notice to those that were under them, not to return the Jews falutations, and that if they made any reply to his difadvantage, they should make ufe of their weapons. Now the high priefts affembled the multitude in the temple, and defired them to go and meet the Romans, and to falute the cohorts very civilly, before their miserable cafe fhould become incurable. Now the feditious part would not comply with thefe perfua-, fions, but the confideration of those that had been destroyed made them incline to thofe that were the boldeft for action.

4. At this time it was that every pricft, and every fervant of God, brought out the holy veffels, and the ornamental garments, wherein they used to minister in facred things. The harpers alfo, and the fingers of hymns came out with their inftruments of mufic, and fell down before the multitude, and begged of them that they would preferve those holy ornaments to them, and not provoke the Romans to carry off thofe facred treafures. You might also fee then the high priests themselves with duft fprinkled in great plenty upon their heads, with bofoms deprived of any covering, but what was rent; thefe befought every one of the eminent men by name, and the multitude in common, that they would not for a small offence betray their country to thofe that were defirous to have it laid wafte; faying, "What benefit will it bring to the foldiers to have a falutation from the Jews ? or what amendment of your affairs will it bring you, if you do not now go out to meet them? and that if they faluted them civilly, all handle would be cut off from Florus to begin a war; that they should thereby gain their country and freedom from all father fufferings; and that befides, it would be a fign of great want of command of themselves, if they should yield to a few feditious perfons, while it was fitter for them who were so great a people, to force the others to act foberly."

5. By these perfuafions, which they used to the multitude, and to the feditious, they reftraned fome by threatenings, and others by the reverence that was paid them. After this they led them out, and they met the foldiers quietly, and after a compofed manner, and when they were come up with them they faluted them, but when they made no anfwer, the feditious exclaimed againft Florus, which was the fignal given for falling upon them. These foldiers therefore encompaffed them presently, and ftruck them with their clubs, and as they fled away, the horsemen trampled them drown, so that a great many fell down dead by the strokes of the Romans, and more by their own violence in crushing one another. Now there was a terrible crowding about the gates, and while every body was making hafte to get before another, the flight of them all was retarded, and a terrible deftruction there was among those that fell down, for they were fuffocated, and broken to pieces by the multitude of thofe that were uppermoft; nor could any of them be diftinguished by his relations in order to the care

of his funeral; the foldiers alfo who beat them, fell upon thofe whom they overtook, without fhewing them any mercy, and thruft the multitude through the place called * Bezetha, as they forced their way in order to get in and feize upon the temple, and the tower Antonia. Florus alfo being defirous to get those places into his poffeffion, brought fuch as were with him out' of the king's palace, and would have compelled them to get as far as the citadel [Antonia]; but his attempt failed for the people immediately turned back upon him and ftopped the violence of his attempt and as they flood upon the tops of their houfes, they threw their darts at the Romans, who, as they were forely galled thereby, because those weapons came from above, and they were not able to make a paffage through the multitude, which ftopped up the narrow paffages, they retired to the camp which was at the palace.

6. But for the feditious, they were afraid left Florus fhould come again, and get poffeffion of the temple, through Antonia; fo they got immediately upon thofe cloifters of the temple that joined to Antonia, and cut them down. This cooled the avarice of Florus, for whereas he was eager to obtain the treasures of God [in the temple], and on that account was defirous of getting into Antonia, as foon as the cloifters were broken down, he left off his attempt; he then fent for the high priests and the Sanhedrim, and told them, that he was indeed himself going out of the city, but that he would leave them as large a garrifon as they fhould defire. Hereupon they promised that they would make no innovations, in cafe they would leave them one band; but not that which had fought with the Jews, because the multitude bare ill will against that band on account of what they had fuffered from it; fo he changed the band as they defired, and, with the reft of his forces, returned to Cefarea.

CHAP. XVI.

Cellius fends Neopolitanus the Tribune to fee in what Condition the Affairs of the Jews were. Ag ippa makes a Speech to the People of the Jews, that he may divert them from their Intentions of making War with the Romans.

$1. HOWEVER Florus contrived another way to oblige the Jews to begin the wai, and fent to Ceftius, and accused the Jews falfely of revolting [from the Roman gov

I take this Bezetha to be that small hill adjoining to the north fide of the temple, whereon was the hofpital with five porticoes or cloifters, and beneath which was the sheep pool of Betheida, into which an angel or meffenger, at a certain feas fon, defcended, and where he or they, who were the "firft put into the pool," were cured, John v. 1 &c. This fituation of Bezetha, in Jofephus, on the north Aide of the temple, and not far off the tower Antonia, exactly agrees to the place of VOL. III. U

ernment,] and imputed the beginning of the former fight to them, and pretended they had been the authors of that difturbance, wherein they were only the fufferers. Yet were not. the governors of Jerufalem filent upon this occafion, but did themselves write to Ceftius, as did Bernice alfo, about the illegal practices of which Florus had been guilty against the city; who, upon reading both accounts, confulted with his captains what he fhould do. Now fome of them thought it beft for Ceflius to go up with his army, either to punish the revolt if it was real, or to fettle the Roman affairs on a furer foundation, if the Jews continued quiet under them; but he thought it beft himself to fend one of his intimate friends beforehand, to fee the ftate of affairs, and to give him a faithful account of the intention of the Jews. Accordingly he fent one of his tribunes, whofe name was Neopolitanus, who met with king Agrippa, as he was returning from Alexandria at Jamnia and told him who it was that fent him, and on what errands he was fent.

2. And here it was that the high priests, and men of power among the Jews, as well as the fanhedrim, came to congratulate the king [upon his fafe return], and after they had paid him their respects, they lamented their own calamities, and related to him what barbarous treatment they had met with from Florus. At which barbarity Agrippa had great indignation, but transferred after a fubtle manner, his anger towards thofe Jews whom he really pitied, that he might beat down their high thoughts of themselves, and would have them believe that they had not been fo unjustly treated. in order to diffuade them from avenging themselves. So these great men, as of better understanding than the reft and defirous of peace, because of the poffeffions they had, understood that this rebuke which the king gave them was intended for their good ; but as to the people, they came fixty furlongs out of Jerufalem, and congratulated both Agrippa and Neopolitanus; but the wives of thofe that had been flain, came running first of all and lamenting. The people alfo, when they heard their mourning, fell into lamentations alfo, and befought Agrippa to affift them They allo cried out to Neopolitanus, and complained of the many miferies they had endured under Florus, and they thewed them, when they were come into the city, how the market place was made defolate, and the houfes plundered. They then perfuaded Neopolitanus, by the means of Agrippa, that he would walk round the city, with one only fervant, as far as Siloam, that he might inform himself that the Jews fubmitted to all the rest of the Romans, and were

the fame pool at this day. Only the remaining cloisters are but three. See Maundrel, page 106. The entire buildings feem to have been called the New City, and this part, where was the hospital, peculiarly Bezetha or Bethesda. See Chap. xix. §4.

only difpleafed at Florus, by reafon of his exceeding barbari ty to them. So he walked round, and had fufficient experience of the good temper the people were in, and then went up to the temple, where he called the multitude together, and highly commended them for their fidelity to the Romans, and earneftly exhorted them to keep the peace, and having performed fuch parts of divine worship at the temple as he was allowed to do, he returned to Ceftius.

3. Bu as for the multitude of the Jews, they addreffed themfelves to the king, and to the high priests, and defired they might have leave to fend ambafladors to Nero againft Florus, and not by their filence afford a fufpicion that they had been the occafions of fuch great flaughters as had been made, and were difpofed to revolt, alleging, that they should seem to have been the first beginners of the war, if they did not prevent the report by fhewing who it was that began it; and it appeared openly that they would not be quiet, if any body fhould hinder them from fending fuch an ambaffage. But Agrippa, although he thought it too dangerous a thing for them to appoint men to go as the accufers of Florus, yet did he not think it fit for him to overlook them, as they were in a difpofition for war. He therefore called the_multitude together into a large gallery, and placed his fifter Bernice in the house of the Afamoneans, that the might be feen by them, (which house was over the gallery, at the paffage to the upper city, where the bridge joined the temple to the gallery), and fpake to them as follows:

"Had I perceived that you were all zealoufly difpofed to go to war with the Romans, and that the purer and more fincere part of the people did not propofe to live in peace, I

In this fpeech of King Agrippa we have an authentic account of the extent and strength of the Roman empire when the Jewish war began. And this speech, with other circumftances in Jofephus, demonftrate how wile, and how great a perfon Agrippa was, and why Jofephus elsewhere calls him Oavpacitatos, a "most wonderful" or "admirable man" Contr Ap. 1. 9. He is the fame Agrippa who faid to Paul, "Almoft thou perfuadeft me to be a Christian," Acts xxvi. 28. and of whom St Paul laid, "He was expert in all the customs and questions of the Jews," ver. 3. See another intimation of the limits of the fame Roman empire, Of the War B. III ch. v 7 vol. III. But what feems to me very remarkable here is this, that when Jofephus, in imitation of the Greeks and Romans, for whole ule he wrote his Antiquities, did himfelf frequently compole the speeches which he put into their mouths; they appear, by the politenefs of their compofition, and their flights of oratory, to be not the real fpeeches of the perfons concerned, who usually were no orators, but of his own elegant compofure: The Ipeech before us is of another nature, full of undeniable facts, and compofed in a plain and unartful but moving way; to it appears to be King Agrippa's own fpeech, and to have been given Jofephus by Agrippa himielf, with whom Jofephus had the greatest friendship. Nor may we admit Agrippa's conftant doctrine here, that this vaft Roman empire was railed and fupported by divine Providence, and that therefore it was in vain for the Jews, or any others to think of deftroying it. Nor may we neglect to take notice of Agrippa's folemn appeal to the angels here used; the Like appeals to which we have in St. Paul, 1 Tim. v 22. and by the apostles, in general, in the form of the ordination of Bishops, Conftit, Apoft. VIII. 4.

had not come out to you, nor been fo bold as to give you counsel; for all difcourfes that tend to perfuade men to do what they ought to do is fuperfluous when the hearers are agreed to do the contrary. But because fome are earnest to go to war, because they are young and without experience of the miferies it brings, and becaufe fome are for it, out of an unreasonable expectation of regaining their liberty, and becaufe others hope to get by it, and are therefore earnestly bent upon it, that in the confufion of your affairs they may gain what belongs to thofe that are too weak to refift them, I have thought proper to get you all together, and to fay to you what I think to be for your advantage; that fo the former may grow wifer, and change their minds, and that the best men may come to no harm by the ill conduct of fome others. And let not any one be tumultuous against me, in cafe what they hear me fay do not please them; for as to those that admit of no cure, but are refolved upon a revolt, it will still be in their power to retain the same fentiments after my exhortation is over; but ftill my difcourfe will fall to the ground, even with a relation to those that have a mind to hear me, unlefs you all keep filence. I am well aware that they make a tragical exclamation concerning the injuries that have been offered you by your procurators, and concerning the glorious advantages of liberty; but before I begin the enquiry, who you are that muft go to war? and who they are againit whom you muit fight? I fhall first feparate those pretences that are by fome connected together; for if you aim at aveng ing yourselves on thofe that have done you injury, why do you pretend this to be a war for recovering your liberty? but if you think all fervitude intolerable, to what purpose serve your complaint against your particular governors ? tor if they. treated you with moderation, it would ftill be equally an unworthy thing to be in fervitude, Confider now the feveral cafes that may be fuppofed, how little occafion there is for your going to war. Your firft occafion is the accufations you have to make against your procurators: Now here you ought to be fubmiffive to thofe in authority, and not give them any provocation: But when you reproach men greatly for fmall offences you excite thofe whom you reproach to be your ad. verfaries; for this will only make them leave off hurting you privately, and with fome degree of modefty, and to lay what you have wafte openly. Now nothing fo much damps the force of ftrokes as bearing them with patience and the quietnefs of thofe that are injured diverts the injurious perfons from affli&ting. But let us take it for granted, that the Roman minifters are injurious to you. and are incurably fevere; yet are they not all the Romans who thus injure you; nor hath Cæfar, against whom you are going to make war, injured you; it is not by their command that any wicked governor is fent to you; for they who are in the weft cannot lee those that are