for afcent, in the room of thofe that were thruft down, those encouraging one another, and joining fide to fide with their fhields, which were a protection to them, they became a body of men not to be broken, and as this band thruft away 'the Jews, as though they were them felves but one body, they began already to get upon the wall.

28. Then did Jofephus take neceffity for his counsellor in this utmost diftrefs, (which neceffity is very fagacious in invention, when it is irritated by defpair), and gave orders to pour fcalding oil upon thofe whole thields protected them. Whereupon they foon got it ready, being many that brought it, and what they brought being a great quantity alfo, and poured it on all fides upon the Romans, and threw down upon them their veffels as they were ftill hiffing from the heat of the fire; this fo burnt the Romans, that it difperfed that united band, who now tumbled down from the wall, with horrid pains, for the oil did eafily run down the whole body from head to foot, under their entire armour, and fed upon their fleth like flame itfelf, its fat and unetuous nature rendering it foon heated, and flowly cooled; and as the men were cooped up in their head-pieces, and breaft plates they could no way get free from this burning oil, they could only leap and roll about in their pains, as they fell down from the bridges they had laid. And as they thus were beaten back, and retired to their own party, who ftill preffed them forward, they were eafily wounded by thofe that were behind them.

29. However, in this ill fuccefs of the Romans, their courage did not fail them, nor did the Jews want prudence to oppole them; for the Romans, although they faw their own men thrown down, and in a miferable condition, yet were they vehemently bent against thofe that poured the oil upon them, while every one reproached the man before him as a coward, and one that hindered him from exerting himfelf; and while the Jews made use of another ftratagem to prevent their afcent, and poured boiling fenegreek upon the boards in order to make them flip and fall down; by which means neither could thofe that were coming up, nor thofe that were going down, stand on their feet; but fome of them fell backward, upon the machines on which they afcended, and were trodden upon; many of them fell down on the bank they had raifed, and when they were fallen upon it were flain by the Jews; for when the Romans could not keep their feet, the Jews being freed from fighting hand to hand, had leifure to throw their darts at them. So the general called off those foldiers in the evening that had fuffered fo forely, of whom the number of the flain was not a few while that of the wounded was ftill greater; but of the people of Jotapata no more than fix men were killed. although more than three hundred were carried off wounded. This fight happened on the twentieth day of the month Defius, [Sivan]. Dd

VOL. III.

30. Hereupon Vefpafian comforted his army on occafion of what happened, and as he found them angry indeed, but rather wanting fomewhat to do than any farther exhortations, he gave orders to raise the banks ftill higher, and to erect three towers, each fifty feet high, and that they fhould cover them with plates of iron, on every fide, that they might be both firm by their weight, and not eafily liable to be fet on fire. These towers he fet upon the banks, and placed upon them fuch as could fhoot darts and arrows, with the lighter engines for throwing ftones and darts alfo; and befides thefe, he fet upon them the ftouteft men among the flingers, who not being to be feen by reafon of the height they stood upon, and the battlements that protected them, might throw their weap ons at those that were upon the wall, and were eafily feen by them. Hereupon the Jews, not being easily able to escape those darts that were thrown down upon their heads, nor to avenge themselves on thofe whom they could not fee, and perceiving that the height of the towers was fo great, that a dart which they threw with their hand could hardly reach it, and that the iron plates about them made it very hard to come at them by fire, they ran away from the walls, and fled haftily out of the city, and tell upon thofe that fhot at them. And thus did the people of Jotapata refift the Romans, while a great number of them were every day killed without their be ing able to retort the evil upon their enemies, nor could they keep them out of the city without danger to themfelves.

31. About this time it was that Vefpafian fent out Trajan againft a city called Japha, that lay near to Jotapata, and that defired innovations, and was puffed up with the unexpected length of the oppofition of Jotapata. This Trajan was the commander of the tenth legion, and to him Vefpafian committed one thousand horsemen, and two thousand footmen. When Trajan came to the city, he found it hard to be taken, for besides the natural ftrength of its fituation. it was alfo fecured by a double wall; but when he faw the people of this city coming out of it, and ready to fight him, he joined battle with them, and after a fhort refiflance which they made, he purfued after them; and as they fled to their firft wall the Romans followed them fo clofely, that they tell in together with them: But when the Jews were endeavouring to get again within their fecond wall, their fellow citizens that them out, as being afraid that the Romans would force themselves in with them. It was certainly God, therefore, who brought the Romans to punith the Galileans, and did then expofe the people of the city every one of them manifeftly to be destroyed by their bloody enemies; for they fell upon the gates in great crowds, aud earneftly calling to thofe that kept them, and that by their names alfo, yet had they their throats cut in the very midfl of their fupplications; for the enemy fhut the gates of the first wall, and their own citizens fhut the gates of

the fecond, fo they were enclofed between two walls, and were flain in great numbers together; many of them were run through by fwords of their own men, and many by their own fwords, befides an immenfe number that were flain by the Romans. Nor had they any courage to revenge themfelves; for there was added to the confternation they were in from the enemy, their being betrayed by their own friends, which quite broke their fpirits; and at laft they died, curfing, not the Romans, but their own citizens, till they were all deftroy. ed, being in number twelve thoufand. So Trajan gathered that the city was empty of people that could fight, and al though there thould a few of them be therein, he fuppofed that they would be too timorous to venture upon any oppofition; fo he referved the taking of the city to the general. Accordingly he fent meffengers to Vefpafian, and defired him to lend his fon Titus to finish the victory he had gained. Vefpafian hereupon imagining there might be fome pains ftill neceffary, fent his fon with an army of five hundred horsemen, and one thousand footmen. So he came quickly to the city, and put his army in order, and fet Trajan over the left wing, while he had the right himleit, and led them to the fiege; and when the foldiers brought ladders to be laid against the wall on every fide, the Galileans oppofed them from above for a while, but foon afterward they left the walls. Then did Titus's men leap into the city, and feized upon it presently; but when thofe that were in it were gotten together, there was a fierce battle between them; for the men of power fell upon the Romans in the narrow streets, and the women threw whatfoever came next to hand at them, and luftained a fight with them for fix hours time; but when the fighting men were Ipent, the rest of the multitude had their throats cut, partly in the open air, and partly in their own houfes, both young and old together. So there were no males now remaining befides infants, which, with the women, were carried as flaves into captivity; fo that the number of the flain both now in the city and at the former fight, was fifteen thousand, and the captives were two thoufand one hundred and thirty. This calamity betel the Galileans on the twenty-fifth day of the month Defius [Sivan].

32. Nor did the Samaritans efcape their fhare of misfortunes. at this time; for they affembled themfelves together upon the mountain called Gerizzim, which is with them an holy mountain, and there they remained: Which collection of theirs, as well as the courageous minds they fhewed, could not but threaten fomewhat of war; nor were they rendered wiler by the miferies that had come upon their neighbouring cities. They alfo, notwithstanding the great fuccefs the Romans had, marched on in an unreasonable manner, depending on their own weakness, and were difpofed for any tumult upon its first appearance. Vefpafian therefore thought it beft to prevent

their motions, and to cut off the foundation of their attempts. For although all Samaria had ever garrifons fettled among them, yet did the number of thofe that were come to mount Gerizzim, and their confpiracy together, give ground for fear what they would be at; He therefore fent thither Cerealis, the commander of the fifth legion, with fix hundred horfemen, and three thoufand footmen, who did not think it lafe to go up the mountain, and give them battle, becaufe many of the enemy were on the higher part of the ground: So he encompaffed all the lower part of the mountain with his army, and watched them all that day. Now it happened that the Samaritans, who were now deftitute of water, were inflamed with a violent heat (for it was fummer time, and the multitude had not provided themíelves with neceffaries), infomuch that fome of them died that very day with heat, while others of them preferred flavery before fuch a death as that was. and fled to the Romans; by whom Cerealis understood that those which fill stayed there were very much broken by their misfortunes. So he went up the mountain, and having placed his forces round about the enemy, he, in the first place, exhorted them to take the fecurity of his right hand, and come to terms with him, and thereby fave themfelves; and affured them that if they would lay down their arms, he would fecure them from any harm; but when he could not prevail with them, he tell upon them, and flew them all, being in number eleven thoufand and fix hundred. This was done on the twenty-feventh day of the month Defiu [Sivanj. And thefe were the calamities that befel the Samaritans at this time.

33. But as the people of Jotapata ftill held out manfully, and bore up under their mileries beyond all that could be hoped for, on the forty-feventh day [of the fiege the banks caft up by the Romans were become higher than the wall; on which day a certain deferter went to Vefpafian, and told him how few were left in the city, and how weak they were, and that they had been fo worn out with perpetual watching and as perpetual fighting, that they could not now oppose any force that came againft them, and that they might be taken by stratagem, it any one would attack them; for that about the laft watch of the night, when they thought they might have fome reft from the hardships they were under, and when a morning fleep used to come upon them, as they were thoroughly wea ry, he faid the watch ufed to fall afleep; accordingly his advice was, that they should make their attack at that hour. But Vefpafian had a fufpicion about this deferter, as knowing how faithful the Jews were to one another, and how much they defpifed any punishments that could be inflicted on them; this laft, becaufe one of the people of Jotapata had undergone all forts of torments, and though they made him pafs through a fiery trial of his enemies in his examination, yet would he inform them nothing of the affairs within the city, and as he was

crucified. fmiled at them. However, the probability there was in the relation itself, did partly confirm the truth of what the deferter told them, and they thought he might probably speak truth. However, Vefpafian thought they fhould be no great fufferers if the report was a fham; fo he commanded them to keep the man in cuftody, and prepared the army for taking the city,

34. According to which refolution they marched without noife, at the hour that had been told them to the wall; and it was Titus himself that first got upon it, with one of his tri bunes, Domitius Sabinus, and had a few of the fifteenth le gion along with him. So they cut the throats of the watch, and entered the city very quietly. Atter thefe came Cerealis the tribune, and Placidus, and led on those that were under them. Now when the citadel was taken, and the enemy were in the very midft of the city, and when it was already day, yet was not the taking of the city known by those that held it; for a great many of them were faft afleep, and a great mift, which then by chance fell upon the city, hindered those that got up from diftinctly feeing the cafe they were in, till the whole Roman army was gotten in, and they were raifed up only to find the miferies they were under; and as they were flaying,they perceived the city was taken. And for the Romans, they fo well remembered what they had fuffered during the fiege, that they fpared none, nor pitied any but drove the people down the precipice from the citadel, and flew them as they drove them down; at which time the difficulties of the place hinder. ed those that were fill able to fight from defending themfelves; for as they were diftreffed in the narrow ftreets, and could not keep their feet fure along the precipice, they were overpowered with the crowd of thofe that came fighting them down from the citadel. This provoked a great many, even of thofe chofen men that were about Jofephus, to kill themfelves with their own hands; for when they faw that they could kill none of the Romans, they refolved to prevent being killed by the Romans, and got together in great numbers in the utmoft parts of the city and killed themfelves.

35. However, fuch of the watch as at the first perceived they were taken, and ran away as faft as they could, went up into one of the towers on the north fide of the city, and for a while defended themselves there: But as they were encompaffed with a multitude of enemies, they tried to use their right hands when it was too late, and at length they cheerfully offered their necks to be cut off by thofe that flood over them. And the Romans might have boafted that the conclufion of that fiege was without blood [on their fide], if there had not been a centurion, Antonius, who was flain at the tak ing of the city. His death was occafioned by the following treachery For there was one of thofe that were fled into the caverns, which were a great number, who defired that this Antonius would reach him his right hand for his fecurity, and