Page images
PDF
EPUB

agreement, and informed the king of their meetings, as not being for the advantage of his affairs. And when these women knew what calamities she had raised against them, and how much Herod was displeased, they left off their public meetings, and friendly entertainments of one another; nay, on the contrary, they pretended to quarrel one with another when the king was within hearing. The like dissimulation did Antipater make use of, and when matters were public, he opposed Pheroras; but still they had private cabals, and merry-meetings in the night-time; nor did the observation of others do any more than confirm their mutual agreement. However, Salome knew every thing they did, and told every thing to Herod.

2. But he was inflamed with anger at them, and chiefly at Pheroras' wife; for Salome had principally accused her. So he got an assembly of his friends and kindred together, and there accused this woman of many things, and particularly of the affronts she had offered his daughters; and that he had supplied the Pharisees with money, by way of rewards for what they had done against him, and had procured his brother to become his enemy, by giving him love potions. At length he turned his speech to Pheroras, and told him, that "he would give him his choice of these two things, whe"ther he would keep in with him his brother, or with his "wife?" And when Pheroras said, that he would * die rather than forsake his wife, Herod not knowing what to do farther in that matter turned his speech to Antipater, and charged him to have no intercourse either with Pheroras wife, or with Pheroras himself, or with any one belonging to her. Now though Antipater did not transgress that his injunction publicly, yet did he in secret come to their night meeting; and because he was afraid that Salome observed what he did, he procured, by the means of his Italian friends, that he might

*This strange obstinacy of Pheroras in retaining his wife, who was one of a low family, and refusing to marry one nearly related to Herod, though he so earnestly desired it, as also that wife's admission to the counsels of the other great court ladies, together with Herod's own importunity as to Pheroras' divorce and other marriage, all so remarkable here or in the Antiquities. B xvii. ch ii. § 4. vol. iv. and ch iii §3 cannot be well accounted for, but on the supposal that Pheroras believed, and Herod suspected, that the Pharisees prediction, as if the crown of Judea should be translated from Herod to Phe-, roras' posterity, and that most probably to Pheroras's posterity by this his wife, also would prove true. See Antiq. B. xvii. ch. ii. § 4. and ch. iii. § 1. vol. iv.

go and live at Rome: for when they wrote that it was proper for Antipater to be sent to Cæsar for some time, Herod made no delay, but sent him, and that with a splendid attendance, and a great deal of money, and gave him his testament to carry with him, wherein Antipater had the kingdom bequeathed to him, and wherein Herod was named for Antipater's successor, that Herod, I mean, who was the son of Mariamne, the high priest's daughter.

3. Sylleus also, the Arabian sailed to Rome, without any regard to Cæsar's injunction, and this in order to oppose Antipater with all his might, as to that law-suit which Nicolaus had with him before. This Sylleus had also a great contest with Aretas his own king; for he had slain many others of Aretas' friends, and particularly Sohemus, the most potent man in the city Petra. Moreover, he had prevailed with Phabatus, who was Herod's steward, by giving him a great sum of money, to assist him against Herod; but when Herod gave him more he induced him to leave Sylleus, and by his means he demanded of him all that Cæsar had required of him to pay. But when Sylleus paid nothing of what he was to pay, and did also accuse Phabatus to Casar, and said, that he was not a steward for Cæsar's advantage, but for Herod's, Phabatus was angry at him on that account, but was still in very great esteem with Herod, and discovered Sylleus' grand secrets, and told the king that Sylleus had corrupted Corinthus, one of the guards of his body, by bribing him, and of whom he must therefore have a care. Accordingly the king complied, for this Corinthus, though he were brought up in Herod's kingdom, yet was he by birth an Arabian: so the king ordered him to be taken up immediately, and not only him, but two other Arabians who were caught with him; the one of them was Sylleus' friend, the other the head of a tribe. The last being put to the torture, confessed that they had prevailed with Corinthus, for a large sum of money, to kill Herod; and when they had been farther examined before Saturninus the president of Syria, they were sent to Rome.

4. However, Herod did not leave off importuning Pheroras, but proceeded to force him to put away his wife; yet could he not devise any way by which he could bring the woman herself to punishment, although he had many causes of hatred to her; till at length he was in such great uneasiness at her, that he cast both her and his brother out of his

kingdom. Pheroras took this injury very patiently, and went away into his own tetrarchy, [Perea beyond Jordan,] and sware that there should be but one end put to his flight, and that should be Herod's death; and that he would never return while he was alive. Nor indeed would he return when his brother was sick, although he earnestly sent for him to come to him, because he had a mind to leave some injunctions with him before he died; but Herod unexpectedly recovered. A little afterward Pheroras himself fell sick, when Herod shewed great moderation; for he came to him and pitied his case, and took care of him; but his affection for him did him no good, for Pheroras died a little afterward, Now though Herod had so great an affection for him to the last day of his life; yet was a report spread abroad that he had killed him by poison. However, he took care to have his dead body carried to Jerusalem, and appointed a very great mourning to the whole nation for him, and bestowed a most pompous funeral upon him. And this was the end that one of Alexander's and Aristobulus' murderers came to.

CHAP. XXX.

When Herod made inquiry about Pheroras' death, a discovery was made that Antipater had prepared a poisonous draught for him. Herod casts Doris and her accomplices, as also Mariamne, out of the palace, and blots her son Herod out of his testament.

1. But now the punishment was transferred unto the original author Antipater, and took its rise from the death of Pheroras: for certain of his freed-men came with a sad countenance to the king, and told him, that "his brother had been "destroyed by poison, and that his wife had brought him "somewhat that was prepared after an unusual manner, and "that, upon his eating it, he presently fell into his distemper: "that Antipater's mother and sister two days before, brought a woman out of Arabia that was skilful in making such drugs, that she might prepare a love-potion for Pheroras; "and that instead of a love-potion, she had given him deadly poison; and that this was done by the management of "Sylleus, who was acquainted with that woman."

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

66

2. The king was deeply affected with so many suspicions, and had the maid-servants, and some of the free women also tortured; one of which cried out in her agonies, "May that "God that governs the earth and the heaven, punish this au

"thor of all these our miseries, Antipater's mother!" The king took a handle from this confession, and proceeded to inquire farther into the truth of the matter. So this woman discovered the friendship of Antipater's mother to Pheroras and Antipater's women, also their secret meetings, and that Pheroras and Antipater had drunk with them for a whole night together as they returned from the king, and would not suffer any body, either man servant or maid servant to be there; while one of the free women discovered the matter.

ઃઃ

3. Upon this Herod tortured the maid-servants every one by themselves separately, who all unanimously agreed in the foregoing discoveries, and that accordingly by agreement they went away, Antipater to Rome, and Pheroras to Perea; for that they oftentimes talked to one another thus: " that af "ter Herod had slain Alexander and Aristobulus he would "fall upon them and upon their wives, because, after he had "not spared Mariamne and her children, he would spare no"body; and that for this reason it was best to get as far off "the wild beast as they were able." And that Antipater oftentimes lamented his own case before his mother, and said to her, that "he had already grey hairs upon his head, and "that his father grew younger again every day, and that perhaps death would overtake him before he should begin to be a king in earnest; and that in case Herod should die, which "yet nobody knew when it would be, the enjoyment of the "succession could certainly be but for a little time; for that these heads of Hydra, the sons of Alexander and Aristobulus were growing up: that he was deprived by his father of the hopes of being succeeded by his children, for that "his successor after his death was not to be any one of his own sons, but Herod the son of Mariamne: that in this point Herod was plainly distracted, to think that his testament should therein take place; for he would take care *that not one of his posterity should remain, because he was “of all fathers the greatest hater of his children. Yet does he hate his brother still worse, whence it was that he awhile ago gave himself an hundred talents that he should not have any intercourse with Pheroras. And when Pheroras said, wherein have we done him any harm? Antipater replied, "I wish he would but deprive us of all we have, and leave us naked and alive only; but it is indeed impossible to escapethis wild beast, who is thus given to murder. who will not permit us to love any person openly, although we be to

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

"gether privately; yet may we be so openly too, if we have "but the courage and the hands of men."

[ocr errors]

4. These things were said by the women upon the torture; as also that Pheroras resolved to fly with them to Perea. Now Herod gave credit to all they said, on account of the affair of the hundred talents; for he had had no discourse with any body about them, but only with Antipater. So he vented his anger first of all against Antipater's mother, and took away from her all the ornaments which he had given her, which cost a great many talents, and cast her out of the palace a second time. He also took care of Pheroras' women after their tortures, as being now reconciled to them; but he was in great consternation himself, and inflamed upon every sus picion, and had many innocent persons led to the torture out of his fear, lest he should leave any guilty person untortured.

5. And now it was that he betook himself to examine Antipater of Samaria, who was the steward of [his son] Antipater; and, upon torturing him he learned, that Antipater had sent for a potion of deadly poison for him out of Egypt, by Antiphilus a companion of his; that Theudio, the uncle of Antipater, had it from him, and delivered it to Pheroras; for that Antipater had charged him to take his father off while he was at Rome, and so free him from the suspicion of deing it himself: that Pheroras also committed this potion to his wife. Then did the king send for her, and bid her bring to him what she had received immediately. So she came out of her house, as if she would bring it with her, but threw herself down from the top of the house, in order to prevent any examination and torture from the king. However, it came to pass, as it seems by the providence of God, when he intended to bring Antipater to punishment, that she fell not upon her head, but upon other parts of her body, and escaped. The king, when she was brought to him, took care of her, (for she was at first quite senseless upon her fall,) and asked her why she had thrown herself down ? and gave her his oath, that if she would speak the real truth, he would excuse her from punishment; but that if she concealed any thing, he would have her body torn to pieces by torments, and leave no part of it to be buried,

6. Upon this the woman paused a little, and then said, Why do I spare to speak of these grand secrets, now Pheroras is dead, that would only tend to save Antipater who is "all our destruction. Hear then, O king, and be thou and

« PreviousContinue »