:

Hereupon Josephus avoided letting them know that he was to go away to provide for his own safety: but told them, that he would go out of the city for their sakes: for that if he staid with them he should be able to do them little good, while they were in a safe condition and that if they were once taken, he should only perish with them, to no purpose. But that if he were once gotten free from this siege, he should be able to bring them very great relief. For that he would immediately get the Galileans together, out of the country, in great multitudes, and draw the Romans off their city by another war. That he did not see what advantage he could bring to them now, by staying among them, but only provoke the Romans to besiege them more closely, as esteeming it a most valuable thing to them to take him. But that if they were once informed that he was fled out of the city, they would greatly remit of their eagerness against it. Yet did not this plea move the people; but inflamed them the more to hang about him. cordingly both the children and the old men, and the women, with their infants, came mourning to him, and fell down before him, and all of them* caught hold of his feet, and held him fast, and besought him with great lamentations, that he would take his share with them in their fortune. And I think they did this, not that they envied his deliverance, but that they hoped for their own; for they could not think they should suffer any great misfortune, provided Josephus would but stay with them.

Now Josephus thought, that if he resolved to stay, it would be ascribed to their entreaties; and if he resolved to go away by force, he should be put into custody. His commiseration also of the people under their lamentations had much broken his eagerness to leave them. So he resolved to stay and arming himself with the common despair of the citizens, he said to them, "Now is the time to begin to fight in earnest, when there is no hope of deliverance left. It is a brave thing to prefer glory before life, and to set about some such noble undertaking as may be remembered by late posterity." Having said this, he fell to work immediately, and made a sally, and dispersed the enemies' outguards, and ran as far as the Roman camp itself, and pulled the

*See Matt. xxviii. 9.

coverings of their tents to pieces, that were upon their banks, and set fire to to their works. And this was the manner in which he never left off fighting, neither the next day, nor that after it; but went on with it for a considerable number both of days and nights.

Upon this Vespasian, when he saw the Romans distressed by these sallies, (though they were ashamed to be made to run away by the Jews; and when at any time they made the Jews run away, their heavy armour would not let them pursue them far: while the Jews, when they had performed any action, and before they could be hurt themselves, still retired into the city ;) ordered his armed men to avoid their onsets, and not fight it out with men under desperation while nothing is more courageous than despair. But that their violence would be quenched, when they saw they failed of their purposes; as fire is quenched when it wants fuel. And that it was proper for the Romans to gain their victories as cheap as they could, since they were not forced to fight, but only to enlarge their own dominions. So he repelled the Jews in great measure by the Arabian archers, and the Syrian slingers, and by those that threw stones at them. Nor was there any intermission of the great number of their offensive engines. Now the Jews suffered greatly by those engines, without being able to escape from them. And when these engines threw their stones or javelins a great way, and the Jews were within their reach, they pressed hard upon the Romans, and fought desperately, without sparing either soul or body: one part succouring another by turns, when it was tired down.

When, therefore, Vespasian looked upon himself as in a manner besieged by these sallies of the Jews; and when his banks were now not far from the walls, he determined to make use of his battering ram. This ram is a vast beam of wood, like the mast of a ship. Its forepart is armed with a thick piece of iron at the head of it, which is so carved as to resemble the head of a ram : whence its name is taken. This ram is slung in the air by ropes, passing over its middle, and is hung like the balance in a pair of scales from another beam, and braced by strong beams that pass on both sides of it, in the nature of a cross. When this instrument is pulled backward by a great number of men, with united force,

and then thrust forward, by the same men, with a mighty noise, it batters the walls with that iron part which is prominent. Nor is there any tower so strong, or walls so broad, that can resist any more than its first batteries; but all are forced to yield to it at last. This was the experiment which the Roman general betook himself to, when he was eagerly bent upon taking the city, but found lying in the field so long to be to his disadvantage: because the Jews would never let him be quiet. So these Romans brought the several engines for galling an enemy nearer to the walls, that they might reach such as were upon the walls; and endeavoured to frustrate their attempts; while these threw stones and javelins at them. In the like manner did the archers and slingers come both together closer to the wall. This brought matters to such a pass, that none of the Jews durst mount the walls. And then it was that the other Romans brought the battering ram, which was cased with hurdles all over, and in the upper part was secured by skins that covered it: and this both for security of themselves, and of the engine. Now at the very first stroke of this engine the wall was shaken: and a terrible clamour was raised by the people within the city, as if they were already taken.

Now when Josephus saw this ram still battering the same place, and that the wall would quickly be thrown down by it, he resolved to elude for a while the force of the engine. With this design he gave orders to fill sacks with chaff, and to hang them down before that place where they saw the ram always battering, that the stroke might be turned aside; or that the place might feel less of the strokes by the yielding nature of the chaff. This contrivance very much delayed the attempts of the Romans: because let them remove their engine to what part they pleased, those that were above it removed their sacks, and placed them over against the strokes it made; insomuch that the wall was no way hurt, and this by the diversion of the strokes; till the Romans made an opposite contrivance of long poles, and by tying hooks at their ends cut off the sacks. Now when the battering ram thus recovered its force, and the wall having been newly built, was giving way, Josephus and those about him had afterward immediate recourse to fire to defend themselves. Accordingly they took whatsoever

they had that was dry, and made a sally three ways, and set fire to the machines and the hurdles, and the banks of the Romans themselves. Nor did the Romans well know how to come to their assistance being at once under a consternation at the Jews' boldness; and being prevented by the flames from coming to their assistance. For the materials being dry, with the bitumen, pitch, and brimstone that were among them, the fire caught hold of every thing immediately: and what cost the Romans a great deal of pains, was in one hour consumed.

He

And here a certain Jew appeared worthy of commendation.— He was the son of Sameas, and was called Eleazar; and was born at Saab in Galilee. This man took up a stone of a vast bigness, and threw it down from the wall upon the ram; and this with so great a force, that it brake off the head of the engine. also leaped down, and took up the head of the ram, from the midst of them; and, without any concern, carried it to the top of the wall and this, while he stood as a fit mark to be pelted by all his enemies. Accordingly he received the strokes upon his naked body, and was wounded with five darts. Nor did he mind any of them, while he went up to the top of the wall, where he stood in the sight of them all, as an instance of the greatest boldness. After which he threw himself on a heap with his wounds upon him, and fell down together with the head of the ram. Next to him two brothers showed their courage. Their names were Netir and Philip, both of the village Ruma, and both of them Galileans also. These men leaped upon the soldiers of the tenth legion, and fell upon the Romans with such a noise and force, as to disorder their ranks, and to put to flight all upon whomsoever they made their assaults.

After these men's performances, Josephus, and the rest of the multitude with him, took a great deal of fire, and burnt both the machines, and their coverings; with the works belonging to the fifth and to the tenth legion: which they put to flight. When others followed them immediately, and buried those instruments, and all their materials under ground. However, about the evening, the Romans erected the battering ram again, against that part of the wall which had suffered before. Where a certain Jew, that defended the city from the Romans, hit Vespasian with a dart in his

foot, and wounded him a little the distance being so great, that no considerable impression could be made by the dart, thrown so far off. However, this caused the greatest disorder among the Romans. For when those that stood near him saw his blood, they were disturbed at it and a report went abroad through the whole army, that the general was wounded. While the greatest part left the siege, and came running together, with surprise and fear, to the general. And before them all came Titus, out of the concern he had for his father. Insomuch that the multitude were in great confusion; and this out of the regard they had for their general, and by reason of the agony that the son was in. Yet did the father soon put an end to the son's fear, and to the disorder the army was under. For being superior to his pains, and endeavouring soon to be seen by all that had been in a fright about him; he excited them to fight the Jews more briskly. For now every body was willing to expose himself to danger immediately, in order to avenge their general: and then they encouraged one another with loud voices, and ran hastily to the walls.

But still the friends of Josephus, although they fell down dead one upon another by the darts and stones which the engines threw upon them; yet did they not desert the wall: but fell upon those that managed the ram, under the protection of the hurdles, with fire and iron weapons, and stones. And these could do little or nothing, but fell themselves perpetually: while they were seen by those whom they could not see. For the light of their own flame shone about them, and made them a most visible mark to the enemy; as they were in the day time. While the engines could not be seen at a great distance; and so what was thrown at them was hard to be avoided. For the force with which these engines threw stones and darts, made them hurt several at a time; and the violent noise of the stones that were cast by the engines was so great, that they carried away the pinnacles of the wall, and broke off the corners of the towers. For no body of men could be so strong as not to be overthrown to the last rank by the largeness of the stones. And any one may learn the force of the engines by what happened this very night: for as one of those that stood round about Josephus was near the wall, his head was carried away by such a stone; and his skull was flung as far as three furlongs. In the