Page images
PDF
EPUB
[merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors]

THE

LIFE OF FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS.

S. THE family from which I am derived is | Matthias Curtus, and that in the first year of not an ignoble one, but hath descended all the government of Hyrcanus: his son's name along from the priests; and as nobility among was Joseph, born in the ninth year of the several people is of a different origin, so with reign of Alexandra: his son Matthias was us to be of the sacerdotal dignity, is an indi- born in the tenth year of the reign of Archecation of the splendour of a family. Now, I laus; as was I born to Matthias in the first am not only sprung from a sacerdotal family year of the reign of Caius Cæsar. I have in general, but from the first of the twenty-three sons: Hyrcanus, the eldest, was born four courses; and as among us there is not in the fourth year of the reign of Vespasian, only a considerable difference between one as was Justus born in the seventh, and Agrippa family of each course and another, I am of in the ninth. Thus have I set down the the chief family of that first course also; nay, genealogy of my family as I have found it defarther, by my mother, I am of the royal blood; scribed in the public records, and so bid for the children of Asamoneus, from whom adieu to those who calumniate me [as of a that family was derived, had both the office lower original]. of the high priesthood, and the dignity of a 2. Now, my father Matthias was not only king, for a long time together. I will accord-eminent on account of his nobility, but had a ingly set down my progenitors in order. My higher commendation on account of his rightegrandfather's father was, named Simon, with ousness; and was in great reputation in Jethe addition of Psellus: he lived at the same time with that son of Simon the high priest, who first of all the high priests was named Hyrcanus. This Simon Psellus had nine sons, one of whom was Matthias, called Ephlias: he married the daughter of Jonathan the high priest; which Jonathan was the first of the sons of Asamoneus, who was high priest, and was the brother of Simon the high priest also. This Matthias bad a son called

We may hence correct the error of the Latin copy of the second book Against Apion, sect. 8 (for the Greek is there lost), which says, there were then only four tribes or courses of the priests, instead of twenty-four. Nor is this testimony to be disregarded, as if Josephus there contradicted what he had affirmed here; because even the account there given better agrees to twenty-four than to four courses, while he says that each of those courses contained above 5,000 men, which, multiplied by only four, will make not more than 20,000 priests; whereas the number 120,000, as multiplied by 24, seems much the most probable, they being about one tenth of the whole people, even after the captivity. See Ezra ii. 36-39; Nehem. vii. 39-42; 1 Esd, v. 24, 25: with Ezra, ii. 64; Nehem. vii. 66; 1 Esd. v. 41. Nor with this common reading or notion of but four courses of priests, agree with Josephus's own further assertion elsewhere (Antiq. b. vii. ch. xiv. sect. 7), that David's partition of the priests into twenty-four courses, had continued to that day.

rusalem, the greatest city we have. I was myself brought up with my brother, whose name was Matthias, for he was my own brother, by both father and mother; and I made mighty proficiency in the improvements of my learning, and appeared to have both a great memory and understanding. Moreover, when I was a child, and about fourteen years of age, I was commended by all for the love I had to learning; on which account the high priests and principal men of the city came then frequently to me together, in order to know my opinion about the accurate understanding of points of the law; and when I' was about sixteen years old, I had a mind to make trial of the several sects that were among us. These sects are three:-The first is that of the Pharisees, the second that of the Sadducees, and the third that of the Essens, as we have frequently told you; for I thought that by this means I might choose the best, if 1 were once acquainted with them all; so I

† An eminent example of the care of the Jews about their genealogies, especially as to the priests. See Against Apion, b. i. sect. 7.

I became acquainted with Aliturius, an actor of plays, and much beloved by Nero, but a Jew by birth; and through his interest became known to Poppea, Cæsar's wife; and took care, as soon as possible, to entreat her to procure that the priests might be set at liberty; and when, besides this favour, I had obtained many presents from Poppea, I returned home again.

contented myself with hard fare, and underwent great difficulties, and went through them all. Nor did I content myself with these trials only; but when I was informed that one, whose name was Banus, lived in the desert, and used no other clothing than grew upon trees, and had no other food than what grew of its own accord, and bathed himself in cold water frequently, both by night and by day, in order to preserve his chastity, I 4. And now I perceived innovations were imitated him in those things, and continued already begun, and that there were a great with him three years.* So when I had ac-many very much elevated, in hopes of a recomplished my desires, I returned back to the city, being now nineteen years old, and began to conduct myself according to the rules of the sect of the Pharisees, which is of kin to the sect of the Stoics, as the Greeks call them.

volt from the Romans. I therefore endeavoured to put a stop to these tumultuous persons, and persuaded them to change their minds; and laid before their eyes against whom it was that they were going to fight and told them that they were inferior to the Romans not only in martial skill, but also in good fortune; and desired them not rashly, and after the most foolish manner, to bring on the dangers of the most terrible mischiefs upon their country, upon their families, and upon themselves. And this I said with vehement exhortation, because I foresaw that the end of such a war would be most unfortunate to us. But I could not persuade them; for the madness of desperate men was quite too

3. But when I was in the twenty-sixth year of my age, it happened that I took a voyage to Rome; and this on the occasion which I shall now describe. At the time when Felix was procurator of Judea, there were certain priests of my acquaintance, and very excellent persons they were, whom on a small and trifling occasion he had put into bonds, and sent to Rome to plead their cause before Cæsar. These I was desirous to procure deliverance for; and that especially because I was informed that they were not un-hard for me. mindful of piety towards God, even under their afflictions; but supported themselves with figs and nuts. Accordingly I came to Rome, though it were through a great number of hazards, by sea; for, as our ship was drowned in the Adriatic Sea, we that were in it, being about six hundred in number,‡ swam for our lives all the night; when, upon the first appearance of the day, and upon our sight of a ship of Cyrene, I and some others, eighty in all, by God's providence, prevented the rest, and were taken up into the other ship: and when I had thus escaped, and was come to Dicearchia, which the Italians call Puteoli, • When Josephus here says, that from sixteen to nineteen, or for three years, he made trial of the three Jewish sects, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essens, and yet says presently, in all our copies, that he stayed besides with one particular ascetic, called Banus, rue aura, with him, and this still before he was nineteen, there is little room left for his trial of the three other sects. I suppose, therefore, that for rag airs, with him, the old reading might be rag aures, with them; which is a very small emendation, and takes away the difficulty before us. Nor is Dr. Hudson's conjecture, hinted at by Mr. Hall in his preface to the Doctor's edition of Josephus,at all improbable, that this Banus, by this his descrip. tion, might well be a follower of John the Baptist, and that from him Josephus might easily imbibe such notions, as afterwards prepared him to have a favourable opinion of Jesus Christ himself, who was attested to by John the daptist.

We may note here, that religious men among the Jews, or at least those that were priests, were sometimes ascetics also, and, like Daniel and his companions in Babylon (Dan. i. 8-16), ate no flesh, but figs and nuts, &c. only. This was like the ingasaya, or austere diet of the Christian ascetics in Passion Week. Constitut. v. 18.

It has been thought the number of Paul and his companions on ship-board (Acts xxvii. 38), which are 276 in our copies, are too many; whereas we find here. that Josephus and his companions, a very few years after the other, were about 600,

5. I was then afraid, lest, by inculcating these things so often, I should incur their hatred and their suspicions, as if I were of our enemies' party, and should run into the danger of being seized by them and slain, since they were already possessed of Antonia, which was the citadel; so I retired into the inner court of the temple; yet did I go out of the temple again, after Manahem and the principal of the band of robbers were put to death, when I abode among the high priests and the chief of the Pharisees; but no small fear seized upon us when we saw the people in arms, while we ourselves knew not what we should do, and were not able to restrain the seditious. However, as the danger was directly upon us, we pretended that we were of the same opinion with them; but only advised them to be quiet for the present, and to let the enemy go away, still hoping that Gessius [Florus] would not be long ere he came, and that with great forces, and so put an end to these seditious proceedings.

6. But, upon his coming and fighting, he was beaten, and a great many of those that were with him fell; and this disgrace which Gessins [with Cestius] received, became the calamity of our whole nation; for those that were fond of the war were so far elevated with this success, that they had hopes of finally conquering the Romans. Of which war another occasion was ministered; which was this:Those that dwelt in the neighbouring cities of Syria seized upon such Jews as dwelt among them, with their wives and children, and slew them, when they had not the least occasion of

them to send to those that were their own hostages with Gessius to Dora, which is a city of Phoenicia, as often as they pleased; though I still found the inhabitants of Tiberias ready to take arms, and that on the occasion follow

complaint against them; for they did neither attempt any innovation or revolt from the Romans, nor had they given any marks of hatred or treacherous designs towards the Syrians: but what was done by the inhabitants of Scythopolis was the most impious and mosting:highly criminal of all;* for when the Jews, their 9. There were three faction in this city. enemies, came upon them from without, they The first was composed of men of worth and forced the Jews that were among them to bear gravity; of these Julius Capellus was the head. arms against their own countrymen, which it Now he, as well as all his companions, Herod is unlawful for us to do;t and when, by their the son of Miarus, and Herod the son of Gaassistance, they had joined battle with those malus, and Compsus the son of Compsus (for who attacked them, and had beaten them, af- as to Compsus's brother Crispus, who had once ter that victory they forgot the assurances they been governor of the city under the great king" had given these their fellow-citizens and con- [Agrippa], he was beyond Jordan in his own federates, and slew them all; being in number possessions); all these persons before named many ten thousands [13,000]. The like mis- gave their advice, that the city should then eries were undergone by those Jews that were continue in their allegiance to the Romans the inhabitants of Damascus; but we have and to the king; but Pistus, who was guided given a more accurate account of these things by his son Justus, did not acquiesce in that in the books of the Jewish war. I only men-resolution, otherwise he was himself naturally tion them now, because I would demonstrate of a good and virtuous character: but the seto my readers that the Jews' war with the cond faction was composed of the most ignoRomans was not voluntary, but that, for the ble persons, and was determined for war. But main, they were forced by necessity to enter as for Justus, the son of Pistus, who was the into it. head of the third faction, although he pretended to be doubtful about going to war, yet was he really desirous of innovation, as supposing that he should gain power to himself by the change of affairs. He therefore came into the midst of them, and endeavoured to inform the multitude that "the city Tiberias had ever been a city of Galilee; and that in the days of Herod the tetrarch, who had built it, it had obtained the principal place; and that he had ordered that the city Sepphoris should be subordinate to the city Tiberias: that they had not lost this pre-eminence even under Agrippa the father; but had retained it until Felix was procurator of Judea; but he told them, that now they had been so unfortunate as to be made a present by Nero to Agrippa, junior; and that upon Sepphoris's submission of itself to the Romans, that was become the capital city of Galilee, and that the royal treasury and the archives were now removed from them." When he had spoken these things, and a great many more against king Agrippa, in order to provoke the people to a revolt, he added, That "this was the time for them to take arms, and join with the Galileans as their confederates (whom they might command, and who would now willingly assist. them, out of the hatred they bear to the people of Sepphoris; because they preserved their fidelity to the Romans), and to gather a great number of forces, in order to punish them." And, as he said this, he exhorted the multitude [to go to war]; for his abilities lay in making harangues to the people, and in being too hard in his speeches for such as opposed him, though they advised what was more to

7. So when Gessius had been beaten, as we have said already, the principal men of Jerusalem, seeing that the robbers and innovators had arms in great plenty, and fearing lest they, while they were unprovided with arms, should be in subjection to their enemies, which also came to be the case afterwards, and, being informed that all Galilee had not yet revolted from the Romans, but that some part of it was still quiet, they sent ine and two others of the priests, who were men of excellent characters, Joazar and Judas, in order to persuade the ill men there to lay down their arms, and to teach them this lesson,-That it were better to have those arms reserved for the most courageous men that the nation had [than to be kept there;] for that it had been resolved, That those our best men should always have their arms ready against futurity; but still so, that they should wait to see what the Romans would do.

8. When I had therefore received these instructions, I came into Galilee, and found the people of Sepphoris in no small agony about their country, by reason that the Galileans had resolved to plunder it, on account of the friendship they had with the Romans; and because they had given their right hand, and made a league with Cestius Gallus, the president of Syria: but I delivered them all out of the fear they were in, and persuaded the multitude to deal kindly with them, and permitted

• See Jewish War, b. ii. ch. xviii. sect. 3.

+ The Jews might collect this unlawfulness of fighting against their brethren from that law of Moses (Levit xix. 16)" Then shalt not stand against the blood of thy

neighbour;" and that (ver. 17) "Thou shalt not avenge nor bear any grudge, against the children of thy people; buy thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself;" as well as from many other places in the Pentateuch and Prophets . The Autiq, ba viê), ca. Yui, Neck

That this Herod Agrippa, the father, was of old called the Great King, as here, appears by his coins still remaining; to which Havercamp refers us.

their advantage, and this by his craftiness and who at this time was procurator of the king his fallacies, for he was not unskilful in the dom, which the king and his sister had inlearning of the Greeks; and in dependence trusted him withal, while they were gone to on that skill it was that he undertook to write Berytus with an intention of meeting Gessius. a history of these affairs, as aiming, by this When Varus bad received these letters of Phiway of haranguing, to disguise the truth; but lip, and had learned that he was preserved, he as to this man, and how ill were his character was very uneasy at it, as supposing that he and conduct of life, and how he and his bro- should appear useless to the king and his sis ther were, in great measure, the authors of ter, now Philip was come. He therefore proour destruction, I shall give the reader an ac-duced the carrier of the letters before the count in the progress of my narration. So multitude, and accused him of forging the when Justus had, by his persuasions, prevailed same; and said, that he spakt sea when he with the citizens of Tiberias to take arms, related that Philip was at Jerusalen', fighting nay, and had forced a great many so to do among the Jews against the Romans. So he against their wills, he went out, and set the slew him. And when this freedman of Phivillages that belonged to Gadara and Hippos lip did not return again, Philip was doubtful on fire; which villages were situated on the what should be the occasion of his stay, and borders of Tiberias, and of the region of Scy-sent a second messenger with letters, that he thopolis.

might, upon his return, inform him what had 10. And this was the state Tiberias was befallen the other that had been sent before, now in; but as for Gischala, its affairs were and why he tarried so long. Varus accused thus: When John, the son of Levi, saw this messenger also, when he came, of telling some of the citizens much elevated upon their a falsehood, and slew him; for he was puffed revolt from the Romans, he laboured to re-up by the Syrians that were at Caesarea, and strain them, and entreated them that they had great expectations; for they said that would keep their allegiance to them; but he Agrippa would be slain by the Romans for the could not gain his purpose, although he did crimes which the Jews had committed, and nis endeavours to the utmost; for the neigh- that he should himself take the government, bouring people of Gadara, Gabara, and So- as derived from their kings; for Varus was, gana, with the Tyrians, got together a great by the confession of all, of the royal family, army, and fell upon Gischala, and took Gis-as being a descendant of Sohemus, who had chala by force, and set it on fire; and when enjoyed a tetrarchy about Libanus; for which they had entirely demolished it, they returned reason it was that he was puffed up, and kept home. Upon which John was so enraged, the letters to himself. He contrived also that that he armed all his men, and joined battle the king should not meet with those writings, with the people forementioned; and rebuilt by guarding all the passes, lest any one should Gischala after a manner better than before, escape, and inform the king what had been and fortified it with walls for its future secu-done. He moreover slew many of the Jews, rity. in order to gratify the Syrians of Cæsarea. He 11. But Gamala persevered in its allegi-had a mind also to join with the Trachonites ance to the Romans for the reason following: in Batanea, and to take up arms and make an -Philip, the son of Jacimus, who was their assault upon the Babylonian Jews that were governor under king Agrippa, had been un-at Ecbatana; for that was the name they weat expectedly preserved when the royal palace at by. He therefore called to him twelve of the Jerusalem had been besieged; but, as he fled Jews of Cesarea, of the best character, and away, had fallen into another danger; and ordered them to go to Ecbatana, and inform that was, of being killed by Manahem, and their countrymen who dwelt there, That Varus the robbers that were with him; but certain hath heard that "you intend to march against Babylonians, who were of his kindred, and the king; but, not believing that report, he were then.in Jerusalem, hindered the robbers hath sent us to persuade you to lay down your from executing their design. So Philip staid arms; and that this compliance will be a sign there four days, and fled away on the fifth, that he did well not give credit to those that having disguised himself with fictitious hair, raised the report concerning you." He also that he might not be discovered; and when enjoined them to send seventy of their prinhe was come to one of the villages to him be- cipal men to make a defence for them as to longing, but one that was situated at the bor- the accusation laid against them. So when ders of the citadel of Gamala, he sent to some the twelve messengers came to their countryof those that were under him, and command- men at Ecbatana, and found that they had no ed them to come to him; but God himself designs of innovation at all, they persuaded hindered that his intention, and this for his them to send the seventy men also; who, not own advantage also; for had it not so hap-at all suspecting what would come, sent them pened, he had certainly perished; for a fever having seized upon him immediately, he wrote to Agrippa and Bernice, and gave them to one of his freedmen to carry them to Varus,

|

accordingly. So these seventy went down to Cæsarea, together with the twelve ambas sadors; where Varus met them with the king's forces and slew them all, together with the

« PreviousContinue »