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"suit our words to the things they represent, it is probable one "may hereafter find the Romans to be the supporters of our "laws, and those within ourselves the subverters of them. "And now I am persuaded that every one of you here come "satisfied before I speak, that these overthrowers of our li"berties deserve to be destroyed, and that nobody can so much as devise a punishment, that they have not deserved by what they have done, and that you are all pro"voked against them by those their wicked actions "whence you have suffered so greatly. But perhaps "many of you are affrighted at the multitude of those "zealots, and at their audaciousness, as well as at the "advantage they have over us at their being higher in "place than we are; " for these circumstances, as they "have been occasioned by your negligence, so will they. "become still greater, by being still longer neglected; for their multitude is every day augmented, by every ill "man's running away to those that are like to themselves, "and their audaciousness is therefore inflamed, because they "meet with no obstruction to their designs. And for their higher place, they will make use of it for engines also, <if we give them time to do so; but be assured of this, that "if we go up to fight them, they will be made tamer by "their own consciences, and what advantages they have in "the height of their situation, they will lose by the op"position of their reason; perhaps also God himself, who hath been affronted by them, will make what they throw "at us return against themselves, and these impious wretches will be killed by their own darts: let us but make our appearance before them, and they will come to nothing. "However, it is a right thing, if there should be any danger in the attempt, to die before these holy gates, and to spend our very lives, if not for the sake of our children, and wives, yet for God's sake, and for the sake of his sanctuary.. I will assist you both with my counsel, and "with my hand; nor shall any sagacity of ours be wanting "for your support, nor shall you see that I will be sparing of my body neither."

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11. By these motives Ananus encouraged the multitude to go against the zealots, although he knew how difficult it would be to disperse them, because of their multitude, and their youth, and the courage of their souls, but chiefly because of their consciousness of what they had done, since

they would not yield, as not so much as hoping for pardon at the last for those their enormities. However, Ananus resolve to undergo whatever sufferings might come upon him, rather than overlook things now they were in such great confusion. So the multitude cried out to him, to lead them on against those whom he had described in his exhortation to them, and every one of them was most readily disposed to run any hazard whatsoever on that account.

12. Now while Ananus was choosing out his men, and putting those that were proper for his purpose in array for fighting, the zealots got information of his undertaking, (for there were some who went to them, and told them all that the people were doing,) and were irritated at it, and leaping out of the temple in crowds, and by parties, and spared none whom they met with. Upon this Ananus got the populace together ou the sudden, who were more numerous indeed than the zealots, but inferior to them in arms, because they had not been regularly put into array for fighting: but the alacrity that every body shewed supplied ail their defects on both sides, the citizens, taking up so great a passion as was stronger than arms, aud deriving a degree of courage from the temple, more forcible than any multitude whatsoever; and indeed these citizens thought it was not possible for them to dwell in the city, unless they could cut off the robbers that were in it. The zealots also thought that unless they prevailed, there would be no punishment so bad, but it would be inflicted on them. So their conflicts were conducted by their passions, and at the first they only cast stones at each other in the city, and before the temple, and threw their javelins at a distance: but when either of them were too hard for the other they made use of their swords: and great slaughter was made on both sides, and a great number were wounded. As for the dead bodies of the people, their rela tions carried them out to their own houses; but when any of the zealots were wounded, he went up into the temple, and defiled that sacred floor with his blood, insomuch that one may say, it was their blood aloue that polluted our sanctuary. Now in these conflicts the robbers always sallied out of the temple and were too hard for their enemies; but the populace grew very angry and became more and more numerous, and reproached those that gave back, and those behind would not afford room to those that were going off, but forced them on again, till at length they made their

whole body to turn against their adversaries, and the robbers could no longer oppose them, but were forced gradually to retire into the temple: when* Ananus and his party fell into it at the same time together with them. This horribly affrighted the robbers, because it deprived them of the first court; so they fled into the inner court immediately, and shut the gates. Now Ananus did not think fit to make any attack against the holy gates, although the other threw their stones and darts at them from above. He also deemed it unlawful to introduce the multitude into that court, before they were purified; he therefore chose out of them all by lot, six thousand armed men, and placed them as guards in the cloisters: so there was a succession of such guards one after another, and every one was forced to attend in his course; although many of the chief of the city were dismis sed by those that then took on them the government, upon their hiring some of the poorer sort, and sending them to keep the guard in their stead.

13. Now it was John who, as we told you, ran away from Gischala, and was the occasion of all these being destroyed. He was a man of great craft, and bore about him in his soul a strong passion after tyranny, and at a distance was the adviser in these actions; and indeed at this time he pretended to be of the people's opinion, and went all about with AnaDus when he consulted the great men every day, and in the night-time also when he went round the watch; but he divulged their secrets to the zealots, and every thing that the people deliberated about was by his means known to their enemies, even before it had been well agreed on by themselves. And by way of contrivance how he might be brought into suspicion, he cultivated the greatest friendship possible with Ananus, and with the chief of the people; yet did this over-doing of his turn against him, for he flattered them so extravagantly, that he was but the more suspected; and his

It is worth noting here, that this Ananus, the best of the Jews at this time, and the high-priest, who was so very uneasy at the profanation of the Jewish courts of the temple by the zealots, did not however scruple the profanation of the court of the Gentiles, as in our Saviour's days it was very much profaned by the Jews, and made a market place, nay, a den of thieves, without scruple, Matt. xxi. 12, 13. Mark xi. 15, 16 17. Accordingly Josephus himself, when he speaks of the two inner courts, call them both aya or holy places, but, so far as I remember, never gives that character f the court of the Gentiles. See B. v. ch. ix. § 2.

constant attendance every where, even when he was not invited to be present, made him strongly suspected of betraying their secrets to the enemy; for they plainly perceived that they understood all the resolutions taken against them at their consultations. Nor was there any one whom they had so much reason to suspect of that discovery as this John; yet was it not easy to get quit of him, so potent was he grown by his wicked practices. He was also supported by many of those eminent men, who were to be consulted upon all considerable affairs; it was therefore thought reasonable to oblige him to give them assurance of his good-will upon oath accordingly John took such an oath readily, that he would be on the people's side, and would not betray any of their counsels or practices to their enemies, and would assist them in overthrowing those that attacked them, and that both his hand and his advice. So Ananus and his party believed his cath, and did now receive him to their consultations, without farther suspicion; nay, so far did they believe him, that they sent him as their ambassador into the temple, to the zealots, with proposals of accommodation; for they were very desirous to avoid the pollution of the temple as much as they possibly could, and that no one of their nation should be slain therein.

14. But now this John, as if his oath had been made to the zealots, and for confirmation of his good-will to them, and not against them, went into the temple, and stood in the midst of them, and spake as follows: that "he had ruu ma

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ny hazards on their accounts, and in order to let them "know of every thing that was secretly contrived against "them by Ananus and his party; but that both he and they "should be cast into the most imminent danger, unless some providential assistance were afforded them; for that Ana"nus made no longer delay, but had prevailed with the people to send ambassadors to Vespasian, to invite them to come presently and take the city; and that he had appoint"ed a fast for the next day against them, that they might "obtain admission into the temple on a religious account, or "gain it by force, and fight with them there; that he did "not see how long they could either endure a siege, or how "they could fight against so many enemies. He added far"ther, that i was by the providence of God he was himself "sent as an ambassador to them, for an accommodation; for that Ananus did therefore offer them such proposals, that

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"he might come upon them when they were unarmed: that they ought to choose one of these two methods, either to "intercede with those that guarded them, to save their lives, "or to provide some foreign assistance for themselves: that "if they fostered themselves with the hopes of pardon, in case they were subdued, they had forgotten what despe"rate things they had done, or could suppose, that as soon as the actors repented, those that had suffered by them "must be presently reconciled to them; while those that "have done injuries, though they pretend to repent of them, are frequently hated by the others for that sort of repentance; and that the sufferers, when they get the power in"to their hands, are usually still more severe upon the actors: that the friends and kindred of those that had been destroyed would always be laying plots against them: "and that a large body of people were very angry on ac"count of their gross breaches of their laws, and [illegal] "judicature, insomuch, that although some part might com“miserate them, those would be quite overborne by the ma"jority."

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CHAP. IV.

The Idumeans, being sent for by the zealots, came immediately to Jerusalem and when they were excluded out of the city, they lay all night there. Jesus, one of the high-priests, makes a speech to them; and Simon the Idumean makes a reply to it.

1. Now by this crafty speech John made the zealots afraid; yet durst he not directly name what foreign assistance he meant, but in a covert way only intimated at the Idumeans. But now that he might particularly irritate the leaders of the zealots, he calumniated Auanus, that he was about a piece of barbarity, and did in a special manuer threaten them. These leaders were Eleazar the son of Simon, who seemed the most plausible man of them all, both in considering what was fit to be done, and in the execution of what he had determined upon, and Zacharias the son of Phalek, both of whom derived their families from the priests. Now when these two men had heard, not only the common threatenings which belonged to them all, but those peculiarly levelled against themselves, and besides how Ana-. nus and his party, in order to secure their own dominion, had invited the Romans to come to them, for that also was

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