because it lay in the open air. In the mean time the fame of this earthquake elevated the Arabians to greater courage, and this by augmenting it to a fabulous height, as is conftantly the cafe in melancholy accidents, and pretending that all Judea was overthrown; upon this fuppofal, therefore, that they thould eafily get a land that was deffitute of inhabitants into their power, they first facrificed thofe ambaffadors who were come to them from the Jews, and then marched into Judea immediately. Now the Jewish nation were affrighted at this invafion, and quite difpirited at the greatnefs of their calamities one after another; whom yet Herod got together, and endeavoured to defend themfelves by the following fpeech which he made

to them.

4." The prefent dread you are under, feems to me to have feized upon you very unreafonably. It is true, you might juftly be dilmayed at that providential chaftifement which hath befallen you; but to fuffer yourselves to be equally terrified at the invafion of men, is unmanly. As for my felt, I am fo far from being affrighted at our enemies after this earthquake, that I imagine that God hath thereby laid a bait for the Arabians. that we may be avenged on them; for their prefent invafion proceeds more from our accidental misfortunes, than that they have any great dependence on their weapons, or their own fitness for action. Now that hope which depends not on mens own power, but on others ill fuccefs, is a very ticklish thing; for there is no certainty among men, either in their bad or good fortunes; but we may cably obferve, that fortune is mutable, and goes from one fide to another; And this you may readily learn from examples among ourfelves; for when you were once victors in the former fight, your enemies overcome you at laft; and very likely it will now happen fo, that thefe who think themselves fure of beating you, will themselves be beaten. For, when men are very confident, they are not upon their guard, while fear teaches men to act with caution; infomuch, that I venture to prove from your very timoroufnefs, that you ought to take courage; for when you were more bold than you ought to have been, and then I would have had you, and marched on, Athenio's treachery took place; but your prefent flownefs and feeming dejelion of mind, is 40 me a pledge and affurance of vitiory. And indeed it is proper beforehand to be thus provident; but when we come to action, we ought to erect our minds and to make our enemies, be they ever fo wicked, believe, that neither any human, no, nor any providential misfortune, can ever deprefs the courage of Jews while they are alive; nor will any of them ever overlook an Arabian, or fuffer fuch an one to become lord of his good things, whom he has in a manner taken captive, and that many times alfo. And do not you difturb yourfelves at the quaking of inanimate creatures, nor do you imagine that this earthquake is another fign of another calamity; for fuch affections

of the elements are according to the courfe of nature, nor does it import any thing farther to men, than what mifchief it does immediately of itfelf. Perhaps there may come fome fhort fign beforehand in the cafe of peftilences, and famines, and earthquakes; but thefe calamities themselves have their force limited by themfelves, without foreboding any other calamity. And indeed what greater mifchief can the war, though it thould be a violent one, do to us, than the earthquake hath done? Nay, their is a fignal of our enemies destruction visible, and that a very great one alfo; and this is not a natural one, nor derived from the hand of foreigners neither, but it is this, that they have barbaroufly murdered our ambaf fadors, contrary to the common law of mankind; and they have deftroyed fo many, as if they efteemed them facrifices for God, in relation to this war. But they will not avoid his great eye nor his invincible right hand; and we shall be revenged of them prefently in cafe we ftill retain any of the courage of our forefathers, and rife up boldly to punish these covenant breakers. Let every one therefore go on and fight, not fo much for his wife or his children, or for the danger his country is in, as for these ambaffadors of ours; thofe dead ambaffadors will conduct this war of ours better than we ourfelves who are alive. And if you will be ruled by me. I will my felt go before you into danger; for you know this well enough, that your courage is irrefiftable, unless you hurt yourfelves by acting rafhly*.'

5. When Herod had encouraged them by this speech, and he faw with what alacrity they went he offered facrifice to God; and after that facrifice he paffed over the river Jordan with his army, and pitched his camp about Philadelphia, near the enemy, and about a fortification that lay between them. He then hot at them at a distance, and was defirous to come to an engagement prefently; for fome of them had been fent beforehand to feize upon that fortification: But the king fent fome who immediately beat them out of the fortification, while he himself went in the forefront of the army, which he put in battle array every day, and invited the Arabians to fight. But as none of them came out of their camp, for they were in a terrible fright, and their general, Elthemus, was not able to fay a word for fear; fo Herod came upon them, and pulled their fortification to pieces, by which means they were compelled to come out to fight, which they did in disorder, and fo that the horfemen and footmen were mixed together. They were indeed fuperior to the Jews in number, but inferior to their alacrity, although they were obliged to expofe themselves to danger by their very defpair of victory.

This fpeech of Herod is fet down twice by Jofephus here, and Antiq. B. XV. ch. v. fect 3. Vol. II to the very faine purpote, but by no means in the fame words; whence it appears, that the fenfe was Herod's, but the composition Jofephus's.

6. Now while they made oppofition, they had not a great number flain; but as, foon as they turned their backs, a great many were trodden to pieces by the Jews, and a great many by themselves, and fo perifhed, till five thousand were fallen down dead in their flight while the reft of the multitude prevented their immediate death, by crowding into the fortification. Herod encompaffed thefe round, and befieged them; and while they were ready to be taken by their enemies in arms, they had another additional diftrefs upon them, which was thirt and want of water; for the king was above hearkening to their ambaffadors, and when they offered five hundred talents, as the price of their redemption, he preffed ftill hard. er upon them. And as they were burnt up by their thirst, they came out and voluntarily delivered themfelves up by multitudes to the Jews, till in five days time, tour thousand of them were put into bonds; and on the fixth day the multitude that were left delpaired of faving themfelves, and came out to fight; with thefe Herod fought and flew again about feven thoufand, infomuch, that he punished Arabia fo fevere ly and fo far extinguifhed the fpirits of the men, that he was chofen by the nation for their ruler.

CHAP. XX.

Herod is confirmed in his Kingdom by Cafar, and cultivates a Friendship with the Emperor by magnificent Prefents; while Cafar returns his kindness, by beflowing on him that part of his Kingdom which had been taken away from it by Cleopatra, with the addition of Zenodorus's country alfo.

§ 1. UT now Herod was under an immediate concern about a molt important affair, on account of his friendfhip with Antony, who was already overcome at A&tium by Cæfar; yet he was more afraid than hurt; for Cæfar did not think he had quite undone Antony, while Herod continued his affiftance to him. However, the king refolved to expofe himself to dangers: Accordingly he failed to Rhodes, where Cæfar then abode, and came to him without his diadem, and in the habit and appearance of a private perfon, but in his be haviour as a king. So he concealed nothing of the truth, but fpake thus before his face: "O Cæfar, as I was made king of the Jews by Antony, fo do I profefs that I have ufed my royal authority in the beft manner, and entirely for his advantage; nor will I conceal this father, that thou hadft certainly found me in arms, and an infeparable companion of his, had not the Arabians hindered me. However, I fent him as many auxiliaries as I was able, and many ten thousand [cori] of corn. Nay, indeed, I did not defert my benefactor after the blow that was given him at Aftium ; but I gave him the

best advice I was able, when I was no longer able to affist him in the war; and I told him that there was but one way of recovering his affairs, and that was to kill Cleopatra; and I promifed him, that if he were once dead, I would afford him money and walls for his fecurity, with an army and myfelt to aflift him in his war against thee: But his affections for Cleopatra flopped his ears, as did God himself alío, who hath beftowed the government on thee. I own myfelf alfo to be overcome together with him, and with this laft fortune I have laid afide my diadem, and am come hither to thee, having my hopes of fafety in thy virtue; and I defire that thou wilt first confider how faithful a friend, and not whose friend I have been."

2. Cæfar replied to him thus: "Nay, thou shalt not only be in fafety, but fhalt be a king, and that more firmly than thou wert before; for thou art worthy to reign over a great many fubjects, by reafon of the faftnefs of thy friendship: And do thou endeavour to be equally conftant in thy friendship to me, upon my good fuccefs, which is what I depend upon from the generofity of thy difpofition. However. Antony hath done well in preferring Cleopatra to thee; for by this means we have gained thee by her madness, and thus thou haft begun to be my friend before I began to be thine; on which account Quintus Dedius hath written to me that thou fenteft him affiftance against the gladiators. I do therefore affure thee that I will confirm the kingdom to thee by decree: I shall alfo endeavour to do thee fome farther kindness hereafter, that thou mayeft find no lofs in the want of Antony."

3. When Cæfar had spoken fuch obliging things to the king, and had put the diadem again about his head, he proclaimed what he had beflowed on him by a decree, in which he enlarged in the commendation of the man after a magnificent manner. Whereupon Herod obliged him to be kind to him by the prefents he gave him, and he defired uim to forgive Álexander, one of Antony's friends, who was become a fupplicant to him. But Cæfar's anger against him prevailed, and he complained of the many and very great offences the man whom he petitioned for, had been guilty of; and by what means he rejected his petition. After this Cæfar went for Egypt through Syria, when Herod received him with royal and rich entertainments; and then did he first of all ride along with Cæfar, as he was reviewing his army about Ptolemais, and feafted him with all his friends, and then diftributed among the rest of the army what was neceffary to feaft them withal. He allo made a plentiful provifion of water for them. when they were to march as far as Pelufium, through a dry country, which he did affo in like manner at their return thence; nor were there any neceffaries wanting to that army. It was therefore the opinion both of Cæfar and of his foldiers that Herod's kingdom was too fmall for those generous prefVOL. III.

ents he made them; for which reafon, when Cæfar was come into Egypt, and Cleopatra and Antony were dead, he did not only beftow other marks of honour upon him, but made an addition to his kingdom, by giving him not only the country which had been taken from him by Cleopatra, but befides that. Gadara and Hippos, and Samaria; and moreover, of the maritime cities, * Gaza and Anthedon, and Joppa and Strato's Tower. He alfo made him a prefent of four hundred Galls [Galatians as a guard for his body, which they had been to Cleopatra before. Nor did any thing fo ftrongly induce Cæfar to make these presents as the generofity of him that received them.

4. Moreover, after the first games at A&tium, he added to his kingdom both the region called Traconitis, and what lay in its neighbourhood Batanea, and the country of Auranitis; and that on the following occafion: Zenodorus, who had hired the house of Lyfanias, had all along fent robbers out of Trachonitis among the Damafcens; who thereupon had recourse to Varro, the prefident of Syria, and defired of him that he would reprefent the calamity they were in to Cæfar: When Cæfar was acquainted with it, he fent back orders that this neft of robbers fhould be deftroyed. Varro therefore made an expedition against them, and cleared the land of those men, and took it away from Zenodorus. Cæfar did alfo atterward beftow it on Herod that it might not again become a receptacle for those robbers that had come against Damafcus. He alfo made him a procurator of all Syria, and this on the tenth year afterward, when he came again into that province; and this was fo established, that the other procurators could not do any thing in the adminiftration without his advice: but when Zenodorus was dead Cæfar beftowed on him all that land which lay between Trachonitis and Galilee. Yet what was fill of more confequence to Herod, he was beloved by Cæfar next after Agrippa, and by Agrippa next after Cæfar; whence he arrived at a very great degree of felicity. Yet did the greatnefs of his foul exceed it and the main part of his magnanimity was extended to the promotion of piety.

CHAP. XXI.

Of the temple and cities that were built by Herod, and erected from the very foundations; as alfo of thofe other edifices that were erected by him: And what magnificence he fhewed to foreigners; and how fortune was in all things favourable to him.

§ I.

CCORDINGLY, in the fixteenth year of his reign,
Herod rebuilt the temple, and encompaffed a piece

Since Jofephus, both here, and in his Antiq. B. XV. ch, vii. fect. 3. Vol. II.