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2. Now when Judas, the fon of Judas, who was one of Si mon's under officers, and a perfon entrusted by him to keep one of the towers, faw this procedure of Simon, he called together ten of thofe under him, that were most faithful to him (perhaps this was done partly out of pity to thofe that had fo barbaroufly been put to death, but principally in order to provide for his own fafety), and fpake thus to them: "How long fhall we bear these miseries? or what hopes have we of deliverance by thus continuing faithful to fuch wicked wretches? Is not the famine already come against us? Are not the Romans in a manner gotten within the city? Is not Simon become unfaithful to his benefactors? and is there not reason to fear he will very foon bring us to the like punishment, while the fecurity the Romans offer us is fure ? Come on, let us furrender up this wall, and fave ourselves and the city. Nor will Simon be very much hurt, if, now he defpairs of deliv. erance, he be brought to juftice a little fooner than he thinks on.' Now thefe ten were prevailed upon by thofe arguments; fo he sent the rest of those that were under him, fome one way, and fome another, that no discovery might be made of what they had refolved upon. Accordingly he called to the Romans from the tower about the third hour, but they, fome of them out of pride, defpifed what he faid, and others of them did not believe him to be in earneft, though the greateft number delayed the matter, as believing they should get poffeffion of the city in a little time, without any hazard. But when Titus was juft coming thither with his armed men, Simon was acquainted with the matter before he came, and prefently took the tower into his own cuftody, before it was furrendered, and feized upon thefe men, and put them to death in the fight of the Romans themselves; and when he had mangled their dead bodies, he threw them down before the wall the city.

3. In the mean time Jofephus, as he was going round the city, had his head wounded by a stone that was thrown at him; upon which he fell down as giddy. Upon which fall of his the Jews made a fally, and he had been hurried away into the city, if Cæfar had not fent men to protect him immediately; and, as thefe men were fighting, Jofephus was taken up, though he heard little of what was done. So the feditious fuppofed they had now flain that man whom they were the most defirous of killing, and made thereupon a great noise in way of rejoicing. This accident was told in the city; and the mul titude that remained became very difconfolate at the news, as being perfuaded that he was really dead, on whofe account alone they could venture to defert to the Romans. But when Jofephus's mother heard in prifon that her fon was dead, the faid to thofe that watched about her, that "fhe had always been of opinion, fince the fiege of Jotapata, [that he would be lain], and the thould never enjoy him alive any more." She

alfo made great lamentation privately to the maid fervants that were about her, and faid, "That this was all the advantage the had of bringing fo extraordinary a perfon as this fon into the world, that the fhould not be able even to bury that fon of hers, by whom she expected to have been buried herfelt." However, this falfe report did not put his mother to pain, nor afford merriment to the robbers long; for Jofephus foon recovered of his wound, and came out, and cried out aloud, "That it would not be long ere they should be punished for this wound they had given him." He alfo made a fresh exhortation to the people to come out upon the fecurity that would be given them. This fight of Jofephus encouraged the people greatly, and brought a great confternation upon the feditious.

4. Hereupon fome of the deferters, having no other way leaped down from the wall immediately, while others of them went out of the city with ftones, as if they would fight them; but thereupon they fled away to the Romans. But here a worfe fate accompanied thefe, than what they had found within the city; and they met with a quicker difpatch from the too great abundance they had among the Romans, than they could have done from the famine among the Jews; for when they came first to the Romans, they were puffed up by the famine, and fwelled like men in a dropfy; after which they all on the fudden overfilled those bodies that were before empty, and fo burft afunder, excepting fuch only as were fkilful enough to restrain their appetites, and by degrees took in their food into bodies unaccustomed thereto. Yet did another plague feize upon those that were thus preserved; for there was found among the Syrian deferters a certain perfon who was caught gathering pieces of gold out of the excrements of the Jews bellies; for the deferters used to fwallow fuch pieces of gold, as we told you before, when they came out; and for thefe did the feditious fearch them all; for there was a great quantity of gold in the city, infomuch that as much was now fold [in the Roman camp] for twelve Attic [drams], as was fold before for twenty-five. But when this contrivance was difcovered in one inftance, the fame of it filled their feveral camps, that the deferters came to them full of gold. So the multitude of the Arabians with the Syrians, cut up thole that came as fuppli cants, and searched their bellies. Nor does it feem to me, thas any mifery befel the Jews that was more terrible than this, fince in one night's time about two thousand of thefe delerters were thus diffected.

5. When Titus came to the knowledge of this wicked practice, he had like to have furrounded thofe that had been guilty of it with his horfe, and have fhot them dead; and he had done it, had not their number been fo very great, and thole that were liable to this punishment would have been manifold, more than those whom they had flain. However, he called together the

commanders of the Roman legions, (for fome of his own foldiers had been alfo guilty herein, as he had been informed), and had great indignation against both forts of them, "What? have any of my own foldiers done fuch things as this out of the uncertain hope of gain, without regarding their own wea pons, which are made of filver and gold? Moreover, do the Arabians and Syrians now first of all begin to govern themfelves as they please and to indulge their appetites in a foreign war, and then, out of their barbarity in murdering men, and out of their hatred to the Jews, and get it afcribed to the Romans?" for this infamous practice was faid to be spread among fome of his own foldiers alfo. Titus then threatened, that he would put fuch men to death, if any of them were dif covered to be fo infolent as to do fo again; moreover he gave it in charge to the legions, that they fhould make a fearch after fuch as were fufpected and fhould bring them to him. But it appeared that the love of money was too hard for all their dread of punishment, and a vehement defire of gain is natural to men, and no paffion is fo venturefome as covetoufnefs; otherwise fuch paffions have certain bounds, and are fubordinate to fear. But in reality it was God who condemned the whole nation, and turned every courfe that was taken for their preservation to their deftruction. This, therefore, which was forbidden by Cæfar under fuch a threatening was ventured upon privately against the deferters, and these barbarians would go out still, and meet those that ran away before any faw them, and looking about them to fee that no Roman fpied them, they diffected them, and pulled this polluted money out of their bowels; which money was flill found in a few of them, while yet a great many were deftroyed by the bare hope there was of thus getting by them; which miferable treatment made many that were deferting to return back again into the city.

6. But as for John, when he could no longer plunder the peo ple, he betook himfelt to facrilege, and melted down many of the facred utenfils, which had been given to the temple, as alfo many of thofe veffels which were neceffary for fuch as minitered about holy things, the caldrons, the difhes, and the tables; nay, he did not abftain from thofe pouring veffels that were fent them by Auguftus and his wife; for the Roman Emperors did ever both honour and adorn this temple; whereas this man, who was a Jew, feized upon what were the donations of foreigners, and faid to thofe that were with him, that it was proper for them to ufe divine things, while they were fighting for the di vinity, without fear, and that fuch whofe warfare is for the temple fhould live of the temple: On which account he emptied the veffels of that facred wine and oil, which the priefts kept to be poured on the burnt-offerings, and which lay in the inner court of the temple, and diftributed it among the multitude, who in their anointing themselves, and drink. ing, ufed [each of them] above an hin of them. And here

I cannot but speak my mind, and what the concern I am under dictates to me, and it is this: 1 fuppofe, that had the Romans made any longer delay in coming against these villians, that the city would either have been fwallowed up by the ground opening upon them, or been overflowed by water, or elfe been deftroyed by fuch thunder as the country of Sodom * perished by, for it had brought forth a generation of men. much more atheiftical than were thofe that fuffered fuch punifhments; for by their madness it was that all the people came to be deftroyed.

7. And, indeed, why do I relate thefe particular calamities? while Manneus, the fon of Lazarus, came running to Titus at this very time, and told him, that there had been carried out through that one gate, which was intrufted to his care, no fewer than an hundred and fifteen thousand eight hundred and eighty dead bodies, in the interval between the fourteenth day of the month Xanthicus, [Nifan], when the Romans pitched their camp by the city, and the first day of the month Panemus, [Tamuz]. This was itfelf a prodigious multitude: And though this man was not himself fet as a governor at that gate, yet was he appointed to pay the public ftipend for carrying these bodies out, and fo was obliged of neceffity to number them, while the reft were buried by their relations; though all their burial was but this, to bring them away, and caft them out of the city. After this man there ran away to Titus many of the eminent citizens, and told him the entire number of the poor that were dead, and that, no fewer than fix hundred thoufand were thrown out at the gates; though ftill the number of the reft could not be difcovered: And they told him farther, that, when they were no longer able to carry out the dead bodies of the poor, they laid their corpfes on heaps in very large houfes, and thut them up therein; as alfo that a medimnus of wheat was fold for a talent, and that when, a while afterward, it was not poffible to gather herbs, by reafon the city was all walled about, fome perfons were driven to that terrible diftrefs as to fearch the common fhores and old dunghills of cattle, and to eat the dung which they got there; and what they of old could not endure fo much as to fee, they now used for food. When the Romans barely heard all this, they commiferated their cafe; while the feditious, who faw it alfo, did not repent, but fuffered the fame diftrefs to come upon themselves; for they were blinded by that fate which was already coming upon the city and upon themselves alfo.

Jofephus, both here and before, B. IV. ch. viii. § 4. efteems the land of Sodom, not as part of the Lake Afphaltites, or under its waters, but near it only, as Tacitus alfo took the fame notion from him, Hift. V. vi. 7. which the great Reland takes to be the very truth, both in his note on this place, and in his Palestina, tom. I. p. 854-258; though I rather fuppofe part of that region of Pentapolis to be now under the waters of the fouth part of that sea, but perhaps not the whole countrys VOL. II.

X X

BOOK VI.

Containing the Interval of about one month.

[From the great Extremity to which the Jews were reduced, to the taking of Jerufalem by TITUS.]

CHAP. I.

That the Mileries of the Jews ftill grew worse; and how the Romans made an Affault upon the Tower of Antonia.

T

§ 1. THUS did the miferies of Jerufalem grow worfe and worfe every day, and the feditious were ftill more irritated by the calamities they were under, even while the famine preyed upon themfelves, after it had preyed upon the people. And indeed the multitude of carcaffes that lay in heaps one upon another, was an horrible fight, and produced a peftilential ftench, which was an hindrance to thofe that would make fallies out of the city, and fight the enemy But as those were to go in battle-array, who had been already uled to ten thousand murders, and muft tread upon those dead bodies as they marched along, fo were not they terrified, nor did they pity men as they marched over them; nor did they deem this affront offered to the deceased to be any ill omen to themfelves; but as they had their right hands already polluted with the murders of their own countrymen, and in that condition ran out to fight with foreigners they feem to me to have caft a reproach upon God himlelf, as if he were too flow in punishing them: For the war was not now gone on with, as if they had any hope of victory; for they gloried after a brutish manner in that defpair of deliverance they were already in. And now the Romans, although they were greatly dif treffed in getting together their materials, raifed their banks in one and twenty days after they had cut down all the trees that were in the country that adjoined to the city, and that for ninety furlongs round about, as I have already related. And truly the very view itself was a melancholy thing; for thofe places which were before adorned with trees and pleasant gardens, were now become a defolate country every way, and its trees were all cut down: Nor could any foreigner that had formerly feen Judea and the most beautiful fuburbs of the city, and now faw it as a defert, but lament and mourn fadly at fo great a change; for the war had laid all the figns of beauty quite wafte; nor if any one that had known the place before had come on a fudden to it now, would he have known it again; but though he were at the city itfelf, yet would he have inquired for it notwithstanding.

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