alacrity; for they esteemed themselves entirely ruined, if once the Romans get Into the temple, as did the Romans look upon the same thing as the beginning of their entire conquest. So a terrible battle was fought at the entrance of the temple, while the Romans were forcing their way in order to get possession of that temple, and the Jews were driving them back to the tower of Antonia; in which battle the darts were on both sides useless, as well as the spears, and both sides drew their swords, and fought it out hand to hand. Now, during this struggle, the positions of the men were undistinguished on both sides, and they fought at random, the men being intermixed one with another, and confounded, by reason of the narrowness of the place; while the noise that was made fell on the ear after an indistinct manner, because it was so very loud. Great slaughter was now made on both sides, and the combattants trod upon the bodies and the armour of those that were dead, and dashed them to pieces. Accordingly, to which side soever the battle inclined those that had the advantage exhorted one another to go on, as did those that were beaten make great lamentation. But still there was no room for flight nor for pursuit, but disorderly revolutions and retreats, while the armies were intermixed one with another; but those that were in the first ranks were under the necessity of killing or being killed, without any way for escaping; for those on both sides that came behind forced those before them to go on, without leaving any space between the armies. At length the Jews' violent zeal was too hard for the Roman skill, and the battle already inclined entirely that way; for the fight had lasted from the ninth hour of the night to the seventh hour of the day, while the Jews came on in crowds, and had the danger the temple was in for their motive; the Romans having no more here than a part of their army; for those legions on which the soldiers on that side depended were not to come up to them. So it was at present thought sufficient by the Romans to take possession of the tower of Antonia.

8. But there was one Julian, a centurion, that came from Bithynia, a man he was of great reputation, whom I had formerly seen in that war, and one of the highest fame, both for his skill in war, his strength of body, and the courage of his soul. This man seeing the Romans giving ground, and in a sad condition, for he stood by Titus at the tower of Antonia, leaped out, and of himself alone put the Jews to flight, when they were already conquerors, and made them retire as far as the corner of the inner court of the temple: from him the multitude fled away in crowds, as supposing that neither his strength nor his violent attacks could be those of a mere man. Accordingly, he rushed through the midst of the Jews, as they were dispersed all abroad, and killed those that he caught. Nor, indeed, was there any sight that appeared more wonderful in the eyes of Cæsar, or more terrible to others, than this. However, he was himself pursued by fate, which it was not possible that he, who was but a mortal man, should escape; for as he had shoes* all full of thick and sharp nails, as had every one of the other soldiers, so when he ran on the pavement of the temple, he slipped, fell down upon his back with a very great noise, which was made by his armour. This made those that were running away to turn back; whereupon those Romans that were in the tower of Antonia set up a great shout, as they were in fear for the man But the Jews got about him in crowds, and struck at him with their spears and with their swords on all sides. Now he received a great many of the strokes of these iron weapons upon his shield, and often attempted to get up again, but was thrown down by those that struck at him; yet did he, as he lay along, stab many of them with his sword. Nor was he soon killed, as being covered with his helmet and his breastplate in those parts of his body where he might be mortally wound. ed: he also pulled his neck close to his body till all his other limbs were shattered, and nobody durst come to defend him, and then he yielded to his fate. Now Cæsar

No wonder that this Julian, who had so many nails in his shoes, slipped upon the pavement of the temple, which was smooth, and laid with marble of different colours.

was deeply affected on account of this man of so great fortitude, and especially as he was killed in the sight of so many people; he was desirous himself to come to his assistance, but the place would not give him leave, while such as could have done it were too much terrified to attempt it. Thus, when Julian had struggled with death a great while, and had let but few of those that had given him his mortal wound go off unhurt, he had at last his throat cut, though not without some difficulty, and left behind him a very great fame, not only among the Romans and with Cæsar himself, but among his enemies also; then did the Jews catch up his dead body, and put the Romans to flight again, and shut them up in the tower of Antonia. Now those that most signalized themselves, and fought most zealously in this battle of the Jewish side, were one Alexis and Gyphtheus of John's party, and of Simon's party were Malachias, and Judas the son of Merto, and James the son of Sosas, the commander of the Idumeans; and of the zealots two brethren, Simon and Judas, the sons of Jairus.

CHAP. II.

How Titus gave Orders to demolish the Tower of Antonia, and then persuaded Jo sephus to exhort the Jews again to a [Surrender.]

§ 1. AND now Titus gave order to his soldiers that were with him to dig up the foundations of the tower of Antonia, and make him a ready passage for his army to come up; whilst he himself had Josephus brought to him (for he had been informed that on that very day, which was the seventeenth* day of Panemus [Tamuz,] the sacrifice called the daily sacrifice had failed, and had not been offered to God, for want of men to offer it, and that the people were grievously troubled at it,) and commanded him to say the same things to John that he had said before, that, "if he had any malicious inclination for fighting, he might come out with as many of his men as he pleased, in order to fight without the danger of destroying either his city or temple; but that he desired he would not defile the temple, nor thereby offend against God: that he might, if he pleased, offer the sacrifices which were now discontinued, by any of the Jews whom he should pitch upon. Upon this Josephus stood in such a place where he might be heard, not by John only, but by many more, and then declared to them what Cæsar had given him in charge, and this in the Hebrew language. So he earnestly prayed them, "To spare their own city, and to prevent that fire which was just ready to seize upon the temple, and to offer their usual sacrifices to God therein." At these words of his a great sadness and silence were observed among the people. But the tyrant himself cast many reproaches upon Josephus, with imprecations besides; and at last added this withal,-"That he did never fear the taking of the city, because it was God's own city." In answer to which Josephus said thus with a loud voice :-"To be sure thou hast kept this city wonderful pure for God's sake; the temple also continues entirely unpolluted! Nor hast thou been guilty of any impiety against him for whose assistance thou hopest! He still receives his accustomed sacrifices! Vile wretch that thou art! If any one should deprive thee of thy daily food, thou wouldest esteem him to be an enemy to thee; but thou hopest to have that God for thy supporter in this war whom thou hast deprived of his

This was a remarkable day indeed, the 17th of Panemus [Tamuz,] A. D. 70, when, according to Daniel's prediction, 606 years before, the Romans, in half a week, caused the sacrifice and oblation to cease, Dan. ix. 27. For from the month of February, A. D. 66, about which time Vespasian entered on this war, to this very time, was just three years and a half. See Bp. Lloyd's Tables of Chronology, pub lished by Mr. Marshall, on this year. Nor is it to be omitted what very nearly confirms this duration of the war, that four years before the war began was somewhat above seven years five months before the destruction of Jerusalem, ch. v. sect. 3.

The same that in the New Testament is always so called, and was then the common language of the Jews in Judea, which was the Syriac dialect.

VOL. II

everlasting worship: and thou imputest those sins to the Romans, who, to this very time, take care to have our laws observed, and almost compel these sacri. fices to be still offered to God which have by thy means been intermitted. Who 's there that can avoid groans and lamentations at the amazing change that is made in the city? since very foreigners and enemies do now correct that impiety which thou hast occasioned; while thou who art a Jew, and wast educated in our laws, art become a greater enemy to them than the others. But still, John, it is never dishonourable to repent, and amend what hath been done amiss even at the last extremity. Thou hast an instance before thee in Jechoniah,* the king of the Jews, if thou hast a mind to save the city, who, when the king of Babylon made war against him, did, of his own accord, go out of this city before it was taken, and did undergo a voluntary captivity, with his family, that the sanctuary might not be delivered up to the enemy, and that he might not see the house of God set on fire; on which account he is celebrated among all the Jews in their sacred memorials, and his memory is become immortal, and will be conveyed fresh down to our posterity through all ages. This John is an excellent ex. ample in such a time of danger; and I dare venture to promise that the Romans shall still forgive thee. And take notice, that I, who make this exhortation to thee, am one of thine own nation; I, who am a Jew, do make this promise to thee. And it will become thee to consider who I am that give thee this counsel, and whence I am derived for while I am alive I shall never be in such slavery as to forego my own kindred, or forget the laws of our forefathers. Thou hast indignation at me again, and makest a clamour at me, and reproachest me; indeed, I cannot deny but I am worthy of worse treatment than all this amounts to, because, in opposi tion to fate, I make this kind invitation to thee, and endeavour to force deliverance upon those whom God hath condemned. And who is there that does not know what the writings of the ancient prophets contain in them? and particularly tha oraclet which is just now going to be fulfilled upon this miserable city? For they foretold that this city should be then taken, when somebody shall begin the slaughter of his own countrymen. And are not both the city and the entire temple now full of the dead bodies of your countrymen? It is God,‡ therefore, it is God himself, who is bringing on this fire to purge that city and temple by means of the Romans, and is going to pluck up this city, which is full of your pollutions."

2. As Josephus spake these words, with groans and tears in his eyes, his voice was intercepted by sobs. However, the Romans could not but pity the affliction he was under, and wonder at his conduct. But for John and those that were with him, they were but the more exasperated against the Romans on this account and were desirous to get Josephus also into their power: yet did that discourse influence a great many of the better sort; and truly some of them were so afraio of the guards set by the seditious, that they tarried where they were, but stil were satisfied that both they and the city were doomed to destruction. Some also there were, who, watching a proper opportunity when they might quietly get away, fled to the Romans, of whom were the high priests Joseph and Jesus, and of the sons of high priests three, whose father was Ishmael, who was beheaded in Cyrene, and four sons of Matthias, as also one son of the other Matthias, who ran away after his father's death, and whose father was slain by Simon, the son * Our present copies of the Old Testament want this encomium upon King Jechoniah or Jehoiachim which it seems was in Josephus's copy.

Of this oracle, see the note on B. iv. ch. vi. sect. 3.

Josephus, both here and in many places elsewhere, speaks so, that it is most evident he was fully satisfied that God was on the Romans' side, and made use of them now for the destruction of that wicked nation of the Jews, which was, for certain, the true state of this matter, as the prophet Daniel first and our Saviour himself afterwards, had clearly foretold. See Lit. Accompl. of Proph. p. 64, &c.

Josephus had before told us, B. v. ch. xiii. sect. 1. that this fourth son of Matthias ran away to the Romans before his father's and brethren's slaughter, and not after it, as here. The former account is, ir all probability, the truest; for had not that fourth son escaped before the others were caught and put to leath, he had been caught and put to death with them. This last account, therefore looks like an in stance of a small inadvertence of Josephus in the place before us.

of Gioras, with three of his sons, as I have already related; many also of the other nobility went over to the Romans, together with the high priests. Now Cæsar not only received these men very kindly in other respects, but, knowing they would not willingly live after the customs of other nations, he sent them to Gophna, and desired them to remain there for the present, and told them, that when he was gotten clear of this war, he would restore each of them to their possessions again: so they cheerfully retired to that small city which was allotted them, without fear of any danger. But as they did not appear, the seditious gave out again that these deserters were slain by the Romans, which was done in order to deter the rest from running away, by fear of the like treatment. This trick of theirs succeeded now for a while, as did the like trick before; for the rest were hereby deterred from deserting, by fear of the like treatment.

3. However, when Titus had recalled those men from Gophna, he gave orders that they should go round the wall together with Josephus, and show themselves to the people; upon which a great many fled to the Romans. These men also got in a great number together, and stood before the Romans, and besought the seditious, with groans and tears in their eyes, in the first place, to receive the Romans entirely into the city, and save that their own place of residence again; but that, if they would not agree to such a proposal, they would at least depart out of the temple, and save the holy house for their own use; for that the Romans would not verture to set the sanctuary on fire, but under the most pressing necessity. Yet did the seditious still more and more contradict them; and while they cast loud and bitter reproaches upon these deserters, they also set their engines for throwing of darts, and javelins, and stones, upon the sacred gates of the temple, at duc dis tances from one another, insomuch that all the space round about within the temple might be compared to a burying-ground, so great was the number of the dead bodies therein; as might the holy house itself be compared to a citadel. Accordingly, these men rushed upon these holy places in their armour, that were otherwise unapproachable, and that while their hands were yet warm with the blood of their own people, which they had shed: nay, they proceeded to such great transgressions, that the very same indignation which Jews would naturally have against Romans, had they been guilty of such abuses against them, the Romans now had against Jews, for their impiety in regard to their own religious customs. Nay, indeed, there were none of the Roman soldiers who did not look with a sacred horror upon the holy house, and adored it, and wished that the rob bers would repent before their miseries became incurable.

4. Now Titus was deeply affected with this state of things, and reproached John and his party, and said to them-" Have not you, vile wretches that you are, by our permission put up this partition-wall* before your sanctuary? Have not you been allowed to put up the pillars thereto belonging, at due distances, and on it to engrave in Greek, and in your own letters, this prohibition,-That no foreigner should go beyond that wall? have not we given you leave to kill such as go be. yond it, though he were a Roman? And what do you do now, you pernicious villains? Why do you trample upon dead bodies in this temple? and why do you pollute this holy house with the blood of both foreigners and Jews themselves? I appeal to the gods of my own country, and to every god that ever had any regard to this place (for I do not suppose it to be now regarded by any of them ;) I also appeal to my own army, and to those Jews that are now with me, and even to you yourselves, that I do not force you to defile this your sanctuary; and if you will but change the place whercon you will fight, no Roman shall either come near your sanctuary, or offer any affront to it; nay, I will endeavour to preserve you your holy house whether you will or no."+

Of this partition-wall, separating Jews and Gentiles, with its pillars and inscription, see the descrip. tion of the temples, ch. xv.

That these seditious Jews were the direct occasions of their own destruction, and of the conflagration of their city and temple, and that Titus earnestly and constantly laboured to save both, is here and every where most evident in Josephus

5. As Josephus explained these things from the mouth of Cesar, both the rob bers and the tyrant thought that these exhortations proceeded from Titus's fear, and not from his good will to them, and grew insolent upon it. But when Titus saw that these men were neither to be moved by commiseration towards them. selves, nor had any concern upon them to have the holy house spared, he proceeded unwillingly to go on with the war again against them. He could not, indeed, bring all his army against them, the place was so narrow; but choosing thirty soldiers of the most valiant out of every hundred, and committing a thousand to each tribune, and making Cerealis their commander in chief, he gave orders that they should attack the guards of the temple about the ninth hour of that night But as he was now in his armour, and preparing to go down with them, his friends would not let him go, by reason of the greatness of the danger, and what the commanders suggested to them; for they said, that "he would do more by sitting above in the tower of Antonia, as a dispenser of rewards to those soldiers that signalized themselves in the fight, than by coming down, and hazarding his own person in the forefront of them; for that they would all fight stoutly, while Cæsar looked upon them." With this advice Cæsar complied, and said, that "the only reason he had for such compliance with the soldiers was this, that he might be able to judge of their courageous actions, and that no valiant soldier might lie concealed, and miss of his reward, and no cowardly soldier might go unpunished, but that he might himself be an eyewitness, and able to give evidence of all that was done, who was to be the disposer of punishments and rewards to them." So he sent the soldiers about their work at the hour forementioned, while he went out himself to a higher place in the tower of Antonia, whence he might see what was done, and there waited with impatience to see the event.

6. However, the soldiers that were sent did not find the guards of the temple asleep, as they hoped to have done, but were obliged to fight with them immediately hand to hand, as they rushed with violence upon them with a great shout. Now, as soon as the rest within the temple heard that shout of those that were upon the watch, they ran out in troops upon them. Then did the Romans receive the onset of those that came first upon them; but those that followed them fell upon their own troops, and many of them treated their own soldiers as if they had been ene mies; for the great confused noise that was made on both sides hindered them from distinguishing one another's voices, as did the darkness of the night hinder them from the like distinction by the sight; besides that blindness which arose otherwise also from the passion and the fear they were in at the same time: for which reason it was all one to the soldiers who it was they struck at. However, this ignorance did less harm to the Romans than to the Jews, because they were joined together under their shields, and made their sallies more regularly than the others did, and each of them remembered their watchward; while the Jews were perpetually dispersed abroad, and made their attacks and retreats at random, and so did frequently seem to one another to be enemies: for every one of them received those of their own men that came back in the dark as Romans, and made an assault upon them; so that more of them were wounded by their own men than by the enemy, till, upon the coming on of the day, the nature of the fight was discerned by the eye afterward. Then did they stand in battle-array in distinct bodies, and cast their darts regularly, and regularly defended themselves. Nor did either side yield or grow weary. The Romans contended with each other who should fight the most strenuously, both single men and entire regiments, as being under the eye of Titus: and every one concluded that this day would begin his promotion, if he fought bravely. What were the great encouragements of the Jews to act vigorously, were their fear for themselves and for the temple, and the presence of their tyrant, who exhorted some, and beat and threatened others, to act courageously. Now, it so happened that this fight was for the most part a stationary one, wherein the soldiers went on and came back in a short time and suddenly for there was no long space of ground for either of their flights