CHAP. XXII.

The murder of Ariftobulus, and Hyrcannus, the high-priests, as alfo of Mariamne the queen.

11. HOWEVER, fortune was avenged on Herod in bis eternal great fucceffes, by railing him up domeftical troubles, and he began to have wild diforders in his fami ly, on account of his wife, of whom he was to very fond. For when he came to the government, he fent away her whom he had before married, when he was a private perfon, and who was born at Jerufalem, whofe name was Doris, and married Mariamne, the daughter of Alexander, the fon of Ariftobulus; on whofe account difturbances arole in his family and that in part very foon, but chiefly after his return from Rome. For first of all, he expelled Antipater the fon of Doris, forthe fake of his fons by Mariamne, out of the city, and permitted him to come thither at no other times than at the feftivals. At. ter this he flew his wife's grandfather, Hyrcanus, when he was returned out of Parthia to him, under this prevence, that he fufpected him of plotting against him. Now this Hyrcanus had been carried captive to Barzapharnes, when he overran Syria; but thofe of his own country beyond Euphrates were defirous he would stay with them, and this out of the commiferation they had for his condition; and had he complied with their defires, when they exhorted him not to go over the river to Herod, he had not perished: But the manage of his grand-daughter [to Herod was his temptation; for as he relied upon him, and was over fond of his own country, he came back to it. Herod's provocation was this, not that Hyrcanus made any attempt to gain the kingdom, but that it was fitter for him to be their king than for Herod.

2. Now of the five children which Herod had by Mariamne, two of them were daughters, and three were fons; and the youngest of these fons was educated at Rome, and there died; but the two eldest he treated as thofe of royal blood, on account of the nobility of their mother, and because they were not born till he was king. But then what was ftronger than all this, was the love that he bare to Mariamne, and which inflamed him every day to a great degree, and fo lar confpired with the other motives, that he felt no othertroubles on account of her he loved fo entirely. But Mariamne's hatred to him, was not interior to his love to her. She had indeed but too juft a caufe of indignation, from what he had done, while her boldness proceeded from his affection to her; fo the openly reproached him with what he had done to her grandfather Hyrcanus, and to her brother Ariftobulus; for he had not

fpared this Ariftobulus, though he were but a child; for when he had given him the high-priesthood at the age of feventeen, he flew him quickly after he had conferred that dignity upon him; but when Ariftobulus had put on the holy veftments, and had approached to the altar, at a feftival, the multitude in great crowds fell into tears; whereupon the child was fent by night to Jericho, and was there dipped by the Galls, at Herod's command, in a pool till he was drowned.

3. For these reafons Mariamne reproached Herod, and his fiffer and mother after a most contumelius manner, while he was dumb on account of his affection for her; yet had the wo men great indignation at her, and railed a calumny against her, that the was falfe to his bed; which thing they thought moft likely to move Herod to Anger. They alfo contrived to have many other circumftances believed, in order to make the thing more credible, and accused her of having fent her picture into Egypt to Antony, and that her luft was foextravagant, as to have thus fhewed herself, though the was abient, to a man that ran mad after women, and to a man that had it in his power to use violence to her. This charge fell like a thunderbolt upon Herod, and put him into diforder; and that especially, because his love to her occafioned him to be jealous, and because he confidered with himself that Cleopatra was a fhrewd woman, and that on her account Ly fanias the king was taken off, as well as Malichus the Arabian; for his fear did not only extend to the diffolving of his marriage, but to the danger of his life.

4. When therefore he was about to take a journey abroad, he committed his wife to Jofeph, his fifter Salome's husband, as to one who would be faithful to him, and bare him good. will on account of their kindred: He also gave him a lecret injunction, that if Antony flew him, he would flay her. But Jofeph without any ill defign, and only in order to demontrate the king's love to his wife, how he could not bear to think of being separated from her, even by death itself, he difcovered this grand fecret to her; upon which, when Herod was come back, and as they talked together, confirmed his love to her by many oaths, and affured her that he had never fuch an affection for any other woman as he had for her. "Yes, fays the thou didst, to be fure, demonftrate thy love to me by the injunctions thou gavest Joseph, when thou com mandeft him to kill me."

5. When he heard that his grand fecret was difcovered, he was like a diftracted man, and faid, that Jofeph would never have difclofed that injunétion of his, unless he had debauched her. His paflion alfo made him ftark mad, and leaping out

• Here is either a defect. or a great mistake in Jofephus's prefent copies, or memory, for Mariamne did not now reproach Herod with this his first injunction . to Jofeph to kill her, if he himself were flain by Antony, but that he had given the like command a fecond to Scemus alfo, when he was afraid of being fain by Auguftus. Antiq. B. XV, sh. iii. fe&t. Vol. II. & K

VOL. III.

of his bed, he ran about the palace after a wild manner; at which time his fifter Salome took the opportunity alfo to blaft her reputation, and confirmed his fufpicion about Jofeph; whereupon, out of his ungovernable jealoufy and rage, he commanded both of them to be'flain immediately; but as foon as ever his paflion was over he repented of what he had done, and as foon as his anger was worn off, his affections were kindled again. And indeed the flame of his defires for her was fo ardent, that he could not think fhe was dead, but would appear under his disorders to speak to her as if the were fill alive, till he were better inftructed by time, when his grief and trouble, now fhe was dead, appeared as great as his affection had been for her while fhe was living.

CHA P. XXIII.

Calumnies against the Sons of Mariamne. Antipater is prefer red before them. They are accufed before Cæfar, und Herod is reconciled to them.

1. NOW Mariamne's fons were heirs to that hatred which

§ had been borne their mother. and when they confidered the greatnefs of Herod's crime towards her, they were fufpicious of him as of an enemy of theirs; and this first while they were educated at Rome, but ftill more when they were returned to Judea. This temper of theirs increafed upon them, as they grew up to be men, and when they were come to an age fit for marriage, the one of them married their aunt Salome's daughter, which Salome had been the accufer of their mother; the other married the daughter of Archelaus, king of Cappadocia. And now they used holdness in fpeaking, as well as bore hatred in their minds. Now thofe that calumniated them took a handle from fuch their boldnefs, and certian of them fpake now more plainly to the king that there were treacherous defigns laid against him by both his fons and he that was fon-in-law to Archelaus, relying upon his father-in-law, was preparing to fly away, in order to accufe Herod before Cæfar; and when Herod's-head had been long enough filled with thefe calumnies, be brought Antipater whom he had by Doris into favour again, as a defence to him against his other fons, and began all the ways he poffibly could to prefer him before them.

2. But thefe fons were not able to bear this change in their affairs, but when they faw him that was born of a mother of no family, the nobility of their birth made them unable to contain their indignation; but whenfoever they were uneafay, they fhewed the anger they had at it. And as thefe fons did day after day improve in that their anger, Antipater already exercifed all his own abilities, which were very great, in flattering his father, and in contriving many forts of ca.

lumnies against his brethren, while he told fome ftories of them himself and put it upon other proper perfons to raise other ftories against them, till at length he entirely cut his brethren off from all hopes of fucceeding to the kingdom; for he was already publicly put into his father's will as his fucceffor. Accordingly he was fent with royal ornaments, and other marks of royalty, to Cæfar, excepting the diadem. He was alfa able in time to introduce his mother again into Mariamne's bed. The two forts of weapons he made ufe of against his brethren, were, flattery and calumny, whereby he brought matters privately to fuch a pass, that the king had thoughts of putting his fon to death.

3. So the father drew Alexander as far as Rome and charged him with an attempt of poifoning him before Cæfar. Alexander could hardly fpeak for lamentation, but having a judge that was more fkillful than Antipater and more wife than Herod, he modeftly avoided laying any imputation upon his father, but with great ftrength of reafon confuted the calumnies laid against him; and when he had demonftrated the innocency of his brother, who was in the like danger with himself, he at laft bewailed the craftinels of Antipater, and the difgrace they were under. He was enabled alfo to justify himself, not only by a clear confcience, which he carried with him, but by his eloquence; for he was a fhrewd man in making fpeeches. And upon his faying at laft, that if his father objected this crime to them, it was in his power to put them to death, he made all the audience weep; and he brought Cæfar to that pafs, as to reject the accufations, and to reconcile their father to them immediately. But the conditions of their reconciliation were thefe, that they fhould in all things be obedient to their father, and that he fhould have power to leave the kingdom to which of them he pleased,

4. After this the king came back from Rome, and feemed to have forgiven his fons upon thefe accufations; but still fo, that he was not without his fufpicions of them. They were followed by Antipater, who was the fountain-head of those accufation; yet did not he openly difcover his hatred to them, as revering him that had reconciled them But as Herod failed by Cilicia, he touched at * Eleufa, where Archelaus treated thei in the most obliging manner, and gave him thanks for the deliverance of his fon-in-law, and was much pleated at their reconciliation; and this the more becaufe he had formerly written to his friends at Rome, that they fhould be affifting to Alexander at his trial. So he conducted Herod as far as

That this ifland Eleufa, afterward called Sebafte, near Cilicia, had in it the royal palece of this Archelaus, king of Cappadocia, Strabo teftifies, B. XV. page 671. Stephanus of Byzantium alfo calls it an ifland of Cilicia, which is now Sebafte;" both whofe teftimonies are pertinently cited here by Dr. Hudson, Sce the fame history, Antiq. B. XVI. ch. x. fcct 7. Vol. 11.

Zephyrium, and made him presents to the value of thirty tal

ents.

5. Now when Herod was come to Jerufalem, he gathered the people together, and prefented to them his three fons, and gave them an apologetic account of his abfence, and thanked God greatly, and thanked Cæfar greatly alfo, for settling his houfe when it was under difturbances, and had procured concord among his fons, which was of greater confequence than the kingdom itself, and which I will render ftill more firm; for Cæfar hath put into my power to difpofe of the government, and to appoint my fucceffor. Accordingly in way of requittal for his kindness, and in order to provide for mine own advantage I do declare, that these three fons of mine thall be kings. And, in the first place, I pray for the approbation of God to what I am about; and, in the next place, I defire. your approbation alfo. The age of one of them, and the nobility of the other two, fhall procure them the fucceffion. Nay indeed my kingdom, is fo large, that it may be fufficient for more kings. Now do you keep thofe in their places whom Cæfar hath joined, and their father hath appointed; and do not you pay undue or unequal refpects to them, but to every one according to the prerogative of their births: For he that pays fuch respects unduely, will thereby not make him that is honoured beyond what his age requires fo joyful, as he will make him that is difhonoured forrow!ul. As for the kindred and friends that are to converfe with them. I'will appoint. them to each of them, and will fo conflitute them, that they may be fecurities for their concord: As well knowing, that the ill tempers of those with whom they converfe, will produce quarrels and contentions among them; but that, it thefe with whom they converfe be of good tempers, they will preferve their natural affections for one another. But ftill I defire, that not thefe only, but all the captains of my army have for the present their hopes placed on me alone; for I do not give away my kingdom to thefe my lons, but give them royal honours only; whereby it will come to pafs, that they will en joy the fweet parts of government as rulers themselves, but that the burden of adminiftration will reft upon my felt wheth er I will or not. And let every one confider what age I am of, how I have conducted my life, and what piety I have exercifed: For my age is not fo great, that men may foon expect the end of my life; nor have I indulged fuch a luxuri ous way of living as cuts men off when they are young; and we have been fo religious towards God, that we [have reafon to hope we may arrive at a very great age. But for fuch as cultivate a friendfhip with my fons, fo as to aim at my deftruction, they fhall be punished by me on their account. I am not one who envy my own children, and therefore forbid men to pay them great refpe&; but I know that fuch [extravagantj refpects are the way to make them infolent. And if every