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message was the multitude amazed, and upon the coming of Capito's horse into the midst of them, they were dispersed before they could salute Florus, or manifest their submissive behaviour to him. Accordingly they retired to their own houses, and spent that night in fear and confusion of face.

8 .Now at this time Florus took up his quarters at the palace; and on the next day he had his tribunal set before it, and sat upon it, when the high-priests, and the men of power, and those of the greatest eminence in the city came all before that tribunal; upon which Florus commanded them to deliver up to him those that had reproached him, and told them, that they should themselves partake of the vengeance to them belonging, if they did not produce the criminals; but these demonstrated that the people were peaceably disposed, and they begged forgiveness for those that had spoken amiss; for that it was no wonder at all that in so great a multitude there should be some more daring than they ought to be, and by reason of their younger age foolish also; and that it was impossible to distinguish those that offended from the rest, while every one was sorry for what he had done, and 'denied it out of fear of what would follow: that he ought however to provide for the peace of the nation, and to take such counsels as might preserve the city for the Romans, and rather for the sake of a great number of innocent people, to forgive a few that were guilty, than for the sake of a few of the wicked, to put so large and good a body of men into disorder.

9. Florus was more provoked at this, and called out aloud to the soldiers to plunder that which was called the Upper Market-place, and to slay such as they met with. So the soldiers taking this exhortation of their commander in a sense agreeable to their desire of gain, did not only plunder the place they were sent to, but, forcing themselves into every house, they slew its inhabitants; so that the citizens fled along the narrow lanes, and the soldiers slew those that they caught, and no method of plunder was omitted: they also caught many of the quiet people, and brought them before Florus, whom he first chastised with stripes, and then crucified. Accordingly the whole number of those that were destroyed that day, with their wives and children, (for they did not spare even the infants themselves) was about three thousand and six hundred. And what made this calamity the heavier, was this new method of Roman barbarity: for

Florus ventured then to do what no one had done before, that is, to have men of the *equestrian order whipped, and nailed to the cross before his tribunal; who, although they were by birth Jews, yet were they of Roman dignity notwithstanding.

CHAP. XV.

Concerning Berenice's petition to Florus, to spare the Jews, but in vain, as also how, after the seditious flame was quenched, it was kindled again by Florus.

1. ABOUT this very time king Agrippa was going to Alexandria, to congratulate Alexander upon his having obtained the government of Egypt from Nero; but as his sister Berenice was come to Jerusalem, and saw the wicked practices of the soldiers, she was sorely affected at it, and frequently sent the masters of her horse, and her guards to Florus, and begged of him to leave off these slaughters; but he would not comply with her request, nor have any regard either to the multitude of those already slain, or to the nobility of her that interceded, but only to the advantage he should make by this plundering; nay, this violence of the soldiers brake out into such a degree of madness, that it spent itself on the queen herself; for they did not only torment and destroy those whom they had caught under her very eyes, but indeed had killed herself also, unless she had prevented them by fiying to the palace, and had stayed there all night with her guards; which she had about her for fear of an insult from the soldiers. Now she dwelt then at Jerusalem, in order to perform a † vow which she had made to God; for it

eques.

Here we have examples of native Jews who were of the trian order among the Romans, and so ought never to have been whipped or crucified, according to the Roman laws. See almost the like case in St. Paul himself, Acts xxii. 25-29.

This vow which Berenice, (here and elsewhere called queen, not only as daughter and sister to two kings, Agrippa the Great, and Agrippa, junior, but the widow of Herod king of Chalcis,) came now to accomplish at Jerusalem, was not that of a Nazarite, but such an one as religious Jews used to make in hopes of any deliverance from a disease, or other danger, as Josephus here intimates. However, these thirty days abode at Jerusalem for fasting and preparation against the oblation of a proper sacrifice, seems to be too long, unless it were wholly voluntary in this great lady. It is not re. quired in the law of Moses relating to Nazarites, Numb. vi. and is

is usual with those that had been either afflicted with a distemper, or with any other diseases, to make vows; and for thirty days before they are to offer their sacrifices, to abstain from wine, and to shave the hair of their head. Which things Berenice was now performing, and stood barefoot before Florus' tribunal, and besought him [to spare the Jews.] Yet could she neither have any reverence paid to her, nor could she escape without some danger of being slain herself.

2. This happened upon the sixteenth day of the month Artemisius, [Jyar.] Now on the next day the multitude, who were in great agony, ran together to the upper market-place, and made the loudest lamentations for those that had perished; and the greatest part of the cries were such as reflected on Florus; at which the men of power were affrighted, together with the high-priests, and rent their garments, and fell down before each of them, and besought them to leave off, and not to provoke Florus to some incurable procedure, besides what they had already suffered. Accordingly the multitude complied immediately, out of reverence to those that had desired it of them, and out of the hope they had that Florus would do them no more injuries.

3. So Florus was troubled that the disturbances were over, and endeavoured to kindle that flame again, and sent for the high-priests, with the other eminent persons, and said, the only demonstration that the people would not make any other innovations should be this, that they must go out and meet the soldiers that were ascending from Cæsarea, whence two cohorts were coming; and while these men were exhorting the very different from St. Paul's time for such preparations, which was but one day, Acts xxi. 26. So we want already the continuation of the Antiquities, to afford us light here, as they have hitherto done on so many occasions elsewhere. Perhaps in this age the traditions of the Pharisees had obliged the Jews to this degree of rigour, not only as to these thirty days preparation, but as to the going barefoot all that time, which here Berenice submitted to also. For we know that as God's and our Saviour's yoke is usually easy, and his burden comparatively light, in such positive injunctions, Matt. xi. 30. so did the Scribes and Pharisees sometimes bind upon men heavy burdens, and grievous to be borne even when they themselves would not touch them with one of their fingers. Matt. xxiii. 4. Luke xi. 46. However, Noldius well observes, De Herod. No. 404, 414. that Juvenal in his sixth satire alludes to this remarkable penance of submission of this Berenice to Jewish discipline, and jests upon her for it; as do Tacitus, Dio, Suetonius, and Sextus Aurelius, mention her as one well known at Rome, ibid.

multitude so to do, he sent beforehand, and gave directions to the centurions of the cohorts, that they should give notice to those that were under them, not to return the Jews salutations, and that if they made any reply to his disadvaņtage, they should make use of their weapons. Now the high-priests assembled the multitude in the temple, and desired them to go and meet the Romans, and to salute the cohorts very civilly, before their miserable case should become incurable. Now the seditious part would not comply with these persuasions; but the consideration of those that had been destroyed, made them incline to those that were the boldest for action.

4. At this time it was that every priest, and every servant of God, brought out the holy vessels, and the ornamental garments wherein they used to minister about sacred things. The harpers also, and the singers of hymns came out with their instruments of music, and fell down before the multitude, and begged of them that they would preserve those holy ornaments to them, and not provoke the Romans to carry off those sacred treasures. You might also see then the highpriests themselves with dust sprinkled in great plenty upon their heads, with bosoms deprived of any covering, but what was rent; these besought every one of the eminent men by name, and the multitude in common, that they would not for a small offence, betray their country to those that were desirous to have it laid waste, saying, "What benefit will it 66 bring to the soldiers to have a salutation from the Jews? "or what amendment of your affairs will it bring you, if you "do not now go out to meet them? and that if they saluted "them civilly, all handle would be cut off from Florus to be"gin a war; that they should thereby gain their country and "freedom from all farther sufferings: and that, besides, it "would be a sign of great want of command of themselves, "if they should yield to a few seditious persons, while it was fitter for them, who were so great a people, to force "the others to act soberly."

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5. By these persuasions, which they used to the multitude, and to the seditious, they restrained some by threatenings, and others by the reverence that was paid them. After this they led them out, and they met the soldiers quietly, and after a composed manner, and when they were come up with them, they saluted them, but when they made no answer, the seditious exclaimed against Florus, which was the signal giv

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en for falling upon them. The soldiers therefore encompassed them presently, and struck them with their clubs, and, as they fled away, the horsemen trampled them down, so that at great many fell down dead by the strokes of the Romans, and more by their own violence in crushing one another. Now there was a terrible crowding about the gates, and while every body was making haste to get before another, the flight of them all was retarded, and a terrible destruction there was among those that fell down, for they were suffocated, and broken to pieces by the multitude of those that were uppermost ; nor could any of them be distinguished by his relations in order to the care of his funeral; the soldiers also who beat them, fell upon those whom they overtook, without shewing them any mercy, and thrust the multitude through the place called * Bezetha, as they forced their way, in order to get in and seize upon the temple, and the tower Antonia. Florus also being desirous to get those places into his possession, brought such as were with him out of the king's palace, and would have compelled them to get as far as the citadel [Antonia]; but his attempt failed, for the people immediately turned back upon him and stopped the violence of his attempt, and as they stood upon the tops of their houses, they threw their darts at the Romans; who, as they were sorely galled thereby, because those weapons came from above, and they were not able to make a passage through the multitude, which stopped up the narrow passages, they retired to the camp, which was at the palace.

6. But for the seditious, they were afraid lest Florus should come again, and get possession of the temple, through Antonia; so they got immediately upon those cloisters of the temple that joined to Antonia, and cut them down. This cooled the avarice of Florus, for whereas he was eager to

I take this Bezetha to be that small hill adjoining to the north side of the temple, whereon was the hospital with five porticos or cloisters, and beneath which was the sheep pool of Bethesda, into which an angel or messenger, at a certain season, descended, and where he or they, who were the first put into the pool, were cured, John, v. 1. &c. This situation of Bezetha; in Josephus, on the north side of the temple, and not far off the tower Antonia, exactly agrees to the place of the same pool, at this day. Only the remaining cloisters are but three See Maundrel, page 106. The entire buildings seem to have been called the New City, and this part, where was the hospital, peculiarly Bezetha or Bethesda. See ch. xix. § 4.

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