commended to me by that natural commiferation which their orphan condition requires; however I will endeavour, though I have been a moft unfortunate father, to appear a better grandfather, and to leave thefe children fuch curators after my felf as are dearest to me. I therefore betroth thy daughter, Pheroras to the elder of thefe brethren, the children of Alexander, that thou mayeft be obliged to take care of them. I alfo betroth thy fon, Antipater the daughter of Ariftobulus; be thou therefore a father to that orphan, and my fon Herod [Philip] fhall have her fifter, whofe grandfather, by the mother's fide, was high-priest And let every one that loves me be of my fentiments in thefe difpofitions, which none that hath an affection for me will abrogate. And I pray God that he will join these children together in marriage, to the advantage of my kingdom, and of my pofterity, and may he look down with eyes more ferene upon them than he looked upon their fathers."

3. While he fpake thefe words, he wept, and joined the childrens right hands together; after which he embraced them, every one after an affectionate manner, and difmiffed the affembly. Upon this, Antipater was in gieat disorder immediately, and lamented publicly at what was done; for he fuppofed that this dignity which was conferred on thefe orphans was for his own deftruction, even in his father's lifetime, and that he should run another risk of lofing the government, if Alexander's fon fhould have both Archelaus [a king], and Pheroras a tetrarch to fupport them. He alfo confidered how he was himself hated by the nation, and how they pitied thefe orphans; how great affection the Jews bare to thofe brethren of his when they were alive, and how gladly they remembered them now they had perished by his means. he refolved by all the ways poffible to get these espousals diffolved.

So

4. Now he was afraid of going fubtilly about this matter with his father, who was hard to be pleafed, and was presently moved upon the leaft fufpicion: So he ventured to go to him, directly, and to beg of him before his face, not to deprive him of that dignity which he had been pleased to bestow upon him, and that he might not have the bare name of a king, while the power was in other perfons; for that he should never be able to keep the government, if Alexader's fon was to have both his grandfather Archelaus, and Pheroras for his curators; and he befought him earnestly, fince there were fo many of the royal family alive, that he would change thofe | intended] marriages. Now the king had nine wives and children by feven of them; Antipater was himfelt born of

* Dean Aldrich takes notice here, that these nine wives of Herod were alive at the fame time, and that if the celebrated Mariamne, who was now dead, be reckoned, thofe wives were in all ten. Yet it is remarkable that he had no more than fifteen children by them all.

*

Doris, and Herod [Philip] of Mariamne, the high-prieft's daughter; Antipas alfo and Archelaus were by Malthace, the Samaritan, as his daughter Olympias, which his brother Jofeph's fon had married; by Cleopatra of Jerufalem he had Herod and Philip, and by Pallas, Phafaelus; he had also two daughters. Roxana and Salome, the one by Phedra, and the other by Elpis; he had alfo two wives that had no children, the one his firft coufin, and the other his niece; and befides thefe he had two daughters, the fifters of Alexander and Ariftobulus. by Mariamne. Since, therefore, the royal family was fo numerous, Antipater prayed him to change these intended marriages.

5. When the king perceived what difpofition he was in towards thefe orphans, he was angry at it, and a fufpicion came into his mind, as to thofe fons whom he had put to death whether that had not been brought about by the falle tales of Antipater; fo at that time he made Antipater a long and a peevith answer, and bid him be gone. Yet was he afterwards prevailed upon cunningly by his flatteries, and changed the marriages; he married Ariftobulus's daughter to him, and his fon to Pheroras's daughter.

6. Now one may learn in this inflance how very much this flattering Antipater could do, even what Salome in the like circumstances could not do; for when the who was his fifter, and who by the means of Julia, Cæfar's wife, earnestly defired leave to be married to Sylleus the Arabian, Herod fwore he would efteem her his bitter enemy, unlefs fhe would leave off that project: He alfo caufed her, against her own confent, to be married to Alexas, a friend of his, and that one of her daughters fhould be married to Alexas's fon, and the other to Antipater's uncle by the mother's fide. And for the daughters the king had by Mariamne, the one was married to Antipater, his fifter's fon, and the other to his brother's fon, Phafaelus.

CHAP. XXIX.

Antipater becomes intolerable. He is fent to Rome and carries Herod's Teftament with Him. Pheroras leaves his Brother,

that He may keep his wife. He dies at home.

§ 1.

NOW

OW when Antipater had cut off the hopes of the orphans, and had contracted fuch affinities as would be moft for his own advantage, he proceeded briskly, as having a certain expectation of the kingdom, and as he had now affurance added to his wickedness, he became intolerable; for not

To prevent confufion, it may not be amifs, with Dean Aldrich, to distinguish between four Jofephs in the hiflory of Herod. [fecond husband of his fifter Salome, flain by Herod, on account of Mariämne. 1. Jofeph, Herod's uncle, and the

being able to avoid the hatred of all people, he built his fecurity upon the terror he ftruck into them. Pheroras alfo affifted him in his defigns, looking upon him as already fixed in the kingdom. There was alfo a company of women in the court, which excited new difturbances; for Pheroras's wife, together with her mother and fifter, as alfo Antipater's mother, grew very im pudent in the palace. She also was infolent as to affront the king's two daughters, on which account the king hated her to a great degree; yet although thefe women were hated by him, they domineered over others. There was only Salome who op. pofed their good agreement, and informed the king of their meetings, as not being for the advantage of his affairs. And when those women knew what calamities (he had raised against them, and how much Herod was displeased, they left off their public meetings, and friendly entertainments of one another; nay, on the contrary, they pretend to quarrel one with another when the king was within hearing. The like diffimulation did Antipater make ufe of, and when matters were public, he oppofed Pheroras; but ftill they had private cabals, and merry meetings in the night-time; nor did the obfervation of others do any more than confirm their mutual agreement. However, Salome knew every thing they did, and told every thing to Herod.

2. But he was inflamed with anger at them, and chiefly at Pheroras's wife; for Salome had principally accufed her. Sa he got an affembly of his friends and kindred together, and there accused this woman of many things, and particularly of the affronts fhe had offered his daughters; and that the had fupplied the Pharifees with money, by way of rewards for what they had done against him, and had procured his brother to become his enemy, by giving him love potions. At length he turned his peech to Pheroras, and told him, That he would give him his choice of thefe two things, whether he would keep in with his brother, or with his wife ?" And when Pheroras faid, that he would t die rather than forfake his wife, Herod not knowing what to do farther in that matter, turned his speech

2. Jofeph, Herod's quæftor, or treasurer, flain on the fame account. 3. Joseph, Herod's brother, flain in battle, against Antigonus 4 joseph, Herod's nephew, the husband of Olympias, mentioned in this place

Thefe daughters of Herod, whom Pheroras's wife affronted, were Salome and Roxana, two virgins, who were born to him of his two wives, Elpide and Phedra. See Herod's genealogy, Antiq. B. XVII. ch. i fect. Vol. II.

+ This ftrange obftinacy of Pheroras in retaining his wife, who was one of a low family, and retufing to marry one nearly related to Herod, though he so earneftly defired it, as alfo that wife's admiffion to the counfels of the other great court ladies, together with Herod's own importunity as to Pheroras's divorce and other marriage, all fo remarkable here or in the Antiquities, B. XVII. ch. ii. fect. 4. Vol. II. and ch. iii. fe&t. 3 cannot be well accounted for, but on the supposal that Pheroras believed, and Herod fufpected that the Pharifees prediction, as if the crown of Judea should be tranflated from Herod to Pheroras's pofterity, and that moft probably to Pheroras's pofterity by his wife, alfo would prove true, See Antiq. B. XVII. ch ii. fect. 4. and ch. iii fect. 1. Vol. II.

to Antipater, and charged him to have no intercourse either with Pheroras's wife or with Pheroras himself, or with any one beJonging to her. Now, though Antipater did not tranfgrefs that his injunction publicly, yet did he in fecret come to their nightmeeting; and because he was afraid that Salome obferved what he did, he procured, by the means of his Italian friends, that he might go and live at Rome; for when they wrote that it was proper for Antipater to be fent to Cæfar for fome time, Herod made no delay, but fent him, and that with a fplendid attendance, and a great deal of money, and gave him his teftament to carry with him, wherein Antipater had the kingdom bequeathed to him, and wherein Herod was named for Antipater's fucceffor, that Herod, I mean, who was the lon of Mariamne, the high-priest's daughter.

3. Sylleus alfo, the Arabian, failed to Rome, without any regard to Cæfar's injunctions, and this in order to oppofe Antipater with all his might, as to that law-fuit which Nicolaus had with him before. This Sylleus had alfo a great conteft with Aretas his own king; for he had flain many others of Aretas's friends, and particularly Sohemus, the moft potent man in the city Petra. Moreover, he had prevailed with Phabatus, who was Herod's fteward, by giving him a great fum of money to affift him against Herod; but when Herod gave him more, he induced him to leave Sylleus, and by his means he demanded of him all that Cæfar had required of him to pay. But when Sylleus paid nothing of what he was to pay, and did alfo accufe Phabatus to Cæfar, and faid that he was not a fteward for Cæfar's advantage, but for Herod's, Phabatus was angry at him on that account, but was ftill in very great elteem with Herod, and discovered Sylleus's grand fecrets, and told the king that Sylleus had corrupted Corinthus, one of the guards of his body, by bribing him, and of whom he must therefore have a care. Accordingly the king complied, for this Corinthus, though he were brought up in Herod's kingdom, yet was he by birth an Arabian, fo the king ordered him to be taken up immediately, and not only him, but two other Arabians who were caught with him; the one of them was Sylleus's friend, the other the head of a tribe. The laft being put to the torture confeffed that they had prevailed with Corinthus for a large fum of money to kill Herod; and when they had been farther examined before Saturninus the prefident of Syria, they were fent to Rome.

4. However, Herod did not leave off importuning Pheroras, but proceeding to force him to put away his wife; yet coula he not devife any way by which he could bring the woman herself to punishment, although he had many causes of hatred to her; till at length he was in fuch great uneafiness at her, that he caft both her and his brother out of his kingdom, Phe roras took his injury very patiently, and went away into his own tetrarchy [Perea beyond Jordan, and fware that there

fhould be but one end put to his flight, and that fhould be Herod's death; and that he would never return while he was alive. Nor indeed would he return when his brother was fick, although he earneftly fent for him to come to him, because he had a mind to leave fome injun&tions with him before he died; but Herod unexpectedly recovered. A little afterward Pheroras himself fell fick, when Herod fhewed great moderation; for he came to him and pitied his cafe, and took care of him; but his affection for him did him no good, for Pheroras died a little afterward. Now, though Herod had fo great an affection for him to the laft day of his life, yet was a report fpread abroad that he had killed him by poifon. However, he took care to have his dead body carried to Jerufalemn, and appointed a very great mourning to the whole nation for him, and bestowed a most pompous funeral upon him. And this was the end that one of Alexander's and Ariftobulus's murder

ers came to.

CHA P. XXX.

When Herod made enquiry about Pheroras's death, a discovery was made that Antipater had prepared a poisonous draught for him. Herod cafts Doris and her accomplices, as alfo Mariamne, out of the palace, and blots her Son Herod out of his teftament.

BUT

UT now the punishment was transferred unto the original author Antipater, and took its rife from the death of Pheroras: For certian of his freed-men came with a fad countenance to the king, and told him, That "his brother had been deftroyed by poifon, and that his wife had brought him fomewhat that was prepared after an unusual manner, and that upon his eating it, he prefently fell into his diftemper : That Antipater's mother and fifter two days before brought a woman out of Arabia that was skilful in mixing fuch drugs, that the might prepare a love potion for Pheroras; and that inftead of a love potion, fhe had given him deadly poifon; and that this was done by the management of Sylleus, who was acquainted with that woman.'

2. The king was deeply affected with fo many fufpicions, and had the maid fervants and fome of the free women ollo tortured; one of which cried out in her agonies, "May that God that governs the earth and the heaven, punish this author of all these our miferies, Antipater's mother!" The king took a handle from this confeffion, and proceeded to enquire farther into the truth of the matter. So this woman difcovered the friendship of Antipater's mother to Pheroras and Antipater's women, as alfo their fecret meetings, and that Pheroras and Antipater had drunk with them for a whole night