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"cerns not those Jews that dwell here only, but those of them "which dwell in other cities also; for there is no people "upon the habitable earth which have not some por"tion of you among them, whom your enemies will slay, in "case you go to war, and on that account also; and so every "city which hath Jews in it will be filled with slaughter, for "the sake of a few men, and they who slay them will be par"doned but if that slaughter be not made by them, consider "how wicked a thing it is to take arms against those that are so kind to you. Have pity therefore, if not of your chil "dren and wives, yet upon this your metropolis, and its sa"cred walls: spare the temple, and preserve the holy house, "with its holy furniture, for yourselves? for if the Romans "get you under their power they will no longer abstain from "them, when their former abstinence shall have been so ungratefully requited. I call to witness your sanctuary, and "the holy angels of God, and this country common to us all, "that I have not kept back any thing that is for your pre"servation: and if you will follow that advice which you "ought to do, you will have that peace which will be common to you and to me; but if you indulge your passion, you will run those hazards which I shall be free from."

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5. When Agrippa had spoken thus, both he and his sister wept, and by their tears repressed a great deal of the violence of the people; but still they cried out, "That they "would not fight against the Romans, but against Florus, on "account of what they had suffered by his means." To which Agrippa replied, That" what they had already done was like such as make war against the Romans; for you "have not paid the* tribute which is due to Cæsar; and you "have cut off the cloisters [of the temple] from joining to the "tower Antonia. You will therefore prevent any occasion "of revolt if you will but join these together again, and if you will but pay your tribute; for the citadel does not now belong to Florus, nor are you to pay the tribute money " to Florus."

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* Julius Cæsar had decreed, that the Jews of Jerusalem should pay an annual tribute to the Romans, excepting the city Joppa, and for the Sabbatical year; as Spanheim observes from the Antiq. B. xiv. ch. x. § 6. vol. iii.

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THE JEWISH WAR.

CHAP. XVII.

Book II.

How the war of the Jews with the Romans began. And concerning Manahem.

1. THIS advice the people hearkened to, and went up into the temple, with the king and Berenice, and began to rebuild the cloisters: the rulers also and senators divided themselves into the villages, and collected the tributes, and soon got together forty talents, which was the sum that was deficient. And thus did Agrippa then put a stop to that war which was threatened; moreover he attempted to persuade the multitude to obey Florus, until Cæsar should send one to succeed him; but they were hereby more provoked, and cast reproaches upon the king and got him excluded out of the city; nay some of the seditious had the impudence to throw stones at him. So when the king saw that the violence of those that were for innovations was not to be restrained, and being very angry at the contumelies he had received, he sent their rulers, together with their men of power, to Florus, to Cæsarea, that he might appoint whom he thought fit to collect the tribute in the country, while he retired unto his own kingdom.

2. And at this time it was that some of those that principally excited the people to go to war, made an assault upon a certain fortress called Masada. They took it by treaclery, and slew the Romans that were there, and put others of their own party to keep it. At the same time Eleazer, the son of Ananias the high-priest, a very bold youth, who was at that time governor of the temple, persuaded those that officiated in the divine service to receive no gift or sacrifice for any foreigner. And this was the true beginning of our war with the Romans; for they rejected the sacrifice of Cæsar on this account: and when many of the high-priests and principal men besought them not to omit the sacrifice, which it was customary for them to offer for their princes, they would not be prevailed upon, These relied much upon their multitude, for the most flourishing part of the innovators assisted them; but they had the chief regard to Eleazar, the governor of the temple.

3. Hereupon the men of power got together, and conferred with the high priests, as did also the principal of the Pharisees; and thinking all was at stake, and that their calamities were becoming incuráble took counsel what was to be done.

Accordingly they determined to try what they could do with the seditious by words, and assembled the people before the brazen gate, which was that gate of the inner temple [court of the priests] which looketh towards the sunrising. And in the first place,they shewed the great indignation they had at this attempt for a revolt, and for their bringing so great a war upon their country: after which they cenfuted theirpretence as unjustifiable, and told them, that "their forefathers had "adorned their temple in great part with donations be"stowed on them by foreigners, and had always received "what had been presented to them from foreign nations; and "that they had been so far from rejecting any person's sac"rifice, (which would be the highest instance of impiety,) that "they had themselves placed those donations about the temple which were still visible, and had remained there so long a time; that they did now irritate the Romans to take arms against them, and invited them to make war upon them, "and brought up novel rules of a strange divine worship, "and determined to run the hazard of having their city con"demned for impiety, while they would not allow any for

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eigner, but Jews only, either to sacrifice or to worship "therein. And if such a law should be introduced in the "case of a single private person only, he would have indigna“tion at it, as an instance of inhumanity determined against "him; while they have no regard to the Romans or to Cæsar, aud forbid even their obligations to be received also "that however, they cannot but fear lest by rejecting their sac"rifices they shall not be allowed to offer their own; and that "this city will lose its principality, unless they grow wiser quickly, and restore the sacrifices as formerly, and indeed "amend the injury [they have offered foreigners] before the report of it comes to the ears of those that have been injured." 4. And as they said these things, they produced those priests that were skilful in the customs of their country, who made the report, that "all their forefathers had received the "sacrifices from foreign nations." But still not one of the

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innovators would hearken to what was said; nay, those that ministered about the temple would not attend their divine service, but were preparing matters for beginning the war. So the men of power, perceiving that the sedition was too hard for them to subdue, and that the danger which would arise from the Romans would come upon them first of all, endeavoured to save themselves, and sent ambassadors, some to FloVOL. VI.

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rus, the chief of which was Simon, the son of Ananias; and others to Agrippa, among whom the most eminent were Saul, and Antipas, and Costobarus, who were of the king's kindred; and they desired of them both that they would come with an army into the city, and cut off the sedition before it should be too hard to be subdued. Now this terrible message was good news to Florus; and because his design was to have a war kindled, he gave the ambassadors no answer at all. But Agrippa was equally solicitous for those that were revolting, and for those against whom the war was to be made, and was desirous to preserve the Jews for the Romans, and the temple and metropolis for the Jews; he was also sensible that it was not for his own advantage that the disturbances should proceed; so he sent three thousand horsemen to the assistance of the people, out of Auranitis, and Batanae, and Trachonitis, and these under Darius the master of his horse, and Philip the son of Jacimus, the general of his army.

5. Upon this the men of power with the high-priests, as also all the part of the multitude that were desirous of peace, took courage, and seized upon the upper city, [Mount Sion] for the seditious part had the lower city, and the temple in their power; so they made use of stones and slings perpetually against one another, and threw darts continually on both sides; and sometimes it happened that they made incursions by troops, and fought it out hand to hand, while the seditious were superior in boldness, but the king's soldiers in skill. These last strove chiefly to gain the temple,and to drive those out of it who profaned it; as did the seditious, with Eleazar, besides what they had done already, labour to gain the upper city. Thus were there perpetual slaughters on both sides for seven days time; but neither side would yield up the parts they seized on,

6. Now the next day was the festival of Xylophory, upon which the custom was for every one to bring wood for the altar (that there might never be a want of fuel for that fire which was unquenchable, and always burning;) upon that day they excluded the opposite party from the observation of this *part of religion. And when they had joined to themselves many of the Sicarii, who crowded in among the weaker people, (that was the name for such robbers as had under their bosoms swords called Sicae,) they grew bolder and carried their undertaking farther; insomuch that the king's soldiers tere overpowered by their multitude and boldness, and so

they gave way, and were driven out of the upper city by force. The others then set fire to the house of Ananias the high priest, and to the palaces of Agrippa and Berenice; after which they carried the fire to the place where the archives were reposited, and made haste to burn the contracts belonging to their creditors, and thereby to dissolve their obligations for paying their debts; and this was done in order to gain the multitude of those who had been debtors, and that they might persuade the poorer sort to join their insurrection with safety against the more wealthy; so the keepers of the records fled away, and the rest set fire to them. And when they had thus burnt down the nerves of the city, they fell upon their enemies; at which time some of the men of power, and of the high-priests went into the vaults under ground, and concealed themselves, while others fled with the king's soldiers to the upper palace, and shut the gates immediately; among whom were Ananias the high-priest, and the ambassadors that had been sent to Agrippa. And now the seditious were contented with the victory they had gotten, and the buildings they had burnt down, and had proceeded no farther.

7. But on the next day, which was the fifteenth of the month Lous, [Ab.] they made an assault upon Antonia, and besieged the garrison which was in it two days, and then took the garrison and slew them, and set the citadel on fire; after which they marched to the palace, whither the king's soldiers were fled, and parted themselves into four bodies, and made an attack upon the walls. As for those that were within it, no one had the courage to sally out, because those that assaulted them were so numerous, but they distributed themselves into the breast-works and turrets, and shot at the beseigers, whereby many of the robbers fell under the walls; nor did they cease to fight one with another either by night or by day, while the seditious supposed that those within would grow weary for want of food, and those without supposed that others would do the like by the tediousness of the siege.

8. In the mean time one Manahem, the son of Judas that was called the Galilean, (who was a very cunning sophister, and had formerly reproached the Jews under Cyrenius, that after God they were subject to the Romans,) took some of the men of note with him, and retired to Masada, where he broke upon king Herod's armoury, and gave arms not only to his

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