Page images
PDF
EPUB

did he less resent what was done than did Agrippa; for he judged it a piece of impiety to transgress the laws that regulate the actions of men. So he wrote the following letter to the people of Doris, in an angry strain: "Publius Petronius, the president under Tiberius Claudius Cæsar Augustus Germanicus, to the ma. gistrates of Doris, ordains as follows: Since some of you have had the boldness, or madness rather, after the edict of Claudius Cæsar Augustus Germanicus was published, for permitting the Jews to observe the laws of their country, not to obey the same, but have acted in entire opposition thereto, as forbidding the Jews to assemble together in their synagogue, by removing Cæsar's statue, and setting it up therein, and thereby have offended not only the Jews, but the em peror himself, whose statue is more commodiously placed in his own temple, than in a foreign one, where is the place of assembling together; while it is but a part of natural justice, that every one should have the power over the places belonging peculiarly to themselves, according to the determination of Cæsar; to say nothing of my own determination, which it would be ridiculous to mention after the emperors's edict, which gives the Jews leave to make use of their own customs, as also gives order, that they enjoy equally the rights of citizens with the Greeks themselves. I therefore ordain, that Proculus Vitellius the centurion bring those men to me, who, contrary to Augustus's edict, have been so insolent as to do this thing, at which those very men, who appear to be of principal repu tation among them, have an indignation also, and allege for themselves, that it was not done with their consent, but by the violence of the multitude, that they may give an account of what hath been done. I also exhort the principal magistrates among them, unless they have a mind to have this action esteemed to be done with their consent, to inform the centurion of those that were guilty of it, and take care that no handle be hence taken for raising a sedition or quar. rel among them; which those seem to me to hunt after, who encourage such doings; while both I myself, and king Agrippa, for whom I have the highest honour, have nothing more under our care, than that the nation of the Jews may have no occasion given them of getting together under the pretence of avenging themselves, and become tumultuous. And that it may be more publicly known what Augustus hath resolved about this whole matter, I have subjoined those edicts which he hath lately caused to be published at Alexandria, and which, although they may be well known to all, yet did king Agrippa, for whom I have the highest honour, read them at that time before my tribunal, and pleaded that the Jews ought not to be deprived of those rights which Augustus hath granted them. I therefore charge you, that you do not, for the time to come, seek for any occasion of sedition or disturbance, but that every one be allowed to follow their own religious customs."

4. Thus did Petronius take care of this matter, that such a breach of the law might be corrected, and that no such thing might be attempted afterwards against the Jews. And now king Agrippa took the [high] priesthood away from Simon Cantheras, and put Jonathan, the son of Ananus, into it again, and owned that he was more worthy of that dignity than the other. But this was not a thing accep table to him, to recover that his former dignity. So he refused it, and said, “O king, I rejoice in the honour thou hast for me, and take it kindly, that thou wouldst give me such a dignity of thy own inclinations, although God hath judged that I am not at all worthy of the high priesthood. I am satisfied with having once put on the sacred garments; for I then put them on after a more holy manner than I should now receive them again. But if thou desirest that a person more worthy than myself should have this honourable employment, give me leave to name thee such a one. I have a brother that is pure from all sin against God, and of all offences against thyself; I recommend him to thee as oue that is fit for this dignity." So the king was pleased with these words of his, and passed by Jonathan, and, according to his brother's desire, bestowed the high priesthood upon Mat zis. Nor was it long before Marcus succeeded Petronius as president of Syria

CHAP. VII.

Concerning Silas, and on what Account it was that King Agrippa was angry at him. How Agrippa began to encompass Jerusalem zith a Wall; and what Benefits he bestowed on the Inhabitants of Berytus.

§1. Now Silas, the general of the king's horse, because he had been faithful te him under all his misfortunes, and had never refused to be a partaker with him in any of his dangers, but had oftentimes undergone the most hazardous dangers for him, was full of assurance, and thought he might expect a sort of equality with the king, on account of the firmness of the friendship he had showed to him. Accordingly, he would no where let the king sit as his superior, and took the like liberty in speaking to him upon all occasions; till he became troublesome to the king, when they were merry together, extolling himself beyond measure, and often putting the king in mind of the severity of fortune he had undergone, that he might, by way of ostentation, demonstrate what zeal he had showed in his ser. vice; and was continually harping upon this string, what pains he had taken for him, and much enlarged still upon that subject. The repetition of this so fre. quently seemed to reproach the king, insomuch that he took this ungovernable liberty of talking very ill at his hands. For the commemoration of times, when men have been under ignominy, is by no means agreeable to them; and he is a very silly man who is perpetually relating to a person what kindnesses he hath done him. At last, therefore, Silas had so thoroughly provoked the king's indig nation, that he acted rather out of passion than good consideration, and did not only turn Silas out of his place, as general of his horse, but sent him in bonds into his own country. But the edge of his anger wore off by length of time, and made room for more just reasonings as to his judgment about this man, and he considered how many labours he had undergone for his sake. So when Agrippa was solemnizing his birth-day, and he gave festival entertainments to all his subjects, he sent for Silas on the sudden to be his guest. But, as he was a very frank man, he thought he had now a just handle given him to be angry; which he could not conceal from those that came for him, but said to them, "What honour is this the king invites me to, which I conclude will soon be over? For the king hath not let me keep those original marks of the good will I bore him, which I once had from him; but he hath plundered me, and that unjustly also. Does he think, that I can leave off that liberty of speech, which, upon the consciousness of my deserts, I shall use more loudly than before, and shall relate how many misfortunes I have delivered him from? how many labours I have undergone for him, whereby I procured him deliverance and respect? as a reward for which I have borne the hardships of bonds, and a dark prison. I shall never forget this usage. Nay, perhaps, my very soul, when it is departed out of the body, will not forget the glorious actions I did on his account.' This was the clamour he made, and be ordered the messengers to tell it to the king. So he perceived that Silas was incurable in his folly, and still suffered him to lie in prison.

[ocr errors]

2. As for the walls of Jerusalem, that were adjoining to the new city [Bezetha,] he repaired them at the expense of the public, and built them wider in breadth and higher in altitude; and he had made them too strong for all human power to demolish, unless Marcus, the then president of Syria, had by letter informed Clau dius Cæsar of what he was doing. And when Claudius had some suspicion of attempts for innovation, he sent to Agrippa to leave off the building of those walls presently. So he obeyed, as not thit king it proper to contradict Claudius.

3. Now, this king was by nature very beneficent, and liberal in his gifts, and very ambitious to oblige people with such large donations; and he made himself very illustrious by the many chargeable presents he made them He took do.

hight in giving, and rejoiced in living with good reputation. He was not at a'l like that Herod who reigned before him; for that Herod was ill natured, and se.. vere in his punishments, and had no mercy on them that he hated; and every one perceived, that he was more friendly to the Greeks than to the Jews; for he adorned foreign cities with large presents in money; with building them baths and theatres besides; nay, in some of those places he erected temples, and por. ticoes in others; but he did not vouchsafe to raise one of the least edifices in any Jewish city, or make them any donation that was worth mentioning. But Agrip. pa's temper was mild, and equally liberal to all men. He was humane to for eigners, and made them sensible of his liberality. He was in like manner rather of a gentle and compassionate temper. Accordingly he loved to live continually at Jerusalem, and was exactly careful in the observance of the laws of his coun try. He therefore kept himself entirely pure; nor did any day pass over his head without its appointed sacrifice.

4. However, there was a certain man of the Jewish nation at Jerusalem, who appeared to be very accurate in the knowledge of the law. His name was Simon. This man got together an assembly, while the king was absent at Cesarea, and had the insolence to accuse him as not living holily, and that he might justly be excluded out of the temple, since it belonged only to native Jews. But the general of Agrippa's army informed him, that Simon had made such a speech to the people. So the king sent for him; and, as he was then sitting in the theatre, he bid him sit down by him, and said to him with a low and gentle voice, “What is there done in this place that is contrary to the law?" But he had nothing to say for himself, but begged his pardon. So the king was more easily reconciled to him than one could have imagined, as esteeming mildness a better quality in a king than anger, and knowing that moderation is more becoming in great men than passion. So he made Simon a small present, and dismissed him.

5. Now, as Agrippa was a great builder in many places, he paid a peculiar regard to the people of Berytus; for he erected a theatre for them, superior to many other of that sort both in sumptuousness and elegance, as also an amphitheatre, built at vast expenses; and, besides these, he built them baths and porticoes, and spared for no costs in any of his edifices, to render them both handsome and large. He also spent a great deal upon their dedication, and exhibited shows upon them, and brought thither musicians of all sorts, and such as made the most delightful music of the greatest variety. He also showed his magnificence upon the theatre, in his great number of gladiators; and there it was that he exhibited the several antagonists, in order to please the spectators; no fewer indeed than seven hundred men to fight with seven hundred other men ;* and allotted all the malefactors he had for this exercise, that both the malefactors might receive their punishment, and that this operation of war might be a recre ation in peace. And thus were these criminals all destroyed at once.

CHAP. VIII.

What other Acts were done by Agrippa until his Death; and after what Manner

he died.

§ 1. WHEN Agrippa had finished what I have above related at Berytus, he removed to Tiberias, a city of Galilee. Now he was in great esteem among other kings. Accordingly there came to him Antiochus, king of Commagena; Sampsigeramus, king of Emesa; and Cotys, who was king of the lesser Armenia; and Polemo, who was king of Pontus; as also Herod his brother, who was king of A strange number of condemned criminals to be under the sentence of death at once; no fewer, mes, than 1400.

Chalcis. All these he treated with agreeable entertainments, and after an obliging manner, and so as to exhibit the greatness of his mind, and so as to appear worthy of those respects which the kings paid to him, by coming thus to see him. How ever, while these kings staid with him, Marcus, the president of Syria, came thither. So the king, in order to preserve the respect that was due to the Ro. mans, went out of the city to meet him, as far as seven furlongs. But this proves to be the beginning of a difference between him and Marcus; for he took with him in his chariot those other kings as his assessors. But Marcus had a suspicion what the meaning could be of so great a friendship of these kings one with another, and did not think so close an agreement of so many potentates to be for the interest of the Romans. He therefore sent some of his domestics to every one of them, and enjoined them to go their ways home without farther delay. This was very ill taken by Agrippa, who after that became his enemy. And now he took the high priesthood away from Matthias, and made Elioneus, the son of Cantheras, high-priest in his stead.

2. Now when Agrippa had reigned three years, over all Judea, he came to the city Cesarea, which was formerly called Strato's Tower; and there he exhibited shows in honour of Cæsar, upon his being informed that there was a certain festival celebrated to make vows for his safety. At which festival a great multitude was gotten together of the principal persons, and such as were of dignity through his province. On the second day of which shows he put on a garment made wholly of silver, and of a contexture truly wonderful, and came into the theatre early in the morning; at which time the silver of his garment being illuminated by the first reflection of the sun's rays upon it, shone out after a surprising man. ner, and was so resplendent as to spread a horror over those that looked intently upon him; and presently his flatterers cried out, one from one place and another from another (though not for his good,) that "he was a god ;" and they added, “be thou merciful to us; for although we have hitherto reverenced thee only as a man, yet shall we henceforth own thee as a superior to mortal nature." Upon this the king did neither rebuke them nor reject their impious flattery. But as he presently afterward looked up, he saw an owl* sitting on a certain rope over his bead, and immediately understood that this bird was the messenger of ill tidings, as it had once been the messenger of good tidings to him; and fell into the deepest sorrow. A severe pain also arose in his belly, and began in a most violent manner. He therefore looked upon his friends, and said, "I, whom you call a god, am commanded presently to depart this life; while providence thus reproves the lying words you just now said to me; and I, who was by you called immortal, am immediately to be hurried away by death. But I am bound to accept of what Providence allots, as it pleases God; for we have by no means lived ill, but in a splendid and happy manner.' When he said this, his pain was become violent.

We have a mighty cry made here by some critics, as if the great Eusebius had on purpose falsified this account of Josephus, so as to make it agree with the parallel account in the Acts of the Apostles; because the present copies of his citation of it, Hist. Eccles. B. ii. ch. x. omit the words avai axavix, TICs, i. e. an owl-on a certain rope, which Josephus's present copies retain, and only have the explicatory word 'jor or angel; as if he meant that angel of the Lord which St. Luke mentions as siting Herod, Acts, xii. 23, and not that ow! which Josephus called an angel or messenger formerly of good, but now of bad news, to Agrippa. This accusation is a somewhat strange one in the case of the great Eusebius, who is known to have so accurately and faithfully produced a vast number of other ancient records, and particularly not a few out of our Josephus also, without any suspicion of prevarication. Naw, uot to allege how uncertain we are, whether Josephus's and Eusebius's copies of the fourth century were just like the present in this clause, which we have no distinct evidence of, the following words, preserved still in Eusebius, will not admit of any such exposition. "This [bird] (says Eusebius,) Agrippa presently perceived to be the cause of ill fortune, as it was once of good fortune to him;" which can only belong to that bird the owl, which, as it had formerly foreboded his happy deliverance from imprisonment, Antiq. b. xviii. ch. vi. sect. 7; so was it then foretold to prove afterward the unhappy forerunner of bis death in five days time. If the improper word array, or cause, be changed for Josephus's prope: word 'er angel or messenger,and the foregoing words, fxfâra—iní oxuvicu Two, be inserted, Eusebius's text will truly represent that in Jose; hus. Had this imperfection been in some heathen author, that was in good esteem with our modern critics, they would have readily corrected these, as barely errors ta the copies; but being in an ancient Christian writer, not so well relished by many of those critics, nothing will serve but the ill groundied supposal of wilful corruption and prevarication.

Accordingly he was carried into the palace; and the rumour went abroad every where, that he would certainly die in a little time. But the multitude presently sat in sackcloth, with their wives and children, after the law of their country, and besought God for the king's recovery. All places were also full of mourning and lamentation. Now the king rested in a high chamber, and as he saw them be. low lying prostrate on the ground, he could not himself forbear weeping. And when he had been quite worn out by the pain in his belly for five days, he departed this life, being in the fifty-fourth year of his age, and in the seventh year of his reign; for he reigned four years under Caius Cæsar, three of them were over Philip's tetrarchy only, and on the fourth he had that of Herod added to it: and he reigned, besides those, three years under the reign of Claudius Cæsar. In which time he reigned over the forementioned countries, and also had Judea added to them, as well as Samaria and Cesarea. The revenues that he received out of them were very great, no less than twelve millions of, drachma.* Yet did he borrow great sums from others: for he was so very liberal, that his expenses exceeded his incomes, and his generosity was boundless.†

3. But before the multitude were made acquainted with Agrippa's being expired, Herod, the king of Chalcis, and Helcias, the master of his horse, and the king's friend, sent Aristo, one of the king's most faithful servants, and slew Silas, who had been their enemy, as if it had been done by the king's own command.

CHAP. IX.

What Things were done after the Death of Agrippa; and how Claudius, on account of the Youth and Unskilfulness of Agrippa junior, sent Cuspius

Fadus to be Procurator of "Judea and of that entire Kingdom.

§ 1. AND thus did king Agrippa depart this life. But he left behind him a son. Agrippa by name, a youth in the seventeenth year of his age, and three daughters; one of which, Bernice, was married to Herod her father's brother, and was sixteen years old: the other two, Mariamne and Drusilla, were still virgins; the former was ten years old, and Drusilla six. Now these his daughters were thus espoused by their father, Mariamne to Julius Archelaus Epiphanes, the son of Antiochus, the son of Chelcias; and Drusilla to the king of Commagena. But when it was known that Agrippa was departed this life, the inhabitants of Cesarea and Sebaste forgot the kindness he had bestowed on them, and acted the part of the bitterest enemies; for they cast such reproaches upon the deceased as are not fit to be spoken of; and so many of them as were then soldiers, which were a great number, went to his house, and hastily carried off the statues‡ of the king's daughters, and all at once carried them into the brothel houses, and when they had set them on the tops of those houses, they abused them to the ut most of their power, and did such things to them as are too indecent to be related. They also laid themselves down in public places, and celebrated general feastings, with garlands on their heads, and with ointments and libations to Charon, and drinking to one another for joy that the king was expired. Nay, they were not

The sum of 12,000,000 drachmæ, which is equal to 3,000,000 shekels, i. e. at 2s. 10d. a shekel, equal to 425,000l. sterling, was Agrippa the Great's yearly income, or about three quarters of his grandfather Herod's income; he having abated the tax upon houses at Jerusalem, ch. vi. sect. 3, and was not so tyrannical as he bad been to the Jews. See the note on Antiq. B. xvii. ch. xi. sect. 4. A large sum this! but Bot, it seems, sufficient for his extravagant expenses.

Reland takes notice here, not improperly, that Josephus omits the reconciliation of this Herod Agrippa to the Tyrians and Sidonians, by the means of Blastus the king's chamberlain, mentioned Acts, xii. 20. Nor is there any history in the world so complete, as to omit nothing that other historians take notice of, unless the one be taken out of the other and accommodated to it.

Photius, who made an extract out of this section, says, they were not the statues or images, but the ladies themselves, which were thus basely abused by the soldiers. Cod. ccxxxviii.

« PreviousContinue »