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be obedient to those forenamed commanders. Nor did they neglect the care of other parts of the country: but Joseph, the son of Simon, was sent as general to Jericho, as was Manasseh to Perea: and John, the Essene, to the toparchy of Thamna. Lydda was also added to his portion, and Joppa, and Emmaus. But John, the son of Matthias, was made governor of the toparchies of Gophnitica, and Acrabatene: as was Josephus, the son of Matthias, both of the Galilees. Gamala also, which was the strongest city in those parts, was put under his command.

*

So every one of the other commanders administered the affairs of his portion with what alacrity and prudence they were masters of. But as to Josephus, when he came into Galilee, his first care was to gain the good will of the people of that country as sensible that he should thereby have in general good success, although he should fail in other points. And being conscious that if he communicated part of his power to the great men, he should make them his firm friends; and that he should gain the same favour from the multitude, if he executed his commands by persons of their own country, and with whom they were well acquainted, he chose out seventy of the most prudent men, and those elders in age,

*See Antiquities, XII. S.

+ Antiq. XIII. 15.

We see here, and in Josephus's account of his own life, how exactly he imitated his legislator Moses; or perhaps only obeyed what he took to be his perpetual law, in appointing seven lesser judges, for smaller causes, in particular cities; and perhaps for the first hearing of greater causes: with the liberty of an appeal to seventy-one supreme judges: especially in those causes where life and death were concerned. As Antiq. IV. 8. See also Of the War, IV. 5. Moreover, we find that he imitated Moses, as well as the Romans, in the number and distribution of the subaltern officers of his army: as Exod. xviii. 25. Deut. i. 15. and in his charge against the offences common among soldiers: as Deut. xxiii. 9. In all which he showed his great wisdom, piety, and skilful conduct in martial affairs. Yet may we discern in his very high character of Ananus the high-priest, IV. 5; who seems to have been the same who condemned St. James, bishop of Jerusalem, to be stoned under Albinus the procurator; that when he wrote these books, Of the War, he was not so much as an Ebonite Christian. Otherwise he would not have failed, according to his usual custom, to have reckoned his barbarous murder, as a just punishment upon him for his cruelty to the chief, or rather only Christian bishop of the circumcision. Nor, had he been then a Christian, could he immediately have spoken so movingly of the causes of the destruction of Jerusalem, without one word of either the condemnation of James, or crucifixion of Christ: as he did when he was become a Christian afterward.

and appointed them to be rulers of all Galilee: as he chose seven judges in every city to hear the lesser quarrels. For as to the greater causes, and those wherein life and death were concerned, he enjoined that they should be brought to him, and the seventy

elders.

Josephus also, when he had settled these rules for determining causes by the law, with regard to the people's dealings one with another, betook himself to make provision for their safety against external violence. And as he knew the Romans would fall upon Galilee, he built walls in proper places: about Jotapata, Bersabee, and Salamis; and besides these about Capharecco, Japha, and Sigo, and what they call mount Tabor, and Taricheæ, and Tiberias. He also built walls about the caves near the lake of Gennesar; which places lay in the lower Galilee. The same he did to the places of upper Galilee; as well as to the rock called the rock of the Achabari, and to Seph, and Jamnith, and Meroth. And in Gaulanitis he fortified Seleucia, Sogane, and Gamala. But as to those of Sepphoris, they were the only people to whom he gave leave to build their own walls; and this because he perceived they were wealthy, and ready to go to war, without standing in need of any injunction for that purpose. The case was the same with Gischala, which had a wall built about it by John the son of Levi himself, but with the consent of Josephus. But for the building of the rest of the fortresses, he laboured together with all the other builders, and was present to give the necessary orders for that purpose. He also got together an army out of Galilee of more than a hundred thousand young men; all which he armed with the old weapons that he had collected together, and prepared for them.

And when he considered that the Roman power became invincible, chiefly by their readiness in obeying orders, and the constant exercise of their arms, he despaired of teaching his men the use of their arms, which was to be obtained' by experience: but observing that their readiness in obeying orders was owing to the multitude of their officers, he made his partitions in his army more after the Roman manner; and appointed a great many subalterns.

*See Antiquities, V. 1. XVIII. 2.

He also distributed the soldiers into various classes, whom he had put under captains of tens, and captains of hundreds, and then under captains of thousands; and besides these he had commanders of large bodies of men. He also taught them to give the signals one to another, and to call and recall the soldiers by the trumpets; to expand the wings of an army, and make them wheel about ; and when one wing had success, to turn again to assist those that were hard set; and to join in the defence of what had most suffered. He also continually instructed them in what concerned the courage of the soul, and the hardiness of the body. And above all he exercised them for war, by declaring to them distinctly the good order of the Romans: and that they were to fight with men who, both by the strength of their bodies and courage of their souls, had conquered in a manner the whole habitable earth. He told them, that he should make trial of the good order they would observe in war, even before it came to any battle, in case they would sbstain from the crimes they used to indulge themselves in : such as theft, robbery, and rapine; and from defrauding their own countrymen and never to esteem the harm done to those that were so near of kin to them any advantage to themselves. For that wars are managed the best, when the warriors preserve a good conscience; but that all such as are ill men in private life, will not only have those for enemies who attack them, but God himself also for their antagonist.

Now he chose for the war such an army as was sufficient: that is, sixty thousand footmen, and * two hundred and fifty horsemen. And besides these, on which he put the greatest trust, there were about four thousand five hundred mercenaries. He had also six hundred men as his body-guards. Now the cities easily maintained the rest of his army, excepting the mercenaries. For every one of the cities enumerated above, sent out half their men to the army, and retained the other half at home, in order to get provisions for them. Insomuch that the one part went to the war, and the other part to their work; and so those that sent out their

* I should think that an army of 60,000 footmen should require many more than 250 horsemen: and we find Josephus had more horsemen under his command than 250 in his future history. I suppose the number of the thousand is dropped in our present copies.

corn, were paid for it by those that were in arms, by that security which they enjoyed from them.

CHAPTER. XXI.

CONCERNING JOHN OF GISCHALA. THE STRATAGEMS USED BY

JOSEPHUS AGAINST THE PLOTS JOHN LAID AGAINST HIM; AND RECOVERY OF CERTAIN CITIES WHICH HAD REVOLTED

THE

FROM HIM.

NOW as Josephus was thus engaged in the administration of the affairs of Galilee, there arose a treacherous person, † a man of Gischala, the son of Levi, whose name was John. His character was that of a very cunning and knavish person, beyond the ordinary rate of the other men of eminence there; and for wicked practices he had not his fellow any where. Poor he was at first: and for a long time his wants were a hinderance to him in his wicked designs. He was a ready liar; and yet very sharp in gaining credit to his fictions. He thought it a point of virtue to delude people; and would deceive even such as were the dearest to him. He was a hypocritical pretender to humanity; but where he had hopes of gain he spared not the shedding of blood. His desires were ever carried to great things; and he encouraged his hopes from those mean wicked tricks which he was the author of. He had also a peculiar knack of thieving. In some time he got certain companions in his impudent practices. At first they were but a few: but as he proceeded on in his evil course, they became still more and more numerous. He took care that none of his partners should be easily caught in their rogueries; but chose such out of the rest as had the strongest constitution of body, and

* The reader may observe a few variations in the circumstances relating to Josephus in this chapter, when they are compared with the same Josephus's accounts in the history of his own life. And I must confess I think those in his life ought, generally, to be corrected from these in his Books of the War. For as that life was written by him about thirty years after these Books of the War, he must have better recollected such circumstances at the former time than at the latter. And it seems to me that either these Books of the War were not then by him, when he wrote his Life; or that he therein trusted his present memory too much, without consulting them.

† See chap. 20.

the greatest courage of soul, together with great skill in martial affairs. So he got together a band of four hundred men, who came principally out of the country of Tyre; and were vagabonds, that had run away from its villages. And by the means of these he laid waste all Galilee, and irritated a considerable number, who were in great expectation of a war then suddenly to arise among them.

However, John's want of money had hitherto restrained him in his ambition after command, and in his attempts to advance himself. But when he saw that Josephus was highly pleased with the activity of his temper, he persuaded him, in the first place, to entrust him with repairing the walls of his native city Gischala: in which work he got a great deal of money from the rich citizens. He afterward contrived a very shrewd trick; and pretending that the Jews who dwelt in Syria were obliged to make use of oil that was made by others than those of their own nation, he desired leave of Josephus to send oil to their borders. So he bought four amphora with such Tyrian money, as was of the value of four Attic drachmæ: and sold every half amphora at the same price. And as Galilee was very fruitful in oil, and was peculiarly so at that time; by sending away great quantities, and having the sole privilege so to do, he gathered an immense sum of money together, which money he immediately used to the disadvantage of him who gave him that privilege. And, as he supposed, that if he could once overthrow Josephus, he should obtain himself the government of Galilee, so he gave order to the robbers that were under his command to be more zealous in their thievish expeditions; that by the rise of many that desired innovations in the country he might either catch their general in his snares, as he came to the country's assistance, and then kill him; or if he should overlook the robbers, he might accuse him for his negligence to the people of the country. He also spread abroad a report far and near, that Josephus was delivering up the administration of affairs to the Romans. And many such plots did he lay in order to ruin him.

Now at the same time certain young men of the village Darbaritta, who kept guard in the great plain, laid snares for Ptolemy, who was Agrippa's and Bernice's steward, and took from

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