threefold army, (for none of the usual guards that had i fighting before were removed,) when they also saw not the walls thrown down, but their enemies, with sword their hands, as also the hilly country above them shi with their weapons, and the darts in the hands of the A an archers, they made a final and lamentable outery of struction, as if the misery were not only threatend, but a ally come upon them already. But Josephus ordered women to be shut up in their houses, lest they should re the warlike actions of the men too effeminate, by mal them commiserate their condition, and commanded then hold their peace, and threatened them if they did dot, w he came himself before the breach, where his allotment w for all those who brought ladders to the other places, het no notice of them, but earnestly waited for the shower of Fows that was coming.

27. And now the trumpeters of the several Roman leg sounded together, and the army made a terrible shout, and darts, as by order, flew so fast, that they intercepted light. However, Josephus' men remembered the charges had given them, they stopped their ears at the sounds, covered their bodies against the darts; and as to the gines that were set ready to go to work, the Jews ran out on them, before those that should have used them were go upon them. And now, on the ascending of the soldiers, th was a great conflict, and many actions of the hands, and the soul, were exhibited, while the Jews did earnestly deavour, in the extreme danger they were in, not to sh less courage than those who, without being in danger, fou so stoutly against them; nor did they leave struggling w the Romans till they either fell down dead themselves, killed their antagonists. But the Jews grew weary w defending themselves continually, and had not enow to co in their places and succour them; while on the side of Romans fresh men still succeeded those that were tired, still new men soon got upon the machines for ascent, in room of those that were thrust down, those encouraging another, and joining side to side with their shields, whi were a protection to them, they became a body of men not be broken, and as this band thrust away the Jews, as thou they were themselves but one body, they began already

ret upon the well

28. Then did Josephus take necessity for his counsellor in this utmost distress, (which necessity is very sagacious in invention, when it is irritated by despair,) and gave orders to pour scalding oil upon those whose shields protected them. Whereupon they soon got it ready, being many that brought it, and what they brought being a great quantity also, and poured it on all sides upon the Romans, and threw down upon them their vessels as they were still hissing from the heat of the fire; this so burnt the Romans, that it dispersed that united band, who now tumbled down from the wall, with horrid pains, for the oil did easily run down the whole body from head to foot, under their entire armour, and fed upon their flesh like flame itself, its fat and unctuous nature rendering it soon heated, and slowly cooled; and as the men were cooped up in their head-pieces, and breast-plates, they could no way get free from this burning oil, they could only leap and roll about in their pains, as they fell down from the bridges they had laid. And as they thus were beaten back, and retired to their own party, who still pressed them for ward, they were easily wounded by those that were be hind them.

29. However, in this ill success of the Romans, their courage did not fail them, nor did the Jews want prudence to oppose them; for the Romans, although they saw their own men thrown down, and in a miserable condition, yet were they vehemently bent against those that poured the oil upon them, while every one reproached the man before him as a coward, and one that hindered him from exerting himself; and while the Jews made use of another stratagem to prevent their ascent, and poured boiling senegreek upon the boards in order to make them slip and fall down; by which means neither could those that were coming up, nor those that were going down stand on their feet; but some of them fell backward, upon the machines on which they ascended, and were trodden upon; many of them fell down on the bank they had raised, and when they were fallen upon it were slain by the Jews; for when the Romans could not keep their feet, the Jews being freed from fighting hand to hand, had leisure to throw their darts at them. So the general called off those soldiers in the evening that had suffered so sorely, of whom the number of the slain was not a few, while that of the wounded was still greater; but of the peo

ple of Jotapata no more than six men were killed, alt more than three hundred were carried off wounded. fight happened on the twentieth day of the month I [Sivan.]

30. Hereupon Vespasian comforted his army on oc of what happened, and as he found them angry indee rather wanting something to do than any farther exhort he gave orders to raise the banks still higher, and to three towers, each fifty feet high, and that they should them with plates of iron on every side, that they mig both firm by their weight, and not easily liable to be fire. These towers he set upon the banks, and placed them such as could shoot darts and arrows, with the li engines for throwing stones and darts also; and besides he set upon them the stoutest men among the slingers not being to be seen by reason of the height they stood and the battlements that protected them, might throw weapons at those that were upon the wall, and were seen by them. Hereupon the Jews, not being easily a escape those darts that were thrown down upon their h nor to avenge themselves on those whom they could no and perceiving that the height of the towers was so great a dart which they threw with their hand could hardly it, and that the iron plates about them made it very ha come at them by fire, they ran away from the walls, and hastily out of the city, and fell upon those that shot at And thus did the people of Jotapata resist the Romans, a great number of them were every day killed, without being able to retort the evil upon their enemies, nor could keep them out of the city without danger to themselves.

31. About this time it was that Vespasian sent out jan against a city called Japha, that lay near to Jota and that desired innovations, and was puffed up with the expected length of the opposition of Jotapata. This jan was the commander of the tenth legion, and to him pasian committed one thousand horsemen, and two thou footmen. When Trajan came to the city he found it to be taken, for besides the natural strength of its situa it was also secured by a double wall; but when he saw people of this city coming out of it, and ready to fight he joined battle with them, and after a short resistance w they made, he pursued after them; and as they fled to t

fell in together with them: but when the Jews were endeayouring to get again within their second wall, their fellow citizens shut them out, as being afraid that the Romans would force themselves in with them. It was certainly God, therefore, who brought the Romans to punish the Galileans, aud then did expose the people of the city every one of them manifestly to be destroyed by their bloody enemies; for they fell upon the gates in great crowds, and earnestly calling to those that kept them, and that by their names also, yet had they their throats cut in the very midst of their supplications; for the enemy shut the gates of the first wall, and their own citizens shut the gates of the second, so they were enclosed between two walls, and were slain in great numbers together; many of them were run through by swords of their own men, and many by their own swords, besides an immense number that were slain by the Romans. Nor had they any courage to revenge themselves; for there was added to the consternation they were in from the enemy, their being betrayed by their own friends, which quite broke their spirits; and at last they died, cursing, not the Romans, but their own citizens, till they were all destroyed, being in number twelve thousand. So Trajan gathered that the city was empty of people that could fight, and although there should a few of them be therein, he supposed that they would be too timorous to venture upon any opposition; so he reserved the taking of the city to the general. Accordingly he sent messengers to Vespasian, and desired him to send his son Titus to finish the victory he had gained. Vespasian hereupon imagining there might be some pains still necessary, sent his son with an army of five hundred horsemen, and one thousand footmen. So he came quickly to the city, and put his army in order, and set Trajan over the left wing, while he had the right himself, and led them to the siege; and when the soldiers brought ladders to be laid against the wall on every side, the Galileans opposed them from above for a while, but soon afterwards they left the walls. Then did Titus's men leap into the city, and seized upon it presently; but when those that were in it were gotten together, there was a fierce battle between them; for the men of power fell upon the Romans in the narrow streets, and the women threw whatsoever came next to hand at them, and sustained a fight with them for six hours time; but when the fighting men were spent, the rest of the multitude had their throats cut, partly in the open air, and

partly in their own houses, both young and old together. So there were no males now remaining besides infants, which, with the women, were carried as slaves into captivity; so that the number of the slain both now in the city and at the former fight, was fifteen thousand, and the captives were two thousand one hundred and thirty. This calamity befell the Galileans on the twenty-fifth day of the month Desius, [Sivan.]

32. Nor did the Samaritans escape their share of misfortunes at this time; for they assembled themselves together upon the mountain called Gerizzim, which is with them an holy mountain, and there they remained: which collection. of theirs, as well as the courageous minds they shewed, could not but threaten somewhat of war; nor were they rendered wiser by the miseries that had come upon their neighbouring cities. They also, notwithstanding the great success the Romans had, marched on in an unreasonable manner, depending on their own weakness, and were disposed for any tumult upon its first appearance. Vespasian, therefore, thought it best to prevent their motions, and to cut off the foundation of their attempts. For although all Samaria had ever garrisons settled among them, yet did the number of those that were come to mount Gerizzim, and their conspiracy together, give ground for fear what they would be at: he therefore sent thither Cerealis, the commander of the fifth legion, with six hundred horsemen, and three thousand footmen, who did not think it safe to go up the mountain and give them battle because many of the enemy were on the higher part of the ground: so he encompassed all the lower part of the mountain with his army, and watched them all that day. Now it happened that the Samaritans, who were now desti tute of water, were inflamed with a violent heat, (for it wassummer-time, and the multitude had not provided themselves with necessaries), insomuch that some of them died that very day with heat, while others of them preferred slavery before such a death as that was, and fled to the Romans; by whom Cerealis understood, that those which still stayed there were very much broken by their misfortunes. So he went up the mountain, and having placed his forces round about the ene my, he, in the first place, exhorted them to take the security of his right hand, and come to terms with him, and thereby save themselves, and assured them, that, if they would lay down their arms, he would secure them from any harm;