is bringing on this fire to purge that city and temple by means of the Romans, and is going to pluck up this city, which is full of your pollutions."

2. As Jofephus fpake these words, with groans, and tears in his eyes, his voice was intercepted by fobs. However, the Romans could not but pity the affliction he was under, and wonder at his conduct, But for John, and thofe that were with him, they were but the more exafperate against the Romans on this account, and were defirous to get Jofephus also into their power: Yet did that difcourfe influence a great many of the better fort; and truly fome of them were lo afraid of the guards fet by the feditious, that they tarried where they were, but ftill were fatisfied that both they and the city were doomed to deftruction. Some alfo there were, who, watching a proper opportunity, when they might quietly get way, fled to the Romans, of whom were the high-priefts Jofeph and Jefus, and of the fons of high-priests three, whose father was Ithmael, who was beheaded in Cyrene, and four fons of Matthias, as alfo one fon of the other Matthias, who ran a way *after his father's death, and whose father was flain by Simon, the son of Gioras, with three of his fons, as I have already related; many alto of the other nobility went over to the Romans, together with the high-priefts. Now Cæfar not only received these men very kindly in other refpects, but, knowing they would not willingly live after the customs of other nations, he fent them to Gophna, and defired them to remain there for the prefent, and told them, that when he was gotten clear of this war, he would reftore each of them to their poffeffions again: So they cheerfully retired to that small city which was allotted them, without fear of any danger. But as they did not appear, the feditious gave out again, that thefe deferters were flain by the Romans, which was done in order to deter the reft trom running away, by fear of the like treatment. This trick of theirs fucceeded now for a while, as did the like trick before; for the reft were hereby deterred from deferting, by fear of the like treatment.

3. However when Titus had recalled those men from Goph na, he gave orders that they fhould go round the wall, together with Jofephus and fhew themfelves to the people; upon which agreat many fled to the Romans. Thele allogot in argeat number together, and stood before the Romans, and befought the feditious, with groans, and tears in their eyes, in the first place to receive the Romans entirely into the city, and fave that their own place of refidence again; but that, if they would

* Jofephus had before told us, Book V. chap. xiii. fect. 1. Vol. III. that this fourth fon of Matthias ran away to the Romans before his father's and brethren's flaughter, and not after it, as here. The former account is, in all probability, the trucit; for had not that fourth fon efcaped before the others were caught and put to death, he had been caught and put to death with them, This laft account therefore boks like an inflange of a small inadvertence of Jofephus in the place before us,

not agree to fuch a propofal, they would at least depart out of the temple, and fave the holy houfe for their own ufe; for that the Romans would not venture to set the sanctuary on fire, but under the most preffing neceffity. Yet did the feditious fill more and more contradict them; and while they caft loud and bitter reproaches upon thefe delerters, they also set their engines for throwing of darts, and javelins, and stones, upon the facred gates of the temple, at due distances from one another, infomuch, that all the space round about, within the temple, might be compared to a burying-ground, fo great was the number of the dead bodies therein; as might the holy house itfelt be compared to a citadel. Accordingly these men rushed upon thele holy places in their armour, that were otherwife unapproachable and that while their hands were yet warm with the blood of their own people, which they had shed: Nay, they proceeded to fuch great tranfgreffions, that the very fame indignation which Jews would naturally have againft Romans, had they been guilty of fuch abuses against them, the Romans had now against Jews, for their impiety in regard to their own religious cuftoms. Nay, indeed, there were none of the Roman foldiers, who did not look with a facred horror upon the holy houfe, and adored it, and wifhed that the robbers would repent before their miferies became incurable.

4. Now Titus was deeply affected with this ftate of things, and reproached John and his party, and faid to them," Have not you, vile wretches that you are, by our permiffion put up this partition-wall* before your fanctuary? Have not you been allowed to put up the pillars thereto belonging, at due diftances, and on it to engrave in Greek, and in your own letters this prohibition, That no foreigner thould go beyond that wall? Have not we given you leave to kill fuch as go beyond it, though he were a Roman? And what do you do now, you pernicious villains? Why do you trample upon dead bodies in this temple ? and why do you pollute this holy house with the blood of both foreigners and Jews themselves? I appeal to the gods of my own country, and to every god that ever had any regard to this place; (for I do not fuppofe it to be now regarded by any of them); I alfo appeal to my own army, and to thofe Jews that are now with me, and even to you yourselves, that I do not force you to defile this your fanctuary; and if you will but change the place whereon you will fight, no Roman fhall either come near your fanctuary, or offer any affront to it; nay, I will endeavour to preserve you your holy houfe, whether you will or no t."

5. As Jofephus explained these things from the mouth of

Of this partition-wall feparating Jews and Gentiles, with its pillars and infcription, fee the description of the temples, chap. xv

+ That these feditious Jews were the direct occafions of their own deftruction, and of the conflagration of their city and temple, and that Titus earnestly and con fantly laboured to fave both, is here and every where most evident is Jofephus.

Cæfar, both the robbers and the tyrant thought that these exhortations proceeded from Titus' fear, and not from his goodwill to them, and grew infolent upon it. But when Titus faw that these men were neither to be moved by commiferation towards themselves, nor had any concern upon them to have the holy houfe fpared, he proceeded unwillingly to go on with the war again against them. He could not indeed bring all his army against them, the place was fo narrow; but chooling thirty foldiers of the most valiant out of every hundred, and committing a thousand to each tribune, and making Cerealis the commander in chief, he gave orders that they should attack the guards of the temple about the ninth hour of that night. But as he was now in his armour, and preparing to go down with them, his friends would not let him go by reafon of the greatness of the danger, and what the commanders fuggefted to them; for they faid, that "he would do more by fitting above in the tower of Antonia as a difpenfer of rewards fo thofe foldiers that fignalized themselves in the fight, than by coming down and hazarding his own perfon in the forefront of them; for that they would all fight ftoutly, while Cæfar looked upon them." With this advice Cæfar complied, and faid, that "the only reafon he had for fuch compli ance with the foldiers was this, that he might be able to judge of their courageous actions and that no valiant foldier might lie concealed, and mifs of his reward, and no cowardly foldier might go unpunished; but that he might himself be an eye- witness, and able to give evidence of all that was done, who was to be the difpofer of punishments and rewards to them." So he fent the foldiers about their work at the hour forementioned, while he went out himself to an higher place in the tower of Antonia, whence he might fee what was done, and there waited with impatience to fee the event.

6. However, the foldiers that were fent did not find the guards of the temple afleep, as they hoped to have done, but were obliged to fight with them immediately hand to hand, as they rufhed with violence upon them with a great shout. Now, as foon as the reft within the temple heard that shout of thofe that were upon the watch, they ran out in troops upon them. Then did the Romans receive the onset of those that came firft upon them; but thofe that followed them tell upon their own troops, and many of them treated their own foldiers as if they had been enemies; for the great confused noise that was made on both fides hindered them from diftinguishing one another's voices, as did the darknefs of the night hinder them from the like diftinétion by the fight; befides that blindnefs which arofe otherwife alfo from the paffion and the fear they were in at the fame time: For which reafon it was all one to the foldiers who it was they ftruck at. However, this ignorance did lefs harm to the Romans than to the Jews, because they were joined together under their fhields, and made their fallies

more regularly than the others did, and each of them remembered their watch-word; while the Jews were perpetually difperfed abroad, and made their attacks and retreats at random, and fo did frequently feem to one another to be enemies; for every one of them received thofe of their own men that came back in the dark as Romans, and made an affault upon them; fo that more of them were wounded by their own men than by the enemy, till, upon the coming of the day, the nature of the fight was difcerned by the eye afterward. Then did they stand in battle array in diftin&t bodies, and caft their darts regularly, and regularly defended themselves. Nor did either fide yield, or grow weary. The Romans contended with each other who fhould fight the moft ftrenuously, both fingle men and entire regiments, as being under the eye of Titus; and every one concluded, that this day would begin his promotion, if he fought bravely. What were the great encouragements of the Jews to act vigorously were, their fear for themfelves and for the temple, and the prefence of their tyrant, who exhorted fome, and beat and threatened others, to act courageously. Now, it fo happened, that this fight was for the most part a flationary one, wherein the foldiers went on and came back in a fhort time and fuddenly; for there was no long space of ground for either of their flights or purfuits. But ftill there was a tumultuous noife among the Romans from the tower of Antonia, who loudly cried out upon all occafions to their own men, to prefs on courageously, when they were too hard for the Jews, and to ftay, when they were retiring backward: So that here was a kind of theatre of war; for what was done in this fight could not be concealed either from Titus or from thofe that were about him. At length it appeared that this fight, which began at the ninth hour of the night, was not over till past the fitth hour of the day, and that, in the fame place where the battle began, neither party could fay they had made the other to retire; but both the armies left the victorv almoft in uncertainty between them; wherein thofe that fignalized themselves on the Roman fide were a great many, but on the Jewish fide, and of those that were with Simon, Judas the son of Merto, and Simon the fon of Jofas; of the Idumeans, James and Simon, the latter of whom was the fon of Cathlas, and James was the fon of Sofas; of thole that were with John, Gyptheus and Alexas, and of the Zelotes, Simon the fon of Jairus.

7. In the mean time, the reft of the Roman army had, in feven days time overthrown [fome] foundations of the tower of Antonia, and had made a ready and broad way to the temple. Then did the legions come near to the first court*, and began to raise their banks. The one bank was over against the northweft corner of the inner temple t; another was at that northern edifice which was between the two gates: Of the other two, one was at the western cloister of the outer court of the temple; Court of the Gentiles.

+ Court of Ifrael.

the other against its northern cloffter. However, these works were thus far advanced by the Romans, not without great pains and difficulty, and particularly by being obliged to bring their materials from the diftance of an hundred furlongs. They had farther difficulties alfo upon them; fometimes by their over-great fecurity they were in that they fhould overcome the Jewish fnares laid for them, and by that boldness of the Jews which their defpair of elcaping had inspired them withal; for fome of their horfemen, when they went out to gather wood or hay, let their horfes feed, without having their bridles on. during the time of foraging; upon which horfes the Jews fallied out in whole bodies, and feized them. And when this was continually done, and Cæfar believed, what the truth was, that the horses were ftolen more by the negligence of his own men than by the valour of the Jews, he determined to ufe greater severity to oblige the reft to take care of their horfes: So he commanded that one of those soldiers who loft their horses should be capitally punished; whereby he fo terrified the reft, that they preferved their horfes for the time to come; for they did not any longer let them go from them to feed by themfelves, but as if they had grown to them, they went always along with them when they wanted neceffaries. Thus did the Romans ftill continue to make war against the temple, and to raise their banks against it.

8. Now, after one day had been interpofed fince the Romans afcended the breach, many of the feditious were fo preffed by the famine upon the prefent failure of their ravages, that they got together, and made an attack on those Roman guards that were upon the Mount of Olives, and this about the eleventh hour of the day, as fuppofing firft, that they would not expect fuch an onfet, and in the next place, that they were then taking care of their bodies, and that therefore they should easily beat them. But the Romans were apprized of their coming to attack them beforehand, and running together from the neighbouring camps on the fudden, prevented them from getting over their fortification, or forcing the wall that was built about them. Upon this came on a harp fight, and here many great actions were performed on both fides; while the Romans fhewed both their courage and their fkill in war, as did the Jews come on them with immoderate violence, and intolerable paffion. The one part were urged on by fhame, and the other by neceflity; for it seemed a very fhameful thing to the Romans to let the Jews go, now they were taken in a kind of net; while the Jews had but one hope of faving themselves, and that was in cafe they could by violence break through the Roman wall; and one whose name was Pedanius, belonging to a party of horsemen, when the Jews were already beaten and forced down into the valley together, fpurred his horfe on their flank with great vehemence, and caught up a certain young man belonging to the enemy VOL. III.

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