long war; for all the innovators had gotten together at Taricheæ, as relying upon the strength of the city, and on the lake that lay by it. This lake is called by the people of the country the lake of Gennesareth. The city itself is situated like Tiberias, at the bottom of a mountain, and on those sides which are not washed by the sea had been strongly fortified by Josephus, though not so strongly as Tiberias: for the wall of Tiberias had been built at the beginning of the Jews revolt, when he had great plenty of money, and great power, but Taricheæ partook only the remains of that liberality. Yet had they a great number of ships gotten ready upon the lake, that, in case they were beaten at land, they might retire to them; and they were so fitted up, that they might undertake a sea fight also. But as the Romans were building a wall about their camp, Jesus and his party were neither affrighted at their number, nor at the good order they were in, but made a sally upon them, and at the very first onset the builders of the wall were dispersed, and these pulled what little they had before built to pieces; but as soon as they saw the armed men getting together, and before they had suffered any thing themselves, they retired to their own men. But when the Romans pursued them, and drove them into their ships, where they launched out as far as might give them the opportunity of reaching the Romans with what they threw at them, and then cast anchor, and brought their ships close, as in a line of battle, and thence fought the enemy from the sea, who were themselves at land. But Vespasian hearing that a great multitude of them were gotten together in the plain that was before the city, he thereupon sent his son, with six hundred chosen horsemen to disperse them.

2. But when Titus perceived that the enemy was very numerous, he sent to his father, and informed him, that he `should want more forces. But as he saw a great many of the horsemen eager to fight, and that before any succours could come to them, and that yet some of them were privately under a sort of consternation at the multitude of the Jews, he stood in a place whence he might be heard, and said to them, "My brave Romans! for it is right for me to put you in "mind of what nation you are, in the beginning of my speech, "that so you may not be ignorant who you are, and who "they are against whom we are going to fight. For as to "us Romans, no part of the habitable earth hath been able to "escape our hands hitherto; but as for the Jews that I may

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"speak of them too, though they have been already beaten, "yet do they not give up the cause; and a sad thing it "would be for us to grow weary under our good success, "when they bear up under their misfortunes. As to the a"lacrity which you shew publicly, I see it, and rejoice at "it; yet I am afraid lest the multitude of the enemy should "bring a concealed fright upon some of you: let such an one consider again, who we are that are to fight; and who those are against whom we are to fight. Now these Jews, though "they be very bold, and great despisers of death are but a disorderly body, and unskilful in war, and may rather be "called a rout than an army; while I need say nothing of ແ our skill and our good order; for this is the reason why we Romans alone are exercised for war in time of peace, "that we may not thick of number for number, when we come "to fight with our enemies: for what advantage should we .66 reap for our continual sort of warfare, if we must still be equal in number to such as have not been used to war? Consider farther, that you are to have a conflict with men "in effect unarmed, while you are well armed; with footmen, while you are horsemev; with those that have no good general, while you have one; and as these advantages make you in effect manifold more than you are, so do "their disadvantages mightily diminish their number. Now "it is not the multitude of men, though they be soldiers, that manages wars with success, but it is their bravery that does "it, though they be but a few; for a few are easily set in "battle array, and can easily assist one another, while over "numerous armies are more hurt by themselves than by their "enemies. It is boldness and rashness, the effects of mad66 ness, that conduct the Jews. Those passions indeed make a great figure when they succeed, but are quite extinguish"ed upon the least ill success: but we are led on by courage, and obedience, and fortitude, which shews itself in"deed in our good fortune, but still does not for ever desert us in our ill fortune. Nay, indeed your fighting is to be on greater motives than those of the Jews; for although they "run the hazard of war for liberty, and for their country, yet what can be a greater motive to us than glory; and "that it may never be said that after we have got dominion of the habitable earth, the Jews are able to confront us. "We must also reflect upon this, that there is no fear of our VOL. VI.

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suffering any incurable disaster in the present case "those that are ready to assist us are many, and at ha "so: yet is it in our power to seize upon this victory "selves, and I think we ought to prevent the coming of "my father is sending to us for our assistance, that our "cess may be peculiar to ourselves, and of greater re ❝tion to us. And I cannot but think this an opport "wherein my father, and I, and you shall be all put to the whether he be worthy of his former glorious performa "whether I be his son in reality, and whether you "my soldiers for it is usual for my father to conquer : "for myself I should not bear the thoughts of returni "him if I were once taken by the enemy. And how you be able to avoid being ashamed, if you do not έσ equal courage with your commander, when he goes b you into danger; for you know very well that I shall "to the danger first, and make the first attack upon the "my. Do not thou therefore desert me but persuade y "selves that God will be assisting to my onset. Know " also before we begin, that we shall now have better su than we should have, if we were to fight at a distance. 3. As Titus was saying this, an extraordinary fur upon the men; and as Trajan was already come before fight began, with four hundred horsemen, they were un at it, because the reputation of the victory would be di ished by being common to so many. Vespasian had sent both Antonius and Silo, with two thousand archers, had given it them in charge to seize upon the mountain was over against the city, and repel those that were upo wall; which archers did as they were commanded, and vented those that attempted to assist them that way. now Titus made his own horse march first against the en as did the others with a great noise after him, and exte themselves upon the plain as wide as the enemy which fronted them, by which means they appeared much mor merous than they really were. Now the Jews, alth they were surprised at their onset, and at their good of made resistance against their attacks for a little while; when they were pricked with their long poles, and overb by the violent noise of the horsemen, they came to be tra led under their feet; many also of them were slain on e side, which made them disperse themselves and run to

ed upon the hindmost, and slew them; and of the rest some he fell upon as they stood on heaps, and some he prevented, and met them in the mouth, and run them through; many also he leaped upon as they fell one upon another, and trod them down, and cut off all the retreat they had to the wall, and turned them back into the plain, till at last they forced a passage by their multitude, and got away, and ran into the city.

4. But now there fell out a terrible sedition among them within the city; for the inhabitants themselves, who had pos. sessions there, and to whom the city belonged, were not disposed to fight from the very beginning; and now the less so. because they had been beaten; but the foreigners, which were very numerous, would force them to fight so much the more, insomuch that there was a clamour and a tumult among them, as all mutually angry one at another, and when Titus heard this tumult, for he was not far from the wall, he cried out, "Fellow soldiers, now is the time; and why do we make $6. any delay, when God has given up the Jews to us? Take "the victory which is given you: do not you hear what a "noise they make? Those that have escaped our hands are "in an uproar against one another. We have the city, if we make haste; but besides haste we must undergo some labour, and use some courage; for no great thing uses to be ss accomplished without danger: accordingly we must not on"ly prevent their uniting again, which necessity will soon compel them to do, but we must also prevent the coming of our men to our assistance, that as few as we are we may conquer so great a multitude, and may ourselves alone take "the city."

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5. As soon as ever Titus had said this he leaped upon his horse, and rode a pace down to the lake; by which lake he marched, and entered into the city the first of them all, as did the others soon after him. Hereupon these that were upon the walls were seized on with a terror at the boldness of the attempt, nor durst any one venture to fight with him, or to hinder him; so they left guarding the city, and some of those that were about Jesus fled over the country, while others of them ran down to the lake, and met the enemy in the teeth and some were slain as they were getting up into the ships, but others of them, as they attempted to overtake those that were already gone aboard. There was also a great slaughter made in the city, while those foreigners that had not fled

away already, made opposition; but the natural inhabitants were killed without fighting; for in hopes of Titus giving them his right hand for their security, and out of consciousness that they had not given any consent to the war,they avoided fighting, till Titus had slain the authors of this revolt, and then put a stop to any further slaughters, out of commiseration of these inhabitants of the place. But for those that had fled to the lake upon seeing the city taken, they sailed as far as possibly they could from the army.

6. Hereupon Titus sent one of his horsemen to his father, and let him know the good news of what he had done; at which, as was natural, he was very joyful, both on account of the courage and glorious actions of his son; for he thought that now the greatest part of the war was over. He then came thither himself, and set men to guard the city, and gave them command to take care that nobody got privately out of it, but to kill such as attempted so to do. And on the next. day he went down to the lake, and commanded that vessels should be fitted up in order to pursue those that had escaped in the ships. These vessels were quickly gotten ready accordingly, because there was great plenty of materials, and a great number of artificers also.

7. Now this lake of Gennesareth is so called from the country adjoining to it. Its breadth is forty furlongs, and its length one hundred and forty; its waters are sweet, and very agreeable for drinking, for they are finer than the thick waters of other fends; the lake is also pure, and on every side ends directly at the shores, and at the sand; it is also of a temperate nature when you draw it up, and of a more gentle nature than river or fountain water, and yet always cooler than one would expect in so diffuse a place as this is now when this water is kept in the open air, it is as cold as that snow which the country people are accustomed to make by night in summer. There are several kinds of fish in it, different both to the taste and the sight from those elsewhere. It is divided into two parts by the river Jordan. Now Panium is thought to be the fountain of Jordan, but in reality it is carried thither after an occult manner from the place called Phiala: this place lies as you go up to Trachonitis, and is an hundred and twenty furlongs from Cæsarea, and is not far out of the road on the right hand; and indeed it hath its name of Phiala [vial or bowl] very justly, from the roundness of its circumference, as being round like a wheel;