man and as she was of too great dignity to be seduced by presents, and had already rejected them, though they had been sent in great abundance, he was still more inflamed with love to her insomuch that he promised to give her two hundred thousand Attic drachmæ for one night's lodging. And when this would not prevail upon her, and he was not able to bear his misfortune in his amours, he resolved to famish himself to death, for want of food, on account of Paulina's refusal and he went on with his purpose accordingly. Now Mundus had a freed-woman, who had been made free by his father, whose name was Ide; one skilful in all sorts of mischief. This woman was much grieved at the young man's resolution to kill himself; (for he did not conceal his intentions to destroy himself from others;) and came to him and encouraged him by her discourse, and made him to hope, by some promises she gave him, that he might obtain a night's lodging with Paulina. lodging with Paulina. And when he joyfully hearkened to her, she said she wanted, no more than fifty thousand drachmæ for entrapping of the woman. So when she had encouraged the young man, and had gotten as much money as she required, she did not take the same methods as had been taken before: because she perceived that the woman was by no means to be tempted by money. But as she knew that she was much devoted to the worship of the goddess Isis, she devised the following stratagem: She went to some of Isis's priests, and, upon the strongest assurances of concealment, she persuaded them by words, but chiefly by the offer of twenty-five thousand drachmæ in hand, and as much more when the thing had taken effect and told them the passion of the young man and persuaded them to use all possible means to beguile the woman. So they were drawn in to promise so to do, by that large sum of gold they were to have. Accordingly the oldest of them went immediately to Paulina; and upon his admittance, he desired to speak with her by herself, When that was granted him, he told her that he was sent by the god Anubis, who was fallen in love with her, and enjoined her to come to him. Upon this she took the message very kindly; and valued herself greatly upon this condescension of the deity; and told her husband that she had a message sent her, and was to sup and to lie with Anubis. So he agreed to her acceptance of the offer, as fully satisfied with the chastity of his wife. Accordingly she went to the temple: and after she had supped there, and it was the hour to go to sleep, the priest shut the doors of the temple; when in the holy part of it the lights were also put out. Then did Mundus leap out; and she was at his service all the night, as supposing he was the god. And when he was gone away, which was before those priests who knew nothing of this stratagem were stirring, Paulina came early to her husband, and told him how Anubis had appeared to her. Among her friends also she declared how great a value she put upon this favor. They partly disbelieved the thing, when they reflected on its nature; and partly were amazed at it, as having no pretence for not believing it, when they considered the modesty and the dignity of the person. But on the third day after what had been done, Mundus met Paulina, and said, "Nay, Paulina, thou hast saved me two hundred thousand drachmæ which sum thou mightest have added to thine own family. Yet hast thou not failed to be at my service in the manner I invited thee. As for the reproaches thou hast laid upon Mundus, I value not the business of names; but I rejoice in the pleasure I reaped by what I did, while I assumed the name of Anubis." When he had said this, he went his way. But now she began to come to the sense of the grossness of what she bad done: and rent her garments, and told her husband of the horrid nature of the contrivance, and prayed him not to neglect to assist her in this case. So he discovered the fact to the emperor. Whereupon Tiberius inquired into the matter thoroughly, by examining the priests about it: and ordered them to be crucified; as well as Ide, who was the occasion of their perdition, and who had contrived the whole matter, which was so injurious to the woman. He also demolished the temple of Isis: and gave order that her statue should be thrown into the river Tiber. But he only banished Mundus; because he supposed that what crime he had committed was done out of the passion of love. These were the circumstances which concerned the temple of Isis, and the injuries occasioned by her priests. CHAP. IV. I now return to the relation of OF A TUMULT MADE BY THE SAMARITANS; THE ACCUSAwhat happened about this time to the Jews at Rome. There was a man who was a Jew, but had TION LAID AGAINST PILATE; AND WHAT THINGS WERE been driven away from his own country by BUT the nation of the Samaritans did not escape without tumults. The man who ing their laws, and by the fear he was under excited them to it was one who thought lying of punishment for the same; but in all respects a thing of little consequence; and who cona wicked man. He then living at Rome, trived every thing so, that the multitude might professed to instruct men in the wisdom of be pleased. So he bade them to get together the law of Moses.* He procured also three upon mount Gerizzim; which is by them conother men, entirely of the same character with sidered as the most holy of all mountains; himself, to be his partners. These men per- and assured then that, when they were come suaded Fulvia, a woman of great dignity, and thither, he would show them those sacred vesone that had embraced the Jewish religion, sels which were laid under the place; beto send purple and gold to the temple at Je- cause + Moses put them there. So they came rusalem. And when they had gotten them, thither armed, and thought the discourse of they employed them for their own uses, and the man probable. And as they abode at a spent the money themselves: on which ac- certain village, which was called Tiathabar, count it was that they at first required it of they got the rest together to them, and desired her. Hereupon Tiberius, who had been in- to go up the mountain in a great multitude. formed of the thing by Saturninus, the hus-But Pilate prevented their going up, by seizing band of Fulvia, who desired inquiry might be made about it, ordered all the Jews to be banished out of Rome. At which time the At which time the consuls enlisted four thousand men out of them, and sent them to the island Sardinia; but punished a greater number, who were unwilling to become soldiers, on account of † keeping the laws of their forefathers. Thus were these Jews banished out of the city by the wickedness of four men. upon the roads, with a great band of horsemen and footmen: who fell upon those that were gotten together in the village: and when it came to an action, some of them they slew and others they put to flight, and took a great many alive: the principal of which, and also the most potent of those that fled away, Pilate ordered to be slain. When this tumult was appeased, the Samaritans sent an ambassy to Vitellius; a man that had been consul, and who was now president of Syria; and accused Pilate of the The Mosaical code of laws boasts a pre-eminent could not always obtain those privileges: and then they share of wisdom. Other systems have either been bor- got excused as well as they could; or sometimes absorowed from or assimilated to them, which is a convincinglutely refused to fight: which seems to have been the proof of their superiority. B. + Of the banishment of these 4000 Jews into Sardinia by Tiberius, see Suetonius in Tiber. § 36. But as for Mr. Reland's note here, which supposes that Jews could not, consistently with their laws, be soldiers; it is contradicted by one branch of the history before us; and contrary to innumerable instances of their fighting and proving excellent soldiers in war; and, indeed, many of the best of them, and even under heathen kings themselves, did so those, I mean, who allowed them their rest on the sabbath day, and other solemn festivals, and let them live according to their own laws; as Alexander the Great and the Ptolemies of Egypt did. It is true they case here, as to the major part of the Jews now banished; but nothing more. See several of the Roman decrees in their favor, as to such matters, XIV. 10. Since Moses never came himself beyond Jordan, nor particularly to mount Gerizzim; and since these Samaritans have a tradition among them, related here by Dr. Hudson, from Reland, who was very skilful in Jewish and Samaritan learning; that in the days of Uzzi or Ozis the bigh-priest, 1 Chr. vi. 6, the ark, and other sacred vessels, were, by God's command, laid up or hidden in mount Gerizzim; it is highly probable that this was the foolish foundation the present Samaritans went upon, in the sedition here described. murder 20 J murder of those that were killed for that || place; as believing that while he had them in rod did was done by his son Archelaus, who * March 16, A. D. 37. + This mention of the high-priest's sacred garments, received seven days before a festival, and purified in those seven days against a festival, as having been polluted by being in the custody of heathens, in Josephus, agrees well with the traditions of the Talmudists; as Reland here observes. Nor is there any question but the three feasts here mentioned were the Passover, Pentecost, and Feast of Tabernacles; and the fast, so called by way of Moreover Tiberius sent a letter to Vitellius, and commanded him to make a league of friendship with Artabanus, king of Parthia. For while he was his enemy he terrified him, because he had taken Armenia away from him, lest he should proceed farther; and told him he should no otherwise trust him, than upon his giving him hostages, and especially his son Artabanus. Upon Tiberius's writing thus to Vitellius, by the offer of great presents of money, he persuaded both the king of Iberia, and the king of Albania, to fight banus also, not long afterward, sent his son Darius as a hostage, with many presents; among which there was a man seven cubits tall; he was a Jew by birth, and his name was Eleazar; who for his tallness was called a giant. After which Vitellius went to Antioch, and Artabanus to Babylon. But Herod the tetrarch being desirous to give Cæsar the first information that they had obtained against Artabanus: and although they would not do it themselves, yet did they give the Scythians a passage through their country, and opened the Caspian gates to them, and brought them upon Artabanus. So Armenia was again taken from the Parthians, and the country of Parthia was filled with war, and the principal of their men were slain, and all things were in disorder among them: the king's son also himself fell in these wars, to-hostages, sent posts with letters, wherein he gether with many thousands of his army. Vitellius had also sent such great sums of money to Artabanus's father's kinsmen and friends, that he had almost procured him to be slain, by the means of those bribes which they had taken. And when Artabanus perceived that the plot laid against him was not to be avoided, because it was laid by the principal men, and those a great many in number; and that it would certainly take effect: when he also estimated the number of those that were truly faithful to him; as also of those who were already corrupted, but were deceitful in the kindness they professed to him, and were likely, upon trial, to go over to his enemies; he made his escape to the upper provinces: where he afterward raised a great army out of the Daha and Sacæ, and fought with his enemies, and retained his principality. When Tiberius had heard of these things, he desired to have a league of friendshipt made between him and Artabanus. And when, upon this invitation, he received the proposal kindly, Artabanus and Vitellius went to Euphrates; and as a bridge was laid over the river, they each of them came with their guards about them, and met one another on the midst of the bridge. And when they had agreed upon the terms of peace, Herod the tetrarch erected a rich tent on the midst of the passage, and made a feast there. Arta Though Suetonius somewhat later, and Dio much later, refer this league with the Parthians to the days of Caius, yet is the testimony of Josephus, I think, to be preferred he being almost a contemporary historian, and no way inferior to either of them in exactness, and ascribes it to the end of the reign of Tiberius. † Such leagues and treaties as this are too commonly only the veil or covering of hypocrisy, and are maintained no longer than convenience or interest require their existence. B. This calculation, from all Josephus's Greek copies, is had accurately described all the particulars, and had left nothing for the consular Vitellius to inform him of. But when Vitellius's letters were sent, and Cæsar had let him know that he was acquainted with the affairs already, because Herod had given him an account of them before; Vitellius was very much troubled at it: and supposing that he had been thereby a greater sufferer than he really was, he kept up a secret anger upon this occasion, till he could be revenged on him; which he was after Caius had taken the government. About this time Philip, Herod's brother, departed this life, in the twentieth year of the reign of Tiberius, after he had been tetrarch of Trachonitis, and Gaulanitis, and of the nation of the Bataneans, thirty-seven years. He had shewn himself a person of moderation and quietness in the conduct of his life and government. He constantly lived in that country which was subject to him: he used to make his progress with a few chosen friends: his tribunal also, on which he sat in judgment, followed him in his progress; and when any one met him, who wanted his assistance, he made no delay, but had his tribunal set down immediately, wheresoever he happened to be; and sat down upon it, and heard his complaint. He there ordered the guilty that were convicted to be punished; and ab exactly right. For since Herod died about September, in the fourth year before the Christian æra, and Tiberius began, as is well known, Aug. 19, A. D. 14, it is evident that the thirty-seventh year of Philip, reckoned from his father's death, was the twentieth of Tiberius; or near the end of A. D. 33, the very year of our Saviour's death; or, however, in the beginning of the next year, A. D. 84. This Philip the tetrarch seems to have been the best of all the posterity of Herod, for his love of peace and of justice. solved those that had been accused unjustly. He died at Julias: and when he was carried to that monument which he had previous ly erected for himself, he was buried with great pomp. His principality Tiberius took, (for he left no sons behind him,) and added it to the province of Syria; but gave order that the tributes which arose from it should be collected, and laid up in his tetrarchy. CHAP. V. OF THE WAR BETWEEN HEROD THE TETRARCH, AND ARE- : the agreement he had made with Herodias, and having learned it before he had notice of her knowledge of the whole design; she desired him to send her to Macherus: which is a place on the horders of the dominions of Aretas and Herod without informing him of her intentions. Accordingly Herod sent her thither: as thinking his wife had not perceived any thing. Now she had sent a good while before to Macherus, which was subject to her father; and so all things necessary for her journey were made ready for her by the generals of Aretas's army and by that means she soon came into Arabia, under the conduct of the several generals; who carried her from one to another successively; and she soon came to her father, and told him of Herod's intentions. So Aretas made this the first occasion of enmity between him and Herod : 1 who had also some quarrel with him about their limits, at the country of Gamalitis. So they raised armies on both sides, and prepared for war; and sent their generals to fight, instead of themselves. And when they had joined battle, ‡ all Herod's army was destroy ABOUT this * time Aretas, king of Arabia Petrea, and Herod, had a quarrel on the following account. Herod the tetrarch had married the daughter of Aretas, and had lived with her a great while but when he was once at Rome, he lodged with + Herod, who was his brother indeed, but not by theed, by the treachery of some fugitives: who, same mother for this Herod was the son of though they were of the tetrarchy of Philip, the high-priest Simon's daughter. However joined with Aretas's army. So Herod wrote he fell in love with Herodias, this last Herod's about these affairs to Tiberius: who, being wife; who was the daughter of Aristobulus, very angry at the attempt made by Aretas, their brother, and the sister of Agrippa the wrote to Vitellius, the president of Syria, to Great. This man ventured to talk to her make war upon him; and either to take him about a marriage between them; which ad-alive, and bring him to him in bonds; or to dress when she admitted, an agreement was made for her to change her habitation, and Now some of the Jews thought that the decome to him, as soon as he should return from struction of Herod's army came from God: Rome. One article of this marriage also was, and that very justly, as a punishment of what that he should divorce Aretas's daughter. he did against John, who was called the BapSo Antipas, when he had made this agree-tist. For Herod slew him, who was a good ment, sailed to Rome. But when he had finished the business he went about, and was returned again; his wife having discovered * A. D. 36. + This Herod seems to have had the additional name of Philip, as Antipas was named Herod Antipas. And as Antipas and Antipater seem to be, in a manner, the very same name, yet were the names of two sons of Herod the Great; so might Philip the tetrarch, and this Herod-Philip, be two different sons of the same father: all which Grotius observes ou Matt. xiv. 3. Nor was it, as I agree with Grotius and others of the learned, Philip the tetrarch; but this Herod-Philip, whose wife Herod the tetrarch had mar kill him, and send him his head. man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue; both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God; and so to ried; and that in her first husband's life-time, and when her first husband had issue by her. For which adulterous and incestuous marriage John the Baptist justly reproved Herod the tetrarch; and for which reproof Salome, the daughter of Herodias by her first husband Herod-Philip, who was still alive, occasioned him to be unjustly beheaded. Moses Chorenensis ascribes this great victory of Aretas in part to the succours sent him by Abgarus of Edessa. See the place, pag. 130, 131. come |