by his ankle, as he was running away. The man was, however, of a robust body, and in his armour; fo low did Pedanius bend himfelt downward from his horfe, even as he was galloping away, and fo great was the ftrength of his right hand, and of the reft of his body, as alfo fuch skill had he in horfemanthip. So this man feized upon that his prey as upon a precious treafure, and carried him as his captive to Cæfar: Whereupon Titus admired the man that had feized the other for his great ftrength, and ordered the man that was caught to be punished with death for his attempt against the Roman wall, but betook himself to the fiege of the temple, and to preffing on the railing of the banks. 9. In the mean time, the Jews were fo diftreffed by the fights they had been in, as the war advanced higher and higher, and creeping up to the holy houfe itself, that they, as it were. cut off thofe limbs of their body which were infected, in order to prevent the diftemper's fpreading farther; for they fet the north-weft cloifter, which was joined to the tower of Antonia, on fire, and after that brake off about twenty cubits of that cloifter, and thereby made a beginning in burning the fanctuary: Two days after which, or on the twenty-fourth day of the forenamed month. [ Pànemus or Tamuz] the Ro mans fet fire to the cloifter that joined to the other, when the fire went fifteen cubits farther. The Jews in like manner cut off its roof; nor did they entirely leave off what they were about till the tower of Antonia was parted from the temple, even when it was in their power to have flopped the fire; nay, they lay ftill while the temple was first fet on fire,and deemed this fpreading of the fire to be for their own advantage. However, the armies were ftill fighting one against another about the temple, and the war was managed by continual fallies of particular parties against one another. 10. Now there was at this time a man among the Jews; low of flature he was, and of a defpicable appearance; of no charafter either as to his family, or in other refpects: His name was Jonathan. He went out at the high priest John's monu ment, and uttered many other infolent things to the Romans, and challenged the beft of them all to a fingle combat. But many of thofe that flood there in the army huffed him, and many of them (as they might well be) were afraid of him. Some of them alfo reafoned thus, and that juftly enough, that it was not fit to fight with a man that defired to die. becaufe thofe that utterly defpaired of deliverance had, befides other paffions, a violence in attacking men that could not be oppofed, and had no regard to God himself; and that to hazard one's felt with a perfon, whom, if you overcome, you do no great matter, and by whom it is hazardous that you may be taken prifoner, would be an inftance not of manly courage, but of unmanly rafhnefs. So there being no body that came out to accept the man's challenge, and the Jew cutting them with at great number of reproaches. as cowards, (for he was a very haughty man in himself, and a great defpifer of the Romans), one whose name was Pudens, of the body of horsemen, out of his abomination of the other's words, and of his impudence withal, and perhaps out of an inconfiderate arrogance, on account of the other's lownels of ftature, ran out to him, and was too hard for him in other refpe&s. but was betrayed by his fortune; for he fell down, and as he was down, Jonathan came running to him, and cut his throat, and then standing upon his dead body, he brandifhed his fword, bloody as it was, and shook his fhield with his left hand, and made many acclamations to the Roman army, and infulted over the dead man, and jefted upon the Romans; till at length one Prifcus a centurion fhot a dart at him, as he was leaping and playing the fool with himfelt, and thereby pierced him through: Upon which a fhout was fet up both by the Jews and the Romans, though on different accounts. So Jonathan grew giddy by the pain of his wounds, and fell down upon the body of his adversary, as a plain inftance how fuddenly vengeance may come upon men that have fuccefs in war, without any jult deferving the fame. CHAP. 111. Concerning a Stratagem that was Devifed by the Jews, by which they Burnt many of the Romans; with another Defcription of the Terrible Famine that was in the City. §1. BUT UT now the feditious that were in the temple did every day openly endeavour to beat off the foldiers that were upon the banks, and on the twenty-feventh day of the forenamed month [Panemus or Tamuz] contrived fuch a ftratagem as this: They filled that part of the western cloif ter which was between the beams, and the roof under them, with dry materials, as alfo with bitumen and pitch, and then retired from that place, as though they were tired with the pains they had taken; at which procedure of theirs many of the most inconfiderate among the Romans, who were carried away with violent paffions, followed hard after them as they were retiring, and applied ladders to the cloifter, and got up to it fuddenly: But the prudenter part of them, when they understood this unaccountable retreat of the Jews, ftood ftill where they were before. However, the cloitter was full of thofe that were gone up the ladders; at which time the Jews fet it all on fire; and as the flame burst out every where on the fudden, the Romans that were out of the danger were feized with a very great confternation, as were thofe that were in the midft of the danger in the utmost diftrefs. So when they perceived themselves furrounded with the flames, fome of * Of the Court of the Gentiles. them threw themielves down backwards into the city, and fome among their enemies [in the temple]; as did many leap down to their own men, and broke their limbs to pieces: But a great number of thofe that were going to take thefe violent methods, were prevented by the fire; though some prevented the fire by their own fwords. However, the fire was on the fudden carried fo far as to furround those who would have otherwife perished. As for Cæfar himself, he could not, however, but commiserate those that thus perished, although they got up thither without any order for fo doing, fince there was no way of giving them any relief. Yet was this fome comfort to thole that were deftroyed, that every body might fee that person grieve, for whofe fake they came to their end; for he cried out openly to them, and leaped up, and exhorted those that were about him to do their utmoft to relieve them. So every one of them died cheerfully, as carrying along with him these words, and this intention of Cæfar as a fepulchral monument. Some there were indeed who retired into the wall of the cloifter which was broad, and were preferved out of the fire, but were then furrounded by the Jews; and although they made refiftance against the Jews for a long time, yet were they wounded by them, and at length they all fell down dead. 2. At the last a young man among them, whofe name was Longus, became a decoration to this fad affair, and while every one of them that perifhed were worthy of a memorial, this man appeared to deferve it beyond all the reft. Now the Jews admired this man for his courage, and were farther defirous of having him flain; fo they perfuaded him to come, down to them, upon fecurity given him for his life. But Cornelius his brother perfuaded him on the contrary, not to tarnish their own glory, nor that of the Roman army. He complied with this laft advice, and lifting up his fword before both armies, he flew himfelt. Yet was there one Artorius among thofe furrounded with the fire, who escaped by his fubtilty for when he had with a loud voice called to him Lucius, one of his fellow foldiers that lay with him in the fame tent, and faid to him, "I do leave thee heir of all I have, if thou wilt come and receive me." Upon this he came running to receive him readily: Artorius then threw himself down upon him, and faved his own life, while he that receiv. ed him was dafhed fo vehemently against the ftone pavement by the other's weight, that he died immediately. This melancholy accident made the Romans fad for a while, but fill it made them more upon their guard for the future, and was of advantage to them against the delufions of the Jews, by which they were greatly damaged through their unacquaintednels with the places, and with the nature of the inhabitants. Now this cloiffer was burnt down as far as John's tower, which he built in the war he made againft Simon, over the gates that led to the Xyflus. The Jews alfo cut off the reft of that cloif ter from the temple, after they had deftroyed those that got up to it. But the next day the Romans burnt down the northern cloister, entirely as far as the east cloifter, whofe common angle joined to the valley that was called Cedron, and was built over it; on which account the depth was frightful. And this was the state of the temple at that time. 3. Now, of thofe that perished by famine in the city, the number was prodigious, and the miferies they underwent were unspeakable; for if fo much as the shadow of any kind of food did any where appear, a war was commenced prefently, and the dearest friends fell a-fighting one with another about it, fnatching from each other the moft miferable supports of life. Nor would men believe that those who were dying had no food, but the robbers would fearch them when they were expiring, left any one fhould have concealed food in their bofoms, and counterfeited dying: Nay, these robbers gaped for want, and an about ftumbling and staggering along like mad dogs, and reeling against the doors of the houses, like drunken men; they would allo, in the great diftrefs they were in, rush into the very fame houses two or three times in one and the fame day. Moreover, their hunger was fo intolerable, that it obliged them to chew every thing, while they gathered fuch things as the moft fordid animals would not touch, and endured to eat them; nor did they at length abftain from girdles and fhoes, and the very leather which beJonged to their fhields they pulled off and gnawed: The very wifps of old hay became food to fome, and fome gathered up fibres, and fold a very fmall weight of them for tour Attic [drachmæ. But why do I defcribe the fhameless impudence that the famine brought on men in their eating inanimate things while I am going to relate a matter of fact, the like to which no hiftory relates*, either among the Greeks or Barbarians. It is horrible to fpeak of it, and incredible when heard. I had indeed willingly omitted this calamity of ours, that I might not seem to deliver what is fo portentous to pofterity, but that I have innumerable witneffes to it in my own * What Jofephus obferves here, that no parallel examples had been recorded before his time of such fieges, wherein mothers were forced by extremity of famine to eat their own children, as had been threatened to the Jews in the law of Moles upon obftinate disobedience, and more than once fulfilled (see my Boyle s Lectures, P. 210-214), is by Dr. Hudson supposed to have had two or three parallel examples in later ages. He might have had more examples I fuppofe of persons on fhip-board, or in a defert island, cafting lots for each other's bodies; but all this was only in cafes where they knew of no poffible way to avoid death themselves, but by killing and eating others. Whether fuch examples come up to the prefent cafe, may be doubted. The Romans were not only willing, but very defirous to grant those Jews in Jerufalem both their lives and their liberties, and to fave both their city and their temple. But the Zelotes, the robbers, and the feditious, would hearken to no terms of fubmission. They voluntarily chofe to reduce the citizens to that extremity, as to force mothers to this unnatural barbarity, which, in all its circumstances, has not, I ftill fuppofe, been hitherto paralleled among the rest of mankind. age; and befides, my country would have had little reafon to thank me for fupprefling the miferies that the underwent at this time. 4. There was a certain woman that dwelt beyond Jordan, her name was Mary; her father was Eleazar, of the village Bethezub, which fignifies the houfe of Hyffop. She was eminent for her family and her wealth, and had fled away to Jerufalem with the reft of the multitude, and was with them befieged therein at this time. The other effects of this woman had been already feized upon, fuch I mean as he had brought with her out of Perea, and removed to the city. What the had treasured up befides, as alfo what food fhe had contrived to fave, had been alfo carried off by the rapacious guards, who came every day running into her house for that purpose. This put the poor woman into a very great paffion, and by the frequent reproaches and imprecations fhe caft at these rapacious villains, the had provoked them to anger against her; but none of them, either out of the indignation fhe had raifed against herfell, or out of commiferation of her cafe, would take away her life: And if the found any food, the perceived her labours were for others, and not for herself; and it was now become impoffible for her any way to find any more food, while the famine pierced through her very bowels and marrow, when also her paffion was fired to a degree beyond the famine itfelf: Nor did fhe confult with any thing but with her paffion and the neceflity fhe was in. She then attempted a most unnatural thing, and, fnatching up her fon who was a child fucking at her breaft, the faid, "O thou miferable infant! for whom fhall I preferve thee in this war, this famine, and this fedition? As to the war with the Romans, if they preserve our lives, we must be flaves. This famine alfo will deftroy us even before that flavery comes upon us. Yet are thefe feditious rogues more terrible than both the other. Come on; be thou my food, and be thou a fury to these feditious varlets and a by-word to the world; which is all that is now wanting to complete the calamities of us Jews." As foon as fhe had laid this, he flew her fon, and then roasted him, and eat the one half of him, and kept the other half by her concealed. Upon this the feditious came in prefently, and fmelling the horrid fcent of this food, they threatened her, that they would cut her throat immediately if he did not thew them what food fhe had gotten ready. She replied, That" fhe had faved a very fine portion of it for them;" and withal uncovered what was left of her fon. Hereupon they were feized with an horror and amazement of mind, and flood aftonished at the fight, when the faid to them," This is mine own fon, and what hath been done was mine own doing. Come, eat of this food; for I have eaten of it my felf. Do not you pretend to be either more tender than a woman, or more compaffionate than a mother: But if you be fo fcrupulous, and do abominate this my |