tumultuous ["voices and thunderings,"] while some hoped for gain, and others were afraid of loss in such troubles; for the Jews hoped that all of their nation which were beyond Euphrates would have raised an insurrection together with them. The Gauls also, in the neighbourhood of the Romans, were in motion, and the Celta were not quiet; but all was in disorder after the death of Nero. And the opportunity now offered induced many to aim at the royal power: and the soldiery affected change, out of the hopes of getting money. I thought it therefore an absurd thing to see the truth falsified in affairs of such great consequence, and to take no notice of it; but to suffer those Greeks and Romans that were not in the wars to be ignorant of these things, and to read either flatteries or fictions, while the Parthians, and the Babylonians, and the remotest Arabians, and those of our nation beyond Euphrates, with the Adiabeni, by my means, knew accurately both when the war begun, what miseries it brought upon us, and after what manner it ended.

"I will not go to the other extreme, out of opposition to those men who extol the Romans, nor will I determine to raise the actions of my countrymen too high, but I will prosecute the actions of both parties with accuracy. Yet shall I suit my language to the passions I am under, as to the affairs I describe, and must be allowed to indulge some lamentations upon the miseries undergone by my own country; for that it was a seditious temper ["voices and thunderings"] of our own that destroyed it; and that they were the tyrants among the Jews who brought the Roman power upon us, who unwillingly attacked us, and occasioned the burning of our holy temple, Titus Cæsar, who destroyed it, is himself a witness, who, during the entire war, pitied the people who were kept under by the seditious, and did often voluntarily delay the taking of the city, and allowed time to the siege, in order to let the authors have opportunity for repentance. But if any one makes an unjust accusation against us, when we speak so passionately about the tyrants, or the robbers, or sorely bewail the misfortunes of our country, let him indulge our affections herein, though it be contrary to

the rules for writing history; because it had so come to pass, that our city Jerusalem had arrived at a higher degree of felicity than any other city under the Roman government, and yet at last fell into the sorest calamities again. Accordingly it appears to me, that the misfortunes of all men, from the beginning of the world, if they be compared to these of the Jews, are not so considerable as they were, while the authors of them were not foreigners neither [" For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time."]. This makes it impossible for me to contain my lamentations. But, if any one be inflexible in his censures of me, let him attribute the facts themselves to the historical part, and the lamentations to the writer himself only.

"Now as to what concerns that war which happened in my own time, I will go over it very largely, and with all the diligence I am able; but of what preceded mine own age, that I shall run over briefly. I shall relate how Antiochus, who was named Epiphanes, took Jerusalem by force, and held it three years and three months, and was then ejected out of the country by the sons of Asamoneus; after that, how their posterity quarrelled about the government, and brought upon their settlement the Romans and Pompey; how Herod also, the son of Antipater, dissolved their government, and brought Socius upon them; as also how our people made a sedition upon Herod's death, while Augustus was the Roman emperor, and Quintillius Varus was in that country; and how the war broke out in the twelfth year of Nero, with what happened to Cestius; and what places the Jews assaulted in a hostile manner in the first sallies of the war. As also how they built walls about the neighbouring cities; and how Nero, upon Cestius's defeat, was in fear of the entire event of the war, and thereupon made Vespasian general in this war; and how this Vespasian, with the elder of his sons [Titus] made an expedition into the country of Judea; what was the number of the Roman army that he made use of; and how many of his auxiliaries were cut off in all Galilee; and how he took some of its cities entirely, and by force, and others of them by treaty, and on terms.

Now, when I come so far, I shall describe the good order of the Romans in war, and the discipline of their legions: the amplitude of both the Galilees, with their nature, and the limits of Judea. And besides this, I shall particularly go over what is peculiar to the country, the lakes and fountains that are in them, and what miseries happened to every city as they were taken; and all this with accuracy, as I saw the things done, or suffered in them; for I shall not conceal any of the calamities I myself endured, since I shall relate them to such as know the truth of them. After this, how, when the Jews' affairs were become very bad, Nero died; and Vespasian, when he was going to attack Jerusalem, was called back to take the government upon him; what signs happened to him relating to his gaining that government, and what mutations of government then happened at Rome, and how he was unwillingly made emperor by his soldiers; and how, upon his departure to Egypt, to take upon him the government of the empire, the affairs of the Jews became very tumultuous; as also how the tyrants rose up against them, and fell into dissensions amongst themselves. Moreover, how Titus marched out of Egypt into Judea the second time; as also how and where, and how many forces he got together; and in what state the city was, by means of the seditious, at his coming; what attacks he made, and how many ramparts he cast up; of the three walls that encompassed the city, and of their measures; of the strength of the city, and the structure of the temple and holy house; and besides, the measures of those edifices, and of the altar, and all accurately determined. A description also of certain of their festivals, and seven purifications of days of purity, and the sacred ministrations of the priests, with the garments of the priests, and of the high priests; and of the nature of the most holy place of the temple; without concealing anything, or adding anything to the known truth of things.

"After this I shall relate the barbarity of the tyrants towards the people of their own nation, as well as the indulgence of the Romans in sparing foreigners; and how often Titus, out of his desire to preserve the city and the

temple, invited the seditious to come to terms of accommodation. I shall also distinguish the sufferings of the people, and their calamities; how far they were afflicted by the sedition, and how far by the famine, and at length were taken. Nor shall I omit to mention the misfortunes of the deserters, nor the punishments inflicted on the captives; as also how the temple was burnt against the consent of Cæsar; and how many sacred things that had been laid up in the temple, were snatched out of the fire; the destruction also of the entire city, with the signs and wonders that went before it; and the taking the tyrants captive, and the multitude of those that were made slaves, and into what different misfortunes they were every one distributed. Moreover, what the Romans did to the remains of the wall; and how they demolished the strong-holds that were in the country; and how Titus went over the whole country, and settled its affairs; together with his return into Italy, and his triumph.

"I have comprehended all these things in seven books; and have left no occasion for complaint or accusation to such as have been acquainted with this war; and I have written it down for the sake of those who love truth, but not for those who please themselves with fictitious relations. And I will begin my account of these things with what I call my First Chapter."

Thus, it will be seen, Josephus promises an account of events abundantly and accurately illustrating our subject; and also confirms in all respects the propriety of the introductory remarks on the nature of his testimony. We may now proceed, therefore, to consult his history, satisfied that no difficulty will attend our investigation excepting that of compressing into a consistent space the copious evidences of prophetic and historic correspondence which his preface has led us to expect to find therein.

In making our extracts from the historian's narrative, we shall select "the wars of the Jews" during the Apocalyptic period to illustrate "And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars see that ye be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation

shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom the seditions which arose amongst the Jews, as further illustrating "the voices and thunderings," or, disputings and uproarious commotions; also-the calamities suffered by the Jews, to illustrate the same Apocalyptic terms generally, but more specifically, the miseries foretold by the Lord which should befall the Jews shortly after his death; also— "the signs and wonders" related by Josephus, to illustrate "the signs and wonders" foretold by the Lord to precede the destruction of Jerusalem together with its temple, and the dispersion of the Jews on the setting up of his own kingdom, which destruction and dispersion we shall set forth to illustrate the Apocalyptic "earthquake and great hail," embracing the Lord's predictions, "That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar;"-"Behold your house is left unto you desolate ;""There shall not be left here one stone standing upon another, that shall not be thrown down;"-and the other prophecies to the same effect previously enumerated. We shall also select what Josephus says respecting "false prophets," "famines, pestilences and earthquakes," which the Lord declared should likewise precede the overthrow of the Jewish nation.

Passing over Book I., "containing the interval of one hundred and sixty seven years, from Antiochus Epiphanes taking Jerusalem to the death of Herod the Great;" or from B.C. 170 to "the third year before the account called Anno Domini;' " and also passing over the first eleven chapters of Book II., as, together with the foregoing, comprising events of too early date for our purpose, we shall begin at chapter twelve, in which, and in the succeeding chapters, Josephus carries his history from A.D. 44 to A.D. 66. In this twelfth chapter, the Apocalyptic period is reached, and the historian, accordingly, at once commences to illustrate our subject by recounting a series of “tumults under Cumanus." He says:

"Now after the death of Herod [A.D. 44] Claudius set