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put to the trial, whether he be worthy of his former glorious performances, whether I be his fon in reality, and whether you be really my foldiers: For it is ufual for my father to conquer; and for myfelf I fhould not bear the thoughts of returning to him it I were once taken by the enemy. And how will you be able to avoid being afhamed, if you do not Thew equal courage with your commander, when he goes before you into danger? For you know very well that I fhall go into the danger firit, and make the firft attack upon the enemy. Do not you therefore defert me, but perfuade yourfelves that God will be affifting to my onlet. Know this alfo before we begin, that we shall now have better fuccefs than we should have, if we were to fight at a distance

3. As Titus was faying this, an extraordinary fury fell upon the men; and as Trajan was already come before the fight began, with fourhundred horfemen, they were uneafy at it, because the reputation of the victory would be diminished by being common to fo many. Vefpafian had allo sent both Antonius and Siło, with two thouland archers, and had given it them in charge to feize upon the mountain that was over against the city, and repel those that were upon the wall; which archers did as they were commanded, and prevented thofe that attempted to affift them that way. And now Titus made his own horse march first against the enemy, as did the others with a great noise after him, and extend themfelves upon the plain as wide as the enemy which confronted them, by which means they appeared much more numerous than they really were. Now the Jews, although they were furprifed at their oufet, and at their good order, made refiftance against their attacks, for a little while; but when they were pricked with their long poles, and overborne by the violent noife of the horsemen, they came to be trampled under their feet; many alfo of them were flain on every fide, which made them disperse themfelves and run to the city, as fast as every one of them were able. So Titus preffed upon the hindmoft, and flew them; and of the reft fome he fell upon as they flood on heaps, and fome he prevented, and met them in the mouth, and run them through; many alfo 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 laft they forced a paffage by their multitude, and got away, and run into the city.

4. But now there fell out a terrible fedition among them within the city; for the inhabitants themfelves, who had poffeffions there, and to whom the city belonged, were not difpofed to fight from the very beginning; and not the lefs fo, because they had been beaten : But the foreigners, which were very numerous, would force them to fight to much the more, infomuch 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 foldiers, now is the time; and why do we make any delay, when God is giving up the Jews to us? Take the victory which is given you: Do not you hear what a noife they make? Thole that have efcaped our hands are in an uproar against one another. We have the city if we make hafte: But befides hafte we muft undergo fome labour, and ufe fome courage; for no great thing, ufes to be accomplished without danger; accordingly we must not only prevent their uniting again, which neceffity will foon compel them to do, but we muft alfo prevent the coming of their own men to our affiftance, that as few as we are we may conquer fo great a multitude, and may ourselves alone take the city."

5. As foon as ever Titus had faid this, he leaped upon his horse, and rode apace down to the lake; by which lake he marched, and entered into the city the firft of them all, as did the others foon after him. Hereupon thofe that were upon the walls were feized with a terror at the boldness of the attempt, nor durft any one venture to fight with him, or to hinder him; fo they left guarding the city, and fome of thole that were about Jefus fled over the country, while others of them ran down to the lake, and met the enemy in the teeth, and fome were flain as they were getting up into the fhips. but others of them, as they attempted to overtake thofe that were already gone aboard. There was alfo a great flaughter made in the city, while thofe foreigners that had not fled away already, made oppofition; but the natural inhabitants were killed without fighting: For in hopes of Titus's giving them his right hand for their fecurity, and out of consciousness that they had not given any content to the war, they avoided fighting, till Titus had flain the authors of this revolt, and then put a flop to any farther flaughters out of commiferation of these inhabitants of the place. But for thofe that had fled to the lake, upon feeing the city taken, they failed as far poffibly they could from the enemy.

6. Hereupon Titus fent one of his horfemen 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 fon; for he thought now the greateft part of the war was over. He then came thither hin felt, and fet men to guard the city, and gave them command to take care that nobody got privately out of it, but to kill fuch as attempted fo to do. And on the next day he went down to the lake, and commanded that veffels fhould be fitted up in order to purfue thofe that had efcaped in the fhips. Thefe veflels were quickly gotten ready accordingly, because there was great plenty of materials, and a great number of artificers allo.

7. Now this lake of Gennefareth is fo called from the country adjoining to it. Its breadth is forty furlongs, and its length

one hundred and forty; its waters are fweet, and very agreeable for drinking, for they are finer than the thick waters of other fens; the lake is alfo pure, and on every fide ends directly at the fhores, and at the fand; it is alfo 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 fo diffufe a place as this is Now when this water is kept in the open air, it is as cold as that fnow which the country people are accuftomed to make by night in fummer. There are feveral kinds of fifh in it, different both to the taste and the fight 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 Cefarea, and is not far out of the road on the right hand; and indeed it hath its name of Phiala [vial or bowl very juftly, from the roundnefs of its circumference, as being round like a wheel; its water continues always up to its edges, without either finking or running over. And as this origin of Jordan was formerly not known, it was difcovered so to be when Pilip was tetrarch of Trachonitis; for he had chaff thrown into Phiala, and it was found at Panium, where the ancients thought the fountain head of the river was, whither it had been therefore carried [by the waters]. As for Panium itself, its natural beauty had been improved by the royal liberality of Agrippa, and adorned at his expences. Now Jordan's vifible stream arifes from this cavern, and divides the marshes and fens of the lake Semehonitis; when it hath run another hundred and twenty furlongs, it firft paffes by the city Julias, and then paffes through the middle of the lake Gennefareth; after which it runs a long way over a defart, and then makes its exit into the lake Afphaltitis.

8. The country alfo that lies over against this lake hath the fame name of Gennefareth; its nature is wonderful as well as its beauty; its foil is fo fruitful that all forts of trees can grow upon it, and the inhabitants accordingly plant all forts of trees there; for the temper of the air is fo well mixed that it agrees very well with thofe feveral forts, particularly walnuts, which require the coldest air, flourish there in vaft plenty; there are palm trees alfo, which grow beft in hot air; fig trees alio and olives grow near them, which yet require an air that is more temperate. One may call this place the ambition of nature, where it forces thofe plants that are naturally enemies to one another to agree together: It is a happy contention of the seafons, as if every one of them laid claim to this country; for it not only nourishes different forts of autumnal fruit beyond mens expectation, but preferves them a great while; it fupplies men with the principal fruits, with grapes and figs,

*

* It may be worth our while to obferve hers, that near this lake of Gennefareth

continually, during ten months of the year, and the rest of the fruits as they become ripe together through the whole year : For befides the good temperature of the air, it is alfo watered from a moft fertile fountain. The people of the country called it Capharnaum; Some have thought it to be a vein of the Nile, because it produces the Coracin fifh as well as that lake does which is near to Alexandria. The length of this country extends itself along the banks of this lake that bears the fame name, for thirty furlongs, and is in breadth twenty. And this is the nature of that place.

9. But now, when the veffels were gotten ready, Vefpafian put upon fhip board as many of his forces as he thought fufficient to be too hard for thofe that were upon the lake, and let fail after them. Now thefe which were driven into the lake, could neither fly to the land, where all was in their enemies hand, and in war against them; nor could they fight upon the level by fea, for their fhips were fmall and fitted only for piracy; they were too weak to fight with Vefpafian's veffels, and the mariners that were in them were fo few, that they were afraid to come near the Romans, who attacked them in great numbers. However, as they failed round about the vessels, and fometimes as they came near them, they threw ftones at the Romans when they were a good way off, or came closer and fought them: Yet did they receive the greatest harm themfelves in both cafes. As for the ftones they threw at the Romans, they only made a found one after another, for they threw them against fuch as were in their armour, while the Roman darts could reach the Jews themfelves; and when they ventured to come near the Romans, they became fufferers themfelves before they could do any harm to the other, and were drowned, they and their fhips together. As for those that endeavoured to come to an actual fight, the Romans ran many of them through with their long poles. Sometimes the Romans leaped into their fhips with fwords in their hands, and flew them; but when fome of them met the veffels, the Romans caught them by the middle, and deftroyed at once their fhips, and themselves who were taken in them. And for fuch as were drowning in the fea, if they lifted their heads up above the water, they were either killed by darts, or caught by the veffels; but it, in the defperate cafe they were in, they attempted to fwim to their enemies, the Romans cut off either their heads or their hands; and indeed they were deftroyed after various manners every where, till the reft being put to flight,

grapes and figs hang on the trees ten months of the year. We may obferve also, that in Cyril of Jerufalem, Catechef. xviii. § 3. which was delivered not long before Eafter, there were no fresh leaves of fig-trees, nor bunches of fresh grapes in Judea; fo that when St. Mark fays, ch. xi. ver. 13. that our Saviour, foon after the fams time of the year, came and "found leaves" on a fig tree near Jerufalem, but "no figs, because the time of" new "figs" ripening " was not yet," he says very true; nor were they therefore other than old leaves which our Saviour faw, and old figs which be expected, and which even with us commonly hang on the trees all winter long.

were forced to get upon the land, while the veffels encompaffed them about [on the fea ]: But as many of these were repulfed when they were getting afhore, they were killed by the darts upon the lake; and the Romans leaped out of their veffels, and deftroyed a great many more upon the land: One might then fee the lake all bloody, and full of dead bodies, for not one of them efcaped. And a terrible flink, and a very fad fight there was on the following days over that country; for as for the fhores, they were full of thipwrecks. and of dead bodies all fwelled; and as the dead bodies were inflamed by the fun, and putrified, they corrupted the air infomuch that the mifery was not only the object of commiferation to the Jews, but to thofe that hated them, and had been the authors of that mifery. This was the upfhot of the fea fight. The number of the flain, including thofe that were killed in the city before, was fix thoufand and five hundred.

10. After this fight was over, Vefpafian fat upon his tribunal at Taricheæ, in order to diftinguith the foreigners from the old inhabitants; for thofe foreigners appeared to have begun the war. So he deliberated with the other commanders, whether he ought to fave those old inhabitants or not. And when thofe commanders alleged that the difmiffion of them would be to his own difadvantage, becaufe when they were once fet at liberty, they would not be at reft, fince they would be people deftitute of proper habitations, and would be able to compel fuch as they fled to, to fight against us, Vefpafian acknowledged that they did not deferve to be faved, and that if they had leave given them to fly away, they would make ufe of it against thofe that gave them that leave. But ftill he confidered with himself, after what manner they should be flain; for if he had them flain there, he fulpected the people of the country would thereby become his enemies; for that to be fure they would never bear it, that fo many that had been fupplicants to him should be killed, and to offer violence to them, after he had given them affurances of their lives, he could not himself bear to do it. However, his friends were too hard for him, and pretended that nothing against Jews could be any impiety, and that he ought to prefer what was profitable before what was fit to be done, where both could

This is the most cruel and barbarous action that Vefpafian ever did in this whole war, as he did it with great reluctance alfo. It was done both after public affurance given of sparing the prisoners lives, and when all knew and confeffed that thefe prifoners were no way guilty of any sedition against the Romans. Nor indeed did Titus now give his confent, fo far as appears, nor ever act of himself fo barbaroufly: may, foon after this Titus grew quite weary of fhedding of blood, and of punishing the innocent with the guilty, and gave the people of Gifchala leave to keep the Jewish Sabbath, B. IV. ch. ii 3,5 in the midst of their lege Nor was Vefpafian difposed to do what he did, till his officers perfuaded him, and that from two principal topics, viz. that nothing could be unjuft that was done against jews, and that when both cannot be confiftent, advantage must prevail over juftice. Admirable court doctrines these !

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