteius.

Agrippa, son of Josephus, i. 31, 80.

Agrippina, wife of the Emperor Claudtus,
. 216.

Agrippium, a building in Herod's palace,
i. 142.

Agrippium, formerly called A nthedon,i.144.
See Anthedon.

Alans, a people of Scythia, ii. 235.

AxBinus, procurator of Judea, i. 217,
218; ii. 197.

ALExanpDER of Macedon, i. 240.

ALEXANDER JANNaUS, 80n Of Hyrcanus,
king of Judea, i.97; contest with Deme-
trius Eucerus, 98; death, 100; ii. 229.

Alexander, a friend of Antony, i. 141.

Alexander, a Jew of Cyrene, ii. 251.

Alexander, Sather of Tiberius Alexander,

i. 181.

Alexander, an insurgent leader, i. 213.

Alexander, son of Alexander, and grand-
son of Herod the Great, i. 164.

Alexander, son of Aristobulus, i. 107, seq.
111.

ALEXANDER, 80n of Herod the Great: sent
to Rome, i. 149; Antipater plots against
him, 151, 152; 154; is imprisoned by
Herod, 155; Archelaus diverts Herod's
purpose, 156, 157; Alexander is imposed
on by Eurycles, 159; his trial, 162, 163;
is strangled by Herod, 164; his pos-
terity, 212.

Alexander, a young man who pretends to
be son of Herod, i. 198, seq.

Alexander, Tiberius, procurator of Judea.
See Tiberius.

Alexander, monument of, αὐ Jerusalem,
ii. 140.

Alexander Balas, king of Syria, elxv.

Alexandra, or Salome, wife of Aristobulus,
i. 9

Alexandra, wife of Alexander Janneuas,
i. 100.

Alexandra, daughter of Aristobulus, i. 111.

Agxanpnia, of Egypt, i. 230; massacre of
the resident Jews, 240, 241; description
of its harbour, ii. 108, 104; 107, 2265,
249, 250.

Alexandria, lake of, in Egypt, ii. 46.

Alexandrium, a fortress of Judea, i. 108,
107, 109.

Alexas, a friend of Herod the Great, 1. 166,
180.

Alexas, a Jewish warrior, ii. 178, 188.

INDEX.

Alienus, Ceccinna. See Ceocinna.
Aliturus, a comedian—favourite of Nero,
i. 88.
Alurus, a town of Judea, ii. 97.
Amathus, a fortress beyond the Jordan,
i. 97, 98, 108.
us, or Emmans, a town of Judea,
i. 194,195; ii. 10, 90, 238.
Ammaas, or Emmaus, a village of Galilee,
54

Amygdalon, a pool in Jerusalem, ii. 156.
Ananias, son of Sadduk, i. 237, 255.
Ananias, a Jewish zealot, ii. 162.

Ananias, a Pharisee, i. 54, 65, 68.

Ananias, high priest, i. 214, 284, 236. [(Com-
pare Acts xxiii. xxiv. ]

Ananus, son of Anantas the high priest,

214.

Auxanvs, chief priest, leader of the moderate
party at Jerusalem, i. 53, 67, 248, 257 ;
excites the people against the Zealots,
ii. 65~-70; 78; death and character, 80.

ii. 160.

Anathoth, a village about four miles north
of Jerusalem. Probably where Titus
encamped, ii. 117, cxvi. See Gabath-
Saul. (Plate.)

Andromeda, chains of, at Joppa, ii. 39.

Annics, Lucius, a Roman military tribune,

Anthedon, a town of Judea, afterwards
called Agrippium, i. 97, 144; 238.

Antigonus, son of Hyrcanus, i. 95.

Antiaonvs, king of Judea, son of Aristobu-
lus, and grandson of AlexanderJanneus :
sent to Rome, i. 107, 112; makes head
against Herod, 118, 120; declared king
of Judea by the Parthians, 123; besieges
Masada, 126; contest with Herod, 127,
128, 130; gains a victory, 131; defeated,
132; beheaded, 135; ii. 149.

Antiocn, capital of Syria, i. 145, 240, 242;
ii. 7; massacre of the Jews, 219, 220; 224.

Antioch, ravine of, i. 100.

Axtiocuts IV. king of Syria, surnamed
ΕἸΡΙΡΗΑΝΕΒ, i. 88, 90; dies, 91; ii. 149,
219; clxiii. clxiv.

Antiochus V.—Eupator, i. 91.

Antiochus V1.—Theos, i. 92; clxv.

Antiochus VII.—Sidetes, i. 92, 93.

Antiochus V I1I.—Gry pus (Aspendius), i. 94.

Antiochus XI. son of Antiochus Grypus.
(Plate.)

Antiochus XII.—Dionysus, i. 99.

Antiochus, king of Commagene, i. 242 ; ii.
156, 233-2365.

Antiochus Epiphanes, son of the same,
li. 156, 234, 236.

Antiochus, a Jew of Antioch, ii. 219, 220.

Anrrpas, or Herop Antipas, son of Herod
the Great, by Malthace, i.165; declared

Amrtrpas (continued.)
his successor by Herod the Great, 178;
181; repairs to Rome, 189; made tetrarch
by Augustua;198 ; 206; banished to Lyons
and then to Spain, 207; married Hero-
dias. (Compare Matt. xiv. 3; Mark vi.

a 17-28 ; Luke iii. 19 fA xxiii 6-12.)
ntipas, a relation ing Agrippa, i. 233.

Antipas, a Jew Kore teas ii. 64.

Amripater, the Idumean, father of Herod
the Great, 1.102, &c.; his sons, 110; he
pays court to Julius Cesar, 111; ia made
procurator of Judsea, 118, &c.; 116; is
poisoned by Malichus, 117 ; Ixxxix. exlvii.

Awripater, son of Herod the Great by
Doris, i. 119, 165. The history of Anti-
pater is contained in the War, book i.
chap. xxii.—xxxili. See especially i. 146 ;
he calumniates his brothers, 149; his
craft, 151; he makes Eurycles his tool,
159, &c.; his schemes against his nephews,
164, &c.; 166; goes to Rome, 167; his
achemes are detected, 169-174; his trial,
174-178 ; his death, 181.

Antipeter, a i Bale i. Me y

tipater, son of Salome, sister 9
Herod, i. 166, 190.

Antipatris, α districtin Judaa, i. 99, 243.

Antipatris, a town of Judea, i. 144; ii. 90.

Antiphilus, a creature of A ntipater’s, i. 170.

Awtomta, a tower adjotning the Tem
formerly called Baris, i. 95,101; repaired
by Herod, 142 ; 224; taken by the insur-
gent Jews, 235; ii. 126; a fall descrip-
tion of it, 184; 145; 161; 172; it resists
the attacks of the Romans, 173; but is
at last taken, 177; isdestroyed, 184. See
Bethesda, Pool of.

Antonius, prefect of A scalon, ii. 6, 7.

Antonius Silo, @ military tribune, ii. 44.

Antonius, a Roman centurion, ii. 32.

Antonius Primus. See Primus.

Antonius Julianus, Marcus, procurafor of
Judea, ii. 191.

Antony, Mark, i. 108, 119, 180, 136, 141.

Anuath Barceos, a toren of Judea, ii. 9.

Apamea, a town of Syrta, i. 115, 240.

Aphek, a towerin Samaria, i. 243.

Aphtha, a town of Judaa, ii. 66.

Apollo, temple of, αὐ Rome, i. 196.

Apollonia, a town of Palestine, i. 108.

Arabia, i. 230.

Arabians, i. 196.

Arbela, a town of Galilee, i. 67, 128.

Arbela, cave of, in Galilee, i. 53.

Arcerea, a town of Phenicia, ii. 224.

Arch, remains of. See Bridge. (Plate.)

Archelaus, king of Cappadocia, i. 148, 150
156, 157.

ArcHeE.aus, king of Judea, son of Herod
the Great by Malthace, i. 165; studies at
Rome, 172; succeeds hia father, 181, 187;
slaughter in the temple, 188; he goes to
Rome, 189, 190, 196, 197; made ethnarch,
198; banished to Gaul, 199, 200; clxix.
[Compare Matt. ii. 22.]

INDEX.

Archelaus, a Jew, son of Magadatea, ii. 191.
Ardalas, a follower of Simon, ii. 202.
Aretas, king of Arabia, i. 99, 102.

Aretas Petrsous, king of Arabia, i. 167,195.

Arethusa, a city of Syria, i. 107.

Aristeus, a noble Jew, ii. 162.

Aristobulus I. king of Judea, son of Hyr-
canus, i. 95; elxvi.

Anistosuius II. king of Judaa, son of
Alexander Janneus, by Alexandra, i.
100 ; proclaimed king, 101, 102; obtains
the assistance of Scaurus, 103 ; 104; 105;
defeated by the Romans, 109; 110.

AnistosuLus, son of Herod the Great by
Mariamne, i. 148; plotted against, 153,
155; imposed on by Eurycles, 159;
thrown into chains by Herod, 162;
strangled, 164; his posterity, 212.

Aristobulus, son of A ristobulus, and grand-
son of Herod the Great, i. 164, 212.

Aristobulus, son of Herod king of Chalcia,
by Mariamne, i. 212, 215.

Aristobulus, king of Chalcidice, ii. 234.

Arius, a Roman centurion, i. 194.

Arpha, a town of Judea, ii. 10.

Artabazes, son of Tigranes, i. 136.

Artorius, α Roman soldier, ii. 187.

Arus, a town of Judea, i. 195.

Asamon, a mountain of Galilee, i. 243.

Ascalon, a city of Judea, i. 145, 198, 238,
239; ii. 6.

Asmonzan family (Maccabees), i. 25, 88;
clxiv. &c.

Asochsous, king of Eqypt, ii. 209.

Asochis, @ toton of Galilee, i. 65, 58,75, 97.

Aspuattio Lake (Deap Sza), ii. 46, 90;
described, 91, 93; 229; cx. cxii. cxiv.
(Plates.)

Assyrians, camp of, in Jerusalem, ii. 140,
159.

Athenio, a general of Cleopatra, i. 137.

Athrongzeus, a Jewish leader, i. 194.

Atratinus, a Roman orator, i. 125.

Avaustus, EMPEROR, i. 140, 178, 181, 196,
199. (Plate.)

Auranitis, a district of Palestine, i. 141, 198.

Aztus, a town of Judea, i. 108, 198;
ii. 63.

Baalbec, Stone at, cxvi. (Plate.)

Baaras, a plant, growing on @ spot of the
same name, ii. 230.

Baca, a town of Galilee, ii. 8.

Bacchides, in command at Jerusalem,
under Antiochus Epiphanes, i. 90.

Balanea, a town of Syria, i. 146.

Banditti. See Brigands. (Plates.)
Banus, a hermit, preceptor of Josephus,
i. 32; cxxx. ;
Baris, the former name of the Antonia,

i. 95. See Antonia.
Barazpharnes, a Parthian satrap, i. 120.
Bassas, Cecilius, a Roman general, i. 115.
Bassus, Lucilius, a legate, ii. 229, 231, 282.
Batansea, a adtairict of Palestine, i. 144,
198, 240; ii. 10.

Bathyllus, a freedman of Antipater, i.
171.

Bedriacum, α town of Italy, ii. 98.

Beit Jenn, a pase on the road from Cesarea
Philippi to Tyre, |xxxiv. (Plate.)

Beleus, a river of Phoenicia, i. 208.

Bemeselis, a town of Judea, i. 99.

Bernioz, daughter of Agrippa I. by 08,
i. 26, 211, 212; intercedes for the Jews,
221, 222. [Compare Acts xxv. 18, 23, and
xxvi. 30.]

Bernice, daughter of Salome, and wife of
Aristobulus, i. 164.

Bernice, wife of Alexander of Cyrene, ii.
251.

Bernicianus, son of Herod Agrippa, i. 212.
Bersobe, a fortress of Galilee, i. 58; ii. 8.
Brrrtus (Beyroot), i. 145, 162, 195; ii
104, 219.
Besara (Basara), a town of Galilee, i. 45.
Besimoth, a town of Perea, ii. 90.
Betaris, a town of Jdumaa, ii. 91.
Betharamathon, a town of Perea, i,.194. .
Bethela (Bethel), a town of Judea, ii. 99.
Bethennabrin, a village of Perea, ii. 88.
Bethesda, Pool of, at Jerusalem, was pro-
bably the ditch of the Antonia. See
Antonia, cv. (Plate.)
Bethezob, a village beyond the Jordan, ii.
188.

Bethhoron, a pass in the hill country of
Judaa, i. 218, 244, 246.

Bethleptepha, a toparchy of Judea, ii. 90.

Bethmaus, a town of Galilee, i. 39.

Bethsana (Bethshan, or Scythopolis). See
Scythopolis. (Plate.)

Bethso, a place in Jerusalem, ii. 126.

Bethsuron, a town of Palestine, i 91.

Bethzacharias, a pass in the hill country,

i. 91.

Bezedel, a town of Palestine, ii. 7.

Bezerua, or “New Town,” the northern part

of Jerusalem, i. 228, 245; ii. 126, 184,

159. (Plates.

Bitumen of the Dead Sea, ii. 93.

Borcseus, a Jew in the service of king
Agrippa, i. 244.

Brazen gate of the Temple, i. 288; ii. 181,
196.

Bridge from Zion to the Temple, i. 105,
225; ii. 199, 204, xxv. to xxix. cix.
(Three Plates.)

Brigands, tnfesting Palestine, i. 34, 129,
215 —218, 238, 250, 258, Ixxxvi. cxxxiii.
exli. cxlii. cxlv. See Sikara. (See Plates,
Ibn Ma’an and Hatin.)

Britons, i. 227 ; Roman wall, 229.

Britannicus, son of Claudius, i. 215.

Brixellum, a town of Italy, ii. 98.

Brundusium, of Italy, i. 125.

Brutus, Margcos, i.115. |

Byblus (Gebal, or Djebail), @ coast town
of Phenicia, i. 145, xev. xcvi. (Plate.)

Ceecinna Alienus, a Roman general in the
service of Vitellius, ii. 98, 106.

INDEX.

Ceonopolis (Bezetha), 1.246; i1. 196, 159.
See Bezetha.

Casak, Jutivs, i. 112, 118; assassinated,
118; Ixxxix. late.)

Casan, Ocravius, (Avavsrus). See Au-
gustus. (Plate.)

Casanna Maarrima, formerly called Strato's
tower, a chief city and Palestine,
£107; built by Herod, 148; 173, 214,
216, 219, 237; if. $8, 68, 217, 244; xlix.—
ἵν. (Three Plates.)

Cesar, Sextus. See Sextus.

Ceesarca Philippi, a céty of Palestine, at the
foot of Lebanon, i. 40, 206; ii. 40, 217,
218; Ixxxiv.

Ceosarium, a structure in Herod's palace
at Jerusalem, 1. 142.

Ceesennius Prtus, See Peetus

Caius, a Roman military tribune, i. 196.

Catrevsa (Oatus Cesar), i. 190, 207, 209.

Callinicus, son of Antiochus, king of Com-
magene, ii. 234, 236.

Callirrhoe, a thermal spring near the Dend
Sea, i. 180.

Camp, the Roman, described, ii. 12; camp
of Romans at Jerusalem, 123.

Cana, a town of Galilee, i. 41; cxl.

Cana, a town of Judea, i. 99, 132.

a town a, i. 187.

Capellus, Julius, a citizen of Tiberias, l. 35,
39, 65.

Capharabin, a town of Judea, ii. 99.

Caphareccho, a town of Galdlee, i. 53.

Capharnaum, a spring in Galilee, ii. 46 ;

XXiv.

Caphartoba, a town of [duman, ii. 91.

Caphetha, a place tin Judea, ii. 99.

Capito, α oman centurion, i. 220.

Capitol of Rome, ii. 107.

Carmel, range of, i. 208, Ixiii. (See Plate
of Malul.)

Carmel, Mount, ii. 8.

Casian Jupiter, temple of, in Egypt, ii. 108.

Cassius— Roman general, i. 110; levies
forces after Ceesar’s death, 116.

Castor, a Jew, ii. 141, 142.

Catapults, &c., ii. 25, 126, 187.

Catullus, prefect of the Libyan Pentapolis,
ii. 251, 252.

Caverns in Jerusalem, ii. 203, 206, 217,
218. See Vaults. (See Plates of Pool of
the Virgin, and Excavation in City Wall.)

Cedron. See Kedron.

Celadus, a freednan of A ugustes, i. 199.

Celenderis, a city of Cilicia, i. 173.

Celer, a military tribune, i. 214.

Cendcbecus, a. general in the service of An-
tiochus Sidctes, i. 92.

Conederus, a relative of king Monobazua, i.
244,

Cepharnome, i. 77.

Cerealius, Sextus, prefect of the Afth legion,
i. 79; ii. 30,99, 182, 191.

Cerealius, Sextus, a tribune, ii. 31.

Cerealius, Petilius, @ Roman general in
command in Britain, ii. 228.

Cerealius Vitellianus, a Roman general,
ii. 229.

Cestivs Gauius, President of Syria, a.p.
65, i. 24, 76, 218, 224, 242, 243, eg. ; his
defeat, 247. (It is probably Cestius who is
meant, i. 338, 84, where he is called
Gessius.)

Chabolo, a town of Galilee, i. 56.

Chagiras, of A diabene, ii. 157.

Chalcis, α city of Syria, i 211.

Chares, a Jew of Gamala, kinsman of
Philip, i. 52.

Chares, another Jew of Gamala, perhaps
the eon of the preceding, ii. 54, 58.

Chebron, or Chabron. See Hebron. (Plates )

Cheese-makers, valley of, at Jerusalem.
See Tyroposon. (Plates.)

Chathssans, i. 94.

Cilicians, mercenaries tn the eervice of
Alexander Janneeus, i. 97.

Crauprus C.asak, EMPEROR, i. 210.

Cleoate an oy Pelee hye x i. 101

leopatra, wife acon, .

Cuncrarna, queen of figypt, i. 119, 124,
135; ii. 240.

Cleopatra, a wife of Herod the Great, i.165.

Clitus, @ terdulent Jew of Tiberias, i. 61,
257.

Cotins, i. 145.

Collega, Cneus, a Roman officer, ii. 220.

Colonnades of the Temple, i. 193, 212, 224,
282; ii. 129, 180, 184, 185, 186.

Commagenc, kingdom of, on the Euphrates,
ii. 284.

Compeus, son of Compsua, a citizen of Tibe-
ria, i. 35.

Coponius, procurator of Judea, i. 200.

Coptus, a city of Lyypt, ii. 103.

Coracin, a fash, ii. 46.

Corban, the Jewish treasure, 1 206.

Corcyra (Corfu), island of, ii. 217.

Corea, a town on the borders of Judea,
i. 103; ii. 91.

Corinthus, an Arabian, one of Herod's
guards, i. 168.

Cornelius, a Roman soldter, brother of Lon
gus, ii. 187.

Costobarus, son-in-law of Herod the Great,
i. 154, 233, 248.

Cotylas. See Zeno.

Crassus, a Roman general, i. 110.

Cremona, a town of Italy, ii. 106.

Crispus, son of Compsus, a prefect of
Agrippa, i. 35.

Crispus, a follower of Agrippa: i. 75.

Cumanus, procurator of Jude@a, i. 212,
213, 214.

Cuspius Fadus, procurator ef Judea, i.
212.

Cydoesa, a town of Phoenicia, ii. 61.

Cy pros, wife of Antipater, mother of He-
vod the Great, i. 110.

Cypros, a daughter of Herod the Great,
betrothed to Pheroras, alluded to, i. 154.

Cypros, daughter of Phasadlus, wife of
Agrippa, i. 212.

INDEX,

Cyproe, ἃ fort near Jericho, i148, 144,
240.

Cyrene, of Libya, i. 70, 220; 11. 251.

Oyrenius, (Quirinus) president of Syrva,
av. 7; i235. (Compare Lake ii. 1, 2}

Cyrus, ii. 149.

Dabaritta, a town of Galilee, i. 46, 68,
252; cxli.
Dagon, a fortress near Jericho, i. 93.
Damascenus, Nicolaus. See Nicolaus.
Damascus Gate at Jerusalem, xivii. lxxxvi.
Ixxxvii. (Plate.)
Damasous, i, 101, 146;
there, 248 ; ii. 246.
Danube, i. 227.
Daphne, a suburb of Antioch, i. 119, 131.
Daphne, a place in Palestine, ii. 53.

meseacre of Jews

Darius, a general of king A gripe, i. 234.
Dassion, a noble of Tarichea, i. 46.
David, ii. 209.

Deap Sxa. See Asphaltic Lake. (Plates.)

Decapolis, a district of Palestine, i. 78.

Dellius, a friend of Mark ἐ Antony, i. 126.

Delta, the nume of the Jewish quarter of
Alexandria, i. 241.

Demetrius II.—Nicator, fing of Syna,
clxv.

Demetrius III.—Eucserus, i. 98.

Demetrius, a man of Pompey, i. 106,

Diceearohia (Puteoli), in Jtaly, i. 33, 199,
exxxii.

Didius, Quintus, president of Syria, 3.0. $2 ;
i. 140.

Diogenes, a friend of Alexander Janneeus,
i. 101

Diophantas, a secreary of Herod the Great,

Dicepolis, a city of Arathia, i. 108, (ἢ) 187.

Djebail, or Gebal (Byblus), xcv. See y blus.
Plate.

Dolesua, a of Gadara, ii. 88.

Domitia, wife Domitian, i. 81; cliii.

Domrrtan, BuPEROR, i. 80; ii. 107 ,223, 228;
vi. clii. Cate)

Domitius inus, @ mélitary tribune, ii.
31, 144.

Dora, α maritime town of Phoenicia, i.
92, 107.

Doris, first wife of Herod the Great, i. 119,
146, 165, 169.

Druailla, daughter of Agrippa, i. 211.
{Compare Acts xxiv. 24. fd

Drusium, α tower at Casarea, i. 148.

Drymus, a woody district near Mount
Carmel, i. 120.

Ebutius, a Roman decurion, i. 45; ii. 17, 56.
Ecbatana, a town of Batanen, 1. 38.
Ecdippon, a town of Phenicia, i. 121.
Earrt, i. 280; description of, ii. 103.
gy tian false pro het, i. 216.
okie vhe Mecesbee,’i i. 91.
Eleazar, sun of Dineus, an tnsurgent chief,
i. 213, 216.
Eleazar, son of A nanias, i. 282, 236, 248.

Exzazan, 80n of Semon, 1.248 ; 11.72, 118, 186.

Eleazar, an adherent of Manahem, i. 286.

Eleazar, a Jewish warrior, ii. 24.

Eleazar, a Stkar, associate of Simon, ti. 96.

Eleazar, nephew of Simon the son of
Gioras, ii. 190.

Eleazar, a Jewish warrior at Macharus,
it. 231, 232.

Eleazar, a Sikar ; chief of the Jewish band
at Masada, ii. 236; ἣν, 241-Θ7.

Elephantine, of Egypt, ii

Elena, an μαναὰ on the coast of Citicia,

i, 150.
Eleutherus, a river of Pheentcia, i. 136.

Elpis, wife ‘of Herod the Great, i. 166.
Elthemus, an Arabian chief, i. 139.
Emeaa, α city of Syria, ii.

Emmaus, a town of Judea. See Ammaus.

Emmaus, a place in Galilee. See Ammaua.

Engaddi, a town on the shore of the Dead
Sea, ii. 10, 87.

Eniachim, one of the Pontificalcowrees, il. 66.

Epaphroditus, α friend and patron of Jo-
sephus, i. 80; cliii. cliv. por Con pare
Coloss. i. 7.)

Ephraim, a town of Judaa, ii. 99.
Erebinths, house of, a village near Jerwew

lem, ii. 160.
Hesenns, ROT OF ; account of them, i. 201-

Roses, gate of, at Jerusalem, li. 126.

Ethiopia, i. 280.
Euaratus, a friend of Aleeander son of
i. 168.

Herod, i. 161.

Eurycles, a Laced@monian,

Ezekias, son of Chodart, ii. 118.

Fabius, i. 118.

Fabius, a Roman centurion, i. 106.

rae Cuspins, procurator of Juda@a, 'a.d.

212

Famine ταῦ BRUSALBM, ii. 152, 153, 160, 161,
163, 165, 166, 171, 188, 189, 203.

Faustus, a Roman soldier, i. 105.

Fer.ix, AxTontus, procurator of Judea,

a.p. 50; i. 214. (Com Acts xxiii. xxiv.]
Felix, a friend Φ' Marc hug ἷ i118.
Festus, Porcius, procuralor of Judea,

a.b. 58; i. 217. "(Compare Acts xxv. ]

Flavius Silva. See Silva

Fionvs, QGxssrus, procuralor of Judea,
ap. 64; i. 218, 220-225, 234. (Geaaius
is mentioned, iL 33 and 34, but probably

Cestius Gallus is intended. )
Fontcius Agrippa, consular legate, ii. 228.
“ Fortress,” α place tn Jerus ii. 125.
Frank Mountain (Herodium), Ixv. &.—

(Plate.)
Fronto of Liternum, a Roman general,
ii. 191, 207.
Fuller's Tomb, at Jerusalem, ii. 126.
Furius, a Roman centurion, i. 105.

Gaba, a town of Galilee, i. 45, 288; ii. 8.
Gabao, a place near Jerusalem, i. 244, 246.

INDEX.

Gabara, or Gabaroth, a town of Galilee:
it revolts, i. 46 ; 58, 59.

Gabath-Saal, (Anathoth } a village four
miles north of Ji m, ii. 117. (See
Plate of Anathoth.)

Gabinius, Aulus, president of Syria, B.c.
57; i. 104, 107-110 ; ii. 229.

Gadara (Om Keis), chief city of Peraa:
rebuilt by Pompey, i. 106, 198, 238, 240;
taken by Vespasian, ii. 16, (ἢ 88, xxxv.
ἂς. Ixxxviii. (Plate.

Gadara, a town of Calesyria, near Ptole-
mars, ii. 16.

Gadeira (Cadiz), i. 227.

GALBA, EMPEROR, ii. 94.

Gauiixs, i, 198, 213, 249; fortified, i. 58,
249 ; cxxxvili.; olives of, 251; description
of it, ii. 8 ; finally subdued, 62. Maps of,
exvii. cxviii (Pe

Galilee, Sea of. See Gonnesareth.

Gallicanus, a Roman military tribune, ii. 38.

Gallus, Ceatius. See Ceatius.

Gallus, Cesennius, commander of a legion,
i. 248.

Gallus, Rubrius. See Rubrius.

Gallus, a Roman centurion, ii. 56.

GamaLa, a city of Gaulanttis : revolts, i. 52,
100; described, ii. 10, 58; taken by Vee-

pasian, 54

Gamala, Mugdala ἢ a ἤτοι of Galilee,
i. 44, Ixxti. (Plate.

Garis, a town of Galil, ii. 16.

Garisime, a village of Galilee, i. 76.

Garizim, Mount, near Samaria, i i. 94; ii. 30.

Garais, a town of Galilee, ii. 157.

Gates of the temple; described, ii. 130, 131.

Gates of Jerusalem. (Plates—Golden Gate,
Damascus Gate, dc.)

Gaul, revolt in, ii. 90, 94, 222, 223.

Gaulane, a town of Batanea, 1. 98, 100.

Gaulanitis, @ region of Palestine, i. 58;
ii. 8, 10.

Gauls, mercenaries of Herod, i. 182.

Gaza, i. 198, 238; ii. 108; cv. (Plate.)

Gebal, or Djebail (Byblus). See Byblus.
(Plate.)

Geman. a village in the Great Plain, i. 213.

Gennath, α gate of Jerusalem, ii. 126.

Gennesar, or Gennesareth, a regton on the
shore of the Lake of 7 ‘iberias, i ii. 46, Ixxi.
Ixxiii. Ixxiv. (Plate.)

GENNESARETH, LAKE oF, described, ii. 45.
evi. (Five Plates.)

Gerasa (Gerash), a city beyond Jordan, i. 99,
238, 240; ii. 94.

Germans, i. 229; they revolt, ii. 222, 223.

Gessius Florus. See Florus.

Gihon, pool of, at Jerusalem, lvii.—cxii.
(Plate.)

Gilead, balm of, ii. 92.

Ginwa, or Ginnabrin, a village on the edge
of the Great Plain, li. 9, 91.

GiscHaLa (el Jish), a city of Galilee, de-
stroyed and rebuilt, i. 36 ; 40, 249, 257 ;
ii. 53, 59-62.

Gittha, a /ortress of [dumeaa, i. 131.

G phyrs, daughter of Archelaus, king of
‘appadocia, i. 152, 164, 200.

Golden Calf, temple of, ii. 53.

Golden Gate of the Temple, i ii. 181.

Golden Gate of modern Jerusalem, xliv.

xeviii. clxxix. Sada,

Gophna, a town of J i. 91; ii. 10,

117, 181.
Gorion, son of Nicomedes, i. 237.
Gorion, father of Joseph, i. 248.

Gratus, a Jewish general, i. 193, 194, 196.

Great Prars, i. 208; ii. 10, 91, Ixiv. exli.
(Two Plates.)

Greeks, i. 217, 241.

Gyphthzous, a Jewish warrior, ii. 178, 188.

Hannibal, i. 229.

Haram at Jerusalem (site of the Temple),
xiv.— xxxii. Ixxxviii. χοῦ. cili—
(Fifteen Plates)

Hatin, a haunt
i. 129. (Plate.)

Hupron (Chebron), account of, ii. 97; 99,
xcli.c. (Zwo Plates.)

Helena, monuments of, af Jerusalem, ii

118, 126.
Helena, of, at Jerusalem, ii. 185, 202.
Heliopolis, ἐπ t,i. 90; ii. 250.
Heracleopolis, in Lgypt, li. 108.

ercules, pillars of, i. 229.

Henop tHe Great, son of Anti ntipater. Th
history of Herod is contain in the First
Book of the War, chap. x.-xxxiii. See
especially i. 110; made governor of
Galilee by his father, 113, &c.; is made
tetrarch by Antony, 119, 122; goes to
Rome, 124, &c.; subdues the brigands,
129; revenges the death of his brother
Joseph, 131, ἄς. ; takes Jerusalem, 134,
&e.; war with the Arabians, 137 ; after
the defeat of Actium, he pays court to
Augustus, 140, &c.; his buildings—
Temple, Ceesarea, Herodium, ἂς. 142-
146 ; his domestic troubles, 146-163; he
murders his sons, Alexander and Aristo-
bulus, 164; the plots of his son Antipater
against him, 164-178; his death, 178—
182. See also ii. 229, 238; his wife and
children, i. 165. [See also the Genealo-
gical Table of his family.] xxxvi. liv.
Lxv.-lxvii. lxxxvi. clxvii.—clxix. [Com-
pare Matt. ii. 3, &c.]

Herod Philip, son of Herod the Great, by
Mariamne, daughter of the high priest

robbers tn Galilee. See

Simon, i. 165, 167, 171. (Compare
Matt. xiv. 3; Mark vi. 17; Luke iii.
19.]

Herod, son of Herod the Great, by Cleo-
patra of Jerusalem, i. 165.

Herop Antipas, son of Herod the Great, by
Malthace. See Antipas.

Herov Acrippa I. grandson of Herod the
Great. See Agrippa.

INDEX.

Hxrop Aanrppa II. 80n of Herod Agrippal,
See Agrippa.

Haron, xo or Coarcis, son of Artstobulus,
and grandson of Herod the Great, i.164;

made king of Chalcis by Claudius, 211;
death, 212.

Herod of Tiberias, son of Miarua, i. 85.

Herod of Tiberias, son of Gamatluas, i. 35.

Herod, monuments of, near Ji

128, 160.
Hunopias, daughter of Aristobulus, by Ber-
nice, i, 164, 207. [Compare Matt. xiv. 8.)

Hxropium, (Frank Mountain) a fortress of

Judea, i. 122, 144, 145, 182 ; ii. 10, 96,
99, 229, Ixv.-Ixix. (Plate.)
Herodium, a fortress tn Arabia, built by

Herod, i. 144.
Hezekiah, a brigand chief, i. 118, 194.
Hezekiah, of Ananias the High

Priest, i. 235, 236.

Hippene, a district of Palestine, ii. 8.

Hippicus, a fortress in Jerusalem, i. 236;
ii. 125, 126; described, 127 ; 215; xciii.
xciv. (Το Plates.)

Hippodrome, in Jerusalem, i. 192.

Hippos, a town of Galilee, the residence of

cripps i. 25; 107, 240.

Holy of the Holy, ἐπ the temple, ii. 182,

Homoncea, a place in Galtlee, i. 64.

Hyrcania, king of, ii. 235.

Hyrcanium, a fortress of Palestine, i. 107,
181.

Hyrnrcaxvus, Joux I., son of Simon the Mac-
cabee, i. 98, 94; clxvi.

Hraroanvs II., the high priest, son of Alex-
ander Jannaus, i. 100, seg. 114, 119,
128 ; his death, 146 ; clxvi.

erod king of Chalois

Ibn’ Ma’an, a haunt of robbers in Galilee.
See i. 149. lxxxv.

Ipumaa, i. 194, 196, 198, 248; ii. 10, 91.
96, 97; clix.

Ipomaans, ii. 72-83, 100, 185, 204, 287.

Impostor, an Egyptian, i. 216.

Impostors at Jerusalem, ii. 196.

Tonia, i. 145.

Irenseus, a rhelorician, i. 189.

Tron mountain, east of the Dead Sea, ii. 91;

(Plate.)
Ishmael, son of Phabus, a chief priest, his
sons, ji. 180.
Isis, temple of, at Rome, ii. 226.
tabyrium, a mountain in Galilee, i. 110.
Izates, son of queen Helena, and king of
Adiabene, ii. 100, 202.

Jairus, father of Eleazar, i. 236.
Jamblicus, a Syrian chief, i. 111.
Janus, son of S an Idumean chief,
ii. 78, 97, 185, 178, 183, 204.
James, a servant of Josephus, i. 42, 59.
Jamnia, a city of Judea, neur the coast,
i. 198, 224; ii. 10, 68, 90.
VOL. U.

Jamnia, or Jamnith, a town of Galilee,
i. 58; 249.

Jaunzus, ALEXANDER. See Alexander.

Jannsous, a noble of Tarichaa, i. 46.

Japha, a town of Galilee, i. 58, 58; ii. 29.

Jardan, a village of Jude, i.
α υἱ 9.
Jardes, forest of, ¥ 238.
Jeremiah, a Jewish commander, friend of
Josephus, i. 59, 77.
Jeriono: described, i. 104; ii. 91, 92; i.
128, 132, 148, 180, 194; iL 10, 89.
JernusaLEm, Crry or ; deacribed, ii. 125-1384 ;
taken by Antiochus Epiphanes, i. 90;
retaken by Judas Maccabsous, 91; taken
by Pompey, 105; entered by Herod, 117 ;
slaughter committed by him, 120; pil-
laged by the Parthians, 123; taken hy
Herod, 183-185; Herod’s structures there,
142; insurrection against Herod, 179;
maseacre by Archelaus at the Passover,
188; insurrection at the Feast of Pente-
cost, 192; Varus marches on Jerusalem,
195; Pilate suppresses an insurrection
there, 206, &c.; Agrippa surrounds it
with a wall, 211; insurrection at the
Passover, 212; disturbance at Florus
taking the temple treasure, 220; mas-
eacre by Florus, 228; insurrection, and
massacre of the Roman n, 232-
237; Cestius attacks the city, 245, clxxi.;
preparations for war, 257; John of Gis-
flees thither, ii. 68 ; outrages of the
brigands, 64; conflict between the people
and the Zealots, 69; arrival of the Ἰὰ -
meeans, 78 ; [dumseans enter, 78 ; massacre,
79, 81; Idumesans leave the city, 88;
Simon son of Gioras enters, 100; conflicts
of John, Simon, and the Zealots, 114, &c.;
Titus appears before the city, 118; sally,
120, &c.; description of Jerusalem, 125-
184; its walls, 125, &c.; towers, 127, &c.;
temple, 129, &c.; colonnades, 130; gates
of temple, 131; Antonia, 184; mounds
constructed, 136, &c. ; towers of the
Romans, 189; first wall taken, 140;
second wall stormed, 148; and lost, 144;
famine, 152, 160, 188 ; mounds, 156, &c. ;
Romans surround the city with a wall,
159 ; wall of the Antonia falls, 173; con-
flict at the Antonia, 177, 183; colonnade
burnt, 186, 190; conflagration of the tem-
ple, 192, &c.; upper town attacked, 199,
&c., 204; towers taken, 205; massacre,
206; population, &c., 208; summary of
history of Jerusalem, 209; city is razed,
215; Titus deplores its destruction, 225.
Physical features of the site of Jerusalem,
exix.-cxxii.; notices of Jerusalem in
classic authors, cxxvi. cxxvii.; date of its
foundation, clxi.; events of the siege,
clxxii.—clxxv.; the fulfilment of Christ’s
prediction regarding it, clxxv.—cxc.:
vaults in Jerusalem, xiv.-xxv. xl. ciii,
eee Vaults. (Siz Plates); golden gate of
Jerusalem, xliv. (Plate); water supply of

O

ς

INDEX.

v (continued).
Jerusalem, pools, &c., lvii-lxii, (Five
Plates) ; streets of Jerusalem, xcvii. (Two
Plates); city walls of Jerusalem, see
Walls, and xxi. xxv.—xxzii. xliii—xlviii.
Ixx. lxxxvii. (Nine Plates); walls of
temple, sce Haram. (ight Plates) ; (Plan
of Jerusalem.)
Jesus, son of Thebuthi, a priest, ii. 205.
Jesus, a chief priest, fies to Titua, ii. 180.
Jesus, son of Ananus, a prophet, ii. 197.
Jewish spoils, ii. 227, 228.
JzuwnH wk, i. 85, 219, exxxv. οἷν.
Joazar, a colleague of Josephus, i. 34.
69.

John, the Maccabee, i. 92.

John, a Jew of Casarea, i. 219.

John the Easene, a Jewish commander,
i. 249; ii. 6.

John, son of Α πανία, α Jewish commander,
. 249.

John, eon of Sosas, an Idumaan chief, ii.
73; his death, 139.

John, son of Dorcas, a Zealot, hi. 64.

Joux or GisconaLa, son of Levi, his charac-
ter, 1. 231; ii. 59; obtains ascendancy in
Giachala and rebuilds it, i. 86, 249; he
obtains the monopoly of oil, 40, 251;
endeavours to induce the Tiberians to
revolt, 42, 254; tries to free himaelf
from suspicion, 43; complains of Jose-
phus at Jerusalem, 53, 255; attempts to
entrap Josephus at Tiberias, 66; but is
outwitted, 73, 74; John shuts himself up
in Gischala, ii. 59; and outwitting Titus
escapes to Jerusalem, 61; his reception
there, 63; playa double between Ananus
and the Zealota, 70,71; aims at supreme

ower, 86; people rise against him, 100;

α is confined to the temple, 101; his
faction, 113; contest with the other two
factions, 114, 115; constructs cngines,
116; overcomes Eleazar's party, 122; his
strength, 135; disposition of his forces,
140; he undermines the Roman mounds,
156; his sacrilege, 165; attempts to fire
the Roman works, 172; invites Titus to
a conference, 199, &c.; is taken by the
Romans and condemned to perpetual
imprisonment, 209; his outrages, 237.

John, high priest, tomb of, ii. 186, 145,
185.

Jonathan, surnamed Apphus, the AfLacca-
bee, i. 924 ii. 238; οἶχν.

Jonathan, a Jew of Cyrene, i. 79; ii. 25],
252.

Jonathan, a Pharisee, i. 54; his treachery,
56, 60, 63, 68.

Jonathan, high pricst, son of Ananus, i.
214, 215.

Jonathan, son of Sisenna, i. 53.

Jonathes, a Jew, challenges the Romans,
ii. 185.

Joppa, or JAFPA, i. 126, 198, 242; ii. 10,
38; described, 39.

rT ae, Saxe καὶ ϑ Plate, τοῖο wens
ii. , xe. xci. (See
; Jericho, vA =
son Of Antipater and brother
erod the Great, i. 110, 122, 126, 131."
Jossph, brother-in-law of Herod the Great,
husband of Salome, i. 148.

i
Joseph, nephew of Herod, i. 165, 196.
Joseph, son of Gorion, i. 248.

Joseph, son of Simon, i. 249.

ΡΝ, ae Gomala, i 68;

Joseph, 0 cma ii, 180.

Joseph, oS Flavius Josephus,

Josephus, son of Daleeua, ii. 195.

Josxruus, Fiavius, son of Matthias, bors
a.D.87. The events of his life are to
found mainly in the Layz. His admini-
stration of Galilee also in the War, book
ii. chap. xx. and xxi.; and his defence of
Jotapsta in the Wan, book iii. chap. vii.
and viii. ; for his personal character, see
“ Prouminary Eessy,” vol. i. pp. 1-28, and
exxii.-clix. ; his descent, birth, and family,
i. 81; his boyhood, he joins the Phari-
sees, 82 ; goes to Rome, 33 ; is deputed to
govern Galilee, 34,249; he finds it much

turbed, 35-38; his appointments of
magistrates, &c., 249; goes to Tiberias
on the conflagration of Herod’s
there, 39; is outwitted by John at Gis
chala, 40: confers with the brigands, 40;
recounts his exploita, and the personal
attachment of Galileans to him, 41;
his danger at Tiberias, 42, 254; goes
to Sepphoris, 48; his treatment of
Joshua, 44; protects Galilee from an
incursion of /Ebutius, 45; John’s trea-
son, 46; uproar against Josephus at
Taricheea, 47, 252; he punishes the
ringleaders, 48, 253 ; protects certain sub-
jects of Agrippa, 49; fortifies Tibe-
rias, 50; his stratagem of the empty
ships, 50, 51, 256; brings the insurgent
leaders to Taricheea, 51, 256; fortifies
various towns in Galilee, 58, 249; dis-
ciplines the Galileans, 250; John plots
against Josephus at Jerusalem, 53, 255:
deputation sent from Jerusalem to Gali-
Jee, 54, 255; Josephus’ dream, 55; the
treachery of the embasiy, 56, is defeated
by Josephus, 57-62; he sends an embassy
to Jerusalem, 56; attempt on his life
at Tibcrias, 64-6; escapes on the lake,
66; arrests the messengers sent by John
to Jerusalem, 68; takes Tiberias, 69:
Josephus compares his narrative with
that of Justus, 70-78; the testimony of
Titus and Agrippa to Josephus’ accuracy
73; he takes Sepphoria, and reseues it
from destruction by a ruse, 74. 257-
rescues Tiberias from pillage, ΝΒ 057.
retakes Sepphoris, 76; action against the
forces of Agrippa—Josephus is thrown
from his horse, 77; on Vespasian’s arrivui

INDEX.

JosrrHus, Fiavius (continued.)
in Galilee, Josephus attacks Sepphoris, ii.
10; flies to Tiberias, 16; throws himself
into Jotapata, 17; makes a sally, 18; his
defence against the engines, 20; his ruse
with the water, 21; designs to fly, 21;
defence against the ram, 28; sallies, 24;
Josephus prepares against the storm, 26 ;
cepulees e Romans, 27, 28; the city is

taken by surprise, 31; Josephus takes
refuge in a cavern, 32; Nicanor
hinf to surrender, 33; his speech to his
comrades, 34, 35; stratagem to escape,
36; his prophecy when brought before
Vespasian, 37; his treatment, 38; his
marriage and divorce, i. 78; sentiments
with respect to him at Jerusalem, ii. 40;
he is liberated by Vespasian, 105 ; invites
the Jews to terms, 123; rides round
Jerusalem, 136, 142; speech, urging the
Jews to submit, 146-151 ; is struck down
by a stone, 163; speech to the Jews, 179,
180 ; urges surrender, 208 ; rescues some
Jews after the capture of Jerusalem, i.
79; gifts and pension from Vespasian,
79; Jonathan's conspiracy against him,
79; ii. 252; his divorce, re-marriage,
and children, i. 80; the imperial favour
shown towards him, 80; his marriage,
exxiy.; his early capacity, cxxviii.
exxix.; his voyage to Rome, cxxxii.; his
last years, cliv.; early testimonies to
him, cliv.-clix.; his personal character
and credibility, i. 1—28, cxxii.—clix.,
exxxix. cxliii. cxlvi. cl. cli.

Joshua, son of Nun, ii. 91.

Joshua, chief priest, son of Gamala, i. 53,
55; ii. 66, 73, seg.; death, 80.

Joshua, son of Sapphias, one of the chief
priests, made general in Idumea, i. 248.

Joshua, of Tiberias, son of Sapphias, i. 39 ;
plots against Josephus, i. 47, 60, () 62,
252; ii. 41, 42.

Joshua, α brigand chief, i. 43.

Joshua, son of Saphat, ii. 41, 42. (Perhaps
the same as one of the two preceding.)

Joshua, a Galilean, i. 54.

Joshua, of Tiberias, son of Pistus, i. 52.

Joshua of Gamala, i. 52.

Jorapata, acity of Galilee, i. 53, 58, 78 ; ii.
15, 18-82; for incidenta of the siege sce
under “Josephus ;” its site, cxviii.

Jotape, daughter of Aristobulus, and great-
grand-daughter of Herod the Great, 1.212.

Juba, king of Libya, i. 200.

Jucundus, master of the horse to Herod the

Great, i. 160, 219.

Jupma: described, ii. 9, 10; it is liberated
by Simon the Maccabee, i. 92, ἄς. ; is
divided into five toparchies by Gabinius,
108; is assigned to Antipater, 118;
Herod is made king of Judea, 125 ; Judeea
is devastated by an earthquake, 137;
adorned by Herod, 142, &c.; is assigned
to Archelaus, 198; reduced to a pro-
vince, 206; assigned to Agrippa, 211;

Jupama (continued.)
state of anarchy, 2138, 215, 218, &c., 238,
258 ; again reduced toa province, 215;
rebels, 248, &c.; its state, ii. 63; is
subdued by the Romans, 88, 90, &c. ;
overran by Simon, 96-99; is sold by
Vespasian, 233; summary of its history,
elxiii.—clxxv.

Jupas Macoasevs, i. 91, 92; clxiv.

Judas, an Eessene, i. 96.

Judas, a brigand, i. 194.

J ndas, son of Sepphoreus, a sophist,
i, 178.

Jupas, the Galilean, i. 23, 200; ii. 236.

Compare Acts v. 37. ]

Judas, son of Jonathan, ii. 287, 256.

Judas, son of Merton, ii. 178, 183.

Judas, father of Manahem, i, 235.

Judas, a colleague of Josephus, i. 34.

Judes, son of Chelkias, ii. 113.

Judes, son of Judes, ii. 162.

Judes, son of Ari, ii. 178, 233.

Jura (Livia), wife of Augustus, i. 166, 206.

Julia, daughter of A tus, i. 190.

Julian, a centurion of Bithynia, ii.177, 178.

Julias, a city of Perea, i. 206, 215 ; ii. 90.

Julias (Bethsaida), a city near the Lake of
Gennesareth, i. 76, 206 ; ii. 10, 46.

Jupiter Casius, temple of, ii. 108.

Jupiter Capitolinus, temple of, at Rome,
il. 228.

Justus, of Tiberias, son of Pratus, i. 35, 36,
52,68, 70, 76, 78 ; cxxxvi. cxlvii.—cxlix.

Justus, son of Josephus, i. 31, 80.

Justus, one of Josephus’ body-guard, i. 76.

Kedasa, a city of Phaenicia, i. 238.
Krpron, a brook and ravine near Jerusa-
lem, ii. 119, 188. (See Plates of Siloam,

dc.)
Kulat Ibn’ Ma‘an, a haunt of robbers in
_ Galilee, \xxxv. (Plafe.)

Lacedsemon, ii. 235.

Ladder of the Tyrians, a mountain, i. 208.

Laodicea, a city of Syria, taken by Cassius,
i. 117, 145.

Larcius Lepidus, commander of the tenth
legion, ii. 191.

Lzsanoy, i. 181.

Levi, a Jew, guard of Josephus, i. 51, 257.

Levias, a Jew of Jerusalem, ii. 64.

Liberalius, a Roman centurion, ii. 194.

Liberius Maximus. See Maximus

Libya, ii. 103.

Lollius, a Roman general, takes Damascur..
i. 103.

Longinus, a tribune, i. 246.

Longinus, a brave Roman soldier, ii. 141.

Longus, α brave Roman, ii. 187.

Lucius, a Roman aoldier, ii. 187.

Lucullus, Licinius,— Roman general, i. 101.

Lupus, (Numisius/) in command at Ale»
andria, ii. 249, 250.

Lycians, i. 145.

02

INDEX.

Ary Dicepolis), a city of ωάσα, i. 108,()
Lysanias, con mf Ptolemy the son of Men:

Liana, ‘Kingdom of, (Abilene,) i. 211.

Mabortha (Neapolis), ii. 91. See Neapolis.
Maccangzs. See Asmonseans.

Machseras, a Roman general, i.

Macuanvs, a fortress of Palestine, i, 197,
109, 240; ii. 9, 99, 229-2832.

Gamala ἢ in Galilee, 1. 44; Ixxii.

of Arabia, i. 124.
Malichus, a Jew, i. 108, 116, 117.
Malthace, wife of Herod the Great, 1, 165,
Malal, lxiil. (Plate.)
Manahem, son of Judas, {. 235, 236.
ὃ, commander in Peraa, i. 249.
Manneus, son of Lazarus, ii. 165.
March of a Roman army, deacribed, ii. 15.
Margalus, father of Matthias, i. 178.
Manramnz, daughter of Alexander and
of Herod the Great, i.119, 133, Nolte
165.
Mariamne, daughter
priest and wife of Herod the Great, i. 165,

Marianne, daughter of Aristobulus, and
grand-daughter of Herod the Great, i.
164.

Mariamne, daughter of Hyrcanus, i. 122.

Mariamne, daughter of Agrippa, i. 211.

Mariamne, daughter of Joseph and wife of
Herod, king of Chalcis, i. 212.

Mariamne, wife ofr Archelaus, i i. 200.

Mariamne, a tower built by Herod at Jeru-
salem, i, 236; ii. 128, 215.

Marion, tyrant of Tyre, Η 118.

Marissa, a city of Judea, i. 94, 107, 123.

Marmaride, an African nation, i. 229.

Mary, daughter of Eleazar, ii. 188, 189,

Masapa, a Jewish fortress on the borders of
the Dead Sea, i. 118, 122, 126, 232, 235,
258; ii. 87, 95, 99; description of it,
and its reduction, 238-248; cix.-cxv.
(Three Plates.)

Matthias, high priest, ii. 100, 161, 162; his
sons, 180.

Matthias, an ancestor of Josephus, i. 31.

Matthias, surnamed Kyrtus, son of the
above, i. 31.

Matthias, father of Josephus, i. 31, 32; ii.
162

Matthias, brother of Josephus, i. 32.
Matthias, the father of the Maccabees, son
of Asmoneus, i i. 90.
Matthias, son of Margalus, a sophist.i. 178.
Maximus, Liberius, procurator of Judea,
A.D. 72; ii, 233.

of Simon the chief

Meirus, a priest, ii. 195.
Melamboreas, ihe “ black norther” of the

Levant, ii. 8
Melchisedec, ‘he founder of Jerusaicm, ii.

Molitene, on the Buphrates, ii. 217.
Melos, island of, i. 199.
Memnon, tomb ‘of, i. 208.
Memphis, (in Egypt,) ii. 97.
district, ii. 108.
Mero a village of Galilee, i. 53; ii. 8.
essala, the Roman orator, i. 119, 125.
τ νας μη wife of Claudius, i, 215.
Metellus Scipio, Q Cescilius, president of
M μιν Me @ Roman general, ἢ
i i. 287.
Mithridates, his death, i. 104.
Mithridates, or Parthian, E110.
ergamues, i. 111.
Modin, a village of Judea, i. 90.
vir te procurator of Agrippa, i. 38,

Monobazus, king of Adiabene, i. 244,
Monobazus, relation of the the above, i, 244.
Monobarus, palace nd ii. 186.
Mounts raised by the Romans,
ii. 154,1
Men 171, 173, 184, 204. %
ucianus, Licinius, yria
66 ; ii. 55, 94, 108-107. ἐδὼ “~
Murens, proconeul of Syria, no. 44; i. 115,
Nabatea, i. 110.
Nain, a village of Judea, ii. 96.
Narbata, @ district near Caesarea, i. 220,
243.
Nasamons, @ nation of Africa, i. 229.
Neapolis (Nabulus), a city of Samaria, ii
N 91. See Sicima.
eopolitanus, commander of a troop
horse, i. 45, 224. f v
N ERO, EMPEROR, i. 215; ii. 5; his death, 94.

(Plate.)

Netiras, a Galilean, ii. 24.

Nicanor, a Roman tribune, a friend of
Josephus, ii. 33.

Nicanor, a friend ψ Titus, probably the
same as the pr , ii. 136.

Nico, one of the towers constructed by the
Romans, i ii. 140.

Nicolaus Damascenus, the historian, i. 177,
189, 191, 197.

N icomedes, a Jew, i. 287.

Nicopolis, a city of Egypt, ii. 108.

Nicopolis, a city of Epirus, i 1. 145.

Niger the Perwite, i. 244, 248; ii 6;
death, 83.

Nile, ii. 46, 103.

Noarus, a friend of Agrippa, i. 240.

Numidians, i. 229.

Nymphidius, a favourite of Nero. ii. 94.

INDEX.

Obodas, king of Arabia, i. 98.

Octavia, daughter of Claudius, i. 215.

Octavian walks, αὐ Rome, ii. 226.

Oil, monopoly of, i. 40; cxxxviii.

Outves, MouNT oF, ii. 119, 125, 184, xcix.
ci. (Plates.)

Olympias, daughter of Herod the Greut,

5.

Olympic games, the, i. 145.

Olympus, a friend of Herod the Great, i. 162.

Om Keis (Gadara), xxxv. lxxxviii. See
Gadara. (Plate.)

Onias, youngest son of Simon, made high
pricet by Antiochus Epiphanes, i. 90;
i, 250.

Onias, land of, in Egypt, ii. 250.

Ophellius, a friend of Phasaélus, i. 121.

Ophia, or Ophel, the
Jerusalem, i. 236; ii. 126; burnt, 202;
cxv. (See Plate of Siloam.)

Ormiza, a place on the borders of Judea,

Orsanes, a Parthian, i. 110.

Ostracine, in Egypt, 1i. 108.

OrHo, EmpERor, ii. 94, 98.

Pacorus, son of Aras king of Parthia, i.
120, 180.

Pacorus, king of Media, son of Artabanus,
ii. 235

Parus, Casenntivs, president of Syria, λυ.
71; ii. 220, 283, 234.

Palace of Herod, at Jerusalem, ii. 128, 202.

Pallas, a wife of Herod the Great, i. 165.

Pallas, brother of Felix the procurator of
Judea, i. 214.

Pamphilia, i. 125. ΝΣ

Paneas, district of, (Cesesarea Philippi,) i.
206.

Panium, the origin of the Jordan, i. 142;

il. 46.

Pannychis, a concubine of Herod the Great,
i. 158.

Pappus, a general of Antigonus, i. 132.

Papyron, a place tn Arabia, i. 103.

Passover, i. 188, 212; ii. 87, 208.

Pastophoria, a part of the temple, ii. 101.

Paulinus, a tribune, ti. 82.

Paulinus, prefect of Alexandria, ii. 250.

Peace, temple of, at Rome, ii. 228.

Pedanius, a legate, i. 162.

Pedanius, a Roman soldier, ii. 185.

Pella, a city of Palestine, i. 107; ii. 9, 10.

Pelusium, a city of Egypt, i. 109, 111, 124,
141; ii. 103, 108.

Pentapolis, in Libya, ii, 251.

Pentecost, feast of, i. 192.

Perea, a district in Palestine, i. 194; de
scribed, ii. 9; 90.

Pergamus, in Meesia, i. 145.

Peristereon, a rock near Jerusalem, ii. 160.

Petina, wife of Claudius, i. 215.

Petra, city of, i. 102.

Petronius, president of Syria, av. 39; i
208, 209.

Phabatus, procurator of Augustus, i. 167.

southern quarter of

Pheedra, a wife of Herod the Great, i. 165.
Phallion, brother of Antipater, i. 103.
Phannias, made high priest by the Zealots,

ii. 65.

Pharan, @ valley in Judea, ii. 96.
PHARrsEgS, sot oF: Josephus joins them,
i. 32; their rise, 100; their teneta, 205.

Pharos, near A lerandria, ii. 104.

Phasatlis, a city of Palestine, north of
Jericho, i. 144, 146.

Phasatlus, brother of Herod the Great, i. 110,
113; his death, 128.

Phasatlus, son of Herod the Great, by

Pallas, i. 165.
Phasadlus, son Pheroras, nephew and
son-in-law of Herod the Great, i. 166.

Phasatlus, a tower in Jerusalem, i. 144,
192, 236; ii. 128, 215.

PHeEroras, youngest son of Antipater, and ©
brother of Herod the » 1. 110, 129,
154, 156, 157; death, 168, 171.

Pheroras, the wife of, i. 154, 166-171.

Phiala, Lake, origin of the Jordan, ii. 46,
Ixxx.-lxxxiv. (Plate.)

Philadelphia, a city of Palestine, ii. 9.

Philip, Herod, son of Herod the Great by
Mariamne. See Herod.

Philip, tetrarch of Iturea, son of Herod the
Great by Cleopatra, i. 165, 172, 181, 197,
206 ; ii. 46. .

Philip, son of Jacimus, prefect of Agrippa,
i. 36, 37, 52, 77, 234, 248; relatives of
hia, ii. 59.

Philip, a Galilean, ii. 24.

Philippio, son of Ptolemy the son of Men-
παι, i. 111.

Phineas, an Idumeean chief, ii. 78.

Phineas, treasurer of the temple, ii. 205.

Phebus, a Jew in the service of Agrippa,
i. 244,

Priatr, Pontius, procurator of Judea,
A.D. 26-36; i. 206.

Piatus, a Jew of Tiberias, i. 35.

Pitholaus, a Jewish leader, i. 108, 109.
Piacipus, @ Roman general, i. 56, 78; ii.
10, 15, 17, 81, 57, 88, 89.

Plan of Jerusalem, cxix.-cxxii. (Plate.)

Platane, a village of Phoenicia, i. 162.

Plinthine, a city of Egypt, ii. 103.

Pompry tHe Great, 1.108; ii 149, xxxiii.
&e. (Plate.)

Pomponius Secundus, Quintus, consul, 1.
210.

Pool at Hebron, xcii. (Plate.

Pool of Bethesda, at J » cv. Sea
Bethesda. (Plate.)

Pool we Gihon, at Jerusalem, Ivii.—lxii.

(Plate.) .
Pool of the Virgin, αὐ Jerusalem, cxv.
(Plate.
Pools at Jerusalem, Ivii.-lxii. clxxxi. ἄς.
Pools of Solomon, at Jerusalem, ii. 126. cii.

(Plate.)
Poplas, a friend of Archelaus, i. 189.
Porrsa, wife of Nero : Josephus has an in-
terview with her, i. 33; iv. (Plate.)

INDEX.

Portents at the fall of Jerusalem, fi. 196, 197.

Priesta, Jewish, ii. 65, 188, 199; their mar-
riages, cxxiii.

Primus, M. Antonius, a Roman general,
Pi 94, 106, 107.

seus, Tyrannius, α Roman general, i.

avin 246.

Priecus, a Roman centurion, ii. 186.

Peephinus, a tower at Jerusalem, ii. 118,
125-127.

Protsxais (Aorg), α of Phenicia, i. 56,
101, 141, 145, 195; its situation, 208 ;
238, 289, 242; ii. 8, 9, 11, 15.

Ptolemy VIL. —Philometor, i i. 90; ii. 250.

Ptolemy VIII.— Lathyras, i. 97, 101.

Ptolemy XII.—Auletea, i. 109.

Ptolemy, son of Mennaus, governor of
Chalcis, i. 111.

aio.” son-in-law of Simon the Maccabee,

Ptolemy the Rhodian, a friend of Herod
at, 1. 152, 181, 189.
Pislony, α general vy Herod's, i. 130.

emy, procurator gri i. 46, 252.
Pudens, a Roman soldier, 186.
Puteoli. See Dicsearchia.
Pythian temple: rebuilt by Herod, i. 145

Quadratus, Ummidius, president of Syria,
p. 49-60; i. 214.
Quirinus (Cyrenius), president of Syria,
a.D. 7; superintends the census, ii. 236.
[ Compare Luke ii. 2.]

Ram: described, ii. 23; 187, 188, 157, 190.

Raphanea, a city of Syria, ii. 217, 224.

Raphia, a city of Juda@a, i. 97; ii. 108.

Records, Jewish, cxxv.

Ressa. See Thressa.

Rhinocurura, a city on the borders of Egypt,
i. 124; ii, 108.

Rhodes, i. 140, 145.

Romans ; extent of their dominion described
by Agrippa, i. 227; their discipline,
250; ii. 11-14; forces in Syria, 11;
encampment, 12; march of their army,
13, 15, 117; pay-day and review, 145;
distribution of prizes, 216; Roman
triumph described, 226-228.

Rome; Herod goes thither, i. 125; ii. 10:1,
107, 221, 222, 225-228, 235.

Roxana, daughter of He rod the Great, i. 165.

Rubrius Gallus, a Roman general, ii. 223.

Rufus, Terentius, a Roman general, ii. 218.

Rufus, a Jewish leader, i i. 198, 196.

Rufus, a Roman aoldier, ii. 931.

Ruma, a willage of Galilee, ii. 24.

Saab, a village of Galilee, ii. 24.

SaBBaTu, its observance by the Jews, i. 50,
63, 244; ii. 61.

Sabbatical river, 22 Syria, ii. 224; clxii.

Sabinus, procurator of Augustus in Syria,
i. 189, 192, 196.

Sabinus, brother of Vespasian, ii. 107.

Sabinus, a brave Syrian, it 175, 176.

Sacclueus, a Galilean, i.

Sacrifice, daily : ceases, i. "00; ii. 179.

Sappucers, sect of, i. 205.

Sadduk, a Jew, i. "987.

Sallis, a town of 1dumaa, ii. 7.

Satomr, sister of Herod the Great; mar-
ried— st, Joseph; 2d, Costobarus ; 3d,
Alexas ; i. 110, 148, 153, 161, 165, 177,
189, 198, 206.

Salome, daughter oy Herod the Great, i.

65.

Sameea, a city of Palestine, i. 94.

Samaria, district of, deacribed, ii. 9.

Samana, city of, called Sebaste by Herod,
i. 94, 142, 195, 198, 218, 238.

Samog, island of, i. 145.

Bamosata, the capital of Commagene, i. 180 -
ii. 2

Sampho. a village of Samaria, i. 195.

Sanctuary, ii. 116, 131; deatroyed, 193, 194.

Sanhedrim, i. 26, 38.

Sapphinius, a: friend of Herod the Great,
1, 125.

Saramalla, a wealthy Syrian, i. 121.

Sarmatians, a nation of Scythia, ii. 223.

Saturnin us, president of Syrta, a.p. 2; i.
162

Saturnius, Cn. Lentius, consul, i. 210.

Saul, a relation of Agrippa, i. 233, 248.
Saul, a Jew of 8 8, father of Simon,
i, 289.

Scaurua, president of Syria, p.c. 68 ; i. 103.

Scipio, an officer of Pompey, i. 111.

Scopus, rear Jerusalem, i. 245, 246; why
go called, ii. 119, clxxiii.
SorrHorouts, a city of Palestine, i. 34,
94, 238; ii. 88; lxxvi—Ixxix. (Plate.)
Sebaste, the name given to Samaria by
Herod. See Samaria.

Sebaste, the haven of Cesarea, i. 173.

Sebonitis, or Essebonitis, @ district ὁ;
Palestine, i. 238.

Sclamin, a village of Galilee, i. 53.

Seleucia, a fortress of Gaulanitis, i. 53;
ii. 53.

Semechonitis, a lake in Galilee, ii. 46, 53.

Senacherib, king of A asyria, ii. 148.

Sennabris, a place near Tiberias, ii. 40.

Seph, a fortress of Galilee, i. 249.

Sepphorwus, father of Judas, i. 178.

Seppuonis, a city of Galilee, i. 35, 53, 58,
74, 128, 194, 195, 243, 249; ii. 8, 10.
xii. (Plate.)

Serpents’ Pool, near Jerusalem, ii 123.

Servilius, a Roman legate, i. 109.

Sextus Cesar, president of Syria, s.c. 47:
i. 113; assassinated, 115.

Sicima, Shechem, or Neapolis, a city a,
Samaria, i. 94; ii. 91.

Sidon, city of, i. 145.

Sigo, or Sigoph, a village of Galilee, i. 53,
249.

SIKARS, their rise, i. 215, 234; ii. 87, 256,
237, 249, 251. See Brigands.
Silas the Babylonian, i i, 2445 ii. 6.

INDEX.

Silas, prefect of Tiberias, (probably the
same as the preceding,) i. 42, 63, 254.

Silbonitis, a district of Palestine, ii. 9.

Silo,a Roman general, i. 126.

Siroam, fountain of, ii. 125, 151, 206, xevi.
(Plate.)

Siloam, valley of, ii. 160.

Silva, Flavius, a Roman general, ii. 236,
240, 241.

Sromw the Maccabee, i. 92; murdered, 98 ;

Lxv.

clxv.
Simon, a servant of Herod, i. 194.
Simon, son of Ananias, i. 238.
Simon, an Eesene, i. 200.
Simon, sow or Gioras: his character, ii. 95;
attacks Cestius at Bethhoron, i. 244;
lunders the country round Masada, 258,
i. 95; makes Nain his head-quartcrs,
96; defeats the Zealots, and attacks the
Idumseans, 96; subjugates Jdumeea and
Hebron, 97 ; the Zealots capture his wife—
his revenge, 98; he is admitted within
Jerusalem, 100; attacks the Temple, 101;
his conflicts with John’s party, 114, 115;
disposition of his forces, 135; plies his
engines against the Romans, 136, 140;
deference paid to him, 141; attacks the
rams, 157; his cruelties, 162, 237; invites
Titus to a conference, 199; Idumeans
attempt to desert him, 204; takes refuge
in the caverna, 217; delivers himself up
to the Romans, and is sent to Rome, 218 ;
is put to death at the triamph, 228.
Simon, son of Saul, i. 239.
Simon, son of Cathlas, an Idumean chief,
ii. 73, 76, 135, 183.
Simon, son of Ezron, ii. 118.
Simon, son of Gamaliel, i. 53, 67, 68;
ii. 66; cxlv.
Simon, son of Ari, a chief of the Zealots,
ii. 135, 178, 188.
Simon, son of Josias, ii. 183.
Simon Psellus, an ancestor of Josephus,
.81. ,
Simon, of Gabara, i. 46.
Simon, a servant of Josephus, i. 47.
Simon, of Gischala, bro of John, i. 58
Simon, son of Jonathan, i. 255.
Simonias, a village of Galilee, i. 45.
Simonides, son of Josephus, i. 80.
Sion. See Zion.
Sisenna, a legate of Syria, i. 109.
Sodom, lazd of, ii. 93.
Sodom, apples of, ii. 98.
Sohemus, of Petra, i. 167.
Sohemus, king of Emesa,i. 240, 242; ii. 284.
Sogana, a village of Galilce, i, 62.
Soganni, a town of Gaulanitis, i. 58; ii. 53.
Solomon, pools of, ii. 126. (Plate.)
Bolyma, a village of Gaulanttis, i. 53.
Somorrha, ii. 91.

Spain, i. 229.
Stephen, a servant of Claudius, i. 213.

Stone at Baalbec, exvi. ( Plate.)

Btrato’s Tower (Ceesarea), i. 96, 107, 143,

Strato’s Tower, in Jerusalem, i. 96.

Streets in Jerusalem, ii. 148, 206, xcvii.
elxxxiii. (Z'wo Plates.)

Struthios, α pool at Jerusalem, ii. 156.

Syene, a city of Egypt, ii. 108.

Sylla, a general tn service of Agrippa, i.'76.

Sylleeus, procurator of Obodas, i. 154,161,
166, 167.

Syria, i. 288. ,

Syrtes of Africa, i. 229.

Tapor, uount, i. 58; ii. 58; described, 57,
Ixiii. (See Plate of the Great Plain.)

Tanais river, ii. 235.

Tanis, a city of Egypt, ii. 108.

Tarentum, in Italy, i. 173.

TaRiongza, a city of Galilee: situation,
i. 50; described, ii. 42, 46, 49; fortified
by Josephus, 53,249; disturbances there,
252, 256; taken by Vespasian, 42-45;
the inhabitanta take refuge on the lake,
45; they are destroyed by the Romans,
47, &. x. xi. cxliv. (Plate)

Tarsus, of Cilicia, ii. 235.

Temenus, one of the Heracleida, i. 158.

ΤΈΧΡΙΙΣ ov JenusaLex: described, ii. 129-
134 ; is pillaged by Antiochus Epiphanes,
i. 90 ; attacked by Pompey, and taken,
105; entered by Pompey, 106 ; plundered
by Cragsus, 110; Sosius tries to enter,
185; is splendidly restored by Herod, 142;
the golden eagle at the gate of the tem-
ple is cut down, 179; riot in the temple
at the Passover, 188, 190 ; conflict in the
temple between the Jews and Romans,
192; colonnades, &c. burnt, 198, and re-
built, 232; the insurgents take ion
of the temple, 234; Cestius at it, 245;
it is made a fortress by the Zealots, ii. 65,
101, 113; massacre in the temple, 122;
description of the temple, 129-134 ; its
position, 129 ; colonnades, 180; women’s
court, 130; gates, 131 ; the sanctuary, 131;
Holy of Holies, 132 ; its appearance from
without, 132; the Antonia, 134; the tem-
ple is plundered by John, 165; its pro-
fanation by the Jews, 181; is attacked by
the Romans from the Antonia, 188;
colonnades burnt, 185; Romans attempt
to storm it, 190; gates fired, 191; Jews
driven to the inner court, 192; the tem-
ple is on fire, 198; Titus enters it, 193;
chronology of the temple, 194; the
slaughter within it, 195; ensigns brought
in, 198; it is razed to the foundations,
215; vessela of the temple, 228; date
of ita foundation, &c. clxi; rebuilt by
Herod, clxix. clxxix. ; vaults beneath it,
xiv.-xxv. xcv. See “ Harem,” “ Vaults,”
“ Jerusalem,” “ Wall,” &c. (Plates.)

Temple of Heliopolis, deutdé Onias, in
Egypt, iL 90, 94; deacribed, ii. 250; εἶχ,

Tephthseus, a Galilean, ii. 157.

Terentius Rufus, a Roman general, ii. 218.

INDEX.

Tcridatea, king of Armenia, ii. 235.

Tcro, a suldicr, i. 163.

Thamna, a city of Jucdera, ii. 10, 90.

Theatre near Gadara, xxxv. (δ ας.)

Thecoa, a town of Judea, i. 79; ii. 96,
Ixix.

Thella, a rillage of Galilee, ii 8.

Theodorua, on of Zeno, i. 97.

Theudio, brother-in-law of Herod the Great,
i. 170.

Thmuin, a city of Eqypt, ii. 108.

Thressa, or Rexsa, a fortress of Idumea, i.
122, 127.

Tinrnias, a cily of Galilee: built by Herod
Antipas, i. 200; its situation, 71; it re-
vults, 35; Herod's palace deatroyed, and
the (:reck population massacred, 39 ; ita
hot hatha, 41 ; Josephus’ danger there, 42,
254; disturbances, 47 ; Josephus fortifies
the city, 50, 53; his atratagem against
the inhabitants, 51, 256; John excites
disturbances there, 63-66; Josephus
takes the town, 69; and rescues it from
destruction, 75; assembly at Tiberias,
20S ; the city is aassizned to Acrippa, 215;
Josephus flies thither, ii. 18; Vespasian
spares the city, 41; Taricheans abut up
there, 48; viii. evi. evil. cxliv. (Two
Pliatea.)

Tiberias, Lake of. S¢ Gennesarcth.

TriBERIUS, EMPEROR, i. 206.

Tipenics ALEXANDER, procurator of Judea,
and afterwards of Euupt: waa nephew of
Philo Juderua; 1. 272, 221, 441: is the
first to deelare for Veapasian, ii. 104;
117, 160, 191.

Tigillinus, an unecrupulvus furourite of
Ne ra, 1]. G4

Tigranes, hing of Armco, 1.101,

Tivranes ano! Ab rreder, aed grandson
Of Le yod the Great i, Wes,

Time rimarket, te d+ cused m, i. 245.

Tires Αναν Sarmes Vespastanes), EM
Prien, sen of Veszerstan, horn aw 40,
aereed in Britain nl Urn Penh, heeame
Lise ror αν τὸς did apes]: authenti-
eats the Jewish Wari 735 his friend-
hip for Fosephua, 78-805 js nent by Ves-
pa-iin τὸ Aleaandria, 11. ἢ; arrives at
Peelemaix, 11.24: takes Japha, 29; sturms
Jotapata, S15 befriends Josephus, 38 ;
his speech to the soldiera at Tarichwa,
43; takes Tarichiwa, 45: is sent to Mu-
elanus, 55; storms Gamatla, 5S; appeans
before Gisehala, 60> is cajeled by John,
61; enters Gischals, 62; starts for Rome,
but returns, 05 ; befriends Josephus, 105;
marches from Alexandria to Ciessrea,
TOS; he advances to Jerusalem, 117: is
attacked while reeonnoitering, 118: aue-
eoum the Toth legion, 120; his bravery,
121; clears the ground round Jerusalein,
122; act of diacipline, 124; advances
nearer the city, 125; Titus constructs
mounds, 130; quieta a disturbance, 139;
wover his camp, takes the first wall, 140;

Tirvs, EMPEROR (continued)
his influence with the soldiery, 141: is
cajoled by the Jews, 142; takes the seennd
wall, 143; but is driven out, 144; reviews
his troops, 145 ; his treatment of the ap
tives, 155; tries to rescue the engina
158; surrounds the city with a wall of
circumvallation, 159, 161, 164: been
the wall, 173 ; addresses his troops, 1/1;
attacks the temple from the Anwnia,
177; razes the Antonia, 179 ; hia reception
of the deserters, 151 ; he addresses the is-
surgents, 182; encourages the attack σα
the temple, 1&3; batters the temple wall,
190; holds a council of generals, 10].
enters the temple during its conflagrs
tion, 193; is saluted as Imperator, 193;
his addresses to the insurgent chich,
199-201; erecta mounds i the
upper town, 204; enters it, 207; his
treatment of the captives, 207 ; razes the
city, 215; distributes rewards, 216;
goes to Ceeaarea, and thence to Ceara
Philippi, 217; celebrates Domitian’
birthday, 218; arrives at Antioch, 294:
and at Jerusalem, 225; proceeds to Alez-
andria, and thence to Home, 995.
triumphs with his father, 226-228; be
friends Josephus, 252. (Plate.)

Titus Phrygius, a Roman general, ii. 191.

Tobias, the sons of, i. 90.

Tower near Jordan, xe. (Plafe.)

Towers constructed by Romana, ii. 139.

Towers at Jerusalem. ii, 127, seq, 206,
207, 215, See also Hippicus, Phasaélos,
Mariamne, 6. (Plates.)

Trachonitis, a district of Puleastine, i. 44,
141, 198.

Trajan, a Reman general, ii. 29, 41, 44, 91.

Tripoli, tn Pheenicia, i. 145. evii (Plate)

Trypho, guardian of Antiochus Theos, val
afte ricarda king, i. @2.

Tryphon, one of Hered a barhera, i. 153.

Tyrannius Priseus, See Priseus.

Tyrannus, wereter of the στὰς to Herud the
Greet, i, 160.

Tyre, 1. 145,

Tyvrians, i, 239,

Tyrojwon valley, or Valley of the Cheese-
makers, runatag between Zton and the
Temple, it. 1255 xxvii Sre Bridge
Sve also Platca of Viaduet, de.

Ummidius Quadratus, president of Syria.
Nee Quadratus.
Upper Market Place, ta Jerusalem, ii. 125.

Valens, a general af Vite lliux, ii. GS,

Valerian, a decurion, ii. 41.

Valley of Thorns. near Jerusalem, ii. 117.
(Nee Plate of Anathoth.)

Varro, president of Suria, pc. 27; i. 141.
Varus, Quinctilins, president of Syria,
ne. 45 1.37, 174, 189, 192, 195.
Vaults beneath the Temple, i. 95;

xxv. xl. ciii, (Sec Plates.)

Xiv.-

IN DEX.

Ventidius, Bassus, President of Syria, 5.0.
89; i. 126, 129.

Vespasian (Titus FLavivs), EMPEROR, ar-
rives at Tyre, i. 77; patronises Josephus,
80; is sent by Nero against the Jews,
ii.5; his previous service, 5; is admitted
by the Sepphorites, 8; marches from
Ptolemais, 15; takes Gadara in Galilee,
16; arrives before Jotapata, 17; con-
structs mounds, 19; determines on a
blockade, 20; brings up the ram, 23;
prepares for the storm, 26 ; the storm, 27 ;
takes Jotapata by stratagem, 31; Jose-
phus is brought
ian goes to Cessarea, 38; takes Joppa,
39; goes to Cesarea Philippi, 40; sub-
dues Tiberias, 41; and Tarichsea, 42-45 ;
slaughters the insurgents on the lake,
47; he attacks Gamala, 54; is repulsed,
55; his speech, 56; takes Tabor, 57;
and Ga 58; sends Titus against
Gischala, 60; Vespasian is urged to
march against Jerusalem— his reply, 84;
he takes Gadara in Perea, 88: hears
of the disturbances at Rome, 94; sends
Titus to Rome, 95; subdues the country
round Jerusalem, 99; is proclaimed
Emperor by the legions, 102,103; joined
by Tiberius Alexander, 104; liberates
Josephus, 105; Rome declares for Vespa-
sian, 107; Vespasian proceeds to Alexan-
dria, 107; and sends Titus against Jeru-
salem, 108; he pursues his journey to
Rome, 217; his reception there, 221;
Vespasian and Titus triumph at Rome,
226-228 ; investigates the c against
Josephus, 252. (Plate.)

Vespasian, commentaries of, i. 70.

Viaduct from the Temple to Zion, cix.
See Bridge. ( Plate.)

Vienne, a etty of Gaul, i. 200.

Vindex, leader of the revolt in Gaul, ii. 90.

Virgin, Pool of, αὐ Jerusalem, cxv. (Plate.)

fore him, 37; Vespa- |

Vitellius, a German rebel, ii. 222.
Vrrgiirus, empsnor, born a.p. 15; Ὁ-
claimed Emperor, a.p. 69 ; reigned
eight months ; ii. 94, 98, 101.
Vologeses, king of the Parthians, ii. 224
35.

Volumnius, a military tribune, i. 162.

Wailing, Jews’ place of, cviii. ( Plate.)

Wall of circumvallation, built by the
Romana, ii. 160.

Watts or Jervsatem described, ii. 126-
129; first wall taken by Romans, 140;
second wall taken, 148, 144; 173; all
razed except a small portion, 215; xxi.

xxii, xxvi. xxxi. xxxli. xlii—xlix. Ιχχ |

Ixxxvii. xciv. xcviii. cxx. cxxi. (Twenty
Plates.) ΄

White cliff, αὐ Masada, ii. 240; οχίΐ.
(Plates.

Women’s court of the Temple, ii. 130.

Women’s towers, tn Jerusalem, ii. 118, 123.

Xaloth, a village of Galilee, i. 57; ii. 8.

Xylophory, feast of, i. 234.

Xystus, in Jerusalem, i. 225; ii. 101, 126,
199, 204. xxviii. cix. (See Plate of Via-
duct.)

Zabulun, a city of Galilee, i. 242; ii. 8.
Zacharias, 8on halek, a Zealot, ii. 72.
Zacharias, son of Baruch, a Jew, ii. 81.
Zara, a town of Judea, i. 92.

Zeators, i. 26; ii. 66, seq., 69, δεη., 72, seq.,
78-85, 96, 98, seq., 113, 122, 135, 237.
Zeno, surnamed Cotylas, tyrant of Philu-

delphia, i. 93.
Zenodorus, tetrarch of Trachonitis, i. 141.
Zephyrium, α promontory in Cilicia, i.
160.
Zeugma, a city on the Euphrates, ii. 224.
Zion, the upper town, ii. 204, seq., to 207
xxvi. xcviii. (Plates.)
Zoar, a city near the Dead Sea, ii. 93.

a
R. CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD STRELT HILL.

LIST OF PLATES IN VOLUME I.

Medallion of Vespasian se ee
Medallion of Poppea. . . .... .

The Hot Baths of Tiberias . οι
Magdala

Tarichea .

Sepphoris . .

Medallion of Domitian .

Vaulted Passage beneath El Aksa

Excavation : City Wall, North se ww
Elevation of the Wall and Spring-Stones . . . .
Medallion of Pompey . .

Masada, the Dead Sea, and Mountains of Moab . .
Upper Pool of Grhom § and West Side of Jerusalem .
Hatin . - eee we .ΝΝΝ
Ceesarea

Herodium. . . .
Remains of a Theatre, near the Lake of Galilee . oe
Malfl, and the Great Plain . ΝΕ
Medallion of Nero .

Ruins at Ceesarea .

Remains of an Arch springing from the Haram Wall: ‘West.

Ruins at Ceesarea (Upright * Plate.)

Gennesareth: .

The Great Plain .

Entablature and Window, Haram : South Front
Entrance to the Vaults beneath the Mosque El Aksa

El Aksa, and the Haram Wall, from the Brow of Zion (Ομ. Plate, d

Double Archway in the Haram Wall: South .
Plan and Elevation of the Vaults . .

Haram Wall: South-East Corner (Outline Plate)
Haram Wall: South Front, East Corner
Vaulted Hall beneath El Aksa . .

Wall near St. Stephen’s Gate .
Tuterior Wall, near the Damascus Gate.

LIST OF PLATES IN VOLUME II.

Medallion of Augustus 2
Scythopolis . . ....4.4..
Gadara . .

Tiberias

Beit Jenn . .

The Lake Phiala

Masada, Northern Face .

Tower near Jericho .

View from Mount of Olives, looking East .

Mosque at Hebron . . .
Pool δὲ Hebron. . . . ....s
Tripoli. . 2. 2. 1. 1 we ew ee
Giaza . 8
Avathoth. .. .
" Mount of Olives, from the Brow of Zion
Vault beneath the Mosque, El Aksa .
Western Angle of the City Wall .

Plan of Jerusalem . . .
Hippicus . .

Haram, Principal Entrance . oe
North-east Corner of the Haram .

A Street in Jerusalem .

Pool of Bethesda . .
Colossal Stone in the Quarry, Baalbec .
The Golden Gate

Zion .

Siloam . oe we
A Street in Jerusalem (A. ) oe ew
Hippicus (A.) .

Damascus Gate. . . . 1. 2 © 6
Pool ofthe Virgin. . . . ... .
Jews’ Place of Wailing .....
Medallion of Titus .

Ibn Ma‘an . o ee
Medallion of Julius Cesar
Djebail .

The Pools of Solomon . .
Outline Plate of the Vaults .

Medallion of Antiochus ......

Conjectural View of the Viaduct, ἃ as in the time of Herod