but had made war with, Decapolis of Syria. willing to have it thought they would bear Accordingly thou hadst ordered their villages arms against the Romans. But as for thy to be burnt, and a domestic servant of thine country, O Justus! situate upon the lake of fell in the battle. Nor is it I only who say Gennesareth, and distant from Hippos thirty this; but so it is written in the commentaries furlongs from Gadara sixty; and from Scyof Vespasian, the emperor. As also how the thopolis, which was under the king's jurisdic inhabitants of Decapolis came clamoring to tion, a hundred and twenty; when there was Vespasian, at Ptolemais; and desired that no Jewish city near, it might easily have pres thou, who wast the author of that war, might served its fidelity to, the Romans, if it had se est be brought to punishment. And thou pleased them to do. For the city and its peohadst certainly been punished at the command ple had plenty of weapons. But, as thou sayof Vespasian, had not king Agrippa, who had est, I was then the author of their revolt, power given him to have thee put to death, at And pray, O Justus, who was that author afthe earnest intreaty of his sister Bernice, terwards? For thou knowest that I was in changed the punishment from death into a the power of the Romans before Jerusalmlong imprisonment. Thy political adminis- was besieged; and before the same time Jotration of affairs afterward also did clearly tapata was taken by force; as well as many discover both thy other behaviour in life, and other fortresses; and a great many of the Gathat thou wast the occasion of thy country's lileans fell in the war. It was, therefore, then, revolt from the Romans; plain signs of which signs of which a proper time, when you were certainly freed I will produce presently. I have also a mind from any fear on my account, to throw away to say a few things to the rest of the people of your weapons; and to demonstrate to the Tiberias on thy account: and to demonstrate king, and to the Romans, that it was not out to those who may read this history, that you of choice but as forced by necessity, that you bare no good will either to the Romans, or to fell into the war against them. But you staythe king. To be sure the greatest cities of ed till Vespasian came to himself as far as Galilee, O Justus! were Sepphoris: and your walls, with his whole army; and then thy country, Tiberias. But Sepphoris, situate you did, indeed, lay aside your weapons, out in the very midst of Galilee, and having many of fear; and your city had, for certain, been villages about it and able, with ease, to have taken by force, unless Vespasian had complied been bold and troublesome to the Romans, if with the king's supplication for you: and had they had so pleased, yet did it resolve to con- excused your madness. It was not I, there tinue faithful to those their masters, and at the fore, who was the author of this, but your own same time excluded me out of their city; and inclinations to war. Do not you remember prohibited all their citizens from joining with how often I got you under my power, and yet the Jews in the war. And that they might put none of you to death? Nay, you once fell be out of danger from me, they, by a wile, got into a tumult one against another, and slew leave of me to one hundred and eighty-five of your citizens; They also, of they their city with walls. own accord, of a garrison of Roman legions, sent them by Cestius Gallus, who was then president of Syria; and so held me in contempt: though I was then very powerful, and all very greatly afraid of me. And at the same time that the greatest of our cities, Jerusalem, was besieged, and that temple of ours which belonged to us all was in danger of falling under the enemies' power, they sent no assistance thither; as not This Decapolis is several times mentioned in the New Testament. not on account of your good will to the king, and to the Romans; but on account of your own wickedness. And this while I was be sieged by the Romans in Jotapata. Nay, indeed, were there not reckoned up two thousand of the people of Tiberias, during the siege of Jerusalem; some of whom were slain, and the rest caught, and carried captives? But thou wilt pretend, that thou didst not en gage in the war; since thou didst flee to the to John. Whereupon it appeared to be the opinion of all the Galileans, that I should arm them all, and march against John, and punish him as the author of all the disorders that had happened. Yet was not I pleased with their determination as purposing to compose these troubles without bloodshed. Upon this I exhorted them to use the utmost care to learn the names of all that were under John: which, when they had done, and 1 thereby was apprised who the men were; I published an edict, wherein I offered security, and my right band, to such of John's party as had a mind to repent and I allowed twenty days' time to such as would take this most advantageous course for themselves. I also threatened, that unless they threw down their arms, I would burn their houses, and expose their goods to public sale. When the men heard of this, they were in no small disorder; and deserted John; and, to the number of four thousand, threw down their arms, and came to me. So that no others stayed with John, but his own citizens and about fifteen hundred strangers that came from the metropolis of Tyre. And when John saw that he had been outwitted by the stratagem, he continued afterward in his own country, and was in great fear of me. But about this time the people of Sepphoris grew insolent, and took up arms; out of a confidence they had in the strength of their walls and because they saw me engaged in other affairs. So they sent to Cestius Gallus, who was president of Syria, and desired that he would either come quickly to them, and take their city under his protection; or send them a garrison. Accordingly Gallus promised them to come: but did not send word when he would come. And when I had learnAnd when I had learned so much I took the soldiers that were with me, and made an assault upon the people of Sepphoris, and took the city by force. The Galileans took this opportunity, as thinking they had now a proper time for shewing their hatred to them; since they bore ill will to this city also. They then exerted themselves, as if they would destroy them all utterly with those that sojourned there. So they ran upon them, and set their houses on fire as finding them without inhabitants. For the men, out of fear, ran together to the citadel. So the Galileans carried off every thing: and omitted no kind of desolation which they could bring upon their countrymen. When I saw this, I was exceedingly troubled; and commanded them to leave off: and put them in mind that it was not agreeable to piety to do such things to their countrymen. But since they neither would hearken to what I exhorted, nor to what I commanded them to do; (for the hatred they bore to the people there was too hard for my exhortations to them;) I bade those of my friends who were most faithful to me and were about me, to give out reports, as if the Romans were falling upon the other part of the city, with a great army. And this I did, that by such a report being spread abroad, I might restrain the violence of the Galileans, and preserve the city of Sepphoris. This stratagem had the desired effect. For upon hearing this report, they were in fear for themselves: and so left off plundering, and ran away and this more especially because they saw me, their general, do the same also. For that I might cause this report to be believed, I pretended to be in fear as well as they. Thus were the inhabitants of Sepphoris unexpectedly preserved by my con trivance. Nay, indeed, Tiberias had like to have been plundered by the Galileans also, upon the following occasion. The chief men of the senale wrote to the king, and desired that he would come to them, and take possession of their city. Accordingly the king promised to come and wrote a letter in answer to theirs, and gave it to one of his bed-chamber, whose name was Crispus; and who was by birth a Jew; to carry it to Tiberias. When the Galileans knew that this man carried such a letter, they caught him, and brought him to me. But as soon as the whole multitude heard of it, they were enraged, and betook themselves to their arms. So a great many of them got together from all quarters the next day, and came to the city Asochis; where I then lodged; and made heavy clamors; and called the citizens of Tiberias traitors to them, and friends to the king and desired leave of: me to go down, and utterly destroy them. For they bore the like ill will to the people of of Tiberias, as they did to those of Sep- of their anger at the miseries they had suffered phoris. from them before the war. Thence it was that they would not endure that Justus should be their governor. I myself also, who had been intrusted by the community of Jerusalem with the Government of Galilee, did frequently come to that degree of rage at Justus, that I had almost resolved to kill him: as not able to bear his mischievous disposition. He was therefore, much afraid of me, lest at length my passion should come to extremity. So he went to the king: as supposing that he should dwell better, and more safely with him. When I heard this, I was in doubt what to do, and hesitated by what means I might deliver Tiberias from the rage of the Galileans. For I could not deny that those of Tiberias had written to the king, and invited him to come to them. For his letters to them in answer thereto would fully prove the truth of that. So I sat a long while musing with myself, and then said to them, "I know well enough that the people of Tiberias have offended nor shall I forbid you to plunder the city. However, such things ought to be done with discretion. For they of Tiberias have not been the only betrayers of our liberty: but many of the most eminent patriots of the Galileans, as they pretended to be, have done the same. Tarry, therefore, till I shall thoroughly find out those authors of our danger: and then you shall have them all at once under your power, with all such as you shall yourselves bring in also." Upon saying this, I pacified the multitude; and they left off their anger and went their ways. And I gave orders that he who brought the king's letters should be put into bonds: but in a few days I pretended that I was obliged, by a necessary affair of my own, to go out of the king-twenty furlongs' distance, I came upon it by dom. I then called Crispus privately, and ordered him to make the soldier that kept him intoxicated, and to run away to the king. So when Tiberias was in danger of being utterly destroyed a second time, it escaped the danger by my skilful management, and the care that I had for its preservation. Now when the people of Sepphoris had, in so surprising a manner, escaped their first danger, they sent to Cestius Gallus, and desired him to come to them immediately, and take possession of their city; or else to send forces sufficient to repress all their enemies' incursions upon them. And at last they did prevail with Gallus to send them a considerable army, both of horse and foot: which came in the night time; and which they admitted into the city. But when the circumjacent country was harassed by the Roman army, I took these soldiers that were about me, and came to Garisme, where I cast up a bank, a good way off the city Sepphoris. And when I was at night, and made an assault upon its walls with my forces. And when I had ordered a considerable number of my soldiers to scale them with ladders, I became master of the greatest part of the city. But soon after, our ignorance of the places forced us to retire; after we had killed twelve of the Roman footmen, and two horsemen, and a few of the people of Sepphoris; with the loss of only a single man of our own. And when it after About this time, Justus, the son of Pistus, without my knowledge, ran away to the king. The occasion of which I will here relate. Up-ward came to a battle in the plain against the on the beginning of the war between the Jews and the Romans, the people of Tiberias resolved to submit to the king; and not to revolt from the Romans. While Justus tried to persuade them to betake themselves to their arms: as being himself desirous of innovations: and having hopes of obtaining the Government of Galilee, as well as of his own country, Tiberias, also. Yet did he not obtain what he hoped for. Because the Galileans bore ill will to those of Tiberias: and this on account horsemen, and we had undergone the dangers of it courageously for a long time, we were beaten. For upon the Romans encompassing me about, my soldiers were afraid, and fled back. There fell in that battle one of those that had been intrusted to guard my body: his name was Justus, who at this time had the same post with the king. At the same time also there came forces, both horsemen and footmen from the king; and Sylla their commander, who was the captain of his guard. This |