stones or darts at them, and slew them. Now the very ruins afforded them stones enough; and for iron weapons, the dead men of the enemy's side afforded them what they wanted; for, drawing the swords of those that were dead, they made use of them to dispatch such as were only half dead; nay, there were a great number, who, upon their falling down from the tops of the houses, stabbed themselves, and died after that manner; nor indeed was it easy for those that were beaten back to fly away, for they were so unacquainted with the ways, and the dust was so thick, that they wandered about without knowing one another, and fell down dead among the crowd. 5. Those, therefore, that were able to find the ways out of the city, retired. But now Vespasian always staid among those that were hard set; for he was deeply affected with seeing the ruins of the city falling upon his army, and forgot to take care of his own preservation. He went up gradually towards the highest parts of the city before he was aware, and was left in the midst of dangers, having only a very few with him; for even his son Titus was not with him at that time, having been then sent into Syria, to Mucianus. However, he thought it not safe to fly, nor did he esteem it a fit thing for him to do; but calling to mind the actions he had done from his youth, and recollecting his courage, as if he had been excited by a divine fury, he covered himself and those that were with him with their shields, and formed a testudo over both their bodies and their armour, and bore up against the enemy's attacks, who came running down from the top of the city; and without showing any dread to the multitude of the men, or of their darts, he endured all, until the enemy took notice of that divine courage that was within him, and remitted of their attacks; and when they pressed less zealously upon him, he retired, though without showing his back to them, till he was gotten out of the walls of the city. Now a great number of the Romans fell in this battle, among whom was Ebutius the decurion, a man who appeared not only in this engagement, wherein he fell, but every where, and in former engagements, to be of the truest courage, and one that had done very great mischief to the Jews. But there was a centurion whose name was Gallus, who during this disorder being encompassed about, he and ten other soldiers privately crept into the house of a certain person, where he heard them talking at supper what the people intended to do against the Romans, or about themselves (for both the man himself, and those with him, were Syrians). So he got up in the nighttime, and cut all their throats, and escaped, together with his soldiers to the Romans. 6. And now Vespasian comforted his army, which was much dejected by reflecting on their ill success, and because they had never before fallen into such a calamity; and besides this, because they were greatly ashamed that they had left their general alone in great dangers. As to what concerned himself, he avoided to say any thing, that he might by no means seem to complain of it; but he said, that " We ought to bear manfully what usually falls out in war; and this by considering what the nature of war is, and how it can never be that we must conquer without bloodshed on our own side; for there stands about us that fortune, which is of its own nature mutable; that while they had killed so many ten thousands of the Jews, they had now paid their small share of the reckoning to fate; and as it is the part of weak people to be too much puffed up with good success, so is it the part of cowards to be too much affrighted at that which is ill; for the change from the one to the other is sudden on both sides, and he is the best warrior who is of a sober mind under misfortunes, that he may continue in that temper, and cheerfully recover what hath been lost formerly: and as for what had now happened, it was neither owing to their own effeminacy, nor to the valour of the Jews, but the difficulty of the place was the occasion of their advantage, and of our disappointment. Upon reflecting on which matter, one might blame your zeal as perfectly ungovernable; for when the enemy had retired to their highest fastnesses, you ought to have restrained yourselves, and not, by presenting yourselves at the top of the city, to be exposed to dangers; but upon your having obtained the lower parts of the city, you ought to have provoked those that had retired thither to a safe and settled battle; whereas, in rushing so hastily upon victory you took no care of your safety. But this incautiousness in war, and this madness of zeal is not a Roman maxim, while we perform all that we attempt by skill, and good order: that procedure is the part of barbarians, and is what the Jews chiefly support themselves by. We ought therefore to return to our own virtue, and to be rather angry, than any longer dejected at this unlucky misfortune, and let every one seek for his own consolation from his own hand; for by this means he will avenge those that have been destroyed, and punish those that have killed them. For myself, I will endeavour, as I have now done, to go first before you against your enemies in every engagement, and to be the last that retires from it." 7. So Vespasian encouraged his army by this speech; but for the people of Gamala, it happened that they took courage for a little while, upon such great and unaccountable success as they had had. But when they considered with themselves, that they had now no hopes of any terms of accommodation, and reflecting upon it that they could not get away, and that their provisions began already to be short, they were exceedingly cast down and their courage failed them; yet did they not neglect what might be for their preservation, so far as they were able, but the most courageous among them guarded those parts of the wall that were beaten down, while the more infirm did the same to the rest of the wall that still remained round the city. And as the Romans raised their banks, and attempted to get into the city a second time, a great many of them fled out of the city through impracticable valleys, where no guards were placed, as also through subterraneous caverns; while those that were afraid of being caught, and for that reason staid in the city, perished for want of food; for what food they had was brought together from all quarters, and reserved for the fighting men. 8. And these were the hard circumstances the people of Gamala were in. But now Vespasian went about another work, by the bye, during the siege, and that was to subdue those that had seized upon Mount Tabor, a place that lies in the middle between the great plain and Scythopolis, whose top is elevated as high as thirty furlongs*, and is hardly to be ascended on its north side; its top is a plain of twenty-six furlongs and all encompassed with a wall. Now Josephus erected this so long a wall in forty days time, and furnished it with other materials, and with water from below, for the inhabitants only made use of rain water; as therefore there was a great multitude of people gotten together upon this mountain, Vespasian sent Placidus with six hundred horsemen thither. Now as it was impossible for him to ascend the mountain, he invited many of them to peace by the offer of his right hand for their security, and of his intercession for them. Accordingly they came down, but with a treacherous * These numbers in Josephus of 30 furlongs ascent to the top of Mount Tabor, whether we estimate it by winding and gradual, or by the perpendicular altitude, and of 26 furlongs circumference upon the top, as also the 15 furlongs for this ascent in Polybius with Geminius's perpendicular altitude, of almost 14 furlongs, here noted by Dr. Hudson, do none of them agree with the authentic testimony of Mr. Maundrel, an eye witness, page 112, who says he was not an hour in getting up to the top of this Mount Tabor, and at the area of the top is an oval of about 2 furlongs in length, and 1 in breadth. So I rather suppose Josephus wrote 3 furlongs for the ascent or altitude, instead of 30; and 6 furlongs for the circumference at the top, instead of 26. Since a mountain of only 3 furlongs perpendicular altitude may easily require near an hour's ascent, and the circumference of an oval of the foregoing quantity is near 6 furlongs; nor certainly could such a vast circumference as 26 furlongs, or three miles and a quarter, at that height be encompassed with a wall, including a trench, and other fortifications, perhaps those still remaining, ibid, in the small interval of 40 days, as Josephus here says they were by himself. design, as well as he had the like treacherous design upon them on the other side; for Placidus spoke mildly to them, as aiming to take them when he got them into the plain; they also came down, as complying with his proposals, but it was in order to fall upon him when he was not aware of it; however, Placidus's stratagem was too hard for theirs; for when the Jews began to fight, he pretended to run away, and when they were in pursuit of the Romans, he enticed them a great way along the plain, and then made his horsemen turn back; whereupon he beat them, and slew a great number of them, and cut off the retreat of the rest of the multitude, and hindered their return. So they left Tabor, and fled to Jerusalem, while the people of the country came to terms with him, for their water failed them, and so they delivered up the mountain and themselves to Placidus. 9. But of the people of Gamala, those that were of the bolder sort fled away and hid themselves, while the more infirm perished by famine; but the men of war sustained the siege till the two and twentieth day of the month Hyperbereteus [Tisri], when three soldiers of the fifteenth legion, about the morning watch, got under a high tower that was near them, and undermined it, without making any noise; nor when they either came to it, which was in the nighttime, nor when they were under it, did those that guarded it perceive them. These soldiers, then, upon their coming, avoided making a noise, and when they had rolled away five of its strongest stones, they went away hastily; whereupon the tower fell down upon a sudden, with a very great noise, and its guard fell headlong with it; so that those that kept guard at other places were under such disturbance that they ran away; the Romans also slew many of those that ventured to oppose them, among whom was Joseph, who was slain by a dart as he was running away over that part of the wall that was broken down; but as those that were in the city were greatly affrighted at the noise, they ran hither and thither, and a great consternation fell upon them, as though all the enemy had fallen in at once upon them. Then it was that Chares, who was ill and under the physician's hands, gave up the ghost, the fear he was in greatly contributing to make his distemper fatal to him. But the Romans so well remembered their former ill success that they did not enter the city till the three and twentieth day of the forementioned month. 10. At which time Titus, who was now returned, out of the indignation he had at the destruction the Romans had undergone while he was absent, took two hundred chosen horsemen, and some footmen with them, and entered without noise into the city. Now as the watch perceived that he was coming, they made a noise, and betook themselves to their arms; and as that his entrance was presently known to those that were in the city, some of them caught hold of their children and their wives, and drew them after them, and fled away to the citadel, with lamentations and cries, while others of them went to meet Titus, and were killed perpetually; but so many of them as were hindered from running up to the citadel, not knowing what in the world to do, fell among the Roman guards, while the groans of those that were killed were prodigiously great every where, and blood ran down over all the lower parts of the city from the upper. But then Vespasian himself came to his assistance against those that had fled to the citadel, and brought his whole army with him; now this upper part of the city was every way rocky, and difficult of ascent, and elevated to a vast altitude, and very full of people on all sides, and encompassed with precipices, whereby the Jews cut off those that came up to them, and did much mischief to others by their darts, and the large stones which they rolled down upon them, while they were themselves so high that the enemy's darts could hardly reach them. However, there arose such a divine storm against them as was instrumental to their destruction; this carried the Roman darts upon them, and made those which they threw return back, and drove them obliquely away from them; nor could the Jews indeed stand upon their precipices, by reason of the violence of the wind, having nothing that was stable to stand upon, nor could they see those that were ascending up to them; so the Romans got up and surrounded them, and some they slew before they could defend themselves, and others as they were delivering up themselves; and the remembrance of those that were slain at their former entrance into the city increased their rage against them now; a great number also of those that were surrounded on every side, and despaired of escaping, threw their children and their wives, and themselves also, down the precipices into the valley beneath, which, near the citadel, had been dug hollow to a vast depth; but so it happened, that the anger of the Romans appeared not to be so extravagant, as was the madness of those that were now taken, while the Romans slew but four thousand, whereas the number of those that had thrown themselves down was found to be five thousand; nor did any one escape except two women, who were the daughters of Philip, and Philip himself was the son of a certain eminent man called Jasimus, who had been general of king Agrippa's army; and these did therefore escape, because they lay concealed from the rage of the Romans when the city |