kindly, he both made them amends as well as the country, by a lafting favour; for he went out of the city to this fountain, and threw into the current an earthen veffel full of falt; after which he ftretched out his righteous hand, unto heaven, and, pouring out a mild drink offering, he made this * fupplication, That" the current might be mollified, and that the veins of fresh water might be opened. That God alfo would bring into the place a more temperate and fertile air, for the current, and would bestow upon the people of that country plenty of the fruits of the earth, and a fucceffion of children; and that this prolific water might never fail them, while they continued to be righteous. To thefe prayers Elitha joined proper operations of his hands, after a fkilful manner, and changed the fountain; and that water, which had been the occafion of barrennefs and famine before, from that time did fupply a numerous pofterity, and afford great abundance to the country. Accordingly the power of it is fo great in watering the ground, that if it do but once touch a country, it affords a fweeter nourishment than other waters do, when they lie fo long upon them, till they are fatiated with them. For which reafon the advantage gained from other waters, when they flow in great plen ty, is but small, while that of this water is great when it flows even in little quantities. Accordingly it waters a larger (pace of ground than any other waters do and paffes along a plain of feventy furlongs fong, and twenty broad; wherein it affords nourishment to those most excellent gardens that are thick fet with trees. There are in it many forts of palm trees, that are watered by it, different from each other in talte and name; the better fort of them, when they are preffed, yield and excellent kind of honey, not much inferior in fweetness to other honey. This country withal produces honey from bees, it also bears that balfam which is the most precious of all the fruits in that place, cyprefs trees alfo, and thofe that bear my robalanum ; fo that he who fhould pronounce this place to be divine, would not be mistaken, wherein is fuch plenty of trees produced, as are very rare, and of the most excellent fort. And indeed, it we fpeak of those other fruits, it will not be eafy to light on any climate in the habitable earth, that can well be compared to it, what is here fowed comes up in fuch clusters: The cause of which feems to me to be the warmth of the air, and the fertility of the waters; the warmth calling forth the fprouts, and making them fpread, and the moisture making every one of them take root firmly, and fupplying that vir tue which it ftands in need of in fummer time. Now this country is then fo fadly burnt up, that nobody cares to come at it, and if the water be drawn up before fun rifing, and af

This excellent prayer of Elisha is wanting in our copies, 2 Kings ii. 21, 22% though it be referred to alfo in the Apoftolical Conftitutions, B. VII. ch. xxxvii. and the fucceís of it is mentioned in them all.

ter that exposed to the air, it becomes exceeding cold, and be comes of a nature quite contrary to the ambient air: As in winter again it becomes warm; and if you go into it, it ap pears very gentle. The ambient air is here alfo of fo good a temperature, that the people of the country are cloathed in linen only, even when fnow covers the reft of Judea. This place is one hundred and fifty furlongs from Jerufalem, and fixty from Jordan. The country, as far as Jerufalem, is defert, and ftony; but that as far as Jordan and the lake Afphaltitis lies lower indeed, though it be equally defert and barren. But fo much hall fuffice to have faid about Jericho, and of the great happinefs of its fituation.

4. The nature of the lake Afphaltitis is alfo worth describ. ing. It is, as I have faid already, bitter and unfruitful. It is fo light [or thick] that it bears up the heaviest things that are thrown into it; nor is it easy for any one to make things fink therein to the bottom, if he had a mind fo to do. According. ly, when Vefpafian went to fee it, he commanded that fome who could not fwim, fhould have their hands tied behind them, and be thrown into the deep, when it fo happened that they all fwam as if a wind had forced them upwards. Moreover, the change of the colour of this lake is wonderful, for it changes its appearance thrice every day; and as the rays of the fun fall differently upon it, the light is variously reflected. However, it cafts up black clods of bitumen in many parts of it; these fwim at the top of the water, and resemble both in fhape and bignefs headlefs bulls; and when the labourers that belong to the lake come to it, and catch hold of it as it hangs together, they draw it into their thips; but when the fhip is full, it is not eaty to cut off the reft, for it is fo tenacious as to make the fhip hang upon its clods till they fet it loofe with the menftrual blood of women, and with urine, to which alone it yields. This bitumen is not only ufeful for the caulking of hips, but for the cure of mens bodies: Accordingly it is mixed in a great many medicines. The length of this lake is five hundred and eighty furlongs, where it is extendad as far as Arabia, and its breadth is an hundred and fitty. The country of Sodom borders upon it. It was of old a moft happy land, both for the Iruits it bore and the riches of its cities, although it be now all burnt up. It is related how, for the impiety of its inhabitants, it was burnt by lightning; in confequence of which there are ftill the remainders of that divine fire, and the traces [or fhadows] of the five ciues are ftill to be feen, as well as the athes growing in their fruits, which fruits have a colour as if they were fit to be eaten, but it you pluck them with your hands, they diffolve into fmoke and alhes. And thus what is related of this land of Sodom hath thefe marks of credibility which our very fight affords us,

See the note on B. V. chap. xiii. § 6. Vol. III.

CHAP. IX.

That Vefpafian, after he had taken Gadara, made Preparation for the hege of Jerufalem. But that, upon his hearing of the Death of Nero, he changed his intentions. As alfo concerning Simon of Gerafa.

§ 1. AND now Vefpafian had fortified all the places round about Jerufalem, and erected citadels at Jericho and Adida, and placed garrifons in them both, partly out of his own Romans, and partly out of the body of his auxiliaries. He allo fent Lucius Annius to Gerafa, and delivered to him a body of horsemen, and a confiderable number of tootmen. So when he had taken the city, which he did at the firft onfet, he flew a thousand of thofe young men who had not prevented him by flying away; but he took their families captive, and permitted his foldiers to plunder them of their effects; af ter which he fet fire to their houses, and went away to the adjoining villages, while the men of power fled away, and the weaker part were deftroyed, and what was remaining was all burnt down. And now the war having gone through all the mountainous country, and all the plain country alfo, thofe that were at Jerufalem were deprived of the liberty of going out of the city: For as to fuch as had a mind to defert, they were watched by the Zelotes; and to fuch as were not yet on the fide of the Romans, their army kept them in, by encom paffing the city round on all fides.

2. Now as Vefpafran was returned to Cefarea, and was getting ready with all his army to march directly to Jerufalem, he was informed that Nero was dead, after he had reigned thirteen years and eight days; but as to any narration after what manner he abufed his power in the government, and committed the management of affairs to thofe vile wretches Nymphidius and Tigellinus, his unworthy freed men; and how he had a plot laid against him by them, and was deferted by all his guards, and ran away with four of his most trusty freed men, and flew himself in the fuburbs of Rome; and how those that occafioned his death were in no long time brought themfelves to punishment; how also the war in Gall ended; and how Galba was made emperor, and returned out of Spain to Rome; and how he was accufed by the foldiers as a pufillanimous person, and flain by treachery in the middle of the market-place at Rome, and Otho was made emperor; with his

Of thefe Roman affairs and tumults under Galba, Otho, and Vitellius here. only touched upon by Jofephus, see Tacitus, Suetonius and Dio more largely. However, we may obferve with Ottias, that Jofephus writes the name of the fec end of them not Otto, with many others, but Otho, with the coins. See also the mote on ch, xi. § 4

expedition against the commanders of Vitellius, and his deftruation thereupon ; and befides what troubles there were under Vitellius and the fight that was about the capitol; as alfo how Antonius Primus and Mucianus flew Vitellius, and his German legions, and thereby put an end to that civil war; I have omitted to give an exact account of them because they are well known by all, and they are described by a great number of Greek and Roman authors: Yet for the fake of the connection of matters, and that my hiftory may not be incoherent, I have juft touched upon every thing briefly. Wherefore Vefpafian put off at firft his expedition against Jerufalem, and flood waiting whither the empire would be transferred after the death of Nero. Moreover, when he heard that Galba was made emperor, he attempted nothing till he also should fend him fome directions about the war: However, he fent his fon Titus to him to falute him, and to receive his commands about the Jews. Upon the very fame errand did king Agrippa fail along with Titus to Galba; but as they were failing in their long thips by the coast of Achaia, for it was winter time, they heard that Galba was flain, before they could get to him, after he had reigned feven months and as many days. After whom Otho took the government, and undertook the management of public affairs. So Agrippa refolved to go on to Rome without any terror, on account of the change in the government; but Titus, by a divine impulfe, failed back from Greece to Syria, and came in great hafte to Cefarea to his father. And now they were both in fufpenfe about the public affairs, the Roman empire being then in a fluctuating condition, and did not go on with their expedition against the Jews, but thought that to make any attack upon foreigners was now unfeasonable, on account of the folicitude they were in for their own country.

3. And now there arofe another war at Jerufalem. There was a fon of Giora, one Simon, by birth of Gerafa, a young man, not fo cunning indeed as John [of Gifchala] who had already feized upon the city, but fuperior in ftrength of body and courage; on which account, when he had driven away from that Acrabattene toparchy which he once had, by Ananus the high priest, he came to thofe robbers who had feized upon Mafada. At the firft they fufpected him, and only permitted him to come with the woman he brought with him, into the lower part of the fortrefs, while they dwelt in the upper part of it themfelves. However, his manner fo well agreed with theirs, and he seemed fo trufly a man, that he went out with them, and ravaged and deftroyed the country with them about Mafada; yet when he perfuaded them to undertake greater things, he could not prevail with them fo to do; for as they were accustomed to dwell in that citadel, they were a fraid of going far from that which was their hiding place; but he affecting to tyrannize, and being fond of greatnefs, when he

had heard of the death of Ananus he left them, and went into the mountainous part of the country. So he proclaimed liberty to thofe in flavery, and a reward to thofe already free, and got together a let of wicked men from all quarters.

4. And as he had now a strong body of men about him, he over-ran the villages that lay in the mountainous country, and when there were still more and more that came to him, he ventured to go down into the lower parts of the country, and fince he was now become formidable to the cities many of the men of power were corrupted by him; so that his army was no longer compofed of flaves and robbers, but a great many of the populace were obedient to him as to their king. He then over-ran the Acrabattene toparchy, and the places that reached as far as the Great Idumea; for he built a wall at a certain village called Nain, and made ufe of that as a fortress for his own party's fecurity; and at the valley called Pharan he enlarged many of the caves, and many others he found ready for his purpose; these he made ufe of as repofitories for his treasures, and receptacles for his prey, and therein he laid up the fruits that he had got by rapine; and many of his partizans had their dwelling in them, and he made no fecret of it that he was exercifing his men before hand, and making preparations for the affault of Jerufalem.

5. Whereupon the Zelotes, out of the dread they were in of his attacking them, and being willing to prevent one that was growing up to oppofe them, went out against him with their weapons. Simon met them, and joining battle with them flew a confiderable number of them, and drove the reft before him into the city, but durft not truft fo much upon his forces, as to make an affault upon the walls; but he refolved first to fubdue Idumea, and as he had now twenty thousand armed men, he marched to the borders of their country. Hereupon the rulers of the Idumeans got together on the fudden the most warlike part of their people, about twenty-five thoufand in number, and permitted the reft to be a guard to their own. country, by reafon of the incurfions that were made by the Sicarii that were at Mafada. Thus they received Simon at their borders, where they tought him, and continued the battle all that day, and the difpute lay whether they had conquered him or been conquered by him. So he went back to Nain, as did the Idumeans return home. Nor was it long ere Simon came violently again upon their country; when he pitched his camp at a certain village called Thecoe, and fent Eleazar, one of his companions to thofe that kept garrifon at Herodium, and in order to perfuade them to furrender that fortrefs to him. The garrifon received this man readily, while they knew of what he came about, but as foon as he talked of the furrender of the place, they fell upon him with their drawn fwords, till he found that he had no place for flight, when he threw himfell down from the wall into the valley beneath; fo VOL. IIk N n