the sanctuary, at their rapine and murders, Ananus, the oldest of the high-priests, stood in the midst of them, and casting his eyes frequently at the temple with a flood of tears he said, "Certainly it had been good for me to die before I had seen the house of God full of so many abominations, or these sacred places filled with the feet of these blood-shedding villains." Then in a powerful and persuasive speech recapitulating the tyranny, the sacrilege, the treachery, the cruelty and abominations practised by the robbers, he urged the multitude to go at once against them. He admitted that it would be difficult to disperse them, "because of their multitude and their courage, but chiefly because they did not hope for pardons for their enormities."

A desperate and bloody battle ensued. "Their conflicts were conducted by their passions; and at the first they only cast stones at each other in the city and before the temple, and threw their javelins at a distance; but when either of them was too hard for the other, they made use of their swords, and great slaughter was made on both sides, and a vast number were wounded. As for the dead bodies of the people, their relatives carried them to their own houses; but when any robber was wounded, he went up into the temple and defiled that sacred floor with his blood."

"In these conflicts the robbers always sallied out of the temple (that is, the wall enclosing Mount Moriah), and were too hard for their enemies; but the populace grew very angry, and became more

and more numerous, and reproached those that gave back (retreated), and those behind would not afford room to those that were going off, but forced them on again; till at length they made their whole body to turn against their adversaries; and the robbers were forced to retire again into the temple."

"As Ananus did not think fit to make any attack upon the holy gates, he purified six thousand men, and placed them as guards in the cloisters." "Thus shut in, they (the robbers) were in great perplexity; but, in a secret manner, they despatched two messengers to the Idumeans, imploring them to come immediately to their rescue."

In a short time a multitude of these desperate men crowded up before the walls. Ananus harangued them, and endeavoured to disperse them, but in vain. Whilst the Idumeans remained excluded from the city, a terrific storm arose. Taking advantage of the consequent noise and confusion, the zealots, of whom we shall speak afterwards as factions, sawed open one of the temple gates, stole past the guards, and opened the gates of the upper city (Zion), when the hosts of the Idumeans rushed in, and crowded their way to the temple for the rescue of the robbers. This was done by crossing the bridge which connected Mount Zion with Moriah. The robbers being apprised of their approach, came boldly out of the inner temple (court of the Israelites), rushed upon the guards, and slew them. Immediately a fierce encounter took place. As there was neither any place for flight, nor any hope of preservation, they were

driven one upon another in heaps, and a fearful slaughter took place, Ananus being put to death. There was no way of escape, and the murderers were hard upon them. They threw themselves headlong into the lower city (Acra), and underwent a miserable destruction. The outer temple (court of the Gentiles) was overflowed with blood, and that day saw 8,500 dead bodies; for the people were hopelessly given up to the violence and rapine of those evil men.

But the rage was not satiated by these slaughters. The robbers betook themselves to the city, and plundered every house; and as soon as they caught the citizens, slew them; and then, standing upon their dead bodies, in way of jest, upbraided them for their kindness to the people, and cast away their dead bodies without burial. "After this they fell upon the people, as upon a flock of profane animals, and mercilessly slew them. The nobleman and the youth first caught they, and bound them, and shut them up in prison; then they were so scourged and tortured that their bodies were not able to sustain their torments, till at length, and with difficulty, they had the favour to be slain. Those whom they caught in the daytime were slain in the night, and were carried out and thrown away, that there might be room for other prisoners. And the terror that was upon the people was so great, that no one had courage enough either openly to weep for the dead man that was related to him, or to bury him; and those that were shut up in their houses could only