war, and on that account allo; and fo every city which hath Jews in it will be filled with flaughter, for the fake of a few men, and they who flay them will be pardoned: But if that flaughter be not made by them, confider how wicked a thing it is to take arms against thofe that are so kind to you. Have pity therefore, if not of your children and wives, yet upon this your metropolis, and its facred walls; fpare the temple, and preferve the holy houfe with its holy furniture for yourtelves: For if the Romans get you under their power, they will no longer abstain from them when their former abftinence fhall have been to ungratefully requitted. I call to witnefs your fanctuary and the holy angels of God, and this country common to us all, that I have not kept back any thing that is for your prefervation; and if you will follow that advice which you ought to do, you will have that peace which will be common to you and to me; but if you indulge your paffions, you will run thofe hazards which I fhall be free from."

5. When Agrippa had fpoken thus, both he and his fifter wept, and by their tears repreffed a great deal of the violence of the people, but ftill they cried out, That" they would not fight against the Romans, but againft Florus, on account of what they had fuffered by his means." To which Agrippa replied," that what they had already done was like fuch as make war against the Romans; for you have not paid the tribute which is due to Cæfar; and you have cut off the cloisters [of the temple from joining to the tower Antonia. You will therefore prevent any occafion of revolt if you will but join thefe together again, and if you will but pay your tribute; for the citadel does not now belong to Florus, nor are you to pay the tribute money to Florus."

CHAP. XVII.

How the War of the Jews with the Romans began. And concerning Manahem.

§ 1. HIS advice the people hearkened to, and went up inte rebuild the cloilters: The rulers and fenators divided themfelves into the villages, and collected the tributes, and foon got together forty talents, which was the fum that was deficient. And thus did Agrippa then put a stop to that war which was threatened. Moreover, he attempted to perfuade the multitude to obey Flotus, until Cæfar fhould fend one to fucceed him; but they were hereby more provoked, and caft reproaches upon the king, and got him excluded out of the city; nay, fome of

Julius Cæfar had decreed, that the Jews of Jerufalem fhould pay an annual tribute to the Romans, excepting the city Joppa, and for the Sabbatical year; as anheim oblerves from the Antiq B. XIV. ch x. § 6. vol. II.

the feditious had the impudence to throw ftones at him. So when the king faw that the violence of thofe that were for innovations was not to be reftrained, and being very angry at the contumelies he had received, he fent their rulers, together with their men of power, to Florus, to Cefarea, that he might appoint whom he thought fit to collect the tribute in the country, while he retired unto his own kingdom.

2. And at this time it was that fome of those that principally excited the people to go to war, made an affault upon a certain fortrefs called Mafada. They took it by treachery, and flew the Romans that were there, and put others of their own party to keep it. At the fame time Eleazar, the fon of Ananias the high-priest, a very bold youth, who was at that time governor of the temple, perfuaded thofe that officiated in the divine fervice to receive no gift or facrifice for any foreigner. And this was the true beginning of our war with the Romans; for they rejected the facrifice of Cæfar on this account: And when many of the high-priefts and principal men befought them not to omit the facrifice, which it was customary for them to offer for their princes they would not be prevailed upon. These relied much upon their multitude for the most flourishing part of the innovators affifted them; but they had the chief regard to Eleazar, the governor of the temple.

3 Hereupon the men of power got together, and conferred with the high-priests, as did alfo the principal of the Pharifees; and thinking all was at flake, and that their calamities were becoming incurable, took counfel what was to be done. Accordingly they determined to try what they could do with the feditious by words and affembled the people before the brazengate, which was that gate of the inner temple [court of the priefts] which looked toward the fun-rifing. And in the first place, they fhewed the great indignation they had at thisattempt for a revolt, and for their bringing fo great a war upon their Country: After which they contuted their pretence as unjuftifiable and told them That "their forefathers had adorned their temple in great part with donations beftowed on them by foreigners, and had always received what had been prefented to them from foreign nations; and that they had been to far from rejecting any perfon's facrifice (which would be the higheft inftance of impiety), that they had themfelves placed thofe donations about the temple which were ftill vifible, and had remained there fo long a time: That they did now irritate the Romans to take arms against them, and invited them to make war upon them, and brought up novel rules of a ftrange divine worthip, and determined to run the hazard of having their city condemned for impiety, while they would not allow any foreigner but Jews only either to facrifice or to worship therein. And if fuch a law fhould be introduced in the cafe of a fingle private perfon only, he would have indignation at it, as an inftance of inhumanity determined against him while they

have no regard to the Romans or to Cæfar, and to forbid even their oblations to be received alfo : That however they cannot but fear, left by his rejecting their facrifices, they fhall not be allowed to offer their own; and that this city will lofe its principality, unless they grow wifer quickly, and reftore the facrifices as formerly, and indeed amend the injury [they have offered foreigners] before the report of it comes to the ears of thofe that have been injured."

4. And as they laid these things, they produced those priests that were skillful in the customs of their country, who made the report, That "all their forefathers had received the facrifices from foreign nations." But ftill not one of the innovators would hearken to what was faid; nay, thofe that miniftered about the temple would not attend their divine fervice, but were preparing matters for beginning the war. So the men of power, perceiving that the fedition was too hard for them to fubdue, and that the danger which would arife from the Romans would come upon them firft of all, endeavoured to fave themlelves, and fent ambaffadors, fome to Florus, the chief of which was Simon the fon of Ananias; and others to Agrippa, among whom the most eminent were Saul and Antipas, and Coftobarus, who were of the king's kindred; and they desired of them both that they would come with an army to the city, and cut off the fedition before it fhould be too hard to be fubdued. Now this terrible meffage was good news to Florus; and because his defign was to have a war kindled, he gave the ambaffadors no answer at all. But Agrippa was equally folicitous for those that were revolting, and for those against whom the war was to be made, and was defirous to preferve the Jews for the Romans, and the temple and metropolis for the Jews; he was alfo fenfible that it was not for his own advantage that the disturbances (hould proceed; fo he fent three thousand horfemen to the affiftance of the people out of Auranitis and Batanea, and Trachonitis, and thefe under Darius the mafter of his horfe, and Philip the fon of Jacimus, the general of his army.

5. Upon this the men of power, with the high-priests, as alfo all the part of the multitude that were defirous of peace, took courage, and seized upon the upper city [Mount Sion; for the feditious part had the lower city and the temple in their power: So they made ufe of ftones and flings perpetually against one another, and threw darts continually on both fides; and fometimes it happened that they made incurfions by troops, and fought it out hand to hand, while the feditious were fupe rior in boldnefs, but the king's foldiers in fkill. Thefe laft ftrove chiefly to gain the temple, and to drive thofe out of it who profaned it; as did the feditious, with Eleazar, befides what they had already, labour to gain the upper city. Thus were there perpetual flaughters on both fides for feven days time; but neither fide would yield up the parts they had feized on.

6. Now the next day was the feftival of Xylophory, upon which the custom was for every one to bring wood for the altar (that there might never be a want of fuel for that fire which was unquenchable, and always burning ;) upon that day they excluded the oppofite party from the obfervation of this part of religion. And when they had joined to themselves many of the Sicarii, who crowded in among the weaker people (that was the name for fuch robbers as had under their bofoms swords called Sica) they grew bolder, and carried their undertaking farther; infomuch, that the king's foldiers were overpowered by their multitude and boldness, and fo they gave way, and were driven out of the upper city by force. The others then fet fire to the house of Ananias the high-prieft, and to the palaces of Agrippa and Bernice: After which they carried the fire to the place where the archives were repofited, and made hafte to burn the contracts belonging to their creditors, and thereby to diffolve their obligations for paying their debts; and this was done in order to gain the multitude of those who had been debtors, and that they might perfuade the poorer fort to join in their infurrection with fafety against the more wealthy; fo the keepers of the records fled away, and the reft fet fire to them. And when they had thus burnt down the nerves of the city, they fell upon their enemies; at which time fome of the men of power, and of the high-priefts went into the vaults under ground, and concealed themfelves, while others fled with the king's foldiers to the upper palace, and fhut the gates immediately; among whom were Ananias the high-prieft, and the ambaffadors that had been fent to Agrippa. And now the feditious were contented with the victory they had gotten, and the buildings they had burnt down, and proceeded no farther.

7. But on the next day, which was the fifteenth of the month Lous, [Ab,] they made an affault upon Antonia, and befieged the garrifon which was in it two days, and then took the garrifon and flew them, and fet the citadel on fire; after which they marched to the palace, whether the king's foldiers were fled, and parted themselves into four bodies and made an attack upon the walls. As for thofe that were within it, no one had the courage to fally out, because thofe that affaulted them were so numerous, but they diftributed themfelves into the breaft-works and turrets, and fhot at the befiegers, whereby many of the robbers fell under the walls; nor did they ceafe to fight one with another either by night or by day, while the feditious fuppofed that thofe within would grow weary for want of food, and thofe without fuppofed the others would do the like by the tedioufnefs of the fiege.

8. In the mean time one Manahem, the fon of Judas that was called the Galilean (who was a very cunning fophifter, and had formerly reproached the Jews under Cyrenius, that after God they were fubject to the Romans,) took fome of the men

of note with him, and retired to Mafada, where he broke open King Herod's armoury, and gave arms not only to his own people, but to other robbers alfo. These he made ufe of for a guard, and returned in the ftate of a king to Jerufalem; he became the leader of the fedition and gave orders for continuing the fiege, but they wanted proper inftruments, and it was not practicable to undermine the wall, becaufe the darts came down upon them from above. But ftill they dug a mine from a great diftance under one of the towers, and made it totter, and having done that, they fet fire on what was combustible, and left it, and when the foundations were burnt below, the tower fell down fuddenly. Yet did they then meet with ano. ther wall that had been built within, for the befieged were fenfible beforehand of what they were doing, and probably the tower thook as it was undermining; fo they provided themfelves of another fortification; which, when the befiegers unexpectedly faw, while they thought they had already gained the place, they were under fome confternation. However, thofe that were within fent to Manahem, and to the other leaders of the fedition, and defired they might go out upon a capitulation: This was granted to the king's foldiers, and their own countrymen only, who went out accordingly; but the Romans that were left alone were greatly dejected, for they were not able to force their way through fuch a multitude; and to defire them to give them their right hand for their fecurity, they thought it would be a reproach to them, and befides if they fhould give it them, they durft not depend upon it; fo they deferted their camp, as eafily taken, and ran away to the royal towers, that called Hippicus, that called Phafalus, and that called Mariamne. But Manahem and his party fell upon the place whence the foldiers were fled, and flew as many of them as they could catch, before they got up to the towers, and plundered what they left behind them, and fet fire to their camp. This was executed on the fixth day of the month Gorpieus, [Elul.]

9. But on the next day the high-prieft was caught where he had concealed himfelf in an aqueduct; he was flain, together with Hezekiah his brother, by the robbers: Hereupon the feditious befieged the towers, and kept them guarded, left any one of the foldiers fhould efcape. Now the overthrow of the places of ftrength, and the death of the high-priest Ananias, fo puffed up Manahem, that he became barbarously cruel, and, as he thought he had no antagonist to difpute the management of affairs with him, he was no better than an infupportable tyrant: But Eleazer and his party, when words had paffed between them, how "It was not proper when they revolted from the Romans, out of the defire of liberty, to betray that liberty to any of their own people, and to bear a lord, who though he thould be guilty of no violence, was yet meaner than themselves; as alfo, that, in cafe they were obliged to