more infolent, not as deserted by their confederates, but as freed from fuch men as might hinder their defigns, and put fome ftop to their wickedness. Accordingly they made no longer any delay, nor took any deliberation in their enormous practices, but made ufe of the shortest methods for all their executions, and what they had once refolved upon, they put in practice fooner than any one could imagine. But their thirft was chiefly after the blood of valiant men, and men of good families; the one fort of which they destroyed out of envy, the other out of fear; for they thought their whole fecurity lay in leaving no potent men alive, on which account they flew Gorion, a perfon eminent in dignity, and on account of his family allo; he was alfo for democracy, and of as great boldness and freedom of spirit as were any of the Jews whatsoever; the principal thing that ruined him, added to his other advantages, was his free speaking. Nor did Niger of Perea escape their hands; he had been a man of great valour in their war with the Romans, but was now drawn through the middle of the city, and, as he went, he frequently cried out and shewed the scars of his wounds; and when he was drawn out of the gates, and defpaired of his preservation, he befought them to grant a burial; but as they had threatened him beforehand not to grant him any fpot of earth for a grave, which he chiefly defired of them, fo did they flay him [without permitting him to be buried.] Now when they were laying him, he made this imprecation upon them, that they might undergo both famine and peftilence in this war, and befides all that, they might come to the mutual flaughter of one another; all which imprecations God confirmed against these impious men, and was what came most justly upon them, when not long afterward they tafted of their own madness in their mutual feditions one against another. So when this Niger was killed, their fears of being overturned were diminithed; and indeed there was no part of the people but they found out fome pretence to deftroy them; for fome were therefore flain because they had had differences with fome of them in times of peace, they watched feasonable opportunities to gain fome accufation against them; and if any one did not come near them at all, he was under their fufpicion as a proud man ; if any one came with boldness, he was efteemed a contemner of them; and if any one came as aiming to oblige them, he was fuppofed to have fome treacherous plot against them while the only punishment of crimes, whether they were of the greatest or smallest fort, was death. Nor could any one escape, unless he were very inconfiderable, either on account of the meanness of his birth, or on account of his fortune.

2. And now all the rest of the commanders of the Romans deemed this fedition among their enemies to be of great advantage to them, and were very earnest to march to the city, and they urged Vefpafian as their lord and general in all caf

es, to make hafte, and faid to him, That "the providence of God is on our fide, by fetting our enemies at variance against one another; that ftill the change in fuch cafes may be fudden, and the Jews may quickly be at one again, either because they may be tired out with their civil miferies or repent them of fuch doings." But Vefpafian replied, That "they were greatly mifiaken in what they thought fit to be done, as thofe that, upon the theatre, love to make a fhew of their hands, and of their weapons but do it to their own hazard, without confidering what was for their advantage, and for their fecurity; for that if they now go and attack the city immediately, they fhall but occafion their enemies to unite together, and thall convert their force, now it is in its height, against themfeives. But if they stay a while they fhall have fewer enemies, decaufe they will be confumed in this fedition: That God afs as a general of the Romans better than he can do, and is giving the Jews up to them without any pains of their own and granting their army a victory without any danger; that therefore it is their best way while their enemies are deftroying each other with their own hands, and falling into the greateit misfortunes, which is that of fedition, to fit ftill as ipectators of the dangers they run into, rather than to fight hand to hand with men that love murdering, and are mad one against another. But if any one imagines that the glory of victory, when it is gotten without fighting, will be more infipid, let him know this much that a glorious fuccefs quietly obtained, is more profitable than the dangers of a battle; for we ought to efteem those that do what is agreeable to temperance and prudence, no lefs glorious than thofe that have gained great repu tation by their actions in war: That he fhall lead on his army with greater force, when their enemies are diminished, and his own army refreshed after the continual labours they had undergone. However, that this is not a proper time to propofe to ourselves the glory of victory; for that the Jews are not now employed in making of armour or building of walls, nor indeed in getting together auxiliaries while the advantage will be on their fide who give them fuch opportunity of delay; but that the Jews are vexed to pieces every day by their civil wars and diffenfions, and are under greater miferies than, if they were once taken could be inflicted on them by us. Whether therefore any one hath regard to what is for our fafety, he ought to fuffer thefe Jews to deftroy one another, or whether he hath regard to the greater glory of the action, we ought by no means to meddle with thofe men, now they are afflicted with a diftemper at home; for fhould we now conquer them it would be faid the conqueft was not owing to our bravery, but to their sedition."

3. And now the commanders joined in their approbation of what Vefpafian had faid, and it was foon difcovered how wife an opinion he had given. And indeed many there were of

the Jews that deferted every day, and fled away from the Zelotes, although their flight was very difficult, fince they had guarded every paffage out of the city, and flew every one that was caught at them, as taking it for granted they were going over to the Romans; yet did he who gave them money get clear off, while he only that gave them none was voted a traitor. So the upfhot was this that the rich purchased their flight by money, while none but the poor were flain. Along all the roads alfo vaft numbers of dead bodies lay on heaps, and even many of thofe that were to zealous in deferting, at length chose rather to perish within the city; for the hopes of burial made death in their own city appear of the two less terrible to them. But these Zelotes came at laft to that degree of barbarity, as not to beflow a burial, either on thofe flain in the city, or on thofe that lay along the roads; but as if they had made an agreement to cancel both the laws of their country, and the laws of nature, and at the fame time that they defiled men with their wicked actions, they would pollute the Di vinity itself allo, they left the dead bodies to putrity under the fun: And the fame punishment was allotted to fuch as buried any, as to thofe that deferted, which was no other than death; while he that granted the favour of a grave to another would presently ftand in need of a grave himfelf. To say all in a word, no other gentle paffion was fo entirely loft among them as mercy; for what were the greatest objects of pity did most of all irritate thefe wretches, and they transferred their rage from the living to thofe that had been flain, and from the dead to the living. Nay, the terror was fo great, that he who furvived called them that were firft dead happy, as being at reft already; as did those that were under torture in the prifons, declare, that, upon this comparifon, thofe that lay unburied were the happieft. Thefe men, therefore, trampled upon all the laws of men, and laughed at the laws of God; and for the oracles, of the prophets they ridiculed them as the tricks of jugglers; yet did these prophets foretel many things concerning the rewards of] virtue, and [punishments of vice, which when thefe Zelotes violated, they occafioned the tulfilling of thofe very prophecies belonging to their own country: For there was a certain ancient oracle of thofe men, That "the city fhould then be taken and the fanctuary burnt, by right of war, when a ledition (hould invade the Jews, and their own

This prediction, That" that the city [Jerufalem]hould then be taken, and the fanctuary burnt, by right of war, when a fedition thould invade the Jews, and their own hands thould pollute that temple; or, as it is, B VI. ch, i 1. When any one should begin to slay his countrymen in the city," is wanting in our present copies of the Old Testament. See Effay on the Old Teft. p. 104112. But this prediction, as Jofephus weli remarks here, though, with the other predictions of the prophets, it was now laughed at by the feditious, was by their very means foon exacly fulfilled. However, I cannot but here take notice of Grotius's pofitive affertion upon Mat. xxvi. 9 here quoted by Dr. Hudion, That Wit ought to be taken for granted, as a certain truth, that many predictions of the

hand fhould pollute the temple of God." Now while thefe Zelotes did not [quite] difbelieve these predictions, they made themselves the inftruments of their accomplishment.

CHAP. VII.

How John tyrannized over the reft; and what mischiefs the Zelotes did at Mafada. How alfo Vefpafian took Gadara: And what Actions were performed by Placidus.

1. BY this time John was beginning to tyrannize, and thought it beneath him to accept of barely the fame honours that others had; and joining to himfelf by degrees a party of the wickedeft of them all, he broke off from the reft of the faction. This was brought about by his ftill difagreeing with the opinions of others, and giving out injunctions of his own, in a very imperious manner, fo that it was evident he was fetting up a monarchical power. Now fome fubmitted to him out of their fear of him, and others out of their good-will to him; for he was a fhrewd man to entice men to him, both by deluding them and putting cheats upon them. Nay, many there were that thought they should be fater themfelves, if the causes of their paft infolent actions should now be reduced to one head, and not to a great many. His activi ty was fo great, and that both in action and in counsel, that he had not a few guards about him; yet was there a great party of his antagonists that left him; among whom envy at him weighed a great deal, while they thought it a very heavy thing to be in subjection to one that was formerly their equal. But the main reason that moved men against him was the dread of monarchy, for they could not hope eafily to put an end to his power, if he had once obtained it; and yet they knew that he would have this pretence always against them, that they opposed him when he was first advanced; while every one chofe rather to fuffer any thing whatfoever in war, than that when they had been in a voluntary flavery for fome time, they fhould afterward perifh. So the fedition was divided into two parts, and John reigned in opposition to his adverfaries over one of them: But for their leaders they watched one another, nor did they at all, or at leaft very little meddle with arms in their quarrels ; but they fought earnestly against the people, and contended one with another which of them fhould bring home the greateft prey. But because the city had to ftruggle with three of the greatest misfortunes, war, and tyranny, and fedition, it appeared, on the compar

Jewish prophets were preserved, not in writing, but by memory." Whereas, it Seems to me fo far from certain, that I think it has no evidence, nor probability at all.

ifon, that the war was the least troublesome to the populace of them all. Accordingly they ran away from their own houfes to foreigners, and obtained that preservation from the Romans, which they defpaired to obtain among their own people.

2. And now a fourth misfortune arose, in order to bring our nation to deftruation. There was a fortrefs of very great ftrength not far from Jerufalem, which had been built by our ancient kings, both as a repofitory for their effects in the hazards of war, and for the prefervation of their bodies at the fame time. It was called Mafada. Those that were called Sicarii had taken poffeffion of it formerly, but at this time they over ran the countries, aiming only to procure to themfelves neceffaries; for the fear they were then in prevented their further ravages. But when once they were informed that the Roman army lay ftill, and that the Jews were divided by ledition and tyranny, they boldly undertook greater matters; and at the feaft of unleavened bread, which the Jews celebrate in memory of their deliverance from the Egyptian bondage, when they were fent back into the country of their forefathers, they came down by night, without being discovered by thofe that could have prevented them, and over-ran a certain fmall city called Engaddi. In which expedition they prevented those citizens that could have stopped them, before they could arm themselves, and fight them. They alfo difperfed them, and caft them out of the city: As for fuch as could not run away being women and children, they flew of them above feven hundred. Afterward, when they had carried every thing out of their houses, and had feized upon all the fruits that were in a flourishing condition, they brought them into Mafada. And indeed thefe men laid all the villages that were about the fortrefs wafte, and made the whole country defolate; while there came to them every day, from all parts, not a few men as corrupt as themselves. At that time all the other regions of Judea that had hitherto been at reft were in motion, by means of the robbers. Now as it is in a human body, if the principal part be inflamed, all the members are fubject to the fame diftemper, fo by means of the diforder that was in the metropolis, had the wicked men that were in the country opportunity to ravage the fame. Accordingly when every one of them had plundered their own villages, they then retired into the defert: Yet were these men that now got together and joined in the confpiracy by parties, too fmall for an army, and too many for a gang of thieves: And thus did they fall upon the holy places, and the cities; yet

By thefe C or "holy places," as diftinct from cities, must be meant "profeuche," or " houfes of prayer" out of cities; of which we find mention made in the New Teftament and other authors. See Luke vi. 12. Acts xvi. 13, 16. Antiq. B. XIV. ch. § 23. Vol. II. his Life, § 54. Vol II. "In qua te quero profeucha ?" Juvenal, Sat. III. ver. 196. They were fituated fometimes by the