Page images
PDF
EPUB

tament to carry with him, wherein Antipater had the kingdom bequeathed to him, and wherein Herod was named for Antipater's successor, that Herod, I mean, who was the son of Mariamne, the high priest's daughter.

and

3. Sylleus also, the Arabian, sailed to Rome, without any regard to Cæsar's in junctions, and this in order to oppose Antipater with all his might, as to that law. suit which Nicolaus had with him before. This Sylleus had also a great contest with Aretas his own king; for he had slain many others of Aretas's friends, and particularly Sohemus, the most potent man in the city Petra. Moreover, he had prevailed with Phabatus, who was Herod's steward, by giving him a great sum of money, to assist 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 Cæsar had re. quired of him to pay. But when Sylleus paid nothing of what he was to pay, did also accuse Phabatus to Cæsar, and said that he was not a steward for Cæsar's advantage, but for Herod's, Phabatus was angry at him on that account, but was still in very great esteem with Herod, and discovered Sylleus's grand secrets; 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; so 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. These last being put to the torture, confessed that they had prevailed with Corinthus, for a large sum of money, to kill Herod; and when they had been farther exa. mined before Saturninus the president of Syria, they were sent to Rome.

4. However, Herod did not leave off importuning Pheroras, but proceeded to force him to put away his wife: yet could he not devise 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 such great uneasiness at her, that he cast both her and his brother out of his kingdom. Pheroras took this injury very pa tiently, and went away into his own tetrarchy [Perea beyond Jordan,] and sware that there should be but one end put to his flight, and that should be Herod's death: and that he would never return while he was alive. Nor, indeed, would he return when his brother was sick, although he earnestly sent for him to come to him, because he had a mind to leave some injunctions with him before he died; but Herod unexpectedly recovered. A little afterward Pheroras himself fell sick, when Herod showed great moderation; for he came to him, and pitied his case, and took care of him; but his affection for him did him no good, for Pheroras died little afterward. Now though Herod had so great an affection for him to the last day of his life, yet was a report spread abroad that he had killed him by poison. However, he took care to have his dead body carried to Jerusalem, 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 Aristobu.

lus's murderers came to.

[ocr errors]

CHAP. XXX.

When Herod made Inquiry about Pheroras's Death, a Discovery was made that As tipater had prepared a poisonous Draught for him. Herod casts Doris and her Accomplices, as also Mariamne, out of the Palace, and blots her Son

Herod out of his Testament.

1. BUT now the punishment was transferred unto the original author Antipa. ter, and took its rise from the death of Pheroras: for certain of his freedmen came with a sad countenance to the king, and told him, that "his brother had boen destroyed by poison, and that his wife had brought him somewhat that was

prepared after an unusual manner; and that, upon his eating it, he presently fell into his distemper: that Antipater's mother and sister two days before brought a woman out of Arabia that was skilful in mixing such drugs, that she might prepare a love potion for Pheroras; and that instead of a love potion, she had given him deadly poison; and that this was done by the management of Sylleus, who was acquainted with that woman."

2. The king was deeply affected with so many suspicions, and had the maid. Fervants, and some of the free women also, tortured; one of which cried out in Ler agonies," May that God that governs the earth and the heaven punish this author of all these our miseries, Antipater's mother!" The king took a handle from this confession, and proceeded to inquire farther into the truth of the mat. ter. So this woman discovered the friendship of Antipater's mother to Pheroras and Antipater's women, as also their secret meetings, and that Pheroras and Antipater had drunk with them for a whole night together as they returned from the king, and would not suffer any body, either man-servant or maid-servant, to be there; while one of the freewomen discovered the matter.

3. Upon this Herod tortured the maid-servants every one by themselves separately, who all unanimously agreed in the foregoing discoveries; and that, ac cordingly by agreement they went away, Antipater to Rome, and Pheroras to Perea; for that they oftentimes talked to one another thus:-"That after Herod had slain Alexander and Aristobulus, he would fall upon them and upon their wives, because after he had not spared Mariamne and her children, he would spare nobody; and that for this reason it was best to get as far off the wild beast as they were able." And that Antipater oftentimes lamented his own case before his mother, and said to her, that "he had already gray hairs upon his head, and that his father grew younger again every day; and that, perhaps, death would overtake him before he should begin to be a king in earnest; and that in case Herod should die, which yet nobody knew when it would be, the enjoyment of the succession could certainly be but for a little time; for that these heads of Hydra, the sons of Alexander and Aristobulus, were growing up: that he was deprived by his father of the hopes of being succeeded by his children; for that his successor after his death was not to be any one of his own sons, but Herod the son of Mariamne: that in this point Herod was plainly distracted, to think that his testament should therein take place; for he would take care that not one of his posterity should remain, because he was of all fathers the greatest hater of his children. Yet does he hate his brother still worse, whence it was that he awhile ago gave himself a hundred talents, that he should not have any intercourse with Pheroras. And when Pheroras said, wherein have we done him any harm? Antipater replied, I wish he would but deprive us of all we have, and leave us naked and alive only; but it is, indeed, impossible to escape this wild beast, who is thus given to murder; who will not permit us to love any person openly, although we be together privately; yet may we be so openly too, if we have but the courage and the hands of men."

4. These things were said by the women upon the torture; as also that Pheroras resolved to fly with them to Perea. Now Herod gave credit to all they said, on account of the affair of the hundred talents; for he had no discourse with any body about them, but only with Antipater. So he vented his anger first of all against Antipater's mother, and took away from her all the ornaments which he had given her, which cost a great many talents, and cast her out of the palace a second time. He also 'ook care of Pheroras's women after their tortures, as being now reconciled to them; but he was in great consternation himself, and inflamed upon every suspicion, and had many innocent persons led to the torture. out of his fear lest he should leave any guilty persons untortured.

5. And now it was that he betook himself to examine Antipater of Samaria, who was the steward of [his son] Antipater; and upon torturing him he learned. that Antipater had sent for a potion of deadly poison for him out of Egypt, by

[ocr errors]

Antiphilus a companion of his : that Theudio, the uncle of Antipater, had it from him, and delivered it to Pheroras; for that Antipater had charged him to take his father off while he was at Rome, and so free him from the suspicion of doing it himself: that Pheroras also committed this potion to his wife. Then did the king send for her, and bid her bring to him what she had received immediately. So she came out of her house as if she would bring it with her, but threw herself down from the top of her house, in order to prevent any examination and torture from the king. However, it came to pass, as it seems by the providence of God, when he intended to bring Antipater to punishment, that she fell not upon her head, but upon other parts of her body, and escaped. The king, when she was brought to him, took care of her (for she was at first quite senseless upon her fall,) and asked her why she had thrown herself down? and gave her his oath, that if she would speak the real truth, he would excuse her from punishment; but that if she concealed any thing, he would have her body torn to pieces by tor ments, and leave no part of it to be buried.

6. Upon this the woman paused a little, and then said,-"Why do I spare to speak of these grand secrets, now Pheroras is dead; that would only tend to save Antipater, who is all our destruction? Hear then, O king, and be thou and God himself, who cannot be deceived, witnesses to the truth of what I am going to say. When thou didst sit weeping by Pheroras as he was dying, then it was that he called me to him, and said, "My dear wife, I have been greatly mistaken as to the disposition of my brother towards me, and have hated him that is so affection. ate to me, and have contrived to kill him who is in such disorder for me before 1 am dead. As for myself, I receive the recompense of my impiety; but do thou bring what poison was left with us by Antipater, and which thou keepest in order to destroy him, and consume it immediately in the fire in my sight, that I may not be liable to the avenger in the invisible world. This I brought as he bid me, and emptied the greatest part of it into the fire, but reserved a little of it for my own use against uncertain futurity, and out of my fear for thee."

7. When she had said this, she brought the box, which had a small quantity of this potion in it: but the king let her alone, and transferred the tortures to Antiphilus's mother and brother, who both confessed that Antiphilus brought that box out of Egypt, and that they had received the potion from a brother of his, who was a physician at Alexandria. Then did the ghosts of Alexander and Aristobulus go round all the palace, and became the inquisitors and discoverers of what could not otherwise have been found out, and brought such as were the freest from suspicion to be examined; whereby it was discovered, that Mariamne the high priest's daughter was conscious of this plot, and her very brothers, when they were tortured, declared it so to be. Whereupon the king avenged this insolent attempt of the mother upon her son, and blotted Herod, whom he had by her, out of his testament, who had been before named therein as successor to Antipater.

CHAP. XXXI

Antipater is convicted by Bathyllus; but he still returns from Rome without knowing it. Herod brings him to his Trial.

§ 1. AFTER these things were over, Bathyllus came under examination, in order to convict Antipater, who proved the concluding attestation to Antipater's designs; for, indeed, he was no other than his freedman. This man came and brought another deadly potion, the poison of asps, and the juices of other ser pents, that if the first potion did not do the business, Pheroras and his wife might be armed with this also to destroy the king. He brought also an addition to Antipater's insolent attempts against his father which was the letters which

[ocr errors]

he wrote against his brethren, Archelaus and Philip, which were the king's sons, and educated at Rome, being yet youths, but of generous dispositions. Antipater set himself to get rid of these as soon as he could, that they might not be prejudicial to his hopes, and to that end he forged letters against them in the name of his friends at Rome. Some of these he corrupted by bribes to write how they grossly reproached their father, and did openly bewail Alexander and Aristobulus, and were uneasy at their being recalled; for their father had already sent for them, which was the very thing that troubled Antipater.

2. Nay, indeed, while Antipater was in Judea, and before he was upon his journey to Rome, he gave money to have the like letters sent against them from Rome, and then came to his father, who as yet had no suspicion of him, and apologized for his brethren, and alleged on their behalf, that some of the things contained in those letters were false, and others of them were only youthful errors. Yet at the same time that he expended a great deal of his money by making presents to such as wrote against his brethren, did he aim to bring his accounts into confusion, by buying costly garments and carpets of various contextures, with silver and gold cups, and a great many more curious things, that so among the very great expenses laid out upon such furniture, he might conceal the money he had used in hiring men [to write the letters;] for he brought in an account of his expenses, amounting to two hundred talents, his main pretence for which was the lawsuit he had been in with Syileus. So while all his rogueries, even those of a lesser sort also, were covered by his greater villany, while all the examinations by torture proclaimed his attempt to murder his father, and the letters proclaimed his second attempt to murder his brethren; yet did no one of those that came to Rome inform him of his misfortunes in Judea, although seven months had intervened between his conviction and his return, so great was the hatred which they all bore to him. And, perhaps, they were the ghosts of those brethren of his that had been murdered, that stopped the mouths of those that intended to have told him. He then wrote from Rome, and informed [his friends] that he would soon come to them, and how he was dismissed with honour by Cæsar.

3. Now the king being desirous to get this plotter against him into his hands, and being also afraid lest he should some way come to the knowledge how his affairs stood, and be upon his guard, he dissembled his anger in his epistle to him, as in other points he wrote kindly to him, and desired him to make haste, because, if he came quickly, he would then lay aside the complaints he had against his mother; for Antipater was not ignorant that his mother had been expelled out of the palace. However, he had before received a letter, which contained an account of the death of Pheroras at Tarentum,* and made great la. mentations at it, for which some commended him, as being for his own uncle. though probably this confusion arose on account of his having thereby failed in his plot [on his father's life,] and his tears were more for the loss of him that was to have been subservient therein, than for [an uncle] Pheroras: moreover a sort of fear came upon him as to his designs, lest the poison should have been discovered. However, when he was in Cilicia, he received the forementioned epistle from his father, and made great haste accordingly. But when he had sailed to Celendris, a suspicion came into his mind relating to his mother's misfortunes, as if his soul foreboded some mischief to itself. Those, therefore, of his friends which were the most considerate, advised him not rashly to go to his father, till he had learned what were the occasions why his mother had been ejected, because they were afraid that he might be involved in the calumnies that had been cast upon his mother: but those that were less considerate, and had more regard to their own desires of seeing their native country than to Antipater's safety, persuaded him to make haste home, and not, by delaying his journey, afford his father ground for an ill suspicion, and give a handle to those

This Tarentum has coins still extant, as Reland informs us here in his note.

that raised stories against him; for that in case any thing had been moved to his disadvantage, it was owing to his absence, which durst not have been done had he been present. And they said it was absurd to deprive himself of certain hap piness for the sake of an uncertain suspicion, and not rather to return to his father, and take the royal authority upon him, which was in a state of fluctuation on his account only. Antipater complied with this last advice, for Providence hurried him on [to his destruction.] So he passed over the sea, and landed at Sebastus, the haven of Cæsarea.

4. And here he found a perfect and unexpected solitude, while every body avoided him, and nobody durst come at him; for he was equally hated by all men; and now that hatred had liberty to show itself, and the dread men were in of the king's anger made men keep from him; for the whole city [of Jerusalem] was filled with the rumours about Antipater, and Antipater himself was the only person who was ignorant of them; for as no man was dismissed more magnifi. cently when he began his voyage to Rome, so was no man now received back with greater ignominy. And, indeed, he began already to suspect what misfortunes there were in Herod's family; yet did he cunningly conceal his suspicion; and while he was inwardly ready to die for fear, he put on a forced boldness of countenance. Nor could he now fly any whither, nor had he any way of emerg. ing out of the difficulties which encompassed him; nor, indeed, had he even there any certain intelligence of the affairs of the royal family, by reason of the threats the king had given out: yet had he some small hopes of better tidings; for, perhaps, nothing had been discovered; or, if any discovery had been made, perhaps he should be able to clear himself by impudence and artful tricks, which were the only things he relied upon for his deliverance.

5. And with these hopes did he screen himself, till he came to the palace, without any friends with him; for these were affronted, and shut out at the first gate. Now Varus, the president of Syria, happened to be in the palace [at this juncture so Antipater went in to his father, and, putting on a bold face, he came near to salute him; but Herod stretched out his hands, and turned his head away from him, and cried out,-" Even this is an indication of a parricide, to be de sirous to get me into his arms, when he is under such heinous accusations. God confound thee, thou vile wretch, do not thou touch me, till thou hast cleared thy. self of these crimes that are charged upon thee. 1 appoint thee a court where thou art to be judged, and this Varus, who is very seasonably here, to be thy judge; and get thou thy defence ready against to-morrow; for I give thee su much time to prepare subtile excuses for thyself." And as Antipater was so confounded that he was able to make no answer to this charge, he went away; bu his mother and wife came to him, and told him of all the evidence he had gotten against him. Hereupon he recollected himself and considered what defence he should make against the accusations.

[ocr errors]

CHAP. XXXII.

Antipater is accused before Varus, and is convicted of laying a Plot [against hea Father] by the strongest Evidence. Herod puts off his Punishment till he should be recovered, and in the mean time alters his Testament

§ 1. Now the day following the king assembled a court of his kinsmen and friends, and called in Antipater's friends also: Herod himself with Varus were the presidents; and Herod called for all the witnesses, and ordered them to be brought in; among whoin some of the domestic servants of Antipater's mother were brought in also, who had but a little while before been caught, as they were carrying the following letter from her to her son." Since all those things have.

« PreviousContinue »